OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of sodium ferulate (SF) on diabetic nephropathy (DN).

METHODSForty-eight DN patients of early stage and 54 DN patients of clinical stage were randomly divided into two groups, the conventional treatment group and the SF treatment group. Indexes, including urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER), serum endothelin (ET), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were observed.

RESULTSThe levels of UAER, BUN and ET were decreased in all DN patients, either early stage or clinical stage, after treated with SF for 4 weeks (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), but changed insignificantly in those treated with conventional treatment.

CONCLUSIONSF can decrease the levels of UAER and BUN in DN patients, the mechanism may relate with the decreasing of ET production and antagonizing to the binding of ET with its receptors.

Adult ; Aged ; Coumaric Acids ; therapeutic use ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; drug therapy ; Endothelin Receptor Antagonists ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy

Female ; Humans ; Liver Failure, Acute ; blood ; Liver Neoplasms ; blood ; Liver Transplantation ; Male ; Thrombelastography ; Whole Blood Coagulation Time

OBJECTIVETo investigate various activities of dissolved matter of glycyrrhizic acid of Radix Glycyrrhizae and the powder by supermicro-pulverization.

METHODThe contents of glycyrrhizic acid in different samples were tested.

RESULTThe dissolved matter of glycyrrhizic acid was greatly increased by supermicro-pulverization. The more time used for grinding, the smaller the size of the powder, and the easier the glycyrrhizic acid would be dissolved.

CONCLUSIONSupermicro-pulverization is helpful to the dissolved matter of glycyrrhizic acid of Radix Glycyrrhizae, and the size of powder exerts great influence on dissolved matter of glycyrrhizic acid.

Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Glycyrrhiza ; chemistry ; Glycyrrhizic Acid ; analysis ; Particle Size ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Powders ; Solubility

Objective Todescribethemonthlyincidencedistributionofhand-foot-mouthdisease(HFMD)from2010to 2012inZhoushancityandtoanalyzetheseasonaltrendandthecausesofpeakchanges.Methods Circulardistribution method was used to identify the peak period of HFMD incidence.Watson -William test and Watson's U2 test were applied for comparing the peak periods respectively.Chi -square test was conducted to analyze and compare the distribution of HFMDpathogenindifferentyearsandBonferronimethodwasusedformultiplecomparisons.Results Therewasseasonal centralized tendency of HFMD incidence during 2010 to 2012 (P<0.01).The peak period occurred between 8th of May and 1st of September which showed a significant difference among three years (P<0.01).Specifically,the peak period in 2012 was earlier than that in 2010 and 201 1 (both P<0.01 ).Among the 356 reported cases with laboratory confirmed, there was significant difference between the distribution of HFMD pathogen by Chi -square test (P <0.01 ).The predominant strain was EV71 in 2010 and 2011 accounting for 58.46%and 64.62%respectively and other enteric viruses in 2012 accounting for 48.84%.The ratio of pathogens in 2012 was statistically different from that in 2010 and 201 1 respectively(bothP<0.01).Conclusion HFMDcasesoccurwithobviouspeakseason,regionalandgeographic differences.The major pathogens of EV71 in 2010 and 2011 were changed into other enteric viruses in 2012.

Objective To explore the relationship of height,weight and body mass index with fists size among adults,and to compare the regression coefficient of different models.Methods Adults aged 20 -80 years were selected by stratified cluster sampling methods.T -test and univariate analysis of variance were used to compare the height,weight and fists size stratified by gender and BMI group.Regression model for fists volume was established.The regression coefficients were compared through covariance interaction analysis.Results The height,weight,BMI and fists size of male were higher than that of female (P <0.01 ).The regression model for fists size(Y)of BMI(X)for male,female and total population were Y=1 67.603 +9.445X,Y =1 1 1 .1 83 +7.779X and Y =77.1 57 +1 1 .028X(R2 =0.324,0.322,0.271 ,P <0.05).Fists size of different BMI groups were related to their height (R2 =0.501 ,0.432,0.624,0.692,P <0.05),respectively, and their regression coefficients have no statistically differences (P =0.07).The fists sizes of different BMI groups were different(P <0.01 ).Fists size of overweight or obesity groups (365.641 ±68.51 4,365.641 ±68.51 4,respectively)were larger than that of the normal and slim groups(P <0.01 ),and fists size of normal body (31 4.261 ±59.590)was larger than that of slim body(261 .081 ±59.478).Conclusion The fists sizes of male were higher than that of female.Fists size was positively related to their BMI.The height had the some impact on fists size among people in different BMI groups.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical features of unexpected sudden death (SUD) clustered in families in Yunnan province.

METHODSThis retrospective study analyzed the clinical features of SUD occurred between July to September 2005 in 7 families in Yunnan province.

RESULTSAll 16 SUD patients shared common clinical features such as fatigue and repeated syncope and one group of SUD patients (n = 8 from 4 families) presented with the gastric intestinal tract manifestations including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea with suspected dietary history and abnormal laboratory enzyme findings (GOT/GPT, CK/CKMB, LDH/LDH1 etc.). In SUD patients without gastric intestinal tract manifestations (n = 8 from 3 families), there were no clear symptoms before death and repeated ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation were recorded in one survivor. There was no clear evidence for the involvements of hereditary and infectious factors for observed SUD.

