OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of chronic aluminum exposure on the learning and memory abilities and brain-derived nerve growth factor (BDNF) in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.

METHODSThirty-two male SD rats were randomly and equally divided into 4 groups: control group and high-, middle-, and low-dose exposure groups. The rats in high-, middle-, and low-dose exposure groups were fed with the feed mixed with AlCl(3) (120.0, 12.0, and 1.2 mg/kg, respectively), while the rats in control group were fed conventionally. After 6 months of feeding, brain aluminum levels were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Morris water maze was employed to test the learning and memory abilities; the expression and content of BDNF in brain tissue were measured by Western blot and enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTSThe high- and middle-dose exposure groups had significantly higher brain aluminum levels than the control group (P<0.05). The Morris water maze test showed that the high- and middle-dose exposure groups had significantly prolonged escape latency (P<0.05), significantly prolonged time taken to first reach the target quadrant (P<0.01), and significantly decreased number of platform crossings and time spent in the target quadrant (P<0.05), as compared with the control group. The Western blot and ELISA showed that the expression and content of BDNF in brain tissue decreased as the dose of AlCl(3) increased, and they were significantly lower in the high- and middle-dose exposure groups than in the control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONChronic aluminum exposure (12.0 and 120.0 mg/kg) can lead to cognitive dysfunction in rats, and the decreased expression of BDNF may be one of the mechanisms of learning and memory deficits induced by aluminum.

Aluminum ; toxicity ; Animals ; Brain ; metabolism ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; metabolism ; Male ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Toxicity Tests, Chronic

BACKGROUND:Our previous studies confirmed that NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs has good sustained release effect and biological activity in vitro, and can induce the differentiation of PC12 cel s into neuron-like cel s.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the feasibility of neuronal differentiation of neural stem cel s from septal area of fetal brain induced by NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs and its influence on PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
METHODS:According to optimization prescription, NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs were prepared by multiple emulsion solvent diffusion method. Neural stem cel s were induced to neuronal differentiation in six groups, including control group, NGF group, NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs group, LY294002 group, LY294002+NGF group and LY294002+NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs group. Neurons were identified by immunofluorescence, while phosphorylation levels of Akt in PI3K/Akt signaling pathway were detected by western blotting.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The proportions ofβ-Tubulin III-positive neurons in control group, NGF group, NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs group, LY294002 group, LY294002+NGF group and LY294002+NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs group were (22.80±2.58)%, (35.80±3.98)%, (35.40±5.77)%, (26.60±3.87)%, (21.20±2.59)%and (25.80±7.22)%, respectively. There were no statistical differences in neuronal differentiation between NGF group and NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs group (P>0.05), but the ratios of neural differentiation in the two groups were both higher than that in the other four groups (P<0.05). Western blotting results revealed that there were no statistical differences in Akt phosphorylation levels between NGF group and NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs group (P>0.05), but the phosphorylation levels of Akt were both higher than other four groups (P<0.05). There were also no significant differences between LY294002+NGF and LY294002+NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs groups and control group (P>0.05), but the phosphorylation levels of Akt were higher than LY294002 group (P<0.05). Results suggest that NGF-PEG-PLGA-NPs promoted neural differentiation of neural stem cel s. The role might be related to increasing phosphorylation levels of Akt in PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship of serum omentin-1 and chemerin with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

METHODSSerum levels of omentin-1 chemerin, glycolipids biochemical index, inflammation index, fasting insulin (FINS), and insulin resistance indexes (HOMA-IR) were determined in 85 women with GDM and 85 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT).

RESULTSBMI, FPG, hs-CRP, blood lipids, blood glucose, FINS, HOMA-IR and serum chemerin level were all significantly higher while serum omentin-1 significantly lower in GDM group than in NGT group (P<0.05). In both groups, serum omentin-1 level was significantly lower and serum chemerin was significantly higher in obese subjects than in the non-obese subjects (P<0.05). Obesity before delivery and/or HOMA-IR ≥2 was associated with a significantly decreased serum omentin-1 level; serum chemerin increased significantly in obese women before delivery but was not associated with HOMA-IR. Serum omentin-1 level was positively correlated with HDL but inversely with BMI (at pregnancy and before delivery), FPG, FINS and HOMA-IR; Chemerin was positively correlated with TC, TG, hs-CRP and FPG; serum omentin-1 and chemerin levels were not significant correlated (P=0.301). In women with GDM, BMI at pregnancy, TG, FPG, and FINS were all independent factors affecting serum omentin-1; TG, LDL, and hs-CRP were independent factors affecting serum chemerin.

CONCLUSIONAn decreased serum omentin-1 can be indicative of glucose and lipid metabolism disorder and insulin resistance, and an increased serum chemerin level indicates hyperlipidemia and chronic inflammation in pregnant women. Both of the adipokines are closed associated with GDM and probably participate in the occurrence and development of GDM.

Objective To investigate the relationship between plasma homocysteine on admission and the outcome at discharge of acute ischemic stroke.Methods A non-concurrent cohort study was performed and a total of 1 3 1 9 patients with acute is-chemic stroke were continuously included in this study.According to tertile range of plasma homocysteine,patients were di-vided into three group.Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the independent association between plasma homocys-teine on admission and poor outcome at discharge of acute ischemic stroke.Results The difference of plasma homocysteine on admission between the poor outcome and those with good outcome had statistical significance (P<0.000 1).Without the adj ustment of multiple factors,when comparing to the first group,the second and third tertile seemed to have a tendency of increasing the risk of poor outcome at discharge,the OR (95%CI)was 2.111 (1.297~3.437,P<0.05),2.113 (1.361~3.279,P<0.05).After adjustment for multivariate,the second and third tertile also seemed to have a tendency of increasing the risk of poor outcome at discharge,the OR (95%CI)was 1.876 (1.160~3.036,P<0.05),2.396 (1.414~4.062,P<0.05).Conclusion The current study indicated that higher plasma homocysteine level was an independent risk factor for poor outcome at discharge in ischemic stroke patients.It would increase the risk of the outcome at discharge in patients with acute ischemic stroke,and suggests that there is a dose-response relationship between plasma homocysteine level on admis-sion and the poor outcome at discharge.

OBJECTIVETo estimate the size of female sex workers and clients in Taizhou city.

METHODSA household survey using network scale-up method (NSUM) was conducted among the 3000 community residents in Taizhou city from August to October in 2011, which aimed to estimate the social network size (c value) of Taizhou residents, and the c value was adjusted by demographic characteristics, back estimation and outlier elimination. Using the adjusted c value, the number of acquaintance of female sex workers or clients and the respect level toward female sex workers or clients were used to estimate the size of female sex workers and clients.

RESULTSA total of 2783 valid questionnaires were collected, among which 1380 (49.6%) were collected from Taixing city, 1403 (50.4%) were collected from Jingjiang city. 1334 respondents were male (47.9%) and 1449 (47.9%) respondents were female. The mean age was (39.4 ± 10.7) years. The average personal social network size using original data for Taizhou residents was 525, which differed from place, sex, age, educational level and marriage status. Using the remaining known populations through back estimation, the social network size was 419 and became 424 after the elimination of outliers. The estimated population size for female sex worker was 6370 (95%CI: 5886 - 6853), which accounted for 0.52% (6370/1 229 980) of the total number of female aged from 15 to 49. The estimated population size for clients was 15 202 (95%CI: 14 560 - 15 847), which accounted for 1.28% (15 202/1 190 340) of the total number of males aged from 15 to 49 and the ration of clients to female sex worker was 2.39:1.

CONCLUSIONNSUM is an easy and quick way to estimate the size of female sex workers or clients, but the estimated sizes are subject to bias and error due to estimate effect and sample representativeness.

Adolescent ; Adult ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sex Work ; statistics & numerical data ; Sex Workers ; statistics & numerical data ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To localize the gene of autosomal dominant familial dilated cardiomyopathy with conduction defect. METHODS: A Chinese family which was diagnosed as dilated cardiomyopathy with conduction defect was studied. Venous blood (3 - 5 mL) from some family members was collected, and genomic DNA was extracted from the blood. Then whole genome wide scan was performed after excluding the known markers on the candidate loci (CMD1A, CMD1 E, CMD1F, and CMD1H) by two-point linkage analysis. RESULTS: No significant evidence for linkage was found in the two point linkage analyses to the known markers in the analyzed family. And the whole genome wide scan showed the maximum LOD score reached 2.68 at marker D3S1614 ( at recombination fraction theta = 0). CONCLUSION The related gene in this kindred is located on 3q26 other than on CMD1A, CMD1H, CMD1E, and CMD1F.
Adult ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; etiology ; genetics ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; genetics ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 3 ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Linkage ; Humans ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Middle Aged ; Pedigree

Objective To investigate the effect of the third party evaluation on improving the quality of medical service as well as the degree of patient trust in hospital.Methods Discharge patients from a two-level hospital in Minhang District was enrolled to evaluate their trust for medical service.Telephone follow-up were implemented in group A by the third party evaluation team.Group B was evaluated by the in-patient department when they left the hospital.These two evaluation methods were compared for the effects.Results During the first evaluation,1 073 people in group A,the equipartition satisfaction was 3.83 ± 0.57,the satisfaction rate was 54.99％.While in group B of 1 480 people,the equalization satisfaction was 3.83 ± 0.49,the satisfaction rate was 57.03％ (P＞0.05).At the fourth evaluation,1 233 people in group A and 1 512 people in group B were evaluated.Regarding group A,the patient satisfaction scores was 4.18 ± 0.33,patients satisfaction rate was 84.43％,the equipartition of patients referral was 3.44 ± 0.83,the equipartition of patients recommends the physician was 3.52 ±0.88,the equipartition of the doctor and patient had a quarrel was 4.33 ± 0.60,the equipartition of patients will find another doctor for diagnosis was 3.31 ± 0.72,the equipartition of patients expressed fully in accordance with the doctor's order of medication was 3.45 ± 0.72,group A were better than groupB (P＜0.05).Of the28 entries in the level of trust related to medical services,15 entries of group A were higher than group B (P＜0.05).In group A,the equipartition of moderate intensity activity was 3.62 ± 0.81,the equipartition of emotional coordination refers to 3.71 ± 0.76,the equipartition of family coordination was 3.69 ± 0.58,the equipartition of friends coordination was 3.73 ± 0.74,the equipartition of overall health was 3.31 ± 0.77,all were superior to group B (P＜0.05).Conclusions The third party evaluation is a supplementation for hospital management,which has positive effects on improving medical service quality of medical institutions,the hospital performance appraisal system,patients' experiences and trust degree.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the application value and feasibility of various cervical screening methods and to explore a rapid and efficient cervical cancer screening program for the women in the rural areas of China.

