Correlation between metabolic syndrome and periurethral prostatic fibrosis: results of a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Prostatic fibrosis, characterized by the accumulation of myofibroblasts and collagen deposition, is closely associated with LUTS and may lead to mechanical obstruction of the urethra. Additionally, Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), characterized by central obesity, high blood sugar, lipid metabolism disorders, and hypertension, is increasingly recognized as a proinflammatory condition linked to prostate inflammation. METHODS: Clinical data from 108 subjects who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate or bipolar plasmakinetic enucleation of the prostate were prospectively collected between June 2021 and August 2022. Patients were divided in two groups according to whether or not they had a diagnosis of MetS. Specimens were stained with Masson trichrome and the periurethral prostatic fibrosis extent was evaluated using quantitative morphometry. RESULTS: Forty-three patients (39.8%) were diagnosed with MetS. Patients with MetS showed a significantly greater extent of prostatic fibrosis than the others (68.1 ± 17.1% vs. 42.5 ± 18.2%, P < 0.001), and there was a positive correlation between the number of positive MetS parameters and the extent of prostatic fibrosis (R2 = 0.4436, P < 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that central obesity (B = 2.941, 95% confidence interval, 1.700-3.283), elevated fasting glucose (B = 1.036, 95% confidence interval, 0.293-1.780), reduced HDL cholesterol (B = 0.910, 95% confidence interval, 0.183-1.636) and elevated triglycerides (B = 1.666, 95% confidence interval, 0.824-2.508) were positively correlated to prostatic fibrosis. Elevated blood pressure, however, was unrelated to prostatic fibrosis (B = 0.009, 95% confidence interval, -0.664-0.683). CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest that prostatic fibrosis is positively correlated with MetS and its components including central obesity, elevated fasting glucose, reduced high density lipoprotein cholesterol and elevated triglycerides.

Therapeutic massage/Tuina for treatment of functional dyspepsia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to assess the potential effect of therapeutic massage/Tuina on functional dyspepsia (FD) patients. METHOD: Twelve databases and three clinical trial registries were searched until December 2021, for RCTs that compared Tuina combined with or without conventional therapy versus conventional therapy in FD. We assessed the methodological quality of included trials by the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, and graded the quality of the evidence. The data were presented as risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) respectively with their 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: In total, 14 RCTs with 1128 FD participants were included. Compared with conventional therapy, Tuina showed significant beneficial effects on improving overall symptom (RR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.19, low certainty evidence), and early satiation (MD -0.44 scores, 95% CI -0.72 to -0.16, very low certainty evidence). Compared with conventional therapy, Tuina plus conventional therapy also significantly improved overall symptom (RR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.06-1.23, low certainty evidence), quality of life (MD 10.44 scores, 95% CI 7.65-13.23, low certainty evidence), and epigastric pain (MD -0.76 scores, 95% CI -1.11 to -0.41, low certainty evidence). No adverse events related to Tuina and cost-effectiveness were reported. CONCLUSION: Low certainty evidence showed that Tuina significantly improved overall symptom of FD participants compared with conventional therapy. Low certainty evidence showed that Tuina plus conventional therapy obviously improved overall symptom and quality of life of FD participants compared with conventional therapy.

Sonodynamic therapy exciting the herbal nanocomposite with spider-web-like effect to combat otitis media.

Otitis media, mainly caused by bacteria, is prevalent in young children and can cause hearing loss and growth retardation. Antibiotics are the most widely utilized treatment for otitis media, however, they can cause drug resistance and harmful side effects. In this study, we reported an antibacterial nanocomposite in combination with sonodynamic therapy that consists of herbal antibacterial agents such as Curcumin (CUR) and Tanshinone IIA (TSIIA), as well as Chitosan (CS), for the treatment of acute otitis media. CUR/TSIIA/CS nanocomposite (NC) with ultrasonic irradiation demonstrated that it could eliminate Staphylococcus aureus. In vivo experiments revealed that NC-mediated sonodynamic therapy had excellent antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity, displaying a consistent performance comparable to ofloxacin. The therapeutic efficiency was attributed to capturing bacteria through spider-web-like effect and destroying bacteria through the reactive oxygen species generated under ultrasonic irradiation. Significantly, NC did not induce bacterial resistance and showed good biocompatibility. This study provides a novel strategy to develop an ultrasound-assisted nanocomposite with an enhanced antibacterial effect. Further, it unlocks new doors for the substitute of antibiotics to combat otitis media by establishing efficient therapeutic systems.

Xiaochaihu decoction for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinicopathologic syndrome characterized by excessive deposition of fat in hepatocytes except for alcohol and other specific hepatic factors. Xiaochaihu decoction (XD) has been widely used to treat NAFLD in China. However, there is no systematic review found. In order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of XD in the treatment of NAFLS, we need to conduct a meta-analysis and systematic evaluation. METHODS: There are enrolled randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness and safety of XD in the treatment of NAFLD. Data come mainly from 4 Chinese databases (CNKI, CBM, Wanfang, and VIP Database) and 4 English databases (Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of science). The enrollment of RCTs is from the starting date of database establishment till September 30, 2021. The work such as selection of literature, data collection, quality evaluation of included literature, and assessment of publication bias will be conducted by 2 independent researchers. Meta-analysis will be performed by RevMan 5.0 software. RESULTS: This study will provide high-quality evidence for the effectiveness and safety of XD in the treatment of NAFLD. CONCLUSION: The results of the study will help us determine whether XD can effectively treat NAFLD. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study does not require ethical approval. We will disseminate our findings by publishing results in a peer-reviewed journal. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/A5XEM.

Comparable outcomes among unmanipulated haploidentical, matched unrelated, and matched sibling donors in BU-based myeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for intermediate and adverse risk acute myeloid leukemia in complete remission: a single-center study.

There are a limited number of studies comparing outcomes of busulfan (BU)-based myeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation using unmanipulated haploidentical donors (HIDs), HLA-matched unrelated donors (MUDs), and HLA-matched sibling related donors (MSDs) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with complete remission (CR) status. With this background, we compared outcomes among 377 cases of CR following consecutive HID-HSCT for AML (CR) to 86 MUD and 92 MSD-HSCT cases. All patients received BU-based myeloablative conditioning and an unmanipulated graft within the same period. The median patient age was 23 years (range 1.1 to 65 years), and 230 patients (41.4%) were under age18. Among the 555 patients, 432 (77.8%) were of intermediate cytogenetic risk and 123 (22.2%) were of adverse risk. A total of 113 patients (20.5%) had FLT3-ITD+ AML, 425 patients (76.6%) were in first complete remission (CR1) post-transplant, and 130 (23.4%) patients were in second CR (CR2). GVHD prophylaxis included mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), cyclosporine-A (CSA) with short-term methotrexate (MTX) for HID, and MUD-HSCT. MMF is not used for MSD-HSCT. The median survival follow-up time was 42 months (range 18-91 months). The 3-year leukemia-free survival (LFS) among the HID, MUD, and MSD cohorts was 73.8% ± 4.8%, 66.4% ± 8.5%, 74.5% ± 2.4%, respectively (P = 0.637). Three-year overall survival (OS) was 74.9% ± 2.4%, 81.8% ± 4.3%, and 77.5% ± 4.5% among the HID, MUD, and MSD cohorts, respectively (P = 0.322). There were no difference among the relapse rate among the HID, MUD, and MSD donor cohorts (14.3% ± 4.0% vs 20.3% ± 6.4% vs 14.5% ± 2.2, respectively; P = 0.851) or the non-relapse mortality (NRM) (12.3% ± 3.5% vs 9.5% ± 3.2% vs 14.0% ± 1.8%, respectively; P = 0.441). Multivariate analyses showed that MRD-positive pre-HSCT was the only risk factor associated with a lower OS and LFS and higher risk of relapse among all 555 patients. Compared with the use of a MUD or MSD, an HID for HSCT had similar outcomes among AML patients with CR states who underwent an allo-HSCT with BU-based myeloablative conditioning. MFC-MRD-positive pre-HSCT was an independent negative factor impact on outcomes for AML patients in CR. We conclude that for AML patients who do not have a MSD or if an urgent transplant is required, HSCT from an HID is a valid option.

Efficacy and safety of Maxing Shigan Decoction in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is currently the fourth leading cause of death in the world but is projected to be the 3rd leading cause of death by 2030. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is an important public health challenge, which can be prevented and treated. COPD is an important public health challenge, both preventable and treatable. In China, Maxing Shigan Decoction (MSD) has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine compound for the treatment of respiratory diseases for thousands of years. In order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MSD in the treatment of COPD, we need to conduct meta-analysis and systematic reviews. METHODS: The data comes from 7 publicly published databases, including: PubMed, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), EMbase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Database(CBM), VIP Database, and Wanfang database. We will include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of MSD in the treatment of COPD. Result measurement indicators include: TCM syndrome scores, lung function indicators, serum inflammatory factors, blood gas indicators, adverse reactions. RevMan 5.0 will be used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: This study will provide high-quality evidence for the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine therapy for COPD. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will help us determine whether MSD can effectively treat COPD. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: All analyses in this study are based on previously published research, so this study does not require ethical approval or patient consent. We will disseminate our findings electronically or in print by publishing results in peer-reviewed journals. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/H5UNB.

Erchen decoction for hyperlipemia: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Hyperlipidemia is a metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of blood lipids and lipoproteins and a major pathogenic factor of atherosclerosis. In China, Erchen decoction (ECD) has been widely used to treat hyperlipidemia. However, there is no systematic review found. In order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ECD in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, we need to conduct a meta-analysis and systematic evaluation. METHODS: We will enroll the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness and safety of ECD in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Data come mainly from 4 Chinese databases (China national knowledge infrastructure, Wanfang, Chinese biomedical literature database, and VIP Database) and 4 English databases (Pubmed, Embase excerpt medica database, Cochrane Library, and Web of science). The enrollment of RCTs is from the starting date of database establishment till September 30, 2020. Low density lipoprotein cholesterol is considered as the main indicator of the dyslipidemia, while the serum concentrations of total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A, and apolipoprotein B are regarded as the secondary indicators. There are Safety indicators including liver enzyme, kidney function and fasting blood glucose. The work such as selection of literature, data collection, quality evaluation of included literature, and assessment of publication bias will be conducted by 2 independent researchers. Meta-analysis will be performed by RevMan 5.0 software. RESULTS: This study will provide high-quality evidence for the effectiveness and safety of ECD in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. CONCLUSION: The results of the study will help us determine whether ECD can effectively treat hyperlipidemia. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study does not require ethical approval. We will disseminate our findings by publishing results in a peer-reviewed journal. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/GZ69F.

Shengyang Yiwei Decoction for the treatment of chronic gastritis: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic gastritis is a very common chronic gastric mucosal inflammatory disease in China. Long-term chronic inflammation will aggravate the disease and develop towards gastric cancer. Clinically, infection with Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) is a common cause. The application of antibiotics to eradicate H pylori has been reported to have produced drug resistance. However, the application of Shengyang Yiwei Decoction(SYD) in traditional Chinese medicine has resulted in significant clinical effects and small side effects. It is used for the treatment of chronic gastritis and other diseases, but there is a lack of systematic reviews on the treatment of chronic gastritis by SYD. This article reviews the efficacy and safety of SYD in the treatment of chronic gastritis. METHODS: The registration date for the randomized controlled trials is set by the database to October 15, 2020. Through searching the following 8 Chinese and English electronic databases: Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Science Net, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Science Journal Database and Wanfang Database to analyze. The main results were clinical efficacy, H pylori infection clearance rate, symptom score and quality of life, and 1-year recurrence rate. Finally, Stata 15 was used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: This study will provide the latest evidence for the treatment of chronic gastritis by SYD in the following aspects: clinical efficacy, H pylori infection clearance rate, quality of life, symptom score, and 1-year recurrence rate. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will provide evidence for evaluating the effectiveness of SYD in chronic gastritis treatment. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/AZKUQ.

