Air pollution and children's health-a review of adverse effects associated with prenatal exposure from fine to ultrafine particulate matter

BACKGROUND@#Particulate matter (PM), a major component of ambient air pollution, accounts for a substantial burden of diseases and fatality worldwide. Maternal exposure to PM during pregnancy is particularly harmful to children's health since this is a phase of rapid human growth and development.@*METHOD@#In this review, we synthesize the scientific evidence on adverse health outcomes in children following prenatal exposure to the smallest toxic components, fine (PM@*RESULTS@#Maternal exposure to fine and ultrafine PM directly and indirectly yields numerous adverse birth outcomes and impacts on children's respiratory systems, immune status, brain development, and cardiometabolic health. The biological mechanisms underlying adverse effects include direct placental translocation of ultrafine particles, placental and systemic maternal oxidative stress and inflammation elicited by both fine and ultrafine PM, epigenetic changes, and potential endocrine effects that influence long-term health.@*CONCLUSION@#Policies to reduce maternal exposure and health consequences in children should be a high priority. PM

Changes and significance of soluble low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 and regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted in acute coronary syndrome / 中国综合临床

Objective:To investigate the concentration of soluble low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1(sLRP-1) and regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted(RANTES) in the plasma of patients with acute coronary syndrome(ACS) and the correlation with the severity of coronary artery disease, and to explore its clinical significance.Methods:From January 2019 to July 2019, 250 patients in the Department of Cardiology of the Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College were selected for prospective study, including 158 patients with ACS, 42 patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP) and 50 patients in the control group.ACS patients included 92 patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI) and 66 patients with unstable angina pectoris(UAP). The degree of coronary artery lesions was evaluated according to the Gensini score.The patients in the control group were excluded from coronary atherosclerosis by coronary angiography at the same time.The concentrations of sLRP-1 and RANTES in plasma were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results:The plasma levels of lg sLRP-1 and RANTES in AMI group ((0.69±0.20) mg/L and(125.17±34.87 )ng/L) and UAP group ((0.62±0.19) mg/L and(118.51±21.46 ) ng/L) were higher than SAP group ((0.42±0.16) mg/L and(99.56±21.46)ng/L) and control group ((0.27±0.08) mg/L and (98.39±19.37)ng/L)(all P<0.05), while lg sLRP-1 and RNATES levels were not significantly different between AMI group and UAP group, SAP group and control group(all P>0.05). The levels of lg sLRP-1 and RANTES in patients with ACS decreased after PCI treatment(all P<0.05). Plasma lg sLRP-1 and RANTES levels were not correlated with Gensini scores in ACS patients(all P>0.05). Conclusion:SLRP-1 and RANTES are involved in the progression of ACS, and there is a certain correlation between them.Myocardial perfusion therapy improves the inflammatory response of coronary artery.

Application of Xpert MTB/RIF for early diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis / 中国综合临床

Objective To explore the diagnostic significance of Xpert MTB/RIF in cerebrospinal fluid,and evaluate the application for early diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis(TBM).Methods Sixty cases of TBM and 30 cases of non-TBM patients were selected as our subjects.Xpert MTB/RIF and modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain were performed in cerebrospinal fluid.The detection rate of the system and the resistance of the patients were analyzed.Results Eleven cases were diagnosed as the positive cases in 60 cases with TBM,and 0 case was diagnosed as TBM in control group.Sensitivity and specificity of Xpert with TBM were 18.33％ and 100％,respectively.The difference of the two groups was statistically significant (P =0.014).The positive rate of definite group was 23.68％(9 cases),18.18％(2 cases) in probable group and 0％ in possible group,and the difference of the three groups was statistically significant(x2 =3.070,P＞0.05).The resistance rate was 36.36％ (4/11).Sensitivity of the modified Ziehl-Neelsen staín was 63.33％ (38/60).Eleven cases were detected positive by Xpert MTB/RIF,9 cases were positive with modified acid fast staining,and the positive rate was 18.33％,and the difference of the two methods was statistically significant (P =0.000).Conclusion Xpert MTB/RIF test is simple and rapid diagnostic method.The combination of Xpert MTB/RIF and modified ZiehlNeelsen stain will improve the efficiency of the early diagnosis of TBM.

Evaluation on a modified Ziehl-Neelsen stainin the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis / 中国神经精神疾病杂志

Objective Toevaluatea modified Ziehl-Neelsen(Z-N) stain in the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis. Methods Cerebrospinal fluid specimens from 35 patients were stained by using the modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining. Re-sults The positive rate was 94.29% in 35 patients with tuberculous meningitisand the intracellular acid-fast bacilli was detected in 53.40%of all specimens. One case was stained positive in 15 patients with non-tuberculous meningitis. Con-clusion The modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain not only significantly improves the detection rates of tuberculous meningitisbut alsois able to identify intracellular M.tuberculosisin cerebrospinal fluidspecimen.Thus, the modified Z-N stain can be a convenient tool for diagnosing tuberculous meningitis.

Quality analysis of 3 species of Radix Paeoniae Alba cultivated in Bozhou by HPLC and LC-MS / 中国药科大学学报

Aim: To establish the HPLC and LC-MC methods for the quality analysis of the different species of Radix Paeoniae Alba cultivated in Bozhou. Methods: The LC-MS method was applied to analyze the chemical composition of the cultivated species, the HPLC method was applied to determine the contents of paeoniforin, ben-zoic acid and paeonivayin in crude drugs and processing products. Results: 10 characteristic peaks were identified by LC-MS with reference standards. The significant difference was observed in the chemical compositions of 3 cultivated species. The significant difference was observed in the chemical compositions of 3 cultivated species. The content of paeoniflorin was increased significantly after traditional processing. The results indicated the 4-year-old pubang and 5-year-old xiantiao are the best cultivated species. Conclusion: The methods are simple, rapid and precise to assess and control the quality of different species of Radix Paeoniae Alba cultivated in Bozhou.