Objective To investigate the feasibility and superiority of local anaesthesia video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (LA-VATS) in diagnosis and treatment of open thoracic trauma (OTT).Methods Seventy-eight patients with OTT emergently admitted from February 2007 and June 2012 were randomized into LA-VATS group (n =37) and conventional treatment group (n =41) by the toss of a coin.In the LA-VATS group,further treatment was determined following LA-VATS.Volume of chest tube drainage,duration of chest tube placement,average length of hospital stay,and postoperative complications were measured and compared between groups.Results In the LA-VATS group,23 patients completed LA-VATS and 14 were transferred for simple VATS-assisted mini-thoracotomy under general anesthesia.In the conventional treatment group,24 cases completed debridement and chest drainage and 17 cases were transferred for thoracotomy under general anesthesia.Volume of chest tube drainage [(195.0 ± 150.8) ml/d∶ (480.0 ±212.3)ml/d] (t =-2.675,P ＜0.05),duration of chest tube placement [(2.6 ± 1.4) d∶ (3.8 ± 1.9) d] (t =-2.318,P ＜ 0.05),average length of hospital stay [(6.4 ±2.3) d ∶ (10.9 ± 3.3) d] (t =-2.471,P ＜ 0.05),and incidence rate of postoperative complications (10.8％ ∶22.0％) (x2 =4.132,P ＜0.05) were all significantly different between LA-VATS and conventional treatment groups.Conclusion LA-VATS is safe and feasible for diagnostic exploration and simple treatment of OTT.

Objective To find out the status of prevention and control of iodine deficiency disorders and evaluate the iodine nutritional status of Jinan residents,to explore appropriate iodine level in drinking water,and to provide a scientific basis for adjustment of intervention strategies.MethodsAccording to the Monitoring Program of the National Iodine Deficiency Disorders (Trial),qualified iodized salt consumption rate,drinking water iodine content and urinary iodine levels of women of childbearing age were determined in iodine deficiency areas from 2003 to 2010.Salt iodine was detected by direct titrimetry,urinary iodine by As-Ce catalytic spectrophotometric assay and iodine in drinking water by cerous sulfate catalytic spectrophotometric method.Results Intake rate of qualified iodized salt was up to 90％ and above from 2003 to 2010,median water iodine was 13.65 μg/L in the 10 counties(cities,districts),of which less than 100 μg/L accounted for 79.82％(4560/5713 ) and ＞ 150 μg/L accounted for 12.73％(727/5713).With the increase of water iodine(0 ～ ＜ 10,10 ～ ＜ 50,50 ～ ＜ 100,100 ～ ＜ 150,150 ～ ＜ 300 and ≥300 μg/L),urinary iodine levels of women of childbearing age increased successively(median 156.56,175.81,267.04,349.00,524.22,583.20 μg/L,respectively,x2 =121.20,P ＜ 0.05),while the ratio of urinary iodine ＜ 100 μg/L was significantly lower.The ratio of urinary iodine between 100 and 300 μg/L was decreased gradually,but the ratio of great than 300 μg/L was gradually increased.ConclusionsIodine deficiency areas in Jinan have reached the standard of elimination of iodine deficiency disorders.We should insist to carry out our measures to suit local conditions,classified guidances and scientific principals of iodine supplementation.

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical outcomes of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF).

METHODSFrom January 2007 to February 2010, the data of 40 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture underwent treatment were retrospectively analyzed. Of them,20 patients were treated with PVP (PVP group), there were 8 males and 12 females with an average age of (66.37 +/- 2.34) years old (54 to 81); 20 patients were treated with PKP (PKP group), there were 11 males and 9 females with an average of (65.12 +/- 3.21) years old (56 to 79). Postoperative at 1 week, 12 weeks, 1 year, pain and daily life function were respectively assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS) and Barthel index (BI); and anterior height of responsibility vertebra, Cobb angle were measured by X-rays.

RESULTSIn PVP group, 1 case complicated with bone cement leakage without clinical symptoms and no operation to treat. No postoperative infection and deep vein thrombosis were found between two groups. All patients were followed up more than 1 year, pain and daily life function has obviously improved than preoperative (P < 0.01); and there was no significant difference on 1 week, 12 weeks, 1 year after operation (P > 0.05); there was no significant difference between two groups (P > 0.05). In PVP group, there was no significant difference in anterior height of responsibility vertebra, Cobb angle before and after operation;and in PKP group, postoperative data has obviously improved than preoperative (P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference postoperative at 1 week, 12 weeks, 1 year (P > 0.05); there was no significant difference between two groups at 1 week, 12 weeks, 1 year after operation.

