BACKGROUND:Chitosan and gelatin have good biocompatibility and biodegradable properties.More and more attentions have been given to the application of the composite membrane of chitosan/hydroxyapatite(HA)and gelatin/HA as the tissue scaffolds.OBJECTIVE:To prepare a biocompatible composite membrane of chitosan/HA/gelatin having nanometer multilayer HA,and to investigate whether such a membrane might be a candidate of the tissue scaffolds for the bond repair and regeneration,DESIGN:Controlled observation.SETTING:College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering,Jianghan UniversityMATERIALS:The experiments were performed at the Laboratory of Fine Chemistry,College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering,Jianghan University from February to August 2007.Chitosan (Yuhnan Ocean Biochemistry Co.,Ltd,Zhengjiang,China,Mw 13.44×104,93% degree of deacetylation),and gelation(provided by Shanghai Chemical Reagent Co.,Shanghai,China)were used in the present study.METHODS:The mixture chitosan/CaCl2 solution was casted on a glass plate to give the membrane of chitosan/CaCl2.Then,the membrane was soaked in KH2PO4 solution,0.1 mol/L NaOH solution,and 3 wt% gelatin aqueous solution,respectively.The resulted membrane was washed and dried to obtain the chtiosan/HA/gelatin composite membrane.The morphological observation of the composite membrane and HA crystal were carded on a scanning electron microscope.The mechanical properties of the composite membrane were measured using the universal testing machine.The tensile strength(σb)and the elongation at break (ε)were calculated.The thermal stability of composite membrane was determined using a WCT-2C thermobalance.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:The morphologies,the mechanical properties,and the thermal stability of the composite membrane and HA crystal were observed.RESULTS:The multilayer HA crystal with 400 nm thickness in the composite membrane was observed.The tensile strength(σb)and the elongation at break(ε)of the composite membrane were 3.83-10.25 MPa and 3.97%-10.14%,respectively.The decomposition temperature of HA-treated membrane was 310℃,which was higher than that of chitosan/gelatin membrane(305℃).CONCLUSION:The composite chitosan/HA/gelatin membrane was prepared by using chitosan/CaCl2,KH2PO4 and gelatin solutions.Such a biocompatible composite membrane with multilayer HA might be a promising tissue scaffold.

Purpose Accurate diagnosis of triangular fibrocartilage (TFC) tear is very important for treatment. MRI is most used for diagnosing TFC tear. This paper aims to evaluate MRI and MR arthrography (MRA) for diagnosing TFC tear by meta-analysis. Materials and Methods The articles were searched in the databases such as Wanfang, VIP, CNKI, Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase and PubMed. The QUADAS items were used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Heterogeneity of the included articles was tested. The pooled weighted sensitivity and specificity of MRI and MRA in diagnosing TFC tear were calculated, and the pooled receiver operation curve was drawn. Results Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria, 2 were Chinese articles and 13 were English articles. The subjects and methods of the articles were different and existed heterogeneity. The sensitivity and specificity of MRI for diagnosing TFC tear were 0.66 (95% CI 0.61-0.71) and 0.75 (95% CI 0.69-0.81), and those of MRA were 0.80 (95% CI 0.73-0.87) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.74-0.93). The area under curve and Q* index of SROC of MRI were 0.8566 and 0.7875, respectively. The area under curve and Q* index of SROC of MRA were 0.9123 and 0.8446, respectively. Conclusion The accuracy of TFC tear avulsion for MRA are higher than for MRI, when there is unclear of TFC avulsion using MRI, MRA can be used for diagnosis.

Objective To investigate whether emodin(1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone) can attenuate inflammatory response in rats' lungs with acute necrotic pancreatitis (ANP). Method Acute necrotic pancreatitis model was induced by injection of 3% sodium taurocholic acid into the subcapsular of pancreas and emodin was administered by intestine perfusion. Plasma amylase of 3, 6 and 12 h with acute necrotic pancreatitis was measured together with the detection of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 mRNA expressions in rats' lungs by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Immunohistochemistry was detected the expression of IL-1β converting enzyme (ICE) in the rats' lungs. Result Plasma amylase of 3, 6 and 12 h with acute necrotic pancreatitis groups are obviously high as compared with normal group(P＜0.05). Plasma amylase was (1 611.20±218.72)IU/L in normal group. Plasma amylase of 3, 6 and 12 h with acute necrotic pancreatitis groups were (1 981.40±56.81)IU/L, (3 287.40±612.37)IU/L and (4 914.60±746.82)IU/L. Plasma amylase of 3, 6 and 12 h with acute necrotic pancreatitis after treatment with emodin groups were obviously low as compared with acute necrotic pancreatitis groups. The plasma amylase was(1 617.20±136.80)IU/L,(2 323.40±318.19) IU/L and (2 670.20±390.03)IU/L respectively. The study showed that the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokin IL-1β and the expression of IL-6, as well as the expression of IL-1β converting enzyme(ICE) were decreased and IL-10 was increased. Conclusion The study demonstrates that emodin plays an important role in reducing plasma amylase level. Emodin exerts anti-inflammatory effects in acute necrotic pancreatitis rats' lungs by downregulating the mRNA expression of IL-1β and IL-6 and upregulating the mRNA expression of IL-10.

Objective To investigate the impact of synthetic urine (synurine solution) at differentpH values on skin surface.Methods Sixty-four healthy volunteers were enrolled into this study.Based on the results of lactic acid test and questionaires,these subjects were enrolled as sensitive skin group and normalskin group.The 4-,20-,and 24-hour occlusive patch tests were successively performed with synthetic urine at various pH values (2.0,3.5,5.0,6.5,8.0 and 10.0)on the two groups of volunteers.The distilled waterand 0.25%sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS)served as control.The skin surface pH values were measured bypotable pH meter before,and at 24 h,48 h,72 h after the first patch.Half an hour after the latter three detections of pH values,the skin response was evaluated clinically,as well as by transepidermal water loss (TEWL)and pH values,which were measured by pH-900 pH Meter.Results The responses to these solutions were similar between sensitive and normal skin groups.The order of skin surface pH values measured by the two pH meters was consistent with that of the original solutions.The skin surface pH value was altered by the synthetic urine,and this change was still present at 24 hours after the patches were removed.The TEWL values of skin challenged by synthetic urine were not higher than those by distilled water.The skin responses at 72 hours were more intense to the synthetic urines with pH values of.5,8.0,10.0than to distilled water.CondusionsSynthetic urines with different pH values can alter skin surface pH values,and skin responses to synthetic urines with a pH range 2.0-10.0 are similar to those to distilled water.

ObjectiveTo observe the effects of electroacupuncture at Zhongwan （CV12） on gastric nociceptive response induced by gastric acid stimulation and explore the underlying mechanisms associated with nuclei of the medullary viscerosensory and visceral motor neurons. MethodsTwenty SD rats were given intragastric administration of 0.5 mol/L diluted hydrochloric acid （0.5 ml/100 g） to induce gastric nociceptive response induction. Eight rats were randomly selected to record the gastric slow wave （GSW） area under the curve， and extracellular discharge frequency of neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract （NTS） and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve （DMV） before intragastric administration and at 1， 5， 10， 15， 20， 25， 30， 35， 40， 45， 50， 55， and 60 minutes after intragastric administration. The remaining 12 rats received electroacupuncture intervention at Zhongwan within 5 to 25 minutes after intragastric administration of diluted hydrochloric acid， with a duration of one minute. The GSW area under the curve and extracellular discharge frequency of NTS and DMV neurons were compared between the 1-minute intervals before and after electroacupuncture intervention. ResultsCompared to the baseline before intragastric administration， the area under the curve of GSW significantly increased at 1， 5， 10， 15， 20， and 25 minutes after intragastric administration， and the extracellular discharge frequency of excitatory neurons in the NTS （accounting for 90%， 57/63） significantly increased at 1， 5， 10， 15， 20， 25， 30， 35， and 40 minutes， both reaching peak values at 1 minute after intragastric administration （P＜0.01 or P＜0.05）. The extracellular discharge frequency of inhibitory neurons in the DMV （accounting for 91%， 20/22） showed a non-significant increase at 1 minute after intragastric administration （P＞0.05）， but significantly decreased at other timepoints （P＜0.05）. Compared to the baseline before electroacupuncture intervention， the GSW area under the curve and the extracellular discharge frequency of excitatory neurons in the NTS significantly decreased （P＜0.05）， while the extracellular discharge frequency of inhibitory neurons in the DMV showed no significant difference （P＞0.05）. ConclusionElectroacupuncture at Zhongwan can improve gastric nociceptive response induced by gastric acid stimulation， possibly by reducing the transmission of visceral sensation and decreasing the excitability of NTS neurons in the medulla.