Objective To discuss the relationship between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D[25(OH)D] level and the severity of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods 1474 cases of type 2 diabetic patients were classified into three groups according to their severity of diabetic retinopathy, the non-diabetic retinopathy group(NDR group, n =640), the background diabetic retinopathy group(BDR group, n =494) and the proliferative diabetic retinopathy group(PDR group, n=340).640 healthy people with normal level of glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1c) were selected as control group(NDM group, n=640).Disease duration, body mass index(BMI), systolic pressure, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol(LDL-C), HbA1c and 25(OH)D were detected and compared among groups.Results Disease duration and HbA1c were increasing significantly, and the levels were NDM groupNDR group>BDR group>PDR group(all P<0.05).The level of 25(OH)D was negatively related to disease duration and HbA1c (P<0.001), and it was negatively associated to the severity of diabetic retinopathy(r=-0.855,P<0.001).Conclusion The decrease of 25(OH)D level is closely associated with the severity of diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and it might be an important predictor for the severity of diabetic retinopathy.

Background and purpose: Diffusion-weighted whole-body imaging with background body signal suppression (DWIBS) can be used for magnetic resonance imaging systemic examination, especially in examing the metastatic lesions, lymph node and bone diseases, and the imaging result is similar with PET. This study aimed to evaluate the application value of magnetic resonance DWIBS and positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) on malignant metastatic diseases. Methods: Thirty-six patients confirmed with malignant tumors accompanying metastasis by the pathology of operation or biopsy underwent both DWIBS imaging and PET/CT, chi-square test and Kappa test were used for comparing the detection results of metastasis by these 2 imaging methods. Results:Among the 36 malignant tumor patients with 238 metastatic lesions, 218 (91.6%, 218/238) lesions in DWIBS and 209 (87.8%, 209/238) lesions in PET/CT were detected, with 200 lesions detected by the two methods simultaneously, and the concordance rate was 88.7%(211/238);but there was no statistical signiifcance between this two methods (χ2=1.843, P=0.157). Kappa test showed a fair concordance rate between DWIBS and PET/CT (P=0.000).There were different significance between DWIBS and PET/CT in detecting metastatic lesions of brain and bone (P=0.005 and 0.031);But there was no signiifcant differences (P=0.309 and 1.000) in detecting metastatic lesions of lymph nodes and liver. Conclusion:DWIBS could detect metastatic lesions effectively, and there is ifne consistency with PET/CT. DWIBS is more sensitive than PET/CT in detecting metastatic lesions of brain and bone, so DWIBS could be chosed for screening metastatic lesions according to the characteristics of different primary tumors.

Introduction: In Malaysia, late stage presentation of breast cancer (stage III or IV) has been a healthcare problem that varies geographically throughout the country. This study aims to understand the factors influencing late stage of breast cancer at presentation among Malaysian women in Segamat Hospital, Johor, which is a district hospital. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted on secondary data of all newly diagnosed breast cancer women from 1st August 2011 to 28th February 2014. Secondary data includes age, ethnicity, marital status, family history, education level, occupation, presenting symptom, duration of symptom, tumour size, tumour pathology, tumour grading, oestrogen, progesterone and HER-2 receptor status were collected and analysed using SPSS version 20.0.0. Result: In total, data from 52 women was analysed and two women were excluded for incompleteness as these women defaulted. Late stage at presentation was 59.6% of all new cases (17.3%, stage III and 42.3%, stage IV). The commonest age group of all women diagnosed with breast cancer was in the 5th decade. Majority of them were Malay, married and housewives with no family history of breast cancer. The statistically significant factors associated with late stage at presentation include Malay ethnicity (p=0.019), presenting symptoms other than breast lump (p=0.047), and duration of breast lump more than 3 months (p=0.009). Discussion/Conclusion: The study demonstrated presentation at late stage of breast cancer is a major health concern among Malaysian women in district hospital. This may be attributed to different sociocultural beliefs, strong belief in complementary and alternative medicine, lack of awareness, and difficult accessibility to healthcare services.
Breast Neoplasms

OBJECTIVETo discuss the potential application of artificial neural network (ANN) on the epidemiological classification of disease.

METHODSLearning vector quantification neural network (LVQNN) and discriminate analysis were applied to data from epidemiological survey in a mine in 1996.

RESULTSThe structure of LVQNN was 25-->13-->3. The total veracity rates was 96.98%, and 92.45% among the abnormal blood glucose individuals. Through stepwise discriminate analysis, the discriminate equations were established including 11 variables with a total veracity rate of 87.34%, but was 85.53% in the abnormal blood glucose individuals. Further analysis on 30 cases with missing values showed that the disagreement ratio of LVQ was 1/30, lower than that of discriminate analysis of 7/30.

CONCLUSIONSCompared to the conventional statistics method, LVQ not only showed better prediction precision, but could treat data with missing values satisfactorily plus it had no limit to the type or distribution of relevant data, thus provided a new powerful method to epidemiologic prediction.

Algorithms ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; China ; epidemiology ; Diabetes Mellitus ; blood ; classification ; epidemiology ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Humans ; Insulin ; blood ; secretion ; Logistic Models ; Neural Networks (Computer)

Background and purpose:Diffusion-weighted whole-body imaging with background body signal suppression (DWIBS) can be used for MR imaging systemic examination, especially the lymph node and bone diseases can be clear, and the imaging result is similar with PET. The aim of this study was to compare the value of clinical application in the diagnosis of malignant metastatic osteopathic between DWIBS and bone scintigraphy mapping. Methods:Thirty-six specimens conifrmed with malignant tumors by the pathology of operation or biopsy underwent both DWIBS imaging and bone scintigraphy mapping, chi-square test was used for comparing the detection results of bone metastasis by this two imaging methods. Results:Thirty (165 positions in all) of 36 malignant tumor patients were conifrmed as having bone metastasis, compared that 26 patients (143 positions) with DWIBS method and 23 patients (132 positions) with bone scintigraphy mapping were detected, but there was no statistical signiifcance between this two imaging methods (χ2=1.002, P=0.506). The sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV) and accuracy of the detection rate of bone metastasis were similar in DWIBS and bone scintigraphy, with 86.7%, 96.3%, 86.1%and 76.7%, 88.5%, 72.2%, respectively;but the speciifcity and negative predictive value (NPV) in DWIBS (83.3%and 55.6%) was higher than that of in bone scintigraphy (50.0%and 30.0%). The detection rates of different bone metastasis with DWIBS and bone scintigraphy were 86.7%(143/165) and 80.0%(132/165), and it was no signiifcant difference (χ2=2.640, P=0.104);DWIBS method was better than bone scintigraphy in the detection of osseous metastasis on pelvis and limbs long bone, and there was different signiifcant (χ2=6.783 and 7.636, P=0.023 and 0.016). Conclusion:DWIBS could detect bone metastatic lesions effectively, and there is ifne consistency with bone scintigraphy. Therefore, DWIBS is to hope to be extended and applicated clinically.

OBJECTIVETo analyze and predict the structure and function correlated to interferon sensitivity of HCV Core protein in different genotypes.

METHODSUsing different bioinformafics software respectively to comparatively analyze and predict the secondary structure, tertiary structure, modification site and main functional motifs of HCV Core protein.

RESULTSThere were diversities in secondary structure and tertiary structure of different genotypes. HCV Core protein would exist some modification sites about amidation, cAMP, PKC, TYR, and interact with amphiphysin SH3 domain, ERK, PKC.

CONCLUSIONDifferences in structure and function of HCV Core protein of different genotypes affected interferon sensitivity.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Computational Biology ; Hepacivirus ; chemistry ; drug effects ; genetics ; metabolism ; Hepatitis C ; drug therapy ; virology ; Humans ; Interferons ; therapeutic use ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Protein Conformation ; Viral Core Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo establish a method for the simultaneous determination of 15 pesticides residues in Radix Paeoniae Alba by large volume injection-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(LVI-GC-MS).

METHODSThe pesticides, including organochlorine pesticides, organophosphorus pesticides and pyrethroid insecticides, were analyzed by LVI-GC-MS using DB-5MS capillary column (30 m X 250 μm, 0.25 μm). The column temperature programming: initial temperature 40 degree for 1 min, with the increasing rate of 20 degree/min to 210 degree for 2 min, then with the increasing rate of 5 degree/min to 280 degree for 22 min. The flow of carrier gas was 1.0 ml/min with the injection volume of 15 μl.

