Objective:To explore the clinical efficacy of chemoembolization with doxorubicin-infused gelatin sponge microparticles in the amelioration of arterioportal shunting (APS) in patients afflicted with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:A retrospective investigation was conducted on 9 HCC patients admitted between January 2020 and December 2022 with concomitant moderate-to-severe APS who underwent GSM-transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Hepatic artery digital subtraction angiography (DSA) was employed to ascertain the magnitude of improvement in arteriovenous shunts, utilization of modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors facilitated the appraisal of short-term clinical outcomes. Follow-up records documented survival duration, along with quantitative parameters such as the longest diameter of tumor lesions and serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels before and after treatment. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was utilized to compare the differences of these quantitative parameters before and after treatment.Results:The APS amelioration rates were 100% and 88.9% at immediate and recent postoperatively, respectively. The oncological response rate was 77.8% (7/9), and the complete necrosis rate was 22.2% (2/9) at three months postoperatively, the 1-year survival rate was 100%. Following treatment, a significant reduction was observed in the tumor′s longitudinal diameter [4.32(3.88,6.63)cm] and serum AFP levels [13.50 (7.55, 29.60) μg/L], compared to the pre-treatment values of the tumor′s longitudinal diameter [5.20(4.58,8.57)cm] and serum AFP levels [524.30 (320.65, 1 046.15) μg/L] ( P<0.05 for all). Conclusion:Doxorubicin-infused GSM-TACE is both feasible and efficacious in the first treatment of HCC concomitant with APS and represents a better clinical alternative.

Objective:To compare the preliminary clinical efficacy of iodized oil embolization and improved microspheres injection embolization in patients with hepatic metastasis from gastrointestinal tumors.Methods:In total 100 patients with hepatic metastasis from gastrointestinal tumors were perspective enrolled from July 2015 to July 2017 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology. The patients were randomly divided into iodized oil group (45 cases) and microspheres group (55 cases) using random number table. The patients in iodized oil group were firstly received regular perfusion chemotherapy, then underwent the embolization with Iodized oil and epirubicin emulsifier. As for the microspheres group, the patients were received epirubicin and microspheres perfusion and embolization alternately after the same regular perfusion chemotherapy. The post-operation complications were observed. The effective rate of tumor controling at each time point was compared between two groups using χ 2 test. Kaplan-Meier method was used to perform the survival analysis. Log-rank test was used to compare the survival rate between two groups. Results:The operation was successfully performed in all the patients, without severe complications found. The follow up time was 18.7±3.4 months. The tumor control rates of 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after operation in the iodine oil group were 71.1% (32/45), 68.9% (31/45), 51.1% (23/45), 28.9% (13/45), 6.7% (3/45) respectively; while in microspheres group were 90.9% (50/55), 89.1% (49/55), 72.7% (40/55), 49.1% (27/55), 23.6% (13/55), respectively. The tumor control rate in microspheres group was superior to that in iodine oil group ( P<0.05). The median lifetime was 12 months and 17 months for iodine oil group and microspheres group respectively, with significant difference (χ2=8.238, P=0.004) found between two groups. As for the microspheres group, the liver abscess was found in one week after operation in 4 patients, who were cured after drainage and anti-inflammatory treatment. Conclusion:The improved microspheres injection embolization is an effective method for the hepatic metastasis from gastrointestinal tumors and superior to iodized oil embolization in tumor controlling, which may prolong the median survival time.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of 125I seed implantation combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC).Methods 156 patients who had unresectable PHC seen from January 2012 to December 2015 in our unit were randomly assigned into the study group (76 patients) and the control group (80 patients).The study group of patients were treated with intra-hepatic implantation of 125I seed + TACE,and the control group of patients were treated with three dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) + TACE.After ra diotherapy the two groups of patients underwent 2 to 3 times TACE treatment.The biomarker levels were compared between the two groups before and after treatment,and the short-term efficacy,clinical safety and 1 year survival rates were assessed.Results The success rates of the treatment for the two groups were both 100％.Patients in the study group were implanted with 1 016 125I seeds,with an average of (13.7 ± 2.5) seeds per patient.The two groups had no significant difference on short-term efficacy (P ＞ 0.05).The DCR,ORR and 1 year survival rates in the study group were 63.2％,92.1％,55.5％,and they were 61.3％,90.0％,58.1％ in the control group,respectively.There were no significant differences between these 2 groups (P ＞ 0.05).At 1 month after treatment,the two groups had no significant differences onAFP,IGF-Ⅱ and IGFBP-2 [(5.08±0.85) μg/L vs.(5.12 ±0.79) μg/L,(4.77 ±0.58) μg/L vs.(4.86 ±0.53) μg/L,(4.98 ±0.67) μg/L vs.(5.04 ±0.71) μg/L] (P＞0.05).There were no signif-icant differences on chemotherapy drug toxicities between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).The incidence of radi-ation hepatitis in the study group was 1.3％,while the incidences of radiation dermatitis,hepatitis,gastriculcer in the control group were 5.0％,8.8％,2.5％,respectively.The radiation dermatitis incidence inthe study group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P ＜ 0.05).In the study group,2 pa-tients (2.6％) had their 125I seed slightly moved.Conclusion The short-term efficacy of 125I seed implan-tation plus TACE in the treatment of PHC is no less than the 3DCRT + TACE regimen,but with less radia-tion side effects.

Objective To discuss the clinical value of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) in treating severe vertebral compression fracture. Methods During the period from June 2012 to March 2013, PVP was carried out in 30 patients with severe vertebral compression fracture (30 diseased vertebrae in total). The clinical data were respectively analyzed. According to the shape of compressed vertebra , the fractures were divided into three types: wedge-shaped, double concave and oblong-shaped. For wedge-shaped fracture, PVP was performed via the pedicle access of the healthy side. For double concave type , unilateral pedicle access was used, while for oblong-shaped type unilateral or bilateral access was adopted to conduct PVP according to the distribution of the injected PMMA. The therapeutic results were evaluated by using VAS and pain degree classification standard of WHO. The preoperative and postoperative vertebral height was estimated on the lateral projection. All patients were followed up for six months at out-patient clinic or by telephone. Results The success rate of puncturing was 100%. The preoperative mean VAS was 6.9 ± 0.9. The postoperative VAS at one day, one, 3 and 6 months after the procedure was 5.0 ± 0.9, 3.5 ± 0.7, 2.5 ± 0.8 and 1.6 ± 0.7 respectively. Based on WHO pain degree classification standard, complete remission (CR) was obtained in 25 cases, partial remission (PR) in 3 cases, and invalid in 2 cases. The effective rate (CR +PR) was 93.33%. The mean preoperative height of the compressed vertebrae was (5.77 ± 1.09) mm and the mean postoperative height of the compressed vertebrae was (14.33 ± 2.03) mm. Conclusion For the treatment of severe vertebral compression fractures, percutaneous vertebroplasty is clinically feasible with reliable short-term effect.

Objective To discuss the feasibility and short-term clinical effectiveness of DSA-guided percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) for the treatment of painful osteoblastic metastatic spinal lesions. Methods During the period from Jan. 2010 to Dec. 2011 at authors’ hospital PVP was carried out in 23 patients with osteoblastic spinal metastases (34 lesions in total). Coexisting osteoblastic pathological fracture was found in twelve patients. The WHO standards, visual analogue scale (VAS) and karnofsky-KPS score were used to evaluate the therapeutic results. Results Technical success was achieved in all patients. All patients were followed up for at least 3 months. Of 20 patients who had complete clinical data, complete remission (CR) was obtained in 6, partial remission (PR) in 10, mild remission (MR) in 3 and no remission (NR) in one. The clinical effectiveness (CR+PR) was 80%. The mean VAS scores dropped from preoperative (7.0 ± 1.6) to (2.2 ± 1.9) at 24 hours after the treatment, and to (2.4 ± 2.1) and (2.5 ± 2.1) at one and three months after the treatment respectively. The mean KPS scores rose from preoperative (76.5 ± 10.4) to (86.5 ± 11.8), (88.0 ± 12.0) and (89.0 ± 10.8) at 24 hours and one, three months after the treatment respectively. Small amount leakage of PMMA was observed in 4 cases (17.4%) with no obvious clinical symptoms. Conclusion DSA-guided PVP is a feasible and effective treatment for painful osteoblastic spinal metastases. This therapy can immediately relieve pain and reinforce spine, besides, it can remarkably improve the living quality and
decrease the incidence of paraplegia.

Objective To investigate the influence of sodium fluoride(NaF)on alkaline phosphatase (ALP)activity and bone gla protein(BGP)synthesis in yellow ligament cells from different surgical simples in vitro.Methods The human ligament cells were divided into three groups according to its sources,including normal yellow ligament cells(NLF)group(from acute traumatic thoracolumbar fractures with paraplegia in 7 patients),degenerative yellow ligament cells(DLF)group(from degenerative lumbar stenosis in 9 cases)and ossified ligament cells(OLF)group(thoracic yellow ligament from 8 patients).Twenty-four groups of cells were obtained under vitro cell culture by the method of tissue adherence.Different concentrations of NaF were added into the medium when the cells spread to the fifth generation.Then,the morphological changes were observed and ALP activity and BGP synthesis were tested.Results Human yellow ligament cells from different samples can proliferate and be passaged in vitro.The cell in ossific groups and degenerative groups were pleomorphic and could form calcium nodules.High concentration of NaF(1.0 mmol/L)can lead to cytotoxic reaction in all 24 groups.Low concentrations of(0.01-0.125 mmol/L)NaF can enhance the ALP activity and BGP synthesis in DLF groups while no effect was found in OLF and NLF groups cells under the same concentration of NaF.Conclusion The fact that fluoride can promote ALP activity and BGP synthesis in degenerative yellow ligament cells in vitro indicates fluoride may play an important role in inducing further ossification of human ligament cells.

The shape of dental arch for orthodontic diagnosis and treatment is of great significance. This paper presents an automated method for detecting the dental arch form. Firstly, 3D teeth data model is retrieved by the 3D-optical measuring system. Secondly, the occlusal plane is computed by interactively picking up four feature points. Thirdly, the feature point set is filtered by the rule and two-step curve fitting method is used to obtain the dental arch form. Finally, some examples are tested in this work and the results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is effective and feasible.
Computer Graphics ; Computer Simulation ; Dental Arch ; anatomy & histology ; Dental Models ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; methods ; Malocclusion ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Pattern Recognition, Automated

Seeing that the manual method to restore tooth has the disadvantages such as long "lead-time", assurance of quality highly depending on operator's technology, and real-time cure difficulty met by lots of dental patients coming up for tooth restoration, we put forward an algorithm of tool-path generation based on STL data model for roughing dental restoration. The algorithm can reconfigure the STL data of dental crown restoration quickly, can generates the multi-level offset wire-loop by the use of horizontal plane cutting triangle facets; and then on the basis of offset wire-loop, it can plan Zigzag and follow the contour machining tool path. The algorithm has been applied to Dental CAM software, through simulation machining, the result shows that it can not only generate interference-free tool path, but also save a lot of "lead-time" for dental restoration. Accordingly, the algorithm is of great value for reference in clinical application.
Algorithms ; Crowns ; Dental Restoration, Permanent ; methods ; Humans ; Software ; Therapy, Computer-Assisted ; methods

Objective: To study characteristics of diagnosis and treatment of arachnoid cysts in the sacral canal. Method: After laminectomy of the sacral canal, arachnoid cysts were treated in three ways: 13 cases underwent excision of the most of the cyst wall and suture of redundant wall around the intracystic nerve; 8 cases underwent the excision of the most of the cyst wall and plugging the communicating hole with a block of muscle; 2 cases underwent excision of most of the cyst wall and leaving them unsutured. Clinical results were evaluated after 30. 2 months' follow-up. Changes in the imaging materials (X-ray, CT, CTM and MRI) were also evaluated. The clinical behaviors, pathologies and complications post-operatively were analyzed. Result: Long T1 and T2 signals of the cysts could be clearly showed in MRI, and the signal density was the same as that of cerebrospinal fluid. Clinical symptoms were caused by compression of sacral nerve. Generally, there were communicating holes between cysts and thecal sacs. There were no statistical differences between first two methods of treatments. The complications post-operatively included erosion of wound skin and intracranial infection. Conclusion: MRI allows us to better illustrate the arachnoid cyst in sacral canal, and the cyst seems to arise as a result of congenital defect of thecal dura. Excision of the most of the cyst wall and plugging the communicating hole with a block of muscle seems to to a reasonable method to treat the carachnoid cysts in the sacral canal. Do not put the drain tube and forbidding patients to lie supinely are better for reducing the complications.

Aim To investigate the possible roles of age, bodyheight, mass and body mass index(BMI) in Lumbar1-4 bone mineralcontent (L1-4BMC), L1-4 areal bone mineral density(L1-44BMD) and L1-4volumetric bone mineral apparent density(L1-4BMAD) of Chinese adoles-cents with early ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods Thirty-one maleChinese adolescent outpatients with early AS were included. Age (y),total body mass (kg), height(cn) and body mass index (BMI, kg/m2)of subjects were obtained. L1-44BMC(g) and L1-4 BMD(g/cm2) were e-valuated by using DEXA, and L1-4 BMAD(L1-44BMC/Area3/2, g/cm3)was subsequently calculated. Correlation and multiple regression analyseswere performed. Results Multiple regression revealed that height ( P =0.000) and BMI(P=0.009) were significantly positively related toL1-44BMC (R=0.759, Radj2=0.545, P=0.000 ＜0.01), and heightplayed the pivotal roles in significant correlation with L144BMC(R =0. 676 Radj2 = 0. 439, P = 0. 000) . Body mass significantly positivelycorrelated with both L-44BMD ( R = 0. 657, Radj2 = 0. 412, P = 0. 000)and L1-4BMAD (R=0.551, Radj2=0.280, P=0.001) .Therefore,height as well as BMI significantly positively correlated with L144BMC andmass was definitely associated with both L1-4BMD and L1-4BMAD in ado-lescents with early AS in this study. Conclusion Height and mass couldhave significantly positive effects on axial bone mass and densities ofadolescents with early AS.