Study on the Compatibility of Acrylic Acid-acrylamide-diethyldiallyl Ammonium Chloride Copolymer with Cement Slurry in CO2 Environment.

This paper investigates the structure and aggregation stability of acrylic acid-acrylamide-diethyldiallylammonium chloride (FA367), followed by an investigation into the impact of acidic CO2 environments on the interaction between FA367 and cement slurry. The results showed that FA367 formed stable flocculation in cement slurry filtrate, which was not affected by acid gas CO2. With an FA367 concentration of 0.6%, the fluidity of the cement slurry measures 18.1 cm, but this fluidity is lost upon introducing CO2. At 90 °C, the compressive strength after 1, 3, and 7 days is 10.23, 77.48, and 62.97%, respectively, compared to pure cement. However, with the addition of CO2, the compressive strength increases to 27.03, 99.59, and 75.47%, respectively. The interaction between FA367 and cement slurry impedes cement hydration without altering hydration product composition. Instead, it fosters needle-like aggregations between hydration products, affecting the cement stone's compact structure. Upon CO2 introduction, these needle-like structures diminish, resulting in an overall more intact cement stone structure.

An optimized short-term steroid therapy for chronic drug-induced liver injury: A prospective randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The use of corticosteroids in chronic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an important issue. Our previous randomized controlled trial showed that patients with chronic DILI benefited from a 48-week steroid stepwise reduction (SSR) regimen. However, it remains unclear whether a shorter course of therapy can achieve similar efficacy. In this study, we aimed to assess whether a 36-week SSR can achieve efficacy similar to that of 48-week SSR. METHODS: A randomized open-label trial was performed. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to the 36- or 48-week (1:1) SSR group. Liver biopsies were performed at baseline and at the end of treatment. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with relapse rate (RR). The secondary outcomes were improvement in liver histology and safety. RESULTS: Of the 90 participants enrolled, 84 (87.5%) completed the trial, and 62 patients (68.9%) were women. Hepatocellular damage was observed in 53.4% of the cohort. The RR was 7.1% in the 36-week SSR group but 4.8% in the 48-week SSR group, as determined by per-protocol set analysis (p = 1.000). Significant histological improvements in histological activity (93.1% vs. 92.9%, p = 1.000) and fibrosis (41.4% vs. 46.4%, p = .701) were observed in both the groups. Biochemical normalization time did not differ between the two groups. No severe adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Both the 36- and 48-week SSR regimens demonstrated similar biochemical response and histological improvements with good safety, supporting 36-week SSR as a preferable therapeutic choice (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03266146).

PD-1 inhibitor plus anlotinib for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: a real-world study / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Management and treatment of terminal metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains heavily debated. We sought to investigate the efficacy of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor plus anlotinib as a potential solution for terminal mCRPC and further evaluate the association of genomic characteristics with efficacy outcomes. We conducted a retrospective real-world study of 25 mCRPC patients who received PD-1 inhibitor plus anlotinib after the progression to standard treatments. The clinical information was extracted from the electronic medical records and 22 patients had targeted circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) next-generation sequencing. Statistical analysis showed that 6 (24.0%) patients experienced prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response and 11 (44.0%) patients experienced PSA reduction. The relationship between ctDNA findings and outcomes was also analyzed. DNA-damage repair (DDR) pathways and homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway defects indicated a comparatively longer PSA-progression-free survival (PSA-PFS; 2.5 months vs 1.2 months, P = 0.027; 3.3 months vs 1.2 months, P = 0.017; respectively). This study introduces the PD-1 inhibitor plus anlotinib as a late-line therapeutic strategy for terminal mCRPC. PD-1 inhibitor plus anlotinib may be a new treatment choice for terminal mCRPC patients with DDR or HRR pathway defects and requires further investigation.

Identification of In Vivo Metabolites of Tolvaptan in Rats / 医药导报

Objective The metabolites of tolvaptan in rats were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-exactive orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry(UFLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS),and the possible metabolic pathways of tolvaptan in rats were discussed.Methods Plasma,urine and fecal samples from rats were collected after a single oral administration of 60 mg·kg-1 tolvaptan solid dispersion solution.The protein in the samples was precipitated with acetonitrile.UFLC-Q-exactive orbitrap MS technology was adopted for the sample analysis and the data were processed by Xcalibur 2.0 software.Results According to the retention time,precise relative molecular mass,characteristic fragment ions and related literature reports of each compound,35 metabolites were identified in rat biological samples.Moreover,23,26 and 30 metabolites in the plasma,urine and feces were identified,respectively.The major metabolic pathways of tolvaptan were identified as hydroxylation,carboxylation,hydrolysis,dehydrogenation,glucuronidation and acetylation.Conclusion Our study confirmed the major metabolites of tolvaptan in rats,enriched the metabolite spectrum of tolvaptan in vivo,and provided an experimental basis for the in-depth study of the pharmacodynamic substance basis of tolvaptan.

Effects of Soundscape on Flow State during Diabolo Exercise.

"Soundscape" is defined as "an acoustic environment as perceived or experienced and/or understood by a person or people, in context." The research focuses on the physical properties of sound, paying attention to the relationship between the soundscape and people. Sports provide a comprehensive context, including the athletes, their behavior, the environment, spectators, and other elements. Soundscape in sports has many important functions, such as indicating the movement process, promoting positive emotions, and enhancing the entertainment atmosphere. It is also related to the physical and mental health of people who are exercising. As a technical sport with multidimensional soundscape qualities, diabolo is very popular among older adults in China due to its easy portability and operation. In order to explore the influence mechanism of the soundscape on the mental health of older players and better guide the shaping of soundscapes at sports venues, this paper focuses on soundscape perception and proposes a two-channel (direct and indirect) model of the influence of the diabolo soundscape on the psychological perception of older players. At the same time, we introduce the flow state as an indicator to evaluate mental health, and use the Short Flow State Scale (SFSS) to measure the flow state. By setting up a control experiment using the diabolo with and without sound and using the two-channel (direct and indirect) influence model to compare the differences in flow state scores under the two states, we analyzed the influence mechanism of the diabolo soundscape on the flow state of elderly groups. The results show that the scores of various flow state dimensions and total flow scores in the silent state of diabolo exercise are significantly lower than those in the sound state (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001), and the main differences are in the three dimensions of unambiguous feedback, sense of control, and autotelic experience. The two-channel influence model can effectively explain the differences in older adults' flow state, which provides a new comprehensive perspective to study the effect of the soundscape in sports on people's mental health.

Corticosteroid plus glycyrrhizin therapy for chronic drug- or herb-induced liver injury achieves biochemical and histological improvements: a randomised open-label trial.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of chronic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) or herb-induced liver injury(HILI) is an important and unresolved challenge. There is no consensus regarding the indications for corticosteroids for chronic DILI/HILI. AIMS: To investigate the efficacy and safety of corticosteroid plus glycyrrhizin for patients with chronic DILI/HILI. METHODS: This was a randomised open-label trial. Eligible patients with causality assessment using the updated RUCAM were randomly assigned (1:1) either to the steroid treatment group (48-week stepwise dose reduction of methylprednisolone plus glycyrrhizin) or control group (glycyrrhizin alone). Liver biopsies were performed at baseline and at the end of the 48-week treatment period. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with sustained biochemical response (SBR). The secondary outcomes were improvement in liver histology, time to biochemical normalisation and safety. RESULTS: Of 80 participants, 70 (87.5%) completed the trial. The patients were predominantly female (77.5%), aged >40 years (77.5%) and had a hepatocellular injury pattern of DILI (71.2%). Compared to the control group, the treatment group showed a higher proportion of SBR (94.3% vs. 71.4%, p = 0.023), shorter biochemical normalisation time and histological improvements in both histological activity and fibrosis. The DILI and HILI subgroups, as well as the autoimmune hepatitis (AIH)-like DILI and non-AIH-like subgroups, showed comparable responses. No severe adverse events were observed during the trial. CONCLUSION: This study provides the first clinical evidence that corticosteroid plus glycyrrhizin therapy for chronic DILI with or without AIH-like features can achieve both biochemical response and histological improvements with good safety. (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02651350).

Design of non-metallic crown for primary molars and analyzation of stress distribution: a finite element study / 中华口腔医学杂志

Objectives: To study the design of nonmetallic crowns for deciduous molars by means of computer aided design and to analyze the key parameters of the nonmetallic crowns of deciduous molars using finite element method. Methods: The three-dimensional model of a mandibular second primary molar was constructed by using a micro-CT system. The thickness of the crown was limited to 0.5 mm and four different crown shapes (chamfer+anatomic, chamfer+non-anatomic, knife edge+anatomic and knife edge+non-anatomic) were designed. Then, the crown shape was limited as chamfer+non-anatomic and five different thicknesses of the crown (0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50 mm) were designed, and three different materials, including polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) resin and resin-infiltrated ceramic, were applied to make the crown. Stress distribution and fatigue of each component of the model under vertical and oblique loadings were analyzed by using finite element method. Non-axial retention analysis was performed on chamfer+non-anatomic crowns, made of PMMA resin, with thicknesses of 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25 and 1.50 mm. Results: Among the four crown shape designs, the chamfer+non-anatomic type crown showed the lowest von Mises stress and the highest safety factor. By comparing three different materials, the resin-infiltrated ceramic group showed obvious stress concentration on the buccal edge of the crown and the PEKK group showed stress concentration in the adhesive layer. Results of non-axial retention analysis showed that the torques required by the crowns with five thicknesses at the same rotation angle were as follows: 4 856.1, 4 038.1, 3 497.3, 3 256.3 and 3 074.3 N⋅m, respectively. The comparison of areas of the adhesives fracture among groups were as follows: 0.5 mm group < 0.75 mm group < 1.00 mm group < 1.25 mm group < 1.50 mm group. Conclusions: In the design of nonmetallic crowns for primary molars, the edge of the crown should be designed as chamfer, the shape of the inner crown should be non-anatomical and the minimum preparation amount of the occlusal surface should be 1.00 mm. Among the three materials, PMMA resin, of which elastic modulus is similar to the dentin and the dental adhesive, might be the most suitable material for the crowns of primary molars.

Early loss of primary molar and permanent tooth germ caused by the use of devitalizer during primary molar root canal therapy: Two cases report / 北京大学学报(医学版)

Devitalization has been widely used in the root canal therapy of primary and permanent teeth in China more than ten years ago. With the development of local anesthetic drugs and injection technologies, this treatment method with high potential risks has been gradually abandoned. However, a questionnaire survey targeted all the participants at the 2018 China Pediatric Dentistry Conference showed that the devitalizer utilization proportion was still as high as 38.1% (383/1 005), even though the ratio was much lower than 75.5% (105/139) in 2003. These doctors had pay more attention to tissue burn caused by devitalizer marginal leakage or direct leakage, and know how to identify and handle with devitalizer burn. Devitalizers were usually made of arsenic trioxide, metal arsenic or paraformaldehyde, which have cytotoxicity, allergenicity, mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, and teratogenic effects on animals. Marginal leakage of devitalizers have high risks of causing soft and hard tissue necrosis. Most of the dentists have an understanding of the potential damages of arsenic containing devitalizers, so they will choose parafor maldehyde with relatively less toxicity. Paraformaldehyde has a certain self limitation, and there are few cases reported, so some dentists lack of vigilance. Paraformaldehyde can also causes tissue necrosis if leakage happens, and the treatment methods are similar to that of arsenic containing devitalizers. When handling with devitalizers burn, the necrosed soft and hard tissue, for example gingiva, alveolar bone or teeth that cannot keep, must be completely removed until fresh blood appears, then rinse with large amount of saline and seal with iodoform gauze. This paper described two cases of devitalizer burn during the root canal treatment of primary molars, both of the doctors failed to identify the devitalizer burn symptoms in the early stage, thus didn't do proper treatments immediately after burning. Resulting in the necrosis of large area of gingiva and alveolar bone, loss of primary molars and permanent tooth germs 1-2 months after devitalizer burn. This paper reported these two cases in detail in order to warn dentists the high risks of using any kind of devitalizers, help them learn how to identify and treat devitalizer burn, and remind them to stop using devitalizers as soon as possible.

Intensive phototherapy vs. exchange transfusion for the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: a multicenter retrospective cohort study / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Intensive phototherapy (IPT) and exchange transfusion (ET) are the main treatments for extreme hyperbilirubinemia. However, there is no reliable evidence on determining the thresholds for these treatments. This multicenter study compared the effectiveness and complications of IPT and ET in the treatment of extreme hyperbilirubinemia.@*METHODS@#This retrospective cohort study was conducted in seven centers from January 2015 to January 2018. Patients with extreme hyperbilirubinemia that met the criteria of ET were included. Patients were divided into three subgroups (low-, medium-, and high- risk) according to gestational week and risk factors. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance the data before treatment. Study outcomes included the development of bilirubin encephalopathy, duration of hospitalization, expenses, and complications. Mortality, auditory complications, seizures, enamel dysplasia, ocular motility disorders, athetosis, motor, and language development were evaluated during follow-up at age of 3 years.@*RESULTS@#A total of 1164 patients were included in this study. After PSM, 296 patients in the IPT only group and 296 patients in the IPT plus ET group were further divided into the low-, medium-, and high-risk subgroups with 188, 364, and 40 matched patients, respectively. No significant differences were found between the IPT only and IPT plus ET groups in terms of morbidity, complications, and sequelae. Hospitalization duration and expenses were lower in the low- and medium-risk subgroups in the IPT only group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#In this study, our results suggest that IPT is a safe and effective treatment for extreme hyperbilirubinemia. The indication of ET for patients with hyperbilirubinemia could be stricter. However, it is necessary to have a contingency plan for emergency ET as soon as IPT is commenced especially for infants with risk factors. If IPT can be guaranteed and proved to be therapeutic, ET should be avoided as much as possible.

Mechanism of emodin in relieving neuropathic pain by regulating serum metabolism / 中国中药杂志

The present study investigated the effect of emodin on the serum metabolite profiles in the chronic constriction injury(CCI) model by non-target metabolomics and explored its analgesic mechanism. Twenty-four Sprague Dawley(SD) rats were randomly divided into a sham group(S), a CCI group(C), and an emodin group(E). The rats in the emodin group were taken emodin via gavage once a day for fifteen days(50 mg·kg~(-1)) on the first day after the CCI surgery. Mechanical withdrawal threshold(MWT) and thermal withdrawal threshold(TWL) in each group were performed before the CCI surgery and 3,7, 11, and 15 days after surgery. After 15 days, blood samples were collected from the abdominal aorta. The differential metabolites were screened out by non-target metabolomics and analyzed with Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) and ingenuity pathway analysis(IPA). From the third day after CCI surgery, the MWT and TWL values were reduced significantly in both CCI group and emodin group, compared with the sham group(P<0.01). At 15 days post-surgery, the MWT and TWL values in emodin group increased significantly compared with the CCI group(P<0.05). As revealed by non-target metabolomics, 72 differential serum metabolites were screened out from the C-S comparison, including 41 up-regulated and 31 down-regulated ones, while 26 differential serum metabolites from E-C comparison, including 10 up-regulated and 16 down-regulated ones. KEGG analysis showed that the differential metabolites in E-C comparison were enriched in the signaling pathways, such as sphingolipid metabolism, arginine biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and tryptophan metabolism. IPA showed that the differential metabolites were mainly involved in the lipid metabolism-molecular transport-small molecule biochemistry network. In conclusion, emodin can exert an analgesic role via regulating sphingolipid metabolism and arginine biosynthesis.

Delayed Development of Maxillary Second Premolar: Case Report and Literature Review.

Delayed tooth development (DTD) is the development progress of a tooth germ that takes place later due to local or general causes. This case report reviews a 16-year-old Asian adolescent whose bilateral upper second premolar germs were at Nolla's 6 stage as shown on a panoramic radiograph. It is unusual that tooth germs of the maxillary second premolar are developed after 11 years of age. To reduce the chance of misdiagnosis, clinicians should consider the possibility of DTD if a tooth germ does not present in radiographs.

Effectiveness of azithromycin mass drug administration on trachoma: a systematic review / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUNDS@#Azithromycin mass drug administration (MDA) is a key part of the strategy for controlling trachoma. This systematic review aimed to comprehensively summarize the present studies of azithromycin MDA on trachoma; provide an overview of the impact of azithromycin MDA on trachoma in different districts; and explore the possible methods to enhance the effectiveness of azithromycin MDA in hyperendemic districts.@*METHODS@#PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched up to February 2021 with no language restriction. Studies reporting the effect of azithromycin MDA on trachoma were included. Mathematical modeling studies, animal studies, case reports, and reviews were excluded. The trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) 30.0%), especially with baseline TF >50.0%, annual MDA was unable to achieve the TF 10.0% is not appropriate for all eligible districts.

[Expression of Netrin-1 in Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Its Clinical Significance].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation of the Netrin-1 expression level with the clinical characteristics in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and to explore its possible regulatory mechanism. METHODS: ELISA was used to detect the expression level of Netrin-1 in peripheral blood serum from 48 child ALL patients (newly diagnosed, recurrent), and its relevance with clinical indicators was statistically analyzed. The blood serum samples from 27 children with non malignant hematological diseases were choosen as controls. Leukemia cell lines of Jurkat,Molt-4,SUP-B15 and Raji were cultivated in vitro, after treated with different concentrations of recombinant human Netrin-1 protein， the invasive ability of the cells was detected by Transwell method； the effect of Netrin-1 to the proli feration of cells was detected by CCK-8 method； The expression and phosphorylation level of key molecules, such as FAK,Erk1/2,PI3K and Akt signaling pathway were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: The expression of Netrin-1 in child patients was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). With the increasing of Netrin-1 level, the level of Plt (r=0.483, P<0.05) increased, while the level of WBC (r=-0.290, P<0.05) decreased, and there were no significant correlation with age, Hb level and the proportion of immature cells in bone marrow. When the concentration of Netrin-1 was 25-50 ng/ml, the level of Netrin-1 positively correlated with WBC (r=0.886, P<0.05) ; the level of Netrin-1 significantly decreased when the patient's WBC was ＞50×109/L and Plt ＞20×109/L(P=0.042，P=0.001); The expression level of Netrin-1 was significantly different in the risk group(P=0.017), and level of Netrin-1 in high-risk group was significantly higher than that in low risk group and middle risk group, but there was no significant difference of Netrin-1 expression in sex, hepatosplenomegaly, MRD, recurrence and chromosome abnormality. Netrin-1 could promote the invasiveness of the four kinds of cells (P<0.05). With the increase of Netrin-1 concentration, the number of cells increased at first and then decreased, and the number of cells in the invading chamber was the highest when the concentration of Netrin-1 was 100 ng/ml; the survival rate of the four kinds of cells significantly increased when the concentration of Netrin-1 was 25 ng/ml(P<0.05), and SUP-B15 cells showed the highest cell survival rate at a concentration of 100 ng/ml; The survival rate of the four kinds of cells showed a tendency : survival of cells increased at low concentration of Netrin-1 and survival of cells decreased at high concentration of Netrin-1. The results of Western blot showed that Netrin-1 activated the phosphorylation level of key molecules such as FAK,Erk1/2,PI3K,Akt signaling pathway (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: There is abnormal expression of Netrin-1 in serum of children with ALL. Netrin-1 may affect the occurrence and development of ALL by increasing the proliferation and invasiveness of leukemia cells, and may become a risk factor of ALL or a potential target in biotherapy.

Evaluation of effect of oral health intervention on children in Shaoshan area of Hunan province / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To understand the oral health status of children aged 3-12 in Shaoshan area of Hunan province and to evaluate the role of oral health educations based on community such as fluoride varnish, oral hygiene introduction in improving the oral health of children in the area so as to gain expe-rience.@*METHODS@#The study used cluster sampling to select 3 kindergartens and 2 primary schools in different economic development areas of Shaoshan. Oral health status survey and interventions were conducted in December 2014 and September 2016, respectively. The average debris index, decayed missing filled teeth (deciduous teeth: dmft; permanent teeth: DMFT), and caries prevalence rate of children aged 3-6 years and 6-12 years were compared. At the same time, children aged 5 and 12 were used as representative populations to compare the indices as listed before and the caries prevalence rate of the first permanent molar in 12-year-old children was compared as well. Finally, health economic analysis was carried out based on the 2 years' result.@*RESULTS@#In this study, 992 children and 896 children in 2014 and 2016 were included respectively. As for children aged 3-6 years, the average debris index and dmft in 2016 were significantly less than that in 2014 (P < 0.001, P < 0.001), and the difference of DMFT was not significant (P=0.419). Children aged 6-12 years showed the same result, the average debris index and dmft in 2016 were significantly less than those in 2014 (P < 0.001, P=0.013), and the difference in DMFT was not significant (P=0.674). 173 and 179 5-year-old children were included in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and the dmft showed significant difference (P=0.038); the caries prevalence rate was 75.7% and 71.5%, respectively, which was also not significant (P=0.370). With respect to the 12-year-old children, 65 and 104 children were included and the differences in dmft and DMFT were not significant (P=0.133, P=0.171). The caries prevalence of the first permanent molar in the 12-year-old children was 36.9% and 26.9%, whose difference was not significant (P=0.171).@*CONCLUSION@#The application of fluoride varnish and oral health education can significantly reduce the dmft of children aged 3-12 years in Shaoshan area and significantly improve the oral hygiene status. DMFT, the caries prevalence rate of 5-year-old children's deciduous teeth and 12-year-old children's first permanent molar showed a decline.

Erratum: Analysis of Tau Protein Expression in Predicting Pathological Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Different Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer / 한국유방암학회지

This corrects the article “Analysis of Tau Protein Expression in Predicting Pathological Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Different Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer” in volume 23 on page 47.This article was initially published on the Journal of Breast Cancer with a misspelled the abbreviation in figure 3. The abbreviation ‘HP’ should be corrected as ‘HR’.

Analysis of Tau Protein Expression in Predicting Pathological Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Different Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer / 한국유방암학회지

PURPOSE@#Tau is a microtubule-associated protein that can be found in both normal and abnormal breast cells. Whether the expression of Tau protein can predict the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is still unclear. In this study, we assessed the role of Tau protein expression in predicting a pathological complete response (pCR) to NACT for different subtypes of breast cancer.@*METHODS@#Four hundred and sixty-eight eligible patients were retrospectively recruited in our study. The relationship between clinicopathologic factors, including Tau protein expression, and pCR in different subtypes was evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Correlation between Tau and disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) was performed using Kaplan–Meier analysis.@*RESULTS@#The expression of Tau protein was negatively correlated with pCR, especially in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). No significant difference was observed in the luminal human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)-negative subtype and HER2-positive subtype. Patients with pCR were associated with better DFS and OS (p 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Tau protein expression can predict pCR before NACT in TNBC, but there was no correlation between Tau expression and DFS or OS.

[Seroepidemiologic investigation of human Toxoplasma gondii infections in border areas of Yunnan Province, China].

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in different genders, ages, and ethnic populations of three border regions in Yunnan Province, China, in order to provide the basic data for prevention and control of toxoplasmosis in these areas. METHODS: A total of 561 serum samples were collected from the local hospitals of three border regions of Yunnan Province (222 serum samples from China-Vietnam border region, 170 serum samples from China-Laos border region, and 169 serum samples from China-Myanmar border region) from November 2015 to May 2016. The detection of IgG antibodies of T. gondii was performed by ELISA. RESULTS: In total, 44 (7.84%) of the 561 serum samples were anti-Toxoplasma IgG positive. The positive rates were 8.56% (19/222), 8.82% (15/170) and 5.92% (10/169) in China-Vietnam, China-Laos, and China-Myanmar border regions, respectively. The anti-Toxoplasma IgG positive rates were 5.63%(16/284) in Han, 10.96% (8/73) in Hani, 13.70% (10/73) in Dai, 4.17% (2/48) in Miao, 11.11% (1/9) in Lahu, 7.69% (1/13) in Jinuo, 12.00% (3/25) in Yao, and 11.11% (3/27) in Yi, respectively. The anti-Toxoplasma IgG positive rate in minorities was 10.11%, which was higher than that in Han significantly (χ2 = 3.884, P < 0.05), and the positive rate in Dai was higher than that in Han significantly (χ2 = 5.594, P < 0.05). The anti-Toxoplasma IgG positive rate in the 11-20-year age group was 23.53% (4/17), which was higher than that in the 0-10 [4.23% (3/71)] (χ2 = 4.593, P < 0.05) and 31-40-year groups [4.00% (3/75)] (χ2 = 4.997, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There are different degrees of T. gondii infection in the human population in the border areas in Yunnan Province, and the risk of infection in ethnic minorities is higher than that in Han nationality. The prevention and control of toxoplasmosis should focus on the minority population.

[E-cadherin Expression in Children with Acute Leukemia and Its Clinical Significance].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation of E-cadherin expression level with the clinical characterastics in children with acute leukemia (AL), and to explore the possible regulatory mechanism. METHODS: Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was applied to detect the expression level of E-cadherin in bone marrow samples from 135 child patients diagnosed as AL, and its relevance with clinical indicators was statistically analyzed. The expression levels of E-cadherin, ß-catenin, and Akt/p-Akt were detected by using Western blot. The bone marrow samples from 22 children with non-malignant hematological diseases were used as controls. RESULTS: The expression level of E-cadherin significantly decreased in newly diagnosed patients with all 3 types of AL as compared with bone marrow samples from control group (P<0.01). In B-ALL group, compared with standard risk group, E-cadherin expression level significantly decreased in intermediate risk group (P<0.05). Moreover,the expression level of E-cadherin mRNA was also reduced in splenomegaly group (P<0.01). However, the correlation of E-cadherin level with clinical characteristics was not found in T-ALL and AML (P>0.05). The expression level of E-cadherin in the patients from Common-B-ALL group was higher than B-ALL patients with other immunophenotypes (P<0.01), while no significant difference was found among patients grouped by FAB classification. By the correlation analysis of measured data, lower E-cadherin expression level was found to be related with high WBC count and serum lactic dehydrogenase level (LDH) (r=-0.419, r=-0.269), but with low blood platelet count in B-ALL (r=0.335). In T-ALL, expression of E-cadherin was found to be negatively correlated with LDH and percentage of immature cells in the bone marrow (r=-0.567, r=-0.557). In addition, the lower expression of E-cadherin was also found to be related with WBC count and percentage of immature cells in the bone marrow in newly diagnosed AML patients (r=-0.368, r=-0.391). Compared with control group, the expression of E-cadherin was down-regulated significantly (P<0.01), while ß-catenin, Akt significantly was up-regulated in 3 types of AL patients (P<0.01). The expression of p-Akt and p-Akt/Akt was up-regulated significantly in T-ALL (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Lower expression of E-cadherin is related factor of unfavourable prognosis in children with acute leukemia. The expression deficiency or down-regulation of E-cadherin may activate Wnt/ß-catenin and PI3K/ Akt signaling pathways to promote the genesis and progress of haematological malignancies, thus resulting in a series of malignant biological behaviors in cells. E-cadherin may be a new prognostic indicator for pediatric acute leukemia, thus to guide individualized hemotherapy.

