The paper proposes and realizes a programmable wireless neural stimulation system which can be used as a solution of functional electrical stimulation to treat neural diseases. The system is composed of two parts: controller and neural stimulator. The controller can transmit pulse parameters to the stimulator wirelessly, and the stimulator can generate bidirectional pulses with charge balance. The simulator takes use of ADCs to sample on the bidirectional pulse output, which compared with preset amplitude to the DAC output voltage to realize the voltage calibration. Through the test, the whole system works stably and the output of the biphasic charge balanced circuit is definite. The stimulator output ranges from 0 to 5 V ajustably, and the frequency ranges from 1 Hz to 200 Hz ajustably, while the pulse width ranges from 500 μs to 1500 μs ajustably. The duration of the stimulation can be set from 10 s to 10 min.
Electric Stimulation ; instrumentation ; Equipment Design ; Wireless Technology

BACKGROUND: People have concerned with the effect of fibroblast growth factor biological protein sponge on the repairing effect of traumatic ulcer.OBJECTIVE: To observe the repairing effect of fibroblast growth factor biological protein sponge on the repairing effect of traumatic ulcer and its possible adverse reactionDESIGN: Grouping comparison observation.SETTING: Staff Room of Physiology, Medical College of Jinan University PARTICIPANTS: Totally 40 cases of traumatic ulcer accepted the treatment in the First Hospital of Jinan Univerity between March 2004 and May 2005 were recruited. Patients with diabetes mellitus and infection on the whole body were excluded. Traumatic ulcer lay in the shank. Patients were randomly divided into experimental group and control group with 20 in each group.INTERVENTIONS: In the experimental group (n=20), sterilized fibroblast growth factor biological protein sponge was used and in the control group (n=20), sterilized petrolatum gauze dressing was used on the wound.Change the gauze dressing once per day until the wound healed. Drugs,which affected wound growth, were not used on the whole body and at the local part. Wound healing status was evaluated 1, 2 and 3 weeks after changing the drugs (The secretion of a wound was divided into: nothing, a little, middling, a great deal. frontier reaction of wound was divided into:nothing, slight, middling, severe.). Pigment deposition and scar was recorded after wound healing.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Healing time of ulcer, healing course of the wound and adverse reaction of the patients in the two groupsRESULTS: Totally 40 patients of the two groups entered result analysis.Wound healing status after treatment of the patients in the two groups: The rate of wound healing in 3 weeks in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group [95% (19/20),55% (11/20),χ2=8.533,P ＜ 0.05]. Wound secretion and peripheral inflammatory reaction of the wound in the experimental group was obviously milder than that of the control group; there was no obvious adverse reaction and scar of the wound found in the two groups.CONCLUSION:FGF biological protein sponge can promote the healing of traumatic ulcer; shorten the healing time without scar and adverse reaction.This dressing is convenient, safe, and non-irritative.

BACKGROUND:There is a great difference of grade size of macrobead in various joint diseases; therefore, it can be used to determine state of joint diseases initially.OBJECTTVE : To explore the physical properties of synovial fluid nano-particles and their correlations with the occurrence of knee osteoarthritis (KOA).DESIGN: Controlled experimental study based on synovial fluid samples.PARTICIPANTS: A total of 99 synovial fluid samples were collected from normal subjects and KOA patients with various KOA severities. Among them, 41 were normal synovial fluids, 58 were KOA.METHODS: Synovial fluid samples from individuals with and without KOA were obtained. Using the technology of quasi-elastic laser scattering, nano-particle size and its distribution were estimated, and the dynamic/static light scattering spectrometric analyzer allowed the measurement of particles Zeta potentials. A correlation analysis between the particle size, Zeta potentials and the onset of KOA was attempted.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:① Grade size and distribution of microsome in synovial fluid;② Zeta potentials and distribution of microsome in synovial fluid; ③ grade size and clinical correlation of microsome in synovial fluid.RESULTS: ① The mean nano-particle diameter in the synovial fluid of KOA patients were significantly greater than those of normal joints [(297±84), (63±23) nm, P ＜ 0.001]. The distribution curve of KOA synovial fluid nano-particle size was normal knee and (-15.84 ±3.34) mV of KOA patients, and there was a significant difference (P ＜ 0.001). This suggestedthat the Zeta potentials in the synovial fluid of KOA patients were significantly greater than those of normal joints. ③ The average particle size and Zeta potential of synovial fluid strongly correlated with the integrity of the joint of KOA (rp =0.797 2,0.631 9, P＜ 0.01).CONCLUSION: The nano-particle size and Zeta potential of synovial fluid are significantly correlated with the development of KOA, and this can reflect the severity of KOA.

