Objective:To investigate whether biochanin A(BCA)has a protective effect against dextran sodium sulfate(DSS)-in-duced ulcerative colitis(UC)in mice.Methods:Thirty C57BL/6N mice were randomly divided into normal control group,DSS model group,sulfasalazine(SASP)-positive drug control group,and low/medium/high-dose(5 mg/kg,10 mg/kg,and 20 mg/kg)BCA groups.The mouse model of UC was induced by administering 2.5%DSS aqueous solution for 7 days.During the experimental period,both the normal control and model groups were given 0.5%carboxymethyl cellulose sodium solution daily by gavage.The positive control group was given 100 mg/kg SASP,while the BCA groups were given BCA suspensions at doses of 5 mg/kg,10 mg/kg,and 20 mg/kg.The ad-ministration lasted for 10 days.Body weight changes and fecal status of the mice were recorded every day;the colon was dissected,col-lected,and measured for its length.The colon was stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin for pathomorphological study.Quantitative poly-merase chain reaction was used to determine the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6),and interleukin-10(IL-10)in the colon.Immunofluorescence was used to determine the expression of tight junction proteins,zonula occluden-1(ZO-1)and occludin,in the colon.Results:It showed that 5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg BCA significantly alleviated weight loss in mice with UC,while 5 mg/kg,10 mg/kg,and 20 mg/kg BCA reduced the disease activity index scores.Additionally,BCA showed similar effects to SASP in improving the structure and reducing the shortening of the colon in mice with UC.Compared with the model group,all BCA groups had significantly decreased TNF-α(P=0.024、P=0.060、P=0.003)and IL-6(P=0.002、P<0.001、P<0.001)and significantly increased IL-10(P=0.006、P=0.003、P<0.001),with varying degrees of up-regulated expression of tight junction proteins.Conclusion:BCA can effectively alleviate DSS-induced symptoms,reduce intes-tinal damage,and protect the intestinal barrier in mice with UC.

Objective:To discuss the diagnosis and treatment of ectopic ureter company with the bladder neck and urethral maldevelopment in children.Methods:The clinical data of the 6 patients admitted to Children’s Hospital affiliated to Chongqing Medical University from September 1993 to April 2019 diagnosed as ectopic ureter company with the bladder neck and urethral maldevelopment were retrospectively reviewed. The 6 children were girls and the median age was 7 years old , ranged from 2 to 15 years old. All children had ectopic ureter, including 3 in left-sided, 1 in right-sided, and 2 in bilateral-sided. Five children presented the intermittent dribbling incontinence and one child presented the continuously incontinence without normal voiding. Through ultrasound, IVP, MRI, cystoscopy and retrograde urography, seven ureters were found ectopic position, including bladder neck in 4 cases, two ureters inserted in the vagina in 2 cases. There were two cases with duplex kidney and 4 cases with renal dysplasia. Preoperative cystoscopy revealed wide and short urethra in 1 case, wide bladder neck combined with wide and short urethra in 4 cases. The surgery type included nephrectomy in cases 1-3, bilateral ureter reimplantation in case 4 who had the bilateral ectopic ureter , bilateral ureter reimplantation and bladder neck reconstruction at the same time in case 5. Nephrectomy associated with bladder neck and urethral reconstruction in case 6.Results:Five patients were followed-up and one patient was lost to follow-up after the first operation. Mean follow-up was 41.2 months (ranging 2 to 84 months). Four patients with bladder neck and maldevelopment that were not solved intraoperatively got reoperations due to incontinence without remission. Case 1, who underwent urethral reconstruction and extension, and urinary incontinence was partially relieved. Case 2 was found to have wide bladder neck deformity, and then retrospectively got bladder neck reconstruction and urethrovaginal fistula repair in 3 years and 5 years later. The urinary incontinence was completely relieved. The ureteral stump of case 3 was resected 2 years after operation due to recurrent urinary tract infection, and then got twice bladder neck and urethral reconstruction in 3 years and 6 years later of nephrectomy. His incontinence was partially relieved. The case 4 got bladder neck and urethral reconstruction in one year after bilateral ureter reimplantation, and incontinence was partially relieved too. Among the two patients underwent combined surgery, the case 5, who got bilateral ureteral bladder replantation combined with bladder neck reconstruction, were lost to follow-up after surgery. The case 6 got dysplasia nephrectomy combined with bladder neck reconstruction and urethroplasty were completely relieved of urinary incontinence.Conclusions:Bladder neck and urethra maldevelopment is one of the main causes of urinary incontinence after surgery in children with ectopic ureter. The diagnosis mainly relies on cystoscopy. The treatment mainly relies on surgery. Bladder neck and urethral reconstruction is expected to be available. If the operative conditions permit, synchronous surgical treatment of ectopic ureter and bladder neck and urethral maldevelopment will get a better prognosis than staging surgery.

Objective To evaluate the observation period and association between the initial visit data including initial APD measured by ultrasonography (USG) and outcome of unilateral hydronephrosis caused by ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) in children.Methods One hundred and ninety-three children with UPJO,who underwent the USG at the initial visit time.There were 155 boys and 38.166 cases in left side and other 27 cases in right side.All cases were divided by initial visit time and initial APD respectively.There were 109 infancy(≤ 12 months),36 toddler(12-36 months),19 preschooler(36-60 months),29 school-age children(＞ 60 months)and 11 cases in normal group (APD ＜ 0.5 cm),47 in mild (0.5 cm≤APD ＜ 1.0 cm),54 in moderate(1.0 cm≤ APD≤ 1.5 cm),81 in sever(APD ＞ 1.5 cm).All the patients were follow up for at least 24 months and divided into two groups depended on whether the patients received the surgery.Results Areas under the receiver operating characteristic plots were 0.924 (95％ CI 0.870-0.977,P ＜ 0.01);sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,and negative predictive value were 87.2％,88.9％,87.5％,and 95.5％,respectively,for the cut of APD is ≥ 1.85 cm.Infancy and initial APD ＞ 1.5 cm was the risk factors predicting operation with the hazard ratio of 2.991 (95％ CI 1.328-6.734,P =0.008) and 16.593 (95％ CI 5.893-46.719,P ＜ 0.01),respectively.Operation rate at one year of UPJO,for initial APD ＞ 1.5 cm,initial APD ≤ 1.5 cm,infancy and after infancy,were 43.20％(35/81),2.67％ (3/112),30.27％ (33/109),5.95％ (5/84),respectively.Conclusions Initial USG is an efficient diagnostic tool to detect pathologic hydronephrosis.Initial APD predicts the clinical outcome of UPJO in pediatrics accurately.Further investigation is recommended when initial APD ＞ 1.5 cm.Close observation is needed during the one year after initial visit to detect the deterioration of UPJO,especially in infancy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the histopathological features of the synovium between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the synovial specimens obtained after synovial surgery in 72 cases of RA and 24 cases of OA. Two independent pathologists reviewed the sections of the synovial tissues with HE staining, quantitatively scored the degree of fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) hyperplasia, vascular hyperplasia, fibroplasia, and lymphocyte infiltration, and examined the presence plasma cell infiltration. The pathological morphology of the synovial tissues was evaluated in relation with the clinical data of the patients. RESULTS: Pannus formation was also detected in the synovium of OA patients, which showed a lesser degree of OA-FLS hyperplasia, fibrosis and lymphocyte infiltration and a significantly lower rate of plasma cell infiltration compared with the pannus in RA patients. Vascular proliferation was also milder in the pannus of OA patients than in RA pannus, but the difference was not statistically significant. In OA patients, the pannus could be observed under a microscope and was difficult to distinguish from that in RA patients. CONCLUSIONS Pannus formation occurs also in the synovium of OA patients but with milder FLS hyperplasia, fibrosis and lymphocyte infiltration and a lower rate of plasma cell infiltration compared with the pannus in RA patients. These differences in the pannus between OA and RA can be of potential value in the diagnosis and treatment of the patients.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Cells, Cultured ; Humans ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; Retrospective Studies ; Synovial Membrane

Hydronephrosis caused by ureteropelvic junction obstruction(UPJO) is a common urinary abnormality in children which involves dilation in the urinary tract due to limitation in urinary drainage.Most cases would resolve spontaneously, but the others who were short of adequate treatment would lead to irreversible renal damage.Ultrasonography is the most common examination for UPJO.However, there exists disagreement in the way to define obstruction accurately or to predict which patient will benefit from surgical intervention by ultrasonography.By reviewing the related national data the authors analyzed the advance on prognosis of ultrasonography and the non-surgical outcomes of UPJO.

Objective To explore the differential expression of protein in the serum of individuals susceptible to noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) susceptible individuals working in the military tunnel.Methods A total of 40 soldiers from one tunnel construction troop were divided into the susceptible group and the nonsusceptible group.Twenty soldiers were selected for each group.The average age of the susceptible group was 24.79±2.03 years old and their thresholds of the speech and high frequencies were 22.43±8.31 dB HL and 48.55± 11.54 dB HL,respectively.The average age of the nonsusceptible group was 23.67 ± 3.56 years old and their thresholds of the speech and high frequencies were 13.40±4.13 dB HL and 9.40±2.54 dB HL,respectively.Five microliter peripheral venous blood samples were collected from each individual Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and MALDI-TOF-MS were used to separate and identify the differentially expressed proteins.Results Thirty-seven protein spots differentially expressing between the NIHL susceptible and nonsusceptible were found after 2 DE.Compared by mascort score,10 differential proteins were harvested.Among these,5 peptides including proteasome subunit alpha-5,complement C4-A,haptoglobin,apolipoprotein A-I and vitronectin were upregulated,and other 5 ones,including Lysozyme C,beta-2 glycoprotein-1,pigment epithelium derived factor,35 kDa trypsin inhibitor heavy chain H and transthyretin were downregulated in NIHL susceptible individuals.The differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion The differentially expressed proteins were closely related to oxidative stress responses in susceptible individuals,including proteasome subunit alpha-5,complement C4A,haptoglobin,apolipoprotein A-I,beta-2 glycoprotein-1,pigment epithelium derived factor,35 kDa trypsin inhibitor heavy chain H and transthyretin.They might participate in the occurrence of NIHL through this way.The proteins harvested from this study were expected to be specific candidate serum NIHL susceptibility biomarkers in blood to help screen susceptible individuals.

Objective To investigate the sleep quality of civil aviation pilots and provide reference and basis for ensuring the sleep health of pilots. Methods A cross-sectional cluster sampling questionnaire was used.The Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) scale and self-made questionnaires were used to investigate and evaluate the sleep status of the active pilots of an airline company.Each component of PSQI was scored by 0 ,1 ,2 ,or 3 points ,and the cumulative score of 7 components was the total score of PSQI.If a PSQI component was scored as 2 or 3 points it would indicate a poor or very poor quality of the component.PSQI ＞ 7 meant poor sleep quality , and PSQI ≤7 meant good sleep quality. Results The average score of pilots′ PSQI was 8.09 ± 3.47. The mean scores of PSQI component were 1.53 ± 0.80 for sleep quality ,1.45 ± 0.93 for time to fall asleep ,1.39 ± 0.97 for sleep time ,0.38 ± 0.73 for sleep efficiency ,1.22 ± 0.58 for sleep disorder , 0.11 ± 0.47 for hypnotic drug ,and 2.00 ± 1.06 for daytime dysfunction.The distribution by frequency that for the PSQI component ≥2 was daytime dysfunction (66.2%) ,sleep quality (52.9%) ,sleep time (48.8%) and time to fall asleep (48.5%) respectively.55.6% of civil aviation pilots showed sleep quality problems. Conclusions The sleep quality problem of civil aviation pilots is serious and should be highly concerned and actively intervened.

Objective To investigate the sleep quality of civil aviation pilots and provide reference and basis for ensuring the sleep health of pilots. Methods A cross-sectional cluster sampling questionnaire was used.The Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) scale and self-made questionnaires were used to investigate and evaluate the sleep status of the active pilots of an airline company.Each component of PSQI was scored by 0 ,1 ,2 ,or 3 points ,and the cumulative score of 7 components was the total score of PSQI.If a PSQI component was scored as 2 or 3 points it would indicate a poor or very poor quality of the component.PSQI ＞ 7 meant poor sleep quality , and PSQI ≤7 meant good sleep quality. Results The average score of pilots′ PSQI was 8.09 ± 3.47. The mean scores of PSQI component were 1.53 ± 0.80 for sleep quality ,1.45 ± 0.93 for time to fall asleep ,1.39 ± 0.97 for sleep time ,0.38 ± 0.73 for sleep efficiency ,1.22 ± 0.58 for sleep disorder , 0.11 ± 0.47 for hypnotic drug ,and 2.00 ± 1.06 for daytime dysfunction.The distribution by frequency that for the PSQI component ≥2 was daytime dysfunction (66.2%) ,sleep quality (52.9%) ,sleep time (48.8%) and time to fall asleep (48.5%) respectively.55.6% of civil aviation pilots showed sleep quality problems. Conclusions The sleep quality problem of civil aviation pilots is serious and should be highly concerned and actively intervened.

