A WFAS meeting for a standard for acupuncture needles was held in Suzhou, China on September 16, 2010. A delegate from the Department of International Affairs of JSAM accompanied by three experts from an acupuncture needle manufacture (Seirin Corporation) attended the meeting with the purpose of requesting modifications of the draft.
Suggestions from Japan included;(1) clearly define type of needle as 'Sterile filiform acupuncture needles for single-use', (2) not to limit the materials used for the needle body, (3) not to define upper/lower limitations in the size of the needle, (4) add some tests to guarantee safety such as limits for acidity or alkalinity and limits for extractable metals and an endotoxin test, (5) elimination of unnecessary tests regarding needles including hardness, puncture performance, strength, (6) change the term 'normative'in the quality testing method to 'informative'.
According to the suggestions from Japan, modifications in the 'Scope'(defining type of needle as 'filiform') and in the 'Material'section (any kind of materials in accordance with ISO/TS 15510:2007) were annexed to the resolution. However, there is still a need to continue requesting modification of other issues to develop a better draft of the WFAS standard, which will be submitted to an ISO/TC 249 meeting in the near future.

Zoonotic transmissions of emerging pathogens from wildlife to human have shaped the history of mankind. These events have also highlighted our poor understanding of microorganisms circulated in wild animals. Coronaviruses and astroviruses, which can be found from a wide range of mammals, were recently detected in bats. Strikingly, these bat viruses are genetically highly diverse and these interesting findings might help to better understand the evolution and ecology of these viruses. The discoveries of these novel bats viruses not only suggested that bats are important hosts for these virus families, but also reiterated the role of bats as a reservoir of viruses that might pose a zoonotic threat to human health.

Purpose: Visual impairment from retinal re-detachment could be debilitating. The aim of this review is to evaluate the role of 360° laser retinopexy on success rate of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair by a meta-analysis study. Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched comprehensively from the date of database inception to January 2021, evaluating the role of 360° laser retinopexy in visual and anatomical success rate of RRD repair. This review was conducted based on the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) protocols. Results: Among 202 articles screened for eligibility, six studies were found to be eligible for inclusion in our final analysis. Our meta-analysis demonstrates that prophylactic treatment with circumferential laser photocoagulation has no significant effect on the initial rate of retinal re-detachment or final best-corrected visual acuity following pars plana vitrectomy repair of RRD. Subgroup analysis of studies (n = 3) with 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy, however, favors attachment rate in patients undergoing 360° prophylactic laser treatment. Conclusions Three hundred and sixty degree laser retinopexy appears to have favorable outcomes in patients undergoing 23-gauge retinal detachment repair. This protective effect, however, is not apparent with inclusion of 20-gauge vitrectomy studies.

Purpose: Visual impairment from retinal re-detachment could be debilitating. The aim of this review is to evaluate the role of 360° laser retinopexy on success rate of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair by a meta-analysis study. Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched comprehensively from the date of database inception to January 2021, evaluating the role of 360° laser retinopexy in visual and anatomical success rate of RRD repair. This review was conducted based on the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) protocols. Results: Among 202 articles screened for eligibility, six studies were found to be eligible for inclusion in our final analysis. Our meta-analysis demonstrates that prophylactic treatment with circumferential laser photocoagulation has no significant effect on the initial rate of retinal re-detachment or final best-corrected visual acuity following pars plana vitrectomy repair of RRD. Subgroup analysis of studies (n = 3) with 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy, however, favors attachment rate in patients undergoing 360° prophylactic laser treatment. Conclusions Three hundred and sixty degree laser retinopexy appears to have favorable outcomes in patients undergoing 23-gauge retinal detachment repair. This protective effect, however, is not apparent with inclusion of 20-gauge vitrectomy studies.

Purpose: Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a vision-threatening condition with a potentially poor visual prognosis. Many different treatment modalities are suggested but controversy remains regarding effectiveness of these treatments. The purpose of this study is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis in addition to analyzing retrospective data at our own tertiary care center regarding effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in treatment of CRAO. Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library are searched from the date of database inception to September 2021 to conduct a review based on the PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis), evaluating the role of HBOT in visual recovery of CRAO patients. In addition, a retrospective chart review of patients clinically diagnosed with CRAO at our university-based hospital (University of Texas Health, San Antonio, TX, USA) from year 2011 to 2021 was conducted. Results: After a review of 376 articles, three articles met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis, where a total of 207 patients received HBOT versus 89 patients that did not receive any form of oxygen therapy. Analysis of these results demonstrate that HBOT in CRAO patients does not enhance the final visual outcome (p = 0.83). Similar conclusion was also drawn from retrospective analysis of 48 patients (15 HBOT versus 33 controls) at our tertiary care center, where no visual benefit was observed in the HBOT group. Conclusions HBOT does not appear to improve final visual outcome and concerns remain regarding adverse reactions such as barotrauma and generalized seizures. Large, randomized studies are required for further understanding of the role of HBOT in treatment of CRAO.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence of acute otitis media among children aged 2 to 6 months old in Sampaloc, Manila who were previously given 3 doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Non-Typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) protein D, diphtheria or tetanus toxoid conjugates) and those who did not receive the vaccine over a period of one year.
METHODS:
Design: Cohort Study
Setting: Primary Health Center in Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines
Participants: Medical records of well children aged 2 to 6 months were reviewed for inclusion. Participants were categorized into vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. Both groups underwent baseline history and physical examination including otoscopy and any signs and symptoms of active ear infection were noted. Subjects were followed up for a period of one year on a monthly basis for signs or symptoms of acute otitis media.
RESULTS: A total of 176 subjects participated in the study. The overall incidence of AOM among participants was 5.11% (9 out of 176). An AOM incidence of 3.75% (3 out of 80) and 6.25% (6 out of 96) was found among the exposed and unexposed groups, respectively. Fisher's exact test (one-tailed) p value= .34, relative risk (RR) .6 (95% Cl 0.155, 2.323).
CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed no difference in the development of AOM in the two groups. However, based on the relative risk, Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is still beneficial in preventing AOM in children.

OBJECTIVES: To study the early clinical efficacy of combined therapy of stage 4 neuroblastoma. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data and follow-up data of 14 children with stage 4 neuroblastoma who were diagnosed in Hong Kong University-Shenzhen Hospital from January 2016 to June 2021. RESULTS: The median age of onset was 3 years and 7.5 months in these 14 children. Among these children, 9 had positive results of bone marrow biopsy, 4 had N-Myc gene amplification, 13 had an increase in neuron-specific enolase, and 7 had an increase in vanilmandelic acid in urine. Based on the results of pathological examination, differentiated type was observed in 6 children, undifferentiated type in one child, mixed type, in one child and poorly differentiated type in 6 children. Of all the children, 10 received chemotherapy with the N7 regimen (including 2 children receiving arsenic trioxide in addition) and 4 received chemotherapy with the Rapid COJEC regimen. Thirteen children underwent surgery, 14 received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and 10 received radiotherapy. A total of 8 children received Ch14.18/CHO immunotherapy, among whom 1 child discontinued due to anaphylactic shock during immunotherapy, and the other 7 children completed Ch14.18/CHO treatment without serious adverse events, among whom 1 child was treated with Lu177 Dotatate 3 times after recurrence and is still undergoing chemotherapy at present. The median follow-up time was 45 months for all the 14 children. Four children experienced recurrence within 2 years, and the 2-year overall survival rate was 100%; 4 children experienced recurrence within 3 years, and 7 achieved disease-free survival within 3 years. CONCLUSIONS Multidisciplinary combined therapy is recommended for children with stage 4 neuroblastoma and can help them achieve better survival and prognosis.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Humans ; Infant ; Neuroblastoma/drug therapy* ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

This review analyzes the state and recent progress in the field of information support for pollen allergy sufferers. For decades, information available for the patients and allergologists consisted of pollen counts, which are vital but insufficient. New technology paves the way to substantial increase in amount and diversity of the data. This paper reviews old and newly suggested methods to predict pollen and air pollutant concentrations in the air and proposes an allergy risk concept, which combines the pollen and pollution information and transforms it into a qualitative risk index. This new index is available in an app (Mobile Airways Sentinel NetworK-air) that was developed in the frame of the European Union grant Impact of Air POLLution on sleep, Asthma and Rhinitis (a project of European Institute of Innovation and Technology-Health). On-going transformation of the pollen allergy information support is based on new technological solutions for pollen and air quality monitoring and predictions. The new information-technology and artificial-intelligence-based solutions help to convert this information into easy-to-use services for both medical practitioners and allergy sufferers.