BACKGROUND:Vertebroplasty with bone cement injection in treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures has a positive clinical outcome, but there is a big controversy on the optimal timing of surgery. OBJECTIVE:To analyze the effect of fracture time on bone cement dispersion within pathologic vertebrae in vertebroplasty treatment. METHODS: Totaly 160 elderly patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture were included, and al were treated with vertebroplasty with high viscosity bone cement injection. According to the duration from fracture to surgery, patients were divided into three groups: fresh fracture group (< 3 weeks), subacute group (3-6 weeks) and old group (> 6 weeks). The bone cement distribution features, diffusion and leakage within the pathologic vertebrae were analyzed by three-dimensional CT image and X-rays. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The bone cement dispersion volume was ranked as fresh group > subacute group > old group, and there was significant difference between groups (P < 0.05). Bone cement dispersion characteristics of each group were uniform distribution with cement-based lumpy shape. The vast majority of bone cement al can disperse to exceed vertebral midline, reaching the upper and lower lamina to a greater degree. Bone cement dispersion coefficient within the pathologic vertebrae of patients in each group was 

Objective To evaluate the morphological changes of sural nerve in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus by hyperfrequency ultrasound.Methods Fifty-six sural nerves of symptomatic group,64 sural nerves of asymptomatic group,and 60 sural nerves of control group were identified by 22 MHz Ultrasound.The thickness/width (T/W) ratio,cross-sectional areas (CSA) and the maximum thickness of neuronal fascicles (MT) of the sural nerve were calculated in transverse sonograms.Results ①Ultrasound can clearly show these structures of sural nerve such as epineurium,perineurium and nerve bundles and so on.②In symptomatic group,asymptomatic group and control group,T/W ratio and MT were gradually increased,and the differences among the three groups were statistically significant (P＜0.05).Whereas,there were no statistically significant differences in CSA among the three groups (P=0.257).Conclusions22 MHz ultrasound may be a valuable tool in evaluating the diabetic cutaneous nerve neuropathy

Objective To investigate the effects of microRNA-155 (miR-155) inhibitor on JAK/STAT1 (Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator transcription 1) signaling pathways in the injured lung tissue induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).Methods One hundred and twenty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into control group (n =40),LPS group (n =40),and inhibitor + LPS group (n =40).LPS group and inhibitor + LPS group were made by injection of LPS 20 mg/kg intra-peritonealy,whereas equivalent volume of normal saline was given instead in the control group.The 80 mg/kg of miR-155 inhibitor was injected into caudal vein 24 h before LPS injection in inhibitor + LPS group.Mice were sacrificed at 6 h,12 h,24 h,and 48h separately after LPS injection,and lung tissue were collected.The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) of lung tissue were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Using histopathological examination,the injury of lung tissue was evaluated.The expressions of miR-155,STAT1 mRNA,SOCS1 mRNA in lung tissue were assayed by fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).Results The miR-155 expression induced by LPS increased at 6 h,12 h,24 h and decreased at 48 h.The miR-155 expressions in LPS group were (8.52 ± 1.12) at 6 h,(11.04 ±0.99) at 12 h,(15.84 ±0.80) at 24 h and (4.03 ± 2.55) at 48 h.In the inhibitor + LPS group,the expressions of miR-155 were lower compared with LPS group,showing significant differences at 12 h (t =6.08,P ＜ 0.01),and at 24 h (t =23.64,P ＜ 0.01).STAT1 mRNA and SOCS1 mRNA both reached peak levels at 6 h after LPS injection.The levels of STAT1 mRNA in LPS group were higher than those in inhibitor + LPS group,showing significant differencesat6h (t=4.41,P＜0.01),12h(t=2.69,P＜0.05),and24h (t=3.62,P＜0.01).The levels of SOCS1 mRNA in inhibitor + LPS group were higher than those in LPS group,showing significant differences at 6 h (t =4.55,P ＜0.01),12 h (t =4.12,P ＜0.01),24 h (t =2.38,P ＜ 0.05).TNF-α reached its peak value at 6 hours and IL-10 reached its peak value at 48 hours.Both TNF-α and IL-10 were higher in LPS group than those in inhibitor + LPS group showing significant differences at 6 h,12 h,24 h (P ＜0.01).The pathologic examination indicated the lung injury in inhibitor + LPS group was milder than that in LPS group.Conclusion The miR-155 increased in lung tissue of endotoxemic mice.miR-155 inhibitor may suppress JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway and protect the lung tissue.

Objective : o evaluate the association between Crohn's disease (CD) and frailty using a Mendelian randomization (MR) approach, so as to provide the evidence for prevention and control strategies. Methods: Genetic association data for CD were collected through the International Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium, with 20 883 samples and 12 276 506 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and genetic association data for frailty were collected through a meta-analysis including 175 226 samples and 7 589 717 SNPs. A forward MR analysis was performed using the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method with 37 CD-associated SNPs as instrumental variables, and frailty as the study outcome, and a reverse MR analysis was performed with 13 frailty-associated SNPs as instrumental variables and CD as the study outcome. The heterogeneity was assessed using the Cochran's Q test, and the horizontal pleiotropy was assessed using the MR-PRESSO global test and MR-Egger regression. In addition, the robustness of the results was verified with the leave-one-out. Results: Forward MR analysis results showed that patients with genetically predicted CD had an increased risk of frailty index relative to those without CD (β=0.018, 95%CI: 0.011-0.026, P<0.05). Cochran's Q test detected no heterogeneity (P>0.05), and neither the MR-PRESSO test nor the MR-Egger regression revealed horizontal pleiotropy of instrumental variables (both P>0.05). Leave-one-out analysis showed robustness of the MR analysis results. Reverse MR analysis showed no association between frailty index and the risk of CD (OR=0.740, 95%CI: 0.206-2.661, P>0.05). Conclusions Genetically predicted CD is associated with an increased risk of frailty. It is suggested that screening and prevention of frailty should be reinforced among CD patients.

Objective To construct an animal model with a high consistency of trigeminal neuralgia,this paper systematically reviewed and summarized the existing animal models based on the etiology and pathogenesis analysis of Chinese and western medicine,clinical diagnostic criteria and evaluation indexes of animal models.Methods Literatures on animal models of trigeminal neuralgia were consulted through CNKI and PubMed databases,the etiology and pathogenesis of Chinese and western medicine in the treatment of TN,diagnostic criteria of Chinese and western medicine,model replication objects in common animal models of trigeminal neuralgia,model replication methods and consistency of clinical manifestations of Chinese and western medicine were summarized and analyzed.Results At present,the most widely used model is the"infraorbital nerve injury"surgical model,which has high similarity in pathological manifestations with the clinical features of trigeminal neuralgia.Secondly,the chemical induction model of"penicillin injection"showed significant effect of inducing acute pain-like reactions.The photochemical induction model can effectively avoid the influence of factors such as tightness during surgical modeling process on the experimental results.Conclusion The current modeling method of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine is still in the stage of exploration and has not formed a mature theoretical system.Therefore,we should actively invest more resources to develop animal models more closely related to traditiona Chinese medicine(TCM)syndromes in future research.The purpose is to provide strong theoretical basis and experimental support for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia with integrated Chinese and western medicine.

Objective To investigate the establishment,operation and performance of external quality assessment(EQA) system for microbial morphology and detection of special drug-resistance in clinical laboratory,and explore the value of the developed system in clinical application.Methods The pictures of known bacteria and fungi colony,gram staining and acid-fast staining from clinical microbiology were distributed to the participating laboratories in Gansu province twice a year at regular intervals.The pictures of standard knowledge points from CLSI,such as special drug resistance were distributed simultaneously.All the participating laboratories were required to complete the interpretation for the pictures and report their resuhs in a scheduled time.Then the resuhs were summarized and analyzed as 3 modes:complete consistency,general consistency and non-consistency.Results During the 2 years when the EQA system for microbial morphology and detection of special drug-resistance were performed for 24 times,the rate of annual complete consistency increased year by year and reached to 91.3％ in 2015.Conclusion The EQA system based on the examinations of microbial morphology and CLSI standard knowledge points for clinical laboratory may supervise the staff of clinical microbiology laboratories in the hospitals at second grade or above to master the skills of morphological identification and learn CLSI knowledge points,so their professional skills of clinical microbiology could be comprehensively improved.

A case of cicatricial female pattern hair loss was reported. A 36-year-old female patient presented with gradually aggravated hair loss for more than 10 years. Skin examination showed diffuse hair thinning on the scalp, thin and soft hairs, and some pencil eraser-sized areas of focal atrichia. TrichoScan examination revealed markedly decreased hair density on the forehead, variability in hair diameter greater than 20%, and increased proportions of vellus hairs. Dermoscopic examination showed increased numbers of vellus hairs, plenty of focal atrichia areas measuring 3 - 5 mm in diameter, loss of some follicular ostia, and confluent white dots. Histopathological examination of vertical and transverse scalp sections showed predominantly distributed miniaturized hair follicles with lichenoid folliculitis around the infundibulum and isthmus, concentrically layered perifollicular fibrosis, a marked decrease in the number of hair follicles compared with healthy people of the same age, increased proportions of vellus hairs, a large number of miniaturized hair follicles and follicular streamers, and formation of follicular micro-scars. The patient was diagnosed with cicatricial female pattern hair loss. She received topical treatment with 5% minoxidil liniment once a day, and alternate treatment with topical tacrolimus ointment and clobetasol propionate ointment, as well as oral spironolactone at a dose of 20 mg twice a day and compound glycyrrhizin capsules at a dose of 50 mg thrice a day. After half a year of treatment, there was no marked aggravation of hair loss, and the follow-up continued.

Frontal fibrosing alopecia is a primary lymphocytic cicatricial alopecia, and is generally considered to be a subtype of lichen planopilaris due to similar histopathological changes. Its etiology is still unclear. With the deepening of research on this disease, more and more cases of frontal fibrosing alopecia have been reported in China and other countries. This review summarizes research progress in pathogenesis, clinical and pathological characteristics, and treatment of frontal fibrosing alopecia.

The case-based teaching was inserted in the lecture-based teaching in clinical microbiol-ogy. The teachers conducted the case-based teaching through proper selection of cases, leading students to discuss and analyze cases. The students explored and reported from the cases independently. Finally, the teachers summarized and evaluated from the case-based teaching. The combination of case-based teaching and lecture-based study stimulated the students' interest in learning and motivation, consolidated their theoretical knowledge, cultivated their abilities of self-learning and clinical idea, and made the correlation between the theory and the clinical practice closely. These methods improved the teaching quality of clinical microbiology.

Objective:To observe the effects of Huatan Quyu Decoction on the protein expressions of β-catenin and GSK-3 β and the expression of anticardiolipin antibody and β-amyloid protein related to cognitive function in rats with vascular dementia based on Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway.Methods:A total of 96 male SD rats were divided into blank group, model group, Donepezil hydrochloride group and Huatan Quyu Decoction low-, midium-, high-dosage group according to random number table method, with 16 rats in each group. Except for the blank group, the rat model of vascular dementia was prepared by modified 2-VO method. Huatan Quyu Decoction low-, medium- and high-dosage groups were administrated with Huatan Quyu Decoction 6.1, 12.1 and 24.2 g/kg, respectively; the Western medicine group was administrated with Donepezil hydrochloride 0.5 mg/kg; the blank group and the model group were administrated with the same amount of normal saline for 28 consecutive days. On the 1st, 7th, 14th and 28th day after administration, the learning and memory ability of rats was evaluated by Morris water maze test, the levels of ACA and Aβ in serum were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the expressions of β-catenin and GSK-3β proteins related to Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway in hippocampus were measured by Western blot.Results:Compared with model group, the escape latency was shortened in the Huatan Quyu Decoction high-dosage group and Donepezil group on 7 and 14 days of administration ( P<0.05), and the times of crossing the platform increased in Huatan Quyu Decoction high-dosage group on 1 and 28 days of administration ( P<0.05). Compared with model group, the serum ACA level in Donepezil group, Huatan Quyu Decoction medium- and high-dosage groups decreased at day 1, 7, 14 and 28 after administration ( P<0.05). The serum Aβ level in Donepezil group, Huatan Quyu Decoction medium- and high-dosage groups decreased at 7, 14 and 28 days after administration ( P<0.05); On the 14th and 28th days after administration, the levels of ACA and Aβ in TCM low-dosage group decreased ( P<0.05). Compared with model group, the expression of β-catenin protein in hippocampus of Donepezil group and Huatan Quyu Decoction medium- and high-dosage groups increased ( P<0.05), while the expression of GSK-3β in hippocampus of Donepezil group and Huatan Quyu Decoction low-, medium- and high-dosage groups decreased ( P<0.01). Conclusion:Huatan Quyu Decoction can activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, up-regulate the expression of β-catenin protein in hippocampal tissue of rats, inhibit the expression of GSK-3β, reduce the levels of ACA and Aβ in serum of rats, and improve the cognitive function of rats with vascular dementia.