Objective To evaluate the long-term effects and safety of an intense pulsed light (IPL) in the treatment of epilation.Methods 159 patients received treatment with a non-coherent IPL because of unwanted facial and body hair.116 cases were followed up by means of phone call or letters.The average follow-up time was 38 months.Results Overall,36 (31.0％) patients were very satisfied,53 (45.7％) were satisfied and 27 (23.3％) remained unsatisfied with the outcome of lightassisted hair removal.The non-coherent intense pulsed light satisfactorily removed unwanted dark hair.Hair-free periods from weeks to years could be observed.Besides,the satisfaction was not related with the colour of the skin.Conclusions Hair removal by a non-coherent intense pulsed light is an effective and safe method for long-term epilation of unwanted hair.

On May 12,2008,a disastrous earthquake scaled 8.0 Richter hit Wenchuan,Sichuan province in China.Treating the acute kidney injury caused by crush syndrome in survivals of the earthquake has been a big challenge to the nephrologists.In this paper,we shared our experiences on the multi-disciplinary collaboration in management of acute kidney injury caused by crush syndrome.In addition to surgical therapy for crush injury and compartment syndrome and the renal replacement therapy for acute renal injury and its related complications,the early multi-disciplinary collaboration including rehabilitation,mental health care,infection control and ICU also contributed greatly to the successful treatment of the victims of the earthquake.

Objective To design water-equivalent plastic scintillator detector for the measurement of absorbed dose in tumor radiotherapy.Methods The concentration of ZrO2to be doped in polystyrene was estimated according to the empirical formula,and then the Monte Carlo program Geant 4(GEometry And Tracking 4)was used to simulate the energy deposition and transport process of X-rays with different energies in water,solid water RW34(composed of 2.1 wt％TiO2doping polystyrene)and different concentrations of ZrO2particles doped in polystyrene.The dose and attenuation coefficients were compared among different materials at different depths of water.Results The doses at different depths and the attenuation coefficient of polystyrene(doped with about 0.4 wt％ZrO2nanoparticles)were much more consistent with those of water and even exhibit much better water-equivalence than RW34.Conclusions The simulation results provide the basis for the development of water-equivalent scintillator.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic β-cells elevate insulin production and secretion through a compensatory mechanism to override insulin resistance under metabolic stress conditions. Deficits in β-cell compensatory capacity result in hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the mechanism in the regulation of β-cell compensative capacity remains elusive. Nuclear factor-Y (NF-Y) is critical for pancreatic islets' homeostasis under physiological conditions, but its role in β-cell compensatory response to insulin resistance in obesity is unclear. METHODS: In this study, using obese ( ob/ob ) mice with an absence of NF-Y subunit A (NF-YA) in β-cells ( ob , Nf-ya βKO) as well as rat insulinoma cell line (INS1)-based models, we determined whether NF-Y-mediated apoptosis makes an essential contribution to β-cell compensation upon metabolic stress. RESULTS: Obese animals had markedly augmented NF-Y expression in pancreatic islets. Deletion of β-cell Nf-ya in obese mice worsened glucose intolerance and resulted in β-cell dysfunction, which was attributable to augmented β-cell apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, primary pancreatic islets from Nf-ya βKO mice were sensitive to palmitate-induced β-cell apoptosis due to mitochondrial impairment and the attenuated antioxidant response, which resulted in the aggravation of phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and cleaved caspase-3. These detrimental effects were completely relieved by ROS scavenger. Ultimately, forced overexpression of NF-Y in INS1 β-cell line could rescue palmitate-induced β-cell apoptosis, dysfunction, and mitochondrial impairment. CONCLUSION Pancreatic NF-Y might be an essential regulator of β-cell compensation under metabolic stress.
Rats ; Mice ; Animals ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/metabolism* ; Insulin Resistance ; Insulin ; Insulin-Secreting Cells/metabolism* ; Apoptosis ; Stress, Physiological ; Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Palmitates/pharmacology* ; Obesity/metabolism*