Characteristics of dietary intakes including NOVA foods among pre-adolescents living in urban Kuala Lumpur – Findings from the PREBONE-Kids study

@#Introduction: Evidence showed considerable variability of health risk factors within different socioeconomic groups. This study aimed to characterise dietary intakes by total household income among a sample of Malaysian pre-adolescents in urban Kuala Lumpur. Methods: Baseline data of 243 healthy, pre-adolescent children between 9 and 11 years old including socio-demographic background (gender, ethnicity, and total household monthly income), anthropometry (body weight and height), and 7-day diet histories were collected. Secondary analysis was performed on dietary intakes to quantify food groups based on the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines and NOVA classification systems besides nutrients. Differences and associations between total monthly household income categories with anthropometry and dietary intakes were tested using independent t-test/Mann-Whitney U (depending on normality) and chi-square tests, respectively. Results: Most children in this study population had dietary intakes below the recommended serving sizes for five food groups, except meat/poultry (195.2±107.2%) and fish (110.1±106.3%) and consumed about 32% of energy from ultra-processed foods (NOVA food group 4). While there was no difference in dietary intake between the bottom 40% with the middle 40% and high 20% household income groups, the percentage of energy contributed by NOVA food group 4 (processed fats/oils, condiments, and sauces) was higher in the bottom 40% households (p=0.024). Conclusion: Most pre-adolescent children in this study, regardless of household income, did not meet dietary recommendations and ate diets comprised of less nutritious foods. Comprehensive approaches that aim to improve dietary patterns and reduce the risk of diet-related chronic diseases are warranted.

Network Pharmacology and in vitro Experimental Verification on Intervention of Quercetin, Present in Chinese Medicine Yishen Qutong Granules, on Esophageal Cancer / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the potential mechanism of Yishen Qutong Granules (YSQTG) for the treatment of esophageal cancer using network pharmacology and experimental research.@*METHODS@#The effective components and molecular mechanism of YSQTG in treating esophageal cancer were expounded based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. The key compound was identified by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) to verify the malignant phenotype of the key compounds in the treatment of esophageal cancer. Then, the interaction proteins of key compounds were screened by pull-down assay combined with mass spectrometry. RNA-seq was used to screen the differential genes in the treatment of esophageal cancer by key compounds, and the potential mechanism of key compounds on the main therapeutic targets was verified.@*RESULTS@#Totally 76 effective compounds of YSQTG were found, as well as 309 related targets, and 102 drug and disease interaction targets. The drug-compound-target network of YSQTG was constructed, suggesting that quercetin, luteolin, wogonin, kaempferol and baicalein may be the most important compounds, while quercetin had higher degree value and degree centrality, which might be the key compound in YSQTG. The HPLC-MS results also showed the stable presence of quercetin in YSQTG. By establishing a protein interaction network, the main therapeutic targets of YSQTG in treating esophageal cancer were Jun proto-oncogene, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor, and RELA proto-oncogene. The results of cell function experiments in vitro showed that quercetin could inhibit proliferation, invasion, and clonal formation of esophageal carcinoma cells. Quercetin mainly affected the biological processes of esophageal cancer cells, such as proliferation, cell cycle, and cell metastasis. A total of 357 quercetin interacting proteins were screened, and 531 genes were significantly changed. Further pathway enrichment analysis showed that quercetin mainly affects the metabolic pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, and nuclear factor kappa B (NF- κ B) signaling pathway, etc. Quercetin, the key compound of YSQTG, had stronger binding activity by molecular docking. Pull-down assay confirmed that NF- κ B was a quercetin-specific interaction protein, and quercetin could significantly reduce the protein level of NF- κ B, the main therapeutic target.@*CONCLUSION@#YSQTG can be multi-component, multi-target, multi-channel treatment of esophageal cancer, it is a potential drug for the treatment of esophageal cancer.

Association between serum uric acid level and mortality in China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Whether there is an association between serum uric acid (SUA) level and risk of mortality in the general population remains unclear. Based on the China National Survey of Chronic Kidney Disease linked to mortality data, a population-based cohort study was performed to investigate the association between SUA level and all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, and cancer mortality in China.@*METHODS@#The survival status of participants in the cross-sectional survey was identified from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2017. Only 33,268 individuals with complete SUA data among the 47,204 participants were included in the analysis. We determined the rates of all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, and cancer mortality. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to evaluate the effect of the SUA level on mortality.@*RESULTS@#During a total of 297,538.4 person-years of follow-up, 1282 deaths occurred. In the Cox proportional hazards regression model, the rate of all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, and cancer mortality had a U-shaped association with SUA levels only in men, whereas no significant associations were detected in women. For all-cause mortality in men, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) in the first, second, and fourth quartiles compared with the third quartile were 1.31 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.67), 1.17 (95% CI 0.92-1.47), and 1.55 (95% CI 1.24-1.93), respectively. For CVD mortality, the corresponding HRs were 1.47 (95% CI 1.00-2.18), 1.17 (95% CI 0.79-1.75), and 1.67 (95% CI 1.16-2.43), respectively. For the cancer mortality rate, only a marginally significant association was detected in the fourth quartile compared with the third quartile with an HR of 1.43 (95% CI 0.99-2.08).@*CONCLUSIONS@#The association between SUA and mortality differed by sex. We demonstrated a U-shaped association with SUA levels for all-cause and CVD mortalities among men in China.

Effect of Oral Chinese Medicine Combined with Western Medicine on Cancer Pain: A Meta-Analysis / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To assess the effect of oral Chinese medicine (OCM) combined with Western medicine (WM) on cancer pain.@*METHODS@#PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Clinical Trials Registry Platform, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang and VIP databases were searched from their inception to September {dy2019}. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) treating cancer pain by Chinese medicine (CM) combined with WM were included. The primary outcome were total pain relief rate and the quality of life (QOL), and the other outcomes were the average daily dosage of analgesics, the primary time of pain, the analgesic duration time, and adverse events. The methodological quality of RCTs was assessed in accordance with Cochrane 5.1.0 handbook of systematic reviews of interventions. Evidence level was assessed by the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.@*RESULTS@#There were 1,087 patients in the 14 studies, with 544 in the experiment group and 543 in the control group. These studies were all conducted in China, and published between 2006 and {dy2019}. Compared with the WM, OCM combined with WM could significantly relieve the cancer pain [risk ratio (RR)=1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.32, 1.56), improve QOL (RR=8.57, 95% CI: 4.25, 12.89), decrease the primary time of pain (RR=-0.20, 95% CI: -0.24, -0.16], prolong the analgesic duration time (RR=3.47, 95% CI: 2.09, 4.85), reduce the dosage of analgesics (RR=-19.52, 95% CI: -36.32, -2.72), and reduce side events (RR=0.49, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.65). Evidence levels for total pain relief rate, primary time of pain and side events were low, evidence level for QOL, analgesic duration time and average daily dosage of analgesics were very low.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Compared with the WM, OCM combined with WM could significantly relieve the cancer pain, improve the QOL, decrease the primary time of pain, prolong the analgesic duration time, reduce the dosage of analgesics and side events. The evidence levels were low or very low.

Long-term effectiveness and safety of rituximab for the treatment of pemphigus / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective:To assess the long-term effectiveness and safety of rituximab (RTX) for the treatment of pemphigus, and to evaluate the effect of RTX on immune indices.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted, and patients with pemphigus who received monotherapy or combination therapy with RTX (375 mg/m 2 body surface area, once a week for 4 consecutive weeks) were collected from the Department of Dermatology, Peking University First Hospital from February 2008 to July 2017. Levels of autoantibodies and proportion of B cells in patients were determined at baseline and different follow-up time points, and their changes and relationship with therapeutic effect were analyzed. Time-to-event outcomes (disease control, complete remission and relapse) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The median ( M) as well as 25th ( P25) and 75th ( P75) percentile values were calculated for repeatedly measured immune indices (autoantibodies and B cells) , and the median level of immune indice-time curve was drawn. Results:A total of 53 patients of Han nationality with pemphigus were included, including 40 with pemphigus vulgaris and 13 with pemphigus foliaceus. The male to female ratio was 0.96∶1, the median age was 37.4 years, and the median duration of disease was 13.4 months at baseline. The median follow-up duration ( P25, P75) was 37.5 (25.0, 54.7) months. Forty-eight (90.6%) patients achieved disease control, and the time to disease control was 1.7 (1.1, 3.2) months. Thirty-eight (71.7%) patients achieved complete remission, and the time to complete remission was 13.1 (9.6, 27.5) months. During the follow up, 12 of the 38 (31.6%) patients who had complete remission experienced recurrence, with the time to recurrence being 12.4 (4.8, 19.8) months. The median immune indice level-time curve showed that anti-Dsg1 and Dsg3 autoantibody levels decreased when skin lesions resolved, but increased when skin lesions relapsed. The most common severe adverse reaction was pulmonary infection, with a mortality rate of 3.8% (2/53) . Conclusions:RTX shows marked long-term effectiveness for the treatment of pemphigus. Pulmonary infection during treatment is worthy of the highest attention. The autoantibody levels can serve as an index for evaluating the effectiveness of RTX in the treatment of pemphigus.

Inhibiting miR-186 expression alleviates mitochondrial damage in hypoxic human umbilical vein endothelial cells / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effect of miR-186 inhibition on the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-α) and mitochondrial function in hypoxic vascular endothelial cells.@*METHODS@#Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured in routine or hypoxic conditions for 6 h were examined for the expression of miR-186. A miR-186 inhibitor was transfected in the HUVECs, and the cells were subsequently cultured in hypoxic condition for 6 h to observe the changes in the mitochondrial structure under an electron microscope. The changes in the mRNA and protein expressions of HIF-1α in response to miR-186 interference were tested using real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR and Western blotting.@*RESULTS@#The expression of miR-18 was mildly increased in HUVECs after hypoxic exposure for 6 h (=0.0188). Interference of miR-186 expression obviously promoted the mRNA and protein expressions of HIF-1α in HUVECs. In hypoxic conditions, miR-186 interference significantly reduced mitochondrial damage in HUVECs as observed under electron microscope (=0.0297).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Inhibition of miR-186 protects vascular endothelial cells against hypoxic injuries by promoting HIF-α expression to lessen mitochondrial damage, suggesting the possibility of targeted miR-186 interference for treatment of hemorrhagic shock.

Effects of dexmedetomidine combined with ulinastatin on postoperative pulmonary function in elderly patients with acute abdomen / 中国现代普通外科进展

Objective:To observe whether intraoperative application of Dexmedetomidine combined with Ulinastatin has protective effect on postoperative pulmonary function in elderly patients with acute abdomen.Methods:80 cases of elderly patients with acute abdomen were divided into 4 groups randomly:Control group (group C);Dexmedetomidine group (group D);Ulinastatin group (group U) and Dexmedetomidine combined with Ulinastatin group (group D+U),20 cases in each group.In group D,before induction of anesthesia,a loading dose of Dexmedetomidine 1.0 μ g/kg was infused over 10 min,followed by continuous infusion of Dexmedetomidine at a rate of 0.5 μ g/ (kg·h) until the last 0.5 h before the end of surgery.Group U received Ulinastatin 10000 U/kg after induction of anesthesia.The patients in group D+U group were treated with the above two methods;and the patients in group C were given normal saline as control.General anesthesia was used in each group.Arterial blood gas analysis,oxygenation index,serum TNF-α and IL-8 levels were observed in all patients in preoperative 1 d and postoperative 1,3 and 5 d.All patients were back to ICU with intubation after operation.The duration of intubation,ICU treatment days,total hospitalization period and postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded.Results:For the oxygenation index,there was no significant difference between each group at TO (P＞0.05).But at T1,T2 or T3,the oxygenation index in group D+U is better than group D,group U or group C (P＜0.05).The comparison of serum TNF-α and IL-8 concentration in each group was almost the same as the oxygenation index.As for Duration of intubation,ICU treatment days,total hospitalization period,those in Group D+U are shorter than in other three groups (P＜0.05).In the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (atelectasis,pulmonary infection,etc),group D+U (18％) was significantly lower than C group(26％),group D(32％) and U group(38％,P＜0.05).Conclusion:The combination of dexmedetomidine and ulinastatin in elderly patients with acute abdomen can reduce the perioperative inflammatory response and improve the postoperative lung function.

The effect of general anesthesia on sleep rhythm of patients / 医学研究生学报

In recent years, studies have shown that general anesthesia would affect patients' sleep rhythm to certain extent, which contribute to postoperative sleep disorders. Long-term dysfunction of sleep rhythm will seriously affect patients' outcome and recovery. Therefore, how general anesthesia affects sleep rhythm has become one of the hot topic of clinical. This paper will illustrate the effect of different general anesthetics and anesthetics methods on sleep rhythm and the effect of sleep disorders on postoperative delirium, cardiovascular events and immune function.

