Search

Background The overwhelming majority of hangman’s fractures cause anterior dislocation of C2. Hangman’s fracture with C2 posterior dislocation is extremely rare, only one paediatric case was reported in 2018 to date. This kind of injury cannot be catalogued using current classification schemes and no established treatment recommendations exist. The purpose of this article is to report a rare case of a hangman's fracture with C2 posterior dislocation, which does not fit into existing classification systems and discuss management technical notes to avoid pitfalls. Methods Description of case, review of relevant literatures and share our experience. Results A 31-year-old male sustained hangman’s fracture with C2 posterior dislocation after fell into a 50cm deep roadside ditch when riding a motorcycle. Radiograph and computed tomography (CT) on admission showed fractures through both pars of C2 and C2 posterior dislocation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on admission showed high T2-weighted signal intensity of cervical spinal cord and compression of cervical spinal cord by posterior dislocation of C2 vertebral body. A C2-3 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) was performed. At 6 months after operation, bony fusion was achieved, and MRI showed the T2-weighted signal hyperintensity of cervical spinal cord before surgery disappeared. Conclusion C2–C3 ACDF is recommended for hangman's fractures with C2 posterior dislocation. Traction before surgery is not recommended.

Longitudinally oriented microstructures are essential for a nerve scaffold to promote the significant regeneration of injured peripheral axons across nerve gaps. In the current study, we present a novel nerve-guiding collagen-chitosan (CCH) scaffold that facilitated the repair of 30 mm-long sciatic nerve defects in beagles. The CCH scaffolds were observed with a scanning electron microscope. Eighteen beagles were equally divided into CCH group, autograft group and non-graft group. The posture and gait of each dog was recorded at 12 and 24 weeks after surgery. Electrophysiological tests, Fluoro-Gold retrograde tracing test, Histological assessment of gastrocnemius and immunofluorescent staining of nerve regeneration were performed. Our investigation of regenerated sciatic nerves indicated that a CCH scaffold strongly supported directed axon regeneration in a manner similar to that achieved by autologous nerve transplantation. In vivo animal experiments showed that the CCH scaffold achieved nerve regeneration and functional recovery equivalent to that achieved by an autograft but without requiring the exogenous delivery of regenerative agents or cell transplantation. We conclude that CCH nerve guides show great promise as a method for repairing peripheral nerve defects.

Background Intrinsic and acquired chemoresistance remains a critical challenge in lung cancer chemotherapy. Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway plays an important role in antagonizing the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutics by repairing DNA damage. We recently demonstrated that the traditional Chinese medicinal herb, Centipeda minima (C. minima), possessed anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, the potential anticancer application of C. minima and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Purpose We aimed to investigate the combined anticancer effects of the ethanol extract of C. minima (ECM) and DNA-crosslinking agents on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Methods Cell viability and flow cytometry assay were performed to determine the synergistic cytotoxicity of ECM and DNA-crosslinking agents, cisplatin (CDDP) or mitomycin C (MMC), in NSCLC cells. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were conducted to examine the effects of ECM on protein expression in DNA damage repair pathway. Comet assay was applied to evaluate DNA damage levels. Subcutaneous xenografts of NSCLC were established to evaluate the combined anticancer effects of ECM and CDDP. Results Combined treatments with ECM and DNA-crosslinking agents exhibited synergistic cytotoxic effects against A549 and H1299 cells. FANCD2 was highly expressed in NSCLC that correlates with poor prognosis of NSCLC patients, based on the online database analysis. ECM significantly inhibited DNA damage-induced monoubiquitination and nuclear foci formation of FANCD2, thereby sensitizing NSCLC to CDDP- or MMC-induced DNA damage and apoptosis, as evidenced by increased expression of γ-H2AX, increased cleavage of caspases-3 and PARP, and enhanced Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. Further, ECM can also decrease the protein level of FANCD2 that contributes to the chemosensitizing effects. Moreover, ECM significantly attenuated CDDP-mediated S-phase arrest by antagonizing the activation of ATR/Chk1 pathway in NSCLC cells. Animal experiments further demonstrated that ECM and CDDP combination treatment synergistically inhibited tumor growth by decreasing FANCD2 protein level in tumor tissues. Conclusion Our results demonstrated that ECM can inhibit DNA-crosslinking agents-induced activation of FA pathway by attenuating both the expression and monoubiquitination of FANCD2. ECM and CDDP combination therapy exhibited synergistic anticancer effects both in vitro and in vivo, indicating that ECM and its active components might serve as novel anticancer drugs in the combination chemotherapy.

