China ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Humans

OBJECTIVESTo study the correlation and effect of smoking on the semen quality of men.

METHODS61 men, non-smoker, who had one or more children as normal fertility control group and adult males attending the infertility clinic, including 110 non-smokers and 191 smokers, were recruited for the study. The smokers were divided into subgroups according to the amount and duration of smoking. Semen parameters(volume, sperm density, viability, motility and morphology) were examined and seminal plasma contents of Zn, Cu and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined.

RESULTSThe semen volume, pH, sperm density, viability and forward progression, as well as the seminal plasma contents of Zn, Cu and SOD were much lower in the medium, heavy and long-term smokers than in the non-smokers(P < 0.01). The sperm density, viability and forward progression, and the seminal plasma Zn, Cu and SOD levels were negatively correlation with the amount and duration of cigarette smoking(P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONSThe effect of smoking on semen parameters of infertile men were dose-effect and time-effect relationship. Medium, heavy and long-term smoking adversely affected the semen quality in a population of men visiting the infertility clinic.

Humans ; Infertility, Male ; etiology ; pathology ; Male ; Semen ; physiology ; Smoking ; adverse effects ; Statistics as Topic

Objective To assess the income status of primary care providers and to explore the determinants of income in a county of Dali. Methods In August 2016, the questionnaire was employed to collect the data of income status of 191 rural health workers and 217 village doctors in the county. Results Through the study, we found that the income of rural health workers in the county was 34, 000 (26, 000, 46,000) yuan with a satisfaction rate of 62.3% (95% CI 55.4%～69.2%) and no change (74.7%) was seen in the income among majorities after implementing the Zero Mark-up Policy for essential medicines. For the village doctors, the income was 20,000 (15,000, 24,000) yuan with a satisfaction rate of 40.6% (95% CI 34.0%～47.1%) and a fall of the income was found in more than half of the doctors after the implement of the policy. Conclusion Health care workers in towns are quite satisfied with their income whereas those in health stations of villages are not content, compared with the average income at the national level. We should increase government's investments on grass-root healthcare team, improve the incentive pay plans and promote the integrated management of health facilities in towns and villages.

【Objective】 To compare the diagnostic efficacy of full-field digital mammography(FFDM), digital breast mammography(DBT) and dynamic enhanced magnetic resonance imaging(DCE-MRI) for breast tumors in different gland types. 【Methods】 Retrospective analyses of 56 breast lesions in 49 patients who underwent FFDM, DBT and MRI in the Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University from October 2018 to December 2019 were performed. The breasts were divided into the non-dense or dense pattern, according to FFDM images. The breast lesions were diagnosed as benign(BI-RADS grade 4a and below) or malignant(BI-RADS grade 4b and above), based on the images of FFDM, DBT and MRI, respectively. All patients underwent surgery or biopsy to get a pathological diagnosis. The kappa consistency tests and receiver operating characteristics(ROC) analyses were used to compare the efficacy of FFDM, DBT and MRI in the diagnosis of breast tumor in different gland patterns. 【Results】 In all breasts, MRI (kappa = 0.66) was moderately consistent with pathological diagnosis, which was higher than DBT(kappa = 0.44), while there was no significant difference between FFDM(kappa = 0.14) and pathological diagnosis. In non-dense breasts, MRI (kappa = 0.88) was moderately consistent with pathological diagnosis, which was higher than DBT(kappa = 0.51), while there was no significant difference between FFDM(kappa = 0.18) and pathological diagnosis. In dense breasts, MRI(kappa = 0.54) was moderately consistent with pathological diagnosis, which was higher than DBT(kappa = 0.37), while there was no significant difference between FFDM(kappa = 0.10) and pathological diagnosis. In all breasts, the diagnostic efficacy of MRI, DBT and FFDM for breast tumor decreased gradually(AUC = 0.83; 0.73; 0.58). Specifically, the specificity of MRI, DBT and FFDM increased sequentially(77%, 82%, 86%), but the sensitivity decreased(88%, 65%, 29%). In non-dense breasts, the diagnostic efficacy of MRI, DBT and FFDM for breast tumor decreased gradually(AUC = 0.97; 0.84; 0.66). Specifically, the sensitivity of MRI(94%) was higher than that of DBT(69%) and FFDM(31%). In dense breasts, the diagnostic efficacy of MRI, DBT and FFDM for breast tumor decreased gradually(AUC = 0.77; 0.69; 0.55). Specifically, the specificity of MRI, DBT and FFDM increased sequentially(71%, 76%, 82%), but the sensitivity decreased(83%, 61%, 28%) . 【Conclusions】 In both dense and non-dense breasts, FFDM has the lowest diagnostic ability. In non-dense breasts, the diagnostic efficacy of MRI is higher than DBT. DBT shows its advantage over MRI in dense breasts, as it has a higher diagnostic specificity.

