Objective To examine the impact of chronic diseases and blood biomarkers on daily living activities of hospitalized nonagenarians.Methods We used data from 161 nonagenarians who had been admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine from January to December 2014.Patients were divided into three groups:the mild dependence group,the moderate dependence group and the severe dependence group,based on the Barthel Index.Data were collected from patients' medical records.Differences in chronic disease characteristics and biomarkers between the three groups were compared and multiple regression and correlation analysis was also carried out.Results Compared with the mild independence group,patients in the severe dependence group were older(92.6 ± 2.6 vs.91.2 ±1.7 years,P＜ 0.05)and had lower levels of sodium(138.0 ± 5.0 vs.140.9 ± 3.7 mmol/L),albumin(35.4 ± 4.2 vs.39.2 ± 4.3 g/L),prealbumin,total cholesterol,low density lipoprotein cholesterol,and total iron binding (34.8 ± 7.9 vs.43.2 ± 7.4 mmol/L) respectively,P＜ 0.01 or 0.05),and higher levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [22.0 (31.6) vs.2.6 (6.6) g/L,P＜ 0.01].Multivariate linear regression showed that albumin (β=0.23,P =0.011),sodium (β=0.21,P=0.003),total iron biding capacity(β=0.26,P=0.003),and age (β=-0.15,P =0.036) were significantly associated with daily living activities.Conclusions Higher proportions of hospitalized nonagenarians suffer multiple diseases.Activities of daily living are significantly associated with albumin,total iron biding capacity,and sodium.While the number of diseases has no influence on activities of daily living,good nutritional status and electrolyte balance are very important to nonagenarians.

Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Immunophenotyping ; Leukemia, Large Granular Lymphocytic ; classification ; immunology

Objective To observe the clinical features of brucellosis spondylitis and analyse the reasons for its misdiagnosis,and improve the level of diagnosis and differential diagnosis.Methods Forty-two clinically diagnosed patients with brucellosis spondylitis were studied retrospectively,and these patients were diagnosed and hospitalized in the General Hospital of Heilongjiang Land Reclamation Bureau.Their medical records were analyzed,which included the general information,medical history,clinical symptoms,results of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) and serum tube agglutination test(SAT) and so on.Results Main clinical symptoms and signs were severe persistent neck,back and leg pain.They also had plate shape low back but without kyphosis.In addition,patients had to keep in one posture because their spinal activity was limited.Also,scoliosis or pelvic tilt and lameness may occur when standing,which were typical symptoms of nerve root compression.Thirteen cases were diagnosed as tuberculosis,accounting for 30.95％(13/42); 6 cases were diagnosed as lumbar disc herniation,accounting for 14.28％ (6/42); 2 cases were diagnosed as ankylosing spondylitis,accounting for 4.76％ (2/42).Therefore,the total rate of misdiagnosis was 50％ (21/42).Abnormal MRI signal intensity can be seen in the pathological vertebrae.Specifically,T1-weighted images (T1WI) showed low signal,T2-weighted images (T2WI) showed high signal,or mixed high and low signal intensity was observed.Vertebral showed wedge deformation without collapse and sequestrum; strip and sheet abnormal signal can also be found within the intervertebral disc.Normal structure disappeared and disc space became narrow.Accordingly,the plane dural sac was compressed to form visible abscess near the spine,but psoas abscess was not found.Patients with positive SAT result accounted for 92.85％ (39/42).Conclusion Reasons for misdiagnosis include lack of detailed medical records,atypical clinical symptoms and similar imaging changes and so on.

Objective To learn the plague's host animals and parasitic flea composition, and to investigate the natural foci of plague in Xiji county in order to provide basic information for plague prevention and control. Methods The Citellus alaschanicus density, nocturnal rodents, the body flea, the burrow track flea, the nest flea were investigated in 8 townships (town) of Xiji county from June 11 2007 to July 25 2007. Specimens of small mammalian, fleas were collected for bacteriological and serological testing. Results The average density of the main host Citellus alaschanicus was 0.85 per hectare. The nocturnal mouse capture rate was 0.80%(24/2987).The survey found 16 species of small mammals that belonging to 3 orders, 9 families and 16 species with Citellus alaschanicus the dominant species. The Citellus alaschanicus had 2.84 fleas per body. Four families and 16 species of fleas were identified in the areas. The Citellus alaschanicus and Citellophilus Tesquorum Mongolicus were the dominant species. Plague bacteriology and serology tests were negative. Conclusions The study shows that the area is suitable for the formation of natural foci of Citellus alaschanicus plague. Surveillance is an important measure for prevention and control of the plague.

Objective To observe the dynamic serological test results of 28 patients with acute brucellosis,and to investigate the relationship between serological test results and diagnosis,curative effect and prognosis of brucellosis.Methods Twenty eight patients(infected with sheep brucellosis) with acute brucellosis in the Department of Brucellosis in Heilongjiang Provincial Land Reclamation Headquarters General Hospital were selected as research subjects,and their serological changes were tested by means of tube agglutination test (SAT)and clinical outcomes were compared before and after each stage of treatment.In addition,symptoms of fever,weakness,sweating,joint pain,swollen lymph nodes and biochemical parameters [alanine aminotransferase (ALT),lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)] were also tested 3,6 and 9 weeks after the treatment.Results Antibody titer reached the peak at the third week,1 ∶ 400(++),which accounted for 39.29％ (11/28); 2857％(8/28) of the patients became negative at the sixth week; 50.00％ (14/28) became negative at the ninth week.Before the treatment,20(71.43％) patients had the symptom of fever,8 (28.57％) patients had the symptom of hyperhidrosis,28 (100.00％) patients had the symptom of joint pain,7(25.00％) patients had the symptom of lymph node enlargement,28 (100.00％) patients' ALT was elevated,and 26(92.86％) patients' LDH was elevated.After three weeks of treatment,except the three patients (10.71％) who occasionally had fever,the rest of the patient's temperature was returned to normal.Also the numbers of patients with the symptoms of fatigue,sweating and joint pain were significantly reduced,and specifically,the conesponding number was 13(46.43％),2(7.14％),and 21 (75.00％)patients,respectively.ALT and LDH returned to normal(only one patient's ALT was out of the range).At the sixth week,all the patients' symptoms of fever and hyperhidrosis disappeared.The number of patients with the symptoms of joint pain and lymph node enlargement reduced to 12(42.86％) and 3(10.71％),respectively.The results of biochemical tests(ALT and LDT) returned to normal.At the ninth week,most patients' clinical symptoms disappeared.A few patients still had the symptoms of weakness[2(7.14％)] and joint piin[6(21.43％)].Conclusions After effective treatment,antibody titer of patients decreases rapidly,at the same time,the clinical symptoms improve quickly.There is a parallel relationship between the change of antibody titer and clinical symptoms.It is demonstrated that the appearing time of brucellosis specific antibodies,the ampfitude and speed of change of antibody titers can be used in diagnosis,therapeutic evaluation and prognosis of the disease.

To study the clinical skills training methods and formulate a training objective for pediatric long-year-program students, to let the students, through three years of training program, reach the clinical ability as a chief resident, with better laboratory research skills, teaching awareness and responsibility, and also with good comprehensive quality and excellent English, and finally become clinical talents with great potential and innovation, this report summarized our study results of training two terms of long-year-program pediatric graduates, who fully meeted the training objectives in the department's practice.

PurposeTo investigate the relationship between left atrial volume index (LAVI) and severity of coronary lesions in patients with stable angina pectoris, so as to provide information for the evaluation of the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). Materials and MethodsAccording to the results of coronary angiography, 279 patients with stable angina pectoris and 92 healthy people were as control group, all subjects were divided into four groups: control group (n=92), single-vessel CAD group (n=116), double-vessel CAD group (n=93) and triple-vessel group (n=70). Each group was compared in the aspects of demographic characteristics, history of illness, liver and kidney functions and parameter's difference in echocardiogram; the correlation between LAVI and Gensini score was analyzed; and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to identify the predictive value of LAVI in severity of coronary lesions.ResultsCompared with the control group, the double-vessel and triple-vessel CAD groups had significantly larger left atrial diameter (P<0.05). In triple-vessel CAD group, the left atrial diameter was significantly larger than that in the single-vessel CAD group (P<0.05), and the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was significantly larger than that in the control group and in the single-vessel CAD group (P<0.05), and the E/Em and LVMI were significantly higher than those in other groups (P<0.05). The LAVI was higher in patients with CAD compared with those in the control group and the LAVI in the triple-vessel CAD group was significantly higher than that in single-vessel CAD group and double-vessel CAD group (P<0.05); the LAVI was correlated positively with Gensini score (r=0.499,P<0.01). LAVI had certain value in predicting triple-vessel CAD (AUC=0.782,P<0.01). The results of multi-factor Logistic regression analysis showed that male patients with hypertension, mitral reflux, and multi-vessel CAD were more likely to had high LAVI.Conclusion The worsening LV diastolic function is associated with the increasing severity of coronary artery lesions, and LAVI may have predictive value for severity of CAD.

Objective To establish an effective PCR assay for detection of Bartonella, and application of this assay in tree shrew .Methods Sequence of Bartonella was obtained from NCBI Genbank .Three pairs of primers were designed based on this sequence .One pair of primers was determined through amplifying the major strains in China .Sixty tree shrew blood samples were tested with this PCR assay .The positive amplified fragments were sequenced to verify the reliability of this method .Results A PCR method for detection of Bartonella is successfully established , with a high specificity and the sensitivity was of 2.0 ×10 -5 μg/mL.Among the tested 60 blood samples , 15 positive cases were detected.Sequencing of the samples confirmed a 25%infection rate of Bartonella in the tree shrews, well consistent with the amplification results , and verified the applicability of this detection method .Conclusion The establishment of this method provides the basis for detection of Bartonella in tree shrew.

Objective To establish a rapid, simple, sensitive, and specific multiplex real-time PCR method for quantitative detection of Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella and Shigella in tree shrews.Methods Specific primers and probes were designed, according to the HipO gene of Campylobacter jejuni, inV gene of Salmonella and ipaH gene of Shigella.The primers were confirmed by single pathogen quantitative PCR, and the sensitivity and specificity of the multiplex PCR were analyzed.Finall, the samples of experimental tree shrews were detected by this multiplex PCR method.Results The PCR element of TaqMan-MGB real-time PCR assay was able to quantitatively amplify the Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella or Shigella.Appropriate standard amplification curves of Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella and Shigella in the multiplex quantitative PCR were obtained.The sensitivity of this method was 1×103 ng/μL.There was no false positive detection from other bacterial strains.Conclusions This multiplex quantitative real-time PCR method has good application and development prospects in the detection of microorganisms in tree shrews.

Objective To evaluate the relationship between the concentration of pentane in the exhaled air and degree of the lung injury in non-heart-beating (NHB) rabbits.Methods Twenty-four healthy male Japanese white rabbits weighing 2.4-3.0 kg were randomly divided into 4 groups ( n =6 each):A,B,C and D groups.The NHB model was established by exsanguination through the femoral artery.The exhaled gases were collected and lung tissues were removed at 0,30,60 and 120 min after cardiac arrest in A,B,C and D groups respectively.The concentration of pentane in the exhaled gases was detected immediately using the gas chromatography-mass spectrography.The wet to dry (W/D) lung weight ratio and content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in lung tissues were measured.The lung injury score (LIS) was recorded.The maximal volume ( Vmax ) of the lung was recorded when the airway pressure reached 30 cm H2O.Results Compared with groups A and B,the exhaled pentane concentration was significantly increased in group C,and the W/D ratio,content of MDA and LIS were significantly increased,while Vmax was significantly decreased in group D ( P ＜ 0.05).Compared with group C,W/D ratio and LIS were significantly increased in group D ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusion The concentration of exhaled pentane can not reflect the degree of the lung injury in NHB rabbits.