[Individual dose monitoring and health status of radiation workers in some Three A hospitals of Zhejiang province]

Objective: To investigate the individual irridiateddose levelandhealth statusofoccupational externalexposureamong radiationworkers inThreeA hospitals ofZhejiangprovince,andprovideevidence for occupationalhealthmanagement. Methods: 367 different typesof radiationworkerswereexperienced thedose monitoring and health examination from January toDecember, 2015, according to the requirements of"SpecificationsofIndividualMonitoring forOccupationalExternalExposure"and"Specifications forOccupational healthsurveillance forradiationworkers".The resultsofdosemonitoring,chromosomeaberration rate, lensopacity rate,hemogramand thyroid functionwerestatisticallyanalyzed. Results: Theannualeffectivedoseamong radiation workers fromZhejiangprovince in2015was0.13mSv,98.91%of them less than1mSv,whichunder the limit standardofstate(20mSv/a).Thechromosomeaberration(dicentric)detection rateswere7.41%and4.35%, from nuclearmedicinegroupand interventionalgroup respectively,whichhigher thandiagnostic radiologygroup, the differencewasstatisticallysignificant(χ(2)=13.686,8.092,P<0.01).Besides,1caseofsuspiciouschronic radiation dermatitiswas found in the interventiongroup.Radiation lengthhadsignificanteffecton lensopacity rate(P<0.01), lensopacity increasedwith the increasing lengthof the linear trend (χ(2)trend=16.363,P<0.01),and the incidence ofabnormalthyroid function theabnormalrateof lymphocyte ratiohad significantdifferenceamong theagegroups (P<0.05). Conclusion: Although, theoccupationalexternalexposureamong radiationworkersinThreeAhospitals ofZhejiangprovince issafe, long-term lowdosesofionizing radiation stillhascertainhealtheffectson the fieldof nuclearmedicineand interventionalradiologystaff,suchaseye lens,cytogenetics,nailsandskin.

Ten novel MHC-DPB1 alleles identified in Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana)

Ten novel MHC-DPB1 alleles of Tibetan macaque, were identified by cloning and sequencing.

Quality of life of nasopharyngeal cancer survivors in China

PURPOSE

We assessed the quality of life (qol) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (npc) survivors with a survival time of more than 2 years in Fujian, China, and we analyzed factors influencing qol.

METHODS

We calculated the prevalence of psychological distress and radiotherapy (rt)-induced symptoms in 216 npc survivors who participated in a cross-sectional survey. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (version 3.0) was used to assess the qol of npc survivors. Multiple linear regression was applied to analyze the factors influencing qol.

RESULTS

The prevalence rates of rt-induced symptoms and psychological problems were 11.58% (95% ci: 7.21% to 15.58%) for difficulty in swallowing, 17.59% (95% ci: 12.51% to 22.67%) for mouth dryness or sores, 13.89% (95% ci: 9.28% to 18.50%) for nasal dryness or congestion, 18.52% (95% ci: 13.34% to 23.70%) for fatigue, 11.11% (95% ci: 6.92% to 15.30%) for frequent dizziness, 18.06% (95% ci: 12.93% to 23.19%) for decline in hearing, 14.81% (95% ci: 10.07% to 19.55%) for poor sleep quality, 18.52% (95% ci: 13.34% to 23.70%) for worry about disease recurrence, 18.98% (95% ci: 13.75% to 24.21%) for anxiety, and 25.00% (95% ci: 19.23% to 30.77%) for depression. Mean survival times were 4.32 ± 2.63 years in patients with mouth dryness or sores, 4.26 ± 2.90 years in patients with fatigue, and 5.60 ± 2.94 years in patients with a decline in hearing. The mean global qol score was 74.21 (95% ci: 72.22 to 76.20). At a significance level of α = 0.05, the factors influencing qol were age (p = 0.032), education level (p = 0.001), anxiety score (p < 0.001), depression score (p < 0.001), mouth dryness or sores (p < 0.001), fatigue (p = 0.027), and disease stage (p = 0.044).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence rates of mouth dryness or sores, fatigue, decline in hearing, depression, and anxiety were high in npc survivors with a survival time of more than 2 years. These rt-induced symptoms and psychological problems can last for many years after rt. The qol of the npc survivors was good. Factors influencing qol were age, education level, anxiety, depression, mouth dryness or sores, fatigue, and disease stage. Our results suggest that during clinical treatment, doctors should minimize the radiation dose to the ears of patients. In addition, our results emphasize the importance of providing oral and ear nursing and psychological care to npc survivors.

Sequence characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 gene in the Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana)

In this study, the complete coding region sequence of an innate immune-related TLR4 gene was obtained from the Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana) genome via PCR and direct sequencing. The sequence had a total length of 2481 bp, contained 3 complete exons, and encoded 826 amino acids (AAs); its isoelectric point was 5.703, and the molecular weight was 94.72 kDa. The high structure prediction showed that the protein was comprised of one extracellular region, one transmembrane region, and one intracellular region. There were 48 potential functional sites in the protein, including glycosylation, phosphorylation, and acetylation sites. A homology analysis among 9 primate species, including the Tibetan macaque, human, chimpanzee, gibbon, rhesus macaque, cynomolgus monkey, pig-tailed monkey, squirrel monkey, and small-eared galago, showed that the homology of the nucleotide and AA sequences ranged from 60.9-99.5% and 51.4- 99.0%, respectively. Higher variability was identified in the extracellular region of the TLR4 protein, and its variable sites accounted for 88.79% (AA) of the total variable sites. Additionally, the number of AAs at the 3' end of the intracellular region was notably different among the primate lineages. The phylogenetic tree based on TLR4 gene exons of 9 primate species showed that the Tibetan macaque clustered with the rhesus macaque, cynomolgus monkey, and pig-tailed monkey; it was most distant from the small-eared galago. This study will provide an important basis for further study on the expression, regulation, and polymorphism of the TLR4 gene and the relationship between polymorphisms and host disease susceptibility.

Uneven evolutionary rate of the melatonin-related receptor gene (GPR50) in primates

The melatonin-related receptor GPR50 plays an important role in mammalian adaptive thermogenesis in response to calorie intake. The evolutionary history of the GPR50 gene is poorly understood in primates; however, it has been reported that GPR50 is the mammalian ortholog of Mel1c, which has been well characterized. In this study, the complete coding sequences of the GPR50 gene in the Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) and Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) were sequenced, and the orthologous nucleotide acid sequences of the GPR50 gene in 11 other primate species were downloaded from GenBank. Thirteen species representing 6 major primate lineages (human, great ape, lesser ape, Old World monkey, New World monkey, and prosimian monkey) were subjected to statistical analyses. A selective test showed that the entire GPR50 gene sequence is under strong purifying selection in these primates but has a significantly different evolutionary rate among the 6 major primate lineages. Notably, both the Homo and Pan branches exhibited an ω ratio >1, indicating accelerated evolution of the two lineages. Further analysis of different domains revealed that the acceleration trend was more significant in the C-terminal domain (CTD). Interestingly, in the alignment of 13 primate GPR50 nucleotide acid sequences, numerous insertions or deletions were only found in the CTD region, implying that this region may play a key role in the process of primate GPR50 evolution. The results provide deeper insight into the functional evolution of GPR50 in mammals at the molecular level.