Prevalence and severity of asthma and allergies in schoolchildren in Lhasa, Tibet

BACKGROUND: The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) demonstrated that large variations existed in the prevalence of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema throughout the world and that environmental factors and lifestyle customs are major determinants of the prevalence and severity of these diseases. However, the relevant data about children living at high-altitude locations were considered to be underreported. OBJECTIVE: The ISAAC Phase III programme was carried out in Lhasa, the Tibetan Autonomous Region in China, at an elevation of 3658 m above sea level to examine the occurrence of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema in schoolchildren aged 13-14 years. METHODS: All 3196 schoolchildren in eight public junior high schools in urban Lhasa who were confirmed to be 13-14 years old were invited and participated in both written and video questionnaire investigations, among which 3190 pieces of data (49.8% of boys and 50.2% of girls) were validated and analysed. RESULTS: Among the overall observations, the prevalence of 'having ever experienced wheezing', 'current wheezing' and 'diagnosed to have asthma' was 1.4%, 0.8% and 1.1%, respectively. The prevalence of current exercise-induced asthma and current nocturnal cough was 7.1% and 4.6%, respectively. The current prevalence of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema was 5.2% and 0.4%, respectively. In addition, the prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms during the past 12 months showed no discernable differences throughout the year. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema over the past 12 months was the lowest among the centres, that performed ISAAC worldwide.     

The Dietary Habits of Non-asthmatic Schoolchildren in Lhasa,Tibet

The occurrence of asthma symptoms and food consumption frequencies in 13- to 14-year-old schoolchildren was investigated in Lhasa, Tibet (3,658 meters above sea level). A total of 99.2% of the schoolchildren reported that they had not experienced any wheezing during the prior 12 months. Among these students, more than 50% had consumed rice, meat, fruits, and vegetables at least three times per week in the preceding year. More than 70% of the non-asthmatic students rarely consumed margarine; 50% of these students rarely ate fast food; and 40% only occasionally ate fish during the prior 12 months. The dietary habits of the schoolchildren in Lhasa may have some potential beneficial roles in contributing to the low prevalence of asthma in this high altitude region.     

Some fetal and pregnancy parameters in Nepal

In Patan Hospital, Kathmandu, 4600 single live births were analysed concerning birth weight in relation to gestational age. At term, the median birth weight of females was 2900 g and of males 3010 g. Compared with Norwegian newborns, the birthweights of Nepali babies were lower for all corresponding gestational lengths. The differences increased with gestational age. Fundal height was lower in Nepali than in Norwegian pregnant women for all periods of pregnancy. An increase in the differences between Norwegian and Nepali women was also noted. Hematocrit values of Nepali women who did not take supplementary iron, correspond well to findings in Norwegian women without iron supplementation. Only a slight degree of hemoconcentration was noted towards term. For Norwegian women with iron supplementation the hematocrit values were much higher, with a tendency towards hemoconcentration near term. In Nepal the average woman probably has small iron stores, and without iron supplementation the hematocrit values will remain low throughout the pregnancy. The high altitude does not seem to cause hemoconcentration in pregnancy to a greater extent than at lower altitude. Hemoconcentration is therefore not a major causative factor of the lower birth weights.     

健康教育对西藏癌症患者生活质量的改善

健康教育能够最大限度地缓解癌症患者的心理压力,提高患者的生活质量[1].在西藏由于受传统观念的影响,对癌症患者进行健康教育的研究较滞后,本文对此进行了调查.     

Preparative separation of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibitors originating from Saxifraga sinomontana employing medium-pressure liquid chromatography in combination with reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Traditional Tibetan medicines elaborately document the health benefits of Saxifraga sinomontana. However, there have been limited reports on its chemical make-up, presumably because of the complicated separation and purification process. In this work, a methanolic extract of Saxifraga sinomontana was utilized for targeted separation of 4 key 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibitors employing the medium-pressure liquid chromatography, reversed-phase liquid chromatography in combination with on-line reversed-phase liquid chromatography-1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl detection. Pre-treatment of the sample was carried out by employing medium-pressure liquid chromatography using MCI GEL® CHP20P as the stationary phase, furnishing 2.4 g of fraction Fr3 and 3.4 g of fraction Fr4 (the percentage retrieval was 32.7%). The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibitors contained in fractions Fr3 and Fr4 were subjected to additional separation using a C18 (ReproSil-Pur C18 AQ) column and yielded 106.2 mg of Fr3-1, 246.9 mg of Fr3-2, 248.5 mg of Fr4-1 and 41.8 mg of Fr4-2. The degree of purity, structures and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibition activity of the isolated DPPH inhibitors were determined, and four 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibitors including two new diarylnonanoids (3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenol-(6′-O-galloyl)-1-O-β-d-glucopyrano side with IC₅₀ of 39.6 μM, 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-(6′-O-galloyl)-1-O-β-d-glucopyranoside with IC₅₀ of 46.9 μM, saximonsin A with IC₅₀ of 11.4 μM, and saximonsin B with IC₅₀ of 20.6 μM) were isolated with a percentage purity above 95%. The methodology thus evolved has good efficacy for preparatively isolating high-purity 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibitors from extracts of Saxifraga sinomontana and could be efficiently utilized for rapidly isolating 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibitors from other natural products.

Preparative separation of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibitors originating from Saxifraga sinomontana employing medium-pressure liquid chromatography in combination with reversed-phase liquid chromatography.     

The Na<Superscript>+</Superscript>/Cl<Superscript>−</Superscript>-Coupled,Broad-Specific,Amino Acid Transporter SLC6A14 (ATB<Superscript>0,+</Superscript>): Emerging Roles in Multiple Diseases and Therapeutic Potential for Treatment and Diagnosis

Amino acids are essential building blocks of all mammalian cells, and amino acid transporters play a vital role in transporting them into cells and their further distribution among the various cellular compartments. There are ~?430 known transporters in the solute-linked carrier (SLC) gene family, divided into 52 distinct families. Eleven of these gene families contain one or more amino acid transporters. These transporters differ significantly from each other in terms of substrate specificity, ion dependence, and energetics. Given the variety of roles they fulfill in human physiology, it is not surprising that a number of diseases are associated with the malfunction of these transporters. In particular, as amino acids are critical for cell growth, survival, and proliferation, the role of amino acid transporters in cancer is gaining increasing attention in recent years. The present review primarily focuses on one particular amino acid transporter, SLC6A14 (also known as ATB^0,+), with regard to its relevance to specific diseases, including cancer, and the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease-related alterations in the expression of the transporter. Furthermore, the review highlights the possible utility of this transporter in drug delivery and also its therapeutic potential for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer.     

The Dietary Habits of Non-asthmatic Schoolchildren in Lhasa, Tibet

The occurrence of asthma symptoms and food consumption frequencies in 13- to 14-year-old schoolchildren was investigated in Lhasa, Tibet (3,658 meters above sea level). A total of 99.2% of the schoolchildren reported that they had not experienced any wheezing during the prior 12 months. Among these students, more than 50% had consumed rice, meat, fruits, and vegetables at least three times per week in the preceding year. More than 70% of the non-asthmatic students rarely consumed margarine; 50% of these students rarely ate fast food; and 40% only occasionally ate fish during the prior 12 months. The dietary habits of the schoolchildren in Lhasa may have some potential beneficial roles in contributing to the low prevalence of asthma in this high altitude region.