BACKGROUND:Artificial total disc replacement is one treatment of low back pain in recent years, but the report on the effect of disc replacement on lumbar sagittal plane is rare. OBJECTIVE:To analyze the effect of lumbar disc replacement on lumbar lordosis. METHODS:Retrospective analysis of radiographic data of 17 patients who underwent lumbar disc replacement for single segment degenerative disc disease was carried out. Data measurement included preoperative and postoperative lumbar lordosis, diseased segmental lordosis and lumbar intervertebral angle. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Al the 17 patients were fol owed-up for more than 12 months. Lumbar disc replacement was performed at L4-5 segment in three cases and L5-S1 segment in 14 cases. The average diseased segmental lordosis and lumbar lordosis were increased significantly after replacement when compared with those before replacement (P<0.05);the lumbar intervertebral angle was increased after replacement when compared with that before replacement, but the difference was not significant. The results indicate that lumbar disc replacement for the treatment of single segment degenerative disc disease can increase the lumbar lordosis and diseased segmental lordosis, which can help to improve the lumbar sagittal balance. The postoperative lumbar intervertebral angle has no correlation with the implant angle of the prosthesis on the replace segment.

BACKGROUND:Transforaminal endoscopic discectomy needs to dissociate the ligamentum flavum, and if
combined with the continuous dilator and working channel, it can keep the intact ligamentum flavum no matter how smal the incision may be (even 3-5 mm).
OBJECTIVE:To present the technique of interlaminar endoscopic lumbar discectomy with ligamentum flavum splitting.
METHODS:We performed operations on 16 male and 14 female patients by interlaminar endoscopic lumbar
discectomy with ligamentum flavum splitting. The average age of the patients in the study was (48±15) years. The chief complaint before surgery was radiculopathy confined to one leg. The anatomic operative level was L 3-4 in
one case, L 4-5 in 13 cases and L 5-S 1 in 16 cases. The ruptured disc migrated superiorly in four cases and
inferiorly in seven cases, and intraoperative electromyo-graphic monitoring was performed in al surgeries. The
ligamentum flavum was split, and after withdrawing the working channel, the ligamentum flavum could reset itself. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The total operation time was 20-40 minutes, and the fol ow-up period was
(149±108) days. There were no abnormal signals on the intraoperative electromyography in any cases, and the reported symptoms were immediately improved in al patients after the operation. Fol ow-up magneticresonance imaging showed a disappearance of the ruptured disc without defect in the ligamentum flavum. There were no operation-associated complications in al the patients. Interlaminar endoscopic lumbar discectomy with
ligamentum flavum splitting is a feasible approach.

OBJECTIVETo establish a simple and rapid method based on diffuse reflectance NIR spectra to in-line monitor the blending process of Zhongsheng pill powder.

METHODZhongsheng pill powder consisted of Zhongsheng spray powder, artificial cowbezoar powder and bile arisaema powder. By means of a revolutionary miniature near-infrared analyzer mounted onto the blender, the powder homogeneity was determined in real time with noninterference. The moving block standard deviation (MBSD) method was used to identify the end point of blending process, providing real-time data and instant feedback about the blending course. Evaluation of blend uniformity was carried out by stratified in-process sampling, and the content of baicalin in samples was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

RESULTThe results calculated through MBSD method were generally coincided with HPLC analysis. Blend homogeneity was assumed to be reached when the standard deviations between spectra approached 0.002, and RSD values of baicalin content in samples from six positions were lower than 5%. Moreover, stratified in-process sampling has significant influence on blending process when the powder loading volume was small.

CONCLUSIONBased on this study, NIR spectroscopy can be possibly extended to be applied in blending process of Zhongsheng pill powder, ensuring a remarkable saving of time and manpower employed and creating a reliable and efficient process measurement technology.

Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; standards ; Online Systems ; Powders ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared ; methods

Angiokinases, such as vascular endothelial-, fibroblast- and platelet-derived growth factor receptors (VEGFRs, FGFRs and PDGFRs) play crucial roles in tumor angiogenesis. Anti-angiogenesis therapy using multi-angiokinase inhibitor has achieved great success in recent years. In this study, we presented the design, synthesis, target identification, molecular mechanism, pharmacodynamics (PD) and pharmacokinetics (PK) research of a novel triple-angiokinase inhibitor WXFL-152. WXFL-152, identified from a series of 4-oxyquinoline derivatives based on a structure-activity relationship study, inhibited the proliferation of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and pericytes by blocking the angiokinase signals VEGF/VEGFR2, FGF/FGFRs and PDGF/PDGFR simultaneously . Significant anticancer effects of WXFL-152 were confirmed in multiple preclinical tumor xenograft models, including a patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) model. Pharmacokinetic studies of WXFL-152 demonstrated high favourable bioavailability with single-dose and continuous multi-dose by oral administration in rats and beagles. In conclusion, WXFL-152, which is currently in phase Ib clinical trials, is a novel and effective triple-angiokinase inhibitor with clear PD and PK in tumor therapy.