[Three-dimensional printed miniplate used for maxillary protraction].

The miniplate was designed and three-dimensional (3D) printed according to the positions of roots and tooth germs and then it was used as skeletal anchorage to protract the maxilla. The maxilla moved forward obviously after treatment. Custom designed and 3D printed miniplate could be used for maxillary protraction.

CT-guided radioactive ¹²5I seed implantation treatment of multiple pulmonary metastases of hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To investigate the clinical value of computed tomography (CT)-guided radioactive (125)I seed implantation for the treatment of multiple pulmonary metastases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From March 2007 to August 2010, 27 HCC patients with pulmonary metastases who had received computed tomography (CT)-guided radioactive (125)I seed implantation were enrolled in the study. All patients had ≥ 2 metastatic lesions (mean diameter 2 ± 0.6 cm). Under CT-guidance, (125)I seeds were implanted into the pulmonary metastases using the plane implantation technique. RESULTS: Among 27 cases, complete response, partial response, stable disease, and progressive disease were observed in four, 15, six, and two cases, respectively, during 6-48 months (mean 20.1 ± 2.2 months) of follow-up CT. The response rate was 92.6%. The mean follow-up time after (125)I implantation was 20.1 months (range 6-48 months). The survival rates at 1 and 2 years were 67% and 30.8%, respectively, with a median survival of 13.5 months. Side effects during the procedure included minor pulmonary effusions and pneumothorax. Pulmonary haemorrhage was observed in 18 cases and haemoptysis occurred in five patients. Radial shadows were observed in three cases on follow-up CT images, and seed migration in two cases on follow-up spiral CT images. CONCLUSION: CT-guided radioactive (125)I seed implantation may be a safe and effective treatment option for HCC patients with multiple pulmonary metastases.

Ductilizing bulk metallic glass composite by tailoring stacking fault energy.

Martensitic transformation was successfully introduced to bulk metallic glasses as the reinforcement micromechanism. In this Letter, it was found that the twinning property of the reinforcing crystals can be dramatically improved by reducing the stacking fault energy through microalloying, which effectively alters the electron charge density redistribution on the slipping plane. The enhanced twinning propensity promotes the martensitic transformation of the reinforcing austenite and, consequently, improves plastic stability and the macroscopic tensile ductility. In addition, a general rule to identify effective microalloying elements based on their electronegativity and atomic size was proposed.

Muscle-specific creatine kinase gene polymorphism and running economy responses to an 18-week 5000-m training programme.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between muscle-specific creatine kinase (CKMM) gene polymorphism and the effects of endurance training on running economy. METHODS: 102 biologically unrelated male volunteers from northern China performed a 5000-m running programme, with an intensity of 95-105% ventilatory threshold. The protocol was undertaken three times per week and lasted for 18 weeks. Running economy indexes were determined by making the participants run on a treadmill before and after the protocol, and the A/G polymorphism in the 3' untranslated region of CKMM was detected by polymerase chain reaction-restricted fragment length polymorphism (NcoI restriction enzyme). RESULTS: Three expected genotypes for CKMM-NcoI (AA, AG and GG) were observed in the participants. After training, all running economy indexes declined markedly. Change in steady-state consumption of oxygen, change in steady-state consumption of oxygen by mean body weight, change in steady-state consumption of oxygen by mean lean body weight and change in ventilatory volume in AG groups were larger than those in AA and GG groups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the CKMM gene polymorphism may contribute to individual running economy responses to endurance training.

[The combined effect of noise and vibration on intelligibility of Chinese syllables].

Objective. The changes of auditory effect on Chinese single syllables uttered by talker under combined condition of noise and vibration were investigated. Method. The intelligibility tests were made under three conditions (quiet, 0 dB and -6 dB S/N ratios). The utterances were recorded under combined factors of noise and vibration, single factor of noise or vibration, and the control condition. Result. As compared with control group, the decrease of speech intelligibilities in combined factors groups was significant. It also occurred in most cases as compared with the single factors groups. It showed that combined effects played greater roles as S/N decreased in listening environment. As S/N was -6 dB, the intelligibilities were less than 70 percent. Conclusion. The speech production will be changed under noise and vibration, and the changes will deteriorate communication, especially in adverse listening environment. The results have important implications for communication in aerospace and military environments.