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Background: The objective of this study was to investigate medication adherence and the associated influencing factors in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who were treated in a primary general hospital in Shanghai China during the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.Methods: From March to April 2020, all of the COPD patients treated in our department in the last 7 years were interviewed by telephone. The basic patient data and each questionnaire item were collected, and influencing factors were analyzed by the Chi-square test, U test, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.Results: A total of 191 patients with COPD were queried, and 84 (44.0%) valid questionnaires were obtained. Among them, individuals with group B symptoms were most represented (45.2%); 53.6% had Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea levels of 2 or above. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test (CAT) had an average of 9 [3, 13], and 52.4% of patients used two-drug combination therapy. Medication adherence was both good in ordinary times and over the past 2 months of the pandemic, and 88.8% of patients had no acute exacerbation during the pandemic. The CAT scores of male patients <70 years old, and patients with general outpatient follow-up and regular gargling were reduced (P<0.05).Drug combination and doctor's supervision were favorable factors affecting medication adherence during the 2 months of the pandemic, while possible depression was an unfavorable factor (P<0.05).Conclusions: During the pandemic, medication adherence in patients with COPD was similar to that in regular times, and was significantly related to drug combination, doctor's supervision, and accompanying mood disorders. An effective way to improve patient adherence and disease control could be strengthening follow-up education and diagnosing and treating depression and other complications.

Backgroud and objectives: Although lung attenuation distribution and lung volume on computed tomography (CT) have been widely used in evaluating COPD and interstitial lung disease, there are only a few studies regarding the normal range of these indices, especially in Chinese subjects. We aimed to describe the normal range of lung attenuation distribution and lung volume based on CT. Methods: Subjects with normal lung function and basically normal chest CT findings (derivation group) at Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai (from January 2010 to June 2014) were included according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The range of the percentage of lung volume occupied by low attenuation areas (LAA%), percentile of the histogram of attenuation values (Perc n), and total lung volume were analyzed. Relationships of these measures with demographic variables were evaluated. Participants who underwent chest CT examination for disease screening and had basically normal CT findings served as an external validation group. Results: The number of subjects in the derivation group and external validation groups were 564 and 1,787, respectively. Mean total lung volumes were 4,468±1,271 mL and 4,668±1,192 mL, and median LAA%(-950 HU) was 0.19 (0.03–0.43) and 0.17 (0.01–0.41), in the derivation and external validation groups, respectively. Reference equations for lung volume and attenuation distribution (LAA% using -1,000–210 HU, Perc 1 to Perc 98) were generated: Lung volume (mL) = -1.015 *10^4+605.3*Sex (1= male, 0= female)+92.61*Height (cm) –12.99*Weight (kg) ±1766; LAA% (-950 HU)=[0.2027+0.05926*Sex (1= male, 0= female) –4.111*10^-3*Weight (kg) +4.924*10^-3*Height (cm) +8.504*10^-4*Age]^7.341–0.05; Upper limit of normal range: [0.2027+0.05926*Sex-4.111*10^-3*Weight+4.924*10^-3*Height+8.504*10^-4*Age+0.1993]^7.341–0.05. Conclusion: This large population-based retrospective study demonstrated the normal range of LAA%, Perc n, and total lung volume measured on CT scans among subjects with normal lung function and CT findings. Reference equations are provided.

Hog deer (Axis porcinus) is a small deer species in family Cervidae and has been undergoing a serious and global decline during the past decades. Chengdu Zoo currently holds a captive population of hog deer with sufficient genetic diversity in China. We sequenced and de novo assembled its genome sequence in the present study. A total of six different insert-size libraries were sequenced and generated 395 Gb of clean data in total. With aid of the linked reads of 10X Genomics, genome sequence was assembled to 2.72 Gb in length (contig N50, 66.04 Kb; scaffold N50, 20.55 Mb), in which 94.5% of expected genes were detected. We comprehensively annotated 22,473 protein-coding genes, 37,019 tRNAs, and 1,058 Mb repeated sequences. The newly generated reference genome is expected to significantly contribute to comparative analysis of genome biology and evolution within family Cervidae.

Background Moniezia expansa (Cyclophyllidea: Anoplocephalidae) is a large species of tapeworm that occurs in sheep and cattle and inhabits the small intestine, causing diarrhea and weight declines, leading to stockbreeding losses. Interestingly, the body fat percentage of M. expansa , which lacks the ability to synthesize fatty acids, is as high as 78% (dry weight) and all of the proglottids of M. expansa exhibit a dynamic developmental process from top to bottom. The aim of this paper is to identify the molecular basis of this high body fat percentage, the dynamic expression of developmental genes and their expression regulation patterns. Results From 12 different proglottids (four sections: scolex and neck, immature, mature and gravid with three replicates), 13,874 transcripts and 680 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained. The gene expression patterns of the scolex and neck and immature proglottids were very similar, while those of the mature and gravid proglottids differed greatly. In addition, 13 lipid transport-related proteins were found in the DEGs, and the expression levels showed an increasing trend in the four proglottid types. Furthermore, it was shown that 33 homeobox genes, 9 of which were DEGs, had the highest expression in the scolex and neck section. The functional enrichment results of the DEGs were predominantly indicative of development-related processes, and there were also some signal transduction and metabolism results. The most striking result was the finding of Wnt signaling pathways, which appeared multiple times. Furthermore, the weighted gene co-expression networks were divided into 12 modules, of which the brown module was enriched with many development-related genes. Conclusions We hypothesize that M. expansa uses lipid transport-associated proteins to transport lipids from the host gut to obtain energy to facilitate its high fecundity. In addition, homeobox genes and Wnt signaling pathways play a core role in development and regeneration. The results promote research on the cell differentiation involved in the continuous growth and extension of body structures. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-019-3650-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.