OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to examine the effects of mobile health (mHealth), using mobile phones as an intervention for weight loss in obese adults. METHODS: An electronic search was carried out using multiple databases. A meta-analysis of selected studies was performed. The effects of mHealth were analyzed using changes in body weight and body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: We identified 20 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 2,318 participants who fit our inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed that body weight was reduced with a weighted mean difference (WMD) of −2.35 kg (95% confidence interval [CI], −2.84 to −1.87). An examination of the impact of duration of intervention showed that weight loss was greater after 6 months of mHealth (WMD = −2.66 kg) than between three and four months (WMD = −2.25 kg); it was maintained for up to 9 months (WMD = −2.62 kg). At 12 months, weight loss was reduced to a WMD of −1.23 kg. BMI decreased with a WMD of −0.77 kg/m2 (95% CI, −1.01 to −0.52). BMI changes were not statistically significant at 3 months (WMD = −1.10 kg/m2), but they were statistically significant at 6 months (WMD = −0.67 kg/m2). CONCLUSIONS: The use of mHealth for obese adults showed a modest short-term effect on body weight and BMI. Although the weight loss associated with mHealth did not meet the recommendation of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network, which considers a reduction of approximately 5 to 10 kg of the initial body weight as a successful intervention. Well-designed RCTs are needed to reveal the effects of mHealth interventions.
Adult* ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Cell Phones ; Humans ; Mobile Applications ; Obesity ; Telemedicine* ; Weight Loss

Bunazosin is a alpha-1 blocker that is more selective and effective than other alpha-1 receptor blockers. Bunazosin has been shown to lower intraocular pressure but it's mechanism is uncertain. The purpose of this study is to know the morphological changes in the ciliary epithelium by bunazosin. 0.1% Bunazosin was instilled on the eye of the rabbits and the eyes were enucleated on 1, 2, 6 and 24 hours after instillation to find out the tissue response under the electronmicroscopy. As a result, widening of the cell membranes and swelling of the mitochondria were observed in the pigmented and non-pigmented epithelium and these changes were recovered with time and seem to be the morphological changes of bunazosin against aqueous formation in the ciliary body.
Cell Membrane ; Ciliary Body ; Epithelium* ; Intraocular Pressure ; Mitochondria ; Rabbits*

PURPOSE: The aim of this research was to compare surgical outcomes and complications of obese and non-obese patients who underwent open radical nephrectomy (ORN) and laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data of 26 ORN patients and 30 LRN patients between January 2006 and December 2008 were analyzed. Patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 kg/m2 or more were defined as obese, and those with a BMI of <25.0 kg/m2 were defined as non-obese. All patients were divided into two groups according to the criteria above to compare demographic and clinical and pathologic parameters. RESULTS: The mean BMIs of the 15 obese patients in the ORN group and the 13 obese patients in the LRN group were 26.8+/-1.1 and 27.7+/-2.4, respectively. LRN was enormously effective for lowering estimated blood loss (EBL) and postoperative days compared with ORN. Operation times and EBL in ORN were affected by obesity, both of which were increased. In contrast, the data of both LRN groups indicated similar outcomes. The perioperative data of obese patients revealed LRN to have reduced blood loss (143.0+/-62.7 vs. 446.7+/-222.4 ml, p=0.001) and not significantly different postoperative days (7.3+/-2.2 vs. 8.4+/-1.5 days, p=0.065). Operation time, however, did not differ significantly among obese patients between ORN and LRN. The complications due to LRN had no relation with obesity, whereas ORN had an increased complications rate (34.6% vs. 3.8%). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that LRN is more effective than ORN for both obese and non-obese patients with regard to perioperative outcomes and complication rates.
Body Mass Index ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Nephrectomy ; Obesity

There is increasing evidence that the environmental hormones may adversely affect the human body. The human reproductive system misrecognizes some of these endocrine disruptors with consequences to reproductive cell differentiation. Therefore, studies on the safety of these substances have been widely carried out to develop the science to create effective legislation to limit or prevent their use or require the development of inert, alternative substances. A few studies have reported that the oral cavity is the pathway for absorption of these substances released from plastic products or environmental hormone substances. This review suggests that the oral environment is vulnerable to exposure to environmental hormones and introduces supporting literature.
Absorption ; Cell Differentiation ; Endocrine Disruptors ; Human Body* ; Humans* ; Mouth ; Plastics

body region were operated by composite resection. The radiographic and histopathologic features of the mandibular invasion and spread were analysed and compared. Our results showed that histopathologic extent of tumor invasion were greater than the radiographic prediction, especially in width of the tumor. And the pattern of bony invasion in the body area was mostly found in transmedullary spread rather than perineural spread. The vortical involvement in the mandibular body with tumor was evaluated. It indicated that if a oncologic surgeon was to ensure an adequate safety margin for extirpation of tumor, in most cases, the maintenance of the mandibular continuity is difficult. If the mandibular involvement by gingival cancer was identified radiographically and clinically, segmental mandibulectomy was required for the adequate safety margin, in consideration of the spread pattern in the body area.]]>
Body Regions ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Humans ; Mandible ; Mandibular Osteotomy

To realize the real-time transmission of temperature data and display using the platform of intelligent mobile phone and bluetooth. Application of Arduino Uno R3 in temperature data acquisition of digital temperature sensor DS18B20 acquisition, through the HC-05 bluetooth transmits the data to the intelligent smart phone Android system, realizes transmission of temperature data. Using Java language to write applications program under Android development environment, can achieve real-time temperature data display, storage and drawing temperature fluctuations drawn graphics. Temperature sensor is experimentally tested to meet the body temperature measurement precision and accuracy. This paper can provide a reference for other smart phone mobile medical product development.
Body Temperature ; Cell Phone ; Humans ; Programming Languages ; Software ; Wireless Technology

The technical structure of a low-cost thermal imaging system (TIM) lunched on a mobile phone was investigated, which consists of a thermal infrared module and mobile phone and application software. The designing strategies and technical factors toward realizing various TIM array performances are interpreted, including sensor cost and Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD). In the software algorithm, a mechanism for scene-change detection was implemented to optimize the efficiency of non-uniformity correction (NUC). The performance experiments and analysis indicate that the NETD of the system can be smaller than 150 mK when the integration time is larger than 16 frames. Furthermore, a practical application for human temperature monitoring during physical exercise is proposed and interpreted. The measurement results support the feasibility and facility of the system in the medical application.
Algorithms ; Body Temperature ; Cell Phone ; Humans ; Infrared Rays ; Mobile Applications

PURPOSE: The laparoscopic technique of a radical or total nephrectomy for renal masses and a radical nephroureterectomy for transitional cell carcinomas has recently gained rapid momentum as an effective method of extirpative surgery. We evaluated our experience of laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) and compared the results to those of contemporary series of open radical nephrectomy (ORN) in renal cell carcinomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight males and 5 females underwent a LRN for suspicious renal cell carcinomas. The operations were performed via a transperitoneal route. We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of the LRN compared to a contemporary group of 13 patients who underwent an ORN for renal cell carcinomas. RESULTS: For the same period, the results of the LRN (13 patients) and the ORN (13 patients) were compared, and no significant differences were found in: body mass index (24.7 versus 22.8kg/m2, p=0.08), specimen weight (377 versus 431gm, p>0.1) or mass size (3.7 versus 4.4cm, p>0.1). The LRN group had significantly reduced estimated blood losses (433 versus 866ml, p=0.01), pain medication requirements (145 versus 225mg, p=0.04) and times to ambulate (19 versus 32 hours, p=0.02). The operating time, however, was much longer in the LRN compared to the ORN (284 versus 193 min., p=0.09) group. CONCLUSIONS: Although a LRN has a longer operation time, it has similar efficacy, and is more tolerated by patients than an ORN. Thus, LRN may be a viable alternative for managing localized renal tumors.
Body Mass Index ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Nephrectomy* ; Retrospective Studies

To evaluate the effect of ascorbate on cell death induced by ultraviolet A, cultured human ciliary body epithelial cells were exposed the UV-A at energy level of 10 and 30J/cm2. Before and after UV-A exposure the experimental group was treated with 250 microgram/ml L-ascorbate while the control group was not. Cell viability was 87.3% in the control group and 97.1% in the experimental group at energy level of 10J/cm2UV-A. Cell viability was decreased to 38.8% in the control group and 73.5% in the experimental group at energy level of 30J/cm2 UV-A. The cells in the experimental group were less affected. This phenomenon was also observed by light microscope. The degree of apoptosis was 4.68% in the control group and 4.11% in the experimental group at the level of 10J/cm2 UV-A. The apoptosis was increased to 11.01% in the control group and 4.16% in the experimental group at the level of 30J/cm2 UV-A. On electron microscope necrosis and apoptosis induced by UV-A were observed in both groups but the degree of cell death was much less in the experimental group. In conclusion, L-ascorbate has a role of decreasing cell death induced by UV-A in ciliary body epithelial cells.
Apoptosis ; Cell Death* ; Cell Survival ; Ciliary Body* ; Epithelial Cells ; Epithelium* ; Humans ; Necrosis

BACKGROUND: Peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) has been widely used as a substi-tute of bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of various solid tumors or hematologic malig-nancies. The success of PBSCT is correlated with peripheral blood CD34+ cell count per kilogram of the recipient body weight. Standardization of flow cytometric CD34+ cell enumeration was improved by the modified International Society of Hematotherapy and Gene Engineering (ISHAGE) protocol. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the peripheral parameters (WBCs, mononuclear cells, the CD 34+ cells) that may predict the total CD34+ cell count in the harvest product, using the Stem-Kit (Beck-man Coulter Inc., Fullerton, CA, USA). METHODS: The study tested 88 PBSC harvests and peripheral blood (PB) on the day before collection from 26 patients. The CD34+ cells were analyzed using the Stem-Kit. The WBC and MNC count were measured by Coulter STKS (Beckman Coulter Inc.). The correlation and regression analysis between peripheral parameters (WBCs, MNCs, CD34+ cells) and the total CD34+ cell count in the harvest product were performed. RESULTS: The CD34+ cell count per weight (kg) of 88 PBSC harvests was 1.59 +/- 2.61 (0.01 -17.35). The mean number of WBC, MNC, and CD34+ cell in PB prior to harvest were 10.57 +/- 8.36 (1.50 - 32.50) X 10(3)/micro L, 1.85 +/- 1.28 (0.39- 7.43) X 10(3)/micro L, and 17.21 +/- 33.19 (0.12-239.19)/micro L, respectively. With the CD34+ cells numbering under 3/micro L in peripheral blood (PB), we could not harvest more than 0.5 X 10(6) /kg PBSC. With the cells numbering 3-6/micro L (59%) and 10- 20/micro L (89%), however, we could harvest more than 0.5 X 10(6) /kg and 1.0 X 10(6) /kg, respectively. More than 2.0 X 10(6)/kg of PBSC was collected with 10-20/micro L (31%). The peripheral blood CD34+ cell count prior to harvest significantly correlated with the total CD34+ cell count in the harvest product (r=0.97, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral blood CD34+ cell enumeration using the Stem-Kit was an efficient predictor of when to harvest peripheral blood stem cells after mobilization therapy. We could not collected the CD34+ cell in harvest product of more than 0.5 X 10(6)/kg if the peripheral blood CD34+ cell count was less than 3/micro L.
Body Weight ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Cell Count* ; Humans ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Stem Cells*