to observe the clinical effects of warm needling on rheumatoid arthritis.Methods:Patients with rheumatoid were treated with warming needling on the major acupoints of Guanyuan(CV 4),Qihai(CV 6),Zusanli(ST 36),Ganshu(BL 18),Shenshu(BL 23) and Pishu(BL 20),in combination with local acupoints and acupoints on the related meridians,meanwhile,other patients were treated with single needling as control. The patients' joint pain,tenderness,swelling,dysfunction index,gripping force,morning stiffness,walking time of 20 meters,rheumatoid factor,erythrocyte sedimentation rate,C response protein,IgG,IgA,and IgM were measured before and after treatments.Results:Warm needling could improve the rheumatoid arthritis patients' symptoms,and had an effective rate of 86.2%,while the single needling had an effective rate of 57.1%(P＜0.01). And the therapeutic effects were related to the disease duration and condition. Conclusion:Warm needling has a better clinical effects on rheumatoid arthritis than the single needling,with obvious functions of anti-inflammation,relieving pain and regulating immunity.

Objective To analyze the risk factors of esophageal and gastric variceal bleeding (EGVB) in patients with cirrhosis.Methods A retrospective study was conducted in 638 hospitalized patients with cirrhosis from 2002 to 2009,who were divided into study group as having EGVB (n =286) and control group as not having EGVB (n =352).Differences between 2 groups were analyzed with univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression.Results Child-pugh classification,serum albumin,prothrombin time,portal vein diameter and spleen thickness were significantly different between 2 groups (P ＜ 0.05).Univariate analysis showed that serum albumin(OR =0.944,P =0.000),prothrombin time (OR =1.067,P =0.007),portal vein diameter (OR =3.423,P =0.007) and spleen thickness (OR =1.276,P =0.007) were correlated with EGVB.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that serum albumin (OR =0.936,P =0.000),portal vein diameter (OR =4.098,P =0.013) and spleen thickness (OR =1.275,P =0.000) were independent risk factors for EGVB in patients with cirrhosis.Conclusion Low serum albumin level,increased portal vein diameter and spleen thickness are the risk factors for EGVB in patients with cirrhosis,which can be important predictors.To some extent,increasing serum albumin might reduce the risk of EGVB.

Objective To improve the stability and practicability of field liquid transfusion control system.Methods SPCE062A 's high accurate AD was used to acquire the dropping speed,and a new method for weight sensor 's self proofread was applied.Results The infrared photoelectric sensor was removed,so the monitoring part could work with any appropriate sensor.Conclusion The system cost is decreased and its stability and availability are enhanced.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2008,29(2):66-67]

Objective To design a more rapid and convenient infusion monitoring system.Methods Pentium series were used as its master and the MCU as its slaves.The management was based on RS232 standard.Results In the nursing station,nurses can monitor the fusion state of all patient rooms in the hospital.Conclusion It is proved that this system is simple,cheap and practical.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2008,29(3):61-62,65]

Objective To evaluate the effect of electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor muscles combined with bladder training on urinary dysfunctionafter incomplete spinal cord injury.Methods Sixty-two incomplete spinal cord injury patients who had received an operation between November 2009 and December 2014 were enrolled and divided randomly into a control group (n=32) and a treatment group (n =30).Both groups were treated with conventional intermittent catheterization,while the treatment group was additionally given electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor muscles combined with bladder training.The residual urine volume was recorded before and after the treatment.Uurodynamic examinations were conducted,and the rate of successful catheter extraction and of urinary tract infection on the 15th and 30th day of treatment,were recorded and analyzed.Results All of the patients were followed-up for an average of 18.5 months.Significant improvement was observed in the residual urine volume,the maximum or average urinary flow rate,and the detrusor pressure at peak flow of both groups.However,at the end of follow-up the treatment group recorded significantly better results on all these measures than the control group.The successful catheter extraction rate of the treatment group (96.7％) was significantly higher than that of the control group and their average number of catheterization days was significantly fewer.The urinary tract infection rates on the 15th and 30th day of treatment were 16.7％ and 6.7％ in the treatment group,significantly lower than in the control group.Conclusions Electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor combined with bladder training significantly improves urination function after an operation for incomplete spinal cord injury,decreases the days of catheterization and lowers the rate of urinary tract infection.Such combined therapy is worth promoting in clinical practice.

