Objective The purpose of this study was to compare the correlations of air displacement plethysmography (ADP, BOD-POD) with the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA, including TANITA and OMRON methods) and skinfold thickness (ST). Methods Six hundred and ninety-seven healthy Shanghai adults (471 male and 226 female), aged 20-to 59 year, were enrolled in this study. Measurement of body composition derived from ADP was used as the reference method. The validity of all of the other methods was assessed by comparison against the reference by one-way anova and bivariate correlations. Results Estimation of body fat percentage by BIA were highly correlated with that by ADP in both male and female subjects (r=0.702 to 0.760, P

Objective To find out the cognition understanding of iodine deficiency disorders(IDD) of target population in Xi’an City, and evaluate the effectiveness of a health education project on prevention and control of IDD. Methods By using the random number table, three towns in each project county were selected. Obeying the requirements of the education program for IDD control, the health education activities were implemented during 2007 - 2011. Before and after intervention, questionnaire was used to investigate the intervention effect. The primary school grade 5 students and women of childbearing age were included in the survey of IDD knowledge. Hierarchical random sampling method was used to select pupils and childbearing women. Results After health education, the rate of knowledge on IDD increased from 66.97%(13 321/19 890) to 93.49%(18 610/19 905,χ2 = 4 413.07, P < 0.05) among pupils, and 62.27%(6 193/9 945) to 93.96%(9 361/ 9 963, χ2= 2 924.18, P<0.05) among childbearing women. And the awareness had reached the national standard. But the survey results showed that: the rate of IDD related knowledge in rural areas was lower than that in town areas. The awareness rates of IDD in precaution, main hazards, identification of iodized salt were 46.50%(239/514), 55.25%(284/514) and 50.97%(262/514) among pupils in rural areas and 61.44%(376/612), 65.69%(402/612) and 70.59%(432/612) among pupils in town areas, and the awareness rates of pupils in rural areas were lower than those of pupils in town areas. Thirty-six point ninety-three per cent(226/612) of the pupils in towns and 35.60%(183/514) of the pupils in rural areas told this information to their parents. The awareness rates of IDD in precaution, main hazards, IDD prevention day were 49.25%(197/400), 50.75%(203/400) and 36.50%(146/400) among women in rural areas and 75.44%(298/395), 80.25%(317/395) and 57.97%(229/395) among women in town areas, and the rates of women in rural areas were lower than those of women in town areas. The rate of consciously purchasing of qualified iodized salt was 51.75%(207/400) and the consumption rate of iodized salt was 36.75%(147/400) among women in rural areas, which were 73.42%(290/395) and 43.80%(173/395) among women in town areas, and the rates in rural areas were lower than those in town areas. Conclusions Before health education of IDD, the rate of IDD related knowledge in Xi’an City is poor, rural areas are lower than town areas. Health education project is effective in promoting the understanding and grasp of IDD knowledge.

Several aquatic species and their enviroments were examined for presence of Vibrio parahaemo-lyticus between 2007 and 2008 in the coastal areas in Zhejiang province, and some virulence-related genes such as tdh, trh, ureC and vscC2 were investigated from the isolates. V. parahaemolyticus was recovered from 70% of the samples tested (395/566). The genes tdh, trh and ureC existed in 10.1%, 20.0% and 11.1% respectively from 395 isolates. Among the 40 tdh-positive isolates, 32.5% harbored the vscC2 gene, one of the type three secretion system 2 (T3SS2) gene family. Thirty-eight of the 40 tdh-positive isolates were positive for the Kanagawa phenomenon. Out of 44 trh-and-ureC-positive isolates, only six exhibited urease phenotype. Overall, this study reveals the significant prevalence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafoods and their habitats with high diversity of virulence genes. Representative V. parahaemolyticus isolates could beused for further investigation into their pathongenecity, functional genomics, and molecular evolution.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether or not detailed cystic feature analysis on CT scans can assist in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) from serous cystadenoma (SCN), mucinous cystadenoma (MCN), and a pseudocyst. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study received Institutional Review Board approval and informed patient consent was waived. Electronic radiology and pathology databases were searched to identify patients with PDAC (n = 19), SCN (n = 26), MCN (n = 20) and a pseudocyst (n = 23) who underwent pancreatic CT imaging. The number, size, location, and contents of cysts, and the contour of the lesions were reviewed, in addition to the wall thickness, enhancement patterns, and other signs of pancreatic and peripancreatic involvement. Diagnosis was based on lesion resection (n = 82) or on a combination of cytological findings, biochemical markers, and tumor markers (n = 6). Fisher's exact test was used to analyze the results. RESULTS: A combination of the CT findings including irregular contour, multiple cysts, mural nodes, and localized thickening, had a relatively high sensitivity (74%) and specificity (75%) for differentiating PDAC from SCN, MCN, and pseudocysts (p < 0.05). Other CT findings such as location, greatest dimension, or the presence of calcification were not significantly different. CONCLUSION: The CT findings for PDAC are non-specific, but perhaps helpful for differentiation. PDAC should be included in the general differential diagnosis of pancreatic cystic neoplasms.
Adenocarcinoma/pathology/*radiography ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous/pathology/*radiography ; Cystadenoma, Mucinous/pathology/*radiography ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/pathology/*radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; *Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tumor Markers, Biological/analysis

Objective To preliminarily investigate the anti-tumor effects of phytosphingosine(PHS)and the involvement of inducing apoptosis of leukemia cells.Methods Cellular model of leukemia was established in leukemia cell lines K562 and SUP-B15.CCK-8 assay and EdU assay were used to measure the viability and DNA synthesis of K562 and SUP-B15 cells.RNA-seq was carried out to verify the differentially expressed genes(DEGs)after PHS treatment.Gene Ontology(GO)enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)enrichment analyses were applied to analyze the involved functions and signaling pathways.Comparative Toxicogenomics Database(CTD)and Discovery Studio software were employed to predict the underlying targets of PHS and molecular docking.Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry,mitochondrial membrane potential was evaluated by JC-1 probe,and protein expression of key molecules was validated by Western blotting.Results PHS inhibited the proliferation of K562 and SUP-B15 cells in a time-and dose-dependent manner.The half-maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)of K562 cells was 17.67 and 12.52 pmol/L for 24 and 48 h,respectively,and the IC50 value of SUP-B15 cells was 17.58 and 14.86 μmol/L for 24 and 48 h,respectively.PHS treatment at a dose of 20 μmol/L for 48 h resulted in significant inhibition of DNA synthesis.GO enrichment analysis of the K562 cells showed that PHS might be involved in positive regulation of apoptotic process,plasma membrane and its integral components,and protein kinase binding and activity.Reverse predictive analysis showed that BCL-2 protein was the most likely target of PHS.PHS significantly increased the apoptotic rate of leukemia cells(P＜0.05)in a dose-dependent manner,reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential,and down-regulated BCL-2 level(P＜0.05)and up-regulated the levels of Cleaved caspase-3 and Cleaved caspase-9(P＜0.05).Conclusion PHS may inhibit the proliferation of leukemia cells by inducing mitochondria-dependent apoptosis,possibly through PHS and BCL-2 interaction.

Objective To compare the effects of different stent configurations on shunt failure,hepatic encephalopathy,and hepatic myelopathy after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS).Methods From March 2014 to June 2015,the clinical data of 73 hospitalized,patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria,and underwent TIPS for upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage caused by cirrhotic portal hypertension were retrospectively analyzed.According to the stent configuration during operation,patients were divided into simple coated stent group (hepatic vein,portal vein and hepatic parenchyma coated stent,23 cases),simulated Viatorr stent group (hepatic vein and hepatic parenchyma coated stent plus portal vein bare stent,27 cases) and combined stent group (hepatic vein and portal vein hare stent plus hepatic parenchyma coated stent,23 cases).Patients were followed up for one year,the incidences of shunt failure,hepatic encephalopathy and hepatic myelopathy within one year after TIPS of three groups were compared.Chi-square test,Fisher exact probability method and variance analysis were performed for comparison among groups.Cox regression analysis was used for difference analysis in imbalance of variables and incidence of outcome events among the three groups.Results The portal vein pressure gradient of simple coated stent group,simulated Viatorr stent group and combined stent group decreased from (22.15±4.52),(23.01±5.48) and (21.13±4.49) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) to (9.15±2.94),(11.20±3.27) and (8.75+4.06) mmHg after operation,respectively.Before and after operation,the differences in portal venous pressure gradient were statistically significant of three groups (t=10.488,7.188 and 7.850,all P＜0.05).The shunt failure rates of simple coated stent group,simulated Viatorr stent group and combined stent group were 13.0％ (3/23),18.5％ (5/27) and 30.4％ (7/23),respectively.The results of Cox regression analysis indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in shunt failure rates among different stent configurations after TIPS (P=0.339).The incidences of hepatic encephalopathy of simple coated stent group,simulated Viatorr stent group and combined stent group postoperative were 69.6％ (16/23),33.3％ (9/27) and 30.4％ (7/23),respectively,the difference was not statistically significant among the three groups (P＞ 0.05).The results of Cox regression analysis showed that the relative ratio values (95％ confidence interval) of incidence of postoperative hepatic encephalopathy of simple coated stent group compared with simulated Viatorr stent group and combined stent group were 2.901 (1.279 to 6.584) and 2.735 (1.123 to 6.658),and the differences were statistically significant (both P＜0.05).The incidences of hepatic myelopathy of simple coated stent group,simulated Viatorr stent group and combined stent group were 8.7％ (2/23),3.7％ (1/27) and 4.3％ (1/23),respectively,and there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of hepatic myelopathy among three groups after operation (P＞0.05).During one-year follow-up,among 73 patients,two patients died,one in simple coated stent group and the other in combined stent group.The one-year survival rate after TIPS was 97.3％.Conclusions One year after operation,the incidences of shunt failure are similar between simple coated stent group,simulated Viatorr stent group and combined stent group.One year after operation,the incidence of hepatic encephalopathy is similar between simulated Viatorr stent group and combined stent group which are both lower than that of simple coated stent.The incidence of hepatic myelopathy is low,and its association with TIPS remains to be further investigated.