The effects of the feed attractants on Whitmania pigra were studied. The average weight of Wh. pigra were 5.0 g. Arginine was selected as feed attractants, xanthan gum was selected as feed substrate. The times of Wh. pigra going into the inducing room were recorded. The water temperature was 22-25 degrees C during the whole experiment. Arginine that had better inducing effect was chosen to carry on in the gradient experiment. The results showed that the best inducing effect was found when the added amount of arginine was 0.3%, which was close to the arginine content of the natural body fluid of Wh. Pigra and Bellamya purificata, 2.97 mg x g(-1).
Animal Feed ; analysis ; Animals ; Arginine ; analysis ; metabolism ; Body Weight ; Feeding Behavior ; Leeches ; growth & development ; physiology

Objective To establish sensitive and selective method and study on its relative bioavailability in healthy volunteers by LC - MS/ MS. Method A single oral dose of two different dosage losartan/hydrochlorothiazide (50 mg/12.5 mg) tablets was administrated to 20 healthy volunteers in a randomized cross - over design. Plasma concen-tration of losartan and hydrochlorothiazide were determined by HPLC -MS/MS method, and relative bioavailability was evaluated by DAS 1.0.Results Main pharmacokinetic parameters for losartan were as follows: tmaxwere (1.09±0.56) hand (1.12±0.55)h, Cmax were (118.9±68.9) and (110.2±51.0)ng- mL-1, t1/2were(3.15±0.76) and(2.96±0.71)h, AUC0-twere (226.2±65.0) and (241.9±77.4)ng· h · mL-1, AUC0-∞were (250.5±68.7 ) and (265.7±81.5 )ng · h · mL-1 for the test and reference drugs. Main pharmacokinetic parameters for hydrochlorothiazide were as follows: tmax were (1.93 ±0.54) hand (2.25±0.60) h, Cmaxwere (73.2±11.0) and (74.5±17.4) ng·mL-1, t1/2were (9.45±3.57) and (8.33±2.58) h, AUC0-t, were (401.8±138.3)and (390.6±149.3) ng · h · mL-1, AUC0-∞ were (438.2±146.8) and (415.5 ± 156.1) ng · h · mL-1 for the test and refer-enee drugs. The relative bioavailabilities were (96.5 ± 21.2 ) % and ( 106.8 ± 22.9 ) % for losartan and hydrochloroth-iazide, respectively. Conclusion The test and reference drugs of losartan/hydroehlorothiazide are bioequivalent.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the surgical treatment of thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (TOLF) and analysis of the therapeutic effects.

METHODSSix patients with thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum were retrospectively studied from October 2006 to October 2009. All of the patients in this group were treated by en bloc hemi-articular process laminectomy. There were 4 males and 2 females, ranging in age from 45 to 66 years, averaged 55.2 years. The evaluate factors including the preoperative and postoperative JOA scores,and the function of the urinary bladder were analyzed.

RESULTSAll the 6 patients were followed after operation. The mean followed-up duration was 10.5 months, ranging from 2 to 18 months. According to JOA evaluation criteria, 4 patients got an excellent result, 1 good and 1 bad. The one patient with bad result had spinal cord compressed for too long time, and the T2-weight MRI showed nonreversible degeneration of spinal cord and combined with schizophrenia. The clinical symptoms improved with varying degrees.

CONCLUSIONThe en bloc hemi-articular process laminectomy is an effective method for ossification of the thoracic ligamentum flavum. A thorough decompression and real-time protection of the spinal cord is the key to the success of surgery.

Aged ; Decompression, Surgical ; Female ; Humans ; Ligamentum Flavum ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ossification, Heterotopic ; surgery ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; etiology ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; pathology

Objective To explore the effect of Internet addiction on adolescent's attention.Methods Neuropsychological evaluations of attention function were done separately in 18 adolescents who met the diagnostic criterion for Internet addiction and in other 18 ones without Intemet addition tendency as a control group. With auditory and visual oddball paradigms, and stimulated by standard,target and novel stimuli, EEG was recorded and analyzed to get the event-related potential P300 and compare the latency and amplitude of P3a and P3b between the 2 groups. Results Compared with the controls, the attention of Internet addiction group was decreased significantly in neuropsychological evaluations. The latency of P3a potentials induced by novel stimulus was much shorter and the amplitude of it was higher in addiction group than in control group, but the latency of P3b potentials generated by target stimulus was prolonged and the amplitude decreased obviously. Conclusions Intemet addiction can cause damage to adolescent's attention function. There is a correlation between the attention impairment and the change of P300 potentials.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the relation between different therapy and survival rate of liver metastasis of colorectal cancer (LMCC).

METHODSClinical data of 669 LMCC patients,collected from Fudan University Zhongshan Hospital from January 2000 to July 2008, were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSOf the 669 cases, 379 cases were synchronous liver metastases(SLM) and 290 cases were metachronous liver metastases(MLM). There were no significant differences in age, gender and position of primary tumor between SLM and MLM groups(P>0.05), but as to liver metastasis characteristics(liver lobe involved, focus number and maximal focus diameter) and CEA, CA19-9 before therapy,there were significant differences(P<0.05). Two hundred and fifty-three cases underwent curative hepatic resection, including 123 cases in SLM and 130 cases in MLM. Until October 31, 2008, all the cases were followed up. The median survival time of SLM was(11+/-1) months and of MLM(23+/-2) months(P<0.01). Five-year survival rate of SLM was 6.4% and of MLM 11.4%(P<0.01). As to different treatments, median survival time and 5-year survival rate of curative hepatic resection group were 37 months and 35.6%, and of non-operation groups(i.e. intervention, chemotherapy, radiofrequency therapy and percutaneous ethanol injection) were 5 to 26 months and 0 to 3.6% respectively(P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSCurative hepatic resection is the first choice of liver metastasis of colorectal cancer, which can improve the survival rate. Resection rate and survival of MLM are better than those of SLM.

Adult ; Aged ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; secondary ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Previous research has shown maternal betaine supplementation alleviates fetal-derived hepatic steatosis. Therefore, this study examined the anti-inflammatory effect of maternal betaine intake in offspring mice and its mechanism.MATERIALS/METHODS: Female C57BL/6J mice and their offspring were randomly divided into 3 groups according to the treatment received during gestation and lactation: control diet (CD), fatty liver disease (FLD), and fatty liver disease + 1% betaine (FLD-BET). The FLD group was given a high-fat diet and streptozotocin (HFD + STZ), and the FLD-BET group was treated with HFD + STZ + 1% betaine. After weaning, the offspring mice were given a normal diet for 5 weeks and then dissected to measure the relevant indexes. RESULTS: Compared to the CD group, the offspring mice in the FLD group revealed obvious hepatic steatosis and increased serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α; maternal betaine supplementation reversed these changes. The hepatic mRNA expression levels of IL-6, IL-18, and Caspase-1 were significantly higher in the FLD group than in the CD group. Maternal betaine supplementation reduced the expression of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-18, and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing C-terminal caspase recruitment domain (ASC). Maternal betaine supplementation also reversed the increasing protein expressions of nitric oxide dioxygenase-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), ASC, Caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18 in offspring mice exposed to HFD + STZ. Maternal betaine supplementation decreased the homocysteine (Hcy) and s-adenosine homocysteine (SAH) levels significantly in the livers. Furthermore, the hepatic Hcy concentrations showed significant inverse relationships with the mRNA expression of TNF-α, NLRP3, ASC, and IL-18. The hepatic SAH concentration was inversely associated with the IL-1β mRNA expression. CONCLUSIONS The lipotropic and anti-inflammatory effect of maternal betaine supplementation may be associated with the inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome in the livers of the offspring mice.

Objective: To explore the factors influencing the sexual function of the male patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). METHODS: Using Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), we conducted a questionnaire investigation among 81 male patients with OSA aged 40.5 ± 8.6 years and 35 healthy volunteers aged 38.8 ± 10 years. According to the sex drive (SD) score in ASEX, we divided the OSA patients into an SD reduction group (SD score = 4, n = 32) and a non-SD reduction group (SD score <4, n = 49), compared the clinical data and polysomnographic (PSG) indexes, and analyzed the factors influencing SD by evaluating the association of the PSG indexes with the SD score. RESULTS: The OSA patients scored significantly higher than the healthy controls in ESS (8 ± 5 vs 5 ± 4, P <0.05) and ASEX (15 ± 4 vs 10 ± 2, P <0.05), and so did the patients of the SD reduction group than those of the non-SD reduction group in ESS (9 ± 5 vs 6 ± 5, P <0.05) and saturation impair time below 90% (SIT90) (41.01 ± 26.95 vs 21.87 ± 19.03, P <0.05). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that the SD score was significantly correlated with age (β = 0.25, P <0.001) and SIT90 (β = 0.4, P <0.001) in the OSA patients. CONCLUSIONS OSA affects various aspects of the sexual function, particularly SD, of the patient. The duration of hypoxia and age of the patient are independent risk factors for SD reduction, which can be considered as a main clinical symptom of OSA.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Case-Control Studies ; Humans ; Hypoxia ; complications ; Libido ; physiology ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; complications ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Time Factors

Femoral neck fracture (FNF) in the elderly patients is currently a major health challenge worldwide, with excessive consumption of medical resources, high incidence of complications as well as suboptimal outcome and prognosis. Hip joint arthroplasty (HJA) has been the mainstream treatment for FNF in the elderly, but the conventional surgical approaches and techniques are still confronted with a series of bottlenecks such as dislocation, limp and limb length discrepancy. In recent years, direct anterior approach (DAA) for HJA (DAA-HJA) has been a major new choice in the field of joint replacement, which achieves improved clinical effectiveness of HJA in the treatment of elderly FNF, due to the fact that DAA approach involves the neuromuscular interface and accords with the idea of soft tissue retention and enhanced recovery after surgery. However, there is still a lack of unified understanding of standard technique and procedure of DAA-HJA in the treatment of elderly FNF. Therefore, relevant experts from the Hip Joint Group of Chinese Orthopedics Association of Chinese Medical Association, Youth Arthrology Group of Orthopedic Committee of PLA, Orthopedic Committee of Chongqing Medical Association, Branch of Orthopedic Surgeons of Chongqing Medical Doctor Association and Sport Medicine Committee of Chongqing Medical Association were organized to formulate the " Chinese expert consensus on the technical standard of direct anterior hip arthroplasty for elderly femoral neck fracture ( version 2023)" based on evidence-based medicine. This consensus mainly proposed 13 recommendations covering indications, surgical plans, prosthesis selections, surgical techniques and processes, and postoperative management of DAA-HJA in elderly patients with FNF, aiming to promote standardized, systematic and patient-specific diagnosis and treatment to improve the functional prognosis of the patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Baths ; Child ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Psoriasis ; pathology ; therapy ; Tacrolimus ; therapeutic use