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The present study was executed with the purpose of validating ELT Certificate Lesson Observation and Report Task (ELTC-LORT), which was developed by China Language Assessment to certify China's EFL teachers by performance-based testing. The ELT Certificate has high-stakes considering its impacts on candidates' recruitment, ELT in China and quality of education, so it is crucially important for its validation so as to guarantee fairness and justice. The validity of task construct and rating rubric went through a process suited for many-facet Rasch measurement supplemented with qualitative interviews. Participants (N = 40) were provided with a video excerpt from a real EFL lesson, and required to deliver a report on the teacher's performance. Two raters graded the records of the candidates' reports using rating scales developed to measure EFL teacher candidates' oral English proficiency and ability to analyze and evaluate teaching. Many-facet Rasch analysis demonstrated a successful estimation, with a noticeable spread among the participants and their traits, proving the task functioned well in measuring candidates' performance and reflecting the difference of their ability. The raters were found to have good internal self-consistency, but not the same leniency. The rating scales worked well, with the average measures advancing largely in line with Rasch expectations. Semi-structured interviews as well as focus group interviews were executed to provide knowledge regarding the raters' performance levels and the functionalities of the rating scale items. The findings provide implications for further research and practice of the Certificate.

Objective To screen factors influencing the neurological prognosis following lumboperitoneal shunt (LPS) in patients with hydrocephalus. Methods Total 136 patients who underwent LPS in Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University from October 2014 to January 2020. The short-term neurological prognosis post-surgery were evaluated by modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at discharge. Univariate and multivariate stepwise Logistic regression analyses were conducted to screen factors affecting neurological prognosis. Results Of the 136 patients, 65 were categorized into the good prognosis group (mRS score ≤ 3), and 71 into the poor prognosis group (mRS score > 3). Logistic regression analysis indicated that an admission Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 9-12 (OR = 7.800, 95%CI: 7.205-8.443; P = 0.000) and 3-8 (OR = 6.299, 95%CI: 5.744-6.907; P = 0.006), as well as etiologies including traumatic brain injury (OR = 27.681, 95%CI: 24.270-31.572; P = 0.000), cerebral hemorrhage (OR = 13.017, 95%CI: 11.473-14.769; P = 0.005), subarachnoid hemorrhage (OR = 17.682, 95%CI: 15.683-19.935; P = 0.001), and other causes (OR = 5.851, 95%CI: 5.166-6.628; P = 0.050) were risk factors for poor short-term neurological prognosis in patients with hydrocephalus undergoing LPS. Conclusions The neurological prognosis after LPS in patients with hydrocephalus is influenced by multiple factors. Prognoses vary among patients with different admission GCS scores and different etiologies. Personalized treatment plans should be developed based on specific circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) may die during the acute phase due to increased intracranial pressure and cerebral herniation. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of decompressive craniectomy in the treatment of patients with malignant CVST. Patients who underwent decompressive craniectomy and were consequently admitted to the Critical Care Unit, Department of Neurosurgery, at Capital Medical University Xuanwu Hospital from March 2010 to January 2021 were retrospectively examined with follow-up data at 12 months. In total, 14 cases were reviewed, including 9 female and 5 male patients, aged 23–63 years (42.7 ± 12.3 years). Prior to surgery, all patients had a GCS score <9. 6 patients had a unilateral dilated pupil, while 4 patients had bilateral dilated pupils. According to the head computed tomography (CT), all patients had hemorrhagic infarction, and the median midline shift was 9.5 mm before surgery. Thirteen patients underwent unilateral decompressive craniectomy, and 1 patient underwent bilateral decompressive craniectomy, among whom, 9 patients underwent hematoma evacuation. Within 3 weeks of surgery, 3 cases (21.43%) resulted in death, with 2 patients dying from progressive intracranial hypertension and 1 from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Eleven patients (78.57%) survived after surgery, of whom 4 (28.57%) patients recovered without disability at 12-month follow-up (mRS 0–1), 2 (14.29%) patients had moderate disability (mRS 2–3), and 5 (35.71%) patients had severe disability (mRS 4–5). Emergent decompressive craniectomy may provide a chance for survival and enable patients with malignant CVST to achieve an acceptable quality of life (QOL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the impact of independent directors' reputations on executive pay‐performance sensitivity. Using hand‐collected data from listed Chinese companies from 2012 to 2017, we find a positive association between independent directors' reputations and pay‐performance sensitivity that is more