Objective To learn the present efficiency of medical equipments at public hospitals in Liaoning province, and provide scientific basis for rational distribution of such resources, and for control of medical expenses.Methods Data envelop analysis (DEA) was used to appraise the deployment efficiency of 2 784 such equipments worth over 100 000 yuan per unit, with equipments randomly sampled from 31 public hospitals in the province.Results The equipment deployment at public hospitals in Liaoning was found at a low level.9.7% of the hospitals were found as relatively efficient, 3.2% of them as in relatively weak efficiency, while 87.1% of them relatively inefficient.Gaps were found between urban hospitals and tertiary hospitals, and rural hospitals and secondary hospitals in their deployment efficiency, as evidenced in overinvestment of equipments and insufficiency of competent operators.Conclusions Hospitals should strengthen their scientific management of the equipments, and emphasize human resource investment, thus elevating the efficiency of equipment deployment.

Objective To investigate the clinical therapeutic effects of different surgical treatments on cervical spondylotic my-elopathy and the occurrence of postoperative complications .Methods 65 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy admitted in our department between January 2010 and January 2013 were retrospectively analyzed ;and among them ,31 underwent anterior cer-vical discectomy and fusion(ACDF) and 34 underwent anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF);the general surgical condi-tions ,JOA scores and functional grades of Nurick ,incidences of dysphagia and so on in the patients of the two groups were investi-gated .Results The operative time and intra-operative blood loss of the patients of the ACDF group were better than those of the ACCF group[(88 .70 ± 9 .03)min ,(125 .46 ± 12 .62)min ,(94 .26 ± 10 .34)mL ,(133 .98 ± 12 .09)mL] ,and the differences were sta-tistically significant(P<0 .05) .The postoperative lengths of stay of the two groups were similar ,and the differences in preoperative and postoperative JOA scores and functional grade of Nurick of the two groups were statistically insignificant (P>0 .05);but the differences between the preoperative and postoperative JOA scores and functional grade of Nurick in 6 months after the surgeries and those before the surgeries of the same groups were statistically significant (P<0 .05) .At the same observation time points ,the incidences of dysphagia and the thicknesses of soft tissue before the cervical vertebra in the operated segment of the observation group were all lower than those of the control group ,and the differences were statistically significant (P<0 .05);in the patients of either group ,no loosening ,translocation or non-fusion of the bone graft was observed .Conclusion The two surgeries in treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy van both obtain satisfying clinical therapeutic effects ,but ACDF has a lower incidence of postop-erative complications ,and doctors should choose a suitable surgery based on the actual conditions .

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of the metabolic parameters for differentiating focal autoimmune pancreatitis (F-AIP) and pancreatic cancer (PC) by dual time 18F-FDG PET/CT scan.Methods Ten F-AIP patients and 20 PC patients in Changhai Hospital from May 2011 to November 2014 were enrolled in this study.All the AIP patients were histological confirmed or diagnosed by clinical follow up.The PC patients were histological confirmed and gender-and age-matched with F-AIP patients.50％ SUVmax was set as the threshold to fine-tune the boundary of interest.The extracted parameters included SUV SUV metabolic tumor volume (MTV),total lesion glycolysis (TLG),target-to-background ratio (TBR) and the retention indexes(RI) of all the parameters above.The PET/CT imaging features were also observed.Results The high metabolic lesions were observed in both F-AIP patients and PC patients.There were 6 F-AIP patients whose lesion was located in pancreas head,4 F-AIP patients whose lesion was located in pancreas body and tail.There were 12 PC patients whose lesion was located in pancreas head,8 PC patients whose lesion was located in pancreas body and tail.In F-AIP patients,2 cases had dilated pancreatic duct,6 had dilated biliary duct,8 had increased metabolism in mediastinal lymph node and 2 had abdominal lymphadenopathy,which were 8,5,5 and 14 cases in PC patients.The positive rate of mdeiastinal lymphadenopathy in F-AIP patients was statistically higher than that in PC patients,while the positivity rate of abdominal lymphadenopathy in AIP patients was lower than that in PC patients.The difference was statistically significant (both P ＜ 0.05).There were no statistical differences on the positivity rate of the dilated pancreatic duct,intra-and extra-hepatic bile duct between two groups.SUVmax,SUVmean and MTV in F-AIP were 5.37 ± 0.88,3.48 ± 0.66,21.79 ±15.60 in early stage and 6.45 ±1.51,4.23 ± 1.10,19.36 ± 14.63 in delayed stage,and those in PC were 8.31 ±3.08,5.41±1.95,9.26±8.35 in early stage,and 9.75±3.86,6.36±2.56,9.09±10.71 in delayed stage.SUVmax and SUVmean in F-AIP were lower than those in PC,whereas MTV were larger in F-AIP than that in PC.ROC curves for SUVmax,SUVmean and MTV were made.The AUC of SUV was the highest at 0.85,the cut-off value was 4.45,the corresponding sensitivity was 65％ and the specificity was 90％.TLG,TBR and RI of all the parameters were not statistically different in F-AIP and PC.Conclusions The 18F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters,such as SUVmax,SUVmean,MTV,could be of special diagnostic significance in discriminating F-AIP from PC.

Hepatic Stellate Cells ; metabolism ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; metabolism ; PPAR gamma ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical outcomes of intrasacrospinal muscular approach and posterior midline approach in treating far lateral lumbar disc herniation.

METHODSThe clinical data of 32 patients with far lateral lumbar disc herniation underwent transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion from January 2004 to January 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into intrasacrospinal muscular approach group (11 males and 6 females ) and posterior midline approach group (10 males and 5 females). All patients were followed up from 12 to 18 months with an average of 15.3 months. Operative time, blood loss, postoperative draining volume were recorded and pre-and post-operative visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were compared between two groups.

RESULTSOperative time, blood loss, postoperative draining volume in intrasacrospinal muscular approach group was less than that of posterior midline approach group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in VAS at final follow-up between two groups (P > 0.05); and the mean ODI in intrasacrospinal muscular approach group was less than that of posterior midline approach group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONFor the treatment of far lateral lumbar disc herniation, intrasacrospinal muscular approach has less injury for paraspinal muscle and more satisfactory clinical outcome and is better method than posterior midline approach.

Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; surgery ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Fusion ; methods ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

The paper is aimed to establish a methods for identication of pearl powder and conch powder from different origins. Hermetic aluminum pan was used to encapsulate samples. The optimal testing conditions were: heating rate 10 degrees C x min(-1), sample weight 3 mg and nitrogen gas flow rate 40 mL x min(-1). The enthalpy values of pearl powder and conch powder was obvious different. Identication of pearl powder and conch powder by DSC is a practical method for its accuracy, convenience and practificality.
Animal Shells ; chemistry ; Animals ; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; methods ; China ; Discriminant Analysis ; Pinctada ; chemistry ; classification ; Powders ; chemistry

Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Enzyme Activation ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Extracellular Matrix ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Leptin ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Liver Cirrhosis ; etiology ; pathology ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo explore therapeutic effects of emergency medial malleolus osteotomy for the treatment of fractures of talar neck and dislocation of talar body.

METHODSFrom 1995. 6 to 2007. 10, among 24 patients with fractures of talar neck and dislocation of talar body, 18 patients were male and 6 patients were female, ranging in age from 28 to 58 years (mean 35.4 years). The duration from injury to the emergency ward ranged from 0.5 to 12 h. All the patients were treated in 5 hours after hospitalization with emergency medial malleolus osteotomy and internal fixation. Firstly, osteotomy was made above the medial malleolus tip; Secondly, the medial malleolus was turned over downward to uncover the talus; Then, the fracture of talus can be reduced in direct visidn.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up ranged from 6 to 60 months. According to Kenwright evaluation standards, 18 patients obtained an excellent results, 4 good and 2 fair.

CONCLUSIONIt is easy and clearly to perform medial malleolus osteotomy. The blood circulation of talus is preserved. So it is an effective method to treat the fractures of talar neck and dislocation of talar body.

Adult ; Bone Screws ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Fractures, Bone ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteotomy ; methods ; Talus ; injuries ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome

Voltage-dependent potassium channels (Kv) are involved in proliferation and transformation in mammary epithelial cells. In previous studies, several groups have detected various potassium channels in breast cancer cells, and they assumed that potassium channels are related to the development of breast carcinoma, although the precise mechanisms are still unknown. We have previously reported that 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), one kind of potassium channel (K(+) channel) blocker, could affect the proliferation of MCF10A cells. The aim of the present study is to explore the expression and properties of K(+) channels in human mammary epithelial cells (MCF10A) and whether Kv channels are required for the proliferation of MCF10A cell. Electrophysiological, MTT analysis, PCR and Western blot methods were used to identify a K(+) conductance which is involved in tumorigenesis and not yet be described in MCF10A cells. A voltage-dependent, outward rectification and 4-AP-sensitive K(+) current was observed in these cells. The perfusion of 5 mmol/L 4-AP significantly decreased the amplitude of Kv current from (912.5+/-0.6) pA to (275+/-0.8) pA (n=5, P<0.01), when cells were recorded using 800 ms voltage steps from a holding potential of -60 mV to voltage ranging from -60 mV to +60 mV. PCR analysis demonstrated that Kv1.1, Kv1.2, Kv1.3, and Kv1.5 were all expressed in MCF10A and MCF7 cells. Furthermore, the expression of Kv1.5 was much higher in MCF10A than that in MCF7. Inhibitory effect of 4-AP on cell proliferation was dosage-dependent. Incubation with 5 mmol/L 4-AP reduced MCF10A cell proliferation to 25.29% in 48 h. Western blot analysis showed the activation of ERK1/2 which related to cell proliferation was enhanced, while p38 activation was decreased by 4-AP treatment for 10 min. These data provided the first evidence of the Kv channels expression in MCF10A cell and 4-AP could inhibit the proliferation of MCF10A through blocking the potassium channels, and the mechanism may be related to regulating the activity of different members of cell proliferation signaling pathway of MEK/ERK.
4-Aminopyridine ; pharmacology ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Epithelial Cells ; physiology ; Humans ; Potassium Channel Blockers ; pharmacology ; Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated ; physiology

Objective To explore the function of Notch-3 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT) and prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients.Methods Patients who received radical resection for pancreatic cancer in our hospital between January 2004 and October 2012 were included in this study.Immunohistochemical staining was performed with Notch-3,E-cadherin and Vimentin antibodies.Imaging pro plus 3.0 was used for analyzing the staining intensity.Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier method.Results Sixty-seven patients were included.Low expression of E-cadherin was detected in 61.2％ (41/67) of patients,while high expression of Vimentin and Notch-3 was found in 65.6％ (44/67) and 59.7％ (40/67),respectively.Notch-3 expression was proportional to Vimentin expression (R2 =0.872,P ＜ O.05),while inversely proportional to E-cadherin expression (R2 =0.570,P ＜ 0.05).Median overall survival time in high expression group of E-cadherin,Vimentin and Notch-3 was (25.2 ± 2.3) months,(14.8 ±0.9) months and (15.8 ±0.8) months.While in low expression group,the median overall survival time was (14.3 ± 1.0) months,(25.5 ± 2.4) months and (25.1 ± 2.9) months,respectively.There were significant differences between these two groups (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Notch-3 expression was associated with EMT process in pancreatic cancer patients.Low expression of E-cadherin and high expression of Vimentin and Notch-3 predicated poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer.