Intraoperative analgesic effect of intravertebral lidocaine injection during percutaneous kyphoplasty in the treatment of thoracolumbar compression fractures in elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) has been increasingly used in clinical settings. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to determine the analgesic effect of intravertebral lidocaine injections in PKP. METHODS: A total of 60 patients who were treated with PKP were enrolled in this study. Lidocaine hydrochloride was chosen as the medication for the experimental group. Patients were randomly assigned into three groups using a double-blind study design: In group A (20 cases), no drugs were injected into the vertebral body during surgery; group B (20 cases) received intravertebral injection of normal saline; and in group C (20 cases), lidocaine hydrochloride was administered into the vertebral body during surgery. The age of patients, operation time, balloon dilatation pressure, balloon dilatation volume, and amount of bone cement injected were compared across the three groups. A pain visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess pain suffered by the patients before, during, and 24 hours after the surgery. RESULTS: Age, operation time, balloon dilatation pressure, balloon dilatation volume, and amount of bone cement injected did not differ significantly among the three groups (P> 0.05). The differences in VAS scores 24 hours before and after surgery were not statistically significant (P> 0.05). Group C had lower intraoperative VAS scores than groups A and B, and the difference was statistically significant (P< 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference between group A and group B (P> 0.05). CONCLUSION: Intravertebral injections of lidocaine during PKP can successfully reduce intraoperative pain.

Microplastics exacerbate co-occurrence and horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes.

Microplastic pollution is a rising environmental issue worldwide. Microplastics can provide a niche for the microbiome, especially for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which could increase the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, the interactions between microplastics and ARGs are still indistinct in environmental settings. Microplastics were found to be significantly correlated with ARGs (p < 0.001), based on the analysis of samples taken from a chicken farm and its surrounding farmlands. Analysis of chicken feces revealed the highest abundance of microplastics (14.9 items/g) and ARGs (6.24 ×108 copies/g), suggesting that chicken farms could be the hotspot for the co-spread of microplastics and ARGs. Conjugative transfer experiments were performed to investigate the effects of microplastic exposure for different concentrations and sizes on the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of ARGs between bacteria. Results showed that the microplastics significantly enhanced the bacterial conjugative transfer frequency by 1.4-1.7 folds indicating that microplastics could aggravate ARG dissemination in the environment. Potential mechanisms related to the up-regulation of rpoS, ompA, ompC, ompF, trbBp, traF, trfAp, traJ, and down-regulation of korA, korB, and trbA were induced by microplastics. These findings highlighted the co-occurrence of microplastics and ARGs in the agricultural environment and the exacerbation of ARGs' prevalence via rising the HGT derived from microplastics.

Effect of the extract made from Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (RAM) on the immune responses of mice to a commercial foot-and-mouth disease vaccine.

OBJECTIVES: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an economically important animal disease because of the speed of its transmission. Routine vaccination may not be effective; RAM can be considered as a potential facilitator for this. Present study was designed to evaluate the effects of feeding different treatment of the RAM in different days on the immune responses in mice immunised with FMDV type O vaccine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In experiment 1, 50 ICR mice were randomly divided into five groups with 10 animals in each group, and the basic diet containing 1% Crush of RAM for 1-week ad libitum feeding period, 1% Crush of RAM for 6-week ad libitum feeding period, 1% Decoction of RAM for a 1-week ad libitum feeding period, 1% Decoction of RAM for a 6-week ad libitum feeding period, respectively. Blood samples were collected 2 weeks after boosting for measurement of FMDV-specific IgG level and the IgG subclasses, lymphocyte proliferation as well as production IL-5 and IFN-γ. In experiment 2, four groups mice were fed basic diet and basic diet containing 5% Decoction of RAM for 2-, 4- and 6-day ad libitum feeding periods, respectively. Then we collected blood samples for detecting IgG and IgG subclasses, splenocytes for lymphocyte proliferation as well as production IL-5 and IFN-γ, and tissue samples of small intestine for sIgA. RESULTS: The results indicated that 1% Decoction of RAM for a 1-week ad libitum feeding period group and 5% Decoction of RAM for 2-, 4- and 6-day ad libitum feeding period group enhance the FMDV-specific immune responses significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the results demonstrate that doses and feeding time of RAM are important to affect the immune responses.

[Effect of Tween 80 on yuxingcao injection and volatile oils from Houttuynia cordata].

OBJECTIVE: To research the effect of polysorbate 80 (Tween 80) on Yuxingcao injection and volatile oils from Houttuynia cordata. METHOD: 1H-NMR spectra of aldehydic and new matter in Yuxingcao injection, volatile oils of H. cordata, and solutions of Tween 80 and volatile oil of H. cordata are determined and compared from various angles of growing origin, storage temperature, and storage time. RESULT: Three aldehydic singlets in 1H-NMR spectra of every volatile oil from 4 aerial part of H. cordata were observed. These aldehydic peaks were basically disappeared and a new peak at delta 8.30 was found in 1H-NMR spectra of the volatile oil solutions in tween 80. Any obvious aldehydic peak in 1H-NMR spectra did not be observed in Yuxincao injection. A weak peak at 8 8.30 was found in 1H-NMR spectra in Yuxincao injection, and the peak high of delta 8.30 was remarked gone up when the injection was stored in 40 degrees C for 1 to 3 months. CONCLUSION: Tween 80 might cause the obvious reduce of aldehydic compounds contents and the production of a novel singal at delta 8.30 in 1H-NMR spectra when it was mixed with the volatile oil from the aerial part of H. cordata. The novel signal at delta 8.30 in 1H-NMR spectra existed in Yuxincao injection and was very small, but was increased remarkably when the Yuxincao injection was stored at 40 degrees C for 1 month at least.

Immobilization of Rhodococcus qingshengii strain FF on the surface of polyethylene and its adsorption and biodegradation of mimic produced water.

Low pH and high salinity characteristic of produced water (PW) posed a big challenge for the direct biological treatment. The immobilization of R. qingshengii strain FF, which degraded petroleum effectively under low pH, and application of immobilized R. qingshengii strain FF in treating mimic PW was studied in this work. The immobilization of R. qingshengii strain FF on the surface of polyethylene foam (PEF), one type of waste packaging materials, was optimized using the response surface methodology. Under optimum conditions, cell density of R. qingshengii strain FF immobilized on the surface of PEF reached 388 mg (cells)/g(PEF). In addition, a few factors, including hydraulic retention time (HRT), pH and salinity, were studied for treating mimic PW using immobilized R. qingshengii strain FF. The result of this study demonstrated that TPH degradation efficiency of PW by immobilized R. qingshengii strain FF reached above 90% when HRT was longer than 8 h. Weak acid and high salinity conditions only moderately decreased TPH. Asphalt, alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbon contained in petroleum can be degraded to some extent. These results indicated that immobilized R. qingshengii strain FF can be used as a highly efficient strain which could be used in biological treatment of real PW.

Biological treatment of high salinity and low pH produced water in oilfield with immobilized cells of P. aeruginosa NY3 in a pilot-scale.

Produced water (PW) in oilfield, as the largest waste streams in the oil and gas production, has posed a huge threat to the ecosystem. In this work, an environmentally friendly and recyclable biofilms have been developed for treating PW. We discovered that the cells of P. aeruginosa NY3 could be easily immobilized on the surface of polyurethane foam (PUF). Removal efficiency of oil and suspended solids (SS) by immobilized P. aeruginosa NY3 was keeping above 80% and 76% both in a laboratory scale and a pilot scale under suitable pH. Low pH and high value of SS had negative effect on the degradation of oil and SS by P. aeruginosa NY3. Recovery test showed that, the activity of biofilms P. aeruginosa NY3 after running in a pilot scale could be recovered in 5 days. Removal ability of oil in the real PW by the recovered biofilms of P. aeruginosa NY3 was even higher than that of the freshly prepared biofilms. These results indicated that, with a simple pH adjustment, immobilized P. aeruginosa NY3 could be recycled for removing oil and SS in the raw PW resulted from oil production.

Min-invasive surgical treatment for multiple axis fractures: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Fractures of the axis are commonly seen in spinal injuries. Upper cervical fractures are usually managed conservatively. However, the complications due to long-term external immobilization cannot be ignored. The traditional open surgery has the disadvantages of too much blood loss and soft tissue injury. The aim of our paper is to introduce a minimally invasive surgical treatment for multiple axis fractures. CASE SUMMARY: We report a 40-year-old Chinese male who had severe neck pain and difficult neck movement after falling from 3 meters. X-ray and computed tomography (CT) scan revealed an axis injury consisting of an odontoid Type III fracture associated with a Hangman fracture categorized as a Levine-Edwards Type I fracture. The patient underwent anterior odontoid screw fixation and posterior percutaneous screw fixation using intraoperative O-arm navigation. Neck pain was markedly improved after surgery. X-rays and CT scan reconstructions of 3-mo follow-up showed good stability and fusion. The range of cervical motion was well preserved. CONCLUSION: Anterior odontoid screw fixation and posterior direct C2 percutaneous pedicle screw fixation with the aid of O-arm navigation and neurophysiological monitoring can be an interesting alternative option for complicated multiple axis fractures.

[The research of the adsorption and desorption behaveior of macroporous resin for glycyrrhizic acid].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the performance of static and dynamic adsorption and desorption of the three macroporous resins of AB-8, D-101 and H-103. METHOD: Compare the adsorption and desorption of the three macroporous resins for glycyrrhizic acid by determining the static adsorption, static desorption, dynamic adsorption and dynamic desorption through detecting the glycyrrhizic acid content by HPLC method. RESULT: The saturation of AB-8 is 0.75 g (crude drug)/mL (macroporous resins), the best elution reagent is 50% EtoH and it's eluation ration is 68.81% . The saturation of D-101 is 0.75 g (crude drug)/mL (macroporous resins), the best elution reagent is 60%EtoH and it's eluation ration is 64.67%. The saturation of H-103 is 0.5 g (crude drug)/mL (macroporous resins), the best elution reagent is 50%E-toH and it's elution ration is 51.18%. CONCLUSION: AB-8 and D-101 are the superior absorbents for glycyrrhizic acid.

A material combination principle for highly efficient polymer solar cells investigated by mesoscopic phase heterogeneity.

Organic solar cells have become a promising energy conversion candidate because of their unique advantages. Novel fullerene derivatives, as a common acceptor, can increase power conversion efficiency (PCE) by increasing the open-circuit voltage. As a representative acceptor, Indene-C60 bisadduct (ICBA) can reach high efficiency with poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). On the other hand, the novel synthesized polymers mainly aimed to broaden the optical absorption range have steadily promoted efficiency to higher than 9%. However, it is challenging to obtain the desired result by simply combining ICBA with other high-efficiency donors. Thus, P3HT or a high-efficiency polymer PBDTTT-C-T (copolymer of thienyl-substituted BDT with substituted TT) is used as donor and PCBM or ICBA as acceptor in this article to clarify the mechanism behind these materials. The optical and photovoltaic properties of the materials are studied for pair-wise combination. Among these four material groups, the highest PCE of 6.2% is obtained for the PBDTTT-C-T/PCBM combination while the lowest PCE of 3.5% is obtained for the PBDTTT-C-T/ICBA combination. The impact of the mesoscopic heterogeneity on the local mesoscopic photoelectric properties is identified by photo-conductive AFM (pc-AFM), and the consistence between the mesoscopic properties and the macroscopic device performances is also observed. Based on these results, an interface combined model is proposed based on the mesoscopic phase heterogeneity. This study provides a new view on the rational selection of photovoltaic materials, where, aside from the traditional energy level and absorption spectrum matching, the matching of mesoscopic heterogeneity must also be considered.

