Humans ; Occupational Diseases ; diagnosis

Female ; Humans ; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated ; poisoning ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases

Objective To study the expression of Rho kinase and its functional activation in lung tissue from hypoxic pulmonary hypertension(HPH) rat model,and the effects of fasudil on HPH.Methods Seventy-two male Spraque-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the control group,hypoxic model group,and fasudil-intervention group[group with hypoxia and fasudil for 15 mg/(kg?d)],respectively.Mean pulmonary arterial pressure(mPAP) and right ventricle hypertrophy index(RVHI) were measured.Expression of Rho kinase mRNA and protein were examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Western blot,respectively.The phosphorylation of binding subunit of myosin phosphatase(MBS)-a substrate of Rho kinase was detected by Western blot and defined,as the mark of functional activation of the kinase.Results The expression of Rho kinase mRNA in hypoxic model group was markedly upregulated even before the onset of the third day after the experiment(HPH),and it was much lower in rats of fasudil group than that of hypoxic model group.The phosphorylation of MBS was significantly higher in hypoxic model group than that in control group,and it was positively correlated with the mPAP and RVHI(all P

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical outcome of accessory navicular fusion for treatment of the painful accessory navicular bone of type II in adults.

METHODSFrom June 2006 to June 2012, a total of 38 feet (in 35 adult patients) with painful accessory navicular with type I underwent an fusion operation of the primary and accessory navicular bones,including 26 males and 9 females with a mean age of (32.4±7.3) years old ranging from 18 to 44 years old. The course of disease ranged from 3 to 10 months. The perioperative complications and radiological outcomes were observed and recorded. The foot function before and after operation were assessed by the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) midfoot score, and the easement of the pain was evaluated by visual analog score (VAS).

RESULTSTwo patients had transient superficial inflammation of the incision, no obvious perioperative complications occurred. All patients were follow-up for (53.5±14.7) months (12 to 84 months). Bone union was confirmed on plain radiography in 32 cases (35 feet). The mean time from the operation to union was (13.7±2.3) weeks (9 to 18 weeks). Postoperative pain VAS score was improved obviosly than preoperative (V=12.14,P< 0.01). The talar-to-first metatarsal angle [(9.4±3.5)° vs (8.3±2.7)°, t=0.736, P>0.05)], calcaneal tilt angle [(17.7±2.2)° vs (18.9±3.4)°, t=0.794, P>0.05],talonavicular uncoverage angle [(14.3±3.4)° vs(12.5?4.6)°,t=0.947, P>0.05) ],and height of the first tarsometatarsal joint [(14.8±3.1) mm vs (15.9±2.8) mm,t=0.814,P>0.05)] before and after operations had no statistic difference. The AOFAS midfoot score was improced from preoperative 45.6±5.3 to postoperative 82.5±7.4 (t=3.214,P< 0.01).

CONCLUSIONFor the painful accessory navicular bone of type II in adults, if the patient has a large navicular bone and not complicated with rigid flatfoot, once the conservative treatment fails, fusion of the primary and accessory naviculars may be a successful intervention. Overall, the procedure provides reliable pain relief, definite foot function improvement, and good patient satisfaction.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foot Diseases ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Tarsal Bones ; abnormalities ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

In gene manipulation, different selectable markers with various linkers are necessary. In order to get selectable markers directly, we constructed from pBlueScript SK(-) a series of particular plasmids, pSKsymKm, pSKsymBle, pSKsymEry, pSKsymHyg and pSKsymGm, each contains Kanamycin, Bleomycin, Erythromycin, Hygromycin or Gentamycin resistance cassette. By restriction enzyme digestion and gel extraction, any of five antibiotic resistance genes with specific ends can be conveniently obtained.

A collection of neurons in the upper lumbar spinal cord (lumbar segments 3 and 4) of male rats project to the lower lumbar spinal cord (lumbar segments 5 and 6) and release a gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) to the somatic and autonomic regions, which are known to regulate male sexual reflexes. The GRP plays some special functions when bound to the specific GRP receptor (GRPR). The spinal GRP system is regulated by androgens. Accumulating evidence shows that GRP plays an important role in rat penile erection and ejaculation, and pharmacological stimulation of GRPRs with a specific agonist can restore penile reflexes and ejaculation in castrated male rats. Therefore, the GRP system appears to be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of erectile dysfunction or ejaculatory dysfunction. The present paper briefly reviews the recent studies on the role of the spinal GRP system in regulating the sexual function of males.
Androgens ; metabolism ; Animals ; Ejaculation ; physiology ; Gastrin-Releasing Peptide ; metabolism ; physiology ; Male ; Penile Erection ; physiology ; Rats ; Spinal Cord ; metabolism

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are important signaling transduction components well conserved in eukaryotes and play essential roles in various physiological, developmental and hormonal responses in plant. In the present study, a MAPK gene, designated as DoMPK4 (GenBank accession No. JX297597), is identified from a rare endangered medicinal orchid species D. officinale using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) methods. The full length cDNA of DoMPK4 is 1 518 bp in length and encoded a 369 aa protein with a molecular weight of 42.42 kD and an isoelectric point of 5.55. DoMPK4 protein contained a serine/threonine protein kinase active site (158-170), a MAP kinase site (71-174), and eight conserved motifs. DoMPK4 had a transmembrane (214-232) but no signal peptide. Multiple sequence alignment showed that DoMPK4 shared high identities (74.9%-80.6%) with MAPK proteins from various plants. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that DoMPK4 belonged to group A of the MAPK evolutionary tree, and is closely related to monocots. Real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis revealed that DoMPK4 is differentially expressed among the five organs including leaf, stem, root, seed, and protocorm-like body (PLB). The transcription level of DoMPK4 is the highest in the PLBs with 17.65 fold, followed by seeds, roots, and stems with 5.84, 2.28, and 1.64 fold, respectively. The progressive enhancement of DoMPK4 transcripts in the developing PLBs compared to that in the germinating seeds, suggests a role of DoMPK4 during the development of embryogenic PLBs formation in D. officinale.
Amino Acid Sequence ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; DNA, Plant ; genetics ; Dendrobium ; enzymology ; genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Phylogeny ; Plant Leaves ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plant Roots ; metabolism ; Plant Stems ; metabolism ; Seeds ; metabolism ; Sequence Alignment

