Objective To evaluate the short term results of repairing osteonecrosis of the femoral head by modified free vascularized fibular grafting through Smith-Peterson approach without cutting the rectus femoris.Methods Between January,2009 and September,2012,14 osteonecrotic hips of 14 patients who underwent free vascularized fibular grafting were retrospectively studied including 10 male and 4 female.The follow up period was 24 months.The preoperative and postoperative symptoms relief,recovery of hip function (Harris score),radiographic assessment (X-ray).Results All patients got postoperative ipsilateral hip pain relief.Average Harris hip score improved significantly (68.47 ± 5.33,86.80 ± 4.72 points in preoperation and postoperation,respectively; paired t test,t =18.724,P ＜ 0.01).Postoperative X-ray results showed there were no progresses of osteonecrosis and no collapse in the operative side within 2 years follow-up.Conclusion The short term treatment results of femoral head avascular necrosis were satisfactory by using free vascularized fibular graft through Smith-Peterson approach without cutting off the rectus femoris and it may be a relatively practical option of surgical approach.

To explore the antagonistic effect of gingerols against the inflammation induced by lectin from Pinellia ternata. In this study, ELISA method was used to determine the effect of different extracts from gingerols on the release of inflammatory factor TNF-α from macrophages induced by lectin from P. ternata. The fluorescence probe was used to determine the effect of gingerols on the changes in ROS of macrophages induced by lectin from P. ternata. The western-blot method was applied to study the effect of gingerols on the increase in expression of cell receptor interacting protein RIP3 in macrophages induced by lectin from P. ternata. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to study the effect of gingerols on morphological changes in macrophages induced by lectin from P. ternata. According to the results, gingerols can significantly inhibit the release of inflammatory factor from macrophages induced by lectin from P. ternata, ROS overproduction and increase in RIP3 expression. SEM results showed that gingerols can inhibit the cytomorphosis and necrocytosis induced by lectin from P. ternata. Fresh ginger's detoxication may be related to gingerols' effects in inhibiing release of inflammatory factor, ROS overproduction and increase in RIP3 expression caused by macrophages induced by lectin from P. ternata, which are mainly inflammatory development.
Animals ; Catechols ; pharmacology ; Cells, Cultured ; Drug Antagonism ; Fatty Alcohols ; pharmacology ; Ginger ; chemistry ; Lectins ; toxicity ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Pinellia ; chemistry ; toxicity ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Receptor-Interacting Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical features of the diseases associated with aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARS) deficiency. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of the clinical and gene mutation data of 10 children who were diagnosed with ARS gene mutations, based on next-generation sequencing from January 2016 to October 2019. RESULTS: The age of onset ranged from 0 to 9 years among the 10 children. Convulsion was the most common initial symptom (7 children). Clinical manifestations included ataxia and normal or mildly retarded intellectual development (with or without epilepsy; n=4) and onset of epilepsy in childhood with developmental regression later (n=2). Some children experienced disease onset in the neonatal period and had severe epileptic encephalopathy, with myoclonus, generalized tonic-clonic seizure, and convulsive seizure (n=4); 3 had severe delayed development, 2 had feeding difficulty, and 1 had hearing impairment. Mutations were found in five genes: 3 had novel mutations in the AARS2 gene (c.331G>C, c.2682+5G>A, c.2164C>T, and c.761G>A), 2 had known mutations in the DARS2 gene (c.228-16C>A and c.536G>A), 1 had novel mutations in the CARS2 gene (c.1036C>T and c.323T>G), 1 had novel mutations in the RARS2 gene (c.1210A>G and c.622C>T), and 3 had novel mutations in the AARS gene (c.1901T>A, c.229C>T, c.244C>T, c.961G>C, c.2248C>T, and Chr16:70298860-70316687del). CONCLUSIONS A high heterogeneity is observed in the clinical phenotypes of the diseases associated with the ARS deficiency. A total of 14 novel mutations in 5 genes are reported in this study, which enriches the clinical phenotypes and genotypes of the diseases associated with ARS deficiency.
Amino Acyl-tRNA Synthetases ; genetics ; Child ; Epilepsy ; Humans ; Mutation ; Phenotype ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo investigate the roles of the mammalian target of rapamycin-1 and -2 (mTORC1 and TORC2) in the proliferation and apoptosis of prostate cancer 22RV1 cells.

METHODSAfter silencing mTORC1 and TORC2, we examined the proliferation and apoptosis of prostate cancer 22RV1 cells by methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay and flow cytometry, respectively, and detected the expressions of the androgen receptor (AR) and Akt phosphorylation in the prostate cancer 22RV1 cells by Western blot after transfecting Raptor-siRNA and Rictor-siRNA to the 22RV1 cells.

RESULTSMTT showed that the prostate cancer 22RV1 cells had no significant change in the growth rate after mTORC1 silence (P > 0.05), but their proliferation was markedly inhibited after mTORC2 silence (P < 0.01). Flow cytometry revealed a dramatic increase in the apoptosis of the 22RV1 cells after mTORC1 silence (P < 0.01), but no obvious change after mTORC2 silence (P > 0.05). Western blot exhibited that mTORC1 silence significantly increased the expression of AR and Akt phosphorylation (P < 0.05), while mTORC2 silence markedly decreased them (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONmTORC2 is not only required for the survival of prostate cancer 22RV1 cells, but also a promising therapeutic target of prostate cancer.

Apoptosis ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Male ; Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 ; Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 2 ; Multiprotein Complexes ; metabolism ; Phosphorylation ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; Receptors, Androgen ; metabolism ; Sirolimus ; pharmacology ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the application value of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) combined with routine T2WI sequence in the determination of pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer.

METHODSClinical data of 51 cases with locally advanced mid-low rectal cancer undergoing neoadjuvant therapy plus radical resection in the Rectal Cancer Center at The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from June 2012 to April 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. Magnetic resonance DWI and T2WI sequences scanning were performed within 1 week before neoadjuvant therapy and within 1 week before operation. Routine single T2WI sequence and DWI combined with T2WI sequence were used separately to predict the residual tumor and to compare with postoperative pathological examination. The prediction values of two methods were compared.

RESULTSOf 51 patients, 12 cases had pathological complete response (pCR). Prediction of DWI combined T2WI sequence was correct in 8 cases of pCR, whose sensitivity and specificity were higher than those of routine single T2WI sequence (66.7%, 94.9% vs. 33.3%, 84.6%). Prediction value of DWI combined T2WI sequence for pCR was significantly higher as compared to routine single T2WI sequence (AUC, 0.808 vs. 0.590, P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONCompared with the routine single T2WI sequence, DWI combined with T2WI sequence can improve the prediction accuracy of pathological complete response.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Rectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Background:Previous studies have found that schoolchildren with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) showed difficulties in neuropsychological function. This study aimed to assess neuropsychological function in Chinese preschoolers with ADHD using broad neuropsychological measures and rating scales and to test whether the pattern and severity of neuropsychological weakness differed among ADHD presentations in preschool children.

Methods:The 226 preschoolers (163 with ADHD and 63 controls) with the age of 4-5 years were included and assessed using the Behavior Rating Scale of Executive Function-Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) and a series of tests to investigate neuropsychological function.

ResultsPreschoolers with ADHD showed higher scores in all domains of the BRIEF-P (inhibition: 30.64 ± 5.78 vs.20.69 ± 3.86, P < 0.001; shift: 13.40 ± 3.03 vs.12.41 ± 2.79, P = 0.039; emotional control:15.10 ± 3.53 vs.12.20 ± 2.46, P < 0.001; working memory: 28.41 ± 4.99 vs.20.95 ± 4.60, P < 0.001; plan/organize: 17.04 ± 3.30 vs.13.29 ± 2.40, P < 0.001) and lower scores of Statue (23.18 ± 7.84 vs.28.27 ± 3.18, P = 0.001), Word Generation (15.22 ± 6.52 vs.19.53 ± 7.69, P = 0.025), Comprehension of Instructions (14.00 ± 4.44 vs.17.02 ± 3.39, P = 0.016), Visuomotor Precision (P < 0.050), Toy delay (P = 0.048), and Matrices tasks (P = 0.011), compared with normal control. In terms of the differences among ADHD subtypes, all ADHD presentations had higher scores in several domains of the BRIEF-P (P < 0.001), and the ADHD-combined symptoms (ADHD-C) group had the poorest ratings on inhibition and the ability to Plan/Organize. For neuropsychological measures, the results suggested that the ADHD-C group had poorer performances than the ADHD-predominantly inattentive symptoms (ADHD-I) group on Statue tasks (F = 7.34, η = 0.12, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the ADHD-hyperactive/impulsive symptoms group had significantly poorer performances compared to the ADHD-C group in the Block Construction task (F = 4.89, η = 0.067, P = 0.003). However, no significant group differences were found between the ADHD-I group and normal control.

Conclusion:Based on the combined evaluation of performance-based neuropsychological tests and the BRIEF-P, preschoolers with ADHD show difficulties of neuropsychological function in many aspects.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; physiopathology ; Behavior Rating Scale ; Child, Preschool ; Executive Function ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Neuropsychological Tests

COVID-19 has been prevalent for three years. The virulence of SARS-CoV-2 is weaken as it mutates continuously. However, elderly patients, especially those with underlying diseases, are still at high risk of developing severe infections. With the continuous study of the molecular structure and pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2, antiviral drugs for COVID-19 have been successively marketed, and these anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs can effectively reduce the severe rate and mortality of elderly patients. This article reviews the mechanism, clinical medication regimens, drug interactions and adverse reactions of five small molecule antiviral drugs currently approved for marketing in China, so as to provide advice for the clinical rational use of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in the elderly.

Dipsaci Radix is one of the commonly used Chinese medicinal materials in China, with a long history. It has the medicinal activities of nourishing liver and kidney, recovering from broken sinews, and treating bone fracture. Triterpenoid saponins are the main functional ingredients of Dipsacus asper. β-Amyrin synthases(β-AS) as a superfamily of oxidosqualene cyclases(OSCs) can catalyze the construction of the skeleton structure of oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins. There are only a few studies about the β-AS in D. asper, and the catalytic mechanism of this enzyme remains to be explored. To enrich the information of β-AS, according to the transcriptome sequencing results, we cloned DaWβ-AS gene from D. asper into a specific vector for heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. In the meantime, real-time PCR was performed to analyze the relative expression of DaWβ-AS in four different tissues of D. asper. The results of RT-qPCR showed DaWβ-AS had the highest expression level in leaves. Bioinformatics results indicated that DaWβ-AS had a conserved domain of PLN03012 superfamily, belonging to the cl31551 superfamily. There was no transmembrane domain or signal peptide in DaWβ-AS. This study provides a scientific basis for revealing the biological pathways of triterpenoid saponins in D. asper, which will facilitate the biosynthesis of the associated saponins and afford reference for the cultivation and development of high-quality resources of D. asper.
Cloning, Molecular ; Computational Biology ; Dipsacaceae/chemistry* ; Intramolecular Transferases ; Protein Sorting Signals ; Saponins/chemistry* ; Triterpenes/chemistry*