OBJECTIVETo compare therapeutic effects between surgical and conservative treatment for postoperative lumbar discitis.

METHODSFrom January 2004 to January 2009, 41 patients (17 males and 24 females ranging the age from 37 to 68 years with an average of 53.6 years) with postoperative lumbar discitis were retrospectively studied and divided into two groups. There were 19 patients in operation group, 22 patients in conservative group. Clinical data and features,image data, laboratory examinations, antibiotics utilization, hospital stays and sequelae were recorded and analyzed. Visual analogue scales system (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were applied to evaluate therapeutic effects.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up over 2 years. Imaging revealed good bone fusion and no occurrence of discitis. VAS score and ODI at 1 month, 1 year and 2 years were significantly improved after treatment (P < 0.01). While VAS and ODI in operation group at 1 month were improved more than that of conservative group (P < 0.01), and there was no significant difference between two groups at 1 year and 2 years (P > 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSurgical and conservative treatment for postoperative lumbar discitis is effective. Surgical treatment is superior to conservative treatment in a short time, while conservative treatment can achieve long-term satisfactory curative effects.

Adult ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Discitis ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; drug effects ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To observe the effect of liver-soothing and mind-regulating acupuncture method on the resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) in rats with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),and to provide evidence for the effect mechanism study and clinical application of acupuncture intervention for PTSD.Methods:Sixty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a blank control group,a model group,a grasping group,a paroxetine group and an acupuncture group,with 12 rats in each group.Except for rats in the blank control group,rats in the other groups were subjected to preparing the PTSD models using 'incarceration plus electric shock' method.After interventions,changes in rat behavior of each group were observed;changes in resting-state EEG were collected and analyzed with multichannel EEG acquisition and analysis system,and image analysis and statistical processing were performed.Results:Compared with the blank control group,the average escape latency in the model group was significantly longer (P＜0.05),and the times of crossing the platform and the effective areas were all significantly reduced (P＜0.01).Compared with the grasping group,the average escape latencies in the paroxetine group and acupuncture group were significantly shortened (P＜0.05),and the times of crossing the platform and the effective areas were all significantly increased (P＜0.05).There were no significant differences in the average escape latency,the times of crossing the platform and the effective areas between the acupuncture group and paroxetine group (all P＞0.05).Compared with the blank control group,the α-wave power spectrum value in the model group was significantly decreased,and the power spectrum values of β-wave,δ-wave and a-wave were significantly increased (all P＜0.01);compared with the grasping group,α-wave power spectrum values in the paroxetine group and acupuncture group were significantly increased (both P＜0.01),and the power spectrum values of β-wave,δ-wave and a-wave were decreased significantly (all P＜0.01).The power spectrum values of α-wave,β-wave,δ-wave and (e)-wave of rats in the acupuncture group were not significantly different from those in the paroxetine group (all P＞0.05).Conclusion:Liver-soothing and mind-regulating acupuncture method can significantly improve the abnormal EEG activity in PTSD rats,which may be one mechanism of liver-soothing and mind-regulating acupuncture method in effectively affecting the brain function in PTSD rats.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the applicability of integration between three-dimensional (3D) facial and dental data to evaluate the nasolabial morphology variation before and after the cross-arch fixed restoration of the maxillary implant-supported prostheses. METHODS: Twelve patients (4 women and 8 men), mean age (54.82±5.50) years (from 45 to 62 years) referred to the Department of Oral Implan-tology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, were selected and diagnosed with edentulous maxilla. For all the patients, 4 to 6 implants were inserted into the maxilla. Six months later, the final cross-arch fixed prostheses were delivered. The 3D facial images were collected before and after the final restoration. The 3D data of prostheses were also captured. All the 3D data were registered and measured in the same coordinate system. Then the displacement of all the landmarks [cheilion left (CHL), cheilion right (CHR), crista philtri left (CPHL), crista philtri right (CPHR), labrale supe-rius (LS), subnasale (SN), stomion (STO), upper incisor (UI), upper flange border of the prostheses (F-point, F)], and the variation of the distances between these landmarks (SN-LS, CPHR-CPHL, CHR-CHL, LS-STO) were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: The consistency test among three measurements of the length of F-SN indicated that the integration method of the dental prostheses and soft tissue had the good repetitiveness, ICC=0.983 (95%CI: 0.957-0.995). After wearing the final cross-arch maxillary implant-supported prostheses, all the landmarks on the soft tissue moved forward. The nasal base area changed minimally, and the shift of SN in the sagittal direction was only (0.61±0.44) mm. But the sagittal shift of LS was (3.12±1.38) mm. In the vertical direction, SN, LS, CPHL, and CPHR moved upward. But STO, CHL, and CHR moved downward a little. Except for the slight decrease of the length of philtrum (SN-LS), the length of CHL-CHR, CPHL-CPHR, and the height of upper lip were increased together (P < 0.01). In the direction of Z axis, the strong correlations were found not only between the movements of SN and F (r=0.904 3) but also between the movements of LS and UI (r=0.958 4). CONCLUSION The integration method of 3D facial and dental data showed good repetitiveness. And the strong correlations between the landmarks of prostheses and nasolabial soft tissue in the sagittal direction were found by this new method.
Female ; Humans ; Incisor ; Lip ; Male ; Maxilla/surgery* ; Middle Aged ; Mouth, Edentulous ; Prostheses and Implants

