Systematic review and meta-analysis of effects of acupuncture on pain and function in non-specific low back pain.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of acupuncture for non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) through systematic review of published randomised controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: Studies were identified in electronic databases from their inception to February 2018, and were grouped according to the control interventions. The outcomes of interest were pain intensity and disability. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Cochrane risk-of-bias criteria and the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) checklist. The review was reported according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. RESULTS: 25 trials (n=7587 participants) were identified and included in a meta-analysis. The results showed that acupuncture was more effective at inducing pain relief than: no treatment (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.69, 95% CI -0.99 to -0.38); sham acupuncture in the immediate term (SMD -0.33, 95% CI -0.49 to -0.18), short term (SMD -0.47, 95% CI -0.77 to -0.17), and intermediate term (SMD -0.17, 95% CI -0.28 to -0.05); and usual care in the short term (SMD -1.07, 95% CI -1.81 to -0.33) and intermediate term (SMD -0.43, 95% CI -0.77 to -0.10). Also, adjunctive acupuncture with usual care was more effective than usual care alone at all time points studied. With regard to functional improvement, the analysis showed a significant difference between acupuncture and no treatment (SMD -0.94, 95% CI -1.57 to -0.30), whereas the other control therapies could not be assessed. CONCLUSION: We draw a cautious conclusion that acupuncture appears to be effective for NSLBP and that acupuncture may be an important supplement to usual care in the management of NSLBP.

Clinical features of pediatric patients with COVID-19: a report of two family cluster cases.

BACKGROUND: Coronovirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly across the globe. People of all ages are susceptible to COVID-19. However, literature reports on pediatric patients are limited. METHODS: To improve the recognition of COVID-19 infection in children, we retrospectively reviewed two confirmed pediatric cases from two family clusters. Both clinical features and laboratory examination results of the children and their family members were described. RESULTS: The two confirmed children only presented with mild respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms. Both of them had normal chest CT images. After general and symptomatic treatments, both children recovered quickly. Both families had travel histories to Hubei Province. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric patients with COVID-19 are mostly owing to family cluster or with a close contact history. Infected children have relatively milder clinical symptoms than infected adults. We should attach importance to early recognition, early diagnosis, and early treatment of infected children.

Cut-off Values of Diagnostic Indices to Detect Iron Deficiency in Chinese Breast-fed Infants.

Iron deficiency anemia is one of the most prevalent nutritional deficiency worldwide. The commonly used cut-off values for identifying iron deficiency are extrapolated from older children and may not be suitable for infants. Therefore, our study aimed to establish appropriate cut-off values for the evaluation of iron status in Chinese infants. Pregnant women who delivered at ⋝37 gestational weeks with normal iron status were recruited. Later, infants with normal birth weight and who were breastfed in the first 4 months were selected. Blood samples were collected to assess hemoglobin, serum ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor, mean corpuscular volume and free erythrocyte protoporphyrin. Cut-offs of all iron indices were determined as the limit of 95% confidence interval.

Utilization of parameters developed in layer-by-layer fabrication of protein-containing films for enzyme immobilization.

The layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly method has found a broad range of applications in biologically important materials. Developed upon experience based on polyelectrolyte systems, various types of biomolecules have been successfully incorporated into ultrathin films with thickness in the nanometer range. We employed orthogonal experimental design to analyze the factors influencing the buildup of protein-containing LbL ultrathin films, first selecting bovine serum albumin as the exemplary protein. Among the factors, we found that the protein concentration was the most influential factor, followed by protein solution pH. In comparison, the counter polyelectrolyte concentration and solution pH play smaller roles in affecting the film structure. In a preliminary attempt, we employed horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to fabricate ultrathin films and tested the enzymatic activity of these films. We found that the total enzymatic activity increased with more HRP incorporated until reaching four bilayers. After that, the total enzymatic activity became retarded, probably due to amplified diffusion resistance by the added assembly components. The immobilized HRP demonstrated diminished enzymatic activity while recycling. The suspected cause was assigned to the enzyme deactivation by relatively high H2O2 concentrations, employed for lower substrate detection limits. When a low H2O2 concentration was applied during the enzymatic activity measurements, the HRP LbL film maintained the activity level even after nine runs.

[The influence of preventive iron supplementation to iron nutritional status in breastfed infants].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effects to iron status who were given preventive iron supplements for two months from when they were breast-fed to four-month-old. METHODS: A total of 123 infants in four-month-old age who were breast-fed were randomly divided into iron supplementation group (63 cases) and control group (60 cases), iron supplementation group was supplied with low-dose iron (1 mg×kg⁻¹×d⁻¹) for two months with no intervention for control group. Blood samples were collected to test C reactive protein and iron status indicators in six-month-old age group infants, and the growth indices were measured and compared on the gender difference of iron status at and 6 months. RESULTS: After 2 months of low-dose iron supplementation, the hemoglobin of iron supplementation group (26 cases) increased about 5.5 g/L while the control group (34 cases) increases about 0.0 g/L (median), 95% confidence intervals were -7.0 - 13.0 g/L and -9.0 - 15.0 g/L, respectively. The hemoglobin increase of iron supplementation group was higher than the control group, the difference was statistically significant (u = -2.326, P < 0.05). The other iron nutritional status and the growth did not show any significant difference between iron supplementation group and control group (P > 0.05). At age 6 month, the MCV of the boys were (75.89 ± 3.34) fl, while the girls were (77.20 ± 3.17) fl. The boys had lower values of MCV than the girls, and the gender difference was statistically significant (t = 4.73, P < 0.05). The other iron nutritional status did not show any significant gender difference (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Low-dose iron supplementation of breast-fed infants at 4-month-old can increase the hemoglobin level when they were 6-month-old, and had no measurable side effect on growth.