OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical effects of single posterior debridement, bone grafting, internal fixation and local chemotherapy in treating thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis.

METHODSFrom February 2009 to September 2012,11 patients with thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis were treated by single posterior debridement, bone grafting, internal fixation and local chemotherapy. There were 7 males and 4 females, aged from 27 to 65 years old with an average of 53.7 years. The courses of disease was from 3 months to 2 years with the mean of 9 months. According to ASIA standard of spinal cord injury, 3 cases were grade C and 8 cases D. After treatment, clinical effects were evaluated by ASIA grade, visual analogue score (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI); kyphosis Cobb angle change was observed by X-rays.

RESULTSEleven patients were followed up from 12 to 29 months with an average of 18 months. ASIA grade of spinal cord injury, 3 patients with grade C improved to grade D in 2 cases and grade E in 1 case 8 patients with grade D improved to grade E in 7 cases and unchanged in 1 case. VAS decreased from preoperative 6.10 ± 1.30 to 1.70 ± 0.80 at 3 d after operation (P < 0.05). ODI improved from preoperative (68.36 ± 10.41)% to (14.55 ± 8.99)% (P < 0.05) at 3 d after operation. Kyphotic Cobb angle was corrected from preoperative (22.64 ± 4.84)° to (4.27 ± 1.49)° (P < 0.05) on the 3rd day after operation, and angle loss was mild at final follow-up, there was no significant difference between postoperative at 3 d and final follow-up.

CONCLUSIONSingle posterior debridement, bone grafting, internal fixation and local chemotherapy for the treatment of thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis can effectively remove the lesion, improve nerve function and correct deformity, has advantage of single incision, little trauma, and low recurrence rate. But it still need long-term and systemic treatment with anti-TB drugs.

Adult ; Aged ; Bone Transplantation ; Debridement ; Female ; Humans ; Internal Fixators ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; surgery ; Tuberculosis, Spinal ; therapy

The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of the inhibitory effect of luteolin on the proliferation of breast cancer cells induced by epidermal growth factor (EGF) in vitro. MTT assay was used to detect the inhibitory effect of luteolin on the proliferation of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells as well as the effect on the proliferation of MCF-7 cells induced by EGF. Western blotting was used to detect the effects of luteolin on the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular-signal-regulated kinases (Erk) 1/2 and signal transducers and activators of transcription-3 (STAT3) in MCF-7 cells induced by EGF. The results showed that luteolin could significantly inhibit the proliferation of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, and the inhibitory effect on MCF-7 cells was more prominent. Moreover, luteolin could inhibit the proliferation of MCF-7 cells induced by EGF. Western blotting results showed that luteolin and AG1478 (an inhibitor of EGFR signaling) could inhibit the expression of p-EGFR and p-STAT3 in MCF-7 cells induced by EGF. Luteolin, LY294002 (an inhibitor of Akt signaling) and PD98059 (an inhibitor of Erk1/2 signaling) could inhibit the expression of p-Akt and p-Erk1/2 respectively in MCF-7 cells induced by EGF. Our data suggest that luteolin may inhibit EGF-induced activities of EGFR signaling pathway in human breast cancer cell lines, and PI3K/Akt, MAPK/Erk1/2, STAT3 signal pathways may be the major pathways that mediate the inhibitory effect of luteolin on EGFR signaling. Overall, our results may provide a theoretical foundation for the development of luteolin as anti-tumor drug.
Breast Neoplasms ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Chromones ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; Humans ; Luteolin ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 ; Morpholines ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; Quinazolines ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; Tyrphostins

The study is aimed to explore the effect of combination use of nitrogen(N) and zinc(Zn) fertilizers on the growth, yield and the effective components of Agastache rugosa. A. rugosa was grown under two N application rate (120, 300 kg·hm⁻²) and five Zn levels (0, 20, 50, 100，150 kg·hm⁻²) under field condition. The effect of the treatments on the physiological indicators, distribution of nitrogen and zinc and volatile oil components of A. rugosa were studied. The results showed that the combination use of N and Zn could significantly affect the growth and development, yield and volatile oil components of A. rugosa. Under the test conditions, the highest yield of Agastaches Herba was obtained when 50 kg·hm⁻² of Zn fertilizer was applied with high N application rate of 300 kg·hm⁻². Under the same N application rate, the increase of Zn production was positively correlated with the amount of Zn application in a certain concentration range, but excessive Zn application led to the decrease of yield. With the increase of N application level, the content of Zn also significantly increased. The combination use of N and Zn increased the yield of Agastaches Herba. High level of N application was beneficial to the absorption and accumulation of N and Zn of A. rugosa. Zn fertilizer could also promote the absorption and accumulation of N of A. rugosa. The interaction between N and Zn had significant influence on the main chemical constituents of the volatile oil of A. rugosa. Among the volatile oil chemical constituents of A. rugosa the content of pulegone (34.56%-53.91%) and piperonyl methyl ether (18.86%-42.27%) were much higher. Under the same N application rate, different Zn application rates also had significant effects on the main chemical components of volatile oil.

The purpose of this experiment was to study the effects of different shading conditions on the growth,physiological characteristics and biomass allocation of Polygonatum cyrtonema,which offered a theoretical basis for its cultivation.Different light environments(100%,80%,60% and 35% light transmittance) were simulated with shading treatments.Growth and photosynthetic indexes of P.cyrtonema were measured and the variances were analyzed.The results show that shading decreased superoxide anion radical(O-·2)production rate and hydrogen peroxide(H_2O_2) accumulation,kept the activity of SOD,POD and CAT enzyme at a high level.Furthermore,The content of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b,net photosynthetic rate(Pn),stomatal conductance(Gs),transpiration rate(Tr),maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem Ⅱ(Fv/Fm),photochemical quenching index(q P) and effective quantum yield of photosystem II(ΦPSⅡ) of P.cyrtonema were increased while the intercellular CO2 concentration(Ci),Foand NPQ were decreased by shading.Shading is beneficial to P.cyrtonema growth,can increase the total biomass P.cyrtonema.The allocation proportion of biomass on the aerial portion of P.cyrtonema increased but underground parts decreased with increasing shading conditions.In this study,P.cyrtonema can grow well in shading conditions,shading is beneficial to the formation of the yield and quality of the rhizomes of P.cyrtonema,especially in 65% light transmittance.
Biomass ; Chlorophyll ; Chlorophyll A ; Photosynthesis ; Plant Leaves ; Plant Stomata ; Plant Transpiration ; Polygonatum ; growth & development ; physiology ; Sunlight

Objective: To evaluate the application effect of smart classroom teaching mode in undergraduate teaching of endodontics. Methods: Through micro-lecture and massive open online course which were closely integrated with clinical practice and frontier advances, we build a new smart classroom teaching mode of endodontics relying on information technology such as the medical education cloud APP platform. The mode was applied to the undergraduate teaching of grade 2017 (110 students) and grade 2018 (107 students) in 2020 and 2021 respectively (experimental group). The theoretical examination was conducted for the grade 2016 (control group, 111 students applied traditional teaching methods) in 2019, and for two experimental grades in 2020 and 2021 respectively. A questionnaire survey was conducted for the 2018 undergraduates to investigate the experience of the smart classroom teaching mode, and the application effect of the smart classroom teaching mode was evaluated by comparing the offline theoretical test scores of grades 2016, 2017 and 2018. Results: The results of the questionnaire showed that students in grade 2018 recognized the overall form of smart classroom teaching mode, and 75.2% (79/105) of the students satisfied with the teaching process, considering that it could enhance learning interest and enthusiasm, improve self-learning ability, facilitate the understanding and memory of knowledge points, as well as increase the extension and expansion of professional knowledge. Thirty-seven point one percent (39/105) of the students thought that smart classroom teaching mode was not conducive to the interaction between teachers and students and couldn't improve learning efficiency. Comparing the final theoretical examination scores of students in three years, it was found that the average scores of 2021 (78.79±9.88) and 2020 (76.45±8.33) were significantly higher than that of 2019 (67.67±10.58) (t=6.77, P<0.001; t=8.51, P<0.001). The average score in 2021 was higher than that in 2020, although the difference was not significant (t=1.79, P=0.223). Conclusions: The application of smart classroom mode improved the teaching effect of endodontics, which is worthy of further promotion to provide a positive reference in improving the educating effects of oral medicine.
Humans ; Learning ; Endodontics ; Students ; Dental Care ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated how mild moxibustion treatment affects the intestinal microbiome and expression of NLRP3-related immune factors in a rat model of intestinal mucositis (IM) induced with 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu). METHODS: Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, chemotherapy, moxibustion and probiotics groups. The IM rat model was established by intraperitoneal injection of 5-Fu. Mild moxibustion treatment and intragastric probiotic administration were provided once daily for 15 days. Tissue morphology, serum levels of inflammatory factors and the expression levels of tight junction proteins, caspase-1, gasdermin D and NLRP3 were evaluated in colon tissue, through hematoxylin and eosin staining, electron microscopy, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Western blotting, quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence. Gut microbiome profiling was conducted through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. RESULTS: Moxibustion and probiotic treatments significantly increased the expression levels of tight junction proteins, reduced cell apoptosis and the expression levels of caspase-1, gasdermin D and NLRP3; they also decreased the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and IL-18, while increasing serum levels of IL-10. Moxibustion and probiotic treatments also corrected the reduction in α-diversity and β-diversity in IM rats, greatly increased the proportion of the dominant bacterial genus Lactobacillus and reduced the abundance of the genera Roseburia and Escherichia in chemotherapy-treated rats to levels observed in healthy animals. We also found that these dominant genera were firmly correlated with the regulation of pyroptosis-associated proteins and inflammatory factors. Finally, moxibustion and probiotic treatments elicited similar effects in regulating intestinal host-microbial homeostasis and the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome-related factors. CONCLUSION Moxibustion exerts its therapeutic effect on IM by ameliorating mucosal damage and reducing inflammation. Moreover, moxibustion modulates the gut microbiota, likely via decreasing the expression levels of the NLRP3 inflammasome.