Ginsenoside Rg1 injection combined with inosine tablets and vitamin B1 for the treatment of primary retinitis pigmentosa / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To investigate the effects of ginsenoside Rg1 injection combined with inosine tablets and vitamin B1 on serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF), pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide(PACAP)and clinical efficacy in primary retinitis pigmentosa.METHODS: A total of 50 patients(100 eyes)with primary retinitis pigmentosa who admitted to the Department of Ophthalmology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University from August 2019 to March 2022 were selected as the research object. They were divided into the study group and the control group according to random number table, with 50 eyes in each group. Patients in the control group were treated with inosine tablets and vitamin B1, while patients in the study group were treated with ginsenoside Rg1 injection on the basis of the control group. The expression of BDNF and PACAP in serum, electroretinogram and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT)were compared before and after treatment, and the retinal thickness(RT), mean deviation(MD), clinical efficacy and safety indexes were compared between the two groups.RESULTS: There were no differences in the MD of the two groups before treatment(t=1.670, P=0.098), while the MD of the study group was significantly lower than that of the control group after treatment(t=3.628, P<0.01). Before treatment, RT with a diameter of 1mm at the circle of macular fovea was compared between the two groups(t=0.108, P=0.914), it was significantly higher than that in the control group after treatment(t=6.125, P<0.01). Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the results of dark adaptation of electroretinogram between the two groups(all P>0.05). After treatment, the results of dark adaptation in the study group were significantly better than those in the control group(all P<0.01). Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the results of electroretinogram adaptation between the two groups(all P>0.05). After treatment, the results of electroretinogram adaptation in the study group were significantly better than those in the control group(all P<0.01). There was no significant difference in BDNF and PACAP between the two groups before treatment(all P>0.05). BDNF and PACAP in the study group were higher than those of the control group after treatment(all P<0.01). After treatment, no adverse reactions were observed in both groups.CONCLUSION: The treatment of patients with primary retinitis pigmentosa with ginsenoside will improve the retinal function and promote the prognosis of the disease by regulating the expression of BDNF and PACAP, and it is highly safe.

Screening of natural drug molecules against Fusarium oxysporum of ginseng root rot based on machine learning / 药学学报

italic>Fusarium oxysporum widely exists in farmland soil and is one of the main pathogenic fungi of root rot, which seriously affects the growth and development of plants and often causes serious losses of cash crops. In order to screen out natural compounds that inhibit the activity of Fusarium oxysporum more economically and efficiently, random forest, support vector machine and artificial neural network based on machine learning algorithms were constructed using the information of known inhibitory compounds in ChEMBL database in this study. And the antibacterial activity of the screened drugs was verified thereafter. The results showed that the prediction accuracy of the three models reached 77.58%, 83.03% and 81.21%, respectively. Based on the inhibition experiment, the best inhibition effect (MIC = 0.312 5 mg·mL-1) of ononin was verified. The virtual screening method proposed in this study provides ideas for the development and creation of new pesticides derived from natural products, and the screened ononin is expected to be a potential lead compound for the development of novel inhibitors of Fusarium oxysporum.

Optimal Potassium Application Rate for Panax ginseng / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveThe law of fertilizer requirement serves as the basis for the fertilization of medicinal plants， development of special fertilizer， and high-quality medicinal materials. MethodThis study aims to explore the optimal potassium application rate for Panax ginseng to achieve high yield and quality of the medicinal material and targeted management of potassium fertilizer. To be specific， 6 concentration gradients （0， 2， 4， 8， 10， and 12 mmol·L-1） of potassium sulfate （potassium fertilizer） were designed and applied to the 4-year-old P. ginseng in CK， C1， C2， C3， C4， and C5 treatments， respectively. Thereby， the influence of potassium concentration on P. ginseng was observed. ResultWhen potassium sulfate was applied at 8 mmol·L-1， P. ginseng had the chlorophyll content of 32.13%， net photosynthetic rate of 2.548 8 µmol·m-2·s-1， and activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD）， peroxidase （POD）， and catalase （CAT） significantly higher than those in the CK， C1， C4， and C5 treatments （P<0.05）. The average fresh weight of P. ginseng roots was 6.25 g， 134% up from the CK， and the content of ginsenoside Rg1 （5.24 mg·g-1） and Re （4.17 mg·g-1） and total saponins （12.33 mg·g-1） was significantly higher than that in CK and other treatments （P<0.05）. Thus， 8 mmol·L-1 potassium sulfate was most favorable for the growth and effective component accumulation of four-year-old P. ginseng. ConclusionThis study expounds the effect of potassium fertilizer on the yield and quality of P. ginseng， which is expected to help guide the precise application of potassium fertilizer in P. ginseng production in the field and lay a theoretical basis for the development of special fertilizer for P. ginseng and the optimization of fertilization technology.

