Choline and betaine intake and colorectal cancer risk in Chinese population: a case-control study.

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Min-Shan Lu

Full Text Available Few studies have examined the association of choline and betaine intake with colorectal cancer risk, although they might play an important role in colorectal cancer development because of their role as methyl donors. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between consumption of choline and betaine and colorectal cancer risk in a Chinese population.A case-control study was conducted between July 2010 and December 2013 in Guangzhou, China. Eight hundred and ninety consecutively recruited colorectal cancer cases were frequency matched to 890 controls by age (5-year interval and sex. Dietary information was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire by face-to-face interviews. The logistic regression model was used to estimate multivariate odds ratios (ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs. Total choline intake was inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk after adjustment for various lifestyle and dietary factors. The multivariate-adjusted OR was 0.54 (95%CI = 0.37-0.80, Ptrend <0.01 comparing the highest with the lowest quartile. No significant associations were observed for betaine or total choline+betaine intakes. For choline-containing compounds, lower colorectal cancer risk was associated with higher intakes of choline from phosphatidylcholine, glycerophosphocholine and sphingomyelin but not for free choline and phosphocholine. The inverse association of total choline intake with colorectal cancer risk was observed in both men and women, colon and rectal cancer. These inverse associations were not modified by folate intake.These results indicate that high intake of total choline is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer.

IκBα polymorphisms were associated with increased risk of gastric cancer in a southern Chinese population: a case-control study.

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Wang, Shiyan; Zhang, Mingdong; Zeng, Zhirong; Tian, Linwei; Wu, Kaichun; Chu, Jianhong; Fan, Daiming; Hu, Pinjin; Sung, Joseph J Y; Yu, Jun

2011-04-25

Nuclear factor-kappa B inhibitor alpha (IκBα) polymorphisms were found to be associated with inflammatory diseases. However, the association between IκBα polymorphisms with gastric cancer is still unknown. We aim to investigate the association between IκBα polymorphisms and gastric cancer risk in a large population-based case-control study among southern Chinese. A population-based case-control study was conducted between 1999 and 2006 in Guangdong Province, China. A total of 1010 gastric cancer patients and 1500 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. IκBα polymorphisms were identified by sequencing of IκBα gene ranging from the 2kb promoter region to the 3.5kb genomic region. Polymorphisms in IκBα were analyzed by TaqMan SNP genotyping assay. rs17103265 deletion homozygote (-/-) had significantly increased gastric cancer risk (OR=2.11, 95% CI=1.17-3.83, P=0.01), compared with rs17103265 T homozygote (TT). rs17103265 (-/-) genotype was significantly associated with increased risk of intestinal-type gastric cancer with (OR=2.21, 95% CI=1.19-4.08, P=0.01), but not with the diffuse or mix type of gastric cancer. rs17103265 (-/-) was associated with poorly differentiated gastric cancer (OR=2.05, 95% CI=1.07-3.94, P=0.03), but not with moderately or well differentiated gastric cancer. A significant decrease in luciferase activity was observed in rs17103265 deletion allele as compared with the vector containing the rs17103265 T allele (P<0.0001). rs17103265 polymorphism was not associated with the prognosis of gastric cancer patients. IκBα rs17103265 deletion homozygote is a novel genetic risk factor for gastric carcinogenesis, especially for the development of certain subtypes of gastric cancer in southern Chinese population. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Polymorphisms in CARS are associated with gastric cancer risk: a two-stage case-control study in the Chinese population.

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Tian, Tian; Xiao, Ling; Du, Jiangbo; Zhu, Xun; Gu, Yayun; Qin, Na; Yan, Caiwang; Liu, Li; Ma, Hongxia; Jiang, Yue; Chen, Jiaping; Yu, Hao; Dai, Juncheng

2017-11-01

The cysteinyl transfer RNA synthetase gene (CARS) is located on chromosome band 11p15.5, which is an important tumor-suppressor gene region. Mutations in CARS have been identified in many kinds of cancers; however, evidence for a relationship between genetic variants in CARS and gastric cancer at the population level is still lacking. Thus, we explored the association of variants in CARS with gastric cancer using a two-stage case-control strategy in Chinese. We undertook a two-stage case-control study to investigate the association between polymorphisms in CARS and risk of gastric cancer with use of an Illumina Infinium ® BeadChip and an ABI 7900 system. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were significantly associated with gastric cancer risk in both the discovery stage and the validation stage after adjustment for age and sex. In addition, the combined results of the two stages showed these SNPs were related to gastric cancer risk (P false discovery rate  ≤ 0.001 for rs384,490, rs729662, rs2071101, and rs7394702). In silico analyses revealed that rs384490 and rs7394702 could affect transcription factor response elements or DNA methylation of CARS, and rs729662 was associated with the prognosis of gastric cancer. Additionally, expression quantitative trait loci analysis showed rs384490 and rs729662 might alter expression of CARS-related genes. The potential functional SNPs in CARS might influence the biological functions of CARS or CARS-related genes and ultimately modify the occurrence and development of gastric cancer in Chinese. Further large-scale population-based studies or biological functional assays are warranted to validate our findings.

A Case Study of Inter-sentence Conjunctions in Chinese_English Legal Parallel Texts

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Yan Xi

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The present study is a contrastive study of inter-sentence conjunctions in Chinese/English legal parallel texts. Conjunction is one of the five cohesive devices put forward by Halliday and Hasan (1976. Many scholars have applied their model of cohesion to the study of English and Chinese languages. As for the use of conjunction in Chinese and English, most scholars believe that there are more cases of conjunction in the English legal texts than in the Chinese ones because it is generally considered that Chinese is predominantly paratactic and English mainly hypotactic. Besides, up to now little detailed contrastive study has been done on conjunctions in Chinese/English non-literary texts. Legal language is a specialized language whose distinctive feature is the pursuit of precision. As a result of the importance attached to the letter of law and the pursuit of precision in legal texts, most studies on legal language are devoted to the characteristic features of legal language at the word and sentence level, to the exclusion of textual and pragmatic considerations. The present study will mainly look at the features of legal texts from the perspective of conjunction at the textual level and find out whether Chinese uses fewer cases of conjunction than English in legal texts. The Chinese and English legal parallel texts about arbitration rules will be used for this contrastive analysis. It is hoped that the findings of this research will test the explanatory force of hypotaxis and parataxis in the use of conjunction in legal texts and give a clearer picture of conjunction at the textual level in Chinese and English legal parallel texts, and therefore reconstruct the discourse on the Chinese language.

Chinese taukeh, labourer, and state control Case study of panglong in eastern region of Sumatra (1890-1930

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Erwiza Erman

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Recently the flow of labour from China to Indonesia has fuelled many discussions but is not a new phenomenon. It can be traced back to the eighteenth century and continued until the twentieth century. In colonial Indonesia, the Chinese labour force was recruited to work in the economic sectors of mining, plantations, fisheries and forestry. Unfortunately, previous studies about Chinese society in Indonesia more focused on economic and political elites rather than the social history of the Chinese contract coolies. This article attempts to look at the labour history of the Chinese coolie in the forest exploitation companies, known as panglong. By focusing on the ways in which they were treated in the recruitment process and workplace, this article shows that changes for the better did take place in the appalling working conditions of the labourers. Until the second decade of the twentieth century, recruitment, food, and health care were rife with manipulations, exacerbated by arduous working conditions and insecurity in the workplace, abuse of power by mandors and forms of non-economic coercion like the use of opium. All these factors were meant to ensure that the Chinese contract labourers could not break loose from their indentures, a modern form of slavery. Hampered by budgetary restrictions, lack of personnel, and marine transport facilities, the state colonial officials were hamstrung. But in the second decade of twentieth century, when the abysmal working conditions of the Chinese coolies were debated on a higher level by politicians and bureauracts state control was tightened. More effectual control by the state had a positive effect on improving of the working and living conditions.

Higher freshwater fish and sea fish intake is inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk among Chinese population: a case-control study.

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Xu, Ming; Fang, Yu-Jing; Chen, Yu-Ming; Lu, Min-Shan; Pan, Zhi-Zhong; Yan, Bo; Zhong, Xiao; Zhang, Cai-Xia

2015-08-12

The association between specific fish intake and colorectal cancer risk remains controversial. This study aimed to examine the association between specific fish intake and colorectal cancer risk in Chinese population in a large case control study. During July 2010 to November 2014, 1189 eligible colorectal cancer cases and 1189 frequency-matched controls (age and sex) completed in-person interviews. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate dietary intake. Multivariate logistical regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) after adjusting for various confounders. A strong inverse association was found between freshwater fish intake and colorectal cancer risk. Compared with the lowest quartile, the highest quartile intake showed a risk reduction of 53% (OR 0.47, 95% CI = 0.36-0.60, Ptrend colorectal cancer risk. These results indicate that higher consumption of freshwater fish, sea fish and fresh fish is associated with a lower risk of colorectal caner.

Mitochondrial DNA copy number in peripheral blood cell and hypertension risk among mining workers: a case-control study in Chinese coal miners.

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Lei, L; Guo, J; Shi, X; Zhang, G; Kang, H; Sun, C; Huang, J; Wang, T

2017-09-01

Alteration of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number, which reflects oxidant-induced cell damage, has been observed in a wide range of human diseases. However, whether it correlates with hypertension has not been elucidated. We aimed to explore the association between mtDNA copy number and the risk of hypertension in Chinese coal miners. A case-control study was performed with 378 hypertension patients and 325 healthy controls in a large coal mining group located in North China. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by trained staffs with necessary medical knowledge. The mtDNA copy number was measured by a quantitative real-time PCR assay using DNA extracted from peripheral blood. No significant differences in mtDNA copy number were observed between hypertension patients and healthy controls. However, in both case and control groups, the mtDNA copy number was statistically significantly lower in the elder population (≥45 years old) compared with the younger subjects (associated with hypertension in coal miners.

Greater intake of fruit and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic hip fractures in elderly Chinese: a 1:1 matched case-control study.

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Xie, H-L; Wu, B-H; Xue, W-Q; He, M-G; Fan, F; Ouyang, W-F; Tu, S-L; Zhu, H-L; Chen, Y-M

2013-11-01

In this case-control study, we examined the relationship between the consumption of fruit and vegetables and risk of hip fractures in 646 pairs of incident cases and controls in elderly Chinese. We found that greater consumption of both fruit and vegetables in men and vegetables in women was associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic hip fractures in elderly Chinese. The association between fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of osteoporotic fractures remains controversial due to limited published evidence. The purpose of this study was to determine whether consuming fruits and vegetables has a protective effect against hip fractures. Between January 2008 and December 2012, 646 (162 males, 484 females) incident cases (70.9 ± 6.8 years) of hip fractures were enrolled from five hospitals, with 646 sex- and age-matched (±3 years) controls (70.7 ± 6.8 years) from hospitals or the community. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to assess habitual dietary intakes using a 79-item food frequency questionnaire and various covariates by structured questionnaires. Multivariate conditional logistic regression analyses showed dose-dependent inverse correlations between the intake of total fruit (p-trend = 0.014), total vegetables (p-trend fruits and vegetables combined (p-trend fruits, vegetables and the combination of fruits and vegetables were 0.53 (0.32-0.87), 0.37 (0.23-0.60) and 0.25 (0.15-0.41), respectively. Stratified analyses showed that the benefits remained significant in males (p = 0.001) but not in females (p = 0.210) (p-interaction 0.045). Among the subcategories of fruits and vegetables, similar associations were observed for all subgroups except light-coloured fruits. Our findings suggest that greater consumption of both fruits and vegetables in men and vegetables in women may decrease the risk of osteoporotic hip fractures in elderly Chinese.

The association of dietary pattern and breast cancer in Jiangsu, China: A population-based case-control study

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Lu, S.; Qian, Y.; Huang, X.; Yu, H.; Yang, J.; Han, R.; Su, J.; Du, W.; Zhou, J; Dong, M.; Yu, X.; Duijnhoven, F.; Kampman, E.; Wu, M.

2017-01-01

This study aims to examine the association of breast cancer with dietary patterns among Chinese women. A population-based case-control study was conducted in Jiangsu, China. Newly diagnosed primary breast cancer patients were recruited as cases (n = 818). Controls (n = 935), selected from the

Associations of common polymorphisms in GCKR with type 2 diabetes and related traits in a Han Chinese population: a case-control study

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Lu Daru

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Several studies have shown that variants in the glucokinase regulatory protein gene (GCKR were associated with type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia. The purpose of this study was to examine whether tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in the GCKR region were associated with type 2 diabetes and related traits in a Han Chinese population and to identify the potential mechanisms underlying these associations. Methods We investigated the association of polymorphisms in the GCKR gene with type 2 diabetes by employing a case-control study design (1118 cases and 1161 controls. Four tag SNPs (rs8179206, rs2293572, rs3817588 and rs780094 with pairwise r2 > 0.8 and minor allele frequency > 0.05 across the GCKR gene and its flanking regions were studied and haplotypes were constructed. Genotyping was performed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy using a MassARRAY platform. Results The G alleles of GCKR rs3817588 and rs780094 were associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes after adjustment for year of birth, sex and BMI (OR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.08-1.43, p = 0.002 and OR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.07-1.38, p = 0.002, respectively. In the non-diabetic controls, the GG carriers of rs3817588 and rs780094 were nominally associated with a lower plasma triglyceride level compared to the AA carriers after adjustment for year of birth, sex and BMI (p for trend = 0.00004 and 0.03, respectively. Furthermore, the association of rs3817588 with plasma triglyceride level was still significant after correcting for multiple testing. Conclusions The rs3817588 A/G polymorphism of the GCKR gene was associated with type 2 diabetes and plasma triglyceride level in the Han Chinese population.

Common variants of ROCKs and the risk of hypertension, and stroke: Two case-control studies and a follow-up study in Chinese Han population.

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Yang, Song; Zhao, Yanping; Tian, Yuanrui; Chen, Yanchun; Zhao, Xianghai; Li, Ying; Zhao, Hailong; Chen, Xiaotian; Zhu, Lijun; Fang, Zhengmei; Yao, YingShui; Hu, Zhibing; Shen, Chong

2018-03-01

The Rho kinases (ROCKs) are recognized as a critical regulator of vascular functions in cardiovascular disorders. It is crucial to illustrate the association of ROCKs genetic variation and hypertension and/or stroke events. Herein we aimed at investigating the association of ROCK1 and ROCK2 with hypertension and stroke in Chinese Han population. Seven tagSNPs at ROCK1 and ROCK2 were genotyped in a community-based case-control study consisting of 2012 hypertension cases and 2210 normotensive controls and 4128 subjects were further followed up. In stroke case-control study, 1471 ischemic stroke (IS) inpatients and 607 hemorrhagic stroke (HS) inpatients were collected, and 2443 age-matched controls were selected from the follow-up population. Risks were estimated as odds ratio (OR) and hazard ratio (HR) by logistic and Cox regression. The community-based case-control study didn't identify any significant tagSNPs associated with hypertension even after adjustment for covariates. The follow-up analysis showed that rs1481280 of ROCK1 significantly associated with incident hypertension (HR=1.130, P=0.048) after adjusting for covariates. rs7589629 and rs978906 of ROCK2 were significantly associated with incident IS (HR=1.373, P=0.004; HR=1.284, P=0.026) respectively. In stroke case-control study, rs288980, rs1481280 and rs7237677 were significantly associated with IS and the adjusted ORs (P values) of additive model were 0.879 (0.010), 0.895 (0.036) and 0.857 (0.002) respectively. Furthermore, rs288980, rs7237677 and rs978906 were significantly associated with HS and the adjusted ORs (P values) of additive model were 0.857 (0.025), 0.848 (0.018) and 0.856 (0.027) respectively. Our findings suggest that ROCK1 and ROCK2 contribute to the genetic susceptibility of hypertension and stroke. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Learning through Working: A Case Study of Chinese College Students in South Korea

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Cha, Minyoung; Chang, Wonsup

2009-01-01

This qualitative case study was designed to provide an understanding of the work experience of Chinese college students in South Korea. A growing number of Chinese students are coming to South Korea for college education, and their aspirations for better work materialize into work experiences in South Korean businesses. In-depth interviews were…

Associations between antioxidant vitamins and the risk of invasive cervical cancer in Chinese women: A case-control study.

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Guo, Liyuan; Zhu, Hong; Lin, Chengjun; Che, Jianhua; Tian, Xiujuan; Han, Shiyu; Zhao, Honghui; Zhu, Yumei; Mao, Dongwei

2015-09-04

Previous studies on the associations between dietary antioxidant vitamins and the risk of cervical cancer remain inconsistent, and little evidence is available for serum antioxidant vitamins, which provide more accurate measurements of these nutrients. We conducted a case-control study of 458 incident cases with invasive cervical cancer and 742 controls to assess the effects of diet or serum antioxidant vitamins. Higher serum antioxidant vitamins were associated with a lower risk of cervical cancer after adjusting for potential confounders. The odds ratios (ORs) for the highest (vs. lowest) quartile were 0.66 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.46-0.93; P = 0.024) for α-carotene, 0.63 (95% CI = 0.45-0.90; P = 0.006) for β-carotene, 0.53 (95% CI = 0.37-0.74; P vitamin E, and 0.48 (95% CI = 0.33-0.69; P vitamin C. Dietary intakes of vitamins E and C were inversely associated with the risk of cervical cancer. Risk of cervical cancer from serum antioxidant vitamins was more evident in passive smokers than non-passive smokers. These findings indicated that antioxidant vitamins (mainly α-carotene, β-carotene, and vitamins E and C) might be beneficial in reducing the risk of invasive cervical cancer in Chinese women, especially in passive smokers.

Neck circumference might predict gestational diabetes mellitus in Han Chinese women: A nested case-control study.

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He, Fang; He, Hua; Liu, Wenqi; Lin, Junyu; Chen, Bingjun; Lin, Yucong; Zhao, Yitao; Tao, Wen; Xia, Xuefeng

2017-03-01

A large neck circumference might be an indicator of metabolic syndrome and its components, and for certain patients is more practical as an index than waist circumference. The demarcation value for neck circumference that suggests metabolic syndrome appears to vary by ethnic group. Gestational diabetes mellitus is considered a component of metabolic syndrome in pregnant women. We investigated whether neck circumference in Han Chinese women is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus in early pregnancy, and determined a predictive demarcation value. A nested case-control study was carried out with 255 women aged 18-35 years. Gestational diabetes mellitus was diagnosed according to the criteria of the American Diabetes Association through a 2-h, 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. Of the total population, 41 (16%) women developed gestational diabetes mellitus by 24-28 weeks of gestation. Neck circumference at gestational week 16 positively correlated with pre-pregnancy waist circumference, bodyweight and body mass index, and maternal age (P = 0.029) and hemoglobin A1c at gestational week 24 (P ≤ 0.001). By binary logistic regression, neck circumference was an independent predictor of gestational diabetes mellitus (odds ratio 1.840, 95% confidence interval 1.040-3.254; P = 0.036). According to the receiver operating characteristic curve, for predicting gestational diabetes mellitus the optimal demarcation for neck circumference at gestational week 16 was 35.15 cm. Neck circumference is a viable tool to screen for gestational diabetes mellitus. In this population of pregnant Han Chinese women, a neck circumference of ≥35.15 cm was a predictor of gestational diabetes mellitus. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Diabetes Investigation published by Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD) and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Environmental and psycho-social factors related to prostate cancer risk in the Chinese population: a case-control study.

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Li, Mei Ling; Lin, Ji; Hou, Jian Guo; Xu, Lei; Cui, Xin Gang; Xu, Xing Xing; Yu, Yong Wei; Han, Xue; Wang, Guo Min; Guo, Jian Ming; Xu, Dan Feng; Thompson, Timothy C; Cao, Guang Wen; Zhang, Hong Wei

2014-09-01

To study the risk environmental and psycho-social factors associated to prostate cancer (PCa) in Chinese population. 250 PCa patients and 500 controls were enrolled in this case-control study. Information was collected and logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for relationship between lifestyle, eating habits and psycho-social factors with PCa risk. Green vegetables and green tea were associated with a decreased risk of PCa (OR=0.39, 95% CI: 0.28-0.53; OR=0.59, 95% CI: 0.40-0.87, respectively). Family history of PCa (OR=7.16, 95% CI: 2.01-25.49), history of prostate diseases (OR=2.28, 95% CI: 1.53-3.41), alcohol consumption (OR=1.97, 95% CI: 1.33-2.90), red meat consumption (OR=1.74, 95% CI: 1.20-2.52), barbecued (OR=2.29, 95% CI: 1.11-4.73) or fried (OR=2.35, 95% CI: 1.24-4.43) foods were related with increased PCa risk. Negative psycho-social factors including occupational setbacks (OR=1.61, 95% CI: 1.00-2.59), marital separation (OR=1.94, 95% CI: 1.29-2.91), self-contained suffering (OR=2.37, 95% CI: 1.58-3.55), and high sensitivity to the personal comments (OR=1.73, 95% CI: 1.18-2.54) were related to PCa. Regular consumption of green vegetables and green tea may suggest protective effects on PCa. Alcohol consumption, red meat consumption and barbecued or fried foods were associated with PCa. Negative psycho-social factors may also play a role in the incidence of PCa in Chinese population. Copyright © 2014 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.

The association of dietary pattern and breast cancer in Jiangsu, China: A population-based case-control study.

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Lu, Shurong; Qian, Yun; Huang, Xingyu; Yu, Hao; Yang, Jie; Han, Renqiang; Su, Jian; Du, Wencong; Zhou, Jinyi; Dong, Meihua; Yu, Xiaojin; Duijnhoven, Fränzel J B van; Kampman, Ellen; Wu, Ming

2017-01-01

This study aims to examine the association of breast cancer with dietary patterns among Chinese women. A population-based case-control study was conducted in Jiangsu, China. Newly diagnosed primary breast cancer patients were recruited as cases (n = 818). Controls (n = 935), selected from the general population, were frequency matched to cases. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake. Dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis and multivariable odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. Four dietary patterns were identified: salty, vegetarian, sweet and traditional Chinese. The traditional Chinese pattern was found to be robustly associated with a lower risk of breast cancer among both pre- and post-menopausal women (4th vs. 1st quartile: OR for pre- and post-menopausal women was 0.47 and 0.68, respectively). Women with high factor scores of the sweet pattern also showed a decreased risk of breast cancer (4th vs. 1st quartile: OR for pre- and post-menopausal women was 0.47 and 0.68, respectively). No marked association was observed between a vegetarian pattern or a salty pattern and breast cancer. These findings indicate that dietary patterns of the traditional Chinese and the sweet may favorably associate with the risk of breast cancer among Chinese women.

Genetic Variations of the COL4A1 Gene and Intracerebral Hemorrhage Risk: A Case-Control Study in a Chinese Han Population.

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Lin, Sen; Xia, Chao; He, Sha; Yang, Jie; Li, Hao; Zheng, Jun; Liu, Ming; You, Chao

2018-04-01

To investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms or haplotypes of the COL4A1 gene and the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We conducted a case-control study that included 181 patients from the Chinese Han population with hypertensive ICH and 197 hypertension patients without ICH. Genomic DNA was extracted by DNA extraction kit, and the 6 single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes of the COL4A1 gene were detected with a MassARRAY Analyzer. Unphased 3.1.4 and SPSS 19.0 were used to analyze the association between alleles, genotypes, and haplotypes of the COL4A1 gene and the risk of ICH. Compared with the control group, patients in the ICH group were significantly younger. There were no differences in gender, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, current smoking, and alcohol consumption between the 2 groups. Our association analysis showed that the rs3742207 A, rs11069830 A, and rs679505 A alleles were association factors of the risks of ICH; rs11069830 AA, rs544012 AC, and rs679505 AA genotypes were association factors of the risk of ICH; AA haplotype (rs3742207-rs11069830) was an association factor of the risk of ICH. After adjusting age and gender by multivariate logistic regression, the rs544012 AC and rs679505 AA genotypes were independently associated with the risk of ICH. Our study showed that the rs544012 AC and rs679505 AA genotypes were independently associated with the risk of ICH in the Chinese Han population and that the AA haplotype (rs3742207-rs11069830) in the COL4A1 gene may be related to the risk of ICH in the Chinese Han population; these conclusions need further confirmation in future studies with larger samples. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Chinese consumers concerns about food safety: Case of Tianjin

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Zhang XiaoYong, Xiaoyong

2005-01-01

The objective of this study is to gain an insight to Chinese consumers' knowledge and concerns over food safety from a case study in Tianjin city. The results indicate that Chinese consumers are very much concerned about food safety, particularly with regard to vegetables and dairy products. Chinese

The association of dietary pattern and breast cancer in Jiangsu, China: A population-based case-control study.

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Shurong Lu

Full Text Available This study aims to examine the association of breast cancer with dietary patterns among Chinese women. A population-based case-control study was conducted in Jiangsu, China. Newly diagnosed primary breast cancer patients were recruited as cases (n = 818. Controls (n = 935, selected from the general population, were frequency matched to cases. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake. Dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis and multivariable odds ratios (OR and 95% confidence intervals (CI were estimated. Four dietary patterns were identified: salty, vegetarian, sweet and traditional Chinese. The traditional Chinese pattern was found to be robustly associated with a lower risk of breast cancer among both pre- and post-menopausal women (4th vs. 1st quartile: OR for pre- and post-menopausal women was 0.47 and 0.68, respectively. Women with high factor scores of the sweet pattern also showed a decreased risk of breast cancer (4th vs. 1st quartile: OR for pre- and post-menopausal women was 0.47 and 0.68, respectively. No marked association was observed between a vegetarian pattern or a salty pattern and breast cancer. These findings indicate that dietary patterns of the traditional Chinese and the sweet may favorably associate with the risk of breast cancer among Chinese women.

Outpatient Medication Use in Chinese Geriatric Patients Admitted for Falls: A Case-Control Study at an Acute Hospital in Hong Kong.

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Lee, Vivian W Y; Leung, Teresa P Y; Lee, Vincent W H

The study objective was to investigate the association of polypharmacy and medications with patient falls resulting in hip fractures among community-living geriatric patients. A case-control study was conducted at an acute public hospital in Hong Kong. The study population was community-living Chinese patients aged 65 years and above who were admitted for falls resulting in hip fractures during an 18-month study period. Each of these patients was matched to a control patient with the same age and sex, but without falls and fractures. Data were collected from electronic patient record. Data of 170 cases and 170 controls were eventually collected. The following variables associated with increased risk of falls resulting in hip fractures remained statistically significant after multivariate logistic regression, including benign prostatic hyperplasia [odds ratio (OR) = 2.654; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.105-6.378; P = 0.029], first-generation antihistamines (OR = 3.176; 95% CI, 1.044-9.664; P = 0.042), antiparkinson medications (OR = 3.754; 95% CI, 1.158-12.169; P = 0.027), osteoporosis (OR = 3.159; 95% CI, 1.167-8.552; P = 0.024), and use of walking aids (OR = 2.543; 95% CI, 1.544-4.188; P risk of falls resulting in hip fractures for local geriatric patients. The findings provided insights into the potential medication-related fall prevention strategies, including clinical medication review, adverse drug event monitoring, and drug optimization.

Evaluating Approaches to Teaching and Learning Chinese Vocabulary from the Learning Theories Perspective: An Experimental Case Study

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Katja SIMONČIČ

2015-06-01

Full Text Available With Chinese language gaining more and more popularity among Slovenian students and with the growing numbers of learners of Chinese as a foreign language in Slovenia and elsewhere it is crucial to find an approach that will lead to high quality and long-term knowledge of Chinese and that will motivate learners to continue learning. We can speak of two basic approaches to teaching Chinese vocabulary: the approach that first introduces pronunciation and the approach that simultaneously introduces pronunciation and character. The key question that arises is which of the two approaches leads to high quality and long-term knowledge? To answer the question an experimental case study was carried out at Ljubljana’s Faculty of Arts in the academic year 2011/2012. The case study showed that the approach that simultaneously introduces pronunciation and character and is based on the key principles of constructivist learning theory had beneficial effects on the students in terms of motivation and quality of knowledge of Chinese vocabulary.

Emotional control in Chinese female cancer survivors.

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Ho, Rainbow T H; Chan, Cecilia L W; Ho, Samuel M Y

2004-11-01

Chinese persons are not known as strong in expressing emotions, especially negative ones. However, being diagnosed with cancer and going through treatment can be an emotionally traumatic experience and cancer patients are supposed to have a stronger need to express these negative feelings. The control of expression of negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and depression in Chinese female cancer survivors (n=139) was examined in the present study using the Chinese version of the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (CECS). The reliability, internal consistency and validity of the Chinese CECS were comparable to the original English scale. Correlation analyses suggested that cancer survivors with higher emotional control tended to have higher stress, anxiety and depression levels and to adopt negative coping with cancer. Regression analysis showed that emotional control would positively predict stress level even after the effect of depressed mood was under control. Further investigations are suggested in order to elucidate the causal relationships and specific cultural factors affecting emotional control in Chinese cancer survivors and, most importantly, its effect on health outcomes. Copyright (c) 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Higher blood 25(OHD level may reduce the breast cancer risk: evidence from a Chinese population based case-control study and meta-analysis of the observational studies.

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Peizhan Chen

Full Text Available Experimental data suggest a protective effect of vitamin D on breast cancer; however, epidemiologic results remain inclusive. With a Chinese population-based case-control study and meta-analysis of the observational studies, we here systematically evaluated the association of blood 25(OHD level and breast cancer risk. With 593 breast cancer cases and 580 cancer-free controls from Shanghai, China, we found that 80% of the normal women had severe vitamin D deficiency (less than 20 ng/mL and 15.2% had mild deficiency (20 to 30 ng/mL and only 4.8% of women had sufficient vitamin D level (>30 ng/mL while the proportion was 96.1%, 3.2% and 0.7% respectively for the breast cancer patients. Compared to those with the lowest quartile of plasma 25(OHD level, women with highest quartile 25(OHD level showed a significant decreased breast cancer risk (Q4 vs.Q1: OR = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.06-0.15 and every 1 ng/ml increment of plasma 25(OHD level led to a 16% lower odds of breast cancer (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.81-0.87; P<0.001. From the meta-analysis of the observational studies, we found that women with highest quantile of blood 25(OHD level was associated with a significantly reduced breast cancer risk compared to those with lowest quantile of blood 25(OHD level for the 11 nested case-control and retrospective studies (pooled OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.75-1.00 and 10 case-control studies (7 population based, OR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.24-0.52; 3 hospital based, OR = 0.08, 95% CI = 0.02-0.33. These results suggest that vitamin D may have a chemo-preventive effect against breast cancer.

Ethnic Chinese Remigration from Southeast Asian Countries since 1960s: A Case Study of Malaysian Chinese Outflows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kang Xiaoli

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Total outflows of Chinese from Southeast Asian countries since the Second World War reached around 3 million. They headed to the developed countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France and Singapore. As for the case of Malaysia, large number of Malaysian Chinese remigrated to Singapore, United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia for new residence since the end of the Second World War. They left Malaysia because of political discrimination, economic restrictions, and unequal educational and cultural treatment. According to Malaysia census data and natural population growth rate, this paper made estimation that by 201 0 a total of 1.13 million ethnic Chinese had migrated out of Malaysia. After deducting the number of ethnic Chinese moving to Malaysia, the Malaysian Chinese migrating abroad reached 1.05 million. Malaysian Chinese left Malaysia in the manner of permanent residents and short-term migrants. Permanent residents include those in the skill stream, family stream and those with special eligibility. Short-term migrants refer to visiting scholars, foreign students, guest labor, business expatriates and expatriate professionals. As a matter of fact, there has been a serious brain drain through Chinese remigration from Malaysia.

Associations of TGFBR1 and TGFBR2 gene polymorphisms with the risk of hypospadias: a case-control study in a Chinese population.

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Han, Xin-Rui; Wen, Xin; Wang, Shan; Hong, Xiao-Wu; Fan, Shao-Hua; Zhuang, Juan; Wang, Yong-Jian; Zhang, Zi-Feng; Li, Meng-Qiu; Hu, Bin; Shan, Qun; Sun, Chun-Hui; Bao, Ya-Xing; Lin, Meng; He, Tan; Wu, Dong-Mei; Lu, Jun; Zheng, Yuan-Lin

2017-10-31

This case-control study investigated the association of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) receptor type I and II ( TGFBR1 and TGFBR2 ) gene polymorphisms with the risk of hypospadias in a Chinese population. One hundred and sixty two patients suffering from hypospadias were enrolled as case group and 165 children who underwent circumcision were recruited as control group. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TGFBR1 and TGFBR2 genes were selected on the basis of genetic data obtained from HapMap. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was performed to identify TGFBR1 and TGFBR2 gene polymorphisms and analyze genotype distribution and allele frequency. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to estimate the risk factors for hypospadias. No significant difference was found concerning the genotype and allele frequencies of TGFBR1 rs4743325 polymorphism between the case and control groups. However, genotype and allele frequencies of TGFBR2 rs6785358 in the case group were significantly different in contrast with those in the control group. Patients carrying the G allele of TGFBR2 rs6785358 polymorphism exhibited a higher risk of hypospadias compared with the patients carrying the A allele ( P <0.05). The TGFBR2 rs6785358 genotype was found to be significantly related to abnormal pregnancy and preterm birth (both P <0.05). The frequency of TGFBR2 rs6785358 GG genotype exhibited significant differences amongst patients suffering from four different pathological types of hypospadias. Logistic regression analysis revealed that preterm birth, abnormal pregnancy, and TGFBR2 rs6785358 were the independent risk factors for hypospadias. Our study provides evidence that TGFBR2 rs6785358 polymorphism might be associated with the risk of hypospadias. © 2017 The Author(s).

Lexical-semantic Mapping between Chinese and English Controlled Vocabularies in the Domain of Chinese Art

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Shu-Jiun Chen

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study conducts a lexical-semantic mapping between the Chinese controlled vocabulary developed by the National Palace Museum (NPM-CV in Taiwan and an English controlled vocabulary, the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT developed by the Getty Research Institute in the U.S. that is primarily based on Western art. The research question is: In mapping a Chinese controlled vocabulary in Chinese art to a Western-centered art thesaurus, what types of relationships can be identified and what are the issues in mapping? The study’s main findings reveal that only one-third of the NPM-CV terms can be mapped as “exact equivalence” to AAT terms and three-fifths of the NPMCV terms have hierarchical relationships (narrower to broader with some AAT terms. Clearly, using AAT alone to index Chinese art collections will lead to insufficient indexing specificity. The study then proposes solutions to improve Chinese-English semantic interoperability for multilingual knowledge organization systems in the domain of Chinese art. [Article content in Chinese

Sequence variations in DNA repair gene XPC is associated with lung cancer risk in a Chinese population: a case-control study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, Yun; Ma, Hongxia; Wang, Ying; Liu, Hongliang; Chen, Weihong; Yang, Lin; Jing, Guangfu; Huo, Xiang; Chen, Feng; Liu, Yanhong; Jin, Li; Xu, Liang; Wei, Qingyi; Huang, Wei; Shen, Hongbing; Lu, Daru; Wu, Tangchun; Yang, Xiaobo; Hu, Zhibin; Yuan, Jing; Wang, Feng; Shao, Minhua; Yuan, Wentao; Qian, Ji

2007-01-01

The nucleotide excision repair (NER) protein, xeroderma pigmentosum C (XPC), participates in recognizing DNA lesions and initiating DNA repair in response to DNA damage. Because mutations in XPC cause a high risk of cancer in XP patients, we hypothesized that inherited sequence variations in XPC may alter DNA repair and thus susceptibility to cancer. In this hospital-based case-control study, we investigated five XPC tagging, common single nucleotide polymorphisms (tagging SNPs) in 1,010 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer and 1,011 matched cancer free controls in a Chinese population. In individual tagging SNP analysis, we found that rs3731055AG+AA variant genotypes were associated with a significantly decreased risk of lung adenocarcinoma [adjusted odds ratio (OR), 0.71; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.56–0.90] but an increased risk of small cell carcinomas [adjusted OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.05–3.07]. Furthermore, we found that haplotype ACCCA was associated with a decreased risk of lung adenocarcinoma [OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.62–0.97] but an increased risk of small cell carcinomas [OR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.04–2.71], which reflected the presence of rs3731055A allele in this haplotype. Further stratified analysis revealed that the protective effect of rs3731055AG+AA on risk of lung adenocarcinoma was more evident among young subjects (age ≤ 60) and never smokers. These results suggest that inherited sequence variations in XPC may modulate risk of lung cancer, especially lung adenocarcinoma, in Chinese populations. However, these findings need to be verified in larger confirmatory studies with more comprehensively selected tagging SNPs

Associations of the single-nucleotide polymorphisms of the Mina gene with the development of asthma in Chinese Han children: a case-control study.

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Chen, Yun; Yang, Xiqiang; Huang, Ying; Liu, Enmei; Wang, Lijia

2011-01-01

The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the Mina gene in animals are associated with the development of Th2-mediated diseases. However, there is no information whether the association occurs in humans. This case-control study aimed at examining the potential association of the SNP of the Mina gene with the development of asthma in Chinese Han children. The DNA genotypes and serum immunoglobulin E and interleukin-4 levels of 202 asthmatic patients and 191 nonasthmatic subjects were determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry method and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. We found that the frequency of the T allele of rs4857304, but not rs832081, rs832078, rs9879532, and rs17374916, in the Mina gene in asthmatic patients was significantly higher than that of controls (p = 0.0199). Using a recessive model, we found that the percentage of patients with TT homozygous rs4857304 was significantly higher than that of controls (p = 0.0282, odds ratio=1.568, 95% confidence interval=1.048-2.346). Further, the mean levels of serum immunoglobulin E and interleukin-4 in the patients with TT genotype of rs4857304 were significantly higher than that of patients with the G allele (p = 0.000 and p = 0.03, respectively). Apparently, the T allele of rs4857304 of the Mina gene may be associated with increased risk for the development of asthma in Chinese Han children.

Risk factors for small airway obstruction among Chinese island residents: a case-control study.

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Yu-sheng Chen

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: We investigated the prevalence of and risk factors for small airway obstruction (SAO among Chinese island residents to establish means to prevent and treat SAO. METHODS: From October 17, 2011 to November 1, 2011, a total of 2,873 residents aged >20 years who lived on the Huangqi Peninsula of Fujian were recruited by random cluster sampling. They were asked to complete a Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD questionnaire and underwent physical examinations and lung function evaluations. SAO was defined as a forced expiratory flow at 50% of vital capacity, Vmax50%, of less than 70% of predicted. Risk factors for SAO were assessed from among demographic and anthropometric variables, blood chemistry results, and questionnaire response items. RESULTS: A total of 216 (7.52% Chinese island residents were identified as having SAO (95 males; 121 females. Their survey and test results were compared with 432 age and sex-matched healthy controls (192 males; 240 females for SAO risk factors. Among numerous factors investigated, only diabetes mellitus (p = 0.039, smoking index (SI, p600, second hand smoke (p = 0.002, and lack of regular exercise (p<0.001 were significant risk factors for SAO. CONCLUSIONS: The risk factors for SAO among Chinese island residents appeared to be similar to those among people who live in high-density urban environments and impoverished rural areas. Public health policies and medical practices directed toward improving respiratory health for island residents should be comparable to those used for urban and rural dwellers.

Role of CACNA1C gene polymorphisms and protein expressions in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia: a case-control study in a Chinese population.

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Zhang, Sheng-Yu; Hu, Qiang; Tang, Tao; Liu, Chao; Li, Cheng-Chong; Yang, Xiao-Guang; Zang, Yin-Yin; Cai, Wei-Xiong

2017-08-01

The study aimed to investigate the correlations of CACNA1C genetic polymorphisms and protein expression with the pathogenesis of schizophrenia in a Chinese population. This research included 139 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (case group) and 141 healthy volunteers (control group). Case and control samples were genotyped using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). Haplotypes of rs10848683, rs2238032, and rs2299661 were analyzed using the Shesis software. A mouse model of schizophrenia was established and assigned to test and blank groups. Western blotting was used to detect CACNA1C protein expression. The genotype and allele distribution of rs2238032 and rs2299661 differed between the case and control groups. TT genotype of rs2238032 and G allele of rs2299661 could potentially reduce the risk of schizophrenia. The distribution of rs2238032 genotype has a close connection with cognitive disturbance and the results of the general psychopathology classification exam. The distribution of rs2299661 genotypes was closely related to sensory and perceptual disorders, negative symptom subscales, and the results of the general psychopathology classification exam. CTC haplotype increased and CTG decreased the risk of schizophrenia in healthy people. In the brain tissues of mice with schizophrenia, the CACNA1C protein expression was higher in the test group than in the blank group. Our study demonstrated that CACNA1C gene polymorphisms and CACNA1C protein expression were associated with schizophrenia and its clinical phenotypes.

Relationship between coping, self-esteem, individual factors and mental health among Chinese nursing students: a matched case-control study.

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Ni, Chunping; Liu, Xiwen; Hua, Qianzhen; Lv, Aili; Wang, Bo; Yan, Yongping

2010-05-01

To investigate the relationship between ways of coping, self-esteem, individual factors and mental health among Chinese nursing students. A sample of 515 nursing students was selected from four public institutes and colleges in Xi'an of China by a random sampling method. They were surveyed by a self-evaluation questionnaire including the Symptom-Checklist 90 (SCL-90), the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, the Self-Esteem Scale and the Personal Data Form. On the basis of the total score of SCL-90 obtained in the survey, high and low score groups were formed, each consisting of 100 nursing students. Then a matched case-control design was carried out to explore the relationship between ways of coping, self-esteem, individual factors and mental health. Besides descriptive statistics, the Chi-square analysis, t-test and Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis were also employed. The active coping and self-esteem scores of the high score group were found to be much lower than those of the low score group (Pmental health among nursing students, whereas self-fulfillment satisfaction (OR=0.037, 95%CI: 0.014-0.097) and a higher level of self-esteem (OR=0.357, 95%CI: 0.152-0.838) were preventive factors. The mental health of Chinese nursing students was related to the ways of coping, self-esteem, study stress and physical health problems in the past year. In order to improve the mental health of nursing students, aside from reducing the study stress and avoiding passive coping, it is very necessary for them to be supported to ensure that academic stress is minimized, autonomy is promoted, and self-esteem is developed. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative modelling and analysis of a Chinese smart grid: a stochastic model checking case study

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Yuksel, Ender; Nielson, Hanne Riis; Nielson, Flemming

2014-01-01

Cyber-physical systems integrate information and communication technology with the physical elements of a system, mainly for monitoring and controlling purposes. The conversion of traditional power grid into a smart grid, a fundamental example of a cyber-physical system, raises a number of issues...... that require novel methods and applications. One of the important issues in this context is the verification of certain quantitative properties of the system. In this paper, we consider a specific Chinese smart grid implementation as a case study and address the verification problem for performance and energy...... consumption.We employ stochastic model checking approach and present our modelling and analysis study using PRISM model checker....

Suicidal ideation in Chinese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a controlled study.

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Wong, Tak-Shun; Xiang, Yu-Tao; Tsoh, Joshua; Ungvari, Gabor S; Ko, Fanny W S; Hui, David S C; Chiu, Helen F K

2016-05-01

No study has been published on the prevalence of suicidal behaviour in older Chinese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study examined the 1-year prevalence of suicidal ideation in older Chinese COPD patients and explored its demographic and clinical correlates. A consecutive sample of 143 COPD patients and 211 matched control subjects were recruited and interviewed using structured, standardized instruments. The 1-year prevalence of suicidal ideation in COPD patients and controls were 15.4% and 10.9%, respectively. In multivariate analyses, suicidal ideation was significantly associated with the severity of depressive symptoms in COPD patients. Suicidal ideation was not higher in COPD patients than in controls. © 2015 The Authors. Psychogeriatrics © 2015 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Comparative study of control selection in a national population-based case-control study: Estimating risk of smoking on cancer deaths in Chinese men.

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Jiang, Jingmei; Liu, Boqi; Nasca, Philip C; Han, Wei; Zou, Xiaonong; Zeng, Xianjia; Tian, Xiaobing; Wu, Yanping; Zhao, Ping; Li, Junyao

2009-10-28

To assess the validation of a novel control selection design by comparing the consistency between the new design and a routine design in a large case-control study that was incorporated into a nationwide mortality survey in China. A nationwide mortality study was conducted during 1989-1991. Surviving spouses or other relatives of all adults who died during 1986-1988 provided detailed information about their own as well as the deceased person's smoking history. In this study, 130,079 males who died of various smoking-related cancers at age 35 or over were taken as cases, while 103,248 male surviving spouses (same age range with cases) of women who died during the same period and 49,331 males who died from causes other than those related to smoking were used as control group 1 and control group 2, respectively. Consistency in the results when comparing cases with each of the control groups was assessed. Consistency in the results was observed in the analyses using different control groups although cancer deaths varied with region and age. Equivalence could be ascertained using a 15% criterion in most cancer deaths which had high death rates in urban areas, but they were uncertain for most cancers in rural areas irrespective of whether the hypothesis testing showed significant differences or not. Sex-matched living spouse control design as an alternative control selection for a case-control study is valid and feasible, and the basic principles of the equivalence study are also supported by epidemiological survey data.

Ethnic Chinese Remigration from Southeast Asian Countries since 1960s: A Case Study of Malaysian Chinese Outflows

OpenAIRE

Kang Xiaoli

2015-01-01

Total outflows of Chinese from Southeast Asian countries since the Second World War reached around 3 million. They headed to the developed countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France and Singapore. As for the case of Malaysia, large number of Malaysian Chinese remigrated to Singapore, United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia for new residence since the end of the Second World War. They left Malaysia because of political discrimination, economic re...

[Application of traditional Chinese medicine reference standards in quality control of Chinese herbal pieces].

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Lu, Tu-Lin; Li, Jin-Ci; Yu, Jiang-Yong; Cai, Bao-Chang; Mao, Chun-Qin; Yin, Fang-Zhou

2014-01-01

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) reference standards plays an important role in the quality control of Chinese herbal pieces. This paper overviewed the development of TCM reference standards. By analyzing the 2010 edition of Chinese pharmacopoeia, the application of TCM reference standards in the quality control of Chinese herbal pieces was summarized, and the problems exiting in the system were put forward. In the process of improving the quality control level of Chinese herbal pieces, various kinds of advanced methods and technology should be used to research the characteristic reference standards of Chinese herbal pieces, more and more reasonable reference standards should be introduced in the quality control system of Chinese herbal pieces. This article discussed the solutions in the aspect of TCM reference standards, and future development of quality control on Chinese herbal pieces is prospected.

Clinical study on the prevalence and comparative analysis of metabolic syndrome and its components among Chinese breast cancer women and control population.

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Wu, Yu-Tuan; Luo, Qing-Qing; Li, Xin; Arshad, Bilal; Xu, Zhou; Ran, Liang; Zhao, Chun-Xia; Wu, He; Shi, Yan-Ling; Chen, Hao-Ran; Li, Hao; Li, Hong-Yuan; Wu, Kai-Nan; Kong, Ling-Quan

2018-01-01

Metabolic syndrome has been previously identified as a risk factor for breast cancer and is increasingly a public health concern. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components among primary breast cancer and control population. The clinical data of metabolic syndrome and its components in the breast cancer (605 cases) and control population (3212 cases), from Breast Cancer Center and Physical Examination Center of Chongqing, China, from July 2015 to February 2017, were collected for comparative analysis. This study was prospectively registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/, number: ChiCTR-OOB-15007543). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in breast cancer (32.6%) was obviously higher than that in control population (18.2%) (pmetabolic syndrome in breast cancer group aged below 60 years (24.9%, pmetabolic syndrome and its components in Chinese breast cancer women, and metabolic syndrome is closely related with breast cancer. Therefore, screening and prevention strategy of metabolic syndrome should be carried out in the management of breast cancer.

Globalisation, Transnational Academic Mobility and the Chinese Knowledge Diaspora: An Australian Case Study

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Yang, Rui; Welch, Anthony R.

2010-01-01

The master discourses of economic globalisation and the knowledge economy each cite knowledge diasporas as vital "trans-national human capital". Based on a case study of a major Australian university, this article examines the potential to deploy China's large and highly-skilled diaspora in the service of Chinese and Australian…

Evaluating the Chinese Revised Controlling Behaviors Scale.

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Tiwari, Agnes; Fong, Daniel Yee Tak; Chan, Ko Ling; Yan, Elsie Chau Wai; Lam, Gloria Ling Lee; Tang, Debbie Hoi Ming; Graham-Kevan, Nicola

2015-01-01

The present study evaluated the utility of the Chinese version of the Revised Controlling Behaviors Scale (C-CBS-R) as a measure of controlling behaviors in violent Chinese intimate relationships. Using a mixed-methods approach, in-depth, individual interviews were conducted with 200 Chinese women survivors to elicit qualitative data about their personal experiences of control in intimate relationships. The use of controlling behaviors was also assessed using the C-CBS-R. Interview accounts suggested that the experiences of 91 of the women were consistent with the description of coercive control according to Dutton and Goodman's conceptualization of coercion. Using the split-half validation procedure, a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was conducted with the first half of the sample. The area under the curve (AUC) for using the C-CBS-R to identify high control was .99, and the cutoff score of 1.145 maximized both sensitivity and specificity. Applying the cutoff score to the second half gave a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 95%. Overall, the C-CBS-R has demonstrated utility as a measure of controlling behaviors with a cutoff score for distinguishing high from low levels of control in violent Chinese intimate relationships. © The Author(s) 2014.

Single nucleotide polymorphism rs3774261 in the AdipoQ gene is associated with the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in Northeast Han Chinese population: a case-control study.

