There is controversy regarding the roles of Ureaplasma urealyticum (U. urealyticum) colonization in the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). This study explored the association between U. urealyticum and bronchopulmonary dysplasia at 36 weeks post-menstrual age (BPD36). Studies published before December 31, 2013 were searched from Medline, Embase, Ovid, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases, with the terms "Ureaplasma urealyticum", "chronic lung disease", or "BPD36" used, and English language as a limit. The association between U. urealyticum colonization and BPD36 was analyzed with RevMan 4.2.10 software, using the odds ratio (OR) and relative risk (RR) for dichotomous variables. Out of the enrolled 81 studies, 11 investigated the BPD36 in total 1193 infants. Pooled studies showed no association between U. urealyticum colonization and subsequent development of BPD36, with the OR and RR being 1.03 (95% CI=0.78-1.37; P=0.84) and 1.01 (95% CI= 0.88-1.16, P=0.84), respectively. These findings indicated no association between U. urealyticum colonization and the development of BPD36.

OBJECTIVETo analyses the clinical characteristics and electrophysiological finding of 106 patients with auditory neuropathy (AN). Investigate the differential curve type of pure tone audiogram and the abnormal ABR.

METHODSReview the history of patients, pure tone audiometry, middle ear acoustic reflexes, auditory brainstem response, distortion product otoacoustic emission and radiologic imaging studies of the brain of 106 patients with AN during December 2001 to May 2007 in retrospect.

RESULTSThe 106 patients with AN were of both genders. The age were between 11-37 years old, and the average age was 17.5 years old. The most patients were adolescence (70.8%). Twelve cases of the 106 patients had evidence of other peripheral neuropathy in addition to hearing loss. Another 94 patients were idiopathic origins. The pure tone audiogram showed a minimal to moderate sensorineural hearing loss at low frequencies 0.5 kHz and 0.25 kHz in 209 ears (98.6%). The average hearing threshold (WHO 1997) in 23.2% of disordered ears at less than 25 dB in the "normal" range. Auditory brainstem response could not be recorded in 124 ears (58.5%) at maximum stimulus. The other 88 ears showed 1 or 2 wave, but the wave were small. There were 23 patients which one side ear ABR was 1 or 2 small waves presented, but the contralateral side were all waves absent. In 3 cases of AN with other peripheral neuropathy which ABR were both ears 1 or 2 small wave ear recorded. However, 1 patient in our sample could not be detected distortion product otoacoustic emission at 3-6 kHz (left ear) and 5-6 kHz (right ear).

CONCLUSIONSAN was not rare in adolescence. The average hearing threshold for AN should be discussed.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Audiometry, Pure-Tone ; Child ; Electrophysiology ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Vestibulocochlear Nerve Diseases ; physiopathology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEIn order to understand the epidemiological and virologic characteristics of coronavirus HKU1 infection in hospitalized children with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) in Changsha.

METHODS1165 nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) specimens were collected from hospitalized children with ARTI between September 2007 and August 2008 in Changsha. Specimens were screened for pol gene of coronavirus HKU1 by polymerase chain reaction. All positive amplification products were confirmed by sequencing and compared with those in GenBank.

RESULTSCoronavirus HKU1 were detected in 12 patients (1.03%) out of the 1165 children. The patients were from 8 days to 3 years. The most common clinical diagnosis was bronchopneumonia(83.33%). Similarity of coronavirus HKU1 with those published in the GenBank at nucleotide levels was 98.18% - 100%.

CONCLUSIONCoronavirus HKU1 may be important pathogens in children with acute lower respiratory tract infection. Coronavirus HKU1 infections are common in children under 3 years old. There is no significant difference in the infectious rate between the boys and the girls. The peak of its prevalence is in spring and winter. A single genetic lineage of Coronavirus HKU1 was revealed in human subjects in Changsha.

Acute Disease ; Child, Hospitalized ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Coronavirus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Phylogeny ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; virology

There is controversy regarding the roles of Ureaplasma urealyticum (U. urealyticum) colonization in the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). This study explored the association between U. urealyticum and bronchopulmonary dysplasia at 36 weeks post-menstrual age (BPD36). Studies published before December 31, 2013 were searched from Medline, Embase, Ovid, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases, with the terms "Ureaplasma urealyticum", "chronic lung disease", or "BPD36" used, and English language as a limit. The association between U. urealyticum colonization and BPD36 was analyzed with RevMan 4.2.10 software, using the odds ratio (OR) and relative risk (RR) for dichotomous variables. Out of the enrolled 81 studies, 11 investigated the BPD36 in total 1193 infants. Pooled studies showed no association between U. urealyticum colonization and subsequent development of BPD36, with the OR and RR being 1.03 (95% CI=0.78-1.37; P=0.84) and 1.01 (95% CI= 0.88-1.16, P=0.84), respectively. These findings indicated no association between U. urealyticum colonization and the development of BPD36.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia ; complications ; microbiology ; pathology ; Humans ; Ureaplasma Infections ; complications ; microbiology ; pathology ; Ureaplasma urealyticum ; growth & development ; pathogenicity

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of the different treatments of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of lower extremities on the incidence of the pulmonary embolism (PE).

METHODS201 patients (97 males and 104 females, mean age 60.4 years ranged from 24 to 83) from August 2002 to June 2008 with DVT were retrospectively reviewed and divided into 3 groups based on different treatment, including anticoagulants plus thrombolytics alone (group 1), thrombectomy plus anticoagulants plus thrombolytics (group 2) and anticoagulants plus thrombolytics after delivery of inferior vena cava (IVC) filter (group 3) respectively. One hundred and seventy-four cases had left lower limb DVT, 24 cases had right lower limb DVT and 3 cases had both sides of lower limb DVT. Different incidence of PE in different period (7-14 d in hospital and follow-up after discharge) were calculated. Effects of the three different treatment methods of DVT on the incidence of PE were studied.

RESULTSFor in-patients, the prevalence of symptomatic PE was 2.8% (3/107) in the group of receiving anticoagulants plus thrombolytics alone, but in the other two groups, no symptomatic PE happened. There was no significant difference in incidence of symptomatic PE among the 3 groups (P=0.425). For patients discharged, after 6 to 72-month follow-up (mean 24-month), we found that no PE happened in group 1 and group 2, while in group 3, the incidence of PE was 2.4% (1/42). There was also no significant difference (P=0.656) among 3 groups.

CONCLUSIONSThere is no significant difference in relation to the incidence of PE in these 3 groups. Therefore vena cava filter implantation should be restricted to optimal indication.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lower Extremity ; blood supply ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Embolism ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Retrospective Studies ; Venous Thrombosis ; complications ; therapy

BACKGROUNDH3N2 subtype influenza A viruses have been identified in humans worldwide, raising concerns about their pandemic potential and prompting the development of candidate vaccines to protect humans against this subtype of influenza A virus. The aim of this study was to establish a system for rescuing of a cold-adapted high-yielding H3N2 subtype human influenza virus by reverse genetics.

METHODSIn order to generate better and safer vaccine candidate viruses, a cold-adapted high yielding reassortant H3N2 influenza A virus was genetically constructed by reverse genetics and was designated as rgAA-H3N2. The rgAA-H3N2 virus contained HA and NA genes from an epidemic strain A/Wisconsin/67/2005 (H3N2) in a background of internal genes derived from the master donor viruses (MDV), cold-adapted (ca), temperature sensitive (ts), live attenuated influenza virus strain A/Ann Arbor/6/60 (MDV-A).

RESULTSIn this presentation, the virus HA titer of rgAA-H3N2 in the allantoic fluid from infected embryonated eggs was as high as 1:1024. A fluorescent focus assay (FFU) was performed 24-36 hours post-infection using a specific antibody and bright staining was used for determining the virus titer. The allantoic fluid containing the recovered influenza virus was analyzed in a hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test and the specific inhibition was found.

CONCLUSIONThe results mentioned above demonstrated that cold-adapted, attenuated reassortant H3N2 subtype influenza A virus was successfully generated, which laid a good foundation for the further related research.

Animals ; COS Cells ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Dogs ; Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus ; genetics ; Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype ; immunology ; Influenza Vaccines ; immunology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Neuraminidase ; genetics ; Plasmids ; Reassortant Viruses ; immunology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Vaccines, Attenuated ; immunology ; Viral Proteins ; genetics

OBJECTIVESTo understand the epidemiological characteristics of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreaks in some areas of Guangdong province and to provide scientific basis for prevention and control measures against it.

METHODSStandardized questionnaire was used on individual cases. Data on the epidemiological characteristics as time, place, persons and aggregation status of SARS cases, development of the epidemics, were analyzed with software EPI 6.0.

RESULTSThe incidence of SARS in Guangdong province was 1.72/100,000 with case fatality rate as 3.64%. Most cases of SARS occurred between the last ten days of January and the first ten days of February with the peak (61.88% of the patients) occurred in the first ten days of February. As to the distribution of place, Pearl river delta region-economically developed with great number of mobile population-was heavily affected areas (account for 96.66% of the total patients). The majority of patients were young adults and medical staff seemed to be the most affected subgroup (account for 24.9% of the patients in total). Family and hospital aggregation of patients comprised the another two important characteristics of SARS (account for 37.1% of the total patients).

CONCLUSIONCurrent knowledge on SARS suggested that it was an air-borne infectious disease with human beings served as the source of infection. The incubation period of the disease was from 1 to 12 days with a median of 4 days. Respiratory secretions and close contact contributed to person-to-person transmission. Most cases were distributed in Pearl river delta region, an area famous for its economic development and heavy flow of mobile population.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; epidemiology ; Contact Tracing ; Disease Outbreaks ; Family Health ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; epidemiology ; mortality ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of modified Shehuang Ointment(mainly composed of Cnidii Fructus,Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex,and Zanthoxyli Pericarpium)for the treatment of facial seborrheic dermatitis(SD).Methods Seventy-two patients with facial SD were randomly divided into observation group and control group,with 36 patients in each group.Both groups of patients were given oral use of Acrivastine Capsules and Vitamin B6 Tablets,and additionally,the observation group was given topical application of modified Shehuang Ointment and the control group was given topical application of 2%Ketoconazole cream.The course of treatment covered 4 weeks.The changes of clinical symptom scores and dermatology life quality index(DLQI)scores in the two groups were observed before and after treatment,and the clinical efficacy and safety of the two groups were also evaluated.Results(1)After 4 weeks of treatment,the total effective rate of the observation group was 88.89%(32/36),and that of the control group was 72.22%(26/36).The intergroup comparison showed that the efficacy of the observation group was significantly superior to that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).(2)After treatment,the clinical symptom scores of erythema,scales,grease,rash area,itchiness and other clinical symptoms of the patients in the two groups were significantly decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the clinical symptom scores of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group,the differences being statistically significant(P＜0.05).(3)After treatment,the DLQI scores of patients in the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the DLQI scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group after treatment,the difference being statistically significant(P＜0.05).(4)During the treatment period,no significant adverse reactions occurred in the two groups of patients,with high safety.Conclusion The conventional western medicine treatment combined with topical application of modified Shehuang Ointment exerts certain effect in the treatment of facial SD,which can effectively relieve the clinical symptoms and improve the quality of life of patients.

To clone KGF-2 gene, get hKGF-2 protein and detemine its activity. The cNDA of human KGF-2 was isolated from fetal lung by RT-PCR and cloned into pBV220 plasmid. The recombinant pBV220-hKGF-2 plasmid was transformed into E. coli (BL21), induced at 42 degrees C for the expression of hKGF-2. Recombinant human KGF-2 was purified from the ultrasonic-treated BL21 by heparin-Sepharose CL-6B treated column chromatography and cation exchange column chromatography. MTT method was used for the determination of its biological activity. SDS-PAGE showed that rhKGF-2 was expressed in E. coli BL21 as soluble protein of approximately 20kD. The rhKGF-2 protein can stimulate the proliferation of NIH3T3 cells significantly from 1 ng/mL to 10 ng/mL. HKGF-2 cDNA wasclned and highly expressed in E. coli BL21 and the purified rhKGF-2 showed the mitogenic activity on NIH3T3 cells.
Cloning, Molecular ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Fetus ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 10 ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Humans ; Lung ; chemistry ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness of personal protective measures of health care workers (HCWs) against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

METHODSA case-control study from ten hospitals in Guangdong, with 180 non-infected and 77 infected staff members that accessed the isolation unit every day, and participated in direct first aid for severe SARS patients. All participants were surveyed about how they were using personal protective equipment (PPE), protective drugs and hygiene habits when caring for patients with SARS. Statistical analysis was done with either chi(2) or Fisher's exact test for univariate analysis, whereas we used forward stepwise selection (Waldesian) for logistic regression.

RESULTSUnivariate analysis showed that mask, gown, gloves, goggles, footwear, "hand-washing and disinfecting", gargle, "membrane protection", "taking shower and changing clothing after work", "avoid from eating and drinking in ward", oseltamivir phospha tall had protective effects (P < 0.05), but stepwise logistic regression showed significant differences for mask (OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.60 - 0.99), goggles (OR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.10 - 0.41) and footwear (OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.39 - 0.86). Analysis for linear trend in proportions showed that dose response relationship existed in mask, gown, gloves, goggles, footwear, gargle, "membrane protection" and "taking shower and changing dree after work" (P < 0.01). The attack rate of HCWs who were rescuing severe SARS patients without any PPE was 61.5% (16/26). It seemed that the more the protective measures were used, the higher the protective effect was (P < 0.001), and could reach 100% if mask, gown, gloves, goggles, footwear, "hand-washing and disinfecting" were all used at the same time.

CONCLUSIONSNosocomial infection of SARS can be prevented effectively by precautions against droplets and personal contact. HCWs must take strict protection according to the guidance of WHO or Chinese MOH and pay attention to personal hygiene.

China ; Cross Infection ; prevention & control ; Female ; Health Occupations ; education ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Protective Devices ; classification ; utilization ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Surveys and Questionnaires