PCR combined with serologic testing improves the yield and efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 infection hunting: A study in 40,689 consecutive overseas arrivals.

Background: The global epidemiological situation of COVID-19 remains serious. The rapid hunting of SARS-CoV-2 infection is the key means for preventing transmission. Methods: A total of 40,689 consecutive overseas arrivals were screened for SARS-CoV-2 infection based on PCR and serologic testing. The yield and efficiency of different screening algorithms were evaluated. Result: Among the 40,689 consecutive overseas arrivals, 56 (0.14%) subjects were confirmed to have SARS-CoV-2 infection. The asymptomatic rate was 76.8%. When the algorithm based on PCR alone was used, the identification yield of a single round of PCR (PCR1) was only 39.3% (95% CI: 26.1-52.5%). It took at least four rounds of PCR to achieve a yield of 92.9% (95% CI: 85.9-99.8%). Fortunately, an algorithm based on a single round of PCR combined with a single round of serologic testing (PCR1+ Ab1) greatly improved the screening yield to 98.2% (95% CI: 94.6-100.0%) and required 42,299 PCR and 40,689 serologic tests that cost 6,052,855 yuan. By achieving a similar yield, the cost of PCR1+ Ab1 was 39.2% of that of four rounds of PCR. For hunting one case in PCR1+ Ab1, 769 PCR and 740 serologic tests were required, costing 110,052 yuan, which was 63.0% of that of the PCR1 algorithm. Conclusion: Comparing an algorithm based on PCR alone, PCR combined with a serologic testing algorithm greatly improved the yield and efficiency of the identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Perioperative anesthesia management in pediatric liver transplant recipient with atrial septal defect: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative conditions in pediatric liver transplant recipients are understandably complex. Compared with adults, children have lesser compensatory abilities and demand greater precision during procedural executions. In the setting of end-stage liver disease, the heightened perioperative risk of coexistent cardiovascular pathology may impact graft survival as well. Requirements for anesthesia and perioperative management are thus more rigorous, calling for individualized treatments that reflect specific cardiovascular constraints and proposed surgical plans. CASE SUMMARY: Reports of perioperative anesthesia management and liver transplant prognostication in pediatric patients with concurrent atrial septal defects are scarce. Herein, we detail the course of liver transplantation in a child with dual afflictions, focusing on perioperative anesthesia management and the important contributions of the anesthesiologist (pre- and perioperatively) to a positive therapeutic outcome, despite the clinical hurdles imposed. CONCLUSION: Children with atrial septal defects bear substantially more than customary perioperative risk during orthotopic liver transplants, given their compromised cardiopulmonary reserves and functional states. Comprehensive preoperative cardiovascular assessments, including use of agitated-saline contrast echocardiography (to characterize intracardiac shunting) and multidisciplinary deliberation, may offer insights into structural cardiac pathophysiologic effects and transplant-related hemodynamic changes that impact new grafts. At the same time, active and effective monitoring and other measures should be taken to maintain hemodynamic stability in the perioperative period, avoid entry of bubbles into the circulation, and ease congestion in newly grafted livers. Such efforts are crucial for transplantation success and graft survival.

A retrospective study of azithromycin and ceftizoxime for the management of children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy of azithromycin and ceftizoxime (AC) and erythromycin and amoxicillin/sulbactam (EAS) in the treatment of children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP).In this retrospective study, a total of 92 eligible children with MPP were included, and they were divided into a treatment group (n = 46) and a control group (n = 46). All patients were treated with intravenous ambroxol, and nebulized inhalation of budesonide and terbutaline. In addition, patients in the treatment group received AC. Patients in the control group underwent EAS. All patients in both groups were treated for a total of 10 days. Outcomes consist of erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, serum lactate dehydrogenase, and interleukin 6, fever clearance time, time of cough disappearance, time of rale disappearance, time of signs disappeared by X-ray, and adverse events. All outcomes were measured after 10-day treatment.After treatment, patients who received AC exerted better improvements in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P < .01), C-reactive protein (P < .01), serum lactate dehydrogenase (P < .01), interleukin 6 (P < .01), fever clearance time (P < .01), time of cough disappearance (P < .01), time of rale disappearance (P < .01), and time of signs disappeared by X-ray (P < .01), than those in patients who received EAS. In addition, there were not significant differences in adverse events between 2 groups.The results of this study showed that AC may benefit more than EAS for the children with MPP.

Potent Inhibition of miR-34b on Migration and Invasion in Metastatic Prostate Cancer Cells by Regulating the TGF-ß Pathway.

The importance of miRNAs in the progression of prostate cancer (PCa) has further been supported by the finding that miRNAs have been identified as potential oncogenes or tumor suppressors in PCa. Indeed, in eukaryotes, miRNAs have been found to regulate and control gene expression by degrading mRNA at the post-transcriptional level. In this study, we investigated the expression of miR-34 family members, miR-34b and miR-34c, in different PCa cell lines, and discussed the molecular mechanism of miR-34b in the invasion and migration of PCa cells in vitro. The difference analyses of the transcriptome between the DU145 and PC3 cell lines demonstrated that both miR-34b and -34c target critical pathways that are involved in metabolism, such as proliferation, and migration, and invasion. The molecular expression of miR-34b/c were lower in PC3 cells. Moreover, over-expression of miR-34b/c in PC3 cells caused profound phenotypic changes, including decreased cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Moreover, the players that regulate expression levels of transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß), TGF-ß receptor 1 (TGF-ßR1), and p53 or phosphorylation levels of mothers against decapentaplegic 3 (SMAD3) in the TGF-ß/Smad3 signaling pathway have yet to be elucidated, and will provide novel tools for diagnosis and treatment of metastatic PCa.

Expression, regulation and mechanism of action of the miR-17-92 cluster in tumor cells (Review).

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of short, single­stranded non­coding RNAs, regulate and control gene expression in eukaryotes by degrading mRNA at the post­transcriptional level. Regulation by miRNAs involves a plethora of biological processes, such as cell differentiation, proliferation, metastasis, metabolism, apoptosis, tumorigenesis and others. miRNAs also represent a powerful tool in disease diagnosis and prognosis. The miR­17­92 cluster, one of the most extensively investigated microRNA clusters, comprises six mature miRNA members, including miR­17, miR­18a, miR­19a, miR­19b, miR­20a and miR­92a. Originally identified as being involved in tumorigenesis, it is currently evident that the expression of the miR­17­92 cluster is upregulated in a wide range of tumor cells and cancer types; thus, this cluster has been identified as a potential oncogene. Considering the growing interest in the field of miR­17­92 research, we herein review recent advances in the expression and regulation of this cluster in various cancer cells, discuss the proposed mechanism of action for tumorigenesis and tumor development, and propose clinical and therapeutic applications for miR­17­92 cluster members, such as potential cancer biomarkers.

Effect of semaphorin 4D on the proliferation, migration and angiogenic of human pancreatic carcinoma cells / 新乡医学院学报

Objective To investigate the effects of semaphorin 4D(Sema4D) on the proliferation,migration and angiogenic of human pancreatic carcinoma cells.Methods Sema4D-siRNA was designed and synthesized and transfected into human pancreatic carcinoma cells.After 48 hours of transient infection,the changes of expression of Sema4D mRNA before and after transfection were detected by reverse transcription-polymeruse chain reaction method.And after 72 hours of transient infection,the changes of expression of Sema4D protein before and after transfection were detected by Western blot method.The changes of growth of the transfected cells were observed by methyl thiazolyl terazolium assay.Using transwell migration test and scratch repair test to detect the changes of migration ability of human pancreatic carcinoma cells after transfection.Using tubule formation assay to observe the effect of supernatant of pancreatic carcinoma cell cultures on angiogenesis after transfection.Results Compared with the negative control group and blank control group,the expression of Sema4D mRNA and Sema4D protein and the growth rate of pancreatic carcinoma cells decreased significantly (P ＜ 0.05).In transwell migration test and scratch repair test,it was observed that Pancreatic cancer cells penetrating cell number and scratch repair rate were significantly lower than that in negative control group and blank control group (P ＜ 0.05).Tubule formation assay showed that there were significant differences in angiogenesis numbers among siRNA transfection group(0.5 ± 0.02),negative control group(1.45 ± 0.60) and blank control group (1.37 ± 0.52) (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Sema4D-siRNA can induce RNA interference in pancreatic carcinoma cells and down-regulate the expression of Sema4D gene,which can inhibit the proliferation of pancreatic carcinoma cells,significantly reduce the migration ability of pancreatic carcinoma ceils and inhibit angiogenesis.

