Objective To study the clinical efficacy of buccal acupuncture in the treatment of refractory tinnitus in the elderly.Methods In this study,50 elderly patients with refractory tinnitus were randomly divided into two groups:the experimental group(n=26)received buccal acupuncture therapy on the neck,upper neck,scapula zone,shoulder,back,mastoid process,thoracic plexus,abdominal plexus and pelvic plexus on the affected side,and the control group(n=24)received sound therapy.After 8 weeks of treatment intervention,the two groups were comprehensively evaluated for the changes in the tinnitus evaluation scale(TEQ),self-rating depression scale(SDS),and blood rheological indexes,including whole blood high-cut viscosity(HSV),plasma viscosity(PSV)and fibrinogen in blood(FIB)clotting.Results After treatment,the total effective rate of the experimental group was 84.6％(22/26),higher than 54.2％(13/24)in the con-trol group.The difference in total effective rate and efficacy level between the two groups was statistically significant(P＜0.05).TEQ and SDS were significantly lower in the two groups compared to pre-treatment(P＜0.05),and HSV,PSV and FIB in the experimental group were significantly lower compared to pre-treatment(P＜0.05).The experimental group demonstrated better post-treatment outcomes in TEQ,SDS,HSV,and FIB compared to the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Buccal acupuncture treatment is effective in improving the symptoms of refractory tinnitus in the elderly,relie-ving the depression complicated by tinnitus,and is helpful in changing blood flow resistance and reducing blood coagulation probably.

Objective To study the clinical efficacy of buccal acupuncture in the treatment of refractory tinnitus in the elderly.Methods In this study,50 elderly patients with refractory tinnitus were randomly divided into two groups:the experimental group(n=26)received buccal acupuncture therapy on the neck,upper neck,scapula zone,shoulder,back,mastoid process,thoracic plexus,abdominal plexus and pelvic plexus on the affected side,and the control group(n=24)received sound therapy.After 8 weeks of treatment intervention,the two groups were comprehensively evaluated for the changes in the tinnitus evaluation scale(TEQ),self-rating depression scale(SDS),and blood rheological indexes,including whole blood high-cut viscosity(HSV),plasma viscosity(PSV)and fibrinogen in blood(FIB)clotting.Results After treatment,the total effective rate of the experimental group was 84.6％(22/26),higher than 54.2％(13/24)in the con-trol group.The difference in total effective rate and efficacy level between the two groups was statistically significant(P＜0.05).TEQ and SDS were significantly lower in the two groups compared to pre-treatment(P＜0.05),and HSV,PSV and FIB in the experimental group were significantly lower compared to pre-treatment(P＜0.05).The experimental group demonstrated better post-treatment outcomes in TEQ,SDS,HSV,and FIB compared to the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Buccal acupuncture treatment is effective in improving the symptoms of refractory tinnitus in the elderly,relie-ving the depression complicated by tinnitus,and is helpful in changing blood flow resistance and reducing blood coagulation probably.

Objective:To observe the safety of 2-port non-vitrectomized subretinal injection (SRI) for the treatment of Bietti crystalline dystrophy (BCD).Methods:A exploratory clinical study. From February to May 2023, 6 BCD patients with 6 eyes who were confirmed by examination in Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University and were treated with SRI adeno-associated virus vector transgenic drugs were included in the study. Among them, 2 males had 2 eyes and 4 females had 4 eyes. Age were 34-60 years old. The study eye underwent adeno associated virus gene therapy via 2-port non-vitrectomized SRI. Two scleral ports were created using 25G vitrectomy trocar to place the light pipe and injection cannula. Anterior chamber paracentesis was performed to lower intraocular pressure. Under the silicone oil infusion mode of the vitrectomy machine, a 38G injection cannula penetrated the retina to reach the subretinal space. The injection speed was controlled by the foot pedal of the vitrectomy machine, and the drug was slowly injected into the subretinal space to create a subretinal bleb. if intra-ocular pressure assessed by finger palpation was high at the end of injection, drainage of the aqueous humor can be made by compressing the cornea incision until the intraocular pressure was normal. Patients were followed for 9-12 months and be examined using the same equipment and methods as before.Results:Retinal pigment epithelium and choroidal atrophy were observed in all 6 eyes of 6 patients were graded as stage Ⅲ by the fundus examination revealing atrophy of retinal pigmented epithelium and choroid, with or without yellow- white crystals and/or complex lipid. The range were operation time 9-14 minutes. No vitreous prolapse, retinal hemorrhage, or retinal tear was observed during surgery. After 24 hours, optical coherence tomogrophy examination showed absorption of subretinal fluid and retinal reattachment. None of the six patients showed corneal keratic precipitates, anterior chamber cells, vitreous cells, inflammation, high intraocular pressure, or retinal tear within the 9-month follow-up.Conclusion:Subretinal injection without vitrectomy using two ports is a safe and feasible alternative for adult gene therapy, and it shortens the surgical time.

Objective:To observe the imaging features of fundus lesions associated with COVID-19.Methods:A observational case series study. Twenty eyes of 10 patients with fundus lesions associated with COVID-19 at Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University from December 10, 2022 to January 20, 2023 were included in this study. There were 1 males and 9 females, aged from 17 to 49 years, with the median age of 26 years. The time of ocular symptoms after the diagnosis of COVID-19 was 0-2 days. The time from the onset of ocular symptoms to seeing a doctor was 1-14 days. All patients were examined by best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure, color fundus photography, infra-red fundus photography (IR), optical coherence tomography (OCT). Serum D-dimer examination was performed in 3 patients. The median BCVA was 0.4. There was no abnormalities in intraocular pressure and anterior segment examination. Among 20 eyes of 10 patients, there were 10 eyes of 5 patients with acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMN), 6 eyes of 3 patients with Purtscher-like retinopathy (PLR), 4 eyes of 2 patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). The imaging features of fundus were observed and analyzed.Results:Retinal lesions included AMN, paramacular central medial retinopathy (PAMM), PLR, cotton wool spots, hemorrhage, optic disc edema, macular edema. AMN was found in 10 eyes, with reddish-brown and wedge-shaped lesion in the fovea, dark area in IR and hyper reflectivity in outer nuclear layer and outer plexiform layer by OCT. The cotton wool spot showed hyper reflectivity on retinal nerve fiber layer whereas PAMM showed band-shape hyper reflectivity in inner nuclear layer by OCT. The Purtscher spot was seen at the posterior pole and/or peripapillary in 6 eyes of PLR. By OCT examination, the retinal nerve fiber layer corresponding to Purtscher flecken was significantly thickened and the reflex was enhanced. Among 6 eyes of PLR, there were 4 eyes combined with AMN, 1 eye with PAMM and macular edema. In 4 eyes of CRVO, vitreous cells, optic disc edema, retinal flame, spot hemorrhage, and atypical cotton wool spots were seen in 2 eyes.Conclusions:The manifestations of fundus lesions associated with COVID-19 are varied. The multilayer structure of retina is involved, and the microvessels of retina and choroidal capillary layer are damaged.

Cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) are the most common craniofacial malformations in humans. Speech problems often persist even after cleft repair, such that follow-up articulation training is usually required. However, the neural mechanism behind effective articulation training remains largely unknown. We used fMRI to investigate the differences in brain activation, functional connectivity, and effective connectivity across CLP patients with and without articulation training and matched normal participants. We found that training promoted task-related brain activation among the articulation-related brain networks, as well as the global attributes and nodal efficiency in the functional-connectivity-based graph of the network. Our results reveal the neural correlates of effective articulation training in CLP patients, and this could contribute to the future improvement of the post-repair articulation training program.
Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Cleft Lip/surgery* ; Cleft Palate/surgery* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Reading

This article reports a case, happened in July 2019, of 9 severed segments of 2nd-5th fingers in left hand treated in the Department of Repair and Microsurgery, Zhengzhou Renji Hospital. Through the unified management before surgery, team surgery, three or four fixed-point mattress eversion suture and close observation after surgery. It can effectively prevent the occurrence of vascular compromise. All the replanted fingers survived after the surgery. And the function of the fingers recovered well at 2 years after surgery through early and continuous rehabilitation exercise.

Objective:To explore the modification effect of physical activity on the genetic effects of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods:The univariate moderation model was fitted to calculate the modifying effect of physical activity on the genetic effects of T2DM based on the data of 12 107 pairs of same gender twins aged 30 years and older enrolled by the Chinese National Twin Registry in 11 provinces/cities in China.Results:After adjusting for age and gender, the heritability of T2DM was 0.56 (0.31-0.84). Qualified physical activity could attenuate the genetic effects of T2DM. The heritability of T2DM in twin pairs with qualified physical activity was 0.46 (0.06-0.88), which was lower than that in twin pairs without qualified physical activity during the same model [0.68(0.36-0.94)].Conclusion:T2DM is a moderate genetic disease, physical activity can modify the genetic effects of T2DM.

Leaf water potential of peanut subjected to drought stress is positively related to the oil content of peanut kernels. The aim of this study was to directly screen the high oil mutants of peanut and create the new peanut varieties using hydroxyproline as water potential regulator. In vitro mutagenesis was carried out with the embryonic leaflets of peanut variety Huayu 20 as explants and pingyangmycin as a mutagen added into the somatic embryo formation medium. The formed somatic embryos were successively transferred to somatic embryo germination and selection medium containing 6 mmol/L hydroxyproline (at -2.079 MPa water potential ) to induce regeneration and directionally screen high oil content mutants. After that, these plantlets were grafted and transplanted to the experimental field and 132 high oil mutants with oil content over 55% were obtained from the offspring of regenerated plants. Finally, among them, the oil contents of 27 lines were higher than 58% and of 2 lines were higher than 60%. A new peanut variety Yuhua 9 with high yield and oil content was bred from the regenerated plant progenies combining the pedigree breeding method. The yield was 14.0% higher than that of the control cultivar in the testing new peanut varieties of Liaoning province, and also it has passed the national registration of non-major crop varieties. Yuhua 9 with an oil content of 61.05%, which was 11.55 percentage points higher than that of the parent Huayu 20, was the peanut cultivar with the highest oil content in the world. The result showed that it was an effective way for directional breeding of high oil peanut varieties by means of the three-step technique including in vitro mutagenesis, directional screening by reducing water potential in medium and pedigree selection of regenerated plant progenies.
Arachis ; Droughts ; Germination ; Mutagenesis ; Plant Breeding

BACKGROUND: Exercise has been proved to accelerate the proliferation of intervertebral disc cells and extracellular matrix production in healthy rats. For the degenerative intervertebral disc, whether exercise also has positive effects on its cell proliferation, extracellular matrix production or pain relief remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of exercise on the extracellular matrix production in a rat model of intervertebral disc degeneration.METHODS: A rat model of intervertebral disc degeneration was prepared by Freund's complete adjuvant injection into the intervertebral disc at L5-6 levels. Then, the model rats were allowed to have a rest for 2 weeks. All rats were then randomly divided into exercise and control groups. Rats in the exercise group were forced to run every day, while the controls allowed free activities in the cage. The behavioral tests were performed at 7, 14, 28, 42, 56 and 70 days after modeling; meanwhile, the intervertebral disc samples were collected used for alcian blue staining and immunohistochemical staining to detect the levels of proteoglycan, aggrecan and collagen type Ⅱ in the intervertebral disc cells, respectively.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Vocalization threshold on the rat back of punctured disc was significantly decreased, while grooming and wet-dog shaking were significantly increased at 7 days after modeling compared with the baseline (P < 0.05), suggesting that Freund's complete adjuvant injection successfully induces disc degeneration, hyperalgesia and abnormal behaviors. Further, the vocalization threshold and wet-dog shaking in the exercise group showed significant improvement compared with the control group after 14 days of exercise (P < 0.05), while the grooming was significantly reduced until the 28th day (P < 0.01), indicating that exercise can alleviate pain caused by disc degeneration in model rats. At 21 days after modeling, the levels of proteoglycan, aggrecan and collagen type Ⅱ in the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus were significantly decreased compared with the baseline (P < 0.01), indicating the occurrence of disc degeneration. After 14 days of training, the levels of proteoglycan, aggrecan, and collagen type Ⅱ in the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus in the exercise group were significantly increased compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Moreover, after 8-week exercise, the level of proteoglycan in the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus in the exercise group was increased by 4-5 times compared with the control group, and levels of aggrecan and collagen type Ⅱ in the nucleus pulposus in the exercise group also was increased by 3-4 times compared with the control group. To conclude, exercise can promote extracellular matrix increased by production by increasing the levels of proteoglycan, aggrecan, and collagen type II in the degenerative intervertebral disc.

BACKGROUND:In view of the unavoidable problems of autogenous and al ogenous bone grafts, it is an urgent need to develop biodegradable bone substitute materials, among which is calcium phosphate material that has become a hot spot in the domestic and foreign research. OBJECTIVE:To develop a biodegradable calcium phosphate material for bone repair based on tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP). METHODS:The biodegradable calcium phosphate cement made from TTCP, dicalcium phosphate anhydrous and different constituents of curing liquids was prepared under room temperature (about 25 ℃). The effects of solid components, liquid components as well as calcinations and drying temperature on the physical and biological performances were detected through X-ray diffraction test, hardness test, decay in a simulated body fluid, hemolysis and cytotoxicity tests, respectively, to select the bone repair material with excel ent performances. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:When the calcination temperature was lower than 1300 ℃, TTCP was rarely available;only close to 1400 ℃, the relatively pure TTCP was gained. A large number of pure TTCP were gained by rapid cooling because of avoidance of the moisture impact, but slow cooling made the main products to be hydroxyapatite, suggesting that rapid cooling is essential to obtain pure TTCP. With the increase of the proportion of citric acid solution in the liquid phase, the pH values and the hemolysis rate in the bone cement soak solution were increased gradually, illustrating that citric acid solution is easy to induce hemolysis. In vitro cel experiments showed that the hemolysis rate of bone cement with a solution of 2:1 NH4/Na ratio was the lowest, and the biocompatibility was the best, which was the most favorable to cel growth. Cements was made of calcined powders sieved at 1400 ℃ and showed the shortest initial setting time, least effect on pH values, lowest disintegration rate and hemolysis rate, and slightest inhibition effect on the cel proliferation, indicating that the bone cements made of sieved powder after 1400 ℃ calcination is more suitable for clinical application.