Association Between Multiple Metal(loid)s Exposure and Blood Lipid Levels: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study of Southeastern China.

Exposure to essential and toxic metals occurs simultaneously as a mixture in real-life. However, there is no consensus regarding the effects of co-exposure to multiple metal(loid)s (designated hereafter metals) on blood lipid levels. Thus, blood concentrations of six human essential metals and five toxic metals in 720 general populations from southeastern China were simultaneously determined as a measure of exposure. In addition, quantile g-computation, Bayesian kernel machine regression, elastic net regression, and generalized linear model were used to investigate both the joint and individual effects of exposure to this metal mixture on human blood lipid levels. The significant positive joint effect of exposure to this metal mixture on serum total cholesterol (TC) levels, rather than on serum triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, Castelli risk index I, Castelli risk index II, atherogenic coefficient, and non-HDL-C levels, was found. In addition, the positive effect may be primarily driven by selenium (Se), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) exposure. In addition, on the effect of TC levels, the synergistic effect between Pb and Hg and the antagonistic effect between Se and Pb were identified. Our finding suggests that combined exposure to this metal mixture may affect human blood lipid levels. Therefore, reducing exposure to heavy metals, such as Pb and Hg, should be a priority for the general population. In addition, Se supplementation should also be considered with caution.

Exploring the mechanisms of neurotoxicity caused by fuzi using network pharmacology and molecular docking.

Safety has always been an important issue affecting the development of traditional Chinese medicine industry, especially for toxic medicinal materials, the establishment of risk prevention and control measures for toxic herbs is of great significance to improving the use of traditional Chinese medicine in clinical. Fuzi is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine and its toxicity has become the most important obstacle of limit in clinical using. In this paper, network pharmacology and molecular docking technology were used to analyze the main toxic components of Fuzi, the key targets and the mechanism of neurotoxicity. We carried out CCK-8 and WB assays, and detected LDH release and SDH activity. It was verified that aconitine caused neurotoxicity through a variety of pathways, including MAPK signaling pathway, pathways related to Akt protein, destruction of cell membrane integrity, damage of mitochondrial function affecting energy metabolism and apoptosis. What's more, this study confirmed that aconitine could produce neurotoxicity by promoting apoptosis of hippocampus neuron and decreasing its quantity through Nissl Staining and TUNEL assay. This paper found and confirmed multiple targets and various pathways causing neurotoxicity of Fuzi, in order to provide reference for clinical application and related research.

Improvement roles of zinc supplementation in low dose lead induced testicular damage and glycolytic inhibition in mice.

Lead (Pb) is a toxic metal that affects the male reproductive system. This study aimed to investigate the effects of zinc (Zn) intake between recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) and tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) in preventing male testis damage induced by low-dose Pb. Forty-five mice were randomly divided into control, Pb, and Pb + Zn groups. They were given distilled water ad libitum with 0, 200 mg/L Pb2+, or 15 mg/L Zn2+ mixed with 200 mg/L Pb2+ for 90 consecutive days. The Zn levels in the blood and testis of the Pb group were significantly lower than those of the control group. The Pb levels in the blood and testis of the Pb + Zn group were significantly lower than those of the Pb group. Additionally, a significant decrease in sperm density and viability, with a significant increase in sperm abnormality rate and DNA fragmentation index, was observed in the Pb group. Zn supplementation significantly improved the above sperm parameters. Moreover, Zn supplementation decreased low-dose Pb-induced lipid peroxidation and increased glutathione, total superoxide dismutase (SOD), and copper/Zn-SOD levels. Furthermore, Zn treatment improved glycolysis products and lactate transporters in Pb-treated mouse testes. Our findings suggest that Zn intake between RDAs and UL can act as a therapeutic agent in protecting against the reproductive impairments associated with Pb exposure.

Screening of Key Fungal Strains in the Fermentation Process of the Chinese Medicinal Preparation "Lianzhifan Solution" Based on Metabolic Profiling and High-Throughput Sequencing Technology.

"Lianzhifan solution" (LZF) is produced by the natural fermentation of coptis root and gardenia fruit, and it is a classic prescription for external use in anorectal department. During the fermentation process, the structural evolution of microbial communities led to significant changes in the chemical profile. In this study, we first analyzed the dynamic changes of chemical components as well as the composition and succession of microbial community during the whole fermentation process of LZF, and confirmed the changes of characteristics of nine compounds during the whole fermentation process by metabolic profile. Further analysis found that there was no significant change of alkaloids in all stages of fermentation of LZF, but there were significant changes of iridoids in the middle and late stage of fermentation by deglycosylation. Genipin gentiobioside and geniposide were converted to genipin by biotransformation, showing that deglycosylation was the main event occurring in the fermentation. The community composition and abundance of species in 10 and 19days LZF fermentation broth were analyzed with high-throughput sequencing technology, and 16 dominant bacterial genera and 15 dominant fungal genera involved in the fermentation process were identified. Correlation analysis revealed that Penicillium expansum and Aspergillus niger involved in the fermentation were the dominant genera closely related to the dynamic changes of the deglycosylation of the main chemical components, and P. expansum YY-46 and A. niger YY-9 strains were obtained by the further fractionation. Then the monoculture fermentation process was evaluated, whereby we found that the deglycoside conversion rate of iridoid glycosides was greatly improved and the fermentation cycle was shortened by 3-4 times. This finding combined with equivalence evaluation of chemical component and pharmacodynamics to confirm that P. expansum YY-46 and A. niger YY-9 strains were key strains for fermentation concoction. This study established an efficient and practical screening strategy "Microfauna communities-Chemical component-Pharmacodynamic" axis for key strain, to improve the production process and formulating good manufacturing practice (GMP) work, and it is also applicable to the whole fermentation drugs industry. Graphical AbstractThe figure highly summarizes the research content of this study and shows the screening process of key strains in LZF fermentation.

LncRNA linc00152/NF-κB feedback loop promotes fibroblast-like synovial cells inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis via regulating miR-103a/TAK1 axis and YY1 expression.

INTRODUCTION: Overexpressed inflammatory cytokines are the main factors causing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) tissue damage and pathological deterioration, and lncRNAs has found to beinvolved in some autoinflammatory diseases. METHODS: We designed this study to investigate the effect of lncRNA linc00152 on rheumatoid arthritis inflammation and explore its molecular mechanism. RESULT: We found that linc00152 was not only up-regulated in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RAFLS), but also stimulated by TNF-α/IL-1ß in adose- and time-dependent manner in RAFLS and this expression depends on the NF-κB signaling pathway. Conversely, linc00152 promoted TNF-α/IL-1ß expression in RAFLS induced by TNF-α/IL-1ß. In addition, we found that linc00152 promoted TAK1 expression by targeting inhibition of miR-103a and activated TAK1-mediated NF-κB pathway. NF-kB indirectly promotes linc00152 expression by promoting the transcription activity of YY1, and YY1 directly promotes linc00152 expression by binding the promoter of linc00152. CONCLUSION: Our data suggested that the linc00152/NF-κB feedback loop promotes RAFLS inflammation via regulating miR-103a/TAK1 axis and YY1 expression. Thus, linc00152 acts as a switch to control this regulatory circuit and may serve as a diagnostic and therapeutic target for RA treatment.

A sensitive EZMTT method provides microscale, quantitative and high-throughput evaluation of drug efficacy in the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infectious diseases.

Drug resistance has become a serious public health problem in mycobacterial infectious diseases. Here, we investigated a water soluble tetrazolium salt (EZMTT)-based detection method to provide an easy, safe and quantitative antimycobacterial susceptibility test (AMST) method, especially for targeting early detection of loss of drug susceptibility in mycobacteria. After a single addition of the EZMTT detection reagent at the inoculation of mycobacteria culture, the AMST was continuously analyzed in a sealed 96-well plate (100 µl), or a sealed tube to ensure biosafety. Using Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra as the model strain, the EZMTT assay was developed with high reproducibility (Z factor of 0.64) for facile measurements of growth and drug susceptibility. In the comparative AMST study, the 7-day EZMTT method identified not only the same set of drug resistance as the other two methods (the 30-day traditional Löwenstein Jensen solid medium assay and the 10-14 day 8 ml Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube liquid method), but also additional strains with loss of drug susceptibility. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the EZMTT-based AMST assay in a sealed microtiter plate has great potential for routine use in medical diagnosis and drug screening to battle the unmet medical need in the treatment of multi- and extensive-drug resistant mycobacteria.

Phlorizin ameliorates obesity-associated endotoxemia and insulin resistance in high-fat diet-fed mice by targeting the gut microbiota and intestinal barrier integrity.

Phlorizin (PHZ) is one of phytonutrients in apples that contributes to the health-promoting effect implicated by the saying, 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'. PHZ was firstly identified as a competitive inhibitor of sodium-glucose co-transporters-2 (SGLT2); however, its low bioavailability makes it hard to fully explain its pharmacological mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate the ameliorating effect of PHZ on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity via modulating the "gut microbiota-barrier axis". Firstly, C57BL/6 J mice were fed a normal chow diet (NCD) or HFD coadministered with or without PHZ for 12 weeks. Our results showed that PHZ supplementation significantly reduced HFD-induced body weight gain (P < .001), alleviated metabolic disorders (MDs) like insulin resistance (P < .001) and elevation of serum lipopolysaccharides (LPS) (P < .001), attenuated HFD-induced gut microbiota alterations, enhanced short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production (P < .001), and inhibited fecal LPS production (P < .001). To investigate the role of the fecal microbiota in the observed beneficial effects, a fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiment was performed by transplanting the feces of the four groups of mice (as donor mice) daily collected from the fourth week to a new batch of acclimatized HFD-fed mice. Our results confirmed that feeding the gut contents of the PHZ-modulated mice could attenuate HFD-induced MDs, accompanied by enhanced glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) secretion (P < .001) and restoration of HFD-induced damage in the gut epithelial barrier. This study has provided evidence that the "gut microbiota-barrier axis" was an alternative target for the anti-obesity effect of PHZ. This work has also provided an explanation for the high efficacy of PHZ despite the low bioavailability, and PHZ holds great potential to be developed as a functional food ingredient.

Cytotoxic ergosterols from cultures of the basidiomycete Psathyrella candolleana.

Three newly isolated ergosterols, psathergosterols A-C (1-3), together with two known ones (4 and 5), have been isolated from cultures of the basdiomycete Psathyrella candolleana. Their structures with the absolute configuration were elucidated by means of spectroscopic methods and the single crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 2-4 exhibited certain cytotoxicities to five human cancer cell lines (HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, MCF-7, SW480).

Lead exposure-induced cognitive impairment through RyR-modulating intracellular calcium signaling in aged rats.

Lead is widely distributed in the environment and has become a global public health issue. It is well known that lead exposure induces not only neurodevelopmental toxicity but also neurodegenerative diseases, with learning and memory impairment in the later stage. However, the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. The present study investigated the effects of early life and lifetime lead exposure on cognition and identified the molecular mechanisms involved in aged rats. The results herein demonstrated that the lead concentration in peripheral blood and brain tissues in aged rats was significantly increased in a lead dose-dependent manner. High-dose lead exposure caused cognitive functional impairment in aged rats, concomitant with a longer escape latency and a lower frequency of crossing the platform via Morris water maze testing compared to those in the control and low-dose lead exposure groups. Importantly, neuron functional defects were still observed even in early life lead exposure during the prenatal and weaning periods in aged rats. The neurotoxicity induced by lead exposure was morphologically evidenced by a recessed nuclear membrane, a swollen endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria in the neurons. Mechanistically, the exposure of aged rats to lead resulted in increasing free calcium concentration, reactive oxygen species, and apoptosis in the hippocampal neurons. Lead exposure increased RyR3 expression and decreased the levels of p-CaMKIIα/CaMKIIα and p-CREB/CREB in the hippocampus of aged rats. These findings indicated that early life lead exposure-induced cognition disorder was irreversible in aged rats. Lead-induced neurotoxicity might be related to the upregulation of RyR3 expression and high levels of intracellular free calcium with increasing lead concentration in injured neurons.

Purified Phlorizin from DocynIa Indica (Wall.) Decne by HSCCC, Compared with Whole Extract, Phlorizin and Non-Phlorizin Fragment Ameliorate Obesity, Insulin Resistance, and Improves Intestinal Barrier Function in High-Fat-Diet-Fed Mice.

Natural products generally contain complex and multiple bioactive compounds that are responsible for the effects on health through complicated synergistic and/or suppressive actions. As an important raw material of local ethnic minority tea, ethnomedicines and food supplements in southwestern areas of China, Docynia indica (Wall.) Decne (DID) mainly consists of phlorizin (PHZ), which is the main active component. In this study, the holistic activities and the interactions of components of PHZ, non-phlorizin (NP) in the DID extract (DIDE) were evaluated. A rapid and effective high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was performed to knock out PHZ from DIDE and the purity of PHZ was 96.01% determined by HPLC, with a recovery rate of 96.76%. After 13 weeks of treatment course in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice model, the results revealed that the DIDE and PHZ significantly decreased weight gain, blood lipid levels, hyperplasia of adipocytes and alleviated inflammation (p < 0.05). Both DIDE and PHZ improves insulin resistance (p < 0.001). Meanwhile, the intestinal barrier function was improved compared to HFD group, through the determination of serum lipopolysaccharides (LPS), glucagon-likepeptide-2 (GLP-2) and hematoxylin-eosin staining of jejunum. Interestingly, after NP treatment, the metabolic syndrome of the HFD-induced obesity appeared to have a similar improvement. All the experiments showed that there is a synergistic weakening phenomenon when PHZ and NP interact with each other in the mixed state. In conclusion, for the PHZ and NP showing a good effect on anti-obesity, anti-inflammation, and intestinal barrier function, DIDE could be a good source of functional food to prevent obesity.

Broad-spectrum immunoaffinity cleanup for the determination of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, M1, M2 in Ophiocordyceps sinensis and its pharmaceutical preparations by ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

An ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, M1 and M2 (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, AFM1 and AFM2) in Ophiocordyceps sinensis and its pharmaceutical preparations. A rapid and reliable immunoaffinity column containing a broad-spectrum monoclonal antibody for six aflatoxins was used for sample cleanup. Under the optimized conditions, the home-made immunoaffinity column capacity were about 315, 319, 292, 102, 444 and 369ng/mL gel for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, AFM1 and AFM2, respectively. Recoveries for all tested aflatoxins ranged from 79.28% to 103.42% with relative standard deviation less than 8%. The limits of quantitation were in the range of 0.008-0.045µg/kg. Among 31 real samples analyzed, one sample was contaminated with AFB1, AFB2 and AFM1 at levels of 0.483, 0.068 and 0.104µg/kg, respectively. The established method is simple, accurate, and can be effectively used to determine the aflatoxins in Ophiocordyceps sinensis and its pharmaceutical preparations.

Paclitaxel-loaded polymeric nanoparticles combined with chronomodulated chemotherapy on lung cancer: In vitro and in vivo evaluation.

