OBJECTIVETo investigate the damage characteristics and biomechanical mechanisms of the thoracolumbar vertebral bursh fracture during the impact loading.

METHODSFrom September 2008 to October 2009, 10 fresh human thoracolumbar spine specimens were collected for experimental model and divided into two groups. Biomechanical static and dynamic impact strength test were performed respectively in two groups. The static and dynamic data from thoracolumbar vertebrae shock response in different loads were observated.

RESULTSThoracolumbar yield load was (5 280.00 +/- 354.2) N, yield displacement was (13.32 +/- 2.07) mm, the limit load was(6 590.00 +/- 249.20) N, ultimate displacement was (20.60 +/- 2.57) mm, load speed was 0.02 g, and the average limit load of dynamic mechanical properties of thoracic and lumbar vertebrae was (14 425.60 +/- 1101.52) N, the average reaction time load was (17.29 +/- 2.04) ms, the average of acceleration was (36.80 +/- 2.81) g, the dynamic displacement was (45.11 +/- 1.13) mm.

CONCLUSIONThoracolumbar vertebral burst fracture is a serious injury caused by the release of high-energy moment, the role of biomechanical forces are in a pattern of pulse change, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae present with the viscoelastic properties of biological materials.

Biomechanical Phenomena ; Cadaver ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; injuries ; Spinal Fractures ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Stress, Mechanical ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; injuries

We experienced a rare case of winged scapula that was caused by the rupture of the rhomboideus major and the lower trapezius muscles without any nerve injury in a 12 yr old female after she had carried a heavy backpack. Electrodiagnostic study revealed that the onset latencies, amplitudes and conduction velocities were normal in the long thoracic nerve, the spinal accessory nerve and the dorsal scapular nerve. The needle EMG findings were normal as well. An explorative operation was performed and the rupture of the rhomboideus major and lower trapezius muscles was detected. Direct surgical repair of the ruptured muscle was carried out and the deformity was corrected. The anatomical and functional restoration was satisfactorily accomplished.
Weight Lifting/injuries ; Thoracic Nerves/*injuries ; Scapula/anatomy & histology/*physiopathology ; Rupture ; Neurons/metabolism ; Muscle, Skeletal/*injuries/innervation/*pathology ; Humans ; Female ; Electromyography/*methods ; Child

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between the expression changes of cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8(IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and the wound time following explosive injury to rabbit's chest. METHODS: The rabbit's model of explosive injury was established. The expression levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha in the plasma were detected by ELISA method at different wound time (0.5-12h). RESULTS: The level of IL-6 increased at 3h after wounding and reached peak at 6 h. The level of IL-8 increased at 1 h and reached peak at 6 h. The level of TNF-alpha increased at 0.5 h and reached peak at 3 h. CONCLUSION IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha have a time-related expression after explosive injury.
Animals ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Explosions ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Interleukin-8/metabolism* ; Rabbits ; Thoracic Injuries/metabolism* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism*

Radiation therapy is one of the main treatment methods for patients with thoracic malignant tumors, which can effectively improve the survival rate of the patients. However, radiation therapy can also cause damage to normal tissues while treating tumors, leading to radiation-induced lung injury such as radiation pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis. Radiation-induced lung injury is a complex pathophysiological process involving many factors, and its prevention and treatment is one of the difficult problems in the field of radiation medicine. Therefore, the search for sensitive predictors of radiation-induced lung injury can guide clinical radiotherapy and reduce the incidence of radiation-induced lung injury. With the in-depth study of intestinal flora, it can drive immune cells or metabolites to reach lung tissue through the circulatory system to play a role, and participate in the occurrence, development and treatment of lung diseases. At present, there are few studies on intestinal flora and radiation-induced lung injury. Therefore, this paper will comprehensively elaborate the interaction between intestinal flora and radiation-induced lung injury, so as to provide a new direction and strategy for studying the protective effect of intestinal flora on radiation-induced lung injury.
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Humans ; Lung Injury/prevention & control* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Lung Neoplasms/radiotherapy* ; Lung/pathology* ; Radiation Injuries/metabolism* ; Thoracic Neoplasms

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) in the detection of radiation-induced myocardial damage in beagles by comparing two pre-scan preparation protocols as well as to determine the correlation between abnormal myocardial FDG uptake and pathological findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The anterior myocardium of 12 beagles received radiotherapy locally with a single X-ray dose of 20 Gy. 18F-FDG cardiac PET/CT was performed at baseline and 3 months after radiation. Twelve beagles underwent two protocols before PET/CT: 12 hours of fasting (12H-F), 12H-F followed by a high-fat diet (F-HFD). Regions of interest were drawn on the irradiation and the non-irradiation fields to obtain their maximal standardized uptake values (SUVmax). Then the ratio of the SUV of the irradiation to the non-irradiation fields (INR) was computed. Histopathological changes were identified by light and electron microscopy. RESULTS: Using the 12H-F protocol, the average INRs were 1.18 +/- 0.10 and 1.41 +/- 0.18 before and after irradiation, respectively (p = 0.021). Using the F-HFD protocol, the average INRs were 0.99 +/- 0.15 and 2.54 +/- 0.43, respectively (p < 0.001). High FDG uptake in irradiation field was detected in 33.3% (4/12) of 12H-F protocol and 83.3% (10/12) of F-HFD protocol in visual analysis, respectively (p = 0.031). The pathology of the irradiated myocardium showed obvious perivascular fibrosis and changes in mitochondrial vacuoles. CONCLUSION: High FDG uptake in an irradiated field may be related with radiation-induced myocardial damage resulting from microvascular damage and mitochondrial injury. An F-HFD preparation protocol used before obtaining PET/CT can improve the sensitivity of the detection of cardiotoxicity associated with radiotherapy.
Animals ; Dogs ; Fasting ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/*metabolism ; Heart/*radiography ; Heart Injuries/*radiography ; Male ; Myocardium/metabolism/pathology ; Positron-Emission Tomography/*methods ; Radiation Injuries/diagnosis/*radiography ; Thoracic Neoplasms/radiotherapy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/*methods

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of soft tissue crush injury on the tensions of thoracic aortic rings (TARs) in rats and to investigate the potential roles of nitric oxide in the change of the tensions. METHODS: Thirty adult SD rats were randomly divided into control group and crush injury (8 h and 16 h after injury) groups. Two kinds of TARs (one with endothelium and the other without endothelium) in vitro were prepared. In the TARs with endothelium, the tensions induced by phenylephrine (PE), acetylcholine (Ach), calcium ionophore A23187 and angiotensin II (AngI) were measured by the vascular tension detective technique. Then the TARs with endothelium were preincubated with nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) for 20 minutes, the tensions induced by PE and Ang II were measured again. In the TARs without endothelium, the tensions induced by PE and Ang II were measured by the same method. RESULTS: In the TARs with endothelium, the tension of relaxation induced by cumulative doses of Ach and A23187 decreased significantly in 8 h and 16h groups. The tension of contraction induced by cumulative doses of PE and Ang II also decreased significantly (P<0.05). The tension of contraction increased after the preincubation with L-NNA. In the TARs without endothelium, the tension of contraction induced by PE and Ang II increased comparing to that of TARs with endothelium. CONCLUSION The soft tissue crush injury can influence the tensions of TARs in rats and the vascular-derived NO can mediate the effects.
Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic/physiopathology* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Endothelium, Vascular/metabolism* ; Female ; Hindlimb/injuries* ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/metabolism* ; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester/pharmacology* ; Nitric Oxide/biosynthesis* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase/metabolism* ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Soft Tissue Injuries/physiopathology* ; Vasoconstriction/drug effects* ; Vasoconstrictor Agents/pharmacology* ; Vasodilation/drug effects* ; Vasodilator Agents/pharmacology*

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of penehyclidine hydrochloride on apoptosis of lung tissue cells and its mechanism in acute lung injury following blunt chest trauma in rats.

METHODSSprague Dawley (SD) rats (n equal to 54) weighing (250+/-5) g were divided equally and randomly into three groups: normal control group (C group, n equal to 18), trauma model group (T group, n equal to 18) and penehyclidine hydrochloride treatment group (P group, n equal to 18). Each group was further divided into three subgroups according to the time points of 3, 12 and 24 hours after experiment (at each time point, n equal to 6 for each subgroup). Rats of P group were intraperitoneally injected with penehyclidine hydrochloride for 2 mg/kg immediately after blunt chest trauma and rats in its 24 hours subgroup were once again injected with penehyclidine hydrochloride in the same dose 12 hours after injury. Lung tissue samples were collected at every time point and cell apoptosis in lung tissues were measured by TUNEL. Apoptotic index (AI) was calculated, expressions of bax and bcl-2 were detected by immunohistochemical staining of SABC, and lung tissue sections were taken for light and electron microscopic observation.

RESULTSAs compared with C group, at every time point, AI and expressions of bax and bcl-2 in T group were higher (P less than 0.05), and the ratio of bcl-2/bax markedly decreased (P less than 0.05), especially in the 24 hours subgroup. The ratio in T group (0.468+/-0.007) was lower than that in C group (1.382+/-0.058, t equal to 12.5, P less than 0.01). Lung tissue injuries were significant under a light microscope, and the number of apoptotic cells increased obviously under a transmission electron microscope. As compared with T group at the same phase, AI and expression of bax decreased in P group (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.01), while the expression of bcl-2 increased significantly (P less than 0.01), and the ratio of bcl-2/bax markedly increased (P less than 0.05), especially in the 24 hours subgroup. The ratio in P group (1.012+/-0.070) was much higher than that in T group (0.468+/-0.007, t equal to 8.3, P less than 0.01). The injury of lung tissues was relieved, and apoptosis of cells decreased obviously under a transmission electron microscopic observation.

CONCLUSIONSApoptosis and expressions of bax and bcl-2 in lung tissues might be involved in the pathogenesis of lung injury induced by blunt chest trauma. Penehyclidine hydrochloride can alleviate lung injuries by inhibiting apoptosis of lung tissue cells, during which effects of penehyclidine hydrochloride on regulating expressions of bax and bcl-2 may play an important role.

Acute Lung Injury ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Lung ; pathology ; Male ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; analysis ; Quinuclidines ; therapeutic use ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Thoracic Injuries ; complications ; Wounds, Nonpenetrating ; complications ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; analysis