Efficacy and safety of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for the management of primary dysmenorrhoea: protocol for a randomised controlled trial in China.

Introduction: Primary dysmenorrhoea (PD) is a common menstrual concern with significant physical and psychosocial impacts. The effectiveness and safety of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) in alleviating PD symptoms remain uncertain due to insufficient evidence. This single-centre, parallel, randomised controlled study intends to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TEAS for PD management.

Influence of Corrosion on the Bond-Slip Behaviour between Corroded Bars and Concrete.

Pull-out tests were conducted to investigate the effects of corrosion of both the longitudinal bars and stirrups on the bond slip behaviour of reinforced concrete specimens. The main experimental variables include concrete strength (26.7 MPa, 37.

Combined anti-cancer effects of curcumin and oxaliplatin on colon carcinoma colo205 cells using transplanted nude mice.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of curcumin combined with oxaliplatin on human colon carcinoma Colo205 cells and to analyze the anti-cancer mechanism. Sixty nude mice were inoculated with Colo205 cells as tumor transplanted models which were randomly divided into control group, curcumin group, oxaliplatin group and curcumin plus oxaliplatin group (n=15 in each group). The volume of tumor and the tumor suppressor rate was calculated after continuous administration of the curcumin or oxaliplatin for 10 times.

Severe Brain Atrophy Predicts Poor Clinical Outcome After Endovascular Treatment of Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion: An Automated Volumetric Analysis of a Nationwide Registry.

Brain atrophy globally reflects the effects of preexisting risk factors and biological aging on brain structures and normally predicts poor outcomes in anterior circulation stroke. However, comparing with these patients, acute basilar artery occlusion (ABAO) impairs infratentorial regions frequently and might benefit from brain atrophy due to the resulting residual space to reduce tissue compression and thus improve prognosis, which raises doubts that current understandings for prognostic roles of brain atrophy are also applicable for ABAO. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate brain atrophy automatically from CT images and investigates its impact on outcomes of ABAO following endovascular treatment (EVT).

Values of Baseline Posterior Circulation Acute Stroke Prognosis Early Computed Tomography Score for Treatment Decision of Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion.

Background And Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the impact of baseline posterior circulation Acute Stroke Prognosis Early Computed Tomography Score (pc-ASPECTS) on the efficacy and safety of endovascular therapy (EVT) for patients with acute basilar artery occlusion.

Methods: The BASILAR was a nationwide prospective registry of consecutive patients with a symptomatic and radiologically confirmed acute basilar artery occlusion within 24 hours of symptom onset. We estimated the effect of standard medical therapy alone (SMT group) versus SMT plus EVT (EVT group) for patients with documented pc-ASPECTS on noncontrast CT, both as a categorical (0-4 versus 5-7 versus 8-10) and as a continuous variable.

Effect of Endovascular Treatment Alone vs Intravenous Alteplase Plus Endovascular Treatment on Functional Independence in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke: The DEVT Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: For patients with large vessel occlusion strokes, it is unknown whether endovascular treatment alone compared with intravenous thrombolysis plus endovascular treatment (standard treatment) can achieve similar functional outcomes.

Objective: To investigate whether endovascular thrombectomy alone is noninferior to intravenous alteplase followed by endovascular thrombectomy for achieving functional independence at 90 days among patients with large vessel occlusion stroke.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Multicenter, randomized, noninferiority trial conducted at 33 stroke centers in China.

DEVT: A randomized, controlled, multicenter trial of direct endovascular treatment versus standard bridging therapy for acute stroke patients with large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation - Protocol.

Background: Eight randomized controlled trials have consistently shown that endovascular treatment plus best medical treatment improves outcome after acute anterior proximal intracranial large vessel occlusion strokes. Whether intravenous thrombolysis prior to endovascular treatment in patients with anterior circulation, large vessel occlusion is of any additional benefits remains unclear.

Objective: This study compares the safety and efficacy of direct endovascular treatment versus intravenous recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator bridging with endovascular treatment (bridging therapy) in acute stroke patients with intracranial internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery-M1 occlusion within 4.

Assessment of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion via a Nationwide Prospective Registry.

Importance: Several randomized clinical trials have recently established the safety and efficacy of endovascular treatment (EVT) of acute ischemic stroke in the anterior circulation. However, it remains uncertain whether patients with acute basilar artery occlusion (BAO) benefit from EVT.

Objective: To evaluate the association between EVT and clinical outcomes of patients with acute BAO.

[Assessment of hepatic reserve function of cirrhosis liver using dynamic SPECT (99m)Tc-galactosyl human serum albumin scintigraphy].

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of dynamic SPECT (99m)Tc-galactosyl human serum albumin (GSA) scintigraphy on the assessment of reserve function of cirrhosis liver.

Methods: From January 2010 to December 2011, 55 patients with cirrhosis liver were enrolled in this study. The case numbers of male and female were 43 and 12 respectively and the age was (51 ± 9) years (ranging from 35 to 69 years).

Postoperative transarterial chemoembolization benefits patients with high γ-glutamyl transferase levels after curative hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma: a survival stratification analysis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common liver tumor in Asian countries, and hepatectomy is currently regarded as the optimal curative treatment for HCC; however, the postoperative outcome remains unsatisfactory. Aiming at further clarification of prognostic factors after hepatectomy, we adopted a detailed stratification on survival periods. A total of 428 HCC patients undergoing curative hepatectomy were firstly divided into two groups using 2-year survival as cutoff point.

Trans-scleral delivery of antiangiogenic proteins.

Purpose: In this study, we investigated the penetration of various proteins into the mouse eye after a periocular injection of the protein or an adenoviral vector (Ad) expressing the protein.

Methods: At several time points after the injection, the retina, retinal pigmented epithelium/choroid, and sclera were dissected and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed.

Results: After a periocular injection of AdsFlt-1.

Implication of the hypoxia response element of the Vegf promoter in mouse models of retinal and choroidal neovascularization, but not retinal vascular development.

Retinal neovascularization (NV) and macular edema, resulting from blood-retinal barrier (BRB) breakdown, are major causes of visual loss in ischemic retinopathies. Choroidal NV (CNV) occurs in diseases of the retinal pigmented epithelium/Bruch's membrane complex and is another extremely prevalent cause of visual loss. We used mice in which the hypoxia response element (HRE) is deleted from the vascular endothelial growth factor (vegf) promoter (Vegf(delta/delta) mice) to explore the role of induction of VEGF through the HRE in these disease processes.

Mouse model of post-surgical breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier.

Purpose: Post-surgical macular edema is an important clinical problem resulting from breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) after surgery. This study was designed to develop a mouse model of post-surgical BRB breakdown.

Methods: Two 25-gauge needles, one for infusion and one for aspiration, were inserted through the limbus and into the lens of one eye of adult male C57BL/6 mice.

Deficiency of neuropilin 2 suppresses VEGF-induced retinal neovascularization.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a central role in the development of ocular neovascularization (NV) and is an excellent target for therapeutic intervention. VEGF acts through several receptors, including VEGF receptor 1, VEGF receptor 2, neuropilin-1 (Npn1), and Npn2, but the exact role of these receptors in the development of retinal NV is unknown. In this study, we investigated the expression of npn2 mRNA during new blood vessel growth in the retina and used npn2 knockout mice to assess the impact of deficiency of Npn2 on retinal NV.

Does clinical diagnosis indicate ocular chlamydial infection in areas with a low prevalence of trachoma?

The WHO has initiated a global program to eliminate trachoma. This program includes mass antibiotic administrations to reduce the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis, the causative agent in trachoma. DNA amplification tests are the most sensitive methods to diagnose C.

Rapid assessment of trachoma in Hainan Province, China: validation of the new World Health Organization methodology.

This study was undertaken to validate a WHO methodology for the rapid assessment of trachoma. Fourteen villages were chosen by random sampling in two counties in Hainan Province, China. For the rapid assessment, trichiasis patients were identified, 50 children ages 1-10 years were examined for active trachoma, and information was collected on community access to services and community risk factors.