Characteristics of registered studies for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization characterized the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic on March 11th. Many clinical trials on COVID-19 have been registered, and we aim to review the study characteristics and provide guidance for future trials to avoid duplicated effort. METHODS: Studies on COVID-19 registered before March 3rd, 2020 on eight registry platforms worldwide were searched and the data of design, participants, interventions, and outcomes were extracted and analyzed. RESULTS: Three hundred and ninety-three studies were identified and 380 (96.7%) were from mainland China, while 3 in Japan, 3 in France, 2 in the US, and 3 were international collaborative studies. Two hundred and sixty-six (67.7%) aimed at therapeutic effect, others were for prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, etc. Two hundred and two studies (51.4%) were randomized controlled trials. Two third of therapeutic studies tested Western medicines including antiviral drugs (17.7%), stem cell and cord blood therapy (10.2%), chloroquine and derivatives (8.3%), 16 (6.0%) on Chinese medicines, and 73 (27.4%) on integrated therapy of Western and Chinese medicines. Thirty-one studies among 266 therapeutic studies (11.7%) used mortality as primary outcome, while the most designed secondary outcomes were symptoms and signs (47.0%). Half of the studies (45.5%) had not started recruiting till March 3rd. CONCLUSION: Inappropriate outcome setting, delayed recruitment and insufficient numbers of new cases in China implied many studies may fail to complete. Strategies and protocols of the studies with robust and rapid data sharing are warranted for emergency public health events, helping the timely evidence-based decision-making.

Chinese Herbal Medicine Used With or Without Conventional Western Therapy for COVID-19: An Evidence Review of Clinical Studies.

Objective: To present the evidence of the therapeutic effects and safety of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) used with or without conventional western therapy for COVID-19. Methods: Clinical studies on the therapeutic effects and safety of CHM for COVID-19 were included. We summarized the general characteristics of included studies, evaluated methodological quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using the Cochrane risk of bias tool, analyzed the use of CHM, used Revman 5.4 software to present the risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) and their 95% confidence interval (CI) to estimate the therapeutic effects and safety of CHM. Results: A total of 58 clinical studies were identified including RCTs (17.24%, 10), non-randomized controlled trials (1.72%, 1), retrospective studies with a control group (18.97%, 11), case-series (20.69%, 12) and case-reports (41.38%, 24). No RCTs of high methodological quality were identified. The most frequently tested oral Chinese patent medicine, Chinese herbal medicine injection or prescribed herbal decoction were: Lianhua Qingwen granule/capsule, Xuebijing injection and Maxing Shigan Tang. In terms of aggravation rate, pooled analyses showed that there were statistical differences between the intervention group and the comparator group (RR 0.42, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.82, six RCTs; RR 0.38, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.64, five retrospective studies with a control group), that is, CHM plus conventional western therapy appeared better than conventional western therapy alone in reducing aggravation rate. In addition, compared with conventional western therapy, CHM plus conventional western therapy had potential advantages in increasing the recovery rate and shortening the duration of fever, cough and fatigue, improving the negative conversion rate of nucleic acid test, and increasing the improvement rate of chest CT manifestations and shortening the time from receiving the treatment to the beginning of chest CT manifestations improvement. For adverse events, pooled data showed that there were no statistical differences between the CHM and the control groups. Conclusion: Current low certainty evidence suggests that there maybe a tendency that CHM plus conventional western therapy is superior to conventional western therapy alone. The use of CHM did not increase the risk of adverse events.

[Clinical and fundamental research Yinhua Miyanling Tablets in treating urinary tract infection].

As the famous Chinese patent medicine, Yinhua Miyanling Tablets, which was derived from ancient prescription denominated Bazhengsan, has not only the effects in clearing away heat and purging pathogenic fire, removing dampness and relieving stranguria, but also have the functions of detoxifying and tonifying. A great number of scientific studies have demonstrated that Yinhua Mi-yanling Tablets played significant roles in destroying harmful microbes and resisting inflammatory and diuresis. Compared with antibiotics, traditional antibacterial Chinese patent medicine Yinhua Miyanling Tablets has the advantage in bacterial resistance in long-term use. Fundamental studies about the content of pharmaceutical ingredients and the modern pharmacology of Yinhua Miyanling Tablets were collected and summarized, which conduces to indicating the active ingredients of Yinhua Miyanling Tablets with the medicinal efficacy from the molecular level and the internal mechanism of Yinhua Miyanling Tablets in the treatment of urinary tract infection(UTI) from the scientific perspective. In the field of clinical research, literatures associated with Yinhua Miyanling Tablets for the treatment of UTI were summarized and analyzed in terms of treatment type, administration mode, dosage, frequency of medication, course, efficiency, side effects and whether combined with healthy lifestyle. These literatures confirmed the medicinal values and the application prospect of Yinhua Miyanling Tablets in treating UTI, especially acute UTI, which provides a scientific theoretical foundation and a correct direction for the clinical application of Yinhua Miyanling Tablets. In conclusion, this article contributes to the standardization of Yinhua Miyanling Tablets in the treatment of UTI, in the expectation of giving the scientific guidance for clinical practice.

Extraction and Antioxidant Activities of Magnolia kwangsiensis Figlar & Noot. Leaf Polyphenols.

Microwave-assisted extraction was employed to extract polyphenols from the leaf of Magnolia kwangsiensis Figlar & Noot. The yield of polyphenols was 2.44±0.02 % under the optimal conditions of RSM: acetone concentration of 70 %, ratio of solvent to material of 21 mL⋅g-1 and extraction time of 16 min. The antioxidant activities were evaluated in terms of total antioxidant ability, reducing power, DPPH⋅ and ⋅ OH scavenging activity. Results showed the polyphenols presented potential antioxidant activities, especially the stronger scavenging activity on ⋅ OH. In term of ⋅ OH scavenging activity, the IC50 value of NKA-9 purification was 0.335 mg mL-1 , equivalent to 35.23 % of VC . The IC50 values of crude extract and ethyl acetate extract were 0.580 and 0.828 mg mL-1 , equivalent to 60.99 % and 87.07 % of VC . Results indicated that M. kwangsiensis leaf polyphenols present potential antioxidant activities that make it beneficial for human health by preventing or reducing oxidative damage.

Denosumab versus zoledronic acid for preventing symptomatic skeletal events in Asian postmenopausal women with oestrogen-receptor-positive advanced breast cancer: an outcome analyses with a mean follow-up of 3 years.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of denosumab or zoledronic acid (ZA) using symptomatic skeletal events (SSEs) as the primary endpoint in Asian postmenopausal women with oestrogen-receptor-positive advanced breast cancer. METHODS: Asian postmenopausal women with oestrogen-receptor-positive advanced breast cancer receiving subcutaneous denosumab 120 mg Q4W, or intravenous ZA 4 mg Q4W until the primary analysis cut-off date were retrospectively analysed in the Hong Kong Practice-Based Cancer Research Center(HKCRC) from March 2011 to March 2013. The time to first on-study SSE that was assessed either clinically or through routine radiographic scans was the primary endpoint. RESULTS: 242 patients received denosumab or ZA treatment (n = 120, mean age of 64.9 years (SD 3.01) and n = 122, 65.4 years (3.44), respectively). The median times to first on-study SSE were 14.7 months (12.9-45.6) and 11.7 months (9.9-45.6) for denosumab and ZA, respectively (hazard ratio, HR 0.44, 95% CI 0.71-2.95; p = 0·0002). Compared with the ZA group, denosumab-treated patients had a significantly delayed time to first SSE (HR 0.65 [95% CI 0.29-1.45], p < 0.0001). An increased incidence of SSE was found in the 16-month follow-up with rates of 2.1 and 10.7% for denosumab and ZA, respectively (P = 0.033). The difference persisted with time with rates of 8.3 and 17.2% at the final follow-up, respectively (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In postmenopausal women aged ≥60 years with oestrogen-receptor-positive advanced breast cancer, denosumab significantly reduced the risk of developing SSEs compared with ZA. The findings of this pilot trial justify a larger study to determine whether the result is more generally applicable to a broader population.

[Clinical application evaluation of clinical practice guideline on traditional Chinese medicine therapy alone or combined with antibiotics for uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection].

A questionnaire survey of 1 000 clinicians having experience in treating uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections from different levels of hospitals was conducted to mainly evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of clinical application of clinical practice guideline on traditional Chinese medicine therapy alone or combined with antibiotics for uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection(hereinafter referred to as Guideline). The research was conducted with the three-level quality control strictly throughout the process, and the data was real and reliable. The survey's results showed that: most clinicians considered that the Guideline had good clinical applicability. The availability and price of the recommended medicine were moderate. Traditional Chinese medicine had obvious features and advantages in treating lower urinary tract infection for it could reduce the usage of antibiotics and shorten the course of antibiotic application. In the recommendation section, clinicians proposed increasing medication guidance, updating the Guideline timely, as well as increasing treating methods and techniques, strengthen propaganda and promotion, and improve the use of evidence-based methods. In the evaluation of effectiveness, the majority of clinicians agreed that the definition in both traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine and differential diagnosis in the Guideline were accurately described and the basic principle of treatment as well as the treating method of TCM were recommended appropriately. The TCM formulas and Chinese patent medicine had good effect. Some clinicians suggested refining the syndrome differentiation of stranguria. Some clinicians considered that the formulas and herbs recommended in Guideline didn't have obvious effect and some had doubts about the manipulation of fumigation and washing in the part of other methods recommended in Guideline. Moreover, specification and procedure of manipulation of fumigation and washing using herbs and the acupuncture included in characteristic TCM therapy treating uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection remained to be developed.

[Review on advantages and evidence of treating and preventing urinary tract infection in traditional Chinese medicine].

Urinary tract infection (UTI) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) belongs to the category of stranguria. This article describes the unsatisfactory situations in clinical practice such as antibiotics abuse, increasing of drug-resistant bacteria, high recurrence rate, etc. According to evidence-based medicine, literatures as evidence are collected for summarizing and analyzing and the result shows the advantages of TCM of relieving symptoms, reducing the dosage of antibiotics, less side effects, lower recurrence rate, etc. In the field of fundamental research, literatures associated with UTI are also summarized and analysed from several perspectives, such as causes, pathogenesis, syndrome differentiation, pharmacological effects of Chinese herbal medicine, working mechanism of non-drug therapy, etc and the result presents that integrated treatment of TCM in UTI has significant advangtages and its own characteristic.

Phosphatidylcholine affects the secretion of the alkaline phosphatase PhoA in Pseudomonas strains.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and Pseudomonas sp. 593 use the phosphatidylcholine synthase pathway (Pcs-pathway) for the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine (PC). Both bacterial strains contain the phoA and lapA genes encoding alkaline phosphatases (ALP) and display strong ALP activities. The PhoA and LapA enzymes are thought to be independently secreted via the Xcp and Hxc type II secretion system (T2SS) subtypes, in which the Hxc system may act as a complementary mechanism when the Xcp pathway becomes limiting. Inactivation of the pcs gene in both bacteria abolished PC synthesis and resulted in approximately 50% less ALP activity in the cell-free culture. Analysis by western blotting showed that LapA protein content in the wild type and the pcs- mutant was unchanged in the cytoplasmic, periplasmic or extracellular protein fractions. In contrast, the PhoA protein in the pcs- mutant was less prevalent among extracellular proteins but was more abundant in the periplasmic protein fraction compared to the wild type. Semi- quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR showed that phoA, lapA and 12 xcp genes were equally expressed at the transcriptional level in both the wild types and the pcs- mutants. Our results demonstrate that the absence of PC in bacterial membrane phospholipids does not interfere with the transcription of the phoA and lapA genes but primarily affects the export of PhoA from the cytoplasm to the extracellular environment via the Xcp T2SS.

[Anti-atherosclerotic Effects of Bear Bile Powder in Shexiang Tongxin Dripping Pill: a Mechanism Study].

UNLABELLED: OBJECTIVE : To study the anti-atherosclerotic mechanism of bear bile powder (BBP) in Shexiang Tongxin Dripping Pill (STDP) , and to provide scientific evidence for treating atherosclerosis (AS) by its therapeutic characteristics of cool resuscitation. METHODS: AS model was duplicated using ApoE-/- gene knocked mice fed with high-fat diet. Thirty ApoE-/- deficient male mice were divided into four groups according to body weight using random digit table, i.e., the model group (A, n =9), the STDP group (B, n=E7), the STDP without BBP group (C, n =7), and the BBP group (D, n =9). Besides, another 9 C57BL/6J male mice of the same age were recruited as a normal control group (E). All mice in Group B, C, and D were respectively administered with corresponding drugs (30, 30, and 0. 33 mg/kg) by gastrogavage. Equal volume of normal saline was administered to mice in Group A and E. All medication lasted for 8 successive weeks. Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-α), interferon y (IFNγ), and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) were measured by ELISA. Serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), activities of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined using biochemical assay. Contents of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the aortic root was detected by dihydroethidum (DHE) fluorescent probe. Expression levels of microRNAs (such as miR-20, miR-21, miR-126, and miR-155) were detected by real-time PCR. RESULTS: The fluorescence intensity of the aorta was obviously enhanced in Group A. But it was obviously attenuated in Group B, C, and D, and the attenuation was the most in Group B. Compared with Group E, serum levels of IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, oxLDL, and MDA all increased (P <0. 01), GSH contents and SOD activities decreased (P <0. 01), expression levels of miR-126, miR-21, and miR-155 in aorta increased (P <0. 01), and the expression level of miR-20 decreased in Group A (P<0. 01). Compared with Group A, serum levels of IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, oxLDL, and MDA were all down-regulated (P <0. 01), GSH contents and SOD activities were up-regulated (P <0. 01), expression levels of miR-126, miR-21, and miR-155 in aorta were down-regulated in Group B, C, and D (P <0. 01). The expression level of miR20 was up-regulated in Group B and D (P <0. 01). Compared with Group B, serum levels of IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ increased (P <0.01); GSH contents and SOD activities decreased, levels of MDA and oxLDL increased (P <0. 01) in Group C and D. Expression levels of miR-20 and miR-155 were down-regulated in Group C and D (P <0. 01). CONCLUSIONS: STDP played roles in significantly regulating inflammatory factors and oxidative stress factors. Its mechanism might be possibly associated with regulating expressions of miR-126, miR-21, miR-155, and miR-20 in aorta. BBP played significant roles in STDP.

[Establishment and Application of Model for Determining Oil Content of Cottonseed Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy].

Cotton is one of the important oil crops, and it is great significance for screening and identification of breeding materials to establish a method of the rapid, nondestructive testing of cotton seed oil content. In this study, near-infrared diffuse reflection spectroscopy of 118 high and low oil materials were adopted to establish models for fast nondestructive determining oil content of cottonseed using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR). One hundred and six cottonseed samples as calibration set that covered the range of seed oil content for upland cotton were used in this experiment. The spectral data of cottonseed were processed using the first derivative and multiplicative scatter correction (MSC). The correction NIR model of oil content was built based on partial least squares (PLS) method with the spectral regions 5 446-8 848 cm(-1) and main components (5). The determination coefficient (R2) of calibration model was 0.975, standard error of calibration (SEC) was 0.67. The authors test the model's actual ability to predict using external validation set. The correlation coefficient (r) of predicted values and the chemistry value was 0.978, the range of prediction error was 0.1% - 1.7%. The model established has good predictability. The oil content of 784 breeding stocks were predicted by NIR model, statistical analysis of predictable. results elucidated that the NIR model of oil content developed can be well applied to selective breeding and oil related study in cotton.

Radix astragali inhibits the down-regulation of connexin 26 in the stria vascularis of the guinea pig cochlea after acoustic trauma.

Connexin 26 (cx26) plays an important role in the intercellular signaling and is related to K(+) metabolism in stria vascularis (SV). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are negative regulators of cx26, reducing intercellular coupling in cochlea. ROS plays an important role in acoustic trauma. Radix astragali is a natural antioxidant that decreases impulse noise-induced hearing loss through its ability to inhibit ROS. The purpose of this study was to investigate if radix astragali has the potential to reduce the change of cx26 in SV from impulse noise. Guinea pigs in the experimental group were administered radix astragali intraperitoneally. Auditory thresholds were assessed by sound-evoked auditory brainstem response (ABR) at click and tone bursts of 8, 16 and 32 kHz, 24 h before and 72 h after exposure to impulse noise. 4-Hydroxynonenal, cx26 and KCNQ1 were determined immunohistochemically in SV. SV was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Radix astragali significantly reduced the ABR deficits and the SV damage, and decreased the shifts of the expression of cx26 and KCNQ1 in the SV. These results suggest that the beneficial effect of radix astragali on impulse noise-induced hearing loss may be also due to its ability to reduce the change of cx26 in SV.

[Effect of Tongluo Xingnao effervescent tablets on learning and memory dysfunction in rats with chronic cerebral ischemia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of Tongluo Xingnao effervescent tablets on learning and memory capacity and expression of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in hippocampus of rats with chronic cerebral ischemia-induced learning and memory dysfunction model. METHOD: The 2-VO method was used to establish sd rat model learning and memory dysfunction induced by chronic cerebral ischemia. The 50 rats in the successfully established model were randomly divided into the model control group, the Dihydroergotoxine Mesylate tablets group (0.7 mg x kg(-1), Tongluo Xingnao effervescent tablets high dose (7.56 g x kg(-1)), middle dose (3.78 g x kg(-1)) and low dose (1.59 g x kg(-1)) groups and the sham operation group (n = 10) as the control group. The groups were orally given 10 ml x kg(-1) x d(-1) drugs for consecutively 90 days. On the 86th day, Morris water maze was adopted for them. On the 90th day, a leaning and memory capacity test was held. The brain tissues were fixed with 10% formaldehyde and observed for pathomorphism after routine slide preparation and staining. The expression of hippocampal Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase was detected with immunohistochemistry and image quantitative analysis. RESULT: Compared with the model group, all of Tongluo Xingnao effervescent tablets groups showed significant decrease in the escape latency at the 5th day in the Morris water maze, and notable increase in the frequency of the first quadrant dwell, the frequency passing the escape platform and the frequency entering effective area (p < 0.05). According to the pathomorphological detection, the control group showed a significantly higher pathological score than the sham operation group (p < 0.01), the middle dose group showed a significantly lower pathological score than the model group (p < 0.05). According to the immunohistochemistical detection, the model control group showed a remarkably lower mean OD value of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase than the sham operation group (p < 0.05), high and middle dose groups showed a significantly higher mean od value than the model control group (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Tongluo Xingnao effervescent tablets can improve the learning and memory capacity, reduce pathological changes of hippocampal tissues of rats with chronic cerebral ischemia-induced learning and memory dysfunction model, and promote the expression of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in hippocampus.