Effects and treatment methods of acupuncture and herbal medicine for premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual dysphoric disorder: systematic review

BACKGROUND: During their reproductive years about 10% of women experience some kind of symptoms before menstruation (PMS) in a degree that affects their quality of life (QOL). Acupuncture and herbal medicine has been a recent favorable therapeutic approach. Thus we aimed to review the effects of acupuncture and herbal medicine in the past decade as a preceding research in order to further investigate the most effective Korean Medicine treatment for PMS/PMDD. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted using electronic databases on studies published between 2002 and 2012. Our review included randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) of acupuncture and herbal medicine for PMS/PMDD. Interventions include acupuncture or herbal medicine. Clinical information including statistical tests was extracted from the articles and summarized in tabular form or in the text. Study outcomes were presented as the rate of improvement (%) and/or end-of-treatment scores. RESULTS: The search yielded 19 studies. In screening the RCTs, 8 studies in acupuncture and 11 studies in herbal medicine that matched the criteria were identified. Different acupuncture techniques including traditional acupuncture, hand acupuncture and moxibustion, and traditional acupuncture technique with auricular points, have been selected for analysis. In herbal medicine, studies on Vitex Agnus castus, Hypericum perforatum, Xiao yao san, Elsholtzia splendens, Cirsium japonicum, and Gingko biloba L. were identified. Experimental groups with Acupuncture and herbal medicine treatment (all herbal medicine except Cirsium japonicum) had significantly improved results regarding PMS/PMDD. CONCLUSIONS: Limited evidence supports the efficacy of alternative medicinal interventions such as acupuncture and herbal medicine in controlling premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Acupuncture and herbal medicine treatments for premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder showed a 50% or better reduction of symptoms compared to the initial state. In both acupuncture and herbal medical interventions, there have been no serious adverse events reported, proving the safety of the interventions while most of the interventions provided over 50% relief of symptoms associated with PMS/PMDD. Stricter diagnostic criteria may have excluded many participants from some studies. Also, depending on the severity of symptoms, the rate of improvement in the outcomes of the studies may have greatly differed

Short-term effects of Theracurmin dose and exercise type on pain, walking ability, and muscle function in patients with knee osteoarthritis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the short-term of Theracurmin dose and exercise type on pain, walking ability, and muscle function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Twenty-five patients with knee osteoarthritis randomly selected to Theracurmin intake (T) group and Theracurmin in combined with exercise (T+E) group. T group (n= 13) was taken orally a capsule of 700 mg, 3 times per day, (total 2,100 mg, 35 mg/kg-body weight). T+E group (n= 12) performed aerobic training of 30-min walking and weight training for increasing leg muscular strength. After treatment, the number of steps, muscle mass, range of motion of knee, and the muscle strength in flexion and extension significantly increased. The percent body fat, visual analogue scale, The Western Ontario and McMaster score, centers of pressure with closed eye, 10-m walking ability, stair ascending speed were significantly decreased after treatment. Although no difference observed between the T and T+E groups, the 4-week intake of Theracurmin with and without exercise appeared to be effective in reducing the pain and enhancing muscular and balancing function. Therefore, Theracurmin intake for early symptoms and additional exercise as symptoms alleviate might be an effective way of delaying and managing osteoarthritis, and additional studies investigating the effects of Theracurmin and exercise on osteoarthritis could be beneficial

Observation and analysis of low temperature leak characteristics of the O-ring for hydrogen electric vehicles

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Optimalne potrebe juvenilnih morskih grgeča sebastes schlegeli u proteinima i lipidima

U ovom istraživanju su analizirane optimalne potrebe juvenilnih morskih grgeča Sebastes schlegeli u proteinima i lipidima. 810 juvenilnih riba je izabrano po principu slučajnosti i distribuirano u 27 tankova od po 50 L sa protočnih sistemom. Pripremljeno je 9 eksperimentalnih smeša u vidu 3x3 faktorijalne eksperimentalne postavke: tri nivoa proteina (45, 50 i 55%) x tri nivoa lipida (11, 15 i 19%). Nivo proteina je imao uticaj na prirast riba, dok nivo lipida nije. Prirast riba hranjenih smešom u odnosu 50P-15L (50% proteina i 15% lipida) je bio veći nego prirast riba hranjenih smešama sa 45% proteina, bez obzira na nivo lipida, ali je bio isti kao kod riba hranjenih sa smešama 50P-11L, 50P-19L, 55P-11L, 55P-15L i 55P-19L. Stopa efikasnosti hrane (FER) riba je bila pod uticajem proteina u hrani ali ne i nivoa lipida. Stopa efikasnosti proteina (PER) riba je takođe bila pod uticajem proteina u hrani ali ne i nivoa lipida. Može se zaključiti da je za juvenilne Sebastes schlegeli optimalan nivo proteina i lipida za dobar prirast i iskoristljivost hrane (PER and NRE) 50% i 15% odnosno 45% i 19%, dok je optimalan odnos proteina i energije 27.4 i 23.9 mg protein/kJ

Pituitary Carcinoma with Mandibular Metastasis: A Case Report

Pituitary carcinomas are rare primary adenohypophyseal tumors with cerebrospinal or extracranial metastasis. The present case, the first report of the disease in Korea, involved a 36-yr-old woman who presented with a 3-week history of headache. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 2.5-cm sellar and suprasellar mass showing heterogeneous enhancement with suspicious invasion of both cavernous sinuses. The patient underwent gross-total resection. The tumor cells were composed of polygonal cells singly or in variable-sized nests. The nuclei were large and round with prominent nucleoli. The cytoplasms was acidophilic and granular. Marked pleomorphism and frequent mitoses (3 per 10 HPFs) were found. By immunohistochemistry, tumor cells were strongly positive for prolactin, but negative for ACTH and GH. Additional immunostainings for cytokeratin, vimentin, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were negative. After the surgery, the patient received radiotherapy because of the atypical histologic features. The prolactin level fell from 123.17 ng/mL to 5.17 ng/mL after surgery. Nine months after the initial diagnosis, the patient died from mandibular metastasis associated with the pituitary carcinoma

Synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes by arc-jet plasma

author's versionBoron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are synthesized by the arc-jet plasma of high temperature (5000 – 20000 K), which is generated by a dc non-transferred plasma torch with a mixture of argon and nitrogen gas. The BNNTs produced by the thermal plasma process are resulted from the chemical reaction of a precursor material of hexagonal boron nitride with catalytic metal powders of Ni and Y introduced into the hot arc-jet plasma flame, which is ejected inside the cylindrical carbon reactor. The synthesized materials are evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). These material analyses reveal that multi-walled nanobubes including single- and double-walled ons with high crystallinity are synthesized in quantity, and that the diameter of nanotubes is estimated in the range of 3 – 10 nm.Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP

Prevalence, Distribution, and Concomitance of Whole-Spine Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament and Ossification of the Ligament Flavum in South Koreans: A Whole-Spine-CT-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Objective No studies assessing the prevalence of ossification of the spinal ligament were conducted using whole-spine positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT) in healthy Koreans. We aimed to determine the prevalence of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) and ossification of the ligament flavum (OLF) in healthy Koreans using whole-body PET-CT. Methods We reviewed whole-body PET-CT images captured during general health checkups at the General Health Promotion Center of our institution from January 2015 to 2020. OPLL and OLF were identified by the presence of heterotopic ossification in the posterior longitudinal ligament and ligament flavum on axial and sagittal PET-CT images. Results A total of 1,934 adults (1,645 men, 289 women) were included. The mean age was 48.05 years (range, 28–86 years). Among the 1,934 patients, 173 had OPLL (8.9%). The most commonly involved cervical vertebra levels arranged according to frequency were C4, C5, C3, and C6. OLF was observed in 125 patients (6.5%). The most commonly involved thoracic levels were T10, T11, and T5. The prevalence of OPLL and OLF was the highest in patients aged 60–69 years. Among the C-OPLL patients, 15.1% had T-OPLL, 5.0% had L-OPLL, and 25.8% had T-OLF. Conclusion Our study revealed the prevalence of OPLL and OLF in healthy Korean subjects. It was consistent with that in other Asian countries. The presence of OPLL and OLF at most locations correlated with the presence or absence of spinal ossification at other locations