Objective To investigate and analyze the snoring disease incidence,moderate and severe snoring disease incidence rate,the risk factors and their relationship to daytime lethargy in civil flying personnel.Methods The cluster sampling method was chosen.A questionnaire survey was conducted for 1 400 civil flying personnel.Items of questionnaire included general information (personal name,gender,age,education),physiological parameters (height,weight,neck circumference,waist circumference and blood pressure),smoking and drinking history,chronic disease history,family history of snoring,cognition of snoring,snoring severity score,Epworth sleepiness score (ESS) scale as well as sleep related flight data (flight course,type of aircraft,flying jet lag,total flying hours and flying hours per year),and calculated body mass index.The effective questionnaires were statistically analyzed,and the prevalence of snoring and the prevalence of moderate and severe snoring were calculated.The risk factors associated with snoring were screened.The snoring degree was assessed according to Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome (2011 Revision).According to the degree of snoring,the patients were divided into non snoring group,mild snoring group and moderate or severe snoring group.The score of ESS in different snoring groups was compared.Results Totally 1 356 questionnaires were collected and 1 227 questionnaires were valid.The valid rate of the questionnaire was 90.5％.Subjects included 1 206 male flying personnel and 21 female flying personnel.The snoring prevalence rate of male flying personnel was 60.0％ (723/1 206)and the moderate or severe snoring prevalence rate of male flying personnel was 14.8％(179/1 206).No snoring was found in female flying personnel.For the male flying personnel older than 30 years old,the snoring prevalence rate was 64.5 ％ (402/623),and the moderate or severe snoring prevalence rate was 19.4％oo (121/623).The prevalences of snoring and moderate or severe snoring increased with age and BMI(x2 =19.714-38.964,P＜0.01).Prevalences of snoring and moderate or severe snoring increased with the increase of smoking and alcohol consumption (x2 =15.969-58.919,P ＜ 0.01).Age,BMI,neck circumference,waist circumference,smoking and drinking habits and family history were the risk factors of snoring.For flight factors the jet lag was the risk factor of snoring.The significant differences of daytime ESS score between non snoring group and snoring groups were found(F=6.126,P＜0.01).Conclusions The snoring prevalence of male civil flying personnel is related to age,BMI,neck circumference,waist circumference,smoking and drinking habits,family history and flight jet lag.The severer snoring the higher ESS score obtained.It should be highly regarded.

Objective To investigate and analyze the snoring disease incidence,moderate and severe snoring disease incidence rate,the risk factors and their relationship to daytime lethargy in civil flying personnel.Methods The cluster sampling method was chosen.A questionnaire survey was conducted for 1 400 civil flying personnel.Items of questionnaire included general information (personal name,gender,age,education),physiological parameters (height,weight,neck circumference,waist circumference and blood pressure),smoking and drinking history,chronic disease history,family history of snoring,cognition of snoring,snoring severity score,Epworth sleepiness score (ESS) scale as well as sleep related flight data (flight course,type of aircraft,flying jet lag,total flying hours and flying hours per year),and calculated body mass index.The effective questionnaires were statistically analyzed,and the prevalence of snoring and the prevalence of moderate and severe snoring were calculated.The risk factors associated with snoring were screened.The snoring degree was assessed according to Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome (2011 Revision).According to the degree of snoring,the patients were divided into non snoring group,mild snoring group and moderate or severe snoring group.The score of ESS in different snoring groups was compared.Results Totally 1 356 questionnaires were collected and 1 227 questionnaires were valid.The valid rate of the questionnaire was 90.5％.Subjects included 1 206 male flying personnel and 21 female flying personnel.The snoring prevalence rate of male flying personnel was 60.0％ (723/1 206)and the moderate or severe snoring prevalence rate of male flying personnel was 14.8％(179/1 206).No snoring was found in female flying personnel.For the male flying personnel older than 30 years old,the snoring prevalence rate was 64.5 ％ (402/623),and the moderate or severe snoring prevalence rate was 19.4％oo (121/623).The prevalences of snoring and moderate or severe snoring increased with age and BMI(x2 =19.714-38.964,P＜0.01).Prevalences of snoring and moderate or severe snoring increased with the increase of smoking and alcohol consumption (x2 =15.969-58.919,P ＜ 0.01).Age,BMI,neck circumference,waist circumference,smoking and drinking habits and family history were the risk factors of snoring.For flight factors the jet lag was the risk factor of snoring.The significant differences of daytime ESS score between non snoring group and snoring groups were found(F=6.126,P＜0.01).Conclusions The snoring prevalence of male civil flying personnel is related to age,BMI,neck circumference,waist circumference,smoking and drinking habits,family history and flight jet lag.The severer snoring the higher ESS score obtained.It should be highly regarded.