Survey of knowledge and practice of residents about schistosomiasis preven-tion and control in endemic areas of Jingzhou City / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

Objective To investigate the knowledge and practice of residents about schistosomiasis prevention and control in endemic areas of Jingzhou City,Hubei Province after the disease transmission being controlled,so as to provide the valuable in-formation for formulating an efficient health education and intervention strategy.Methods The residents were selected by using the cluster sampling method and investigated with questionnaires in Jiangling County and Gong'an County,Jingzhou City,Hu-bei Province,and the data were analyzed by using the descriptive analysis method,Chi-square tests and logistic regression.Re-sults In a total,826 available questionnaires were obtained with 100% of valid rate.Among them,97.0% of the interviewee knew schistosomiasis,and 86.3% knew that the infection happened by contacting water containing cercariae.The residents in el-der age(41-84 years)had higher awareness rates than the residents in lower age(6-17 years),about the regions of epidemic area(χ 2=57.860),infection route of schistosomiasis(χ 2=87.045),advanced schistosomiasis symptoms(χ 2=27.268)and On-comelania hupensis being as intermediate host(χ 2=55.856)(all P<0.05).The males had higher awareness rates of epidemic areas than the females(χ2=13.442,P<0.05).For personal behavior,36.6% of the interviewee had experience of contacting lake or pond water many times a day,and 66.5% had the willingness to participate in schistosomiasis health education.Conclu-sion In the investigation areas,Jiangling County and Gong'an County,the awareness rates of the residents about schistosomia-sis prevention and control are higher,and we should strengthen the health education and behavior intervention,especially in the students of middle and primary schools to help them have the self-protection ability efficiently.

Optimizing Imaging Quality and Radiation Dose by the Age-Dependent Setting of Tube Voltage in Pediatric Chest Digital Radiography

OBJECTIVE: The quality and radiation dose of different tube voltage sets for chest digital radiography (DR) were compared in a series of pediatric age groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-five hundred children aged 0-14 years (yr) were randomly divided into four groups according to the tube voltage protocols for chest DR: lower kilovoltage potential (kVp) (A), intermediate kVp (B), and higher kVp (C) groups, and the fixed high kVp group (controls). The results were analyzed among five different age groups (0-1 yr, 1-3 yr, 3-7 yr, 7-11 yr and 11-14 yr). The dose area product (DAP) and visual grading analysis score (VGAS) were determined and compared by using one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: The mean DAP of protocol C was significantly lower as compared with protocols A, B and controls (p < 0.05). DAP was higher in protocol A than the controls (p <0.001), but it was not statistically significantly different between B and the controls (p = 0.976). Mean VGAS was lower in the controls than all three protocols (p < 0.001 for all). Mean VGAS did not differ between protocols A and B (p = 0.334), but was lower in protocol C than A (p = 0.008) and B (p = 0.049). CONCLUSION: Protocol C (higher kVp) may help optimize the trade-off between radiation dose and image quality, and it may be acceptable for use in a pediatric age group from these results.

IgE level of cord blood in neonates with meconium-stained amniotic fluid / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of meconium-stained amniotic fluid on the cord blood IgE level in neonates.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 404 neonates with meconium-stained amniotic fluid who were born by cesarean delivery between August 2003 and August 2005 (meconium-stained group) and 256 neonates with normal amniotic fluid delivered by cesarean (control group) were enrolled in this study. The meconium-stained group consisted of 80 cases of mild, 62 cases of moderate and 262 cases of severe meconium-stained amniotic fluid. The cord blood IgE level was measured using ELISA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The cord blood IgE level in the meconium-stained group was statistically higher than that in the control group (t = 4.03, P < 0.01). There were significant differences between the mild and severe meconium-stained subgroups and the control group for the cord blood IgE level (F=4.28, P < 0.01). The cord blood IgE level in neonates with premature rupture of the membrane between the meconium-stained and the control groups was statistically different. Sexes, gestational age, birth weight and birth order were not associated with the IgE level of cord blood.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The cord blood IgE levels in neonates with meconium-stained amniotic fluid increase. Premature rupture of the membranes may be associated with an increase of cord blood IgE level.</p>

Selective myelo-protection by MDR1 and MnSOD genes regulated by a specific promoter / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the specific protection of myeloid cells from chemotherapeutic agents and radiation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The recombinant retroviral vectors containing MDR1 gene and MnSOD gene regulated by APN myeloid promoter were constructed and introduced into myeloblastic cell line KG1a and hepatoma cell line BEL7402. The resistance of the cells to antitumor drugs and radiation were analyzed by cell survival assay. In vivo, the murine bone marrow cells were isolated and infected by the retroviral particles, which were transplanted into recipient mouse treated with paclitaxel or X-ray. The murine white blood cell (WBC) was counted in order to assay the effects of MDR1 or MnSOD gene on hematopoiesis in the course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The resistance to chemotherapeutic agents such as cochicine, Vp-16, vincristine, doxorubcin and paclitaxel were elevated markedly by 10.6, 10.4, 11.2, 4.2 and 14.2 folds in KG1a cell line transduced with MDR1 gene. The resistance to radiation increased 3.7 folds at the dose of 10 Gy compared with parental cells in KGla cell line transduced with MnSOD gene derived by APN promoter. In contrast, the chemosensitivity and the radiosensitivity showed no significant change in BEL 7402 cell line transduced with MDR1 gene and MnSOD gene. In vivo, the WBC counts in the mouse introduced with MDR1 gene or MnSOD gene were higher than those in the control mouse (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The expression of MDR1 gene and MnSOD gene regulated by APN myeloid promoter is effective on myelo-specific protection without enhancing the resistance of tumor cells in vitro. The hematopoiesis can be reconstituted in vivo during anticancer drug or radiation treatment. This study may provide experimental evidence and new clues for myeloprotection of cancer patients being treated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.</p>