[Incidence and risk factors of acute mountain sickness in grid construction personnel working at plateau].

Objective: To analyze the incidence and risk factors of acute mountain sickness (AMS) in grid construction personnel working at plateau. Methods: A total of 10 956 plateau construction personnel of Ali Network Project from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020 were included. Baseline information (including age, sex, body mass index, developmental and nutritional status, relevant clinical indicators, etc.) and follow-up data of AMS were obtained from the medical record of Ali Internet engineering staff medical station. The altitude of the residence place in early life and the working environment were obtained from the website (https://zh-cn.topographic-map.com/legal/). The incidences of overall AMS and its subgroups were calculated, and the Cox proportional hazards model was used to explore the risk factors for AMS. Results: The age of the participants was (36.1±10.5) years old at baseline, and 95.27% (10 438) of them were males. The follow-up time was (17.46±4.23) months. The altitude of the residence place in early-life and working environment were (1 959±937) m and (4 533±233) m, respectively. During the follow-up period, the incidence of AMS was 15.58% (1 707 cases), and the incidence for acute mountain sickness and high altitude pulmonary edema were 15.53% (1 702 cases) and 0.05% (5 cases), respectively. No high altitude cerebral edema patients were found. Cox proportional hazards model showed that the risk of AMS increased by 45% for every 100 m elevation in the altitude of working environment [HR (95%CI): 1.45 (1.41-1.51)]. The higher the altitude for the residence place in early-life, the lower the risk of AMS [HR (95%CI): 0.84 (0.80-0.88)]. Compared with the group with oxygen saturation during 90%-94%, the participants with oxygen saturation<75% [HR (95%CI): 1.67 (1.24-2.23)] at baseline was also associated with increased risk of AMS. Conclusions: The incidence of AMS is relatively low in grid construction workers working on plateau. The risk factors of AMS included higher working altitude, lower altitude of the residence place in early-life and oxygen saturation<75%.

The Diagnostic Value of Serum ST8SIA6-AS1 as Biomarker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is a promising serum biomarker in cancer diagnosis. However, literature on the diagnostic value of the lncRNA for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is scant. METHODS: The expression of ST8SIA6-AS1 in serum and HCC cell lines was detected by real-time PCR (RT-PCR). We then analyzed the relationship between clinicopathological characteristics and serum ST8SIA6-AS1 expression. In addition, we performed the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under curve (AUC) analyses to determine the diagnostic ability of serum ST8SIA6-AS1. RESULTS: Our data demonstrated an up-regulation of ST8SIA6-AS1 in 77 HCC patients and HCC cell lines. Besides, clinicopathological analysis revealed that ST8SIA6-AS1 corresponds with tumor stages and metastasis, thus might be used for monitoring the HCC progress. Importantly, the ROC analysis demonstrated that ST8SIA6-AS1 yields a superior diagnostic ability. Compared with α-fetoprotein (AFP) alone, a combination of ST8SIA6-AS1 and AFP may achieve more reliable diagnostic results. CONCLUSIONS: Together, our results demonstrate that serum ST8SIA6-AS1 is a promising serum diagnostic bio-marker for HCC.

Dermatitis caused by Paederus fuscipes Curtis, 1840 (Coleoptera: Staphilinidae) in student hostels in Selangor, Malaysia.

We report a series of dermatitis cases caused by the staphilinid beetles, Paederusfuscipes Curtis, among university students staying in the residential college in Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia from 1 January to 31 December 2010. A total of 360 cases (6.0%) were recorded in the Student Health Center throughout the year; the majority of patients stayed at a hostel near an oil palm plantation. Skin symptoms included erythema, edema, vesicular papules, painful blisters, burning sensation, pruritus, hyper pigmentation and peeling of skin. The commonly involved sites were the face, neck, shoulders and arms. Most students noticed the symptoms upon awakening in the morning. The patients were treated with fusidic acid cream and the symptoms resolved within 5 days. These beetles are nocturnally active and enter the room whenever a light source is available. The unintentional crushing of these beetles during sleep causes the release of its hemolymph (paederin) which is the cause of the dermatitis.

