Several methods for the qualitative screening of fungi to degrade lignin were introduced in this paper, with detailed protocols and discussing for each assay.

OBJECTIVETo study the extent of retinal vascular development and influencing factors at birth and the relation between retinal vascularization and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

METHODSFrom October, 2006 to December 2006, retinal vascularization was screened and evaluated in 84 neonates at different weeks of gestation and birth weights (BWs), had dilated fundus evaluation for zone of retinal vascularization by the 130 degrees lens of a digital fundus camera. The infants' pupils were dilated with 2.5% phenylephrine and 0.5% cyclopentolate eye drops. The study cohort was divided into subgroups depending on the weeks of gestation and birth weights. The control group consisted of healthy term infants. Maternal and neonatal factors were ascertained and analysed.

RESULTSVascularization up to zone I and II was considered to be immature retina; vascularization up to zone III or beyond was considered to be mature retina. In this study, 11 of 12 infants who were born at < 30 weeks of gestation, 12 of 26 infants who were born at < 31 approximately 33 weeks of gestation, 1 of 26 babies who were born at < 34 approximately 36 weeks of gestation and none of 20 babies who were born at < 37-40 weeks of gestation had immature retina; 12 of 15 babies at < 1500 g BW, 8 of 14 infants at 1500 g < BW < 1700 g, 4 of 11 infants at 1700 g < BW < 2000 g and of 44 infants at > 2000 g BW had immature retina. Those infants who were born at > 34 weeks of gestational age and at > 2000 g BW had mature retina. Infants who were born between 31 to 34 weeks of gestation and at 1501 to 2000 g BW had variable extent of retinal vascularization at birth. Vascularization was associated with postconceptional age (F = 31.9193, P = 0.000), birth weight (F = 32.4532, P = 0.000), anemia (F = 36.9391, P = 0.000), surfactant (F = 24.000, P = 0.0000), poor nutrition (F = 4.184, P = 0.041), RDS (F = 17.6191, P = 0.000), cesarean delivery (F = 10.972, P = 0.0022) and oxygen > 48 h (F = 22.076, P = 0.0000). Vascularization was affected mainly by the postconceptional age (95% CI = 1.57-261.728, P = 0.021). At last, 15/24 infants with immature retina developed ROP while none of the infants with mature retina developed ROP (chi2 = 45.1087, P = 0.000).

CONCLUSIONThere is considerable variability in the extent of retinal vascularization in infants who we born between 31 to 34 weeks of gestation. Modifiable maternal and fetal factors could influence extent of vascularization at birth. Immature retina is the critical factor of ROP. Gestational age is the main factor of the immature retina in premature infants.

Birth Weight ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Male ; Neovascularization, Physiologic ; Retina ; anatomy & histology ; Retinal Vessels ; growth & development

The release behavior of single pellet was investigated by LC/MS/MS method with tamsulosin hydrochloride (TSH) as the model drug of the research and then the pellets were divided into four groups according to the drug loading. Comparison of dissolution profiles of each group and capsule were performed using f1 and f2 factor methods to study the difference and similarity. The release profiles of single pellet, each group and capsule were analyzed using principle component analysis (PCA). The particle system was built through Matlab to get the target release profile. The result of this research demonstrated the release behavior of single pellet correlated well with the drug loading. While the dissolution profile of capsule as a reference, the similarity factor of dissolution profiles of the lower drug loading groups were 62.2, 67.1, 53.9, respectively and, 43.3 for highest drug loading group. The particle systems with different pellet distribution and same release profiles were built through release behavior of single pellet. It is of significance to investigate the release behavior of single pellets for studying the release regularity of multiple-unit drug delivery system.
Capsules ; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Delayed-Action Preparations ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Drug Liberation ; Principal Component Analysis ; Sulfonamides ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Technology, Pharmaceutical

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prognostic predictors of nasal NK/T cell lymphoma.

METHODSThe clinicopathologic feature data of 61 patients with nasal NK/T cell lymphoma proven by pathological examination from Jan. 1997 to Jan. 2005 were collected. Expression of survivin, CD44, nm23, p53, Ki-67, MDR-1 and CD95 was detected by immunohistochemical staining in 30 patients with available histologic specimens. The correlation between these factors and prognosis were analyzed.

RESULTSIn univariate analysis, performance status, LDH level, clinical stage, initial treatment response, CD56, Ki-67 and CD95 were found to be the prognostic factors associated with time to progression (TTP) in nasal NK/T cell lymphoma, while the performance status, B symptoms, LDH level, initial treatment response, Ki-67 and CD95 were demonstrated as prognostic factors related to overall survival. In multivariate analysis, clinical stage, initial treatment response and performance status were independent prognostic factors for TTP, while the latter two factors were independent prognostic factors of overall survival.

CONCLUSIONClinical stage and initial treatment response, and performance status are found to be independent prognostic factors for TTP, whereas the latter two factors are demonstrated as independent prognostic factors of the overall survival. Overexpression of Ki-67 may be an unfavorable prognostic factor, but overexpression of CD95 may be a favorable one.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Analysis of Variance ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; analysis ; Cyclophosphamide ; therapeutic use ; Doxorubicin ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyaluronan Receptors ; analysis ; Immunohistochemistry ; statistics & numerical data ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; Ki-67 Antigen ; analysis ; Killer Cells, Natural ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lymphoma, T-Cell ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; analysis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; analysis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Nose Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Prednisone ; therapeutic use ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Vincristine ; therapeutic use ; fas Receptor ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence and risk factors of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

METHODSThis investigation involved 125 premature infants admitted in the neonate intensive unit between July 1st, 2006 and Feb 1st, 2007, who were less than 37 weeks of postconceptional age, or more than 37 weeks but with birth weight <2500 g. At the fourth postnatal week or the corrected gestational age of 32 to 34 weeks, the infants underwent ROP examination of both eyes using RetCam digital retinal camera. Diagnosis and staging of ROP were established according to the international guidelines, with another 20 full-term infants as the control group.

RESULTSAll the 125 infants completed the follow up. The prevalence of ROP in the premature group was 6.4%, while no ROP was found in the control group. Of the premature infants, the prevalence of ROP in infants with birth weight

CONCLUSIONSThe prevalence of ROP is significantly higher in premature infants than in full-term infants, and shorter postconceptional age and lower body weight at birth are associated with increased risk of ROP. Routine examination of the ocular fundus of premature infants on a regular basis can be helpful for early detection of ROP.

Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Regression Analysis ; Retinopathy of Prematurity ; epidemiology ; Risk Factors

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic advantage of the ratio of ligamentum flavum(LF) thickness to oblique canal diameter(TODR)measured on CT images in patients with lumbar canal stenosis. Methods Seventy-one patients underwent CT and MRI examinations respectively,and they were divided into two groups,the positive group and negative group,according to the presence or absence of dural sac notch caused by the LF on bilateral parasagittal MR images.Meanwhile,50 volunteers without any symptom in the lumbar region or legs were examined by CT.TODRs were measured at the L3—S1 levels of the inferior margin of the intervertebral disc on transverse CT images,respectively.The results were further analyzed with the positive findings on MR images,clinical symptoms and physical examination,so as to find out the statistical correlation between them.Results LF thickness was(3.01?0.72)mm and TODR was 0.19?0.04 in the negative group,(3.94?0.84)mm and 0.28+0.06 in the positive group,and(3.16? 0.85)mm and 0.19?0.04 in the control group.There was significant difference between positive group and negative group or control group for LF thickness(P0.24, the sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value were 74.8%,89.6% and 73.6% respectively. Positive correlation existed between LF thickness or TODR and clinical symptom(r=0.72,0.86,P

Objective To explore regional variations of basic public health services implementation in Zhejiang Province at prefectural,county and township level,respectively.To find key problems which obstacle the equalization of basic public health services in Zhejiang Province.Methods Descriptive analysis was made on surveillance data of basic public health services in Zhejiang Province,2014.Gini coefficient of key indicators was calculated at prefectural,county and township level,respectively.To the key indicator with higher Gini coefficient,Lorenz curve was plotted and Gini coefficient of each prefectural-level city was calculated.Results An increasing tendency from prefectural to township level was showed in Gini coefficient of all twenty-five analyzed indicators.The Gini coefficient at township level was 0.497 for the average financial fund per migrant person,and the highest prefectural -level cities were Taizhou (0.709 ),Lishui (0.838 ), Quzhou(0.918).The Gini coefficient at township level of other indicators were 0.314 and 0.235 for the children and elderly health management of traditional Chinese medicine,and lower than 0.05 for maternal &children health care, immunization,and coverage rate of electronic health record,and between 0.066 to 0.179 for health management of chronic disease and severe mental illness patients.Conclusion Average financial fund per migrant person and health management of traditional Chinese medicine are current major problems which obstacle the equalization of basic public health services in Zhejiang Province.

Abstract: To analyze the clinical, therapeutic and laboratory characteristics of disseminated cryptococcosis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans invading the blood stream in patient with liver cirrhosis and splenectomy. A 30-year-old male underwent splenectomy plus pericardial devascularization due to "splenomegaly and hypersplenism" in March in 2016. The patient had intermittent fever after operation for many times, and successively accompanied with back pain, left lower limb abscess and right hip pain. The highest body temperature was 39 ℃. CT and MRI revealed the lung lesion and multiple bone destruction. During that period, the effect of antibiotics was not good. On April 19th, 2017, Gram's stain, India ink stain, API 32C, Vitek 2 Compact, ribosomal ITS and IGS sequence analysis were performed to identify the strain isolated from the pus and blood stream. The serum of the patient was detected for cryptococcal antigen. Antifungal susceptibility test was used to determine drug sensitivity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The Cryptococcus neoformans isolated from fresh pus specimen showed a prominent, thick capsule after India ink stain. The colonies isolated from pus and blood stream were identified Cryptococcus neoformans using API 32C, Vitek 2 Compact, and sequence analysis of rDNA ITS and IGS. Cryptococcal capsule antigen was positive. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of 5-Flucytosine, amphotericin B, fluconazole, itriconazole, voriconazole against the isolate were <4 μg/mL, <0.5 μg/mL, 4 μg/mL, ≤0.25 μg/mL, 0.125 μg/mL respectively. The patient was initially treated with intravenous amphotericin B and flucytosine. After anti-Cryptococcus treatment for two months, the patient clinically improved, and the lesions were reduced on a follow-up CT scan. The patient made a full functional recovery after treatment for six months. Cryptococcosis has hidden onset, atypical clinical symptoms and lack of specificity. Blood stream is the main channel for Cryptococcus to spread and involve many organs of the whole body, including skin, bone and so on. Therefore, early use of blood culture to monitor blood flow dissemination, actively removing the primary focus and cutting off the infection route in time and carrying out effective anti-Cryptococcus treatment are conducive to the patient's early recovery.

OBJECTIVETo study the infection status and pathogenic features of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) among children with acute respiratory tract infection in Hangzhou.

METHODSA total of 372 children less than 14 years old with acute respiratory tract infections were recruited as subjects from the pediatric clinic or intensive care unit (ICU) of 3 hospitals in Hangzhou during November 2009 to January 2010, and November 2010 to January 2011. A total of 372 specimens were collected, including 351 respiratory swab, 9 nasopharyngeal aspirate material, 8 endotracheal aspirate material and 4 sputum. The total nucleic acid was then extracted from the specimens, and the nucleoprotein (N) gene of hMPV was amplified by RT-PCR, whose positive products were sequenced and analyzed. Africa green monkey kidney cells (Vero-E6) were applied to culture hMPV among the positive samples; meanwhile fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR was adopted to test other respiratory virus infection.

RESULTSOut of 372 patients, 42 (11.2%) were positive for N gene of hMPV. The positive rate of hMPV among boys was 11.5% (26/226), and correspondingly 10.9% (16/146) among girls. The difference showed no statistical significance (χ(2) = 0.026, P > 0.05). The youngest patient was only 2 month-old and the eldest patient was 14 years old. The median of the patients' age was 24 months. Fifteen positive samples amplified by RT-PCR were sequenced, and all turned out to be subtype B1; whose similarity to GD165 found in Guangdong was 98.1% - 99.5% and similarity to BJ1897 in Beijing was 87.8% - 89.2%. The co-infection rate between hMPV and other respiratory virus was 45.2% (19/42); most of which was between hMPV and respiratory syncytial virus, whose rate at 26.1% (11/42).

CONCLUSIONhMPV was the single genotype relevant with the acute respiratory tract infection disease among children in Hangzhou district; however, the co-infection with other respiratory virus did exist.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Metapneumovirus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Paramyxoviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; virology

OBJECTIVETo determine the risk factors involved in the typhoon episodes and to put forward and evaluate the intervention measures.

METHODSWe defined a confirmed injury case as: 'a person with fall,scalpel and stab, collision, drowning, injuries and trauma due to flying debris and building collapse, asphyxiation due to entrapment in collapsed buildings by typhoon from 0 am,August 12 to 6 pm, August 14 2004' and a death case as: 'a person with fall, scalpel and stab, collision, drowning, injuries and trauma due to flying debris and building collapse, asphyxiation due to entrapment in collapsed buildings by typhoon from 0 am, August 12 to 12 am, August 18 2004'. We investigated all hospitalized injured cases in ten hospitals and telephoned to those who were not hospitalized and the cases of death. We did case-control study with 1 pair versus 2 cases. 74 cases were selected in ten hospitals. The controls were neighbors of the controls matched by occupation, sex, village, and within 5 years of age without injury in this typhoon. We asked the cases and the controls on their alertness regarding typhoon and what actions taken when typhoon arrived.

RESULTSThere were 392 injury cases in all ten hospitals and 50 death cases. The attack rate of injury was 27.3 per 100 000. The fatal rate was 11.3% with the death rate 3.1 per 100 000. We investigated 209 injury cases and 31 death cases. The number of cases who were injured from 1 to 6 hours before typhoon landing accounted for 64.6% (155) of all cases. The peak of epidemic curve was 4 hours before the landing of typhoon. Data on the analysis of 74 cases and 148 controls revealed that 42% (31) of the cases were outside their homes before and during typhoon compared to 15% (22) of the controls (OR = 3.9, 95% CI: 1.9-7.7). Compared with 20% (30) control persons (OR = 17,95% CI: 4.2-68). 28% (21) cases did not receive the alert of typhoon before it arrived compared with 18% (27) control persons (OR = 3.3, 95% CI:1.3-8.6). 53% (39) of the cases did not pay attention to the alert of typhoon before typhoon arrived.

CONCLUSIONStaying outdoor, not receiving or did not take seriously about the alert of typhoon seemed to be the risk factors of injury by the typhoon episode, suggesting that the government should increase the emergency preparedness and to raise the awareness on risks associated with typhoon.

Cause of Death ; China ; epidemiology ; Cyclonic Storms ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Risk Factors ; Wounds and Injuries ; epidemiology ; mortality