OBJECTIVERadial corrective osteotomy is an established but challenging treatment for distal radial malunion. There is an ongoing discussion about whether an opening or closing-wedge osteotomy between should employed. The purpose of the present study was to retrospectively compare the clinical and radio graphic results between conventional opening-wedge osteotomy and closing-wedge technique.

METHODSFrom January 2004 and December 2012,42 patients with extra-articular distal radial malunion were managed with corrective osteotomy and were followed for a minimum of one year. Twenty-two patients (5 males and 17 females, ranging in age from 25 to 75 years old) were managed with radial opening-wedge osteotomy and implanting of interpositional bone graft or bone-graft substitute, and twenty patients (4 males and 16 females, ranging in age from 19 to 79 years) were managed with simultaneous radial closing-wedge and ulnar shortening osteotomy without bone graft. The selection of the surgical procedure was determined by the surgeon. Each patient was evaluated on the basis of objective radio graphic measurements, and functional outcomes were determined on the basis of clinical examinations, including range of wrist motion, grip strength, pain-rating score, Mayo wrist score, and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score.

RESULTSThe mean duration of follow-up was 36 months (ranged, 12 to 101 months) for the opening-wedge cohort and 28 months (ranged, 12 to 87 months) for the closing-wedge cohort. The two techniques were comparable in terms of complications. Post-operative volar tilt and ulnar variance were improved significantly in each cohort. The ulnar variance was more frequently restored to within defined criteria (22.5 to 0.5 mm) in the closing-wedge cohort than that in the opening-wedge cohort. The post-operative mean extension-flexion are of the wrist and Mayo wrist score were significantly better in the closing-wedge cohort. Differences in the pronation-supination arc, grip strength, pain-rating score, and DASH scores between these two cohorts were not significant.

CONCLUSIONThe closing wedge osteotomy technique is an effective reconstructive procedure for the treatment of extra-articular distal radial malunion. It is significantly better than the opening-wedge osteotomy technique in terms of the restoration of ulnar variance, the extension-flexion arc of wrist motion, and the Mayo wrist score.

Adult ; Aged ; Bone Nails ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteotomy ; Radius Fractures ; surgery ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Retrospective Studies ; Wrist Joint ; surgery ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo observe the distribution and expression changes of caveolin-1 under shear stress in a turbulence flow channel model mimicking susceptible sites of atherosclerosis in vitro.

METHODSHuman umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were inoculated to flow channel and then exposed to disturbed shear stress for 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours, respectively. HUVECs inoculated to flow channel without shear stress served as controls. Immunofluorescence staining was performed with SABC-FITC to detect the caveolin-1 distribution and RT-PCR was used to determine the mRNA expression of caveolin-1 gene in these cells.

RESULTSConfocal microcopy revealed ellipse-like shaped HUVECs under disturbed shear stress and caveolin-1 didn't move toward to the upstream edge of HUVECs but moved toward to the edge of HUVECs, and expression of caveolin-1 gene in HUVECs was significantly downregulated after exposure to shear stress for 48 hours compared to HUVECs without shear stress stimulation.

CONCLUSIONDisturbed shear stress affected disposition and expression of caveolin-1 which might be responsible for shear stress induced endothelial cell pathological atherosclerotic changes.

Caveolin 1 ; Cells, Cultured ; Endothelium, Vascular ; metabolism ; Humans ; Interleukin-8 ; Stress, Mechanical ; Umbilical Veins

Objective To understand the situation of medical students' social adaptability and analyze its relationship with their family upbringing style.Methods A cross-sectional study was adopted,and the random sampling method was used to selected medical students as targeted population in a medical university in Jilin City.Parenting Style Assessment Scale and Social Adaptation Diagnostic Scale were applied to know the family rearing styles and social adaptability status of medical college students.Results Among the 198 responders,the proportion of good and strong social adaptability among medical college studies accounted for only 8.1％ (16) and 2.0％ (4);The social adaptation ability of the urban students and the only child students was higher than that of the rural and non only child students (P＜0.05);In parental rearing pattems,regardless of sex,whether students were the only child and where their census register was,emotional warmth and understanding were all positively correlated with medical students' social adaptation ability (P＜0.05),while refusal and denial were negatively correlated with medical students' social adaptation ability (P＜0.05);In addition,the punishment,severe over protection and other parenting styles also showed a certain degree of negative correlation with social adaptability(P＜0.05).Conclusion The social adaptability of medical students is poor,and their parenting styles was correlated with their social adaptation ability.Parents should give their children warmth and understanding,rather than rejection,denial,punishment,and overprotection,which will help to improve medical students' social adaptability.

Objective To solve the danger and difficulty in transferring seriously injured victims. Methods The operating principle, construction design, electronic control system and software program flowchart of a robot transfer arm for victim-transfer were introduced.Results and Conclusion The victim didn not have to change their body posture during transfer. The procedure is very simple.A push at only one key is enough,without secondary injury.

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between nitrite levels in the exhaled breath condensates (EBC) and the severity of asthma.

METHODSSixty asthmatic patients with exacerbation (including 23 with mild, 21 with moderate, and 16 with severe asthma) and 23 healthy nonsmokers were enrolled in this study. The lung function tests were performed and nitrite levels measured in the EBC by the spectrophotometry and nitric oxide assay kit in these subjects. The percentage of eosinophils was also measured in induced sputum by Wright staining.

RESULTSThe concentrations of nitrites in the EBC and the percentage of eosinophils in induced sputum in the asthmatic patients were significantly higher than those of the healthy subjects (P<0.01), and showed positive correlations to the disease severity. A significant positive correlation was found between nitrites in the EBC and percentage of eosinophils in induced sputum (r=0.706, P<0.01). The concentration of exhaled nitrites was inversely correlated to MEF50% (r=-0.806, P<0.01) and FEV1% (r=-0.724, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONNitrite level in the EBC may serve as useful indicators for estimating the severity of asthma.

Adult ; Asthma ; metabolism ; Breath Tests ; methods ; Case-Control Studies ; Exhalation ; Female ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nitrites ; analysis ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Severity of Illness Index ; Young Adult

The rhizome of Panax japonicus var. major have been used as the natural medicinal agent by Chinese traditional doctors for more than thousand years. Most of the therapeutic effects of P. japonicus var. major had been reported due to the presence of tetracyclic or pentacyclic triterpene saponins. In this study, Illumina pair-end RNA-sequencing and de novo splicing were done in order to understand the pathway of triterpenoid saponins in this species. The valid reads data of 15. 6 Gb were obtained. The 62 240 unigenes were finally obtained by de novo splicing. After annotation, we discovered 19 unigenes involved in ginsenoside backbone biosynthesis. Additionally, 69 unigenes and 18 unigenes were predicted to have potential function of cytochrome P450 and UDP-glycosyltransferase based on the annotation results, which may encode enzymes responsible for ginsenoside backbone modification. This study provides global expressed datas for P. japonicus var. major, which will contribute significantly to further genome-wide research and analysis for this species.
Gene Expression Profiling ; Panax ; genetics ; Saponins ; biosynthesis ; Sequence Analysis, RNA

BACKGROUNDRecent autopsy study showed a high incidence of cerebrovascular lesions in Alzheimer's disease (AD). To assess the impact of cerebrovascular pathology in AD, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study AD patients with and without cerebrovascular lesions.

MATERIALS AND METHODSConventional and DTI scans were obtained from 10 patients with probable AD, 10 AD/V patients (probable AD with cerebrovascular lesions) and ten normal controls. Mean diffusivity (D) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values of some structures involved with AD pathology were measured.

RESULTSD value was higher in AD patients than in controls in hippocampus and the cingulate gyrus. In AD/V patients, increased D value was found in the same structures and also in the thalamus and basal ganglia compared to controls. There was a significant difference of D value between AD and AD/V patients. FA value reduced in the white matter of left inferior temporal gyrus and in the bilateral middle cingulate gyrus in patients with AD/V compared with controls. The MMSE (mini-mental state examination) score significantly correlated with FA value in the right hippocampus (r=0.639, P<0.019), in the right anterior cingulate gyrus (r=0.587, P<0.035) and in left parahippocampal gyrus (r=0.559, P<0.047).

CONCLUSIONCerebrovascular pathology had stronger impact on the D value than the AD pathology alone did. Elevated D value in thalamic and basal ganglia may contribute to cognitive decline in AD/V patients. Reduced FA values in AD/V patients may indicate that cerebrovascular pathology induced more severe white matter damage than the AD pathology alone did.

Aged ; Alzheimer Disease ; complications ; pathology ; Brain ; blood supply ; pathology ; Cerebral Cortex ; pathology ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; complications ; pathology ; Cognition ; Corpus Callosum ; pathology ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Female ; Hippocampus ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Temporal Lobe ; pathology

A cDNA sequence coding for ovine inhibin N terminal 1-33 AA residue fragment (INH) was inserted between BamHI\SacI sites in plasmid pRSET-A to generate plasmid pR-INH. By utilizing a pair of isocaudamer BamHI and Bgl II sites and another downstream Hind III site, following simple double digestions and combination ligation of the resultant products, 2 to 6-repeat INH genes were constructed respectively. Each plamids containing 3 to 6 repeated INH fragment genes, pR-3INH, pR-4INH, pR-5INH and pR-6INH, directed expression of the target proteins in E. coli. BL21 (DE3) under induction of ITPG, which respectively accounted for 6%, 6%, 7% and 8% of the total bacterial protein. The expressed target proteins were all in the form of inclusion bodies. The above results implied that utilization of isocaudamer restriction disgetion sites in expression plasmid is capable of rapidly and correctly constructing repeat fragment polymer of short peptides, which may become a new method in construction of high immunogenic recombinant vaccines of short peptides.
Animals ; Cloning, Molecular ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Inhibins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Peptide Fragments ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Plasmids ; genetics ; Polymers ; chemistry ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid ; genetics ; Sheep

OBJECTIVETo investigate the antibacterial effects of zirconium phosphate gauze loaded with silver on rat burn wounds seeded with commonly seen bacteria.

METHODSWistar rats were employed in the study and were scalded and infected. The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of zirconium phosphate loaded with silver were determined by double dilution in tubes. The effect on wound healing and the subeschar bacterial count of the rat burn wounds were observed after the wounds had been covered by gauze loaded with zirconium phosphate and silver, and also with the gauze which has been rinsed for 20 times.

RESULTSThe MIC of silver loaded zirconium phosphate on Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and E. coli were 8, 8 and 16 mg/L, respectively, while the MBC were 16, 8 and 32 mg/L, respectively. The subeschar bacterial count in the burn wounds with the gauze with silver loaded zirconium phosphate was ten times lower than that in those which were treated with gauze with SD-Ag and 100 times lower than that with ordinary gauze. But there was no difference in the bacterial count between the wounds which were treated with fresh gauze with silver loaded zirconium phosphate and that with the gauze which has been rinsed for 20 times (P > 0.05). Furthermore, wound healing seemed to be better with the gauze with silver loaded zirconium phosphate when compared with those by the other two kinds of gauze.

CONCLUSIONThe silver loaded zirconium phosphate was found to be bacteriocidal against bacteria commonly seen in the burn wounds.

Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Bandages ; Burns ; microbiology ; therapy ; Colony Count, Microbial ; Female ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Silver ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Wound Healing ; drug effects ; Wound Infection ; microbiology ; therapy ; Zirconium ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo explore the role of indirect antigen presentation pathway on the immunogenecity of epidermal cells.

METHODSHuman epidermal cells (HEC), allogeneic human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and mononuclear cells (PBM, including monocytes) were isolated and cultured in vitro. HECs were transfected by human-originated CTLA4Ig-adenovirus vector. The CTLA4Ig expression was observed. Allogeneic PBLs or PBMs were added to the transfected and non-transfected HECs with simple cultured PBLs and PBMs as the control. The proliferation of PBL and PBM was determined by (3)H-TdR incooperation.

RESULTSHECs could be successfully transfected by CTLA4Ig-adenovirus vector and expressed corresponding proteins. The non-transfected HECs could stimulate slight proliferation of allogeneic PBLs (P < 0.05) and stimulate remarkable proliferation of PBMs (including monocytes) (P < 0.05). The proliferation reaction of PBLs and PBMs decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after being stimulated by HEC which was modulated by CTLA4Ig genes.

CONCLUSIONIndirect antigen presentation pathway might play important roles in the HEC immunogenicity which could be evidently inhibited by CTLA4Ig.

Adenoviridae ; genetics ; Antigen Presentation ; immunology ; physiology ; Antigens, CD ; Antigens, Differentiation ; genetics ; immunology ; CTLA-4 Antigen ; Cell Division ; immunology ; Cells, Cultured ; Coculture Techniques ; Epidermis ; cytology ; immunology ; metabolism ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; cytology ; immunology ; Lymphocytes ; cytology ; immunology ; Signal Transduction ; Transfection