Facial scar and deformation caused by burn injury severely affect physical and psychological well-being of pediatric burn patients, which needs medical workers and pediatric burn patients′ family members to pay much attention to and to perform early rehabilitation treatment. Pressure therapy is an important rehabilitative strategy for pediatric burn patients with facial scar, mainly including wearing headgears and transparent pressure facemasks, which have their own features. To achieve better treatment results, pressure therapy should be chosen according to specific condition of pediatric burn patients and combined with other assistant therapies. Successful rehabilitation for pediatric burn patients relies on cooperation of both family members of pediatric burn patients and society. Rehabilitation knowledge should be provided to parents of pediatric burn patients to acquire their full support and cooperation in order to achieve best therapeutic effects and ultimately to rebuild physical and psychological well-being of pediatric burn patients.

Objectives: To investigate the association between the dynamics of thyroid volume and the changes of physical growth in school-aged children as well as to compare the applicability of different thyroid volume indexes, so as to explore more reliable methods for the assessment of thyroid volume. Methods: In October 2012, a multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to select a primary school in Minhang district of Shanghai, Haimen city of Jiangsu province and Yuhuan city of Zhejiang province, respectively. In these areas, a total number of 784 students aged 8-10 years were enrolled in the cohort. Demographic data was collected, while height and weight were measured, with BMI and body surface area (BSA) were calculated. Thyroid volume was examined by B-ultrasonography. Height volume index (HVI), weight and height volume index (WHVI), BMI volume index (BMIV) and BSA volume index (BSAV) were all applied to correct the thyroid volume. All students were followed up, one year later. Results: A total of 769 students with complete data on thyroid volume and physical growth were enrolled, including 378 boys (49.16%) and 391 girls (50.84%). Thyroid volume showed an increase with age, while growth of thyroid volume reduced with the increase of age (P<0.001). The thyroid volume showed a correlation with the changes of physical growth. The growth of height appeared as the dominant influencing factor for thyroid volume growth in those aged 8 and 10 years (P<0.05), while the growth of weight, BMI and BSA were all influencing factors for thyroid volume on students aged 9 years (P<0.05). Conclusions: Thyroid volume in school-aged children was a factor not only associated with age but also with physical growth which had not been considered in the currently used criteria. The inclusion of items as iodine intake, age, physical growth into the thyroid volume indexes seemed to be more reliable, in practice. For the assessment of goiter, HVI for students aged 8 and 10 years and BMIV for students aged 9 years might serve as better indicators.
Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Child ; China ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Goiter ; Humans ; Iodine ; Male ; Organ Size ; Thyroid Gland/growth & development*

PURPOSE: Liver, unlike heart or skin, allografts transplanted between MHC-disparate mouse strains are spontaneously accepted without any immunosuppressive therapy. Despite the allograft acceptance, the recipients continue to exhibit donor-specific immune responses in vitro (MLR and generation of CTL). High levels of CTL apoptosis evident within tolerated liver grafts have been postulated as a mechanism underlying this 'split' tolerance. METHODS and RESULTS: By using radiometric DNA fragmentation test ("JAM" assay) and TUNEL staining, we present the evidence here that liver nonparenchymal cells (NPC) are quite strong inducers of activated T cell apoptotic death in allogeneic mice. This phenomenon occurs the similar level in activated T cells of syngeneic or third-party mice. Liver cells from gld (FasL-deficient) mice exert similar apoptosis-inducing effect on activated T cells from normal mice. Tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR): Fc fusion protein, and concanamycin A, an inhibitor of perforin pathway, fail to inhibit the apoptotic activity. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that liver NPC play important role in causing active apoptosis in graft-infiltratingCTL which favors liver graft acceptance, and liver-induced activated T cell apoptosis may not mediated by Fas, TNF or perforin pathways.
Allografts ; Animals ; Apoptosis* ; DNA Fragmentation ; Heart ; Immune Tolerance ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Liver* ; Mice ; Perforin ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor ; Skin ; T-Lymphocytes* ; Transplantation ; Transplants

INTRODUCTIONSingapore had its first case of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 on 26 May 2009. As of 3 August 2009, 440 children with confirmed H1N1were admitted to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH).

MATERIALS AND METHODSThis is a retrospective case control study of children admitted from 26 May 2009 to 19 July 2009 with H1N1infection. Cases and controls were first differentiated by whether they were complicated or non-complicated in nature, and subsequently analysed with regards to possible independent risk factors.

RESULTSWe analysed 143 admitted children; 48 cases and 95 controls (1: 2 ratio). Significant comorbidity was found in 20.3% (n = 29) of patients with the majority having asthma (n = 18, 12.6 %) followed by obesity (n = 7, 4.9%). Binary logistic regression analysis showed risk factors for complicated disease were comorbidity (adjusted OR 6.0, 95% CI, 2.5 to 14.6, P < 0.0001) and age <2 years (adjusted OR 9.8, 95% CI, 2.4 to 40, P = 0.001). Age less than 5 years was not found to be a risk factor.

CONCLUSIONIn the early stages of an evolving influenza epidemic when oseltamivir stocks are low, oseltamivir treatment for influenza can be streamlined and offered to those at highest risk who are under 2 years old or have significant comorbidity to prevent complicated disease.

Adolescent ; Age Factors ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Asthma ; complications ; Bronchitis ; complications ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Fluid Therapy ; Gastritis ; virology ; Gastroenteritis ; virology ; Humans ; Infant ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human ; complications ; Male ; Obesity ; complications ; Oseltamivir ; therapeutic use ; Pneumonia, Bacterial ; complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Seizures ; complications ; Singapore

OBJECTIVETo obtain information about the quality of scars of healed venous leg ulcers compared with intact skin on the opposite leg by using high-frequency ultrasound.

METHODSTwenty-eight patients (16 women, 12 men, aged 31 - 89 years) whose venous ulcers had healed and scars formed were included in this study. The echogenicities of scars were measured with a 20 MHz high-frequency ultrasound Dermascan. The thickness of epidermis and dermis was assessed and the number of low echogenic pixels (LEPs) in the papillary dermis and reticular dermis were counted using image analysis software.

RESULTSThe average epidermal thickness of the scars after 1 week to 20 years of healing was significantly increased compared to those of the control (P < 0.01), whereas the average dermal thickness of scars after healing was significantly decreased compared to the control (P < 0.01). The numbers of LEPs and the distributions of LEPs between scars and controls had no statistically significant differences. There were no correlations among scar echogenicities, age of healed venous ulcers, initial ulcer areas, age of venous ulcers or age of patients. In the control skin samples, the young group aged 31 - 69 years had fewer LEPs than did the elderly group aged 70 - 89 years.

CONCLUSIONOur study demonstrates that after the healing of venous leg ulcers, there are significant differences in the thickness of the epidermis and dermis, but no significant alterations in water content and distribution in the dermis when compared to the controls.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cicatrix ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Skin ; diagnostic imaging ; Time Factors ; Ultrasonography ; Varicose Ulcer ; diagnostic imaging

OBJECTIVETo explore the traumatic mechanism and the effectiveness of conservative and operative therapy for intra-articular fracture of calcaneus.

METHODSForty-eight patients (52 feet) with intra-articular fractures were divided into two groups named as conservative group and operative group. There were 30 patients in the conservative group, including 26 males and 4 females, ranging in age from 2 to 73 years, with an average of (49.2 +/- 8.5) years. The patients in conservative group were treated with manual reduction, external fixation and functional exercise at early time. Among 18 patients in the operative group, 14 patients were male and 4 patients were female, ranging in age from 26 to 66 years,with an average of (50.1 +/- 19.3) years. The patients in the operative group were treated with open reduction and internal fixation. The height and width of calcaneus, Böhler and Gissane angles were measured before and after treatment. The assessment in the function of ankle joints was scored according to AOFAS scoring system.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up, and the duration ranged from 8 to 18 months,with a mean of 12 months. The time of weight-bearing ranged from 3 to 6 months, averaged 4 months. The fractures were fused completely on average of 12 months. The height and width of calcaneus, Böhler and Gissane angles had no statistically significance between two groups. According to AOFAS criteria,in the conservative group, 18 patients reached an excellent result, 6 good, 5 poor and 1 bad; in operative group, 4 patients reached an excellent result, 7 good, 6 poor and 1 bad. The therapeutic effect of conservative group was better than that of operative group.

CONCLUSIONOperative therapy in intra-articular fracture of calcaneus with steel plate can directly perceive the restoration (or roughly restoration sometimes) of the anatomical shapes of calcaneus, while conservative therapy has advantages such as restoration of the anatomical shapes of calcaneus, early functional practice, early healing, and avoiding operational complications as well.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Calcaneus ; injuries ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Humans ; Intra-Articular Fractures ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic inflammatory vascular disorder that predominantly affects children and is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children. Although the etiology of this disease remains unclear, genome-wide association and genome-wide linkage studies have shown that some susceptible genes and chromosomal regions are associated with the development and progression of KD. With the advancement of high-throughput DNA sequencing techniques, more and more genomic information related to KD is being discovered. Understanding the genes involved in the pathogenesis of KD may provide novel insights into the diagnosis and treatment of KD. By analyzing related articles and summarizing related research advances, this article mainly discusses the T cell activation-enhancing genes that have been confirmed to be closely associated with the development and progression of KD and reveals their association with the pathogenesis of KD and coronary artery lesions.
Child ; Humans ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome/complications* ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Coronary Vessels/pathology* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Humans ; Oligodendroglioma ; Brain Neoplasms

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of beta-protein 1 (BP(1)) gene, a novel member of DLX homeobox gene family, in lung cancer tissue and its relationship with clinical features of lung cancer.

METHODSRT-PCR was employed for detecting BP(1) gene expression in the lung cancer tissues, adjacent tissues, non-cancer lung tissues of 46 lung cancer patients.

RESULTSThirty-six lung cancer tissues and 6 adjacent tissues but none of the normal tissues were found to have BP(1) gene overexpression, showing significant difference in BP(1) expression between the tissues (P<0.01). Significant difference in BP1 gene overexpression was noted between well differentiated cancers (13 of out 21) and poorly differentiated cancers (22 of the 25), but not between cancers of different stages or between squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

CONCLUSIONBP(1) gene expression is up-regulated in human lung cancer in related to the differentiation level of lung cancer but not to the clinical stage.

Adenocarcinoma ; genetics ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; genetics ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Homeodomain Proteins ; genetics ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transcription Factors ; genetics

Bacterial Infections ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/diagnosis* ; Mucormycosis/diagnosis* ; Respiratory Sounds ; Thyroid Gland