Twoyear outcomes and the influence factors of indirect pulp treatment in primary teeth: a retrospective study / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the outcomes and to find out the influence factors of indirect pulp treatment in primary teeth.@*METHODS@#Children who received indirect pulp treatment in primary teeth in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry in Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology from August, 2014 to September, 2016 were collected in the Electronic Medical Record Database of Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, via the database for scientific research provided by the corporation of Kaientai. The children selected as the subjects of this study were followed up over 1.5 years, and they were under 9 years old if in the group of primary molars while the children in the group of primary anterior teeth were under 4 and a half years old. Those children who were not reviewed regularly or didn't have complete medical records were removed. Basic information, the relevant medical records and radiographic records of those children were collected. All teeth were examined clinically and classified into 2 outcomes, teeth in group H were regarded as succeeded, and teeth in group P were regarded as failed. Survival analysis was applied. The survival rate and survival time of the deciduous teeth calculated. Multivariate analysis was performed by using Cox proportional hazard model.@*RESULTS@#One hundred and six children were finally included, aged from 1.6 to 8.8 years, with the mean age of (5.0±1.7) years. 168 primary teeth (122 primary molars, 46 primary anterior teeth) were included, and the average follow up time was (729±244) days. Thirty-five primary teeth (23 primary molars, 12 primary anterior teeth) failed upon clinical or radiographic examinations by September, 2018. The cumulative survival probability of half a year, one year, one year and a half, two years, two and a half years for the indirect pulp treatment was 93.5%, 92.9%, 87.5%, 82.7%, and 75.5% through the KaplanMeier method, respectively. Through the analysis of Cox proportional hazard model, in primary molars, the survival probability tended to be lower when the number of tooth surface affected by caries was greater (OR=1.709, P<0.05). Compared with primary molars, the survival probability of primary anterior teeth was lower, but the difference was not significant.@*CONCLUSION@#Complying the current instructions in our department, the cumulative survival probability of two and a half years after the indirect pulp treatment in primary teeth was 75.5%. In primary molars, the survival probability tended to be lower when the number of tooth surfaces affected by caries increased.

E-cadherin Expression in Children with Acute Leukemia and Its Clinical Significance / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the correlation of E-cadherin expression level with the clinical characterastics in children with acute leukemia (AL), and to explore the possible regulatory mechanism.@*METHODS@#Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was applied to detect the expression level of E-cadherin in bone marrow samples from 135 child patients diagnosed as AL, and its relevance with clinical indicators was statistically analyzed. The expression levels of E-cadherin, β-catenin, and Akt/p-Akt were detected by using Western blot. The bone marrow samples from 22 children with non-malignant hematological diseases were used as controls.@*RESULTS@#The expression level of E-cadherin significantly decreased in newly diagnosed patients with all 3 types of AL as compared with bone marrow samples from control group (P0.05). The expression level of E-cadherin in the patients from Common-B-ALL group was higher than B-ALL patients with other immunophenotypes (P<0.01), while no significant difference was found among patients grouped by FAB classification. By the correlation analysis of measured data, lower E-cadherin expression level was found to be related with high WBC count and serum lactic dehydrogenase level (LDH) (r=-0.419, r=-0.269), but with low blood platelet count in B-ALL (r=0.335). In T-ALL, expression of E-cadherin was found to be negatively correlated with LDH and percentage of immature cells in the bone marrow (r=-0.567, r=-0.557). In addition, the lower expression of E-cadherin was also found to be related with WBC count and percentage of immature cells in the bone marrow in newly diagnosed AML patients (r=-0.368, r=-0.391). Compared with control group, the expression of E-cadherin was down-regulated significantly (P<0.01), while β-catenin, Akt significantly was up-regulated in 3 types of AL patients (P<0.01). The expression of p-Akt and p-Akt/Akt was up-regulated significantly in T-ALL (P<0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#Lower expression of E-cadherin is related factor of unfavourable prognosis in children with acute leukemia. The expression deficiency or down-regulation of E-cadherin may activate Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K/ Akt signaling pathways to promote the genesis and progress of haematological malignancies, thus resulting in a series of malignant biological behaviors in cells. E-cadherin may be a new prognostic indicator for pediatric acute leukemia, thus to guide individualized hemotherapy.