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By adopting GPS technique, 2088 sampling sites were installed in the tobacco鄄planting area of Qujing City, Yunnan Province, with 0-20 cm soil samples collected to determine their main nutrients contents. The overall characteristics and spatial variability of the tobacco soil nutrients were analyzed by classic statistics and geo鄄statistics, and the soil fertility suitability in planting tobacco was evaluated by the methods of fuzzy mathematics. In the study area, soil pH and soil organic matter, available S, and water鄄soluble Cl contents were appropriate, soil total N and alkalihydrolyzable N contents were too high, soil available K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mo, and Mn contents were abundant, soil available P content was at medium level, while soil total P and K and available B contents were insufficient. All the nutrient indices presented anisotropic distribution, among which, the spatial variability of soil available P and B was mainly caused by random factors, and that of other nutrients was caused by the co鄄effects of structural and random factors. The spatial distribution map of soil fertility suitability index (SFI) showed that there was no the excellent grade region for tobacco鄄planting, good grade region accounted for 8郾0%, general grade region accounted for 51郾6%, moderate grade region accounted for 39郾0%, and low grade region accounted for 1郾4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By adopting GPS technique, 2088 sampling sites were installed in the tobacco-planting area of Qujing City, Yunnan Province, with 0-20 cm soil samples collected to determine their main nutrients contents. The overall characteristics and spatial variability of the tobacco soil nutrients were analyzed by classic statistics and geo-statistics, and the soil fertility suitability in planting tobacco was evaluated by the methods of fuzzy mathematics. In the study area, soil pH and soil organic matter, available S, and water-soluble Cl contents were appropriate, soil total N and alkalihydrolyzable N contents were too high, soil available K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mo, and Mn contents were abundant, soil available P content was at medium level, while soil total P and K and available B contents were insufficient. All the nutrient indices presented anisotropic distribution, among which, the spatial variability of soil available P and B was mainly caused by random factors, and that of other nutrients was caused by the co-effects of structural and random factors. The spatial distribution map of soil fertility suitability index (SFI) showed that there was no the excellent grade region for tobacco-planting, good grade region accounted for 8.0%, general grade region accounted for 51.6%, moderate grade region accounted for 39.0%, and low grade region accounted for 1.4%.

Background: Histologic chorioamnionitis (HCA) is associated with preterm delivery and with neonatal morbidity and mortality. Because HCA is usually subclinical, histologic examination of the placenta is essential for confirmatory diagnosis. In the present study, the correlations between subclinical HCA and relevant clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed., Methods: This was a retrospective study. We reviewed the placental histopathologic findings and the charts of patients who were admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit after delivery and their mothers between January 2007 and March 2008. A total of 77 preterm infants [gastational age (GA): 32.2 3.4 weeks, birth weight (BW): 1718 +/- 554 g] were categorized as group A with histologic evidence of placental inflammation (n=27) or group B without histologic evidence of placental inflammation (n=50). Placental histology was studied to identify the presence of inflammatory states such as chorioamnionitis, funisitis and deciduitis. Laboratory parameters including complete blood count, differential count, and C-reactive protein (CRP) level of mothers and initial arterial blood gas, glucose Level and mean blood pressure of the infants were documented. Gestational age, Apgar score, history of prolonged premature rupture of membrane (prolonged PROM), gestational diabetes mellitus, meconium-stained amniotic fluid, pregnancy-induced hypertension and signs of pre-eclampsia were also collected as clinical parameters. All data were analyzed using independent t tests and Fisher's exact test, as appropriate., Results: Group A newborns had a significantly lower gestational age (30.8 +/- 4.1 weeks vs. 33.0 +/- 2.6 weeks, p < 0.05) and higher CRP level (0.56 +/- 0.92 mg/dL vs. 0.12 +/- 0.14 mg/dL, p < 0.05), together with higher maternal WBC count (13,002 +/- 4344/microL vs. 10,850 +/- 3722/microL, p < 0.05) and higher rate of prolonged PROM [14/27 (51.85%) vs. 8/37 (21.62%), p < 0.05] compared with group B newborns., Conclusion: We found that HCA was significantly correlated with lower gestational age, higher CRP level of preterm infants, higher maternal WBC count, and a higher rate of prolonged PROM. Our results demonstrate a significant association between HCA with an elevated CRP level in preterm infants. These findings further confirmed the association between maternal inflammation and preterm deliveries.

Congenital dacryocystocele is an uncommon lesion of the nasolacrimal drainage system of newborns. The lesion often develops secondary infection due to the obstruction of both distal and proximal nasolacrimal ducts. Early recognition by experienced pediatrician might initiate effective therapy to prevent the progression to possible secondary infection. However, there is no standard criteria for optimal treatment. Hence, we review the literature and report two newborns with congenital dacryocystocele in one of which progressed to secondary infection, dacryocystitis.

The incidence of severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is higher in Asians than in whites. A case-control study was designed to investigate the effects of eight known risk factors [breast feeding, ABO incompatibility, premature birth, infection, cephalohematoma, asphyxia, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, and variant UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) gene] and a suspicious analog [organic anion transporter 2 (OATP 2) gene] on severe hyperbilirubinemia in Taiwanese neonates. The 72 study subjects and 100 hospital control subjects consisted of neonates with peak serum bilirubin levels > or =342 microM and <256.5 microM, respectively. The PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism method was applied to detect the UGT1A1, OATP 2, and G6PD genes. The results of multivariate logistic regressions, adjusted for covariates, revealed odds ratios (ORs) of 4.64 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.25-9.57; p < 0.001], 3.36 (95% CI: 1.54-7.35; p=0.002), and 3.02 (95% CI: 1.30-6.99; p=0.010) for neonates who were fed with breast milk, and carry the variant UGT1A1 gene at nucleotide 211 and the variant OATP 2 gene at nucleotide 388, respectively. The ORs, adjusted for covariates, for the other six risk factors were not statistically significant. The ORs in neonates who had one, two, and three significant risk factors were 8.46 (95% CI: 2.75-34.48; p < 0.001), 22.0 (95% CI: 5.50-88.0; p < 0.001), and 88.0 (95% CI: 12.50-642.50; p < 0.001), respectively. In conclusion, neonates who carry the 211 and 388 variants in the UGT1A1 and OATP 2 genes, respectively, as well as feed with breast milk are at high risk to develop severe hyperbilirubinemia.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of an infant formula fortified with nucleotides (NF) with those of a control formula (CF) on the incidence of diarrhea, respiratory tract infections (RTIs), and immune responses in healthy term infants., Methods: This 12-month, double-blind study was conducted on 1- to 7-day-old infants randomized to receive NF or CF exclusively until 12 weeks of age, and fed the assigned formula with solid food until 12 months. NF was supplemented with 72 mg/L of nucleotides, based on the total potentially available nucleotide content of human milk. Subjects were evaluated within 1 week of birth, at 4 weeks, and every 4 weeks thereafter until 48 weeks of age. The primary outcome variable was the incidence of diarrhea. Secondary variables included RTIs, serum immunoglobulin concentrations, and response to hepatitis B vaccine., Results: Compared with subjects fed CF (n = 170), those fed NF (n = 166) had a trend toward reduced risk of diarrhea from 8 to 48 weeks of age and a significantly lower risk of 25.4% (P = 0.05) between 8 and 28 weeks. NF subjects had significantly higher serum immunoglobulin A concentrations ( P < 0.05) throughout the 48-week study. The NF group had an increased risk of upper RTIs, the same incidence of lower RTIs, and the same antibody response to hepatitis B vaccination as the CF group, based on one-sided tests. Growth was normal in both groups, and no adverse events were considered to be formula-related., Conclusions: Healthy term infants from 8 to 28 weeks of life are less likely to experience diarrhea and have higher serum immunoglobulin A concentrations with NF compared with formula without added nucleotides.

The purpose of this study were to gain local experience, to find out the efficacy and side effects of surfactant and to find out whether surfactant therapy will lower the mortality and morbidity of premature infants. From Nov. 1992 to Dec. 1994, there were 25 premature infants in his neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) enrolled in this study. Another 25 premature infants with study group matched gestational age, weight, and Apgar score, who had been previously treated at this NICU from 1990 to 1992 served as control group. Modified bovine surfactant (Survanta, Abbot), 100 mg/Kg of surfactant phospholipid in 4 ml solution was administered intratracheally in four divided doses. The premature infants in the study group had prompt and sustained improvement in oxygenation. The improvement in FiO2 and arterial-to-alveolar oxygen tension ratio (a/APO2) were significantly different from the control infants from 12 hours post-treatment till the subsequent 48 hours after treatment. There was no difference in mortality rate between the two groups. There was no side effect noted from surfactant therapy. It was therefore concluded that modified bovine surfactant therapy is safe and effective for neonates with respiratory distress syndrome. A larger study is required to find out whether it lowers the mortality and morbidity in premature infants in Taiwan.

This study intended to evaluate the relationship between the prognosis for premature newborns (PM) with patient ductus arteriosus (PDA) and their Doppler echocardiographic findings. From January 1989 to December 1995, of 369 premature newborns in their first postnatal week, 196 underwent ductal evaluations echocardiographically: 47 of these 196 cases were found to have PDA. Each echocardiogram had complete data for cardiac output, ejection fraction, the left atrial-to-the-aortic ratio (LA/AO), the systolic time interval of the right ventricle (RVSTI), the transvalvular pressure gradient from tricuspid regurgitation (TGTR) and ductal Doppler color flow maps. These 47 premature newborns with PDA were grouped into (A) "asymptomatic" patients whose ductus closed spontaneously within a one-year follow-up (15 subjects), (B) "symptomatic" patients whose ductus were closed by pharmacological or surgical managements (20 subjects), and (C) "complicated" patients whose ductus caused mortality of the host (12 subjects). The remaining 149 premature newborns with a closed ductus (CD) served as controls. The RVSTI in these 47 premature newborns with PDA was found to be significantly higher than those of 149 CD (0.26 +/- 0.12 vs. 0.18 +/- 0.06, p < 0.005), and denoting that PM-PDA had a higher mean pulmonary arterial pressure. The TGTR of these 47 premature newborns with PDA was also higher than these of the 149 CD controls (30.50 +/- 11.85 mmHg vs. 20.54 +/- 6.88 mmHg, p < 0.005), denoting that PM-PDA had a higher pulmonary arterial systolic pressures. Gestational age of group C neonates was younger than group A (29.46 +/- 3.41 weeks vs. 32.80 +/- 2.78 weeks, P < 0.01). The birth weight of Group C neonates was lower than that of Group A (1366.17 +/- 684.28 gm vs. 2061.67 +/- 751.77 gm. p < 0.01), therefore, extreme prematurity and small-for-gestational-age could have increased the mortality of PM-PDA. Doppler color flow maps of group C showed a wider ductal patency, less ductal waist-narrowing, more vehement red-color forward flow and less midstream mosaicism. It was concluded that patient with extreme prematurity, with very-low-birth-weight or wider patent ductus, higher pulmonary hypertension, less midstream mosaicism, or less ductal waist-narrowing would have a poorer prognosis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the risk factors of development of cerebral palsy (CP) in preterm infants who had periventricular echogenic abnormalities with or without cyst formation. During a period of 66 months, 332 newborns of 34 weeks gestation or less born at our hospital received serial brain ultrasound scans. Sixty-six of the 332 infants, 36 males and 30 females, were detected increased periventricular echodensity (PVE) during admission period. Subsequently, serial brain ultrasound scans were done for the 66 preterm infants at our follow-up clinic. Their neurodevelopment outcomes were then followed up for 10-48 months. The degree of periventricular echodensity (PVE) was graded as mild; or moderate to severe, according to the extent of the echodensity. Periventricular echodensity with cyst formation was classified by the size of the cyst at its widest diameter as either large (3 mm or multiple) or small (< 3 mm) in the parasagittal image. Eighteen of 66 (27.3%) infants developed cerebral palsy (CP). Infants with PVE with large cystic formation were at significantly higher risk for development of cerebral palsy (P < 0.005). Nine of 16 (56.3%) patients in the CP group had a longer duration of PVE than the non-CP group (8 of 46 patients: 17.4%) (p < 0.005). It is concluded that large cystic periventricular echodensity and long duration of PVE are associated with later development of cerebral palsy.