Objective To investigate the serum levels and dietary intakes of copper, iron, and zinc among adult residents in Dahongshan copper mine area of Yunnan Province in China. Methods Serum levels of copper, iron, and zinc were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry among 180 subjects collected randomly from Dahongshan mine area, among which 171 samples were valid. Dietary intakes of copper, iron, and zinc of 60adults collected randomly from these 180 subjects were detected by chemical analysis. Results Serum levels of copper, iron, and zinc concentrations of 171 valid samples were (0.90±0.18), (1.25±0.93) , and (0.75±0. 28) mg/L, respectively. Serum copper was negatively correlated with serum iron (r = - 0. 26, P ＜ 0. 001). Serum copper was positively correlated with age (r = 0. 25, P ＜ 0. 001). Females had significantly higher serum copper than males (P=0.011). The dietary intakes of copper, iron, and zinc among these 60 subjects were (1.74±1.09),(16.29±10.73), and (7.56±3.38) mg/d, respectively, in which females had significantly lower dietary intakes than nales (all P ＜ 0. 05). Significant regional differences were observed both in serum levels and dietary intakes of copper, iron, and zinc. Conclusions The average serum levels of copper and iron are normal among adult residents in Dahongshan copper mine area, while the average serum zinc level is low. Dietary intakes of these three minerals do not exceed tolerable upper intake levels, and are low in some subjects.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate and compare mail and meeting forms in evaluation of Delphi study.

METHODSDelphi study by mail and meeting approaches was used to determine the health information dataset. Experts were required to grade the listed items through three indexes: importance, necessity and availability. Study duration, coefficient of variation of items, authority coefficient and coordination coefficient of the experts' opinion of two forms of study were calculated and compared.

RESULTThe study duration was four months through mail form and 2 days through meeting. Compared with the first round, the coefficient of variation decreased (P<0.001, all of the three indexes by two forms), and the cooperation index increased (P<0.005) in the second round. The experts' opinions were easier to be consistent through meeting than through mail(P<0.033). And the authority coefficient by meeting consultation (0.83 ± 0.05) was higher than that by mail (0.77 ± 0.03) (P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONBoth mail and meeting forms of Delphi study can determine the health information dataset,but meeting consultation is better and requires shorter study duration.

Communications Media ; Delphi Technique ; Postal Service ; Records as Topic

OBJECTIVETo observe the therapeutic efficacy of dietary boron supplement on retinoic acid-induced osteoporosis in rats, so as to provide experimental evidence for clinical management of osteoporosis with boron.

METHODSThirty-two SD rats were randomized into normal control group (8 rats) and osteoporotic group (24 rats), and osteoporosis was induced in rats of the latter group by intragastric retinoic acid administration at the daily dose of 80 mg/kg for 15 consecutive days. The osteoporotic rats were subdivided into control group (8 rats) without treatment, boron treatment group (8 rats) and estradiol treatment group (8 rats). After 30 days of treatment, the serum contents of Ca, P, boron and the activities of alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) in the rats were assayed, the bone mineral density (BMD) of the whole body, lumbar vertebrae and tibia were determined, and the morphological changes of the femurs were observed.

RESULTSThe serum contents of Ca and P in the rats of the 4 groups differed scarcely, but the content of boron in boron treatment group was markedly higher than that in the other three groups. In the osteoporotic control group, the activities of serum AKP and TRAP, the masses of spongy bone and cortical bone of the femurs, and the quantity of the osteoclasts were increased, with the BMD of the lumbar vertebrae and tibia decreased, suggesting osteoporotic conditions. The mean trabecular plate density and thickness, trabecular bone volume and cortical bone volume of the femurs in the osteoporotic rats treated with boron or estradiol were significantly increased, but the active osteoclast quantity in the spongy bone and serum TRAP activities were obviously decreased, and the bone quality was comparable with that of the normal group. In addition, the serum AKP activity and the active osteoblast quantity in the spongy bone were obviously increased in boron treatment group.

CONCLUSIONThe dietary boron supplement can increase the serum content of boron of osteoporotic rats to stimulate bone formation and inhibit bone resorption, producing therefore obvious therapeutical effect against osteoporosis.

Acid Phosphatase ; blood ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; blood ; Animals ; Bone Density ; drug effects ; Boron ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Dietary Supplements ; Female ; Femur ; drug effects ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Isoenzymes ; blood ; Osteoporosis ; blood ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase ; Time Factors ; Tretinoin

In recent years our research team introduced many foreign patterns to our clinics, kept innovating and exploiting more reasonable modes and methods to cure the cleft patients in the situation of a developing country. Now we concluded the treatment principles, patterns and techniques of the sequential therapy according to the different temporal stages of cleft, from its arising to the evolution, evaluated our therapy results and induced a preliminary guide line of our treating clefts. We sincerely hope this rule could promote the general progress in both clinical treatment and researching.
Cleft Lip ; Cleft Palate ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility and therapeutic results of multiple organ resection in patients with tumor of the body and tail of pancreas.

METHODSThe clinical and pathological data were analysed in 16 consecutive patients with neoplasm of the body and tail of pancreas from 1999 to 2004 retrospectively.

RESULTSMultiple organ resection was performed in 6 cases of primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma of the body and tail (3 cases of pancreatic cancer, 2 cases of malignant glucagonoma, and 1 case of well-differentiated pancreatic stromal sarcoma) and 10 cases of extrapancreatic malignancy (4 cases of gastric cancer, 2 cases of gastric leiomyosarcoma, 1 case of duodenal cancer, and 3 cases of colon cancer of hepatic flexure). Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy was performed in all cases. In addition, 10 patients received splenic flexure colectomy, 6 patients received distal gastrectomy, 3 patients received left nephrectomy, left colectomy, total gastrectomy, liver lobe resection, left adrenalectomy, and local diaphragma resection, and 2 patients received transverse colectomy, subtotal colectomy, proximal proctectomy, proximal gastrectomy, and duodenectomy. No perioperative death and severe complications were observed. Patients with primary pancreatic cancer or pancreatic stromal sarcoma died within 1 year. Two patients with malignant glucagonoma died 51 and 39 months later. The 3-year survival rate was 70% in 10 patients with extrapancreatic malignancy, among which 2 patients with enteric cancer have survived 37 and 48 months.

CONCLUSIONRadical combined multiple organ resection may be performed actively in appropriately selected patients.

Adenocarcinoma ; mortality ; pathology ; surgery ; Adult ; Aged ; Colectomy ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatectomy ; methods ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; mortality ; pathology ; surgery ; Pancreaticoduodenectomy ; Retrospective Studies ; Splenectomy ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo evaluate whether or not intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can improve previous fertilization limitation on conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF).

METHODSOne hundred and thirty-six completed cycles in 113 patients with ICSI treatment were grouped. Group 1 was 106 cycles perform ICSI because of male factor, and group 2 was other 30 cycles with the history of fertilization failure and fertilization rate < 20% on conventional IVF, also assembling the cycles in group 2 according to the fertilization rate.

RESULTSThere was no significant difference between two groups in the rates of normal fertilization(70.49% vs 72.02%), good quality embryos (38.28% vs 38.81%), and clinical pregnancy (40.57% vs 40.00%) (P > 0.05). The fertilization rate of a majority of cycles (70.00%, 21/30) in group 2 was higher than 50%, and the mean of fertilization rates was 79.79%.

CONCLUSIONICSI can improve the fertilization limitation following IVF during previous cycles, and the fertilization rates was similar to those treated ICSI because of male factor.

Female ; Fertilization ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Humans ; Male ; Oocytes ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic

Objective To observe the expression of growth factors (vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF],stromal cell-derived factor-1 [SDF-1 ],basic fibroblast growth factor [bFGF],insulin-like growth factor [IGF-1],transforming growth factor-β [TGF-β],platelet-derived growth factor [PDGF],brain derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF],glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor [GDNF] and nerve growth factor [NGF]) in rat ischemic brain tissues after intravenous implantation of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and/or endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Methods Healthy adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups:vehicle group,BMSCs transplantation group,EPCs transplantation group and BMSCs combined with EPCs transplantation group (n=20). The rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO),and 24 h after that,they were intravenously transplanted with either 3×106 BMSCs,EPCs,BMSCs/EPCs or 1 mL physiological saline.Seven d after transplantation,real time-PCR and Western blotting were employed to detect the expressions of VEGF,SDF-1,bFGF,IGF-1,TGF-β,PDGF-BB,BDNF,GDNF and NGF. Results The mRNA expressions of bFGF,VEGF and BNDF in the BMSCs/EPCs transplantation group were significantly higher as compared with those in the other groups (P＜0.05).BMSCs transplantation group enjoyed the highest mRNA levels of NGF,GDNF and TGF-β among all the groups, significantly higher as compared with those in the other groups (P＜0.05),followed by BMSCs/EPCs transplantation group.EPCs transplantation group enjoyed the highest mRNA levels of PDGF,IGF-1 and SDF-1,significantly higher as compared with those in the other groups (P＜ 0.05), followed by BMSCs/EPCs transplantation group. Conclusion BMSCs combined with EPCs implantation can promote the functional rehabilitation in rats after focal cerebral ischemia, which provides new way for improving the transplantation success rate.

OBJECTIVESTo establish a gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990/GZ, and to explore the relationship between drug-resistant cell line SW1990/GZ and pancreatic cancer stem cell.

METHODSGemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990/GZ was obtained by treating parental cell line SW1990 in vitro with increasing dosage of gemcitabine in culture medium intermittently for 24 weeks. Stable cultures were obtained which were 77.2-fold increased in resistance relative to parental cells. Gene expressions of ABCB1/MDR1, ABCC1/MRP and ABCG2/BCRP were determined by real-time PCR. Tumorigenic potential was performed by nude mice xenograft transplant experiments. Side population analysis and CD24CD44 positive cells explore were determined by flow cytometry to examine cancer stem cell proportion.

RESULTSGemcitabine-resistant cell line SW1990/GZ underwent obvious morphological and functional changes. Compared with the parental cell line, SW1990/GZ cell was small and turned into round shape. SW1990/GZ had a higher gene expression level of ABCB1/MDR1, ABCC1/MRP and ABCG2/BCRP than SW1990 (P < 0.01). Nude mice xenograft transplant experiments showed that only 1 × 10(5) SW1990/GZ cells were sufficient for tumor formation, whereas an injection of 1 × 10(5) SW1990 cells did not initiate tumors. Flow cytometry analysis showed that SP proportion in SW1990/GZ was (11.0 ± 1.0)%, whereas in parental SW1990 it was (4.6 ± 0.9)%, CD44CD24 positive cells was (8.73 ± 0.81)% in SW1990/GZ, whereas (1.1 ± 0.4)% in SW1990.

CONCLUSIONSGemcitabine-resistant cell line SW1990/GZ has a higher proportion of pancreatic cancer stem cells compared to its parental cell line SW1990. CD44 is mainly responsible for acquired drug resistance, which can be a potential target to overcome acquired drug resistance in pancreatic cancer.

Animals ; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Deoxycytidine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Female ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; drug effects ; pathology ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between the percentage of polypronuclear zygotes and clinical pregnancy following IVF.

METHODSWe collected the data of 954 IVF cycles, and according the percentage of polypronuclear zygotes in the IVF cycles, allocated them to Groups A (without polypronuclear zygotes) , B (with < 30% polypronuclear zygotes) and C (with > or = 30% polypronuclear zygotes). Then we analyzed the relationship between the percentage of polypronuclear zygotes and the rate of clinical pregnancy.

RESULTSCompared with Group A, Group C showed a significantly lower rate of clinical pregnancy (43.2% vs 28. 1%, P < 0.05), while Group B exhibited a markedly higher rate (43.2% vs 52.36%, P < 0.05) and obviously decreased polypronuclear zygote formation with the increase of age (35.6% vs 24.1%, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe percentage of polypronuclear zygotes in IVF cycles may serve as a prognostic indicator of the clinical outcome.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro ; methods ; Humans ; Ovulation Induction ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Zygote

AIMTo evaluate the fertilization competence of spermatozoa from ejaculates and testicle when the oocytes were matured in vitro following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

METHODSFifty-six completed cycles in 46 women with polycystic ovarian syndrome were grouped according to the semen parameters of their male partners. Group 1 was 47 cycles that presented motile and normal morphology spermatozoa in ejaculates and Group 2 was the other nine cycles where male partners were diagnosed as obstructive azoospermia and spermatozoa could only be found in testicular tissue fragment. All female patients received minimal stimulation with gonadotropin. Immature oocytes were matured in vitro and inseminated by ICSI. The spermatozoa from testes were retrieved by testicular fine needle aspiration.

RESULTSA total of 449 and 78 immature oocytes were collected and cultured for 48 hours, 75.5 % (339/449) and 84.6 % (66/78) oocytes were matured in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. The percentage of oocytes achieving normal fertilization was significantly higher in Group 1 than that in Group 2 (72.9 % vs. 54.5 %, P 0.05). There were no significant differences in the rates of oocytes cleavage and clinical pregnancies in these two groups [87.4 % (216/247) vs. 88.9 % (32/36); 21.3 % (10/47) vs. 44.4 % (4/9)]. A total of 15 babies in the two groups were healthy delivered at term.

CONCLUSIONIt appears that IVM combined with ICSI using testicular spermatozoa can produce healthy infants, while the normal fertilization rate of in vitro matured oocytes after ICSI using testicular spermatozoa was significantly lower than using the ejaculated spermatozoa.

Adult ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro ; methods ; Humans ; Infertility, Female ; therapy ; Infertility, Male ; therapy ; Male ; Oocytes ; growth & development ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Semen ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; Spermatozoa ; Testis ; cytology