A simulation experiment was carried out by applying the simulation model to spread of influenza A (H1N1) in communities with different population density. Population at the community-level was divided into susceptible, infected and recovered ones, according to the susceptive-infective-removal (SIR) model, and the age structure of the population was set on the basis of data from the Fifth Population Census. Contact and moving of the individuals were based on the Network Random Contact Model and the mortality and infection mode were established in line with the influenza A (H 1N 1) medical description. The results of an example analysis showed that the infection rate was closely related to the density of the community-based population while the rate on early infection grew rapidly. Influenza A (H1N1) seemed more likely to break out in the community with population density of over 50/hm2. Comparative tests showed that vaccination could effectively restrain the spread of influenza A (H1N1) at the community level. Conclusion Population density,and the coverage of influenza vaccination were risk factors for influenza A (H1N1) epidemics.Results of the experiment showed of value, for prevention and vaccination on this topic.

Objective To compare the efficacy of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration(US-FNA)biopsy in diagnosing solid and complex thyroid nodules with different size. Methods One hundred and seventy-five thyroid FNA biopsies were prospectively performed on 168 patients ranging from 4 to 75 years of age. Sixty-three nodules were surgically excised and the others were clinically followed-up. The cytology diagnoses were categorized into four groups: benign, malignant, suspicious and unsatisfactory. Results There was no significant complication in the all 115 solid and 60 complex thyroid lesions and there were 36and 3 malignant nodules respectively in solid and complex thyroid nodules. The nondiagnostic rates of solid and complex nodules were 7％ and 8％. The accuracy of US-FNA in diagnosing complex thyroid nodules was comparatively equal to that of in solid thyroid nodules. In solid thyroid nodules, the sensitivity and accuracy in ≤1 cm group were similar to that of in ＞1 cm group. Conclusions US-FNA was an accurate and reliable method to diagnose thyroid solid and complex lesions.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate polymorphisms and forensic efficiency of 22 non-binary single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci.

METHODSOne hundred ethnic Han Chinese individuals were recruited from Dongguan, Guangdong. The 22 loci were genotyped with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).

RESULTSNine loci were found with a single allele, 4 loci were found to be biallelic, whilst 9 loci were found to have 3 alleles. For 13 polymorphic loci, the combined discrimination power and power of exclusion were 0.999 98 and 0.9330, respectively. For the 9 non-biallelic loci, the combined discrimination power and power of exclusion were 0.9998 and 0.8956, respectively. For motherless cases, the combined power of exclusion was 0.6405 for 13 polymorphic SNPs and 0.6405 for 9 non-binary SNPs.

CONCLUSIONNon-binary loci have a greater discrimination power and exclusion power per SNP.

Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; China ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Load ; Genetics, Population ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

OBJECTIVETo compare the results of detecting HIV-1 load by using NucliSens HIV-1 QT and Amplicor HIV-1 monitor 1.5 assays.

METHODSEighty-two clinical samples were collected and HIV viral load was determined with the above-mentioned two methods.

RESULTSThe number of samples in which values obtained by NucliSens HIV-1 QT and Amplicor HIV-1 monitor 1.5 differed by <0.5 log10 RNA copies/ml and in which the viral load was undetectable accounted for 88.9 percent of the measures. The correlation coefficient between the two methods was 0.956 in 56 samples of Deltalog10 VL<0.5.

CONCLUSIONThe results of HIV-1 viral load determination with the two methods are highly comparable.

HIV Infections ; virology ; HIV-1 ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques ; instrumentation ; methods ; RNA, Viral ; genetics ; Viral Load

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of aloe polysaccharides pretreatment on the cerebral inflammatory response and lipid peroxidation in severe hemorrhagic shock rats first entering high altitude.

METHODSForty healthy male SD rats weighing 250-300 g were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 8 each): sham group, shock group, AP group was further divided into 3 subgroups (AP1 0.75 mg/kg; AP2 1.50 mg/kg; AP3 3.00 mg/kg). The different doses AP were given iv respectively at 30 min before hemorrhagic shock. The mean blood pressure (MAP) was maintained at (35 ± 5) mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa) for 60 minutes. The animals were killed at 2 hours after resuscitation. Blood samples were obtained from femoral artery for detecting tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), IL-6 and IL-10 concentrations; the frontal and parietal lobes brain and the hippocampus were separated from brain tissues on the ice for detecting superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, brain Wet-dry weight ratio (W/D).

RESULTSCompared with sham group, hemorrhagic shock significantly increased serum TNF-α ((76 ± 11) ng/L), IL-6 ((1303 ± 141) ng/L) and IL-10 concentrations ((95 ± 14) ng/L), MPO activity ((20.72 ± 2.28)×10(-2) U/g) and MDA concentration ((80 ± 13) nmol/mgprot) in the brain tissue and brain W/D (6.21 ± 0.18) (t = 6.928 - 14.565, P < 0.05), while SOD activity ((56 ± 11) U/mgprot) decreased significantly (t = -5.374, P < 0.05). There were no significant difference between shock and AP1 groups. AP2 group significantly inhibited hemorrhagic shock-induced increase serum TNF-α ((54 ± 12) ng/L), IL-6 ((846 ± 78) ng/L) and IL-10 concentrations ((66 ± 11) ng/L), MPO activity ((13.13 ± 1.23)×10(-2) U/g) and MDA concentration ((56 ± 9) nmol/mgprot) in the brain tissue and brain W/D (5.71 ± 0.18) (t = -6.905 - -3.357, P < 0.05), while SOD activity ((86 ± 12) U/mgprot) increased significantly compared to shock group (t = 4.240, P < 0.05). There were no significant difference between AP2 and AP3 groups.

CONCLUSIONAP pretreatment can attenuate the cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury in severe traumatic-hemorrhagic rats first entering high altitude through inhibiting systemic inflammatory response and leukocyte aggregation and lipid peroxidation in the brain.

Aloe ; chemistry ; Altitude ; Animals ; Brain ; metabolism ; pathology ; Brain Ischemia ; drug therapy ; prevention & control ; Disease Models, Animal ; Interleukin-10 ; blood ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Polysaccharides ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; drug therapy ; prevention & control ; Shock, Hemorrhagic ; metabolism ; pathology ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

Communicable Disease Control ; Communicable Diseases ; Forecasting ; Models, Statistical

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical significance of plasmic L-plastin level in patients with colorectal cancer.

METHODSFrom March 2008 to March 2009, plasma samples were collected from 40 patients and 40 healthy controls. Plasmic L-plastin level was measured by ELISA kit and was compared to TIMP-1.

RESULTSPlasmic L-plastin level in patients with colorectal cancer was higher than that in healthy adults (1.662±0.386 vs. 0.485±0.085 μg/L, P<0.01). The sensitivity of L-plastin in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer was 67.5%, and the specificity was 80.6%. The Youden index was 0.481 and AUC was 0.772 (P<0.01). Plasmic L-plastin levels were associated with the tumor size (P=0.006), serosal penetration (F=4.687, P<0.05) and lymphatic metastasis (P<0.01). Compared to plasmic TIMP-1 level, L-plastin showed the same capability in indicating the depth of tumor. The specificity of L-plastin was better in indicating lymphatic metastasis (86% vs. 58%, χ2=4.2, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPlasmic L-plastin level may serve as a potential marker in colorectal cancer.

Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; blood ; Microfilament Proteins ; blood ; Middle Aged ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; blood

To explore the effect of glycosyl-phosphatidyl inositol-specific phospholipase D (GPI-PLD) on the adhesion function of bone marrow mononuclear cell from patients with myeloid leukemia and analyze its mechanism, the activity of GPI-PLD in bone marrow mononuclear cell from the patients were measured by using GPI-anchored placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) as substrate and Triton-X114 partitioning; the adhesion rate and CD24 expression of these cells were measured by MTT and immunohistochemical method respectively, when these cells were or were not treated by 1 mmol/L 1,10-phenanthroline for 5 hours. The results showed that the GPI-PLD activity of bone marrow mononuclear cells from the patients was significantly inhibited after being treated by 1 mmol/L 1, 10-phenanthroline for 5 hours [(42.08 +/- 7.21)% vs (5.4 +/- 2.96)%], while the adhesion rate and the expression of CD24 of these cells were increased [(49.78 +/- 26.73)% vs (61.19 +/- 29.14)%, (16.02 +/- 9.68)% vs (18.5 +/- 11.14)%, respectively)]. It is concluded that depression of GPI-PLD activity can increase the adhesion rate of bone marrow mononuclear cells from the patients while the CD24 expression is enhanced.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Bone Marrow Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; CD24 Antigen ; biosynthesis ; Cell Adhesion ; drug effects ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Leukemia, Myeloid ; blood ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phenanthrolines ; pharmacology ; Phospholipase D ; blood ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo observe the efficacy and safety of Jingui Shengqi Pill in treating partial androgen deficiency in aging males (PADAM), and to explore the new approach in improving the quality of life in PADAM patients.

METHODSForty patients with PADAM were treated with JSP, the efficacy was evaluated with international index of erectile function (IIEF) scoring, PADAM questionnaire scoring, hormone, prostatic specific antigen (PSA), etc., and the data before treatment were compared with those after treatment in the same group.

RESULTSAfter 3 months of treatment, PADAM scoring and IIEF scoring were all significantly improved. Symptoms regarding physical ability, vasomotion, and psychical and mental condition all got improved more markedly than symptoms regarding sexual hypofunction. The serum level of testosterone was 3.85 +/- 0.36 before treatment and 5.02 +/- 0.83 after treatment (P < 0.05); luteinizing hormone of 7.33 +/- 2.14 and 4.84 +/- 1.43 (P < 0.01), follicle-stimulating hormone of 10.22 +/- 4.48 and 6.47 +/- 3.28 (P < 0.01), respectively. The level of PSA failed to change significantly (1.94 +/- 0.55 and 2.06 +/- 0.47, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONJSP is effective and safe in treating PADAM, the mechanism of it is different from supplementing extrinsic androgen. It may have produced the effect by means of favorably regulating the condition of sex hormone to improve the balance of pituitary-sex gland axis, so it has more extensive clinical application.

Aged ; Androgens ; deficiency ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Erectile Dysfunction ; drug therapy ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Humans ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Testosterone ; blood

OBJECTIVEFragile X syndrome (FXS) may be identified by many methods, such as PCR assay and Southern blot. However, each method has its limits or shortcomings. This study explored the reliability of the rapid, convenient and inexpensive hair root fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP ) assay in the identification of FXS.

METHODSFMRP in hair roots was determined by immunohistochemistry assay in 80 healthy children, in 40 children with mental retardation of unknown etiology and in 12 family members in one pedigree of FXS. FXS was confirmed by 7-deza-dGTP PCR.

RESULTSThere was a high expression of FMRP in hair roots (> or =80%) in healthy children. Two children were confirmed with FXS by 7-deza-dGTP PCR in 40 children with mental retardation of unknown etiology. FMRP expression was 10% and zero respectively in the two children. The other 38 children had FMRP expression of more than 80%. FMRP was not expressed in the two cases of FXS from the pedigree of FXS.

CONCLUSIONSInexpensive, rapid and convenient hair root FMRP assay is reliable for the diagnosis of FXS and may be widely applied for screening and diagnosing FXS in children with mental retardation.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein ; analysis ; Fragile X Syndrome ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Hair ; chemistry ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction