OBJECTIVETo assess the effectiveness and safety on post-stroke dysphagia in chronic stage treated with magnetic-ball sticking therapy at the auricular points.

METHODSNinety cases of post-apoplexy dysphagia in chronic stage were randomized into an auricular points group and an acupuncture group. In the auricular points group, the magnetic-ball sticking therapy was applied to subcortex (pizhixia, AT4), brainstem (naogan, AT(3,4i)), mouth (kou, CO1), cheek (mianjia, LO(5,6i)), tongue (she, LO2) and throat (yanhou, TG3) on one ear each time, and were changed on the other ear once every 3 days. In the acupucnture group, acupuncture was applied to Feng-chi (GB 20), Yifeng (TE 17), Shanglianquan (Extra), Jinjin (EX-HN 12), Yuye (EX-HN 13), Shuigou (GV 26) and Tongli (TH 5), etc. The needles were retained for 30 min in each treatment. The treatment was gi-yen once a day in the two groups and the treatment of 6 days made one session. There was 1 day at an interval among the sessions. Totally, 3 sessions of treatment were required. The video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) was performed for 4 kinds of food with different properties and shapes in each patient. The main indices were Rosenbek penetration-aspiration score, oral-retaining score and throat-retaining score. The efficacy, and the incidences of aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition were compared between the two groups. The nutrition indices were compared before and after treatment between the two groups, such as the skinfold thickness of triceps brachii muscle, serum albumin and peralbumin.

RESULTSIn 21 days of treatment, in the auricular points group, the 1 mL liquid loversol Rosenbek penetration-aspiration score (1.51 +/- 0.69), oral-retaining score (1.17 +/- 0.38) and throat-retaining score (1.30 +/- 0.66) were all lower than those (2.51 +/- 0.67, 1.63 +/- 0.72, 1.67 +/- 0.7) in the acupuncture group separately. The 10 mL liquid loversol Rosenbek penetration-aspiration score (2.27 +/- 0.65), oral-retaining score (1.60 +/- 0.50) and throat-retaining score (1.49 +/- 0.51) were all lower than those (4.19 +/- 0.73, 2.30 +/- 0.51, 2.41 +/- 0.50) in the acupuncture group separately. The 10 mL paste loversol Rosenbek penetration-aspiration score (1.68 +/- 0.81), oral-retaining score (1.11 +/- 0.31) and throat-retaining score (1.10 +/- 0.31) were all lower than those (3.91 +/- 0.68, 1.63 +/- 0.76, 1.60 +/- 0.76) in the acupuncture group separately. The 1/4 cake-form loversol Rosenbek penetration-aspiration score (2.60 +/- 0.65), oral-retaining score (1.40 +/- 0.50) and throat-retaining score (1.74 +/- 0.49) were all lower than those (4.14 +/- 1.10, 2.40 +/- 0.73, 2.30 +/- 0.83) in the acupuncture group separately. The incidence of aspiration pneumonia was 14.9% (7/47) in the auricular points group, which was lower than 55.0% (22/40) in the acupuncture group (P < 0.01). The incidence of malnutrition was 8. 5% (4/47) in the auricular points group, which was lower than 50.0% (20/40) in the acupuncture group (P < 0.01). In 21 days of treatment, the results of the skinfold thickness of triceps brachii muscle and serum albumin in the auricular points group were better than those in the acupuncture group (both P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe magnetic-ball sticking therapy at auricular points achieves the definite efficacy on post-stoke dysphagia in chronic stage and decreases the incidences of aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition. The efficacy of this therapy is better than acupuncture.

Acupuncture, Ear ; instrumentation ; Aged ; Deglutition Disorders ; etiology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetics ; instrumentation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stroke ; complications ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo compare the effect of transumbilical single-site single-port with that of transumbilical single-site double-port laparoscopic varicocelectomy in the treatment of varicocele in adolescents.

METHODSWe randomly assigned 80 varicocele patients aged 10 - 16 years to two groups of equal number to receive transumbilical single-site single-port and single-site double-port laparoscopic varicocelectomy, respectively. We compared the operation time, postoperative hospital stay, incisional pain, complications and satisfaction with the abdominal cosmetic outcomes between the two groups.

RESULTSAll the operations were successfully performed. The double-port group showed a significantly higher score on the Visual Analogue Scale than the single-port group (4.8 +/- 1.4 vs 3.6 +/- 1.1, t = -4.986, P < 0.01), but there were no significant differences between the two groups in the operation time ([29.8 +/- 4.2] vs [31.2 +/- 4.6] min, t = 1.383, P = 0.171), postoperative hospital stay ([1.95 +/- 0.7] vs [1.82 +/- 0.8] d, t = -0.784, P = 0.436), complications (0 vs 0) and scores on the satisfaction with abdominal cosmetic outcomes (4.6 +/- 0.6 vs 4.8 +/- 0.5, t = 1.253, P = 0.214). No recurrence, umbilical hernia, hydrocele and orchiatrophy were found in the two groups of patients at 6 months after operation, and no visible scar was observed on the abdominal surface.

CONCLUSIONWith strict surgical indications, single-site single-port and single-site double-port laparoscopic varicocelectomies have similar clinical effects in the treatment of varicocele, which leave no scar on the abdominal surface. Single-site double-port laparoscopy needs no special instruments and therefore is worthier of wide clinical application.

Adolescent ; Child ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; methods ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Operative Time ; Umbilicus ; surgery ; Varicocele ; surgery

Objective To observe the effects of recruitment maneuver (RM) and tidal volume with different amount of gas after RM ventilation on lung diastole function in rats with acute lung injury (ALI). Method ALI rat models were induced by intravenous infusion of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in dose of 6 mg/kg. Twenty-five rats were randomly(random number) divided into control group ( n = 5), ALI group ( n = 5), low tidal volume group (LV group,VT= 6 mL/kg, n = 5), sustained inflation (SI) with low tidal volume (SI+ LV group, VT=6 mL/kg, n = 5), and SI with moderate tidal volume group (SI+ MV group, VT= 12 mL/kg, n = 5). The RM carried out by using SI with airway pressure 30 cmH-2O for 30 seconds, and the positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP)was set at 5 cmH2O. Lung tissue was taken after mechanical ventilation for 5 hours. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) was monitored throughout the entire course of experiment. Endothelin-1 ( ET-1 ), endothelial nitricoxide synthase (eNOS), and acetylcholine-(Ach-) induced endothelium-dependent relaxation response of isolated pulmonary artery rings were investigated after mechanical ventilation for 5 hours. Results The LPS increased the ET-1 level in lung tissue, decreased the level of eNOS in lung tissue, and impaired the Ach-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation response in pulmonary vassals, without obvious influence on systemic hemodynamics. SI + LV significantly reduced LPS-induced elevation of ET-1 level, and increased the level of eNOS, and significantly lessened endothelial dysfunction and ameliorated dysfunction od endothelium-dependent relaxation in pulmonary vas sals. Conclusions RM with high tidal volume or lowtidal volume ventilation could improve the lung vascular endothelial function of rats with acute lung injury, and RM with low tidal volume ventilation could lessen more the injury of lung vascular endothelial diastole function in rats with acute lung injury.

Objective To investigate the effects of elasticity resistance (Ers) in respiratory system on oxygenation in patients with acute lung injury (ALI) after recruitment maneuvers (RM). Method Meta-analysis of data about the effects of recruitment maneuvers on oxygenation in ALI patients with different elasticity resistances in respiratory system carried out with pooling of study-oriented data stored in Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science databases from January 1999 to June 2010. Results A total of 281 articles were taken, and 20 of them included a sample size of 395 ALI patients. In patients treated with RM in different degrees of respiratory system elasticity resistance ( ≥33.3 cmH2O/L and ＜33.3 cmH2O/L), the effect of RM was better in patients with the high respiratory system elasticity resistance than that with the low one [(51.97 + 8.89) mmHg vs. (35.13 ± 10.33 ) mmHg], P ＜ 0. 01 ), but the high respiratory system elasticity resistance was potentially to lower blood pressure [(4. 33 ± 1.32 ) mmHg vs. (0.22 ± 1.03 ) mmHg],P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusions This study suggests RM could improve oxygenation of ALI patients with high respiratory system elasticity resistance, and caution must be made to avoid hypotension during RM.

The depositions of immunoglobulins on the retina of diabetic rat were studied with immunohistochemistry,immunofluorecence and computer analysing system.In comparison with control group, depositions of IgG,IgA and IgM on the retina of diabetic rat induced by streptozotocin were significantly increased (all P＜0.05 ).So the immunoglobulin depositions may contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy.

The aim of the study is to prepare flurbiprofen axetil nanoemulsion-in situ gel system (FBA/NE-ISG) and observe its ocular pharmacokinetics, rheological behavior, TEM images, irritation and cornea retention. Production of nanoemulsion was based on high-speed shear and homogenization process, and then mixed with gellan gum to prepare FBA/NE-ISG. Rheological study showed that FBA/NE-ISG possesses strong gelation capacity and its viscosity and elastic modulus increases by 2 Pa*s and 5 Pa respectively when mixed with artificial tear at the ratio of 40 : 7. TEM images suggested no significant changes in particle morphology of the pre and post gelation. Good ocular compatibility of FBA/NE-ISG was testified by the irritation test based on histological examination. In vivo fluorescence imaging system was applied to investigate the characteristics of cornea retention, and the results indicated that the nanoemulsion-in situ gel (NE-ISG) prolonged the cornea retention time significantly since K(NE-ISG) (0.008 5 min(-1) was much lower compared with flurbiprofen sodium eye drops (FB-Na, 0.03% w/v) of which the K(Eye drops) was 0.105 2 min(-1), indicated that the cornea retention time of NE-ISG was prolonged significantly. Pharmacokinetics of FBA/NE-ISG in rabbit aqueous humor was studied by cornea puncture, the MRT (12.3 h) and AUC(0-12h) (126.8 microg x min x mL(-1)) of FBA/NE-ISG was 2.7 and 2.9 times higher than that of the flurbiprofen sodium eye drops respectively, which meant that the ocular bioavailability was improved greatly by the novel preparation. Therefore, FBA/NE-ISG can enhance the ocular bioavailability by prolonging drug corneal retention significantly. What's more, encapsulated by emulsion droplets prodrug flurbiprofen (FBA) instead of flurbiprofen (FB) can reduce the ocular irritation.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; pharmacokinetics ; Aqueous Humor ; metabolism ; Biological Availability ; Cornea ; cytology ; drug effects ; Emulsions ; Female ; Flurbiprofen ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacokinetics ; Gels ; Male ; Nanoparticles ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; Rabbits ; Rheology ; Viscosity

Aiming at the frequent failures in the PACS clinical applications, a continuous availability (CA) image server with triple modular redundancy (TMR) is designed and used for failover at the CPU/memory level. The TMR voter, which is included in the CA image server, is applied to detection of failures. Through UW or FW SCSI interfaces, two mirror-image disks, two RAID controllers and two DLT controllers are respectively connected to the modules in the TMR and a complete CA image server is brought into being. The CA image server will replace the potential single point of failure (SPOF) in the PACS and increases its availability rate to 99.999%. The advantages of the TMR CA image server make itself well suitable for large-scale medical image network and database applications.
Equipment Failure ; Radiology Information Systems ; instrumentation

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to observe the effect of recruitment maneuver (RM) and post-RM ventilation at different tidal volume on lung vascular diastole endothelial function in rats with acute lung injury (ALI). METHODS: A ALI rat model was produced by intravenous infusion of lipopolysaccharide (6 mg/kg). Twenty-five rats were randomly divided into five groups: control group (n=5), ALI group (n=5), low tidal volume group (LV group, VT 6 mL/kg, n=5), sustained inflation (SI) with low tidal volume group (SI+LV group, VT 6 mL/kg, n=5), and SI with moderate tidal volume group (SI+MV group, VT 12 mL/kg, n=5). RM was performed with SI, airway pressure 30 cmH2O for 30 seconds, and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) was set to 5 cmH2O. Lung tissue was taken after 5 hours of mechanical ventilation. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) was monitored during the experiment. Endothelin-1 (ET-1), endothelial nitricoxide synthase (eNOS), Ach-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation response of isolated pulmonary artery rings were determined at 5 hours. RESULTS: LPS increased ET-1 level, decreased the expression of eNOS in lung tissue, impaired the Ach-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation response in the pulmonary artery, without obvious effect on systemic hemodynamics. SI+LV significantly reduced LPS-induced elevation of ET-1 level, increased the expression of eNOS, significantly improved endothelial dysfunction, and improved the dysfunction of endothelium-dependent relaxation in the pulmonary artery. CONCLUSIONS: RM with a high or low tidal volume ventilation could improve the lung vascular endothelial function of rats with acute lung injury, and RM with low tidal volume ventilation could lower significantly the injury of lung vascular endothelial diastole function in rats with acute lung injury.

There are many physical factors affecting the development of cartilage tissue,the mechanical con-dition is the main important one that particularly act.The mechanical conditions used in engineering cartilage tissue,such as compressive and shear force,fluid flow,hydrostatic pressure and tissue deformation or with some of them combined,were reviewed.From the standpoint of bionics,the mechanical environments ap-plied on tissue engineering should work in three aspects:providing adequately mechanical stimuli to the cells seeded in 3-D scaffold;ensuring the efficient mass-transport of the nutrients and waste products in the cells:promoting the development of functionally extracellular matrix in 3-D scaffold.The mechanical environments currently used only represented the part of mechanical conditions of in vive articular cartilage will be reviewed.In our view that rolling depression load may achieve the fit mechanical environment for cultivation of functional cartilage constructs in vitro.

There are many physical factors affecting the development of cartilage tissue,the mechanical con-dition is the main important one that particularly act.The mechanical conditions used in engineering cartilage tissue,such as compressive and shear force,fluid flow,hydrostatic pressure and tissue deformation or with some of them combined,were reviewed.From the standpoint of bionics,the mechanical environments ap-plied on tissue engineering should work in three aspects:providing adequately mechanical stimuli to the cells seeded in 3-D scaffold;ensuring the efficient mass-transport of the nutrients and waste products in the cells:promoting the development of functionally extracellular matrix in 3-D scaffold.The mechanical environments currently used only represented the part of mechanical conditions of in vive articular cartilage will be reviewed.In our view that rolling depression load may achieve the fit mechanical environment for cultivation of functional cartilage constructs in vitro.