Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) causes an economically important and highly contagious disease of pigs worldwide. C-strain vaccination is one of the most effective ways to contain this disease. Since 2014, sporadic CSF outbreaks have been occurring in some C-strain vaccinated provinces of China. To decipher the disease etiology, 25 CSFV E2 genes from 169 clinical samples were cloned and sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that all 25 isolates belonged to subgenotype 2.1. Twenty-three of the 25 isolates were clustered in a newly defined subgenotype, 2.1d, and shared some consistent molecular characteristics. To determine whether the complete E2 gene was under positive selection pressure, we used a site-by-site analysis to identify specific codons that underwent evolutionary selection, and seven positively selected codons were found. Three positively selected sites (amino acids 17, 34, and 72) were identified in antigenicity-relevant domains B/C of the amino-terminal half of the E2 protein. In addition, another positively selected site (amino acid 200) exhibited a polarity change from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, which may change the antigenicity and virulence of CSFV. The results indicate that the circulating CSFV strains in Shandong province were mostly clustered in subgenotype 2.1d. Moreover, the identification of these positively selected sites could help to reveal molecular determinants of virulence or pathogenesis, and to clarify the driving force of CSFV evolution in East China.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on postoperative pain management in patients undergoing thoracic surgery. A randomized study was conducted. Ninety-two thoracic surgical patients were randomly divided into an EA group and a sham group. Postoperative intravenous analgesia was applied with a half dose of the conventional drug concentration in both groups. In the EA group, EA treatment was administered for three consecutive days after the surgery with 6 sessions of 30 min each. Compared with the sham group, patients in the EA group had a lower visual analogue scale (VAS) score at 2, 24, 48, and 72 hours and consumed less analgesic after surgery. The incidence of opioid-related adverse effects of nausea was lower in the EA group. The time to first flatus and defecation was also shorter in the EA group. Furthermore, the plasma β-endorphin (β-EP) level was higher by radioimmunoassay and the plasma 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) level was lower in the EA group by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay during the first 72 hr after thoracic surgery. Therefore, EA is suitable as an adjunct treatment for postoperative pain management after thoracic surgery.

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