An integrated strategy for transmission control of Schistosoma japonicum in a marshland area of China: findings from a five-year longitudinal survey and mathematical modeling.

In 2004 an aggressive plan was instituted aiming to achieve nationwide transmission control of schistosomiasis by 2015. Here, we report a longitudinal study on the control of schistosomiasis in Anhui province, China. Using a mathematical model, we compared the effects of different control strategies implemented in the study area.

[Spatial characteristic of distribution of Oncomelania hupensis in mountainous regions].

Objective: To analyze the spatial characteristic on the distribution of Oncomelania hupensis in mountainous regions.

Methods: Based on the geographic database of snail distribution in Puge county, Sichuan province, spatial autocorrelation analysis and spatial scan statistics were applied to analyze the spatial characteristic of snail distribution.

Results: With regard to the rate of frame with snails, the global Moran's I indicator was 0.

Obesity and chronic kidney disease in patients with chronic heart failure: an insight from the China Heart Survey.

Background: Obesity and decreased kidney function have been shown to be prevalent in Western patients with heart failure; however, whether this phenomenon exists in Chinese patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) is not known.

Methods And Results: One thousand and nine patients with CHF from the China Heart Survey were assessed. The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) was 34.

[Prevalence of overweight and its relationship with hyperglycaemia in adults of rural communities in Deqing County, China].

Objective: To understand the prevalence of overweight and its relationship with hyperglycaemia in adults in rural Deqing county, China.

Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out in four rural communities randomly sampled from Deqing county, Zhejiang province, China. A total of 5840 subjects aged 18 to 64 years participated in this study.

Nonparametric evaluation of dynamic disease risk: a spatio-temporal kernel approach.

Quantifying the distributions of disease risk in space and time jointly is a key element for understanding spatio-temporal phenomena while also having the potential to enhance our understanding of epidemiologic trajectories. However, most studies to date have neglected time dimension and focus instead on the "average" spatial pattern of disease risk, thereby masking time trajectories of disease risk. In this study we propose a new idea titled "spatio-temporal kernel density estimation (stKDE)" that employs hybrid kernel (i.

Effect of habitat fragmentation on the schistosome-transmitting snail Oncomelania hupensis in a mountainous area of China.

The effect of habitat fragmentation on schistosome-transmitting snails was assessed in an intervention village and a control village in Sichuan Province, China. Snail habitats were fragmented by environmental management. After 2 years, the proportions of quadrats with snails in the fragmented habitats decreased from 9.

Green tea consumption, inflammation and the risk of primary hepatocellular carcinoma in a Chinese population.

Objective: Green tea has been found to possess anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and anti-carcinogenic properties. The present study examines the association between green tea drinking and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its interactions with other risk or protective factors and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of inflammation and oxidative stress related genes.

Methods: A population-based case-control study with 204 primary HCC cases and 415 healthy controls was conducted in Taixing, China.

Co-infection with influenza A/H1N1 and A/H3N2 viruses in a patient with influenza-like illness during the winter/spring of 2008 in Shanghai, China.

Co-infection with different influenza viruses occurs naturally and plays an important role in epidemiology and pathogenicity. To monitor the prevalence of influenza viruses in humans during seasonal influenza epidemics in Shanghai, China, and to analyze the genetic characteristics of the viruses, 365 nasopharyngeal swabs collected from patients with influenza-like illness between January and April 2008, were tested by a colloidal gold assay, viral isolation in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, direct immunofluorescence assay and multiplex RT-PCR. The genetic characteristics of the viruses were analyzed by full-length PCR amplification of the HA segment.

[Influence regarding micro-ecological environment of snail habitats in lake area on the distribution of snails].

Objective: To explore the relationships between micro-ecological environmental factors and the density of Snails so as to provide information for the elimination of Snails and control of Schistosomiasis disease, under ecological methods.

Methods: A bottomland close to Junshan Park in Yueyang city, Hunan province was selected as the field for survey during 10, 2007 - 10, 2008, and a systematic sampling method was applied to determine the specific sites of Snail investigation. All the Snails in each frames were collected and the soil surface temperature and vegetation coverage in several frames were measured.

[Integrated detection and analysis on the clusters of schistosomiasis based on geographic information system].

Objective: To detect and analyze the clusters of schistosomiasis on marshland and lake areas based on geographic information system (GIS) in 2008 and to provide suggestions for the development of integrated methodology on the detection of clusters on related diseases.

Methods: Moran's I of global spatial autocorrelation, Getis-Ord Gi of local spatial autocorrelation and SaTScan were used to detect the schistosomiasis clusters based on GIS and comparison of the results for different methods were performed.

Results: Results from the global Moran's I tests for all the marshland and lake areas related to the schistosomiasis were statistically significant (P < 0.

[Metagenesis of intermediate host to Schistosoma japonicum Oncomelania snail in mountainous areas].

Objective: To understand the metagenesis of Oncomelania snails in the mountainous regions so as to control the spread of snails and the epidemics of schistosomiasis.

Methods: Observation spot was established at a typical snail habitat close to Puge county, Sichuan province from February 2008 to July 2009. Random sampling was applied to determine the place of each frame during the observation.

[Study on the prevalence and genotype of hepatitis E virus among commercial swine population in Eastern and Southern China].

Objective: To determine the prevalence and genotype of hepatitis E virus (HEV) among commercial swine population in Eastern and Southern China.

Methods: Six hundred specimens of swine bile collected from 5 slaughterhouses in Eastern and Southern China from 2007 to 2009 were tested for HEV RNA using nested RT-PCR. PCR products were sequenced for phylogenetic analysis.

[Impact of the changing water level on the variance of Oncomelania hupensis populations in Lake Area with general additive model].

Objective: To explore the impact and regularity of snail population after changing of water level and to develop effective control and prediction programs.

Methods: A typical snail habitat closed to Changjiang county in Yueyang city, Hunan province was selected as the survey field. Data on water level and the changing trend of snail population during 2001 - 2009 including the average water level, maximum and minimum water levels, snail and infected snail densities, proportion of sampling frames with living and infected snails etc.

Is chronic kidney disease associated with a high ankle brachial index in adults at high cardiovascular risk?

Aim: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. A high ankle brachial index (ABI), a marker of lower arterial stiffness, is associated with CVD events. It remains unknown whether high ABI is associated with CKD.

Stigma against HIV-infected persons among migrant women living in Shanghai, China.

We examined the characteristics of 601 female migrants in Shanghai regarding stigmatizing attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted July and August 2008, using an anonymous questionnaire. Most participants (88%) were married, 9.

HIV infection, sexual behaviors, sexual networks, and drug use among rural residents in Yunnan Province, China.

This cross-sectional study examined HIV prevalence, sexual behaviors, sexual networks, and drug use among 591 participants from a rural community in Yunnan Province, China. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect information about sexual behavior, drug use, and sexual networks. Blood samples were collected and tested for HIV.

Associations between NBS1 polymorphisms, haplotypes and smoking-related cancers.

Constituents of tobacco smoke can cause DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), leading to tumorigenesis. The NBS1 gene product is a vital component in DSB detection and repair, thus genetic variations may influence cancer development. We examined the associations between NBS1 polymorphisms and haplotypes and newly incident smoking-related cancers in three case-control studies (Los Angeles: 611 lung and 601 upper aero-digestive tract (UADT) cancer cases and 1040 controls; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: 227 bladder cancer cases and 211 controls and Taixing, China: 218 esophagus, 206 stomach, 204 liver cancer cases and 415 controls).

Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in Pudong New Area of Shanghai using three proposed definitions among Chinese adults.

Background: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) has been increasing in China in recent years. The aim of this study is to estimate and compare the prevalence of MS among Chinese adults in Shanghai, one of the most economic developed areas in China, using definitions proposed by World Health Organization (WHO), National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (modified ATP III) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF).

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 5,584 adults at age 20-79 randomly selected from Pudong New Area of Shanghai, China, through a three-stage sampling.

The epidemiology of hospitalized influenza in children, a two year population-based study in the People's Republic of China.

Background: The epidemiology and disease burden of annual influenza in children in mainland People's Republic of China have not been reported in detail. To understand the incidence and epidemiology of laboratory-proven influenza hospitalization in children in China, a review of available laboratory and hospital admission data was undertaken.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective population-based study in Suzhou and the surrounding area of Jiangsu province, China for hospitalized cases of respiratory illness at Suzhou Children's Hospital.

[Smoking status in Chinese cardiovascular physicians in 2008].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and hazard of smoking in Chinese cardiovascular physicians.

Methods: A total of 4032 cardiovascular-certified physicians were recruited from 386 medical centers in all 31 provinces and municipalities in mainland China between June 1 2008 and August 31 2008.

Results: The prevalence of smoking in Chinese cardiovascular physicians was 15.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms of 8 inflammation-related genes and their associations with smoking-related cancers.

Tobacco smoke and its metabolites are carcinogens that increase tissue oxidative stress and induce target tissue inflammation. We hypothesized that genetic variation of inflammatory pathway genes plays a role in tobacco-related carcinogenesis and is modified by tobacco smoking. We evaluated the association of 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms of 8 inflammation-related genes with tobacco-related cancers (lung, oropharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, liver, bladder, and kidney) using 3 case-control studies from: Los Angeles (population-based; 611 lung and 553 upper aero-digestive tract cancer cases and 1,040 controls), Taixing, China (population-based; 218 esophagus, 206 stomach, 204 liver cancer cases, and 415 controls), and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (hospital-based; 227 bladder cancer cases and 211 controls).

Spatial analysis of hepatocellular carcinoma and socioeconomic status in China from a population-based cancer registry.

Background: Little is known about geographic variations in liver cancer at high incident regions. We aimed to identify spatial variation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at a high-risk area in China and determine its association with socioeconomic status (SES).

Methods: Based on 2299 liver cancer cases diagnosed in Haimen from 2003 to 2006, we calculated age-sex standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and used two spatial scan statistics to determine the geographic variations in HCC.