Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Thyroid Nodule ; diagnosis ; therapy

Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal ; surgery ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Humans ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Stents

Objective To estimate reliability of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in measuring liver stiffness of volunteers and patients with chronic liver disease and to assess inter-rater consistency.Methods MRE was performed on a 3.0 T scanner in all subjects,including 24 volunteers (control group) and 64 patients with liver disease (chronic liver disease group).Liver stiffness was measured blindly by two raters.The pathological fibrosis score was applied as a standard reference for liver fibrosis in 22 patients.The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate inter-rater reliability.The differences of liver stiffness between two groups were evaluated using non-parametric MannWhitney U test.Spearman analysis was used to analyze the correlation between fibrosis stages and liver stiffness.Results The intraclass correlation coefficient of liver stiffness was perfect (ICC =0.99,P ＜ 0.01)between two raters.There was significant difference of mean stiffness between control group and patient group (U =90.5,P ＜0.01) with(2.35 ±0.34) kPa and(4.17 ± 0.47) kPa,respectively.The correlation between fibrosis stage (3,3,5,5 and 6 patients in fibrosis stage S0,S1,S2,S3 and S4) and stiffness (2.13,3.25,3.82,5.45 and 7.35 kPa) was very strong (r =0.96,P ＜0.01).Conclusion MRE is a reliable and promising tool to measure liver stiffness and to assess liver fibrosis.

Objective To evaluate the effect of convalescent training on patients after special prosthesis replacement in treatment of giant cell tumors. Methods 20 patients with giant cell tumors were treated with convalescent trainings postoperatively,including trainings of muscle strength,joint movement, balance, noumenal sense and gait and were emphasized for earlier training of active muscle contraction. Results According to Enneking score system of bone and muscle postoperation, the lowest for extremitas superior postoperation score of 5 patiens was 20,the highest was 28, the average was 26.6. 4 patiens score was higher than 24, the good rate was 80.0 %.15 patiens extremitas inferior score was from 14 to 27, the average was 21.5, the good rate was 86.7 %. Conclusion Earlier staged joint functional rehabilitation exercise after special prosthesis replacement in treatment of giant cell tumors could prevent ankylosis,improve adhering of capsule,ligament and other soft tissue,and recover the joint function to maximum.

OBJECTIVERadial corrective osteotomy is an established but challenging treatment for distal radial malunion. There is an ongoing discussion about whether an opening or closing-wedge osteotomy between should employed. The purpose of the present study was to retrospectively compare the clinical and radio graphic results between conventional opening-wedge osteotomy and closing-wedge technique.

METHODSFrom January 2004 and December 2012,42 patients with extra-articular distal radial malunion were managed with corrective osteotomy and were followed for a minimum of one year. Twenty-two patients (5 males and 17 females, ranging in age from 25 to 75 years old) were managed with radial opening-wedge osteotomy and implanting of interpositional bone graft or bone-graft substitute, and twenty patients (4 males and 16 females, ranging in age from 19 to 79 years) were managed with simultaneous radial closing-wedge and ulnar shortening osteotomy without bone graft. The selection of the surgical procedure was determined by the surgeon. Each patient was evaluated on the basis of objective radio graphic measurements, and functional outcomes were determined on the basis of clinical examinations, including range of wrist motion, grip strength, pain-rating score, Mayo wrist score, and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score.

RESULTSThe mean duration of follow-up was 36 months (ranged, 12 to 101 months) for the opening-wedge cohort and 28 months (ranged, 12 to 87 months) for the closing-wedge cohort. The two techniques were comparable in terms of complications. Post-operative volar tilt and ulnar variance were improved significantly in each cohort. The ulnar variance was more frequently restored to within defined criteria (22.5 to 0.5 mm) in the closing-wedge cohort than that in the opening-wedge cohort. The post-operative mean extension-flexion are of the wrist and Mayo wrist score were significantly better in the closing-wedge cohort. Differences in the pronation-supination arc, grip strength, pain-rating score, and DASH scores between these two cohorts were not significant.

CONCLUSIONThe closing wedge osteotomy technique is an effective reconstructive procedure for the treatment of extra-articular distal radial malunion. It is significantly better than the opening-wedge osteotomy technique in terms of the restoration of ulnar variance, the extension-flexion arc of wrist motion, and the Mayo wrist score.

Adult ; Aged ; Bone Nails ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteotomy ; Radius Fractures ; surgery ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Retrospective Studies ; Wrist Joint ; surgery ; Young Adult

Data mining, as known as knowledge discovery in databases, is a non-trivial process of revealing the implied, previously unknown and potentially useful information from the massive data. In recently years, the applications of data mining in the field of pharmaceutical research of traditional Chinese medicine have widespread. Especially in the field of the heritage of experiences of na-tional medical masters, data mining plays an important role. In this study, we would expound of the use of methods of data mining in the heritage of experiences of national medical masters, and analyze their advantages and disadvantages, such as association rules, Bayesian networks, neural networks, and decision trees.
Data Mining ; Databases, Pharmaceutical ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Neural Networks (Computer)

OBJECTIVETo observe application value of multispectral animal living imaging technology in rats model of osteoarthritis.

METHODSFifteen male SD rats weighed (180 +/- 20) g (3 months old) were received intra-articular injection of iodoacetic acid for establishing osteoarthritis. Articular cavity of left knee of rats were injected into 50 microl iodoacetic acid. The same volume of sterile saline was injected into right knee articular cavity as control. X-ray living imaging and bone mineral density were observed at 2 and 4 weeks after establishment of model. After 4 weeks,rats were sacrificed and their bilateral joints were collected and determined histologically based on Collins classification and Kellgren-Lawrence classification.

RESULTSOsteoarthritis model was successfully established, compared with control group, model group showed typical manifestation of osteoarthritis, including irregular cartilage surface,osteophyte formation,joint deformity and cartilage defect,and combined with significant decrease of bone density (P < 0.01), while the decrease was not obvious in proximal tibia (P < 0.05). After 2 weeks, knee joints in model group was classified as Collins grade 1 and Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2,then classified as Collins grade 4 and Kellgren-Lawrence grade 3 after 4 weeks,control group showed smooth articular surface,normal joint space and intact cartilage surface, knee joints was classified as Collins and Kellgren-Lawrence grade 0, and bone density of distal femur and proximal tibia were normal.

CONCLUSIONMultispectral animal living imaging technology could be used in dynamic observation of living imaging and detection of bone density in the animal model of osteoarthritis, and it is significant for evaluation of osteoarthritis model, and its realted tesearch.

Animals ; Bone Density ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Osteoarthritis ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Radiography ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between articulation, velopharyngeal function, and surgical age by comparing the changes in articulation after velopharyngeal closure is performed. This study is also conducted to investigate the influencing factors of omission change between pre- and post-operation.

METHODSA total of 48 patients, including 18 males and 30 females, mean age (13.3 ± 5.8) years, with non-syndromic cleft lips and palates were selected from January 2011 to December 2011. Their speech data and articulation between pre- and post-operation were retrospectively analyzed using non-parametric tests. Correlation study was performed to analyze the influencing factors of the changes in articulation. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTSThe difference in articulation after velopharyngeal closure occurred was significant (Z = -3.796, P = 0.000). A negative correlation between the ratio of post-operative normal articulation and surgical age (R = -0.487, P = 0.000) was observed. The change in omission was positively correlated with surgical age (R = 0.589, P = 0.000) and gender (R = 0.404, P = 0.047). By comparison, the change in omission was negatively correlated with follow-up time (R = -0.235, P = 0.040).

CONCLUSIONArticulation and intelligibility are significantly improved after velopharyngeal closure is performed. These parameters are negatively correlated with surgical age to some extent. In addition, the change in omission is positively correlated with surgical age and gender, whereas the change in omission is negatively correlated with follow-up time.

Adolescent ; Articulation Disorders ; Child ; Cleft Lip ; Cleft Palate ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Velopharyngeal Insufficiency ; Young Adult

AIM: To explore the effect of Snail1 siRNA on high-glucose induced tubular epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (TEMT). METHODS: Subconfluent renal tubular epithelial cells were incubated in serum-free DMEM for 24 h to arrest and synchronize the cell growth. Then cells were treated with normal glucose (5.5 mmol/L D-glucose) or high glucose (25 mmol/L D-glucose) for 72 h. Meanwhile 19.5 mmol/L D-manntiol was used as high osmotic control. Snail1 siRNA was transfected into tubular epithelial cells. In parallel, cells were transfected with non-specific siRNA which served as the control data sets. Cells were then treated with 25 mmol/L D-glucose for 72 h. RNA and cell lysates were collected to determine the protein and mRNA levels of Snail1, TGF-β_1, α-SMA, vimentin and E-cadherin. RESULTS: Transfection caused the decreases in Snail1 at mRNA and protein levels by 62% and 68% respectively as compared to those in untransfected cells cultured in high glucose medium. Western blotting exhibited that Snail1 siRNA transfection restored E-cadherin protein expression by 61% compared to that in high-glucose-treatment cells, whereas it inhibited high-glucose-induced induction of α-SMA protein by 58%. Similarly, RT-PCR revealed that Snail1 siRNA transfection dramatically suppressed the high-glucose-induced mRNA expressions of α-SMA and vimentin by 72% and 61%, respectively, while E-cadherin mRNA increased by 53%. CONCLUSION: Our study provides direct evidence that Snail1 is able to control TEMT.

AIM: To investigate the effects of bone morphogenetic protein 7 ( BMP-7 ) on the expression of transcription factor E2A and inhibitor of differentiation 2 (Id2) in the renal tubule epithelial cells(NRK-52E)exposed to high glucose, and to explore its possible mechanism of improving renal tubular fibrosis induced by high glucose.METH-ODS:The NRK-52E cells were divided into control group, high glucose (HG) group and high glucose with different doses of BMP-7 (10μg/L and 20μg/L) group.The cells in HG group and BMP-7 group were cultured for 12 h, 24 h and 48 h. The protein expression of Id2, E2A, E-cadherin,α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen-I was detected by Western blot.In addition, the mRNA expression of Id2 was detected by real-time PCR.RESULTS:Compared with control group, the mRNA and protein levels of Id2 and the protein level of E-cadherin were down-regulated, while the protein levels of E2A,α-SMA and collagen-I were up-regulated in HG group (P<0.05).Compared with HG group, the mRNA and pro-tein levels of Id2 and the protein level of E-cadherin were significantly up-regulated, while the protein expression of E2A,α-SMA and collagen-I was significantly down-regulated in 20 μg/L BMP-7 group ( P<0.05 ) .The correlation analysis showed that the Id2 protein level was negatively correlated with the E2A protein level (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:BMP-7 may intercept the process of renal tubule fibrosis induced by high glucose via promoting the expression of Id2 and inhibi-ting the expression of E2A at protein level.