Search

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Objective: Total mesorectal resection (TME) is difficult to perform for rectal cancer patients with anatomical confines of the pelvis or thick mesorectal fat. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of pelvic dimensions to predict the difficulty of TME, and establish a nomogram for predicting its difficulty. Methods: The inclusion criteria for this retrospective study were as follows: (1) tumor within 15 cm of the anal verge; (2) rectal cancer confirmed by preoperative pathological examination; (3) adequate preoperative MRI data; (4) depth of tumor invasion T1-4a; and (5) grade of surgical difficulty available. Patients who had undergone non-TME surgery were excluded. A total of 88 patients with rectal cancer who underwent TME between March 2019 and November 2021 were eligible for this study. The system for scaling difficulty was as follows: Grade I, easy procedure, no difficulties; Grade II, difficult procedure, but no impact on specimen quality (complete TME); Grade III, difficult procedure, with a slight impact on specimen quality (near-complete TME); Grade IV: very difficult procedure, with remarkable impact on specimen quality (incomplete TME). We classified Grades I-II as no surgical difficulty and grades III-IV as surgical difficulty. Pelvic parameters included pelvic inlet length, anteroposterior length of the mid-pelvis, pelvic outlet length, pubic tubercle height, sacral length, sacral depth, distance from the pubis to the pelvic floor, anterior pelvic depth, interspinous distance, and inter-tuberosity distance. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the factors associated with the difficulty of TME, and a nomogram predicting the difficulty of the procedure was established. Results: The study cohort comprised 88 patients, 30 (34.1%) of whom were classified as having undergone difficult procedures and 58 (65.9%) non-difficult procedures. The median age was 64 years (56-70), 51 patients were male and 64 received neoadjuvant therapy. The median pelvic inlet length, anteroposterior length of the mid-pelvis, pelvic outlet length, pubic tubercle height, sacral length, sacral depth, distance from the pubis to the pelvic floor, anterior pelvic depth, interspinous distance, and inter-tuberosity distance were 12.0 cm, 11.0 cm, 8.6 cm, 4.9 cm, 12.6 cm, 3.7 cm, 3.0 cm, 13.3 cm, 10.2 cm, and 12.2 cm, respectively. Multivariable analyses showed that preoperative chemoradiotherapy (OR=4.97,95% CI: 1.25-19.71, P =0.023), distance between the tumor and the anal verge (OR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.02-1.67, P =0.035) and pubic tubercle height (OR=3.36, 95% CI: 1.56-7.25, P =0.002) were associated with surgical difficulty. We then built and validated a predictive nomogram based on the above three variables (AUC = 0.795, 95%CI: 0.696-0.895). Conclusion: Our research demonstrated that our system for scaling surgical difficulty of TME is useful and practical. Preoperative chemoradiotherapy, distance between tumor and anal verge, and pubic tubercle height are risk factors for surgical difficulty. These data may aid surgeons in planning appropriate surgical procedures.

Background: Previous studies have found associations between single toxic metals, such as arsenic and cadmium, and kidney function in adults with diabetes. However, studies with regards to other metals and metal mixtures are still limited., Objective: Our study aimed to investigate the associations between urinary concentrations of 5 selected metals and metal mixtures and kidney function using a sample of older adults with diabetes mellitus in Chinese communities., Methods: In a sample of older adults (n = 5186), 592 eligible subjects were included in this study. Urinary concentrations of 5 metals, i.e., arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), vanadium (V), cobalt (Co), and thallium (Tl), were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated and dichotomized into indicator of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Logistic analysis and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used to explore the associations between single metals and metal mixtures and CKD, respectively., Results: Urinary levels of As and V were positively correlated with CKD (OR=2.37, 95% CI: 1.31-4.30 for As; OR=2.24, 95% CI: 1.25-4.03 for V), when compared the 4th quartile with the 1st quartile. After adjustment for potential confounders, the significant association between As and CKD still existed (OR=2.73, 95% CI: 1.23-6.07). BKMR analyses showed strong linear positive associations between As and V and CKD. Higher urinary levels of the mixture were significantly associated with higher odds of CKD in a dose-response pattern. As and V showed the highest posterior inclusion probabilities., Conclusion: Urine As and V were positively associated with CKD in older adults with diabetes mellitus, separately and in a mixture. The metals mixture showed a linear dose-response association with the odds of CKD. The analyses of mixtures, rather than of single metals, may provide a real-world perspective on the relationship between metals and kidney function., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A total of 106 patients who were diagnosed with Bosniak catergory ⅡF or Ⅲ cystic renal masses (CRM) and underwent surgery in Zhongshan-Xuhui Hospital and Xuhui District Central Hospital between January 2018 and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The diagnostic accuracy of renal cyst index (RCI) and Bosniak classification system was compared by analyzing the relevant parameters including the sensitivity and specificity. There were 62 males and 44 females, with a median age of 56 years old. Among the 106 CRM, 72 were benign and 34 were malignant. The sensitivity and specificity of RCI was 94.12% and 81.94%, respectively, while the sensitivity and specificity of Bosniak classification system was 73.53% and 80.56%, respectively. Chi-square test revealed that the sensitivity of RCI was significantly higher than that of Bosniak classification system ( P =0.023). The current study indicates that RCI is a simple and feasible method which can provide quantitative evaluation for predicting characteristics of CRM.

Background: Evidence of the association between marital status and cognitive function in Chinese older adults is limited., Aims: To examine the relationship between marital status and cognitive function and to explore the role of gender amongst older adults from three Chinese communities., Methods: A total of 1376 participants aged 60 years or over were included in this cross-sectional study. Cognitive function was assessed using the Chinese version of the mini-mental state examination (MMSE). Marital status and other variables were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine associations between marital statuses and cognitive function amongst the target population. The moderating role of gender in these potential associations has also been explored., Results: In univariate linear regression models, compared to being married, both being widowed (β [95% CI]: -1.46[-2.78 to - 0.13]) and being single (β [95% CI]: - 4.88[-6.43 to - 3.38]) were associated with lower MMSE scores. After adjustment for confounding factors, the significant association of being widowed with MMSE scores disappeared (β [95% CI: - 0.08[- 1.04 to 0.86]), but the association of being single with MMSE scores still existed (β [95% CI]: - 1.87[- 3.17 to - 0.58]). Furthermore, the association of being single with MMSE scores was statistically significant in men (β [95% CI]: - 5.25[- 7.17 to - 3.33]) but not in women (β [95% CI: 0.88[- 0.87 to 2.64])., Discussion and Conclusions: Being single was associated with poorer cognitive function compared with their married counterparts in older Chinese men but not in women. More preventive measurements should be implemented for single men to reduce or delay cognitive decline. This is particularly important in the context of an aging population in China., (© 2020. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: Biomonitoring studies have demonstrated extensive exposure of infants, children, and pregnant women to phthalates, but data on phthalate exposure and their determinants in Chinese older adults remain insufficient. This study aims to assess urinary phthalate metabolite levels, individual and cumulative exposure risk, and their determinants in Chinese community-dwelling older adults., Methods: A total of 987 individuals aged 60 years or over were included in this study. The urinary levels of seven phthalate metabolites were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The estimated daily intake (EDI), hazard quotient (HQ), and hazard index (HI) of phthalates were calculated based on urinary metabolite levels. The associations between phthalate metabolite levels and potential determinants were examined using multiple linear regressions., Results: Detection rates of seven phthalate metabolites from the study population ranged from 63.83% to 99.39%. The highest median concentration was 43.64 μg/L (42.59 μg/g creatinine) for mono-butyl phthalate (MBP). The highest median EDI was 1.55 μg/kg-bw/day for diethyl phthalate (DBP). Nearly 5% of participants had high HI values exceeding 1, mainly attributed to DBP and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Furthermore, we found that females, higher body mass index (BMI), smoking, having two or more chronic diseases, and vegetable-based diets were significantly associated with higher levels of parts of phthalate metabolites. More interestingly, higher urine levels of high-molecular-weight (HMW) phthalate metabolites and lower urine levels of low-molecular-weight (LMW) phthalate metabolites were found in rural older adults than in urban older adults., Conclusions: Chinese community-dwelling older adults are extensively exposed to phthalates, especially to DBP and DEHP. More attention should be paid to urban-rural differences in exposure to HMW and LMW phthalates and to phthalate exposure among older adults with overweight/obesity, females, and individuals who are current heavy smokers, have two or more chronic diseases, and consume vegetable-based diets., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the clinical features of invasive candidiasis in children and the risk factors for Candida bloodstream infection., Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 134 children with invasive candidiasis and hospitalized in 5 tertiary hospitals in Urumqi, China, between January 2010 and December 2015. The Candida species distribution was investigated. The clinical data were compared between the patients with and without Candida bloodstream infection. The risk factors for Candida bloodstream infection were investigated using multivariate logistic regression analysis., Results: A total of 134 Candida strains were isolated from 134 children with invasive candidiasis, and non-albicans Candida (NAC) accounted for 53.0%. The incidence of invasive candidiasis in the PICU and other pediatric wards were 41.8% and 48.5% respectively. Sixty-eight patients (50.7%) had Candida bloodstream infection, and 45 patients (33.6%) had Candida urinary tract infection. There were significant differences in age, rate of use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, and incidence rates of chronic renal insufficiency, heart failure, urinary catheterization, and NAC infection between the patients with and without Candida bloodstream infection (P<0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that younger age (1-24 months) (OR=6.027) and NAC infection (OR=1.020) were the independent risk factors for Candida bloodstream infection., Conclusions: The incidence of invasive candidiasis is similar between the PICU and other pediatric wards. NAC is the most common species of invasive candidiasis. Candida bloodstream infection is the most common invasive infection. Younger age (1-24 months) and NAC infection are the risk factors for Candida bloodstream infection.

Objective: To investigate the relationship of leptin gene polymorphism with obesity in ethnic minority Hui and Uygur children in China., Methods: Sixty-eight ethnic minority (35 Hui and 33 Uygur) children with obesity and 69 age-matched minority (36 Hui and 33 Uygur) children without obesity were recruited from six primary schools in the sub-urban areas of Urumqi. Venous blood was sampled from all subjects after fasting for 12 hours. Leptin gene C2549A polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. Blood concentrations of lipids, leptin and insulin were measured with biochemical methods and radioimmunoassys, respectively., Results: In the 137 children tested, the prevalence of AA, AC and CC genotype was 9.5%, 33.6% and 56.9%, respectively. A allele frequency was significantly different between the two ethnic (i.e. Hui and Uygur) groups (P<0.05). A allele frequency and AA+ AC genotype frequency were not significantly different between obese and non-obese children in both ethnic groups (P>0.05). Blood leptin levels were not significantly different between obese and non-obese children with an AA+AC or CC genotype in both ethnic groups (P>0.05)., Conclusions: Leptin gene polymorphisms exist in Hui and Uygur children. The C2549A polymorphism is not significantly associated with the prevalence of obesity in both Hui and Uygur children.

