Midterm Results of Total Hip Arthroplasty in Patients With High Hip Dislocation After Suppurative Hip Arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is technically challenging in patients with high dislocation of the hip secondary to suppurative arthritis. The technical difficulty is attributable to the complex hip anatomy and the potential risk of recurrent infection in these patients. This study investigated the midterm results of THA in patients with Crowe type III and IV high dislocation of the hip secondary to suppurative arthritis. METHODS: This study retrospectively reviewed 45 patients (45 hips) who underwent cementless THA with a mean quiescent infection period of 34.2 years. This study included 23 men and 22 women (mean age, 45.9 years) at the time of operation. The mean follow-up was 6.4 years. Clinical and radiographic outcomes and complications were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean Harris hip score significantly improved from 48.1 to 87.6. The modified Merle d'Aubigné-Postel, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index, low back pain visual analog scale, and the 12-item short-form health survey scores also improved significantly. The mean limb length discrepancy was reduced from 38.9 mm to 6.4 mm. Postoperative dislocation occurred in 2, temporary sciatic nerve paralysis in 3, and intraoperative fracture in 2 patients. Infection and femoral stem loosening necessitated hip revision surgery in 1 patient each. CONCLUSION: THA could provide good joint function and significantly improve quality of life at the time of midterm follow-up in patients undergoing high hip dislocation secondary to suppurative arthritis. However, a relatively high incidence of complications occurred which can be treated.

miR156 switches on vegetative phase change under the regulation of redox signals in apple seedlings.

In higher plants, miR156 regulates the vegetative phase change via the target SBP/SPL genes. The regulation of miR156 during ontogenetic processes is not fully understood. In the apple genome, of 31 putative MdMIR156 genes that encode pre-miR156, seven were dominantly expressed. However, the transcript levels of only MdMIR156a5 and MdMIR156a12 decreased significantly during the vegetative phase change, which was consistent with the mature miR156 level, indicating that miR156 is under transcriptional regulation. Leaf H2O2 content was higher in the adult phase than in the juvenile phase because of excess H2O2 accumulation in chloroplasts. When in vitro shoots were treated with menadione, diphenyleneiodonium, L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid or buthionine sulphoximine, the expressions of MdMIR156a5, MdMIR156a12, and as well miR156 were coordinated with reduced glutathione (GSH) contents and glutathione/glutathione disulfide ratio but not H2O2 contents. Alteration of miR156 expression level by MdMIR156a6-overexpressing or miR156-mimetic transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana did not cause a corresponding change in reactive oxygen species or GSH status. Collectively, the results indicate that the vegetative phase change in apple is controlled by the MdMIR156a5 and MdMIR156a12 transcriptional regulatory network in response to the plastid-nucleus redox signals, such as GSH.

[Spectroscopic Research on Slag Nanocrystal Glass Ceramics Containing Rare Earth Elements].

The research group prepared the high-performance slag nanocrystal glass ceramics by utilizing the valuable elements of the wastes in the Chinese Bayan Obo which are characterized by their symbiotic or associated existence. In this paper, inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy (Raman) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are all used in the depth analysis for the composition and structure of the samples. The experiment results of ICP, XRD and SEM showed that the principal crystalline phase of the slag nanocrystal glass ceramics containing rare earth elements is diopside, its grain size ranges from 45 to 100 nm, the elements showed in the SEM scan are basically in consistent with the component analysis of ICP. Raman analysis indicated that its amorphous phase is a three-dimensional network structure composed by the structural unit of silicon-oxy tetrahedron with different non-bridging oxygen bonds. According to the further analysis, we found that the rare earth microelement has significant effect on the network structure. Compared the nanocrystal slag glass ceramic with the glass ceramics of similar ingredients, we found that generally, the Raman band wavenumber for the former is lower than the later. The composition difference between the glass ceramics and the slag nanocrystal with the similar ingredients mainly lies on the rare earth elements and other trace elements. Therefore, we think that the rare earth elements and other trace elements remains in the slag nanocrystal glass ceramics have a significant effect on the network structure of amorphous phase. The research method of this study provides an approach for the relationship among the composition, structure and performance of the glass ceramics.

Redox homeostasis and reactive oxygen species scavengers shift during ontogenetic phase changes in apple.

The change from juvenile to adult phase is a universal phenomenon in perennial plants such as apple. To validate the changes in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels and scavenging during ontogenesis in apple seedlings, the H2O2 contents, its scavenging capacity, and the expression of related genes, as well as miR156 levels, were measured in leaf samples from different nodes in seedlings of 'Zisai Pearl' (Malus asiatica)×'Red Fuji' (M. domestica). Then in vitro shoots were treated with redox modulating chemicals to verify the response of miR156 to redox alteration. The expression of miR156 decreased gradually during ontogenesis, indicating a progressive loss of juvenility. During the phase changes, H2O2 and ascorbate contents, the ratio of ascorbate to dehydroascorbate, the ascorbate peroxidase, catalase and glutathione reductase activities, and the expressions of some MdGR and MdAPX gene family members increased remarkably. However, the glutathione content and glutathione to glutathione disulfide ratio declined. In chemicals treated in vitro shoots, the changes in miR156 levels were coordinated with GSH contents and GSH/GSSG ratio but not H2O2 contents. Conclusively, the relative reductive thiol redox status is critical for the maintenance of juvenility and the reductive ascorbate redox environment was elevated and sustained during the reproductive phase.

The function of PlcR in Bacillus anthracis vaccine strain A16R.

Bacillus anthracis, B. thuringiensis and B. cereus are members of the B. cereus group. They share high genetic similarity. Whereas plcR (Phospholipase C regulator) usually encodes a functional pleiotropic activator protein in B. cereus and B. thuringiensis isolates, a characteristic nonsense mutation is found in all B. anthracis strains investigated, making the gene dysfunctional. To study the function of PlcR in B. anthracis, we used the B. cereus CMCC63301 genome as a template and constructed a recombinant expression plasmid pBE2A-plcR, and introduced it into the B. anthracis vaccine strain A16R, and then analyzed the activity of the hemolysin and sphingomyelinase. The results showed that transformation of B. anthracis with plasmid pBE2A-plcR carrying the native B. cereus plcR gene active the expression of sphingomyelinase gene, but did not activate expression of hemolysin genes of B. anthracis A16R.

[Effect of temperature on the structure of CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 nanocrystalline glass-ceramics studied by Raman spectroscopy].

In the present paper, nanocrystalline glass-ceramic of CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 system was produced by melting method. The CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 nanocrystalline glass-ceramic was measured by Raman spectroscopy in the temperature range from -190 to 310 degrees C in order to study the effect of temperature on the structure of this system nanocrystalline glass-ceramics. The results showed that different non-bridge oxygen bond silicon-oxygen tetrahedron structural unit changes are not consistent with rising temperature. Further analyses indicated that: the SiO4 tetrahedron with 2 non-bridged oxygen (Q2), the SiO4 tetrahedron with 3 non-bridged oxygen (Q(1)), which are situated at the edge of the 3-D SiO4 tetrahedrons network, and the SiO4 tetrahedron with 4 non-bridged oxygen (Q(0)), which is situated outside the 3-D network all suffered a significant influence by the temperature change, which has been expressed as: shifts towards the high wave-number, increased bond force constants, and shortened bond lengths. This paper studied the influence of temperature on CMAS system nanocrystalline glass-ceramics using variable temperature Raman technology. It provides experiment basis to the research on external environment influence on CMAS system nanocrystalline glass-ceramics materials in terms of structure and performance. In addition, the research provides experimental basis for controlling the expansion coefficient of nanocrystalline glass-ceramic of CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 system.

Genetic inactivation of the adenosine A2A receptor attenuates pathologic but not developmental angiogenesis in the mouse retina.

PURPOSE: The adenosine A(2A) receptor (A(2A)R) modulates normal vascularization and pathologic angiogenesis in many tissues and may contribute to the pathogenesis of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) characterized by abnormal retinal vascularization in surviving premature infants. Here, the authors studied the effects of the genetic inactivation of A(2A)R on normal retinal vascularization and the development of pathologic angiogenesis in oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR), an animal model of ROP. METHODS: After exposure to 75% oxygen for 5 days (postnatal day [P] 7-P12) and subsequently to room air for the next 9 days (P13-P21), we evaluated retinal vascular morphology by ADPase staining in retinal whole mounts, retinal neovascularization response by histochemistry in serial retinal sections, and retinal VEGF gene expression by real-time PCR analysis in A(2A)R knockout (KO) mice and their wild-type (WT) littermates. RESULTS: At P17, A(2A)R KO mice displayed attenuated OIR compared with WT littermates, as evidenced by reduced vaso-obliteration and areas of nonperfusion in the center of the retina, reduced pathologic angiogenesis as evident by decreased non-ganglion cells and neovascular nuclei, and inhibited hypoxia-induced retinal VEGF gene expression. Notably, the attenuation of pathologic angiogenesis by A(2A)R inactivation was selective for OIR because it did not affect normal retinal vascularization during postnatal development. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide the first evidence that A(2A)R is critical for the development of OIR and suggest a novel therapeutic approach of A(2A)R inactivation for ROP by selectively targeting pathologic but not developmental angiogenesis in the retina.

Effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound in repairing injured articular cartilage.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound in repairing injured articular cartilage. METHODS: Ten adult New Zealand rabbits with bilateral full-thickness osteochondral defects on the cartilage surface of intercondylar fossas were used in this study. The wounds in the left knees were treated with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound as the experimental group. The right knees received no treatment as the control group. All the animals were killed at 8 weeks after injury and the tissues in the wounds were collected for gross appearance grading, histological grading and proteoglycan quantity. RESULTS: The scores of the gross appearance grades, histological grades and the optical density of toluidine blue of the tissues in the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the controls at 8 weeks after injury (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound can accelerate the repair of injured articular cartilage.