Objective To investigate the accuracy of body mass index (BMI) as the evaluation standard for obesity in Miao adults in Guangxi, to find out the BMI cutoff value suitable for the evaluation standard of adult obesity, and to provide an accurate and reliable reference value for the prevention and treatment of obesity in Miao nationality adults. Methods Using a cross-sectional design, residents aged 18 years or older in the Miao villages in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County, Guangxi, were selected as the research subjects, and their body composition was measured. The percent body fat (PBF) standard was used as the ^“gold standard^” for obesity, and the BMI standard for obesity in Chinese adults was used as the positive screening standard. The accuracy of the BMI standard was evaluated, and the ROC curve analysis was used to determine the optimal BMI cutoff value for obesity in Miao adults. Results The detection rate of obesity of Miao adults in Guangxi by BMI method was lower than that by PBF method (10.3% vs 19.0%, χ²=426.62, P<0.001). The results of reliability evaluation showed that BMI was in good agreement with PBF in judging obesity (Kappa=0.59, P<0.001). BMI as a screening criterion for obesity in Miao adults showed high specificity and low sensitivity, low Yordon index, high positive predictive value and high positive likelihood ratio, and low negative predictive value and high negative likelihood ratio. When the PBF was used as the ^“gold standard^”, BMI had a good diagnostic performance for obesity in Miao adults (AUC=0.959, P<0.001). The optimal BMI cutoff points for obesity in adults of Miao nationality in Guangxi were 25.85 kg/m² and 25.55 kg/m² for men and women, respectively. Conclusion BMI is of great value for the diagnosis of obesity in Miao adults, but it should not be used as an exclusion criterion for obesity. Especially in the case of a small sample size, the risk of misclassification bias is relatively high.

Objective To evaluate the changes in myocardial glucose transporter 4 ( GLUT4 ) membrane translocation in the rats with high-level spinal cord injury ( SCI ) . Methods Thirty-six clean-grade healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250-300 g, were divided into 3 groups using a random number table method: control group (group C, n=6), sham operation group (group S, n=6) and high-level SCI group (group SCI, n=24). The model of SCI was established by a modified Allen's method in anesthetized rats. The spinal cord was only exposed in group S. Six rats were selected in C and S groups and at 4, 12, 24 and 48 h after SCI ( T1-4 ) in group SCI, and blood samples were taken from the abdominal aorta to measure the activities of serum creatine kinase and creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB. The rats were then sacrificed, and myocardial specimens were collected for microscopic examination of the ultra-structure ( with a transmission electron microscope) and for determination of ATP weight ratio, phosphoryla-tion of insulin receptor substrate-1 tyrosine and expression of GLUT4 in cell membrane ( by Western blot) . Results Compared with C and S groups, the serum creatine kinase and creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB ac-tivities were significantly increased at T1-4 , the ATP weight ratio was decreased, the expression of GLUT4 in myocardial cell membrane was down-regulated, the expression of phosphorylated insulin receptor sub-strate-1 tyrosine in myocaradium was down-regulated at T2,3 (P＜0. 05), and the pathological changes of myocardial tissues were found in group SCI. There was no significant difference in the indexes mentioned a-bove between group C and group S ( P＞0. 05) . Conclusion The mechanism of myocardial energy metabo-lism disorder may be related to the reduced membrane translocation of GLUT4 in the rats with high-level SCI.

Objective To explore the effect of tea polyphenols on the growth of human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) subgenes-immortalized human cervical epithelial cells (H8 cells).Methods Cultured H8 cells were divided into 5 groups to be treated with 0 (control group),6.25,12.5,25 and 50 mg/L tea polyphenols respectively for 24,36,and 48 hours,and then cell counting kit-8 (CCK8)assay was performed to detect cell proliferation.After 24 hours of incubation,flow cytometry was conducted to detect cell apoptosis and cell cycle,and fluorescence microscopy to observe the morphology of apoptotic cells.Results After incubation with tea polyphenols at different concentrations for 24,36 and 48 hours,the proliferation of H8 cells was inhibited,and 12.5 mg/L tea polyphenols could inhibit the relative growth rate of H8 cells in a time-dependent manner.Flow cytometry showed that there was a significant difference in cell apoptosis rate among the 6.25-,12.5-,25-,50-mg/L tea polyphenols groups and the control group (52.62％ ± 0.62％,52.22％ ± 0.72％,42.52％ ± 0.90％,45.96％ ± 2.11％,29.96％ ± 0.70％ respectively,F =272.0,P ＜ 0.05).Moreover,all the tea polyphenol groups showed significantly increased cell apoptosis rate compared with the control group (all P ＜ 0.05).Fluorescence microscopy showed karyopyknosis,nuclear fragmentation and other typical apoptotic morphological changes in H8 cells in tea polyphenols groups.There were significant differences in the percentage of cells in G1,G2 phase and cell proliferation index among the 5 groups (all P ＜ 0.05).Compared with the control group,the 6.25-,12.5-,25-mg/L tea polyphenols groups showed significantly increased percentage of cells in G1 phase (55.96％ ± 0.72％,54.12％ ± 3.20％,65.30％ ± 1.51％ respectively,all P ＜ 0.05),but significantly decreased percentage of cells in G2 phase (3.17 ± 1.82％,4.94 ± 1.46％,4.65 ± 4.26％ respectively,all P ＜ 0.05) and lower cell proliferation index(0.44 ± 0.01,0.46 ± 0.02,0.36 ± 0.01 respectively,all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Tea polyphenols can inhibit the proliferation of H8 cells,induce cell apoptosis,and block cell cycle progression.

Objective In comparison with Xpert C.difficile/Epi through detection of Clostridium difficile toxin genes from clinical stool , the performance of a laboratory-developed ( LD) assay was evaluated in detail.Methods A total of 176 stool specimens collected from patients with diarrhea in the First People′s Hospital of Yuhang District and the People′s Hospital of Yingzhou , Ningbo from August 1 to December 30 were detected by the two assays in parallel , and meanwhile the C.difficile strains will be isolated and identified for C.difficile toxin genes by a conventional PCR assay .The Cross-tabs Analysis was used for the results by using SPSS20.0 software.Results In comparison with the results of Xpert C.difficile/Epi as the standard, the LD assay had a sensitivity of 91.7％(22/24), a specificity of 100％(152/152), a positive predictive value (PPV) of 100％(22/22), and negative predictive value (NPV) 98.7％(152/154).The results of two assays were statistically coherent (Kappa=0.950, P<0.001).In comparison with culture and detection of toxin genes results , the LD assay had a sensitivity of 90.0％ ( 18/20 ) , a specificity of 97.0％(152/156), a PPV of 81.8％ (18/22), and NPV of 98.7％ (152/154)(Kappa=0.838, P<0.001), and the Xpert C.difficile/Epi assay had a sensitivity of 90.0％ (18/20), a specificity of 96.0％(150/156), a PPV of 75.0％(18/24), and NPV of 98.7％ (150/152)(Kappa=0.792, P<0.001). Conclusions The performance of the LD assay was similar to that of the Xpert C .difficile/Epi kit in detection of toxigenic C.difficile.The LD assay could be directly applied to detection of toxigenic C.difficile from clinical stool samples .The clinical application of this LD assay will also provide a domestic and promising diagnostic assay for diagnosis of C.difficile infection in China.