CONCLUSIONBoth the methods can obviously relieve pain and completely or partly recover daily life function in treating OVCF. But PKP has advantages of recovery of anterior height of responsibility vertebra and correction of Cobb angle, especially for serious compression.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Fractures, Compression ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Kyphoplasty ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporotic Fractures ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Radiography ; Recovery of Function ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fractures ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Spine ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome

We predicted the anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) active components and mechanism of Salvia miltiorrhiza based on network pharmacology. The active components of S. miltiorrhiza were obtained through TCMSP, PubChem database and literature research. The potential targets of the active components and HBV infection were predicted by SwissTargetPrediction and GeneCards databases, respectively. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed by String database. Cytoscape software was adopted to construct a visual network of active component-disease target and perform topological analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed using DAVID platform. The molecular docking of key components and core targets was carried out by AutoDock Vina software. We screened out a total of 38 active components and 178 disease-component overlapping targets. Enrichment analyses obtained 405 related GO items and 68 signaling pathways, such as T/B cell receptor signaling pathways, PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and mTOR signaling pathway. According to the results of molecular docking, most characteristic components of S. miltiorrhiza (miltionone Ⅱ, miltirone, protocatechuic acid, lithospermic acid, protocatechualdehyde) showed good affinity with the key targets (PIK3CA, APP, STAT3,AKT1 and mTOR). Furthermore, the anti-HBV activity of lithospermic acid, the representative active component of S. miltiorrhiza, and its regulation on PI3K/AKT and mTOR signaling pathways were investigated in an HBV replicating mouse model. Animal welfare and experimental procedures follow the regulations of the Animal Ethics and Welfare Committee of Hubei University. The results showed that lithospermic acid significantly inhibited HBV DNA replication, reduced serum HBsAg and HBeAg levels, and decreased the phosphorylation protein expression levels of AKT and mTOR in liver, indicating that lithospermic acid might exert the anti-HBV activity by regulating PI3K/AKT and mTOR signaling pathways.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the status of male reproductive health among middle-aged and older men in the urban area of Nanjing.

METHODSWe collected the laboratory results of 884 middle-aged and older men aged 55 - 89 years from the Xuanwu District of Nanjing present for routine physical examinations, including those of blood routine tests, liver and kidney function, blood glucose, blood lipid, and total prostate specific antigen (TPSA), as well as such reproductive hormone indexes as total serum testosterone (TT), free serum testosterone (fT), and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). We also obtained the above reproductive hormone indexes from 119 young and middle-aged men aged 20 - 39 years as controls.

RESULTSAging-related changes were found in the 50 percentiles of all the reproductive hormones and relevant parameters but those of TT and E2, with gradual increases in LH, FSH and SHBG and decreases in fT, TSI and fTI. Comparison of reproductive hormones and relevant parameters by Mann-Whitney U test did not show any statistically significant differences in the TT level between any two of the five age groups (20 - 39, 55 - 59, 60 - 69, 70 - 79, and > or = 80 yr) (P > 0.05) except between the control and > or = 80 yr groups and the 60 - 69 and > or = 80 yr groups (P < 0.05), nor in the E2 level between any two groups, nor in the levels of LH and FSH except between the 55 - 59 and 60 - 69 yr groups and the 70 - 79 and > or = 80 yr groups, and nor in the levels of fT and TSI except between the 55 - 59 and 60 - 69 yr groups. However, there were significant differences in the levels of SHBG and fTI between any two age groups. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that fT, TSI, and fTI were correlated negatively with aging and LH (P < 0.05, I r I > 0.5) but weakly positively with cholesterol, blood glucose and hemoglobin (P < 0.05, /r/ < 0.5), SHBG and LH positively with aging, SHBG weakly negatively with blood glucose and hemoglobin, LH weakly negatively with hemoglobin, and TT weakly negatively with aging but positively with hemoglobin.

CONCLUSIONThe levels of serum testosterone, particularly that of fT, declined with aging in middle-aged and older men in the urban area of Nanjing, which may contribute to abnormal lipid metabolism, low hemoglobin and high blood glucose.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aging ; blood ; Blood Glucose ; analysis ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Humans ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin ; analysis ; Statistics, Nonparametric ; Testosterone ; blood

OBJECTIVETo study the influence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation on the testicular histology and reproductive endocrine function in male rats and investigate the possible mechanism of inflammation affecting male fertility.