Type D Personality in Gastric Cancer Survivors: Association With Poor Quality of Life, Overall Survival, and Mental Health.

CONTEXT: The associations between Type D personality and poor quality of life, overall survival, and mental health in gastric cancer survivors. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this research was to explore quality of life (QoL), mental health status, Type D personality, symptom duration, and emergency admissions of Chinese gastric cancer patients, as well as the relationship between these factors. METHODS: Eight hundred thirty eligible Chinese patients newly diagnosed with gastric cancer between July 2009 and July 2011 were enrolled in this prospective study. Type D personality was measured with the 14-item Type D Personality Scale (DS14). Mental health status was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The QoL outcomes were assessed longitudinally using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 and Quality of Life Questionnaire-STO22 at baseline and six months after diagnosis. RESULTS: The proportion of patients with symptom duration of more than one month and who were diagnosed after emergency admissions in the Type D group was significantly higher than that in the non-Type D personality group. At both of the time points, Type D patients reported statistically significant lower scores on role, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning (all Ps < 0.001) functional scales, global health status/QoL scales (P < 0.001), and worse symptom scores compared to patients without a Type D personality. During the six-month time frame, a higher percentage of patients in the Type D group demonstrated a considerable QoL deterioration. Clinically elevated levels of anxiety and depression were more prevalent in Type D than in non-Type D survivors (both Ps < 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in three-year overall survival between the patients in the Type D group and the non-Type D personality group. CONCLUSION: Type D personality is associated with poor QoL, three-year overall survival and mental health status among survivors of gastric cancer, even after adjustment of confounding background variables. The Type D personality group experienced increased levels of pain and fatigue compared to non-Type D patients. Type D personality might be a general vulnerability factor to screen for subgroups at risk of longer symptom duration and emergency admissions in clinical practice.

Type D personality is associated with delaying patients to medical assessment and poor quality of life among rectal cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to explore quality of life (QoL), mental health status, type D personality, symptom duration, and emergency admissions of Chinese rectal cancer patients as well as the relationship between these factors. METHODS: Type D personality was measured with the 14-item Type D Personality Scale (DS14). Mental health status was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The QoL outcomes were assessed longitudinally using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and QLQ-CR38 questionnaires at the baseline and 6 months after diagnosis. RESULTS: Of the 852 survivors who responded (94 %), 187 (22 %) had a type D personality. The proportion of patients with duration of symptoms >1 month and being diagnosed after emergency admissions in type D group is significantly higher than that in non-type D group. At both of the time points, type D patients reported statistically significant lower scores on most of the functional scales, global health status/QoL scales, and worse symptom scores compared to patients without a type D personality. At the 6-month time point, a higher percentage of patients in the type D group demonstrated QoL deterioration. Clinically elevated levels of anxiety and depression were more prevalent in type D than in non-type D survivors. CONCLUSIONS: Type D personality was associated with poor QoL and mental health status among survivors of rectal cancer, even after adjustment for confounding background variables. Type D personality might be a general vulnerability factor to screen for subgroups at risk for longer symptom duration and emergency admissions in clinical practice.

Factors associated with delaying medical assessment of patients and impacting the prognosis of rectal cancer.

The aims of this study were (a) to compare the clinical presentations and outcomes of patients referred to the hospital from the emergency department (ED) and those referred from non-ED facilities in a Chinese population and (b) to identify the factors influencing delays in medical assessment and prognosis for patients with rectal cancer (RC). Eligible Chinese patients newly diagnosed with RC, admitted to the hospital from the ED, or referred from non-ED sources between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2009 were enrolled in this prospective study. Associations between symptoms, symptom duration, tumor stage at diagnosis, and 3-year survival were proposed to identify factors associated with delay in the diagnosis of RC and emergency admission. Compared with patients in the non-ED group, patients in the ED group had a significantly longer hospital stay, greater in-hospital mortality, a higher proportion of advanced stage tumor, lower rate of undergoing potentially curative surgery, and a higher proportion of symptom duration longer than 1 month. There was a statistically significant difference in the 3-year overall survival between the patients who underwent emergency operation within 24 h of admission and the patients presenting as emergency who underwent an operation longer than 24 h from admission to operation. Patients who endured symptoms longer than 1 month had a significantly higher proportion of emergency admissions, higher proportion of advanced stage tumor, and lower rate of undergoing potentially curative surgery compared with patients whose symptom duration was less than 1 month. In conclusion, (a) ED referral patients endured significantly longer symptom duration before diagnosis. (b) Emergency operation within 24 h of admission was an independent prognostic indicator of overall survival in patients with RC. A two-stage approach for the management of patients with RC who presented as emergency could enable patients to be transferred to a specialist department of surgical oncology for a definitive radical oncological operation and improve the prognosis.

A potential probe set of fluorescence in situ hybridization for detection of lung cancer in bronchial brushing specimens.

PURPOSE: The study aims to find candidate probes of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for detection of lung cancer with bronchial brushings and to evaluate whether the accuracy of diagnosing lung cancer by cytological deviant and genetic abnormalities is greater than that of cytology alone. METHODS: Centromeric enumeration probes (CEPs) for chromosomes 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 17 were analyzed using FISH in 74 surgical resection tissues, 32 operative margin tissues without tumor involvement of lung cancer, and 174 bronchial brushings. RESULTS: The aneuploidy rates of the tested probes were 61.7, 89.1, 80.0, 92.7, 65.0, 70.4, 66.7, 71.8, 68.9 % in tumor tissues, and 29.3, 58.9, 33.3, 69.6, 67.0, 40.3, 38.0, 49.3, 35.1 % in bronchial brushings. The combination of cytology and FISH using the three-probe set for chromosomes 3+7+8 significantly improved the sensitivity of bronchial brushing examination for lung cancer detection (P = 0.00003), especially squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which increased from 78.0 to 98.2 %. The specificity of the 3+7+8 probe set was 94.6 %. Moreover, a high aneuploidy rate of the probe set in bronchial brushings was detected more often in SCCs (P = 0.029) and late-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (P = 0.044). Kaplan-Meier curves indicated that adenocarcinoma (ADC) patients with high aneuploidy rate of CEP3 in tissue samples exhibited poorer overall survival (P = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: FISH performed on cytology preparations is useful for confirmation of cancer diagnosis. The three-probe set, 3+7+8, has potential value for the detection of SCCs in bronchial brushings.

[Influence of YB-1 protein on the biological behaviour in K562/A02 cells].

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the growth, apoptosis and sensitivity to anticancer agent could be altered after introduction of YB-1 shRNA eukaryotic expression vector into the K562/A02 cells, and its possible molecular mechanisms. The recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmids including YB-1 shRNA and the vector-random-sequence were introduced into K562/A02 cells by lipofectamine mediation, and the positive clones were screened by G418. RT-PCR and Western blot were employed to detect the expression of mRNA and protein of YB-1 in leukemia cells, respectively. The proliferative ability of the cells was determined by MTT assay and cell cycle analysis. Apoptosis of K562/A02 cells was assayed by AnnexinV-FITC/PI double labeled flow cytometry. The drug sensitivity to anticancer agent was determined by MTT assay. The expressions of MDR1 gene and P-gp were detected by RT-PCR and flow cytometry respectively. The results indicated that the levels of mRNA and protein of YB-1 decreased dramatically in three groups of positively transfected cells when compared with control cells. The inhibitory rates of 3 different shRNA sequences targeting YB-1 gene were (65.1 ± 2.1)%, (27.4 ± 1.3)% and (67.4 ± 1.6)% respectively. The introduction of exogenous YB-1 shRNA gene into K562/A02 cells resulted in decreased levels of the proliferative ability in K562/A02 cells, and displayed higher at G(1), lower at G(2) and S phase in cell cycle distribution in comparison with the control groups. AnnexinV/PI detection indicated higher AnnexinV(+) ratio in 3 groups of positively transfected cells after being treated with As(2)O(3) of 0.5 µmol/L for 24 hours. The IC(50) values of doxorubicin in 3 groups of positively transfected cells were significantly lower than that in control group. The level of MDR1 gene and P-gp decreased significantly in 3 groups of positively transfected cells. It is concluded that the transfection with YB-1 shRNA gene can inhibit the proliferation of leukemia cells and induce cell apoptosis. The expression of MDR1 mRNA and P-gp decrease after transfection of YB-1 shRNA into K562/A02 cells.

