[Progress of researches on acupuncture treatment of allergic rhinitis].

Acupuncture therapy has been widely used in clinical treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR), and can induce a positive therapeutic effect through multi-targets and multi-aspects. In recent 10 years, the research on the mechanisms of acupuncture in treating AR mainly focused on humoral immunity, cellular immunity, cell apoptosis, inflammatory mediators and factors, neuropeptides, etc. By regulating the level of immunoglobulin in the blood, acupuncture intervention can restore the relative balance of cellular immune response, reduce the accumulation of eosinophils and promote apoptosis, down-regulate the expression of related inflammatory mediators and factors, regulate the excitability of related nerves, modulate the release of neuropeptides and other ways to diminish the inflammatory reaction of nasal mucosa, and enhance the repair and protection of nasal mucosa, relieve the nasal symptoms at last. On the basis of the existing studies, the follow-up research should make use of the advantages of acupuncture intervention, refine the treatment process, and deeply explore the feasibility of acupuncture treatment of AR, further promote the combination of mechanism study and clinical practice, provide references for clinical application. Moreover, some shortcomings exist, for example, the unknown correlation between the therapeutic effect and duration of treatment, the unknown correlation between the effect of acupuncture and various targets, and disconnection between experimental research achievements and clinical application, etc.

Knowledge and intake of folic acid to prevent neural tube defects among pregnant women in urban China: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of neural tube defects (NTDs) in China declined during 2000-2017 with periconceptional folic acid (FA) supplementation, which is effective in reducing the risk of birth defects. We aimed to assess the knowledge and actual use of FA among Chinese pregnant women and to explore factors associated with FA use before pregnancy. METHODS: All data were collected in face-to-face interviews during health visits among pregnant women. We collected information about knowledge and use of FA supplements and demographic, socioeconomic, and health status. One maternity and childcare hospital was chosen in each of four cities: Beijing, Huaibei, Kunming, and Haikou. In total, 435 pregnant women were randomly recruited for interviews conducted from June to December 2016. RESULTS: A total of 428 pregnant women were included in this survey. Of these, 82.0% (351/428) knew that FA can prevent NTDs, and 75.9% (325/428) knew the correct time to take FA. Overall, 65.9% (282/428) of women knew both that FA can prevent NTDs and the recommended time to take FA before pregnancy. Approximately 95.1% (407/428) of women reported having ever taken FA, only 46.3% (198/428) had begun to take FA supplementation before conception, and 64.5% (109/169) of women from rural areas failed to take FA before pregnancy. Women living in northern China (odds ratio [OR] = 1.81, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18-2.77), those with unplanned pregnancy (OR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.30-3.04), and highly educated women (OR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.45-3.88) were more likely to know about FA. Women who were homemakers (OR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.21-3.11) and had unplanned pregnancy (OR = 6.18, 95% CI 4.01-9.53) were less likely to begin taking FA before pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Our survey showed that most pregnant women knew about FA. Although preconception intake of FA can help to reduce NTDs, improving the rate of FA intake before pregnancy is needed in urban areas of China, especially among homemakers and women from rural areas or with unplanned pregnancy. Campaigns are needed to increase awareness about FA and FA use before pregnancy among rural women, homemakers, and those with unplanned pregnancy and lower education levels.

[Research progress in the integration of machine learning and acupunctology].

Machine learning is a newly emerged discipline. It develops rapidly and has been penetrated into all walks of life and made great achievements in medical field. The introduction of machine learning in the field of acupuncture and moxibustion should fully play the advantages of targeted therapy of acupuncture and moxibustion, optimize the resource allocation of traditional Chinese medicine and accurately serve the clinic rather than only limited to data mining and analysis. In the paper, through the analysis of the relevant literature in recent years, the combination of acupuncture-moxibustion with machine learning was discussed from the aspects of acupoint selection and prescription, clinical teaching application of acupuncture and moxibustion, the prediction on acupuncture curative effect, etc. Moreover, on the base of multidisciplinary intersection and by means of machine learning, the exploration was given on the future direction of acupuncture and moxibustion.

Effects of multi-phase inoculation on the fungal community related with the improvement of medicinal herbal residues composting.

Composting has become the most important way to recycle medicinal herbal residues (MHRs). The traditional composting method, adding a microbial agent at one time, has been greatly limited due to its low composting efficiency, mutual influence of microbial agents, and unstable compost products. This study was conducted to assess the effect of multi-phase inoculation on the lignocellulose degradation, enzyme activities, and fungal community during MHRs composting. The results showed that multi-phase inoculation treatment had the highest thermophilic temperature (68.2 °C) and germination index (102.68%), significantly improved available phosphorus content, humic acid, and humic substances concentration, accelerated the degradation of cellulose and lignin, and increased the activities of cellulase in the mature phase, xylanase, manganese peroxidase, and utilization of phenolic compounds. Furthermore, the non-metric multi-dimensional scaling showed that the composting process and inoculation significantly influenced fungal community composition. In multi-phase inoculation treatment, Thermomyces in mesophilic, thermophilic, and mature phase, unclassified_Sordariales, and Coprinopsis in mature phase were the dominant genus that might be the main functional groups to degrade lignocellulose and improve the MHRs composting process.

Palladium nanosheet-knotted injectable hydrogels formed via palladium-sulfur bonding for synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy.

Nanoparticle (NP)-based hydrogels that can introduce synergistic advantages to the novel three-dimensional scaffold have garnered much attention recently. However, the application of NP-crosslinked hydrogels still remains challenging due to the complicated synthesis and/or modification of the NPs and the changed properties of the NPs after gelation. Herein, a novel palladium nanosheet (Pd NS)-based hydrogel (Pd Gel) with Pd NSs as crosslinkers was obtained by simply mixing Pd NSs with thiol-terminated four-arm polyethylene glycol (4arm-PEG-thiol). It was found that the formed Pd Gel was injectable, possibly due to the dynamic Pd-S bonds formed between Pd NSs and 4arm-PEG-thiol. In addition, compared with free Pd NSs, the Pd NSs within the hydrogel exhibited a significantly higher stability. We have further demonstrated that the formed hydrogel could encapsulate the commonly used anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) to form DOX@Pd Gel for combined chemo-photothermal therapy. Particularly, Pd NSs with a high absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region could convert the energy of NIR laser into heat with a high efficiency, which is beneficial for photothermal therapy. Moreover, DOX@Pd Gel could maintain a sustainable release of DOX and the NIR laser irradiation could accelerate this drug release process. Then, the explosively released DOX and the hyperthermia generated from Pd NSs under NIR laser irradiation acted in a synergistic way to realize the combined therapeutic effect of the chemo-photothermal treatment. Finally, the in vivo anticancer effect and safety of the combined therapy were also verified by the tumor-bearing mouse model. Taken together, this work constructs a NP-crosslinked, NIR laser-activatable and injectable photothermal hydrogel via dynamic Pd-S bonding, and demonstrates that the hydrogel allows us to release DOX more precisely, eliminate tumor more effectively and inhibit tumor metastasis more persistently, which will advance the development of novel anticancer strategies.

The effect of folic acid deficiency on FGF pathway via Brachyury regulation in neural tube defects.

Folate deficiency in early development leads to disturbance in multiple processes, including neurogenesis during which fibroblast growth factor (FGF) pathway is one of the crucial pathways. Whether folic acid (FA) directly affects FGF pathways to influence neurodevelopment and the possible mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we presented evidence that in human FA-insufficient encephalocele, the FGF pathway was interfered. Furthermore, in Brachyury knockout mice devoid of such T-box transcription factors regulating embryonic neuromesodermal bipotency and a key component of FGF pathway, change in expression of Brachyury downstream targets, activator Fgf8 and suppressor dual specificity phosphatase 6 was detected, along with the reduction in expression of other key FGF pathway genes. By using a FA-deficient cell model, we further demonstrated that decrease in Brachyury expression was through alteration in hypermethylation at the Brachyury promoter region under FA deficiency conditions, and suppression of Brachyury promoted the inactivation of the FGF pathway. Correspondingly, FA supplementation partially reverses the effects seen in FA-deficient embryoid bodies. Lastly, in mice with maternal folate-deficient diets, aberrant FGF pathway activity was found in fetal brain dysplasia. Taken together, our findings highlight the effect of FA on FGF pathways during neurogenesis, and the mechanism may be due to the low expression of Brachyury gene via hypermethylation under FA-insufficient conditions.-Chang, S., Lu, X., Wang, S., Wang, Z., Huo, J., Huang, J., Shangguan, S., Li, S., Zou, J., Bao, Y., Guo, J., Wang, F., Niu, B., Zhang, T., Qiu, Z., Wu, J., Wang, L. The effect of folic acid deficiency on FGF pathway via Brachyury regulation in neural tube defects.

[Progress of Researches on Mechanisms of Acupuncture Therapy in Regulating Brain Plasticity].

Brain plasticity is referred to the ability of the brain to change in structure and functional activities from microscopic aspects (synapses) in individual neurons to larger-scale aspects such as cortical remapping, neuronal remodeling, etc. in response to injury. Acupuncture has a positive effect in the treatment of cerebral diseases, thus leading to an increasing research on its underlying mechanisms in regulating brain plasticity. The present paper reviewed recent development of studies on acupuncture treatment of Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, cerebral ischemia, bone cancer pain, autism, etc. from 1) regulating synaptic plasticity (up-regulating the proportion of hippocampal synapses, increasing synaptic curvature, post-synaptic density, and numerical density, areal density, and lowering synaptic cleft); 2) increasing hippocampal post-synaptic potential slop, peak and peak area of population spikes to evoke long-term potentiation (LTP) by regulating the expression of glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and alpha amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors, and growth associated protein (GAP-43); 3) down-regulating the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) to suppress the activity of astrocytes in the ischemic cerebral area and hippocampus in cerebral ischemia rats, and in the spinal cord dorsal horns of bone cancer rats, etc. and promoting vimentin and connexin 43 expression; and 4) promoting neuronal remodeling, and repair and regeneration of the injured nerve in the central nervous system via regulating neuron-glia network, expression of nerve growth factor, brain derived neurotrophic factor, etc. The future studies should pay more attention to 1) the contribution of acupuncture intervention to the correlation between the initiation of the endogenous protective effect and the brain plasticity during the onset of nerve injury and repair of the injured nerve, and 2) standarization of stimulating quantity, manipulation and duration of acupuncture treatment, as well as the relationship between the stimulating quantity and efficacy.

Cost analysis for different sequential treatment regimens for metastatic renal cell carcinoma in China.

PURPOSE: Targeted therapies, including sunitinib, sorafenib, axitinib, and everolimus, have recently become the mainstay for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). The objective of this study was to estimate the costs of sequential treatment regimens for mRCC and associated adverse events (AEs) from the Chinese payers' perspective. METHODS: Key inputs included in the calculation were patient population, dosing information, incidence rates and associated costs of Grade 3/4 AEs, treatment costs (including drug discount programs), and patients' progression-free survival (PFS) as a proxy for length of treatment. To calculate PFS, this study identified pivotal clinical trials and generated a reconstructed individual patient data set from the published Kaplan-Meier survival curves. The median PFS from the pooled estimates were used in the calculation. In the base-case scenario, sunitinib was used as first line and the other three therapies were used as second line. Sensitivity analyses were conducted where (1) sorafenib was used as first line, or (2) a third-line therapy was added to the base-case scenario. RESULTS: In the base case, the cost per patient per treatment month (PPPM) cost was the lowest for sunitinib + axitinib among all sequential regimens (¥14,898) and was the highest for sunitinib + sorafenib (¥20,103). If sorafenib is used as first line, everolimus had lower per patient per months (PPPM) cost than axitinib (¥17,046 vs ¥23,337), but also had shorter PFS (13.5 months vs 15 months). Second sensitivity analysis with an additional third-line therapy showed consistent results with the base-case scenario; axitinib as second line was the least costly. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that, for mRCC sequential treatment, sunitinib followed by axitinib generates the highest cost savings from the Chinese payers' perspective. Future studies are warranted to examine the cost-effectiveness of various mRCC treatment regimens in Chinese populations.

[Exploration on an overview of history (from Chunqiu to Ming and Qing Dynasties) and species of Chinese exotic traditional medicine].

This paper collected and analyzed literatures about starting of traditional medicine and trading of different medicine from Chunqiu Zhanguo to Ming and Qing Dynasties, in order to preliminarily explore on an overview of specie of chinese exotic traditional medicine and trade of different country in different dynasty（from Chunqiu to Ming and Qing Dynasties）, as well as the amount of exotic medicine over two thousand years. (remove repeating and doubtful species), find peculiarity of exotic medicine, sreen species that used to develop the Silk Route and establish quality standards.Finally, We get conclusions are as follows. First, primary,.prosperous and declining stages of development of exotic traditional medicine are Qin and Han, Song-Jin-Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, respectively. Second, according to literature, the stage that has the most species of exotic medicine is song dynasty,approximately have 300. Removing repeating and doubtful species, the believable species are approximate 230 to 250. Meanwhile, the unknown species are approximate 30, which may be different name of one medicine or processed goods, now these medicines are named as "doubtful species". Third, the medicinal parts of exotic medicine are different from Chinese medicine of Han nation. The number of Resin, fruits and seeds kind are more than root and rhizomes kind,mineral medicines are more than animal. Fourth, the major producing area of exotic medicine is some countries and territories related to the Silk Route in the history. Ultimately, this paper preliminarily figure out basic information of exotic medicine of different dynasty in China,that provide reference for learning study and decision of industrial development.

Altered GNAS imprinting due to folic acid deficiency contributes to poor embryo development and may lead to neural tube defects.

Disturbed epigenetic modifications have been linked to the pathogenesis of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) in those with folate deficiency during pregnancy. However, evidence is lacking to delineate the critical region in epigenome regulated by parental folic acid and mechanisms by which folate deficiency affects normal embryogenesis. Our data from clinical samples revealed the presence of aberrant DNA methylation in GNAS imprinting cluster in NTD samples with low folate concentrations. Results from mouse models indicated that the establishment of GNAS imprinting was influenced by both maternal and paternal folate-deficient diets. Such aberrant GNAS imprinting was present prior to the gametogenesis period. Imprinting in Exon1A/GNAS gDMR was abolished in both spermatozoa and oocytes upon treating with a parental folate-deficient diet (3.6% in spermatozoa, 9.8% in oocytes). Interestingly, loss of imprinting in the GNAS gene cluster altered chromatin structure to an overwhelmingly open structure (58.48% in the folate-free medium group vs. 39.51% in the folate-normal medium group; P < 0.05), and led to a disturbed expression of genes in this region. Furthermore, an elevated cyclic AMP levels was observed in folate acid deficiency group. Our results imply that GNAS imprinting plays major roles in folic acid metabolism regulation during embryogenesis. Aberrant GNAS imprinting is an attribute to NTDs, providing a new perspective for explaining the molecular mechanisms by which folate supplementation in human pregnancy provides protection from NTDs.

[Preliminary discussion on an overview of ethnic minority use of species of mineral medicine].

As an indispensable part of minority traditional medicine, mineral medicine has used with less dosage and reliable efficacy for the last thousand years. Based on the unearthed relics and medical literatures of past dynasties, the history of Han nationality ap- years, which had been recorded in main literature. But there is less comprehensive report of its usage in the other 55-minority nationality. This article was based on the analysis of ethnic minority literature of thousands of years, and conducted a comprehensive collation and analysis of mineral medicine. It was mostly determined that there was 20 minority groups using mineral medicine, with a total of 163 species (limited our references), and the most used is the Tibetan, accounting for 141. The most serious problems of mineral medicine are that species should be further investigated and researched, and then become the legal commercial medicine, and the classification principles of mineral medicine should be established. Through the traditional processing and experimental studies, the problems of attenuation and detoxification should be solved.

Treatment of multiple sclerosis with chinese scalp acupuncture.

