Hydroxyapatite based biocomposite scaffold: A highly biocompatible material for bone regeneration.

The conventional approaches for treating bone defects such as autografts donor tissue shortages and allografts transmission of diseases pose many shortcomings. The objective of this study was to design a nano strontium/magnesium doped hydroxyapatite (Sr/Mg-HA) with chitosan (CTS) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) (Sr/Mg-HA/MWCNT/CTS) biocomposite was created to support the growth of osteoblasts using a solvent evaporation method. To help the growth of osteoblasts, a solvent evaporation technique was used to design a nano strontium/magnesium doped hydroxyapatite with chitosan and multi-walled carbon nanotubes biocomposite. We studied the biocompatibility and efficiency in vitro of biocomposite following physicochemical analyzes. Tests of biocompatibility, cell proliferation, mineralization, and osteogenic differentiation have shown that in-vitro safety and effectiveness of biocomposite are good. The performance of biocomposite was more efficient in in-vitro as well as in vivo experiments than in Sr/Mg-HA nanoparticles. Briefly, the Sr/Mg-HA/MWCNT/CTS biocomposite is an ideal candidate for effective bone repair in clinics with excellent mechanical properties with durable multi-biofunctional antibacterial properties and osteoinductivity.

Efficacy of combined medication of risedronate sodium and selective estrogen receptor modulator on the postmenopausal osteoporosis.

To evaluate the efficacy of combined medication of risedronate sodium and raloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) on the postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP). PMOP patients underwent the combined medication of risedronate sodium and raloxifene (SERM, Treatment group), or only medication of risedronate sodium (Control group). After medication, more significant increases were observed in the bone densities of the lumber vertebra (L1-4) and the neck of left femur of patients in the treatment group. Simultaneously, the levels of estrogen and progesterone in serum decreased sharply in the treatment group. After treatment, P1NP and ß-CTX levels in serum decreased significantly in two groups in comparison with the levels prior to treatment, with evident elevations in the levels of BAP and BGP; similarly, ameliorations in the treatment group were much more evident than those in the control group. In addition, significant declines were identified in the VAS scores of two groups after treatment when comparing to the scores prior to the treatment, and the decline in the treatment group was more evident than that in the control group. Combined medication of risedronate sodium and SERM (raloxifene) performs better in treatment of osteoporosis than the single use of risedronate sodium, without the deterioration of adverse effect of medication.

Cascade and Fusion of Multitask Convolutional Neural Networks for Detection of Thyroid Nodules in Contrast-Enhanced CT.

With the development of computed tomography (CT), the contrast-enhanced CT scan is widely used in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. However, due to the artifacts and high complexity of thyroid CT images, traditional machine learning has difficulty in detecting thyroid nodules in contrast-enhanced CT. A fully automated detection algorithm for thyroid nodules using contrast-enhanced CT images is developed. A modified U-Net architecture of fully convolutional networks is employed to segment the thyroid region of interest (ROI), and a fusion of convolutional neural networks (CNN-Fs) is proposed to detect benign and malignant thyroid nodules from the ROI images and original contrast-enhanced CT images. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed cascade and fusion method of multitask convolutional neural networks (CNNs) is efficient in diagnosing thyroid diseases with contrast-enhanced CT images and has superior performance compared with other CNN methods.

Non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography in the diagnosis of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) compared with digital subtraction angiography (DSA): Preliminary results.

Non-CE MRA techniques (true steady-state free-precession, SSFP) have been used effectively for the selective visualization of the portal venous system and inferior vena cava. Budd-Chiari Syndrome (BCS) encompasses a number of conditions that cause the obstruction of the hepatic outflow tract from the small hepatic veins to the junction of the inferior vena cava (IVC) and right atrium. The purpose of this study was to diagnose BCS with IVC obstruction using respiratory triggered three-dimensional (3D) true SSFP with T-SLIP and compare to digital subtraction angiography (DSA). The image acquisition of 3D true SSFP scans was successfully performed in 108 patients (≧2 score). The mean and SDs of the relative SNR and CNR were 55.96±2.32 and 30.72±1.56, respectively. Intergroup agreement for the detection of the 4 types (membranous obstruction, segmental occlusion, and membranous obstruction with a hole and segmental stenosis) of BCS with IVC obstruction was excellent between the Time-SLIP and the DSA. In conclusion, Time-SLIP for the detection of IVC obstruction BCS does not require the use of contrast. This procedure can achieve a high success rate, high accuracy rate and fine image quality for the diagnosis of IVC obstruction BCS.

[Reduced-dose mode with low-voltage and low contrast agent in coronary artery CT angiography-a preliminary study].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate image quality of low-voltage coronary artery computed tomographic (CT) angiography with low contrast agent in comparison with image quality. METHODS: Forty-five patients underwent coronary artery computed tomographic (CT) angiography. They were randomly assigned to 3 groups, group A (n = 15) were scanned in 120 kVp with 350 mgI/ml iodinated contrast agent mode, group B (n = 15) were scanned in 100 kVp with 350 mgI/ml iodinated contrast agent mode, group C (n = 15) were scanned in 100 kVp with 270 mgI/ml iodinated contrast agent mode. Then measured CT attenuation value of three main branches (RCA, LAD and CX) of coronary artery, And compare the SNR, CNR, the effective radiation dose(ED) and iodine intake. The Kappa test were used to quantify inter- and intra-reader agreement in detecting quality of the images under different scanning solutions. RESULTS: Three groups of coronary artery CT image quality was no statistically significant differences (all P values >0.05), Good inter- and intra-reader agreement ( k = 0.754, P < 0.05) for the detection of noise in all the patients. There was significant difference in the CT attenuation of RCA, LAD and CX among the 3 groups (P < 0.05), the CT attenuation was the highest in group B, the CT value of RCA, LAD and CX were 537 ± 90, 505 ± 90, 484 ± 75 HU, respectively.the CT attenuation was the lowest in group C, the CT value of RCA, LAD and CX were 357 ± 126, 360 ± 95, 378 ± 121 HU, respectively. There was no significant difference in the SNR and CNR among the 3 groups (P > 0.05). There was significant difference in the ED among the 3 groups (P < 0.05). The ED value of the group A was bigger than the value of the group B and C. There was no significant difference between the group B and C. Compared the group A and B, the iodine intake of the group C had fallen by 23%. CONCLUSIONS: The coronary artery CT angiography using 100 kVp with 270 mgI/ml iodinated contrast agent provide similar objective or subjective image quality compared with the (350 mgI/ml) and the 100 kVp (350 mgI/ml), thus enabling effective dose and iodine intake reduction without loss of diagnostic information.

Interstitial cells of Cajal in the murine gallbladder / 中华消化杂志

Objective To demonstrate the morphology,distribution and ultrastructure of intersti- tial cells of Cajal (ICC) in the mouse gallbladder.Methods CD1 mice gallbladder tissue was stained with methylene blue for immunohistochemical examination by confocal microscopy and transmission elec- tron microscopy.Results The results revealed a dark blue network of ICC in the gallbladder.ICC were spindle-shaped,with thin and long processes in two poles.They were distributed in the all layers of the gall bladder wall.The ICC that had typical ultrastructure were adjacent to the smooth muscle and nerve cells. Conclusions Spindle-shaped ICC are present as a network structure in the gallbladder,which may act as slow wave pacemaker cells and have a major role in the transmission of signals from neurons to smooth muscle cells.