Association of suboptimal health status and cardiovascular risk factors in urban Chinese workers.

Suboptimal health status (SHS) has become a new public health challenge in urban China. Despite indications that SHS may be associated with progression or development of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, there are few reports on SHS investigations. To explore the relationship between SHS and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, a cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 4,881 workers employed in 21 companies in urban Beijing.

Familial supernumerary microchromosome mosaicism: phenotypic effects and an attempt at characterization.

A healthy normally intelligent man and his two daughters who had mild developmental delay and different malformations were determined to have an acrocentric supernumerary microchromosome (MC). The father and both daughters were noted to be mosaic for the MC, perhaps suggesting mitotic instability of the MC cell line with loss over time. The MC was negative staining on G-banding and showed absence of centromeric heterochromatin on C-banding.

The effects of ginseng saponins on the growth and metabolism of human diploid fibroblasts.

The action of ginseng saponins on cell numbers, glucose uptake and lactate production and the activities of specific enzymes associated with glucose oxidation, was tested using a human diploid fibroblast strain. No augmentation of cell numbers was observed. There was a significant increase in the level of cellular lactate levels and in the specific activities of enzymes associated with an anaerobic shift in metabolism.