Prenatal diagnosis of complete atrioventricular septal defect with truncus arteriosus

Truncus arteriosus (TA) is a rare cardiac anomaly constituting less than 1% of all congenital heart defects. Its association with complete atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) is extremely unusual and only 12 cases diagnosed postnatally or postmortem have been reported so far. We describe the first case of truncus arteriosus with AVSD to be diagnosed prenatally by fetal echocardiography. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An integrative analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression in the brains of Alzheimer's disease transgenic mice after real-world PM2.5 exposure

Fine particulatematter (PM2.5) is associated with increased risks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD),yet the toxicologicalmechanisms of PM2.5 promoting AD remain unclear. In this study,wildtype and APP/PS1 transgenic mice (AD mice) were exposed to either filtered air (FA) or PM2.5 for eight weeks with a real-world exposure system in Taiyuan, China (mean PM2.5 concentration in the cage was 61 μg/m3). We found that PM2.5 exposure could remarkably aggravate AD mice’s ethological and brain ultrastructural damage, along with the elevation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α), Aβ-42 and AChE levels and the decline of ChAT levels in the brains. Based on high-throughput sequencing results, some differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and DE miRNAs in the brains of AD mice after PM2.5 exposure were screened.Using RT-qPCR, seven DEmiRNAs (mmu-miR-193b-5p, 122b-5p, 466h-3p, 10b-5p, 1895, 384–5p, and 6412) and six genes (Pcdhgb8, Unc13b, Robo3, Prph, Pter, and Tbata) were evidenced the and verified. Two miRNA-target gene pairs (miR-125b-Pcdhgb8 pair and miR-466h-3p-IL-17Rα/TGF-βR2/Aβ-42/AChE pairs) were demonstrated that they were more related to PM2.5-induced brain injury. Results of Gene Ontology (GO) pathways and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways predicted that synaptic and postsynaptic regulation, axon guidance, Wnt, MAPK, and mTOR pathways might be the possible regulatory mechanisms associated with pathological response. These revealed that PM2.5- elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and PM2.5-altered neurotransmitter levels in AD mice could be the important causes of brain damage and proposed the promising miRNA andmRNA biomarkers and potentialmiRNA-mRNA interaction networks of PM2.5-promoted AD.     

秦皇岛市空气污染对呼吸系统疾病的影响

通过分析秦皇岛市2011—2012年每日的API值及大气PM10、 SO2、 NO2的日平均浓度变化与同时期的呼吸系统疾病日门诊人数资料,建立了时间序列分析数学模型,分析了秦皇岛市主要大气污染物与呼吸系统疾病发病的关系。发现秦皇岛市大气污染物的浓度与居民呼吸系统疾病之间存在着一定的正相关性,污染物浓度升高,居民呼吸系统疾病的就诊人数随之增加。     

自吸过滤式呼吸器对人体主观舒适度的影响

测定了在中等（100W）和高等（155W）劳动强度下，8名受试者佩戴5种自吸过滤式呼吸器（呼吸阻力及死腔不同）从事踏车运动时的主观舒适度。结果表明：随着呼吸负荷增大，受试者的主观不适度显著增强；在中等运动负荷条件下，高温环境中人员对呼吸负荷主观不适度的反应更加明显；在高运动负荷条件下，常温环境人员对呼吸负荷主观不适度的反应更加明显。     

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital Chagas' disease (American trypanosomiasis)

The prenatal diagnosis of congenital transmission of Chagas' disease in a pregnant woman with the indeterminate form of the disease is reported. Sonography revealed fetal hydrops at 31 weeks' gestation. Anti-Trypanosoma cruzi IgM and IgG antibodies were negative in the fetal blood sampled by cordocentesis, but T. cruzi trypomastigotes were found in its buffy coat. Owing to anemia, in utero exchange transfusion was undertaken, but fetal demise ensued. Labor was induced and a stillborn infant weighing 2030 g was delivered. The pathological examination revealed placentitis and meningoencephalitis, myocarditis and splenitis in the stillborn fetus. Amastigotes were found in the myocardium, brain and placenta. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.