We employed a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with capillary electrophoresis (mPCR-CE) targeting six Clostridium difficile genes, including tpi, tcdA, tcdB, cdtA, cdtB, and a deletion in tcdC for simultaneous detection and characterization of toxigenic C. difficile directly from fecal specimens. The mPCR-CE had a limit of detection of 10 colony-forming units per reaction with no cross-reactions with other related bacterial genes. Clinical validation was performed on 354 consecutively collected stool specimens from patients with suspected C. difficile infection and 45 isolates. The results were compared with a reference standard combined with BD MAX Cdiff, real-time cell analysis assay (RTCA), and mPCR-CE. The toxigenic C. difficile species were detected in 36 isolates and 45 stool specimens by the mPCR-CE, which provided a positive rate of 20.3% (81/399). The mPCR-CE had a specificity of 97.2% and a sensitivity of 96.0%, which was higher than RTCA (x = 5.67, P = 0.017) but lower than BD MAX Cdiff (P = 0.245). Among the 45 strains, 44 (97.8%) were determined as nonribotype 027 by the mPCR-CE, which was fully agreed with PCR ribotyping. Even though ribotypes 017 (n = 8, 17.8%), 001 (n = 6, 13.3%), and 012 (n = 7, 15.6%) were predominant in this region, ribotype 027 was an important genotype monitored routinely. The mPCR-CE provided an alternative diagnosis tool for the simultaneous detection of toxigenic C. difficile in stool and potentially differentiated between RT027 and non-RT027.
Clostridium Infections ; diagnosis ; Clostridium difficile ; genetics ; Electrophoresis, Capillary ; Feces ; microbiology ; Genes, Bacterial ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Ribotyping ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Lack of mucoadhesive properties is the major drawback to poloxamer 407 (F127)-basedhydrogels for mucosal administration. The objective of the present study was to construct a novel mucoadhesive and thermosensitivehydrogel drug delivery system based on an amino-functionalized poloxamer for vaginal administration. First, amino-functionalized poloxamer 407 (F127-NH) was synthesized and characterized with respect to its micellization behavior and interaction with mucin. Then using acetate gossypol (AG) as model drug, AG-loaded F127-NH-basedhydrogels (NFGs) were evaluated with respect to rheology, drug release,vaginal mucosal adhesion,intravaginal retention and local irritation after vaginal administration to healthy female mice. The results show that F127-NHis capable of forming a thermosensitivehydrogel with sustained drug release properties. An interaction between positively charged F127-NHand negatively charged mucin was revealed by changes in the particle size and zeta potential of mucin particles as well as an increase in the complex modulus of NFG caused by mucin.andfluorescence imaging and quantitative analysis of the amount of AG remaining in mouse vaginal lavage all demonstrated greater intravaginal retention of NFG than that of an unmodified F127-basedhydrogel. In conclusion, amino group functionalization confers valuable mucoadhesive properties on poloxamer 407.

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of fibrinogen and D-dimer(D-D)in the diagnosis of patients with acute pulmonary embolism.Methods A retrospective study was conducted.74 patients with acute pulmonary embolism were retrospectively analyzed.The general clinical data were gathered,and the patients were divided into high-risk group(n=20),moderate-risk group(n=32),and low-risk group(n=22)according to the 2008 ESC Guidelines on the diagnosis and management of acute pulmonary embolism.25 patients with physical examination were randomly recruited as control group.The plasma levels of fibrinogen and D-D were detected and compared between these groups.Receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)was used to evaluate diagnostic biomarker performance.Results In acute pulmonary embolism patients,with the risk degree increased,the level of fibrinogen decreased[(4.20±0.82)g/L,(4.16±0.83)g/L,(3.62±0.74)g/L,(2.83±0.62)g/L](compared with control group,P=0.183,moderate-risk group,P=0.046,high-risk group,P=0.033;compared with low-risk group,moderate-risk group,P=0.041,high-risk group,P=0.037;compared with moderate-risk group,P=0.044),and the level of D-D increased[(1 845.20±3 939.56)μg/L,(4 405.27±2 356.68)μg/L,(4 360.63±2 675.40)μg/L,(16 817.00±6 878.66)μg/L](compared with the control group,low-risk group,P=0.392,moderate-risk group,P=0.042,high-risk group,P=0.027;compared with low-risk group,P=0.136,P=0.016;compared with moderate-risk group,P=0.035).The ROC curve showed that the AUC of D-D in each group were 0.865,0.834 and 0.974,respectively.AUC of FIB were 0.459,0.253 and 0.277,respectively,which were below or even significantly lower than predicted line area.Conclusion The performance of fibrinogen in the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism and the classification of the risk degree is very low.

Objective To explore the risk factors for the development of delayed neuropsychologic sequelae (DNS)and to characterize the clinical course following the development of DNS in acute CO poisoning cases. Methods This study included 79 cases of acute CO poisoning,and they were divided into two groups consisting of 13 cases who developed DNS and 66 cases who did not.The generally conditions of the two groups [including age, gender,exposure environment,the time of coma,whether through referral,the severity of disturbance of consciousness, computed tomography(CT)abnormal,first time to see a doctor if hyperbaric oxygen therapy]and laboratory index [carbon oxygen hemoglobin(COHb),WBC,creatine kinase (CK),creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK -MB),lactate dehydrogenase(LDH),hospitalization time,HBO]were analyzed by single factor variance analysis,Chi -square test and Mann Whitney U test.Results Compared with the non DNS group,in the DNS group,JCS score was significantly higher[(200.4 ±107.24)points vs.(94.55 ±52.71 )points,U =8.373,P <0.01 ],CT abnormal skull increased (76.9% vs.6.2%,χ2 =9.548,P <0.01),CK[(5976.33 ±4 371.92)IU /L vs.(2 384.67 ±650.86)IU /L,F =6.877],CK -MB[(51.22 ±33.28)IU /L vs.(23.47 ±15.66)IU /L,F =4.329],LDH[(395.80 ±270.04)IU /L vs.(221.87 ±101.95)IU /L,F =1.012]increased,there were statistically significant differences between the two groups by single factor analysis(all P <0.01 ).The patients with DNS had longer hospitalized time [(283.27 ± 251.08)d vs.(37.93 ±37.18)d,F =2.283]and HBO time[(51.62 ±16.69)d vs.(7.70 ±5.38)d,F =6.428], there were statistically significant differences between the two groups by single factor analysis (all P <0.01 ). Conclusion In patients with the characteristics identified in this study,administration of HBO therapy should be proactively considered after informing their family at initial stage,thus to decrease the risk of developing DNS.

Objective In comparison of the performances for the detection of Clostridium difficile toxin B genes from stool between BD MAX Cdiff assay and a laboratory-developed (LD) assay.The LD assay was evaluated in clinical application.Methods This study was a clinical application research.A total of 147 stool specimens from patients with diarrhea in Hangzhou First Hospital affiliated with Zhejiang Chinese Medical University were detected by the two assays from 1 July to 30 September 2014.DNA extraction and amplification of the tcdB gene were performed automatically on the BD MAX platform.Meanwhile, the tcdA and tcdB gene were detected by the LD real-time PCR assay after DNA extraction.Then, the results were analyzed by use of SPSS 10.0.Results A total of 147 stool samples were collected.There were 33 C.difficile positive cases and 114 negative cases detected by both of two assays.However, there were four stool samples had incongruent results.In comparison with BD MAX, the LD assay had a sensitivity of 93.94% (31/33), a specificity of 98.25% (112/114), a positive predictive value of 93.94% (31/33), and negative predictive value 98.25% (112/114).Furthermore, the results of the LD assay were statistically coherent with that of the BD assay (Kappa=0.922, P<0.01).Conclusions The LD assay was highly sensitive and accurate as BD MAX Cdiff assay in the detection of toxigenic Clostridium difficile.Furthermore, this LD assay could be also applied to detection of clinical stool samples directly with low cost.The assay will be more promising in diagnosis of toxigenic C.difficile in clinical application in China due to no additional instrument needed.

BACKGROUND:Many domestic and foreign scholars and institutions are studying how to relieve radiation damage and to find the most suitable drug, while ginsenosides as the main pharmacological ingredient of ginseng show significant antioxidant effect. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the ease effect of ginsenosides on human hematopoietic stem cels under different intensities of ionizing radiations. METHODS: The CD34+ hematopoietic stem cels were isolated from the healthy cord blood. Then the cels were divided into normal group and ginsenoside-pretreated group, respectively, exposed under 1, 2, 5 Gy of X-ray irradiations for 24 hours. Cel viability was detected in irradiated hematopoietic stem cels by MTT assay. Apoptosis was estimated using the folowing assays: Annexin-V assay, caspase-3 mRNA and protein levels. The generation of reactive oxygen species was evaluated, in the presence or absence of ginsenoside in liquid cultures of CD34+ human hematopoietic stem cels irradiated with 1-, 2- and 5-Gy X-rays, using a flow cytometry assay. The Nrf-2 mRNA and protein levels were also studied by western blot analysis and RT-PCR, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Ionizing radiation at the therapeutic dose could decrease the viability of CD34+ cels and induce the cel apoptosis, and meanwhile, the activity of intracelular reactive oxygen species also showed a progressive increase that was correlated with the dose of ionizing radiation. However, ginsenoside pretreatment could relieve these above-mentioned effects. Ginsenoside inhibited the increase in caspase-3 activity induced by ionizing radiation, and additionaly, enhanced the mRNA and protein expressions of Nrf-2 in CD34+cels. In conclusion, ginsenoside protects CD34+ hematopoietic stem cels from radiation effects, which is probably correlated with anti-apoptosis and anti-oxidant roles of ginsenosides.