Investigation on medical practice of overseas acupuncturists based on the top 5 general hospitals in the United States of America and the inspiration / 国际中医中药杂志

This study selected the top five general hospitals in the United States of America, collected the practice information of acupuncturists through the official website, and analyzed the professional department, expertise, professional title, education background, residency, fellowship, board certification, etc. of these acupuncturists to understand the practice situation of acupuncturists in the hospitals. The results of the study showed the practice of acupuncturists in the United States of America is improving. With further localization, locally trained acupuncturists have gradually become the main body of acupuncturists; acupuncture treatment is still mainly for analgesia, but the scope of treatment continues to expand, and departments that accept acupuncturists are gradually increasing. However, the group of licensed acupuncturists is still a minority in the group of acupuncturists in the United States of America. Native American physicians still use acupuncture as an alternative option and neglect to obtain a license. The entry barrier for acupuncturists still needs to be raised.

Verbascoside protects from LPS-induced septic cardiomyopathy via alleviating cardiac inflammation, oxidative stress and regulating mitochondrial dynamics.

BACKGROUND: Verbascoside (VB), as an active component of multiple medicinal plants, has been proved to exert anti-oxidative, anti-aging and neuroprotective effects. This study was designed to investigate whether VB could play a cardioprotective role in septic heart injury. METHODS: Mice were injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 10 mg/kg) to induce sepsis. The treatment group received an intraperitoneally injection of VB (20 mg/kg) before LPS challenge. Transthoracic echocardiography, ELISA, immunofluorescence, and qPCR were performed to assess the effect of VB on heart function, oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. Transmission electronic microscopy and immunoblotting were used to evaluate the mitochondrial morphology and biogenesis of the septic heart. In vitro experiments were also performed to repeat above-mentioned assays. RESULTS: Compared with LPS group, the VB treatment group showed improved cardiac function in sepsis. VB alleviated oxidative stress and inflammatory cell infiltration, as well as cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Specifically, VB could restore sepsis-induced mitochondrial alterations via regulating mitochondrial biogenesis. These results were also confirmed in in vitro experiments. CONCLUSION: Verbascoside could protected from sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy by inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis, as well as promoting mitochondrial biogenesis.

Cannabis Seed Oil Alleviates Experimental Atherosclerosis by Ameliorating Vascular Inflammation in Apolipoprotein-E-Deficient Mice.

In recent decades, epidemiological, clinical, and experimental studies have demonstrated that a diet with antioxidant or anti-inflammatory function plays a central role in the prevention of atherosclerosis (AS). The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Cannabis seed oil (CO) administration on in vitro antioxidant capacity as well as blood lipid profiles, lipid peroxidation, inflammatory response, and endothelial cell integrity. Female ApoE-/- mice were fed a high-cholesterol diet and administrated with CO or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and seal oil by gavage for 8 weeks. The results show that CO administration reduced the levels of serum triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol at week 6. Additionally, a decrease in serum tumor necrosis factor α and nitric oxide was also observed. Moreover, results from CD31 staining and scanning electron microscopy revealed that CO treatment alleviated the endothelial cell damage and lipid deposition induced by a high-cholesterol diet. The ratio of lesion area to the total aorta area was 19.57% for the CO group, which was lower than the PBS control group (24.67%). Collectively, CO exerted anti-atherosclerotic effects by modulating serum lipid profiles and inflammatory responses and improving endothelial cell integrity and arterial lipid deposition. The results provide a promising preventive strategy for the early progression of AS.

Clinical efficacy of Da Vinci robot-assisted radical resection for right colon cancer / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of Da Vinci robot-assisted radical resection for right colon cancer.Methods The retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted.The clinical data of 85 patients with right colon cancer who were admitted to the First Hospital Affiliated to Army Medical University from August 2013 to February 2019 were collected.There were 56 males and 29 females,aged from 29 to 84 years,with an average age of 60 years.All patients underwent Da Vinci robot-assisted radical resection of right colon cancer,named right hemicolon D3 + complete mesocolic excision,and received infection prevention and total parenteral nutrition treatment after surgery.According to clinical pathological staging of guideline issued by National Comprehensive Cancer Network,patients underwent postoperative chemotherapy within 1 year after surgery.Observation indicators:(1) treatment status;(2) postoperative pathological examination;(3) follow-up.Follow-up was conducted using outpatient examination,telephone interview and mail every 3 months within 1 year after surgery,every 6 months from 1 to 3 years after surgery,and once a year from 3 to 5 years after surgery up to March 2019.The postoperative tumor metastasis and survival of patients were obtained.Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean±SD,and measurement data with skewed distribution were described as M (range).Count data were expressed as absolute number.Survival rates were calculated using life-table method.Results (1) Treatment status:85 patients underwent Da Vinci robot-assisted right hemicolon D3 + complete mesocolic excision successfully.The operation time,volume of intraoperative blood loss,time for postoperative outof-bed activities,time to recovery of gastrointestinal function,time to liquid diet intake were (178±28) minutes,(85±33) mL,(2.9± 1.8) days,(3.1 ± 2.7) days,(3.9± 1.9) days,respectively.There was no perioperative death.Eleven patients had postoperative complications including 5 of anastomotic leakage,2 of anastomotic bleeding,2 of pulmonary infection,1 of gastric emptying disorder and 1 of incomplete intestinal obstruction;they were cured and discharged after conservative treatment.All the 85 patients received postoperative infection prevention and total parenteral nutrition support,including 64 receiving systemic intravenous chemotherapy with 6 -8 cycles of FOLFOX or XELOX,7 receiving 6-8 cycles of oral capecitabine,and 14 receiving no chemotherapy.(2) Postoperative pathological examination:the number of harvested lymph nodes was 20± 11 and 25 had lymph node metastasis.The length of proximal and distal cutting edge of the specimens was (16±5) cm and (9±5)cm,respectively.There was no cancerous cell on the cutting edge.High-differentiated adenocarcinoma,moderatedifferentiated adenocarcinoma,moderate-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma,low-differentiated adenocarcinoma,mucinous adenocarcinoma,tubular combined with mucinous adenocarcinoma were detected in 2,40,14,16,9,4 patients,respectively.There were 8,28,24,5,12,8 patients in Ⅰ stage,Ⅱ A stage,Ⅱ B stage,Ⅱ C stage,ⅢB stage,Ⅲ C stage of TNM staging,respectively.(3) Follow-up:85 patients were followed up for 1-67 months,with a median follow-up time of 19 months.During the follow-up,1 of 85 patients had liver metastasis at 14 months after surgery and had survived after radiofrequency ablation treatment up to the end of follow-up.Three cases died of abdominal tumor metastases,1 of which in Ⅱ C stage died at 32 months after surgery,1 in Ⅲ B stage died at 4 months after surgery and 1 in Ⅲ B stage died at 16 months after surgery.The 1-,3-year overall survival rates were 97.1％ and 94.0％,respectively.Conclusion Da Vinci robot-assisted radical resection of right colon cancer is safe and feasible,with good short-and long-term outcomes.

Physiological responses to Tai Chi in stable patients with COPD.

We compared the physiological work, judged by oxygen uptake, esophageal pressure swing and diaphragm electromyography, elicited by Tai Chi compared with that elicited by constant rate treadmill walking at 60% of maximal load in eleven patients with COPD (Mean FEV1 61% predicted, FEV1/FVC 47%). Dynamic hyperinflation was assessed by inspiratory capacity and twitch quadriceps tension (TwQ) elicited by supramaximal magnetic stimulation of the femoral nerve was also measured before and after both exercises. The EMGdi and esophageal pressure at the end of exercise were similar for both treadmill exercise and Tai Chi (0.109±0.047 mV vs 0.118±0.061 mV for EMGdi and 22.3±7.1 cmH2O vs 21.9±8.1 cmH2O for esophageal pressure). Moreover the mean values of oxygen uptake during Tai Chi and treadmill exercise did not differ significantly: 11.3 ml/kg/min (51.1% of maximal oxygen uptake derived from incremental exercise) and 13.4 ml/kg/min (52.5%) respectively, p>0.05. Respiratory rate during Tai Chi was significantly lower than that during treadmill exercise. Both Tai Chi and treadmill exercise elicited a fall in IC at end exercise, indicating dynamic hyperinflation, but this was statistically significant only after treadmill exercise. TwQ decreased significantly after Tai Chi but not after treadmill. We conclude that Tai Chi constitutes a physiologically similar stimulus to treadmill exercise and may therefore be an acceptable modality for pulmonary rehabilitation which may be culturally more acceptable in some parts of the world.

Adiponectin protects the genioglossus of rats against chronic intermittent hypoxia-induced injury via inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome, characterized by chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH), is closely correlated with genioglossus dysfunction. CIH has been identified to mediate mitochondrial damage in genioglossus. It has been reported that endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) could be induced by mitochondrial dysfunction. This study aimed to investigate the role of ERS in CIH-induced genioglossus injury, as well as the possible intervention effect of adiponectin (Ad) supplement in rats. METHODS: Forty-five male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups and submitted to room air (group A, n=15) as a control or CIH (groups B and C, n=15, respectively). Throughout the exposure period, intravenous Ad was given in group C; while intravenous normal saline was simultaneously given in groups A and B. After 35-day exposure, genioglossus samples were obtained from the pentobarbital-anaesthetized rats via surgical dissection, following blood sampling. Western blotting was applied to detect expressions of ERS signals and associated apoptotic pathways in genioglossus. Serum adiponectin levels were assessed via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Significant hypoadiponectinemia was revealed in group B only (P < 0.05). Compared to those in groups A and C, expressions of markers involved in ERS, such as glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78), p-PERK, phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2a (p-eIF2a), phosphorylated inositol-requiring transmembrane kinase/endoribonuclease 1a (p-IRE1a), spliced X-Box binding protein 1 (XBP1s) and activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), were significantly enhanced in group B (all P < 0.01); while no significant difference was shown between groups A and C (all P > 0.05). ERSassociated apoptotic pathways were remarkably activated in group B. The involved markers detected as the expression of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), B-cell lymphoma/leukemia associatied X protein (BAX) and caspase-12 were significantly elevated (all P < 0.01). Transvenous adiponectin supplement improved the above CIHinduced pathological changes in group C. CONCLUSION: Beyond hypoadiponectinemia, CIH could enhance ERS and induce activation of ERS-associated apoptotic pathways in genioglossus, which could be significantly improved by adiponectin supplement.

Effects of Scutellarin on glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase gene expression and activities in rats supplemented with upper limit Selenium / 中国药理学通报

AIM To study the effects of Scutellarin on glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase gene expression and activities in liver, kidney and testis tissues of rats supplemented with upper limit intake (UL) of Se. METHODS RT PCR and enzyme activities were used to determine GSH Px and TR mRNA levels and activities. RESULTS GSH Px and TR mRNA levels and activities were remarkably decreased in livers of rats supplemented with UL Se. Scutellarin significantly increased GSH Px and TR mRNA levels and activities in livers of rats supplemented with UL Se. No significant effects were found in rats treated with only Scutellarin as compared with the control. There were also no significant effects of UL Se on GSH Px and TR mRNA levels and activities in rat kidney and testis. CONCLUSION Scutellarin effectively antagonized the decrease of GSH Px and TR mRNA levels and activities in rat livers due to supplementation with UL. The effect of UL on GSH Px and TR mRNA levels shows tissue specificity.

SELENIUM SUPPLEMENTATION AT LARGE DOSES INHIBITS SELENOENZYME GENE EXPRESSION AND CAUSES RAT LIVER LESION / 营养学报

Objective: To study the effects of sodium selenite at large doses on selenoenzyme gene expression and activity in rat livers. Methods: Rats were injected intra-peritoneally (ip) with 0, 20, 40, and 80 ?g /(kg?d) Se of sodium selenite dissolved in 0.9% physiological saline for 15 days. Livers were sampled and partly used for histological study. The rests were homogenized for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to semi-quantitatively detect differential gene expressions of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and thioredoxin reductase (TR) in livers. Meanwhile, selenoenzyme activities, Se contents and MDA levels were also measured. Results: Compared with the control group, the mRNA levels and enzyme activities of both GSH-Px and TR increased in rats supplemented with 20 ?g/(kg?d) selenite. However, the mRNA levels and activities of both selenoenzymes decreased significantly in rats injected with selenite at doses of 40 and 80 ?g /(kg?d) respectively (P