Objective To observe the influence of trunk control training on motor function and the ability of cerebral palsy (CP) patients in the activities of daily living (ADL).Methods Forty patients with CP were randomly divided into a treatment group (n =20) and a control group (n =20).Both groups were treated with routine rehabilitation,while the treatment group also received trunk control training.All patients were assessed with function ambulation category (FAC) classification,time to walk 10 m,the Berg balance scale (BBS),and the modified Barthel index (MBI) at the beginning and eight weeks later.Results Before the intervention there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of any of the assessments.Eight weeks later,all the assessment scores were significantly better in the treatment group than in the control group.Conclusion Trunk control training can significantly improve motor function and the ADL ability of patients with CP.

objective To explore the role of Xanthatin in the targets of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process using molecular docking method,and the effect on the target protein expression of HepG2 cells was detected by Western assay.Method Dhs,Vimentin,Snail and VEGFR3 are critical targets in EMT process,the spatial binding ability of Xanthium was evaluated by molecular docking method,compared with the corresponding endogenous substances:nicotinarnide adenine dinucleotide,Acetate ion,flavin adenine dinucleotide,and N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine.HepG2 cells were cultured,and the effects of Xanthatin of 1,5 and 20 mol/L concentrations on Dhs,Vimentin,Snail and VEGFR3 protein expression were detected by Western Blotting assay.Rusult Molecular docking show that Xanthatin has obvious affinity to key factors of EMT process such as Dhs,Vimentin,and VEGF-R3,higher than that of endogenous substance;and the affinity with Vimentin was less than that of endogenous substance;Western Blotting experiments proved the virtual results.The expression of Vimentin,Snail,VEGFR3 protein was significantly lowered,and the expression of e-cadherin was significantly raised.Conclusion The influence of Xanthatin to key factor e-cadherin,Vimentin,Snail,VEGFR3 are obvious,Which is likely to be a potential target.The results of computer virtual experiment and Western Blotting have certain similarity.Molecular virtual docking can pre hint the potential target factor.

Compounds from Lingzhi has been demonstrated the ability for inhibiting tyrosinase (a key enzyme in melanogenesis) activity. In this study, we investigated the anti-melanogenic activity from the submerged mycelial culture of Ganoderma weberianum and elucidated the skin lightening mechanism by B16-F10 murine melanoma cells. From the cellular context, several fractionated mycelium samples exhibited anti-melanogenic activity by reducing more than 40% extracellular melanin content of B16-F10 melanoma cells. In particular, the fractionated chloroform extract (CF-F3) inhibited both secreted and intracellular melanin with the lowest dosage (25 ppm). Further analysis demonstrated that CF-F3 inhibited cellular tyrosinase activity without altering its protein expression. Taken together, our study has demonstrated that the chemical extracts from submerged mycelial culture of G. weberianum have the potential to serve as an alternative anti-melanogenic agent.
Chloroform ; Ganoderma ; Melanins ; Melanoma ; Monophenol Monooxygenase ; Mycelium ; Reishi ; Skin

OBJECTIVETo understand the prevalence and control of several common chronic disease in Beijing adults.

METHODS16,658 adult residents were randomly selected with stratified multi-stage cluster sampling method. Each participant was invited to receive a set of standardized questionnaire, physical examinations and laboratory tests.

RESULTSData showed that the prevalence, awareness, treatment and the rate of control on hypertension among the adults in Beijing were 29.1%, 49.3%, 42.3% and 10.6% respectively. The counterparts of diabetes mellitus were 8.8%, 56.7%, 50.0% and 15.0%. The four corresponding figures for dyslipidemia were 33.2%, 31.1%, 13.0% and 4.3%, respectively. 22.9% of the Beijing adults had metabolic syndrome including 8.1 per thousand suffering from myocardial infarction and 18.4 per thousand from stroke. Except for diabetes, all the chronic diseases had higher prevalence rate in rural area than in urban area, according to the findings under our study. Postmenopausal women were more susceptible to chronic disease than men.

CONCLUSIONThe prevalence rate of chronic disease in Beijing was still high. The prevalence rate in rural area had exceeded the level in urban area. Adjustment and attention should be made according to the prevalence features and weakness existed in present chronic disease control strategy.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; epidemiology ; Chronic Disease ; epidemiology ; Diabetes Mellitus ; epidemiology ; Dyslipidemias ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; epidemiology ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome ; epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Young Adult

The wood decay fungi Antrodia P. Karst. play important ecological roles and have significant industrial and economic impacts as both wood degraders and sources of pharmaceutical and biotechnological products. Although each Antrodia species has distinct morphological characteristics, the misidentification rate is especially high due to their simple morphological characters. A combination of morphological and internal transcribed spacer region sequence analyses revealed that 27 of 89 specimens previously identified by morphology alone were correct, whereas 35 of these specimens were misidentified as other Antrodia species. We report here that seven Antrodia species exist in Korea (A. albida, A. heteromorpha, A. malicola, A. serialis, A. sinuosa, A. sitchensis, and A. xantha) and based on these specimens, we provide taxonomic descriptions of these species, except for A. serialis, which was only confirmed by isolate.
Antrodia* ; Fungi ; Korea ; Sequence Analysis ; Wood

Objective To understand oral health of the elderly in nursing home in Songjiang District, Shanghai, and to provide references for improving their oral health. Methods A total of 375 elderly people in 15 nursing homes in Songjiang District were investigated by questionnaires and oral examination.Tooth loss, denture repair, periodontal condition and oral hygiene habit were analyzed. Results The rate of the tooth loss reached 94.13%.The tooth loss rate in females (96.09%) was significantly higher than that in males (91.03%) (P < 0.01).The rate of complete edentulous jaws was 28.27%.There was a significant difference between the rate of complete edentulous jaws in females (34.35%) and in males (18.62%)(P < 0.05).The rate of denture restoration was 91.51% (97/106).The number of existing teeth per capita was 11.54, and the number of teeth per capita in males (14.48 per person) was significantly higher than that in females (9.70 per person) (P < 0.05).Both the rate of the tooth loss of upper and lower posterior teeth were significantly higher than that of upper and lower anterior teeth (P < 0.01).Thirty-three percent (33.33%) of the elderly brushed their teeth more than twice a day, and almost 20.53% of them didn′t brush their teeth. Conclusion The oral health of the elderly in the nursing homes in Songjiang District is not satisfactory at present.It is necessary to strengthen the publicity and education of oral health care for the elderly in nursing homes in cooperation with multiple departments to improve their awareness of oral health care including appropriate tooth repair for the quality of life.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major causative agent in liver disease. In order to investigate if Korean type HCV core protein and its related mutants, S99Q and S116I, are cytopathic to liver, three types of transgenic mice were established. The expression of transgenes was confirmed by HCV specific RT-PCR and Western immunoblotting. The livers of all wild type core and S116I transgenic lineages remained largely histologically normal. However, the livers of the S99Q transgenic mice showed significant high level of cell dysplasia associated with the transgene expression in hepatocytes largely located around the central veins by in situ hybridization analysis. In conclusion, the mutant HCV core protein at S99Q may contribute to the progress of HCV induced liver disease.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Gene Expression ; Genetic Vectors/genetics ; Hepatitis C/*pathology/virology ; Hepatitis, Viral, Animal/*pathology/virology ; Hepatocytes/pathology/virology ; Liver/pathology/*virology ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutation/genetics ; RNA, Messenger/chemistry/metabolism ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Transgenes ; Viral Core Proteins/analysis/*genetics/metabolism

INTRODUCTION: Family history of psychopathology is a risk factor for mood and anxiety disorders in children, but little is known about rates of parental psychopathology among treatment-seeking youth with affective disorders in the Asia Pacific region. This study examined patterns of emotional and behavioural problems in parents of clinically-referred youth in Singapore. We hypothesised that parents would have higher rates of affective disorders compared to the Singapore national prevalence rate of 12%. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 47 families were recruited from affective disorders and community-based psychiatry programmes run by a tertiary child psychiatry clinic. All children had a confirmed primary clinical diagnosis of depression or an anxiety disorder. Parents completed the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) to assess for lifetime mood and anxiety disorders. They also completed the Adult Self Report (ASR) and Adult Behavior Checklist (ABCL) to assess current internalising and externalising symptoms. RESULTS: Consistent with our hypothesis, 38.5% of mothers and 10.5% of fathers reported a lifetime mood and anxiety disorder. Nearly 1/3 of mothers had clinical/subclinical scores on current internalising and externalising problems. A similar pattern was found for internalising problems among fathers, with a slightly lower rate of clinical/subclinical externalising problems. CONCLUSION Our findings are consistent with previous overseas studies showing elevated rates of affective disorders among parents - particularly mothers - of children seeking outpatient psychiatric care. Routine screening in this population may help to close the current treatment gap for adults with mood and anxiety disorders.
Adult ; Anxiety Disorders ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Family Health ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mood Disorders ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Parent-Child Relations ; Parenting ; psychology ; Parents ; psychology ; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales ; Psychopathology ; Singapore ; epidemiology

Preoperative anaemia is common in the Asia-Pacific. Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a risk factor that can be addressed under patient blood management (PBM) Pillar 1, leading to reduced morbidity and mortality. We examined PBM implementation under four different healthcare systems, identified challenges and proposed several measures: (a) Test for anaemia once patients are scheduled for surgery. (b) Inform patients about risks of preoperative anaemia and benefits of treatment. (c) Treat IDA and replenish iron stores before surgery, using intravenous iron when oral treatment is ineffective, not tolerated or when rapid iron replenishment is needed; transfusion should not be the default management. (d) Harness support from multiple medical disciplines and relevant bodies to promote PBM implementation. (e) Demonstrate better outcomes and cost savings from reduced mortality and morbidity. Although PBM implementation may seem complex and daunting, it is feasible to start small. Implementing PBM Pillar 1, particularly in preoperative patients, is a sensible first step regardless of the healthcare setting.