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ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Loulianwan on the gut microbiota of db/db mice with type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM）. MethodMale db/m+ mice aged 4-5 weeks were assigned to the normal group， and male db/db model mice of the same age were randomly divided into model group， metformin group （0.25 g·kg-1·d-1）， and Loulianwan group （13 g·kg-1·d-1）， with six mice in each group. Drug intervention lasted five weeks. The body weight， water intake， and fasting blood glucose （FBG） of the mice were recorded every week. After five weeks， the FBG， liver triglyceride （TG）， liver total cholesterol （TC）， glycated serum protein （GSP）， and fasting serum insulin （FINS） were detected， and the insulin resistance index （HOMA-IR） was calculated. The feces in the mouse intestines were collected， and the 16S rRNA sequencing technology was used to detect the structural changes in the fecal gut microbiota of mice in each group. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed increased body weight， water intake， FBG， liver TG， liver TC， GSP， FINS， and HOMA-IR （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the Loulianwan group showed reduced water intake， FBG， liver TG， liver TC， GSP， FINS， and HOMA-IR （P<0.01）. The gut microbiota in the Loulian Lills group changed from phylum to genus level. The relative abundance of beneficial bacteria increased and the relative abundance of harmful bacteria decreased. Among them， the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila， Blautia， Ruminococcus， and Parabacteroides increased （P<0.01）. ConclusionLoulianwan can significantly improve glucose and lipid metabolism in db/db mice with T2DM， and its mechanism may be related to the increase in the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila， Blautia， Ruminococcus， and Parabacteroides in the intestine.
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Type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by insulin resistance， hyperinsulinemia， and disturbance of glucose and lipid metabolism， with elevated blood glucose as the main clinical manifestation. Due to its complex etiology and pathogenesis， there is no effective treatment， which critically threatens human health and places a heavy burden on society and families. Saponins are a class of glycosides with complex structures that have the advantage of a wide range of sources， elevated safety， and low adverse effects. As an essential active ingredient in Chinese medicine， Chinese medicine saponins have a variety of biological activities such as hypoglycemia， hypoglycaemia， anti-inflammation， antioxidation， anti-tumor， and immune modulation. In recent years， numerous studies have shown that Chinese medicine saponins are effective in preventing and treating T2DM. Although there have been numerous studies on the hypoglycemic effects and mechanisms of Chinese medicine saponins， there has been no systematic review of the mechanisms of Chinese medicine saponins in the treatment of T2DM. Therefore， to provide a theoretical basis for an in-depth study of the hypoglycemic effects of Chinese medicine saponins and a scientific basis for the development and clinical application of drugs， this paper systematically summarized the hypoglycemic mechanisms of Chinese medicine saponins， such as improving islet β-cell function， improving insulin resistance， inhibiting glycosidase activity， reducing the inflammatory response， anti-oxidative stress， and regulating intestinal flora， and analyzed the current research problems and development trends.
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Diabetic kidney disease （DKD）， a major microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus， serves as the most common cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide. The progression of DKD is closely related to oxidative stress， inflammatory response， apoptosis， and fibrosis in renal tissues activated by high glucose. Numerous studies have shown that the transduction of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p38 MAPK） signaling pathway is involved in the pathological process of DKD in renal tissues， activating various pathological mechanisms， such as oxidation， inflammation， apoptosis， and fibrosis. Therefore， blocking the transduction of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway is beneficial to alleviating DKD. At present， the main treatment principles of western medicine are glucose lowering， lipid lowering， and blood pressure lowering， as well as medications with new drugs renal sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 （SGLT2）， mineralocorticoid receptor， and endothelin receptor， but the progression of DKD still cannot be stopped. The treatment of DKD by traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has the advantages of simplicity， low cost， and convenience， and the symptoms and root causes can be both treated. In recent years， the basic research on Chinese medicine intervention in DKD has greatly advanced， and p38 MAPK is the key factor of Chinese medicine intervention in DKD. The present study searched and reviewed the literature on the Chinese medicine intervention in the p38 MAPK signaling pathway in DKD treatment in the past decade. The results showed that p38 MAPK interacted with transforming growth factor-β1 （TGF-β1）， cysteinyl aspartate-specific protease-3 （Caspase-3）， nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， and other factors to activate fibrosis， inflammation， oxidative stress， and apoptosis. By acting on p38 MAPK and its upstream and downstream factors， Chinese medicine blocked the pathological processes of DKD and inhibited the pathological injury of DKD and the deterioration of renal function. This study is expected to provide new ideas and directions for the prevention and treatment of DKD with Chinese medicine.
