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Objective: To observe the effect of crystalline NiS on genome DNA methylation profile in in vitro cultured cells., Methods: 16HBE Cells were treated with crystalline NiS at 0.25, 0.50, 1.00 and 2.00 µg/cm(2) for 24 h and three times at total. DAC treatment was given at 3 µmol/L for 72 h.5-mC immunofluorescence and SssI methyltransferase assay methods were applied to investigate if the hypomethylation of genome DNA involved., Results: The results of 5-mC immunofluorescence showed that the fluorescence intensity of NiS-treated cells were decreased in some degree, and transformed cells were decreased dramatically. By the SssI methylase assay, an average of (81.9 ± 7.3)% methylated CpG were found in negative control cells. By contrast, (77.9 ± 6.2)%, (75.3 ± 6.8)%, (59.5 ± 4.9)%, (67.4 ± 5.1)% methylated CpG were observed in cells treated with NiS for three times at dosage of 0.25, 0.50, 1.00 and 2.00 µg/cm(2) which were abbreviated as NiS0.25, NiS0.50, NiS1.00, NiS2.00 respectively. The ANOVA analysis results showed that there was a significant difference in the 5 groups above (F = 124.95, P < 0.01). The results of Dunnett-t test showed that the methylated CpG of both group NiS1.00 and NiS2.00 were significantly decreased compared with the negative control group (t values were 7.64, 4.89 respectively, P < 0.01). For methylated CpG, (46.2 ± 4.1)% and (43.6% ± 4.3)% were observed in NiS-transformed cells (NSTC1 and NSTC2) which were dramatically decreased compared with the negative control group (t values were 12.79, 13.56 respectively, P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Genomic DNA methylation levels were decreased during NiS induced malignant transformation.

The title compound, C(21)H(22)N(2)O(4), was prepared by reaction of 6-methyl-pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione and 1-chloro-methyl-4-meth-oxy-benzene. In the title mol-ecule, the central pyrimidine ring forms dihedral angles of 62.16 (4) and 69.77 (3)° with the two benzene rings. In the crystal, weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into chains.

The title compound, C(5)H(3)F(3)N(2)O(2)·H(2)O, was prepared by the reaction of ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-oxobutano-ate with urea. In the crystal, the 6-(trifluoro-meth-yl)pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione and water mol-ecules are linked by N-H⋯O and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. A ring dimer structure is formed by additional inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

In the title compound, C(14)H(15)F(3)N(2)O(5), prepared by reaction of 2-hy-droxy-benzaldehyde, ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-oxobutano-ate and urea, the tetra-pyrimidine ring adopts a half-chair conformation. The crystal structure is stabilized by five inter-molecular hydrogen bonds, three O-H⋯O and two N-H⋯O, giving cyclic dimers (through three hydrogen bonds) which are further extended into a two-dimensional network.

In the title compound, C(6)H(10)N(3) (+)·C(5)H(6)O(6)P(-), the cation and anion are linked by pairs of N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. There are additional inter-molecular N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, which generate centrosymmetric tetramers of two cations and two anions.

Objective: To investigate whether the major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A gene (MICA) polymorphism and serum soluble MICA level were associated with the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer., Methods: DNA samples from 117 colorectal cancer patients and 113 healthy individuals from Yangzhou in Jiangsu province were genotyped by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence-specific primer (SSP) method and PCR based sequencing. In addition, polymorphism at position 129 was also analyzed by PCR-SSP. Serum levels of soluble MICA were measured by a sandwich ELISA method., Results: Neither the extracellular nor the transmembrane region polymorphisms of MICA gene were associated with the occurrence and the different stages of colorectal cancer. In contrast, the frequency of the methionine residue at position 129 was significantly decreased in the patient group. Soluble MICA levels in sera were increased in the late stages of colorectal cancer., Conclusion: Although there was no genetic susceptibility attributed to MICA gene polymorphism with regard to development of colorectal cancer, serum levels of soluble MICA may be a diagnostic marker of advanced stages.

The title compound, C(16)H(20)F(3)N(3)O(4), was prepared by reaction of 4-(dimethyl-amino)benzaldehyde, ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-oxo-butanoate and urea. In the title mol-ecule, the pyrimidine ring adopts a half-chair conformation and there is an intra-molecular hydrogen bond (O-H⋯O). The crystal structure is stabilized by two types inter-molecular hydrogen bonds (N-H⋯O and N-H⋯N).

Objective: To observe the effect of combined therapy with Xuezhikang Capsule (XZK) and Valsartan on left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and heart rate turbulence (HRT) in hypertensive patients., Methods: Ninety primary hypertensive patients with LVH were randomly assigned to three groups. Basic treatment, including aspirin, beta-blockers, calcium antagonists, etc. were administered to all patients. Additionally, Valsartan (VS, 80 mg once a day) was given to the 30 patients in the VS group. Valsartan (in the same dosage) and XZK (600 mg, twice a day) were given to the 32 patients in the Chinese medicine (CM) group, while none was given to the 28 patients in the control group. The therapeutic course lasted for 24 months. Changes in left ventricular mass index (LVMI) measured by cardiac ultrasonic indices, HRT parameters, including the original heart rate (TO) and slope coeffificient (TS), systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP), as well as blood cholesterol level (TC) were measured before and after treatment., Results: After treatment, TO and LVMI were lowered, while TS increased in both the VS group and the CM group (P<0.01), but changed insignificantly in the control group. Significant differences between the CM group and the control group were shown in terms of TO, LVMI, SBP, DBP and TS (P<0.01); and between the CM group and the VS group in terms of TO, LVMI and TS (P<0.01). Moreover, HRT parameters showed an evident correlation with LVMI (r=0.519-0.635, P<0.01)., Conclusion: Combined therapy with XZK and Valsartan can improve hypertensive LVH and HRT parameters, and lessen the damage on the autonomous nervous system.

Objective: To develop a new model for preferential delivery of isoflurane to peripheral nerves in goats, and to identify preliminarily volatile anesthetic action sites., Methods: Eighteen goats were randomly and equally divided into arterial group, control group and venous group. In the arterial group, emulsified isoflurane was infused into the femoral artery of the goats to deliver isoflurane to the peripheral nerves. In the control group, 30% Intralipid which used as a solvent of emulsified isoflurane was infused via the femoral artery of the goats with the same infusing speed as that of the arterial group. In the venous group, emulsified isoflurane was infused via an ear peripheral vein. Minimum partial pressure (MPP), the partial pressure (Piso) of isoflurane in blood producing immobility in 50% of the goats exposed to noxious stimuli, was determined with an up-and-down method and a noxious stimulus by clamping the dew-claw of the hindlimbs of the goats in the arterial group and the control group, or the dew-claw of the hindlimb of the goats in the venous group., Results: No isoflurane was found in the jugular and femoral veins of the goats in the control group, and normal nociceptive reflexeswere maintained. The MPP of the femoral vein of the goats from the control group did not differ from the MPP of the jugular vein of the goats from the arterial and venous groups. The MPP of femoral vein p was 7 times of that of jugular vein ](38.45 +/- 17. 01) mmHg vs. (5.82 +/- 2.32) mmHg, 1 mmHg = 0.1333 kPa, P < 0.05] in the goats from the arterial group, and 4 times of that of jugular vein in the goats from the venous group [(9.41 +/- 1.61) mmHg, P < 0.05]. The MPP of jugular vein in the goats from the arterial group was about half of that of the goats in the venous group., Conclusion: A new model of preferential delivery of isoflurane to the peripheral nerves in goats has been developed. Only Piso higher than that used in clinical anesthetic range has a significant anesthetic effect on peripheral nerves.

In the title mol-ecule, C(20)H(20)N(2)O(2), the central pyrimidine ring forms dihedral angles of 71.9 (1) and 69.8 (1)° with the two benzene rings. In the crystal, weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol-ecules into centrosymmetric dimers. The crystal packing exhibits also π-π inter-actions as indicated by short distances of 3.674 (2) Å between the centroids of the pyrimidine rings of neighbouring mol-ecules.

Hormesis is the dose-response pattern of the biological responses to toxic chemicals, characterized by low-dose stimulation and high-dose inhibition. Although it is known that some cell types exhibit an adaptive response to low levels of cytotoxic agents, its molecular mechanism is still unclear and it has yet to be established whether this is a universal phenomenon that occurs in all cell types in response to exposure to every chemical. Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an organic solvent widely used and is released into the atmosphere from industrial degreasing operations. Acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) inhalation exposure to trichloroethylene can affect the human health. In order to elucidate a cell-survival adaptive response of L-02 liver cells exposed to low dose of TCE, CCK-8 assay was used to assess cytotoxicity, and examined the possible mechanisms of hormesis by proteomics technology. We found that exposure of L-02 liver cells to low level of TCE resulted in adaptation to further exposure to higher level, about 1,000 protein-spots were obtained by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and five protein spots were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry sequencing of tryptic peptides. Our results suggest that a relationship may exist between identified proteins and TCE-induced hormesis, which are very useful for further study of the mechanism and risk assessment of TCE.

Benzo[a]pyrene is a ubiquitously distributed environmental pollutant known to cause DNA damage, whereas PARP-1 is a nuclear enzyme that is activated by damaged DNA and plays an important role in base excision repair and genomic stability. Here, 16HBE and its PAPR1-deficient cells were exposed to BaP, and the DNA damage level and repair ability of both cell lines were measured by alkaline comet assay. The results showed that cell viability of both cell lines decreased in a dose-dependent manner when exposed to BaP, but there was no significant difference between two cell lines. Comet assay showed that BaP caused DNA damage in both cell lines at an obvious dose- and time-dependent manner. Compare with 16HBE, the PARP1-deficient cells were more sensitive to the damage caused by BaP. The results of DNA repair experiment showed that both cell lines can recover from the damage in a time-dependent pattern. The relative repair percentage of PARP1-deficient cells were generally lower than that of 16HBE at all exposed concentrations at the early stage of repair, but tended to be closer between two cell lines at the later period. According to results, we came to the conclusion that PARP1-deficient cells were more sensitive to BaP in contrast to normal 16HBE; DNA repair capacity in PARP1-deficient cells decreased significantly at the early stage of repair, but increased to the equivalent level of normal 16HBE in the later period. PARP-1 plays an important role in early repair of DNA damage caused by BaP in 16HBE notwithstanding the main repair work is taken by NER pathway.

Aim: To study the effects of recombinant soluble MHC class I chain-related protein A (sMICA) on the cytotoxicity, secretion of IFN-gamma, proliferation and apoptosis of peripheral NK cells., Methods: After NK cells were co-cultured with recombinant soluble MICA proteins overnight, the cytotoxicity of NK cell on target cells was detected by flow cytometry. The supernant was collected to determine the concentration of IFN-gamma by ELISA. The proliferation of NK cells to sMICA was detected by MTS/PMS. NK cells were labeled with annexin V and PI to analyze their apoptosis., Results: Soluble MICA inhibited the cytotoxicity of NK cells and down-regulated the secretion of IFN-gamma, but it showed no effects on the proliferation and apoptosis of freshly isolated peripheral NK cells., Conclusion: The soluble MICA shedding from tumor cells could be a pathway of cancer immune evasion by down-regulating the biologic activities of NK cells.

Based on the three-dimensional advection-diffusion-reflection equation, a two-dimensional TP transport equation was deduced to simulate TP distribution and transport after overflow rainwater into urban lake from storm sewer system during rainstorm. The model has a good agreement with a group of monitor data at Lake Lichee in Shenzhen, China. The model was applied to compute the scenario in Lake Lichee under the design rainstorm, and analyse the fate of TP. It shows that TP flux into lake is 15.385 kg under city storm intensity of 28 mm/h, in which 62.3% of flux goes into water in lake and 28.1% TP flux settles surface sediment. It would take 3.0 days for the integrated treatment project operation to recover TP to the level before the rain.

Objective: Human growth hormone (hGH) is an essential therapeutic drug for the treatment of growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD). However, the process of dissolving hGH of the powder form is complicated and potentially hazardous. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of preparation in the replacement therapy for children with GH deficiency., Methods: A 12-month randomized, open-label, multicenter trial was conducted in 31 previously untreated children with growth failure secondary to GH deficiency [20 boys and 11 girls, mean age (10.5 +/- 4.1) years]. An recombined human growth hormone (rhGH) solution (Iintropin AQ) was given via subcutaneous injection daily in every evening at a weekly dose of 0.25 mg/kg. The patients were followed up at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of the treatment, and the course of treatment was 12 months. Body height was measured 3-monthly and height velocity (HV) and mean height standard deviation score (HT SDS) were calculated. Serum Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1), Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3), GH antibodies and safety parameters were assessed at the baseline and at 3-month intervals. Bone age (BA) was assessed at the baseline and the rate of skeletal maturation (DeltaBA/DeltaCA) was calculated after 6 and 12 months of rhGH treatment by a central bone age reader. Moreover, the safety of rhGH solution treatment was assessed., Results: After 12 months of liquid rhGH therapy, growth parameters were significantly increased over baseline. (1) The mean (+/- SD) height increment DeltaHT (cm) was 4.0 +/- 1.3, 7.0 +/- 2.0, 10.3 +/- 2.6 and 12.9 +/- 3.3 after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of treatment, respectively (P < 0.01), which indicated linear growth after treatment. The GV (cm/years) was 2.7 +/- 0.9 before treatment and increased to 16.0 +/- 5.1, 14.1 +/- 4.0, 13.7 +/- 3.5, and 12.9 +/- 3.3 after treatment, suggesting that catch-up growth was significant after treatment as compared to the pre-treatment status (P < 0.01). Accordingly, post-treatment catch-up growth was obvious, significant differences were observed in HT SDS, which was -4.62 +/- 1.46 at the onset of therapy and increased significantly after the treatment to -3.80 +/- 1.53, -3.28 +/- 1.60, -2.86 +/- 1.75 and -2.47 +/- 1.86, respectively (P < 0.01). The height difference between GH deficient children and unimpaired children of the same age and gender gradually decreased after treatment, which was significantly different from that seen before treatment (P < 0.01). (2) The levels of serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were increased comparably for the treatment. IGF-1 level (microg/L) was 41 +/- 64 at baseline and increased to 179 +/- 155, 202 +/- 141, 156 +/- 155 and 159 +/- 167 after 3, 6, 9, 12 months of treatment. IGFBP-3 level (mg/L) was 1540 +/- 1325 at baseline, and increased to 3891 +/- 1815, 4051 +/- 1308, 3408 +/- 1435 and 3533 +/- 1413, respectively, suggesting that with the increases in height, IGF-1, and IGFBP-3 were significantly activated to relatively high levels by the medication and reached peak values between 3 and 6 months of treatment. The levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were significantly different before and after treatment (P < 0.01). The IGF-1/IGFBP-3 molar ratio significantly increased during GH therapy (0.143 +/- 0.013 pre-therapy up to 0.240 +/- 0.055 post-therapy, P < 0.01). The IGF-1/IGFBP-3 molar ratio tended to stabilize after 3-month GH therapy. (3) The bone age assessment carried out 6 and 12 months after treatment showed that the bone maturity (DeltaBA/DeltaCA) was 1.01 +/- 0.57 and 1.07 +/- 0.75, respectively, suggesting that there was no speed-up development in the bone age. No severe adverse events were observed during the trial and the most frequent accompanying event was mild hypothyroidism., Conclusions: rhGH solution (Iintropin AQ) is a safe and effective preparation in the replacement therapy for children with GH deficiency.

In the title compound, C(20)H(13)F(3)N(4)O(4), the fused pyrimido[1,2-a]benzimidazole ring system is nearly planar, with a maximum deviation from the mean plane of 0.126 (1) Å. Mol-ecules are linked by C-H⋯N and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and by π-π inter-actions with inter-planar distances of 3.2661 (6) and 3.2775 (6) Å.

In the title compound, C(7)H(8)N(3) (+)·C(10)H(6)F(3)O(2) (-), 1H-benzoimidazol-2-amine system adopts a planar conformation with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.0174 Å. The cation and anion in the asymmetric unit are linked by N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. There are also additional inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking inter-actions between the phenyl rings of neighbouring anions with centroid-centroid distances of 4.0976 (13) Å.

In the title compound, C(16)H(13)N(3)O, the tetrahydropyrimidin-one ring adopts a sofa conformation. In the crystal structure, mol-ecules are linked by N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds and C-H⋯π inter-actions.

In the title compound, C(11)H(12)ClN(5)O, the triazolone and pyrimidine rings are almost coplanar [dihedral angle = 2.98 (14)°]. The total puckering amplitude Q(T) of the seven-membered lactam ring is 0.706 (3) Å.

