Chitosan-based microspheres use chitosan as the main material to obtain particles with special structures through microsphere processing technology. They have the ability of slow and controlled release of drugs and the role of scaffolding, which have great application prospect in stomatology, but the application of chitosan-based microspheres is still in the research stage and has not yet been applied in clinical practice. This article reviews progress of domestic and foreign research on chitosan-based microspheres, in aspects of treatment of oral and jawbone tissue defects, periodontal diseases, dental pulp diseases and nerve tissue injury, in order to provide reference for follow-up research.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the improvement of speech perception in Chinese-native cochlear implant (CI) children using frequency modulated system (FM system). METHOD: The mandarin speech perception (MSP) system was used to evaluate 11 cases with severe and profound hearing loss who were fitted cochlear implants. Listeners were asked to repeat MSP words presented in quiet and several different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions and percent correct word repetition was determined. Performance was evaluated under FM system and without FM (CI only). In addition, the listeners' subjective performance changes in the experiment were also observed. RESULT: (1) There was significant main effect of the device condition (with FM and no-FM) (F = 72.938, P < 0.01), a significant main effect of signal level (F = 230.715, P < 0.01), a significant interaction effect between the signal level and the device condition (F = 40.893, P < 0.01). (2) Listeners answered the question in a louder voice, showed more confidence, when using with FM system. CONCLUSION FM system could improve the speech reception in a complex environment for Chinese-native CI children.
Child ; Cochlear Implantation ; Cochlear Implants ; Humans ; Noise ; Signal-To-Noise Ratio ; Speech ; Speech Perception ; Speech Therapy

Aim To investigate the effects of an angiotensin Ⅱ receptor blocker,candesartan, on aorta oxidative stress-LOX-1 pathway in salt-loaded stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP).Methods 12-week-old salt-loaded SHRSP were treated with candesartan(1.0 mg?kg-1?d-1)or a diuretic, trichlormethiazide(TCM,1.6 mg?kg-1?d-1) or no treatment(n=6) in each for 2 weeks. Age-matched salt-loaded WKY rats were served as control(n=6).Systolic blood pressure(SBP)was measured weekly throughout the 2-week period by means of the tail-cuff method.Thoracic aortas were extracted and 24 h urine was collected.NAD(P)H oxidase subunits(p22 phox, p47 phox and gp91 phox)mRNA expression in aorta were assayed by real-time PCR. LOX-1 and type Ⅳ collogen mRNA expression were examined by RT-PCR. gp91 phox and LOX-1 protein expression in aorta were assayed by immunohistochemistry.Urinary albumin excretion was examined by ELISA.Results At the end of the 2nd week, SBP was significantly higher in salt-loaded SHRSP than that in salt-loaded WKY rats. Treatment with candesartan and TCM significantly decreased SBP in salt-loaded SHRSP at similar levels.NAD(P)H oxidase subunits (p47 phox and gp91 phox)and LOX-1 mRNA expression in aorta were markedly higher in salt-loaded SHRSP than those in salt-loaded WKY rats.Candesartan and TCM had the effect of reducing the systolic blood pressure at similar levels. Candesartan significantly down-regulated aorta p22 phox, gp91 phox,LOX-1 and type Ⅳ collogen mRNA expression and decreased urine albumin excretion in salt-loaded SHRSP(P

The nucleocapsid protein (N) is a major structural protein of coronaviruses. The N protein of bat SARS-like coronavirus (SL-CoV) has a high similarity with that of SARS-CoV. In this study, the SL-CoV N protein was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and used as antigen. An Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (indirect ELISA) was developed for detection of SARS- or SL-CoV infections in bat populations. The detection of 573 bat sera with this indirect ELISA demonstrated that SL-CoVs consistently circulate in Rhinilophus species, further supporting the proposal that bats are natural reservoirs of SL-CoVs. This method uses 1-2 μl of serum sample and can be used for preliminary screening of infections by SARS- or SL-CoV with a small amount of serum sample.

