Objective To compare proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) levels between premenopausal and postmenopausal women,and to investigate the relationship between serum PCSK9 and metabolic factors.Methods Totally 515 women were enrolled from the study on diabetes of prediction,prevention,and intervention in Nanjing in 2009.Survey,physical examinations,and determination of related metabolic indexes were performed.Serum PCSK9 level was measured by sandwich ELISA.Results Serum PCSK9 level was positively correlated with low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C),total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride,fasting plasma glucose,body mass index,waist-hip ratio,and age in women (all P＜0.01).PCSK9 level was significantly lower in premenopausal women than that in postmenopausal women [(58.18 ± 25.44 vs 80.91 ± 33.74) ng/ml,P ＜0.01].Conclusion Higher level of PCSK9 exists in postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women.The level of PCSK9 is closely correlated with age,TC,and LDL-C.

Objective To investigate the radiation level around Jiangzha hot spring,and to analyze the sources of pollution.Methods The radon and its progeny concentration,γ dose rate in hot spring living district and surrounding area were measured with ATD monitors,radon and WL continuous measurement devices,γ dose rate meter.Results The radon concentration in water was 23 -764 Bq/L.Radon concentration indoors,outdoor and in bathing place were 254 -876 799,688 -709 and 3590-15 299 Bq/m3,respectively.γ dose rate were 205 -28718 nGy/h indoor,4104- 18254 n Gy/h outdoors.Conclusions Jiangzha hot spring is an area with rare high radon and high nature radiation.Its radiation level and health effects are worthy for further attention.

Objective To investigate the incidence,sonographic appearance of the anatomic variation of carpal tunnel median nerve and its accompanying structures in healthy volunteers and explore the value of this variation in carpal tunnel syndrome.Methods A total of 360 hands of 180 healthy volunteers were included in the study.The full course of the median nerve in the forearm and carpal tunnel was examined with high-frequency ultrasound.The median nerve was first located in cross section at wrist and then with continuous cross-sectional scanning to observe the the full course of the median nerve in the forearm and carpal tunnel with high-frequency ultrasound.Results Anatomic variation of carpal tunnel median nerve and its accompanying structures were observed:① High division median nerve were found in 2 wrists (0.56 ％) ;②Bifid median nerve were found in 17 wrists (4.72％) ;③Persistent median artery were found in 22 wrists (6.11％),and 2 wrists (0.56％) were also found accompanied vein.Aanatomic variation of carpal tunnel median nerve accompanied with persistent median artery were observed in 16 wrists (4.44 ％).Conclusions High-frequency ultrasound was sensitive to diagnose the anatomic variation of carpal tunnel median nerve and its accompanying structures.Recognition of these variations can help us to make correct diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome.

BACKGROUND:Studiesin vitro have suggested that icarin can attenuate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute pneumonia. Is the anti-inflammatory effect of icarin stil valid in the presence of wear particles? OBJECTIVE:With studiesin vivo andin vitro, to investigate the regulatory effect of icarrin on titanium particle-induced inflammatory reaction. METHODS:(1) Studiesin vivo: Eighty male C57BL/6 mice aged 6-8 weeks were randomly divided into four groups: control group, icarin group, titanium particle group, and titanium particle+icarin group. Mice in the titanium particle group and titanium particle+icarin group received surgical procedure, and sterile and endotoxin-free titanium particles were implanted on the calvaria surfaces to induce inflammatory reaction. Mice in the control group and icarin group received the same surgery, but no wear particles were implanted. Then icarin was given oraly to mice in the titanium particle group and titanium particle+ icarin group with a dose of 200 mg/kg per day for 2 weeks from the day of modeling. Mice in the control group and icarin group were given oraly the same dose of placebo. Two weeks later, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β at protein and mRNA levels were respectively detected with enzyme-linked immunohistochemical (ELISA) and quantitative real time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. (2) Studiesin vitro: Mouse monocyte/macrophage RAW264.7 cels were cultured with different conditioned media: control group, nuclear factor receptor ligand кB (RANKL); icarin group, RANKL+icarin; titanium particle group, RANKL+titanium particles; titanium particle+icarrin group, RANKL+icarin+titanium particles. Titanium particles stimulated RAW264.7 cels were co-cultured with RANKL and icarin for 72 hours. Tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β at protein and mRNA levels in the supernatant were detected with ELISA analysis and qRT-PCR, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Resultsin vivo: icarin treatment obviously decreased titanium particle-induced inflammatory cellinfiltration and made the thickness of periosteum thinner, down-regulated tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β expressions at protein and mRNA levels. (2) Results in vitro: when RAW264.7 cels were stimulated with titanium particles for 72 hours, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β expressions at protein and mRNA levels in culture media increased obviously; when icarin was administrated, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1βexpressions at protein and mRNA levels down-regulated significantly. These results suggest icarin can obviously suppress titanium particle-induced inflammatory reactionin vivo andin vitro.

Objective:To investigate the levels of periphreal blood free carnitine and amino acids in healthy pregnant women in the third trimester and their association with maternal, fetal, and neonatal cardiac function and structure.Methods:This prospective descriptive study included healthy singleton pregnancies who underwent routine obstetric examination and delivered in two district maternal and child health hospitals (one in the urban and one in the suburb an area) in Beijing from June 2017 to February 2018. All recruiters had serology Down's syndrome screening test at (18±1) gestational weeks. Besides measurement of amino acids and free carnitine levels in whole blood and urine samples by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, all cases underwent maternal and fetal echocardiography at (35±1) weeks of gestation. And neonatal echocardiography was performed after delivery to assess the heart function and structure. Antenatal factors were also collected, including maternal education background, age at first marriage and conception, gravidity, and folic acid supplement in early pregnancy. Statistical analysis was performed using t-test, ANOVA, Chi-square test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Kappa test. Results:A total of 493 mother-neonate dyads were enrolled in this study. Blood free carnitine levels in the healthy pregnant women in the third trimester ranged from 5.09 to 59.17 μmol/L (reference value: 10.00-50.00 μmol/L) with an average value of (13.03±3.87) μmol/L. None was found with structural abnormalities by cardiac ultrasound, showing an average left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) and end systolic diameter (LVESD) of (45.70±3.08) mm and (29.17±3.12) mm, respectively, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of all cases were over 55%. No cardiac malformation was detected by the third-trimester fetal echocardiography. The average birth weight of the 493 newborns was (3 340±313) g. Those whose birth weight <2 500 g and >4 000 g were accounted for 1.0% (5 cases) and 3.0% (15 cases) with the average maternal blood free carnitine level of (13.25±2.17) μmol/L (10.46-19.21 μmol/L) and (12.64±2.50) μmol/L (8.78-17.73 μmol/L) ( t=0.42, P>0.05). The average LVEDD and LVESD of the 493 newborns were (17.21±1.27) mm and (11.03±1.30) mm, respectively. For the 64 newborns (13.0%) whose LVEF<60%, the maternal blood free carnitine level was (12.93±2.78) μmol/L (7.34-22.13 μmol/L), showing no statistical difference ( t=-0.29, P>0.05) with those 59 neonates (12.0%) whose LVEF over 75% and maternal carnitine level of (13.09±3.24) μmol/L (8.66-27.49 μmol/L). All cases were divided into four groups based on the quartiles of maternal blood free carnitine level and no significant difference in maternal or neonatal LVEDD or LVEF was observed among these groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Blood free carnitine concentration in healthy pregnant women in the third trimester is at the lower limit of normal range, and no significant effect on maternal cardiac function and fetal cardiac structure is seen. However, the effect of low maternal carnitine level in the third trimester on children's myocardial function and whether carnitine should be supplemented in the third trimester are worthy of further investigation with larger sample size.

Objective To investigate the effect of immediate and delayed post space preparation on the integrity of the apical seal.Methods Seventy extracted human single-rooted human teeth were biomechanically prepared using the step-back technique.They were randomly assigned to 2 experimental groups of 35 teeth each and filled with two root canal sealants (AHplus and Cortisomol) separately.Thirty teeth in each group were prepared and the other five served as negative controls.Apical microleakage was evaluated with ink dye penetration.Results Cortisomol group showed better apical sealing effect than did other groups when teeth were prepared immediatlly,and microleakage values showed no statistically significant difference ( P ＞ 0.05 ),Vitapex group generated more microleakage than did the other Two groups with delayed preparation ( 2.03 ± 0.33 mm),the difference was statistically significant ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Cortisomol group had a greater microleakage than other groups did when prepared immediately,but the difference was not statistically significant.The other two groups showed significantly greater microleakage with delayed preparation than they did with immediate preparation group ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusions Immediate post space preparation creates less microleakage than delayed preparation does.

OBJECTIVETo explore the characteristics of immune imbalance in patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) induced by severe intra-abdominal infection and its relationship with changing of TCM sthenia-asthenia syndrome.

METHODSForty-six patients with MODS induced by severe intra-abdominal infection and treated with etiological and syndrome differentiation of integrative medicine were observed in succession. Patients' peripheral blood levels of interleukin-6/interleukin-10 ratio (IL-6/IL-10), human leukocyte antigen DR site (HLA-DR), helper T lymphocyte1/2 ratio (Th1/Th2), and the regulatory T lymphocyte (Treg) were measured on the 1st, 3rd and 7th day of the research respectively. And the distribution laws of TCM syndrome types, sthenia (S), asthenia (A), and mingled sthenia/asthenia (M), in patients were observed as well.

RESULTSIL-6/IL-10 ratio at all the testing time points showed insignificant difference in patients of types S and M, while in those of type A, it was more lowered on the 7th day than that on the 1st day. HLA-DR lowered to <30% on the 7th day in all patients of type A and showed significant difference to that on the 1st day (P <0.05), while HLA-DR <30% was not found in all patients of types S and M. Th1/Th2 ratio in patients of types S and A was insignificant different at the foremost 3 days, but lowered significantly on the 7th day, while in patients of type M, it was unchanged in all the 7 days of observation. Treg level was unchanged in the foremost 3 days in patients of types S and M, while in those of type A, it raised on the 3rd day, but no raising was found in the subsequent 4 days. Comparisons of various indexes detected at corresponding time points respectively among patients with various syndrome types showed that, for levels of IL-6/IL-8, HLA-DR, and Th1/Th2, the sequence was S>M>A; and for Treg, it was A>M>S.

CONCLUSIONIn the pathological process of MODS induced by severe intra-abdominal infection, the index IL-6/IL-10, reflecting the balance of the pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokines and the indexes HLA-DR, Th1/Th2 and Treg reflecting the immune function, all can exactly reflect the TCM asthenia-sthenia syndrome types. The sequence in patients of various syndrome types for levels of IL-6/IL-10, HLA-DR and Th1/Th2, is S> M>A, but for Treg it is the inverse, as A>M>S.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Diagnosis, Differential ; HLA-DR Antigens ; immunology ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; immunology ; Interleukin-8 ; metabolism ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Organ Failure ; complications ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Peritonitis ; complications ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Sepsis ; complications ; drug therapy ; immunology ; metabolism ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology ; Th1 Cells ; immunology ; Th2 Cells ; immunology ; Yang Deficiency ; immunology ; Young Adult

Based on the wavelet transform, the ways and process of wavelet de-noising are presented in the paper. The detail experimental results show that wavelet de-noising is better than traditional filtering ways, and the soft-threshold denoising is obviously better than the hard- threshold denoising.
Algorithms ; Artifacts ; Electrocardiography ; methods ; Humans ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Wavelet Analysis

Colectomy ; Colonic Neoplasms/surgery* ; Colonoscopy ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes/pathology* ; Robotic Surgical Procedures

The infection status of anisakid larvae was examined in 290 marine fish of 25 species and in 108 cephalopods of 3 species purchased in Bayuquan region, Yingko city nearby the coast of the Bohai Sea from may to August 1992. A total of 7,327 larvae were collected from 156 fish of 19 species and 8 squids of one species. The 3rd-stage larvae of Anisakis simplex were collected from 121 fish (63.4%) of 15 species (N = 191) and from 8 squids (14.8%) of one species (N = 54), and they were total, 5,992 (81.8%). Out of remaining 1,335 larvae, 154 (2.1%) were classified as Thynnascaris type B from 23 fish of 4 species, 1,013 (13.8%) as Thynnascaris type C from 79 fish of 13 species. 164 (2.2%) as Hysterothylacium China type V from 20 fish of 4 species, 3 (0.04%) as Raphidascaris from 3 fish of 2 species and one was Pseudoterranova decipiens larva.
Animal ; Anisakiasis/veterinary* ; Anisakiasis/parasitology ; Anisakiasis/epidemiology ; Anisakis/isolation & purification ; Anisakis/classification* ; China ; Fish Diseases/parasitology* ; Fish Diseases/epidemiology ; Fishes ; Larva ; Seawater ; Squid/parasitology*