Horizontal root fractures in posterior teeth: a case series

Abstract – This case series describes observations of 12 patients who developed horizontal root fractures in non‐endodontically treated teeth. Using clinical and radiographic examination, horizontal fractures were observed in eight maxillary first molars, one maxillary second molar, one mandibular first premolar and four mandibular second premolars. A total of 12 teeth had clinically intact crowns and 2 had carious. Eight fractures of maxillary molars occurred in the palatal roots, while one fracture was observed in the distobuccal root. Eleven patients experienced pain from the affected teeth during mastication. Within the limits of this case series, it was concluded that these fractures were related to; root morphology, damaging masticatory habits and excessive occlusal forces.     

Prognostic Value of Cirrhosis for Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma After Surgical Treatment

Background  

The surgical outcome and prognostic factors of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma are not fully understood. This study aimed to establish the clinical significance of cirrhosis for prognosis in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma after surgery.     

Laparoscopic extended pelvic lymph node dissection during radical cystectomy: technique and clinical outcomes

Study Type – Therapy (case series)
Level of Evidence 4 What’s known on the subject? and What does the study add? Pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) is an obligatory step for radical cystectomy and it provides staging information and potential survival benefits. This study shows extended PLND with proximal boundary of inferior mesentery artery is safe and feasible under laparoscopy. More positive nodes can be retrieved compared to standard template.

OBJECTIVE

? To study the surgical techniques and clinical results of laparoscopic extended pelvic lymph node dissection during radical cystectomy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

? From July 2007 to October 2009, 43 patients with bladder carcinoma received laparoscopic radical cystectomy with extended pelvic lymphadenectomy and urinary diversion. ? Pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) was first performed within extended template. ? The lower part of aorta and vena cava were isolated from the bifurcation of common iliac artery to the level of the inferior mesenteric artery. ? The standard template PLND was continued along the external iliac vessels, internal iliac vessels and obturator nerve. The bladder was then removed laparoscopically and urinary diversion was performed.

RESULTS

? All procedures were performed successfully and no open conversion occurred. The duration of the procedure for extended PLND was 90–185 min (mean 125 min) and total duration was 280–470 min (mean 329 min). ? Intra‐operative blood loss was 200–1500 mL (mean 325 mL) and eight cases received transfusion. Pathological study identified transitional cell carcinoma and a negative margin in all cases. A range of 19–53 lymph nodes were dissected in the patients with a mean of 31.3. ? In total, 17 positive nodes were confirmed in 11 cases. Postoperative complications included two cases of bowel obstruction, two cases of mild urine leakage and 17 cases of lymphatic leakage.

CONCLUSIONS

? Laparoscopic radical cystectomy with extended pelvic lymphadenectomy is indicated in selected patients with bladder cancer. ? It is safe, minimally invasive and more lymph nodes can be retrieved with a higher success rate by extended pelvic lymphadenectomy.     

运动训练对废用性肌萎缩大鼠腓肠肌MuRF1基因表达的影响

目的探讨运动对骨骼肌MuRF1基因表达的影响及其在废用性骨骼肌萎缩发生机制中的作用。方法采用鼠尾悬吊的方法制作废用性骨骼肌萎缩模型,采用免疫组织化学的方法检测骨骼肌MuRF1蛋白的表达;RT-PCR方法检测MuRF1基因表达水平的变化。结果大鼠鼠尾悬吊4周后,腓肠肌肌纤维横截面积显著减小,MuRF1表达水平显著增高;运动训练可显著促进废用性肌萎缩的恢复,抑制骨骼肌MuRF1的表达。结论骨骼肌MuRF1表达水平的增高可能是骨骼肌废用性萎缩的重要因素,运动训练可抑制骨骼肌MuRF1的表达,从而促进废用性骨骼肌萎缩的恢复。     

Alterations in cerebral potentials evoked by rectal distention and drinking ice water in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

AIM: Visceral hypersensitivity has been found to be present in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The current study sought to study visceral afferent hypersensitivity in IBS patients and obtain further objective evidence of alterations in intestinal afferent pathways in IBS patients by cerebral evoked potentials (CEP). METHOD: We studied 30 female IBS patients and 12 female healthy subjects. Rectal perception thresholds to balloon distention were measured and CEP was recorded in response to rhythmic rectal distention (two distention series, each of 100 repetitions at a frequency of 1 Hz) at the volume of perception thresholds. All subjects were then asked to drink 220 mL 4 degrees C ice water and the above steps were repeated 20 min later. RESULTS: Rectal distention led to recognizable and reproducible CEP. Compared to healthy subjects, IBS patients demonstrated significantly shorter N1, P1 and N2 latencies (P < 0.05). After drinking ice water, IBS patients exhibited further shortened N1, P1 and N2 latencies (P < 0.05), but drinking did not alter the latencies of healthy controls and the amplitudes of both IBS patients and healthy controls. CONCLUSION: The shorter latency of cerebral potentials evoked by rectal distention and ice water stimulation in IBS patients provided further objective evidence for defective visceral afferent transmission in IBS patients.     

Prognostic significance of excision repair cross complementation group 1 rs2298881 in patients with gastric cancer receiving platinum-based chemotherapy: A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis

Background:Gastric cancer (GC) is a strong cause of global cancer mortality. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) can modulate platinum-based chemotherapeutic efficacy by removing drug-produced DNA damage. Some studies have found a link between excision repair cross complementation group 1 (ERCC1) rs2298881, one gene in NER pathway, and response to chemotherapy. However, the results have been disputed.Methods:We conducted a meta-analysis to reevaluate the association between polymorphisms of NER gene (ERCC1 rs2298881) and the clinical outcomes in gastric cancer patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. Searching PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure, 2 independent searchers found all pertinent literatures up to May 1, 2021. We enrolled studies according to consistent selection criteria, extracted and vitrified data. Crude odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were applied to evaluate the effect of ERCC1 rs2298881 on patients treated by platinum-based chemotherapy.Results:By the data gathered from 6 independent studies, 1940 cases diagnosed with gastric cancer and treated with chemotherapy were included, containing 1208 Good-Responders and 732 Poor-Responders. With a comprehensive meta-analysis, we found that the patients with ERCC1 rs2298881A allele had a worse response to chemotherapy than those who with rs2298881C allele under allelic model (A vs C), with the pooled OR of 0.780 (95% CI: 0.611–0.996, P = .046). And our analysis indicated that AA genotype was associated with unfavorable overall survival (HR = 1.540, 95% CI = 1.106–2.144, P = .011) compared with CC genotype.Conclusions:ERCC1 rs2298881 is suggested as a marker of clinical outcome in gastric cancer patients treated by platinum-based chemotherapy.     

Determination of kava lactones and flavonoid glycoside in Scorzonera austriaca by capillary zone electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoretic method has been developed for the quantitative analysis of three active comppounds, 12-hydroxy-desmethoxyyangonin (HD), 12-beta-d-glucopyranoside-desmethoxyyangonin (GD) and luteolin 3'-(6-E-p-coumaroyl-beta-d-glucopyranoside) (LG) in Scorzonera austriaca with UV detection at 254 nm. The applied voltage was 25 kV and the capillary temperature was kept constant at 25 degrees C. The effect of buffer pH, the concentration of electrolyte and organic modifier on migration were studied systematically. Optimum separation was achieved with 20 mM borate buffer at pH 10.00 containing 10% (v/v) methanol. Daphnetin was used as internal standard for quantification. Regression equations revealed good linear relationship between the ratios of the peak area of each compound and its the ratios of concentration. All the correlation coefficients were higher than 0.9990. The relative standard deviations of migration time and the peak area were <1.46% and 5.13% (inter-day), and <1.65% and 5.16% (intra-day), respectively. The contents of the three compounds in S. austriaca were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery.     

Clinical observation on YiSuiShengXueGranule on treating 156 patients with beta-thalassemia major and the molecular mechanism study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effects and security of YiSuiShengXueGranule (YSSXG) on treating 156 patients with beta-thalassemia major. Methods: YSSXG was given orally to 156 patients with beta-thalassemia in GuangXi Autonomous Region (the high incidence area of beta-thalassemia in China) for 3 months as one therapeutic course, 3 times a day, 10 g each time (for children, the dose should be reduced properly according to their body weight and age), and no blood transfusion used during the course. Clinical symptoms and levels of hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell (RBC), reticulocyte (Ret) and hemoglobin F (HbF) were observed before and after treatment, and side-effects were observed during the course. A 3-6 months follow up study was performed after withdrawal of YSSXG. And systemic gene analysis was conducted with PCR, SSCP-PCR, RT-PCR and DNA sequences analysis and mRNA differently expression technique, in order to study the molecular mechanism from the relationships between genetic mutation and clinical efficacy, gene expression and its regulation. RESULTS: Levels of Hb, RBC, Ret and HbF obviously elevated, and clinical symptoms markedly ameliorated in patients after treated with YSSXG from the 1st to 3rd month (all p<0.01). Dynamical observation showed that the improvement of symptoms kept accordance with the elevation of hemorrheological indexes. The treatment was effective in 145 patients and ineffective in 11, and the total effective rate was 92.9%, without any adverse reaction founded. Follow-up studies showed the therapeutic effect could sustain for 3 to 4 months after drug-withdrawal. The molecular mechanism study showed: YSSXG did not change the genetic mutation type, but could obviously increase gamma/(beta+gamma) globin ratio, both gamma-globin mRNA and GM-CSF mRNA expression were significantly enhanced so as to induce HbF synthesis increasing after treated with YSSXG. CONCLUSION: YSSXG had obvious effects in treating beta-thalassemia by unlocking gamma-gene, increasing the gamma-globin expression and enhancing HbF synthesis so as to compensate for the gene defect. This study has provided a new path for the treatment of beta-thalassemia with Traditional Chinese Medicine.     

Component and antioxidant properties of polysaccharide fractions isolated from Angelica sinensis (OLIV.) DIELS

An analytical method of high performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) was developed to simultaneously separate and identify the component monosaccharides of Angelica sinensis polysaccharide fractions (APFs), named APF1, APF2 and APF3. The predominant sugars in APFs were identified as arabinose, glucose, rhamnose, galactose and galacturonic acid as well as trace amount of mannose and glucuronic acid, and the fractionation altered significantly the distribution of component monosaccharides in APFs. APF3 was the most active fraction to effectively inhibit H(2)O(2)-caused decrease of cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage and malondialdehyde (MDA) formation, and also reduced H(2)O(2)-caused decline of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and glutathione (GSH) depletion (p<0.05), followed by APF2 and APF1 in decreasing order. Furthermore, it was found that APFs (100 microg/ml) could protect macrophages by inhibiting the release of excess NO and reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by high concentrations of H(2)O(2) (0.8-1.6 mM).