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OBJECTIVES: Morbidity in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) research is an emerging field. Few studies have been published, and there is a lack of international standards for data collection and reporting. Based on the experience of developing a computerized system for patient data collection at the University of Technology, Sydney, (UTS) Acupuncture Clinic (Sydney, Australia), and reporting results from that database, a start can be made toward developing guidelines for reporting similar results from TCM clinical audits. METHODS: This study reports on data relating to 5735 patients who had undergone 29,697 treatments. Patient information is collected by a computerized database recording International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) reason for encounter (RFE) and symptom for encounter (SFE) data and TCM tongue, pulse, diagnostic, and treatment data. Data coding is automated, and systems for reliability testing and error reporting were developed. RESULTS: UTS data has a 2.7% error rate and is within international standards of 5% error. Sixty-one-point three percent (61.3%) of patients were female and of these, 59.45 were 25-44 years of age. Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common presentation (41.4%) of all RFE, followed by general disorders (13.1%) and digestive disorders (8.1%). CONCLUSIONS: International standards must be set for TCM morbidity data collection methods and reporting. It is hoped that the methods described and reported in this paper are an initial step in the setting of such standards and that they will be adopted by other researchers. In particular, methods for testing and reporting data reliability must be adopted if TCM morbidity studies are to maintain any credibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A protocol for a prospective single-blind parallel four-arm randomized placebo-controlled trial with repeated measures was designed to test the effects of various acupuncture methods compared with sham. Eighty self-selected participants with myofascial pain in the upper trapezius muscle were randomized into four groups. Group 1 received acupuncture to a myofascial trigger point (MTrP) in the upper trapezius. Group 2 received acupuncture to the MTrP in addition to relevant distal points. Group 3 received acupuncture to the relevant distal points only. Group 4 received a sham treatment to both the MTrP and distal points using a deactivated acupuncture laser device. Treatment was applied four times within 2 weeks with outcomes measured throughout the trial and at 2 weeks and 4 weeks posttreatment. Outcome measurements were a 100-mm visual analog pain scale, SF-36, pressure pain threshold, Neck Disability Index, the Upper Extremity Functional Index, lateral flexion in the neck, McGill Pain Questionnaire, Massachusetts General Hospital Acupuncture Sensation Scale, Working Alliance Inventory (short form), and the Credibility Expectance Questionnaire. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures were used to assess the differences between groups., (Copyright © 2017 Medical Association of Pharmacopuncture Institute. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the reliability of a scale to assess the methodological quality of acupuncture administered in clinical research., Methods: We invited 36 acupuncture researchers and postgraduate students to participate in the study. Firstly, participants rated two articles using the scale. Following this initial stage, modifications were made to scale items and the exercise was repeated. Interrater reliability was assessed for individual items using the Fleiss kappa statistic, whilst the overall scale used the intraclass correlation coefficient statistic. A threshold agreement of ≥0.61 was acceptable., Results: We received 26 responses and a 72% response rate. The first phase of testing found moderate reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.46 and 0.55 for the articles. The interrater reliability of the scales varied between and within the researchers (0.35, 0.60) and was more consistent with the postgraduate students (0.54, 0.54). Five items on the scale scored below the threshold and were revised for further testing. In this phase the intraclass correlation coefficient demonstrated variability between articles but improved to achieve reliability above the agreed threshold., Conclusion: This study provides evidence of the reliability of the NICMAN scale although improvements to a small number of items remain.

Background: Quality acupuncture influences the outcomes of clinical research, and issues associated with effective administration of acupuncture in randomized controlled trials need to be addressed when appraising studies., Objective: The study objective was to achieve consensus on domains and items for inclusion in a rating scale to assess quality acupuncture administered in clinical research., Study Design and Subjects: An active group of Australian acupuncture researchers initially identified a pool of items assessing quality. The Delphi consensus process was then used to select and reduce the number of items, and an additional expert panel of 42 researchers were invited to participate. Participants initially ranked items along a five-point scale for the first Delphi round, and indicated an agree or disagree response during the second round. For an item to be retained into the second round, an item had to attain greater than 80% agreement that the item described a dimension of quality acupuncture and related study design., Results: Thirty-two (32) experts agreed to participate in the study. After two rounds of the Delphi process, consensus was reached on 14 domains and 26 items relating to quality acupuncture. Domains, items, and minimum standards related to study design; rationale of the intervention; criteria relating to needling stimulation either manual or electrostimulation; duration and frequency of treatment; and practitioner training., Conclusions: Items for inclusion in an instrument to assess quality acupuncture in clinical research were identified. Further development of the instrument including relative weighting of items and reliability testing is under way.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has long justified its practice on empirical phenomenology. Questions remain, however, as to the legitimacy of this approach and its relevance to TCM practice and educational developments in the 21st century. General medical practice (GMP) has used practice-based data collected over the past 25 years to develop relevant medical curriculum and enhance patient care. As TCM becomes ever more incorporated into Western educational and health systems, it too must concern itself with providing a solid evidence base to be used in enhancing patient care and educational curriculum. Computer generated data related to patient problems or problem complexes abstracted from TCM clinical records can provide the basis for practitioner development and the enhancement of training programs that will lead to improvements in patient care. Such locally valid and representative data can also be used to inform research programs, public policy and evidence-based commissioning. The key to developing such systems is standardising TCM terminology and data collection protocols.

This report compares laser-based polarimetric and UV data for quantitating incompletely resolved enantiomers by HPLC. Using L- and D-phenylalanine as a working model, response data is shown across the entire detection region while emphasizing the regions at or near 100% L, 100% D and 50:50 L:D at resolutions between 0.4 and 1.4. In general, the poorer the resolution, the greater the improvement in detectability with the polarimeter when compared to UV detection. This is due to the inherent bipolar nature of the polarimetric signal, which creates a well-defined crossing point for integration of an enantiomeric pair. In our previous work, we described the improvement in measurement precision when applying a bipolar gaussian peak model to the raw chromatographic peak data. This study will measure the model's effect on improving accuracy. This study should be applicable to other chiroptical detection strategies that produce a bipolar signal for enantiomers, such as circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence.

The equations that govern the behavior of ion-selective electrodes are evaluated for the composition ranges of Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, and HCO-3 encountered in living cells. Various cause-effect relations are detailed, especially those pertaining to calibration procedures. The relation of the accuracy of measurement to the expected signal range, particularly in connection with the uncertainty of interpolation, is emphasized. Relevant numerical parameters are given for all ISE's discussed, the selectivity characteristics being those of the most advanced membrane systems. Figures are provided for the calibration curves in the vicinity of the typical cytosol composition.

A neutral-carrier-based Ca2+-selective electrode exposed to whole blood exhibited an EMF-stability better than 0.13 mV (approximately 1% change of the initial activity) during 3.7 to 6.6 h. It has been used successfully to monitor ionic Ca2+ in the extracorporeal circulation during administration of calcitonin to dogs. Data simulation shows that the apparent concentration of ionic Ca2+ is affected by the concentration of Na+. A variation in [Na+] by +/- 5 mmol/L from a value of 143 mmol/L used for the calibration leads to uncertainties of +/- 0.8% in the Ca2+ concentration and +/- 0.2% in the Ca2+ activity if 3 mol/L KCl is used as the reference electrode solution. When an isotonic solution was used as reference electrolyte, errors of +/- 0.8% and +/- 1.7%, respectively, were observed.

The theoretic framework of electrode systems and numerical data for use in serum analysis is given. Original literature and recent applications to serum analysis are compiled for different types of sensors. The interactions of various effects and their relevance in the context of the precision that newer instrumentation offers are discussed. Specifically, the following topics are treated: response to interfering ions (Nicolsky Eq.), concentration to activity conversion (Debye-Hückel formalism), and liquid-junction potentials (Henderson Eq.); Debye-Hückel parameters, selectivity factors, and physiologic activity ranges; solid-state, liquid-membrane, and special electrodes; flow-through systems, precision, and stability.