RESULTSThe calibration curves of the pesticides were linear in the specified concentration ranges with correlation coefficients of 0.9937-0.9995. The average recoveries of the pesticides in Radix Paeoniae Alba spiked at two spiked levels ranged from 60.4 % to 106.8 % (for pendimethalin and 4, 4'-DDE those were 53.1 % and 45.2 %) with relative standard deviation(RSD) of 3.6 % to 18.6 % and the detection limits (S/N=3) were in the range of 0.16 μg/kg to 3.59 μg/kg.

CONCLUSIONThe established method for determination of multi-pesticide residue in Radix Paeoniae Alba is rapid, convenient and accurate with high sensitivity and low-cost.

Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Paeonia ; chemistry ; Pesticide Residues ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo provide some new evidences for the classification and identification of medicinal materials of Curcuma.

METHODThe optical microscope and electronic microsccopic scaning were used to characterize the leaves of Curcuma.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONThere were no obvious histological and morphological differences among the leaves of Curcuma. But the differences in the hair distribution, stoma density and size , shape and size of epidermic cells could be considered to be the main features for the microscopic identification of leaves of Curcuma.

China ; Curcuma ; classification ; ultrastructure ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Pharmacognosy ; Plant Epidermis ; cytology ; ultrastructure ; Plant Leaves ; cytology ; ultrastructure ; Plants, Medicinal ; classification ; ultrastructure ; Species Specificity

OBJECTIVETo study the molecular epidemiological characteristics of hantavirus seen during 2000-2003 in Qingdao region of Shandong province.

METHODSSera were collected from 64 patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and viral RNA was extracted from the sera. HTN and SEO universal primers were designed as outer primers and HTN and SEO specific primers as inner primers. G1 gene region of M segment from hantavirus was amplified by using RT-nest-PCR for sequencing. The data of nucleotide sequences were analyzed by DNA star software.

RESULTSSix cases were positive by HTN specific primer of total cases (9%); 25 of 64 cases by SEO specific primer (39%); total positive rate was 48%. In general, SEO type was a prevalent type of hantavirus in Qingdao region. The variation of the nucleotide sequences among SEO viruses (nucleotide sequence divergence ranged from 0.3% approximately 8.9%) was lower than that among HTN type (nucleotide sequence divergence ranged from 2.6% approximately 11.2% ).

CONCLUSIONMajority of hantavirus found in Qingdao region belonged to SEO type and still a few strains belonged to HTN type. Most of the HTN viruses were detected in Jiaonan county.

China ; Genotype ; Hantavirus ; genetics ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; blood ; virology ; Humans ; RNA, Viral ; blood ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Viral Matrix Proteins ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo explore the influence of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) on serum cytokines, Th1, including interleukin-2 (IL-2) and gamma-interferon (gamma-IFN), and Th2, including interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-10 (IL-10), in patients with herpes simplex keratitis (HSK).

METHODSOne hundred and six HSK patients were randomly divided into the AM treated group and the ribavirin treated group. Levels of serum IL-2, IL-4, IL-10 and gamma-IFN of all the patients and 62 healthy person, selected from donors for control group, were determined by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique.

RESULTSLevels of serum IL-4 and IL-10 in HSK patients were significantly higher and those of IL-2 and gamma-IFN were significantly lower than those in the healthy control (all P < 0.01). These parameters were significantly improved in the patients of the AM group after treatment, but with no change in patients of the ribavirin group.

CONCLUSIONAM can modulate the imbalance state of Th1/Th2 in HSK patients, improve their immune function disturbance, that shows important significance in treating HSK.

Adjuvants, Immunologic ; therapeutic use ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Astragalus membranaceus ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Interleukin-10 ; blood ; Interleukin-2 ; blood ; Interleukin-4 ; blood ; Keratitis, Herpetic ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Ribavirin ; therapeutic use ; Th1 Cells ; immunology ; Th2 Cells ; immunology