Objective: To measure and compare the color of a new and a conventional Vita shade guide(VITAPAN 3D-Master and LUMIN RVACUUM-Farbskala) in order to provide the references for clinical application.Methods: Color in the two shade guides was measured with Minolta colorimeter CR-321 under the light of D 65 and reported in CIE1976L*a*b* color system. Each tab was detected 3 times in the same dimensions at the middle facial surface. Mean values were calculated as the shade of the tab.Results: The range of color value in VITAPAN 3D-Master was larger than that in LUMIN R VACUUM-Farbaskala because the lower value tab was added. The distrbution of a* deviated to the red color , while the green color was relatively deficient. The yellow color could cover the color space of Chinese teeth, and the blue was not enough, although the distribution of b* was enlarged. The tabs of the two shade guides did not match with each other. Only a few tabs could not tell in shade by naked eyes. Conclusion: VITAPAN 3D -Master shade guide can not cover the color of Chinese teeth although it has 10 tabs added and color space enlarged.

Objective: To develop a new denture grinding machine to replace the manually grinding procedure for metallic denture parts. Methods: Two hexagonal barrels were symmetrically fixed on a round plate. The direction of rotation and revolution of the barrels were reversed. The denture parts that were put into the barrels together with grinding materials and solution were ground by centrifugal force caused by rotation and revolution of the barrels. Results: The surface roughness of pure titanium castings went down from 1.060 ?m to 0.3113 ?m after ground with the automatic grinding machine using different shapes of grinding materials in series. Conclusion: The automatic grinding machine is competent for grinding the metallic denture parts.

With the progresses of the research on "Digital Human", more and more information has been needed for the setting up of the three-dimensional digital models of human organs. In the present paper, based on the method of block mapping with a normal-style bump mapping method, we normalized the vector of the surface of the models, computed offset of the texture coordinates and added to them. The projection of the coordinates to the tangential space complemented the disturbance to the vector of models' surface. The method was proposed with bump texture mapping on the surface of the biological models of organs to improve the impression of the visualization of the organ models and to enhance the sense of reality of the models.
Humans ; Models, Anatomic ; Models, Biological

BACKGROUND:Segmental bone defects resulting from osteoporotic fractures, trauma, congenital bone dysplasia and progressive bone disorder are very common, and bone tissue engineering provides a new approach to bone defect repair. Growth factors related to bone tissue engineering bone have been reported a lot and have achieved some results. How to mimick the natural timing of different growth factors with different bioactivities has become the current hotspot in bone repair. OBJECTIVE: To review the new developments in vascular endothelial growth factor and bone morphogenetic protein in bone tissue engineering. METHODS: The first author searched CNKI (1990/2015) and Medline database (1990/2015) for related articles using the key words of “osteogenic factors, angiogenic factors, tissue engineering bone, bone repair, vascularization, vascular endothelial growth factor, bone morphogenetic protein, sequential release, seed cels, cytoskeleton” in Chinese and English, respectively. Mechanism of action and research direction about vascular endothelial growth factor and bone morphogenetic protein were summarized. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Totaly 313 papers were searched initialy, and finaly 87 papers were enroled in result analysis. The results show that different growth factors play different roles in bone repair. Vascularization and osteogenesis are the most important processes in bone repair. The osteogenic factors play an important role in maintaining bone structure and bone formation. The angiogenic factors can provide oxygen and nutrients for tissue growth, differentiation and functionalization. The combination of osteogenic and angiogenic factors has a better osteogenic effect than osteogenic or angiogenic factors used alone. However, the most important problem is how to control the exogenous osteogenesis and the release dosage of angiogenic factors in bone repair.