BACKGROUND: The development of cartilage tissue engineering provides novel ideas for treatment of articular cartilage defects and implements construction of tissue-engineered cartilage in vivo.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of constructing tissue-engineered osteochondral composite through bone marrow stem cells(BMSCs) cultured on the poly(lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), which was modified with collagen and cellular growth factors.METHODS: PLGA was made by phase separation technique, composited with collagen Ⅱ, basic fibroblast growth factor, and transforming growth factor-β1. The BMSCs of passage 3 were cultured on the above scaffolds. Thirty-six SD rats were randomly divided into experimental, control, and blank groups. These three groups received implantation of BMSCs composited with growth factors and collagen-PLGA, implantation of BMSCs composited with collagen-PLGA, and implantation of collagen-PLGA into the muscle, respectively. At 4, 8, and 12 weeks after surgery, cell directional differentiation and growth were examined by gross observation, hematoxylin-eosin staining, toluidine blue staining, collagen Ⅱ staining, and scanning electron microscope.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Gross observation showed that there were many chondroid tissues in the experimental group and fibrous tissues in the control and black groups. Stainings and electron microscope revealed that many chondroblasts and a few osteoclasts appeared in the composite of the experimental group. Toluidine blue and collagen Ⅱ stainings were positive in the experimental group and negative in the control and blank groups. These findings demonstrate that PLGA modified with collagen had a good cellular compatibility. BMSCs cultured on PLGA, which was modified with collagen and cellular growth factors, can construct the tissue-angineered osteochondral composite in rats.

BACKGROUND: Though there were many experiments addressing repairing osteochondral defects before, faulty restoration occurred at coupling interfaces. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of repairing of osteochondral composite defects in rabbit knees with animal-origin osteochondral scaffold combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs)/chondrocytes.METHODS: New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into the experimental, control and blank groups and prepared for unilateral knee joint osteochondral defects. Animal-origin osteochondral scaffold combined with BMSCs/chondrocytes, animal-origin osteochondral scaffold and no material was implanted to repair the defects in the experimental, control and blank groups, respectively. Healing condition was evaluated by gross observation, hematoxylin-eosin staining, and toluidine blue staining at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after operation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: At 12 weeks after operation, gross observation showed the defects were repaired completely without local depression and the regenerated tissues were fused with surrounding tissues in the experimental group. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and toluidine blue staining revealed that there were many new hyaline cartilages in the cartilage defects in which columnar cells were lined well and cartilage lacuna was obviously, also, there were many bony tissues in the bone defects. The regeneration cartilage, the underlying subchondral bone and host bone were coupled completely. The toluidine blue positive rate and histologic scores of the experimental group were superior to those of the control and blank groups (P < 0.05). It is demonstrated that animal-origin osteochondral scaffold combined with BMSCs/chondrocytes is an ideal method to repair defects between cartilage and the underlying subchondral bone.

AIM:To study the cisplatin-sensitization effect and mechanism of tripterygium glycosides on cisplatin-resistant human epithelial ovarian cancer cells (SKOV3/DDP).METHODS:The SKOV3/DDP cells in exponential phase of growth were randomly divided into eight groups:blank control group,10 μg/mL DDP group,50 μg/mL GTW group,800 μg/mL GTW group,3 200 μg/mL GTW group,10 μg/mL DDP + 50 μg/mL GTW group,10 μg/mL DDP + 800 μg/mL GTW group and 10 μg/mL DDP + 3 200 μg/mL GTW group.Cell counting kit 8 and flow cytometry and western blot were used to detect the growth inhibiting rate and apoptosis rate and relative expression of GST-π,MDR1,STAT3,p-STAT3 of SKOV3/DDP cells of every group.RESULTS:DDP and GTW produce an additive effect when used concurrently in inhibiting growth of SKOV3/DDP cells.800 μg/mL GTW or 3 200 μg/mL GTW combined with 10 μg/mL DDP can significantly induce apoptosis of SKOV3/DDP cells and downregulate the expression of p-STAT3 (P ＜ 0.05).CONCLUSION:GTW can significantly enhance sensitivity of SKOV3/DDP cells to DDP.The underlying mechanism may be related with down-regulating the expression of p-STAT3 in STAT3 pathway.

OBJECTIVETo explore the associations between the genetic variations in the SDC2 gene and overall survival and risk of radiation esophagitis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

METHODSEleven functional haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (htSNPs) of SDC2 were genotyped in 296 ESCC patients who received radiotherapy alone, and had different response and esophagitis. The associations between genotypes and risk of esophagitis were measured by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for sex, age, tumor location, staging, radiotherapy mode and total radiation dose. The hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression model.

RESULTSThe median survival time (MST) of these patients was 14 months. Of them, 260 (87.8%) had died until the last date of follow-up of 30 June, 2014. Clinical stage (stage IV vs. stage II) and total radiation dose (≥ 60 Gy vs. < 60 Gy) influence the overall survival time of the patient significantly. Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis showed that the subjects with rs61599409 T allele had an decreased hazard ratio as compared with those with C allele (adjusted HR = 0.82, 95% CI, 0.66-1.02), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.071). The rest 10 htSNPs were not associated with the overall survival of ESCC patients treated with radiotherapy. Among this set of patients, 160 (54.1%) suffered from radiation esophagitis. We found that rs17788084 A > T SNP in the 3'-untranslational region of SDC2 was associated with esophagitis risk, with the OR being 0.48 (95% CI = 0.28-0.85, P = 0.011) for the TA or TT genotype compared with the AA genotype.

CONCLUSIONSThese results suggest that rs17788084 genetic variation in SDC2 is associated with risk of radiation esophagitis and might serve as a potential biomarker for personalized radiotherapy of ESCC.

Alleles ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; mortality ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; mortality ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Esophagitis ; genetics ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Odds Ratio ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Radiation Injuries ; genetics ; Radiotherapy Dosage ; Risk ; Survival Analysis ; Syndecan-2 ; genetics ; Time Factors

Immobilization of enzymes is important and widely applied in biocatalysis. Streptomyces platensis gene gox, encoding an extracellular L-glutamate oxidase (Gox), was fused to cellulose binding domain (CBDcex) from Cellulomonas fimi and the recombinant protein Gox-CBD was expressed in Escherichia coli. The fusion protein (Gox-CBD) was immobilized onto microcrystalline cellulose. The preparation conditions, binding capacity, properties and stability of the immobilized enzyme were studied. Under the condition of 4 ℃, for 1 hour, the fusion protein Gox-CBD was able to bind microcrystalline cellulose at a ratio of 9.0 mg of protein per gram of microcrystalline cellulose. Enzymatic properties of free and immobilized L-glutamic oxidase (Gox-CBD) were compared. The specific activity of the immobilized enzyme decreased, but its thermal stability increased a lot compared with that of the free Gox-CBD. After incubation at 60 ℃ for 30 min, 70% of the total activity remained whereas the free recombinant Gox completely lost its activity. The immobilized protein was tightly bound to microcrystalline cellulose at pH below 10 or more than 5 mmol/L NaCl. The fusion protein of Gox-CBD can be specifically immobilized on the microcrystalline cellulose on a single step. Therefore, our findings can provide a novel strategy for protein purification and enzyme immobilization.