Objective To establish a polymerase chain reaction(PCR) method to amplify DNA of M.leprae from fixed and paraffin－ embedded tissue(FPET). Methods The DNA of M.leprae was released from FPET by using Texpat Kit and purified with 100％ alcohol. The primers RPOT(1) and RPUT(2) were used to conduct the PCR. Results A total of 32 samples were examined. Out of 32 samples with BI of more than 1＋ , 28 were positive for PCR. The PCR was negative in a sample with BI=0. The sensitivity of PCR reached a level of 0.04 pg DNA. Conclusion This PCR method is very useful for amplifying the DNA of M.leprae from FPET.

Objective To explore whether there were differences in genotypes between strains of M.leprae in China or not. Methods Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the genotypes of M.leprae in samples from patients with leprosy in different parts of China. Results Out of 16 samples from 9 provinces, 91 bp DNA fragments were present in 7 samples and 97 bp DNA fragments in 9 samples. Conclusion Above- mentioned results suggest the genotyping differences in strains of M.leprae with different distribution in areas of China.

Objective To investigate the levels of cytokines in sera of patien ts with various types of psoriasis. Methods Six cytokines, sIL－2R、 IL－2、－ 4、－10、－12 and IFN－? , were detected by sandwich ELISA in the sera from 15 patients with guttate psoriasis, 23 plaque psoriasis, 9 pustular psoriasis, 9 arthropathic psoriasis and 9 erythrodermic psoriasis. Results Significantly hig her levels of cytokines were observed in guttate psoriasis for sIL－2R (P

Objective To investigate the levels of cytokines in sera of patients with various types of psoriasis.Methods Six cytokines, sIL-2R、 IL-2、 -4、 -10、 -12 and IFN-γ , were detected by sandwich ELISA in the sera from 15 patients with guttate psoriasis, 23 plaque psoriasis, 9 pustular psoriasis, 9 arthropathic psoriasis and 9 erythrodermic psoriasis.Results Significantly higher levels of cytokines were observed in guttate psoriasis for sIL-2R (P<0.01), in plaque psoriasis for IL-4,-12 and sIL-2R (P< 0.05 or < 0.01), in pustular psoriasis for IL-4 and -10 (P< 0.05), in arthropathic psoriasis for IL-10 (P< 0.01), in comparison with the controls.The levels of the six cytokines were increased in erythrodermic psoriasis with no significant difference from the controls.The ratio of the average level of IL-4 to IFN-γ was 1.57 in pustular psoriasis, 0.61 in plaque psoriasis, 0.30 in gutatte psoriasis, 0.24 in erythrodermic psoriasis, and 0.02 in arthropathic psoriasis.Conclusion There is different expression of cytokines in sera of patients with various types of psoriasis.

Objective To genotype the clinically isolated strains of M.leprae by genome sequencing analysis. Methods PCR amplification was used to produce the 200 bp partial rpoT gene fragments from 2 standard strains and the isolated strains of M. leprae isolated from clinical specimens in 7 areas of China. The fragments were sequenced by BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Reaction kit. Results① 12 rpoT－ 91/97bp DNA fragments and 2 rpoT－ 194/200 bp DNA fragments were obtained from 13 clinically isolated strains of M. leprae by PCR amplification;② based upon genome sequencing analysis, a component of 3－ copy or 4－ copy“ GACATC” repeat sequence was found in the nucleotide sequence of rpoT－ 194/200 bp DNA fragment. Conclusion The genome sequencing analysis can be used to objectively and accurately genotype M.leprae, and it is a useful tool for epidemiological study on transmission and infection of leprosy. However, the longer DNA fragments are necessary when sequencing analysis is conducted. Therefore this method needs further improvement because only the shorter DNA fragments amplified from paraffin－ embedded tissue.

1), attributable risk (AR)=13.33%; ⑤Even though the serum specimens were taken from PB patients, the Ab of majouity of patients converted to positive when relapse occurred. In the majority of patients relapsed the levels of IgM-AbL tended to be increasing or pesistently positive. Usually relapse occurred 1-2 years after IgM-AbL was converted to positive. Relapse occurred 11-30 years after the patients were cured. In very rare case downgrading(from tuberculous to borderline leprosy) occurred. ⑥The levels of IgM-AbL gradually decreased in all relapsed patients after effective treatment except one case whose IgM-AbL was persistently positive. Conclusions The above results indicate that the ND-ELISA might be useful in screening early M.leprae infection and in predicting and monitoring the relapse of leprosy, especially in multibacillary patients.

OBJECTIVETo understand the infantile nocturnal sleep-wake pattern developmental trajectory with Actiwatch, which would benefit the clinical assessment of infantile sleep.

METHODThis study was a longitudinal study conducted between 7 Oct, 2009-30 Oct, 2011 in 10 hospitals of 9 cities of China ( Beijing, Xi'an, Qingdao, Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing, Huzhou, Xiamen and Liuzhou). Actiwatch was used to track the sleep-wake pattern development trajectory of healthy infants in the first year of life in the home setting. Participating infants were followed up at 10th day and 28th day during the first month, and then monthly from the second to the sixth month after birth, and then at ninth and twelve months of age respectively. Meanwhile, infantile sleep was observed continuously for about 60 hours at each visit. According to the characteristics of repeated measurement data of this study, two-level random effect model was adopted to analyze the trend of infantile nocturnal sleep-wake parameters changing with age, and the gender difference.

RESULTA total of 473 healthy infants were included in this study, among whom 246 (52.0%) were boys, and 227 (48.0%) were girls; 355 (75.1%) infants completed the whole year follow-up survey. With infants' age increasing, the latency of infants' nighttime sleep onset decreased from 66.8 minutes on 10th day to 15.5-18.7 minutes at 6-12 months of age. The number of night wakes also decreased with age, while uninterrupted sleep periods lengthened with age. On the 10th day, there were 3.0 times of nightwaking on average, and the longest continuous sleeping interval lasted for 227.6 minutes on average. At 12-month of age, infants could sleep continuously for 350.9 minutes at most on average, while the number of nightwaking decreased to 1.6 times per night on average. Generally, nighttime sleep efficiency increased from 66.3% on the 10th day to 86.3% at 12-month of age. The differences of sleep-wake patterns between boys and girls presented as boys' nocturnal longest uninterrupted sleep period was 19 minutes shorter(266.6 vs. 285.6 min), and the average nighttime sleep efficiency was 2.2% lower (74.2% vs. 76.4%) compared with girls respectively. And the differences of sleep efficiency between boys and girls reduced gradually along with the growth.

CONCLUSIONDuring the first 6 months after birth, infantile sleep-wake pattern undergo obvious change. The capability of sleep-onset and uninterrupted sleep improved with age, and the sleep efficiency increased.

China ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Longitudinal Studies ; Male ; Sleep ; physiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires