Association between socioeconomic status and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Jiangsu province,China: a population-based study

Background:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common public health problem worldwide. Recent studies have reported that socioeconomic status (SES) is related to the incidence of COPD. This study aimed to investigate the association between SES and COPD among adults in Jiangsu province, China, and to determine the possible direct and indirect effects of SES on the morbidity of COPD.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged 40 years and above between May and December of 2015 in Jiangsu province, China. Participants were selected using a multistage sampling approach. COPD, the outcome variable, was diagnosed by physicians based on spirometry, respiratory symptoms, and risk factors. Education, occupation, and monthly family average income (FAI) were used to separately indicate SES as the explanatory variable. Mixed-effects logistic regression models were introduced to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for examining the SES-COPD relationship. A pathway analysis was conducted to further explore the pulmonary function impairment of patients with different SES.Results:The mean age of the 2421 participants was 56.63 ± 9.62 years. The prevalence of COPD was 11.8% (95% CI: 10.5%–13.1%) among the overall sample population. After adjustment for age, gender, residence, outdoor and indoor air pollution, body weight status, cigarette smoking, and potential study area-level clustering effects, educational attainment was negatively associated with COPD prevalence in men; white collars were at lower risk (OR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.43–0.83) of experiencing COPD than blue collars; compared with those within the lower FAI subgroup, participants in the upper (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.49–0.97) tertiles were less likely to experience COPD. Such negative associations between all these three SES indicators and COPD were significant among men only. Education, FAI, and occupation had direct or indirect effects on pulmonary function including post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity (FEV₁/FVC), FEV₁, FVC, and FEV₁ percentage of predicted. Education, FAI, and occupation had indirect effects on pulmonary function indices of all participants mainly through smoking status, indoor air pollution, and outdoor air pollution. We also found that occupation could affect post-bronchodilator FEV₁/FVC through body mass index.Conclusions:Education, occupation, and FAI had an adverse relationship with COPD prevalence in Jiangsu province, China. SES has both direct and indirect associations with pulmonary function impairment. SES is of great significance for COPD morbidity. It is important that population-based COPD prevention strategies should be tailored for people with different SES.     

Recharacterization of superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis via a subdividing grading method in 236 Chinese patients

Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - Superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis (SLK) is an uncommon and often overlooked chronic ocular surface disease. This retrospective...     

Acute infectious peritonitis caused by Vibrio fluvialis

Vibrio fluvialis is a Gram-negative, oxidase-producing, halophilic bacterium that, as a pathogen, has been implicated mainly as a cause of gastroenteritis. We describe a case of V. fluvialis peritonitis after a traffic accident that is, to our knowledge, the 1st report of non-continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis-related acute peritonitis caused by this organism.     

Effects of haloperidol and risperidone on the expression of heat shock protein 70 in MK-801-treated rat C6 glioma cells

Non-competitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists such as dizocilpine (MK-801) produce schizophrenia-like psychosis in humans and induce the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in rats. The present study examines the effects of antipsychotic drugs, haloperidol and risperidone, on the expression of HSP70 produced by MK-801 in rat C6 glioma cells. After pretreating with haloperidol and risperidone for 1 h, 6 h, 24 h and 72 h, respectively, C6 glioma cells were cultivated again in MK-801 for 6 h, and then, the extent of HSP70 expression was measured by immunoblotting using anti-HSP70 monoclonal antibody. The expression of HSP70 induced by MK-801 significantly decreased as the duration of haloperidol pretreatment was extended (p = 0.002). Risperidone also increasingly attenuated the expression of HSP70 produced by MK-801 as the duration of pretreatment grew longer (p = 0.003). The present findings show that haloperidol and risperidone decrease the HSP70 expression in MK-801-treated rat C6 glioma cells. These results suggest that HSP70 and NMDA receptors may play a significant role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.     

Decreased nicotinic receptors and cognitive deficit in rats intracerebroventricularly injected with beta-amyloid peptide(1-42) and fed a high-cholesterol diet

To investigate whether the changes in nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) and in learning and memory associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are influenced by both beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta) and cholesterol in vivo, we examined the effects of intracerebroventricular injection of Abeta(1-42) and/or a high-cholesterol diet on brain levels of nAChRs and learning and memory in rats. The levels of nAChR subunit proteins and the corresponding mRNA were measured by Western blotting and RT-PCR, respectively; and learning and memory were evaluated with the Morris Water Maze examination. Injection of Abeta(1-42) resulted in deposition of this peptide, activation of astrocytes, decreased levels of the alpha7 and alpha4 protein subunits of the nAChR, and elevated expression of alpha7 mRNA, as well as impaired learning and spatial memory. A high-cholesterol diet activated astrocytes and, more importantly, potentiated the toxic effects of Abeta on nAChR subunit levels and on learning and memory. These findings may be highly relevant to the mechanisms underlying the cognitive deficits associated with AD.     

Hemiarthroplasty of the hip for fracture-what is the appropriate sized femoral head?

INTRODUCTION: Caliper measurement of the excised femoral head is a standard technique for determination of prosthetic head size during hemiarthroplasty for displaced femoral neck fractures. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the accuracy of the caliper method of hemiarthroplasty head sizing by comparing it to the native joint congruency (JC) at the weight bearing surface. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The diameters of femoral heads in 10 cadaver hip joints were measured by using a caliper at the head equator. Cast moulds were prepared from both the acetabulum and the femoral head in each joint. Every mould's exact spherical diameter at the weight bearing region was measured by a computerised coordinate measuring machine (MNC B231 MITUTOYO). All specimens were coded to ensure that future examination was carried out in a blind manner. Native JC mismatch was determined by subtracting the diameter of the femoral cement mould from that of the acetabular one. Similarly, JC mismatch was calculated for the caliper measurements. RESULTS: The average native JC mismatch (0.36+/-0.29mm, range 0.03-0.82mm, median 0.29mm) was found significantly smaller (p=0.03) than following caliper measurements (0.72+/-0.37mm, range 0.37-1.46mm, median 0.6mm). Routine caliper measured downward size rounding enhanced (p=0.004) this mismatch (0.98+/-0.44mm, range 0.37-1.96mm, median 1.01mm), while upward rounding (0.48+/-0.46mm, range -0.06 to 1.15mm, median 0.41mm) helped mitigate this tendency. CONCLUSIONS: Caliper measurements tend to undersize the actual sphere diameter of the femoral head at the weight bearing region. Upward rounded prosthesis should be selected in order to compensate for this propensity.     

The current status of locked plating: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Locked plate technology has evolved in an effort to overcome the limitations associated with conventional plating methods, primarily for improving fixation in osteopenic bone. The development of screw torque and plate-bone interface friction is unnecessary with locked plate designs, significantly decreasing the amount of soft tissue dissection required for implantation, preserving the periosteal blood supply, and facilitating the use of minimally invasive percutaneous bridging fixation techniques. The locked plate is a fixed-angle device because angular motion does not occur at the plate screw interface. The use of locked plate technology allows the orthopaedic surgeon to manage fractures with indirect reduction techniques while providing stable fracture fixation. The secure 'feel' of locked plates, ease of application, and the low incidence of complications noted in early clinical reports have contributed to the proliferation of this technology. Along with reports of clinical successes, as the use of fixed angle/locked plates has increased, clinical failures are being noticed. This review will focus on the biomechanics of locked plate technology, appropriate indications for its use, laboratory and clinical comparisons to conventional plating techniques, and potential mechanisms of locked plate failure that have been observed.     

前交叉韧带重建术后骨隧道扩大的产生及转归的MRI随访结果

目的 观察前交叉韧带重建术后骨隧道扩大的发生及随时间的演变。方法 对58例（58膝）接受自体胭绳肌腱移植、挤压螺钉固定的前交叉韧带重建病例进行了2年随访。于术后1、3、6、12和24个月分别进行患肢MRI检查,测量矢状位股骨隧道和胫骨隧道的宽度并与术后1个月数值进行比较,增宽≥2mm为隧道扩大。记录骨隧道扩大出现的时间及不同时间段隧道宽度的改变。结果9膝（15．5％）出现股骨隧道扩大,12膝（20．7％）出现胫骨隧道扩大。2膝术后3个月内出现扩大,16膝3～6个月出现扩大,3膝6～12个月出现扩大。隧道扩大的病例术后1、3个月隧道宽度比较差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）,术后6、12、24个月隧道宽度大于1、3个月（P〈0．05）,而6、12和24个月之间隧道宽度比较差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。结论 前交叉韧带重建术后骨隧道扩大主要出现于术后3～6个月之间,并在术后12～24个月保持稳定。