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Kanu, Joseph Sam; Gu, Yulu; Zhi, Sun; Yu, Mingxi; Lu, Yuping; Cong, Yetong; Liu, Yunkai; Li, Yong; Yu, Yaqin; Cheng, Yi; Liu, Yawen

2016-01-12

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is one of the leading causes of death in the world with a projected global 82 million DALYs by 2020. Genetic and environmental factors contribute to CHD development. Here, the authors investigate the association between CHD risk and three Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in the AdipoQ gene (rs3774261, rs1063537 and rs2082940); and the interaction of this association with environmental factors, in Northeast Han Chinese population. Using a case-control study design, 1514 participants (754 cases and 760 controls) were investigated. Three variants in the AdipoQ gene (rs3774261, rs1063537 and rs2082940) were selected and genotyped. The online SNPstats program and SPSS 21.0 software were used for data analyses. The authors found that the rs3774261G allele is associated with the risk of CHD but that the rs2082940T allele protects against CHD. No significant association was found between rs1063537 and CHD risk. The study also found significant interactions between triglyceride levels and the SNPs studied (P Variations in AdipoQ gene can protect against CHD (as with rs2082940T) or associated with CHD risk (as with rs3774261G) in Northeast Han Chinese - findings that will help shed light on the reported conflicting roles of AdipoQ in cardiovascular diseases. Serum triglycerides levels also interact in the AdipoQ - CHD association, thus further highlighting the roles environmental factors play in the genetic aspect of diseases.

Case-control studies in neurosurgery.

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Nesvick, Cody L; Thompson, Clinton J; Boop, Frederick A; Klimo, Paul

2014-08-01

Observational studies, such as cohort and case-control studies, are valuable instruments in evidence-based medicine. Case-control studies, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular in the neurosurgical literature due to their low cost and relative ease of execution; however, no one has yet systematically assessed these types of studies for quality in methodology and reporting. The authors performed a literature search using PubMed/MEDLINE to identify all studies that explicitly identified themselves as "case-control" and were published in the JNS Publishing Group journals (Journal of Neurosurgery, Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics, Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, and Neurosurgical Focus) or Neurosurgery. Each paper was evaluated for 22 descriptive variables and then categorized as having either met or missed the basic definition of a case-control study. All studies that evaluated risk factors for a well-defined outcome were considered true case-control studies. The authors sought to identify key features or phrases that were or were not predictive of a true case-control study. Those papers that satisfied the definition were further evaluated using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist. The search detected 67 papers that met the inclusion criteria, of which 32 (48%) represented true case-control studies. The frequency of true case-control studies has not changed with time. Use of odds ratios (ORs) and logistic regression (LR) analysis were strong positive predictors of true case-control studies (for odds ratios, OR 15.33 and 95% CI 4.52-51.97; for logistic regression analysis, OR 8.77 and 95% CI 2.69-28.56). Conversely, negative predictors included focus on a procedure/intervention (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.13-0.998) and use of the word "outcome" in the Results section (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.082-0.65). After exclusion of nested case-control studies, the negative correlation between focus on a procedure

Chinese Students' Choice of Transnational Higher Education in a Globalized Higher Education Market: A Case Study of W University

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Fang, Wenhong; Wang, Shen

2014-01-01

This research studies Chinese students' choice of transnational higher education in the context of the higher education market. Through a case study of the students in the transnational higher education programs of W University, the research finds that Chinese students' choice of transnational higher education is a complicated decision-making that…

The shallows: Development of Alibaba in Chinese domestic logistics system : A Case Study Based Analysis

OpenAIRE

Liu, Shun

2015-01-01

The aim of the research is to critically analyse the influence of Alibaba as 3PL service providers for Chinese businesses needs and Domestic Logistics. Alibaba is the case study selected for discussion here. Mixed research methods are used, the research is a mix of both primary data and secondary data. A primary data collection method has been used where consumers were queried The aim of the research is to critically analyse the influence of Alibaba as 3PL service providers for Chinese busine...

Replication study confirms link between TSPAN18 mutation and schizophrenia in Han Chinese.

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Jianmin Yuan

Full Text Available Schizophrenia (SCZ is a severe psychiatric disorder associated with many different risk factors, both genetic and environmental. A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS of Han Chinese identified three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs rs11038167, rs11038172, and rs835784 in the tetraspanins gene TSPAN18 as possible susceptibility loci for schizophrenia. Hoping to validate these findings, we conducted a case-control study of Han Chinese with 1093 schizophrenia cases and 1022 healthy controls. Using the LDR-PCR method to genotype polymorphisms in TSPAN18, we found no significant differences (P>0.05 between patients and controls in either the allele or genotype frequency of the SNPs rs11038167 and rs11038172. We did find, however, that the frequency of the 'A' allele of SNP rs835784 is significantly higher in patients than in controls. We further observed a significant association (OR= 1.197, 95%CI= 1.047-1.369 between risk for SCZ and this 'A' allele. These results confirm the significant association, in Han Chinese populations, of increased SCZ risk and the variant of the TSPAN18 gene containing the 'A' allele of SNP rs835784.

Serum carotenoids and colorectal cancer risk: A case-control study in Guangdong, China.

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Huang, Jing; Lu, Min-Shan; Fang, Yu-Jing; Xu, Ming; Huang, Wu-Qing; Pan, Zhi-Zhong; Chen, Yu-Ming; Zhang, Cai-Xia

2017-10-01

Previous epidemiological studies on the association between circulating carotenoids and the risk of colorectal cancer drew inconclusive conclusions. This study aimed to examine serum carotenoids in relation to colorectal cancer risk in a Chinese population. One case-control study beginning from July 2010, consecutively recruited 538 eligible colorectal cancer cases and 564 age (5-year interval) and sex frequency-matched controls. Serum levels of α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin were detected by HPLC. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence internal (CI) after adjusting for various confounders. Serum levels of α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene were found to be inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk. The adjusted ORs of the highest quartile relative to the lowest quartile serum level were 0.49 (95% CIs 0.33-0.72) for α-carotene, 0.44 (95% CIs 0.29-0.66) for β-cryptoxanthin, and 0.36 (95% CIs 0.24-0.54) for lycopene, respectively. The association between serum β-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin and colorectal cancer risk was not statistically significant. The results indicated that the incidence of colorectal cancer was associated with lower serum levels of α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene among Chinese population residing in Guangdong. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Association between phytosterol intake and colorectal cancer risk: a case-control study.

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Huang, Jing; Xu, Ming; Fang, Yu-Jing; Lu, Min-Shan; Pan, Zhi-Zhong; Huang, Wu-Qing; Chen, Yu-Ming; Zhang, Cai-Xia

2017-03-01

A study in rodent models showed that phytosterols protected against colon carcinogenesis, probably by inhibiting dysregulated cell cycle progression and inducing cellular apoptosis. However, epidemiological studies on the relationship between phytosterols and colorectal cancer risk are quite limited. The aim of this study was to investigate dietary phytosterol intake in relation to colorectal cancer risk in the Chinese population. A case-control study was conducted from July 2010 to June 2016, recruiting 1802 eligible colorectal cancer cases plus 1813 age (5-year interval) and sex frequency-matched controls. Dietary information was collected by using a validated FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI of colorectal cancer risk were assessed by multivariable logistic regression models. A higher total intake of phytosterols was found to be associated with a 50 % reduction in colorectal cancer risk. After adjusting for various confounders, the OR of the highest quartile intake compared with the lowest quartile intake was 0·50 (95 % CI 0·41, 0·61, P trendphytosterols. An inverse association was also found between the consumption of β-sitosterol, campesterol, campestanol and colorectal cancer risk. However, stigmasterol intake was related to an increased risk of colorectal cancer. No statistically significant association was found between β-sitostanol and colorectal cancer risk. Stratified analysis by sex showed that the positive association of stigmasterol intake with colorectal cancer risk was found only in women. These data indicated that the consumption of total phytosterols, β-sitosterol, campesterol and campestanol is inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk in a Chinese population.

Effect of GRM7 polymorphisms on the development of noise-induced hearing loss in Chinese Han workers: a nested case-control study.

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Yu, Peipei; Jiao, Jie; Chen, Guoshun; Zhou, Wenhui; Zhang, Huanling; Wu, Hui; Li, Yanhong; Gu, Guizhen; Zheng, Yuxin; Yu, Yue; Yu, Shanfa

2018-01-05

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a complex, irreversible disease caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. In recent years, a great many studies have been done to explore the NIHL susceptibility genes among humans. So far, high powerful detections have been founded that genes of potassium ion channel genes (KCNQ4 and KCNE1), catalase (CAT), protocadherin 15 (PCDH15), myosin 14 (MYH14) and heart shock protein (HSP70) which have been identified in more than one population may be associated with the susceptibility to NIHL. As for metabolic glutamate receptor7 gene (GRM7), a lot of researches mainly focus on age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and the results have shown that the polymorphisms of GRM7 are linked to the development of ARHL. However, little is known about the association of GRM7 and the susceptibility to NIHL. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the effect of GRM7 polymorphisms on the susceptibility to NIHL. A nested case-control study based on the cohort in a Chinese steel factory was implemented in 292 cases and 584 controls matched with the same sex, the age difference ≤ 5 years old, the same type of work, duration of occupational noise exposure ≤2 years. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of GRM7 were gained through selecting and genotyping SNPs. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to assess the main effect of GRM7 polymorphisms on the susceptibility to NIHL and the gene-by-environment interaction. Furthermore, the gene-by-gene interactions were analyzed by generalized multiple dimensionality reduction (GMDR). This research discovered for the first time that the mutant allele C in rs1485175 of the GMR7 may decrease individuals' susceptibility to NIHL. The interaction between rs1485175 and cumulative noise exposure (CNE) at high level was found after the stratification according to CNE (p/p bon  = 0.014/0.007, OR = 0.550, 95% CI: 0.340-0.891). Permutation test of GMDR suggested

Genetic variants of 17q21 are associated with childhood-onset asthma and related phenotypes in a northeastern Han Chinese population: a case-control study.

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Yu, X; Yu, C; Ren, Z; Deng, Y; Song, J; Zhang, H; Zhou, H

2014-05-01

A genome-wide association study (GWAS) suggested that variants on chromosome 17q21 were associated with childhood-onset asthma in white populations. Two replication studies had been conducted in southern Han Chinese population in 2009 and 2012. However, these two Chinese replication results were inconsistent. To further confirm the role of 17q21 common variants, an association study of 17q21 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the risk of childhood-onset asthma was performed in a Han population from northeastern China. In this study, rs3894194, rs12603332 and rs11650680 were genotyped in 435 asthmatic children and 601 healthy controls by using a SNaPshot method. Our data showed that the allelic frequency of rs12603332 and rs11650680 showed significant differences between asthmatic cases and healthy controls, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.36 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-1.65, P=0.002] and an OR of 1.36 (95% CI 1.07-1.74, P=0.01). Genotype distribution analysis also showed the significant associations of the above two loci with childhood asthma under dominant, recessive and additive model (dominant OR=1.57, 95% CI 1.04-2.36, P=0.032; recessive OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.09-1.83, P=0.009; additive OR=1.97, 95% CI 1.24-3.14, P=0.004; recessive OR=1.50, 95% CI 1.13-1.98, P=0.005). Besides, linear regression analysis showed that rs3894194 and rs12603332 were also significantly associated with asthma phenotypes such as log10 -transformed immunoglobulin E (IgE) level (IU/ml) and log10 -transformed eosinophil percentage (dominant, P=0.04; additive, P=0.01; recessive, P=0.04; recessive, P=0.03; additive, P=0.02). Collectively, our findings suggest that orosomucoid 1-like 3 (ORMDL3) locus on chromosome 17q21 is a risk factor for childhood-onset asthma in northeastern Han Chinese population. Further studies will be needed to elucidate the pathogenesis that ORMDL3 locus predisposes to childhood-onset asthma. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Case Study of Chinese Mongolian Students in ELT under the Background of MOOCs

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Zhao, Lili

2015-01-01

In response to the current reform of college English teaching, a case study of Chinese Mongolian students in English language teaching under the influence of MOOCs is carried out in an attempt to examine the efficacy of the integration of information technology into English language teaching. After a brief introduction of the teaching mode of…

Higher fish intake is associated with a lower risk of hip fractures in Chinese men and women: a matched case-control study.

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Fan, Fan; Xue, Wen-Qiong; Wu, Bao-Hua; He, Ming-Guang; Xie, Hai-Li; Ouyang, Wei-Fu; Tu, Su-Lan; Chen, Yu-Ming

2013-01-01

Fish is rich in nutrients that are favorable to bone health, but limited data are available regarding the relationship between fish intake and hip fractures. Our study examined the association between habitual fish intake and risk of hip fractures. A case-control study was performed between June 2009 and June 2012 in Guangdong Province, China. Five hundred and eighty-one hip fracture incident cases, aged 55 to 80 years (mean: 71 years), were enrolled from four hospitals. 1∶1 matched controls by gender and age (±3 years) were also recruited from communities and hospitals. Face-to-face interviews were used to obtain habitual dietary intake and information on various covariates. Univariate conditional logistic regression analyses showed significantly dose-dependent inverse correlations between the risk of hip fractures and the intake of fresh-water fish, sea fish, mollusca, shellfish, and total fish in all of the subjects (p-trend: water fish (p = 0.553). The ORs (95%CI) of hip fractures for the highest (vs. lowest) quartile were 0.80 (0.48-1.31) for fresh-water fish, 0.31 (0.18-0.52) for sea fish, 0.55 (0.34-0.88) for mollusca and shellfish, and 0.47 (0.28-0.79) for total fish, respectively. Stratified and interaction analyses showed that the association was more significant in males than in females (p-interaction = 0.052). Higher intake of seafood is independently associated with lower risk of hip fractures in elderly Chinese. Increasing consumption of sea fish may benefit the prevention of hip fractures in this population.

Higher intake of carotenoid is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer in Chinese adults: a case-control study.

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Lu, Min-Shan; Fang, Yu-Jing; Chen, Yu-Ming; Luo, Wei-Ping; Pan, Zhi-Zhong; Zhong, Xiao; Zhang, Cai-Xia

2015-06-01

The associations between specific carotenoid intake and colorectal cancer risk remain inconsistent. The aim of this study was to examine the association between specific dietary carotenoid intake with colorectal cancer risk in Chinese adults. From July 2010 to October 2013, 845 eligible colorectal cancer cases and 845 frequency-matched controls (age and sex) completed in-person interviews. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate dietary intake. Multivariate logistical regression models were used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of colorectal cancer risk after adjusting for various confounders. A strong inverse association was found between β-cryptoxanthin intake and colorectal cancer risk. Compared with the lowest quartile, the highest quartile intake showed a risk reduction of 77% (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.17-0.33, P trend colorectal cancer risk. These findings were consistent across cancer site, sources of controls, and smoking status. The inverse associations between dietary α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, and lycopene intake and colorectal cancer risk were found in both males and females, while inverse associations between β-carotene intake and colorectal cancer risk were only observed in males. Consumption of α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, and lycopene was inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk. No significant association was found between lutein/zeaxanthin intake and colorectal cancer risk.

PARP-1 Variant Rs1136410 Confers Protection against Coronary Artery Disease in a Chinese Han Population: A Two-Stage Case-Control Study Involving 5643 Subjects

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Xue-bin Wang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP may protect against coronary artery disease (CAD in animal models, and rs1136410, a non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP in PARP-1, has a potential impact on PARP activities in vitro. This two-stage case-control study, involving 2803 CAD patients and 2840 controls, aimed to investigate the associations of PARP-1 rs1136410 with CAD development, lipid levels, PARP activities, 8-hydroxy-2′-dexyguanosine (8-OHdG, and interleukin (IL-6 levels in a Chinese Han population. Assuming a recessive model, the variant genotype GG of SNP rs1136410 showed a significantly inverse association with CAD risk (adjusted odds ratio (OR = 0.73, P < 0.001, left main coronary artery (LMCA lesions (P = 0.003, vessel scores (P = 0.003, and modified Gensini scores (P < 0.001. There were significant correlations of SNP rs1136410 with higher levels of total cholesterol (TC and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c. In gene-environment interaction analyses, participants with the variant genotype GG, but without smoking habit, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia, conferred an 84% (P < 0.001 decreased risk of CAD. The genotype-phenotype correlation analyses further supported the functional roles of SNP rs1136410 in decreasing PARP activities and 8-OHdG levels. Taken together, our data suggest that SNP rs1136410 may confer protection against CAD through modulation of PARP activities and gene-environment interactions in a Chinese Han population.

Association between Serum Uric Acid Level and Carotid Atherosclerosis in Chinese Individuals Aged 75 Years or Older: A Hospital-Based Case-Control Study.

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Feng, L; Hua, C; Sun, H; Qin, L-Y; Niu, P-P; Guo, Z-N; Yang, Y

2018-01-01

To investigate the association between serum uric acid level and the presence and progression of carotid atherosclerosis in Chinese individuals aged 75 years or older. Case-control study. In a teaching hospital. Five hundred and sixty-four elderlies (75 years or above) who underwent general health screening in our hospital were enrolled. The detailed carotid ultrasound results, physical examination information, medical history, and laboratory test results including serum uric acid level were recorded, these data were used to analyze the relationship between serum uric acid level and carotid atherosclerosis. Then, subjects who underwent the second carotid ultrasound 1.5-2 years later were further identified to analyzed the relationship between serum uric acid and the progression of carotid atherosclerosis. A total of 564 subjects were included, carotid plaque was found in 482 (85.5%) individuals. Logistic regression showed that subjects with elevated serum uric acid (expressed per 1 standard deviation change) had significantly higher incidence of carotid plaque (odds ratio, 1.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.75; P= 0.012) after controlling for other factors. A total of 236 subjects underwent the follow-up carotid ultrasound. Linear regression showed that serum uric acid level (expressed per 1 standard deviation change; 1 standard deviation = 95.5 μmol/L) was significantly associated with percentage of change of plaque score (P = 0.008). Multivariable linear regression showed that 1 standard deviation increase in serum uric acid levels was expected to increase 0.448% of plaque score (P = 0.023). The elevated serum uric acid level may be independently and significantly associated with the presence and progression of carotid atherosclerosis in Chinese individuals aged 75 years or older.

A Single Case of Tourette’s Syndrome Treated with Traditional Chinese Medicine

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Min-Hwa Lee

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The objective of this case study was to investigate the effectiveness of Chinese medicine in treating Tourette's syndrome. Tourette's syndrome is a childhood- onset disorder that is characterized by sudden, involuntary movements or tics. The participant in this study was a 33-year-old male who had been diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome at the age of 9 years. His major complaints included facial tics, shoulder shrugging, and clearing the throat. Using a combination of acupuncture, herbs, Gua-Sha, and lifestyle changes once a week for 35 treatments, all the symptoms were reduced by 70%, as reported by the patient. In this case, the results indicated that Chinese medicine was able to minimize the symptoms of Tourette's syndrome. Further investigation is needed to support this argument. Tourette's syndrome, which was first described in 1885 by a French physician named Gilles de la Tourette, is characterized by facial tics, involuntary body movements from the head to the extremities, or vocal tics, and it usually has its onset in childhood. It is a neuropsychiatric disorder. The treatment for Tourette's syndrome is based on pharmacological treatment, behavior treatment, and deep brain stimulation. Unfortunately, none of these could completely control the symptoms; furthermore, antipsychiatric drugs might cause additional side effects, such as Parkinson symptoms, tardive dyskinesia, and metabolic disturbances. Finding acupuncture and oriental medicine literature on treatment of Tourette's syndrome was difficult, especially that written in English. Some research papers that have been translated into English indicated that Chinese herbs and acupuncture could reduce the tics significantly. For example, a study by Dr Pao-Hua Lin reported the significant effects of using acupuncture and oriental medicine in treating 1000 Tourette's syndrome cases. This case was treated to further investigate the principles of Dr Lin's study.

[Case-control study on Chinese medicine fumigation and massage therapy for the treatment of knee stability and func tional recovery after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction operation].

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Min, Zhong-han; Zhou, Ying; Jing, Lin; Zhang, Hong-mei; Wang, Sheng; Chen, Wei-heng; Chen, Ping-quan

2016-05-01

To study clinical outcomes of Chinese medidine fumigation and massage therapy for the treatment of knee stability and functional recovery after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction operation,and to explore the effect on tendon-bone healing. Total 50 patients were divided into two groups: the control group (normal rehabilitation therapy group),the treatment group (Chinese medicine fumigation and manipulation group). There were 25 patients in the control group, including 16 males and 9 females, who were treated with isometric muscle training, with the gradually enlarging amplitude of flexion and progressive loading of bearing training for knee recovery. There were 25 patients in the treatment group, including 15 males and 10 females,who were treated with the conventional rehabilitation therapy combined with Chinese medicine fumigation and massage therapy. The Chinese herbs named as Haitongpi decoction was steamed by a special equipment to fumigate the knee after operation; Based on the biomechanical parameters of the ligament reconstruction, the massage therapy was designed to control the degree of the knee flexion and release the adhesion for early recovery of knee functions. The Lysholm knee function evaluation system was used, and MRI examination was performed to measure the change in width of ligament tunnel in femur and tibia to evaluate the safety and stability of the treatment. Lysholm system showed that two groups both had improving results from the 1st month after operation to the 3rd month (treatment group, F=36.54, P0.05), indicating that Chinese rehabilitation therapy was a safety treatment without the influence on the loosing of tendon. Chinese medicine fumigation and massage therapy can early improve the knee function after the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction operation without the disturbance of the knee stability.

Workplace Influences on Chinese TEFL Academics' Development as Researchers: A Study of Two Chinese Higher Education Institutions

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Bai, Li; Millwater, Jan; Hudson, Peter

2013-01-01

Workplace influences on Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) academics' development as researchers were examined in two Chinese higher education institutions in this qualitative collective case study. Data sources included research documentation and interviews with 12 Chinese TEFL academics. Both institutions were keen on research…

ICOS gene polymorphisms are associated with sporadic breast cancer: a case-control study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Fengyan; Li, Dalin; Zhang, Qiujin; Fu, Zhenkun; Zhang, Jie; Yuan, Weiguang; Chen, Shuang; Pang, Da; Li, Dianjun

2011-01-01

Inducible costimulator (ICOS), a costimulatory molecular of the CD28 family, provides positive signal to enhance T cell proliferation. Its abnormal expression can disturb the immune response and entail an increased risk of cancer. To investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ICOS gene are associated with sporadic breast cancer susceptibility and progression in Chinese women, a case-control study was conducted. In the study cohort, we genotyped five SNPs (rs11889031, rs10932029, rs4675374, rs10183087 and rs10932037) in ICOS gene among 609 breast cancer patients and 665 age-matched healthy controls. Furthermore, the positive results were replicated in an independent validation cohort of 619 patients and 682 age-matched healthy controls. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to determine the genotypes. In rs10932029, compared with TT genotype and T allele, the CT genotype and C allele showed a significantly increased risk of breast cancer (P = 0.030, OR = 1.467, 95% CI 1.037-2.077; P = 0.017, OR = 1.481, 95% CI 1.070-2.049, respectively), and the associations were also significant in the validation cohort (P = 0.002, OR = 1.693, 95% CI 1.211-2.357; P = 0.003, OR = 1.607, 95% CI 1.171-2.204, respectively). Haplotype analysis showed that CTCAC haplotype containing rs10932029 T allele had a lower frequency in cases than in controls (P = 0.015), whereas haplotype CCCAC containing rs10932029 C allele was more common in cases than in controls (P = 0.013). In the analysis of clinicopathologic features, rs11889031 CT genotype and T allele were associated with progesterone receptor (PR) status and lymph node metastasis, which were further supported by our validation cohort. Moreover, some haplotypes were associated with estrogen receptor (ER) and PR statuses. These results indicate that ICOS gene polymorphisms may affect the risk of breast cancer and show that some SNPs are associated with breast cancer

A Study of Marketing Strategy in Chinese Software Marketi : A Case Study of UFIDA Softeare Co., Ltd

OpenAIRE

Zeng, Xiongyu; Du, Yang

2008-01-01

Date: 2008-06-08 Program: International Marketing Course: Master thesis in International Marketing (EF0705) Author: Xiongyu Zeng (780925) Yang Du (820830) Tutor: Jan Löwstedt Title: A Study of Marketing Strategy in Chinese Software Market – A Case Study of UFIDA Software Co., Ltd Strategic Question : What should be an Effective Marketing Strategy for UFIDA in order to Increase its Market Shares and Support its Market Leadership Position? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate an...

[New idea of traditional Chinese medicine quality control based on "composition structure" theory].

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Liu, Dan; Jia, Xiaobin; Yu, Danhong

2012-03-01

On the road of the modern Chinese medicine developing internationally, there is a key issues that setting up a reasonable, accurate and be quantified quality evaluation system which is comply with the basic theory of Chinese medicine. Based on the overall understanding of the role of traditional Chinese medicine components, author suggested that the idea of "structural components" theory should be embedded into the system and thought the Chinese medicine play a multi-target, multi-channel pharmacodynamic effects founded on the specific microcosmic structural relationship between the components and the components within the group. At present, the way of Chinese pharmacopoeia checking the quality of Chinese medicine is mainly depends on controlling the single or multiple targets of ingredients. In fact, this way is out of the overall effectiveness of the Chinese medicine, so we can not thoroughly controlling the quality of Chinese medicine from the essence of the Chinese medicine. Secondly, it's only macro-structural quantity that the Chinese pharmacopoeia just controlling the less effective ingredients, this is not enough to reflect the internal microstructure of the integrity and systematic. In other words, this cannot reflect the structural components of the Chinese medicine (the essence of traditional Chinese medicine). In view of above mentioned reasons, the author propose the new idea on the quality control in the medicine that quantify the ratio structural relationship in component and the ingredients of the components, set the optimal controlling proportion between the components and ingredients. At the same time, author thought we should conduct the depth study in the micro-quantified the multi-component and multi-ingredient, in the process of studying the material basis of Chinese medicine. Therefore, it could establish a more rational basis for the Chinese medicine quality controlling system.

Household ventilation may reduce effects of indoor air pollutants for prevention of lung cancer: a case-control study in a Chinese population.

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Zi-Yi Jin

Full Text Available Although the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC has classified various indoor air pollutants as carcinogenic to humans, few studies evaluated the role of household ventilation in reducing the impact of indoor air pollutants on lung cancer risk.To explore the association between household ventilation and lung cancer.A population-based case-control study was conducted in a Chinese population from 2003 to 2010. Epidemiologic and household ventilation data were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression was employed to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORadj and their 95% confidence intervals (CI.Among 1,424 lung cancer cases and 4,543 healthy controls, inverse associations were observed for good ventilation in the kitchen (ORadj = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.75, 0.98, bedroom (ORadj = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.79, 1.03, and both kitchen and bedroom (ORadj = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.75, 1.00. Stratified analyses showed lung cancer inversely associated with good ventilation among active smokers (ORadj = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.72, 1.00, secondhand smokers at home (ORadj = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.63, 0.94, and those exposed to high-temperature cooking oil fumes (ORadj = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.99. Additive interactions were found between household ventilation and secondhand smoke at home as well as number of household pollutant sources.A protective association was observed between good ventilation of households and lung cancer, most likely through the reduction of exposure to indoor air pollutants, indicating ventilation may serve as one of the preventive measures for lung cancer, in addition to tobacco cessation.

Household ventilation may reduce effects of indoor air pollutants for prevention of lung cancer: a case-control study in a Chinese population.

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Jin, Zi-Yi; Wu, Ming; Han, Ren-Qiang; Zhang, Xiao-Feng; Wang, Xu-Shan; Liu, Ai-Ming; Zhou, Jin-Yi; Lu, Qing-Yi; Kim, Claire H; Mu, Lina; Zhang, Zuo-Feng; Zhao, Jin-Kou

2014-01-01

Although the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified various indoor air pollutants as carcinogenic to humans, few studies evaluated the role of household ventilation in reducing the impact of indoor air pollutants on lung cancer risk. To explore the association between household ventilation and lung cancer. A population-based case-control study was conducted in a Chinese population from 2003 to 2010. Epidemiologic and household ventilation data were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression was employed to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORadj) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Among 1,424 lung cancer cases and 4,543 healthy controls, inverse associations were observed for good ventilation in the kitchen (ORadj = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.75, 0.98), bedroom (ORadj = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.79, 1.03), and both kitchen and bedroom (ORadj = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.75, 1.00). Stratified analyses showed lung cancer inversely associated with good ventilation among active smokers (ORadj = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.72, 1.00), secondhand smokers at home (ORadj = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.63, 0.94), and those exposed to high-temperature cooking oil fumes (ORadj = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.99). Additive interactions were found between household ventilation and secondhand smoke at home as well as number of household pollutant sources. A protective association was observed between good ventilation of households and lung cancer, most likely through the reduction of exposure to indoor air pollutants, indicating ventilation may serve as one of the preventive measures for lung cancer, in addition to tobacco cessation.

Household Ventilation May Reduce Effects of Indoor Air Pollutants for Prevention of Lung Cancer: A Case-Control Study in a Chinese Population

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Han, Ren-Qiang; Zhang, Xiao-Feng; Wang, Xu-Shan; Liu, Ai-Ming; Zhou, Jin-Yi; Lu, Qing-Yi; Kim, Claire H.; Mu, Lina; Zhang, Zuo-Feng; Zhao, Jin-Kou

2014-01-01

Background Although the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified various indoor air pollutants as carcinogenic to humans, few studies evaluated the role of household ventilation in reducing the impact of indoor air pollutants on lung cancer risk. Objectives To explore the association between household ventilation and lung cancer. Methods A population-based case-control study was conducted in a Chinese population from 2003 to 2010. Epidemiologic and household ventilation data were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression was employed to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORadj) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Among 1,424 lung cancer cases and 4,543 healthy controls, inverse associations were observed for good ventilation in the kitchen (ORadj = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.75, 0.98), bedroom (ORadj = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.79, 1.03), and both kitchen and bedroom (ORadj = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.75, 1.00). Stratified analyses showed lung cancer inversely associated with good ventilation among active smokers (ORadj = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.72, 1.00), secondhand smokers at home (ORadj = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.63, 0.94), and those exposed to high-temperature cooking oil fumes (ORadj = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.99). Additive interactions were found between household ventilation and secondhand smoke at home as well as number of household pollutant sources. Conclusions A protective association was observed between good ventilation of households and lung cancer, most likely through the reduction of exposure to indoor air pollutants, indicating ventilation may serve as one of the preventive measures for lung cancer, in addition to tobacco cessation. PMID:25019554

Social Networking Sites and Educational Adaptation in Higher Education: A Case Study of Chinese International Students in New Zealand

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Ling Cao

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims to find out the relationship between the use of SNSs and educational adaptation process of Chinese international students (from China in New Zealand. Based on interview data, this paper addressed how Chinese international students use SNSs (RenRen, Facebook, etc. to expand and manage their online social networks to help their adaptation to new educational environment. As a case study of Chinese international students in New Zealand and from the narrative of students, we examined the relationship among educational difficulties, life satisfaction, and the use of SNSs. This study would help in further understanding how and why SNSs can be adopted in higher education to support effective overseas learning experiences.

Social Networking Sites and Educational Adaptation in Higher Education: A Case Study of Chinese International Students in New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Ling; Zhang, Tingting

2012-01-01

This study aims to find out the relationship between the use of SNSs and educational adaptation process of Chinese international students (from China) in New Zealand. Based on interview data, this paper addressed how Chinese international students use SNSs (RenRen, Facebook, etc.) to expand and manage their online social networks to help their adaptation to new educational environment. As a case study of Chinese international students in New Zealand and from the narrative of students, we examined the relationship among educational difficulties, life satisfaction, and the use of SNSs. This study would help in further understanding how and why SNSs can be adopted in higher education to support effective overseas learning experiences. PMID:22666100

Social networking sites and educational adaptation in higher education: a case study of Chinese international students in New Zealand.

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Cao, Ling; Zhang, Tingting

2012-01-01

This study aims to find out the relationship between the use of SNSs and educational adaptation process of Chinese international students (from China) in New Zealand. Based on interview data, this paper addressed how Chinese international students use SNSs (RenRen, Facebook, etc.) to expand and manage their online social networks to help their adaptation to new educational environment. As a case study of Chinese international students in New Zealand and from the narrative of students, we examined the relationship among educational difficulties, life satisfaction, and the use of SNSs. This study would help in further understanding how and why SNSs can be adopted in higher education to support effective overseas learning experiences.

Association of Estrogen Receptor Gene Polymorphisms and Primary Biliary Cirrhosis in a Chinese Population: A Case-Control Study

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Liu Yang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC is a chronic and slowly progressive cholestatic liver disease characterized by destruction of the interlobular bile ducts and a striking female predominance. The aim of this study was to identify associations between estrogen receptor (ESR gene polymorphisms with the risk of developing PBC and abnormal serum liver tests in a Chinese population. Methods: Thirty-six patients with PBC (case group and 35 healthy individuals (control group from the First Hospital of Jilin University were studied. Whole genomic DNA was extracted from all the participants. Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (rs2234693, rs2228480, and rs3798577 from ESR1 and two (rs1256030 and rs1048315 from ESR2 were analyzed by a pyrosequencing method. Demographic data and liver biochemical data were collected. Results: Subjects with the T allele at ESR2 rs1256030 had 1.5 times higher risk of developing PBC than those with the C allele (odds ratio [OR] = 2.1277, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1872-4.5517. Haplotypes TGC of ESR1 rs2234693, rs2228480, and rs3798577 were risk factors for having PBC. The C allele at ESR1 rs2234693 was associated with abnormal alkaline phosphatase (OR = 5.2469, 95% CI = 1.3704-20.0895 and gamma-glutamyl transferase (OR = 3.4286, 95% CI = 1.0083-13.6578 levels in PBC patients. Conclusions: ESR2 rs1256030 T allele may be a significant risk factor for the development of PBC. Screening for patients with gene polymorphisms may help to make early diagnoses in patients with PBC.

Case-control vaccine effectiveness studies: Preparation, design, and enrollment of cases and controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Verani, Jennifer R; Baqui, Abdullah H; Broome, Claire V; Cherian, Thomas; Cohen, Cheryl; Farrar, Jennifer L; Feikin, Daniel R; Groome, Michelle J; Hajjeh, Rana A; Johnson, Hope L; Madhi, Shabir A; Mulholland, Kim; O'Brien, Katherine L; Parashar, Umesh D; Patel, Manish M; Rodrigues, Laura C; Santosham, Mathuram; Scott, J Anthony; Smith, Peter G; Sommerfelt, Halvor; Tate, Jacqueline E; Victor, J Chris; Whitney, Cynthia G; Zaidi, Anita K; Zell, Elizabeth R

2017-06-05

Case-control studies are commonly used to evaluate effectiveness of licensed vaccines after deployment in public health programs. Such studies can provide policy-relevant data on vaccine performance under 'real world' conditions, contributing to the evidence base to support and sustain introduction of new vaccines. However, case-control studies do not measure the impact of vaccine introduction on disease at a population level, and are subject to bias and confounding, which may lead to inaccurate results that can misinform policy decisions. In 2012, a group of experts met to review recent experience with case-control studies evaluating the effectiveness of several vaccines; here we summarize the recommendations of that group regarding best practices for planning, design and enrollment of cases and controls. Rigorous planning and preparation should focus on understanding the study context including healthcare-seeking and vaccination practices. Case-control vaccine effectiveness studies are best carried out soon after vaccine introduction because high coverage creates strong potential for confounding. Endpoints specific to the vaccine target are preferable to non-specific clinical syndromes since the proportion of non-specific outcomes preventable through vaccination may vary over time and place, leading to potentially confusing results. Controls should be representative of the source population from which cases arise, and are generally recruited from the community or health facilities where cases are enrolled. Matching of controls to cases for potential confounding factors is commonly used, although should be reserved for a limited number of key variables believed to be linked to both vaccination and disease. Case-control vaccine effectiveness studies can provide information useful to guide policy decisions and vaccine development, however rigorous preparation and design is essential. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Higher fish intake is associated with a lower risk of hip fractures in Chinese men and women: a matched case-control study.

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Fan Fan

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Fish is rich in nutrients that are favorable to bone health, but limited data are available regarding the relationship between fish intake and hip fractures. Our study examined the association between habitual fish intake and risk of hip fractures. METHODS: A case-control study was performed between June 2009 and June 2012 in Guangdong Province, China. Five hundred and eighty-one hip fracture incident cases, aged 55 to 80 years (mean: 71 years, were enrolled from four hospitals. 1∶1 matched controls by gender and age (±3 years were also recruited from communities and hospitals. Face-to-face interviews were used to obtain habitual dietary intake and information on various covariates. RESULTS: Univariate conditional logistic regression analyses showed significantly dose-dependent inverse correlations between the risk of hip fractures and the intake of fresh-water fish, sea fish, mollusca, shellfish, and total fish in all of the subjects (p-trend: <0.001-0.016. After adjusting for covariates, the associations were slightly attenuated but remained significant for all (p-trend: <0.001-0.017 except for fresh-water fish (p = 0.553. The ORs (95%CI of hip fractures for the highest (vs. lowest quartile were 0.80 (0.48-1.31 for fresh-water fish, 0.31 (0.18-0.52 for sea fish, 0.55 (0.34-0.88 for mollusca and shellfish, and 0.47 (0.28-0.79 for total fish, respectively. Stratified and interaction analyses showed that the association was more significant in males than in females (p-interaction = 0.052. CONCLUSION: Higher intake of seafood is independently associated with lower risk of hip fractures in elderly Chinese. Increasing consumption of sea fish may benefit the prevention of hip fractures in this population.

Association between Two Resistin Gene Polymorphisms and Metabolic Syndrome in Jilin, Northeast China: A Case-Control Study

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Yingli Fu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Metabolic syndrome (MetS is a significant health care problem worldwide and is characterized by increased fasting glucose and obesity. Resistin is a protein hormone produced both by adipocytes and immunocompetent cells, including those residing in adipose tissue, and is believed to modulate glucose tolerance and insulin action. This study examined the association of resistin gene polymorphisms, rs1862513 and rs3745368, and related haplotypes with the development of metabolic syndrome in a Han Chinese population. This case-control study was performed on 3792 subjects, including 1771 MetS cases and 2021 healthy controls from the Jilin province of China. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the relationship between gene polymorphism and MetS. Our results showed that there were no significant associations between MetS and the genotype distributions in four kinds of inheritance models, allele frequencies, and related haplotypes of resistin gene polymorphisms rs1862513 and rs3745368 (all p values > 0.05. Based on our study findings, we concluded that mutations in resistin genes are not associated with the presence of MetS in a Han Chinese population from Jilin province in China.

Deploying the Chinese Knowledge Diaspora: A Case Study of Peking University

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Cai, Hongxing

2012-01-01

The paper examines how the Chinese knowledge diaspora contributes to Peking University's endeavours to become a world-class university through an in-depth study of its implementation of the 111 Project. Based on the participants' personal experiences of international collaboration, the article finds that overseas Chinese scholars have played an…

Stationary Treatment Compared with Individualized Chinese Medicine for Type 2 Diabetes Patients with Microvascular Complications: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

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Huo, Jian; Liu, Li-Sha; Jian, Wen-Yuan; Zeng, Jie-Ping; Duan, Jun-Guo; Lu, Xue-Jing; Yin, Shuo

2018-06-18

Microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes (T2DM), including diabatic retinopathy (DR), diabetic kidney disease (DKD), diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) are the leading causes of visual loss, end-stage renal disease or amputation, while the current therapies are still unsatisfactory. Chinese medicine (CM) has been widely used for treating diabetic mellitus. However, most of the previous studies focused on the single complication. The role of CM treatment in T2DM patients with 2 or multiple microvascular complications is not clear. To appraise the curative effect of CM in T2DM patients with 2 or multiple microvascular complications, and to compare the effects of stationary treatment and individualized treatment in T2DM patients with microvascular complications. This trial will be an 8-center, randomized, controlled study with 8 parallel groups. A total of 432 patients will be randomized to 8 groups: DR study group (32 cases) and a corresponding control group (32 cases), DR+DKD study group (64 cases) and a corresponding control group (64 cases), DR+DPN study group (64 cases) and a corresponding control group (64 cases), DR+DKD+DPN study group (56 cases) and a corresponding control group (56 cases). The control group will receive stationary treatment, and the study group will receive individualized treatment based on CM syndrome differentiation in addition to stationary treatment. The study duration will be 50 weeks, comprising a 2-week run-in period, 24 weeks of intervention, and 24 weeks of follow-up. The outcomes will assess efficacy of treatment, improvement in CM symptoms, safety assessments, adherence to the treatment, and adverse events. This study will provide evidence of evidence-based medicine for CM treatment in two or multiple microvascular complications caused by T2DM. (Registration No. ChiCTR-IPR-15007072).

Tumor necrosis factor-α induced protein 8 polymorphism and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a Chinese population: a case-control study.

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Yan Zhang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL has been reported to be associated with autoimmune and pro-inflammatory response, and genetic polymorphisms of candidate genes involved in autoimmune and pro-inflammatory response may influence the susceptibility to NHL. To evaluate the role of such genetic variations in risk of NHL, we conducted a case-control study of 514 NHL patients and 557 cancer-free controls in a Chinese population. METHOD: We used the Taqman assay to genotype six potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in six previously reported inflammation and immune-related genes (TNF rs1799964T>C, LTA rs1800683G>A, IL-10 rs1800872T>G, LEP rs2167270G>A, LEPR rs1327118C>G, TNFAIP8 rs1045241C>T. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI. RESULTS: We observed a significantly increased risk of NHL associated with the TNFAIP8 rs1045241C>T polymorphism (adjusted OR = 3.03; 95% CI = 1.68-5.45 for TT vs. CC and adjusted OR = 2.03; 95% CI = 1.53-2.69 for CT/TT vs. CC. The risk associated with the T allele was more evident in subgroups of 40-60 year-old, non-smokers or light-smokers (less than 25 pack-years, and subjects with normal weight or overweight. Risk for both B and T cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was elevated for CT/TT genotypes (adjusted OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.41-2.70 for B cell NHL and adjusted OR = 2.22, 95% CI = 1.49-3.30 for T cell NHL, particularly for DLBCL (adjusted OR = 2.01, 95%CI = 1.41-2.85 and FL (adjusted OR = 2.53, 95% CI = 1.17-5.45. These risks were not observed for variant genotypes of other five SNPs compared with their common homozygous genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: The polymorphism of TNFAIP8 rs1045241C>T may contribute to NHL susceptibility in a Chinese population. Further large-scale and well-designed studies are needed to confirm these results.

Urgent need to improve the quality of case report in traditional Chinese medicine: Assessment on reporting quality of 3,417 cases.

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Fu, Shu-Fei; Kun, Wai; Zeng, Xiao-Xi; Zhang, Li; Cheng, Chung-Wah; Song, Lisa; Zhong, Linda Li-Dan; Lin, Jia; Wang, Yong-Yan; Shang, Hong-Cai; Bian, Zhao-Xia

2016-06-01

To survey the reporting quality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) case reports published in recent years and understand the common problems. The assessment results would lay the foundation for the development of recommendations for case report in Chinese medicine. This survey determined the reporting quality of cases with Chinese herbal decoction, Chinese proprietary medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion and other traditional therapies published in 20 core medical journals of China by searching the China Academic Journals Full-text Database from 2006 to 2010. Fifty survey items in 16 domains were used to determine the reporting quality. One point was assigned to each item (Yes=1 point; No=0 point), and total score was 50 points. The domain of treatment was assessed independently, ranging from 2 to 9 items for different TCM interventions. The total of 1,858 case reports, covering 3,417 cases were included to analyze from 13 out of 20 core medical journals of China. There were 74.8% of them did not identify the nature of study in title, while 73.9% did not comprise an abstract. Incomplete reporting was found in discussions/ comment, and only 38.9% had made recommendations or take-away messages. Figures and tables were infrequently used. Three cases cited the full names of patients, but without declaring that any consent was obtained. Over 90% reported the symptoms and signs of TCM, and characteristics on tongue and pulse, but less than 50% did mention other medical history and diagnostic rationale. More than 90% treatments of the included cases were herbal decoction, with clear reporting on the ingredients and dosages. However, the reporting rate of the dosages of each ingredient was just 48.4%. Almost none reported the quality control of crude herbs, manufacturers and lot numbers of herbal proprietary medicine. Besides, advices and precautions on diet, emotions and living were rare to be illustrated. Systematic reporting recommendations are urged to develop for

Methodology Series Module 2: Case-control Studies.

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Setia, Maninder Singh

2016-01-01

Case-Control study design is a type of observational study. In this design, participants are selected for the study based on their outcome status. Thus, some participants have the outcome of interest (referred to as cases), whereas others do not have the outcome of interest (referred to as controls). The investigator then assesses the exposure in both these groups. The investigator should define the cases as specifically as possible. Sometimes, definition of a disease may be based on multiple criteria; thus, all these points should be explicitly stated in case definition. An important aspect of selecting a control is that they should be from the same 'study base' as that of the cases. We can select controls from a variety of groups. Some of them are: General population; relatives or friends; and hospital patients. Matching is often used in case-control control studies to ensure that the cases and controls are similar in certain characteristics, and it is a useful technique to increase the efficiency of the study. Case-Control studies can usually be conducted relatively faster and are inexpensive - particularly when compared with cohort studies (prospective). It is useful to study rare outcomes and outcomes with long latent periods. This design is not very useful to study rare exposures. Furthermore, they may also be prone to certain biases - selection bias and recall bias.

End-stage renal disease in Taiwan: a case-control study.

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Tsai, Su-Ying; Tseng, Hung-Fu; Tan, Hsiu-Fen; Chien, Yu-Shu; Chang, Chia-Chu

2009-01-01

Taiwan has the highest incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the world. The epidemiologic features of ESRD, however, have not been investigated. In this case-control study, we evaluated the risk of ESRD associated with a number of putative risk factors. We studied 200 patients among whom ESRD had been newly diagnosed between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2005; 200 controls were selected from among relatives of patients treated in the general surgery unit. Using a structured questionnaire, we collected information related to socioeconomic factors, history of disease, regular blood or urine screening, lifestyle, environmental exposure, consumption of vitamin supplements, and regular drug use at 5 years before disease onset. Our primary multivariate risk models indicated that low socioeconomic status was a strong predictor of ESRD (education: odds ratio [OR], 2.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.49-5.19; income: OR, 2.86, 95% CI, 1.48-5.52), even after adjusting for other risk factors. Other significant predictors for ESRD were a history of hypertension (OR, 3.63-3.90), history of diabetes (OR, 3.85-5.50), and regular intake of folk remedies or over-the-counter Chinese herbs (OR, 10.84-12.51). Regular intake of a multivitamin supplement 5 years before diagnosis was associated with a decreased risk of ESRD (OR, 0.12-0.14). Our findings indicate that low socioeconomic status, history of hypertension, diabetes, and regular use of folk remedies or over-the-counter Chinese herbs were significant risk factors for ESRD, while regular intake of a multivitamin supplement was associated with a decreased risk of ESRD.

Polymorphisms of STAT4 and the risk of inflammatory bowel disease: A case-control study in Chinese Han population.

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Zhu, Houbao; Liu, Jianbing; Zhang, Hongxin; Wang, Zhengting; Liu, Jie; Lu, Shunyuan; Xu, Wangyang; Zhong, Jie; Wang, Zhugang

2013-03-01

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) is a transcription factor involved in the signaling pathways of several cytokines, playing an essential role in the development of inflammation in various immune-mediated diseases. Genetic association studies have shown that the STAT4 gene was significantly associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Spanish and Caucasian populations. However, these associations in other ethnic populations remain unknown. In the present study, we evaluated the role of the STAT4 rs7574865 and rs7582694 polymorphisms on IBD in 562 unrelated Chinese Han subjects by assessing distributions of genotypes and allele frequencies. Results showed that neither rs7574865 [Crohn's disease (CD): P=0.66, odds ratio (OR) = 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.74-1.21; ulcerative colitis (UC): P=0.43, OR=0.85, 95% CI 0.56-1.28; IBD: P=0.52, OR=0.93, 95% CI 0.73-1.17] nor rs7582694 (CD: P=0.40, OR=1.12, 95% CI 0.86-1.44; UC: P=0.50, OR=0.86, 95% CI 0.56-1.33; IBD: P=0.62, OR=1.06, 95% CI 0.83-1.36) was significantly associated with IBD, although the genotype frequency of rs7574865 varied in patients and the controls. In conclusion, our data did not support that STAT4 variants contribute to IBD susceptibility in the Chinese Han population.

Supportive Communication to Facilitate Chinese Patients' Adaptation to a Permanent Colostomy: A Qualitative Case Study Approach.

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Tao, Hui; Songwathana, Praneed; Isaramalai, Sang-Arun; Wang, Qingxi

2016-01-01

This study, which is a part of action research, aims to explore how supportive communication can impact individuals' adaptation to a permanent colostomy in a Chinese cultural context. Two Chinese rectal cancer patients with complexity and difficulty in living with a permanent colostomy were selected using a qualitative case study approach. The researcher (H.T.) interacted with the participants along their journey from the preoperative period until the third postoperative month after discharge via face-to-face or telephone interviews. Content analysis was applied. Supportive communication was characterized by "communication as a supportive tool," which consisted of 4 elements: respect, description, empathy, and empowerment. The nursing strategies included (1) developing a collaborative relationship with patients and families; (2) understanding patients' concerns and problems; (3) discussing potential solutions; (4) encouraging patients to take action; (5) bringing out emotional expression; (6) normalizing negative emotions; and (7) protecting hope. The findings of this study informed that supportive communication is a valuable tool for nurses to provide informational and emotional support to Chinese patients in order to enhance their adaptation to living with a permanent colostomy. Developing an operational manual to enhance supportive communication for patients with colostomy is suggested.