Objective To discuss the impact of repeated contrast media exposure on renal function in patients who received coronary angiography ( CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention ( PCI) within 1 week after CTA of coronary ateries. Methods A total of 258 patients who received CAG or PCI after coronary CTA were divided into the study group ( n=132, patients had CAG/PCI within 1 week after CTA) and the control group ( n=126, patients had CAG/PCI 1-2 weeks after CTA). Serum creatinine, cystatin C and estimated GFR were tested before and on day 1, 2 and 3 after procedures. The occurance of contrast-induced nephropathy ( CIN ) was recorded. Resu1ts The baseline clinical characteristics of the patients between the two groups had no significant difference. Preoperative and postoperative serum creatinine, cystatin C and eGFR values on day 1, 2 and 3 had no significant difference between the two groups (all P﹥0. 05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of CIN between two groups (5. 3% in the study group vs. 4. 8% in the control group, P﹥0. 05 ) . Conc1usions It is safe and feasible for patients with eGFR≥60 ml/( min?1. 73 m2 ) to undergo CAG or PCI within 1 week after coronary CTA.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the displacement and stress distribution of upper incisors in three-dimensional (3D) space controlled by step-shaped vertical closing loop.

METHODSThe maxillary teeth and alveolar bone of a volunteer with normal occlusion were scanned with 3D spiral CT. Modeling and calculation were only carried out on right upper central incisor, lateral incisor and their alveolar bone in order to simplify the procedures. A 3D finite element model of archwire-brackets-upper incisors and periodontal tissues was developed using Ansys finite element package. Finally, a 3D finite element model of archwire-brackets-upper incisors and periodontal tissues was established based on mirror symmetry principle. The displacement of maxillary incisors and stress distribution in periodontal tissues were analyzed.

RESULTSWhen step-shaped vertical closing loop was simply drew back 1 mm, the maximum displacement of upper central incisor in labial and lingual direction were 5.29 × 10(-2) and 0.71 × 10(-2) mm; 10.47 × 10(-3) and 10.20 × 10(-3) mm in gingival and occlusal direction, 10.26 × 10(-3) and 1.63 × 10(-3) mm in medial and distal direction; the maximum displacement of upper lateral incisor in labial and lingual direction were 3.31 × 10(-2) and 0.41 × 10(-2) mm, 10.52 × 10(-3) and 5.10 × 10(-3) mm in gingival and occlusal direction, 6.29 × 10(-3) and 4.64 × 10(-3) mm in medial and distal direction, the displacement trend of them were moving lingually and gingivally similar to bodily movement. The stress peach of upper central incisor, periodontal ligament and alveolar bone were 31.35, 2.52 and 4.64 MPa, the stress peach of upper lateral incisor, periodontal ligament and alveolar bone were 19.59, 1.28 and 4.12 Mpa, the stress distribution of them were similar and the periodontal ligament buffered the stress imposed on the tooth.

Alveolar Process ; physiology ; Dental Stress Analysis ; Finite Element Analysis ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Incisor ; physiology ; Maxilla ; physiology ; Models, Biological ; Periodontium ; physiology ; Stress, Mechanical ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; Tooth Crown ; physiology ; Tooth Migration ; Tooth Movement Techniques ; instrumentation ; methods

BACKGROUND: A study combined medical CT technology and digital three-dimensional (3D) interactive control system Mimics software and computer simulation software tools for 3D reconstruction and simulation reconstruction of the femur. Customized individualized femoral prosthesis has high matching degree with human body structure, and has high application value in clinical research. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the application value of 3D simulation of femoral prosthesis in artificial femoral prosthesis replacement. METHODS: Totally 82 cases, who received femoral prosthesis replacement from July 2014 to June 2016 in Taihe Hospital of Shiyan, were enrolled and randomly assigned to three groups: personalized group (n=28), cementless group (n=27) and cemented group (n=27). Different types of femoral prosthesis were designed in each group. 3D model reconstruction in femur was designed using medical CT technology combined with computer. Prosthesis implantation was simulated in computer, and the relevant information was recorded. Simulated operation was conducted on the mechanical experiment of femoral prosthesis in the biped and single foot loads so as to provide the most suitable operation plan. The possible risk was forecasted and assessed for preoperative preparation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) In the simulation of mechanical experiment, under double foot and single foot loads, after prosthetic replacement, stress in the femur was significantly better in the personalized group than in the cementless group and cemented group (P <0.05). (2) After replacement, normal stress and shear stress were significantly better in the personalized group than in the cementless group and cemented group (P < 0.05). (3) The initial, horizontal and vertical micromovement was significantly better in the personalized group than in the cementless group and cemented group (P < 0.05). (4) In summary, the use of computer technology and 3D CT software can make individualized femoral prosthesis for patients. Compared with the cementless and cemented prostheses, personalized prosthesis has obvious advantages in stress distribution, interface stress and initial micromovement.