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BACKGROUND Degrading enzymes play an important role in the process of disc degeneration. The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between the expression of high temperature requirement serine protease A1 (HtrA1) in the nucleus pulposus and the T2 value of the nucleus pulposus region in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIAL AND METHODS Thirty-six patients who had undergone surgical excision of the nucleus pulposus were examined by MRI before surgery. Pfirrmann grading of the target intervertebral disc was performed according to the sagittal T2-weighted imaging, and the T2 value of the target nucleus pulposus was measured according to the median sagittal T2 mapping. The correlation between the Pfirrmann grade and the T2 value was analyzed. The expression of HtrA1 in the nucleus pulposus was analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blot. The correlation between the expression of HtrA1 and the T2 value was analyzed. RESULTS The T2 value of the nucleus pulposus region was 33.11-167.91 ms, with an average of 86.64±38.73 ms. According to Spearman correlation analysis, there was a rank correlation between T2 value and Pfirrmann grade (P

Lumbar instability of the lumbar spine is thought to be a possible mechanical mechanism underlying low back pain and is often an important factor in determining surgical indication for spinal fusion and decompression. Instability of the lumbar spine, however, remains a poorly understood subject. Clinical presentation is not specific, and the relationship between radiologic imaging of instability and its symptoms is controversial. Because of its simplicity, low expense, and pervasive availability, functional flexion-extension radiography is the most thoroughly studied and the most widely used method in the imaging diagnosis of lumbar intervertebral instability. In this article, we provide an overview of the current concepts of vertebral instability, focusing on degenerative lumbar intervertebral instability, and review the different imaging modalities most indicated in diagnosing vertebral instability. The spine is made up of segments, described as "locomotive segments," consisting of two vertebrae and the interconnecting soft tissue. In normal conditions of daily life, the spine is able to meet essential functional requirements: strength, mobility, and stability. Spinal stability is defined as the ability for the vertebrae to maintain their relationship and limit their relative displacements during physiologic postures and loads. The requirement of stability is essential to the spinal column to prevent premature mechanical and biologic deterioration of its components. It is also fundamental to protect the spinal cord and nerve roots and to minimize energy expenditure. One important mechanical function of the lumbar spine is to support the upper body by transmitting compressive and shearing forces to the lower body during the performance of everyday activities. To enable the successful transmission of these forces, mechanical stability of the spinal system must be ensured. Stability of the lumbar spine as a whole is maintained by the cooperation of disks, joints, ligaments, and muscles. Degenerative processes in the disk and facet joints affect the stability of the motion segment. Although segmental instability is often used synonymously with degenerative spondylolisthesis, it is clear there are numerous other conditions that are potentially unstable (spinal acute trauma, surgery, spondylolysis, tumors, or infections).

Local-sky star recognition algorithm is a process of recognizing the extracted stars in image by making use of the prior rough attitude of star sensor in celestial sphere. In order to improve the detection and response performance of star sensor working in dynamic condition, ICCD is applied to imaging stars. However, image taken by ICCD has more non-Gaussian noise and the energy of imaging star is unstable. So a local-sky star recognition algorithm using spatial triangular relationship as matching features is supposed to deal with the difficulties. In the first place, an index array is designed according to Guide Triangles, which is applied to construct Guide Triangle Index List. In the second place, a general directing range of star sensor boresight is calculated according to FOV of star sensor and the output of inertial guidance system, and then, the candidate Guide Triangles set in above region is obtained rapidly. In the third place, construct image triangle patterns by applying position and energy of the extracted stars in the image, and then match the image triangle patterns with the above candidate Guide Triangles set for two stages, until N(N≥2) groups of successfully matched triangles pairs with smallest matching deviations sum are obtained. At the last, the recognized Guide Stars have to be matched posterior referring to the principle of simulated sky image, and the recognition results of image stars are all obtained. The proposed algorithm has compact Guide Database structure, rapid local-sky guide triangles obtaining, and good recognition correction percentage, even it has worse star location precision and more false stars. The simulation tests are performed to validate the relative efficiency and adaptation of the algorithm.