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Diabetic peripheral neuropathy （DPN） is a symptom and/or sign of peripheral nerve dysfunction that occurs in patients with diabetes mellitus when other causes are excluded. DPN， one of the most common complications of diabetes mellitus， can lead to disability， foot ulcers， and amputation at a later stage. Its pathogenesis is closely related to high glucose-induced inflammatory damage， oxidative stress， mitochondrial disorders， and apoptosis in neural tissues. The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p38 MAPK） signaling pathway is a key mechanism mediating the expression of inflammatory factors， oxidative factors， and apoptotic factors of neural tissues in DPN. The inflammatory response， oxidative stress damage， and apoptosis， induced by the activation of p38 MAPK phosphorylation by factors such as high glucose， can cause cell lipid peroxidation， protein modification， and nucleic acid damage， which results in axonal degeneration and demyelination changes. The current treatment of DPN with western medicine has obvious shortcomings such as adverse effects and addictive tendencies. In recent years， the research on traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in the prevention and treatment of DPN has gradually increased， and the exploration of Chinese medicine intervention in the p38 MAPK pathway transduction to improve DPN has advanced. The present study reviewed the relations of the p38 MAPK pathway with insulin resistance and peripheral neuropathy and summarized the molecular biological mechanisms involved in the pathological process of DPN， such as inflammation regulation， oxidative stress， polyol pathway regulation， and Schwann cell apoptosis in the past 10 years. In addition， the literature on Chinese medicine monomers， Chinese patent medicines， and Chinese medicine compounds in inhibiting inflammatory reactions， oxidative injury， and apoptosis of DPN peripheral nerves based on the p38 MAPK pathway， resisting axonal degeneration and demyelination changes， improving sensory and motor abnormalities， relieving peripheral pain sensitization， and facilitating nerve conduction mechanism to provide references for the development of new drugs for clinical prevention and treatment of DPN.
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Diabetic nephropathy （DN）， the most feared microvascular complication of diabetes and one of the most common and serious complications of diabetes， is the major cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide， leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes， and the main non-communicable cause of death worldwide. There are many types of saponins， which are the main bioactive components of various Chinese medicinals. They have various pharmacological activities such as lowering blood glucose and blood lipids， improving insulin resistance， anti-inflammation， anti-oxidative stress， anti-tumor， and immune modulation. In recent years， it has been frequently verified that the saponins in Chinese medicinals have definite effect in regulating DN， showing multi-target， multi-pathway， multi-system， multi-effect characteristics. Thus， they have broad prospects in the prevention and treatment of this disease. There has been an explosion of research on the treatment of DN with saponins in Chinese medicinals in vivo and in vitro， but there is a lack of systematic and comprehensive summary. Therefore， this study summed up the studies of saponins in Chinese medicinals in the intervention of DN and summarized the mechanisms such as improving glucolipid metabolism， inhibiting oxidative stress， anti-inflammation， anti-apoptosis， regulating autophagy， anti-fibrosis， and protecting podocytes， with a view to providing ideas and references for the development of drugs related to DN.
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@#Abstract: Objective To follow up and evaluate the stability testing status of γ stereotactic radiotherapy system (hereinafter γ knife WS 582-2017 Specifications for Testing of Quality Control in X and γ referred to ) in medical institutions based on the RayStereotactic Radiotherapy System WS 582-2017 Methods (hereinafter referred to ). A total of 43 medical institutions using γ knife and 54 medical physics personnel were recruited as the research subjects by random sampling method. Based on the - - standard tracking evaluation method, we followed up the evaluation of γ knife stability testing based on WS 582 2017. Results - Only 66.7% of the 54 subjects preformed WS 582 2017 in their daily work. Only 30.2% (all were tertiary hospital) of 43 medical institutions were equipped with complete quality control and testing equipment. The implementation rate of γ knife stability test was 67.4%, and it was not carried out in strict accordance with the test events and test cycle requirements - specified in the WS 582 2017. There were incomplete test events, incomplete records or test cycles that did not meet the Conclusion standard requirements in γ knife stability test. Medical institutions did not carry out γ knife stability tests in strict - accordance with the projects and cycle required by the WS 582 2017. The reasons are related to medical institutions are not equipped with complete testing equipment, the personnel are lack of understanding of relevant national standards, the poor publicity and implementation of the standards, the lack of standardized training channels and inadequate health supervision.
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ObjectiveTo observe the effects of the water extracts of Trichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma at different ratios on glucose and lipid metabolism in KKAy mice with spontaneous type 2 diabetes and explore the mechanism of the extract in alleviating insulin resistance based on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）/forkhead box O1 （FoxO1） signaling pathway. MethodThe 8-week-old C57BL/6J male mice were taken as the normal control group， and KKAy male mice of the same age were randomly assigned into a model group， a metformin group， Trichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma groups at the ratios of 1∶1 （Trichosanthis Radix 30 g， Polygonati Rhizoma 30 g）， 1∶3 （Trichosanthis Radix 15 g， Polygonati Rhizoma 45 g）， and 1∶5 （Trichosanthis Radix 10 g， Polygonati Rhizoma 50 g） according to blood glucose level and body weight， with 6 mice in each group. The administration lasted for 8 weeks， and the body weight （BW） and fasting blood glucose （FBG） of mice were recorded at the same time points of the 2nd， 4th， 6th， and 8th weeks， respectively. Oral glucose tolerance test （OGTT） was performed at the 7th week. After drug administration， the serum levels of total cholesterol （TC）， triglyceride （TG）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， and fasting insulin （FINS） were measured， and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance （HOMA-IR） index was calculated. The liver tissue samples were stained with hematylin-eosin （HE） and periodic acid-Schiff （PAS） for observation of the fat distribution and glycogen content. The protein levels of PI3K， Akt， p-Akt， FoxO1， and p-FoxO1 in the liver were determined by Western blot. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed increased food intake， FBG， glucose tolerance， FINS， HOMA-IR， TC， TG， and LDL-C （P<0.01）， and down-regulated protein levels of PI3K， Akt， phosphorylaison （p）-Akt， FoxO1， and p-FoxO1 in the liver （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， Trichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma lowered FBG and HOMA-IR （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In particular， the combination at the ratio of 1∶3 showed the best performance （P<0.01） comparable to metformin. Furthermore， Trichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma at different ratios lowered blood glucose at different time points of OGTT （P<0.05） and TC and LDL-C （P<0.01）. Additionally， the combination at the ratio of 1∶3 reduced TG （P<0.01）. The liver of mice in the drug administration groups showed regular morphology， with few lipid droplets and rich glycogen. Western blot showed that Trichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma up-regulated the protein levels of PI3K and p-Akt， down-regulated the protein level of FoxO1， and up-regulated the protein level of p-FoxO1 （P<0.05）. ConclusionTrichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma， especially at the ratio of 1∶3， lowered the FBG， TC， LDL-C， and HOMA-IR index， promoted liver glycogen synthesis， and reduced steatosis in KKAy mice， which may be related to the regulation of PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signaling pathway in the liver.
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Depression is a psychiatric disease that seriously affects human life in the context of rapid social development and increased living pressure, and brings serious healthproblems and economic burdens to human society.Traditional Chinese medicine has a long history in the treatment of depression, and Xiaoyaosan has been repeatedly confirmed as a classic prescription for the intervention in depression, but its antidepressant mechanism and its active ingredients are still unclear.Through the search of China Knowledge Network(CNKI) and PubMed database, the literature and data on the clinical and mechanism research of Xiaoyaosan and its analogous prescriptions on depression in the past 10 years are systematically sorted out.It is found that Xiaoyao San and its analogous prescriptions are mainly focusing on the following aspects: regulating hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad, hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, affecting 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT), norepinephrine(NE) neurotransmitters in hippocampus, interfering with inflammatory reaction process, modulating the BDNF/CREB signaling pathway, regulating intestinal flora and gastrointestinal function, regulating endothelial window foramen of hepatic sinus, repairing chronic stress-induced blood-brain barrier permeability, affecting autophagy to reduce neuronal apoptosis, and regulating the leukoplakia-nuclear adrenal gland (LC-NE) system to play an antidepressant role.The main active ingredient including, saikosaponin A which could down-regulate interleukin expression level, saikosaponin D which alleviates HPA axis dysfunction, quercetin which inhibits corticotropin-releasing-factor(CRF) mRNA expression, paeoniflorin which regulates neurotransmitters, and paeoni lactone which inhibits hyperfunction of HPA axis Glycosides, reduce inflammatory cytokines, atractylenolide I, atractylenolide Il, atractylenolide Ill, which could reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA and inhibit NF-κB activated, curcumin which could play the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant roles, L-menthol which could suppress the HPA axis overactivation, liquiritin isoliquiritin which could regulate the monoamine neurotransmitters, and isoliquiritigenin which could inhibit the monoamine oxidase.
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Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of lymph node fine-needle aspiration (FNA)Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-DNA concentration detection in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cervical lymph node metastasis.Methods From August to December 2016,36 cases of NPC and 9 cases of other tumors (not correlated with EBV infection) were enrolled in this study at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center.All patients received magnetic resonance images (MRI),plasma and cervical lymph node FNA EBV-DNA detection.Results The median concentration of EBV-DNA in FNA fluid (1.39 × 105 copies/ml) in cervical lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than that in plasma (2.00 × 103 copies/ml),with a significant difference (x2 =16.723,P =0.004).The diagnosis sensitivity,specificity,accuracy of the lymph node FNA fluid of EBV-DNA were 86.2％ (25/29),71.4％ (10/14) and 81.4％ (35/43) respectively,which were better than those of MRI [72.4％ (21/29),50.0％ (7/14) and 65.1％ (28/43) respectively] and plasma EBV-DNA [55.2％ (16/29),71.4％ (10/14) and 60.5％ (26/43) respectively].The area under the curve (AUC) of level Ⅰ b cervical lymph node metastasis was calculated,and FNA fluid EBV-DNA (AUC =0.688)was better than MRI (AUC =0.583),with a significant difference (Z =2.476,P =0.008).The EBV-DNA concentration in FNA fluid in cervical lymph node metastasis of patients with other tumors (no correlated with EBV infection) was 0 copy/ml.Conclusion FNA fluid EBV-DNA may improve the diagnostic sensitivity of cervical lymph node metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma,and help to explore the clinical target volume neck nodes at level Ⅰ b cervical lymph node in radiotherapy.
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Objective To evaluate the efficiency of thyroid ultrasound grading formulated by American Thyroid Association (ATA) and fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy in diagnosing benign and malignant thyroid nodules.Methods A retrospective analysis of 357 thyroid nodules in 342 patients underwent surgical excision or FNA biopsy after thyroid ultrasound was performed.All ultrasonograms were graded according to ATA diagnosis guideline for thyroid nodule versi on 2015.The diagnostic efficiency of ATA grading and FNA biopsy were evaluated comparing with postoperative pathological results.Results There were 248 of 357 thyroid nodules confirmed with postoperative pathology,including 233 malignant and 15 benign nodules.The diagnostic accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive and negative predictive value of ATA guideline in diagnosis of malignant thyroid nodules was 88.31％ (219/248),90.99％ (213/233),46.67％ (7/15),96.36％ (212/220)and 25.00％ (7/28),respectively,while of FNA biopsy was 98.81％ (83/84),100％ (75/75),88.89 ％ (8/9),98.68％ (75/76) and 100％ (8/8),respectively.The area under the curve (AUC) of ROC was 0.653 and 0.944 for ATA grading and FNA biopsy,respectively (Z=2.397,P=0.017).Conclusion ATA guideline has high diagnostic value in differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules,while FNA may be more effective in diagnosis of thyroid nodules.
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Objective To evaluate the clinical significance of personalized biomechanical modeling of prostate deformation based on ultrasound elastography for magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)-transrectal ultrasound(TRUS)image registration.Methods A total number of 5 patients and 1 commercial prostate phantom were imaged via transrectal ultrasound elastography,3D-TRUS and MRI from June 2016 to December 2016.A personalized biomechanical model via the patient-specific ultrasound elastography was made for the deformable registration of prostate MRI and 3D-TRUS images.The registration accuracy was evaluated by the target registration error(TRE)and also the t-test was conducted to validate the statistical significance of our results.Results All the 5 sets of patient data as well as the phantom data were successfully registered.The TRE value of the phantom data was 1.65 mm.The mean TRE value of 5 patients was 1.31 mm,compared with the 2.52 mm TRE value of the registration method without patient-specific biomechanical properties via elastography,was approximately 48% lower(P <0.05).Conclusions Personalized biomechanical modeling of prostate deformation based on ultrasound elastography for MRI-TRUS image registration possesses important clinical significance and is a promising way to provide more quality guidance and improve the accuracy of prostate biopsy.
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Objective To compare the efficacy and adverse effects of hypofractionated radiotherapy versus conventionally fractionated radiotherapy for intermediate-to high-risk localized prostate cancer.Methods A literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP database, and Wanfang Data to collect the controlled clinical trials of hypofractionated radiotherapy versus conventionally fractionated radiotherapy in patients with intermediate-to high-risk localized PCa published up to August 31, 2016.Stata 12.0 was used for meta-analysis.The difference between two groups was estimated by calculating the hazard ratio (HR) or risk ratio (RR) with 95%confidence interval (CI).ResultsAccording to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 5 controlled clinical trials involving 1621 patients with PCa were included in this meta-analysis.The meta-analysis showed that overall survival (HR=1.00, 95%CI:0.85-1.17, P=0.980) and biochemical failure (RR=0.87, 95%CI:0.68-1.12, P=0.274) were comparable between the two groups.Compared with the conventionally fractionated radiotherapy, the incidence of acute gastrointestinal adverse events (grade≥2) was significantly higher in the hypofractionated radiotherapy (RR=1.94, 95%CI:1.23-3.06, P=0.004).However, there were no significant differences in the incidence of acute genitourinary adverse events (grade≥2)(RR=1.03, 95%CI:0.92-1.14,P=0.626), late gastrointestinal adverse events (grade≥2)(RR=1.17,95%CI:0.90-1.51, P=0.238), and late genitourinary adverse events (grade≥2)(RR=1.11, 95%CI:0.94-1.30, P=0.228) between the two groups.Conclusions Conventionally fractionated radiotherapy and hypofractionated radiotherapy have comparable therapeutic effects in patients with intermediate-to high-risk localized PCa.Although the patients treated with hypofractionated radiotherapy have a higher incidence of acute gastrointestinal adverse events than those treated with conventionally fractionated radiotherapy, the incidence of late gastrointestinal and genitourinary adverse events is comparable between the two groups of patients and the adverse effects are tolerable.
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Objective To evaluate the application value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the diagnosis of vascular complication (VC) of transplanted kidney. Methods Imaging data of conventional ultrasound and CEUS in 28 patients suspected with VC of transplanted kidney were analyzed retrospectively.The results of computed tomography angiography (CTA)or digital subtraction angiography (DSA)were served as the diagnostic standard. The value of CEUS in diagnosing VC of transplanted kidney was analyzed. Results No adverse reaction related to contrast agent was observed in 28 patients during the CEUS examination. And 22 cases with VC were confirmed. VCs were detected correctly by CEUS in 17 cases,but 5 cases with transplant renal artery stenosis (TRAS ) were missed and 1 case with focal infarction in transplanted kidney was misdiagnosed. The diagnostic sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value (PPV),negative predictive value (NPV)and accuracy of CEUS for VC of transplanted kidney were 0.77,1.00,1.00,0.55 and 0.82, respectively. The diagnostic sensitivity,specificity,PPV,NPV and accuracy of conventional ultrasound and CEUS for TRAS were 0.37 and 0.74,0.89 and 1.00,0.88 and 1.00,0.40 and 0.64,0.54 and 0.82, respectively. There were significant differences in the sensitivity and accuracy between conventional ultrasound and CEUS (both in P<0.05 ). Conclusions CEUS is an effective method for detecting VC of transplanted kidney.
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OBJECTIVE@#To establish logistic regression model for prostate cancer and provide basis for prostate biopsy. @*METHODS@#A total of 117 cases of prostate biopsy were retrospectively analyzed in chronological sequence. All cases were assigned into a model group (n=78) and a validation group (n=39). Logistic regression model was established and its value was estimated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. @*RESULTS@#Digital rectal examination(DRE), transrectal ultrasound(TRUS), MRI, prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD), and free PSA/total PSA (fPSA/tPSA) were the influential factors for prostate biopsy (P<0.01). The established logistic regression model for prostate cancer by regression coefficient was: logit P=-2.362+2.561×DRE+1.747×TRUS+2.901×MRI+1.126×PSAD- 2.569×fPSA/tPSA and area under curve was 0.907. When the cutoff aimed at 0.12, the sensitivity and specificity were 81.80% and 89.30%, respectively. @*CONCLUSION@#Logistic regression model for prostate cancer can provide sufficient basis for prostate biopsy. Prostate biopsy should be performed when P value is more than 0.12.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Biopsy , Logistic Models , Prostate-Specific Antigen , Blood , Prostatic Neoplasms , Diagnosis , Pathology , ROC Curve , Retrospective Studies , Sensitivity and Specificity , Urologic Surgical ProceduresABSTRACT
An adjustable folding mount is presented in this paper. It is a multi-functional device for one or more patient's infusions, continuous traction and functional training, and life nursing etc.