non-skeletal actions,including immunoregulation,anti-tumor effect,and protecting from central nervous system diseases and metabelie syndrome.

The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MS) in children has increased over the last decade.Research shows that the microelements including zinc,copper,iron,chromium,and selenium are relevant with the development of childhood MS.This article summarizes the recent advances in the relationship between microele-ments and MS.

Objective To investigate the effective ways of improving medical students' clinical competence during the process of internship. Methods Totally 398 students of clinical medicine from 2006 and 2007 grade in Soochow University were enrolled as research objects. Forty objects distribut-ed to the First Affiliated Hospital were taken as experiment group while 358 objects distributed to other hospital as control group. In experiment group, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) was introduced during regular internship, innovation was made on test on completion of a course and autonomous learning and clinical practice was advocated and enhanced. Traditional practice and ex-amination method was used in control group. SPSS 19.0 was used to do statistical analysis on the test scores of students. Paired sample t test and independent sample t test were employed. Measurement data is expressed as x±s and P<0.05 signifies statistically significant differences. Results Clinical practice ability of students in experiment group was enhanced to various degrees after internship com-pared with that before internship. ECG interpretation, heart and lung auscultation, interrogation tech-nique, medical and surgical operation performances of students in experiment group were promoted significantly (P<0.05). Students' overall competence in the final graduation skill test was better in ex-periment group than in control group (P<0.05). Conclusions OSCE-test on completion of a course not only make intern management more effective, but also make students' aim more definite, therefore it is conducive to enhancing clinical competence.

Objective To investigate the serum levels and dietary intakes of copper, iron, and zinc among adult residents in Dahongshan copper mine area of Yunnan Province in China. Methods Serum levels of copper, iron, and zinc were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry among 180 subjects collected randomly from Dahongshan mine area, among which 171 samples were valid. Dietary intakes of copper, iron, and zinc of 60adults collected randomly from these 180 subjects were detected by chemical analysis. Results Serum levels of copper, iron, and zinc concentrations of 171 valid samples were (0.90±0.18), (1.25±0.93) , and (0.75±0. 28) mg/L, respectively. Serum copper was negatively correlated with serum iron (r = - 0. 26, P ＜ 0. 001). Serum copper was positively correlated with age (r = 0. 25, P ＜ 0. 001). Females had significantly higher serum copper than males (P=0.011). The dietary intakes of copper, iron, and zinc among these 60 subjects were (1.74±1.09),(16.29±10.73), and (7.56±3.38) mg/d, respectively, in which females had significantly lower dietary intakes than nales (all P ＜ 0. 05). Significant regional differences were observed both in serum levels and dietary intakes of copper, iron, and zinc. Conclusions The average serum levels of copper and iron are normal among adult residents in Dahongshan copper mine area, while the average serum zinc level is low. Dietary intakes of these three minerals do not exceed tolerable upper intake levels, and are low in some subjects.

Objective To study the effects of compound preparations which contain docosahexenoic acid (DHA),soybean lecithin,and vitamin A on memory ability of children and to compare the difference between two compound preparations that contain DHA from marine algae and from fish oil.Methods Totally 160 11-12-year-old healthy children who were studying in a primary school in Baoshan District of Shanghai were enrolled in this study.All the subjects signed the informed consent form.Subjects were randomly divided into three groups with random numbers:marine algae DHA group(n=53),fish oil DHA group(n=53),and control group(n=54).Subjects in the marine algae DHA group were given compound preparation which contained DHA form marine algae,soybean lecithin,and vitamin A;subjects in fish oil DHA group were given compound preparation which contained DHA form fish oil,soybean lecithin,and vitamin A.The dose of DHA(200 mg DHA per capsule)and other components in the two groups was equal.Subjects in the control group were given a placebo with same appearance.The trial lasted 30 days.Each subject took a capsule per day.Immediately before and after the trial,subjects were tested by using the clinical memory scale compiled by the Institute of Clinical Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Results Before the trial.there was no difference amongthree groups in terms of all items of clinical memory scale or memory quotient(all P>0.05).After the trial,except for associative learning(both P>0.05),the other items of the clinical memory scale and memory quotient in both marine algae DHA group and fish oil DHA group were significantly higher than those of control group(all P<0.05).No significant difference was noted between the marine algae DHA group and fish oil DHA group for all items of the clinical memory scale or memory quotient(all P>0.05).Conclusions DHA compounds can impreve the memory ability of children.DHAs with different sources have similar effect on memory ability.