Progress of researches on Blastocystis hominis infection among patients with inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

Blastocystis is a common unicellular intestinal protozoa in humans and animals, and the most common clinical manifestations of infections include abdominal pain and diarrhea. Based on the sequence of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene, 28 subtypes of B. hominis (ST1 to ST17, ST21 and ST23 to ST32) have been characterized. Previous studies have demonstrated that B. hominis infection is strongly associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other intestinal diseases, which threatens the health and quality of life among patients with B. hominis infection and is considered as an important public health problem. This review summarizes the progress of researches on B. hominis infection among IBD and IBS patients during the past 20 years, so as to provide insights into management of blastocystosis in China.

Factors associated with illicit drug use intention in secondary vocational school students based on theory of triadic influence / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To explore the factors associated with illicit drug use (IDU) intention in secondary vocational school students based on theory of triadic influence (TTI), and provide theoretical foundation for IDU prevention education. Methods: A total of 8 870 students were selected from secondary vocational schools in 5 cities in China through multistage cluster sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the information about students' sensation seeking (SS), parental monitoring (PM), perceived availability of drug (PAD), social benefit expectancies(SBE), refusal efficacy (RE) and social norms and IDU intention. Based on the TTI, the logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors associated with IDU. Results: Among the intrapersonal stream of influence, the higher levels of SS was the risk factor associated with IDU (OR=1.71, 95%CI: 1.22-2.41, P<0.01), medium RE level (OR=0.18, 95%CI: 0.14-0.23, P<0.001) and high RE level (OR=0.17, 95%CI: 0.13-0.22, P<0.001) were the protective factors for IDU intention. Among the interpersonal stream of influence, medium PM level (OR=0.46, 95%CI: 0.37- 0.56, P<0.001) and high PM level (OR=0.33, 95%CI: 0.24-0.46, P<0.001) were the protective factors for IDU intention, perceived others' drug use as well as perceived others' approval of substance use were risk factors for IDU intentions (P<0.001); Among sociocultural environmental stream of influence, perceived easy availability of drugs (OR=3.47, 95%CI: 2.69-4.48, P<0.001) and perceived SBE of drugs (OR=2.04, 95%CI: 1.69-2.46, P<0.001) were risk factors for IDU intentions (P<0.001). Conclusions: High levels of SS and SBE, perceived easier availability of substance, perceived others' substance use and perceived others' approval of substance use positively predict the students' intention of IDU. IDU prevention education for adolescents should be focused on the above factors, and parental supervision and students' refuse skills should be improved.

Epidemiological characteristics and related risk factors on placental abruption in Hebei province / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors and epidemiological characteristics of placental abruption (PA) in Hebei province. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data on 218 880 pregnant women who were hospitalized in 22 hospitals which were under a monitoring program, in Hebei province, from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2016. Data regarding epidemiological characteristics as time distribution, population distribution and related risk factors of placental abruption were gathered and analyzed. Results: In this cohort study, 218 880 women were included, with 669 (0.31%) of the pregnant women having PA. The overall prevalence rates were higher in the South than in the north parts of the area and higher in more developed regional economic centers. The average age of women having the episode was (27.87±4.50) years and presented "J" distribution on the prevalence of maternal age. Results from the multivariate regression analysis showed that the following factors were independently at risk for placental abruption: pregnancy the including hypertension (OR=1.65, 95%CI: 1.09-2.50), mild preeclampsia (OR=3.65, 95%CI: 2.40-5.56), severe preeclampsia (OR=4.72, 95%CI: 3.86-5.76) and anemia (OR=2.41, 95%CI: 2.05-2.83) which were all increased in pregnant women with PA compared with the normal female population without placental abruption. Conclusions: Placental abruption seemed to be associated with a moderate increasing risk of age, and was seen higher in those population older than 35 or younger than 20 year-olds. It was suggested that appropriate inoculation programs should be taken in different regions, especially on high-risk groups. Health education on related disease was of great significance for improving the prenatal outcome.

A cross-sectional study on the biopsychosocial factors influencing quality of life and adherence to treatment of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the National Capital Region / The Health Sciences Journal

Introduction@#This study investigated the association of selected biopsychosocial factors (i.e., CD4 cell count, self-stigma, and social stigma) with the quality of life and adherence to treatment of people living with HIV in the National Capital Region.@*Methods@#A cross-sectional study design was conducted to document the health status and behavior of respondents affiliated with a clinic in Quezon City. Participants answered an online questionnaire containing the Berger HIV Stigma Scale, WHO-QOL for HIV, and HIV Treatment Adherence SelfEfficacy Scale. Bivariate analyses and prevalence risk ratios were used to determine the association of selected biopsychosocial factors with quality of life and adherence to treatment.@*Results@#One hundred respondents were analyzed, of which 42% had CD4 cell counts < 350 cells/mm3, 43% had high self-stigma and 36% had high social stigma while 11% had poor QOL and 7% had poor ATT. There was no significant association of CD4 cell count, self-stigma and social stigma with quality of life and with adherence to treatment.@*Conclusion@#A weak association was noted between poor QOL and low CD4 cell counts and among those who felt higher social stigma, but the relationships were not significant. The association between poor ATT and the selected biopsychosocial factors was not significant.

influence of respiratory motion on dose distribution of 3D-CRT and IMRT- a simulation study

3DCRT [three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy] and IMRT [intensity-modulated radiotherapy] has provided us with tools to delineate the radiation dose distribution of tumor targets. However, the precision of radiation can be compromised by respiratory motion, which usually limits the geometric and dosimetric accuracy of radiotherapy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of respiratory motion on dose distributions of 3D-CRT and dynamic IMRT by simulating the respiratory motion, and provide suggestions to optimize treatment planning. American Sun Nuclear Mapcheck 2D-ARRAY was placed on a moving platform to simulate the respiratory motion. The dose distributions were measured with a Sun Nuclear Mapcheck 2D-ARRAY on the moving platform. The motion cycle was 3.5s, the amplitude was +/- 3mm, +/- 5mm, +/- 10mm, +/- 15mm. Dosimetric distribution between 3DCRT and IMRT plans were contrasted by?-passing rate analysis. SPSS 13.0 software was used for data processing and analysis. The respiratory motion could blur the target dose distribution of 3D-CRT and IMRT. The pass rate [3% 3mm] in 3DCRT was larger than that in IMRT. The Mapcheck software reflected that, the respiratory motion largely affected the marginal dose distribution of 3D-CRT, while affected the whole target volumes of IMRT. Respiratory motion has a greater impact on the dose distribution of IMRT than on 3D-CRT. As for tumors with large motion amplitude, it is advisable to use 3DCRT rather than IMRT techniques

A facile, branched DNA assay to quantitatively measure glucocorticoid receptor auto-regulation in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 癌症

Glucocorticoid (GC) steroid hormones are used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) because of their pro-apoptotic effects in hematopoietic cells. However, not all leukemia cells are sensitive to GC, and no assay to stratify patients is available. In the GC-sensitive T-cell ALL cell line CEM-C7, auto-up-regulation of RNA transcripts for the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) correlates with increased apoptotic response. This study aimed to determine if a facile assay of GR transcript levels might be promising for stratifying ALL patients into hormone-sensitive and hormone-resistant populations. The GR transcript profiles of various lymphoid cell lines and 4 bone marrow samples from patients with T-cell ALL were analyzed using both an optimized branched DNA (bDNA) assay and a real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay. There were significant correlations between both assay platforms when measuring total GR (exon 5/6) transcripts in various cell lines and patient samples, but not for a probe set that detects a specific, low abundance GR transcript (exon 1A3). Our results suggest that the bDNA platform is reproducible and precise when measuring total GR transcripts and, with further development, may ultimately offer a simple clinical assay to aid in the prediction of GC-sensitivity in ALL patients.

Location of canal isthmus and accessory canals in the mesiobuccal root of maxillary first permanent molars

Failure in surgical endodontics may be caused by many factors. Failure is commonly due to improper preparation for the root-end filling and a lack of seal of the resected root end. The aim of this study was to investigate the morphology of resected mesiobuccal [MB] root ends of maxillary first molars and to evaluate the location of the canal isthmus and accessory canals between the MB canals. From 50 selected first permanent molars, sections of the MB root at 3, 4 and 5 mm from the apex were prepared, acid-etched, washed and dried. The apical side of each section was sputter-coated with gold, examined by a scanning electron microscope and photographed. Overall, 18 [36%] of the 50 MB roots had one canal, whereas 32 [64%] had 2 canals. Of the roots with 2 canals, 10 [31.25%] contained either a complete either a complete isthmus or accessory canals or both between the 2 main canals. Another 10 [31.25%] showed partial isthmus formation. Clinical Significance: MB roots exhibit a variety of canal configurations. On the basis of these findings, we propose a classification of the resected root surface of the MB root. Prudent judgement in preparing the canal isthmus, meticulous skill and comprehensive knowledge of root canal anatomy are essential for successful treatment