Prevalence of Isolated Diastolic Hypertension and Associated Risk Factors among Different Ethnicity Groups in Xinjiang,China

Objectives

Little is known about isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) among different ethnicity groups. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for IDH among the major ethnicity population i.e. Han, Uygur and Kazakh in Xinjiang, northwestern part of China.

Methods

In total, 14,618 adult participants (7,799 males, 6,819 females) were recruited from the Cardiovascular Risk Survey conducted during 2007 and 2010. Blood pressure, body mass index and standard lipid profile and fasting glucose level from plasma were measured.

Results

The overall prevalence of IDH was 10.8% in the Han, 4.5% in the Uygur and 8.7% in the Kazakh populations. When stratified by gender, IDH prevalence was 9.8% in men and 6.8% in women (P<0.001). The prevalence of IDH also varied significantly with age and it was highest in those aged 35–44 yrs old (9.7%) and lowest in those over 75 yrs old (4.1%, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that overweight (OR = 1.179, 95%CI: 1.015–1.369) or obesity (OR = 1.202, 95%CI: 1.015–1.424), smoking (OR = 1.362, 95%CI: 1.156–1.604) and high total cholesterol (TC) hyperlipidemia (OR = 1.237, 95%CI: 1.074–1.423) were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of IDH. Identified risk factors for IDH differed among ethnicity groups with male gender, young age (35–44 yrs old), more coffee or tea consumption and high TC hyperlipidemia in the Han; smoking and often coffee or tea consumption in the Uygur and male gender and overweight or obesity in the Kazakh populations.

Conclusions

IDH prevalence in the Han population is higher than that in the Uygur and Kazak populations in Xinjiang, northwestern part of China. Male gender, middle age, overweight or obesity, smoking and high TC hyperlipidemia appear to be relevant risk factors of IDH in adults. Different ethnicity background had different sets of risk factors for IDH.     

Influential Factors of Insufficient Physical Activity among Adolescents with Asthma in Taiwan

Purpose

Little research has been reported concerning insufficient physical activity in Taiwanese adolescents with asthma. The aims of this paper are to compare the amount of physical activity between asthmatic and non-asthmatic adolescents in Taiwan, as well as to investigate the influential factors associated with insufficient physical activity in asthmatic adolescents.

Methods

Self-reporting structured questionnaires (socio-economic status, scale of family support for physical activity, amount of physical activity) and peak expiratory flow were assessed from 286 adolescents with asthma and 588 non-asthmatic adolescents in a cross-sectional design. Insufficient amount of physical activity was based on less than 300 minutes per week of moderate and vigorous physical activity.

Results

Adolescents with asthma have a greater amount of physical activity and a higher level of family support than those who are non-asthmatic. In Taiwan, adolescents with asthma, girls relative to boys, obesity relative to average weight, and low family support relative to high family support were found to be associated with insufficient physical activity.

Conclusion

Physical activity in adolescents with asthma is insufficient especially in girls, in asthmatics with obesity, and in those with low family support. We suggest that physical activity programs should be applied to Taiwan adolescents with asthma in order to match the criteria of 300 minutes per week of moderate and vigorous physical activity, especially for girls, the obese and those with a low level of family support.     

Electrophysiological Correlates of Major Depression Disorder with Anxious Distress in Patients of Different Age Groups

The electrophysiological correlates of major depression disorder with anxious distress in patients of different age groups have been investigated. The spectral characteristics of 19-channel background EEG were analyzed and the power spectra recorded with the eyes closed vs. eyes open in 64 patients with anxiety–depressive disorder and in 194 healthy subjects were compared. The subjects were divided into the two age groups: 18–39 and 40–76 years old. The spectral parameters were calculated for 5 main EEG frequency bands: θ (4–8 Hz), α (8–12 Hz), β₁ (12–20 Hz), β₂ (20–30 Hz), and γ (30–40 Hz). The most statistically significant differences between the groups were found in the α, β, and γ bands. Lower values of spectral power of the α rhythm in occipital areas and the higher values of spectral power of the β and γ rhythms in the frontocentral region were recorded in the group of 18-to-39-year-old patients with the eyes closed. Higher values of spectral power of the β rhythm in the fronto-central region and in the left temporal lobe were recorded in the group of 40-to-76-year-old patients with both the eyes closed and the eyes open. The higher β-activity in the fronto-central regions in both groups of patients may be caused by increased excitability of the cerebral cortex and decreased activity of inhibitory processes. Increased activation of the left temporal lobe in older subjects is probably associated with the severity of anxiety symptoms and may be a distinctive marker of mixed anxiety and depressive disorder. The lower values of α-power revealed only in the group of younger subjects are probably associated with age-related reorganization of EEG in older subjects.     

Study of Metaphoric and Associative Thinking in Children of Different Age Groups and in Patients with Childhood Autism

The study was performed on 35 healthy children and 9 patients with childhood autism (Asperger's syndrome). It was shown that formation of metaphoric thinking in norm begins as early as at the age of 7–8 years, the ability to understand metaphors decreasing suddenly at the age of 13–15 years. In the patients with childhood autism the inability was revealed of understanding metaphors and idioms widely used in the verbal communication. It is suggested that the deficit of the metaphoric thinking is due to introduction of the logic, theoretical thinking and, hence, to the underlying increased activity of the left hemisphere, as well as to the deficit of the imaginative-metaphoric thinking and to the underlying decreased activity of the right hemisphere. The study of the associative process has shown that the healthy school children have a high degree of association between the words meaning the sensory world of objects. In the patients with autism there were revealed an attenuation of the object association and the predominance of the first names, which indicates the left-hemispheric type of the association process.     

On Comparing Correlated Means in the Presence of Incomplete Data

Two statistics are proposed for testing the hypothesis of equality of the means of a bivariate normal distribution with unknown common variance and correlation coefficient when observations are missing on both variates. One of the statistics reduces to the one proposed by Bhoj (1978, 1984) when the unpaired observations on the variates are equal. The distributions of the statistics are approximated by well known distributions under the null hypothesis. The empirical powers of the tests are computed and compared with those of some known statistics. The comparison supports the use of one of the statistics proposed in this paper.     

Seroprevalence of Antibodies to Pertussis Toxin among Different Age Groups in Thailand after 37 Years of Universal Whole-Cell Pertussis Vaccination

Despite the high coverage of prophylactic vaccine against Bordetella pertussis infection in many countries for more than three decades, pertussis remains a common vaccine-preventable disease. Infections have been detected more commonly in countries using acellular pertussis vaccine in their Expanded Program of Immunization. Thailand implemented a routine infant immunization program with whole-cell pertussis vaccine in 1977, and since 1992, the national vaccine policy has offered a five-dose whole-cell pertussis vaccine for children given at the ages of 2, 4, 6, 18, and 48 months. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of antibodies to pertussis toxin among healthy people across all ages to determine the level of whole-cell vaccine-induced immunity in the population, and to identify which age group should be targeted for a booster dose. The lowest seronegative rate and highest geometric mean concentrations were found in the 0–10 years age group, corresponding to their recent pertussis vaccination. The proportion of people with undetectable IgG level was prominent, starting after 11 years of age onwards. Now that a reduced-dose pertussis vaccine with fewer adverse effects is available, a booster dose during adolescence should be considered in order to reduce the incidence of pertussis disease. Further studies exploring how long the reduced-dose pertussis vaccine can provide protective immunity against pertussis disease when administered to adults and adolescents should also be performed.     

Factors Associated with Fear of Falling among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in the Shih-Pai Study in Taiwan

Background

Fear of falling is an important risk indicator for adverse health related outcomes in older adults. However, factors associated with fear of falling among community-dwelling older adults are not well-explored.

Objectives

To explore the quality of life and associated factors in fear of falling among older people in the Shih-Pai area in Taiwan.

Methods

This community-based survey recruited three thousand eight hundred and twenty-four older adults aged ≥ 65 years. The measurements included a structured questionnaire, including quality of life by using Short-Form 36, and information of fear of falling, fall history, demographics, medical conditions, insomnia, sleep quality, depression and subjective health through face-to-face interviews.

Results

A total of 53.4% of participants reported a fear of falling. The rate of fear of falling was higher in female subjects. Subjects with fear of falling had lower Short Form-36 scores both for men and women. Falls in the previous year, older age, insomnia, depression and worse subjective health were correlates of fear of falling for both sexes. Male-specific associations with fear of falling were the accessibility of medical help in an emergency, diabetes mellitus and stroke. In parallel, cardiovascular diseases were a female-specific correlate for fear of falling.

Conclusions

Fear of falling is prevalent among community-dwelling older adults. It is seems that there are gender differences in fear of falling with respect to the prevalence and associated factors in older adults. Gender differences should be considered when planning prevention and intervention strategies for fear of falling among older people.     

Population Biology of Intestinal Enterococcus Isolates from Hospitalized and Nonhospitalized Individuals in Different Age Groups

The diversity of enterococcal populations from fecal samples from hospitalized (n = 133) and nonhospitalized individuals (n = 173) of different age groups (group I, ages 0 to 19 years; group II, ages 20 to 59 years; group III, ages ≥60 years) was analyzed. Enterococci were recovered at similar rates from hospitalized and nonhospitalized persons (77.44% to 79.77%) of all age groups (75.0% to 82.61%). Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium were predominant, although seven other Enterococcus species were identified. E. faecalis and E. faecium (including ampicillin-resistant E. faecium) colonization rates in nonhospitalized persons were age independent. For inpatients, E. faecalis colonization rates were age independent, but E. faecium colonization rates (particularly the rates of ampicillin-resistant E. faecium colonization) significantly increased with age. The population structure of E. faecium and E. faecalis was determined by superimposing goeBURST and Bayesian analysis of the population structure (BAPS). Most E. faecium sequence types (STs; 150 isolates belonging to 75 STs) were linked to BAPS groups 1 (22.0%), 2 (31.3%), and 3 (36.7%). A positive association between hospital isolates and BAPS subgroups 2.1a and 3.3a (which included major ampicillin-resistant E. faecium human lineages) and between community-based ampicillin-resistant E. faecium isolates and BAPS subgroups 1.2 and 3.3b was found. Most E. faecalis isolates (130 isolates belonging to 58 STs) were grouped into 3 BAPS groups, BAPS groups 1 (36.9%), 2 (40.0%), and 3 (23.1%), with each one comprising widespread lineages. No positive associations with age or hospitalization were established. The diversity and dynamics of enterococcal populations in the fecal microbiota of healthy humans are largely unexplored, with the available knowledge being fragmented and contradictory. The study offers a novel and comprehensive analysis of enterococcal population landscapes and suggests that E. faecium populations from hospitalized patients and from community-based individuals differ, with a predominance of certain clonal lineages, often in association with elderly individuals, occurring in the hospital setting.     

Water Conflicts among Different User Groups in South Bali,Indonesia

The overexploitation of water resources in the region of South Bali, near one of the island’s tourist centres, is exemplified by a subak in Sanur at the tail end of an irrigation system. Tensions between the social institutions for local water management and powerful, state-backed stakeholders in water distribution from the river Ayung have caused rural–urban water conflicts for the last 10–15 years. The case presented here illustrates how water shortages are ascribed to the dominance of the tourism industry, private companies selling bottled drinking water and regional water delivery services, all of which peasants hold responsible for crop failure in dry years. I focus on the emic perspective of the subak members on water scarcity caused by a lack of coordination between privatized and previously centralized water resource management based on economic priorities for the tourism sector and urban regions and water use for agriculture.     

痢疾杆菌不同群、型间交叉保护性试验研究

本文对痢疾杆菌不同群、型间的交叉保护作用进行了观察。试验模型为恒河猴,将其分为４组,第一、三组分别为感染过福氏１ａ和宋内菌并已康复的猴;第四组为用双价菌苗株ＦＳ（福氏２ａ和宋内）免疫的猴体,剂量依次为４×１０１０、６．５×１０１０、６×１０１０,共１６．５×１０１０活菌,第二组为空白对照。所有４组皆用福氏２ａ２５８００×１０８活菌攻击。从发病率来看,不同菌群与菌型间没有明显的交叉保护作用;从发病程度看则一组显著低于对照组,三组与对照组无显著差异,此结果表明痢疾杆菌Ｂ群内存在交叉保护作用,但较同型保护作用弱。     

Phylogenetic Age is Positively Correlated with Sensitivity to Timber Harvest in Bornean Mammals

The reasons that forest vertebrates differ in their response to selective timber extraction in tropical forests remain poorly characterized. Understanding what determines response and sensitivity can indicate how forest management might yield greater conservation benefits, and help us identify which lesser-known species may be especially vulnerable. We assessed the response of 41 Bornean mammals to selective timber harvest and tested eight hypotheses regarding the correlation between those responses and a range of species characteristics. Multivariate analyses show that phylogenetic species age is a key variable determining sensitivity. Older species are less able to cope with the effects of selective timber harvest. Most of these species are endemic to insular southeast Asia, and do not occur on the Asian mainland. These species are more specialized, and appear less able to cope with habitat change. In contrast, species tolerant to logging evolved more recently. This group tends to be omnivorous or herbivorous, to use all vegetation strata, and to be regionally widespread. This finding allows the sensitivity to habitat disturbance of lesser-known species to be predicted, and therefore has important conservation implications. These new insights also help in the design of large-scale forest landscapes that combine sustainable forest management and species conservation requirements. We recognize that these functions can be compatible, but that some species still need completely protected areas for their survival.     

Comparing the Information and Support Needs of Different Population Groups in Preparation for 2015 Government Approval for HIV Self-testing in France

Context

HIV self-tests are currently being introduced in France with the aim of promoting screening both for the general population and for high-risk populations.

Objective

The current study aimed to identify and compare the information and support needs of the different target population groups.

Methods

The Delphi process was used to synthesize expert opinions for each population group. Experts were chosen for their experience and expertise in the area of HIV and HIV screening for each population. Each group developed recommendations for a specific population: six high HIV prevalence populations (men who have sex with men; transgender people; substance users; migrants from sub-Saharan Africa; French West Indies; French Guiana) and two low prevalence populations (the general population; people under 25). Each group included expertise from four areas: research, screening and care, policy-making, and community groups.

Results

A final total of 263 recommendations were grouped into eight main themes: Communicating at both national and community levels about self-test arrival (24% of all recommendations); Providing information adapted to the different community groups’ needs (23%); Providing counselling on self-test use and access to care (15%); Making self-tests available to all in terms of accessibility and cost (13%); Preparing community healthcare and screening systems for the arrival of the self-test (11%); Approving only high quality self-tests (6%); Defending self-test users’ legal rights (5%); Evaluating self-test use (3%). Although a large number of recommendations were common to several groups of experts, the study highlighted a certain number of recommendations specific to each different population group, particularly with regard to information content and access both to information and to the self-tests themselves.

Conclusion

Results from the current study should make a significant contribution to policy decisions concerning catering for the specific access, information and support needs of different potential HIV self-test user groups in France.     

不同年龄组健康人群肠道肠球菌含量及菌型分布调查

本文用选择性培养基(EC)对三个年龄组共91例健康人群大便进行了肠道肠球菌定量分析和菌型分布调查.结果表明,幼儿组、成年组和老年组的肠球菌活菌数分量分别为6.38±0.65、6.91±1.04、7.13±1.21(log(?)±s/克便),经统计学处理,幼儿组与成年组、老年组之间差异有显著性,而成年组与老年组之间差异无显著性.本次肠球菌的检出率为78.0%;菌型分布以屎肠球菌、肠肠球菌为主,粪肠球菌和坚忍肠球菌为次.本文就检测肠球菌含量来预测和评价宿主体健康状况的可能性进行了探讨。     

Effect of Plasma and Cellular Factors on the Aggregation of Erythrocytes from Different Age Populations

Microrheologic properties (aggregation and deformability) were examined in young (upper fraction) and old (bottom fraction) erythrocytes separated by density gradient centrifugation at 30000 g. A significant difference in microrheologic properties of the young and old erythrocytes was revieled. Erythrocyte aggregation was studied in the plasma and serum. Aggregation of the young and old cells in plasma was higher than in serum, which points to the importance of the presence of fibrinogen in the aggregation medium. The study of aggregation kinetics showed that the absence of fibrinogen in the medium produced an insignificant effect on the rate of aggregate formation, but it dramatically affected the degree of aggregation (12 and 88% difference between aggregate number in the plasma and serum, respectively). In young erythrocytes, the difference of the degree of aggregation and kinetics of aggregate formation in the plasma and serum was not so pronounced (32 and 43%, respectively). Analysis of correlations between aggregation and deformation of the young and old erythrocytes revealed more pronounced interrelations of these parameters in the plasma compared to serum, indicating an important role of fibrinogen for the manifestation of microrheologic properties of erythrocytes. These interrelations were most pronounced during aggregate formation, which supported the bridging theory of aggregation.     

亚热带常绿阔叶林栲树与薯豆不同龄级种群生态位特征

种群不同年龄组的生态位是种群资源利用随时间变化的一种重要形式。根据高度将植物种群分为乔木组、幼树组和幼苗组3个年龄梯度,对重庆缙云山自然保护区常绿阔叶林优势树种—栲树与薯豆生态位特征进行了比较研究。结果表明：(1)栲树与薯豆3个龄级的实际生态位宽度均较大,但资源利用能力都不强;它们的生态位宽度与资源利用能力随龄级增加而增大趋势很明显。(2)栲树与薯豆幼苗组生态位特化程度高,幼树组与乔木组生态位泛化程度不高。(3)薯豆乔木组、幼树组的生态位宽度和资源利用能力均大于栲树,但薯豆幼苗组生态位宽度和资源利用能力却比栲树小。(4)两个种群生态位重叠较高,资源性竞争激烈;生态位重叠随年龄增长而呈“V”字形,幼树组重叠值低与幼苗组的高竞争导致栲树中等龄级的缺失有关。     

A Data-Driven Mathematical Model of CA-MRSA Transmission among Age Groups: Evaluating the Effect of Control Interventions

Community associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has become a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in the US. We developed an age-structured compartmental model to study the spread of CA-MRSA at the population level and assess the effect of control intervention strategies. We used Monte-Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) techniques to parameterize our model using monthly time series data on SSTIs incidence in children (≤19 years) during January 2004 -December 2006 in Maricopa County, Arizona. Our model-based forecast for the period January 2007–December 2008 also provided a good fit to data. We also carried out an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis on the control reproduction number, which we estimated at 1.3 (95% CI [1.2,1.4]) based on the model fit to data. Using our calibrated model, we evaluated the effect of typical intervention strategies namely reducing the contact rate of infected individuals owing to awareness of infection and decolonization strategies targeting symptomatic infected individuals on both and the long-term disease dynamics. We also evaluated the impact of hypothetical decolonization strategies targeting asymptomatic colonized individuals. We found that strategies focused on infected individuals were not capable of achieving disease control when implemented alone or in combination. In contrast, our results suggest that decolonization strategies targeting the pediatric population colonized with CA-MRSA have the potential of achieving disease elimination.     

不同年龄段冠心病患者的临床特征及其危险因素分析

目的:探讨不同年龄段冠心病(CAD)患者的临床特征,并对其危险因素进行分析。方法:采用回顾性研究,选择2010-2014年于我院冠状动脉造影并行介入治疗的冠心病患者480例,其中老年患者(A组)320例,中青年患者(B组)160例。分析两组患者的临床资料、冠状动脉病变情况、疾病类型及术后不良反应发生率,比较两组实验室检查指标,将上述差异有统计学意义的因素带入多元线性回归,分析冠心病的危险因素。结果:(1)A组与B组之间,在性别构成及是否患有高血压病方面比较,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。(2)A组的单支病变以及三支病变者发生率较B组高,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。A组患者术后总的不良发生率较中B组多,其中出血、心律失常、心源性休克的发生率也均较中青年组高,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。(3)A组患者的肌酐(Cr)、血浆凝血酶原时间(PT)、纤维蛋白原(FIB)水平高于B组,谷氨酰转肽酶(GGT)、三酰甘油(TG)、同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)、血小板计数(PLT)水平低于B组,且差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。(4)多因素Logistic回归分析显示,Hcy、FIB是冠心病的危险因素(P0.05)。结论:老年与中青年冠心病患者的临床表现有较大不同,且Hcy、FIB是影响不同年龄段冠心病发病的危险因素,提示在临床治疗冠心病过程中治疗方案应存在一定差异。