Amygdalin Ameliorates Liver Fibrosis through Inhibiting Activation of TGF-β/Smad Signaling / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of amygdalin on liver fibrosis in a liver fibrosis mouse model, and the underlying mechanisms were partly dissected in vivo and in vitro.@*METHODS@#Thirty-two male mice were randomly divided into 4 groups, including control, model, low- and high-dose amygdalin-treated groups, 8 mice in each group. Except the control group, mice in the other groups were injected intraperitoneally with 10% carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-olive oil solution 3 times a week for 6 weeks to induce liver fibrosis. At the first 3 weeks, amygdalin (1.35 and 2.7 mg/kg body weight) were administered by gavage once a day. Mice in the control group received equal quantities of subcutaneous olive oil and intragastric water from the fourth week. At the end of 6 weeks, liver tissue samples were harvested to detect the content of hydroxyproline (Hyp). Hematoxylin and eosin and Sirius red staining were used to observe the inflammation and fibrosis of liver tissue. The expressions of collagen I (Col-I), alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), CD31 and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)/Smad signaling pathway were observed by immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively. The activation models of hepatic stellate cells, JS-1 and LX-2 cells induced by TGF-β1 were used in vitro with or without different concentrations of amygdalin (0.1, 1, 10 µmol/L). LSECs. The effect of different concentrations of amygdalin on the expressions of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) dedifferentiation markers CD31 and CD44 were observed.@*RESULTS@#High-dose of amygdalin significantly reduced the Hyp content and percentage of collagen positive area, and decreased the mRNA and protein expressions of Col-I, α-SMA, CD31 and p-Smad2/3 in liver tissues of mice compared to the model group (P<0.01). Amygdalin down-regulated the expressions of Col-I and α-SMA in JS-1 and LX-2 cells, and TGFβ R1, TGFβ R2 and p-Smad2/3 in LX-2 cells compared to the model group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Moreover, 1 and 10 µmol/L amygdalin inhibited the mRNA and protein expressions of CD31 in LSECs and increased CD44 expression compared to the model group (P<0.05 or P<0.01).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Amygdalin can dramatically alleviate liver fibrosis induced by CCl4 in mice and inhibit TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway, consequently suppressing HSCs activation and LSECs dedifferentiation to improve angiogenesis.

Effects of unrestricted area soft tissue manipulation on pain severity in patients with chronic neck pain: a systematic review and Meta-analysis / 中国医师进修杂志

Objective:To systematically evaluate of the impact of non-specific soft tissue manipulation on pain severity in patients with chronic neck pain.Methods:Trials included in Meta-analysis were determined by searching PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and 5 English databases in the U.S. Clinical Trial Registry. The search terms include the subject terms of neck pain, soft tissue treatment, massage, and myofascial release. Two reviewers independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed the quality of the studies. The included trials were assessed by using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. STATA statistical software 16.0 was used for statistical analysis. Additionally, subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed to analyze the sources of heterogeneity and assess the stability of research results. Begg funnel plot and Egger′s publication bias plot were used to assess potential publication bias.Results:This systematic review included a total of 12 randomized controlled trials (566 patients in total). The participants were 18 to 85 years old. Most of the included studies were of medium quality. This Meta-analysis validated the effectiveness of soft tissue manual therapy on alleviating pain symptoms in patients with chronic neck pain ( ES =-0.83, 95% CI -1.15 to -0.51, P = 0.001). The Begg funnel plot indicated that there may be potential publication bias. Conclusions:This Meta-analysis found that soft tissue manual therapy has a significant effect on alleviating the pain of patients with chronic neck pain. However, different pain assessment tools could have a certain impact on the Meta-analysis results.

Problems in randomized controlled trial on acupuncture and moxibustion for migraine in the development of international standard of Guideline for Clinical Practice of Acupuncture and Moxibustion: Migraine / 中国针灸

Regarding the development of international standard of Guideline for Clinical Practice of Acupuncture and Moxibustion: Migraine, the existing problems of the design and methodology of randomized controlled trial (RCT) on acupuncture and moxibustion for migraine were summarized in views of participant, intervention, control, outcome and study design. Four directions need to be further explored, (1) research of adolescent migraine, special subtype of migraine and migraine in a special population; (2) research of the immediate analgesic effect of acupuncture and moxibuation at the attack stage of migraine and the therapeutic effect of migraine at each stage; (3) research on safety and health economics; (4) clinical trial registration of acupuncture and moxibustion. In study, the target population should be further determined and specialized, the diagnosis criteria of western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine be generalized and concentrated, the staging and type division of disease be accurate, the intervention procedure be integrated, the control design be rationalized, the outcomes be validated, and the description of randomization and blinding be clarified.

Analysis of the results of international demand survey on / 中国针灸

The survey is conducted prior to the development of international standard,

Analysis on development necessity and key points for / 中国针灸

This paper analyzes the development necessity of a series of international technical specification of acupuncture-moxibustion from three aspects, the development status of global

Analysis on international demand investigation for technical specification of acupuncture- moxibustionthe and its general rules of drafting / 中国针灸

The electronic questionnaire was adopted to survey the international demand on

Review of classical prescription Ganjiang Lingzhu Decoction / 中国中药杂志

Ganjiang Lingzhu Decoction is one of the first 100 classical prescriptions published by China in 2018. According to the published literature, it was found that there is no review on the history, evolution and research progress of this prescription. In order to reflect the history, modifications, quality control and clinical applications, this paper focuses on the origination, evolution, current development and modern studies of Ganjiang Lingzhu Decoction, in the hope of providing a reference for the heritage and innovation of other classical prescriptions.

