Bayes Theorem ; Public Health ; Translational Medical Research

Objective To explore the prenatal ultrasonographic features of fetuses diagnosed as echogenic bowel and chromosomal abnormalities. Methods From September 2009 to June 2013, eighty cases diagnosed as echogenic bowel by prenatal ultrasound screening in our hospitals underwent chromosomal karyotype analysis and were followed up till fetal birth. The prenatal ultrasonographic features were carefully correlated with the postnatal findings. Results Prenatal ultrasoundand chromosomal findings of the 80 cases were:(1) Fifty-eight cases of fetuses with echogenic bowel alone (72.5%, 58/80, without chromosomal karyotype abnormalities). (2) Eleven cases of fetuses with additional ultrasound soft markers (13.8%, 11/80, without chromosomal karyotype abnormalities). The ultrasound examination revealed 8 cases of choroid plexus cysts, 1 case of single umbilical artery, 1 case of shorter nasal bone, and 1 case of echogenic intracardiac focus. (3) Five cases of fetuses with severe functional abnormalities or complex structural malformations and normal chromosomal karyotype. The ultrasound examination revealed 3 cases of structural cardiac malformations, 1 case of heart failure and 2 cases of central nervous system malformations. Of them,one case showed complex malformations (right ventricular dysplasia syndrome, cerebellar dysplasia and single umbilical artery), whereas the remaining 4 cases only involve single malformation. (4)Six cases had chromosomal abnormalities (7.5%, 6/80), including 3 cases of abnormal chromosome microdeletions, and 3 cases of abnormal chromosome numbers (1 21-trisomy syndrome, 1 18-trisomy syndrome, and 1 triploid syndrome). All of them had severe structural malformations and abnormal soft markers. The ultrasound examination revealed 2 cases of severe cardiac malformations, 2 cases of central nervous system malformations, 1 case of pericardial/peritoneal effusion, and 1 case of placental chorionic multiple hemangioma. One case of holoprosencephaly (donor of the twins) ended with intrauterine death. The associated abnormal soft markers include nuchal fold (NF) thickening, choroid plexus cysts, umbilical cord cysts, single umbilical artery, and placental chorionic hemangioma. Conclusions The fetuses with echogenic bowelaloneusualyhaveagoodprognosis.Insomecases,echogenicbowelmaydisappearduringvfolow-up.The fetuses complicated with severe structural malformations and chromosomal abnormalities have poor prognosis. For the fetuses diagnosed of echogenic bowel by prenatal ultrasound screening, systematic ultrasound examination should be carried out and clinical chromosomal karyotype analysis was suggested.

Exposure to thermal environment is one of the main concerns for manned space exploration. By focusing on the works performed on thermoregulation at microgravity or simulated microgravity, we endeavored to review the investigation on space thermal environmental physiology. First of all, the application of medical requirements for the crew module design from normal thermal comfort to accidental thermal emergencies in a space craft will be addressed. Then, alterations in the autonomic and behavioral temperature regulation caused by the effect of weightlessness both in space flight and its simulation on the ground are also discussed. Furthermore, countermeasures like exercise training, simulated natural ventilation, encouraged drink, etc., in the protection of thermoregulation during space flight is presented. Finally, the challenge of space thermal environment physiology faced in the future is figured out.
Aerospace Medicine ; Body Temperature Regulation ; Environment ; Exercise ; Humans ; Space Flight ; Weightlessness ; Weightlessness Simulation

Acute Disease ; Adult ; Humans ; Male ; Occupational Diseases ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Phosphines ; poisoning ; Poisoning ; diagnosis ; therapy

Objective To investigate the relationship between eosinophil and in-stent restenosis in acute coronary syndrome patients. Methods One hundred and fifity-one ACS cases werenenrolled in this study. According to the results of coronary angiography (the stented segment lumen loss over 50% was judged to be ISR), patients were divided into the restenosis group and the non-restenosis group. Results Based on the logistic analysis, no significant association was found between eosinophil and ISR, and even after adjustment of related risk factors (P > 0.05). The stratification analysis showed that the high level of eosinophil might increase the risk of ISR in ACS patients with history of hypertension (P = 0.038) and myocardial infarction (P = 0.032). Conclusion Eosinophil may be associated with the risk of ISR in ACS patients with history of hypertension and myocardial infarction. The underlying mechanisms need to be elucidated in further study.

Objective　To approach the relationship betwe en glycosaminoglycan metabolism in cartilages and pathogenesis of KBD.Methods　Rhesus monkey was fed with grains and water from KBD endemic area for 18 months to produce the animal model with KBD . The glyc osaminoglycans in the monkey cartilage were extracted by the improved Dish method of Bitter. Purified glycosaminoglycans were digested with chondroitinaseABC, and the enzymatic digests were analyzed by HPLC. Results　Comparing with those of the control, the glycos aminoglycans in the head of femur, tibia plateau and costal cartilage from the Rhesus monkey fed with grains and water from KBD endemic area were undersulfated . Decreased unsaturated 4-sulphated disaccharide (△Di-4S) from the glycosa minoglycans in the head of femur and tibia plateau and decreased unsaturated 6- sulphated disaccharide (△Di-6S) from the glycosaminoglycans in the costal cart ilage were discovered.Conclusions　Detrimental factors in grains and water from KBD endemic area cause undersulfate of the cartilages glycosaminoglycans from Rhesus monkey. The glycosaminoglycans changes have a direct bearing on the patho logical alterations in morphology on the cartilages from the animal model with K BD.

Chloroplast-based expression system is promising for the hyper-expression of plant-derived recombinant therapeutic proteins and vaccines. To verify the feasibility of obtaining high-level expression of the SARS subunit vaccine and to provide a suitable plant-derived vaccine production platform against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), a 193-amino acid fragment of SARS CoV spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD), fused with the peptide vector cholera toxin B subunit (CTB), was expressed in tobacco chloroplasts. Codon-optimized CTB-RBD sequence was integrated into the chloroplast genome and homoplasmy was obtained, as confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis. Western blot showed expression of the recombinant fusion protein mostly in soluble monomeric form. Quantification of the recombinant fusion protein CTB-RBD was conducted by ELISA analysis from the transplastomic leaves at different developmental stages, attachment positions and time points in a day and the different expression levels of the CTB-RBD were observed with the highest expression of 10.2% total soluble protein obtained from mature transplastomic leaves. Taken together, our results demonstrate the feasibility of highly expressing SARS subunit vaccine RBD, indicating its potential in subsequent development of a plant-derived recombinant subunit vaccine and reagents production for antibody detection in SARS serological tests.
Chloroplasts ; metabolism ; Cholera Toxin ; Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; SARS Virus ; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus ; biosynthesis ; Tobacco ; metabolism ; Vaccines, Subunit ; biosynthesis

Objective To investigate the expression of interferon-induced protein 44 (IFI44) gene in the leukocytes of the peripheral blood samples from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to evaluate the relationship between the expression level and disease activity. Methods Mononuclear cells in the peripheral blood samples from 100 SLE patients were compared with those of 40 disease controls and 40 healthy donors (HD) and the expression of the IFI44 was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR.Comparisons between groups were performed with ANOVA, and the correlation analysis between the level of expression was higher in SLE patients than disease controls and healthy donors (26.8±5.3, 7.4±2.7, 5.2±2.0,respectively) (P=0.0012, P=0.005), but no difference was found between disease controls and healthy donors. Mild disease activity and the SLE patients with stable disease (63.1±22.4, 28.0±7.2, 9.2±1.8, respectively)and 24 hours urine protein level (r=0.42, P=0.000). Conclusion IFI44 is demonstrated to be highly expressed in SLE patients. The level of IFI44 may be a promising candidate biomarker for identifying SLE activity.

Though parched Chinese herbal medicines contain less effective or index components, their pharmacological actions do not reduce or even become improved to some extent. However, the current studies related to material basis could not explain the changes in property, flavour and efficacy of parched Chinese herbal medicines. Meanwhile, due to the lack of objective and specific evaluation indexes, the quality evaluation could not reflect features of parched Chinese herbal pieces. Therefore, how to break the bottleneck for the studies on parched Chinese herbal pieces, make further innovation and conduct in-depth studies on the material basis of parched Chinese herbal medicines are common problems that medical scholars are facing. According to the findings in the previous studies, the author proposed to explain the material basis of parched Chinese herbal medicines by studying Maillard reaction and establish specific quality evaluation indexes according to the features of parched Chinese herbal pieces, and conducted relevant studies.
Drug Compounding ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Maillard Reaction ; Quality Control

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical therapeutic effect of Shuizhitong capsule (SZT) in treating senile vascular dementia (VD) and on changes of related physio-chemical criteria.

METHODSEighty-five patients with VD were randomly divided into the treated group (n = 51) and the control group (n = 34) in the ratio of 3:2, treated with SZT and Piracetam respectively. Before and after treatment, the Zhang's Dementia Scoring (HDS) and Function of Social Activity Questionnaire (FAQ) scoring, cerebral blood flow and hemorrheologic properties were determined.

RESULTSSZT could significantly improve the patients' clinical symptoms, intracranial hemodynamic condition and the hyperviscosity, hypercoagulation and hyperaggregation status, lower the whole blood and plasma specific viscosity, raise the living standard of partial patients, with significant difference between before and after treatment (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe therapeutic effect of SZT in treating senile VD is definite.

Aged ; Blood Viscosity ; drug effects ; Capsules ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; drug effects ; Dementia, Vascular ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hemorheology ; drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nootropic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy