Objective To establish a canine model of intervertebral disc extrusion by surgery and observe the histological and microcirculatory changes of the spinal cord , in order to accumulate data for studies on the pathology and mechanism of treatment for intervertebral disc extrusion .Methods Normal healthy adult dogs were divided randomly into two groups:normal control group and model group .To simulate the intervertebral disc extrusion caused by spinal cord compression, 6Fr double lumen catheter with ballon was inserted into the spinal cord T 12-T13 and filled with about 5 mL Iohexol after the exposure of spinal cord L 1 by hemilaminectomy .The spinal cord blood flow ( SCBF) at the L1 level before and after compression was measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry .Morphological changes of the compressed spinal cord at 14 days after compression was examined by histopathology .Results The ( Texas spinal cord injury score ) ( TSCIS) scores of the motor function of bilateral hind limbs were highly significantly decreased (P<0.01).The blood flow of spinal cord at the L1 level was significantly decreased (P<0.05) after compression than that before .Compared with the normal control group, the model group showed abnormal vacuolization in the white matter and the number of normal neurons in the ventral horn of gray matter was significantly lower ( P<0.01 ) .Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that canine models of intervertebral disc extrusion can be successfully established by balloon catheter compression , showing local impairment of microcirculation and histological changes in the spinal cord .This canine model may provide a useful model for evaluation of therapeutic effects of acupuncture and for mechanism studies .

Objective To observe the effects of modifiedDanshen Decoction on spermidine/spermine acetyltransferase (SSAT) /polyamine pathways of SD rats with IRI; To investigate its protective mechanism. Methods The model of IRI was established by ligating left anterior descending coronary artery for 30 min followed by reperfusion for 90 min. The SD rats were randomly divided into the control group, sham-operation group, model group and modifiedDanshen Decoction group, with 10 rats in each group. The myocardial infarction size was measured by using TTC staining. The contents of SSAT were measured by ELISA. The SSAT mRNA and SSAT protein expression level were detected with real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR method and Western blot, respectively. The contents of polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, spermine) in cardiac tissue were detected by HPLC. Results Compared with sham-operation group, the myocardial infarction size, the SSAT content, the SSAT mRNA and SSAT protein expression levels of model group increased significantly, the contents of polyamines decreased significantly, with statistical significance (P<0.01); Compared with model group, the myocardial infarction size of modifiedDanshen Decoction group was significantly reduced, while the SSAT content and SSAT mRNA and protein expression level decreased significantly, the contents of polyamines increased, with statistical significance (P<0.05, P<0.01).ConclusionModifiedDanshen Decoction can adjust the SSAT polyamine pathways and increase polyamine content in cardiomyocytes, and thus play a role of protection of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness of Shenqi Fuzheng Injection (, SFI) combined with chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer.

METHODSRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) from 10 databases were searched for this meta-analysis till December 31, 2012 without language restriction. Grey literature and potential unpublished literature was also searched. The key search terms were "chemotherapy", "Shenqi Fuzheng Injection" and "advanced gastric cancer". Criteria were built to select these clinical trials, in which SFI combined with chemotherapy was compared with chemotherapy alone for advanced gastric cancer. The methodological quality of each RCT was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. RevMan 5.1 software was applied for data analyses.

RESULTSThirteen RCTs involving 860 patients met the selection criteria (all articles were from Chinese databases). The meta-analysis showed positive results for the use of SFI combined with chemotherapy according to quality of life in terms of the scores when compared with chemotherapy alone. Positive results were also obtained for the combination treatment, in terms of complete remission and partial remission efficacy rate, body weight and decreased adverse events including nausea and vomiting at grade 3-4, oral mucositis at grade 1-2, leucopenia at grade 3-4, and myelo-suppression at grade 1-2.

CONCLUSIONSThis systematic review found encouraging albeit limited evidence for SFI combined with chemotherapy. However, to obtain stronger evidence without the drawbacks of trial design and the quality of studies, we recommend comparative effectiveness researches to test the effectiveness of combination treatment.

Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Injections ; Neoplasm Staging ; Publication Bias ; Quality of Life ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Risk Factors ; Stomach Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology

Bipolar Disorder ; blood ; immunology ; metabolism ; Depressive Disorder ; blood ; immunology ; metabolism ; Humans ; Proteomics

Objective To explore the clinical significance of fused renal pyramid (FRP) structure in the establishment of percutaneous renal access.Methods From May 2017 to April 2018,10 fresh porcine kidneys were selected to cast in blood vessels for grading the kidney artery.Then another 80 isolated porcine kidueys were used to simulate percutaneous renal pu ncture and dilatation to establish F24 operative access by the same surgeon.Under the endoscope and microscope,we compared the effects of four different puncture paths on the occurrence of renal vascular injury when respectively punctured through the normal renal pyramid (group A),the side of the FRP (group B),the centre of the FRP (group C) and the renal column (group D).Results The kidney arteries can be divided into six grades,there is grade Ⅳ branchinterlobar artery walking inside the FRP.The diameter of interlobar artery in the FRP was significantly smaller than that in the renal column (0.442 ±0.012) mm vs.(0.778 ±0.037) mm,(P ＜0.001).Endoscopic observation and pathological tissue section showed the following results.In group A,there was no injured blood vessel distributed along the access.There were six specimens with grade Ⅴ or Ⅵ arteries injury in the cortex.Owing to the small size of the renal pyramid and the inaccurate location of the puncture,there was also injury associated with a normal grade Ⅳ artery in the renal column.In group B,there was a certain distance between the tract and the grade Ⅳ artery that distributed in the FRP,injury was still noticed in four specimens.And six specimens have grade Ⅴ/Ⅵ arterial injury.As the distance between the tract and the renal column decreased,there was a case in which a simultaneously injury occurred to the extremity of a grade Ⅲ artery and a grade Ⅳ artery.In group C,there was a white thin strip of connective tissue exposed along the puncture tract.Ectopic grade Ⅳ artery injury occurred in fourteen specimens,and grade Ⅴ/Ⅵ artery injury occurred in seven specimens.In group D,there were grade Ⅲ to Ⅵ arteries distributed along the operational access,which was cowered with white fat and connective tissue.The number of arteryinjury in grades Ⅲ,Ⅳ,and Ⅴ/Ⅵ were4,19,and 5,respectively.The mean ranks of artery injury degree in groups A (17.0),B (30.1),C (33.5) and D (41.5) gradually increased,and the difference was significant (P =0.006).There was a significant difference between group A and C (P =0.018),while no significant difference between group A and B (P =0.122),groups C and D (P =0.072).The proportion of grade Ⅳ artery injury in group A,B,and C was 5％ (1/20),25％ (5/20),and 70％ (14/20),respectively.There was a significant difference between group A and C (P =0.029),while no significant difference between group A and B (P =0.316).There was no significant difference in the injury of grade Ⅴ and Ⅵ artery in four groups (P =0.827).Conclusions When establishing a percutaneous renal access,vascular injury caused bv puncturing through the FRP cannot be ignored.It is necessary to carefu lly identify and bypass the FRP when selecting the puncture path.If unavoidable,the puncture path shoull be on the centreline of one side pyramid of the FRP.

Ebola virus (EBOV) is a key member of Filoviridae family and causes severe human infectious diseases with high morbidity and mortality. As a typical negative-sense single-stranded RNA (-ssRNA) viruses, EBOV possess a nucleocapsid protein (NP) to facilitate genomic RNA encapsidation to form viral ribonucleoprotein complex (RNP) together with genome RNA and polymerase, which plays the most essential role in virus proliferation cycle. However, the mechanism of EBOV RNP formation remains unclear. In this work, we solved the high resolution structure of core domain of EBOV NP. The polypeptide of EBOV NP core domain (NP(core)) possesses an N-lobe and C-lobe to clamp a RNA binding groove, presenting similarities with the structures of the other reported viral NPs encoded by the members from Mononegavirales order. Most strikingly, a hydrophobic pocket at the surface of the C-lobe is occupied by an α-helix of EBOV NP(core) itself, which is highly conserved among filoviridae family. Combined with other biochemical and biophysical evidences, our results provides great potential for understanding the mechanism underlying EBOV RNP formation via the mobility of EBOV NP element and enables the development of antiviral therapies targeting EBOV RNP formation.
Crystallography, X-Ray ; Ebolavirus ; physiology ; Humans ; Nucleoproteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Structure-Activity Relationship ; Virus Assembly ; physiology

This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of portable hemoglobinometer (Hemocue Hb 201+ hemoglobin analyzer) in patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) and its diagnostic value for anemia. The data of venous hemoglobulin (Hb) and fingertip capillary hemoglobulin (DHb) in MHD patients from Lingnan Hospital, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were retrospectively analyzed, and the correlation and difference between DHb and Hb and the accuracy of DHb in the diagnosis of anemia were evaluated. A total of 105 patients were included in the study. There was no significant difference between the paired DHb and Hb [(109±21) g/L vs. (108±20) g/L, t=-1.284, P=0.202]. Pearson correlation analysis showed that DHb was positively correlated with Hb ( r=0.929, P<0.001). Linear regression analysis showed that DHb and Hb met the regression equation Hb=0.88×DHb+12.23, and P<0.001. Bland-Altman analysis showed that the differences between the paired DHb and Hb was (1.0±7.8) g/L with the limit of agreement as (-14.2, 16.2) g/L. The mean percentage of the differences in Hb was 1% with limit of agreement as (-13.7%, 15.7%). A DHb of >110 g/L was 0.90 sensitive and 0.83 specific to identify patients with an Hb >110 g/L and its positive and negative predictive values were 0.84 and 0.90, respectively. It suggests that, in MHD patients, Hemocue Hb 201+ analyzer shows good accuracy, and can be used to monitor the Hb trend and serve as a screen method for those reaching target Hb.

Objective To explore the clinical data,muscle pathological findings and recent follow-up results of 5 patients being diagnosed as having mitochondrial encephalopathy,lactic acidosis,and stroke-like episodes (MELAS).Methods A retrospective analysis was carried out on the clinical manifestations,sero-enzymology,electrophysiology,iconography and muscle biopsy pathology,and recent follow-up results of 5 patients with MELAS,who admitted to our hospital from December 2008 to June 2011.Results Headache as first symptom appeared in 3 patients,hemiparesis as first symptom in 1 patient and upper gastrointestinal bleeding in 1.The total body seizure in the course was noted in 4 patients and psychiatric symptoms in 2.The creatine kinase level was normal in 4 with one being mildly elevated.Four patients were observed no abnormal electromyography with one having myogenic lesions.Brain MRI showed significant abnormality in 5 patients,mainly presented as permanent cerebral infarction and cerebral atrophy.Five patients were found strongly SDH-reactive blood vessels (SSVs) in muscle tissue pathological staining and the SSVs of CCO (+).After mitochondrial protection treatment,follow-up for six months showed that 3 patients has been restored to normal work and mildly improvement was noted 2 patients.Conclusion The brain MR imaging of 5 patients with MELAS is significantly abnormal,and muscle biopsy pathology and tissue enzymatic staining are important methods in diagnosing the disease; generally,the disease is a benign course.

BACKGROUND:Bilateral ovariectomy is a most commonly used method to establish an animal model of postmenopausal osteoporosis.Up to now,little is reported on the C57 mouse model of osteoporosis with calvarial critical-size defects.OBJECTIVE:To establish the C57 mouse model of osteoporosis with calvarial critical-size defects.METHODS:Thirty-six C57 mice aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into two groups:the mice in model group received bilateral ovariectomy,and the same weight of fat tissues around the ovaries of the other mice were cut as control group.At 6 weeks after modeling,the mouse femur was removed for micro-CT scan and hematoxylin-eosin staining to testify whether there is a success or failure in animal modeling.Afterwards,six mice were respectively selected from each group,and two round calvarial defects with a diameter of 4 mm were symmetrically made on the parietal bone.The defect healing was evaluated by micro-CT scan at 8 weeks after modeling.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:At 6 weeks after modeling,the bone volume fraction,bone surface to volume ratio,trabecular thickness,trabecular number,trabecular spacing and bone mineral density in the modeling group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P ＜ 0.05).In the model group,there were loosen or fractured trabeculae,and enlarged medullary cavity.At 8 weeks after bone defects,showed no significant micro-CT changes in the defect region in both two groups.These findings implicate a success in establishing the C57 mouse model of osteoporosis with calvarial critical-size defects.

Objective:To investigate the association of osteosarcopenia with falls, risk of fracture, malnutrition among middle-aged and elderly adults.Methods:A total of 253 participants dwelling in Guangzhou community aged 40-90 years were included in this cross-sectional study from December 2017 to December 2019.Bone mineral density(BMD)was detected by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry(DEXA). Body composition was analyzed by a bioelectrical impedance analysis.Handgrip strength and gait speed were examined.The 10-year probability of a major osteoporotic fracture and hip fracture were evaluated by online WHO fracture risk assessment tool( FRAX?). Results:According to diagnostic criteria of AWGS and EWGSOP2, the incidences of osteosarcopenia varied from 5.1% to 7.6%, 5.1% to 11.4% respectively.After the adjustment for age and gender, Logistic regression analysis showed that osteosarcopenia was correlated with falls, risk of fracture and malnutrition.Osteosarcopenia definited by AWGS criteria was strongly correlated with falls( OR=3.27-5.68, P<0.05), osteosarcopenia definited by non-severe sarcopenia criteria was strongly correlated with the risk of hip fracture( OR=1.14-1.15, P<0.05), and fat-free mass index was strongly correlated with osteosarcopenia with different definitions( OR=0.21-0.48, P<0.05). Conclusions:Osteosarcopenia is associated with higher risk of falls, fracture and malnutrition in the Guangzhou community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly adults, and fat-free mass index is an independent risk factor for osteosarcopenia.