Abstract Introduction: Propofol is a widely used anesthetic and its dose is closely related to aging. Telomere length (TL) is a unique heritable trait, and emerging as a biomarker of aging, health and disease. Telomerase RNA component (TERC) plays an important role in maintaining TL. We proposed a hypothesis that propofol dose in general anesthesia can be predicted by measuring TL before operation, which greatly reduced the risk of anesthesia, especially the elderly. Methods: The association between the propofol dose in anesthesia induction and: TL in the DNA of peripheral blood leukocytes; body weight; sex; difference of the Bispectral Index (BIS) before and after anesthesia induction in patients was evaluated by multivariable linear regression analyses. The mutation at the 5’end or 3’end of TERC was detected. We recruited 100 patients of elective surgery. Results: We found that propofol dose in anesthesia induction was clearly correlated significantly with TL (r = 0.78, p < 0.001), body weight (r = 0.84, p = 0.004), sex (r = 0.83, p= 0.84, p = 0.004), sex (r = 0.83, p = 0.004), and difference of BIS before and after anesthesia induction (r = 0.85, p = 0.029). By comparing the absolute values of standardized regression coefficients (0.58, 0.21, 0.19, and 0.12) of the four variables, it can be seen that TL contributes the most to the propofol dose in anesthesia induction. However, the mutation at the 5’ end or 3’ end of TERC was not found. Conclusions: These findings provide preliminary evidence that the propofol dose in anesthesia induction was clearly correlated with genetically determined TL. TL may be a promising predictor of the propofol dose, which is beneficial to improve the safety of anesthesia and reduce perioperative complications.

SUMMARY: At present, the anatomical relationship the mid-portion of popliteus tendon complex (PTC) and the surrounding tissues is still unclear, especially its relationship to the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). It affected the anatomical reconstruction of the posterolateral complex (PLC) injury. A total of 30 cases of the adult human knee joint fixed with formalin were used. Sagittal sections were made in 14 knee joints by the P45 plastination technique and dissection of 16 cases of knee joints. The P45 section revealed that the popliteus muscle fascia ran superiorly over the posterior edge of the tibial intercondylar eminence, and turned forward to be integrated into the PCL. Laterally, near the posterior edge of the lateral tibial plateau, the popliteus tendon penetrates through the articular capsule (AC), where two dense fibrous bundles were given off upwards by the popliteus tendon: one was the ventral fiber bundle, which ran superiorly over the posterior edge of the tibial plateau and then moved forwards to connect with the lateral meniscus; the dorsal fibers bundle ascended directly and participated in the AC. Meanwhile, the popliteus muscle dissection showed that at the posterior edge of the platform of the lateral condyle of the tibia, at the tendon-muscle transition, the PTC and AC were anchored to PCL.

RESUMEN: En la actualidad, la relación anatómica entre la porción media del complejo tendinoso poplíteo (CTP) y los tejidos circundantes aún no está clara, especialmente su relación con el ligamento cruzado posterior (LCP). Esto afecta la reconstrucción anatómica de la lesión del complejo posterolateral (LCP). Se utilizaron un total de 30 casos de articulaciones de rodillas humanas de individuos adultos fijadas con formalina. Se realizaron cortes sagitales en 14 articulaciones de rodilla mediante la técnica de plastinación P45 y disección de 16 casos de articulaciones de rodilla. La sección P45 reveló que la fascia del músculo poplíteo discurría superiormente sobre el margen posterior de la eminencia intercondílea tibial y giraba hacia delante para integrarse en el LCP. Lateralmente, cerca del margen posterior de la platillo tibial lateral, el tendón poplíteo penetra a través de la cápsula articular (CA), donde el tendón poplíteo desprendió hacia arriba dos haces fibrosos densos: uno era el haz de fibras ventral, que corría superiormente sobre el margen posterior de la meseta tibial y luego se movió hacia adelante para conectar con el menisco lateral; el haz de fibras dorsales ascendía directamente y participaba en la CA. Por su parte, la disección del músculo poplíteo mostró que en el margen posterior del platillo del cóndilo lateral de la tibia, en la transición tendón-músculo, el CTP y el AC estaban anclados al LCP.

SUMMARY: The corporo-glans ligament is the ligament connecting the corpus cavernosum and the glans of the penis. The anatomical description of the corporo-glans ligaments shape is still uncertain, this knowledge affects penile reconstructive procedures. The anatomy of the corporo-glans ligament was analyzed and recorded via observing sagittal sections of 10 different penile P45 plastination sections. According to the P45 plastination sections, the corporo-glans junction displayed a fibrous tissue band connecting the distal ends of the two corpus cavernous (CC) with the glans penis (GP). The fibrous band was a round-obtuse shape and ran deep into the glans of the penis and occupied about 2/3 of the whole GP. The original end was laid in a socket embedded in the GP. The density of the fibers of the ligament at the original end close to the tunica albuginea was less than that of the other parts. The fibers originating from the tunica albuginea, directly extended to the blind end of the two CC, covering the distal end of the two CC.

RESUMEN: El ligamento cuerpo cavernoso-glande es el ligamento que conecta el cuerpo cavernoso y el glande del pene. La descripción anatómica de la forma de los ligamentos cuerpo cavernoso -glande aún es incierta; este conocimiento afecta los procedimientos reconstructivos del pene. La anatomía del ligamento cuerpo cavernoso-glande se analizó y registró mediante la observación de 10 secciones sagitales diferentes del pene a través de plastinación P45. Según las secciones de plastinación, la unión cuerpo-glande mostraba una banda de tejido fibroso que conectaba los extremos distales de los dos cuerpos cavernosos con el glande del pene. La banda fibrosa tenía una forma redonda y obtusa y se adentraba profundamente en el glande del pene ocupando alrededor de 2/3 de él. En su origen se coloca en un espacio profundo en el glande del pene. La densidad de las fibras del ligamento cuerpo cavernoso-glande en su origen cercano a la túnica albugínea era menor que el de las otras partes. Las fibras que se originan en la túnica albugínea, se extienden directamente hasta el extremo ciego de los dos cuerpos cavernosos, cubriendo el extremo distal de estos.

SUMMARY: For treating cruciate ligament injuries, especially for characterizing the mechanics of the tunnel in cruciate ligament reconstruction, correctly understanding the bony information of the attachment area of the cruciate ligaments is significant. We studied 31 knee joints of middle-aged Chinese adults using the P45 sheet plastination technique, focusing on the attachment areas of the cruciate ligaments, especially the bony structures. The trabeculae at the attachment area were distributed radially and extended deep into the medial wall of the lateral condyle of the femur. However, in the anterior part of the intercondylar eminence, the trabeculae of the anterior group were parallelly arranged along the tendinous fibers of the anterior cruciate ligament, while the trabeculae of the posterior group were parallelly arranged along the perpendicular direction of the anterior cruciate ligament fibers. Similarly, at the attachment area of the lateral wall of the medial condyle of the posterior cruciate ligament, the trabeculae extended radially toward the deep medial condyle. Deep in the posterior part of the intercondylar eminence, the trabeculae were arranged longitudinally. In the anterior part of the intercondylar eminence, the trabeculae were parallelly arranged along the perpendicular directions of ligament fibers. The distribution patterns of the trabecular at the attachment areas of the cruciate ligaments at the ends of the femur and tibia were different. This difference should be considered when orthopedic surgeons reconstruct anterior cruciate ligaments.

RESUMEN: Para el tratamiento de lesiones de los ligamentos cruzados, especialmente para caracterizar la mecánica del túnel en su reconstrucción, es importante comprender correctamente la información ósea del área de inserción de estos ligamentos. Estudiamos 31 articulaciones de rodilla de individuos chinos, adultos, de mediana edad, utilizando la técnica de plastinación de láminas P45, centrándonos en las áreas de unión de los ligamentos cruzados, especialmente en las estructuras óseas. Las trabéculas en el área de inserción se distribuyeron radialmente y se extendieron profundamente en la pared medial del cóndilo lateral del fémur. Sin embargo, en la parte anterior de la eminencia intercondílea, las trabéculas del grupo anterior estaban dispuestas paralelamente a lo largo de las fibras tendinosas del ligamento cruzado anterior, mientras que las trabéculas del grupo posterior estaban dispuestas paralelamente a lo largo de la dirección perpendicular de las fibras del ligamento cruzado anterior. De manera similar, en el área de inserción en la cara lateral del cóndilo medial del ligamento cruzado posterior, las trabéculas se extendían radialmente y profundas hacia el cóndilo medial. Profundamente en la parte posterior de la eminencia intercondílea, las trabéculas estaban dispuestas longitudinalmente. En la parte anterior de la eminencia intercondílea, las trabéculas estaban dispuestas paralelamente a lo largo de las direcciones perpendiculares de las fibras del ligamento. Los patrones de distribución del tejido óseo trabecular en las áreas de unión de los ligamentos cruzados en los extremos del fémur y la tibia eran diferentes. Estas diferencias deben tenerse en consideración cuando los cirujanos ortopédicos reconstruyen los ligamentos cruzados anteriores.

ABSTRACT Objective: Recently, several studies have found that obesity had a protective effect against varicocele, but no meta-analysis has confirmed this finding. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and varicocele. Material and Methods: We searched for studies in PubMed, Science Direct and the Cochrane Library from inception until February 2018. The association between BMI and varicocele was assessed by pooling the odds ratios (ORs). Results: Eleven eligible studies with a total study population of 1.376.658 participants were included in our analysis. According to BMI, the subjects were defined as belonging to the obese, overweight and underweight groups. Our results showed that the obese group had a lower risk of varicocele when compared with the normal weight group (odds ratio [OR] 0.46, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] 0.37-0.58). Additionally, an overweight BMI had a protective effect against varicocele (OR 0.70, 95% CIs, 0.56-0.86). However, underweight patients had a more than 30% higher risk of varicocele (OR 1.31, 95% CI, 1.04-1.64). Furthermore, there was no publication bias in any of the analyses. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that BMI is negatively associated with the presence of varicocele.

Abstract A ballistic projectile launching device was used to study the penetration behaviors of tungsten alloy spherical fragments of various diameters into carbon fiber composite target plates of different thicknesses. Based on the ballistic test results, we obtained the relationship between ultimate penetration velocity, target plate thickness, and fragment diameter as well as the relationship between the fragment penetration energy and fragment incident velocity. Using dimensional analysis, we obtained a formula relating the incident fragment velocity and the fragment penetration energy, which showed good agreement with the experimental values. We also analyzed the main fracture mode and the energy absorption mechanism of the carbon composite target plate under high-velocity impacts of tungsten alloy spheres and investigated the experimental damage modes of the target plate at different fragment velocities during the ballistic impact.

Abstract Rabbit with hypercholesterolaemia is an important model for studying cholesterol metabolism disease. This study aimed to evaluate the expression stability of nine reference genes for quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis in adrenal gland, liver, spleen, and kidney tissue from rabbits with hypercholesterolaemia. In total, 30 male Harbin Large White (HLW) rabbits were fed a normal feed (n = 15) or a high cholesterol feed (n = 15) for 8 weeks to induce hypercholesterolaemia. Nine reference genes were verified by qPCR using cDNA extracted from rabbit tissue samples. For qPCR analysis, reference genes were evaluated using the RefFinder and GeNorm algorithms. Overall, seven rabbits with hypercholesterolaemia were identified based on body weight and total cholesterol measurements. Combining the results of the RefFinder and GeNorm algorithms, the most stable reference genes were hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase 1 (Hprt1) and eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1 (Eef1a1) in the adrenal gland, β-2-microglobulin (B2m) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Gapdh) in the liver, tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein zeta (Ywhaz) and Gapdh in the spleen, and peptidylprolyl isomerase (Ppia), β-actin (Actb), succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit A flavoprotein (Sdha), and B2m in the kidney. Taken together, our results confirmed that Hprt1 and Eef1a1, B2m and Gapdh, Ywhaz and Gapdh, and Ppia, Actb, Sdha, and B2m were the best reference genes for qPCR analyses in adrenal gland, liver, spleen, and kidney tissue, respectively, of rabbits with hypercholesterolaemia.

Study of the solar absorber with photonic crystal or micro structures as the heat absorbing surfaces operated at a high-temperature was conducted. Numerical calculations based on rigorous coupled-wave analysis were performed to determine the absorptance of the photonic crystal surface on the absorber. The effect of nano geometry of the photonic crystal in tungsten on the selectivity of the absorber was investigated first, including period (L), aperture (A) and depth (d). A design algorithm for the photonic crystal heat absorbing surface was summarized. Based on the results, a design with combined large and small square patterns was proposed to improve the absorptance, which demonstrated the ability to broaden the absorbing band by mix-period nano patterns. Integration of an anti-reflection coating (ARC) on the photonic crystal using aluminum oxide (Al2O3) was also studied. It was shown that, under a specific thickness of ARC, the absorptance can be further improved. As considering the effect of concentration coefficient on the energy absorption efficiency, it was found that a micro structure fabricated by laser ablation on stainless steel has a conversion rate over 85% in the case using a high concentrate coefficient.

The influence of homogenization treatment on microstructure evolution of Mg-5.8Zn-0.5Zr-1.0Yb (mass fraction, %) alloy was investigated under different annealing temperatures and holding times. Results indicated a severe dendritic segregation in the as-cast ingot. Zn and Yb segregate remarkably at the grain boundary and Zr appears in the form of precipitates. The Mg-Zn binary eutectic phases and a new ternary phase Mg-Zn-Yb are mainly distributed at dendrite boundaries. After homogenization, most of the eutectic phases dissolve into the matrix, except for a small amount of Mg-Zn-Yb phase. The area fractions of residual secondary phase decrease from 5.54% in the as-cast alloy to 0.59% in the well-homogenized sample. Microhardness test indicates that with the increasing temperature and holding time, microhardness value decreased sharply within the first stage of homogenization and then increased steadily to the local maximum value at 380 ºC and 12 h, followed by a slight reduction. Basing on the comprehensive analysis on microstructure and mechanical properties, the homogenization treatment at 380 ºC for 12 h is preferable.