Visualization of medical images has become an important method for the basic medical research as well as clinical diagnosis and treatment.Construction of the highly sophisticated three-dimensional(3D) models of the human body by computers has become an essential foundation for current medical research and disease treatment methods.Visualization Toolkit(VTK) is a kind of famous software in scientific visualization fields.It is convenient and efficient for programming.This paper implements three typical algorithms,Contour-connecting,Marching Cubes and Ray-casting,of medical image 3D visualization using VTK with VC++.Results show that VTK is a powerful tool with many advantages,such as simple operation,fast,and good interaction ability and can be widely used in 3D reconstruction of medical images.

Objective To explore pathological characteristics of different white matter tracts at core of the spinal cord injury (SCI) in adult rats. Methods 21 adult female Wistar rats were divided into normal group (n=3), sham group (n=3) and lesion group (n=15). The rats of the lesion group were severely injured at T7-8 using the NYU impactor of 10 g×50 mm. The pathology of spinal cord injury was detected using Luxol fast blue (LFB) staining and NF200 immunohistochemistry staining 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days and 28 days after injury, while the hindlimbs behavior of rats was rated with Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scores of open-field. Results The BBB scores recovered 3 days after injury and reached a platform from 14 to 28 days after injury. LFB showed that there were spared white matters on ventral white matter (VWM) and lateral white matter (LWM). The percentage of spared white matters area decreased to the lowest 3 days after injury, and reached a platform from 7 to 28 days after injury. The number of NF200-IR axons reduced significantly in white matter tracts after SCI. Conclusion Ventral spared white matters plays a key role in the recovery of motor function in rat with SCI, and the first 3 days was a time window to protect the white matters from injury.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression pattern of resistin (RSTN) in skeletal muscle tissue and its influence on glycometabolism in rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

METHODSSeventy-eight SD rats were randomly divided into traumatic group (n=36), RSTN group (n=36) and sham operation group (n=6). Fluid percussion TBI model was developed in traumatic and RSTN groups and the latter received additional 1 mg RSTN antibody treatment for each rat. At respectively 12 h, 24 h, 72 h, 1 w, 2 w, and 4 w after operation, venous blood was collected and the right hind leg skeletal muscle tissue was sampled. We used real-time PCR to determine mRNA expression of RSTN in skeletal muscles, western blot to determine RSTN protein expression and ELISA to assess serum insulin as well as fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels. Calculation of the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (Q value) was also conducted. The above mentioned indicators and their correction were statistically analyzed.

RESULTSCompared with sham operation group, the RSTN expression in the skeletal muscle as well as serum insulin and FBG levels revealed significant elevation (P<0.05), and reduced Q value (P<0.05) in traumatic group. Single factor linear correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between RSTN expression and Q values (P<0.001) in traumatic group.

CONCLUSIONThe expression of RSTN has been greatly increased in the muscular tissue of TBI rats and it was closely related to the index of glycometabolism. RSTN may play an important role in the process of insulin resistance after TBI.

Animals ; Brain Injuries ; metabolism ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Resistin ; analysis

Objective To investigate the effect of human amniotic epithelial cell(hAEC)transplantation on endometrium improvement and matrix metalloproteinase 8(MMP-8)and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)expression in a rat model of uterine scaring.Methods The uterine scar model was established in rats that were randomly divided into model and transplantation groups with 18 rats in each group.The other 18 rats were used as the sham operation group.Rats in the transplantation group were injected with hAECs in the uterine scar,and rats in model and sham operation groups were administered the same amount of PBS.After 4 weeks,the uterine tissues of eight rats in each group were collected.Histomorphological changes and endometria fibrosis were observed by HE staining and Masson staining respectively,and the endometrial thickness and number of glands were measured.Endometrial growth and receptivity were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining of cytokeratin and integrin β3,respectively.mRNA expression of MMP-8 and VEGFA in endometrial tissues was measured by RT-qPCR.Western blot was used to measure MMP-8 and VEGFA protein expression.After 8 weeks,the remaining 10 rats in each group were used to assess gestational ability.Results The endometrial thickness,gland number,IOD value of keratin and integrin β3,relative mRNA and protein expression levels of MMP-8 and VEGFA,pregnancy rate and number of uterine embryos in model and transplantation groups were lower than those in sham operation group(P<0.05).The endometrial thickness,gland number,IOD value of keratin and integrin β3,relative mRNA and protein expression of MMP-8 and VEGFA,pregnancy rate and number of uterine embryos were higher than those in model group(P<0.05).Additionally,hAEC transplantation improved the pathological morphology of endometrial tissue in rats with uterine scaring and reduced the degree of endometrial fibrosis.Conclusions hAEC transplantation improves endometrial injury,reduces scar formation,improves endometrial receptivity,and enhances pregnancy function in model rats,which may be related to promotion of MMP-8 and VEGFA expression.