The new,rapid,accurate and convenient tests for tuberculosis diagnosis and drug resistance are urgently needed for effective tuberculosis control.In this review,two novel,inexpensive diagnosis methods of active TB were introduced.They can detect tuberculosis disease and drug resistances directly form sputum specimens and might have greater applicability in developing countries.Several concerns about the research and development of innovative diagnosis technology in our country also are described.

Objective To learn the control status of iodine deficiency disorders in Baoji City of Shaanxi Province.Methods From 2009 to 2011,according to the National Iodized Salt Monitoring Program,the iodized salt was monitored,and thyroid was examined in 12 counties(areas) of Baoji City.According to rural and urban area stratification,60 children aged 8 to 10 were selected in each county(district),and their urine samples were collected for determination of iodine content.In 2011,per capita daily salt intake was surveyed by the three weighing method at children's home whose urine was collected.Chencang Area,Fufeng County and Taibai County,representatives of Baoji City different geomorphic features were selected for investigation of water iodine,and urinary iodine of pregnant and lactating women,and 15 people were selected in each county (district).Results From 2009-2011,in the 12 counties(areas) in Baoji City,the coverage rate of iodized salt was all 100.00％(3468/3468); the qualified rate of iodized salt and the consumption rate of qualified iodized salt were all ＞ 99.00％.Children's goiter rate was 3.41％(87/2548),3.06％(77/2520) and 3.33％(84/2520),and they were all less than that of the national standard (＜ 5％).Medians of urinary iodine of 8-10 years old children were 368.20,293.80 and 332.50 μg/L,respectively,and the ratios of urine iodine ≥300 μg/L were accounted for 66.42％ (797/1200),48.05％(692/1440) and 56.67％(816/1440),respectively.Median urinary iodine of pregnant women was 301.81 μg/L and lactating women was 329.79 μg/L.A total of 1116 households were investigated,the median of per capita daily salt intake was 8.9 g.Eighteen water samples were collected,range of water iodine value were 0.60-10.25 μg/L.Conclusions Iodine nutrition in general population of Baoji City is exceeded the optimum level,and the current iodized salt concentration has some down space,but fully consideration should be taken on iodine needs in different iodine deficiency areas and among different groups of people.

Objective Based on dual channel melting curve analysis-based assay,we developed a method to rapidly detect the drug-resistant mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis through real-time PCR.Methods According to the common first-line drug-resistant mutations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis,we designed six dual-labeled fluorescence probes to rapidly detect the drug-resistant mutations through realtime PCR melting curve after amplifications of drug-resistant related gene region of DNA.The targets include rpoB 81 bp core region,katG315,inhA promoter,ahpC promoter and embB306.To validate the sensitivity and specificity of our method,we performed real-time PCR assays to detect drug-resistant mutations in 76 clinical MDR-TB samples,which were collected by Shanghai CDC in 2008.Results In the validation,this method successfully detected drug-resistant mutations in all 76 clinical MDR-TB samples.The △Tm of mutations were from 1.8 to 14.4 ℃.Comparing with the sequencing data,all mutations covered by the six probes were detected with 100％ sensitivity and 100％ specificity (rpoB,80/80; inhA,7/7 ; katG315,59/ 59;ahpC,8/8;embB306,27/27).This method can successfully detect drug-resistant mutations from 100 copies/μl DNA samples.Conclusions A widely applicable real-time PCR assay to detect first line drug-resistant mutations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has benn developed.This method has proven to have the advantages of high sensitivity,specificity and low risk of contamination.It can be used in rapid diagnosis of clinical drug-resistant tuberculosis and the evaluation of laboratory drug sensitivity test.

Objective To learn the existing state of Keshan disease and its trend in Baoji City,and to provide a scientific basis for control of the disease.Methods Feng,Qianyang,Linyou and Long Counties,the Keshan disease affected areas were selected to carry out the case study,and Keshan cases were searched from all registered cases of myocardial patients of the past three years at county-level medical institutions and hospitals of townships(towns).Thirteen villages affected by Keshan disease in Qianyang,Fengxiang,Feng,Linyou and Long Counties were selected as monitoring points to carry out a intensified monitoring.All subjects were surveyed by comprehensive clinical physical examination and 12-lead ECG tracings,and they were diagnosed according to the Keshan disease diagnostic criteria.Ten households were selected randomly in each monitoring point(village),and self-produced wheat samples and adult subject's occipital hair samples were collected for detecting selenium levels.Results Seven hundred and forty-six cardiac cases which containing 17 cases of chronic Keshan disease were discovered in 32 medical institutions,and there were no acute and subacute type of Keshan disease patients.Five thousand seven hundred and twenty-three subjects were examined in the 13 monitoring sites,and 65 cases of Keshan disease were diagnosed which including 17 cases of slow and 48 cases of potential Keshan disease,and no acute or subacute case was found.The total detection rate was 1.14％,and the detection rate ranged from 0 to 2.86％.Hair selenium mean was 0.420 mg/kg; wheat selenium mean was 0.079 mg/kg.Conclusions The Keshan disease detection rate of Baoji City is at a low level.The selenium level of local residents has reached the level of non-endemic area.Constant detection of patient with Keshan disease means various control measures should be reinforced.The comprehensive monitoring program,such as monitoring people's in vivo and in vitro selenium level and others,should be established as soon as possible.