The objective of our study was to examine the anti-tumor effect of paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded polymeric nanoparticles (PTX-NPs) combined with circadian chronomodulated chemotherapy. Our intention was to screen out the best time of the day for the drug to be administered. PTX-NPs with a diameter of approximately 168nm were prepared through a thin film dispersion technique. The PTX in PTX-NPs showed an initial fast release subsequently a slower and sustained release. The cytotoxicity of chronomodulated administration of PTX-NPs in vitro confirmed that its cytotoxic effect was lower than that of PTX injection, and showed a time-dependent effect. In addition, anti-tumor effect was examined by analysing tumor growth inhibition rate, micro-vessel density (MVD), cell proliferation and cell apoptosis, following either injection with PTX or administration of PTX-NPs. Micro fluorine-18-deoxyglucose PET/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) was used to evaluate tumor reactivity to PTX-NPs combined with chronomodulated chemotherapy. Taken these results into consideraion, our experiment indicates that PTX-NPs exhibit greater anti-tumor activity against A549 cells, in comparison with PTX injection, and the anti-tumor effect at 15h after light onset (HALO) administration is the best in all groups. Therefore, prepared PTX-NPs combined with chronomodulated chemotherapy could be a potential treatment for lung cancer.

[Distribution of Press-sensitive Acupoints in Patients with Tinnitus].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the regularity of distribution of press-sensitive acupoints on the body surface in tinnitus patients, so as to provide evidence for selecting suitable acupuncture points in the treatment of tinnitus. METHODS: Sixty-three cases of tinnitus patients (from 25 to 75 years in age) were recruited in the present study. The patient was asked to take a sitting, supine and prone position, successively, and the operator used the thumb to moderately press the subject's head, neck, back, four limbs below the knee- and elbow joints along the three Hand- and three Foot-yang and yin meridians. Those acupoints that appeared pressing pain, or soreness-distension, numbness, or radiation feeling more than 10 times were brought into the sequence analysis by using the Excel 2010. RESULTS: A total of 131 press-sensitive acupoints including 41 points with an appea-rance frequency of more than 10 times were found in the 63 tinnitus patients. These 41 acupoints distributing in the top three meri-dians were the Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang, Tri-energizer Meridian of Hand-Shaoyang and Spleen Meridian of Foot-Taiyin, and their involved regions were those below the knee-joints, bilateral sides of the head and marginal portion of the ear, sites bellow the elbow-joints, back-waist, successively in the appearance frequency. The top ten acupoints are Wangu (GB 12), Yifeng (SJ 17), Waiguan (SJ 5), Quchi (LI 11), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Yanglingquan (GB 34), Fengchi (GB 20), Taichong (LR 3), Shousanli (LI 10) and Zulinqi (GB 41), in sequence. CONCLUSIONS: The press-sensitive acupoints in tinnitus patients distribute principally in the Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang, and below the knee-joint, and the most sensitive acupoints are Wangu (GB 12) and Yifeng (SJ 17). These findings may provide an objective basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus.

Influences of Deqi on Immediate Analgesia Effect of Needling SP6 (Sanyinjiao) in Patients with Primary Dysmenorrhea in Cold and Dampness Stagnation Pattern: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Deqi, according to traditional Chinese medicine, is a specific needle sensation during the retention of needles at certain acupoints and is considered to be necessary to produce therapeutic effects from acupuncture. Although some modern researches have showed that Deqi is essential for producing acupuncture analgesia and anesthesia, the data are not enough. It is a paper of a multicenter, randomized controlled study protocol, to evaluate the influences of Deqi on acupuncture SP6 in Cold and Dampness Stagnation pattern primary dysmenorrhea patients, in terms of reducing pain and anxiety, and to find out the relationship between Deqi and the temperature changes at SP6 (Sanyinjiao) and CV4 (Guanyuan). The results of this trial will be helpful to explain the role of Deqi in acupuncture analgesia and may provide a new objective index for measuring Deqi in the future study. This trial is registered with ChiCTR-TRC-13003086.

Phosphate removal from water by a novel zeolite/lanthanum hydroxide hybrid material prepared from coal fly ash.

This study was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of the hybrid adsorbent, which was synthesized from coal fly ash and was composed of lanthanum hydroxide and zeolite (La-ZFA), for phosphate removal from water. Long-term repeated adsorption tests for 30 days showed that the maximum removal capacity of the material reached 66.09 mg P/g. The fractionation of adsorbed phosphorus indicated that phosphate immobilized by La-ZFA was quite irreversible and was dominated by HCl-P fraction. It was suggested that the immobilization of phosphate was mainly attributed to lanthanum hydroxide and was slightly influenced by coexistence of other anions (Cl(-), NO3(-), SO4(2-), and HCO3(-)). At a La/P molar ratio between 1.5:1 and 2.0:1, a nearly complete removal (above 98%) of phosphate could be achieved. La-ZFA also exhibited great performance for removing phosphate from lake water (97.29%) as well as the effluent from wastewater treatment plant (97.86%), respectively. In addition, based on the results of the present study, it was believed that La-ZFA could be a potential material for phosphate removal in practical application.

Differences of polyunsaturated fatty acid in patients with colorectal cancer and healthy people.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the difference of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) between patients with colorectal cancer and healthy people and analyze the effect of PUFA on colorectal cancer by testing serum of PUFA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and fifty-six healthy people and 79 patients with colorectal cancer were randomly chosen in Beijing, China. PUFA level was measured in two groups. According to different stages, sizes, degree of differentiation, lymph node metastases from patients with colorectal cancer, we compared metabolize situation of PUFA. RESULTS: Total omega-6 PUFA level was higher in healthy people group than that in colorectal cancer group (25.77 ± 3.21 vs. 26.86 ± 1.65, P = 0.0125); moreover, arachidonic acid (AA) level was also higher in healthy people group than that in colorectal cancer group (5.02 ± 1.32 vs. 6.08 ± 1.26, P = 0.0344); total omega-3 PUFA level was lower in colorectal cancer group than that in healthy people group; furthermore, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was also lower in colorectal cancer group than that in healthy people group. AA and total omega-6 were significant differences between less than 5 cm of tumor size and more than 5 cm of tumor size (13.11 ± 2.91 vs. 14.44 ± 1.81, P < 0.05; 27.02 ± 4.54 vs. 28.76 ± 3.08, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: PUFA level was significant difference between healthy people and colorectal cancer patients in the Chinese population. Tumor size probably had influence on the metabolism of PUFA.

A randomized controlled trial of single point acupuncture in primary dysmenorrhea.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture is often used for primary dysmenorrhea. But there is no convincing evidence due to low methodological quality. We aim to assess immediate effect of acupuncture at specific acupoint compared with unrelated acupoint and nonacupoint on primary dysmenorrhea. METHODS: The Acupuncture Analgesia Effect in Primary Dysmenorrhoea-II is a multicenter controlled trial conducted in six large hospitals of China. Patients who met inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to classic acupoint (N = 167), unrelated acupoint (N = 167), or non-acupoint (N = 167) group on a 1:1:1 basis. They received three sessions with electro-acupuncture at a classic acupoint (Sanyinjiao, SP6), or an unrelated acupoint (Xuanzhong, GB39), or nonacupoint location, respectively. The primary outcome was subjective pain as measured by a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS). Measurements were obtained at 0, 5, 10, 30, and 60 minutes following the first intervention. In addition, patients scored changes of general complaints using Cox retrospective symptom scales (RSS-Cox) and 7-point verbal rating scale (VRS) during three menstrual cycles. Secondary outcomes included VAS score for average pain, pain total time, additional in-bed time, and proportion of participants using analgesics during three menstrual cycles. FINDINGS: Five hundred and one people underwent random assignment. The primary comparison of VAS scores following the first intervention demonstrated that classic acupoint group was more effective both than unrelated acupoint (-4.0 mm, 95% CI -7.1 to -0.9, P = 0.010) and nonacupoint (-4.0 mm, 95% CI -7.0 to -0.9, P = 0.012) groups. However, no significant differences were detected among the three acupuncture groups for RSS-Cox or VRS outcomes. The per-protocol analysis showed similar pattern. No serious adverse events were noted. CONCLUSION: Specific acupoint acupuncture produced a statistically, but not clinically, significant effect compared with unrelated acupoint and nonacupoint acupuncture in primary dysmenorrhea patients. Future studies should focus on effects of multiple points acupuncture on primary dysmenorrhea.

[Catalytic degradation of naphthalene by CuO (-CeO2)/Al2O3].

Three catalysts CuO/Al2O3, CeO2/Al2O3 and CuO-CeO2/Al2O3 were prepared by the impregnation method. The textural and structural properties of the synthesized catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption, SEM and XRD, and the effect of active ingredients, flow rate and reaction temperature on catalytic degradation of naphthalene (NaP) were investigated in fixed-bed reactor. The experimental results show that the prepared 18% CeO2/Al2O3 has a low catalytic activity of NaP. Nevertheless, both 18% CuO/Al2O3 and 9% CuO-9% CeO2/Al2O3 exhibit high catalytic activity whose removal efficiencies at 300°C can reach 91% and 89%, respectively. Besides, compared with CuO/Al2O3, CuO-CeO2/Al2O3 possesses a higher low-temperature activity. Furthermore, the variation of flow rates has little effect on the performance of two catalysts.

An exploratory survey of deqi sensation from the views and experiences of chinese patients and acupuncturists.

Deqi sensation is believed to be important in clinical efficacy according to TCM theory. The measuring method of Deqi sensation has significant implications for the result of research trials. This study makes an investigation on acupuncture-experienced patients and expert acupuncturists in China and aims to find out the patient's needling sensations and acupuncturist's sensations which can be acceptable as descriptors of Deqi sensation, so as to provide foundation for more systematic and sensitive quantitative evaluation method of Deqi sensation. Results of this survey indicated that the Deqi sensation noted by both patient and acupuncturist is equally important to the treatment efficacy. It is found that there are some differences between the patients' real-life experience and the acupuncturists' expectations on patients' Deqi sensation. The "dull pain," "aching," "sore," "numb," "distended," "heavy," "electric," "throbbing," "warmness," "coolness," "spreading," and "radiating" can be considered as the main manifestations of Deqi sensations. The acupuncturists believed that Deqi sensations were mainly "pulling," "tight," and "throbbing." We suggest developing a questionnaire measuring the Deqi sensations which includes both the sensations of the patient and acupuncturist, and this would be very important and necessary for a better understanding of the relationship between Deqi sensation and acupuncture effects in future studies.

[Cumulative analgesic effects of EA stimulation of sanyinjiao (SP 6) in primary dysmenorrhea patients: a multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the cumulative analgesic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation of Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Xuanzhong (GB 39) and non-acupoint for primary dysmenorrhea patients. METHODS: A total of 200 patients with primary dysmenorrhea were randomly assigned to Sanyinjiao (SP 6, a dysmenorrheal-relieving related acupoint) group, Xuanzhong (GB 39, an unrelated acupoint) group, non-acupoint group and control group, with 50 cases in each group. The participants were administered with EA (2 Hz/100 Hz, 0.5-1.6 mA) at SP 6, GB 39 and non-acupoint for 30 min, once daily for 3 consecutive days. The intensity of the pain was ranked from 0 (no pain) to 100 (intolerable) using visual analogue scale (VAS) and RSS (Cox retrospective symptom scale) severity rating scores (RSS-COX 2) before and after three interventions. RESULTS: In comparison with the control group, VAS and RSS-COX 2 scores were significantly lower in the SP 36, GB 39 and non-acupoint groups (P < 0.001, P < 0.05), suggesting an alleviation of the pain severity after EA treatment. No significant differences were found among the three treatment groups in both VAS and RSS-COX 2 scores (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: EA stimulation of SP 6, GB 39 and non-acupoint has a good cumulative analgesic effect in patients with primary dysmenorrhea.