Femur fracture from falls is considered one of the most serious types of the elderly. FEA has proved to be an extremely useful tool in the structure analysis of the proximal femur. In this paper, a FEA model of proximal femur is introduced, and Hoffman failure criteria are built based on the experimental strength data for both cortical bone and trabecular bone of the femur from some references. The FEA model and the failure criteria are verified using other researcher's experimental results. The predicted trabecular failure load was only 0.5% lower than the experimental data and cortical failure load was 4.2% higher than the experimental result. This result shows that our FEA model, combined with the Hoffman criterion for both cortical bone and trabecular bone, can effectively predict the structural capacity of the femur during falling.
Biomechanical Phenomena ; Computer Simulation ; Femur ; physiology ; Finite Element Analysis ; Humans ; Models, Biological ; Stress, Mechanical ; Weight-Bearing ; Wrestling ; physiology

The effects of loading conditions on the structural capacity of the proximal femur were investigated parametrically by Finite Element Analysis (FEA) combined with Hoffman failure criterion. The loading conditions included the fall configuration angles, load locations and the friction resistance in hip joint. The results of this parametric study revealed that the load locations are the keys to determining the structural capacity of the proximal femur. There are two low peaks of the structural capacity when the loads are applied to femoral head. If the impact load were applied in this area, the fracture risk would be great. The frictional resistance of the hip joint can severely affect the failure load, which has far reaching implications in terms of osteoarthritis.
Accidental Falls ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Computer Simulation ; Femur ; physiology ; Finite Element Analysis ; Hip Fractures ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Models, Biological ; Risk Assessment ; Stress, Mechanical ; Weight-Bearing

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to observe the effect of hemoperfusion (HP) cartridge on different internal environment indicators at different time points in patients with acute blood poisoning and to find alternative indicators for the detection of blood poisoning. METHODS: The levels of internal environment indicators (blood pH, PvCO2, PvO2, blood lactate, potassium, free calcium, bicarbonate, and blood glucose) before and after HP treatment were recorded for patients with acute poisoning at time points of 30 minutes and 120 minutes. After calculating the difference value δ, the statistical software was used to analyze the statistical difference of the influencea-v caused by HP cartridge at two time points. According to the formula, adsorption rate %= —— ×100, thea adsorption rate of each indicator was calculated respectively. RESULTS: The difference of indicators at different time points in inlet and outlet such as blood glucose, free-calcium, and lactate was statistically significant (P<0.05), but the difference in indicators such as pH, PvCO2, PvO2, potassium, sodium, and bicarbonate was not statistical y significant (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: During HP treatment, the indicators of blood glucose, free-calcium and lactate were significantly affected by HP cartridge, and the effect varies with time.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and patient satisfaction rates of low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy LIESWT) in men with vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED) using Duolith SD1 machine. Materials and Methods: This prospective, randomized, double-blinded clinical trial included 60 men who were randomly assigned to LIESWT (n=30, active group) or placebo (n=30) over 6 weeks. Patient demographics, change in International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)-5, Erection Hardness Score (EHS) and Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction (EDITS) scores, and an overall satisfaction score (on a 5-point scale), were recorded. All patients were reviewed at 1, 3, and 6 months after completion of therapy. Results: There were 21 (70%) patients in the LIESWT group and 3 (10%) patients in the placebo group who had a 5-point or greater increase in IIEF-5 score (p=0.018). At 6-month study period, the mean IIEF-5 score was 18.8 (standard deviation [SD], 3.8) in the LIESWT group versus 14.8 (SD, 3.6) in the placebo group, difference in means between groups was 4.0 (95% confidence interval, 2.1–5.9; p<0.001). The EHS scores were higher in the LIESWT group with a mean of greater than 1.2 across the 1, 3, and 6 months compared to the placebo group (p<0.05). All patients completed the treatment study and there was no adverse event reported in terms of penile pain, bruising or deformity. There was a positive correlation between men who reported improvement in EF and treatment satisfaction level with LiESWT (p=0.008). Conclusions LIESWT improves erectile function in the short-term especially in men with mild to moderate ED, and those without a cardiometabolic disease.

An ARM-based embedded system design schemes is proposed for the color-blind image processing system. The hardware and software of the embedded color-blind image processing system are designed using ARM core processor. Besides, a simple and convenient interface is implemented. This system supplies a general hardware platform for the applications of color-blind image processing algorithms, so that it may bring convenience for the test and rectification of color blindness.
Algorithms ; Color Vision Defects ; diagnosis ; Equipment Design ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; methods ; Software

