1.An analysis of the monitoring results of coal-burning-borne endemic fluorosis in Pu'an County in 2011-2013
Ya ZHAI ; Feng DENG ; Guoqiong HUANG ; Jing GAO ; Dasheng LI ; Shigang ZHANG ; Yi YANG
Chinese Journal of Endemiology 2015;34(8):603-605
Objective To provide a basis for specific intervention by dynamic observation of the households'related health life behavior and the children fluorosis change trend caused by the coal-burning-borne endemic fluorosis in Pu'an County.Methods Three villages were chosen using simple random sampling method in 2011-2013 for continuous monitoring.Every monitoring year in each monitoring village,according to the principle of every household survey,10 households were selected to survey related health life behavior;,and in the monitoring village all the children aged 8-12 years old were selected for Diagnosis of Dental Fluorosis (WS/T 208-2001),and in each age group,10 urine samples (half male half female) were collected,the fluoride content was determined by the ion selective electrode method (WS/T 89-1996).Results In 2011-2013,the households stoves qualified rate,stoves correct usage rate and the corn or chili correct drying rate were all 100.00% (30/30).The dental fluorosis incidences of 8-12 years old children were 63.60% (332/522),25.44% (173/680) and 14.29% (80/560),respectively,decreased year by year (x2 =324.67,P < 0.05).In 2011-2013,children urinary fluoride levels were 0.83,0.84 and 0.68 mg/L,respectively.The difference between years was statistically significant (x2 =26.89,P < 0.05),and the level in 2013 was significantly lower than those of 2011 and 2012 (all P < 0.01).Conclusion In 2011-2013,the residents in Pu'an have good health life behavior,and the condition of children's dental fluorosis is decreased year by year.
2.Application of competitive PCR for screening selectable marker-free Xa21 transgenic rice.
Zhihui XIA ; Lifen GAO ; Yuehua LUO ; Xiaojian DENG ; Shigui LI ; Wenxue ZHAI
Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2009;25(4):605-610
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a simple, quick and highly sensitive method. However the accuracy of the conventional PCR assay was often affected by false positives and false negatives. In this study, a protocol competitive PCR was used to reduce the false results in screening for selectable marker-free (SMF) Xa2l transgenic rice plants. The competitive template of Xa21 was the endogenous Xa2l homologous sequence located on chromosome 11. The competitive template of the selectable marker gene, hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt), was an additive DNA extracted from hpt transgenic Nipponbare (Oryza sativa L). Through competitive PCR analysis of transgenic T1 plants produced by double right border binary vector, false positive or false negative samples were effectively diminished, and genuine SMF Xa21 transgenic plants were obviously obtained. Comparing with the conventional non-competitive PCR, competitive PCR increased the accuracy for selecting SMF Xa21 transgenic plants. The results of bacterial blight (BB) resistance tests and hygromycin B resistance assay of SMF Xa21 transgenic plants testified the reliability of this method.
Genetic Vectors
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Oryza
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genetics
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metabolism
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Plant Diseases
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genetics
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prevention & control
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Plant Proteins
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genetics
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metabolism
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Plants, Genetically Modified
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genetics
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metabolism
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Polymerase Chain Reaction
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methods
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Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases
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genetics
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metabolism
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Transformation, Genetic
3.A rare case of abdominal cocoon presenting as umbilical hernia.
Yu ZHANG ; Wei-Dong LIU ; Jian-Tai HE ; Qin LIU ; Deng-Gao ZHAI
Chinese Medical Journal 2015;128(10):1415-1417
Adult
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Hernia, Umbilical
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diagnosis
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surgery
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Humans
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Intestinal Obstruction
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diagnosis
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surgery
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Male
4.A machine learning model for diagnosing acute pulmonary embolism and comparison with Wells score, revised Geneva score, and Years algorithm
Linfeng XI ; Han KANG ; Mei DENG ; Wenqing XU ; Feiya XU ; Qian GAO ; Wanmu XIE ; Rongguo ZHANG ; Min LIU ; Zhenguo ZHAI ; Chen WANG
Chinese Medical Journal 2024;137(6):676-682
Background::Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a fatal cardiovascular disease, yet missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis often occur due to non-specific symptoms and signs. A simple, objective technique will help clinicians make a quick and precise diagnosis. In population studies, machine learning (ML) plays a critical role in characterizing cardiovascular risks, predicting outcomes, and identifying biomarkers. This work sought to develop an ML model for helping APE diagnosis and compare it against current clinical probability assessment models.Methods::This is a single-center retrospective study. Patients with suspected APE were continuously enrolled and randomly divided into two groups including training and testing sets. A total of 8 ML models, including random forest (RF), Na?ve Bayes, decision tree, K-nearest neighbors, logistic regression, multi-layer perceptron, support vector machine, and gradient boosting decision tree were developed based on the training set to diagnose APE. Thereafter, the model with the best diagnostic performance was selected and evaluated against the current clinical assessment strategies, including the Wells score, revised Geneva score, and Years algorithm. Eventually, the ML model was internally validated to assess the diagnostic performance using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.Results::The ML models were constructed using eight clinical features, including D-dimer, cardiac troponin T (cTNT), arterial oxygen saturation, heart rate, chest pain, lower limb pain, hemoptysis, and chronic heart failure. Among eight ML models, the RF model achieved the best performance with the highest area under the curve (AUC) (AUC = 0.774). Compared to the current clinical assessment strategies, the RF model outperformed the Wells score ( P = 0.030) and was not inferior to any other clinical probability assessment strategy. The AUC of the RF model for diagnosing APE onset in internal validation set was 0.726. Conclusions::Based on RF algorithm, a novel prediction model was finally constructed for APE diagnosis. When compared to the current clinical assessment strategies, the RF model achieved better diagnostic efficacy and accuracy. Therefore, the ML algorithm can be a useful tool in assisting with the diagnosis of APE.
5.Construction of a novel bivalent DNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus H3N2 and evaluation of its immunogenicity in mice
Chengcheng ZHAI ; Di HAN ; Yao DENG ; Jiao REN ; Wen WANG ; Donghong WANG ; Wenling WANG ; Long GAO ; Wenjie TAN
Chinese Journal of Microbiology and Immunology 2022;42(9):683-690
Objective:To construct a bivalent DNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus H3N2 and to evaluate its immunogenicity in mice.Methods:The coding sequences for spike 1 (S1) protein of SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant and hemagglutinin (HA) of influenza A virus Cambodia (H3N2) strain were codon-optimized and synthesized. The two coding genes were ligated by the self-cleaving 2A peptide using over-lapping PCR to construct S1-2A-HA fragment, which was inserted into pVRC vector to construct the bivalent DNA vaccine, named as pVRC-S1-2A-HA. Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and Western blot were performed to detect the expression of S1 and HA proteins. BALB/c mice were immunized with pVRC-S1-2A-HA by intramuscular injection and electroporation. The humoral immune responses induced in mice were detected by indirect ELISA, pseudovirus neutralization assay and hemagglutination inhibition assay. Cellular immune responses were detected by IFN-γ ELISPOT, intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) and cytometric bead array (CBA).Results:The bivalent DNA vaccine pVRC-S1-2A-HA could express S1 and HA proteins in vitro. Specific cellular immune responses against S1 protein and specific IgG antibody against HA protein were significantly induced in mice with single-dose immunization. The antigen-specific immunity was significantly enhanced after booster immunization. The geometric mean titer (GMT) of specific IgG antibody increased to 3 251 for S1 protein and 45 407 for HA protein after two-dose immunization. Moreover, the S1-specific T cells increased to 1 238 SFC/10 6 cells. ICS results indicated that the booster vaccination induced CD4 + T and CD8 + T cells to produce IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α in mice. The secretion of various cytokines including IL-2, IL- 4, IL-6, IL-10 and IFN-γ in mouse splenocytes was induced after single-dose immunization. Conclusions:A bivalent DNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus H3N2 was constructed and could induce S1- and HA-specific humoral and cellular immune responses in mice, suggesting the great potential of it for further development and application.
6.Mental health status of students with self reported learning disabilities in Beijing
Chinese Journal of School Health 2020;41(10):1547-1551
Objective:
Understanding mental health status of students with learning disabilities in Beijing to provide a basis for mental health promotion of students with learning disabilities.
Methods:
By means of random cluster sampling, 5 787 enrolled students in grade one and grade two of 11 public junior middle schools in Beijing were selected as the survey subjects. A self designed questionnaire was used to investigate the students’ learning disabilities and mental health status through anonymous self filling.
Results:
About 11.6% students self reported learning disabilities. The proportions of students with learning difficulty in mathematical reasoning and calculation were higher, 44.1% and 40.7% respectively. The reported rate of mental health problems was 38.3%. The top four of the 10 symptoms were obsessive compulsive symptoms, learning pressure, emotional instability and anxiety(2.19±0.77)(2.17±0.99)(2.09±0.90)(2.07±1.08). Compared with students without learning disabilities, students with self reported learning disabilities had poorer mental health status(OR=1.47), and learning disabilities were related to most factors of mental health. Different types of learning disabilities were associated with different mental health factors.
Conclusion
Mental health problems of students with learning disabilities are higher than that of students without learning disabilities. It is necessary to strengthen the mental health support for students with learning disabilities and improve their mental health.
7.Factors associated with cerebral microbleeds in patients with ischemic stroke
Song YANG ; Zhi-Ming ZHOU ; Zhi-Qiang ZHANG ; Ning WEI ; Deng-Yue ZHAI ; Zhen HONG ; Hai-Ning GAO ; Xin-Feng LIU ; Ge-Lin XU
Chinese Journal of Neuromedicine 2010;9(1):64-67
Objective To investigate the clinical and neuroimaging features of cerebral microbleeds(CMBs)in patients with ischemic stroke. Methods MRI,including gradient-echo T2~*-weighted MRI,was performed in 85 patients with acute ischemic stroke.Their clinical information and imaging characteristics were analyzed. Results One hundred and twenty-four CMBs were noted in 26 patients(30.6%)with the number of CMBs ranged from 1 to 16 per patient.CMBs were more frequently presentcd in the cortical-subcortical region and thalamus-basal ganglia than in the cerebellum and brain stem legions.Some CMBs in the brain stem had related neurological symptoms and signs.CMBs,the age of the patient,the number of lacunar infarcts and the white matter changes were correlative(r=0.243,P=0.025;r=0.337,P=0.025;r=0.438,P=0.000).CMBs could be well demonstrated in the gradient-echo T2~*-weighted MRI and some larger ones could be demonstrated in the apin-echo T2~*-weighted MRI and DWI. Conclusion CMBs are the sighs for microangiopathy in the brain with advanced age,mutiple lacunar infartion and leukoaraiosis as its main prognosis factors.
8.Establishment and preliminary application of the Mini-FERO form for formative evaluation in the standardized training for radiation oncology resident physicians
Cui GAO ; Yirui ZHAI ; Yongming ZHANG ; Runye WU ; Yuan TANG ; Wenyang LIU ; Pan MA ; Lei DENG ; Qingfeng LIU ; Wenqing WANG ; Ye-Xiong LI ; Shulian WANG ; Bo CHEN
Chinese Journal of Radiation Oncology 2023;32(10):928-933
Objective:To establish the first Mini-Formative Evaluation of Radiation Oncology (Mini-FERO) scale in China and evaluate its preliminary application value in the standardized training for radiation oncology resident physicians.Methods:Based on the educational curriculum and examination requirements for the standardized training for radiation oncology resident physicians, as well as the standardized Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) scale commonly used in clinical practice, the Mini-Formative Evaluation of Radiation Oncology (Mini-FERO) scale was developed to facilitate the standardized training for resident physicians in the field of radiation oncology. In this prospective study, a randomization method using a random number table was employed to select a cohort of 26 resident physicians who completed their rotations in Department of Radiation Oncology at the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from March 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021. The Mini-FERO scale was administered in the initial, middle, and final stages during the rotation period. The differences in evaluation scores before and after the assessments were analyzed by paired t-test. Furthermore, participating resident physicians and supervising teachers provided satisfaction ratings, and a comprehensive evaluation of the Mini-FERO scale was conducted. Results:The average scores of the three examinations of 26 resident physicians demonstrated a successive improvement, with individual performance in each assessed category also showing progressive enhancement. The second evaluation exhibited a more pronounced score increase compared to the first evaluation, with a mean improvement of (1.43±1.02) points ( t=7.13, P<0.001); while the third evaluation had a mean improvement of (0.41±0.50) points ( t=4.07, P<0.001) compaired to the second evaluation, with a mean difference of (1.02±1.15) points between the two ( t=4.53, P<0.001). The average time required for the assessments was (34.31±24.46) min. Overall satisfaction ratings from the evaluated resident physicians for the Mini-FERO scale were (8.42±0.85) points, and supervising teachers reported an overall satisfaction rating of (8.45±0.85) points. The satisfaction rate was 96% (25/26). Conclusions:In this study, the Mini-FERO scale was successfully developed and validated in the context of clinical teaching practice for radiation oncology resident physicians. The Mini-FERO scale is proven to be a feasible tool for assessing the gradual improvement of resident physicians throughout their learning process in the field of radiation oncology. Importantly, it offers the advantages of short assessment time, thereby avoiding additional burden on supervising teachers. The adoption of the Mini-FERO scale addresses current limitations of lacking of formative evaluation in the standardized training for radiation oncology resident physicians.
