1.“Metal Family”Analysis Based on Family Resemblance Theory
Cuilan MA ; Jin GUO ; Chunhua JIA
World Science and Technology-Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2015;(5):934-938
This study was aimed to analyze the similarities of characteristics between members of“metal family” in the five elements. Wittgenstein’s family resemblance theory was used in the analysis of members assigned to the category of“metal family”, which included metal, autumn, west, white, pungent and lung. The results showed that there was family resemblance between members of“metal family”. It was concluded that members were classified into the category of“metal family” through analogical reasoning of family resemblance. Any member to be classified as a member of“metal family” showed similarity with at least one of other family members. Certain member in the“metal family” had similarities in different aspects with multiple members in the family. Any two members of“metal family” may not always have any similarities. It can be deduced that certain physiological functions of lung were not owned by the lung itself, but by the characteristics of“metal family”. The range of“metal family” can be expanded and multiplied. The“metal family” can build new members in different areas.
2.The influence of the cognitive function and related dangerous factors in patients with lacunar infarction after carotid artery stenting
Hua YANG ; Zhangyong XIA ; Guangzhen SHAN ; Cunju GUO ; Huaiqian QU ; Cuilan WANG
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science 2013;22(7):603-606
Objective To explore the influence of the cognitive function and related dangerous factors in patients lacunar infarction(LI) after carotid artery stenting (CAS).Methods Neuropsychological tests (MoCA and MMSE)were conducted in 43 patients with LI before CAS,1 month,6 months,1 year and 2 years after CAS and the scores were compared with those of 41 healthy cases.Results Compared with control group,in therapy group,MMSE scores before CAS,1 month and 6 months after CAS,MoCA scores before CAS(19.39 ±2.17) and 1 month after CAS(19.51 ± 1.99) and the scores of Cube Copying before CAS,Alternating Trail Making Test,attention and delayed recall before CAS,1 month after CAS and Clock Drawing before CAS,1 month and 6 months after CAS all lowered obviously.There were statistical differences(P< 0.05 or P < 0.01).Compared with before CAS,in therapy group,MMSE scores and MoCA scores 6 months,1 year and 2 years after CAS,the scores of Alternating Trail Making Test 2 years after CAS,Cube Copying and Clock Drawing 1 year and 2 years after CAS and attention and delayed recall 6 months,1 year and 2 years after CAS all increased obviously.There were statistical differences (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).In the follow-up of 2 years,the result of Logistic Regression Analysis showed that MoCA scores has correlation with age(OR =50.751,95% CI 1.407 ~ 19.464; P =0.006),high blood pressure(0R=8.012,95% CI1.212 ~27.550; P=0.042)and low levels of education(OR=11.586,95% CI1.164~ 16.903 ; P =0.029) and no correlation with diabetes and CAS.Conclusion Cognitive impairment in patients with LI is improved 2 years after CAS,and visuospatial function,attention and delayed recall are significantly improved.But CAS is not independent protective factors for cognitive functions,and old age,low education levels and high blood pressure are independent risk factors for cognitive impairment in patients with LI.
3.Follow-up of a Cohort Study of Esophagus and Esophageal - gastric Junction Low Grade Intraepithelial Neoplasia in High-risk Area of Esophageal Cancer
Zhifeng CHEN ; Guohui SONG ; Jun HOU ; Cuilan GUO ; Guoliang JIN ; Wenlong BAI ; Fanshu MENG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Oncology 2009;36(23):1321-1324
Objective: Epithelial dysplasia of the esophagus and gastric cardia is precancerous lesion, including mild, moderate and severe levels. In 2000 year, WHO recommended to replace dysplasia with intraepithelial neoplasia. Mild and moderate dysplasia were classified as low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LIN). Cardia adenocarcinoma was suggested to be called esophageal-gastric junction adenocarcinoma. The risk of cancer development and the rule of time evolution were detected in esophagus and esophageal-gastdc junction LIN in high incidence area of esophageal cancer in Northern China, in an effort to provide scientific data for the prevention of esophageal cancer. Methods: Between October 2001 and October 2002, two townships of Cixian were chosen to carry out endoscopic iodine staining screening cohort study. The total population aged 0-85 was 22,016, of which 6,596 aged 40-69 (3257 males and 3339 females). Except for thoese with contraindications and those who refused to join the study, 3,506 cases were finally recruited in the study, and the screening rate was 53.2%. According to WHO criteria of the pathological diagnosis, the esophageal squamous epithelium with mild and moderate dysplasia and esophageal-gastric junction with mild dysplasia were classified into LIN groups (including 616 cases). The control group contained a total of 2,478 cases without precancerous lesions and free of cancer in endoscopic screening. Results: From June to September in 2008, the cohort was followed up and 174 cases were lost, with a follow-up rate of 95.0%. Follow-up was 3,970.7 person- years in the LIN group and 16,120.0 person-years in the control group.Carcinomous conversion rates were 251.7 and 68.2/per 100,000 person- years respectively in the LIN group and the control group. The median time in the two groups was 38 and 47 months, respectively. Compared with that of the normal population, the relative risk (RR) of LIN was 3.69 (95% CI=1.57-8.69, P=0.001). Conclusion: Population with LIN are at high-risk for esophageal cancer and endoscopic examination every year is absolutely necessary.
4.Effects of Bifidobacterium triple viable bacteria on serum micro-inflammation, nutritional status and endpoint events in elderly peritoneal dialysis patients
Cuilan LIU ; Baozhu GUO ; Yujie JIN ; Xiaoli HAN ; Shengjun LIU ; Junfen LIU ; Xing PAN
Chinese Journal of Geriatrics 2023;42(6):650-655
Objective:To observe the changes of serum micro-inflammatory and nutritional status in elderly peritoneal dialysis patients after treatment with bifidobacterium triple viable bacteria, and the impact of Bifidobacterium triple viable bacteria treatment on the endpoint.Methods:Totally 180 elderly patients receiving peritoneal dialysis were divided into control group and observation group, with 90 cases in each.Both groups were treated on the basis of the routine treatment, the observation group was treated with oral Bifidobacterium triple viable bacteria for twelve months.Before treatment, 6 months and 12 months after treatment, fasting venous blood from the patients in the two groups were collected in the morning.The levels of serum micro-inflammatory indexes[tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-8(IL-8), C-reactive protein(CRP)]were detected by ELISA.The nutritional status and dialysis adequacy indexes[nutritional status: albumin(ALB), hemoglobin(Hb), transferrin(TRF), prealbumin(PA), calcium ion, phosphorus ion; indicators of dialysis adequacy: serum creatinine(Scr), blood uric acid(BUA), blood urea nitrogen(BUN), cystatin C(Cys-c)levels]were detected by automatic blood biochemical analyzer.After 24 months of follow-up, the occurrence of endpoint events(peritonitis, abdominal pain, malnutrition, abdominal infection, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents)in the two groups was recorded.Results:After 24 months of treatment, the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8 and CRP in the two groups were lower than those before treatment, and the observation group was lower than control group[(25.7±4.0)μg/L vs.(33.6±6.0)μg/L, (2.9±0.7)ng/L vs.(4.9±1.2)ng/L, (17.0±7.2)ng/L vs.(22.8±7.9)ng/L, (4.6±0.7)mg/L vs.(6.9±1.2)mg/L]( t=10.272, 13.134, 5.040, 15.575, respectively, P<0.05 for all). After 24 months of treatment, the levels of ALB, Hb, TRF, PA and calcium ion of the two groups were higher than before treatment, and the levels of phosphorus ion were lower than before treatment, and the changes of the above indicators in observation group were more obvious than those in the control group[(45.7±5.2)g/L vs.(39.8±4.9)g/L, (72.7±8.0)g/L vs.(68.6±9.0)g/L, (4.3±1.0)g/L vs.(3.0±0.6)g/L, (321.5±29.0)mg/L vs.(297.6±25.1)mg/L, (4.9±1.3)mmol/L vs.(2.9±0.9)mmol/L, (1.3±0.9)/L vs.(1.8±0.3 mmol/L)]( t=7.737, 3.213, 9.880, 5.9 00, 11.937, 4.415, P<0.05 for all). There was no significant difference in intestinal flora between the two groups before treatment( P>0.05). After 24 months, an increase was observed in Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria in both groups, while Enterobacteria and Enterococcus in both groups were decreased, and the changes of the above indicators in the observation group were also more obvious than those in the control group[(8.4±0.9)IgCFU/g ratio(6.4±0.9)IgCFU/g, (8.8±1.3)IgCFU/g ratio(7.9±1.3)IgCFU/g, (7.1±0.9)IgCFU/g ratio(8.0±1.1)IgCFU/g, (5.4±0.7)IgCFU/g ratio(6.9±0.9)IgCFU/g]( t=14.248, 4.339, 5.825, 12.753, P<0.05 for all). There was no significant difference in dialysis adequacy index between the two groups before treatment( P>0.05 for all). After 24 months of treatment, the levels of Scr, BUA, BUN and Cys-C in both groups decreased, and those of the observation group were lower than those of the control group[(471.5±50.5)μmol/L vs.(623.3±62.6)μmol/L, (17.5±0.5)mmol/L vs.(20.6±1.8)mmol/L, (16.4 ± 3.0)mmol/L vs.(22.5±2.0)mmol/L, (1.9±0.5)mg/L vs.(3.0±0.7)mg/L]( t=17.877, 14.976, 15.842, 11.749, P<0.05 for all). The incidence of endpoint events in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group(12.2% vs.2.2%, t=6.574, P<0.05 for all). Conclusions:After the treatment of Bifidobacterium triple viable bacteria in elderly peritoneal dialysis patients, the micro-inflammatory state of the patients was reduced, the nutritional status was improved, and the incidence of endpoint events was low, and has high clinical promotion and application value.
5.Living fossils unearthed by blasting human chromosomes with Neanderthal mtDNA
ZHANG Jia ; ZHOU Cuilan ; XIAO Li ; TUO Qinhui ; PENG Cuiying ; GUO Zifen ; LIAO Duanfang ; LI Kai
Digital Chinese Medicine 2022;5(3):236-241
The successful retrieval of ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from Neanderthals provides powerful experimental evidence that clarifies the arguments between the out-of-Africa and multiregional models of evolution. However, the lack of nuclear DNA from Neanderthal fossils and mtDNA of early modern human fossils dating back to approximately the same time in the Pleistocene constitutes a limitation that may compromise the significance of mtDNA phylogenetic analysis. In this report, we introduce a mitochromic analysis using Neanderthal mtDNA as a foreign transgene and humans as a naturally occurring transgenic species. Forty Neanderthal mtDNA retrievable nuclear fragments were identified by blasting human genome data with Neanderthal mtDNA. Five of the 40 fragments exhibited higher correlation with Neanderthal mtDNA than those with modern human mtDNA. Furthermore, these five nuclear fragments harbor Neanderthal mtDNA-unique haplotypes. Based on the 98%+ identity between Neanderthal and modern human mtDNA when compared by groups, we suggest that some of the modern human nuclear fragments retrieved using Neanderthal mtDNA may aid in decoding Neanderthal genetic information, and also may simultaneously demonstrate a close genetic evolutionary relationship between modern humans and Neanderthals.