OBJECTIVE By analyzing the high risk factors for pulmonary fungus infection in intensive care units of neurosurgery,this paper may be regarded as a good reference for early diagnosis and treatment. METHODS According to the domestic diagnostic standard on pulmonary fungus infection,we analyzed the clinical data of 58 patients with pulmonary fungus infection in department of neursurgery. RESULTS Totally 117 strains of fungi were isolated from the 58 cases.Candidiasis was the most frequent type,accounting for 92.3%.Some factors,such as the severity of underlying diseases,long-time coma,long-term use of broad-spectrum antibiotic,abuse of glucocorticoid,the open airway and some traumatic intubations might be regarded as the high risk factors for pulmonary fungus infection.Fluconazole showed good clinical effects on the treatment of fungus infection. CONCLUSIONS It is important to eliminate the high risk factors for pulmonary fungus infection,to provide early diagnosis and to use prophylactic antifungal agent,which can reduce the incidence rate of pulmonary fungus infection.

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between serum testosterone levels and the plaque formation of the carotid artery in a population-based cohort of independently living healthy women above 60 years of age.

METHODSAnalysis of the healthy elders from a population-based cohort study in 9 communities of Beijing. Carotid intima-media thickness and atherosclerotic plaques were determined ultrasonographically. Serum testosterone levels were measured by immunoassay. The data were analyzed with ANOVA and logistic regression analysis.

RESULTSThere was an inverse correlation between testosterone and plaque formation in old females (P < 0.01), while no association was found in males. Female with testosterone levels in the lowest quartile (< 0.49 nmol/L) had more risk of plaque formation (OR = 3.805, P < 0.01) after adjusted with age and other traditional factors of atherosclerosis.

CONCLUSIONTestosterone concentrations are negatively associated with carotid artery atherosclerosis in old women in Beijing, experimental and prospective studies are needed to determine the possible therapeutic role of testosterone in atherosclerosis.

Aged ; Atherosclerosis ; blood ; Carotid Arteries ; pathology ; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness ; Carotid Stenosis ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Testosterone ; blood

Hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome were studied in 17 762 subjects of Tianjin Municipality from July 2007 to July 2009. The overall prevalence rate of hyperuricemia was 12. 16% (2160cases) , the rate in males was significantly higher than that in females (15. 71% vs. 6. 51% , P <0. 01).The overall prevalence rate of metabolic syndrome was 25. 56% (4540 cases) , the rate in males was also higher than that in females (28. 17% vs. 21. 40% , P <0. 01). Binary logistic regression analysis disclosed that females with high uric acid were twice likely to suffer from metabolic syndrome than males; and female ≤ 44 years with hyperuricemia had the highest odd ratio for metabolic syndrome.

OBJECTIVETo summarize clinical results of the microdecompression for the treatment of intraforaminal lumbar disc herniations.

METHODSFrom September 2005 to May 2013,16 patients( 12 males, 4 females)with intraforaminal lumbar disc herniations underwent microdecompression, ranging in age from 32 to 56 years old with a mean of 38.6 years old. The lumbar disc herniations were located at L(3,4). in one patient, L(4,5) in 10 cases and L5S1 in 5 cases.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up, and the duration ranged from 20 to 48 months, with a mean period of 36 months. According to Macnab evaluation, 12 cases got an excellent result, 4 good. No apparent complications related to the technique occurred. Satisfactory clinical results were obtained in this series.

CONCLUSIONMicrodecompression may be particularly useful in the treatment of intraforaminal lumbar disc herniations. The microdecompression procedures are more likely to be well tolerated by older patients.

Adult ; Decompression ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; surgery ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Treatment Outcome

Abstract: Objective To analyze the industry characteristics of new occupational pneumoconiosis in Foshan from 2007 to Methods 2021. The data of new cases of occupational pneumoconiosis in Foshan City from 2007 to 2021 were obtained from “ ” ， “ the China Disease Prevention and Control Information System subsystem the Occupational Disease and Health Hazardous ”， Results Factors Monitoring Information System and the industry characteristics of the cases were analyzed. From 2007 to ， ， （ ） 2021 there were 886 new cases of occupational pneumoconiosis in Foshan mainly include silicosis 68.3% in males （ ）， （ ） 94.2% and stage Ⅰ pneumoconiosis cases 75.9% . The median age of cases at the time of diagnosed disease was 47 years ， old and the median working age of dust exposure was 11.2 years. The enterprises where all cases are located involve eight top ， ； ， - industry categories of which manufacturing industry accounted for 97.6% and 30 major industry categories of which non （ ） ， metallic mineral products industry was the highest 60.5% . There were 554 sporadic cases and 332 cluster cases and the ， ， Conclusion industries were mainly non-metallic mineral products accounting for 55.0% and 69.6% respectively. ， - Occupational pneumoconiosis in Foshan is dominated by silicosis and the key industries are non metallic mineral products.

OBJECTIVETo develop a novel scaffolding method for the copolymers poly lactide-co-glycolide acid (PLGA) to construct a three-dimensional (3-D) scaffold and explore its biocompatibility through culturing Schwann cells (SCs) on it.

METHODSThe 3-D scaffolds were made by means of melt spinning, extension and weaving. The queueing discipline of the micro-channels were observed under a scanning electronic microscope (SEM).The sizes of the micropores and the factors of porosity were also measured. Sciatic nerves were harvested from 3-day-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats for culture of SCs. SCs were separated, purified, and then implanted on PLGA scaffolds, gelatin sponge and poly-L-lysine (PLL)-coated tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) were used as biomaterial and cell-supportive controls, respectively. The effect of PLGA on the adherence, proliferation and apoptosis of SCs were examined in vitro in comparison with gelatin sponge and TCPS.

RESULTSThe micro-channels arrayed in parallel manners, and the pore sizes of the channels were uniform. No significant difference was found in the activity of Schwann cells cultured on PLGA and those on TCPS (P larger than 0.05), and the DNA of PLGA scaffolds was not damaged.

CONCLUSIONThe 3-D scaffolds developed in this study have excellent structure and biocompatibility, which may be taken as a novel scaffold candidate for nerve-tissue engineering.

Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; Cell Adhesion ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Separation ; Cells, Cultured ; Lactic Acid ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Polyglycolic Acid ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Schwann Cells ; cytology ; Tissue Engineering ; methods ; Tissue Scaffolds

OBJECTIVETo observe the patterns of benign and malignant breast lesions using real-time gray-scale contrast-enhanced ultrasound and assess its value in the differential diagnosis of begign and malignant breast tumors.

METHODSTotally 116 breast lesions (benignity n = 63; malignancy n = 53) underwent real-time gray-scale contrast-enhanced ultrasound. The patterns of their enhancement were assessed from 6 aspects: degree of enhancement, process of enhancement, completeness of enhancement, homogeneity of enhancement, boundary of the enhanced lesions, and exhistance of radial enhancement around the lesions. The results were compared with the pathologic findings.

RESULTSContrast-enhanced sonographic patterns were significantly different between benign and malignant breast lesions. Most malignant lesions were non-centripetally, incompletely, and inhomogeneously enhanced. After having been injected with the microbubble contrast medium, the boundary of the lesions became unclear, and the radial enhancement around lesion were mainly seen in the malignant lesions.

CONCLUSIONThe patterns of real-time gray-scale contrast-enhanced ultrasound are remarkably different between malignant and benign breast lesions, showing promising values for its clinical application.

Breast Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; Contrast Media ; administration & dosage ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Microbubbles ; Ultrasonography, Mammary

Objective Midkine ( MK ) and nuclear factor-kappa B ( NF-kB ) play pivotal roles in tumorigenesis, which are considered as promising cancer biomarkers. The efficacy of MK and NF-kB as markers for diagnosis and prediction of synchronous metastasis in papillary thyroid cancer ( PTC ) was the aim of present investigation. Methods Seventy six cases of PTC and seventy cases of multi-nodular goiter ( MNG ) were retrieved. The PTC group was further divided into subgroup 1 (16 cases with synchronous metastasis) and subgroup 2 (60 cases without metastases). A retrospective review of clinical information, radiological examinations,131 I treatments and post-131 I-therapy scans were done. Immunohistochemistry of MK, NF-kB p65, and Ki-67 was performed on paraffin-embedded specimens and results were quantified. Diagnostic values of the parameters were conducted by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were determined. Protein levels of MK and NF-kB p65 were then confirmed by Western blot. Results Immunoreactivities of MK and NF-kB p65, and positive percentage of Ki-67 were significantly higher in PTC group than in MNG group (all P<0. 01). ROC showed good differential diagnostic capabilities of all three parameters with diagnostic accuracies of 82. 192% , 80. 137% , and 84. 091%respectively. Moreover, all three parameters were significantly higher in subgroup 1 than those in subgroup 2 (all P<0. 01). ROC showed good predicting efficacies in synchronous metastasis of all three parameters with diagnostic accuracies of 82. 895% , 80. 263% , and 76. 316% respectively. By one-way analysis of variance, Western blot showed that MK and NF-kB p65 protein levels in lesions from subgroup 1 were significantly higher than those from subgroup 2, both were significantly higher than those in MNG lesions ( P<0. 01). Conclusion MK and NF-kB immunohistochemistry can potentially be used for differential diagnosis between PTC and MNG, and for prediction of synchronous metastases.

OBJECTIVE: To construct the recombinant adeno-associated virus(rAAV) vector plasmid pSNAV2.0-TK containing HSV1-TK gene, to produce recombinant adeno-associated virus rAAV2/HSV1-TK, and to detect the integration and expression of HSV1-TK gene in lens epithelial cells transfected by rAAV2/HSV1-TK, and to provide foundation for gene therapy of posterior capsular opacification. METHODS: The recombinant vector plasmid constructed by gene recombinant technology was analyzed by PCR and restriction enzyme digestion. The cell strain BHK-21/TK was screened by G418 after the plasmid was transfected into BHK-21 cells,with the helper virus HSV1-rc/UL2 to produce the recombinant virus rAAV2/HSV1-TK. The purity of rAAV2/HSV1-TK was detected by SDS-PAGE and HPLC, and the titre of rAAV2/HSV1-TK was observed by dot blot hybridization. The HSV1-TK gene in lens epithelial cells transfected by rAAV2/HSV-TK was investigated by PCR and RT-PCR. RESULTS: The recombinant plasmid proved successful by PCR and restriction enzyme digestion. The recombinant virus rAAV2/HSV1-TK was produced successfully and its titre was 1 x 10(12) v.g./mL by dot blot hybridization. The HSV1-TK gene was integrated and expressed in lens epithelial cells. CONCLUSION The recombinant adeno-associated virus vector plasmid containing HSV1-TK gene is successfully constructed, and high titre recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV2/HSV1-TK) is obtained. The HSV1-TK gene in lens epithelial cells is expressed after being transfected by rAAV2/HSV1-TK.
Animals ; Cloning, Molecular ; Cricetinae ; Dependovirus ; genetics ; metabolism ; Epithelium, Corneal ; cytology ; metabolism ; Genetic Vectors ; Herpesvirus 1, Human ; enzymology ; genetics ; Rabbits ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Thymidine Kinase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Transfection

This paper introduces the development of the Free-MPR module, based on VC++6.0 environment and VTK5.0, and on Windows XP platform. The Free-MPR module can adjust freely the display plane according to the change of the visual angle, and implement the free multi-planar reformation.
Echo-Planar Imaging ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Software ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods