Catgut Research Articles

293 Impact of black soldier fly larvae meal in a dry extruded food on nutritional quality and health in adult cats

Abstract Insects like the black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens; BSFL) have been proposed as protein-rich feed ingredients to support the growing demand for meat. The BSFL hold also promise for use as a protein source in pet foods and, as such, it has been studied for palatability, nutritional quality and health effects in dogs and cats. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of including BSFL meal in a dry, extruded food on nutritional quality and health in healthy adult cats. Two similar compositions of dry, extruded foods were formulated to meet the FEDIAF nutrition guidelines for adult cats of which one was chicken meal-based (control, with 34.3% chicken meal) and the other BSFL meal-based (inclusion of 37.5% BSFL meal). BSFL meal contained 95.0% dry matter, 53.1% crude protein, 14.3% crude fat, 6.0% ash (Protix, Dongen, The Netherlands). Two groups of four cats were each fed one of the two foods for two 28-d periods in a crossover design, with sample collection during the last 7 d of each period. Cats were housed in groups of the same sex during the first 21 d of each period. Both foods were well-accepted by the cats. No health problems (including coat and skin condition) were noted throughout the study. Food type did not impact body weight (P = 0.850). Food intake was greater when cats were fed the BSFL-based food (P < 0.001). Consistency scores of fresh feces were optimal and did not differ between the foods. Compared with the control food, the food with BSFL meal had decreased apparent fecal digestibility values for dry matter, organic matter, nitrogen, and gross energy (P < 0.05) although all values were high. Digestibility values for acid-hydrolyzed fat were similar for both foods (P = 0.628). Diets resulted in changes in fermentation product concentrations, like fecal ammonia was less when cats fed this food compared with the control food (P < 0.001), but the fecal concentrations of the short-chain fatty acids and biogenic amines were generally increased (P < 0.05). Moreover, reduced fecal bacterial diversity and affected bacterial relative abundance suggested that inclusion of BSFL meal steered the microbial composition in the distal gut of cats. It was observed increased relative abundance of bacteria genus considered beneficial for host health like Bifidobacterium (P < 0.001) and Megasphaera (P < 0.036); and inhibition of genus Negativibacillus and Lachnoclostridium (P < 0.001), previously associated to digestive issues and negative for gut health. Overall, the data gathered in this study suggests that BSFL meal is an adequate alternative ingredient for extruded dry cat foods and may exert a prebiotic effect on intestinal microbiota.

A study on the impact of diet supplementation of fermented dried seaweed powder (Kappaphycus alvarezii) on healthy cat gut performance, skin and hair coat conditions, and behaviour.

One of the key goals the feed industry emphasizes when exploring the incorporation of novel substances into animal diets is to enhance feed utilization efficiency, to bolster animal health and well-being. Fermented seaweed powder holds promise as a valuable and sustainable component of animal feed, owing to its rich nutrient profile and purported benefits for livestock and aquaculture species. This study provides some interesting and original preliminary data regarding the benefits of supplementing cats' diets with fermented dried seaweed. Using a broad investigative approach to measure and analyse multiple health benefits of feeding fermented dried macroalgae to cats as a nutritional supplement, the results of this 8-week study identified several positive health attributes related to body coat quality, nutrient digestibility, behavioural changes, a healthy gut microbiota ratio, and enhanced immunity. There were no adverse effects observed in the cats after supplementation with the fermented seaweed powder. The sample size in this study with cats should be increased, but this preliminary work showed that the seaweed-supplemented cats exhibited improvements in the measured health parameters over the control cats. As a result of this 8-week trial, key information has been provided regarding future research direction focusing on skin health application which is essential to the overall animal wellbeing.

Pet cats may shape the antibiotic resistome of their owner’s gut and living environment

BackgroundCompanion animals can contribute to the physical and mental health of people and often live in very close association with their owners. However, the antibiotic resistome carried by companion animals and the impact they have on their owners and living environment remain unclear. In this study, we compared the ARG profiles of cats, humans, and their living environments using metagenomic analysis to identify the core ARGs in the cat and human gut and explore the potential impact of cats on ARGs in the human gut through the environment.ResultsResults showed that the abundance of ARGs in the cat gut was significantly higher than that in the human gut (P < 0.0001), with aminoglycoside and tetracycline resistance genes being the dominant ARGs in the cat gut. There was no significant difference in the abundance of total ARGs in the guts of cat owners and non-owners (P > 0.05). However, the abundance of aminoglycoside resistance genes including APH(2'')-IIa and AAC(6')-Im was significantly higher in cat owners than that in non-cat owners (P < 0.001). Also, ARG abundance was positively correlated with the frequency of cat activity in the living environment. Enterobacteriaceae was the dominant ARG host co-occurring in the cat gut, human gut, and living environment.ConclusionsOur results show that cats may shape the living environment resistome and thus the composition of some ARGs in the human gut, highlighting the importance of companion animal environment health.CA_8GzYC3SY3RzvHMSVpYQVideo

Gut microbiota differences induced by Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity in stray cats in South Korea.

T. gondii is a highly prevalent parasite worldwide, with cats serving as its final host. However, few studies have investigated the impact of T. gondii infection on cat gut microbiota. Therefore, this study examined the influence of T. gondii infection on the gut microbiota of stray cats and identified potential pathogens in their feces. This study examined T. gondii infection through blood of stray cats and the influence of microbiota in their feces using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The results revealed significant differences in gut microbiota composition and diversity between the T. gondii seropositive and seronegative groups. Seropositive samples displayed a lower number of operational taxonomic units and reduced Shannon index than the seronegative samples. The seropositive and seronegative groups exhibited enrichment of taxa, including Escherichia and Enterobacteriaceae and Collinsella, Bifidobacterium, and Roseburia, respectively. Furthermore, potential pathogen species, including Campylobacter, Escherichia, and Streptococcus, were identified in the fecal samples. These findings suggest that T. gondii infection significantly impacts gut microbiota composition and diversity in stray cats. Additionally, an increased potential pathogen load, represented by Escherichia spp., was observed. These results underscore the importance of monitoring the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in stray cats, as they can serve as reservoirs for zoonotic diseases.

Comparison of the Effects of Enzymolysis Seaweed Powder and Saccharomyces boulardii on Intestinal Health and Microbiota Composition in Kittens

Kittens are prone to intestinal health problems as their intestines are not completely developed. Seaweed is rich in plant polysaccharides and bioactive substances that are highly beneficial to gut health. However, the effects of seaweed on cat gut health have not been assessed. This study compared the effects of dietary supplementation with enzymolysis seaweed powder and Saccharomyces boulardii on the intestinal health of kittens. In total, 30 Ragdoll kittens (age: 6 months; weight: 1.50 ± 0.29 kg) were assigned to three treatment groups for a 4-week feeding trial. The dietary treatment given was as follows: (1) basal diet (CON); (2) CON + enzymolysis seaweed powder (20 g/kg of feed) mixed evenly with the diet (SE); and (3) CON + Saccharomyces boulardii (2 × 1010 CFU/kg of feed) mixed evenly with the diet (SB). Compared with the CON and SB groups, dietary supplementation with the enzymolysis seaweed powder improved the immune and antioxidant capacity and also reduced the intestinal permeability and inflammation levels of kittens. The relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Lachnospiraceae, Prevotellaceae, and Faecalibacterium in the SE group was higher than those in the CON and SB groups (p ≤ 0.05), while the relative abundance of Desulfobacterota, Sutterellaceae, and Erysipelatoclostridium in the SB group was lower than that in the SE group (p ≤ 0.05). Moreover, enzymolysis seaweed powder did not alter the level of intestinal SCFAs in kittens. Conclusively, supplementing kitten diet with enzymolysis seaweed powder can promote intestinal health by enhancing the gut barrier function and optimizing the microbiota composition. Our findings provide new perspectives on the application of enzymolysis seaweed powder.

Early Music and materiality—1

Many of Early Music’s readers will remember their first encounter with the journal. Mine took place in 1977 among the stacks of open shelves of Cambridge University Library, not quite at the start but nevertheless in its early years of publication. The volume I took down from the shelves (with all four issues of a year bound together) was surprisingly heavy, and of an intriguingly different size—no other journal on the shelves shared its dimensions. At the time, I had no idea, of course, that the weight of paper and page size would come to form an important part of my working life, but they were noticeable characteristics even with my then ignorance of such matters. This distinction from other tomes in the journals section became even clearer on opening an issue: the eye was captivated by illustrations and advertising copy on almost every page. The layout was complex, but elegant: type, column widths and sizing of illustrations bore witness to a serious design element. It was an object of beauty, both immediately attractive and intriguing, almost compelling the reader to be drawn into the intricacies of making gut strings or interpreting arcane ornament signs. Yes, dear reader, it was love at first sight.

Should the Christmas Island shrew (Crocidura trichura) be considered extinct?

The Christmas Island shrew (Crocidura trichura), endemic to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, was abundant at the time of the island’s settlement in the 1890s. However, since 1900, it has been reported only four times (twice in 1958, 1984 and 1985). It is currently considered Critically Endangered under Australian law. Using a recently developed IUCN protocol (the ‘Records and Surveys Model’), based on compilation and assessments of targeted and general sampling effort and detectability, we estimated that there is a 96.3% likelihood that the species is now extinct. However, although many general survey methods (including inspection of cat gut samples, ink cards, audio-recording, pitfall traps, spotlighting and camera traps) have been employed on Christmas Island, most recent sampling has not been targeted specifically to detect this species. Furthermore, there is considerable uncertainty about its likely detectability with different sampling techniques and hence much uncertainty about the estimate of likelihood of extinction. e-DNA sampling, use of detector dogs and refinements in audio-recording may help increase the likelihood of detection, if present. Most current conservation management actions, undertaken for other threatened species on Christmas Island, would provide benefit to the Christmas Island shrew, if it is extant.

The acoustics of a plucked harp string

The vibration response of a small harp is studied, by a combination of measurement, theoretical modelling and model-based sound synthesis. The harp’s distinctive angle between strings and soundboard is shown to have little impact on the results of linear modelling, but to have a significant effect on sound through a nonlinear phenomenon. Generation of axial force in the string through geometric nonlinearity is shown to produce very prominent effects, helped by the efficient coupling of longitudinal force to soundboard motion. The detailed pattern of the resulting “phantom partials”, already familiar from work on piano strings, is shown to be sensitive to the exact boundary condition between the string and the soundboard: better agreement between experiment and modelling is obtained by assuming a clamped boundary than a pinned boundary. It is suggested that the relative prominence of nonlinear effects in the harp, compared to other plucked-string instruments using non-metallic strings, may be one reason why harpists still prefer the sound of gut strings over nylon strings.

Metadata Analysis For Gut Microbiota between Indoor and Street Cats of Malaysia

With the advancement of sequencing technology, the studies related to the complex nature of microbial communities are possible to be untapped. The goal of this study is to perform a comparison between the composition of bacteria between the gut of Malaysian indoor and street cats. For this research, stool samples of the cats were collected where the genomic DNA were extracted using DNeasy PowerSoil Pro Kit. The extracted DNA were sequenced by targeting the bacterial community using primers from V4 region of 16S rRNA. The raw data were analysed using QIIME2 to obtain the diversity, taxonomy, and differential abundance between the groups. Here, we found that indoor and street cats have similar alpha diversity (p &gt; 0.05), with slight differences between the groups based on the bacterial composition. Likewise, the beta diversity suggest that the two groups are similar to each other. The genus Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Collinsella, Enterococcus, Cantenibacterium and Lactobacillus from phylum Firmicutes while were found to be more abundant in indoor cats while street cats had more of the phylum Actinobacteria from the genus of Acinetobacter, Blautia, and Olsenella. Hence, we observed whether a cat is kept indoor or is a stray does not significantly cause a shift in their respective microbiota composition.

Helicobacter genus in the intestine and liver of stray cats: the molecular, histopathological, and immunohistochemical study.

The study was designed to determine the presence of Helicobacter genus and three species of H. pylori, H. bilis, and H. canis, in the duodenum, ileum, colon, and liver of stray cats. Moreover, the histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses have been performed. Samples were taken from the duodenum, ileum, colon, and liver of 30 cats for molecular and histopathological evaluations. Polymerase chain reaction was carried out for the detection of the Helicobacter genus in the mentioned samples. Then, species-specific primers were used in Helicobacter-positive samples. Helicobacter genus prevalence rates in the duodenum, ileum, colon, and liver samples were 50%, 60%, 50%, and 43.3%, respectively. Helicobacter pylori, H. canis, and H. bilis were isolated from at least one tissue of 18 (60%), 13 (43.3%), and 8 (26.7%) of the cats, respectively. Immunohistochemical findings confirmed the presence of bacteria in the intestinal crypt or the mucosal layer of duodenum, ileum, colon, and hepatic sinusoids. In the present study, the concurrent infection of duodenum and liver was noticeable. Furthermore, the high prevalence of H. pylori in cats, as a well-known human pathogen, should be considered. High incidence of Helicobacter in gut and liver of Ahvaz stray cats is noticeable. According to the zoonotic importance of Helicobacter, more studies in the field of treatment and prevention are highly recommended.

ESR and Radiocarbon Dating of Gut Strings from Early Plucked Instruments

Early European plucked instruments have recently experienced a great revival, but a few aspects remain unknown (e.g., the gauge of gut strings). Here we report, for the first time, that the electron spin resonance (ESR) signal intensity of oxidized iron, Fe(III), from gut strings at g = 2 increases linearly with age within a few hundred years. The signal increase in the remaining old strings on early instruments can be used to judge if they are as old as or younger than the instrument. Obtaining the authenticity information of gut strings contributes to the revival of the old instruments and the music.

Clinical application effect of modified small incision double eyelid surgery and its effect on the incidence of complications after operation

Objective To observe the clinical application effect of modified small incision double eyelid surgery and its effect on the incidence of complications after operation. Methods From June 2016 to December 2018, 86 patients who underwent double eyelid surgery in department of ophthalmology of Wenzhou Heping Plastic Hospital were divided into two groups by random number table method, with 43 cases in each group.The control group was treated with traditional catgut embedding double eyelid operation, while the observation group was treated with modified small incision double eyelid operation.The patients' satisfaction, total incidence of complications, self-confidence score and self-image evaluation score were counted and compared between the two groups. Results After follow-up, 40 patients in the observation group were satisfied with the operation effect, and satisfaction rate was 93.02%.Thirty-five patients in the control group were satisfied with the operation effect at the same time, and the satisfaction rate was 81.40%.The satisfaction rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (Z=-5.349, P 0.05). After 12 months of follow-up, the self-confidence score[(9.43±0.28)points] and self-image evaluation score[(9.64±0.32)points] of the observation group were higher than those of the control group [(8.24±0.26)points and (8.55±0.35)points], the differences were statistically significant (t=1.342, 1.331, all P<0.05). Conclusion The modified small incision double eyelid surgery in double eyelid surgery achieves better application effect and lower incidence of long-term complications.It is worthy of popularizing. Key words: Blepharoplasty; Surgery, plastic; Patient satisfaction; Postoperative complications

Breaking the species barrier

Parasites The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is found in most mammals and is spread by ingestion of contaminated food and water. It is a health risk to humans because it can form brain cysts and cause life-changing complications during pregnancy. Despite this parasite's ability to infect many mammals, it can only complete its life cycle in felids, including domestic cats. Martorelli di Genova et al. sought to understand the basis for the specificity of the sexual stages for the gut epithelium of cats. Using cat gut organoids, they found that the parasite's sexual stages are stimulated to develop by the plant fat linoleic acid. Cats uniquely lack the enzyme needed for linoleic acid digestion, delta-6-desaturase. To test whether intact linoleic acid acts as a parasite signal, mice were given a chemical treatment to inhibit their desaturase, then fed linoleic acid and infected. T. gondii promptly initiated sexual development and the mice shed infectious oocysts in their feces 6 days later. PLOS Biol. 17 , e3000364 (2019).

First description of Streptococcus lutetiensis from a diseased cat.

This paper describes for the first time the isolation of Streptococcus lutetiensis in a cat with intestinal lymphoma. The Streptococcus bovis group has undergone significant taxonomic changes over the past two decades and, in 2002, Poyart et al. described two distinct novel species within the genus Streptococcus: Streptococcus lutetiensis and Streptococcus pasteurianus. The bovis group streptococci include commensal species and subspecies or opportunistic pathogens of humans and animals. The cat was referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Bologna for chronic diarrhoea associated with fresh blood. A diagnosis of intestinal lymphoma was advanced. S. lutetiensis was accidentally isolated from the faeces of the cat and identified through MALDI-TOF and 16s rRNA sequencing. The Kirby-Bauer test revealed that the isolate was resistant to enrofloxacin, erythromycin, clindamycin, marbofloxacin and tetracycline. The detection of S. lutetiensis in cat faeces might suggest that it could be a normal inhabitant of cat intestinal tract or that it could be involved in the manifestation of intestinal diseases. Since bacteria belonging to the S. bovis group are considered emerging pathogens, additional research is required to evaluate the role of S. lutetiensis in cats and its role in the transmission of antimicrobial resistance. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: In this study the isolation of Streptococcus lutetiensis from a cat with intestinal lymphoma was described for the first time. An antimicrobial susceptibility test performed by means of the disc diffusion method revealed that the isolate was resistant to enrofloxacin, erythromycin, clindamycin, marbofloxacin and tetracycline. Nowadays the ecological or pathogenetic role of S. lutetiensis in the gut of animals remains unclear but, even if its role as commensal bacterium was confirmed, the presence of multi-resistant S. lutetiensis in cat gut could favour the transmission of antimicrobial resistance to other bacteria.

Effect of acupoint catgut embedding therapy combined with Ziwu-Liuzhu acupuncture on the sleep quality of the patients with depression

Objective To investigate the effect of acupoint catgut embedding combined with Ziwu-Liuzhu theory based acupuncture on the clinical efficacy and sleep quality of depressive patients. Methods A total of 64 patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into two groups, 32 in each group. The control group was treated with routine electro-acupuncture, while the observation group was treated with acupoint catgut embedding combined with Ziwu-Liuzhu theory based acupuncture. Both groups were treated for 8 weeks. Sleep quality was assessed by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and depression was assessed by Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) to evaluate the clinical efficacy. Results After treatment, the HAMD score (11.3 ± 2.4 vs. 14.5 ± 2.6, t=4.986) and PSQI index (9.6 ± 2.3 vs. 11.8 ± 2.5, t=3.307) in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.01). The quality of life (12.9 ± 2.3 vs. 11.3 ± 2.5, t=2.598) and mental health score (13.5 ± 2.4 vs. 11.3 ± 2.6, t=3.413) of WHOQOL-BREF scale in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.01). The total effective rate was 93.8% (30/32) in the observation group and 75.0% (24/32) in the control group. There were significant differences between the two groups (χ2=4.246, P=0.038). Conclusions Acupoint catgut embedding combined with Ziwu-Liuzhu theory based acupuncture can effectively improve depressive state, sleep quality and quality of life in patients with depression, and the curative effect is better than conventional electro- acupuncture treatment. Key words: Catgut embedment in acupoint therapy; Midnightnoon ebbflow acupoint selection; Zi Wu Liu Zhu Na Jia method; Depression; Sleep; Sleep disorders; Quality of life

Effect of Bushen Yanggan decoction combine with acupoint catgut embedding therapy in the treatment of patients with premature ovarian failure and its influence on serum follicle stimulating hormone and estradiol levels

Objective To study the effect of Bushen Yanggan decoction combine with acupoint catgut embedding therapy in the treatment of patients with premature ovarian failure and its influence on serum follicle stimulating hormone(FSH) and estradiol(E2) levels. Methods From January 2016 to June 2017, 76 patients with premature ovarian failure in the First People's Hospital of Xiaoshan District were selected.They were divided into observation group(n=38) and control group(n=38) by the random number table method.The control group was given western medicine hormone replacement therapy, the observation group was given Bushen Yanggan decoction combined with acupoint catgut embedding therapy.The patients in the two groups were treated for 3 months.The clinical efficacy, clinical symptoms, serum FSH, E2 levels and endometrial thickness before and after treatment were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of the observation group was 86.84%(33/38), which was slightly higher than 78.95%(30/38) of the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant(χ2=0.835, P>0.05). The incidence rates of soreness and weakness of waist and knees, hot flashes sweating, sexual decline, loss of control of the observation group after 3 months of treatment were 21.05%(8/38), 26.32%(10/38), 18.42%(7/38), 21.05%(8/38), respectively, which were significantly lower than those of the control group[44.74%(17/38), 50.00%(19/38), 39.47%(15/38), 42.11%(16/38)], the differences were statistically significant(χ2=4.828, 4.517, 4.094, 3.897, all P<0.05). The serum FSH of the observation group after 3 months of treatment was (31.44±11.04)IU/L, which was lower than (60.38±13.02)IU/L of the control group, the difference was statistically significant(t=10.447, P<0.05). The serum E2 levels, endometrial thickness of the observation group were (92.77±10.72)pmol/L, (7.95±1.17)mm, respectively, which were higher than those of the control group[(60.24±11.33)pmol/L, (4.82±1.65)mm], the differences were statistically significant(t=12.856, 9.539, all P<0.05). Conclusion Bushen Yanggan decoction combined with acupoint catgut embedding therapy for premature ovarian failure has good curative effect, it can improve the clinical symptoms and serum sex hormone levels, increase the thickness of the endometrium, which is worthy of clinical application. Key words: Primary ovarian insufficiency; Medicine, chinese traditional; Bushen Yanggan Decoction; Acupoint catgut embedding; Combined modality therapy; Follicle stimulating hormone; Estradiol; Endometrium

Clinical study on acupoint catgut embedding combined with abdominal massage in treatment of female abdominal obesity with spleen deficiency and Dampness Retention syndrome

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of acupoint catgut embedding combined with abdominal massage in the treatment of female abdominal obesity with spleen deficiency and dampness. Methods A total of 300 female abdominal obesity patients who met the inclusion criteria were divided into observation group (200 cases) and control group (100 cases) according to the ratio of 2:1 by random number table. The control group was treated with abdominal massage, while the observation group was treated with acupoint catgut embedding on the basis of the control group. The changes of body weight, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, BMI, FPG, TC and TG levels before and after treatment were compared between the two groups, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated. Results After treatment, the body weight, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio and BMI of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group (t values were 10.869, 6.058, 2.941, 21.267, P<0.01 or P<0.05), and the serum levels of FPG, TC and TG were significantly lower than those of the control group (t values were 21.147, 18.325, 19.931, P<0.01). The total effective rate was 91.5% (183/200) in the observation group and 65.0% (65/100) in the control group. There was significant difference between the two groups (χ2=32.671, P<0.001). Conclusions Acupoint catgut embedding combined with abdominal massage can improve the obesity index and blood lipid level of women with abdominal obesity, and the curative effect is better than that of abdominal massage alone. Key words: Obesity, abdominal; Thread-embedding acupoint ligation; Tui Na; Syndrome differentiation treatment; Spleen deficiency dampness type

Comparison of Mechanical Properties of Natural Gut and Synthetic Polymer Harp Strings.

The long-term mechanical behaviour of a number of fluorocarbon and gut harp strings has been examined, and the results compared with a previous study of rectified nylon strings. The stretching behaviour of the three materials was studied via different measures of the Young’s modulus; with test time scales on the order of weeks, minutes, and milliseconds. The strings were subjected to cyclic variations in temperature, enabling various aspects of their thermal behaviour to be investigated. The effects of humidity changes on gut strings were also examined. The behaviour of the fluorocarbon strings was found to be similar in many ways to that of the nylon strings, despite their different chemical formulation and significantly higher density. In particular, the faster measures of Young’s modulus were found to show an almost identical strong variation with the applied stress; while the thermal behaviour of both materials was largely determined by the balance between opposing effects associated with thermal contraction and thermal variations in the Young’s modulus. The gut strings showed some similarities of behaviour to the synthetic materials, but also major differences. All three measures of the Young’s modulus remained constant as the applied stress was increased. The gut strings were far more sensitive to changes in humidity than the synthetic materials, although some of the results, especially the thermal tuning sensitivity of the strings when held at constant length, displayed remarkable stability under changing humidity. The observed behaviour suggests very strongly that there is significant coupling between humidity-related changes in the linear density of a gut string and complementary changes in its tension.

Clinical effects of nasal alar sailboat resection combined with catgut embedding therapy for severe hypertrophy of nasal alar

Objective To study the clinical effects of sailboat resection of nasal alar flap combined with catgut embedding in the treatment of severe hypertrophy of the nasal alar. Methods Patients with severe alar hypertrophy were photographed before operation, and the length of alar, the height of nasal ala, the length of nostrils and the width of nostrils were measured. After one month and half a year follow-up, the length of alar, nasal alar height, nostril length, nostril width and nasal width were measured, and the local scar condition was scored according to Vancouver scar scale (VSS). Results Through the combination of two kinds of surgical treatment of severe nasoalar hypertrophy, the surgical effect of satisfaction showed that, with the comparison before and after surgery, nose length and height, length and width of the nostril and the nasal base width were significantly reduced (P 0.05), and so the postoperative effect could be sustained; local scar scale, after half a year and one month after operation, were significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the postoperative long-term scar was not obvious. Conclusions The effect of alar sailboat-resection combined with catgut embedding therapy is satisfactory for the treatment of severe alar hypertrophy. It is one of the ways to treat severe alar hypertrophy. Key words: Nose; Surgery, plastic; Hypertrophy of the nasal alar; Alar sailboat-resection; Catgut embedding; Vancouver scar scale

The research progress of molecular biological mechanism of Chinese medicine for polycystic ovary syndrome

The treatment of western medicine can improve the symptoms mainly by reducing androgen, improving insulin resistance. However, the pregnancy rates are still low, and the abortion rates are still high.Recently, several studies have shown beneficial effect of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, electro-acupuncture and catgut embedding therapies for the polycystic ovary syndrome by multi-target. Thus, the paper summarized the research progress. Key words: Traditional Chinese medicine; Acupuncture; Polycystic ovary syndrome; Review