METHODSWe sequentially conducted human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test by hybrid capture-2 (hc2) with cervical cells, liquid-based thinprep cytology test (TCT), visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), visual inspection with iodine (VILI), colposcopy respectively for the 2499 married women between 30 and 49 years from Xiushui county of Jiangxi province. All the detection methods were performed independently under double-blind design. Women who were diagnosed positive for having any VIA,VILI and colposcopy inspection or for those women who were diagnosed negative for VIA, VILI and colposcopy but with positive result of HPV or TCT test underwent cervical biopsy directly and endocervical curettage (ECC)when necessary. We performed cervical biopsy endocervical curettage within two weeks to observe the sensitive (SE), specificity (SP), negative predict value (NPV) and positive predict value (PPV) of these detection methods when used alone or combined each other, including HPV test, TCT inspection, VIA, VILI, and colposcopy, the pathological diagnosises of cervical tissue were confirmed by IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) while the cytological findings were underegone through the updated program of TBS (The Bethesda System) in 2001.

RESULTSA total of 2499 women underwent the screening and found 443 women who were diagnosed as HPV positive, 337 women with abnormal cervical cytology and 27 women with ASC-H, 157 cases with ASCUS; 103 cases with HSIL, 49 cases with LSIL and 1 cervical cancer. According to the pathological findings. There were 181 women diagnosed as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or cervical cancer, including 81 cases with CIN1 37 cases with CIN2,60 case cervical cancer. The sensitivity rates of HPV, TCT, HPV+ TCT, VIA, VILI, VIA+VILI and colposcopy were 96.67%, 89.47%, 97.98%, 56.57%, 36.36%, 63.64% and 39.39%, and the specificity rates were 85.00%, 96.91%, 86.97%, 94.60%, 96.23%, 92.97% and 98.14% respectively.

CONCLUSIONHPV + TCT seemed to be more sensitive than other screening methods in the cervical cancer screening program.

Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Early Detection of Cancer ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Papillomavirus Infections ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Rural Population ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; virology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the chromium (Cr) levels in blood and urine among general population in China between 2009 and 2010, and thereby to analyze its prevalent features.

METHODSFrom year 2009 to 2010, a total of 11 983 subjects of general population aged between 6 and 60 year-old were recruited from 24 districts in 8 provinces in eastern, central and western China mainland, by cluster random sampling method. The information about their living environment and health status were collected by questionnaire, and 11 983 blood samples and 11 853 urine samples were also collected. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was applied to test the Cr level both in blood and urine; and the Cr distribution in blood and urine among groups of population in different ages, genders and districts, were then analyzed.

RESULTSAmong general population in China, the geometric mean (GM) of Cr concentration in blood was 1.19 µg/L, with median at 1.74 µg /L and 95% percentile at 5.59 µg/L. The Cr concentration in blood among males and females were separately 1.18 µg/L and 1.20 µg/L(P > 0.05); while its GM in the groups of population aged 6 - 12, 12 - 16, 16 - 20, 20 - 30, 30 - 45 and 45 - 60 years old were 1.00, 1.22, 1.01, 1.40, 1.27 and 1.30 µg/L (P < 0.01), respectively; and the figures in populations from eastern, central and western China were 1.00, 1.70 and 1.98 µg/L (P < 0.01), respectively. Among general population, the GM of Cr concentration in urine was 0.53 µg/L, with median was lower than 0.42 µg/L and 95% percentile at 3.53 µg/L. The Cr concentration in urine among males and females were separately 0.52 µg/L and 0.53 µg/L (P > 0.05);while its GM in the groups of population aged 6 - 12, 12 - 16, 16 - 20, 20 - 30, 30 - 45 and 45 - 60 years old were 0.56, 0.60, 0.52, 0.50, 0.52 and 0.46 µg/L (P < 0.01), respectively;and the figures in populations from eastern, central and western China were 0.58, < 0.42 and 0.60 µg/L (P < 0.01), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe study reported the Cr levels in blood and urine among general population in China, and thereby provided basic data evidence for the following Cr biological monitoring studies in near future.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; China ; Chromium ; blood ; urine ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Population Surveillance ; Young Adult

The clinical throat swab specimen of an imported suspected case of influenza A (H1N1) was detec ted with real-time PCR, RT-PCR and subsequently confirmed by gene sequencing. The presence of influ enza A (H1N1) virus confirmed the first case with A (H1N1) infection in Mainland China.
China ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human ; virology ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny