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BACKGROUND: Apoptosis secondary to ischemia and hypoxia is the main cause of spinal cord dysfunction. Because of the decrease in atmospheric pressure, patients living on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are in a hypoxic environment, which is very unfavorable for the recovery of spinal cord injury. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can improve the postoperative function of patients with incomplete spinal cord injury, and its effect is better on the plateau than at normal altitudes.OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on traumatic spinal cord injury in patients living on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.METHODS: This prospective, open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial was performed at the Department of Spine Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, China. In total, 164 patients with incomplete traumatic spinal cord injury were equally and randomly assigned to a control group and a hyperbaric oxygen therapy group. Patients in the control group were treated with pedicle screw fixation and decompressive laminectomy. In addition to the surgical treatment performed in the control group, patients in the hyperbaric oxygen group underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy at 0.2 MPa once a day for four treatment courses. Ten treatment sessions constituted one course, and each course was separated by a 5- to 7-day rest interval. The primary outcome was the modified Barthel index to assess activities of daily living. The secondary outcomes were the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale grade, sensory score, and motor score. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, China (Approval number: QHC011K). Written informed consent was provided by a relative or legal representative of each patient after they had indicated that they fully understood the treatment plan. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The partial results demonstrated that after four treatment courses (55-61 days), the modified Barthel index and ASIA tactile, pain, and motor scores were higher in the hyperbaric oxygen group than in the control group. The ASIA grades were significantly different between the hyperbaric oxygen group and control group. The proportion of patients with ASIA grades D and E was higher in the hyperbaric oxygen group than in the control group. In this trial, we aim to determine the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on the treatment of incomplete traumatic spinal cord injury in patients living on the plateau and to provide clinical evidence for treating incomplete traumatic spinal cord injury in these patients.
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BACKGROUND:There are some poisonous and hazard materials released from decoration materials and office furniture that will deteriorate the air of office if the ventilation of air-condition system is not very good. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of newly decorated air-condition office to human health. DESIGN:A retrospective observational comparative study taking the office staff in newly decorated air-conditioned environment as the subjects and the office staff in natural ventilation environment with same decoration as the controls. SETTINGS:Occupational medicine department of a disease control and prevention center of a city. PARTICIPANTS:This study was conducted in the Department of Occupational Medicine of Dalian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention from April to May 2001.Inclusive criteria:office staff in a newly decorated and airconditioned telecommunication building of either sex;Exclusive criteria:people with acute or chronic disease history.Twenty-three office staff working in the airconditioned office was chosen as the observational group,the ratio of male to female was 12 to 11,aged from 24 to 51 with the mean age of 33.1 years old,average length of service of 14.2 years and average working length in air-conditioned office of 6.8 months.Other 23 office staff was randomly selected from natural ventilation office in the same building with the same decoration condition,the ratio of male to female was 10 to 13,aged from 22 to 58 with mean age of 36 years old, average length of service of 16.7 years and working length in this office for 8.2 months. INTERVENTIONS:To monitor the volatile organic compounds,hazard substance and microclimate in the decorated office with air-conditioner and conduct investigation to the health status of staff. Subjective symptoms between staff in different offices. RESULTS:The concentration of formaldehyde and ammonia exceeded the national hygienic standards in both air-conditioner and naturally ventilation offices,in which formaldehyde exceeded 6.1 and 2.3 times respectively while ammonia exceeded 8.5 and 2.3 times respectively.The illumination,assessment index of positive and negative ions and total bacteria in office with air-conditioner were lower than those of natural ventilation office (P< 0.01).The symptoms manifested in staff working in air-conditioned office such as dizziness,headache,chest pain,dry eye,decreased vision and menoxenia were more distinct than control group(P< 0.01).Dry mouth and hair losing were also more popular in air-conditioned group(P< 0.05). CONCLUSION:More attention should be paid to choosing environmental friendly building and decoration materials and office furniture when decorating.It is very important to make sure the ventilation of air-conditioner is normal and there is enough air change flow.
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Pancreas of 53 aborted fetuses ranging from 5 to 41 weeks were fixed in Bouin's fluid and embedded in paraffin, and the sections were stained with Alcian bluephloxine and Grimelius silver technique. The A, B and D cell of islet of Langerhans were demonstrated with immunohistochemical PAP method also. 14 pancreas among them were fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde and embedded in Epon 812, and observed with TEM. Typical A, B and D islet cells were observed with LM at 12 weeks of fetal age. Undifferentiated, differentiated and degenerated cells were distinguished in the pancreatic islets at 14 to 41 weeks of fetal age. The secretory granules of the exoerine cells were observed after 14 weeks of fetal age. The functional differentiation of endocrine cells precede that of exocrine cells. The morphometrical measurement testified that the endocrine portion of fetal pancreas was obviously larger than that of adult. This study provides some morphological data for the pancreas transplantation in clinical medicine.