The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of laser acupuncture (LA) and soft cupping on low back pain. In this study, the subjects were randomly assigned to two groups: active group (real LA and soft cupping) and placebo group (sham laser and soft cupping). Visual analog scale (VAS) and Ryodoraku were used to evaluate the effect of treatment on low back pain in this trial. Laser, 40 mW, wavelength 808 nm, pulse rate 20 Hz, was used to irradiate Weizhong (BL40) and Ashi acupoints for 10 minutes. And the Ryodoraku values were measured 2 times, that is, before and 15 minutes after treatment. The results show that there were significant difference between the first day baseline and the fifth day treatment in VAS in the two groups. Therefore, LA combined with soft cupping or only soft cupping was effective on low back pain. However, the Ryodoraku values of Bladder Meridian of the placebo group have been decreased apparently, and didn't come back to their original values. It means that “cupping” plays the role of “leak or purge” in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). On the other hand, the Ryodoraku values of Bladder Meridian of the active group have been turned back to almost their original values; “mend or reinforcing” effect is attributed to the laser radiation.

No abstract

Albusin B supplementation increased intestinal absorption and elevated the faecal Lactobacillus count, thereby promoting the growth performance of broiler chickens. These improvements resulting from albusin B supplementation provide evidence of potential alternatives to antibiotics in broiler chicken feed.

Albusin B supplementation modulated lipid metabolism and activated systemic antioxidant defense, which might partially contribute to the performance of broiler chickens.

A simple and sensitive MEKC with UV detection was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors including galantamine, rivastigmine and major metabolite NAP 226-90 in plasma. A sample pretreatment by liquid-liquid extraction with diethylether and subsequent quantification by MEKC was used. The optimum separation for these analytes was achieved in <10 min at 25 degrees C with a fused-silica capillary column of 30.2 cm x 50 microm id (effective length 20 cm) and a run buffer containing 25 mM Tris buffer (pH 5.0) with 160 mM sodium octanesulfonate, 20% ACN and 0.01% PVP as a dynamic coating to reduce analytes' interaction with the capillary wall. For sensitivity consideration regarding the determination of linearity, LOD, quantitation and monitoring drugs concentration in patients, the detection wavelengths for galantamine or rivastigmine and NAP 226-90 were set at 214 or 200 nm, respectively. One male volunteer (26-year-old) was orally administered a single dose of 4.5 mg rivastigmine (Exelon, Novartis) in capsule, and blood samples were drawn over a 12 h period for concentration-time profile study. The method was also successfully applied for monitoring galantamine or rivastigmine and its metabolite NAP 226-90 in 11 Alzheimer's disease patients' plasma after oral administration of the commercial products Reminyl (8 mg galantamine/capsule) or Exelon (3 mg rivastigmine/capsule), respectively.

No abstract

Medical incidents threaten patients' lives and health, increase medical costs, and can lead to medical disputes. A high proportion of medical incidents are not reported. The aim of this study was to explore the factors influencing nurses' reporting of medical incidents. The cross-sectional survey design used a self-administered 47-item questionnaire to survey 835 nurses in three hospitals in Taiwan between January and December 2014. The intention among nurses to report medical incidents was high (3.86/5); nurses' intention to report medical incidents was positively correlated ( r = .34, p < .0001) with their attitude about reporting, awareness of reporting ( r = .37, p < .0001), and support from interested parties ( r = .12, p = .001), and was negatively correlated with positive incentives ( r = -.14, p < .0001) and negative incentives ( r = .29, p < .0001). Nurses' awareness and a supportive work environment affect nurses' willingness to voluntarily report medical incidents; hence, they are critical considerations as Taiwan moves toward systems of mandatory reporting.

This study demonstrated a beneficial effect of albusin B on lipid utilisation and anti-atherosclerotic and antioxidant capacities in mice. However, more comprehensive studies are required to elucidate the exact mechanism behind the effect of albusin B.