OBJECTIVETo study the characteristics of the effect of different temperatures on mortality of different cities through analyzing the relationship between mortality and meteorology of five Chinese cities.

METHODSWe get the demography and climate data of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing and Changsha cities from National Center of Disease Control and Prevention and Climate net respectively. Then we applied the R software and Distributed Lag Non-linear Models (DLNM) package to analyze our data and find the nonlinear and lag effects on mortality using DLNM.

RESULTSThe city of Beijing and Tianjin are located in the temperate zone. And the climate of Shanghai, Nanjing, Changsha belong to subtropical monsoon climate. When the daily mean temperature arrived 30°C and on lag 0 day, the values of relative risk of effect of high mean temperature on mortality in Nanjing (1.31, 95%CI: 1.21 - 1.41) and Changsha (1.25, 95%CI: 1.13 - 1.39) are larger than that in Beijing (1.18, 95%CI: 1.12 - 1.25), Tianjin (1.18, 95%CI: 1.10 - 1.26) and Shanghai(1.15, 95%CI: 1.06 - 1.24). While the relative risk of effect of low mean temperature on mortality is lower and lasts for a longer lag time. During the whole lag time, the relative risk of effect of the lowest daily mean temperature of each city on mortality in Tianjin, Changsha, Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai is 3.41, 95%CI: 1.60 - 7.27, 2.15, 95%CI: 1.11 - 4.15, 2.24, 95%CI: 1.12 - 4.48, 2.80, 95%CI: 1.75 - 4.48, 1.53, 95%CI: 1.12 - 2.03, respectively. The cumulative effect of mean temperature on mortality appears like a U-shape. When on lag 0-1 day, the value of relative risk of effect of extremely high temperature and the highest mean temperature on mortality is larger than 1. While the effect of low temperature on mortality becomes obvious after lag 2 days.

CONCLUSIONDepending on this research, extremely low temperature and the lowest mean temperature has a more obvious impact on mortality in the northern area than in the south. Extremely high temperature and the highest daily mean temperature is on the contrary. Meanwhile, different temperatures have different impacts on mortality in the same city: high temperature has an acute impact while there is a longer lag time in low temperature.

China ; Climate ; Humans ; Mortality ; Nonlinear Dynamics ; Temperature ; Urban Population

Objective To explore the changes of nitric oxide(NO) and superoxide dismutase(SOD) in the serun and intestine mucosal and the treatment of ulcerative colitis(UC) with tanshinon in rats,Methods 30 mg of trinitro-benzene-sulfonic acid (TNBS) dissolved in 0.85ml of 50% ethanol was administrated intrarectally in Sprague-Dawley female rats to induce experimental colitis.After 7 days,the rats were divided into normal control, 0.9% saline and treatment group tanshinon 2ml?kg~(-1)?d~(-1) were intravenously.The therapeutic effect was evaluated by measuring the ponderal index,the surface area of the ulcers,macroscopical and histological score,activity of NO and SOD were measured in colonic tissue and serum all rats.Results Compared with the saline group,the ponderal index,the surface area of the ulcers,macroscopical and histological score,activity of NO level in the serum and intes- tine mucosal was decreased and the SOD increased of significantly in the treatment group(P

OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficiency of concurrent application of VCA-IgA, EA-IgA and EA-IgG serological tests in diagnosing nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

METHODSThe sera of 266 untreated NPC patients and 347 healthy adults were collected. In addition to the conventional immunoenzymatic method of VCA-IgA test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was adopted as an alternative to test the antibody level of EA-IgG and EA-IgA. A new statistical formula was used to evaluate the odds ratio of different combinations of these three tests.

RESULTSThe sensitivity and specificity of VCA-IgA, EA-IgG and EA-IgA concurrently were as high as 95.11% and 97.41%, respectively, which were higher than those of single test (90.60% and 94.52% for VCA-IgA, 93.98% and 93.66% for EA-IgG, 89.84% and 88.18% for EA-IgA). Furthermore, the odds ratio of 3-test positivity (1 912.5) was higher than those of 2-test positivity (27.903 2 for VCA-IgA and EA-IgG, 11.169 0 for EA-IgG and EA-IgA, 8.032 8 for VCA-IgA and EA-IgA), which were even higher than those of 1-test positivity (0.121 4 for VCA-IgA, 0.170 5 for EA-IgG and 0.048 8 for EA-IgA).

CONCLUSIONELISA is more accurate in reflecting the antibody level of EA-IgG and EA-IgA than the conventional immunoenzymatic method. The concurrent application of VCA-IgA, EA-IgG and EA-IgA test can markedly improve the sensitivity, specificity and odds ratio as well, thus resulting in enhancing the efficiency of diagnosing nasopharyngeal carcinoma serologically.

Adult ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Antigens, Viral ; immunology ; Capsid Proteins ; immunology ; Diagnostic Errors ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections ; blood ; diagnosis ; immunology ; virology ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; immunology ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; blood ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; blood ; immunology ; virology ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Serologic Tests

OBJECTIVETo determine the molecular basis of late onset ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency in a Chinese family of Han nationality and the exon sequences of OTC gene of this patient.

METHODSPolymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism and direct sequencing were used to identify the mutation type.

RESULTSA missense mutation E122G in the conserved residue of exon 4 was identified which is unreported before.

CONCLUSIONThe E122G mutation in human OTC gene may cause late onset OTC deficiency.

Age of Onset ; Base Sequence ; Child, Preschool ; DNA ; chemistry ; genetics ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Family Health ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Models, Molecular ; Mutation, Missense ; Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase ; chemistry ; genetics ; Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase Deficiency Disease ; enzymology ; genetics ; pathology ; Pedigree ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational ; Protein Structure, Secondary

OBJECTIVETo study the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) vertical transmitted infants.

METHODSThirteen HCV vertical infected infants were followed up for 10 years. HCV antibody and HCV RNA in the blood samples from them were tested using second generation HCV antibody EIA kits and RT-PCR, respectively.

RESULTSAmong the 13 infants, one developed clinical hepatitis C, and serum HCV antibody and HCV RNA could be detected for 7 and 8 years, respectively. Three were subclinical hepatitis C, serum HCV antibody continued to be positive for 12 months (2 infants) and 24 months (1 infant), respectively, and serum HCV RNA turned to be negative at the 24th month (2 infants) and the 60th month (1 infant), respectively. Nine were HCV insidious infection, whose serum HCV antibody and HCV RNA turned to be negative in 12 months. During the eight to ten years, there was no infants with anti-HCV or HCV RNA positive again.

CONCLUSIONSIt is rarely happened that vertical transmitted HCV induce chronic HCV carrying state and chronic viral hepatitis, and most of the infected infants have good outcome.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hepatitis C ; transmission ; Hepatitis C Antibodies ; blood ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical ; Pregnancy ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the value of EBNA1-IgA and EA-IgG in serological diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

METHODSThe serum EBNA1-IgA and EA-IgG of 56 patients with NPC and 58 healthy adults were detected by ELISA. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, accuracy rate and odds ratio of the two tests used singly or in combination were compared with each other.

RESULTSThe sensitivity of EBNA1-IgA (91.07%) was higher than that of EA-IgG (87.50%), while the specificity of EA-IgG (87.93%) was higher than that of EBNA1-IgA (84.48%). The combination of EBNA1-IgA and EA-IgG could enhance the specificity (94.83%), positive predictive value (0.9375), likelihood ratio (15.5435) and odds ratio (75.0000) for serological diagnosis of NPC. Forty-five patients showed both positive EBNA1-IgA and positive EA-IgG. A positive EA-IgG was detected in 4 out of 5 patients with negative EBNA1-IgA and a positive EBNA1-IgA was founded in 6 out of 7 patients with negative EA-IgG.