Application of Flow Cytometry Combined Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization to Indentify the Lymphocyte Subtypies with Epstein-Barr Virus Infection / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To establish the technique that take the advantages of flow cytometry combined fluorescence in situ hybridization (Flow-FISH) to identify the Epstein-Barr virus(EBV) infected lymphocyte subtypies in patients' peripheral blood sample.@*METHODS@#Peripheral Blood monocyte from 9 patients with EBV infection enrolled at Children's Hospital in Chongqing Medical University were isolated by Ficoll-paque centrifugal separation. The expressions of EBER1, EBER2 in cell were detected by qRT-PCR. The surface markers of cell were detected by Flow cytometry after staining with their antibodies. The cell was treated Fix-Permeabilization Buffer before hybridization with fluorescent labeled probe at 37 ℃ overnight. The cell status, surface markers and targeted mRNA are detected by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscope.@*RESULTS@#It was optimized that the Fix-Permeabilization Buffer and recipe with 0.2% Tween-20 were picked out as providing a good cell integrity and high resolution of surface markers. Hybridization with 20% formamide and 7% dextran sulfate at 37 ℃ overnight is the optimal hybridization condition as a good hybridization effect, a detectable cell integrity and a high resolution of cell markers under flow cytometry detection. Finally, upon the established Flow-FISH method, lymphocyte subpopulations of the EBV+ cells from cell lines and blood samples of patients were identified successfully.@*CONCLUSION@#A Flow-FISH technology is established, which can be applied in the identification of EBV infected cell subtypes. This research provides a foundmental for its application in clinical test in EBV+ related proliferative diseases.

Predictive model of curative effect of mite subcutaneous immunotherapy in 5-18 years of age patients with allergic asthma / 中华儿科杂志

Objective: To analyze the factors affecting the efficacy of mite subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) in allergic asthma patients aged 5-18 years, and to find the best predictive model for the curative effect. Methods: The data of 688 patients aged 5-18 years with allergic asthma who completed more than 3 years of mite SCIT from December 2006 to November 2021 in the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. Male, results of skin prick test (SPT), age, daily medication score (DMS), visual analogue scale (VAS) score, and enrollment season were defined as independent variables. R language models, including Logistic regression model, random forest model and extreme gradient boosting (XGboost) model, were used to analyze the impact of these independent variables on the outcomes. The receiver operating characteristic curve was applied to compare the predictive ability of the models. Hypothesis testing of the area under curve (AUC) of the 3 models was performed using DeLong test. Results: There were 435 males and 253 females in the 688 patients. There were 349 patients aged 5-<8 years, 240 patients aged 8-<11 years, and 99 patients aged 11-18 years. SPT showed that 429 cases (62.4%) were only allergic to mite, and 259 cases (37.7%) were also allergic to other allergens. According to the efficacy after 3 years of SCIT, 351 cases (51.0%) discontinued the treatment and 337 cases (49.0%) required continued treatment. The DMS was 4 (3, 6) at initiation, 3 (2, 5) at 3 months, 3 (2, 5) at 4 months, 2 (1, 3) at 12 months, and 0 (0, 1) at 3 years of SCIT treatment. The VAS was 3.5 (2.5, 5.2) at initiation, 3.2 (2.2, 4.8) at 3 months, 2.6 (1.4, 4.1) at 4 months, 1.0 (0.6, 1.8) at 12 months, and 0.5 (0, 1.2) at 3 years of treatment. At 3, 4, and 12 months, the rate of decline in DMS was 0 (0, 20%), 16.7% (0, 33.3%), and 50.0% (31.0%, 75.0%), respectively; and the VAS decreased by 7.1% (3.2%,13.8%), 27.6% (16.7%,44.4%), and 70.2% (56.1%, 82.3%), respectively. Regarding the enrollment season, 99 cases were in spring, 230 cases in summer, 171 cases in autumn, and 188 cases in winter. The R language Logistic regression model found that DMS>3 points at 3 months (OR=-3.5, 95%CI:-4.3--2.7, P<0.01), male (OR=-1.7, 95%CI:-2.3--1.0), P<0.01), DMS decline rate>16.7% at 4 months (OR=-1.6, 95%CI:-2.3--0.8, P<0.01) and DMS decline rate>0 at 3 months (OR=-0.7, 95%CI:-1.3--0.2, P<0.05) had higher possibility of drug discontinuation; whereas, the decline rate of DMS at 12 months>50.0% (OR=0.7, 95%CI: 0.1-1.3, P<0.05), VAS at 12 months>1.0 points (OR=0.9, 95%CI: 0.3-1.6, P<0.05), and initial VAS<4.0 points (OR=1.0, 95%CI: 0.4-1.6, P<0.01) had lower possibility of drug discontinuation. Both the random forest model and the XGboost model showed that DMS>3 points at 3 months (mean decrease accuracy=30.9, importance=0.45) had the greatest impact on drug discontinuation. The AUC of the random forest model was the largest at 0.900, with an accuracy of 78.2% and a sensitivity of 84.5%. Logistic regression model had AUC of 0.891, accuracy of 80.0%, and sensitivity of 80.0%; XGboost model had AUC of 0.886, accuracy of 76.9%, and sensitivity of 84.5%. The AUC of the pairwise comparison model by DeLong test found that all three models could be used for the prediction of this data set (all P>0.05). Conclusions: The more drugs used to control the primary disease, and the more careful reduction of the control medicine after starting SCIT treatment, the more favorable it is to stop all drugs after 3 years. The random forest model is the best predictive model for the efficacy of mite SCIT in asthmatic children.

Effect of calcium sulfate on promoting natural healing of docking sites during bone transport / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To observe clinical effect of calcium sulfate on promoting natural healing of docking sites during bone transport.@*METHODS@#A retrospective study was performed on the patients with posttraumatic chronic osteomyelitis treated by bone transport and calcium sulfate implantation from January 2013 to January 2018. There were 23 males and 4 females, aged from 20 to 61 years old with an average of (44.30±10.00) years, the courses of disease ranged from 3 to 86 months with an average of(13.26±16.47) months. Sixteen patients with posttraumatic chronic osteomyelitis were caused by internal fixation of closed fractures, and 11 patients were caused by open fractures. The length of bone defects after debridement ranged from 4 to 14 cm with an average of(9.11±2.57) cm. Postoperative complications, natural healing rate of the docking sites, external fixation index were observed, Checketts & Otterburn pin-tract infection classification was used to evaluate pin-tract infection, and Paley evaluation criteria was used to evaluate bone and function results.@*RESULTS@#Twenty-seven patients were followed up from 26 to 41 months with an average of (31.32±3.37) months. It did not happened skin embedded between bone stumps in all patients. All patients obtained bone union at (17.78±5.43) months after operation.Among them, 25 patients healed naturally in the docking sites, 2 patients with poor compliance healed after debridement and bone grafting in the docking sites. One patient occurred equines deformity, and no re-fracture or recurrence of infection occurred. According to Checketts & Otterburn pin tract infection classification, 22 patients (41 pin tracts)occurred pin-tract infection with varying degrees. The average external fixation index was (2.02±0.24) months/cm(ranged from 1.6 to 2.4 months/cm). According to Paley evaluation criteria, bony results showed 21 patients obtained excellent results, 5 good, and 1 moderate;functional results showed 19 patients got excellent results, 7 good, and 1 moderate.@*CONCLUSION@#During bone transport, the implantation of calcium sulfate on the bone defect areas could prevent skin embedding between the bone stumps, benefit for the natural healing of the docking sites, and could avoid the second-stage debridement and bone grafting for most patients. However, it should be noted that compliance needs to be increased.

Mechanism of puerarin reversing SH-SY5Y cell injury induced by Aβ_(1-42) based on proteomics / 中国中药杂志

Puerarin has the anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) activity,which can reverse nerve injury induced by Aβand inhibit neuronal apoptosis.However,its potential pharmacodynamic mechanism still needs to be further researched.The occurrence and development of AD is due to the change of multiple metabolic links in the body,which leads to the destruction of balance.Puerarin may act on multiple targets and multiple metabolic processes to achieve therapeutic purposes.Quantitative proteomic analysis provides a new choice to understand the mechanism as completely as possible.This research adopted SH-SY5Y cells induced by Aβ_(1-42)to establish AD cell model,and Aβimmunofluorescence detection showed that Aβdecreased significantly after puerarin intervention.The mechanism of puerarin reversing SH-SY5Y cell injured by Aβ_(1-42)was further explored by using label-free non-labeled quantitative technology and Western blot detection based on bioinformatics analysis result.The results showed that most of the differential proteins were related to biological processes such as cellular component organization or biogenesis,cellular component organization and cellular component biogenesis,and they mainly participated in the top ten pathways of P value such as pathogenic Escherichia coli infection,m TOR signaling pathway,regulation of autophagy,regulation of actin cytoskeleton,spliceosome,hepatocellular carcinoma,tight junction,non-small cell lung cancer,apoptosis and gap junction.Annexin V/PI flow cytometry and TUNEL were used to detect apoptosis,and the results showed that Aβdecreased significantly and the rate of apoptosis decreased significantly after puerarin intervention.Western blot analysis found that the protein expression level of autophagy related protein LC3Ⅱwas up-regulated after Aβinduction,and the degree of this up-regulation was further enhanced in puerarin intervention group.The trend of the ratio of LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰamong groups was the same as the protein expression level of LC3Ⅱ，the protein expression level of p62 in the control group,AD model group and puerarin intervention group decreased successively.Protein interaction network analysis showed that CAP1 was correlated with TUBA1B,HSP90AB2P,DNM1L,TUBA1A and ERK1/2,and the correlation between CAP1 and ERK1/2 was the highest among them.Western blot showed that the expressions of p-ERK1/2,Bax and CAP1 were significantly down-regulated and the protein expression level of Bcl-2 was significantly up-regulated after puerarin intervention.Therefore,puerarin might improve the SH-SY5Y cells injured by Aβ_(1-42)through the interaction of multiple biological processes and pathways in cells multiple locations,and CAP1 might play an important role among them.

Effect of Rehabilitation on Patients with Anterior Talofibular Ligament Injury at Different Stages / 中国康复理论与实践

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy of rehabilitation training at different stages on patients with anterior talofibular ligament injury after conservative treatment. Methods:From October 2017 to October 2018, 58 patients with anterior talofibular ligament injury were divided into six-week rehabilitation group (n = 29) and twelve-week rehabilitation group (n = 29), according to the time they began rehabilitation after injury. Visual Analogue Score (VAS) and American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot function scoring system were used to evaluate ankle function before rehabilitation, and two weeks, four weeks and eight weeks after rehabilitation, respectively. Results:Two weeks, four weeks and eight weeks after rehabilitation, the scores of VAS and AOFAS improved in both groups (|t| > 4.137, P < 0.001), the scores of VAS were lower (|t| > 3.110, P < 0.01), and the scores of AOFAS were higher (|t| > 3.016, P < 0.01) in the six-week rehabilitation group than in the twelve-week rehabilitation group. Conclusion:It is suggested to begin rehabilitation within six weeks for patients with anterior talofibular ligament injury after conservative treatment.

Exploration on acupoint-selection patterns based on data mining for the treatment of chronic atrophic gastritis / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To analyze the features and patterns of acupoint selection in acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) by data mining technique. Methods:Relevant clinical studies published before 25 June, 2017 were searched in databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database (Wanfang). Results:A total of 122 papers were included, involving 69 points. It was found that the top three points on the frequency list were Zusanli (ST 36), Zhongwan (CV 12) and Weishu (BL 21). The points selected were distributed in 11 meridians, in which the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming, Conception Vessel, and Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang ranked the top and accounted for 74.0％ of the total frequency. Of the involved specific points, Five Shu-Transmitting points, crossing points and Back-Shu points ranked the top, accounting for 47.1％. The analysis of association pattern has shown that Zusanli (ST 36) and Zhongwan (CV 12) won the highest support rate in the paired groups; Zusanli (ST 36), Weishu (BL 21) and Zhongwan (CV 12) had the highest support rate among the point groups. The Five Shu-Transmitting points and the Lower He-Sea points had the highest support rate among the specific point groups. Conclusion: The data mining results of the studies on acupuncture-moxibustion for CAG are substantially in line with the acupuncture-moxibustion treatment theories in traditional Chinese medicine. The results can reflect the acupoint selection patterns in treatment of CAG and provide reference for acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of CAG in clinic.

Effects of astragaloside-IV on the expression of inflammatory factor and proliferation of glomerular mesangial cells induced by angiotensin Ⅱ / 中国应用生理学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To study the effects of astragaloside-IV (As-IV) on the expression of inflammatory factor and proliferation of glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs) induced by angiotensin Ⅱ(AngⅡ).@*METHODS@#The model of diabetic nephropathy(DN) was mimic by angiotensin Ⅱ (10mol/L)inducing GMCs injury. Then the GMCs were treated with As-IV at different concentrations(25,50,100 μmol/L)for 48 hours. The proliferation of GMCs was detected by MTT. The level of reactive oxidative species (ROS) was measured by flow cytometry. The expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1) protein in supernatant was detected by enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1) in GMCs was measured by Western blot.@*RESULTS@#Compared with model group, the proliferation of GMCs was inhibited in As-IV group. As-IV decreased the level of intercellular ROS, down-regulated the secretion of MCP-1 and the expression of TGF-β1 proteins.@*CONCLUSIONS@#As-IV could inhibit cell proliferation and inflammatory factors expression on GMCs induced by AngⅡ.

Systematic Review of Therapeutic Effect of Electroacupuncture for Idiopathic Facial Palsy at Acute Stage / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To make a systematic review of therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture(EA) for idiopathic facial palsy at acute stage. Methods With reference to the included criteria and excluded criteria, clinical controlled trials of EA for idiopathic facial palsy at acute stage were screened from the databases of CBM, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP by computer retrieval and from the primary domestic academic journals of acupuncture by manual retrieval. Systematic review was performed following the Cochrane Reviewers' Handbook, and RevMan 5.3 was used for Meta-analysis. Results Sixteen clinical trials were included. The Meta-analysis results showed that the cure rate evaluated with 3 kinds of therapeutic effect criteria in the observation group was superior to that of the control group, the difference being significant (P<0.05 or P<0.01); the effects on improving days for cure, cure case number within one month, blink reflex, and case number with complications in the observation group were also superior to that of the control group, the difference being significant (P < 0.01). Conclusion EA exerts certain therapeutic effect for idiopathic facial palsy at acute stage. But for the quantity and quality of the included trials are not satisfactory, the conclusion still needs more high-quality, large-size and long-term follow-up trials to verify.

Acaroid mite breeding in ground rice in Wenchang area / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

Objective To investigate the breeding of acaroid mites in the stored grains in Wenchang area,Hainan Province,China.Methods The breeding mites from the samples were separated by a shake-sieve and microscope directly.The isolations were used for slide preparation based on previous literature,and then under a light microscope,the identification and counting of the acaroid mites were performed.Results Twelve species of mites were identified from 20 categories of grains.They be-longed to 10 genera of 4 families.Among the 12 grain samples,the breeding rates were higher of Blomia tropicalis and Tyropha-gus putrescentiae.Among the 20 samples collected,a total of 5 885 mites were found,with an average breeding density of 29.43/g.Conclusion The infestation of acaroid mites appears serious in the stored grains in Wenchang area,which should be taken measures to prevent and control.

Clinical effect of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation and calcification / 局解手术学杂志

Objective To discuss the clinical effect of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy(PELD) in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation and calcification.Methods The clinical data of 52 patients with lumbar disc herniation and calcification in orthopedic department of general hospital of Fushun mining bureau from June 2015 to June 2016 were retrospectively reviewed.The data included medical records,out-patient review,telephone follow-up was collected.The VAS,ODI and modified MacNab criteria were used to assess the clinical effects.Results There were significant improvement in VAS and ODI score at 6 week,6 months,1 year after surgery compared with before.According to the modified MacNab criteria,the rate of excellent and good result was 94.3％,the improvement rate was 98.1％.Conclusion PELD is an effective method to treat lumbar disc herniation and calcification,with advantages of less injury,rapid recovery,it is worth popularizing application in clinic.

Therapeutic Observation of Abdomen-relaxation-vibration Therapy for Refractory Insomnia / 上海针灸杂志

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of abdomen-relaxation-vibration therapy in treating refractory insomnia. Method Eighty patients with refractory insomnia were randomized into a treatment group (40 cases) and a control group (40 cases). The treatment group was intervened by abdomen-relaxation-vibration therapy, while the control group was intervened by oral administration of Diazepam prior to sleep. The clinical efficacy and change of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in the two groups were observed. Result The scores of PSQI dropped significantly in both groups after the treatment (P<0.01), and the scores in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.01,P<0.05); the markedly effective rate and total effective rate were respectively 62.5% and 87.5% in the treatment group, significantly higher than 27.5% and 62.5% in the control group, and there was a significant difference in the therapeutic efficacy between the two groups (P<0.05). Conclusion Abdomen-relaxation-vibration therapy is effective in treating refractory insomnia, and it's easy-to-operate and safe.

Clinical Study on Acupuncture at Cranial Sutures plus Rehabilitation Training for Post-stroke Spastic Palsy / 上海针灸杂志

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture at cranial sutures plus rehabilitation training in treating post-stroke spastic palsy.Method Sixty patients with post-stroke spastic palsy were randomized into a treatment group and a control group, 30 cases each. The treatment group was intervened by acupuncture at cranial sutures plus rehabilitation training, while the control group was intervened by rehabilitation training alone. The Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment, and activities of daily living (ADL) in the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) were observed before and after the treatment for the two groups.Result After the intervention, there was a significant difference in MAS score between the two groups (P<0.05). The FMA and ADL scores were changed significantly after the treatment in both groups (P<0.05). The FMA and ADL scores in the treatment group were significantly different from those in the control group after the treatment (P<0.05).Conclusion Acupuncture at cranial sutures plus rehabilitation is an effective approach in treating post-stroke spastic palsy.

Viscoelastic properties of adjacent segments during prolonged flexion after anterior intervertebral fusion / 医用生物力学

Objective To analyze the viscoelastic properties of adjacent segments after anterior fusion under prolonged flexion, and further reveal the mechanism of accelerated adjacent segment degeneration after intervertebral fusion. Methods The same prolonged flexion lasted 30 minutes was applied on the two-level ovine lumbar specimen before and after anterior fusion respectively, and the moment relaxation and viscoelastic deformation of adjacent segments were measured. The moment relaxation curves from two groups were then fitted to obtain the quantitative viscoelastic results. Results After fusion，the initial and final moment in two groups significantly increased by 30.68% and 34.34%, and the viscoelastic deformation of the adjacent segments increased by 28.21%. The Prony model could perfectly fit the moment relaxation curves (R2=99.50%). The integral stiffness significantly increased by 47.82% and 31.14% for two groups, while the viscoelasticity significantly decreased by 27.19% and 28.16%, respectively(P<0.05). Conclusions After intervertebral fusion, to maintain the same posture with the same time, the joints should bear larger loads than before. The viscoelastic deformation of adjacent segments becomes larger, which increases the risk of instability or injury, and further leads to the accelerated degeneration of adjacent segments. The mechanism of quasi-static daily loading on adjacent segment degeneration should be focused in clinical research.

Load rate of facet joints at the adjacent segment increased after fusion / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The cause of the adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) after fusion remains unknown. It is reported that adjacent facet joint stresses increase after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. This increase of stress rate may lead to tissue injury. Thus far, the load rate of the adjacent segment facet joint after fusion remains unclear.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Six C2-C7 cadaveric spine specimens were loaded under four motion modes: Flexion, extension, rotation, and lateral bending, with a pure moment using a 6° robot arm combined with an optical motion analysis system. The Tecscan pressure test system was used for testing facet joint pressure.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The contact mode of the facet joints and distributions of the force center during different motions were recorded. The adjacent segment facet joint forces increased faster after fusion, compared with intact conditions. While the magnitude of pressures increased, there was no difference in distribution modes before and after fusion. No pressures were detected during flexion. The average growth velocity during extension was the fastest and was significantly faster than lateral bending.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>One of the reasons for cartilage injury was the increasing stress rate of loading. This implies that ASD after fusion may be related to habitual movement before and after fusion. More and faster extension is disadvantageous for the facet joints and should be reduced as much as possible.</p>

Indoor Allergen Levels and Household Distributions in Nine Cities Across China / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Chinese allergic subjects have high levels of sensitization to house dust mite (HDM) and other indoor allergens. This study quantifies common indoor allergen levels in Chinese households.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Dust samples were collected from nine cities. Major allergens Der p 1 and Der f 1 from Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and D. farinae, and specific antigens of Blomia tropicalis, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Acarus siro, and cockroach species Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana were measured by ELISA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>HDM allergens were found in dust samples from bedding in 95% of the Chinese households. The median levels varied from <0.006 to 9.2 µg/g of dust, depending on the city. The percentages of households having HDM allergen levels associated with the risk of developing allergy sensitization and asthma were 65% and 25%, respectively. Specific antigens of the storage mite and cockroach were only found in samples from the southern and tropical regions of China. Levels of mite allergens were generally higher in samples from bedding compared to samples from the living room, even for storage mites, whereas levels of cockroach antigens were higher in the living room samples.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>HDM allergens are present in bedding dust samples from most Chinese households. Cities in southern and central China have relatively high levels of HDM major allergens compared to cities in northern and western China. Antigens of storage mites and cockroaches are not as common as HDM allergens.</p>

Evaluation of psychological fear in children undergoing head-up tilt test / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of different tilt angles of head-up tilt test (HUTT) and different responses to HUTT on the psychological fear in children undergoing the test.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>HUTT was performed on children with unexplained syncope or pre-syncope (107 cases: 52 males and 55 females), aged 5.5-17.8 years (mean 12.0±2.8 years). All subjects were randomly assigned to undergo HUTT at an angle of 60°, 70° or 80°; the negative cases underwent sublingual nitroglycerin-provocation HUTT at the same tilt angle. The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale was used for self-assessment of psychological fear in subjects during HUTT at the end point of the test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The positive rate, hemodynamic changes and distribution of response types showed no significant differences between children at tilt angles of 60°, 70° and 80° (P>0.05). The greater the tilt angle, the higher the degree of psychological fear in children undergoing the test, but there were no significant differences between them (P>0.05). The degree of psychological fear in children who showed a positive response to HUTT (n=76) was significantly higher than that in children who showed a negative response (n=31) (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>HUTT can cause psychological fear in children undergoing the test, and the degree of psychological fear increases in children tested at tilt angles from 60° to 80°, but the differences have no statistical significance. A positive response to HUTT can significantly increase the psychological fear in children.</p>

Effect of yiqi huaju recipe combined with routine therapy in treating hypertension patients with metabolic syndrome: a clinical study / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the therapeutic effect of Yiqi Huaju Recipe (YHR) combined with routine therapy on the blood pressure, the blood pressure variability and other cardiovascular risk factors in hypertension patients complicated with metabolic syndrome (MetS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 43 hypertension patients complicated with MetS were recruited in this study and randomly assigned to the treatment group (22 cases, treated with basic routine treatment +YHR) and the control group (21 cases, treated with basic routine treatment + placebo). The treatment course was 12 weeks. Detected were parameters such as 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist to hip ratio (WHR), homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), fasting glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2 h postprandial plasma glucose (2 h PPG), fasting plasma insulin (FPI), serum lipid, etc.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The anthropometric parameters and plasma glucose levels (except HbAlc) were obviously lowered after treatment than before treatment in the treatment group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Besides, better effects were obtained in the WC, WHR, 2 h PPG, FPI and HOMA-IR (P < 0.05). The average blood pressure amplitude, the blood pressure variability, and blood pressure load at any time point were more obviously improved in the two groups after treatment than before treatment (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Besides, partial indices were better in the treatment group than in the control group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>YHR combined with routine therapy exhibited better effect on reducing the blood pressure amplitude, the blood pressure variability, and the blood pressure load in hypertension patients complicated with MetS. It could also effectively decrease the risk of other vascular disease.</p>