Abstract: Objective To explore the correlation between lung function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels in exhaled breath condensate (EBC), and to provide a convenient methodological basis for the diagnosis and treatment of COPD and the determination of its efficacy. Methods A total of 81 COPD patients and 40 healthy controls were selected from the respiratory department of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from August 2020 to February 2022 as the research subjects. The COPD patients were divided into 41 cases in the acute exacerbation group and 40 cases in the remission group according to their status. All participants underwent lung function detection, venous blood and EBC collection, and the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in EBC and venous blood were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and correlation analysis was performed by Pearson correlation analysis method. Results The levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in EBC of in the acute exacerbation group, the healthy control group, the remission group were (5.16±0.18) pg/μL and (7.75±0.27) pg/μL, (2.66±0.31) pg/μL and (2.41±0.24） pg/μL, (3.61±0.29) pg/μL and (3.17±0.38) pg/μL, respectively. Compared with the healthy control group, the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in EBC in the COPD acute exacerbation group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group and the COPD remission group (F=9.451, 8.217, P<0.001). Serum tests were consistent with this result. Correlation analysis showed that the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in EBC were significantly positively correlated with the level of serum inflammation levels (P<0.001), while significantly negatively correlated with lung function (P<0.001).  Conclusions TNF-α and IL-1β in EBC are potential biomarkers of inflammation in patients with COPD, and their detection can be used to effectively assess lung function in patients with COPD. 

Objective To investigate the blood pressure status of preschool children in urban areas of Qingdao, and to determine the relationship between obesity and blood pressure in preschool children. Methods A stratified cluster sampling method was used to select a total of 13 kindergartens in urban districts of Qingdao. Height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference and blood pressure of children in three classes were measured. Body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio and waist to height ratio were calculated and the relationship between obesity and blood pressure was analyzed. Results The mean values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in preschool children in urban areas of Qingdao were (95.52±7.66) and (62.78±6.52) mmHg, respectively.The detection rate of hypertension in preschool children was 13.50%. The SBP and DBP were positively correlated with BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference and waist to height ratio. There was a linear regression relationship between body mass index and age and blood pressure. The risk of hypertension in overweight and obese children was 5.191 and 2.824 times of normal body weight, respectively. Conclusions The prevalence of hypertension in preschool children in Qingdao urban areas is high.Overweight and obesity are risk factors for elevated blood pressure.Therefore, while preventing preschool children from obesity, preschool children's blood pressure monitoring and blood pressure monitoring and early intervention of hypertension of preschool children should be implemented.

Objective To undemtand the rhythm of urinary iodine level of children aged 8-10 in Chongqing city.Methods In April 2008,using the stratified random sampling method,we sampled 60 children aged 8-10 in a lodging primary school in Chongqing(20 per age group,half male and half female),the urine samples were collected in the morning and at 10:00,12:30,16:00,iodine in urine was detected by method of Ce and arsenic catalytic speetrophotometry(WS/T 107-2006).The difference of the urinary iodine level was compared by age,sex and time of day.Results The median urinary iodine of 60 children was 265.07μg/L on the overall.Irrespective of the stratification factors,excluding morning urinary iodine(366.75μg/L)and urinary iodine at 10:00(338.30 μg/L),the urinary iodine between 12:30(235.15μg/L)and 16:00(251.50μg/L)was not significant(all P>0.05),statistically significant differences(all P<0.05)were found between any two.The urinary iodine of 8-year-old group at different times of the day was significantly different(all P<0.05),except between morning urinary iodine (298.90 μg/L)and at 10:00,16:00(279.00,286.59 μg/L),between urinary iodine at 10:00 and 16:00(all P>0.05).The 9-year-old group's urinary iodine were not significantly different between morning urine(366.15μg/L)and 10:00(368.10 μg/L),and between 12:30(244.00 μg/L)and 16:00(186.30 μg/L,all P>0.05),significant differences were faund at other times of the day(all P<0.05).The 10-year-old group of urinary iodine changed very little before 12:30 (382.85,449.60,337.00 μg/L, all P > 0.05 ), followed by rapid decline to 16: 00 (269.35 μg/L), and compared with the morning urine and 10:00, there was significant difference(all P < 0.05).Regardless boys or girls, the urinary iodine at different times qf the day was significantly different (all P < 0.05),except between morning urinary iodine(337.32,309.28 μg/L) and at 10:00(316.15,288.27 μg/L), between urinary iodine at 12:30(251.18,211.45 μg/L) and 16:00(235.02,211.45 μg/L, all P > 0.05). Conclusions The change of urinary iodine level in children aged 8 - 10 was not obvious before noon, changes can be seen in the afternoon.Urinary iodine level before 10:00 is indicative.

Abstract: Objective　To investigate the clinical characteristics and diagnosis key points of brain abscess caused by Nocardia asiatica, and provide a clinical basis for diagnosing and treating intracranial infection caused by Nocardia. Methods　A case of pulmonary Nocardia asiatica complicated with brain abscess diagnosed at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University was selected to analyze the clinical manifestations, cerebrospinal fluid characteristics, pulmonary and cranial imaging features, and treatment plan, and to summarize the diagnosis and treatment experience. Results　The patient was an elderly woman with a history of diabetes, dry cough was the first symptom without fever or headache. At the beginning of the course, it was diagnosed as pulmonary infection and tuberculosis in the local hospital, and received conventional antimicrobial and anti-tuberculosis therapies, but showed no improvement. The patient developed progressive limb weakness, followed by consciousness disorders, and coma. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) adenosine deaminase and lactate dehydrogenase were not abnormal, CSF pressure, protein and white blood cells were high, mainly with multiple nuclear cells. CSF glucose and chloride were normal in the early stage of the disease, but decreased significantly in the later stage. Metagenomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid indicated Nocardia asiatica with a specific sequence number of 537. Lung CT showed exudation, abscess, and cavity in the right lung. Skull MRI scan + enhancement suggested multiple scattered abscesses in both cerebral hemispheres. The abscesses were of different sizes and showed ring enhancement, with extensive surrounding edema, and ventricular compression. After treatment with meropenem, linezolid, and compound sulfamethoxazole tablets, the cerebrospinal fluid recovered, and the lesions in the lungs and intracranial structures improved. Conclusions　Brain abscess caused by Nocardia asiatica is similar to the tuberculous brain in clinical symptoms, cerebrospinal fluid examination, craniocerebral imaging, so we should be alert to the possibility of Nocardia infection in patients with diabetes. At the same time, metagenomic testing of the cerebrospinal fluid can help confirm the diagnosis. The mortality and disability rates of brain abscess caused by Nocardia are high. Early diagnosis and treatment can improve the prognosis.

OBJECTIVETo discuss the clinical findings and treatment of paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) with Castleman's disease.

METHODSTo investigate the clinical, histopathologic and CT findings of 8 cases paraneoplastic pemphigus with Castleman's disease.

RESULTSAll of 8 patients were diagnosed PNP first and were found Castleman's tumor incidently during routine examination. All 8 cases showed severe erosion or ulcer of the oral mucosa with various skin lesions. Histopathologically, there were intraepidermal acantholytic vesicle, basal cell liquefaction, necrotic keratinocytes in the epidermis and lymphocyte infiltration in the upper dermis. CT scan appeared solitary mass in these patients. Some of them were attacked by bronchiolitis obliterans. All 8 patients were failed by use of predisone. Obvious relief of PNP and pulmonary lesion occurred after tumor was rescted.

CONCLUSIONSParaneoplastic pemphigus with Castleman's disease is a rare disease. The key step is to find and resect the tumor in abdomen. CT scan should be used to detect the tumor in patients with PNP, especially, when predisone was failed in treatment.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Castleman Disease ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Paraneoplastic Syndromes ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Pemphigus, Benign Familial ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression characteristics of the gene of coiled-coil domain-containing protein 70 (Ccdc70) in the mouse testis and its potential role in spermatogenesis.

METHODSUsing expression profile microarray, we screened the mouse testis-specific gene Ccdc70, studied its expression characteristics in the mouse testis by RT-PCR, real-time PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry, followed by bioinformatic analysis of the Ccdc70 protein.

RESULTSThe Ccdc70 gene was expressed highly in the testis but lowly in the epididymis of the mice. The Ccdc70 protein was expressed mainly in the spermatocytes and round spermatids of the testis and in the epithelial cells of the epididymis. Bioinformatic analysis showed a structural domain in the Ccdc70 protein, which was highly conserved in mammalian evolution.

CONCLUSIONThe Ccdc70 gene is highly expressed in the mouse testis and mainly in the spermatocytes, round spermatids, and epididymal epithelial cells, which indicates that it is involved in the regulation of spermatogenesis and epididymal sperm maturation.

Animals ; Computational Biology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ; Male ; Mice ; Proteins ; genetics ; Spermatogenesis ; genetics ; Testis ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the effects of dominant-negative truncation mutant?NTCF4, lacking the N-terminal form of TCF4 gene,on biological characteristics of renal cancer cell line GRC-I and explore the molecular mechanisms.Methods GRC-I cell was transfected with pCDNA3-?NTCF4 eukary- otie expression plasmid,pCDNA3 empty vector to construct the stable cell line GRC-I/?NTCF4 and GRC-I/ Mock respectively.The morphological changes of stable cells were observed and the cells growth curve was detected through light microscope.The cellular proliferation activities were determined using the MTT assay. The protein expression of Wnt pathway downstream target gene C-Myc and Cox-2 was evaluated by immuno- cytoehemieal method and Western Blot analysis.Results After the dominant-negative?NTCF4 gene was permanently expressed,the GRC-I/?NTCF4 stable cells morphologically showed that appearance changed from circular to long-spindle shape,growth rate decreased with less karyosehisis found,malignant pheno- types reversed to normal renal tubular cells.MTT assay revealed that the proliferation activities of GRC-1/?NTCF4 cells were inhibited by 11.2%-35.5% compared with GRC-I cells (P＜0.05),while the GRC- I/Mock cells have no difference with the control cells.Immunocytochemical analysis and Western Blot showed that the C-Myc and Cox-2 protein expression level of GRC-I/?ANTCF4 cells were significantly sup- pressed in comparison with that of GRC-I/Mock and GRC-I cells.Conclusions The dominant-negative truncation mutant?NTCF4 could partially inhibit the growth of renal cancer cells and down-regulate the pro- tein expression of Wnt pathway target gene C-Myc and Cox-2.These findings provide a experimental founda- tion for applying cell signal therapy to renal cell cancer by blocking the Wnt signaling pathway.

Objective To analyze the clinical laboratory indicators of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome( SFTS) patients caused by novel Bunyavirus infection，and focus on comparing the indicators of severe patients with different prognosis． The findings may help to predict poor prognosis for severe patients in the early stage． Methods The clinical laboratory indicators of all diagnosed confirmedly patients in two Hospitals，from January 2011 to December 2018，and the differences between groups were analyzed．Ｒesults A total of 168 clinically diagnosed SFTS cases ( 117 cases of non－severe cases and 51 cases of severe cases) were included in this study． In the severe cases，the prognosis was improved in 30 cases and the prognosis was poor in 21 cases． The laboratory indicators of severe patients with different prognosis were compared． The data showed that the levels of several indicators in patients with poor prognosis were statistically different with these in patients with better prognosis． In addition，the proportion of coma，diffuse intravascular coagulation and heart failure in patients with poor prognosis was significantly higher than that in patients with improved prognosis ( all P＜0. 05) ． Conclusion Differentiated prevention and treat- ment strategies should be developed for severe patients with possible poor prognosis．

OBJECTIVETo find the major risk factors associated with gastric cardia cancer.

METHODSWe selected five high incidence areas of esophageal cancer and gastric cancer which have cancer registration system, i.e. Cixian and Shexian of Hebei Province, Linxian of Henan Province, Feicheng of Shandong Province and Zhuanghe of Liaoning Province. Fifty newly diagnosed cases of cardiac cancer after January 1, 2008 were selected from each cancer registration database. A uniform questionnaire, which was fully consulted by experts, was used. Population-based 1:3 case-control study was conducted in those areas. The study recruited 250 cases of cardiac cancer and 750 matched controls, which were investigated with the uniform questionnaire. The data were statistically analyzed by fitting-conditional Logistic analysis.

RESULTSSmoking, passive smoking, alcohol drinking, irregular meal, improper dining posture, heavy taste, dried food, pickled food, fried food, hot food, gastrointestinal history, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can increase the risk of cardiac cancer. To eat more bean and high BMI are protective factors of the single factor logistic analysis. Gastrointestinal history (OR = 42.899), dried food (OR = 5.932), irregular meal (OR = 4.911), hot food (OR = 4.144), pickled food (OR = 3.287), passive smoking (OR = 2.355), and GERD (OR = 1.930) can increase the risk of cardiac cancer, eat more bean (OR = 0.254) and BMI ≥ 25 (OR = 0.492) are protective factors of the mixture factors logistic analysis.

CONCLUSIONSGastric cardia cancer is caused by environmental risk factors and genetic factors. Health education in high cardiac cancer incidence areas and primary prevention popularized into people's daily life will be beneficial to decreasing the incidence of gastric cardia cancer.

Aged ; Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Cardia ; pathology ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; epidemiology ; Diet ; adverse effects ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; complications ; Humans ; Life Style ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Risk Factors ; Smoking ; Stomach Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUNDEstrogen might play an important role in type 2 diabetes mellitus pathogenesis. A number of polymorphisms have been reported in the estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) gene (also named ESR1), including the XbaI and PvuII restriction enzyme polymorphisms of ESR1, which may be involved in disease pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine whether ERX gene polymorphisms are associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus and serum lipid level.

METHODSTwo hundred and ninety-nine patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were compared with three hundred and forty-one health controls of Guangzhou in China, both were male and postmenopausal female residents at 51 - 70 years. ESR1 genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PvuII and XbaI restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis.

RESULTSESR1 allelic frequencies of P, p and X, x alleles were 0.408, 0.592; 0.360, 0.640 in the type 2 diabetes mellitus group and 0.318, 0.682; 0.328, 0.672 in the control group, respectively. In case-control study, there was significant difference in PvuII, but not XbaI, allele frequency between the type 2 diabetes mellitus and control groups (P = 0.001 and P = 0.122). When the group was separated into men and women, the difference was significant in women (P < 0.001) but not in men (P = 0.854) with the PvuII genotype, and the effect of PvuII variant on the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus was improved with aging. In addition, PvuII genotype was associated with blood glucose [fasting blood glucose (FBG), postprandial blood glucose (PBG)] and serum lipid [total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-c] concentration in healthy women.

CONCLUSIONSPvuII polymorphism of ESR1 increases susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus in Chinese Guangzhou women. ESR1 variants may also impact serum lipid metabolism, which might provide a mechanism connecting ESR1 to type 2 diabetes.

Aged ; Blood Glucose ; analysis ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; blood ; genetics ; Estrogen Receptor alpha ; genetics ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Lipids ; blood ; Logistic Models ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic