Objective To introduce a new technique of treating tibial spinal fractures in children under arthroscope, and to assess its clinical outcomes. Methods From February 2001 to July 2003, 6 child patients with tibial spinal fracture were treated arthroscopically. The reduction and fixation were completed under the arthroscope. The wire was linked with the suture outside the joint, and then was pulled into the joint to fix the fracture fragment through the fundus of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Results The patients were followed up for 6 to 20 months. All the fractures healed without displacement 4 weeks after operation. 3 months postoperatively, the motion range of the knee returned to normal, and no knee instability was observed. The results of ADT (anterior drawer test) and Lachmanns sign were negative. Conclusion This technique is the first choice in treatment of tibial spinal fracture in children, because it facilitates the diagnosis and treatment of complicated knee problems and provides accurate reduction and reliable fixation. Besides, it is minimally invasive, simple and convenient.

Pancreatic stellate cell (PSC) activation in islet fibrosis of insulin-resistant rats induced by high-fat diet was investigated. After 20 weeks, the glucose infusion rate and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in high-fat group were significantly decreased while fasting plasma glucose, fasting serum insulin, free fatty acid and the basal glucagon secretion were significantly increased compared with those parameters of the control rats (P< 0.05 or P<0.01). Activated PSC and collagen fiber ( type Ⅰ and Ⅲ) were found in islets of rats fed with high-fat. The result suggests that PSC activation, proliferation and migration to islet may contribute to islet fibrosis in insulin-resistant rats.

The recent explosive outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been reported in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Neonatal microcephaly associated with ZIKV infection has already caused a public health emergency of international concern. No specific vaccines or drugs are currently available to treat ZIKV infection. The ZIKV helicase, which plays a pivotal role in viral RNA replication, is an attractive target for therapy. We determined the crystal structures of ZIKV helicase-ATP-Mn(2+) and ZIKV helicase-RNA. This is the first structure of any flavivirus helicase bound to ATP. Comparisons with related flavivirus helicases have shown that although the critical P-loop in the active site has variable conformations among different species, it adopts an identical mode to recognize ATP/Mn(2+). The structure of ZIKV helicase-RNA has revealed that upon RNA binding, rotations of the motor domains can cause significant conformational changes. Strikingly, although ZIKV and dengue virus (DENV) apo-helicases share conserved residues for RNA binding, their different manners of motor domain rotations result in distinct individual modes for RNA recognition. It suggests that flavivirus helicases could have evolved a conserved engine to convert chemical energy from nucleoside triphosphate to mechanical energy for RNA unwinding, but different motor domain rotations result in variable RNA recognition modes to adapt to individual viral replication.
Crystallography, X-Ray ; Protein Domains ; RNA Helicases ; chemistry ; RNA, Viral ; chemistry ; Viral Proteins ; chemistry ; Zika Virus ; enzymology