BackgroundIt is important to measure the corneal curvature, anterior chamber depth (ACD) and axial length accurately for calculating IOL power. The interchange outcomes from different measuring methods and apparatus will cause unreliable IOL power. ObjectiveThe present study was to compare the differences of corneal curvature, anterior chamber depth (ACD) measured by IOLMaster and Orbscan Ⅱbefore and after laser in situ keratomileusis(LASIK) and further compare the axial length measured by IOLMaster and A-ultrasound. Methods One hundred and thirty eyes from 65 consecutive myopic patients before LASIK and 56 eyes of 28 cases with 1-month follow-up duration after LASIK in Henan Eye Institute were enrolled in this study. The K value, ACD between IOLMaster and Orbscan Ⅱ as well as results of axial length between IOLMaster and A-ultrasound were compared by using paired t test. The agreements of the measured values among IOLMaster, Orbscan Ⅱ and A-ultrasound were evaluated using Bland-Altman plot. ResultsBefore LASIK,the K value measured by IOLMaster,Orbscan Ⅱ were ( 43.32 ± 1.52 ) D and ( 42.99 ± 1.45 ) D respectively with the difference value of( 0. 33 ±0. 03 ) D, showing a significant difference(t=10. 380,P=0.000) and a positive relation between them(r=0.971,P=0.000). After LASIK,the K value measured by IOLMaster, Orbscan Ⅱwere(39. 02±2. 14) D and ( 38.91 ±2. 04) D with the difference value (0. 12±0. 33 ) D, presenting a significant differences between them (t =2.715, P =0.009). Bland-Altman plots indicated the disagreement in K value and uninterchangeable. Before LASIK, the ACD measured by IOLMaster,Orbscan Ⅱ and A-ultrasound were ( 3.72 ± 0. 22 ) mm, ( 3.69 ±0. 22 ) mm and ( 3.75± 0.27 )mm respectively and no significant differences were found between them (P ＞ 0. 05 ). Axial length measured by IOLMaster significantly prolonged in comparison with A-ultrasound(25.59± 1. 01 mm vs 25.22±0.99 mm ) , and the difference was( -0. 37 ±0. 30 ) mm, showing significant difference ( t =- 14. 098, P =0. 000 ) and positive correlation ( r =0. 954, P =0. 000 ). Axial length values measured by IOLMaster were ( 25.54 ± 1.05 ) mm in preoperation and ( 25.48 ± 1.01 ) mm in postoperation with the difference (0.052±0. 412)mm, showing statistically insignificant difference between them (t=0. 946,P=0. 348). ConclusionsKeratometries measured by IOLMaster,Orbscan Ⅱ are much more different. Therefore,these two methods are not recommended to use interchangely. ACD measured by IOLMaster,Orbscan Ⅱ and A ultrasound are proved to obtain the similar results and is clinically interchange. Axial length measured by IOLMaster is longer than that measured by A-ultrasound.

BACKGROUNDDisequilibrium of Th1/Th2 is known as an important cause of allergic asthma with a biased Th2 type response. It has been shown that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration during post-sensitization modified the inflammation of asthma via upregulating the Th1 response that decrease the Th2 immunity. We would like to know if, during pre-sensitization, the elevated Th1 response is necessary for LPS exposure to modify the asthmatic response.

METHODSDuring pre- or post-sensitization, 40 microg LPS were intraperitoneal injected (i.p.) to asthmatic mice sensitized and challenged by Dermatophagoides farinae (D. farinea). Inflammation was assessed by examining bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for the number and identity of cells and by cytokine titers measured by ELISA. Semi-quantified RT-PCR was used to evaluate the level of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mRNA in dendritic cells (DCs) from bone marrow (BMDCs).

RESULTSThese investigations demonstrated that LPS exposure during pre-sensitization inhibited the Th2 cytokine and inflammatory infiltration, the same as with LPS exposure during post-sensitization in allergic asthma mice. Contrary to post-sensitization LPS exposure, the Th1 cytokines were not upregulated by pre-sensitization with LPS. Finally, the study failed to show any significant difference between TLR4 mRNA expressed in BMDCs with the two times of LPS exposure.

CONCLUSIONSOur data suggest that elevated Th1 immunity is not required for the modification of the Th2 response induced by LPS exposure during pre-sensitization in asthmatic mice and that pre-sensitization differs from post-sensitization. Immune modulation with treatment is independent of TLR4 expression in BMDCs. This study implicates a potential way to protect from allergic disease and an inflammatory response.

Animals ; Asthma ; chemically induced ; immunology ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; immunology ; Cytokines ; immunology ; metabolism ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; Dermatophagoides farinae ; immunology ; Female ; Lipopolysaccharides ; immunology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Th1 Cells ; immunology ; Th2 Cells ; immunology ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; genetics

