MRI-Based Optimization Design of the Pre-Spinal Route of Contralateral C7 Nerve Transfer for Spastic Arm Paralysis.

Purpose: The prespinal route of contralateral cervical 7 nerve transfer developed by Prof. Wendong Xu helps realize the direct anastomosis of the bilateral cervical 7 nerves. However, 20% of operations still require a nerve graft, which leads to an unfavorable prognosis. This study aims to explore the optimized prespinal route with MRI to further improve the prognosis. Methods: The current study enrolled 30 patients who suffered from central spastic paralysis of an upper limb and who underwent contralateral cervical 7 nerve transfer via Prof. Xu's prespinal route through the anterior edge of the contralateral longus colli. MRI images were used to analyze the route length, vertebral artery exposure, and contralateral cervical 7 nerve included angle. Three prespinal routes were virtually designed and analyzed. The selected optimal route was applied to another 50 patients with central spastic paralysis of an upper limb for contralateral cervical 7 nerve transfer. Results: By the interventions on the 30 patients, the middle and posterior routes were shorter than the anterior route in length, but with no statistical difference between the two routes. Of 30 contralateral vertebral arteries, 26 were located at the posterior medial edge of the longus colli. The average included angles of the anterior, middle, and posterior routes were 108.02 ± 7.89°, 95.51 ± 6.52°, and 72.48 ± 4.65°, respectively. According to these data, the middle route was optimally applied to 50 patients, in whom the rate of nerve transplantation was only 4%, and no serious complications such as vertebral artery or brachial plexus injury occurred. Conclusion: The low rate of nerve transplantation in 50 patients and the absence of any serious complications in these cases suggests that the middle route is the optimal one.

The reference dose for subchronic exposure of pigs to cadmium leading to early renal damage by benchmark dose method.

Pigs were exposed to cadmium (Cd) (in the form of CdCl(2)) concentrations ranging from 0 to 32mg Cd/kg feed for 100 days. Urinary cadmium (U-Cd) and blood cadmium (B-Cd) levels were determined as indicators of Cd exposure. Urinary levels of ß(2)-microglobulin (ß(2)-MG), α(1)-microglobulin (α(1)-MG), N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), cadmium-metallothionein (Cd-MT), and retinol binding protein (RBP) were determined as biomarkers of tubular dysfunction. U-Cd concentrations were increased linearly with time and dose, whereas B-Cd reached two peaks at 40 days and 100 days in the group exposed to 32mg Cd/kg. Hyper-metallothionein-urinary (HyperMTuria) and hyper-N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase-urinary (hyperNAGuria) emerged from 80 days onwards in the group exposed to 32mg Cd/kg feed, followed by hyper-ß2-microglobulin-urinary (hyperß2-MGuria) and hyper-retinol-binding-protein-urinary (hyperRBPuria) from 100 days onwards. The relationships between the Cd exposure dose and biomarkers of exposure (as well as the biomarkers of effect) were examined, and significant correlations were found between them (except for α(1)-MG). Dose-response relationships between Cd exposure dose and biomarkers of tubular dysfunction were studied. The critical concentration of Cd exposure dose was calculated by the benchmark dose (BMD) method. The BMD(10)/BMDL(10) was estimated to be 1.34/0.67, 1.21/0.88, 2.75/1.00, and 3.73/3.08mg Cd/kg feed based on urinary RBP, NAG, Cd-MT, and ß(2)-MG, respectively. The calculated tolerable weekly intake of Cd for humans was 1.4 µg/kg body weight based on a safety factor of 100. This value is lower than the currently available values set by several different countries. This indicates a need for further studies on the effects of Cd and a re-evaluation of the human health risk assessment for the metal.

Growth and shape-ordering of iron nanostructures on Au single crystalline electrodes in an ionic liquid: a paradigm of magnetostatic coupling.

Fe electrodeposition on Au(111) and Au(100) in BMIBF(4) ionic liquid is found to form hitherto unreported shape-ordered nanoscale morphologies of pseudorods and pseudosquare rings, respectively, both composed of grains of 4-7 nm. The manner of growth of the square rings is a ring-on-ring structure with enlarging side length and slightly protruding four corners. The generality of the growth mechanism is verified by the formation of almost exactly the same shape-ordered Fe nanostructures on Pt, i.e., pseudorod structure on Pt(111) and pseudosquare rings Pt(100). These structures are explained within the framework of magnetostatic interactions of spontaneously magnetized grains under crystallographic constraint of the substrate surface, which result in an antiparallel arrangement in magnetization of the grains at pseudorods and magnetic flux closure at the pseudosquare rings. The closed magnetic flux further leads to magnetic field-enhanced growth at the four corners and the outer peripheries of the pseudosquare rings. The observed shape-ordering of the Fe thin film serves as a paradigm of magnetostatic coupling, in which the roles of ionic liquid as surfactant and magnetic media may not be underestimated. The present work adds a new dimension to electrodeposition in ionic liquid, by which new magnetic film structures may be expected.

Antioxidant activity of Tartary buckwheat bran extract and its effect on the lipid profile of hyperlipidemic rats.

The effects of Tartary buckwheat bran extract (TBBE) on antioxidation status and on lipid profile were determined in hyperlipemic rats. Seven-week-old male Wistar rats were fed a high-fat diet to induce hyperlipemia with doses of TBBE at 0.2 (low), 0.5 (medium), and 1.0 (high) g/kg of body weight. The positive control group was fed the high-fat diet or supplemented with Gynostemma pantaphyllum total glucoside tablet at 0.032 g/kg of body weight. The negative control group was fed the basal diet. The blood lipids, liver lipids, and antioxidant-related parameters of the rats were measured. The rats fed TBBE indicated that TBBE could effectively reduce serum total triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) when compared to the control groups (P < 0.05). TBBE also reduced liver TC and TG by 36.4 and 73.9% in the low-dose group when compared to the high-fat group (P < 0.05), respectively, presenting remarkable effects in serum triglyceride reduction, antiatherosclerosis, and serum-lipid oxidation resistance. TBBE also raised serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity and antiatheromatous plaque formation index (AAI) and lowered the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), the artherogenic index (AI), and serum malondialdehyde (MDA) in comparison with the control groups (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). In this study, TBBE was shown to significantly reduce the TG and TC in the serum and liver of rats, raise serum antioxidant activity, and inhibit serum lipid peroxide formation.