OBJECTIVE: To analyze the demographic and clinical characteristics of inpatients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) and provide a basis for clinical prevention and treatment. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 744 inpatients diagnosed with OVCF between January 2017 and December 2021 who met the inclusion criteria. Among them, 146 were male and 598 were female, with age ranging from 50 to 95 years (mean, 69.37 years). The demographic characteristics (gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, regional distribution, urban-rural distribution, and seasonal incidence) and clinical features [causes of injury, history of vertebral fractures, smoking and drinking history in males, comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, cerebral infarction), body mass index (BMI), blood lipid levels, menopausal age in females, vertebral bone mineral density T-value, number of vertebral fractures, and fracture segment distribution] of OVCF patients were analyzed. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the independent risk factors of vertebral osteoporosis. RESULTS: The demographic analysis indicated that female patients with OVCF were significantly younger than male patients ( P<0.05). Significant differences were observed in the age distribution of OVCF between males and females ( P<0.05), with the highest proportion of male patients in the 70-79 years group (37.0%) and the highest proportion of female patients in the 60-69 years group (40.0%). From 2017 to 2021, the age of onset for OVCF gradually increased, with a similar trend observed for both genders. The distribution of occupations between genders also showed significant differences ( P<0.05); with the top three occupations for males being farmers (48.6%), retirees (24.7%), and workers (13.7%), while for females, the leading occupations were farmers (51.5%), retirees (19.4%), and service workers (10.0%). Female OVCF patients had higher BMI, vertebral bone mineral density T-value, history of vertebral fractures, hypertension prevalence, and blood lipid levels compared to male patients ( P<0.05). No significant difference between the males and the females was found in ethnicity, seasonal distribution, regional distribution, urban-rural distribution, causes of injury, number of vertebral fractures, or prevalence of comorbidities (except hypertension) ( P>0.05). Among the 744 OVCF patients, a total of 1 309 vertebrae were involved, with 628 thoracic vertebrae (48.0%) and 681 lumbar vertebrae (52.0%). The most common fracture segments were L ₁ (22.5%), T ₁₂ (21.2%), followed by L ₂ (12.2%) and T ₁₁ (10.2%). No significant gender difference was observed in the distribution of fracture segments ( P>0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that older age, female, and lower BMI were independent risk factors for vertebral osteoporosis ( P<0.05). CONCLUSION The age of onset of OVCF patients is increasing year by year. The number of fractured vertebral bodies, age distribution of morbidity, occupational distribution, BMI, history of vertebral fracture, hypertension, and blood lipid levels are related to gender. The occurrence of OVCF is mainly in the thoracolumbar segment. The female, older age, and lower BMI are independent risk factors of osteoporosis.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fractures/etiology* ; Aged, 80 and over ; Osteoporotic Fractures/etiology* ; Fractures, Compression/etiology* ; Risk Factors ; Bone Density ; China/epidemiology* ; Osteoporosis/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Inpatients ; Sex Factors ; Age Factors

Production internship is an important teaching tache for undergraduate students to carry out engineering training by using professional skills, and it is a key starting point for fostering application-oriented talents in biotechnology. The Course Group of 'production internship of biotechnology majors' of Binzhou University is investigating application-oriented transformation for local regular colleges and universities, as well as fostering high-level application-oriented talents. By taking green fluorescent protein (GFP) polyclonal antibody as an example, the reform and practice on teaching content, teaching mode, assessment method, continuous improvement of curriculum were carried out. Moreover, the characteristics of the Yellow River Delta-Binzhou Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Industrial Cluster were taken into account to intensify academic-enterprise cooperation. On one hand, this Course Group designed and rearranged the course contents, carried out essential training through online resources and platforms such as virtual simulation, and recorded, tracked and monitored the progress of production internship through practical testing and software platforms like 'Alumni State'. On the other hand, this Course Group established a practice-and application-oriented assessment method in the process of production internship and a dual evaluation model for continuous improvement. These reform and practices have promoted the training of application-oriented talents in biotechnology, and may serve as a reference for similar courses.
Humans ; Internship and Residency ; Curriculum ; Students ; Biotechnology

At present, the research of biological living materials mainly focuses on applications in vitro, such as using a single bacterial strain to produce biofilm and water plastics. However, due to the small volume of a single strain, it is easy to escape when used in vivo, resulting in poor retention. In order to solve this problem, this study used the surface display system (Neae) of Escherichia coli to display SpyTag and SpyCatcher on the surface of two strains, respectively, and constructed a double bacteria "lock-key" type biological living material production system. Through this force, the two strains are cross-linked in situ to form a grid-like aggregate, which can stay in the intestinal tract for a longer time. The in vitro experiment results showed that the two strains would deposit after mixing for several minutes. In addition, confocal imaging and microfluidic platform results further proved the adhesion effect of the dual bacteria system in the flow state. Finally, in order to verify the feasibility of the dual bacteria system in vivo, mice were orally administrated by bacteria A (p15A-Neae-SpyTag/sfGFP) and bacteria B (p15A-Neae-SpyCatcher/mCherry) for three consecutive days, and then intestinal tissues were collected for frozen section staining. The in vivo results showed that the two bacteria system could be more detained in the intestinal tract of mice compared with the non-combined strains, which laid a foundation for further application of biological living materials in vivo.
Animals ; Mice ; Bacteria ; Microorganisms, Genetically-Modified ; Escherichia coli/genetics*

OBJECTIVE： To investigate the effects of Buyang huanwu decoction on endothelial-mesenchymal transformation （EndMT） of lung tissue in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis （IPF） model rats， and to explore its potential mechanism. METHODS： Male SD rats were randomly divided into normal group， model gorup， dexamethasone group [0.405 mg/（kg·d）]， Buyang huanwu decoction low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups [6.435， 12.87， 25.74 g/（kg·d）， by raw material]， with 8 rats in each group. Except for normal group， other groups were given endotracheal injection of bleomycin to induce IPF model. On the second day after modeling， normal group and model group were given water intrgastrically [10 mL/（kg·d）]； administration groups were given relevant medicine intragastrically， once a day， for consecutive 28 days. 24 h after last medication， the expression of endothelial cell markers [platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1， vascular endothelial cell cadherin] and interstitial cell markers [α-smooth muscle actin， fibroblast specific protein 1] were detected by immunohistochemistry method. The expression of Notch4 and DLL4 in lung tissue of rats were detected by Western blotting assay. RESULTS： Compared with normal group， the expression of endothelial cell markers were decreased significantly in lung tissue of model group， while the expressipon of interstitial cell markers， Notch4 and DLL4 were increased significantly （P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， the expression of endothelial cell markers in lung tissue of rats were increased significantly in administration groups， while Buyang huanwu decoction low-dose group was significantly lower than dexamethasone group； the expression of interstitial cell markers， Notch4 and DLL4 were decreased significantly， while Buyang huanwu decoction low-dose group was significantly higher than dexamethasone group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS： Buyang huanwu decoction can relieve IPF of model rats by intervening in EndMT， the mechanism of which may be associated with inhibiting DLL4/Notch4 singaling pathway.

Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy of simulated optimal reduction combined with percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in the treatment of senile osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF). Methods: A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 136 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures admitted to the spine surgery department of Luoyang Orthopedic Hospital of Henan Province from January 2014 to January 2015. There were 54 males and 82 females, aged 55 to 83 years old, with an average age of 68.3 years. All the enrolled patients had single segment vertebral compression fractures, whose compression degree was ≥1/3 of adjacent normal vertebral bodies and ≤2/3 of adjacent normal vertebral bodies. Among them, 59 patients were treated with simulated optimal reduction combined with PVP (PVP group), and 77 patients were treated with PKP (PKP group). The operation time, intraoperative fluoroscopy time, incidence of bone cement leakage, hospitalization cost and length of stay were compared between the two groups. Postoperative X-ray and CT examination were performed to observe bone cement diffusion. Before surgery and after surgery (1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years and 3 years), Visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores, Cobb's angle, ratio of anterior and middle height of the affected vertebrae, and the incidence of vertebral refractures within 3 years were compared between the two groups. Results: All the patients were followed up for 29-43 months, averaging 36 months. One patient in the PVP group was lost to follow-up after one year. In the PKP group, two patients were lost to follow-up after one year and one patient was lost to follow-up after two years. In the PVP group, single vertebral body operation time [(28.9±5.7)seconds] and intraoperative fluoroscopy time [(54.0±13.4)seconds] were significantly less than those in the PKP group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.01). The incidence of bone cement leakage in the two groups was 8.5% and 7.8%, respectively, with no significant difference (P>0.05). The hospitalization cost in the PVP group [(9.7±3.2)thousand yuan] was lower than that in the PKP group [(22.35±16.2)thousand yuan](P<0.01). The diffusion coefficient in PVP group (2.40±0.27) was higher than that in the PKP group (2.29±0.19) (P<0.01). In both groups, the fractured vertebral anterior height ratio, fractured vertebral middle height ratio and Cobb's angle were significantly improved after operation (P<0.01), while there were no significant differences between the two groups (P>0.05). In both groups, the VAS and ODI were significant decreased after operation (P<0.01). Better results were obtained in PVP group than the PKP group concerning the VAS [(2.5±0.8)points vs. (2.6±0.9)points, (2.7±0.3) points vs. (2.8±0.5)points, (2.8±0.6) points vs. (2.9±0.7)points] and ODI [(25.3±4.0 vs. 25.5±3.9, 25.8±4.1 vs. 27.5±4.0, 26.0±2.9 vs. 28.6±3.9)] at postoperative 1, 2 and 3 years, and there were no significant difference between the two groups at postoperative 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 6 months (P>0.05). The three-year follow-up showed that the re-fracture rate of adjacent vertebral body in the PVP group was significantly lower than that in the PKP group (0 vs. 1.3%)(P<0.01). Conclusion For OVCF, the simulated manual reduction combined with PVP is easy for operation and has no significant difference in short-term analgesic effect compared with PKP, but the recovery of height of diseased vertebra and correction of kyphosis are better, with lower re-fracture rate of adjacent vertebra in the later stage.

Objective: To investigate the clinical value of intraoperative radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in the treatment of colorectal liver metastasis (CLM). Methods: A retrospectively analysis of 187 patients with CLM who underwent liver resection with or without RFA from January 2009 to August 2016 in Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences was performed. According to whether RFA was used intraoperatively, patients were divided into resection only group and combined treatment group. The clinical and pathological characteristics of the two groups were compared to explore factors influencing survival and recurrence. Imbalance of background characteristics between the two groups was further overcome by propensity score matching method (PSM). Results: The number of liver metastases (267), simultaneous liver metastases (100%), bilobar involvement (73.3%) and preoperative chemotherapy (93.3%) rates were significantly higher in the combined treatment group than those in the resection only group(471, 74.7%, 42.0% and 63.1%)(all P<0.05). In the combined treatment group, median overall survival (OS) was 25.7 months; and 3-year and 5-year OS were 47.9% and 28.8%, respectively. In the resection only group, the median survival time was 46.9 months; and 3-year and 5-year OS rate was 59.1% and 42.4%, respectively (χ²=4.579, P=0.034). Median disease-free survival (DFS) was 5.4 months in the combined treatment group, and 10.1 months in the resection only group (χ²=5.399, P=0.023). In multivariate analysis, intraoperative RFA was not an independent prognostic factor for OS and DFS (HR=0.98, 95%CI: 0.47-2.08, P=0.965; HR=1.21, 95%CI: 0.71-2.07, P=0.465). After PSM, the median OS of the resection only and the combined treatment groups were 30.2 and 25.7 months (χ²=0.876, P=0.350). The median DFS in the two groups was 5.3 and 4.2 months, respectively (χ²=0.199, P=0.650). Conclusion In patients with similar tumor burden, liver resection combined with intraoperative RFA for unresectable CLM can achieve long-term outcomes similar to hepatectomy alone for resectable CLM.

Objective: To establish a new scoring system based on the clinicopathological features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to predict prognosis of patients who received hepatectomy. Methods: A total of 845 HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy from 1999 to 2010 at Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were retrospectively analyzed. 21 common clinical factors were selected in this analysis. Among these factors, the cut-off values of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and intraoperative blood loss were evaluated by using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model were used to evaluate the independent risk factors associated with the prognosis of HCC patients after hepatectomy. HCC postoperatively prognostic scoring system was established according to the minimum weighted method of these independent risk factors, and divided the patients into 3 risk groups, including low-risk, intermediate-risk and high-risk group. The relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared among these groups. Results: The univariate analysis showed that clinical symptoms, preoperative α-fetoprotein (AFP) level, serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level, tumor size, tumor number, abdominal lymph node metastasis, macrovascular invasion or tumor thrombus, extrahepatic invasion or serosa perforation, the severity of hepatic cirrhosis, intraoperative blood loss, the liver operative method, pathological tumor thrombus, intraoperative blood transfusion, perioperative blood transfusion were significantly associated with median RFS of these HCC patients (P<0.05). Alternatively, clinical symptoms, preoperative AFP level, serum ALP level, tumor size, tumor number, abdominal lymph node metastasis, macrovascular invasion or tumor thrombus, extrahepatic invasion or serosa perforation, the severity of hepatic cirrhosis, intraoperative blood loss, the liver operative method, pathological lymphocyte invasion, pathological tumor thrombus, intraoperative blood transfusion, perioperative blood transfusion were significantly associated with the median OS of these HCC patients (P<0.05). The multivariate analysis showed that AFP ≥20 ng/ml, clinical symptoms, tumor diameter ≥5 cm, multiple tumors, macrovascular invasion or tumor thrombus, extrahepatic invasion or serosa perforation, moderate and severe liver cirrhosis, non- anatomic resection were the independent risk factors of RFS and OS (P<0.05). The independent risk factor of RFS was intraoperative bleeding loss ≥325 ml (P<0.05); The independent risk factors of OS were abdominal lymph node metastasis and pathological tumors thrombus (P<0.05). The respective weight of 11 independent factors was used to establish the scoring system (scores range from 0 to 26). In the score system, 0 to 5 points were defined as the low-risk group (286 cases), 6 to 12 points were determined as the intermediate-risk group (503 cases), more than 13 points were classified as the high-risk group (56 cases). The median RFS of the low-risk, intermediate-risk and high-risk group were 80, 27 and 6 months, respectively. The differences were statistically significant (P<0.001). The median OS of the three groups were 134, 51 and 15 months, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion This new score system provides effective prediction of postoperative prognosis for HCC patients.

Objective To investigate the current application of teaching cadavers and attitudes of medical students towards body donation and anatomy practicum and to make proposals on teaching and learning of human anatomy.Methods A on the spot questionnaire survey among 300 students studying in Hebei Medical University was conducted and the acquired data were contrasted analyzed.Results The teaching cadavers were insufficient and the quality of anatomy education was directly affected.Medical students took unfavorable attitudes towards anatomy practice and knew little about body donation.The main factors affected body donations were traditional concepts,lack of humanistic concern and complicated procedures of donation.Conclusions The short of teaching cadavers would be relieved by enhancing propaganda and legislation,emphasizing humanistic concern,simplifying procedures of donation.By means of anatomy teaching reformations,the learning interest and humanistic literacy of medical students are supposed to be improved.

We synthesized the superparamagnetic paclitaxel nanoparticles from modified chitosan tangling around Fe3O4 ferrofluid and taxol, and observed the nanoparticles with transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). Then we evaluated the paramagnetism of the particles by vibration specimen magnetometer (VSM) and tested their cytotoxicity with flow cytometry (FCM). The prepared nanoparticle solution was black without any floccule or sediment and appeared transparent after diluted. The nanoparticles were spherical and dispersed in water with mean diameter of 15 nm under TEM and showed superparamagnetic character. FCM test showed the nanoparticles had significant toxic effects against malignant astrocytoma U251 cell lines, equal to taxol alone. These results showed that the superparamagnetic nanoparticle not only enhanced the solubility of paclitaxel in water, but also was superparamagnetic and cytotoxic, which make suitable tools for magnetic targeting chemotherapy of brain gliomas.
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Brain Neoplasms ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Chitosan ; pharmacology ; Drug Carriers ; chemistry ; Drug Compounding ; methods ; Ferric Compounds ; Glioma ; pathology ; Humans ; Magnetics ; Metal Nanoparticles ; chemistry ; Nanoparticles ; Paclitaxel ; pharmacology