Fostering Children's Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction Through Play:A Case Study of LEGO and Minecraft

This article focuses on children's participation in disaster risk reduction.It draws on a 2018 study done in New Zealand with 33 school children who conducted p...     

内镜下经皮胃造瘘对老年患者生活质量的影响

目的:评价内镜下经皮胃造瘘(PEG)在老年患者的应用、安全性及对生活质量的影响.方法:对32例PEG老年患者进行回顾性分析,采用同组对照的方法比较PEG与鼻胃管饲对患者的影响.结果:32例老年患者均在局麻下成功进行了PEG,仅1例发生造瘘口周围皮肤感染,抗生素治疗后短期内恢复.PEG较鼻胃管饲患者更易于接受,导管不易堵塞,能降低吸入性肺炎及反流性食管炎(15.6% vs 46.8%,P＜0.05)的发生率,提高生活质量.结论:PEG是一种安全有效的治疗方法,较鼻胃管饲能明显降低吸入性肺炎、反流性食管炎的发生率.     

Long-term follow up of the FL2000 study comparing CHVP-interferon to CHVP-interferon plus rituximab in follicular lymphoma

Anti-CD20-containing chemotherapy regimens have become the standard of care for patients with follicular lymphoma needing cytotoxic therapy. Four randomized trials demonstrated a clinical benefit for patients treated with rituximab. However, no long-term follow up (i.e. > 5 years) of these trials is yet available. Between May 2000 and May 2002, 358 newly diagnosed patients with high tumor burden follicular lymphoma were randomized to receive cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, etoposide and prednisolone plus interferon-α2a or a similar chemotherapy-based regimen plus rituximab, and outcome was up-dated. With a median follow up of 8.3 years, addition of rituximab remained significantly associated with prolonged event-free survival (primary end point) (P=0.0004) with a trend towards a benefit for overall survival (P=0.076). The Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index score was strongly associated with outcome for both event-free and overall survival in univariate analysis and its prognostic value remained highly significant after adjusting for other significant covariates in multivariate models (P<0.0001 and P=0.001, respectively). Considering long-term toxicity, the addition of rituximab in the first-line setting was confirmed as safe with regards to development of secondary malignancies. Long-term follow up of patients with follicular lymphoma treated in the FL2000 study confirms the sustained clinical benefit of rituximab without long-term toxicity. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier:00136552).     

Benefit of continuous positive airway pressure on work quality in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea

Sleep and Breathing - The objective of this prospective study was to assess the effect of CPAP therapy on job productivity and work quality for patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). A...     

血管紧张素转换酶基因与高血压性脑卒中

血管紧张素转换酶（ＡＣＥ）是肾素－血管紧张素系统（ＲＡＳ）的重要酶,在心血管疾病发生中起重要作用。作为心血管疾病重要候选基因的ＡＣＥ基因与原发性高血压、心肌梗塞等心血管疾病之间的关系受到国内外广泛关注。在此基础上,近几年国外学者应用扩增片断长度多肽性分析等分子生物学技术就ＡＣＥ基因与脑卒中的关系进行了病例－对照研究,结果显示ＡＣＥ基因与高血压性脑卒中存在关联,认为ＡＣＥ基因是高血压脑卒中发生的重要遗传因素,为指导用药及高血压并发症预防提供新的启示。     

Prenatal hypoxia may aggravate the cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology in APP/PS1 transgenic mice

Most cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD) arise through interactions between genetic and environmental factors. It is believed that hypoxia is an important environmental factor influencing the development of AD. Our group has previously demonstrated that hypoxia increased β-amyloid (Aβ) generation in aged AD mice. Here, we further investigate the pathological role of prenatal hypoxia in AD. We exposed the pregnant APP^Swe/PS1^A246E transgenic mice to high-altitude hypoxia in a hypobaric chamber during days 7–20 of gestation. We found that prenatal hypoxic mice exhibited a remarkable deficit in spatial learning and memory and a significant decrease in synapses. We also documented a significantly higher level of amyloid precursor protein, lower level of the Aβ-degrading enzyme neprilysin, and increased Aβ accumulation in the brain of prenatal hypoxic mice. Finally, we demonstrated striking neuropathologic changes in prenatal hypoxic AD mice, showing increased phosphorylation of tau, decreased hypoxia-induced factor, and enhanced activation of astrocytes and microglia. These data suggest that although the characteristic features of AD appear later in life, hypoxemia in the prenatal stage may contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease, supporting the notion that environmental factors can trigger or aggravate AD.     

In vivo performance of a sol-gel glass-coated collagen

Synthetic bioactive materials offer possibilities to repair large tissue defects. It is well known that bioactivity, angiogenesis, and inflammation are key events in implant incorporation. Using glass-coated and glass-free collagen as potential bone graft substitutes, we carried out in vitro bioactivity and an in vivo angiogenesis and inflammation studies. The in vitro study showed bioactivity when the glass-coated samples were left in SBF for 5 days. This was confirmed by FTIR results, which presented P--O vibration bands characteristic of hydroxyapatite close to 1060 cm(-1) and 600 cm(-1). The in vivo response was evaluated following subcutaneous implantation of the biomaterial in the mouse dorsa. Angiogenesis, as determined by hemoglobin content extracted from implants 7 and 14 days after implantation, increased progressively in both glass-coated and glass-free collagen implants. However, vascularization was higher in the glass-coated collagen implants 14 days after implantation (mug Hb per mg wet tissue 6.0 +/- 0.3) compared with the glass-free group (1.6 +/- 0.1). The inflammatory process, determined by the levels of myeloperoxidase and N-acetylglucosaminidase, was similar for both implants. This study shows that glass-coated collagen implants hold osteogenic and angiogenic potential and may be used in clinical conditions requiring improvement of these biological processes.