Objective To evaluate the impact of preoperative renal artery embolization in renal cell carcinoma patients with venous tumor thrombus.Methods A total of 249 RCC patients with venous tumor thrombus underwent radical nephrectomy and thrombectormy in our hospital.Seventy-four patients received preoperative renal artery embolization while other 175 patients did not.The related items were analyzed.The tumor thrombus level was divided into 5 groups with American Mayo clinic classification system.Considering the significant difference in tumor situation and treatment strategies, we took the hepatic vein as a cut-off line, dividing patients into two subgroups, the early and advanced tumor thrombus groups.There were 208 patients in the early tumor thrombus group and 41 patients in the advanced group.The related items were analyzed respectively.Results Patients in the embolization group tended to have larger tumors and higher percentage of advanced tumor thrombus.For all patients, the embolization group had longer operation time [(4.8 ±2.1) h vs.(4.1 ±2.2) h ,P <0.05] and greater median blood loss (900ml vs 500 ml,P <0.05), compared to the non-embolization patients, and RAE did not show benefits on perioperative outcomes seemingly.However, subgroup analysis of patients with advanced tumor thrombus ( above hepatic vein) , in spite of the larger size of tumor, preoperative RAE showed significant benefits on reducing operation time [(7.0 ±1.7)h vs.(8.2 ±1.8)h, P<0.05)] and intraoperative blood loss (2 000 ml vs.3 000 ml, P<0.05) and decreasing blood transfusion (1 525 ml vs.2 050 ml ,P>0.05).Conclusion Preoperative RAE may be more appropriate for patients with advanced tumor thrombus because of its benefits in reducing operation time, intraoperative blood loss and elevating the operative security.

It is extremely necessary and important for colleges or universities to transform the education concepts that barricade students' initiative and creativity, especially the one that takes fi-nal examinations as sole standard to evaluate teaching and learning effects. In order to display and cultivate students' study ability more comprehensively, we manage to establish a set of formative eval-uation system for regional anatomy course , which involves tests and examinations and evaluations throughout the whole teaching and learning process. It solves the long-lasting problem that examina-tions are final purposes of teaching and learning, and thus, teaching values not only results but also learning process, which directs students' attention to conventional studies and helps develop good study habits, greatly reducing the randomness of final academic performances. The diverse assessment methods, along with accumulated assessment results, can improve students' learning effects through-out the whole semester. The fundamental purpose of this system is to inspire students' passion for study and creativity and monitor the teaching process.

Objective To evaluate the plasma levels of adrenomedullin (ADM) and urotensin Ⅱ ( U-Ⅱ ) in children with capillary bronchiolitis, and their clinical significance. Methods One hundred and fifty three children with capillary bronchiolitis and 36 healthy children were recruited. Plasma levels of ADM and U- Ⅱ were measured at acute stage ( <7days) and convalescent stage (>14days) of airway inflammation. The relationship of plasma ADM and U-Ⅱ levels with symptom scores was evaluated. Results Plasma levels of ADM and U-Ⅱ in acute stage of capillary bronchiolitis were significantly higher than those in convalescent stage and healthy controls ( ADM: t = 20. 57 and 26. 26, P < 0. 01; U-Ⅱ: t = 14. 27 and 7. 61, P < 0. 01 ) , and there were significant differences among mild, moderate and severe capillary bronohiolitis (F = 245. 94 and 304. 79, P <0. 01). Plasma level of U-Ⅱ in convalescent stage of capillary bronchiolitis was lower than that of healthy controls (t = 6. 99, P <0. 01 ) , but ADM was still in a higher level ( t = 8. 98, P < 0. 01 ). In the convalescent stage, there was significant difference on U-Ⅱ levels among mild, moderate and severe capillary bronchiolitis ( F = 25.69, P < 0. 01 ) , but no significant difference was observed for ADM levels (F = 2. 25 , P > 0. 05 ) . Plasma levels of ADM and U- Ⅱ in acute stage showed positive correlation with symptom scores, and the regression coefficients were 0.884 (P =0. 000) for ADM and 0. 943 (P = 0. 000) for U-Ⅱ . Conclusion Plasma ADM and U-Ⅱ levels in children with capillary bronchiolitis are increased in acute stage and correlated with the symptom scores, which may serve as laboratory indicators for assessing the severity of the disease.

