Osteopathic treatment in patients with primary dysmenorrhoea: A randomised controlled trial

ObjectivesTo investigate the effectiveness of a series of osteopathic treatments in patients with pain due to primary dysmenorrhoea.Design and settingsMulti-centered randomised controlled trial with an osteopathic intervention group and an untreated (“waiting list”) control group.SubjectsWomen aged 14 years and older with a regular menstrual cycle, diagnosed with primary dysmenorrhoea.InterventionSix osteopathic treatments over a period of three menstrual cycles or no osteopathic treatment. At each treatment session, dysfunctional structures were tested and treated based on osteopathic principles. In both groups, pain medication on demand was allowed, but was documented.Outcome measuresPrimary outcome measures were average pain intensity (API) during menstruation, assessed by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and days of dysmenorrhoeal pain exceeding 50% of NRS maximum (DDP). Main secondary outcome measure was health-related quality of life.ResultsA total of 60 individuals (average age 33 years) were randomised, seven patients dropped out. API decreased in the intervention group from 4.6 to 1.9 (95%CI = −1.9 to −3.5), and from 4.3 to 4.2 in controls (95%CI = −0.7 to 0.5); between group difference of means (BGDoM): 2.6, 95%CI = 1.7 to 3.6; p < 0.005. DDP decreased from 2.2 to 0.2 days in the intervention group (95%CI = −2.5 to −1.3), and from 2.3 to 1.9 in controls (95%CI = −1.0 to 0.2); BGDoM 1.5; 95%CI = 0.6 to 2.3; p = 0.002. A positive impact on quality of life (physical component score) could be observed in the osteopathic treatment group only.ConclusionsA series of osteopathic treatments might be beneficial for women suffering from primary dysmenorrhoea.     

Facteurs de risque cardio-vasculaires en Algérie. Une analyse du sous-groupe de l’étude « Africa/Middle East Cardiovascular Epidemiological »

ObjectivesThis cross-sectional epidemiological study aimed at determining the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF; including obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, diabetes and smoking), among patients from the Algerian sub-population of the “Africa/Middle East Cardiovascular Epidemiological” study attending general practitioners at primary healthcare facilities, and stratified according to their environment (rural/urban), sex and age.Patients and methodsThe study sites, located in 10 wilayas (administrative regions), were situated in urban and rural areas (rural populations defined as living at least 50 km away from urban centres, or lacking access to suburban transport).ResultsFour hundred and ten subjects (262 female, 148 male) were enrolled; 287 subjects were from an urban environment and 123 from a rural environment. Mean age was 50.4 years. Ninety one point eight percent of patients had ≥ 1 CVRF; 48.2% had ≥ 3 CVRF. Prevalence for the different CVRF was: 61.7% for dyslipidaemia; 39.5% for hypertension; 25.0% for diabetes; 10.0% for smoking, 70.0% for abdominal obesity and 32.0% for a body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m².ConclusionThe high prevalence of all CVRF observed in the Algeria sub-group, especially among the rural population, should encourage us to develop a carefully planned strategy for primary prevention, opportunistic screening and early management, in both urban and rural settings, and with particular attention to young adults. These actions should involve all state bodies and those active in civil society, in order to guarantee full achievement of set goals.The ACE trial is registered under NCT01243138.     

Phytochemical analysis and mode of action against Candida glabrata of Paeonia emodi extracts

In the present study, we have evaluated the antifungal activity of the seed, root and leaf of Paeonia emodi (commonly known as Himalayan peony) in four common solvents (acetone, chloroform, methanol and water) against six fungal strains. The methanolic seed extract (MSE) showed promising antifungal activity against Candida albicans (6.25 mg/mL), Candida glabrata (3.12 mg/mL) and Candida parapsilosis (12.50 mg/mL) among all the fungal strains tested. Combination of the MSE with the well-known commercial antifungal drugs amphotericin B (Amp B), nystatin (NYS) and fluconazole (FLC) resulted in the killing of C. glabrata at non-inhibitory concentrations, i.e., 0.35 μg/mL for Amp B, 0.55 μg/mL for NYS and 1.19 μg/mL for FLC. Notably, MSE caused cell wall damage of C. glabrata cells, as confirmed by confocal microscopy, flowcytometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The MSE was fractionated by thin layer chromatography (TLC). TLC-bioautography was used to determine the active compounds present in the MSE. Column chromatography was used to separate the potential active compounds from the MSE. Furthermore, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) andfourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to identify the phytocomponents of the MSE. These experiments revealed 13-docosenamide/9-octadecenamide/trans-13-docosenamide (89.70%) as being the predominant compound using a chloroform/methanol solvent system for the separation. Interestingly, the MSE also exhibited less significant cytotoxicity at the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against mammalian cells (HeLa and HEK293). This study suggests that the MSE of P. emodi can be used for the treatment of C. glabrata infection.     

Quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3T based on the principle of reciprocity

Quantification of magnetic resonance spectroscopy signals using the phantom replacement method requires an adequate correction of differences between the acquisition of the reference signal in the phantom and the measurement in vivo. Applying the principle of reciprocity, sensitivity differences can be corrected at low field strength by measuring the RF transmitter gain needed to obtain a certain flip angle in the measured volume. However, at higher field strength the transmit sensitivity may vary from the reception sensitivity, which leads to wrongly estimated concentrations. To address this issue, a quantification approach based on the principle of reciprocity for use at 3T is proposed and validated thoroughly. In this approach, the RF transmitter gain is determined automatically using a volume‐selective power optimization and complemented with information from relative reception sensitivity maps derived from contrast‐minimized images to correct differences in transmission and reception sensitivity. In this way, a reliable measure of the local sensitivity was obtained. The proposed method is used to derive in vivo concentrations of brain metabolites and tissue water in two studies with different coil sets in a total of 40 healthy volunteers. Resulting molar concentrations are compared with results using internal water referencing (IWR) and Electric REference To access In vivo Concentrations (ERETIC). With the proposed method, changes in coil loading and regional sensitivity due to B₁ inhomogeneities are successfully corrected, as demonstrated in phantom and in vivo measurements. For the tissue water content, coefficients of variation between 2% and 3.5% were obtained (0.6–1.4% in a single subject). The coefficients of variation of the three major metabolites ranged from 3.4–14.5%. In general, the derived concentrations agree well with values estimated with IWR. Hence, the presented method is a valuable alternative for IWR, without the need for additional hardware such as ERETIC and with potential advantages in diseased tissue.     

我国人群细胞因子水平与抑郁症的相关性研究的系统评价

目的:系统评价我国人群细胞因子水平与抑郁症的相关性。方法:计算机检索PubMed、中国生物医学文献数据库、维普中文数据库、中国期刊全文数据库和万方数据库,收集研究国内细胞因子与抑郁症相关性的病例对照研究,由两名研究者按照纳入与排除标准筛选文献、提取资料和评价质量后,采用Rev Man 5.1.5统计软件进行Meta分析。结果:共纳入7项研究,合计577例患者,其中试验组331例,健康对照组246例。Meta分析结果显示,试验组患者白细胞介素(IL)-6浓度[WMD=13.71,95%CI(6.91,20.51),P<0.000]和IL-1β浓度[SMD=2.15,95%CI(1.04,3.26),P<0.000]均高于健康对照组,两组比较差异有统计学意义;而抑郁组患者IL-2浓度亦高于健康对照组,但两组比较差异无统计学意义。结论:我国人群患抑郁症与IL-6、IL-1β水平升高存在一定的相关性。由于本研究的局限性,IL-6、IL-1β浓度与抑郁症的发作性质、严重程度的定量关系等内容尚需开展更多高质量、大样本的研究。     

Orthogonal Design on Range Hood with Air Curtain and Its Effects on Kitchen Environment

Conventional range hoods cannot effectively prevent the oil fumes containing cooking-induced harmful material from escaping into the kitchen Air curtains and guide plates have been used in range hoods to reduce the escape of airborne emissions and heat, thereby improving the kitchen environment and the cook's degree of comfort. In this article, numerical simulations are used to study the effects of the jet velocity of an air curtain, the jet angle of the air curtain, the width of the jet slot, the area of the guide plate, and the exhaust rate of the range hood on the perceived temperature, the perceived concentration of oil fumes, the release temperature of oil fumes, and the concentration of escaped oil fumes in a kitchen. The orthogonal experiment results show that the exhaust rate of the range hood is the main factor influencing the fumes concentration and the temperature distribution in the kitchen. For the range hood examined in the present study, the optimum values of the exhaust rate, the jet velocity of the air curtain, the jet angle of the air curtain, the width of the jet slot, and the area of the guide plate are 10.5 m³/min, 1.5 m/s, ?5°, 4 mm, and 0.22 m², respectively, based on the results of the parametric study. In addition, the velocity field, temperature field, and oil fumes concentration field in the kitchen using the proposed range hood with the air curtain and guide plate are analyzed for those parameters. The study's results provide significant information needed for improving the kitchen environment.     

全麻联合腰丛-坐骨神经阻滞在老年髋关节置换术中的应用效果

目的观察全麻联合腰丛-坐骨神经阻滞在老年髋关节置换术中的临床疗效。方法将70例老年髋关节置换术患者随机分成试验组和对照组,对照组采用气管插管静脉全麻,而试验组采用全麻联合腰丛-坐骨神经阻滞,比较两组术中麻醉药用量及拔管前后生命体征变化。结果试验组患者的麻醉药物丙泊酚、芬太尼、维库溴铵、瑞芬太尼少于对照组(P0.05);试验组苏醒及拔管时间缩短,疼痛、躁动发生率减少(P0.05);试验组生命体征较对照组更为稳定(P0.05)。结论全麻联合腰丛-坐骨神经阻滞用于老年髋关节置换手术,用药少,能更好地维持患者的症状。