BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Stroke is a leading cause of death in Korea. Early measurement to prevent stroke are extremely important since it has no cure. Korean might have different risk factors since their dietary habit and socio-economical status differ from most western countries. However, the risk factors for stroke in Korea have not yet been identified. Moreover, the lifestyle of health Korean adults has not been investigated. In this study we investigate the life of health adults living in Seoul and rural areas and compare the life style of the two. METHODS: One hundred seventy one subjects were studies. Among the subjects studied, 128 were from Seoul, the other 43 were from the country area. The age of the subjects was limited to over 40 years. Blood pressure, fast blood sugar, and cholesterol were measured. The subjects' height, weight, body mass index total body fat, skinfolds thickness of triceps, subscapular and abdomen were measured to determine obesity. Using a structured interview, we assessed : sodium intake, physical activity and exercise, consumption of vegetables, fat, fish and fruits. The results of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences in age and education between the two groups of subjects. The mean age of the subjects were 66 years old. The subjects residing in rural areas had a higher intake of sodium(p<0.05), lower physical active(P<0.05), and higher BMI and body fat(p<0.05) as compared to the subjects in Seoul. Subjects with hypertension were between 24% and 33% and the prevalence of hypertension was the highest was the highest when compared to the prevalence of DM, or hypercholesterolemia. However, the prevalence of hypertension, DM, hypercholesterolemia, were not significantly different in these areas. CONCLUSION: our results show that subjects living in rural areas eat more salty food, exercise less and tend to be obese. The finding of this study lead to speculation that Korean living in rural areas have less information about the effects diet of diet on health than city dwellers do. General health and nutrition education programs aimed at the prevention of stoke and other such conditions for rural area Korean may close the risk factor gap between rural and urban dwellers.
Abdomen ; Adipose Tissue ; Adult ; Aged ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Weight ; Cause of Death ; Cholesterol ; Diet ; Education ; Food Habits ; Fruit ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Korea* ; Life Style* ; Motor Activity ; Obesity ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Sodium ; Stroke* ; Vegetables

Siegesbeckia pubescens (SP) has been used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of and inflammatory diseases.However,the activities of SP against hepatocellular carcinoma and the related mechanisms remain unclear.The present study aimed to examine the effects of the essential oil of SP (SPEO) on the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and the possible mechanisms.The growth inhibition of HepG2 cells was analyzed by MTT assay.Hoechst 33258 and fluorescence microscopy were utilized to observe the nuclear morphological changes of apoptotic cells.Flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis and cell cycle.The expressions of the target proteins were detected by Western blotting.The results showed that SPEO obviously inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner.SPEO activated a series of apoptotic proteins in HepG2 cells,increasing expression levels of Bax,caspase-3 and caspase-9,and decreasing the bcl-2 expression level.SPEO displayed promising anti-hepatocellular carcinoma activities in vitro,partly by inducing apoptosis in HepG2 cells through activating the mitochondrial pathway.

