OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of repeated sintering on the color and translucency of dental lithium disilicate-based glass ceramic.

METHODSThirty disc specimens (10 mm in diameter, and 1.00 mm ± 0.01 mm in thickness) were fabricated using an IPS e.max Press HT A2 ingot and then randomly divided into six groups (SO, S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5) (n = 5). Each group was sintered 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 times individually according to the manufacturer's recommendation. After polishing, ultrasonic cleaning, and drying, the color parameters (L*, a*, and b* values) and transmittance (τ) of all the specimens were measured using a ShadeEye NCC dental colorimeter and a TM-2 spectrophotometer, respectively. Subsequently, C*ab and ΔE were calculated. The results were statistically analyzed using SPSS 17.0 software for ANOVA and LSD.

RESULTSAfter repeated sintering, the L* value significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and the a*, b*, and C*ab values initially increased and then decreased (P < 0.05). The color parameters (L*, a*, and b*) and the C*ab values of group S3 were higher than those of the other groups. The τ values initially increased and then decreased (P < 0.05), and these values were optimal when sintered twice. In terms of transmittance (τ), statistical differences existed between the following groups: S0 and S2, S0 and S3,.S2 and S5, and S3 and S5 (P < 0.05). Compared with group S0, the color differences ΔE were 0.89 minimally and 2.01 maximally after different sintering times, which can be clinically acceptable.

CONCLUSIONRepeated sintering can affect the color and translucency of the IPS e.max Press lithium disilicate-based glass ceramic, but the color difference can be clinically acceptable.

Objective To observe the therapeutic effects of oral placement therapy (OPT) on managing sialorrhea after stroke.Methods A total of 37 stroke inpatients with sialorrhea were enrolled from January 2011 to September 2013 in the authors' department for the study and divided into 2 group on the basis of the time of enrollment.The control group (n =18) received 30min of routine treatment (including such neuromuscular facilitation techniques as Bobath and Rood techniques,motor relearning program,neuromuscular electrical stimulation and ice stimulation),twice daily,and the treatment group (n =19) received 15 min of routine treatment plus 15 min of OPT,twice daily.Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment was used to evaluate the sialorrhea severity and clinical efficacy before and 1,2 and 4 weeks after initiation of treatment.Results Sialorrhea symptom was significantly improved in treatment group after 1 week (P ＜ 0.05),while no significant improvement was observed in control group (P ＞ 0.05).After 2 and 4 weeks of treatments,significant improvements of sialorrhea were noted in both groups.After 1,2 and 4weeks of treatment,the total effective rate were 63.16％,94.74％ and 94.74％,respectively,in the treatment group,versus 5.88％,61.11％ and 61.11％,respectively,in the control group.The total effective rate of the treatment group were significantly higher in the above three time-points than the control group (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Oral placement therapy can improve sialorrhea symptom after stroke more effectively than routine treatment.

Objective To evaluate the safety,feasibility and results of the hand-assisted retroperitoneal laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy ( HRPLDN ) with a modified technique. Methods Living donors (n =32) were divided into HRPLDN group (n =16) and open group (n =16) according to surgical technique.Operative data and postoperative outcomes including operative time,estimated blood loss,warm ischemia time,length of hospital stay and complication rate,were collected. Results All procedures were completed successfully.In HRPLDN group,the mean operative time was 101.3 ± 21.2 min (range from 70 to 150 min),with an estimated blood loss of 53.8 ±25.5 ml (range from 20 to 100 ml) and warm ischemia time of 2.4 ± 0.6 min ( range from 1.5 to 3.5 min).No living donor needed conversion to open surgery and the urine volume of transplanted kidney after first 24 hours was 5036 ml (range from 3500 -6500 ml).The mean postoperative on bed time were (2.8 ± 0.7 ) d (ranging from 2 -4 d).All parameters of HRPLDN were significantly better than that of open groups. Conclusion Living donor nephrectomy with HRPLDN is a safe and reliable surgical technique.

Objective To investigate the effect of a novel lymphotoxin with selectively binding to p55 tumor necrosis factor receptor (p55TNFR) on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats in order to explore the mechanism.Methods A total of 40 SD rats were randomly (random number) assigned into four groups (n =10 in each),namely sham operation group (group A),I/R group (group B),wild type rhLTα treatment group (group C),and p55TNFR selective rhLTα (rhLTα-Q107E) treatment group (group D).After I/R model rats were established,various therapeutic agents or saline were given by continuous intravenous infusion for 24 h via a micropump.After 24 hours of treatment,serum myocardial zymogram,such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST),lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK),as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD),malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were determined.Myocardial infarction size (MIS) was measured by nitro blue tetrazolium chloride (NBT) staining.Results Compared to sham operation group,MIS,AST,LDH,CK,MDA were increased,while the activities of SOD and GSH-Px were decreased.However,all the effects were significantly reversed by treatment with rhLTα-Q107E (P ＜ 0.05) but not rhLTα (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The rhLTα-Q107E plays a role in the protection against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats by the mechanism of scavenging oxygen free radicals and increasing the activity of endogenous antioxidant system.

Ulta performance liqiuid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry ( UPLC-MS/MS) was used to monitor the relative levels of bufadienolides in toad venom in normal and bensulfuron-polluted groups. Methanol extract of toad venom was separated by UPLC ( ODS-C18 ) using a gradient elution of water contains 0. 1% formic acid and acetonitrile. Mass spectrometry was used in an ESI source operated in positive ion and MRM mode. The parameters in the source were set as follows: capillary voltage 3. 0 kV; sampling cone voltage 30 V; and desolvation temperature 500℃. In this method, external calibrations of 6 standards were typically constructed (R2=0. 9953-0. 9992). The LOD was 0. 42-4. 86 ng/mL. Intra- and inter-day precision was 3. 8%-6. 8% and 4. 0%-8. 8%, respectively. The recovery of standard was evaluated by spiking the standard compound into toad venom. Their average recoveries were 96. 9%-109. 6%, and RSDs were 2. 0%-8. 1%. This method was further employed into monitoring the levels of 36 bufadienolides. The levels of more than 20 bufadienolides were greatly different after bensulfuron pollution, suggesting that the bensulfuron pollution could change the chemical expression pattern of bufadienolides in toad venom.

Objective To investigate the cytogenetic and immunological phenotypes of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(8;21),and explore the risk stratification and risk-adapted treatments.Methods The chromosomal karyotype of bone marrow was detected and analyzed in 22 newly diagnosed patients with t(8;21) AML by direct culture and G banding technique.Patients were divided into two groups according to the chromosomal karyotypes.Clinical characteristics and immunological phenotypes were compared between patients with isolated t(8;21) and those with additional aberrations.A follow-up study with median time 30 months (4-68 months) was conducted to analyze prognostic factors.Results 13 cases (59.1％) were isolated t(8;21) AML,while 9 (40.9 ％) had additional aberrations.Loss of sex chromosome was found in 3 cases and complex variant translocation in 2.The 10q-,9q-,-18 and +10 were found in single cases.Overall survival of patients with additional aberrations was significantly poorer than those with isolated t (8;21) (P =0.0176).Analysis of prognostic factors showed that t(8;21) chromosomal karyotype,initial white blood cells at diagnosis,and treatment regimen (chemotherapy alone or plus hematopoietic stem cell transplantation) had effects on overall survival.Conclusion Patients with t (8;21) AML are frequently associated with additional chromosomal aberrations.The latter indicates a poorer outcome and can be one of the bases of risk stratification.Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation might help to improve the overall survival.

Cell morphometry method was applied in courting a nd analyzing 12 ultrastruc-ture morphological parameters of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and ribosome from 10 female patients of the simple breast carcinoma in the late stage by pathological diagnosis． The best equation was set up with stepwise regression analysis was as follows: y=0.22+0.503N6-013N7． Due to above equation, selecting the best parameters were the surface density of free ribosome N6 and specific surface of rough endoplasmic reticulum N7． They could be used to distinguish the normal cell-apparatus from carcinoma cell-apparatus． These results show that N6 and N7 in varying degrees could provide fixed quantity basis for the prognosis of breast carcinoma．