pronounced in companies with less concentrated ownership. Further, the results show that reputable directors have a stronger influence on pay‐performance sensitivity when they sit on a remuneration committee, are in state‐owned enterprises, and are in companies with higher agency costs. Our results highlight the monitoring role of reputable independent directors in setting effective executive compensation contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the clinical value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in the diagnosis of intracranial infection after neurosurgery. Methods Fifteen patients suspected of intracranial infection after neurosurgery were prospectively enrolled in Department of Neurosurgery of Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University from January to October, 2019. Two weeks later, three neurosurgeons analyzed and judged whether it was clinical intracranial infection. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) routine, biochemical, bacterial smear and culture were recorded. The same CSF sample was sent for mNGS. All cases were followed up for 3 months, and the final diagnosis and treatment outcome were recorded. Results Eight cases were clinically diagnosed as intracranial infection. Among them positive for bacterial culture and mNGS, 3 cases were negative for both, one case was positive for bacterial smear in CSF at the early stage, but negative for culture and mNGS. Diagnosis of intracranial infection were excluded in 7 cases clinically. All the 7 cases were negative for bacterial culture and mNGS, one case was positive for bacterial culture of Staphylococcus epidermidis with head of ventricular drainage tube, and negative for bacterial culture and mNGS in CSF. The bed was judged to be contaminated by the tube head specimen. The number of detection sequence of pathogenic bacteria genes in the 4 cases with positive mNGS was 212, 329, 1601 and 5371, which was accompanied by the decrease of glucose and the increase of leukocyte in CSF. The number of gene sequences of non-infectious background bacteria was less than 100. The sensitivity and specificity of mNGS sequencing in the diagnosis of postoperative intracranial infection were 4/8 and 7/7, and the accuracy was 11/15. Conclusions The clinical value of mNGS in the diagnosis and treatment of intracranial infection after neurosurgery is preliminarily verified. Based on the traditional detection method, mNGS in CSF can be used as a supplement, but the detection of mNGS must be interpreted reasonably according to the clinical situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the results of the physical model tests, the failure plane of an anaclinal layered rock slope was a linear-type plane at an angle above the plane normal to the discontinuities, and the failure mode of rock strata was bending tension. However, the shear failure occurred near the slope toe, the effects of the cohesion of the discontinuities on the stability of the slope, and the contribution of tangential force to cross-section axial force were neglected in such studies. Moreover, none of the experts had developed a rigorously theoretical method for determining the angle between the failure plane and the plane normal to the discontinuities. This paper was initiated for the purpose of solving the problems described above. With the cantilever beam model and a step-by-step analytical method, an optimization of the analytical method for determining the flexural toppling failure plane based on the limit equilibrium theory was developed and the corresponding formulations were derived. Based on the present computational framework, comparisons with other studies were carried out by taking a slate slope in South Anhui in China and a rock slope facing the Tehran-Chalus Road near the Amir-Kabir Dam Lake in Iran. Furthermore, the sensitivity analyses of the parameters used in the calculation process of the failure angle of the slate slope in South Anhui in China were performed. The results demonstrated that the failure plane and the safety factor of the stability obtained with the presented method were credible, which verified the proposed method. The dip angle of the slope, the dip angle of the rock stratum, and the friction angle of the discontinuities were the controlling factors for the overall failure of the slate slope in South Anhui in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anoectochilus nandanensis, a new species from northern Guangxi, China, is described and illustrated. It is similar to A. emeiensis K. Y. Lang in habit, but distinguished by the size of the plant, leaves and lateral sepals, as well as the flanges of the mesochile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explained the character of dental disease and effective facts for dental health utilization, and current situation of basic medical insurance for oral diseases through checking up relative articles. Dental insurance had a positive effect on utilization of dental medical service and public oral health. The PEST tool was used to analyze the environment of dental insurance developing direction and feasibility in this article, and then raise some suggestions and core strategies for developing dental insurance. We believe that the dental insurance can increase the oral health service utilizations and enhance the oral health for