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.

In order to identify rat ovarian germ cells, we expressed and purified rat RVLG protein in Escherichia coli cells and prepared a mouse anti-rat RVLG polyclonal antibody. The rat RVLG cDNA was obtained from rat testicle tissue by RT-PCR and was cloned into the vector pMD19-T. Sequence analysis proves that the cloned RVLG cDNA fragment was 60 bp longer than that released in the GenBank (NM_001077647), resulting from an alternative splicing of the RVLG pre-mRNA. The RVLG cDNA was double digested with the restriction endonucleases BamH I and EcoR I, and then was extracted from gel and inserted into the prokaryotic expression vector pGEX-4T-1. The recombinant expression plasmid pGEX-RVLG was verified for successful construction and then was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) for induction to express the GST-RVLG fusion protein by IPTG. The GST-RVLG fusion protein was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) at a high level which accounts for more than 10% of the total bacterial cellular protein. The purified RVLG protein was used as an antigen to immunize KM mouse for the production of polyclonal antibody in ascetic fluid followed by celiacly injecting the mouse with S180 cells. The mouse anti-rat RVLG antibody was analyzed by ELISA, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry for its specificity and titer. The antibody could recognize RVLG protein specifically and its titer was about 1:20 000. These results confirm that the mouse anti-rat RVLG polyclonal antibody with high affinity and specificity has been prepared successfully, and lay a foundation for our ongoing research on the specific expression of RVLG in rat ovary.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; biosynthesis ; Base Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; DEAD-box RNA Helicases ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; immunology ; DNA, Complementary ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Female ; Mice ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Ovary ; cytology ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Rats ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; immunology

Objective To investigate the relationship between nerve conduction velocity(NCV)and syndrome differentiation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy(DPN).Methods 172 patients with DPN were scored by 5 grades according to their symptoms which were classified by 5 kinds of patterns such as Qi-deficiency,Yin-deficiency,Yang-deficiency,Blood-stasis,Phlegm-dampness.NCV of the patients were also tested.Results The frequency of Yin-deficiency and Blood-stasis was more than 50%.The proportion and scores were significantly higher in the elder-age group than in the younger-age group(P<0.05).The scores of Blood-stasis and Yang-deficiency increased in the patients with longer-course(P<0.01).The correlation analysis showed that scores of nervous system were correlated positively with scores of Yin-deficiency,Yang-deficiency and Blood-stasis.There were positive correlation between scores of Qi-deficiency and fasting blood glucose(FBG)as well as between scores of Yin-deficiency and a-lipoprotein(LPa),and between scores of Yang-deficiency and homocysteine(Hcy).The proportion of Yin-deficiency and blood stasis in abnormal NCV group were higher than the normal while the results of Qi-deficiency and Phlegm-dampness were contrary.But the consequence had no statistical significance(P>0.05).Abnormality of NCV was aggravated with the high scores of Yang-deficiency and blood stasis.The analysis with logistic stepwise regression showed that diabetic course,levels of FBG and systolic blood pressure(SBP),be complicated by DN and DR,scores of nervous system sign were the independent risk factors for NCV.Conclusion Yin-deficiency and Blood-stasis are the major TCM syndromes in patients with DPN.The degree of Yang-deficiency and Blood-stasis influenced on the parameters of NCV.Abnormality of NCV can be aggravated with long diabetic course,high levels of FBG and SBP,be complicated by DN and DR,high scores of nerve system sign.