METHODSThirty-six male SD rats were randomly divided into a control group (A) and three LPS intervention groups (B, C, and D) to receive saline and LPS (5 mg/kg i. p, once), respectively. The animals in groups B, C, and D were killed by anesthesia at 12, 24, and 72 hours after treatment. Histopathological changes in the left testis of the rats were observed by HE staining and the levels of the reproductive hormones T, FSH, and LH in the serum were determined by ELISA.

RESULTSCompared with group B, group A showed clear structure of seminiferous tubules, orderly arrangement of spermatogenic cells, a slightly decreased number of sperm in some seminiferous tubular lumens, and shed spermatogenic cells in the rat testis tissue; group C exhibited thinner seminiferous epithelia, disordered structure of seminiferous tubules, irregular arrangement of spermatogenic cells, decreased number of mature sperm and obvious shedding of spermatogenic cells in seminiferous tubular lumens; group D manifested similar findings to those of group C, with even more shed spermatogenic cells that blocked the tubular lumens. The levels of serum T, LH, and FSH were (0.490 +/- 0.028) ng/ml, (6.290 +/- 0.515) ng/L, and (1.837 +/- 0.127) IU/L in group A, (0.460 +/- 0.024) ng/ml, (5.881 +/- 0.124) ng/L, and (1.707 +/- 0.098) IU/L in group B, (0.417 +/- 0.021) ng/ml, (5.123 +/- 0.271) ng/L, and (1.620 +/- 0.115) IU/L in group C, and (0.378 +/- 0.021) ng/ml, (4.504 +/- 0.279) ng/L and (1.562 +/- 0.216) IU/L in group D, all decreased in group B as compared with A (P > 0.05). The decreases of T and LH were extremely significant (P < 0.01) and that of FSH was significant in groups C and D (P < 0.05) in comparison with A.

CONCLUSIONLPS-induced inflammation affects the testicular tissue and reproductive endocrine function of male rats, resulting in decreased levels of serum T, LH, and FSH.

Animals ; Endocrine System ; drug effects ; physiology ; Fertility ; drug effects ; physiology ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Humans ; Lipopolysaccharides ; toxicity ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Reproduction ; Seminiferous Tubules ; drug effects ; pathology ; Spermatocytes ; drug effects ; Testis ; drug effects ; pathology ; Testosterone ; blood

OBJECTIVETo compare the effects of small fenestra stapedotomy with semiconductor diode laser and microdrill in patients with otosclerosis.

METHODSTwenty-six patients (29 ears) undergoing stapedotomy with semiconductor diode laser and 19 patients (21 ears) with microdrill were compared for the hearing results and complication rates.

RESULTSNo statistically significant differences were found in postoperative speech frequency and high frequency pure tone average in closing the air-bone gap between the two groups. The ears treated by stapedotomy with semiconductor diode laser showed significantly better preoperative minus the postoperative air-bone gap and milder dizziness.

CONCLUSIONIn spite of the good hearing outcomes in both groups, small fenestra stapedotomy with semiconductor diodelaser can achieve better results and reduce the incidence of complications.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Fenestration, Labyrinth ; methods ; Hearing Tests ; Humans ; Lasers, Semiconductor ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Otosclerosis ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Stapes Surgery ; instrumentation ; methods ; Young Adult

The aim of this study was to investigate the homing characteristics of bone marrow cells in leukemia mice after allogenic bone marrow transplantation with different conditioning regimens on the basis of a leukemia mouse model. Allogenic bone marrow transplantation was performed after three different kinds of conditioning regimen, including nonmyeloablative conditioning regimen (5 Gy (60)Co γ ray total body irradiation, A group), radiotherapeutic myeloablative conditioning regimen (9 Gy (60)Co γ ray total body irradiation, B group) and chemotherapeutic myeloablative conditioning regimen (large dose chemotherapy, C group). In the recipient mice, the nucleated cell number in peripheral blood, bone marrow and spleen was counted, the percentage of positive cells capable of connecting with FITC labeled anti-mouse H-2K(b) antibody was detected by flow cytometry and the homing ratio in bone marrow and spleen was calculated at 24, 48, 72, 96 h after bone marrow transplantation. The results showed that donor myeloid cells displayed homing and then mobilization (going out of home) in group A; homing, mobilization, and rehoming in group B and C, and there was a little delay of homing in the spleen in group C. In bone marrow, the homing efficiency of A group was the highest in early period and the lowest [(0.90 ± 0.09)%] in the fourth day with the mobilization of myeloid cells (P < 0.05), and the homing efficiency of B and C groups was lower in the early period and the highest [(2.17 ± 0.26)%, B group] in the fourth day with the rehoming of myeloid cells (P < 0.05). In spleen, the homing efficiency was similar to that in bone marrow and there still was a little delay in C group. It is concluded that the homing ratio is high in the early period and decrease obviously in 72 h after bone marrow of leukemia mice treated with nonmyeloablative conditioning regimen. The homing ratio is low in the early period and increases obviously in 72 h after bone marrow of leukemia mice treated with radio-or chemotherapeutic myeloablative conditioning regimens. The homing ratio does not obviously change between the early period and 72 h after bone marrow of leukemia mice treated with chemotherapeutic myeloablative conditioning regimen, and lies between group A and B.
Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; methods ; Cell Count ; Female ; Graft Survival ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Spleen ; cytology ; Transplantation Conditioning ; methods ; Whole-Body Irradiation

A human membrane protein LASS2 (Homo sapiens longevity assurance homologue 2 of yeast LAG1), which has important physiologic functions, was expressed in three different expression systems. Only the LASS2 protein carboxyl terminal hydrophilic fragment could be expressed in the prokaryote expression system and its polyclonal antibody was produced. The full length of LASS2 protein could be expressed successfully in both eukaryotic in vitro translation system and Bacuvirus expression system: Bac-to-Bac system. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the molecular weight of expressed product of LASS2 was about 28 kD. The product was also proved by Western blot. This recombinant LASS2 protein was purified by metal affinity resin and the purity is above 90%.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Humans ; Insecta ; Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sphingosine N-Acyltransferase ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility of utilizing self-designed score system for lower lumbar vertebral burst fractures to select surgical approach.

METHODSFrom January 2006 to December 2011, the clinical data of 56 patients with lower lumbar vertebra burst fractures who underwent surgical treatment were retrospectively analyzed. There were 42 males and 14 females with an average age of 43.1 years old (ranged, 19 to 65). Causes of injury included falling down (40 cases), traffic accidents (12 cases), and crashing injury by heavy objects(4 cases). Injury site was L3 in 37 cases, L4 in 16 cases, and L5 in 3 cases. According to the AO classification, 17 cases were type A3.1, 14 cases were type A3.2, 25 cases were type A3.3. According to Frankel grade of nerous function, 2 cases were grade B, 5 cases were grade C, 9 cases were grade D and 40 cases were grade E. Surgical methods and approaches were chosen based on the comprehensive evaluation of AO classification, condition of posterior column injury and spinal canal encroachment. Surgical methods and approaches included trans-vertebra fixation (15 cases), intra-vertebra pedicle screw fixation (21 cases), combination of anterior and posterior approaches (11 cases), one-stage posterior approaches (9 cases). Cobb angles, restorations of the affected vertebral anterior border height, and conditions of spinal canal encroachment were compared before and after surgery. Conditions of bone graft fusion and internal fixation (if bending, loosening or breakage existed) were observed. Spinal cord functions were assessed according to Frankel grade. Localized pain and working status of patients were also assessed at the last follow-up.

RESULTSNo incision infection was found and no spinal nerve symptoms improved in all of 56 patients. All patients were followed up for 12 to 60 months with a mean of 28.5 months, without internal fixation loosening or breakage. There was significant differences in Cobb angle, vertebral anterior border height and recovery of spinal canal encroachment between preoperative and postoperative instantly (P < 0.05), however, there was no significant difference between postoperative instantly and final follow-up (P > 0.05). Thirteen cases obtained fusion by trans-vertebra fixation, 20 cases obtained fusion by intra-vertebra fixation, and 20 cases were treated by the combination of anterior and posterior approaches or one-stage posterior approaches all of patients obtained fusion. Spinal nervous function recovered I to II grade, 1 case was grade C, 3 cases were grade D, 52 cases were grade E. Localized pain was assessed as P1 in 52 cases, P2 in 3 cases, and P3 in 1 case. Working status was classified into W1 in 12 cases, W2 in 39 cases, and W3 in 5 cases.

CONCLUSIONThe lower lumbar vertebra and thoracolumbar junction exhibit different injury characteristics due to variations in anatomy and biomechanics. A comprehensive score of the AO classification, posterior column injury and degree of spinal canal encroachment will guide the selection of surgical method and approach for the treatment of lower lumbar vertebra burst fractures.

Adult ; Aged ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; injuries ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fractures ; surgery ; Spinal Fusion ; methods