Chinese scalp acupuncture is a contemporary acupuncture technique with just 40 years of history. It integrates traditional Chinese needling methods with Western medical knowledge of the cerebral cortex and has been proven to be a very effective technique for treating multiple sclerosis (MS) and other central nervous system disorders. A 65-year-old male patient who had had MS for 20 years was treated with Chinese scalp acupuncture. The motor area, sensory area, foot motor and sensory area, balance area, hearing and dizziness area, and tremor area were stimulated once a week for 10 weeks, then once a month for six sessions. After the 16 treatments, the patient showed remarkable improvements. He was able to stand and walk without any problems. The numbness and tingling in his limbs did not bother him anymore. He had more energy and had not experienced incontinence of urine or dizziness after the first treatment. He was able to return to work full time. At this writing, the patient has been in remission for 26 months. This case demonstrates that Chinese scalp acupuncture can be a very effective treatment for patients with MS. Chinese scalp acupuncture holds the potential to expand treatment options for MS in both conventional and complementary or integrative therapies. It can not only relieve symptoms, increase the patient's quality of life, and slow and reverse the progression of physical disability but also reduce the number of relapses and help patients with multiple sclerosis to remain in remission.

La acupuntura china del cuero cabelludo es una técnica de acupuntura contemporánea con apenas 40 años de historia. Integra los métodos de colocación de agujas chinos tradicionales con el conocimiento médico occidental de la corteza cerebral y ha demostrado ser una técnica muy eficaz para el tratamiento de la esclerosis múltiple y otros trastornos del sistema nervioso central. Un paciente de 65 años que llevaba sufriendo esclerosis múltiple (EM) durante 20 años recibió tratamiento con este tipo de acupuntura. Durante 10 semanas, una vez por semana, se estimularon las áreas motora, sensorial, motora y sensorial del pie, del equilibrio, de la audición y el mareo, y del temblor y, a partir de entonces, una vez al mes durante seis sesiones. Después de los 16 tratamientos, el paciente mostró una notable mejoría. Pudo hablar y caminar sin problemas. El entumecimiento y el hormigueo en las extremidades dejó de molestarle. Tenía más energía y no había sufrido incontinencia urinaria ni mareos después del primer tratamiento. Pudo volver a trabajar a tiempo completo. En el momento de escribir este texto, el paciente llevaba 26 meses en remisión. Este caso demuestra que la acupuntura china del cuero cabelludo puede ser un tratamiento muy eficaz para los pacientes con EM y puede ampliar las opciones de tratamiento para la EM en los tratamientos tanto convencionales como complementarios o integradores. No solo puede aliviar los síntomas, aumentar la calidad de vida del paciente y retardar e invertir la progresión de la discapacidad física, sino que también reduce el número de recaídas y ayuda a los pacientes con esclerosis múltiple a permanecer en remisión.

[Micromorphological comparative identification between several Chinese herbal medicines and their counterfeits].

OBJECTIVE: To identify comparatively several commercial Chinese herbal medicines and their counterfeits. METHOD: The micromorphological characters were identified. The shape, surface, section and other characters of the medicinal materials were identified by using anatomical lens and scanning apparatus. Pictures were taken and saved. RESULT: Main micromorphological differences between several Chinese herbal medicine including Lonicera macranthoides, L. similis, Cuminum cyminum, Plantago asiatica, Cuscuta chinensis, Sinapis alba, Salvia miltiorrhiza and their counterfeits were identified. CONCLUSION: The reference for the authenticity identification of Chinese herbal medicine and helpful experiences for the research of the same subject were provided.

[Study on the content of imperatorin and HPLC fingerprint of Baizhi collected from different areas].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the content of imperatorin and HPLC fingerprint of Baizhi collected from different areas. METHODS: The medicinal materials and seeds of Baizhi from 15 main habitats of 7 provinces and cities were collected, and the seeds were planted in the germplasm resource garden of Suining, Sichuan. The content of imperatorin and HPLC fingerprint were compared using the samples collected from different areas and germplasm resource garden collected and dried at the most suitable harvest date. RESULTS: The differences on the content of imperatorin and HPLC fingerprint were obvious. The content of imperatorin significantly increased and the HPLC fingerprint were trending to coincide when the herbs were planted in the same place. CONCLUSION: The environmental factors and the cultivation technique had great influences on the quality of Baizhi.