Thirty strains of seven Candida species from CICC(China Center of Industrial Culture Collection)were studied. The strains were differentiated by ITS1 region PCR-SSCP fingerprinting analysis and ITS2 region PCR-SSCP fingerprinting analysis. Results showed that both ITS1 region and ITS2 region were able to differentiate the seven species of Candida clearly. Contrasting the maps and effects on the identification of Candida species of ITS1 region with that of ITS2 region, result indicated that on the identification of Candida species the application of ITS2 region was better than ITS1 region.

PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway plays an essential role in the growth, proliferation and survival of various type of cells and also hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). Aberrant activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway leads to exhaustion of HSC, while the inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway results in blocking of B cell differentiation. This article reviews the latest advances on the role of key components involved in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, including PI3K, AKT, mTOR, FoxO and GSK-3 in HSC.
Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Humans ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; metabolism

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between serum mRNA level of heparin binding epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) occurrence. Methods: Our research included in 2 groups: ACS group,n=50 patients and Control group,n=100 normal subjects. Serum HB-EGF mRNA level was examined by RT-PCR and the relationship between HB-EGF mRNA and ACS occurrence was assessed by Logistic regression analysis. Results: Compared with Control group, the serum HB-EGF mRNA level of ACS group was higher (0.22±0.73) vs (0.46±0.14),P<0.05. With adjusted meaningful factors of hypertension, smoking, TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and BMI by single factor analysis, multi Logistic regression analysis indicated that serum HB-EGF mRNA was related to ACS occurrence (OR=5.813, 95% CI 2.342-14.426,P<0.001) which meant that upon 0.1 grey value of HB-EGF mRNA elevation, the risk of ACS occurrence may increase 4.813 folds accordingly. Conclusion: Serum HB-EGF mRNA level was related to ACS occurrence.

Objective To analyze the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of the children with measles. Methods Retro-spectively analyzed methods were applied to analyze the timing, and season of the break, age distribution, clinical manifestations and major complications of 3431 children with measles (<12 years) in the Second Hospital of Nanjing from 2008 to 2015. Results It found that there was a peak incidence of measles in children each in 2009, 2013, and 2015 , peaking in March to May. Onset age of measles mainly within the first year of life, and incidence increased with age within the first 8 months. Typical clinical manifestations are mainly fever, rash, cough, and catarrhal symptoms. The main complications of measles were pneumonia, laryngitis and heart failure. Conclusions Early diagnosis and effective treatment of the children with measles needs to be strengthened.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between Parkinson’s disease and pancreatic cancer in Taiwan. Methods: This was a case-control study using claim data of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Program. There were 13,861 subjects aged 20- 84 with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer as cases and 55,444 randomly selected subjects without pancreatic cancer as controls from 1998 to 2011. Cases and controls were matched by sex, age and index year of diagnosing pancreatic cancer. The association of pancreatic cancer with Parkinson’s disease was evaluated by the multivariable logistic regression model to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: After adjusting for confounding factors including acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus, biliary stone, alcoholism, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, the multivariable logistic regression analysis showed the adjusted OR of pancreatic cancer was 0.82 for subjects with Parkinson’s disease (95% CI 0.55, 1.21), as compared with subjects without Parkinson’s disease. Conclusion: No association is detected between Parkinson’s disease and pancreatic cancer.
Parkinson Disease ; Pancreatic Neoplasms

OBJECTIVES: The global burden of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rising. An alternative term, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), instead highlights the associated metabolic risks. This cohort study examined patient classifications under NAFLD and MAFLD criteria and their associations with all-cause mortality. METHODS: Participants who attended a paid health check-up (2012-2015) were included. Hepatic steatosis (HS) was diagnosed ultrasonographically. NAFLD was defined as HS without secondary causes, while MAFLD involved HS with overweight/obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, or ≥2 metabolic dysfunctions. Mortality was tracked via the Taiwan Death Registry until November 30, 2022. RESULTS: Of 118,915 participants, 36.9% had NAFLD, 40.2% had MAFLD, and 32.9% met both definitions. Participants with NAFLD alone had lower mortality, and those with MAFLD alone had higher mortality, than individuals with both conditions. After adjustment for potential confounders, the hazard ratios (HRs) for all-cause mortality were 1.08 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78 to 1.48) for NAFLD alone and 1.26 (95% CI, 1.09 to 1.47) for MAFLD alone, relative to both conditions. Advanced fibrosis conferred greater mortality risk, with HRs of 1.93 (95% CI, 1.44 to 2.58) and 2.08 (95% CI, 1.61 to 2.70) for advanced fibrotic NAFLD and MAFLD, respectively. Key mortality risk factors for NAFLD and MAFLD included older age, unmarried status, higher body mass index, smoking, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and advanced fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS All-cause mortality in NAFLD and/or MAFLD was linked to cardiometabolic covariates, with risk attenuated after multivariable adjustment. A high fibrosis-4 index score, indicating fibrosis, could identify fatty liver disease cases involving elevated mortality risk.

Objective To investigate the effects of Lp(a)on proliferation GMCs of rat model induced by lipopolysaccharide and explore the possible mechanism of Lp(a)in the proliferation of rat GMCs.Methods To observe the effects of Lp(a)on proliferation of GMCs,different dosage of Lp(a)were used,The research were divided into three groups:Control group,LPS group,Lp(a)group.After culture(at the end of 12h,24h,48h,60h and 72h),the cultured GMCs and suspension were collected to observe the rate of GMCs proliferation by MTT,the positive rate of proliferation cell nuclear antigen(PCNA)by immunohistochemisty,and the level of intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1)by ELISA respectively.Results Compared with control and LPS group,MTT,positive rate of PCNA and ICAM-1 of GMCs were increased more significantly in Lp(a)group.MTT ,the positive rate of PCNA and ICAM-1 of GMCs were increased as Lp(a)dosage increased,a maximal effect was seen when Lp(a)was 2.5 μg/L or 5.0μg/L.When the dosage continue increased,MTT,the positive rate of PCNA and ICAM-1 activity of GMCs began to decrease in Lp(a)group.ICAM-1 showed positive correlation with MTT and the positive rate of PCNA.Conclusion Lp(a)can significantly affect the rate of GMCs proliferation,and this affection is in a dosage-and timedependent manner.Low dosage stimulates GMCs proliferation, and high dosage inhibits GMCs proliferation.ICAM-1 shows positive correlation with MTT and the positive rate of PCNA.The effect of Lp(a)on GMCs may be through ICAM-1.

This paper describes a type of blood pressure monitor we have developed using 8031 chip microprocessor based on oscillometric method and the designs of hardware and software. Comparing the measurement results of oscillometric method with that of direct invasive measurement method, we find that the monitor is very useful in clinical applications. Finally in the paper, some improvements that can be made in the monitor are proposed.
Algorithms ; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory ; instrumentation ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Microcomputers ; Oscillometry ; Software Design

No abstract available.

OBJECTIVETo explore the application value of morphology assessment of sperm from fresh semen in routine in vitro fertilization (IVF).

METHODSWe analyzed the morphology of the sperm from fresh or optimized semen samples and, based on the sperm morphology of the raw semen, allocated 908 IVF cycles due to the pure tubal factor to different groups: morphologically normal sperm (MNS) ≤ 4%, > 4% - ≤ 15%, and > 15% in Trial 1 and MNS ≤ 1%, > 1% - ≤ 2%, > 2% - ≤ 3%, and > 3%-- ≤ 4% in Trial 2. We compared the rates of fertilization, cleavage, high-quality embryo, -blastocyst formation, and pregnancy among different groups.

RESULTSThe total fertilization rate was significantly lower in the MNS ≤ 4% than in the MNS > 4% - ≤ 15% and >15% groups (74.40% vs 78.61% and 80.03%, P < 0.01). Compared with the MNS ≤ 1%, > 1% - ≤ 2%, and > 2% - ≤ 3% groups, the MNS > 3% - ≤ 4% group showed remarkably increased rates of 2PN normal fertilization (77.23%, 78.97% and 78.99% vs 85.47%, P < 0.01), cleavage (95.71%, 96.01% and 97.27% vs 98.73%, P < 0.05), and blastocyst formation (53.85%, 49.01% and 49.55% vs 63.41%, P < 0.01). No statistically significant differences were observed in the rates of clinical pregnancy, implantation, early abortion, live birth, or malformation at birth among different groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONMNS ≤ 4% affected the total rate of fertilization while MNS ≤ 3% reduced the rate of normal fertilization in IVF. However, even MNS ≤ 1% did not result in fertilization disorder or failure. Therefore, teratozoospermia alone was not an indicator of ICSI and sperm mor- phology assessment had no obvious value for predicting the rates of embryo quality, clinical pregnancy, and live birth in IVF.