ANALYSIS OF VALGUS CHARACT,ERISTICS OF OSSEOUS STRUCTURE OF THE FEET WITH THREE-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

Using the advanced MR images scan technique combined with three-dimensional reconstruction software, the study went deep into the research of feet's osseous tissue structure. After an investigation of 37 sUbjects' 10 indexes including valgus index and rear foot angle, the study showed distinct differences between normal foot and flatfoot. The correlation modulus of the X-ray images of flatfoot with valgus index is 0.75, and the correlation modulus with rear foot angle is 0.29. The phenomenon that most people with flatfeet had anklebone moving outside illuminated ,that flatfoot resulted from monstrosity of the navicular, cuneiform and metatarsus. However, rear foot angle only embodyed the relative position between calcaneus and shankbone. It couldn't explain the structure differences between flatfoot and normal foot

Microfluidic photoelectrocatalytic reactors for water purification with an integrated visible-light source

This paper reports experimental studies using the photoelectrocatalytic effect to eliminate a fundamental limit of photocatalysis - the recombination of photo-excited electrons and holes. The fabricated reactor has a planar reaction chamber (10 x 10 x 0.1 mm(3)), formed by a blank indium tin oxide glass slide, an epoxy spacer and a BiVO4-coated indium tin oxide glass substrate. A blue light-emitting diode panel (emission area 10 x 10 mm(2)) is mounted on the cover for uniform illumination of the reaction chamber. In the experiment, positive and negative bias potentials were applied across the reaction chamber to suppress the electron/hole recombination and to select either the hole-driven or electron-driven oxidation pathway. The negative bias always exhibits higher performance. It is observed that under -1.8 V the degradation rate is independent of the residence time, showing that the accompanying electrolysis can solve the oxygen deficiency problem. The synergistic effect of photocatalysis and electrocatalysis is observed to reach its maximum under the bias potential of +/- 1.5 V. The photoelectrocatalytic microreactor shows high stability and may be scaled up for high-performance water purification

Long-Term Impact of Immunosuppressants at Therapeutic Doses on Male Reproductive System in Unilateral Nephrectomized Rats: A Comparative Study

Cyclosporine, tacrolimus, and sirolimus are commonly used in renal transplant recipients to prevent rejection. However, information for comparative effects of these agents on the male productive system is extremely limited and controversial. In a physiologically and clinically relevant rat model of unilateral nephrectomy, we demonstrated that long-term oral administration of both cyclosporine and sirolimus at doses equivalent to the therapeutic levels used for postrenal transplant patients significantly affects testicular development and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis accompanied by profound histological changes of testicular structures on both light and electron microscopic examinations. Spermatogenesis was also severely impaired as indicated by low total sperm counts along with reduction of sperm motility and increase in sperm abnormality after treatment with these agents, which may lead to male infertility. On the other hand, treatment with therapeutic dose of tacrolimus only induced mild reduction of sperm count without histological evidence of testicular injury. The current study clearly demonstrates that commonly used immunosuppressants have various impacts on male reproductive system even at therapeutic levels. Our data provide useful information for the assessment of male infertility in renal transplant recipients who wish to father children. Clinical trials to address these issues should be urged