BJECTIVE: To explore the effect of different convergent conditions on accuracy of simulation results from a three dimensional finite element model of the pelvic ring.METHODS: A first-order linear load of 600 was applied on the S_1 vertebral endplate in an established three-dimensional finite element model. The step length was set to 0.1 s. The boundary condition was set as constraint of 6 degrees of freedom in the proximal femur. Static and dynamic explicit convergences with 6 different weight scale factors were calculated retrospectively,and all the simulated results were compared with the experimental results in order to verify the accuracy. RESULTS: The static convergence predicted most accurate with the linear regression coefficient 0.88. With the increase of weight scale factor, the time cost decreased. However, the accuracy of the predicted results decreased. There was statistically difference between the simulation results and experimental results when the weight scale factor achieved 3 000 (P<0.05) and the coefficient of linear regression was lower than 0.8.CONCLUSION: It suggested that as for the complex finite element model, especially when the model contains complex contact conditions, dynamic explicit convergence can be an alternative solution to static convergence if the latter failed. Also proper weight scale factor should be used to decrease the time cost under the condition that the error was in the limited.

Objective To explore the clinical effect of blood purification combined with fasudil in elderly cardiac surgery patients with postoperative acute kidney injury.Methods Fifty elderly cardiac surgery patients with postoperative acute kidney injury were divided into control group and study group by random digit table method with 25 cases each.The 2 groups were treated with routine drug and blood purification,the study group was additionally given fasudil injection 30 mg + 0.9％ sodium chloride injection 50 ml vein pumping,1 time/12 h,for 7 d.The urine volume,urine N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG),urine γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP),urine α 1-microglobulin (α 1-MG),serum creatinine (SCr),blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine clearance rate (CCr) were observed,and the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) Ⅱ score was computed.Results There were no statistical differences in the indexes before treatment between the 2 groups (P＞ 0.05).The urine volume after treatment 3,5,7 d in study group was more than that in control group [(38.72 ± 2.68) ml/h vs.(31.68 ± 2.52) ml/h,(47.24 ±3.73) ml/h vs.(40.24 ± 2.52) ml/h、(63.80 ± 2.50) ml/h vs.(56.60 ± 3.30) ml/h],urine NAG,urine α 1-MG,urine γ-GTP,SCr and BUN were lower than those in control group [NAG:(25.05 ±5.44) U/L vs.(28.04 ± 5.21) U/L,(24.06 ± 3.43) U/L vs.(27.23 ± 6.43) U/L,(22.08 ± 3.25) U/L vs.(26.23 ± 4.41) U/L; α 1-MG:(24.05 ± 3.65) mg/L vs.(26.74 ± 6.74) mg/L,(22.98 ± 3.58) mg/L vs.(25.57 ± 3.58) mg/L,(20.95 ± 3.78) mg/L vs.(25.48 ± 3.45) mg/L; γ-GTP:(8.2 ± 0.4) U/L vs.(10.8 ± 3.8) U/L,(7.3 ± 0.2)U/L vs.(10.5 ± 2.5) U/L,(6.5 ± 1.4) U/L vs.(9.7 ± 2.6) U/L; SCr:(206.52 ± 6.72) μ mol/L vs.(255.16 ±6.75) μmol/L,(182.98 ±6.26) μmol/L vs.(252.23 ±9.53) μmol/L,(33.25 ±7.95) μmol/L vs.(170.75 ± 7.94) μ mol/L; BU N:(19.61 ± 3.23) mmol/L vs.(20.25 ± 3.25) mmol/L,(16.76 ± 2.06) mmol/L vs.(18.32 ± 4.84) mmol/L,(12.28 ± 2.26) mmol/L vs.(14.27 ± 4.54) mmol/L],CCr was higher than that in control group [(18.66 ± 3.89) ml/min vs.(13.28 ± 3.25) ml/min,(27.76 ± 4.36) ml/min vs.(16.23 ± 4.18)ml/min,(33.79 ± 5.58) ml/min vs.(22.12 ± 4.65) ml/min],there were statistical differences (P ＜ 0.05).The APACHE Ⅱ score before treatment and after treatment 5,7 d in control group were (32.20 ±4.51),(26.38 ±5.28) and (21.43 ±4.22) scores,in study group were (33.05 ±3.82),(22.15 ±3.42) and (13.25 ± 2.15) scores.There was no statistical difference in the APACHE Ⅱ score before treatment (P ＞ 0.05),the APACHE Ⅱ score after treatment was improved,furthermore APACHE Ⅱ score after treatment 5,7 d in study group were better than those in control group,there were statistical differences (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The treatment effect of blood purification combined with fasudil is remarkable in elderly cardiac surgery patients with postoperative acute kidney injury.At the same time,it has high security and very important clinical significance.

Objective To evaluate the clinical and functional outcome of biological reconstruction by using pasteurized autograft and massive allograft after en-bloc resection of primary femoral diaphyseal sarcomas.Methods Retrospectively reviewed 19 consecutive patients with primary femoral diaphyseal sarcomas between Feb.2005 and Dec.2013.There were 11 males and 8 females with the mean age of 18 (2-38) years old.Thirteen patients were diagnosed as osteogenic sarcoma (OS),while five Ewing' s sarcoma (EWS) and one malignant fibrous histocytoma (MFH).All patients were treated with wide local excision,and 9patients were reconstructed by intercalary femur segmental allograft and 10 by pasteurized autograft.The median length of the resected bone was 16.9 (9-24) cm.15 segmental grafts were fixed by using plates including 10 intramedullary free vascularised fibular graft constructs,the other 4 segmental grafts were fixed by intramedullary nails.The average operation time for pasteurized autograft construct was 5.1 hours,while the time for intercalary allograft construct was 4.22 hours.Of 38 host-donor junctions,there are 28 diaphyseal junctions and 10 metaphyseal junctions.Results The average operation time for pausterized autograft construct tended to be longer than intercalary allograft (5.1h Vs 4.22h),although the difference did not reach the significance.Bone union occurred at a median of 10.3 months and 7.25 months at diaphyseal and metaphyseal junction for pasteurized autograft-host construct; 13.8 months at the diapyhseal junction and 11.5 months at the metaphyseal junction for allograft-host construct.Bone healing time of diaphyseal junction and metaphyseal junction between these two constructs were significant difference.Eight of 19patients (42.1％) developed complications:5 bone unnunion/fracture (including 1 subsequently developed local recurrence),1deep infection and 2 local recurrence (including 1 soft tissue recurrence).The mean overall follow-up was 33.5 months (3-107),five patients died of lung metastases,the cumulative patient survival was 76.5％ at 2 years and 61.2％ at 5 years determined by Kaplan-Meier method.All living patients except the MFH patients who received amputation,had a mean MSTS score of 83.7％ (70％-95％).Conclusion Although the reconstructive procedure with pasteurized autograft is more complicated and needs longer operation time than allograft reconstruction,the bone healing time with autograft is significant shorter than allograft.Our observations suggest the pausterized autograft shell with intramedullary free fibular graft is strongly recommeded.

Objective To evaluate the characteristics and clinical suitability of the ArcCHECK diode array for volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) verification.Methods The intrinsic sensitivity,short and long term reproducibility,dose and dose rate dependence,dose per pulsed dependence,field sizes dependence and directional response of the diodes were measured.The results of the diodes were compared with the measurement results of an ionization chamber and calculated results of treatment planning system.Gamma index was used to analyze the dose difference between the calculation and measurement for random selected 211 verified VMAT plans.Results The ArcCHECK performed well for all tests except directional dependence,which varies from a minimum of-3.9％ (seen only when the beam was incident on the diode at 180°) to a maximum of 7.7％ (approximately at 255°).Average gamma analysis passing rates with 3 mm/3％ for 113 nasopharyngeal cancer,48 cervical cancer and 50 rectal cancer patients VMAT plans were 93.5％,95.7％ and 97.5％,respectively,statistical significance has been found between either two of the groups (t=-12.69-4.88,all P＜ 0.01).Conclusions With proposed calibration method,the ArcCHECK diode array is very suitable for VMAT pretreatment verification,the complexity of VMAT plan is the main factor affecting the passing rate.

To investigate the impact of respiratory movement to determine the target volume on cone beam CT (CBCT) for lung tumor, we used CIRS dynamic thorax phantom (Model-CIRS008) to simulate the sinusoidal motion of lung tumor. With a constant amplitude, the ratio of the time of near-end-expiratory and near-end-inspiratory (E/I) changed when it was scanned with CBCT. We analyzed the contrast changes of target by extracting the CT value of each pixel on the center line of the target movement direction. The targets were contoured with region growing method and compared with the motion volume generated by the tumor trajectory method. The result showed that the contrast of near-end-expiratory increased and the contrast of near-end-inspiratory decreased with increasing E/I. The contoured volume generated by region growing method decreased with increasing E/I. When E/I = 4, the amplitude A = 1 cm, diameter of 1 cm and 3 cm target volumes were reduced by 48.2% and 22.7%. The study showed that CBCT was not suitable to be used to accurately determine the range of lung tumor movement. The internal target volume (ITV) may be underestimated in CBCT images.
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; Movement ; Phantoms, Imaging ; Respiration

OBJECTIVE: To detect the mucin gene (MUC2, MUC5AC, MUC5B, MUC18 and MUC19) expression in the nasal polyps, allergic rhinitis (AR) and the normal nasal mucosa in human. To investigate the role and clinical significance of mucin gene in the pathogenesis of nasal polyps and AR patients. METHOD: We obtained samples from 35 cases of nasal polyps, 18 cases of AR inferior turbinate and 18 cases of simple nasal septum deviation inferior turbinate. Specimens were analyzed with RT-PCR and Real-time FQ-RT-PCR. RESULT: The results of RT-PCR and FQ-RT-PCR showed that the expression of MUC5AC, MUC5B in nasal polyps and AR patients was significantly higher than that in normal mucosa (P<0.05). The expression of MUC5AC, MUC5B in nasal polyps was not significantly different from that in AR patients (P>0.05). The expression of MUC2, MUC18 in nasal polyps and AR was not significantly different from that in normal mucosa (P>0.05). And the results of RT-PCR for MUC19 expression in AR was higher than that in nasal polyps group and normal group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSION MUC5AC and MUC5B are highly expressed in epithelium of human nasal polyps and AR, and they take part in mucus over-secretion in nasal polyps and AR. The expression of MUC19 in AR was higher than that in nasal polyps group and normal group. It indicates that the secretion of MUC19 in allergic rhinitis was on high level. There was no difference of the expression of MUC2 and MUC18 in nasal polyps group, AR group and in normal group.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mucin 5AC ; genetics ; Mucin-2 ; genetics ; Mucin-5B ; genetics ; Mucins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Nasal Mucosa ; metabolism ; pathology ; Nasal Polyps ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rhinitis ; genetics ; metabolism ; Young Adult

【Objective】 To compare the diagnostic efficacy of full-field digital mammography(FFDM), digital breast mammography(DBT) and dynamic enhanced magnetic resonance imaging(DCE-MRI) for breast tumors in different gland types. 【Methods】 Retrospective analyses of 56 breast lesions in 49 patients who underwent FFDM, DBT and MRI in the Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University from October 2018 to December 2019 were performed. The breasts were divided into the non-dense or dense pattern, according to FFDM images. The breast lesions were diagnosed as benign(BI-RADS grade 4a and below) or malignant(BI-RADS grade 4b and above), based on the images of FFDM, DBT and MRI, respectively. All patients underwent surgery or biopsy to get a pathological diagnosis. The kappa consistency tests and receiver operating characteristics(ROC) analyses were used to compare the efficacy of FFDM, DBT and MRI in the diagnosis of breast tumor in different gland patterns. 【Results】 In all breasts, MRI (kappa = 0.66) was moderately consistent with pathological diagnosis, which was higher than DBT(kappa = 0.44), while there was no significant difference between FFDM(kappa = 0.14) and pathological diagnosis. In non-dense breasts, MRI (kappa = 0.88) was moderately consistent with pathological diagnosis, which was higher than DBT(kappa = 0.51), while there was no significant difference between FFDM(kappa = 0.18) and pathological diagnosis. In dense breasts, MRI(kappa = 0.54) was moderately consistent with pathological diagnosis, which was higher than DBT(kappa = 0.37), while there was no significant difference between FFDM(kappa = 0.10) and pathological diagnosis. In all breasts, the diagnostic efficacy of MRI, DBT and FFDM for breast tumor decreased gradually(AUC = 0.83; 0.73; 0.58). Specifically, the specificity of MRI, DBT and FFDM increased sequentially(77%, 82%, 86%), but the sensitivity decreased(88%, 65%, 29%). In non-dense breasts, the diagnostic efficacy of MRI, DBT and FFDM for breast tumor decreased gradually(AUC = 0.97; 0.84; 0.66). Specifically, the sensitivity of MRI(94%) was higher than that of DBT(69%) and FFDM(31%). In dense breasts, the diagnostic efficacy of MRI, DBT and FFDM for breast tumor decreased gradually(AUC = 0.77; 0.69; 0.55). Specifically, the specificity of MRI, DBT and FFDM increased sequentially(71%, 76%, 82%), but the sensitivity decreased(83%, 61%, 28%) . 【Conclusions】 In both dense and non-dense breasts, FFDM has the lowest diagnostic ability. In non-dense breasts, the diagnostic efficacy of MRI is higher than DBT. DBT shows its advantage over MRI in dense breasts, as it has a higher diagnostic specificity.

Paracetamol was used as a model drug in this study to investigate the synergetic effects of lipid coating and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) inclusion for masking the bitter taste of poorly soluble drugs. To control the concentration as low as possible of the free drug which produced a bitter taste, a kinetic model was established to calculate the drug distribution theoretically among the free drug in medium, lipid coated particles and molecular inclusion on the basis of the preparation and characterization of the lipid microspheres, so as to select the proper amount of beta-CD. Finally, the synergetic drug delivery systems were prepared and characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), molecular simulation and the electronic tongue. As a result, the drug release rate constant (k) of the lipid microspheres coated with octadecanol was determined as 0.001 270 s(-1). Then, the synergetic drug delivery systems were prepared with the ratio of 6.74 : 1 (w/w) for beta-CD and paracetamol. The chemical shift values for the fingerprint peaks of paracetamol all increased and hydrogen bonds were formed between the oxygen on the phenolic hydroxyl group, the nitrogen on the imino in paracetamol and the hydrogens on the hydroxyl groups in beta-CD. The results tested by the electronic tongue indicated that the paracetamol, lipid microspheres, beta-CD inclusion and their mixture showed different taste characteristics, with the bitterness order of the synergetic drug delivery systems approximately lipid microspheres < beta-CD inclusion < paracetamol, which confirmed the synergetic taste masking effects of lipid coating and beta-CD molecular inclusion. In summary, the synergetic taste masking was jointly achieved through the retard of the drug release by the lipid coating and the inclusion of the free paracetamol by beta-CD through hydrogen bonds.
Acetaminophen ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Administration, Oral ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Electrical Equipment and Supplies ; Electrochemical Techniques ; instrumentation ; methods ; Hydrogen Bonding ; Kinetics ; Lipids ; chemistry ; Microspheres ; Solubility ; Taste ; drug effects ; beta-Cyclodextrins ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of a 10-day course of triptolide (TP) on rat cytochrome (CY) P3A4 activity, and on the pharmacokinetics of cyclophosphamide (CPA).

METHODSIn the pharmacokinetics experiment, rats were orally given 0.9% NaCl solution (n=5) and TP [1.2 (mg/kg·d)] for 10 days and a single dose of CPA was administered intravenously (100 mg/kg) to rats on day 11. Blood samples were collected up to 4 h at predetermined time intervals, the plasma concentration of CPA was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and pharmacokinetic parameters were determined. In the in vitro CYP3A4 activity inhibition research, rat blank liver microsomes were divided into 3 groups: a control group, a TS (5 μL, 200 μmol/L) with TP (5 μL, 12.5 μmol/L) group, a TS with ketoconazole (5 μL, 1 μmol/L) group. Concentration of 6β-hydroxylated testosterone (6β-OHT) in liver microsomes was measured by HPLC and the activity of CYP 3A4 was calculated through the following formula: Einhibitor/Econtrol × 100%=Cinhibitor/Ccontrol × 100%.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC0-∞) of CPA was significantly increased by 229.05% pretreated with TP (P<0.01). Peak plasma concentrations (Cmax) of CPA was significantly increased and plasma half-life was correspondingly extended. The CYP3A4 activity was significantly inhibited by ketoconazole 93.5%±0.2% and TP 84.6%±0.3% compared with the control group (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively).

CONCLUSIONOur results strongly suggested that long-term oral intake of TP can distinctly inhibit the CYP3A4 activity and this inhibition evidently decrease the formation of toxic metabolites of CPA.

Animals ; Cyclophosphamide ; pharmacokinetics ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A ; metabolism ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Diterpenes ; pharmacology ; Epoxy Compounds ; pharmacology ; Herb-Drug Interactions ; Hydroxytestosterones ; metabolism ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; pharmacokinetics ; Injections, Intravenous ; Ketoconazole ; pharmacology ; Male ; Microsomes, Liver ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Phenanthrenes ; pharmacology ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of alternatively activated macrophages /mononuclear phagocytes(MNP) on breast cancer cells and explore the mechanisms for the action of tumor-associated macrophages in breast cancer.

METHODSHuman peripheral blood monocytes were isolated and cultured in vitro and divided into 3 groups, namely classically activated monocytes (CAM) which were induced by lipopolysaccharide, alternatively activated monocytes (AAM) induce by IL-4, and control cells treated with the culture medium only. After cell culture for 48-72 h, the mRNA of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), alternative monocytes activation- associated CC-chemokine 1 (AMAC-1), and beta-actin of the 3 groups were extracted for RT-PCR, or the cells were cocultured with breast cancer cell line SKBR3, or seeded in chicken chorioallantoic membrane along with SKBR3.

RESULTSTNF-alpha mRNA was significantly increased in CAM, and AMAC-1 was highly expressed in AAM. The coculture experiments showed that CAM exhibited obvious inhibitory effect on SKBR3 cells after a 3-day culture whereas AAM significantly promoted the growth of SKBR3 cells after a 5-day culture. In chicken on chorioallantoic membrane experiment, the macrophages promoted tumor angiogenesis and AAM showed the most obvious effect.

CONCLUSIONIL-4 induces high expression of AMAC-1, a molecular marker of AAM, in the macrophages, and AAM can promote the growth of SKBR3 cells and tumor angiogenesis.

Animals ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Chemokines, CC ; metabolism ; Chick Embryo ; Coculture Techniques ; Humans ; Interleukin-4 ; metabolism ; Macrophage Activation ; Phagocytes ; immunology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism