Objective To evaluate the usefulness of the short-segment nerve conduction studies (SSCSs,inching test) of the peroneal nerve across the fibular head in order to diagnose and localize the site of entrapment of the nerve.Methods Fifty-four patients with suspected peroneal nerve palsy and 30 controls were studied.The symptoms all occurred in unilateral leg,involving 25 left legs and 29 right legs.Both long segment motor nerve conduction studies (LSMCs) and SSCSs were performed in all patients and controls.SSCSs were obtained at 2 cm intervals,starting 6 cm proximal (P6,P4 and P2) and 4 cm distal (D2 and D4) ending to the fibular head prominence (P).Results When nerve conduction of the entire 10 cm segment across the fibular head was tested by the conventional method,only 40 showed reduction in amplitude or slowing of motor conduction velocity or both.However,with SSCSs,54 peroneal nerves were all discovered abnormal.The results of comparison of conventional methods suggested that there were significant differences in conduction velocity between the fibular head-Ankle segment and the knee-fibular head segment in the case group,the latter ((33.63 ± 9.29) m/s) being slower than the former ((47.92 ± 4.04) m/s;t =9.776,P =0.000),while there was no obvious abnormality in the control group.The results of the control group detected by SSCSs showed that there was no significant difference between the left and right sides of the mean amplitude of the stimulation points and the mean time of segmental nerve conduction.Therefore,we set the exception criteria as the segmental nerve conduction time is longer than the corresponding control group (i + 2 s),and the CMAP amplitude of proximal stimulation point decreased by more than 20％ than the adjacent distal segment.In accordance with this standard,we found that the lesions were located in P6 to P4 in 2/54 (3.7％) legs,P4 to P2 in 4/54 (7.4％) legs,P2 to P in 43/54 (79.6％) legs,P to D2 in 12/54 (22.2％) legs,D2 to D4 in 3/54 (5.6％) legs,respectively.Consequently,the P2 to P segment was most vulnerable to damage.Conclusions SSCSs are more sensitive in detecting the entrapment of the peroneal nerve across the fibular head than the LSMCs.SSCSs could precisely localize the entrapment lesions,might be a useful tool especially for the detection of mild entrapment which has normal LSMCs findings of the peroneal nerve across the fibular head.

Objective To investigate the normal ranges of RET-He and reticulocyte grouping parameters of healthy adults in Wenzhou. Methods A total of 1 000 samples from healthy adults were collected in Wenzhou from August 2008 to February 2010. There were 506 males and 494 females. The individuals were stratified based on age into three groups:20 to 40-year-old group (n = 341 ), ＞40 to 60-year-old group (n =316), and ＞60-year-old group (n =343). All blood samples were drawn in EDTA-K2 anticoagulated blood. Peripheral RET-He and reticulocyte grouping parameters ( IRF, LFR, MFR, HFR)were determined by Sysmex XE-2100 automated hematology analyzer. The instrument was calibrated and validated before testing All specimens were analyzed within 2 hours. RET-He, RET absolute value and RET percentage were normal distribution, the normal range was established by using ((x)-1.96s,(x)+ 1.96 s)method. IRF, LFR, MFR and HFR data were skewed distribution,the normal range was established by using (P2.5 ,P97.5 )percentile method. Results The mean and normal range of RET-He were (33.91 ± 1.77) pg and (30.44 - 37.38) pg in male, (33.97 ± 1.85) pg and (30.34 - 37.60) pg in female,respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups ( t =-0.533, P＞0.05 ). The mean and normal range of RET absolute value were (0.051±0.023) × 1012/L and (0.006 -0.096)×1012/L in male,which were (0. 037 ±0. 026) × 1012/L and (0 -0. 088) × 1012/L in female, there was significant difference between the two groups ( t = 8. 409, P ＜ 0. 05 ) . The mean and normal range of RET percentage in male were(1.041 ±0.459)% and (0. 141 -1.941)% , and in female were (0.869±0.603)% and (0-2. 051 )%, which showed significant difference (t =5.074,P ＜0. 05). The normal ranges of LFR,MFR,HFR,IRF in male were 0. 951 (0.866 -0.988) ,0.046(0.010 -0.114) ,0. 003(0 -0.023) ,0. 050(0.012-0.134), and in female were 0.096(0.880 -0.991) ,0.039(0.008 -0.113) ,0.002(0-0.016) ,0.040(0.009-0.121), respectively. There were significant differences between the two groups (Z values were -5.044, -4.793, -3.559, -5.075, respectively,all P＜0.05). The means of RET-He in 20 to 40-year-old group, ＞40 to 60-year-old group, ＞ 60-year-old group and all age group were (33.38±1.49),(34.36 ±1.46), (34.12±2.21) and (33.94 +1.81) pg, respectively. The normal ranges were(30.46-36.30), (31.50 -37.22), (29.79 - 38.45) and (30.39 - 37.49) pg, which showed statistical difference( F =28. 072,P ＜0. 05). In addition, the normal range of RET-He in 20 to 40-year-old group was lower than that of ＞ 40 to 60-year-old group and ＞ 60-year-old group ( q values were 9. 970, 7. 791,respectively, P＜0. 05). The normal ranges of LFR, MFR, HFR, IRF in ＞ 60-year-old group were 0.961(0. 878 -0. 992) ,0. 037(0. 007 -0. 105 ) ,0. 002(0 -0. 020) and 0. 039(0. 008 -0. 117) ,while they were 0.953(0. 867 -0.990), 0.045(0.009 -0. 116) ,0.003(0 -0.019) ,0. 050(0. 010 -0. 133) in 20 to 40 -year-old group , and 0. 951 (0.855 -0.989) ,0.047 (0.010 - 0.133 ) ,0.003 ( 0-0.020), 0.049 (0.011-0.149)in ＞40 to 60-year-old group, which showed statistical difference (Z values were -3. 949, -4.236,-4. 373, -4. 973, - 2. 747, - 3. 275, - 3.901, - 4. 185, respectively, all P ＜ 0. 05). There was nodifference between male and female for RET-He, the same normal ranges could be used, but there was significant difference between different age groups. LFR, MFR, HFR and IRF were statistically different between different age groups and different sex groups. The normal ranges should be established by gender and age. Conclusion The normal ranges of RET-He and reticulocyte grouping parameters about healthy adults in Wenzhou are established, which plays an important role in clinical value of RET parameters.

[Objective] To explore whether the triglyceride level is associated with incidence of acute kidney injury in patients with acute pancreatitis. [Methods] From Jan 2015 to March 2017, 184 patients with acute pancreatitis were selected and divided in to 3 groups based on different triglyceride levels: ideal triglyceride group (n = 89) , mild high triglyceride group (n = 53) and severe high triglyceride group (n =42). The incidence of acute kidney injury and its severity were compared between the three groups.[Results]The incidence of acute kidney injury in severe high triglyceride group was 33.3％, significantly higher than that in ideal triglyceride group (12.3％). The surgical treatment (16.7％ vs 4.5％) , average hospitalization days (20 days vs 14 days) and systemic inflammatory response syndrome score (3.0 vs2.3) in severe high triglyceride group were higher than those in ideal triglyceride group, and all differences between the two groups were significant. After adjusting for factors such as age, sex, body mass index and other confounders, the risk of acute kidney injury occurring in severe high triglyceride group was 2.35 times that in ideal triglyceride group (95％CI: 1.32-4.29). [Conclusion] High triglyceride level proves to be associated with high risk of acute kidney injury in patients with acute pancreatitis.

BACKGROUNDAmide proton transfer (APT) imaging has recently emerged as an important contrast mechanism for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the field of molecular and cellular imaging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of APT imaging to detect cerebral abnormality in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) at 3.0 Tesla.

METHODSTwenty AD patients (9 men and 11 women; age range, 67-83 years) and 20 age-matched normal controls (11 men and 9 women; age range, 63-82 years) underwent APT and traditional MRI examination on a 3.0 Tesla MRI system. The magnetic resonance ratio asymmetry (MTR asym ) values at 3.5 ppm of bilateral hippocampi (Hc), temporal white matter regions, occipital white matter regions, and cerebral peduncles were measured on oblique axial APT images. MTR asym (3.5 ppm) values of the cerebral structures between AD patients and control subjects were compared with independent samples t-test. Controlling for age, partial correlation analysis was used to investigate the associations between mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and the various MRI measures among AD patients.

RESULTSCompared with normal controls, MTR asym (3.5 ppm) values of bilateral Hc were significantly increased in AD patients (right 1.24% ± 0.21% vs. 0.83% ± 0.19%, left 1.18% ± 0.18% vs. 0.80%± 0.17%, t = 3.039, 3.328, P = 0.004, 0.002, respectively). MTR asym (3.5 ppm) values of bilateral Hc were significantly negatively correlated with MMSE (right r = -0.559, P = 0.013; left r = -0.461, P = 0.047).

CONCLUSIONSIncreased MTR asym (3.5 ppm) values of bilateral Hc in AD patients and its strong correlations with MMSE suggest that APT imaging could potentially provide imaging biomarkers for the noninvasive molecular diagnosis of AD.

Aged ; Alzheimer Disease ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male

Objective Tolearnthecurrentsituationoffoodsafetyrisksurveillanceandtoimprovetheleveloffoodsafety riskmonitoringinShaoxingCity.Methods Wecollecteddatafromthenationalfoodcontaminantinformationsystem, foodbornediseasesurveillancereportingsystem,andthequestionnaireoffoodsafetyriskmonitoringnetwork.Results A total of 1 59 health professionals engaged in the food safety risk surveillance,and the full-time professionals was accounted for 23.90% of all the health professionals.About 90%of working equipments were equipped in the CDC of Shaoxing City, and 46% of working equipments were equipped in the county level CDC under Shaoxing′s jurisdiction.There were 483 food inspection projects in city level CDC,and 1 62 in county/district level CDC.A total of 1.595 million Yuan was allocated by the provincial special financial subsidy funds,and 1.85 million Yuan was allocated by the county special financial subsidy funds.Average 1.1 6 samples per 1 000 people of food safety risk surveillance and the positive detection rate of the foodbornediseasewas2.81%.Conclusion Theworkingfundingoffoodsafetyrisksurveillanceandprofessionalpeople were insufficient.The positive detection rate of specific pathogens foodborne disease was low and the mechanism operation was not perfect.The working mechanism should be to improved.The working funding,staffing,and monitoring ability should be strengthened.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between PTEN gene expression and Akt phosphorylation (p-Akt) in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and to explore the progression of MDS and the mechanism of high risk transformation to acute myeloid leukemia.

METHODSRT-PCR was used to detect the PTEN mRNA expression in leukemia cell lines K562 (as negative control) and Jurkat (as positive control) and 65 MDS and MDS/AML patients. Flow cytometry was used to detect p-Akt in HL-60 and Jurkat cells and 30 MDS patients.

RESULTS(1) K562 cells present PTEN gene expression while Jurkat cells did not. Of 65 MDS and MDS/AML patients, 27 (41.5%) expressed PTEN mRNA, being significantly lower than that in normal group (85.7%) (P < 0.01). (2) Jurkat cell showed high expression (86.9%) of p-Akt, while HL-60 cell as negative control did not express. P-Akt levels of 30 MDS patients were increased (1.35% - 58.23%), being much higher as compared with that of the normal contrast group (0.54% - 2.34%) (P < 0.01). Moreover, with the rate of blast cells increasing, the p-Akt level was rising up. There is a positive correlation (r = 0.93, P < 0.01) between the low expression rate of PTEN and the positive rate of p-Akt.

CONCLUSIONThe loss of PTEN gene expression is one of the important factors of p-Akt high expression in MDS patients, moreover, it may speed up the progress of the MDS or transformation to acute myeloid leukemia.

Adult ; Aged ; Bone Marrow Cells ; metabolism ; Female ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Jurkat Cells ; K562 Cells ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; metabolism ; PTEN Phosphohydrolase ; metabolism ; Phosphorylation ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism

Breast cancer is a complex disease driven by multiple factors including both genetic and epigenetic alterations. Recent studies revealed that abnormal gene expression induced by epigenetic changes, including aberrant promoter methylation and histone modification, plays a critical role in human breast carcinogenesis. Silencing of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) by promoter CpG methylation facilitates cells growth and survival advantages and further results in tumor initiation and progression, thus directly contributing to breast tumorigenesis. Usually, aberrant promoter methylation of TSGs, which can be reversed by pharmacological reagents, occurs at the early stage of tumorigenesis and therefore may serve as a potential tumor marker for early diagnosis and therapeutic targeting of breast cancer. In this review, we summarize the epigenetic changes of multiple TSGs involved in breast pathogenesis and their potential clinical applications as tumor markers for early detection and treatment of breast cancer.
Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Breast Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; CpG Islands ; genetics ; DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; DNA Methylation ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Female ; Gene Silencing ; Humans ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the prevalence of osteoarthritis in inhabitants aged 40 years old and above from urban and rural areas in Heilongjiang province. Methods Through multistage stratified cluster random sampling methods, residents aged 40 years and above were selected. All subjects were given a standardized questionnaire and were conducted a radiographic examination on hands, knees, neck spine and lumbar spine after informed consent. All statistics were performed by SPSS13.0. Results A total of 1196 residents were surveyed, which including 573 males and 623 female subjects. The prevalence of osteoarthritis in cervical spine, lumbar spine, knee and hand for men were 26.00%, 31.20%, 11.87%, 15.53%, respectively and that were 34.80%, 30.20%, 20.06%, 27.93% for women respectively. The prevalence of osteoarthritis increased with aging both in men and women. Prevalence in 60-70 age group achieved the peak. The prevalence rates became relatively low among those over the 70 years old than expected. The most common sites of osteoarthritis were knees and hands (16.10%), followed by cervical and lumbar spine (12.40%).Conclusion The prevalence of osteoarthritis was generally high in middle and old-aged people in Heilongjiang province.

Objective To detect the recruitment pattern of motor unit in human flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) at different force levels produced by the index finger. Methods Eight subjects were recruited to produce a certain force level with the index finger to match the ordered force level (20%, 40%, 60% maximum voluntary contraction). During the force tracking task, the multi-channel surface electromyography (sEMG) signals were recorded on FDS using 8×1 (row×column) electrode-array. The motor unit action potential (MUAP) information was extracted by Fast Independent Component Analysis (FastICA), and then the correlation between MUAP pattern and force level was analyzed. Results Four different types of MUAP were extracted successfully by FastICA from original sEMG signals and the total number of MUAP showed an increasing trend with the force level increasing. At different force levels, the proportion of different types of MUAP was different, showing different trends with change of the force level. ConclusionsAt different levels of the finger force, the recruitment pattern of motor unit in FDS will be changed so as to produce the force accordingly.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the molecular genetic basis for a new B112 allele of ABO blood group and the pedigree of the proband.

METHODSThe ABO group antigens on red cells of the proband were identified by monoclonal antibodies. The ABO antibody in serum was detected by using standard A, B and O cells. The exons 5-7 of ABO gene for the proband was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and the amplified products were digested with double enzymes and sequenced for exons 6 and 7. A magnetic bead-based, haplotype specific extraction was used to separate the diploid sample of the proband into its haploid components. The exons 6 and 7 of the two single ABO haplotypes were then amplified and sequenced separately. The samples of the parents of the proband were collected, and the blood group serological test and sequence analysis for exons 6 and 7 of ABO gene were performed.

RESULTSThe serum characteristic of the proband was consisted with the normal B phenotype. The DNA sequencing of exons 6 and 7 showed 261G/del, 297A/G, 526C/G, 559C/T, 657C/T, 703G/A, 796C/A, 803G/C and 930G/A heterozygotes and was assigned for B/O genotype. After separation of the two single strands of the proband with haplotype specific extraction, a B112 and an O01 allele were identified after sequencing. The B112 allele had one nucleotide change (C to T) at position 559 compared with B101, which resulted in an amino acid change at position 187 (Arg to Cys). The B112 in the proband was identified to inherit from his mother after pedigree analysis, the ABO blood group serological characteristics and sequences of exons 6 and 7 of the mother were identical to that of the proband.

CONCLUSIONA novel B112 allele of ABO group system with 559C>T was identified. It had normal B antigen expression, suggesting that Arg118Cys of alpha-1, 3 galactosyltransferase did not affect its enzyme activity.

ABO Blood-Group System ; genetics ; Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Exons ; genetics ; immunology ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Mutation, Missense ; genetics ; Pedigree ; Phenotype