Carcinogens ; Carcinogens, Environmental ; Retrospective Studies ; Threshold Limit Values

ObjectiveTo investigate the concentration of water fluoride and the application of water defluoridation projects in Suizhou,and to provide a basis for water improvement and prevention of the disease.MethodsCross-sectional study was carried out to investigate completely the water defluoridation projects built between 1986 and 2009 in the area under Suizhou's jurisdiction; 3 source water and terminal water samples of the projects in use were collected,respectively; 1 water sample was collected,respectively in the 3 projects with out-ofcommission or discarded water sources that used to be major water supply,for detection of fluoride,chloride,total hardness,heavy metals and other indicators.ResultsA total of 21 projects were investigated,14 projects were in normal use (66.7％),7 projects were out of order and abandoned (33.3％).Of the 14 projects normally used,13projects with water fluoride concentration ≤ 1.0 mg/L(92.9％)and 1 project with water fluoride concentration higher than 1.0 mg/L(7.1％),the concentration of water fluoride in the 7 abandoned projects was higher than 1.0 mg/L(100％).Arsenic and lead levels of all the water samples were normal.There were two water samples with iron content exceeded the standard,and one total hardness of water samples exceeded the standard in the normally used 14 peripheral water sources.One chloride content exceeded the standard,one manganese content exceeded the standard,two iron content exceeded the standard and three total hardness exceeded the standard in the seven abandoned projects.ConclusionsSome defluoridation projects are stopped using and abandoned in Suizhou,and the water fluoride exceeds the standard.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; epidemiology ; Dementia, Vascular ; epidemiology ; ethnology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Stroke ; epidemiology ; ethnology

OBJECTIVEThe SSR information in the transcriptome of Erigeron breviscapus was analyzed in this study, in order to further develop new functional genes SSR markers laid a solid foundation.

METHODSSR loci were searched in all of 52,060 unigenes by using est_timmer. Perl program and SSR primers were designed by Primer3. Furthermore, 36 pairs of primers were randomly selected for the polymorphism analysis on 13 Erigeron breviscapus plants collected from different places.

RESULTA total of 3639 SSRs were found in the transcriptome of Erigeron breviscapus, distributed in 3260 unigenes with the distribution frequency of 6.99%. Di-nucleotide repeat was the main type, account for as much as 34.41% of all SSRs, followed by mono-nucleotide (31.41%) and tri-nucleotide repeat motif (28.08%). The di-nucleotide repeat motifs of AT/AT and AC/GT were the predominant repeat types (28.71%). The tri-nucleotide repeat motifs of AAT/AT was the predominant repeat types (7.94%). For validation the availability of those SSR primers, we randomly selected 36 pairs of primers for PCR amplification. Among them, 34 pair primers (94.44%) produced clear and reproductive bands, 19 pair primers showed polymorphism (52.78%), and 13 Erigeron breviscapus plants were divided into 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONThere are numerous SSRs in Erigeron breviscapus transcriptome with high frequency and various types, this will provide abundant candidate molecular markers for genetic diversity study and genetic map in this plant.

China ; DNA Primers ; genetics ; Erigeron ; classification ; genetics ; Genetic Variation ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Phylogeny ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Transcriptome

Objective To investigate the effect of leptin on the tolerance of cultured rat brain astrocytes to ischemia and hypoxia.Methods The brain astrocytes isolated from neonatal SD rats,after purification and identification,were incubated in serum-and glucose-flee medium in the presence of 5%CO2+95%N2 for 90 min to induce isehemic and hypoxic injury. RT-PCR was performed to detect the expressions of the leptin receptors Ob-Ra and Ob-Rb in the cells, and colorimetry was used to measure the content of malonaldehyde(MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) activity in the cell supematant.The expression level ofglial fibrillary acidicprotein(GFAP)in the cells was detected with fluorescence immunocytochemistry.Results Ischemic and hypoxic exposure of the cells induced obvious cell necrosis.Compared with the cells without the exposure,significantly decreased Ob-Rb expression(0.52±0.01 vs 1.32±0.01,P<0.05)and increased MDA,LDH and GFAP levels(709.68±47.16 vs 516.13±29.08,3.94±0.36 vs 1.81±0.21,and 0.122±0.016 vs 0.057±0.006,respectively,P<0.05) occurred after the exposure,whereas the expression level of Ob-Ra underwent no significant changes(3.87±0.13 vs 3.96±0.24,P>0.05). Compared with the exposed cells,the leptin-treated cells showed a significant reduction in MDA levels(3.94±0.36 vs 3.19±0.25,P<0.05) with significantly increased GFAP expression(0.057±0.006 vs 0.109±0.008, P<0.05)after the exposure, and the cells maintained basically intact cell morphology.Conclusion With neuroprotective effects against ischemic neuronal injuries,leptin canimprove the tolerance of rat brain astrocytes to ischemia and hypoxia.

Objective:This study aims to evaluate the impact of Diagnosis-Related-Groups(DRGs)payment on the average total cost,length of stay,service volume,effectiveness,and characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)hospitals.Methods:A national medical center specializing in TCM was selected as the research subject.The Difference-in-Difference Model(DID)was utilized to analyze the differences in various indicators between insured patients(intervention group)and uninsured patients(control group)before and after the implementation of the payment reform policy.The reliability and stability of the model were verified through parallel trend tests and placebo tests.Results:The coefficients of DID interaction terms for eleven indicators including average total hospitalization cost,number of cases,length of stay,proportion of medical service revenue,and proportion of herbal medicine revenue were significant(P<0.05).The DID interaction term coefficients for four indicators including herbal medicine usage rate and proportion of non-pharmacological TCM therapy revenue were not significant(P>0.05).Conclusion:DRG payment significantly reduced the per-admission cost,with significant decreases in consumables and medical technology expenses,optimizing cost structure,and a slight decrease in the proportion of herbal medicine costs.It is necessary to further expand the sample size,track policy impacts,and comprehensively evaluate the effects of DRG payment on TCM hospitals in China.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of post-treatment PSA kinetics on the prognosis of prostate cancer (PCa).

METHODSWe retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 114 cases of locally advanced PCa treated by maximal androgen blockade (MAB) combined with brachytherapy, and analyzed the association of the changes in PSA kinetics with the prognosis of the patients.

RESULTSThe median survival time of the patients was 81 (15 - 144) months, with 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates of 91. 23%, 78.07% and 68.42% , respectively. Univariate analysis indicated that the baseline PSA level, PSA nadir, the time of PSA decreasing to nadir, PSA doubling time, and the extent of PSA declining were all predictive factors for the survival time of the PCa patients. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that PSA nadir, the time of PSA decreasing to nadir, and the extent of PSA declining were three independent prognostic factors, which prolonged the long-term survival of the patients by 1.7, 3.2 and 6.8 times, respectively.

CONCLUSIONFor locally advanced PCa treated by MAB combined with brachytherapy, PSA nadir <1 micro g/L, the time to nadir <3 months, and the extent of PSA declining >96% are independent prognostic factors.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Androgens ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Brachytherapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; metabolism ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies

Adolescent ; Adult ; Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; Hemangioma ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Skin Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Spinal Canal ; Spinal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Syndrome ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVETo evaluate a calculating method of wound water loss (WWL) in hospitalized burn patients.

METHODSEighty-five adult burn patients with total burn area over 50% were enrolled in the study. The WWL formula after shock stage (after 3rd postburn day) was given as: WWL (ml/%/kg/24 h) = [input (ml/24 h)-urine output (ml/24 h)-500 ml] / actual burn wound area(%) / body weight (kg). The result was compared with that determined by other formulas such as Davies, S.M.S.P and Lamke and palm rule.

RESULTSThe calculated daily WWL in burn patients after shock stage was found out to be 0.9 +/- 0.1 ml/%/kg/24 h by this method. This figure is comparable with that calculated by several different methods. Palm rule could be simply applied in the patients with body weight around 60 kg.

CONCLUSIONThis method and palm rule were proved to be simple and practical for the calculation of WWL in burn patients, which could be applied in clinical work.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Algorithms ; Body Water ; metabolism ; Burns ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Water Loss, Insensible ; Water-Electrolyte Imbalance

UNLABELLEDOBJECTIVE Crosslink decellularized canine carotid artery allograft by EDC [1-3-(dimethylamino)propyl-3-ethylcarbodiimide methiodide] and evaluate the biocompatibility of it.

METHODSUse the multi-step detergent-enzyme method to construct decellularized canine carotid artery allograft and cross-link it by EDC with the weight ratio of decellularized artery to EDC 1:1 and 1:2. Evaluate the biocompatibility of it by the cytotoxical MTT test and the rat subdermal bury test.

RESULTSDecellularized canine carotid artery cross-linked by EDC has a lower degradation rate treated by collagenase type II, the result of MTT test show that the EDC cross-linked decellularized artery has no cytotoxity and the rat subdermal bury test show that crosslinking greatly enhance the ability of decellularize artery to resist the enzyme degradation and lower the immune reaction. The more the artery was cross-linked , the more effects it has.

CONCLUSIONSDecellularized canine carotid artery cross-linked by EDC has fairly good biocompatibility and ability to resist the collagenase degradation.

Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; Carbodiimides ; Carotid Artery, Common ; transplantation ; Cross-Linking Reagents ; Dogs ; Female ; Male ; Materials Testing ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tissue Engineering