Humans ; Occupational Diseases ; prevention & control ; Risk Assessment ; Safety

Schistosomiasis is closely related to natural environmental factors. The changes of environmental factors such as temperature hydrology vegetation soil etc. all impact the scope and extent of schistosomiasis transmission. Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake and one of the major endemic areas with schistosomiasis in China. With global warming the imple-mentation of the Three Gorges Dam operation and the Poyang Lake Ecological Economic Planning the natural environment in Poyang Lake area has been and will continue to change especially the water environment and climate environment which are more closely related to the schistosomiasis transmission. These changes to some extent have affected and will continue to affect the prevalence and transmission of schistosomiasis. This article reviews the relationship between the natural environment and its changes and schistosomiasis transmission in the Poyang Lake region.

Objective To construct specifically expressed vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) 165 gene in retina. Methods Rho promoter, specifically expressed in retina, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the genomic DNA of a BLAB/C rat, then it was cut with restriction enzymes and cloned into the plasmid pcDNA 3.1+-VEGF 165 to form recombinant plasmid pcDNA 3.1+-rho-VEGF 165. The correct recombinant plasmid pcDNA 3.1+-rho-VEGF 165 was identified by restriction enzymes and PCR, and was transferred by jetPEI into cultured human navel vein endothelial cells and human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. The expression of VEGF protein in human navel vein endothelial and RPE cells was detected by immunocytochemical staining and protraction of the growth curve of the cells. Results In human RPE cells, the expression of VEGF protein was more in recombinant plasmid pcDNA 3.1+-rho-VEGF 165 than that in plasmid pcDNA 3.1+-VEGF 165; in human navel vein endothelial cells, no obvious difference of the expression of VEGF protein between recombinant plasmid pcDNA 3.1+-rho-VEGF 165 and plasmid pcDNA 3.1+-VEGF 165 was found. Conclusions The construction of pcDNA 3.1+-rho-VEGF 165 carrier may provide the basic material for the study of the nosogenesis of VEGF in retinal neovascularization, and establish the foundation to set up the model of transgenic mice with VEGF specific expressing in retina.

Accidents, Occupational ; Humans ; Hydrogen Sulfide ; poisoning

Objective To determine the protein and mRNA levels ofinterleukin-17 (IL-17) and the proportion of Th17 cells in the peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their clinical significance is analyzed. Methods Twenty-five hospitalized SLE patients were recruited and twentytwo healthy volunteers were enrolled as normal controls. Plasma protein and mRNA of IL-17 in the peripheral blood were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real time-PCR respectively. Flow cytometric assay was used to analyze the percentage of Th17 cells in SLE patients. The relationship between IL-17/Th17 cells and clinical or laboratory parameters of SLE patients was explored. Students' t-test and Spearman's correlation was used to evaluate the relationship between mRNA level and inflammatory parameters. Results The plasma concentration and mRNA level of IL-17 was significantly elevated in SLE patients as compared to the normal controls (P＜0.05). The percentage of Th17 cells in patients with SLE was higher than that of normal controls and was significantly increased in more active SLE patients and SLE with nephritis than less active SLE and SLE without nephritis (P＜0.05). Both plasma levels of IL-17 and the proportion of Th17 cells were positively correlated with SLEDAI (r=0.681, P＜0.01; r=0.426, P=0.034). Conclusion Plasma IL-17 protein and mRNA expression level and the percentage of Th17 cells in SLE patients are all significantly elevated and the close relationship between IL-17/Th17 cells and disease activity suggests that IL-17/Th17 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE.

Accidents, Occupational ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Organotin Compounds ; poisoning ; Young Adult

Background and purpose:Matrix metalloproteinase11(MMP-11)is an interesting member of the MMP family,and its overexpression has been demonstrated in human cancers such as non-small cell lung cancer and oesophageal adenocarcinoma.Furthermore,strong MMP11 gene expression is correlated with both increased aggressiveness of tumors and a poor clinical outcome,but there was no related reports on gastric cancer.We focussed our study on the significance of MMP-11 expression in gastric cancer.Methods:MMP-11 was selected and confirmed at both mRNA and protein level in 130 cases of gastric cancer serum specimen by RT-PCR,enzyme-linked-immuno-sorbent-assay(ELISA)techniques,respectively.Results:The total positive rates of serum MMP-11 mRNA in gastric cancer and healthy people were 68.4% and 5%,respectively.Our data demonstrated that MMP-11 protein levels in gastric cancer were(44?27)ng/ml,significantly higher than those in control subjects(P=0.001).MMP-11 protein levels in 30 cases with recurrence were(51?27)ng/ml and(27?28)ng/ml in 30 patients without recurrence.MMP-11mRNA positive expression was consistent with MMP-11 protein levels in gastric cancer patients.Conclusions:Serum MMP-11 may play an important role as a biomarker in diagnosis and prediction of recurrent gastric cancer.

Phthalate esters are commonly used as plasticizers in many products.They have become widely spread in the environment.Several animal studies have showed that phthalate esters possess endocrine disrupting effects.Phthalate esters have been found in body fluid such as urine,blood and semen.As the base of internal exposure assessment,metabolism of phthalate esters was reviewed in the paper.The main metabolism pathways for phthalate esters and their metabolites in urine were summarized and the levels of metabolites of phthalate esters in different people were compared.

Aim To study the effect of saikogenin d (SGD) on prostaglandin E 2(PGE 2) production in C 6 rat glioma cells. Methods Radioimmunoassay was applied to determine PGE 2 production in the cells. Scintillation counting was used to measure liberation of -arachidonic acid (AA) from the cells labeled with -AA. Results In vitro, SGD alone at 1～20 ?mol?L -1 did not affect PGE 2 release from cells, but inhibited its release induced by A23187, a Ca 2+ ionophore. The inhibition was concentration-dependent, with the IC 50 value of about 3 ?mol?L -1. SGD (2～10 ?mol?L -1 ) had no inhibitory effect on A23187-induced AA release or on the conversion of AA to PGE 2 in microsomal preparations. Conclusion SGD inhibites A23187-induced PGE 2 production in C 6 rat glioma cells in vitro, without either inhibition of free AA liberation or a direct inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) activity.

Objective To determine the protein and mRNA levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) in the peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to analyze the relationship between IL-17 and disease activity. Methods Twenty-six hospitalized SLE patients and twenty-one normal controls were studied. Plasma protein and mRNA of IL-17 in peripheral blood were measured by ELISA and Real-time RT-PCR respectively. Results IL-17 level and its mRNA level increased in SLE patients compared with that in normal controls. Plasma concentration of IL-17 showed a significant positive correlation with SLEDAI score and anti-dsDNA antibody level, and a significant negative correlation with serum C3 level. Conclusions Plasma IL-17 protein and mRNA expression level in SLE patients increased significantly and had close relationship with disease activity, which might suggest that IL-17 play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE.