OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of environmental low-dose exposure to crocidolite on people's health and the society. METHODS The mortality data of cancer between 1994 and 2003 in an environmental crocidolite-contaminated area was obtained from hospital medical records of Dayao Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and Dayao Public Health Bureau. The years of life lost with premature death (YLLs), was used to measure and assess the death, health losses and social burden of cancer in this area.

RESULTSIn the environmental crocidolite-contaminated area, lung cancer was the prime cause of death in all kinds of cancers between 1994 and 2003, followed by liver cancer, mesothelioma stomach cancer and colorectal cancer, with mortality 10.15/10(5), 9.04/10(5), 8.48/10(5), 3.96/10(5) and 3.55/10(5) respectively. The mortality of main cancer in male and female increased with age growing except that of breast cancer in female. Results showed that the types of leading cancers of YLLs were liver cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, leukemia and stomach cancer with YLLs 1981.39 person-year, 1886.63 person-year, 1799.23 person-year, 948.01 person-year and 754.18 person-year respectively. The distribution of YLLs was similar in both sexes, higher in the middle age group (aged from 15 to 44 years and 45 to 59 years) and lower in other age groups. The indirect economic loss resulting from lung cancer (15.02% of the total loss), liver cancer (13.98% of the total loss) and mesothelioma (13.01% of the total loss) was relatively great. The YLLs and the indirect economic loss attributable to environmental low-dose exposure to crocidolite were 3092.23 person-year and 5,175,800 Yuan respectively.

CONCLUSIONLung cancer, liver cancer, mesothelioma, leukemia and breast cancer are the major cancers with an important impact on people's health and premature mortality in the environmental crocidolite-contaminated area. The impact of cancer mortality is more severer in those aged over 45 years. Social burden of cancer is the greatest in persons aged from 15 to 59 years. Policies and plans should be worked out for the protection of environment and the prevention of cancer.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Asbestos, Crocidolite ; adverse effects ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Cost of Illness ; Environmental Exposure ; Environmental Pollution ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Life Expectancy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms ; mortality ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of yogurt supplementation on the growth of preschool children in Beijing suburbs.

METHODSFour hundred and two preschool children (217 males, 185 females), aged 3-5 years, whose height for age and/or weight for age were less than the reference level, were selected as subjects from 7 kindergartens in Beijing Fangshan District. The subjects were divided randomly into control group (CG, 201) and yogurt supplemented group (YG, 201). Each subject in YG was given one serving of yogurt (125 g) for 5 days a week from March to December in 2001, while nothing additional was provided to CG. All subjects kept their usual diet during the study. Anthropometry (body height and weight and upper-arm circumference) and the bone mineral density (BMD) of forearm were measured every 3 months. Disease status and dietary intake were also recorded and assessed.

RESULTSThe intake of calcium, zinc, and vitamin B2 in YG was significantly higher than that in CG. The incidence and duration of upper-respiratory infection and diarrhea of children in YG were significantly less than those in CG. The height gain of children in YG was significantly higher than that in CG after yogurt was supplemented for 3, 6, and 9 months (P<0.05) (1.90+/-0.49 cm vs 1.77+/-0.54 cm, 3.83+/-0.57 cm vs 3.64+/-0.66 cm and 5.43+/-0.69 cm vs 5.24+/-0.76 cm, respectively). The weight gain of children in YG was significantly higher than that in CG after yogurt was supplemented for 3, 6, and 9 months (P<0.05) (0.70+/-0.43 kg vs 0.49+/-0.35 kg, 0.98+/-0.62 kg vs 0.80+/-0.60 kg and 1.42+/-0.76 kg vs 1.20+/-0.67 kg, respectively). The BMD of children in YG was significantly higher than that in CG after yogurt was supplemented for 9 months (P<0.05) (0.415+/-0.058 g/cm2 vs 0.400+/-0.065 g/cm2).

CONCLUSIONYogurt is beneficial to the improvement of calcium, zinc, and vitamin B2 intake, the decreasing of the incidence and duration of upper-respiratory infection and diarrhea, and the promotion of the health and the growth and development of preschool children.

Body Height ; Bone Density ; Child Development ; Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Diarrhea ; prevention & control ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Nutritional Status ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; prevention & control ; Weight Gain ; Yogurt

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between micronutrient supplementation and children growth.

METHODSA double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 156 growth retarded preschool children. They were randomly assigned to five groups: supplemental control (S-control, n = 28), zinc supplementation (+Zn, 3.5 mg Zn/day, n = 34), zinc and calcium supplementation (+ZnCa, 3.5 mg Zn + 250 mg Ca/day, n = 37), zinc and calcium and vitamin A supplementation (+ZnCaVA, 3.5 mg Zn + 250 mg Ca + 200 g VA/day, n = 28), Calcium, and vitamin A supplementation (+CaVA, 250 mg Ca + 200 g VA/day, n = 29). Another 34 children with normal height were selected as normal control (N-control). Supplementation continued for twelve months.

RESULTSThe height gain in +Zn group (7.84 cm per year) and +ZnCa group (7.70 cm per year) was significantly higher than that in S-control group (6.74 cm per year, P < 0.05); The weight gain in +ZnCaVA group (2.55 kg per year) and +CaVA group (2.57 kg per year) was also significantly higher than that in S-control group (2.19 kg per year, P < 0.05); The average days of illness in each supplementation group were lower than that in S-control (13 days per year compared with 23 days per year). No significant difference was observed on bone age.

CONCLUSIONZinc and Zinc + Calcium supplementation can improve the height gain, and vitamin A can improve weight gain in growth retarded preschool children, but do not affect the maturity of bone. Micronutrient supplementation can lower the morbidity of these children.

Body Height ; Calcium ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Child Development ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Dietary Supplements ; Female ; Growth Disorders ; diet therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Nutritional Status ; Vitamin A ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Weight Gain ; Zinc ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology

Objective To study antioxidant role and mechanism of Rg1 in rats with cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI).Methods One hundred and twenty healthy male rats were randomly divided into six groups: control group, sham operation group, model group, different concentration (30,60,90 mg/kg) of Rg1 treatment group.MCAO SD rats model was established by suture－occluded method;the Rg1 treatment groups were given Rg1 i.p. in advance, after 24 hours of reperfusion, neurobehavioral scores of all groups were examined by Longa’s standard;The expression of Nrf2 and HO－1 were analyzed by western blot;The content of SOD and MDA was detected by kit.Results The score of model group rats are significantly higher than control group,compared with the model group, the score of different concentration of Rg1 treatment group was decreased (P＜0.05) . The Nrf2 and HO－1 expression in model group was mildly higher than the control or sham group (P＜0.05) . Both of them in every Rg1 treatment group was higher than model group. Compared with control or sham group, SOD content was observably depressed but MDA content was dramatically increased in model group,interestingly,SOD content was enhanced, MDA content was attenuated in different concentration of Rg1 treatment group (P＜0.05). Conclusion Rg1 increases Nrf2 and HO－1 protein expression and SOD content, reduces MDA content,improves neurofunctional performance of rats after MCAO,and alleviates cerebral cerebral IRI.

Objective:To observe the effects of high index of nutritional quality (INQ) enteral nutrition on clinical outcomes in elderly patients with acute heart failure. Methods:70 elderly patients with acute heart failure who had nutritional risk and needed nasal-feeding from the Department of Geriatrics of Hangzhou Ninth People's Hospital and the 903 Hospital of PLA Joint Support Force Hospital were randomly divided into observation group (n=35) and control group (n=35). Patients in the observation group was treated with high INQ enteral nutrition. After 4 weeks of intervention, the difference of energy and protein supply, parenteral nutrition use, nutrition index, cardiac function index and incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reaction were compared between the two groups. Results:After intervention, the energy and protein supply of nasal-feeding in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05) , and the amount of parenteral nutrition used in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The nutritional indexes and cardiac function indexes of the two groups were significantly improved compared with those before intervention, and the nutritional status of the patients in the observation group was improved more significantly (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05) . Conclusion:High INQ enteral nutrition can meet the nutritional requirements of elderly patients with heart failure, reduce the use of parenteral nutrition, improve the nutritional status, and promote the recovery of cardiac function.

OBJECTIVETo introduce the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ-3), to China, created ASQ-Chinese (ASQ-C) and carried out studies of its national norm and the psychometrical properties in the children aged 1-66 months in the mainland of China in collaboration with the author of the ASQ System and under the authorizations from its publisher on translation, researches, publication and distribution of the ASQ-3.

METHODThe ASQ-3 questionnaires were translated and adapted into a Simplified Chinese version, the ASQ-C, with six steps such as translation, back-translation and adaptation and so on to ensure consistency with the core of the original document and to have the cultural relevance in China.A stratified cluster sampling method was utilized to recruit children aged 1-66 months with respect to demographic characteristics such as the proportion of population in each administrative region and in urban and rural areas and so on that are representative of 2010 China census data.A sample size of over 200 was collected for each ASQ-C age interval.Children were excluded from the normative sample who (1) are from communities or villages at an elevation of 2 000 m or above and(or) where simplified Chinese is not the official language, or (2) had been diagnosed as having a developmental delay by any authoritative organizations.The national normative sample for the ASQ-C had a total sample size of 4 452, sample size within each age interval ranged from 218 to 227, including 2 230 male cases and 2 222 female cases, 2 236 urban cases and 2 216 rural cases.A convenience sample was recruited from the normative sample to examine inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability in all six administrative regions.Researchers completed the ASQ-C on the same child with their parents for 162 children for inter-rater reliability(the size of each ASQ-C age interval was 5-9); parents of 168 children completed another age-appropriate ASQ-C for test-retest reliability during 10-15 days after they completed the normative ASQ-C(The size of each ASQ-C age interval is 6-10). Another convenience sample was recruited from the follow-up of low birth weight infants for the concurrent validity of the ASQ-C in comparison with the Beijing Gesell.Parents of 198 children completed age-appropriate ASQ-C and professional administered to the children with the Beijing Gesell.In the ASQ-C norm and test-retest reliability, parents completed the age-appropriate ASQ-C, independently or with needed assistance. In inter-rater reliability, researchers completed the same ASQ-C after parents. In validity test, after parents completing age-appropriate ASQ-C, professional tested children with the Beijing Gesell.Data were analyzed using SPSS version 13.0 software.The mean and standard deviation of the national normative sample were calculated, reliability and validity of the ASQ-C was examined.

RESULTThe demographic characteristics of this Chinese sample match the 2010 China census data on gender, urban or rural location, and family income.All 20 intervals of the ASQ-C were standardized on 21 national normative samples.Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the whole measure was 0.8.The Pearson correlation coefficient between the ASQ-C total scores of the two raters was 0.8.The Pearson correlation coefficient between the ASQ-C total scores of the two times was 0.8 (all P<0.000 1). The sensitivity of ASQ-C was 87.50% and the specificity of ASQ-C was 84.48%.The percentage of the agreement between the ASQ-C and the Beijing Gesell was 84.74%.

CONCLUSIONThese findings indicate that the ASQ-C is a reliable and valid measure with a representative national sample aged 1-66 months.It can be used to screen and monitor the development of children in the mainland of China.

Beijing ; Child Development ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Language ; Male ; Parents ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a reliable clinical indication for predicting the therapeutic response of decitabine therapy in the patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). METHODS: The clinical efficacy of decitabine for 55 cases of MDS was analyzed retrospectively. According to the lymphocyte level at d28 after the first time treatment with decitabine, the patients were divided into high lymphocyte level group (H-Lym≥1.2×10/L) and low lymphocyte level group (L-Lym<1.2×10/L), and the overall response rate (ORR) and the progression-free survival (PFS) time in 2 groups were compared. RESULTS: As compared with L-Lym group, the ORR and PFS time in H-Lym group were significantly enhanced ［(76.0% vs 50.0%) (P<0.05) and median time (15.7 months vs 8.5 months)(P<0.05), respectively］;the ratio of platelet level ≥100×10/L in H-Lym group was very significantly higher than that in L-Lym group (72.0% vs 20.0%)(P<0.01). Multivariat analysis showed that the risk of disease progression in L-Lym group was 4.45-fold of H-Lym group (95% CI:1.58-12.59)(P<0.05). CONCLUSION The patients with lymphocyte level ≥1.2×10/L at day 28 after the first time treatment with decitabine show the higher ORR and longer PFS time, therefore. the lymphocyte level at day 28 after first time treatment with decitabine can be used as an early clinical indicator for predecting the response to decitabine treatment.
Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic ; Decitabine ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome