Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Liver ; physiopathology ; Liver Function Tests ; methods ; Liver Neoplasms ; physiopathology ; Preoperative Care

Abstract: Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics of 35 patients with human monkeypox in Chengdu City, in order to provide theoretical basis for prevention and control of monkeypox epidemic in China. Methods A total of 35 patients diagnosed with monkeypox infection by Chengdu CDC from July 1 to July 23, 2023 were included in our study. The results of general clinical data, blood laboratory tests, lymph node ultrasound and chest CT results were collected in order to analyze the clinical features of human monkeypox patients in Chengdu City. Results All 35 monkeypox patients were young adult males, and there were no serious or fatal cases. Among them, 32 cases (91.4%) were men who have sex with men (MSM), and 30 cases had engaged in male-to-male sexual behavior within 21 days prior to the onset of the disease, of which 13 cases had taken protective measures. Fever symptoms were observed in 26 cases (74.3%) of the patients, with 19 cases experiencing fever within 1-6 days after the appearance of rash. The initial rash commonly occurred in the male external genitalia. Color ultrasound examinations indicated that all patients had swollen inguinal lymph nodes. C-reactive protein was elevated in 26 cases (74.3%) of patients, and 19 cases showed CD3+CD4+T/CD3+CD8+T< 1.0. 15 cases (42.8%) of the patients were infected with both monkeypox virus and HIV, 28.5% (10/35) of patients had concomitant skin infections and anorectal proctitis,respectively. The mean time from rash onset to the shedding of rash scabs was 14.8 days. Conclusions The MSM population in sexually active age group is the main infection object of human monkeypox virus. In monkeypox patients in Chengdu City, the rash starting at genital areas and rash occurring before systemic symptoms were common. Swollen inguinal lymph nodes are especially common in monkeypox patients. Skin infection and anorectal proctitis are the most common complications in monkeypox patients in Chengdu City. The abnormal cellular immune function in monkeypox patients is mainly reflected in the inverted ratio of CD3+CD4+T/CD3+CD8+T. Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that protective measures during male-to-male sexual behavior can reduce the risk of human monkeypox infection.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate clinical efficacy of suture anchors in treating acute injuries of medial collateral ligament (MCL) of knee at degree III.

METHODSTwenty-seven patients with degree III acute MCL injuries of knee were treated with suture anchors from January 2007 to June 2011. There were 15 males and 12 females, aged from 19 to 56 (averaged 32.6) years old. The time from injury to operation was 3 to 10 days, averaged 6 days. Symptoms and physical signs before and after treatment were observed, Lysholm scoring were used to evluated clinical efficacy.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up from 16 to 30 months with an average of 21.6 months. The stability of knee joints was good in all patients. Abduction stress test was negative when the knee joint was straightened at 0 degrees and flexed at 30 degrees. The average degree of flexed knee (67.00 +/- 5.80) degrees preoperatively was lower than that of postoperatively (136.50 +/- 6.30) degrees at 1 year. According to Lysholm scoring, preoperative scores ranged from 30 to 43 points, averaged 36.46 +/- 1.48; 1 year after operation ranged from 87 to 100 with an average of 91.50 +/- 3.80 and higher than postoperative. Twenty patients got an excellent results, 5 good and 2 fair.

CONCLUSIONSuture anchors in treating acute injuries of medial collateral ligament of knee at degree III has following advantages: small range of tissue dissection, easy to operate, reliable fixation and less complications.

Acute Disease ; Adult ; Collateral Ligaments ; injuries ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Knee Injuries ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Suture Anchors

The routine bowel preparation before colorectal surgery usually includes mechanical and medicine preparations, with the original purpose of reducing complications such as anastomosis leakage, wound, and abdominal infections. Many domestic hospitals are still employing the methods of three-day bowel preparation, while in the West, the way of this preparation has dramatically changed. In last decade, one-day preparation has been widely accepted internationally, with two major medications of sodium phosphate and polyethylene glycol frequently used in the clinic. It has also been indicated that excessive mechanical and medicinal bowel preparations exert harmful effects on the combined intestinal barrier, and may result in various complications. A few reports have suggested to omit the mechanical bowel preparation before surgery, which is still under controversy, however, well-designed clinical trials are needed to readjust and regulate the duration and intensity of bowel preparation before colorectal surgery in China.
Colorectal Surgery ; Humans ; Intestinal Mucosa ; physiology ; Phosphates ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Polyethylene Glycols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Preoperative Care ; adverse effects ; methods

Risks persists during liver resection in the patients with cirrhosis. Routine examinations usually are unable to predict the morbidity and mortality following surgery. Evaluation approaches of liver function, including aminotransferase, bilirubin, albumin, prothrombin time, Child-Pugh classification, and indocyanine green (ICG) test, currently remain the most important method to determine the prognosis of liver resection, especially in cirrhotic patients. However, all these approaches have their weakness. Some new methods, including non-invasive ICG test, liver function evaluation by hepatic imaging, and remnant hepatic function test, are awaiting further investigation. This article reviews the current status and future prospect in the assessment of liver functions.
Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Indocyanine Green ; Liver Cirrhosis ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Liver Function Tests ; methods ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Risk Assessment

Objective To explore the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1?(HIF-1?) protein and its mRNA in cultured cortical neurons after hypoxia,ischemia or hypoxia-ischemia(HI) and explore the possibilities of HIF-1? gene therapy in HI neurons.Methods The in vitro models of HI,pure hypoxia and pure ischemia were established using embryonic day 16-18 rats cortical neurons.Immunohistochemical and in-situ hybridization were performed to examine the expression of HIF-1? protein and its mRNA at different reperfusion time points in neurons.Results The expression of HIF-1? protein was very week in normoxic cultured neurons,but was up-regulated while treated with hypoxia and(or) ischemia.HIF-1? expression reached peak at 4 to 8 h after reperfusion with HI,which were statistically significant higher than that at other time points(Pa=0),and decreased gradually at 12 h.Furthermore,HIF-1? protein expression was significantly higher in HI group compared with that in the pure hypoxia or ischemia group(Pa=0).HIF-1? mRNA reached peak immediately after HI,decreased gradually at 2 h,and returned to the baseline at 8 h after reperfusion.Conclusions HIF-1? expression on cortical neurons is regulated differently with hypoxia,ischemia or HI treatment,HIF-1? gene therapy for HI neurons maybe a useful method in the future studies.

BACKGROUNDMetformin is the most widely used anti-diabetic drug in the world. An increasing body of evidence shows metformin also blocks cell cycle progression and selectively induces apoptosis via caspase activation in some breast tumor cells. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and bioluminescence imaging (BLI) have great potential in the evaluation of the early response to cancer therapies. We used DWI and BLI in evaluating the response of breast cancer to metformin.

METHODSThe luciferase-engineered human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 was inoculated into the mammary fat pad of nude mice. Twelve female nude mice bearing tumors were divided into two groups. The mice in the treatment group received metformin (2 mg/ml in drinking water daily) after tumor inoculation, and the mice in the control group were offered drinking water without any drug added. We performed 7T magnetic resonance imaging and optical imaging every week. Imaging included T1- and T2-weighted imaging, DWI, and BLI. After imaging. The tumors were collected and subjected to histological analysis.

RESULTSThe mean photons/second of tumors in the treatment group was (3.00 ± 0.43)× 10(6) at day one, (1.01 ± 0.14)× 10(7) at 2 weeks, (5.79 ± 1.42)× 10(7) at 4 weeks, and (2.33 ± 0.70)× 10(7) at 8 weeks. The mean photons/second of tumors in the control group was (3.29 ± 0.59)× 10(6) at day one, (3.59 ± 0.63)× 10(7) at 2 weeks, (3.87 ± 0.56)× 10(8) at 4 weeks, and (4.12 ± 1.72)× 10(8) at 8 weeks. Compared to the control group, the treatment group showed an obvious decrease in the mean bioluminescence (photons/s) of the tumors and fewer metastases. Histological examination confirmed the presence of fewer metastases. DWI showed the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of the tumors; the mean ADC value was (0.9287 ± 0.04346)× 10(-3) mm(2)/s in the treated tumors and (0.7553 ± 0.01804)× 10(-3) mm(2)/s in the untreated tumors. The ADC value of tumors in the treatment group was significantly higher than the control tumors (P = 0.0013).

CONCLUSIONSThe growth and metastasis of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer may be inhibited by metformin. DWI and BLI have great potentials in the evaluation of the early response to metformin treatment. BLI has a high degree of sensitivity and is able to detect micrometastasis, thus can be used for identifying tumor metastasis in vivo.

Animals ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Female ; Luminescent Measurements ; Metformin ; therapeutic use ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Multimodal Imaging ; Neoplasm Metastasis

OBJECTIVETo explore changes of Clara cell protein (CC16) and surfactant protein-D (SP-D) in the serum of patients with silicosis.

METHODThe concentrations of CC16 and SP-D were measured in the serum by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The subjects consisted of 30 healthy volunteers and 90 silica-exposed workers including silica-exposed group, the silicosis of suspects group (0(+)) and the silicosis phase I group, 30 subjects each groups.

RESULTSThe concentrations of CC16 in the serum was significantly decreased in silica-exposed workers compared to controls (P < 0.01); The concentrations of CC16 in the serum were higher in lifelong nonsmokers than the current smokers in control subjects (P < 0.05), but they were no differences between lifelong nonsmokers and current smokers of 90 silica-exposed workers. Compared with control subjects, the levels of SP-D in the serum of silicosis suspects (0(+)) and silicosis phase I groups were significantly elevated (P < 0.01, respectively), which were also higher than silica-exposed group (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively), Discriminant equations set by CC16 and SP-D were used in diagnosis of silicosis, and the rate of accuracy in healthy volunteers, the silica-exposed group and the silicosis phase I group were 86.7%, 86.7% and 76.7%, respectively, The total rate of correct classification hit 84.2%.

CONCLUSIONThe serum CC16 of long-term silica-exposed workers is decreased, and SP-D is increased gradually.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Epithelial Cells ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein D ; blood ; Silicosis ; blood ; Uteroglobin ; blood

Long non-coding RNAs(LncRNA)may play a key role in tumorigenesis by regulating gene expression and intervening transcription. Recent studies have demonstrated that a series of patterns including protein modification,chromosomal reconstruction,regulation of target gene expression,transcription intervention,epigenetic modification,and natural antisense transcript are involved in this process. This article reviews recent research advances in this aspect with an attempt to better understand the role of LncRNA in tumorigenesis.
Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; RNA, Long Noncoding

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the application, indications and outcomes of free flaps for ora-maxillofacial traumatic defects reconstruction.

METHODSTwenty consecutive cases of ora-maxillofacial the traumatic defects reconstruction with free flaps were reviewed. All clinical data including causes of injuries, the type of defects, selection of free flaps, perioperative complications and the follow-up were analyzed.

RESULTSAll the cases underwent free flap reconstruction for ora-maxillofacial traumatic defects: 8 cases with soft tissue defects, 12 cases with soft and hard tissue defects. Fifteen patients received two-stage operation and 5 patients underwent primary reconstruction at the time of debridement or fracture reduction. Twenty free flaps were applied for the reconstruction, 11 cases with fibula flap, 1 case with iliac crest free flap, 7 cases with radial forearm flap and 1 case with scapula flap. No flap failure occurred. The successful rate of free flaps transfer was 100%.

CONCLUSIONSThe free flaps transfer is reliable and can reconstruct the ora-maxillofacial traumatic soft and hard tissue defects. Fibula and radial forearm free flap are the most common used flaps. Early aggressive surgery with free flaps transfer for traumatic defects can prevent the scar contracture and tissue displace, which can shorten the treatment period and improve the final outcome.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Female ; Free Tissue Flaps ; Humans ; Male ; Maxillofacial Injuries ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; surgery ; Young Adult