OBJECTIVETo explore the correlation of serum estradiol, testosterone and their ratio to the injury severity score (ISS) and Glasgow coma score (GCS) in patients with multiple traumatic injuries.

METHODSThe serum levels of estradiol and testosterone were determined by radioimmunoassay double antibody precipitation method in 95 patients with multiple traumatic injuries within 24 h after trauma. The patients were grouped according to the ISS or GCS (in cases with craniocerebral injury) for comparison of the serum estradiol and testosterone levels with those in 15 normal individuals.

RESULTSIn the acute stage of multiple trauma, a distinct declination of testosterone and a marked increment of estradiol were observed, and the changes were closely related to the severity of the trauma .The serum levels of estradiol and testosterone and their ratio differed significantly between patients with severe trauma (ISS>25) and the other groups (P<0.01), and also between patients with craniocerebral injury (with GCS of 3-5 or 5-8) and the other groups (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSerum estradiol and testosterone levels and their ratio are correlated to the severity of trauma and craniocerebral injuries, and may serve as indicators for evaluating the trauma severity and prognosis of the traumatic patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Brain Injuries ; blood ; Estradiol ; blood ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Trauma ; blood ; Radioimmunoassay ; Testosterone ; blood ; Time Factors ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the diagnostic value of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

METHODSTwenty healthy volunteers and fifty patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy underwent DTI in the Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Ningbo University from January 2014 to April 2015. Healthy volunteers served as controls. Fifty patients were divided into three groups (group A , B, C) according to cervical MRI scan standard. Group A (17 cases) had only the dura mater spinalis compressed; Group B (23 cases) showed the cervical spinal cord compressed, but no high signal in it; Group C (10 cases) had the cervical spinal cord compressed with high signal in the same level. The average apparent diffusion coefficients(ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA)values in these examinee were analyzed and all subjects were performed fiber tracking.

RESULTSThere was no statistically significant differences in ADC and FA values in C2/C3, C3/C4, C4/C5, C5/C6, C6/C7 of control group (P>0.05). The average ADC and FA values in control group were (0.875 +/- 0.096) x10(3) mm2/s and 0.720 +/- 0.051, respectively; compared with group A,there was no statistically significant difference; compared with group B and C, there was significant difference; comparison among group A, B, C, there was significant differences.

CONCLUSIONDTI can early and accurately quantify the changes of microstructure in cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Fiber tracking can show the damage range of spinal cord lesions.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Cervical Vertebrae ; diagnostic imaging ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radiography ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Spondylosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Beclin1 overexpression on the growth of ovarian carcinoma cell line SKOV3 in vitro and in vivo.

METHODSThe recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1/Beclin1 was constructed and transfected into SKOV3 cells via lipofectamine 2000. MTT assay was used to evaluate the effect of Beclin1 overexpression on the proliferation and growth of the transfected cells, whose apoptosis and autophagy were analyzed by flow cytometry. SKOV3 cells transfected with the plasmids pcDNA3.1/Beclin1 or pcDNA3.1 were inoculated subcutaneously in nude mice, and their carcinogenic and growth activities in vivo were evaluated.

RESULTSMTT assay showed that transfection with pcDNA3.1/Beclin1 significantly inhibited the proliferations of SKOV3 cells, with a cell inhibition rate of 58.68% (P<0.05). The transfection also resulted in a cell apoptosis rate of (21.26-/+3.89)%, significantly higher than that of pcDNA3.1 trasnfection (P<0.05). Flow cytomerty showed that pcDNA3.1/Beclin1 transfection of SKOV3 cells produced a significantly higher MDC fluorescent intensity than pcDNA3.1 transfection. The SKOV3 cells transfected with vector pcDNA3.1/Beclin1 also showed decreased carcinogenic activity in nude mice, with a growth inhibition rate of 50.27%.

CONCLUSIONBeclin1 overexpression can inhibit the proliferation and growth of SKOV3 cells in vitro and vivo, suggesting its potential role in gene therapy of ovarian carcinoma.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; genetics ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Beclin-1 ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Female ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; pathology ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of autophagy gene Beclin 1 on growth of cervical cancer HeLa cells in vitro and vivo.

METHODSThe eukaryotic expression vector of Beclin1 was constructed and transfected via lipofectamine into HeLa cells. The experimental cells were classified into 3 groups: pcDNA3.1(+)-Beclin1 group,pcDNA3.1(+) group and HeLa group. Real time-ploymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used for detecting expression of Beclin1 mRNA and protein in the transfected cells. Flow cytometry (FCM) was employed to observe the effect of transfection on the apoptosis of HeLa cells, and proliferation was analyzed by MTT assay. The formation of autophagic vacuoles was measured by MDC staining. HeLa cells transfected with plasmid pcDNA3.1(+)-Beclin1 and pcDNA3.1(+) were inoculated subcutaneously in nude mice. The carcinogenic and growth activities of cancer cells in vivo were observed.

RESULTSEukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1(+)-Beclin1 was constructed successfully. It significantly improved the expression of Beclin1 mRNA and protein in HeLa cells. The proliferation of HeLa cells was inhibited, and the inhibition rate was 58.7%. FCM investigation showed that the apoptotic rate was (28.22 ± 2.34)% of pcDNA3.1(+)-Beclin1 group, significantly higher than the (14.6 ± 4.6)% in the pcDNA3.1(+) group and (11.2 ± 3.0)% in the HeLa group (P < 0.05). The monodansylcadaverin (MDC) staining showed significantly more autophagic vacuoles in the pcDNA3.1(+)-Beclin1 group (10.9%) than that in the pcDNA3.1(+) group (3.1%) and HeLa group (2.5%) (P < 0.05). After transfected with vector pcDNA3.1(+)-Beclin1, the carcinogenic activity of HeLa cells was decreased in nude mice, and the inhibition rate of tumor growth was 52.2%.

CONCLUSIONSAutophagy gene Beclin 1 overexpression can inhibit the proliferation and growth of HeLa cells in vitro and vivo,while promote autophagy and apoptosis of HeLa cells. So it might be one of new gene therapy strategies for cervical carcinoma.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Autophagy ; Beclin-1 ; Cell Proliferation ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Genetic Vectors ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transfection ; Tumor Burden

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence has indicated that low-concentration hydrogen or hydrogen rich water or hydrogen saturated saline exerts a protective effect on various diseases, such as myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. OBJECTIVE: To explore the protective effect of hydrogen rich water on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. METHODS: Forty-eight Wistar rats were equally randomized into control and hydrogen-rich groups, and then subdivided into ischemic preconditioning, ischemia, and ischemia/reperfusion groups (n=8 rats in each subgroup). The myocardial ischemia/reperfusion model was established in the heart of each rat by the following procedures: reverse perfusion for 10 minutes, room temperature for 20 minutes, and reperfusion for 20 minutes. The control rats was perfused with pre-oxygenated (95% O2plus 5% CO2) 37 ℃ K-R solution and the hydrogen-rich group was perfused with pre-oxygen-equilibrated (95% O2plus 5% CO2) 37 ℃ K-R solution plus hydrogen-rich water (0.6 mmol/L, pH=7.3). Subsequently, the heart was removed, the pathological changes of the myocardial tissues were observe by hematoxylin-eosin staining, the activities of lactic dehydrogenase and creatine kinase in the myocardial tissues were determined, and the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β were detected by ELISA. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In the control group, the activity of lactic dehydrogenase at the ischemic and ischemia/reperfusion stages was significantly higher than that at the ischemic preconditioning stage (P < 0.05), and the activity of creatine kinase at the ischemia/reperfusion stage was significantly higher than that at the ischemic preconditioning and ischemic stages (P < 0.05). In the hydrogen-rich group, there was no significant difference in the activities of lactic dehydrodenase and creatine kinase at each stage, but the activities of at the ischemia/reperfusion stage was significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). In the two groups, the order of the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β was as follows: the ischemia/reperfusion stage > ischemic stage > ischemic preconditioning stage (P < 0.05). The levels of above factors in the hydrogen-rich group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Our findings imply that hydrogen rich water has protective effect on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury of the rat hearts in vitro,which may be by reducing the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β, and further alleviating the inflammatory response.

