Objective To evaluate the quality of the portal images acquired by computed radiography(CR)system and conventional screen-film system,respectively.Methods imaging plates (IP)and X-ray films of a home-devised lead phantom with a leakage of 6.45% were acquired,and modulation transfer function(MTF)curves of the both images were measured using edge method.Portal images of 40 nasopharyngeal cancer patients were acquired by IP and screen-film system respectively.Two doctors with similar experience evaluated the damage degree of petrosa] bone,the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve of CR images and general images were drawn according to two doctors evaluation results.Results The identification frequency of CR system and screen-film system were 1.159 and 0.806 Lp/mm respectively.For doctor one,the area under ROC curve of CR images and general images were 0.802 and 0.742 respectively.For doctor two,the area under ROC curve of CR images and general images were 0.751 and 0.600 respectively.The MTF curve and ROC curve of CR are both better than those of screen-film system.Conclusion The image quality of CR portal imaging is much better than that of screen-film system.The utility of CR in linear accelerator for portal imaging is promising in clinic.

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical efficacy on sleep disorder in the intervention of flying needling therapy and compare the efficacy difference among flying needling therapy, estazolam and non-acupoint acupuncture.

METHODSThree hundred and fifteen cases of sleep disorder were randomized into a flying needling group (110 cases), an estazolam group (107 cases) and a non-acupoint acupuncture group (98 cases). In the flying needling group, the flying needling therapy was applied to Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Anmian (EX HN22), Shenmen (HT 7) and so on. Additionally, vitamin B1 was prescribed for oral administration and the intradermal needle method was given at the Back-shu points. In the estazolam group, estazolam was prescribed for oral administration. Also the non-acupoint acupuncture and the acupoint sticking therapy on the Back-shu points were given additionally. In the non-acupoint acupuncture group, the non-acupoint acupuncture, oral administration of vitamin B1 and the acupoint sticking therapy on the Back-shu points were applied. The treatment of 2 weeks were required in all the groups. The efficacy and the score of PSQI (Pittsburgh sleep quality index) were observed in the 2-week follow-up visit.

RESULTSThe total effective rate in the flying needling group was 84.1% (90/107), which was superior to 59.7% (62/104) in the estazolam group and 25.0% (24/96) in the non-acupoint acupuncture group (both P < 0.05). In the follow-up observation, the score of each item and the total score of PSQI were lower apparently than those before treatment in each group (all P < 0.05), and those in the flying needling group were lower apparently than those in the other two groups (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe flying needling therapy as the chief therapeutic method effectively improves the sleep quality for the patients with sleep disorder, which is apparently superior to estazolam and non-acupoint acupuncture.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sleep ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDTrichophyton rubrum represents the most common infectious fungus responsible for dermatophytosis in human, but the mechanism involved is still not completely understood. An appropriate model constructed to simulate host infection is the prerequisite to study the pathogenesis of dermatophytosis caused by T. rubrum. In this study, we intended to develop a new T. rubrum infection model in vitro, using the three-dimensional reconstructed epidermis - EpiSkin ®, and to pave the way for further investigation of the mechanisms involved in T. rubrum infection.

METHODSThe reconstructed human epidermis (RHE) was infected by inoculating low-dose (400 conidia) and high-dose (4000 conidia) T. rubrum conidia to optimize the infection dose. During the various periods after infection, the samples were processed for pathological examination and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation.

RESULTSThe histological analysis of RHE revealed a fully differentiated epidermis with a functional stratum corneum, which was analogous to the normal human epidermis. The results of hematoxylin and eosin staining and the periodic acid-Schiff staining showed that the infection dose of 400 conidia was in accord with the pathological characteristics of host dermatophytosis caused by T. rubrum. SEM observations further exhibited the process of T. rubrum infection in an intuitionistic way.

CONCLUSIONSWe established the T. rubrum infection model on RHE in vitro successfully. It is a promising model for further investigation of the mechanisms involved in T. rubrum infection.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Epidermis ; microbiology ; Humans ; Keratinocytes ; cytology ; Tissue Culture Techniques ; Trichophyton ; pathogenicity

OBJECTIVE: To observe the length heteroplasmy and point heteroplasmy in human mtDNA control region. METHODS: The peripheral blood, buccal cell, and single hair shaft from 50 individuals and 16 family members, related in their maternallineage were analyzed by direct sequencing, and clones from 20 individuals whose mtDNA sequences have a T-C transition at 16189 nt were sequenced. RESULTS: No point heteroplasmy were observed in peripheral blood, buccal cell, single hair shaft from the same individual, neither in maternally related individuals. Length heteroplasmy was observed in those individuals with a homopolymeric tract and the different clones from the same individual has different proportions of length variants, but the hair shafts from the same individual were very similar to the measurements made from blood DNA. No length heteroplasmy was observed between different tissues from the same individual. CONCLUSION mtDNA sequences have a characteristic of high consistency and genetic stability, mtDNA sequencing is a suitable tool for forensic applications such as individual identification.
Base Sequence ; DNA Mutational Analysis/methods* ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics* ; Epithelial Cells ; Genetic Heterogeneity ; Hair/chemistry* ; Humans ; Mouth/cytology* ; Point Mutation ; Polymorphism, Genetic/genetics*

OBJECTIVETo investigate the health care status of female workers exposed to occupational hazards in Haidian district of Beijing and improve the labor protection of female workers.

METHODSA questionnaire provided by National Center for Women and Children's Health of Chinese CDC was used in the survey conducted to collect information about health care status of female workers in 141 factories with occupational hazards including chemical poisons and physical factors (noise, libration, microwave, high frequency and low temperature).

RESULTS141 factories were investigated, including 53 state-owned enterprises, 21 collective enterprises, 46 joint-stock enterprises, and 21 non-public enterprises. 12 251 female workers were surveyed, 10.19% (1249/12 251) of whom were exposed to occupational hazards. Of 141 factories studied, 16.31% (23/141) had no labor protection management organization.27.66% (39/141) did not provide pre-employment physical examination service to female workers.48.94% (69/141) didn't establish labor protection system for female workers in menstrual period. While, 21.28% (30/141) of the studied institutes deducted some salaries in the pregnancy, and 32.62% (46/141) deducted their wages during the puerperal period. 2.13% (3/141) arranged female workers in the posts which are forbidden by law (continuous heavy work load operation).9.93% (14/141) arranged pregnant female workers on the post forbidden by law.31.91% (45/141) and 33.33% (47/141) would deduct the time of prenatal medical examination and lactation from their working hours, respectively.39.01% (55/141) didn't afford the cost of fertility. 68.09% (96/141) had annual gynecological examination.45 factories were collected occupational examination reports, accounted for 31.91% (45/141). No female workers were found suffering from occupational disease. Of the 1865 occupational hazard factor monitoring points in 34 factories, there were 155 monitoring points, which were all noise monitoring points, did not meet the standard.

CONCLUSIONThe current health-care status of female workers is not optimistic. It is necessary to consistently improve health care legislations, establish coordinated management mechanism and strengthen the publicity of policy to protect female workers.

China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Occupational Diseases ; epidemiology ; Occupational Exposure ; statistics & numerical data ; Occupational Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Women's Health Services ; Work Capacity Evaluation ; Workplace

OBJECTIVEA functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at codon 72 of the gene for p53 protein (p53 R72P) has been implicated in a variety of human cancers, but the relationship between this SNP and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains obscure despite the fact that the critical role of p53 protein in HCC has been documented. This study was conducted to evaluate the link between the polymorphism with HCC stratified by chronic hepatitis B infection status in a Chinese population.

METHODSFour hundred and sixty-nine HCC cases (359 HbsAg-positive, 110 HbsAg-negative) and 567 controls (137 HbsAg-positive, 430 HbsAg-negative) were studied. The p53 genotypes were determined by a PCR based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method.

RESULTSOverall, no correlation between HCC and the R72P genotypes was found when comparing all cases to controls or when comparing the HbsAg-positive HCC subgroup to controls. However, in HbsAg-negative subjects, the 72P allele was significantly associated with the presence of HCC (P=0.01) and had a higher risk (OR=1.69, 95% CI: 1.25-2.27) of HCC as compared to the 72R allele. By comparison to R/R homozygotes, the R/P heterozygotes and P/P homozygotes had a 1.73-fold (95% CI: 0.96-3.11) and a 3.29-fold (95% CI: 1.58-6.86) increased risk for HCC, respectively. The subjects with the 72P allele and a family history of HCC and those with the 72P allele and male gender also yielded an 11.14-fold (95% CI: 1.62-76.67) and a 9.39 fold (95% CI: 3.08-28.62) increased risk of HCC, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe P allele of the p53 R72P polymorphism has an increased risk for HCC in HbsAg-negative subjects, and exerts a synergistic influence on the risk for HCC when combined with HCC family history and the male gender.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; ethnology ; genetics ; China ; Codon ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Liver Neoplasms ; ethnology ; genetics ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; genetics

Objective:Our study was aimed to analyze the therapeutic effect of early sequential enteral nutrition on postoperative rehabilitation in patients with gastric cancer.Methods:Patients with gastric cancer receiving surgery at our hospital from 2016 to 2017 included and the clinical information was prospective collected and analyzed.Patients were randomly divided into two groups using random number table.Patients in group A were sequentially given amino acid type,short peptide type and then whole protein type,while those in group B received whole protein formulation only.The recovery of gastrointestinal function,postoperative systemic inflammatory response,six-minutes walking test,and enteral nutrition-related complications were compared between the two groups.Results:A total of 71 patients were included in this study (Group A 36 cases,Group B 35 cases).There was no significant difference in terms of the restart anal exhaust between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).Patients in group A had a significantly shorter postoperative hospitalization (t =4.070;P ＜ 0.01) and the earlier restoration of oral intake than that of Group B (t =3.400;P =0.001).One week after surgery,the levels of CRP (t =2.547;P =0.013) and IL-6 (t =3.172;P =0.002) were significant lower in group A when compared with group B.In addition,patients in group A had a significant higher six minutes walk steps than those in Group B [(416.1 + 36.7) m vs (358.9 ± 32.7) m;t =6.927,P ＜ 0.01].However,no significant difference in enteral nutrition-related complications was found between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion:In patients with gastric cancer,early sequential enteral nutrition can effectively accelerate the postoperative rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVEShellfish are recognized as important vehicles of norovirus-associated gastroenteritis. The present study aimed to monitor norovirus contamination in oysters along the farm-to-fork continuum in Guangxi, a major oyster production area in Southwestern China.

METHODSOyster samples were collected monthly from farms, markets, and restaurants, from January to December 2016. Norovirus was detected and quantified by one-step reverse transcription-droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (RT-ddPCR).

RESULTSA total of 480 oyster samples were collected and tested for norovirus genogroups I and II. Norovirus was detected in 20.7% of samples, with genogroup II predominating. No significant difference was observed in norovirus prevalence among different sampling sites. The norovirus levels varied widely, with a geometric mean of 19,300 copies/g in digestive glands. Both norovirus prevalence and viral loads showed obvious seasonality, with a strong winter bias.

CONCLUSIONThis study provides a systematic analysis of norovirus contamination 'from the farm to the fork' in Guangxi. RT-ddPCR can be a useful tool for detection and quantification of low amounts of norovirus in the presence of inhibitors found particularly in foodstuffs. This approach will contribute to the development of strategies for controlling and reducing the risk of human illness resulting from shellfish consumption.

Objective: To investigate the factors influencing total bilirubin elevation and its correlation with UGT1A1 gene polymorphism in the early postoperative period of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). Methods: 104 cases with portal hypertension and esophageal variceal hemorrhage (EVB) treated with elective TIPS treatment were selected as the study subjects and were divided into a bilirubin-elevated group and a normal bilirubin group according to the total bilirubin elevation level during the early postoperative period. Univariate analysis and logistic regression were used to analyze the factors influencing total bilirubin elevation in the early postoperative period. PCR amplification and first-generation sequencing technology were used to detect the polymorphic loci of the UGT1A1 gene promoter TATA box, enhancer c.-3279 T > G, c.211G > A, and c.686C > A. Logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation of four locus alleles and genotypes with elevated total bilirubin in the early postoperative period. Results: Among the 104 cases, 47 patients were in the bilirubin elevated group, including 35 males (74.5%) and 12 females (25.5%), aged (50.72 ± 12.56) years. There were 57 cases in the normal bilirubin group, including 42 males (73.7%) and 15 females (26.3%), aged (51.63 ± 11.10) years. There was no statistically significant difference in age (t = -0.391, P = 0.697) and gender (χ(2) = 0.008, P = 0.928) between the two groups of patients. Univariate analysis revealed that preoperative alanine transaminase (ALT) level (χ(2) = 5.954, P = 0.015), total bilirubin level (χ(2) = 16.638, P < 0.001), MELD score (χ(2) = 10.054, P = 0.018), Child-Pugh score (χ(2) = 6.844, P = 0.022), and postoperative portal vein branch development (χ(2) = 6.738, P = 0.034) were statistically significantly different between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that preoperative ALT level, total bilirubin level, and portal vein branch development after TIPS were correlated with the elevated total bilirubin in the early postoperative period. The polymorphism of the c.211G > A locus of the UGT1A1 gene correlation had elevated total bilirubin in the early postoperative period of TIPS. The risk of elevated total bilirubin was increased in the population carrying allele A (P = 0.001, OR = 4.049) in the early postoperative period. Allelic polymorphisms in the TATA box promoter region and enhancer c.-3279 T > G and c.686C > A had no statistically significant difference between the bilirubin-elevated group and the normal bilirubin group. Conclusion: The preoperative ALT level, total bilirubin level, and portal vein branch development are correlated with the elevated total bilirubin in early postoperative patients. The polymorphisms of the UGT1A1 gene and enhancer c.211G > A are correlated with the occurrence of elevated total bilirubin in the early postoperative period of TIPS. Allele A carrier may have a higher risk of elevated total bilirubin in the early postoperative period.
Female ; Humans ; Male ; Bilirubin ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/surgery* ; Portasystemic Shunt, Transjugular Intrahepatic ; Postoperative Period ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Glucuronosyltransferase/genetics*