Objective To design and manufacture a multifunctional cushion for venous thrombosis prevention of lower extremities, which can be also applied to the low extremities needing raising. Methods The cushion was made of anti-rust, low-weight, undeformable and easy-to-clean stainless material, which was composed of a pad and a massage apparatus. The pad had its height regulable from 16 to 30 cm and telescopic inclination from 30 to 70° to adapt the cushion to sizes of patients. There were 6 independent air chambers and tubular circulating pipes around the blanket wrapping the chambers so that extremity massage and temperature-controlled heating could be executed based on setting up pressure, time and temperature of the electromagnetic air and water pumps. Results The cushion simulated the functions of the muscle pump, which formed step-by-step-increasing pressure changes by driving the chambers to be inflated and discharged continuously to execute extremity massage, temperature-controlled heating etc. Conclusion The cushion gains advantages in flexible composition, patient comfort etc, solves the problems in fixing angle and height, constant time for pump inflation and discharge as well as temperature-controlled heating, and thus is worthy promoting clinically.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of abdominal penetrating moxibustion on strength and endurance of core muscle group in patients with stroke. METHODS: Sixty-two patients with stroke were randomly divided into an observation group (31 cases, 2 cases dropped off) and a control group (31 cases, 2 cases dropped off). The patients in the control group were treated with routine basic treatment, acupuncture treatment and rehabilitation training; based on the treatment of the control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with abdominal penetrating moxibustion, approximately 50 min each time, once a day. The treatments in the two groups were given 5 times a week for 4 weeks. The root mean square (RMS) and median frequency (MF) of bilateral transverse abdominis and multifidus of performing sitting-standing and making steps were measured by surface electromyography before and after treatment. The postural assessment scale for stroke (PASS), Berg balance scale (BBS) and lower-limb Fugl-Meyer motor assessment (FMA) scores were observed before treatment, 2 weeks into treatment and 4 weeks into treatment. RESULTS: Compared before treatment, when performing different postures, the RMS and MF of bilateral transversus abdominis and multifidus in the two groups were increased after treatment ( CONCLUSION The abdominal penetrating moxibustion could effectively improve the strength and endurance of core muscle group, improve the posture control, balance ability and lower-limb motor function in patients with stroke.
Abdominal Muscles ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Electromyography ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Stroke/therapy* ; Stroke Rehabilitation ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of electronic moxibustion on dysphagia in patients with achalasia of cricopharyngeus muscle after stroke. METHODS: Sixty patients with dysphagia of achalasia of cricopharyngeus muscle were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each group. One patient in the observation group and 2 cases in the control group dropped off. The patients in the control group were treated with routine medical treatment, acupuncture treatment and swallowing rehabilitation training; the patients in the observation group were additionally treated with electronic moxibustion at Lianquan (CV 23), Tiantu (CV 22), Tianding (LI 17) and Futu (LI 18), 30 min each treatment. Both groups were treated 5 times a week for 4 weeks. The musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) was applied to test the activity of parapharyngeal wall and the dysphagia score of Ichiro Fujishima was compared before and after 4-week treatment. RESULTS: After treatment, the activity of the parapharyngeal wall and the dysphagia score of Ichiro Fujishima were increased in both groups (<0.01, <0.05). The changes of activity of parapharyngeal wall and dysphagia score of Ichiro Fujishima in the observation group were greater than the control group (<0.05, <0.01). CONCLUSION Electronic moxibustion can improve the impaired swallowing function and reconstruct the normal swallowing process.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of 's external treatment combined with long-snake moxibustion at the governor vessel for neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury. METHODS: A total of 64 patients with neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 32 cases in each group. The patients in the control group were treated with routine acupuncture and rehabilitation of bladder function; based on the treatment in the control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with 's external treatment combined with long-snake moxibustion at the governor vessel, twice a week for 8 weeks. Urodynamic test, including residual urine volume (RUV), maximum flow rate of urination (Qmax), bladder pressure at filling phase (Pves), maximum detrusor pressure (Pdet-max) and maximum urinary bladder volume (VMCC), was performed before and after 8-week treatment. RESULTS: The urodynamic indexes in the two groups were improved compared with before treatment (<0.01, <0.05); after treatment, VMCC in the observation group was significantly higher than the control group (<0.01), while RUV and Pves in the observation group were significantly lower than the control group (<0.05). After treatment, there was no significant difference in Qmax and Pdet-max between the two groups (>0.05). CONCLUSION Based on routine acupuncture and rehabilitation of bladder function, 's external treatment combined with long-snake moxibustion at the governor vessel could effectively improve urodynamic indexes, reduce residual urine, reduce bladder pressure and increase the maximum capacity of bladder, thereby improving bladder compliance and bladder function.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; methods ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; complications ; Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic ; etiology ; therapy ; Urodynamics

