Chronic Disease ; Female ; Humans ; Lead Poisoning ; complications ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; Renal Insufficiency ; chemically induced

Human spermatozoa encounter an osmotic decrease from 330 to 290 mOsm l-1 when passing through the female reproductive tract. We aimed to evaluate the role of chloride channels in volume regulation and sperm motility from patients with asthenozoospermia. Spermatozoa were purified using Percoll density gradients. Sperm volume was measured as the forward scatter signal using flow cytometry. Sperm motility was analyzed using computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA). When transferred from an isotonic solution (330 mOsm l-1 ) to a hypotonic solution (290 mOsm l-1 ), cell volume was not changed in spermatozoa from normozoospermic men; but increased in those from asthenozoospermic samples. The addition of the chloride channel blockers, 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'- isulfonic acid (DiDS) or 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino) benzoic acid (NPPB) to the hypotonic solution caused the normal spermatozoa to swell but did not increase the volume of those from the asthenozoospermic semen. DiDS and NPPB decreased sperm motility in both sets of semen samples. The inhibitory effect of NPPB on normal sperm motility was much stronger than on spermatozoa from the asthenozoospermic samples. Both sperm types expressed ClC-3 chloride channels, but the expression levels in the asthenozoospermic samples were much lower, especially in the neck and mid-piece areas. Spermatozoa from men with asthenozoospermia demonstrated lower volume regulating capacity, mobility, and ClC-3 expression levels (especially in the neck) than did normal spermatozoa. Thus, chloride channels play important roles in the regulation of sperm volume and motility and are downregulated in cases of asthenozoospermia.

Objective To assess the effectiveness of prevention program on iodine deficiency disorders and iodine nutritional status of residents in Guangdong Province.Methods Probability proportionate to size sampling(PPS) was employed in surveillance of iodine deficiency disorders.Thirty counties(cities,districts) were selected in Guangdong Province.In each county(city,district) one township(street) was selected; in each township (street) one primary school was selected and in each primary school 40 children aged 8-10 were chosen to examine their thyroid and to collect salt samples at their home for determination of salt iodine.Out of the 40 children,12 children were chosen to collect urine samples for determination of urinary iodine.From the primary schools chosen,40 grade 5 students were selected for intelligence quotient(IQ) test.In the nearby of the primary schools,3 townships(towns,street) were selected and in each township(town,street) 5 pregnant and 5 lactating women were selected to collect their urine samples for determination of urinary iodine.Type-B ultrasonic was used in measuring the thyroid volume.The iodine content of urine samples was measured by the method of arsenic and cerium catalysis spectrophotometry.The iodine content of salt was determined quantitatively with the titration method.IQ was tested by Chinese combined Raven's test.According to geographical location and the implementation of iodized salt,the effects of iodized salt on iodine deficiency disorders were analyzed in the plains and the Pearl River Delta Coastal region with mild iodine deficiency(iodized salt implementation region,referred to as the plains and the PRD),historical iodine deficiency areas (iodized implementation region) and the eastern and the western coastal areas of Guangdong(areas with non-iodized salt problem,referred to as the eastern and the western Guangdong).Results A total of 1200 children aged 8 to 10 were examined by type-B ultrasonic test,and goiter rate was 3.5％ (42/1200).The differences of goiter rate between the plains and the PRD,the historical iodine deficiency areas and the eastern and the western Guangdong were statistically significant (x2 =6.6,P ＜ 0.05).The goiter rate (6.1％) in the eastern and the western Guangdong was significantly higher than that of the plains and the PRD and the historical iodine deficiency areas (3.3％,2.0％,x2 =5.6,7.1,all P ＜ 0.05).A total of 1200 salt samples were examined.The median and coefficient of variation of iodine in the salt were 31.0 mg/kg and 23.2％,respectively.Coverage of iodized salt was 97.5％(1170/1200) while 96.1％(1153/1200) of consumed iodized salt was qualified.The median urinary iodine of 1200 children aged 8-10 was 186.5 μg/L,and the differences of median urinary iodine between the plains and the PRD,the historical iodine deficiency areas and the eastern and the western Guangdong were statistically significant(x2 =5.9,P ＜ 0.05).The median urinary iodine of the eastern and the western Guangdong(162.4 μg/L) was significantly lower than that of the plains and the PRD(207.5 μg/L,x2 =8.7,P ＜ 0.01).The difference of median urinary iodine between the plains and the PRD,the historical iodine deficiency areas and the eastern and the western Guangdong was statistically significant(x2 =58.9,P＜ 0.01).The median urinary iodine of the eastern and the western Guangdong(109.6 μg/L) was significantly lower than that of the historical iodine deficiency areas and the plains and the PRD(152.9,155.2 μg/L,x2 =18.3,20.6,all P ＜ 0.05).The mean IQ of the 1208 grade 5 students was 102.8 ± 14.3.The IQ of the plains and the PRD(104.3 ± 13.9) and the historical iodine deficiency areas(102.7 ± 14.3) was significantly higher than that of the eastern and the western Guangdong(100.3 ± 14.7,t =3.8,2.1,P＜ 0.01 orP＜ 0.05).Conclusions The goal of iodine deficiency disorders elimination is achieved as scheduled in Guangdong Province.The health level of general population has been improved significantly.Iodine nutrition is in the appropriate range (100-199 μg/L) in general population but low in pregnant women.The selling of non-iodized salt in the eastern and the western Guangdong Province should be followed closely.

Objective To study the effect of fluoride on the expression of bcl-2 and Bax in chondrocyte in vitro, and investigate the mechanism of action of chondrocyte apoptosis induced by fluoride. Methods Articular chondrocytes of neonate rat were cultured in vitro and treated with 0(control),5,20,40 mg/L of fluoride,respectively, for 10 days. Then observed the u]trastructure of chondrocytes under eletronicmicroscope, and tested the expression of bcl-2 and Bax in chondrocyte in different groups by Western blotting. Results Abundant rough endoplasmic reticulums (RERs) and complete structure of mitochondria membranes were presented in globular chondrocytes in the control group and 5 mg/L group; but more lipid droplets and vacuoles were seen in the cytoplasm, and the structure of intracellular membranes became incomplete, and some shrieked chromatin and pyknosis were seen in the chondrocytes of the 20,40 mg/L groups. The expression of bcl-2 markedly decreased in 20 mg/L group(0.626 ± 0.042) and 40 mg/L group(0.531± 0.039) compared to the control group(0.876 ± 0.035,all P ＜ 0.01 ). And the expression of Bax significantly increased in 20 mg/L group(0.966 ± 0.047) and 40 mg/Lgroup ( 1 .289 ± 0.156) compared to the control group(0.642 ± 0.050, all P ＜ 0.01). But there was no statistical significant difference of the expression of bcl-2 or Bax between 5 mg/L group(0.885 ± 0.065,0.657 ± 0.045) and control group (all P ＞ 0.05 ). However there were statistical differences of expressions of bcl-2 and Bax between 20 and 40 mg/L groups(all P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusions Twenty and 40 mg/L fluoride can cause damage to the ultrastructure of chondrocyte, and fluoride possibly promotes chondrocyte apoptosis by reducing the expression of antiapoptotic factor bcl-2 and increasing the expression of Bax.

Objective To research effects of water extraction of Salvia miltiorrhiza in sperm quality of mice. Methods Forty adult male Kunming mice were randomly divided into 5 groups, including low concentration group, medium concentration group, high concentration group, control group and positive control group in eight mice in each group. The low, medium and high concentration groups were given by gavage with 1 500, 3 000 and 6 000 mg/kg water extraction of salvia miltiorrhiza once a day respectively, while the control group was given gavage with 10 mL/kg normal saline daily, as well as the positive control group was injected with 100 mg/kg cyclophosphamide once; All mice were sacrificed after 30 days. We measured the weight gain, viscera coefficient and sperm quality in each mouse. Results There were no statistical difference in the weight of every week, increase of the weight, testis and epididymis coefficients among the control group, the low, medium and high concentration groups (P > 0.05), while the weight and weight increase were significantly higher than that in the positive control group (P < 0.05). Sperm concentration, viability, morphology, motility, PR, VSL, VAP of low, medium and high concentrations group were significantly improved than the control group (P < 0.05), and the sperm quality in the four groups were higher than that in the positive control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Water extraction of salvia miltiorrhiza can obviously improve the sperm viability, morphology, and motility of mice.

