Islet transplantation is effective in treating diabetes, however, its clinical use is highly restricted by a series of influencing factors. This review elucidates the non-immune factors including islet purification, instant blood-mediated inflammatory response and revascularization deficit on the development of islet transplantation, and also highlights the application and perspective of islet xenotrasplantation in the treatment of diabetes.

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical significance of posterior spinal cord shifting after two different types of laminoplasty for multilevel cervical myelopathy.Methods From June 2004 to September 2007,65 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy were reviewed in this study,including 41 males and 24 females with an average age was 56.3 years(range,39-75).Among them,33 patients underwent selective laminoplasty and 32 patients underwent open-door laminoplasty.There were no significant differences of preoperative JOA scores and cervical curvature index between two groups.After one year follow -up,the posterior shifting of spinal cord,Japanese Orthopaedics Association (JOA) recovery rate,loss of curvature index and axial symptom for each patient were calculated.ResultsAll cases were followed up for average 34 months(range,26-47).There was significant difference of the postoperative posterior shifting between the two groups,which was(1.4±0.6) mm in selective laminoplasty group and(3.3±1.2) mm in opendoor laminoplasty group,respectively.The average JOA recovery rate was 60.5％±21.3％ and 61.1％±17.9％ in selective laminoplasty and open-door laminoplasty group,respectively.There was no significant difference of JOA recovery rate between the two groups.Loss of cervical curvature indices was 3.3％±1.7％ and 3.1％± 2.4％ in selective laminoplasty and open-door laminoplasty group,respectively,with no significant difference between the two groups.The rate of patients with evident axial symptoms was 18.2％ and 33.3％ in selective laminoplasty group and open-door laminoplasty group,and the difference of the scores of cervical axial symptom was statistically significant.ConclusionThe degree of the postoperative posterior shifting of the spinal cord in open-door laminoplasty group was greater than that in selective laminoplasty group.The posterior shifting of the spinal is correlated with cord,axial symptom but not the recovery rate and curvature index.

Quantitative NMR (qNMR) is a technology based on the principle of NMR. This technology does not need the references of the determined components, which supplies a solution for the problem of reference scarcity in the quantitative analysis of traditional Chinese medicines. Moreover, this technology has the advantages of easy operation, non-destructiveness for the determined sample, high accuracy and repeatability, in comparison with HPLC, LC-MS and GC-MS. NMR technology has achieved quantum leap in sensitivity and accuracy with the development of NMR hardware. In addition, the choice of appropriate experimental parameters of the pre-treatment and measurement procedure as well as the post-acquisition processing is also important for obtaining high-quality and reproducible NMR spectra. This review summarizes the principle of qHNMR, the various experimental parameters affecting the accuracy and the precision of qHNMR, such as signal to noise ratio, relaxation delay, pulse width, acquisition time, window function, phase correction and baseline correction, and their corresponding optimized methods. Moreover, the application of qHNMR in the fields of quantitation of single or multi-components of traditional Chinese medicines, the purity detection of references, and the quality analysis of foods has been discussed. In addition, the existing questions and the future application prospects of qNMR in natural product areas are also presented.

Objective To analyze the outcomes of different treatments in 126 patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods The follow-up data of 126 BCLC-B or C stage HCC patients who received different treatments were retrospectively studied.These patients were divided into six groups according to the treatment.Group 1:untreated; Group 2:TACE only; Group 3:TACE + Sorafenib;Group 4:liver resection ; Group 5:liver resection + TACE; Group 6:liver resection + TACE + Sorafenib.The survival times were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method and the results were analyzed using the log-rank test.Results Among the non-surgery groups,the 1 year survival rate in Group 3 (62.5％,medium survival 16 months) was longer than Groups 1 and 2.For patients in the liver resection groups,the 1 year and overall survival rates were much better than the non-surgery groups.There were no significant differences in 1 year and 2 year survivals among Groups 4,5,and 6.However,the 3 year survival rate in Group 6 was much longer than Groups 4 and 5.The medium survival in Groups 4,5,and 6 were 24,24.5,and 28 months,respectively.Moreover,the medium survivals after post-hepatectomy recurrence in Groups 4,5 and 6 were 7,9.5,and 18 months,respectively.Sorafenib significantly prolonged survival after HCC recurrence.Conclusions Liver resection was still the best and the most effective treatment for patients with advanced HCC.Combining TACE with Sorafenib was a better treatment for patients with non-resectable HCC.Sorafenib effectively inhibited progression of post-hepatectomy HCC recurrence and significantly prolonged survival.Therefore,Sorafenib is a good approach in the prevention and treatment of HCC recurrence.

Objective To investigate the role of hypoxia induced factor-1 α (HIF-1 α) signaling pathway in development of nonacoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by using a rat model.Methods Forty SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (normal control group,4 weeks model group,8 weeks model group,12 weeks model group,and 16 weeks model group according to random number table).NAFLD model was induced by high fat diet.Serum biochemical parameters and liver histological examinations were observed.The HIF-1α,peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα),and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) mRNA transcriptions of liver tissue were detected with realtime PCR.Results Compared with the control group,a remarkable rise of serum alanine amiotransferase,triglyceride,cholesterol,and reduction of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol were observed in rats treated with high fat diet after 12 weeks and 16 weeks (P＜0.05).Compared with model group,steatosis,grade of inflammation,and degree of fibrosis in the liver were also significantly aggravated.Fed with high fat diet for 8 weeks,the expression of HIF-1α was significantly higher than that in the control group;the expression of PPARα in 4 weeks group was significantly higher than that in the control group.The expression of PPARα was again significantly elevated in 16 weeks group (P＜0.05);NF-κB expression was increased gradually with high fat diet (P＜0.05).The expression of HIF-1 α mRNA was related with PPARα (r =0.82,P＜0.05) and NF-κB (r =0.67,P＜0.05),and PPARα mRNA was related with NF-κB (r =0.78,P＜0.05).Conclusion HIF-1 α signaling may regulate PPARα/NF-κB and seems to be related with development of NAFLD.

