Nevin Manimala

J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2022 Apr 30;15(2):130-142. doi: 10.51507/j.jams.2022.15.2.130.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain is a complex phenomenon that brings physical and emotional impairments negatively impacting people’s quality of life. The adoption of interventions such as ear acupuncture and dry cupping can represent a treatment option for people with chronic back pain.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of ear acupuncture combined with dry cupping therapy on the interference of pain with the daily activities and quality of life of adults with chronic back pain.

METHODS: An open-label, randomized, parallel-group controlled clinical trial. One hundred and ninety-eight adults were randomized into control (CG – ear acupuncture) or experimental (EG – ear acupuncture combined with dry cupping) groups. Interventions were performed in five sessions, once a week, lasting five weeks. Evaluations were performed before the first session, after the last session, and seven days after the second evaluation, using the Brief Pain Inventory to assess the impact of pain on daily activities and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) to assess the quality of life.

RESULTS: Between the initial and final sessions, there were significant changes in daily activities , activity, work, mood, relationships, sleep, and in the physical, psychological and social relationships domains for both the control and experimental groups. Improved perception of quality of life and satisfaction with health were observed for the participants in the experimental group.

CONCLUSION: Ear acupuncture combined with dry cupping showed better results in terms of perception of quality of life and satisfaction with health when compared to ear acupuncture by itself.

PMID:35770580 | DOI:10.51507/j.jams.2022.15.2.130

J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2021 Jun 30;14(3):102-109. doi: 10.51507/j.jams.2021.14.3.102.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Bee venom has been used as a therapeutic compound for various human diseases in oriental medicine; however, it can induce anaphylaxis in hypersensitive patients during treatment. Anaphylaxis is an acute allergic reaction that occurs after allergen exposure. IgE is released from immune-related cells such as mast cells and basophils during anaphylaxis. Various inflammatory mediators are also released into the bloodstream during the acute response.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify specific proteins from bee venom-hypersensitive patients.

METHODS: We analyzed the blood serum of control and bee venom-hypersensitive patients using two-dimensional (2D) electrophoresis.

RESULTS: An interesting protein spot with a molecular size of 10 kDa was identified at an isoelectric point (p.I.) of 5.5. Spots detected both before and after sweet bee venom therapy were not proteins induced by sweet bee venom. The 10 kDa protein was identified as the cleaved form of haptoglobin through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. Statistical analysis indicated that the presence of the spot was highly significant in the bee venom-hypersensitive group.

CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that cleaved haptoglobin may be a significant diagnostic protein for anaphylaxis. In addition, a high incidence of bee venom hypersensitivity may be associated with the haptoglobin genotype.

PMID:35770565 | DOI:10.51507/j.jams.2021.14.3.102

J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2022 Jun 30;15(3):174-180. doi: 10.51507/j.jams.2022.15.3.174.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Electronic moxibustion (EM) was developed to minimize the side effects of traditional moxibustion, such as burns, and to overcome therapeutic compliances such as smoke or smell.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate distributions and thermal stimulation of EM at various depths using silicon phantom and to compare this methodology to traditional indirect moxibustion (TIM).

METHODS: A silicon phantom composed of polydimethylsiloxane was heated and immersed in a hot plate containing warm water to set the phantom’s temperature to that of biological tissue. K-type thermocouples were inserted into the phantom at depths of 0, 2, 5, 7, and 10 mm to measure temperature changes with thermal stimulation of EM or TIM placed on top of the phantom.

RESULTS: At the surface of the phantom, the peak temperature after applying TIM (55.04 ± 0.92℃ [Δ23.79 ± 0.96℃]) was significantly higher than after EM (43.25 ± 1.95℃ [Δ13.00 ± 2.23℃]), with both interventions reaching the highest temperature after 2 minutes. The temperature increase for TIM was also statistically significant compared to EM when measured at a depth of 2 mm. For the experimental setting with TIM, after reaching peak surface temperature, a rapid decrease was observed at the surface and 2 mm while EM showed a much more gradual decline. There was no significant difference in temperature change between the groups at depths of 5, 7, and 10 mm.

CONCLUSION: TIM resulted in a higher temperature rise compared to EM at the surface and at a 2 mm depth reaching over 50℃, which creates risk of burns. Thermal stimulation with EM had a lower risk of burns with temperature increment not being statistically different from TIM below the depth of 5 mm.

PMID:35770547 | DOI:10.51507/j.jams.2022.15.3.174

Anat Histol Embryol. 2022 Jun 30. doi: 10.1111/ahe.12832. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Horses went through functional differentiation during their evolutionary and reproductive development, however, some body parts continued to improve their specificity for speed. Regarding this, we evaluated by morphometric analysis the relationship between limb section (LS) differences in the appendicular structures of horses. Two hundred and seven (n = 207) adult horses of different breeds and sex were selected. The limb section was measured by identification of topographic palpable skeleton landmarks with a measurement tape (centimetres). Quantitative variables (limb section) were analysed with PAST Paleontological Statistics Version 3.16. Spearman’s ordinal or non-parametric correlation coefficient was used to study the relationship between the limb section of each variable (p < 0.05), with a low coefficient of variation (<30%). In 45 analysed correlations, 35 were statistically significant and 10 were discarded because p > 0.05. These results show that most variables were correlated with each other. As a result, we can imply that some LS of the horse’s limbs are correlated with each other, positively or negatively and to a different degree. In conclusion, the correlations between LS lengths determine the size and shape of each horse, making individual horses unique and unrepeatable.

PMID:35770509 | DOI:10.1111/ahe.12832

Turk J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Jun 27;19(2):98-103. doi: 10.4274/tjod.galenos.2022.94884.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) is an important problem with increasing cesarean section (CS) rates recently. There is still no serum marker for the diagnosis. We determined whether serum YKL-40 levels can be used in the diagnosis and prognosis of PAS.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted with 50 patients with a PAS diagnosis, 27 individuals without PAS, and 33 normal pregnant women. The operations (CS + placental bed suture, CS + excision of the lower segment, CS-hysterectomy) and for individuals who had the excision of the lower segment /CS-hysterectomy, the histopathological diagnoses (accreta, increta, percreta) were recorded. Serum YKL-40 levels were analyzed.

RESULTS: The individuals with PAS possessed significantly greater serum YKL-40 grades (p=0.001). The surgical interventions included 4 CS + excision of the lower segment, 9 CS + placental bed sutures, and 37 CS-hysterectomy. The histopathological outcomes of the individuals who had the excision of the lower segment, CS-hysterectomy and diagnosed 6, 9, and 26 patients with accreta, increta, and percreta, respectively. The accreta, increta, and percreta groups showed statistically significant different serum YKL-40 grades (p=0.001). The receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to discriminate the cut-off serum YKL-40 level as 32.81 ng/mL with a sensitivity of 66% and specificity of 70.37%. The positive and negative predictive values of YKL-40 in the indicator of PAS were 80.5% and 52.8%, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Elevated serum YKL-40 grades were correlated with the diagnosis and severity of PAS. If our findings are corroborated and elaborated by larger patient series, the YKL-40 levels should be used along with ultrasonography to construct a model identical to that used in aneuploidy screening.

PMID:35770494 | DOI:10.4274/tjod.galenos.2022.94884

Environ Sci Technol. 2022 Jun 30. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c08860. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Ambient PM_2.5 (fine particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤ 2.5 μm) is thought to be associated with the development of diabetes, but few studies traced the effects of PM_2.5 components and pollution sources on the change in the fasting blood glucose (FBG). In the present study, we assessed the associations of PM_2.5 constituents and their sources with the FBG in a general Chinese population aged over 40 years. Exposure to PM_2.5 was positively associated with the FBG level, and each interquartile range (IQR) increase in a lag period of 30 days (18.4 μg/m³) showed the strongest association with an elevated FBG of 0.16 mmol/L (95% confidence interval: 0.04, 0.28). Among various constituents, increases in exposed elemental carbon, organic matter, arsenic, and heavy metals such as silver, cadmium, lead, and zinc were associated with higher FBG, whereas barium and chromium were associated with lower FBG levels. The elevated FBG level was closely associated with the PM_2.5 from coal combustion, industrial sources, and vehicle emissions, while the association with secondary sources was statistically insignificant. Improving air quality by tracing back to the pollution sources would help to develop well-directed policies to protect human health.

PMID:35770491 | DOI:10.1021/acs.est.1c08860

Physiol Res. 2022 Jun 30. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

To investigate the influence of beer consumption on levels of homocysteine (HCY), vitamin B6, B12, folic acid (FA), dimethylglycine (DMG), betaine (BET) and other selected markers. One hundred and sixteen male volunteers were enrolled in the study. A one-month period of alcohol abstinence was followed by a one month when participants drank 830 mL of alcoholic beer every day. After that phase, one month of alcohol abstinence followed. At the beginning and after every phase blood samples were taken and analysed. Ninety-three participants completed the study. After the phase of alcohol consumption, uric acid (UA) (p<0.0001), antioxidative capacity (AOC) (p=0.02), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (0.025), glutathione reductase (GRH) (0.0001), total cholesterol (p<0.0001), HDL-cholesterol (p<0.0001), Apolipoprotein-AI (ApoAI) (p<0.0001), LDL-cholesterol (p<0.039) and Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) (p<0.009) increased, while vitamin B12 (p=0.0001) and fibrinogen (p<0.0001) decreased. Other tested parameters (DMG, BET, vitamin B6 and FA) did not show any significant changes. UA changes and changes in AOC were statistically significantly correlated (r=0.52, p<0.0001). HCY, DMG and BET levels did not show any statistically significant changes after beer consumption, whereas some markers of redox metabolism increased (UA, AOC, SOD and GRH). A statistically significant correlation denotes the dependence of UA and AOC changes in connection with beer consumption.

PMID:35770471

Turk J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Jun 27;19(2):145-151. doi: 10.4274/tjod.galenos.2022.04272.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Today, thanks to its many advantages, hysteroscopy with a vaginoscopic approach (no-touch) is increasingly being used more in outpatient diagnoses and treatments. However, there are concerns that the “no-touch” technique increases ascending genital tract infections since a speculum is not inserted, and disinfection of the cervix cannot achieve.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2011 and 2017, 302 patients who underwent office hysteroscopy with the vaginoscopic approach (group 1) and 254 patients who underwent hysteroscopy with the standard method under anesthesia in the operating room (group 2) were compared in terms of early complications (within two weeks postoperatively). The primary outcome was early postoperative infection, and the secondary outcome was other early complications, such as bleeding and rupture.

RESULTS: In this study, the success rate of hysteroscopy with the vaginoscopic approach was 96.4%. According to the visual analog scale scoring system, 88.7% of the patients described mild-to-moderate pain. When group 1 and 2 were compared in terms of postoperative infection (3% and 2.4%, respectively) and other early complication rates (0% and 0.8%, respectively), no statistically significant difference was found (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION: Hysteroscopy with a vaginoscopic approach continues to be the gold standard method that is safe and well-tolerated by patients.

PMID:35770455 | DOI:10.4274/tjod.galenos.2022.04272

Reprod Domest Anim. 2022 Jun 30. doi: 10.1111/rda.14197. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of vitrification on the DNA fragmentation rate of equine cumulus cells and to assess its relationship to oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) after vitrification. Cumulus cells (CC) from 14 mares were recovered from COCs, previously submitted to vitrification (VIT) and IVM. The DNA fragmentation rate of the cumulus cells (CC-DF) was assessed using a chromatin dispersion test. CC-DF rates between vitrified and control COCs were statistically compared by Student´s t-test. The rates of CC-DF from control COCs were lower than in vitrified COCs. The percentage of CC-DF was not significantly different (P > 0.05) between groups of COCs able to reach metaphase II (MII >0) and those in which oocyte maturation was not achieved (MII = 0) . In conclusion, vitrification has a deleterious effect on the DNA fragmentation of equine cumulus cells; however, this parameter cannot be used as a predictor for IVM success after COCs vitrification.

PMID:35770452 | DOI:10.1111/rda.14197

J Obes Metab Syndr. 2022 Jun 30;31(2):169-177. doi: 10.7570/jomes22024.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The global public health burden of obesity has increased with socio-economic development. The Korean Society for the Study of Obesity released the 2021 Obesity Fact Sheet to address trends in obesity prevalence and comorbid conditions by different age groups.

METHODS: Individuals ≥20 years old who underwent a health checkup provided by the Korean National Health Insurance Service between 2009 and 2019 were included. The prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity was standardized by age and sex based on the 2010 population and housing census. The incidence of obesity-related comorbidities was tracked from 2009 to 2019, and the incidence per 1,000 person-years was calculated using Poisson regression adjusted for age and sex.

RESULTS: Obesity and abdominal obesity prevalence has increased for the entire population over the past 11 years. Obesity prevalence has risen rapidly in individuals in their 20s and 80s compared with other age groups. Additionally, class III obesity prevalence in both men and women has significantly increased by nearly threefold. The relative risk of developing type 2 diabetes, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and cancers in people with obesity or abdominal obesity is greater than in people without obesity or abdominal obesity. The relative risk was higher in young and middle-aged individuals than in the older population.

CONCLUSION: The findings based on the 2021 Obesity Fact Sheet suggest the need to better understand obesity characteristics according to age and sex and to establish individualized treatment strategies.

PMID:35770450 | DOI:10.7570/jomes22024