Objective To observe the effect of two kinds of Kinesio taping methods on shoulder pain in hemiplegic patients with stroke during spasm period. Methods From October,2015 to September,2017,75 stroke hemiplegic patients with shoulder pain during spasm period were randomly divided into group A(n=25),group B(n=25)and control group(n=25).Three groups were given conventional treatment,and group A and group B received two kinds of Kinesio taping methods,respectively.Be-fore and four weeks after treatment,the shoulder pain was assessed with Visual Analogue Scale(VAS),the motor function of upper limb was assessed with Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FMA),and their activities of daily living was assessed with modified Barthel Index(MBI). Results After treatment, the score of VAS significantly decreased in all groups (P<0.001), and was lower in groups A and B than in the control group(P<0.05),especially in group A(P<0.01);the scores of FMA and MBI signifi-cantly increased(P<0.001),and was higher in groups A and B than in the control group(P<0.05),especially in group A(P<0.05). Conclusion Kinesio taping combined with rehabilitation training for the treatment of stroke patients following hemiple-gia during spasm period can relieve the shoulder pain and improve the motor function of upper limb and activi-ties of daily living.The curative effect varies with different taping methods.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study aimed to verify the reliability of the alcoholic liver disease (ALD)/nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) index (ANI) for distinguishing ALD in patients with hepatic steatosis from NAFLD, and to investigate whether ANI combined with γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) would enhance the accuracy of diagnosis in China. METHODS: A hundred thirty-nine cases of fatty liver disease (FLD) were divided into two groups of ALD and NAFLD. The ANI was calculated with an online calculator. All indicators and ANI values were analyzed using statistical methods. RESULTS: ANI was significantly higher in patients with ALD than in those with NAFLD (7.11 ± 5.77 vs. -3.09 ± 3.89, p < 0.001). With a cut-off value of -0.22, the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of diagnosed ALD cases was 87.1%, 92.5%, and 0.934 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.879 to 0.969), respectively. The corresponding values for aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine transaminase (ALT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and GGT were 75.29%, 72.94%, and 0.826 (95% CI, 0.752 to 0.885); 94.34%, 83.02%, and 0.814 (95% CI, 0.739 to 0.875) and 80.23%, 79.25%, and 0.815 (95% CI, 0.740 to 0.876), respectively. ANI AUROC was significantly higher than the AST/ALT, MCV, or GGT AUROCs (all p < 0.001), moreover, ANI showed better diagnostic performance. The combination of ANI and GGT showed a better AUROC than ANI alone (0.976 vs. 0.934, p = 0.016). The difference in AUROCs between AST/ALT, MCV, and GGT was not statistically significant (all p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: ANI can help distinguish ALD from NAFLD with high accuracy; when ANI was combined with GGT, its effectiveness improved further.
Alcoholics* ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; China ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Erythrocyte Indices ; Fatty Liver* ; gamma-Glutamyltransferase ; Humans ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic* ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Transferases*

The specimens of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with early invasion, and specimens collected by core needle biopsy (CNB) tend to contain limited amount of invasive component, so it is imperative to explore a new technique which can assess HER2 gene status accurately for the limited invasive cancer component in these specimens. Dual staining technique of combining immunohistochemistry (IHC) for myoepithelial cells and single or dual probe chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) for HER2 gene was performed on routinely processed paraffin sections from 20 cases diagnosed as having DCIS with invasive cancer. Among them, 10 had fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-confirmed amplification of HER2 and 10 had FISH-confirmed non-amplification of HER2. We successfully detected HER2 genetic signals and myoepithelial IHC markers (SMM-HC or CK5/6) simultaneously on a single section in all 20 specimens. Myoepithelial markers and HER2 signals detected by dual staining assay were consistent with those by individual technique performed alone. HER2 gene amplification results determined by dual staining assay were 100% consistent with those of FISH. Dual staining technique which allows simultaneous detection of myoepithelial marker protein and cancerous HER2 gene is feasible, and it has potential to be used in clinical practice for effective determination of HER2 amplification in limited invasive component.
Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Chromogenic Compounds ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; methods ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; methods ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; methods ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Objective To study the relationship between hepatitis B virus genotypes and hepatitis B virus large envelope protein. Methods A total of 138 surveyed children with chronic active HBV infection were enrolled real-time fluorescence PCR method was employed to quantify serum HBV DNA levels and classify the HBV genotypes. Hepatitis B virus large envelope protein was detected by using enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). Results The absorbance of hepatitis B virus large envelope protein was positively correlated with hepatitis B virus DNA levels (r=0.85, P＜0.05); Serum ALT levers, the absorbance of hepatitis B virus large envelope protein and hepatitis B virus DNA levels (P＞0.05,P＞0.05,P＞0.05), were no significant difference between hepatitis B virus genotype B and hepatitis B virus genotype C. Conclusion There was a close correlation between the absorbance of hepatitis B virus large envelope protein and HBV DNA levels. Hepatitis B virus large envelope protein was a reliable serological marker that can reflect the replication of hepatitis B virus and there was no relationship between hepatitis B virus genotypes and Hepatitis B virus large envelope protein.

Objective:To observe the effect of Chinese herbal compound Siwu decoction (SW) on radiation injury of zebra fish blood system, and to clarify whether zebra fish is a suitable model for this study. Methods:Totally 72 of 4-month-old adult male zebra fish ( Danio Rerio) with body weight ranging from 0.14 to 0.20 g were used in all the experiments, where 36 zebra fish were taken to observe the hemodynamic changes after radiation, and the other 36 zebra fish were used to study the intervention effect of Siwu decoction on the blood injury after radiation. Zebra fish was irradiated with 20 Gy of 60Co gamma-rays at a dose rate of 97.33 cGy/min. For the hemodynamic study, the peripheral blood and whole kidney marrow cells (WKMCs)of irradiated zebra fish and non irradiated control were collected on days 7, 14 and 30 after irradiation, respectively, and the cell number was detected by flow cytometry. For the Siwu decoction treatment, 36 zebra fish were randomly divided into non-irradiation group, irradiation group, SW2 000 group ( Siwu decoction was diluted by 2 000-fold) and SW5 000 group ( Siwu decoction was diluted by 5 000-fold). Siwu decoction was given on the second day after irradiation. Then the peripheral blood and WKM cells of zebra fish were collected at 7 d after irradiation for further analysis. Results:After irradiation, the dynamic of blood development of zebra fish were obviously changed with the most blood cell ablation at 7 d post-irradiation. The total number of peripheral blood cells and WKM cells decreased by 26% and 52%( t=4.535, 28.987, P<0.05), the number of myeloid monocytes, lymphocytes, and red blood cells in the WKM decreased by 46%, 79% and 33%( t=18.457, 66.900, 9.872, P<0.05), and the number of precursor cells decreased by 49% ( P>0.05). The numbers of these blood cells were partly recovered at 14 d after irradiation and returned to the normal level at 30 d after irradiation. In comparison with irradiation alone group, the numbers of WKM cells, myeloid monocytes, progenitor cells, lymphocytes and red blood cells increased by 57%, 125%, 81% and 35%, respectively ( t=12.128, 21.594, 15.473, 4.594, P<0.05), and peripheral red cells did not increase significantly in the SW5 000 group after irradiation. However, SW2 000 had no significant influence on radiation injury of zebra fish blood cells ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Radiation injury of the blood system of zebra fish could be recovered at a month after irradiation, and this radiation damage could be partly intervened by Siwu decoction at a suitable concentration, which provides a reference for the study of blood system regulation of traditional Chinese medicine.

To investigate oral health status in the residents of Sichuan Province, southwest China, a cross-sectional study was performed using the latest Oral Health Survey Basic Methods recommended by the World Health Organization. A multistage stratified random cluster-sampling method was used to enroll participants from the following three groups: children aged 3–5 years, adolescents aged 12 years, and people aged 65–74 years. In these three groups, the mean numbers of teeth that were affected by caries were 3.28, 0.86 and 5.13, respectively, resulting in a prevalence of 63.47%, 37.20%and 83.20%, respectively. Relative to the high rate of decayed teeth, the prevalence of fillings was very low in all age groups (0.97%, 7.24% and 5.43%, respectively). In the 12-year-old adolescent group, only 3.61%had good pit and fissure sealing. In addition, the rate of dental fluorosis was 24.80%, and the Community Fluorosis Index value was 0.39. In the elder group, the community periodontal index was 2.92. The prevalence in the elderly of having lost at least one tooth was 75.54%. Additionally, 4.44%of these participants were edentulous. The incidence of dental prosthesis was 51.75%, the proportion with a removable partial denture, a fixed denture, full dentures, dental implants and an informal fixed bridge was 21.59%, 11.45%, 4.64%, 0 and 16.67%, respectively. In this study, 8.2%of the elderly participants were affected by different types of oral mucosal lesions. Among such lesions, recurrent aphthous ulcers were most prevalent (2.69%) and oral lichen planuses were second (1.6%). The conclusion presented in this survey is that oral diseases, especially dental caries and periodontal disease, are frequent and common in Sichuan province, China. Moreover, the treatment rate is very low, and primary prevention and treatment options are therefore urgently needed in this population.

Objective:To explore the correlation between peripheral blood B cell count and clinical features and prognosis of patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL).Methods:The relationship of peripheral blood B cell count with clinical features,laboratory indexes and prognosis in 67 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL was retrospectively analyzed.Results:Patients were divided into low B-cell count group(B cell＜0.1 × 109/L,n=34)and high B-cell count group(B cell≥0.1 × 109/L,n=33)according to the median B cell count values.Compared with the high B cell count group,the low B cell count group had a higher proportion of patients with Lugano stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ,elevated LDH,elevated β2-MG and IPI score 3-5 and increased CRP(P=0.033,0.000,0.023,0.001,0.033).The peripheral CD3+and CD4+cell counts of patients in the low B cell count group were significantly lower than those in the high B cell count group(P=0.010,0.017).After initial treatment,overall response rate(ORR)and complete remission(CR)rate in high B cell count group were significantly higher than those in low B cell count group(P=0.032,0.013).The median follow-up time of patients was 23(2-77)months,progression-free survival(PFS)and overall survival(OS)of patients in the high B cell count group were significantly better than those in the low B cell count group(P=0.001,0.002).Univariate analysis showed that pretreatment low B cell count in the peripheral blood was associated with shortened PFS and OS(HR=4.108,P=0.002;HR=8.218,P=0.006).Multivariate analysis showed that low B cell count was an independent prognostic factor for shortened PFS(HR=3.116,P=0.037).Conclusion:Decreased peripheral blood B cell count in newly diagnosed DLBCL patients is associated with high-risk clinical features and may affect the efficacy of immunochemotherapy,which is associated with poor clinical prognosis.

Sophora moorcroftiana (S. moorcroftiana) is an endemic leguminous dwarf shrub in Tibet, China. Decoctions of the seeds have been used in Chinese folk medicine for dephlogistication, detoxication, and infectious diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the constituent and biological effects of polysaccharides from S. moorcroftiana seeds in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). Polysaccharides from S. moorcroftiana seeds (SMpol) were extracted with 60% ethanol and constituent was analyzed by GC-MS. SMpol was composed of glucose, galactose and inositol in the molar ratio of 35.7 : 1.3 : 17.0. Synchronized worms were treated with SMpol and then lifespan, motility, reproduction, stress resistance and antimicrobial activity were examined. Compared with the control group, the lifespan was increased to the average of 27.3 days and the number of laying eggs showed a 1.3-fold increase in nematodes treated with SMpol (4 mg·mL). In SMpol (4 mg·mL) treated worms, there was a 1.1-fold increase in 24-h survival of acute heat stress and a 1.6-fold increase in 2-h survival of oxidative stress The colonization of the bacteria in the SMpol treated nematode was significantly lower than that of the untreated group by 68.3%. In vivo studies showed SMpol significantly extended the life span, improved reproduction, increased stress resistance and antimicrobial capacity of C. elegans. In conclusion, those results indicated that the polysaccharides from S. moorcroftiana seeds were involved in a variety of biological activities leading to its modulatory effects on C. elegans which may be developed as a natural supplement agent.
Animals ; Caenorhabditis elegans ; drug effects ; physiology ; Longevity ; drug effects ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Polysaccharides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Reproduction ; drug effects ; Seeds ; chemistry ; Sophora ; chemistry ; Stress, Physiological ; drug effects