ABSTRACT
Objective:This study was aimed to explore the associations between the risk of dental fluorosis and the serum biomarkers of bone metabolism in children.Methods:A total of 502 children aged 7 - 12 years were selected by cluster sampling from 4 primary schools in Tongxu County, Kaifeng City, Henan Province from April to May 2017. Morning urine and fasting peripheral blood samples were collected from each participant. Urinary fluoride concentration was determined by fluoride ion selective electrode method. Serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP), osteocalcin (OC), calcitonin (CT) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer. Dean method was used to evaluate the prevalence of dental fluorosis in children, and the participants were divided into dental fluorosis group ( n = 173) and control group ( n = 329) after being diagnosed by trained physicians for their dental fluorosis. The associations between the risk of dental fluorosis and the serum biomarkers of bone metabolism in children were analyzed by logistic regression. Results:The levels of serum phosphorus (mmol/L: 1.54 ± 0.19 vs 1.58 ± 0.21) and OC (ng/ml: 11.59 ± 5.22 vs 12.78 ± 5.88) in children in dental fluorosis group were significantly lower than those in children in control group ( P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that serum OC level affected the risk of dental fluorosis [odds ratio ( OR) = 0.96, 95% confidence interval ( CI): 0.92 - 0.99, P < 0.05]. The relative contribution of the biomarkers of bone metabolism to the risk of dental fluorosis in descending order were serum OC (36.34%), phosphorus (25.89%), BALP (13.16%), PTH (9.73%), calcium (9.44%), CT (3.72%) and ALP (1.72%). Conclusions:The prevalence of dental fluorosis in children is related to the changes of serum biomarkers of bone metabolism. Serum OC plays an important role in the occurrence of dental fluorosis.
ABSTRACT
This article mainly introduces the functional clustering methods and demonstrates its performance by the real analysis of Chinese medical Zong Qi data.The functional clustering analysis hypothesizes that the discrete time series observations are dominated by a continuous function of time,which can be expressed by infinite basis functions.Functional clustering methods include raw data method,filtering method and adaptive method.When dealing with the sparse data clustering analysis,raw data method encounters the difficulty of matrix calculation due to the lack of data on some time grids.Filtering method suits for full time data,while when facing missing data,the fitting curve is inaccurate so that the clustering outcome cannot be explainable.Adaptive method can be applied flexibly to both full time and sparsely sampled data.In the real analysis section,the adaptive method is used to cluster the sparsely sampled Chinese medical Zong Qi time series data,where the elderly individuals are divided into three clusters,the ones with high level of Zong Qi,the ones with moderate level and those with low level.The adaptive method performs well on clustering individuals.
ABSTRACT
Objective To test the efficacy of low-frequency electrical acupoint stimulation plus rehabilitation training in improving swallowing function after stroke. MethodsEighty dysphagic stroke patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups of 40.Patients in the experimental group received low-frequency electrical acupoint stimulation plus 2 courses of rehabilitation training.Control group patients received the same protocol,but the electrical stimulation was not over acupoints.Their swallowing function was assessed using the Kubota water drinking test.ResultsAfter treatment,both groups showed significantly lower Kubota scores compared with pre-treatment.Prepost test difference was 1.25 ± 0.78 in the experimental group and 0.70 ± 0.72 in the control group,a significant difference.The total recovery rate in the experimental group was 87.5％.In the control group it was 55％.The improvement in swallowing function was significantly better in the experimental group.Conclusion Both groups showed a significant improvement in swallowing function,but low-frequency electrical acupoint stimulation increased the effectiveness of the rehabilitation training.