Dust ; analysis ; Environmental Monitoring ; methods ; Silicon Dioxide ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo construct and identify a adenovirus vector of the expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and to explore the role of CTGF in the metabolism of glucose and lipid.

METHODSThe over-expressed plasmid of CTGF was cloned, and then the CTGF sequences were cloned into pAdTrack-CMW vector. The reformed E. coli BJ5183-sensitive bacteria that contain pAdEasy-1 were transformed with lined vector cut by Pme I enzyme. The recombinant adenovirus vector was cut with Pac I enzyme and obtained, then transfected 293A cells to produce virus. Through three times of amplification, the adenovirus infected the primary hepatocytes to determine the infection efficiency and CTGF expression. The mice were starved for several time periods, and then the liver RNA was extracted for real-time PCR to detect the expressions of CTGF under different nutritional conditions.

RESULTSThe adenovirus of CTGF was successfully produced with an infection efficiency of 90%. The expressions of the CTGF were different under different nutritional conditions and showed a coincidence with the expression of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha. After the mice were starved for 24h, the expression of CTGF increased by (2.38 +/- 0.51) folds; after the mice were starved for 48 h, the expression of CTGF increased by (2.95 +/- 0.57) folds (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCTGF is speculated to be involved in the metabolism of glucose and lipids.

Adenoviridae ; genetics ; Animals ; Cell Line ; Connective Tissue Growth Factor ; genetics ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; Genetic Vectors ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Plasmids ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of changes of processing time on the surface properties of titanium coating formed by micro-arc oxidation (MAO).

METHODSForty-four disc-shaped pure titanium specimens with 10 mm diameter and 1 mm thickness were equally divided into 4 groups and processed by MAO technique in electrolytes containing 0.2 mol/L calcium acetate (CA) and 0.02 mol/L β-glycerol phosphate disodium salt pentahydrate (β-GP). The processing time were set at 1 min, 5 min, 10 min and 15 min respectively. The topograph of the MAO film surface and the film-substrate interface was observed by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the composition was analyzed by an energy dispersive spectroscope (EDS) incorporated in the SEM. The phase and the microstructure of the film were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The roughness of the film was measured using a roughness tester. The surface static contact angle was detected by a contact angle measurement instrument and the surface energy was calculated accordingly.

RESULTSWith the increase of processing time from 1 min to 15 min, the pore size increased from (1.30 ± 0.07) µm to (1.55 ± 0.09) µm, and film thickness increased from (10.2 ± 1.1) µm to (20.9 ± 2.9) µm. The content of the Ca in the film increased accordingly, and Ca/P increased from 1.99 to 2.45, and the surface energy increased from 24.62 mJ/m(2) to 39.49 mJ/m(2). Meanwhile, the XRD pattern indicated that rutile increased but anatase and titanium decreased gradually. At the time of 15 min, part of the MAO film peeled off.

CONCLUSIONSProcessing time has impact on the thickness, surface topography, crystal component and surface energy of titanium MAO coating. MAO film treated for 5 - 10 min demonstrated favorable surface properties.

Dental Implants ; Dental Materials ; chemistry ; Materials Testing ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Surface Properties ; Titanium ; chemistry

The aims, indexes, methods, results, data sources, advantages and disadvantages of 12 domestic and foreign hospital assessment systems were analyzed and the problems in current hospital assessment were described in order to provide reference and lessons for perfecting the domestic hospital assessment systems.

BACKGROUND:Knee osteoarthritis is a joint and articular cartilage degenerative disease,and its biological changes mainly include proliferation and apoptosis of chondrocytes.Articular cartilage holds poor regeneration ability,and tissue-engineered cartilage is of great significance for the articular cartilage repair,while cytokines is a major concem for this repair process.OBJECTIVE:To overview the main regulatory factors involved in the articular cartilage repair and chondrocyte apoptosis.METHODS:PubMed and WanFang databases were retrieved for the literature addressing articular cartilage repair and main regulatory factors involved in articular cartilage repair and chondrocyte apoptosis published from 1999 to 2016.Finally 44 eligible articles were included for analysis.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Various cytokines in different human tissues are closely related to articular cartilage repair,chondrocyte apoptosis and pathological changes of osteoarthritis,which are involved in chondrocyte damage,degradation of cartilage matrix,synovial degeneration and periostosis.There is an increase in the levels of interleukin 1 β and 6,and tumor necrosis factor α following articular cartilage injury.Thereafter,blocking the expression of these cytokines can protect the articular cartilage from damage.Insulin-like growth factor and transforming growth factor play an important regulatory effect on the chondrocyte proliferation and matrix synthesis.Furthermore,various cytokines regulate the articular cartilage repair and reconstruction via complicated pathways.

Objective To explore the effects of radiofrequency catheter ablation(RFCA)on the blood coaguable states and the clinical value of perioperative plasma D-dimer.Methods The plasma level of D-dimer was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)in blood samples of 30 children who were undertaken RFCA.Blood samples were consecutively obtained before cannulating,after electrophysiologic(EP)study,immediately after RFCA,the second day and the seventh day after RFCA.The centrifuged spead was 3 000 r/min,keep it for 10 minutes to obtain the upper plasma,and the crvopreserve.Results The plasma levels of D-dimer was highest at the time point when RFCA was successfully accomplished and restored to preoperative level in the seventh day after RFCA.There were statistically significant difference in the paried values at different time points(Pa

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical efficacy of low molecular weight heparin (Fraxiparine) in rescuing venous crisis of island skin flap.

METHODSOf the 73 patients with venous crisis of island skin flap, 47 received subcutaneous injection of low-molecular-weight heparin (group I) and 26 were treated with phlebotomy, local compression and topical application of unfractionated heparin solution gauze (group II).

RESULTSThe flap survival ratio was (88.46∓8.64)% in group I and (38.37∓6.53)% in group II (P<0.001). At 0, 2, and 4 h after injection of low-molecular-weight heparin, the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) was obviously delayed (24.28∓6.71, 41.35∓7.64 and 32.34∓6.35, respectively, P<0.01), FXa:C level was significantly decreased (152.4∓30.7, 65.8∓24.4 and 83.4∓18.4, respectively, P<0.01), while FIIa:C level underwent no obvious alterations (155.70∓31.61, 143.20∓24.75, and 143.4∓23.35, respectively, P=NS).

CONCLUSIONFraxiparine has good antithrombotic efficacy in rescuing venous crisis of island skin flap without adverse effect on systemic coagulation.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nadroparin ; therapeutic use ; Surgical Flaps ; adverse effects ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVESTo understand the epidemiological characteristics of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreaks in some areas of Guangdong province and to provide scientific basis for prevention and control measures against it.

METHODSStandardized questionnaire was used on individual cases. Data on the epidemiological characteristics as time, place, persons and aggregation status of SARS cases, development of the epidemics, were analyzed with software EPI 6.0.

RESULTSThe incidence of SARS in Guangdong province was 1.72/100,000 with case fatality rate as 3.64%. Most cases of SARS occurred between the last ten days of January and the first ten days of February with the peak (61.88% of the patients) occurred in the first ten days of February. As to the distribution of place, Pearl river delta region-economically developed with great number of mobile population-was heavily affected areas (account for 96.66% of the total patients). The majority of patients were young adults and medical staff seemed to be the most affected subgroup (account for 24.9% of the patients in total). Family and hospital aggregation of patients comprised the another two important characteristics of SARS (account for 37.1% of the total patients).

CONCLUSIONCurrent knowledge on SARS suggested that it was an air-borne infectious disease with human beings served as the source of infection. The incubation period of the disease was from 1 to 12 days with a median of 4 days. Respiratory secretions and close contact contributed to person-to-person transmission. Most cases were distributed in Pearl river delta region, an area famous for its economic development and heavy flow of mobile population.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; epidemiology ; Contact Tracing ; Disease Outbreaks ; Family Health ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; epidemiology ; mortality ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the reliability and application of GeneSearch(TM) breast lymph node assay (Genesearch), a real-time fluorescence quatitative PCR method, in intraoperative assay of metastasis in sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) from breast cancer patients.

METHODSTotally 140 SLNs from 80 patients with breast carcinoma were prospectively studied from May 2010 to August 2010. The 80 patients included 78 women and 2 men who ranged in age from 29 to 85 years, and the median age is 49 years. The expression of CK19 and mammaglobulin in all 140 SLNs were detected by Genesearch, and the results were compared with that of histological evaluation of both frozen and paraffin-embedded sections.

RESULTSAmong SLNs, by histological analyses, there were 121 without metastasis, 17 with macrometastasis, 2 with micrometastasis, and none of isolated tumor cell. By Genesearch, there were 119 without metastasis and 21 with metastasis. Genesearch showed sensitivity of 89.4%, positive predictive value of 81.0%, negative predictive value of 98.3% and specificity of 96.7% by comparing to histological analyses. The concordance between Genesearch and histological analysis was 95.7%. The sensitivity of Genesearch was 15/17 for macrometastasis and 2/2 for micrometastasis.

CONCLUSIONSGenesearch detection presents high sensitivity and specificity in evaluating metastasis of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer, but strict performance technically is necessary to avoid false positive and false negative results. Inability of further subtyping for the positive cases might be the key limitations for wide application of this method.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Breast Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Breast Neoplasms, Male ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Intraoperative Period ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Micrometastasis ; diagnosis ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy

BACKGROUNDExtensive atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation is associated with an increased success rate of catheter ablation in chronic AF patients and an increased rate of atrial tachycardia (AT) during the procedure. The mechanism of these ATs varies in previous studies. Our study aimed to report the mechanism of organized AT occurring during the stepwise ablation procedure of chronic AF.

METHODSA prospective cohort of 86 consecutive patients who underwent an ablation procedure for chronic atrial fibrillation (CAF) was investigated. The stepwise procedure was performed in the following order: circumferential pulmonary vein ablation, complex fractionated atrial electrograms ablation, mapping and ablation of AT. The endpoint was noninducibility of AF/AT after sinus rhythm (SR) was restored or the procedure time was beyond 6 hours.

RESULTSSixty-nine (80%) of patients converted to SR via AT. A total of 179 sustained ATs were observed in 69 patients during the procedure. There were 81% (n = 145) macroreentrant ATs which included 65 perimitral circuits, 48 peritricuspid tachycardia and 32 roof dependent circuits, 12% (n = 21) localized reentrant and 7% (n = 13) focal ATs. Thirty (15%) patients experienced significant left atrium (LA) and LA appendage (LAA) conduction delay or dissociation in the procedure or during the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONSMost CAF patients converted to SR via ablation of organized AT occurring during the stepwise procedure. The mechanism of most of these ATs was macro-reentry.

Aged ; Atrial Fibrillation ; surgery ; Catheter Ablation ; methods ; Electrophysiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Tachycardia, Ectopic Atrial ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome