Objective:To determine if a group psychotherapy programme offers significant benefits to psycho-logical wellbeing for early and mid-term colorectal cancer patients compared to control group.Methods:Totally 67 patients previously diagnosed with colorectal cancer who participated in this study,34 patients accepted an invitation to join the intervention group,received 10 consecutive,weekly sessions group psychotherapy,and 33 patients served as control subject with usual care only.All participants were assessed at baseline and post-therapy (week 10 follow-ing enrollment or equivalent ).Assessment comprised self-completed Cancer Quality-of-life Core Questionnaire (QLQ-C30),Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS)and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS).Results:At baseline, 67participants completed questionnaires,and 60 questionnaires returned at post-therapy,from 30 intervention group participants and 30 control group participants.Baseline scores for SAS and SDS were higher in intervention than control group[(42.0 ±7.7)vs.(36.0 ±6.8),(44.4 ±11.5)vs. (38.7 ±9.0),Ps <0.05],while other itemswere not differ(Ps>0.05 ).Post-therapy,intervention group participants reported significantly scores for anxiety, depression and fatigue compared with controlled group.In the comparison of before-post difference between inter-vention and controlled group,the difference of SAS score,SDS score,role function score and fatigue score showed significant discrepancy,intervention group improve significantly (Ps <0.05 ).Conclusion:Group psychotherapy could improve anxiety and depression,for colorectal cancer patients,and may help to improve quality of life,possi-bly through improving role function and decreasing fatigue symptoms.

Objective To evaluate the value of measuring ankle brachial index (ABI) for diagnosing peripheral arterial disease(PAD)compared with conventional digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the reference standard.Methotis A total of 383 consecutive inpatients (245 male.mean age 64.1 ±11.7 years) underwent both conventional DSA and ABI measurements.Results The rate of statin intervention was 90.9%,ACEI 69.2%,antiplatelet 96.6% and β-blockers 67.9%.The intravascular stenosis was classified into six degrees:normal,<30%,30%-49%,50%-69%,70%-89% and≥90%.Compared to the traditional gold standard (DSA) in diagnosis PDA.the ABI value decreased in proportion to the sevefity of PAD (the ABI value was 1.08±0.11,1.05±0.16,0.99±0.17,0.66±0.24,0.55±0.28 and 0.54±0.00 respectively in the six ranks).There was a significant correlation between DSA and ABI in diagnosis PAD.Conclusion ABI measurement is an accurate and reliable non-invasive altemative to conventional DSA in the assessment of lower extremity arteries in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

OBJECTIVE:To provide references for clinicians in the choice of antihypertensive drugs.METHODS:The antihypertensive efficacy 6 classes(or 15 kinds) of antihypertensive drugs in a monotherapy in the treatment of 370 patients with essential hypertension(EH) were compared.RESULTS:The blood pressure was effectively lowered by all of the antihypertensive drugs except doxazosin,and doxazosin and torasemide showed inferior efficacy in the reduction of diastolic blood pressure(DBP).CONCLUSION:Calcium antagonists with prolonged action,angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor(ACEI),angiotens-in receptor antagonist,and the monotherapy of Terazosin or Indapamide can all effectively bring down the blood pressure.It is suggested that low-dose doxazosin and torasemide should not be used alone in treating essential hypertension.

OBJECTIVETo study the molecular types of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from a severe food-poisoning and to trace the possible strains.

METHODSReal-time PCR was applied to detect nuc gene as a specific marker for S. aureus, mecA gene encoding methicillin resistance and 5 other genes encoding staphylococcal enterotoxins (sea, seb, see, sed, see). Isolates were also performed with 16S rRNA oligonucleotide sequence analyzing by DNAStar MegAlign 5.0 software and pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) by BioNumerics Version 4.0 software.

RESULTSThe nuc gene was detected from the 10 isolated strains, sea and seb genes were detected from 7 strains. There were 4 16 S rRNA types and 5 PFGE types found from all the strains.

CONCLUSIONSThree relative S. aureus strains were involved in the severe food-poisoning at least. Molecular subtyping might give a molecular epidemiological evidence and support the source tracing of an outbreak.

Bacterial Typing Techniques ; China ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Enterotoxins ; Humans ; Staphylococcal Food Poisoning ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Staphylococcus aureus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo design and rapidly evaluate a TaqMan assay for detecting influenza A viruses.

METHODSThe probe and the primers of the assay were designed with the software packages of DNA Star and Primer Premier 5.0. Their specificity and conservation were verified through Blast in GenBank and electronic hybridization. The assay's sensitivity was compared with the standard RT-PCR.

RESULTSThe designed primers and probe were confirmed to be very specific and conserved. The assay was 3-27 folds more sensitive than the standard RT-PCR. The RT and PCR steps could be simplified into one step.

CONCLUSIONThe TaqMan Real-time PCR assay is specific, sensitive and easy to perform.

Animals ; Birds ; Humans ; Influenza A virus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza in Birds ; diagnosis ; virology ; Influenza, Human ; diagnosis ; virology ; Reproducibility of Results ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Human bone marrow is the major source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). It was reported that the standard density gradient centrifugation method was not efficient in isolating MSC and it may be caused by the existing of bone marrow particles. In previous study, a lot of MSC were obtained by culturing bone marrow particles alone combined with standard method. However, it is time- and labor-consuming to obtain bone marrow particles by filtering and to isolate MNC by density gradient centrifugation. This study was purposed to explore the more simple and efficient method to isolate MSC from bone marrow. Seven normal bone marrow aspirates were collected and centrifugated. The bone marrow particles floated on surface layers were cultured by modified primary explant culture, whereas the bone marrow aspirates deposited were cultured by direct plating method, then the immun phenotype and differentiation capability of isolated cells were analyzed. The results showed that in 3 of 7 aspirates, bone marrow particles were floated on surface layers, whereas the other bone marrow cells and some particles were deposited after centrifugation. The MSC were reliably isolated from the floating layers or deposited aspirates by modified primary explant culture and direct plating method separately. After 3 passages the isolated MSC did not express CD45 and CD34, but expressed CD105, CD73, CD44, CD90, CD49e and they could differentiate into chondrocytes and adipocytes. It is concluded that normal human bone marrow MSC can be isolated simply and efficiently by direct plating method in combination with modified primary explant culture.
Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cell Separation ; methods ; Cells, Cultured ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology

OBJECTIVE: To culture human gingival epithelia in vitro, and to construct the tissue engineered gingiva with the acellular dermal matrix (ADM). METHODS: Human gingival epithelia were isolated from the gingival tissue, and the cells were cultured and seeded onto the surface of ADM. After 7 days of submerged incubation, an air-liquid interface culture was performed for 7, 14, and 21 days. The complex constructed above was taken for histological examination. RESULTS: Human gingival epithelia could proliferate well on the surface of ADM, and form multilayer structure. But the superficial epithelium was partially keratinized. CONCLUSION Tissue engineered gingiva may be constructed with human gingival epithelia and ADM in vitro.
Acellular Dermis ; Cells, Cultured ; Connective Tissue ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; Gingiva ; cytology ; Humans ; Skin, Artificial ; Tissue Engineering ; methods

OBJECTIVETo explore the family aggregation and risk factors of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission in Chaoyang district of Beijing.

METHODSA total of 5266 families were randomly selected for the multi-stage cluster sampling study in Chaoyang district of Beijing in 2010. The family members who aged between 1 and 70 years old and lived constantly in Beijing for over half a year, were recruited as subjects. There were 14 491 subjects in total, including temporary residents who did not have Beijing household account, except foreigners. 5 ml venous blood was drawn from every subject. A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect the basic information of the population and the risk factors of the hepatitis B transmission. Microparticle enzyme-linked immunoassay was applied to test five indicators of hepatitis B. Negative binomial distribution test was used among the HBsAg positive families to calculate the family aggregation rate of hepatitis B. Single factor analysis and multi-factor logistic regression model were used to analyze the risk factors of HBV transmission.

RESULTSIn all, 308 out of 5266 families had HBsAg positive members, accounting for 5.85%.383 out of 14 410 subjects were HBsAg positive, rating at 2.66%. The HBsAg positive rate among subjects under 14 years old was the lowest, at 0.56% (9/1603); and the positive rate among subjects aging between 35 and 44 years old was the highest, at 4.27% (47/1029). Negative binomial distribution test showed that the family aggregation rate of HBV infection was 7.66% (χ² = 15.10, P < 0.05). The analysis of family aggregation of HBsAg positive showed that 17.39% (8/46) of the transmission was from father to child, 13.04% (6/46) was from mother to child, 30.44% (14/46) was between couples, and another 39.13% (18/46) was between siblings or other relatives. Both single factor analysis and multi-factor logistic regression analysis showed that hepatitis B positive family members (OR = 5.40, 95%CI: 5.24 - 5.55), hepatitis B positive friends and colleagues (OR = 1.55, 95%CI: 1.11 - 1.99) and blood donation and transfusion history (OR = 1.96, 95%CI: 1.76 - 2.15) were the risk factors of HBV infection.

CONCLUSIONHBV transmission showed family aggregation in Beijing, however, the risk factors needed further studies.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Carrier State ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Hepatitis B ; epidemiology ; transmission ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo calculate heritabilities of personality disorders (PDs) in twin population.

METHODSBased on informed consent, we used Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (fourth-version) as our screening tool to study the adult twins (aged 20 - 70 years) in Qingdao city. There were 324 twin pairs whose zygosity had been determined. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the heritabilities by 242 same-sex twin pairs.

RESULTSThe best-fitting models yielded a heritability of 68.26% (60.26 - 74.78) of overall PDs, 59.00% (49.22 - 67.17) of cluster A, 64.99% (56.24 - 72.16) of cluster B, and 63.66% (54.72 - 71.02) of cluster C. There were significant genetic effects for schizotypal, narcissistic and dependent, explaining 49.96% (37.94 - 60.14), 52.89% (41.85 - 62.24) and 68.87% (60.80 - 75.40) of the variance respectively. No genetic effects were found on Histrionic, but common environmental effect accounted for 54.08% (44.50 - 62.43) of the total variances.

CONCLUSIONPD was mainly determined by genetic factor. These findings may provide evidence for future research on PD.

Adult ; Aged ; Analysis of Variance ; China ; Cluster Analysis ; Diseases in Twins ; genetics ; Environment ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Models, Genetic ; Personality Disorders ; genetics ; Personality Inventory ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo perform the functional analysis of a novel H436Y mutation of GATA-4 gene identified in Han Chinese patients with congenital cardiac septal defects.

METHODSUsing bioinformatics to predict if the H436Y mutation in the GATA-4 gene affects its protein function. H436Y mutation in the GATA-4 gene was generated by Quick Change Lightning site-directed mutagenesis kit and verified by DNA sequencing. GATA-4-wt or GATA-4-mut DNA was cotransfected into Hela cells with DNA for the luciferase reporter gene atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), and luciferase activity was measured by an LKB luminometer 48 h after transient transfection.

RESULTSAlignment of the GATA-4 amino acid sequence indicated that the histidine residue at position 436 was conserved, and H436Y mutation in the GATA-4 gene is expected to affect its protein function. The H436Y mutation significantly reduced the transcriptional activation of downstream reporter ANF when compared to wild-type GATA-4 (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe mutation c.1306C-->T of the GATA-4 gene impaired the activation of the downstream target, suggesting that the H436Y mutation in the C-terminal region of the GATA-4 gene might prevent its biological function.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; GATA4 Transcription Factor ; genetics ; Heart Septal Defects ; genetics ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutagenesis, Site-Directed ; Sequence Alignment ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Young Adult