Risk factors for metabolic bone disease of prematurity in very/extremely low birth weight infants: a multicenter investigation in China / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the incidence rate and risk factors for metabolic bone disease of prematurity (MBDP) in very low birth weight/extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants.@*METHODS@#The medical data of 61 786 neonates from multiple centers of China between September 1, 2013 and August 31, 2016 were retrospectively investigated, including 504 VLBW/ELBW preterm infants who met the inclusion criteria. Among the 504 infants, 108 infants diagnosed with MBDP were enrolled as the MBDP group and the remaining 396 infants were enrolled as the non-MBDP group. The two groups were compared in terms of general information of mothers and preterm infants, major diseases during hospitalization, nutritional support strategies, and other treatment conditions. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors for MBDP.@*RESULTS@#The incidence rate of MBDP was 19.4% (88/452) in VLBW preterm infants and 38.5% (20/52) in ELBW preterm infants. The incidence rate of MBDP was 21.7% in preterm infants with a gestational age of < 32 weeks and 45.5% in those with a gestational age of < 28 weeks. The univariate analysis showed that compared with the non-MBDP group, the MBDP group had significantly lower gestational age and birth weight, a significantly longer length of hospital stay, and a significantly higher incidence rate of extrauterine growth retardation (@*CONCLUSIONS@#A lower gestational age, hypocalcemia, extrauterine growth retardation at discharge, and neonatal sepsis may be associated an increased risk of MBDP in VLBW/ELBW preterm infants. It is necessary to strengthen perinatal healthcare, avoid premature delivery, improve the awareness of the prevention and treatment of MBDP among neonatal pediatricians, and adopt positive and reasonable nutrition strategies and comprehensive management measures for preterm infants.

Effect of raw and salt-processed of psoralen on function of liver and kidney and expression of aquaporins in kidney-yang deficiency model rats / 中草药

Objective To observe the effect of raw and salt-processed of psoralen on the function of liver and kidney and the expression of aquaporins 5 (AQP5), AQP4, and AQP2 in the kidney-yang deficiency model rats. Methods Used hydrocortisone made deficiency of kidney-YANG model rats, total protein (TP), albumin (Alb) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), serum creatinine (Scr), and urea nitrogen (BUN) content in serum of rats were determined by chemical reagent method. The expression of AQP5, AQP4, and AQP2 were detected by qRT-PCR. Results The levels of ALT and AST in the raw and salt-processed of psoralen groups increased significantly, and Alb decreased significantly compared with model group (P andlt; 0.05); The levels of ALT and AST in the salt-processed of psoralen group were lower than that in the raw psoralen group; the levels of BUN and Scr in the treated group were significantly higher than that in the model group (P andlt; 0.05). The expression of mRNA for AQP2 and AQP4 of model group was decreased significantly (P andlt; 0.05) compared with control group, and expression of AQP5 mRNA increased significantly (P andlt; 0.05). The expression of AQP4 mRNA in raw psoralen group was significantly higher than that in model group (P andlt; 0.05), and AQP5 mRNA was significantly lower than that in model group (P andlt; 0.05). Moreover, the expression of AQP2 and AQP5 mRNA of salt-processed of psoralen group was significantly higher than that of the raw psoralen group (P andlt; 0.05), and AQP4 mRNA expression was significantly lower than that of salt-processed of psoralen group (P andlt; 0.05). Conclusion Salt-processed of psoralen can reduce the side effects of drugs on liver and kidney function in kidney-yang deficiency model rats, it can also alleviate the dryness of raw psoralen. The relief of dryness by salt-processed of psoralen may be related to the regulation of the gene expression of aquaporins in vivo.

Reconstruction of tongue defects following oral cancer ablation with extended supraclavicular fasciocutaneous island flap / 中华口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the reliability and usefulness of the extended supraclavicular fasciocutaneous island flap (eSIF) for reconstructing soft tissue defects followinng tongue cancer ablation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-two tongue defects in 22 patients with tongue cancer were repaired with eSIF after resection of the tongue malignant tumours. The sizes of the skin paddle ranged from (4 cm × 6 cm) to (8 cm × 14 cm) (average: 5.5 cm × 8.7 cm).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The eSIF survived in twenty cases, including two cases with minimal partial necrosis. The patients were follwed up for 5 - 16 months. Eighteen patients were alive with disease free, two were alive with disease and two died of a lung and liver metastasis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The eSIF is reliable for reconstructing oral defects following the ablation of advanced oral malignant tumors.</p>

OCT4 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma and its clinical significance / 癌症

<p><b>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE</b>Recently, many studies have focused on stem cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and found some stem cell markers in HCC, which are associated with the prognosis. OCT4, as a member of the POU transcription factor family, is a key factor to maintain self-renewal and pluripotency of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). This study was to explore the expression of the ESCs marker OCT4A in HCC, and its correlations with clinicopathologic features and prognosis of HCC.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>OCT4A mRNA expression was detected in five liver cancer cell lines (SMMC-7721, BEL-7402, Hep-G2, MHCC97-L, and MHCC97-H), one immortalized liver cell line L-O2, tumor tissues with matched non-neoplastic liver tissues in 107 HCC patients, and normal liver tissues of 20 cases using semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The correlations between OCT4A mRNA and clinicopathologic features and prognosis of HCC were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>OCT4A mRNA was detected in SMMC-7721, BEL-7402, Hep-G2, MHCC-97L, and MHCC-97H cells, but not in L-O2 cells. The positive rate of OCT4A mRNA expression was significantly higher in the HCC tissues than in the non-neoplastic liver tissues (72.0% vs. 30.8%, P<0.001). No OCT4A mRNA expression was found in the normal liver tissues. OCT4A mRNA expression was correlated with the tumor size, vascular invasion, and TNM stage (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that patients with positive expression of OCT4A mRNA had lower overall survival and disease-free survival rates.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>OCT4A mRNA, which is highly expressed in a subset of liver cancer cell lines and HCC tissues, may be involved in the carcinogenesis of HCC. OCT4A mRNA may be a valuable biomarker for assessing the prognosis of HCC.</p>