In this paper, GLUT4 vesicles are observed in real-time under TIRF microscopy and a new three-dimensional single particle tracking algorithm according to the unique features of TIRF is put forward. Firstly a fluorescence correction procedure was processed to solve the problem of fluorescence bleaching over time and mobile vesicles were segmented by an adaptive background subtraction method. Kalman filtering was then introduced to track the granules so as to reduce the searching range and to avoid the disturbance of background noise and false targets. In the experiments the algorithm was applied in analyzing the long-distance movement of GLUT4 vesicles. The experimental results indicate that the algorithm has achieved robust tracking of the vesicles in the imaging plane and has effectively calculated the position in the direction orthogonal to the imaging plane.
Glucose Transporter Type 4 ; metabolism ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; instrumentation ; methods ; Ion Transport ; Microscopy, Fluorescence ; methods

Acetates ; metabolism ; Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; metabolism ; pharmacokinetics ; Biotransformation ; Diterpenes ; metabolism ; Paclitaxel ; metabolism ; Taxoids ; metabolism ; pharmacokinetics

According to previous studies of SARS-CoV (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus), a variety of novel accessory genes have been identified in SARS-CoV genome, which were interspersed the structural genes of SARS-CoV and considered to be unique to the SARS-CoV genome. The predicted unknown proteins (PUPs) encoded by the accessory genes might play important roles in the SARS-CoV infection. Three of those genes, called X4, X5 and ORF10, were synthesized and introduced into E. coli to induce expression. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting revealed that the three genes have been expressed in E. coli. The induction of SARS PUPs genes expression in different temperatures, induction times, IPTG concentrations and A values of E. coli cells were performed. The optimal induction condition of SARS-CoV PUPs genes was characterized according to the orthorgonal analysis. The ratio of recombinant proteins of PUPs to total proteins is as follows: X4, 20%; X5, 27.8%; ORF10, 68.5% under the optimum conditions.
Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral ; Genes, Viral ; Genetic Vectors ; Genome, Viral ; Open Reading Frames ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; SARS Virus ; genetics ; Temperature ; Time ; Viral Matrix Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Viral Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism

Taxol is one of the most potent chemotherapeutic agents known, showing excellent activity against a range of cancers. In addition to anticancer, taxol has the effect of preventing graft arteriosclerosis, antiscaring formation and inhibiting angiogenesis. There are five possible routes to industrialize taxol production: isolation from the bark of the yew species, total synthesis, semisynthesis, tissue or cell culture, endophytic fungal fermentation and metabolism engineering. There are at least 14 genes related to the taxol biosynthesis had been cloned from yews and functionally expressed in different hosts. The combinational expression system of taxol makes progress as the clarification of biosynthetic pathway of taxol.
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; biosynthesis ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Arteriosclerosis ; prevention & control ; Genes, Plant ; Genetic Engineering ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Paclitaxel ; biosynthesis ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Taxoids ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Taxus ; chemistry ; genetics

OBJECTIVECloning and bioinformatics analysis of P450 cDNA in Artemisia annua.

