Sacrum area is the high-risk area for pressure ulcer to persons with spinal cord injury. A finite element model of the soft tissue in the sacrum area was established to analyze the stress distribution in the soft tissue with the human body lying down. In addition, the muscle oxygenation in the sacrum area was assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) before and after loading pressures. The results showed that the stress was mainly localized in the muscle layer and the stress in the bone-tissue interface was the maximal. When the loading reached 10kPa, the maximal stress in the muscle layer was 15kPa. The muscle oxygenation parameters changed significantly with the applied pressure and returned to normal level after the loading.
Adipose Tissue ; Finite Element Analysis ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; Oxygen ; metabolism ; Pressure ; Pressure Ulcer ; complications ; physiopathology ; Sacrum ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; complications ; physiopathology ; Stress, Mechanical

Objective To observe the effect of Botulinum toxin-A (BTX-A) injection on spastic iliopsoas in the children with cerebral palsy. Methods July 2006 to August 2012, 37 cerebral palsy children with spastic iliopsoas were treated. The age ranged from 3 to 15 years.The control group (n=20) was treated by physical therapy. The experimental group (n=17) accepted BTX-A injection in addition. The dose of BTX-A block was identified with the weight of the child and the modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). The dose of injection ranged from 15 IU to 45 IU, average (31.2±13.9) IU. Results There was no significant difference between 2 groups in age, weight, MAS score, Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) score and extension angle of hip joints before treatment (P>0.05). In both groups, the MAS score decreased,GMFM score and extension angle of hip joints increased after 8 weeks. In the control group, the GMFM score improved significantly (P<0.05). In the experimental group, MAS score, GMFM score and extension angle of hip joints changed significantly after treatment. There was significant difference between 2 groups in MAS score, GMFM score and extension angle of hip joints after treatment (P<0.05). Conclusion The BTX-A injection can relieve iliopsoas spasticity on the children with cerebral palsy efficiently.

Objective To Discuss the impacts of different dosage of atorvastatirs on serum hsCRP,IL-10 and MCP-1 levels on post-intervention patients with coronary stenting. Methods 93 post-intervention patients with coronary stenting were selected and randomly divided into 3 groups.Each group took different dosage of oral atorvastatins after the operation for more than one week.The dosage for each group was 10 mg,20 mg and 40 mg,respectively.Each patient was phlebotomized for three times,which are 24 hours before the operation,24 hours after the operation and one week after the operation.Serum MCP-1,IL-10 and hs-CRP levels were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)and immunoturbidimetry(ITM). Results Serum hs-CRP and MCP-1 levels of post-intervention patients were significantly higher than those of pre-intervention.This illustrated that the serum hsCRP and MCP-1 levels were closely related to PCI.Serum hs-CRP and MCP-1 levels decreased in those patients one week after operation which proves they are negatively correlated with the dosage of atorvastatins.There was no statistic evidence to prove the correlation between different dosage of atorvastatins and the level of serum IL-10.The ratio of MCP-1/IL-10 at 24h post-intervention patient was significantly higher than pre-intervention,which proves the ratio was negatively correlated with the dosage of atorvastatins. Conclusion Atorvastatins decreases serum MCP-1 and hs-CRP levels after PCI.Serum MCP-1 and hs-CRP levels were negatively correlated with the dosage of atorvastatins.

Driving mental fatigue is a substantial problem and threatens people's health and life. This investigation was made to evaluate the driving mental fatigue based on power spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV) synthetically. Twenty health male subjects (28.8 +/- 4.3 years) were required to perform the simulated driving for 90 min. The frequency domain indices of HRV such as low frequency (0.04-0.15 Hz, LF), high frequency (0.15-0.4 Hz, HF), LF/HF together with the indices of hemodynamics such as blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) of the subjects were calculated and anlyzed after the simulated driving. The results showed that sympathetic activity of the subjects enhanced after the simulated driving while parasympathetic activities decreased. The sympathovagal balance was also improved. Remarkable linear correlations were observed between all the corresponding indices of HRV and BPV (P<0.05). The findings suggested that the evaluation of autonomic activities by means of multi-variable synthetic effect analysis is scientific and objective.
Adult ; Automobile Driving ; psychology ; Autonomic Nervous System ; physiology ; Blood Pressure ; physiology ; Heart Rate ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Fatigue ; physiopathology

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of magnitopuncture stimuli for reducing driver mental stress and fatigue using power spectral analysis of the heart rate variability (HRV) and subjective evaluation. The experiments were divided into A-group and B-group. In both groups the subjects performed the simulator for 90 minutes under a vibration conditions with an erect sitting posture in a silent environment, and magnitopuncture was put on the acupoints when performing the task for one hour in A-group. In this study HRV exhibited a significant difference between the two groups after the simulating task (P < 0.05). A conclusion that magnitopuncture stimuli can reduce the driver mental stress and fatigue effectively was drawn.
Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Automobile Driving ; Autonomic Nervous System ; physiopathology ; Electric Stimulation Therapy ; methods ; Fatigue ; therapy ; Heart Rate ; physiology ; Humans ; Magnetics ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Stress, Physiological ; therapy ; Vibration ; adverse effects

OBJECTIVETo explore the changes in the expressions of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and growth- associated protein-43 (GAP-43) in retinal ganglial cells after neural transplantation.

METHODSThirty-nine rats were randomized into normal control group, nerve amputation group and nerve amputation with peripheral nerve transplantation group. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the changes in the expressions of GFAP and GAP-43 at different time points after the operations, and real-time PCR was employed to detect the mRNA expressions of 13 genes in the retinal ganglial cells of the rats.

RESULTSImmunohistochemistry showed obviously increased GFAP expressions in the retina following the nerve amputation. GFAP expression was down-regulated while GAP-43 expression upregulated in the retinal ganglial cells after peripheral nerve transplantation. Real-time PCR results showed that 5 days after the operations, retinal GFAP and GAP-43 expressions increased significantly in the nerve amputation group and peripheral nerve transplantation groups as compared with those in the control group, but GAP-43 expression decreased significantly in the former two groups afterwards.

CONCLUSIONThe regenerated retina may adjust the production of GFAP. The retinal ganglial cells express GAP-43 during retinal regeneration. Up-regulation of the expression of GAP-43 provides the evidence for nerve regeneration following the nerve transplantation.

Animals ; Axons ; Female ; GAP-43 Protein ; genetics ; metabolism ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein ; genetics ; metabolism ; Nerve Regeneration ; genetics ; Optic Nerve ; transplantation ; Optic Nerve Injuries ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Retinal Ganglion Cells ; metabolism

Objective:To test the effectiveness of electrical stimulation of the median nerve (MNES) for relieving post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) and explore the possible mechanism.Methods:Thirty patients with PSCI were randomly divided into a routine treatment group (the control group) and an MNES group, each of 15. Both groups were given routine rehabilitation treatment, including cognitive rehabilitation training, medications and acupuncture. The MNES group additionally received 30 minutes of MNES on their right hands every day, five times a week for six weeks. One electrode was positioned over the median nerve 2cm up from the rasceta of the right wrist. The other was on the muscles of the thenar eminence. Forty seconds of stimulation were applied with intervals of 20 seconds, for 30 min daily. Before and after 3 and 6 weeks of treatment, both groups were evaluated using the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), the modified Barthel index (MBI) and the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA). In another 15 patients oxyhemoglobin levels in the brain before and during the MNES were observed using near-infrared spectroscopy.Results:After 3 weeks of treatment, a significant improvement was observed in the average MMSE, FMA and MBI scores of both groups, and the average MoCA score of the observation group. Three weeks later, the average MMSE, FMA, MBI and MoCA scores of both groups had improved significantly compared with before the treatment, with the average MMSE and MoCA improvements in the MNES group significantly greater than the control group′s averages. After 6 weeks of treatment the significant improvements persisted in both groups. Both group′s average FMA scores had also improved significantly, as had the average MBI score of the control group. After 6 weeks of treatment, the observation group′s average time orientation, location orientation, language instant memory, attention, calculation and short-term memory in MMSE had all improved significantly along with visual space capacity, executive capacity, attention, language, orientation and memory in MoCA. The spectroscopic results showed significantly improved oxyhemoglobin concentration in the bilateral frontal lobes after the MNES.Conclusions:Electrical stimulation of the median nerve can help to improve cognition after a stroke. It increases oxyhemoglobin concentration in the bilateral frontal lobes.

Objective To investigate the current status of cytotoxicity and mechanical properties of the prosthetic liner on the market in China.Methods Six kinds of liner were collected, namely domestic 6 mm thick foam liner (A), domestic 5 mm thick EVA foam liner (B), German 5 mm thick EVA foam liner (C), Germany 12 mm thick PE foam liner (D), Iceland 3 mm thick silicone liner (E) and Germany 4 mm thick gel liner (F). Microscopic observation and thiazole blue colorimetry were used to detect the cytotoxicity. The content of small organic molecules was determined by the consumption of potassium permanganate. The tensile strength, elongation at break (%), and 100% tensile strength of the prosthetic liner were tested by material mechanics testing machine. The hardness was tested using the Shore hardness tester oo type.Results The cytotoxicity was grade 2 for prosthetic liners A, B, C and D, and was grade 0 for E and F. The redox substance content of prosthetic liners A、B、C exceeded 150 mg/kg. Except the prosthetic liner C, the hardness of the other products were all ≤ 70 HA. Except prosthetic liner D, the tensile strengths were > 1 MPa, breaking elongations were > 120.0%, 100% tensile strengths were > 0.9 MPa for other products.Conclusion Due to materials and production processes, the cytotoxicity and mechanical properties of the six samples are quite different.