The dysfunction of the upper limbs in tetraplegia depends on the level of spinal cord injury, and needs different type of upper limb orthosis.

Translumbar amputation, also known as hemicorporectomy, is a life-saving procedure for patients with a life-threatening diagnosis but with a normal life expectancy. In the surgical procedure, the pelvis, pelvic contents, lower extremities and external genitalia are removed following transection of the lumbar spine. The operation makes the patient lose the ability of being upright. With the interdisciplinary cooperation of doctors, nurses, prosthetists, psychologists, vocational rehabilitation workers and social rehabilitation workers, the patient can realize most of independent activities of daily living through rehabilitation. The rehabilitation associated with the procedure is reviewed.

This paper reviewed the fabrication, clinical experience and biomechanics principle of foot orthoses used for the treatment of lower limb sports injuries.

The gradually developing study methods included the application of socket-limb interface stress test, socket computer aided design and manufacture, finite element method, the building of prosthesis 3D-rigid body kinetic model, gait analysis, and the footplate force system.

This paper would review the effort of low limb orthoses on sports injury, especially the basic and clinical research in the treatment, rehabilitation and prevention.

Objective To provide morphological evidences for visual field defect caused by the compression of the saddle area tumors.Methods The shape and position of the optic chiasma and its surrounding saddle diaphragm,pituitary,internal carotid artery,and perforating arteries of optic chiasma were studied from 80 adult.Results Its maximum angle was 100° in anterior horn with prechiasmatic space, and minimum angle was 40° with postfixed optic chiasma.The area of optic chiasma averaged(1.32±0.04)cm2,the thickness of saddle diaphragm was 0.58 mm,and about 5% of saddie diaphragm did not exist.The foramen of saddle diaphragm pushed into the opposite side was 52.5%,and the maximum diameter was 7.8 mm×9.8 mm.The pituitary was found inferior to the saddle diaphragm foramen in 78%(62/80).In 76.3%(61/80) brains,the carotid artery touched chiasm opticum.Conclusions Visual field defect caused by compression from pituitary tumor and craniopharyngioma is directly related with the shape of the optic chiasma and its surrounding structures.

Objective:To determine the mechanism of sunitinib-induced autophagy in renal cell carci-noma cells.Methods:MTS assay was applied to detect the cell viability alteration under the treatment of sunitinib (2,8 μmol /L).The sunitinib-induced autophagy as well as cell apoptosis was measured and compared after knocking down autophagy-related protein Beclin1 and microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 fusion protein (LC3)by RNA interference.The transmission electron microscope was used to observe the formation of autophagosomes in ACHN cells.The fluorescence microscope was used to mo-nitor distribution and aggregation of endogenous LC3-Ⅱ.The expressions of protein such as LC3-Ⅱ,the autophagic regulation molecules protein kinase B /mammalian target of rapamycin (Akt/mTOR)and the symbol of apoptosis poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP)were capable to be detected by immunoblotting assay.Results:Sunitinib was able to significantly trigger cell viability loss in the renal carcinoma cell ACHN,which was both in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner (P <0.05 ).After reducing the autophagy by knocking down Beclin1 and LC3,the number of cleavage of PARP was in-creased remarkably,whereas there was nearly not any cleavage in the mock group.By the transmission electron microscope,there were more autophagic vacuoles in ACHN cells after being administrated with sunitininb compared with the control.And the nuclear-to-cytosol translocation as well as aggregation of LC3-Ⅱ was presented after sunitinib treatment by the fluorescence microscope,which was the proof of the enhanced autophagy.According to the immunoblotting,sunitinib was able to increase the accumula-tion of LC3-Ⅱ.At the same time,the result of sunitinib combined with chloroquine,a drug which blocked the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes,demonstrated that the increasing amount of LC3-Ⅱwas due to the enhanced autophagy flux by sunitinib treatment in ACHN cells.However,phosphorylation of Akt as well as mTOR was decreased at the same time.The rapamycin (mTOR inhibitor)or knocking down Akt subunits could change the sunitinib-induced LC3-Ⅱ accumulation,whereas overexpression of Akt subunits decreased the autophagic flux,indicating that Akt/mTOR was the target of sunitinib in auto-phagy.Conclusion:Sunitinib induced autophagy via suppressing Akt/mTOR pathway,and the auto-phagy was involved in apopotosis.

Dendritic cells (DC) are antigen presenting cells (APC) that play critical roles in the initiation of T cell response and development of T cell-dependent antibodies in vivo. CD34_+ hematopoietic progenitor cells of bone marrow and peripheral blood can differentiate into DC when cultured with GM-CSF and TNF-? in vitro. In the present study, we cultured monocytes isolated from human peripheral blood with 100ng/ml hGM-CSF and 500U/ml hIL-4 for one week, and then found that a large number of DC with high purity were gengerated. DC expressed MHC I , MHC II and costimuladng moleculers highly on cell surface and cound stimulate proliferation of allogeneic T lymphocytes. Self serum or fetal calf serum are best for generation of DC. When hGM-CSF was used alone, the monocytes differentiated into macrophages but not to DC. TNF-? could induce further maturation of DC when added in late period of the culture. Generation of DC from human peripheral blood may facilitate further studies on DC and their clinical applications.

