[Evaluation of the effect of repairing unilateral cleft lip nose deformity with autogenous concha cartilage]

PURPOSE

To explore the effect of nasal deformity correction after unilateral cleft lip repair with autogenous concha cartilage transplantation.

METHODS

Thirteen patients with nasal deformity after unilateral cleft lip surgery were collected, who were treated with autogenous concha cartilage and nasal septum deviation correction at the same time. Their chin-lifting photos were taken before operation, five days, one month and six months after operation. The nasal morphology was evaluated by subjective evaluation and objective measurement, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0 software package.

RESULTS

Subjective evaluation showed that there was significant difference in nasal morphology between prior to operation and 5 days postoperatively (P=0.000), but there was no significant difference between 5 days postoperatively and 1 month and 6 months postoperatively(P=0.110, 0.053). In objective measurement, there was no significant difference in the symmetry rate of nasal tip between prior to operation and 5 days, 1 month and 6 months after operation(P=0.051, 0.136, 0.204), but there was significant difference in the symmetry rate of nasal base, nasal columella, extranasal convex angle and nasal alar base inclination angle between prior to operation and 5 days postoperatively(P=0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000). However, there was no significant difference in symmetry rate of the above four indexes between 5 days after operation and 1 month and 6 months after operation(P＞0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Autogenous concha cartilage transplantation can effectively improve the symmetry of nasal floor, columella and alar after operation, and the effect is stable half a year after operation.

Global Trends in Physical-Activity Research of Autism: Bibliometric Analysis Based on the Web of Science Database (1980-2021)

The World Health Organization has identified nervous system diseases as one of the biggest public health problems, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Considering the extensive benefits of physical activity (PA), the literature on the PA research of ASD has increased each year, but there is a lack of bibliometric analyses in this field. To investigate the research achievements worldwide, this paper adopts bibliometrics to analyze the trend in the academic literature on the PA research of ASD published from 1980 to 2021. The documents were retrieved from the Web of Science database, and the search strategy was to combine the keywords related to “physical activity” and “autism spectrum disorder” by using the Boolean operator tools “OR” and “AND” in the title. A total of 359 English documents were retrieved. Microsoft Excel, Data Wrapper, VOSviewer, and Biblioshiny were used for the visual analysis. We found that the number of published documents increased the fastest from 2017 to 2021, which may be due to the promulgation of the Global Action Plan for Physical Activity 2018–2030 and the influence of COVID-19 on the world. The United States and the University of California systems are in the leading position in this field. Cooperation among countries with different levels of development will help to jointly promote the PA research progress on ASD. The focus themes include “individual effect”, “social support” and “activity dose”. The analysis of the frontier topic points out that researchers are paying increasing attention to how to improve the health and physical fitness of this group through PA. This research clearly puts forward a comprehensive overview, theme focus, and future trends in this field, which may be helpful to guide future research.

[A finite element study of the influence of upper lip pressure on the development of maxilla after cleft lip surgery]

PURPOSE

To explore the mechanism of upper lip pressure on maxilla after cleft lip surgery.

METHODS

ANSYS 17.0 software was used to add the upper lip soft tissue to the finite element model of maxilla with cleft palate, and the material properties was assigned to form a three-dimensional finite element model of maxilla with upper lip. The upper lip pressure was applied to the model and force analysis was performed in 2 groups. In the experimental group, upper lip pressure with cleft lip surgery was applied; in the control group, upper lip pressure in normal children of the same age was applied.

RESULTS

Maxillary deformation in the experimental group was greater than that in the control group. Maxillary deformation occurred in three-dimensional direction, which was mainly in Z axis, followed by X axis and Y axis. The anterior segment of alveolar process was the most obvious，and from the anterior to the posterior, the change trend was gradually decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

Maxillary growth is inhibited in three-dimensional direction,which is mainly sagittal growth inhibition,followed by transverse and vertical growth. The inhibition gradually decreases from anterior to posterior.

