A new shear creep damage model for rock masses after considering initial damage.

For a long time, one of the important safety problems in open-pit mines is the stability of a large number of high slopes with gently inclined soft interlayer. Rock masses formed after long geological processes generally have some initial damage. Mining works also cause varying degrees of disturbance and damage to rock masses in the mining area during the mining process. This phenomenon means that accurate characterization of the time-dependent creep damage for rock masses under shear load is necessary. The damage variable D is defined based on the spatial and temporal evolution laws of shear modulus and initial level of damage for the rock mass. In addition, a coupling damage equation between the initial damage of the rock mass and shear creep damage is established based on Lemaitre's strain equivalence assumption. Kachanov's damage theory is also incorporated to describe the entire process of time-dependent creep damage evolution for rock masses. A creep damage constitutive model that can reasonably reflect the actual mechanical properties of rock masses under multi-stage shear creep loading conditions is established. This takes into account multi-stage shear creep loading conditions, instantaneous creep damage during the shear load phase, staged creep damage and factors influencing the initial damage of rock masses. The reasonableness, reliability and applicability of this model are verified by comparing the results of the multi-stage shear creep test with calculated values from the proposed model. As opposed to the traditional creep damage model, the shear creep model established in this present study takes into account the initial damage of rock masses and can describe the multi-stage shear creep damage characteristics of rock masses more convincingly.

Down-regulation of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in vaccinated smokers

Vaccination is an effective approach to help control coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, since the vaccines produce a heterogenous immune response, the risk of breakthrough infection is increased in vaccinated individuals who generate low levels of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). It is therefore paramount in the fight against COVID-19 to identify individuals who have a higher risk of breakthrough infection despite being vaccinated. Here we addressed the effect of cigarette smoking on the production of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) following COVID-19 vaccination since smoking profoundly suppresses the adaptive immune response to pathogen infection and the association between vaccination and smoking remains unclear. The SARS-CoV-2 Spike antibodies and NAbs (days 0, 14, 42, and 90) were measured in 164 participants received two vaccine doses of an inactivated vaccine (Sinovac-CoronaVac) longitudinally. Anti-Spike antibodies was elevated 14 and 42 days after COVID-19 vaccination compared to baseline (i.e., "Day 0"). Notably, RBD antibodies showed significantly higher expression in the nonsmoking group (n=153) than the smoking (n=11) group on day 42 (p<0.0001, Students t-test). NAbs continually increased after the first and second vaccine dose, peaking on day 42. NAbs titers then significantly decreased until day 90. Compared to nonsmokers, the NAb levels in smokers remained low throughout the period of testing. The median NAb titers in the smoking group was 1.40-, 1.32-, or 3.00-fold lower than that of nonsmoking group on day 14, 42, or 90, respectively. Altogether, our results indicate that smoking is a specific risk factor for COVID-19 breakthrough infection following vaccination.

Neutrophil extracellular traps, released from neutrophil, promote microglia inflammation and contribute to poor outcome in subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Evidence indicates that neutrophil has promoted inflammation in several central nervous system diseases. However, whether the peripheral blood levels of neutrophils are associated with the functional outcome after subarachnoid hemorrhage and its potential mechanism remain unclear. In this study, we showed that neutrophil levels in peripheral blood were higher in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (P < 0.001) than in healthy subjects. Neutrophil levels were positively associated with Hunt and Hess grade (P < 0.001) and modified Rankin Scale scores at 3 months after SAH (P = 0.008). In terms of the mechanism, neutrophil extracellular traps markedly increased the proinflammatory subtype transition of microglia. After treatment with DNAse I, the proinflammatory subtype transition of microglia involving CD16 positive and IL-1ß positive microglia was limited (P < 0.05). This mechanism was also verified in vitro. These results indicate that the existence of neutrophil extracellular traps, released from neutrophils after subarachnoid hemorrhage, can shift microglia toward a more proinflammatory phenotype and contribute to neuroinflammation and poor outcome in subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Inhibitor screening of Spike variants reveals the heterogeneity of neutralizing antibodies to COVID-19 infection and vaccination

Mutations of the coronavirus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could impede drug development and reduce the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. Here, we developed a multiplexed Spike-ACE2 Inhibitor Screening (mSAIS) assay that can measure the neutralizing effect of antibodies across numerous variants of the coronaviruss Spike (S) protein simultaneously. By screening purified antibodies and serum from convalescent COVID-19 patients and vaccinees against 72 S variants with the mSAIS assay, we identified new S mutations that are sensitive and resistant to neutralization. Serum from both infected and vaccinated groups with a high titer of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) displayed a broader capacity to neutralize S variants than serum with low titer NAbs. These data were validated using serum from a large vaccinated cohort (n=104) with a tiled S peptide microarray. In addition, similar results were obtained using a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus neutralization assay specific for wild-type S and four prevalent S variants (D614G, B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1), thus demonstrating that high antibody diversity is associated with high NAb titers. Our results demonstrate the utility of the mSAIS platform in screening NAbs. Moreover, we show that heterogeneous antibody populations provide a more protective effect against S variants, which may help direct COVID-19 vaccine and drug development. HighlightsO_LIDeveloped a high throughput assay to screen the neutralizing effect of antibodies across multiple SARS-CoV-2 Spike variants simultaneously. C_LIO_LICharacterized the heterogeneity of neutralizing antibodies produced in response to COVID-19 infection and vaccination. C_LIO_LIDemonstrated the capacity of Spike variants neutralization is associated with the diversity of anti-Spike antibodies. C_LI

Comparison of the characteristics of medication fordiarrhea between adult and child in Erxu Mingyi Lei’an / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To compare and analyze the medication patterns for adult and children diarrhea from Erxu Mingyi Lei’an. Methods:The cases and formula prescriptions on adult and children diarrhea were recorded from Erxu Mingyi Lei ' an. The data was analyzed and compared between adult and children by the Ancient and Modern Medical Records Cloud Platform (V 2.1), including frequency statistics, association rule analysis, drug pair analysis, efficacy statistics, drug taste tropism statistics, and cluster analysis. Results:A total of 456 prescriptions of adult diarrhea were abstracted, involving 360 drugs, and the top 5 drugs were Poria, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium, Paeoniae Radix Alba and Aucklandiae Radix. The Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma paired with Poria, Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium with Poria, Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium with Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, and Paeoniae Radix Alba with Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma were commonly used in the treatment of adult diarrhea. Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Poria were the core drugs for adult diarrhea. There were 111 prescriptions for pediatric diarrhea, involving 180 drugs, and the top 5 were Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Poria, Paeoniae Radix Alba, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and Nelumbinis Folium. The Poria paired with Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata Cum Melle, and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata with Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma were commonly used in the treatment of diarrhea in children. The Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Poria and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata were the core drugs for children diarrhea. The main charateristics of drugswas warm type, sweet taste, and the main meridian belongs to spleen, followed by stomach and lung meridians. The use of carbided drugs in adults were significantly higher than children. Conclusions:The Erxu Mingyi Lei’an forcused the treatment of invigorating the spleen qi, where the adult formular often matches the drugs of drying dampness and invigorating the spleen, aromatizing dampness, slight infiltration and eliminating dampness, while the children formular often matches the drugs of warming the Yang and warming the Yang. Many kinds of carbonaceous drugs can be used in the treatment of adult diarrhea, but they should be used with caution in the treatment of children.

Serum protein profiling reveals a landscape of inflammation and immune signaling in early-stage COVID-19 infection

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious infection and threating the human lives in the world. The elevation of cytokines in blood is crucial to induce cytokine storm and immunosuppression in the transition of severity in COVID-19 patients. However, the comprehensive changes of serum proteins in COVID-19 patients throughout the SARS-CoV-2 infection is unknown. In this work, we developed a high-density antibody microarray and performed an in-depth proteomics analysis of serum samples collected from early COVID-19 (n=15) and influenza (n=13) patients. We identified a large set of differentially expressed proteins (n=125) that participate in a landscape of inflammation and immune signaling related to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, the significant correlations of neutrophil and lymphocyte with the CCL2 and CXCL10 mediated cytokine signaling pathways was identified. These information are valuable for the understanding of COVID-19 pathogenesis, identification of biomarkers and development of the optimal anti-inflammation therapy.

Proteome-wide analysis of differentially-expressed SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in early COVID-19 infection

Rapid and accurate tests that detect IgM and IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 proteins are essential in slowing the spread of COVID-19 by identifying patients who are infected with COVID-19. Using a SARS-CoV-2 proteome microarray developed in our lab, we comprehensively profiled both IgM and IgG antibodies in forty patients with early-stage COVID-19, influenza, or non-influenza who had similar symptoms. The results revealed that the SARS-CoV-2 N protein is not an ideal biomarker for COVID-19 diagnosis because of its low immunogenicity, thus tests that rely on this marker alone will have a high false negative rate. Our data further suggest that the S protein subunit 1 receptor binding domain (S1-RBD) might be the optimal antigen for IgM antibody detection, while the S protein extracellular domain (S1+S2ECD) would be the optimal antigen for both IgM and IgG antibody detection. Notably, the combination of all IgM and IgG biomarkers can identify 87% and 73.3% COVID-19 patients, respectively. Finally, the COVID-19-specific antibodies are significantly correlated with the clinical indices of viral infection and acute myocardial injury (p[≤]0.05). Our data may help understand the function of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and improve serology tests for rapid COVID-19 screening.

SARS-CoV-2 proteome microarray for mapping COVID-19 antibody interactions at amino acid resolution

COVID-19 has quickly become a worldwide pandemic, which has significantly impacted the economy, education, and social interactions. Understanding the humoral antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 proteins may help identify biomarkers that can be used to detect and treat COVID-19 infection. However, no immuno-proteomics platform exists that can perform such proteome-wide analysis. To address this need, we created a SARS-CoV-2 proteome microarray to analyze antibody interactions at amino acid resolution by spotting peptides 15 amino acids long with 5-amino acid offsets representing full-length SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Moreover, the array processing time is short (1.5 hours), the dynamic range is ~2 orders of magnitude, and the lowest limit of detection is 94 pg/mL. Here, the SARS-CoV-2 proteome array reveals that antibodies commercially available for SARS-CoV-1 proteins can also target SARS-CoV-2 proteins. These readily available reagents could be used immediately in COVID-19 research. Second, IgM and IgG immunogenic epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 proteins were profiled in the serum of ten COVID-19 patients. Such epitope biomarkers provide insight into the immune response to COVID-19 and are potential targets for COVID-19 diagnosis and vaccine development. Finally, serological antibodies that may neutralize viral entry into host cells via the ACE2 receptor were identified. Further investigation into whether these antibodies can inhibit the propagation of SARS-CoV-2 is warranted. Antibody and epitope profiling in response to COVID-19 is possible with our peptide-based SARS-COV-2 proteome microarray. The data gleaned from the array could provide invaluable information to the scientific community to understand, detect, and treat COVID-19.

Free costal cartilage combined with helix stretching for correction of Tanzer ⅡB type constricted ear deformity / 中华整形外科杂志

Objective@#To explore the effect of using free costal cartilage combined with helix stretching to correct Tanzer IIB type constricted ear deformity.@*Methods@#From January 2015 to January 2017, free costal cartilage combined with helix stretching method was performed in 8 ears of 6 patients. All patients had Tanzer IIB type constricted ear deformity. Rotation flap and subcutaneous helix tunnel were designed and prepared. Thereafter, the helix cartilage was stretched. The costal cartilage was carved and placed in the helix subcutaneous tunnel. The flap was then rotated to cover the wound.@*Results@#All patients were recovered without significant complication. No flap necrosis or cartilage exposure was observed. Helix and antihelix were obvious. The corrected ears were similar to the healthy side, after 3 to 6 months follow up.@*Conclusions@#The combination of free costal cartilage and helix stretching is an effective method to correct Tanzer ⅡB type constricted ear deformity.

The tumbling concha-cartilage flap for correction of mild constricted ear / 中华整形外科杂志

Objective@#To explore the effect of the tumbling concha-cartilage flap for correction of mild constricted ear.@*Methods@#From January 2015 to January 2017, 6 constricted ears of 6 cases were corrected using this procedure. All patients were from Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science. They were four male and two female patients, age from 3 to 28 years old, with average age of 14 years. Through anterior and posterior skin incisions, a rectangular or T-shaped cartilage flap was elevated from the concha and tumbled backward. After passing through the postauricular skin, the flap′s tip was fixed to the lidded helix or scapha. The recoiling force of the flap′s conchal side enabled the lidded portion to be in a normal, erect, anatomic position. This method also increased the vertical height of the ear and created a normally shaped scapha.@*Results@#The follow-up time was 6-12 months. Six constricted ears were corrected using this procedure, and maintained natural auricular features.@*Conclusions@#The tumbling concha-cartilage flap is a reliable and effective method for the correction of constricted ear.

The current progress of clinical therapy for prominent ear / 中华整形外科杂志

Domestic and overseas studies onthe prominent eartreatment were reviewed and analyzed.Current progress of clinical therapy for prominent ear was summarized.The uniform clinical diagnosis and therapy of prominent earhave not been determined, due to its complicated and various therapeutic methods and unclear etiology. Reported therapies mainly include: (1)surgical therapy, which attains satisfactory therapeutic effect by adopting improved approaches, i. e. the combination of operations or the innovative methods based on Mustarde′s, Sterstrom′s and Converse′s surgical methods. (2)Non-surgical therapy, including ear splinting or molding, and laser-assisted cartilage reshaping(LACR). The non-surgical therapyisa hot research field, and is going to bepopularizedin the future.Research of etiology and non-surgical treatments may be helpful to provide abetter therapy strategy for prominent ear.

Analysis of thromboinflammatory response expression profile in pregnancy and preeclampsia / 临床检验杂志

Objective@#To explore the differences of thromboinflammatory response between healthy pregnancy and preeclampsia (PE) and provide potential strategies for diagnosis and prevention of PE. @*Methods@#The antibody microarray was prepared to detect plasma protein expression profile of non-pregnant women, healthy pregnant women and preeclampsia patients. The differentially expressed proteins were identified and analyzed. @*Results@#The levels of 37 proteins were significantly different between non-pregnant and healthy pregnant women, among which 16 proteins were increased, such as disintegrin, metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 12 and C-C motif chemokine 2, while 21 proteins were decreased, such as GM-CSF and apolipoprotein F. The levels of 27 proteins were significantly different between healthy pregnant women and preeclampsia patients, among which 16 proteins were increased, such as GM-CSF and VEGFR2 and 11 proteins were decreased, such as tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand and interferon Omega 1. Further analysis found that PE patients group presented more complicated changes compared with healthy pregnant women. PE group included more significantly increased proteins which involved in inflammation and immune responses and elevated levels of acute phase reaction, while the levels of more anti-inflammation cytokines decreased significantly. In the plasma of PE patients more proteins participating thrombosis and complement reaction increased significantly. Also, renin level was significantly dropped and VEGFR2 was elevated. @*Conclusion@#More serious inflammatory response, hypercoagulable status and imbalance of angiogenesis and anti-angiogenesis may exist in PE, which should be helpful for further improving potential strategies in diagnosis and prevention of PE.

Ultra-delicate split-thickness skin graft in continuity with full-thickness skin flap combined with Z-plasty for correction of cryptotia / 中华整形外科杂志

Objective@#To explore the curative effect of ultra-delicate split-thickness skin graft in continuity with full-thickness skin flap combined with Z-plasty for correction of cryptotia.@*Methods@#Four cases (six ears) were corrected by ultra-delicate split-thickness skin graft in continuity with full-thickness skin flap combined with Z-plasty method from 2016 to 2017. Following ear release, the flap is rotated into the defect and donor site covered by a razor-thin graft raised in continuity with the flap, the posterior flap was advanced and sutured with Z-plasty.@*Results@#All corrected auricles four cases (six ears) were followed up from 3 months to 1 year and abtained satisfactory and stable appearance.@*Conclusions@#The shape of auricle is natural and satisfactory after operation. The method is simple and no skin grafting is needed. The adhesion of the hidden muscles and cartilages were sufficiently released.

Early non-surgical treatment of congenital auricular deformity / 中华整形外科杂志

Objective@#To investigate the effect of auricle deformity corrector in non-surgical treatment of congenital auricular deformity.@*Methods@#The auricular deformity correctors were applied for non-surgical treatment of congenital auricular deformities. The patients were divided into three groups according to the treatment starting age (<1 month old, 1-3 months old, 3-6 months old), followed up for every month respectively after treatment. According to the improvement of auricle morphology, the treatment results were divided into four levels (e, g, f, p) and the effective rate (e+ g)% was calculated.@*Results@#From January 2014 to December 2016, there were 140 ears of congenital malformations in children aged less than 6 months who were treated and followed up. Among them, 33 ears had helical rim abnormalities, 29 with cup-shaped ears, 12 with prominent ears, 4 with Stahl′s ears, and 62 with cryptotia ears. The therapeutic efficacies (<1 month old, 1-3 months old, 3-6 months) of these ear malformations were: cryptotia ear (100%, 100%, 87.5%), helical rim abnormality (100%, 90.47%, 66.67 %), prominent ear (-, 100%, 50%), cup ear (100%, 78.57%, 53.33%), Stahl′s ear (-, 100%, 33.33%). Follow-up more than 6 months after treatment, up to a year and a half, no recurrence was found.@*Conclusions@#The auricular deformity corrector can be used as an effective approach for achieving natural outcomes and correcting cosmetic abnormalities. Rate of satisfaction is dependent on types of deformity, the neonatal age in which treatment started and also parents′ compliance to treatment methods and principals. The method is noninvasive, easy to wear and works well. Early proper treatment can avoid future operations and save social medical resources.

Total auricular reconstruction using extended retroauricular flap and tissue expansion / 中华整形外科杂志

Objective@#To investigate the modification of the classic techniques of total auricle reconstruction with skin expansion, and its clinical application.@*Methods@#We performed three-dimensional measurement of the normal auricle and the expanded flap on 150 microtia patients. According to the data, we carried out total auricle reconstruction using extended postauricle expanded flap techniques for 82 patients of the group. Firstly, a 50 ml kidney-shaped expander was inserted subcutaneously in the mastoid region. Approximately 65 ml saline was injected in about 30 days, and expansion was kept without injection for another 30 days. In the second stage, we removed the expander and dissected the scalp 4-5 cm around the expanded skin, to make a composite flap consisted of expanded skin and extend scalp. Then we used the flap to encapsulate the three-dimensional rib cartilage framework to accomplish total auricle reconstruction.@*Results@#The blood supply and venous drainage of the flap was good. No obvious postoperative flap swelling was observed. Only 2 cases of helix skin necrosis happened in 48 hours after operation. Small area of skin defect was treated by debridement and suture, while larger area of skin defect was repaired with postauricular fascia flap and free skin graft. Postoperative follow-up period was 4-15 months, about 6.7 months in average. Bilateral ear size and position were similar with clear structures and shapes. Helix seemed more slim, auriculocephalic sulcus was obvious, auriculocephalic angle was similar to the other side. There was no color abberration between the front and back side of reconstructed ear. Scars of retroauricular hairline incision and costal cartilage harvesting incision were not obvious.@*Conclusions@#The novel surgical techniques is reasonable and simple without fascia flap or skin graft, which is worthy of application by more plastic surgeons.

Serum and glucocorticoid kinase 1 promoted the growth and migration of non-small cell lung cancer cells.

Serum and glucocorticoid kinase 1 (SGK1) has been reported to be up-regulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, its functions in NSCLC remained unclear. Here, SGK1 was found to be up-regulated in NSCLC samples. Over-expression of SGK1 promoted the growth and migration of NSCLC cells, while down-regulation of SGK1 inhibited the growth, migration and metastasis of NSCLC cells. SGK1 promoted the phosphorylation of GSK3 beta and the accumulation of beta-catenin, up-regulation of the target genes downstream of beta-catenin/TCF signaling, and activating the transcriptional activity of beta-catenin/TCF complex. Collectively, SGK1 might promote the progression of NSCLC through activating beta-catenin/TCF signaling.

[Clinical analysis on characteristics of rib cartilage calcification in congenital microtia patients].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the incidence, degree, and pattern of rib cartilage calcification in congenital microtia patients, in order to provide reference for harvesting the rib cartilage, sculpturing cartilage framework. METHODS: From Jun. 2013 to Nov. 2014, 383 patients (age range, 6-45 years) underwent CT scans of the chest. 11 patients with bony diseases or traumatic history were excluded. The remaining 372 patients were divided by age into four groups as 6-15, 16-25, 26-35, 36-45 years old. Twenty patients (10 male and 10 female) were selected by the order of patient identification number in each age group, thus selecting a total of 80 patients (40 male and 40 female). Retrospective study of CT scans of the chest in 80 patients and the incidence, degree, and pattern of cartilage calcification of the sixth to eighth ribs were noted. A chi-square test is conducted to test whether there are significant difference between the variables through the SPSS 19.0 software. RESULTS: Overall, 40.4% (194/480) cartilage was calcified; female patients (47.50%, 114/240) showed higher frequency of calcification than male patients (33.33%, 80/240, P = 0. 025). Calcification rates of all age groups are 1.7% (2/120), 46.7% (56/ 120), 49.2% (59/120), 64.2% (77/120). Calcification rate of 6-15 years group is lowest in all groups (P < 0.05) while other three groups have no statistical significance (P > 0.05). Calcification rates of the sixth and sevent rib cartilage were higher than those of the eighth rib cartilage in all age groups except 6-15 years group, who had a similar rate of all three ribs. Calcification rate of all three rib cartilage was significantly increased with age. Calcification rates of the amle's rib cartilage and the female's in all age groups are 3.3% (2/60) and 0.0% (0/60) (6-15 years): 33.3% (20/60) and 60.0% (36/60) (16-25 years): 40.0% (24/60) and 58.3% (35/60) (26-35 years), 56.7% (34/60) and 71.2% (43/60) (36-45 years). In 6-15 years group calcification rates of male and female had a similar rate, while female's rates were higher than male's rates in other three groups. Male and females mainly had the granular type of calcification [70.0% (56/80), 63.2% (72/114)]. CONCLUSIONS: Females who are over 16 years old should pay more attention to the possibility of middle-severe calcification before harvesting rib cartilage. These patients should take CT examination if necessary. In addition, the patients who had previous operation, or traumatic history, rib deformity, or spine deformity should select the CT examination.

[Expanded post-auricular skin flap combined with autologous rib cartilage framework for correction of concha-type microtia].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical effect of the method by using an expanded post-auricular skin flap combined with autologous rib cartilage framework for correction of concha-type microtia. METHODS: The operation were performed in three stages. The expander was implanted under post-auricular skin at the first stage and expanded skin flap was formed. At the second stage, the expander was taken out and the expanded skin flap was transferred with autologous rib cartilage framework and skin graft for correction of microtia. At the third stage, the reconstructed ear was revised and new concha was formed. RESULTS: From August 2008 to August 2011, 108 cases with 113 concha-type microtia were corrected by this method. All patients healed primarily and were followed up for 6 months to 3 years. The reconstructed ears had a good appearance and position, and were symmetric to ear on the healthy sides. CONCLUSIONS: Using expanded post-auricular skin flap combined with autologous rib cartilage framework is a reliable method for concha-type microtia.

Bacteriological examination of digital X-ray imaging device before and after disinfection / 中华全科医师杂志

The digital X-ray imaging device was disinfected with trichloro-isocyanuric acid solution.The samples were taken with cotton swab pouring method before and 1,2,3 and 6 h after disinfection and the bacteriological examination was performed.Before disinfection the colony count of samples was all above the standard (＞ 10 cfu/cm2) with bacilli and gram-positive cocci predominantly.The highest count was detected in the X-ray photographic bed (58 cfu/cm2) and the lowest was in the exposure button(19 cfu/cm2).After disinfection the colony count in radiation suits still exceeded the standard,the colony count in diagnosis bed 2 h after disinfection,that in all parts of device 3 h after disinfection was off levels.The results indicate that the chlorine disinfectants can only achieve short-term effect in disinfection of digital X-ray imaging device.

Aesthetic and functional restoration of anterior neck scar contracture using a bipedicled expanded forehead flap.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to explore a new method to restore functional and cosmetic outcomes for anterior neck burn scar contracture. METHODS: Tissue expanders were implanted subcutaneously under the muscle of the forehead. Tissue expansion started 1 week postoperatively. When the skin expansion finished, a bilateral pedicled expanded skin flap was created on the basis of the superficial temporal artery and transferred to the anterior neck. Both the range of motion of cervical spine and the mental cervical angle were measured before and after operation. Data were analysed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 13.0 and t-test. RESULTS: From September 2006 to May 2010, six male patients were treated by this method. The active range of motion of the neck of patients improved, the postoperative ranges of active flexion, extension, left flexion, right flexion and left and right rotation of cervical spine increased respectively. The mental cervical angle was 152.7±1.9° preoperatively and 90.7±2.2° postoperatively; the physiological angle was recovered. Patients were followed up from 5 months to 3 years, they were satisfied with the results and no recurrence of contracture was found. CONCLUSION: The bipedicled expanded forehead flap, which provided good blood supply, repaired anterior contracture in the neck and created both aesthetic and functional results; it also diminished donor morbidity.