Maternal and Fetal Outcomes in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Pregnancies

INTRODUCTION@#To describe the maternal and fetal outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pregnancies followed-up in a single tertiary referral centre.@*METHODS@#We performed a retrospective cohort study of 75 SLE pregnancies who were followed up in Singapore General Hospital over a 16-year period from 2000 to 2016. Adverse fetal and maternal outcomes including preterm delivery, miscarriages, fetal growth restriction, congenital heart block, neonatal lupus, pre-eclampsia and SLE flares were obtained from the medical records.@*RESULTS@#The mean age at conception was 32 years old (SD 3.8). The mean SLE disease duration was 5.9 years (SD 5.2). The majority (88%) had quiescent SLE disease activity at baseline. Most pregnancies resulted in a live birth (74.7%). The mean gestational age at birth was 37.4 weeks (SD 3.4). Adverse fetal outcomes occurred in 53.3%. Preterm delivery (33.9%), miscarriages (20%) and fetal growth restriction (17.3%) were the most frequent adverse fetal outcomes. There was 1 neonatal death and SLE flares occurred in a third (33%). In the subgroup of SLE pregnancies with antiphospholipid syndrome, there were higher SLE flare rates (40%) and adverse fetal outcomes occurred in 8 pregnancies (80%). There were no predictive factors identified for all adverse fetal and maternal outcomes. In the subgroup analysis of preterm delivery, anti-Ro (SS-A) antibody positivity and hydroxychloroquine treatment were associated with a lower risk of preterm delivery.@*CONCLUSION@#Although the majority had quiescent SLE disease activity at baseline, SLE pregnancies were associated with high rates of adverse fetal and maternal outcomes.

Application of the Virtual Reality-Pattern Visual Evoked Potential in Forensic Visual Acuity Evaluation / 法医学杂志

Objective To explore a kind of visual evoked potential test equipment and method that is more suitable for the application of forensic clinical visual acuity evaluation. Methods Thirty-four volunteers （68 eyes） were selected, including 15 males and 19 females, aged between 20 and 40 years. Test lenses were placed before the tested eyes of volunteers to induce refractive myopia with insert method, and the diopter lenses were adjusted so that the visual acuity level of one eye of volunteers was above 0.8, and the visual acuity of the other eye was at moderate damage level （<0.3 and ≥0.1）. The tests were carried out under the binocular simultaneous asynchronous stimulation mode （hereinafter referred to as "binocular mode"） and monocular separate stimulation mode （hereinafter referred to as "monocular mode"） of virtual reality-pattern visual evoked potential （VR-PVEP）, and the amplitude of PVEP of volunteers under the two modes was compared at four spatial frequencies of 8×8, 16×16, 24×24 and 32×32. Results The differences in the amplitude of P100 wave between monocular and binocular modes at 8×8 spatial frequency had no statistical significance and the differences in amplitude of P100 wave between monocular and binocular modes at 16×16, 24×24, and 32×32 spatial frequencies had statistical significance （P<0.05）. The amplitude of the same eye in monocular mode was higher than that in binocular mode. Through correlation analysis, it was found that the amplitude of P100 wave in monocular mode was moderately correlated with amplitude of P100 wave in binocular mode. Conclusion In forensic identification practice, VR-PVEP is helpful for overcoming the disturbance of poor fixation, and to increase the reliability of PVEP evaluation results. It can greatly shorten the detection time of PVEP and improve work efficiency.

Applying the China-PAR Risk Algorithm to Assess 10-year Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Populations Receiving Routine Physical Examinations in Eastern China / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

OBJECTIVE@#To assess the 10-year Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) risk score among adults in eastern China using the China-PAR equation which formulated primarily for the Chinese population.@*METHODS@#Data from 72,129 individuals from 35-74 years old who received routine physical examinations in eastern China were analyzed in this study. The 10-year risk scores were calculated using the China-PAR equation. The chi-square test and logistic regression were then performed to evaluate the association between the selected risk factors and overall CVD risk.@*RESULTS@#The mean 10-year ASCVD risk scores were 3.82% ± 3.76% in men and 1.30% ± 1.65% in women based on the China-PAR equation. Overall, 20% of men and 3.5% of women were intermediate-risk, and 7.3% of men and 0.3% of women were high-risk. Waist to hip ratio (WHR) [OR = 1.16 (CI 95% = 1.06-1.26)], waist to height ratio (WHtR) [OR = 1.16 (CI 95% = 1.05-1.28)], non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) [OR = 1.23 (CI 95% = 1.09-1.39)], and total cholesterol (TC)/HDL-C [OR = 1.68 (CI 95% = 1.46-1.94)] were more strongly associated with CVD risk than body-mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and TC alone.@*CONCLUSION@#Male-specific prevention and treatment strategies for ASCVD are needed in eastern China. In addition, WHR, WHtR, non-HDL-C, and TC/HDL-C which not included in the the China-PAR equation were also independently associated with 10-year ASCVD risk score categories.

Change of Serum Angiopoietin-related Growth Factor in Patients with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Its Clinical Significance / 中国医学科学院学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the changes and value of plasma angiopoietin-related growth factor (AGF) in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Serum AGF level was analyzed in 50 AAA patients and in 56 healthy subjects. AGF and adiponectin were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Routine testing of blood biochemistry and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were performed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The plasma AGF level was significantly higher in AAA patients than in the controls [(87.91±96.87) μg/L vs. (56.89±41.32) μg/L, P=0.040],while serum adiponectin level showed no significant difference between these two groups. The plasma AGF level in patients with an AAA>5 cm and those with AAA between 3 cm and 5 cm were (96.08±68.61) μg/L and (75.27±46.05) μg/L.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Plasma AGF is highly expressed in AAA patients. Higher serum AGF level is associates with larger AAA. Thus, AGF may be a potential serum biomarker for AAA.</p>

Research on ursolic acid production of Eriobotrya japonica cell suspension culture in WAVE bioreactor / 中国中药杂志

Through scale-up cultivation of Eriobotrya japonica suspension cells using WAVE bioreactor, the cell growth and ursolic acid (UA) accumulation were studied. The comparison test was carried out in the flask and the reactor with cell dry weight (DW) and UA content as evaluation indexes. The culture medium, DW and UA content were compared in 1 L and 5 L working volumes of bioreactor. The orthogonal test with main actors of inoculation amount, speed and angle of rotation was developed to find the optimal combination, in 1 L working volume of bioreactor. DW of the cell growth and the UA content in bioreactor were higher than those of the shaker by 105.5% and 27.65% respectively. In bioreactor, the dynamic changes of elements in the fluid culture, the dry weight of the cell growth and the UA content in 1 L and 5 L working volumes were similar. Inoculation of 80 g, rotational speed of 26 r · min(-1), and angle of 6 ° was the optimal combination, and the cell biomass of 19.01 g · L(-1) and the UA content of 27.750 mg · g(-1) were achieved after 100 h cultivation in 1 L working volume of bioreactor. WAVE Bioreactor is more suitable than flasks for the E. japonica cell suspension culture, and culture parameters can be achieved from 1 L to 5 L amplification.

Lack of association between the LRRK2 A419V variant and Asian Parkinson's disease

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>The G2385R and R1628P LRRK2 gene variants have been associated with an increased risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) in the Asian population. Recently, a new LRRK2 gene variant, A419V, was reported to be a third risk variant for PD in Asian patients. Our objective was to investigate this finding in our cohort of Asian subjects.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>Eight hundred and twenty-eight subjects (404 PD patients, and 424 age and gender-matched control subjects without neurological disorders) were recruited. Genotyping was done by Taqman® allelic discrimination assay on an Applied Biosystems 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR machine.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The heterozygous A419V genotype was found in only 1 patient with PD, compared to 3 in the control group (0.4% vs 1.3%), giving an odds ratio of 0.35 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.01 to 3.79; P = 0.624).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>A419V is not an important LRRK2 risk variant in our Asian cohort of patients with PD. Our data are further supported by a literature review which showed that 4 out of 6 published studies reported a negative association of this variant in PD.</p>

Fetal central nervous system anomalies: comparison of magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography for diagnosis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Evaluation of fetal central nervous system (CNS) agenesis by ultrasonography (US) is frequently limited, but magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has its own advantages and is gaining popularity in displaying suspected fetal anomalies. The purpose of this study was to explore the value of MRI in detecting fetal CNS agenesis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-four women (aged from 22 to 35 years, average 27 years) with complicated pregnancies (16 - 39 weeks of gestation, average 30 weeks) were examined with a 1.5 T superconductive MR unit within 24 hours after ultrasonography. Half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) T(2)-weighted imaging (T(2)WI) sequence were performed in all patients, and fast low angle shot (FLASH) T(1)-weighted imaging (T(1)WI) sequence were applied sequentially in seven of them. Comparison of the results was made between the MRI and US findings as well as autopsy or postnatal follow-up MRI findings.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The gyrus, sulcus, corpus callosum, thalamus, cerebellum, brainstem, and spinal cord of fetus were shown more clearly on T(2)-weighted MR images than on T(1)-weighted MR images. MRI corrected the diagnosis of US in 10 cases (10/34, 29.41%) and the diagnosis was missed only in 1 case (1/34, 2.94%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>MRI has advantages to US in detecting fetal CNS anomalies and is a supplement to US in complicated pregnancies.</p>

Haplotype and linkage analysis in Chinese hereditary mixed polyposis syndrome / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate if hereditary mixed polyposis syndrome (HMPS) locus of two Singapore Chinese HMPS families is identical with the Ashkenazi families.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Genomic DNA was extracted, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify 4 microsatellite markers D15S1010, D15S1007, ACTC and D15S118 in 31 individuals from two families. The HMPS locus cosecretion of the markers on 15q13 over a region of 2.8 cM was confirmed by Haplotype and linkage analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The disease of haplotype identified in one pedigree was not co-segregated with an affected individual while no definitive disease haplotype could be assigned for the second pedigree. The maximum two-point and multi-point LOD scores at ACTC for the two Chinese families are 0.20 (theta = 0.3) and -5.0 respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Haplotype and linkage analysis indicate that the Ashkenazi haplotypes is not associated with HMPS in Singapore Chinese families, which suggests genetic heterogeneity.</p>