The relationship of publication language, study population, risk of bias, and treatment effects in acupuncture related systematic reviews: a meta-epidemiologic study.

BACKGROUND: There are debates in acupuncture related systematic reviews and meta-analyses on whether searching Chinese databases to get more Chinese-language studies may increase the risk of bias and overestimate the effect size, and whether the treatment effects of acupuncture differ between Chinese and non-Chinese populations. METHODS: In this meta-epidemiological study, we searched the Cochrane library from its inception until December 2021, and identified systematic reviews and meta-analyses with acupuncture as one of the interventions. Paired reviewers independently screened the reviews and extracted the information. We repeated the meta-analysis of the selected outcomes to separately pool the results of Chinese- and non-Chinese-language acupuncture studies and presented the pooled estimates as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). We calculated the Ratio of ORs (ROR) by dividing the OR of the Chinese-language trials by the OR of the non-Chinese-language trials, and the ROR by dividing the OR of trials addressing Chinese population by the OR of trials addressing non-Chinese population. We explored whether the impact of a high risk of bias on the effect size differed between studies published in Chinese- and in non-Chinese-language, and whether the treatment effects of acupuncture differed between Chinese and non-Chinese population. RESULTS: We identified 84 Cochrane acupuncture reviews involving 33 Cochrane groups, of which 31 reviews (37%) searched Chinese databases. Searching versus not searching Chinese databases significantly increased the contribution of Chinese-language literature both to the total number of included trials (54% vs. 15%) and the sample size (40% vs. 15%). When compared with non-Chinese-language trials, Chinese-language trials were associated with a larger effect size (pooled ROR 0.51, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.91). We also observed a higher risk of bias in Chinese-language trials in blinding of participants and personnel (97% vs. 51%) and blinding of outcome assessment (93% vs. 47%). The higher risk of bias was associated with a larger effect estimate in both Chinese-language (allocation concealment: high/unclear risk vs. low risk, ROR 0.43, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.87) and non-Chinese-language studies (blinding of participants and personnel: high/unclear risk vs. low risk, ROR 0.41, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.74). However, we found no evidence that the higher risk of bias would increase the effect size of acupuncture in Chinese-language studies more often than in non-Chinese-language studies (the confidence intervals of all ROR in the high-risk group included 1, Table 3). We further found acupuncture appeared to be more effective in Chinese than in non-Chinese population (Table 4). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest the higher risk of bias may lead to an overestimation of the treatment effects of acupuncture but would not increase the treatment effects in Chinese-language studies more often than in other language studies. The difference in treatment effects of acupuncture was probably associated with differences in population characteristics. TRIAL REGISTRATION: We registered our protocol on the Open Science Framework (OSF) ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/PZ6XR ).

Oral direct thrombin inhibitors or oral factor Xa inhibitors versus conventional anticoagulants for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a condition in which a clot forms in the deep veins, most commonly of the leg. It occurs in approximately one in 1000 people. If left untreated, the clot can travel up to the lungs and cause a potentially life-threatening pulmonary embolism (PE). Previously, a DVT was treated with the anticoagulants heparin and vitamin K antagonists. However, two forms of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been developed: oral direct thrombin inhibitors (DTIs) and oral factor Xa inhibitors, which have characteristics that may be favourable compared to conventional treatment, including oral administration, a predictable effect, lack of frequent monitoring or dose adjustment and few known drug interactions. DOACs are now commonly being used for treating DVT: recent guidelines recommended DOACs over conventional anticoagulants for both DVT and PE treatment. This Cochrane Review was first published in 2015. It was the first systematic review to measure the effectiveness and safety of these drugs in the treatment of DVT. This is an update of the 2015 review.  OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness and safety of oral DTIs and oral factor Xa inhibitors versus conventional anticoagulants for the long-term treatment of DVT. SEARCH METHODS: The Cochrane Vascular Information Specialist searched the Cochrane Vascular Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and CINAHL databases and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform and ClinicalTrials.gov trials registers to 1 March 2022. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in which people with a DVT, confirmed by standard imaging techniques, were allocated to receive an oral DTI or an oral factor Xa inhibitor compared with conventional anticoagulation or compared with each other for the treatment of DVT.  DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used standard Cochrane methods. Our primary outcomes were recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), recurrent DVT and PE. Secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality, major bleeding, post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) and quality of life (QoL). We used GRADE to assess the certainty of evidence for each outcome. MAIN RESULTS: We identified 10 new studies with 2950 participants for this update. In total, we included 21 RCTs involving 30,895 participants. Three studies investigated oral DTIs (two dabigatran and one ximelagatran), 17 investigated oral factor Xa inhibitors (eight rivaroxaban, five apixaban and four edoxaban) and one three-arm trial investigated both a DTI (dabigatran) and factor Xa inhibitor (rivaroxaban). Overall, the studies were of good methodological quality. Meta-analysis comparing DTIs to conventional anticoagulation showed no clear difference in the rate of recurrent VTE (odds ratio (OR) 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.83 to 1.65; 3 studies, 5994 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), recurrent DVT (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.66; 3 studies, 5994 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), fatal PE (OR 1.32, 95% CI 0.29 to 6.02; 3 studies, 5994 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), non-fatal PE (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.64 to 2.59; 3 studies, 5994 participants; moderate-certainty evidence) or all-cause mortality (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.41 to 1.08; 1 study, 2489 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). DTIs reduced the rate of major bleeding (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.89; 3 studies, 5994 participants; high-certainty evidence).   For oral factor Xa inhibitors compared with conventional anticoagulation, meta-analysis demonstrated no clear difference in recurrent VTE (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.01; 13 studies, 17,505 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), recurrent DVT (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.01; 9 studies, 16,439 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), fatal PE (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.69 to 2.02; 6 studies, 15,082 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), non-fatal PE (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.27; 7 studies, 15,166 participants; moderate-certainty evidence) or all-cause mortality (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.14; 9 studies, 10,770 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). Meta-analysis showed a reduced rate of major bleeding with oral factor Xa inhibitors compared with conventional anticoagulation (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.89; 17 studies, 18,066 participants; high-certainty evidence).  AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The current review suggests that DOACs may be superior to conventional therapy in terms of safety (major bleeding), and are probably equivalent in terms of efficacy. There is probably little or no difference between DOACs and conventional anticoagulation in the prevention of recurrent VTE, recurrent DVT, pulmonary embolism and all-cause mortality. DOACs reduced the rate of major bleeding compared to conventional anticoagulation. The certainty of evidence was moderate or high.

Analysis of self-management level and its influencing factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus / 中华健康管理学杂志

Objective:To analyze the level of self-management and its influencing factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods:A cross-sectional study. From January to December 2021, patients with SLE in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were selected as the study objects by convenience sampling method. A total of 135 questionnaires were distributed in this study, 135 were recovered, and 128 were valid. The general data of the patients were collected, and the self-management level, self-efficacy, family care and meaning in life of the patients were evaluated with the chronic disease self-management behavior scale, general self-efficacy scale (GSES), family adaption partnership growth affection resolve index (APGAR) and the meaning in life questionnaire (MLQ). Multiple linear regression analysis was applied to explore the factors affecting the self-management of SLE patients.Results:The total score of chronic disease self-management behavior scale in the 128 SLE patients was (28.77±6.58) points. Pearson correlation analysis showed strong correlation between self-efficacy, sense of life meaning and self-management ( r=0.748, 0.717, both P<0.001), there was a moderate correlation between family care and self-management ( r=0.560, P<0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that educational level ( β′=0.457), disease activity ( β′=-0.211), self-efficacy ( β′=-0.372), family care ( β′=-0.510), meaning in life ( β′=-0.386) were influencing factors of self-management level in patients with SLE (all P<0.05). Conclusions:The self-management level of SLE patients needs to be improved. Disease activity, self-efficacy, meaning in life and other factors can affect the patients′ self-management level.