BACKGROUND:Studies have confirmed that the surface treatment methods such as silane coupling agent and sand blasting could improve bonding strength of zirconia ceramics and resin binder. In addition, the increase of micro cracks on the surface of zirconia ceramics can also improve the bonding strength of zirconia ceramics and resin binder. But there is a lack of related studies addressing whether repeatedly sintering would have an impact on shear bond strength of zirconia ceramics.
OBJECTIVE:To determine the effect of decorative porcelain temperature firing on the shear bond strength between dental zirconia ceramics and resin binder.
METHODS:Twenty pieces of zirconia ceramics specimens were selected from 40 tablets, and then randomly divided into five groups according to the number of sintered times:control group (without sintering), sintering groups for 2, 4, 6, 8 times. Heat starting temperature was 500 ℃, and final temperature was 1 000 ℃ with a heating rate of 55 ℃/min. The vacuum time was 7 minutes. During the sintering, the final temperature was constant. Unsintered ceramic pieces were bonded using resin binder. Universal testing machine was used to test the shear strength of the interface between the two pieces of zirconia ceramics. The interface after shearing was characterized by scanning electron microscope.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The shear strength of sintering groups for 4, 6, 8 times was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). Shear strength of specimens sintered twice was slightly higher than that of specimens without sintering, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). Shear strength of specimens sintered 8 times was slightly higher than that sintered 4 and 6 times (P<0.05). Under the scanning electron microscope, there was no crack on the surface of non-sintered zirconia ceramics. After 2 times sintering, the surface appeared to have fine cracks. After sintering 4 times, visible cracks were increased. After six rounds of sintering, the surface began to have significant changes;cracks rose along with slight gaps and a smal amount of adhesive residues were found. After sintering for 8 times, cracks and voids were obviously increased on the sintered surface and adhesive residues were found. It indicated that after sintering for 4, 6 and 8 times, zirconia ceramics could have a good shear strength binding to resin adhesives;with the increasing of sintering times, the shear bond strength could be increased.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of Tanreqing injection in treating children's viral pneumonia.METHODS:In this retrospective study,sixty children with viral pneumonia were randomly assigned to receive Tanreqing Injection(treatment Group,n=30)or Ribavirin(control Group,n=30).The clinical effects and adverse drug reactions(ADRs)of the two groups were compared,and the cost-effectiveness analyses were performed.RESULTS:The effective rate was 100% in the treatment Group versus 80% in the control Group;the incidence rate of ADRs was 3.33% vs.13.33%;the cost was 297.88 vs.399.95 yuan;and the cost-effectiveness was 297.88 vs.499.94,all showing significant differences between the two groups(P

OBJECTIVE To investigate the surgical site infection(SSI)in clean surgical sites and the perioperative antibiotic usage.METHODS The incidence of SSI and the antibiotics usages in 842 cases during perioperative were analyzed retrospectively in 32 hospitals.RESULTS One case with nosocomial infection was found(0.12%).The use rate of antibiotics was 98.57%.Among 802 cases using prophylactic antibiotics,the antibiotics were given in 181 cases thirty minutes to two hours before operation.136 cases were given 24 h before operation.And 485 cases were given after operation;195 cases stopped using antibiotics after 24 h,472 cases stopped using antibiotics after 4-6 days and 135 cases stopped to use antibiotics after 7 days.CONCLUSIONS The major problem is excessive use of antibiotic in clean surgical site during perioperation,long duration of antibiotics prophylaxis,more expensive antibiotics and unnecessary combination of antibiotics,suggesting that it be important to strengthen the management of antibiotics.

Objective To investigate the value of multi-slice spiral CT image texture analysis in differentiating metastatic (MLN) from non-metastatic lymph nodes (NLN) in patients with rectal cancer.Methods Thirty five patiets with rectal cancer who were pathologically confirmed by total mesorectum excision were included retrospectively,with regional lymph nodes (short-axis diameter of larger than 3 mm)found in preoperative CT images.All the patients underwent preoperative abdominal and pelvic dynamic contrast-enhanced CT scan.Regional lymph nodes were identified according to pathological findings,and were divided into MLN and NLN groups.The short-axis diameter,short-to long-axis diameter ratio of lymph nodes were manually measured and calculated,and the texture features,including skewness,kurtosis,variance,entropy and inverse difference moment,were analyzed.The above parameters between MLN and NLN groups were compared using independent sample t test or Mann-Whitney U test.ROC curve analysis was performed regarding the statistically significant parameters and the areas under curve (AUC) were calculated.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was accomplished to obtain the independent predictive factor of diagnosing regional lymph nodes.Results A total of 68 regional lymph nodes were obtained and consisted of 31 MLNs and 37 NLNs.The short-axis diameter,kurtosis,and entropy of the MLN group were significantly higher than those of the NLN group (all P＜0.05).Whereas,the short-to long-axis diameter ratio,skewness,variance,and inverse difference moment did not differ significantly between the two groups (all P＞0.05).The AUC for distinguishing MLN from NLN of the short-axis diameter,kurtosis and entropy were 0.79,0.67,and 0.85,respectively.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only entropy (odds ratio=8.48,95％ confidence interval was 3.01 to 23.92,P＜0.01) was screened out as the independent variable,which suggested that the entropy was the unique predictor for characterizing regional lymph nodes of rectal cancer.Conclusion Multi-slice spiral CT images texture analysis can facilitate the accurate differentiation between MLN and NLN in patients with rectal cancer,and especially the entropy has the optimal reference significance.