OBJECTIVETo analyze the data of angle variation on traction based on a finite element model of complete cervical spine with straight physiological curvature, and try to give experimental reference and suggestion in treating cervical spondylosis.

METHODSA 43-year-old female patient with straight cervical spine was chosen and the CT scan data were collected. By using specially designed modeling system, a high quality finite element model of complete cervical spine with straight physiological curvature is generated,which included ligament and muscle according to anatomy. After the model was confirmed, traction was loaded with angle 0 degree, anterior 5 degrees, 10 degrees, 15 degrees, 20 degrees, 25 degrees, to observe the data of distance change on between adjacent intervertebral foramen, processus articularis, uncovertedral joint, intervertebral discs, and stress of anulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus.

RESULTSWhen the angle was 0 degrees-15 degrees, the distance between intervertebral foramen, Luschka joint and processus articularis posterioris was enlarged, the tensile stress was adequate and compressive stress was small. It met the clinical requests.

CONCLUSION0 degree-15 degrees anterior position is suggested for the treatment of cervical spondylosis.

Adult ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Cervical Vertebrae ; anatomy & histology ; surgery ; Female ; Finite Element Analysis ; Humans ; Spondylosis ; surgery ; Traction ; methods

OBJECTIVETo explore the pathomorphological change of the atlanto-occipital segment of vertebral artery (V3 part) related with cervical vertigo.

METHODSFrom June 1999 to November 2011, the pathomorphological change of the atlanto-occipital segment of vertebral artery were observed in 1680 patients with cervical vertigo using 3D-CTA technology. The clinical data of these patients were analyzed. There were 783 males and 897 females, aged from 22 to 70 years old with an average of 52.8 years old. Doppler examination showed vertebral basilar artery flow velocity to speed up or slow down.

RESULTSThe blood vessel of 3360 branches were detected in 1680 patients and 2778 branches were detected out vascular anomaly. And 829 branches were in V1 segment, 421 were in V2, 328 were in V3, 1190 were in V4. The pathomorphological changes in the atlanto-occipital segment (V3) of vertebral artery included angiospasm, congenital absence, abnormal exit, localized stenosis.

CONCLUSIONThere are 4 kinds of pathomorphological changes in the atlanto-occipital segment of vertebral artery related with cervical vertigo. The 3D-CTA result can be used to judge prognosis and adopt reasonable treatment for the patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Atlanto-Occipital Joint ; Cervical Vertebrae ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Vertebral Artery ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Vertigo ; pathology

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Cervical Vertebrae ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Manipulation, Spinal ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Osteophytosis ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; Vertebral Artery ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy

Anti-cancer drug bleomycin (BLM) can cause acute lung injury (ALI) which often results in pulmonary fibrosis due to a failure of resolving acute inflammatory response. The aim of this study is to investigate whether toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 mediates BLM-induced ALI, inflammation and fibrosis. BLM-induced dendritic cells (DCs) maturation was analyzed by flow cytometry and cytokine secretion was detected by the ELISA method. The expression and activity of p38 and ERK MAPK were determined with Western blotting. The roles of TLR2 in ALI, inflammation and fibrosis were investigated in C57BL/6 mice administered intratracheally with BLM. The results demonstrated that BLM-administered mice had higher expression of TLR2 (P<0.001) and its signaling molecules. Blocking TLR2 significantly inhibited the maturation of DCs and reversed BLM-stimulated secretion of cytokines in DCs, such as IL-6 (P<0.001), IL-17 (P<0.05) and IL-23 (P<0.05). TLR2 inhibition attenuated BLM-induced increase of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and reversed the immunosuppressive microenvironment by enhancing TH1 response (P<0.05) and inhibiting TH2 (P<0.001), Treg (P<0.01) and TH17 (P<0.01) responses. Importantly, blocking TLR2 in vivo significantly protected BLM-administered mice from pulmonary injury, inflammation and fibrosis and subsequently increased BLM-induced animal survival (from 50% to 92%). Therefore, TLR2 is a novel potential target for ALI and pulmonary fibrosis.

Objective To study the possibility of medication treatment in Alport′s syndrome(AS).Methods Two boys with AS,received cyclosporin A(CyA) in combination with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor(ACEI) or only ACEI,which lasted 22 months and 20 months,respectively.Results After the treatments with the medication,there was obvious effectiveness in the 2 patients with relieved symptom and almost normal serum standard,especially the permanent and obvious recession of proteinuria.There was no side effects of medication during the treatment.Conclusion Patients with AS can be treated with CyA and ACEI,with symptomatic recession,as well as suspend the progression of pathology of kidney.

Objective To study the clinical values of positron emission tomography(PET)in pre-term and term newborn infants through observing neonatal brain by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose(18F-FDG)PET.Methods The brain by 18F-FDG PET in 11 term and 7 pre-term newborn infants after administration of 0.1 mCi /kg 18F-FDG were observed.There were 11 males and 7 females,who were normal by brain computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.Results The brain 18F-FDG PET image in pre-term and term newborn infants was relatively high in thalamus,and relatively low in cerebral cortex,whereas the total brain was different with adults.Especially in the area of cerebral cortex,the uptake of glucose was relatively higher,and the structure of brain 18F-FDG image was more clear in term infants than that in pre-term infants.Conclusion Neonatal brain picture by 18F-FDG PET is a new tool for predicting the brain function,and its clinical values need further investigating.

Objective To explore the changes of positron emission tomography(PET)in newborn infants with HIE through 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose(18F-FDG)and it's significance.Methods Eleven healthy newborn infants and 8 newborn infants with HIE were selected.Among the healthy newborns,7 cases were male and 4 cases were female,and the mean birth-weight was(3 350?620)g,the gestational age was(37.9?1.3)weeks.Among the HIE neonates,5 cases were male and 3 cases were female,and the mean birth weight was(3 180?390)g,the gestational age was(37.1?2.4)weeks.There were no significant differences of sex and gestational age between the 2 groups.The examination time was form 3 to 21 d,and the mean age was(8.7?3.9)d.PET of the children in 2 groups were observed after 0.1 mCi/kg 18F-FDG injected 30 min.Results The brain 18F-FDG PET image in newborn infants was relatively high in thalamus,and relatively low in cerebral cortex,whereas the total brain was different with that of the adults,and that was not as clear as that of adults.Especially in the area of cerebral cortex,the uptake of glucose was relatively higher.The structure of brain 18F-FDG image was significantly changed in newborn infants with HIE,especially increased in the areas of peripheral ventricle and hypophloeodal cerebral white matter,and there was a remarkably bilateral asymmetry.Conclusions Neonatal brain picture by 18F-FDG PET is a new tool for predicting the brain function,and its clinical values need further investigating.

Objective To evaluate the effect of three diamension-digital subtraction angiography (3D-DSA) or computed tomography angiography (CTA) on the patients with ruptured multiple intmcranial aneurysm (MIA). Methods A retrospective study on 21 patients with MIA was performed.After scanning with 3D-DSA or 3D-CTA, three-dimensional reconstruction of MIA was carried out by 3D workstation,then the diagnosis was decided and the treatment plan (endovascular treatment or microsurgery) was selected according to stereoscopic image of MIA. Results (1) 3D-DSA or CTA was performed in 21 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH),it was revealed these patients carried with 48 aneurysms,including 35 small aneurysms (25 mm).Not only miero-aneurysms and small aneurysms could be precisely showed,also the size of aneurysmal neck,the relationship of the aneurysm and the parent vessel and contiguous branches by stereoscopic image.(2) According to the standard of classification,9 patients with MIA for gradeⅠ(42.9%),10 for gradeⅡ(47.6%),2 for gradeⅢ(9.5%),0 for gradeⅣ.Endovascular treatment was selected prior to microsargery for those high grade patients.In this group,17 patients with 40 aneurysms underwent endovascular embolotherapy with GDC coils.Twenty four anemysms were completely occlusioned,12 beyond 90%,4 were left without treatment because of their small size.In microsurgery group,3 aneurysrus were totally clipped,1 could not be found during operation.No any treatment was accepted in 2 patients with 4 aneurysms. Conclusions 3D-DSA or CTA,which is very useful for the diagnosis and treatment of MIA,could improve the accuracy of diagnosis of MIA and clearly show the stereoscopic image of MIA,also the relation of sac and parent artery.For those patients with high grade MIA,endovascular treatment was selected prior to microsurgery,pro re nata,used to combine with mierosurgery.

