Objective To explore the impact of prenatal diagnosis on the early treatment and short and medium term outcome of neonatal pulmonary atresia with intact ventricle septum (PA/IVS) or critical pulmonary stenosis with intact ventricle septum (CPS/IVS). Methods According to the case-control method, twenty-eight neonates with (PA/IVS) or (CPS/IVS) who had percutaneous pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty (PBPV) surgery indications, were divided into the prenatal diagnosis group (n?=?15) and the postnatal diagnosis group (n?=?13). The prenatal diagnosis group was diagnosed in fetal period and the intervention program was since developed . The postnatal diagnosis group was referred from other hospitals, and the intervention program was developed after conifrmation of the diagnosis. All the neonates accepted the PBPV surgery after the hemodynamic parameters stable. All neonates were followed-up at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery. Clinical situations, echocardiography results, and interventional cardiology measurements were compared between two groups. Result The average age and weigh was 7.53?±?3.18 days and 3102.32?±?708.40 g respectively at the time of PBPV surgery in 28 neonates. Among them, 9 neonates were PA/IVS and 19 neonates were CPS/IVS. The mean follow-up time was 18.8?±?5.22 months and there were no death. The ages at admission and at the ifrst treatment were signiifcantly younger in the prenatal diagnosis group than those in the postnatal diagnosis group (P??0.05). Conclusion Prenatal diagnosis is helpful for the early intervention in neonates with PA/IVS and CPS/IVS, and can reduce the complications after surgery.

Objective To observe the influences of uncoupling protein 2 (UCP-2) rs660339 variants transfection on cell proliferation and apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC). Methods Two UCP-2 green fluorescent protein (GFP) lentivirus constructs were created with the rs660339 locus carried C or T (UCP-2C or UCP-2T), respectively. HUVEC were cultured after lentiviral infection of UCP-2C or UCP-2T. The expression of UCP-2C or UCP-2T was detected with real time polymerase chain reaction. Cell proliferation and cell apoptosis were compared among negative control (NC) group, UCP-2T group and UCP-2C group using CCK-8 cell viability and flow cytometry. Western blot and immunostaining were employed to examine the expression of Bcl-2 gene. Results The lentivirus constructs were successfully created.>80%of the transfected cells were found to express GFP under fluorescent microscope. The mRNA levels of UCP-2 gene were significantly increased (F=29.183, P=0.001) in the UCP-2T group and UCP-2C group. The CCK-8 assay revealed that on day two (F=15.970, P=0.004), day three (F=16.738, P=0.004), day four (F=5.414, P=0.045) post-infection, UCP-2T and UCP-2C group showed significantly greater proliferation than the NC cells. The apoptotic rate in the UCP-2T and UCP-2C group was significantly lower than NC group (F=277.138, P=0.000), and the apoptotic rate of UCP-2T was significantly lower than that of UCP-2C (P=0.003). The protein levels of Bcl-2 in the UCP-2T and UCP-2C group were significantly greater than that in the NC group (F=425.679, P=0.000), and the Bcl-2 expression of UCP-2T was greater than that of UCP-2C (P=0.002). The Bcl-2 density in the UCP-2T and UCP-2C group were greater than that in the NC group (F=11.827, P=0.008), while there was no difference between UCP-2T and UCP-2C group (P=0.404). Conclusion The variants of UCP-2 rs660339 may influence HUVEC proliferation and apoptosis, and UCP-2T showed a stronger effect of inhibiting apoptosis than UCP-2C.

OBJECTIVEThe purposes of this thesis were to study the behavior about workers exposed to dust and provide scientific basis for health promotion.

METHODSWe designed a questionnaire and carry it on the 746 dust workers in the 3 representative corporations of Machinery, Ceramic, and Metallurgy Industry. All data were input into computer. And a database was established with Excel. SPSS11.5 statistical analysis software was used to analyze the influence on protecting behavioral between the application of qualifications, different jobs, training or protection, and other aspects etc.

RESULTSThe rates were 94.4% and 75.3% about the regular physical examination and requirements for protective equipment. The rate of choosing an effective way of protection was generally low (15.4%). There was significant difference for among different educational background workers (P < 0.01). The rates of choosing an effective way of protection (20.3%), the regular physical examination (98.3%) and requirements for protective equipment (86.4%) in the dust workers who participated in the training of dust protection were superior than those who did not participated in the training. There was the significant difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). There was the significant difference for the rate of effective way of protection, regular physical examination, and requirements for protective equipment among the different corporations (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSDust workers' using rate about the choosing an effective way of protection was generally low in Machinery, Ceramic, and Metallurgy Industry. Those who were not educated had a lower using rate about the protection behavior, regular physical examination, and requirements for protective equipment than those educated.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Ceramics ; Choice Behavior ; Dust ; prevention & control ; Female ; Humans ; Industry ; Male ; Metallurgy ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; prevention & control ; Respiratory Protective Devices ; utilization ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the outcomes of perineal urethrostomy plus secondary urethroplasty for ultralong urethral stricture and assess its influence on the patient's quality of life.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed 54 cases of ultralong urethral stricture treated by perineal urethrostomy from 2000 to 2010. The mean age of the patients was 40 years, and the average length of stricture was 6.5 cm. We evaluated the patients'quality of life by questionnaire investigation and the clinical outcomes based on IPSS, Qmax, the necessity of urethral dilation and satisfaction of the patients.

RESULTSThe mean Qmax of the 54 patients was (14.0 +/- 4.7) ml/min. Of the 34 cases that underwent secondary urethroplasty, 22 (64.7%) achieved a mean Qmax of (12.0 +/- 3.5) ml/min, 8 (23.5%) needed regular urethral dilatation and 4 (11.8%) received internal urethrotomy because of restenosis. IPSS scores were 5.4 +/- 2.1 and 8.5 +/- 5.8 after perineal urethrostomy and secondary urethroplasty, respectively. Fifty of the total number of patients (92.6%) were satisfied with the results of perineal urethrostomy, and 22 of the 34 (64.7%) with the results of secondary urethroplasty.

CONCLUSIONPerineal urethrostomy plus secondary urethroplasty is safe and effective for ultralong urethral stricture, and affects very little the patient's quality of life.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ostomy ; Perineum ; surgery ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Urethral Stricture ; surgery ; Urologic Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEThe study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic therapy for early postoperative anastomotic hemorrhage.

METHODSFourteen patients experienced an episode of early postoperative anastomotic hemorrhage and were treated endoscopically from January 2005 to June 2010. The clinical data was analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSFourteen patients(9 males and 5 females, median age 57.5 years, range 26-74 years) were diagnosed with postoperative hemorrhage between 6 hours to 14 days after surgery. The blood loss ranged from 500 to 1500 ml. Sclerosing agent injection, electrocoagulation, and hemoclips were attempted to control the bleeding. Endoscopic approach to control early postoperative anastomotic hemorrhage was successful in all the patients. No recurrent bleeding was observed during the follow-up. No complications associated with endoscopic therapy.

CONCLUSIONEndoscopic approach for the management of early postoperative anastomotic hemorrhage is feasible with high success rate and associated with no complications.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Hemostasis, Endoscopic ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Hemorrhage ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Stomas ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between imatinib resistance and genes MDR1 and KIT in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) cells.

METHODSThe MDR1 and KIT mRNA level in GIST882-R and GIST882-S cells were detected by RT-PCR. Immunocytochemistry and Western blot were employed to detect P-gp and CD117 expression in GIST882-R and GIST882-S cells.

RESULTSThe relative expression of MDR1 mRNA was 0.321 + or - 0.033 in GIST882-R and 0.157 + or - 0.056 in GIST882-S cells, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The relative expression of KIT mRNA was 0.389 + or - 0.063 in GIST882-R and 0.339 + or - 0.067 in GIST882-S, and the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The relative density of P-gp was 0.443 + or - 0.058 in GIST882-R and 0.237 + or - 0.094 in GIST882-S, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The relative density of CD117 was 0.744 + or - 0.123 in GIST882-R and 0.704 + or - 0.094 in GIST882-S, and the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSOver-expression of gene MDR1 may be associated with imatinib resistance in GIST. KIT may not be involved in imatinib resistance.

ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family B, Member 1 ; genetics ; Benzamides ; Cell Adhesion Molecules ; genetics ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; genetics ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; genetics ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Piperazines ; pharmacology ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; genetics ; Pyrimidines ; pharmacology

BACKGROUNDAntithrombin-III (AT-III), the major inhibitor of thrombin in plasma, also has anti-inflammation property and might have positive effect on sepsis. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of AT-III on inflammatory reaction and pulmonary protection in endotoxin-induced acute lung injury (ALI) rat.

METHODSSixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned equally to normal control group, ALI group, AT-III treatment group, AT-III + heparin treatment group, and heparin treatment group. The pulmonary vascular permeability index (PVPI) was measured by single nuclide tracer technique. The activity of AT-III in plasma was determined by the method of synthetic chromogenic substrata. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in serum were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expressions of lung tissue mitogen-activated protein kinases (ERK1/2, P38 and JNK MAPK) were determined by Western blotting.

RESULTSRats had significantly improved lung histopathology in the AT-III treatment group and heparin treatment group compared with the ALI group. The PVPI of the ALI group was 0.38 + or - 0.04, significantly higher than that of the normal control group (0.20 + or - 0.02, P < 0.01), AT-III treatment group (0.30 + or - 0.04, P < 0.01) and heparin treatment group (0.28 + or - 0.04, P < 0.01) respectively. There were no significant differences of PVPI in the ALI group and AT-III + heparin treatment group. The activity of AT-III in plasma in the ALI group was (76 + or - 8)%, significantly lower than that of the normal control group ((96 + or - 11)%, P < 0.05) and AT-III treatment group ((105 + or - 17)%, P < 0.05) respectively. The serum levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 of the ALI group were (2.770 + or - 0.373) microg/L and (1.615 + or - 0.128) ng/ml respectively, significantly higher than those of the normal control group ((0.506 + or - 0.093) microg/L and (0.233 + or - 0.047) ng/ml respectively, all P < 0.01), AT-III treatment group ((1.774 + or - 0.218) microg/L and (1.140 + or - 0145) ng/ml respectively, all P < 0.01) and heparin treatment group ((1.924 + or - 0.349) microg/L and (1.223 + or - 0.127) ng/ml respectively, all P < 0.01). The lung tissue levels of phospho-ERK1/2 and phospho-P38 MAPK expressions were markedly higher in the ALI group than in the normal control group, AT-III treatment group and heparin treatment group respectively.

CONCLUSIONSAT-III without concomitant heparin inhibited the activation of ERK1/2 and P38 MAPK, down-regulated the levels of downstream cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-6, relieved endothelial permeability, and improved the ALI in endotoxin-induced rats. It might be helpful to administrate AT-III alone, not with concomitant heparin, to those patients with ALI and sepsis.

Acute Lung Injury ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; pathology ; Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; therapeutic use ; Antithrombin III ; therapeutic use ; Endotoxins ; toxicity ; Heparin ; therapeutic use ; Lung ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo assess the frequency of spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), including the subtypes of SCA1, SCA2, SCA3/Machado-Joseph disease(MJD), SCA6, SCA7, SCA8, SCA10, SCA12, SCA14, SCA17 and dentatorubro-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) in Han population in the Chinese mainland, and to specifically characterize the mainland Chinese patients with SCA6 in terms of clinical and molecular features.

METHODSUsing a molecular approach, the authors investigated SCA in 120 families with dominantly inherited ataxias and in 60 patients with sporadic ataxias. Clinical and molecular features of SCA6 were further characterized in 13 patients from 4 families.

RESULTSSCA3/MJD was the most common type of autosomal dominant SCA in the Han population, accounting for 83 patients from 59 families(49.2%), followed by SCA2(8, 6.7%), SCA1(7, 5.8%), SCA6(4, 3.3%), SCA7(1,0.8%), SCA8 (0), SCA10 (0), SCA12(0), SCA14 (0), SCA17(0) and DRPLA(0). The genes responsible for 41(34.2%) of dominantly inherited SCA families remained undetermined. Among the 60 patients with sporadic ataxias in the present series, 3(5.0%) were found to harbor SCA3 mutations while none were found to harbor SCA6 mutations. In the 4 families with SCA6, significant anticipation was found with no genetic instability on transmission.

CONCLUSIONThe present authors firstly found and reported a geographic cluster of families with SCA6 subtype in the Chinese mainland, which were initially identified in Hans reported of the Chinese mainland.

Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; China ; Family Health ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genes, Dominant ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Spinocerebellar Ataxias ; diagnosis ; ethnology ; genetics ; Trinucleotide Repeats ; genetics

BACKGROUNDDominantly inherited spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders. This study was to further assess the frequency of SCA1 (spinocerebellar ataxia type 1), SCA2, SCA3/MJD (spinocerebellar ataxia type 3/Machado-Joseph disease), SCA6, SCA7, SCA8, SCA10, SCA12, SCA14, SCA17 and DRPLA (dentatorubro-pallidoluysian atrophy) in mainland Chinese, and to specifically characterize mainland Chinese patients with SCA6 in terms of clinical and molecular features.

METHODSUsing a molecular approach, we investigated SCA in 120 mainland Chinese families with dominantly inherited ataxias and in 60 mainland Chinese patients with sporadic ataxias. Clinical and molecular features of SCA6 were further characterized in 13 patients from 4 families.

RESULTSSCA3/MJD was the most common type of autosomal dominant SCA in mainland Chinese, accounting for 83 patients from 59 families (49.2%), followed by SCA2 [8 (6.7%)], SCA1 [7 (5.8%)], SCA6 [4 (3.3%)], SCA7 [1 (0.8%)], SCA8 (0%), SCA10 (0%), SCA12 (0%), SCA14 (0%), SCA17 (0%) and DRPLA (0%). The genes responsible for 41 (34.2%) of dominantly inherited SCA families remain to be determined. Among the 60 patients with sporadic ataxias in the present series, 3 (5.0%) was found to harbor SCA3 mutations while none was found to harbor SCA6 mutations. In the 4 families with SCA6, significant anticipation was found in the absence of genetic instability on transmission.

CONCLUSIONA geographic cluster of families with SCA6 subtype was initially identified in a mainland Chinese population.

Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Calcium Channels ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genes, Dominant ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinocerebellar Ataxias ; genetics ; Trinucleotide Repeats

OBJECTIVESTo study the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) concerning asthma in parents of children with asthma and the related factors.

METHODQuestionnaire survey was conducted by using the multi-center research methods in twenty hospitals with asthmatic clinic or pediatric clinic in Beijing from August to October in 2008. The investigation focused on Beijing permanent residents with children who have been diagnosed as asthma for more than 6 months.

RESULTTotally 390 parents of asthmatic children were investigated among whom 351 provided valid questionnaires, the response rate reached 90.0%; 75.2% of the parents knew that the nature of asthma is a chronic allergic airway inflammatory disease; 54.4% of parents think that even if the child is in a state of asthma control he/she can participate in only mild exercise; 88.4% of parents consider that the long-term use of inhaled corticosteroid would have a mild effect on growth and development of children. Of the asthmatic children, 32.5% adhered to use inhaled corticosteroid prescription; 47.2% adhered to use leukotriene receptor modulator; 45.3% of parents of children with acute asthma attack will add antibiotics; 18.1% of parents would choose short-acting beta2-agonist. The multi-factors Logistic regression suggested that the parents' educational background and the frequency of referral in children with asthma under control may have an influences on the parents' KAP (P < 0.05, OR > 1).

CONCLUSIONThe general understanding of asthma in asthmatic children's parents in Beijing area is good, the higher the parents' educational background and revisit frequency of asthmatic children whose disease is under control, the better the Parents' KAP.

Adolescent ; Asthma ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Infant ; Parents ; Surveys and Questionnaires