[VEGF shRNA enhances the sensitivity of multidrug-resistant leukemia cells to anticancer agent].

This study was aimed to explore the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on sensitivity of leukemia cell line K562/A02 to doxorubicin by using RNA interference, and to investigate its mechanism. The 3 shRNA targeting human vegf gene were synthesized, then transfected into K562/A02 cells by lipofectamine 2000 reagent. RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of vegf and mrp1 at the mRNA level;Western blot was used to analyze the expression of VEGF, MRP1, AKT, P-AKT at the protein level; MTT was used to determine the IC(50) value of transfected cells to doxorubicin (DOX); flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis and intracellular Rho123 retention. The results showed that after vegf shRNA were transfected into K562/A02 cells, the expression of vegf at the mRNA level decreased, and the difference between vegf shRNA2 group or vegf shRNA3 group and HK group was statistically significant (p < 0.05), the greatest decrease was observed in the cells transfected with vegf shRNA3; and the protein level of VEGF was also down-regulated. The IC(50) value of positively transfected group was lower than that of control groups, and the difference between vegf shRNA2 group or vegf shRNA3 group and HK group was significant (p < 0.05). The retention of intracellular Rho123 was enhanced in three positively transfected groups (p < 0.05). Cell apoptosis increased in positively transfected groups, and there was statistically difference between vegf shRNA2 group or vegf shRNA3 group and HK group (p < 0.05). The expression of mrp1 at the mRNA level were decreased, and there were statistical difference between vegf shRNA3 group and HK group (p < 0.05), and the protein level of mrp1 was also down-regulated; the expression of P-AKT at protein level decreased in positively transfected groups, and the greatest decrease was seen in vegf shRNA3 group. It is concluded that the transfection with exogenous vegf shRNA can inhibit the expression of vegf at both mRNA and protein levels, and enhance the sensitivity of K562/A02 cell to doxorubicin, the mechanism of which may be the inhibition of apoptosis and down-regulation of MRP1 by inactivating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

[CD44 variant increases the invasive ability of human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 cells].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a new CD44 variant on invasion of human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, and its possible mechanisms. METHODS: The full length cDNA encoding CD44v17 was obtained from the total RNA isolated from the MCF-7/ADR cells by reverse transcript-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and subcloned into pMD19-T vector. The CD44v17 gene sequence and reading frame were confirmed by two restriction enzymes and nucleotide sequencing, and then inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1. The pcDNA3.1-CD44v17 was transfected into MCF-7 cells by Lipofectamine. The changes of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression at gene and protein levels were detected by RT-PCR and gelatin zymography, respectively. The number of the cells through the artificial matrix membrane in every group was counted to compare the change of the invasive ability regulated by CD44 variant. The ERK and p-ERK were investigated by Western blotting to approach the molecular mechanisms of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression regulated by CD44 variant. RESULTS: The new gene sequence was successfully cloned into recombinant vector pcDNA3.1 and identified by the two restriction enzymes. It was confirmed that the reconstructed plasmid contained the sequence of CD44 gene variant which was composed of 1 to 4 exons, 16 to 17 exons, and 1 to 205 bases of 18 exons. The new gene sequence was sent to NCBI for publication and obtained the registered number FJ216964. The up-regulated levels of the CD44 gene mRNA and protein were respectively detected by RT-PCR and flow cytometry in MCF-7 cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-CD44v17. The invasiveness of the cells and the activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were clearly activated by hyaluronic acid (HA) treatment and blocked by CD44 neutralizing antibody. Pretreated MCF-7/CD44v17 cells with the neutralizing antibody against CD44 and the inhibitor of MAPKs signaling pathway strongly block the expression of p-ERK. CONCLUSION: A new CD44 gene variant has been found in adriamycin-resistant human breast cancer MCF-7/ADR cells. The expression vector pcDNA3.1-CD44v17 has been cloned and constructed successfully. HA can be integrated with CD44 variant and then regulates the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9, which increases the invasion ability of MCF-7 cells through the Ras/MAPK signaling pathway.

