Laser acupuncture combined with auricular acupressure improves low-back pain and quality of life in nurses: A randomized controlled trial / 中西医结合学报

BACKGROUND@#Low-back pain (LBP) in nurses is a major health concern that affects their quality of life and ability to work, with consequences for their economic status.@*OBJECTIVE@#This study evaluates the effect of low-level laser acupuncture combined with auricular acupressure (LAA) on pain intensity, pain interference and quality of life in nurses with LBP.@*DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS@#This randomized controlled trial recruited a convenience sample of hospital-based nurses from one teaching hospital in Taiwan, China. Participants were randomly assigned to the LAA group (n = 38) receiving low-level laser acupuncture and auricular acupressure for 4 weeks, and the control group (n = 38) receiving only sham laser acupuncture treatment without laser energy output.@*MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES@#Data were collected for the primary pain outcome using the Short Form of the Brief Pain Inventory, while the secondary outcome, quality of life, was evaluated using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire. Both primary and secondary outcomes were scored before the intervention, and after 2-week and 4-week intervention. The rate of LBP recurrence was evaluated at the 4th week and 8th week after the end of intervention.@*RESULTS@#After controlling for prior pain, the result of linear mixed model analysis showed trends in significant between-group differences in the level of current pain occurring in week 4 (P < 0.001), worst pain in week 2 (P < 0.001) and week 4 (P < 0.001), least pain in week 2 (P = 0.032) and week 4 (P < 0.001), pain interference in week 2 (P = 0.009) and week 4 (P < 0.001), and in the life dysfunction in week 2 (P < 0.001) and week 4 (P < 0.001). Recurrence rates of LBP at the 4th and 8th weeks after the end of intervention were 0% and 36.89% in the LAA group, and 69.44% and 36.11% in the control group.@*CONCLUSION@#This study shows that 4-week LAA intervention reduced pain intensity and pain interference, and improved quality of life for hospital-based nurses with LBP. These effects were maintained continuously for at least 4 weeks after the intervention. The nonpharmacological intervention, LAA, may be another efficacious, feasible, noninvasive, analgesic intervention for LBP.@*TRIAL REGISTRATION@#This study is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov (registration number NCT04423445).

Effects and mechanisms of total flavones of Abelmoschus manihot in improving insulin resistance and podocyte epithelial-mesenchymal transition in diabetic kidney disease based on IRS1/PI3K/Akt pathway / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to explore the effects and mechanisms of total flavones of Abelmoschus manihot(TFA), the extracts from traditional Chinese medicine indicated for kidney diseases, on insulin resistance(IR) and podocyte epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT) in diabetic kidney disease(DKD), and further to reveal the scientific connotation. Thirty-two rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, a TFA group, and a rosiglitazone(ROS) group. The modified DKD model was induced in rats by methods including high-fat diet feeding, unilateral nephrectomy, and streptozotocin(STZ) intraperitoneal injection. After modeling, the rats in the four groups were given double-distilled water, TFA suspension, and ROS suspension correspondingly by gavage every day. At the end of the 8th week of drug administration, all rats were sacrificed, and the samples of urine, blood, and kidney tissues were collected. The parameters and indicators related to IR and podocyte EMT in the DKD model rats were examined and observed, including the general condition, body weight(BW) and kidney weight(KW), the biochemical parameters and IR indicators, the protein expression levels of the key signaling molecules and structural molecules of slit diaphragm in the renal insulin receptor substrate(IRS) 1/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/serine-threonine kinase(Akt) pathway, foot process form and glomerular basement membrane(GBM) thickness, the expression of the marked molecules and structural molecules of slit diaphragm in podocyte EMT, and glomerular histomorphological characteristics. The results showed that for the DKD model rats, both TFA and ROS could improve the general condition, some biochemical parameters, renal appearance, and KW. The ameliorative effects of TFA and ROS were equivalent on BW, urinary albumin(UAlb)/urinary creatinine(UCr), serum creatinine(Scr), triglyceride(TG), and KW. Secondly, they could both improve IR indicators, and ROS was superior to TFA in improving fast insulin(FIN) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance(HOMA-IR). Thirdly, they could both improve the protein expression levels of the key signaling molecules in the IRS1/PI3K/Akt pathway and glomerulosclerosis in varying degrees, and their ameliorative effects were similar. Finally, both could improve podocyte injury and EMT, and TFA was superior to ROS. In conclusion, this study suggested that podocyte EMT and glomerulosclerosis could be induced by IR and the decreased activation of the IRS1/PI3K/Akt pathway in the kidney in DKD. Similar to ROS, the effects of TFA in inhibiting podocyte EMT in DKD were related to inducing the activation of the IRS1/PI3K/Akt pathway and improving IR, which could be one of the scientific connotations of TFA against DKD. This study provides preliminary pharmacological evidence for the development and application of TFA in the field of diabetic complications.

Effect of Sodium Salicylate on Calcium Currents and Exocytosis in Cochlear Inner Hair Cells: Implications for Tinnitus Generation / 神经科学通报·英文版

Sodium salicylate is an anti-inflammatory medication with a side-effect of tinnitus. Here, we used mouse cochlear cultures to explore the effects of salicylate treatment on cochlear inner hair cells (IHCs). We found that IHCs showed significant damage after exposure to a high concentration of salicylate. Whole-cell patch clamp recordings showed that 1-5 mmol/L salicylate did not affect the exocytosis of IHCs, indicating that IHCs are not involved in tinnitus generation by enhancing their neuronal input. Instead, salicylate induced a larger peak amplitude, a more negative half-activation voltage, and a steeper slope factor of Ca2+ current. Using noise analysis of Ca2+ tail currents and qRT-PCR, we further found that salicylate increased the number of Ca2+ channels along with CaV1.3 expression. All these changes could act synergistically to enhance the Ca2+ influx into IHCs. Inhibition of intracellular Ca2+ overload significantly attenuated IHC death after 10 mmol/L salicylate treatment. These results implicate a cellular mechanism for tinnitus generation in the peripheral auditory system.

Crotonaldehyde sub-chronic exposure-induced pulmonary pyroptosis in male rats / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect and mechanism of crotonaldehyde sub-chronic exposure-induced pyroptosis in pulmonary inflammatory reaction in male rats. METHODS: Specific pathogen-free male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group and low-, medium-and high-dose groups, with 10 rats in each group. Rats were treated with crotonaldehyde at concentrations of 0.0, 2.5, 4.5, and 8.5 mg/kg body weight by intra-gastric administration, once per day for 120 consecutive days. Rats′ body mass was recorded during exposure. After exposure, the rats were sacrificed, and the lung tissues were isolated. The relative expression of reactive oxygen species(ROS) in lung tissues was detected by fluorescent probes at the end of crotonaldehyde exposure. The fluorescent staining of the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3(NLRP3) and Caspase-1 in lung tissues was observed by immunofluorescence microscope. The protein expression of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated spot-like protein(ASC), Caspase-1 precursor(pro-Caspase-1), Caspase-1, interleukin(IL)-1β and IL-18 in lung tissues was determined by Western blotting. RESULTS: At the end of exposure, the body weight gain of rats decreased with the increasing doses of crotonaldehyde(P<0.01). Among them, the body weight gain in the medium-and high-dose groups was lower than that of the control group(P<0.05). After exposure, the lung tissue of each group showed severe inflammatory change with the increasing doses of crotonaldehyde. Immunofluorescence staining showed that the expression of NLRP3 and Caspase-1 in the lung tissues of rats increased in a dose-dependent manner. The relative expression of ROS and the protein of NLRP3, ASC, pro-Caspase-1, Caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 in lung tissue of each group increased with the dose of crotonaldehyde(P<0.01). The above indexes of lung tissue in the medium-and high-dose groups were higher than that in the control group(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Sub-chronic exposure to crotonaldehyde may cause pyroptosis by up-regulating ROS expression in the lung tissues of rats. The up-regulation of Caspase-1 classic dependent pathway leads to pyroptosis, thereby causing inflammatory responses in the lungs.

