Hernia, Inguinal ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory ; Peritoneum ; diagnostic imaging ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods

An automatic ECG analysis system based on DSP is introduced in this paper. It can fulfill the functions of signal regulation, adaptive filtering, QRS waves positioning, and automatically recognize more than 10 kinds of arrhythmia and report alarm. TI DSP product--TMS320F206 is applied in this system to accomplish the adaptive filtering and automatic diagnosis of arrhythmia for the need of real time signal processing.
Adaptation, Physiological ; Algorithms ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; diagnosis ; Autoanalysis ; Computers ; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; Electrocardiography, Ambulatory ; instrumentation ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; Software

AIM: To estimate the pooled prevalence of myopia among primary school students in mainland China during 1980- 2013. Myopia had become a growing public health issue, with high prevalence rates in mainland China, particularly among children. However, we still had no population-based nationwide studies of the prevalence of myopia among primary school students in recent years. METHODS: Wanfang, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and PubMed databases were searched independently until Dec. 31, 2013 to identify relevant articles. Data from the eligible articles were extracted by two reviewers. All of the data analyses were conducted using Meta-Analyst software (version 3. 13, USA).
RESULTS: Thirty - seven eligible studies published between 1980 and 2013 were selected with a total of 245248 individuals. The pooled prevalence of myopia among the included individuals was 26. 5% (95% CI: 21. 8% -31. 7%). The prevalence of myopia increased with age (from 8. 4%at 6-8y to 57. 4% at 12-14y).
CONCLUSION: The pooled prevalence of myopia among primary school students in mainland China was much higher than that of western countries or regions. The prevalence of myopia increased with age among primary school students. This study should be valuable for myopia prevention and treatment in mainland China.

OBJECTIVETo observe the growth and osteogenic property of cultured dog bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) by investigating the effects of astragalus polysaccharides (APS) on the proliferation and ultrastructure of BMSCs into osteoblasts in vitro.

METHODSBMSCs osteogenic property was detected by improved Wright-Giemsa, Gomori and alizarin dyeing method. The proliferation and differentiation of the induced BMSCs with APS in different concentration and time were detected by MTT assay and the morphologic change of the induced BMSCs was observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM).

RESULTSBMSCs osteogenic property was detected with Wright-Giemsa deep-bluing, Gomori method blacking and with more mineral nodules alizarin dyeing method carmining. APS with concentration of 0.005 mg/mL can promote the proliferation of the induced BMSCs in short-term culture (1th, 3th day) and 50 mg/mL can decrease the effect through long-term culture (5th day). Observed by TEM (5th day), the number of mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum increased and the extracellular matrix was excreted more in the induced BMSCs by APS with concentration of 0.005 mg/mL. However, not only the number of mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum reduced but also the structure was swollen, degenerative, membrance damaged in the induced BMSCs by APS with concentration of 50 mg/mL.

CONCLUSIONAPS with lower concentration in short-term culture may promote BMSCs proliferation and differentiation.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Cell Differentiation ; Dogs ; In Vitro Techniques ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Osteoblasts ; Polysaccharides

OBJECTIVETo clone Streptococcus salivarius (Ss) 57. I urease gene, which can express ureolytic activity in Escherichia coli (Ec) without adding extra nickel ions.

METHODSUrease gene was cloned by polymerase chain reaction in three separate parts. The three separate plasmids were digested by specific restriction enzymes and ligated together. The expression of the complete urease gene in Ec was detected by phenol red assay and pH analysis.

RESULTSUrease gene of Ss 57.I was eventually cloned and proved correct. Urease activity of the obtained clone was positive in Ec. Without adding extra NiCl(2), the recombinant Ec could hydrolyze urea to produce ammonia, resulting in the increase of pH value.

CONCLUSIONSThe clone of Ss urease gene obtained in this study could express ureolytic activity in Ec without adding extra nickel ions. The current clone can be used to construct ureolytic effector strain used in replacement therapy in caries prevention.

Cloning, Organism ; Dental Caries ; microbiology ; prevention & control ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Nickel ; chemistry ; Streptococcus ; genetics ; Urease ; genetics

OBJECTIVEThe association of metabolic syndrome (MetS) with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has not been adequately explored in middle-aged and elderly Chinese. This study aimed to investigate MetS' prevalence and its impact on the CVD incidence in this specific population group.

METHODSA data set of a community-based prospective cohort study was analyzed. A total of 2300 subjects aged 40-94 years were followed up for the CVD events. MetS defined according to the JCDCG criteria was assessed at baseline, and the middle-aged and elderly groups were classified by the WHO definition.

RESULTSAs compared with the middle-aged group, the prevalence of MetS increased by 0.6 times (34.6% vs. 21.3%) and the incidence density of CVD increased by 4.9 times in the elderly group (52.3/1000 person-year vs. 8.9/1000 person-year). Furthermore, the multivariate Cox regression revealed that the risk to CVD incidence was independently related to increased waist circumference in the middle-aged group (HR=2.23, P<0.01) and to elevated blood glucose in the elderly group (HR=1.39, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONMetS was highly prevalent in middle-aged and elderly Chinese. MetS significantly increased the risk to CVD incidence in the elderly. All individuals with metabolic disorders should receive active clinical care to reduce the incidence of CVD.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; epidemiology ; etiology ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome ; complications ; epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Proportional Hazards Models

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of oncoprotein c-erbB2 in primary breast cancer and to analyze its relation to its prognosis.

METHODSImmunohistochemical staining for c-erbB2 was performed on paraffin-embedded specimens of primary breast cancer from 284 patients, and the relation to its prognosis was statistically analyzed.

RESULTSPositive expression rate of c-erbB2 was 26.8% (76/284) in 284 primary breast cancer patients. Expression of c-erbB2 was positively correlated with the status of lymph node metastasis (P = 0.003). Univariate analysis indicated that c-erbB2 expression is a significant prognostic factor for the disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.024) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.002), while multivariate analysis demonstrated that c-erbB2 is an independent prognostic factor for OS (P = 0.023). Moreover, tumors with c-erbB2 positive expression are more tend to metastasis to other viscera than those with c-erbB2 negative. c-erbB2 expression has different prognostic values for patients with different status of estrogen receptor (ER) and lymph node metastasis.

CONCLUSIONc-erbB2 expression is an independent prognostic factor for total survival time in primary breast cancer patients, and its prognostic values are different according to the different ER status and lymph node metastasis.

Adult ; Aged ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Mastectomy, Radical ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; metabolism ; Receptors, Estrogen ; metabolism ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUNDType 2 diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by a progressive loss of beta cell functions. However, the evaluation of beta cell functions is either expensive or inconvenient for clinical practice. We aimed to elucidate the association between the changes of insulin responsiveness and the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) during the development of diabetes.

METHODSA total of 1192 Chinese individuals with normal blood glucose or hyperglycemia were enrolled for the analysis. The early insulinogenic index (DeltaI30/DeltaG30), the area under the curve of insulin (AUC-I), and homeostasis model assessment were applied to evaluate the early phase secretion, total insulin secretion, and insulin resistance respectively. Polynomial regression analysis was performed to estimate the fluctuation of beta cell functions.

RESULTSThe DeltaI30/DeltaG30 decreased much more rapidly than the AUC-I accompanying with the elevation of FPG. At the FPG of 110 mg/dl (a pre-diabetic stage), the DeltaI30/DeltaG30 lost 50% of its maximum while the AUC-I was still at a compensated normal level. The AUC-I exhibited abnormal and decreased gradually at the FPG of from 130 mg/dl to higher (overt diabetes), while the DeltaI30/DeltaG30 almost remained at 25% of its maximum value. When hyperglycemia continuously existed at > 180 mg/dl, both the DeltaI30/DeltaG30 and AUC-I were totally lost.

CONCLUSIONThe increased fasting plasma glucose reflects progressive decompensation of beta cell functions, and could be used to guide the strategy of clinical treatments.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Blood Glucose ; analysis ; Diabetes Mellitus ; blood ; physiopathology ; Fasting ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin ; secretion ; Insulin Resistance ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; physiology ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVEHuman Parvovirus B19 (HPV B19) is a small (23 nm), non-enveloped DNA virus found in 1974. It has been proved that HPV B19 is associated with a variety of childhood diseases, such as erythema infectious, transient aplastic crisis, aplastic anemia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and arthropathy, etc. There have been no any effective vaccines to prevent HPV B19 infection so far. The HPV B19 genome is composed of 5.6 kb single strand DNA. This genome encodes a nonstructural protein NS1, two structural proteins VP1 and VP2. Most neutralizing linear epitopes of HPV B19 cluster in the VP1 unique and VP1-VP2 junction regions. Only proteins encoded by genes of the VP1 unique and VP1-VP2 junction regions can stimulate bodies to produce protective antibodies. Aim of the present study was to get the VP1 unique region gene of HPV B19 and to analyze the genetic diversity so as to further study its function and application.

METHODSThe VP1 unique region gene of HPV B19 was amplified from the serum of a child with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura by PCR. The purified PCR product was cloned into pGEM-T easy vector and transfected into the host strain E. coli (DH5 alpha). Positive clones were chosen and then the target gene was sequenced.

RESULTSThe target gene sequence of HPV B19 VP1 unique region was amplified and cloned successfully. It had 705 nucleotides. Compared with the relevant sequences published in Genbank, the sequencing results were revealed with two nucleotides changes in the HPV B19 VP1 unique region, but their coding amino acid were not changed.

CONCLUSIONIt is suggested that genetic diversity exists in the VP1 unique region of HPV B19. Construction of the recombinant plasmid of HPV B19 VP1 unique region gene might benefit to further study.

Capsid Proteins ; genetics ; Child ; DNA, Viral ; chemistry ; genetics ; Genetic Variation ; Humans ; Mutation ; Parvovirus B19, Human ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sequence Analysis, DNA