Feasibility analysis of puncture robot technology for the application of acupuncture robot / 中国针灸

The difficulties such as how to accurately locate acupoints and safely insert needles are presented in acupuncture robot. The puncture robot with high technological similarity to acupuncture robot is getting mature, and a large number of human trials and animal experiments have been conducted for the development of puncture robot. Through comparing the similarities and differences between puncture robot and acupuncture robot in the aspects of through-skin puncture, needle insertion and needle removal, the valuable technology of puncture robot is analyzed for the development of acupuncture robot, and the crucial direction of technology migration is determined. ①Integrating the mechanical feedback and medical imaging technology and utilizing the multi-modal perception to achieve the safety of acupuncture operation. ②Emphasizing the integration of the existing designs of chest puncture robot to realize the acupuncture operation with inhalation and exhalation involved. ③Focusing on the development of relevant technology of automatic needle removal through conducting the actual scenario of treatment with acupuncture robot in patients under non-anaesthetic condition.

Research Progress of Fatty Acid Desaturase 2 Gene in Glycolipid Metabolism / 中国医学科学院学报

The fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2) gene encodes delta-6 desaturase (D6D) and is a member of the fatty acid desaturase gene family.D6D is the key enzyme catalyzing the transformation of linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid to long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA).LC-PUFA play a crucial role in regulating the glycolipid metabolism of living organisms.In recent years,the activity of D6D and the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of FADS2 gene have become a hot topic in the research on glycolipid metabolism.This article reviews the role of FADS2 gene in glycolipid metabolism.

Lateral closing wedge osteotomy and modified cross pinning with external tension band fixation in the treatment of cubitus varus deformity in childrenLateral closing wedge osteotomy and modified cross pinning with external tension band fixation in the treatment of cubitus varus deformity in children / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the therapeutic effects of distal humeral lateral closing wedge osteotomy followed by modified pinning combined with external tension band fixation in the treatment of cubitus varus deformity in children.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Total 26 adult patients with cubitus varus deformity were treated by operation from March 2011 to June 2015, 15 patients were boys and the other 11 patients were girls, ranging in age from 4 to 13 years, with an average of 7.8 years. The cubitus varus angel ranged from 11 degrees to 24 degrees, with a mean(17.50±6.73) degrees, 3 patients complicated more than 10 degrees constriction of flexion. Lateral closing wedge osteotomy retaining the medial 3 to 4 mm intact cortex by lateral elbow approach was applied in these 26 patients. The wedge defect were closed and fixed by crossing pinning. The lateral column compression was achieved with external tension band(the crossing pins were bended laterally and the pin ends were hooked mutually). The pre-operative, post-oparetive and contralateral carrying angles were compared and Laupattarakasem criteria was used to evaluate the results at follow-up.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the patients got bony union 2 months after operation and there was no infection or nerve palsy. The average follow-up period was 18.8 months (ranged, 13 to 29 months). The carrying angle was restored to(11.50±3.17) degrees(ranged, 8 to 14 degrees). According to the Laupattarakasem evaluation criteria, 14 patients got an excellent result, 13 good and 1 fair.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Normal carrying angle and elbow flexion could be restored by lateral closing wedge osteotomy, and stable fixation could be achieved with crossing pinning and external tension band, which is available for early mobilization.</p>

Vacuum sealing drainage combined with free skin graft in repairing cutaneous deficiency of traumatic shank amputation stump / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe clinical efficacy in treating cutaneous deficiency of traumatic shank amputation stump with full-thickness skin graft combined with vacuum sealing drainage.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From September 2009 to December 2012, 15 patients with cutaneous deficiency of traumatic shank amputation stump were treated with full-thickness skin graft combined with vacuum sealing drainage. Among patients, there were 11 males and 4 females with an average age of 41.5 (ranged from 25 to 62) years old. Ten cases were caused by traffic accident and 5 cases were caused by heavy object, 9 cases on left and 6 cases on right. Six patients with smashed wound were treated with debridement and amputation, combined with vacuum aspiration in-emergency; 9 patients caused by infection and necrosis were treated with debridement and amputation, combined with vacuum aspiration, and full-thickness skin graft were performed at stage II. The skin defect area of residual limbs ranged from 40 cm x 20 cm to 25 cm x 15 cm.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All patients were followed up from 3 months to 1 year. Full-thickness skin graft of residual limbs were survived,and obtained satisfactory walking function with prosthetic. Residual skin increased thicken, wearproof without rupture and pain.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Full-thickness skin graft combined with vacuum sealing drainage in treating cutaneous deficiency of traumatic shank amputation stump could reserve the length of residual limbs, increase survival rate of skin graft with less scar of survival skin, get good wearability and it is conducive to prosthetic wear. It is a simple and easy treatment method.</p>

The long term (9-year) survival of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients compared to non-multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients in Henan province / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the long term survival of MDR-TB patients compared to non-MDR-TB in Henan province in 2010.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Participants were randomly selected in 2010 from a dataset generated by an anti-TB drug resistance surveillance survey conducted by the Tuberculosis Control Institute, Henan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in 2001, supported by the World Health Organization. Information on patient's demographic profile and medical records was extracted by trained doctors and nurses at local anti-TB dispensaries. Interviews were carried out using questionnaires to collect information on the socioeconomic features and survival status. Bivariate and multivariate with logistic regression were performed for data analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The long term outcome of MDR-TB patients was much poorer when compared to non-MDR-TB patients. The case fatality was much higher among MDR-TB than non-MDR-TB patients (22.1% vs. 6.7%). The risk factors associated with the poorer outcome would include drug resistance status, disease relapse, hospitalization for treatment and long treatment period. Compared to non-MDR-TB, the survival time for MDR-TB was much shorter after having had the disease (6.7 years vs. 8.0 years).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>MDR-TB patients had poor long term outcomes. As most of the cured TB patients were under productive age in the society, the high case fatality rate of MDR-TB would impose big burden on the related family and communities. Findings from this study suggested that the TB control programs should involve more efforts be paid on MDR-TB control, in order to reduce the burden of the disease.</p>

A survey on the infection rate of tuberculosis among employees of the antituberculosis institutions in Henan province, China / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the situation of tuberculosis (TB) infection among the employees of the anti-TB institutions in Henan.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cross-sectional study was adopted the employees working in all municipal-level- anti-TB institutions and 40 anti-TB institutions at county-level selected randomly from 109 counties of the province were regarded as surveyed objects. Tuberculin skin test (TST) was used to test the infection with PPD.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>2153 employees accepting the TST and the positive rate was 60.6%, of which the positive rate was 66.1% among healthcare workers. Among the employees and healthcare workers, the positive rates of TST adjusted by the stratum weights between municipal-level and county-level institutions were 57.3% and 62.8% respectively with Chi-square test the analysis of multivariate logistic vegression, both positive rate and strong positive rate among healthcare workers, the employees older than 30 years of age and working in municipal-level institutions were significantly higher than those among non-healthcare workers, the employees younger than 30 years old and working in county-level institutions, respectively. There were not significant differences of positive and strong positive rates between employees with and without BCG-history, or between male employees and female employees.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Program on TB infection control in anti-TB institutions of Henan were weak and the employees especiolly healthcare workers had a high vocational exposure.</p>

Nonbiologic risk factors of pulmonary tuberculosis among adults in Henan: a case-control study / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the nonbiologic risk factors of tuberculosis (TB) among adults.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>1:2 matched case-control study was conducted. 158 new smear positive pulmonary TB patients with 25 - 60 years of age were notified and registered from three county anti-TB institutions in Henan from October 2002-March 2004, were selected as cases. Two healthy persons were selected to match each case, with the same sex and age group, from the nearest neighbors of the case as controls. Interview was carried out with a uniform designed questionnaire at the residence of the object. Univariate and multivariate condition logistic regression models were used.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results of univariate analysis showed that marital status, education, self-employed occupation, smoking, out-migration for work away from hometown, household annual income level and household property were significantly associated with TB prevalence (P < 0.05); multivariate analysis showed that marital status, self-employed occupation, smoking, household economic condition and out-migration for work, away from home were also associated with TB (P < 0.05), and OR values were 2.826, 2.350, 1.536, 0.707, 2.096, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Being single, smoking, self-employed occupation and out-migration for work were nonbiologic risk factors of TB while good household economic condition was a protective factor.</p>

Effect of soy isoflavones on cAMP/PKA pathway in breast cancer cells of the rat / 生理学报

Soy isoflavones have been reported to be natural chemopreventive in several types of human cancer. Daidzein and genistein are two main components of soy isoflavones. In our previous study, they were shown to be anti-proliferative and induce cell cycle arrest at S phase of SHZ-88 rat breast cancer cells. We hypothesized that soy isoflavones might exert its anticancer effect by activating cAMP/PKA pathway. The present study was designed to analyze the effect of soy isoflavones on the cAMP/PKA pathway in SHZ-88 cells. Daidzein and genistein were dissolved in DMSO. Cells were treated with 50 mug/ml daidzein and 15 mug/ml genistein, respectively, and with only equal DMSO in the culture medium as control. The cellular cAMP content was tested by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The activity of adenylate cyclase (AC), phosphodiesterase (PDE) and PKA were measured by RIA and (gamma-(32)P) ATP incorporation. Reverse transcript-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to analyze the expression of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) mRNA of the cells. The results showed that the concentration of cAMP in the cells treated with 50 mug/ml daidzein and 15 mug/ml genistein was significantly increased by 9.5%and 11.0%, respectively, 5 min later (P<0.05), then increased by 31.0%and 40.3%, respectively, 10 min later (P<0.01), compared with that of the control group cells. The activity of AC was not affected during the course of experiment, but that of PDE was decreased to 71.8%and 71.6%, respectively, in the control group 5 min later (P<0.05). The PKA activity was increased to 125.8%and 122.3%, respectively, in the control group 20 min after the cells were treated with daidzein and genistein (P<0.05), and kept at high level till 40 min after treatment. CREB mRNA of the cells treated with daidzein and genistein was increased by 31.6%and 51.1%, respectively, 3 h later (P<0.05), then began to decrease 6 h after treatment. The current study suggests that soy isoflavones activate the cAMP/PKA pathway in SHZ-88 rat breast cancer cells by inhibiting the activity of phosphodiesterase.