Objective To evaluate arterial reconstruction of traumatic iliac-femoral artery pseudoaneurysm in parenteral drug abusers.Methods Data of 21 consecutive patients who presented with iliac-femoral artery pseudoaneurysm with the diameter ranging from 3.0 cm～7.5 cm secondary to parenteral drug abuse from 2004 to 2007 were analyzed.Fifteen patients were male and the median age was 3 1.3 years.the aneurysm involved the common femoral artery and distal external iliac artery.Autologous greater saphenous vein was used as a graft for arterial reconstruction after iliac-femoral artery pseudoaneurysm excision through a single curved inguinal incision.Results The surgical procedure was successful in all 21 eases without intraoperative mortality and severe complications.All the 21 patients were free of postoperative claudication symptoms except 1 case with preoperative popliteal artery stenosis.Wound infection and tissue fistula developed in one ease.Ingunal incisional hematoma and cutaneous abnormal sensation developed in one each eases.Conclusions The use of autologous greater saphenous venous grafts for aaefial reconstruction after false aneurysm excision in drug abusers is safe and effective.The harvest of the greater saphenous vein is precondition of this precedure.These preliminary results indicate that the implementation of this technique offers advantages compared with the artery ligation alone without revascularization,that is frequently associated with later intermittent claudication.

Abscess ; Cysts ; Female ; Humans ; Maxillary Sinus ; Tooth Diseases ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo screen the lentiviral vector carrying siRNA and capable of significantly suppressing the ROCK2 gene expression in the corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

METHODSWe designed and synthesized 4 siRNA fragments targeting the ROCK2 gene and packaged them into lentiviral vectors. We collected corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cell samples from 5 male SHRs and randomly divided them into groups A (non-transfection control), B (GFP lentiviral transfection), C, D, E, and F (lentiviral transfection with siRNA fragments 1 -4 targeting the ROCK2 gene). Each group consisted of 5 samples and each sample 3 x 10(4) cells. At 48 hours after transfecting MOI = 80 into the SHR corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells, we detected the expression of GFP under the fluorescent microscope and the mRNA expression of the ROCK2 gene by RT-PCR.

RESULTSThe transfection efficiency of the SHR corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells was > 50%. Compared with group A, the expression of ROCK2 mRNA in the corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells showed no remarkable change in group B (P > 0.05) but was inhibited very significantly in C ([43.91 +/- 8.19]%), D ([47.15 +/- 6.64]%), and F ([25.7 +/- 6.03]%) (P < 0.01), and significantly in E ([16.81 +/- 5.94]%, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONWe successfully constructed 4 lentiviral vectors carrying siRNA targeting the ROCK2 gene, all of which can significantly suppress the ROCK2 expression in the SHR corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells, and one has a highly strong inhibitory effect.

Animals ; Gene Silencing ; Genetic Vectors ; Lentivirus ; genetics ; Male ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Penis ; cytology ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Transfection ; methods ; rho-Associated Kinases ; genetics

With the deterioration of environment, and the excessive collection of wild resources, the wild populations of Myla- bris phalerata Pallas are less and less, almost extincted in many traditional distribution areas. It is necessary to breed M. phalerata artificially for sustainable utilization. Food preference of adult M. phalerata is the key to its provenance screening and domestication in the artificial breeding. In this paper, the food preference of 3 geographical populations of M. phalerata was studied. The results showed that the food preferences of adult M. phalerata in different geographical populations were different. The adult M. phalerata in Wuming preferred cucumber flowers, gourd flowers and melon flowers. The adult M. phalerata in Tianlin preferred cowpea flowers. And the adult M. phalerata in Guangzhou preferred cowpea flowers and gourd flowers. Gourd flowers were the most attractive food for the adult M. phalerata of 3 geographical populations of M. phalerata.
Animals ; Averrhoa ; Breeding ; Coleoptera ; physiology ; Cucurbitaceae ; Flowers ; Food ; Food Preferences ; physiology ; Geography

Objective Repair of aortic arch aneurysm is technically demanding and usually requiring complex circulatory management. Operative morbidity and mortality may be prohibitive with traditional surgical intervention. We described our experience with 5 hybrid endovascular procedure for aorta repair with different kinds of bypass followed by concomitant placement of stent graft in the aorta. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 5 consecutive patients presenting with aortic aneurysm or dissection from 2007 to 2008 treated by the hybrid aorta repair. Complete surgical rerouting of the supra-aortic vessels was followed by endovascular repair of aortic arch aneurysm with a Zenith TX2 stent graft. Hybrid left carotid-subclavian bypass with Zenith stent graft deployment covering the ostium of the LSA was performed in a Debakey type Ⅲ aortic dissection case. Procedures were successfully completed with exclusion of the aortic aneurysm. All stent grafts were deployed retrograde from the femoral artery in these patients. Results Technical success with complete aneurysmal exclusion was achieved in all patients (100%). At a follow-up period of 2-10 months, there was no incidence of endoleak. Documented perioperative neurelogic events did not occurred in all patients. Postoperatively one patient suffered from ARDS and cardiac failure and recovered. One patient died of myocardial infarction. Conclusions Hybrid arch repair provides an alternative to patients otherwise considered prohibitively high risk for traditional open arch and thoracoabdominal aorta repair.

Objective Microporous polysaccharide hemostatic powder ( MPPHP) is a most commonly used hemostatic mate-rial, but reports are rarely seen on its application in posterior spinal orthopedic surgery.The present paper aimed to investigate the val-ue of MPPHP in stopping bleeding in posterior spinal surgery. Methods Twenty-four 5-month-old New Zealand rabbits were equally randomized to an experimental and a control group.An 8 cm-long wound was made in the back muscle of animals to establish the model of spinal posterior surgery.MPPHP was applied to the wound of the experimental rabbits but none to that of the controls.Comparisons were made between the two groups of animals in the bleeding time, in vitro coagulation time, intra-operative blood loss, and results of pre-and post-operative blood routine and histopathological examinations. Results Statistically significant differences were observed between the experimental and control groups in the mean bleeding time ([15.36 ±1.42]s vs [347.58 ±32.43]s, P<0.05), in vitro coagulation time ([235.41 ±21.08]s vs [722.16 ±40.35]s, P<0.05), and intra-operative blood loss ([1.61 ±0.24]g vs [2.86 ± 0.37] g, P <0.05).After operation, the experimental animals showed a significantly higher count of erythrocytes than the controls ([5.68 ±0.46] ×106/L vs [4.47 ±0.43] ×106/L, P<0.05)and a higher level of hemoglobin than the latter ([12.67 ±1.18]g/L vs [10.64 ±1.05]g/L, P=0.00).There were no significant differences in the effectiveness and excellence rates of hemostasis between the experimental and control groups (100%vs 83.33%and 83.33%vs 66.67%, P>0.05).Pathological examination revealed mild bleeding and a small number of red blood cells in the muscle interstitium and blood vessel lumen of the experimental rabbits as compared with the controls. Conclusion Intraoperative topical ap-plication of MPPHP can reduce blood loss and achieve rapid and efficient hemostasis in posterior spinal surgery without affecting wound healing.

AIM:To investigate the characteristics of Ets-1 and VEGF expression and distribution in the experimental diabetic rat retina.METHODS:Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ).At 4 weeks after STZ-injection,animals were sacrificed.Total proteins were isolated from retinas of experimental and control eyes and were assessed by Western blot analysis.Frozen cross sections of eyeballs with 14um thickness were used to perform double immunoffuorescence staining with anti-Ets-1 and anti-VEGF antibodies.RESULTS:Both Ets-1 and VEGF expression were up-regulaled in the diabetic retina,the distribution of Ets-1 and VEGF was identical to each other,and the two proteins were almostlocalized in all retinal layers.CONCLUSION:Ets-1 might contribute to the pathologic progress of the diabetic retina induced by VEGF.

AIM: To determine the involvement of Ets-1 in the pathological progress of the experimental diabetic retina. METHODS: Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of STZ. Total RNA and Total proteins were isolated from retinas of experimental and control eyes at 4 weeks after STZ-injection and were assessed by Northern blot analysis and Western blot analysis, respectively.RESULTS: Expression of both Ets-1 mRNA and Ets-1 protein was significantly increased in the experimental diabetic rat's retina after STZ-injection compared with the control group (P＜0.001).CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that Ets-1 was involved in the pathological progress of experimental diabetic retina.Further studies should be conducted to focus on the relationship between Ets-1 and VEGF in the diabetic retina.

Purpose To identify the role of tyrosine kinase receptor Axl for anti-apoptosis which was induced by cisplatin (DDP) and methotrexate (MTX) chemotherapy and to analyze the relationship between P-Axl and apoptosis-related proteins in osteosarcoma.Methods Osteosarcoma cell lines MG63,143B and U2OS were used in apoptosis assays,Axl siRNA transfection,cytotoxicity assays,cell cycle analysis,etc.A total of 41 cases of osteosarcom patients were included for immunohistochemistry of EnVision two-step staining and clinico-pathological relative analysis.TUNEL assay was performed in ten cases for apoptosis detection.Results Among the osteosarcoma cell lines,Gas6/Axl could obviously protect tumor cells from apoptosis induced by DDP and MTX (P ＜ 0.05).Axl siRNA transfection enhanced cell apoptosis,whereas Gas6 prone to function upon previous knockdown by Axl siRNA.Among the 41 cases,the positive rate of P-Axl,BCL-2,and Bax was 85.4％,70.7％,and 36.6％,respectively.In contrast,the positive rate of them was 22.2％,11.1％,and 11.1％ in osteofibrous dysplasia,respectively.The expression levels of these apoptosisrelated factors were significantly higher in osteosarcoma than in osteofibrous dysplasia (P ＜ 0.05).Through clinico-pathological analysis,there were significant relationships between the survival status and BCL-2 or Bax expression (P ＜ 0.05).Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that BCL-2 was positively correlated to P-Axl with statistical significance (r =0.842,P ＜ 0.0001).By Cox univariate analysis,BCL-2 or Bax was correlated with the patients' prognosis.TUNEL assay also demonstrated that P-Axl high expression inhibited apoptosis in osteosarcoma tissues.Conclusion Gas6/Axl protects osteosarcoma cells from the apoptosis induced by DDP and MTX chemotherapy and inhibits apoptosis in osteosarcoma tissue,possibly through the regulation of apoptosis-related protein BCL-2.

Objective To explore the mechanism of skeletal fluorosis via observation on the expression of bone γ-carboxyglutamic acid-containing protein (BGP) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in the residents of coal-burning fluorosis regions, and to provide a basical data for further monitoring and evaluating the effects of fluoride-reducing projects. Methods Stratified sampling was applied, the 6 villages of fluorosis were chosen as focusing areas for investigation. The residents of villages underwent clinical examination of the skeletal fluorosis. And according to the degree of skeletal fluorosis, villages were divided into three groups, namely light, moderate and severe villages. Radio-Immunoassay and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to check the expression of BGP and OPG in the serum. Results The levels of serum BGP in the severe skeletal fluorosis cases[(6.78±4.43)μg/L] were significantly higher(P<0.05) than those in the normal, moderate and the severe groups [ (3.58±1.53), (3.44±2.66), (3.41±2.20)μg/L], respectively. The expression of OPG in the light, moderate and the severe groups [(1251.55±998.31), (1265.94±931.77), (1560.55±858.07)ng/L] were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those in the normal[(520.81±385.05)ng/L], respectively. The levels of BGP in mixed type[(6.09±2.62)μg/L] were much higher(P<0.05) than no mixed type[(3.97±1.53), (3.20±2.12)μg/L]. The levels of OPG in the osteosclerosis, osteoporesis and mixed type[(1321.63±1017.00), (1205.42±852.22), (1529.01±402.83)ng/L] were significantly higher(P<0.05) than those of the normal, respectively. The levels of OPG in the light villages [(452.06±338.10)ng/L] were significantly lower(P<0.05) than moderate and severe villages[(1266.30±899.14), (1851.80±956.08 )ng/L], respectively. The levels of OPG in the severe villages were significantly higher(P<0.05) than moderate villages. Conclusions It indicates that OPG can be used as an early indicator in coal-burning pollution endemic fluorosis results in biochemical changes in the composition of bone.