Objective Toobserve the effect of exercise combined with alendronate sodium tablets (Ain) on receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) expression and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Methods A total of 90 6-month-old female SDrats were evenly randomized into sham group, OVX group, Ain treatment (OVX+Aln) group, exercise therapy (OVX+EX) group, and Ain combined with exercise treatment (OVX+Aln+EX) group. Eight weeks after ovariectomy, rats in the latter three groups were treated with intragastric 1 mg/(kg • d) Ain and/or exercise. After 12 weeks of treatment, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to examine the bone mineral density (BMD) of the left and right femurs. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the serum levels of RANKL and OPG. Real-time PCR was used to examine RANKL and OPG mRNA expression in bone tissues. Western blotting analysis was used to examine the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) » p38 MAPK (p38), extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK), and c-Fos protein expression in bone tissues. Results The following resultswere observed after 12-week treatment. (1) Compared with sham group, the BMD values of the lett and right femurs were significantly decreased in OVX group (P<0. 05). The serum RANKL level was significantly increased, serum OPG level was significantly decreased, and the RANKL/OPG ratio was significantly increased (all P<0. 05). The RANKL mRNA expression was significantly increased and OPG mRNA expression was significantly decreased in bone tissues (all P<0. 05). (2) ComparedwithOVX group, the BMD values of left and right femurs of OVX+Aln, OVX+EX and OVX+Aln+EX groups were significantly increased (all P<0. 05). The serum RANKL level was significantly decreased, serum OPG level was significantly increased, and the RANKL/OPG ratio decreased (all P<0. 05). The RANKL mRNA expression was significantly decreased, and OPG mRNA expression was significantly increased in bone tissues (all P<0. 05). The femoral BMD values, serum RANKL and OPG levels, and RANKL and OPG mRNA expression in bone tissues in OVX+Aln+EX group were significantly different from those in OVX+Aln group and OVX+EX group (all P<0. 05). (4) Compared with sham group, bone tissue p-JNKand c-Fos expression in OVX group was significantly increased (all P<0. 05). However, compared withOVX group, bone tissue p-JNK and c-Fos expression in OVX+Aln, OVX+EX and OVX+Aln+EX groups was significantly decreased (all P<0. 05), and there were no significant differences among the latter three groups. p-p38 and p-ERK expression was similar in all groups. Conclusion Exercise combined with Ain can improve the BMD values of left and right femurs in OVX rats, which may be related to the regulation of RANKL/OPG balance and inhibition of JNK phosphorylation and c-Fos expression.

OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical effects of close manipulative reduction combined with minimally invasive percutaneous plate fixation(MIPPO) and conventional open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) for the treatment of proximal humerus fractures.

METHODSFrom April 2008 to March 2013, among the 75 patients with fractures of proximal humerus, 26 patients were male and 49 patients were female, ranging in age from 22 to 80 years; 18 patients had injuries caused by traffic accident and 57 patients had injuries caused by falling down. According to Neer classification, there were 49 cases of two-part fractures and 26 cases of three-part fractures. All the patients were divided into two groups: MIPPO group and ORIF group. There were 12 males and 21 females in the MIPPO group,including 22 cases of Neer two parts and 11 cases of Neer three parts, who were treated with close manipulative reduction combined with MIPPO. While the other 42 patients were in the ORIF group,including 16 males and 26 females. Among those patients,27 cases belonged to Neer two parts and 15 cases of Neer three parts, who were treated with ORIF. Length of the incision, blood loss, operating time, early postoperative pain(recorded by VAS), neck-shaft angle of proximal humerus and postoperative function of shoulder(recorded by Constant-Murley score, including pain, function, ROM and muscle length) were compared.

RESULTSThe mean lengths of incision were (6.74 +/- 0.38) cm in MIPPO group and (16.82 +/- 1.74) cm in ORIF group;blood losses were (110.15 +/- 29.49) ml in MIPPO group and (326.19 +/- 59.71) ml in ORIF group; operation times were (48.60 +/- 10.18) min in MIPPO group and (68.84-16.22) min in ORIF group. VAS of patients in MIPPO group on the 1st and 3rd days postoperatively were lower than those of patients in the ORIF group. The postoperative radiographs verified good position of all screws and satisfactory reduction of bone fracture reduction in both groups. All the patients were followed up,and the durig ranged from 8 to 24 months (mean 14.2 months). In the MIPPO group, there was no humeral head necrosis and all patients gained bone union; while in the ORIF group, 3 patients sustained nonunion and received reoperation for bone grafting, and 2 patients sustained humeral head necrosis. The mean Constant-Murley scores of shoulder were 88.94 +/- 2.57 in the MIPPO group and 86.00 +/- 3.36 in the ORIF group.

CONCLUSIONThe close manipulative reduction combined with MIPPO is a better choice for fixation of proximal humerus fractures, compared with conventional plate. This method possesses such advantages as a shorter incision, less disturbance of the blood supply and stable fixation of the fracture, allowing early exercise so that the function of shoulder recovers rapidly.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bone Nails ; Bone Plates ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; instrumentation ; Humans ; Humeral Fractures ; surgery ; Humerus ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the activity of esterases, including butyrylcholinesterase (BchE), carboxylesterase (CarbE), paraoxonase (PonE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and to explore the effect of genetic polymorphism on the activity of esterase for workers exposed to organophosphorus pesticides (OPs).

METHODSTwo hundred and forty-one long term OPs directly exposed workers and 151 indirectly exposed workers in the same factory were taken as study group. One hundred and sixty unexposed persons were taken as control group. The activity of serum enzymes was measured and the polymorphic distribution was detected using 7900 genotype detecting system and CMOS Chip technique. The effect of long-term exposure to organophosphorus pesticides was analyzed.

RESULTSThe activities of BchE, CarbE and PonE were independent on the gender or age in control group. Average values of Carb and BchE activities of directly and indirectly exposed workers were lower than those in control group respectively. PonE activity in directly exposed group was lower than that in control group. AChE activity in directly exposed group was lower than that in indirectly exposed group. All the differences were significant (P < 0.01). In the direct exposure group, the frequency of three variants of butyrylcholinesterase gene K (BCHE-K) polymorphism was 74.3%, 24.1% and 1.6% for UU, UK and KK respectively. Frequency of allele U and K was 0.863 and 0.137 respectively in the same group. Frequency of three variants of PON192 polymorphism was 15.0%, 45.5% and 39.5% for AA, AB and BB respectively in direct exposure group. Gene frequency of low activity (PON*A) and high activity (PON*B) was 0.378 and 0.622 respectively. Frequency of three variants of PON55 polymorphism was 96.2%, 3.8% and 0% for MM, LM and LL respectively in direct exposure group. Frequency of allele M and L was 0.981 and 0.019 respectively in the same group. The activity of PON was different in various genotypes of PON192 and PON55.

CONCLUSIONThe long-term exposure to OPs could inhibit the activities of CarbE, BchE, PonE and ACh E in different level. The genetic polymorphisms of PON192 and PON55 affect the activity of PonE, which is related to the detoxification of OPs and health impact.

Acetylcholinesterase ; metabolism ; Adult ; Alleles ; Aryldialkylphosphatase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Butyrylcholinesterase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Carboxylesterase ; metabolism ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; Organophosphorus Compounds ; adverse effects ; Pesticides ; adverse effects ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

OBJECTIVETo clone a novel human testis-specific gene TDRG1.

METHODSA new contig of expression sequence tags (ESTs) Hs.180197 was identified from the testis libraries using digital differential display (DDD) to screen the novel human testis-specific gene. To validate the use of bioinformatics approaches in gene discovery, the ESTs Hs.180197, which was predicted to be testis specific, was chosen for further study. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on different normal tissues to identify the expression of Hs.180197 in human testis. Using bioinformatics methods and IMAGE cloning of this contig, the full-length cDNA sequence of the noval human gene was cloned.

RESULTSThis novel gene was 1197 bp in length, located in chromosome 6p21.1-p21.2. The sequence of the open reading frame was 504-806 bp, as confirmed by RT-PCR and sequencing in human testis. The cDNA encodes a novel protein of 100 amino acids with a theoretical molecular weight of 10 000 and isoelectric point of 6.81. The sequence shares no significant homology with any known protein in the databases. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis of multiple tissues further showed that the novel gene was expressed specifically in adult human testis. Considering a possible relation of this novel gene with the function of human testis, we named this new gene TDRG1 (testis development related gene 1, GenBank accession number: DQ168992).

CONCLUSIONDDD combined with laboratory validation is an efficient method for identifying new human functional genes.

Adult ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Databases, Genetic ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Homeodomain Proteins ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Organ Specificity ; Proteins ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sequence Alignment ; Testis ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical effects of close reduction and percutaneous minimally invasive fixation in the treatment of proximal humerus fractures.

METHODSFrom April 2008 to March 2010, 28 patients with proximal humerus fracture were treated with close reduction and percutaneous minimally invasive fixation. There were 21 males and 7 females, ranging in age from 22 to 78 years,with an average of 42.6 years. The mean time from suffering injuries to the operation was 1.7 d. Nineteen cases caused by falling down, 9 cases by traffic accident. The main clinical manifestation was swelling, pain and limited mobility of shoulders. According to Neer classification, two part fractures were in 17 cases and three part fractures in 11 cases. The locking proximal humerus plate was used to minimally fixation through deltoid muscle under acromion. The operating time,volume of blood loss, the length of incision and Constant-Murley assessment were applied to evaluate the therapeutic effects.

RESULTSThe mean operating time was 40 min, the mean blood loss was 110 ml, and the mean length of incision was about 5.6 cm. The postoperative X-ray showed excellent reduction and the plate and screws were successfully place. Twenty-eight patients were followed up for 6 to 24 months (averaged 14.2 months). The healing time ranged from 6 to 8 weeks and all incision was primarily healed. There were no cases with necrosis head humerus, 24 cases without omalgia, and 4 cases with o-malgia occasionally. All the patients can complete the daily life. The mean score of Constant-Murley assessment was 91.0 +/- 5.8, 24 cases got an excellent result, 3 good and 1 fair.

CONCLUSIONClose reduction and percutaneous minimally invasive fixation, not only can reduce surgical invasive, but also guarantee the early function activities. It has the advantages of less invasive, fixed well and less damage of blood circulation.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Fracture Healing ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Shoulder Fractures ; physiopathology ; surgery

OBJECTIVEStudying on the routes of vas deferens to provide anatomy basis for surgical operation, especially, reconstruction of long segment loss of vas deferens.

METHODSThe routes of vas deferens were observed and anatomic distances along epididymal, infrainguinal, inguinal, retroperitoneal and ampullar segments of vas deferens, the distances from external ring to extremity of vas deferens were measured respectively in 18 formalin fixed adult cadavers.

RESULTSThe vas deferens have a large curve from external ring to extremity in its route, draw it out from the external ring. Eliminating this curve will allow to shorten this segment of vas deferens for vasovasostomy by 6.1 - 12.9 (9.31 +/- 1.30) cm. The length of each segment of vas deferens, respectively, is epididymal: 3.2 - 5.6 (4.53 +/- 0.79) cm, infrainguinal: 4.5 - 9.5 (7.31 +/- 1.78) cm, inguinal: 4.4 - 7.5 (5.52 +/- 0.74) cm, retroperitoneal: 12.5 - 19.5 (16.75 +/- 1.87) cm and ampullar: 2.9 - 3.8 (3.63 +/- 0.23) cm. There was no significant differences in segment length and the distances from external ring to extremity of vas deferens between the right and left.

CONCLUSIONReconstruction of long segment loss of vas deferens can be performed by mobilization retroperitoneal vas deferens and draw it out from external ring. There were no significant differences in lengths of vas deferens and the distances from external ring to vassal extremity between the left and right in adults. The surgical operations of vas deferens are closely related each segment of vasa.

Adult ; Autopsy ; Humans ; Male ; Vas Deferens ; anatomy & histology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical effects of close reduction combined with minimally invasive percutanous plate osteosynthesis (MIPPO) for proximal and distal tibial fractures.

METHODSFrom March 2007 to December 2010, 56 patients with proximal and distal tibial fractures were treated with close reduction combined with MIPPO technique. There were 39 males and 17 females,aged from 22 to 67 years with an average of 41.3 years. Left fracture was in 25 cases and right fracture was in 31 cases; proximal tibial fracture was in 15 cases and distal tibial fractures was in 41 cases; 34 cases caused by fall down and 22 cases caused by road accident. The mean time from injury to operation was 1.7 d. Clinical manifestation included pain, swelling of leg with limitation of activity. According to the standard of Johner-Wruhs, clinical effects were evaluated.

RESULTSThe mean operative time was 46 min in 56 patients. All fractures obtained satisfactory reduction and the location of plate was good. Incisions healed with one-stage and no superficial or deep infection was found. All the patients were followed up from 8 to 23 months with an average of 14.2 months. Only one fracture complication with delayed union,and after auto grafting with ilium bone,the fracture got union. Other 55 cases obtained bone healing in 15 to 20 weeks after operation and no internal fixation failure was found. The time of walking was 4-6 months after operation,without limping at 7 months after operation. Both lower extremities were symmetrical and the function of knee and ankle got complete recovery. According to the criteria of Johner-Wruhs score,46 cases obtained excellent results,9 good and 2 fair.

CONCLUSIONTreatment of proximal and distal tibial fractures with close reduction and MIPPO technique can not only preserve soft tissue,simplify operative procedure and decrease wound, but also can obtain rigid internal fixation and guarantee early function exercises of knee and ankle joints. The method has the advantages of less soft tissue injury, less blood loss, reliable fixation, which is effective method in treating proximal and distal tibial fractures and corresponds with the standpoint of biological fixation.

Adult ; Aged ; Bone Plates ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Tibial Fractures ; surgery