METHODA P450 cDNA gene was cloned from A. annua by RT-PCR. The bioinformatics analysis of the P450 gene was performed.

RESULTThe complete ORF of this P450 cDNA is 1 464 bp and encodes 488 aa. The sequence was reported to GenBank and coded as DQ667171. Bioinformatics analysis of the P450 cDNA showed it encoded an A-type P450 protein with 54. 992 kDa, it's isoelectric point was 8.83 and the possibility of export to mitochondria was 0.893 2.

CONCLUSIONThe comparable analysis of the P450 with CYP71AV1 revealed that the two proteins probably performed the same function because of the similar character.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Artemisia annua ; enzymology ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; classification ; genetics ; DNA, Complementary ; chemistry ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Open Reading Frames ; genetics ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; Plants, Medicinal ; enzymology ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

Objective To investigate the effect of tetramethylpyrazine ( TMP) on neointimal hyperplasia induced by balloon injury.Methods VSMCs were cultured by tissue explants adherent method and VSMCs proliferation models induced by platelet -derived growth factor ( PDGF) were established.Cell counting analysis was adopted to evaluate the in-hibitory effects of TMP in a dose of 0, 20, 40 and 80 μmol · L-1 on VSMCs.Western blot analysis was performed to analyze the effect of TMP on the activator protein -1 ( AP-1 ) , proliferating cell nuclear antigen ( PCNA ) , cyclooxygenase ( COX-2 ) , intercellular adhesion molecular ( ICAM -1 ) , and integrin -linked kinase ( ILK ) expressions in VSMCs.Hemetoxylin and Eosin ( HE) staining was performed to investi-gate the effects of TMP on the neointimal hyperplasia induced by balloon injury.Results TMP inhibited cell proliferation induced by PDGF ( 20μg· L-1 ) in a dose-dependent (0, 20, 40, 80 μmol· L-1 ) manner.Remarkable decreases of AP -1, PCNA, COX-2, ICAM-1 and ILK expression were demonstrated in the TMP group compared with the model group in VSMCs.TMP inhibited the neointimal thickening induced by ballon injury , with a significantly lower ratio of intima -to-media area ( l/M) in the TMP group.Conclusion TMP plays a role in preventing neointimal hyperplasia through inhibiting or blocking proliferation , expressions of inflammatory genes and adhesion molecules.

Objective To investigate the potential mechanism of "osseopereepfion" which is the sensory and motor experience associated with dental implants. Methods Twenty patients with implant supported full dentures or traditional full dentures were recruited in this study. Functional MRI (fMRI) scan covering the whole brain was carried out in these patients in clenching. The fMRI data were analyzed with SPM 99 software. Results In implant supported removable denture group, increased blood oxyen level dependent (BOLD) signals during clenching were found in prefrontal cortex, premotor cortex, superior parietal cortex, basal ganglion and thalamus. In implant supported fixed denture group, main activations were found in prefrontal cortex, primary sensory and motor cortex, Broca's area, premotor cortex, superior temporal cortex, insular, basal ganglion, thalamus and hippocampus. In traditional full denture group,significant activations were mainly found in prefrontal cortex, premotor cortex. Their activation maps showed the greatest individually dependent diversity. Conclusions Sensory and motor feedback of central nervous system in patients with implant support fixed dentures is close to that of natural dentition. Mastication with traditional full dentures is more likely a process of task learning, memory and adaptation, which might be a more individually dependent restoration.