Objective To increase the awareness of thyroid diseases through observing the relationship between ultrasound indications of thyroid and thyroid disease,and to enhance the understanding of thyroid disease through outpatient data.Methods Two hundred women aged 25 to 50 with thyroid imaging data were selected from the Department of Ultrasonography,the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University.Seven indications including age,body weight,thyroid volume,the number of nodules,nodule size,nature of nodules and thyroid disease were recorded.Thyroid cases were divided into four groups based on their sonographic changes of color Doppler ultrasound:normal group (136 cases):sonographic changes of thyroid were approximately normal ; mild degree group (9 cases):consisting of patients with mild thyroid disease,diffused thyroid enlargement or combined cystic nodules; moderate degree group (38 cases):consisting of patients with moderate thyroid disease,hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism; severe degree group (17 cases):consisting of patients with severe thyroid disease,thyroiditis and/or with hemorrhage and calcification.Data were analyzed using the method of clinical case observation and SPSS 16.0.Results We found that in mild degree group the discriminant coefficients of thyroid volume,the nature of thyroid nodules and nodule size were 0.085,0.169 and 0.695; but in sever degree group the corresponding values were 0.158,0.344 and 0.484,respectively,and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (x2 =43.3,df =18,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The nature,size and area of thyroid nodules are closely related to the progression of thyroid disease.The color Doppler ultrasound data of outpatients as a part of hospital statistics have important theoretical and practical value.

With the advanced development of information technology, there is a huge impact on various industries for the arrival of big data. In the biomedical field, innovative genome sequencing technology enables low-cost, high-throughput, and high-speed to become a reality, which leads to an explosive growth in data and also appeared in an urgent need to process those massive biological information. High performance computing (HPC) along with effective methods is one of the best ways to deal with the problem of big data in biomedical field which could serve the biomedical development best. We discussed the issues faced in biomedical big data processing and concluded that the bioinformatics is an indispensable component of biomedical technologies.
Biomedical Research ; trends ; Computational Biology ; Computing Methodologies ; Humans

Objective To explore the effect of the continuous quality improvement ( CQI) on shortening the patients ’ waiting time and improving the satisfaction of the waiting time in transfusion room . Methods The CQI procedure including setting up CQI groups , collecting and analysis the data , analyzing the cause, setting goals, making improvement plan and implement method , evaluating effect, summarizing and formulating the consolidation measures etc were carried out , and the patients’ waiting time and the satisfaction of the waiting time in transfusion room were compared before and after the implementation of the CQI . Results The average patients’ waiting time in transfusion room was (18 ±3) min after the implementation of the CQI, and was significantly lower than (30 ±5 ) min before CQI, and the difference was statistically significant (t=20.580, P<0.05).The satisfaction of the waiting time in transfusion room was 89% after the implementation of the CQI, and was significantly higher than 65% before CQI, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2 =9.416, P=0.024).Conclusions The nurses find out the best way to solve the problem and strengthen the team cooperation spirit through the implementation of the CQI and the utilization of team wisdom.The nurse work flow is smoothly, and the performance evaluation mechanism is reasonable , which greatly enhance the work enthusiasm and efficiency , shorten the patients ’ waiting time, and improve the patients’ satisfaction.

OBJECTIVETo review the major achievements in dyslexia in Chinese characters, hoping to give some clues for future studies.

DATA SOURCESBoth Chinese and English language literature search using PUBMED, and original articles published in main Chinese and international journals.

STUDY SELECTIONAfter reviewing the literature, 54 articles were selected that specifically addressed the stated purpose.

RESULTSThe results of studies about the subtypes, cerebral basis, reading processing model, event-related potential (ERP) and saccadic features between English and Chinese dyslexia are different.

CONCLUSIONSIn the last ten years, great progress has been made in the study of dyslexia in Chinese characters. However, there are still many problems and shortcomings which need to be investigated.

Cognition ; Dyslexia ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; psychology ; Evoked Potentials ; Humans ; Language ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Reading ; Saccades

OBJECTIVETo understand the characteristics of pncA gene in multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates and its correlation with drug resistance to pyrazinamide.

METHODSA total of 127 clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis were collected from Shenzhen from year 2007 to 2009. PZA susceptibility was determined by the BACTEC MGIT 960 PZA method. Pyrazinamidase (PZase) activity testing and pncA gene sequencing were performed in all the isolates. The type and frequency of mutations in pncA were determined. Correlation analysis among PZA susceptibility and PZase activity, pncA mutation was performed.

RESULTSAmong the 127 isolates, 62 isolates (48.8%) were found resistance to PZA. Among the 62 PZA resistant isolates, 45 isolates which had various pncA mutations were negative for PZase. Mutation rate was 77.4% (48/62) in total PZA resistance isolates. Different types of 48 resistant isolates were identified in the pncA gene, including base substitution (33 isolates), frame shift mutation (12 isolates) and codon mutation (3 isolates). No mutations except one isolate (N11D) existed in all PZA-susceptibility isolates which were positive for PZase. A total of 5 mutations which have not been described previously were found as follows: H57P, P62Q, G108R, D110Y and G162V. The correlation among the PZA susceptibility and the PZase activity (r = 0.895, P < 0.05), the pncA mutation (r = 0.779, P < 0.05) were significant in 127 multidrug-resistant isolates.

CONCLUSIONA high diversity of pncA gene mutation was found among PZA resistant strains of MTB. This study revealed five new mutations of the pncA gene that were not previously described, which scattered in the hot-spot regions located in the metal coordination site and active site of the enzyme. Mutations had a high correlation with the PZA resistance.

Antitubercular Agents ; pharmacology ; DNA, Bacterial ; genetics ; Humans ; Mutation ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; drug effects ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Pyrazinamide ; pharmacology ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant ; genetics ; microbiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the risk factors for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to provide a basis for future prevention and treatment of this disease.

METHODSFollowing a systematic search for case-control studies on the risk factors for ADHD in China between 2000 and 2014, relevant family risk factors were extracted accordingly. The quality of selected studies was evaluated according to the NOS scale. A Meta analysis on the selected studies was conducted using Stata 12.0 software.

RESULTSA total of 16 studies were selected, involving 2 167 children with ADHD and 2 148 normal controls. Results of Meta analysis showed that good parenting (OR=0.32, 95% CI: 0.26-0.40), nuclear family (OR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.41-0.76), high education level of father (OR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.41-0.76), high education level of mother (OR=0.65, 95% CI: 0.47-0.89), and extroversion of mother (OR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.18-0.61) are favorable factors for ADHD. Poor parental relationship (OR=1.90, 95% CI: 1.17-3.06) and family history of ADHD (OR=5.86, 95% CI: 3.67-9.35) are risk factors for ADHD.

CONCLUSIONSGood parenting, nuclear family, high education level of parents, and mother with extroversion are protective factors for ADHD, whereas poor parental relationship and family history of ADHD are associated with an increased risk for ADHD.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; etiology ; genetics ; Family ; Humans ; Risk Factors

Objective To analyze the relation between ~(99)Tc~m-DTPA renal dynamic imaging and pathological changes in patients with lupus nephritis (LN).Methods Ten normal control and 29 patients with LN underwent ~(99)Tc~m-DTPA renal dynamic imaging.The LN patients were divided into two groups:silent LN (SLN) group,18 patients;and obvious LN (OLN) group,11 patients.For each case,glomerular filtration rate (GFR),peak time (t_p),half excretion time (t_(1/2)) and the excretion rate at 20 min (R_(20)) were calculated.Assessment of renal function on the scintigraphic images was evaluated by nuclear medicine physicians.The t-test,Fisher'exact probability and R×C association were used for data analysis.Results There were significant differences between normal people and two goups of LN in tp(t=5.3,9.3,both P＜0.05),t_(1/2)(t=6.9,12.0,both P＜0.05)and R_(20)(t=10.1,12.1,both P＜0.05).As to GFR,there was significant decrease in OLN patients(t=4.1,P＜0.05),but not in SLN patients(t=1.7,P＞0.05).Diagnoses of renal function by renal dynamic imaging were compared with the renal pathological changes (r=0.2273,P＜0.05).Conclusions ~(99)Tc~m-DTPA renal dynamic imaging is useful for evaluation of the early stage renal function for LN patients and to diagnose LN patients with no symptom of renal impairment.It may help to assess the degree of renal parenchymal damage while obviating the need for renal biopsy in these patients.

Objective To evaluate the characteristics of 99Tcm-ciprofloxacin and explore its feasibility in early detection of secondary infectious foci of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP).Methods Ciprofloxacin was labeled with 99Tcm.The labeling efficiency and radiochemical purity of 99Tcm-ciprofloxacin were calculated and its biodistribution in normal pigs was measured.The recruited baby pigs were divided into three groups:normal control group (6), non-infected group (6) and infected group (16).370-400 MBq of 99Tcm-ciprofloxacin was injected into each pig intravenously.SPECT scanning was performed at 0.5, 1,2, 3, 4 and 6 h after administration.The differences of 99Tcm-ciprofloxacin uptake among groups were calculated and the tracer activity ratio of lesion-to-background was recorded at each time point.The diagnostic value of 99Tcm-ciprofloxacin SPECT imaging for the dectection of secondary infection of SAP was assessed using histopathological results as the gold standard.Variance analysis and least significant difference test were used to analyze the data.Results Both the labehing efficiency and radiochemical purity of 99Tcm-ciprofloxacin were over 90% within 6 h.Organs with rich blood supply, such as kidney, liver and spleen were the target organs for the accumulation of 99Tcm-ciprofloxacin; while no significant uptake was found in gastrointestinal tract or normal pancreas tissue of SAP.Rapid plasma clearance and renal excretion were observed.In the infected group, the lesion was visualized at 1 h after administration.The highest radioactivity ratio of lesion-to-background (3.36 ± 0.33) was at 3 h after administration, which was significantly higher than that of the other time point ( F =99.570, P ＜0.001 ).The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, Youden's index (YI) and Kappa value of 99Tc%ciprofloxacin imaging were 88.2% (15/17), 83.3% (5/6), 93.8% ( 15/16), 71.4% (5/7), 0.715 and 0.667 respectively.Conclusions The biodistribution of99Tcm-ciprofloxacin is suitable for imaging infectious focus of SAP.The optimal imaging time for the detection of secondary infection of SAP is 3 h after administration, with high sensitivity and specificity.

Nine compounds were isolated from an ethanol extract of the roots of K. roxburghii by using a combination of various chromatographic techniques including column chromatography over silica gel, MCI gel, Sephadex LH-20, and reversed-phase HPLC. On the basis of physical-chemical properties and spectroscopic data analysis, their structures were identified as munjistin (1), 1-methoxy-3,6-dihydroxy-2-hydroxymethyl-9,10-anthraquinone (2), 1,2,3-trihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone (3), arjunolic acid (4), hyptatic acid-A (5), hyptatic acid-B (6), 2α,3β,24-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (7), 2α,3β,23-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (8), and daucosterol (9). Compounds 1-9 were obtained from this genus for the first time.
Anthraquinones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Rubiaceae ; chemistry ; Triterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Objective To analyze stress distribution of two framework designs in compound galvanoceramic bridges made with three-dimensional finite element models. Methods Three-dimensional finite element models were developed for compound galvano-ceramic bridges with two designed retainers of Ni-Cr frameworks which ringed or partially covered the electroformed gold caps. The models were vertically loaded 200 N on the center of the occlusal surface of the pentic and loaded 400 N on the center of buccoclusal marginal ridge from buccal aspect to lingual aspect at a 30° angle with the occlusion plane respectively. The stress distributions and the level of stress concentration in the two models were analyzed by the FEA software. Results Stress distributing in two designed framework of compound galvano-ceramic bridges were similar. The highest von Mises stress of compound galvano-ceramic bridges was concentrated in the distal connector of the pontic and retainer. Under the vertical loading, the von Mises stress was 24.17 MPa for the partial cover retainer of the Ni-Cr framework and 24.85 MPa for the circular retainer. Under the lateral loading, the corresponding figures were 42.83 MPa and 42.69 MPa, No matter vertical or lateral loading,the margin of electroformed cap was the concentration area of the yon Miese stress. Conclusions In this study, the stress concentration area of compound galvano-ceramic bridges with Ni-Cr framework and electroformed gold caps was the connector and the margin of electroformed cap was the unsubstantial area.