The serum contents of Cu, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cr, Mn, Ca, Mg, and K in 360 adults from different work in Nanjing were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The data were analysed by grouped statistical treatment, and the relationships among sex, age and work time were discussed. The results showed that serum Cu, Fe, Zn, Cr, Mn, Pb, Ca, Mg, K differed greatly in the different workers. There was a perfect positive correlations between Cu, Zn, Cd, Mn, Pb, Mg and age, and a negetive correlations berween Cu, Fe, Zn, Cd, Cr, Pb, Mg and work time. The serum Cu, Zn, Ca, K in women were higher than that in men.

Objective To introduce extrapedicular infiltration anesthesia as an improved method of local anesthesia which applied to unipedicular percutaneous vertebroplasty or percutaneous kyphoplasty.Methods From March 2015 to March 2016,20 patients in our hospital received percutaneous vertebroplasty or percutaneous kyphoplasty with 1％ lidocaine local infiltration anesthesia and extrapedicular infiltration anesthesia.The visual analogue score of patients during the operation and whether they needed additional sedative anesthesia were evaluated.The anaesthetic effect of nerve root block was observed.Results The visual analogue score of all the patients ranged from 1 point to 3 point,averagely (2.5 ± 0.7) point.Among the 20 patients,there were 2 cases of 1 point,7 cases of 2 point and 11 cases of 3 point.No patients required additional sedative anesthesia,and no nerve root block effects were observed.Conclusion Extrapedicular infiltration anesthesia provides good local anesthetic effects without significant complications,which deserved further use in unipedicular percutaneous vertebroplasty and percutaneous kyphoplasty.

A unique one-step ethanol fermentation process was developed with the inulinase-producing strain Kluyveromyces marxianus YX01. Firstly, the impact of temperature on ethanol fermentation was investigated through flask fermentation, and the temperature of 35 degrees C was observed to be the optimum to coordinate inulinase production, inulin saccharification and ethanol fermentation. And then, the impact of aeration and substrate concentration was studied through batch fermentation in the 2.5 L fermentor, and the experimental data indicated that the average ethanol fermentation time was decreased at the aeration rates of 50 mL/min and 100 mL/min, but higher ethanol yield was obtained under non-aeration conditions with more substrate directed to ethanol production. The ethanol concentration of 92.2 g/L was achieved with the substrate containing 235 g/L inulin, and the ethanol yield was calculated to be 0.436, equivalent to 85.5% of its theoretical value. Finally, Jerusalem artichoke grown in salina and irrigated with seawater was fermented without sterilization treatment, 84.0 g/L ethanol was obtained with the substrate containing 280 g/L dry Jerusalem artichoke meal, and the ethanol yield was calculated to be 0.405, indicating the Jerusalem artichoke could be an alternative feedstock for grain-based fuel ethanol production.
Bioreactors ; microbiology ; Ethanol ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Helianthus ; metabolism ; Kluyveromyces ; metabolism ; Seawater ; Temperature

This research aimed to study the effect of distillage recycling on ethanol fermentation, the key glycolytic enzymes and cell composition of the self-flocculating yeast. With the self-flocculating yeast SPSC01 and medium composed of 220 g/L glucose, 8 g/L yeast extract and 6 g/L peptone, continuous ethanol fermentation was carried out at the dilution rate of 0.04 h(-1) with a 1.5 L tank bioreactor. Fermentation broth was collected every 3 days, and ethanol and other volatile byproducts were removed by distillation, but the stillage with high boiling byproducts was recycled to prepare the medium instead of fresh water. The system was run for 20 days, during which ethanol and biomass concentrations in the effluent decreased continuously, indicating the significant inhibition of the high boiling byproducts accumulated within the system. Thus, the activities of the key enzymes of the glycolytic pathway: hexokinase, 6-phosphofructose kinase, and pyruvate kinase were analyzed, and it was observed that all of them were inhibited. Furthermore, the biosynthesis of the stress response metabolites glycerol and trehalose was investigated, and it was found that glycerol production that can protect yeast cells against osmotic pressure stress was enhanced, but trehalose biosynthesis that can protect yeast cells against ethanol inhibition was not improved, correspondingly. And in the meantime, the biosynthesis of the major intracellular components proteins and hydrocarbons was adjusted, correspondingly.
Bioreactors ; microbiology ; Ethanol ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Flocculation ; Glycerol ; metabolism ; Glycolysis ; Hexokinase ; metabolism ; Industrial Microbiology ; methods ; Phosphofructokinase-1 ; metabolism ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; enzymology ; genetics ; metabolism ; Schizosaccharomyces ; enzymology ; genetics ; metabolism ; Trehalose ; metabolism ; Triticum ; metabolism ; Zea mays ; metabolism

Butanol production from acid hydrolysate of Jerusalem artichoke juice by Clostridium acetobutylicum L7 was investigated, and it was found that natural components of the hydrolysate were suitable for solvent production with the species. With batch fermentation using the medium containing 48.36 g/L total sugars, 8.67 g/L butanol was produced at 60 h, and the ratio of butanol to acetone to ethanol was 0.58:0.36:0.06, which were similar to the fermentation with fructose as carbon source, but both of these two fermentations were slower than that with glucose as carbon source, indicating the fructose transport of the species might not be effective as that for glucose. When the total sugars of the medium were increased to 62.87 g/L, the residual sugars increased slightly from 3.09 g/L to 3.26 g/L, but butanol production of the fermentation system was improved significantly, with 11.21 g/L butanol produced and the ratio of butanol to acetone to ethanol at 0.64:0.29:0.05, which illustrated that an excess in sugars enhanced the butanol biosynthesis of the species by compromising its acetone production. When the sugar concentration of the medium was further increased, much more sugars were remained unconsumed, making the process economically unfavourable.
Butanols ; metabolism ; Clostridium acetobutylicum ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Helianthus ; chemistry ; Industrial Microbiology ; methods

Objective:To investigate the value of application of combined ultrasound and spinal CT/MRI-assisted lumbar puncture in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients with spinal deformities.Methods:Twelve SMA patients with spinal deformities were evaluated for combined ultrasound and spinal CT/MRI imaging-assisted lumbar intrathecal administration of nusinersen between November 2021 and September 2022.The degree of difficulty of lumbar puncture in SMA patients was graded according to the spinal imaging, and then different puncture methods were designed according to different puncture difficulty grades.The success rate, preparation time, operation time, the number of attempts, and complications of lumbar puncture were counted.Results:In this study, 48 lumbar punctures were performed in 12 patients with SMA, with a success rate of 100%.The average preparation time for puncture was 13.60 min, the average puncture time was 4.96 min, and the average number of attempts was 1.33. No complications such as injury to the spinal cord, nerve and viscera were found in all patients.Conclusions:Combined ultrasound and spinal CT/MRI-assisted lumbar puncture has high value when applied for SMA patients with spinal deformities.

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy of ultrasound-guided spinal nerve block (SNB) and paraverteral nerve block (PVB) in treating postherpetic neuralgia.Methods:A total of 52 patients with postherpetic neuralgia who visited the Pain Clinic of the Xiangya Hospital, Central South University from February 2020 to December 2022 were selected and randomly divided into an ultrasound-guided SNB group and a PVB group using a random number table method, with 26 patients in each group. Patients in the SNB group received ultrasound-guided spinal nerve block therapy; The PVB group received ultrasound-guided paraverteral nerve block treatment. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores, 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) scores, and total effective rate were observed in two groups of patients before treatment, 2 weeks after treatment, 1 month after treatment, 3 months after treatment, and 6 months after treatment. Complications during treatment were also observed.Results:The total effective rates of SNB group patients at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment were significantly higher than those of PVB group (all P<0.05). After treatment, the VAS scores of both groups of patients at each time point were significantly reduced compared to before treatment (all P<0.05); The VAS scores of patients in the SNB group were lower than those in the PVB group at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment, but the difference was not statistically significant (all P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores between SNB and PVB groups before nerve block treatment (all P>0.05). The MCS and PCS scores of the two groups of patients were significantly higher than before treatment at 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after treatment (all P<0.05). The MCS scores of the SNB group were significantly higher than those of the PVB group at 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after treatment (all P<0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in PCS scores between the two groups (all P>0.05). Both groups of patients did not experience any serious complications related to the treatment in this study during the follow-up period. Conclusions:Both ultrasound-guided spinal nerve block and paraverteral nerve block can safely and effectively treat postherpetic neuralgia. The clinical effect of ultrasound-guided spinal nerve block in treating postherpetic neuralgia is better than that of paraverteral nerve block.

Objective:To test the usefulness of PET-range verification (RV) method for proton radiation accuracy verification in poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) phantom using off-line PET/CT scanning.Methods:Proton irradiation dose of 2 Gy and 4 Gy were delivered in PMMA phantom. Given the difference of clinical target volume (CTV), 7 subgroups with different depth (5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 12.5, 15.0, 17.5, 20.0 cm) were set for each dose (14 radiation plans or radiation fields). PET/CT scan was performed 10 min after irradiation of 48-221 MeV proton beam. A co-registration between CT from treatment planning system and PET/CT was performed, as well as the smoothing and normalization of PET/CT data. The region of interest (ROI) and profile lines were drawn with the Raystation PET-RV software. The predictive induced radioactivity and the measured induced radioactivity profile lines were analyzed to evaluate the Δ R50, namely, the error at the position corresponding to 50% of the maximum predictive induced radioactivity at the end of both curves. Results:The size of each ROI was 5.0 cm×5.0 cm×2.5 cm. Profile lines were evenly distributed with the interval of 3 mm, and totally 289 pairs of profile lines were drew. The 2 Gy- and 4 Gy-dose groups yielded similar mean depth errors (Δ R50 between 1 mm and -1 mm with a standard deviation <1 mm). Conclusions:The off-line PET/CT scanning of PMMA phantom reveals a good agreement between predicted and measured PET data, with error of ±1 mm. The PET-RV method can be extended to clinical cases′ verification in human body treatment with further investigation.

The impaction rate of third molars is increasingly high, leading to more and more serious clinical problems. For a long time, the primary approach to managing third molars has been direct extraction, with a notable lack of systematic and diversified treatment methods. This article introduces, for the first time, the concept of whole life-cycle health management for third molars and suggests that the window for third molars life-cycle health management should be moved forward to the tooth germ stage. For tooth germs of third molars with severe risks, timely and necessary intervention should be administered. For normally erupting third molars, efforts should be made to maintain their health so they can function over the long term. For impacted third molars that have not caused related clinical symptoms, careful observation and cautious extraction should be considered. If necessary, techniques such as orthodontics and autotransplantation can be used to functionalize them. For impacted third molars that have caused clinical symptoms, functional oral surgical principles should be applied to reduce surgical trauma and prevent intraoperative and postoperative complications using advanced clinical techniques.

The incidence of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral fracture (OTLVF) in the elderly is gradually increasing. The kyphotic deformity caused by various factors has become an important characteristic of OTLVF and has received increasing attention. Its clinical manifestations include pain, delayed nerve damage, sagittal imbalance, etc. Currently, the definition and diagnosis of OTLVF with kyphotic deformity in the elderly are still unclear. Although there are many treatment options, they are controversial. Existing guidelines or consensuses pay little attention to this type of fracture with kyphotic deformity. To this end, the Lumbar Education Working Group of the Spine Branch of the Chinese Medicine Education Association and Editorial Committee of Chinese Journal of Trauma organized the experts in the relevant fields to jointly develop Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral fractures with kyphotic deformity in the elderly ( version 2024), based on evidence-based medical advancements and the principles of scientificity, practicality, and advanced nature, which provided 18 recommendations to standardize the clinical diagnosis and treatment.