[Systematic review and Meta analysis on the effectiveness and safety of tuina in treatment of functional constipation].

OBJECTIVE: To review systematically the effectiveness and safety of tuina (Chinese massage)in treatment of functional constipation. METHODS: The articles on functional constipation treated with tuina were collected by computer retrieval from 7 databases from the date of establishment to March 28, 2020, including Chinese biomedical literature database (SinoMed), China journal full-text database (CNKI), full-text database of Wanfang academic journals (Wanfang), VIP Chinese science and technology journal database(VIP), PubMed, Dutch medical literature database (EMbase) and the Cochrane Library. After data extraction and quality evaluation of the included articles, Meta analysis was conducted with RevMan5.3 software. RESULTS: A total of 16 articles were included, with 1424 cases involved. Meta analysis results showed: ①The total effective rate in the treatment group was higher than that in the control group (RR=1.28, 95%CI: 1.16-1.42, P<0.000 01). ②The effective rate for the symptoms of functional constipation in traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment group was higher than that in the control group (RR=1.38, 95%CI :1.25-1.52, Z=6.31, P<0.000 01). ③Adverse reactions in the treatment group in the treatment of functional constipation were less than those in the control group (RR=0.10, 95%CI: 0.02-0.49, Z=2.81, P=0.005).④The effective rate of functional constipation treated on the base of syndrome differentiation in the treatment group was higher than that of the control group (RR=1.50, 95%CI: 1.08-2.10, Z=2.39, P=0.02).⑤The improvements in fecal characteristics, defecation time and defecation frequency of the patients with functional constipation in the treatment group were better than those in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Tuina therapy presents a certain advantages on its curative effect on functional constipation, has less adverse reactions and relieves the relevant symptoms of functional constipation. But more randomized controlled trials with high quality and large sample are required to provide further verification of its effect.

Discovery of chemical markers for identifying species, growth mode and production area of Astragali Radix by using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry.

BACKGROUND: Astragali Radix (AR) is a well-known Chinese herbal medicine. The quality of AR can be affected by many factors such as species, growth mode and production area, but there are still no chemical markers to distinguish it. PURPOSE: To explore chemical markers for improving the quality assessment of AR and discover chemical markers for identifying species, growth mode and production area of AR. METHODS: A highly sensitive, efficient and accurate method based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS) for simultaneous quantitative determination of 14 major chemical components (five flavonoids and nine triterpene saponins) in 94 batches of AR from China, Republic of Korea and Germany was developed for the first time. To explore chemical markers and assess changes in the contents of 14 compounds in the 94 batches of AR samples from different regions, hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed. RESULTS: Astragaloside III was not only an important chemical marker for distinguishing two species of AR, i.e.: Astragalus mongholicus and A. membranaceus, but also a potential chemical marker for the classification of cultivated and semi-wild AR. In addition, in the batches of cultivated AR, the content of isoastragaloside II and cyclocephaloside II were greater in batches from the region of Shaanxi Province than that of other Provinces in China, but the content of calycosin-7-O-ß-D-glucoside and astragaloside IV, which are the quality control markers of AR required by the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, were higher than that of other Provinces in China. In addition, the content of calycosin-7-O-ß-D-glucoside, ononin, calycosin and astragaloside I could be used to identify samples of AR collected from China, Republic of Korea and Germany. CONCLUSION: This UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS method could be applied to the quantitative evaluation of AR and could be an important and meaningful reference to develop chemical markers for quality control of AR.

Transcriptome de novo assembly and analysis of differentially expressed genes related to cytoplasmic male sterility in onion.

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the major vegetables in China and accounts for a large proportion of China's vegetable exports. Onion cytoplasmic male sterility, which is often used in onion breeding, is caused by the interaction between the nuclear genes and the cytoplasm. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of onion cytoplasmic male sterility remains unclear. In this study, we analysed the anther microstructure of the onion cytoplasmic male sterile line SA2 and the onion maintainer line SB2. We found that the pollen abortion in SA2 occurred at the tetrad stage during the microspore development, which was very different from that in SB2. We used the Illumina HiSeq platform to sequence RNA from anthers at the tetrad stage collected from the SA2 and SB2 lines. The RNA sequencing and transcriptome assembly produced 146,413 All-Unigenes. Based on an analysis of the differentially expressed genes, we identified two cytoplasmic control genes, atp9 and cox1, and three nuclear-related genes, SERK1, AG and AMS. These transcriptomic results were also verified by fluorescence quantitative PCR. Our study provides important information about genes related to onion cytoplasmic male sterility, and it will help improve the understanding of the molecular mechanism of onion cytoplasmic male sterility.

Serum Selenium Levels and Cervical Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Several studies have investigated the relationship between serum Se concentration and cervical cancer, but the results were inconsistent. Thus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the association between serum selenium levels and cervical cancer. Twelve studies investigating the association by univariate analysis and five studies by multivariate analysis were identified after a systematic search of PubMed, Wanfang, CNKI, and SinoMed databases. Standard mean differences (SMD) or odds ratios (OR) with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled to compare the selenium levels between different groups. In univariate analysis, serum selenium levels in cervical cancer cases were significantly lower than in controls (SMD = -4.86, 95% CI -6.03-3.69). Subgroup analysis showed consistent results. In multivariate analysis, serum selenium levels in cervical cancer cases were also significantly lower than in controls (OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.73). After treatment, the serum selenium levels increased significantly (SMD = 2.59, 95% CI 0.50-4.69). In conclusion, high serum selenium levels were associated with cervical cancer, and selenium exposure might be a protective factor for cervical cancer.

Evaluation of Three Block Anesthesia Methods for Pain Management During Mandibular Third Molar Extraction: A Meta-analysis.

A patient's pain during mandibular third molar extraction often creates problems for a dental surgeon and can also cause immense patient discomfort, such as decreased quality of life, serious complications, or even danger to the patients' lives. Effective pain management is therefore of great importance. Conventional block anesthesia method often fails to control such pain completely during an operation. Therefore, two available alternatives, Gow-Gates (G-G) and Vazirani-Akinosi (V-A) methods, have been developed. However, the results of current studies regarding their effectiveness and safety are somewhat ambiguous. The use of G-G and V-A techniques is therefore restricted. This study did a comprehensive review of the relevant research and finally 7 RCTs were included. The results of this meta-analysis indicate that both G-G and V-A techniques have a lower risk of positive aspiration. G-G technique also evidenced a higher success rate than the conventional method. V-A was faster while the G-G technique in contrast had a slower onset time than the conventional technique. In terms of the measurement of analgesic success, however, the V-A method was statistically indistinguishable from conventional techniques. These findings will hopefully endow clinicians with the knowledge required to make appropriate choices for effective anesthesia during lower third molar extraction.

Cloning and functional identification of the AcLFY gene in Allium cepa.

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the important vegetable crops in the world, usually with a two-year life cycle. The bulbs form in the first year after sowing, then bolting and flowering are induced by low temperature in the following year. Previous studies have shown that LEAFY gene is an inflorescence tissue specific gene, and that it is also the ultimate collection channel of all flowering pathway. In this study, using homologous gene cloning and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), we isolated an inflorescence meristem specific LEAFY cDNA, AcLFY (JX275962), from onion. AcLFY contains a 1119 bp open reading frame, which encodes a putative protein of 372 amino acids, with ∼70% homology to the daffodils LEAFY and >50% homology to LEAFY proteins from other higher plants. Fluorescence quantitative results showed that AcLFY gene has the highest expression level in inflorescence meristem during early bolting, and is still expressed in leaves after the formation of flower organs. Overexpression of AcLFY gene in Arabidopsis thaliana induced early bolting and flowering, whereas knockdown of the endogenous LEAFY gene by RNAi caused a significant delay in bolting. In addition, transgenic plants also exhibited significant morphological changes in rosette leaves, branches, and plant height.

Ginsenoside­Rg5 induces apoptosis and DNA damage in human cervical cancer cells.

Panax ginseng is traditionally used as a remedy for cancer, inflammation, stress and aging, and ginsenoside­Rg5 is a major bioactive constituent of steamed ginseng. The present study aimed to evaluate whether ginsenoside­Rg5 had any marked cytotoxic, apoptotic or DNA­damaging effects in human cervical cancer cells. Five human cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa, MS751, C33A, Me180 and HT­3) were used to investigate the cytotoxicity of ginsenoside­Rg5 using a 3­(4,5­dimethylthiazol­2­yl)­2,5­diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Additionally, the effects of ginsenoside­Rg5 on the apoptosis of HeLa and MS751 cells were detected using DNA ladder assays and flow cytometry. DNA damage was assessed in the HeLa and MS751 cells using alkaline comet assays and by detection of γH2AX focus formation. The HeLa and MS751 cells were significantly more sensitive to ginsenoside­Rg5 treatment compared with the C­33A, HT­3 and Me180 cells. As expected, ginsenoside­Rg5 induced significant concentration­ and time­dependent increases in apoptosis. In addition, ginsenoside­Rg5 induced significant concentration­dependent increases in the level of DNA damage compared with the negative control. Consistent with the comet assay data, the percentage of γH2AX­positive HeLa and MS751 cells also revealed that ginsenoside­Rg5 caused DNA double­strands to break in a concentration­dependent manner. In conclusion, ginsenoside­Rg5 had marked genotoxic effects in the HeLa and MS751 cells and, thus, demonstrates potential as a genotoxic or cytotoxic drug for the treatment of cervical cancer.

ABC triblock copolymer vesicles with mesh-like morphology.

Polymer vesicles made from poly(isoprene-b-styrene-b-2-vinyl pyridine) (PI-b-PS-b-P2VP) triblock copolymer confined within the nanopores of an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane are studied. It was found that these vesicles have well-defined, nanoscopic size, and complex microphase-separated hydrophobic membranes, comprised of the PS and PI blocks, while the coronas are formed by the P2VP block. Vesicle formation was tracked using both transmission and scanning electron microscopy. A mesh-like morphology formed in the membrane at a well-defined composition of the three blocks that can be tuned by changing the copolymer composition. The nanoscale confinement, copolymer composition, and subtle molecular interactions contribute to the generation of these vesicles with such unusual morphologies.