Medical ultrasound imaging suffers from poor resolution due to its inherit imaging mechanism.In order to obtain the important diagnostic image in detail,restoration procedure needs to be performed.However,in practical ultrasound imaging,it's difficult to demonstrate the degradation process in detail.Therefore,blind image deconvolution is applied to estimate the original image from the degraded image with unknown point spread function or little available prior knowledge.In this paper,the main algorithms of medical ultrasound image restoration based on blind deconvolution are reviewed and classified into two categories,priori or joint with the image,according to the identification methods,and the basic theories and improved methods are analyzed and discussed.Finally,the future directions in blind restoration for medical ultrasound images are proposed.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are members of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily, acting as important regulators in embryogenesis and bone and cartilage formation and repair.The complexity of BMPs action has early been unveiled by generous cell and molecular biology approaches and transgenic animal studies.Genetic engineering allows for the mass production of BMPs for clinical use of bone repair, but the desirable scaffold material is also needed to ensure controlled release and maximum biological activity of BMPs at the surgical site.Currently, BMP-2 and BMP-7 have been approved by United States Food and Drug Administration for clinical therapy in long bone fracture, spinal fusion and oral and maxillofacial surgery.The results are satisfactory, but the side effects have been also widely concerned.The functions and clinical applications of BMPs in bon repair are reviewed.

BACKGROUND:Sodium alginate and chitosan are the polycation and polyanion natural polymer materials respectively, and they can be crosslinking agents complementing each other to form composite gel and avoid the cytotoxicity resulting from some common crosslinking agents .
OBJECTIVE:To prepare the chitosan-sodium alginate composite gel and evaluate its cytotoxicity in vitro. METHODS:Chitosan was dissolved in 0.25 mol/L acetic acid to make a 30 g/L mass concentration solution, and 0.1 mol/L NaOH solution was added to neutralize its acidity. Neutralization of the chitosan solutions leads to the formation of a precipitate in ultrasmal particles. Then the chitosan and 3%sodium alginate solution in deionized water were mixed in 1:1 volume ratio by high frequency oscil ating to produce composite gel. The composite gel were detected by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry after freeze-drying. The 24-hour and 72-hour leaching solutions of composite gel, 24-hour and 72-hour leaching solutions of polyethylene and phenol solution were added to the L-929 cells’ culture medium respectively in order to evaluate the cytotoxicity of composite gel in vitro.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The results of Fourier transform infrared spectrometry showed the variation of characteristic peak values of composite gel which were different from sodium alginate and chitosan;and under scanning electron microscope, a spatial network structure formed with abundant intervals. Result of the cytotoxicity valuation was qualified for the chitosan-sodium alginate composite gel. These findings indicate that the chitosan-sodium alginate composite gel can be used as tissue engineering scaffold materials.

Objective To compare the difference of serum heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and carbon monoxide(CO) levels between the patients with coronary heart disease(CHD) caused chronic heart failure(CHF) and CHD patients with normal cardiac function,and further to explore the protective mechanism of HO-1/CO system during the pathogenesis process of CHF.Methods Ninety-one patients with CHF were selected as the observation group and 72 CHD cases with normal cardiac function were taken as the control group.The concentration of HO-1 was determined by ELISA arid the Chalmer S method was used to detect serum CO concentration.The general clinical data of the two groups were recorded by the using the heart failure questionnaire.And the liver and kidney functions,blood lipids,NT-proBNP,BNP and cardiac echocardiography examination were performed.Results The serum HO-1 level in the observation group was (8.13±0.27)ng/mL,which was higher than (2.80±0.52)ng/mL in the control group;the CO level in the observation group was (0.35±0.06)mg/L,which was lower than(0.59±0.07)mg/L in the control group,the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.01);the HO-1 level in the observation group was gradually increased with the increase of cardiac function grade (P＜0.01);while the CO level was decreased with the increase of cardiac function grade (P＜0.01).Conclusion The serum HO-11evel in the patients with CHF is highly expressed with the heart failure aggravation;endogenous CO is gradually decreased due to consumption after cardiac failure aggravation.

Objective Quantitative analysis of optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of naturally occurred early enamel caries was performed to find quantitative parameter indicator for detecting early caries by OCT.Methods Three human premolars with enamel natural caries in D0,D1,and D2 stages were selected respectively and scanned by OCT.The ratios of the average gray value of the caries region (object region) and sound region (background region),namely,the object-background contrast (OBC) were calculated in OCT images and selected as the quantitative parameters to analyze the OBC trend of different degree of enamel caries.Results Within the fixed depth,the OBC value showed a trend of first increase and then decrease with the severity of dental caries,indicating that OBC value increased with the severity of dental caries from normal to D1 stage,and then decreased from D1 to D2 stage.Conclusion The OBC value can be used as a new quantitative indicator for OCT to estimate the severity of naturally occurred early caries.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of minimally invasive treatment of Fraser type Ⅱ floating knee by homeopathic reduction.Methods:From November 2016 to July 2018, 7 patients with Fraser type Ⅱ floating knee were treated by homeopathic reduction and minimally invasive surgery at Trauma Emergency Center, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University. They were 5 males and 2 females, aged from 30 to 82 years (average, 52 years). They all suffered from tibial plateau fracture complicated with floating knee, with 5 cases of Fraser type ⅡA (tibial plateau fracture complicated with femoral shaft fracture) and 2 cases of Fraser type ⅡC (tibial plateau fracture complicated with femoral condyle fracture). The femoral and tibial plateau fractures were reduced with a bidirectional traction reduction device, followed by minimally invasive implantation of internal fixators. The operation time, length of a single incision, blood loss and fluoroscopic frequency were recorded. The anteroposterior and lateral X-ray films of the lower limb were taken and fracture healing time was recorded during follow-up. The function of knee joint was evaluated by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) scoring system at the last follow-up.Results:For the 7 patients, operation time averaged 87.2 min, length of a single incision 2.8 cm, blood loss 471 mL, and fluoroscopy frequency 37 times. The postoperative X-ray films showed fine alignment and force line and smooth articular surface in all patients. All the incisions healed by grade A. The follow-up time for 7 patients ranged from 12 to 21 months (average, 15.6 months). All the fractures healed after an average time of 12.8 weeks. The HSS scores at the last follow-up showed that 6 cases were excellent and one was good.Conclusion:The fractures of the femur side and of the tibia side can be treated separately by closed reduction and internal fixation using a homeopathic bidirectional traction reduction device so as to obtain better knee joint function.

OBJECTIVETo explore the efficacy of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in imaging and quantitatively evaluating early enamel caries and provide experimental evidence for the clinical diagnosis of early caries.

METHODSThe smooth surface of bovine teeth showing early artificial caries and demineralization changes was scanned by an all fiber-based OCT for images and optical profiles, which were compared with images from a polarized light microscope (PLM) and mineral loss from an atomic absorption spectrometer. Data were analyzed by paired-sample t-test and Pearson correlation analysis using SPSS software.

RESULTSThe images of enamel with early caries and demineralization from OCT coincided with those from PLM. The integrated reflectivity loss in the early caries group was significantly lower than that in the demineralized group (P < 0.05), whereas no significant difference in demineralized depth was found between the two groups (P > 0.05). A linear correlation was observed between integrated reflectivity loss and mineral loss (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONOCT can be used to nondestructively and accurately image early caries and quantify lesion extent and degree, suggesting the extensive use of this approach in the clinical diagnosis of early caries.

Motor neuron disease (MND) is a type of chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease involving upper and/or lower motor neurons, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, progressive bulbar palsy, primary lateral sclerosis, progressive muscular atrophy, and spinal muscular atrophy. Different types of motor neuron diseases have distinct characteristics. Therefore, the diagnosis mainly depends on clinical manifestations, physical examination and electrophysiological examination, and is made by exclusion of other diseases. Atypical cases are sometimes difficult for clinical physicians to distinguish from other diseases involving upper and/or lower motor neurons. This article is going to introduce various types of MND and their differential diagnosis according to site of lesion of motor neuron disease.

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed to evaluate the potency of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to detect early occlusal caries compared with clinical visual examination.

METHODSApproximately 97 sites of occlusal fissures on 77 extracted accessional human teeth were scored by three examiners using conventional visual examination and OCT. Results of histological examination on these sites obtained by polarimicroscope served as a gold standard to analyze the sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV). Results of the area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) by visual examination and OCT were also analyzed. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient with histology and the inter-examiner reliability were compared.

RESULTSFor sites of enamel demineralization limited to the outer 1/2 of the enamel layer, the detection rate of OCT (14/25) was obviously higher than that of the clinical and visual examination (3/25). SE, SP, PPV and NPV of OCT during diagnosis of the early occlusal caries (0.83, 0.64, 0.87 and 0.57) were higher than that of the visual examination (0.79, 0.60, 0.85 and 0.50). AUC (95%CI) of OCT and the visual examination were 0.737 (0.569-0.822) and 0.696 (0.614-0.859), respectively. No statistically significant difference was observed between the results. Results of OCT correlated well with histology (r=0.559, P<0.05). The inter-examiner reliability of OCT was medium.

CONCLUSIONSOCT can accurately detect early occlusal lesions atraumatically with high sensitivity and effectiveness. OCT exhibits the potential of auxiliary clinical diagnosis enhancing detection rate and finally implementing early diagnosis and early intervention of early occlusal lesions in clinical practice.

Motor neuron disease (MND) is a type of chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease involving upper and/or lower motor neurons, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, progressive bulbar palsy, primary lateral sclerosis, progressive muscular atrophy, and spinal muscular atrophy. Different types of motor neuron diseases have distinct characteristics. Therefore, the diagnosis mainly depends on clinical manifestations, physical examination and electrophysiological examination, and is made by exclusion of other diseases. Atypical cases are sometimes difficult for clinical physicians to distinguish from other diseases involving upper and/or lower motor neurons. This article is going to introduce various types of MND and their differential diagnosis according to site of lesion of motor neuron disease.