Recent Advancements in Intestinal Microbiota Analyses: A Review for Non-Microbiologists

Microbial constituents naturally inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract may influence the homeostasis of the gut environment. The presence or overabundance of some bacterial taxa has been reported to be associated with complex diseases, and the metabolites of certain bacteria may contribute to diverse disorders by influencing signaling pathways. Therefore, the study of gut microbial population has emerged as a crucial field and a new potential area of clinical significance. Advances in the methods of microbiota analysis have shed light upon the details including species diversity, microfloral activities as well as the entire gut microbiota. Nevertheless, comprehensive reviews on this subject are still limited. For elucidating the appropriate selection strategy of the methods to address a particular research question, we comprehensively reviewed the continuously improving technologies, classical to newly developed, and dissected their relative advantages and drawbacks. In addition, aiming at the rapidly advancing next-generation sequencing, we enumerated the improvements in mainstream platforms and made the horizontal and vertical comparison among them. Additionally, we demonstrated the four main -omics methods, which may provide further mechanistic insights into the role of microbiota, to propel phylotyping analysis to functional analysis.

Hydrogen Peroxide Might Bleach Natural Dentin by Oxidizing Phosphoprotein

Recent studies suggested that bleaching agents may whiten teeth by oxidizing the fluorescent materials, which are the proteins located in the organic-inorganic interface. Therefore, we postulated that fluorescence of dentin came from dentin phosphoprotein (DPP) and that bleaching agents might bleach dentin by oxidizing DPP. Fifty-six specimens were randomly divided into 4 groups and exposed to distilled water, hydrogen peroxide (HP), ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA), and acetic acid for 24 h. After measuring the organic and inorganic components, fluorescence, and color characteristics of dentin before and after exposure, we found that when DPP was removed from dentin by EDTA, fluorescent intensity declined proportionally with the reduction in Raman relative intensity, and dentin was whitened considerably, with an Δ E value 6 times higher than that of the distilled water group. On the contrary, due to the incapability of acetic acid to dissolve DPP during decalcification, fluorescent intensity values and tooth color remained nearly unchanged after exposure to acetic acid. Dentin exposed to neutral HP showed no obvious morphologic and organic/inorganic component changes except for the destruction of DPP. Similarly, dramatically decreased fluorescent intensity and lightened color were found in the HP group. Moreover, DPP solution of the HP group exhibited decreased ultraviolet absorbance, especially between 250 and 300 nm, which arose from aromatic amino acids. The results indicated that DPP was responsible for the fluorescent properties of dentin and that HP might bleach dentin by the oxidization of aromatic amino acids in DPP. These findings are of great significance in promoting our further understanding of the mechanism of tooth bleaching and the fluorescent property of normal dentin.

New Insights into Effects of Aromatic Amino Acids on Hydroxyapatite

Biomimetics inspired by superstructures and extraordinary properties of teeth have resulted in tooth repair and the generation of novel materials. However, little attention has been paid to tooth color, whose origin remains unknown. Based on recent studies, fluorophores-mainly aromatic amino acids (AAAs) in proteins-might be responsible for tooth color. We synthesized carbonated hydroxyapatite (HA; the mineral phase of teeth) in the presence of different amino acids (AAs; the basic units of protein matrix of teeth) as a simplified model of teeth to explore the color source at the AA level. After measuring the fluorescence and color characteristics of HA-AAs before and after bleaching treatment, we found that only HA, synthesized in the presence of AAAs, exhibited remarkable fluorescence and color property. Furthermore, linearly increased fluorescence intensity and deeper color were observed with an increase in AAA content in HA-AAAs. Similarly, significantly decreased absorbance of HA-AAAs between 250 and 300 nm in ultraviolet spectra, declined fluorescence intensity, and decolored performance of HA-AAAs were observed after bleaching treatment. The results showed that AAAs contributed to the fluorescence and color properties of HA and that hydrogen peroxide might whiten HA-AAAs by oxidizing the benzene ring in AAAs. These findings are of great significance in promoting the synthesis of advanced tooth-colored materials and furthering our understanding of the possible mechanisms of hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, our study shed light on the importance of AAAs and might provide new ideas for investigations of biomineralization and biomimetics.

Nanoscale spheroidized cementite induced ultrahigh strength-ductility combination in innovatively processed ultrafine-grained low alloy medium-carbon steel

We describe here innovative processing of low alloy medium-carbon steel with a duplex microstructure composed of nanoscale spheroidized cementite (Fe₃C) in an ultrafine-grained (UFG) ferritic steel. After multi-pass rolling and intermittent annealing at 550 °C for 300 s, the obtained UFG-1 steel showed an average ferrite grain size of ~430 nm, containing nanoscale spheroidized cementite (Fe₃C) particles with an average size of ~70 nm. On annealing at 600 °C for 300 s, the average size of ferritic grains was increased to ~680 nm and the average size of spheroidized Fe₃C particles increased to ~90 nm, referred as UFG-2 steel. Tensile tests indicated that UFG-1 steel had high yield strength (σ_y) of 1260 MPa, and ultimate tensile strength (σ_UTS) of 1400 MPa. These values are higher than that of UFG-2 steel (σ_y = 1080 MPa and σ_UTS = 1200 MPa), suggesting that the strengthening contribution is a cumulative effect of decrease in ferrite grain size and nanoscale cementite. The incoherent interfaces between nanosized particles and the matrix acted as a strong barrier to dislocation motion. The study underscores that nanosized precipitates not only provide strength but also contribute to ductility, which is very encouraging for improving the ductility of medium-carbon steels.

[Immune response to one booster dose of inactivated hepatitis A vaccine in college students]

Objective: To evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of one booster dose of inactivated hepatitis A vaccine in young adults. Methods: The subjects were selected from participants in the clinical trial of immunogenicity of inactivated and attenuated live hepatitis A vaccine in young adults. Eligible subjects were those who had received one dose of inactivated or attenuated hepatitis A vaccine, could be contacted and were sero-negative before primary vaccination. All qualified subjects were immunized with one booster dose of inactivated hepatitis A vaccine. The blood samples were collected before booster dose vaccination and 28 days after the immunization. Anti-HAV antibody titer ≥20 mIU/ml was considered to be sero-protected against hepatitis A virus. Results: The GMCs in the inactivated HAV vaccine group and attenuated live vaccine group before booster dose vaccination were 70.80 mIU/ml and 50.12 mIU/ml, respectively, and the sero-protection rates were 94.7% and 65.0%, respectively. After the vaccination of the booster dose, the sero-protection rates in both groups were 100.0%, and the GMCs were 2 816.09 mIU/ml and 2 654.55 mIU/ml, respectively. Conclusion: The GMCs and sero-protection rates of anti-HAV antibody in young adults declined after three years of the primary vaccination. However, the higher GMC and sero-protection rate were observed in the inactivated vaccine group than in the attenuated live vaccine group. Significant increases of GMC levels were observed in both groups after one booster dose vaccination.

Efficacy and safety of itraconazole use in infants

BACKGROUND

Itraconazole has been used to treat fungal infections, in particular invasive fungal infections in infants or neonates in many countries.

DATA SOURCES

Literature search was conducted through Ovid EMBASE, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, CNKI and Google scholarship using the following key words: "pediatric" or "infant" or "neonate" and "fungal infection" in combination with "itraconazole". Based on the literature and our clinical experience, we outline the administration of itraconazole in infants in order to develop evidence-based pharmacotherapy.

RESULTS

Of 45 articles on the use of itraconazole in infancy, 13 are related to superficial fungal infections including tinea capitis, sporotrichosis, mucosal fungal infections and opportunistic infections. The other 32 articles are related to systemic fungal infections including candidiasis, aspergillosis, histoplasmosis, zygomycosis, trichosporonosis and opportunistic infections as caused by Myceliophthora thermophila.

CONCLUSION

Itraconazole is safe and effective at a dose of 5 mg/kg per day in a short duration of therapy for superficial fungal infections and 10 mg/kg per day for systemic fungal infections in infants. With a good compliance, it is cost-effective in treating infantile fungal infections. The profiles of adverse events induced by itraconazole in infants are similar to those in adults and children.

Association between arterial stiffness and risk of coronary artery disease

Objective: To investigate the role of Brachial ankle Pulse Wave Relocity (baPWV) and cfPWV on the risk of Coronary artery disease and the interaction between baPWV and risk factors of Coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: A case-control study was conducted at Department of Emergency, SunYat-Sen memorial Hospital, China. We collected 332 cases with coronary artery disease and 328 subjects without CAD between February 2012 and October 2013. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the risk factors of CAD.

Results: CAD subjects were more likely to be old age, and have higher BMI, waist-hip ratio, hypertension, fasting glucose, TG, carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) and baPWV, and CAD subjects had a lower TC, HDL–C and LDL-C. We found that older age, smoking, higher hypertension, TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, carotid-femoral PWV (CfPWV) and baPWV were associated with risk of CAD. baPWV had significant interaction with age, TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C, carotid-femoral PWV (cfWV) was correlated with age, HDL-C and LDL-C.

Conclusion: This study showed that baPWV and cfPWV are two independent factors for the risk of Coronary artery disease, and baPWV and cfPWV have interaction with age, TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C.

Successful treatment of larynx-tracheobronchial-pulmonary aspergillosis in an immunocompetent host

Immunocompromised individuals are susceptible to pulmonary Aspergillus infections, whereas invasive Aspergillus infection is extremely rare in the presence of normal immunity. A case of larynx-tracheobronchial-pulmonary aspergillosis in an immunocompetent 57-year-old female host who was successfully treated with amphotericin-B and voriconazole is reported here.

[Risk factors for intra-abdominal hypertension in children with sepsis]

OBJECTIVE

To study risk factors for the occurrence of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) in children with sepsis.

METHODS

A nest case-control study was employed. According to intra-abdominal pressures (IAP) measured by cystometry, 119 children with sepsis were classified into normal IAP (control, n = 80) and IAH groups (n = 39). Risk factors for the occurrence of IAH were investigated by monovariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Monovariable analysis showed that there were significant differences in pediatric critical illness score (PCIS), procalcitonin (PCT) level, PaCO(2), blood lactate level, rates of intestinal or intra-abdominal infection, ascites, gastrointestinal dysfunction, mechanical ventilation, shock and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) between the IAH and control groups (P < 0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that decreased PCIS, MODS, shock, gastrointestinal dysfunction and ascites were major risk factors for the occurrence of IAH.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with sepsis who have decreased PCIS, MODS, shock, gastrointestinal dysfunction and ascites are at risk for the occurrence of IAH.

Prevalence of obesity and associated risk factors in Northeastern China

AIM

To investigate the prevalence of obesity and associated risk factors in the Northeastern Chinese city of Dehui.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study involving random sampling methods generated 3598 completed questionnaires by permanent residents of Dehui. Binary multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors that were significantly associated with obesity.

RESULTS

Based on the 2000 WHO diagnostic criterion regarding populations in the Asia-Pacific region, the prevalence of obesity was 37.71% (34.77% of females; 41.11% of males). Elevated body mass index (BMI) was significantly associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD)-associated conditions (P<0.05), and increased prevalence of abnormally high transaminase levels (P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated the following variables were associated with obesity: increased age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0-1.02), high total cholesterol (TC) (OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.03-1.54), high triglycerides (TG) (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.16-1.64), hypertension (OR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.39-1.90), fatty liver (OR: 2.91, 95% CI: 2.41-3.49), living in an urban setting (OR: 2.84, 95% CI: 2.39-3.38), and advanced education (OR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.06-1.40).

CONCLUSIONS

Obesity is prevalent among the adult population in Northeastern China and is significantly associated with CVD risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, as well as transaminase abnormalities.

Donor apoptotic lymphocyte transfusion-induced liver allograft tolerance by up-regulation of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells in peripheral blood

Uptake of apoptotic cells by antigen-presenting cells (APC) may be involved in tolerance maintenance with an immunoregulatory role. The aim of this study was to evaluate the consequences of preoperative transfusion of donor apoptotic lymphocytes on survival of orthotopic liver transplantations (OLT). OLT was performed between Lewis (donor) and Brown Norway (BN recipient) inbred rats using a double-cuff technique. Apoptotic splenic lymphocytes induced by ultraviolet-C (UVC) irradiation were infused intravenously at 7 days before OLT. Changes in regulatory T cells in blood were determined using flow cytometry. UVC irradiated lymphocytes were sensitive and effective, as evidenced by increased peripheral blood CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells compared with recipients that received infusion of untreated donor lymphocytes or a control. Apoptotic lymphocyte transfusion prolonged hepatic allograft survival, with significantly lower histological stages of inflammation and cellular infiltration than in untreated allografts. Our results demonstrated that donor apoptotic cells promoted allograft acceptance and up-regulated CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells (Treg) in blood.

Epidemiological Investigation of Metabolic Syndrome and Analysis of Relevant Factors in North-Eastern China

This epidemiological study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and associated risk factors in Chinese subjects from Dehui in northeastern China. Using a random sampling method, a questionnaire was completed by 3785 permanent residents aged 18-72 years and relevant clinical data were collected from each subject. Binary multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors that were significantly associated with metabolic syndrome. Based on the International Diabetes Federation definition, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 22.4%, which is higher than that of the general Chinese population. Metabolic syndrome occurred more frequently in females and the prevalence gradually increased with age. Living in an urban setting and being female, > 50 years old, overweight, having total cholesterol ≥ 5.18 mmol/l, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥ 3.1 mmol/l, and a fatty liver were significant risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome.

Proteomic analysis of differentially expressed proteins in rat liver allografts developed acute rejection

BACKGROUND

Acute rejection (AR) after liver transplantation is a cell-mediated immune response that takes place within the allograft and results in graft dysfunction and failure, but the molecular mechanisms about hepatocyte dysfunction remain poorly understood. Here we characterized global protein expression changes in liver allograft during AR.

METHODS

The effect of an alloantigen-dependent immunological response was evaluated by syngeneic and allogeneic rat orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Using a combination of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, we identified 18 differentially expressed proteins in AR allograft compared with matched tolerance allograft. Serum chemistry and allograft histology were determined.

RESULTS

Allogeneic OLT recipients exhibited elevated plasma levels of liver injury markers, progressive portal and venous inflammation and cellular infiltration in liver allograft compared with syngeneic OLT. 18 protein expressions altered by AR play important roles in metabolism, oxidative stress defense, signal transduction, biotransformation and transport. Decreased expression of protein disulfide isomerase in AR allograft was confirmed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry.

CONCLUSIONS

This study uncovered new mechanistic insights into graft dysfunction in AR of liver allograft. Several significantly altered protein expressions act coordinately in hepatocyte dysfunction by depressed energy, enhanced oxidative stress-induced molecular damage and restrained biotransformation. The present findings may open new avenues for the understanding and prevention of graft dysfunction and failure during AR.

[DNA damage induced by fotemustine in cultured HL60 cells]

AIM

To detect DNA damage caused by fotemustine (Fot).

METHODS

DNA damage in HL60 cells was evaluated by modified alkaline elution technique. DNA interstrand crosslink (ISC) and DNA-protein crosslink (DPC) were determined. Carmustine (Car) was used as control. Drug treatment time was 1 h.

RESULTS

After treatment with Fot 300 mumol.L-1, ISC and DPC index were 5.4 and 6.1 at 6 h, 2.7 and 1.2 at 12 h, respectively. ISC reached the maximum at about 6 h. For Fot 100 mumol.L-1, ISC and DPC index at ISC peak time were 2.1 +/- 0.9 and 3.55 +/- 0.23, 5.0 +/- 0.5 and 7.7 +/- 1.1 for Car 100 mumol.L-1, respectively. Single strand break (SSB) was induced by Fot.

CONCLUSION

Fot caused HL60 cell DNA ISC, DPC, and SSB. ISC was formed more quickly by Fot than that by Car.

Effects of Rehmannia glutinosa polysaccharide b on T-lymphocytes in mice bearing sarcoma 180

AIM

To study immuno-antitumor action mechanism of RGP-b. RGP-b (Rehmannia glutinosa polysaccaride b) is a new component isolated from the herb, had an average molecular mass of 160 kDa and 5 kinds of monosaccharides as acid-splitting products. Its HPLC showed a main sharp peak at 162 kDa.

METHODS

The kinetic effects of RGP-b on IL-2 secretion, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) activities and L3T4+, lyt-2+ T-lymphocyte subset in mice bearing S180 were observed.

RESULTS

RGP-b 10 or 20 mg kg-1 ip obviously attenuated the decrease of CTL cytotoxity caused by excessive tumor growth on d 9 after the administration, but only partly ameliorated the descent of IL-2. Its effect on lyt-2+ subset was quite parallel with that on CTL cytotoxity. RGP-b kept the ratio of L3T4+ to lyt-2+ subset lower than that of control.

CONCLUSION

Improving the production of lyt-2+ CTL and its cytotoxity were an essential immuno-antitumor mechanisms of RGP-b.

Design of a scanning ellipsometer by synchronous rotation of the polarizer and analyzer

We have designed and constructed a new type of spectroscopic ellipsometer to study the optical properties of materials in the 3500-8000-Å wavelength range. In the system, the analyzer and polarizer are driven 10(4) steps/revolution by two stepping motors that have hollow shafts and rotate synchronously with a speed ratio of 2:1, i.e., A = 2P. Both the polarizer and analyzer are mounted directly on the shafts to avoid mechanical transmission and vibration problems entirely and make the system simple and reliable. An additional source polarizer was placed in the optical path to reduce the slight polarization effects of the light source. The light intensity finally received by the detector contained five components, one dc and four ac, with frequencies of ω(0), 2ω(0), 3ω(0), and 4ω(0), respectively. One can independently obtain the ellipsometric parameters of ψ and Δ as well as the optical constants by calculating any one of the two sets of ac signals, with a raw data self-consistency of better than 0.5%. The incident angle, aligned precisely by a laser beam, was continuously variable through a mechanical system with a computercontrolled resolution of 0.001° or a visual resolution of 0.005°. The system operations, including data acquisition and reduction, high-voltage control of the photomultiplier, incident angle, as well as wavelength setting and scanning, were fully and automatically controlled by a 386-based microcomputer. We self-calibrated the system by adjusting and setting precisely the initial azimuthal angles of the prisms. The results from the measured spectra of the complex refractive index for a gold-film sample are presented, and we show that the data obtained at three different incident angles of 65°, 70°, and 75° are remarkably consistent with one another. A comparison of the two results from the ellipsometry and reflectance measurements is given. The experimental skills and system error reduction are discussed in detail.

Impaired antigen-presenting capability of monocytes correlated with their decreased expression of HLA-II antigens in patients with myeloid leukemia

Antigen-presenting capability and expression of HLA-II antigens on peripheral blood monocytes were analyzed by isotope incorporation technique and indirect immunofluorescence assay with monoclonal antibodies Tü 22, Tü 36 and anti-Leu-M2 in patients with acute and chronic myeloid leukemias (AML, CML). All patients (17 AML and 13 CML) demonstrated impaired antigen-presenting capability of monocytes (P < 0.001), when compared with simultaneously studied controls, which were HLA-identical normal siblings of the patients. These patients also showed a markedly decreased proportion of MAC-120- and HLA-DQ-positive monocytes as compared with the controls (P < 0.001), while the percentage of HLA-DR-positive monocytes in the patients was similar to that observed in the controls (P > 0.05). These findings suggested, therefore, that impaired antigen-presenting capability of monocytes correlated with their decreased expression of HLA-DQ in patients with acute and chronic myeloid leukemias.