BACKGROUND:Osteoarthritis and osteoporosis are two aging-related degenerative diseases. There are a lot of studies on their correlation, but no consensus has been reached yet. OBJECTIVE: To examine the cross-sectional association between phalangeal bone mineral density and radiographic knee osteoarthritis. METHODS:A total of 2 855 participants were included in this study. Phalangeal bone mineral density and anteroposterior films of the bilateral knees were detected. A multivariable logistic analysis model was applied to test the relationship between phalangeal bone mineral density and radiographic knee osteoarthritis after adjusting a number of potential confounding factors. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:A positive association was observed between phalangeal bone mineral density and radiographic knee osteoarthritis in the model that was adjusted for sex, age, bone mass index, smoking status, alcohol drinking status, total energy intake, mean calcium intake, as wel as vitamin and Ca supplementation. This association existed in the total sample and the female subgroup, but not in the male. These findings suggest a positive relationship between phalangeal bone mineral density and radiographic knee osteoarthritis in the female subgroup, which means that bone mineral density is a protective factor to knee osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND:Ultrasonic therapy is one of several physical therapy modalities suggested for the management of pain and loss of function due to osteoarthritis. However, its effectiveness stil remains controversial in the previous studies.
OBJECTIVE:To analyze the effect of ultrasonic therapy for the treatment of relieving knee osteoarthritis pain.
METHODS:A retrieval of Pubmed, Ovid/Medline, Ovid/EMBASE, and Cochranee database was performed. The relevant literatures were manual y retrieved. The retrieval deadline was set on March 31, 2014. Randomized control ed trials on ultrasonic therapy of knee osteoarthritis were col ected.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:A total of eight studies of meta-analysis were accumulated. Among them, six studies adopted visual analog scale and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index, one study adopted visual analog scale only, and one study adopted Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index. Then the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index scores were transformed into visual analog scale scores for data analysis. There was a statistical difference between the groups in the visual analog scale pain score (standardized standard deviation:-0.51;95%confidence interval:-0.68,-0.33;P=0.05). Ultrasonic therapy is an effective method for knee osteoarthritis pain.

Objective To observe the effects of comprehensive measures of changing grain,selenium supplementation,off-site education and resettlement on prevention of children's Kashin-Beck disease in Aba state.Methods Fifty eight villages in Aba Kashin-Beck disease areas were chosen as intervention points in Aba state Sichuan province from 2007 to 2011.Based on the implementation of prevention and control measures,the villages were divided into off-site education + changing grain + selenium supplementation group and resettlement + off-site education + changing grain + selenium supplementation group,Geletuo town of Seda county,Ganzi state was selected as a control point,and right-hand anteroposterior X-ray examination(including the wrist) was carried out on children aged 6-13 from 2007 to 2011 annually.Clinical and X-ray diagnosis of Kashin-Beck disease was made in accordance with the Diagnostic Criteria of Kaschin-Beck Disease(GB 16003-1995).The effects of prevention and control measures were evaluated by comparing the child X-ray detection rate before and after the implementation of the measures.Results The average X-ray positive detectable rate of children in the intervention points was 2.07％(66/3181),2.72％ (69/2540),1.16％ (35/3017),0.56％ (19/3397) and 0.56％ (24/4273),respectively from 2007 to 2011,with a downward trend (x2trend =66.74,P ＜ 0.01).There was a downward trend in the average X-ray positive detectable rate of children in off-site education + changing grain + selenium supplementation group [1.60％(29/1809),2.63％ (39/1484),1.29％ (25/1941),0.64％ (15/2332),0.42％ (10/2379)] and resettlement + off-site education + changing grain + selenium supplementation group [2.70％ (37/1372),2.84％ (30/1056),0.93％(10/1076),0.38％ (4/1065),0.74％(14/1894)] (x2trend=30.97,35.19,all P ＜ 0.01).The average X-ray positive detectable rate of children in the intervention group was 0 from 2007 to 2010,and was 1.61％ (1/62) in 2011.The difference of X-ray positive detectable rate was not statistically significant in the control group in the 5 years from 2007 to 2011.The difference of children's X-ray positive detectable rate was not statistically significant between control group and intervention group.Conclusions The effect of taking changing grain,selenium supplementation,off-site education and resettlement comprehensive measures to prevent children's Kashin-Beck disease is not significant in those places where the state of Kaschin-Beck disease is not active.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the development and maturation competence of oocytes retrieved from cryopreserved and transplanted human fetal ovarian tissue by techniques of tissue culture, inducing ovary, oocyte retrieval, and in vitro maturation (IVM).

METHODSFetal ovaries of 20 weeks were frozen-thawed and cultured for 6 days in vitro, then xenografted into kidney capsules of immunodeficient mice. All mice were stimulated with follicle stimulating hormone every second day for 23 weeks, starting 1 week after grafting. Then oocytes were retrieved from antral follicles 13 hours after human chorionic gonadotrophin injection. IVM was performed to evaluate the maturation competence of the oocytes from ovarian grafts. Human fetal ovarian tissues were examined with histological and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) evaluation.

RESULTSThere was no difference between fresh ovarian tissues and frozen-thawed ovarian tissues in the percentage of follicles at different growth stages (P > 0.05). The proportion of the primary follicles and preantral follicles in the cultured ovarian tissues was significantly larger than that of fresh ovarian tissues and frozen-thawed ovarian tissues (P < 0.05). The proportion of the primary follicles, preantral follicles, and antral follicles in the transplanted ovarian tissues was significantly higher than that of cultured ovarian tissues, fresh ovarian tissues, and frozen-thawed ovarian tissues (P < 0.05). No significant signals of PCNA in the primordial follicles in all ovarian tissues were observed. PCNA immunoreactivity first appeared in primary follicles. However, the obviously positive signals of PCNA were seen in the oocytes and/or the granular cells of cultured ovarian tissues and transplanted ovarian tissues. Oocytes from antral follicles were collected and matured in vitro, and 21.43% of the oocytes reached to MII within 48 hours IVM.

CONCLUSIONSHuman ovarian follicles can survive and develop well after cryopreservation, tissue culture, and xenotransplantation. Furthermore, oocytes recovered from grafts have normal maturation competence.

Animals ; Cryopreservation ; Female ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Oocytes ; cytology ; Oogenesis ; Ovarian Follicle ; cytology ; growth & development ; transplantation ; Pregnancy ; Transplantation, Heterologous

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical features, diagnosis and therapy of thyroid neoplasm in children.

METHODSA retrospective study was performed on 32 children with thyroid nodular who were underwent operation in Xiangya Hospital between January 2002 and December 2010.

RESULTSOf the 32 cases, there were 23 girls and 9 boys. Six cases were diagnosed as nodular Goiter adenoma and 26 cases were diagnosed as thyroid papillary carcinoma. B-ultrasonic examination showed a 100% accurate rate for the diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma. Fourteen children (44%) were proven to have concurrent Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Twenty-two (69%) children with thyroid carcinoma were found to have lymph metastasis in the lateral neck. The children younger than 10 years showed a high rate of metastasis than those older one (94% vs 56%, P<0.05). All 32 children received a surgical therapy. Subtotal thyroidectomy was performed on the 6 children with nodular Goiter adenoma. Total thyroidectomy (17 cases) or ipsilateral thyroidectomy (9 cases) was performed according to the stage of thyroid carcinoma. The surgical outcomes were followed up for 3 months to 9 years and no recurrence or death occurred. The development and growth were normal in the children.

CONCLUSIONSChildhood thyroid nodular attacks girls more than boys, and the frequency of malignancy is high. Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a common concurrent disease. The incidence of local lymph metastasis is high in those younger than 10 years. The surgical therapy for thyroid neoplasm may lead satisfactory outcomes in children.

Adolescent ; Child ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; surgery

OBJECTIVEEndoscopic sclerotherapy has emerged as an effective treatment for bleeding esophageal varices in adults and children but the long-term outcome is poorly defined in children. The present study aimed to study the long-term effect of endoscopic sclerotherapy in children with portal hypertension.

METHODSFifteen patients (age 3 to 14 years) with esophageal variceal bleeding underwent endoscopic injection treatments with 1% Aethoxy-sclerol since 1996. All subjects continued to receive the therapy by repeated intra and extravariceal endoscopic sclerotherapy at intervals of 3 - 4 weeks until the varices disappeared, and received regular endoscopic follow-up.

RESULTSFifteen patients had totally 43 injections, and were followed up from 40 to 86 months (mean 66 months) by endoscopy. Two patients received 2 injections and 5 received 3 before eradication of varices. The mean time needed for varices eradication was 3 to 6 months. Recurrence of varices and bleeding was seen in 3 patients who had duodenal ulcer.

CONCLUSIONEndoscopic sclerotherapy is a safe and effective treatment for pediatric esophageal varices.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Duodenal Ulcer ; complications ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; etiology ; therapy ; Esophagoscopy ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal ; complications ; Injections, Intralesional ; Polyethylene Glycols ; administration & dosage ; Recurrence ; Reoperation ; Sclerosing Solutions ; administration & dosage ; Sclerotherapy ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of THY1 protein expression in epithelial ovarian cancer.

METHODSImmunohistochemistry (IHC) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) staining were used to detect the protein expression of THY1, Ki67 and cell apoptosis in 76 epithelial ovarian cancers by tissue microarray. The correlation between THY1 expression and patients' clinical features was analyzed.