Chinese people. Only oral insurance will be developed, Chinese oral health could be geared to international practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine and compare the contributions of modifiable risk factors (RFs) with the prevention of dementia in older adults. A systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA). The observational group was set as a reference to collect all existing RFs and compare them with each other. An exhaustive and comprehensive literature search strategy was used to identify relevant prospective cohort studies from several online databases from their inception to May 1, 2019. Participants without dementia were adults aged greater than 50 years. The required data were extracted from the eligible studies to facilitate the Bayesian NMA. Forty-three cohort studies with 277,294 participants were included in this NMA. Using the observation group as the reference, all defined RFs, except for antioxidants, were associated with lower risks of all-cause dementia [no sleep disturbances (odds ratio, OR 0.43, 95% credible interval, CrI 0.24–0.62), a high level of education (OR 0.50, 95% CrI 0.34–0.66), no history of diabetes (OR 0.57, 95% CrI 0.36–0.78), nonobese patients (OR 0.61, 95% CrI 0.39–0.83), no smoking history (OR 0.62, 95% CrI 0.45–0.79), living with family members (OR 0.67, 95% CrI 0.45–0.89), participation in physical exercise (OR 0.73, 95% CrI 0.46–0.94), abstinence from drinking (OR 0.78, 95% CrI 0.56–0.99), and no history of hypertension (OR 0.80, 95% CrI 0.65–0.96)]. The findings provide reliable support for the hypothesis that modifiable somatic and lifestyle factors are strong predictors of all-cause dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane structures deteriorate with time. This results in reduction of their resistance, and consequently, of their reliability. Material aging is one of the main causes of structure deterioration. This paper investigates statistical characteristics of naturally aged polyvinylidene fluoride PVDF-coated fabrics' mechanical properties and calculates reliability indexes on the basis of Central Point Method and Rackwitz-Fiessler Method. Five groups of experimental fabrics were taken from different existing engineering structures or indoor warehouse in China, which have been naturally aged for more than 10 years. First, series of tearing tests, uniaxial and biaxial tensile tests were carried out to study the mechanical properties. Then, the uncertainties of material properties, material's dimension, computational model and load effects were discussed and the reliability indexes were studied by two methods according to the ultimate limit state. Finally, reliability indexes of aged PVDF-coated fabrics were compared with that of unaged coated fabrics. Results show that the impact of natural ageing on the properties of PVDF-coated fabric can not be ignored in reliability analysis and membrane structures design. These data offer a further understanding of aged PVDF-coated fabrics' mechanical properties and provide references for the durability analysis of tensioned membrane structures. • Five groups of naturally aged PVDF-coated fabris were taken from engineering structures or indoor warehouse in China. • Series of tests were carried out to study their mechanical properties. • Uncertainties of material properties, material's dimension, computational model and load effects were studied. • Reliability indexes were calculated by two methods. • Reliability indexes of aged coated fabrics were compared with those of unaged fabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) is a relatively rare obstetric emergency usually accompanied by fatal complications. Numerous studies have evaluated the potential risk factors for outcomes in patients with AFLP. But rare studies evaluated the predictive ability, sensitivity and specificity of the risk factors for maternal mortality. Thus, in this multicenter research, we aimed to further prove the predictive ability of the MELD model, investigated the prognostic value of history of abortion (HOA), total bilirubin (TBiL) and serum creatinine (SCr) and explored new predictive models for predicting maternal mortality in patients with AFLP., Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 133 hospitalised patients with AFLP in four Chinese tertiary hospitals between January 2009 and April 2014., Results: The maximal AUC amongst three independent risk factors for maternal death was TBiL with a cut-off point of > 131.9 μmol/L, showing a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 55.9%. The threshold of the RF model for maternal mortality was - 1.629 and the AUC was 0.876, with an 81.8% sensitivity and an 80.2% specificity. The AUC for MELD model to predict maternal death was 0.894, and the best cut-off point was 28 with a sensitivity of 81.8% and a specificity of 84.7%., Conclusions: Both the MELD model and the RF model showed good efficacy in predicting the maternal mortality in patients with ALFP (AUC = 0.894 and 0.876, respectively)., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

