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Hu Li,1,2,* Cong Cong Yang,3,* Tianyu Bai,1 Jian Sun,4,5 Zhonghua Fu,4,6 Jia Mi,3 Li-Wei Chou7– 9 1Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250031, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Ultrasound, Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250031, People’s Republic of China; 4Clinical Medical College of Acupuncture & Moxibustion and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, People’s Republic of China; 5Second Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, People’s Republic of China; 6Institute of Fu’s Subcutaneous Needling, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China; 7Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, 404332, Taiwan; 8Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, China Medical University, Taichung, 406040, Taiwan; 9Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Asia University Hospital, Asia University, Taichung, 413505, Taiwan*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Li-Wei Chou, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, No. 2 Yuh-Der Road, Taichung, 404332, Taiwan, Email chouliwe@gmail.comBackground: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with clinicians often observing increased muscle stiffness associated with joint pain and dysfunction. This study examines the impact of Fu’s Subcutaneous Needling (FSN), a non-pharmacological technique, on muscle stiffness in the lower limbs of individuals with knee OA.Materials and Methods: This study protocol is a pilot, single-center, randomized controlled trial. Sixty knee OA patients will be allocated equally for FSN or electroacupuncture (EA) treatments. Interventions will be applied thrice weekly for the first two weeks and twice weekly for the subsequent two weeks for a total of ten sessions. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, post-initial session, after four weeks of intervention, and at the end of a four-week follow-up. The primary outcome will be the muscle stiffness in the lower extremities, as measured by shear wave elastography (SWE). Secondary outcomes include response rate, a reduction in the mean pain intensity on the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) by at least two points and on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) function subscale by six points at week four compared with baseline. Weekly monitoring of the NRS and WOMAC scores will determine the rapidity of pain alleviation and functional improvement, along with 12-item short-form (SF-12) score changes from baseline to week four.Results: This is the first standardized protocol examining the effects of FSN on lower limb muscle stiffness in patients with knee OA by SWE. We hypothesize that FSN could outperform EA in alleviating lower limb stiffness associated with knee OA. Findings will contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the efficacy of acupuncture-derived interventions in managing muscle stiffness and may guide future research directions.Study Registration: The trial has been registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (Registered number: ChiCTR2300073615). Registered 17 July 2023.Keywords: Fu’s subcutaneous needling, electroacupuncture, muscle stiffness, knee osteoarthritis, shear wave elastography

Chih-Ying Wu,1– 3 Li-Wei Chou,4– 6 Shih-Wei Huang,7 Wen-Ling Liao,1,8 Shiaw-Meng Chang,9 Han-Chung Lee,10 Cheng-Di Chiu,3,11– 14 Chih-Hsin Tang,13,15– 18 Ching-Liang Hsieh16,19,20 1Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 2Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital, China Medical University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 3Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 4Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 5Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 6Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Asia University Hospital, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan; 7Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital, China Medical University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 8Center for Personalized Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 9Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 10Neuroscience center, Everan Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 11Spine Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 12School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 13Graduate Institute of Biomedical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 14Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 15Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 16Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 17Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Health Science, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan; 18Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 19Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 20Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, Taichung, TaiwanCorrespondence: Chih-Hsin Tang, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan, Email chtang@mail.cmu.edu.tw Ching-Liang Hsieh, Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, 91 Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan, Tel +886-4-22053366, Fax +886-4-22037690, Email clhsieh0826@gmail.comBackground: Fu’s subcutaneous needling (FSN) is a novel acupuncture technique for pain treatment. This study investigated the effects of postsurgical FSN on postoperative pain in patients receiving surgery for degenerative spinal disorders.Methods: This single-center, single-blind, randomized-controlled study involved patients undergoing surgery for degenerative spinal disorders. Participants were randomized into either an FSN group or a control group that received sham FSN. The primary outcomes were scores on the Brief Pain Inventory Taiwan version (BPI-T) and Oswestry Disability Index before and at 1, 24, and 