The densities, viscosities, and conductivities of the ternary solutions [N-EMP]Br (N-ethyl,methyl-piperidinium bromide) + [N-PMP]Br (N-propyl,methyl-piperidinium bromide) + H2O, [N-EMP]Br + [N-BMP]Br (N-butyl,methyl-piperidinium bromide) + H2O, and [N-PMP]Br + [N-BMP]Br + H2O and their binary subsystems at (293.15, 298.15, 303.15, and 308.15) K and atmospheric pressure were measured. The equations for prediction of the density, viscosity, and conductivity of mixed electrolyte solutions were extended to predict the related properties of mixed ionic liquid solutions. The predicted values agree well with the experimental data, indicating that the examined properties of the ternary aqueous solutions of piperidinium-based ILs can well be predicted from the corresponding data of their binary subsystems of equal ionic strength by using these equations. In addition, the equation of Patwardhan and Kumar, Hu’s equation, and Young’s rule can provide better predictions than the simple equations.

A series of ionic liquids based on N-ethylpiperidinium cations and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (TFSI) anion were synthesized and their physical and electrochemical properties including melting point, glass transition temperature, density, viscosity, conductivity, heat capacity, thermal decomposition temperature and electrochemical window were investigated. These ionic liquids exhibited relatively high thermal stabilities, wide electrochemical windows and relatively high conductivities. Methoxy or methyl acetate group was introduced into the alkyl chain of the N-ethylpiperidinium cation, and the effect of such introduction on the properties of the corresponding ionic liquids was investigated. The results show that introducing methoxy group into the alkyl chain of N-ethylpiperidinium considerably increases the fluidity (decreases the viscosity and increases the conductivity) and slightly decreases the thermal and electrochemical stabilities of the corresponding dialkyl substituted ionic liquids. By comparison, replacing the n-butyl side group on the piperidinium cation with methyl acetate group significantly decreases the fluidity and slightly decreases the thermal and electrochemical stabilities of the ionic liquid.

Despite surgical discectomy is one of the most effective treatments for intervertebral disc degeneration and lumbar disc herniation, a number of patients still complain of reserved low back pain, sciatica and numbness post-operatively with decreased life quality. Sciatica in patients with disc herniation is not only due to mechanical compression from herniated nucleus pulposus, but chemical and immunity agents. The intervertebral disc is composed of annulus fibrosus in the wedge and gelatinous nucleus pulposus in the centre with cartilage endplate sandwiched. Similar to other immune privilege organs, human intervertebral disc is one of the biggest avascular structures with FasL expression. Moreover, FasL-Fas and TRAIL death pathways might play roles in the machinery of immune privilege of the disc. We found that down-regulated miR-155 promotes Fas-mediated apoptosis in disc degeneration. Furthermore, once exposed to human immune system, nucleus pulposus can activate multiple specific and non-specific immune responses with cellular and fluid immune cells and molecules involved. Taken together, we hypothesize that a combined molecular immunotherapy with local and systemic immunity regulators might shed a novel light on the treatment strategies for disc degeneration and herniation.

By using ASE350 (Accelerated Solvent Extraction) Shenhua long flame coal was extracted with mixed solvent of carbon disulfide/N-methyl pyrrolidone (CS2/NMP) under high temperature and high pressure, and the extraction rate was about 25%. The extracted residue was degraded by ruthenium ion catalytic oxidation (RICO), then the products were examined with IC and GC/MS, which depends on thermalauxiliary-methyl esterification of tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH, 25% methanol solution). The results show that the macromolecular structure of Shenhua coal contains alkyl side chains at a length of C2–28 and alkyl bridge between aromatic rings at a length of C2–22. The aromatic condensation level is relatively low (most are conjugated structure of 2–4 benzene rings). And there are many ether linked aromatic structures, oxygen groups like hydroxyl (-OH), carbonyl (C=O), methoxy (-OCH3), and heteroatom compounds with sulfur and nitrogen.