: The incidence of antithrombin III (AT III) deficiency is very rare. The most common complication of AT III deficiency is deep venous thrombosis, which causes a low incidence of intracranial sinus thrombosis. We presented a 31-year-old Chinese woman patient who had a family history of AT III deficiency admitted to our hospital. She had a history of pulmonary embolism. She took rivaroxaban for a long time to prevent thrombosis. After giving birth, she stopped taking the medication for half a year and suffered from drug withdrawal symptoms. Four months after drug withdrawal, she suddenly fell into a coma. After diagnosis, it was found to be caused by a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Finally, she was diagnosed with sagittal and transverse sinus thrombosis. After treatment with mechanical thrombectomy, she fully recovered. In sum, we concluded that mechanical thrombectomy was efficient for AT III deficiency and treating thrombosis.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) rs671 polymorphism is an established genetic risk of hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart diseases in Asian population. Previous experimental data showed ALDH2 regulated inflammation, a potential mechanism of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, clinically, the association between ALDH2 polymorphism and incidence of HFpEF remains unknown. In this prospective cross-sectional study, ALDH2 genotyping was performed in 613 consecutive patients enrolled with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including hypertension, coronary heart diseases, and/or diabetes mellitus, with normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). HFpEF was diagnosed according to symptoms and/or signs of dyspnea, fatigue or ankle swelling, N-terminal pro-B-Type natriuretic peptide (NT pro-BNP ≥ 280 pg/mL), LVEF ≥ 50%, and at least one additional criterion: left atrial enlargement (left atrial diameter > 40 mm), diastolic dysfunction (E/E' ≥ 13 or E'/A' < 1) or concurrently with atrial fibrillation. Finally, of 613 patients with CVD, 379 patients (61.8%) were assigned to the wild-type ALDH2*1/*1 group and 234 patients (38.2%) to the mutation-type ALDH2*2 group according to genotyping results. Sixty-nine patients (11.3%) were diagnosed with HFpEF. In ALDH2*2 group, the occurrence of HFpEF was higher (15.4% vs. 8.7%, p = 0.011) than that in ALDH2*1/*1 group. Leukocyte count, the indicator of systemic inflammation, was significantly higher (6.9 ± 2.4 × 10 9 /L vs. 6.5 ± 1.9 × 10 9 /L, p = 0.010) in ALDH2*2 group compared to ALDH2*1/*1 group. In conclusion, ALDH2*2 variant is associated with the risk of HFpEF in patients with CVD. Increased systemic inflammation probably involved in this disease process.

Aggregating evidence suggests that genetic determinants play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of the congenitally bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). BAV is of pronounced genetic heterogeneity, and the genetic components underlying BAV in an overwhelming majority of patients remain elusive. In the current study, the whole coding exons and adjacent introns, as well as 5' and 3' untranslated regions of the GATA4 gene, which codes for a zinc-finger transcription factor crucial for the normal development of the aortic valve, were screened by direct sequencing in 150 index patients with congenital BAV. The available family members of an identified mutation carrier and 300 unrelated, ethnically matched healthy individuals used as controls were also genotyped for GATA4. The functional effect of the mutation was characterized using a dual-luciferase reporter assay system. As a result, a novel heterozygous GATA4 mutation, p.E147X, was identified in a family with BAV transmitted in an autosomal dominant pattern. The nonsense mutation was absent in 600 control chromosomes. Functional deciphers revealed that the mutant GATA4 protein lost transcriptional activity compared with its wild-type counterpart. Furthermore, the mutation disrupted the synergistic transcriptional activation between GATA4 and NKX2.5, another transcription factor responsible for BAV. In conclusion, this study associates the GATA4 loss-of-function mutation with enhanced susceptibility to a BAV, thus providing novel insight into the molecular mechanism underpinning the BAV., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

To evaluate the specific characteristics in acromegalic patients with hyperprolactinemia by analyzing the differences between patients with different Ki-67 values. Between 2002 and 2010, a set of data on 61 patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery was available at the Department of Neurosurgery, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University. Patients were divided into Ki-67 >3% group and <3% group. A retrospective analysis of clinical, hormonal, immunohistochemical, and imaging was observed in all patients. There were no significant differences in age, gender, tumor size and apoplexy between the two groups. Time interval in Ki-67 ≥3% group was longer than <3% group (P=0.037). Patients in Ki-67 >3% group had a higher rate of invasiveness (P=0.048), higher incidences of diabetes mellitus (P=0.036), coarse facial features (P=0.048), large hands and feet (P=0.003), higher GH levels (P<0.05), higher diabetes insipidus rate (P<0.001), and more frequent recurrence (P=0.011) than Ki-67 <3% group. Patients with higher Ki-67 value harbored longer time interval, more aggressive tumors, more acromegaly manifestations, higher GH level, and higher recurrence than patients with lower Ki-67 value.

