A case of poisoning by oral lime sulfur / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Lime sulfur is a common bactericide with strong alkalinity, and is highly corrosive to humans and animals. It is rare for lime sulfur poisoning clinically. This article discusses the clinical manifestations of a patient who was poisoned by oral lime sulfur. After the poisoning, the mucosa of the lips and pharynx broke, fever, and pulmonary inflammation quickly appeared. The pulmonary CT showed slight interstitial changes in both lungs. Through high flow oxygen inhalation, fluid infusion, drainage, maintenance of water and electrolyte balance, protection of important organ functions, and other symptomatic support and treatment, as well as control of blood pressure, blood sugar, maintenance of circulatory function and other targeted measures, the patient's condition gradually improved.

Association between telomere length and occupational polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure / 中华预防医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the association between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure and telomere length (TL), so as to investigate the effective biomarkers to evaluate the genetic damage in peripheral blood of workers exposed to PAHs.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The exposure group consisted of 145 coke-oven workers (including 30 top-oven workers, 76 side-oven workers and 39 bottom-oven workers), and the non-exposure control group comprised 68 medical staffs. At 6 hours after the weekend duty shift, the samples of urine and 1 ml venous blood were collected from each subject. Airborne benzene-soluble matter (BSM) and particulate-phase B(a)P in the working environment of coke-oven and controls were sampled and analyzed. The concentration of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHPyr) was determined. A real-time PCR method was used to determine the relative telomere length (RTL) of genomic DNA in peripheral blood. The relationship between the RTL and external exposure of PAHs, the potential factors which might have influence on TL were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The medians of air BSM and particulate-phase B(a)P were higher in coke-oven (BSM: 328.6 µg/m(3); B(a)P: 926.9 ng/m(3)) than those in control working environment (BSM:97.8 µg/m(3); B(a)P: 49.1 ng/m(3)). The level of 1-OHPyr among coke-oven workers was significantly higher than that of non-exposed group (12.2 µmol/mol Cr vs 0.7 µmol/mol Cr; t = 26.971, P < 0.01). RTL in coke-oven workers were significantly shorter than those of controls (1.10 ± 0.75 vs 1.43 ± 1.06; t = 2.263, P = 0.026), and after adjusting for cigarettes per day and urinary 1-OHPyr, the significant difference was still observed (F(adju) = 5.496, P(adju) = 0.020). Stratification analysis found that RTL among the male and non-drinking groups in coke-oven workers were shorter than those the same sex and alcohol using status in controls (1.08 ± 0.73 vs 1.51 ± 1.10, F = 9.212, P = 0.003; 0.96 ± 0.38 vs 1.26 ± 0.46, F = 6.484, P = 0.012). Significant correlation between RTL and age was found (r = -0.284, P = 0.019) in non-exposure group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>PAH-exposure has effect on TL of genomic DNA in peripheral blood, which is mainly observed in the male and non-drinking groups between PAH-exposed workers and controls. It indicates that TL of genomic DNA in peripheral blood might be an effective biomarker as PAH-induced genetic damage.</p>

Trends in suicide by poisoning in China 2000-2006: age, gender, method, and geography / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>This study analyzed patterns of suicide and suicide attempts by poisoning as reported through a national poison control system for the purpose of improving intervention and prevention.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>During the period of 2000 to 2006, 6440 cases of poisoning suicide were reported to the telephone consultation service system of The National Center for Poisoning Control (Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Among these records, 4728 cases had completed data for this analysis in terms of age, sex, trend of time and location, and type of poisons.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were 60.6% female cases with the age from 10 to 90 years old. The age of cases from 20 to 39 years accounted for 54.5% of all age groups. Both the numbers and percentage in record related to poisoning consultation of oral poisoning suicide showed an increasing tendency during the 7 years. In particular, there was a drastic increase from 2004 to 2006. In addition, the high frequency of cases occurred from May to October. Hebei, Shandong, Henan, and Anhui Provinces had the highest number of cases. Pesticide poisonings were the most common method in these cases of consultation for suicide and suicide attempts.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This study describes epidemiological characteristics in the oral poisoning suicide cases and provides scientific basis for suicide prevention interventions.</p>

Mutagen sensitivity in peripheral blood lymphocytes among coke-oven workers / 中华预防医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the sensitivity to bleomycin (BLM) in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) among coke-oven workers.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninty-four coke-oven workers with exposure to a high level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and 64 non-coke-oven workers (control) were recruited into this study. PBL was challenged by 8 microg/ml BLM, a known carcinogen, to induce certain amount of DNA damage, the difference of olive tail moment (TM) measured by comet assay before and after BLM treatment reflected the sensitivity towards mutagens.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The distribution of age, sex, and prevalence of smoking and drinking were not significantly different between these two groups. The geometric mean of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) was significantly higher in coke-oven workers than in controls (9.0 versus 1.5 microg/L, t = -9.317, P < 0.01). The coke-oven workers showed significantly higher sensitivity to BLM than controls (17.7 versus 14.9, t = -2.583, P = 0.01). A large inter-group difference in sensitivity to BLM was observed in both controls and coke-oven workers. Stratification analysis revealed the significant association between high 1-OHP level (> 9.0 microg/L) and increased sensitivity to BLM (F = 4.001, P = 0.05) among coke-oven workers. Smoking subjects showed a significant higher value of sensitivity than nonsmokers in controls but not in coke-oven workers. No significant difference was observed between age, drinking status, coking history or external exposure class and BLM sensitivity.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Exposure to coke oven emission could increase the sensitivity to mutagens, which might be a reason of high incidence of lung cancer among coke-oven workers.</p>

Enhancement of DNA vaccine-induced immune responses by a 72-bp element from SV40 enhancer / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Although DNA vaccine is considered as the next generation of vaccine, most DNA vaccine candidates are still suffering from the relatively weak immunogenicity despite the increased dosage of plasmid DNA administered. In order to enhance the immune responses elicited by a codon-optimized HIV gag DNA vaccine, a modified plasmid vector pDRVI1.0 and a booster immunization with replicating Tiantan vaccinia (RTV) strain expressing the same gene were employed.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Vector pDRVI1.0 was constructed through inserting the 72-bp element from the SV40 enhancer, which was reported promoting nuclear transport of plasmid DNA, to the upstream of cytomegalovirus enhancer/promoter region of the plasmid vector pVR1012. Gene expression levels from expression plasmids based on pDRVI1.0 and pVR1012 were tested. Humoral and cellular immune responses induced by DNA vaccine alone or DNA prime-RTV boost regimen were determined in mice.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>It was shown that the 72-bp element significantly enhanced the gene expression level in non-dividing cells. gag-specific humoral and cellular immune responses induced by DNA vaccination were both significantly improved, while the Th1/Th2 balance was not obviously affected by the 72-bp element. RTV boosting further significantly enhanced DNA vaccine-primed antibody and T cell responses in a Th1-biased manner.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The 72-bp SV40 enhancer element should be included in the DNA vaccine vector and RTV strain is a very efficient live vector for boosting immunization.</p>

Possible association between polymorphisms of human leukocyte antigen-DQ genes and susceptibility to trichloroethylene-induced severe generalized dermatitis / 中华预防医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the association between genetic polymorphisms of human leukocyte antigen-DQ (HLA-DQ) and susceptibility to trichloroethylene (TCE)-induced severe generalized dermatitis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A case-control study was conducted which included 112 patients with TCE-induced severe generalized dermatitis and 142 healthy controls exposed to TCE in the same workshop. The DNA sequences in exon2 of HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 were performed by direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. The frequencies distribution of allelic genotypes and codon polymorphisms were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The frequencies of DQA1*0201 and 060101/0602 in cases [7.6% (17/224) and 16.1% (36/224)] were significantly higher than those of the exposed controls [3.5% (10/284) and 7.0% (20/284)], while frequencies of DQA1*0103 and 050101/0503/0505 in cases [5.8% (13/224) and 8.9% (20/224)] were significantly lower than those of exposed controls [10.9% (31/284) and 17.3% (49/284)]. In terms of codon polymorphisms, there were 5 codons of DQA1 (25, 41, 52, 54 and 69) showing significant differences between cases and controls. There were no significant differences in the frequencies of allelic genotypes of HLA-DQB1 between cases and exposed controls.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The genetic polymorphisms of HLA-DQA1 might be one of the factors influencing the individual susceptibility to TCE-induced severe generalized dermatitis.</p>

Analysis of diagnosis and treatment of 50 patients with traumatic and hemorrhagic shock / 中国基层医药

Objective To improve the level of diagnosis and treatment of the traumatic and hemorrhagic shock.Methods 50 cases of patients with sever traumatic and hemorrhagic shock treated in our department between May 2004 and May 2007 were analyzed retrospectively,and their age,shock severity scale,time to hospital after in- jury,operation,fluid resuscitation volume etc were analyzed to show the relationship between the factors and the out- come.Results The rescue success rate was 76%(38 cases),and traumatic mortality was 24%(12 eases).Conclu- sion Shock severity scale and incorreet resuscitation manipulation are the main factors affecting the result of resusci- tation and treatment of traumatic shock,and early surgery can effectively improve the result of severe trauma thera- py.

Expression in Pichia pastoris, fermentation and purification of HIV-1 CN54 Gag antigen / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To express the Gag protein of HIV-1 strain CN54 in Pichia pastoris (P.pastoris), optimize fermentation parameters and purify Gag antigen.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The Gag gene was subcloned into downstream of aox1 promoter of Pichia expression vector pPS1.0, an integrative vector which possesses an identical 5' untranslated region as the natural aox1 gene and employs both in vitro construction and in vivo selection for multi-copy integrants. The recombinant vector was introduced into P.pastoris strain GS115 by electroporation and selected with G418 for Gag gene integration. Super G418 resistant clones were selected and screened for Gag expression. The engineered P.pastoris was cultured to high cell density (>300 A600 Units/ml) in a 5L fermentor. Through methanol induction, the expression level of Gag reached 120 mg/L. Intracellularly expressed Gag was released by high-pressure homogenization and purified through Sepharose FF and DEAE Sepharose FF column chromatography, the purity of Gag reached up to 90%.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Western-blotting suggested that purified Gag expressed in P.pastoris could react specifically with serum from HIV infected individual.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Gag antigen expressed in P.pastoris has provided a good basis for the development of a new generation of HIV vaccine candidates against some Chinese prevalent strains.</p>

The construction of attenuated Tiantan recombinant vaccinia virus vector with IFN-gamma receptor gene deletion / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>B8R gene encodes a secreted protein with homology to IFN-gamma receptor, which neutralizes the antiviral and immunological regulation activities of IFN-gamma. To improve the safety of vaccinia virus vector, an attenuated recombinant vaccinia virus with the B8R gene deletion from Tiantan vaccine strain (VTT) was constructed.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The transfer vectors were generated by joining B8R left flank, B8R right flank, vv promoter, LacZ, multicloning site and pBRSK fragments. The recombinant viruses VTTdeltaB8RLacZ (VTT with B8R deletion and LacZ insertion) were constructed by homologous recombination.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The B8R deletion mutants were confirmed by dot blot with B8R gene probe and PCR amplification. The replication ability of VTTdeltaB8RLacZ strain in vitro was similar to that of the VTT. The skin lesions formed by VTTdeltaB8RLacZ (10(6) pfu) were significantly smaller and healed faster than those formed by VTT when injected intradermally to the rabbits,and no visible ulceration occurred. Meanwhile LacZ in VTKgpedeltaB8RLacZ was expressed stably.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The attenuated vector with B8R gene deletion improves the safety of recombinant vaccinia virus vaccine B8R locus may be used as a new site for insertion of foreign genes in vaccinia virus vector.</p>