OBJECTIVES: To explore the correlation of hypertension with postoperative cognitive dysfunction and its possible mechanism. METHODS: Twelve-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were both randomized into control group and surgical group (n=8). In the latter group, the rats received carotid artery exposure surgery under sevoflurane anesthesia to establish models of postoperative learning and memory impairment. Postoperative cognitive function changes of the rats were evaluated using behavioral tests. The hippocampus of the rats were collected for determining ATP level and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and for detecting expressions of UCP2 and astrocyte markers (GFAP and NOX4) using Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. Serum levels of ROS, IL-6, IL-1β and TNF‑α were detected using ELISA. Nissl staining was used to examine hippocampal neuronal loss in the CA1 region. RESULTS: The SHRs exhibited exacerbated learning and memory deficits following the surgery as shown by significantly reduced performance in novel object recognition tests and context-related and tone-related fear conditioning experiments. Compared with WKY rats, the SHRs had significantly decreased mitochondrial UCP2 expression and MMP in the hippocampus, increased hippocampal ATP level, and markedly increased serum levels of ROS and inflammatory factors, showing also increased activation of hippocampal astrocytes and microglia and reduced number of neurons positive for Nissl staining. CONCLUSIONS Hypertension can exacerbate major postoperative learning and memory impairment in rats possibly as a result of UCP2-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress damage, which further leads to astrocyte overactivation and neuronal damage.
Animals ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Rats ; Uncoupling Protein 2 ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Hypertension/physiopathology* ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Mitochondria/metabolism* ; Down-Regulation ; Male ; Memory Disorders/etiology* ; Mitochondrial Proteins/metabolism*

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the current feeding status of infants and young children under 2 years old in rural areas of Hubei province.

METHODSThe study was conducted by cluster random sampling from September 2009 to march 2010. The data on breastfeeding and complementary food supplement of the 1 197 infants and young children aged 0-23 months in 8 counties of Hubei province were collected through questionnaires. The feeding status was analyzed according to the WHO 2008 edition of Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices.

RESULTSA total of 1 197 children aged 0-23 months were investigated. The rate of ever breastfeeding of children aged 0-23 months reached up to 93.9% (1 124/1 197), while the percentage of early initiation of breastfeeding was only 22.0% (263/1 197). The rates of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months, continued breastfeeding for 1 year, and continued breastfeeding for 2 years were 72.1% (277/384), 17.0% (26/153) and 4.9% (7/144), respectively. The median time of giving complementary food was the 6th month and the weaning time was the 9th month. The rate of complementary food supplemented from 6th-8th month in time was 61.8% (444/718) . The rates of minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, minimum acceptable diet, and consumption of iron-rich or iron-fortified foods among children aged 6-23 months were 61.7% (502/813), 81.5% (663/813), 54.4% (442/813) and 50.1% (407/813), respectively.

CONCLUSIONLate initiation of breastfeeding, non-continued breastfeeding, giving complementary food too early or too late, inadequate category and frequency of complementary food, and the low rate of consumption of iron-rich or iron-fortified foods were the main issues to be concerned on infant feeding in rural areas of Hubei province.

Breast Feeding ; statistics & numerical data ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Diet Surveys ; statistics & numerical data ; Feeding Behavior ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Food ; statistics & numerical data ; Rural Population ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Weaning

Objective:To investigate the effect of HLA-DRB1*07,13 allelic genes on the immune response to hepatitis B vaccination.Methods:896 healthy college students of Han nationality from Guangxi province,who had received standard courses of vaccination with recombinant hepatitis B virus vaccine,were tested the level of anti-HBs with ELISA method at the sixth month after their last vaccination.The non- or hypo-responders were selected to receive another 20 μg doses of recombinant vaccine and were examined anti-HBs once more four weeks later.99 non- or hypo-responders and 136 medium or hyper-responders were selected for the study subjects.HLA-DRB1*07,13 allelic genes of the subjects were detected by polymerase chain reaction using sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP) method.Results:The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*07 gene in the non- or hypo-responders group were significantly higher than that in the medium or hyper-responder group (16.16% vs 4.41%,P＜0.05). No significant difference of HLA-DRB1*13 gene between the two groups (1.01% vs 3.68%,P=0.389).Conclusion:There is a close relationship between the expression of HLA-DRB1*07 gene and the non- or hypo-response to HB vaccine;No relationship between HLA-DRB1*13 gene expression and the response to HB vaccine is found.