從人牲祭祀看河伯在中國南北形象淫惡的統一性

河伯在中國古付扮演河神的角色，其中以《楚辭.河伯》的浪漫形象、《史記.滑稽列傳》的河伯取妻故事和《楚辭.天問》中河伯被羿射殺的故事留名後世。《楚辭.河伯》中的浪漫正面形象，一直與《史記.滑稽列傳》中的淫惡負面形象構成對比，故本報告希望能從人牲祭祀的角度閱讀，嘗上探討中國南北對河伯淫惡的形象的統一性。 人牲，也稱人祭，是用活人做犧牲，殺之以祭神或祖先。一般地說，人牲是供食的。 但《史記.滑稽列傳》中河伯取妻的故事中，同樣以活人做犧牲以祭河神，卻並非供食，而是供淫樂。本報告將先簡介河伯之名字、外形、所在地、河伯由來以及河伯絕跡於神話歷史，然後從祭祀的角度，解釋《楚辭.九歌》的作用和背後的意義，以析述《楚辭.河伯》中的故事並非人神戀，而是淫樂關係，繼而論說《史記.滑稽列傳》和《楚辭.天問》中河伯的淫惡形象

Bioassay-Guided Isolation of Cytotoxic Cycloartane Triterpenoid Glycosides from the Traditionally Used Medicinal Plant Leea indica

Leea indica is a medicinal plant used traditionally to cure cancer. In this study, the cytotoxic compounds of L. indica were isolated using bioassay-guided approach. Two cycloartane triterpenoid glycosides, mollic acid arabinoside (MAA) and mollic acid xyloside (MAX), were firstly isolated from L. indica. They inhibited the growth of Ca Ski cervical cancer cells with IC50 of 19.21 μM (MAA) and 33.33 μM (MAX). MRC5 normal cell line was used to calculate selectivity index. MAA and MAX were about 8 and 4 times more cytotoxic to Ca Ski cells compared to MRC5. The cytotoxicity of MAA was characterized by both cytostatic and cytocidal effects. MAA decreased the expression of proliferative cell nuclear antigen, increased sub-G1 cells, and arrested cells in S and G2/M phases. This study provides the evidence for the ethnomedicinal use of L. indica and paves the way for future mechanism studies on the anticancer effects of MAA

Preceding human metapneumovirus infection increases adherence of Streptococcus pneumoniae and severity of murine pneumococcal pneumonia

BackgroundCoinfection with respiratory virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae has been frequently reported in several epidemiologic studies. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of preceding human metapneumovirus (hMPV) inoculation on subsequent pneumococcal infection.MethodsHep-2 and A549 cells were infected with hMPV then inoculated with S. pneumoniae. Bacterial adhesion was measured using colony forming unit and cytometric-fluorescence assays. In vivo bacterial adhesion was examined in hMPV-infected mice after inoculation of fluorescence-conjugated S. pneumoniae. Pulmonary inflammation (bacterial titers, cytokine levels, and histopathology) of hMPV-infected mice was investigated after inoculation with S. pneumoniae.ResultsIn vitro results of bacterial infection with S. pneumoniae on A549 and Hep-2 monolayer cells showed that even though cellular adherence was variable among different serotypes, there was significantly enhanced bacterial adherence in A549 cells with preceding hMPV infection. In addition, in vivo study of hMPV-infected mice showed increased adhesion of S. pneumoniae on the bronchial epithelium with delayed bacterial clearance and exacerbated histopathology. Furthermore, mice with preceding hMPV infection showed repressed recruitment of airway neutrophils with decreased expression of neutrophil chemoattractants during pneumococcal infection.ConclusionThese results suggest that hMPV-infected airway cells, especially the lower airway epithelium, express increased adherence with S. pneumoniae. Furthermore, hMPV-infected mice showed impaired recruitment of airway neutrophils, possibly leading to delayed bacterial clearance and exacerbated pulmonary inflammation, after secondary infection with pneumococcal isolates

The Impact of a Dyslexia Diagnosis on a Second Language Student of Higher Education

ABSTRACT International students who have dyslexia can find that they are disadvantaged through both the dyslexia and the experience of studying at a higher level in a second language

Bone regeneration at the distal aspect of the adjacent second molar after lower third molar coronectomy: a long-term analysis

Abstract. A residual bone defect at the distal aspect of the adjacent second molar may occur after total removal of the lower third molar. Lower third molar coronectomy has been proved to be a safe alternative to total removal, but the extent of bone regeneration at the adjacent tooth after coronectomy is not well reported. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the long-term bone regeneration at the distal aspect of the adjacent second molar after lower third molar coronectomy. Preoperative and postoperative cone beam computed tomography scans were measured to assess bone regeneration at the distobuccal (DB), mid-distal (MD), and distolingual (DL) aspects of the lower second molar. Forty-eight coronectomies in 37 patients (23 female) with a mean �(standard deviation) age of 29.1 (7.2) years were assessed. The mean follow-up was 93.2 (8.7) months. The mean bone level increase at DB, MD, and DL aspects was 3.2 (1.6) mm, 3.5 (1.5) mm, and 3.2 (1.6) mm, respectively; the bone levels were significantly higher than the preoperative measurements (P < 0.001). Age and impaction patterns were not factors affecting bone regeneration. Based on this study, it appears that coronectomy of the lower third molar brings favourable bone regeneration at the distal aspect of the adjacent second molar

Learnings from Exercise is Medicine Canada Workshops as Strategies to Assist Medical Students Promote Physical Activity During and Beyond the Covid-19 Pandemic

N/A for commentary article.&nbsp

The Effect of Virtual Reality Rehabilitation on Balance in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

As a popular method, virtual reality (VR) is still controversial in its effect on the balance function of patients with Parkinson’s disease. This systematic review aims to discuss such effects of VR and to compare it with that resulting from traditional therapies. A comprehensive search was conducted for randomized controlled trials published from 2000 to 2020 through the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Library. Fifteen articles were included for the systematic review. An evaluation on their methodological qualities was performed using the PEDro scale, followed by an assessment of their risk of biases in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions for quality assessment. In terms of dynamic balance, the BBS score of the VR group was significantly improved when compared with the control group (SMD = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.31–0.73). However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups on TUG (SMD = −0.26; 95% CI = −0.62–0.1; p = 0.16). Besides, the VR group also showed better results in improving patients’ static balance, balance confidence, and quality of life. A funnel plot was created to investigate the effects of each study included in the meta-analysis in order to identify any existing publication bias. This systematic review shows that the application of VR leads to more significant improvement in the balance of patients with Parkinson’s disease than having them perform traditional exercises. It can be used as an auxiliary method of rehabilitation

The Historical Roots of Visual Analog Scale in Psychology as Revealed by Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy

Background: Many researchers have been using the visual analog scale (VAS) to acquire psychometric measurements from participants. Several recent studies have consistently pointed to Hayes and Patterson (1921) as the origin of the VAS method. The primary objectives of the current study were to identify the historical root of VAS by cited reference analysis and confirm if it was Hayes and Patterson (1921).Methods: The Web of Science database was searched to identify psychology papers dealing with VAS. The full records and their cited references were extracted and imported into CRExplorer for further analysis. A “reference publication year spectroscopy” (RPYS) was plotted to identify the seminal references.Results: We analyzed 32,569 references cited by 958 articles. There were 21 RPYS peaks ranging from year 1921 to 2007. We were able to identify (Hayes and Patterson, 1921) from the first peak. Furthermore, we were able to identify a total of seven seminal references that are directly relevant to VAS. Two of them were related to “graphic rating method,” three were VAS-validation studies, one was a review on the usage of VAS, and one compared reported results using VAS and Likert scale.Conclusions: Cited reference analysis with a RPYS plot succeeded in identifying and confirming (Hayes and Patterson, 1921) as the origin of VAS. This method has overcome the limitations of conventional citation analysis, namely the issues of being not indexed, not identified by pre-defined search keywords, and not being all-time most cited