48 hours after surgery. Secondary outcomes were muscle hardness, pethidine use, and inflammatory biomarker presence.Results: Initially, 51 patients met the inclusion criteria and were allocated (26 in the FSN group and 25 in the control group). Two patients were lost to follow-up, and finally, 49 patients (25 in the FSN group and 24 in the control group) who completed the study were analyzed. The FSN group had significantly lower pain intensity measured on the BPI-T compared with the control group at 1, 24, 48, and 72 hours after surgical treatment (all p < 0.001). Additionally, pain interference as measured on the BPI-T was lower in the FSN group than in the control group 1 hour (p = 0.001), 24 hours (p = 0.018), 48 hours (p = 0.001), and 72 hours (p = 0.017) after surgical treatment. Finally, the FSN group exhibited less muscle hardness in the latissimus dorsi and gluteus maximus 24, 48, and 72 hours (all p < 0.05) after surgery compared with the control group; patients in the FSN group also exhibited less muscle hardness in the L3 paraspinal muscle 48 hours (p = 0.001) and 72 hours (p < 0.001) after surgery compared with the control group. There were no significant differences in serum CRP, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and TNF-α levels between the FSN and control groups at 24 hours, 72 hours, and 1-month post-surgery (all p > 0.05).Conclusion: FSN treatment can reduce postoperative pain in patients receiving surgery for degenerative spinal disorders. However, larger sample sizes and multicenter clinical trials are required to verify these findings.Keywords: Fu’s subcutaneous needling, degenerative spinal disorders, postoperative pain, surgical treatment, clinical trial

This in vitro pilot study was performed to determine whether a treatment algorithm including mechanical debridement, followed by air powder abrasion with glycine, followed by citric acid conditioning with vigorous flushing of the surface with sterile water after each step, is capable of decontaminating an infected implant surface. A total of 14 dental implants that were deemed hopeless due to advanced peri-implantitis were extracted. Of these, 6 implants served as tests and had their exposed surfaces treated with the decontamination protocol, 6 served as untreated controls, and 2 were mechanically treated only, followed by rubbing the surface with sterile saline. All implants were placed in culture with human osteoprogenitor cells for 72 hours, and evaluation was performed using scanning electron microscopy. The 6 test implants all demonstrated attachment and proliferation of the normal human osteoprogenitor cells on their prior exposed and decontaminated surfaces. All of the untreated control and the mechanically debrided, sterile water--treated implants failed to demonstrate this same success. The results suggest that this protocol can decontaminate an implant surface affected by peri-implantitis. Further studies are warranted to determine if this technique would demonstrate similar success over a greater number of implants and whether this outcome may occur in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. This in vitro study aimed to investigate the roles of aspirin (ASA) and its concentrations on the odontogenesis of human dental pulp cells (HDPCs) and to investigate the influence of ASA on TGF-β1 liberation from dentin. Methodology. HDPCs were cultured in a culture medium with 25, 50, 75, 100, and 200 μ·g/mL ASA and 0 μ·g/mL ASA as a control. The mitochondrial activity of HDPCs was assessed using an MTT assay. Crystal violet staining and triton were used to evaluate cell proliferation rates. ALP activity was measured with a fluorometric assay. Expressions of DSP and RUNX2 were determined with the ELISA. DSP and RUNX2 mRNA levels were measured with RT-qPCR. Alizarin red staining was conducted to evaluate the mineralized nodule formation. Dentin slices were submerged in PBS (negative control), 17% EDTA (positive control), and ASA before collecting the solution for TGF-β1 quantification by the ELISA. The data were analyzed by the t-tests and ANOVA, followed by the Tukey post hoc tests. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results. The results showed that 25–50 μ·g/mL ASA promoted mitochondrial activity of HDPCs at 72 h (P < 0.05) and yielded significantly higher proliferation rates of HDPCs than the control at 14d and 21d (P < 0.001). All concentrations of ASA promoted odontogenic differentiation of HDPCs by enhancing the levels of DSP and RUNX2, their mRNA expression, and mineralization in a dose-dependent manner. Also, ASA yielded significantly higher TGF-β1 liberation after conditioning dentin for 5 min (25, 200 μ·g/mL; P < 0.001) and 10 min (200 μ·g/mL; P < 0.05). Conclusions. This in vitro study demonstrated that ASA, especially in high concentrations, promoted the odontogenesis of HDPCs and TGF-β1 liberation from dentin, showing the potential of being incorporated into the novel pulp capping materials for dental tissue regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2005.03.010 Byline: M. Gehlen (a), F.C. Bassinot (b), L. Chou (c), D. McCorkle (d) Keywords: Marine sediments; Biogenic carbonate; Solubility Abstract: We studied the solubility of the [63-150[mu]m] and the greater than 150[mu]m size fractions of sediments from two bathymetric transects in the eastern tropical Atlantic (Sierra Leone rise and Cape Verde Plateau). Both fractions are made mainly of foraminiferal shells and fragments. We determined the calcite crystallinity (full width at half maximum of XRD (104) calcite peak) of the >150[mu]m size fraction. Equilibration experiments were carried out in artificial seawater (20[degrees]C, pCO.sub.2=3100ppm) for up to 57 days starting from undersaturation with respect to calcite and supersaturation with respect to aragonite. Experiments starting from supersaturation yielded concentration products close to aragonite solubility for sediments from the shallowest stations, suggesting the presence of trace levels of aragonite in these samples. Concentration products computed for the deeper stations were intermediate between aragonite and calcite solubility. Our results indicate the formation of a high-Mg coating. The equilibration period was too short to allow the complete recrystallization of these Mg-rich overgrowths. Experiments initiated from undersaturation yield concentration products that are between 4% and 24% higher than the reported stoichiometric concentration product of synthetic calcite. These differences between estimates of calcite stoichiometric solubility products are explained in terms of variations in experimental conditions (artificial versus natural seawater) and related choices of carbonic acid dissociation constants. They do not reflect a true difference in solubility between biogenic and synthetic calcite. The thinning of the foraminiferal calcite (104) XRD peak from 0.168[degrees](2I[cedilla]) to 0.148[degrees](2I[cedilla]) along the depth transects is interpreted as reflecting an improvement in calcite crystallinity. This and the change in specific surface area are consistent with the progressive change of the carbonate assemblage. The evolution of the bulk composition of the carbonate fraction is not paralleled by a significant change in its stoichiometric concentration product. It reflects ongoing differential dissolution due to kinetic effects. Author Affiliation: (a) Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), UMR CEA-CNRS, BAcentst.701, Orme des Merisiers, CEA/Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France (b) Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), UMR CEA-CNRS, BAcentst. 12, avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France (c) Laboratoire d'Oceanographie Chimique et Geochimie des Eaux, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Campus de la Plaine, CP 208, 2 Boulevard du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium (d) Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA Article History: Received 26 July 2004; Revised 7 January 2005; Accepted 9 March 2005

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2005.03.011 Byline: M. Gehlen (a), F.C. Bassinot (b), L. Chou (c), D. McCorkle (d) Abstract: We studied dissolution kinetics of the carbonate fraction >150[mu]m of sediments sampled along two bathymetric transects in the eastern tropical Atlantic: the Sierra Leone Rise (SLR) and the Cape Verde Plateau (CVP). The reaction was followed by monitoring solution pH during freedrift experiments lasting between 46 and 50h (20[degrees]C, pCO.sub.2[approximately equal to]3100ppm and 1atm pressure). The alkalinity reached at the end of the dissolution experiments ranged between 2.444 and 2.798meq/kg.sub.sw. The dissolution time series was extrapolated to equilibrium by fitting an empirical relation to the data. The estimated asymptotic concentration products ([Ca.sup.2+].sub.[infinity]x[CO.sub.3.sup.2-].sub.[infinity], for t[right arrow][infinity] and dA.sub.c/dt=0) range from 4.27x10.sup.-7 to 6.77x10.sup.-7 mol.sup.2/kg.sub.sw.sup.2. These asymptotic concentration products are comparable with the stoichiometric concentration product of aragonite (6.56x10.sup.-7 mol.sup.2/kg.sub.sw.sup.2) and calcite (4.37 ([+ or -]0.22)x10.sup.-7 mol.sup.2/kg.sub.sw.sup.2) derived for the same sediment material during long-term equilibration experiments. They are indicative of the presence of trace amounts of a higher solubility carbonate phase in sediments of the shallow stations (SLR station A, 2637m; CVP station M, 3104m). While it is likely that this phase is aragonite, the presence of authigenic carbonate precipitated in contact with supersaturated bottom waters cannot be excluded. Calcite is the main dissolving carbonate mineral in sediments from deeper stations. The order of reaction is always greater than unity. It varies between 1.4 (SLR station C) and 2.8 (CVP station M2), with an average n=2.3[+ or -]0.4. The higher order reaction is explained in terms of a multiphase system. Specific rate constants range from 0.09 to 0.53meq/m.sup.2/d. Author Affiliation: (a) Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), UMR CEA-CNRS, BAcentst.701, Orme des Merisiers, CEA/Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France (b) Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), UMR CEA-CNRS, BAcentst. 12, avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France (c) Laboratoire d'Oceanographie Chimique et Geochimie des Eaux, Campus de la Plaine, CP 208, 2 Boulevard du Triomphe, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium (d) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Department of Geology & Geophysics, 100 C McLean Lab, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA

Recently, regime-switching option pricing based on fractional diffusion models has been used, which explains many significant empirical facts about financial markets better. There are many methods to solve the problem, but to the best of our knowledge, effective preconditioners for the second-order schemes have not been proposed. Thus, in this article, an implicit numerical scheme is developed for a regime-switching European option pricing problem under a multi-state tempered fractional model. The scheme is proven to be unconditionally stable and converges quadratically in space and linearly in time. Besides, the resulting linear system is solved using an iterative method, and a preconditioner is proposed to accelerate the rate of convergence. The preconditioner is constructed through circulant approximations to the Toeplitz blocks due to the coefficient matrix, which is is a block matrix with Toeplitz blocks. The spectral analysis of the preconditioned matrix is given, which demonstrates that the spectrum of the preconditioned matrix is clustered around 1. Numerical examples show the efficiency of the proposed method, and an empirical study is also provided.