OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical application value of cone-beam CT (CBCT) online correcting technology in volume modulated radiation therapy (VMRT) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHOD: Fifty NPC patients applying head neck and shoulder thermoplastic body membrane fixing device were eligible for treatment VMRT, these patients would accept a couple of CBCT scanning by on board imager (OBI) in a fixed time each week after initial setup and after online correcting during the first three week for radiotherapy, CBCT images and DRR images constructed by CT simulation were carried out registration,which could calculate the setup errors of initial setup and after online correcting. RESULT: Fifty patients were accepted 150 scanning after initial setup and 150 scanning after online correcting respectively, the errors after initial setup were (-1.24 ± 1.25)mm in X direction, (1.19 ± 1.85)mm in Y direction, (1.49 ± 1.70) mm in Z direction. The setup errors after online correcting were (-0.13 ± 0.29)mm in X direction, (0.10 ± 0.47)mm in Y direction, (0.17 ± 0.36)mm in Z direction. The setup errors after online correcting were significantly lower than the errors after initial setup in X direction (P < 0.05), Y direction (P < 0.05), Z direction(P < 0.05). The M(PTV) value after online correcting were 0.46 mm, 0.53 mm and 0.59 mm in X, Y and Z directions respectively. CONCLUSION The use of CBCT online correcting technology can significantly reduce the setup errors of VMRT for NPC and improve the treatment effect.
Carcinoma ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Humans ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; radiotherapy ; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated

[Abstracts] Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of acidizing pretreatment in respiratory acidosis on ischemia-reperfusion (IR) lung injury in rats. Methods Forty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighted 250-300 g, were randomly divided into 6 groups (8 each). Rats in control group: the left pulmonary hilum was dissociated without occlusion; in sham group: the respiratory rate was adjusted to maintain the partial pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide reached 56-65 mmHg for 5 min, the left hilar not blocked; in IR group: the left pulmonary hilum was occluded for 45 min followed by reperfusion for 180 min; in group APC: done as in sham group and blocked the left hilar as in group IR; in group SB+IR: MMP-9 inhibitor SB-3CT 5 mg/kg was intraperitoneally injected, and then treated as in group IR 30 min after; in group SB+APC: done as in group APC, and then SB-3CT 5 mg/kg was injected 30 min after. Rats in all the 6 groups were sacrificed by arterial bleeding when the experiments ended, and lung tissues were taken. HE staining was performed to observe the pathological changes of lung tissues, and immunohistochemistry was used to detect the infiltration of neutrophils (PMN) in lung tissue. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of NF-κB and MMP-9 proteins. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the co-expression of NF-κB and MMP-9 proteins. Results Statistically significant differences existed in each group (P<0.05) in the pathological scores of lung tissue (group control 3.18±1.21; sham group 3.18±1.30; group IR 13.85±5.62; group APC 9.77±3.96; group SB+IR 5.11±2.53; group SB+APC 5.01±2.17), PMN infiltration (IOD values of each group were: group control 0.0015±0.0005; group sham 0.0014±0.0006; group IR 0.0076±0.0012; group APC 0.0057±0.0017; group SB+IR 0.0035±0.001; group SB+APC 0.0031±0.0011), NF-κB and MMP-9 protein expression levels (relative expression values of each group were: control group 0.14±0.04, 0.24±0.07; group sham 015±0.03, 0.25±0.06; group IR 0.56±0.09, 1.09±0.17; group APC 0.41±0.11, 0.81±0.11; group SB+IR 0.36±0.08, 0.56±0.11; group SB+APC 0.35±0.09, 0.55±0.10), and the co-expression of NF-κB and MMP-9 proteins. Multiple comparison results of the above indicators between groups displayed that no significant difference existed between group sham andl group contro (P>0.05). The above indicators were significantly higher in group IR, group APC, group SB+IR and group SB+APC than those in control group and sham group (P<0.05); and were significantly lower in group APC, group SB+IR and group SB+APC than that in group IR (P<0.05); and were significantly lower in group SB+IR and group SB+APC than that in group APC (P<0.05); and no significant difference was found between group SB+APC and group SB+IR (P>0.05). Conclusions In the IR rat model, acidizing pretreatment in respiratory acidosis can alleviate PMN infiltration and IR lung injury. The mechanism may be related to inhibition of NF-κB/MMP-9 protein expression.

Objective To screen the arsenic content situation of drinking water in lower reaches of Yellow River and survey the amount of threatened people drinking high arsenic water and the condition of endemic arsenism.Methods Four counties of Yuncheng,Jiaxiang,Dongchangfu and Boxing were selected to colleft the water samples by CroOSS-sectional survey method.The water arsenic content wag determined by semi-quantitative rapid kit.All water samples having arsenic were re-determined by atomic fluorescence spectrometry.And the nurober of threatened people who drinking high arsenic water were investigated.Results In 4765 water wells screened,303 water samples had contained arsenic,arsenic content of 35 samples Was≥0.030 mg/L,12 samples were exceeding the international standard (arsenic content≥0.050 ms/L),they distributed in 3 counties of Dongchangfu,Yuncheng and Jiaxiang.The residents drinking water wells of arsenic content≥0.030 mg/L were surveyed by epidemiological investigation.And in the 28 villages 13 032 residents and 11 Bu8picious patient8 wlere checked out.Conclusion The wells with excesive water arsenic content are existing in the lower reaches of Yellow River and people suspicious of endemic arsenism need to be further identified.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the therapeutic mechanism of point 8L54-through-point ST2S acupuncture with elongate needles in treating urinary retention after spinal cord injury.

METHODSThirty-five healthy Japanese rabbits (weight 2.5 +/- 0.25 kg, 3 months old, male or female), used as experimental subjects, were divided into 4 groups involving blank group, model group, acupuncture group, elongate needles group (5 rabbits in blank group, 10 rabbits in each of the other group 10). Modified Allen's method was used to cause spinal cord injury model for the model group, the acupuncture group and the elongate needles group, the blank group was only sham surgery. Immediately after spinal cord injury model,the elongated needle group was given the bilateral acupoints of the elongated needle penetration needling and electric stimulation, electrical stimulation 15 mm stimulation frequency of 20 to 40 times/mm, intensity 1.5 to 3 V the acupuncture group immediately was given ordinary electric needle acupuncture, given other disposals as the elongated needle group; model group was not given electric needle acupuncture, waiting 15 minutes, started to detect and record the observed indicator as the elongated needle group; the blank group was only sham surgery. The following indicators including the Tarlov score ,urinary bladder pressure point, the threshold urination, voided volume, were observed in the first day and the fifth day after surgery.

RESULTSThree groups of animals which modeled were urinary retention after operation. Compared to 1 d, Tarlov score of model group, acupuncture group and elongate needles group significantly improved at postoperative 5 d (P < 0.05). Compared with acupuncture group, the Tarlov score of elongate needles group had no significant difference at postoperative 5 d (P > 0.05). Compared with model group, values of urinary bladder pressure point decreased with varying degrees in the acupuncture group and elongate needles group at postoperative 5 d (P < 0.05); relative to the acupuncture group, the point of the bladder voiding pressure in the elongate needles group decreased more significantly at postoperative 5 d (P < 0.05); compared with model group, micturition threshold of acupuncture group and elongate needles group had been significantly improved at the fifth day after surgery (P < 0.05); relative to the acupuncture group, the improvement is more obvious in the elongate needles group. Compared with model group, voided volume of acupuncture group and elongate needles group had increased significantly at the fifth day after surgery (P < 0.05); relative to the acupuncture group, the increment is more evident in the elongate needles group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTo treat urinary retention after spinal cord injury, the method, which was point-through-point acupuncture with elongate needles in the "Zhibian" and "Shuidao", was better than general acupuncture method. The therapeutic mechanism may be related to stimulate peripheral nerve of bladder, and to rectify the dysfunction between detrusor and sphincter.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Male ; Rabbits ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; complications ; Urinary Retention ; etiology ; therapy

BACKGROUNDThe goal of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is to restore knee kinematics. Knee prosthesis design plays a very important role in successful restoration. Here, kinematics models of normal and prosthetic knees were created and validated using previously published data.

METHODSComputed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans of a healthy, anticorrosive female cadaver were used to establish a model of the entire lower limbs, including the femur, tibia, patella, fibula, distal femur cartilage, and medial and lateral menisci, as well as the anterior cruciate, posterior cruciate, medial collateral, and lateral collateral ligaments. The data from the three-dimensional models of the normal knee joint and a posterior-stabilized (PS) knee prosthesis were imported into finite element analysis software to create the final kinematic model of the TKA prosthesis, which was then validated by comparison with a previous study. The displacement of the medial/lateral femur and the internal rotation angle of the tibia were analyzed during 0-135° flexion.

RESULTSBoth the output data trends and the measured values derived from the normal knee's kinematics model were very close to the results reported in a previous in vivo study, suggesting that this model can be used for further analyses. The PS knee prosthesis underwent an abnormal forward displacement compared with the normal knee and has insufficient, or insufficiently aggressive, "rollback" compared with the lateral femur of the normal knee. In addition, a certain degree of reverse rotation occurs during flexion of the PS knee prosthesis.

CONCLUSIONSThere were still several differences between the kinematics of the PS knee prosthesis and a normal knee, suggesting room for improving the design of the PS knee prosthesis. The abnormal kinematics during early flexion shows that the design of the articular surface played a vital role in improving the kinematics of the PS knee prosthesis.

Adult ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ; methods ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Female ; Humans ; Knee Prosthesis

AIM:To investigate the effect of growth hormone receptor(GHR) knockdown on nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity and inflammatory cytokine production stimulated by growth hormone (GH) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. METHODS:The specific siRNA for GHR was transfected into 3T3-L1 adipocytes to silence GHR expressions. The effects of GH on NF-κB activation and inflammatory cytokine production in 3T3-L1 adipocytes transfected with siRNA-GHR or siRNA-control were measured by dual-luciferase system analysis,real-time RT-PCR and ELISA. RESULTS:The protein expression of GHR was diminished after transfection with GHR specific siRNA. Dual-luciferase reporter system analysis re-vealed that GHR knockdown resulted in attenuation of GH-stimulated NF-κB activation in the 3T3-L1 adipocytes. GHR knockdown ameliorated the GH-induced production of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6,MCP-1 and MIP-1α in the 3T3-L1 adipocytes. CONCLUSION:Knockdown of GHR might be efficacious to prevent GH-induced inflammatory re-sponses in the 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

OBJECTIVETo analyze factors relevant to retarded intellectual development in infants born to mothers with autoimmune disease of thyroid.

METHODSAll the term newborns born to mothers with autoimmune thyroid disease (selection criteria) without asphyxia in all county, city, and provincial hospitals in Zhejiang province (except for Ningbo City) from July 2001 to June 2003 were enrolled through Zhejiang provincial neonatal disease screening network system. The control group was consisted of the neonates who were born to mothers without thyroid disease in these hospitals during the same period. Heel capillary blood samples were collected from the neonates older than 3 days in local hospitals and sent to the center of Zhejiang provincial neonatal disease screening network system. TSH levels were measured by Time Difference Fluorescent Analysis Device (1420 II type, EGG Company, US). If the level of TSH was higher than 9 mU/L, their mothers were called back to the center with their infants within 3 days. If the level of TSH was normal, they were called back to hospitals at age of 28 - 35 days of infants. The pattern of maternal thyroid disease, duration, thyroid function, the history of maternal drug administration, maternal age, gestational age and body weight of the neonates were recorded. The neonatal and maternal serum thyroid function tests were re-performed and the serum TPOAb, TGAb, TRAb and TSAb levels in both neonates and their mothers were measured as well. A 1-year follow-up study was done and all these subjects were investigated by means of Gesell development schedules by special investigators at the age of 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. The results were expressed as developmental quotient. Case-sectional study was performed. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS software. The multiple logistic regression analysis was used to analyze factors which might have effect on infantile personal-social ability, adaptive ability, gross motor ability or the fine-motor ability. One-way ANOVA was used to compare those five subfields ability followed by LSD multiple comparisons and Dunnet's C test was used when variances were not equal. Correlation analysis was used to compare the anti-thyroid antibody between neonates and their mothers.

RESULTSPoor personal-social ability, adaptive ability, gross motor ability and fine motor ability of infants born to mothers with autoimmune thyroid diseases were found as compared to the infants born to healthy mothers (P < 0.01). Moreover, the infants born to mothers with Hashimoto's thyroiditis had significantly poorer fine motor ability and adaptive ability than those born to mothers with Grave's disease (P < 0.05). The Spearman correlation coefficients of TPOAb, TGAb, TRAb and TSAb were 0.636, 0.574, 0.619 and 0.473, respectively, and all the P values were lower than 0.01.The multifactor logistic regression analysis showed that infantile TPOAb levels and maternal TRAb levels were associated with infantile personal-social ability, adaptive ability, and gross motor; while maternal TPOAb levels and thyroid function during gestation were associated with infantile fine-motor ability (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONMaternal autoimmune thyroid diseases during pregnancy had adverse effects on intellectual development of infants. The maternal levels of TPOAb, TRAb and thyroid status were associated with the infantile personal-social ability, adaptive ability, gross motor and fine motor development. In order to reduce the effect on infant, it is necessary to treat adequately the maternal autoimmune thyroid diseases during pregnancy.

Adult ; Autoantibodies ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intellectual Disability ; etiology ; Intelligence ; Iodide Peroxidase ; immunology ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; Risk Factors ; Thyroiditis, Autoimmune ; complications

OBJECTIVETo establish a method for amplifying specific 16S rDNA fragment of algae related with drowning and test its value in drowning diagnosis.

METHODSThirty-five rabbits were randomly divided into 3 the drowning group (n=15), postmortem water immersion group (n=15, subjected to air embolism before seawater immersion), and control group(n=5, with air embolism only). Twenty samples of the liver tissues from human corpses found in water were also used, including 14 diatom-positive and 6 diatom-negative samples identified by microwave digestion-vacuum filtration-automated scanning electron microscopy (MD-VF-Auto SEM). Seven known species of algae served as the control algae (Melosira sp, Nitzschia sp, Synedra sp, Navicula sp, Microcystis sp, Cyclotella meneghiniana, and Chlorella sp). The total DNA was extracted from the tissues and algae to amplify the specific fragment of algae followed by 8% polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis and sliver-staining.

RESULTSIn the drowning group, algae was detected in the lungs (100%), liver (86%), and kidney (86%); algae was detected in the lungs in 2 rabbits in the postmortem group (13%) and none in the control group. The positivity rates of algae were significantly higher in the drowning group than in the postmortem group (P<0.05). Of the 20 tissue samples from human corps found in water, 15 were found positive for algae, including sample that had been identified as diatom-negative by MD-VF-Auto SEM. All the 7 control algae samples yielded positive results in PCR.

CONCLUSIONSThe PCR-based method has a high sensitivity in algae detection for drowning diagnosis and allows simultaneous detection of multiple algae species related with drowning.

Animals ; Autopsy ; Cadaver ; DNA, Ribosomal ; isolation & purification ; Diatoms ; genetics ; Drowning ; diagnosis ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Humans ; Kidney ; Liver ; Lung ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; isolation & purification ; Rabbits

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ambient air can participate in photochemical reactions, which lead to the generation of secondary pollutants such as ozone and aerosol. So real-time and accurate monitoring of atmospheric VOCs plays an important role in the study of the causes of air pollution. On the basis of proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) research, a novel dipolar proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (DP-PTR-MS) for real-time and on-line monitoring atmospheric VOCs was developed. Compared with the conventional PTR-MS with one kind of reagent ion H3O+, DP-PTR-MS had three kinds of reagent ions H3O+, OH-, (CH)2COH+, which could be switched according to the actual detection need. So DP-PTR-MS can improve the qualitative ability and expand the detection range effectively. The reagent ion H3O+can be used for detecting VOCs whose proton affinities are greater than that of H2O. The reagent ion OH-can be used to identify VOCs cooperating with the reagent ion H3O+,and can also be used for detecting some inorganic substances such as CO2. The reagent ion (CH3)2COH+can be used for accurately detecting NH3under interference elimination circumstances. The limit of detection (LOD) and sensitivity of DP-PTR-MS were measured by using six kinds of standard gases. The results showed that the LOD for detecting toluene was 7×10-12(V/V) and the sensitivity for detecting ammonia has reached 126 cps/10-9 (V/V). The ambient air in Hefei city was on-line and real-time monitored for continuous 78 hours with DP-PTR-MS. The results showed that the newly developed DP-PTR-MS could be used for long-term and real-time monitoring atmospheric VOCs with the concentration of 10-12(V/V) level. DP-PTR-MS is an important tool for the study of the causes of atmospheric pollution and the monitoring of trace VOCs emissions.

Ziziphi spinosae semen mainly contains contents of saponins,flavonoids,alkaloids and aliphatic acids.Meanwhile,it has a variety of activities such as sedative-hypnotic,anti-anxiety,anti-depression,nerve protection,cardiovascular and cerebrovascular protection,liver protection,and antioxidant,which is widely used in medicine,food,health food and other fields.The chemical constituents,pharmacological action and clinical application of Ziziphi spinosae semen were systematically summarized in this paper by reviewing the literature,in order to provide theoretical guidance for the sustainable development of the resources and the rational use of Ziziphi spinosae semen.