BAcKGROUND:In recent years,the pedicle screws fixation technique,which is used in fixation for atlantoaxial instability associated with trauma,severe degeneration and tumorectomy,has been developed.However,this kind of technique easily causes several complications,including malpositional screws,vascular injuries,and even vertebral artery injury.Based on the biomechanical characteristics of memory alloy and determination of atlantoaxial data,a neotype shape memory alloy cervical hook was designed to treat atlantoaxial instability.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the biomechanieal characteristics of the neotype shape memory alloy cervical hook for atlantoaxial instability.DESIGN,TIME AND SETTING:Repeated measurement analysis of variance test was performed in the Laboratory of Clinical Anatomy and Medical Biomechanics,Southern Medical University between March and April 2008.MATERIALS:Eight fresh adult craniocervical specimens(C0-C4)were provided by Department of Clinical Anatomy,Southern Medical University.Atlantoaxial neotype shape memory alloy cervical hook(50.8%-51.8%nickel and the remaining part was titanium)was fabricated by Shanghai Xinchang Memory Alloy Co.,Ltd.METHODS:The included eight C0-C4 specimens were used to test three-dimension ranges of motion(ROM)by fixation and neotype shape memory alloy cervical hook fixation.Then,the positions of spine varying from no loading to the maximum loading status were scanned and analyzed using image processing software to determine the three-dimensional ROM under different statuses.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Three-dimensional ROM of tested specimens.RESULTS:Neotype shape memory alloy cervical hook fixation and Germany AESCULAP SSE hanger fixation had similar flexion-extension range of motion(P=0.595).Lateral bending three-dimensional ROM was greater in the neotype shape memory alloy cervical hook fixation group than in the Germany AESCULAP AAE hanger fixation(P< 0.05).The rotatory three-dimensional ROM was smaller in the neotype shape memory alloy cervical hook fixation group than in the Germany AESCULAP AAE hanger fixation(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Neotype shape memory alloy cervical hook fixation had comparative post-surgery immediate stability with the Germany AESCULAP AAE hanger fixation.Neotype shape memory alloy cervical hook fixation produced a little worse biomechanical lateral bending stability and a little better biomechanical rotatory stability than Germany AESCULAP AAE hanger fixation.

The paper is aimed to establish a method of residue analysis for thiamethoxam and to study its degradation dynamic and final residue and its standard of safe application of thiamethoxam on Lonicera japonica. Samples extracted with methanol by ultrasonication were purified with dichloromethane by liquid-liquid extraction and SPE column and analysed by HPLC-UV. The results showed that average rate was 84.91%-94.44% and RSD 1.74%-4.96% with addition of thiamethoxam in respectively diverse concentration, which meets inspection requirement of pesticide residue. Two kinds of dosages of thiamethoxam were treated- varying from recommended dosage (90 g x hm(-2)) to high dosage (135 g x hm(-2)), Results of two years test showed that thiamethoxam was degraded more than 90% seven days after application and the half - life period of thiamethoxam was 1.54-1.66 d. The digestion rate of thiamethoxam was fast in the L. japonica. The recommended MRL of thiamethoxam in the L. japonica is 0.1 mg x kg(-1), the dosage of 25% thiamethoxam WDG from 90-135 g x hm(-2) is sprayed less than three times a year on L. japonica and 14 days is proposed for the safety interval of the last pesticide application's and harvest's date.
Agriculture ; methods ; standards ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Flowers ; chemistry ; growth & development ; parasitology ; Half-Life ; Insect Control ; methods ; standards ; Insecticides ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Lonicera ; chemistry ; growth & development ; parasitology ; Neonicotinoids ; Nitro Compounds ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Oxazines ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Pesticide Residues ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Plant Diseases ; parasitology ; prevention & control ; Thiazoles ; adverse effects ; chemistry

Based upon the measure of depression as defined by Hamilton depression scale (HAMD)scores ＞ 17,120 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were classified into 2 groups:COPD patients with or without depression.According to the mini-mental state examination (MMSE),the cognitive functions of all patients were evaluated.Meanwhile,oxygen saturation and pulmonary function were measured by blood gas analyzer and spirometer respectively.Fifty-four COPD patients were complicated with depression.HAMD scores were significantly negatively correlated with oxygen saturation and pulmonary function (P ＜0.05).Multiple regression analysis revealed that gender,oxygen saturation and MMSE scores were risk factors of depression (P ＜ 0.05).MMSE scores decreased more obviously in the COPD patients with depression and were positively correlated with oxygen saturation (P ＜ 0.01).A negative correlation existed between MMSE scores and HAMD scores (r =-0.549,P ＜ 0.05).

Objective To investigate the effects of partial body weight supported treadmill training (BW- STT) on post-stroke depression (PSD) and on patients' quality of life.Methods Sixty patients with PSD were re- cruited and divided into a training group (n=30,male 17,female 13) and a control group (n=30,male 16,fe- male 14).All patients were treated with routine internal medication and rehabilitation.The patients of the training group also received BWSTT in addition to their routine treatment.All patients' neurological impairment was evaluated using the Modified Edinburgh-Scandinavian Stroke Scale (MESSS).The Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) was used for evaluating the degree of depression.The Fugl-Meyer scale and the Barthel index were used to assess ambula- tion and balance,and facility in the activities of daily living.All patients were assessed before and after the treat- ment.Results After four weeks of treatment,depression in the training group had improved significantly more than in the control group.Conclusion BWSTT intervention is very important for patients with PSD:it can reduce the degree of depression and improve the quality of life.

Objective To investigate the influence of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) treatment on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS). Methods Thirty-one patients with newly diagnosed OSAHS were divided into 3 groups based on the status of nC-PAP treatment: group 1,10 patients with nCPAP > 4 hrs/night;group 2:9 patients with nCPAP < 4 hrs/night;group 3:12 patients without nCPAP treatment. Serum cardiovascular risk factors (i. e. ,C-reactive protein(CRP), total cholesterol, triglycerides, highdensity lipaprntein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apo-lipoprotein A-I (ApoA-1), and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) ) were measured at baseline and 6 months after nCPAP treatment. Results ① There was no significant difference on age,body mass index,blcod pressure,Epworth sleepi-ness scale (ESS) and saturation of blood oxygen (SPO_2) between the 3 groups (P>0.05). ②In group 1, ESS, SPO_2 minimum SPO_2 were significantly improved (3.20±2.80,93.80±2.01 and 84.10±6.17, respectively) compared to baseline (13.30±5.20,88.60±4.14 and 69.60±11.80, respectively) (P<0.01). Moreover, in group 2, there were significant improvement on ESS, SPO_2 and minimum SPO2 (4.95±2.67,94.20±1.46 and 85.20±4.97, respectively) compared to baseline (12.80±5.50,89.10±5.11 and 73.70±12.50, respectively) (P<0.01). ③In group 1 ,significant decreases in the levels of CRP,total cholesterol was observed (P=0.021 and 0.038). ④In group 2, group 3 there were slightly decrease of CRP after treatment, but the difference did not reach statistieal significance. Conclusions Good compliance to nCPAP treatment decreases the serum levels of cardiovas-cular risk factors, indicating a beneficial effect on the overall cardiovascular disease prevention and control.

Abstract: Objective　To explore the antiviral effect of baricitinib in the SARS-CoV-2 infection and influence on cytokine levels. Methods　Calu-3 cells were infected with SARS-CoV-2 at MOI of 0.1, and the levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and IL-1β), interferon β (IFN-β) and interferon-stimulated gene, IFIT2 in the infected cells were analyzed by qRT-PCR methods. At the same time, Calu-3 cells were infected with SARS-CoV-2 (MOI=0.1) after being treated with baricitinib for 2 hours. Cells were collected at 0, 24, 36, and 48 hours, and analyzed for the mRNA of the above genes in the drug-treated and untreated groups. Results　The mRNA levels of IL-6, TNF-a, IL-1β, IFN-β and IFIT2 in Calu-3 infected by SARS-CoV-2 cells were increased significantly. These cytokines were increased by nearly 100-fold post-infection 48 h compared with the control (P<0.000 1), and continued to increase with the infection time (P<0.001 or P<0.000 1). The increase of IL-8 mRNA level was not as significant as IL-6, TNF-α, IL-8, IL-1β, but it also showed a 2-4 folds increase. Baricitinib does not affect the level of viral RNA in Calu-3 cells after SARS-CoV-2 infection (P>0.05). However, baricitinib can significantly inhibit the up-regulation of IL-6 and TNF-α levels induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection (5.25-fold and 3.90-fold down-regulation, respectively, P<0.01), and has little effect on the levels of IL-8 and IL-1β . In addition, the drug could also significantly down-regulate the increase in IFN-β and IFIT2 levels caused by viral infection (10.51-fold and 90.78-fold down-regulation, respectively, P<0.000 1). Conclusions　Baricitinib inhibits the release of inflammatory cytokines to some extent, but it drastically down-regulates the expression of interferons and interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), and has limited antiviral effect on SARS-CoV-2. Considering that interferon signal pathways play important roles on viral infection, caution should be exercised when using baricitinib to treat COVID-19 patients.

This study aims to develop a method for determination of beta-elemene, curcumol, germacrone and neocurdione in the volatile oil of Curcuma phaeocaulis, and to provide the basis of the quality control method for the volatile oil of C. phaeocaulis and the related preparations. Based on GC-MS, the 4 main compounds were simultaneously determined, with the internal standard n-tridecane. The Agilent 19091S-433 column (0.25 microm x 250 microm x 30 m) was adopted at the temperature of 250 degrees C, the programmed temperature method (60 degrees C for 1 min, 5 degrees C x min x to 110 degrees C for 5 min, 1 degrees C x min(-1) to 140 degrees C, 5 degrees C x min(-1) to 160 degrees C, 10 degrees C x min(-1) to 240 degrees C) was used. Helium gas was used as the carrier gas at a constant flow rat of 1 mL x min(-1), with an injection volume of 1 RL. Mass spectra were taken at 70 eV; the ion-source temperature was 200 degrees C. The relation time and character acteristic ions for each target compound were determined by full scan mode and SIM, and m/z 85.1, 93.1, 121.1, 107.1 and 180.1 were the detection ions of n-tridecane, beta-elemene, curcumol, germacrone and neocurdione. As a result, beta-elemene, curcumol, germacrone and neocurdione were all detected with good separation. They were all in a good linear relationship within each concentration scope. The average recovery rates were in the range of 98.2%-101%. So, the method can be used to control the quality of the volatile of C. phaeocaulis Val. and the preparations related.
Acetic Acid ; chemistry ; Curcuma ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Oils, Volatile ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Oils ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Sesquiterpenes ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Sesquiterpenes, Germacrane ; analysis ; isolation & purification

[ ABSTRACT] AIM:To investigate the antipyretic effect of patchouli oil on lipopolysaccharide ( LPS)-induced fe-ver in rabbits.METHODS:Male rabbits (n=42) were randomly divided into 7 groups according to their body weight and basal body temperature, including control group, model group, western medical positive group, traditional Chinese medical positive group, and high, middle and low doses (2%, 1%and 0.5%) of patchouli oil groups.Subsequently, except the controls, the rabbits were injected with LPS at a dose of 1 mL/kg (2 mg/L) through marginal ear vein to establish rabbit fever model and the rabbits in control group received the same volume of NS.The rabbits in control group and model group were injected with 0.5%Tween-80 0.5 h late, and the rabbits in the other groups were treated with correspoonding drugs. The effect of patchouli oil on the body temperature was observed, and the levels of interleukin-1β( IL-1β) and tumor nec-rosis factor-α(TNF-α) in the serum, and prostaglandin E2(PGE2) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in the hypothalamus were measured by radioimmunoassay.RESULTS: The body temperature and the levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, cAMP and PGE2 in model group were significant higher than those in control group.Patchouli oil notably inhibited the body temperature in the febrile rabbits.From 1.5 h to 5.5 h after administration, the body temperatures were increased by (1.06 ±1.55), (1.62 ±1.36), (1.38 ±1.22), (0.98 ±0.98) and (0.48 ±0.95) ℃in high patchouli oil group, re-spectively.From 3.5 to 5.5 h after administration, the body temperatures were elevated by ( 1.47 ±0.73 ) , ( 1.15 ± 0.68) and (0.63 ±0.54) ℃ in middle patchouli oil group, respectively.A tendency of downregulation of the elevated body temperatures was observed at every time point after administration in low patchouli oil group.Patchouli oil significantly decreased the levels of TNF-αin the serum and cAMP content in the hypothalamus, and attenuated the elevated tendency of the IL-1βlevel in the serum and PGE2 level in the hypothalamus.CONCLUSION:Patchouli oil evidently has antipyretic effect on LPS-induced fever in the rabbits.The antipyretic mechanism might be related to the inhibition of TNF-αlevel in serum and cAMP content in the hypothalamus.

Objective To compare the diagnostic value of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and 64 multi-slice spiral CT (64-MSCT) for coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods Fifty-two patients with suspected or known CAD were included in the study. Each patient underwent both stress and rest MPI,MSCT as well as conventional coronary angiography (CAG) within 1 month. The stress and rest MPI were scored by a 5-grade criteria (0 ～ 4) based on 17 coronary artery segments. The difference between summed stress and rest scores ＞ 1 was defined as myocardial ischemia. Stenosis in one main vessel or one main branch of the main vessel ≥50% was defined as myocardial ischemia by MSCT. CAG was used as the reference for comparison. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 13. 0 software. Kappa value was used to test the accordance of MPI and MSCT results. X2 test was used to evaluate the difference between MPI and MSCT results. Results The patient-based sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy of MPI and MSCT for the diagnosis of CAD were 86.7% (26/30), 77.3% ( 17/22),83.9% (26/31), 81.0% ( 17/21), 82.7% (43/52) and 83.3% ( 25/30), 86.4% ( 19/22), 89.3%( 25/28), 79.2% ( 19/24), 84.6% (44/52), respectively. The vessel-based sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy of MPI and MSCT were 74.5% (38/51), 81.0% (85/105 ), 65.5% (38/58), 86.7% ( 85/98), 78.8% ( 123/156 ) and 90.2% (46/51 ), 88.6% ( 93/105 ),79.3 % (46/58), 94.9% (93/98), 89.1% ( 139/156), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between MPI and MSCT for either patient or lesion-based diagnosis (X2 =0.44, 0.21, both P ＞0.05 ). 96.0% (24/25) patients with both abnormal MPI and MSCT positive were valified by CAG while 83.3% (15/18) patients with both MPI and MSCT negative were excluded by CAG. Conclusions Both MPI and MSCT are reliable diagnostic modalities for CAD. They also provide complementary diagnostic value to each other.

Objective To find out iodine nutritional status of pregnant women in the third trimester and the relationship between pregnant women and their neonates thyroid function in a high iodine area.Methods From April to June 2010,210 copies of fasting morning urine and venous blood,and their neonatal umbilical cord blood samples were collected in Haixing Hospital,Cangzhou city,Hebei province.Urinary iodine was determined by arsenic-cerium catalytic spectrophotometry.The levels of free triiodothyronine(FT3),free thyroxine (FT4) and sensitive thyroid-stimulating hormone (sTSH) in serum were measured by chemiluminescence.Results Median urinary iodine of 210 pregnant women(average age 27.69 ± 4.73 years) in the third trimester was 1240.70 μg/L,84.3％(177/210) of them was in excessive iodine nutrition,and only 0.5％(1/210) of them was in adequate iodine nutrition.The prevalence rate of thyroid diseases was 19.5％ (41/210),and the spectrum of diseases were subclinical hypothyroidism(16.2％,34/210),subclinical hyperthyroidism(0.9％,2/210),hypothyroidism(2.4％,5/210) and hyperthyroidism (0,0/210).The number of newborns with sTSH 5 - ＞ 10 mU/L were 104 persons (49.5％); 10 - ＞ 20 mU/L were 44 persons(21.0％),and ≥20 mU/L were 16 persons(7.6％).Of pregnant women suffer from thyroid disease,the ratio(50.0％,24/48 ) of sTSH equal to 10.18 mU/L and ＞ 10 mU/L of their neonates was higher than that of their corresponding non-ill pregnant women(6.78 mU/L,Z =- 2.867,P ＜ 0.05; 22.2％,36/162,x2 =14.000,P ＜ 0.05).There was a positive correlation between neonates' and their mothers' sTSH levels (r =0.278,P ＜ 0.05).There was also a positive correlation between neonates' (sTSH ＞ 10 mU/L) and their mothers' abnormal sTSH levels (r =0.240,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Most of the pregnant women in high iodine areas are iodine excess.The level of neonates' sTSH is higher,and it is due to their mothers' abnormal sTSH and suffering from thyroid diseases to some extent.As a result,the monitoring of pregnant women's iodine nutrition and thyroid function and sTSH level of their neonates should be strengthened.