Modified Gant procedure for treatment of internal rectal prolapse in elderly women.

BACKGROUND: Although rectal prolapse is not a life-threatening condition, it can cause defecation disorders, anal incontinence, sensory abnormalities, and other problems that can seriously affect quality of life. AIM: To study the efficacy of the modified Gant procedure for elderly women with internal rectal prolapse. METHODS: Sixty-three elderly female patients with internal rectal prolapse underwent the modified Gant procedure. The preoperative and postoperative anal symptoms, Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life (PAC-QOL), Wexner incontinence score, incontinence quality of life score, and complications (massive hemorrhage, infection, anorectal stenosis, and anorectal fistula) were compared. RESULTS: The improvement rates of postoperative symptoms were defecation disorders (84.5%), anal distention (69.6%), defecation sensation (81.4%), frequent defecation (88.7%), and anal incontinence (42.9%) (P < 0.05). All dimensions and total scores of the PAC-QOL after the procedure were lower than those before the operation (P < 0.05). The postoperative anal incontinence score and Wexner score were significantly lower than those before the procedure (P < 0.05). The quality of life and total scores of postoperative anal incontinence were significantly higher than those before the procedure (P < 0.05). There were no serious complications and no deaths. CONCLUSION: The modified Gant procedure has significant advantages in the treatment of elderly women with internal rectal prolapse.

The influences of canopy species and topographic variables on understory species diversity and composition in coniferous forests.

Understanding the factors that influence the distribution of understory vegetation is important for biological conservation and forest management. We compared understory species composition by multi-response permutation procedure and indicator species analysis between plots dominated by Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia Kom.) and Qilian juniper (Sabina przewalskii Kom.) in coniferous forests of the Qilian Mountains, northwestern China. Understory species composition differed markedly between the forest types. Many heliophilous species were significantly associated with juniper forest, while only one species was indicative of spruce forest. Using constrained ordination and the variation partitioning model, we quantitatively assessed the relative effects of two sets of explanatory variables on understory species composition. The results showed that topographic variables had higher explanatory power than did site conditions for understory plant distributions. However, a large amount of the variation in understory species composition remained unexplained. Forward selection revealed that understory species distributions were primarily affected by elevation and aspect. Juniper forest had higher species richness and α-diversity and lower ß-diversity in the herb layer of the understory plant community than spruce forest, suggesting that the former may be more important in maintaining understory biodiversity and community stability in alpine coniferous forest ecosystems.

Seasonal fluctuations and temperature dependence in photosynthetic parameters and stomatal conductance at the leaf scale of Populus euphratica Oliv.

A combined model to simulate CO2 and H2O gas exchange at the leaf scale was parameterized using data obtained from in situ leaf-scale observations of diurnal and seasonal changes in CO2 and H2O gas exchange. The Farquhar et al.-type model of photosynthesis was parameterized by using the Bayesian approach and the Ball et al.-type stomatal conductance model was optimized using the linear least-squares procedure. The results show that the seasonal physiological changes in photosynthetic parameters (e.g., V(cmax25), J(max25), R(d25) and g(m25)) in the biochemical model of photosynthesis and m in the stomatal conductance model should be counted in estimating long-term CO2 and H2O gas exchange. Overall, the coupled model successfully reproduced the observed response in net assimilation and transpiration rates.

[Expressions of neurotrophic factors and their receptors in prostate cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expressions of neurotrophic factors (NTFs) and their receptors in prostate cancer. METHODS: We detected the expressions of the nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and their receptors TrkA, TrkB and p75 in 35 specimens of prostate cancer by Western blotting, and included 10 specimens of normal prostate tissue from young males that died accidentally. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the expressions of NGF and p75 were significantly decreased (P < 0.01), while those of BDNF, TrkA and TrkB significantly increased in prostate cancer (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The changes in the expressions of NTFs and their receptors were related with the pathogenesis and progression of prostate cancer, which may be considered as reference indexes for the diagnosis of the disease.

[Analysis of the spatial and temporal changes in soil CO2 efflux and its related factors from alpine meadow in Qilian Mountains].

Continuous field experiment was carried out on alpine meadow along different elevation gradient in Qilian Mountains during the growing season of 2004 using a soil respiration chamber (Li-6400-09) connected to a portable photosynthesis system (Li-6400). The possible effect of water-heat factors and root parameter on characteristics of alpine meadow soil respiration was statistically analyzed. The results indicate that soil CO2 efflux has apparent spatial variation laws. Spatial variation patterns of soil respiration from different alpine meadow along elevation gradient are gradually decreased and its coefficient of variation increases gently. The curves of day change of soil CO2 efflux have a simple peak value, and it is low at night, with lowest at 02:00-06:00, and starts to rise rapidly during 07:00-08:30, and then descends during 16:00 -18:30. The peak CO2 efflux appears during 11:00-16:00. The diurnal average of soil CO2 efflux is between (0.56 +/- 0.32) - (2.53 +/- 0.76) micromol x (m2 x s)(-1). As for seasonal variation, soil CO2 fluxes of various are relatively high in summer and autumn but relatively low in spring and winter. The maximum of average soil CO2 efflux occurrs in July and August [4.736 micromol (m2 x s)(-1), and the second is in June and September, and the third is in May and October. Soil CO2 efflux of alpine meadow during growth season is positively correlated with soil temperature, root biomass and soil water content at depths of 10 cm to different degrees. These results indicate that the temperature, soil moisture and root biomass have great effects on the spatial variation of soil CO2 efflux in the area.