Air Pollution ; analysis ; Barium ; analysis ; chemistry ; Solubility ; Spectrophotometry, Atomic ; methods ; Workplace

Objective To evaluate the relationship between carotid artery plagues and the clinical risk factors in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 by observing the ultrasonic characteristics of carotid atherosclerosis plagues.Methods The ultrasound results of carotid arteries in 665 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 from January 2009 to December 2011 in Beijing Amery General Hospital were retrospectively analyzed.The location and quantity of carotid atherosclerotic plaques were observed .The relationship between the occurrence and risk factors of diabetes such as hypertension ,family history of diabetes and age were analyzed.Single factor and multi-factor analysis were applied for the related risk factors .Results The ultrasonography showed 405 cases of carotid artery plaques.Most carotid artery plaques were located in the posterior wall of carotid sinus and were hyperechoic ,hypoechoic or isoechoic.The single factor analysis showed hypertension,family history of diabetes and age are risk factors of carotid atherosclerosis (χ2 =42.322,9.682 and 140.658,all P<0.01).Multi-factor logistic regression analysis showed age was an independent risk factor of carotid atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2.The risk factors scores of patients who were less than 45 years,45-65 years and over 65 years of age were (3.50 ±1.16)scores,(3.46 ±0. 92)scores and (3.21 ±0.88)scores,and the difference was statistically significant (F=5.781,P<0.001). There were significant differences between risk factors scores of different age groups ( t =2.084,2.002, 3.786,3.474,2.877 and 2.504,all P<0.05).In patients more than 65 years of age,the risk of atherosclerosis plaques is 28.732 times higher than that of patients less than 45 years of age.After controlling the age factor,the possibility of atherosclerosis plaque increased 1.201 times for each additional one point of score. Conclusions Most carotid artery plaques in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 are located in the posterior wall of carotid sinus and are hyperechoic ,hypoechoic or isoechoic.Age is an independent risk factor for the formation of carotid plaque.Patients more than 45 years of age should undergo early intervention to avoid the occurrence of major vascular complications .

Objective To investigate the changes of plasma adrenodullin(ADM) and C-type natriuretic peptide(CNP) level in children with chronic heart failure(CHF) and its clinical implications.Methods Forty-two children with CHF were collected.The patients suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy,congenital heart defects,and other heart diseases.According to a modified scoring system described by Ross and Reithman,16 patients were classified as class Ⅱ,14 as class Ⅲ,and 12 as class Ⅳ.Plasma levels of ADM and CNP were measured by radioimmunoassay assay in these patients and 11 healthy children.Echocardiography was performed to measure left ventricular function and the ratio of E/A.Results Plasma ADM and CNP levels of CHF patients were significantly elevated as compared with those of the control subjects [(218.27?106.53) ng/L vs(74.39?53.99) ng/L,P=0;(190.27?108.38) ng/L vs(92.59?(59.46) ng/L),P0.05).ADM levels were elevated with the advancing severity of CHF determined by a modified scoring system described by Ross.However,the plasma CNP levels in the normal state wasn′t significantly different from those observed in class Ⅱ.Likewise,the plasma CNP level in the class Ⅲ was not significantly different from that observed in class Ⅱ.Conclusions ADM and CNP might play a compensatory and defensive roles in the pathophysiology of the pediatric CHF.ADM may be a biochemical marker for evaluation the severity of the chronic heart failure in children,but also a new prognostic indicator of this syndrome.

Objective To study prognosis of patients with fulminant hepatitis after plasma ex- change treatment using model for end-stage liver disease(MELD)scoring system.Methods 160 pa- tients were randomly divided into plasma exchange group and control group,and MELD score was calculated according to the original formula for each patient.The efficacy of plasma exchange was as- sessed by mortality and improvement in biochemical parameters and MELD score.Results The levels of total bilirubin(TBIL),INR and MELD score of patients whose MELD scores were between 30 and 40[TBIL,(379.4?40.4)?mol/L; INR,2.5?0.2; MELD,30.8?3.8]were lower than before PE treatment[TBIL,(509.7?64.6)?mol/L;INR,3.5?0.3;MELD,37.3?3.5].The levels of TBIL and INR and MELD score of patients whose MELD scores were higher than 40 [TBIL,(595.6?61.5)?mol/L;INR,3.8?0.4;MELD,39.8?3.5]were lower than before PE treatmem [TBIL, (650.4?66.3)?mol/L;INR,4.4?0.6;MELD,45.2?4.2].The mortality of patients in PE group with MELD score from 30 and 40 was 50.0%,while it was 86.7% in control group,showing significant differ- ence between PE group and control group(P＜0.01).The mortality of patients with MELD scores higher than 40 was 91.2% in PE group and 100% in control group,showing no significant difference between these two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusions Plasma exchange treatment can decrease the serum TBIL level, INR and MELD score of patients with fulminant hepatitis and improve liver function.Compared with the control group,plasma exchange can significantly decrease the mortality of patients in PE group with MELD score from 30 to 40,but no effect on patients with MELD score higher than 40.

Objective To explore how the spared muscles in upper limbs and trunk compensated for elbow extension movements in patients with SCI at the level of C_5 and C_6.Methods Fifteen patients with SCI at the level of C_5 and C_6 and fifteen healthy subjects were divided into an SCI group and a control group respectively.The surface EMG recorded from the anterior dehoid,middle deltoid,posterior deltoid,triceps braehii muscle,biceps braehii muscle,upper peetoralis,serratus anterior and latissimus dorsi during four elbow extension activities including grasp- ing cup,reaching for light-switch,wheelchair ambulation and upper limb weight-bearing.The relative EMG intensi- ties of muscles were expressed as a percentage of maximal voluntary contraction.Results Several muscles partici- pated in the activity simultaneously when both groups of subjects performed every motor task.But the primary muscles involved in the movements were different between the two groups.Furthermore,the SCI group tended to employ more muscles than the controls to perform a activity.The compensatory strategies used in various motor tasks by the spared muscles were different.Conclusion The motorueuron recruitment patterns used by the C_(5～6)SCI patients in per- forming elbow extension activities could be different from those by the healthy subjects.The patients accomplished performing different motor tasks by changing their compensatory strategies.

Objective To study the immunophenotypic features of NK/T cell lymphoma in children and its association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Methods Five cases of children′s NK/T cell lymphoma were studied. CD45RO, CD3?, CD56, CD20, TIA-1 and granzyme B were detected by immunohistochemistry staining for investigating immunophenotype. The expression of EBV-latent membrane protein (LMP-1) were detected by immunohistochemistry. EBV-encoded RNA (EBER1/2) were detected by in situ hybridization (ISH). Results CD45RO, CD3?, TIA-1 and granzyme B were positive in 5 cases, CD56 was positive in 2 cases, while CD20 negative in 5 cases.EBER1/2 positive in 4 cases and LMP-1 positive in 3 cases.Conclusions NK/T cell lymphoma in children is strong associated with EBV infection,and EBV infection may play an important role in the pathogenesis of children NK/T cell lymphoma.

Syringin, chlorogenic acid and 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid are three main bioactive ingredients in herbs of Saussurea involucrata with various pharmacological properties, while their contents are very low. In this study, the biosynthesis of syringin, chlorogenic acid and 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid in the cell suspension cultures of S. involucrata were regulated by feeding carbon sources and precursors, which resulted in a great increase of the contents and yields of the above three bioactive ingredients. After 16 days of fermentation, the yields of syringin, chlorogenic acid and 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid reached 339.0, 225.3, 512.7 mg x L(-1), respectively. Meanwhile, their contents increased up to 67.9, 1.9, 10.6 times of wild medicinal material, respectively. The results provided a solid basis for further studies on application of cell suspension cultures of S. involucrata for large-scale production of bioactive compounds syringin, chlorogenic acid and 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid.
Cell Culture Techniques ; Cells, Cultured ; Chlorogenic Acid ; analysis ; metabolism ; Cinnamates ; analysis ; metabolism ; Glucosides ; analysis ; biosynthesis ; Phenylpropionates ; analysis ; Saussurea ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore the association of 8-hydroxyguanine glycosidase OGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism with semen quality and the risk of male infertility.

METHODSThis case-control study included 620 idiopathic infertile patients and 385 normal fertile controls. We determined their genotypes by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and analyzed their semen quality by computer-aided semen analysis (CASA).

RESULTSThe individuals with OGG1 326 Cys/Cys showed significantly lower sperm motility and concentration ([52.1 +/- 26.7]% and (3.75 +/- 0.91) x 10(6)/ml, ln transformed value) than the Ser/Ser carriers ([59.0 +/- 21.8] % and (4.12 +/- 0.88) x 10(6)/ml, ln transformed value) (P < 0.05). The risk of male infertility increased 69% in the OGG1 326Cys allele carriers as compared with the Ser carriers (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.24 -2.31).

CONCLUSIONOGG1 326 Ser/Cys polymorphism might contribute to the risk of male infertility in the southern Chinese population.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; DNA Glycosylases ; genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Semen Analysis ; Young Adult

BackgroundResearches found that the posterior capsular opacification (PCO) after lensextraction is associated with the elevation of the transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β).To seek the drug for inhibitingproliferation of lens epithelial cells (LECs) is crucial in the treatment and prevention of PCO.ObjectiveThisstudy was to investigate the preventing effects of decorin on the proliferation of LECs.MethodsRabbit LECs wascultured and passaged.The LECs in growth phase were incubated in 96 well plate at the density of 8×106/L.Decorinwith the concentrations 0.1,1.0,10.0 mg/L was added into the medium for 24,48 and 72 hours respectively.0.1％DMSO was used at the same way as positive control group,and the regular cultured cells worked as blank controlgroup.The inhibitory rates of different concentrations of decorin on the growth of LECs were detected by MTT at 24,48and 72 hours after addition of decorin.The percentage of LECs in different cell cycles in various groups was assayedusing flow cytometry.TGF-β level in medium suspension was detected using ELISA.The expression of TGF-β mRNA in LECs was checked by RT-PCR,and α-SMA expression in LECs was determined using immunochemistry.Results ELISA assay showed a statistical difference in the TGF-β levels of different groups (F=39.24,P=0.03 ).The TGF-β levels in 1.0,10.0 mg/L decorin groups were significantly decreased in comparison with blank control group (P＜0.01) and 0.1 mg/L decorin group (P＜0.05 ).The inhibitory rates of decorin in the concentrations of ≥ 1.0 mg/L on the growth of LECs were higher than the blank control group,and those in various concentrations of decorin groups were considerably lower in 24 hours compared with 48 and 72 hours ( P＜0.05 ) and so was the 48 hours compared with 72 hours (P＜0.05 ).The percentages of LECs in G0/G1 phase were ascent in 0.1,1.0 and 10.0 mg/L decorin groups in comparison with G2/M and S phase (P＜0.05).Immunochemistry revealed the weak expression of α-SMA in various decorin groups in comparison with control group. Conclusions Decorin can effectively inhibit LECs growth and induce LECs apoptosis in concentration- and time-dependent manner.It is suggested that decorin can be used in the prevention and treatment of after cataract.

Objective To investigate the impact of fatty liver and its related factors on the effi- cacy of antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.Methods ninety-eight patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated with 180?g peginterferon?-2a plus ribavirin.Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and fatty liver were detected by ultra sonography.The body mass index (BMI),waist to hip ratio (WHR) and ho- meostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were calculated.The serum HCV RNA level was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serum insulin level was detected by chemiluminescence analysis.The impact of fatty liver and its related factors on the efficacy of antiviral therapy were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression analysis.Results Of 98 patients with chro- nic hepatitis C,35 (35.7%) were genotype 1,41 (41.8%) were genotype 2,13 (13.3%) were gen- otype 3,9 (9.1%) were undetermined genotype.The incidence of fatty liver in HCV infection of genotype 1,2,3 and undetermined genotype was 11.4%,9.8%,38.5% and 11.1%,respectively (X~2=7.83,P