Effect of Acupressure on Nausea, Vomiting, Anxiety and Pain among Post-cesarean Section Women in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of acupressure for controlling post-cesarean section (CS) symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting, anxiety perception and pain perception. A total of 104 eligible participants were recruited by convenience sampling of operating schedules at two hospitals. Participants assigned to the experimental group received acupressure, and those assigned to the control group received only postoperative nursing instruction. The experimental group received three acupressure treatments before CS and within the first 24 hours after CS. The first treatment was performed the night before CS, the second was performed 2-4 hours after CS, and the third was performed 8-10 hours after CS. The measures included the Rhodes Index of Nausea and Vomiting, Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Visual Analog Scale for Pain, and physiologic indices. Statistical methods included percentages, mean value with standard deviation, t test and repeated measure ANOVA. The use of acupressure reduced the incidence of nausea, vomiting or retching from 69.3% to 53.9%, compared with control group (95% confidence interval = 1.65-0.11; p = 0.040) 2-4 hours after CS and from 36.2% to 15.4% compared with control group (95% confidence interval = 0.59-0.02; p = 0.024) 8-10 hours after CS. Results indicated that the experimental group had significantly lower anxiety and pain perception of cesarean experiences than the control group. Significant differences were found in all physiologic indices between the two groups. In conclusion, the utilization of acupressure treatment to promote the comfort of women during cesarean delivery is strongly recommended

Multiple metallic-shell nanocylinders for surface-enhanced spectroscopes

The optical properties of multiple dielectric-core-gold-shell nanocylinder pairs are investigated by two-dimensional finite difference time domain method. The core-shell cylinders are assumed to be of the same dimension and composition. For normal incidence, the diffraction spectra of multiple cylinder pairs contain the lightning-rod plasmon mode, and the electric field intensity is concentrated in the gap between the nanocylinder pairs in the infrared region. The resonance wavelength and local field enhancement of this plasmon mode can be tuned by varying the pair-distance between the pairs, the gap-distance between the pairs, and the optical constants of the dielectric-core and the surrounding medium. The results show that the multiple core-shell nanocylinder pair contains the plasmon mode same as that of the solid metallic cylinder pairs at the long wavelength part of the spectrum. The large electric field intensity in the infrared region at long wavelength makes multiple core-shell cylinders as ideal candidates for surface-enhanced spectroscopes

Effect of non-lattice oxygen on ZrO2-based resistive switching memory

ZrO2-based resistive switching memory has attracted much attention according to its possible application in the next-generation nonvolatile memory. The Al/ZrO2/Pt resistive switching memory with bipolar resistive switching behavior is revealed in this work. The thickness of the ZrO2 film is only 20 nm. The device yield improved by the non-lattice oxygen existing in the ZrO2 film deposited at room temperature is firstly proposed. The stable resistive switching behavior and the long retention time with a large current ratio are also observed. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the resistive switching mechanism agrees with the formation and rupture of a conductive filament in the ZrO2 film. In addition, the Al/ZrO2/Pt resistive switching memory is also possible for application in flexible electronic equipment because it can be fully fabricated at room temperature

Body Massage Performance Investigation by Brain Activity Analysis

Massage has been widely applied to improve health and reduce stress. However, the performance difference between hands-on treatment and treatment by mechanical devices has been little mentioned. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to investigate a subject's EEG performance under massage treatment applied by hand and treatment applied by mechanical devices. Massage was applied to four acupoints for three minutes each. The massage acupoint sequence was from left Jian-wai-yu, right Jian-wai-yu, left Zuo-fei-yu, and finally right Zuo-fei-yu. An EEG system of 32 channels was used. Twenty-four volunteers, mainly college students, were enrolled. EEG rhythm powers of each massage sessions were derived. Two-way ANOVA revealed that there were also significant interactions between the massage stage and the massage type on delta (P < 0.01), theta (P < 0.05), and beta rhythms (P < 0.01), and there were significant differences at different stages for the mechanical massage group (F = 5.557, P < 0.01). The mechanical massage group had more significant differences than the hands-on group for stage coherence of around coherence on alpha rhythm. Further rhythm power scalp topography between two massage methods is also investigated

Anti-Cancer Effects of Protein Extracts from Calvatia lilacina, Pleurotus ostreatus and Volvariella volvacea

Calvatia lilacina (CL), Pleurotus ostreatus (PO) and Volvariella volvacea (VV) are widely distributed worldwide and commonly eaten as mushrooms. In this study, cell viabilities were evaluated for a human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (SW480 cells) and a human monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1 cells). Apoptotic mechanisms induced by the protein extracts of PO and VV were evaluated for SW480 cells. The viabilities of THP-1 and SW480 cells decreased in a concentration-dependent manner after 24 h of treatment with the protein extracts of CL, PO or VV. Apoptosis analysis revealed that the percentage of SW480 cells in the SubG1 phase (a marker of apoptosis) was increased upon PO and VV protein-extract treatments, indicating that oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation existed concomitantly with cellular death. The PO and VV protein extracts induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, glutathione (GSH) depletion and mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) loss in SW480 cells. Pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine, GSH or cyclosporine A partially prevented the apoptosis induced by PO protein extracts, but not that induced by VV extracts, in SW480 cells. The protein extracts of CL, PO and VV exhibited therapeutic efficacy against human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells and human monocytic leukemia cells. The PO protein extracts induced apoptosis in SW480 cells partially through ROS production, GSH depletion and mitochondrial dysfunction. Therefore, the protein extracts of these mushrooms could be considered an important source of new anti-cancer drugs

The effect of adding a home program to weekly institutional-based therapy for children with undefined developmental delay: A pilot randomized clinical trial

AbstractBackgroundEarly rehabilitation for children with developmental delay without a defined etiology have included home and clinic programs, but no comparisons have been made and efficacy is uncertain. We compared a weekly visit for institutional-based therapy (IT) to IT plus a structured home activity program (HAP).MethodsSeventy children who were diagnosed with motor or global developmental delay (ages 6-48 months and mean developmental age 12.5 months) without defined etiology were recruited (including 45 males and 23 females). The outcomes included the comprehensive developmental inventory for infants and toddlers test and the pediatric evaluation of disability inventory.ResultsChildren who received only IT improved in developmental level by 2.11 months compared with 3.11 months for those who received a combination of IT and HAP (p = 0.000). On all domains of the comprehensive developmental inventory for infants and toddlers test, except for self-help, children who participated in HAP showed greater improvements, including in cognition (p = 0.015), language (p = 0.010), motor (p = 0.000), and social (p = 0.038) domains. Except on the subdomain of self-care with caregiver assistance, the HAP group showed greater improvement in all the pediatric evaluation of disability inventory subdomains (p < 0.05).ConclusionEarly intervention programs are helpful for these children, and the addition of structured home activity programs may augment the effects on developmental progression

A lack of association between genetic polymorphisms in beta-defensins and susceptibility of psoriasis in Taiwanese: A case–control study

AbstractBackgroundGenetic predisposition of the inflammatory-host response may affect the development of psoriasis. Previous studies have shown that copy number variations (CNVs) of β-defensin genes (DEFB) are associated with the susceptibility of psoriasis in Caucasian populations.ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess the role of the CNVs of the DEFB4 gene and functional variants in the DEFB1 gene in Taiwanese patients with psoriasis.MethodsIn total, 196 patients with psoriasis and 196 control individuals were analyzed for the presence of the DEFB4 CNVs using the paralogue ratio test, and also for the DEFB1 polymorphisms rs11362, rs1800972, and rs1799946, using a polymerase chain reaction.ResultsNone of the polymorphisms were found to be associated with psoriasis. The distribution of DEFB4 genomic CNVs did not significantly differ between the control group and psoriasis group. The frequencies of patients who carried a greater than the median (≥ 5) number of copies did not significantly differ in patients with psoriasis and controls. The multivariate analysis similarly revealed that the DEFB4 CNVs were not associated with psoriasis (odds ratio = 1.03, 95% confidence interval = 0.89–1.19, p = 0.720). No significant difference was detected in the genotype and allele distribution for any of the individual DEFB1 polymorphisms between the cases and the controls. Finally, the overall haplotype frequency profiles derived from the three polymorphisms did not significantly differ between the cases and the controls.ConclusionOur results do not suggest that these genetic variants of the β-defensin genes contribute to the genetic background of psoriasis in Taiwanese patients

HPV infection and p53 inactivation in pterygium

PurposeOur recent report indicated that tumor suppressor gene (p53) mutations and protein aberrant expression were detected in pterygium. Inactivation of p53 by Human papillomavirus (HPV) 16/18 E6 plays a crucial role in cervical tumorigenesis. In this study, we further speculate that p53 inactivation may be linked with HPV infection in pterygium pathogenesis. To investigate the involvement of HPV 16/18 E6 in p53 inactivation in pterygium, the association between HPV 16 or HPV 18 infection, the HPV E6 oncoprotein, and p53 protein expression was analyzed in this study.MethodsHPV 16/18 infection was detected by nested-polymerase chain reaction (nested-PCR), the p53 mutation was detected by direct sequencing, and the p53 and the HPV 16/18 E6 proteins were studied using immunohistochemistry on 129 pterygial specimens and 20 normal conjunctivas.ResultsThe HPV 16/18 was detected in 24% of the pterygium tissues (31 of 129) but not in the normal conjunctiva, and the HPV16/18 E6 oncoprotein was detected in 48.3% of HPV 16/18 DNA-positive pterygium tissues (15 of 31). In addition, p53 protein negative expression in pterygium was correlated with HPV16/18 E6 oncoprotein expression but not with a p53 mutation.ConclusionsHPV 16/18 E6 contributes to HPV-mediated pterygium pathogenesis as it is partly involved in p53 inactivation and is expressed in HPV DNA-positive pterygium

Anatomical Asymmetry in Goiter: A Demonstration by Three-dimensional Power Doppler Ultrasound

The aim of the present study was to examine the anatomical differences in volumetric and intraparenchymal vascular parameters between the two thyroid lobes of patients with goiter, using three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasound. A total of 89 outpatients with goiter, including 55 with autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD) and 34 with simple goiter (SG), were evaluated by three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasound. Volumetric and intraparenchymal vascular indices including vascularization index, flow index and vascular flow index of each lobe were measured using the Virtual Organ Computer-Aided Analysis system. In all patients with goiter, the volume and vascular indices (vascularization index, flow index and vascular flow index) of the right thyroid lobe were significantly greater than those of the left lobe (p < 0.05). Differences in vascular indices were present in SG but not in ATD. ATD was associated with a larger thyroid volume and higher vascular indices compared with those of SG (p < 0.001), but there were no significant differences in volumetry and vascular indices between euthyroid ATD and SG. In conclusion, the right thyroid lobe was found to be significantly larger and more vascular than the left lobe in subjects with goiter, as measured by three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasound. In addition, ATD was associated with a higher thyroid volume and vascular indices compared with those of SG