Objective To construct the serine protease gene(sprE)mutant and to study the pathogenicity of sprE gene of Enterococcus faecalis.Methods Recombinant suicide vector pCQ001 of Enterococcus faecalis with pTX4577,was constructed.Then,created isogenic sprE-deficient mu- tant(*sprE)by allelic replacement was constructed.Moreover,the growth ability and the virulence of the mutant were compared with those of the wide type in vitro and in vivo respectively.A mouse peritonitis model and a rabbit endocarditis model were utilized in the study.Results The *sprE was selected by kanamycin and identified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR),pulsed field gel electropho- resis(PFGE)and Southern blot.The evidences showed that the sprE gene had a major role in helping bacteria to resist the elevated temperature and oxidative stress.The virulence of mutant decreased af- ter sprE gene was knocked out.Conclusions The *sprE of Enterococcus faecalis is constructed suc- cessfully,sprE gene is important in the pathogenesis of Enterococcus faecalis,which probably is a major virulence factor of Enterococcus faecali.

BACKGROUND: As a minimally invasive technology, percutaneous vertebroplasty is a safe and effective treatment for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.OBJECTIVE: To overview the research progress concerning the biomechanical properties, bone strength maintenance, bone absorption and degradation of bone filling materials used in percutaneous vertebroplasty.METHODS: The first author conducted a computer-based retrieval of CNKI, PubMed and Medline databases for relevant articles published from January 2005 to May 2016. The keywords were bone cement, bone filling materials, percutaneous vertebroplasty in English and Chinese, respectively.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Polymethyl methacrylate is not an ideal material for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. Calcium phosphate cement and calcium sulfate cement can replace the traditional polymethyl methacrylate; however, some problems still exist, such as poor effect of venography, incontrollable biological degradation rate, and lack of the evidence-based medicine about its long-term effect. Composite bone cement, as a good bone repair material, holds the advantages of various bone cements. As the composite bone cement has just been introduced in clinical practice, its long-term curative efficacy needs to be further studied.

Objective To investigate the treatment mechanism and effect of platelet-rich plasma(PRP) in treating rabbit knee osteoarthosis(KOA).Methods Thirty-two New Zealand adult clean class rabbits were randomly divided into the blank control group(A),model control group(B),PRP treatment group(C) and sodium hyaluronate treatment group(D).The group A conducted the simulated model construction,while the group B,C and D established the KOA rabbit model by using the Hulth method.After establishing the animal model,the group C was given PRP 0.5mLl by knee articular cavity injection,once every 3 weeks,twice in total;the group D was given sodium hyaluronate by knee articular cavity injection,once per week for 5 continuous weeks.The group A and B were injected with equal amount of normal saline at the same time point in the group C.The histological structure of articular cartilage,cell number,integrity of tidal line,and toluidine blue staining were observed by common optical microscope.The differences of Mankin′s scores were compared among various groups.The proper amount of knee joint fluid was collected for measuring the arachidonic acid expression in each group.Results The structure and morphology of articular cartilage in the group A were normal without obvious damage,while which in the group B,C and D had different degrees of damage,especially the cartilage structure in the group B had greater changes.Although the group B and C had the morphological and structure change of articular cartilage,but which was close to the cartilage structure in the group A.The Mankin′s score in the group A was lowest,while which in the group B was highest,which in the group C and D was significantly decreased after intervention treatment;the difference between the group B with the group C and D had statistical significance(P<0.05).The difference between the group C and D had statistical significance(P<0.05).The arachidonic acid level in the group A was lowest and which in the group B was highest,which in the group C and group D ranged between the group A and B,moreover the group C was lower than the group D (P<0.05).Conclusion PRP has obvious therapeutic and alleviated effect in treating KOA.

BACKGROUND:Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) containing high levels of platelet-derived growth factor for knee osteoarthritis has achieved good clinical results;however, the effects of RPR on the repair of damaged articular cartilage are stil controversial.
OBJECTIVE:To study the effects of RPR on the repair of damaged articular cartilage in a rabbit model of knee osteoarthritis.
METHODS:The model of osteoarthritis in the rabbit right knee was established by Hulth’s method. Autologous PRP (0.5 mL) (PRP group), sodium hyaluronate (0.5 mL) (sodium hyaluronate group), and normal saline (model group) were injected into the right knee joint cavity, respectively. The morphology of articular surface and nitric oxide contents in knee joint fluid were observed and determined at 8 weeks after surgery.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The morphology of articular cartilage in the PRP group was better than that in the other three groups. Mankin scores of articular cartilage and nitric oxide contents of knee joint fluid in the PRP group were significantly decreased compared with the model and sodium hyaluronate groups that in (P<0.05), while increased compared with the sham-operation group (P<0.05). Our results suggest that repair effects of PRP on the damaged articular cartilage are superior to sodium hyaluronate treatment.

Objective: To obtain the bFGF mimic peptide binding to FGFR via phage display, and to provide the base for developing peptide agonist of bFGF. Methods: Using Balb/c 3T3 cells as the target cells and COS-7 cells as the subtractive panning, the phage display heptapeptide library was biopanned for 4 rounds to obtain the single phage clones. The affinity and the specificity of the clones were assessed by ELISA. DNA sequencing was applied to further analyze the positive clones. Results: Twelve positive clones were selected from the enriched phages. A group of hydrophobic peptides containing a conserved motif, PR, was identified. Conclusion: Two bFGF mimic heptapeptides binding to FGFR were selected, which may be used as the candidates for bFGF agonist.

The prescriptions containing pericarpium citri reticulatae that built by Professor. Yan were collected to build a database based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) inheritance assist system. After analyzed by data mining, such as apriori algorithm, the frequency of single medicine, the frequency of drug combination, the association rules between drugs and core drug combinations can be get from the database. Through the analysis of 1 027 prescriptions with pericarpium citri reticulatae, these prescriptions were commonly used to treat stomach aches, cough and other syndromes. The most frequency drug combinations were "Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium-Poria", "Paeoniae Radix Rubra-Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium" and so on. The drug association rules that the confidence was 1 were "Glycyrrhizae Radix ex Rhizoma --> Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium", "Paeoniae Alba Radix-Cyperi Rhizoma --> Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium", "Poria --> Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium", and so on. The drugs in the prescriptions containing pericarpium citri reticulatae that built by Professor Yan mostly had the effects of regulating the flow of Qi and invigorate blood circulation, which reflected the clearly thought when making prescriptions.
Citrus ; chemistry ; Data Mining ; Drug Interactions ; Drug Prescriptions ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Practice Patterns, Physicians'

AIM:To evaluate the changes of the corneal surface morphology undergoing overnight orthokeratology treatment and assess the effect of optical center deviation in controlling the development of myopia.METHODS:This was a retrospective clinical study.One hundred and thirty-four children (134 eyes) with myopia aged 10.66 ± 1.79 years were treated with overnight orthokeratology lenses.The examinations of visual acuity,axial length and corneal topography were performed before and 3,6,12,18 and 24mo after wearing orthokeratology.The results of right eye were taken as the object of this study,SPSS19.0 for statistical analysis.RESULTS:The distance of decentration about 134 children at 3,6,12,18 and 24mo after wearing orthokeratology were 0.84±0.45mm,0.77±0.40mm,0.79± 0.41 mm,0.78±0.41 mm,and 0.79±0.42mm respectively.The difference between these groups were not statistically significant (F=1.187,P=0.319).The mean distance of decentration after orthokeratology treatment was 0.79 ± 0.35mm,the growth of axial length after 24mo was 0.32± 0.30mm,the mean distance of decentration divided into 3 groups,mild (＜0.5mm) 27 eyes,medium (0.5-1.0mm)79 eyes,severe (＞ 1.0mm) 28 eyes,the growth of axial length frow 3 groups after 24mo were 0.45±0.34mm,0.32 ±0.28mm,0.23 ± 0.29mm,were statistically significant difference between each groups (F=3.825,P=0.024).By linear-regression analysis,the growth of axial length and the mean distance of decentration after 24mo was statistically significant difference (F =7.246,P =0.008),equation of linear regression was Y=0.478-0.194X.At 24mo after wearing orthokeratology,the mean distance of decentration about 18 eyes with monocular diplopia was 1.18±0.36mm,and 116 eyes without monocular was 0.73± 0.31mm,the distance of decentration were statistically significant difference (t=5.59,P＜0.01).CONCLUSION:The degree of decentration tended to be stable after 3mo of orthokeratology treatment and influenced the effect of myopia control and visual quality.

BACKGROUND:The research and application of platelet-rich plasma in tissue regeneration and restoration have always been an issue of concern in the medicine and bioengineering fields.OBJECTIVE:To analyze the effects of platelet-rich plasma in combination with tendon stem cells on histomorphology change and matrix metalloproteinase 1 expression of the tendon tissues in a rabbit model of Achilles tendinopathy.METHODS:Forty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into model group (n=32) and blank control group (n=8).In the model group,the animals were injected about 2 cm distant to the attachment point of the left calcaneus with prostaglandin E2 (once a week,for totally 4 weeks) to make the animal model of tendinopathy.The rabbits in the blank control group were injected the equal amount of normal saline.After 4 weeks,model rabbits were randomly divided into four subgroups:combination group,tendon stem cell group,platelet-rich plasma group and model control group,with eight rabbits in each group.Platelet-rich plasma and tendon stem cells,alone or in combination,and normal saline were injected into the corresponding group,twice with an interval of 3 weeks.At 6 weeks after injection,the tendon tissue was collected and stained for histological examination and detection of matrix metalloproteinasa 1 expression.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1) Hematoxylin-eosin staining:the tendon fibers in the combinationgroup were intact and arranged orderly;in the tendon stem cell group,the tendon fibers were almost arranged orderly despite some fractured fibers;in the platelet-rich plasma group,fiber breakage and loose fiber structure were observed;in the model control group,there were no intact tendon fibers,with the presence of inflammatory cell filtration.(2) Masson staining:The tendon fibers in the combination group had slight wave-shaped changes but the fibers were not cut off;in the tendon stem cell group,the tendon fibers were slightly in disorder,but with the intact structure,and obvious inflammatory cell filtration was observed;in the platelet-rich plasma group,fiber breakage,reduced collagen fibers and inflammatory cell filtration were obviously observed;in the model control group,there were no intact tendon fibers,and inflammatory cell filtration was clearly visible.(3) The expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1:Compared with the blank control group,the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 was significantly higher in the other groups except the combination group (P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference in the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 between the combination group and blank control group (P ＞ 0.05).To conclude,the combination of platelet-rich plasma and tendon stem cells can inhibit the vicious cycle of degeneration of collagen and extracellular matrix,reduce the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 in tenocytes,and delay inflammation responses and degeneration due to tendinopathy.

The clinical data of 9 patients with huge adrenal tumors (≥6 cm) undergoing retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy between February 2015 and September 2016 were retrospectively analyzed.There were 2 males and 7 females aged 29-65 years.The tumors were detected due to investigation of paroxysmal hypertension in 4 cases, and during the health check-up in 5 cases.The lesions were located on the right side in 4 cases, on the left side in 4 cases and bilaterally in 1 case.The operations were all successful, there was no case transferring to open surgery.The average operation time was 70 min (50-100 min),mean bleeding volum was 100 ml(50-200 ml).The postoperative diagnosis: 4 cases of pheochromocytoma, 2 cases of cortical adenoma, 2 cases of neurilemmoma and 1 case of neuroinoma.The average follow-up time was 13.5 months (6-24 months) and no recurrence was found.

Objective To explore the quality of life (QOL) and its influential factors among patients with 3 major rheumatic diseases. Methods A total of 216 patients with rheumatic diseases (84 patients with systemic lu- pus erythematosus, SLE, 83 with rheumatoid arthritis, RA, and 49 with ankylosing spondylitis, AS) were recruited. The information with regard to their quality of life, sociopsychological factors and the evaluation of disease activity were obtained by using the medical outcomes study short form-36 (SF-36) and clinic documents. Results Patients with rheumatic diseases scored significantly lower with each subscale of SF-36 as compared to those of a healthy popu- lation in China (P