Objective:To explore the application value of Oxford nanopore technologies (ONT) in the diagnosis and treatment of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI).Methods:A prospective analysis was conducted on 32 patients with PJI admitted to the joint department of Xi'an Honghui Hospital from October 2021 to March 2023, who met the 2018 PJI diagnostic criteria of the American Skeletal Infection Society (MSIS), including 15 males and 17 females with an average age of 63.93±8.93 years. 32 revision patients who did not meet the 2018 MSIS PJI criteria during the same period were collected as controls (non PJI group), including 13 males and 19 females with an average age of 65.53±8.54 years. All patients underwent joint fluid puncture before or during surgery, and the specimens were tested by ONT, metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS), and general microbial culture. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn for both groups, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and Youden index of the three detection techniques were calculated and compared to evaluate the detection efficiency of different detection methods in PJI.Results:Among the 32 patients with PJI, 30 were positive for ONT, with a total of 30 pathogenic bacteria detected, and the detection time was 22.37±8.36 h. 31 were positive for mNGS, with a total of 33 bacterial species detected, and the detection time was 46.25±9.36 h. 17 were positive for microbial culture, with a total of 8 bacterial species detected, and the detection time was 96.23±15.62 h. Among the 32 patients with non PJI group, 1 was positive for ONT and 5 were positive for mNGS, with a total of 1 and 3 bacterial species detected, respectively. The results of microbial culture were all negative. The detection time and area under the curve (AUC) of ONT and mNGS were 22.37±8.36 h and 0.953[95% CI (0.901, 1.006)], 46.25±9.36 h and 0.906[95% CI (0.835, 0.977)], respectively, which were better than those of microbial culture 96.23±15.62 h and 0.766[95% CI (0.678, 0.853)], and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). The sensitivity of ONT, mNGS, and microbial culture were 0.938, 0.969, and 0.531, respectively, and the specificity was 0.969, 0.844, and 1.000, respectively. The Jordan index was 0.906, 0.813, and 0.531, respectively. Conclusion:ONT testing has higher diagnostic efficacy than mNGS and microbial culture in the diagnosis of PJI, and also has advantages in detection time. It also suggests that some PJI are not caused by a single microbial infection.

OBJECTIVETo study the management of acute superior mesenteric artery (SMA) ischemia and to improve its prognosis.

METHODThe clinical data of 37 patients treated from January 1996 to August 2007 was retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTSOf the cases, 19 (51.4%) patients were diagnosed with acute SMA embolism, 15 (40.5%) with acute SMA thrombosis, 2 (5.4%) with spontaneous isolated dissection of SMA and 1 (2.7%) with SMA aneurysm. Nineteen (51.4%) patients were misdiagnosed in emergency. Eighteen (48.6%) patients died in the hospital, and most of them died of severe infection and multiple organ failure. Three cases of the survived 19 patients experienced severe complications (2 with short gut syndrome, 1 with cerebral hemorrhage). Nine cases were followed-up for a mean period of 15 months, and 5 died during that term.

CONCLUSIONSAcute SMA ischemia has multiple etiological factors. Early intervention can improve the prognosis.

Acute Disease ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Mesenteric Vascular Occlusion ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUNDNeurophysiologic monitoring during surgery is to prevent permanent neurological injury resulting from surgical manipulation. To improve the accuracy and sensitivity of intraoperative neuromonitoring, combined monitoring of transcranial electrical stimulation motor evoked potentials (TES-MEPs), somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) was attempted in microsurgery for lesions adjacent to the brainstem and intracranial aneurysms.

METHODSMonitoring of combined TES-MEPs with SSEPs was attempted in 68 consecutive patients with lesions adjacent to the brainstem as well as intracranial aneurysms. Among them, 31 patients (31 operations, 28 of posterior cranial fossa tumors, 3 of posterior circulation aneurysms) were also subjected to monitoring of BAEPs. The correlation of monitoring results and clinical outcome was studied prospectively.

RESULTSCombined monitoring of evoked potentials (EPs) was done in 64 (94.1%) of the 68 patients. MEPs monitoring was impossible for 4 patients (5.9%). No complication was observed during the combined monitoring in all the patients. In 45 (66.2%) of the 68 patients, EPs were stable, and they were neurologically intact. Motor dysfunction was detected by MEPs in 8 patients, SSEPs in 5, and BAEPs in 4, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSA close relationship exists between postoperative motor function and the results of TES-MEPs monitoring. TES-MEPs are superior to SSEPs and BAEPs in detecting motor dysfunction, but combined EPs serve as a safe, effective and invasive method for intraoperative monitoring of the function of the motor nervous system. Monitoring of combined EPs during microsurgery for lesions adjacent to the brainstem and intracranial aneurysms may detect potentially hazardous maneuvers and improve the safety of subsequent procedures.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Brain Stem ; physiopathology ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; Evoked Potentials, Motor ; Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory ; Female ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Male ; Microsurgery ; Middle Aged ; Monitoring, Intraoperative ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Objective To discuss the microsurgical skills of management of acoustic neuroma and the protection of facial nerve. Methods One hundred and sixty-eight patients with acoustic neuroma, admitted to our hospital from August 2002 to December 2010, received microsurgery through suboccipital retrosigmoid approach. Under intraoperative electromyography (EMG) monitoring, the facial nerve was separated sharply from both sides, and the tumors were removed by alternate intracapsular excision and capsule wall excision. The microsurgical skill and the method of protection of facial nerve were evaluated retrospectively. Results Total resection was performed in 149 cases (88.69％), partial resection in 19 cases (11.31％). Facial nerve was protected in 146 cases (86.9％) during the operation. Two patients were dead shortly after the surgery. The facial nerve functions were evaluated 6 months after the surgery: 91 (54.26％) belonged to grade Ⅰ and grade Ⅱ, and 52 (30.95％) belonged to grade Ⅲ and grade Ⅳ, while 52 (14.89％) belonged to grade Ⅴ and grade Ⅵ according to House-Brackmann grade. Conclusion The microsurgical removal of acoustic neuroma through suboccipital retrosigmoid approach is safe and effective. The intraoperative electromyography monitoring could improve the reservation rate of facial nerve. Skilled microsurgical technique is the key to the total removal of acoustic minor and the protection of facial nerve.

BACKGROUNDSARS-CoV is the causative agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which has been associated with outbreaks of SARS in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Beijing of China, and other regions worldwide. SARS-CoV from human has shown some variations but its origin is still unknown. The genotyping and phylogeny of SARS-CoV were analyzed and reported in this paper.

METHODSFull or partial genomes of 44 SARS-CoV strains were collected from GenBank. The genotype, single nucleotide polymorphism and phylogeny of these SARS-CoV strains were analyzed by molecular biological, bioinformatic and epidemiological methods.

RESULTSThere were 188 point mutations in the 33 virus full genomes with the counts of mutation mounting to 297. Further analysis was carried out among 36 of 188 loci with more than two times of mutation. All the 36 mutation loci occurred in coding sequences and 22 loci were non-synonymous. The gene mutation rates of replicase 1AB, S2 domain of spike glycoprotein and nucleocapsid protein were lower (0.079% - 0.103%). There were 4 mutation loci in S1 domain of spike glycoprotein. The gene mutation rate of ORF10 was the highest (3.333%) with 4 mutation loci in this small domain (120 bp) and 3 of 4 loci related to deletion mutation. By bioinformatics processing and analysis, the nucleotides at 7 loci of genome (T:T:A:G:T:C:T/C:G:G:A:C:T:C) can classify SARS-CoV into two types. Therefore a novel definition is put forward that according to these 7 loci of mutation, 40 strains of SARS-CoV in GenBank can be grouped into two genotypes, T:T:A:G:T:C:T and C:G:G:A:C:T:C, and named as SARS-CoV Yexin genotype and Xiaohong genotype. The two genotypes can be further divided into some sub-genotypes. These genotypes can also be approved by phylogenetic tree of three levels of 44 loci of mutation, spike glycoprotein gene and complete genome sequence. Compared to various strains among SARS-CoV Yexin genotype and Xiaohong genotype, GD01 strain of Yexin genotype is more closely related to SARS-CoV like-virus from animals.

CONCLUSIONThe results mentioned above suggest that SARS-CoV is responding to host immunological pressures and experiencing variation which provide clues, information and evidence of molecular biology for the clinical pathology, vaccine developing and epidemic investigation.

Evolution, Molecular ; Genome, Viral ; Genotype ; Phylogeny ; Point Mutation ; SARS Virus ; genetics