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the epidemiology and clinical characteristics on metabolic syndrome (MetS) among overweight and obese children aged from 6 to 13 years old in Kazakh ethnic populations., Methods: Based on the data including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure measured from the 'Kazakh ethnic child Health examination study in Yili', 5360 Kazakh children aged 6 - 13 were screened for overweight and obesity in Xinjiang, using the Chinese BMI cutoffs for schoolchildren (7 - 18 years) and WHO growth reference for school-aged children and adolescents (6 year). Simultaneously a group of children with normal BMI were selected as the control group. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin (FINS), serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) were examined. HOMA-IR index was calculated to estimate the individual insulin resistance. Children under study were older than or equal to 10 years and met the criteria according to the definition of metabolic syndrome, prophylaxis and treatment on Chinese children and adolescents, proposed by the Society of Pediatrics in China or NCEP-ATPIII definition as MetS. Risk factors related to cardiovascular diseases were analyzed according to the criteria by the Society of Pediatrics among those aged from 6 to 10 years old children. Connection between waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and biochemical indexes was explored., Results: Prevalence rates of MetS according to the criteria from Society of Pediatrics in China were: 0%, 9.57%, 19.64% in the normal weight, overweight and obese children, respectively. The rates diagnosed by NCEP-ATPIII definition were 0.64%, 2.61%, 16.07% respectively. The detective rates of individual MetS component among obese children were: 78.95% for abdominal obesity, 29.82% for elevated BPs, 26.32% for high TG, 22.81% for low HDL-C, 0.88% for FPG. High TG (31.15%), abdominal obesity (23.77%) and low HDL-C (22.95%) appeared as the leading three abnormal indices among the overweight children. With increased BMI, the clustering of MetS components were also remarkably increasing. The detective rates of cardiovascular-related risk factors among overweight or obesity children from 6 to 10 years old were:abdominal obesity or obesity, low HDL-C, high TG, impaired FPG, elevated BPs. Differences were seen between overweight or obesity children and normal weight children on the detective rates of high TG, low HDL-C, abdominal obesity or obesity. WHtR was related with FINS, HOMA-IR index and LDL-C., Conclusion: MetS seemed epidemic among obese Hazakh children. Abdominal obesity, elevated BPs and high TG were the leading three abnormal factors among obese children. Compare to NCEP-ATPIII, abnormal biochemical indices on overweight Kazakh children seemed to be more sensitive, proposed by the Society of Pediatrics in China.

Background: Erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates that causing invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) in Chinese children remain uncharacterized. This study aims to identify the resistance genes associated with erythromycin resistance and to determine the genetic relationships of IPD isolates in Chinese children., Methods: A total of 171 S. pneumoniae strains were isolated from 11 medical centers in China from 2006 to 2008. All the isolates were characterized via serotyping and antibiotic susceptibility determination. The erythromycin-resistant isolates were further characterized via ermB and mefA gene detection, multi-locus sequence typing analysis, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis., Results: A total of 164 (95.9%) isolates showed resistance to erythromycin, of which 162 strains with high high-level resistance (MIC ≥ 256 µg/ml). A total of 104 (63.4%) isolates carry the ermB gene alone, whereas 59 (36.0%) harbor both ermB and mefA genes. Of the 59 strains, 54 were of serotypes 19A and 19F and were identified as highly clonal and related to the Taiwan(19F)-14 clone., Conclusions: The erythromycin resistance rate in IPD isolates is significantly high and is predominantly mediated by the ermB gene. Isolates that carry both ermB and mefA genes are predominantly of serotypes 19A and 19F.

Objective: To observe the relationship of childhood benign acanthosis nigricans to anthropometric and metabolic indexes, with the aim of studying the association between childhood benign acanthosis nigricans and metabolic diseases., Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 29 children who presented with benign acanthosis nigricans between February 2007 and October 2011. Thirty-two age, sex- and ethnic-matched normal children were selected as control group. The two groups were compared according to obesity (body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat content and body fat percentage) and metabolic indexes (blood glucose, insulin level and blood lipids)., Results: Body mass index, body fat content, body fat percentage, waist-to-hip ratio, fasting blood glucose, insulin level and triglyceride in the 29 patients with benign acanthosis nigricans were higher than in the control group (P<0.05), but the level of high-density lipoprotein in the 29 patients was lower than in the control group (P<0.05). Of the 29 patients, 16 had impaired glucose tolerance and 3 were diagnosed with diabetes (1 case with type 1, two cases with type 2)., Conclusions: Childhood benign acanthosis nigricans is closely associated with obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia.

Objective: To investigate the correlations between obesity index such as waist circumference, hip circumference, skin-fold thickness, body mass index, waist to hip ratio, waist to height ratio etc, and blood pressure among Kazak children living in Yili of Xinjiang., Methods: In May-June 2009, 2438 Kazak children aged 7 to 14 at primary schools in Yili of Xinjiang, were investigated. Waist circumference, hip circumference, skin-fold thickness, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured to calculate the body mass index, waist to hip ratio and waist to height ratio. Analysis on the differences in age and gender, blood pressure (BP) between hypertensive or normal BP group under the standard set for children. SPSS 17.0 software was used for statistical analysis on its correlation., Results: The total prevalence of hypertension was 5.7% in Kazak ethnic school-age children in Yili, with 4.4% in the boys and 7.0% in girls. Data from waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-height-ratio, waist-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed gender and age differences (P = 0.000). Average systolic blood pressure was correlated to waist circumference, hip circumference, skin-fold thickness, body mass index and waist to hip ratio (P = 0.000), with hip circumference the most (man: r = 0.618, female: r = 0.655). The average diastolic blood pressure was correlated to waist circumference, hip circumference, skin-fold thickness, body mass index and waist to hip ratio (P = 0.000), with hip having the strongest relation (r = 0.489 for male and r = 0.548 for females). Significant differences were seen between Hypertension group and normal blood pressure group on waist circumference, hip circumference, skin-fold thickness, body mass index and waist-hip ratio (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: In Yili of Xinjiang, the prevalence of hypertension was at the low level in Kazak ethnic school-aged children when comparing to data from national and foreign standards. Indicators related to obesity as waist circumference, hip circumference, body mass index and waist to hip ratio were positively correlated with blood pressure, with hip in particular.

Objective: To study blood pressure levels, the prevalence of hypertension and factors associated with the development of hypertension in Hasakh children in the Yili region of Xinjiang Province., Methods: A total of 2438 Hasakh school children from the Yili region of Xinjiang Province were sampled by stratified random cluster sampling method between May and June 2009. Height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, skinfold thickness and blood pressure were measured. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated., Results: Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were 94±13 mm Hg and 60±9 mm Hg respectively in the 2438 children, and both averages were lower than in the Han children. Hypertension was noted in 138 children (5.66%). The prevalence of hypertension in girls (6.97%, 84/1206) was higher than in boys (4.38%, 54/1232) (P<0.05). The prevalence of hypertension and blood pressone were positively correlated with BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, skinfold thickness circumference, gender and age., Conclusions: Average blood pressure levels in Hasakh children in the Yili region of Xinjiang Province are lower than in domestic age-matched Han children. The prevalence of hypertension in girls is higher than in boys. Obesity is highly correlated with the development of hypertension.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of loratadine, a new generation of antihistaminics, in the treatment of childhood asthma., Methods: The papers related to loratadine treatment for childhood asthma were searched in the database of PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrance, CNKI and CBMdisc (January 1990 to December 2010) electronically and manually. According to the Cochrane reviewer's handbook, the quality of the enrolled papers was assessed and a systematic review was performed., Results: A total of 179 papers were obtained. Eleven randomized controlled trials met the criteria and were included in this study. The 11 trials included 317 children with asthma: 159 cases in the loratadine treatment group and 158 cases in the control group. All included studies belonged to the B class according to the quality evaluation criteria. Meta analysis showed that the clinical symptoms were improved more, the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) 4 and 8 weeks posttreatment and the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) 8 weeks posttreatment were higher in the loratadine treatment group than in the control group. The treatment-related adverse effects, fatigue, tachycardia and palpitation, occurred less in the loratadine treatment group compared with the control group., Conclusions: Loratadine is safe and effective for the treatment of childhood asthma.

Objective: To analyze the characteristics of children tibial intercondylar eminence fractures, and introduce arthroscopic minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of tibial intercondylar eminence fractures in children., Methods: From January 2004 to December 2008, 12 children with tibial intercondylar eminence fractures were treated with cross Kirschner wire fixation after arthroscopic reduction. According to Meyers-McKeever classification systems, there were 1 case of type I, 4 cases of type II, and 7 cases of type III. There were 10 fresh and 2 old fractures in all. Among the patients, 10 patients were boy and 2 patients were girl,ranging in age from 8 to 13 years, with an average of 10 years. All the patients underwent arthroscopic exploration, reduction and fixation. During follow-up ranging from 10 to 36 months, the union of fracture, range of motion and stabilization of the knee were assessed. One patient was combined with lesions of the menisci, 1 patient with femoral trochlea cartilage injury, and 5 patients with meniscal entrapment under the bone., Results: The heeling time averaged 5 weeks. No knee laxity or instability and no intercondylar notch impingement was detected in all cases at 3 months postoperatively. At same time, full range of motion of the affected knee returned, and the average Lysholm knee score was (92.7 +/- 2.5), the average Lysholm knee score was (96.4 +/- 1.7) at 6 months postoperatively. The Lachman test and ADT test was negative., Conclusion: The type II and type III tibial intercondylar eminence fractures occur frequently in children. Lesions of the menisci and cartilage occur seldom. The method of arthroscopic cross Kirschner wire fixation for the treatment of tibial intercondylar eminence fracture is easy to operate. Simultaneously, this technique is less invasive and allows early recovery. Also it coincidences with the characteristic rapid bone growth of children.

Objective: To study the sleep quality and quantity and their influencing factors in Uigur and Hui children in Xinjiang Province., Methods: From March to December of 2007, 912 Uigur and 1019 Hui school children (6 to 14 years) were randomly sampled from 6 cities of Xinjing Province. The questionnaire on children's sleep states and sleep environments was filled in by children's parents., Results: The mean sleep time of Uigur and Hui children was 10.1±1.4 hrs. The sleep time in Uigur children was significantly less than that in Hui children (9.7±1.2 hrs vs 10.4±1.5 hrs; P<0.05). The mean incidence of sleep disorders was 23.56%. The Uigur children had a lower incidence of sleep disorders compared with the Hui children (18.42% vs 28.16%; P<0.001). Ethnic group, sleep latency, use of a swing bed, family history of snore, watching TV before sleeping, hypertrophy of tonsils, eating before sleeping, feeding patterns and recurrent upper respiratory tract infection were the factors associated with the sleep quality and quantity., Conclusions: The influencing factors of sleep quality and quantity are multifactorial in Uigur and Hui children in Xinjiang Province. Pediatrician, child health care doctors and parents should pay more attention to children's sleep. The incidence of sleep disorders is different between Uigur and Hui children, suggesting that more research for the prevention and treatment of sleep disorders should be performed in different ethic groups.

Objective: To investigate obesity, overweight and related factors of Kazakh children aged from 6 to 13 years old in Yili, Xinjiang., Methods: With stratified cluster sampling method, 2438 Kazakh children aged 6 - 13 from eight elementary schools were recruited from the Yili Kazakh autonomy region from May to June in 2009. Height, weight, blood pressure, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured. Body mass index (BMI) value was used to determine overweight or obesity. The overweight and obesity distribution pattern of gender, age (6 - 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 - 14 years old group) and region (city, county and countryside) was analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of overweight or obesity., Results: The prevalence of obesity and overweight in Yili Kazakh autonomy region was 1.64% (40/2438) (male: 1.62% (20/1232), female 1.66% (20/1206) (χ(2) = 0.69, P = 0.41)), and 5.13% (25/2438) (male: 4.79% (59/1232), female 5.47% (66/1206) (χ(2) = 0.59, P = 0.44)), respectively. The obesity prevalence of 6 - 7 year-old children was 3.72% (8/215), 2.30% (10/435) for 12 year-old group and 2.19% (6/274) for 13 - 14 year-old group. The difference of obesity and overweight prevalence among different age groups was significant (χ(2) = 14.29, P = 0.04). The prevalence of overweight was 8.77% (35/399), 6.92% (74/1069), 1.65% (16/970) (χ(2) = 42.09, P = 0.00) in city, county and countryside. And the prevalence of obesity was 2.75% (11/399), 2.43% (27/1069), 0.30% (3/970) (χ(2) = 18.13, P = 0.00) in city, county and countryside. Logistic regression analysis showed that children with family obesity history (OR = 2.73, 95%CI: 1.42 - 5.22) and culture level of fathers (OR = 1.65, 95%CI: 0.29 - 9.25) were independent risk factors of obesity. There was a correlation between blood pressure and waist-to-hip rate (r = 0.10, P = 0.00). Moreover, the correlation existed between systolic pressure (r = 0.47, P = 0.00), diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.37, P = 0.00) and BMI. Correlation existed between waist circumference (r = 0.81, P = 0.00), hip circumference (r = 0.78, P = 0.00) and BMI., Conclusion: There is no sex difference of overweight and obesity prevalence in Kazakh children aged from 6 to 13 year-old. Both family history of obesity and culture level of the fathers are factors of obesity and overweight to Kazakh children.

β-catenin, a protein that functions in both cell adhesion and Wnt signaling, plays a key role in mammalian neural development. To investigate the role of β-catenin in hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO)-induced neurogenesis after hypoxic ischemic brain damage (HIBD), we transfected β-catenin siRNA and negative control siRNA into neural stem cells (NSCs) after HIBD. We found that HBO promoted NSCs differentiate into neurons or oligodendrocytes, and inhibited NSCs differentiate into astrocytes; HIBD brain tissue extract conditioned cultures promoted NSCs differentiate into neurons; β-Catenin siRNA decreased the NSE-positive neurons and increased GFAP-positive astrocytes in the NSCs in vitro. Furthermore, the expression of Ngn1 protein and mRNA in NSCs was increased when HBO promoted NSCs differentiate into neurons after HIBD, and the expression of BMP-4 protein and mRNA was decreased when HBO depressed NSCs differentiate into astrocytes after HIBD. These results showed that β-catenin-mediated transcriptional activation functions in the decision of NSCs to proliferate neurogenesis during HBO-induced after HIBD, and suggested that HBO therapy promotes the proliferation of neural stem cells in vitro, an effect that may be correlated with β-catenin protein and HBO therapy could promote neurogenesis by β-catenin-induced activated Ngn1 gene and repress astrocytogenesis by β-catenin-induced down-regulated BMP-4 gene.

Objective: To study the association of fat mass and obesity associated gene rs9930506 polymorphism with overweight and obesity in the Hazakh Children., Methods: PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to determine rs9930506 polymorphism in 118 patients with overweight or obesity and 141 controls. Serum lipid level including total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, plasma glucose levels, and plasma insulin were monitored by using enzymatic method (Hitachi automatic clinical analyzer) and radioimmunoassay kit respectively., Results: The genotype distributions of the control group and overweight or obesity group were in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The frequencies of AA, AG and GG were 0.458, 0.492 and 0.050 in the overweight or obesity group and 0.582, 0.397 and 0.021 in the controls respectively. There was no significant difference in frequencies of AA, AG and GG genotypes between control group and overweight or obesity group (χ(2) = 4.795, P = 0.091), but the frequency of GG + AG genotype in overweight or obesity group (0.542) was higher than that in the controls (0.418) giving significant difference (χ(2) = 3.957, P = 0.047). The frequencies of A allele were 0.703 in the overweight or obesity group and 0.780 in the controls respectively. There was significant difference in frequencies of A allele frequency between controls and overweight or obesity group (χ(2) = 3.986, P = 0.046). In the overweight or obesity group, the plasma glucose levels, BMI and hip circumference were (4.93 ± 0.52) mol/L, (79.70 ± 11.73) and (21.61 ± 2.72) cm in the persons with GG + AG genotype and (4.69 ± 0.56) mol/L, (75.28 ± 11.52) and (19.92 ± 1.98) cm in those of AA genotypes respectively. The plasma glucose levels, BMI and hip circumference of the persons with GG + AG genotype were higher than those of AA genotypes and the statistical significance was also observed (t = 2.430, P = 0.017; t = 2.053, P = 0.042; t = 3.891, P = 0.000)., Conclusion: The present findings suggest that rs9930506 polymorphism on chromosome 16q12.2 may be associated with the development of overweight or obesity in the Hazakh Children, and the polymorphism may have some influence on serum glucose levels, BMI and hip circumference in this population.

Objective: To study the prevalence rate of upper respiratory tract group A Streptococcus (GAS) carriage in school-age children from Xinjiang Province., Methods: A total of 478 children at age of 9-12 years from Tulufan City and Buerjin County of Xinjiang Province were enrolled by random cluster sampling. Throat swab cultures were performed once each season for the determination of presence of GAS., Results: In the 1 827 samples, 196 GAS strains were isolated, with a GAS carrier rate of 10.7%. The prevalence rate of GAS carrier in Tulufan City ranged from 3.7%-16.5% compared with 4.7%-21.4% in Buerjin County (P < 0.05). The prevalence rate of GAS carrier in winter is the highest, followed by in autumn, spring and summer in both regions. There were significant differences in the GAS carriage rate in autumn between the two regions. There were no significant differences in the GAS carriage rate between boys and girls. Of the 196 GAS strains, 133 from Han, 22 from Uygur and 41 from Hazakh children. There were significant differences in the prevalence rate of GAS carriage among children with different ethic groups., Conclusions: The prevalence rate of GAS carriage is high in school-age children from Tulufan and Buerjin of Xinjiang Province. The GAS carrier rate is associated with the season and ethic group. The children from Buerjin County present a higher GAS carrier rate than those from Tulufan City.

Objective: To compare the characteristics of immunomagnetic beads and hespan precipitation for isolation of mononuclear cells (MNCs) from umbilical cord blood and try to find a better isolation method for MNCs., Methods: Fifteen umbilical cord blood samples from healthy parturiens were collected between December 2007 and March 2008. MNCs were isolated using hespan precipitation and CD133 immunomagnetic beads, respectively. MNCs were identified using the surface marker CD34 by flow cytometry on the 30th of primary culture. Growth conditions and morphologic changes of primary cells were observed by an inverted microscope., Results: The number of MNCs from umbilical cord blood isolated by hespan precipitation (15.23 +/- 4.30 x 10(6)/mL) was significantly greater than that by CD133 immunomagnetic beads (0.066 +/- 0.027 x 10(6)/mL) (p<0.05). The MNCs isolated by hespan precipitation suspended at the culture medium and their growth was slow after passage. The growth of MNCs isolated by CD133 immunomagnetic beads was kept in a good condition. The CD34 positive rate of MNCs isolated by hespan precipitation and immunomagnetic beads was 10.1% and 0.5%, respectively., Conclusions: The hespan precipitation is an effective method for MNCs isolation from human umbilical cord blood, but with a cell growth condition below the mark. The MNCs isolated by CD133 immunomagnetic beads are in a high purity quotient.

Background & Objective: Activation of NF-kappaB signaling pathway plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of carcinogenesis. However, the role of NF-kappaB pathway in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has not been fully elucidated. Studies have shown that curcumin possesses anti-infection and anti-oxidation effects. This study was to evaluate whether curcumin could induce apoptosis through inhibition of NF-kappaB signaling pathway in ESCC cells., Methods: Expressions of pIkappaBalpha and Bcl-2 were detected using Western blott after incubation of ESCC cells with curcumin (50 micromol/L) at different time points. Apoptosis and the number of viable ESCC cells were analyzed using flow cytometry and MTT, respectively, after the treatment of curcumin, 5-FU, or the combination of curcumin and 5-FU., Results: In two ESCC cell lines, EC9706 and Eca109,curcumin inhibited IkappaBalpha phosphorylation and Bcl-2 in a time-dependent manner; curcumin alone increased cell apoptosis (P<0.05), and the effect became more prominent when it was combined with 5-FU (P<0.05); curcumin plus 5-FU exerted a stronger inhibition effect on cell proliferation than curcumin alone (P<0.05) or 5-FU alone (P<0.05)., Conclusion: Curcumin inhibits the phosphorylation of IkappaBalpha, leading to suppression of proliferation, induction of apoptosis and an increase of the sensitivity of ESCC cell lines towards 5-FU.

Objective: Currently people regard polysomnography (PSG) monitoring as the golden standard for diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in children. However, due to the high cost, time and manpower consuming, PSG is not applicable to epidemiological investigation and clinical screening, especially not suitable for child patients and remote hospitals in Xinjiang. Therefore, it is of important clinical significance to find out a simple method (e.g. a kind of serum index) to primarily screen out suspicious patients for early diagnosis and treatment. The present study was conducted to assess the clinical usefulness of the measurement of orexin-A concentration in serum as a diagnostic predictor to screen patients with OSAHS in children., Methods: Serum orexin-A concentration was measured with enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kit in 60 patient with snoring before performing polysomnography (PSG). Subsequently all the subjects underwent PSG test. Forty subjects were diagnosed as having OSAHS, and twenty subjects had no OSAHS. These 20 non-OSAHS subjects served as controls. Compared with the PSG results the clinical usefulness of the measurement of orexin-A concentration in serum was assessed as a diagnostic predictor to screen patients with OSAHS. Correlation between orexin-A levels and apnea hypoventilation index (AHI), micro-arousal index (MAI) and lowest SaO2 (LSaO2) were analyzed., Results: The serum orexin-A levels in the OSAHS group [(0.49 +/- 0.10) microg/L] was significantly higher than that of the control group [(0.28 +/- 0.11) microg/L, P < 0.01]. If a patient's level of orexin-A was higher than 0.36 microg/L, the patient more likely to have OSAHS. The sensitivity rate was 85.0% and the specificity was 80.0%. Serum orexin-A levels in children with OSAHS correlated positively with the AHI (r = 0.427, P < 0.05) and MAI (r = 0.468, P < 0.05), but correlated negatively with the LSaO2 (r = -0.527, P < 0.01) and the mean oxygen saturation (MSaO2) (r = -0.541, P < 0.01), not correlated significantly with the BMI (r = -0.212, P > 0.05). The serum orexin-A levels in the OSAHS children after who under went tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy significantly decreased (P < 0.05) 3 months after surgery as compared with pre-operation level., Conclusion: These findings suggest that the serum level of orexin-A could be used as a predictor in screening for OSAHS children and a biological marker of the severity of OSAHS children.

Objective: To understand the prevalence of sleep disorders and their influencing factors in primary school children from Urumqi., Methods: A total of 2034 children at the ages of 6-14 years were randomly sampled in 3 districts of Urumqi. The children's sleep states and their family and social environments were investigated through questionnaires., Results: The prevalence of sleep disorders in the subjects was 55%. The prevalence of sleep inquietude was the highest (14.7%), followed by sleep talking (4.8%), sleep walking (1.5%), nocturnal enuresis (1.5%), sleep teeth grinding (5.7%), habitual snoring (12.9%), sleep apnea (0.5%), and waking up by choke (1.9%). Taking drugs to stimulate or inhibit the central nervous system, frequent colds, confined housing area, family history, and sleeping with parents were risk factors for the development of sleep disorders., Conclusions: The prevalence of sleep disorders within primary school children in Urumqi is higher than the reported data. The development of sleep disorders is multifactorial.

Background & Objective: Notch1 signaling pathway is closely associated with carcinogenesis and plays a key role in cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. This study was to investigate the expression of Notch1 gene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell line EC9706 and its effects on cell apoptosis., Methods: The expression of Notch1 gene in EC9706 cells was detected by immunocytochemistry. Notch1 gene was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1-Notch1 (termed pcNICD) was constructed and transfected into EC9706 cells; pcDNA3.1 was also transfected as control. After transfection, the expression of Notch1 in EC9706 cells was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot, cell apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry (FCM)., Results: The expression of Notch1 gene was detected in EC9706 cells. The mRNA and protein expression of Notch1 gene in pcNICD-transfected EC9706 cells were significantly increased by about 3 folds of those in untreated and pcDNA3.1-transfected cells (P<0.01). However, there was no difference in Notch1 expression between untreated and pcDNA3.1-transfected EC9706 cells (P>0.05). The apoptosis rate was significantly higher in pcNICD-transfected EC9706 cells than in untreated and pcDNA3.1-transfected cells (P<0.01); there was no prominent difference between untreated and pcDNA3.1-transfected EC9706 cells (P>0.05)., Conclusion: The activated Notch1 signaling pathway gives rise to the apoptosis of EC9706 cells, suggesting that Notch1 gene may be a new therapeutic target for ESCC.

Objective: FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that is constitutively activated in (70-90)% pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and appears to confer an adverse prognosis. Although several FLT3-selective small molecule inhibitors and antibodies were developed with varied degrees of success, to address the specificity and resistance, new approaches for specifically targeted FLT3 are needed and RNA interference is a promising choice. The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of suppression of FLT3 induced by small hairpin interfering RNA (shRNA) on myeloproliferation and apoptosis in an acute monocytic leukemia (AMOL) cell line THP-1., Methods: FLT3-targeted small hairpin interfering RNA (FLT3-shRNA) was designed and synthesized by transcription system in vitro was transfected into THP-1 cells. Firstly FLT3 mRNA level was detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and FLT3 protein level was detected by flow cytometry (FCM) to verify the efficacy on FLT3-shRNA interference at 48 h after transfection. Cell growth viability was measured at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after treatment with CCK-8. The distribution of cell cycle was assayed by FCM, and apoptosis was analyzed by DNA Ladder and Annexin V-FITC Staining at 48 h., Results: FLT3 targeted shRNAs was synthesized successfully and the concentration of 15 nmol/L for 48 h could obtain desirable downregulation of FLT3 expression, the inhibitory percentages of FLT3 mRNA and protein were (72.95 +/- 2.07)% and (65.39 +/- 5.57)%, respectively. The suppression of FLT3 induced by FLT3-shRNA resulted in marked inhibition of cell growth and the inhibitory percentages were (36.66 +/- 3.67)% at 48 h, (35.56 +/- 0.73)% at 72 h. FLT3-shRNA induced the inhibition of cell cycle from G(0)/G(1) phase to S phase, the percentage of sub-G(0)/G(1) phase (65.71 +/- 4.47)% was higher than those in the PBS-control group (52.23 +/- 2.98)%, NC-shRNA control group (51.81 +/- 1.44)%, P < 0.01; the percentage of S phase (25.11 +/- 2.70)% was lower than those in the PBS-control group (34.41 +/- 4.07)% and NC-shRNA control group (32.50 +/- 1.46)%, P < 0.05. Furthermore treatment with FLT3-shRNA for 48 h resulted in clear apoptosis ladder, the percentage of early apoptosis detected by Annexin V-FITC was (18.59 +/- 2.07)% which was significantly higher than that in the PBS-control group (4.00 +/- 0.50)% and the NC-shRNA control group (6.06 +/- 0.70)%, P < 0.001., Conclusion: The suppression of FLT3 induced by the shRNA can effectively inhibit cell proliferation, and apoptosis induction on THP-1 cells, which indicates that this approach may bear the therapeutic potential on childhood AMOL.

Objective: To study the molecular mechanism of TAp63gamma-induced cell apoptosis., Methods: Transcription and protein expression of apoptosis inducing factor and p63 were investigated by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR in human esophageal squamous carcinoma cell line EC9706 respectively. Twenty-four hours after transfection with pcDNA3.1-TAp63gamma, the apoptosis and translocation of apoptosis inducing factor in EC9706 cells were studied by flow cytometry, laser confocal microscopy and mitochondrial/cytosol/nuclear extraction analysis respectively. Down-regulation of apoptosis inducing factor protein was achieved by RNAi and pretreatment with caspase inhibitor zVAD.fmk of EC9706 cells., Results: Presence of protein expressions of apoptosis inducing factor and absence of TAp63gamma was observed in the cytoplasm of untransfected cells. RT-PCR verified the subtype of p63 in EC9706 cells was DeltaNp63. After 24 hours of transfection, both nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of apoptosis inducing factor protein were observed in cells transfected with TAp63gamma and p53 expression vectors, but not in cells transfected with control vector. Cell apoptosis rates were 1.37%, 13.64%, 4.52%, 4.03% and 1.91% in the pcDNA3.1 transfection group, pcDNA3.1-TAp63gamma transfection group, apoptosis inducing factor siRNA and pcDNA3.1-TAp63gamma transfection group, zVAD.fmk treatment group, and the group receiving apoptosis inducing factor siRNA, plus zVAD.fmk treatment and pcDNA3.1-TAp63gamma transfection, respectively., Conclusions: Apoptosis inducing factor of EC9706 cells is released from mitochondria into both the cytoplasm and nucleus during TAp63gamma induced apoptosis. Down-regulation of apoptosis inducing factor inhibits TAp63gamma-induced apoptosis. Overall, TAp63gamma-induced apoptosis is dependent on the expression of apoptosis inducing factor and caspase.

Objective: Cigarette smoke extract (CSE) can induce injuries of pulmonary II epithelial cells, activate nuclear factor-kappaB and increase tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha) secretion. This study aimed to investigate whether azithromycin can protect pulmonary II epithelial cells from injuries induced by CSE and relevant mechanisms., Methods: Pulmonary II epithelial cells (A549 cells) were cultured in vitro. After 48 hrs of culture the cells were randomly treated with serum-free DMEM only (blank control group), azithromycin + serum-free DMEM, CSE+ serum-free DMEM or CSE+azithromycin. Eight hours later the morphology of A549 cells, the activity of NF-kappaB and the levels of TNF-alpha were measured by inverted microscope, immunohistochemistry and ELISA., Results: The morphology and structure of A549 cells were changed, NF-kappaB activity increased (dark brown staining ) and TNF-alpha levels (0.307 +/- 0.036 pg/mL vs 0.234 +/- 0.028 pg/mL)increased in the CSE+ serum-free DMEM group compared with the blank control group (P < 0.01). CSE together with azithromycin treatment recovered partly the morphological injuries of A549 cells. It also attenuated NF-kappaB staining and decreased TNF-alpha levels from 0.307 +/- 0.036 pg/mL (CSE+serum-free DMEM group) to 0.269 +/- 0.009 pg/mL (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Azithromycin may inhibit NF-kappaB activity, decrease TNF-alpha secretion and thus lessen cytotoxicity of CSE to A549 cells.

The present study is to obtain heat shock protein 70a cDNA fragment from Dunaliella salina. Two pairs of degenerate primers were designed according to conserved motifs of DIDLGTT,DQGNRTTP,PAYFNDS and ATKDAG of the homologous amino acid sequences and used to amplify hsp70a cDNA fragment from heat-shock-treated Dunaliella salina by nest PCR technique. The resulting PCR products were inserted into T-vector then transformed into JM109. Ten colonies were selected to determine their sequences. Homologous analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences were performed by BLAST and subsequently compared with GenBank data. Three of ten nucleotide sequences were obtained,of which there was 372 bp coding 126 amino acids. The sequences shared high homology with hsp70a,with identity 96% to Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, 94% to Petunia, 93% to Pisumsativum, 92% to tomato, 92% to human,90% to Drosophila and 89% to yeast respectively. It can be concluded that the cloned sequence is putatively hsp70a cDNA fragment from Dunaliella salina.