PurposeThe increased radionuclide uptake of maxillary frontal process on bone scan is not uncommon but dififcult to diagnose with relatively rare research. This study aims to explore this phenomenon through investigating its biological behavior and causes.Materials and Methods Twenty-one patients with increased uptake of maxillary frontal process but without typical feature of metastasis on bone scan were retrospectively enrolled in the study. The scintigraphic features were evaluated and compared with the bone scans in the follow up. The corresponding CT imaging features including the lesions'location, number, size, shape and attenuation were analyzed.Results Seventeen patients had unilateral involvement and 4 had bilateral ones. One patient was found accompanied with other cranial lesions. All the lesions remained stable and no new lesions were detected on the following bone scans in 14 patients. Sixteen lesions with increased radionuclide uptake in 12 patients were detected on bone scintigraphy, 15 of which were positive on CT and 14 of which were located around the nasolacrimal canal at the base of frontal process. All the lesions were well demarcated with mean axial maximum diameter of 7.1 mm. Ten had homogeneous ground-glass density and 5 showed heterogeneous with internal lower attenuation.Conclusion Lesions of maxillary frontal process with increased radionuclide uptake detected on bone scan are likely to be benign. Fibrous dysplasia-like lesions might help account for abnormal uptake indicated by CT.

Objective To compare gait patterns in patients with metal-on-metal resurfacing hip arthroplasty(RHA)and big-femoral-head total hip arthroplasty(BHA)at one year postoperatively.Methods From June 2006 to March 2009,two groups of 30 RHA and BHA patients participated in the study.Gait parameters,knee and hip joint range of motions(ROMs)in gait cycles were measured at one year postoperatively by Vicon gait analysis system,and the values were used to calculate affected/unaffected ratios of patients themselves.Results No significant difference were found in affected/unaffected ratios of cadence,single limb support time,foot off,peak value of vertical ground reaction force,the hospital for special surgery score and the university of California at Los Angeles activity assessment between the two groups.However,several ROM affected/unaffected ratios in RHA group(hip range of flexion/extension,abduction/adduction,and rotation were 1.0323,0.9747,and 1.0558,respectively.The knee range of flexion/extension for affected/unaffected ratios was 1.0027)were significantly higher than those in BHA group(the corresponding values were 0.8615,0.7824,0.8162,0.9472,respectively).The P values were 0.007,0.005,0.006,and 0.037,respectively.Conclusion(1)Gait parameters of patients who underwent RHA and BHA were close to normal values at one year postoperatively.(2)At the follow up time point,joint ROMs of RHA patients are larger than those of BHA patients during gait cycle.(3)RHA can retain enough bone stock for future revision option,moreover,it can achieve maximum recovery of joint function.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation of the deleted azoospermia (DAZ) gene copy related to gr/gr and b2/b3 deletions in the AZFc region with male spermatogenic impairment.

METHODSThis study included 121 infertile men with different de- grees of spermatogenic impairment and 95 healthy donors from the sperm bank. Using PCR, PCR-RFLP, and Y chromosome specific sequence tagged sites (STS) , we analyzed the association of DAZ gene copy deletions related to gr/gr and b2/b3 deletions in the AZFc region with spermatogenic impairment.

RESULTSThere were 15 cases of gr/gr deletion (12. 40% ) and 6 cases of b2/b3 deletion (4.96%) in the infertility group as compared with 13 cases of gr/gr deletion (13.68%) and 1 case of b2/b3 deletion (1.05%) in the control. Analysis of the DAZ-specific single nucleotide variant (SNV) loci revealed 11 gr/gr-DAZI/DAZ2 deletions (9.09%), 4 gr/gr-DAZ3/DAZ4 deletions (3.31%), and 6 b2/b3-DAZ1/DAZ2 deletions (4.96%) in the infertile men in comparison with 3 gr/ gr-DAZ1/DAZ2 deletions (3.16%), 10 gr/gr-DAZ3/DAZ4 deletions (10.53%), and 1 b2/b3- DAZ3/DAZ4 deletion (1.05%) in the control.

CONCLUSIONPartial deletions of gr/gr and b2/b3 exist in both healthy men and male patients with different degrees of spermatogenic impairment and cannot be considered as a risk factor for spermatogenesis impairment. However, deletions of different DAZ duplicons in gr/gr and b2/b3 deletions have different effects on spermatogenesis. DAZ1/DAZ2 instead of DAZ3/DAZ4 deletions might be associated with spermatogenesis impairment.

Deleted in Azoospermia 1 Protein ; Gene Deletion ; Gene Dosage ; Humans ; Male ; RNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; Spermatogenesis ; genetics

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignant tumors as well as a frequent cause of cancer-related mortality in men worldwide. The test of serum markers has dramatically improved the early diagnosis of PCa, but its underlying molecular mechanisms are not yet completely identified. Long noncoding RNA (IncRNA) is emerging as a new player in the PCa paradigm demonstrating its potential roles in both oncogenic and tumor suppressive pathways. LncRNA is frequently aberrantly expressed in the majority of PCa cases. This review highlights recent findings of the aberrant expression of lncRNA in PCa and discusses its novel roles in the diagnosis, prediction, prognosis, metastasis, and potential clinical treatment of PCa.
Humans ; Male ; Prognosis ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; RNA, Long Noncoding ; metabolism

BACKGROUND:Many studies have demonstrated that restoration of femoral offset in revision total hip arthroplasty would contribute to the recovery of joint function.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the importance of restoration of femoral offset in revision total hip arthreplasty on the recovery of joint function.METHODS:An observational study was performed at the Department of Orthopedics,Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University between February 2004 and May 2007.A total of 15 patients with the revision total hip arthroplasty,including 12 males and 3 females,aging 62 75 years,averaging 67 years old,were recruited into this study.Harris evaluation system was used to evaluate joint function.The femoral neck anteversion and the femoral offset were measured by the method of Sakai.The vertical distance from the teardrop line to the most prominent point of the lesser trochanter was measured from each radiograph.References were combined to investigate the effect of restoration of femoral offset in revision total hip arthroplasty on joint function.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:All the 15 patients were recruited into this study.The duration of follow-up ranged from 24 months to 5 years.We measured the femoral offset on pre- and post-operative radiographs,and the results indicated that the femoral offset of 4 patients were above 4 mm.The femoral offset of 11 patients was restored.The femoral offset were 22-48 (32.21±0.64) mm pre- and 22-57 (36.13±0.82) mm post-operative radiographs,respectively.The mean difference in femoral offset post-operatively was significant (t=0.424,P=0.01 ).Harris scores were good in 4 cases,passable in 2 cases,and poor in 9 cases pre-operatively,and the scores were excellent in 8 cases,good in 4 cases,passable in 2 cases,and poor in 1 case post-operatively.The score of Harris evaluation system in the patient of restoration group and failed restoration group were 88.72±5.3 (80%) and 72.32±6.5 (27%) post-operative at 1 month respectively.The mean difference of the score was significant (χ~2=1.245,P<0.05).The 3 patients had complication,one was the dislocation of hip,and two had the pain of hip.All the patients with complication were in failed restoration of femoral offset,which was above 4 mm.The restoration of femoral offset contributes to the recovery of joint function and reduce complication occurrence after total hip arthroplasty revision.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of minimal fat renal angiomyolipoma (MFAML)and clear cell renal cell carcinoma(CCRCC)in high resolution multi-slice spiral CT(MSCT)and to improve the diagnosis accuracy for the renal tumors.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 24 MFAML patients(16 females,8 males)with mean age of 43(19-74)years and 24 CCRCC patients(16 females,8 males)with mean age of 44(21-76)years.All patients had undergone MSCT and proved histopathologically after surgery.The characteristics included tumor location,tumor attenuation on unenhanced CT,enhancement characteristics(degree of tumor enhancement in the early corticomedullary phase,homogeneity of enhancement,amount of enhancement,enhancement pattern over time),tumor margin,intratumoral calcification,and perinephric changes.The predictive value of each CT characteristic was determined by using multivariate logistic regression analysis.Results The tumor location in the kidney (upper pole:MFAML,6 cases,CCRCC,6 cases;middle:MFAML,7 cases,CCRCC,9 cases;lower pole:MFAML,11 cases,CCRCC,9 cases)and smooth tumor margin(MFAML,n=21;CCRCC,n=19)were not significantly different between MFAML patients and those with CCRCC,P＞0.05.Twenty-one cases of both MFAMLs and CCRCCs had the significant enhancement in the early corticomedullary phase,which were hypovascular tumors,whereas the mean amount of tumor enhancement was greater in CCRCC than in MFAML in both the early corticomedullary and the corticomedullary phases(CCRCC:175 HU,196 HU;MFAML:125 HU,145 HU;P＜0.05.MFAML usually showed homogeneous enhancement(n=15)rather than heterogeneous enhancement(n =9),whereas most CCRCC showed heterogeneous enhancement(n =17)rather than homogeneous enhancement(n =7),P＜0.05).Enhancement pattern was not a significant predictor.Within the 13 MFAML cases,8 cases had sufficient blood supply(6 cases showed obvious wash-in-and-wash-out,2 cases were with prolonged enhancement),5 cases with hypovascular showed a pattern of prolonged or gradual enhancement,while 21 CCRCC cases had sufficient blood supply and 71％ of them showed obvious wash-in-and-wash-out.High tumor attenuation on unenhanced scans(MFAML:17 patients (75％);CCRCC:2 patients(8％),P=0.002,OR=0.010)and threshold enhancement values of 129.5 HU in the corticomedullary phase(MFAML:5 patients(20％);CCRCC:20 patients(83％),P =0.004,OR =0.057)were valuable predictors for differentiating MFAML from CCRCC at multivariate logistic regression analysis.Conclusions MSCT is useful in differentiating MFAML from CCRCC,with high tumor attenuation on unenhanced scans and threshold enhancement values of 129.5 HU in the corticomedullary phase being the most valuable CT findings.75％ of MFAMLs with sufficient blood supply also show a pattern of wash-in-and-wash-out,which can easily misdiagnosed as a renal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Oral inflammatory diseases usually cause alveolar bone loss and odontoseisis, and further impact dental occlusion. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a promising method for the repair of alveolar bone and improving osteogenic activity of alveolar osteoblasts, but its therapeutic efficacy and related mechanisms remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of different intensities of ESWT on the proliferation and osteogenesis abilities of rat alveolar osteoblasts. METHODS: The rat alveolar osteoblasts were obtained and cultured in vitro, and further identified by alkaline phosphatase staining. 0.18, 0.36, and 0.50 mJ/mm2 ESWT was used to stimulate the rat alveolar osteoblasts, 100 pulses, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The levels of alkaline phosphatase and bone morphogenetic protein 2 were significantly increased in the 0.36 and 0.18 mJ/mm2 ESWT groups, especially in the 0.36 mJ/mm2 ESWT group (P < 0.05). 0.50 mJ/mm2 ESWT significantly decreased the proliferation ability of rat alveolar osteoblasts and downregulated the levels of alkaline phosphatase and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (P < 0.05). To conclude, ESWT (< 0.36 mJ/mm2) can improve the osteogenesis ability of rat alveolar osteoblasts with the intensity increasing, which provides a theoretical basis for the clinical use of ESWT in the alveolar bone repair.

Objective To investigate the effect of neuropeptide Y (NPY) on the osteoblastic differentiation of murine MC3T3-E1 cells and its mechanism related to the Wnt signaling pathway.Methods The murine MC3T3-E1 cells were divided into 4 groups according to the stimulators added:phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (control) and different concentrations of NPY (10-8 mol/L,10-10 mol/L and 10-12 mol/L).The cellular proliferation was detected with MTT assay after 1,3,5,7 and 9 days.The cells were identified with cell immunochemistry and Western Blot to find out the most effective concentration of NPY at different time points under osteoblastic condition.The cells were then divided into 4 groups:PBS,NPY,NPY + NPY receptor antagonist,and NPY + DKK1.Western blot was used to determine the expression of β3-catenin and p-GSK-3β in each group.Nuclear signaling activity of β3-catenin was observed using immunofluorescence staining.Results NPY significantly improved the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells at 7 and 9 days (P ＜0.05).NPY (10s mol/L and 10-10 mol/L) groups and NPY (10-10 mol/L and 10-12 mol/L) groups significantly improved the ALP activity at 4 and 14 days respectively (P ＜ 0.05).At 4 days,the expression of ALP protein was significantly decreased in the NPY + DKK1 group and the NPY + NPY receptor antagonist group compared with that in the NPY group (P ＜ 0.05).Although the expression levels of [β-catenin and p-GSK-3β protein were uninfluenced in either case,NPY significantly stimulated the nuclear signaling activity of β3-catenin.Conclusions NPY may significantly increase the expression of ALP protein in MC3T3-E1 ceils during osteoblastic differentiation.This effect might be mediated through the canonical Wnt signaling pathway.

To explore the application value of low-dose CT in lung cancer after operation in a short-term review by comparing conventional and low-dose CT. Methods:In 83 cases of lung cancer during the immediate postoperative period review, 50 cases (group A) underwent conventional CT scanning, whereas 33 cases (group B) underwent low-dose CT scanning. All CT scans were scored on the basis of image quality and clinical needs. The radiation dose indexes CTDIvol and DLP were recorded for each case. A comparison of the score and radiation dose between the two groups helped determine the existence of significant differences. Results:The average image quality scores of the two groups were 3.705±0.314 and 3.311±0.442, those for clinical demand were 2.670±0.373 and 2.561±0.410, those for CTDIvol were (19.248±1.532) mGy and (10.138±1.113) mGy, and those for DLP were (170.180±19.259) mGy*cm and (99.061±14.504) mGy*cm. The two groups exhibited significant differences in image quality, CTDIvol, and DLP but revealed no significant dissimilarity in clinical demand. Conclusion:Low-dose CT completely meets the clinical requirements for short-term follow-up after resection of lung cancer and significant reduction in radiation dose.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the factors influencing the prognosis of penis-sparing surgery (PSS) for early-stage penile cancer.

METHODSWe retrospectively studied the clinical data about 45 cases of early-stage penile cancer treated by PSS from January 2007 to December 2014. We calculated the rate of local recurrence-free survival by the Kaplan-Meier method, and conducted univariate and multivariate COX regression analyses on the relevant factors including the patient's age, marital status, tumor location, tumor size, postoperative sexual life, histological grade, and TNM stage.

RESULTSOne-year and three-year local recurrence-free survival rates were 95.5% and 52.2%, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the histological grade (P = 0.039) and postoperative sexual life (P = 0.049) were independent factors for the prognosis of PSS. Logistic regression showed the patients age to be significantly associated with histological grade (P = 0.014).

CONCLUSIONHistological grade and postoperative sexual life are important independent prognostic factors of PSS for early-stage penile cancer, and the patients age is associated with the prognosis of PSS through its influence on the tumor grade.

Age Factors ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Grading ; Organ Sparing Treatments ; Penile Neoplasms ; surgery ; Penis ; surgery ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies