Objective To discuss perioperative features, operative approach and surgical effects of spinal tuberculosis in older patients. Methods Retrospective analysis was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 45 patients with spinal tuberculosis ranging in age from 61 to 78 years (average, 67 years). The lesion was located in thoracic vertebrae in 9 patients, thoracolumbar vertebrae in 14, lumbar in 16, and lumbosacral in 6. Preoperative Frankel grades were B in 7 cases, C in 21, D in 11 and E in 6. Among them, 21 had cardio-cerebrovascular disease, 10 had diabetes mellitus. With preoperative medicine and chemotherapy for 2-3 weeks, all patients were treated surgically. The surgical procedures included: 1) Posterior focus debridement, bone grafting and one-stage posterior transpedicular screw system fixation in thoracic vertebrae (T2-T7). 2) Anterior debridement, bone grafting and one-stage posterior transpedicular instrumental fixation in lumbosacral vertebrae (L5-S1). 3) Anterior focus elimination, bone grafting and one-stage anterior plate fixation in the other vertebrae. Results Forty-five patients were followed up for 24 to 40 months, with the average of 28.5 months. No severe complication occurred during and after operation. Forty-four cases had recovered and 1 recurred. Spinal fusion occurred 12-18 months after operation. Frankel neurological grades improved significantly. Conclusion With the effective management of comorbidities in perioperative period,the elderly could tolerate surgical treatment. The appropriate approaches, thorough debridement and reasonable bone grafting with internal fixation are key to therapeutic success.

3' Untranslated Regions ; genetics ; 5' Untranslated Regions ; genetics ; Enterovirus B, Human ; genetics ; Genome, Viral ; genetics ; Humans ; Poly A ; genetics

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the colour stabilities of three types of orthodontic clear aligners exposed to staining agents in vitro. Sixty clear orthodontic aligners produced by three manufacturers (Invisalign, Angelalign, and Smartee) were immersed in three staining solutions (coffee, black tea, and red wine) and one control solution (distilled water). After 12-h and 7-day immersions, the aligners were washed in an ultrasonic cleaner and measured with a colourimeter. The colour changes (ΔE*) were calculated on the basis of the Commission Internationale de I’Eclairage L*a*b*colour system (CIE L*a*b*), and the results were then converted into National Bureau of Standards (NBS) units. Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were conducted to observe the molecular and morphologic alterations to the aligner surfaces, respectively. The three types of aligners exhibited slight colour changes after 12 h of staining, with the exception of the Invisalign aligners stained with coffee. The Invisalign aligners exhibited significantly higherΔE*values (ranging from 0.30 to 27.81) than those of the Angelalign and Smartee aligners (ΔE*values ranging from 0.33 to 1.89 and 0.32 to 1.61, respectively, Po0.05). FT-IR analysis confirmed that the polymer-based structure of aligners did not exhibit significant chemical differences before and after the immersions. The SEM results revealed different surface alterations to the three types of aligner materials after the 7-day staining. The three types of aesthetic orthodontic appliances exhibited colour stability after the 12-h immersion, with the exception of the Invisalign aligners stained by coffee. The Invisalign aligners were more prone than the Angelalign and Smartee aligners to pigmentation. Aligner materials may be improved by considering aesthetic colour stability properties.

Malignant tumor is one of the main causes for death in the world at present as well as a major disease seriously harming human health and life and restricting the social and economic development. There are many kinds of reports about traditional Chinese medicine patent prescriptions, empirical prescriptions and self-made prescriptions treating cancer, and prescription rules were often analyzed based on medication frequency. Such methods were applicable for discovering dominant experience but hard to have an innovative discovery and knowledge. In this paper, based on the traditional Chinese medicine inheritance assistance system, the software integration of mutual information improvement method, complex system entropy clustering and unsupervised entropy-level clustering data mining methods was adopted to analyze the rules of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions for cancer. Totally 114 prescriptions were selected, the frequency of herbs in prescription was determined, and 85 core combinations and 13 new prescriptions were indentified. The traditional Chinese medicine inheritance assistance system, as a valuable traditional Chinese medicine research-supporting tool, can be used to record, manage, inquire and analyze prescription data.
Drug Prescriptions ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy

According to the designed specific primers of gene fragment based on the Salvia miltiorrhiza transcriptome data, with the method of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), this study cloned full-length cDNA sequence of 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl-4-diphosphate synthase gene from Salvia miltiorrhiza bge.f.alba, this sequence is named as SmHDS and its GenBank registration number is KJ746807. SmHDS, 2 529 bp long, contains an ORF of 2 229 bp, encodes 742 amino acids, including 5' UTR 170 bp and 3' UTR 130 bp. Using bioinformatics software, having made a homology analysis of the obtained sequence, we can have a conclusion that SmHDS have a close genetic relationship with HDS of Salvia miltiorrhiza. Analysis result of prokaryotic expression revealed that in Escherichia coli, SmHDS expressed target proteins which in size are comparable with the protein predicted. Meanwhile, the 4 factors which can influence the protein expression were optimized, the 4 factors are inducing temperature, inducing time, IPTG concentrations and density of inducing host bacterium (A600). The optimal expression conditions of SmHDS were 30 degrees C until the A600 is 0.6, and add IPTG to a final concentration of 0.2 mmol x L(-1), and the induction time of 20 h. It provides theoretical basis for the further study of the function of 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl-4-diphosphate synthase in the biosynthesis of tanshinone compounds.
Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; biosynthesis ; Enzymes ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Escherichia coli ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; enzymology ; genetics

Objective To investigate dental caries in 3-year-old children in Jing′an District of Shanghai and analyze the influence of oral cleaning behavior on caries in children. Methods Six hundread 3-year-old children from 12 kindergartens in Jing′an District, Shanghai were randomly selected by cluster sampling method for oral examination, and a self-administered questionnaire survey on children′s oral cleaning behavior was completed by parents.SPSS 22.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. Results Among the 600 children, the prevalence of dental caries was 42.50%, and the average dmft index was 1.76±2.92.Children who did not brush their teeth had a statistically significant increase in rate of dental caries(χ²=29.995, P < 0.001).Children who brushed their teeth for more than three minutes each time had a statistically significant lower rate of caries(χ²=3.918, P=0.048).Children whose parents helped their children brush their teeth every day had a lower rate of caries than those who brushed teeth by themselves, and the difference was statistically significant (χ²=8.718, P=0.013).Logistic regression analysis showed that age of beginning brushing teeth, times of brushing teeth per day and length of brushing teeth per time were all influence factors for caries in children (P < 0.05). Conclusion For the prevention and control of dental caries in 3-year-old, proper oral cleaning behavior is very important.We should make parents as a priority group for doing oral hygiene in children.Schools should strengthen oral health education for parents.Medical institutions should guide and monitor the effectiveness of oral hygiene in children.It is important to reduce the rate of dental caries in preschool children from three aspects:family, school and medical institutions.

The author introduces the basic concepts of microsatellite and population genetics and its characteristics, expounds the application of these theories for population genetic structure and genetic diversity, gene flow and evolutionary significant unit ESU division research. This paper discuss its applicationin study of genetic causes, origin of cultivation, different regional origins of geoherbs, aiming at providing a new theory and method for geoherbs.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Evolution, Molecular ; Genetic Markers ; genetics ; Genetic Techniques ; Geography ; Microsatellite Repeats ; genetics

Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy(mPCNL)in the treatment of upper urinary tract calculus. Methods The clinical data of 368 cases of upper urinary tract calculus from 2002 to 2006, which underwent mPCNL, were retrospectively analyzed. Among 368 cases analyzed, there were 116 cases with proximal ureteral cal-culus;190 cases of nonstaghorn kidney stones, 62 cases of staghorn stones. Results There were 344 cases(93.5%)treated with one-stage operation, 24 cases(6.5%) with two-stage. Single channel was used in 856 cases(96.70%), two-channel in 12 cases(3.3%). Complete stone clearance was a-chieved in 337 kidneys, giving an overall clearance rate of 91.6%. The average operative time was 73 min. The duration of hospital stay was 4-8 d with an average of 6 d in one-stage and complete clear-ance patients. Postoperative urinary tract infection was seen in 23 patients(6.2 %). Five(1.4 %) pa-tients required blood transfusion after operation. Two patients with severe bleeding were treated with blood transfusion and super-selective arterial embolization. Conclusion mPCNL has definite efficacy in the treatment of upper urinary tract calculus with little suffering and short recovery time.

Four screening methods, colorimetric assay, blood-plate hemolysis method, surface tension activ- ity and oil spreading technique were introduced to isolate strains producing bio-demulsifiers from 6 different bacteria source samples. The results of various screening methods were evaluated in this paper. Seventeen demulsifying strains were obtained, which are qualified in demulsification test of kerosene model emulsions. Among them, 5 strains showed high demulsifying ability, achieving 70% plus demulsifying ratio within 24 hours. Petroleum-contaminated soil, excess sludge from biological process treating oilfield produced water and sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plant were the best among all tested sources. Due to the determination limit, the colorimetric assay and blood-plate hemolysis method are not competent to screen bio-demulsifiers strains. The measurement of surface tension and oil spreading method were easy but accu- rate methods to isolate bio-demulsifiers strains. Although demulsification test of model emulsion is an effec- tive technique to target strains with the capability of breaking emulsions, it is sophisticated and time-con- suming. Thus it is recommended to use surface tension and oil spreading methods in pre-screening and vali- date the results in demulsification test with kerosene model emulsions.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of multiple stents placement in the management of hilar cholangiocarcinoma,especially in the complex cases of which the hepatic ducts are invaded.Methods Forty-five consecutive patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma were treated with percutaneous transhepatic placement of two or three self-expandable metallic endoprostheses.The cause of hilar obstructions in these patients were all cholangiocarcinoma,including Bismuth classification type Ⅱ(n 12 ),Ⅲa(n 17),Ⅲb(n 10),and Ⅳ(n 6).Two or 3 stents were placed in the configuration of T,Y or X over the strictures.Results Stent placement with 2 or 3 endoprostheses was successful in all patients.All patients showed significant decrease in serum bilirubin level.The mortality rate within 30 days of stent placement was 2.2%(1/45).The mean survival and stent patency times were 215.3 d(26— 516 d)and 181.5 d(26—473 d),respectively.Conclusion Deploying of multiple metallic stents is an effective method to treat complex hilar cholangiocarcinoma,especially for the cases of which hepatic ducts are invaded:the henatic ducts should be drained as much as nossible.