Objective:To investigate any change in the effective connectivity between the bilateral anterior central gyruses after transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).Methods:Twenty-one healthy subjects were examined using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) before and after receiving continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS). The brain atlas of the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was used for fine partitioning of the bilateral anterior central gyruses. Granger causality analysis was used to compare any changes in the effective connectivity between them.Results:After the cTBS inhibited the right M1 area, significant changes in effective connectivity among the sub-regions of the bilateral M1 area were observed. The effective connectivity of the right upper limb to the left upper limb and the left head to face were weakened, while that of the left upper limb to the right head, as well as of the face to the right upper limb was enhanced.Conclusion:For people whose right M1 area has been inhibited by cTBS, the effective connectivity changes in both upper limb functional areas of the M1 region reflect inter-hemispheric inhibition. Opposite changes were found in the trunk and upper limbs.

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of monitoring serum complement C1q/tumor necrosis factors-associated protein 3 (CTRP3) and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2(Lp-PLA2) levels in patients with coronary heart disease, especially patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Methods:This case-control study included 99 patients with angina pectoris aged (60.4±10.4) years, 105 patients with AMI aged (61.7±14.3) years, and 60 healthy individuals aged (43.6±9.5) years. Serum CTRP3 was detected by ELISA, and Lp-PLA2 was detected by automatic biochemical analyzer. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the correlation between CTRP3, Lp-PLA2 in angina pectoris and AMI patients. The diagnostic efficiency of each index was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:Serum Lp-PLA2 was significantly higher in AMI group than in angina pectoris group ([313.1±68.1] U/L vs [205.8±71.4] U/L, P<0.001), while CTRP3 was significantly lower in AMI group than in angina pectoris group ([64.2±18.5] μg/L vs [84.8±25.0] μg/L, P<0.001). Logistic regression showed that serum CTRP3 was negatively correlated with AMI ( OR=0.964, 95% CI 0.935-0.993, P=0.019), and Lp-PLA2 was positively correlated with AMI ( OR=1.020, 95% CI 1.008-1.032, P=0.001). ROC analysis showed that the AUC (95% CI) of AMI diagnosed by CTRP3 was 0.753 (0.685-0.821), P<0.001; the AUC (95% CI) of AMI diagnosed by Lp-PLA2 was 0.884 (0.833-0.935), P<0.001; the AUC (95% CI) of diagnosis efficacy by combined indices was 0.910 (0.870-0.950), P<0.001. Conclusions:Lower serum CTRP3 and higher serum Lp-PLA2 levels are associated with increased risk for AMI. Combined detection of both indices can improve the diagnostic efficacy of AMI.

Objective:Analysis of the oxidative products of DNA and RNA in patients with hypertension by determination of 8-oxo Gsn and 8-oxo dGsn, respectively.Methods:This is an observational study. During August and December, 2018, 139 hypertension patients without other chronic diseases with an average age of (49.6±12.4) years old, and 139 apparently healthy volunteers without hypertension with an average age of (48.5±11.7) years old were recruited. Fasting morning urine were collected. The oxidative products of DNA: 8-oxo Gsn and the products of RNA: 8-oxo dGsn were analyzed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Urine Cr(U-Cr), and other serum biomarkers such as ALT, Cr, UA, Glu, TG, TC were analyzed using automatic biochemical analyzers.Results:of 8-oxo Gsn and 8-oxo dGsn were presented as median(quartile). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0 and GraphPad Prism 5. Nonparametric test was used to compare the difference of 8-oxo Gsn and 8-oxo dGsn between the hypertension patients and the healthy controls. Results The DNA and RNA oxidative products of 8-oxo Gsn and 8-oxo dGsn in patients with hypertension and their U-Cr-corrected 8-oxo Gsn/U-Cr and 8-oxo dGsn/U-Cr were 14.38(10.39-19.91)ng/ml, 12.97(7.92-18.96)ng/ml, 1.10(0.88-1.38)μg/μmol and 0.96(0.75-1.30) μg/μmol, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the healthy controls: 11.95(7.52-18.01) ng/ml, 10.12(6.42-15.04) ng/ml, 0.86(0.59-1.21) μg/μmol and 0.72(0.50-1.02) μg/μmol, respectively. After grouped by sex, 8-oxo Gsn in males, 8-oxo Gsn and 8-oxo dGsn in females showed no significant difference between patients with hypertension and healthy controls, however, after U-Cr correction, both males′ and females′ 8-oxo Gsn/U-Cr and 8-oxo dGsn/U-Cr in patients with hypertension were higher than that in the healthy controls.Conclusion:The oxidative products of DNA and RNA in patients with hypertension were significantly higher than that in healthy controls.

