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Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has become an important part of the health system in the Sultanate of Oman. Although there is no independent law, the local health department has implemented the administrative measures such as the admittance assessment system of TCM doctors and the standardized examination and approval of TCM clinics. The development of TCM in the Sultanate of Oman is supported by the policies of the two governments, with the characteristics likemedical cooperation starting with high-level personnel, the cooperation in economy, trade and medical treatment, TCM and local traditional medicine showing inclusive with good base, and the advantages of TCM theory and treatment meeting the needs of the local medical market. The prospect of cooperation in TCM market is broad. It is suggested that the local government should promote the legislation of traditional medicine and improve the admittance system of practitioners. China needs to promote the formulation of international standards of TCM and optimize the cooperation platform of TCM by using Internet and other technologies. The practitioners in China need to carry out medical activities on the premise of understanding and respecting the local cultural background.In order to promote the development of TCM in Arab countries, the Sultanate of Oman will radiate the whole Middle East through the above strategies.
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Human mobility was associated with epidemic changes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China, where strict public health interventions reduced human mobility and COVID-19 epidemics. But its association with COVID-19 epidemics in the European Union (EU) is unclear. In this quasi-experimental study, we modelled the temporal trends in human mobility and epidemics of COVID-19 in the 27 EU states between January 15 and May 9, 2020. COVID-19 and human mobility had 3 trend-segments, including an upward trend in COVID-19 daily incidence and a downward trend in most human mobilities in the middle segment. Compared with the EU states farther from Italy, the state-wide lockdown dates were more likely linked to turning points of human mobilities in the EU states closer to Italy, which were also more likely linked to second turning points of COVID-19 epidemics. Among the examined human mobilities, the second turning points in driving mobility and the first turning points in parks mobility were the best factors that connected lockdown dates and COVID-19 epidemics in the EU states closer to Italy. Our findings highlight the state- and mobility-heterogeneity in the associations of public health interventions and human mobility with changes of COVID-19 epidemics in the EU states.
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Background and ObjectivesThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infected more than 586,000 patients in the U.S. However, its daily incidence and deaths in the U.S. are poorly understood. Internet search interest was found correlated with COVID-19 daily incidence in China, but not yet applied to the U.S. Therefore, we examined the association of internet search-interest with COVID-19 daily incidence and deaths in the U.S. MethodsWe extracted the COVDI-19 daily incidence and death data in the U.S. from two population-based datasets. The search interest of COVID-19 related terms was obtained using Google Trends. Pearson correlation test and general linear model were used to examine correlations and predict future trends, respectively. ResultsThere were 555,245 new cases and 22,019 deaths of COVID-19 reported in the U.S. from March 1 to April 12, 2020. The search interest of COVID, "COVID pneumonia," and "COVID heart" were correlated with COVDI-19 daily incidence with [~]12-day of delay (Pearsons r=0.978, 0.978 and 0.979, respectively) and deaths with 19-day of delay (Pearsons r=0.963, 0.958 and 0.970, respectively). The COVID-19 daily incidence and deaths appeared to both peak on April 10. The 4-day follow-up with prospectively collected data showed moderate to good accuracies for predicting new cases (Pearsons r=-0.641 to -0.833) and poor to good accuracies for daily new deaths (Pearsons r=0.365 to 0.935). ConclusionsSearch terms related to COVID-19 are highly correlated with the trends in COVID-19 daily incidence and deaths in the U.S. The prediction-models based on the search interest trend reached moderate to good accuracies.