ObjectiveTo assess the balance between regulatory T (Treg) cells and T helper 17 (Th17) cells in patients with serofast syphilis.MethodsBlood samples were collected from 26 patients with serofast syphilis and 23 normal human controls.Flow cytometry was performed to determine the proportion of Treg and Th17 cells in peripheral blood and to quantify the expression of specific transcription factors Foxp3 and ROR-γt in CD4+ T cells of these subjects.Correlation analysis was carried out.ResultsThe proportion of Treg cells in CD4+ T cells in the patients with serofast syphilis was 33.28％ ± 11.84％,significantly higher than that in the normal controls(22.13％ ± 7.79％,P ＜ 0.01 ),while the proportion of Th17 cells was significantly lower in the patients than in the normal controls(3.17％ ± 2.32％ vs.8.87％ ± 2.00％,P ＜ 0.01 ).Enhanced expression of Foxp3 and attenuated expression of ROR-γt were observed in CD4+ T cells from the patients compared with the controls(2994.86 ± 1099.18 vs.2539.72 ± 1086.96,P ＜ 0.05; 1473.12 ± 752.20 vs.1778.34 ± 388.13,P ＜0.05).There was a negative correlation between the expression of Foxp3 and ROR-γt in CD4+ T cells from all the subjects (r =-0.481,P ＜ 0.01 ).ConclusionThe Treg/Th17 cell balance is abnormal in peripheral blood of patients with serofast syphilis.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of thoracic pedicle screw placement using the "funnel technique" and investigate its consistency in experimental study and clinical application.Methods The clinical data of three human cadavers and 11 patients with the installation of at least one thoracic pedicle screw at T1 -T12 from August 2006 to July 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. One junior spine surgeon lack of experience were responsible for placing these screws with the "funnel technique".The accuracy of screw placement and the complications related to the use of thoracic pedicle screws were analyzed by assessing postoperative CT scans. Results The mean follow-up time was 23.1 months,which showed no vascular or visceral complications, or iatrogenic neurological injury. The rate of unintended cortex perforations was 14% (10/72) in cadavers and 15% (8/55) in patients, respectively.The critical perforation occurred in two screws (3%) in cadavers and one screw (2%) in patients. There was no statistical difference between the percentage of cortex perforations in cadavers and patients. Of all the 11 patients, screw violation occurred laterally in six ( 11% ), medially in one ( 2% ) and superiorly in one (2%). No violations occurred inferiorly or anteriorly. For all patients, only one screw needed revision. The perforations made by the junior spine surgeon occurred in six screws in the first cadaver, three in the second cadaver and one in the third cadaver. Conclusions The "funnel technique" is a simple,safe, accurate and cost-effective technique for pedicle screw placement. The result of the experimental study is consistent with that of the clinical application. "funnel technique" is helpful for junior spine surgeons to master the technique of thoracic pedicle screw placement.

Objective To accumulate operating experience and background data for housing mice in individually ventilated cages (IVC).Methods 5 weeks old Balb /c male mice(n =80) were allocated to 8 groups(n =10), which then housed in 5 or 10 per cage in 3 IVC systems(30,50 and 70 air changes /h, respectively) and one open-top cages (OTC) shelf for 8 weeks.Body weight was assessed at the initial date and every week .By the end of the experiment, necropsy was done and organs were separated and weighed .Excelland SPSS software statistics was made to draw the growth curve, and comparative analysis of body weight and organ coefficients was performed between the groups .Results 1.The growth curves of 5-mice per cage were better than that of 10-mice per cage.2.In the IVC groups, the curves trend and fluency of 50 air changes /h were more similar to that of 5-mice housed OTC group.3.The previously mentioned differences were statistically not significant (P >0.05).4.In the liver coefficients, there was a statistically significant difference between the 10-mice housed OTC group and 5-mice housed IVC group with 30 air changes /h(P <0.05), there wasn`t any other significant statistically difference with the organ coefficients between groups (P >0.05).Conclusions Based on the results of this study, the air change frequency on 50 times per hour and keeping 5 Balb/c mice per cage is recommended as the best condition for mouse housing in IVC .

In order to affirm the cardioactive components in Fuzi, we identified a group of aminoalcohol- diterpenoid alkaloids in Fuzi using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometer (UPLC-ESI-MS) method. Among a total of forty-one isolated ingredients, thirteen major aminoalcohol-diterpenoid alkaloids were identified by comparing their retention times and MS spectra with those of the reference substances. Moreover, Fuzi samples from different places of origin and with different processing methods were examined and their components displayed a pattern of high similarity, though the relative abundance varies probably due to their different processing methods. Furthermore, the cardiac effect of each identified alkaloid was individually evaluated using the isolated bullfrog heart perfusion experiment. Among the thirteen aminoalcohol diterpenoid alkaloids tested, six of them significantly enhanced the amplitude rates. Taken together, we affirm that the cardioactive components in Fuzi are aminoalcohol-diterpenoid alkaloids, shedding light on future studies of the mechanisms and development of these cardioactive compounds.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated that neural stem cells play potential therapeutic effects on the repair of spinal cord injury. However, the time for acquiring the best allotransplantation effects remains unclear.OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to observe the repairing effects of allotransplantation of embryonic neural stem cells on the motor function of rat two posterior limbs after spinal cord injury and investigate the time effectiveness of the allotransplantation.DESIGN: A controlled observational experiment.SETTING: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Dalian Medical University; Laboratory of Biomedicine, School of Environmental and Biological Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China.METHODS: This study was performed at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Dalian Medical University & Laboratory of Biomedicine, School of Environmental and Biological Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology between July and August 2003. One albino rat of gestational 14-16 days was sacrificed for harvesting embryonic rat brain cells. Embryonic rat cerebral cortex and subcortical periventricular brain tissue were taken for in vitro culture of rat embryonic neural stem cells. An additional 30 adult Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups with 10 rats in each group: control, early allotransplantation and delayed allotransplantation groups. All 30 rats were subjected to spinal cord transection injury, leading to rat paralysis of both lower extremities. Embryonic rat neural stem cells were transplanted into the rats in the early and delayed transplantation groups at 3 days and 3 weeks after injury, respectively. Following allotransplantation, motor function of rat two lower extremities was followed. At 4 weeks after allotransplantation of neural stem cells, rat spinal cord was harvested from transplanted region for immunohistochemistry in order to observe and compare the morphological change of rat spinal cord tissue among the 3 groups. The following protocol was performed in accordance with ethical guidelines stated in Guide for the use and care of laboratory animals, approved by the Committee on the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources Commission on Life Scineces, National Research Council, China (1985).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Motor functional recovery of rat two lower extremities after neural stem cell transplantation. Histomorphological change of rat spinal cord at 4 weeks after neural stem cell transplantation.RESULTS: Thirty rats were included in the final analysis. In the early and delayed transplantation groups, the motor function of rat two lower extremities was noticeably improved, in particular in the early transplantation group. In the two experimental groups, muscular strength of paralyzed rat two lower extremities began to recover 5 or 6 days after transplantation of neural stem cells. Two or three weeks later, all rats in the two experimental groups could crawl and four weeks later, two extremities could move actively (approximately approaching to score 3 prescribed as follows). In the control group, no recovery of paralyzed extremities was found. At 4 weeks after transplantation, in the early transplantation group, proliferative tissue could be visible in the spinal cord transplantation region. Through the use of microscope, a considerable number of new cells were found that presented with neuronal and glial cell-positive staining. In the control group, a cavity between two broken ends could be visible. Meanwhile, necrosis and vacuolar degeneration, and other symptoms in the stump of spinal cord were observed with a microscope. In the delayed transplantation group, the histomorphological change of spinal cord region was between the other two groups. No typical histomorphological change was found. A number of new cells were apparent with a microscope, but the number was less compared with the early transplantation group.CONCLUSION: Allotransplantation of embryonic neural stem cells promotes the recovery of rat motor function after spinal cord transection. Early transplantation acquires better therapeutic effects.