AIM: To analyze the genotype of the allele distribution of a polymorphic G-954C within the 5 upstream promoter region of the nitric oxide synthetase 2A gene (NOS2A) in samples of diabetic retinopathy in patients with cystoid macular edema in the mainland of China.METHODS: Eighty-nine patients with diabetic retinopathy and cystoid macular edema and 90 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Nest polymerase chain reaction (PCR)was performed, and restriction endonudease digestion and gene fragments sequence were examined to detect the genotype of NOS24 G-954C.RESULTS: The genotypes of the sample population of 89 cases and 90 healthy controls were all detected as GG.CONCLUSION: The distribution of G-954C of NOS2A polymorphism are at a lower frequency in China, with little relevancy to the frequency of diabetic retinopathy combined with cystoid macular edema.

OBJECTIVETo explore the imaging characteristics and operation outcomes of intramedullary schwannoma in thoracolumbar spine.

METHODSFrom June 2005 to December 2012,17 patients with intramedullary schwannoma in thoracolumbar spine were operated through posterior approach, including 11 males and 6 females with an average age of 53 years old ranging from 46 to 67 years old. The courses of disease ranged from 3 to 5 years (averaged 3.3 years). Thoracic patients manifested chest and back pain,numbness and inability on lower limb gradually, unsteady gait. Lumbar patients manifested low back pain,radiating pain and numbness on lower limb, intermittent claudication. Preoperative VAS score was 5 to 8 with an average of 6.12. Eleven patients suffered from never injury, 4 cases were grade C, 5 cases were grade D and 2 cases were grade E according to Frankel classification. Three patients were injured on thoracic segments, 5 patients were on thoracolumbar segments, 3 patients on lumbar segments and 6 patients on lumbosacral segment confirmed by CT and MRI. Five patients were epidural, 12 were intradural extramedullary. Six patients underwent spinal decompression and tumor resection simply, eleven patients underwent spinal decompression, tumor resection, internal fixation and bone graft fusion.

RESULTSNo injury of blood vessel or spinal cord occurred during operation, cutting healed well. All patients were followed up from 12 to 60 months with an average of 32 months. Chest and back pain, low back pain, radiating pain and numbness on lower limb were improved significantly. VAS score at final follow-up was 0 to 3 (averaged 1.5). According to Frankel classification, 5 cases were grade D, and 6 cases were grade E at final follow-up.

CONCLUSIONMRI is an effective method in diagnosis of intramedullary schwannoma in thoracolumbar spine. Operative method is choosed by imaging expression, and the aim is effectively decompression of spine, reconstruction of stability of spine.

Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neurilemmoma ; pathology ; surgery ; Spinal Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; surgery

Digital polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) has been experiencing a rapid development during the past few years. Comparing with the traditional real-time quantitative PCR ( RT-qPCR) , using the same primer and probe, the accuracy for the absolute quantification of target gene is significantly improved. The development of digital PCR is directly related to the development of microfluidics. The integrated fluid circuit is an early combination of the microfluidics and digital PCR, which has a complicated fabrication process with high cost. Recently, researchers are trying to apply the droplet microfluidics in digital PCR, and the droplet microfluidic chip is able to generate millions of droplets within a short time. Each of these droplets containing no more than one target gene is a reaction chamber during the amplification process. After amplification, each droplet is tested to achieve the absolute quantification of the target gene. This paper reviews the recent progresses of droplet digital PCR, and the applications of droplet digital PCR in biological, medical and environmental fields.

wearable microfluidics have wide applications in medical, sports and military field. with the help of wearable microfluidics, through the direct physical contact between the chip and skin, the pH, glucose, lactate, sodium/potassium, calcium and heavy metal in the body fluid can be detected from sweat, tear and saliva without puncture for blood. And these information are of great importance for the monitoring of vital signs and disease diagnosis. This paper introduced the most recent development and applications of the wearable microfluidics in the body fluid testing and drug delivery. The up-to-date research development for the drug delivery using wearable microfluidics was also briefly introduced in this article. The forecast of the emerging trend for wearable microfluidics and discussion of potential technique barriers was also provided at the end of this article.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of renal scintigraphy for the estimation of glomerular filtration rates (dGFR) in patients with diabetic nephropathy as compared to the conventional dual-plasma sample clearance method (pscGFR). Methods Forty-six patients with diabetic nephropathy underwent both dynamic renal scintigraphy and dual-plasma sample measurement after 99Tcm-DTPA injection. Paired student t-test and correlation analysis were performed to compare dGFR and pscGFR (normalized to body surface area,1.73 m-2). Results The mean dGFR was higher than mean pscGFR ((51.08±26.78)ml·min-1vs (44.06±29.43)ml·min-1,t=4.209,P=0.000). The dGFR correlated with pscGFR ( r=0.923,P=0.000) linearly (regression equation:pscGFR=1.015×dGFR-7.773,F=254. 656,P=0.000).Conclusions dGFR correlated well with pscGFR. Although it could not absolutely replace the latter in patients with diabetic nephropathy,dGFR could reasonably evaluate the filtration function for these patients.

Objective To understand the epidemiological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD)in the community-based elderly living in cities and counties in Hebei province.Methods Under the stratified random sampling method,Mini Mental State Examination(MMSE)was used to evaluate senile dementia and Activity of Daily Living Scale(ADL)and to evaluate the daily lives of the elderly.Related dementia standard on the diagnose of AD and its subtypes was used.Statistically,data was analyzed through SPSS 13.0 software.Results The overall prevalence was 64.84%(2355/3632) on chronic diseases in those elderly who were over 60 years of age while AD appeared to be high and increased with age.The prevalence rate of dementia was 7.24%(263/3632),in which AD accounted for 4.87%(177/3632).Rates for other chronic diseases were as follows:hypertension (32.35%),diabetes(11.37%),chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(9.25%),coronary heart disease(8.84%)and stroke(7.16%).The prevalence of AD increased with age and was related to the low degree of education having.Conclusion Elderly living in the communities of Hebei province showed high prevalent rates of chronic diseases including AD,which had become the major kind of diseases related to old age.