Rare adult Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma with multiple-bone invasion - clinical experience and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) is a borderline vascular tumor between hemangioma and malignant angiosarcoma. While KHE has strong local invasion with rare spontaneous regression, it is not observed with distant metastasis. Even if KHE is asymptomatic or without the Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP), bone or joint invasion should clearly receive proactive treatment. KHE commonly affects infants/children but is rarely seen in adults. CASE REPORT: We reported a rare adult KHE case with an invasion of >10 separate forearm/hand bones, who underwent multiple-lesion resection and finger amputation after tumor recurrence. Tumor recurrence and KMP were not observed during the 6-month follow-up after the final operation. During the hospitalization and follow-up period, the patient only received medications for infection prevention and pain relief. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple resectable lesions were found in the distal limb, for which complete resection might not present typical features (high-intensity T2-weighted MRI), which might fail to detect all KHE lesions. Therefore, complete excision is not optimal for multiple resectable KHE lesions.

[How to report adaptive design randomized trials-A interpretation of international reporting guideline ACE].

Concerns has been raised in improving the quality of adaptive design randomized trials reports. Based on the CONSORT 2010 (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials), The Adaptive designs CONSORT Extension (ACE) has developed items and reporting specifications for adaptive design trials. This paper presents a brief explanation of the extension and new items of ACE and introduces the applications of ACE checklist with examples.

[Clinical observation of three-dimensional printing donor tooth model in peri-operative period of autotransplantation of tooth].

Objective: To prepare a three-dimensional (3D) printing donor tooth model and to observe its application in the peri-operative period. Methods: In part one, 192 cases (2017.9-2019.8) from Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University ï¼»107 males and 85 females, age (34.2±10.7) yearsï¼½ which need autotransplantation of teeth (ATT) were collected. Whether the donor teeth can be completely extracted was predicted through clinical and imaging examination (first prediction). The second prediction was supplemented by the three-dimensional printing model of the donor teeth. Each of the prediction was compared with the actual results and the coincidence rate was calculated. In part two, 64 cases (2017.9-2019.8) from Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University ï¼»28 males, 36 females, age (30.2±8.3) yearsï¼½ which need ATT were randomly divided into the model group and the donor group. The time of alveolar fossa preparation, time of donor tooth in vitro, times of trial implantation and time of pulptomy and root canal location were recorded respectively. Results: In part one, the coincidence rate between the second prediction and the actual results ï¼»97.4%(187/192)ï¼½ was significantly higher than that of the first prediction ï¼»93.2%(179/192)ï¼½ (P<0.05). In part two, the preparation time of the alveolar fossa in the maxillary and mandibular were (18.8±4.6) and (22.7±3.4) min, the time of the teeth in vitro were (3.0±0.6) and (2.1±0.6) min, the times of trial implantation were (1.3±0.8) and (1.0±0.9), and the time of pulpotomy and root canal location were (4.3±0.6) and (4.0±0.5) min. All values in the model groups were better than those in the donor group (P<0.05). Conclusions: The 3D printing model is accurate. It can be used in autogenous tooth transplantation to shorten the preparation time of alveolar fossa and time of donor tooth in vitro, and reduce the times of trial implantation of donor teeth, and to help to improve the prediction accuracy of complete extraction of donor teeth and the time of pulpotomy and root canal location.

In vivo 31P NMR study of early cellular responses to hyperosmotic shock in cultured glioma cells.

Cell volume regulation in the face of osmotic stress is a fundamental homeostatic activity, and is most critical in brain, which is spatially constrained. Despite the importance of this phenomenon, little is known about volume regulation in the brain, primarily because of the cellular heterogeneity in the tissue. We describe here simultaneous in vivo 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of cell volume, intracellular pH and phosphate metabolites during early responses to hyperosmotic stress in C6 glioma cells perfused in NMR-compatible bioreactors. Cell volume was measured using dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) as a probe which has an intracellular NMR resonance shifted upfield from the extracellular resonance. The sensitivity of these measurements allowed 31P NMR spectra to be collected every 30 s. Following an increase in osmolarity from 320 to 480 mOsm by addition of NaCl to the perfusate, C6 glioma cells shrank to 67% of their original volume. We also observed a simultaneous increase of intracellular pH coincident with the decrease in cell volume. The signals from ATP decreased by 10%, but those from phosphocreatine (PCr) increased by 31% after hyperosmotic shock. However, correcting the ATP signals for the decrease in cell volume indicated that its intracellular concentrations increased after treatment. Signals from glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC) and glycerophosphorylethanolamine (GPE) were not changed significantly. This is the first in vivo report of early cellular responses monitored by NMR spectroscopy following hyperosmotic shock in cultured cells.

Improvement in experimental cardiac preservation based on metabolic considerations.

Viability of rat hearts preserved in the standard Euro-Collins and a modified preservation medium utilizing the Euro-Collins medium as the base were assessed. The additions for the modified medium were chosen in order to attenuate the various forms of damage that may occur to an organ during cold ischemia. The viability of the hearts was assessed biochemically via 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and functionally during reperfusion in an isolated Langendorff preparation. It was noted that a modified medium containing magnesium, adenosine, allopurinol, glutathione, and polyethylene glycol provided superior protection of the cold ischemic myocardium as compared with the standard Euro-Collins medium in the isolated heart perfusion apparatus. Both physiologic function (dp/dt) and metabolic status (Pi/PCr ratio) were superior with the modified compared with the control medium (325 +/- 83 vs. 90 +/- 35 mmHg/sec and 0.42 +/- .09 vs. 0.68 +/- .05, respectively, both P less than 0.05). Moreover, this modified solution resulted in more rapid development of contractions, as well as improved Pi/PCr ratio (0.71 +/- .32 vs. 2.02 +/- .59, P less than 0.05) in the in vivo heterotopic transplant model. It seems likely that a combination of pharmacologic additives may be developed that synergistically attenuate damage to the preserved myocardium.

Determination of tetramine in postmortem specimens by GC-NPD.

A method for the determination of tetramine in postmortem specimens is reported. Tetramine is an organosulfur rodenticide. Parathion, an organophosphorous insecticide, was adopted as the internal standard. Both were extracted from biological materials by benzene and purified by an aluminum oxide column. The extract was analyzed by a gas chromatograph equipped with a nitrogen-phosphorous detector. The extraction efficiency was greater than 90%, and the limit of detection was 0.05 microgram/g for the liver. The standard curve was linear in the range 0.5-50 micrograms/g for the liver, and the correlation coefficient was equal to 0.9993.

Primary glomerulonephritis in China. Analysis of 1001 cases.

The morphologic classification and clinical spectrum of 1,001 cases of primary glomerulonephritis (GN) in Jinling Hospital during 1980-1988 were analysed. It was found that the incidence of mesangial type lesion including mesangial proliferative GN, IgA nephropathy and IgM nephropathy ranks first (21.5%, 32.1% and 10.1% respectively), which is not only the commonest cause of patients clinically manifesting nephrotic syndrome and gross hematuria but also the predominant type of nephritis causing uremia and hypertension.

[The exciting origin of guinea-pig inferior mesenteric ganglion neurons in vivo].

Intracellular recording in vivo showed that spontaneous activities of guinea-pig inferior mesenteric ganglion (IMG) neurons were inhibited when any one of the four groups of the nerves connected to the IMG was cutted or blocked, indicating that all the four groups of nerves sent in excitatory input. Colonic and hypogastric nerves convey the peripheral excitation respectively from colon and bladder. Intermesenteric nerve sends in peripheral excitatory input from colon and central from spinal cord. This finding suggests that the excitation of the prevertebral ganglia originates from not only spinal cord as claimed tranditionally, but also the peripheral organs. The latter exits stronger effect than the former. It seems that IMG is an integration neurocenter rather than a simple signal relay station from the central nervous system to peripheral effectors.