CONCLUSIONThe reason for the unexpected sudden death clustered in 7 families in Yunnan remains unclear. Repeated syncope and fatigue served as the common clinical features in the presence or absence of gastric intestinal tract manifestations in all SUD cases. Further studies are needed to clarify the pathology and detailed clinical manifestations of SUD occurred in this area.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Bias ; Cause of Death ; Child ; China ; epidemiology ; Death, Sudden ; epidemiology ; Family ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: Endometrial cancer (EC) is a common gynecologic cancer worldwide. However, the pathogenesis of EC has not been epigenetically elucidated. Here, this study aims to describe the DNA methylation profile and identify favorable gene signatures highly associated with aberrant DNA methylation changes in EC. METHODS: The data regarding DNA methylation and gene expression were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differentially methylated CpG sites (DMCs), differentially methylated regions (DMRs), and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and the relationship between the 2 omics was further analyzed. In addition, weighted CpG site co-methylation network (WCCN) was constructed followed by an integrated analysis of DNA methylation and gene expression data. RESULTS: Four hundred thirty-one tumor tissues and 46 tissues adjacent tumor of EC patients were analyzed. One thousand one hundred thirty-five DMCs (merging to 10 DMRs), and 1,488 DEGs were obtained between tumor and normal groups, respectively. One hundred forty-eight DMCs-DEGs correlated pairs and 13 regional DMCs-DEGs pairs were obtained. Interestingly, we found that some hub genes in 2 modules among 8 modules of WCCN analysis were down-regulated in tumor samples. Furthermore, protocadherins (PCDHs) clusters, DDP6, TNXB, and ZNF154 were identified as novel deregulated genes with altered methylation in EC. CONCLUSION: Based on the analysis of DNA methylation in a systematic view, the potential long-range epigenetic silencing (LRES) composed of PCDHs was reported in ECs for the first time. PCDHs clusters, DDP6, and TNXB were firstly found to be associated with tumorigenesis, and may be novel candidate biomarkers for EC.
Biomarkers ; Carcinogenesis ; DNA Methylation* ; DNA* ; Endometrial Neoplasms* ; Epigenomics ; Female ; Gene Expression* ; Genome ; Humans ; Methylation

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Endoscopes ; Female ; Humans ; Laser Therapy ; methods ; Male ; Microsurgery ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Skull Base Neoplasms ; mortality ; pathology ; surgery

OBJECTIVESTo retrospectively analyze the treatment of lumbar spondylolisthesis using minimally invasive and open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), and compare the clinical results of two techniques.

METHODSFrom June 2006 to May 2010, 371 patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis grade 1 and 2 were treated with TLIF, pedicle screw fixation and followed up. The mean age was 50.4 years (range, 37 - 85 years). There were 172 patients who underwent minimally invasive TLIF and percutaneous pedicle screw fixation were set as the MIS-TLIF group, 199 patients who underwent open TLIF and pedicle screw fixation were set as the OTLIF group. The operative time, blood loss, X-ray exposure time and complications were compared between the two groups. Clinical outcome was assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) and the Oswestry disability index (ODI). Fusion rates were determined by using CT scan reconstruction and dynamic lumbar radiography in last fellow-up.

RESULTSThe average follow-up duration was 32.7 months with a range of 12-58 months. The gender, age, classification of spondylolisthesis and level of fusion showed a identical pattern in both groups. The mean intra-operative blood loss (310 ± 75) ml and postoperative blood loss (38 ± 13) ml in MIS-TLIF group were significantly superior to the intra-operative blood loss (623 ± 156) ml and postoperative blood loss (184 ± 72) ml in OTLIF group (t = 2.836 and 3.274, P < 0.01). Comparing with the OTLIF group (20 ± 10) s, the MIS-TLIF group had a significantly longer radiation time (51 ± 19) s (t = 2.738, P < 0.01). There was no statistical difference in operating time, lower back pain VAS scores, ODI scores and incidence of complication between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONSComparing with open TLIF, minimally invasive TLIF is a safe and reliable procedure for treatment of lumbar spondylolisthesis grade 1 and 2 with potential advantages.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fusion ; methods ; Spondylolisthesis ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the genetic polymorphisms of 12 X chromosome short tandem repeat (X-STR) loci of Investigator Argus X-12 amplification kit in Guangdong Han population.

METHODSDNA samples from 200 unrelated individuals (100 males and 100 females) and 103 families (59 father-mother-daughter trios and 44 mother-son duos) were extracted and amplified with fluorescence labeled multiplex PCR system. PCR products were separated and genotyped with capillary array electrophoresis.

RESULTSOne hundred and thirty-seven alleles,including 9 off ladder alleles (OL allele) were observed at the 12 X-STR loci in the population. Six mutations were observed in 162 meioses. The combined power of discrimination (DP) was 0.999 999 997 in males and 0.999 999 999 in females, and the combined mean exclusion chance (MEC) was 0.999 999 988 in the trio cases and 0.999 998 013 in the duo cases.

CONCLUSIONInvestigator-Argus X-12 amplification system is highly polymorphic in Guangdong Han population and it is powerful for personal identification and paternity testing.

Alleles ; China ; Chromosomes, Human, X ; Female ; Gene Amplification ; Gene Frequency ; Genetics, Population ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Mutation ; Paternity ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Records as Topic