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BackgroundThe recent outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has infected tens of thousands of patients in China. Studies have forecasted future trends of the incidence of 2019-nCoV infection, but appeared unsuccessful. Farrs law is a classic epidemiology theory/practice for predicting epidemics. Therefore, we used and validated a model based on Farrs law to predict the daily-incidence of 2019-nCoV infection in China and 2 regions of high-incidence. MethodsWe extracted the 2019-nCoV incidence data of China, Hubei Province and Wuhan City from websites of the Chinese and Hubei health commissions. A model based on Farrs law was developed using the data available on Feb. 8, 2020, and used to predict daily-incidence of 2019-nCoV infection in China, Hubei Province and Wuhan City afterward. ResultsWe observed 50,995 (37001 on or before Feb. 8) incident cases in China from January 16 to February 15, 2020. The daily-incidence has peaked in China, Hubei Providence and Wuhan City, but with different downward slopes. If no major changes occur, our model shows that the daily-incidence of 2019-nCoV will drop to single-digit by February 25 for China and Hubei Province, but by March 8 for Wuhan city. However, predicted 75% confidence intervals of daily-incidence in all 3 regions of interest had an upward trend. The predicted trends overall match the prospectively-collected data, confirming usefulness of these models. ConclusionsThis study shows the daily-incidence of 2019-nCoV in China, Hubei Province and Wuhan City has reached the peak and was decreasing. However, there is a possibility of upward trend.
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Objective To explore the illness experience and perspectives of youth patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in China. Methods The research was conducted following phenomenological approach of qualitative research. Twelve patients with SLE were selected through purposive sampling method.The interviewer conducted hour-long semi-structured interviews according to the proposed interview outline.Data were analyzed based on Colaizzi phenomenological research method. Results Three themes were identified, including emotional experience since illness, SLE related limitations, and perceived stigma. Conclusions There exists a dynamic variation in disease related experience of young SLE patients.Understanding the feelings of those patients can help eliminate the negative factors so as to provide effective nursing intervention for patients and improve the quality of young patients′life with long-term living.
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Objective To assess the value of serum amyloid A (SAA) in patients with acute asthma attack. Methods Sixty-four asthmatic patients in acute phase and 20 healthy individuals were included. The asthmatic patients were divided into bacterial infection-induced group and non-bacterial infection-induced group. Lung function test and chest X-rays test were conducted And inflammatory cell counts , serum SAA and CRP levels were measured. SAA were compared among subgroups of asthmatic patients and healthy controls and the diagnostic value of SAA to distinguish bacterial infection-induced asthma was estimated. Results SAA of both asthma subgroups were significantly higher when compared with the healthy individuals, and it was higher in bacterial infection-induced group than that in non-bacterial infection-induced group. In terms of ROC curve , AUC was 0.966 for SAA to distinguish merging bacterium infection, and the cut-off value was 36.67mg/L with sensitivity of 92.3% and specificity of 88.2%. Conclusions SAA increases in patients during acute asthma attack, and particularlymore obviously in bacterial infection-induced patients. It may be used as a reliable biomarker to distinguish merging bacterium infection during acute asthma attack.
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Obiective To explore the dynamics of tidal breathing pulmonary function in infants with recurrent wheeze and its clinical signiifcance. Methods Eighty (80) infants with recurrent wheeze from October 2013 to February 2014 were enrolled and divided into asthma predictive index positive (n=25) and asthma predictive negative (n=55) groups, and another 20 healthy children were enrolled as control group. Tidal breath pulmonary function at the time of admission (acute phase), leaving hospital (remission phase), and a week after discharge (admission phase) were tested, the ratio of time taken to reach peak expiratory lfow to total expiratory time(TPTEF/TE)and ratio of peak expiratory volume to total expiratory volume(VPEF/VE) between groups were compared. Results From acute phase and remission phase to admission phase, TPTEF/TE, VPEF/VE were elevated in positive group and negative group showing signiifcant statistical difference between phases (P=0.000). In acute phase, TPTEF/TE, VPEF/VE showed no statistical difference (P>0.05) between positive group and negative group, when compared with control group, TPTEF/TE, VPEF/VE were signiifcantly lower in positive and negative groups than that in control group (P0.05), but significantly higher than that in positive group (P<0.05). Conclusions Lung function impairment duration was longer in asthma predictive index positive children than in asthma predictive index negative children. The tidal breathing pulmonary function test can provide objective clinical indicators for infants with recurrent wheeze to predict asthma.
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Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of using high-fidelity simulator (HFS) in medical training of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).Methods The randomized controlled trials (RCTs),quasi-randomized controlled trials (q-RCTs) about comparing HFS with traditional teaching methods in medical training of CPR were searched from Cochrane Library,Pubmed,Web of Knowledge,CNKI,CBM and Wanfang Data.The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed and the valid data were extracted.Meta-analysis was conducted with the Cochrane Collaboration RevMan 5.0.Results Ten q-RCTs and one RCT were included.The quality of the studies were relatively low.Meta-analysis showed that compared with the traditional teaching method,high-fidelity simulation in medical training of CPR had no statistically significant differences in mastering the theoretical knowledge,but had statistically significant differences in mastering the CPR skills.Conclusions HFS in medical training of CPR skills is positive and effective,superior to the traditional teaching methods,but in terms of theoretical knowledge and satisfaction,self-confidence,more researches still need to be further confirmed.
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This study examined the effect of intensive insulin therapy on immune function and inflammatory factors at the early phase after severe trauma. At day 1, 3, 5, 7 after admission, subsets of CD4(+) helper T lymphocytes (Th1/Th2) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR expression on CD14(+) monocytes were flow cytometrically measured. Levels of cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and other immunity markers, such as IgA, IgG, IgM, C3, C4 and C reaction protein (CRP) were examined in two groups. The results showed that TNF-α, IL-6 and CRP levels in the intensive insulin therapy group were significantly lower than those in the conventional therapy group, whereas IL-10 levels were substantially increased after intensive insulin therapy. C3 level at day 3, 5, 7 and C4 levels at day 5, 7 were lower in the intensive therapy group than in the conventional therapy group. Th1/Th2 ratios decreased gradually over time in both groups, and were much lower at day 3, 5, 7 in intensive therapy group. There were significant differences among day 3 to day 7 after admission in HLA-DR expression in CD14(+) monocytes. It was concluded that the intensive insulin therapy could decrease pro-inflammatory cytokines and increase anti-inflammatory cytokines in the elderly suffering from severe trauma, at the same time, with complement recovery being delayed. Moreover, intensive insulin therapy promoted immune suppression and, therefore, measures need be taken to address the issue.
Subject(s)
Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Cytokines , Allergy and Immunology , Hyperglycemia , Drug Therapy , Allergy and Immunology , Hypoglycemic Agents , Therapeutic Uses , Immunity, Innate , Allergy and Immunology , Immunologic Factors , Allergy and Immunology , Insulin , Therapeutic Uses , Treatment Outcome , Wounds and Injuries , Drug Therapy , Allergy and ImmunologyABSTRACT
This study examined the effect of intensive insulin therapy on immune function and inflammatory factors at the early phase after severe trauma. At day 1, 3, 5, 7 after admission, subsets of CD4(+) helper T lymphocytes (Th1/Th2) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR expression on CD14(+) monocytes were flow cytometrically measured. Levels of cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and other immunity markers, such as IgA, IgG, IgM, C3, C4 and C reaction protein (CRP) were examined in two groups. The results showed that TNF-α, IL-6 and CRP levels in the intensive insulin therapy group were significantly lower than those in the conventional therapy group, whereas IL-10 levels were substantially increased after intensive insulin therapy. C3 level at day 3, 5, 7 and C4 levels at day 5, 7 were lower in the intensive therapy group than in the conventional therapy group. Th1/Th2 ratios decreased gradually over time in both groups, and were much lower at day 3, 5, 7 in intensive therapy group. There were significant differences among day 3 to day 7 after admission in HLA-DR expression in CD14(+) monocytes. It was concluded that the intensive insulin therapy could decrease pro-inflammatory cytokines and increase anti-inflammatory cytokines in the elderly suffering from severe trauma, at the same time, with complement recovery being delayed. Moreover, intensive insulin therapy promoted immune suppression and, therefore, measures need be taken to address the issue.
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ObjectiveTo compare the therapeutic effect, adverse effects and safety of leflunomide (LEF)and cyclophosphamide(CTX) on lupus nephritis(LN). Methods43 patients with reactive LN were randomly divided into two groups. Based on hormone application,22 cases in LEF group were given LEF orally and 21 cases in CTX group were given CTX intravenous drip discontinuously. They were followed up for six months. The related indexes and possible concomitant adverse effects were detected. ResultsThe total effective rate in LEF group was 81.8％ and that in CTX group was 85.7％. The tolerance in LEF group was better and 3 cases had adverse effects. 13 cases in CTX group had adverse effects. ConclusionLEF had the same efficacy as CTX in the LN therapy, but the tolerance is better and the side effects are minor than CTX.
