Objective:To investigate a method to identify Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans serotypes by polymerase chain reaction. Methods:18 Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans strains representing serotypes a to f were used in the test. 6 pairs of specific oligonucleotide primers for gene clusters involved in the biosynthesis of serotype specific polysaccharide antigens were designed. The primers were developed and evaluated in a genetic method of identifying serotypes of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans strains by using a PCR assay. Results: Each pair of primers can specifically identify one serotype of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans strains. No cross reaction was observed in all 18 strains. The PCR product sizes were as follows: 428 bp (serotype a), 298 bp (serotype b), 559 bp (serotype c), 690 bp (serotype d), 211 bp (serotype e) and 232 bp (serotype f). Conclusion:PCR method may be useful to identify Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans serotypes rapidly and directly.

Objective: To compare the fixation strength of locking and non-locking anterior cervical plating initially and after fatigue.Methods:AO Cervical Spine Locking Plate(CSLP),Danek Orion plate and AcroMed Acroplate were fixed on lamb cervical spine.The fixation strength and pull-off strength of the screw-plate constructions was performed initially and after fatigue.Results:Locked CSLP and Orion constructions were more rigid than all unlocked unicortical systems initially and after cyclic loading.There was no significant difference in pull-off strength between the CSLP,the Orion,and the unicortical Acroplate.Conclusions:Locking mechanism significantly increased the strength of the tested screw-plate systems initially and after fatigue.

Objective: To compare the prompt fixation strength and antifatigue strength of the locking and non-locking anterior cervical plating systems. Methods:AO Cervical Spine Locking Plate (CSLP), Danek Orion plate and AcroMed Acroplate were used on the lamb cervical spines. The CSLP and Orion were tested with screws locked and unlocked, and the Acroplate with unicortical and bicortical purchase. The fixation strength and pull-off strength of the screw-plate constructs were performed initially and after fatigue. Results: Locked CSLP and Orion constructs were more rigid than all unlocked unicortical systems initially and after cyclic loading. After fatigue testing, the strength of all unlocked constructs decreased significantly. There was no significant difference in pull-off strength between the CSLP, the Orion and the unicortical Acroplate. Conclusion: The locking mechanism significantly increases the prompt fixation strength and antifatigue strength of the tested screw-plate systems.

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of hair needle therapy in treating dry eye syndrome (DES).Method Eighty patients diagnosed with DES were randomized into a treatment group and a control group, 40 cases in each group. The treatment group was intervened by 0.1% Sodium Hyaluronate eye drops plus Hair needle therapy; the control group was by 0.1%Sodium Hyaluronate eye drops alone. The subjects were re-examined after 1-month treatment. The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by observing the subjective symptoms, SchirmerⅠtest (SIT), tear break-up time (BUT), and fluorescein test (FL).Result The subjective symptoms, SIT, BUT, and FL scores were significantly improved after intervention in the treatment group (P<0.05);the control group only had the subjective symptoms improved after intervention (P<0.05), while other indexes didn’t show significant differences (P>0.05); after treatment, there were significant differences in comparing the subjective symptoms, SIT, BUT, and FL scores between the two groups (P<0.01).ConclusionHair needle therapy plus Sodium Hyaluronate eye drops can produce a more significant efficacy than Sodium Hyaluronate eye drops alone in treating DES.

Humans ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Objective: To investigate the long-term outcome of anterior decompression and bone graft fusion for cervical spondylotic myelopathy(CSM) and factors affecting the outcome. Methods: Two hundred and forty-five patients with CSM were treated with anterior cervical decompression and auto iliac bone graft fusion, of whom 31 had a second operation between 4 months and 2 years after operation. Follow-up studies were carried out within 5 to 15 years after operation, averaging 6.8 years. Results: Function evaluation: excellent in 118 cases (48.16%), good in 71 (28.98%), passable in 35 (14.29%) and poor in 21 (8.57%). According to the 40 points score method, there was an average of 8 point increase in all cases, of which 101 were between 36 to 40 points, 54 between 31 to 35 points. Conclusion: The long-term outcome of surgical treatment for CSM is definite. Significant factors affecting the outcome include timing of operation, degree of pathology and technique of surgery.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the epidemiological and clinical features of multiple primary malignant neoplasms (MPMNs).

METHODSOne hundred and twenty-five cases of more than or equal to three primary malignant neoplasms detected in the period of 1958 to 2001 were studied retrospectively in terms of frequency, age of onset, sex ratio, tumor location and the interval between sequential tumors.

RESULTSThe overall incidence of MPMNs was 0.090%; for three, four and five MPMNs was 0.078%, 0.009% and 0.001%. The mean age of onset of MPMNs was 64 years. The sex ratio, of male to female, was 1.0:1.2. The mean time interval was 7.1 years, and it reduced from 5.7 to 2.4 years in a descending order of the first, second, third, forth and fifth primary tumors. Three, four and five primary malignant neoplasms were predicated respectively in the large intestine, breast, lung, esophagus, uterus, skin; the large intestine, breast, skin stomach, urinary bladder, uterus; and the large intestine, breast, skin, parotid glands.

CONCLUSIONSThe overall incidence of multiple primary malignant neoplasms seems to ascend. The age of onset of MPMNs tends to be increase. The incidence of in women is higher than in men. The time interval from the first to fifth primary tumor is decreasing. The susceptible organs are identical organ, bigeminal organs or organs of the same system.

Adult ; Age of Onset ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary ; epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Factors

Objective: To explore a single center large cohort of patients with Takayasu’s arteritis for their clinical manifestation and long-term outcome in China. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 566 patients with Takayasu’s arteritis admitted in our hospital from 2002-01 to 2013-11 for their clinical characteristics, laboratory ifndings, angiographic features, treatment and long-term outcomes. Results: The patient’s ratio for female to male gender was 1 to 3.8 and the average onset age was (28.9 ± 12.0) years. The most common non-speciifc symptom, initial symptom and complication were fever (52/566 patients, 9.2%), dizziness (214 patients, 37.8%) and hypertension (392 patients, 69.3%) respectively. The patients with pulmonary artery and coronary artery involvement were 83 (14.7%) and 66 (11.7%) respectively, and 131 (23.1%) patients had faster erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The major vascular damage was steno-occlusive lesion and the most common involvement was left sub-clavian artery, which was observed in 278 (49.1%) patients. The treatments were mainly included in medication, interventional therapy, autologous blood vessel transplantation, artiifcial blood vessel transplantation and aortic valve replacement. There were 32 patients died during the mean follow-up period of (5.0 ± 0.2) years. Hypertension, complication and the progressive stage of disease were the major factors affecting prognosis in relevant patients (regression coefifcients: 4.664, 1.959 and 1.870 respectively, allP<0.05). Conclusion: Hypertension was the leading reason for patients’ hospital visit. Takayasu’s arteritis was closely related to cardiovascular disease, the early diagnosis and treatment were really important in clinical practice.

Objective: To explore the clinical features and prognosis in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA) combining neurological symptoms. Methods: We retrospectively studied 274 TA patients combining neurological symptoms who admitted to our hospital from 2002-01 to 2013-10 for their clinical and imaging features with prognosis. Results: The ratio of male to female was 1:4.3 and the mean age of disease onset was at (28.2±11.2) years. The most common neurological symptom was dizziness (214/274 cases, 78.1%), most frequent type was type III TA (112 cases, 40.9%), most common affected artery was left subclavian artery (147 cases, 53.6%), and there were 77 cases (28.1%) with (3-4) branches of the aortic arch involvement. For stroke conditions, ischemic stroke was more frequently observed in patients with steno-occlusive lesions in subclavian artery and common carotid artery, while hemorrhagic stroke was more frequently found in patients with steno-occlusive lesions in descending aorta, abdominal aorta and/or renal artery. Heart failure was the most common cause of death, it was also the most common cardiovascular event in surviving cohorts. Conclusion: TA patients could have many neurological symptoms, which were related to the number and site of artery involvement.

The object of this study was to work at accurate axis registration and interpolation methods for multi-dimension reconstruction of rotary scanning ultrasonic medical images. At first, time-field curves of the images' axes were analyzed according to their characteristic points and the axial direction registration was realized. Similar matrix was used to find registration pixels line near the axes of two images. Auto-correlation function and Fourier spectrum were used to evaluate the effects of axes registration. Second, an interpolation method was studied for the special space distribution of rotary scanning images. Results of experiments indicate that the axes registration and interpolation methods were suitable to rotary scanning medical images. The quality of reconstruction can be greatly improved by registration-based interpolation methods.
Algorithms ; Echocardiography ; methods ; Humans ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; methods