Acupuncture has been proved to be effective in many diseases, but the effect of acupuncture on sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation is not clear. Our aim was to explore the efficacy and safety of acupuncture on sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation. A total of 73 lumbar disc herniation patients with sciatica in our hospital were selected and randomly divided into the study group (acupuncture, n=37) and control group (sham acupuncture, n=36). The results showed that there were no significant differences in leg pain visual analogue scale, low back pain visual analogue scale or Oswestry Disability Index score at baseline between the study group and the control group. Compared with baseline, patients in both groups improved significantly in leg pain visual analogue scale, low back pain visual analogue scale and Oswestry Disability Index score. During treatment, improvements in leg pain visual analogue scale, low back pain visual analogue scale and Oswestry Disability Index score were all faster for patients in the study group. However, this short term benefit of acupuncture therapy was no longer significant by 16 th w. In addition, acupuncture therapy achieved a faster rate of perceived recovery. In terms of safety, acupuncture has been proved to be safe without obvious side effects. In acupuncture can effectively relieve sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation in the early stage and can be used as an important auxiliary means of early treatment.
Schistonchus microcarpus n. sp. was recovered from the syconia of Ficus microcarpa from Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, during a survey of nematode biodiversity from 2007 to 2009. It is characterised by possessing the combined characters of a short post-uterine sac (PUS) (3-11 μm or <0.4 vulval body diam. (VBD) long), excretory pore located just posterior to the head but anterior to the conus level of the stylet, prominent amphids, three pairs of subventral papillae on the male tail (one pair adcloacal, one pair halfway between cloaca and tail terminus, and one pair near tail tip), unique recurved and sickleshaped spicules with finely rounded tip with cucullus, amoeboid sperm, and rounded male tail tip with or without mucron. Schistonchus microcarpus n. sp. is morphologically differentiated from all other described species in this genus by the possession of a spicule with a cucullus on the tip. Schistonchus microcarpus n. sp. was easily differentiated from other sequenced species by the partial small subunit rRNA gene (SSU) and D3 expansion segments of the large subunit rRNA gene (LSU). Phylogenetic analysis with partial SSU sequences suggests that S. microcarpus n. sp. is in a highly supported monophyletic clade with sequenced Schistonchus species except for S. hirtus. Based upon inferences using D3 LSU sequence data, it forms a clade with an undescribed species of Schistonchus ex F. benjamini from Australia and is part of a larger clade of Schistonchus that mostly share the character of an anteriorly placed excretory pore. Sequences of partial mtDNA COI (590 bp) from males of S. microcarpus n. sp. with and without a mucronate tail tip were identical, proving that these two morphotypes are conspecific.
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