Application value of superoxide dismutase with hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma / 中国现代普通外科进展

Objective:To evaluate the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in patients with hepatitis B and Hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods:63 cases of patients with hepatitis B,101 cases of patients with Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 58 cases of normal control were collected,serum enzyme activity of SOD was detected by enzyme method.Variance analysis were applied to analyze the difference of SOD activity in different groups.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were applied to analyze the diagnosis performance of SOD in hepatitis B and HCC patients.Results:SOD activity from high to low in turn was hepatitis B group191.500 U/mL,healthy contol group(179.766 ± 13.546 U/mL) and HCC group 150.000 U/mL,there were significant difference when compareing any two grougs (P＜0.05).SOD=187.20 U/mL could be used as diagnosis threshold in hepatitis B patients,the sensitivity was 65.08％ and the specificity was 75.86％.SOD=166.00 U/mL can be used as diagnosis threshold in HCC patients,the sensitivity was 82.18％ and the specificity was 84.48％.SOD=170.40 U/mL could be used as diagnosis threshold in HCC patients with AFP＜20 ng/mL,the sensitivity was 82.76％ and the specificity was 79.31％.Conclusions SOD activity varies in healthy person,hepatitis B and HCC patients.The changes of SOD activity could help us to understand whether there was transformation from hepatitis B to HCC.

Activity of serum superoxidein in patient with thyroid associate diseases / 中国现代普通外科进展

Objective:To study the activity of superoxide dismutase (dismutase superoxide,SOD) in peripheral blood of patients with thyroid associated diseases.Methods:84 cases of patients with thyroid cancer,21 cases of patients with nodular goiter,75 cases of patients with hyperthyroidism,56 cases of patients with hypothyroidism and 63 cases of normal control were collected,serum enzyme activity of SOD was detected by enzyme method,FT3,FT4 and TSH levels were detected by electrochemiluminescence assay.Student-t,Mann-whitney-U or Kruskal-Wallis was applied to analyse the different of SOD activity in different groups.Pearson correlation analysis were applied to analyze the correlation of SOD activity with thyroid hormone levels.Results:SOD activity in thyroid cancer group (164.536 ± 18.095) U/ml was significantly lower than that in hyperthyroidism group (173.376 ± 15.942) U/ml,hypothyroidism group (174.827 ± 19.895) U/ml and normal control group(179.529 ±11.625) U/ml(P＜0.05),SOD activity in nodular goiter group(157.667 ± 15.189) U/ml was significantly lower than that in hyperthyroidism group (173.376 ± 15.942) U/ml,hypothyroidism group (174.827 ± 19.895) U/ml and normal controls (179.529 ± 11.625) U/ml (P＜0.05).There were positive correlation of FT3,FT4 levels respectively with SOD activity in thyroid cancer group(r=0.346 P＜0.05,r=0.3278,P＜0.05),and there was positive correlation of FT3 level with SOD activity in normal control group (r=-0.5522.P＜0.05).Conclusions:SOD activity decreased in nodular goiter and thyroid cancer,so it could be used to observe the damage of thyroid tissue.Furtherly,it might be used as an auxiliary index in the diagnosis of thyroid tumors.

Ethanol extract of Phellinus merrillii protects against diethylnitrosamine- and 2-acetylaminofluorene-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study whether the ethanol extract of Phellinus merrillii (EPM) has chemopreventive potential against liver carcinogenesis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty male Spraque-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group, EPM control group, hepatocarcinoma control group, low-dose EPM group and high-dose EPM group, 6 in each group. Using the Solt and Farber protocol in a rat model of hepatocarcinogenesis, the chemopreventive effect of EPM on diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-initiated, 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) and partial hepatectomy (PH)-promoted liver carcinogenesis in rats was evaluated. Basic pathophysiological and histological examinations, together with the serum levels of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (sGOT), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (sGPT) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT) were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Treatment of EPM at the concentration of 2 g/kg body weight in the diet for 8 weeks clearly prevented the development of carcinogenesis and reduced the levels of sGOT, sGPT, and serum γ-GT of rats as compared with the hepatocarcinoma control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). These phenotypes were accompanied by a significant increase in natural killer cell activity.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EPM showed a strong liver preventive effect against DEN+2-AAF+PH-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in a rat model.</p>

Análise cinemática da passada normalizada e frequência da marcha de idosos com gonartrose após mobilização pelo conceito Maitland / Kinematic analysis of standard step length and gait frequency of elderly with gonarthrosis after mobilization according to Maitland concept

Introdução: Disfunções na marcha de idosos são problemas quanto ao risco de quedas e do ato motriz, modificações estas acentuadas por doenças crônico-degenerativas como a gonartrose. A Mobilização Articular (MA) consiste numa prática comum para restauração da função, entretanto, poucos dados comprovam sua eficácia, principalmente acerca da amplitude da passada e frequência da marcha em idosos com gonartrose. A normalização da marcha tem como intuito minimizar os efeitos das variáveis massa e altura em amostras não homogêneas. Objetivos: O presente estudo teve por objetivo analisar quantitativamente as alterações do tamanho da passada com medidas normalizadas e frequência da marcha, através da cinemetria, em indivíduos idosos com gonartrose, submetidos à mobilização articular. Materiais e métodos: A amostra foi composta por cinco idosos entre 60-70 anos, com diagnóstico de gonartrose bilateral, graus I e II. Tratou-se de um estudo experimental, longitudinal,prospectivo e cego, sendo cada indivíduo controle de si mesmo. Os dados cinemáticos foram obtidos pela videometria edigitalizados pelo software Skill spector®. A mobilização articular acessória foi realizada no grau IV, segundo Maitland, para a articulação do joelho nos sentidos ântero-posterior e póstero-anterior durante45 dias, duas vezes semanalmente. Os resultados foram submetidos à análise descritiva e estatística através do teste t student, considerados significativo p < 0,05. Resultados: Para o tamanho da passada,obteve-se 1,24 m e 1,42 m para os dados pré e pós-normalização, respectivamente. A frequência inicial foi de 0,87 Hz e 1,02 Hz após aMA. Conclusão: A MA tendeu a otimizar os valores para tamanho da passada e frequência da marcha, todavia, admitimos como limitação do estudo o número pequeno da amostra.

Introduction: Gait disorders in elderly people are problems related to risk of falling and movement of the act, and these changes increases with chronic degenerative diseases such as gonarthrosis.The Joint Mobilization (JM) is a common practice to restore jointfunction; however, there are few data demonstrating its effectiveness,especially on the amplitude and frequency of stride gait inelderly patients with gonarthrosis. The normalization of gait aimsat minimizing the effects of varying mass and height in homogeneoussamples. Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyzequantitatively, with standardized measures of walking, the changes instride length and frequency, using the kinematics, in elderly patientswith gonarthrosis who performed joint mobilization. Methods: Thesample consisted of five elderly aged 60-70 years, diagnosed with bilateral gonarthrosis, grades I and II. This was an experimental,longitudinal, prospective, blinded study, with individual control.The kinematic data were obtained and digitized using Skillspector®software video program. Accessory joint mobilization was performedin grade IV, according to Maitland, to the knee joint to the anterior-posterior and posterior-anterior for 45 days, twice weekly.The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Student ttest, considering significant p < 0.05. Results: Data of stride lengthmeasurement was 1.24 m and 1.42 m before and after normalization,respectively. The initial frequency was 0.87 Hz and 1.02 Hz afterthe MA. Conclusion: JM tended to optimize the values for stridelength and frequency of gait, however, the small sample size usedin this study may be considered a limitation.

Changes in mast cells and hepatic expression of c-kit and stem cell factor in the rat model of chronic hepatitis / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the potential role of mast cells and the related molecular mechanism in chronic hepatitis (CH) using a rat model system.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty Wistar rats (15 males, 15 females; weight range: 230-290 g) were randomly divided into the normal contrast (NC) group and experimental CH group. The CH group received subcutaneous injection of CCl4 and a diet high in cholesterol and alcohol content and low in protein and choline content. Throughout the 4-week modeling period, aseptic blood samples were taken to test plasma tryptase (TS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) levels. The rats were euthanized to assess the changes in liver mast cells by histology and morphology analyses and the changes in liver expression of c-kit and stem cell factor (SCF) proteins by immunohistochemistry and mRNAs by RT-PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared to the NC group, the CH group had higher plasma and liver concentration of HA (78.09 +/- 38.55 vs. 145.14 +/- 52.54 ng/ml, 51.58 +/- 20.45 vs. 106.59 +/- 43.15 ng/100 mg; t = 2.457 and 2.825 respectively, both P less than 0.05) and TS (0.416 +/- 0.143 vs 0.753 +/- 0.210 mg/ml; t = 4.165, P less than 0.05). The CH group also showed fatty degeneration and fibrosis with many degranulating and degranulated mast cells filled with purple granula located around the liver blood vessels and in fiber-intervals. The CH livers also showed a significantly higher number of mast cells (2.167 +/- 0.924 vs. NC: 10.92 +/- 1.575; t = 7.633, P less than 0.05) and stronger intensity of c-kit staining (2.783 +/- 0.577 vs. 12.86 +/- 3.126; t = 9.511, P less than 0.05) and SCF staining (3.383 +/- 1.583 vs. 15.58 +/- 6.431; t = 9.625, P less than 0.05). The expressions of c-kit and SCF were positively correlated with HA level (r = 0.478 and 0.556 respectively, both P less than 0.05). The c-kit and SCF mRNA expression levels were also significantly higher in the CH liver tissues.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Mast cell degranulation and histamine release is significantly increased under conditions of chronic hepatitis, and the related mechanism may involve up-regulation of the membrane receptor c-kit and its ligand SCF.</p>

Impact of Interleukin-10 Gene Polymorphisms on Survival in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Chronic inflammation is thought to be the leading cause of colorectal cancer, and interleukin-10 (IL10) has been identified as a potent immunomodulatory cytokine that regulates inflammatory responses in the gastrointestinal tract. Although several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL10 have been associated with the risk of colorectal cancer, their prognostic significance has not been determined. Two hundred and eighty-two colorectal cancer patients were genotyped for two candidate cancer-associated SNPs in IL10. The associations of these SNPs with distant metastasis-free survival and overall survival were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression model. The minor homozygote GG genotype of IL10 rs3021094 was significantly associated with a 3.30-fold higher risk of death compared with the TT+TG genotypes (P=0.011). The patients with IL10 rs3021094 GG genotype also had a poorer overall survival in Kaplan-Meier analysis (log-rank P=0.007) and in multivariate Cox regression model (P=0.044) adjusting for age, gender, carcinoembryonic antigen levels, tumor differentiation, stage, lymphovascular invasion, and perineural invasion. In conclusion, our results suggest that IL10 rs3021094 might be a valuable prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer patients.

Effect of L-838,417 on pain behavior in a rat model of trigeminal neuralgia / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of L-838,417 on the results of behavioral test in rats with experimentally induced trigeminal neuralgia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Male SD rats were randomized into model group (n=34), sham-operated group (n=30) and control group (n=6). Thirty rats with trigeminal neuralgia induced by chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve below the zygomatic bone were randomly divided into 5 equal groups for treatment with 1.0 mg/kg L-838,417 (L1 group), 10.0 mg/kg L-838,417 (L10 group), 5 mg/kg morphine (M group), 3 mg/kg diazepam (D group), or normal saline (NS group). The pain threshold of the tentacles pad to von-Frey filament stimulation was measured in the rats before and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 h after the treatments. The sedative effect of L-838,417 was evaluated by recording the position scores and righting reflex scores, and the drug tolerance was also evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Nine days after the operation, the pain threshold of the rats in the model group was significantly decreased compared with that before operation and that of the sham group (P<0.01). The threshold of L1 and L10 groups were both significantly increased 1 h after L-838,417 administration (P<0.01). The rats in the NS, L1, and L10 groups did not show unusual posture or righting reflex. In L1 and L10 groups, L838,417 did not show attenuated efficacy after prolonged use (10 days).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>L-838,417 can effectively improve hyperalgesia in rats with trigeminal neuralgia without causing sedation, motor impairment, or drug tolerance.</p>

The role of NF-kappaB activation in lipopolysaccharide induced keratitis in rats / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) is elevated in regulating transcription of many cytokines and inflammatory mediators. The purpose of this study was to investigate the activation and the significance NF-kappaB in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced keratitis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>LPS induced keratitis model was based on Wistar rats. At 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 or 72 hours after LPS treatment, the rat corneas were observed with a slit lamp microscope, then the rats were sacrificed and their corneas were excised for routine histological analysis. The expression of NF-kappaB was detected with immunohistochemical staining. The change of tumour necrosis factors-alpha (TNF-alpha) mRNA expression was identified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Histological findings demonstrated that LPS treated corneas showed significant changes in corneal structure. Corneal edema, pronounced inflammatory cells infiltration and inordinate collagen fibres were observed. Immunohistochemical results showed that the expression of NF-kappaB and its activation obviously increased after LPS treatment compared with the normal group and control group. Positive cells could be observed at 0.5 hour and peak expression of NF-kappaB was observed between 3 hours and 12 hours after infection, but returned to or approached normal level by 72 hours. RT-PCR showed that the level of TNF-alpha mRNA began to increase 0.5 hour after LPS treatment, peaked at 6 hours and then subsided by 72 hours. NF-kappaB had a positive correlation with the expression of TNF-alpha mRNA (r = 0.964, P < 0.01), both NF-kappaB and TNF-alpha had a strong positive correlation with the degree of inflammatory response in LPS treated corneas (r = 0.929, P < 0.01; r = 0.587, P < 0.05, respectively).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The activation of NF-kappaB was increased in LPS treated corneas and was elevated in LPS induced keratitis by promoting overexpression of TNF-alpha mRNA. NF-kappaB may play an important role in the pathogenesis of LPS-associated keratitis in rats.</p>

Analysis of 187 children with enteroviral central nervous system infection in Shandong area / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the diagnostic potential of previously published enterovirus (EV) reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay in detection of EV in CSF samples from children with a diagnosis of aseptic meningitis and to investigate the clinical characteristics of the patients seen in Shandong.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>EV RNA was detected in 187 CSF samples and serum and/or urine samples of a part of patients by RT-PCR and viral culture technique.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>RT-PCR was positive in all 62 CSF specimens which were positive by cell culture (100%). In addition, 93 of 125 (74.4%) CSF samples negative by cell culture were RT-PCR positive. In 4 of these 93 (4.3%) patients, viral culture of specimens from other sites (serum or urine) was also positive. The sensitivity of CSF RT-PCR based on clinical diagnosis in patients with meningitis of negative bacterial culture results was 82.9% (155/187), which was considerably higher than the sensitivity of CSF virus culture 33.2% (62/187). The results of RT-PCR can be reported within 4 hours, whereas the viral culture of CSF requires 4.6 days for a cytopathic effect to develop. EV meningitis occurred in a sporadic form and in some areas there were outbreaks. The clinical characteristics of 155 patients with EV meningitis were different in different age groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EV was one of the most common causes of aseptic meningitis in Shandong area. The RT-PCR assay was rapid, sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of EV meningitis and may be a potential tests to shorten hospital stay and reduce the use of antibiotics.</p>

Cerebral state index for monitoring sedation depth during target-controlled infusion with propofol and remifentanil / 第二军医大学学报

Objective:To examine the feasibility of using cerebral state index(CSI)for monitoring the sedation depth during target-controlled infusion(TCI)with propofol and remifentanil.Methods:Forty-four consenting ASAⅠorⅡpatients(aged 18-60 years)undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia were randomly divided into 4 groups(n=11 each)according to the target effect-site concentrations of remifentanil administered by TCI during induction of anesthesia.The target effect-site concentrations of remifentanil of R_0,R_2,R_4,and R_6 groups were 0,2 ng?ml~(-1),4 ng?ml~(-1),and 6 ng?ml~(-1),respectively. Anesthesia was induced by TCI with remifentanil and propofol.CSI and bispectral index(BIS)were used to measure the sedation depth.The initial effect-site propofol concentration(PCe)was 1.5?g?ml~(-1),which was increased by 0.5?g?ml~(-1) every 4 min.The modified OAA/S score(5=alert,1=does not respond to prodding),loss of eyelash reflex(LOR eyelash)and loss of response to electric tetanie stimulation(LOR tetanic)were compared against CSI,BIS and PCe(calculated effect-site propofol concentration).Correlation coefficients were calculated between CSI and other parameters.Results:The 4 groups were comparable with respect to the ages and bodyweights.CSI and BIS values were higher but PCe value were lower at LOR eyelash and LOR tetanic in R_2,R_4,and R_6 than those in the R_0 group(P