Background: Epidemiology studies have shown an inconclusive relationship between phytoestrogen intake and ovarian cancer risk and there have been no relevant meta-analyses directly regarding this topic. The purpose of the present meta-analysis was therefore to investigate any association between phytoestrogen intake and ovarian cancer in detail., Materials and Methods: We conducted a search of PubMed, EMBASE, EBSCO, the Cochrane Library, CNKI and Chinese Biomedical Database (up to April 2014) using common keywords for studies that focused on phytoestrogen and ovarian cancer risk. Study-specific risk estimates (RRs) were pooled using fixed effect or random-effect models., Results: Ten epidemiologic studies were finally included in the meta-analysis. The total results indicated higher phytoestrogen intake was associated with a reduced ovarian cancer risk (RR, 0.70; 95%CI: 0.56-0.87). The association was similar in sensitivity analysis. Meta regression analysis demonstrated sources and possibly types and regions as heterogeneous factors. Subgroup analysis of types, sources and regions showed that isoflavones (RR: 0.63; 95%CI: 0.46, 0.86), soy foods (RR: 0.51; 95%CI: 0.39, 0.68) and an Asian diet (RR: 0.48; 95%CI: 0.37, 0.63) intake could reduce the incidence of ovarian cancer., Conclusions: Our findings show possible protection by phytoestrogens against ovarian cancer. We emphasize specific phytoestrogens from soy foods, but not all could reduce the risk. The habit of plentiful phytoestrogen intake by Asians is worthy to recommendation. However, we still need additional larger well designed observational studies to fully characterize underlying associations.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of birth defect and is the leading noninfectious cause of infant death. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that genetic risk factors are involved in the pathogenesis of CHD. However, CHD is a genetically heterogeneous disease and the genetic defects underlying CHD in an overwhelming majority of patients remain unclear. In this study, the whole coding region and splice junction sites of the PITX2c gene, which encodes variant 3 of paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2 crucial for normal cardiovascular morphogenesis, were sequenced in 382 unrelated patients with CHD, and 2 novel heterozygous mutations, p.W147X and p.N153D, were identified in 2 unrelated patients with CHD, respectively, including a 1-year-old male patient with double outlet right ventricle in combination with ventricular septal defect and a 4-year-old female patient with ventricular septal defect. The mutations were absent in 400 control chromosomes and were both predicted to be disease-causing by MutationTaster. Multiple alignments of PITX2c proteins across species displayed that the altered amino acids were completely conserved evolutionarily. Functional analysis revealed that the mutated PITX2c proteins were associated with a significantly reduced transactivational activity compared with their wild-type counterpart. These findings provide a novel insight into the molecular mechanisms implicated in CHD, suggesting potential implications for the antenatal prophylaxis and allele-specific treatment of CHD.

Objective: To study the differences of relevant factors to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection between urban and rural women., Methods: 10 000 sexually active women from Shenzhen city and rural areas were interviewed with questionnaire on risk factor to HPV infection and screened for cervical cancer, using 3 kinds of HPV test., Results: Average age of the study population was 38.9, with prevalence rates of HPV infection among the total population, people in SSEZ (Shenzhen Special Economic Zone), out of SSEZ, and rural areas were 33.3%, 35.8%, 30.2%, and 33.8% respectively. Relevant factors to HPV infection in SSEZ were those mainly having had history of abortion,having more sexual partners in lifetime and husbands who work outside the area. Relevant factors to HPV infection out of SSEZ were those mainly having had more episodes of abortion, more sexual partners in lifetime and using condom more than other contraceptives. Relevant factors to HPV infection in rural area were: having more abortions and smoking behavior., Conclusion: There were some differences of relevant factors to HPV infection between urban and rural women. In urban area, having had more sexual partners in lifetime played a very important role in contracting HPV infection while condom use for contraception seemed to be a protective factor. In the rural areas, smoking was a risk factor for HPV infection, to some extent. Having had more episodes on abortion showed as a common risk factor to both urban and rural females, on HPV infection.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and pathogenecity of the HPV subtyping and virus loads in Shenzhen district., Methods: In the study, 10 000 sexually active women from Shenzhen city and rural areas around were screened for cervical cancer, and all the cases were examined with cytology tests and several kinds of high risk HPV (HR-HPV) tests. Those with cytology ≥atypical squamous cells of undetermined sign (ASC-US) or positive HPV results underwent colposcopy with biopsy for a pathological diagnosis., Results: The average age of this study population was 38.9 years. The total prevalence of HPV infection was 16.6%, with age-specific prevalence increasing with age. The morbidity rate of the low grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia CIN1 was 17.0%, but that with those aged ≥55 years showed a sharp drop. The morbidity rate of the high grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia CIN2/3 was 2.6%, and was higher in the 45 to 59 years age group than in the 25 to 44 years age group. HR-HPV infection was an obvious relevant factor of CIN1 and CIN2/3, and the OR values increased as the virus loads increased, but they had different relevant HPV subtypes. We found that HPV-16, -58, -31, -33, -18 were the first five ones for CIN2/3 while HPV-39, -58, -59, -52, -66 for CIN1., Conclusion: There is a high level of HPV infection and CIN in Shenzhen district. The prevalence of HPV infection has a trend to increase with age, and the people aged 45 years and more are key objects for CIN2/3 screening, with the virus load and subtyping of HR-HPV infection as indicative factors.

Association of HLA class II with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been widely studied in both Western and Oriental populations. However, such an association is not well documented in Chinese. The objective of this study was to examine the association between the susceptibility to conventional MS in Southern Chinese with HLA-DRB1,-DPB1 alleles and putative DRB1-DPB1 haplotypes. Genotyping of HLA-DRB1 and -DPB1 alleles was performed in 60 patients with conventional MS and 95 controls. Allele frequencies were compared between patients and controls to identify MS-associated alleles. Relative predisposing effect method was used to compare haplotype frequencies in patients and controls and to identify possible predisposing DRB1-DPB1 haplotypes, which were further examined for differences in haplotype carriage rates between the two groups. We found that the allele frequency of DRB1*1501 was not different between patients (18.3%) and controls (21.1%) (p = 0.837). In contrast, frequency of the DPB1*0501 allele was significantly higher in patients (90%) than in controls (67.4%) (odds ratio = 4.36, p = 0.0013, pcorr = 0.025). DRB1-DPB1 linkage haplotype in patients (8.33%) was significantly higher than in controls (0%) (p < 0.0001) and the carriage rate of this haplotype was significantly increased in patients (15%) as compared with controls (0%) (p = 0.00013, pcorr = 0.003). Combined, these results suggest that HLA-DRB1*1501 is not associated with susceptibility to conventional MS in Southern Chinese. Instead, both the DPB1*0501 allele and the DRB1*1602- DPB1*0501 haplotype are strong predisposing factors for conventional MS in this population. Our results establish that the HLA profiles of MS in Southern Chinese are distinct from other populations.

Objective: To examine the correlation between multiple sclerosis (MS) in Chinese Southern Han population and the polymorphism of HLA-DRB1 and -DPB1 alleles, and compare it to the reports of Western, Japanese and Northern Chinese populations., Methods: The HLA-DRB1 and -DPB1 alleles of 26 patients with conventional MS (C-MS), 13 patients with optic-spinal form of MS (OS-MS), and 50 normal controls were determined by sequence-based typing (SBT) method. The frequency of the HLA alleles was compared between the 2 MS subtypes and the MS subtypes and the controls by chi(2) or Fisher exact probability test. The P values were corrected according to Bonferroni's method to calculate corrected the P values (Pc)., Results: A total of 27 HLA-DRB1 alleles and 13 HLA-DPB1 alleles were identified in the 39 MS patients and 50 controls. The frequencies of DRB1(*)0406 (P = 0.014, OR = 2.09) and DRB1(*)1302 alleles (P = 0.007, OR = 2.84) were higher in the OS-MS patients than in the controls. In addition, the DRB1(*)120201 allele was more frequent in the C-MS patients than in the controls, and the frequency of DPB1(*)2101 was higher in the OS-MS patients than in the controls. However, all the differences were of no significance since the corrected P values (Pc) were all > 0.1. There was no correlation between the MS subtypes and the HLA-DRB1(*)1501 or DPB1(*)0501 as reported in Western and Japanese populations (all P > 0.1)., Conclusion: The correlation between HLA-DRB1 and -DPB1 in Southern Han MS population is different from that in the Western, Japanese, and Northern Chinese populations. Southern Han MS patients may be linked to the HLA-DRB1(*)0406, DRB1(*)1302, DRB1(*)120201 and DPB1(*)2101, but not to the HLA-DRB1(*)1501 or DPB1(*)0501 alleles as reported in the above populations.