Objective To observe curative effect of the rat nerve growth factor (NGF) treatment on anterior ischemic op?tic neuropathy(AION). Methods Patients with AION (n=78) were randomly divided into mouse NGF treatment group (treatment group):39 cases (39 eyes) and conventional treatment group (control group):37 cases (37 eyes). Patients in control group were given Actovegin 1.2 g intravenously, once a day while patients in treatment group were given 18μg mouse NGF once a day. Milton insurable were given orally at 0.5 mg, 3 times per day at both groups. Dexamethasone of 3 mg were given retrobulbarly once a day upon onset of symptoms and the extend of edema for 3 to 5 days. Rat nerve growth factor were given for consecutive14 days as a period of treatment, and the curative effect was observed after 28 days of treatment. Results In the treatment group:treatments were obviously effective in 28 eyes (71.79%), effective in 7 eyes (17.95%) and ineffective in 4 eyes (10.26%), so the total effective rate was 89.74%; In control group: treatments were obviously effective in 11 eyes (29.73%), effective in 15 eyes (40.54%) and ineffective in 11 eyes (29.73%), so the total effective rate was 70.27%. Curative effects in these 2 groups were of statistical significance (Z=3.552, P<0.05). Vision acuity and average light sensitivity in vi?sual field are better in treatment group than those control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Mouse NGF is effective in the treat?ment of AION and can improve vision acuity and visual field, therefore is worth promoting.

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture plus moxibustion at Ciliao (BL 32) for primary dysmenorrhea (PD) due to cold-dampness. Methods:A total of 58 cases with PD due to cold-dampness were randomly allocated into an observation group (n=29) and a control group (n=29). Patients in the observation group were treated with acupuncture and suspended moxibustion at Ciliao (BL 32), whereas patients in the control group were treated with routine acupuncture alone. After three courses of treatment, the clinical efficacy was evaluated and compared between the two groups. Results:After treatment, the symptom scores were significantly reduced in both groups (P<0.05), but there were no significant between-group differences in clinical efficacy and symptom scores (P>0.05). Conclusion: With fewer points and less pain, acupuncture-moxibustion at Ciliao (BL 32) can obtain similar effect as routine acupuncture therapy for PD due to cold-dampness.

Cooperation hydrogen production was carried out using Rhodopseudomonas sp. DT and Enterobacter aerogenes. The effects of the initial ratio of Rhodopseudomonas sp. DT and E. aerogenes, culture temperature, and carbon source on the cooperation hydrogen production were investigated. The results suggested that cooperation hydrogen production rate was highly affected by the initial ratio of Rhodopseudomonas sp. DT and E. aerogenes. The mixed bacteria of Rhodopseudomonas sp. DT and E. aerogenes with 1:1 initial ratio benefited to the cooperation hydrogen production, which led the hydrogen production rate and duration of gas production to 3.1 mol H2/mol glucose and 81 h, respectively. The pH dynamics analysis of culture medium further discovered that the pH of the mixed bacteria with 1:1 initial ratio changed from 6 to 7 smaller than other conditions, which was probably fitted to produce hydrogen. Furthermore, the mixed bacteria with 1:1 initial ratio had the higher hydrogen production efficiency at temperatures of 28?C and 37?C than at 20?C, and without any hydrogen production at temperature of 50?C. The carbon sources of glucose, succinate acid, malic acid could be used to produce hydrogen by the mixed bacteria. Even the soluble starch, unused by Rhodopseudomonas sp. DT, was also decomposed by the mixed bacteria to produce hydrogen with the conversion efficiency of 8.22%. The glucose was the optimal carbon resource, and the conversion efficiency could reach to 36.11%. The results, further, implied that the cooperation hydrogen production could enlarge the use of the carbon sources.

OBJECTIVETo observe the impacts on skeletal fluorosis pain, joint motor dysfunction and urine fluoride excretion in the treatment with fire needle therapy, electroacupuncture and calcium carbonate D3.

METHODSThe randomized controlled trial was adopted. Ninety-five patients were randomized into a fire needle group (31 cases), an electroacupuncture group (33 cases) and a calcium carbonate D3 group (31 cases). In the fire needle group and the electroacupuncture group, Ashi points, Dazhui (GV 14), Geshu (BL 17), Quchi (LI 11), Hegu (LI 4), Xuehai (SP 10) points were selected and stimulated with fire needle and electroacupuncture separately, three times a week. In the calcium carbonate D3 group, calcium carbonate D3 tablets was prescribed for oral administration, 600 mg each time, twice a day. The duration of treatment was 2 months in the electroacupuncture group and calcium carbonate D3 group and 1 month in the fire needle group. VAS score, the range of motion (ROM) and urine fluoride value were compared before and after treatment in the patients of the three groups.

RESULTSAfter treatment, VAS value and ROM were improved significantly in the patients of the three groups (all P < 0.05), the difference was not significant in comparison of the three groups (all P > 0.05). After treatment, the urine fluoride value was increased significantly in the fire needle group [(7.89 +/- 3.61) mg/L vs (9.81 +/- 4.17) mg/L, P < 0.01] and was increased in the electroacupuncture group [(7.53 +/- 3.46) mg/L vs (8.97 +/- 4.21) mg/L, P < 0.05]. The difference was not significant in comparison before and after treatment in the calcium carbonate D3 group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe fire needle therapy, electroacupuncture and calcium carbonate D3 all have the clinical value in the prevention and treatment of skeletal fluorosis and the difference in the therapeutic effect has not been discovered among them yet at present. But it has been found that the fire needle therapy and electroacupuncture display the active significance in the promotion of urine fluoride excretion.

Adult ; Aged ; Bone Diseases ; drug therapy ; therapy ; urine ; Calcium Carbonate ; administration & dosage ; Electroacupuncture ; instrumentation ; Female ; Fluorides ; urine ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Needles ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To measure the expressions of cytotoxity-related cytokines in CD8+memory T cell subsets of peripheral blood in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and further analyze the relationship between the cytokine levels and MS disease severity. Methods Four-color flow cytometry was employed to detect the proportion of CD8+ memory T cell subsets expressed perforin and granzyme-B in peripheral blood of patients with MS, with other neurological disorders (OND) and of normal control (NC) group. The expanded disability status scale (EDSS) was used to reflect the disease severity at the time of blood sampling. Results Patients with MS had a decreased proportion of effector memory CD8+ T (CD8+ TEM) cells and terminal TEM cells expressed granzyme-B as compared with NC group (P＜0.05). CD8+ TEM cells expressed granzyme-B and perforin were negatively correlated to the scores of EDSS in patients with MS (r=-0.493, P=0.027; r=-0.594, P=0.009). Conclusions CD8+ TEM may be involved in the MS-related CNS inflammatory immune response. The proportion of CD8+ TEM cells expressed perforin and granzyme-B can be used to reflect the pathological severity of MS lesions to some degrees.

BACKGROUND: Fatty acid oxidation (FAO) disorder is involved in the pathogenesis of some cases of preeclampsia (PE). Several studies show that mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is related to FAO. Pravastatin (Pra) can promote FAO in Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) PE-like mouse model in our previous study. This study aimed to investigate the effect of mTOR signaling pathway in PE-like model treated with Pra. METHODS: Pregnant mice were randomly injected with L-NAME as PE-like model group or saline as control group respectively, from gestational 7th to 18th day. Giving Pra (L-NAME + Pra, Control + Pra, n = 8) or normal saline (NS; L-NAME + NS, Control + NS, n = 8) from gestational 8th to 18th day, the mice were sacrificed on day 18 and their liver and placental tissues were collected. Then the activation of mTOR and its substrates in the liver and placenta were detected. And the association between mTOR activation and serum free fatty acid (FFA) levels and the expression of long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (LCHAD) were evaluated using Pearson correlation test. Differences between groups were analyzed using independent t-test or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: Both in the maternal liver and placenta, the activation of mTOR protein and its effect on substrates increased significantly in the L-NAME + NS group and decreased significantly in the L-NAME + Pra group. The p-mTOR/mTOR protein ratio decreased in the L-NAME + Pra group significantly than that in the L-NAME + NS group both in liver and placenta (liver: 0.74 ± 0.08 vs. 0.85 ± 0.06, t = 2.95, P < 0.05; placenta: 0.63 ± 0.06 vs. 0.77 ± 0.06, t = 4.64, P < 0.05). The activation of mTOR protein in the liver and placenta negatively correlated with the expression of LCHAD in the L-NAME + NS group (liver: r = -0.745, P < 0.05; placenta: r = -0.833, P < 0.05) and that in the maternal liver negatively correlated with the expression of LCHAD (r = -0.733, P < 0.05) and positively with the serum FFA levels (r = 0.841, P < 0.05) in the L-NAME + Pra group. CONCLUSION The inhibition of mTOR signaling pathway might be involved in the regulation of FAO in mouse model treated with Pra.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Fatty Acids ; metabolism ; Female ; Immunohistochemistry ; Liver ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Oxidation-Reduction ; drug effects ; Placenta ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Pravastatin ; therapeutic use ; Pre-Eclampsia ; drug therapy ; Pregnancy ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; metabolism

Objective To establish a neural probe-brain tissue numerical model and investigate tissue injuries induced by probe during its insertion into brain tissues. Methods The material of brain tissue was described by a hyper-viscoelastic constitutive equation. Tissue failure and separation were simulated by the element deletion method based on a maximum principle strain failure criteria, and tissue injuries were quantified by the mean effective strain. Then effects of probe wedge angle, inserting speed and probe stiffness on the acute injury were investigated. Results Tissue strain generated by probe with wedge angle of 150° was increased by 37.1% compared with the strain induced with wedge angle of 90°. Along the insertion path, probe with a slow speed of 100 μm/s induced much higher strain value (>57%) compared to that with relatively faster speed of 500 μm/s, which generated the strain value below 25%. The probe stiffness, however, had a negligible effect on tissue injury. The strain within the tissue was only increased by 1%-2% while the stiffness decreased from 165 GPa to 5 kPa. Conclusions The established numerical model can provide references for the design of neural probe and probe inserting parameters, which will be helpful to reduce tissue injuries induced by probe insertion and thus improve the working life of neural probe to meet the long-term clinical application.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the effects to iron status who were given preventive iron supplements for two months from when they were breast-fed to four-month-old.

METHODSA total of 123 infants in four-month-old age who were breast-fed were randomly divided into iron supplementation group (63 cases) and control group (60 cases), iron supplementation group was supplied with low-dose iron (1 mg×kg⁻¹×d⁻¹) for two months with no intervention for control group. Blood samples were collected to test C reactive protein and iron status indicators in six-month-old age group infants, and the growth indices were measured and compared on the gender difference of iron status at and 6 months.

RESULTSAfter 2 months of low-dose iron supplementation, the hemoglobin of iron supplementation group (26 cases) increased about 5.5 g/L while the control group (34 cases) increases about 0.0 g/L (median), 95% confidence intervals were -7.0 - 13.0 g/L and -9.0 - 15.0 g/L, respectively. The hemoglobin increase of iron supplementation group was higher than the control group, the difference was statistically significant (u = -2.326, P < 0.05). The other iron nutritional status and the growth did not show any significant difference between iron supplementation group and control group (P > 0.05). At age 6 month, the MCV of the boys were (75.89 ± 3.34) fl, while the girls were (77.20 ± 3.17) fl. The boys had lower values of MCV than the girls, and the gender difference was statistically significant (t = 4.73, P < 0.05). The other iron nutritional status did not show any significant gender difference (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONLow-dose iron supplementation of breast-fed infants at 4-month-old can increase the hemoglobin level when they were 6-month-old, and had no measurable side effect on growth.

Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; prevention & control ; Breast Feeding ; Dietary Supplements ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Iron, Dietary ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Nutritional Status

Objective To accurately measure the motion angels of hand-related joints during manipulations of acupuncture needle thrusting-pulling and twirling, so as to provide quantitative references for acupuncture manipulation. Methods Six acupuncturists with over 3-year acupuncture experience and one volunteer were enrolled in this study. The angles of the forearm, wrist, metacarpophalangeal & interphalangeal joints of the thumb and index finger in each acupuncturist when performing thrusting-pulling and twirling manipulation were measured by the video motion capture (VMC) system, and the different ranges of above-mentioned angles among the 6 acupuncturists when performing 10 trails of thrusting-pulling and twirling manipulations on the volunteer’s thigh were compared. Results There was no significant difference in the ranges of relevant hand-related angles in the acupuncturist (P>0.05). The manipulation of thrusting-pulling was mainly managed by the wrist joint, with the range of (7.23±1.87)°, while the manipulation of twirling was mainly managed by the interphalangeal joints of the index finger, and the range of the first and second interphalangeal joints of the index finger was (28.33±2.18)°and (10.43±1.69)°, respectively. Conclusions The VMC can be a reliable method to quantify the parameters of acupuncture manipulation. Different acupuncture manipulation shows particular variation of the joint angles, which can be used as a reference to quantify the acupuncture manipulation.

OBJECTIVETo seek a new method for the categorization of burn severity.

METHODSBurn patients hospitalized in our center from December of 1958 to December of 2004 were enrolled in the study, and they were divided into different age groups according to same mortality, then the patients in each group were subdivided into 4 groups according to the burn severity: i.e., mild burns, moderate burns, severe burns, serious severe burns. The total burn area, the number of cases, the mortality, and the area of DI degree burns were statistically analyzed in each subgroup, and the scope in total burn area and area of III degree burns were taken as standards to define the degree of burns. The logistic regression equation was established with probability of death as the variable, and age, total burn area, burn area of different degrees as concomitant variables to form a logistic regression formula. It was used to predict the probability of death of patients hospitalized in 2005, 50 as to check whether the corresponding indices of these patients were consistant with above standard of categorization into degrees, and to judge hum severity of the patients who had concomitant inhalation injury, severe associated injury, or those with serious disease before burns.

RESULTSThe patients were divided into three groups: less than 2 years of age (including 2 years of age), 2 to 55 years of age(including 55 years of age), and older than 55 years of age groups. The classification standard of burn area was shown in table 2 of the article. The probability of death and corresponding indices predicted hy the logistic regression equation were highly coincident with our standard. Patients with moderate inhalation injury could be regarded as patients with severe or most severe burns, while severity of those with mild inhalation injury could be determined by burn area alone.

CONCLUSIONThe logistic regression equation is a good method to predict the severity of burn patients, with reasonable age specificity grouping, and accurate and practical scoring of division for corresponding burn severity.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Burns ; classification ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Logistic Models ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult