Rules for differentiating symptoms and signs of the heart-qi deficiency syndrome

344 cases of Heart-Qi Deficiency Syndrome (HQDS) including 19 Kinds of disease were observed to explore the rule of differentiation of symptoms and signs for HQDS. The results showed that the common symptoms of HQDS were weakness, shortness of breath, and palpitation, etc. According to with or without complicated cardiovascular diseases, the patients were divided into two groups: group A with cardiovascular diseases, group B without that. In group A, the symptoms and signs of HQDS were the most frequent and early clinical manifestations, the associated symptoms and signs were blood stasis and attack of water-evil, etc. In group B, in whom often associated with nervous and emotional symptoms such as insomnia, dreamfulness, and amnesia, etc., which was due to the disturbance of emotional activities of heart. In order to avoid diagnostic confusion, the authors suggest that the HQDS patients with cardiovascular diseases would be diagnosed as HQDS; on the other hand, the HQDS patients without cardiovascular diseases would be diagnosed as disturbance of emotional activities of heart.     

Segmental fixation with U-shaped rod in the treatment of spondylolisthesis

Summary From 1987 to 1990 the authors treated 20 cases of spondylolisthesis by an improved operative procedure including excision of the medial part of the superior articular processes of the slipped vertebra, excision of the soft tissue between the ununited isthmi, and excision of the ligamentum flavum between the intervertebral space above the slipped segment. In some instances the lower portion of the lamina over the slipped vertebra should be resected. A U-shaped rod was used to hold sublaminar fixation of two segments above and below the slipped vertebra, with the slipped vertebra spared. Utilizing the U-shaped rod as support, bone strips were placed along the lateral and anterior sides of the rod to bridge the gap between the laminae of the displaced vertebra. Other bone grafts were focused on the facet joints. The patients were allowed ambulation early postoperatively. 19 cases could be evaluated at preliminary follow-up. All showed satisfactory results.     

Reduced 293T cell susceptibility to acrolein due to aldose reductase-like-1 protein expression.

Acrolein is a highly reactive alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde produced endogenously during lipid peroxidation and naturally distributed pervasively in living environments, posing serious threats to human health if not properly metabolized. In this study, we report aldose reductase-like-1 (ARL-1) as a novel enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of acrolein and protects cells from their toxicity. Using purified ARL-1 protein, we determined its enzymatic activity in response to acrolein and defined its steady-state kinetics with K(m) and V(max) at 0.110 +/- 0.012 mM and 3122.0 +/- 64.7 nmol/mg protein/min, respectively. By introducing a functional Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP)/ARL-1 fusion protein into 293T cells, we demonstrated that plating efficiency in liquid culture and focus formation in soft agar increased by more than 60% (p < 0.05), compared to the vector control cells. More significantly, at a low dose of 5 microM acrolein, EGFP/ARL-1 expression enhanced both plating efficiency and focus formation by more than threefold, and the foci (in soft agar) of 293T cells expressing EGFP/ARL-1 were significantly larger than those of the vector control cells. At high concentrations of acrolein (25 and 50 microM), EGFP/ARL-1 protein prevented oncotic death of 293T cells induced by acrolein. In summary, our data demonstrated for the first time that the ARL-1 protein protects 293T cells from acrolein toxicity. Due to the high toxicity and wide distribution of acrolein, this finding is important to the understanding of its detoxification mechanisms.     

胃癌双对比造影表现与血5‘—核苷酸酶相关性的研究

目的　初步探讨胃癌影像学表现与 5′-核苷酸酶 (5′- NT)活性的变化关系。方法　经病理证实的 4 1例胃癌 ,均行 X线双对比造影摄片 ,并采用分光光度法测其治疗前血清 5′- NT活性。以 4 0例健康人作对照组。结果　胃癌组 5′- NT活性 (1.14± 0 .16 u/ ml)较正常健康人明显减低 (2 .6 0± 0 .10 u/ m l) (P<0 .0 5 )。解剖部位上 ,从贲门、胃体到胃窦部胃癌 ,其 5′- NT活性分别为 0 .98、1.2 0、1.2 8u/ m l,呈逐渐升高的趋势。溃疡型胃癌 5′- NT活性(0 .96 u/ ml)低于肿块型 (1.12 u/ m l)和浸润型 (1.4 0 u/ ml)。 期胃癌 5′- NT(1.5 3u/ ml)高于 期 (0 .83u/ m l)、 期 (0 .98u/ ml)和 期 (1.0 3u/ m l) (P<0 .0 5 )。结论　胃癌患者血清 5′- NT活性明显较正常人降低 ,其酶活性的变化与胃癌的形态、生长部位及进展程度有一定的相关     

