OBJECTIVETo evaluate the roles of cell adhesion, multidrug resistance and cell proliferation in short-term recurrent cases with superficial bladder cancer, and the prognostic value of the three indexes.

METHODSImmunohistochemical staining for E-cad, P-gp and Ki-67 was performed on the tumors of 100 patients with stage T0-T1 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder who had been included in a retrospective research by follow-up.

RESULTSE-cad and P-gp expression was positive in 51 (43.2%)and 17 (14.4%) of the tumors, respectively and mean proliferation index (PI) was 22.1%. The decrease in E-cad expression was accompanied with the increasing recurrent episodes (P < 0.05), while increase of P-gp expression and PI were accompanied with the increasing recurrence episodes (P < 0.05). There was significant difference according to E-cad, P-gp positivity and between T(1)G(3) patients and no-T(1)G(3) patients (P < 0.05). There was negative correlation of E-cad expression with P-gp expression and PI.

CONCLUSIONSMinimum adhesion, strong drug resistance and maximum proliferation are the main factors that promote short-term recurrence of superficial bladder cancer and also the inherent reasons for easy recurrence and high malignancy of T(1)G(3) tumors. During this course, the three aspects may interact.

ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family B, Member 1 ; analysis ; Adult ; Cadherins ; analysis ; Cell Adhesion ; Cell Division ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Female ; Humans ; Ki-67 Antigen ; analysis ; Male ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; etiology ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; etiology ; pathology

OBJECTIVESTo detect the loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of circulating DNA in the plasma of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to assess its potential as a clinical predictive marker.

METHODSThree high-polymorphic microsatellite markers D8S277, D8S298 and D8S1771 located at chromosome 8p were selected to detect LOH in plasma DNA of 62 HCC patients. The associations between LOH and its clinicopathological features, including HBsAg, liver cirrhosis, serum AFP level, tumor size, tumor cell differentiation, and intrahepatic metastasis were also examined.

RESULTSIn plasma DNA of the 62 HCC patients, LOH was found at one or several loci in 36 (58.1%), and heterozygosity at D8S277, D8S298, and D8S1771 loci was 74.2% (46/62), 75.8% (47/62), and 69.4% (43/62), respectively. LOH frequency at D8S277, D8S298 and D8S1771 was 32.6% (15/46), 44.7% (21/47), and 46.5% (20/43), respectively. LOH in plasma DNA was more frequently detected in the patients with intrahepatic cancer metastasis than those without metastasis (62.5 percent vs. 26.1 percent, P < 0.05); however, no statistically significant correlations were observed between LOH at these loci and other clinicopathological features analyzed in this study.

CONCLUSIONSLOH at D8S298 in plasma DNA may be a potential predictive marker of intrahepatic metastatic recurrence after surgical resection of the HCC.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; blood ; genetics ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 8 ; DNA ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; Loss of Heterozygosity ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness of the first eight pilot methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinics in China.

METHODSA questionnaire survey of the clients at the 8 pilot MMT clinics was performed at entry, 6 month and 12 month follow-up. Drug using behaviors, drug related crime behaviors, and relationships in families were compared among at entry, 6 and 12 months follow-up.

RESULTSThere were 585, 609 and 468 clients involved at baseline, 6 month and 12 month follow-up surveys, respectively. At entry, 6 month and 12 month follow-up, the proportion of clients whose injection of drugs reduced from 69.1% to 8.9% and 8.8%, and the frequency of injection in the past month had reduced from 90 times per month to 2 times per month. Employment rate increased from 22.9% to 43.2% and 40.6%, and self-reported criminal behaviors reduced from 20.7% to 3.6% and 3.8%. At 12 month follow-up, 65.8% of clients reported a healthy family relationship, increased from 46.8% at entry, 95.9% of clients reported that they were satisfied with the MMT service.

CONCLUSIONPilot MMT program reduced drug use, drug injecting behaviors, drug related criminal behaviors, and improved relationship with family members. Therefore, MMT clinic should be considered as a platform for providing comprehensive services to drug users.

Adult ; Analgesics, Opioid ; administration & dosage ; China ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Methadone ; administration & dosage ; Opioid-Related Disorders ; rehabilitation ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; methods ; Program Evaluation ; methods ; Substance Abuse Treatment Centers ; organization & administration ; standards ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective To understand the demographic and HIV risk behaviors, HIV and syphilis infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Langfang, Hebei. Methods 106 completed questionnaires were collected from 118 participants, who were recruited from MSM pubs and internet from October to November, 2007. Data on homosexual and heterosexual relationships as well as sexual behaviors were collected by face-to-face interview. Blood specimen were collected to determine HIV/syphilis serostatus. Results Age, marital status and occupation were statistically different (P＜0.05 ) among MSM subgroups enrolled through different recruitment methods. Almost 90.0% of the MSMs identified their sexual orientation, 82.1% MSMs had sexual contacts with men, 50.4% MSMs maintained sexual relationship with women. The exposures of sexual contacts were anal intercourse (87.7%), blow job (58.5%), rimming (32.1%), fist fucking (15.1%), group sex (8.5%) etc. As for the awareness of risk for HIV infection, only 31.1% of the participants were beware of their risk of HIV infection they had been facing while 23.6% of them had ever received HIV testings. The prevalence rates of HIV and syphilis antibody positive among the 84 MSMs in this program were 4.8% and 22.6% respectively. Conclusion MSMs were lack of HIV/STI awareness on their risks and having a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis.Specific HIV/STI intervention should be carried out in this population urgently.

Objective To build the dataset of Chinese visible human female. Methods After undergoing macroscopical, CT and MRI examinations to exclude organic lesions, a young female cadaver of medium height was selected as the subject. After morphological measurement and vascular perfusion, the cadaver was embedded with 5% gelatin and cryopreserved in a -30 ℃ icehouse for 1 week. A digital milling machine TK 6350 (milling accuracy of 0.001 mm) was used to shave off slices of the body layer by layer from head to foot in a laboratory at -25 ℃. The successive cross sections were photographed with a high definition digital camera, and the pictures were put into a computer to establish a dataset of human body. By utilizing the image dataset derived from the successive cross sections, 3D reconstruction and stereodisplay of human structure were finished with a SGI Workstation which was equipped with an independently self developed software package for 3D reconstruction. Results The selected specimen, a 22 year old female native of Chongqing, was 1 620 mm in height, 54 kg in weight and died of non organic disease. CT scans were made in every 1.0 mm for head and neck and every 2.0 mm for rest parts, and the thickness for MRI scans was 1.5 mm for head and 3.0 mm for rest parts. For serial cross sections, the thickness was 0.25 mm for head and 0.5 mm for rest parts. Thus, a total of 3640 slices were obtained, and the photo for every slice was saved as a 36 MB file in a resolution of 6 291 456 pixels (3 072?2 048). Finally, the complete data files reached to 131.04 GB. Conclusion ① This is the first formally reported case of Chinese visible human female, suggesting that China becomes the second country owning visible human female dataset of her population. We set up a website for the purpose of exchanging ideas and information on this subject. So, the results are issued simultaneously on the Internet (http://www.chinesevisiblehuman.com).② According to US Visible Human Project(VHP), the data of the 3 junctional parts of their female cadaver were absent because the body was cut into 4 segments. Taking the age of 59 year old into account, the visible human female's body was not exactly perfect. The sections of 0.33 mm in thickness were saved to pictures at a resolution of 2 490 368 pixels (2 048?1 216). While, the first Chinese visible human female reported here is a young female without organic disease or lesion. No sectional datum is lost for being acquired from successive sections of the whole body. The resolution of cross sectional image reaches to 6 291 456 pixels (3 072?2 048).

