Air Pollution ; prevention & control ; Epidemiologic Research Design

Objective To investigate the diagnostic significance of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) for suspected choledocholithiasis in non-cholangiectasis. Methods EUS was performed on 33 patients with cholecystolithiasis, whose common bile duct diameters were less than 8 mm, with one of the histories of acute pancreatitis, obstructive jaundice or recurrent biliary colic, but without common bile duct stone (CBDS). The results were compared with surgical or ERCP findings. Results Twenty cases in 33 were diagnosed ascholedocholithiasis by EUS. Sixteen of the 20 cases were confirmed as CBDS with further operation or ERCP. Compared with the results of surgery or ERCP, the sensitivity, specificity, positive prediction value and negative prediction value of EUS for choledocholithiasis were 100% , 76. 5% , 80% and 100% respectively. Conclusion EUS is of high diagnostic significance for suspected choledocholithiasis in non-cholangiectasis.

Objective To investigate the possible mechanism that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) inhibits renal tubular epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT),and to determine whether Smurf2 expression induced by TGF-β1 can be reversed by HGF in normal rat kidney epithelial cells (NRK-52E).Methods Using rat NRK-52E cell line as an in vitro system,NRK-52E cells were incubated with 5 μg/L TGF-β1 for 0-24 h.Part of cells were pretreated with 20 μg/L HGF for 30 min or not,then incubated with or without 5 μg/L TGF-β1 for 1 h or 48 h.The other cells were transfected with pFlag-Smurf2 or Smurf2 siRNA for 24 h,then treated with or without 20 μg/L HGF for 24 h.The expressions of Smurf2,SnoN,E-cadherin,alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and fibronectin (FN) were detected by Western blotting and indirect immunofluorescence staining assays.Results Compared to normal control,TGF-β1 could rapidly induce Smurf2 protein expression in a short time (P＜0.01).Meanwhile,the expressions of FN and α-SMA were significantly induced,and the expression of E-cadherin was reduced in NRK-52E cells by TGF-β1.In contrast,in the NRK-52E cells pretreated with HGF,HGF could obviously inhibit Smurf2 expression induced by TGF-β1,and reversed the down-regulation of SnoN (P＜0.01) and E-cadherin (P＜0.05),the up-regulation of α-SMA (P＜0.01) and FN (P＜0.01) induced by TGF-β1.Moreover,overexpression of Smurf2 in NRK-52E cells could partly inhibit the up-regulation of SnoN protein by HGF,while down-regulation of Smurf2 could up-regulate the expression of SnoN induced by HGF.Conclusions HGF can abolish EMT induced by TGF-β1 in renal tubular epithelial cells through down-regulating Smurf2 expression and suppressing ubiquitin-proteasome dependent degradation of SnoN.

Objective To determine the serum level of chernokine CCL27 in patients with psoriasis vulgaris,and to analyse its clinical relevance.Methods A total of 61 patients(40 in progressive stage and 21 in stable stage)with psoriasis vulgaris,with an average disease duration of 37.97±14.34 years,were included in this study.Appropriate thempy was given to these patients.Serum samples were collected from the patients before and after therapy,as well as from 45 healthy human controls.ELISA was applied to examine the serum concentration of CCL27.Clinical severity of psoriasis vulgaris was assessed by psoriasis area and severity index(PASI)score.Results Serum level of CCL27 was 670.02±262.15 ng/L in psoriatic patients,compared to 373.10±92.84 ng/L in the controls(t=8.18.P＜0.01).Increased serum level of CCL27 was observed in patients with progressive psoriasis vulgaris compared to those with stable psoriasis (799.94±214.54 ng/L vs 422.57±135.53 ng/L,t=8.39,P＜0.01).After 8 weeks of therapy,a significant decrease was noticed in the serum level of CCL27 in patients who experienced≥70%reduction in PASI score(t=9.95,P＜0.01).but not in those experiencing a PASI reduction of＜70%(t=1.84,P＞0.05).The serum level of CCL27 was positively correlated with PASI score(r=0.58,P＜0.01).Conclusions The serum level of CCL27 is significantly elevated in patients with psoriasis vulgaris,and it is correlated with the disease severity.

Objective ① To investigate the level of the vitamin D endocrine system in peripheral relationships with bone mineral density (BMD) and the disease activity respectively. Methods The level of the 25-hydroxylate vitamin D3 (25OHD3) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)D3] in plasma from 43 SLE patients and 44 normal controls were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene expression was determinied by real-time PCR in peripheral blood. BMD measurements in the lumbar spine (L1-4) and left proximal femur (femoral neck) were performed using dual X-ray absorptiometry before treatment. The relationship between the vitamin D endocrine system and the bone mass were studied. We also discussed the relationship between the vitamin D endocrine system and the disease activity. Results The levels of 25OHD3 and 1,25 (OH)2D3 were lower in the initial SLE patients than normal controls (P<0.01, P<0.01). The expressions of VDR gene were significantly increased in initial SLE compared with normal controls (P<0.01). The initial SLE patients had significantly lower BMD values, and higher frequency of osteopenia (35%) at both sites of measurement compared with matched healthy controls (P<0.01). The initial SLE patients were divided into two groups by BMD, abnormal group and normal group. There were no differences in 25OHD3, 1,25 (OH)D3 and VDR gene expression (P0.05). There was no correlation between the vitamin D endocrine system and BMD in initial SLE patients. There was no correlation between the vitamin D endocrine system and the disease activity either. Conclusion Vitamin D endocrine system may play an important role in SLE, but the level of VDR gene is not correlated with BMD and disease activity.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic values of the breast imaging reporting and data system-MRI (BI-RADS-MRI)description about non-masslike enhancement by data mining. Methods Fifty-five patients with non-masslike enhancement lesions showed on breast contrast-enhanced MRI were evaluated using two data mining algorithms (Logistic regression and decision tree) and 10-fold cross-validation methods. Results There were 28 malignant and 27 benign lesions. The most frequent findings of the malignant lesions were clustered ring enhancement and clumped enhancement [ 12 and 4 lesions, respectively; 84. 2% (16/19) in decision trees, partial regression coefficients in Logistic model were 2. 128 and 1.723, respectively], whereas homogenous, stippled, reticular internal and linear ductal enhancement were the most frequent findings in benign lesions [ 4、9、1 and 7 lesions, respectively; 72. 4% (21/29) in decision tree, partial regression coefficients in Logistic model were 0.357 (homogenous), 1. 861 (stippled) and 18. 870( reticular), respectively]. 10-fold cross-validation indicated that decision tree (C5.0) achieved an accuracy of 69.3% with a sensitivity of 66.7% and a specificity of 71.7% in comparison to the Logistic regression model with an accuracy of 57. 0%, a sensitivity of 43.3% and a specificity of 71.7%. Conclusions The diagnosis efficacy of non-masslike enhancement interpretation according to BI-RADS-MRI is not high. It is very important to find more potential features of non-masslike enhancement to improve the diagnosis accuracy.

Objective To compare the differences in the hypertension prevalence among children aged 7-12 in Guangzhou based on different references of hypertension. Methods A total of 7698 children aged 7-12 years old in Guangzhou were recruited by stratified cluster random sampling method. Demographic information such as gender and age was collected by questionnaire. Children’s height, weight, and blood pressure were objectively measured. There were five references for diagnosing children’s hypertension: Mi 2010, Mi 2017, Ma 2017, America 2004, and America 2017 reference. Results Based on the references above, the prevalence of hypertension for children aged 7-12 in Guangzhou reached a very high level. The prevalence of hypertension, high systolic blood pressure (SBP) and high diastolic blood pressure (DBP) based on Mi 2017 reference were all higher than those based on Mi 2010 reference, but both of them were distinctly higher than Ma 2017 reference. Compared with Mi 2010 reference, the agreement of diagnosis of high SBP and high DBP were both higher for Mi 2017 than those for Ma 2017. The agreement of high SBP was higher between Mi 2017 and America 2017 than that between Ma 2017 and America 2017 (Kappa: 0.846 vs. 0.727). Conclusion The prevalence of hypertension in children aged 7-12 in Guangzhou reachs a very high level. The prevalence of hypertension based on Mi 2017 reference is the highest and follows with America 2017 reference, and the agreement between them is excellent. Compared with Mi 2010 or America 2017 reference, the agreement for Ma 2017 is lower than that for Mi 2017 reference, respectively.

