Objective To investigate the prevalence of sinusitis in poorly controlled asthma children.Methods Asthmatic children from the Asthma Specialist Department of Hunan Provincial People's Hospital were selected as the study cases,of which 107 children coughing for more than 4 weeks after treatment were allocated to the research group and 105 newly diagnosed asthmatic children were selected as the control group.Results 1.The CT confirmed sinusitis prevalence was 81.3％ (87/107 cases) in research group and 51.4％ (54/105 cases) in the control group,respectively.The 2 groups were significantly different (x2 ＝ 21.242,P ＜ 0.05).2.The patient complained nasal obstruction in sinusitis group was 80.5％ (70/87 cases) compared to 50.0％ (10/20 cases) in non sinusitis group,and the difference between 2 groups was statistically significant (x2 =7.997,P ＜ 0.05).3.In the research group,69.2％ (74/107 cases) suffered from maxillary sinusitis,61.7％ (66/107 cases) ethmoid sinusitis,14.0％ (15/107 cases) frontal sinusitis,and 30.8％ (33/107 cases) sphenoid sinusitis.All the 4 nasosinus involved was 10.3％ (11/107 cases).The frequency of allergic rhinitis symptoms in 4 groups of sinuses had no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Chronic cough in poorly controlled asthma children is related to sinusitis and upper airway cough syndrome.

Objective To detect the relationship between XPD Lys751Gln polymorphism and the risk of adult acute leukemia (AL). Methods 100 adult AL patients and 100 controls were chose as case and Lys751Gln were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCRRFLP) analysis in peripheral blood. Results The genotype frequency of Lys/Lys, Lys/Gln, Gln/Gln were 83 %, 16 %, 1% in case group and 90 %, 10 %, 0 in control group, respectively. The difference the two groups was no signficant difference (x2=1.44, P =0.49). No significantly increased risk for adult AL was observed for those carrying variant genotype with OR analysis (x2 = 2.10, P =0.15, OR =1.84; 95 % CI 0.80-4.25). Individuals with the variant genotype of XPD Lys751Gln might enhance the risk of adult AL (OR =2.77, 95 % CI 0.99-7.73). Conclusion XPD Lys751Gln polymorphism is found to have relationship with adult acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Objective To analyze diagnostic experience of children with anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) and assess its surgical results.Methods Six children with ALCAPA had been diagnosed in our hospital from Mar. 2006 to Oct.2007 aged from 6 months to 10 years old(median 43.5 months).The medical data included common clinical presentations,the findings of electrocardiogram(ECG),the echocardiogram,ECG-gated 64-slice computed tomography,the digital subtraction angiogram (DSA),surgical records and the outcome.Results Diaphoresis,fantod,breathlessness and difficult feeding were commonly presented in 5 cases ALCAPA and the 5 children presented with left ventricular failure in infancy.The predominant ECG findings were Q waves and ST segment changes in the anterolateral chest leads in 4 cases,ST changes in 1 case,and normal ECG in 1 case.Cross-sectional echocardiography showed dilated left ventricles with poor contractility in 4 cases,medium mitral regurgitation in 2 cases and severe mitral regurgitation in 2 cases,aneurysmal dilatation of the right coronary artery(RCA) in 2 cases.CT and DSA examinations showed characteristic changes in these children.The surgical reestablishment of a two-coronary system was performed in 5 cases,direct reimplantation in 2 cases and creation of an autologous extrapulmonary tunnel in 3 cases.Simultaneous mitral annuloplasty was performed in 2 cases.After operation,the symptoms of 5 cases were all improved and none died.Conclusions Understanding the clinical manifestations and lab findings of ALCAPA is helpful to making an early diagnosis of ALCAPA.Early surgical treatment can improve the patients′ outcome.

Astragalus polysaccharides was lounded to 4-(2-aminoethylphenol), followed by labeling the APS-Tyr with fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate (FITC) at the secondary amino group. The absorption enhancement effects of low molecular weight chitosan and protamine on astragalus polysaccharides were evaluated via Caco-2 cell culture model. The results show that the fluorecent labeling compound has good stability and high sensitivity. On the other hand low molecular weight chitosan and protamine also can promoted absorption of the astragalus polysaccharides without any cytotoxity, and the absorption increase was more significant with increasing the amount of low molecular weight chitosan and protamine. At the same time, the low molecular weight chitosan has slightly better effect. The transepithelial electric resistance (TEER) of Caco-2 cells show that absorption enhancers could improve its membrane transport permeability by opening tight junctions between cells and increasing the cell membrane fluidity.
Absorption ; Astragalus Plant ; chemistry ; Biological Transport ; Caco-2 Cells ; Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate ; chemistry ; Fluorescent Dyes ; chemistry ; Humans ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Polysaccharides ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics

Objective: To screen the potential type II 5α-reductase inhibitors from active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) based on molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technology. Methods: The molecular docking was used to screen 26 monomer compositions from TCM. Based on the docking results, MD was performed to evaluate the binding strength of compounds with protein. The binding free energy of the system was calculated using the MM/PBSA method. The in vitro micro-reaction system was used to investigate biological activity. Results: The binding energies of 26 monomer compositions from TCM to type II 5-alpha Reductase were different. Among them, ligustroflavone, safflower yellow and hinokiflavone have low binding energies to type II 5-alpha reductase, and their binding abilities were strong. The molecular dynamics simulation results are consistent with the docking results (binding capacity: ligustroflavone-protein > safflower yellow-protein > hinokiflavone-protein). The three components ligustroflavone, safflower yellow and hinokiflavone have a certain inhibitory activity on type II 5α-reductase with the IC50 value of (42.12 ± 3.83), (69.06 ± 6.35), and (191.28 ± 5.90) μmol/L, respectively. Conclusion: Among the screened 26 monomer compositions, ligustroflavone, safflower yellow and hinokiflavone have the potential to be used in the study of treatment and prevention of androgen-dependent diseases, which provides a reference for further exploration and discovery of type II 5α-reductase inhibitors.

Objective: To observe the therapeutic efficacy of warm needling moxibustion plus intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate in treating chondromalacia patellae and its effect on inflammatory factors in knee joint fluid. Methods: Sixty-eight patients with chondromalacia patellae were randomized into a control group and an observation group, with 34 cases in each group. The control group was treated with intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate, while the observation group was given additional warm needling moxibustion treatment. Before and after treatment, the two groups were scored using Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) and visual analog scale (VAS), examined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and determined for the levels of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β in knee joint fluid. Clinical efficacy was estimated after treatment. Results: The effective rate was higher in the observation group than in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of pain, stiffness and daily activities, as well as the general score of WOMAC declined significantly in both groups (all P<0.05), and were lower in the observation group than in the control group (all P<0.05); the time cost for climbing up and down one staircase and VAS score decreased markedly in both groups (all P<0.05), and were shorter or lower in the observation group than in the control group (both P<0.05); the MRI grading showed no significant change in the control group after intervention (P>0.05), while the grading in the observation group showed notable improvement (P<0.05), and was better than that in the control group (P<0.05); the levels of NF-κB and IL-1β in knee joint fluid dropped significantly in the control group after treatment (both P<0.05), while the levels of NF-κB, TNF-α and IL-1β in knee joint fluid all decreased significantly in the observation group (all P<0.05) and were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Warm needling moxibustion plus intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate can produce definite efficacy in treating chondromalacia patellae; it can mitigate the clinical symptoms, improve the lesion extent of chondromalacia and down-regulate the levels of NF-κB, TNF-α and IL-1β in knee joint fluid.

Objective:To explore the relationship between level of urinary iodine excretion (UIE) before 131I treatment and excellent response (ER) in low-to-intermediate risk differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients. Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed with 432 DTC patients (124 males, 308 females, age: (42.1±11.0) years) who were treated with 131I for the first time after total thyroidectomy from June 2017 to October 2018 in Department of Nuclear Medicine, the Second Hospital of Shandong University. All patients were divided into 4 groups: G1, group 1, UIE<50 μg/L; G2, group 2, 50 μg/L≤UIE<100 μg/L; G3, group 3, 100 μg/L≤UIE<200 μg/L; G4, group 4, UIE≥200 μg/L. Patients were given 131I with a fixed dose (3 700 MBq). Response was evaluated 6 to 8 months after 131I treatment: ER, indeterminate response (IDR), biochemical incomplete response (BIR), and structural incomplete response (SIR). χ2 test and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test were used to analyze the data. The adjusted standardized residual (residual) and Cramer′s V between G1-G4 and different treatment reactions were calculated to judge the difference among groups. IDR, BIR and SIR were classified into non-ER (NER) group, and binary logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were performed to find the influencing factors of treatment reactions. Results:There were 51.9%(41/79), 64.9%(98/151), 53.8%(63/117), 30.6%(26/85) patients achieved ER in G1-G4, and the proportion of G4 was significantly lower than that of G1-G3 ( χ2 values: 7.695-25.697, all P<0.05), and there was no significant difference among G1-G3 ( χ2 values: 0.072-3.667, all P>0.05). The UIE level of patients in ER, IDR, BIR, SIR group was 87.5(57.0, 129.0), 97.0(55.7, 211.5), 141.0(74.0, 231.0), 148.0(68.5, 221.0) μg/L( H=15.977, P=0.001), and there was significant difference between those of patients in ER and SIR groups ( χ2=8.729, P=0.019). There was a certain correlation between UIE levels and different treatment reactions (Cramer′s V=0.151, P=0.001). UIE (≥200 μg/L), gender and preablative stimulated thyroglobulin could be used as independent factors affecting ER ( Wald values: 4.029, 7.185, 56.301, all P<0.05). Conclusion:Among DTC patients with low-to-intermediate risk, 131I treatment does not affect ER when the UIE level is less than 200 μg/L, while 131I treatment should be performed carefully when the UIE level is more than 200 μg/L.

BACKGROUND:Tooth wear is the physiological change that accompanied by a person’s life, type and nature, maxil ary and mandibular occlusion status, physical status, and living environment may affect it.
OBJECTIVE:To review the occurrence and development of tooth wear, as wel as research on the morphology of wear surface.
METHODS:The PubMed database was searched by the first author for the articles from January 1952 to
December 2012. The articles on the generation of tooth wear facets, macroscopic and microscopic studies of occlusal wear facets, wear measurement method, relationship between tooth wear and oral diseases, and
application of tooth wear facets in forensic research were included. The key words were“tooth, wear, diet,
information, dentistry, anthropology”in English. A total of 59 articles were included according to the inclusion criteria for review.
RESUTLS AND CONCLUSION:With the development of wearing, some oral clinical symptoms may occur. Just as there are no same fingerprints in the world, the individual tooth wear facet is unique. Therefore, the research on occlusal wear facets has great significance for understanding the diet habits, cultural development, age and other information, as wel as for dentistry, anthropology and forensic science. The macroscopic and microscopic study of tooth wear surface can provide a large amount of individual information. The current studies on tooth wear facets cannot ful y exhibit al the implicated information, so the further studies are needed.

Objective To analyze white matter hyperintensities(WMH)and brain volumes quantitatively in patients with Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leucoencephalopathy(CADASIL)on conventional MRI and correlate them with clinical parameters.Methods Fifteen patients with CADASIL confirmed by pathological investigation underwent conventional MRI examinations.Involvement of centrum semiovale,posterior limbs of the internal capsule,corpus callosum,external capsules and white matter of the temporal poles was determined by an experienced radiologist.Normalized brain volume(NBV)and the percentage of WMH to brain volume were calculated with softwares and they were correlated with NIHSS and MMSE statistically.Results Involvement of white matter in the brains of patients with CADASIL included:semiovale centrum in 13 cases,white matter of the temporal poles in 10 cases,external capsules in 8 cases,posterior limbs of the internal capsule in 5 cases,corpus callosum in 4 cases.The percentage of WMH to brain volume was(5.7±1.4)%,and the NBV was(1602±58)×103mm3.Spearman test showed a significant relationship between age and NBV(r=-0.555,P＜0.05).There was a significant relationship between NBV and NIHSS(r=-0.624.P＜0.05).The percentage of WMH to brain volume correlated significantly with NIHSS and MMSE(r=0.522,P＜0.05;r=-0.679,P＜0.01).Conclusions The white matter hvperintensities and brain volume in patients with CADASIL can be assessed quantitatively,which showed correlation with severity of the clinical scale.The development of WMH may refleet the degree of cognitive impairment in CADASIL.

Objective To investigate the expression level of miRNA-146a (miR-146a) in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells aging and age-related macular degeneration (AMD),and discuss its regulation mechanism of AMD by repressing VEGF-A.Methods The expressions of miR-146 and VEGF-A were examined by qRT-PCR in RPE cells in mice aged 2 months,8 months,12 months,18 months or 24 months,and in RPE cells from 75 years old AMD patients.The protein level of VEGF-A was also detected by Western Blotting.Finally,the effects of overexpression of miR-146a in APRE-19 cell line on expression of VEGF-A was checked.Results MiR-146 was up-regulated to 8 times or 24 times at 18 months or 24 months aged mice,and the expression of VEGFA was down-regulated in aging RPE from 1.5 times to 0.8 times.However,the expression of miR-146 decreased to 14.5 times and VEGF-A increased in RPE cells of AMD.In cultured cells,overexpression of miR-146a inhibited the expression of VEGF-A.Conclusion Up-regulation of miR-146a in aging RPE cells and its down-regulation in AMD suggest a potential of miR-146a as molecular marker.MiR-146a overexpression inhibits the expression of VEGF-A,supporting a potential clinical treatment of miR-146 in AMD.