The authors discussed the development of the assistive devices and service in China and overseas by analyzing the calssification, function, demand and difference between China and other countries.

This study was performed on rabbits to examine the changes of calmodulin (CAM) and cAMP in the myocardium during ischemia and reperfusion by radioimmunoassay method. The result showed the levels of CaM and cAMP increased at 20 min of ischemia. Although these two parmeters were unchanged at 40 min of ischemia as compared with the changes at 20 min, they were changed during reperfusion at different times of ischemia. At 20 min ischemia following 10 min reperfusion, the content of CaM decreased, the content of cAMP increased. On the basis of 40 min ischemia, reperfusion induced opposite changes: CaM increased, cAMP decreased. The possible mechanism of these changes was discussed.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility,safety and outcome of laparoscopic total mesorectal excision with sphincter preservation in the treatment of low rectal cancer.Methods From April 2004 to April 2007,laparoscopic total mesorectal excision with sphincter preservation for low rectal carcinoma was performed in 25 cases.The intraoperative risk.recovery,short-term and oncological outcomes of these patients were compared with 25 cases of conventional Dixon's operation.The controls,matched for age,sex,mass margin distance from the anus,Dukes stage,were selected from conventional Dixon's operations performed at the same period as laparoscopic group.T test and Chi-square test were used.Results Laparoscopic procedure was successful in 24 cases while one was converted to Bacon operation.The mean operation time(197±36)min in laparoscopic group was significantly longer than those(172±51)min in open group(t=2.12,P=0.04).The mean operative blood loss was(157±105)ml in laparoscopic group and(304±237)ml in open group(t=-2.95,P=0.01).No significant differences were detected between two groups in specimen length and number of lymph nodes excised.The bowel function was restored earlier in laparoseopic group than that in open group.The overall morbidity rates were 16%and 28%,and the local recurrence rates were 8%and 4%in the two groups respectively.Conclusion Laparoscopic total mesorectal excision is a feasible,safe,minimally invasive technique for rectal cancer.which provides better short-term outcomes and similar oncological outcomes compared with the traditional open procedure.

The authors discussed the relationship between assistive devices and persons with disability by giving examples such as physical and living conditions of persons with disability, rehabilitation process and conditions, etc., to show the importance of assistive devices to persons with disability.

Objective To observe the synapse formation in hippocampal dentate gyrus, and the memory ability after transplanting bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) into lateral ventricle of ischemic brain injury rats. Methods BMSCs from femur of a Sprague-Dawley rat were cultured for 3 generations in vitro. 60 newborn Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into sham group (n=20), model group (n=20) and BMSCs group (n=20). The latter 2 groups were ligated the left common carotid artery, and the BMSCs group were injected BMSCs into the lateral ventricle 7 days after ligation. They were tested with Morris's water maze 8 weeks later, and then, the brains were immunohistochemical staining to detect synaptophysin (SY). Results The time of probe trial of acquisition phase (T1) and reveral phase (T2) decreased in the model group compared with the sham group (P<0.05), and increased in the BMSCs group compared with the model group (P<0.05). The integral optical density (IOD) of SY positive cells decreased in the model group compared with the sham group (P<0.05), and increased in the BMSCs group compared with the model group (P<0.05). Conclusion BMSCs implantation through lateral ventricle can improve the learning and memory ability of rats, which may associated with the synapse formation in dentate gyrus.

Objective To study the influence of laparoscopic gastric surgery on the gut barrier function (GBF).Methods There were 64 gastric cancer patients undergoing respectively laparoscopic radical procedures (32 cases) and open gastric surgery (32 cases).Blood was drawn on day one before surgery,day 1,day 3 and day 7 after the surgery for the measurement of plasma D-lacate and plasma diamine oxidase activity by using ultraviolet spectrophotometry.Results There was no statistical difference among demographic,clinicopathological characterastics between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).The difference on the operative time,blood loss and the time starting to take food after the surgery was significant between the two groups,P ＜ 0.05.The differences of plasma D-lacate level and the diamine oxidase (DAO) on perioperatively respective all time points were not significant between the two groups,P ＞ 0.05.Conclusion Laparoscopic radical gastrectomy is comparable to open procedures in causing damage to patient's gut barrier functions.

Objective To investigate the hygienic quality of drinking water in rural areas of Xiamen and to provide scientific bases for the improvement of drinking water quality and protection of human health.Methods The well water samples were sampled randomly according to the proportion and the water quality was analysed and the incidences of water-borne diseases were investigated in Xiamen rural areas.Results Water sources for drinking water in most parts of Xiamen rural areas are shallow-layer ground-water.As being polluted by surface ranoff water,the indices of total bacte-rial count and coliform bacteria in the well water were heavily over the standard with the over standard rates61.6%and85.1%respectively.The contents of fluoride in drinking water were at the higher levels(the highest one was1.6mg /L)in some villages and still there were more villages where the iodine contents in drinking water was at the lower level.The iodine content in well water,spring water and tap water was11.1,2.5and4.45?g /L respectively,in which the unqualified rate was48.3%,90%and58.1%respectively.The incidence of dental fluorosis in school-age children was70%in the high fluoride areas and the incidence of endemic goiter was20.9%in the low iodine areas.Conclu-sion The main hygienic problem of drinking water in rural areas of Xiamen was biological pollution and lower iodine contents and higher fluoride contents in water in some areas.In order to eliminate the water-borne diseases,the most important rural sanitary measures need to be taken:improving the sanitary conditions around the wells,repairing the well wall s and using deep ground-water or drinking water and developing centralized water supply in the areas with unbal-anced health-related microelemeuts in drinking water if possible in some villages.

Objective To investigate whether routine exposure recurrent laryngeal nerves(RLN) during the procedure of thyreoidectomy would prevent permanent nerves injuries caused by thyroid surgery.Methods 1523 patients with thyroid disease underwent thyreoidectomy from January 1980 to December 2004.Routine exposure of RLN during the procedure of thyreoidectomy were in 274 cases(group 1) and not in 1249 cases(group 2),the incidence rates of temporary RLN injuries and permanent RLN injures were compared in these groups.Results 3 cases(3/274,1.1%) occurred permanent RLN injuries in group 1 and 47 cases(47/1249,3.8%) occurred RLN injuries in group 2.The incidence rate of permanent RLN injuries in group 1 was lower than that in group 2(P0.05) in these groups.Conclusion Exposure recurrent RLN during the procedure of thyreoidectomy can effectively prevent permanent nerves injuries caused by thyroid surgery.

Objective To determine the expression of E-cadherin-catenins complex(E-cad,?-cat,?-cat and ?-cat) in early gastric cancer and their relationships with biological characteristics of early gastric cancer by evaluating the invasion and the lymph nodes metastasis of eraly gastric cancer(ECG).Methods 53 cases of EGC,who accepted radical operations from January 1997 to December 2000 in Sir Run Show Hospital were included in this study.According to the invasion depth and lymph nodes metastasis,they were divided into different sub-groups for discussion.Also the normal gastric mucosa of 10 cases with extra-gastric disease were selected as control group.Results All four proteins(E-cad,?-cat,?-cat and ?-cat) were normally expressed in control group.In early gastric cancer,the abnormal expression rates of E-cad,?-cat,?-cat and ?-cat were 64.2%,69.8%,66% and 73.6%,respectively.In the sub-group of mucosal invasion,the abnormal expression rates were 61%(14/23),65.2%(15/23),47.8%(11/23) and 56.5%(13/23),respectively.But in the sub-group of submucosal invasion,the abnormal expression rates were 66.7%(20/30),73.3(22/30)%,80%(24/30) and 86.7%(26/30),respectively.In sub-group of no lymph node metastasis,the abnormal expression rates were 61.4%(27/44),65.9%(29/44),63.6%(28/44) and 70%(31/44) respectively.In sub-group of lymph node metastasis,the abnormal expression rates were 77.8%(7/9),88.9%(8/9),77.8%(7/9) and 88.9%(8/9) respectively.Abnormal expression of ?-cat and ?-cat had significantly difference between the sub-group of mucosal invasion and the submucosal invasion(P

Objective To evaluate the role of serine-threonine kinase (Akt)/glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3β) signaling pathway in isoflurane preconditioning-induced inhibition of mitochondrial permeability transition pore protein (mPTP) opening during myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in rats.Methods Ninety-six male Sprague-Dawley rats,aged 3-4 months,weighing 200-250 g,were randomly divided into 4 groups (n =24 each) using a random number table:control group (group C);I/R group;isoflurane preconditioning group (group IPC);Akt inhibitor MK-2206 group (group MK).Myocardial I/R was induced by occlusion of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery for 30 min followed by 2 h of reperfusion.In group IPC,1.5％ isoflurane was inhaled for 30 min followed by 45 min washout,and then the model of myocardial I/R injury was established.In group MK,MK-2206 300 μg/kg (in dimethyl sulfoxide) was injected intraperitoneally at 30 min before isoflurane inhalation.At 2 h of reperfusion,8 rats were selected and sacrificed,and the hearts were removed for determination of myocardial infarct size.At 2 h of reperfusion,8 rats were selected,and blood samples were collected from the right internal jugular vein for determination of serum cardiac troponin Ⅰ (cTnI) concentrations.The rats were then sacrificed,and myocardial specimens were obtained for determination of the expression of phosphorylated GSK-3β (p-GSK-3β) in cytoplasm and mitochondria (by Western blot) and co-expression of p-GSK-3β with adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT),voltage-dependent anion channel or cyclophilin D in myocardial tissues (using co-immunoprecipitation).At 2 h of reperfusion,8 rats were selected and sacrificed,myocardial cells were obtained,and the opening time of mPTP was determined with a laser scanning confocal microscope.Results Compared with group C,the myocardial infarct size and serum cTnI concentrations were significantly increased,and the expression of p-GSK-3β in cytoplasm and mitochondria was up-regulated in I/R and IPC groups,the co-expression of p-GSK-3β with ANT was significantly down-regulated,and the opening time of mPTP was shortened in group I/R,and the co-expression of p-GSK-3β with ANT was significantly up-regulated,and the opening time of mPTP was prolonged in group IPC (P＜0.05).Compared with group I/R,the myocardial infarct size and serum cTnI concentrations were significantly decreased,the expression of p-GSK-3β in cytoplasm and mitochondria was up-regulated,the co-expression of p-GSK-3β with ANT was significantly up-regulated,and the opening time of mPTP was prolonged in group IPC,and the opening time of mPTP was significantly prolonged (P＜0.05),and no significant change was found in the other parameters in group MK (P＞0.05).Compared with group IPC,the myocardial infarct size and serum cTnI concentrations were significantly increased,the expression of p-GSK-3β in cytoplasm and mitochondria was up-regulated,the co-expression of p-GSK-3β with ANT was significantly down-regulated,and the opening time of mPTP was shortened in group MK (P＜0.05).No co-expression of p-GSK-3β with voltage-dependent anion channel or cyclophilin D was found in myocardial tissues.Conclusion The mechanism by which isoflurane preconditioning inhibits mPTP opening during myocardial ischemia-reperfusion is partially related to activation of Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway in rats.