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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the reliability and validity of parent proxy-report scales of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Version 4.0 (PedsQL 4.0) Generic Core Scales, the Chinese Version.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>3493 school students aged 6-18 years were recruited using multistage cluster sampling method. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the above-mentioned PedsQL 4.0 scales. The internal consistency was assessed, using Cronbach's a coefficient, while its validity was tested through correlation analysis, t-test and exploratory factor analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The internal consistency reliability for Total Scale Score (Cronbach's alpha = 0.90), Physical Health Summary Score (alpha= 0.81), and Psychosocial Health Summary Score (alpha= 0.89) were excellent. Six major factors were extracted by factor analysis which basically matched the designed structure of the original version accounting for nearly 66% of the variance. The total Scale Score significantly decreased by 3.5 to 13.3 (P < 0.05) in children and adolescents who had diseases including cold, skin hypersensitiveness, food allergy, courbature or arthralgia, breathlessness with a frequency of 6 times or more per year or had asthma as compared to those with lower frequency (< or = 5 times/y) of the diseases or without asthma. We found moderate to high correlations between items and the subscales. Correlation coefficients ranged between 0.45 to 0.84 (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The reliability and validity of the parent proxy-report scales of PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales of the Chinese Version were as good as the original version. Our findings suggested that the scales could be applied to evaluate the health-related quality of life in childhood children in similar Chinese regions to Guangzhou.</p>
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Adolescent , Child , Humans , Child Welfare , Psychology , China , Psychometrics , Methods , Quality of Life , Students , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Objective This study assessed the effect of food preference and dietary behaviors on the risk of overweight or obesity in school children and adolescents aged 6-19 years.Methods A11 overweight or obeoe students,with age-and school-matched controls were recruited for this case-control study from 28 elementary and secondary schools in Guangzhou urban districts from October 2006 to April 2007.Weight and height were measured,and body nlass index was calculated for the classification of obesity.overweight and underweight.Their food preference and behaviors were asesbed using a structured questionnaire completed by their parents.Behavior and food preference were classified into four levels.and the relevant bottom levels were defined as control groups.Logistic regression wfs used to assess independent determinants of overweight and obesity.Results Among 7136 participants,1947 cases and 2136 normal weight controls from 5755 students with valid questionnaire data were included in the study.Results from univariate analysis showed that odds ratios for overweight or obesity were 0.60-0.69 in those with moat preference(top group)on vegetables,fruits,candy,evening snacks,0.50 in the students of less food partiality,1.84,1.30 and 1.26 in those of most preference for pork,beef and deep-fried foods.and 5.14 in students with fastest speed during eating,respectively(all P<0.05).Vegetable intake,evening snacks preference,speed during eating and food partiality remained with significant agsociation with overweight and obesity in multivariate analysis after adjusted for age,sex,family socio-economical status and their parents' body build. The adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of the above items became 0.55 (0.42-0.73), 0.48 (0.35-0.65), 0.50(0.39-0.65),and 4.32(3.23-5.80) as compared to the relevant lowest categories, respecively. Conclusion Behaviors as eating more vegetable and slow-eating might be protective factos against overweight and obesity in school clildren.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of kir2.1 protein in primary cultured sinus node cells and establish a reliable technique to locate, culture and characterize neonatal rat sinus node cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In paraffin sections, the location and morphology of the neonatal rat sinus node cells were observed by HE staining, silver nitrate staining, myelin staining and phosphotungstic acid-hematoxylin (PTAH) staining. Primary cell culture from the neonatal rat sinus node was conducted to observe the spontaneous contraction frequency, cell morphology and kir2.1 protein expression.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Combination of the 3 staining methods allowed accurate localization of the sino-atrial nodal (SAN) tissue, and among the cultured cells in the SAN, at least 3 distinct types of cells with spontaneous contraction were observed. The majority of the contracting cells were spindle cells and their construction and impulse frequency indicated their identity as pacemaker cells, while the triangular and irregular cells resembled the atrial muscle cells. A lower expression level of kir2.1 protein was detected in SAN cells than in the atrial and ventricular myocytes of the neonatal rats.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Combination of silver nitrate staining, myelin staining and PTAH staining identifies the exact location of the sinus node tissue, and cultured sinus node cells have lower expression of kir2.1 protein than the atrial and ventricular myocytes of neonatal rats.</p>
Subject(s)
Animals , Rats , Cell Culture Techniques , Methods , Cells, Cultured , Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying , Metabolism , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Sinoatrial Node , Cell Biology , MetabolismABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation combining with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene therapy on myocardium rebuilding,angiogene- sis,and heart function improvement in rats with myocardial infarction.Methods SD rat MSCs were isola- ted,cultured in vitro,labeled with BrdU and transfected by Ad.VEGF gene.Four weeks after left anterior descending artery was ligated to created rat myocardial infarction,cardiac function was examined with echocar- diography,rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=10 in each group):GroupⅠ:MSCs/Ad.VEGF implantation;GroupⅡ:MSCs implantation;GroupⅢ:Ad.VEGF injection;GroupⅣ:Control.MSCs dif- ferentiation was observed 4 weeks after transplantation.Immunohistochemistry and angiogenesis were observed. Echocardiography was performed to detect the effects on heart function.Results MSCs labeled with BrdU could be identified in host hearts in groupⅠandⅡ,most of them positively stained with cTnT antibody. Echocardiography indicated that the improvement of the LVEF value in groupⅠwas more significant than that in the other three groups (P＜0.01,respectively).Some cells were incorporated into the coronary capillaries in the infarcted region.The capillary density in groupⅠwas higher than that in the other three groups (P＜0.01,respectively).Conclusion MSCs implantation combining with VEGF gene therapy can obviously re- pair damaged myocardium and enhance the angiogenesis in ischemic heart tissue.
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Purpose:To investigate the expression and significance of VEGF in lung carcinoma.Methods:SP immu- nohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of VEGF and MVD in 42 cases of lung carcinoma.Results:The expression rate of VEGF was 81.0% in lung carcinoma.In the group of VEGF positive staining,microvessel density (MVD) was (45.68?9.23) per high power field which was significantly larger than(34.58?10.22) per high power field in the group of VEGF negative staining (P