[SPE analysis of 4 rodenticides in whole blood and liver by HPLC].

A solid phase extraction (SPE) method has been developed for the analysis of 4 rodenticides: warfarin, couatetralyl, bromadiolone and brodifacoum, using reverse phase high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) as determination system. The recovery is 62.6-90.0% (RSD5.1-7.8%) and 37.5-67.7% (RSD5.4%-12.8%) in whole blood and liver sample respectively. The procedure is simple and stable. And the method was confirmed to be effective in the animal experiment.

Application of nerve growth factor by gel increases formation of bone in mandibular distraction osteogenesis in rabbits.

The long period of bony consolidation is a concern in mandibular distraction osteogenesis (DO). We have previously shown that repeated local injections of human nerve growth factor beta (NGFß) can appreciably improve bony consolidation in a rabbit model of DO. The present study was designed to test the effect of a single injection of human NGFß delivered by collagen/nano-hydroxyapatite/kappa-carrageenan gels to sites of new bony formation in DO. Rabbits underwent mandibular DO at a rate of 0.75 mm/12h for 6 days. At the end of the distraction period, the following injections were given percutaneously into the callus (n=6 in each of the four groups): human NGFß in the gel; human NGFß in saline; the gels alone; and saline alone. Fourteen days after the end of distraction, mechanical testing, histological and histomorphometric variables of the new bone were evaluated. Histologically, the NGFß group had more advanced consolidation than the other three groups. Both maximal load and bone volume/total volume in this group were significantly higher than in the other three (P<0.05). In conclusion, the delivery of human NGFß in the gels results in better acceleration of new bone formation than when it is given in saline, and may be a possible way to shorten the duration of craniofacial DO.

[Changes in 4 bearer-proteins and C3 in patients following burn injury].

Four bearer-proteins including prealbumin (Pal), ceruloplasmin (CP), transferrin (Tf) and haptoglobin (HP) and C3 were determined in patients following burn injury. The patients were divided into 4 groups according to the TBSA, i.e. group 1 (1-10%), group 2 (11-30%), group 3 (31-60%) and group 4 (61-98%). Early after burn injury Pal, CP, Tf and C3 decreased markedly but C3 and CP were followed by a elevation slightly higher than normal control in group 1 and 2 but not in group 3 and 4, while Tf and Pal kept in lower level till 4 weeks after burn injury. Only elevated HP after burn injury was noticed and then decreased in group 1 and 2.

Contractile dysfunction during metabolic acidosis: role of impaired energy metabolism.

To investigate the mechanisms by which acidosis depresses cardiac function, a Langendorff isolated perfused rat heart preparation was studied using 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Isolated hearts were subjected to normal perfusion conditions or experimental manipulations simulating severe metabolic acidosis, substrate depletion, impairment of oxidative metabolism, or low perfusate calcium concentrations. All maneuvers resulted in marked reductions in oxygen consumption and the force of myocardial contraction (dP/dt). Metabolic acidosis had bioenergetic changes suggestive of impaired energy production, specifically, increases in Pi and decreases in phosphocreatine concentrations, which did not occur in hearts subjected to low perfusate calcium concentrations. In acidotic perfusions as well as substrate depletion and impairment of oxidative metabolism, the change in dP/dt correlated best with the change in the intracellular concentration of monovalent Pi (P(im)) (r = 0.70, P less than 0.01), whereas in hearts subjected to a low perfusate calcium concentration, there was no relationship between dP/dt and the change in Pim concentrations. More detailed analysis of the time course of the metabolic and physiological changes with metabolic acidosis revealed a discordance between changes in Pim and the decreases in dP/dt during the first 20 min of the induction of acidosis and the first 10 min of recovery from acidosis. These data suggest that metabolic acidosis has a major direct effect on energy metabolism in this model. Moreover, impairment of oxidative metabolism in concert with decreases in intracellular pH may be important in the contractile failure associated with prolonged metabolic acidosis.

Chronic ethanol-induced myocardial protection requires activation of mitochondrial K(ATP) channels.

Moderate alcohol consumption protects against coronary heart disease by unclear mechanisms. We tested whether chronic ethanol preconditioning requires activation of mitochondrial K(ATP)channels. Rats were fed 18% (v/v) ethanol in drinking water for 10 months. Blood alcohol levels at sacrifice were 3 mmol/l (0.015 gram percent). Isolated crystalloid-perfused hearts were subjected to global ischemia and reperfusion on a modified Langendorff apparatus. Prior alcohol exposure doubled the recovery of LVDP during reperfusion (45+/-5%v 20+/-3% of baseline for controls, n=6, P<0.01) and blunted the rise in LVEDP (3.5+/-0.5 v 5.5+/-0.4 times baseline for controls, n=6, P<0.01). Ethanol feeding also reduced creatine kinase release during reperfusion. Inhibition of mitochondrial K(ATP)channels with 5-hydroxydecanoate had no effect on baseline LVDP, LVEDP, or coronary flow but abolished the beneficial effects of alcohol on LV contractile recovery and myocyte necrosis. We conclude that mitochondrial K(ATP)channel activity is required for chronic ethanol-induced protection.

Effect of a traditional Chinese medicine, yin zhi huang, on bilirubin clearance and conjugation.

Oral administration of Yin Zhi Huang (YZH) daily for 3 days in rabbits accelerated plasma clearance of infused unconjugated bilirubin. A similar but less dramatic effect resulted from 3 days pretreatment with phenobarbital, 70 mg/kg/day orally. Similar doses were injected intraperitoneally in rats for 3 days, following which the bile ducts were ligated and bilirubin infused intravenously. Plasma clearance of unconjugated bilirubin and plasma appearance of conjugated bilirubin were faster, and hepatic bilirubin content was higher in both YZH- and phenobarbital-treated rats than in control animals. These observations indicate that YZH is as effective as phenobarbital in stimulating bilirubin metabolic pathways and suggest that the drugs may share common mechanisms of action.

Alcohol consumption reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury by species-specific signaling in guinea pigs and rats.

We recently discovered that regular alcohol consumption reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury to the same degree as ischemic preconditioning in guinea pig hearts. Ischemic preconditioning, like this cardioprotective effect of alcohol, is mediated by adenosine signaling in guinea pigs. In rats, ischemic preconditioning may be mediated predominantly by alpha1-adrenergic signaling. To be certain that this protective effect of alcohol is a general biological response, we searched for alcohol's cardioprotection in rat and identified a potential signaling mechanism. Hearts isolated from alcohol-fed guinea pigs and rats were subjected to ischemia-reperfusion. Hearts from alcohol-fed animals showed greater recovery of left ventricular developed pressure than controls (guinea pigs, 46 vs. 29%; rats, 50 vs. 31%) and decreased myocyte necrosis assessed by creatine kinase release (guinea pigs, 204 +/- 42 vs. 440 +/- 70 U . ml-1 . g dry wt-1; rats 158 +/- 13 vs. 328 +/- 31 U . ml-1 . g dry wt-1). Adenosine receptor blockade [8-(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline] abolished alcohol's protection in guinea pig but not rat hearts. By contrast, alpha1-adrenergic blockade (prazosin) abolished alcohol's protection in rat but not guinea pig hearts. We conclude that regular alcohol consumption reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury and is mediated by species-specific signaling mechanisms. A major goal of cardiovascular research is to find a pharmacologically induced chronic state of preconditioning. Understanding the mechanisms of alcohol's cardioprotection against ischemia-reperfusion injury may aid in reaching this goal.