BACKGROUND: Under the cellular physiological condition, 15.3% N-acetylated chitosan has poor solubility which limits cellular microencapsulation process.OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to prepare 50% N-acetylated chitosan with 15.3% N-acetylated chitosan and investigate its feasibility for preparing chitosan microcapsule used for hepatocyte embedding after in conjunction with methacrylic acid-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-methyl methacrylate (MAA-HEMA-MMA) copolymer under the cellular physiological condition.DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: This study, a control observation experiment, was performed at the Central Laboratory, First Hospital Affiliated to Jinan University, Guagnzhou, Guangdong Province, China between January and October 2006.MATERIALS: 15.3% N-acetylated chitosan was provided by Sigma-Aldrich Company, Singapore. Hepatocytes were acquired from male Wistar rats, weighing 250-300g, by two-step collagenase digestion method.METHODS: Hepatocytes were microencapsulated using 50% N-acetylated chitosan and MAA-HEMA-MMA copolymer at 25℃ under aseptic condition.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Microcapsule permeability was expressed with the diffusion degree of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran in the empty microcapsule. The homeostasis of microencapsulated hepatocytes was measured by mechanical shearing-crush tests. The albumin-synthesizing capability of microencapsulated hepatocytes was determined by enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Urea-synthesizing capability was tested using kits (Sigma Diagnostics, USA) at the wavelength of 540 nm by colorimetric assay. Cytochrome P450 activity was determined using confocal laser microscopes and quantitated by the fluorescence intensity of products of 0-dealkylated 7-ethoxy resorufin, a substrate of cytochrome P450IA1. The plate-cultured hepatocytes were taken as controls.RESULTS: With increasing mass concentration of 50% N-acetylated chitosan, the diffusion degree of Mr 20000 and Mr 40000 FITC-dextran presented with a decreasing tendency, while the diffusion degree of Mr 70000 FITC-dextran was low and did not alter markedly. When the microencapsulated hepatocyte density was 2×109 L-1, the broken rate of microcapsule was only about 6% after 24 hours of shaking. Under the same condition of shaking, empty microcapsules were all broken after 4 hours of shaking. After 1 day of culture, approximately 30μmol/d urea could be synthesized among 1×106 bepatocytes that was markedly higher than the plate culture experimental result, 15μmol/d. After 7 days of culture, urea-synthesizing capability was close between in the microencapsulated hepatocytes and in the plate cultured hepatocytes. In the first 3 days of culture, 10μg/d albumin was acquired from 1×106 hepatocytes, and after 7 days of culture, only about 5μg/d albumin was obtained. The albumin level in the whole culture process was higher than plate culture results. After 1 day of culture, cytochrome P450 activity in the microencapsulated hepatocytes was higher approximately 8 times compared to plate culture results. After 1 week of culture, cytochrome P450 activity still retained at 50% of 1-day culture level.CONCLUSION: Microcapsule prepared by 50% N-acetylated chitosan under the physiological condition has good permeability and structural stability during the process of culture. Compared with in vivo surface culture test, degenerated chitosan microcapsule is better favorable to in vitro function of hepatocytes.

BACKGROUND: 3-nitropropionic acid(3-NP) can inhibit the process of oxidative phosphorylation and injure the energy metabolism of the cell and thereby induce cell injury. However, small dose of 3-NP can excite intrinsic cellular protective factor to protect neurons and increase the tolerance of neurons to ischemic hypoxia through mild inhibiting the process of oxidative phosphorylation. It is unclear whether it also has the similar effect on dopaminergic neurons.OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether 3-NP preconditioning could enhance the tolerance of dopaminergic neurons to MPP+(1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine)toxicity.DESIGN: A randomized controlled exploring research based on neuroblastoma SH-SYSY cell that could secrete dopamine.SETTING: Department of neurology of a university hospital.MATERIALS: The study was conducted in the Laboratory of Pathophysiology of Tongji Medical College between March 2003 and November 2003. SH-SYSY cell was obtained from the Cell Center of Peking Union Medical University.INTERVENTIONS: Cells were randomly divided into 6 groups. MPP+ was added into the cultured dopaminergic neuron SH-SY5Y cells for the establishment of the cell model for Parkinson disease. Before the admission of MPP+ (0.25 mmol/L), 3-NP(0. 2 mmol/L) was added once or repetitive times to form preconditioning. Microculture tetrozolium(MTT) was used to detect cell survival rate, and[3H] DA uptake rate was used to test the anterior synaptic function of dopaminergic neurons.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Major consequence: Cell survival rate;Minor consequence: [3H] DA uptake rate.RESULTS: Cell survival rate of MPP+ group was 54.3%, which was significantly lower than that of blank control group( P ＜ 0.01) . After 3-NP preconditioning, cell survival rate significantly elevated, which was 71.8%(single) or 85.2% (repetitive) . There was significant difference between single preconditioning and repetitive preconditioning( P ＜ 0.05 ). The results of[3H] DA uptake rate were similar to that of cell survival rate. [3H] DA uptake rate was 65.8% (single) or 80. 3% (repetitive), which was significantly higher than 50. 1% of MPP+ group. And moreover, repetitive preconditioning had more favorable effect than single preconditioning. Simple admission of 3-NP had no impact on cells.CONCLUSION: 3-NP preconditioning can significantly enhance the tolerance of dopaminergic neuron to MPP+ toxicity, which has significant protective effects on dopaminergic neuron. Repetitive preconditioning have more significant protective effects.