Liver transplantation has been regarded as the definitive curative approach for pathologic liver conditions from the acute stage to the chronic end stage for decades. Recently, translational research has been focused on liver stem cell transplantation, using various cell therapies, due to the potential benefit of natural host liver regeneration. Many studies are ongoing utilizing and evaluating the use of either fetal-liver-derived stem cells or oval cells, however many obstacles still remain. Extensive research identifying and characterizimg stem/progenitor cells for potential application to in vitro cell therapy, whereas many questions remain concerning the isolation and identification of adult liver stem cells with adequate capacity for proliferation and the regeneration of injured liver. Recent approaches to liver regeneration include the production of hepatocyte-like cells from other stem cell sources such as mesenchymal stem cells and embryonic stems cells. Another major target for liver regeneration studies include the generation of liver stem cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSC) We review the current data concerning characterization of stem cells and progenitor cells for their capacity to support their potential for re-population and regeneration of normal adult liver from liver damaged due to injury and/or disease.
Adult ; Cell Transplantation ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; Liver Regeneration ; Liver Transplantation ; Liver* ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Regeneration ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Stem Cells* ; Translational Medical Research

The efficacy of intravesical onabotulinumtoxinA (BTXA) in the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) has been well documented. The use of BTXA injection in orthotopic neobladders is yet to be studied. We present 4 cases of patients injected with intravesical BTXA for overactive orthotopic ileal neobladder. We recorded patient demographics, presenting and follow-up symptoms, urodynamic profiles, and Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) scores. The 4 patients reported varying degrees of subjective improvements in the symptoms, including urgency, urge incontinence, and pad usage. Mean follow-up duration was 8.3 months (range, 5-14 months). Average PGI-I score was 3 ("a little better") (range, 2-4). To our knowledge, the current study is the first case series examining BTXA injection for orthotopic neobladder overactivity. BTXA injection yielded varying degrees of objective and subjective improvements, without significant complications. Intravesical BTXA injection is feasible and may be considered as a potential treatment alternative for OAB in orthotopic neobladders, although further study is warranted.
Administration, Intravesical ; Demography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive ; Urinary Diversion ; Urinary Incontinence, Urge ; Urinary Reservoirs, Continent ; Urodynamics

Objective To evaluate collateral flows using vessel encoded arterial spin labeling (VE-ASL) perfusion imaging. MethodsVE-ASL was achieved to assess the presence and function of collateral flow on patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis. The presence of the anterior and posterior collateral flow was demonstrated by flow patterns of the A1 segment and posterior communicating artery (PCoA).Distal function of collateral flow of stenotic hemisphere was categorized as adequate ( cerebral blood flow ≥10 ml · min-1·100 g-1 ) or deficient (cerebral blood flow < 10 ml · min-1· 100 g-1 ). The results were compared with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and intraarterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in crosstable by using Kappa values. The VE-ASL before and after ICA stent therapy were compared. ResultsThe Kappa values of the flow patterns of AI segment and PCoA between VE-ASL and MRA were 0. 746 and 0. 700. The Kappa value of the function of collaterals using VE-ASL and DSA was914. VE-ASL showed collateral flow via leptomeningeal anastomoses. VE-ASL changed significantly after ICA steat therapy. ConclusionVE-ASL reveals the presence and distal function of collateral flow, which helps to evaluate the efficacy of ICA steat therapy.

Objective To evaluate a noninvasive vessel encoded imaging for selective mapping of the flow territories of the left and right internal carotid arteries and vertebral-basilar arteries. Methods Seven volunteers [(33.5±4.1) years ; 3 men, 4 women] and 6 patients [(55.2 ± 3.2) years; 2 men,4women] were given written informed consent approved by the institutional review board before participating in the study. A pseudo-continuous tagging pulse train is modified to encode all vessels of interest. The selectivity of this method was demonstrated. Regional perfusion imaging was developed on the same arterial spin labeling sequence. Perfusion-weighted images of the selectively labeled cerebral arteries were obtained by subtraction of the labeled from control images. The CBF values of hemisphere, white matter, and gray matter of volunteers were calculated. The vessel territories on patients were compared with DSA. The low perfusion areas were compared with high signal areas on T2-FLAIR. Results High SNR maps of left carotid, right carotid, and basilar territories were generated in 8 minutes of scan time. Cerebral blood flow 100 g-1 were in agreement with data in the literature. Vessel encoded imaging in patients had a good agreement with DSA. The low perfusion areas were larger than high signal areas on T2-FLAIR. Conclusion We present a new method capable of evaluating both quantitatively and qualitatively the individual brain-feeding arteries in vivo.

In view of the increasing number of patients undergoing kidney dialysis or transplant every year, a survey of the literature on renal protective medicinal plants was undertaken. Most of them are from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Although many of the medicinal herbs reported have not been investigated in terms of active chemical ingredients, some do have compounds well characterized. They fall into a wide range of structures. Several groups of compounds with well established activities are discussed. These include: antioxidant phenolic compounds like tannins, flavonoids, isoflavonoids, unsaturated organic acids and lignans; circulation enhancing compounds like saponins, and basic alkaloids with multiple targets (G-protein coupled receptors). Also presented are proinflammatory and antiinflammatory fatty acids like linoleic (n-6) and α-linolenic (n-3) acids, respectively. Attention is also drawn to the plants containing nephrotoxic aristolochic acid. Different directions of future research are also presented. We hope that this review may provide some leads for new drug discovery and development, and more rational application of TCM.
Animals ; Humans ; Kidney ; drug effects ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Protective Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Structure-Activity Relationship