Thinking on ultrasonography practice in overseas medical service on hospital ship during “Mission Harmony-2017” task / 第二军医大学学报

“Ark Peace” is a modern hospital ship for marine medical rescue, and is taken as “the tertiary academic hospital floating on the sea”. It plays an important role in the ocean-going medical support and military diplomacy of the Chinese Navy. Ultrasound diagnosis, as an indispensable part of hospital ship, provides a solid guarantee for medical services. We summarized our experience on the equipment configuration, staff preparation, reporting system improvement, quality control management and introduction of new technologies on hospital ship during “Mission Harmony-2017” task, and put forward some suggestions for improving the comprehensive diagnosis and medical treatment ability and carrying out diversified military tasks in the future.

Lentivirus-mediated microRNA-124 gene-modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation promotes the repair of spinal cord injury in rats

Our study aims to explore the effects of lentivirus-mediated microRNA-124 (miR-124) gene-modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation on the repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats. BMSCs were isolated from the bone marrow of rats. The target gene miR-124 was identified using a luciferase-reporter gene assay. Seventy-two rats were selected for construction of the SCI model, and the rats were randomly divided into the blank group, sham group, SCI group, negative control (NC) group, overexpressed miR-124 group and si-PDXK group. The mRNA expression of miR-124 and the mRNA and protein expression of pyridoxal kinase (PDXK) were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. The locomotor capacity of the rats was evaluated using the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scale. Brdu, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), neurofilament (NF) and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) were detected using immunohistochemistry. The expression levels of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), prostacyclin (PGI2) and gangliosides (GM) were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. PDXK was identified as the target gene of miR-124. The overexpressed miR-124 group exhibited higher miR-124 expression than the SCI, NC and si-PDXK groups. Compared with the SCI and NC groups, the PDXK expression was downregulated in the overexpressed miR-124 and si-PDXK groups, and the BBB scores were significantly increased 7, 21 and 35 days after transplantation. The double-labeled positive cell densities (Brdu+NSE/NF/MAP2) and the expression levels of TRH, PGI2 and GM in the overexpressed miR-124 group were significantly higher than those in the NC and SCI groups. These results indicated that miR-124 targeted PDXK to accelerate the differentiation of BMSCs into neurocytes and promote SCI repair.

Values of non-vascular contrast-enhanced ultrasound in guiding percutaneous drainage of upper gastrointestinal fistulas / 第二军医大学学报

Objective: To assess the value of non-vascular contrast-enhanced ultrasound (oral contrast-enhanced ultrasound, fistula cavity contrast-enhanced ultrasound, etc.) in guiding percutaneous drainage of the upper gastrointestinal fistulas. Methods: Thirteen patients with suppurative pleuro-esophageal fistulas following esophagus-anastomosis/Billroth I stomach-anastomosis and two patients with gastric fistulas combined with severe infection underwent percutaneous drainage. Before and during the procedure, oral contrast-enhanced ultrasound and fistula cavity contrast-enhanced ultrasound scanning were conducted to identify the position of fistulas, determine the safe approach for a radical catheterization drainage. Results: The actual positions of the upper gastrointestinal fistulas in the 13 patients were identified for puncturing after preoperative oral contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Two of the 13 patients did not receive puncturation due to lack of safe approach. During the operation, oral contrast-enhanced ultrasound maintained the fistula cavity enhanced for a long time, ascertaining a safe approach. Fistula cavity contrast-enhanced ultrasound could be used to evaluate the accuracy of percutaneous drainage, ascertain the location of catheter tip for more effective drainage, and estimate the efficacy of interventions. Conclusion: Non-vascular contrast-enhanced ultrasound is valuable in guiding percutaneous drainage for upper gastrointestinal fistulas, which makes for the shortcomings of the conventional ultrasonic imaging.

Influence of different frequencies of acupuncture on therapeutic effect in patients with cerebral infarction at convalescence / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the influence of different frequencies of acupuncture on the therapeutic effect in patients with cerebral infarction at convalescence.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety-seven cases were randomly divided into an observation group I (n = 50) and an observation group II (n = 47). They were treated with same Chinese drugs and western medicine and electroacupuncture at Jiquan (HT 1), Quchi (LI 11), Hegu (LI 4), Huantiao (GB 30), etc. The observation group I was treated twice each day and the observation group II once each day. After treatment of 30 days, their therapeutic effects were observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total effective rate of 94.0% for improvement of limb activity in the observation group I was better than 78.7% in the observation group II (P < 0.05); the therapeutic effects for choking when taking water, dysphagia, vague mind and slurred speech were similar in the two groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The therapeutic effect of acupuncture twice each day on cerebral infarction at convalescence is superior to that of once daily.</p>

Advances of studies on traditional moxibustion therapy for treatment of cancer / 中国针灸

In recent years, the studies on moxibustion for treatment of cancer are increasing day by day, with some advances. In the paper, clinical and experimental studies on traditional moxibustion for treatment of cancer and the mechanisms are reviewed, and some problems and shortcomings are put forward.