Objective: To investigate the effects of capsule of Shenshuai Yangzhen, a preparation of traditional Chinese medicine, on malnutrition rats with chronic renal failure (CRF)., Methods: SD rats received 5/6 nephrectomy for preparation of CRF models, and fed 4% casein at the same time. Observed when malnutrition began. Those consistents with malnutrition of CRF condition were randomized into model control group, Ketosteril group, Shenshuai Yangzhen group, and normal control group. After 4-weeks treatment as indicated, The blood parameters, like blood serum albumin (ALB), type-1 insulin like growth factor (IGF-1), total cholesterol (TC), triglyeride (TG), urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr), haemoglobin (Hb), 24 hour urineprotein (24hUpr) and weight were determined. Nephrotic tissue was observed by microscope (included HE and PAS)., Results: Malnutrition situation in CRF rats began at the end of 10-weeks. After 4-weeks treatment, weight in Shenshuai Yangzhen group were higher significantly (P < 0.05). Compared with model control group, blood serum BUN (P < 0.05), SCr (P < 0. 05) and 24h Upr (P < 0.001) in Shenshuai Yangzhen group were significantly lower with substantially elevated blood serum ALB, Hb, IGF-1 (P < 0.01; P < 0.001; P < 0.001, respectively). Pathology of Shenshuai Yangzhen group was a meliorated significantly after treated., Conclusion: Capsule of Shenshuai Yangzhen has a possible therapic effect on improving malnutrition in rats with renal insufficiency.

Objective: There are scant data about normal reference values of blood glucose (BG) in children. This study was conducted to learn the BG profile of children and adolescents in Beijing area., Method: The population for survey was selected as a stratified cluster sample from 8 urban and 10 rural areas in Beijing. Fasting capillary blood glucose (FCBG) was determined in 19,593 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years in 4 urban and 3 rural areas using haemosaccharometer model II [Roche Diagnostic, (Shanghai) Ltd]., Results: There were 1 9112 (97.5%) individuals with complete records, the mean age was 12.1 +/- 3.3 years (ranged from 6 to 18.9 years); 9514 (49.8%) were boys, 9598 (50.2%) were girls, 9792 were (51.2%) from urban areas and 9320 (48.8%) from rural areas. The average level of FCBG in boys was higher than that in girls (4.7 +/- 0.5 vs. 4.5 +/- 0.5, u = 28.0, P < 0.01). Among urban children, the trend of variation of FCBG was similar between boys and girls, the levels of FCBG increased with age, the peak of FCBG was reached at 12-13 years in urban girls, and from the age of 15 years, the level of FCBG declined. In boys, the FCBG level increased slowly from 13 years of age, there was no significant variation until 17 years old, and declined at the age of 18. Among suburban children, the trend of variation of FCBG was similar between boys and girls, both of them had two peaks, from 6 to 11 years old, FCBG of both boys and girls increased with age, and both reached the first peak at the age of 11 years. While at 13 years of age, there was an obvious drop in FCBG level. From 14 years of age on, there was a rise of FCBG in both boys and girls, and the second peak of FCBG was reached at 15 and 16 years of age in girls and boys respectively. The FCBG level of urban children was higher than that of rural children (4.7 +/- 0.5 vs. 4.6 +/- 0.5, u = 13.8, P < 0.01). The level of FCBG in overweight and obese children was higher than that of normal children. More boys, more obese and more urban children had abnormal FCBG., Conclusions: The blood glucose level of children was associated with age, gender, obesity and district.

Objective: To develop a new model of preferentially delivering isoflurane to the goat spinal cord, and to explore preliminarily volatile anesthetic action sites., Methods: Eighteen goats were randomly and equally divided into group artery and group vein. In group artery, emulsified isoflurane was infused into descending aorta for developing the model to deliver isoflurane to the goat spinal cord. In group vein, emulsified isoflurane was infused via the ear vein. After the end-tidal isoflurane concentration of 1 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) was maintained for 20 min, the isoflurane partial pressures (P(iso)) in samples which were drawn from the femoral artery and the carotid artery were determined by a gas chromatography., Results: In group vein, there was no statistical difference among all the P(iso). In group artery, the P(iso) of the femoral arterial blood was almost same as that in group vein, but the P(iso) of the carotid arterial blood was near half of that in group vein [(6.07 +/- 3.60) mmHg vs (10.21 +/- 2.41) mmHg, P < 0.05]., Conclusion: This new model permits preferentially to deliver the isoflurane to the in situ goat spinal cord, and the results support the importance of the spinal cord in suppressing nociceptive reflex under isoflurane anesthesia.

Objective: To study the prevalence of Diabetes mellitus (DM) in children and adolescents and to describe the characteristics on age, gender and district distribution of schoolchildren, in Beijing., Methods: A cross-sectional screening program the fasting capillary blood glucose (FCBG) was carried out in 19,593 schoolchildren in 7 areas of Beijing from March to October, 2004. According to the WHO diagnostic criteria: DM was set as FCBG < or = 6.1 mmol/L, impaired fasting glucose (IFG) was set as 5.6 mmol/L < or = FCBG < 6.1 mmol/L., Results: The total aggregate age-adjusted prevalence rates of DM and IFG were 5.7 per thousand and 13.5 per thousand, respectively. The prevalence rates of DM and IFG in males were significantly higher than that in females (7.7 per thousand vs. 3.6 per thousand and 26.8 per thousand vs. 11.3 per thousand. DM X2 = 12.27, P = 0.0005; IFG X2 =47.29, P = 0.0000). Among seven districts, East District had the highest prevalence rates of DM and IFG, 8.9 per thousand and 27.4 per thousand (companied high obesity 28.68%) while Ping-Gu District having the lowest ones as 2.0 per thousand and 7.5 per thousand (obese 12.75%) respectively (X2 = 13.75, and X2 = 32.65, P = 0.0002 and P < 0.0001). The DM prevalence rates between districts ranged from 2.0 per thousand to 8.9 per thousand, X2 = 18.94, P = 0.004 and the IFG prevalence of districts ranged from 7.5 per thousand to 27.4 per thousand (X2 = 52.05, P < 0.0001). The prevalence rates of DM among different age groups increased with age, with the highest prevalence of IFG on the 10-14 age group. Among boys, the highest prevalence rates of DM and IFG fell in the 15-18 and 10-14 age groups respectively while the highest prevalence rates on both DM and IFG among girls were in the same age group 10-14., Conclusion: The high prevalence rates on DM and IFG were seen in Beijing and showed significant discrimination on age, gender and district distribution. More developed urban district and males had a higher prevalence, companied by higher obesity prevalence. Age seemed to be a high risk factor on DM for boys while the puberty development seemed a high risk factor for girls.

Objective: Allgrove syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by the triad of adrenal insufficiency, achalasia and alacrima and many cases have multi-systems disorder: endocrine, gastrointestinal tract, eyes and nervous system. This syndrome is also known as achalasia-addisonianism-alacrima syndrome or triple A syndrome. Allgrove syndrome is now known to be caused by mutations of AAAS gene encoding the aladin protein. In the present paper, we report a Chinese mainland girl with Allgrove syndrome with mutations in the AAAS gene., Method: The patient was a 7-year-old girl complained of coma and dark skin; she was treated as Addison disease for 2 years and had vomiting for 9 months before the second admission. Gene analysis was performed after extracting genomic DNA by amplification and sequencing of the specific fragments of AAA gene., Results: The patient was confirmed to have adrenal insufficiency at the age of 5 years and 6 months. During the second hospitalization, she was found to have a remarkable brisk reflexion, bilateral optic nerve atrophy, alacrima and achalasia besides ACTH resistance. The girl was born to consanguineous parents. Based on these findings, she was diagnosed as having Allgrove syndrome. Mutation analysis revealed a novel homozygous deletion of a single G, c.771delG, in exon 8 of the AAAS gene. This frame shift mutation was predicted to create a premature stop codon at locus 290, p.R258GfsX33, leading to a truncated and non-functioning aladin protein. Both the parents were heterozygous for the mutation., Conclusion: The clinical manifestations and AAAS gene mutations analysis confirmed the diagnosis of Allgrove syndrome. Gene analysis indicated that this syndrome is an autosomal recessive inherent disorder. ALADIN is significant for the normal cell function. When compared with reported cases, it seems that there are no remarkable relation between gene mutation loci and clinical manifestations in Allgrove syndrome.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and clinical phenotype of metabolic syndrome among overweight and obese schoolchildren in Beijing, and to compare the rates of diagnosis made according to the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) of the United States and International Diabetes Federation (IDF)., Methods: Based on Beijing Child and Adolescent Metabolic Syndrome (BCAMS) study with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure measured, the overweight and obese children were screened among nearly 20 000 children 6-18 years of age in Beijing by Chinese BMI cutoffs for schoolchildren (7-18 years) and the US 2000 CDC Growth Charts--the 85th and 95th percentile (6 years) and were enrolled as the study population. Simultaneously a group of children with normal BMI were selected as the control group and based on the international method of age grouping, each of the above groups was divided further into 4 sub-groups in terms of age: 6-9, 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18 years old, respectively. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and insulin (FINS), serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) were examined. HOMA-IR index was calculated for estimating individual insulin resistance. A child who met any three or more of the following five criteria, according to NCEP definition, was diagnosed as MS. A diagnosis of MS using IDF definition required abdominal obesity plus any two or more of the other four criteria: (1) abnormal obesity: WC > or = P(90); (2) elevated BPs: SBP/DBP > or = P(90); (3) low HDL-C: HDL-C < 1.03 mmol/L (40 mg/dl); (4) high TG: TG > or = 1.24 mmol/L (110 mg/dl); (5) impaired fasting glucose (IFG): FPG > or = 5.6 mmol/L (100 mg/dl)., Results: The prevalence rates of MS by NCEP definition were: 0.9%, 7.6% and 29.8% in the normal weight (control group), overweight and obese children, respectively, which were higher than the rates diagnosed by IDF definition with 0.1%, 5.2% and 28.6% in the three groups. The prevalence rates of individual MS component among obese children were: 81.6% for abnormal obesity, 47.7% for elevated BPs, 35.6% for high TG, 16.9% for low HDL-C, and 13.4% for IFG. Elevated BPs (29.8%), abnormal obesity (27.4%) and high TG (26.0%) were the leading three abnormalities among overweight children. With the increase of BMI, the clustering of MS components and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were remarkably increased. HOMA-IR significantly increased as the number of MS component increased., Conclusions: MS has been in an epidemic status among the obese schoolchildren in Beijing. Abnormal obesity, elevated BPs and high TG were the three most common metabolic abnormalities for overweight and obese children. The prevalence rates of MS by NCEP definition in the present study was higher than those diagnosed by using IDF definition.

Objective: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) may predict the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), metabolic syndrome (MS) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in adult, but few reports on relevant studies in children are available. The present study aimed to understand possible correlation between serum hs-CRP levels and some factors of obese children and adolescents with or without impaired glycometabolism., Methods: Seventy obese children and adolescents (age 8 - 17 years) and 30 non-obese healthy controls (group 1, 20 boys and 10 girls, mean age 12.6 years) were enrolled into this study. The obese individuals were subdivided into two groups according to the results of oral glucose tolerance test: the obese subjects without IGR (group 2, 54 cases, 43 boys and 11 girls, mean age 11.3 years) and the obese subjects with impaired glycometabolism (group 3, 16 cases, 8 boys and 8 girls, mean age 12.8 years). The levels of serum parameters including hs-CRP, glucose, lipid, insulin, C-peptide and whole blood HbA1c were determined. SPSS 10.0 was used for statistical analysis., Results: (1) There was significant increase of serum hs-CRP level in obese children and adolescents, the median was 2.44 (0.01 - 14.6) mg/L; the level of control group was 0.1 (0.01 - 2.1) mg/L. (2) Some of the following parameters, such as fasting plasma glucose (FPG), triglyceride (TG), fasting insulin (FINS), C-peptide (Cp) and insulin resistance index (IRI), were found increased in group 2 and 3 as compared to group 1. When FPG and TG were still in normal range in group 2, the levels of hs-CRP and IRI were significantly higher than those in group 1, the level of hs-CRP was 2.4 (0.01 - 9.0) mg/L. While FPG and TG were abnormal in group 3, the level of hs-CRP was 2.6 (0.1 - 14.6) mg/L, but the difference had no statistical significance. (3) Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a moderate correlation between serum hs-CRP and BMI (r = 0.414, P = 0.000). There was a low correlation between hs-CRP and waist circumference, hip circumference and waist to hip ratio (WHR). The correlation of serum hs-CRP with blood pressure, TG, cholesterol, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), HbA1c, FPG, FINS and Cp had no significant deviation. (4) Multiple linear regression analysis showed that body mass index (BMI) was the only indicator which had correlation with hs-CRP., Conclusion: (1) There may be a chronic low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance in obese children. (2) The level of hs-CRP might be independently correlated with BMI in children. (3) Hs-CRP and IRI elevated before FPG and TG did, which may suggest that the low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance may be a pathogenic base of DM rather than the outcome of it. (4) The elevation of hs-CRP may help predict impaired glucose and lipid metabolism.

Objective: To study the mechanism of dichlorvos leading to hypospadia of rats., Methods: From the 12th to the 17th day of conception, 20 pregnant female rats (the experiment group) were given 10 mg/(kg x d) dichlorvos, while another 10 (the control group) administered 1.5 ml 0.9% NaCl/day. Out of 88 male newborns of the 20 experimental mother rats, 22 had hypospadia, while out of the 33 male newborns of the 10 controls, none had the problem. Five hypospadia newborns from the experiment group and another 5 normal ones from the control group were raised to sexual maturity, and then their testes were excised and embedded in paraffin, and the tissue sections were analyzed by regular HE staining and SP immunohistochemical staining with Calretinin., Results: HE staining showed that the number of Leydig cells in the testis tissues of the hypospadia rats decreased significantly compared with the normal ones, but no change was observed either in the number or in the morphology of the seminiferous tubules. Moreover, the Calretinin positive Leydig cells were reduced dramatically in the testes of the hypospadia rats., Conclusion: Pregnant female rats, when exposed to dichlorvos, may cause reduction of testis Leydig cells in their male offsprings. Thus the probable mechanism of rat hypospadia induced by dichlorvos may lie in the decrease of the testosterone level caused by damage to Leydig cells from dichlorvos toxicity.

Application of compost in agricultural practice could potentially cause contamination of foodstuffs with pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. Coli O157). We investigated pathogenic bacteria in compost collected from the compost facilities, and evaluated the survival of E. coli K12 and O157 in laboratory experiments. Out of 19 compost product samples, coliform bacteria and salmonella were detected in 7 and 3 samples respectively. The number of coliform bacteria was 1.8 x 10(2) to 2.5 x 10(6) CFU/g dw and that of salmonella was 4.2 x 10(1) to 6.0 x 10(3) CFU/g dw. Moreover, coliform bacteria, fecal coliform, E. coli and salmonella were detected during composting at 54 degrees C to 67 degrees C. The results indicated that moisture content was a very important factor to the heat sensitivity of pathogenic bacteria in compost, E. coil in compost of high moisture content was more sensitive than that in compost of low moisture content, cells harvested in logarithmic phase was more sensitive than these in stationary phase, and E. coli K12 was more sensitive than E. coli O157. Based on the D values, the lethal time of E. coli K12 and O157 from l0(8) to 10(0) CFU/g dw were 16.3 and 28.8 min, respectively, at 60 degrees C in compost with 40% moisture content. However, some E. coil cells survived in composting process at 54 degrees C to 67 degrees C. Water potential (low moisture content) and physiological aspects of bacteria (stationary phase) could explain only in part of the prolonged survival of E. coil in compost, and there should be some other factors that are conducive to bacterial survival in compost.

Objective: The incidence of type 1 diabetes varied in different countries, different nations and different regions. This survey was conducted to clarify the incidence of type 1 diabetes of children in Beijing area between 1997 and 2000, to compare and analyze the difference in incidence of type 1 diabetes between the 2 periods of 1988 - 1996 and 1997 - 2000., Method: According to the criteria of WHO Diabetes Mondial (DIAMOND), data were collected from all the children younger than 15 years of age in Beijing area who had the onset of type 1 diabetes during Jan. 1st, 1997 to Dec. 31st, 2000. Using the capture-recapture methods, 95% confidence intervals of incidence were calculated with Poisson's distribution formula. The significance of differences was tested with Chi-square method., Results: The incidences of type 1 diabetes during 1997 - 2000 were around 0.76/100 000 to 1.21/100 000. The average yearly incidence was 1.014/100 000 (95% confidence interval was 0.98/100 000 - 1.16/100 000). There was no significant difference in the incidence between 1988 - 1996 and 1997 - 2000, and it showed the same result when the incidences were adjusted by age according to the Chinese population census in 2000 (The incidence was 0.83/100 000 in 1988 - 1996 and 0.86/100 000 in 1997 - 2000, respectively). The incidence was higher in 10 - 14 year-old group than the younger groups (P = 0.002). There was no significant difference between male and female groups, either., Conclusions: No significant difference was found between the periods 1988 - 1996 and 1997 - 2000 when the average yearly incidence of type 1 diabetes of children in Beijing was compared. These results were different from the other countries' reports that the incidence of type 1 diabetes was increasing by 3% - 5% per annum. There was no significant difference between male and female groups either and there was a higher incidence of type 1 diabetes in 10 - 14 yr group than the other groups in 1997 - 2000. Although the life-style of Beijing people changed a lot, it didn't affect the incidence of type 1 diabetes in children in this area. But since many people migrated to Beijing from other parts of the country, the changes in constitutive proportions of population might have some impacts on the results of the survey.