[A clinical analysis of gynecological diseases in 147 children].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical features of gynecological diseases in hospitalized children. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 147 children with gynecological diseases who were hospitalized and treated in the department of gynecology. RESULTS: Among the 147 children, ovarian tumors were most common (53 cases, 36.1%), followed by reproductive tract dysplasia or malformation (29 cases, 19.7%), adolescent dysfunctional uterine bleeding (18 cases, 12.2%), traumatic injury in the vulva/vagina (15 cases, 10.2%), and vaginal foreign body (8 cases, 5.4%). The main symptoms of ovarian tumors included abdominal pain and abdominal or pelvic mass. Progressive abdominal pain was a main symptom in children with reproductive tract dysplasia or malformation. The children with adolescent dysfunctional uterine bleeding manifested as irregular or a lot of vaginal bleeding. The children with ovarian tumors and reproductive tract malformation or dysplasia were given surgical treatment, and those with adolescent dysfunctional uterine bleeding were given different sex hormones based on their clinical manifestations and endometrial thickness. Eight children with vaginal foreign body underwent hysteroscopy for vaginal examination, and the foreign body was successfully removed without the damage of the hymen. One patient with tubal pregnancy underwent laparoscopic tubal pregnancy debridement. One patient with hydatid mole was diagnosed with invasive hydatid mole after complete curettage of uterine cavity and then received chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: The top three gynecological diseases in children are ovarian tumors, reproductive tract dysplasia or malformation, and adolescent dysfunctional uterine bleeding. Common chief complaints of the patients include abdominal pain, abdominal masses, and irregular vaginal bleeding. Diagnosis and treatment should fully consider the physiological and reproductive features of children and give full play to the advantages of laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, and ultrasound.

Functional oral status and oral health-related quality of life in community-dwelling older adults in Singapore.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to investigate the association between oral functional status (defined by the number of functional teeth and functional occluding units [FOUs]) on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). It also aimed to determine if dentures could compensate for the loss of FOUs in terms of OHRQoL in community-dwelling older adults in Singapore. METHODS: Community-dwelling older adults, aged 60 years and above, were recruited from a community-based oral health functional screening programme from 1 May 2018 to 31 December 2019. During the screening, an Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire and oral examination were administered. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test, univariate logistic regression and multivariate predictive modelling. RESULTS: Data from 1037 participants were analysed (52% female; mean age 71.5 (SD 7.15)). The mean OHIP-14 score was 4.5 ± 7.2. The OHIP-14 scores were significantly associated with the number of functional teeth and the number of FOUs (p < .001). Having at least 20 functional teeth or 10 FOUs was associated with a significantly lower OHIP-14 score. Those with no FOUs had higher OHIP-14 scores compared to those with at least 10 FOUs, even in the presence of a satisfactory denture. CONCLUSION: Maintaining at least 20 functional teeth or 10 FOUs was associated with better OHRQoL among community-dwelling older adults in Singapore. Dentures may have limited compensatory ability in terms of replacing natural functional occlusal units and maintaining OHRQoL.

Gender differences in caregiving among a schizophrenia population.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to investigate differences in family burden and caregiver distress in a population of caregivers for schizophrenia, by separating patient gender and caregiver gender. METHODS: A sample of 327 primary family caregivers was recruited from a Chinese rural community through a one-stage cluster-sampling method. A cross-sectional design was employed, using validated measures to assess both family burden and primary caregivers' depression and anxiety. RESULTS: Significant differences by gender were detected in family burden and caregiver distress. Family burden was significantly higher for male patients on the domains of effect on physical and mental health of others, and significantly higher for female caregivers on the domains of financial burden and effect on physical and mental health of others. Caregivers of male patients were more likely to suffer from anxiety than caregivers of female patients (52.7% vs 38.1%, P=0.012); female caregivers were more likely to suffer from depression (51.2% vs 38.6%, P = 0.031) and anxiety (51.6% vs 38.1%, P=0.020) than male caregivers. CONCLUSION: The results reinforced the expected differences in caregiving experiences of a schizophrenia population by gender, which has implications for the future design of gender-specific interventions to alleviate family burden and caregiver distress.

IκB kinase b Mediating the Downregulation of p53 and p21 by Lipopolysaccharide in Human Papillomavirus 16+ Cervical Cancer Cells.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer of woman in the world, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection plays an important role in the development of most of the cases. IκB kinase ß (IKKß) is a kinase-mediating nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation by phosphorylating the inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) and is related by some diseases caused by virus infection. However, there is little known about the correlation between IKKß and HPV infection in cervical cancer. This study aimed to investigate the expression of IKKß protein in cervical cancer tissues and effects of inflammation on HPV positive or negative cervical cancer cells through detecting the expression of IKKß, IκBα, p53, and p21 proteins after treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to mimic bacterial infection. We also examined the effects of LPS on cervical cancer cells after blocking IKKß with pharmacological inhibitor. METHODS: Thirty-six matched specimens of cervical cancer and adjacent normal tissues were collected and analyzed in the study. The expression of IKKß in the tissue specimens was determined by immunohistochemical staining. In addition, Western blot was used to detect the expression level changes of IKKß, IκBα, p53, and p21 after LPS stimulated in the HPV16+ (SiHa) and HPV16- (C33A) cervical cancer cell lines. Furthermore, the effects of IKKß inhibitor SC-514 on LPS-induced expression change of these proteins were investigated. RESULTS: The expression of IKKß was higher in cervical cancer than adjacent normal tissues, and there was no significant difference between tumor differentiation, size, and invasive depth with IKKß expression. The LPS, which increased the expression level of IKKß protein but decreased in the IκBα, p53 and p21 proteins, was illustrated in HPV16+ (SiHa) but not in HPV16- (C33A) cells. Moreover, IKKß inhibitor SC-514 totally reversed the upregulation of IKKß and downregulation of p53 and p21 by LPS in SiHa cells. CONCLUSIONS: IKKß may mediate the downregulation of p53 and p21 by LPS in HPV16+ cervical cancer cells.

MiR-374b-5p suppresses RECK expression and promotes gastric cancer cell invasion and metastasis.

AIM: To profile expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in gastric cancer cells and investigate the effect of miR-374b-5p on gastric cancer cell invasion and metastasis. METHODS: An miRNA microarray assay was performed to identify miRNAs differentially expressed in gastric cancer cell lines (MGC-803 and SGC-7901) compared with a normal gastric epithelial cell line. Upregulation of miR-374b-5p was newly identified and confirmed via quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR). MGC-803 cells were transfected with a synthesized anti-miR-374b-5p sequence or a control vector using Lipofectamine reagent, or treated with transfection reagent alone or phosphate-buffered saline as controls. Rate of transfection was verified after 48 h by qRT-PCR. Cells were then subjected to transwell migration, wound scratch and cell counting kit-8 assays. A bioinformatic analysis to identify miR-374b-5p target genes was performed using miRanda, PicTar and TargetScan software. A dual luciferase reporter assay was performed to evaluate the influence of miR-374b-5p on target gene activation, and qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to evaluate the levels of target mRNA and protein following transfection with miR-374b-5p antisense oligonucleotides. RESULTS: The microarray profiling revealed downregulation of 14 (fold change < 0.667; P < 0.05) and upregulation of 12 (fold change > 1.50; P < 0.05) miRNAs in MGC-803 and SGC-7901 cells compared with GES-1 controls. The upregulation of miR-374b-5p (fold change = 1.75 and 1.64 in MGC-803 and SGC-7901, respectively; P < 0.05) was confirmed by qRT-PCR. Compared with the control groups, the restoration of miR-374b-5p expression with anti-miR-374b-5p significantly suppressed the metastasis, invasion and proliferation of MGC-803 cells. The bioinformatic analysis predicted that the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of reversion-inducing cysteine-rich protein with Kazal motif (RECK) contains three miR-374b-5p target sequences. RECK was verified as a target gene in a dual luciferase reporter assay showing that activation of RECK 3'UTR-pmirGLO was increased by co-transfection with miR-374b-5p. Finally, transfection of miR-374b-5p antisense oligonucleotides increased mRNA and protein levels of RECK in MGC-803 cells (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that upregulation of miR-374b-5p contributes to gastric cancer cell metastasis and invasion through inhibition of RECK expression.