9.Analysis of the efficacy and prognostic factors of 1 637 esophageal cancer patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy
Chen LI ; Lijun TAN ; Xiao LIU ; Weiming HAN ; Linrui GAO ; Shijia WANG ; Zongmei ZHOU ; Qinfu FENG ; Dongfu CHEN ; Jun LIANG ; Jima LYU ; Wenqing WANG ; Zhouguang HUI ; Lyuhua WANG ; Xin WANG ; Wenyang LIU ; Lei DENG ; Jianyang WANG ; Yirui ZHAI ; Tao ZHANG ; Nan BI ; Zefen XIAO
Chinese Journal of Oncology 2021;43(6):678-684
Objective:To summarize survival outcomes and prognostic factors in esophageal cancer (EC) patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical and follow-up data of 1 637 patients with EC who were admitted to our hospital from January 2005 to December 2017 and met the inclusion criteria.The 5-year overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and pattern of recurrence were analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rates, Log-rank test for univariate analysis and Cox method for multivariate analysis were used to detect survival difference.Results:1-year, 3-year and 5-year OS and PFS of the entire group were 65.9% and 45.8%, 34.2% and 25.0%, 27.0% and 18.5%, respectively. Median OS and PFS were 19.4 months (95% CI=18.0-20.7 months) and 10.4 months (95% CI=9.3-11.3 months), respectively. Univariate analysis showed that the sex, KPS, tumor location, T stage, N stage, M stage, TNM stage, radiation dose and treatment modality were prognostic factors for 5-year OS and PFS of EC patients ( P<0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that the sex, KPS, TNM stage, radiation dose and treatment modality were independent prognostic factors for 5-year OS and PFS ( P<0.05). Conclusions:EC patients treated with IMRT can obtain a promising survival. The sex, KPS, TNM stage, radiation dose and treatment modality are independent prognostic factors for prognosis.
10.Analysis of the efficacy and prognostic factors of 1 637 esophageal cancer patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy
Chen LI ; Lijun TAN ; Xiao LIU ; Weiming HAN ; Linrui GAO ; Shijia WANG ; Zongmei ZHOU ; Qinfu FENG ; Dongfu CHEN ; Jun LIANG ; Jima LYU ; Wenqing WANG ; Zhouguang HUI ; Lyuhua WANG ; Xin WANG ; Wenyang LIU ; Lei DENG ; Jianyang WANG ; Yirui ZHAI ; Tao ZHANG ; Nan BI ; Zefen XIAO
Chinese Journal of Oncology 2021;43(6):678-684
Objective:To summarize survival outcomes and prognostic factors in esophageal cancer (EC) patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical and follow-up data of 1 637 patients with EC who were admitted to our hospital from January 2005 to December 2017 and met the inclusion criteria.The 5-year overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and pattern of recurrence were analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rates, Log-rank test for univariate analysis and Cox method for multivariate analysis were used to detect survival difference.Results:1-year, 3-year and 5-year OS and PFS of the entire group were 65.9% and 45.8%, 34.2% and 25.0%, 27.0% and 18.5%, respectively. Median OS and PFS were 19.4 months (95% CI=18.0-20.7 months) and 10.4 months (95% CI=9.3-11.3 months), respectively. Univariate analysis showed that the sex, KPS, tumor location, T stage, N stage, M stage, TNM stage, radiation dose and treatment modality were prognostic factors for 5-year OS and PFS of EC patients ( P<0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that the sex, KPS, TNM stage, radiation dose and treatment modality were independent prognostic factors for 5-year OS and PFS ( P<0.05). Conclusions:EC patients treated with IMRT can obtain a promising survival. The sex, KPS, TNM stage, radiation dose and treatment modality are independent prognostic factors for prognosis.