BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that the finite element method could preferably simulate the biomechanical analysis for the object with complicated structures and irregular shapes. The similarities for the finite element model have great influences on the results of the analysis. However, to construct an ideal model is the most time-consuming and complicated portion for the finite element analysis. OBJECTIVE:To construct a finite element model for the maxilary first molar and the periodontal tissue, and to provide a basis of biomechanical researches of the maxilary first molar. METHODS: A volunteer with complete mandibular dentition and healthy periodontal tissue was selected in this study. Cone-beam CT was scanned. The images were saved as DICOM format. These images were imported to the medical modeling software Mimics. The surface model for the maxilary first molar and the alveolar bone was constructed. The model was then imported to GiD for pre-processing. Thus, the complete three-dimensional finite element model for the maxilary first molar and the periodontal tissue was constructed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:A finite element model for bilateral maxilary first molar, periodontal ligament and maxilary alveolar bone was constructed, including 896 035 nodes and 4 881 067 elements. This model has restored the geometric shape and the structure of the research object. This study successfuly constructed finite element models of maxilary first molar and the periodontal tissue, which can be a basis of biomechanical researches for the maxilary first molar and the periodontal tissue under the effect of different clinical orthodontic forces.

Objective To determine the urinary iodine level of people in Yunyang and Bishan County of Chongqing and explore into its influencing factors. Methods Using multistage cluster stratified simple random sample method, Yunyang and Bishan County were chosen as research spots, then thirty children aged 8-10 in each 3 primary school of the 2 counties were selected using stratified randomization sampling method to inspected their urine and household salt for iodine and the iodine content in drinking water. Results Five hundred and seventy-one urine samples were inspected and the urinary iodine median was 261.47 μg/L. 5.78% (33/571) and 37.48%(214/571) of samples had an urinary iodine median less than 100 μg/L and more than 300 μg/L. The urinary iodine median of Yunyang County was higher than that of Bishan (H = 7.42, P < 0.01). The iodine salt coverage rate, the qualified rate and edible qualified iodine salt rate respectively were 99.64%(554/556), 94.22% (522/554) and 93.88% (522/556) in 556 samples of family table salt. Eighty-seven samples of drinking water were inspected, resulting an averaged iodine content of 8.81 and 2.97 μg/L, respectively in the 2 counties. Conclusions The 2 counties are all the area of iodine deficiency. The urinary iodine level, although meeting the demand of eliminating iodine deficiency diseases, is a little bit higher given that iodized salt of present doage has been taken for a long time. The content of iodized salt should be adjusted accordingly.

BALB/c mice were immunized with purified White spot syndrome virus (WSSV).Six monoclonal antibody cell lines were selected by ELISA with VP28 protein expressed in E.coll in vitro neutralization experiments showed that 4 of them could inhibit the virus infection in crayfish.Westernblot suggested that all these monoclonal antibodies were against the conformational structure of VP28.The monoclonal antibody 7B4 was labeled with colloidal gold particles and used to locate the VP28 on virus envelope by immunogold labeling.These monoclonal antibodies could be used to develop immunological diagnosis methods for WSSV infection.

Abdomen ; Hernia ; Humans ; Prostheses and Implants ; Prosthesis Implantation ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the chemopreventive effects of boswellic acid and curcumin on 7,12-dimethyl benzanthracene(DMBA)-induced oral carcinogenesis in the hamster cheek pouch model.

METHODSMale Syrian golden hamsters (6 - 8 weeks old, 80 - 130 g in weight) were randomly divided into seven groups, with group A serving as the untreated negative control. The left cheek pouch of the remaining hamsters was topically treated with 0.5% DMBA in mineral oil three times a week for 6 weeks. They were then randomized to six groups with group B serving as a positive control and receiving no further treatment. Groups C-G were treated topically with 5, 10 mg/L boswellic acid, 5, 10 µmol/L curcumin, or the combination of 5 mg/L boswellic acid and 5 µmol/L curcumin three times per week for 18 weeks. The animals were injected with bromodeoxyuridine intraperitoneally at 50 mg/kg 2 h prior to killing. At the 25 th week all the hamsters were sacrificed and cheek pouch tissue was harvested. One half of the tissue was snap frozen in liquid nitrogen for analysis of arachidonic acid metabolites, and the other half was fixed in 10% phosphate-buffered saline(PBS)-buffered formalin for histopathological examination.

RESULTSSix-weeks of DMBA followed by 18-weeks of topical application of boswellic acid and curcumin, both boswellic acid (5, 10 mg/L) and curcumin (5, 10 µmol/L) significantly inhibited the incidence from 93.8% to 73.9% (P > 0.05), numbers from 2.19 ± 0.98 to 1.13 ± 0.81 (P < 0.01) and size of visible tumors. Microscopically the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma and BrdU index were also significantly suppressed by boswellic acid and curcumin.

CONCLUSIONSBoth boswellic acid and curcumin were effective in preventing oral carcinogenesis in DMBA-induced hamster cheek pouch model.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene ; Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Bromodeoxyuridine ; Carcinogenesis ; drug effects ; Carcinogens ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; chemically induced ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Cheek ; pathology ; Cricetinae ; Curcumin ; therapeutic use ; Hyperplasia ; Leukotriene B4 ; metabolism ; Male ; Mesocricetus ; Mouth Neoplasms ; chemically induced ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Precancerous Conditions ; chemically induced ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Random Allocation ; Triterpenes ; therapeutic use

Amino Acids ; blood ; Blood Proteins ; analysis ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Intestinal Obstruction ; surgery ; Intestinal Perforation ; surgery ; Male ; Parenteral Nutrition ; Postoperative Care

AIMTo explore the influence of acute hypoxia and intermittent hypoxic acclimatization on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) gene expression in HepG2 cells underlying their possible biological significance.

METHODSHepG2 was cultured in 1% O2 for 24 hours, then in 21% O2 for another 24 hours, which composed a hypoxic exposure cycle. After 6 cycles, HepG2 cells reached the status of hypoxic acclimatization. Gene transcription and translation of VEGF and HIF-1alpha were detected with Northern blot and Western blot methods.

RESULTSAcute hypoxia could induce gene transcription and translation of VEGF and HIF-1alpha. After intermittent hypoxia acclimatization, the contents of VEGF and HIF-1alpha mRNA were 108.6% +/- 17.7% and 116.7% +/- 19.8% of those in normoxic control cells, while the protein contents were significantly increased to 1.4 and 2.7 times of those in control cells, respectively (P < 0.05). The protein expression levels of VEGF and HIF-1alpha were decreased in cells subjected to hypoxia acclimatization compared to cells treated with acute hypoxia.

CONCLUSIONWhen HepG2 cells reached the status of hypoxic acclimatization, the acute hypoxia-induced increment of VEGF gene transcription and translation in cells were inhibited, in which HIF-1alpha might play an important role.

Acclimatization ; genetics ; Cell Hypoxia ; genetics ; Gene Expression ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; genetics ; metabolism ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; Oxygen ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective:To evaluate the value and identify the prognosic factors of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in completely resected stage Ⅲ(pN 2) lung adenocarcinoma patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) wild-type who received adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods:Clinical data of 172 patients with stage Ⅲ(pN 2) EGFR wild-type lung adenocarcinoma who underwent radical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy from 2009 to 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy combining two drugs for>4 cycles, and divided into the PORT group and the non-PORT group. The survival rate was calculated by Kaplan- Meier method and log-rank test, and multivariate prognostic analysis was performed by Cox’s regression model. Results:Among 172 patients, the median overall survival (OS), 3-year and 5-year OS rates were 40 months, 55.9% and 28.3%, respectively. The median disease-free survival (DFS), 3-year and 5-year DFS rates were 17 months, 24.5% and 13.0%, respectively. DFS was significantly improved in the PORT group (29 months vs. 13 months, P=0.001), whereas OS did not significantly differ between two groups (51 months vs. 38 months, P=0.151). In subgroup analysis, DFS of patients with multistation N 2 or the number of N 2 metastases of&ge;3 or skip N 2 in the PORT group was significantly longer ( P<0.05), whereas PORT exerted no significant effect on OS ( P>0.05). Conclusions:For patients with completely resected stage Ⅲ(N 2) EGFR wild-type lung adenocarcinoma receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, PORT might increase DFS and have a trend toward longer OS. However, these findings remain to be validated by large sample size investigations.