The nuclear transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) plays a crucial role in maintaining cellular redox homeostasis. The aberrant NRF2 signaling confers enhanced antioxidant capacity, which is linked to tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. The current study investigates the biological effects and molecular mechanism of tribbles homolog 3 (TRIB3), a stress-induced protein, in regulating cell survival and apoptosis in lung cancer. This study first performed the RNA sequencing data analysis with 576 lung adenocarcinoma patients from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) database. The NRF2- antioxidant response element (ARE) signature was enriched in patients with high TRIB3 expression. Dual-luciferase reporter assay and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to confirm the effect of TRIB3 on the kelch-like ECH-associated protein-1 (KEAP1)-NRF2 pathway. Abrogation of TRIB3 impaired NRF2 transcriptional activity and reduced the expression of its target genes. Moreover, TRIB3 enhanced NRF2 stability via blocking KEAP1-NRF2 interaction. TRIB3-depletion promoted reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, restrained cell proliferation, and enhanced carboplatin-induced apoptosis. In addition, NRF2 overexpression recovered the tumor inhibition effect of TRIB3-depletion. Consistently, TRIB3 failed to modulate apoptosis in NRF2 depletion cells. In summary, this study shows that TRIB3 inhibits the KEAP1-NRF2 interaction and upregulates the transcriptional activity of NRF2, thereby promoting lung cancer cell proliferation and reducing the sensitivity to chemotherapy. Targeting the TRIB3-NRF2 signal axis may become a new strategy for ROS homeostasis and lung cancer treatment.

OBJECTIVETo explore relationship between HBV DNA level and peripheral blood follicular helper T lymphocyte (Tfh) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and its significance.

METHODSHBV DNA levels of 179 cases of CHB patients with positive HBV DNA, positive HBeAg and positive human leukocyte antigen(HLA)-A2 were tested with real time fluorescent quantitative PCR. Tfh and HBV specific CTL were tested with flow cytometry. IL-21 was also tested. 179 cases of CHB patients were divided into group A and group B based on HBV DNA levels, 86 cases in group A, HBV DNA levels were 10(4)-10(5) copies/ml, 93 cases in group B, HBV DNA levels were 10(6)-10(7) copies/ml. Above testing indexes of the two groups were compared.

RESULTSHBV DNA levels of group A were (4.85 +/- 0.37) log10 copies/ml, HBV DNA levels of group B were (6.83 +/- 0.31 ) log10 copies/ml, t = 27.31, P < 0. 001; Tfh of group A was (5.96 +/- 1.59)%, higher than that of group B (3.71 +/- 2.15)%, t = 4.92, P < 0.01; IL-21 of group A was (42.61 +/- 15.11)ng/L, higher than that of group B (14.91 +/- 3.15) ng/L, t = 8.62, P < 0.01; HBV specific CTL of group A was (0.36 +/- 0.08)%, higher than that of group B (0.18 +/- 0.06)%, t = 19.99, P < 0.001.

CONCLUSIONSerum HBV DNA level of CHB patients is related to the level of peripheral blood Tfh level: patients with low HBV DNA level have high Tfh level, high IL-21 level and high HBV specific CTL level. Patients with high HBV DNA level have low Tfh level, low IL-21 level and low HBV specific CTL level. The mechanism of baseline HBV DNA level affecting anti-viral therapy may be related to Tfh level.

Adult ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; genetics ; Female ; HLA-A2 Antigen ; immunology ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; immunology ; virology ; Humans ; Interleukins ; immunology ; Male ; T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer ; cytology