A retrospective analysis was performed among 8 patients with unilateral intraarticular calcaneal fracture, who were selected from the Department of Orthopaedics in Yangpu District Central Hospital of Shanghai. They were treated with the injectable bone graft MIIG[R] X3 combined with percutaneous reduction by leverage and axial fixation from June 2005 to November 2006. After treatment, the function of affected feet was evaluated according to the ankle-hindfoot score of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (totally 100 points). All the patients were rechecked with X-ray films periodically to observe the reaction between the materials and the host, the healing of fracture, the pain of limbs and joint motion. Eight patients were all followed up, the complication rate reached 12.5% (1/8), the improvement of Bohler angle excelled 18° to 25°, and that of Gissane angle exceeded 30° to 35°. Among the included patients, 6 cases achieved excellent effect and 2 cases good. All developed the bone union. None of all had complications, such as necrosis of skin, hematoma and deep infection.

BACKGROUND: In post-menopausal women, the reduction of estrogen level is followed by gradual increase of bone absorption, accompanied by increased cytokine synthesis and bone metabolism disorder. Observation of serum interleukin-6(IL-6), osteocalcin(OC), estradiol(E2)and urinary pyridinoline (PYD) in women with osteoporosis may help understand role of these factors in the onset and development of osteoporosis.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of serum IL-6, OC, E2, and urinary PYD levels with bone metabolism in women with osteoporosis, so as to identify the factors responsible for the occurrence and development of osteoporosis.DESIGN: A case-controlled clinical observation.SETTING: Central Laboratory of Orthopedics, Nanshan People's Hospital of Shenzhen City.PARTICIPANTS: Between January 1999 and December 2001, 25 post-menopausal women with osteoporosis aged 42 -69 years were selected from the Department of Orthopedics, Nanshan People' s Hospital of Shenzhen to constitute the experimental group, with 10 healthy women from the same hospital serving as control group.METHODS: Two milliliters of fasting venous blood and 2 mL urine samples were collected from women in both groups in the morning to determine the contents of IL-6, OC, PYD and E2, respectively.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum IL-6, OC, E2 and urinary PYD levels in the subjects.RESULTS: In the experimental group, the IL-6 level was(201.0±79. 9) ng/L, OC(25.5 ± 16.2) μg/L, and PYD(41.3 ±9.7) nmol/mmol (creatinine), all significantly higher than those in control group( t = 2. 159 -2. 953, P < 0.05-0.01) . Serum E2 level in the experimental group (79. 8 ± 73.2) ng/L, however, was significantly lower than that in control group ( t = 2.071, P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: IL-6, OC, PYD and E2 may play important roles in the occurrence and development of osteoporosis, and adjustment of the levels of these factors can be necessary in the treatment of women with osteoporosis.

Objective To explore the change rules of peak area ratio of STR loci to Amelogenin (AMEL) locus (STR/A M EL ), a sex-determ ining gene in DNA degradation, and to evaluate the application of STR/A MEL value in the estim ation of DNA degradation degree. Methods DNA w as extracted from iliopsoas, and the variations of STR/A MEL value (Penta E/AMEL, Penta D/AMEL, FGA/AMEL) w ere analyzed after the artificial degradation w as m ade by DNaseⅠ, and the changes of these three ratios of the iliopsoas naturally degraded in an outdoor environm ent w ere also analyzed. The regression curves w ere analyzed using the periods of DNA degradation and outside the body as the independent variable (x) and the STR/A MEL value as the dependent variable (y) and three curve equations under tw o conditions w ere established. Results B oth under the conditions of artificial and natural degradation, STR/A MEL value had a negative relationship w ith the degradation tim e. The relationship betw een STR/A MEL and degradation tim e can be w ell sim ulated by the cubic function. R2 w as over 0.99 under controlled degradation condition and over 0.86 under natural degradation condition. Conclusion The STR/A MEL value (Penta E/AMEL, Penta D/AMEL , FGA/AMEL ) is negatively related w ith the DNA degradation degree, w hich follow s m athem atical regression m odels strictly, and it m ight be applied to evaluate the DNA degradation degree.

With the development of economy,increase of cultural exchanges and changes of people's ideology in China,the number of female sex workers (FSWs) increased rapidly under the influence of various social factors.The diverse motivations for women engaging in commercial sex have been observed.Foreign researchers have conducted some surveys of factors associated with female commercial sex,while few such studies were conducted among FSWs in China.This paper summarizes the progress in the research of reasons for women engaging in commercial sex both at home and abroad to provide evidence for future study.

Colorectal cancer is the fourth most malignant tumors in China, among which the left hemicolon cancer accounts for about 5%?6%. Due to the complex anatomy around the left hemicolon, being adjacent to the pancreas, spleen, kidney, ureter and other important organs, its vascular and nerve distribution is variably distributed, leading difficulties in laparoscopic radical surgery for left hemicolon cancer. In surgical practice, the 4K laparoscopic system has shown its features of high-definition amplification, good color reproduction, and clear anatomy, etc. However, there is still no clear consensus on its application in the radical resection for the left hemicolon cancer. The authors summarize clinical practice, explore the technique key points of 4K laparoscopic D 3 resection with complete mesocolic excision for the left hemicolon cancer.

Objective:To explore the application value of neurovascular three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction with 3D-slicer software in the preoperative diagnosis of neurovascular relations and offending arteries in patients with vertebrobasilar dilatation (VBD) complicated with facial muscle spasm (HFS).Methods:The clinical data of 42 patients with VBD complicated with HFS accepted microvascular decompression (MVD) in our hospital from January 2016 to February 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The data of skull 3D-TOF MR angiography and 3D-FiESTA MR imaging were imported into 3D-slicer software to establish 3D models of the blood vessels, brain stem and facial auditory nerves of the patients before surgery. The neurovascular relations and offending arteries found during surgery were compared with those diagnosed by 3D-TOF MR angiography combined with 3D-FiESTA MR imaging and 3D models.Results:The consistencies of neurovascular relations and offending arteries found during surgery and those showed by 3D models were good ( Kappa=0.889, P=0.000; Kappa=0.869, P=0.000). The consistency of neurovascular relations showed by 3D models and those diagnosed by 3D-TOF MR angiography combined with 3D-FiESTA MR imaging was good( Kappa=0.809, P=0.000); there was no significant difference between the two methods in diagnosing neurovascular relations ( McNemar-Bowker=5.000, P=0.082). The consistency of offending arteries showed by 3D models and those diagnosed by 3D-TOF MR angiography combined with 3D-FiESTA MR imaging was poor ( Kappa=0.336, P=0.000); there was significant difference between the two methods in diagnosing offending arteries ( McNemar-Bowker=23.000, P=0.000). Conclusion:The 3D-slicer software is used to perform 3D simultaneous reconstruction of blood vessels, nerves and brain stem in the cerebellopontine angle, and the results are highly consistent with surgical findings; 3D-slicer software is more helpful than 3D-TOF MR angiography combined with 3D-FiESTA MR imaging in identification of offending arteries, surgical risk assessment and surgical strategy formulation in patients with VBD complicated with HFS.

Objective To understand the gender characteristics,HIV/AIDS related knowledge awareness and behaviors of transgender women.Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among the transgender women recruited through snowball sampling in Jinan in 2014,and descriptive epidemiologic analysis was conducted on the survey results.Results A total of 55 transgender women were surveyed,all of them were male physically and female psychologically.Serious gender conflict occurred in 27 subjects (49.1％),and very serious gender conflict occurred in 8 subjects (14.5％).Thirty subjects dressed up as a man in social life,accounting for 54.5％;25 subjects dressed up as a women in social life,accounting for 45.5％.The average awareness rate of HIV/AIDS related knowledge was 57.9％(22/38).The awareness of knowledge about AIDS associated behaviors,such as multi sex partner and anal sex,was poor.For the lovers or sexual partners,58.2％ of the subjects (32/55) would choose males and 50.9％ of the subjects (28/55) had chosen males,and for the sex partner at latest sex,63.6％(35/55) of the subjects had chosen males.Up to 56.3％ of the subjects had sex with casual sexual partners (net friends and partners of one-night stand) at latest sex behavior.Among the subjects surveyed,18(32.7％) never used condoms;29(52.7％) used condoms occasionally;4(7.3％) used condoms frequently and 4(7.3％) used condoms at each sex.Conclusions AIDS associated high risk behaviors were common among the transgender women,such as unprotected anal sex,multiple sexual partners,frequent sex and poor condom use.It is necessary to conduct the study of the HIV infection prevention in transgender women.

Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics and genetic etiology of infants with D-bifunctional protein deficiency (DBPD).Methods:This study involved two DBPD newborns who were hospitalized in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in August 2020 and November 2020. Clinical data including manifestations, radiographic findings and genetic testing results were retrospectively analyzed. Relevant articles up to November 2022 were retrieved from various databases including CNKI, Wanfang, CQVIP, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man and PubMed using the terms of "D-bifunctional protein deficiency" and " HSD17B4" in both Chinese and English. Clinical data of the cases diagnosed with DBPD by genetic testing within two years of age were collected. Clinical features and genetic etiology of the children with DBPD were summarized by descriptive statistical analysis. Results:Both neonates in this report presented with dyspnea, hypotonia, intractable epilepsy, poor response, absence of primitive reflexes, and craniofacial malformation. Whole-exome sequencing revealed that patient 1 carried heterozygous variations of c.972+1G>T and c.727T>A (p.W243R) in the HSD17B4 gene, which were inherited from his father and mother, respectively. A homozygous variation of c.1333+4A>G in the HSD17B4 gene was identified in patient 2. All these mutations were pathogenic. Thirteen papers (12 in English and one in Chinese) involving 19 patients from 16 pedigrees were retrieved. Altogether 21 patients (eight males and 13 females) were included, and among them, four from two pedigrees were born to consanguineous parents. There were 21 patients with hypotonia, 20 with epileptic seizures (17 presenting with epileptic seizures within 5 d after birth) and 12 with craniofacial deformities including high forehead, long philtrum and high palatine arches. Genetic tests showed that 13 patients carried compound heterozygous variations in the HSD17B4 gene and eight patients had homozygous variations. Twenty-six variations in the HSD17B4 gene were detected, including 16 missense mutations, seven splicing mutations, two nonsense mutations and one frameshift mutation. Conclusion:DBPD should be considered and genetic tests should be given when newborns have dystonia and intractable epilepsy complicated by appearance deformity.

BACKGROUNDErythropoietin (EPO) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) are both potential novel therapeutics for use after myocardial infarction (MI). However, their underlying mechanisms remain unclear and the efficacy of monotherapy with EPO or G-CSF is also controversial. Therefore, we investigated the effects of combined treatment with EPO and G-CSF on neovascularization and cardiac function in post-infarction rats and explored the potential mechanisms.

METHODSFour groups of rats were used: control (saline injection after MI, i.h.), EPO (a single dose of 5 000 IU/kg after MI, i.h.), G-CSF (a dose of 50 µg× kg(-1)× d(-1) for 5 days after MI, i.h.), and both EPO and G-CSF (EPO+G-CSF, using the same regiment as above). Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography before and 1 day, 7 days, 14 days and 21 days after MI. CD34(+)/Flk-1(+) cells in the peripheral blood were evaluated by flow cytometry before and 3 days, 5 days and 7 days after MI. The infarct area and angiogenesis in the peri-infarct area were analyzed. The mRNA and protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stromal-derived factor-1a (SDF-1α) in the peri-infarct area were detected by real-time quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting.

RESULTSCompared with the control and monotherapy groups, the EPO+G-CSF group had significantly increased CD34(+)/Flk-1(+) endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in the peripheral blood (P < 0.05), up-regulated VEGF and SDF-1α levels in the peri-infarct region (P < 0.05), enhanced capillary density (P < 0.05), reduced infarct size (P < 0.05) and improved cardiac structure and function (P < 0.05). G-CSF alone did not dramatically increase EPCs in the peripheral blood, enhance capillary density in the peri-infarct area or reduce infarct size compared with the control group.

CONCLUSIONSCombined treatment with EPO and G-CSF increased EPCs mobilization, up-regulated VEGF and SDF-1α levels in the post-infarction microenvironment, subsequently enhanced neovascularization in the peri-infarct region and reduced infarct size. All factors contributed to its beneficial effects on cardiac function in post-infarction rats.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Chemokine CXCL12 ; metabolism ; Echocardiography ; Erythropoietin ; therapeutic use ; Flow Cytometry ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Neovascularization, Physiologic ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Exosomes are cell-derived nanovesicles with diameters from 30 to 150 nm, released upon fusion of multivesicular bodies with the cell surface. They can transport nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids for intercellular communication and activate signaling pathways in target cells. In cancers, exosomes may participate in growth and metastasis of tumors by regulating the immune response, blocking the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and promoting angiogenesis. They are also involved in the development of resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. Exosomes in liquid biopsies can be used as non-invasive biomarkers for early detection and diagnosis of cancers. Because of their amphipathic structure, exosomes are natural drug delivery vehicles for cancer therapy.