BACKGROUNDSevoflurane and propofol are widely used anesthetics for surgery. Studies on the mechanisms of general anesthesia have focused on changes in protein expression properties and membrane lipid. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate neural function by altering protein expression. We hypothesize that sevoflurane and propofol affect miRNA expression profiles in the brain, expect to understand the mechanism of anesthetic agents.

METHODSRats were randomly assigned to a 2% sevoflurane group, 600 μg·kg - 1·min - 1 propofol group, and a control group without anesthesia (n = 4, respectively). Treatment group was under anesthesia for 6 h, and all rats breathed spontaneously with continuous monitoring of respiration and blood gases. Changes in rat cortex miRNA expression profiles were analyzed by miRNA microarrays and validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Differential expression of miRNA using qRT-PCR among the control, sevoflurane, and propofol groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

RESULTSOf 677 preloaded rat miRNAs, the microarray detected the expression of 277 miRNAs in rat cortex (40.9%), of which 9 were regulated by propofol and (or) sevoflurane. Expression levels of three miRNAs (rno-miR-339-3p, rno-miR-448, rno-miR-466b-1FNx01) were significantly increased following sevoflurane and six (rno-miR-339-3p, rno-miR-347, rno-miR-378FNx01, rno-miR-412FNx01, rno-miR-702-3p, and rno-miR-7a-2FNx01) following propofol. Three miRNAs (rno-miR-466b-1FNx01, rno-miR-3584-5p and rno-miR-702-3p) were differentially expressed by the two anesthetic treatment groups.

CONCLUSIONSSevoflurane and propofol anesthesia induced distinct changes in brain miRNA expression patterns, suggesting differential regulation of protein expression. Determining the targets of these differentially expressed miRNAs may help reveal both the common and agent-specific actions of anesthetics on neurological and physiological function.

Anesthesia, General ; Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Methyl Ethers ; pharmacology ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; Propofol ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo establish a new visual educational system of virtual reality for clinical dentistry based on world wide web (WWW) webpage in order to provide more three-dimensional multimedia resources to dental students and an online three-dimensional consulting system for patients.

METHODSBased on computer graphics and three-dimensional webpage technologies, the software of 3Dsmax and Webmax were adopted in the system development. In the Windows environment, the architecture of whole system was established step by step, including three-dimensional model construction, three-dimensional scene setup, transplanting three-dimensional scene into webpage, reediting the virtual scene, realization of interactions within the webpage, initial test, and necessary adjustment.

RESULTSFive cases of three-dimensional interactive webpage for clinical dentistry were completed. The three-dimensional interactive webpage could be accessible through web browser on personal computer, and users could interact with the webpage through rotating, panning and zooming the virtual scene.

CONCLUSIONSIt is technically feasible to implement the visual educational system of virtual reality for clinical dentistry based on WWW webpage. Information related to clinical dentistry can be transmitted properly, visually and interactively through three-dimensional webpage.

Computer-Assisted Instruction ; methods ; Internet ; Oral Medicine ; education ; Software

BACKGROUNDThis study was designed to investigate the potential pathogenicity of Mycoplasma penetrans (M. penetrans) and its molecular mechanisms responsible for the induction of iNOS gene expression in mouse macrophages stimulated by lipid-associated membrane proteins (LAMPs) prepared from M. penetrans.

METHODSMouse macrophages were stimulated with M. penetrans LAMPs to assay the production of nitric oxide (NO). The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The activity of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) and the effects of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), an inhibitor of NF-kappaB, on the production of nitric oxide and the expression of iNOS were also assessed in mouse macrophages treated with M. penetrans LAMPs by indirect immunofluorescence and Western blotting.

RESULTSM. penetrans LAMPs stimulated mouse macrophages to produce nitric oxide in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The mRNA and protein levels of iNOS were also upregulated in response to LAMP stimulation and inhibited by PDTC treatment. M. penetrans LAMPs were found to trigger NF-kappaB activation, a possible mechanism for the induction of iNOS expression.

CONCLUSIONThis study demonstrated that M. penetrans may be an important etiological factor of certain diseases due to the ability of M. penetrans LAMPs to stimulate the expression of iNOS, which is probably mediated through the activation of NF-kappaB.

Animals ; Bacterial Proteins ; pharmacology ; Cells, Cultured ; Enzyme Induction ; Lipoproteins ; pharmacology ; Membrane Proteins ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Mycoplasma penetrans ; chemistry ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide ; biosynthesis ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; biosynthesis ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis