BACKGROUND:Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization is often used as a noninvasive treatment for soft tissue(skeletal muscle,ligament,and fascia)injuries and postoperative recovery to improve pain and enhance strength in the range of joint motion. OBJECTIVE:To compare the clinical efficacy of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization and massage therapy in patients with lateral epicondylitis of the humerus. METHODS:A total of 25 athletes with lateral epicondylitis of the humerus were enrolled in this study and randomized into two groups:13 subjects receiving instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization as the experimental group and 12 subjects receiving massage therapy as the control group.The treatment period was 4 weeks,with two sessions per week.Elbow joint visual analog scale,Mayo elbow performance index,elbow range of motion measurement,and forearm strength were measured and recorded in both groups before and after treatment. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Both treatments significantly reduced visual analog scale score of the elbow joint after the first and last treatments(P＜0.05),but the visual analog scale score showed no significant difference between the two groups(P＞0.05).The Mayo elbow performance index showed a significant increase in both groups after the first and last treatments(P＜0.05),but there was no significant difference between the two groups(P＞0.05).In the maximum grip strength test,the maximum grip strength of the experimental group in the vertical direction and during internal and external rotations after treatment was better than that before treatment(P＜0.05),while the control group only showed improved maximum grip strength during internal rotation(P＜0.05),with no significant improvement in maximum grip strength in other states.There was also no significant difference in the maximum grip strength in all the three states between the two groups(P＞0.05).After the last treatment,the range of motion of the elbow joint and the angle of forearm pronation and supination were significantly improved in both intervention groups(P＜0.05).The maximum angle of the elbow joint for flexion was smaller than that before treatment(P＜0.05),and there was no significant difference in each angle of motion between the two groups(P＞0.05).The range of motion of the forearm and elbow joint in both groups were significant improved after the first and last treatment(P＜0.05)and there was no significant difference in difference in the range of motion of the forearm and elbow joint between the two groups(P＞0.05).To conclude,both instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization and massage therapy significantly reduce pain,improve elbow flexibility and increase joint range of motion in patients with lateral epicondylitis of the humerus.However,instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization is better than massage therapy to improve the maximum grip strength.

Cell mechanics is essential to cell development and function,and its dynamics evolution reflects the physiological state of cells.Here,we investigate the dynamical mechanical properties of single cells under various drug conditions,and present two mathematical approaches to quantitatively character-izing the cell physiological state.It is demonstrated that the cellular mechanical properties upon the drug action increase over time and tend to saturate,and can be mathematically characterized by a linear time-invariant dynamical model.It is shown that the transition matrices of dynamical cell systems signifi-cantly improve the classification accuracies of the cells under different drug actions.Furthermore,it is revealed that there exists a positive linear correlation between the cytoskeleton density and the cellular mechanical properties,and the physiological state of a cell in terms of its cytoskeleton density can be predicted from its mechanical properties by a linear regression model.This study builds a relationship between the cellular mechanical properties and the cellular physiological state,adding information for evaluating drug efficacy.

Familial acne inversa (AI) is an autoinflammatory disorder that affects hair follicles and is caused by loss-of-function mutations in γ-secretase component genes. We and other researchers showed that nicastrin (NCSTN) is the most frequently mutated gene in familial AI. In this study, we generated a keratin 5-Cre-driven epidermis-specific Ncstn conditional knockout mutant in mice. We determined that this mutant recapitulated the major phenotypes of AI, including hyperkeratosis of hair follicles and inflammation. In Ncstn;K5-Cre mice, the IL-36a expression level markedly increased starting from postnatal day 0 (P0), and this increase occurred much earlier than those of TNF-α, IL-23A, IL-1β, and TLR4. RNA-Seq analysis indicated that Sprr2d, a member of the small proline-rich protein 2 family, in the skin tissues of the Ncstn;K5-Cre mice was also upregulated on P0. Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction showed that other Sprr2 genes had a similar expression pattern. Our findings suggested that IL-36a might be a key inflammatory cytokine in the pathophysiology of AI and involved in the malfunction of the skin barrier in the pathogenesis of AI.

The contractile force of hepatic stellate cells plays a very important role in liver damage, hepatitis and fibrosis. In this paper, a method based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin micropillar arrays is proposed to measure the contractile force of human hepatic stellate cell line LX-2, which enables dynamic measurement of the subcellular distribution of force magnitude and direction. First, thin micropillar arrays on glass bottom dish were fabricated using two-step casting process in order to meet the working distance requirement of 100× objective lens. After hydrophilic treatment and protein imprint, cells were seeded on the micropillar arrays. LX-2 cells, which were quiesced by growth in serum-free medium, were activated by adding fetal bovine serum (FBS). The deflections of the micropillars were achieved by image processing technique, and then the contractile force of cells exerted on the micropillars was calculated according to mechanical simulation results, and was analyzed under both quiescent and activated conditions. The experimental results show that the average traction force of quiescent cells is about 20 nN, while the contractile force of activated cells increased to 110 nN upon adding FBS. This method can quantify the contractile force of LX-2 cell on subcellular scale in both quiescent and activated states, which may benefit pathology study and drug screen for chronic liver diseases resulted from liver fibrosis.
Cell Line ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Mechanical Phenomena

Objective To analyze data of fails among oncology inpatients from 2014 to 2015,and to explore the effects of the continuous quality improvement on management of falls among oncology inpatients.Methods According to data of falls among oncology inpatients in 2014,continuous quality improvement was carried out in prevention of falls,including health education,risk assessment process of falls and inter-department cooperation.Results One year after applying the continuous quality improvement for management of falls,the number and the rate of falls among oncology inpatients in the year of 2015 (Number=25,Rate=0.027‰) were significantly lower than those in 2014(Number=55,Rate=0.065‰,x2=15.195,P＜0.001).Conclusion Improvement of management protocol for falls can effectively reduce the rate of falls among oncology inpatients and ensure patient safety.

Objective To explore the effects of the bio-psycho-social-spiritual health model intervention on the bio-psycho-social-spiritual health model of the patients with cervical cancer.Methods 118 patients with cervical cancer were randomly assigned to the control group (60 cases) and the intervention group (58 cases).All patients received the routing nursing of cervical cancer.In addition the intervention group received the bio-psycho-social-spiritual health model intervention.Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) was used to investigate their quality of life before being intervened,being intervened for 3 and 6 months.Results The range of FACT-G total score was 44-96 (68.29±11.60).The total scores of FACT-G before the intervention,3 and 6 months after the intervention were 66.82 ±12.21,79.31±5.15 and 89.67±5.21,compared with those of the control group,which were 69.81 ±10.84,74.48±7.97,79.74±7.17,the time effect,Inter group effect and interaction effect were 137.723,10.944 and 14.639,P＜0.01.Conclusions The bio-psycho-social-spiritual health model intervention can improve the quality of life of patients with cervical cancer.

Objective To explore the prevalence of the female sexual function and the quality of life in cervical cancer patients, and to investigate their correlation. Methods A total of 221 cervical cancer patients from March to December in 2013 were investigated by the questionnaire of Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)and the scale of FACT-G. Results The total score of FSFI was (15. 59 ± 8. 59), which was at the level of sexual dysfunction. The female sexual function index was significantly positively correlated with the quality of life and the subscale of physiology, emotion and function (r = 0. 201,0. 178,0. 134,0. 180, respectively). The quality of life was significantly positive correlated with the female sexual function index and the subscale of desire, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain ( r = 0. 201, 0. 176, 0. 181, 0. 157, 0. 243, 0. 177, respectively). Conclusions The medical workers should not only provide the disease-related knowledge, but also provide the knowledge of female sexual function, so as to improve their quality of life.

Objective To evaluated the application value of two kinds of mass spectrometer(MS)and Vitek MS system in the i-dentification of routinely isolated bacteria in clinic.Methods 149 strains of common bacteria(including 14 genera and 30 species)i-solated from blood,urine,cerebral spinal fluid,secretion and sputum samples in our hospital from March 2012 to January 2013 were collected and simultaneously identified by 2 kinds of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer (MALD-TOF-MS).The identification results were compared with those identified by the conventional biochemical identification (Vitek2 compact).The strains with the inconsistent results identified by 3 kinds of method were confirmed by 16S rDNA gene se-quencing.Results Among 149 common bacteria,the correct identification rates of genus and species by the Bruker Biotyper MS were 98% and 96% respectively and which by the Vitek MS system were 97% and 95% respectively.There were no misidentified bacterial strains by these two kinds of MS.Conclusion No statistical difference in the identification results was observed between these two kinds of MS system(P >0.05).Both exhibit excellent identification level and are suitable for the routine laboratory iden-tification of clinical microorganism.

Objective To explore the effects of the mindfulness mode intervention on the adverse reaction of the patients with breast cancer during the period of chemotherapy.Methods 75 patients with breast cancer during the period of chemotherapy were randomly assigned to the control group(38 cases) and the intervention group(37 cases).All patients received the routing nursing of chemotherapy.In addition the intervention group received the mindfulness intervention.The adverse reaction of chemotherapy questionnaire was used to investigate the level of their adverse reaction before the intervention and two months after the intervention.Results After the intervention,the scores of the adverse reaction in the intervention group was (32.19± 7.70)points,less than that of the control group,which was (36.97±10.03)points.There was statistically significant difference between two groups.Conclusions The mindfulness model intervention could reduce the adverse reaction of the patients with breast cancer.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the level of mindfulness and the A-type behavior characteristics of the nursing college students.Methods 172 nursing college students were investigated by the scale of TABP and FFMQ.The results were analyzed.Results In the 172 nursing college students,there were 112 nursing college students belonging to type B behavior pattern,accounted for 65.1％,and 60 nursing college students belonging to type A behavior pattern,accounted for 34.9％.The correlation between the score of TABP and the observation items and describing items were positive statistically significant,and was negatively correlated with awareness items and non-judge items statistically.Conclusions The students with different behavior characteristics were different in their mindfulness level.In order to improve nursing college students' mindfulness level and their mental health,the educators should take intervention based on their behavior characteristics timely.