[Effect of YB-1 gene knockdown on human leukemia cell line K562/A02].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential effects of YB-1 gene knockdown on gene expression profile, cell growth and apoptosis in leukemia cell line K562/A02. METHODS: The recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmid containing YB-1 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) or random-sequence (HK) were transfected into K562/A02 cells by lipofectamine mediation. cDNA microarray was performed to explore the alteration of gene expression profile when YB-1 gene expression was decreased. Expression of CARD8 and RHOC genes were verified by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). The proliferative ability of the cells was determined by methyl thiazolyltetrazolium (MTT) assay and cell cycle analysis. Cell apoptosis was assayed by Annexin V-FITC/PI double labeled flow cytometry. RESULTS: The levels of YB-1 mRNA and protein decreased dramatically in three positively transfected cells when compared with untransfected K562/A02 cells or K562/A02-HK thansfected cells. Gene expression profile was altered by transfection of YB-1 shRNA into K562/A02 cells. Among 47,000 genes on the microarray, 252 genes were detected to have changes, with 143 down-regulated and 109 up-regulated. They were functionally related to cell cycle progression, gene replication, metabolism, cell apoptosis, cell signal transduction, etc. An increase in CARD8 gene expression and a decrease in RHOC gene expression have been confirmed by RT-PCR in K562/A02-YBX13 cells. The introduction of exogenous YB-1 shRNA gene into K562/A02 cells resulted in decreased proliferation, higher G1, lower G2 and S ratio in cell cycle distribution in comparison with the control groups. Annexin V/PI detection indicated higher Annexin V+ ratio in the three positively transfected cells 24 hours after cells were treated with 0.5 micromol/L of As2O3. CONCLUSION: Down-regulation of YB-1 gene by shRNA-YB-1 can alter the gene expression profile in K562/A02 cells, leading to change of cell proliferation and apoptosis.

[Aneuploid analysis of chromosomes 3, 8, 10, 20 and Y in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma].

Although the diagnostic and therapeutic modalities of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have been improved considerably, the five-year survival rate is still not satisfied. To detect the numberial aberrations of the chromosomes in ESCC, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed on interphase nuclei prepared from 220 esophageal carcinoma tissues with specific centromeric probes for chromosomes 3, 8, 10, 20 and Y. The main aberrations of the euchromosomes was chromosome gain, including trisome, tetrasome, and polysome. The gain rates of the four euchromosome were 84.9%, 77.5%, 63.7% and 83.2%, and the frequencies of polysome for each euchromosome were 24.6%, 34.9%, 23.4% and 31.7%, respectively. Loss of chromosome Y was observed in 61.2% of male patients. The combination of the four chromosome probes 3, 8, 10 and 20 detected 74.5% of ESCC and the combination of 3, 8, 20 and Y detected 85.0%. These results indicated that both sets of the four centromeric probe combinations provide candidate biomarkers for the diagnosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Epidemiologic study on hearing impairment and ear diseases in old people / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the prevalence of hearing impairment and ear diseases in old people and provide scientific data for drawing up the prevention and treatment strategies.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Using the probability proportion to size (PPS) method, 1261 people over 60 years were investigated in 40 clusters in Jiangsu Province with the WHO protocol.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The prevalence of hearing impairment was 58.1% (the standardized rate: 59.5% in the whole country, 60.9% in Jiangsu province). Degrees of hearing impairment were mild (33.1%), moderate (17.8%), severe (5.9%) and profound (1.3%). The prevalence of hearing disability was 25.0% (the standardized rate: 26.6% in the whole country, 28.1% in Jiangsu province). There were significant difference of the prevalence between male and female, as well as urban and rural, and different ages. The prevalence of the ear diseases was auricle malformation (0.2%), wax (1.7%), otitis externa (0.1%), fungi (0.5%), serous otitis media (1.2%), chronic suppurative otitis media (1.6%), dry perforation of tympanic membrance (2.3%). The causes of hearing impairment were ear diseases (2.9%), non-infectious condition (92.6%), genetic condition (0.3%) and undetermined causes (4.2%). Of which, 31.1% of persons needed hearing aids while 2.3% of persons needed medicine treatment, but 0.9% of persons needed non-urgent surgery and 1.0% of persons needed other treatment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The prevalence of hearing impairment and disability in the old rised obviously than the last investigation in 1987. It was a heavy burden for social development in China. The government and the whole society should take more concern about the problem. The scientific strategies of prevention and treatment were urgently needed and implemented.</p>