57 rubella virus strains were isolated using Vero cell line or Vero/SLAM cell line from patients' throat swabs during rubella outbreaks and sporadics in 10 provinces of China from 2003 to 2007. Fragments of 1107 nucleotides of E1 genes of the isolates were amplified by RT-PCR, the PCR products were directly sequenced and analyzed. The phylogenetic analysis based on 739 nucleotides showed that out of 57 Chinese rubella virus strains, 55 belong to a distinguish branch of 1E genotype when comparing with 1E genotype rubella strains from other countries, and the other 2 Chinese rubella virus strains belong to 2B genotype. Most of the nucleotide mutations of 57 rubella viruses were silent mutations, and the amino acid sequences were highly conserved. Except one amino acid change (Thr212 --> Ser212) in two rubella viruses at the hemagglutination inhibition and neutralization epitopes, there had no change found at the important antigenic epitope sites of the other rubella viruses. 1E genotype rubella viruses isolated from 10 provinces of China from 2003 to 2007, and two imported 2B genotype rubella viruses from Vietnam suggested that 1E genotype was the predominant genotype in this period of time. The rubella virus genotypes circulated during 2003 to 2007 were different from that circulating during 1979 to 1984 and 1999 to 2002, the rubella prevailed in recent years was mainly caused by 1E genotype rubella viruses with multi-transmission routes.
Genotype ; Mutation ; Phylogeny ; Rubella virus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Time Factors

Objective:To explore the physical fitness of students from special education schools in Beijing. Methods:From September to December, 2016, 810 students aged seven to 15 years from 19 special education schools in Beijing were tested with physical fitness test. Results:There were significant differences in height, mass and vital capacity among students of different ages (F > 8.273, P < 0.001), which increased with age, but were lower than that of normal students. Gender and age had significant effects on height, mass and vital capacity (P < 0.01). Level of disability had significant effects on height and vital capacity (P < 0.01), while no effect on body mass (P > 0.05). There were significant differences in 50-meter running, sandbag throwing, 30 seconds sit-ups, 6/9 minutes running/walking, one-leg standing and sit & reach among students of different ages (F > 3.571, P < 0.001). Most of the items increased with age, but were lower than that of normal students. Gender, age and level of disability had significant effects on 50-meter running, sandbag throwing, 30 seconds sit-ups, 6/9 minutes running/walking, one-leg standing and sit & reach (P < 0.05). Conclusion:There are significant differences in body morphology, function and physical fitness among students of different ages, and the differences increase with age, but they are worse than the normal students as a whole. Gender, age and level of disability have a significant effect on body morphology, function and physical fitness among students of different ages.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of action and main active components of Xiaoyaosan in the treatment of diabetic mellitus-induced erectile dysfunction （DMED）. MethodStreptozotocin （STZ） was used to induce a diabetic rat model. The therapeutic efficacy of Xiaoyaosan was evaluated by measuring intracavernous pressure/mean arterial pressure （ICP/MAP） and using Masson's trichrome staining. The main active components， key targets， and potential signaling pathways of Xiaoyaosan for the treatment of DMED were predicted by network pharmacology and molecular docking. The predicted results were then validated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. ResultThe ICP/MAP measurements and Masson's staining results showed that compared with the results in the control group， the erectile function of rats in the model group was significantly reduced （P<0.01）， and the ratio of smooth muscle/collagen fibers was significantly reduced （P<0.01）. After treatment with Xiaoyaosan， compared with the results in the model group， the ICP/MAP value of the diabetic rats was significantly elevated （P<0.01）， and the ratio of smooth muscle/collagen fibers was significantly higher （P<0.01）. The results of network pharmacology showed that Xiaoyaosan acted on key targets such as albumin （ALB）， protein kinase B1 （Akt1）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and tumor necrosis factor （TNF） through its main active components， including quercetin， kaempferol， β-sitosterol， and stigmasterol. These components were involved in the regulation of the advanced glycation end-products/receptor for advanced glycation end-products （AGE/RAGE） signaling pathway and the phosphoinositide 3-kinases（PI3K）/Akt signaling pathway in diabetic complications. The results of molecular docking showed that the key components of Xiaoyaosan had good binding capabilities with core targets， with β-sitosterol showing the strongest binding affinity with ALB. In vivo experiments demonstrated that Xiaoyaosan could significantly increase the protein and mRNA expression of ALB and Akt1 in serum， and inhibit the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α. It also significantly upregulated the expression of protein and mRNA of phosphorylation（p）-PI3K and p-Akt， and inhibited the RAGE expression. The results of cellular thermal shift assay （CETSA） showed that β-sitosterol could significantly inhibit the degradation of ALB protein. ConclusionXiaoyaosan may restore erectile function in diabetic rats by modulating targets such as ALB， Akt1， IL-6， and TNF， and through the RAGE/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway， and its main active component is likely β-sitosterol.

Bone age assessment has always been one of the key issues and difficulties in forensic science. With the gradual development of machine learning in many industries, it has been widely introduced to imageology, genomics, oncology, pathology, surgery and other medical research fields in recent years. The reason why the above research fields can be closely combined with machine learning, is because the research subjects of the above branches of medicine belong to the computer vision category. Machine learning provides unique advantages for computer vision research and has made breakthroughs in medical image recognition. Based on the advantages of machine learning in image recognition, it was combined with bone age assessment research, in order to construct a recognition model suitable for forensic skeletal images. This paper reviews the research progress in bone age assessment made by scholars at home and abroad using machine learning technology in recent years.
Age Determination by Skeleton ; Humans ; Machine Learning

Objective:To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical bacteria isolated from blood culture in China.Methods:The clinical bacterial strains isolated from blood culture from member hospitals of Blood Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System (BRICS) were collected during January 2018 to December 2019. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted with agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by US Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). WHONET 5.6 was used to analyze data.Results:During the study period, 14 778 bacterial strains were collected from 50 hospitals, of which 4 117 (27.9%) were Gram-positive bacteria and 10 661(72.1%) were Gram-negative bacteria. The top 10 bacterial species were Escherichia coli (37.2%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (17.0%), Staphylococcus aureus (9.7%), coagulase-negative Staphylococci (8.7%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3.7%), Enterococcus faecium (3.4%), Acinetobacter baumannii(3.4%), Enterobacter cloacae (2.9%), Streptococci(2.8%) and Enterococcus faecalis (2.3%). The the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus were 27.4% (394/1 438) and 70.4% (905/1 285), respectively. No glycopeptide-resistant Staphylococcus was detected. More than 95% of S. aureus were sensitive to amikacin, rifampicin and SMZco. The resistance rate of E. faecium to vancomycin was 0.4% (2/504), and no vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis was detected. The ESBLs-producing rates in no carbapenem-resistance E. coli, carbapenem sensitive K. pneumoniae and Proteus were 50.4% (2 731/5 415), 24.6% (493/2001) and 35.2% (31/88), respectively. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistance in E. coli and K. pneumoniae were 1.5% (85/5 500), 20.6% (518/2 519), respectively. 8.3% (27/325) of carbapenem-resistance K. pneumoniae was resistant to ceftazidime/avibactam combination. The resistance rates of A. baumannii to polymyxin and tigecycline were 2.8% (14/501) and 3.4% (17/501) respectively, and that of P. aeruginosa to carbapenem were 18.9% (103/546). Conclusions:The surveillance results from 2018 to 2019 showed that the main pathogens of bloodstream infection in China were gram-negative bacteria, while E. coli was the most common pathogen, and ESBLs-producing strains were in majority; the MRSA incidence is getting lower in China; carbapenem-resistant E. coli keeps at a low level, while carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae is on the rise obviously.

ObjectiveTo explore the syndrome elements and evolving patterns of patients with hepatitis B virus-related acute on chronic liver failure （HBV-ACLF） at different stages. MethodsClinical information of 1,058 hospitalized HBV-ACLF patients， including 618 in the early stage， 355 in the middle stage， and 85 in the late stage， were collected from 18 clinical centers across 12 regions nationwide from January 1， 2012 to February 28， 2015. The “Hepatitis B-related Chronic and Acute Liver Failure Chinese Medicine Clinical Questionnaire” were designed to investigate the basic information of the patients， like the four diagnostic information （including symptoms， tongue， pulse） of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， and to count the frequency of the appearance of the four diagnostic information. Factor analysis and cluster analysis were employed to determine and statistically analyze the syndrome elements and patterns of HBV-ACLF patients at different stages. ResultsThere were 76 four diagnostic information from 1058 HBV-ACLF patients， and 53 four diagnostic information with a frequency of occurrence ≥ 5% were used as factor analysis entries， including 36 symptom information， 12 tongue information， and 5 pulse information. Four types of TCM patterns were identified in HBV-ACLF， which were liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern， qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern， liver-kidney yin deficiency pattern， and spleen-kidney yang-deficiency pattern. In the early stage， heat （39.4%， 359/912） and dampness （27.5%， 251/912） were most common， and the pattern of the disease was dominated by liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern （74.6%， 461/618）； in the middle stage， dampness （30.2%， 187/619） and blood stasis （20.7%， 128/619） were most common， and the patterns of the disease were dominated by liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern （53.2%， 189/355）， and qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern （27.6%， 98/355）； and in the late stage， the pattern of the disease was dominated by qi deficiency （26.3%， 40/152） and yin deficiency （20.4%， 31/152）， and the patterns were dominated by qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern （36.5%， 31/85）， and liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern （25.9%， 22/85）. ConclusionThere are significant differences in the distribution of syndrome elements and patterns at different stages of HBV-ACLF， presenting an overall trend of evolving patterns as "from excess to deficiency， transforming from excess to deficiency"， which is damp-heat → blood stasis → qi-blood yin-yang deficiency.