Objective To explore the efficacy of fast-track surgery (FTS) combined with standard rehabilitation program (HSS) in elderly patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA).Methods Ninety elderly patients with femoral neck fracture were randomly assigned to receive either FZS plus HSS Tehabilitation program (experimental group,n =45) or HSS rehabilitation program (control group,n =45) after THA from December 2013 to December 2014 in our hospital.The experimental group had 23 men and 22 women,with an average age of 68.2 ± 3.7 years.The control group had 22 men and 23 women,with an average age of 70.6 ± 4.1 years.Harris score and visual analogue scale (VAS) were used to assess the hip joint function before operation,4,8 and 14 weeks after operation.The complications were compared between the 2 groups at 14 weeks after operation.Results All the patients completed a 14-week follow-up.There were no significant differences in Harris and VAS scores at pre-operation between the 2 groups (P ＞ 0.05).At 4,8 and 14 weeks after operation,the Harris scores in the experimental group (67.2 ±3.5,88.3 ±2.5and 92.5±3.3) were significantly higher than those in the control group (52.5±7.8,65.8±4.9 and 72.2±4.9) and the VAS scores in the experimental group (3.4±0.8,2.2±0.8 and 1.3±0.5) were significantly lower than those in the control group (5.6 ±0.9,4.2 ±0.8 and 2.9 ±0.8) (P ＞ 0.05).There were no complications in the experiment group while there were 14 complications (31.1％) in the control group,showing a significant difference (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion FTS combined with HSS standardized rehabilitation can effectively reduce the incidence of complications and accelerate the functional recovery of hip joint in elderly patients after THA.

Background:Tripterygium glycosides(TG)is effective for treatment of ulcerative colitis(UC)in clinical practice, however,the underlying mechanism has not been clarified yet. Aims:To investigate the therapeutic effect of TG on dextran sulfate sodium(DSS)-induced experimental colitis in mice and its possible mechanisms. Methods:Sixty healthy male BALB/ c mice were randomly divided into six groups:model control group,low,medium and high-dose TG group,blank control group and normal control group. Mice in the first four groups drank 5% DSS freely for 7 days to induce experimental colitis;simultaneously,distilled water,9. 01,27. 03 or 81. 09 mg/(kg·d)TG were given intragastrically for 21 days in these four groups,respectively. Histopathological changes of colonic mucosal tissues were observed;expressions of TLR4 mRNA and protein were determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting;expression of NF-κB p65 was detected by immunohistochemistry;concentrations of IL-1α,TNF-α and IL-13 were measured by ELISA. Results:Tissue damage and inflammation in varying degrees were observed in colonic mucosal tissues in TG groups with different dosage,but all were less severe than those in model control group. Expressions of TLR4 mRNA,TLR4 protein,and NF-κB p65 in colonic mucosal tissues,as well as concentrations of IL-1α and TNF-α in supernatant of colonic homogenate were significantly lower in TG groups than those in model control group(P < 0. 01). These parameters in medium and high-dose TG groups were significantly lower than those in low-dose TG group(P < 0. 05),but higher than those in blank control group and normal control group(P < 0. 05). Except for TNF-α,no significant differences were seen between medium and high-dose TG groups(P > 0. 05). Conclusions:TG exerts a protective effect on DSS-induced experimental colitis in mice. The underlying mechanism of its anti-inflammatory effect might be related with the inhibition of TLR4 / NF-κB signaling pathway activation and subsequently suppressing downstream proinflammatory cytokines expression and secretion.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of dienogest (DNG) in the treatment of refractory endometriosis-associated pain (REAP).Methods:In this study, REAP was defined according to the following criteria: (1) the pain duration was ≥12 months and visual analogue scale (VAS)≥60 mm; (2) the previous treatments with over two medicines like oral contraceptives and levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system failed to achieve satisfactory relief of pain, with VAS reduction less than 50%; with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist or mifepristone, the pain could be controlled temporarily, but it recurred after discontinuation of medicines; (3) the pain could not be relieved by surgery or even repeated surgeries. In the present study, 48 patients with REAP were treated with DNG 2 mg/day orally and the clinical outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. The VAS scores, levels of CA 125, estradiol, FSH, LH and changes in the size of endometriotic lesions before and after treatment were compared respectively. The side effects were also analyzed. Results:The average duration of DNG treatment was (20.1±12.8) months. After 3 months of medication, the VAS score was significantly reduced from (77.9±15.8) mm to (20.8±10.7) mm ( P<0.01), and CA 125 level was significantly reduced from (95±139) kU/L to (38±45) kU/L ( P<0.05). The effects were maintained with continuation of DNG treatment. Endometriotic lesions tended to shrink, after 12 months of DNG treatment, the size of ovarian endometriomas was reduced significantly from (3.1±1.0) cm to (1.9±1.2) cm ( P<0.05). The mean level of estradiol was maintained at 124.82-221.04 pmol/L and levels of FSH and LH did not change significantly during the treatment. The major side effect was irregular bleeding (75%, 36/48). Conclusions:DNG could effectively relieve REAP and is a well-tolerated therapy. It may supply an alternative option for patients with REAP.