Clinical application of digital technology in the use of anterolateral thigh lobulated perforator flaps to repair complex soft tissue defects of the limbs.

Background: It is challenging to repair wide or irregular defects with traditional skin flaps, and anterolateral thigh (ALT) lobulated perforator flaps are an ideal choice for such defects. However, there are many variations in perforators, so good preoperative planning is very important. This study attempted to explore the feasibility and clinical effect of digital technology in the use of ALT lobulated perforator flaps for repairing complex soft tissue defects in limbs. Methods: Computed tomography angiography (CTA) was performed on 28 patients with complex soft tissue defects of the limbs, and the CTA data were imported into Mimics 20.0 software in DICOM format. According to the perforation condition of the lateral circumflex femoral artery and the size of the limb defect, one thigh that had two or more perforators from the same source vessel was selected for 3D reconstruction of the ALT lobulated perforator flap model. Mimics 20.0 software was used to visualize the vascular anatomy, virtual design and harvest of the flap before surgery. The intraoperative design and excision of the ALT lobulated perforator flap were guided by the preoperative digital design, and the actual anatomical observations and measurements were recorded. Results: Digital reconstruction was successfully performed in all patients before surgery; this reconstruction dynamically displayed the anatomical structure of the flap vasculature and accurately guided the design and harvest of the flap during surgery. The parameters of the harvested flaps were consistent with the preoperative parameters. Postoperative complications occurred in 7 patients, but all flaps survived uneventfully. All of the donor sites were closed directly. All patients were followed up for 13-27 months (mean, 19.75 months). The color and texture of each flap were satisfactory and each donor site exhibited a linear scar. Conclusions: Digital technology can effectively and precisely assist in the design and harvest of ALT lobulated perforator flaps, provide an effective approach for individualized evaluation and flap design and reduce the risk and difficulty of surgery.

Role of Methylprednisolone in Treatment of Spinal Cord Injured with Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transplantation in Rats and Its Effect on the Expressions of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and Interleukin-1ß.

Objective To investigate the role of methylprednisolone (MP) in treatment of spinal cord injured (SCI) with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) transplantation in rats and its effect on the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and interleukin-1ß(IL-1ß) at the local tissues.Methods Forty male Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were used to establish the models of SCI according to the modified Allen's contusion method and then divided into four groups (n=10 in each group) by using random numbers table:MP group,BMSCs group,BMSCs+MP group,and control group.MP was intravenously administrated immediately after SCI.BMSCs labeled by 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine(BrdU)were transplanted into the injured sites of spinal cord after two hours of SCI.On the 1 st,7 th,and 14th days after SCI,when functional outcome measurements were evaluated by the Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) score.On the 14th day after treatment,the spine cord tissues were harvested for the TNF-α/IL-1ß immunohistochemistry,and Tunel staining method was used to detect cell apoptosis rate.BrdU-positive BMSCs were examined in BMSCs group and BMSCs+MP group.Results Functional recovery of hind limb in MP+BMSCs group was the best among the four group.On the 1 st day after injury,the BBB scores showed no significant difference among four group(χ2=1.0756,P=0.7829).On the 7th and 14th day,the BBB score of MP+BMSCs group was significantly higher than MP group (χ2=17.7186,P=0.0002;χ2= 24.7259,P<0.0001) and BMSCs group (χ2=15.8110,P=0.0024;χ2=25.6014,P<0.0001),respectively.The BBB score of the control group was significantly lower than MP group (χ2=8.3265,P=0.0325;χ2=13.5060,P=0.0062) and BMSCs group (χ2=14.1166,P=0.0036;χ2=8.9613,P=0.0299),respectively.On the 14th day,immunohistochemical staining presented that the TNF-α and IL-1ß-positive cells in MP+BMSCs group were significantly lower than MP group (q=5.573,P=0.0004;q=4.596,P=0.0025) and BMSCs group (q=13.780,P<0.0001;q=8.456,P<0.0001),and control group was significantly higher than MP group (q=14.710,P<0.0001;q=6.710,P<0.0001) and BMSCs group (q=6.502,P=0.0001;q=2.849,P=0.0514).Tunel staining showed the apoptotic rate of spinal cord cells in four group were (48.47±5.70)%,(31.95±3.58)%,(41.39±2.33)%,and (23.48±2.69)%.The number of apoptotic cells in MP+BMSCs group was least in four groups;compared with the control group,the apoptotic rate significantly decreased in MP group (q=14.840,P<0.0001) and BMSCs group (q=6.716,P=0.0002);compared with the MP+BMSCs group,the apoptotic rate was significantly increased in the MP group (q=7.332,P=0.0001) and BMSCs group (q=15.460,P<0.0001). BrdU staining revealed BrdU-positive rate in MP+BMSCs group [(9.3000±0.5175)%] was significantly higher than that in BMSCs group [(6.6000±0.3399)%](t=4.361,P=0.0004).Conclusion MP can improve the function of the hind limbs of SCI rats treated with BMSCs transplantation and lower the expressions of TNF-α and IL-1ß in injured tissue.

Deep-penetration photoacoustic array imaging of calcifications.

Calcifications are one of the most important indicators for early breast cancer detection. We explore the feasibility of deep-penetration photoacoustic (PA) imaging of calcifications based on a medical ultrasound array imaging platform. Intralipid and chicken breast phantoms embedded with different-sized hydroxyapatite (HA) particles, which are the major components of calcifications, were imaged to verify the equipment's capability and penetration depth for the visualization of calcifications. An optimal near-infrared excitation wavelength was selected to maximize PA signals of HAs, resulting in a better HA signal-to-blood ratio. We demonstrated that PA imaging is capable of visualizing 0.5-mm HA particles at a depth of 3 cm in chicken breast phantoms. The noise-equivalent penetration depth of the system for visualizing 0.5-mm HA particles in the human breast was estimated to be about 2.9 to 3.5 cm, which is clinically relevant as calcifications are usually found at a depth of 0.6 to 3.0 cm. Moreover, the feasibility of differentiating HA from blood by the PA spectroscopic technique was presented and the mechanism of the HA signal generation was discussed. The results show that PA imaging is a promising technique for real-time visualization of breast calcifications.

Effect of guanxin no. 2 on gene variant expression profile in rats after myocardial ischemia / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of Guanxin No. 2 (GX2) on gene variant expression profile in rats after myocardial infarction (MI).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Six SD rats were equally randomized into the sham operated group, the model group and the GX2 group, and they received gastric perfusion with water and GX2 (10 g/kg) respectively. MI model was established by ligating the left-anterior descending branch of coronary artery after 10 days of perfusion, and rats' myocardial tissue in the junction zone was assessed 24 h later for gene chip detection with DNA microarray. Then a cluster analysis was conducted, and the different expressions of key genes were verified by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The up-regulating gene expressions in myocardial tissue in the junction zone increased after ischemia. After GX2 intervention, the up- or down-regulating gene expressions, especially the 2 genes, all-trans-13,14-dihydroretinol saturase (AF465614) and similar to expressed sequence AW413625 (AA799328) decreased significantly. In the common genes, more genes involving activity of signal transducer presented in the model group and the GX2 group and those in the latter showed a certain specificity.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>GX2 could improve the characteristics of variant gene expression profile in MI rats to a certain extent.</p>

Effects of guanxin II on cardiac protein expression after acute myocardial ischemia on rats / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Guanxin II is a famous modern formula of traditional Chinese medicine. Guanxin II after myocardial infarction (MI) has been shown to have beneficial effects on cardiac anatomy and function. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Guanxin 1I on cardiac protein expression after MI.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Rats were randomized into 3 groups, sham, model and treating groups. Model and treating groups were fed with Guanxin II and sham group was fed with water for 10 days before MI. MI operation is to ligate left coronary artery. 24 hours after MI, myocardial protein expression of junctional zone was assessed with 2D gel electrophoresis and mass spectra analysis.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Guanxin II was found to be able to improve myocardial protein expression, especially 11 proteins. These proteins are mainly involved in suppressing changes of cell shape and structure and energy metabolism.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Guanxin II after MI affected myocardial protein expression. Further experiments of larger research extent should be done to receive more results.</p>