Search

Objective: To assess the trends in characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients in tertiary Chinese medicine (CM) hospitals in China between 2006 and 2013. Methods: This retrospective study was based on two nationwide epidemiological surveys of AMI in tertiary CM hospitals during 2 years (2006 and 2013). Patients admitted to the hospital for AMI were enrolled. Hospital records were used as the data source. Case data were derived regarding baseline characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of patients to assess changes from 2006 to 2013. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between prognosis, general influencing factors of disease, and various treatment measures. Results: Totally 26 tertiary CM hospitals in 2006 and 29 tertiary CM hospitals in 2013 (18 were repetitive) were surveyed. A total of 2,311 patients with AMI were enrolled (1,094 cases in 2006 and 1,217 cases in 2013). From 2006 to 2013, the mean age did not significantly change, but the proportion of patients younger than 65 years increased. The prevalence of risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia also increased. Significant increases were observed in primary percutaneous coronary intervention [20.48% (2006) vs. 24.90% (2013)] and revascularization [36.11% (2006) vs. 52.42% (2013)]. In-hospital mortality decreased from 11.15% in 2006 to 10.60% in 2013. A mortality logistic regression analysis identified reperfusion therapy [odds ratio (OR), 0.222; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.106–0.464], Chinese patent medicines (OR, 0.394; 95% CI, 0.213–0.727), and CM decoctions (OR, 0.196; 95% CI, 0.109–0.353) as protective factors. Conclusion: Reperfusion and revascularization capabilities of tertiary CM hospitals have improved significantly, but in-hospital mortality has not significantly decreased. Efforts are needed to improve medical awareness of AMI and expand the use of CM to reduce in-hospital mortality in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of integrative medicine (IM) on patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and investigate the prognostic factors of CAD in a real-world setting.Methods: A total of 1,087 hospitalized patients with CAD from four hospitals in Beijing, China were consecutively selected between August 2011 and February 2012. The patients were assigned to two groups based on the treatment: Chinese medicine (CM) plus conventional treatment, i.e., IM therapy (IM group); or conventional treatment alone (CT group). The endpoint was major adverse cardiac events [MACE; including cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), and revascularization].Results: A total of 1,040 patients finished the 2-year follow-up. Of them, 49.4% (514/1,040) received IM therapy. During the 2-year follow-up, the total incidence of MACE was 11.3%. Most of the events involved revascularization (9.3%). Cardiac death/MI occurred in 3.0% of cases. For revascularization, logistic stepwise regression analysis revealed that age ⩾ 65 years [odds ratio (OR), 2.224], MI (OR, 2.561), diabetes mellitus (OR, 1.650), multi-vessel lesions (OR, 2.554), baseline high sensitivity C-reactive protein level ⩾ 3 mg/L (OR, 1.678), and moderate or severe anxiety/depression (OR, 1.849) were negative predictors (P<0.05); while anti-platelet agents (OR, 0.422), β-blockers (OR, 0.626), statins (OR, 0.318), and IM therapy (OR, 0.583) were protective predictors (P<0.05). For cardiac death/MI, age ⩾ 65 years (OR, 6.389) and heart failure (OR, 7.969) were negative predictors (P<0.05), while statin use (OR, 0.323) was a protective predictor (P<0.05) and IM therapy showed a beneficial tendency (OR, 0.587), although the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.218).Conclusion: In a real-world setting, for patients with CAD, IM therapy was associated with a decreased incidence of revascularization and showed a potential benefit in reducing the incidence of cardiac death or MI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity has become an epidemic in developing countries including China. The use of bariatric surgery to treat obesity has grown in popularity worldwide, but it is still a new concept in China. This study aims to investigate the trends in bariatric surgery in China. Methods: An electronic search of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure was conducted to select studies for this survey. Results: A total of 7779 bariatric procedures were reported from 2001 to 2015, most of which (89.2 %) were performed in the most recent 5 years. Further, 70.9 % of all procedures were performed to treat obesity and related comorbidities, defined as metabolic surgery. The data showed 89.4 % of all operations were performed laparoscopically. The absolute number of bariatric surgeries increased 148.7 times in the last 5 years compared to the 2001-2005 period. The percentage of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypasses performed increased from 0 to 62.2 %, and the percentage of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomies from 0 to 12.7 %. The percentage of laparoscopic adjustable gastric bands increased dramatically from 0 to 73.3 % in the 2006-2010 period, but it dropped quickly to 12.9 % in the 2011-2015 period. Most operations (66.7 %) were conducted in the East area, which is the most developed economic region in China. There was limited surgical innovation or original research reported in China. Conclusions: Bariatric surgery is still at an early stage in China, but is now experiencing an explosive growth. A national registry system needs to be established to record and provide precise data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAim:To investigate whether estrogen receptor α (ER-α) PvuII and osteocalcin (also known as bone Gla protein, or BGP) HindIII genetic polymorphisms and their potential interactions are associated with body mass index (BMI) variation.Methods:Data on BMI and ER-α PvuII and BGP HindIII genotypes were obtained from 328 healthy premenopausal Chinese women in east China. The study subjects were unrelated, at least 21 years old (mean age of 33.2±5.9 years), and had an average BMI of 21.58±2.59. All subjects were genotyped at the ER-α PvuII and BGP HindIII loci using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).Results:The BGP HindIII genotypes were significantly associated with BMI (P=0.003). Carriers of the HH and Hh genotypes had approximately 2.73% and 1.27% higher BMI than those of the hh genotype, respectively. In contrast, the ER-α PvuII polymorphism was not significantly associated with BMI (P=0.454). In addition, there was no evidence of potential interactions between the ER-α and BGP genes in our subjects (P≥0.013).Conclusion:The HindIII polymorphism of the BGP gene, but not the PvuII polymorphism of the ER-α gene or their potential interaction, was associated with BMI in premenopausal Chinese women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To cope with adverse environments, the majority of indigenous plants in arid regions possess adaptive plasticity after long-term evolution. Leaf-level morphology, anatomy, biochemical properties, diurnal water potential and gas exchange of Salix gordejevii distributed in fixed dunes and lowlands in Hunshandake Sandland, China, were compared. Compared to plants growing in lowlands, individuals of S. gordejevii in fixed dunes displayed much smaller leaf area (0.26 vs 0.70 cm2) and thicker leaves (leaf total thickness 148.59 vs 123.44 μm), together with heavier crust wax, denser hairs, and more compacted epidermal cells. Moreover, those growing in fixed dunes displayed stronger drought-resistance properties as evidenced by higher levels of proline (3.68 vs 0.20 mg g−1 DW) and soluble sugar (17.24 vs 14.49%). Furthermore, S. gordejevii in fixed dunes demonstrated lower water potential and lower light compensation point (28.8 vs 51.9 μmol m−2 s−1). Our findings suggest that morphological and/or anatomical plasticity in leaves has had great adaptive value for Salix in responding to deteriorating environments. The evidence provided here may facilitate the prediction of plant adaptation in community succession in sandy habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the prevalence of hematuria or proteinuria in school children in Shanghai and to evaluate the screening methods, we conducted urine screening in more than 40,000 school children between 2003 and 2005. Children were tested with dipsticks read manually (method A) or dipsticks read by machines (method B) combined with a sulfosalicylic acid test or microscopy. Some children were tested once, and others who had abnormal results in the first screening were tested again 2 weeks later. The prevalence of urine abnormalities in the first screening was more than 5.00% and of the second screening about 1.00%. Either method B or testing two urine samples for each child had higher specificity. As to the direct cost, that of screening twice with method A was lower than just screening once with method B. So using method A to screen twice for each child was not only convenient and economical, but also could reduce the false positive rate effectively. More than 10 months of follow-up diagnosed two cases of IgA nephropathy. Asymptomatic chronic renal diseases in school children could be detected through school urine screening. For Shanghai, China, screening twice using method A might be the best choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of ammonium-based N ( $$ {\text{NH}}^{ + }_{4} - {\text{N}} $$ ) addition on soil nitrification and acidification were investigated in terms of kinetic mechanisms and major factors controlling these soil processes for terrestrial ecosystems in subtropical China. Soil samples were collected from an upland soil derived from a sandstone parent (SU), a brush-land soil from a granite (GB), and a forest soil from a quaternary red earth (QF) in a typical subtropical region of China. The samples were incubated at 30°C with soil moisture content of 60% water holding capacity (WHC) for 35 days, after adding ammonium sulphate, urea, and ammonium bicarbonate at rates of 0, 100, and 250 mg N kg−1, respectively. Nitrification in SU soil (pH 6.27) followed a first-order reaction model ( P < 0.001). Addition of ammonium sulphate, urea and ammonium bicarbonate significantly ( P < 0.05) stimulated nitrification. As a result, the soil was significantly acidified ( P < 0.05) and the soil pH at the end of incubation decreased with increasing N addition. In contrast, nitrification in QF (pH 4.46) and GB (pH 4.82) soils followed a zero-order reaction model ( P < 0.001) and hence the addition of $$ {\text{NH}}^{ + }_{4} $$ did not directly affect soil nitrification. However, the chemical input directly changed initial pH of GB and QF soils, resulting in either a decrease or an increase in $$ {\text{NO}}^{ - }_{3} $$ production, dependent on the impact of the chemicals applied. At the end of incubation, the pH of QF and GB soils was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) in treatments with $$ {\text{NH}}^{ + }_{4} $$ -input than without $$ {\text{NH}}^{ + }_{4} $$ -input. These results indicated that for some acid soils nitrification was not controlled by available $$ {\text{NH}}^{ + }_{4} $$ -N and that $$ {\text{NH}}^{ + }_{4} $$ -N-input was not necessary to stimulate soil nitrification. And so no acceleration of soil acidification occurred. In order to characterize nitrification intensity in these humid soils and its effect on acidification, nitrification without N-amendment is a better indicator than with N-amendment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate whether estrogen receptor α(ER-α) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) genes are associated with the age at menarche in Chinese women. A total of 390 pre-menopausal Chinese women were genotyped at the ER-α PvuII, X baI, and VDR ApaI loci using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Neither the ER-αgene nor the VDR gene individually had significant effects on the age at menarche in our subjects ( P > 0.10). However, evidence of interaction effects between the two genes were observed: with the aa genotype at the VDR ApaI locus, subjects with haplotype PX at the ER-αgene had, on average, 6 months later onset of menarche than the non-carriers ( P=0.01). We found that neither the ER-αgene or the VDR gene had a significant association with the age at menarche individually. However, potential interaction effects between the two genes were observed in Chinese women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low peak bone density (PBD) in adulthood is an important determinant of osteoporotic fracture (OF) in the elderly. The tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2) gene has been considered as an important candidate gene for PBD due to its important role in bone turnover. In this study, we recruited a total of 1,263 subjects from 402 Chinese nuclear families composed of both parents and at least one daughter, and tested the association of the (CA)n polymorphism in intron 4 of the TNFR2 gene with PBD using a more contemporary quantitative transmission disequilibrium test (QTDT). Significant within-family association was detected between the CA16 allele and bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine with the P-value of 0.005 after permutations, which is still significant after correction for multiple testing. Some evidence of total-family association between the CA16 allele and lumbar spine BMD was found ( P=0.021), although the significant level did not reach the empirical threshold ( P≤0.007). About 3.14% of lumbar spine BMD variation can be explained by the CA16 allele. In summary, our results suggest that the TNFR2 gene may play an important role in determining lumbar spine BMD variation in Chinese women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Motor tic, Obsessions and Compulsions, Vocal tic Evaluation Survey (MOVES) is a widely used screening tool for Tourette syndrome (TS) and associated comorbidities. This study evaluated its applicability for children in China using 7,125 participants from the National Center for Children’s Health (Beijing). Psychometric evaluations included exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, yielding a 16-item, four-factor model that explained 55.11% of the variance and demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.88) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.86). The scale showed strong convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity and was significantly correlated with other established TS scales. The results affirm the reliability and validity of the MOVES for screening TS in Asian contexts, addressing a crucial gap in the region’s TS assessment tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]