Objective: The purpose of this tudy was to dynamicly observe the weight and the bone mineral density (BMD) of the unsexed rabbits with a few self-made standardized phantoms. Methods:The eighteen healthy adult female rabbits were measured for their weight and BMD in preunsexed and postunsexed 5 months, 10 months with quantitative CT(QCT). Results:There were 61.1% of rabbits whose weight and BMD decreased after 5 months of the postunsexed and 100% of rabbits whose weight and BMD decreased after 10 months of the operation. Conclusion:QCT can be used to dynamicly observe curative effect of drugs in various periods as well,and it is a good method to study osteoporosis.

Objective To establish a double-antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) for the rapid detection of germ tube-specific antigens of Candida albicans,and to evaluate its specificity and sensitivity.Methods A DAS-ELISA was established with the monoclonal antibody McAb03.2C1-C2 as the primary antibody,and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled McAb03.2C1-C2 as the secondary antibody.The established assay was used to detect germ tube-specific antigens of Candida albicans in sera from 5 patients with systemic Candida albicans infection and from 6 rabbit models at 12,24,48,72hours,on week 1,2 after infection with Candida albicans.Results A good liner relationship was observed between the absorbance value at 495 nm and antigen concentrations when the titer of McAb03.2C1-C2 was 1 ∶ 4000 and the concentration of coated antigen varied from 1.25 to 40 μg/ml.The specificity and sensitivity of the DAS-ELISA were 95％ and 92％ respectively in the detection of germ tube-specific antigens in the rabbit models.The results of detection with DAS-ELISA in serum specimens from the patients were consistent with those with the routine method.Conclusions A DAS-ELISA is primarily established for the rapid detection of germ tube-specific antigens of Candida albicans,and has shown a satisfactory sensitivity and specificity in the animal model experiment.

ObjectiveTo explore the prevalence and influencing factors of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in elderly maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients, to analyze the relationship between RLS and sleep quality, and to observe the efficacy and safety of hemoperfusion in improving RLS and sleep quality in elderly MHD patients with RLS. MethodsA total of 118 cases with maintenance bemodialysis were involved in this study. The RLS was diagnosed according to the criteria of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG). The subjects' quality of sleep was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The elderly MHD patients with RLS received hemoperfusion once a week for 3 months. The clinical and biochemical indexes were collected including age, gender, duration of hemodialysis, pre-dialysis blood concentrations of creatinine, hemoglobin, parathyroid hormone, β2-microglobulin, etc. T test, X2 test and binary logistic regression analysis were performed. ResultsRLS prevalence was found in 26.27% (11 men, 20 women, the ratio was 0. 55 : 1) of 118 elderly MHD patients. The duration of hemodialysis,sex ratio (female/male), the level of serum phosphorus, β2-microglobulin and parathyroid hormone in elderly MHD patients with RLS were significantly higher than those in elderly MHD patients withoutRLS (t=2. 332,X2=15. 343,t=4. 784,13. 124,10. 900;all P<0. 05). And there were no significant differences in age, dry weight, material of dialyzer membrane, and levels of serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, hemoglobin, hematocrit, calcium, ferritin and transferrin saturation between patients with RLS and without RLS(t=0. 341,0. 008, 1. 055,0. 051,0. 899,0. 912,0. 601,0. 192,0. 200,1. 094;all P>0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that serum parathyroid hormone and β2-microglobulinwere the important risk factors for RLS in elderly MHD patients. PSQI was higher in RLS group than in non-RLS group[(10. 7±2.7) vs. (4.9±2.5), t=10. 948,P=0. 000] . The manifestations of poor sleep were poor indexes of subjective sleep quality, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency and daytime dysfunction in MHD patients with RLS. And the RLS severity was correlated with PSQI (r=0. 839,P<0. 05). After the treatment with hemoperfusion, the level of serum phosphorus, serum parathyroid hormone, serum β2-microglobulin, RLS severity score and PSQI were significantly decreased in RLS patients compared with pre-hemoperfusion. The vital sign of RLS patients were stable during hemoperfusion, and there were no adverse events after the treatment with hemoperfusion. ConclusionsThe prevalence of RLS is high, and poor sleep quality is found in elderly MHD patients with RLS. Serum parathyroid hormone and β2-microglobulin are the important risk factors for RLS in elderly MHD patients. Hemoperfusion can effectively improve the RLS and sleep quality and is well tolerated.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of malathion on the testicular spermatogenic function of male rats and its working mechanism.

METHODSForty specific pathogen-free male Wistar rats were randomly and equally divided into four groups: three exposure groups and a control group. Malathion was administered orally to male rats in the exposure groups at 33.75, 54, and 108 mg/kg (1/32 LD₅₀, 1/20 LD₅₀, and 1/10 LD₅₀) for 60 days. Rats in the control group received an equal volume of water. The body weights of rats were measured after exposure. The organ weights and coefficients of the testes and epididymes were determined as soon as rats were sacrificed. The sperm motility, counts, and malformation rates were measured in the left epididymis. Histopathological changes, cell apoptosis, and the expression levels of Bcl-2/Bax in the testes of rats were observed using HE staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUPT-biotin nick end labeling, and immunohistochemistry SABC method.

RESULTSThe body weights and the testis weights in the exposure groups were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.01). The exposure groups had significantly lower sperm motility and significantly higher sperm malformation rates than the control group (P < 0.01). The sperm counts were significantly lower in the exposure groups than in the control group (P<0.01). The sperm counts and motility were negatively correlated with exposure dose (r = -0.81, P < 0.01; r = -0.51, P < 0.01), while the sperm malformation rate was positively correlated with exposure dose (r = 0.85, P 0.01). The exposure groups had significantly higher spermatogenic cell apoptosis rates than the control group (P<0.01). The expression level of Bax was significantly higher in the exposure groups than in the control group (P<0.01), while the expression level of Bcl-2 was significantly lower in the exposure groups than in the control group (P < 0.01). Histopathological examination of the testes showed degenerative changes in the seminiferous tubules at various doses along with the increase in malathion exposure dose.

CONCLUSIONMalathion affects the testicular spermatogenic function of male rats and its working mechanism may involve cell apoptosis induced by down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Down-Regulation ; Epididymis ; Malathion ; toxicity ; Male ; Organ Size ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sperm Motility ; Spermatogenesis ; drug effects ; Spermatozoa ; Testis ; drug effects ; Up-Regulation ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo assess the association of cytochrome P450 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with susceptibility to gout in ethnic Han males from coastal regions of Shandong province.

METHODSFour hundred and eighty male patients with gout and 480 healthy male controls were included. Genotyping was carried out with a custom Illumina GoldenGate Genotyping assay to detect SNP rs2275620 of CYP2C8 gene, SNP rs2070676 of CYP2E1 gene, SNP rs837395 of CYP4B1 gene, and SNP rs194150 of TBXAS1 gene. The association was assessed with chi-square test.

RESULTSNo significant difference has been found between the two groups in regard to the genotypic and allelic frequencies of the TT, AT, AA genotypes and A, T alleles of the SNP rs2275620 of the CYP2C8 gene (P=0.88; P=0.97), the CC, CG, GG genotypes and C,G alleles of SNP rs2070676 of the CYP2E1 gene (P=0.24; P=0.09), the TT, AT, AA genotypes and A, T alleles of SNP rs837395 of the CYP4B1 (P=0.88; P=0.97), and TT, AT, AA genotypes and the A,T alleles of SNP rs194150 of TBXAS1 gene (P=0.15; P=0.06).

CONCLUSIONThis study has identified no association of SNP loci rs2275620(A/T) of CYP2C8, rs2070676(C/G) of CYP2E1, rs837395(A/T) of CYP4B1 and rs194150(A/T) of TBXAS1 with gout in ethnic Han males from coastal regions in Shandong province. However, our result needs to be replicated in larger sets of patients collected from other regions and populations.

Adult ; Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases ; genetics ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; ethnology ; genetics ; China ; ethnology ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2C8 ; genetics ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1 ; genetics ; Disease Susceptibility ; Female ; Gout ; enzymology ; ethnology ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Thromboxane-A Synthase ; genetics

BACKGROUNDThe prevalence of sleep disorders has been shown to be high in patients with chronic dialysis patients and may contribute to impaired quality of life and higher mortality in this population. However, there are few data on the relationship of sleep disorders and their risk factors in chronic dialysis patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of sleep disorders and their risk factors in chronic dialysis patients.

METHODSA total of 42 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients were involved in this cross-sectional study. Sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Restless legs syndrome (RLS) was diagnosed according to the criteria of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group. And depression was assessed by Hamilton depression scale. General information and laboratory data were collected.

RESULTSThe prevalence of sleep disorders was 47.6% in the CAPD patients. According to the PSQI, the 42 CAPD patients were divided into sleep disturbance group and non-sleep disorders group. There were no significant differences in age, gender, dialysis duration, hemoglobin, serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, β2-microglobulin, parathyroid hormone, calcium, and phosphorus between CAPD patients with sleep disorders and those without sleep disorders. But the level of serum albumin (Alb) in CAPD patients with sleep disorders was significantly lower than that in CAPD patients without sleep disorders (31.3 ± 1.4 vs. 34.3 ± 3.7, t = 3.603, P = 0.001) . And the prevalence of RLS and depression was significantly higher than that in CAPD patients without sleep disorders (RLS: 11/22 vs. 1/20, χ(2) = 10.395, P = 0.001; depression: 7/22 vs. 1/20, χ(2) = 4.886, P = 0.027). In CAPD patients with RLS, the prevalence of sleep disorders was significantly higher than that in CAPD patients without RLS (11/22 vs. 11/30, χ(2) = 10.395, P = 0.001). And in CAPD patients with depression, the prevalence of sleep disorders was significantly higher than that in CAPD patients without depression (7/8 vs. 15/34, χ(2) = 4.886, P = 0.027). In CAPD patients, bivariate correlation analysis showed that sleep disorders was negatively correlated with serum Alb (r = -0.606, P = 0.000) and positively correlated with RLS (r = 0.497, P = 0.001) and depression (r = 0.341, P = 0.029). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that the odds ratio of RLS, depression, and low serum Alb was 22.900, 42.209, and 0.597, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSThe prevalence of sleep disorders was relatively high in CAPD patients. RLS, depression, and low serum Alb were the risk factors for CAPD patients with sleep disorders.

Adult ; Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depressive Disorder ; blood ; complications ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; adverse effects ; Quality of Life ; Restless Legs Syndrome ; blood ; complications ; epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Serum Albumin ; metabolism ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; blood ; epidemiology ; etiology