Objective To establish more detailed dataset of Chinese visible human male. Methods After undergoing macroscopical, CT and MRI examinations to exclude organic lesion, a young aged, middle sized male cadaver was selected as the subject. First, morphological measurement and vascular perfusion were performed. Second, after embedding with 5% gelatin, the cadaver was put in ice house and frozen to -30 ℃ for 1 week. Third, TK 6350 numerical control milling machine (milling accuracy of 0.001 mm) was used to shave off slices of the body layer by layer from head to foot at -25 ℃ in low temperature laboratory. Fourth, the successive cross sections were photographed with high resolution digital camera and scanned into an animation computer. Thus, data acquisition from cadaver model was completed to obtain structural dataset of the human body. Results The selected sample was a 21 year old, 1 820 mm in height, 66 kg in weight male died due to non organic disease. CT with 1.0 mm slice thickness for the head and neck and 2.0 mm for the rest of the body was performed. MRI with 1.5 mm slice thickness for the head and neck and 3.0 mm for the rest of the body was also performed. A total of 18 398 serial cross sections with the thickness of 0.1 mm of each section were obtained. The digital photographs were sampled at a resolution of 10 989 056 (4 064?2 704) pixels. The data file of each section occupies 62.9 MB. The complete data files occupy 1 157.23 GB. The research results are issued simultaneously on the Internet (http://www.chinese visiblehuman.Conclusion ① Review of the related literatures reveals that the thinnest thickness of the reported cross section of the visible human dataset is 0.2 mm(the thickness of the sections of the skull base of the first case of Chinese visible human reported by our research group is 0.1 mm.), and the slices consist of several thousands of serial cross sections with several millions of pixels. The data files occupy several tens of GB or more than 100 GB. However, the thickness of the cross sections of the whole body of the dataset achieved in our research is 0.1 mm. The total slices consist of 18 398 serial cross sections with the photographic resolution of 11 million pixels and the total data file reaches 1 157.23 GB. The three indexes mentioned above are elevated by 1 log unit. ② We have solved the key technical problems in data acquisition of visible human such as super thin serial cross sectioning, enormous quantity of data storing and display of tiny blood vessels.

OBJECTIVETo determine the incidence and risk factors of HCV infection among heroin addicts who were receiving methadone maintenance treatment(MMT)in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan province.

METHODSAll heroin addicts who were HCV negative at the initiation of MMT in June 2005 through March 2012, in Dehong prefecture, were included in this cohort analysis. HCV incidence was calculated and related risk factors determined by using Cox proportional hazard regression model.

RESULTSA total of 2390 MMT clinic attendants were qualified for this cohort study by March 2012. 731(30.6%) of them had never received any follow-up HCV testing so were recognized as loss to follow-up. The other 1659 (69.4%) participants had received at least one follow-up HCV testing and were observed for a total of 3509.12 person-years(py). During this period 99 new HCV infections or HCV sero-converters were identified. The overall HCV incidence was 2.82/100 py and was 3.62/100 py for 2006, 5.36/100 py for 2007, 6.71/100 py for 2008, 2.56/100 py for 2009, 1.90/100 py for 2010, and 0.44/100 py for 2011, respectively. Results from multiple regression analysis, using Cox proportional hazard model, indicated that after controlling for confounding variables, those who were unemployed, being injecting drug users(IDUs)or HIV positive at entry into the MMT program were more likely to be newly infected with HCV or HCV sero-converted during the follow-up period than those who were peasants, non-IDUs or HIV negative at entry into the MMT program(HR = 2.02, 95% CI:1.18-3.48; HR = 9.05, 95% CI:5.49-14.93; HR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.37-3.56), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe incidence of HCV infection among MMT clinic attendants was decreasing since 2009 in Dehong prefecture. Those who were unemployed, injecting drug users and HIV positive were at higher risk of HCV infection.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Cohort Studies ; Drug Users ; Female ; Hepatitis C ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Methadone ; therapeutic use ; Risk Factors ; Substance-Related Disorders ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; virology

OBJECTIVETo understand the types of, reasons for and sources of stigma and discrimination in a rural community where the majority of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) are former plasma donors (FPDs).

METHODSEighty local residents, including 20 HIV-positive villagers, 20 family members, 20 villagers from non-HIV-positive households and 20 health workers, were selected as study subjects by using purposive sampling method in rural areas of Anhui Province. Face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions were held to collect information on HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination and its contributing factors.

RESULTSOf the 80 study subjects, 1 didn't finish the survey. Of the 79 subjects who finished the survey, the main forms of stigma and discrimination were expanded stigma [81.0% (64/79)], abandonment and avoidance, stigma and discrimination in healthcare setting [47.4% (28/59)], loss of social support [33.3% (13/39)]. The level of stigma was less in village where were more HIV-positive villagers living and vice versa. The reasons for stigma and discrimination included: ignorance or misunderstanding of HIV/AIDS [57.5% (23/40)], fear of HIV/AIDS [32.5% (13/40)] and morality judgment toward PLHA. The majority of HIV positive participants were unwilling to disclose their positive status to others in order to protect their family members and children.

CONCLUSIONIgnorance and misunderstanding of HIV/AIDS were main contributing factors to HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination and it is very important to implement appropriate intervention programs to reduce stigma and discrimination.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Blood Donors ; Female ; HIV Infections ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prejudice ; Rural Population ; Young Adult

Objective To determine the incidence and risk factors of HIV infection among heroin addicts receiving methadone maintenance treatment(MMT)in Dehong prefecture,Yunnan province.Methods All heroin addicts who were HIV negative at the initiation of MMT in June 2005 and through June 2011,in Dehong prefecture were included in the cohort analysis.HIV incidence was calculated and related risk factors determined by using Cox proportional hazard regression model.Results A total of 3154 MMT clinic attendants were qualified for this cohort study.By June 2011,1023(32.4％)of them had never received any follow-up HIV testing so were thus referred as loss to follow-up.The other 2131(67.6％)members had received at least one follow-up HIV testing and were observed for a total of 4615.86 person-years.During the period,22 new HIV infections or seroconverters were identified,making the overall HIV incidence as 0.48/100 person-years.The HIV incidence was higher among those who were unemployed,never married,self-reported being injecting drug users(IDUs)and HCV positive at entry into the MMT program.None of those who were always negative on follow-up-urine-testing of morphine was discovered as HIV newly infected during the follow-up period.Data from multiple regression analysis under Cox proportional hazard model indicated that after controlling for confounding variables,non-IDUs at the entry point for the MMT program,were less likely to be HIV newly-infected or seroconverted than IDUs(HR=0.29,95％CI:0.11-0.76).Conclusion MMT prograqm in Dehong prefecture was demonstrated to be fairly effective in reducing HIV transmission through drug use.Those HIV negative attendants at the MMT clinic who were IDUs or keep using drugs during the treatment,were at higher risk of HIV seroconvertion.More efforts were needed to improve the follow-up and HIV testing programs for the MMT clinic attendants.

Objective To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the first set 8 methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinics in China. Methods Repeated cross-sectional surveys were conducted on the first month after the enrollment and 5 years later,among drug users who received MMT,using a standard questionnaire.Data on demographic characteristics,HIV-related high-risk bchaviors,criminal records associatcd with drug use and related family/social functions were collected and analyzed.Results There were 252 and 195 participants being interviewed at the baseline and the 5-year surveys,respectively,.Of them,66 participants were involved in both surveys.There was no significant differences on factors as ethnicity,level of education,working status,marital status and living status (P＞0.05) between the baselinc and the 5-year surveys.Compared with data from the baseline survey,participants' behavior on drug abuse (100.0％ vs.24.1％,P＜0.001 ),needle sharing behavior ( 19.4％ vs.0.0％,P ＜ 0.001 ),and exchanging sex for drugs ( 34.5 ％ vs.0.0％,P＜0.001 ) had significant decreases at the 5-year survey.Rates on condom use ( 10.6％ vs.25.0％,P=0.004),and having jobs (27.8％ vs.47.7％,P＜0.001 ) had been improved significantly,while self-reported criminal cases related to drug use (15.1％ vs.1.5％,P＜0.001) and the contacts with drug users (88.9％ vs.31.3％,P＜0.001) had been significantly reduced after joining the MMT program.Conclusion MMT could play an active role in reducing the HIV-related high-risk behaviors,criminal cases associated with drug abuse as well as enhancing the family and social functions of the MMT patients.Providing high quality service to the MMT clinic and trying to keep the drug users stick to the program remain difficult.It was also important to improve the training programs for staff working at the MMT clinics.