OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the maximum binding (Bmax) and affinity Kd value changes of acetylcholine receptor (n-AchR) on rat's superficial masseter muscles after functional mandibular advancement.

METHODSForty 5-week-old male SD rats were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The mimic functional appliances were only used in experimental groups, and the rats of two groups were killed after 1, 3, 7, 14 days. Radio-ligand binding assay (RBA) was applied to determine the Bmax and Kd value of n-AchR on the superficial masseter muscles.

RESULTSThe Bmax of n-AchR in experimental groups was higher than that in the control groups at all time points, and the differences had statistical significance. The Kd value of n-AchR was higher in experimental group than that in control groups in 1, 3, 7 days, while Kd value in experimental group of n-AchR was lower than that in control groups in 14 days. The differences had statistical significance in 7 and 14 days, but the differences had no statistical significance in 1 and 3 days.

CONCLUSIONThe functional orthopedics can increase the Bmax and affinity of n-AchR on rapid growing rat's superficial masseter muscles.

Animals ; Male ; Mandibular Advancement ; Masseter Muscle ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Cholinergic

Objective To design an overall unloading knee brace, and analyze the relationship between the unloading force and the position of the brace as well as the thigh bracket-thigh pressure. Methods Based on biomechanical experimental platform, the mechanical and kinematic analysis on squatting down-standing upright motion was conducted to evaluate unloading capacity of the overall unloading knee brace. Results The unloading forces supplied by the brace ranged from 0 to 200 N. The forces were larger with the brace hinges installed on the front-top of the knee, and the unloading forces increased with the pressure between the thigh and thigh bracket increasing. Conclusions The proposed overall unloading knee brace can partly reduce knee force, and its unloading forces are related to the installation site of the brace as well as the elasticity of the belts.

Objective Aiming at reducing the restrictions on lower limbs imposed by traditional knee brace, a design scheme for knee brace complying with internal-external rotation is proposed. Methods By adding the internal-external hinge, the knee brace could help to release the degree of freedom (DOM) of internal-external rotation of the knee. In the experimental group, the subject was required to wear the bilateral unloading knee brace with or without internal-external hinges, respectively, while in the control group, the subject did not wear the knee brace. Then gait experiment and mechanical testing were conducted. Results In gait experiment, the bilateral unloading knee brace with internal-external hinges imposed less restriction on the knee than that from the knee brace without internal-external hinges, and it could also provide some distractive force for the knee joint. Conclusions The internal-external hinge design can help to reduce restrictions on the knee imposed from bilateral unloading knee brace.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expressions of Testosterone in the condylar cartilage of rapid growing rats.

METHODSThe mimic functional appliances were used in experiment groups and rats were killed after 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks. Immunohistochemical technique was used to detect the expression of T.

RESULTST was expressed throughout the condylar cartilage. The Highest expressions were in mature layers of both experiment and control groups. Along with the maturation, the expressions of T in the condylar cartilage were changed respectively, and the immunostain levels in the mature layer of experiment groups 2 and 3 weeks were higher than those of control groups (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION1. T is a member of cartilage growth and development control system. 2. The orthopedic mechanism of functional appliance may be conducted by T.

Animals ; Cartilage ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Male ; Mandibular Advancement ; Mandibular Condyle ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Orthodontic Appliances, Functional ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Testosterone ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo probe the function of interleukin-17 (IL-17) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients of accumulated dampness-heat obstruction in joints syndrome (ADOJS) by detecting levels of IL-17 in serum and the synovial fluid and analyzing its correlation with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C reactive protein (CRP).

METHODSFrom January 2011 to January 2013, recruited were 90 RA inpatients of ADOJS at Department of Integrative Medical Rheumatism, General Hospital of Chengdu Military Region, of which 28 patients had knee joint effusion. Besides, 30 healthy volunteers who received physical examination at our hospital were recruited as the normal control group, and 30 patients with osteoarthritis (OA) who had knee joint effusion were recruited as the synovial fluid control group. The expression levels of IL-17 in serum and the synovial fluid were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and contents of ESR and CRP were detected in RA patients. Then correlation analyses were performed between levels of IL-17 and contents of ESR and CRP.

RESULTSCompared with the normal serum control group, the expression levels of IL-17 in serum of RA patients significantly increased (P < 0.05). Compared with the serum of RA patients and the synovial fluid of OA patients, the expression levels of IL-17 in the synovial fluid of RA patients significantly increased (P < 0.05). The expression levels of IL-17 in serum of RA patients were not correlated with ESR or CRP (r = 0.092, -0.082; P > 0.05), and the expressional levels of IL-17 in the synovial fluid of RA patients were not correlated with ESR or CRP (r = 0.113, -0.034; P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSIL-17 was the main effector cytokine of Th17 cells. The expressional levels of IL-17 significantly increased in serum and the synovial fluid of RA patients of ADOJS, but with no correlation to ESR or CRP. It indicated that IL-17 participated in the occurrence and development of RA. Concrete mechanisms needed to be further proved in larger samples.

Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; blood ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-17 ; blood ; metabolism ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Synovial Fluid ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of bitter-cold herbs easing dampness method (BCHEDM) plus Sanhuang Yilong Decoction (SYD) combined with methotrexate (MTX) on expression levels of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, and IL-17 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients of accumulated dampness-heat syndrome (ADHS).

METHODSFrom January 2011 to January 2013 recruited were 90 RA inpatients of ADHS at Department of Integrative Medicine on Rheumatoid Disease, General Hospital of Chengdu Military Region. They were assigned to the treatment group (45 cases) and the control group (45 cases) according to the random digit table produced by SPSS 11.5 Software. Patients in the treatment group were treated by heavy bitter-cold herbs plus SYD combined with MTX, while those in the control group were treated by MTX alone. Expressional levels of IL-1, IL-6, and IL-17 in serum were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) before treatment, at week 2 and 4 after treatment. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) were detected as well.

RESULTSAfter two or four weeks of treatment, ESR, CRP, and DAS28 decreased more in the treatment group than in the control group with statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). After four weeks of treatment, IL-1, IL-6, IL-17, ESR, CRP, and DAS28 in the treatment group were all lower than before treatment and those of the control group at corresponding time points with statistical difference (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSYD combined MTX could play roles of improving inflammatory indices within 2 weeks, and inhibiting the expression of IL-1, IL-6, and IL-17 within 4 weeks.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; blood ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Interleukin-1 ; blood ; Interleukin-17 ; blood ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Methotrexate ; therapeutic use ; Syndrome ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: To analyze the association between different sleep behaviors and overweight and obesity of junior high school students in Yangzhou City, and to provide a basis for policies and interventions related to adolescent health management. Methods: A total of 1 589 students in grades 7-9 from two middle schools in Yangzhou City were selected using the cluster sampling method and were administered with sleep time, bedtime, social jetlag difference, and sleep habits. Results: Totally 64.38% were sleep deprived during the school days, 86.78% went to bed too late, 46.51% had a social jetlag of ≥1 h, and 37.44% took a nap every day(Incluldes holidays and school days). Social jetlag length was statistically different between grades( F =6.97, P < 0.01 ). Girls[(0.95±0.65)h] shown significantly higher social jetlag than the boys[(0.76±0.59)h]( t=6.19, P <0.01). Later bedtime on weekends, later wake up time on weekends and poor sleep behavior were risk factors for overweight and obesity in junior high school students( OR=1.20, 1.14, 1.04, P <0.05). Conclusion Junior high school students had less sleep and later bedtimes with the increase of grade, and weekend bedtimes,wake up times and poor sleep behavior were independently associated with the risk of overweight and obesity in junior high school students. Parents and schools should be instructed to pay attention to their sleep health and carry out adolescent sleep health guidance.

In order to construct an eukaryotic expression vector for gene of multiple myeloma mucin1 (muc1-2vntr) gene and to express it in COS-7 cells in vitro, so to provide the basic material for further research of multiple myeloma DNA vaccine. muc1-2vntr coding gene was used as a research gene and a KOZAK sequence was inserted before the gene Hind III and XbaI restriction sites were inserted before and after the coding gene. Then the whole sequence was synthesized and inserted into pcDNA3.1/myc-his B vector, and the resulted recombinant vector was transformed into E.coil competent cells to get an engineering strain, the recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-2vntr/myc-his B identified by restriction analysis and DNA sequencing were transfected into COS-7 cells by liposome-mediated gene transfer method. Finally, fluorescent microscopy was used to assess GFP expression and Western blot analysis using muc1 monoclonal antibody was used to recognize vntr, confirming the expression of vntr. The results showed that the full length of synthesized muc1-2vntr gene, as expected, was 140 bp. Both restriction analysis and DNA sequencing demonstrated that pcDNA3.1-2vntr/myc-his B included the whole translation frame region and muc1-2vntr gene. Furthermore, the fluorescence microscopy proved that the recombinant plasmid had been successfully transfected into COS-7 cells. The expression of mucin-1 protein was observed both in the transfected cell and the cell supernatant by Western blot. It is concluded that the pcDNA3.1-2vntr/myc-his B has been successfully constructed and expressed in COS-7 cells in vitro, which provides the basic material for further researches of mucin-1 function and possible multiple myloma DNA vaccine.
Animals ; Base Sequence ; COS Cells ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Genetic Vectors ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mucin-1 ; genetics ; Multiple Myeloma ; genetics ; Plasmids ; Transfection

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of ovalbumin（OVA）-induced cough variant asthma （CVA） on the intestinal flora of mice， based on the traditional Chinese medicine theory of "exterior-interior relationship between the lung and the large intestine" and 16S ribosomal DNA gene sequencing technology. MethodsTwenty BALB/c female mice were randomly divided into model group and control group， and were sensitized and stimulated with OVA to establish a CVA mouse model. After modeling， the body weight and the cough response of mice were recorded by ammonia water-induced cough method. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the pathological changes in the lungs of mice. The feces of mice were collected for 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing analysis. ResultsCompared with the control group， the mice in the model group were in a poorer general state， being restless， scratching their ears， and losing weight （P<0.01）. The model group mice had increased cough times （P<0.01） and shortened cough latency （P<0.01） in comparison to the control group. Pathological results showed that the model group mice had obvious inflammatory infiltration， thickened airway smooth muscle， and epithelial cell necrosis. 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing showed that the species richness and diversity of the intestinal flora of mice in the model group increased， and the structure of the intestinal flora changed significantly. At the phylum level， the relative abundance of Firmicutes in the model group was decreased， and the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Euryarchaeota was increased. At the genus level， the relative abundance of Lactobacillus was decreased in the model group， and the relative abundance of Methanobrevibacter and Prevotellaceae UCG-003 was increased. ConclusionOVA-induced CVA mice had intestinal flora disorder， which provides new idea for the treatment of CVA， and further enriches the traditional Chinese medicine theory of “exterior-interior relationship between the lung and the large intestine”.

Objective To design a constant-force extrusion unit to meet the functional requirements of the prosthesis socket. Methods Based on the operational principle that the constant-force derives from offsetting of the positive and negative stiffness, the leaf spring was simulated based on the finite element analysis software. According to the simulation result of the leaf spring, the coefficient of spring stiffness was calculated. The constant-force unit after processing and assembling was tested by compression experiment. Results The simulation result was consistent with experimental result and the constant force of extrusion unit obtained an error about 2% within 3.5-mm range. Conclusions The constant-force characteristic is confirmed by experiment, which lays the foundation of realizing the time-shared and load-bearing hand prosthesis socket.