Treatment of Functional Retrograde Ejaculation with Acupuncture and TCM Herbal Drugs

Acupuncture at the Taichong (LR 3), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) and Ciliao (BL 32) points combined with TCM drugs for soothing the liver, replenishing the kidney, freeing the seminal passage, and eliminating the stasis showed effective for functional retrograde ejaculation in 25 cases. The total effective rate of 68.0% was significantly better than imipramine used in the control group (P<0.05).

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate treatment to promote neuroprotection and functional recovery after nervous system injury

Traumatic spinal cord injury （SCI） causes motor paralysis, sensory anesthesia and autonomic dysfunction below the le- sion site and additionally some SCI patients refer neuropathic pain together with these signs and symptoms. Clinical and experimental studies have revealed the main pathological changes of injured spinal cord implicated in all these signs and symptoms, including neuropathic pain. After few hours of traumatic SCI, it is usual to observe broken blood brain barrier with plasma and blood cells extravasation, cell necrosis, disruption of ascending and descending spinal cord pathways and increased potassium and glutamate. Glutamate contributes to excitotoxicity of neurons whereas potassium facilitates ectopic depolarization of survival neurons and activation of resident microglia.

Effect of low-level laser therapy on tooth-related pain and somatosensory function evoked by orthodontic treatment

Low-level laser therapy(LLLT) may have an effect on the pain associated with orthodontic treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of LLLT on pain and somatosensory sensitization induced by orthodontic treatment. Forty individuals(12–33 years old; mean ± standard deviations: 20.8 ± 5.9 years) scheduled to receive orthodontic treatment were randomly divided into a laser group(LG) or a placebo group(PG)(1:1). The LG received LLLT(810-nm gallium-aluminium-arsenic diode laser in continuous mode with the power set at 400 mW, 2 J·cm–2) at 0 h, 2 h, 24 h, 4 d, and 7 d after treatment, and the PG received inactive treatment at the same time points. In both groups, the non-treated side served as a control. A numerical rating scale(NRS) of pain, pressure pain thresholds(PPTs), cold detection thresholds(CDTs), warmth detection thresholds(WDTs), cold pain thresholds(CPTs), and heat pain thresholds(HPTs) were tested on both sides at the gingiva and canine tooth and on the hand. The data were analysed by a repeated measures analysis of variance(ANOVA). The NRS pain scores were significantly lower in the LG group(P = 0.01). The CDTs,CPTs, WDTs, HPTs, and PPTs at the gingiva and the PPTs at the canine tooth were significantly less sensitive on the treatment side of the LG compared with that of the PG(P < 0.033). The parameters tested also showed significantly less sensitivity on the nontreatment side of the LG compared to that of the PG(P < 0.043). There were no differences between the groups for any quantitative sensory testing(QST) measures of the hand. The application of LLLT appears to reduce the pain and sensitivity of the tooth and gingiva associated with orthodontic treatment and may have contralateral effects within the trigeminal system but no generalized QST effects. Thus, the present study indicated a significant analgesia effect of LLLT application during orthodontic treatment.Further clinical applications are suggested.

Discussion on Certain Issues of the Diagnosis and Treatment of Functional Constipation

Functional constipation (FC) is a common condition in the clinics.It is often recurrent and frequently has drug resistance and drug addiction.Its therapeutic costs are high as well. Therefore,the quality of

Thinking and Strategy on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders with Integrative Medicine

The functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are a group of diseases mainly manifested as gastrointestinal functional disorders,including 45 kinds of different diseases,such as functional dyspepsia(FD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS),functional constipation

A data-derived soft-sensor method for monitoring effluent total phosphorus

The effluent total phosphorus(ETP) is an important parameter to evaluate the performance of wastewater treatment process(WWTP). In this study, a novel method, using a data-derived soft-sensor method, is proposed to obtain the reliable values of ETP online. First, a partial least square(PLS) method is introduced to select the related secondary variables of ETP based on the experimental data. Second, a radial basis function neural network(RBFNN) is developed to identify the relationship between the related secondary variables and ETP. This RBFNN easily optimizes the model parameters to improve the generalization ability of the soft-sensor. Finally, a monitoring system, based on the above PLS and RBFNN, named PLS-RBFNN-based soft-sensor system, is developed and tested in a real WWTP. Experimental results show that the proposed monitoring system can obtain the values of ETP online and own better predicting performance than some existing methods.