Effects of electroacupuncture at "Siguan" points on the expression of colonic 5-hydroxytryptamine and fecal short-chain fatty acids in rats with post-stroke depression / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effects of electroacupuncture at "Siguan" points on behavior, colonic 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in rats with post-stroke depression (PSD), and explore the effect mechanism of electroacupuncture at Siguan points on PSD.@*METHODS@#Fifty SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-operation group, a stroke group, a PSD group, a drug group and an electroacupuncture group, with 10 rats in each one. The stroke model was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) method in the stroke group; except for the sham-operation group, the rats in the other groups were intervened with MCAO combined with solitary and chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) to establish PSD model. In the electroacupuncture group, electroacupuncture was delivered at "Hegu" (LI 4) and "Taichong" (LR 3), with disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/10 Hz in frequency, for 30 min in each intervention, once daily, for consecutive 21 days. Simultaneously, distilled water (0.01 L•kg-1•d-1) was administrated intragastrically. Fluoxetine solution (2.33 mg•kg-1•d-1) was given by gavage , once a day and for 21 days in the drug group. The same procedure of fixation and gavage with distilled water were adopted in the sham-operation group, the stroke group and the PSD group. Separately, before stroke modeling, after PSD modeling and after 21-day intervention, the consumption of sugar water and the scores of horizontal movement and vertical movement in open-field test were observed. After 21-day intervention, the content of colonic 5-HT was detected by immunohistochemical method, and that of fecal SCFAs was determined by gas chromatography mass spectrometry.@*RESULTS@#After PSD modeling, compared with the stroke group, the sugar water consumption, the horizontal movement scores and vertical movement scores of the open-field test were all reduced in the PSD group, the drug group and the electroacupuncture group (P<0.05). After 21-day intervention, the sugar water consumption and the scores of horizontal movement and vertical movement of the open-field test were increased in the drug group and the electroacupuncture group (P<0.05) when compared with the PSD group; and the horizontal movement score in the electroacupuncture group was lower than that of the drug group (P<0.05). Compared with the sham-operation group, the contents of total fecal SCFAs and acetic acid were lower in the stroke group (P<0.05), and the contents of colonic 5-HT and total fecal SCFAs, acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid were reduced in the PSD group (P<0.05). In comparison with the PSD group, the contents of colonic 5-HT and total fecal SCFAs, acetic acid and propionic acid were increased in the drug group and the electroacupuncture group (P<0.05); and the content of colonic 5-HT in the electroacupuncture group was lower than that of the drug group (P<0.05). The level of colonic 5-HT was positively correlated with the contents of total fecal SCFAs and propionic acid (r=0.424, P=0.005; r=0.427, P=0.004).@*CONCLUSION@#Electroacupuncture at "Siguan" points can relieve the depression-like behavior of PSD rats, and its underlying mechanism may be related to the regulation of fecal SCFAs, which affects the release of colonic 5-HT.

Anti-testicular Inflammation Mechanism of Wuzi Yanzongwan Based on Network Pharmacology / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the anti-testicular inflammation mechanism of Wuzi Yanzongwan through network pharmacological analysis and experimental verification. MethodThe active ingredients of Wuzi Yanzongwan were searched in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）， and their targets were predicted via SwissTargetPredicition. GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM） were used to obtain the known targets for the treatment of testicular inflammation. STRING 11.0 was employed to construct the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network， and Cytoscape 3.7.1 to construct the “herbal medicine-active ingredient-target” network of Wuzi Yanzongwan and “active ingredient-disease target” network. Metascape was used for gene ontology （GO） annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） enrichment of signaling pathways. ResultA total of 72 active ingredients and 624 potential targets of Wuzi Yanzongwan were screened out， and 196 key targets were identified for the treatment of testicular inflammation by Wuzi Yanzongwan. The results of GO annotation showed that the anti-testicular inflammation targets of Wuzi Yanzongwan were involved in the biological processes such as the response to molecule of bacterial origin， the positive regulation of response to external stimulus， and the response to extracellular stimulus. KEGG pathway enrichment revealed that the major pathways associated with the treatment （P<0.01） included the pathways in cancer， epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR） tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance， transcriptional misregulation in cancer， calcium signaling pathway， apelin signaling pathway， and NOD-like receptor signaling pathway. Wuzi Yanzongwan may exert the anti-testicular inflammation effect by inhibiting the activation of the NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3 （NLRP3） inflammasome pathway to alleviate the inflammatory response， which verifies the prediction results based on network pharmacology to a certain extent. ConclusionThe inhibitory effect of Wuzi Yanzongwan on testicular inflammation is multi-target， multi-pathway， and multi-mechanism. The findings of this study provide evidence support for the clinical application of Wuzi Yanzongwan.

Three new ursane-type triterpenoids from Rosmarinus officinalis and their biological activities / 中国天然药物

Three new ursane-type triterpenoids, 3-oxours-12-en-20, 28-olide (1), 3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-20, 28-olide (2) and 3β-hydroxyurs-11, 13(18)-dien-20, 28-olide (3), were isolated from a potent anti-inflammatory and antibacterial fraction of the ethanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis. Their structures were elucidated by a combination of extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments, MS data and comparisons with literature reports. Compounds 1-3 exhibited significantly inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-activated mouse RAW264.7 macrophages, but no antibacterial activity was found at a concentration of 128 μg·mL-1.

Effect of / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the efficacy of @*METHODS@#A total of 58 participants were included. Of them, 29 patients with insomnia were included into an observation group, and 29 healthy participants were included into a control group. The patients in the observation group were treated with @*RESULTS@#The total effective rate was 89.7% (26/29) in the observation group. In the observation group, the scores of PSQI, ISI and DISS, the A, B speed of NCT were all decreased after treatment (@*CONCLUSION@#The

Ethics review characteristics of clinical research of acupuncture and moxibustion / 中国针灸

The elements of ethical review related to clinical research of acupuncture and moxibustion is discussed to provide ideas for various institutions to carry out relevant ethical review. It is believed that the ethical review of clinical research of acupuncture and moxibustion needs to focus on the specificity of acupuncture and moxibustion. Starting from the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the theory of meridians and acupoints and the theory of syndrome differentiation along meridians, the key contents of ethical review such as intervention methods, grouping design and placebo control should be considered, so as to standardize the clinical research of acupuncture and moxibustion and protect the health and rights and interests of participants.

Thunder-fire moxibustion combined with mifepristone for ovarian chocolate cyst dysmenorrhea with kidney deficiency and blood stasis: a randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the clinical efficacy of thunder-fire moxibustion combined with mifepristone for ovarian chocolate cyst dysmenorrhea with kidney deficiency and blood stasis.@*METHODS@#Seventy patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 35 cases in each group. The patients in the the control group were treated with oral administration of mifepristone, 10 mg each time, once a day; based on the treatment of the control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with thunder-fire moxibustion at Guanyuan (CV 4), Zigong (EX-CA 1), Xuehai (SP 10), once every other day. Both the groups were treated for 3 months. The Cox menstrual symptom scale (CMSS) score, the maximum cross-sectional area of ectopic cyst, and the serum levels of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and interleukin-17 (IL-17) were observed before and after treatment in the two groups. The clinical efficacy was evaluated.@*RESULTS@#Compared before treatment, the severity scores and duration scores of CMSS as well as the serum levels of TGF-β1 were reduced after treatment in the two groups (@*CONCLUSION@#Thunder-fire moxibustion combined with mifepristone could significantly improve dysmenorrhea symptoms, shorten dysmenorrhea time and promote atrophy of ovarian heterotopic cyst in patients with ovarian chocolate cyst dysmenorrhea of kidney deficiency and blood stasis, and the mechanism may be related to the reduction of serum levels of TGF-β1 and IL-17.

Changes of Anti-tuberculosis Herbs Formula During Past Three Decades in Contrast to Ancient Ones / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the evolution of herbal medicine in treating tuberculosis (TB) and encourage anti-TB drug discovery and development.@*METHODS@#In this study, 477 ancient traditional Chinese medicine formulae were collected from the Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescriptions and 172 modern Chinese medicine formulae (from 1986 to 2016) were collected by searching 4 databases: WanFang Data Knowledge Service Platform, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP) and Chinese Bio-medical Literature and Retrieval System (SinoMed) in Chinese. We restricted the search to publications in Chinese. Further data analysis was done using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Support System version 2 Software.@*RESULTS@#There were 425 herbs in the 477 ancient formulae and 257 herbs in the 172 modern formulae. Half of the top 30 herbs were shared by both modern and ancient prescriptions. They are Radix Ophiopogonis, Astragalus membranaceus, Fritillaria cirrhosa, Dried rehmannia glutinosa, Poria cocos, Angelica sinensis, Prepared rehmannia glutinosa, Platycodon Root, Radix paeoniae alba, Schisandra chinensis, Bighead atractylodes rhizome, Rhizoma anemarrhenae, Cortex lycii radicis and Radix Scutellariae. Only two groups of herbs with a high correlation coefficient were found in both modern and ancient prescriptions, the Dried rehmannia glutinosa with Radix ophiopogonis, and Radix ophiopogonis with Prepared rehmannia glutinosa. There were 9 and 15 core herb combinations in modern and ancient prescriptions, respectively, but no one was found simutaniously in both modern and ancient prescriptions.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Although there were wide variations in the herb groups and herb combinations in the formulae, half of the top 30 herbs were found in both modern and ancient prescriptions. The core herb combinations in modern and ancient prescriptions could help us to improve the priscription for treatment of TB.

The mechanistic effect of bromelain and papain on tenderization in jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) muscle.

Jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) muscle is rather hard and tough, which directly affects consumer acceptance. In this study, the tenderization effect of bromelain and papain on squid muscle during enzymolysis is examined and compared with an untreated control and water-treated sample. Squid mantle were incubated with different solutions (water, bromelain, and papain solution) for 40 min in a 30 °C water bath. Then, the mantle samples were subjected to water holding capacity (WHC) analysis, texture evaluation, biochemical determination, and histological observations. The results revealed that bromelain and papain disadvantageously decrease the water holding capacity when compared to the control and water-treated samples. Furthermore, following tenderization with bromelain or papain, muscle hardness, shear force, myofibrillar protein content, and Ca2+ ATPase activity were all significantly decreased. Additionally, some essential amino acids were released following tenderization. When examining the myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), bromelain and papain were shown to cause high levels of hydrolysis in myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins. Moreover, microstructural imaging indicated that the tenderization treatments disrupted myofibrils and generated a larger number of small fragments in the muscle tissues, subsequently decreasing microstructure stability and integrity. SDS-PAGE analysis confirmed that bromelain and papain have a high proteolytic activity, with some small peptides and/or short fragments detected post-tenderization. The results presented herein demonstrated that bromelain and papain improved squid muscle tenderness and can be utilized to ensure a more desirable squid product.

Pressing local acupoints plus adjustion of the knee joint in a sitting position for treating knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND: Tuina for knee osteoarthritis has obvious curative effect, and has been widely used in clinical practice due to its characteristics, including simple operation, popularization, and good comfort. OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of the combination of pressing points of local acupoint plus adjustion of the knee joint in a sitting position in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis under “emphasizing both bones and tendons” as the guiding ideology of Tuina. METHODS: Ninety-one patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomly divided into a treatment group (n=46) and a control group (n=45). The treatment group was given the pressing points of local acupoint plus adjustion of the knee joint in a sitting position, and the control group was treated with oral celecoxib for 4 weeks. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score, the pressure pain thresholds, the Visual Analogue Scale scores at rest and at movement, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score were analyzed before and after treatment. The total clinical efficacy and adverse reaction index score were observed. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Guanghua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine on June 5, 2017, approval number: 2017-k-11. All participants were informed of the trial protocol and process, and signed informed consent. This study was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/searchproj.aspx, ChiCTR1900022928) on May 4, 2019. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: After 4 weeks of treatment: (1) The scores of WOMAC in both groups were improved compared with the baseline, and those in the treatment group decreased more significantly (P 0.05). Overall, the above results indicate that with “emphasizing both bones and tendons” as the guiding ideology of Tuina, the clinical effect of the pressing points of local acupoint and adjustion of the knee joint in a sitting position in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis is better than that of oral celecoxib.

Discovery and functional analysis of a cytochrome P450 gene involved in C-28 oxidation of the triterpenoids from Ilex pubescens / 中国药科大学学报

@#The main components of the medicinal plant Ilex pubescens Hook. et Arn. are the pentacyclic triterpenoids with various chemical structures. The modification of the triterpenoid skeleton is closely related to a class of key enzymes downstream of the biosynthetic pathway, cytochrome P450 monooxygenase(CYP450). In this study, unigenes with a length of more than 1100 bp were retrieved from the previously obtained Ilex pubescens transcriptome data, and a cytochrome P450 gene(Unigene 0036170)proposed to have the oxidative function of pentacyclic triterpene C-28 was screened through phylogenetic tree analysis. The gene was named as IpAO2. The open reading frame of IpAO2 is 1443 bp, encoding 480 amino acids. RNA was extracted from the tender leaves of Ilex pubescens, and cDNA was obtained by reverse transcription using the RNA as the template. The specific primers AO2-F and AO2-R were designed according to the DNA sequence of IpAO2, and the IpAO2 gene was amplified by PCR using high fidelity enzyme. The IpAO2 gene was ligated into the pEASY cloning vector to obtain pEASY-IpAO2 plasmid. The ligation product was transformed into E. coli Trans1-T1 competent cells and positive clones were screened. The pESC-TRP plasmid was digested with restriction endonucleases to obtain a linearized vector. Primers V-AO2-F and V-AO2-R were designed and the DNA fragment was amplified by PCR using the pEASY-IpAO2 plasmid as template. The DNA fragment was ligated to the vector pESC-TRP to obtain pESC-TRP-IpAO2 recombinant plasmid. The pESC-TRP-IpAO2 plasmid was transformed into a strain of S. cerevisiae capable of efficiently synthesizing amyrin, and the expression of IpAO2 protein was induced with galactose. After extracting the total protein of recombinant S. cerevisiae, Western blot analysis was carried out through the 6×His antigen tag linked to the C-terminus of the target protein. The results showed that the recombinant protein was synthesized in accordance with the expected size. After 7 days of induction and cultivation, the cells of recombinant yeast were collected. The metabolites of cells were extracted and detected by GC-MS after silanization. Through GC-MS analysis of recombinant yeast metabolites, it was found that the protein encoded by the IpAO2 gene can oxidize α-amyrin and β-amyrin to ursolic acid and oleanolic acid, respectively, indicating that IpAO2 is a pentacyclic triterpene C-28 oxidase gene. Meanwhile, the transmembrane domain and protein tertiary structure of the IpAO2 were predicted using the Phyre2 online tool, the results showing that IpAO2 is a transmembrane protein. This study is of great significance to elucidate the biosynthetic mechanism of triterpenoids of Ilex pubescens, and lays a foundation for the further utilization of the metabolic engineering to produce triterpenoids of Ilex pubescens in S. cerevisiae.

Ferroptosis pathway and its intervention regulated by Chinese materia medica / 中国中药杂志

Ferroptosis is a new form of regulated cell death which is different from apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy, and results from iron-dependent lipidperoxide accumulation. Now, it is found that ferroptosis is involved in multiple physiological and pathological processes, such as cancer, arteriosclerosis, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, antiviral immune response, acute renal failure, hepatic and heart ischemia/reperfusion injury. On the one hand, it could be found the appropriate drugs to promote ferroptosis to clear cancer cells and virus infected cells, etc. On the other hand, we could inhibit ferroptosis to protect healthy cells. China has a wealth of traditional Chinese medicine resources. Chinese medicine contains a variety of active ingredients that regulate ferroptosis. Here, this paper reported the research of ferroptosis pathway, targets of its inducers and inhibitors that have been discovered, and the regulatory effects of the discovered Chinese herbs and its active ingredients on ferroptosis to help clinical and scientific research.

Quantitative determination method and application of pharmaceutical adjuvant tween 80 / 中国中药杂志

Based on the fact that chromogenic reaction of blue complex, a reaction product which can be dissolved in organic solvents, can be realized by polyethoxy and ammonium thiocyanate in tween 80, a rapid and accurate way for the determination for tween 80 in pharmaceutical adjuvant was established in this study, providing reliable technical means for quality control of traditional Chinese medicine injections. Based on the study of reaction kinetics, chromogenic reaction temperature and time, as well as extraction of organic solvents and other key conditions were optimized, and Kumu injection was used as the test material for method validation and applicability investigation. It was finally determined that 3 mL ammonium thiocyanate solution was added in the sample solution, and the reaction was carried out in a boiling water bath for 2 h. After cooling to room temperature, 5 mL of dichloromethane was added to extract the chromogenic product. The absorbance value was measured at the wavelength of 623 nm to calculate the tween 80 content in the sample. Under optimized conditions, tween 80 solution showed a good linear relationship with the absorbance in the range from 0.8 mg to 3.0 mg. The linear regression equation was ＝0.258-0.047. The correlation coefficient was 0.999 6. Under the experimental conditions, the average recovery was 99.66%, and the precision RSD was less than 2.0%. The results showed that this method can quickly and accurately determine the content of tween 80 in Kumu injection, and it could be applicable to the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine injections.

Effects of Chinese traditional medicine-selected recipe Q0409 on ability of learning and memory in SAM-P/8 mice / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:To investigate the effects of Chinese traditional medicine-selected recipe Q0409 on the ability of learning and memory in SAM-P/8 mice. METHODS:Total 91 mice (4-month-old SAM-P/8 mice, SAM-R/1 mice and Kunming mice) were used in the study, in which the male and female animals were labeled separately. According to the performance of Morris water maze test, the mice were divided into 5 groups randomly. The mice were fed with different drugs or distilled water for 60 d (from 4 months to 6 months). The mice were fed with the drugs from 61 d to 65 d, and 1 h later each time, the Morris water maze test was carried out. After this Morris test were finished at 65 d, the mice were killed immediately and their hippocampal tissues were isolated. Half of the hippocampal tissues were added with precooled normal saline and made into 10% (g/mL) homogenate for detecting the protein content and acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) activity. The other half was fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde and embedded with paraffin for immunohistochemical staining of amyloid β-protein (Aβ). RESULTS:Compared with model group, the results of navigation training and spatial probe training in Morris water maze test were significantly improved (P<0.05), and the activity of AChE in the hippocampal ho-mogenate was significantly decreased (P<0.05) in Q0409 treatment group. No difference in Q0409 group was observed compared with control group and positive drug (huperzine A) group. Immunohistochemical staining showed no typical "se-nile plaques" in the male mice of Q0409 group, while there was shallower and smaller brown staining in the hippocampus of the female mice of Q0409 group. The positive area of Aβ deposition decreased in the CA1 area of hippocampal tissues in Q0409 group. These results were similar to those in positive drug group. CONCLUSION:Q0409 improves the ability of learning and memory in SAM-P/8 mice, which is related to the inhibition of AChE activity and the reduction of Aβ protein deposition in the hippocampus. The effects is similar to those of huperzine A.

The Rice Phytochrome Genes, PHYA and PHYB, Have Synergistic Effects on Anther Development and Pollen Viability.

Phytochromes are the main plant photoreceptors regulating multiple developmental processes. However, the regulatory network of phytochrome-mediated plant reproduction has remained largely unexplored. There are three phytochromes in rice, phyA, phyB and phyC. No changes in fertility are observed in the single mutants, whereas the seed-setting rate of the phyA phyB double mutant is significantly reduced. Histological and cytological analyses showed that the reduced fertility of the phyA phyB mutant was due to defects in both anther and pollen development. The four anther lobes in the phyA phyB mutant were developed at different stages with fewer pollen grains, most of which were aborted. At the mature stage, more than one lobe in the double mutant was just consisted of several cell layers. To identify genes involved in phytochrome-mediated anther development, anther transcriptomes of phyA, phyB and phyA phyB mutants were compared to that of wild-type rice respectively. Analysis of 2,241 double-mutant-specific differentially expressed transcripts revealed that the metabolic profiles, especially carbohydrate metabolism, were altered greatly, and heat-shock responses were activated in the double mutant. This study firstly provides valuable insight into the complex regulatory networks underlying phytochrome-mediated anther and pollen development in plants, and offers novel clues for hybrid rice breeding.

Screening and verification of effective ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine Q0409 in improving learning and memory ability of mice / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:To screen and verify the effective ingredient of traditional Chines medicine (TCM) Q0409 in improving learning and memory ability of mice.METHODS:The mouse learning and memory impairment model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of scopolamine.The mice in each group were given the corresponding drug by gavage at the same time for 14 d in succession.Morris water maze test was used to measure the learning and memory ability of the mice, and then the hippocampal tissue homogenate was taken to determine the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE).The animals were divided into 8 groups according to L8(27) orthogonal table.The variance analysis and factorial analysis were used to analyze the pharmacological effects of seven kinds of single herbal in TCM Q0409 and determine the screening ingredients.The animals were divided into 6 groups according to the results of the preliminary screening results, and further testing and validation of TCM Q0409 screening ingredients were performed to get the final simplified ingredients.RESULTS:Three medicinal herbs of Polygalae, Panax ginseng and Acori graminei rhizome were screened by the orthogonal results of Morris water maze test and the activity of AChE in mouse hippocampal tissues.The simplified ingredients of TCM Q0409 were obtained through the variance results of Morris water maze test and the activity of AChE in mouse hippocampal tissues.CONCLUSION:Polygala and ginseng were eventually determined as simplified ingredients of TCM Q0409 and it was verified that they improve the learning and memory ability of the mice with learning and memory impairment.

Chinese medicine for idiopathic Parkinson's disease: A meta analysis of randomized controlled trials / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy of Chinese medicine (CM) adjunct to conventional medications for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Electronic English and Chinese databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese Medical Current Contents, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Wanfang Med Database, and Traditional Chinese Medical Database System were used for key words searching in a highly sensitive search strategy. The extracted data was analyzed by the Review Manager 5.0.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Twelve trials involving 869 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) I, II, III, IV scores and UPDRS V-IV total scores were used to be the primary outcomes, Parkinson Disease Question-39 (PDQ-39) and Scores of Chinese Medical Symptoms were the secondary outcomes. CM adjunct therapy had greater improvement in UPDRS I [2 trials; standardized mean difference (SMD)-0.40, 95% confidence interval (CI)-0.71 to-0.09; Z=2.49 (P=0.01)], II [5 trials; SMD-0.47, 95% CI-0.69 to-0.25; Z=4.20 (P<0.01)], III [5 trials; SMD-0.35, 95% CI-0.57 to-0.13; Z=3.16 (P=0.002)], IV scores [3 trials; SMD-0.32, 95% CI-0.60 to-0.03; Z=2.17 (P=0.03)], UPDRS I-IV total scores [7 trials; SMD-0.36, 95%CI-0.53 to-0.20; Z=4.24 (P<0.05)]. PDQ-39 and Chinese medical symptoms compared to the conventional medication only.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CM adjunct therapy has potential therapeutic benefits by decreasing UPDRS scores and reducing adverse effect.</p>

Hypospadias induced by maternal exposure to di-n-butyl phthalate and its mechanisms in male rat offspring / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To induce hypospadias in male rat offspring by maternal exposure to di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) during late pregnancy and further investigate its mechanisms.@*METHODS@#We randomly divided 20 pregnant rats into a DBP exposure and a control group, the former treated intragastrically with DBP while the latter with soybean oil at 750 mg per kilogram of the body weight per day from gestation days (GD) 14 to 18. On postnatal day (PND) 1, we recorded the incidence rate of hypospadias and observed the histopathological changes in the genital tubercle of the hypospadiac rats. We also measured the level of serum testosterone (T) by radioimmunoassay and determined the mRNA and protein expressions of the androgen receptor (AR), sonic hedgehog (Shh), bone morphogenetic protein 4 (Bmp4) and fibroblast growth factor 8 (Fgf8) in the genital tubercle by real-time PCR and Western blot.@*RESULTS@#No hypospadiac male rats were found in the control group. The incidence rate of hypospadias in male offspring was 43.6% in the DBP-treatment group. Histological analysis confirmed hypospadiac malformation. The serum testosterone concentration was decreased in the hypospadiac male rats as compared with the controls (［0.49 ± 0.05］ vs ［1.12 ± 0.05］ ng/ml, P <0.05). The mRNA expressions of AR, Shh, Bmp4 and Fgf8 in the genital tubercle were significantly lower in the hypospadiac male rats than in the controls (AR: 0.50 ± 0.05 vs 1.00 ± 0.12, P <0.05; Shh: 0.65 ± 0.07 vs 1.00 ± 0.15, P <0.05; Bmp4: 0.42 ± 0.05 vs 1.00 ± 0.13, P <0.05; Fgf8: 0.46 ± 0.04 vs 1.00 ± 0.12, P <0.05), and so were their protein expressions (AR: 0.34 ± 0.05 vs 1.00 ± 0.09, P <0.05; Shh: 0.51 ± 0.07 vs 1.00 ± 0.12, P <0.05; Bmp4: 0.43 ± 0.05 vs 1.00 ± 0.11, P <0.05; Fgf8: 0.57 ± 0.04 vs 1.00 ± 0.13, P <0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Maternal exposure to DBP during late pregnancy can induce hypospadias in the male rat offspring. DBP affects the development of the genital tubercle by reducing the serum T concentration and expressions of AR, Shh, Bmp4 and Fgf8 in the genital tubercle, which might underlie the mechanism of DBP inducing hypospadias.