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of varicella epidemic situation at schools and kindergartens in Fengxian district of Shanghai during 2012-2018, and to provide evidence for developing control and prevention strategies. Methods: Data of varicella epidemic situation at schools and kindergartens and varicella cases were analyzed by descriptive methods. The rates were compared with chi-square test. Results: A total of 6 727 varicella cases were reported in Fengxian during 2012-2018, for an incidence of 85.34 per 100 000 population. Totally 66 varicella epidemic outbreaks and public health emergencies caused by varicella were reported, which involved 741 varicella cases. Among them, 426 were breakthrough cases (57.49%). The average interval time of breakthrough cases were (6.78±2.79)years, and the incidence was more concentrated in the 3-9 years after vaccination with varicella vaccine. Most breakthrough cases appeared 5 years past vaccination. The peak time of varicella was from April to June and from October to December. Most of cases were in the 5-11 year-old group and 15-17 year-old group. The cases in males was higher than in females. Kindergarten childcare and primary school children were at high risk of varicella. Timeliness of reporting was positively correlated with the duration of the varicella epidemic situation( r =0.52， P <0.05). Conclusion Most varicella epidemic situation in Fengxian district of Shanghai occued in primary schools during autumn and winter, and most of the varicella cases were breakthrough cases. Emergency vaccination of varicella vaccine can effectively control the spread of the epidemic. It is suggested to increase the publicity of the immunization program of 2 doses of varicella vaccine and raise the awareness of varicella vaccination of children’s parents.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of orthodontic traction on the microstructure of dental enamel. METHODS: Forty-eight isolated premolars were randomly divided into 6 groups (=8), including Group A (blank control group), in which the teeth were bonded with the orthodontic brackets without any loading force; Groups B1, B2, and B3 where the teeth were bonded with the orthodontic brackets using clinical adhesives and loaded with 50 g force for 6 months, 200 g force for 6 months, and 200 g force for 1 month, respectively; and Groups C1 and C2, where the teeth were bonded with straight wire brackets using light curing bonding and chemical curing bonding techniques, respectively. All the teeth were embedded with non-decalcified epoxy resin. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and energy spectrometer (EDS) were used to analyze interface morphology and elemental composition of the teeth sliced with a hard tissue microtome. RESULTS: Compared with those in Group A, the teeth in the other 5 groups showed increased adhesive residue index with microcracks and void structures on the enamel surface under SEM; AFM revealed microcracks on the enamel surface with angles to the grinding direction. A larger loading force on the bracket resulted in more microcracks on the enamel interface. The interface roughness differed significantly between Groups A and C2, and the peak-to-valley distance differed significantly between Groups A, C, and C2. CONCLUSIONS Orthodontic traction can cause changes in the microstructure of normal dental enamel.
Dental Enamel ; Materials Testing ; Orthodontic Brackets ; Resin Cements ; Surface Properties ; Traction

OBJECTIVETo investigate the changes of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) expression in H O inducedcardiomyocytes oxidative stress injury.

METHODSCultured H9C2 cardiomyocytes were exposed to H O -inducedoxidative stress and the effects of the ALDH2 agonist Alda-1 and ALDH2 inhibitor Daidzin were tested on the stress level ofthe exposed cells. MTT colorimetric assay was used to assess the cell viability after the treatments. The oxidative stress level inthe myocardial cells was detected using DHE fluorescence staining, and the activity and protein level of ALDH2 were detectedwith spectrophotometry and Western blotting.

RESULTSCompared with normal control cells, Alda-1 treatment did notsignificantly affect the cell viability, oxidative stress level, or ALDH2 activity and protein level. H O exposure significantlylowered the cell activity and ALDH2 activity and protein expression and increased the oxidative stress level; Alda-1 treatmentobvious antagonized the effects of H O . Blocking ALDH2 with Daidzin produced similar effects to H O exposure on theviability, oxidative stress level, and ALDH2 activity and expression in the myocardial cells.

CONCLUSIONSH O exposure lowersthe activity and reduces the protein expression of ALDH2 in cardiomyocyte H9C2 cells, and activation of ALDH2 can alleviateH O -induced oxidative stress in the cells.

Objective To investigate the methylation alteration of genomic DNA (gDNA) and its significance in pedigree neural tube defects (NTDs).Methods Twelve subjects from 3 NTDs pedigrees were enrolled in this study.NTDs patients were served as the case group,and their family members with normal phenotype were served as the control group.Peripheral vein blood was extracted,then gDNA was extracted.The extracted gDNA was treated with sodium bisulfite propagated as DNA segments in the way of whole genome amplification,which was put in I11umina Infinium human methylation 450k bead chip to perform hybridization,elution,extension,and imaging.The chip was scanned by iScan.Genome Studio was used to read the outcome.Illumina methylation analyzer software was used to analyze the methylation data.Results Gene differential methylation analysis showed that differential methylation sites only accounted for 0.2％ of the detected CpG sites and there were 617 differential hypermethylation sites (P ＜ 0.05),and 63 of them represented significant difference(P ＜ 1 × 10-4),including zinc finger E-box binding homebox 2,5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 1 etc;there were 104 differential hypomethylation sites (P ＜ 0.05),and 65 of them represented significant difference (P ＜ 0.01),including Homeobox B7 and runt-related transcription factor 3 etc.Clustering analysis indicated that the tendency of DNA hypermethylation was consistent with NTDs patients,but the tendency of DNA hypomethylation was consistent with the controls.Conclusion In NTDs pedigree,the abnormal DNA methylation alterations may be the risk factor for NTDs occurrence.

Objective To investigate the correlation between neural tube defects (NTDs) and DACT1 gene, and provide the basic data for disease diagnosis and genetic counseling. Methods Blood samples were obtained from 163 NTDs patients and 480 unrelated healthy individuals. Mutation detection of DACT1 gene and DNA direct sequencing was carried out by PCR amplification. Bioinformatics analysis of these mutated loci was performed. Results Six mutations were found in NTDs patients, including 4 missense mutations (p.R45W, p.D142G, p.N356K and p.V702G). But these mutations were not found in 480 healthy individuals. Three mutated amino acid residues (p.45R, p.142D and p.356N) were highly conservative in evolution, and the mutated carriers were female patients, and suffered from anencephaly. Conclusion DACT1 gene mutation may be a risk factor of NTDs in Han population of northern China.

Objective A retrospective analysis was conducted to review the distribution and antibiotic resistance in the Staphy-lococcus aureus strains isolated from sputum and provide evidence for effective prevention and control of infections.Methods The 276 strains of S .aureus isolated during the period from January to September of 2009 were included in this analysis.The isolates were identified and tested for susceptibility using VITEK 2 Compact Automatic Culture and Identification System. Results The prevalence of methicillin-resistant S .aureus (MRSA)was 79.0% (218/276).The S .aureus strains were mainly isolated from Department of Neurology (27.5%,76/276),ICU (25.4%,70/276),Neurosurgery (18.1 %,50/276),and Re-spiratory Medicine (9.1 %,25/276).Vancomycin,teicoplanin and quinupristin-dalfopristin were the most active agents against these S .aureus .The resistant strains were less than 0.5%.MRSA showed lower resistance rate to trimethoprim-sulfamethox-azole than MSSA.MRSA strains were more resistant than MSSA to most other antibacterial agents.Conclusions The MRSA i-solates from sputum are highly prevalent and resistant to antibiotics.Antimicrobial agents should be selected appropriately ac-cording to the results of susceptibility testing.

Objective To assess lipid status of pregnant women with GDM based on the lipid reference intervals for pregnant women .Methods Maternal blood and venous cord blood samples were collected in 81 well-controlled GDM mothers and 86 control subjects .The total cholesterol (CHOL) ,trigalloyl glycerol (TRIG) ,high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) ,low-density lipo-protein cholesterol (LDL) ,apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA) ,apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and lipoprotein (a) levels were measured by auto-matic biochemical analyzer .We used a normal pregnancy specific lipid reference interval (PSR) and normal non-pregnant reference intervals (NPR) respectively to assess the lipid status of pregnant women with GDM .Results Compared with normal control group ,the Apo A ,HDL and LDL levels in GDM group were significantly lower (P<0 .05) .The HDL ,LDL and Lp(a) levels of GDM cord blood were significantly lower (P<0 .05) .The weight of offspring birth of GDM pregnant women with low level HDL was significantly higher (P<0 .05) ,and that of GDM pregnant women with high level LDL offspring birth weight was significantly lower (P<0 .05) .Maternal HDL was not correlated with birth weight (r= -0 .190 ,P=0 .103) .Parent LDH and birth weight was negatively correlated (r= -0 .252 ,P=0 .029) .Conclusion The reference range of normal pregnancy-specific lipid we had estab-lished is more scientific for assessment of blood lipids .