Objective To investigate the correlation between NRAMP1 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to tuberculosis ( TB) in Tibetan people in Qinghai. Methods A case-control study was con-ducted in this study, involving 99 Tibetan patients with TB and 89 healthy Tibetans. The single nucleotide polymorphisms of NRAMP1 gene at rs17235409 and rs3731865 sites were detected by using TaqMan probe method. Gene cloning and sequencing typing were performed to analyze the single nucleotide polymorphisms of NRAMP1 gene at the rs17235416 site. SPASS20. 0 software was used to statistically analyze the correla-tion between NRAMP1 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to TB in Tibetan people. Results No signifi-cant difference in the genotype frequencies of rs3731865 and rs17235409 was found between the two groups (χ2=0. 852, P=0. 356;χ2=0. 279, P=0. 597). The genotype frequencies of TGTG/TGTG and TGTG/del+del/del at the rs17235416 site were 70. 7% ( 70/99 ) and 29. 3% ( 29/99 ) in patients with TB and 86. 5% (77/89) and 13. 5% (12/89) in healthy subjects. There were significant differences in the geno-type frequencies of TGTG/TGTG and TGTG/del+del/del between the two groups (χ2=6. 870, P=0. 009). The genotypes of TGTG/del and del/del at rs17235416 were risk factors for TB ( OR=0. 376; 95%CI:0. 178-1. 794 as compared with the TGTG/TGTG genotype in Tibetan people in Qinghai. Conclusion This study suggested that the NRAMP1 gene polymorphisms at rs3731865 and rs1723409 sites had no correlation with the susceptibility to TB in Tibetans in Qinghai. However, the NRAMP1 gene polymorphisms at rs17235416 site were correlated with the susceptibility to TB. The TGTG/del alleles at the rs17235416 site might be the risk factors for tuberculosis in Tibetans in Qinghai.

OBJECTIVETo understand the perception on roles of gender and decision-making regarding family affairs among married women and its impact on the utilization of perinatal care.

METHODSClustering sampling was conducted to select 1227 married women with at least a child aged from 0 to 7 years old, from Hebei, Hubei and Sichuan provinces. All women were interviewed using a uniform questionnaire during Nov.-Dec. 2004.

RESULTSThe overall proportion of women who had relatively poor perception of gender role was 65.1%. 59.3% of the women agreed that "husband's health is more important than wife's in the family" versus 39.7% of interviewed women agreed that "man is more suitable for leadership than woman". In 46.2% of the families, wife and husband shared the responsibility of decision making on family affairs. In 16.2% of the families women played a decisive role, while 67.1% of interviewed women had to get the approval of her husband when spending money on daily necessities. When there were different opinions between the couples, husband usually made the final decision in 20.5% of all the families versus 17.4% of families where wife made the final decision. In total,the proportion of women who had somehow rights on family affairs was 64.1%. The coverage rate of antenatal care was 91.0%, and 65.3% women who received antenatal care got the first antenatal visit during the first trimester and the proportion of women who had at least five antenatal visits was 39.7%. The institutional delivery was 59.3% among all the women. Perception of gender role was not a predictor for antenatal care utilization, but it was predictive of institutional delivery. Education was quite a significant predictor on perinatal care utilization.

CONCLUSIONEfforts should be strengthened to improve women's awareness and to increase their perception on gender role in the families so that more women could achieve quality perinatal care.

Adult ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Decision Making ; Family Health ; Female ; Gender Identity ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Marriage ; Perinatal Care ; utilization

The Mycoplasma hominis infection is a rare postoperative complication after joint replacement. Based on our knowledge, there were only two cases reported by Korea all over the world currently. A case of postoperative Mycoplasma hominis infection after total knee replacement in our hospital was reported in this article. It was confirmed through mass spectrometer and Mycoplasma cultivation and treated by the first stage debridement, polyethylene insert replacement, and then drainage and irrigation combined with sensitive antibiotics after the operation. We observed that the C reactive protein (CRP) level correlates with the development of disease, while the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) remains at a high level, indicating the relevance between the Mycoplasma hominis infection caused by knee joint replacement and CRP. This study aims to report the case and review relevant literature.

BACKGROUNDThe domestic prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in China is 7.18% in 2006, imposing great societal healthcare burdens. Nucleot(s)ide analogues (NUCs) anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapies are widely applied despite the relatively low rate of seroconversion and high risk of drug-resistant mutation. More effective treatments for CHB deserve further explorations. Combined therapy of NUCs plus Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is widely accepted in China, which is recognized as a prospective alternative approach. The study was primarily designed to confirm the hypothesis that Tiaogan-Yipi Granule (, TGYP) or Tiaogan-Jianpi-Jiedu Granule (, TGJPJD) plus entecavir tablet (ETV) was superior over ETV monotherapy in enhancing HBeAg loss rate.

METHODSThe study was a nationwide, large-scale, multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with a designed duration of 108 weeks. A total of 16 hospitals and 596 eligible Chinese HBeAg positive CHB patients were enrolled from November 2012 to September 2013 and randomly allocated into 2 groups in 1:1 ratio via central randomization system: experimental group (EG) and control group (CG). Subjects in EG received CM formulae (TGYP or TGJPJD, 50 g per dose, twice daily) plus ETV tablet (or ETV placebo) 0.5 mg per day in the first 24 weeks (stage 1), and CHM granule plus ETV tablet (0.5 mg per day) from week 25 to 108 (stage 2). Subjects in CG received CHM Granule placebo plus ETV tablet (0.5 mg per day) for 108 weeks throughout the trial. The assessments of primary outcomes (HBV serum markers and HBV-DNA) were conducted by a third-party College of American Pathologists (CAP) qualified laboratory. Adverse effects were observed in the hospitals of recruitment.

DISCUSSIONThe study was designed to compare the curative effect of CM plus ETV and ETV monotherapy in respect of HBeAg loss, which is recognized by the European Association for the Study of the Liver as "a valuable endpoint". We believe this trial could provide a reliable status for patients' "journey" towards durable responses after treatment discontinuation. The trial was registered before recruitment on Chinese Clinical trial registry (No. ChiCTR-TRC-12002784, Version 1.0, 2015/12/23).