[Knot-free suture and frenulum positioning combined with application positioning using a disposable circumcision suture device in circumcision]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effect of knot-free suture and frenulum positioning combined with application positioning (KFS-FP + AP) in circumcision using a disposable circumcision suture device.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data on 160 cases of circumcision for phimosis or redundant prepuce by KFS-FP + AP (the observation group, n = 80) or by routine circumcision (the control group, n = 80) with a disposable circumcision suture device from February 2021 to December 2021. We recorded the operation time, incidence of frenulum breve, incidence of frenulum dislocation, and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores at 6 hours after surgery, and compared them between the two groups of patients.

RESULTS

The operation time was longer in the observation than in the control group (8.00 ［8.00, 9.00］ min vs 5.00 ［5.00, 5.00］ min), and the incidence rates of frenulum breve (0 vs 8.75%, P < 0.05) and frenulum dislocation (0 vs 7.5%, P < 0.05) significantly lower in the former than in the latter group. There were no statistically significant difference in the VAS scores between the observation and the control groups (2.60 ［2.00, 3.00］ vs 2.55 ［2.00, 3.00］, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

KFS-FP + AP with a disposable circumcision suture device is a safe and effective method of circumcision, with high satisfaction of the patients and worthy of clinical promotion.

[Abnormally short frenulum induced by circumcision with the disposable circumcision suture device: Causes and improvement of the surgical method]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the causes of abnormally short frenulum induced by circumcision with disposable circumcision suture device and the improvement of the surgical method.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data on 320 cases of phimosis or redundant prepuce treated from January 2020 to September 2020, including 160 children (group A) and 160 adults (group B), each further divided into an observation group (n = 80, groups A1 and B1) and a control group (n = 80, groups A2 and B2). The patients in groups A1 and B1 underwent circumcision by suture positioning at the frenulum with the disposable circumcision suture device, and those in groups A2 and B2 received conventional circumcision with the disposable circumcision suture device. We compared the operation time, incidence rate of abnormally short frenulum and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score at 6 hours after surgery among the four groups of patients.

RESULTS

Statistically significant differences were observed between groups A1 and A2 in the operation time (12.00 ［11.00, 13.00］ vs 8.50 ［8.50, 9.00］ min, P < 0.05) and the incidence rate of abnormally short frenulum (0 vs 10%, P < 0.05) but not in the VAS score (3.00 ［3.00, 4.00］ vs 3.00 ［3.00, 3.75］, P > 0.05). Statistically significant differences were also found between groups B1 and B2 in the operation time (12.00 ［11.00, 12.00］ vs 6.25 ［6.00, 7.00］ min, P < 0.05) and the incidence rate of abnormally short frenulum (0 vs 7.5%, P < 0.05) but not in the VAS score (2.00 ［2.00, 3.00］ vs 2.00 ［2.00, 3.00］, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Abnormally short frenulum induced by circumcision with the disposable circumcision suture device is mainly attributed to ligation and fixation of the prepuce with the fixation band. Circumcision with the disposable circumcision suture device by suture positioning at the frenulum is a safe and effective method worthy of clinical promotion.

[A multicenter survey of the accessibility of essential medicines for children in China]

Objective: To investigate the availability, prices and affordability of essential medicines in pediatric population across China, in the hope of improving rational use of medicines. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional survey of medicine prices, availability and affordability was conducted in 17 provinces, municipalities and autonomous region across east, south-central part, west and north of China. Data on 42 medicines used in pediatric population, both original and generic, were collected in 55 public hospitals from May 26 to June 2, 2017. Availability was expressed as the percentage of hospitals with stock of the target medicine on the day of data collection,and median price ratio (MPR) was the ratio of price upon investigation to international reference. Based on national minimum daily wage, affordability represents the number of working days needed to earn the expense which covers a standard course using the target medicine. Statistical software SPSS 13.0 was applied for descriptive analysis of availability, MPR and affordability. Results: Mean Availability of original and generic medicine was 33% and 32%, with median MPR being 5.43 and 1.55. Among the 19 medicines with price information for both original and generic product, the median MPR was 7.73 and 2.04 respectively. Regarding the five medicines used to treat four common pediatric diseases (pneumonia,peptic ulcer, congenital hypothyroidism, refractory nephrotic syndrome), the affordability was 0.63 (0.16-6.17) d for generic medicine, and 1.03 (0.16-11.53) d for its original counterpart. Conclusions: The availability to both original and generic products of the 42 medicines used in pediatric population was low in China. The prices of generic medicines seem to be lower and affordability higher than those of original medicines. There is an urgent need to improve the availability and affordability of pediatric medicines.

[Stench Sources and Impact Analysis in Automobile Making]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are an important source of industrial stench. This study was aimed at sampling and analyzing the stench source and its impact on the sensitive spot residential areas, concentrating on certain automobile manufacturing enterprise. The odor concentration and VOCs species of each vent stack, plant boundary, and sensitive spot in the enterprise were determined for November 15 and 17, 2016 via qualitative and quantitative analysis using the triangle odor bag method and gas pre-concentration system-gas chromatography-mass spectra. The results show that the odor concentrations of all vent stacks in the original equipment manufacturing plant and the engine plant were below the criterion level, those of the plant boundaries in the engine plant were below the limits, and those of the plant boundaries and sensitive spots in the original equipment manufacturing plant exceeded the allowed standards. A total of 54 VOCs species were identified, including aromatics, halogenated compounds, alkanes, alkene, cycloalkanes, ketones, esters, ethers, alcohols, sulfur compounds, and oxygen ring compounds. Halogenated compounds were the most abundant VOCs species, followed by aromatics. As a result, aromatics and halogenated compounds are the representative odorants in automobile making. 1,3-Butadiene and ethyl toluene were selected to be the typical odorants of sensitive spots according to mass concentration, detector odor threshold, and threshold dilution multiples of characteristic VOCs species in sensitive spots. The results show that the majority of characteristic VOCs species were from paint composition through the qualitative analysis based on paint used in coating shops. 1,3-Butadiene, which contributed the most to odor pollution, excluding the impact of other emission sources on sensitive spots, originates from spraying and drying processes of coating shops in the original equipment manufacturer. It is recommended that the enterprise should adopt environmentally friendly paints with low VOCs components or RTO purification equipment with higher processing efficiency to reduce the impact of stench on the sensitive residential areas from automobile making.

[Reactivity-based Anthropogenic VOCs Emission Inventory in China]

A reactivity-based anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission inventory in China in 2010 was developed on the basis of ozone formation potential (OFP), using the latest VOCs emission inventory, source profiles and maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) values. The results showed that the total anthropogenic OFP was 84187.61 kt in China in 2010, of which 6882.53 kt was from alkanes, 41496.92 kt from alkenes/alkynes, 32945.32 kt from aromatic hydrocarbons, 161.45 kt from halocarbons, and 2701.40 kt from oxygenated organics. The top 10 species in terms of OFP consisted of propene, ethene, m/p-xylene, toluene, 1-butene, o-xylene, 1,2,4-trimethyl benzene, 1,3-butadiene, m-ethyl toluene and ethyl benzene, contributing 63.95% to the total OFP but only 31.84% to the mass-based emission. Industrial sources accounted for the largest (49.29%) of the total OFP, followed by transportation sources (28.31%) and agricultural sources (22.40%). The key industrial sources with high reactivity were architectural decoration industry, oil refinery industry, storage and transport, machinery equipment industry, transport equipment industry and printing. Passenger cars, motorcycles and heavy duty vehicles were the major OFP sources of transportation. The two biomass burning sources were both the key OFP sources of agriculture. Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Henan were the top five provinces with contributions of 39.65% of the total OFP in China. The reactivity-based emission inventory in this study would be of great significance for the formulation of reactivity-based ozone (O₃) control strategies in China.

The beta-tubulin-encoding gene from Microbotryum violaceum: unusual in a variety of ways

The beta-tubulin gene of Microbotryum violaceum was sought originally for its potential use in improving the transformation of this organism. The gene was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The gene was predicted to encode a 444-residue protein with strong sequence similarity to other beta-tubulins. The coding region was 2.85 kb, much larger than the corresponding genes from other organisms. This was due to the large number of introns in this gene, as determined by comparison of the cDNA sequence with that for the genomic clone. This gene contained 14 introns, which is the most introns in a beta-tubulin-encoding gene yet reported for any organism. Intron position comparisons between the M. violaceum gene and those from beta-tubulin genes of other organisms revealed a striking result, since 10 of the 14 introns were unique. An additional feature of the gene's organization was an unusually long 5' untranslated region, predicted to be nearly 1 kb in length. The possible significance of these unusual features of genetic structure is discussed.