Objective To evaluate the influence of different surface roughness on final surface texture of glazed ceramic. Methods Sixty porcelain discs were fabricated and randomly divided into five groups (n=12), which were sequentially grounded with water-cooled sandpapers of decreasing abrasiveness (220# , 400# , 600# , 800# and 1200# grit), and then all the specimens were glazed. Before and after glazing, the surface roughness (Ra) μm of the same specimens were evaluated quantitatively with profilometer and qualitatively using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results The smoothest surfaces were obtained with 1 200# sandpapers griting prior to overglazing (Ra =0. 19 μm),and 220# sandpapers griting prior to overglazing displayed the roughest surfaces (Ra =0. 55 μm) ; each group displayed significant difference before and after glazing (P < 0. 05). The images obtained through SEM were consistent with the profilometer readings. Conclusions The results suggest that decreasing the surface roughness of dental ceramic prior to glazing is of great importance in order to obtain the smoothest surface after glazing.

Objective To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of intracranial vertebrobasilar artery stenosis. Methods By cluster sampling, adult Han people were recruited from residential communities. Medical history was documented and body height, body weight, waist circumference, hip circumference and blood pressure were measured. Venous blood samples were collected to determine serum fasting glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides concentrations. Intracranial vertebrobasilar artery stenosis was diagnosed with transcranial Doppler. The SPSS 11.0 software package was used for data analysis. Results Among 1035 people conforming to the inclusion criteria, intracranial vertebrobasilar artery stenosis was found in 58 (5.6%), 17 with left VA stenosis, 23 with right VA stenosis and 30 with BA stenosis.Univariate analysis showed that subjects with diabetes mellitus had a significantly higher prevalence ( 10. 3% ) of intracranial vertebrobasilar artery stenosis (χ2 = 6. 221, P = 0. 013 ) and the mean systolic blood pressure (( 131.1 ± 25.5) mm Hg, 1 mm Hg = 0. 133 kPa) in the subjects with stenosis was significantly higher than those without (3.2%, ( 124. 1 ± 21.6) mm Hg) (t = 2. 228, P = 0. 026). Logistic regression indicated that diabetes mellitus and systolic blood pressure were independent risk factors for intracranial vertebrobasilar artery stenosis ( diabetes mellitus: OR = 3. 305, P = 0. 023; elevated systolic blood pressure 1 mm Hg: OR = 1. 012, P =0. 047). Conclusions This study demonstrated a considerably high prevalence of intracranial vertebrobasilar artery stenosis in a southern Chinese population. Diabetes mellitus and systolic blood pressure play potent roles in intracranial vertebrobasilar artery stenosis.

Family with sequence similarity 3 (FAM3) gene family is closely related to human tumors, and plays an important role in glucose and lipid metabolism and angiogenesis, and it is related to the occurrence and development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, gastric cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, oral squamous cell carcinoma and breast cancer. Analysis of the role of the FAM3 gene family in glycolipid metabolism and tumors may be of great significance for understanding the occurrence and development of human tumors.

Objective: The aging model of guinea pigs induced by D-galactose was set up to investigate the changes of BK_Ca expression and function on cochlear pericytes and their relationship with age-related hearing loss. Methods: Thirty healthy 8-week-old guinea pigs were randomly divided into three groups, with 10 in each group: D-galactose aging model group, subcutaneous injection of D-galactose (500 mg/kg) daily for 6 weeks; saline control group, the same amount of saline was injected into the neck of the aging model group for 6 weeks; the blank control group, no treatment was performed. The threshold of auditory brainstem response (ABR) was detected. The content of BK_Ca in the perivascular cells of the guinea pig cochlear cells was detected by immunofluorescence technique. The changes of peripheral current density and BK_Ca current were detected by patch clamp technique. The data were analyzed by GraphPad Prism software. Results: Compared with the saline group and the control group, the ABR threshold and the amplitude of the wave I were significantly decreased in the aging model group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the expression of BK_Ca in the vascular pericytes of guinea pigs in the aging model group was significantly reduced (1.00±0.08 vs 0.27±0.03,the difference was statistically significant P<0.01), and the cell current density and BK_Ca net current value were also significantly reduced with statistically significant (P<0.01). Conclusions D-galactose can successfully induce guinea pig aging model, in which BK_Ca expression decreases and net current value decreases in pericytes of cochlear striavascularis, and changes in BK_Ca expression and function may be related to age-related hearing loss.

Objective To investigate the effect of afferent blockade of visceral adipose tissue(VAT)on cardiac function and cardiac neural remodeling in rats after myocardial infarction(MI).Methods After 30 healthy SPF-grade male SD rats were subjected,12 of them were randomly divided into control group(n=6)and activation group(n=6).In the activation group,low-dose capsaicin(1 mmol/L)was used to activate VAT afferent nerves,while in the control group,an equal amount of normal saline was injected,and real-time blood pressure and heart rate were monitored for 30 min.The other 18 rats were randomly assigned into sham group(n=6),MI group(n=6),and high-dose capsaicin blockade group(n=6).The MI model was established by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery.After MI modeling,the high-dose capsaicin blockade group was give 33 mmol/L capsaicin to block VAT afferent nerve,and the sham opera-tion group and MI group were injected with the same amount of normal saline.After 2 weeks,car-diac function was measured by echocardiography,infarct size was measured by TTC staining,heart rate variability was analyzed,and myocardial tyrosine hydroxylase(TH)was measured.The levels of myocardial superoxide dismutase(SOD)and malondialdehyde(MDA)were measured by biochemical methods.Results More significant changes in blood pressure and heart rate were observed in the activation group than the control group(P＜0.01).The MI group had obviously larger infarct size,higher LVEDD and LVESD,and increased myocardial TH density and MDA level,but lower LVEF and myocardial SOD activity than the sham group(P＜0.05).However,the infarct size,LVEDD(9.15±0.37 mm vs 10.1±0.85 mm),LVESD(6.33±0.40 mm vs 7.87±0.86 mm)were obviously decreased,while LVEF[(67.04±3.34)％vs(47.10±3.89)％]and myocar-dial FS[(33.26±2.50)％vs(20.81±2.14)％]activity were greatly increased in the high dose capsaicin group than the MI group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Activation of VAT afferent nerve can increase blood pressure and heart rate;while its blockade can reduce the infarct size,protect cardiac function and inhibit cardiac nerve remodeling in MI rats,possibly by reducing oxidative stress.

Hydrocephalus is often treated with a cerebrospinal fluid shunt (CFS) for excessive amounts of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. However, it is very difficult to distinguish whether the ventricular enlargement is due to hydrocephalus or other causes, such as brain atrophy after brain damage and surgery. The non-trivial evaluation of the consciousness level, along with a continuous drainage test of the lumbar cistern is thus clinically important before the decision for CFS is made. We studied 32 secondary mild hydrocephalus patients with different consciousness levels, who received T1 and diffusion tensor imaging magnetic resonance scans before and after lumbar cerebrospinal fluid drainage. We applied a novel machine-learning method to find the most discriminative features from the multi-modal neuroimages. Then, we built a regression model to regress the JFK Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) scores to quantify the level of consciousness. The experimental results showed that our method not only approximated the CRS-R scores but also tracked the temporal changes in individual patients. The regression model has high potential for the evaluation of consciousness in clinical practice.