Preparation of chitosan/poly(acrylic acid) magnetic composite microspheres and applications in the removal of copper(II) ions from aqueous solutions.

In this current work, the magnetic composite microspheres (MCM), consisting of Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) blended chitosan (CS), were prepared successfully by a simple method, co-precipitation of the compounds in alkaline solution. SEM, FTIR and TG techniques have been applied to investigate the structures of the MCM materials. The vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) measurement illustrated a paramagnetic property as well as a fast magnetic response, which indicated the significant separability of the MCM in the aqueous suspensions. Then, the MCM materials were employed as absorbents for removal of copper(II) (Cu(II)) ions from aqueous solutions. The fundamental adsorption behaviors of MCM were studied also. Experimental results revealed that the CS/PAA-MCM had greater adsorption capacity than CS-MCM, and PAA played an important role for the adsorption of Cu(II) ions. Moreover, the adsorption isotherms were all well described by the Langmuir model, while the adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second order equation. Furthermore, the adsorbent could be easily regenerated at lower pH and reused almost without any loss of adsorption capacity. On the contrary, the Cu(II) ions loaded CS-MCM and CS/PAA-MCM were stable enough at pH higher than 4.0, and both exhibited efficient phosphate removal with maximal uptakes around 63.0 and 108.0 mg Pg(-1), respectively.

Residual filling material in dentinal tubules after gutta-percha removal observed with scanning electron microscopy.

INTRODUCTION: In cases of failed root canal treatment, endodontic retreatment of the root canal system is necessary. The present study aimed to assess variation in the incidence and depth of residual filling material in dentinal tubules after gutta-percha removal with H-files, the ProTaper Universal System (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland), and the SybronEndo K3 System (SybronEndo Corporation, Orange, CA). METHODS: Forty human mandibular premolars with single straight root canals were prepared with K-files (up to size 40) using the step-back technique and filled by cold lateral condensation with gutta-percha and AH Plus sealers (Dentsply DeTrey, Konstanz, Germany). After 1 year, the 40 teeth were divided into one control group and 3 retreatment groups (n = 10 each). Gutta-percha was removed using H-files, the ProTaper Universal System, or the SybronEndo K3 System. The teeth were sectioned, and the incidence and depth of residual filling material in the dentinal tubules were measured under scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: The depth of filling material in the dentinal tubules did not differ significantly among groups (P > .05). Residual filling material was present in significantly more dentinal tubules in the ProTaper (P = .043) and K3 groups (P = .001) than in the H-file and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: The ProTaper Universal System and the SybronEndo K3 System left filling material in a greater proportion of dentinal tubules than did H-files.

[Etiology of hand-foot-and-mouth disease and genetic characteristics of Coxsackievirus A16 in Beijing, 2009].

This study aimed to reveal the pathogen spectrum of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) and genetic characteristics of Coxsackievirus A16 (CoxA16) isolates in Beijing in 2009. From 1044 clinical specimens collected from 975 HFMD cases at Beijing Pediatrics Hospital, Beijing You'an Hospital and Beijing Ditan Hospital in 2009, viral nucleic acids of enterovirus were detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Enterovirus isolations were conducted with rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cell line on 200 throat swabs having positive RT-PCR results. Sequencing and analyses of VP1 encoding gene were performed on 9 CoxA16 isolates in this study. The results showed that CoxA16 (49.4%) and EV71 (36.4%) were the major pathogens for the epidemics of HFMD in 2009 in Beijing, and CoxA16 was the predominant serotype, while there were also other enterovirus co-circulating, such as CoxA4, CoxA10, and CoxA9; the CoxA16 strains prevalent in Beijing in 2009 belonged to subgenotype B1a and B1b.