BACKGROUND:To measure the occlusal force index of patients with missing teeth before and after restoration is an effective way to evaluate the restoration effect and oral function recovery after dental restoration.OBJECTIVE:To observe the changes of occlusal force and periodontal tissue in patients undergoing CO-Cr alloy-based porcelain-fused-to-metal crown and bridge restoration.METHODS:100 male patients were randomly divided into five groups (n=20 per group), and respectively received CO-Cr alloy porcelain crown restoration of the anterior teeth (group A), CO-Cr aloy porcelain crown repair of the premolar (group B), CO-Cr aloy porcelain crown restoration of the molar (group C), CO-Cr alloy porcelain bridge restoration of the anterior teeth (group D), or CO-Cr alloy porcelain bridge restoration of the posterior teeth (group E). Changes of occlusal force and periodontal related indexes were detected before, immediately and 6 months after dental restoration.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1) Occlusal force: The occlusal force in all the five groups was increased immediately and 6 months after restoration (P < 0.05). Before, immediately and 6 months after dental restoration, the occlusal force was higher in the groups C and E than the groups A, B, D (P < 0.05), as well as higher in the group B than the groups A and D (P < 0.05). (2) Periodontal detection: there were no significant differences among the five groups in the periodontal probing depth, plaque control index, clinical attachment level, and volume of gingival crevicular fluid (P > 0.05) before and after restoration. To conclude, the CO-Cr alloy-based porcelain-fused-to-metal crown and bridge restoration can significantly enhance the patient's occlusal force of the abutment teeth, exert little effect on the periodontal tissue and have good biocompatibility.

Objective To analyze CT characteristics of spherical pneumonia in order to differentiate it from other lesions especially lung cancer. Methods The CT and X-ray film of 25 cases diagnosed clinically as spherical pneumonia were analysed retrospectively.Results CT features of 25 patients were summarized as follow : ⑴Lesions were usually located in the posterior lung fields.(2)The central part of the lesions showed high density, while periphery part of lesion were low in density and blurred. (3)The bilateral margin of lesions were straight, and the lesions appeared square or triangular in shape. ⑷Margins of the lesions may be irregular and blurred. ⑸There were marked pleural reaction around the lesions and some times pleura diffusely thickening occurred. ⑹Vascular marking around the lesions were exaggerated increase and thickened, nevertheless they were not stiff. Conclusion CT is valuable in diagnosing and differential diagnosing spherical pneumonia.

This article was aimed to study the effect of Baohe granules for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome and the effect of gastrointestinal hormone secretion. Patients with CHF were used as the object of study. A total of 80 selected patients were divided into 2 groups. The control group was treated with western medicine anti-heart failure therapy. The treatment group was treated with the combination of Baohe granules. All patients were compared in aspects of TCM efficacy, symptom score and serum gastrin, motilin secretion after two-week medication. The results showed that both treatments can significantly improve the TCM syn-drome and symptom total score of CHF patients. And the effect of the treatment group with Baohe granules was bet-ter. The TCM single symptom integral was also obviously improved in the treatment group combined with Baohe granules, which included heart palpitations, shortness of breath, abdominal distension, and loss of appetite. The GAS and MTL levels of CHF patients were significantly increased in the treatment group. It was concluded that the treat-ment combined with Baohe granules can improve CHF patients with TCM syndromes, symptoms and gastrointestinal hormone secretion. Thus, it contributed to the stability of the disease condition. It can slow the disease progression and improve prognosis. So it is worth using widely in the clinical practice.

We designed a locator for puncture under CT examination.Thirty-three patients of both sexesaged 16-76 yr weighing 46-80 kg undergoing bilateral thoracic or lumber sympathetic nerve block under CT examination were enrolled in this study.One side was punctured under the guidance of the locator,while the other side was punctured by conventional technique.The time consumed during puncture,CT scan adjusting time,the deviation of the needle from the targets and the incidence of puncture complications were recorded.The results showed that compared with the conventional technique,with the locator the time consumed during puncture was significantly shorter,the number of attempts and the deviation of the needle from the target were significantly reduced.The procedure was successfully performed on both side in all patients without serious complications such as hemothorax and pneumothorax.

BACKGROUNDCommunity acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most common infectious disease in emergency department. In 2005 the concept of healthcare associated pneumonia (HCAP) was proposed by the ATS/IDSA guidelines. The clinical features and microbiology of HCAP are different from CAP, however, the initial antimicrobial treatment is still controversial. We aimed to compare the clinical efficacy between HCAP patients treated initially with HCAP guideline-concordant antimicrobial agents and those with CAP guideline-concordant antimicrobial agents.

METHODSWe conducted a retrospective observational study on HCAP patients who were admitted to emergency department between December 2011 and December 2012. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to their different initial antimicrobial treatment. We compared clinical features, distribution of pathogen, severity, days and spending on intravenous antimicrobial, length and charge of hospitalization and clinical outcomes, and meanwhile analyzed the clinical efficacy as well.

RESULTSOf the 125 HCAP patients, 55 patients received CAP guideline-concordant antimicrobial agents and 70 received HCAP agents. The major pathogens were Klebsiella pneumoniae, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. The 2 groups were similar at baseline, including old age, comorbidities, Pneumonia Severity Index scores, APACHE scores, and length of intravenous antimicrobial use and hospitalization duration, and in-hospital mortality. Overall efficacy rate occurred in 70.0% of HCAP agent patients and 50.9% of CAP agent patients (P = 0.029). Antimicrobial charge and total hospital charge for HCAP agent patients were significantly higher than that for CAP agent patients.

CONCLUSIONSInitial treatment of HCAP patients in emergency department with HCAP guideline-concordant antimicrobial could increase clinical efficacy rate, as well as antimicrobial charge and total hospital charge, but was not associated with shortening the length of stay, or lowering in-hospital mortality.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Escherichia coli ; pathogenicity ; Female ; Humans ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; pathogenicity ; Male ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; pathogenicity ; Pneumonia ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; drug effects ; Retrospective Studies

Adult ; Aneurysm ; complications ; Bronchial Arteries ; pathology ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; methods ; Female ; Hemoptysis ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans

Zinc levels are high in pancreatic β-cells, and zinc is involved in the synthesis, processing and secretion of insulin in these cells. However, precisely how cellular zinc homeostasis is regulated in pancreatic β-cells is poorly understood. By screening the expression of 14 Slc39a metal importer family member genes, we found that the zinc transporter Slc39a5 is significantly down-regulated in pancreatic β-cells in diabetic db/db mice, obese ob/ob mice and high-fat diet-fed mice. Moreover, β-cell-specific Slc39a5 knockout mice have impaired insulin secretion. In addition, Slc39a5-deficient pancreatic islets have reduced glucose tolerance accompanied by reduced expression of Pgc-1α and its downstream target gene Glut2. The down-regulation of Glut2 in Slc39a5-deficient islets was rescued using agonists of Sirt1, Pgc-1α and Ppar-γ. At the mechanistic level, we found that Slc39a5-mediated zinc influx induces Glut2 expression via Sirt1-mediated Pgc-1α activation. These findings suggest that Slc39a5 may serve as a possible therapeutic target for diabetes-related conditions.