Examining approaches for modeling individual tree growth response to thinning in Norway spruce

Using periodic measurements from permanent plots in non-thinned and thinned Norway spruce(Picea abies(L.)H.Karst.)stands in Norway,individual-tree growth models were developed to predict annual diameter increment,height increment,and height to crown base increment.Based on long-term data across a range of thinning regimes and stand conditions,alternative approaches for modeling response to treatment were assessed.Dynamic thinning response functions in the form of multiplicative modifiers that predict no effect at the time of thinning,a rapid increase followed by an early maximum before the effect gradually declines to zero could not be fitted to initially derived baseline models without thinning related predictors.However,alternative approaches were used and found to perform well.Specifically,indicator variables representing varying time periods after thinning were statistically significant and behaved in a robust manner as well as consistent with general expectations.In addition,they improved overall prediction accuracy when incorporated as fixed effects into the baseline models for diameter and height to crown base increment.Further,more simply,including exponentially decreasing multiplicative thinning response functions improved prediction accuracy for height increment and height to crown base increment.Irrespective of studied attribute and modelling approach,improvement in performance of these extended models was relatively limited when compared to the corresponding baseline models and more pronounced in trees from thinned stands.We conclude that the largely varying and often multi-year measurement intervals of the periodic data used in this study likely prevented the development of more sophisticated thinning response functions.However,based on the evaluation of the final models’overall performance such complex response functions may not to be necessary to reliably predict individual tree growth after thinning for certain conditions or species,which should be further considered in future analyses of similar nature.

Dynamics of a SIR epidemic model with variable recruitment and quadratic treatment

The dynamical behavior of a variable recruitment SIR model has been investigated with the nonlinear incidence rate and the quadratic treatment function for a horizontally transmitted infectious disease that sustains for a long period(more than one year).For a long duration,we have incorporated human fertility in variable recruitment.The societal effort,i.e.all types of medical infrastructures,have a vital role in controlling such a disease.For this reason,we have considered the quadratic treatment function,which divides the system into two subsystems.We have established the existence and stability of different equilibrium points that depend mainly on the societal effort parameter in both subsystems and also global stability.Different rich dynamics such as forward bifurcation,Hopf bifurcation,limit cycle,and Bogdanov-Takens bifurcation of co-dimension 2 have been established by using bifurcation theory and the biological significance of these dynamics has been explained.Different numerical examples have been considered to illustrate the theoretical results.Finally,we have discussed the advantage of our model with the model by Eckalbar and Eckalbar[Nonlinear Anal.:Real World Appl.12(2011)320332].

DYNAMICS OF SIS EPIDEMIC MODEL WITH THE STANDARD INCIDENCE RATE AND SATURATED TREATMENT FUNCTION

An SIS epidemic model with the standard incidence rate and saturated treatment func- tion is proposed. The dynamics of the system are discussed, and the effect of the capacity for treatment and the recruitment of the population are also studied. We find that the effect of the maximum recovery per unit of time and the recruitment rate of the popula- tion over some level are two factors which lead to the backward bifurcation, and in some cases, the model may undergo the saddle-node bifurcation or Bogdanov-Takens bifurca- tion. It is shown that the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable under some conditions, Numerical simulations are consistent with our obtained results in the- orems, which show that improving the efficiency and capacity of treatment is important for control of disease.

Transmission dynamics of onchocerciasis with two classes of infection and saturated treatment function

A mathematical model describing the epidemic interactions between humans and blackflies in the transmission of onchocerciasis is considered.In this model,the onchocerciasis infected human individuals are divided into two classes of infected humans with high and low microfilarial output incorporating saturated treatment function,which caters for high saturation of onchocerciasis disease.We analyze the model feasible region and obtain the basic reproduction number(R_(hb))using the next generation matrix method.Also,we obtain the onchocerciasis-free and onchocerciasis endemic equilibrium solutions and show that if R_(hb) is less than unity,the onchocerciasis-free equilibrium is locally and globally asymptotically stable.Furthermore,we employed a Lyapunov function to analyze the global asymptotic stability of the onchocerciasis—endemic equilibrium whenever Rhb is greater than unity.In addition,data on mass drug distribution of ivermectin drug to combat onchocerciasis prevalence in Ekiti state of Nigeria were fitted to the model.Graphical results reveal that consistent annual or bi-annual distribution of ivermectin drug in the region is effective in reducing the disease menace.Further simulations also show that public health control measures are needed to minimize infectious contact between humans and blackflies which leads to onchocerciasis infections and visual blindness.

Characterization of the genes involved in nitrogen cycling in wastewater treatment plants using DNA microarray and most probable number-PCR

To improve nitrogen removal performance of wastewater treatment plants （WWTPs）, it is essential to understand the behavior of nitrogen cycling communities, which comprise various microorganisms. This study characterized the quantity and diversity of nitrogen cycling genes in various processes of municipal WWTPs by employing two molecular-based methods：most probable number-polymerase chain reaction （MPN-PCR） and DNA microarray. MPN-PCR analysis revealed that gene quantities were not statistically different among processes, suggesting that conventional actwated sludge processes （CAS） are similar to nitrogen removal processes in their ability to retain an adequate population of nitrogen cycling microorganisms. Furthermore, most processes in the WWTPs that were researched shared a pattern：the nitS and the bacterial amoA genes were more abundant than the nirK and archaeal amoA genes, respectivelv. DNA microarray analysis revealed that several kinds of nitrification and denitrification genes were detected in both CAS and anaerobic-oxic processes （AO）, whereas limited genes were detected in nitrogen removal processes. Results of this study suggest that CAS maintains a diverse community of nitrogen cycling microorganisms; moreover, the microbial communities in nitrogen removal processes may be specific.

Impacts of produced water origin on bacterial community structures of activated sludge

The purpose of this study was to reveal how activated sludge communities respond to influent quality and indigenous communities by treating two produced waters from different origins in a batch reactor in succession. The community shift and compositions were investigated using Polymerase Chain Reaction–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis（PCR–DGGE） and further16 S ribosomal DNA（r DNA） clone library analysis. The abundance of targeted genes for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon（PAH） degradation, nah Ac/phn Ac and C12O/C23 O, was tracked to define the metabolic ability of the in situ microbial community by Most Probable Number（MPN） PCR. The biosystem performed almost the same for treatment of both produced waters in terms of removals of chemical oxygen demand（COD） and PAHs. Sludge communities were closely associated with the respective influent bacterial communities（similarity 〉 60%）, while one sludge clone library was dominated by the Betaproteobacteria（38%） and Bacteriodetes（30%）and the other was dominated by Gammaproteobacteria（52%）. This suggested that different influent and water quality have an effect on sludge community compositions. In addition, the existence of catabolic genes in sludge was consistent with the potential for degradation of PAHs in the treatment of both produced waters.

Effect of a Traditional Chinese Medicine combined therapy on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis:a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effectiveness of a combined Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) therapy versus conventional treatment on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.METHODS:One hundred twenty outpatients with mild and moderate adolescent idiopathic scoliosis were randomly divided into a TCM group(TCMG)and a brace group(CG).TCMG patients underwent Daoyin,Tuina,and acupotomology therapies.CG patients were treated with a Milwaukee brace.Each patient's Cobb angle was measured after 12 and 24 months of treatment,and pulmonary function was determined after 12 months of treatment.Average electromyogram(AEMG) ratio of the surface electromyogram was measured after 6 and 12 months of treatment and followed-up after 18 and 24 months.RESULTS:The Cobb angle significantly decreased in both groups after 12 months of treatment compared with before treatment(P< 0.05).The percentages of original Cobb angle in TCMG and CG were51.4%and 47.8%(P > 0.05) after 12 months and62.5%and 34.7%(P < 0.05) after 24 months,respectively.Pulmonary function significantly improved after 12 months in TCMG(P < 0.05) but significantly decreased in CG(P < 0.05).The AEMG ratio was significantly lower(P < 0.01) and tended to remain at1 after stopping treatment in TCMG,but increased in CG(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:TCM combined therapy can prevent the progression of scoliosis.The AEMG ratio is a promising index that could replace radiography in the evaluation of treatment effect and progression in scoliosis.