Metformin attenuates post-epidural fibrosis by inhibiting the TGF-β1/Smad3 and HMGB1/TLR4 signaling pathways

Excessive post-epidural fibrosis is a common cause of recurrent back pain after spinal surgery. Though various treatment methods have been conducted, the safe and effective drug for alleviating post-epidural fibrosis remains largely unknown. Metformin, a medicine used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, has been noted to relieve fibrosis in various organs. In the present study, we aimed to explore the roles and mechanisms of metformin in scar formation in a mouse model of laminectomy. Post-epidural fibrosis developed in a mouse model of laminectomy by spinous process and the T12-L2 vertebral plate with a rongeur. With the administration of metformin, post-epidural fibrosis was reduced, accompanied with decreased collagen and fibronectin in the scar tissues. Mechanistically, metformin decreased fibronectin and collagen deposition in fibroblast cells, and this effect was dependent on the HMGB1/TLR4 and TGF-β1/Smad3 signalling pathways. In addition, metformin influenced the metabolomics of the fibroblast cells. Taken together, our study suggests that metformin may be a potential option to mitigate epidural fibrosis after laminectomy.     

PhyloSuite: An integrated and scalable desktop platform for streamlined molecular sequence data management and evolutionary phylogenetics studies

Multigene and genomic data sets have become commonplace in the field of phylogenetics, but many existing tools are not designed for such data sets, which often makes the analysis time‐consuming and tedious. Here, we present PhyloSuite , a (cross‐platform, open‐source, stand‐alone Python graphical user interface) user‐friendly workflow desktop platform dedicated to streamlining molecular sequence data management and evolutionary phylogenetics studies. It uses a plugin‐based system that integrates several phylogenetic and bioinformatic tools, thereby streamlining the entire procedure, from data acquisition to phylogenetic tree annotation (in combination with iTOL). It has the following features: (a) point‐and‐click and drag‐and‐drop graphical user interface; (b) a workplace to manage and organize molecular sequence data and results of analyses; (c) GenBank entry extraction and comparative statistics; and (d) a phylogenetic workflow with batch processing capability, comprising sequence alignment (mafft and macse ), alignment optimization (trimAl, HmmCleaner and Gblocks), data set concatenation, best partitioning scheme and best evolutionary model selection (PartitionFinder and modelfinder ), and phylogenetic inference (MrBayes and iq‐tree ). PhyloSuite is designed for both beginners and experienced researchers, allowing the former to quick‐start their way into phylogenetic analysis, and the latter to conduct, store and manage their work in a streamlined way, and spend more time investigating scientific questions instead of wasting it on transferring files from one software program to another.     

罗哌卡因腰麻联合硬膜外麻醉在剖宫产手术中的应用效果

目的:探讨罗哌卡因腰麻联合硬膜外麻醉在剖宫产手术中的应用效果及安全性,为妇科手术麻醉提供可借鉴的方法。方法:对我院于2012年2月至2013年2月期间收治的100例行剖宫产术患者,均于腰硬联合麻醉方式下进行手术,按照随机数字表法,分为观察组50例与对照组50例,分别使用甲磺酸罗哌卡因与盐酸布比卡因进行麻醉,观察与对比两组患者的麻醉效果与不良反应。结果:观察组患者的运动阻滞起效时间、运动阻滞维持时间均显著低于对照组患者,差异存在统计学意义(P0.05);观察组患者与对照组患者在不良反应方面比较,差异不存在统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:罗哌卡因腰麻联合硬膜外麻醉在剖宫产手术中,产生的麻醉效果快速,且安全可靠性有保障,具备临床推广应用的价值。     

宫腔镜手术对剖宫产瘢痕缺陷所致月经异常患者的临床疗效观察

目的:研究宫腔镜手术(hysteroscope operation,HO)对剖宫产瘢痕缺陷(Cesarean scar defect,CSD)所致月经异常(abnormal menstruation,AM)病患的临床疗效。方法:选择我院2009年7月-2013年7月收治的200例CSD所致AM病患进行观察,以数字法随机分2组。观察组(100例)给予HO治疗,对照组(100例)实施保守疗法。比较两组病患月经持续时间,月经流血量以及疗效情况。结果:观察组月经持续时间为(6.65±1.18)d,月经流血量为(63.24±10.49)mL,较对照组的(8.63±1.08)d,(81.62±11.52)ml,明显更低;观察组显效率为72.00%(72/100),总有效率为90.00%(90/100);较对照组的51.00%(51/100),74.00%(74/100),明显更高;差异均具有统计学意义(均P0.05)。结论:HO治疗CSD所致AM病患疗效显著,值得临床推广。     

保乳手术治疗92例早期乳腺癌的临床疗效观察

目的：观察保留乳房手术治疗早期乳腺癌的临床治疗效果及其安全性。方法：回顾性分析我院2008年5月-2010年5月间收治的92例行保乳手术的早期乳腺癌患者的,临床资料,观察实施保乳手术并综合后的治疗疗效和患者生活质量变化。结果：全部患者均顺利接受手术,近期乳房外形保持较好,美容效果好,手术并发症少。术后随访20-44个月,1例局部复发,1例肝转移,无死亡病例。结论：保乳手术治疗早期乳腺癌的美容效果好,并发症少,疗效显著;术前严格掌握手术适应症,术后规范的综合治疗,是取得良好效果的基础。     

妇科手术造成泌尿系统损伤的原因及预防

目的：分析妇科手术致泌尿系统损伤的原因,并为预防提供理论依据,以改善患者的预后。方法：对我院2003年6月-2010年10月进行妇科手术治疗的13801例患者进行回顾性统计,分析出现泌尿系统损伤患者的相关资料,探讨其泌尿系统损伤情况,归纳影响妇科手术损伤泌尿系统的危险因素。结果：13801例患者共确诊122例术后泌尿系统损伤,损伤率0．88％;多因素分析显示,手术方式、盆腔粘连、导尿管阻塞及手术操作是影响妇科手术泌尿系统损伤的独立危险因素,有统计学意5C（P〈0．05）。结论：妇科手术致泌尿系统损伤的原因主要有手术方式的选择,患者出现盆腔粘连,导尿管受到阻塞及手术操作不当等。绝大部分损伤可在术前、术中得到避免,而对于术后出现泌尿系统损伤的患者,应进行及时有效的处理,以保证患者生活质量,改善预后。     

院前明胶海绵栓塞治疗肾血管损伤的动物研究

目的：探讨在新型综合手术救治方舱中明胶海绵栓塞治疗肾血管损伤的可行性和疗效。方法：在新型综合手术救治方舱中构建3例动物肾腹（背）干动脉损伤模型、3例肾段动脉损伤模型,先用1mm×1mm×1mm明胶海绵颗粒对损伤血管进行栓塞治疗,若未能止血,改用2mm×2mm×2mm颗粒栓塞,观察栓塞后15分钟、1月后的肾动脉造影,栓塞后1月的组织病理表现。结果：3例肾段动脉和1例肾腹干动脉使用1mm×1mm×1mm明胶海绵颗粒一次栓塞成功;1例肾腹干动脉和1例肾背干动脉用1mm×1mm×1mm颗粒栓塞未能完全止血,改用2mm×2mm×2mm颗粒栓塞成功。6例动物术后生命体征平稳,全部存活,一个月后造影复查见栓塞动脉来再通,但其余分支动脉血供得到保留。大体标本观栓塞侧肾明显缩小,来见脓腔和脓性分泌物,病理切片示栓塞后局部肾组织有不同范围缺血性梗死。结论：野战方舱中明胶海绵栓塞治疗出血效果明确,对于一般肾血管损伤定位准确,止血迅速、彻底,有良好的可行性和疗效。     

新辅助化疗对ⅠB2～ⅡB期宫颈癌近期疗效的观察

目的:探讨新辅助化疗对ⅠB2～ⅡB期宫颈癌的近期疗效。方法:对哈尔滨医科大学附属第二医院2005年9月～2007年1月间ⅠB2～ⅡB期宫颈癌82例进行前瞻性研究,其中42例在根治性手术前行新辅助化疗(Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy,NACT)2～3个疗程,为NACT组,40例在术前未行新辅助化疗,为直接手术组。评价NACT组化疗疗效及影响疗效的相关因素,比较两组手术后的病理结果。结果:NACT的总有效率为76.2%,化疗效果与临床分期和分化程度无关(P>0.05),与病理类型及肿瘤的大小有关,鳞癌的有效率明显高于非磷癌(P<0.05),肿瘤直径>8cm的疗效明显低于≤8cm(P<0.05)。两组术后盆腔淋巴结阳性率及宫旁侵润率之间的差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);在NACT组中化疗有效组与无效组术后盆腔淋巴结阳性率及宫旁侵润率之间的差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)结论:新辅助化疗可改善宫颈癌的临床分期,提高宫颈癌的手术疗效,成为治疗ⅠB2～ⅡB期宫颈癌一种新手段,有较大的临床应用价值     

Evidence of colorectal cancer risk associated variant Lys25Ser in the proximity of human bone morphogenetic protein 2

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent cancer and fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. It has been shown that the nsSNP variants play an important role in diseases, however it remained unclear how these variants are associated with the disease. Recently, several CRC risk associated SNPs have been discovered, however rs961253 (Lys25Arg at 20p12.3) located in the proximity of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (Bmp2) and fermitin family homolog 1 Fermt1 genes have been reported to be highly associated with the CRC risk. Here we provide evidence for the first time in silico biological functional and structural implications of non-synonymous (nsSNPs) CRC disease-associated variant Lys25Arg via molecular dynamic (MD) simulation. Protein structural analysis was performed with a particular variant allele (A/C, Lys25Arg) and compared with the predicted native protein structure. Our results showed that this nsSNP will cause changes in the protein structure and as a result is associated with the disease. In addition to the native and mutant 3D structures of CRC associated risk allele protein domain (CRAPD), they were also analyzed using solvent accessibility models for further protein stability confirmation. Taken together, this study confirmed that this variant has functional effect and structural impact on the CRAPD and may play an important role in CRC disease progression; hence it could be a reasonable approach for studying the effect of other deleterious variants in future studies.