Methods: Six finite element models of T12 burst fractures were developed to simulate short-segment stabilization under normal or osteoporotic bone conditions, with/without augmentation screws at the fractured vertebra. Spinal stiffness, implant stresses, and axial displacement/micromotion of the bony defect were measured and compared under mechanical loading. Results: Osteoporotic models exhibited a greater range of motion (ROM) than normal bone. All six-screw constructs reduced ROM across all motions compared with traditional four-screw models. Osteoporotic fracture models gained greater benefit from intermediate screw augmentation at the fracture vertebra, which also lowered axial displacement/micromotion. In six-screw models, rod stress increased while pedicle screw stress decreased. Intermediate screws at fractured vertebrae produced similar changes in stress distribution across all fixation models, regardless of bone quality. Conclusions Our findings may facilitate implant selection for osteoporotic burst fractures, supporting the use of more rigid fixation sixscrew constructs to reduce the risk of mechanical failure and postoperative re-collapse.

Objective:To compare the effects of propofol and dexmedetomidine for sedation on the outcome in mechanically ventilated patients with severe pulmonary infection.Methods:Patients with severe pulmonary infection (Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score >7) requiring mechanical ventilation from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Ⅳ database between 2008 and 2020 were selected and divided into propofol group and dexmedetomidine group based on the sedative agent used. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes included 90-day all-cause mortality and duration of mechanical ventilation. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was used to adjust for baseline confounders, and logistic regression and linear regression were applied to analyze the effects of the two sedative drugs on the outcomes of mechanically ventilated patients with pulmonary infection. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to analyze survival outcomes.Results:A total of 6 204 critically ill patients with pulmonary infection requiring mechanical ventilation were included, with 3 439 cases in propofol group and 2 765 cases in dexmedetomidine group. The baseline characteristics between the two groups were well balanced (standardized mean difference < 0.1) after IPTW adjustment. In the IPTW-adjusted cohort, the in-hospital all-cause mortality and 90-day all-cause mortality were significantly lower in dexmedetomidine group than in propofol group (439.2[18.7%] vs 563.6[24.1%], 618.0[26.3%] vs 733.6[31.3%], P<0.001), the results of Further Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that the 90-day all-cause mortality was significantly lower in dexmedetomidine group than in propofol group ( P<0.01). Conclusions:Compared with propofol, dexmedetomidine can decrease the mortality rate and improve the prognosis in mechanically ventilated patients with severe pulmonary infection when used for sedation.

Objective:To compare the effects of propofol and dexmedetomidine for sedation on the outcome in mechanically ventilated patients with severe pulmonary infection.Methods:Patients with severe pulmonary infection (Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score >7) requiring mechanical ventilation from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Ⅳ database between 2008 and 2020 were selected and divided into propofol group and dexmedetomidine group based on the sedative agent used. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes included 90-day all-cause mortality and duration of mechanical ventilation. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was used to adjust for baseline confounders, and logistic regression and linear regression were applied to analyze the effects of the two sedative drugs on the outcomes of mechanically ventilated patients with pulmonary infection. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to analyze survival outcomes.Results:A total of 6 204 critically ill patients with pulmonary infection requiring mechanical ventilation were included, with 3 439 cases in propofol group and 2 765 cases in dexmedetomidine group. The baseline characteristics between the two groups were well balanced (standardized mean difference < 0.1) after IPTW adjustment. In the IPTW-adjusted cohort, the in-hospital all-cause mortality and 90-day all-cause mortality were significantly lower in dexmedetomidine group than in propofol group (439.2[18.7%] vs 563.6[24.1%], 618.0[26.3%] vs 733.6[31.3%], P<0.001), the results of Further Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that the 90-day all-cause mortality was significantly lower in dexmedetomidine group than in propofol group ( P<0.01). Conclusions:Compared with propofol, dexmedetomidine can decrease the mortality rate and improve the prognosis in mechanically ventilated patients with severe pulmonary infection when used for sedation.

Objective:To explore the surgical procedure and clinical efficacy of free chimeric tendon mini-flap pedicled with superficial palmar branch with flexor carpi radialis of radial artery in reconstruction of the dorsal finger composite tissue defects.Methods:From January 2020 to December 2022, 6 fingers (6 patients) with combined dorsal soft tissue and extensor tendon defects were treated in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University. The ipsilateral free chimeric flexor carpi radialis tendon mini-flap pedicled with superficial palmar branch of radial artery was used to reconstruct the soft tissue defects that sized 1.5 cm×1.8 cm - 2.5 cm×3.0 cm and the extensor tendon defects ranged 1.5 - 2.5 cm in length. The flap donor sites were directly sutured. Blood supply and survival of the flaps were observed after surgery. Postoperative follow-ups were scheduled at the 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after surgery and mainly conducted at the outpatient clinic and by home visits. Patients who were inconvenient to visit the hospital were reviewed through WeChat or telephone interviews. The follow-up included the colour, texture, appearance, sensation of the flap and functional status of the affected fingers.Results:After surgery, all 6 flaps survived without any incidence. All flap donor sites achieved stage I healing. The postoperative follow-up lasted 6-22 (mean 11.3) months. The colour and texture of the flaps were similar to those of the skin of dorsal finger, without bulky appearance. For the 3 flaps that had nerve anastomoses, the sensation recovery of the flap achieved to S 3+, with TPD at 7.6 mm, 7.9 mm and 8.3 mm, respectively, and 7.93 mm in average. For the 3 flaps without nerve anastomosis, the sensation recovery of the flap achieved S 3. No complication occurred at the donor sites. According to the Evaluation Trial Standards of Upper Limb Partial Functional of Hand Surgery of Chinese Medical Association, 4 patients were in excellent and 2 in good. Conclusion:Transfer of free chimeric flexor carpi radialis tendon mini-flap pedicled with superficial palmar branch of radial artery in reconstruction of the soft tissue defect in dorsal finger offers the advantages of reliable blood supply, sufficient blood reflux, bridging blood vessels, nerves and tendons, a minimal damage to the donor site and satisfactory postoperative outcome. It is an ideal surgical procedure for reconstruction of the composite tissue defects in dorsal finger.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of Shegan Mahuangtang and its pungent and bitter Chinese herbs on the expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 （TRPV1） and bitter taste receptor 14 （TAS2R14） in the lung tissue of the rat model of cold asthma. MethodSeventy SD rats were randomized into 7 groups： normal， model， Shegan Mahuangtang， pungent Chinese herbs， bitter Chinese herbs （6.43 g·kg^-1）， dexamethasone （0.5 g·kg^-1）， and Guilong Kechuanning （10 g·kg^-1）. The rat model of cold asthma was established by intraperitoneal injection and subcutaneous injection of 10% ovalbumin （OVA） and aluminium hydroxide in the limbs， combined with 2% OVA atomization and cold （2-4 ℃） stimulation. The rats were treated with corresponding drugs by gavage and atomization， and the normal and model groups were treated with the same amount of normal saline for 3 weeks. After the last excitation， airway inflammation and cell proliferation were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE）， periodic acid-Schiff （PAS）， and Masson staining of the lung tissue. The levels of interleukin-5 （IL-5）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， thymic stromal lymphopoietin （TSLP）， and transforming growth factor-β₁ （TGF-β₁） in the serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The expression of TRPV1 and TAS2R14 was detected by immunofluorescence. The expression of TRPV1， TAS2R14， phospholipase Cβ₂ （PLCβ₂）， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， and α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA） in the lung tissue was determined by Western blot. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed decreased water intake， food intake， and body weight， increased airway inflammatory cell infiltration， goblet cell proliferation， tissue fibrosis and collagen deposition， elevated levels of IL-5， TNF-α， TSLP， and TGF-β₁ in the serum （P<0.01）， upregulated expression of TRPV1， PLCβ₂， and α-SMA， and downregulated expression of TAS2R14 and Bcl-2 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with model group， Shecgan Mahuangtang， pungent Chinese herbs， and bitter Chinese herbs increased the water intake， food intake， and body weight， reduced the inflammatory cell infiltration and goblet cell proliferation， alleviated tissue fibrosis and collagen deposition， lowered the levels of IL-5， TNF-α， TSLP， and TGF-β₁ in the serum （P<0.01）， downregulated the expression of TRPV1， PLCβ₂， and α-SMA， and upregulated the expression of TAS2R14 and Bcl-2 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionShegan Mahuangtang and its pungent and bitter Chinese herbs can reduce OVA-induced airway inflammation， downregulate the expression of TRPV1， PLCβ₂， and α-SMA， and upregulate the expression of TAS2R14 and Bcl-2 in asthmatic rats. Moreover， bitter Chinese herbs outperformed pungent Chinese herbs， and the combination of them enhanced the therapeutic effect. It is suggested that Shegan Mahuangtang and its pungent and bitter Chinese herbs may ameliorate the OVA-induced airway inflammation by inhibiting TRPV1 and activating TAS2R14.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) combined with rehabilitation robot on upper limb and hand dysfunction in patients with subacute stroke. MethodsFrom December, 2019 to December, 2021, 50 inpatients with subacute stroke in Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital were randomly divided into control group (n = 25) and experimental group (n = 25). Both groups received routine rehabilitation therapy, while the control group added sham HD-tDCS combined with rehabilitation robot, and the experimental group added HD-tDCS combined with rehabilitation robot, for four weeks. The upper limb and hand function was assessed with Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremities (FMA-UE) and Motor Assessment Scale (MAS) before and after treatment. ResultsAfter treatment, the scores of ARAT, FMA-UE and MAS increased in the two groups (∣Z∣ > 3.320, t > 6.379, P < 0.01), while the scores of FMA-UE and MAS were higher in the experimental group than in the control group (Z = -2.379, t = 3.181, P < 0.05), as well as the scores of grasping and gross motor of ARAT (∣Z∣ > 2.033, P < 0.05). ConclusionThe combination of HD-tDCS and rehabilitation robot can be more effective on upper limb and hand function in patients with subacute stroke than rehabilitation robot alone.

Brain functional network changes over time along with the process of brain development, disease, and aging. However, most of the available measurements for evaluation of the difference (or similarity) between the individual brain functional networks are for charactering static networks, which do not work with the dynamic characteristics of the brain networks that typically involve a long-span and large-scale evolution over the time. The current study proposes an index for measuring the similarity of dynamic brain networks, named as dynamic network similarity (DNS). It measures the similarity by combining the "evolutional" and "structural" properties of the dynamic network. Four sets of simulated dynamic networks with different evolutional and structural properties (varying amplitude of changes, trend of changes, distribution of connectivity strength, range of connectivity strength) were generated to validate the performance of DNS. In addition, real world imaging datasets, acquired from 13 stroke patients who were treated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), were used to further validate the proposed method and compared with the traditional similarity measurements that were developed for static network similarity. The results showed that DNS was significantly correlated with the varying amplitude of changes, trend of changes, distribution of connectivity strength and range of connectivity strength of the dynamic networks. DNS was able to appropriately measure the significant similarity of the dynamics of network changes over the time for the patients before and after the tDCS treatments. However, the traditional methods failed, which showed significantly differences between the data before and after the tDCS treatments. The experiment results demonstrate that DNS may robustly measure the similarity of evolutional and structural properties of dynamic networks. The new method appears to be superior to the traditional methods in that the new one is capable of assessing the temporal similarity of dynamic functional imaging data.
Aging/physiology* ; Brain/physiology* ; Brain Mapping ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Nerve Net/physiology* ; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation/methods*

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of rectangular scar flap combined with autologous thinning split-thickness skin graft for repairing type Ⅳ axillary scar contracture deformity after extensive burns.Methods:From January 2015 to January 2019, patients with type Ⅳ axillary scar contracture deformity after extensive burns were admitted to the Department of Skin Wound Repair Center of Wuhan Third Hospital. Rectangular scar flaps were used to reconstruct the axillary area, Y-shaped incision was made on the short side to release the scar, the resulting defects after flap formation were repaired with autologous split-thickness skin grafts. The hyperplasia and contracture of the grafted skin, the size of rectangular scar flap, the appearance of axilla, the growth of residual axillary hair, and the range of motion of shoulder joint were observed during the follow-up of 18 months to 3 years.Results:A total of 6 cases were selected, including 2 males and 4 females, aged from 18 to 58 years, with the duration of scar contracture deformity ranging from 1 to 23 years. The rectangular scar flaps of all 6 patients survived. At the follow-up of 18 months to 3 years, the axillary scar hyperplasia and the skin graft contracture were mild. At 18 months after operation, the function of shoulder joint was restored with 180° shoulder abduction and lifting. Axillary appearance and residual axillary hair growth were satisfactory, the self-care ability and the quality of life of patients improved.Conclusions:Rectangular scar flap combined with autologous thinning split-thickness skin graft is a good method for repairing type Ⅳ axillary scar contracture in patients with lack of autologous skin sources for extensive burns.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of rectangular scar flap combined with autologous thinning split-thickness skin graft for repairing type Ⅳ axillary scar contracture deformity after extensive burns.Methods:From January 2015 to January 2019, patients with type Ⅳ axillary scar contracture deformity after extensive burns were admitted to the Department of Skin Wound Repair Center of Wuhan Third Hospital. Rectangular scar flaps were used to reconstruct the axillary area, Y-shaped incision was made on the short side to release the scar, the resulting defects after flap formation were repaired with autologous split-thickness skin grafts. The hyperplasia and contracture of the grafted skin, the size of rectangular scar flap, the appearance of axilla, the growth of residual axillary hair, and the range of motion of shoulder joint were observed during the follow-up of 18 months to 3 years.Results:A total of 6 cases were selected, including 2 males and 4 females, aged from 18 to 58 years, with the duration of scar contracture deformity ranging from 1 to 23 years. The rectangular scar flaps of all 6 patients survived. At the follow-up of 18 months to 3 years, the axillary scar hyperplasia and the skin graft contracture were mild. At 18 months after operation, the function of shoulder joint was restored with 180° shoulder abduction and lifting. Axillary appearance and residual axillary hair growth were satisfactory, the self-care ability and the quality of life of patients improved.Conclusions:Rectangular scar flap combined with autologous thinning split-thickness skin graft is a good method for repairing type Ⅳ axillary scar contracture in patients with lack of autologous skin sources for extensive burns.

Objective    To explore the anatomical characteristics and surgical strategies of atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) with left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) stenosis. Methods    The clinical data of 11 AVSD patients with LVOT stenosis who underwent surgeries in our hospital from 2008 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 6 males and 5 females with a median age of 15.0 (7.6-22.0) years. Results    There were 3 patients of complete AVSD and 8 patients of partial AVSD. Subaortic stenosis resulted from discrete subaortic membrane in 3 patients, diffused subaortic membrane in 4 patients, hypertrophied muscle bundles in 3 patients and distorted valve frame in 1 patient. Among these patients, 5 patients underwent LVOT stenosis and AVSD repairs simultaneously for the first time, 5 patients underwent LVOT stenosis repair for the second time and 1 patient for the third time. No postoperative death occurred. The postoperative LVOT flow velocity decreased dramatically after LVOT stenosis repair compared with preoperative one [449.0 (393.0, 507.5) cm/s vs. 212.0 (183.0, 253.5) cm/s, P<0.05]. Conclusion    Surgical results of AVSD combined with LVOT stenosis are satisfactory, but the restenosis should be paid attention to via long-term follow-up.