Objective To analyze the factors influencing augmentation index (AI) by examining the AI changes in patients who received continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) therapy, and evaluate the artery elastic function situation. Methods The height, weight, blood pressure, blood indicators were detected in 46 CAPD patients (CAPD group) and 42 controls (control group). AI was managed by OMRON HEM-90OOAI, and the influencing factor was analyzed. Results Systolic blood pressure(SBP),diastolic blood pressure(DBP), pulse pressure, central aortic pressure and AIp75 (AI value, when pulse was 75 beats/min) in CAPD group were significantly higher than those in control group. Within CAPD patients,the AIp75, in female was significantly higher than that in nude [(96.67±8.95 )% vs (89.89±6.46)% ,P =0.022]. Simple correlation showed positive relationship in gender, age, SBP, DBP, pulse pressure and central aortic pressure with AI; and negative relationship in height, weight and weight index with AI; while there was no relationship between AI and all kinds of chemical examination indicators or dialysis years.Multiple linear regression analysis evidenced that gender,age, height, DBP and central aortic pressure of CAPD patients had linear regression relation with AI. Conclusions It indicates a decreased artery elasticity and an increased stiffness occurs in CAPD patients. AI has tight correlation with age, height, DBP and central aortic pressure, and is an non-invasive factor thai partially reflects the arterial elasticity. Central aortic pressure is relevant with aortic elasticity and rigidity closely. Measuring central aortic pressure is very imporrant for preventing cardiovascular accident.

Objective To quantifiably measure the methylation frequency of 18 CpG sites in the 3′region of L1 gene and long control region(LCR) gene of HPVl6 DNA,and study the relationship between HPVl6 DNA methylation and severity of cervical lesions. Methods A total of 10 cases Normal/low?grade squamous intraepithelial lesion(Normal/LSIL),10 cases of high?grade squamous intraepithelial lesion(HSIL),and 10 cases of cervical cancer(CC)were recruited for the study. The relationship between severity of cervical lesions and HPV16 DNA methylation was analyzed by bisultlte?pyrosequencing. Results The methylation rate was highest in Normal/LSIL at position 7 089 located in 3′?L1,followed by CC. The low?est was found in HSIL. The difference in methylation percentage among the three lesions was significant(P=0.006). In 7 134,the proportion meth?ylation was also different among three groups(P=0.01),difference in methylation percentage between Normal/LSIL and CC,as well as Normal/LSIL and HSIL was significant(P=0.038,0.017). Conclusion The methylation status of CpG sites 7 089 and 7 134 in the 3′region of L1gene is asso?ciated with the severity of cervical disease. The quantification of HPV DNA methylation can be used for cervical disease screening in clinical samples.

Objective To improve the reliability and accuracy of WBC counting in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ,this article is stud-ying the improved method of WBC counting in CSF by finding out the optimum percentage of CSF specimen with the most suitable concentration of acetic acid .Methods CSF specimen was mixed with different acetic acid at different ratio respectively .WBC counts were performed in 5 minutes on diluted samples of various concentrations .A series of 20 CSF specimens were analyzed via the proposed assay and conventional method .The average value and coefficient of variation (CV) of WBC count of each sample were c compared and analyzed .Results The optimum percentage of CSF sample was obtained at 60∶40 ratio .In this percentage , the maximal WBC count (189/μL) was obtained compared that of conventional method (161/μL) .Moreover ,the CV of the WBC counts in this percentage (7% ) was also lower than that of the conventional method (18% ) .Conclusion The reliability and accur-ancy of WBC counting in CSF was the optimum percentage of CSF specimen and 5% acetic acid was 60 :40 .It may lead to a more reliable ,accurate and standard way of WBC counts in CSF .

Nerve Conduction studies are used not only in diagnosis of compression neuropathy, but also as a prognostic evaluation after is treatment. Authors analyzed the changes of nerve conduction studies in the 21 hands of 19 patients of carpal tunnel syndrome which was confirmed by clinical and electrodiagnostic methods, and treated by surgical release of transverse carpal ligament. The changes of nerve conduction and clinical studies were completed just before surgery, and at 2-week, 1-month, 3-month and 6-month of postoperative periods, and summarized as follows; 1. The distal sensory and motor latencies were significantly(P < 0.05) improved at the 3-month of postoperative periods, respectively. 2. The sensory conduction velocities across the carpal tunnel was significantly(P < 0.05) improved at the 6-month of postoperative periods. 3. The distal motor amplitude was significantly(P < 0.05) improved at the 6-month of postoperative periods. 4. The changes in sensory conduction studies were more sensitive value for evaluation of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. 5. The distal latencies reflected the progress of clinical improvement, accurately. These conduction studies are considerable value in the evaluation of the post-carpal tunnel release patient.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ; Diagnosis ; Hand ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Neural Conduction ; Postoperative Period

Objective:To study the anti-inflammatory effects of low， middle， and high doses of Anchang decoction on ulcerative colitis in SD rats， and also explore the possible mechanism of Anchang decoction in the prevention and treatment of ulcerative colitis through the effect of different doses on miRNA-146a/non-receptor tyrosine protein kinase（JAK）/signal transduction and activator of transcription 3（STAT3）/cytokine signaling protein-3（SOCS-3） signal pathway and its downstream proteins. Method:The experimental rats were divided into control group ， model group ， mesalazine group（1 g·kg^-1） and Anchang decoction low（6 g·kg^-1）， middle（12 g·kg^-1）and high dose groups（24 g·kg^-1）， with 10 rats in each group. Except for the control group， 2，4，6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid （TNBS）/ethanol enema was used in all the other groups to establish a rat model of ulcerative colitis for 14 days respectively. The general changes of the mental state， stool traits， hair and other general conditions of the rats were observed， and score was graded with reference to the disease activity index （DAI） table. The pathological changes of colon tissue of rats in each group were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. The levels of serum tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）， interleukin-10（IL-10）， interleukin-17（IL-17）， interleukin-1β（IL-1β）and interleukin-6（IL-6）were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The expression levels of JAK2， phosphorylation STAT3 （p-STAT3）， STAT3 and inhibitor of SOCS-3 in colon tissue were detected by Western blot. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used to detect the expression of JAK2， p-STAT3， STAT3， SOCS-3 mRNA in rat colon and miRNA-146a in rat plasma. Result:Compared with the normal group， the expression of JAK2， p-STAT3， STAT3 protein and the expression of JAK2， p-STAT3 and STAT3 mRNA in the model group increased （P<0.05）， and the relative expression of miRNA-146a， SOCS-3 mRNA and SOCS-3 protein decreased in the model group （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the mental state， food intake， coat color， etc. of rats in the administration groups were significantly improved， the DAI score was significantly reduced （P<0.05）， the colonic ulcer tissues of rats in the administration groups were improved significantly， the expression levels of JAK2， p-STAT3， STAT3 protein and the expression of JAK2， p-STAT3 and STAT3 mRNA in the colon tissue of the administration groups were decreased （P<0.05）， and the relative expression levels of miRNA-146a， SOCS-3 mRNA and SOCS-3 protein were increased in the administration groups （P<0.05）. Conclusion:Anchang decoction can alleviate ulcerative colitis and reduce the activation of inflammatory factors by affecting the expression of genes and proteins related to miRNA-146a/JAK/STAT/SOCS-3 signal transduction pathway.

The concept of patient empowerment currently lacks a clear explanation. This article explores the concept of patient empowerment in the context of nursing practice, and uses the conceptual analysis method provided by Walker and Avant to determine the key attributes of patient empowerment, and describes the key features of patient empowerment from the formulation of models, boundaries and opposite cases. This article further understands the concept and key attributes of patient empowerment by expounding the antecedents, consequences and experience objects. Patient empowerment is an equal nurse-patient relationship established between nurses and patients, and nurses encourage patients to actively participate in nursing practice activities by stimulating patients' inherent potential, giving them decision-making powers and options, sharing disease-related information and knowledge with them.

A patient who underwent a transfusion due to an aplastic anemia subsequently experienced secondary hemochromatosis, which is very rare in Korea. The 56 year old female was admitted to our hospital with complaints of general weakness, fatigue, a brown-colored facial complexion, dyspnea upon exertion, and abdominal distension. Laboratory examination disclosed functional impairment of the liver and echocardiography revealed a congestive heart failure pattern. Gastrofiberscopy revealed brown colored gastric mucosa, and a fundal mucosa biopsy revealed a hemosidt pigment in iron stain.
Anemia, Aplastic ; Biopsy ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography ; Fatigue ; Female ; Gastric Mucosa ; Heart Failure ; Hemochromatosis* ; Humans ; Iron ; Korea ; Liver ; Middle Aged ; Mucous Membrane

OBJECTIVEMucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II, Hunter syndrome, OMIM 309900) is an X-linked recessive lysosomal storage disease resulting from a deficiency of iduronte-2-sulphate sulphatase (IDS). The present study aimed to establish an enzyme assay method for IDS activity for carrying out postnatal and prenatal diagnosis of MPS II by means of IDS activity assay on plasma, uncultured chorionic villi (CV) and cultured amniotic fluid cells (AF cell) using a new synthesized substrate.

METHODSA fluorigenic substrate (4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-iduronate-2-sulphate, MU-alpha-Idu-2S) was used for the assay of IDS activity. IDS activity in plasma was determined for diagnosis of the proband. Prenatal diagnosis in 10 pregnancies at risk was carried out according to IDS activity on uncultured CV at 11th week or on cultured AF cell at 18th week of gestation. At the same time, IDS activity was also determined in the maternal plasmas to observe the change of IDS activity in pregnancy. The fetal sex determination was performed by PCR amplification of the ZFX/ZFY genes.

RESULTThe IDS activity in plasma of normal controls and obligate heterozygotes were 240.2 - 668.2 nmol/(4 hxml) and 88.7 - 547.9 nmol/(4 hxml), respectively, while the enzyme activities in plasmas were in the range of 0.3 - 18.6 nmol/(4 hxml) in affected male. The IDS activities were 37.2 - 54.9 nmol/(4 hxmg protein) and 21.4 - 74.4 nmol/(4 hxmg protein) in CV and cultured AF cells respectively. Out of 50 suspected cases, 46 were diagnosed as having MPS II and 4 were excluded. Prenatal diagnosis was performed on 10 pregnancies at risk. Four of 5 male fetuses [IDS activity were 4.7, 1.8, 7.0 nmol/(4hxmg protein) in CV, 0.6 nmol/(4 hxmg protein) in AF cell] were diagnosed as having MPS II and the other 5 fetuses were normal females [IDS activity were: 48.7, 5.9, 25.2 nmol/(4 hxmg protein) in CV, 55.2, 40.9 nmol/(4 hxmg protein) in AF cell]. Increased IDS activity was observed in plasma of the pregnant women with unaffected fetuses, while the IDS activity decreased in pregnancies with affected fetuses. IDS activity of one female fetus was very low [5.9 nmol/(4 hxmg protein)], but the IDS activity in maternal plasmas increased, this fetus was a normal female.

CONCLUSIONSThe method using a synthesized fluorigenic 4-methylumbelliferyl-substrate was a sensitive, rapid and convenient assay of IDS activity and was reliable for early prenatal diagnosis. Determination of fetal sex would be helpful in excluding the female fetus with low IDS activity from being considered as an affected male fetus. It would be further helpful if IDS activity in maternal plasma was taken into account.

Amniotic Fluid ; cytology ; enzymology ; Cells, Cultured ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Chorionic Villi ; enzymology ; Chorionic Villi Sampling ; Enzyme Assays ; methods ; Female ; Fetus ; enzymology ; Fluorometry ; methods ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Hymecromone ; analogs & derivatives ; Iduronate Sulfatase ; blood ; metabolism ; Iduronic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; Karyotyping ; Male ; Mucopolysaccharidosis II ; diagnosis ; enzymology ; epidemiology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, High-Risk ; blood ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; methods ; Reference Values ; Sex Factors

Objective: To evaluate the factors affecting the use of the POGS PNSS across institutions. Basic Procedure: A cross-sectional study was done by the POGS Committee on Nationwide Statistics from November 2017 to April 2018. Eight representative institutions were chosen from POGS accredited institutions for service and training from the NCR, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, based on the classifications of I. Complete Data, II. Incomplete Data, III. Wrong Format, and IV. No Data. Hospitals with the most number of admissions under each category were chosen. Interviews with chairpersons of the departments, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with the OB-GYN residents, and actual direct observations of how data were encoded in the PNSS were done. Results: All the chairpersons and Ob-Gyn residents of the selected institutions were aware of the importance of the PNSS especially in generating vital nationwide statistics like Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Rates. They had several pertinent suggestions on how improvement of the PNSS, like harmonization of classification of diseases with PHIC and ICD codes, and to include other co-morbidities in the system. Conclusion The factors affecting the use of POGS-PNSS in 2016 include: good attitude and compliance among POGSaccredited institutions, but there is a need to address multiple diagnosis including medical co-morbidities. Final diagnosis also needs to be PHIC-compliant, and there is a need to address the Data Privacy Act with the use of eMR (electronic medical records).
International Classification of Diseases ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Morbidity

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) is an important serine/threonine kinase that implicates in multiple cellular processes and links with the neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, structure-based virtual screening was performed to search database for compounds targeting GSK-3β from Enamine’s screening collection. Of the top-ranked compounds, 7 primary hits underwent a luminescent kinase assay and a cell assay using human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells expressing Tau repeat domain (TauRD) with pro-aggregant mutation ΔK280. In the kinase assay for these 7 compounds, residual GSK-3β activities ranged from 36.1% to 90.0% were detected at the IC50 of SB-216763. In the cell assay, only compounds VB-030 and VB-037 reduced Tau aggregation in SH-SY5Y cells expressing ΔK280 TauRD-DsRed folding reporter. In SH-SY5Y cells expressing ΔK280 TauRD, neither VB-030 nor VB-037 increased expression of GSK-3α Ser21 or GSK-3β Ser9. Among extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT), mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (P38) and mitogenactivated protein kinase 8 (JNK) which modulate Tau phosphorylation, VB-037 attenuated active phosphorylation of P38 Thr180/ Tyr182, whereas VB-030 had no effect on the phosphorylation status of ERK, AKT, P38 or JNK. However, both VB-030 and VB-037 reduced endogenous Tau phosphorylation at Ser202, Thr231, Ser396 and Ser404 in neuronally differentiated SH-SY5Y expressing ΔK280 TauRD. In addition, VB-030 and VB-037 further improved neuronal survival and/or neurite length and branch in mouse hippocampal primary culture under Tau cytotoxicity. Overall, through inhibiting GSK-3β kinase activity and/or p-P38 (Thr180/Tyr182), both compounds may serve as promising candidates to reduce Tau aggregation/cytotoxicity for AD treatment.