Objective To study the risk factors of skin lesion (keratosis and abnormal skin pigmentation) of population exposed to arsenic via drinking water in Inner Mongolia.Methods A cluster sampling method was used to select 902 cases from Linhe district,Hanghou and Wuyuan county in Inner Mongolia and physical examination was done.They were interviewed for information by questionnaire.The sample of fingernails and drinking water were collected.Water arsenic (As) was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS); fingernail As and Se content were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis(INAA).Data were analyzed by univariate and multivariate non-conditional Logistic regression.Results Single factor analysis showed that risk factors of keratosis were age,pesticide,arsenic in nails,smoking,years of smoking,drinking of alcohol,arsenic content in drinking water,fluorosis and duration of drinking arsenic-containing water,while occupation,nail selenium content and vitamin were protective factors.There were 10 risk factors for pigment abnormalities,which were age,pesticide,arsenic in nails,smoking,years of smoking,numbers of cigarette smoked daily,drinking of alcohol,fluorosis,the arsenic content in drinking water and duration of drinking arseniccontaining water,while sex,occupation and nails with selenium were protective factors.The multivariate factor analysis showed that the risk factors of keratosis were age,pesticide and arsenic content in drinking water(OR =1.387,1.583,1.321,all P ＜ 0.05),while occupation and vitamin were protective factors(OR =0.307,0.260,all P ＜ 0.05).The risk factors of abnormal skin pigmentation were age,pesticide,arsenic in nails,fluorosis and arsenic content in drinking water(OR =1.724,2.636,2.741,3.699,1.863,all P ＜ 0.05),while sex was protective factor(OR =0.255,P ＜ 0.01 ).Conclusions Many factors have influence on endemic arsenism and a composite measure should be implemented to prevent it such as excluding arsenic from drinking water,health education,and a reasonably intake of nutrients.

Objective To study the influence of arsenic exposure on menstruation.Methods A cluster sampling method was applied to select the subjects of women aged 10 to 65 from Linhe,Hangjinhouqi and Wuyuan counties in Inner Mongolia in 2004.Drinking water samples were collected to detect arsenic levels,and menstrual related situation was surveyed.The subjects were divided into four groups according to drinking water arsenic concentration:control(≤0.01 mg/L),low(＞ 0.01-0.10 mg/L),moderate(＞ 0.10-0.20 mg/L) and high(＞ 0.20mag/L).Results A total of 602 women were surveyed.There were 83 subjects exposed to arsenic before menarche and their menarche age was (14.37 ± 1.54) years old.There were 90 people exposed to arsenic before menopause and the menopause age was (48.13-0.41) years old.The age of menarche and menopause were positively related to the years of arsenic exposure,and correlation coefficients were 0.268 and 0.278 (all P ＜ 0.05).Compared to control group(14.0％,16/112),menstrual abnormality rate decreased in low(12.1％,21/173) and high dose groups(10.2％,19/186),while increased in the moderate dose group(18.2％,16/88),but the differences were not statistically significant(x2 =3.664,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Long-term arsenic exposure delays the menarche and menopause age,suggesting that arsenic has certain endocrine disruption or estrogen-like effects.

OBJECTIVETo observe metabolomic changes in urine of chronic superficial gastritis (CSG) patients with Pi-qi deficiency syndrome (PQDS) or Pi-Wei dampness-heat syndrome (PWDHS), thereby providing scientific evidence for syndrome typing of them.

METHODSUrine samples were collected from CSG patients with PQDS/PWDHS and healthy volunteers, 10 in each group. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR) based metabonomic analysis was performed on urine samples. Contents of related biomarkers were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA), partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and urivariate statistical analysis.

RESULTSPLS-DA analysis showed that metabolites among CSG patients with PQDS/PWDHS and healthy volunteers could be mutually distinguished. Seven differentially identified metabolites were screened from urines of CSG patients with PQDS and healthy volunteers included glutamate, methionine, α-oxoglutarate, dimethylglycine, creatinine, taurine, and glucose. Four differentially identified metabolites were screened from urines of CSG patients with PWDHS and healthy volunteers included 2-hydroxybutyric acid, trimethylamine oxide, taurine, and hippuric acid. Eleven differentially identified metabolites were screened from urines of CSG patients with PQDS and PWDHS included fucose, β-hydroxybutyric acid, alanine, glutamate, methionine, succinic acid, citric acid, creatinine, glucose, hippuric acid, and lactic acid.

CONCLUSIONThe metabolic differences of CSG patients PQDS and PWDHS mainly manifested in glycometabolism, lipid metabolism, and amino acids catabolism, and 1H-NMR based metabonomics may be used in classified study of Chinese medical syndrome typing.

Biomarkers ; urine ; Discriminant Analysis ; Gastritis ; urine ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Hydroxybutyrates ; Ketoglutaric Acids ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Metabolome ; physiology ; Metabolomics ; Principal Component Analysis ; Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Qi ; Syndrome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expressions of chemokine receptors and interleukin (IL) receptors on the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and their correlations with clinical features as well as SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI).

METHODSThe mRNA expressions of chemokine receptors and IL receptors on PBMCs of 93 SLE patients and 30 healthy controls were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, including CCR2, CCR3, CCR4, CCR5, CCR6, CCR8, CXCR3, CXCRS, CX3CR1, XCR1, IL-4R, and IL-10R. The clinical features of SLE patients were recorded. The correlations of chemokine receptors and IL receptors mRNA expressions with clinical features as well as SLEDAI were assayed using linear regression analysis.

RESULTSThe level of CCR5 mRNA in SLE patients (including active and inactive SLE) was significantly higher than that in healthy controls (P < 0.05), and there was no significant difference between active and inactive patients in this respect (P > 0.05). CX3CR1 mRNA expression significantly increased from healthy control to inactive SLE to active SLE in sequence. The others (except for CCR8, CXCR3, and IL-10R) in active SLE patients were significantly higher than those in both inactive SLE patients and healthy controls (all P < 0.05). There were positive correlations between SLEDAI and CCR2 (r = 0.424, t = 4.313, P < 0.001), CCR3 (r = 0.518, t = 5.410, P < 0.001), CCR4 (r = 0.376, t = 3.851, P < 0.001), CCR6 (r = 0.457, t = 4.513, P < 0.001), CXCR5 (r = 0.455, t = 4.629, P < 0.001), CX3CR1 (r = 0.445, t = 4.523, P < 0.001), as well as XCR1 (r = 0.540, t = 5.445, P < 0.001). And CCR5 mRNA expression level was positively correlated with IL-4R mRNA (r = 0.313, t = 2.353, P < 0.05). The patients with myositis and cutaneous vasculitis simultaneously showed lower levels of CCR5 and CX3CR1, and CCR5 expression was negatively correlated with the scores of SLEDAI in SLE cases accompanied by photosensitivity (r = 0.426, t = -2.155, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIncreased expressions of CCR5 and CX3CR1 on PBMCs may be indicators in clinical survey for SLE.

Adolescent ; Adult ; CX3C Chemokine Receptor 1 ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; immunology ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; etiology ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Messenger ; blood ; Receptors, CCR5 ; genetics ; Receptors, Chemokine ; genetics ; Receptors, Interleukin-10 ; genetics ; Receptors, Interleukin-4 ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo analyze the existence and the dynamic cell frequencies of human cells in goats transplanted in utero with human hematopoietic stem cell (hHSC) by using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique.

METHODSInterphase FISH (IFISH) with human-specific 17-chromosome satellite DNA and/or human-specific Y-chromosome satellite DNA as probes was performed to analyze the presence and proportions of human cells in 13 transplanted goats. Samples were peripheral blood cells, bone marrow smears and liver touch imprint preparations.

RESULTSOf the 13 transplanted goats, eleven were identified to present human cells. Among them, two goats transplanted with human male HSC were found to have human male cells. The results demonstrated that these transplanted goats were human/goat HSC xenogeneic chimeras. Human cell frequencies decreased with the goat age (months), but the longest survival reached 21 months. During the detected life periods of goats, human cell frequencies in peripheral blood, bone marrow and liver tissues were less than 1@1000, but local human cell frequencies of 207.92@1000 and 392.41@1000 were detected in the liver tissues of 2 transplanted goats.

CONCLUSIONSThe existence and long-term survival of human cells in transplanted goats detected by FISH indicated that goats were appropriate recipients for hHSC in utero transplantation. The lower human cell frequencies in blood and bone marrow, and the higher local human cell frequencies in liver tissues suggested that the microenvironment of goat liver tissues might favor the survival, proliferation and differentiation of human cells.

Animals ; Female ; Goats ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Male ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Uterus ; surgery

Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Mutation ; Prognosis ; Remission Induction ; fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3

Anemia, Aplastic ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Infections ; Transplantation Conditioning

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of crystalline NiS on genome DNA methylation profile in in vitro cultured cells.

METHODS16HBE Cells were treated with crystalline NiS at 0.25, 0.50, 1.00 and 2.00 µg/cm(2) for 24 h and three times at total. DAC treatment was given at 3 µmol/L for 72 h.5-mC immunofluorescence and SssI methyltransferase assay methods were applied to investigate if the hypomethylation of genome DNA involved.

RESULTSThe results of 5-mC immunofluorescence showed that the fluorescence intensity of NiS-treated cells were decreased in some degree, and transformed cells were decreased dramatically. By the SssI methylase assay, an average of (81.9 ± 7.3)% methylated CpG were found in negative control cells. By contrast, (77.9 ± 6.2)%, (75.3 ± 6.8)%, (59.5 ± 4.9)%, (67.4 ± 5.1)% methylated CpG were observed in cells treated with NiS for three times at dosage of 0.25, 0.50, 1.00 and 2.00 µg/cm(2) which were abbreviated as NiS0.25, NiS0.50, NiS1.00, NiS2.00 respectively. The ANOVA analysis results showed that there was a significant difference in the 5 groups above (F = 124.95, P < 0.01). The results of Dunnett-t test showed that the methylated CpG of both group NiS1.00 and NiS2.00 were significantly decreased compared with the negative control group (t values were 7.64, 4.89 respectively, P < 0.01). For methylated CpG, (46.2 ± 4.1)% and (43.6% ± 4.3)% were observed in NiS-transformed cells (NSTC1 and NSTC2) which were dramatically decreased compared with the negative control group (t values were 12.79, 13.56 respectively, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONGenomic DNA methylation levels were decreased during NiS induced malignant transformation.

Bronchi ; cytology ; Cell Line ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; chemically induced ; DNA Methylation ; drug effects ; Epithelial Cells ; drug effects ; Genome ; Humans ; Nickel ; adverse effects ; chemistry

Objective To study the thermal insulation properties of vacuum insulated panel(VIP)used as materials for blood transportation kits.Methods A VIP transportation kit was taken as test group,and a conventional transportation kit was taken as control.Phase change cool storage materials of the same amount and 4℃water bags were put into both kits.A recordable electronic thermometer was used to record the temperature within the two kits,and free hemoglobin(FHb)and potassium ion concentration were measured at 0, 4, and 7 days after blood storage.Results The temperature in the conventional transportation kit increased faster after 36 h, and was significantly higher than in the VIP transportation kit until 60 h.Besides,the VIP transportation kit kept the temperature under 10℃ for(60.7 ±0.6)h, compared to (54.2 ±3.0)h in the conventional transportation kit.FHb concentration was significantly lower in the VIP transportation kit[(605.26 ±74.63)mg/L]than in the conventional transportation kit[(1327.60 ±187.41)mg/L]at day 7(d 7),so was the potassium ion concentration in the VIP transportation kit[(22.7 ±0.4)mmol/L]compared to[(24.6 ±0.6) mmol/L]in the transportation kit at d 7.Conclusion The VIP transportation kit keeps the temperature under 10℃ for a longer time,and the blood quality of preservation is better than that of the conventional transportation kit.Novel heat preservation material can improve health support ability,and is of great value and significance.

Objective To improve vibration resistance of conventional blood transportation kits and mitigate hemolysis during transportation.Methods The structure of a blood transportation kit was modified.We installed a suspension brac-kets within the kit,added buffer material between the brackets,and tested the vibration-suppressing effect compared with the conventional blood transportation kit.Results Rubber and plastic materials between brackets were added,and double membrane suspension brackets were installed.After 4 and 6 min of vibration,free hemoglobin(FHb)[(1559.7 ±1038.5) and(1886.2 ±1023.8)mg/L],lactic dehydrogenase levels[(135.3 ±67.7)and(195.7 ±123.6)U/L]and hemolysis rate[(0.35 ±0.34)%and(0.42 ±0.38)%]in the conventional transportation kit were significantly higher than in the vibration-suppressing kit.K+did not change significantly,and was comparable in both groups at each time point.After 4 and 6 min of vibration, FHb in the conventional transportation kit exceeded the standard.However, after 12 min of vibration,FHb[(560.1 ±342.3)mg/L]in the vibration-suppressing kit were within the standard range.No bacterial growth was detected in either group.Conclusion The vibration-suppressing kit under research shows a better 1986vibration-suppressing effect,which could improve blood support capability in case of emergency.