Effects of Tc17 Cells on Disease Severity and HBV-DNA Elimination in Patients with HBV Related Acute-on-chronic Liver Failure / 中山大学学报(医学科学版)

@#【Objective】To investigate the effects of Tc17 cells on disease severity and elimination of HBV-DNA in patients with HBV related acute-on-chronic liver failure（HBV-ACLF）.【Methods】Forty-three patients with HBV- ACLF were enrolled. Twenty patients with chronic hepatitis B（CHB）and 12 healthy subjects（NC）were enrolled as controls. Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of peripheral Tc17 cells. HBV-DNA loads were measured，and the MELD，MELD-Na，CLIF-C ACLF and AARC scores were used to evaluate the disease severity. The effects of Tc17 cells on disease severity and decline of HBV-DNA were analyzed.【Results】Compared with NC group and CHB group， the expression of Tc17 cells in HBV-ACLF patients was significantly increased（P < 0.001 and P = 0.017）. Correlation analysis showed that Tc17 cells were positively correlated with AARC score，MELD score and MELD-Na score（r = 0.504，P = 0.001；r = 0.417，P = 0.005 and r = 0.382，P = 0.012），and a correlated trend was found with CLIF-C ACLF score（r = 0.294，P = 0.055）. And as the disease progressed，the expression of Tc17 cells gradually increased.In addition，Tc17 cells were positively correlated with HBV-DNA levels（r = 0.339，P = 0.026）at baseline，and the HBV-DNA levels were significantly decreased in patients with higher expression of Tc17 cells than in lower group after 4 weeks of treatment（P < 0.001）. Furthermore，it was found that baseline Tc17 cells and AST levels were associated with the HBV-DNA decline by multivariate linear regression analysis.【Conclusion】Tc17 cells-mediated inflammatory response helps clear the HBV-DNA，but excessive inflammatory response may aggravate the disease severity.

Elevation of Divalent Metal Transporter 1 Protein in the Cerebellar Cortex of the APP/PS1 Transgenic Mouse / 中国医科大学学报

Objective To investigate the distribution of divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) in the cerebellum of APP/PS1 transgenic mouse. Methods Immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used to analyze the relationship between DMTl and amyloid beta (Aβ) and their distribution in senile plaques. Western blotting was used to analyze DMT1 protein level in the APP/PS1 transgenic mouse cerebellum. Results DMTl and Aβ were mainly located in the amyloid plaques, which were predominately located in the molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex of the transgenic mouse. Only a few plaques could be seen in the Purkinje cell layer and granular layer. Confocal laser microscopy revealed the DMTl and Aβ were co-localized in senile plaques. Conclusion The abundant expression of DMTl protein suggests that DMTl and the divalent metal ions that it transports might be involved in the formation of Aβ senile plaques and other pathological processes in the cerebellum in Alzheimer' s disease.

Effect of docetaxel on cancer stem cell-like cells in the mucoepidermoid carcinoma cell line MC3 / 医学研究生学报

Objective Docetaxel is commonly used in chemotherapy for patients with mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) in the salivary gland after operation,but it cannot kill all residual tumor cells and prevent recurrence.Cancer stem cells (CSCs) may be responsible for tumor recurrence and drug resistance.Based on the theory of CSCs,the authors investigated the effects of docetaxel on cancer stem cell-like cells in the MEC cell line MC3.Methods MC3 cells in the logarithmic growth phase were divided into a negative control and a docetaxel (40 ng/mL) group.The colony formation rate of the MC3 cells was calculated with the soft agar cloning technique,the growth of the cells detected by MTT assay,the protein and mRNA expressions of CD44 and Oct4 determined by immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry,and tumorigenicity observed by nude mouse tumorigenicity assay.Results Compared with the negative control group,the MC3 cells treated with docetaxel exhibited significant increases in the colony formation rate ([9.14±0.75] vs [33.47±1.30]％,P＜0.05),the protein expressions of CD44 (14.47±0.15 vs 99.50±0.30,P＜0.05) and Oct4 (1.37±0.06 vs 14.60±0.36,P＜0.05),and the mRNA expressions of CD44 (0.207±0.009 vs 0.651±0.015,P＜0.05) and Oct4 (0.223±0.008 vs 2.228±0.005,P＜0.05).At 2 months after injection of 1×103,1× 104,and 1×105 MC3 cells,tumor formation was observed in 0,1,and 3 of the nude mice,respectively,but not in the negative control group.Conclusion MC3 cells surviving docetaxel treatment have the properties of stem cells,and docetaxel can enrich cancer stem cells in the MC3 cells,which plays a key role in tumor recurrence.

Association Between Dentin Matrix Protein 1 (rs10019009) Polymorphism and Ankylosing Spondylitis in a Chinese Han Population from Shandong Province / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is the most common rheumatic condition that is slowly progressive and predominantly affects adolescents. Pathological bone formation associated with AS is an important cause of disability. The aim of the study was to investigate the possible involvement of the genes related to endochondral ossification and ectopia ossification in genetic susceptibility to AS in a Chinese Han population.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty-eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 13 genes were genotyped in discovery cohorts including 300 AS patients and 180 healthy controls. The rs10019009 in dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1) gene shown as association with AS after multiple testing corrections in discovery cohorts was replicated in a validation independent cohort of 620 AS patients and 683 healthy controls. The rs10019009 was assessed with bioinformatics including phylogenetic context, F-SNP and FastSNP functional predictions, secondary structure prediction, and molecular modeling. We performed a functional analysis of rs10019009 via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in human osteosarcoma U 2 OS cells.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Interestingly, the SNP rs10019009 was associated with AS in both the discovery cohort (P = 0.0012) and validation cohort (P = 0.0349), as well as overall (P = 0.0004) in genetic case-control association analysis. After a multivariate logistic regression analysis, the effect of this genetic variant was observed to be independent of linkage disequilibrium. Via bioinformatics analysis, it was found that the amino acid change of the rs10019009 led to changes of SNP function, secondary structure, tertiary conformation, and splice mode. Finally, functional analysis of rs10019009 in U 2 OS cells demonstrated that the risk T allele of the rs10019009 increased enzymatic activity of ALP, compared to that of the nonrisk allele (P = 0.0080).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>These results suggested that the DMP1 gene seems to be involved in genetic predisposition to AS, which may contribute to the ectopic mineralization or ossification in AS. In addition, DMP1 gene may be a promising intervention target for AS in the future.</p>

The mechanistic studies of acupuncture and moxibustion in Taiwan / 中国结合医学杂志

Traditional Chinese acupuncture has a history of over 2500 years. It is effective in the treatment of many conditions with few side effects. The best known mechanism is via endogenous opiates and their receptors. In addition to opioids, researchers have focused on the role of central monoamimergic systems. Acupuncture therapy is used not only to relieve pain but also to treat various medical conditions in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Some experiments have revealed a relationship between acupuncture and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Besides, electroacupuncture (EA) can modulate the imbalance between innate and acquired immune systems. This review is focusing on the mechanistic studies of acupuncture that my colleagues and I have performed in Taiwan in recent years. We found that EA analgesia was closely related to not only the serotonergic neurons but also the adrenergic neurons in the central nervous system. The electrophysiological recordings suggested the involvement of the cerebral cortex in acupuncture. Local somatothermal stimulation inhibited the motility of sphincter of Oddi and internal anal sphincter through nitrergic neural release of nitric oxide. Mild local heat stress upregulated hepatic gene expression of heat shock protein 70 and protected the liver from subsequent ischemia-reperfusion injury. These studies supplement the knowledge of the mechanism of acupuncture.

Immediate effects of acupuncture on gait patterns in patients with knee osteoarthritis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in pain relief and anesthesia, and has been suggested for treating various kinds of functional disabilities in traditional Chinese medicine, including knee osteoarthritis (OA). The study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of acupuncture on gait patterns in patients with knee OA.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty patients with bilateral medial knee OA were assigned evenly and randomly to a sham group and an experimental group. During the experiment, the experimental group underwent a 30-minute formula electro-acupuncture treatment while the sham group received a sham treatment. Before and after treatment, each subject was evaluated for their knee pain using visual analog scales (VAS) and then their performance of level walking using gait analysis. For all the obtained variables, the independent t-test was used for between-group comparisons, while paired t-test was used to investigate the before and after changes.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the measured data before acupuncture treatment between the groups were not significantly different. The VAS scores were decreased significantly after acupuncture in both groups, and the mean change of the VAS values of the experiment group was 2 times greater than that of the sham group. After formula acupuncture stimulation, while no significant changes were found in all the gait variables in the sham group, the experimental group had significant increases in the gait speed, step length, as well as in several components of the joint angles and moments.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The results of the study suggest that significantly improved gait performance in the experimental group may be associated with pain relief after treatment, but the relatively small decrease of pain in the sham group was not enough to induce significant improvements in gait patterns. Gait analysis combined with the VAS can be useful for the evaluation of the effect of acupuncture treatment for patients with neuromusculoskeletal diseases and movement disorder.</p>

Finite element study of maxillary Le Fort-I osteotomy with rigid internal fixation / 中华整形外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the biomechanical characteristic of maxillary Le fort- I osteotomy with rigid internal fixation (RIF) , so as to choose best fixation method.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The 3-dimensional finite element models of maxillary Le Fort-I osteotomy with 9 kinds of RIF methods were established. Then the models were divided into three groups to calculate the stress distribution of the maxilla and the displacement of bone segment under 3 kinds of occlusion condition. The fixation stability of the different RIF methods was evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Under the incisor occlusion condition, the stress of the cranio maxillary complex transmits mainly along the nasal-maxillary buttress. Under the premolar and molar occlusion condition, the stress transmits along the alveolar process first, then turns to the nasal-maxillary and zygomatic-maxillary buttress. The focused stress position of the internal fixation system is at the connection between the screws and the plate and at the plate near the osteotomy line. Under the premolar occlusion condition, the displacement of bone segment with different RIF methods was (in a decreasing order) 0.396509 mm (with bio-absorbable plate), 0.148393 mm (with micro-plate ), 0.078436 mm (with mini-plate) in group 1; 0.188791 mm (fixing at the nasal-maxillary buttress), 0.121718 mm (fixing at the zygomatic-maxillary buttress), 0.078436 mm (fixing at the both buttress) in group 2; 0.091023 mm (with straight plate), 0.078436 mm (with L shape plate), 0.072450 mm (with Y shape plate), 0.065617 mm (with T shape plate) in group 3.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The fixation stability of using the bio-absorbable plate in Le Fort-I osteotomy is less stable than using the titanium plate. Fixing at the zygomatic-maxillary buttress is more stable than at the naso-maxillary buttress. The fixation stability is different by using different shapes of plates.</p>

