Different Positions of Weightbearing CT Images Can Influence the Hindfoot Alignment Evaluation Using 2-Dimensional Methodology.

Background: Three-dimensional weightbearing CT (WBCT) has been widely used to assess foot and ankle alignment. However, most current measurement methods are based on 2-dimensional concepts-distance, long axis, angulation, etc-and are sensitive to changes in orientation of the WBCT images. This study demonstrated how changes in positioning of the image can significantly influence the evaluation of hindfoot alignment.

X-ray Opaque Polymer Drug-Eluting Beads Loaded with Iodized Oil: Preparation and In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluations.

Drug-eluting microspheres are commonly used as a local drug delivery system for interventional therapy. However, current drug-eluting microspheres have poor X-ray visibility, which can hinder tracking and postembolization evaluation. In the current study, X-ray-visible poly(acrylic acid) drug-eluting beads loaded with iodized oil (IO-PAA-DEBs) ranging from 100-300 μm were prepared and evaluated both in vitro and in vivo.

Supramolecular Chemotherapy: Complexation by Carboxylated Pillar[6]arene for Decreasing Cytotoxicity of Nitrogen Mustard to Normal Cells and Enhancing Its Antitumor Efficiency against Breast Cancer.

Advances in chemotherapeutic strategies are urgently required to improve antitumor efficiency. Herein, a carboxylated pillar[6]arene (CP6A) was employed to load chemotherapy medication, nitrogen mustard (NM), via forming a direct host-guest complex, as this helps to decrease the cytotoxicity of NM on normal mammary epithelial cells. Attributed to the stronger complexation ability of CP6A for endogenous spermine (SPM) than for NM, the complexed NM could be competitively released from the CP6A cavity via replacement with SPM.

[Correlation between first tarsometatarsal joint sagittal mobility and hallux valgus combined with transfer metatarsalgia].

To investigate the correlation between the first tarsometatarsal joint (TMT1) sagittal mobility and hallux valgus (HV) combined with transfer metatarsalgia (TM). The weight-bearing CT (WBCT) imaging data of 111 HV patients (167 feet) who were treated at the Foot and Ankle Surgery Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from January 2018 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients underwent PedCAT WBCT scans of both feet, and the hallux valgus angle (HVA), intermetatarsal angle (IMA), plantar distance (PD), medial cuneiform-first metatarsal angle (CMA) and metatarsal protrusion distance (MPD) were measured using CubeVue software.

Efficacy and Safety of Eye Drops Atomization Treatment for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction-Related Dry Eye Disease: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of eye drops (a Chinese traditional medicine) atomization treatment in meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD)-related dry eye disease (DED) patients.

Methods: A total of 240 eligible patients diagnosed with MGD-related DED were assigned either eye drops or placebo for atomization once daily for four weeks in a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study. Primary outcome evaluations used included eye symptom score (using the Chinese Dry Eye Questionnaire), meibum quality, and tear break-up time (TBUT), while safety evaluations included adverse events (AEs), visual acuity, and intraocular pressure monitoring.

Inhibition of neuron-specific CREB dephosphorylation is involved in propofol and ketamine-induced neuroprotection against cerebral ischemic injuries of mice.

Propofol and ketamine may provide certain degree of neuroprotection, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear to date. The cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) was proposed that its phosphorylation at Ser133 (P-CREB) constituted a convergence point involved in neuroprotection. The purpose of this study was to determine whether different dosages of propofol and ketamine could provide neuroprotection against permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced ischemic injuries and the involvement of P-CREB.

Propofol and ketamine-induced anesthetic depth-dependent decrease of CaMKII phosphorylation levels in rat hippocampus and cortex.

Ca/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) activation through autophosphorylation at threonine 286 was involved in the modulation of neuronal excitability and neurotransmission. Both propofol and ketamine may affect the intracellular Ca levels through N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors or voltage-dependent Ca channels, but they have different mechanisms in general anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of propofol and ketamine on CaMKII total protein and phosphorylation (p-CaMKII) levels in the brain of rats.

Determination of conventional protein kinase C isoforms involved in high intraocular pressure-induced retinal ischemic preconditioning of rats.

Evidence indicates that conventional protein kinase C (cPKC) plays a pivotal role in the development of retinal ischemic preconditioning (IPC). In this study, the effect of high intraocular pressure (IOP)-induced retinal IPC on cPKC isoform-specific membrane translocation and protein expression were observed. We found that cPKCgamma membrane translocation increased significantly at the early stage (20min-1h), while the protein expression levels of cPKCalpha and gamma were markedly elevated in the delayed retinal IPC (12-168h) of rats.

Inhibition of PKCgamma membrane translocation mediated morphine preconditioning-induced neuroprotection against oxygen-glucose deprivation in the hippocampus slices of mice.

We previously reported that novel protein kinase C (nPKC) epsilon and N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors participated in morphine preconditioning (MP)-induced neuroprotection. In this study, we used Western blot analysis, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage assay to determine the involvement of conventional PKC isoforms (cPKC) in MP-induced neuroprotection against oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). Hippocampus slices (400-microm thickness) from healthy male BALB/c mice exposed to OGD for 5-45 min to mimic mild, moderate and severe ischemia in the presence of MP pretreatment.