Objective To investigate the effects of rhein on insulin sensitivity of diabetic rats induced by high fat feeding and low dose streptozotocin (STZ), and the possible mechanisms. Methods (1) Fifty-five Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control group (NC,n=15) and diabetes group (DM, n=40). The NC rats were fed with regular chow and DM rats were fed with high fat diet. Five weeks later, the DM rats were injected with STZ 30 mg/kg once. The 30 diabetic rats were randomly divided into two subgroups, diabetic control group (DM-C) and diabetic group treated with rhein (DM-T). DM-T rats received intragastric administration of rhein and DM-C rats were given equal doses of solvent. All rats were sacrificed eleven weeks later, the blood sample was collected. The body weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1C, triglycerides (TG), tolal cholesterol (TC), glycosylated serum protein (GSP) and Fasting insulin (FINS) concentrations were examined.The insulin sensitive index (ISI) and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) werecalculated. (2) The PPART and GLUT-2 expression in hepatic tissue were detected by immunohistoehemistry and Western-blot. Results At the end of experiment the FBG [(22.57±3.23 vs 7.11±1.44) mmol/L,P<0.01],HbA1C[(12.49±1.96 vs 8.36±0.84)%, P<0.01], TG [(0.89±0.29 vs 0.58±0.17)nunoL/L,P<0.01],GSP [(57.29±4.14 vs 13.43±2.70)μmoL/L, P<0.01] and tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α,(1.365±0.133 vs 1.233±0.159) μg/L, P<0.05] and the liver weight index (0.032±0.004 vs 0.024±0.002, P<0.01) in DM-C rats were higher than those in NC rats. Besides, the ISI of DM-C rats decreased [In(ISI),-5.46±0.61 vs -4.81±0.75, P<0.05] and HOMA-IR elevated [In(HOMA-IR),2.34±0.64 vs 1.70±0.78,P<0.05]. The expression of PPARγ [11 131.7(5 723.1-18 979.4) vs 48 782.1(21 576.7-108 829.5), P<0.01] and GLUT-2 (0.98±0.35 vs 1.29±0.27, P<0.05) of DM-C rats decreased markedly compared with NC rats. Compared with DM-C rats, FBG [(15.94±3.16) mmol/L], HbA1C[(10.51±1.74)%], GSP[(47-31±6.09) μmol/L] in DM-T and the In (HOMA-IR), (1.86±0.30) rats decreased (P<0.05 or P<0.01), and In (ISI), of DM-T rats increased (-4.97±0.29, P<0.05). The expressions of PPARγ [35 156.3(24 554.3-86 660.9)] and GLUT-2 (1.55±0.55) of DM-T rats were up-regulated markedly compared with DM-C rats (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion Rhein decreased FBG, HbA1C and GSP, and improved the insulin sensitivity in diabetic rats, which might be related to the up-regulated expressions of PPARγ and GLUT-2 in hepatic tissue.

BACKGROUND: Splint fixation was a common treatment for limb fracture, but there were some limitations, such as lack of individual difference, easy to lose and being unable to self-adjusting.OBJECTIVE: To explore the design method of digital splint and related finite element analysis.METHODS: Forearms were scanned with CT; periphery parameters were extracted, followed by reverse modeling and modifying. The digital splint models were constructed. Material attribute and mechanical loading were conducted. Thelimb length, maximum stress and displacement of the bone, soft tissue and splint were calculated by finite elementanalysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The digital splint has favorable tight attaching and balanced stress to skin, and whichkeeps well stability for the micro-motion fracture ends. Our study indicated that better tight attaching splint could bedesigned by digital modeling technology. Favorable fracture fixation and mechanical property could be also achieved.

Objective: To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment on M1 polarization of alveolar macrophages (AMs) in rats with acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and to explore the potential protective mechanism of EA.Methods: Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, and three groups of EA pretreatment [including a Chize (LU5) group, a Zusanli (ST36) group and a Chize (LU5) plus Zusanli (ST36) group], with eight rats in each group. The model rats of ALI were established by instilling LPS [2 mg/(kg·bw)] into the trachea of rats for 3 h. The rats in each EA pretreatment group were pretreated with EA for 30 min per day at the corresponding bilateral acupoints 6 d before instilling LPS. Three hours after modeling, the pulmonary function of the rats was tested, and the lung tissue was taken to calculate the ratio of lung wet weight to dry weight (W/D). The pathological lung changes and the injury score were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The contents of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in rat's bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mRNA and protein expression levels of M1 macrophage markers clusters of differentiation 86 (CD86), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and its signaling pathway factor Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p65 in the alveoli were detected by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively. Results: After being induced by LPS, the pulmonary function of the model rats showed that the forced expiratory volume in 0.1 s (FEV0.1), forced expiratory volume in 0.3 s (FEV0.3), and their respective ratios of FEV to forced vital capacity (FVC) (including FEV0.1/FVC and FEV0.3/FVC) were significantly decreased (P<0.01), while the W/D of lung tissue was increased (P<0.01). The score of lung injury was significantly higher (P<0.01). The contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, and MPO in the BALF and the mRNA and protein expression levels of CD86, iNOS, TLR4, and NF-κB p65 in the lung tissue were significantly increased (P<0.01). After EA pretreatment, the FEV0.1, FEV0.3, FEV0.1/FVC, and FEV0.3/FVC were significantly increased, the lung injury score decreased significantly, and the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, and MPO in the BALF and the expression levels of CD86, iNOS, TLR4, and NF-κB p65 mRNAs and proteins in the alveoli decreased significantly (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with the other two single acupoint groups, the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, and MPO in the BALF and the expression levels of CD86, iNOS, TLR4, and NF-κB p65 mRNAs in the alveoli in the Chize (LU5) plus Zusanli (ST36) group were significantly lower (P<0.01). Conclusion: EA pretreatment at Chize (LU5) and Zusanli (ST36) can inhibit inflammation and reduce pulmonary injury in ALI rats induced by LPS. The effect of the combination of Chize (LU5) and Zusanli (ST36) is better than that of using these two acupoints separately, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of AMs' M1 polarization by down-regulation TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Objective: To investigate the effect of histone deacetylase inhibitor apicidin on the glioblastoma U87 cells and its regulation of OCT-4 gene expression. Methods: Glioblastoma U87 cells were treated with different concentrations of apicidin, and dimethyl sulfoxide instead of apicidin was negative control. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was used to detect the proliferative ability of U87 cells treated by apicidin. The cell apoptosis was observed under the fluorescence microscope, and the cell cycle was detected by using flow cytometry. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot was used to detect the expression of mRNA and protein of U87 cells, respectively relative to the expression of GAPDH. Results: MTT assay results showed that apicidin inhibited U87 cells proliferation in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner, and half of the inhibitory concentration of cell proliferation at 48 h was (1.74±0.13) μmol/L. The cell proportion of U87 cells in S-phase of the negative control, 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 μmol/L apicidin was (32.68±0.49)%, (33.73±0.76)%, (42.92±0.56)%, and (56.95±0.53)%, respectively after 48 h apicidin administration (P < 0.05), while the proportion of G₁ and G₂ phase cells was decreased. The karyopyknosis and other apoptotic changes were detected in U87 cells after 48 h treatment of 1.0 μmol/L apicidin under the confocal fluorescence microscope. Western blot and RT-PCR showed that the mRNA and protein relative levels of U87 cells OCT-4 were reduced after 1.0 μmol/L apicidin treatment for 48 h compared with the negative control group (mRNA: 72.44±0.00 vs. 56.66±0.23; protein: 86.59±0.19 vs. 56.04±0.15, both P < 0.01). Conclusions Apicidin can inhibit the growth of glioblastoma U87 cells, induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Its mechanism may be related to the expression of OCT-4 inhibited by apicidin.

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of individualised microvascular decompression (MVD) for trigeminal neuralgia (TN), so as to provide individualised treatment strategies and new thoughts for treatment.Methods:Clinical data of 46 patients who had TN and treated in the Department of Neurosurgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2021 to September 2023 were retrospectively studied. The study consisted of 19 males and 27 females, with an average age of morbidity at (58.3 ± 9.0) years old. Preoperative pain ratings and surgical outcomes were evaluated using the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) pain rating scale, and of which 27 patients were rated at BNI grade IV and 19 at grade V before surgery. A posterior trans-sigmoid sinus approach was applied in surgery on all patients, which could be performed in various ways depending on the vascular conditions identified during surgery. Ten patients were treated with microsurgery, 12 with endoscopic surgery and 24 with combined endoscopic surgery and microsurgery. After having identified the responsible vessel(s), a vascular decompression for the affected trigeminal nerve was performed and the nerve decompression was achieved by a polyester pad. Long-term postoperative follow-ups were conducted via telephone interviews or outpatient visits.Results:A total of 46 patients received the microvascular decompression surgery. Among them, 43 cases (93.5%) achieved immediate and complete pain relief of BNI grade I after surgery, and 3 cases (6.5%) achieved partial pain relief of BNI grade Ⅱ. Four patients developed facial numbness and sensory reduction, 2 developed facial paralysis (of House-Brackmann grade Ⅱ of 1 patient and grade Ⅲ of the other), 8 developed pneumocephalus, 4 developed postoperative fever, and 2 developed subcutaneous effusion. After treatment, the pneumocephalus and fever were cured, subcutaneous effusion was disappeared in 1 patient, but remained in the other. The mean follow-up period for the 46 patients was 16.2 (1-33) months. During the follow-up, 2 of the 3 patients of BNI grade Ⅱ immediately after surgery had complete remission to BNI grade Ⅰ and the other had recurrence and aggravation at BNI grade Ⅳ.Conclusion:The complexity of the responsible vessels is one of the important factors to be considered in the microvascular decompression strategy for trigeminal neuralgia. An individualised surgical plan according to a specific vascular condition identified in the surgery, is a best possible or worthiness surgical strategy in the treatment for a TN.

Objective To evaluate the factors affecting urinary stone detection rate using virtual unenhanced(VUE)images obtained from triphasic dual-energy CT urography(DECTU)based on Logistic regression analysis.Methods For this study,150 patients who had suspected urinary stone and underwent triphasic DECTU were included.The true unenhanced(TUE)images were reconstructed as 120 kVp-like images,and VUE images at the portal venous phase[VUE(VP)]and excretory phase[VUE(EP)]were obtained using iodine removal technique from portal venous and excretory phase DECTU images,respectively.Two readers independently evaluated the above three types of images,and recorded the number of urinary stones,their anatomical locations,and whether there was residual iodine on the VUE images.Stone size and CT number were recorded only on the TUE images.Stone size,CT number,anatomical location,and iodine contrast agent were included in univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses to evaluate the factors affecting urinary stone detection rate using VUE images.Thresholds for detecting urinary stones on VUE images were determined using receiver operating characteristics(ROC)analysis.Results We detected 304 stones on TUE images,while the detection rates were 92.4％and 71.4％when using VUE(VP)and VUE(EP)images,respectively.Stone size and CT number were important factors influencing urinary stone detection rate using VUE(VP)and VUE(EP)images(P＜0.01).The area under curve(AUC)of using stone size and CT number for detecting stones using the VUE(VP)images was up to 0.96,and as threshold values,stones with size larger than 3.52 mm and CT number greater than 469 HU were found to have high accuracy.However,the AUC decreased to 0.88 when we combined stone size,CT number and anatomical location using the VUE(EP)images.In addition,different contrast agents did not affect the detection rate of stones on the VUE(EP)images(P=0.57).The stone detection rate in the kidney was significantly lower than those on the VUE(EP)images(P＜0.001).Conclusion VUE(VP)images provide better stone detection.Stone size and CT number have significant impacts on the stone detection rate using VUE images.The lower stone detection rate in the kidney on the VUE(EP)images is related to the residual iodine.