重症急性胰腺炎并发上下消化道出血的病因和处理

重症急性胰腺炎（SAP）是临床常见的病死率很高的急腹症。病人主要死于早期的休克、多脏器功能衰竭和全身感染，以及残余感染期的出血和感染相关的并发症。SAP并发致死出血的发生率在1．2％～14．5％，主要表现为消化道、腹腔以及腹膜后出血。SAP病人消化道出血可表现为突发腹痛、腹胀、心动过速和低血压，但有时也表现为慢性间断性出血。SAP并发消化道出血的常见病因包括：应激性溃疡出血、胰源性门静脉高压症出血、胰腺脓肿或假性囊肿穿破消化道引发的出血。     

The effects of hyperthyroidism on oesophageal motility.

This study, evaluating the effects of hyperthyroidism (HT) in oesophageal motility, depended on an oesophageal radionuclide transit test. A modified standard method was used to calculate: (a) total mean transit time (MTT), (b) residual fraction (RF) and (c) retrograde index (RI) in a supine position. Eighteen untreated patients with HT and 25 normal volunteers (NV) with a similar age distribution were included in this study. The results showed that oesophageal motility in patients with HT was worse than in the normal controls (P < 0.05 by Student's t-test). The correlation of MTT, RF and RI with size and function of thyroid glands in the patients with HT were calculated to explain the effects of HT in oesophageal motility. The results showed that neither the size nor the function of the thyroid glands in HT affected oesophageal motility.     

Mediating effects of social support on firefighters' sense of community and perceptions of care

This study examined the relationship between psychological sense of community, social‐support networks, and care‐giver stress and satisfaction among firefighters. No significant gender differences were obtained, but zero‐order correlates demonstrated significant relationships among all four variables. In examining the mediating effects of social‐support satisfaction, partial mediation for psychological sense of community on care‐giver satisfaction was determined, as well as full mediation for psychological sense of community on care‐giver stress. Therefore, firefighters who are satisfied with the support they receive may experience less stress with their care giving than those who experience low levels of support satisfaction. Future studies should assess these relationships more extensively in other areas of civic responsibility among public‐service employees to delineate effective support avenues. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 121–126, 2004.     

The utilization of traditional Chinese medicine and associated factors in Taiwan in 2002

Background Previous studies have noted that there is a high utilization rate of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) services in Taiwan, China and in western countries, but few studies investigated factors associated with the utilization of TCM in Taiwan. This study analyzes the utilization rate and the factors associated with the utilization of TGM in Taiwan. Methods Data for this study were from the 2002 HPKAP Survey that conducted the face-to-face questionnaire interviews of people aged 15 years and over from October 2002 to March 2003 in Taiwan. This study analyzed the utilization of TCM outpatient services, including admission to the hospital and clinic visits. Results A total of 26 755 participants completed the survey in the six-month period. The data revealed that 10.4% of participants had utilized TCM services in the past one month while 4.2% of participants utilized TCM only (without using Western medicine outpatient services (WM) or Folk therapy (F'I')). The average visits of TCM services per patient was higher among people who had utilized TCM and FT services (2.68 visits) than among those who had utilized WM and FT services (2.15 visits) or TCM services alone (2.15 visits) during the previous one month. Younger people (odds ratio OR= 1.78, 95%C/= 1.47-2.16), women (compared with men), and people with higher education levels (OR = 1.58, 95%CI =1.25-1.98) were more likely to visit TCM than compared groups. People with self-reported poor health status (OR = 2.07,95%CI = 1.76-2.44) and people who exercise regularly (OR = 1.17, 95%CI = 1.07-1.27) had higher ORs to visit TCM service than comparison group.Conclusions There is a high utilization of TCM in Taiwan. Further studies are needed to investigate the related factors and determinants between the utilization of TCM and the utilization of FT in Taiwan.     

腹腔镜胆囊切除术后钛夹在腹腔内异位的观察

目的　观察腹腔镜胆囊切除术 (LaparoscopicCholecystectomy ,L .C)后钛夹在腹腔内异位。方法　前瞻性对2 0 0 2年 1～ 5月间 6 0例L .C病人进行追踪观察临床表现 ,采用B超、腹部X线检查等方法 ,观察钛夹位置的变化与肝外胆管的关系。结果　 6 0例L .C后病人中 5例钛夹发生位置改变。结论　①钛夹在体内 ,对胆道无压迫、无胆漏 ;②观察钛夹异位 ,以采用B超为最简单、经济的方法。