Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of joint needling method combined with ultrasound in the treatment of qi stagnation and blood stasis type of patellofemoral pain syndrome(PFPS).Methods Eighty-six patients with qi stagnation and blood stasis type of PFPS were randomly divided into observation group and control group,with 43 cases in each group.The control group was given western medicine conventional treatment combined with functional exercise,and the observation group was given joint needling method combined with ultrasound treatment on the basis of the control group.Both groups were treated for 2 consecutive weeks.After 2 weeks of treatment,the clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated,and the changes in the Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)scores of knee pain and the Kujala scale scores of the two groups were observed before and after treatment.The changes in active range of motion(AROM)of the affected knee joint were compared before and after treatment between the two groups.Results(1)After treatment,the VAS scores of the two groups of patients were significantly improved(P＜0.05),and the observation group was significantly superior to the control group in improving the level of VAS scores,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).(2)After treatment,the Kujala scores of patients in the two groups were significantly improved(P＜0.05),and the observation group was significantly superior to the control group in improving the level of Kujala scores,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).(3)After treatment,the AROM of patients in the two groups were significantly improved(P＜0.05),and the observation group was significantly superior to the control group in improving the level of AROM,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).(4)The total effective rate was 95.35%(41/43)in the observation group and 81.40%(35/43)in the control group.The efficacy of the observation group was superior to that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion The joint needling method combined with ultrasound can significantly relieve the pain symptoms of patients with PFPS and promote the recovery of knee joint function,and the clinical efficacy is remarkable.

Objective:To analyze the differentially expressed genes in PBMCs of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by bioinformatics methods screening and analyzing the key genes related to ferroptosis, and explore the possible mechanism of ferroptosis involved in the pathogenesis of SLE at the transcription level.Methods:The data sets and samples of healthy people (HC) and SLE patients who met the screening criteria were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), a sub-database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The differentially expressed genes, GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were analyzed by GEO2R, R language and related software packages. The protein interaction network (PPI) of differential genes was analyzed by STRING, Cytoscape and other tools to explore the key genes and pathways. In addition, real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to verify the expression of key genes. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the expression of key genes in PBMCs between the two groups. Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between SLE disease activity and the level of key genes. Results:Six data sets were included in this study. A total of 166 genes related to ferroptosis were differentially expressed between SLE and HC groups. The differential genes were specifically expressed in alveolar macrophages, neutrophils, CD49 + cells and CD31 + cells. GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in multiple signaling pathways closely related to SLE, such as oxidative stress response, infection and TNF signaling pathway. Hub genes screened by different algorithms all suggested RELA as a key gene, and RT-qPCR confirmed that compared with the RELA gene expression level in the HC group [0.75(0.37,1.13)], the expression level in SLE group [2.02 (1.19,4.06)] was increased, the difference was statistically significant ( Z=-3.08, P=0.002), and was positively correlated with the corresponding SLEDAI score of SLE samples ( r=0.52, P=0.019). Conclusion:The ferroptosis of many immune cells, including alveolar macrophages and CD49 + NK cells, is involved in the pathogenesis of SLE. RELA may be involved in the ferroptosis of PBMCs in SLE through the NF-κB pathway.

Objective:To design an improved lamina hook system and compare its biomechanical properties with traditional lamina hook system in fixation of lumbar spondylolysis.Methods:The thin layer CT data of the lumbosacral vertebrae of 20 healthy young male servicemen who underwent physical examination in the outpatient department of the 940th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force of PLA from January 2021 to August 2022 were collected. The age of the subjects was 20-30 years [(25.0±3.0)years]. A 3-dimensional model of the L 5 vertebral body was constructed using the 3-dimensional modeling software. The new improved lamina hook was designed according to the measurements including the thickness of the middle area, the longest longitudinal diameter, the curvature radius of the lower edge, the angle between the upper and lower tail ends, the thickness of the lower edge, and the longest diameter of the lower edge of the bilateral L 5 vertebral plates. One serviceman was selected from the aforementioned group to construct a linear finite element model of segments L 4-S using the 3-dimensional virtual software (normal model, model A), based on which, the L 5 bilateral spondylolysis model (model B), improved lamina hook model (model C) and traditional lamina hook models (model D) were designed. By constraining both sides of the sacrum and applying a longitudinal load of 400 N on the L 4 vertebral body, the upper 1/3 gravity of the body was simulated, and with a bending moment of 10 N·m along the X, Y, and Z directions, motions of forward flexion, backward extension, lateral bending, rotation, etc were simulated. The range of motion of segment L 4/5 and L 5/S 1 of model A was evaluated and compared with the findings of the previous researches to verify its effectiveness. The overall range of motion of models A, B, C, and D, the range of motion of segment L 4/5 and L 5/S 1, the maximum overall displacement, the maximum displacement and stress of the isthmus, the stress distribution and maximum stress of internal fixation of models C and D, and the stress distribution and maximum stress of the vertebral body of models C and D were compared. Results:(1) During forward flexion, backward extension, lateral bending and rotation, the range of motion of model A was 5.01°, 4.03°, 3.91° and 1.42° in segment L 4/5, and was 4.62°, 2.51°, 2.40° and 1.23° in segment L 5/S 1. (2) The overall range of motion, range of motion of segment L 4/5 and L 5/S 1 and maximum overall displacement of models A, C, and D were similar in axial compression, forward flexion, backward extension, left bending, and left rotation, while those of model B were significantly increased. (3) There was no significant difference in the maximum displacement of the isthmus of models A, C, and D under different motion modes, while the maximum displacement of model B in the isthmus was significantly larger than that of models A, C, and D, especially during rotation, increased by 295%, 277%, and 276% respectively. The maximum stress of the isthmus of model C was 0.938 MPa, 1.698 MPa, 0.410 MPa, 2.775 MPa, and 1.554 MPa respectively. The maximum stress in the isthmus of model D was 0.590 MPa, 1.297 MPa, 0.520 MPa, 3.088 MPa, and 2.072 MPa respectively. The maximum stress of the isthmus of models C and D was similar during axial compression and forward flexion, while the stress of the isthmus of model C was smaller than that of model D during backward extension, lateral bending, and rotation, decreased by 21.1%, 10.2%, and 25.0% respectively compared with model D. (4) The maximum stress of internal fixation in models C and D during forward flexion, backward extension, left bending, and left rotation was 135.220 MPa, 130.180 MPa, 200.940 MPa and 306.340 MPa respectively, and was 131.840 MPa, 112.280 MPa, 349.980 MPa and 370.140 MPa respectively. The maximum stress of internal fixation in the two models of internal fixation during forward flexion and backward extension was similar, while it was decreased by 42.6% and 17.2% in model C during left bending and left rotation, compared with model D. (5) The maximum stress of the vertebral body during forward flexion, backward extension, left bending, and left rotation was 79.787 MPa, 36.857 MPa, 37.943 MPa and 96.965 MPa respectively in model C, but was 80.104 MPa, 64.236 MPa, 196.010 MPa and 193.020 MPa respectively in model D. The maximum stress of models C and D was all distributed in the contact area with the internal fixation, and especially during backward extension, left bending, and left rotation, when it was reduced by 42.6%, 80.6%, and 49.8% of model C respectively, compared with that of model D. Conclusions:The improved laminar hook is more consistent with the Chinese anatomized structure of the lamina. Compared with the traditional lamina hook system, the improved lamina hook system can effectively reduce the displacement in all directions and range of motion of lumbar spondylolysis, therefor can significantly reduce the stress of internal fixation and vertebral body and has better biomechanical performance.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of the expression levels of protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) and Dickkopf-related protein 3 (DKK3) in the PCa tissue with biochemical recurrence (BR) of the malignancy after radical surgery. METHODS: This study included 105 cases of PCa diagnosed in our hospital from January 2016 to December 2020 and, according to BR within 3 years after surgery, we divided them into a BR (n = 22) and a non-BR group (n = 83). We detected the expressions of PRMT5 and DKK3 in the prostate tissues of the patients by immunohistochemistry, analyzed the correlation of the expression levels of PRMT5 and DKK3 using the Spearman method, and conducted a multivariate analysis of postoperative BR of the malignancy using the Cox multivariate regression model. RESULTS: The positive expression of PRMT5 was significantly higher while that of DKK3 remarkably lower in the PCa than in the adjacent tissue (P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed a negative correlation between the expression levels of PRMT5 and DKK3 in the PCa tissue (r = －0.532, P<0.05). The expressions of PRMT5 and DKK3 were significantly associated with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stages, positive surgical margins, peripheral nerve invasion, capsular invasion, seminal vesicle invasion and vascular invasion (P<0.05). The percentage of TNM stages III－IV, the positive expression of PRMT5 and the negative expression of DKK3 were remarkably higher in the BR than in the non-BR group (P<0.05). PRMT5 was found to be an independent risk factor for while DKK3 a protective factor against postoperative BR of PCa in the patients (P<0.05). CONCLUSION PRMT5 is highly while DKK3 lowly expressed in PCa tissue, and their expressions are both closely related to the biochemical recurrence of PCa after radical surgery.
Humans ; Male ; Protein-Arginine N-Methyltransferases/metabolism* ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/metabolism* ; Middle Aged ; Immunohistochemistry

Objective: To examine the short-term curative effect with minimally invasive right infra-axillary thoracotomy for transaortic modified Morrow procedure. Methods: The clinical data of 60 patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic transaortic modified Morrow procedure from August 2021 to August 2022 at Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. There were 31 males and 29 females, with the age (M (IQR)) of 54.0(22.3) years (range: 15 to 71 years). The echocardiography confirmed the diagnosis of moderate mitral regurgitation in 30 patients, and severe mitral regurgitation in 13 patients. Systolic anterior motion (SAM) was present preoperatively in 54 patients. All 60 patients underwent transaortic modified Morrow procedure through a right infra-axillary thoracotomy using femorofemoral cardiopulmonary bypass. Surgical procedures mainly included transverse aortic incision, exposure of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT), septal myectomy, and correction of the abnormal mitral valve and subvalvular structures. Results: All 60 patients underwent the programmatic procedures successfully without conversion to full sternotomy. The cardiopulmonary bypass time was (142.0±32.1) minutes (range: 89 to 240 minutes), while the cross-clamp time was (95.0±23.5) minutes (range: 50 to 162 minutes). The patients had a postoperative peak LVOT gradient of 7.0 (5.0) mmHg (range: 0 to 38 mmHg) (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa). A total of 57 patients were extubated on the operating table. The drainage volume in the first 24 h was (175.9±57.0) ml (range: 60 to 327 ml). The length of intensive care unit stay was 21.0 (5.8)h (range: 8 to 120 h) and postoperative hospital stay was 8 (5) days (range: 5 to 19 days). The postoperative septal thickness was 11 (2) mm (range: 8 to 14 mm). All patients had no iatrogenic ventricular septal perforation or postoperative residual SAM. The patients were followed up for 4 (9) months (range: 1 to 15 months), and none of them needed cardiac surgery again due to valve dysfunction or increased peak LVOT gradient during follow-up. Conclusion: Using a video-assisted thoracoscopic transaortic modified Morrow procedure through a right infra-axillary minithoracotomy can provide good visualization of the LVOT and hypertrophic ventricular septum, ensure optimal exposure of the mitral valve in the presence of complex mitral subvalvular structures, so that allows satisfactory short-term surgical results.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency/surgery* ; Thoracotomy ; Retrospective Studies ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/surgery* ; Ventricular Septum/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures/methods*

Humans ; COVID-19 Vaccines/therapeutic use* ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; China ; Antibodies, Viral

Hard capsules of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) have different degrees of hygroscopicity, which affects the stability and efficacy of drugs. In this paper, 30 kinds of commercially available TCM capsules were used as the research object. The hygroscopicity curves of capsule contents, capsule shells, and capsules were tested respectively, and the first-order kinetic equation was used for fitting. The results show that during the 24 h hygroscopicity process, the capsule shell can reduce the weight gain caused by the hygroscopicity of the contents by 0.80%-53.0% and the hygroscopicity rate of the capsule contents by 1.74%-91.3%, indicating that the capsule shell has a strong delay effect on the hygroscopicity of the contents of the TCM capsules. Seven physical parameters of the contents of 30 kinds of TCM capsules were determined, and 14 prescription process-related parameters were sorted out. A partial least squares model for predicting the hygroscopicity rate of the contents of TCM capsules(with shell) for 24 h was established. It is found that the hygroscopicity rate of the capsule shell is positively correlated with the hygroscopicity of the contents of TCM capsules(with shell), suggesting that the capsule shell with a low hygroscopicity rate is helpful for moisture prevention. In addition, the pre-treatment process route of the preparation and the type of molding raw materials affect the hygroscopicity. A larger proportion of the extract in the capsule content and a smaller proportion of the fine powder of the decoction pieces indicate stronger hygroscopicity of the capsule content. The 24 h hygroscopicity rate of 15% was used as the classification node of hygroscopicity strength, and the hygroscopicity rate constant of 0.58 was used as the classification node of hygroscopicity speed. The classification system of hygroscopicity behaviors of TCM capsules was established: the varieties with strong and fast hygroscopicity accounted for about 6.67%, while those with strong and slow hygroscopicity accounted for about 33.3%; the varieties with weak and fast hygroscopicity accounted for about 26.7%, while those with weak and slow hygroscopicity accounted for about 33.3%. The classification system is helpful to quantify and compare the hygroscopicity behavior of different TCM capsules and provides a reference for the quality improvement, moisture prevention technologies, and material research of TCM capsules.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Wettability ; Capsules ; Powders ; Technology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

Objective:To summarize the correlation between anterior pituitary function and tumor size in patients with different hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas.Methods:This was a retrospective case series study. The clinical data of 1 946 patients with pituitary adenoma hospitalized in the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2020, were collected. The correlation between tumor size and anterior pituitary hormone levels was analyzed using Spearman rank correlation analysis in different types of pituitary adenomas.Results:The median age of the 1 946 patients was 45.1 years, of which 857 (44.0%) were men. The maximum tumor diameter of the patients [ M ( Q1, Q3)] was 22 (14, 30) mm. Tumor size in nonfunctioning adenomas ( n=1 191) was negatively correlated with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) ( r=-0.11, P<0.001), growth hormone ( r=-0.13, P<0.001), and luteinizing hormone (men: r=-0.26, P<0.001, women: r=-0.31, all P<0.001). The tumor size of somatotropic adenomas ( n=297) was positively correlated with growth hormone ( r=0.46, P<0.001), but negatively correlated with male testosterone ( r=-0.41, P<0.001). The tumor size of ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas ( n=155) was positively correlated with the ACTH level at 8∶00 AM ( r=0.25, P<0.001); however, no correlation was found with cortisol at 8∶00 AM ( P>0.05). The tumor size of prolactinomas ( n=303) was positively correlated with the prolactin level (men: r=0.34, P=0.001; women: r=0.13, P=0.070). Conclusions:The correlation between the function of the anterior pituitary and size of the tumor depends on the cellular origin of the pituitary adenoma and specific type of hormone secretion. In somatotroph adenomas, ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas, and prolactinomas, there is a positive correlation between tumor size and level of hormones secreted by the corresponding tumors. In patients with nonfunctioning adenomas, the tumor size was negatively correlated with the hormone levels of the pituitary-adrenal and pituitary-growth hormone axes.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with the impairment of white matter (WM) tracts. The current study aimed to verify the utility of WM as the neuroimaging marker of AD with multisite diffusion tensor imaging datasets [321 patients with AD, 265 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 279 normal controls (NC)], a unified pipeline, and independent site cross-validation. Automated fiber quantification was used to extract diffusion profiles along tracts. Random-effects meta-analyses showed a reproducible degeneration pattern in which fractional anisotropy significantly decreased in the AD and MCI groups compared with NC. Machine learning models using tract-based features showed good generalizability among independent site cross-validation. The diffusion metrics of the altered regions and the AD probability predicted by the models were highly correlated with cognitive ability in the AD and MCI groups. We highlighted the reproducibility and generalizability of the degeneration pattern of WM tracts in AD.
Humans ; White Matter/diagnostic imaging* ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging/methods* ; Alzheimer Disease/complications* ; Reproducibility of Results ; Cognition ; Cognitive Dysfunction/complications* ; Brain/diagnostic imaging*

The purpose of this study was to explore transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) findings of prostate cancer (PCa) guided by multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and to improve the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) system for avoiding unnecessary mpMRI-guided targeted biopsy (TB). From January 2018 to October 2019, fusion mpMRI and TRUS-guided biopsies were performed in 162 consecutive patients. The study included 188 suspicious lesions on mpMRI in 156 patients, all of whom underwent mpMRI-TRUS fusion imaging-guided TB and 12-core transperineal systematic biopsy (SB). Univariate analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between TRUS features and PCa. Then, logistic regression analysis with generalized estimating equations was performed to determine the independent predictors of PCa and obtain the fitted probability of PCa. The detection rates of PCa based on TB alone, SB alone, and combined SB and TB were 55.9% (105 of 188), 52.6% (82 of 156), and 62.8% (98 of 156), respectively. The significant predictors of PCa on TRUS were hypoechogenicity (odds ratio [OR]: 9.595, P = 0.002), taller-than-wide shape (OR: 3.539, P = 0.022), asymmetric vascular structures (OR: 3.728, P = 0.031), close proximity to capsule (OR: 3.473, P = 0.040), and irregular margins (OR: 3.843, P = 0.041). We propose subgrouping PI-RADS score 3 into categories 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d based on different numbers of TRUS predictors, as the creation of PI-RADS 3a (no suspicious ultrasound features) could avoid 16.7% of mpMRI-guided TBs. Risk stratification of PCa with mpMRI-TRUS fusion imaging-directed ultrasound features could avoid unnecessary mpMRI-TBs.
Male ; Humans ; Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Prostate/pathology* ; Image-Guided Biopsy/methods*