De Qi: Chinese Acupuncture Patients' Experiences and Beliefs regarding Acupuncture Needling Sensation – An Exploratory Survey

2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 158-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun J Mao ◽  
John T Farrar ◽  
Katrina Armstrong ◽  
Alethea Donahue ◽  
Jessica Ngo ◽  
...  

Introduction While de qi, the acupuncture needling sensation, has been considered as an important component of acupuncture, little is known of the acupuncture patient's experience and beliefs about de qi in clinical settings. The aim of this study was to describe Chinese acupuncture patients’ perceived sensations of, and beliefs about, acupuncture needling. Methods We developed a questionnaire and conducted a survey study at two time periods among 200 subjects at six outpatient acupuncture clinics in Beijing, China. Results Respondents were 55% female and had a mean age of 41 years. The most common types of needling sensations reported by subjects were the terms ‘distended’(94%), ‘sore’(81%), ‘electric’(81%) and ‘numb’ (78%). Eighty-nine percent of subjects reported that the needling sensation travelled away from the puncturing points or travelled among the needling points. Eighty-two percent of subjects believed that the needling sensation was very important for acupuncture treatment, and 68% further indicated that the stronger the needling sensation, the more effective the therapy. Eighty-one percent of subjects found the acupuncture process to be very comfortable and relaxing. Conclusion Chinese acupuncture patients described the common characteristics of de qi and its migratory nature. The sensations were believed to be important in producing clinical efficacy by most patients. Measuring the sensations described as de qi in future prospective studies will help us understand the degree to which this phenomenon has an effect on the physiological outcome and clinical response to acupuncture. There appears to be a limit to the number of sensations that can be discriminated by each individual patient, and further development of the questionnaire is planned.

Plant Disease ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 202-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zainab M. Al-Balushi ◽  
Hesham Agrama ◽  
Issa H. Al-Mahmooli ◽  
Sajeewa S. N. Maharachchikumbura ◽  
Abdullah M. Al-Sadi

A study was conducted to characterize the common Pythium spp. in greenhouses in Oman and their level of resistance to hymexazol, a widely used fungicide in the country. Pythium isolates were obtained from soil samples, cocopeat bags, and cucumber roots collected from seven regions in the country. Identification of 80 Pythium isolates to the species level using sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region of the ribosomal RNA showed that they belong to four species: Pythium aphanidermatum (77 isolates), P. spinosum (1 isolate), P. myriotylum (1 isolate), and P. catenulatum (1 isolate). Investigating the aggressiveness of three Pythium spp. on cucumber showed that P. aphanidermatum, P. myriotylum, and P. spinosum are pathogenic. Phylogenetic analysis of P. aphanidermatum isolates showed that most of the isolates obtained from cocopeat clustered separately from isolates obtained from soil and roots. This may indicate a difference in the origin of the cocopeat isolates. Evaluating the resistance of 27 P. aphanidermatum isolates to hymexazol showed that most isolates were sensitive (0.9 to 31.2 mg liter−1) whereas one isolate was resistant (142.9 mg liter−1). This study is the first to report P. myriotylum and P. catenulatum in Oman. It is also the first to report the development of resistance to hymexazol among P. aphanidermatum populations from greenhouses. Growers should use integrated disease management strategies to avoid further development of resistance to hymexazol.


2020 ◽  
pp. 43-47
Author(s):  
A. O. Nekludov ◽  
M. O. Klosova ◽  
O. V. Volchenko ◽  
M. M. Goloborodko ◽  
A. Yu. Korolevska

The main causes of cholangitis are hypertension in the biliary ducts and infection. In order to determine the place of the infectious factor in the acute cholangitis development, a retrospective and prospective analysis of case histories of 176 patients with choledocholithiasis and manifestations of acute and chronic cholangitis was performed. Bile from the common bile duct in the patients with obstruction of the biliary tract was studied. In the patients with mechanical jaundice without and with cholangitis, the intraductal pressure in the common bile duct averaged 227.3±26.1 mm of water column, in the patients without signs of cholangitis that was 97.5±8.3 mm of water column. With mechanical jaundice without acute cholangitis, it was slightly elevated if compared to normal. This suggests that the increase in pressure in the bile ducts in acute cholangitis is not influenced by the fact of obstruction of the biliary tract, and the development of the inflammatory process in them. In the patients with cholangitis, the initial values of the number of colonizing units were much higher than in "pure" choledocholithiasis. After endoscopic papillosphincterotomy in the patients with vivid clinical cholangitis, in whom decompression was achieved, in the control study, this value decreased by 100−500 times, which was accompanied by clinical improvement. According to the results of the study, it was noted that in the patients with a manifested clinic sign of cholangitis there is a significant decrease in the number of colonizing units on the third day after endoscopic papillosphincterotomy. At the stone stuck in a papilla the choledoch turns into so−called analog of an abscess. The opening of the papilla provides a free passage of the contents of the choledochus (i.e. pus) into the duodenum, so there is an almost instant therapeutic effect. The increase in pressure in the bile ducts in acute cholangitis is influenced by the development of an inflammatory process, which indicates the manifestations of biliary infection. The presented research has a prospective character and needs further development. Key words: cholangitis, biliary infection, intraductal pressure, bile.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maristela Monteschi Souta ◽  
Paulo Celso Prado Telles Filho ◽  
Kelly Graziani Giacchero Vedana ◽  
Luiz Jorge Pedrão ◽  
Adriana Inocenti Miasso

ABSTRACT This study analyzed the medication systems in psychiatric units of a general hospital and a psychiatric hospital in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is a quantitative and cross-sectional, exploratory survey study with 144 professionals from the areas of medication, nursing and pharmacy. Data were collected by direct, non-participative observation and by medical records review. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Factors that affect patient safety, such as interruptions during prescription, handwritten changes to electronic prescriptions, limited handling of the electronic prescription system, unavailable clinical pharmacy, mistakes in activities related to the preparation and administration of medications and other factors were identified. The study reveals the susceptible points for the occurrence of medication errors in psychiatric hospitalization departments and discusses recommendations and technological resources that can promote security in the medication system.


2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Paukner ◽  
Lars Hesse ◽  
Andrej Preželj ◽  
Tomaž Šolmajer ◽  
Uroš Urleb

ABSTRACT LK-157 is a novel tricyclic carbapenem with potent activity against class A and class C β-lactamases. When tested against the purified TEM-1 and SHV-1 enzymes, LK-157 exhibited 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) in the ranges of the clavulanic acid and tazobactam IC50s (55 nM and 151 nM, respectively). Moreover, LK-157 significantly inhibited AmpC β-lactamase (IC50, 62 nM), as LK-157 was >2,000-fold more potent than clavulanic acid and approximately 28-fold more active than tazobactam. The in vitro activities of LK-157 in combination with amoxicillin, piperacillin, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, cefepime, cefpirome, and aztreonam against an array of Ambler class A (TEM-, SHV-, CTX-M-, KPC-, PER-, BRO-, and PC-type)- and class C-producing bacterial strains derived from clinical settings were evaluated in synergism experiments and compared with those of clavulanic acid, tazobactam, and sulbactam. In vitro MICs against ESBL-producing strains (except CTX-M-containing strains) were reduced 2- to >256-fold, and those against AmpC-producing strains were reduced even up to >32-fold. The lowest MICs (≤0.025 to 1.6 μg/ml) were observed for the combination of cefepime and cefpirome with a constant LK-157 concentration of 4 μg/ml, thus raising an interest for further development. LK-157 proved to be a potent β-lactamase inhibitor, combining activity against class A and class C β-lactamases, which is an absolute necessity for use in the clinical setting due to the worldwide increasing prevalence of bacterial strains resistant to β-lactam antibiotics.


2020 ◽  
pp. 134-145
Author(s):  
Envarbik M. Fazelianov ◽  

This article analyzes the problem of energy security as a factor of global sustainable development. The energy sector faces new challenges, as well as expanding opportunities for both developed and developing countries. The global nature of energy security increasingly requires the formation of an international energy strategy that allows us to look into the common energy future, and the further development of a broad dialogue on energy issues between various countries and relevant international organizations. The relevance of this article is of interest to the entire energy community. The problem and the main components of energy security are in the field of view of summits, attract the attention of various international forums, and its solution is interlinked with sustainable development, climate change and the environment.


Author(s):  
José Ferreirós

This chapter focuses on the ancient Greek tradition of geometrical proof in light of recent studies by Kenneth Manders and others. It advances the view that the borderline of elementary mathematics is strictly linked with the adoption of hypotheses. To this end, the chapter considers Euclidean geometry, which elaborates on both the problems and the proof methods based on diagrams. It argues that Euclidean geometry can be understood as a theoretical, idealized analysis (and further development) of practical geometry; that by way of the idealizations introduced, Euclid's Elements builds on hypotheses that turn them into advanced mathematics; and that the axioms or “postulates” of Book I of the Elements mainly regiment diagrammatic constructions, while the “common notions” are general principles of a theory of quantities. The chapter concludes by discussing how the proposed approach, based on joint consideration of agents and frameworks, can be applied to the case of Greek geometry.


2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry L. Harden ◽  
Richard A. Clark ◽  
W. Brad Johnson ◽  
Joshua Larson

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Quynh-Giao Nguyen ◽  
Ramsey Markus ◽  
Rajani Katta

2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-257
Author(s):  
Samuel Walker

R v BM is the latest case to consider the exceptions to the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (OAPA). The exceptions allow an action causing injury that would be a criminal offence to become lawful if the person injured consents to the action. The consequences of this judgment is that body modifications are categorised as medical procedures (and therefore subject to the medical exception only) and new exceptions should not be developed on a case by case basis, instead allocating development of the exceptions to Parliament. Two implications follow from the BM judgment. First, it provided a limited definition of body modifications which are now categorised as medical procedures. Secondly, their Lordships have restricted further development of the lawful exceptions to offences against the person. This is a lost opportunity for developing the common law exceptions to the OAPA through an autonomy-based liberal judicial interpretation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (28) ◽  
pp. 13549-13581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Li ◽  
Zhiguang Guo

This review provides a comprehensive insight from the mechanism of ice formation and growth to the common biomimetic strategies for designing passive anti-icing/ice-phobic materials, which is expected to serve as a touchstone for further development of interface science and bring new perspective to settle the atmospheric-icing-triggered security and efficiency problems.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document