Objective To investigate the characteristics and risk factors for cognitive decline in elderly patients with cerebral infarction.Methods A cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the population of Jiang'an Town,Rugao,Jiangsu Province from November 13,2014 to December 21,2014.The samples from the Rugao longitudinal study of aging included 1 788 individuals from 31 villages aged from 70 to 84 years.They were all Han nationality,including 830 males and 958 females.History of cerebral infarction was identified according to the neurological diagnosis confirmed by the secondary hospital and above or brain CT.The modified Kyohko Hasegawa dementia scale was used to evaluate the cognitive function.Five dimensions (orientation,memory,near memory,computing power,and common sense) of this population were assessed.The total score >21.5 was non-cognitive impairment and ≤21.5 was cognitive impairment.Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors for cognitive decline in elderly patients with cerebral infarction.Results (1) In the 1 788 subjects,133 had cerebral infarction (7.4%),and 1 655 did not have cerebral infarction.The proportion of hypertension in patients with cerebral infarction was higher than that without cerebral infarction (63.9% [n=85] vs.41.7% [n=690]).The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was lower than that of the non-cerebral infarction group (1.40±0.29 mmol/L vs.1.47±0.33 mmol/L).There was statistically significant difference (all P<0.05).(2) The patients with cerebral infarction were partially impaired in orientation and computational power,and the overall cognitive function score was 20±7,which was significantly lower than patients with non-cerebral infarction (21±6).The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05).(3) In 133 patients with cerebral infarction,76 had cognitive impairment,the incidence was 57.1%,and 59 of them were women.The average value of serum creatinine in patients with cognitive impairment was 59±15 μmol/L,which was significantly lower than those with non-cognitive impairment (66±14 μmol/L).There was significant difference (P<0.05).(4) Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the education level below primary school (OR,2.86,95%CI 2.19-3.72) and female (OR,1.85,95%CI 1.50-2.28) were the independent risk factors for cognitive decline in elderly patients with cerebral infarction.High serum creatinine concentration (OR,0.96,95%CI 0.95-0.97) was a protective factor for it.Conclusion The cognitive function of the elderly was decreased after cerebral infarction,especially in the aspect of orientation and calculation.The education level below primary school and women were the independent risk factors for cognitive impairment,and high serum creatinine concentration had a certain protective effect.

Objective To evaluate the effects of fructose-1 ,6-diphosphate (FDP) pretreatment on lung injury induced by hepatic cold liver ischemia-reperfusion in rats .Methods Eighteen healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n= 6 each) using a random number table :sham operation group (S group) ,hepatic cold liver ischemia-reperfusion model group (M group) ,and FDP pretreatment group (FP group) . The animals were anesthetized with intraperitoneal chloral hydrate and kept spontaneous breathing .Laparotomy was performed ,and the related blood vessels were only isolated in group S .Hepatic cold ischemia-reperfusion was induced in M and FP groups .In FP group ,FDP 250 mg/kg was injected via the caudal vein at 15 min before skin incision .At 6 h of reperfusion ,the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected to detect the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) ,interleukin-10 (IL-10) and nitric oxide (NO) by ELISA .Lungs were removed for microscopic examination of the pathological changes by light microscopy .Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of iNOS mRNA .Results Compared with S group , the levels of TNF-α and NO in BALF were significantly increased , the expression of iNOS mRNA was up-regulated , and the level of IL-10 in BALF was decreased in M and FP groups ( P<0.05 ) .Compared with M group ,the levels of TNF-αand NO in BALF were significantly decreased ,the expression of iNOS mRNA was down-regulated ,and the level of IL-10 in BALF was increased in FP group ( P<0.05 ) .The pathological changes of lungs were significantly attenuated in FP group as compared with M group .Conclusion FDP pretreatment can obviously attenuate lung injury induced by hepatic cold ischemia-reperfusion in rats ,and inhibition of iNOS expression ,reduction of NO synthesis ,and decrease in inflammatory responses are involved in the mechanism .

Liver diseases are associated with complex abnormalities in the coagulation system as the liver is involved in the synthesis of various coagulation-related proteins. Laboratory and clinical evidence suggests that patients with liver disease may achieve a state of rebalanced hemostasis, but such balance is relatively unstable, and thus bleeding and thrombosis events are observed in clinical practice. Patients with acute or chronic liver diseases might be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to serious complications such as bleeding and thrombosis. Gastrointestinal bleeding, systemic or local thrombosis, and coagulation events in extracorporeal circulation are common complications observed in patients with liver disease in the ICU. An individualized management plan of thromboprophylaxis and a wait-and-see policy for limited blood transfusion are reasonable for patients with liver disease.