BACKGROUND:Although there are many studies addressing osteoarthritis in China, population-based epidemiological studies of knee osteoarthritis have been rarely reported. OBJECTIVE:To explore and analyze the clinical efficacy of early ladder-like treatment in knee osteoarthritis patients from Zoucheng city in the southwest of Shandong province based on an epidemiological investigation. METHODS: A total of 3 427 people randomly enroled from Zoucheng city located in the southwest of Shandong province in 2008 were taken as research objects. A self-designed epidemiological survey on knee osteoarthritis was carried out to analyze the sex, age, urban and rural distribution, and incidence of knee osteoarthritis. According to Kelgren Lawrence Grading, 208 patients with levels 0, I, II of knee osteoarthritis were randomly selected and divided into two groups: surgical treatment group was given intraarticular injection, intraarticular rinsing, arthroscopic treatment and functional exercise; oral drug group was only given oral administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and blood circulation drugs. Ninety-eight patients in the surgical treatment group and 87 in the oral drug group were folowed-up for over 1 year. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The incidence of knee osteoarthritis showed an increasing trend with aging in Zoucheng city. There were 33.2% patients who did not receive treatment, 53.2% patients who received irregular treatment, and only 13.6 patients who could folow the doctor’s advice. The excelent rate and total effective rate were higher in the surgical treatment group (81% and 99%) than the control group (34% and 87%;P < 0.01). This epidemiological investigation exerts a certain protective role in the occurrence and development of knee osteoarthritis, and active early ladder-like treatment has achieved good outcomes in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

In order to establish the quality classification criteria of Paeonia suffruticosa seeds, thirty-one batches of P. suffruticosa seeds from different provenances were selected. The seed rooting rate, seed germination rate, seed purity, seed viability, 1,000-seed weight and moisture content were determined and analyzed through SPSS 20.0 software. Seed rooting rate, seed germination rate and seed purity were selected as the main index for classification, while 1,000-seed weight, seed viability and moisture content could be used as important references. The seed quality grading of P. suffruticosa was set as three grades. The seed quality of each grade should meet following requirements: For the first grade seeds, seed rooting rate ≥ 80%, seed germination rate ≥ 80%, seed purity ≥ 90%, seed viability ≥ 80%, 1,000-seed weight ≥ 250 g, moisture content, ≤ 10. For the second grade seeds, seed rooting rate ≥ 50%, seed germination rate ≥ 60%, seed purity ≥ 70%, seed viability ≥ 75%, 1,000-seed weight ≥ 225 g, moisture content ≤ 10. For the third grade seeds, seed rooting rate ≥ 20%, seed germination rate ≥ 45%, seed purity ≥ 60%, seed viability ≥ 45%, 1,000-seed weight ≥ 205 g, moisture content ≤ 10. The quality classification criteria of P. suffruticosa seeds have been initially established.
China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Germination ; Paeonia ; chemistry ; classification ; growth & development ; Seeds ; chemistry ; classification ; growth & development

In order to optimize the testing methods for Paeonia suffruticosa seed quality, and provide basis for establishing seed testing rules and seed quality standard of P. suffruticosa. The seed quality of P. suffruticosa from different producing areas was measured based on the related seed testing regulations. The seed testing methods for quality items of P. suffruticosa was established preliminarily. The samples weight of P. suffruticosa was at least 7 000 g for purity analysis and was at least 700 g for test. The phenotypic observation and size measurement were used for authenticity testing. The 1 000-seed weight was determined by 100-seed method, and the water content was carried out by low temperature drying method (10 hours). After soaking in distilled water for 24 h, the seeds was treated with different temperature stratifications of day and night (25 degrees C/20 degrees C, day/night) in the dark for 60 d. After soaking in the liquor of GA3 300 mg x L(-1) for 24 h, the P. suffruticos seeds were cultured in wet sand at 15 degrees C for 12-60 days for germination testing. Seed viability was tested by TlC method.
Germination ; Light ; Paeonia ; growth & development ; Quality Control ; Seeds ; physiology ; Temperature

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects and prognosis of surgical treatment in primary gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

METHODSThe clinicopathological data of 73 patients with primary GIST underwent operation from April 1997 to December 2007 was retrospectively analyzed, and the prognosis was evaluated too.

RESULTSAmong the 73 cases, 68 cases received complete tumor resection, among which 12 cases underwent laparoscopic operation; while palliative resection and biopsy only were carried out in the other 5 cases. There was significant difference in survival rate between the two groups (P = 0.000). The 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rates of the 66 cases had been followed up was 91.0%, 78.2% and 74.1%, respectively. The malignancy risk grades of GIST was related to the survival rates on statistical analysis (P = 0.002). Significant differences were found in the survival rates between the patients with very low grade, low grade and high grade malignancy tumors (P = 0.012, 0.002).

CONCLUSIONSComplete tumor resection should be emphasized in primary GIST, and more attention should be paid to the initial surgical treatment. Extended surgical resection is required for tumors of higher malignancy risk. The indications of laparoscopic surgery in GIST should be selected with caution for tumor complete resection.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis

OBJECTIVETo determine the genetic relationship of three species of official Rheum in molecular level.

METHODTwelve samples from three species of official Rheum were employed to be analyzed by the approach of sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP). Systematic relationships were constructed based on the UPGMA method by TREECONW software.

RESULTA total of 272 bands were scored and 199 bands of them were polymorphic, which were up to 73.2% polymorphic ratio. Genetic similarity coefficient was changed from 0.578 4 to 0.941 6. The results indicated that there was abundant genetic diversity among the tested materials. The clustering analysis revealed that the results between SRAP marker and the traditional morphological characteristics was almost the same.

CONCLUSIONSRAP marker is suitable for variety identification and genetic relationship research in official Rheum.

Cluster Analysis ; Genetic Variation ; genetics ; Phylogeny ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics ; Rheum ; classification ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo establish serum protein fingerprint model for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer with surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight-mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) and bioinformatics techniques.

METHODSA total of 73 samples were analyzed in this study, including 31 cases of pancreatic cancers, 22 cases of pancreatitis and 20 healthy individuals. Samples were first analyzed by SELDI-TOF-MS and two patterns of differentiation model were constructed with support vector machine arithmetic method.

RESULTSThe pattern 1 model differentiating pancreatic cancer patients from healthy individuals had a specificity and a sensitivity of both 100.0%. The pattern 2 model differentiating pancreatic cancer from pancreatitis had a specificity of 95.5% and a sensitivity of 93.5%.

CONCLUSIONSELDI-TOF-MS technique combined with bioinformatics can facilitate to identify biomarkers for pancreatic cancer.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Blood Proteins ; analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; Protein Array Analysis ; methods ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization ; methods ; Support Vector Machine

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathological characteristics, surgical treatment and prognosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors(GIST).

METHODSThe clinicopathological data of 84 patients with GIST undergone resection between April 1997 and June 2008 were analyzed retrospectively, and the prognosis was evaluated.

RESULTSOut of 84 cases, 42 tumors located in stomach, 24 in small intestine, 18 in other sites. Tumor sizes ranged from 0.5 to 25 cm(average 5.6 cm). Positive rate of CD117 expression determined by immunohistochemical methods was 96.4%. Seventy-nine cases underwent complete tumor resection, while 5 cases received palliative resection or biopsy. Seventy-eight patients were followed up and their 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rates were 92.0%, 79.2%, 72.0% respectively. The Fletcher's classification of malignancy risk groups for GIST was related to the survival rates(P=0.001). The differences of survival rate among very low risk group, low risk group and high-risk group were significant(P=0.003, P=0.000).

CONCLUSIONSComplete tumor resection in the initial operation of GIST should be emphasized. The Fletcher's classification of malignancy risk groups for GIST is related to the survival rate. Extended surgical resection is required for GIST of higher malignancy risk.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; mortality ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo do some comparative study on anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects between the Dao-di herb and non Dao-di herb of Huangqin (the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis) and provide thinking and evidence for study on geoherbalism and clinical usage of Huangqin.

METHODThe anti-inflammatory action was assessed by auricular swelling induced by dimethylbenzene in mice and the antipyretic action was monitored by dried yeast-induced mice fever.

RESULTAll samples of both Dao-di and non Dao-di herbs of Huangqin showed antipyretic effect. The Dao-di Huangqin samples showed antipyretic effect between 61% to 53% , whereas the non Dao-di Huangqin samples between 53% to 43%. Six Dao-di Huangqin samples showed better antipyretic effect than four non Dao-di Huangqin samples. All samples of both Dao-di and non Dao-di Huangqin showed anti-inflammatory effect. Dao-di Huangqin showed anti-inflammatory effect between 73% to 54%, whereas non dao-di Huangqin between 53% to 34%. Six Dao-di Huangqin showed better anti-inflammatory effect than four non Dao-di Huangqin. In totality, results from analysis of geoherbalism showed that geoherbal production areas of Huangqin had better effect than that of the non geoherbal production areas in anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects.

CONCLUSIONBoth the Dao-di and non Dao-di Huangqin have effects of anti-inflammatory and antipyretic to a certain extent, but the efficacy of the Dao-di Huangqin surpass the non Dao-di Huangqin.

Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; administration & dosage ; Antipyretics ; administration & dosage ; China ; Drug Contamination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Fever ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Inflammation ; drug therapy ; Mice ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlation between resting heart rate (RHR) and blood glucose level in elderly patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) complicated by diabetes mellitus.

METHODSBetween April and July, 2011, a total of 1336 outpatients over 60 years of age recruited from 165 hospitals were asked to complete a questionnaire and received blood glucose and RHR examination. According to baseline RHR, the patients were divided into 3 groups with HRH <70 min-1 (group I, 372 cases), between 70 and 79 min(-1) (group II, 533 cases), and ≥80 min(-1) (group III, 431cases) for analysis of the relationships of RHR with blood glucose control rate.

RESULTSHbA1c levels in the total, male and female patients differed significantly among the 3 groups (F=15.436, 15.436, and 24.270, respectively, P<0.05), and increased in the order from group I to group III. Blood glucose control rate in the total, male and female patients also differed significantly among the 3 groups (χ(2)=13.471, 6.752, and 6.522, respectively, P<0.05), and was significantly lower in group III than in group I (P<0.05). RHR was found to positively correlate with FPG, 2 hPG and HbA1c by Pearson correlation analysis (r=0.058, 0.085, and 0.058, respectively; P<0.05) and multiple linear regression analysis (β=0.075, 0.075, and 0.018, respectively; P<0.05). Multivariable logistic regression equation showed that compared with patients with RHR <70 min-1, the total, male and female patients with RHR ≥80 min(-1) had OR values of blood glucose control failure of 1.99 (95% CI: 1.23-2.37, P<0.05), 1.81 (95% CI: 1.17-2.77, P<0.05), and 2.18 (95% CI: 1.12-3.74, P<0.05), respectively.

CONCLUSIONRHR in elderly CHD patients with MD is positively correlated with their blood glucose level, and an increased RHR is associated with an increased risk of poor blood glucose control. Rigorous RHR control in such high-risk patients may prove beneficial for both blood glucose control and secondary prevention of CHD.

Aged ; Blood Glucose ; Coronary Artery Disease ; blood ; Diabetes Mellitus ; blood ; Female ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Regression Analysis

OBJECTIVETo understand the influencing factors on the death of infants born to HIV infected mothers in areas with high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in China.

METHODSBased on the follow-up cohort study targeting at HIV/AIDS infected pregnant women and their babies initiated in 2004, a survey on the death status and influencing factors on the infants born to HIV/AIDS infected mothers enrolled in this cohort from Jan.2004 to Nov.2007 was carried out during Aug.to Nov.2008 in seven counties of four provinces in China. A total of 498 pairs of HIV-infected mothers and their infants were enrolled and their related information was collected. Single factor and multiple factors Cox model methods were adopted for data analysis.

RESULTSThe total observed person-years of 498 infants was 406.22, among which, 45 infants died, and the mortality density was 110.78 per 1000 child-year. A single factor Cox model showed, the pregnancy in pre-period of HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS period (RR = 1.971, 95%CI: 1.143 - 3.396), living status of the pregnancy (RR = 3.062, 95%CI: 1.097 - 8.550), multipara women (RR = 0.517, 95%CI: 0.278 - 0.961), natural childbirth (RR = 0.561, 95%CI: 0.345 - 0.910), premature labor (RR = 5.302, 95%CI: 2.944 - 9.547), low birth weight (RR = 4.920, 95%CI: 2.691 - 8.994), mother-child pairs taking antiretroviral drugs (RR = 0.227, 95%CI: 0.121 - 0.428) and infants infected HIV (RR = 5.870, 95%CI: 3.232 - 10.660) could affect the infants death. The death of HIV-exposed infants was influenced by various factors. The death risk of infants born to HIV infected mothers who were in the danger of pre-period of HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS period was greater than the infants delivered by HIV infected mothers who were in preclinical period of HIV/AIDS (RR = 6.99, 95%CI: 1.92 - 25.64). The death risks were greater in the group that the women whose CD4(+)TLC count number lower than 200 cells/microl (RR = 2.05, 95%CI: 1.01 - 4.15). The infants whose mothers had no ARV treatment had higher possibility to die than the others (RR = 6.17, 95%CI: 1.62 - 23.26). The death risk of premature delivered infants was 2.87 times of mature delivered infants (95%CI: 1.12 - 7.35). The death risk of HIV/AIDS infected infants was 9.87 times of the HIV/AIDS uninfected infants (95%CI: 3.81 - 25.62).

CONCLUSIONSome measurements including improving HIV-infected pregnant women's immunity, reducing mother to child transmission of HIV and premature birth, low birth weight are beneficial to reducing infant mortality.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; epidemiology ; mortality ; transmission ; Cause of Death ; China ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Mortality ; Infant, Newborn ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious ; epidemiology ; Proportional Hazards Models