Aliment Pharmacol Ther 31, 938–949

Summary
Background  Comparison of quality of life (QoL) across disease areas requires the use of appropriate tools. Although many studies have investigated QoL in constipation, most used disease-specific tools that are inappropriate for cross-comparisons.

Aims  To identify studies of QoL in constipation and to compare these results with other chronic conditions.

Methods  A comprehensive literature search identified studies in constipation that used a generic QoL tool. Results were statistically pooled where possible and compared with published results using the same tools in other chronic conditions.

Results  A total of 13 qualifying studies were identified, 10 in adults and three in children. Results from eight studies using the SF-36/12 tools were pooled; the remaining five were narratively reported. Mental and physical components of QoL scores were consistently impaired in both adult and child populations, with the greatest impact being seen in secondary care studies. Mental health effects predominated over physical domains. The magnitude of impact was comparable with that seen in patients with allergies, musculoskeletal conditions and inflammatory bowel disease.

Conclusions  The impact of constipation on QoL is significant and comparable with other common chronic conditions. Improving management may prove to be an effective way of improving QoL for a substantial number of patients.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2036.2010.04273.x

Systematic review: impact of constipation on quality of life in adults and children

Understanding how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in 2019 is critical to preventing future zoonotic outbreaks before they become the next pandemic. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, was identified as a likely source of cases in early reports, but later this conclusion became controversial. We show here that the earliest known COVID-19 cases from December 2019, including those without reported direct links, were geographically centered on this market. We report that live SARS-CoV-2–susceptible mammals were sold at the market in late 2019 and that within the market, SARS-CoV-2–positive environmental samples were spatially associated with vendors selling live mammals. Although there is insufficient evidence to define upstream events, and exact circumstances remain obscure, our analyses indicate that the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 occurred through the live wildlife trade in China and show that the Huanan market was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Description Pandemic epicenter As 2019 turned into 2020, a coronavirus spilled over from wild animals into people, sparking what has become one of the best documented pandemics to afflict humans. However, the origins of the pandemic in December 2019 are controversial. Worobey et al. amassed the variety of evidence from the City of Wuhan, China, where the first human infections were reported. These reports confirm that most of the earliest human cases centered around the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. Within the market, the data statistically located the earliest human cases to one section where vendors of live wild animals congregated and where virus-positive environmental samples concentrated. In a related report, Pekar et al. found that genomic diversity before February 2020 comprised two distinct viral lineages, A and B, which were the result of at least two separate cross-species transmission events into humans (see the Perspective by Jiang and Wang). The precise events surrounding virus spillover will always be clouded, but all of the circumstantial evidence so far points to more than one zoonotic event occurring in Huanan market in Wuhan, China, likely during November–December 2019. —CA Spatial distributions of early cases and environmental samples show that SARS-CoV-2 emergence was associated with the wildlife trade.

/pdf/the-huanan-seafood-wholesale-market-in-wuhan-was-the-early-ojtb0hsx.pdf

The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic

A thermal surgical tool comprising a conductor having a ferromagnetic material attached thereto is provided. The conductor may include a support of sufficiently high Young's modulus to resist bending when the surgical tool is being used to treat tissue. One or more intervening layers may be disposed between the support and the ferromagnetic material. Each of the intervening layers may be selected for a property that facilitates construction of the surgical tool and/or enhances a functionality of the surgical tool. The thermal surgical tool can be used for separating tissue, coagulation, tissue destruction or achieving other desired tissue effects in numerous surgical procedures.

Layered ferromagnetic coated conductor thermal surgical tool

A power source delivers oscillating electrical energy to an electrical conductor, such as a wire or catheter, which is coated circumferentially with a ferromagnetic material in a selected region. With high frequency electrical energy, the ferromagnetic material has a quick response in heating and cooling adjustable by the controllable power delivery. The ferromagnetic material can be used for separating tissue, coagulation, tissue destruction or achieving other desired tissue effects in numerous surgical procedures.

Thermally adjustable surgical system and method

Microwave ablation is an emerging treatment option for many cancers, cardiac arrhythmias, and other medical conditions During treatment, microwaves are applied directly to tissues to produce rapid temperature elevations sufficient to produce immediate coagulative necrosis The engineering design criteria for each application differ, with individual consideration for factors such as desired ablation zone size, treatment duration, and procedural invasiveness Recent technological developments in applicator cooling, power control, and system optimization for specific applications promise to increase the utilization of microwave ablation in the future This article reviews the basic biophysics of microwave tissue heating, provides an overview of the design and operation of current equipment, and outlines areas for future research

Microwave Tissue Ablation: Biophysics, Technology and Applications

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (Variant Delta) from Pet Hamsters to Humans and Onward Human Propagation of the Adapted Strain: A Case Study

An ablation system which transmits radio frequency (RF) energy for the ablation of biological tissues has a transmission line and an RF antenna disposed at the distal portion of the transmission line. An RF signal generator supplies RF energy to the proximal end of the cable for transmission to the antenna, and an electrically tunable transformer is connected between the signal generator and the antenna. The transformer is tuned based on detection of the reflected power level from the antenna so as to reduce or minimize reflected power, thereby increasing RF energy coupling between the antenna and tissue.

Electrically tunable tissue ablation system and method

/pdf/erratum-mental-health-of-migrant-workers-in-china-prevalence-2slhw3z946.pdf

Erratum: Mental health of migrant workers in China: Prevalence and correlates (Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (2008) vol. 43 10.1007/s00127-008-0341-1)

Summary

Background

Tegaserod has been shown to be effective in chronic constipation in Western population.



Aim

We investigated if tegaserod is equally effective in Chinese population.



Materials and methods

Two hundred and fifty patients were randomized to a double-blinded 8-week treatment of tegaserod 6 mg b.d. or placebo. Response during weeks 1–4 was defined as an increase in complete spontaneous bowel motion ≥1/week. Secondary efficacy included response during weeks 1–8, individual symptoms and scores, quality of life and global assessment of bowel habits and constipation.



Results

One hundred and nine patients from the treatment group and 107 from the placebo group completed the 8-week treatment. Responder rates was 47.7% vs. 29% for the treatment and placebo groups (P = 0.005). The sustained complete spontaneous bowel motion rate was 29.4% vs. 15.7% in the two groups (P = 0.016). The response rates were higher than that reported previously in the Caucasian studies. There was improvement in the scores for stool form scale, bothersomeness of constipation, abdominal distension/bloating and satisfaction of bowel habit (P < 0.05). The mental score was higher in the treatment group (46.8 ± 9 vs. 43.6 ± 10, P = 0.01).



Conclusions

Tegaserod is effective in relieving chronic constipation in Chinese population. The efficacy observed may be higher than that in Western population.

Efficacy of tegaserod for functional constipation in Chinese subjects: a randomized double-blind controlled trial in a single centre.

Background: Transcatheter microwave ablation is a novel technique for treating cardiac arrhythmias.



Methods: We investigated the effects of catheter temperature, application duration, and antenna length on lesion dimensions during catheter-based microwave ablation. In a swine thigh muscle preparation, microwave was delivered at targeted temperatures of 60°C (n = 18), 70°C (n = 27), 80°C (n = 43), or 90°C (n = 18) for 120 seconds with 10-mm antenna; and at targeted temperatures of 80°C for 120 seconds (n = 22), 150 seconds (n = 18), 180 seconds (n = 18), 210 seconds (n = 18), and 240 seconds (n = 17) with 20-mm antenna using 10 F catheter (MedWaves, San Diego, CA, USA) during parallel orientation. Conventional radiofrequency ablation (RF) using a 4-mm tip electrode was performed as control.



Results: With 120-second energy applications, lesion length and depth were significantly larger with targeted temperatures of 80°C and 90°C than 60°C (P< 0.05). Furthermore, lesion depth and width, but not length, were significantly increased by prolonging energy application duration from 120 to 240 seconds at targeted temperature of 80°C (P< 0.05). Compared to RF, microwave lesions were significantly longer but had comparable depth and width. A 20-mm microwave antenna produced longer lesions than either a 10-mm antenna or RF ablation catheter. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that targeted temperature ≥80°C, application duration ≥150 seconds, and use of 20-mm antenna were independent predictors for lesion depth and width (P< 0.05). Surface dessication was observed in 4/18 (22%) lesions at 90°C, as compared with 1/136 (0.7%) at 80°C targeted tip temperature (P < 0.05).



Conclusions: This study demonstrated that lesions size with transcatheter microwave ablation can be controlled by adjusting targeted temperature, energy application duration, and antenna length. A targeted temperature of 80°C for more than 150 seconds should provide optimal lesion dimensions and lower risk of surface dessication or charring.

Determinants of lesion dimensions during transcatheter microwave ablation.

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