PURPOSE: We have found that expression of γδT cells is increased in pathological mucosa of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) compared with normal nasal mucosa. This increase is correlated with the infiltration of eosinophils in CRSwNP. Here, we investigated the expression of γδT cells, inflammation and tissue remodeling factors as well as their probable relationships in different types of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in China. METHODS: A total of 76 surgical tissue samples that included 43 CRSwNP samples (15 eosinophilic and 28 non-eosinophilic), 17 CRS samples without nasal polyps (CRSsNP), and 16 controls were obtained. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to measure the mRNA expression levels of Vγ1⁺γδT cells, Vγ4⁺γδT cells, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), interleukin (IL)-8, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β2, metalloproteinase (MMP)-7, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-4 and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the protein level of ECP and MMP-7 in CRSwNP. The eosinophils were counted and the level of edema was analyzed with HE staining. RESULTS: The mRNA expression levels of the Vγ1 subset, ECP and MMP-7 were significantly increased in CRSwNP with histological characteristics of eosinophilic infiltration and edema. The expression of the Vγ1 gene in CRSwNP correlated positively with the expression of both ECP and MMP-7. No significant decreases in the mRNA expression levels of TGF-β2, TIMP-4 or HIF-1α were observed in the CRSwNP samples. The expression levels of Vγ1 gene, ECP and MMP-7 were significantly increased in eosinophilic CRSwNP compared to non-eosinophilic CRSwNP. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest the associations between Vγ1⁺γδT cells, ECP and MMP-7 in CRSwNP, indicating that Vγ1⁺γδT cells can induce the eosinophilic inflammation, which has a further effect on the formation of edema.
China ; Edema* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Eosinophil Cationic Protein* ; Eosinophils* ; Inflammation ; Interleukins ; Mucous Membrane ; Nasal Mucosa ; Nasal Polyps* ; RNA, Messenger ; Transforming Growth Factors

OBJECTIVETo observe the changes of sex hormones and sexual function in male patients with Graves' disease (GD) after Radioiodine-131 (I-131) therapy.

METHODSThirty-four male GD patients, aged 21 -40 (32.3 +/- 6.7) years, were treated with I-131 at the dose of 111 - 407 (237.8 +/- 51.8) MBq. The levels of serum sex hormones were measured, and the patients'scores on erectile function (IIEF-5) were obtained before and 3 and 6 months after the treatment. Another 20 healthy men aged 25 - 37 (31 +/- 3.1) years were enlisted as controls.

RESULTSThe baseline levels of estrogen (E2), testosterone (T) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were (132.5 +/- 40.4) pmol/L, (21.6 +/- 4.6) nmol/L and (10.1 +/- 4.4) IU/L in the GD patients, significantly higher than (80.4 +/- 31.2) pmol/L, (14.5 +/- 4.2) nmol/L and (6.2 +/- 1.9) IU/L in the healthy controls (P < 0.05). The E2, T and LH levels showed a significant decrease in the GD patients after 3 months of treatment ([110.2 +/- 20.6] pmol/L, [17.7 +/- 5.5] nmol/L and (9.4 +/- 3.9) IU/L, P < 0.05), but exhibited no statistically significant differences from the healthy controls at 6 months ([82.6 +/- 30.1] pmol/L, [13.8 +/- 3.4 ] nmol/L and [6.6 +/- 1.5] IU/L, P > 0.05). The IIEF-5 score of the GD patients was 5 - 25 (15.5 +/- 3.5) before I-131 treatment, significantly lower than that of the controls (19 - 25, 24 +/- 0.5) (P < 0.05), and it was 8 - 25 (19.5 +/- 1.0) at 3 months and 10 - 25 (23.5 +/- 1.5) at 6 months, significantly higher in the latter than in the former (P < 0.05), and with no significant difference between the 6-month treated patients and the healthy controls (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe E2, T and LH levels are increased while the IIEF-5 score decreased markedly in male GD patients. Six-month treatment with I-131 can not only restore the E2, T and LH levels to normal but also significantly improve the patient's sexual function.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Estrogens ; blood ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Graves Disease ; blood ; therapy ; Humans ; Iodine Radioisotopes ; therapeutic use ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Testosterone ; blood ; Young Adult