RESULTSOf the 76 epithelial ovarian cancer samples, 64 were informative for IHC and TUNEL assays and 42 (65.6%) among them showed down-regulated/loss expression of THY1 protein. A significant positive correlation of THY1 protein expression with clinical stage and distant metastasis was observed in this ovarian cancer cohort (P < 0.05). The more advanced the tumor stage, the more frequency of loss expression of THY1 protein. In addition, the mean positive rate of Ki67 staining in tumors with down-regulated/loss expression of THY1 was 33.7% +/- 3.5%, significantly higher than that in the tumors with normal expression of THY1 (17.3% +/- 6.1%, P = 0.0027). However, no significant correlation was observed between THY1 protein expression and tumor cell apoptosis as well as patients' survival in this series (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONDown-regulated/loss expression of THY1 protein in epithelial ovarian cancer is significantly correlated with cancer cell proliferation and metastasis in the epithelial ovarian cancer, and it may be used as one of the new molecular biomarkers to predict the disease progression in patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Apoptosis ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; metabolism ; pathology ; Down-Regulation ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Survival Rate ; Thy-1 Antigens ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo observe the expression of Runx2 in osteoblasts in response to centrifugation in vitro and discuss the function of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signal transduction pathway in this course.

METHODSCells were divided into four groups, group A, B, C and D, pretreated with DMEM containing 10% fetal bovine serum, 10% fetal bovine serum, 100 ng x mL(-1) Noggin and 100 ng x mL(-1) Noggin for 24 hours separately. 271 x g centrifugation was loaded for 5 min to these groups except group A and C, other conditions were the same. The total RNA of each group were extracted, and reversed transcription to cDNA after 30 min. The expression of Runx2 in response to centrifugation in vitro was analyzed by quantitative real time PCR.

RESULTSThe expression of Runx2 mRNA in group B was significantly higher than that in group A (P < 0.05). The expression of Runx2 mRNA in group D was significantly lower than that in group B (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference among group A, C, D (P = 0.692).

CONCLUSIONBMP signal transduction pathway plays an important role in the response of osteoblasts to mechanical stimulations. It may also play a central role in the cascade information dissemination of osteoblasts.

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 ; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; Cell Differentiation ; Centrifugation ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Osteoblasts ; RNA, Messenger ; Signal Transduction

Objective To analyze the clinical features of melioidosis,explore its diagnosis and treatment methods.Methods 35 patients who were with pathogenic evidence of melioidosis and admitted in a hospital between March 2012 and February 2017 were analyzed retrospectively.Results Of 35 patients at admission,2 (5.7％) were with confirmed culture result of melioidosis in the other hospitals,3 (8.6％) highly suspected patients had relatively typical clinical features,30 (85.7％) were misdiagnosed,suspected patients were all confirmed melioidosis through the cultured result of Burkholderia pseudomallei from all kinds of specimens.Through treatment of anti-infection,surgical drainage (11.4％) and operation (20.0％),26 cases (74.3 ％) were improved or recovered,2 (5.7％) abandoned treatment,and 7 (20.0％) died.The most common initial symptom was fever (88.6％),followed by cough (34.3％),shortness of breath(28.6％),abdominal pain (14.6％),extremity pain (11.4％),and joint pain (5.7％);the top five infection sites were blood (85.7％),lung (54.3％),spleen (20.0％),skin and soft tissue (20.0％),and liver (14.3％);85.7％ of Burkholderia pseudomallei were isolated from blood culture,37.1％ and 20.0％ were isolated from all kinds of puncture fluid and sputum respectively.Conclusion Clinical features of melioidosis are diverse,misdiagnosis rate is high.Early,timely,rational,and enough treatment course can reduce the mortality and recurrence rate of melioidosis.

Host genetic factors, such as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, are important in Human immunod-eficiency virus (HIV) infection and its progression to AIDS. HLA class I genes, especially highly polymorphicHLA-B genes, are involved in the activation of HLA-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against HIV, andthus control susceptibility to or protect against this virus. The present study was aimed to determine the distributionof HLA-B alleles in the Chinese Uygur ethnic group and its association with HIV infection. One hundred ten healthycontrol (HIV negative) and 128 HIV positive Chinese Xinjiang Uygur ethnic individuals were used in this study.HLA typing for B allele was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with sequence-specific primers (SSP).Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was calculated using POPGENE software for the healthy control group. The HLA-Bfrequency of each allele was compared between the patients and the controls using the chi-square test. In HIV-1-pos-itive group, gene frequency of allele B * 4901 was significantly higher compared to the healthy control subjects (P=0.02, OR=3.06, 95%CI=1.16～8.10 forB*4901). In contrast, the gene frequency of B * 40 in healthy controlswas significantly higher than in the HIV-positive patients (P=0.02, OR=0.39, 95%CI=0.07～0. 92 for B* 40).In this study, HLA allele B * 4901 may be associated with increased susceptibility to HIV-1 infection, whereas the B* 40 allele may be associated with resistance to H HIV-1 infection.