Transformation of the domestic standard ( / 中国针灸

Through analyzing the differences in the clinical questions of

Use of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) acid hydrolysate for microbial oil production by Trichosporon cutaneum.

Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) dilute acid hydrolysate contains 34.6 g/L total sugars. The potential of lipid production by oleaginous yeast Trichosporon cutaneum grown on elephant grass acid hydrolysate was investigated for the first time. During the fermentation process on the elephant grass acid hydrolysate, glucose, xylose, and arabinose could be well utilized as carbon sources by T. cutaneum. Interestingly, xylose was almost no use before glucose was consumed completely. This illustrated that simultaneous saccharification of xylose and glucose by T. cutaneum did not occur on elephant grass acid hydrolysate. The highest biomass, lipid content, lipid yield, and lipid coefficient of T. cutaneum were measured after the sixth day of fermentation and were 22.76 g/L, 24.0%, 5.46 g/L, and 16.1%, respectively. Therefore, elephant grass is a promising raw material for microbial oil production by T. cutaneum.

Research of estimation methods on medicinal plant resources reserves / 中国中药杂志

The medicinal plant resource reserve refers to the natural resources of medicinal plants in a certain time and a certain region within the scope of the volume. In recent years, with the demand of medicinal plant resources surging and the change of the environment and human intervention factors, the medicinal plant resources reserve had accelerated pace of change. It is the prerequisite and basis for the development and utilization of medical plants that how to quickly and accurately attain reserve of some medicinal plants resources, the selection of suitable and accurate estimating method is reliable basis and can guarantee medicinal plant reserve survey, and also is one of the key reserve investigation of success. This paper systematically summarized the estimation method of medicinal plants in recent 30 years, and discussed the basic principle, the estimation model of development and evolution, advantages and disadvantages and applicability, and it aimed to improve the accuracy about reserves survey of medicinal plant resources, and provide scientific and reliable support data to medicinal plants resources for sustainable development and utilization of resources.

Chinese massage combined with herbal ointment for athletes with nonspecific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Non-specific low back pain (NLBP) is an increasing health problem for athletes. This randomized controlled trial was designed to investigate the effects of Chinese massage combined with herbal ointment for NLBP. 110 athletes with NLBP were randomly assigned to experimental group with Chinese massage combined with herbal ointment or control group with simple massage therapy. The primary outcome was pain by Chinese Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (C-SFMPQ). The secondary outcome was local muscle stiffness by Myotonometer. After 4 weeks, the experimental group experienced significant improvements in C-SFMPQ and in local muscle stiffness compared with control group (between-group difference in mean change from baseline, -1.24 points, P = 0.005 in sensory scores; -3.14 points, P < 0.001 in affective scores; -4.39 points, P < 0.001 in total scores; -0.64 points, P = 0.002 in VAS; -1.04 points, P = 0.005 in local muscle stiffness during relaxation state). The difference remained at one month followup, but it was only significant in affective scores (-2.83 points, P < 0.001) at three months followup. No adverse events were observed. These findings suggest that Chinese massage combined with herbal ointment may be a beneficial complementary and alternative therapy for athletes with NLBP.

Appraisal of occupational stressor in petrochemical industry workers / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To discuss the origin of occupational stress among petrochemical industry workers and to access the main occupational stressors that impact job satisfaction and mental health of petrochemical industry workers.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A survey on occupational stressor was carried out by Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) in 532 petrochemical industry workers (345 chemical and 187 logistic workers).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The environment in workplace of chemical group was worse than that of contrast. The chemical workers had less control over job and they experienced more hazards, monotonous as well as role stressors than the logistic group. The scores of job satisfaction and mental health of chemical group (36.867 +/- 0.656, 43.734 +/- 0.542, respectively) were higher than that of contrast (40.321 +/- 0.901, 46.714 +/- 0.745, respectively) (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The occupational stressors exist in chemical workers which affect chemical workers' job satisfaction and mental health with different levels.</p>

PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF GLUTAMINE ON THE INTESTINAL MUCOSAL ANTIOXIDATION IN ENDOTOXEMIC RATS / 中国普外基础与临床杂志

Objective To study the protective effect of glutamine on the intestinal mucosal antioxidation in endotoxemic rats. Methods　Twenty-eight male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups, group A:parenteral nutrition supplemented with glutamine, group B:TPN without glutamine,and group C:normal control. Endotoxemia was induced by continous intravenous infusion of lipopolysaccharide(LPS) at a dose of 2 mg/kg per day throughout the 5-day study period. The mucosal protein、DNA、ATP、SOD、MDA、GSH、sIgA were determined. Results The mucosal protein、DNA、ATP、SOD、GSH and sIgA content in endotoxic rats were markedly decreased, MDA was increased as compared with normal control(P＜0.05). The former indices in group A were improved and MDA content was decreased as compared with group B(P＜0.05). Conclusion　Glutamine can improve gut energy metabolism, decrease the extent of mucosal injury of free radicals, and give an protective effect on the mucosal probably by increasing GSH.