OBJECTIVETo evaluate the vulnerability to floods in Guangdong province at district level.

METHODSData were collected from the sixth census, the 2010 Statistical Yearbook of Guangdong, the 2010 Health Statistics Yearbook of Guangdong and China Disease Prevention and Control information systems, etc. The weight of each indicator was determined based on subjective method and objective method respectively; and finally the results of the two methods were compared.

RESULTS13 indicators were selected for the assessment of vulnerability to floods, including 6 sensitivity indicators, 5 adaptability indicators and 2 exposure indicators. Indicators with large weight (subjective weight/objective weight) were the proportion of population older than 65 years old (0.31/0.30), the proportion of population older than 65 years old (0.16/0.23), infant mortality rate (0.18/0.20), the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (0.33/0.21), the proportion of illiterate in the population older than 15 years old (0.19/0.28), history frequency of floods (0.75/0.75). The mean vulnerability index (VI) calculated by subjective method was 0.35 with the standard deviation of 0.10; the mean vulnerability index calculated by objective method was 0.31 with the standard deviation of 0.08. The two weighting methods showed consistent results of vulnerability index (ICC = 0.975, P < 0.01). VI of most districts dropped in the interval of 0.30 - 0.39. Districts with subjective VI > 0.50 or objective VI > 0.40 should pay more attention to floods, including parts of the coastal areas, Beijiang River Basin, the eastern tributary area of Dongjiang River and the northern part of Pearl River Delta. Dapu district of Meizhou (0.55/0.45), Dianbai district and Maogang district of Maoming (0.54/0.48) were most vulnerable. Districts of Heyuan, Dongguan, Zhaoqing and Huizhou were less vulnerable, Yuancheng district of Heyuan showed least vulnerable to floods (0.15/0.12) followed by Dongguan (0.18/0.16), Duanzhou district (0.18/0.16) and Guangning (0.17/0.15) district of Zhaoqing. The score of indicators differed among different level of vulnerability (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONDifferent regions of Guangdong province showed different vulnerability to floods, vulnerable areas should be priority in the prevention and control of floods.

China ; Climate ; Demography ; Disasters ; Floods ; Humans ; Risk Assessment ; Rivers

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of over expression of miR-34a on cellular proliferation and migration in bladder cancer cell line J82 by targeting Notchl.MethodsmiR-34a was predicted as a putative gene which can target Notchl through bioinformatics analysis,qRT-PCR and Western blot were performed to measure the expression levels of Notchl and miR-34a in invasive transitional cell carcinoma of bladder (TCCB) tissues and J82 cells transfected with miR-34a.Luciferase assay was employed to determine if miR-34a could target Notchl through binding to the 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) of Notchl mRNA.J82 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.0-miR-34a or pcDNA3.0 control plasmid.MTS colorimetry was used to evaluate the effect of miR-34a on cell proliferation.The effect of miR-34a on cell migration was assessed by transwell migration assay.ResultsThe expression level of miR-34 in invasive TCCB tissues was lower than in adjacent bladder tissues (0.016(0.018) vs 0.042 (0.059),N =16; P =0.0006).On the contrary,the average levels of Notchl mRNA and protein were higher in tumors than in adjacent bladder tissues (2.765(2.156) vs 2.312(1.365),N =16; P =0.0025 and 0.857 ±0.197 vs 0.648 ±0.171 ;P ＜0.0001 ).After the transfection of miR-34a,the expressive level of miR-34a in J82 was highly induced ( (2.408 ±0.789) × 10-4 vs(0.153 ±0.029) × 10-4; P =0.0026).However,the expressive levels of Notchl mRNA and protein were obviously decreased (3.001 ± 0.106 vs 4.998 ± 1.053 ; P =0.0308 and 0.747 ± 0.050 vs 0.988 ± 0.102 ; P =0.0215 ).The results of luciferase assay showed that firefly activity was highly dimished (0.422 ± 0.028 vs 2.392 ± 0.148 ; P ＜ 0.0001 ).Cellular proliferation was inhibited after the transfection of miR-34a in J82 (P ＜ 0.0001 ).Moreover,number of migration cells of J82 was significantly reduced after the ectopic expression of miR-34a ( 179.3 ± 21.02 vs 269.7 ± 23.71 ; P =0.0078 ).ConclusionsmiR-34a inhibits the cellular proliferation and migration of bladder cancer cell line J82 via binding to the 3UTR of Notchl mRNA.

To identify the active constituents in vitro and blood-absorbed ingredients in vivo from Yin Chen Hao decoction provides scientific evidence for probing its prevention and treatment mechanism on acute liver injury. An ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) method was applied for analysis of Yin Chen Hao decoction and the serum samples of mice with con-A induced acute liver injury after preventive oral administration for 14 days (the use of all laboratory animals in this study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Naval Medical University, 19YF1459400). A total of 90 chemical constituents were identified from Yin Chen Hao decoction, mainly were flavonoids, terpenoids, tannins, quinones. 5 prototype compounds were identified in the serum, including chrysophanol, deoxyrhapontin-8-O-gallate, mussaenosidic acid, herniarin, emodin. The established UPLC-QTOF/MS method could efficiently and sensitively identify the constituents in vitro and blood-absorbed ingredients of Yin Chen Hao decoction, primarily clarify the material basis of its hepatoprotective effect, and provided a scientific basis for the quality marker selection and the pharmacodynamic material basis research on the decoction.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the causes of unintentional injuries in children and to provide reference for reducing the incidence of unintentional injuries in children.

METHODSA retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 924 children with unintentional injuries who were hospitalized in Zhongshan Boai Hospital from January 2008 to December 2010.

RESULTSOf the 924 cases, 26.4% suffered falls, which was the most common cause of injuries, 15.7% suffered burns and scalds, 14.0% were injured by foreign bodies, and 13.1% were injured in traffic accidents. Unintentional injuries occurred mainly among children aged 0-3 years (67%). The proportion of cases in summer (July to September) was significantly higher than in any other season (P < 0.05), and burns were the common causes of injuries in summer. Home was the most common place where unintentional injuries occurred (36.9%). The incidence of traffic accidents was significantly higher in non-local children than in local children (P < 0.001). As for the parents' educational levels, the children whose parents had an education level below junior middle school accounted for the highest proportion of all cases of unintentional injury (45.5%). Injuried cases in rural areas accounted for a significantly higher percentage than in urban areas (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSFalls are the principal cause of unintentional injuries in children. Young children (0-3 years) are most vulnerable to unintentional injuries. Unintentional injuries mostly occur at home. The incidence of traffic accidents is higher in non-local children than in local children. Parents' education levels are associated with the incidence of unintentional injuries. In order to reduce the incidence of unintentional injuries in children, preventive measures must be carried out, and safety education should be enhanced in consideration of children's age, sex and family background.

Accidents ; statistics & numerical data ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Educational Status ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Parents ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To study the association between temperature and daily mortality from June 1, 2006 to December 31, 2009 in Guangzhou. Methods Time series approach was used to estimate the impact of temperature on the rates of total and cause-specific daily mortality. We fitted generalized additive Poisson regression using non-parametric smooth functions to control for the long-term time trend, day of week, air pollution and other weather variables. Results A slight sloping U-like relationship between the total mortality and temperature was found, with an optimum average temperature (temperature with lowest mortality risk) value of 19.7 ℃ in Guangzhou. For temperature above the optimum value, the relative risk of total mortality increased by 3.0% (RR=1.030,95%CI: 1.011-1.050) for each increase of degree in Celsius. For average temperature below the optimum value, the relative risk of total mortality and diseases of circulatory system had a 3.3%(RR=0.967,95%CI: 0.936-0.997 ) decrease and a 3.6% ( RR= 0.964,95%CI:0.935-0.994 ) increase,for each degree of Celsius increase, respectively. Conclusion Our findings showed that the temperature had an impact on the daily mortality in Guangzhou. Countermeasures needed to be taken to reduce the temperature related mortality.

BACKGROUNDH syndrome (OMIM 612391) is a recently described autosomal recessive genodermatosis characterized by indurated hyperpigmented and hypertrichotic skin, as well as other systemic manifestations. Most of the cases occurred in the Middle East areas or nearby countries such as Spain or India. The syndrome is caused by mutations in solute carrier family 29, member 3 (SLC29A3), the gene encoding equilibrative nucleoside transporter 3. The aim of this study was to identify pathogenic SLC29A3 mutations in a Chinese patient clinically diagnosed with H syndrome.

METHODSPeripheral blood samples were collected from the patient and his parents. Genomic DNA was isolated by the standard method. All six SLC29A3 exons and their flanking intronic sequences were polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified and the PCR products were subjected to direct sequencing.

RESULTSThe patient, an 18-year-old man born to a nonconsanguineous Chinese couple, had more extensive cutaneous lesions, involving both buttocks and knee. In his genomic DNA, we identified a novel homozygous insertion-deletion, c. 1269_1270delinsA, in SLC29A3. Both of his parents were carriers of the mutation.

CONCLUSIONSWe have identified a pathogenic mutation in a Chinese patient with H syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Adolescent ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Mutation ; Nucleoside Transport Proteins ; genetics ; Skin Abnormalities ; diagnosis ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of oncoprotein c-erbB2 in primary breast cancer and to analyze its relation to its prognosis.

METHODSImmunohistochemical staining for c-erbB2 was performed on paraffin-embedded specimens of primary breast cancer from 284 patients, and the relation to its prognosis was statistically analyzed.

RESULTSPositive expression rate of c-erbB2 was 26.8% (76/284) in 284 primary breast cancer patients. Expression of c-erbB2 was positively correlated with the status of lymph node metastasis (P = 0.003). Univariate analysis indicated that c-erbB2 expression is a significant prognostic factor for the disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.024) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.002), while multivariate analysis demonstrated that c-erbB2 is an independent prognostic factor for OS (P = 0.023). Moreover, tumors with c-erbB2 positive expression are more tend to metastasis to other viscera than those with c-erbB2 negative. c-erbB2 expression has different prognostic values for patients with different status of estrogen receptor (ER) and lymph node metastasis.

CONCLUSIONc-erbB2 expression is an independent prognostic factor for total survival time in primary breast cancer patients, and its prognostic values are different according to the different ER status and lymph node metastasis.

Adult ; Aged ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Mastectomy, Radical ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; metabolism ; Receptors, Estrogen ; metabolism ; Survival Rate

Acetabulum ; injuries ; Adult ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Hip Fractures ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

Large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (BK(Ca)) and voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.5 play an important role in the pathogenesis of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). It is known that cigarette smoke can induce BHR, however, the role of BK(Ca) and Kv1.5 expression in it remains to be further elucidated. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the direct effects of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on BK(Ca) and Kv1.5 expression, and the role of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms activation in primary cultured rat bronchial smooth muscle cells (BSMCs). Primarily cultured rat BSMCs were treated with 5% CSE, the expression and translocation of PKC isoforms were measured by Western blot, and the mRNA and protein levels of BK(Ca) and Kv1.5 alpha-subunits were determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. The results showed that 5% CSE induced the translocation of PKCepsilon, PKCeta, PKCtheta from soluble fraction to particulate fraction, and reduced mRNA and protein expressions of BK(Ca) and Kv1.5 alpha-subunits. The decreased expression of potassium channels was partly restored by PKC inhibitor, BIM or Goe6983. In summary, CSE may activate PKC isoforms epsilon, eta, theta, thereby down-regulate the expressions of BK(Ca) and Kv1.5 in BSMCs.
Animals ; Bronchi ; cytology ; Cells, Cultured ; Kv1.5 Potassium Channel ; metabolism ; Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels ; metabolism ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Protein Isoforms ; metabolism ; Protein Kinase C ; metabolism ; Rats ; Smoke ; adverse effects ; Tobacco