Two hundred and fourteen patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS) underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Serum ischemic modified albumin (IMA) levels were measured in patients at admission.The major adverse cardiac events (MACE),including cardiac death,nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) and recurrent ischemia leading to urgent revascularization were observed during 1-y period of follow-up.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves,Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression were used to assess the prognostic value of IMA for 1-y MACE.Twenty one patients experienced major adverse cardiac events during 1-y follow up period,including 6 cases of cardiac death,8 cases of new or recurrent MI,7 cases of target vessel/lesion revascularization or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).ROC showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.667,and when IMA was used to predict 1-y major adverse cardiac events,the cut-off value of 65.3 kU/L was most effective.Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that IMA was significantly correlated with the occurrence of 1-y MACE(P ＜ 0.01).But Cox regression model showed that IMA levels were not independent risk factor for 1-y MACE in NSTEACS patients,when adjusted with other risk factors.

AIM:To explore the molecular mechanism of panaxadiol saponin(PDS)by observing Toll like receptor(TLR)2 and TLR9 mRNA expression induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS).METHODS:Rats were divided into LPS,LPS+PDSL,LPS+PDSM and control group,respectively.Nitric oxide synthase(NOS)activity,nitric oxide(NO)content,LPO content,SOD activity and TLR2 and TLR9 mRNA expression were assayed 4 h after intravenous injection of LPS.RESULTS:NOS activity,NO content,LPO content of LPS+PDSL group and LPS+PDSM group were significantly lower than those in LPS group.TLR2 mRNA expression in the liver tissue of LPS+PDSL group and LPS+PDSM group was decreased compared with LPS group.CONCLUSION:PDS has a protective effect on liver tissues by triggering the down-regulation of TLR2 expression,reducing NOS activity,and NO content.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the inhibitory effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on E coliinduced prostatitis in rats.

METHODSBMSCs were isolated, cultured and amplified by the attached choice method. Fifty SD rats were randomized into five groups of equal number: normal control, acute bacterial prostatitis (ABP) , chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP), ABP + BMSCs, and CBP + BMSCs, and the animals in the latter four groups were injected with E. coli into both sides of the prostate under ultrasound guidance for 1 - 14 days to induce ABP and for 4 - 12 weeks to induce CBP. The control rats were injected with the same amount of PBS. Two weeks after injection of BMSCs into the prostates, pathomorphological changes in the prostate were observed under the light microscope and the mRNA and protein levels of IL-1β and TNF-α determined by RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively, followed by statistical analysis with SPSS 18.0.

RESULTSHistopathological evaluation showed typical pathological inflammatory changes in the prostates of the rats in the ABP and CBP groups, including glandular structural changes, interstitial edema, inflammatory cell infiltration, and fibrous hyperplasia, which were all remarkably relieved after treated with BMSCs. The mRNA and protein levels of IL-β ([0.829 ± 0.121] and [271.75 ± 90.59] pg/ml) and TNF-α ([0.913 ± 0. 094] and [105.78 ± 19. 05] pg/ml) in the ABP and those of IL-1β ([0. 975 ± 0. 114] and [265. 31 ± 71. 34] pg/ml) and TNF-α ([0. 886 ± 0. 084] and [107. 45 ± 26. 11 ] pg/ml) in the CBP groups were significantly higher than those in the control rats ([0. 342 ± 0.087] and [45.76 17. 99] pg/ml, P <0. 05); ([0.247 ± 0.054] and ([19.42 ± 7. 75] pg/ml, P <0. 01) as well as than those in the ABP + BMSCs ([0. 433 ± 0. 072] and [51. 34 ± 22. 13] pg/ml, P < 0. 05 ) ; ( [0. 313 ± 0. 076] and [28. 38 ± 8. 78] pg/ml, P < 0. 01) and the CBP + BMSCs group ([0.396 ± 0.064] and [56.37 ± 21.22] pg/ml, P <0.05); ([0.417 ± 0.068] and [29.21 ± 10.22] pg/ml, P <0.01).

CONCLUSIONInjection of BMSCs can reduce E coli-induced prostatic inflammation reaction, which.may be associated with its reduction of inflammatory cell infiltration and the expressions of IL-1β and TNF-α in the prostate tissue.

Acute Disease ; Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; physiology ; Chronic Disease ; Escherichia coli Infections ; therapy ; Humans ; Interleukin-1beta ; genetics ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; physiology ; Prostate ; metabolism ; Prostatitis ; metabolism ; microbiology ; therapy ; RNA, Messenger ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To analyze and compare the clinical and laboratory features between patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA).Methods One hundred and forty-one patients with AS and 73 cases with nr-axSpA were recruited.Clinical and laboratory indexes of individuals were recorded in detail,Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) crp were calculated.Spondyloarthritis research consortium of Canada (SPARCC) score standard was used to evaluate the degree of bone marrow edema in sacr-oiliac joint under magnetic resonance imaging scanning.T test,rank test and x2 test were used for statistical analysis.Results The average age of patients with AS was obviously higher than that of patients with nr-axSpA (t=4.962,P＜0.01).Patients with AS were more often male,and those with nr-axSpA were more often female (82.0％ of the AS patients were men and 49.3％ of the nr-axSpA patients were men (x2=24.079,P＜0.01).Disease duration of AS was significantly longer than that of the nr-axSpA (Z=6.396,P＜0.01).The incidence of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 positive in AS was 89.4％,which was similar to that in patients with nr-axSpA (84.9％) (x2=0.884,P＞0.05).21.6％ (21 cases) of patients with AS had peripheral swollen joints,which was higher than that in nr-axSpA (2.2％,x2=8.861,P=0.003).Forty cases in AS had tender joints (41.2％),only 6 patients in nr-axSpA had tender joints (13.3％,x2=11.458,P＜0.01).Serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with AS were clearly higher than those in nr-axSpA (P＜0.01) patients.In AS,the patient global assessment (PGA),BASDAI and ASDAScrp value was significantly higher than that in nr-axSpA (P＜0.01).There were no differences in SPARCC score or incidence of bone marrow edema in sacroiliac joint in magnetic resonance imaging scanning between AS and nr-axSpA (P＞0.05).Percentage of patients with occipit-to-wall distance higher than 0 cm in AS was higher than that in nr-axSpA,and the mean distance of fingers to ground in AS was also higher than that in nr-axSpA (x2=19.844,P＜0.01;Z=5.724,P＜0.01).Chest expansion degree and Schboer's test in AS was much lower than that in nr-axSpA,respectively (Z=3.083,P=0.002;Z=5.103,P＜0.01).BASFI in AS was higher than that in nr-axSpA (Z=5.840,P＜0.01).The ratio of joint function in AS was obviously worse than that in nr-axSpA (x2=1 1.369,P=0.01).Conclusion Compared to patients with nr-axSpA,AS patients are male predominant,and have severer inflammation in clinical and laboratory findings and are worse in functional status.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of serum 14-3-3η protein levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and secondary osteoporosis (OP). Methods 259 RA patients and 80 healthy controls were recruited. Serum 14-3-3η levels were determined by ELISA and bone mineral density (BMD) were detected by the DEXA. Results Firstly, the levels and the positive rate of serum 14-3-3η protein were significantly high-er in RA patients than healthy controls (P < 0.000 1). Secondly, ROC curve revealed that the sensitivity of 14-3-3η protein for diagnosis of early RA was 91.7% and its specificity was 99.6% when the cut-off point was 0.879 ng/mL (AUC = 0.917, P < 0.000 1). Finally, 14-3-3η protein concentrations revealed significant differ-ence among the groups of bone mass normal, osteopenia and osteoporosis in early RA (χ2=7.974, P = 0.019). Conclusion Serum 14-3-3η protein levels increase significantly in RA , especially in early RA , which is relat-ed to clinical symptoms and osteoporosis.