Objective To guide bracing treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Methods A total of 68 AIS patients with apex vertebrae (AV) under T6 had received the improved Cheneau bracing treatment between March 2008 and June 2010. All patients were divided into two groups. There were 16males and 35 females, with a mean age of 13.6 years (range, 10.6-17.2) in the intervention group. The mean Cobb angle was 29.5° (range, 20°-38°); Risser sign was 2-4; Vertebralrotation degree was 0-2 in the group;while there were 6 males and 11 females, with a mean of 13.2 years (range, 10.8-16.8) in the control group.The mean Cobb angle was 28.7° (range, 20°-37°); Risser sign was 2-4; Vertebralrotation degree was 0-2 in the control group. All patients in control group were informed standardized bracing treatment method. But we gave patients in intervention group two copies of "The Form of Guiding Bracing Treatment" treatment of patients with AIS, and informed that they carried out the bracing treatment according requirement of the form.Cobb angle was measured before the treatment and at 6th, 12th, 18th month after treatment. Results Sixtyfive cases were followed up for 18-27 months. However, one female in control group and two females in intervention group were lost during follow-up. Coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient of form were both over 0.60. The acceptance rate of the table was 97.54%(199/204), qualified rate was 100.00%( 199/199), and with good content validity. The mean Cobb angle decreased gradually from 28.71° to 25.76° in control group and from 29.47° to 21.59° in intervention group. Four cases in control group and 34 cases in intervention group had reduced more than 5° at 18 months after treatment. There was significant difference regarding Cobb angle between two group. Conclusion The form of guiding bracing treatment has good reliability and validity and can guide bracing treatment of AIS correctly and effectively.

Objective To study the effects of melatonin (MT) on hepatic tissue of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Methods AIH model rats were divided randomly as model group, MT group and pig hepacyte growth factor (pHGF) group, to observe the pathological changes of hepatic tissue of the three groups. Results Hepatic tissue inflammation and accrementition graded of elastic fibers, reticular fibre, collagenous fibrils of MT group [(0.97±0.16),(1.09±0.17),(1.31±0.17)] were much lighter than model group [(1.55±0.18),(2.00±0.14),(3.00±0.14)](all P<0.01). The expression of VEGF was weaker in MT group than in pHGF group. There was no distinct difference between MT group and pHGF group. Conclusion MT can obviously improve the pathological changes of hepatic tissue of rats with AIH.

Objective To explore high-risk factors that affect the severity of diabetic foot ulcers and the relationship between the severity of diabetic foot ulcers and the general somatic conditions by analyzing clinical data of 218 diabetic foot patients.Methods A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 218 diabetic foot patients,admitted from 2006 to 2010 was performed.Fasting and postprandial blood glucose ( FBG and PBG ),glycosylated hemoglobin,hemoglobin,serum albumin,serum creatinine,as well as serum urea nitrogen and fibrinogen were determined in patients with different Wagner levels.The effects of peripheral arterial disease,neuropathy,infections and other factors on severity of diabetic foot ulcers,and the prognosis of those patients with different Wagner levels were analyzed.Results ( 1 ) FBG and PBG in Wagner 5 patients were significantly higher than those in Wagner 1,but there was no statistical significance in HbA1C difference.(2) Hemoglobin,total cholesterol,serum albumin in Wagner 5 patients were decreased significantly ; white blood cells,serum creatinine and fibrinogen were increased significantly ( P＜0.01 ).(3) The intima-media thickness(IMT) of femoral artery in Wagner 2-and-above patients was increased significantly compared with that in Wagner 1 ( P＜0.05 ).( 4 ) Logistic regression analysis showed that hemoglobin,fibrinogen,glycated hemoglobin,femoral artery intima-media thickness,and bacterial infection were correlated independently with the severity of diabetic foot ulcers.(5) The hospitalized days were increased with rising Wagner levels ; the prognosis of Wagner 5 patients was the worst,with the highest mortality in the group.Conclusions Changes in blood level of hemoglobin,fibrinogen,along with higher HbA1C and femoral artery IMT,as well as infections are high-risk factors of severity in diabetic foot patients.HbA1C is not a good indicator of blood glucose control in patients with Wagner 5 grade.The higher the Wagner grade,the longer the time spent in hospital,and the worse the prognosis wouldbe.

In order to increase the production of insecticidal crystal proteins Cry1 and Cry2, firstly, Plack-ett-Burman design was applied to evaluate the effectiveness of the related nutrition factors; it was found that the soybean powder and MnSO4?H2O were significant factors for Cry1 production, but the yield of Cry2 wasn’t effected remarkably in such medium. Then the steepest ascent experiment was adopted to approach the optimal region of the medium composition. Lastly, the optimal concentration of the soybean powder and MnSO4?H2O was 11.5 and 0.02 g/L, obtained by response surface methodology (RSM). The final yields of Cry1 and Cry2 was 0.32 mg/mL and 0.11 mg/mL, increasing twice more than that in the medium optimized before. The median lethal concentration (LC50) of optimal medium was 1.09 ?L/mL. The toxicity to Heli-coverpa armigera was significantly enhanced than the old one.

Objective To explore the value of deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA) content on clinical pathological characteristics of nephroblastoma in children.Methods Twenty-four cases of pediatric nephroblastoma from Jan.1993 to Dec.2007 were proved by pathology.The distribution of the 24 cases according to National Wilms Tumor Study group(NWTSG) criteria of USA was stage Ⅰ(12 cases),stage Ⅱ(7 cases),stage Ⅲ(5 cases).The pathology was highly differentiated in 10 cases,medium differentiated in 8 cases and low differentiated in 6 cases according to the level of differentiation.There were 9 cases of lymphatic metastasis and 15 cases of non-lymphatic metastasis in accordance with lymphatic metastasis.The DNA contents of 24 cases were determined by flow cytometry.Chi-square test was used to analyze the relationship among DNA ploidy and clinical stage,level of differentiation,lymphatic metastasis of children with nephroblastoma.Results Aneuploidy mainly occurred in clinical stage Ⅱ or stage Ⅲ(57.14%,100.0%),there was significant difference compared with that of stageⅠ(25.0%)(P

AIM:To investigate the effects of celecoxib,a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor,on antioxidative capability and apoptosis of cardiac myocytes after myocardial infarction.METHODS:24 New Zealand rabbits were divided into three groups randomly(8 in each group):sham-operated group(sham group),myocardial infarction group(MI group),celecoxib group(Cele group,10 mg kg-1?d-1,qd,with the drugs gastric gavage for six weeks).The NO concentration,total antioxidative capability(T-AOC),the activity of constitutive nitric oxide synthase(cNOS)and inducible NOS(iNOS)in cardiac tissue homogenate,adjacent to the infracted area,were detected.The pathological changes were observed by light microscope and electron microscopy.The expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax protein in myocytes were observed using immunohistochemistry,and the degree of apoptosis were examined by TUNEL.RESULTS:Cardiac tissue in MI group presented interstitial edema,fibroplastic proliferation,inflammatory cellular infiltration,and vacuolar degeneration in cardiac myocytes.The results of electron microscopy showed that myocytes presented more changes caused by ischemic injury:widened interspace of myofibril,disordered myofibrillae,focal lysis of myofilament,ectasia of sarcoplasmic reticulum.In Cele group,the pathological changes were light,the NO-_2/NO-_3 concentration,the activity of iNOS were lower(P

AIMDesign, synthesis and activity study of novel antifungal triazoles.

METHODSThe structures of two lead-compounds miconazole and itrconazole were modified on the basis of SAR studied by our group and reported in the literature and their antifungal activities in vitro were tested by standard program.

RESULTSTwelve 1-(1H-1, 2, 4-triazole-1-yl) -2-( 2, 4-difluorophenyl)-3-substituted amino-2-propanol compounds and thirteen 2-substituted phenyl-5-(1H-1, 2, 4-triazole-1-methyl ) 5-( 2, 4-difluorophenyl)-N-substituted oxazolidine compounds were synthesized and confirmed by 1HNMR and MS. In vitro inhibitory tests showed that most of them have more or less inhibitory effects on C. albicans and some inhibit S. cerevisiae also. Especially the effects of A10, A12 and A13 on C. albicans were more potent than (or equal to) that of fluconazole or itraconazole.

CONCLUSIONCompounds A10, A12 and A13 are worthy to be intensively studied.

Antifungal Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Aspergillus niger ; drug effects ; Candida albicans ; drug effects ; Cryptococcus neoformans ; drug effects ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; drug effects ; Triazoles ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo summarize the clinical experience about surgical treatment of aortic dissection.

METHODSThe clinical data of 51 patients with aortic dissection admitted from December 2004 to December 2006 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 35 male and 16 female patients with a mean age of 55.7 years (ranged from 18 to 83-years-old). Twenty-seven patients of type I was performed under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest and selected cerebral perfusion with stent-graft which was implanted into the descending aorta through aorta arch. Five patients of type II was performed including Bentall operation in 3 patients, Wheat operation in 1 patient, ascending aorta replacement in 1 patient. Nineteen patients of type III was performed with stent-graft which was implanted into the descending aorta through aorta arch under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.

RESULTSThe time of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in type I patients was 250 to 290 min with an average of (274 +/- 53) min, and the arrest time was 40 to 59 min with an average of (53 +/- 14) min. CPB time of type II patients was 130 to 159 min with an average of (146 +/- 43) min, and the cross clamp time was 60 to 79 min with an average of (66 +/- 15) min. CPB time of type III patients was 240 to 280 min with an average of (260 +/- 28) min, and the arrest time was 20 to 27 min with an average of (24 +/- 3) min. The mean hemorrhage volume of the entire group was (500 +/- 250) ml. The mean ICU retention time was (5.0 +/- 1.5) d and the length of stay was (15.0 +/- 2.5) d. Three patients died during perioperative period. Two patients appeared cerebrovascular accident after operation. One patient appeared descending aorta dilation in the follow-up of 2 to 21 months.

CONCLUSIONDifferent clinical manifestations and treatment should be selected according to the different condition of aortic dissection aneurysm.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aneurysm, Dissecting ; surgery ; Aorta, Thoracic ; surgery ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic ; surgery ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stents

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; blood ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; Synovial Fluid ; drug effects ; enzymology