OBJECTIVETo compare the tissue engineered cartilage constructed with chondrocytes derived from auricular and articular cartilage.

METHODSChondrocytes were isolated from porcine auricular and articular cartilage, and BMSCs were obtained from bone marrow aspirate and cultured. Each kind of chondrocytes were resuspended alone or mixed with BMSCs at a ratio of 1:1, and seeded onto PGA/PLA scaffolds to construct tissue engineered cartilage (n = 4). The constructs were cultured for 8 weeks in vitro and then subcutaneously implanted into nude mice for 6 weeks. The differences between chondrocytes monoculture from articular and auricular cartilage or between each of them co-cultured with BMSCs were evaluated by gross view, measurement of thickness and wet weight, histological examinations including H&E, Safranin O, type II collagen, and Ponceau's & Victoria blue staining, and gene expression analysis of cartilage related genes.

RESULTSNo obvious differences were found histologically among the complexes constructed in vitro 8 weeks except for few elastic fibers secreted in the auricular chondrocytes + BMSCs co-culture group. Neo-cartilage is thicker in the groups of articular chondrocytes (38. 1% than the group of auricular chondrocytes, P < 0.05) and articular chondrocytes + BMSCs co-culture (19.3% than the group of auricular chondrocytes + BMSCs, P < 0.05). However, after 6 weeks in vivo the elastic fibers were found positive in the complexes constructed by auricular chondrocytes, and its staining was even stronger and more homogenous in the group of auricular chondrocytes + BMSCs co-culture. The tissues generated by articular chondrocytes alone and co-cultured with BMSCs both formed the characteristic features of three-layer structure of hyaline cartilage and ossified in vivo with significant up-regulation of COL10A1 and MMP-13. To summarize, auricular chondrocytes formed the elastic cartilage while articular chondrocytes formed the hyaline cartilage during the development of tissue engineered cartilage either by monoculture or the co-culture with BMSCs.

CONCLUSIONSThe chondrogenic response of chondrocytes from different cartilage origins demonstrates that an initial chondrocyte and cartilage type recapitulates the same in later tissue-engineered development.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cartilage, Articular ; cytology ; Cells, Cultured ; Chondrocytes ; Coculture Techniques ; Ear Auricle ; cytology ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Mice, Nude ; Swine ; Tissue Engineering ; methods ; Tissue Scaffolds

Objective: To investigate the level of injury first aid skills and its influencing factors among parents of preschool children in Dongxihu District, Wuhan City, so as to provide insights into carrying out targeted health education work. Methods: Parents of preschool children from kindergarten in Dongxihu District were selected using multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method. Basic information of preschool children, parents' demographic information, and parents' knowledge of injury first aid skills were collected through questionnaires. The level of injury first aid skills among parents was analyzed and its influencing factors were identified using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: A total of 1 148 questionnaires were allocated and 1 131 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 98.52%. The respondents included 242 men (21.40%) and 889 women (78.60%). The parents surveyed were mainly mothers, with 862 accounting for 76.22%. The level of injury first aid skills was 39.43%. Among the individual injury first aid skills, the proportions of mastering the treatment of cardiac arrest and arm fracture were relatively high, which were 94.69% and 94.16%, respectively, while the proportion of mastering the correct steps of cardiopulmonary resuscitation was the lowest, at 31.21%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the grade of children (middle class, OR=1.374, 95%CI: 1.021-1.847; senior class, OR=1.561, 95%CI: 1.147-2.125), age (30 to 34 years old, OR=1.712, 95%CI: 1.170-2.505), education level (high school/technical secondary school and below, OR=0.664, 95%CI: 0.515-0.857), and having learned injury first aid skills (OR=1.653, 95%CI: 1.284-2.129) were influencing factors of injury first aid skills among parents of preschool children. Conclusions The level of injury first aid skills among parents of preschool children is relatively low. The first aid ability of parents whose children are in small classes, older, less educated, and have not learned injury first aid skills should be specifically improved.

BACKGROUND:Lipoic acid, with a closed circle structure composed by sulphur and carbon atoms, exerts strong anti-oxidation, and has been extensively applied in the prevention and treatment of oxidative stress, diabetic cataract, diabetic neuropathy and cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the protective effect of lipoic acid on peripheral nerve function during peripheral nerve ischemia/reperfusion injury. METHODS:Models of peripheral nerve ischemia/reperfusion injury were established in rabbits, and then rabbit models were then allotted to treatment and non-treatment groups. The treatment group was subdivided into experimental (injection of lippoic acid) and control groups according to the use of lipoic acid at 1, 3 and 6 hours after ischemia and before reperfusion. The ultrastructural changes of the sciatic nerve were observed under electron microscope, and the electrophysiological changes of the sciatic nerve were detected using evoked potential instrument. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:With the ischemic time increasing, the number of vacuoles in the axon increased gradually, accompanied by axonal atrophy, and Waller's degeneration in the aggregated microfilaments. The myelin sheath thickening and dissolving were visible. All above phenomena became severest at 6 hours after ischemia. Compared with the control groups, lipoic acid reduced the number of the vacuoles in the axon and all eviated axonal atrophy, Waller's degeneration and demyelination. As the ischemic time increasing, the latency of sciatic nerve was significantly increased, and peaked at 6 hours of ischemia;while the amplitude was significantly decreased, and reached a minimum at 6 hours of ischemia. Compared with the control groups, in the experimental groups, the latency of sciatic nerve was significantly decreased, but the amplitude was significantly increased. These results suggest that lipoic acid provides neuroprotection against peripheral nerve ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Background and purpose: With the application of laparoscopy in the liver surgery increasingly widely used, the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic liver resection is gaining recognition gradually. This study aimed to explore the laparoscopic liver resection for the tumor and the feasibility of open liver tumor resection and clinical curative effect. Methods: We retrospectively analysed the clinical data from 37 cases of laparoscopic hepatectomy and 74 patients with open liver resection from Mar. 2015 to Mar. 2016. Measurement data by covariance analysis were obtained, and comparison between groups were made using independent sample with Wilcoxon rank test and statistical value of Z. We collected data including operation time, intra-operative blood loss, post-operative recovery time of gastrointestinal tract, surgical drainage tube after extubation time, length of hospital stay, postoperative complications, hospitalization expenses and other clinical data. Laparoscopic group had 20 males and 17 female aged 18 to 76 (median age 55). Open group had 42 males and 32 females aged 26 to 74 (median age 54). The hepatectomy included ultrasonic knife + unipolar electric coagulation, combined with laparoscopic incision suture. Surgery procedures included 13 cases of local excision in laparoscopic group and 24 cases of liver segment or lobe anatomical resection. Open group had 33 cases of local excision and 41 cases of liver segment or lobe anatomical resection. Results: The average duration of laparoscopic hepatectomy was 149 min (40-204 min). The average duration of open hepatectomy was 142 min (45-190 min). The average intra-operative blood loss was 220 mL (30-570 mL) in laparoscopic group and 360 mL (90-970 mL) in open group. The average length of hospital stay was 4.9 d (3-6 d) in laparoscopic group and 6.8 d (5-9 d) in open group. Gastrointestinal average recovery time was 1.1 days in laparoscopic group and 2.3 days in open group. The average hospitalization expenses were 38760 yuan in laparoscopic group and 39145 yuan in open group. Conclusion:Laparoscopic hepatectomy is a safe, effective and minimally invasive surgery, can be safely used in local, liver segment and half liver resection, worthy of promotion.

Objective: To explore the biological characteristics of synovial fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells (SF-MSCs) cultured in serum-free medium and the ability of in vitro reconstruction of three-dimensional cartilage combined with scaffold material. Methods: Human SF-MSCs were cultured in serum medium and mesenchymal stem cells medium-serum free (MSCM-sf) respectively, then the proliferative ability and morphology of SF-MSCs were compared; The third passage SF-MSCs cultured in MSCM-sf were identified by flow cytometry, three-way(chondrogenic, osteogenic, adipogenic)differentiation assay and induced for chondrogenic differentiation when combined with polyglycolic acid/polylactic acid (PGA/PLA). Results: SF-MSCs cultured in MSCM-sf had better morphology and proliferative ability than that cultured in serum medium. The expression levels of positive markers of the third passage SF-MSCs cultured in MSCM-sf, such as CD73 (99.5%), CD90 (98.9%) and CD105 (96.5%), were more than 95%. However, the overall negative markers (CD34, HLA-DR and CD11b) expressed less than 2%. Three-way differentiation staining was positive. The combination of SF-MSCs and PGA / PLA can be induced into cartilage in vitro. Conclusions SF-MSCs cultured in MSCM-sf can be amplified under the condition of maintaining the stem cell characteristics, and can be combined with PGA/PLA scaffold to construct three-dimensional cartilage in vitro.

INTRODUCTIONUp to 20% of patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) reported dissatisfaction with surgical outcome. Despite the multiple studies looking into the factors contributing to patients' dissatisfaction, little research has been done to examine the subjective reasons and complaints patients have post-arthroplasty. This study aimed to look at an Asian patient population which underwent TKA and examine the factors contributing to patient dissatisfaction and the reasons they were dissatisfied with their surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODSA total of 3069 TKAs were performed between January 2011 to April 2013 in a single institution. Preoperative and postoperative variables were prospectively captured, such as standardised knee scores, knee range of motion and patient satisfaction scores. These variables were then analysed with a multiple logistic regression model to determine the statistically significant factors that contribute to patients' satisfaction. Dissatisfied patients were individually interviewed to find the reasons for their unhappiness. Preoperative variables were then analysed to identify the statistically significant factors associated with these subjective complaints.

RESULTSMinimum duration of follow-up was 2 years, with an overall patient satisfaction rate of 91.3%. Preoperative variables contributing to patient dissatisfaction included female gender and better knee flexion. Postoperative variables included lesser improvement in knee flexion at 6 months postoperatively, as well as poorer scores in various validated knee scores at both 6 months and 2 years postoperatively. The top reason for dissatisfaction was pain. Weakness, another reason for patient dissatisfaction, had statistically significant preoperative predictors of increased age and poorer Short-Form 36 Physical Component Score.

CONCLUSIONAlthough TKA has an impressive patient satisfaction rate in this Asian population, factors contributing to postoperative dissatisfaction suggest a targeted group of patients would benefit from preoperative counselling. The top reason for postoperative dissatisfaction in the study was pain.

OBJECTIVE: To collect the daily speech materials and to discuss the speech development of normal-hearing pre-school children. METHOD: Based on the database of daily speech materials of children who are 3 to 5 years old, from separate monosyllabic word to syllable,analysis the frequency of words and compare them with adults. RESULT: In the spoken words of children who are 3 to 5 years old, we can find all Mandarin phonemes. With independent sample t test, it was shown that there is no significant difference in the distributing of phonemes between children and adults. CONCLUSION Children who are 3 years old have developed the phonetic system of the language basically.
Adult ; Audiometry, Pure-Tone ; Child, Preschool ; Hearing ; Humans ; Language Development

Objective: To investigate the value of single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP-array) for fetuses with abnormal ultrasound findings. Method: A total of 904 fetuses with abnormal ultrasound findings were enrolled in this study from May 2015 to November 2017, and 434 (48.0%) cases received conventional karyotyping analysis at the same time. According to different abnormal ultrasound category, 904 cases were divided into 5 groups: 280 cases (31.0%) in single system structural anomalies, 31 cases (3.4%) in multiple system structural anomalies, 331 cases (36.6%) in single ultrasound soft marker abnormalities without structural anomalies, 107 cases (11.8%) in multiple soft marker abnormalities and 155 cases (17.2%) in structural abnormalities combined with soft markers abnormalities. Abnormal detection rates by SNP-array among 5 groups of abnormal ultrasound category were calculated. Result: (1) Total SNP-array results: 171 (19.0%) cases out of 904 cases analyzed by SNP-array, presented chromosomal abnormalities. Pathogenic copy number variants were detected in 27 cases (3.0%) and variants of unknown significance were detected in 81 cases (7.8%) . In addition, 7 cases (26.0%) were found with new mutation by parental validation. (2) SNP-array of 5 groups: among the 5 groups of abnormal ultrasound category, chromosomal abnormalities were identified by SNP-array in 19.3% (54/280) with single system structural abnormalities, 25.8% (8/31) with multiple system structural abnormalities, 13.9% (46/331) with single nonstructural anomalies, 19.6% (21/107) with multiple nonstructural anomalies and 27.1% (42/155) with structural abnormalities combined with nonstructural anomalies. The differences were significant (P=0.010) . No chromosome abnormalities was identified in single soft marker abnormalities, such as choroid plexus cysts, echogenic foci in the heart, single umbilical artery and pyelectasis. (3) Chromosomal abnormalities: the abnormal detection rate of aneuploidy chromosomal abnormalities by SNP-array increased with the maternal age, decreased with the gestational weeks (all P<0.05) . However, the pathogenic copy number variants and variants of unknown significance rates did not change with maternal age and gestational weeks (all P>0.05) . (4) SNP-array and karyotyping: 434 cases were analyzed by conventional karyotyping and SNP-array respectively, 10.3% (43/419) of which presented chromosomal abnormalities by conventional karyotyping and 18.7% (81/434) of which presented chromosomal abnormalities by SNP-array. Conclusions SNP-array could be a useful genetic analysis method in prenatal diagnosis for fetuses with abnormal ultrasound findings. For different abnormal ultrasound category, SNP-array has different detection rate. Compared with conventional karyotyping analysis, SNP-array can improve the detection rates for chromosomal abnormalities and find the chromosome abnormalities which can′t be detected by conventional karyotyping analysis. In clinical prenatal genetic counseling, SNP-array should be selected rationally in combination with the various abnormal ultrasound category.

There are some limitations in the localization of epileptogenic zone commonly used by human eyes to identify abnormal discharges of intracranial electroencephalography in epilepsy. However, at present, the accuracy of the localization of epileptogenic zone by extracting intracranial electroencephalography features needs to be further improved. As a new method using dynamic network model, neural fragility has potential application value in the localization of epileptogenic zone. In this paper, the neural fragility analysis method was used to analyze the stereoelectroencephalography signals of 35 seizures in 20 patients, and then the epileptogenic zone electrodes were classified using the random forest model, and the classification results were compared with the time-frequency characteristics of six different frequency bands extracted by short-time Fourier transform. The results showed that the area under curve (AUC) of epileptic focus electrodes based on time-frequency analysis was 0.870 (delta) to 0.956 (high gamma), and its classification accuracy increased with the increase of frequency band, while the AUC by using neural fragility could reach 0.957. After fusing the neural fragility and the time-frequency characteristics of the γ and high γ band, the AUC could be further increased to 0.969, which was improved on the original basis. This paper verifies the effectiveness of neural fragility in identifying epileptogenic zone, and provides a theoretical reference for its further clinical application.
Humans ; Electroencephalography/methods* ; Epilepsy/diagnosis* ; Seizures ; Stereotaxic Techniques