Objective To sum up the clinical experience in diagnosis and treatment of spinal primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET). Methods Thirteen patients with spinal PNET were included in the study from 1999 to 2009. There were 8 males and 5 females with the mean age of 26.9 years. The lesions involved the cervical spine in 6 cases, the thoracic segment in 1 case, the lumbar segment in 5 cases and the sacrum in 1 case. The diagnosis of PNETs was made in nine patients by postoperative pathological examination. Among them, 6 patients received a preoperative CT-guided percutaneous biopsy. The other four patients were diagnosed only by CT-guided percutaneous biopsy. Osteolytic bony lesions and obvious neurological deficit were found in ten patients, while the other 3 had complained of local pain only. Nine patients had received operation followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The other 4 underwent only chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The changes of symptoms and time of survival were recorded. Results Eleven patients were followed up with the mean of 21.8 months. The back pain in 7 patients who underwent operation relieved one month after the operation. The bladder and bowel function returned to normal condition after the operation. Among them, four patients died postoperatively. The mean survival time was 11.3 months. The otherthree patients survived with an average of 36 months. Three patients who had only received chemotherapy and radiotherapy died with an average of 7 months, while the other patient survived for 5 months. Conclusion The diagnoses of spine PNET mainly depend on pathological examination. Percutaneous CT-guided biopsy is a reliable method to confirm diagnose of tumor before surgery. The mortality rate of spinal PNET which is a highly malignant tumor is high. Operation can relieve clinical symptoms and improve patients' life quality, but not prolong the survive time.

Mac-2 binding protein is a type of glycoprotein which exits in cytoplasm, interstitial fluid, and plasma and is secreted by a variety of tissues and organs. Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) is synthesized by hepatic stellate cells. This article briefly introduces the research advances in the role of M2BPGi in chronic liver diseases and finds out that the serum level of M2BPGi helps to increase the specificity and sensitivity of the diagnosis and monitoring of liver diseases, has certain advantages over other noninvasive methods, and may become a new biological marker for the diagnosis of liver diseases.

BACKGROUND:Due to the mismatch between the design of the proximal femoral nail antirotation Asian version(PFNA-Ⅱ)and Asian population,extrusion of the proximal femoral intertrochanteric nail may occur in the treatment of femoral intertrochanteric fractures.The influence of the protruding length on the curative effect of the operation needs to be further discussed. OBJECTIVE:To quantitatively measure the protruding length of the proximal trochanter of the femur with intramedullary nail after PFNA-Ⅱ,and to analyze the effect of protruding length on the efficacy of PFNA-Ⅱ in the treatment of femoral intertrochanteric fractures. METHODS:Totally 68 patients with femoral intertrochanteric fractures treated with PFNA-Ⅱ internal fixation in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University were selected.The extramedullary process of the proximal trochanter of the femur was quantitatively measured on the anterior and posterior X-ray films of the hip joint within 6 months after operation.According to the existence of extrusion of the proximal trochanter intramedullary nail,the patients were divided into protruding group and non-protruding group.The data of sex,height,fracture type,length and diameter of the intramedullary nail,the position of screw blade in the femoral neck and protruding length of proximal greater trochanter were collected.The postoperative curative effect was judged by visual analog scale pain score and hip joint Harris score at 6 months after operation.The influence of protruding proximal trochanter of the PFNA-Ⅱ intramedullary nail on the operative effect was observed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)There were significant differences in sexual characteristics between the protruding group and the non-protruding group(P=0.001).(2)According to AO/OTA classification,there were no significant differences in fracture type between the protruding group and the non-protruding group(P=0.289).(3)There was no significant difference in the length and diameter of the intramedullary nail between the two groups(P=0.067,P=1.000).(4)There was no significant correlation between the height of all patients and the length of the intramedullary nail(P=0.510),but there was a significant correlation between height and protruding length(P=0.034).There was no significant correlation between screw blade position and protruding length(P=0.968).(5)Six months after operation,there was no significant difference in the hip Harris score(P=0.373),but the visual analog scale pain score was significantly higher in the protruding group than that in the non-protruding group(P=0.000).(6)The results suggest that nail extrusion often occurs in the proximal greater trochanter when PFNA-Ⅱ is used in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures in Asians.When the nail extended into the proximal soft tissue of the greater trochanter,patients complained of proximal greater trochanteric pain and the visual analog scale score of proximal greater trochanter pain in the patient was significantly higher than that in the non-protruding group.To be more suitable for the Asian population,we suggest that the PFNA-Ⅱ should be improved to further shorten the proximal nail end to obtain better clinical results of femoral intertrochanteric fracture fixation.

ObjectiveTo investigate the promotional effect of astragaloside on the repair and healing of chronic non-healing wounds and its mechanism. MethodA total of 60 male SD rats were constructed with full-layer skin defect wounds on the back， and except for the control （Con） group， the rest were constructed with non-healing wounds， which were then randomly divided into the sham-operation （sham） group， the low-dose astragaloside group， the high-dose astragaloside group， the astragaloside + LY294002 ［phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K） inhibitor］ group， and the astragaloside + EX527 ［silencing regulatory protein 1 （SIRT1） inhibitor］ group. The percentage of wound area in each group was observed on the 2nd， 4th， 6th， and 8th days after wound molding. Collagen type Ⅰ alpha 1 （COL1A1） and alpha smooth muscle actin （α-SMA） expressions in the wound tissue were detected by immunofluorescence. Hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining was performed to determine the pathological structure of the wound. The mRNA expression of inflammatory factors in the wound was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）， and the expression of proteins related to the SIRT1/ nuclear factor （NF）-κB and PI3K/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathways in the wound was tested by Western blot. ResultCompared with the sham group， the percentage of postoperative wound area of rats in both low-dose and high-dose astragaloside groups gradually decreased with time， and the efficacy of the high-dose astragaloside group was better. Compared with the Con group， the fluorescence intensity of COL1A1 in wound tissue of the sham group decreased， while the expression of α-SMA increased. The epithelial tissue was severely damaged， with an increase in the thickness， and a large number of inflammatory cells were seen in the infiltration. The mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， interleukin （IL）-1β， IL-6， and inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS） was elevated. The protein expression of NF-κB p65， p-PI3K/PI3K， and p-Akt/Akt was elevated， while SIRT1 expression was decreased （P<0.05）. Compared with the sham group， the fluorescence intensity of COL1A1 and α-SMA increased after astragaloside treatment. The number of epithelial cells increased， and the thickness decreased. The inflammatory cells decreased， and the amount of collagen increased. The mRNA expression of TNF-α， IL-1β， IL-6， and iNOS was decreased， and the protein expression of NF-κB p65， p-PI3K/PI3K， and p-Akt/Akt was decreased. SIRT1 was elevated， and the effect was better in the high-dose astragaloside group （P<0.05）. Compared with the high-dose astragaloside group， inhibition of the PI3K/Akt and SIRT1 pathways by LY294002 and EX527 prevented the therapeutic efficacy of astragaloside on chronic non-healing wounds. ConclusionThe topical application of astragaloside significantly promotes the healing of chronic non-healing wounds in rats， and the mechanism may be related to the activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway and the SIRT1/NF-κB pathway.