Search

Introduction: Auricular acupuncture is widely used in the treatment of pain. Recently, the most commonly used method of auricular acupuncture is to embed an intradermal needle into the skin to enhance analgesia through continuous stimulation. We aimed to explore the efficacy and feasibility of this form of auricular acupuncture in the treatment of postoperative movement-evoked pain.Methods: This single-blind randomized controlled pilot trial was conducted between 23/8/2019 and 10/1/2020. Forty patients were recruited and randomised to either the control group (n = 20) or the experimental group (n = 20). Patients in the control group received sham auricular acupuncture, while patients in the experimental group received auricular acupuncture. A standard routine analgesia was performed in both groups. The patients with NRS score≥4 were given rescue analgesia. Postoperative pain, use of opioids and other analgesics, postoperative recovery and patient's satisfaction were recorded.Results: The credibility and feasibility of auricular acupuncture for postoperative pain were high in both groups. After auricular acupuncture, the scores of the postoperative movement-evoked pain had a tendency to decrease, but no significant difference was observed between two groups at any time point (P = 0.234∼0.888). The data on postoperative pain at rest confirmed that no significant difference was observed between two groups within 48 h of surgery (P = 0.134∼0.520), and the postoperative pain at rest scores decreased over time; however, from the third day, the pain at rest scores of the experimental group were decreased, and significant differences were observed between the two groups (P = 0.039∼0.047). As for use of rescue analgesic, total opioid consumption and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, there were no significant differences between the two groups (P = 0.311, P = 0.101, P = 0.661) . In terms of patients' satisfaction, the score of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group, and a significant difference was observed between the two groups (P = 0.000). As for adverse events, two participants reported pain and one patient reported discomfort at the insertion sites during the process of auricular acupuncture intervention, but they both were minor and tolerable.Conclusion: Auricular acupuncture may have a relief effect on mild postoperative pain at rest with pain score below 3, suggesting that it may be a feasible adjuvant method to relieve mild pain at rest. However, more multi-centre and large-sample studies are needed to verify this result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to review the literature on the effect of scraping therapy on chronic low back pain (LBP) from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Three English medical electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) and 2 Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang) were searched. Only randomized controlled trials related to the effects of scraping therapy on chronic LBP were included in this systematic review. Study selection, data extraction, and validation were conducted independently by 2 reviewers. The methodological quality of the studies was evaluated by the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. RevMan 5.3 software was applied to perform meta-analysis of the data. Ten studies comprising 627 participants were included. Overall, the quality of evidence was moderate owing to a lack of blinding and allocation concealment in some studies and unclear risk of selective reporting. Meta-analysis of 9 RCTs indicated that scraping therapy had a statistically significant effect on pain reduction (standard mean difference = −0.66, 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.83 to −0.49, P <.001). However, if only a single scrape treatment was carried out, the results did not show that scraping was superior to the control group regarding pain relief (mean difference = −0.35, 95% CI, −1.23 to 0.53, P =.44). Moreover, the results of 6 RCTs involving 468 participants showed significantly greater improvement in lumbar dysfunction (mean difference = −10.05, 95% CI, −13.52 to −2.32, P <.001). In addition, the results of 5 RCTs involving 393 participants showed a favorably significant effect on the overall efficacy (odds ratio = 4.74, 95% CI, 2.34-9.62, P <.001). As for follow-up effects, meta-analysis of 3 RCTs involving 241 participants showed a promising effect on pain reduction and lumbar function improvement at 1 month and 3 months after the end of treatment, respectively. Only 1 study reported adverse effects, and none were serious. Scraping therapy may have a therapeutic effect for some individuals with chronic LBP. However, due to the limited amount of research and the low methodological quality of the included studies, additional large-scale, multicenter, high-quality RCTs on relieving pain intensity and improving lumbar dysfunction are still necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Examined the effect of moxibustion on myelosuppression by evaluating whole hematological indexes. • ST36, RN4 and DU14 are the most commonly used acupoints for the treatment of myelosuppression. • Moxibustion may provide therapeutic benefit in treating myelosuppression. • Meta-regression was used to explain the heterogeneity and conclusions were drawn using GRADE. Myelosuppression is a common treatment-related complication in cancer patients. Moxibustion has been proposed as a potentially effective intervention to alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression. This review aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of moxibustion in treating chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression, as well as the most promising modalities and patterns of moxibustion application. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) focusing on the effectiveness of moxibustion on chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression, including the total effective rate, leukocyte count, hemoglobin level, platelet count, neutrophil count, and quality of life as outcomes. Six English and four Chinese databases were searched. Two researchers independently screened the articles, extracted data, and evaluated the quality of the included studies. The quality was assessed using the revised Cochrane Risk-of-Bias tool (RoB 2.0). Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were used to find the most effective modalities and treatment patterns. In addition, we utilised the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system to establish a persuasive conclusion. Data were meta-analysed using Stata (version 14.0). Twenty-one studies were included in this systematic review, including 1887 patients. The overall quality of all included studies was moderate. Meta-analysis of 9 RCTs indicated that moxibustion provided a greater therapeutic benefit in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression (RR=1.22, 95%CI=1.15, 1.29, P<0.001). Moreover, the results of 15 RCTs showed a significant increase in leukocyte count (WMD=0.62, 95% CI=0.08, 1.16, P=0.025); 3 RCTs showed elevated hemoglobin level (WMD=11.72, 95%CI=5.67, 17.76, P<0.001), and 3 RCTs showed increased platelet count (WMD=16.24, 95% CI=10.37, 22.11, P<0.001). Furthermore, the results of 5 RCTs showed a significant favourable effect on the quality of life (WMD=5.54, 95%CI=3.09, 7.98, P<0.001). We also assessed the certainty of the body of evidence and the results showed that the total effective rate was assessed as moderate quality, while others were rated as very low. There was no publication bias in this meta-analysis. In addition, five studies reported adverse effects, and none were serious. Moxibustion may affect chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression. However, owing to the small number of included studies and their low methodological quality, more large-scale, multi-center, high-quality RCTs on moxibustion for chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression are needed. CRD42022336319. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing popularity of the Internet and the diversification of the citizens' benefit claims, Internet mass incidents have been continuing to increase, and have caused a major threat to the stability and development of current China. Based on a comparative analysis of 50 cases which happened from 2007 to 2013, this study has three major findings. (1) The Government response has a significant impact on the resolution of incidents. (2) The initiative, speed, transparency, equity, modernity and diversity of patterns, and the interaction(with other social actors) of the Government response has played important roles in the resolution, and the equity, initiative?and transparency of the Government response were the most important ones. (3)The types and the attention rate of the incident shave influenced the Government response and there solution of the incidents as regulated variables. Therefore, the Government should always hold the idea of being a "responsive Government" face the contradictions a direct and fair attitude, release in precise information about the development for the resolution, and respond to the benefit claims of the public in an active and effective manner. The Government should also pay much attention to the types and characteristics of incidents, and respond to incidents with appropriateness. This study can not only promote the academic discussion on internet mass incidents, but also provide a practical guidance for the Government to solve them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Establishment and application of multiplex PCR detection method for staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus, salmonella spp and escherichia coli," by Xu Xin-Gang and colleagues is presented.

The article presents an experiment directed toward the enhancement of the foreign growth hormone releasing factor (GRF) gene expression efficiency in skeletal muscle of mice through in vivo electroporation. GRF gene plasmids were injected ino skeletal muscle of mouse by electroporation in vivo. It resulted in the accumulative increase in body weights as the dosage increased. The experiment suggests that in vivo electroporation is able to enhance GRF expression in mouse skeletal muscle.

The article examines the tissue localization and development of B lymphocytes of chickens in Changchun, China. Researchers evaluated the caecal tonsil of chickens from embryos to 21-day-old and found that periellipsoid lymphatic sheath (PELS) and germinal center gradually matured when B lymphocytes increased They also discovered that humoral immune spleen function strengthen gradually from hatching to 21 day old.

Abstract: Triclosan is an antimicrobial agent widely used in many contemporary consumer and health care products. This study assayed phytotoxicity of triclosan using plant growth tests, soil microbial activity using soil respiration and phosphatase activity tests and soil microbial functional diversity using the Biolog ECO plates. The results showed that triclosan inhibited plant growth in soil, with rice seeds being more sensitive than cucumber seeds with EC50 values of 57 and 108mg/kg. Soil respiration was significantly inhibited in the treatments with triclosan at concentrations more than 10mg/kg (dry soil) during the first 4 days of incubation, but recovered later on after longer incubation. Phosphatase activity was also inhibited for all the soils treated with triclosan (from 0.1 to 50mg/kg dry soil), but a declining inhibition was observed after 2 days of incubation. Biolog analysis found that triclosan treatment increased the utilization of carbon sources and exerted no adverse effects on the functional diversity of soil microbial community. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Auricular acupuncture has been used for pain management but a more recent technique which buries an intradermal needle into the skin may provide longer lasting stimulation and enhance analgesia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of perioperative auricular acupuncture technique via intradermal needling buried on postoperative movement-evoked pain reduction in patients with advanced gastric cancer following open radical gastrectomy. This research is a protocol for a prospective, assessor- and analyst-blinded, randomized controlled pilot trial with two parallel groups. Forty patients who undergo elective open radical gastrectomy will be recruited from 210-bed oncology surgery ward at a 2500-bed medical center between 2019/8/23 and 2020/2/20. Patients will be randomized to either the control group receiving non-invasive sham auricular acupuncture or to the experimental group receiving auricular acupuncture technique via intradermal needling buried, delivered 24 h before surgery and retained & replaced every 3 days for 6 consecutive days. A standard general anesthetic technique will be used for both groups. Rescue analgesia will be given when the VAS score is≥4. Primary outcome measures are Functional Activity Score (FAS) and Numerical Rating Scale score (NRS) for movement-evoked pain. Secondary outcome measures are NRS score for pain at rest, use of rescues analgesic, total opioid consumption, postoperative nausea and vomiting, physiological recovery Outcomes, Quality of Recovery-9 (QoR-9) and patient's satisfaction. This protocol has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Clinical Research Centre (Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, IRB No. 2019NL-032-02). In addition, the results of the preliminary study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To assess the clinical evidence of auriculotherapy for constipation treatment and to identify the efficacy of groups using Semen vaccariae or magnetic pellets as taped objects in managing constipation. Methods Databases were searched, including five English- language databases (the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and AMED) and four Chinese medical databases. Only randomized controlled trials were included in the review process. Critical appraisal was conducted using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results Seventeen randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria, of which 2 had low risk of bias. The primary outcome measures were the improvement rate and total effective rate. A meta-analysis of 15 RCTs showed a moderate, significant effect of auriculotherapy in managing constipation compared with controls (relative risk [RR], 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52–2.79; p < 0.00001). The 15 RCTs also showed a moderate, significant effect of auriculotherapy in relieving constipation (RR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.13–1.44; p < 0.0001). For other symptoms associated with constipation, such as abdominal distension or anorexia, results of the meta-analyses showed no statistical significance. Subgroup analysis revealed that use of S. vaccariae and use of magnetic pellets were both statistically favored over the control in relieving constipation. Conclusions Current evidence illustrated that auriculotherapy, a relatively safe strategy, is probably beneficial in managing constipation. However, most of the eligible RCTs had a high risk of bias, and all were conducted in China. No definitive conclusion can be made because of cultural and geographic differences. Further rigorous RCTs from around the world are warranted to confirm the effect and safety of auriculotherapy for constipation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]