In the field of biomechanics, there have been many discoveries concerning the cervical spine injuries in recent years. With the help of biomechanical knowledge, we can not only judge the stability of the cervical spine and have a clear idea of the factors that may affect the stability but also conduct an appropriate classification of the injuries. In this article, we summarize the effects of the stiffness and preinjury biomechanical characteristics of the cervical spine (such as alignment, mass, inertial properties) on the injury, changes of the spinal canal during injury, and the rapidly developing research on finite element models of cervical spine injuries in the past few years.

Objective To investigate the significance of the expression of endostatin and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods The expression of endostatin and VEGF in 46 specimens which were collected at Second Affiliated Hospital of Fnjian Medical University from January 2000 to Apfil 2005 was detected by immunohistochemistry.The relationship between the expression of endostatin and VEGF and the progression of HCC was determined.All data were analyzed via t test,paired t test,Pearson rank correlation coefficient.LSD-t test or Tamhane's-t test.Results The expression of endostatin and VEGF was detected mainly in the cytoplasm of HCC cells and adjacent tissues.The values of mean optical density (MOD)of endostatin in HCC tissue,adjacent tissue and normal liver tissue were 0.11±0.02,0.14±0.0l and 0.09±0.01.respectively,and the values of integrated optical density(IOD)of endostatin in the above mentioned tissues were(1.8±0,2)×10~4,(3.8±2.2)×10~4 and(0.9±0.4)×10~4,respectively.The values of MOD and IOD of endostatin in HCC tissue were significantly lower than those in adjacent tissue(t=2.032,7.927,P＜0.05).The values of MOD of VEGF in HCC tissue,adjacent tissue and normal liver tissue were 0.13±0.02.0.12±0.02 and 0.11±0.02,respectively,and the values of IOD of VEGF were(5.4±3.1)×104,(3.9±2.5)×10~4 and(3.0 ±3.0)×10~4,respectively.The values of MOD and IOD of VEGF in HCC tissue were significantly hisher than those in adjacent tissue(t=5.871,8.723,P<0.05).There was positive correlation between the expression of endostatin and the recurrence of HCC(r=0.669,P<0.05),while VEGF had no influence on the recurrence of HCC(t=0.892,P>0.05).Conclusions Endostatin is mainly expressed in HCC tissue,but the level of its expression is lower in HCC tissue than in adjacent tissue.The expression of VEGF is higher in HCC tissue than in adjaneet tissue.Endostatin,rather than VEGF,may be used as a independent prognostic factor of the prognosis of patients with HCC.

Objective To investigate the correlation between ABCD2 scores and vertebrobasilar artery stenosis in patients with posterior circulation transient ischemic attack (TIA).Methods The patients with posterior circulation TIA who performed cerebral angiography were enrolled in the study,and their ABCD2 scores and imaging data were analyzed.Results A total of 108 patients with posterior circulation TIA were enrolled.There were significant differences in the main trunk stenosis degree of vertebrobasilar artery with different ABCD2 scores in patients with posterior circulation TIA (P =0.005).The overall degree of stenosis increased with the increase of ABCD2 score (P =0.000).After adjustment for other vascular risk factors,ABCD2 score had significant predictive ability for whether had posterior circulation stenosis (odds ratio [OR]1.771,95％ confidence interval [CI] 1.234-2.542; P =0.002) and moderate to severe stenosis (OR 2.083,95％ CI 1.336-3.176; P =0.001).Its receiver operating characteristic area under the curve was 0.693(95％ CI 0.586-0.800) and 0.755 (95％ CI 0.661-0.849) respectively.When the ABCD2 score was ≥3,the sensitivity and specificity of predicting posterior circulation stenosis were 62.6％ (95％ CI 53.4％-71.7％) and 70.6％ (95％ CI62.0％-79.1％) respectively,and the sensitivity and specificity of predicting posterior circulation stenosis ＞ 50％ were 78.7％ (95％ CI 70.9％-86.4％) and 67.5％ (95％ CI58.7％-76.3％) respectively.Conclusions In patients with posterior circulation TIA,the stenosis degree of vertebrobasilar arterial trunk increases with the increase of ABCD2 score.In a certain extent,ABCD2 score may predict whether the main trunk of the posterior circulation has stenosis and whether has moderate to severe stenosis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous non-coding RNAs composed of 18-25 nucleotides,and they may play a role in gene regulation through completely or partially binding to target gene mRNA complementary sequences and make it degrade or prevent its translation.miRNAs play important roles in the onset and pathophysiological processes of ischemic stroke.This article reviews the roles of miRNAs in the etiology of ischemic stroke and pathophysiological mechanisms after stroke,and the potential application of miRNAs is prospected.

Objective To investigate the effect of butylphthalide on cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) in patients with severe intracranial internal carotid stenosis.Methods The patients with severe intracranial internal carotid stenosis diagnosed by cerebral angiography in Nanjing Stroke Registry Program from January 2010 to November 2010 were randomly divided into either the butylphthalide group or the control group.All patients received the oral drugs for ischemic cerebrovascular disease that met the guideline criteria,and butylphthalide 20 mg,3 times a day orally was added in the butylphthalide group.The CVR was evaluated by transcranial Doppler and CO2 inhalation challenge test,and reexamined 3 months after treatment.Results A total of 81 patients met the inclusion criteria,11 (13.6％) were lost to follow-up,and finally 70 (n =35 in each group) were included in the analysis.The mean age of the patients was 55.2 ± 9.0 years,47 of them were male and 23 were female.The degree of vascular stenosis was 72％ to 99％ (mean 79.4％ ± 9.5％).The CVR was improved significantly after 3 months of treatment in the butylphthalide group than that in the control group (P =0.007),but it was not improvedsignificantly in the control group (P =0.330).All the patients did not have ischemic stroke events during the medication.No serious adverse reactions occurred in the butylphthalide group.Conclusions Butylphthalide may improve the CVR in patients with severe intracranial internal carotid stenosis.

Cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS) is one of the complications after stenting in patients with carotid stenosis.Although its incidence is lower,it may result in serious disability or death in patients.Full awareness and understanding of CHS and its related risk factors may contribute to its prevention and treatment.

Objective The purpose of the present study was to develop an animal model of type II diabetic coro-nary heart disease in Zuker diabetic fatty ( ZDF) rats.Methods The ZDF rat model of type II diabetic coronary heart disease was prepared by high-fat diet feeding combined with continuous injection of isoprenaline hydrochloride (ISO) in a dose of 1 mg· mL-1 for 10 consecutive days.Serum creatine kinase (CK), and creatine kinase izozyme (CK-MB), ST segment in electrocardiogram ( ECG) and myocardial pathological changes were detected to evaluate the rat model.Results CK of both the control and model groups was gradually increased with ISO injections, while CK-MB increased first and then decreased.The ST segment in ECG part II had significant changes.The pathological examination found that about half of the myocardial cross section in the model group was necrotic after injections of ISO for 5 days and more than 3/4 of the my-ocardial cross section was necrotic after injection of ISO for 10 days.The results indicated that ISO caused myocardial inju-ry in ZDF rats.Conclusions The variation of CK-MB, CK, ST segments in ECG and myocardial necrosis indicate that the model is successfully established.The use of high-fat diet combined with continuous injection of isoprenaline hydrochlo-ride in a dose of 1 mg· mL is a simple way to develop a Zuker diabetic fatty rat model of type II diabetic coronary heart dis-ease.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety ofGuipi Decoction vs. antidepressants for depression. Methods Articles about the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) ofGuipi Decoction for depression were searched in the databases of CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Data, CMB, Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library. Two researchers independently screened the articles, extracted the data, and evaluated the methodological quality. Meta-analyses were performed by using RevMan 5.2 software.Results A total of 9 RCTs articles involving 893 cases were included. Meta-analysis results suggested that as compared with antidepressants only,Guipi Decoction together with antidepressants was associated with a significantly greater reduction in HAMD scores (MD=-4.63, 95%CI [-5.95, -3.32];P<0.001). There was no significant difference in HAMD scores betweenGuipi Decoction used alone and antidepressants (MD=-0.30, 95%CI [-4.22, 3.62];P=0.88). As compared with antidepressants,Guipi Decoction together with antidepressants increased in the rates of total effective events (RR=1.26, 95%CI [1.14, 1.38];P<0.001). No serious adverse reactions were reported. Meta-analysis results suggested that the incidence of adverse reactions of Guipi Decoction(RR=0.48, 95%CI [0.40, 0.58];P<0.001) andGuipi Decoction together with antidepressants (RR=0.51, 95%CI [0.30, 0.85];P=0.010) were lower than that of antidepressants alone.Conclusion The present evidence suggests thatGuipi Decoction is effective and relatively safe for patients with depression. However, because the quality of included research was low, more large-scale RCTs with multicenter and high quality are needed for further verification.

Objective To investigate the ex tr action technique for seperating the active components in the root of Salvia mi ltiorrhizae bunge by supercritical fluid, and to analyze the extracted product s by HPLC-MS n . Methods The extraction condition s were established as follows: 950ml?L -1ethanol as the first entrainer, t he pressure of 20.0 MPa, temperature at 45 ℃, and extracting time 1 h; then 100 mL?L -1 ethanol was selected as the second entrainer, pressur e was 30.0 MPa, temperature was 65 ℃, and extracting time was 3 h. Results Compared with traditional refluxing extraction and ultrasonic extraction, supercritical fluid extraction was better and more effect ive. Conclusion Supercritical extraction is simple, highly selec tive and efficient in extracting the active components in Salvia miltiorrhizae bunge.

Objective To obtain the effective characteristic information for the standardization of diagnosis of traditional Chinese medical(TCM) syndrome in rheumatoid arthritis(RA).Methods Fifty-four items of symptoms and signs in RA patients were input into the computer,and Mahalanobis distance discriminant analysis(DDA) was used for the selection of effective indexes.Results According to the weight value and the result of T test,17 items from 54 had the highest rate of discrimination accuracy,up to 96.5%.Conclusion The results of computerized pattern recognition for the syndrome diagnosis of RA are consistent with the clinical diagnosis,which indicates that computerized pattern recognition can be used for the standardization of syndrome diagnosis of RA.