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), with a history of thousands of years, are widely used clinically with effective treatment. However, the drug delivery systems (DDSs) for TCMs remains major challenges due to the characteristics of multi-components including alkaloids, flavones, anthraquinones, glycosides, proteins, volatile oils and other types. Therefore, the novel preparations and technology of modern pharmaceutics is introduced to improve TCM therapeutic effects due to instability and low bioavailability of active ingredients. Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, the radix and rhizomes of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen in Chinese), is a well known Chinese herbal medicine for protecting the cardiovascular system, with active ingredients mainly including lipophilic tanshinones and hydrophilic salvianolic acids. In this review, this drug is taken as an example to present challenges and strategies in progress of DDSs for TCMs. This review would also summary the characteristics of active ingredients in it including physicochemical properties and pharmacological effects. The purpose of this review is to provide inspirations and ideas for the DDSs designed from TCMs by summarizing the advances on DDSs for both single- and multi-component from Danshen.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the types and laboratory characteristics of non-Hodgkin lymphoma(NHL) with bone marrow invasion as the first manifestation. METHODS: 81 non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients with bone marrow invasion as the first manifestation treated in our hospital from January 2010 to July 2019 were selected. The clinical features, blood routine, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), EB virus results, bone marrow features, immunophenotyping, gene and genetic characteristics of all patients were analyzed retrospectivel. RESULTS: Among 81 patients, 73 cases(90%) were B-cell lymphoma, 5 cases(6%) were T-cell lymphoma and 3 cases(4%) were NK/T-cell lymphoma, while the mantle cell lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma were the highest, which accounted for 21%(17 cases) and 19.7%(16 cases), and lymphoma accounted for 8.6%(7 cases). There were 44 cases(54.3%) showed B symptoms, 65 cases (80.2%) showed abnormal blood routine. The MYD88 gene was detected in 5 of 17 cases. 25 cases of patients underwent chromosome examination, the result showed that 5 cases were t(8; 14) (q24; q32), 3 cases were complex karyotype and 17 cases were normal karyotype. 23 cases(23.4%) were EB virus positive, 42 cases(51.9%) were LDH increased. The proportion of bone marrow lymphoma cells was 1%-92%. Among them, 32 cases were diagnosed as lymphoma leukemia, and 6 cases of bone marrow lymphoma cells showed mass distribution similar to extramedullary tumor cells with bone marrow metastasis. CONCLUSION B-cell lymphoma is the predominant NHL with bone marrow invasion as the first manifestation, while mantle cell lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma are the most common pathological types with blood routine abnormalities. Bone marrow lymphoma cells can also present clusters of bone marrow metastasis, different types of lymphoma cells can make directional diagnosis.
Adult ; Bone Marrow ; Humans ; Laboratories ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) in young men in Chengdu and explore the characteristics and risks of violence. METHODS: Stratified random sampling was used to conduct a self-assessment questionnaire survey in 4 108 males aged from 18 to 34 in Chengdu, including general demographic characteristics, structured clinical interview for the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-Ⅳ axis Ⅱ disorders (SCID-Ⅱ) personality disorder screen questionnaire, violence questionnaire, psychosis screening questionnaire (PSQ), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and drug use. χ² test, univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used for analysis and odds ratio (OR) was calculated. RESULTS: The positive rate of ASPD was 5.91%, which was associated with young age, unmarried, unemployment state, low educational level, violent behavior, psychotic symptoms, alcohol and drug use (P<0.05). Young men with ASPD also had a risk (P<0.05) of violence (OR was 8.51), multiple violence (OR was 16.57), injury (OR was 6.68), intentional violence (OR was 11.41), etc., the risk decreased after controlling for psychotic symptoms and substance abuse, but was still statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The risk of violence, severe violence and intentional violence in young men in Chengdu is high, and psychotic symptoms and substance abuse increase the risk of ASPD violence and relate characteristics.
Alcoholism/epidemiology* ; Antisocial Personality Disorder/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Humans ; Male ; Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective:To analyze the cardiopulmonary function of stable patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and to explore effects of the cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET)-based individualized moderate-intensity exercise prescription on cardiopulmonary functional reserve and exercise capacity in patients with PAH. Methods:From April, 2018 to July, 2019, 31 stable patients with PAH (PAH group) and 32 healthy counterparts (normal group) were enrolled. All subjects underwent CPET. PAH group was assessed with 6-Minute Walking Test (6MWT), and then was divided into exercise group (n = 16) and control group (n = 15). Both groups were treated with ordinary targeted drugs, while the exercise group was additionally provided with an individualized moderate-intensity exercise prescription of △50% power treadmill training, five days a week for eight weeks. CPET and 6MWT were conducted again after intervention. Results:Before intervention, body mass, body mass index (BMI), force vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁), maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), anaerobic threshold (AT), peak heart rate (HRpeak), peak systolic blood pressure (SBPpeak), peak load power (WRpeak), peak oxygen uptake (VO₂peak), peak oxygen pulse (VO₂/HRpeak), peak cardiac output (COpeak), peak minute ventilation (VEpeak), peak end-tidal carbon dioxide (P_ETCO₂peak), peak pulse oxygen saturation (SpO₂peak) and oxygen uptake efficiency plateau (OUEP) were significantly lower (t > 2.419, P < 0.05), and the rest heart rate (HRrest), peak dead space to tidal volume ratio (V_D/V_Tpeak), minimum ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide (Lowest VE/VCO₂) and slope of ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide (VE/VCO₂ slope) were higher (|t| > 2.615, P < 0.05) in PAH group than in the normal group. After intervention, FEV₁, MVV, VO₂peak (ml/min/kg) and VO₂/HRpeak decreased in the control group (t > 2.272, P < 0.05); FVC, FEV₁, MVV, AT, SBPpeak, WRpeak, VO₂peak, VO₂/HRpeak, COpeak, VEpeak, P_ETCO₂peak, SpO₂peak and 6-Minute Walking Distance (6MWD) increased (|t| > 2.167, P < 0.05), while the average Lowest VE/VCO₂ and VE/VCO₂ slope decreased (t > 2.264, P < 0.05) in the exercise group. Compared with the control group, the FEV₁/FVC, AT, WRpeak, VO₂peak, VO₂/HRpeak, COpeak and 6MWD increased in the exercise group (|t| > 2.168, P < 0.05). Conclusion:The holistic cardiopulmonary function of stable patients with PAH decreases. CPET-based individualized moderate-intensity exercise could enhance the cardiopulmonary functional reserve and exercise capacity of patients with PAH.

The processing of Chinese herbal medicine is a form of pharmaceutical technology developed over thousands of years, in order to increase efficiency and decrease toxicity of herbs in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Herbal processing is essential for safe and effective application of TCM in clinical practice, as it alters the active chemical components and therefore the functions of herbal medicines. Alkaloid-rich herbal medicines in TCM are commonly processed by cleansing, cutting, processing by dry stir-frying, stir-frying with liquid adjuvants, and processing by water decoction. In addition, commonly used adjuvants for processing alkaloid-rich herbal medicines are river sand, wine, vinegar, brine, honey and herbal juice. For alkaloid-rich herbal medicines, the main chemical reactions that occur during processing include hydrolysis, oxidation, replacement, decomposition and condensation. This paper aimed to summarize the processing methods and mechanisms for alkaloid-rich Chinese herbal medicines, and provide much-needed theoretical support and scientific evidence for understanding those mechanisms and effects. Information on processing methods for alkaloid-rich herbal medicines was collected from classic books of herbal medicine, PhD and MSc dissertations, online scientific databases including PubMed, SciFinder, Scopus, Web of Science, Baidu Scholar and Google Scholar. This paper should help to advance our knowledge of the processing mechanisms and aid in the development of processing methods for alkaloid-rich Chinese herbal medicines.

Chikusetsusaponin IVa (CsIVa) is a natural active monomer of triterpene saponins in the Chinese herbal medicine of Panax japonicus, which has anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and other effects. However, its function and mechanism in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) remain unclear. This study investigated the inhibitory effect and mechanisms of CsIVa on the proliferation of triple negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. In this study, we found that CsIVa could significantly inhibit the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells and eliminate its potential toxic effect on normal breast cells (MCF-10A). The transcriptome sequencing results showed that the inhibition of proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells by CsIVa was closely related to cell cycle and the pathway regulating cell cycle. Further studies confirmed that CsIVa blocked the cell cycle in G2/M phase by down-regulating the expression of cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), cyclin B1 and up-regulating the expression of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (p21). Moreover, CsIVa can block cell cycle through inhibiting PI3K/AKT signal pathway. In conclusion, CsIVa regulates the expression of cell cycle related proteins (p21, CDK1, cyclin B1) via inhibiting the activity of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, blocks TNBC cell cycle, and thus exerts its anti-tumor activity.