BACKGROUND: The functional MRI(fMRI),a harmless research method,has brought new perspective to the understanding of ancient needling methods. The correlation between meridian points and cerebrum has been studied with fMRI in different cerebral regions.OBJECTIVE: To observe the correlation between Kuangming( Luo-Connection Point,GB37)and Taichong(Shu-Stream and Yuan-Source point,Liv3)with fMRI in different cerebral regions.DESIGN: Randomized controlled experimental study based on healthy volunteers of medical college.SETTING: Department of acupuncture in a medical university of traditional Chinese medicine,basic medical college in a medical university of traditional Chinese medicine,medical radiology center of medical college of University Freiburg in Germany.PARTICIPANTS: This study was conducted in Medical Radiology Center of Medical College of University Freiburg in Germany in June 1997. In this study,altogether 19 healthy volunteers,4 males and 15 females with normal vision,were selected. All of them were medical students without any previous acupuncture experience and history of neurology and psychosis. All healthy volunteers were randomly divided into three groups,including visual stimulation + one- sided needling group( n =7,2 males and 5 females),visual stimulation + double-sided needling group (n = 6,1 male and 5 females)and only double-sided needling group( n = 6,1 male and 5 females).METHODS: The response of visual cortex and the relative areas,and whether there comes inducing function were observed by fMRI during puncturing at kuangming and taichong. All subjects were informed about the range of possible acupuncture sensation they might experience during needle manipulation before entering the magnet field. For acupuncture,a stainless immagnet acupuncture needle(with a diameter of 0.25 mm and a length of 30 mm. Huatuo Brand. Made in Suzhou Medical Inc. ) was used. All subjects were performed by one experienced acupuncturist.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The changes,extent,delayed response,and time fluctuation of the cerebral cortex hemoglobin saturation level(BOLD).Whether the cerebral visual cortex domain was activated or not.RESULTS: There were no change of BOLD in visual cortex during visual stimulation and inserting needle at Kuangming and Taichong in visual stimulation +single sided needling group and visual stimulation +double-sided needling group. There were changes of BOLD of visual cortex in all subjects of the three groups during the period of manipulating needle. Among them six cases were found to have in the insular lobe,temporo-inferior parietal lobule,superior colliculus lobe,cuneate lobe and occipital mid-gyri.CONCLUSION: Single-sided or double-sided continuous needle stimulation can change the BOLD of the related regions of the cerebrum,but the change is unrelated with the insertion method and visual stimulation.

Objective: To understand the current overall status of implementation on the National Demonstration Areas of Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases. Methods: According to the scheme design of the questionnaires, all the National Demonstration Areas were involved in this study. For each National Demonstration Areas, eight departments were selected to complete a total of 12 questionnaires. Results: Scores related to the implementation of the National Demonstration Areas accounted for 71.8% of the total 170 points. Based on the scores gathered from this study, the 23-items-index-system that represented the status of project implementation was classified into seven categories. Categories with higher percentile scores would include: monitoring (88.0%), safeguard measures (75.0%), health education and health promotion (75.0%). Categories with lower percentile scores would include: the national health lifestyle actions (67.7%), community diagnosis (66.7%), discovery and intervention of high-risk groups (64.7%), and patient management (60.9%). There were significant differences noticed among the eastern, central and western areas on items as safeguard measures, health education/promotion, discovery and intervention of high-risk groups. In all, the implementation programs in the eastern Demonstration Areas seemed better than in the central or western regions. As for the 23 items, five of the highest scores appeared on policy support, mortality surveillance, tumor registration, reporting system on cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events, and on tobacco control, respectively. However, the lowest five scores fell on healthy diet, patient self-management program, oral hygiene, setting up the demonstration units and promotion on basic public health services, respectively. The overall scores in the eastern region was higher than that in the central or the western regions. The scores in the central and western regions showed basically the same. Conclusions: The overall status of implementation on the National Demonstration Areas was satisfactory. Future attention should be focusing on patient management as well as discovery and intervention of high-risk groups, which also presented the lowest scores, in this survey.
China/epidemiology* ; Chronic Disease/epidemiology* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Health Promotion/organization & administration* ; Humans ; National Health Programs ; Noncommunicable Diseases/prevention & control* ; Outcome Assessment, Health Care ; Population Surveillance ; Preventive Health Services/organization & administration* ; Program Evaluation ; Public Health ; United States

This study evaluated, over a 4-month study period, the amount of apical root resorption occurring in maxillary central incisors following their retraction when employing either micro-implant or J-hook headgear anchorage. The prospective randomised clinical trial was conducted in Orthodontic Clinic, College of Stomatology, China from 2008-2009. Subjects are patients requiring fixed appliances on waiting list (n=20). In female Han Chinese patients aged from 16-26 years, standardized periapical radiographs from 10 randomly assigned patients with maxillary protrusions comprising the micro-implant group, and from 10 similar patients comprising the J-hook headgear group, were assessed for maxillary central incisor apical root resorption. Measurements before and after orthodontic therapy were also obtained from lateral cephalometric radiographs to calculate incisor horizontal retraction and vertical intrusion distances. Estimated retraction force vectors were calculated in horizontal and vertical directions for both treatment groups. Data analysis employed t-tests and the Pearson correlation test, with α=0.05 for statistical significance. The results showed that when compared with the J-hook group, significantly more apical root resorption shortening of the maxillary central incisors was observed in the micro-implant group (1.27 mm difference, 95% CI=0.70-1.84, P<0.001), which was associated with a significantly larger retraction distance (P=0.004) and a smaller vertical force component (P<0.0001). We are led to conclude that continuous activation of the nickel-titanium coil springs used in the micro-implant group resulted in significantly more apical root resorption shortening and maxillary central incisor retraction than when intermittent J-hook retraction was employed. The employment of continuous duration orthodontic forces presents a risk for increased apical root resorption that requires careful radiographic monitoring.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by the intracellular protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. It is anopportunistic zoonosis in warm-blooded animals and humans, with a worldwide distribution. Toxoplasma gondii dense granule protein 16 (TgGRA16) can modulate some functions in host cells and is considered a significant virulent factor of the parasite. The present study reports sequence variation in TgGRA16 gene among T. gondii strains from different hosts and geographical locations, and the construction of phylogenetic relationships of these T. gondii strains based on sequences of TgGRA16, and analysis of B cell epitopes in TgGRA16. Our results showed that all TgGRA16 gene sequences were 1518 bp and the C+G contents ranged from 52.17% to 52.59%. Sequence variation in the TgGRA16 gene was 0-1.51%. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that TgGRA16 gene sequence could not be used to differentiate the different T. gondii genotypes. Six B cell epitopes were predicted in TgGRA16. These results indicated that TgGRA16 gene is not an ideal marker for studying genetic relationships of T. gondii isolates, but may represent a good vaccine candidate against toxoplasmosis.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical effects of filling for radiation carious cavities.

METHODS146 carious cavities of 15 patients after radiotherapy for head and neck malignancies were included and were filled with two new GIC (Ketac-Molar and Fuji IX). The 2 years follow-up results were evaluated with USPHS evaluation criterion.

RESULTS(1) The 2 years excellent rates were 51.7% in Ketac-Molar and 52.3% in Fuji IX, no significant differences. (2) Failures and defects were mainly occurred after 1 and 2 years. The main reason of failure was loss of filling. Marginal staining was a common shortcoming of the two materials. (3) There were no significant differences in main indexes except retention.

CONCLUSIONSIt is successful for radiation caries to be filled with Ketac-molar and Fuji IX, and is practically significant in stomatological clinic.

Adult ; Aged ; Cranial Irradiation ; adverse effects ; Dental Caries ; etiology ; pathology ; therapy ; Dental Restoration, Permanent ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glass Ionomer Cements ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; radiotherapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo observe relative effects of acupuncture at Guangming (GB 37) and Taichong (LR 3) in central different regions.

METHODSNineteen healthy volunteers were randomly divided into 3 groups: group I (n=7) received visual stimulation and acupuncture at one side; group II (n=6) received visual stimulation and acupuncture at both sides; and group III (n=6) received acupuncture at both sides. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate reactions of the different visual cortexes and relative cerebral regions in acupuncture at Guangming (GB 37) and Taichong (LR 3).

RESULTSThere was no significant change in blood oxygen saturation levels in the visual cortex at visual stimulation and insertion of the needle, but there were changes in blood oxygen saturation level in relative cerebral regions when continuous stimulation was given to one-side or both sides.

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture at one-side or both sides can improve blood oxygen saturation level in relative cerebral regions, which is not related with manipulation method and visual stimulation.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Needles

Previous studies showed that crude antigens from Trichinella spiralis adult worms (AW) can be recognized by mouse infection sera at 8 days post infection. The aim of this study was to identify the early diagnostic antigenic bands in soluble proteins from T. spiralis AW by Western blot using early infection sera. The affecting factors of adult recovery were firstly observed in this study, and the results showed that the maximum number of adults was collected from small intestine when the female BALB/c mice were orally infected with 4000 ML and sacrificed at 3 days post infection. The results of Western blot analysis showed that seven protein bands (31, 35.1, 39, 40.6, 41.9, 47 and 50.6 kDa) could be recognized by early infection sera as early as at 8-10 days post infection, and were strongly reacted with mouse infection sera at 11-12 days post infection. Our results suggested that the seven protein bands of T. spiralis AW soluble proteins might be the early expressed antigens during the intestinal stage of Trichinella infection and therefore have potential value for the early diagnosis of trichinellosis.

INTRODUCTIONAlthough laser photocoagulation is the primary treatment for diabetic macular oedema, treatment of eyes with diffuse macular oedema has been disappointing. Intravitreal injection of steroids is being investigated for the treatment of diabetic macular oedema. Preliminary results indicate that steroid injections do improve macular oedema, but it is not clear if they improve visual acuity.

CLINICAL PICTURE, TREATMENT, AND OUTCOMEIn this report, we describe a patient with a form of diffuse diabetic macular oedema that responded favourably to intravitreal steroid injections, with improvements in both foveal thickness and visual acuity.

CONCLUSIONIntravitreal steroids can be useful for the treatment of diffuse diabetic macular oedema.

Adult ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Glucocorticoids ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Injections, Intralesional ; Macular Edema ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Male ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Triamcinolone Acetonide ; administration & dosage ; Visual Acuity ; drug effects

Objective: To describe the situation of insufficient sleep and the association between insufficient sleep and physical exercise, among Chinese Han students aged 9-18 years. Methods: We selected 172 197 Chinese Han students aged 9-18 years from the project 2014 Chinese National Survey on Students Constitution and Health. The average sleep duration per day of less than 9 h for children aged 9-12 years and of less than 8 h for adolescents aged 13-18 years, were defined as insufficient sleep. We described the distribution of sleep duration and the prevalence rates of insufficient sleep for each subgroup. Logistic regression models were established to assess the association between insufficient sleep and physical exercise. Results: In 2014, 6.6%, 30.8%, 26.3%, 20.8%, 13.8% and 1.8% of the Chinese Han students self-reported sleep duration were <6, 6-, 7-, 8- and ≥10 h, respectively. The overall prevalence rate of insufficient sleep was 77.2%, with 75.8% for boys and 78.6% for girls. No gender disparity was found at each 9-11 age groups. However, in the 12-18 age groups, the prevalence rates for girls were significantly higher than that for boys. The prevalence rates of insufficient sleep for primary school, middle school and high school students were66.6%, 74.1% and 93.8%, respectively. Rates were increasing with age for children aged 9-12 years and adolescents aged 13-18 years respectively. The three provinces with the lowest prevalence rates of insufficient sleep were Zhejiang (68.8%), Jiangsu (66.7%) and Shaanxi (65.2%). Data from the logistic regression models revealed that, when comparing to those students with only exercise of <0.5 h per day, the exercise hours of 0.5-1 h (OR=0.72, 95%CI: 0.69-0.74) or ≥1 h (OR=0.46, 95%CI: 0.44-0.47) per day seemed as protective factors for insufficient sleep. When compared with physical exercise frequency <2 times per week, the 2 times (OR=0.82, 95%CI: 0.78-0.86) or >2 times (OR=0.65, 95%CI: 0.62-0.68) frequencies also appeared as protective. Conclusions: The prevalence rate of insufficient sleep prevailing among students aged 9-18 years was high, in China. Our data called for setting up effective measures to deal with this situation.
Adolescent ; Asian People/statistics & numerical data* ; Child ; China ; Exercise ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Schools ; Sleep ; Sleep Deprivation ; Students ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Purpose: To assess the quality and readability of online health information on vasectomy using validated readability and quality assessment tools. Materials and Methods: The top 50 search results for "vasectomy" on Google, Bing, and Yahoo were selected. Duplicate links, advertisements, blog posts, paid webpages, and information intended for healthcare providers were excluded. Flesch Reading Ease score, Flesch–Kincaid Grade level, Gunning Fog Index, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) index were used to assess readability, with optimal readability level for online health information established as being at sixth grade reading level. DISCERN Instrument and JAMA Benchmark were used to assess the quality of selected webpages. Inter-assessment score correlation and results by webpage type were analyzed. Results: We analyzed 44 webpages, including 16 academic, 5 hospital-affiliated, 6 commercial, 13 non-profit health advocacy, and 4 uncategorized sources. The average readability of the evaluated webpages was at a 10th grade reading level as measured by the Flesch Kincaid Assessment tool, and an undergraduate reading level per the SMOG and Gunning Fog indices. Non-profit health advocacy webpages had the best reading level but still was not at the recommended level of grade 6 to 7. The overall DISCERN quality of the webpages was “fair”, with non-profit health advocacy pages performing best. Conclusions The assessed webpages offer education on vasectomy in a language that is too complex for the general population to understand. Furthermore, several sources for online health information, such as non-profits, outperformed webpages by academic institutions. Increased healthcare collaboration and dedication to producing quality online patient resources is necessary to address these shortcomings and build trust among patients to increase utilization of vasectomy and decrease decisional regret.