CONCLUSIONAlthough relatively high sensitivity and specificity could be obtained by either EBNA1-IgA or EA-IgG test alone, the combination of these two tests with a complementary effect is able to enhance the reliability of serological diagnosis of NPC as most patients have positive ENBA1-IgA and EA-IgG concurrently.

Adult ; Antigens, Viral ; immunology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens ; immunology ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; blood ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; immunology ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Chronic enteritis can produce an excess of reactive oxygen species resulting in cellular damage. Stanniocalcin-1(STC-1) reportedly possesses anti-oxidative activity, the aim of this study was to define more clearly the direct contribution of STC-1 to anti-oxidative stress in cattle. In this study, primary intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) were exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for different time intervals to mimic chronic enteritis-induced cellular damage. Prior to treatment with 200 microM H2O2, the cells were transfected with a recombinant plasmid for 48 h to over-express STC-1. Acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) double staining and trypan blue exclusion assays were then performed to measure cell viability and apoptosis of the cells, respectively. The expression of STC-1 and apoptosis-related proteins in the cells was monitored by real-time PCR and Western blotting. The results indicated that both STC-1 mRNA and protein expression levels positively correlated with the duration of H2O2 treatment. H2O2 damaged the bovine IECs in a time-dependent manner, and this effect was attenuated by STC-1 over-expression. Furthermore, over-expression of STC-1 up-regulated Bcl-2 protein expression and slightly down-regulated caspase-3 production in the damaged cells. Findings from this study suggested that STC-1 plays a protective role in intestinal cells through an antioxidant mechanism.
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Blotting, Western/veterinary ; Caspase 3/*genetics/metabolism ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/etiology/*genetics/metabolism ; Duodenum/metabolism ; Enteritis/etiology/genetics/metabolism/*veterinary ; Epithelial Cells/metabolism ; *Gene Expression Regulation ; Glycoproteins/*genetics/metabolism ; Hydrogen Peroxide/pharmacology ; Male ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/*genetics/metabolism ; RNA, Messenger/genetics/metabolism ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical efficacy of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) in treatment of patients with arrhythmia complicated by sleep apnea syndrome (SAS).

METHODSOne hundred and thirty-five arrhythmia patients with polysomnography diagnosed SAS were randomly divided into NPPV group (69 cases) and control group (66 cases), the NPPV group was treated with standard medications and NPPV, and the control group was treated with standard medications. SAS related parameters were compared between the groups after 3 months therapy.

RESULTS(1) Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) score, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and arousal index were significantly lower (8.25 ± 5.41 vs.4.08 ± 3.43, 39.95 ± 7.32 vs. 4.71 ± 1.80 and 39.69 ± 4.40 vs. 15.20 ± 2.05, P < 0.01) while not rapid eye movement (NREM) III and rapid eye movement stage of sleep time and lowest pulse oxygen saturation (LSaO2) were significantly higher in NPPV group than in control group [(4.53 ± 2.10)% vs. (16.78 ± 2.59)%,(8.37 ± 1.380)% vs. (15.25 ± 1.41)%, (77.15 ± 6.72)% vs. (93.35 ± 2.03)%, P < 0.01] after 3 months therapy. (2) Incidence of Sinus bradycardia, sinus tachycardia, sinus arrest, atrial premature beats, ventricular premature beats, paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, II-III degree atrioventricular block, ST-T segment changes were reduced from 57.4%, 44.4%, 7.4%, 20.4%, 13.0%, 36.5%, 12.0%, 8.3%, 37.0%, 53.7% to 4.6%, 1.9%,0.0%, 3.7%, 2.8%, 7.0%, 0.9%, 0.0%, 1.9%, 4.6% (all P < 0.05) and the total number of arrhythmias happened at night were significantly lower (all P < 0.05) while the heart rate variability (HRV) were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in NPPV group than in control group; AHI was positively while LSaO2 was negatively correlated with the total night arrhythmia number (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONNoninvasive positive pressure ventilation is an effective therapy strategy for treating patients with arrhythmia complicated by sleep apnea syndrome.

Adult ; Aged ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; complications ; prevention & control ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Noninvasive Ventilation ; Positive-Pressure Respiration ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; complications ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo investigate prognostic factors of medullary thyroid carcinoma.

METHODSBy using univariate analysis and multivariate analysis, the prognostic factors were investigated in 102 patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma treated at this hospital.

RESULTSOverall survival rates of 5-year, 10-year and 15-year were 87.4%, 74.6% and 54.2% respectively by Kaplan-Meier method analysis. In univariate analysis, gender, age, bilateral thyroid lobe tumors, tumor size > 4 cm, invasion of thyroid capsule, distant metastasis, and non-radical tumor resection were significant poor prognostic factors. In multivariate analysis, tumor size > 4 cm (chi(2) = 7.43, P = 0.0035), distant metastasis (chi(2) = 23.50, P = 0.0000), and non-radical tumor resection (chi(2) = 25.90, P = 0.0000) remained as independent prognostic factors.

CONCLUSIONSTumor size > 4 cm, distant metastasis, and non-radical tumor resection are the independent predictors of patients survival. Early diagnosis and early therapy can improve significantly the prognosis of medullary thyroid carcinoma.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Medullary ; diagnosis ; mortality ; pathology ; Child ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; mortality ; pathology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the difference of arousal index between the children with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and children with primary snoring. Furthermore, to explore the correlation between the above mentioned arousals and the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and lowest oxygen saturation (LSaO(2)).

METHODSBetween March 2007 and February 2008, 102 children suspected of OSAHS underwent overnight polysomnogram monitoring in our medicine sleep center. OSAHS was diagnosed according to the general criterion [Draft of guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (Urumqi) which was published in Chin J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg in February, 2007]. One-hundred and two children were divided into two groups according to the guidelines. Sixty six children [56 boys, 10 girls; aged 4 - 17 years, (7.01 +/- 2.24) years (x(-) +/- s)] who were diagnosed as OSAHS were enrolled in study group and 36 children [29 boys, 7 girls; aged 4 - 13 years, (7.44 +/- 2.68) years] who were diagnosed as primary snoring made up control group. The difference of spontaneous arousal index, total arousal index and arousal index related to respiratory stimuli and limb movement were compared between the two groups. Besides this, the correlation between spontaneous arousal index, total arousal index and arousal index related to respiratory stimuli and limb movement and AHI and LSaO(2) were also analyzed. Furthermore, the study group were divided into three subgroups according to AHI (< or = 10 times/h, 10 times/h < AHI < or = 20 times/h, > 20 times/h). Spontaneous arousal index, total arousal index and arousal index related to respiratory stimuli and limb movement were compared among the three groups.

RESULTSThe increased total arousal index and arousal index related to respiratory stimuli and the decreased spontaneous arousal index of study group were significant as compared to those of control group (Mann-Whitney U, z value, -3.148, -3.866, -2.791; P value, 0.002, 0.000, 0.005, respectively). The increased arousal index related to respiratory stimuli were significant as being compared among the three groups. Arousal index related to respiratory stimuli was correlated with AHI (coefficient correlation: 0.734, P = 0.000). Other kinds of arousals and arousal index related to respiratory stimuli were not correlated with LSaO(2) (Spearman rank correlation analysis). When compared to control group, stage I increased and stage REM decreased and the difference was significant (z were -2.423, -3.519; P were 0.015, 0.000).

CONCLUSIONSThe arousal index related to respiratory stimuli were increased and spontaneous arousal index were decreased in children with OSAHS. Arousal index related to respiratory stimuli is more suitable to show the degree of sleep fragment than other arousal index.

Adolescent ; Arousal ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Polysomnography ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; physiopathology ; Snoring