Expression of FXR mRNA, PPAR alpha mRNA and bile acid metabolism related genes in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnant rats / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the expressions of FXR, PPARa and Bile acid metabolism related genes in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnant rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>60 clean SD pregnant rats were selected and divided randomly into three groups. Since the 13th day of pregnancy rats in control group were injected subcutaneously with refined vegetable oil 2.0 mg/kg/d Rats in no-treated group were injected subcutaneously with the 17-a-ethynylestradiol (EE) 1.25 mg/kg/d until the 17th day. Those rat ih treated group were injected subcutaneously with the 17-a-ethynylestradiol (EE) 1.25 mg/kg/d until the 17th day and then were treated with fenofibrate for another four days until the 21th day. All rats were killed at the 21th day and livers were collected for study. The levels of serum TBA were examined by ELISA. The mRNA expressions of PPARa, FXR, CYP7A1, CYP27A1 and CYP8B1 were examined by real-time PCR. (1)</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The levels of TBA were significantly higher in no-treated group (68.7+/-4.2)mumol/L and treated group (69.5+/-3.8)mumol/L compared with that of control group (26.6+/-2.3)mumol/L at the 17th day (P value is less than 0.05) and no difference found between treated and no-treated groups (P value is more than 0.05). The levels of TBA were higher in no-treated group (69.4+/-3.7)mumol/L and treated group (48.5+/-4.8)mumol/L as compared to control group (27.1+/-3.2)mumol/L at the 21th day (P value is less than 0.05). The lever of TBA was significantly lower in Treated group compared with No-treated group (P value is less than 0.05). (2) The mRNA expressions of CYP7A1, FXR, CYP27A1 and CYP8B1 increased in No-treated group (1.55+/-0.03, 1.75+/-0.02, 2.45+/-0.01, 2.15+/-0.01, respectively) and were all higher as compared to control group (0.75+/-0.02, 1.25+/-0.03, 0.65+/-0.03, 1.50+/-0.02, respectively) (P value is less than 0.05). However, the mRNA expression of PPARa decreased in No-treated group (0.85+/-0.02) compared with control group (1.45+/-0.02) (P value is less than 0.05). The mRNA expressions of CYP27A1, PPARa and CYP8B1 increased in treated group (1.25+/-0.01, 1.65+/-0.05, 1.65+/-0.02, respectively) and were all higher than that of control group (P value is less than 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Abnormal expressions of CYP7A1, FXR, CYP27A1, CYP8B1 and PPARa may play a role in pathogenesis of estrogen-induced intrahepatic cholestasis. Activator of PPARa may be used as therapeutical drug for ICP.</p>

Computer-assisted 3D Reconstruction of Mouse Connecting Tubule / 中国医科大学学报

Objective To study the spatial arrangement of mouse connecting tubules（CNT）and their transition to collecting duct system.Methods The renal tissues of three C57/BL/6J mice were fixed by perfusion and embedded in Epon 812.Totally 2 000 consecutive sections with the thickness of 2.5 μm were obtained from the renal surface to the papilla.The serial images under microscope were digitalized and aligned.Thirty eight CNT were traced with a series of computer programs.Results The CNT from long loop nephron ascended towards renal capsule and merged with 5 to 6 CNT from short loop nephrons to form the so-called arcade,while the latter or some of the CNT from the superficial cortex directly drained into the collecting duct in the superficial cortex.The lengths of CNT and the arcade ranged from 150 μm to 500 μm and 600 μm to 900 μm respectively.Conclusion The arcade or CNT drains into collecting duct only at superficial cortical level,which suggests that the reabsorption of the glomerular ultra-filtration in collecting ducts keeps unaffected when collecting duct runs through middle to deeper cortex.

Effects of acupuncture on post-cesarean section pain / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Post-operation pain is a very subjective phenomenon. The aim of this study was to find out the effects of acupuncture or electro-acupuncture on post-cesarean pain.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty women, who had had spinal anesthesia during cesarean section at the Department of Obstetrics of China Medical University Hospital, were randomly assigned to the control group, the acupuncture group, and the electro-acupuncture group. After the operation, we applied subjects with acupuncture or electro-acupuncture on the bilateral acupuncture point, San Yin Jiao (Sp6), and the patient controlled analgesia (PCA). The first time of requesting morphine, the frequency of PCA demands in 24 hours, and the doses of PCA used were recorded double blindly. In addition, monitoring the subjects' vital signs, the opioid-related side effects, and the pain scores was done.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results showed that the acupuncture group and the electro-acupuncture group could delay the time of requesting morphine up to 10 - 11 minutes when compared with the control group. The total dose of PCA used within the first 24 hours was 30% - 35% less in the acupuncture group and the electro-acupuncture group when compared with the control group, which was indicated in statistical significance. However, there was no significant difference between the acupuncture group and the electro-acupuncture group. The electro-acupuncture group's and the acupuncture group's pain scores were lower than the control group's within the first 2 hours. Both were statistically significant. However, two hours later, there were no significant differences of the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores between either of the treatment groups and the control group. Finally, the incidence of opioid-related side effects, such as dizziness, was less in the acupuncture group and electro-acupuncture group than in the control group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>This study shows that the application of acupuncture and electro-acupuncture could definitely delay the time of requesting pain relief medication after cesarean section and decrease the PCA doses used within the first 24 hours.</p>

Temporally shifted hemodynamic response model helps to extract acupuncture-induced functional magnetic resonance imaging blood oxygenation-level dependent activities / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The onsets of needling sensation introduced by acupuncture stimulus can vary widely from subject to subject. This should be explicitly accounted for by the model blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) time course used in general linear model (GLM) analysis to obtain more consistent across-subject group results. However, in standard GLM analysis, the model BOLD time course obtained by convolving a canonical hemodynamic response function with an experimental paradigm time course is assumed identical across subjects. Although some added-on properties to the model BOLD time course, such as temporal and dispersion derivatives, may be used to account for different BOLD response onsets, they can only account for the BOLD onset deviations to the extent of less than one repetition time (TR).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In this study, we explicitly manipulated the onsets of model BOLD time course by shifting it with -2, -1, or 1 TR and used these temporally shifted BOLD model to analyze the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data obtained from three acupuncture fMRI experiments with GLM analysis. One involved acupuncture stimulus on left ST42 acupoint and the other two on left GB40 and left BL64 acupoints.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The model BOLD time course with temporal shifts, in addition to temporal and dispersion derivatives, could result in better statistical power of the data analysis in terms of the average correlation coefficients between the used BOLD models and extracted BOLD responses from individual subject data and the T-values of the activation clusters in the grouped random effects.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The GLM analysis with ordinary BOLD model failed to catch the large variability of the onsets of the BOLD responses associated with the acupuncture needling sensation. Shifts in time with more than a TR on model BOLD time course might be required to better extract the acupuncture stimulus-induced BOLD activities from individual fMRI data.</p>

The utilization of traditional Chinese medicine and associated factors in Taiwan in 2002 / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Previous studies have noted that there is a high utilization rate of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) services in Taiwan, China and in western countries, but few studies investigated factors associated with the utilization of TCM in Taiwan. This study analyzes the utilization rate and the factors associated with the utilization of TCM in Taiwan.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Data for this study were from the 2002 HPKAP Survey that conducted the face-to-face questionnaire interviews of people aged 15 years and over from October 2002 to March 2003 in Taiwan. This study analyzed the utilization of TCM outpatient services, including admission to the hospital and clinic visits.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 26 755 participants completed the survey in the six-month period. The data revealed that 10.4% of participants had utilized TCM services in the past one month while 4.2% of participants utilized TCM only (without using Western medicine outpatient services (WM) or Folk therapy (FT)). The average visits of TCM services per patient was higher among people who had utilized TCM and FT services (2.68 visits) than among those who had utilized WM and FT services (2.15 visits) or TCM services alone (2.15 visits) during the previous one month. Younger people (odds ratio OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.47 - 2.16), women (compared with men), and people with higher education levels (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.25 - 1.98) were more likely to visit TCM than compared groups. People with self-reported poor health status (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.76 - 2.44) and people who exercise regularly (OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.07 - 1.27) had higher ORs to visit TCM service than comparison group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>There is a high utilization of TCM in Taiwan. Further studies are needed to investigate the related factors and determinants between the utilization of TCM and the utilization of FT in Taiwan.</p>

Cycling and Tai Chi Chuan exercises exert greater immunomodulatory effect on surface antigen expression of human hepatitis B virus / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Both athletes with intensive exercise and aged people may have weakened immunity against virus infection. This study aimed to evaluate whether people undergoing aerobic exercises including competitive cyclists with moderate training (CMT) and middle-aged people practicing Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) exercise have higher immunity against hepatitis B virus than age-matched sedentary controls including college students (CSC) and middle-aged people (MSC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from competitive cyclists and sedentary controls were stimulated by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) to prepare conditioned medium (MNC-CM) for the assessment of inhibitory effects on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) expression in human hepatoma Hep3B cells.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The inhibitory effects on the relative HBsAg expression of CMT's and TCC's MNC-CM were greater than those of the controls. The CMT's MNC-CM prepared from 5 microg/ml PHA decreased HBsAg expression to 61.5%, whereas that of CSC remained at 83.8%. Similarly, this expression by treatment of TCC group' MNC-CM was 68.4% whereas that of MSC group was 84.3%. The levels of cytokines such as interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IFN-alpha and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) in the MNC-CM from the CMT and TCC groups were greater than those in the controls. Antibody neutralization of CMT's MNC-CM and addition of recombinant cytokines into CSC's MNC-CM indicated that IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and IFN-alpha had synergistic effects against HBsAg expression. Similar blocking effect was noted in TCC versus MSC groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These results suggest that the immunomodulatory response to suppress HBsAg expression in CMT and TCC with moderate aerobic exercise is greater than that in age-matched sedentary controls.</p>

Establishment and primary analysis of the three-dimensional finite element model of mandibular bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy with rigid internal fixation / 中华整形外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Establish the three-dimensional finite element models of mandibular bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy (BSSRO) with rigid internal fixation (RIF), for further study of BSSRO.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>CT scanned technology and the finite element software (ANSYS) were used to establish the original three-dimensional model of mandible, modify the model to animate the BSSRO, then establish the model of RIF, last mesh the model to establish the finite element model of BSSRO with RIF. Apply 100 N occlusion force at the central incisor; calculate the stress distribution of the mandible and the RIF.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Three-dimensional finite element models of BSSRO with RIF were established, such as miniplate model, bicortical fixation screw model. When biting with the incisor and fixed with upper plate, the stress of the medial screw position of the distal and medial segment of mandible is high. When fixed with bicortical fixation screw, the highest stress position located at the internal surface of the medial screw' s position of the distal segment of mandible.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The mentioned methods proved feasible in establishing the finite element models of BSSRO with RIF . The models can be applied to the study of BSSRO with RIF.</p>

Expression,Purification and Bioactivity Identification of IFN-tau / 中国生物工程杂志

Interferon-tau (IFN-tau) is a newly discovered IFN of type I. It was originally found for its role as a pregnancy recognition hormone in ruminant animals such as sheep and cows. Like the other type I IFNs, IFN-tau have the same biological activities including antiviral, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory effects. In order to clearly identify the function of IFN-tau, the coding sequence of IFN-tau was amplified by PCR from IFN-tau cDNA, this fragment digested by EcoR I and BamH I and was inserted into pBV220 to form the recombinant plasmid pBV220/IFN-tau which was then transformed into E.coli BL21. It was found that pBV220/IFN-tau was highly expressed as inclusion body in BL21. Next, the expressed protein was purified on S-100 High Resolution and the purified product was confirmed by amino acid sequence analysis. Moreover, the standard antiviral activity test indicated that the activity of IFN-tau was about 2.09?106IU/ml.

Rhizosecretion of HIV-1 Recombinant Capsid Protein from Transgenic Lycium barbarum L.Hairy Roots / 中国生物工程杂志

HIV p24 core protein can induce both cellular and neutralizing antibody responses.HIV-1 CA-virus-like particles(VLPs)vaccines provide a promising approach for the development of an effective vaccination strategy against HIV infection.Rhizosecreion of the recombinant proteins provides a new manufacturing platform that can simplify the extraction and purification procedure.Lycium barbarum L.was transformed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA105 harboring the plant expression vector pCAMBIA1305.2-MA4-CA with a GRP signal peptide and MA4-CA fusion gene.Transgenic hairy roots were induced and cultivated in hydroponic culture.Western blotting indicated that the recombinant CA proteins were present in two forms,a glycosylated monomer(37 kDa)and a dimer(50 kDa)in the roots and hydroponic medium.It appeared from the present immunohistochemical data that the recombinant CA proteins fused with GRP signal peptide were confined to the cytoplasm,cell wall and intercellular space,indicating targeting into the secretory pathway.It demonstrated for the first time the rhizosecretion of HIV-1 recombinant capsid protein in Lycium barbarum L.hairy roots,and may offer a novel method for expressing HIV-1 CA-VLPs vaccines in plants.