Finite element analysis can be used to study the change of the structure and the interior field intensity of human and animal body organs and tissues with simulation experiment. We in our research used finite element analysis software to analyze and solve the spinal cord surface potential problems, and investigated the transmission features of signals generated by interneurons in spinal nerves which were related with body motion control and sensory processing. A three dimensional model of electrical source in rat spinal cord was built, and the influence on potential distribution on spinal cord surface caused by position changes of electrical source in transverse direction and dorsoventral direction were analyzed and calculated. We obtained the potential distribution curves of spinal cord surface and found that the potential distribution on spinal cord surface showed monotone. In addition, potentials of some registration points were smaller than that of registration points around.
Action Potentials ; Animals ; Computer Simulation ; Finite Element Analysis ; Humans ; Interneurons ; physiology ; Models, Anatomic ; Rats ; Spinal Cord ; physiology

Objective To discuss the feasibility and value of routine clinical preoperative examination predicting benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Methods The clinical data of 1630 patients undergoing thyroidectomy for nodular thyroid disease were analyzed retrospectively.The relationship between pathological diagnosis and physical examination,ultrasonographic parameters,the results of laboratory test and nuclear medicine test were examined to build a risk prediction model.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of the formula were tested. Results In 387 cystic nodules 0.78％ were malignant; In 1243 solid nodules 17.2％ were malignant.Among the 1243 cases,characters significantly related to malignancy were:age younger than 40 years,solitary lobe involvement,hypoechoic nodule,irregular margins,solid nodule,microcalcification,macrocalcification,max diameter ≤ 2 cm. The prediction formula was: malignancy indicator =0.80 × age + 0.59 × solitary lobe + 0.72 × hypoechoic + 0.82 × irregular margin + 1.32 × solid nodule + 1.90 × microcalcification + 0.70 × macrocalcification + 0.71 × max diameter.The threshold limit value was 2.8,and the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of which were 74.4％,80.4％ and 75.2％,respectively. Conclusions Benign and malignant thyroid nodules could be differentiated roughly with the combination of patients' general information and the results of routine examination before operation.

Objective: To explore the ethical and juristic signif-icance of hearing with living-related kidney transplantation. Methods: This study involved 18 donors and recipients who received medical e-valuating and informing the related medical risk between Jul.2006 and Jun.2007. Our experience of 18 hearings with living-related kidney transplantation, which comprised members of Human Organ Transplant Te-chnique and Ethics Committee,donors,recipients and their direct rela-tives,was analyzed. Results the 16 hearings were successful, one res-igned donation,and two were controvertible and succeeded after re-ev-aluating. Conclusion:The hearing should have known,voluntary,equitab-le, unclassified and no commercial principle,and endeavour to ensure the medical,ethical and juristic entirety and integrity of living-re-lated kidney transplantation.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship of the common Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome pattern of chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) with the contents of substance p and beta endorphin in the plasma, and provide reference data for the clinical diagnosis, differentiation and treatment of CPPS by TCM.

METHODSWe observed 98 cases of CPPS, which were classified into a lower-part damp-heat invasion group (group A, n = 32), a blood stasis-induced collateral obstruction group (group B, n = 34), and a damp-heat stagnation group (group C, n = 32) according to the TCM syndrome differentiation. Another 35 normal healthy young men were enrolled as controls. We measured the contents of substance p and beta endorphin in the plasma by immunoradiometry and ELISA, and analyzed their relationship with the TCM syndrome pattern.

RESULTSThe contents of plasma substance p were significantly higher in groups A ([1135.76 +/- 166.45] pg/ml), B ([1 337.84 +/- 170.81] pg/ml), and C ([1 210.01 +/- 162.27] pg/ml) than in the control ([574.99 +/- 113.09] pg/ml) (all P < 0.01), while the contents of plasma beta endorphin in groups A ([212.70 +/- 29.49] pg/ml), B ([157.99 +/- 24.01] pg/ml), and C ([180.81 +/- 20.20] pg/ml) were remarkably lower than that in the control ([274.73 +/- 27.64] pg/ml) (all P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONIn the plasma of CPPS patients, the content of substance p is significantly elevated and that of beta endorphin markedly reduced, which suggests that they may be involved in the inflammatory reaction of CPPS. The levels of plasma substance p and beta endorphin can be used as valuable reference for the TCM classification of chronic prostatitis.

Case-Control Studies ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; adverse effects ; Pelvic Pain ; blood ; classification ; Prostatitis ; blood ; classification ; Substance P ; blood ; Syndrome ; beta-Endorphin ; blood

OBJECTIVETo compare the efficacy difference in the treatment of chronic pelvic pain syndrome of Sev-damp-heat stagnation pattern between acupoint catgut embedding therapy and western medication.

METHODSenty cases were randomized into a catgut embedding group (40 cases) and a western medication group (30 cases) at the ratio of 4 : 3. In the catgut embedding group, the catgut embedding therapy was applied to Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Quchi (LI 11), Huiyin (CV 1), Zusanli (ST 36), Zhongji (CV 3), Shenshu (BL 23), etc. The treatment was given once every two weeks, the treatment for 4 weeks was as one session and totally 2 sessions were required. In the western medication group, tamsulosin hydrochloride capsules 0. 2 mg, oral administration, once a day, and Indometacin sustained release tablets, 75 mg, once a day, 3 tablets each time were prescribed. The symptom score of TCM, score of NIH Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), lecithin body number in prostatic fluid, (SAS) score of Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and score of Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were compared before and after treatment in the patients of the two groups. The efficacy was evaluated in the two groups.

RESULTS(1)The total effective rate was 91. 9% (34/37) in the catgutembedding group and was 86. 2% (25/29) in the western medication group. The efficacy in the catgutembedding group was better than that in the western medication group (P<0. 05). (2) The symptom score of TCM was all reduced significantly after treatment in the two groups (both P<0.01), and the result in the catgut embedding group was superior to the western medication group (6.42 +/-2. 81 vs 10. 99+/-3. 11 ,P<0. 01). (3) Lecithin body number was increased apparently in the two groups after treatment (both P<0.01), and the result in the catgut-embedding group was superior to the western medicine group (33.56+/-5.88 vs 29. 78+/-7. 06,P<0. 05). (4) Total score of NIH-CPSI, score of pain, score of SAS and score of SDS were all improved apparently after treatment in the two groups (all P<0. 01), and the results in the catgut embedding group were superior to the western medication group (P<0. 01, P<0. 05).

CONCLUSIONThe acupoint catgut embedding therapy achieves the superior efficacy on chronic pelvic pain syndrome of damp-heat stagnation pattern as compared with conventional western medicine. This therapy relieves clinical symptoms, improves the states of anxiety and depression and increases lecithin body number obviously.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Catgut ; utilization ; Chronic Disease ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pelvic Pain ; therapy ; Prostatitis ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of testosterone undecanoate (TU) in the treatment of late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) by meta-analysis.

METHODSWe searched Pubmed (until April 1, 2014), Embase (until March 28, 2014), Cochrane Library (until April 17, 2014), CBM (from January 1, 2001 to February 2, 2014), CNKI (from January 1, 2001 to February 2, 2014), Wanfang Database (from January 1, 2000 to February 2, 2014), and VIP Database (from January 1, 2000 to Febru ary 2, 2014) for randomized controlled trials of TU for the treatment of LOH. We evaluated the quality of the identified literature and performed meta-analysis on the included studies using the Rveman5. 2 software.

RESULTSTotally, 14 studies were included after screening, which involved 1 686 cases. Compared with the placebo and blank control groups, TU treatment significantly increased the levels of serum total testosterone (SMD = 6.22, 95% CI 3.99 to 8.45, P < 0.05) and serum free testosterone (SMD = 4.35, 95% CI 1.86 to 6. 85, P < 0.05) but decreased the contents of luteinizing hormone (WMD = -2.23, 95% CI -4.03 to -0.42, P < 0.05), sex hormone binding globulin (WMD = 2.00, 95% CI 1.38 to 2.63, P < 0.05). TU also remarkably reduced the scores of Partial Androgen Deficiency of the Aging Males (WMD = -9.49, 95% CI -12.96 to -6.03, P < 0.05) and Aging Males Symptoms rating scale (WMD = -2.76, 95% CI -4.85 to -0.66, P <0.05) but increased the hemoglobin level (SMD = 2.35, 95% CI 0.29 to 4.41, P < 0.05) and packed-cell volume (SMD = 4.35, 95% CI 1.36 to 7.33, P < 0.05). However, no significant changes were shown in aspertate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, prostate-specific antigen, or prostate volume after TU treatment (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTU could significantly increase the serum testosterone level and improve the clinical symptoms of LOH patients without inducing serious adverse reactions. However, due to the limited number and relatively low quality of the included studies, the above conclusion could be cautiously applied to clinical practice.

Androgens ; therapeutic use ; Hemoglobin A ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; blood ; drug therapy ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin ; metabolism ; Testosterone ; adverse effects ; analogs & derivatives ; blood ; pharmacology

Objective:To explore the predictive value of renal resistive index (RRI) joint with semiquantitative power Doppler ultrasound (PDU) score to acute kidney injury (AKI) in non-septic critically ill patients.Methods:This prospective observational study enrolled non-septic critically ill patients admitted to the Emergency Intensive Care Unit of Cangzhou Central Hospital from January 2018 to August 2019. In addition to general data, RRI and PDU scores were measured with medical ultrasonic instrument within 6 h after admission. Renal function was assessed on the 5th day in accordance with kidney disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria. The patients who progressed to AKI stage 3 within 5 days after admission were classified into the AKI 3 group, and the rest were classified into the AKI 0-2 group. The difference of each index was compared between the two groups in non-septic critically ill patients and patients with acute heart failure (AHF). Normal distributed continuous variables were compared using independent sample t-tests, whereas Mann-Whitney U tests were used to examine the differences in variables without a normal distribution. Categorical data were compared with the Chi-square test. Receiver operator characteristic curves were plotted to examine the values of RRI, PDU score, RRI-RDU/10 (subtraction of RRI and 1/10 of PDU score), RRI/PDU (the ratio of RRI to PDU score), and RRI+PDU (the prediction probability of the combination of RRI and PDU score for AKI stage 3 obtained by logistic regression analysis) in predicting AKI 3. Delong's test was used to compare the area under the curve (AUC) between predictors. Results:A total of 110 non-septic critically ill patients (51 patients with no AKI, 21 with AKI stage 1, 11 with AKI stage 2, and 27 with AKI stage 3) were recruited. Among them, there were 63 patients with AHF (21 patients with no AKI, 15 with AKI stage 1, 7 with AKI stage 2, and 20 with AKI stage 3). Among the non-septic critically ill patients as well as its subgroup of AHF, compared with the AKI 0-2 group, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation-Ⅱ score, sequential organ failure assessment score, arterial lactate concentration, mechanical ventilation rate, proportion of vasoactive drugs, 28-day mortality, serum creatinine, RRI, RRI-RDU/10, RRI/PDU, RRI+PDU, and rate of continuous renal replacement therapy were higher in the AKI 3 group, and urine output and PDU score were lower ( all P<0.05). As for non-septic critically ill patients, RRI/PDU [AUC=0.915, 95% confidence interval ( CI): 0.846-0.959, P<0.01] and RRI+PDU (AUC=0.914, 95% CI: 0.845-0.959, P<0.01) performed best in predicting AKI 3, and the AUCs were higher than RRI (AUC=0.804, 95% CI: 0.718-0.874, P<0.01) and PDU score (AUC=0.868, 95% CI: 0.791-0.925, P<0.01). The optimal cutoff for RRI/PDU was > 0.355 (sensitivity 92.6%, specificity 81.9%, Youden index 0.745). The predictive value of RRI-RDU/10 for AKI 3 (AUC=0.899, 95% CI: 0.827-0.948, P<0.01) was also better than RRI and PDU scores, but slightly worse than RRI/PDU and RRI+PDU, with statistically difference only between RRI and RRI-RDU/10 ( P<0.05). As for patients with AHF, RRI/PDU (AUC=0.962, 95% CI: 0.880-0.994, P<0.01) and RRI+PDU (AUC=0.962, 95% CI: 0.880-0.994, P<0.01) also performed best in predicting AKI 3, and the AUCs were higher than RRI (AUC=0.845, 95% CI: 0.731-0.924, P<0.01) and PDU score (AUC=0.913, 95% CI: 0.814-0.969, P<0.01) with statistically differences (all P<0.05). The optimal cutoff for RRI/PDU was > 0.360 (sensitivity 95.0%, specificity 90.7%, Youden index 0.857). The predictive value of RRI-RDU/10 for AKI 3 (AUC=0.950, 95% CI: 0.864-0.989, P<0.01) was also better than RRI and PDU score, but slightly worse than RRI/PDU and RRI+PDU, with statistically difference only between RRI and RRI-RDU/10 ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The combination of RRI and PDU score could effectively predict AKI 3 in non-septic critically ill patients, especially in patients with AHF. The ratio of RRI to PDU score is recommended for clinical application because of its excellent predictive value for AKI and its practicability.

Along with the development of economy and society, type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) has become one of the most common diseases at the global level. As one of the complications of T2DM, diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) stubbornly and chronically affects the health and life of human beings. In the pain field, dorsal root ganglion (DRG) is generally considered as the first stage of the sensory pathway where the hyperexcitability of injured neurons is associated with different kinds of peripheral neuropathic pains. The abnormal electrophysiology is mainly due to the changed properties of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and the increased sodium currents (I(Na)). Curcumin is an active ingredient extracted from turmeric and has been demonstrated to ameliorate T2DM and its various complications including DNP effectively. The present study demonstrates that the I(Na) of small-sized DRG neurons are significantly increased with the abnormal electrophysiological characteristics of VGSCs in type 2 diabetic neuropathic pain rats. And these abnormalities can be ameliorated efficaciously by a period of treatment with curcumin.
Animals ; Curcumin ; pharmacology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; complications ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; complications ; Diabetic Neuropathies ; drug therapy ; Ganglia, Spinal ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Neuralgia ; drug therapy ; Neurons ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Rats ; Sodium ; Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels ; physiology

Objective To evaluate the best mean for the treatment of varicocele. Methods The clini-cal effects of the high ligation of spermatic vein under the small incisal opening of the poritneum meta abdom-inal membrane and the ligation of spermatic vein under the laparoscope for the varicocele were retrospectively reviewed. The operating time, the postoperative days and the cost of hospitalization were compared of the two methods. Results Comparing with the group of operation and the group of laparoscope. Among the 158 vat-icocele patients with unilateral or bilateral varicocele, there was not statistical difference in the operating time between the two methods (P > 0. 05), whi]e there was significant difference in the postoperative days and the cost of hospitalization(P <0. 05). Conclusions When the bilateral varicoceles were simultaneously ligated, the high ligation of spermatic vein under the laparoscope was the best selection; if the unilateral varicocele was highly ligated or the patients were unconditional or the patients were not fit for laparoscopic operation, the high ligation of spermatic vein under the small incisal opening of peritoneum was the best operating method.

Objective To develop an easy,rapid and reproducible cefotaxime-agar medium(CTX- AM)for phenotypic detection of extended-spectrum ?-lactamases(ESBLs)and AmpC ?-lactamases (AmpCs)in Enterobacteriaceae.Methods The surface of a cefotaxime(CTX,0.5 ?g/ml)-Mueller- Hinton agar and ceftizoxime(CAZ,1 ?g/ml)-Mueller-Hinton agar plate was inoculated with a lawn of E. coli ATCC 25922 according to the standard disk diffusion method,respectively.Immediately prior to use.blank and clavulanic acid(10 ?g),cloxacillin(300 ?g),clavulanic acid/cloxacillin(10/300 ?g) disk were rehydrated with 10 ?l of saline and several colonies of each test organism were applied to disks. Then the results of CTX-AM method to interpret based on a zone of growth around the periphery of disks.A total 58 of ESBL and AmpC producing and non-producing isolates of Enterobacteriaceae,as identified by the double-disk enhancement test(DDET)and the three-dimensional extract method(TDEM).were used to evaluate the CTX-AM method.Positive control(E.cloacae 029M,K.pneumoniae ATCC 700603)and negative control(E.coli ATCC 25922)strains were included.Results The results of CTX-AM method were similar to the DDET and TDEM method for detecting ESBLs and AmpC production in Enterobacteriaceae,respectively.But inhibitor-resistant ?-lactamase(IR-BLs)and other ?-lactamases were not detected by DDET method.Conclusions The new method described here allows for testing of ESBL and AmpCs on a single plate.It is easy to perform and interpret,and also cost-effective,clinical laboratories may use this technique routinely to detect the oresence of ESBL and AmoCs.