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Objective To investigate the clinical features of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the aged.Methods The clinical features and inflammatory index of 19 aged patients with RA were retrospectively analyzed and compared with those of 103 young patients with RA. Results The acute onset was ocurred in 11 cases in EORA group(11/19,57.9%) ,32 cases in MRA group (32/103,31.1%), there was sighicant difference two groups (P ＜0. 05). There were 10 cases with intertitial lung disense in EORA group(52.6%) ,27 cases(26.2%) in MRA group.There were no statistical differenes between two groups in erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor, c-reactive,EORA incidence rate in male and female. Conclusions In comparison with MRA group,the onset of disease in patients of EORA group was more acute than that of MRA,it had higher degree of disease activity. The commonly seen extra-joint manifestation were feeble and interstitial disease lung. Early diagnosis and treatmentof EORA was favor for the prevention of deterioration of this disease.
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Objective To explore the problems which have occurred in the basal living nursing for severe in-bed patients, and then map out the countermeasures. Methods Using retrospective study analyzed the condition of basal living nursing for severe in-bed patients from 2003 to 2004, and then summarized the existed problems, mapped out the countermeasures and using them in the course of future nursing. Compare the quality of nursing before and after using these new nursing methods. Results The quality of nursing and the contentment ratio of patients when using new nursing method were significant higher than before, P
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OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical character and risk factor of nosocomial lower respiratory tract(infection)(NLRTI) due to Burkholderia cepacia in intensive care units(ICU) and discuss how to control infection.METHODS The clinical data of 37 cases were reviewed and analyzed,and 43 cases with non-B.cepacia NLRTI served as control group.RESULTS The difference in ICU stay time,mechanical ventilation,bronchoscopy,H_2-receptor blocker/antacid,use of antibiotics≥2 kinds and vein catheter between patients with and without B.cepacia(NLRTI) was statistically significant.CONCLUSIONS ICU stay time,mechanical ventilation,bronchoscopy,(H_2-receptor) blocker/antacid,use of antibiotics≥2 kinds and vein catheter are risk factors of B.cepacia NLRTI.Susceptibility of antibiotics to B.cepacia showed multidrug resistance to which should be paid attention in ICU,respiratory tract invasive operation limitation,medical facility sterilization and rational use of antibiotics are very important.
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Objective To investigate the feasibility of searching for proteins which interact with intracellular domain of hematopoietic growth factor receptors using yeast two-hybrid system. Methods RT-PCR method was performed to amplify the genes of intracellular domains of G-CSF receptor and EPO receptor in NFS-60 and BET-2 cells of mice. The genes were cloned into yeast expression plasmid pGBKT7 vector,and then transformed into yeast AH109. The yeast proteins were isolated and analyzed with Western blotting. Transcriptional activation was analyzed by the ?-galactosidase colony-lift filter assay. Results The intracellular domains of G-CSF receptor and EPO receptor genes were successfully cloned into pGBKT7 vector. The results of Western blotting assay showed that both proteins were expressed in the yeast cells. The ?-galactosidase colony-lift filter assay demonstrated that G-CSF receptor alone had no activity of transcriptional activation,while the EPO receptor alone could activate transcription. Conclusion The findings suggested that intracellular domain of G-CSF receptor could be used as a bait to find interacting proteins using yeast two-hybrid system,while that of the EPO receptor could not. Therefore the system could not be applied to all hematopoietic factor receptor.
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Objective To evaluate the effect of diets rich in Ruditapes philippinarum on the development of atherosclerosis. Methods The rabbits were fed with normal forage or high lipid diet with a daily supplement of Ruditapes philippinarum for 8 weeks respectively. Serum lipid, the area of atherosclerotic plaque and IMT were analysed.Results Compared with control group, serum lipid profiles didn't change obviously and atherosclerotic lesion was not observed in group fed with a supplement of RP. Compared with model group, the concentration of serum TC, TG and LDL C/HDL C decreased significantly, while the concentration of serum HDL C increased significantly in group fed with high lipid forage and a supplement of RP (p