The Chinese Classroom Paradox: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Teacher Controlling Behaviors

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Zhou, Ning; Lam, Shui-Fong; Chan, Kam Chi

2012-01-01

Chinese classrooms present an intriguing paradox to the claim of self-determination theory that autonomy facilitates learning. Chinese teachers appear to be controlling, but Chinese students do not have poor academic performance in international comparisons. The present study addressed this paradox by examining the cultural differences in…

Carbohydrate, dietary glycaemic index and glycaemic load, and colorectal cancer risk: a case-control study in China.

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Huang, Jing; Fang, Yu-Jing; Xu, Ming; Luo, Hong; Zhang, Nai-Qi; Huang, Wu-Qing; Pan, Zhi-Zhong; Chen, Yu-Ming; Zhang, Cai-Xia

2018-04-01

A carbohydrate-rich diet results in hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia; it may further induce the carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer. However, epidemiological evidence among Chinese population is quite limited. The aim of this study was to investigate total carbohydrate, non-fibre carbohydrate, total fibre, starch, dietary glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) in relation to colorectal cancer risk in Chinese population. A case-control study was conducted from July 2010 to April 2017, recruiting 1944 eligible colorectal cancer cases and 2027 age (5-year interval) and sex frequency-matched controls. Dietary information was collected by using a validated FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI of colorectal cancer risk were assessed by multivariable logistic regression models. There was no clear association between total carbohydrate intake and colorectal cancer risk. The adjusted OR was 0·85 (95 % CI 0·70, 1·03, P trend=0·08) comparing the highest with the lowest quartile. Total fibre was related to a 53 % reduction in colorectal cancer risk (adjusted ORquartile 4 v. 1 0·47; 95 % CI 0·39, 0·58). However, dietary GI was positively associated with colorectal cancer risk, with an adjusted ORquartile 4 v. 1 of 3·10 (95 % CI 2·51, 3·85). No significant association was found between the intakes of non-fibre carbohydrate, starch and dietary GL and colorectal cancer risk. This study indicated that dietary GI was positively associated with colorectal cancer risk, but no evidence supported that total carbohydrate, non-fibre carbohydrate, starch or high dietary GL intake were related to an increased risk of colorectal cancer in a Chinese population.

Population versus hospital controls in the assessment of dietary intake of isoflavone for case-control studies on cancers in China.

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Li, Lin; Zhang, Min; Holman, C D'Arcy J

2013-01-01

To assess dietary isoflavone intake between population and hospital outpatient controls and examine if cancer risks estimated for isoflavone using hospital outpatient controls would be different from those using population controls. Three parallel case-control studies on leukemia, breast, and colorectal cancers in China in 2009-2010 were conducted, using population and hospital outpatient controls to separately match 560 incident cases at a 1:1 ratio. A validated food frequency questionnaire was administered by face-to-face interview. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The 2 control groups had closely similar distributions of dietary isoflavone intake. Risk estimates for breast cancers were adjusted ORs (95% CI) of 0.39 (0.23-0.66) and 0.31 (0.18-0.55) for daidzein, 0.35 (0.20-0.61) and 0.28 (0.16-0.52) for genistein, 0.66 (0.41-1.08) and 0.53 (0.32-0.88) for glycitein, and 0.53 (0.33-0.85) and 0.43 (0.26-0.71) for total isoflavone using hospital outpatient and population controls respectively. The study found that hospital outpatient controls were comparable to population controls in measured dietary intake of isoflavone in the Chinese hospital setting.

Role of TNF-α -308G/A gene polymorphism in gastric cancer risk: A case control study and meta-analysis.

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Du, Li Chuan; Gao, Ru

2017-07-01

In the Chinese population, gastric cancer (GC) is ranked as the third most common type of cancer. Although the exact etiology of GC development is unclear, several factors, including genetic and environmental, have been identified as risk factors. Variations in cytokine genes and their receptors have been related to a higher risk of GC. A single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter region of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (-308G>A) has been associated with a higher risk of GC and in the present study we evaluated its possible association with GC in a Chinese cohort. In addition, we performed a meta-analysis to draw a firm conclusion about the association between TNF-α gene polymorphisms and GC. We enrolled 400 Chinese GC patients and matched healthy controls hailing from similar geographical areas. The TNF-α -308G/A polymorphism was genotyped by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR). For the meta-analysis, earlier published articles were searched and eligible studies were included. Prevalence of the heterozygous mutant (GA) and minor allele (A) were significantly higher in GC cases compared to healthy controls (GA: pA) with susceptibility to GC was only found in the Caucasian population (A vs G: p=0.001; AA vs GG: p=0.01; AG vs GG: p<0.0001; AA vs AG+GG: p=0.01; AA+AG vs p=0.003). The results of the present case control study and meta-analysis showed that associations between TNF-a variants with susceptibility to GC development is population and ethnic specific.

Polymorphisms in GEMIN4 and AGO1 Genes Are Associated with the Risk of Lung Cancer: A Case-Control Study in Chinese Female Non-Smokers

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Xue Fang

2016-09-01

Full Text Available MicroRNA biosynthesis genes can affect the regulatory effect of global microRNAs to target mRNA and hence influence the genesis and development of human cancer. Here, we selected five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs (rs7813, rs2740349, rs2291778, rs910924, rs595961 in two key microRNA biosynthesis genes (GEMIN4 and AGO1 and systematically evaluated the association between these SNPs, the gene-environment interaction and lung cancer risk. To control the impact of cigarette smoking on lung cancer, we recruited Chinese female non-smokers for the study. The total number of lung cancer cases and cancer-free controls were 473 and 395 in the case-control study. Four SNPs showed statistically significant associations with lung cancer risk. After Bonferroni correction, rs7813 and rs595961 were evidently still associated with lung cancer risk. In the stratified analysis, our results revealed that all five SNPs were associated with the risk of lung adenocarcinoma; after Bonferroni correction, significant association was maintained for rs7813, rs910924 and rs595961. Haplotype analysis showed GEMIN4 haplotype C-A-G-T was a protective haplotype for lung cancer. In the combined unfavorable genotype analysis, with the increasing number of unfavorable genotypes, a progressively increased gene-dose effect was observed in lung adenocarcinoma. We also found that individuals exposed to cooking oil fumes showed a relatively high risk of lung cancer, but no interactions were found between cooking oil fume exposure or passive smoking exposure with these SNPs, either on an additive scale or a multiplicative scale. Overall, this is the first study showing that rs7813 and rs595961 could be meaningful as genetic markers for lung cancer risk.

Study on quality control of Chinese herb medicine irradiation

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Yang Dongqing; En Lihua; Deng Wenmin

2010-01-01

6-8 kGy γ-ray irradiation dosage treatment can reduce the bacteria, mildew effectively from 105 CFU/g to 102 CFU/g and eliminate the parasite in 4 kind of Chinese herb medicine, enhance their quality of sanitation observably. In the other hand, irradiation doesn't influence the medicinal component and therapy effect. Storage study has improved that the 4 kind of Chinese herb medicine treated by γ-ray irradiation can be preserved over one year in the room temperature with high quality of sanitation and steady medicinal component. (authors)

Case-control studies in diabetes. Do they really use a case-control design?

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Ramos, Analía; Mendoza, Lilian Cristina; Rabasa, Fernanda; Bolíbar, Ignasi; Puig, Teresa; Corcoy, Rosa

2017-07-01

Studies defined as case-control do not always use this design. We aimed to estimate the frequency of mislabelled case-control studies in published articles in the area of diabetes and to identify the predictors of incorrect labelling. We searched Medline and Web of Science for articles with "diabetes" and "case control" in title and filtered for language (English/Romance) and period (January 2010-December 2014). Inclusion criteria were: (1) statement to use a case-control design in title, (2) to be a final full-length publication and (3) to have original data in the area of diabetes. Three independent reviewers went through titles, looked for full texts and reviewed them. Discrepancies were settled with a fourth reviewer. Expert epidemiologist advice was requested in case of doubt. case-control mislabelling; addressed predictors: publication year, journal impact factor and journal subject. proportion of mislabelled CC articles and assessment of predictors by multivariate logistic regression analysis. We retrieved 362 articles, 251 of them fulfilling inclusion criteria. The proportion of mislabelled CC studies was 43.8% (confidence interval 95% 37.7-50.0%). Most mislabelled studies had a cross-sectional design (82.7%). Predictors of mislabelling were publication year, journal impact factor and journal area. A relevant subset of studies defined as case-control in the area of diabetes correspond to mislabelled cross-sectional studies. Incorrect labelling misleads readers regarding the interpretation of results and the cause-effect hypothesis. Researchers, reviewers and editors should be aware of and commit to settle this issue.

Diet and Blood Pressure Control in Chinese Canadians: Cultural Considerations.

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Zou, Ping

2017-04-01

Hypertension is highly prevalent in Chinese Canadians and diet has been identified as an important modifiable risk factor for hypertension. The current anti-hypertensive dietary recommendations in hypertension care guidelines lack examination of cultural factors, are not culturally sensitive to ethnic populations, and cannot be translated to Chinese Canadian populations without cultural considerations. Guided by Leininger's Sunrise Model of culture care theory, this paper investigates how cultural factors impact Chinese Canadians' dietary practice. It is proposed that English language proficiency, health literacy, traditional Chinese diet, migration and acculturation, and Traditional Chinese Medicine influence Chinese Canadians' dietary practices. A culturally congruent nursing intervention should be established and tailored according to related cultural factors to facilitate Chinese Canadians' blood pressure control. In addition, further study is needed to test the model adapted from Sunrise Model and understand its mechanism.

Chinese Public’s Willingness to Pay for CO2 Emissions Reductions: A Case Study from Four Provinces/Cities

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Duan Hong-Xia

2014-01-01

Citation: Duan, H.-X., Lü, Y.-L., Li, Y., 2014. Chinese public’s willingness to pay for CO2 emissions reductions: A case study from four provinces/cities. Adv. Clim. Change Res. 5(2, doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1248.2014.100.

Association between regulator of telomere elongation helicase1 (RTEL1) gene and HAPE risk: A case-control study.

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Rong, Hao; He, Xue; Zhu, Linhao; Zhu, Xikai; Kang, Longli; Wang, Li; He, Yongjun; Yuan, Dongya; Jin, Tianbo

2017-09-01

High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a paradigm of pulmonary edema. Mutations in regulator of telomere elongation helicase1 (RTEL1) represent an important contributor to risk for pulmonary fibrosis. However, little information is found about the association between RTEL1 and HAPE risk. The present study was undertaken to tentatively explore the potential relation between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in RTEL1 and HAPE risk in Chinese Han population. A total of 265 HAPE patients and 303 healthy controls were included in our case-control study. Four SNPs in RTEL1 were selected and genotyped using the Sequenom MassARRAY method. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated by unconditional logistic regression with adjustment for gender and age. All P values were Bonferroni corrected, and statistical significance was set at P RTEL1 and a decreased risk HAPE in the Chinese population. The results need further confirmation.

The revising of the Tangney Self-Control Scale for Chinese students.

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Unger, Alexander; Bi, Chongzeng; Xiao, Ying-Ying; Ybarra, Oscar

2016-06-01

Recent studies have characterized self-control as a vital psychological variable that helps explain various problems. Tangney's Self-Control Scale (SCS) is a self-report measurement to assess individual differences in traits of self-control. It has gained popularity in social and psychological science research. In China, there are a few Chinese-version scales measuring general self-control, which can be applied to college students. The purposes of the present study were to evaluate: (a) the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Tangney's SCS using confirmatory factor analysis, and (b) whether higher scores on the scale correlated with positive outcomes in China. The final sample in this study consisted of 371 Chinese college students aged 17-23 years. The Full SCS and Brief SCS were both found to have a reasonable fitness, which also had satisfactory internal consistencies and a high correlation. Higher scores on the SCS correlated with higher self-esteem, extraversion, better harmony in interpersonal relationships and an appropriate anger expression, less impulsiveness, and state and trait anger. The test-retest reliability was confirmed in two additional samples. Tangney's SCS could be used in China. © 2016 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Genetic variations of MMP9 gene and intracerebral hemorrhage susceptibility: a case-control study in Chinese Han population.

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Yang, Jie; Wu, Bo; Lin, Sen; Zhou, Junshan; Li, Yingbin; Dong, Wei; Arima, Hisatomi; Zhang, Chanfei; Liu, Yukai; Liu, Ming

2014-06-15

To investigate the association between genetic variations of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) gene and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) susceptibility in Chinese Han population. The clinical data and peripheral blood samples from the patients with ICH and hypertension, and controlled subjects with hypertension only, were collected. MassARRAY Analyzer was used to genotype the tagger single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of MMP9 gene. Haploview4.2 and Unphased3.1.7 were employed to construct haplotypes and to analyze the association between genetic variations (alleles, genotypes and haplotypes) of MMP9 gene and ICH susceptibility. 181 patients with ICH and hypertension, and 197 patients with hypertension only, were recruited between Sep 2009 and Oct 2010. Patients in the ICH group were younger (61.80 ± 13.27 vs. 72.44 ± 12.71 years, ppopulation. Our logistical regression analysis showed that there were no significant associations between genetic variations of the MPP9 gene and ICH susceptibility (all p>0.05). The genetic variations of MMP9 gene were not significantly associated with ICH susceptibility in the Chinese Han population. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Expert knowledge maps for knowledge management: a case study in Traditional Chinese Medicine research.

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Cui, Meng; Yang, Shuo; Yu, Tong; Yang, Ce; Gao, Yonghong; Zhu, Haiyan

2013-10-01

To design a model to capture information on the state and trends of knowledge creation, at both an individual and an organizational level, in order to enhance knowledge management. We designed a graph-theoretic knowledge model, the expert knowledge map (EKM), based on literature-based annotation. A case study in the domain of Traditional Chinese Medicine research was used to illustrate the usefulness of the model. The EKM successfully captured various aspects of knowledge and enhanced knowledge management within the case-study organization through the provision of knowledge graphs, expert graphs, and expert-knowledge biography. Our model could help to reveal the hot topics, trends, and products of the research done by an organization. It can potentially be used to facilitate knowledge learning, sharing and decision-making among researchers, academicians, students, and administrators of organizations.

Accounting for control mislabeling in case-control biomarker studies.

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Rantalainen, Mattias; Holmes, Chris C

2011-12-02

In biomarker discovery studies, uncertainty associated with case and control labels is often overlooked. By omitting to take into account label uncertainty, model parameters and the predictive risk can become biased, sometimes severely. The most common situation is when the control set contains an unknown number of undiagnosed, or future, cases. This has a marked impact in situations where the model needs to be well-calibrated, e.g., when the prediction performance of a biomarker panel is evaluated. Failing to account for class label uncertainty may lead to underestimation of classification performance and bias in parameter estimates. This can further impact on meta-analysis for combining evidence from multiple studies. Using a simulation study, we outline how conventional statistical models can be modified to address class label uncertainty leading to well-calibrated prediction performance estimates and reduced bias in meta-analysis. We focus on the problem of mislabeled control subjects in case-control studies, i.e., when some of the control subjects are undiagnosed cases, although the procedures we report are generic. The uncertainty in control status is a particular situation common in biomarker discovery studies in the context of genomic and molecular epidemiology, where control subjects are commonly sampled from the general population with an established expected disease incidence rate.

Assessment of Perceived Parental Psychological Control in Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

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Shek, Daniel T. L.

2006-01-01

Objective: There is no validated self-report measure of parental psychological control in the Chinese culture. The reliability and validity of the Chinese Paternal Psychological Control Scale (CPPCS) and Chinese Maternal Psychological Control Scale (CMPCS) were examined. Method: A total of 3,017 Chinese secondary school students responded to the…

A Corpus-Based Discourse Information Analysis of Chinese EFL Learners' Autonomy in Legal Case Brief Writing

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Chen, Jinshi

2017-01-01

Legal case brief writing is pedagogically important yet insufficiently discussed for Chinese EFL learners majoring in law. Based on process genre approach and discourse information theory (DIT), the present study designs a corpus-based analytical model for Chinese EFL learners' autonomy in legal case brief writing and explores the process of case…

Consumer responses to promotional tools in hotels: A case study of Chinese consumers

OpenAIRE

Ma, Jenny Wei-Chen; Mohsen, Marwa Gad

2016-01-01

The rapid growth of the Chinese tourism has stimulated competition within tourism-related industries, such as the hospitality industry. The purpose of this study is to examine the Chinese consumer reaction to different promotional tools used by hotels in China and, thus, to provide a deeper understanding for marketers of how to use sales promotion effectively to generate appropriate consumer responses. An experimental survey was administered yielding a total sample of 319 Chinese customers, w...

Interventional recanalization combined with chinese traditional medicine in the treatment of fallopian tube obstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Lizhe; Liu Hui; He Zhao; Wei Feng; Ma Xuanpeng

2004-01-01

Objective: To observe the curative effect of interventional recanalization combined with chinese traditional medicine in treatment of fallopian tube obstruction. Methods: There were 200 cases in treatment group and 120 cases in control group. In the treatment group patients were given chinese herbal medicine after the intervention. In sixth month a follow up imaging was performed assessing the patency. The follow up also included the pregnancy rate 1 year later. Results: The patency rate was 83% in treatment group, and 81.5% in control group (P>0.05). Re-conjunction rate was 7.6% in the study group and 22% in control group (P<0.01). The pregnancy rate was 67% in study group and 42% in control group (P<0.01). Conclusion: With interventional recanalization combined with chinese traditional medicine, good curative effect obtained in treatment of fallopian tube obstructive infertility. Combined with Chinese traditional medicine, the post-procedure re-conjunction rate is decreased, especially in the case of short fallopian tube obstruction

Association Study between Ghrelin Gene Polymorphism and Metabolic Syndrome in a Han Chinese Population.

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You, Yueyue; Yu, Yaqin; Wu, Yanhua; Rao, Wenwang; Zhang, Yangyu; Liu, Yingyu; Yang, Guang; Fu, Yingli; Shi, Jieping; Kou, Changgui

2017-01-01

Ghrelin, in humans, is a hormone secreted from the stomach with an orexigenic effect, which is good for digestion and absorption, as well as regulating physical growth, metabolism, and energy balance. It is also involved in the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study assessed the association between single nucleotide variants of the GHRL gene and the risk of metabolic syndrome in a Han Chinese population. A case-control study was performed on 3780 Han Chinese comprising 1813 MetS cases and 1967 controls. Three missense polymorphisms in GHRL (rs26802, rs10490816, and rs696217) were selected, and the association between these polymorphisms and the risk of MetS was investigated. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Using Pearson's 2 test, we found that there were no significant differences in genotype distributions and allele frequencies between cases and controls (all p > 0.05). There were also no significant differences in haplotype distributions between MetS cases and healthy controls. Furthermore, we confirmed that rs26802 of the GHRL gene is associated with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and fasting glucose; rs10490816 is associated with triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC); while rs696217 is associated with hip circumference and fasting glucose. We concluded that mutations in the GHRL gene did not confer risk for MetS in our study population. Therefore, functional analysis and replication studies in other populations are needed to further investigate the exact role of the GHRL gene in MetS.

Association of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-2 Alpha Gene Polymorphisms with the Risk of Hepatitis B Virus-Related Liver Disease in Guangxi Chinese: A Case-Control Study.

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Liling Huang

Full Text Available Hypoxia-inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2a plays a major role in the progression of disease, although the role of HIF-2α gene polymorphisms in hepatitis B virus (HBV-related diseases remains elusive. The aim of this study is to determine whether HIF-2a rs13419896 and rs6715787 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs are associated with susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B (CHB, liver cirrhosis (LC, or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC.A case-control study of 107 patients with CHB, 83 patients with LC, 234 patients with HCC, and 224 healthy control subjects was carried out, and the HIF-2a rs13419896 and rs6715787 SNPs were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP.No significant differences were observed in the genotype or allele frequency of two HIF-2a SNPs between the cases and controls (all p>0.05. However, in subgroup analysis by gender, the HIF-2a rs13419896 GA and AA genotypes were significantly associated with a risk of CHB (odds ratio [OR] = 3.565, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.123-11.314, p = 0.031 and OR = 12.506, 95% CI = 1.329-117.716, p = 0.027 in females, and the A allele of rs13419896 was associated with a risk of CHB (OR = 2.624, 95% CI = 1.244-5.537, p = 0.011 and LC (OR = 2.351, 95% CI = 1.002-5.518, p = 0.050 in females. The rs6715787 CG genotype polymorphism may contribute to a reduced risk of LC in the Guangxi Zhuang Chinese population (OR = 0.152, 95% CI = 0.028-0.807, p = 0.027, as determined via subgroup analysis by ethnicity. Moreover, binary logistic regression analyses that were adjusted by drinking status indicated that the AA genotype of rs13419896 may contribute to an increased risk of LC in the non-alcohol-drinking population (OR = 3.124, 95% CI = 1.091-8.947, p = 0.034. In haplotype analysis, GG haplotype was significantly associated with a reduced risk of LC (OR = 0.601, 95% CI = 0.419-0.862, p = 0.005.The HIF-2a rs13419896 polymorphism is associated with an increased

The Efficacy of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy with Chinese Families: Randomized Controlled Trial

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Leung, Cynthia; Tsang, Sandra; Sin, Tammy C. S.; Choi, Siu-yan

2015-01-01

Objective: This study aimed to examine the efficacy of the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) in Hong Kong Chinese families, using randomized controlled trial design. Methods: The participants included 111 Hong Kong Chinese parents with children aged 2--7 years old, who were randomized into the intervention group (n = 54) and control group (n…

Chinese Herbal Medicine for Osteoporosis: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

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Jin, Yong-Xiang; Wu, Peng; Mao, Yi-Fan; Wang, Bo; Zhang, Jia-Feng; Chen, Wen-Liang; Liu, Zhong; Shi, Xiao-Lin

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem in the elderly population. Several studies have suggested that Chinese herbal medicine has antiosteoporotic activities that might be beneficial for osteoporosis. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine in osteoporosis patients. We comprehensively searched for randomized controlled trials (until December 2016) that compared Chinese herbal medicine with Western medicine in adults with osteoporosis and reported bone mineral densities (BMDs). A total of 10 randomized controlled trials were included. The pooled results suggested that the increased spine BMD was lower but not significant in the Chinese herbal medicine group than in the Western drug group (standard mean difference [SMD] = -0.11, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.62 to 0.39, p > 0.05). In the subgroup analysis, in postmenopausal women, Chinese herbal medicine also showed a insignificantly higher increment in BMD than the control group (SMD = 0.22, 95% CI: -0.00 to 0.43, p = 0.05). For different treatment durations, subgroups over 6 mo (SMD = 0.09, 95% CI: -0.24 to 0.41, p > 0.05) and less than 6 mo (SMD = -0.25, 95% CI: -1.14 to 0.64, p > 0.05) showed comparable BMDs between the 2 therapies. Our study demonstrated that Chinese herbal medicine alone did not significantly increase lumbar spine BMD. Further studies with better adherence to the intervention are needed to confirm the results of this meta-analysis. Copyright © 2017 The International Society for Clinical Densitometry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Childhood Abuse Experiences and the COMT and MTHFR Genetic Variants Associated With Male Sexual Orientation in the Han Chinese Populations: A Case-Control Study.

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Qin, Jia-Bi; Zhao, Guang-Lu; Wang, Feng; Cai, Yu-Mao; Lan, Li-Na; Yang, Lin; Feng, Tie-Jian

2018-01-01

variants could be positively associated with the development of homosexuality. However, it remains unknown how these factors jointly play a role in the development of homosexuality, and more studies in different ethnic populations and with a larger sample and a prospective design are required to confirm our findings. Qin J-B, Zhao G-L, Wang F, et al. Childhood Abuse Experiences and the COMT and MTHFR Genetic Variants Associated With Male Sexual Orientation in the Han Chinese Populations: A Case-Control Study. J Sex Med 2018;15:29-42. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Association between RTEL1, PHLDB1, and TREH Polymorphisms and Glioblastoma Risk: A Case-Control Study.

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Yang, Bo; Heng, Liang; Du, Shuli; Yang, Hua; Jin, Tianbo; Lang, Hongjun; Li, Shanqu

2015-07-09

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly invasive, aggressive, and incurable brain tumor. Genetic factors play important roles in GBM risk. The aim of this study was to elucidate the influence of gene polymorphism on GBM susceptibility. In this case-control study, we included 72 GBM patients and 320 healthy controls to analyze the association between 29 single-nucleotide polymorphisms and GBM cancer risk in the Chinese Han population. The single-nucleotide polymorphisms were determined by Sequenom MassARRAY RS1000 and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software and SNPStats software. Using the χ(2) test, we found that rs2297440 and rs6010620 in RTEL1 increased risk of GBM. In the recessive model, we also found that the genotypes "CC" of rs2297440 and "GG" of rs6010620 in RTEL1 significantly increased GBM risk. The variant TT genotype of TREH rs17748 and the variant TT genotype of PHLDB1 rs498872 decreased GBM risk in the recessive model. We also found that the TREH rs17748 variant C allele showed an increased risk in males in the dominant model. Our results suggest a significant association between the RETL1, TREH, and PHLDB1 genes and GBM development in the Han Chinese population.

Lack of association between NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1 gene C609T polymorphism and lung cancer: a case-control study and a meta-analysis.

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Shujie Guo

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The association between NAD(PH:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1 gene C609T polymorphism (rs1800566 and lung cancer has been widely evaluated, and a definitive answer so far is lacking. We first conducted a case-control study to assess this association in northeastern Han Chinese, and then performed a meta-analysis to further address this issue. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This case-control study involved 684 patients clinically diagnosed as lung cancer and 602 age-matched cancer-free controls from Harbin city, Heilongjiang province, China. Genotyping was conducted using the PCR-LDR (ligase detection reactions method. Meta-analysis was managed by STATA software. Data and study quality were assessed in duplicate. Our case-control association study indicated no significant difference in the genotype and allele distributions of C609T polymorphism between lung cancer patients and controls, consistent with the results of the further meta-analysis involving 7286 patients and 9167 controls under both allelic (odds ratio (OR = 0.99; 95% confidence interval (CI: 0.92-1.06; P = 0.692 and dominant (OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.89-1.08; P = 0.637 models. However, there was moderate evidence of between-study heterogeneity and low probability of publication bias. Further subgroup analyses by ethnicity, source of controls and sample size detected no positive associations in this meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our study in northeastern Han Chinese, along with the meta-analysis, failed to confirm the association of NQO1 gene C609T polymorphism with lung cancer risk, even across different ethnic populations.

Rethinking International Migration of Human Capital and Brain Circulation: The Case of Chinese-Canadian Academics

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Blachford, Dongyan Ru; Zhang, Bailing

2014-01-01

This article examines the dynamics of brain circulation through a historical review of the debates over international migration of human capital and a case study on Chinese-Canadian academics. Interviews with 22 Chinese-Canadian professors who originally came from China provide rich data regarding the possibilities and problems of the contemporary…

Promoting Profit Model Innovation in Animation Project in Northeast Asia: Case Study on Chinese Cultural and Creative Industry

OpenAIRE

Hao Jiao; Yupei Wang; Hongjun Xiao; Jianghua Zhou; Wensi Zeng

2017-01-01

Building on a case study of three animation companies in the Chinese cultural and creative industry, this study aims to understand how profit model innovation is promoted. Due to the rapidly changing environments and resource scarcity, cultural and creative companies need to select the appropriate profit model according to their own key resources. The study uncovers two critical factors that promote profit model innovation in animation projects: the quantity of consumers and their consumption...

Coffee Intake and Risk of Colorectal Cancer Among Chinese in Singapore: The Singapore Chinese Health Study

OpenAIRE

Peterson, Sabrina; Yuan, Jian-Min; Koh, Woon-Puay; Sun, Can-Lan; Wang, Renwei; Turesky, Robert J.; Yu, Mimi C.

2010-01-01

We prospectively investigated whether coffee consumption was associated with decreased risk of colorectal cancer and whether cigarette smoking and stage of disease modify the association in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. During the first 12 years of follow-up, 961 colorectal cancer cases occurred in the cohort of over 60,000 middle-aged or older Chinese men and women living in Singapore. Baseline dietary exposures were assessed through in-person interviews using a validated food frequenc...

[Methodological quality evaluation of randomized controlled trials for traditional Chinese medicines for treatment of sub-health].

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Zhao, Jun; Liao, Xing; Zhao, Hui; Li, Zhi-Geng; Wang, Nan-Yue; Wang, Li-Min

2016-11-01

To evaluate the methodological quality of the randomized controlled trials(RCTs) for traditional Chinese medicines for treatment of sub-health, in order to provide a scientific basis for the improvement of clinical trials and systematic review. Such databases as CNKI, CBM, VIP, Wanfang, EMbase, Medline, Clinical Trials, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were searched for RCTS for traditional Chinese medicines for treatment of sub-health between the time of establishment and February 29, 2016. Cochrane Handbook 5.1 was used to screen literatures and extract data, and CONSORT statement and CONSORT for traditional Chinese medicine statement were adopted as the basis for quality evaluation. Among the 72 RCTs included in this study, 67 (93.05%) trials described the inter-group baseline data comparability, 39(54.17%) trials described the unified diagnostic criteria, 28(38.89%) trials described the unified standards of efficacy, 4 (5.55%) trials mentioned the multi-center study, 19(26.38%) trials disclosed the random distribution method, 6(8.33%) trials used the random distribution concealment, 15(20.83%) trials adopted the method of blindness, 3(4.17%) study reported the sample size estimation in details, 5 (6.94%) trials showed a sample size of more than two hundred, 19(26.38%) trials reported the number of withdrawal, defluxion cases and those lost to follow-up, but only 2 trials adopted the ITT analysis,10(13.89%) trials reported the follow-up results, none of the trial reported the test registration and the test protocol, 48(66.7%) trials reported all of the indicators of expected outcomes, 26(36.11%) trials reported the adverse reactions and adverse events, and 4(5.56%) trials reported patient compliance. The overall quality of these randomized controlled trials for traditional Chinese medicines for treatment of sub-health is low, with methodological defects in different degrees. Therefore, it is still necessary to emphasize the correct application of principles

[Treatment of vascular dementia by Chinese herbal medicine: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials of clinical studies].

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Jian, Wen-Jia; Shi, Jing; Tian, Jin-Zhou; Ni, Jing-Nian

2015-01-01

Chinese herbal medicine has been extensively used in the treatment of vascular dementia (VaD), but lacked systematic review on its efficacy and safety. So we conducted a systematic review to assess the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine in treating VaD. CNKI, CBM, PubMed, and Wiley Online Library were retrieved for randomized trials (RCTs) on Chinese herbal medicine treating VaD patients. Randomized parallel control trials by taking Chinese herbal medicine as one treatment method and placebos/cholinesterase inhibitors/Memantine hydrochloride as the control were included. Quality rating and data extraction were performed. RevMan5.2.0 Software was used for meta-analysis. Standardized mean difference (SMD) at 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to indicate effect indicators of results. Seven RCTs met the inclusive criteria. Totally 677 VaD patients were randomly assigned to the treatment group and the control group. Descriptive analyses were performed in inclusive trials. The cognitive function was assessed in all trials. Results showed Mini-Mental state examination (MMSE) score was better in the Chinese herbal medicine group than in the placebo group, but with no significant difference when compared with the donepezil group (P > 0.05). Adverse reactions were mainly manifested as gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain in the Chinese herbal medicine group. But they occurred more in the donepezil group than in the Chinese herbal medicine group. The methodological quality of included trials was poor with less samples. Results of different trials were lack of consistency. Present evidence is not sufficient to prove or disapprove the role of Chinese herbal medicine in improving clinical symptoms and outcome indicators of VaD patients. Their clinical efficacy and safety need to be supported by more higher quality RCTs.

Hospital visitors as controls in case-control studies

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Gulnar Azevedo S Mendonça

2001-10-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Selecting controls is one of the most difficult tasks in the design of case-control studies. Hospital controls may be inadequate and random controls drawn from the base population may be unavailable. The aim was to assess the use of hospital visitors as controls in a case-control study on the association of organochlorinated compounds and other risk factors for breast cancer conducted in the main hospital of the "Instituto Nacional de Câncer" -- INCA (National Cancer Institute in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil. METHODS: The study included 177 incident cases and 377 controls recruited among female visitors. Three different models of control group composition were compared: Model 1, with all selected visitors; Model 2, excluding women visiting relatives with breast cancer; and Model 3, excluding all women visiting relatives with any type of cancer. Odds ratios (OR and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to test the associations. RESULTS: Age-adjusted OR for breast cancer associated with risk factors other than family history of cancer, except smoking and breast size, were similar in the three models. Regarding family history of all cancers, except for breast cancer, there was a decreased risk in Models 1 and 2, while in Model 3 there was an increased risk, but not statistically significant. Family history of breast cancer was a risk factor in Models 2 and 3, but no association was found in Model 1. In multivariate analysis a significant risk of breast cancer was found when there was a family history of breast cancer in Models 2 and 3 but not in Model 1. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that while investigating risk factors unrelated to family history of cancer, the use of hospital visitors as controls may be a valid and feasible alternative.

[Quality process control system of Chinese medicine preparation based on "holistic view"].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ya-Qi; Jiao, Jiao-Jiao; Wu, Zhen-Feng; Zheng, Qin; Yang, Ming

2018-01-01

"High quality, safety and effectiveness" are the primary principles for the pharmaceutical research and development process in China. The quality of products relies not only on the inspection method, but also on the design and development, process control and standardized management. The quality depends on the process control level. In this paper, the history and current development of quality control of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations are reviewed systematically. Based on the development model of international drug quality control and the misunderstanding of quality control of TCM preparations, the reasons for impacting the homogeneity of TCM preparations are analyzed and summarized. According to TCM characteristics, efforts were made to control the diversity of TCM, make "unstable" TCM into "stable" Chinese patent medicines, put forward the concepts of "holistic view" and "QbD (quality by design)", so as to create the "holistic, modular, data, standardized" model as the core of TCM preparation quality process control model. Scientific studies shall conform to the actual production of TCM preparations, and be conducive to supporting advanced equipment and technology upgrade, thoroughly applying the scientific research achievements in Chinese patent medicines, and promoting the cluster application and transformation application of TCM pharmaceutical technology, so as to improve the quality and effectiveness of the TCM industry and realize the green development. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Why do I study Chinese at university?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Chun

. Based on the students' responses, answers to why students' choice of CFL are generalized by the following aspects; i.e. instrumentality, integration, individual development, and social-cultural interest. Findings of the study provide sources to reflection on its relationship with foreign language...... learning and its pedagogical consideration in CFL. Key words: Motivation, Chinese learning, case study, Danish university students...

Smoking and adult glioma: a population-based case-control study in China.

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Hou, Lei; Jiang, Jingmei; Liu, Boqi; Han, Wei; Wu, Yanping; Zou, Xiaonong; Nasca, Philip C; Xue, Fang; Chen, Yuanli; Zhang, Biao; Pang, Haiyu; Wang, Yuyan; Wang, Zixing; Li, Junyao

2016-01-01

Smoking increases the risk of numerous cancers; however, an association of smoking with adult gliomas has not been found in a population. This case-control study included 4556 glioma cases (ICD-9 code 191.0-191.9) aged ≥ 30 years and 9112 controls from a national survey of smoking and mortality in China in 1989-1991. Controls from 325 255 surviving spouses of all-cause deaths were randomly assigned to cases in each of 103 areas according to sex and age groups at a ratio of 2:1. Smoking information was ascertained retrospectively by interviewing surviving spouses. After adjustment for confounders, smoking increased the risk of glioma deaths by 11% (odds ratio [OR] = 1.11; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.21). Compared with non-smokers; the increased risk was 9% (OR = 1.09; 95% CI: 0.99-1.20) in men and 16% (OR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.00-1.36) in women. The risk increased with age and doses. For individuals aged ≥ 50 years, smoking was associated with higher risk of glioma death by 25% (OR = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.15-1.38); this increased risk for smokers who smoked ≥ 20 cigarettes daily for ≥ 30 years was 53% (OR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.34-1.74). There were similar findings in both men and women and with either pathology-based or non-pathology-based comparisons. This study indicates that smoking is associated with glioma deaths in the Chinese population. Long-term heavy smoking could be a factor for risk stratification in individuals attending brain tumor clinics. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Neuro-Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Dietary fat, fatty acid intakes and colorectal cancer risk in Chinese adults: a case-control study.

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Zhong, Xiao; Fang, Yu-Jing; Pan, Zhi-Zhong; Li, Bin; Wang, Lian; Zheng, Mei-Chun; Chen, Yu-Ming; Zhang, Cai-Xia

2013-09-01

The associations between dietary fat intakes and the risk of colorectal cancer have been examined in many epidemiological studies, but the results have remained inconsistent. This study aimed to examine the associations of total fat and fatty acid intakes with the risk of colorectal cancer in Guangzhou, China. A case-control study was carried out between July 2010 and May 2012 in Guangzhou, China. Four hundred and eighty-nine consecutively recruited colorectal cancer cases were frequency matched to 976 controls by age (5-year interval) and sex. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to collect dietary information by face-to-face interviews. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The total fat intake was not related to the risk of colorectal cancer, with an OR (95% CI) of 0.95 (0.68-1.32) comparing the highest with the lowest quartiles. Intakes of saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and n-6 polyunsaturated fat were also not associated with the risk of colorectal cancer. However, a significant inverse association was found between total n-3 polyunsaturated fat, α-linolenic acid, and long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fat consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer. The adjusted ORs of the highest versus the lowest quartile were 0.45 (95% CI=0.32-0.64, Ptrendcolorectal cancer. However, increased consumption of n-3 polyunsaturated fat might reduce the risk.

The Impacts of Theme-Based Language Instruction: A Case Study of an Advanced Chinese Intensive Program

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Song Jiang

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Theme-based language teaching under Content-Based Instruction (CBI is a pedagogical approach that emphasizes learning professional content along with language skills. This paper reports a case study on the impacts of a theme-based advanced Chinese intensive program in a university setting. It begins with a review of CBI and its theme-based approach and then discusses the program design, curriculum development, and instructional practice of the program. The impacts of the theme-based approach are examined based on the pre- and post-proficiency test results, learners’ self-reported surveys on the themes and topics, and the reading strategies covered in the program. Qualitative analysis of learners’ self-reflections and program evaluations is also presented. Based on the evidence collected, this paper argues that the theme-based model has positive impacts on improving language proficiency, preparing for academic and professional language use, cultivating strategic language learners, and revitalizing Chinese teaching at the superior level.

Association between Concentrations of Metals in Urine and Adult Asthma: A Case-Control Study in Wuhan, China.

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Xiji Huang

Full Text Available Several metals have been reported to be associated with childhood asthma. However, the results on relationships between metals and risk of childhood asthma are inconclusive, and the research on adult asthma in the Chinese general population is rare.To investigate potential associations between levels of urinary metals and adult asthma.A case-control study of 551 adult asthma cases and 551 gender- and age-matched controls was conducted in Wuhan, China. Demographic information was obtained, and lung function was assessed. The urinary concentrations of 22 metals were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.After adjusting for other metalsand other covariates, urinary cadmium, molybdenum, chromium, copper, uranium and selenium were positively associated with asthma, with odds ratios (95% CI of 1.69 (1.00, 2.85, 3.76 (2.30, 6.16, 4.89 (3.04, 7.89, 6.06 (3.27, 11.21, 6.99 (4.37, 11.19 and 9.17 (4.16, 20.21, respectively. By contrast, urinary lead, barium, iron, zinc, nickel, manganese and rubidium were negatively associated with asthma, with odds ratios (95% CI of 0.48 (0.29, 0.80, 0.44 (0.27, 0.71, 0.41 (0.26, 0.64, 0.40 (0.24, 0.66, 0.30 (0.22, 0.41, 0.23 (0.14, 0.39 and 0.07 (0.03, 0.15, respectively. When comparing urinary metals in different subgroups of cases with those in matched controls, the associations of above 13 metals with asthma prevalence were nearly the same.Our results suggested that asthma prevalence in the Chinese adults was positively associated with urinary chromium, chromium, selenium, molybdenum, cadmium, and uranium, and negatively associated with urinary manganese, iron, nickel, zinc, rubidium, barium and lead. Additional research with larger populations in different regions is required to support our findings.

Hospital outpatients are satisfactory for case-control studies on cancer and diet in China: a comparison of population versus hospital controls.

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Li, Lin; Zhang, Min; Holman, C D'Arcy J

2013-01-01

To investigate the internal validity of a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) developed for use in Chinese women and to compare habitual dietary intakes between population and hospital controls measured by the FFQ. A quantitative FFQ and a short food habit questionnaire (SFHQ) were developed and adapted for cancer and nutritional studies. Habitual dietary intakes were assessed in 814 Chinese women aged 18-81 years (407 outpatients and 407 population controls) by face-to-face interview using the FFQ in Shenyang, Northeast China in 2009-2010. The Goldberg formula (ratio of energy intake to basal metabolic rate, EI/BMR) was used to assess the validity of the FFQ. Correlation analyses compared the SFHQ variables with those of the quantitative FFQ. Differences in dietary intakes between hospital and population controls were investigated. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained using conditional logistic regression analyses. The partial correlation coefficients were moderate to high (0.42 to 0.80; all pcontrols were comparable to population controls in consumption of 17 measured food groups and mean daily intakes of energy and selected nutrients. The FFQ had reasonable validity to measure habitual dietary intakes of Chinese women. Hospital outpatients provide a satisfactory control group for food consumption and intakes of energy and nutrients measured by the FFQ in a Chinese hospital setting.

A case-control study on risk of changing food consumption for colorectal cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bing; Li, Xiangping; Nakama, Hidenori; Zhang, Xing; Wei, Ning; Zhang, Xiulan; Zhang, Leshan

2002-01-01

To investigate the relative risk factor of food items for colorectal cancer in four time periods through a case-control study in a Chinese rural area. Colorectal cancer patients diagnosed at a county cancer center, Hebei Province, China, and non-cancer outpatients with similar age, sex, and place of residence were selected for cases and controls, respectively. There were 102 (93.6%) colorectal cancer patients and 99 (90.8%) outpatients being the cases and controls, respectively in the present investigation, who agreed to be interviewed about their food intake, during a 20-year period, through a food frequency questionnaire. The risks of intake of different food items and lifestyle for colorectal cancer were compared between cases and controls. During the 20-year period, diets of both cases and controls changed with increase in intake of animal foods and fruits, and alcohol consumption tended to increase. In the food items, milk intake showed a protective effect in both males and females, and the odds ratios were 0.38 (95% CI 0.16-0.90) and 0.28 (95% CI 0.10-0.81) for males and females, respectively. A reduced risk of fruit intake could be seen in males, while a reduced risk of vegetables could be observed in females. Meat intake and saturated fats were the prominent risk factors for colorectal cancer in males and females, respectively. A comparison of life habits, showed that tea drinking had a consistent protective effect in females, and the odds ratios were 0.21 (0.08-0.58), 0.23 (0.08-0.67), 0.25 (0.10-0.64), and 0.11 (0.04-0.30) for periods of 20-, 10-, 5-years ago, and current time, respectively. These findings indicate that change in food consumption is strongly associated with a change in risk of colorectal cancer, and dietary meat has increased the risk of colorectal cancer. Increase in the consumption of milk and fruits may be a significant measure for colorectal cancer prevention in low-incidence areas.

Writing Chinese and mathematics achievement: A study with Chinese-American undergraduates

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chieh; Nuttall, Ronald

2001-04-01

Two recent studies indicated that writing Chinese is correlated to Chinese-American (CA) students' spatial skills. The current study investigated whether writing Chinese would have the same relationship to mathematics skills. The Scholastic Assessment Test—Mathematics (SAT-Math) scores were analysed for 150 CA undergraduates: 42 writers of Chinese and 108 non-writers of Chinese. The results suggested a strong correlation between writing Chinese and success on SAT-Math. An underlying mechanism may be the common cognitive components that encompass writing Chinese, spatial tasks, and SAT-Math. Contrary to previous findings with other populations in the USA, CA females scored slightly higher on SAT-Math than males. The finding supports the cultural relativity theory of gender difference on SAT-Math.

Dose-dependent protective effect of coffee, tea, and smoking in Parkinson's disease: a study in ethnic Chinese.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, E-K; Tan, C; Fook-Chong, S M C; Lum, S Y; Chai, A; Chung, H; Shen, H; Zhao, Y; Teoh, M L; Yih, Y; Pavanni, R; Chandran, V R; Wong, M C

2003-12-15

Few studies have examined the relationship of coffee and tea in Parkinson's disease (PD). The potential protective effect of coffee intake and risk of PD has not been studied in a Chinese population. There is a high prevalence of caffeine takers among Chinese in our population. We undertook a case control study to examine the relationship between coffee and tea drinking, cigarette smoking, and other enviromental factors and risk of PD among ethnic Chinese in our population. 300 PD and 500 population controls were initially screened. Two hundred case control pairs matched for age, gender, and race were finally included in the analysis. Univariate analysis revealed significant association of PD with coffee drinking (pcoffee drunk (OR 0.787, 95%CI 0.664-0.932, p=0.006), amount of tea drunk (OR 0.724, 95%CI 0.559-0.937, p=0.014), number of cigarettes smoked (OR 0.384, 95%CI 0.204-0.722, p=0.003), history of heavy metal and toxin exposure (OR 11.837, 95%CI 1.075-130.366, p=0.044), and heart disease (OR 5.518, 95%CI 1.377-22.116, p=0.016) to be significant factors associated with PD. One unit of coffee and tea (3 cups/day for 10 years) would lead to a 22% and 28% risk reduction of PD. One unit of cigarette smoke (3 packs/day for 10 years) reduced the risk of PD by 62%. We demonstrated a dose-dependent protective effect of PD in coffee and tea drinkers and smokers in an ethnic Chinese population. A history of exposure to heavy metals increased the risk of PD, supporting the multifactorial etiologies of the disease.

Insomnia in older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Hong Kong: a case-control study.

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Xiang, Yu-Tao; Wong, Tak-Shun; Tsoh, Joshua; Ungvari, Gabor S; Correll, Christoph U; Ko, Fanny W S; Hui, David S C; Chiu, Helen F K

2014-06-01

This study aimed to determine the frequency and sociodemographic/clinical correlates of insomnia in Chinese patients aged ≥60 years suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this case-control study of 142 outpatients with COPD and 218 sex- and age-matched control subjects, COPD patients were recruited from a prospective study sample hospitalized in Hong Kong for acute COPD exacerbation (≥2 major COPD symptoms or >1 major+minor COPD symptoms for ≥2 consecutive days). Controls were recruited from social centres in Hong Kong. Activity of daily living was assessed with the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale, life events were evaluated using the Life Event Scale, depressive symptoms were ascertained with the Geriatric Depression Scale, and quality of life was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-12. Early, middle and late insomnia were measured using items 4, 5 and 6 of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. The frequency of ≥1 type of insomnia was 47.2% in patients and 25.7% in controls; frequencies of early, middle and late insomnia in patients were 24.6%, 31.0%, and 26.1%, respectively, compared to 14.7%, 14.7% and 11.9% in controls. Group differences were non-significant after controlling for relevant covariates. However, in multiple logistic regression analysis, more physical illnesses (p = 0.02, OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.1-1.7) and more severe depressive symptoms (p = 0.009, OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 1.03-1.3) were independently associated with any type of insomnia in COPD patients, accounting for 21.3% of the variance. A significant proportion of older adult Chinese COPD patients suffer from insomnia that warrants more attention in clinical practice.

Novel mutations in the SOX10 gene in the first two Chinese cases of type IV Waardenburg syndrome.

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Jiang, Lu; Chen, Hongsheng; Jiang, Wen; Hu, Zhengmao; Mei, Lingyun; Xue, Jingjie; He, Chufeng; Liu, Yalan; Xia, Kun; Feng, Yong

2011-05-20

We analyzed the clinical features and family-related gene mutations for the first two Chinese cases of type IV Waardenburg syndrome (WS4). Two families were analyzed in this study. The analysis included a medical history, clinical analysis, a hearing test and a physical examination. In addition, the EDNRB, EDN3 and SOX10 genes were sequenced in order to identify the pathogenic mutation responsible for the WS4 observed in these patients. The two WS4 cases presented with high phenotypic variability. Two novel heterozygous mutations (c.254G>A and c.698-2A>T) in the SOX10 gene were detected. The mutations identified in the patients were not found in unaffected family members or in 200 unrelated control subjects. This is the first report of WS4 in Chinese patients. In addition, two novel mutations in SOX10 gene have been identified. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of celiac disease in adult Chinese patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome: A prospective, controlled, cohort study.

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Kou, Guan Jun; Guo, Jing; Zuo, Xiu Li; Li, Chang Qing; Liu, Chao; Ji, Rui; Liu, Han; Wang, Xiao; Li, Yan Qing

2018-03-01

Celiac disease is a chronic inflammatory enteropathy with a symptom spectrum similar to that of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is a common but largely undiagnosed condition in the Western countries. However, it is extremely rare among Chinese individuals, and few studies have investigated its prevalence in China. The aim was to determine the prevalence of celiac disease in patients with IBS who were diagnosed using the Rome III criteria in a single center of northern China. This was a single-center, prospective, controlled cohort study performed in Qilu Hospital involving 246 patients with IBS and 246 healthy controls. Blood samples were drawn to assess serum tissue transglutaminase immunoglobulin A (tTg-IgA). Patients with a positive or equivocal tTg-IgA (≥15 U/mL) were subjected to probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) and duodenal biopsy to confirm celiac disease. Altogether 12 (4.9%) patients with IBS and two (0.8%) healthy controls were positive or equivocal for serum tTg-IgA. Of these, five patients with IBS underwent pCLE and a targeted biopsy; all were histopathologically found to have celiac disease, although one was eventually diagnosed with lymphoma. After implementation of a gluten-free diet, seven patients serologically positive for IBS showed clinical improvement, thus our study illustrated a minimum prevalence of 2.85% of celiac disease among patients with IBS in our center. Celiac disease is not rare in Chinese individuals, particularly among those with IBS. Therefore, it should receive higher attention in clinical practice in China. © 2018 Chinese Medical Association Shanghai Branch, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Case Studies in Modelling, Control in Food Processes.

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Glassey, J; Barone, A; Montague, G A; Sabou, V

This chapter discusses the importance of modelling and control in increasing food process efficiency and ensuring product quality. Various approaches to both modelling and control in food processing are set in the context of the specific challenges in this industrial sector and latest developments in each area are discussed. Three industrial case studies are used to demonstrate the benefits of advanced measurement, modelling and control in food processes. The first case study illustrates the use of knowledge elicitation from expert operators in the process for the manufacture of potato chips (French fries) and the consequent improvements in process control to increase the consistency of the resulting product. The second case study highlights the economic benefits of tighter control of an important process parameter, moisture content, in potato crisp (chips) manufacture. The final case study describes the use of NIR spectroscopy in ensuring effective mixing of dry multicomponent mixtures and pastes. Practical implementation tips and infrastructure requirements are also discussed.

Case Study of An Adopted Chinese Woman with Bulimia Nervosa: A Cultural and Transcultural Approach.

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de Montgremier, Marion Vu-Augier; Chen, Liangliang; Chen, Jue; Moro, Marie Rose

2017-08-25

For a long time, eating disorders were considered as culture-bound syndromes, specific to Western countries. This theory has been refuted for anorexia, but few transcultural studies have been carried out on bulimia nervosa. As a result, knowledge concerning this disorder is limited. On the basis of a clinical case involving a bulimic Chinese girl, we attempt to demonstrate the impact of cultural factors on the disorder. We discuss the atypical characteristics of her symptom profile, in particular the absence of preoccupations concerning her appearance and the psycho-pathological impact of the secrecy surrounding her adoption. In this particular case, bulimia triggered a search for filiation and identity that could have later enabled her to restore harmonious family ties and to gain autonomy. We also examine the case in the context of adoption in China. This clinical case points out how important it is to take cultural factors into account and how useful a transcultural approach is in order to understand bulimia, and suggest effective methods of care.

Immuno-related polymorphisms and cervical cancer risk: The IARC multicentric case-control study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James McKay

Full Text Available A small proportion of women who are exposed to infection with human-papillomavirus (HPV develop cervical cancer (CC. Genetic factors may affect the risk of progression from HPV infection to cervical precancer and cancer. We used samples from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC multicentric case-control study to evaluate the association of selected genetic variants with CC. Overall, 790 CC cases and 717 controls from Algeria, Morocco, India and Thailand were included. Cervical exfoliated cells were obtained from control women and cervical exfoliated cells or biopsy specimens from cases. HPV-positivity was determined using a general primer GP5+/6+ mediated PCR. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI of host genotypes with CC risk, using the homozygous wild type genotype as the referent category and adjusting by age and study centre. The association of polymorphisms with the risk of high-risk HPV-positivity among controls was also evaluated. A statistically significant association was observed between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP CHR6 rs2844511 and CC risk: the OR for carriers of the GA or GG genotypes was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.43-1.14 and 0.61 (95% CI: 0.38-0.98, respectively, relative to carriers of AA genotype (p-value for trend 0.03. We also observed associations of borderline significance with the TIPARP rs2665390 polymorphism, which was previously found to be associated with ovarian and breast cancer, and with the EXOC1 rs13117307 polymorphism, which has been linked to cervical cancer in a large study in a Chinese population. We confirmed the association between CC and the rs2844511 polymorphism previously identified in a GWAS study in a Swedish population. The major histocompatibility region of chromosome 6, or perhaps other SNPs in linkage disequilibrium, may be involved in CC onset.

Consensus-based recommendations for case report in Chinese medicine (CARC).

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Fu, Shu-Fei; Cheng, Chung-Wah; Zhang, Li; Zhong, Linda Li-Dan; Kun, Wai; Lin, Jia; Zhang, Bo-Li; Wang, Yong-Yan; Shang, Hong-Cai; Bian, Zhao-Xiang

2016-01-01

Case reports are valuable clinical evidence in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, the general reporting quality is suboptimal. A working group comprising 20 members was set up to develop systematic recommendations on case report in Chinese medicine (CARC). The working group (CARC group) developed a primary checklist based on reviewing the general reporting quality of case reports in TCM and thorough internal discussion. Two-round consensus process had been carried out among clinical experts, evidence-based medicine methodologists, medical journal editors and clinical practitioners with designated questionnaire embedded with the primary checklist. In total, 118 participants from 17 provinces of China and Korea completed the questionnaires. Their feedback was analyzed and discussed by the CARC group. The checklist was amended accordingly, and the final version, comprising 16-item, is presented here. Under the framework of CARC recommendations, the reporting quality of case reports in TCM can be improved.

Case-Control Studies - An Efficient Observational Study Design

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van Stralen, Karlijn J.; Dekker, Friedo W.; Zoccali, Carmine; Jager, Kitty J.

2010-01-01

Case-control studies are an efficient research method for investigating risk factors of a disease. The method involves the comparison of the odds of exposure in a patient group with that of the odds of exposure in a control group. As only a minority of the population is included in the study, less

Travel experiences and aspirations: a case study from Chinese youth

OpenAIRE

Xu, Feifei; Brown, Lorraine; Long, Philip

2016-01-01

Understanding cultural values is vital in tourism as these influence an individual’s travel experiences and expectations. Students represent an important segment of the international tourist population, and Chinese student tourists are an increasingly significant part of that segment. It is therefore important to understand how cultural values influence Chinese students’experiences and aspirations. Will their past travel experiences influence future aspirations? Using data collected from a fr...

A case study of Chinese bound feet: application of footprint analysis.

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Reischl, Uwe; Nandikolla, Vidja; Colby, Conrad; Mijović, Budimir; Wei, Hsian-Chuen

2008-06-01

Foot print patterns of the bound feet of a 90-year-old Chinese female were made to obtain insight into the ergonomic consequences of a Chinese custom that caused significant disabilities for many women throughout history. Pressure patterns were evaluated using the techniques applied to standard thumb print analsyis. A digital summary of the pressure patterns were compared to the patterns obtained from a normal subject. The outcomes indicated that the bound foot produced greater plantar tissue pressures than the non-bound foot. These observations help explain the discomfort, gait abnormalities, and disabilities exhibited by many older women with bound feet living in China today. Although foot-binding is no longer practiced, this study offers an ergonomic perspective on a custom practiced in China for centuries.

What prevents Chinese parents from reporting possible cases of child sexual abuse to authority? A holistic-interactionistic approach.

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Xie, Qian Wen; Sun, Xiaoyue; Chen, Mengtong; Qiao, Dong Ping; Chan, Ko Ling

2017-02-01

The reporting of suspected CSA cases to authorities in a timely manner is important in preventing continued abuse and protecting abused children at early ages. The current study seeks to explore parents' intentions of reporting their own children's CSA experiences to authorities as well as their reporting willingness when they become aware of possible CSA cases happening to children in other families. Two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted among a sample of 26 parents in Beijing; these parents were purposefully selected so as to be diverse in terms of gender, age, and socioeconomic status. The data were analyzed thematically. The findings showed that the reporting of suspected CSA to authorities was a choice made by only a few Chinese parents; it was often even a last resort. By using a holistic-interactionistic approach, the interaction between Chinese parents' intentions of reporting CSA and the Chinese socio-cultural context was analyzed as a dynamic and continuously ongoing process. The impacts of the definition and perceptions of CSA on reporting, the balance of children's rights and parents' power, and the double effect of informal social control are discussed. The implications, both locally and globally, are also discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acculturation Strategy, Integration Paradoxes and Educational Adaptation--A Case Study of Chinese Visiting Scholar's Family in the United States

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Weidong, Li; Chen, Sisi

2017-01-01

In this case study, we developed a theoretical framework for examining the relationship between acculturation strategy and educational adaptation. By interviews and observations of one Chinese visiting scholar's family in the United States, we found that the family utilized "integration" as the acculturation strategy to adapt to the US…

Culturally attuned Internet treatment for depression amongst Chinese Australians: a randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Isabella; Zou, Judy; Titov, Nickolai; Dear, Blake F; Li, Stephen; Johnston, Luke; Andrews, Gavin; Hunt, Caroline

2012-02-01

Although depression can be treated effectively with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), only a small percentage of Chinese Australians access evidence-based treatment due to practical and cultural barriers. The present study examined the efficacy and acceptability of an Internet delivered CBT (iCBT) program to treat Chinese Australians with depression. The Chinese depression iCBT program (the Brighten Your Mood Program) is a culturally adapted version of the clinically efficacious Sadness iCBT Program. Fifty-five Chinese Australians with depression were randomly allocated to either an immediate treatment group or to a waitlist control group. Treatment consisted of an 8 week program with 6 CBT online educational lessons, homework assignments, additional resources presented in Chinese and English, and weekly telephone support with Mandarin/Cantonese-speaking support personnel. An intention-to-treat model was used for data analyses. Seventeen of twenty-five (68%) treatment group participants completed all lessons within the timeframe. Compared to controls, treatment group participants reported significantly reduced symptoms of depression on the Chinese versions of the Beck Depression Inventory (CBDI) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item (CB-PHQ-9). The within- and between-group effect sizes (Cohen's d) were 1.41 and 0.93 on the CBDI, and 0.90 and 0.50 on the CB-PHQ-9, respectively. Participants rated the procedure as acceptable, and gains were sustained at three-month follow-up. The study included several subclinical participants and some measures that have not been previously validated with Chinese Australians. Results provide preliminary support for the efficacy and acceptability of an iCBT program at reducing symptoms of depression in Chinese Australians. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation and treatment of low and anxious mood in Chinese-speaking international students studying in Scotland: study protocol of a pilot randomised controlled trial.

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Zheng, Mengyi; McClay, Carrie-Anne; Wilson, Sarah; Williams, Christopher

2015-01-01

Low mood is a common mental health problem affecting up to 121 million people worldwide and is common in students, particularly international students. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is known to be effective as a treatment for low mood and anxiety when delivered one to one by an expert practitioner, however this can be expensive and many services have waiting lists and delayed access. A range of additional ways of increasing access to services includes the offer of online courses such as computerised CBT as a possible additional pathway for care. This project aims to test the feasibility of a pilot randomised controlled trial of an online CBT-based life skills course with Chinese-speaking international students experiencing low mood and anxiety. Chinese-speaking international students with symptoms of low mood and/or anxiety will be recruited from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Participants will be remotely randomised to receive either immediate access (IA) or delayed access (DA) to a guided/supported online CBT-based life skills package, the "Living Life" package (Chinese version). Participants will be randomly assigned to IA or DA to the intervention. The primary end point will be at 3 months when the delayed group will be offered the intervention. Levels of depression, anxiety, social functioning and satisfaction will be assessed. This pilot study will test the trial design, ability to recruit, gather completed questionnaires, test drop-out rates and investigate completion and acceptability of the package. The study aims to reduce uncertainties about the delivery of a future substantive study and will also inform a sample size calculation for that subsequent substantive randomised controlled trial (RCT) which will be carried out to determine the effectiveness of the online package in improving low mood and anxiety in the Chinese-speaking student population. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN30816908.

The effects of reminiscence therapy on depressive symptoms of Chinese elderly: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

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Chen Ting-ji

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Depression is one of the most common mental disorders with a high prevalence among the older adults. In recent years, after realizing some side effects of the antidepressants, non-pharmacological psychological treatments begin to attract accruing attention. Reminiscence therapy is one of the psychological treatments that specially designed for the elderly to improve their mental health status by recalling and assessing their existing memory. Though some studies indicate reminiscence therapy can be effective and beneficial for the mental health of elderly, the conclusions are not consistent yet. The aim of this research is to assess the effectiveness of reminiscence therapy for Chinese elderly. Methods Sixty older adults (≥60 years of age with mild to moderate depression will be randomly assigned to an experimental or a control condition. The participants in the experiment group will receive the reminiscence therapy under the Watt’s protocol with adaptation to Chinese Culture which consists of six weekly sessions of 90 minutes each. The control group will be treated as before. An assessor who is blind to intervention will conduct the measures before treatment, after treatment immediately, and three months after treatment. Discussion This study will provide the evidence whether the reminiscence therapy is effective to treat depressive symptoms of Chinese elderly. This research has been registered in the clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01553669.

Pilot case-control study of paediatric falls from windows.

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Johnston, Brian D; Quistberg, D Alexander; Shandro, Jamie R; Partridge, Rebecca L; Song, Hyun Rae; Ebel, Beth E

2011-12-01

Unintentional falls from windows are an important cause of paediatric morbidity. There have been no controlled studies to identify modifiable environmental risk factors for window falls in young children. The authors have piloted a case-control study to test procedures for case identification, subject enrolment, and environmental data collection. Case windows were identified when a child 0-9 years old presented for care after a fall from that window. Control windows were identified (1) from the child's home and (2) from the home of an age- and gender-matched child seeking care for an injury diagnosis not related to a window fall. Study staff visited enrolled homes to collect window measurements and conduct window screen performance tests. The authors enrolled and collected data on 18 case windows, 18 in-home controls, and 14 matched community controls. Six potential community controls were contacted for every one enrolled. Families who completed the home visit viewed study procedures positively. Case windows were more likely than community controls to be horizontal sliders (100% vs 50%), to have deeper sills (6.28 vs 4.31 inches), to be higher above the exterior surface (183 vs 82 inches), and to have screens that failed below a threshold derived from the static pressure of a 3-year-old leaning against the mesh (60.0% vs 16.7%). Case windows varied very little from in-home controls. Case-control methodology can be used to study risk factors for paediatric falls from windows. Recruitment of community controls is challenging but essential, because in-home controls tend to be over-matched on important variables. A home visit allows direct measurement of window type, height, sill depth, and screen performance. These variables should all be investigated in subsequent, larger studies covering major housing markets.

Passive Smoking and Breast Cancer Risk among Non-Smoking Women: A Case-Control Study in China.

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Bin Li

Full Text Available The role of passive smoking on breast cancer risk was unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between passive smoking and breast cancer risk among Chinese women.A hospital-based case-control study, including 877 breast cancer cases and 890 controls, frequency-matched by age and residence, was conducted. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on passive smoking history through face-to-face interview by trained interviewers. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between passive smoking and breast cancer risk. A positive association between any passive smoking exposure and breast cancer risk was observed. Compared with women who were never exposed to passive smoking, women who were ever exposed had a higher breast cancer risk, with the adjusted odds ratio (OR and 95% confidence interval (CI of 1.35 (1.11-1.65. Similar result was found on home passive smoking exposure and breast cancer risk, but not on workplace passive smoking exposure. Women who were ever exposed to tobacco smoke at home had a higher risk of breast cancer compared with never exposed women, with the adjusted OR (95% CI of 1.30 (1.05-1.61. Home passive smoking exposure showed significant dose-response relationships with breast cancer risk in smoker-years, cigarettes/day and total pack-years (Ptrend=0.003, 0.006 and 0.009, respectively. An increased total smoker-years of any passive exposure significantly elevated the risk of breast cancer (Ptrend<0.001. Positive associations and dose-response relationships were found among postmenopausal women and all subtypes of estrogen receptor (ER and progesterone receptor (PR status of breast cancer.Passive smoking was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer among non-smoking Chinese women. A stronger positive association with breast cancer risk was seen mainly among postmenopausal women.

Performance control of Chinese investment funds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cao, X.

2002-01-01

The performance control of investment funds has long been a discussed focal point by both academics and practitioners because of the ready availability of fund data and the importance of fund performance in attracting investors. Unfortunately, this area was still an almost blank space in the Chinese

[Awareness rate, treatment rate and control rate of dyslipidemia in Chinese adults, 2010].

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Li, Jian-hong; Wang, Li-min; Mi, Sheng-quan; Zhang, Mei; Li, Yi-chong; Jiang, Yong; Xu, Yu; Dai, Meng; Wang, Lin-hong

2012-08-01

To explore the awareness, treatment and control rates of dyslipidemia among Chinese adults aged over 18 in 2010, and to analyze the prevalent features. 97 409 subjects aged over 18 were recruited from 162 monitoring sites around 31 provinces in China mainland in 2010, applying multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method. Information about subjects' history of dyslipidemia, treatment and control were collected by face-to-face interview; and each subject's fasting venous blood was drawn in the morning before having food, to test total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C). In total, 51 818 cases of dyslipidemia ever or now, including 2235 subjects who once suffered from dyslipidemia but had their blood lipid controlled to normal, were screened out. And the awareness, treatment and control rates were calculated by complex weighting. The awareness rate of dyslipidemia among Chinese adults was 10.93%, while the stratified rates were 6.00%, 16.75% and 18.74% in the groups of subjects aged 18 - 44, 45 - 59 and over 60 years old, respectively (χ² = 1293.02, P China, respectively (χ² = 117.04, P China, respectively (χ² = 50.71, P control rate of dyslipidemia was 3.53% among total subjects, while whose stratified rates were 1.64%, 5.49% and 6.94% in the groups of subjects aged 18 - 44, 45 - 59 and over 60 years old, respectively (χ² = 554.12, P China, respectively (χ² = 91.45, P control rates of dyslipidemia have been comparatively low among Chinese adults, especially among the population who were young, or who were from rural area or western China.

Carbon intensity of electricity generation and CDM baseline: case studies of three Chinese provinces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Chi; Heller, T.C.; May, M.M.

2005-01-01

A difficult and persistent issue in the discussion of Clean Development Mechanism is estimating a carbon emissions baseline, against which tradable permits may be certified. This paper examines the proposition of adopting sectoral, as opposed to project level, baselines by conducting case studies of the electricity industry in three Chinese provinces. We find that complicated central planning, financial and institutional factors have been behind the declining trend of carbon intensity in electricity generation and its provincial variations. Government planned electricity development which incorporates many of these factors and the associated industry carbon intensity may serve as a second best baseline. However, the limitation of the baseline we examine in this study plus difficulties numerous studies have revealed in baseline setting suggests that using baselines based on counterfactuals of what would happen will in the end either miss good emission reduction opportunities, or compromise the integrity of the regime

Epidemiology and the control of disease in China, with emphasis on the Chinese Biobank Study.

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Li, L; Guo, Y; Chen, Z; Chen, J; Peto, R

2012-03-01

Similar to many other developing countries, China is facing a double burden of disease as a result of epidemiological transition. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent a major challenge, having an adverse effect on the health of the Chinese population and increasing the economic burden of health care. In today's era of evidence-based medicine and decision making, China, as a developing country, has a lack of local scientific evidence which will affect the effectiveness of NCD prevention and control. As such, and on the basis of decades of cooperation and trust with the University of Oxford, the Chinese Biobank Study [Kadoorie Study of Chronic Disease in China (KSCDC)] was commenced in 2004. KSCDC, an international prospective project, aims to establish the basis of a blood-based health database, using genetic, environmental and lifestyle aspects to investigate and understand the causes, risk factors, pathogenesis, prevalence patterns and trends of major chronic diseases in China (such as stroke, coronary heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease etc.). This study has a duration of 15-20 years, and will provide scientific evidence for strategic planning of NCD prevention and control, and development of new treatment and intervention approaches. In total, approximately 510,000 adults aged 30-79 years have been recruited from the general population in 10 geographically defined regions (five rural and five urban) of China, with differing disease profiles and differing risk exposures. Extensive data collection has been undertaken with questionnaires, physical measurements, and collection and storage of blood samples. KSCDC is a multi-factor, multi-disease, multi-disciplinary large-scale chronic disease epidemiological study, and is also one of the largest long-term blood-based population cohort studies ever conducted in the world. It is worth mentioning that all gene specimens are kept in China, and all associated

Changing patient safety culture in China: a case study of an experimental Chinese hospital from a comparative perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu XP

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Xiao Ping Xu,* Dong Ning Deng,* Yong Hong Gu, Chui Shan Ng, Xiao Cai, Jun Xu, Xin Shi Zhang, Dong Ge Ke, Qian Hui Yu, Chi Kuen Chan Clinical Service Department, The University of Hong Kong - Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: The World Health Organization highlights that patient safety interventions are not lacking but that the local context affects their successful implementation. Increasing attention is being paid to patient safety in Mainland China, yet few studies focus on patient safety in organizations with mixed cultures. This paper evaluates the current patient safety culture in an experimental Chinese hospital with a Hong Kong hospital management culture, and it aims to explore the application of Hong Kong’s patient safety strategies in the context of Mainland China. Methods: A quantitative survey of 307 hospital staff members was conducted using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire. The findings were compared with a similar study on general Chinese hospitals and were appraised with reference to the Manchester Patient Safety Framework. Results: Lower scores were observed among participants with the following characteristics: males, doctors, those with more work experience, those with higher education, and those from the general practice and otolaryngology departments. However, the case study hospital achieved better scores in management expectations, actions and support for patient safety, incident reporting and communication, and teamwork within units. Its weaknesses were related to non-punitive responses to errors, teamwork across units, and staffing. Conclusions: The case study hospital contributes to a changing patient safety culture in Mainland China, yet its patient safety culture remains mostly bureaucratic. Further efforts could be made to deepen the staff’s patient safety culture mind-set, to realize a �

What determines Chinese outward direct investment in Africa? Case study: CNPC and Huawei

OpenAIRE

WU, XUANYONG

2014-01-01

Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from China has increased substantially in recent years. Africa, as one of the most significant destinations of OFDI, has attracted increased global attention. The determinants of China’s OFDI to Africa are primarily linked to poorly governed countries with abundant natural resources. However, the results are inconclusive because of the differences between state-controlled and privately owned firms. In order to explore what drives Chinese OFDI in Africa...

[The technological innovation strategy for quality control of Chinese medicine based on Big Data].

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Li, Zhen-hao; Qian, Zhong-zhi; Cheng, Yi-yu

2015-09-01

The evolution of the quality control concepts of medical products within the global context and the development of the quality control technology of Chinese medicine are briefly described. Aimed at the bottlenecks in the regulation and quality control of Chinese medicine, using Big Data technology to address the significant challenges in Chinese medicine industry is proposed. For quality standard refinements and internationalization of Chinese medicine, a technological innovation strategy encompassing its methodology, and the R&D direction of the subsequent core technology are also presented.

A case-control association study between Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD and the MCP-1 -2518G/A polymorphism in a Chinese sample Estudo de associação de casos-controle entre Transtorno Obsessivo-Compulsivo (TOC e polimorfismo MCP-1 -2518G/A em uma coorte chinesa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinhua Zhang

2012-12-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD and a functional polymorphism of MCP-1 in the Chinese Han population. METHOD: We genotyped and performed a case-control association analysis of the MCP-1 -2518G/A polymorphism in 200 OCD patients and 294 healthy control subjects. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in MCP-1 -2518G/A genotypic and allelic frequencies between OCD cases and controls (x² = 1.123, df = 2, P = 0.57 by genotype; x² = 0.802, df = 1, P = 0.37 by allele. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that MCP-1 -2518G/A may not play a major role in the genetic predisposition of the Chinese Han population to OCD. However, further studies using a larger number of subjects are required to obtain a clear conclusion.OBJETIVO: Investigar a relação entre Transtorno Obsessivo-Compusilvo (TOC e um polimorfismo funcional de MCP-1 na população chinesa de etnia Han. MÉTODOS: Determinamos os genótipos e realizamos uma análise de associações de casos-controle de polimorfismo MCP-1 -2518G/A em 200 indivíduos com TOC e 294 indivíduos saudáveis (controle. RESULTADOS: Não houve diferença significativa no genótipo MCP-1 -2518G/A e nas frequências alélicas entre casos de TOC e controles (x² = 1,123, df = 2, P = 0,57 por genotipo; x² = 0,802, df = 1, P = 0,37 por alelo. CONCLUSÕES: Nossos resultados indicaram que MCP-1 -2518G/A pode não ter grande participação na predisposição genética da etnia Han no que diz respeito ao TOC. Contudo, novos estudos com um maior número de indivíduos são necessários para uma conclusão mais clara.

Active control of the Chinese Giant Solar Telescope

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Dai, Yichun; Yang, Dehua; Jin, Zhenyu; Liu, Zhong; Qin, Wei

2014-07-01

The Chinese Giant Solar Telescope (CGST) is the next generation solar telescope of China with diameter of 8 meter. The unique feature of CGST is that its primary is a ring, which facilitates the polarization detection and thermal control. In its present design and development phase, two primary mirror patterns are considered. For one thing, the primary mirror is expected to construct with mosaic mirror with 24 trapezoidal (or petal) segments, for another thing, a monolithic mirror is also a candidate for its primary mirror. Both of them depend on active control technique to maintain the optical quality of the ring mirror. As a solar telescope, the working conditions of the CGST are quite different from those of the stellar telescopes. To avoid the image deterioration due to the mirror seeing and dome seeing, especially in the case of the concentration of flux in a solar telescope, large aperture solar projects prefer to adopt open telescopes and open domes. In this circumstance, higher wind loads act on the primary mirror directly, which will cause position errors and figure errors of the primary with matters worse than those of the current 10-meter stellar telescopes with dome protect. Therefore, it gives new challenges to the active control capability, telescope structure design, and wind shielding design. In this paper, the study progress of active control of CGST for its mosaic and monolithic mirror are presented, and the wind effects on such two primary mirrors are also investigated.

Homocyst(e)ine and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review of the evidence with special emphasis on case-control studies and nested case-control studies.

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Ford, Earl S; Smith, S Jay; Stroup, Donna F; Steinberg, Karen K; Mueller, Patricia W; Thacker, Stephen B

2002-02-01

Elevated concentrations of homocyst(e)ine are thought to increase the risk of vascular diseases including coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. We searched MEDLINE (1966-1999), EMBASE (1974-1999), SciSearch (1974- 1999), and Dissertation Abstracts (1999) for articles and theses about homocyst(e)ine concentration and coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. We included 57 publications (3 cohort studies, 12 nested case-control studies, 42 case-control studies) that reported results on 5518 people with coronary heart disease (11,068 control subjects) and 1817 people with cerebrovascular disease (4787 control subjects) in our analysis. For coronary heart disease, the summary odds ratios (OR) for a 5-micromol/l increase in homocyst(e)ine concentration were 1.06 (95% CI : 0.99-1.13) for 2 publications of cohort studies, 1.23 (95% CI : 1.07-1.41) for 10 publications of nested case-control studies, and 1.70 (95% CI : 1.50-1.93) for 26 publications of case-control studies. For cerebrovascular disease, the summary OR for a 5-micromol/l increase in homocyst(e)ine concentration were 1.10 (95% CI : 0.94-1.28) for 2 publications of cohort studies, 1.58 (95% CI : 1.35-1.85) for 5 publications of nested case-control studies, and 2.16 (95% CI : 1.65-2.82) for 17 publications of case-control studies. Prospective studies offer weaker support than case-control studies for an association between homocyst(e)ine concentration and cardiovascular disease. Although other lines of evidence support a role for homocyst(e)ine in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease, more information from prospective epidemiological studies or clinical trials is needed to clarify this role.

The moderating effects of impulsivity on Chinese rural young suicide.

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Zhang, Jie; Lin, Lin

2014-06-01

As only about 50% of Chinese suicides have mental disorders, nonpsychiatric factors such as social environment and personality may account for the variance that is not explained by mental problems. We try to explore the effects of impulsivity on Chinese suicides and the role impulsivity plays in the relationship between negative life events (NLEs) and suicidal behavior. A total of 392 suicide cases (178 female and 214 male, aged 15-34 years) and 416 community controls (202 males and 214 females) of the same age range were sampled in China. The case-control data were obtained using psychological autopsy method with structured and semistructured instruments. Impulsivity was an important predictor of Chinese rural young suicides and it was a moderator between NLEs and suicide. Findings of the study may be translated into practical measures in suicide prevention in China as well as elsewhere in the world. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Application of transcriptomics in Chinese herbal medicine studies

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Hsin-Yi Lo

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Transcriptomics using DNA microarray has become a practical and popular tool for herbal medicine study because of high throughput, sensitivity, accuracy, specificity, and reproducibility. Therefore, this article focuses on the overview of DNA microarray technology and the application of DNA microarray in Chinese herbal medicine study. To understand the number and the objectives of articles utilizing DNA microarray for herbal medicine study, we surveyed 297 frequently used Chinese medicinal herbs listed in Pharmacopoeia Commission of People’s Republic of China. We classified these medicinal herbs into 109 families and then applied PudMed search using “microarray” and individual herbal family as keywords. Although thousands of papers applying DNA microarray in Chinese herbal studies have been published since 1998, most of the articles focus on the elucidation of mechanisms of certain biological effects of herbs. Construction of the bioactivity database containing large-scaled gene expression profiles of quality control herbs can be applied in the future to analyze the biological events induced by herbs, predict the therapeutic potential of herbs, evaluate the safety of herbs, and identify the drug candidate of herbs. Moreover, the linkage of systems biology tools, such as functional genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, pharmacogenomics and toxicogenomics, will become a new translational platform between Western medicine and Chinese herbal medicine.

Exploring Chinese cultural standards through the lens of German managers: A case study approach

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Roger Moser

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The ability to understand one’s own culture and to deal with specificities of foreign cultures is one of the core requirements in today’s international business. Management skills are partially culture specific and a management approach that is appropriate in one cultural context may not be appropriate in another. Several business activities of companies nowadays take place abroad, which requires managers to interact with different cultures. This paper aims to analyse cultural characteristics, especially in a Sino-German business context. Based on literature analysis and case study research, relevant cultural standards in China were identified from the German perspective. The result differentiates three superordinate cultural areas and five specific cultural standards and analyses different influence factors on the dimensions of the identified Chinese cultural standards.

Preproghrelin Leu72Met polymorphism in Chinese subjects with coronary artery disease and controls.

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Tang, Na-Ping; Wang, Lian-Sheng; Yang, Li; Gu, Hai-Juan; Zhu, Huai-Jun; Zhou, Bo; Sun, Qing-Min; Cong, Ri-Hong; Wang, Bin

2008-01-01

Ghrelin, a novel endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, is considered to exert a protective effect against atherosclerosis. The Leu72Met (+408C>A) polymorphic variant of the preproghrelin, the gene for the ghrelin precursor, has been linked to obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. However, it is unclear whether this polymorphism is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). We conducted a case-control study with 317 CAD patients and 323 controls to investigate the potential association of the Leu72Met polymorphism with the occurrence of CAD and CAD-related phenotypes in Chinese population. No significant difference in the Leu72Met genotype frequency was observed between CAD patients and controls (P=NS). The Leu72Met polymorphism was not associated with hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, the number of diseased vessels, plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol or fasting glucose levels in CAD patients. However, among CAD patients, those with variant genotypes (Leu72Met and Met72Met) had lower BMI (24.4+/-0.3 kg/m(2)) than Leu72Leu carriers (25.4+/-0.2 kg/m(2), adjusted P=0.033). Our data indicate that the preproghrelin Leu72Met polymorphism is not associated with CAD in Chinese population. However, the Leu72Met variant is associated with BMI among CAD patients.

Biology of Leptoypha hospita (Hemiptera: Tingidae), a Potential Biological Control Agent of Chinese Privet

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Yanzhuo Zhang; James L. Hanula; Scott Horn; Kristine Braman; Jianghua Sun

2011-01-01

The biology of Leptoypha hospita Drake et Poor (Hemiptera: Tingidae), a potential biological control agent from China for Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense Lour., was studied in quarantine in the United States. Both nymphs and adults feed on Chinese privet mesophyll cells that lead to a bleached appearance of leaves and dieback of branch tips. L. hospita has five...

Social Media Strategy in the Chinese Market : Weibo Platform Case Study

OpenAIRE

Wang, Yunchun; Ivanova, Anna

2014-01-01

Problematisation Previous study has indicated that social media is an effective marketing tool. Moreover, Weibo, a Chinese social network contains large potential for the companies. However little theoretical guidance exists on what are the key features of Weibo marketing. Purpose and research question The purpose of this study contributes to a better understanding of the social media by analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of Weibo for Western companies that expect to launch a successf...

Matched case-control studies: a review of reported statistical methodology

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Niven DJ

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Daniel J Niven1, Luc R Berthiaume2, Gordon H Fick1, Kevin B Laupland11Department of Critical Care Medicine, Peter Lougheed Centre, Calgary, 2Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, CanadaBackground: Case-control studies are a common and efficient means of studying rare diseases or illnesses with long latency periods. Matching of cases and controls is frequently employed to control the effects of known potential confounding variables. The analysis of matched data requires specific statistical methods.Methods: The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of published, peer reviewed matched case-control studies that used statistical methods appropriate for matched data. Using a comprehensive set of search criteria we identified 37 matched case-control studies for detailed analysis.Results: Among these 37 articles, only 16 studies were analyzed with proper statistical techniques (43%. Studies that were properly analyzed were more likely to have included case patients with cancer and cardiovascular disease compared to those that did not use proper statistics (10/16 or 63%, versus 5/21 or 24%, P = 0.02. They were also more likely to have matched multiple controls for each case (14/16 or 88%, versus 13/21 or 62%, P = 0.08. In addition, studies with properly analyzed data were more likely to have been published in a journal with an impact factor listed in the top 100 according to the Journal Citation Reports index (12/16 or 69%, versus 1/21 or 5%, P ≤ 0.0001.Conclusion: The findings of this study raise concern that the majority of matched case-control studies report results that are derived from improper statistical analyses. This may lead to errors in estimating the relationship between a disease and exposure, as well as the incorrect adaptation of emerging medical literature.Keywords: case-control, matched, dependent data, statistics

Genetic variants at 1p11.2 and breast cancer risk: a two-stage study in Chinese women.

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Yue Jiang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS have identified several breast cancer susceptibility loci, and one genetic variant, rs11249433, at 1p11.2 was reported to be associated with breast cancer in European populations. To explore the genetic variants in this region associated with breast cancer in Chinese women, we conducted a two-stage fine-mapping study with a total of 1792 breast cancer cases and 1867 controls. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs including rs11249433 in a 277 kb region at 1p11.2 were selected and genotyping was performed by using TaqMan® OpenArray™ Genotyping System for stage 1 samples (878 cases and 900 controls. In stage 2 (914 cases and 967 controls, three SNPs (rs2580520, rs4844616 and rs11249433 were further selected and genotyped for validation. The results showed that one SNP (rs2580520 located at a predicted enhancer region of SRGAP2 was consistently associated with a significantly increased risk of breast cancer in a recessive genetic model [Odds Ratio (OR  =  1.66, 95% confidence interval (CI  =  1.16-2.36 for stage 2 samples; OR  =  1.51, 95% CI  =  1.16-1.97 for combined samples, respectively]. However, no significant association was observed between rs11249433 and breast cancer risk in this Chinese population (dominant genetic model in combined samples: OR  =  1.20, 95% CI  =  0.92-1.57. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Genotypes of rs2580520 at 1p11.2 suggest that Chinese women may have different breast cancer susceptibility loci, which may contribute to the development of breast cancer in this population.

Chinese Junior High School Students' Perceptions of Geographic Fieldwork: A Case Study

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Yang, Daihu; Wang, Ziying; Xu, Di; Wang, Chuanbing; Deng, Zhengzheng

2013-01-01

After nearly ten years of implementation of the first junior high school geography standards, Chinese geography educators have been increasingly incorporating fieldwork into their geography teaching. This study examined student perceptions of fieldwork from an international perspective by reviewing student fieldwork reports and administering a…

A Case-Control Study Indicates that no Association Exists Between Polymorphisms of IL-33 and IL-1RL1 and Preeclampsia

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Xiaoyan Ren

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Preeclampsia (PE is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome involving varieties of cytokines, and previous studies have shown that IL-33 and its receptor IL-1RL1 play pivotal roles in the development of it. As a polygenetic hereditary disease, it is necessary to study the gene analysis for PE. Therefore, the present study was to determine whether IL-33 rs3939286 and IL-1RL1 rs13015714 associated with susceptibility to PE in Chinese Han women. Methods: 1,031 PE patients and 1,298 controls were enrolled and the genotyping for rs3939286 in IL-33 and rs13015714 in IL-1RL1 was performed by TaqMan allelic discrimination real-time PCR. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE was examined to ensure the group representativeness and Pearson's chi-square test was used to compare the differences in genetic distributions between the two groups. Results: No significant differences in genotypic and allelic frequencies of the two polymorphisms loci were observed between cases and controls. There were also no significant differences in genetic distributions between mild/severe and early/late-onset PE and control groups. Conclusion: Although our data suggested that the polymorphisms of IL-33 rs3939286 and IL-1RL1 rs13015714 might not be critical risk factors for PE in Chinese Han women, the results need to be validated in different nations.

How Neoliberal Imperialism is Expressed by Programming Strategies of Phoenix TV: A Critical Case Study

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Shuang Xie

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This project is a case study of Phoenix Television, which is a Hong Kong-based satellite TV network broadcasting to the global Chinese-speaking community, primarily to the mainland of China. In the theoretical framework of media imperialism and neoliberal imperialism, this study focuses on the programming strategies of Phoenix TV and examines how the global trend of neoliberalism, the Chinese government’s tight control of the media, and the sophisticated ownership of Phoenix TV intertwined to influence on its programming. The analysis of the format, content, naming, and scheduling reveals that US-inspired neoliberalism is expressed in the network’s programming strategies. This expression, in fact, is the balance that Phoenix found between the tension of global and Chinese interests, the tension between revenue making and public service, and the tension between Party-control and profit seeking.

Inverse Association of Plasma Chromium Levels with Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes: A Case-Control Study

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Sijing Chen

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Chromium has long been known as an enhancer of insulin action. However, the role of chromium in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM in humans remains controversial. The current study aimed to examine the associations of plasma chromium levels with T2DM and pre-diabetes mellitus (pre-DM. We conducted a case-control study involving 1471 patients with newly diagnosed T2DM, 682 individuals with newly diagnosed pre-DM, and 2290 individuals with normal glucose tolerance in a Chinese population from 2009 to 2014. Plasma chromium was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Plasma chromium levels were lower in the T2DM and pre-DM groups than in the control group (median: 3.68 μg/L, 3.61 μg/L, 3.97 μg/L, respectively, p < 0.001. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval for T2DM across increasing quartiles of plasma chromium levels were 1 (referent, 0.67 (0.55–0.83, 0.64 (0.51–0.79, and 0.58 (0.46–0.73, respectively (p for trend <0.001. The corresponding odds ratios (95% confidence interval for pre-DM were 1 (referent, 0.70 (0.54–0.91, 0.67 (0.52–0.88, and 0.58 (0.43–0.78, respectively (p for trend < 0.001. Our results indicated that plasma chromium concentrations were inversely associated with T2DM and pre-DM in Chinese adults.

Assessment of global phase uncertainty in case-control studies

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van Houwelingen Hans C

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In haplotype-based candidate gene studies a problem is that the genotype data are unphased, which results in haplotype ambiguity. The measure 1 quantifies haplotype predictability from genotype data. It is computed for each individual haplotype, and for a measure of global relative efficiency a minimum value is suggested. Alternatively, we developed methods directly based on the information content of haplotype frequency estimates to obtain global relative efficiency measures: and based on A- and D-optimality, respectively. All three methods are designed for single populations; they can be applied in cases only, controls only or the whole data. Therefore they are not necessarily optimal for haplotype testing in case-control studies. Results A new global relative efficiency measure was derived to maximize power of a simple test statistic that compares haplotype frequencies in cases and controls. Application to real data showed that our proposed method gave a clear and summarizing measure for the case-control study conducted. Additionally this measure might be used for selection of individuals, who have the highest potential for improving power by resolving phase ambiguity. Conclusion Instead of using relative efficiency measure for cases only, controls only or their combined data, we link uncertainty measure to case-control studies directly. Hence, our global efficiency measure might be useful to assess whether data are informative or have enough power for estimation of a specific haplotype risk.

Soya food intake and risk of endometrial cancer among Chinese women in Shanghai: population based case-control study

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Xu, Wang Hong; Zheng, Wei; Xiang, Yong Bing; Ruan, Zhi Xian; Cheng, Jia Rong; Dai, Qi; Gao, Yu Tang; Shu, Xiao Ou

2004-01-01

Objective To evaluate the association of intake of soya food, a rich source of phytoestrogens, with the risk of endometrial cancer. Design Population based case-control study, with detailed information on usual soya food intake over the past five years collected by face to face interview using a food frequency questionnaire. Setting Urban Shanghai, China. Participants 832 incident cases of endometrial cancer in women aged of 30 to 69 years diagnosed during 1997-2001 and identified from the Shanghai Cancer Registry; 846 control women frequency matched to cases on age and randomly selected from the Shanghai Residential Registry. Main outcome measures Odds ratios for risk of endometrial cancer in women with different intakes of soya foods. Results Regular consumption of soya foods, measured as amount of either soya protein or soya isoflavones, was inversely associated with the risk of endometrial cancer. Compared with women with the lowest quarter of intake, the adjusted odds ratio of endometrial cancer was reduced from 0.93 to 0.85 and 0.67 with increasing quarter of soya protein intake (P for trend 0.01). A similar inverse association was observed for soya isoflavones and soya fibre intake. The inverse association seemed to be more pronounced among women with high body mass index and waist:hip ratio. Conclusion Regular intake of soya foods is associated with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer. PMID:15136343

A single blind randomized control trial on support groups for Chinese persons with mild dementia

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Young DKW

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Daniel KW Young,1 Timothy CY Kwok,2 Petrus YN Ng1 1Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong; 2Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Purpose: Persons with mild dementia experience multiple losses and manifest depressive symptoms. This research study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a support group led by a social worker for Chinese persons with mild dementia. Research methods: Participants were randomly assigned to either a ten-session support group or a control group. Standardized assessment tools were used for data collection at pretreatment and post-treatment periods by a research assistant who was kept blind to the group assignment of the participants. Upon completion of the study, 20 treatment group participants and 16 control group participants completed all assessments. Results: At baseline, the treatment and control groups did not show any significant difference on all demographic variables, as well as on all baseline measures; over one-half (59% of all the participants reported having depression, as assessed by a Chinese Geriatric Depression Scale score ≥8. After completing the support group, the depressive mood of the treatment group participants reduced from 8.83 (standard deviation =2.48 to 7.35 (standard deviation =2.18, which was significant (Wilcoxon signed-rank test; P=0.017, P<0.05, while the control group’s participants did not show any significant change. Conclusion: This present study supports the efficacy and effectiveness of the support group for persons with mild dementia in Chinese society. In particular, this present study shows that a support group can reduce depressive symptoms for participants. Keywords: support group, mild dementia, Chinese, depression

Polymorphisms of heat shock protein 70 genes (HSPA1A, HSPA1B and HSPA1L and susceptibility of noise-induced hearing loss in a Chinese population: A case-control study.

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Yanhong Li

Full Text Available Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL is the second-most frequent form of sensorineural hearing loss. When exposed to the same noise, some workers develop NIHL while others do not, suggesting that NIHL may be associated with genetic factors. To explore the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in heat shock protein 70 (HSP70 genes (HSPA1A, HSPA1B and HSPA1L and susceptibility to NIHL in Han Chinese workers exposed to noise, a case-control association study was carried out with 286 hearing loss cases and 286 matched with gender, age, type of work, and exposure time, drawn from a population of 3790 noise-exposed workers. Four SNPs were selected and genotyped. Subsequently, the effects of the alleles and genotypes of the three HSP70 genes (HSPA1A, HSPA1B and HSPA1L on NIHL were analyzed by using a conditional logistic regression. A generalized multiple dimensionality reduction (GMDR was applied to further detect an interaction between the four SNPs. Compared with the combined genotypes CC/TC, carriers of the TT genotype of rs2763979 appeared to show greater susceptibility to NIHL (P = 0.042, adjusted OR = 1.731, 95% CI 1.021-2.935. A significant interaction between rs2763979 and CNE was found (P = 0.029, and a significant association was found between TT of s2763979 and NIHL (P = 0.024, adjusted OR = 5.694, 95%CI 1.256-25.817 in the 96 dB (A≤CNE<101 dB (A group. The results suggest that the rs2763979 locus of the HSP70 genes may be associated with susceptibility to NIHL in Chinese individuals, and other HSP70 genes may also be susceptibility genes for NIHL, but the results must be further replicated in additional independent sample sets.

Lifestyle intervention using an internet-based curriculum with cell phone reminders for obese Chinese teens: a randomized controlled study.

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Anisha A Abraham

Full Text Available Obesity is an increasing public health problem affecting young people. The causes of obesity are multi-factorial among Chinese youth including lack of physical activity and poor eating habits. The use of an internet curriculum and cell phone reminders and texting may be an innovative means of increasing follow up and compliance with obese teens. The objectives of this study were to determine the feasibility of using an adapted internet curriculum and existing nutritional program along with cell phone follow up for obese Chinese teens.This was a randomized controlled study involving obese teens receiving care at a paediatric obesity clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Hong Kong. Forty-eight subjects aged 12 to 18 years were randomized into three groups. The control group received usual care visits with a physician in the obesity clinic every three months. The first intervention (IT group received usual care visits every three months plus a 12-week internet-based curriculum with cell phone calls/texts reminders. The second intervention group received usual care visits every three months plus four nutritional counselling sessions.The use of the internet-based curriculum was shown to be feasible as evidenced by the high recruitment rate, internet log-in rate, compliance with completing the curriculum and responses to phone reminders. No significant differences in weight were found between IT, sLMP and control groups.An internet-based curriculum with cell phone reminders as a supplement to usual care of obesity is feasible. Further study is required to determine whether an internet plus text intervention can be both an effective and a cost-effective adjunct to changing weight in obese youth.Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-TRC-12002624.

[Study on differences between pharmacokinetics and chromatopharmacodynamics for Chinese materia medica formulae].

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He, Fuyuan; Deng, Kaiwen; Zou, Huan; Qiu, Yun; Chen, Feng; Zhou, Honghao

2011-01-01

To study on the differences between chromatopharmacokinetics (pharmacokinetics with fingerprint chromatography) and chromatopharmacodynamics (pharmacodynamics with fingerprint chromatography) of Chinese materia medica formulae to answer the question whether the pharmacokinetic parameters of multiple composites can be utilized to guide the medication of multiple composites. On the base of established four chromatopharmacology (pharmacology with chromatographic fingerprint), the pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics were analyzed comparably on their mathematical model and parameter definition. On the basis of quantitative pharmacology, the function expressions and total statistical parameters, such as total zero moment, total first moment, total second moment of the pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics were analyzed to the common expressions and elucidated results for single and multiple components in Chinese materia medica formulae. Total quantitative pharmacokinetic, i.e., chromatopharmacokinetic parameter were decided by each component pharmacokinetic parameters, whereas the total quantitative pharmacodynamic, i.e., chromatopharmacodynamic parameter were decided by both of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters of each components. The pharmacokinetic parameters were corresponded to pharmacodynamic parameters with an existing stable effective coefficient when the constitutive ratio of each composite was a constant. The effects of Chinese materia medica were all controlled by pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic coefficient. It is a special case that the pharmacokinetic parameter could independently guide the clinical medication for single component whereas the chromatopharmacokinetic parameters are not applied to the multiple drug combination system, and not be used to solve problems of chromatopharmacokinetic of Chinese materia medica formulae.

Hazard analysis and critical control points among Chinese food business operators

OpenAIRE

Stefano Saccares; Paolo Amadei; Gianfranco Masotti; Roberto Condoleo; Alessandra Guidi

2014-01-01

The purpose of the present paper is to highlight some critical situations emerged during the implementation of long-term projects locally managed by Prevention Services, to control some manufacturing companies in Rome and Prato, Central Italy. In particular, some critical issues on the application of self-control in marketing and catering held by Chinese operators are underlined. The study showed serious flaws in preparing and controlling of manuals for good hygiene practice, participating of...

Association of soil cadmium contamination with ceramic industry: A case study in a Chinese town

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Q. Lin; Liu, Cong; Wu, H. Yun; Jin, Yang; Hua, Ming; Zhu, B. Wan; Chen, Kai; Huang, Lei

2015-01-01

Soil cadmium (Cd) contamination is attributable to many sources, among which the ceramic industry is probably an important contributor whose relationship will be explored in this study. Upon studying a town in southeastern China that is quite famous for its ceramics, we observed that the soil Cd distribution agreed with the local ceramic industry's distribution in space and time from 2004 to 2014. Ceramic and pigment samples from a typical factory were selected in a case study, and a sediment core from a nearby river was collected. First, an application of the geo-accumulation index suggested that the sediment was very strongly polluted by Cd (mean 1874 mg/kg). Second, sediment dating indicated that the Cd concentration surge and the establishment of the factory were proximate in time (2002–2004). Third, principal component analysis showed high loading of Cd (0.947) solely, suggesting that the factory was most likely responsible for the Cd pollution found in the sediments of a nearby river. Finally, we infer that the soil cadmium pollution in the whole area may be related to the region's prosperous ceramic industry. Local government should reinforce controls of the ceramic industry and implement effective countermeasures. - Highlights: • The sediment is strongly polluted by Cd in a Chinese town. • Cd concentration surged when the nearby ceramic factory was established. • Cd is solely loaded in a principal component and abundant in the ceramic pigments. • The local ceramic industry may be responsible for the soil Cd contamination

Association of soil cadmium contamination with ceramic industry: A case study in a Chinese town

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liao, Q. Lin [Geological Survey of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210018 (China); Liu, Cong [Jiangsu Provincial Department of Land Resources, Nanjing 210017 (China); Wu, H. Yun [State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Xianlin Campus, Box 624, 163 Xianlin Avenue, Nanjing 210023 (China); Jin, Yang; Hua, Ming; Zhu, B. Wan [Geological Survey of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210018 (China); Chen, Kai [State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Xianlin Campus, Box 624, 163 Xianlin Avenue, Nanjing 210023 (China); Huang, Lei, E-mail: huanglei@nju.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Xianlin Campus, Box 624, 163 Xianlin Avenue, Nanjing 210023 (China)

2015-05-01

Soil cadmium (Cd) contamination is attributable to many sources, among which the ceramic industry is probably an important contributor whose relationship will be explored in this study. Upon studying a town in southeastern China that is quite famous for its ceramics, we observed that the soil Cd distribution agreed with the local ceramic industry's distribution in space and time from 2004 to 2014. Ceramic and pigment samples from a typical factory were selected in a case study, and a sediment core from a nearby river was collected. First, an application of the geo-accumulation index suggested that the sediment was very strongly polluted by Cd (mean 1874 mg/kg). Second, sediment dating indicated that the Cd concentration surge and the establishment of the factory were proximate in time (2002–2004). Third, principal component analysis showed high loading of Cd (0.947) solely, suggesting that the factory was most likely responsible for the Cd pollution found in the sediments of a nearby river. Finally, we infer that the soil cadmium pollution in the whole area may be related to the region's prosperous ceramic industry. Local government should reinforce controls of the ceramic industry and implement effective countermeasures. - Highlights: • The sediment is strongly polluted by Cd in a Chinese town. • Cd concentration surged when the nearby ceramic factory was established. • Cd is solely loaded in a principal component and abundant in the ceramic pigments. • The local ceramic industry may be responsible for the soil Cd contamination.

Association study of STAT4 polymorphisms and type 1 diabetes in Northeastern Chinese Han population.

Science.gov (United States)

Bi, C; Li, B; Cheng, Z; Hu, Y; Fang, Z; Zhai, A

2013-03-01

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an organ-specific, T-cell-mediated disease resulting from the selective destruction of pancreatic β cells. The signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) gene is one of the most interesting genes for the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, including T1D. In this study, a case-control study was conducted in a Han population in northeastern China comparing the genotypes of T1D patients to healthy controls for the presence of two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the STAT4 gene. The study population comprised of 410 T1D patients and 407 healthy individuals. Two SNPs (rs7574865 and rs3024866) of STAT4 were genotyped with Multiplex SNaPShot method. Data were analyzed with spss 13.0 to determine if a statistical association existed between these genotypes and T1D. One of the two SNPs (rs7574865) was strongly associated with T1D in Northeastern Chinese population compared to healthy controls (P < 0.05), whereas the other tested SNP (rs3024866) demonstrated no significant relationship. In conclusion, the STAT4 gene may play an important role in facilitating susceptibility to T1D in this Han Chinese population. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Genetic variants on chromosome 8q24 and colorectal neoplasia risk: a case-control study in China and a meta-analysis of the published literature.

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Mian Li

Full Text Available Previous studies have found that common genetic variants on chromosome 8q24 are associated with the risk of developing colorectal neoplasia. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study, including 435 cases and 788 unrelated controls to investigate the associations between common variants on 8q24 and the risk of colorectal cancer in a Chinese population. We also evaluated the association of rs6983267 with colorectal neoplasia in the published literature via a meta-analysis study. We found that rs6983267 was significantly associated with the risk of colorectal cancer in the Chinese population, with an adjusted odds-ratio (OR for the GT heterozygotes and GG homozygotes of 1.30 (95% CI= 0.98-1.71, P = 0.069 and 1.66 (95% CI = 1.18-2.34, P = 0.004, respectively, compared to the TT homozygotes, with a P-trend value of 0.003. No association was found for the other three loci (rs16901979, rs1447295 and rs7837688. In the meta-analysis of the published genetic association studies, the rs6983267 variant was found to be associated with an increased risk of colorectal neoplasia. The heterozygous GT carriers showed a 20% increased risk of colorectal neoplasia (OR= 1.20, 95% CI= 1.16-1.25; random effects model with a summary OR for homozygous GG carriers of 1.39 (95% CI= 1.32-1.48; random effects model compared to the TT genotype carriers. We found no significant differences between the association of rs6983267 and colorectal cancer and colorectal adenomas. In summary, our study confirms that the variant rs6983267 is a risk factor for colorectal neoplasia in various populations, including the Chinese population.

Socioemotional Wealth and Firms’ Control: Evidence from Malaysian Chinese Owned Companies

OpenAIRE

Goh, Chin Fei; Rasli, Amran; Tan, Owee Kowang; Choi, Sang Long

2015-01-01

This paper explores how the preservation of socioemotional wealth can be manifested in the control and corporate governance of Malaysian Chinese firms. Using panel data from the Industrial Products index of the Bursa Malaysia (the Malaysian stock exchange) during 2003-2006, we show that the ingrained ‘life-raft values’ among overseas Chinese entrepreneurs can be associated with the preservation of their socioemotional wealth, and thus they prioritize control over their firms. Additionally, we...

Association Between Anemia and Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: Case-Control Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coutinho, Jonathan M.; Zuurbier, Susanna M.; Gaartman, Aafke E.; Dikstaal, Arienne A.; Stam, Jan; Middeldorp, Saskia; Cannegieter, Suzanne C.

2015-01-01

Anemia is often considered to be a risk factor for cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), but this assumption is mostly based on case reports. We investigated the association between anemia and CVT in a controlled study. Unmatched case-control study: cases were adult patients with CVT included in a

Changing patient safety culture in China: a case study of an experimental Chinese hospital from a comparative perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Yong Hong; Ng, Chui Shan; Cai, Xiao; Xu, Jun; Zhang, Xin Shi; Ke, Dong Ge; Yu, Qian Hui; Chan, Chi Kuen

2018-01-01

Background The World Health Organization highlights that patient safety interventions are not lacking but that the local context affects their successful implementation. Increasing attention is being paid to patient safety in Mainland China, yet few studies focus on patient safety in organizations with mixed cultures. This paper evaluates the current patient safety culture in an experimental Chinese hospital with a Hong Kong hospital management culture, and it aims to explore the application of Hong Kong’s patient safety strategies in the context of Mainland China. Methods A quantitative survey of 307 hospital staff members was conducted using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire. The findings were compared with a similar study on general Chinese hospitals and were appraised with reference to the Manchester Patient Safety Framework. Results Lower scores were observed among participants with the following characteristics: males, doctors, those with more work experience, those with higher education, and those from the general practice and otolaryngology departments. However, the case study hospital achieved better scores in management expectations, actions and support for patient safety, incident reporting and communication, and teamwork within units. Its weaknesses were related to non-punitive responses to errors, teamwork across units, and staffing. Conclusions The case study hospital contributes to a changing patient safety culture in Mainland China, yet its patient safety culture remains mostly bureaucratic. Further efforts could be made to deepen the staff’s patient safety culture mind-set, to realize a “bottom-up” approach to cultural change, to build up a comprehensive and integrated incident management system, and to improve team building and staffing for patient safety. PMID:29750061

[Association between ABO blood groups and coronary heart disease in Chinese Guangxi Zhuang population].

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Shi, Ying; Lin, Yingzhong; Liu, Hairun; Ji, Qingwei; Lu, Zhihong; Lu, Zhengde; Xu, Nengwen; Yuan, Jun; Liu, Ling

2015-09-01

To investigate this association between ABO blood groups and coronary heart disease (CHD) in the Chinese Guangxi Zhuang population. From August 2010 to April 2013, we performed a case-control study in a Chinese Zhuang population, which included 1 024 CHD cases and 1 024 age and gender-matched non-CHD controls. The ABO blood groups and biological variables were measured by standard laboratory procedures. The Gensini score was used to evaluate the severity of coronary artery stenosis. Compared to non-CHD control group, CHD group had higher levels of fasting blood glucose ((6.71 ± 6.72) mmol/L vs. (4.98 ± 1.55) mmol/L, P blood groups were associated with CHD risk in the Chinese Zhuang population. Compared with group O, the group B individuals had a higher risk of CHD (OR = 2.33, 95% CI 1.88-2.90, P group O subjects in the CHD group, and MACE at 1-year follow-up was similar between ABO blood groups of CHD individuals. ABO blood groups are associated with CHD risk in the Chinese Zhuang population.

Andrographolide induced acute kidney injury: analysis of 26 cases reported in Chinese Literature.

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Zhang, Wu-Xing; Zhang, Zhi-Min; Zhang, Zhi-Qiang; Wang, Yang; Zhou, Wei

2014-01-01

Some Chinese herbs have been known for their kidney toxicity. Andrographolide, the primary component of a traditional medicinal herb, Andrographis paniculata, is widely used in China for the treatment of upper and lower respiratory tract infection, and dysentery etc. The aim of the study was to identify and summarize any case of kidney injury attributed to its use in the Chinese literature. A systemic analysis of the Chinese literature from January 1978 to August 2013 was conducted of case reports of andrographolide induced acute kidney injury (AKI). We identified 26 cases of andrographolide induced AKI (22 males and four females), with an average age of 31.3 years (range: 21 months to 47 years). 100-750 mg (58% 500 mg) of andrographolide was administered in 100-500 mL 5% glucose solution or normal saline by intravenous drip once a day. The adverse event appeared after one to six doses (19 [73.1%] patients got only one dose; cumulative dose 690 ± 670 mg) of andrographolide was given, or 0-96 h (median 1 h) after andrographolide was given. The symptoms included flank pain in 23 cases (88.5%), decreased urine volume in five cases (19.2%), and nausea or vomiting in six cases (23.1%). Laboratory tests showed maximum creatinine 352.8 ± 184.1 (158-889) μmol/L and blood urea nitrogen 12.1 ± 7.6 (4.0-40.6) mmol/L. Urine analysis showed proteinuria in 10 (38.5%) cases and occult blood in eight (30.8%) cases. Kidney biopsy was carried out in two cases and both revealed acute tubular necrosis. Management of this adverse event included withdrawal of the culprit drug, conservative therapy, and renal replacement therapy (six cases, 23.1%). All the patients recovered and were discharged with a normal or close to normal serum creatinine. Their average length of hospital stay was 12.1 ± 4.8 days. Acute kidney injury may occur shortly after intravenous infusion of andrographolide, with symptoms including flank pain, decreased urine output, and

Omalizumab Improves Quality of Life and Asthma Control in Chinese Patients With Moderate to Severe Asthma: A Randomized Phase III Study

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jing; Kang, Jian; Wang, Changzheng; Yang, Jing; Wang, Linda; Kottakis, Ioannis; Humphries, Michael

2016-01-01

Purpose Omalizumab is the preferred add-on therapy for patients with moderate-to-severe persistent allergic asthma and has demonstrated efficacy and safety in various ethnicities. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of omalizumab in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe allergic asthma. Methods This randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, phase III study assessed lung function, quality of life, asthma control, and safety of omalizumab after 24-week therapy in Chinese patients (18-75 years of age). Results A total of 616 patients were randomized (1:1) to omalizumab or placebo. The primary endpoint, least squares mean treatment difference (LSM-TD) in morning peak expiratory flow (PEF) (omalizumab vs placebo), at Weeks >20-24 was 8.85 L/min (Full analysis set; P=0.062). Per-protocol analysis set showed significant improvements with LSM-TD of 11.53 L/min in mean mPEF at Weeks >20-24 (P=0.022). The FEV1 % predicted was significantly improved with omalizumab vs placebo from 8 to 24 weeks (after 24-week treatment: LSM-TD=4.12%; P=0.001). At Week 24, a higher proportion of omalizumab-treated patients achieved clinically relevant improvements in standardized AQLQ (58.2% vs 39.3%; LSM=0.51 vs 0.10; Pquality of life, and asthma control in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe persistent allergic asthma and has a good safety profile. PMID:27126725

Distributed leadership and teacher’ self-efficacy : the case studies of three Chinese schools in Shanghai

OpenAIRE

Tian, Meng

2011-01-01

This study looks into the distributed leadership and its influence on teachers’ self-efficacy in three Chinese schools in Shanghai. Against the background of the eighth national curriculum reform launched in 2002, the Chinese schools are seeking for the new way to enhance the school-based curriculum. On top of that, the trend of decentralization also encourages the school principals to involve the teachers in the school leadership practice. The relationship between distributed leadership...

Case-control vaccine effectiveness studies: Data collection, analysis and reporting results.

Science.gov (United States)

Verani, Jennifer R; Baqui, Abdullah H; Broome, Claire V; Cherian, Thomas; Cohen, Cheryl; Farrar, Jennifer L; Feikin, Daniel R; Groome, Michelle J; Hajjeh, Rana A; Johnson, Hope L; Madhi, Shabir A; Mulholland, Kim; O'Brien, Katherine L; Parashar, Umesh D; Patel, Manish M; Rodrigues, Laura C; Santosham, Mathuram; Scott, J Anthony; Smith, Peter G; Sommerfelt, Halvor; Tate, Jacqueline E; Victor, J Chris; Whitney, Cynthia G; Zaidi, Anita K; Zell, Elizabeth R

2017-06-05

The case-control methodology is frequently used to evaluate vaccine effectiveness post-licensure. The results of such studies provide important insight into the level of protection afforded by vaccines in a 'real world' context, and are commonly used to guide vaccine policy decisions. However, the potential for bias and confounding are important limitations to this method, and the results of a poorly conducted or incorrectly interpreted case-control study can mislead policies. In 2012, a group of experts met to review recent experience with case-control studies evaluating vaccine effectiveness; we summarize the recommendations of that group regarding best practices for data collection, analysis, and presentation of the results of case-control vaccine effectiveness studies. Vaccination status is the primary exposure of interest, but can be challenging to assess accurately and with minimal bias. Investigators should understand factors associated with vaccination as well as the availability of documented vaccination status in the study context; case-control studies may not be a valid method for evaluating vaccine effectiveness in settings where many children lack a documented immunization history. To avoid bias, it is essential to use the same methods and effort gathering vaccination data from cases and controls. Variables that may confound the association between illness and vaccination are also important to capture as completely as possible, and where relevant, adjust for in the analysis according to the analytic plan. In presenting results from case-control vaccine effectiveness studies, investigators should describe enrollment among eligible cases and controls as well as the proportion with no documented vaccine history. Emphasis should be placed on confidence intervals, rather than point estimates, of vaccine effectiveness. Case-control studies are a useful approach for evaluating vaccine effectiveness; however careful attention must be paid to the collection

Case-control study on uveal melanoma (RIFA: rational and design

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Schmidt-Pokrzywniak Andrea

2004-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although a rare disease, uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignancy in adults, with an incidence rate of up to 1.0 per 100,000 persons per year in Europe. Only a few consistent risk factors have been identified for this disease. We present the study design of an ongoing incident case-control study on uveal melanoma (acronym: RIFA study that focuses on radiofrequency radiation as transmitted by radio sets and wireless telephones, occupational risk factors, phenotypical characteristics, and UV radiation. Methods/Design We conduct a case-control study to identify the role of different exposures in the development of uveal melanoma. The cases of uveal melanoma were identified at the Division of Ophthalmology, University of Essen, a referral centre for tumours of the eye. We recruit three control groups: population controls, controls sampled from those ophthalmologists who referred cases to the Division of Ophthalmology, University of Duisburg-Essen, and sibling controls. For each case the controls are matched on sex and age (five year groups, except for sibling controls. The data are collected from the study participants by short self-administered questionnaire and by telephone interview. During and at the end of the field phase, the data are quality-checked. To estimate the effect of exposures on uveal melanoma risk, we will use conditional logistic regression that accounts for the matching factors and allows to control for potential confounding.

Struggling doctors in specialist training: a case control study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

O'Neill, Lotte; Norberg, Karen; Thomsen, Maria

), or transferred (i.e. had unplanned changes in place of training/ward due to failure to thrive or due to inadequate development of competences), or dropped out (i.e. were dismissed from, had resigned from, or changed their speciality). Controls were a random sample of doctors in the source population, who were......Abstract summary The aim of this cummulative incidence case-control study was to examine: if struggling trainees in medical specialist training (cases) tended to struggle already in medical school or not compared to non-struggling controls, and which performance indicators during medical school...... seemed to predict struggling in postgraduate education if any. The study design is rooted in epidemiological methodology. Struggling doctors in specialist training: a case-control study. It has been reported in the international literature, that around 3-10% of doctors in post-garduate specialist...

Control Efficacy of Fungicides on Chinese Cabbage Clubroot under Several Conditions

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Min-Yong Eom

2011-08-01

Full Text Available To develop the efficient screening methods for antifungal compound active to Chinese cabbage clubroot caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, the control efficacy of three fungicides fluazinam, ethaboxam, and cyazofamid on the disease was tested under several conditions such as soil types, cultivars of Chinese cabbage, growth stages of the host, and inoculum concentrations. The in vivo antifungal activities of the fungicides on clubroot of two Chinese cabbage cultivars were hardly different. At 7- and 14-day-old seedlings, the fungicides were more effective to control of clubroot than at 21-day-old seedlings. In a commercial horticulture media soil (CNS, disease severity of untreated controls was higher and control activity of the fungicides was less than in a mixture of CNS and upland soil (1:1, v/v. Disease development of the seedlings inoculated with P. brassicae at 1.8×10(7 spores/pot to 1.1×10(9 spores/pot was almost same, but control efficacy of the fungicides was negatively correlated with inoculum dosages. To effectively select in vivo antifungal compound on Chinese cabbage clubroot, 14-day-old seedlings need to be inoculated with P. brassicae by drenching the spore suspension to give 1×10(8 spores/pot 1 day after chemical treatment. To develop clubroot, the inoculated plants are incubated in a growth chamber at 20℃ for 2 days, and then cultivated in a greenhouse (20±5℃ for four weeks.

Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment and Control of Diabetes Mellitus in a Chinese Population.

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Jiqiang Yue

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence, awareness, treatment and glycemic control of diabetes mellitus (DM in a Chinese population. The findings from this study are expected to offer scientific evidence to better prevent and control the growing number of reported and untreated cases.A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jiangsu, China. We recruited permanent residents over 18 years of age from eight towns in Jintan (JT and six towns in Yangzhong (YZ using a three-stage stratified cluster sampling method. The rates of DM prevalence, awareness, treatment and control as well as their related factors were analyzed.A total number of 15,404 people were entered into the analysis. The DM prevalence, awareness, treatment and control rates were 7.31%, 58.35%, 51.87% and 14.12%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that being female was positively related to prevalence (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.07-1.37, awareness (OR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.19-1.93, treatment (OR=1.48, 95% CI: 1.17-1.88 and control (OR=1.87, 95% CI: 1.30-2.67 of DM. Having a family history of diabetes was significantly correlated with DM risk (OR=1.86, 95% CI: 1.37-2.54 and increased awareness (OR=3.12, 95% CI: 2.19-4.47, treatment (OR=3.47, 95% CI: 2.45-4.90 and control (OR=1.81, 95% CI: 1.22-2.68 of DM. Former smoking status (OR=1.82, 95% CI: 1.23-2.71, overweight (OR=2.11, 95% CI: 1.72-2.60 and obesity (OR=3.46, 95% CI: 2.67-4.50 were related to the risk of DM. Additionally, we found current drinking status to be positively correlated with DM risk (OR=1.30, 95% CI: 1.01-1.66 and negatively correlated with DM awareness (OR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.29-0.59 and treatment (OR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.29-0.59. Our study highlights the high prevalence and inadequate awareness, treatment and control of DM in the Chinese population.Management and prevention of DM-related complications should be considered an essential strategy by governments and society. This study assessed the

Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment and Control of Diabetes Mellitus in a Chinese Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Jiqiang; Mao, Xuhua; Xu, Kun; Lü, Lingshuang; Liu, Sijun; Chen, Feng; Wang, Jianming

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence, awareness, treatment and glycemic control of diabetes mellitus (DM) in a Chinese population. The findings from this study are expected to offer scientific evidence to better prevent and control the growing number of reported and untreated cases. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jiangsu, China. We recruited permanent residents over 18 years of age from eight towns in Jintan (JT) and six towns in Yangzhong (YZ) using a three-stage stratified cluster sampling method. The rates of DM prevalence, awareness, treatment and control as well as their related factors were analyzed. A total number of 15,404 people were entered into the analysis. The DM prevalence, awareness, treatment and control rates were 7.31%, 58.35%, 51.87% and 14.12%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that being female was positively related to prevalence (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.07-1.37), awareness (OR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.19-1.93), treatment (OR=1.48, 95% CI: 1.17-1.88) and control (OR=1.87, 95% CI: 1.30-2.67) of DM. Having a family history of diabetes was significantly correlated with DM risk (OR=1.86, 95% CI: 1.37-2.54) and increased awareness (OR=3.12, 95% CI: 2.19-4.47), treatment (OR=3.47, 95% CI: 2.45-4.90) and control (OR=1.81, 95% CI: 1.22-2.68) of DM. Former smoking status (OR=1.82, 95% CI: 1.23-2.71), overweight (OR=2.11, 95% CI: 1.72-2.60) and obesity (OR=3.46, 95% CI: 2.67-4.50) were related to the risk of DM. Additionally, we found current drinking status to be positively correlated with DM risk (OR=1.30, 95% CI: 1.01-1.66) and negatively correlated with DM awareness (OR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.29-0.59) and treatment (OR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.29-0.59). Our study highlights the high prevalence and inadequate awareness, treatment and control of DM in the Chinese population. Management and prevention of DM-related complications should be considered an essential strategy by governments and society. This study assessed the

Comparison of traditional Chinese medicine education between mainland China and Australia-a case study

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Ji Chen; Bertrand Loyeung; Chris Zaslawski; Fan-rong Liang; Wei-hong Li

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVE:To analyze and compare the curriculum and delivery of a Chinese and Australian university-level Chinese medicine program. METHODS:A review of PubMed and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure for relevant educational papers was undertaken. Online and paper documents available at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CDUTCM) were read and analyzed. In addition, in-depth interviews with academics from the two universities were conducted during 2014 to 2015. RESULTS:ThetwoChinese medicine programs share the common goal of providing health services to the local community, but differ in some aspects when the curricula are compared. Areas such as student profi le, curriculum structure, teaching approaches and education quality assurance were found to be different. The UTSprogramadopts a “fl ipped learning” approach with the use of educational technology aiming at improving learning outcomes. On the other hand, the CDUTCM has better clinical facilities and specialist physician resources. CONCLUSION: A better understanding of the different curricula and approaches to Chinese medicine education wil facilitate student learning and educational outcomes.

Whole-exome sequencing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis suggests NEK1 is a risk gene in Chinese.

Science.gov (United States)

Gratten, Jacob; Zhao, Qiongyi; Benyamin, Beben; Garton, Fleur; He, Ji; Leo, Paul J; Mangelsdorf, Marie; Anderson, Lisa; Zhang, Zong-Hong; Chen, Lu; Chen, Xiang-Ding; Cremin, Katie; Deng, Hong-Weng; Edson, Janette; Han, Ying-Ying; Harris, Jessica; Henders, Anjali K; Jin, Zi-Bing; Li, Zhongshan; Lin, Yong; Liu, Xiaolu; Marshall, Mhairi; Mowry, Bryan J; Ran, Shu; Reutens, David C; Song, Sharon; Tan, Li-Jun; Tang, Lu; Wallace, Robyn H; Wheeler, Lawrie; Wu, Jinyu; Yang, Jian; Xu, Huji; Visscher, Peter M; Bartlett, Perry F; Brown, Matthew A; Wray, Naomi R; Fan, Dongsheng

2017-11-17

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurological disease characterised by the degeneration of motor neurons, which are responsible for voluntary movement. There remains limited understanding of disease aetiology, with median survival of ALS of three years and no effective treatment. Identifying genes that contribute to ALS susceptibility is an important step towards understanding aetiology. The vast majority of published human genetic studies, including for ALS, have used samples of European ancestry. The importance of trans-ethnic studies in human genetic studies is widely recognised, yet a dearth of studies of non-European ancestries remains. Here, we report analyses of novel whole-exome sequencing (WES) data from Chinese ALS and control individuals. WES data were generated for 610 ALS cases and 460 controls drawn from Chinese populations. We assessed evidence for an excess of rare damaging mutations at the gene level and the gene set level, considering only singleton variants filtered to have allele frequency less than 5 × 10 -5 in reference databases. To meta-analyse our results with a published study of European ancestry, we used a Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test to compare gene-level variant counts in cases vs controls. No gene passed the genome-wide significance threshold with ALS in Chinese samples alone. Combining rare variant counts in Chinese with those from the largest WES study of European ancestry resulted in three genes surpassing genome-wide significance: TBK1 (p = 8.3 × 10 -12 ), SOD1 (p = 8.9 × 10 -9 ) and NEK1 (p = 1.1 × 10 -9 ). In the Chinese data alone, SOD1 and NEK1 were nominally significantly associated with ALS (p = 0.04 and p = 7 × 10 -3 , respectively) and the case/control frequencies of rare coding variants in these genes were similar in Chinese and Europeans (SOD1: 1.5%/0.2% vs 0.9%/0.1%, NEK1 1.8%/0.4% vs 1.9%/0.8%). This was also true for TBK1 (1.2%/0.2% vs 1.4%/0.4%), but

Central European attitudes towards Chinese energy investments: The cases of Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turcsanyi, Richard Q.

2017-01-01

This article builds on Europe-wide knowledge of EU-China energy investment relations and discusses the cases of three Central European countries’ attitudes towards Chinese energy investments. It focuses on how Chinese investments are perceived compared to investments from other countries, and how the energy sector is perceived compared to other sectors. Media analysis, interviews with experts, and semi-structured questionnaires were used as data sources. It was discovered that these three countries dislike foreign control over strategic assets and Chinese energy investments are seen as falling into this category. The discourse frames on the general level fluctuate between beneficial and threatening at both the political and economic levels, yet the benefits are seen as greater than any potential threats in all three countries. Energy security frames are only just beginning to be discussed within national discourses about Chinese energy investments. In Poland, the Chinese presence in the energy sector is framed as an issue of availability, affordability, and efficiency, and is related to Polish plans for maximizing efficient use of local coal resources. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, China is often perceived ideologically and only the energy frame of environmental stewardship is present in a minor way. - Highlights: • Chinese investments in energy are perceived more negatively than investments in other sectors due to their strategic nature. • Availability, affordability, and efficiency appear in Poland as a result of the special position of coal. • Environmental stewardship appears as an issue in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. • The Polish discourse is most similar to Europe-wide discourse.

The relationship between self-control, job satisfaction and life satisfaction in Chinese employees: A preliminary study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dou, Kai; Nie, Yan-Gang; Wang, Yu-Jie; Liu, Yao-Zhong

2016-01-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that self-control is positively related to life satisfaction, but this association in Chinese employees and its underlying mechanism are less commonly investigated. In this preliminary study the relationships between self-control and life satisfaction and the mediating effect of job satisfaction were tested. Participants were 482 full-time employees (188 male, 294 female) from different cities in China. They answered self-report questionnaires online that assessed self-control, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction. Path analyses were conducted and bootstrap technique was used to judge the significance of the mediation. Self-control was positively related to both job and life satisfaction. More importantly, job satisfaction significantly mediated the association between self-control and life satisfaction. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the size of the mediating effect between intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. Results of this preliminary study provide further evidence of the positive association between self-control and life satisfaction. Job satisfaction is found to mediate this relationship.

Four case reports of Chinese cystic fibrosis patients and literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Juan; Yin, Yong; Zhang, Lei; Zhang, Jing; Yuan, Shuhua; Zhang, Hao

2017-08-01

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an extremely rare disease in Asians. Here, we report four Chinese children with CF and review the literature about Chinese CF patients. The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene testing was performed on four suspected patients for CF screening. We also reviewed the literature about Chinese CF patients from 1970s. The clinical data of all these CF patients were summarized. We diagnosed four CF patients who had mutations in the CFTR gene. We identified six different mutations in the four patients. The c.1766+5G>T, c.595C>T, c.2909G>A, and c.4056G>C had been reported already. The two splicing mutations of c.579+1_579+2insACAT and c.1117-1G>C were novel mutations. There have been 46 Chinese CF patients reported in literature from 1974 up to present (2016.12). The clinical manifestations of CF involved several systems. The most common symptom was recurrent pulmonary infections. Thirty-three different mutations were identified; c.1766 + 5G>T was the most common mutation among Chinese CF patients. Only one of these mutations (R553X) was in the Caucasian CF screening panel. The spectrum of CFTR mutations in Chinese was highly different from that of Caucasian. There was a high risk of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of CF even in suspected cases in China. It is necessary to educate Chinese clinicians about the signs, symptoms, and diagnosis of cystic fibrosis and promote the implementation of the sweat chloride test. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Patterned genital injury in cases of rape - A case-control study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Astrup, Birgitte Schmidt; Ravn, Pernille; Thomsen, Jørgen Lange

2013-01-01

A pattern of genital injury that separates trauma seen in sexual assault cases from trauma seen following consensual sexual intercourse has been a matter of debate. This study aimed at clarifying the question by eliminating as many confounders as possible in a prospective, case-control setup. A t...

Association of DNA repair gene XRCC1 and lung cancer susceptibility among nonsmoking Chinese women

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yin, J.; Vogel, Ulla Birgitte; Ma, Y.

2009-01-01

predisposition to cancer risk. To address this question in more detail, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study consisting of 55 lung cancer cases and 74 cancer-free controls matched on age and ethnicity among nonsmoking Chinese women. We analyzed five coding single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the XRCC1...

National outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis phage type 14b in England, September to December 2009: case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Janmohamed, K; Zenner, D; Little, C; Lane, C; Wain, J; Charlett, A; Adak, B; Morgan, D

2011-04-14

We conducted an unmatched retrospective case–control study to investigate an upsurge of non-travel-related sporadic cases of infection with Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Enteritidis phage type 14b with antimicrobial resistance to nalidixic acid and partial resistance to ciprofloxacin (S. Enteritidis PT 14b NxCp(L)) that was reported in England from 1 September to 31 December 2009. We analysed data from 63 cases and 108 controls to determine whether cases had the same sources of infection as those found through investigation of 16 concurrent local foodborne outbreaks in England and Wales. Multivariable logistic regression analysis adjusting for age and sex identified food consumption at restaurants serving Chinese or Thai cuisine (odds ratio (OR): 4.4; 95% CI: 1.3–14.8; p=0.02), egg consumed away from home (OR: 5.1; 95% CI: 1.3–21.2; p=0.02) and eating vegetarian foods away from home (OR: 14.6; 95% CI: 2.1–99; p=0.006) as significant risk factors for infection with S. Enteritidis PT 14b NxCp(L). These findings concurred with those from the investigation of the16 outbreaks, which identified the same Salmonella strain in eggs from a specified source outside the United Kingdom. The findings led to a prohibition of imports from this source, in order to control the outbreak.

Association between H-RAS T81C genetic polymorphism and gastrointestinal cancer risk: A population based case-control study in China

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Li Qilong

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Gastrointestinal cancer, such as gastric, colon and rectal cancer, is a major medical and economic burden worldwide. However, the exact mechanism of gastrointestinal cancer development still remains unclear. RAS genes have been elucidated as major participants in the development and progression of a series of human tumours and the single nucleotide polymorphism at H-RAS cDNA position 81 was demonstrated to contribute to the risks of bladder, oral and thyroid carcinoma. Therefore, we hypothesized that this polymorphisms in H-RAS could influence susceptibility to gastrointestinal cancer as well, and we conducted this study to test the hypothesis in Chinese population. Methods A population based case-control study, including 296 cases with gastrointestinal cancer and 448 healthy controls selected from a Chinese population was conducted. H-RAS T81C polymorphism was genotyped by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP assay. Results In the healthy controls, the TT, TC and CC genotypes frequencies of H-RAS T81C polymorphism, were 79.24%, 19.87% and 0.89%, respectively, and the C allele frequency was 10.83%. Compared with TT genotype, the TC genotype was significantly associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer (adjusted OR = 3.67, 95%CI = 2.21–6.08, while the CC genotype showed an increased risk as well (adjusted OR = 3.29, 95%CI = 0.54–19.86, but it was not statistically significant. In contrast, the frequency of TC genotype was not significantly increased in colon cancer and rectal cancer patients. Further analysis was performed by combining TC and CC genotypes compared against TT genotype. As a result, a statistically significant risk with adjusted OR of 3.65 (95%CI, 2.22–6.00 was found in gastric cancer, while no significant association of H-RAS T81C polymorphism with colon cancer and rectal cancer was observed. Conclusion These findings indicate, for the first time, that there

Association between H-RAS T81C genetic polymorphism and gastrointestinal cancer risk: A population based case-control study in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yongjing; Jin, Mingjuan; Liu, Bing; Ma, Xinyuan; Yao, Kaiyan; Li, Qilong; Chen, Kun

2008-01-01

Gastrointestinal cancer, such as gastric, colon and rectal cancer, is a major medical and economic burden worldwide. However, the exact mechanism of gastrointestinal cancer development still remains unclear. RAS genes have been elucidated as major participants in the development and progression of a series of human tumours and the single nucleotide polymorphism at H-RAS cDNA position 81 was demonstrated to contribute to the risks of bladder, oral and thyroid carcinoma. Therefore, we hypothesized that this polymorphisms in H-RAS could influence susceptibility to gastrointestinal cancer as well, and we conducted this study to test the hypothesis in Chinese population. A population based case-control study, including 296 cases with gastrointestinal cancer and 448 healthy controls selected from a Chinese population was conducted. H-RAS T81C polymorphism was genotyped by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. In the healthy controls, the TT, TC and CC genotypes frequencies of H-RAS T81C polymorphism, were 79.24%, 19.87% and 0.89%, respectively, and the C allele frequency was 10.83%. Compared with TT genotype, the TC genotype was significantly associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer (adjusted OR = 3.67, 95%CI = 2.21–6.08), while the CC genotype showed an increased risk as well (adjusted OR = 3.29, 95%CI = 0.54–19.86), but it was not statistically significant. In contrast, the frequency of TC genotype was not significantly increased in colon cancer and rectal cancer patients. Further analysis was performed by combining TC and CC genotypes compared against TT genotype. As a result, a statistically significant risk with adjusted OR of 3.65 (95%CI, 2.22–6.00) was found in gastric cancer, while no significant association of H-RAS T81C polymorphism with colon cancer and rectal cancer was observed. These findings indicate, for the first time, that there is an H-RAS T81C polymorphism existing in Chinese population

Higher Fish Intake Is Associated with a Lower Risk of Hip Fractures in Chinese Men and Women: A Matched Case-Control Study

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Fan, Fan; Xue, Wen-Qiong; Wu, Bao-Hua; He, Ming-Guang; Xie, Hai-Li; Ouyang, Wei-Fu; Tu, Su-lan; Chen, Yu-Ming

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Fish is rich in nutrients that are favorable to bone health, but limited data are available regarding the relationship between fish intake and hip fractures. Our study examined the association between habitual fish intake and risk of hip fractures. METHODS: A case-control study was performed between June 2009 and June 2012 in Guangdong Province, China. Five hundred and eighty-one hip fracture incident cases, aged 55 to 80 years (mean: 71 years), were enrolled from four hospitals. ...

Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and Alzheimer's disease in Chinese population: a meta-analysis

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Liu, Mengying; Bian, Chen; Zhang, Jiqiang; Wen, Feng

2014-03-01

The relationship between Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype and the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is relatively well established in Caucasians, but less established in other ethnicities. To examine the association between ApoE polymorphism and the onset of AD in Chinese population, we searched the commonly used electronic databases between January 2000 and November 2013 for relevant studies. Total 20 studies, including 1576 cases and 1741 controls, were retrieved. The results showed statistically significant positive association between risk factor ɛ4 allele carriers and AD in Chinese population (OR = 3.93, 95% CI = 3.37-4.58, P risk suffering from AD than controls in Chinese population. The results also provide a support for the protection effect of ApoE ɛ3 allele in developing AD.

Lack of association between cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4 -1722T/C (rs733618 polymorphism and cancer risk: from a case-control study to a meta-analysis.

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Weifeng Tang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The association between cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4 gene -1722T/C polymorphism (rs733618 and cancer has been widely assessed, and a definitive conclusion remains elusive. We first performed a hospital based case-control study to measure this association of esophageal cancer with CTLA-4 -1722T/C polymorphism in Han Chinese population, and then carried out a meta-analysis to obtain a comprehensive evaluation for this issue. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This case-control study involved 629 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC cases and 686 age and gender well matched cancer-free controls. PCR-LDR (polymerase chain reaction-ligase detection reactions method was used to identify genotypes. Meta-analysis was conducted by STATA (v12.0 software. This case-control study showed no significant difference in the genotype and allele distributions of CTLA-4 -1722T/C polymorphism between esophageal cancer cases and control subjects, in accord with the findings of the further meta-analysis in all genetic models. Evidence of large heterogeneity was observed among all eligible studies in the recessive model. Further subgroup analyses by ethnicity, cancer type and system, detected null associations in this meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: This case-control study and the further meta-analysis, failed to identify the association between CTLA-4 -1722T/C polymorphism and cancer risk.

Traditional Chinese and western medicine for the prevention of deep venous thrombosis after lower extremity orthopedic surgery: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

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Zhu, Shibai; Song, Yi; Chen, Xi; Qian, Wenwei

2018-04-10

Chinese herbal medicine has traditionally been considered to promote blood circulation to remove obstruction in the channels and clear pathogenic heat to drain dampness effects. We conducted this meta-analysis to evaluate its benefits for the prevention of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) after lower extremity orthopedic surgery. Relevant, published studies were identified using the following keywords: lower extremity orthopedic surgery, arthroplasty, joint replacement, fracture, traditional Chinese and western medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, deep venous thrombosis (DVT), and Venous thromboembolism (VTE). The following databases were used to identify the literature consisting of RCTs with a date of search of 31 May 2017: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of knowledge, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, the Chongqing VIP Database, the Chinese Biomedical Database, and the Wanfang Database (including three English and four Chinese databases). All relevant data were collected from studies meeting the inclusion criteria. The outcome variables were the incidence rate of DVT, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), and D-dimer; subcutaneous hematoma; and other reported outcomes. RevMan5.2. software was adopted for the meta-analysis. A total of 20 published studies (1862 cases) met the inclusion criteria. The experimental group, 910 patients (48.87%), received the Chinese herbal medicine or traditional Chinese and western medicine for prevention of DVT; the control group, 952 patients (51.13%), received the standard western treatment. The meta-analysis showed that traditional Chinese and western medicine therapy reduced the incidence rates of DVT significantly when compared with controls (risk ratio [RR] = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.30 to 0.54; P < 0.00001), and the D-dimer was lower in the experimental group (P = 0.01). Besides, the incidence rate of subcutaneous hematoma was lower in the experimental group (P < 0

Combined effects of 19 common variations on type 2 diabetes in Chinese: results from two community-based studies.

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Min Xu

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Many susceptible loci for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM have recently been identified from Caucasians through genome wide association studies (GWAS. We aimed to determine the association of 11 known loci with T2DM and impaired glucose regulation (IGR, individually and in combination, in Chinese.Subjects were enrolled in: (1 a case-control study including 1825 subjects with T2DM, 1487 with IGR and 2200 with normal glucose regulation; and (2 a prospective cohort with 734 non-diabetic subjects at baseline. The latter was followed up for 3.5 years, in which 67 subjects developed T2DM. Nineteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs were selected to replicate in both studies. We found that CDKAL1 (rs7756992, SLC30A8 (rs13266634, rs2466293, CDKN2A/2B (rs10811661 and KCNQ1 (rs2237892 were associated with T2DM with odds ratio from 1.21 to 1.35. In the prospective study, the fourth quartile of risk scores based on the combined effects of the risk alleles had 3.05 folds (95% CI, 1.31-7.12 higher risk for incident T2DM as compared with the first quartile, after adjustment for age, gender, body mass index and diabetes family history. This combined effect was confirmed in the case-control study after the same adjustments. The addition of the risk scores to the model of clinical risk factors modestly improved discrimination for T2DM by 1.6% in the case-control study and 2.9% in the prospective study.Our study provided further evidence for these GWAS derived SNPs as the genetic susceptible loci for T2DM in Chinese and extended this association to IGR.

Entrepreneurship and Interracial Dynamics: A Case Study of Self-Employed Africans and Chinese in Guangzhou, China

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Zhou, Min; Xu, Tao; Shenasi, Shabnam

2015-01-01

Guangzhou is the most popular gateway city for African migration to China. Unlike stereotypical international migrants, Africans in Guangzhou are predominantly self-made entrepreneurs, doing business face-to-face with Chinese entrepreneurs who are predominantly internal migrants with truncated citizenship rights. African-Chinese encounters in local markets and residential neighborhoods offer a rare opportunity for studying interracial dynamics beyond the classic black-white dichotomy and trad...

Beyond a Box of Documents: The Collaborative Partnership Behind the Oregon Chinese Disinterment Documents Collection

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Natalia M. Fernández

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This article is a case study of a collaboration between the Oregon Multicultural Archives of Oregon State University, Portland State University Library's Special Collections, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA, and the Northwest News Network to preserve and make accessible a recovered box of Oregon Chinese disinterment documents. By examining what influenced and engaged each partner, this case study offers an opportunity to better understand the motivations of diverse stakeholders in a "post-custodial era" project that challenges traditional practices of custody, control, and access.

Templates of "Chineseness" and Trajectories of Cambodian Chinese Entrepreneurship in Phnom Penh

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Michiel Verver

2012-09-01

Full Text Available In the 1960s, William Willmott described Cambodia as a plural society in which different ethnic groups occupy different places in the economic structure. The Chinese made up the economic class, active in trade and commerce, and formed a definable ethnic community, both socioculturally and politically. Since Willmott’s seminal studies, Cambodia’s ethnic Chinese have endured the destruction and repression of both private enterprise and Chinese sociocultural life (1970–1990, followed by a revitalization of Chinese business. Through ethnographic case studies, this paper explores the relationship between “Chineseness” and business life in trajectories of Cambodian Chinese entrepreneurship in Phnom Penh. How do entrepreneurs deploy notions of Chinese business? The author argues that Chinese family businesses, trust-based networks, patronage arrangements, and cultural representations have indeed been greatly revitalized over the last few decades, but that they also remain challenged in certain contexts. Moreover, such revitalization has taken a fundamentally different form from Willmott’s description. Practices of Chinese business can no longer be ascribed to an ethnic Chinese “community” in Phnom Penh. Rather, as the latter has become increasingly multiform, Chinese business has developed into a template at the deployment (or neglect of a broader category of Cambodian Chinese entrepreneurs.

Quality Control and Complication Screening Programme of Chinese Medicinal Drugs at the First German Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine - A Retrospective Analysis.

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Melchart, Dieter; Hager, Stefan; Dai, Jingzhang; Weidenhammer, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

The use of drugs derived from plants is a cornerstone of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Yet, too little is known about risk and safety of Chinese medicinal drugs (CMD). Therefore, the TCM hospital Bad Kötzting has developed a quality control and complication screening programme in order to ensure a safe administration of TCM drugs to their patients. All Chinese medicinal drugs delivered to the hospital between September 1, 2012 and December 31, 2013 entered the quality control program and were screened for microbial contamination, aflatoxin, pesticides and heavy metals. A routinely applied complication screening programme monitored liver enzymes in all patients. Case causality assessment by CIOMS scale and identification of admitted herbs were conducted. Additionally, side effects of patients were identified by a routinely performed web-based documentation system. In 5 of 23 investigated samples (21.7%) the initial testing showed microbial contamination (2), pesticide (2) and heavy metals (1). The drugs were tested for authenticity and adulterations, respectively. All 994 patients (mean age 52.6 years; 72.6% female) admitted were available for analysis. 448 (45.1%) of all patients reported having perceived at least one side effect of treatment. They experienced mainly gastrointestinal symptoms (13.6%), neurovegetative symptoms (10.8 %), temporary deteriorations of pain (8.8%), diarrhoea (5.9%), nausea (1.6%) and vomiting (0.5%). Further, 6 patients with a more than 2-fold elevation (compared to maximum normal value or elevated admission values) of ALT were found in the systematic laboratory control with a non-conclusive causality assessment for TCM-drugs. Approximate incidence rates and analysed drugs associated with liver damage revealed a low rate of liver injury. Patients should be informed of the gastrointestinal symptoms caused by and potential hepatotoxicity of TCM herbs. © 2016 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

The role of personal values in Chinese consumers' food consumption decisions. A case study of healthy drinks.

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Lee, Pui Yee; Lusk, Karen; Mirosa, Miranda; Oey, Indrawati

2014-02-01

Differences in culture, language, and behavior between Chinese and Western consumers make entering the Chinese market a challenge. Chinese consumers may desire similar product features (e.g. brand name, quality, and flavor) to Western consumers but the value that consumers attach to the same product may differ cross-nationally. Besides values, an understanding of desired product attributes and the consequences linking to these values is also important. To the authors' knowledge, there is no published scientific research that investigates how personal values influence Chinese consumers' food consumption decisions. The aim of this research was to identify the links among product attributes, consequences of these attributes, and personal values associated with healthy drink consumption decisions within the Chinese market. Specifically, this research employed means-end chain theory and used association pattern technique (APT) as the main data collection technique to identify these links. Focus groups (n=6) were held in Hangzhou, China to identify the important attributes and consequences involved in the consumption decisions of healthy drinks. These attributes and consequences along with Schwartz's 10 basic values were used to construct the matrices included in the APT survey. A total of 600 APT surveys were administered in six different companies in Hangzhou, with 570 returned. Construction of the hierarchical value map (HVM) identified four of Schwartz's personal values influencing Chinese consumers' healthy drink consumption decisions: security, hedonism, benevolence, and self-direction. Food safety was the foremost concern for Chinese consumers when choosing healthy drinks. Chinese consumers also sought a good tasting and nutritious drink that was good value for money. Results from this study provide food marketers with an in-depth understanding of Chinese consumers' healthy drink consumption decisions. Implications and recommendations are provided that will assist

Polymorphisms in the CISH gene are associated with susceptibility to tuberculosis in the Chinese Han population.

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Ji, Lin-dan; Xu, Wei-nan; Chai, Peng-fei; Zheng, Wei; Qian, Hai-xia; Xu, Jin

2014-12-01

A recent multi-center case-control study identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the cytokine-inducible SRC homology 2 domain (CISH) gene that are associated with susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) in both African and Asian populations. To acquire a more robust and well-powered estimate of the putative influence of these SNPs on TB susceptibility, we conducted a well-designed case-control study in the Chinese Han population. We genotyped 3 previously identified SNPs within CISH in 600 patients with pulmonary TB and 618 healthy controls, and we calculated the pooled P-values and ORs of several studies that have also been conducted in the Chinese populations. The results of the case-control study showed that the C allele of rs2239751 and the T allele of rs414171 are associated with TB susceptibility, and this association exists only in women and young adults. The pooled analysis indicated that both SNPs are significantly associated with TB in the global populations and Chinese populations. The current study confirms that variants of CISH are associated with susceptibility to TB, suggesting that negative regulators of cytokine signaling may have a role in immunity against TB infection. We hypothesize that CISH and estrogen may interact in the cytokine-dependent regulation of the immune system. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Physical activity and risk of prostate and bladder cancer in China: The South and East China case-control study on prostate and bladder cancer.

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Raoul C Reulen

Full Text Available Recent meta-analyses have suggested a modest protective effect of high levels of physical activity on developing both prostate and bladder cancer, but significant heterogeneity between studies included in these meta-analyses existed. To our knowledge, few Chinese studies investigated the association between physical activity and prostate cancer and none between physical activity and bladder cancer. Given the inconsistencies between previous studies and because studies on the relation between physical activity and prostate and bladder cancer in China are scarce, it remains elusive whether there is a relationship between physical activity and prostate and bladder cancer within the Chinese population.We investigated the association between physical activity and risk of developing prostate and bladder cancer within a hospital-based case-control study in the East and South of China among 260 and 438 incident prostate and bladder cancer cases, respectively, and 427 controls. A questionnaire was administered to measure physical activity as metabolic equivalents (METs. Random effects logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs of prostate and bladder cancer for different levels of physical activity and for the specific activities of walking and cycling.Increasing overall physical activity was associated with a significant reduction in prostate cancer risk (Ptrend = 0.04 with the highest activity tertile level showing a nearly 50% reduction in prostate cancer risk (OR = 0.53, 95%CI: 0.28-0.98. Overall physical activity was not significantly associated with risk of bladder cancer (Ptrend = 0.61, neither were vigorous (Ptrend = 0.60 or moderate levels of physical activity (Ptrend = 0.21. Walking and cycling were not significantly associated with either prostate (Ptrend> = 0.62 or bladder cancer risk (Ptrend> = 0.25.The findings of this largest ever case-control study in China investigating the relationship between physical activity and

Why are Chinese Mothers More Controlling than American Mothers? “My Child is My Report Card”

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Ng, Florrie Fei-Yin; Pomerantz, Eva M.; Deng, Ciping

2013-01-01

Chinese parents exert more control over children than do American parents. The current research examined whether this is due in part to Chinese parents' feelings of worth being more contingent on children's performance. Twice over a year, 215 mothers and children (mean age = 12.86 years) in China and the United States (European and African Americans) reported on psychologically controlling parenting. Mothers also indicated the extent to which their worth is contingent on children's performance. Psychologically controlling parenting was higher among Chinese than American mothers, particularly European (vs. African) American mothers. Chinese (vs. American) mothers' feelings of worth were more contingent on children's performance, with this contributing to their heightened psychological control relative to American mothers. PMID:23581633

Effects of acculturation, coping strategies, locus of control, and self-efficacy on chronic pain: study of Chinese immigrant women in Italy - insights from a thematic field analysis.

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Re, Tania Simona; Bragazzi, Nicola Luigi; Siri, Anna; Cisneros Puebla, César; Friese, Susanne; Simões, Mário; Candau, Joël; Khabbache, Hicham

2017-01-01

Chronic pain represents a common public health concern worldwide. It is a complex phenomenon, owing to the interaction of different factors, including biological, physiological, psychological, environmental, and social variables. Some groups, such as women and immigrants, are particularly vulnerable. However, little is known about how Chinese women in Italy live with and face chronic pain. The present study aimed at filling this knowledge gap by examining the burden of chronic pain in Chinese immigrants in Italy in terms of acculturation processes, perceived control over disease, social networks, and coping strategies. A qualitative approach was used, performing a thematic field analysis. We interviewed 82 Chinese women from different Italian towns (Genoa, Milan, Turin, Bologna, Florence, and Prato) in depth. The sense of belonging to the host culture was strong in our sample. However, this did not simply reflect or translate into a linear engagement with medical systems, as health care pathways were more complex and dual (both Chinese and Western). Chinese women who felt deeply rooted in the Italian environment did not discontinue the use of traditional Chinese medicine. Chronic pain extensively and adversely affected daily life, particularly interfering with work. Coping strategies were mainly adaptive behaviors, being problem focused or maladaptive, relying upon "cope and avoid" mechanisms. Chinese women preferred to use traditional Chinese remedies rather than conventional medicine, while using the Italian system in emergencies. Perceived control over chronic pain was usually external. Finally, Chinese women with chronic pain benefit from social networks and support, which were mainly composed of Chinese peers. In conclusion, our findings underline the tremendous burden of chronic pain affecting all aspects of Chinese women's lives. Health care workers and providers should be aware of the complexity of chronic pain Therefore, a holistic approach, involving

The Misconception of Case-Control Studies in the Plastic Surgery Literature: A Literature Audit.

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Hatchell, Alexandra C; Farrokhyar, Forough; Choi, Matthew

2017-06-01

Case-control study designs are commonly used. However, many published case-control studies are not true case-controls and are in fact mislabeled. The purpose of this study was to identify all case-control studies published in the top three plastic surgery journals over the past 10 years, assess which were truly case-control studies, clarify the actual design of the articles, and address common misconceptions. MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for case-control studies in the three highest-impact factor plastic surgery journals (2005 to 2015). Two independent reviewers screened the resulting titles, abstracts, and methods, if applicable, to identify articles labeled as case-control studies. These articles were appraised and classified as true case-control studies or non-case-control studies. The authors found 28 articles labeled as case-control studies. However, only six of these articles (21 percent) were truly case-control designs. Of the 22 incorrectly labeled studies, one (5 percent) was a randomized controlled trial, three (14 percent) were nonrandomized trials, two (9 percent) were prospective comparative cohort designs, 14 (64 percent) were retrospective comparative cohort designs, and two (9 percent) were cross-sectional designs. The mislabeling was worse in recent years, despite increases in evidence-based medicine awareness. The majority of published case-control studies are not in fact case-control studies. This misunderstanding is worsening with time. Most of these studies are actually comparative cohort designs. However, some studies are truly clinical trials and thus a higher level of evidence than originally proposed.

Smoking prevalence and seizure control in Chinese males with epilepsy.

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Gao, Hui; Sander, Josemir W; Du, Xudong; Chen, Jiani; Zhu, Cairong; Zhou, Dong

2017-08-01

Smoking has a negative effect on most diseases, yet it is under-investigated in people with epilepsy; thus its role is not clear in the general population with epilepsy. We performed a retrospective pilot study on males with epilepsy to determine the smoking rate and its relationship with seizure control using univariate analysis to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and also used a multi-variate logistic regression model. The smoking rate in our sample of 278 individuals was 25.5%, which is lower than the general Chinese population smoking rate among males of 52.1%. We used two classifications: the first classified epilepsy as generalized, or by presumed topographic origin (temporal, frontal, parietal and occipital). The second classified the dominant seizure type of an individual as generalized tonic clonic seizure (GTCS), myoclonic seizure (MS), complex partial seizure (CPS), simple partial seizure (SPS), and secondary GTCS (sGTCS). The univariable analysis of satisfactory seizure control profile and smoking rate in both classifications showed a trend towards a beneficial effect of smoking although most were not statistically significant. Considering medication is an important confounding factor that would largely influence seizure control, we also conducted multi-variable analysis for both classifications with drug numbers and dosage. The result of our model also suggested that smoking is a protective factor. Our findings seem to suggest that smoking could have a potential role in seizure control although confounders need exploration particularly in view of the potential long term health effects. Replication in a much larger sample is needed as well as case control studies to elucidate this issue. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving Physical Fitness and Cognitive Functions in Middle School Students: Study Protocol for the Chinese Childhood Health, Activity and Motor Performance Study (Chinese CHAMPS).

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Zhou, Zhixiong; Dong, Shanshan; Yin, Jun; Fu, Quan; Ren, Hong; Yin, Zenong

2018-05-14

Background : Sedentary lifestyles and their associated harmful consequences are public health concerns that impact more than half of the world's youth population in both developed and developing countries. Methods : The Chinese Childhood Health; Activity and Motor Performance Study (Chinese CHAMPS) was a cluster randomized controlled trial to modify school physical activity policies and the physical education (PE) curriculum; using teacher training and parent engagement to increase opportunities and support students' physical activity and healthy eating. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, the study tested the incremental effects of increasing the amount and intensity of physical activity, alongside adding support for healthy eating, on health-related and cognitive function outcomes in Chinese middle school students. Results : The intervention was implemented by PE teachers in 12 middle schools in three Chinese cities, with a targeted enrollment of 650 students from August 2015⁻June 2016. The assessment of the outcomes involved a test battery of physical fitness and cognitive functioning at both baseline and at the end of the intervention. Process information on implementation was also collected. Discussion : The Chinese CHAMPS is a multi-level intervention that is designed to test the influences of policy and environmental modifications on the physical activity and eating behaviors of middle school students. It also addresses some key weaknesses in school-based physical activity interventions.

A case-control study assessing depression in patients with periodontitis

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Shiyamali Sundararajan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Chronic periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of the supporting structures of the tooth. One of the important non-oral risk factors for periodontitis is psychosocial stress and depression. Depression affects oral health by affecting the immune system through its effects on hypothalamic pituitary axis system. Periodontal inflammatory surface area (PISA is a system used to assess inflammatory burden in the periodontal tissue. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between PISA and depression. Settings and Design: The design of the study is case-control study. Materials and Methods: The study design is a case-control study with forty patients each in case and control groups. The periodontal inflammatory level was assessed by PISA system and the levels of depression was assessed by using Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI. Statistical Analysis: Student's t-test was used to compare PISA and BDI scores. The BDI score (mean ± standard deviation [SD] for controls was 12.75 ± 6.82 compared to 22.73 ± 4.40 for the cases. The comparison (t = 7.78 was statistically significant at P < 0.0001. The PISA score (mean ± SD for controls was 210.47 ± 76.80 compared to the PISA score of 1069.50 ± 204.21 for cases which was statistically significant (t = 24.90; P < 0.0001. Results: Significantly higher BDI scores were observed in patients with chronic periodontitis than healthy controls. Conclusion: This study clearly reveals a significant association between the severity of depression and inflammatory burden.

Etiology, pathology, management and prognosis of chronic pancreatitis in Chinese population: A retrospective study.

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Camara, Soriba Naby; Ramdany, Sonam; Zhao, Gang; Gou, Shan-Miao; Xiong, Jiong-Xin; Yang, Zhi-Yong; Yin, Tao; Yang, Ming; Balde, Oumar Taibata; Barry, Ahmed Boubacar; Adji, Seid; Li, Xiang; Jin, Yan; Wu, He-Shui; Wang, Chun-You

2015-06-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the etiology, pathological characteristics, management and prognosis of chronic pancreatitis in the Chinese population. The clinical data of 142 patients with chronic pancreatitis were retrospectively studied. All patients were of Chinese nationality and hospitalized from January 2008 to December 2011. Their ages ranged from 14 to 76 years, with a mean of 43 years. Of 142 patients, there were 72 cases of obstructive chronic pancreatitis (50.70%), 19 cases of alcoholic chronic pancreatitis (13.38%), 14 cases of autoimmune pancreatitis (9.86%) and 37 cases of undetermined etiology (26.06%). Pathologically, the average inflammatory mass diameter was 3.8 ± 3.3 cm, biliary obstruction occurred in 36 cases, gall stones in 70 cases, calcification in 88 cases, ductal dilatation in 61 cases, side branch dilatation in 32 cases, ductal irregularity in 10 cases, lymphocytic inflammation in 23 cases, obliterative phlebitis in 14 cases, extra pancreatic lesion in 19 cases and fibrosis in 142 cases. Location of pancreatic lesion in the region of head (n=97), neck (n=16), body (n=12), tail (n=15) and whole pancreas (n=2) influenced the choice of surgical procedures. Ninety-four patients (66.20%) received surgical treatment and 33.80% received other treatments. After operation, 80.85% of 94 patients experienced decreased pain, and 8.51% of 94 showed recovery of endocrine function but with a complication rate of 12.77%. All the operations were performed successfully. According to the pain scale of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (QLQ-C30) a decrease from 76 ± 22 to 14 ± 18 was observed. Etiology, pathological characteristics, management and prognosis of chronic pancreatitis in the Chinese population vary from others.

Strategy development for improving competitiveness of a Chinese local convenience store Case of Suguo Co., Ltd

OpenAIRE

Wang, Xiang; Ju, Wei

2014-01-01

The topic of the thesis is improving the competitiveness of the case company. We will regard Suguo as the case compamy. We focused on a Chinese local convenience store, and compared it in four perspectives with an international convenience store which has already entered the Chinese market successfully. The four perspectives are market perspective, customer perspective, management perspective, and decorative style perspective. In addition, we created a strategic map on the basis of the consum...

Is case-chaos methodology an appropriate alternative to conventional case-control studies for investigating outbreaks?

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Edelstein, Michael; Wallensten, Anders; Kühlmann-Berenzon, Sharon

2014-08-15

Case-chaos methodology is a proposed alternative to case-control studies that simulates controls by randomly reshuffling the exposures of cases. We evaluated the method using data on outbreaks in Sweden. We identified 5 case-control studies from foodborne illness outbreaks that occurred between 2005 and 2012. Using case-chaos methodology, we calculated odds ratios 1,000 times for each exposure. We used the median as the point estimate and the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles as the confidence interval. We compared case-chaos matched odds ratios with their respective case-control odds ratios in terms of statistical significance. Using Spearman's correlation, we estimated the correlation between matched odds ratios and the proportion of cases exposed to each exposure and quantified the relationship between the 2 using a normal linear mixed model. Each case-control study identified an outbreak vehicle (odds ratios = 4.9-45). Case-chaos methodology identified the outbreak vehicle 3 out of 5 times. It identified significant associations in 22 of 113 exposures that were not associated with outcome and 5 of 18 exposures that were significantly associated with outcome. Log matched odds ratios correlated with their respective proportion of cases exposed (Spearman ρ = 0.91) and increased significantly with the proportion of cases exposed (b = 0.054). Case-chaos methodology missed the outbreak source 2 of 5 times and identified spurious associations between a number of exposures and outcome. Measures of association correlated with the proportion of cases exposed. We recommended against using case-chaos analysis during outbreak investigations. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Glioma International Case-Control Study

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Amirian, E. Susan; Armstrong, Georgina N; Zhou, Renke

2016-01-01

Decades of research have established only a few etiological factors for glioma, which is a rare and highly fatal brain cancer. Common methodological challenges among glioma studies include small sample sizes, heterogeneity of tumor subtypes, and retrospective exposure assessment. Here, we briefly...... describe the Glioma International Case-Control (GICC) Study (recruitment, 2010-2013), a study being conducted by the Genetic Epidemiology of Glioma International Consortium that integrates data from multiple data collection sites, uses a common protocol and questionnaire, and includes biospecimen...

Efficacy of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy with Chinese ADHD Children: Randomized Controlled Trial

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Leung, Cynthia; Tsang, Sandra; Ng, Gene S. H.; Choi, S. Y.

2017-01-01

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) in Chinese children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or ADHD features. Methods: This study adopted a randomized controlled trial design without blinding. Participants were randomized into either the intervention group (n = 32) and…

Traditional Chinese medicine for stable angina pectoris via TCM pattern differentiation and TCM mechanism: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

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Zhang, Zhe; Zhang, Fan; Wang, Yang; Du, Yi; Zhang, Huiyong; Kong, Dezhao; Liu, Yue; Yang, Guanlin

2014-10-30

Stable angina pectoris is experienced as trans-sternal or retro-sternal pressure or pain that may radiate to the left arm, neck or back. Although available evidence relating to its effectiveness and mechanism are weak, traditional Chinese medicine is used as an alternative therapy for stable angina pectoris. We report a protocol of a randomized controlled trial using traditional Chinese medicine to investigate the effectiveness, mechanism and safety for patients with stable angina pectoris. This is a north-east Chinese, multi-center, multi-blinded, placebo-controlled and superiority randomized trail. A total of 240 patients with stable angina pectoris will be randomly assigned to three groups: two treatment groups and a control group. The treatment groups will receive Chinese herbal medicine consisting of Yi-Qi-Jian-Pi and Qu-Tan-Hua-Zhuo granule and Yi-Qi-Jian-Pi and Qu-Tan-Hua-Yu granule, respectively, and conventional medicine. The control group will receive placebo medicine in addition to conventional medicine. All 3 groups will undergo a 12-week treatment and 2-week follow-up. Four visits in sum will be scheduled for each subject: 1 visit each in week 0, week 4, week 12 and week 14. The primary outcomes include: the frequency of angina pectoris attack; the dosage of nitroglycerin; body limited dimension of Seattle Angina Questionnaire. The secondary outcomes include: except for the body limited dimension of SAQ, traditional Chinese medicine pattern questionnaire and so on. Therapeutic mechanism outcomes, safety outcomes and endpoint outcomes will be also assessed. The primary aim of this trial is to develop a standard protocol to utilize high-quality EBM evidence for assessing the effectiveness and safety of SAP via TCM pattern differentiation as well as exploring the efficacy mechanism and regulation with the molecular biology and systems biology. ChiCTR-TRC-13003608, registered 18 June 2013.

[Development of whole process quality control and management system of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces based on traditional Chinese medicine quality tree].

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Yu, Wen-Kang; Dong, Ling; Pei, Wen-Xuan; Sun, Zhi-Rong; Dai, Jun-Dong; Wang, Yun

2017-12-01

The whole process quality control and management of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction pieces is a system engineering, involving the base environment, seeds and seedlings, harvesting, processing and other multiple steps, so the accurate identification of factors in TCM production process that may induce the quality risk, as well as reasonable quality control measures are very important. At present, the concept of quality risk is mainly concentrated in the aspects of management and regulations, etc. There is no comprehensive analysis on possible risks in the quality control process of TCM decoction pieces, or analysis summary of effective quality control schemes. A whole process quality control and management system for TCM decoction pieces based on TCM quality tree was proposed in this study. This system effectively combined the process analysis method of TCM quality tree with the quality risk management, and can help managers to make real-time decisions while realizing the whole process quality control of TCM. By providing personalized web interface, this system can realize user-oriented information feedback, and was convenient for users to predict, evaluate and control the quality of TCM. In the application process, the whole process quality control and management system of the TCM decoction pieces can identify the related quality factors such as base environment, cultivation and pieces processing, extend and modify the existing scientific workflow according to their own production conditions, and provide different enterprises with their own quality systems, to achieve the personalized service. As a new quality management model, this paper can provide reference for improving the quality of Chinese medicine production and quality standardization. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Colon cancer controls versus population controls in case-control studies of occupational risk factors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaerlev, Linda; Lynge, Elsebeth; Sabroe, Svend

2004-01-01

are interchangeable with the experience for population controls. Patient controls may even be preferable from population controls under certain conditions. In this study we examine if colon cancer patients can serve as surrogates for proper population controls in case-control studies of occupational risk factors...... about occupational, medical and life style conditions. RESULTS: No statistical significant difference for educational level, medical history or smoking status was seen between the two control groups. There was evidence of a higher alcohol intake, less frequent work as a farmer and less exposure...... to pesticides among colon cancer controls. CONCLUSIONS: Use of colon cancer controls may provide valid exposure estimates in studies of many occupational risk factors for cancer, but not for studies on exposure related to farming....

Whole-exome sequencing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis suggests NEK1 is a risk gene in Chinese

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Jacob Gratten

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS is a progressive neurological disease characterised by the degeneration of motor neurons, which are responsible for voluntary movement. There remains limited understanding of disease aetiology, with median survival of ALS of three years and no effective treatment. Identifying genes that contribute to ALS susceptibility is an important step towards understanding aetiology. The vast majority of published human genetic studies, including for ALS, have used samples of European ancestry. The importance of trans-ethnic studies in human genetic studies is widely recognised, yet a dearth of studies of non-European ancestries remains. Here, we report analyses of novel whole-exome sequencing (WES data from Chinese ALS and control individuals. Methods WES data were generated for 610 ALS cases and 460 controls drawn from Chinese populations. We assessed evidence for an excess of rare damaging mutations at the gene level and the gene set level, considering only singleton variants filtered to have allele frequency less than 5 × 10–5 in reference databases. To meta-analyse our results with a published study of European ancestry, we used a Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel test to compare gene-level variant counts in cases vs controls. Results No gene passed the genome-wide significance threshold with ALS in Chinese samples alone. Combining rare variant counts in Chinese with those from the largest WES study of European ancestry resulted in three genes surpassing genome-wide significance: TBK1 (p = 8.3 × 10–12, SOD1 (p = 8.9 × 10–9 and NEK1 (p = 1.1 × 10–9. In the Chinese data alone, SOD1 and NEK1 were nominally significantly associated with ALS (p = 0.04 and p = 7 × 10–3, respectively and the case/control frequencies of rare coding variants in these genes were similar in Chinese and Europeans (SOD1: 1.5%/0.2% vs 0.9%/0.1%, NEK1 1.8%/0.4% vs 1.9%/0.8%. This

Case Study: Applying OpenEHR Archetypes to a Clinical Data Repository in a Chinese Hospital.

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Min, Lingtong; Wang, Li; Lu, Xudong; Duan, Huilong

2015-01-01

openEHR is a flexible and scalable modeling methodology for clinical information and has been widely adopted in Europe and Australia. Due to the reasons of differences in clinical process and management, there are few research projects involving openEHR in China. To investigate the feasibility of openEHR methodology for clinical information modelling in China, this paper carries out a case study to apply openEHR archetypes to Clinical Data Repository (CDR) in a Chinese hospital. The results show that a set of 26 archetypes are found to cover all the concepts used in the CDR. Of all these, 9 (34.6%) are reused without change, 10 are modified and/or extended, and 7 are newly defined. The reasons for modification, extension and newly definition have been discussed, including granularity of archetype, metadata-level versus data-level modelling, and the representation of relationships between archetypes.

Academic origins and characteristics of the Chinese stylistic restoration

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Xi Chen

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The conservation practice in China, termed “Chinese stylistic restoration” in this study, has been influenced by the traditional Chinese philosophy and construction principles, the modern Chinese conservation theory of Liang Sicheng and Liu Dunzhen, and Western and international theories and policies concerning conservation. This study uses three case studies, namely, Shanghai Zhenru Temple, Jianfu Palace Garden, and Angkor Wat Chau Say Tevoda Temple, to demonstrate the main characteristics of the Chinese stylistic restoration, including its emphasis on style over authenticity, pursuit of a gestalt form, and flexible attitude toward reconstruction. Accordingly, these practices have shaped the current Chinese conservation theory as reflected in the case studies reported in “Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China” and the Qufu Declaration.

Qzone Weblog for Critical Peer Feedback to Improve Business English Writing: A Case of Chinese Undergraduates

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Xianwei, Gao; Samuel, Moses; Asmawi, Adelina

2016-01-01

This study explores Qzone weblog for critical peer feedback (CPF) in Business English writing (BEW) among the Chinese undergraduates. A qualitative case study is conducted by Nvivo 8 to analyze the three research data of semi-structured interviews, BEW writing assignments, and CPF artifacts on Qzone weblog. Three research questions are focused to…

Replication of genome wide association studies on hepatocellular carcinoma susceptibility loci in a Chinese population.

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Kangmei Chen

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS have identified three loci (rs17401966 in KIF1B, rs7574865 in STAT4, rs9275319 in HLA-DQ as being associated with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-related HCC in a Chinese population, two loci (rs2596542 in MICA, rs9275572 located between HLA-DQA and HLA-DQB with hepatitis C virus-related HCC (HCV-related HCC in a Japanese population. In the present study, we sought to determine whether these SNPs are predictive for HBV-related HCC development in other Chinese population as well. METHOD AND FINDINGS: We genotyped 4 SNPs, rs2596542, rs9275572, rs17401966, rs7574865, in 506 HBV-related HCC patients and 772 chronic hepatitis B (CHB patients in Han Chinese by TaqMan methods. Odds ratio(ORand 95% confidence interval (CI were calculated by logistic regression. In our case-control study, significant association between rs9275572 and HCC were observed (P = 0.02, OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.56-0.95. In the further haplotype analysis between rs2596542 at 6p21.33 and rs9275572 at 6p21.3, G-A showed a protective effect on HBV-related HCC occurrence (P<0.001, OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.52-0.84. CONCLUSION: These findings provided convincing evidence that rs9275572 significantly associated with HBV-related HCC.

Replication of genome wide association studies on hepatocellular carcinoma susceptibility loci in a Chinese population.

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Chen, Kangmei; Shi, Weimei; Xin, Zhenhui; Wang, Huifen; Zhu, Xilin; Wu, Xiaopan; Li, Zhuo; Li, Hui; Liu, Ying

2013-01-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified three loci (rs17401966 in KIF1B, rs7574865 in STAT4, rs9275319 in HLA-DQ) as being associated with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-related HCC) in a Chinese population, two loci (rs2596542 in MICA, rs9275572 located between HLA-DQA and HLA-DQB) with hepatitis C virus-related HCC (HCV-related HCC) in a Japanese population. In the present study, we sought to determine whether these SNPs are predictive for HBV-related HCC development in other Chinese population as well. We genotyped 4 SNPs, rs2596542, rs9275572, rs17401966, rs7574865, in 506 HBV-related HCC patients and 772 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in Han Chinese by TaqMan methods. Odds ratio(OR)and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated by logistic regression. In our case-control study, significant association between rs9275572 and HCC were observed (P = 0.02, OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.56-0.95). In the further haplotype analysis between rs2596542 at 6p21.33 and rs9275572 at 6p21.3, G-A showed a protective effect on HBV-related HCC occurrence (P<0.001, OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.52-0.84). These findings provided convincing evidence that rs9275572 significantly associated with HBV-related HCC.

[Establishment of Primary Adult MDS Nested Case-Control Study Cohort and Study of Risk Factors Associated with MDS Evolution to Leukemia].

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Ma, Yan; Chen, Bo-Bin; Wang, Xiao-Qin; Xu, Xiao-Ping; Lin, Guo-Wei

2015-12-01

showed that the age, sex, WHO subtype, IPSS cytogenetic subgroup and bone marrow blast were independent risk factors for LFS. A nested case-control study cohort of MDS patients is established. The clinical characteristics and WHO subtype of MDS patients in Chinese Shanghai are different from that in Western countries. The independent risk factors for MDS evolution are age, sex, WHO subtype, IPSS cytogenetic subgroup and bone marrow blast percentage.

Genetic Variation in POU4F3 and GRHL2 Associated with Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Chinese Population: A Case-Control Study

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Xiangrong Xu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL is an important occupational disease worldwide resulting from interactions between genetic and environmental factors. The purpose of this study was to examine whether genetic variations in POU4F3 and GRHL2 may influence susceptibility to NIHL in the Chinese population. A matched case-control study was carried out among 293 hearing loss individuals and 293 normal hearing workers drawn from a population of 3790 noise-exposed workers. Ten single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in POU4F3 and GRHL2 were selected and genotyped. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the main effects of SNPs and the interactions between noise exposure and SNPs. Moreover, the interactions between predictor haplotypes and noise exposure were also analyzed. Analysis revealed that the CC genotype of rs1981361 in the GRHL2 gene was associated with a higher risk of NIHL (adjusted OR = 1.59; 95% CI: 1.08–2.32, p = 0.018. Additionally, the GG genotype of rs3735715 in the GRHL2 gene was also a risk genotype (adjusted OR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.01–2.19, p = 0.046. Significant interactions were found between rs3735715, rs1981361 (GRHL2, rs1368402 as well as rs891969 (POU4F3 and noise exposure in the high-level exposure groups. Furthermore, the protective haplotype CA in the POU4F3 gene and the risk haplotype GCCG in the GRHL2 gene were identified combined with noise exposure. These results indicated that GRHL2 might be an NIHL susceptibility gene, but the effect of POU4F3 on NIHL could only be detected when taking noise exposure into account, and their effects were enhanced by higher levels of noise exposure. However, the differences were not significant after the Bonferroni correction was applied. These results should be seen as suggestive.

Relations between Chinese Adolescents' Perception of Parental Control and Organization and Their Perception of Parental Warmth.

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Lau, Sing; Cheung, Ping Chung

1987-01-01

Study evaluates 713 Chinese high school students in Hong Kong and distinguishes parental control from organization, following Moos' (1976) conceptualization. Results show both dimensions (control and organization) correlate very differently with parental warmth. Greater parental control is associated with more conflict with parents. (Author/RWB)

Risk Factors for Anemia in Pregnancy: A Case Control Study

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Rutuja Pundkar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Aim of the study was to find the risk factors leading to Anemia in pregnancy. The main objective was to study the various sociodemographic factors leading to anemia. And to assess the knowledge about anemia among study participants. Material and methods: The present Case control study was carried out at Primary Health Centre, to determine the risk factors leading to anemia in pregnancy. A total of 308 pregnant females were registered. Among them two groups were made, group I cases and group II controls. Each group had 50 cases each. Laboratory test were done and females having hemoglobin less than 11mg/dl were considered anemic. Anemic females were considered cases and females having Hb >11mg/dl were considered controls. Data analysis was done using SPSS software. Results: The overall mean haemoglobin (Hb was 11.55g/dL in controls, whereas it was seen that among the cases it was 9.58g/dL.It would seem that diet, family size, education, social class, gravida and parity are associated with anemia in pregnancy. Conclusion: After adjusting for all the possible covariates there seems to be significant association between Hb levels and age group, education level, family size, diet, gravida and parity.

Chinese Soft Power in Latin America: A Case Study

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2011-01-01

5 billion in additional investments ■■ more than $4.4 billion in commitments to develop Peruvian mines , including Toro- mocho, Rio Blanco, Galleno...oil production, while China Railway Road and Tongling are ramping up for a $3 billion project in the recently opened Ecuadorian mining sector. In...companies key players in the extrac- tion of Venezuelan iron, gold, bauxite , and coal.7 Although Chinese companies have yet to attain the level of “key

Attitudes and behavioral response toward key tobacco control measures from the FCTC among Chinese urban residents

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Li Fuzhong

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Chinese National People's Congress ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC on 27 August 2005, signaling China's commitment to implement tobacco control policies and legislation consistent with the treaty. This study was designed to examine attitudes towards four WHO FCTC measures among Chinese urban residents. Methods In a cross-sectional design study, survey data were collected from two Chinese urban cities involving a sample of 3,003 residents aged 15 years or older. Through a face-to-face interview, respondents were asked about attitudes toward four tobacco control measures developed by the WHO FCTC. Data on the four dependent measures were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Using descriptive statistics, potential change in smoking behavior that smokers might make in response to increasing cigarette prices is also reported. Results 81.8% of the respondents in the study sample supported banning smoking in public places, 68.8% favored increasing the cigarette tax, 85.1% supported health warnings on cigarette packages, and 85.7% favored banning tobacco advertising. The likelihood to support these measures was associated with gender, educational level, and personal income. Smokers were less likely to support these measures than non-smokers, with decreased support expressed by daily smokers compared to occasional smokers, and heavy smokers compared to light smokers. The proportion of switching to cheaper cigarette brands, decreasing smoking, and quitting smoking altogether with increased cigarette prices were 29.1%, 30.90% and 40.0% for occasional smokers, respectively; and 30.8%, 32.7% and 36.5% for daily smokers, respectively. Conclusion Results from this study indicate strong public support in key WHO FCTC measures and that increases in cigarette price may reduce tobacco consumption among Chinese urban residents. Findings from this study have implications with respect to

Attitudes and behavioral response toward key tobacco control measures from the FCTC among Chinese urban residents.

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Yang, Tingzhong; Wu, Yanwei; Abdullah, Abu Saleh M; Dai, Di; Li, Fuzhong; Wu, Junqing; Xiang, Haiqing

2007-09-18

The Chinese National People's Congress ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on 27 August 2005, signaling China's commitment to implement tobacco control policies and legislation consistent with the treaty. This study was designed to examine attitudes towards four WHO FCTC measures among Chinese urban residents. In a cross-sectional design study, survey data were collected from two Chinese urban cities involving a sample of 3,003 residents aged 15 years or older. Through a face-to-face interview, respondents were asked about attitudes toward four tobacco control measures developed by the WHO FCTC. Data on the four dependent measures were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Using descriptive statistics, potential change in smoking behavior that smokers might make in response to increasing cigarette prices is also reported. 81.8% of the respondents in the study sample supported banning smoking in public places, 68.8% favored increasing the cigarette tax, 85.1% supported health warnings on cigarette packages, and 85.7% favored banning tobacco advertising. The likelihood to support these measures was associated with gender, educational level, and personal income. Smokers were less likely to support these measures than non-smokers, with decreased support expressed by daily smokers compared to occasional smokers, and heavy smokers compared to light smokers. The proportion of switching to cheaper cigarette brands, decreasing smoking, and quitting smoking altogether with increased cigarette prices were 29.1%, 30.90% and 40.0% for occasional smokers, respectively; and 30.8%, 32.7% and 36.5% for daily smokers, respectively. Results from this study indicate strong public support in key WHO FCTC measures and that increases in cigarette price may reduce tobacco consumption among Chinese urban residents. Findings from this study have implications with respect to policymaking and legislation for tobacco control in China.

Paradox of Student Gender: A Case Study of Economic Education from China

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Zhang, Jian; Qiao, Fangbin; Li, Binbin

2016-01-01

In many Chinese universities and colleges, female students outperform male students in social science subjects. This paper presents a case study, which examines gender difference in economic education in a Chinese university. We look at a sample of students from the Chinese university and find that holding constant observed student…

Chinese TEFL Academics' Perceptions about Research: An Institutional Case Study

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Bai, Li; Millwater, Jan

2011-01-01

Research capacity building has become a prominent theme in higher education institutions in China, as across the world. However, Chinese TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) academics' research capacity has been quite limited. In order to build their research capacity, it is necessary to understand their perceptions about research. This…

Misrepresenting Chinese Folk Happiness: A Critique of a Study

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Ip, Po-Keung

2013-01-01

Discourses on Chinese folk happiness are often based on anecdotal narratives or qualitative analysis. A recent study on Chinese folk happiness using qualitative method seems to provide some empirical findings beyond anecdotal evidence on Chinese folk happiness. This paper critically examines the study's constructed image of Chinese folk happiness,…

Hypothyroidism among SLE patients: Case-control study.

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Watad, Abdulla; Mahroum, Naim; Whitby, Aaron; Gertel, Smadar; Comaneshter, Doron; Cohen, Arnon D; Amital, Howard

2016-05-01

The prevalence of hypothyroidism in SLE patients varies considerably and early reports were mainly based on small cohorts. To investigate the association between SLE and hypothyroidism. Patients with SLE were compared with age and sex-matched controls regarding the proportion of hypothyroidism in a case-control study. Chi-square and t-tests were used for univariate analysis and a logistic regression model was used for multivariate analysis. The study was performed utilizing the medical database of Clalit Health Services. The study included 5018 patients with SLE and 25,090 age and sex-matched controls. The proportion of hypothyroidism in patients with SLE was increased compared with the prevalence in controls (15.58% and 5.75%, respectively, Phypothyroidism (odds ratio 2.644, 95% confidence interval 2.405-2.908). Patients with SLE have a greater proportion of hypothyroidism than matched controls. Therefore, physicians treating patients with SLE should be aware of the possibility of thyroid dysfunction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Socioemotional Wealth and Firms’ Control: Evidence from Malaysian Chinese Owned Companies

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Chin Fei Goh

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper explores how the preservation of socioemotional wealth can be manifested in the control and corporate governance of Malaysian Chinese firms. Using panel data from the Industrial Products index of the Bursa Malaysia (the Malaysian stock exchange during 2003-2006, we show that the ingrained ‘life-raft values’ among overseas Chinese entrepreneurs can be associated with the preservation of their socioemotional wealth, and thus they prioritize control over their firms. Additionally, we confirm the monitoring role of non-dominant large shareholders in reducing the families’ influence in managing and enhancing their firms’ performance. Specifically, control contestability exercised by the non-dominant large shareholders mediates the relationship between a family’s involvement in management and their firm’s performance.

The association of interleukin-1alpha and interleukin-1beta polymorphisms with the risk of Graves' disease in a case-control study and meta-analysis.

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Liu, Nan; Li, Xuejun; Liu, Changqin; Zhao, Yongju; Cui, Bin; Ning, Guang

2010-04-01

The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1 family has a central role in mediating inflammation and joint destruction in Graves' disease (GD). A number of studies, investigating rs1800587 (IL-1alpha, T-889 C) and rs16944 (IL-1beta, A-511 G) polymorphisms to test their possible association with GD and Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO), had inconsistent results. Our study aims to further evaluate the possible association of these two polymorphisms with GD and GO within the Han Chinese population using a case-control association study as well as a meta-analysis covering three previous studies from Taiwan, Iran, and Poland. Based on 760 Chinese GD patients, including 190 of GO cases among them, and 735 healthy control subjects, our data showed that the genotype or allele distributions of rs1800587 and rs16944 polymorphisms were significantly associated with GD (p = 0.003-0.049) and more so with GO (p = 0.001-0.021). The meta-analysis showed the risk-increasing effects for the TC and TT genotypes of rs1800587 in GD (odds ratio [OR] = 2.07, p = 0.03) and GO (OR = 3.22, p = 0.04), and a protective effect for the AA genotype of rs16944 in GD (OR = 0.70, p = 0.002) and GO (OR = 0.65, p = 0.02). The results confirmed that the rs1800587 (IL-alpha, T-889 C) and rs16944 (IL-1beta, A-511 G) polymorphisms may confer susceptibility to GD and GO in Asian population.

Relations among Perceived Parental Control, Warmth, Indulgence, and Family Harmony of Chinese in Mainland China.

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Lau, Sing; And Others

1990-01-01

Results of a study of 925 educated Chinese who recalled child-rearing patterns of their parents indicated that greater perceived parental dominating control was related to less perceived parental warmth and that greater parental warmth and less parental control were related to greater perceived family harmony. (RH)

Associated factors with functional disability and health-related quality of life in Chinese patients with gout: a case-control study.

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Fu, Ting; Cao, Haixia; Yin, Rulan; Zhang, Lijuan; Zhang, Qiuxiang; Li, Liren; Gu, Zhifeng

2017-11-03

Gout is a painful, inflammatory disease that may cause decreased function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Limited study did not take the influence of gout characteristics and anxiety on HRQoL into consideration and there are no studies associated with functional disability in individuals with gout from China. This study aims to investigate the related factors of functional disability and HRQoL in gout patients recruited from China. A total of 226 consecutive gout patients and 232 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals were involved in the study. A series of questionnaires (the Short Form 36 health survey, the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire, the 10 cm Visual Analog Scale, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index) were applied. Blood samples were taken to examine the level of serum uric acid. Independent samples t-tests, Chi square tests, U test, Spearman rank correlation, logistic regression modeling, and linear regression were used to analyze the data. After adjusted demographic variables, individuals with gout have poorer HRQoL compared to healthy controls. Univariate tests presented that patients with functional disability had longer disease duration, more frequent flares/last year, more severe total pain, more number of tophi, higher degree of depression and anxiety, with a trend toward diabetes, the treatment of colchicine and corticosteroids use, compared to patients without functional disability. Meanwhile, place of residence, hypertension, DM, disease duration, cardiovascular disease, number of flares/last year, total pain, more number of tophi, presence of tender joints, depression, anxiety, currently using colchicine and corticosteroids were correlated significantly with HRQoL. Additionally, multiple regression analysis identified severe pain, depression, and colchicine use as predictors of functional disability. Cardiovascular disease, total pain, number of flares/last year

Rehabilitation for the management of knee osteoarthritis using comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine in community health centers: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

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2013-01-01

Background It is becoming increasingly necessary for community health centers to make rehabilitation services available to patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. However, for a number of reasons, including a lack of expertise, the small size of community health centers and the availability of only simple medical equipment, conventional rehabilitation therapy has not been widely used in China. Consequently, most patients with knee osteoarthritis seek treatment in high-grade hospitals. However, many patients cannot manage the techniques that they were taught in the hospital. Methods such as acupuncture, tuina, Chinese medical herb fumigation-washing and t’ai chi are easy to do and have been reported to have curative effects in those with knee osteoarthritis. To date, there have been no randomized controlled trials validating comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine for the rehabilitation of knee osteoarthritis in a community health center. Furthermore, there is no standard rehabilitation protocol using traditional Chinese medicine for knee osteoarthritis. The aim of the current study is to develop a comprehensive rehabilitation protocol using traditional Chinese medicine for the management of knee osteoarthritis in a community health center. Method/design This will be a randomized controlled clinical trial with blinded assessment. There will be a 4-week intervention utilizing rehabilitation protocols from traditional Chinese medicine and conventional therapy. Follow-up will be conducted for a period of 12 weeks. A total of 722 participants with knee osteoarthritis will be recruited. Participants will be randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control. Primary outcomes will include range of motion, girth measurement, the visual analogue scale, and results from the manual muscle, six-minute walking and stair-climbing tests. Secondary outcomes will include average daily consumption of pain medication, ability to perform daily tasks and health

Case studies of Chinese entrepreneurs in Australia: an exploratory study using the mixed embeddedness framework

OpenAIRE

Poh, Huay Jun

2017-01-01

Small business ownership has become increasingly prominent as an economic survival strategy in developed and developing nations. Ethnic entrepreneurship in Australia, especially amongst Chinese migrants, sees a need to study their motivations for business and explore how they established, own and operate businesses. The purpose of this thesis is to gain a full understanding of the motivations for self-employment and small business ownership of a specific group of ethnic entrepreneurs in ...

Look before You Leap: Underestimating Chinese Student History, Chinese University Setting and Chinese University Steering in Sino-British HE Joint Ventures?

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Dow, Ewan G.

2010-01-01

This article makes the case--in three parts--that many Anglo-Chinese university collaborations (joint ventures) to date have seriously underestimated Chinese (student) history, the Chinese university setting and Chinese national governmental steering as part of the process of "glocalisation". Recent turbulence in this particular HE…

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and gastrointestinal bleeding: a case-control study.

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Alfonso Carvajal

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs have been associated with upper gastrointestinal (GI bleeding. Given their worldwide use, even small risks account for a large number of cases. This study has been conducted with carefully collected information to further investigate the relationship between SSRIs and upper GI bleeding. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study in hospitals in Spain and in Italy. Cases were patients aged ≥18 years with a primary diagnosis of acute upper GI bleeding diagnosed by endoscopy; three controls were matched by sex, age, date of admission (within 3 months and hospital among patients who were admitted for elective surgery for non-painful disorders. Exposures to SSRIs, other antidepressants and other drugs were defined as any use of these drugs in the 7 days before the day on which upper gastrointestinal bleeding started (index day. RESULTS: 581 cases of upper GI bleeding and 1358 controls were considered eligible for the study; no differences in age or sex distribution were observed between cases and controls after matching. Overall, 4.0% of the cases and 3.3% of controls used an SSRI antidepressant in the week before the index day. No significant risk of upper GI bleeding was encountered for SSRI antidepressants (adjusted odds ratio, 1.06, 95% CI, 0.57-1.96 or for whichever other grouping of antidepressants. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this case-control study showed no significant increase in upper GI bleeding with SSRIs and provide good evidence that the magnitude of any increase in risk is not greater than 2.

[Application of bioassay in quality control of Chinese materia medica-taking Radix Isatidis as an example].

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Yan, Dan; Ren, Yongshen; Luo, Jiaoyang; Li, Hanbing; Feng, Xue; Xiao, Xiaohe

2010-10-01

Bioassay, which construct the characteristics consistents with Chinese medical science, is the core mode and methods for the quality control of Chinese materia medica. Taking the bioassay of Radix Isatidis as an example, the contribution, status and application of bioassay in the quality control of Chinese materia medica were introduced in this article, and two key issue (the selection of reference and measurement methods) in the process of establishing bioassay were also explained. This article expects to provide a reference for the development and improvement of the bioassay of Chinese materia medica in a practical manipulation level.

Button battery intake as foreign body in Chinese children: review of case reports and the literature.

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Liao, Wenjing; Wen, Guangyi; Zhang, Xiaowen

2015-06-01

Button batteries have been recognized as one of the dangerous foreign bodies to children for more than 30 years, but few related studies have been published to give more concern in China. We reported 6 cases of button battery intake as foreign body in children. The Chinese literature on button battery as foreign body in children was reviewed. The interval between the accidental ingestion and battery removal ranged from 6 hours to 3 days. Two patients had no sequela, 3 patients had tracheoesophageal fistulas, and 1 patient had nasal septal perforation. Twenty-eight articles about button battery as foreign body in children were obtained by Chinese-language literature searches including 25 case reports, 2 health education articles, and 1 imaging article. In total, 172 cases of button battery intake as foreign body in children were identified, 23 and 10 of the 159 cases involving nasal button battery lodgment developed nasal septal perforation and nasal adhesion, respectively. Tracheoesophageal fistula was identified in 4 of the 12 ingestion cases. One case of button battery intake was in external auditory canal. A small number of children with button battery as foreign body were reported in China, which is 1 of the biggest countries with large population of children.

Determinants of podoconiosis, a case control study | Feleke ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The sample size was calculated using Epi-info soft ware: 95% CI, 85% power, control to case ratio of 2:1, expected frequency of barefoot among controls 50%, odds ratio of 1.5 and non-response rate of 10% yielding 1148 study participants. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the determinants of Podoconiosis.

Irradiation-induced telomerase activity and gastric cancer risk: a case-control analysis in a Chinese Han population

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Xianli; Qiao, Qing; Ge, Naijian; Nan, Jing; Shen, Shuqun; Wang, Zizhong; Yang, Yefa; Bao, Guoqiang

2010-01-01

Telomerase expression is one of the characteristics of gastric cancer (GC) cells and telomerase activity is frequently up-regulated by a variety of mechanisms during GC development. Therefore, we hypothesized that elevated levels of activated telomerase might enhance GC risk due to increased propagation of cells with DNA damage, such as induced by γ-radiation. To explore this hypothesis, 246 GC cases and 246 matched controls were recruited in our case-control study. TRAP-ELISA was used to assess the levels of telomerase activity at baseline and after γ-radiation and the γ-radiation-induced telomerase activity (defined as after γ-irradiation/baseline) in cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). Our data showed that there was no significant difference for the baseline telomerase activity between GC cases and controls (10.17 ± 7.21 vs. 11.02 ± 8.03, p = 0.168). However, after γ-radiation treatment, γ-radiation-induced telomerase activity was significantly higher in the cases than in the controls (1.51 ± 0.93 vs. 1.22 ± 0.66, p < 0.001). Using the median value of γ-radiation-induced telomerase activity in the controls as a cutoff point, we observed that high γ-radiation-induced telomerase activity was associated with a significantly increased GC risk (adjusted odds ratio, 2.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.83-3.18). Moreover, a dose response association was noted between γ-radiation-induced telomerase activity and GC risk. Age, but not sex, smoking and drinking status seem to have a modulating effect on the γ-radiation-induced telomerase activities in both cases and controls. Overall, our findings for the first time suggest that the increased γ-radiation-induced telomerase activity in PBLs might be associated with elevated GC risk. Further confirmation of this association using a prospective study design is warranted

Association Study between Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and the Susceptibility Genes Polymorphisms in Hui Chinese Women.

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Lingxia Ha

Full Text Available Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS is one of the most common endocrine-metabolic disorders. Evidence of familial aggregation analysis and different clinical traits among different regions and ethnicities indicated that the pathogenesis of PCOS is associated with multiple genetic and environmental factors. Our previous research had identified three susceptibility loci (rs2479106, DENND1A; rs13405728, LHCGR; rs13429458, THADA for PCOS in Han Chinese women. The overall aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between three susceptibility gene polymorphisms and PCOS in Hui ethnic women.151 patients with PCOS (case group and 99 healthy women (control group were recruited from the Reproductive Medicine Center of the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University. Clinical data and serum hormone characteristics of case and control groups were collected and analyzed. The three susceptibility single-nucleotide polymorphisms have been replicated in both case and control groups. Gene polymorphisms were detected by direct sequencing after polymerase chain reaction.The Body Mass Index, LH, LH/FSH ratio and total testosterone were significantly elevated in PCOS patients compared to control group (P0.05.The present study suggested that the SNP rs13405728 in the LHCGR gene was associated with PCOS in Hui ethnic women, and its TT genotype characterized with higher level of TT, TG and LDL.

A case-control study of risk factors for epithelial ovarian cancer

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Ghaem Maghami Noori F

2001-09-01

Full Text Available Ovarian cancer is second prevalent cancer among gynecologic malignancies and the most common type of ovarian cancer is epithelial form (85-90 percent. To detect the risk factors for the epithelial ovarian cancer, a case-control study was conducted in Valieasr hospital in 1988. In this study, 118 cases with epithelial ovarian cancer (according histological records and 240 controls without any gynecological cancer in gynecologic clinic had been interviewed. For data analysis, T-test, Chi2 test and logistic regression have been used at a =0.05 as level of significance. The mean age in cases was 50±13 and in controls was 49.9±12 years, without significant different. The mean number of pregnancies and parity in cases was less than controls, significantly (P<0.03. The mean months of breast feeding in cases was less than controls (54.9±71.2 versus 82.4±62.7 (P<0.001. The cases had a lower mean age of menarch than controls (P=0.03. 58 percent of cases and 21.3 percent of controls hadn't used any contraception methods (P=0.00001. The mean years of contraception was significantly less in cases versus controls (P<0.001. The odds ratio for epithelial ovarian cancer was 0.24 (95 percent CI: 0.13-0.48 in OCP users, 0.47 (95 percent CI: 0.005-0.43 in TL method, and was 0.41 (95 percent CI: 0.22-0.76 in other contraception methods, relative to women who hadn't used any contraception methods. This study reveals that epithelial ovarian cancer risk increases significantly with earlier menarch, decreasing number of pregnancy, deliveries duration of breast feeding and use of contraception methods. Use of contraception pill and tubal ligation method decreases risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Cardiac right-to-left shunt subtypes in Chinese patients with cryptogenic strokes: a multicenter case-control study.

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Xu, W H; Xing, Y Q; Yan, Z R; Jiang, J D; Gao, S

2014-03-01

Data on the possible association between cardiac right-to-left shunt (RLS) and cryptogenic stroke are lacking in Asians. RLS and its subtypes in Chinese cryptogenic stroke patients were investigated. Patients (n = 153, mean age 42 ± 10 years, 81 male) with cryptogenic stroke from four medical centers in China and 135 healthy volunteers (mean age 34 ± 8 years, 54 male) were recruited. Contrast transcranial Doppler was used to assess the prevalence of RLS. A three-level RLS categorization was applied as follows: none, 0 microbubbles (MBs); small, 1-25 MBs; and large, >25 MBs. RLS was considered latent if it occurred only after the Valsalva maneuver or permanent when it occurred also during normal respiration. Overall, RLS (P = 0.02), large RLS (P stroke than in healthy volunteers. The prevalences of small RLS and latent RLS in the two groups were similar (22% vs. 21% and 11% vs. 10%, respectively). The proportion of large RLSs amongst the subjects with RLS was much higher in the patient group than in healthy volunteers (45% vs. 18%, P vs. 64%, P = 0.11). Most large RLSs in the patient group (22/27, 81%) were permanent RLSs. Cardiac RLS is associated with cryptogenic stroke in Chinese. However, the higher prevalence of overall RLS in the patient group was mainly due to the increased proportion of large RLSs. The results only support large RLSs as a pathological condition. © 2014 The Author(s) European Journal of Neurology © 2014 EFNS.

Risk Factors for Breast Cancer Among Chinese Women: A 10-Year Nationwide Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

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Lee, Hui; Li, Jia-Yuan; Fan, Jin-Hu; Li, Jing; Huang, Rong; Zhang, Bao-Ning; Zhang, Bin; Yang, Hong-Jian; Xie, Xiao-Ming; Tang, Zhong-Hua; Li, Hui; He, Jian-Jun; Wang, Qiong; Huang, Yuan; Qiao, You-Lin; Pang, Yi

2014-01-01

Background The characteristics of established risk factors for breast cancer may vary among countries. A better understanding of local characteristics of risk factors may help in devising effective prevention strategies for breast cancer. Methods Information on exposures to risk factors was collected from the medical charts of 4211 women with breast cancer diagnosed during 1999–2008. The distributions of these exposures among regions, and by menopausal status and birth period, were compared with the χ2 test. Crude associations between the selected factors and breast cancer were estimated using the cases in the present study and a representative control population, which was selected from qualified published studies. Results As compared with cases from less developed regions, those from more developed regions were significantly more likely to be nulliparous, had fewer childbirths (P breast cancer were significantly associated with breast cancer among Chinese women. Conclusions Breast cancer incidence was associated with nulliparity and history of breastfeeding. Population attributable risks should be assessed, especially for more developed areas and young women. The effects of body mass index, age at menopause, and family history of breast cancer should be given priority during assessment of breast cancer risk among Chinese women. PMID:24270059

Alarm bells ring: suicide among Chinese physicians: A STROBE compliant study.

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Wang, Yu; Liu, Lei; Xu, Hongbin

2017-08-01

To our surprise, there were 2 Chinese doctors who committed suicide in the last 2 months. What are the reasons for more and more Chinese doctors to commit suicide?We present 18 cases of China's physicians who committed suicide.We summarized the main reasons for the suicide of Chinese doctors from 2004 to 2017, and the main causes included clinical working stress, Job title promotion requirements stress, tension between the doctors and patients, and shying away from necessary treatment of their illness.It is a cruel fact that more and more physicians died of suicide in China. We hope that suicide among Chinese doctors could be recognized so that it could be concerned with the understanding of human societies.

Reducing selection bias in case-control studies from rare disease registries.

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Cole, J Alexander; Taylor, John S; Hangartner, Thomas N; Weinreb, Neal J; Mistry, Pramod K; Khan, Aneal

2011-09-12

In clinical research of rare diseases, where small patient numbers and disease heterogeneity limit study design options, registries are a valuable resource for demographic and outcome information. However, in contrast to prospective, randomized clinical trials, the observational design of registries is prone to introduce selection bias and negatively impact the validity of data analyses. The objective of the study was to demonstrate the utility of case-control matching and the risk-set method in order to control bias in data from a rare disease registry. Data from the International Collaborative Gaucher Group (ICGG) Gaucher Registry were used as an example. A case-control matching analysis using the risk-set method was conducted to identify two groups of patients with type 1 Gaucher disease in the ICGG Gaucher Registry: patients with avascular osteonecrosis (AVN) and those without AVN. The frequency distributions of gender, decade of birth, treatment status, and splenectomy status were presented for cases and controls before and after matching. Odds ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) were calculated for each variable before and after matching. The application of case-control matching methodology results in cohorts of cases (i.e., patients with AVN) and controls (i.e., patients without AVN) who have comparable distributions for four common parameters used in subject selection: gender, year of birth (age), treatment status, and splenectomy status. Matching resulted in odds ratios of approximately 1.00, indicating no bias. We demonstrated bias in case-control selection in subjects from a prototype rare disease registry and used case-control matching to minimize this bias. Therefore, this approach appears useful to study cohorts of heterogeneous patients in rare disease registries.

Harnessing the wealth of Chinese scientific literature: schistosomiasis research and control in China

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Mak Tippi K

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract The economy of China continues to boom and so have its biomedical research and related publishing activities. Several so-called neglected tropical diseases that are most common in the developing world are still rampant or even emerging in some parts of China. The purpose of this article is to document the significant research potential from the Chinese biomedical bibliographic databases. The research contributions from China in the epidemiology and control of schistosomiasis provide an excellent illustration. We searched two widely used databases, namely China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI and VIP Information (VIP. Employing the keyword "Schistosoma" ( and covering the period 1990–2006, we obtained 10,244 hits in the CNKI database and 5,975 in VIP. We examined 10 Chinese biomedical journals that published the highest number of original research articles on schistosomiasis for issues including languages and open access. Although most of the journals are published in Chinese, English abstracts are usually available. Open access to full articles was available in China Tropical Medicine in 2005/2006 and is granted by the Chinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases since 2003; none of the other journals examined offered open access. We reviewed (i the discovery and development of antischistosomal drugs, (ii the progress made with molluscicides and (iii environmental management for schistosomiasis control in China over the past 20 years. In conclusion, significant research is published in the Chinese literature, which is relevant for local control measures and global scientific knowledge. Open access should be encouraged and language barriers removed so the wealth of Chinese research can be more fully appreciated by the scientific community.

A prevalence-based association test for case-control studies.

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Ryckman, Kelli K; Jiang, Lan; Li, Chun; Bartlett, Jacquelaine; Haines, Jonathan L; Williams, Scott M

2008-11-01

Genetic association is often determined in case-control studies by the differential distribution of alleles or genotypes. Recent work has demonstrated that association can also be assessed by deviations from the expected distributions of alleles or genotypes. Specifically, multiple methods motivated by the principles of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) have been developed. However, these methods do not take into account many of the assumptions of HWE. Therefore, we have developed a prevalence-based association test (PRAT) as an alternative method for detecting association in case-control studies. This method, also motivated by the principles of HWE, uses an estimated population allele frequency to generate expected genotype frequencies instead of using the case and control frequencies separately. Our method often has greater power, under a wide variety of genetic models, to detect association than genotypic, allelic or Cochran-Armitage trend association tests. Therefore, we propose PRAT as a powerful alternative method of testing for association.

[Research progress on standardization study of NIR spectroscopy based method for quality control of traditional Chinese medicine].

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Li, Wen-Long; Qu, Hai-Bin

2016-10-01

In recent years, the near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has gained wide acceptance within the quantitative analysis of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, the lack of technical standards is the bottleneck problem in this process. To address this issue, standardization study of the NIR spectroscopy based method for the quantitative analysis of TCM is needed, in which the specific characteristics of TCM should be given full considerations. The main research contents include:the scope definition for the application of NIR spectroscopy in the TCM quantitative analysis field, the selection criteria for the sample pretreatment and spectral acquisition conditions, the rules for the model optimization and evaluation, and the regulations for the model update and transfer. In this paper, some foreign studies in the agricultural areas are reviewed for reference. Different chemometrics methods reported in the literature are investigated and compared systematically. This research is important actual significance to the theoretical development of NIR spectroscopy analytical techniques, and will effectively promote the application of the technology in the TCM industry. Furthermore, it is beneficial to improve the technical level of TCM quality control, and can also be used as references to achieve similar purposes for other natural products. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

The effects of Chinese calligraphy handwriting and relaxation training in Chinese Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma patients: a randomized controlled trial.

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Yang, Xue-Ling; Li, Huan-Huan; Hong, Ming-Huang; Kao, Henry S R

2010-05-01

Chinese calligraphy handwriting is the practice of traditional Chinese brush writing, researches found calligraphy had therapeutic effects on certain diseases, some authors argued that calligraphy might have relaxation effect. This study was to compare the effects of calligraphy handwriting with those of progressive muscle relaxation and imagery training in Chinese Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma patients. This study was a randomized controlled trial. Two hundred and eighty-seven Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma patients were approached, ninety (31%) patients were recruited and randomized to one of the three treatment groups: progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery training group, Calligraphy handwriting group, or a Control group. Seventy-nine (87.8%) completed all of the outcome measures. The primary treatment outcome was the changes of physiological arousal parameters measured by pre- and post-treatment differences of heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rate. The secondary outcomes included: modified Chinese version of Symptom Distress Scale, Profile of Mood State-Short Form, and Karnofsky Performance Status measured at baseline, during treatment (after the 2-week intervention), post-treatment (after the 4-week intervention) and after a 2-week follow-up. Effectiveness was tested by repeated measure ANOVA analyses. Cancer centre of a major university hospital in Guangdong, China. Results showed that both of calligraphy and relaxation training demonstrated slow-down effects on physiological arousal parameters. Moreover, calligraphy practice gradually lowered participants' systolic blood pressure (simple main effect of time at pre-treatment measure, p=.007) and respiration rate (p=.000) at pre- and post-treatment measures as the intervention proceeded, though with a smaller effect size as compared to relaxation. Both of calligraphy and relaxation training had certain symptom relief and mood improvement effects in NPC patients. Relaxation was effective in relieving

A Pilot Study of the Attractive Features of Active Videogames Among Chinese Primary School Children.

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Lau, Patrick W C; Lau, Erica Y; Wang, Jing Jing; Choi, Cheong-Rak; Kim, Chang Gyun

2017-04-01

The present study (1) explored the attractive features that affect Chinese primary school children's preferences of active videogames (AVGs) and (2) contrasted these findings with those in the Western literature. A total of 22 Chinese primary school children were recruited and interviewed. Four AVGs (Wii "Boxing," "Wii Fit™ Plus Obstacle Run"; "EyeToy Knockout", "EyeToy Keep ups") from two commercial consoles (Nintendo® Wii™ and Sony PlayStation ® 2 "EyeToy ® ") were employed. Participants used four selected AVGs for 3 minutes each. After each play period, children (1) described the strengths and weaknesses of each game as well as rated the attractive features of each game based on a 16-item questionnaire and (2) rated up to 5 items that were most influential regarding their AVG preferences. Participants indicated that control was the most significant feature, followed by feedback, goal, and graphics. The top five rated features imply that the perception of competence was the most appealing aspect and expected outcome of Chinese children who play AVGs. Compared with the Western findings regarding attractive AVG features, the present study found certain similarities as well as significant differences among Chinese AVG players. Based on the present study, control, feedback, goal, and graphics are the most significant features that attract Chinese children to play AVGs. Physical exertion, social interaction, competition, and learning outcomes, which are valued according to Western studies, were not mentioned as significant features by Chinese children. These findings demonstrate a need to investigate the effect of cultural background in AVG study design.

Symptoms of anxiety and depression during pregnancy and their association with low birth weight in Chinese women: a nested case control study.

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Yang, Shaoping; Yang, Rong; Liang, Shengwen; Wang, Jing; Weaver, Nancy L; Hu, Ke; Hu, Ronghua; Trevathan, Edwin; Huang, Zhen; Zhang, Yiming; Yin, Ting; Chang, Jen Jen; Zhao, Jinzhu; Shen, Longjiao; Dong, Guanghui; Zheng, Tongzhang; Xu, Shunqing; Qian, Zhengmin; Zhang, Bin

2017-04-01

This study is a nested case control study from a population-based cohort study conducted in Wuhan, China. The aim is to estimate the association between symptoms of depression during pregnancy (DDP), anxiety during pregnancy(ADP), and depression with anxiety during pregnancy (DADP) and low birth weight (LBW) and to examine the extent to which preterm birth (PTB) moderates these associations. Logistic regression analyses were used to model associations between DDP, ADP, and DADP and LBW. Models were stratified by the presence or absence of PTB to examine moderating effects. From the cohort study, 2853 had a LBW baby (cases); 5457 pregnant women served as controls. Women with DDP or ADP only were not at higher risk of having a LBW baby, but DADP was associated with increased risk of LBW (crude OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.17-1.70; adjusted OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.07-1.57), and the significant association was particularly evident between DADP and LBW in PTB, but not in full-term births. Our data suggests that DADP is related to an increased risk of LBW and that this association is most present in PTBs.

Should Controls With Respiratory Symptoms Be Excluded From Case-Control Studies of Pneumonia Etiology? Reflections From the PERCH Study.

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Higdon, Melissa M; Hammitt, Laura L; Deloria Knoll, Maria; Baggett, Henry C; Brooks, W Abdullah; Howie, Stephen R C; Kotloff, Karen L; Levine, Orin S; Madhi, Shabir A; Murdoch, David R; Scott, J Anthony G; Thea, Donald M; Driscoll, Amanda J; Karron, Ruth A; Park, Daniel E; Prosperi, Christine; Zeger, Scott L; O'Brien, Katherine L; Feikin, Daniel R

2017-06-15

Many pneumonia etiology case-control studies exclude controls with respiratory illness from enrollment or analyses. Herein we argue that selecting controls regardless of respiratory symptoms provides the least biased estimates of pneumonia etiology. We review 3 reasons investigators may choose to exclude controls with respiratory symptoms in light of epidemiologic principles of control selection and present data from the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) study where relevant to assess their validity. We conclude that exclusion of controls with respiratory symptoms will result in biased estimates of etiology. Randomly selected community controls, with or without respiratory symptoms, as long as they do not meet the criteria for case-defining pneumonia, are most representative of the general population from which cases arose and the least subject to selection bias. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Identification of the First Chinese Cases of H1N1 Flu

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

In this podcast, Dr. Scott Dowell discusses the first cases of the new H1N1 influenza virus in China in May 2009, which occurred in three students who had been studying in North America during the early days of the pandemic and returned home to visit their friends and family. Chinese health officials acted swiftly to investigate and determine whether the students had spread their illness to others. The article, which appears in the September 2009 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, details what they found.

Beyond Parental Control and Authoritarian Parenting Style: Understanding Chinese Parenting through the Cultural Notion of Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Ruth K.

1994-01-01

Examined the child-rearing practices of immigrant Chinese and European American mothers of preschool children through questionnaires that measured parental control, authoritative-authoritarian parenting style, and the Chinese concept of child training. Chinese mothers scored significantly higher than European American mothers on the training…

Chinese specific characteristics of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a retrospective analysis of 57 cases.

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Wei Zhao

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD is a fatal and transmissible neurodegenerative disorder. However, no studies have reported Chinese specific characteristics of sCJD. We aimed to identify differences in sCJD between Chinese patients and patients from other countries. METHODS: The data from 57 Chinese sCJD patients were retrospectively analyzed, including demographic data, clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, electroencephalograms (EEGs, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI scans, positron emission tomography (PET scans, and pathological results. RESULT: The disease was pathologically confirmed in 11 patients. 39 cases were diagnosed as probable sCJD, and 7 were possible. Of the total cases, 33 were male, and 24 were female. The onset age ranged from 36 to 75 years (mean: 55.5, median: 57. Disease onset before the age of 60 occurred in 57.9% of patients. The disease duration from onset to death ranged 5-22 months (mean: 11.6, median: 11, and 51.9% of patients died 7 to 12 months after disease onset. The majority of patients presented with sub-acute onset with progressive dementia. 3 of the 9 patients who took 14-3-3 protein analysis had positive results (33.3%. The sensitivity of EEG was 79.6% (43/54. For DWI and PET examinations, the sensitivities were 94% (47/50 and 94.1% (16/17, respectively. In seven patients who did not show typical hyper-intensities on the first DWI examination, abnormalities of hypo-metabolism in the cerebral cortex were clearly detected by PET. In 13 out of the 17 patients, PET detected extra abnormal regions in addition to the hyper-intense areas observed in DWI. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to indicate that Chinese sCJD patients have a much earlier onset age and a longer disease duration than other populations, which is most likely related to racial differences. The longer disease duration may also be a probable characteristic of Asian populations. PET had high sensitivity for the

Can Job Control Ameliorate Work-family Conflict and Enhance Job Satisfaction among Chinese Registered Nurses? A Mediation Model.

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Ding, Xiaotong; Yang, Yajuan; Su, Dan; Zhang, Ting; Li, Lunlan; Li, Huiping

2018-04-01

Low job satisfaction is the most common cause of nurses' turnover and influences the quality of nursing service. Moreover, we have no idea regarding whether job control, as an individual factor, can play a role in the relationship. To explore the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction among Chinese registered nurses and the mediating role of job control in this relationship. From August 2015 to November 2016, 487 Chinese registered nurses completed a survey. The study used work-family conflict scale, job control scale, job satisfaction scale, as well as general information. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the independent factors of job satisfaction. Structural equation model was used to explore the mediating role of job control. Work-family conflict was negatively correlated with job satisfaction (r ‑0.432, pjob control was positively related to job satisfaction (r 0.567, pjob control had significant predictive effects on job satisfaction. Job control partially mediated the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction. Work-family conflict affected job satisfaction and job control was a mediator in this relationship among Chinese registered nurses. Job control could potentially improve nurses' job satisfaction.

Body integrity identity disorder crosses culture: case reports in the Japanese and Chinese literature.

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Blom, Rianne M; Vulink, Nienke C; van der Wal, Sija J; Nakamae, Takashi; Tan, Zhonglin; Derks, Eske M; Denys, Damiaan

2016-01-01

Body integrity identity disorder (BIID) is a condition in which people do not perceive a part of their body as their own, which results in a strong desire for amputation or paralyzation. The disorder is likely to be congenital due to its very early onset. The English literature describes only Western patients with BIID, suggesting that the disorder might be merely prevalent in the West. To scrutinize this assumption, and to extend our knowledge of the etiology of BIID, it is important to trace cases with BIID in non-Western populations. Our objective was to review Chinese and Japanese literature on BIID to learn about its presence in populations with a different genetic background. A systematic literature search was performed in databases containing Japanese and Chinese research, published in the respective languages. Five Japanese articles of BIID were identified which described two cases of BIID, whereas in the Chinese databases only BIID-related conditions were found. This article reports some preliminary evidence that BIID is also present in non-Western countries. However, making general statements about the biological background of the disorder is hampered by the extremely low number of cases found. This low number possibly resulted from the extreme secrecy associated with the disorder, perhaps even more so in Asian countries.

Glutathione S-transferase P1, gene-gene interaction, and lung cancer susceptibility in the Chinese population: An updated meta-analysis and review

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Xue-Ming Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Aim of Study: To assess the impact of glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1 Ile105Val polymorphism on the risk of lung cancer in the Chinese population, an updated meta-analysis and review was performed. Materials and Methods: Relevant studies were identified from PubMed, Springer Link, Ovid, Chinese Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Biology Medicine published through January 22, 2015. The odds ratios (ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs were calculated to estimate the strength of the associations. Results: A total of 13 case-control studies, including 2026 lung cancer cases and 2451 controls, were included in this meta-analysis. Overall, significantly increased lung cancer risk was associated with the variant genotypes of GSTP1 polymorphism in the Chinese population (GG vs. AA: OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.01-1.84. In subgroup analyses stratified by geographic area and source of controls, the significant results were found in population-based studies (GG vs. AA: OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.13-2.31; GG vs. AG: OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.03-2.16; GG vs. AA + AG: OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.12-2.26. A gene-gene interaction analysis showed that there was an interaction for individuals with combination of GSTM1 (or GSTT1 null genotype and GSTP1 (AG + GG mutant genotype for lung cancer risk in Chinese. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that GSTP1 Ile105Val polymorphism may increase the risk of lung cancer in the Chinese population.

Laryngeal sarcoidosis: a case-control study.

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Duchemann, Boris; Lavolé, Armelle; Naccache, Jean-Marc; Nunes, Hilario; Benzakin, Sylvain; Lefevre, Marine; Kambouchner, Marianne; Périé, Sophie; Valeyre, Dominique; Cadranel, Jacques

2014-10-20

We undertook a study on a series of laryngeal sarcoidosis (LS), a very rare and often threatening localization to better specify laryngeal manifestations, sarcoidosis clinical expression and long-term follow-up. This was a retrospective case-control study. All LS patients from two French centers were included and compared to sarcoidosis patients without laryngeal localization with two controls for one patient. Twelve consecutive LS patients were recruited between 1993 and 2011. LS revealed sarcoidosis in eight cases (67%). The most common symptoms were hoarseness (77%), inspiratory dyspnea (38%) and dysphagia (38%). Epidemiological characterisics were not different. Extrapulmonary localizations were significantly more common in LS patients than in controls (92% vs. 54%, p=0.02), particularly lupus pernio (25% vs. 0%, p=0.03) and nasosinusal involvement (83% vs. 4%, p<0.01) while thoracic involvement was less frequent (58% vs 100%, p < 0.01). Treatment rates were higher in the LS group (92% vs. 58%, p=0.04), and treatment duration was longer (median: 81 vs. 13 months, p=0.04), with frequent long-term treatment (67%, N=8/12). Two patients underwent surgery. One patient needed temporary tracheostomy during the course of the disease; Remission rates were lower in LS patients (9% vs. 58% at 2 years p<0.01). Eventually, there was no death nor definitive tracheotomy. LS is a rare condition that is often associated to other loco-regional localizations. LS are often difficult to manage. Survival is good but may require a medico-surgical approach.

Transitioning Beliefs in Teachers of Chinese as a Foreign Language: An Australian Case Study

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Moloney, Robyn; Xu, HuiLing

2015-01-01

With the economic rise of China, there is global demand for effective teaching and learning of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). There has been limited sustained success in Chinese language learning in Australian schools, however, and this has been attributed, amongst other factors, to pedagogy employed by teachers. Today, it is commonplace to…

Case-control study of gadodiamide-related nephrogenic systemic fibrosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marckmann, Peter; Skov, Lone; Rossen, Kristian

2007-01-01

exposed to gadodiamide develop nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study of 19 histologically verified cases and 19 sex- and age-matched controls. All subjects had chronic renal failure when exposed to gadodiamide. Clinical, biochemical and pharmacological data were.......02). CONCLUSIONS: Increasing cumulative gadodiamide exposure, high-dose epoietin-beta treatment, and higher serum concentrations of ionized calcium and phosphate increase the risk of gadodiamide-related nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in renal failure patients. Severe cases seem to develop primarily among patients......BACKGROUND: Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis may be caused by gadolinium (Gd)-containing magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents. Most reported cases were associated with one particular agent, gadodiamide. Yet, unidentified cofactors might explain why only a minority of renal failure patients...

Reducing selection bias in case-control studies from rare disease registries

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Mistry Pramod K

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In clinical research of rare diseases, where small patient numbers and disease heterogeneity limit study design options, registries are a valuable resource for demographic and outcome information. However, in contrast to prospective, randomized clinical trials, the observational design of registries is prone to introduce selection bias and negatively impact the validity of data analyses. The objective of the study was to demonstrate the utility of case-control matching and the risk-set method in order to control bias in data from a rare disease registry. Data from the International Collaborative Gaucher Group (ICGG Gaucher Registry were used as an example. Methods A case-control matching analysis using the risk-set method was conducted to identify two groups of patients with type 1 Gaucher disease in the ICGG Gaucher Registry: patients with avascular osteonecrosis (AVN and those without AVN. The frequency distributions of gender, decade of birth, treatment status, and splenectomy status were presented for cases and controls before and after matching. Odds ratios (and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for each variable before and after matching. Results The application of case-control matching methodology results in cohorts of cases (i.e., patients with AVN and controls (i.e., patients without AVN who have comparable distributions for four common parameters used in subject selection: gender, year of birth (age, treatment status, and splenectomy status. Matching resulted in odds ratios of approximately 1.00, indicating no bias. Conclusions We demonstrated bias in case-control selection in subjects from a prototype rare disease registry and used case-control matching to minimize this bias. Therefore, this approach appears useful to study cohorts of heterogeneous patients in rare disease registries.

Suspected survivor bias in case-control studies: stratify on survival time and use a negative control.

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van Rein, Nienke; Cannegieter, Suzanne C; Rosendaal, Frits R; Reitsma, Pieter H; Lijfering, Willem M

2014-02-01

Selection bias in case-control studies occurs when control selection is inappropriate. However, selection bias due to improper case sampling is less well recognized. We describe how to recognize survivor bias (i.e., selection on exposed cases) and illustrate this with an example study. A case-control study was used to analyze the effect of statins on major bleedings during treatment with vitamin K antagonists. A total of 110 patients who experienced such bleedings were included 18-1,018 days after the bleeding complication and matched to 220 controls. A protective association of major bleeding for exposure to statins (odds ratio [OR]: 0.56; 95% confidence interval: 0.29-1.08) was found, which did not become stronger after adjustment for confounding factors. These observations lead us to suspect survivor bias. To identify this bias, results were stratified on time between bleeding event and inclusion, and repeated for a negative control (an exposure not related to survival): blood group non-O. The ORs for exposure to statins increased gradually to 1.37 with shorter time between outcome and inclusion, whereas ORs for the negative control remained constant, confirming our hypothesis. We recommend the presented method to check for overoptimistic results, that is, survivor bias in case-control studies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Diabetes education for Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect on glycemic control.

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Choi, Tammie S T; Davidson, Zoe E; Walker, Karen Z; Lee, Jia Hwa; Palermo, Claire

2016-06-01

The purpose of this study is to systematically review evidence in English and Chinese publications to determine the size of glycemic effect of different diabetes education approaches for Chinese patients. CINAHL Plus, Embase, Ovid Medline, Scopus and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database were searched. Studies were included if they were randomised controlled trials with a detailed description of education approach, with more than 50 Chinese-adult participants, reporting actual glycemic outcome and with at least 3-month follow-up. Data was systematically extracted and cross-checked by the authors. Methodological quality was assessed. Fifty-three studies, including five English and 48 Chinese publications, were included. The overall weighted mean difference (WMD) in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was -1.19% (-13mmol/mol). Ongoing regular education was most-commonly employed, with a reported WMD of -2.02% (-22mmol/mol). Glycemic control was further enhanced in studies using information reinforcement strategies. Diabetes education in any format generates glycemic improvement for Chinese patients, but is particularly effective when an ongoing regular education is employed. Innovative strategies aligned with cultural concepts, such as employing patient examination to reinforce diabetes management knowledge and/or involving family in patient care deserve further trial to determine whether they enhance glycemic control in this group. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

RSRC1 and CPZ gene polymorphisms with neuroblastoma susceptibility in Chinese children.

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Tang, Jue; Liu, Wei; Zhu, Jinhong; Zhang, Jiao; Wang, Feng-Hua; Liang, Jiang-Hua; Zeng, Jia-Hang; Wang, Hui; Xia, Huimin; He, Jing

2018-07-01

Two new neuroblastoma susceptibility loci at 3q25 (RSRC1 rs6441201 G > A) and 4p16 (CPZ rs3796725 T > C and rs3796727 A > G) were identified by a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving Italians, African Americans and European Americans. In this case-control study with 393 neuroblastoma cases and 812 controls, we investigated the association between these three polymorphisms and neuroblastoma susceptibility in Chinese population. We found that participants harboring the RSRC1 rs6441201A allele were associated with an increased risk of neuroblastoma (AA vs. GG: adjusted OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.03-2.34, P = 0.036). No significant association between the CPZ polymorphisms (rs3796725 T > C and rs3796727A > G) and neuroblastoma susceptibility was observed. In conclusion, our results confirm that the RSRC1 rs6441201A allele is associated with neuroblastoma susceptibility in Chinese population. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Management of chronic kidney disease guided by the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine: an experimental study].

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Wen, Ji; Xie, Xi-Sheng; Zhang, Ming-Hua; Mao, Nan; Zhang, Cheng-Long; Xie, Lin-Shen; Cheng, Yuan; Zhang, Zi-Yuan; Fan, Jun-Ming

2014-01-01

To determine the impact of Traditional Chinese Medicine on patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). A total of 225 CKD patients in an outpatient department were recruited for this study, among whom 170 received regular Western and Chinese medicine treatments (control group) and 55 received treatments guided by the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (experimental group). The effectiveness of the treatments was determined through a pre-post comparison. Significant pre-intervention differences in age (P control group. No significant differences between the groups were found in changes of uric acid (P = 0.475), urine protein (P = 0.058), urine red cells (P = 0.577), and urine white cells (P = 0.01). A greater level of increase in estimated glomerular filtration rate was found in the experimental group compared with the control (P theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine can improve renal function through influencing glomerular filtration rate. The effect is more prominent than the regular treatment regime.

Knowledge sharing in Chinese hospitals identifying sharing barriers in traditional Chinese and Western medicine collaboration

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Zhou, Lihong

2015-01-01

This book aims to identify, understand and qualify barriers to the patient-centred knowledge sharing (KS) in interprofessional practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Medicine (WM) healthcare professionals in Chinese hospitals.  This collaboration is particularly crucial and unique to China since, contrary to Western practice, these two types of professionals actually work together complimentary in the same hospital. This study adopted a Grounded Theory approach as the overarching methodology to guide the analysis of the data collected in a single case-study design.  A public hospital in central China was selected as the case-study site, at which 49 informants were interviewed by using semi-structured and evolving interview scripts.  The research findings point to five categories of KS barriers: contextual influences, hospital management, philosophical divergence, Chinese healthcare education and interprofessional training.  Further conceptualising the research findings, it is identifie...

Cured meat, vegetables, and bean-curd foods in relation to childhood acute leukemia risk: a population based case-control study.

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Liu, Chen-Yu; Hsu, Yi-Hsiang; Wu, Ming-Tsang; Pan, Pi-Chen; Ho, Chi-Kung; Su, Li; Xu, Xin; Li, Yi; Christiani, David C

2009-01-13

Consumption of cured/smoked meat and fish leads to the formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds in the acidic stomach. This study investigated whether consumed cured/smoked meat and fish, the major dietary resource for exposure to nitrites and nitrosamines, is associated with childhood acute leukemia. A population-based case-control study of Han Chinese between 2 and 20 years old was conducted in southern Taiwan. 145 acute leukemia cases and 370 age- and sex-matched controls were recruited between 1997 and 2005. Dietary data were obtained from a questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression models were used in data analyses. Consumption of cured/smoked meat and fish more than once a week was associated with an increased risk of acute leukemia (OR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.15-2.64). Conversely, higher intake of vegetables (OR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.37-0.83) and bean-curd (OR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.34-0.89) was associated with a reduced risk. No statistically significant association was observed between leukemia risk and the consumption of pickled vegetables, fruits, and tea. Dietary exposure to cured/smoked meat and fish may be associated with leukemia risk through their contents of nitrites and nitrosamines among children and adolescents, and intake of vegetables and soy-bean curd may be protective.

Chinese Students' Satisfaction of the Study Abroad Experience

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Wang, Qinggang; Taplin, Ross; Brown, Alistair M.

2011-01-01

Purpose: Building upon McLeod and Wainwright's paradigm for rigorous scientific assessment of study abroad programs, this paper aims to use social learning theory to assess mainland Chinese students' satisfaction of the Chinese Curtin Student Accounting Academic Programme. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of mainland Chinese students enrolled…

Chinese consumers' adoption of a "green" innovation - the case of organic food

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John; Zhou, Yanfeng

Little research has been published on Chinese consumer-citizens’ adoption of or willingness to adopt sustainable lifestyle elements. A case in point is organic food – a more sustainable alternative to conventional food. Organic food is a Western invention. However, organic food products are now...... available in upscale supermarkets in East and South-east China metropolises such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou. This paper reports the results of a study investigating what motivates early adopters of organic food in China. The data were collected in Guangzhou by means of a mallintercept survey...

Chinese consumers' adoption of a "green" innovation - the case of organic food

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John; Zhou, Yanfeng

2012-01-01

Little research has been published on Chinese consumer-citizens’ adoption of or willingness to adopt sustainable lifestyle elements. A case in point is organic food – a more sustainable alternative to conventional food. Organic food is a Western invention. However, organic food products are now...... available in upscale supermarkets in East and South-east China metropolises such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou. This paper reports the results of a study investigating what motivates early adopters of organic food in China. The data were collected in Guangzhou by means of a mallintercept survey...

Risk factors associated with lipomyelomeningocele: a case-control study.

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Esmaeili, Arash; Hanaei, Sara; Fadakar, Kaveh; Dadkhah, Sahar; Arjipour, Mahdi; Habibi, Zohreh; Nejat, Farideh; El Khashab, Mostafa

2013-01-01

In general, it seems that both genetic and environmental factors play important roles in the induction of neural tube defects. Lipomyelomeningocele (LipoMMC) is a rather common type of closed neural tube defect, but only limited studies have investigated the potential risk factors of this anomaly. Therefore, the purpose of this case-control study was to investigate the risk factors involved in LipoMMC formation. Various risk factors were evaluated in 35 children between 1 month and 10 years of age with LipoMMC in a hospital-based case-control study. The 2 control arms consisted of 35 children with myelomeningocele (MMC group) and 35 children with congenital anomalies other than central nervous system problems (control group). All groups were matched for age and visited the same hospital. A structured questionnaire was used for the collection of all data, including the mothers' weight and height during pregnancy, education, reproductive history, previous abortions, and socioeconomic status, as well as the parents' consanguinity and family history of the same anomalies. Univariate analysis of the children with LipoMMC compared to the control group showed that the use of periconceptional folic acid supplementation was significantly lower in the MMC and LipoMMC groups compared to the control group. In addition, comparison of the MMC and control groups revealed statistically significant differences regarding the use of folic acid and maternal obesity. In multivariate analysis, use of folic acid in the periconceptional period and during the first trimester was an independent risk factor for LipoMMC and MMC. Furthermore, maternal obesity was a significantly positive risk factor for MMC. The probable risk factors for LipoMMC were investigated in this case-control study. Consumption of folic acid in the periconceptional period and during the first trimester is an independent protective factor against LipoMMC. It seems that larger studies are needed to examine other possible

Retrospective exposure assessment and quality control in an international multi-centre case-control study

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Tinnerberg, H; Heikkilä, P; Huici-Montagud, A

2003-01-01

The paper presents the exposure assessment method and quality control procedure used in an international, multi-centre case-control study within a joint Nordic and Italian cohort. This study was conducted to evaluate whether occupational exposure to carcinogens influenced the predictivity of high...... was higher among the original assessors (the assessor from the same country as the subject) than the average prevalence assessed by the other four in the quality control round. The original assessors classified more job situations as exposed than the others. Several reasons for this are plausible: real...... country-specific differences, differences in information available to the home assessor and the others and misunderstandings or difficulties in translation of information. To ensure the consistency of exposure assessments in international retrospective case-control studies it is important to have a well...

Risk Factors Profile of Shoulder Dystocia in Oman: A Case Control Study

OpenAIRE

Maha M. Al-Khaduri; Rania Mohammed Abudraz; Sayed G. Rizvi; Yahya M. Al-Farsi

2014-01-01

Objective: This study aimed to assess the risk factor profile of shoulder dystocia and associated neonatal complications in Oman, a developing Arab country. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted among 111 cases with dystocia and 111 controls, identified during 1994-2006 period in a tertiary care hospital in Oman. Controls were randomly selected among women who did not have dystocia, and were matched to cases on the day of delivery. Data related to potential risk factor...

Association of CYP1B1 Polymorphisms with Breast Cancer: A Case-Control Study in the Han Population in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, P. R. China

Science.gov (United States)

Jiao, Haiyan; Liu, Chunlian; Guo, Weidong; Peng, Liang; Chen, Yintao; Martin, Francis L.

2010-01-01

Studies investigating possible associations between cytochrome P4501B1 (CYP1B1) polymorphisms and breast cancer risk have been inconsistent. We set out to ascertain whether there might be an association between polymorphisms in exon 2 (codon 119, G→T) and exon 3 (codon 432, G→C) of CYP1B1 and breast cancer in a Chinese Han population in the rural region of Ningxia. Using an allele-specific polymerase chain reaction method and direct DNA sequencing, the presence or absence of the two CYP1B1 polymorphisms was investigated. Genotype and allele frequencies were analyzed in breast cancer cases (n = 152) and healthy age-matched controls (n = 156). The odds ratio (OR) of 119G→T or 432G→C in breast cancer cases and controls was 3.3 (95% CI: 1.28 to 8.28) and 2.8 (95% CI: 1.04 to 7.51), respectively. In addition, the OR for people with both polymorphisms (119T and 432C) was 4.69 (95% CI: 1.97 to 11.19). Our results suggest that certain polymorphisms in the CYP1B1 gene might increase risk for breast cancer among Han Chinese, perhaps because they influence the efficiency of CYP1B1 bio-transformation of oestrogens or pro-carcinogens into DNA-reactive electrophiles that may act as cancer-initiating agents. PMID:20212917

Effects of TCMC on Transformation of Good Health Status to Suboptimal Health Status: A Nested Case-Control Study

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tian; Chen, Jieyu; Sun, Xiaomin; Xiang, Lei; Zhou, Lin; Li, Fei; Lin, Changsong; Jiang, Pingping; Wu, Shengwei; Xiao, Ya; Cheng, Jingru; Luo, Ren; Liu, Yanyan; Zhao, Xiaoshan

2015-01-01

To explore the effects of traditional Chinese medicine constitution (TCMC) on transformation of good health status to suboptimal health status (SHS), we conducted a nested case-control study among college students in China. During the 18-month mean follow-up time, 543 cases of SHS (42.7%) occurred in 1273 healthy students. There was a significant (P = 0.000) and marked reduction in SHMS V1.0 total score in the case group at the 18-month follow-up (69.32 ± 5.45) compared with baseline (78.60 ± 4.70), but there was no significant change in the control group. Conditional logistic regression analysis showed that respondents reporting Yin-deficiency and Qi-deficiency were, respectively, 2.247 and 2.198 times more likely to develop SHS, while tendency to Yin-deficiency and tendency to Damp-heat were, respectively, 1.642 and 1.506 times more likely to develop SHS. However, the Balanced Constitution was a significant protective factor (OR 0.649; P < 0.05). Altogether, these findings demonstrate that Yin-deficiency, Qi-deficiency, tendency to Yin-deficiency, and tendency to Damp-heat appeared to induce a change in health status to SHS, while the Balanced Constitution seemed to restrain this change. We conclude that regulating the unbalanced TCMC (such as Yin-deficiency and Qi-deficiency) may prevent a healthy status developing into SHS or lead to the regression of SHS. PMID:26346320

Effects of TCMC on Transformation of Good Health Status to Suboptimal Health Status: A Nested Case-Control Study

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Tian Wang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To explore the effects of traditional Chinese medicine constitution (TCMC on transformation of good health status to suboptimal health status (SHS, we conducted a nested case-control study among college students in China. During the 18-month mean follow-up time, 543 cases of SHS (42.7% occurred in 1273 healthy students. There was a significant (P=0.000 and marked reduction in SHMS V1.0 total score in the case group at the 18-month follow-up (69.32 ± 5.45 compared with baseline (78.60 ± 4.70, but there was no significant change in the control group. Conditional logistic regression analysis showed that respondents reporting Yin-deficiency and Qi-deficiency were, respectively, 2.247 and 2.198 times more likely to develop SHS, while tendency to Yin-deficiency and tendency to Damp-heat were, respectively, 1.642 and 1.506 times more likely to develop SHS. However, the Balanced Constitution was a significant protective factor (OR 0.649; P<0.05. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that Yin-deficiency, Qi-deficiency, tendency to Yin-deficiency, and tendency to Damp-heat appeared to induce a change in health status to SHS, while the Balanced Constitution seemed to restrain this change. We conclude that regulating the unbalanced TCMC (such as Yin-deficiency and Qi-deficiency may prevent a healthy status developing into SHS or lead to the regression of SHS.

A School-Based Fusion of East and West: A Case Study of Modern Curriculum Innovations in A Chinese Kindergarten

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Weipeng; Li, Hui

2018-01-01

School-based curriculum innovations have been widely implemented in Chinese kindergartens since the turn of the new millennium. However, in the absence of professional guidance, Chinese kindergartens have been forced to "ride a blind horse" when developing curriculum. The aim of this study was to understand the nature of and mechanisms…

Case-control study of fetal microchimerism and breast cancer.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijayakrishna K Gadi

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Prior pregnancy is known to protect against development of breast cancer. Recent studies have demonstrated that pregnancy has the capacity to establish small numbers of immunologically active fetal-derived cells in the mother, a phenomenon known as fetal microchimerism (FMc. We asked whether presence of FMc, routinely acquired during pregnancy, is a protective factor for breast cancer.DNA extracts from peripheral blood specimens were obtained from a population-based case-control study of risk factors for breast cancer in women 21 to 45 years old. Specimens were tested with quantitative PCR for presence and concentrations of male DNA presumed to derive from prior pregnancies with a male fetus. Odds ratios (OR and 95% confidence intervals (CI were estimated with consideration of multiple established reproductive and environmental risk factors for breast cancer. FMc results were generated on 99 parous women, 54 with primary invasive breast cancer and 45 general population controls. FMc prevalence was 56% (25/45 and 26% (14/54 in controls and cases, respectively. Women harboring FMc were less likely to have had breast cancer (OR = 0.29, 95% CI 0.11-0.83; p = 0.02, adjusting for age, number of children, birth of a son, history of miscarriage, and total DNA tested. In addition, FMc concentrations were higher in controls versus cases (p = 0.01. Median concentrations were 2 (0-78 and 0 (0-374 fetal genomes/10(6 maternal genomes in controls and cases, respectively.Results suggest that the enigma of why some parous women are not afforded protection from breast cancer by pregnancy might in part be explained by differences in FMc. Mechanistic studies of FMc-derived protection against breast cancer are warranted.

Dengue infection and miscarriage: a prospective case control study.

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Peng Chiong Tan

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Dengue is the most prevalent mosquito borne infection worldwide. Vertical transmissions after maternal dengue infection to the fetus and pregnancy losses in relation to dengue illness have been reported. The relationship of dengue to miscarriage is not known. METHOD: We aimed to establish the relationship of recent dengue infection and miscarriage. Women who presented with miscarriage (up to 22 weeks gestation to our hospital were approached to participate in the study. For each case of miscarriage, we recruited 3 controls with viable pregnancies at a similar gestation. A brief questionnaire on recent febrile illness and prior dengue infection was answered. Blood was drawn from participants, processed and the frozen serum was stored. Stored sera were thawed and then tested in batches with dengue specific IgM capture ELISA, dengue non-structural protein 1 (NS1 antigen and dengue specific IgG ELISA tests. Controls remained in the analysis if their pregnancies continued beyond 22 weeks gestation. Tests were run on 116 case and 341 control sera. One case (a misdiagnosed viable early pregnancy plus 45 controls (39 lost to follow up and six subsequent late miscarriages were excluded from analysis. FINDINGS: Dengue specific IgM or dengue NS1 antigen (indicating recent dengue infection was positive in 6/115 (5·2% cases and 5/296 (1·7% controls RR 3·1 (95% CI 1·0-10 P = 0·047. Maternal age, gestational age, parity and ethnicity were dissimilar between cases and controls. After adjustments for these factors, recent dengue infection remained significantly more frequently detected in cases than controls (AOR 4·2 95% CI 1·2-14 P = 0·023. INTERPRETATION: Recent dengue infections were more frequently detected in women presenting with miscarriage than in controls whose pregnancies were viable. After adjustments for confounders, the positive association remained.

The remote supervisory and controlling experiment system of traditional Chinese medicine production based on Fieldbus

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Jinliang; Lu, Pei

2006-11-01

Since the quality of traditional Chinese medicine products are affected by raw material, machining and many other factors, it is difficult for traditional Chinese medicine production process especially the extracting process to ensure the steady and homogeneous quality. At the same time, there exist some quality control blind spots due to lacking on-line quality detection means. But if infrared spectrum analysis technology was used in traditional Chinese medicine production process on the basis of off-line analysis to real-time detect the quality of semi-manufactured goods and to be assisted by advanced automatic control technique, the steady and homogeneous quality can be obtained. It can be seen that the on-line detection of extracting process plays an important role in the development of Chinese patent medicines industry. In this paper, the design and implement of a traditional Chinese medicine extracting process monitoring experiment system which is based on PROFIBUS-DP field bus, OPC, and Internet technology is introduced. The system integrates intelligence node which gathering data, superior sub-system which achieving figure configuration and remote supervisory, during the process of traditional Chinese medicine production, monitors the temperature parameter, pressure parameter, quality parameter etc. And it can be controlled by the remote nodes in the VPN (Visual Private Network). Experiment and application do have proved that the system can reach the anticipation effect fully, and with the merits of operational stability, real-time, reliable, convenient and simple manipulation and so on.

Can Job Control Ameliorate Work-family Conflict and Enhance Job Satisfaction among Chinese Registered Nurses? A Mediation Model

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Xiaotong Ding

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Low job satisfaction is the most common cause of nurses' turnover and influences the quality of nursing service. Moreover, we have no idea regarding whether job control, as an individual factor, can play a role in the relationship. Objective: To explore the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction among Chinese registered nurses and the mediating role of job control in this relationship. Methods: From August 2015 to November 2016, 487 Chinese registered nurses completed a survey. The study used work-family conflict scale, job control scale, job satisfaction scale, as well as general information. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the independent factors of job satisfaction. Structural equation model was used to explore the mediating role of job control. Results: Work-family conflict was negatively correlated with job satisfaction (r ‑0.432, p<0.01. In addition, job control was positively related to job satisfaction (r 0.567, p<0.01. Work-family conflict and job control had significant predictive effects on job satisfaction. Job control partially mediated the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction. Conclusion: Work-family conflict affected job satisfaction and job control was a mediator in this relationship among Chinese registered nurses. Job control could potentially improve nurses' job satisfaction.

[Study on incompatibility of traditional Chinese medicines].

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Xin-sheng; Duan, Jin-ao; Hua, Hao-ming; Qian, Da-wei; Shang, Er-xin; Guo, Jian-ming

2015-04-01

The incompatibility of traditional Chinese medicines is related to the clinical medication safety, so has attracted wide attentions from the public. With the deepening of studies on the incompatibility of traditional Chinese medicines represented by 18 incompatible herbs, the incompatibility of theory traditional Chinese medicines has raised to new heights. From the origin of incompatibility theory of traditional Chinese medicines, relationship of herbs, harms of incompatible herbs and principle of prevention to toxic effects of specific incompatible medicines, the innovation and development of the traditional Chinese medicine incompatibility theory was explored. Structurally, the incompatibility of traditional Chinese medicines refers to the opposition of two herbs based on seven emotions and clinical experience. The combination of incompatible herbs may lead to human harms, especially latent harm and inefficacy of intervention medicines. The avoidance of the combination of incompatible herbs and the consideration of both symptoms and drug efficacy are the basic method to prevent adverse reactions. The recent studies have revealed five characteristics of incompatible herbs. Toxicity potentiation, toxication, efficacy reduction and inefficacy are the four manifestations of the incompatible relations. The material changes can reflect the effects of toxicity potentiation and toxication of opposite herbs. The accumulation of toxicity and metabolic changes are the basis for latent harms. The antagonistic effect of main efficacies and the coexistence of positive and negative effects are the distinctive part of the incompatibility. The connotation of incompatible herbs plays an important role in the innovation of the traditional Chinese medicine incompatibility theory.

Patterns of venturing financing: The case of Chinese entrepreneurs

OpenAIRE

Liao, Jianwen; Welsch, Harold; Pistrui, David

2003-01-01

This study examines the sources of venture financing of Chinese entrepreneurs in Wuhan, China. Based on a sample of 222, we found that Chinese entrepreneurs in Wuhan mainly rely on venture financing on their own or parties that are within their close social networks such as parents, relatives and friends. External financing sources are notably missing. We also found that entrepreneurs who use significantly more personal saving in venture financing are older (>37 years), female, with high scho...

Qat use and esophageal cancer in Ethiopia: A pilot case-control study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria E Leon

Full Text Available Qat (Catha edulis chewing is reported to induce lesions in the buccal mucosa, irritation of the esophagus, and esophageal reflux. Case series suggest a possible etiological role in oral and esophageal cancers. This pilot study aimed to generate preliminary estimates of the magnitude and direction of the association between qat use and esophageal cancer (EC risk and to inform the logistics required to conduct a multi-center case-control study.Between May 2012 and May 2013, 73 EC cases (including 12 gastro-esophageal junction cases and 133 controls matched individually on sex, age, and residence were enrolled at two endoscopy clinics and a cancer treatment hospital in Addis Ababa. A face-to-face structured questionnaire was administered. Qat use was defined as ever having chewed qat once a week or more frequently for at least one year. Odds ratios were calculated using conditional logistic regression.Only 8% of cases resided in Addis Ababa. Qat use was more frequent in cases (36% than in controls (26%. A 2-fold elevation in EC risk was observed in ever qat chewers compared with never users in unadjusted conditional logistic regression (OR = 2.12; 95% CI = 0.94, 4.74, an association that disappeared after adjusting for differences in tobacco use, consumption of alcohol and green vegetables, education level, and religion (OR = 0.95; 0.22, 4.22. Among never tobacco users, however, a non-significant increase in EC risk was suggested in ever qat users also after adjustment. Increases in EC risk were observed with ever tobacco use, alcohol consumption, low consumption of green vegetables, a salty diet, illiteracy, and among Muslims; the four latter associations were significant.This pilot study generated EC risk estimates in association with a habit practiced by millions of people and never before studied in a case-control design. Results must be interpreted cautiously in light of possible selection bias, with some demographics such as education level

Analgesics use and ESRD in younger age: a case-control study

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Moehner Sabine

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background An ad hoc peer-review committee was jointly appointed by Drug Authorities and Industry in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 1999/2000 to review the evidence for a causal relation between phenacetin-free analgesics and nephropathy. The committee found the evidence as inconclusive and requested a new case-control study of adequate design. Methods We performed a population-based case-control study with incident cases of end-stage renal disease (ESRD under the age of 50 years and four age and sex-matched neighborhood controls in 170 dialysis centers (153 in Germany, and 17 in Austria from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2004. Data on lifetime medical history, risk factors, treatment, job exposure and intake of analgesics were obtained in a standardized face-to-face interview using memory aids to enhance accuracy. Study design, study performance, analysis plan, and study report were approved by an independent international advisory committee and by the Drug Authorities involved. Unconditional logistic regression analyses were performed. Results The analysis included 907 cases and 3,622 controls who had never used phenacetin-containing analgesics in their lifetime. The use of high cumulative lifetime dose (3rd tertile of analgesics in the period up to five years before dialysis was not associated with later ESRD. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were 0.8 (0.7 – 1.0 and 1.0 (0.8 – 1.3 for ever- compared with no or low use and high use compared with low use, respectively. The same results were found for all analgesics and for mono-, and combination preparations with and without caffeine. No increased risk was shown in analyses stratifying for dose and duration. Dose-response analyses showed that analgesic use was not associated with an increased risk for ESRD up to 3.5 kg cumulative lifetime dose (98 % of the cases with ESRD. While the large subgroup of users with a lifetime dose up to 0.5 kg (278 cases and

Obstacles to action in arthritis: a community case-control study.

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Hutton, Ingrid; Gamble, Greg; McLean, Grant; Butcher, Hugh; Gow, Peter; Dalbeth, Nicola

2009-07-01

Despite the benefits of physical activity, people with arthritis are less active than the general population. The aim of this study was to determine the motivators and obstacles to physical activity for adults with arthritis. Participants were identified from the Obstacles to Action Study, a community based study of 8163 adults, which explored barriers and motivators to physical activity. A 1:1 case-control study was designed; cases were identified as those participants who reported arthritis (n = 1106). Each case was matched with an age, sex and ethnicity-matched non-arthritis control (n = 1106). Cases were less likely to achieve recommended physical activity targets (58.8% vs. 68.1% P = 0.00001). Furthermore, fewer people with arthritis believed that physical activity would help them lead healthy lives (86.7% vs. 91.3% P = 0.006) or viewed physical activity as a priority (53.8% vs. 59.8% P = 0.005). Cases were less confident in their abilities to try a new activity (37.1% vs. 43.7% P = 0.002) or maintain a healthy weight (65.0% vs. 74.3% P = 0.00001). Cases also reported greater negative impact scores for barriers to activity, particularly arthritis, accessibility, cost and discomfort while exercising. Motivators and environmental barriers to activity were similar for cases and controls. These findings persisted after adjusting for educational level, body mass index and comorbidities. People with arthritis are less active and demonstrate different attitudes toward physical activity. Although people with arthritis identify similar environmental barriers, they have different psychosocial barriers. In order to design effective physical activity programs for people with arthritis, these barriers must be specifically addressed.

Periodontal disease and spontaneous preterm birth: a case control study

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Eley Barry

2006-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Several studies have suggested an association between periodontal disease and prematurity but this finding has not been consistently observed. Methods Case control study. Cases (n = 50 were women who had delivered after spontaneous preterm labor at Results There was no difference in the proportion of sites with significant attachment loss (≥3 mm: Cases-3.2%, Controls-2.2% p = 0.21. The gingival crevicular fluid concentrations of elastase and gingipain were elevated in cases vs. controls 238.8 uU/ul vs. 159.6 uU/ul p = .007 and 2.70 uU/ul vs. 1.56 uU/ul p = .001. On multivariate analysis, the mean log concentration of elastase, but not of gingipain, remained a significant predictor of preterm labor p = .0.015. Conclusion We found no evidence that clinical periodontal disease is associated with spontaneous preterm birth. Elevated gingival crevicular fluid levels of elastase were associated with preterm birth but further research is needed before this can be assumed to be a causal relationship.

A Qualitative Study on Unassisted Smoking Cessation Among Chinese Canadian Immigrants.

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Mao, Aimei; Bottorff, Joan L

2017-11-01

It is well-known that majority of smokers worldwide quit smoking without any assistance. This is even more evident among Chinese smokers. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how Chinese Canadian immigrant men who smoked cigarettes perceived smoking cessation aids and services and how they used any form of the smoking cessation assistance to help them quit smoking. The study was conducted in British Columbia, Canada. Twenty-two Chinese immigrants were recruited by internet advertisement and through connections with local Chinese communities. Ten of the 22 participants were current smokers and the other 12 had quit smoking in the past 5 years. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Although all participants, including both the ex-smokers and current smokers, had made more than one quit attempt, they rarely used cessation aids or services even after they had immigrated to Canada. The barriers to seeking the cessation assistance were grouped into two categories: practical barriers and cultural barriers. The practical barriers included "Lack of available information on smoking cessation assistance" and "Difficulty in accessing smoking cessation assistance," while cultural barriers included "Denial of physiological addiction to nicotine," "Mistrust in the effectiveness of smoking cessation assistance," "Tendency of self-reliance in solving problems," and "Concern of privacy revelation related to utilization of smoking cessation assistance." The findings revealed Chinese immigrants' unwillingness to use smoking cessation assistance as the result of vulnerability as immigrants and culturally cultivated masculinities of self-control and self-reliance.

External radiotherapy prior to thyroid cancer: A case-control study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hallquist, A.; Loefroth, P.O.; Hardell, L.

1993-01-01

The aim of this investigation was to study previous radiotherapy of malignant diseases as a risk factor for thyroid cancer. By using the Swedish Cancer Registry all cases of thyroid cancer with another malignant disease at least one year previously and living within the catchment area of the hospital were traced. During 1959-1989 a total of 1056 cases of thyroid cancer were identified. Of these, 37 had had another previous malignant disease and they constituted the cases in this study. As controls four persons with at least two malignant diseases, thyroid cancer excluded, were selected for each case from the same cancer registry. Ten (27.0%) of the 37 patients with thyroid cancer as a second tumor had earlier been irradiated with the treatment dose including the thyroid gland as compared with 34 (24.5%) of the 139 control patients. Eight of the ten cases with previous irradiation of the thyroid gland had papillary cancer. The median latency was 13 years. The estimated radiation dose in the thyroid varied between 3 and 40 Gy. External radiotherapy gave a crude odds ratio of 1.1 with 95% confidence interval = 0.5-2.8 for thyroid cancer. The weighted odds ratio was calculated to 2.3 with confidence interval = 0.5-8.9. This case-control study gave a nonsignificantly increased odds ratio for thyroid cancer in patients with external radiotherapy including the thyroid gland. 26 refs., 4 tabs

Diabetes with hypertension as risk factors for adult dengue hemorrhagic fever in a predominantly dengue serotype 2 epidemic: a case control study.

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Junxiong Pang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF is a severe form of dengue, characterized by bleeding and plasma leakage. A number of DHF risk factors had been suggested. However, these risk factors may not be generalized to all populations and epidemics for screening and clinical management of patients at risk of developing DHF. This study explored demographic and comorbidity risk factors for DHF in adult dengue epidemics in Singapore in year 2006 (predominantly serotype 1 and in year 2007-2008 (predominantly serotype 2. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was conducted with 149 DHF and 326 dengue fever (DF patients from year 2006, and 669 DHF and 1,141 DF patients from year 2007-2008. Demographic and reported comorbidity data were collected from patients previously. We performed multivariate logistic regression to assess the association between DHF and demographic and co-morbidities for year 2006 and year 2007-2008, respectively. RESULTS: Only Chinese (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-3.56 was independently associated with DHF in year 2006. In contrast, age groups of 30-39 years (AOR = 1.41; 95% CI:1.09-1.81, 40-49 years (AOR = 1.34; 95% CI:1.09-1.81, female (AOR = 1.57; 95% CI:1.28-1.94, Chinese (AOR = 1.67; 95% CI:1.24-2.24, diabetes (AOR = 1.78; 95% CI:1.06-2.97, and diabetes with hypertension (AOR = 2.16; 95%CI:1.18-3.96 were independently associated with DHF in year 2007-2008. Hypertension was proposed to have effect modification on the risk of DHF outcome in dengue patients with diabetes. Chinese who had diabetes with hypertension had 2.1 (95% CI:1.07-4.12 times higher risk of DHF compared with Chinese who had no diabetes and no hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Adult dengue patients in Singapore who were 30-49 years, Chinese, female, had diabetes or diabetes with hypertension were at greater risk of developing DHF during epidemic of predominantly serotype 2. These risk factors

[Association between CISH polymorphisms and susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B in Chinese Han population].

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Zhang, Xin; Sun, Xuehua; Zhou, Zhenhua; Li, Man; Gao, Yueqiu

2014-04-01

To investigate the association between rs414171 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of cytokine- inducible src homology 2 domain protein (CISH) and the susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B. A total of 233 Chinese Han patients with chronic hepatitis B and 148 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study. The SNP rs414171 was genotyped by Sequenom MassArray-IPLEX to analyze the relationship between rs414171 and chronic hepatitis B. The distribution of SNP rs414171 allele and genotype frequencies showed no significant difference between the patients and healthy controls (P>0.05). CISH rs414171 is not significantly associated with the susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B in Chinese Han population.

Nutritional risk assessment for Hip fracture, A Case control study

OpenAIRE

Torbergsen, Anne Cathrine

2016-01-01

The study was conducted at Oslo University Hospital, Norway. Patients were included from September 2009 until April 2011. In total 116 patients and 73 healthy non-fractured controls participated. The study has 3 parts. In the first part, we studied micronutrients and the risk of hip fracture in a case control study. In the second part, we conducted a randomized controlled nutrition intervention trial and finally, in the third part, we studied if micronutrients were associated with delirium in...

Risk Factors For Ectopic Pregnancy : A Case Control Study

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Deshmukh J.S

1999-01-01

Full Text Available Research question: Which are the risk factors for ectopic pregnancy . Objective: To study the strength of association between hypothesised risk factors and ectopic pregnancy. Study design: Unmatched case- control study. Setting: Government Medical College, Hospital, Nagpur. Participants: 133 cases of ectopic pregnancy and equal number of controls (non pregnant women admitted to study hospital. Study variables : Pelvic inflammatory diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, IUD use at conception , past use of IUD, prior ectopic pregnancy, OC pills use at the time of conception, past use of OC pills, induced abortion, spontaneous abortion, infertility and pelvic and abdominal surgery. Statistical analysis: Odds ratios & their 95% CI, Pearson’s chi square test, unconditional logistic regression analysis and population attributable risk proportion. Results : Use of IUD at conception, prior ectopic pregnancy , pelvic inflammatory disease, sexually transmitted diseases, infertility, OC pills use at the time of conception, past use of IUD and induced abortion were found to be significantly associated with ectopic pregnancy. Conclusion: Identification of these risk factors for etopic pregnancy shall help in early detection and appropriate management in an individual case and it may help in devising a comprehensive preventive strategy for ectopic pregnancy

The ABCs of Chinese Pop: Wang Leehom and the Marketing of a Global Chinese Celebrity

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Grace Wang

2012-06-01

Full Text Available How did singer Wang Leehom, a Chinese American raised in the suburbs of New York, end up becoming one of the industry heavyweights of Mandopop (Mandarin-language pop music? This essay uses Wang as a case study to investigate how discourses of race, market, and belonging are reworked in global contexts. Drawing on Sau-ling Wong’s theoretical insights on transnational processes of race, citizenship, and belonging, it argues that Wang capitalizes on a fluid dynamic of sameness and difference to appeal to a heterogeneous Chinese-speaking audience that stretches across China to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and the greater Chinese diaspora. Through an examination of the racial and national contexts that frame Wang’s participation in Mandopop, this essay analyzes the particular calibrations of Chineseness that emerge from the singer’s music and public image and the imperfect translation of identities such as Chinese American, Chinese diasporic, and Chinese across diverse linguistic and national communities.

Association between alcohol consumption and cancers in the Chinese population--a systematic review and meta-analysis.

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Ying Li

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption is increasing worldwide and is associated with numerous cancers. This systematic review examined the role of alcohol in the incidence of cancer in the Chinese population. METHODS: Medline/PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI and VIP were searched to identify relevant studies. Cohort and case-control studies on the effect of alcohol use on cancers in Chinese were included. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data were independently abstracted by two reviewers. Odds ratios (OR or relative risks (RR were pooled using RevMan 5.0. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the Q test and I-squared statistic. P<.01 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Pooled results from cohort studies indicated that alcohol consumption was not associated with gastric cancer, esophageal cancers (EC or lung cancer. Meta-analysis of case-control studies showed that alcohol consumption was a significant risk factor for five cancers; the pooled ORs were 1.79 (99% CI, 1.47-2.17 EC, 1.40 (99% CI, 1.19-1.64 gastric cancer, 1.56 (99% CI, 1.16-2.09 hepatocellular carcinoma, 1.21 (99% CI, 1.00-1.46 nasopharyngeal cancer and 1.71 (99% CI, 1.20-2.44 oral cancer. Pooled ORs of the case-control studies showed that alcohol consumption was protective for female breast cancer and gallbladder cancer: OR 0.76 (99% CI, 0.60-0.97 and 0.70 (99% CI, 0.49-1.00 respectively. There was no significant correlation between alcohol consumption and lung cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, cancer of the ampulla of Vater, prostate cancer or extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Combined results of case-control and cohort studies showed that alcohol consumption was associated with 1.78- and 1.40-fold higher risks of EC and gastric cancer but was not significantly associated with lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Health programs focused on limiting alcohol intake may be important for cancer control in China. Further studies are needed to examine the

Parenting the Chinese Way in America

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Wu, Echo H.; Hertberg-Davis, Holly

2009-01-01

This paper illustrates a case study on two Chinese American families with gifted children, and the major topic focuses on the influence of parenting beliefs and practices on children's talent development. In-depth interviews were employed to collect data from the Chinese parents who lived in America, and research questions include the daily…

Towards a three-component model of fan loyalty: a case study of Chinese youth.

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Xiao-xiao Zhang

Full Text Available The term "fan loyalty" refers to the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her fanaticism in both everyday and academic discourses. However, much of the literature on fan loyalty has paid little attention to the topic from the perspective of youth pop culture. The present study explored the meaning of fan loyalty in the context of China. Data were collected by the method of in-depth interviews with 16 young Chinese people aged between 19 and 25 years who currently or once were pop fans. The results indicated that fan loyalty entails three components: involvement, satisfaction, and affiliation. These three components regulate the process of fan loyalty development, which can be divided into four stages: inception, upgrade, zenith, and decline. This model provides a conceptual explanation of why and how young Chinese fans are loyal to their favorite stars. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Towards a three-component model of fan loyalty: a case study of Chinese youth.

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Zhang, Xiao-xiao; Liu, Li; Zhao, Xian; Zheng, Jian; Yang, Meng; Zhang, Ji-qi

2015-01-01

The term "fan loyalty" refers to the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her fanaticism in both everyday and academic discourses. However, much of the literature on fan loyalty has paid little attention to the topic from the perspective of youth pop culture. The present study explored the meaning of fan loyalty in the context of China. Data were collected by the method of in-depth interviews with 16 young Chinese people aged between 19 and 25 years who currently or once were pop fans. The results indicated that fan loyalty entails three components: involvement, satisfaction, and affiliation. These three components regulate the process of fan loyalty development, which can be divided into four stages: inception, upgrade, zenith, and decline. This model provides a conceptual explanation of why and how young Chinese fans are loyal to their favorite stars. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Response rates in case-control studies of cancer by era of fieldwork and by characteristics of study design.

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Xu, Mengting; Richardson, Lesley; Campbell, Sally; Pintos, Javier; Siemiatycki, Jack

2018-04-09

The purpose of this study was to describe time trends in response rates in case-control studies of cancer and identify study design factors that influence response rate. We reviewed 370 case-control studies of cancer published in 12 journals during indicator years in each of the last four decades. We estimated time trends of response rates and reasons for nonresponse in each of the following types of study subjects: cases, medical source controls, and population controls. We also estimated response rates according to characteristics of study context. Median response rates among cases and population controls were between 75% and 80% in the 1970s. Between 1971 and 2010, study response rates declined by 0.31% per year for cases and 0.78% for population controls. Only a minority of studies reported reasons for nonparticipation; subject refusal was the most common reported reason. Studies conducted in North America had lower median response rates than studies conducted in Europe. In-person and telephone interviews elicited higher response rates than mail questionnaires. Response rates from case-control studies of cancer have declined, and this could threaten the validity of results derived from these studies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Violence against Women and Gastroschisis: A Case-Control Study

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Daniel Ruiz

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Gastroschisis, a birth defect characterized by herniated fetal abdominal wall, occurs more commonly in infants born to teenage and young mothers. Ischemia of the vascular vitelline vessels is the likely mechanism of pathogenesis. Given that chronic stress and violence against women are risk factors for cardiovascular disease we explored whether these may represent risk factors for gastroschisis, when they occur during pregnancy. A case-control study was conducted, with 15 incident cases of children born with gastroschisis in the Region of Murcia, Spain, from December 2007 to June 2013. Forty concurrent controls were recruited at gestation weeks 20–24 or post-partum. All mothers of cases and controls completed a comprehensive, in-person, ‘green sheet’ questionnaire on environmental exposures. Results: Mothers of children with gastroschisis were younger, smoked more cigarettes per week relative to controls, were exposed to higher amounts of illegal drugs, and suffered from domestic violence more frequently than the controls. Multivariable logistic regression analysis highlights periconceptional ‘gender-related violence’ (OR: 16.6, 95% CI 2.7 to 101.7 and younger maternal age (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0–1.3. Conclusions: Violence against pregnant women is associated with birth defects, and should be studied in more depth as a cause-effect teratogenic. Psychosocial risk factors, including gender-based violence, are important for insuring the health and safety of the pregnant mother and the fetus.

Sample size calculations for case-control studies

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This R package can be used to calculate the required samples size for unconditional multivariate analyses of unmatched case-control studies. The sample sizes are for a scalar exposure effect, such as binary, ordinal or continuous exposures. The sample sizes can also be computed for scalar interaction effects. The analyses account for the effects of potential confounder variables that are also included in the multivariate logistic model.

Drug and alcohol crash risk : a case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-01

This study used a case-control design to estimate the risk of crashes involving drivers using drugs, alcohol or both. Data was collected in Virginia Beach, Virginia, for 20 months. The study obtained biological measures on more than 3,000 crash...

Chinese court case fiction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Kim Toft

2011-01-01

established as early as the 6th Century AD, whereas the first substantial evidence of the tradition is from 13th Century and the first Chinese crime fiction novels were written during the 17th Century. This article is, then, a corrective for the international history of crime fiction based on numerous...

Role of nutrition in pre-eclampsia and eclampsia cases, a case control study

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Punyatoya Bej

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Preeclampsia and eclampsia during pregnancy contribute to maternal and fetal morbidity as well as mortality. The identification of the role of maternal nutrition during pregnancy will help in reducing morbidity and mortality. Aims & Objective: The objective of this study is to find out the role of nutrition, in the form of total calorie, protein, fruits, iron, folic acid and calcium intake in the development of preeclampsia and eclampsia among pregnant women in a tertiary level hospital. Material Methods: After ethical approval and informed consent, 122 women who delivered beyond 22 weeks of gestation and diagnosed as preeclampsia or eclampsia were selected. Simultaneously, 122 controls with no diagnosis of preeclampsia or eclampsia were selected from the post natal ward. Cases and controls were administered the same pre-tested questionnaire containing questions related to food and micronutrient intake by cases and control. Results: Logistic regression was applied in the statistical analysis. The factors that were found to be significant predictors of risk for development of preeclampsia and eclampsia were higher calorie intake (adjusted Odds Ratio (OR 14.12 [6.41-43.23] P < 0.001, less protein intake (adjusted OR 3.87 [1.97-8.01] P < 0.001 during pregnancy. Fruits intake in both cases and controls were similar. 77.9% of cases and 84.4% of controls had taken iron tablets during their antenatal period. 75.4% of cases and 82.8% of controls had taken calcium tablets during their antenatal period. Iron and calcium intake is not significantly associated with development of preeclampsia and eclampsia. Conclusion: Higher calorie intake and less protein intake during pregnancy were associated with development of preeclampsia and eclampsia. Fruits intake, iron and calcium intake were not associated with development of preeclampsia and eclampsia

A multiple case study on the effects of temperamental traits in Chinese preschoolers learning English

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sun, He; de Bot, Kees; Steinkrauss, Rasmus

2015-01-01

Aims The current study tests Clarke’s (1999) findings on phases and variations of the English development of young second language learners in a Chinese EFL setting and explores the cause of these variations under the following questions: 1. What verbal and nonverbal behavior can be observed in

Risk factors for gallbladder cancer: a case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Kajal; Sreenivas, V; Velpandian, T; Kapil, Umesh; Garg, Pramod Kumar

2013-04-01

Risk factors for gallbladder cancer (GBC) except gallstones are not well known. The objective was to study the risk factors for GBC. In a case-control study, 200 patients with GBC, 200 healthy controls and 200 gallstones patients as diseased controls were included prospectively. The risk factors studied were related to socioeconomic profile, life style, reproduction, diet and bile acids. On comparing GBC patients (mean age 51.7 years; 130 females) with healthy controls, risk factors were chemical exposure [odd ratios (OR): 7.0 (2.7-18.2); p < 0.001)], family history of gallstones [OR: 5.3 (1.5-18.9); p < 0.01)], tobacco [OR: 4.1 (1.8-9.7); p < 0.001)], fried foods [OR: 3.1 (1.7-5.6); p < 0.001], joint family [OR: 3.2 (1.7-6.2); p < 0.001], long interval between meals [OR: 1.4 (1.2-1.6); p < 0.001] and residence in Gangetic belt [OR: 3.3 (1.8-6.2); p < 0.001]. On comparing GBC cases with gallstone controls, risk factors were female gender [OR: 2.4 (1.3-4.3); p = 0.004], residence in Gangetic belt [OR: 2.3 (1.2-4.4); p = 0.012], fried foods [OR: 2.5 (1.4-4.4); p < 0.001], diabetes [OR: 2.7 (1.2-6.4); p = 0.02)], tobacco [OR 3.8 (1.7-8.1); p < 0.001)] and joint family [OR: 2.1 (1.2-3.4); p = 0.004]. The ratio of secondary to primary bile acids was significantly higher in GBC cases than gallstone controls (20.8 vs. 0.44). Fried foods, tobacco, chemical exposure, family history of gallstones, residence in Gangetic belt and secondary bile acids were significant risk factors for GBC. Copyright © 2012 UICC.

A case-control study of risk factors for male infertility in Southern ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between selected potential socio-demographic and behavioural risk factors and infertility in Nigeria males. Methods: The study consisted of cases and controls. The cases were 150 males with proven male infertility, while the controls were 150 fertile males with ...

Case-Control Studies of Sporadic Enteric Infections: A Review and Discussion of Studies Conducted Internationally from 1990 to 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Fullerton, Kathleen E.; Scallan, Elaine; Kirk, Martyn D.; Mahon, Barbara E.; Angulo, Frederick J.; de Valk, Henriette; van Pelt, Wilfrid; Gauci, Charmaine; Hauri, Anja M.; Majowicz, Shannon; O’Brien, Sarah J.

2015-01-01

Epidemiologists have used case-control studies to investigate enteric disease outbreaks for many decades. Increasingly, case-control studies are also used to investigate risk factors for sporadic (not outbreak-associated) disease. While the same basic approach is used, there are important differences between outbreak and sporadic disease settings that need to be considered in the design and implementation of the case-control study for sporadic disease. Through the International Collaboration on Enteric Disease “Burden of Illness” Studies (the International Collaboration), we reviewed 79 case-control studies of sporadic enteric infections caused by nine pathogens that were conducted in 22 countries and published from 1990 through to 2009. We highlight important methodological and study design issues (including case definition, control selection, and exposure assessment) and discuss how approaches to the study of sporadic enteric disease have changed over the last 20 years (e.g., making use of more sensitive case definitions, databases of controls, and computer-assisted interviewing). As our understanding of sporadic enteric infections grows, methods and topics for case-control studies are expected to continue to evolve; for example, advances in understanding of the role of immunity can be used to improve control selection, the apparent protective effects of certain foods can be further explored, and case-control studies can be used to provide population-based measures of the burden of disease. PMID:22443481

Risk factors for the development of essential hypertension in a Mongolian population of China: a case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalai, N; Cui, H; Yan, M; Rile, G; Li, S; Su, X

2014-04-29

Lifestyle, habits, diet, and genetics are all important factors associated with the prevalence of hypertension. Many association studies have been performed in the Chinese Han population, whereas data explaining the high prevalence of hypertension in the Mongolian population remain scarce. In the present study, we aimed to determine the factors associated with the development of essential hypertension in Mongolians. A total of 194 hypertensive cases and 201 controls from Dongwu County were enrolled in the study. Demographics, anthropometric and blood biochemical parameters, food intake, lifestyle, habits, education, occupation, and family history were recorded for each subject. Genotype and allele frequencies of six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the kallikrein 1 (KLK1) gene were also examined. Mean body mass index, waistline, hipline, blood sugar, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, uric acid, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein levels were all significantly higher in the hypertensive group (Pcontrols (Pcontrol groups (P>0.05). These results suggest that dietary history and habits have the most important influence on the development of essential hypertension in the Mongolian population.

Regulatory control of Chinese Proprietary Medicines in Singapore.

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Yee, Shen-Kuan; Chu, Swee-Seng; Xu, Yi-Min; Choo, Peck-Lin

2005-02-01

In Singapore, there has been a growing public interest in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which plays an important role in the healthcare system. With effect from 1 September 1999, the control on Chinese Proprietary Medicines (CPM) was implemented in three phases over a span of 3 years. Under the CPM regulatory framework, CPM importers, wholesalers, manufacturers and re-packers must be licensed and CPM products assessed and listed by the health authority before they are allowed for sale. Product assessment is based on the criteria of safety and quality which include limits of toxic heavy metals and microbial contents. During the 3-year CPM listing exercise, irregularities were detected, including intrinsic toxicity, adulteration, substitution, contamination, misidentification, non-traditional and/or inappropriate usage, incorrect preparation, inappropriate labelling, exaggerated claims and/or advertising. The full implementation of CPM control by September 2001 saw the listing of 7943 CPM products and brought about an improvement in the quality and safety of CPM in Singapore as well as the removal of sub-standard, fake/imitation and adulterated products. The standards of practices by local CPM dealers have also been raised. These improvements have, in turn, increased the level of public confidence in CPM products in Singapore.

Association of Serum Uric Acid with Preeclampsia: A Case Control Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Razia Sultana

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Preeclampsia (PE is still one of the important causes of maternal and fetal mortality in Bangladesh. Many researches have been done to identify a unique screening test that would predict the risk of developing PE before the classic symptoms appear. One of the most accessible and easiest screening tests is serum uric acid measurement. Numerous studies have demonstrated a relation between elevated maternal serum uric acid levels and adverse maternal and fetal outcome. Among several pathophysiologic factors the most commonly accepted explanation for hyperuricemia in PE is increased reabsorption and decreased excretion of uric acid.Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the association of serum uric acid with preeclampsia.Materials and method: A case control study was conducted in the department of Biochemistry, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka from July 2010 to June 2011. A total number of 100 pregnant women in third trimester of pregnancy attending in Obstetrics and Gynaecology department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital were selected purposively as study subjects. Among them 50 pregnant women with preeclampsia were selected as cases and 50 normal healthy pregnant women as controls.Results: Most of the study subjects were within 21 – 30 years of age group and mean age in case and control was 24.06±3.71 and 24.66±3.22 years respectively, which was not statistically different. Mean gestational age in case and control was 33.50±2.55 weeks and 33.60±2.95 weeks respectively, which was also not statistically different. Among the study subjects majority was primi in both groups (case 76%, contol 58% showing no statistical significance. Majority of the subjects in both groups were irregular in their antenatal checkup (case 52%, contol 40%. Uric acid concentration was measured in all the study subjects. The mean serum uric acid concentration in cases and controls were 7.01±1.90 mg/dl and 4.55±1.63 mg/dl respectively. This

Impulse control disorders in Chinese Parkinson's disease patients: the effect of ergot derived dopamine agonist.

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Auyeung, M; Tsoi, T H; Tang, W K; Cheung, C M; Lee, C N; Li, R; Yeung, Eric

2011-09-01

We studied the prevalence and related risk factors of impulse control disorders in Chinese Parkinson's disease patients. We screened all non-demented Parkinson's disease patients attending our Parkinson's disease clinic from August 2009 to March 2010. The clinical characteristics of patients with impulse control disorders and those without were compared. Of the 213 PD subjects screened, 15 (7.0%) with impulse control disorders were identified. Fourteen of these subjects were on both a dopamine agonist and Levodopa, and one was on Levodopa alone. Of the fourteen subjects on both a dopamine agonist and Levodopa, eleven were on bromocriptine and Levodopa; 10.5% of the subjects exposed to bromocriptine had impulse control disorder. Upon multivariate analysis, dose of dopamine agonist used, young age at onset of Parkinson's disease and a history of anxiety or depression were independent predictors for developing impulse control disorders. 7% of our Chinese PD subjects had impulse control disorders. When young Parkinson's disease patients with a history of anxiety or depression are treated with high dose of DA, they are at risk of developing impulse control disorders. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brain-relevant antibodies in first-episode psychosis: a matched case-control study.

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Gaughran, Fiona; Lally, John; Beck, Katherine; McCormack, Ruaidhri; Gardner-Sood, Poonam; Coutinho, Ester; Jacobson, Leslie; Lang, Bethan; Sainz-Fuertes, Ricardo; Papanastasiou, Evangelos; Di Forti, Marta; Nicholson, Tim; Vincent, Angela; Murray, Robin M

2018-06-01

There has been much recent excitement about the possibility that some cases of psychosis may be wholly due to brain-reactive antibodies, with antibodies to N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and the voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC)-complex reported in a few patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). Participants were recruited from psychiatric services in South London, UK, from 2009 to 2011 as part of the Genetics and Psychosis study. We conducted a case-control study to examine NMDAR and VGKC-complex antibody levels and rates of antibody positivity in 96 patients presenting with FEP and 98 controls matched for age and sex. Leucine-rich glioma inactiviated-1 (LGI1) and contactin-associated protein (CASPR) antibodies were also measured. Notably, patients with suspicion of organic disease were excluded. VGKC-complex antibodies were found in both cases (n = 3) and controls (n = 2). NMDAR antibody positivity was seen in one case and one control. Either LGI1-Abs or CASPR2-Abs were found in three cases and three controls. Neuronal antibody staining, consistent with the above results or indicating potential novel antigens, was overall positive in four patients but also in six controls. Overall, antibody positivity was at low levels only and not higher in cases than in controls. This case-control study of the prevalence of antibodies in FEP does not provide evidence to support the hypothesis that FEP is associated with an immune-mediated process in a subgroup of patients. Nevertheless, as other bio-clinical factors may influence the effect of such antibodies in a given individual, and patients with organic neurological disease may be misdiagnosed as FEP, the field requires more research to put these findings in context.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points among Chinese Food Business Operators.

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Saccares, Stefano; Amadei, Paolo; Masotti, Gianfranco; Condoleo, Roberto; Guidi, Alessandra

2014-08-28

The purpose of the present paper is to highlight some critical situations emerged during the implementation of long-term projects locally managed by Prevention Services, to control some manufacturing companies in Rome and Prato, Central Italy. In particular, some critical issues on the application of self-control in marketing and catering held by Chinese operators are underlined. The study showed serious flaws in preparing and controlling of manuals for good hygiene practice, participating of the consultants among food business operators (FBOs) to the control of the procedures. Only after regular actions by the Prevention Services, there have been satisfying results. This confirms the need to have qualified and expert partners able to promptly act among FBOs and to give adequate support to authorities in charge in order to guarantee food safety.

[Application progress of proteomic in pharmacological study of Chinese medicinal formulae].

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Liu, Yu-Qian; Zhan, Shu-Yu; Ruan, Yu-Er; Zuo, Zhi-Yan; Ji, Xiao-Ming; Wang, Shuai-Jie; Ding, Bao-Yue

2017-10-01

Chinese medicinal formulae are the important means of clinical treatment in traditional Chinese medicine. It is urgent to use modern advanced scientific and technological means to reveal the complicated mechanism of Chinese medicinal formulae because they have the function characteristics of multiple components, multiple targets and integrated regulation. The systematic and comprehensive research model of proteomic is in line with the function characteristics of Chinese medicinal formulae, and proteomic has been widely used in the study of pharmacological mechanism of Chinese medicinal formulae. The recent applications of proteomic in pharmacological study of Chinese medicinal formulae in anti-cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, anti-liver disease, antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases were reviewed in this paper, and then the future development direction of proteomic in pharmacological study of Chinese medicinal formulae was put forward. This review is to provide the ideas and method for proteomic research on function mechanism of Chinese medicinal formulae. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Aetiology of handball injuries : a case-control study

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Dirx, M.; Bouter, L. M.; de Geus, G. H.

This article presents the results of a case-control study regarding the background to handball injuries among players of 12 years and older. Data were collected by means of a written questionnaire on the nature, location and direct causes of the injuries as well as information on risk factors.

Quality control of Cordyceps sinensis, a valued traditional Chinese medicine.

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Li, S P; Yang, F Q; Tsim, Karl W K

2006-08-28

Cordyceps sinensis, a well-known and valued traditional Chinese medicine, is also called DongChongXiaCao (winter worm summer grass) in Chinese. It is commonly used to replenish the kidney and soothe the lung for the treatment of fatigue, night sweating, hyposexualities, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, asthemia after severe illness, respiratory disease, renal dysfunction and renal failure, arrhythmias and other heart disease, and liver disease. As the rarity and upstanding curative effects of natural Cordyceps, several mycelial strains have been isolated from natural Cordyceps and manufactured in large quantities by fermentation technology, and they are commonly sold as health food products in Asia. In addition, some substitutes such as Cordyceps militaris also have been used and adulterants also confused the market. Therefore, quality control of C. sinensis and its products is very important to ensure their safety and efficacy. Herein, markers and analytical methods for quality control of Cordyceps were reviewed and discussed.

Culture, ethnicity, and children's facial expressions: a study of European American, Mainland Chinese, Chinese American, and adopted Chinese girls.

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Camras, Linda A; Bakeman, Roger; Chen, Yinghe; Norris, Katherine; Cain, Thomas R

2006-02-01

This investigation extends previous research documenting differences in Chinese and European American infants' facial expressivity. Chinese girls adopted by European American families, nonadopted Mainland Chinese girls, nonadopted Chinese American girls, and nonadopted European American girls responded to emotionally evocative slides and an odor stimulus. European American girls smiled more than Mainland Chinese and Chinese American girls and scored higher than Mainland Chinese girls for disgust-related expressions and overall expressivity. Adopted Chinese girls produced more disgust-related expressions than Mainland Chinese girls. Self-reported maternal strictness, aggravation, positive expressiveness, and cultural identification correlated with children's facial responses, as did number of siblings and adults in the home. Results suggest that culture and family environment influences facial expressivity, creating differences among children of the same ethnicity.

Ideological Manipulation of Controversial Information: The Unusual Case of the Chinese-subtitled Version of House of Cards

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Dingkun Wang

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In recent years, owing to the spread of cultural and economic globalisation, Western values and ideologies have become increasingly accessible via media products to the general public in the People’s Republic of China (Mainland China, or China. Although translation enables the exchange of socio-cultural values and ideas across different languages and cultures, it is susceptible to manipulation in terms of political and ideological control. This paper examines interventions by Chinese authorities in the online distribution of foreign audio-visual products. Such interventions are undertaken to secure broadcasting and distribution rights of the government which also encompass more conventional media from other countries, such as television, in promoting mainstream ideological values and political agendas.  Censorship institutions supervise the selection of specific media products to be imported and translated for the Chinese market not only to ensure ease of comprehension but also for political correctness, with a view to avoid any clashes of cultures and ideologies. In the last decade, Chinese audiences have the rise of new media facilitating the wide-spread online viewing of foreign TV and thereby changing the dynamic of access and dissemination of foreign entertainment media in China. We argue that censorship institutions in China opt to adopt alternative strategies, or in many cases more relaxed criteria, in appraising foreign audiovisual products, in order to cater the demands of the new generation of Chinese audiences in those officially supervised media rather than suppressing their needs outright. We will dwell into the Chinese-subtitled version of the second season of the American political drama House of Cards (Netflix 2014, as released by Sohu, the largest online franchise in China. We consider the outcome of subtitling "honest" in terms of the exposure of sensitive information and controversial cultural and political allusions to the

Acute hepatitis in a patient using a Chinese herbal tea - a case report

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Levi, M; Guchelaar, HJ; Woerdenbag, HJ

A case is presented of reversible acute hepatitis in a patient using a Chinese herbal tea. Upon identification of the tea mixture Aristolochia species, including A. debilis, which contains the highly toxic aristolochic acid, could be identified. We conclude that the acute hepatitis as described in

Misclassification of Case-Control Studies in Neurosurgery and Proposed Solutions.

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Esene, Ignatius Ngene; Mbuagbaw, Lawrence; Dechambenoit, Gilbert; Reda, Wael; Kalangu, Kazadi K

2018-04-01

Case-control studies (CCS) and cohort studies (CS) are common research designs in neurosurgery. But the term case-control study is frequently misused in the neurosurgical literature, with many articles reported as CCS, even although their methodology does not respect the basic components of a CCS. We sought to estimate the extent of these discrepancies in neurosurgical literature, explore factors contributing to mislabeling, and shed some light on study design reporting. We identified 31 top-ranking pure neurosurgical journals and searched them for articles reported as CCS, either in the title or in the abstract. The articles were read to determine if they really were CCS according to STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guidelines. Article assessment was conducted in duplicate (agreement [κ statistics] = 99.82%). Two hundred and twenty-four articles met our inclusion criteria, 133 of which (59.38%) correctly labeled the case-control design, whereas 91 (40.62%) misclassified this study design. Cohort studies (CS) were the most common design mislabeled as case-control studies in 76 articles (33.93%), 57 of which (25.45%) were retrospective CS. The mislabeling of CCS impairs the appropriate indexing, classification, and sorting of evidence. Mislabeling CS for CCS leads to a downgrading of evidence as CS represent the highest level of evidence for observational studies. Odds ratios instead of relative risk are reported for these studies, resulting in a distortion of the measurement of the effect size, compounded when these are summarized in systematic reviews and pooled in meta-analyses. Many studies reported as CCS are not true CCS. Reporting guidelines should include items that ensure that studies are labeled correctly. STROBE guidelines should be implemented in assessment of observational studies. Researchers in neurosurgery need better training in research methods and terminology. We also recommend accrued vigilance from

Death of a son is associated with risk of suicide among parous women in Taiwan: a nested case-control study.

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Chen, Chih-Cheng; Kuo, Chien-Chun; Wu, Trong-Neng; Yang, Chun-Yuh

2012-01-01

The impact of the sex of a deceased child on maternal suicide has not been studied. We examined whether the death of a child, especially a son, increased the risk of suicide among parous Taiwanese women. This matched case-control study was done within a cohort of 1 292 462 Taiwanese women who experienced a first and singleton childbirth between 1 January 1978 and 31 December 1987 and were followed up until 31 December 2008. From the cohort, 2701 suicide cases were identified and 2701 controls were randomly selected. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the risk of suicide associated with the death of a child. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for suicide among mothers whose son had died were 2.60 (95% CI = 1.18-5.73), 2.58 (1.28-5.20), and 4.20 (0.79-22.45) for death of a son aged younger than 1 year, 1 to 17 years, and 18 years or older. The ORs for suicide associated with the death of a daughter were not statistically significant: the respective adjusted ORs were 1.86 (0.82-4.62), 1.38 (0.54-3.49), and 2.48 (0.40-15.51). The death of a child, especially a son, increased the risk of maternal suicide, which supports the notion that preference for a son is firmly rooted in traditional Chinese culture.

Cross-Border Choice as Identity Investment: Cases of Malaysian and Indonesian Ethnic Chinese Students in Hong Kong

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Choi, Pik Lin

2008-01-01

This article reports a case study on two ethnic Chinese students, one from Malaysia and one from Indonesia, who chose to pursue higher education in Hong Kong. By placing the students at the center of investigation against the social, political, economic, and educational contexts of their home countries, as well as the host territory, the present…

Chinese English in as lingua franca in global business setting: A case study of ongoing emails of a foreign company in China

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Wang Wenpu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available With the process of globalization, English has been increasingly become the lingua franca for people speaking different languages to communicate with each other, among whom the number of non-native speakers of English far outnumbers those native speakers in traditional sense. Against this background, the principle of taking the rules of native English speakers as the norms is undergoing challenges. The non-native speakers are claiming the ownership and rights of norm-providing to the English language (Crystal, 2003. In business setting, this is especially true (Charles, 2007. This paper intends to explore the use of Chinese English as lingua franca in business setting. Taking a foreign enterprise based in China as the case, this paper investigates over 400 ongoing business e-mails written in English by its Chinese employees, including the management and other staff. Four most salient patterns of Chinese English structures are identified, i.e., punctuations, absence of inflectional markers in number and tense, serial verb construction, and zero articles, which are then analyzed cultural, linguistic and social-linguistic perspectives. The effectiveness of such language patterns are proved according to the principle of “understandability” proposed by Kachru and Nelson (2006 from both intra-cultural and inter-cultural aspects. Based on the afore-said analysis, this paper concludes that Chinese English, during the process of language contact, has become a legitimate English variation, and has been providing new norms for the other countries to follow. It is suggested that business English users in China need to use their Chinese English with a confident stance, while business partners from other countries need to get familiar with this English variation in order for them to communicate effectively with their Chinese partners.

Association of the 5-HT2A receptor gene promoter polymorphism-1438G/A with anorexia nervosa and psychopathological traits in the Chinese Han population: A preliminary study.

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Kang, Qing; Chen, Jue; Yu, Shunying; Yuan, Aihua; Zhang, Yanxia; Zhang, Ran; Jiang, Wenhui; Zhang, Chen; Zhang, Haiyin; Zhang, Mingdao; Xiao, Zeping

2017-09-01

The aim of the study was to explore the possible role of the 5-HT 2A -1438G/A polymorphism in the susceptibility to anorexia nervosa (AN) in the Chinese Han population. The -1438G/A polymorphism of 249 female AN patients, 228 matched healthy controls, and 198 trios was genotyped using SNaP shot assay. Psychopathological traits of eating-disordered behaviors in AN subjects were examined using the Chinese version of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire. Neither the case-control analysis nor the transmission disequilibrium test revealed significant associations between the -1438G/A polymorphism and AN (P > .05). However, AA homozygote patients with AN had lower weight and shape concern scores of the EDE-Q6.0 than those of GA heterozygotes (P < .05). Our findings suggested that female AN patients with 5-HT 2A -1438AA genotype may be characterized by less severe eating-disordered psychopathological traits in the Chinese Han population. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Associations Between Parenting Styles and Perceived Child Effortful Control Within Chinese Families in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan

OpenAIRE

Huang, CY; Cheah, CSL; Lamb, Michael Ernest; Zhou, N

2017-01-01

The current study examined the associations between parentally perceived child effortful\\ud control (EC) and the parenting styles of 122 Chinese mothers (36 first-generation Chinese\\ud immigrants in the United Kingdom, 40 first-generation Chinese immigrants in the United States,\\ud and 46 Taiwanese mothers) of 5- to 7-year-old (M age = 5.82 years, SD = .805; 68 boys and 54\\ud girls) children. The findings showed significant cultural group differences in mothers’ reported\\ud authoritarian pare...

Exposure to pistachio pesticides and stillbirth: a case-control study.

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Razi, Saeid; Rezaeian, Mohsen; Dehkordi, Fatemeh Ghani; Manshoori, Azita; Goujani, Reza; Vazirinejad, Reza

2016-01-01

Stillbirth is an undesirable outcome of pregnancy. In light of the increasing use of pesticides and growing concerns about the possible health effects of agricultural pesticides, we investigated the effect of exposure to pistachio pesticides on stillbirth in pregnant mothers. This case-control study was conducted in Rafsanjan, Iran from 2011 to 2012. A total of 125 females who had a recent stillbirth were included as the case group, and 250 controls were selected from females who had a recent live birth. For each case, two controls with the nearest propensity score to the case were selected. Data were collected using a protocol developed by the researcher that involved interviewing respondents and reviewing their medical records. Conditional multivariate and univariate logistic regression analysis were performed and odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The ORs of stillbirth in mothers living in pistachio gardens and those who were exposed to sprayed pesticides, in comparison to the controls, were 14.1 (95% CI, 3.3 to 63.4) and 5.0 (95% CI, 1.2 to 28.6), respectively. No significant differences were found in stillbirth rates according to the distance between the mother's residence and a pistachio garden or involvement in agricultural activities. The results of our study showed that exposure to pistachio pesticides during pregnancy may increase the likelihood of stillbirth in mothers.

Social-Class Identity and English Learning: Studies of Chinese Learners

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Gao, Feng

2014-01-01

This article first looks at the complex conceptualization of Chinese learners' social-class identities with respect to a shifting Chinese class stratification. It then examines the link between social class and second-language learning in the Chinese context by reviewing several studies on Chinese learners' social-class backgrounds and their…

Risk factors for measles among adults in Tianjin, China: Who should be controls in a case-control study?

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Wagner, Abram L; Boulton, Matthew L; Gillespie, Brenda W; Zhang, Ying; Ding, Yaxing; Carlson, Bradley F; Luo, Xiaoyan; Montgomery, JoLynn P; Wang, Xiexiu

2017-01-01

Control groups in previous case-control studies of vaccine-preventable diseases have included people immune to disease. This study examines risk factors for measles acquisition among adults 20 to 49 years of age in Tianjin, China, and compares findings using measles IgG antibody-negative controls to all controls, both IgG-negative and IgG-positive. Measles cases were sampled from a disease registry, and controls were enrolled from community registries in Tianjin, China, 2011-2015. Through a best subsets selection procedure, we compared which variables were selected at different model sizes when using IgG-negative controls or all controls. We entered risk factors for measles in two separate logistic regression models: one with measles IgG-negative controls and the other with all controls. The study included 384 measles cases and 1,596 community controls (194 IgG-negative). Visiting a hospital was an important risk factor. For specialty hospitals, the odds ratio (OR) was 4.53 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.28, 16.03) using IgG-negative controls, and OR = 5.27 (95% CI: 2.73, 10.18) using all controls. Variables, such as age or length of time in Tianjin, were differentially selected depending on the control group. Individuals living in Tianjin ≤3 years had 2.87 (95% CI: 1.46, 5.66) times greater odds of measles case status compared to all controls, but this relationship was not apparent for IgG-negative controls. We recommend that case-control studies examining risk factors for infectious diseases, particularly in the context of transmission dynamics, consider antibody-negative controls as the gold standard.

Cytochrome P450 2E1 gene polymorphisms/haplotypes and anti-tuberculosis drug-induced hepatitis in a Chinese cohort.

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Shaowen Tang

Full Text Available The pathogenic mechanism of anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB drug-induced hepatitis is associated with drug metabolizing enzymes. No tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs of cytochrome P450 2E1(CYP2E1 in the risk of anti-TB drug-induced hepatitis have been reported. The present study was aimed at exploring the role of tSNPs in CYP2E1 gene in a population-based anti-TB treatment cohort.A nested case-control study was designed. Each hepatitis case was 14 matched with controls by age, gender, treatment history, disease severity and drug dosage. The tSNPs were selected by using Haploview 4.2 based on the HapMap database of Han Chinese in Beijing, and detected by using TaqMan allelic discrimination technology.Eighty-nine anti-TB drug-induced hepatitis cases and 356 controls were included in this study. 6 tSNPs (rs2031920, rs2070672, rs915908, rs8192775, rs2515641, rs2515644 were genotyped and minor allele frequencies of these tSNPs were 21.9%, 23.0%, 19.1%, 23.6%, 20.8% and 44.4% in the cases and 20.9%, 22.7%, 18.9%, 23.2%, 18.2% and 43.2% in the controls, respectively. No significant difference was observed in genotypes or allele frequencies of the 6 tSNPs between case group and control group, and neither of haplotypes in block 1 nor in block 2 was significantly associated with the development of hepatitis.Based on the Chinese anti-TB treatment cohort, we did not find a statistically significant association between genetic polymorphisms of CYP2E1 and the risk of anti-TB drug-induced hepatitis. None of the haplotypes showed a significant association with the development of hepatitis in Chinese TB population.

The moderating effects of gender on the associations between multidimensional hostility and psychosomatic symptoms: a Chinese case.

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Weng, Chia-Ying; Lin, I-Mei; Jiang, Ding-Yu

2010-08-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of gender on the relationship between multidimensional hostility and psychosomatic symptoms in Chinese culture. The participants in this study were 398 Chinese college students (40% female) recruited from Taiwan. Four dimensions of multidimensional hostility-hostility cognition, hostility affect, expressive hostility behavior, and suppressive hostility behavior-were measured by the Chinese Hostility Inventory. After controlling for the effects of depression and anxiety, the results of path analysis revealed that the multidimensional hostility predicted psychosomatic symptoms directly, and predicted psychosomatic symptoms indirectly through negative health behavior. Furthermore, gender moderated the relationships between multidimensional hostility and health outcomes. Expressive hostility exacerbated psychosomatic symptom in females but buffered it in males, while affective hostility exacerbated psychosomatic symptoms in males. Additionally, suppressive hostility behavior was correlated to psychosomatic symptoms indirectly through negative health behavior in females. Moreover, expressive hostility was correlated to psychosomatic symptoms indirectly through negative health behavior more in males than in females.

Promoting Profit Model Innovation in Animation Project in Northeast Asia: Case Study on Chinese Cultural and Creative Industry

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Hao Jiao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Building on a case study of three animation companies in the Chinese cultural and creative industry, this study aims to understand how profit model innovation is promoted. Due to the rapidly changing environments and resource scarcity, cultural and creative companies need to select the appropriate profit model according to their own key resources. The study uncovers two critical factors that promote profit model innovation in animation projects: the quantity of consumers and their consumption intention. According to these two dimensions, the authors’ analysis shows profit model innovation in animation projects can be divided into Fans mode, Popular mode, Placement mode, and Failure mode, respectively. This study provides an empirical basis for advocating profit model innovation and discusses the resource requirements of Fan mode, Popular model, and Placement mode in China’s cultural and creative industry. The authors’ research also has managerial implications that might help firms promote profit model innovation. Finally, learning and promoting the profit model of China’s animation industry in the Northeast Asia area will be conducive to Northeast Asia’s cooperation and sustainable development.

Leptospira Exposure and Gardeners: A Case-Control Seroprevalence Study

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Alvarado-Esquivel, Cosme; Hernandez-Tinoco, Jesus; Sanchez-Anguiano, Luis Francisco; Ramos-Nevarez, Agar; Cerrillo-Soto, Sandra Margarita; Guido-Arreola, Carlos Alberto

2016-01-01

Background Leptospira can be found in soil. However, it is unclear whether occupational exposure to soil may represent a risk for Leptospira infection in humans. Therefore, we sought to determine the association of Leptospira IgG seroprevalence with the occupation of gardener, and to determine the epidemiological characteristics of gardeners associated with Leptospira exposure. Methods We performed a case-control study in 168 gardeners and 168 age- and gender-matched control subjects without gardening occupation in Durango City, Mexico. The seroprevalence of anti-Leptospira IgG antibodies in cases and controls was determined using an enzyme immunoassay. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the association of Leptospira exposure and the characteristics of the gardeners. Results Anti-Leptospira IgG antibodies were found in 10 (6%) of 168 gardeners and in 15 (8.9%) of 168 control subjects (odds ratio (OR): 0.64; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.28 - 1.48; P = 0.40). Multivariate analysis showed that Leptospira seropositivity was positively associated with female gender (OR: 5.82; 95% CI: 1.11 - 30.46; P = 0.03), and negatively associated with eating while working (OR: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.05 - 0.87; P = 0.03). In addition, multivariate analysis showed that high anti-Leptospira levels were associated with consumption of boar meat (OR: 28.00; 95% CI: 1.20 - 648.80; P = 0.03). Conclusions This is the first case-control study of Leptospira exposure in gardeners. Results do not support an association of Leptospira exposure with the occupation of gardener. However, further studies to confirm the lack of this association are needed. The potential role of consumption of boar meat in Leptospira infection deserves further investigation. PMID:26668679

Educational Leadership on the Chinese Mainland: A Case Study of Two Secondary Schools in Beijing