Evaluation and Analysis of Traditional Customary Law Based on the Perspective of Big Data.

Today's rule of law construction in China is walking between the conflict and coordination of factors such as reality and ideals, tradition and modernity, local and foreign, and local knowledge and universal principles, all while continuing to strengthen the unification of the legal system and advance the modernization of the rule of law. Traditional customary law, which is the most representative local resource culture, is unquestionably one of the most important themes in the formation of the rule of law. It has far-reaching significance for the development of ethnic jurisprudence, the reunderstanding of traditional culture, and the construction of ethnic unity and harmonious society. Based on this background, this paper uses big data technology to collect relevant experimental data and proposes a traditional customary law value assessment based on BPNN. The completed work is as follows: (1) this paper clarifies the concept of customary law and the difference between it and related concepts and introduces the domestic relevant research on traditional customary law and the interactive relationship between customary law and national law in dynamic legal practice and puts forward the status and influence of customary law in contemporary legal practice. (2) The related technologies of neural network are introduced, and a traditional customary value evaluation system that can be used for experiments is constructed. (3) Experiment with the designed data set to see if the BP model is feasible. The experimental results suggest that the model proposed in this study has a low error rate and performs well while evaluating traditional common law values.

Efficacy and Safety of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine for Antipsychotic-Related Constipation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Constipation is a common but often ignored side effect of antipsychotic treatment, although it is associated with adverse outcomes. The results of the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCM) in treating constipation are mixed across studies. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the efficacy and safety of TCM compared to Western medicine (WM) in treating antipsychotic-related constipation. Methods: Major international electronic (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) and Chinese (Wanfang, WeiPu VIP, SinoMed, and CNKI) databases were searched from their inception to November 29, 2020. Meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects model. Results: Thirty RCTs with 52 arms covering 2,570 patients in the TCM group and 2,511 patients in the WM group were included. Compared with WM, TCM alone was superior regarding the moderate response rate [risk ratio (RR) = 1.165; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.096-1.238; P < 0.001], marked response rate (RR = 1.437; 95% CI: 1.267-1.692; P < 0.001), and remission rate (RR = 1.376; 95% CI: 1.180-1.606; P < 0.001) for constipation, while it was significantly associated with lower risk of rash (RR = 0.081; 95% CI: 0.019-0.342; P = 0.001). For the moderate response rate, meta-regression analyses revealed that publication year (ß = -0.007, P = 0.0007) and Jadad score (ß = 0.067, P < 0.001) significantly moderated the results. For the remission rate, subgroup and meta-regression analyses revealed that the geographical region (P = 0.003), inpatient status (P = 0.035), and trial duration (ß = 0.009, P = 0.013) significantly moderated the results. Conclusions: The efficacy of TCM for antipsychotic-related constipation appeared to be greater compared to WM, while certain side effects of TCM, such as rash, were less frequent.

Fire needle plus cupping for acute herpes zoster: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Acute herpes zoster (AHZ) is a common skin disease caused by invasion of the varicella zoster virus into the ganglia and skin, and the severe pain is the most complaint, which can seriously disturb the normal life of patients. Fire needle plus cupping is a special acupuncture treatment, which is widely used to treat AHZ for its better analgesic effect in China although it has not been fully verified by rigorous randomized controlled trial (RCT). METHODS/DESIGN: To test the effect, a three-arm randomized parallel controlled trial protocol has been designed. A total of 105 AHZ patients suffering pain will be randomly divided into three groups in an equal proportion. The interventions are fire needle plus cupping (FC) in group A, famciclovir plus gabapentin (FG) in group B, and fire needle plus cupping plus famciclovir (FCF) in group C. The length for the trial is set for a week time frame. Precisely speaking, the A group (FC) is to carry out 1 treatment per day for the total of 7 treatment sessions within 1 week period. On the other hand, the B group (FG) will take drugs orally three times a day within the trial 1 week. Meanwhile, with its combination element, the C group (FCF) is due to undertake both treatments and drugs as prescribed for A and B groups within the trial week. As an intra-trial arrangement, analgesic medication will be carefully administered for temporary pain release if the sudden intolerable pain appeared. For the primary outcome, this study is due to apply visual analogue scale to identify pain intensity relief. As the secondary outcomes are concerned, this study is aiming to focus on the issues related to changes in substance P and beta-endorphin concentrations in peripheral plasma, as well as those issues of analgesic needs, side effects, symptoms, and physical signs including pain classification, local itching, burning sensation, fever, local lymphadenopathy, skin lesion area, blisters, herpes clusters, vesicular traits, ulcers, and pimples; all these are taken into account for evaluation. For the final stage, the participants are to be followed up for postherpetic neuralgia. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial aim to provide sufficient evidence on FC treatment over both FG and FCF treatments. It will then give a credible alternative treatment to cut down acute pain and to cure AHZ infection. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1800015372 . Registered on 28 March 2018.

Lead compounds and key residues of ribosomal protein S1 in drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Ribosomal protein S1 (RpsA) has been identified as a novel target of pyrazinoic acid (POA), which is the active form of pyrazinamide (PZA), in vivo. RpsA plays a crucial role in trans-translation, which is widespread in microbes. In our investigation, we first described the discovery of promising RpsA antagonists for drug-resistant mycobacterium (MtRpsAd438A) and M. smegmatis, as well as wild-type M. tuberculosis. These antagonists were discovered via structure/ligand-based virtual screening approaches. A total of 21 targeted compounds were selected by virtual screening, combined scores, affinity, similarities and rules for potential as drugs. Next, the affinities of these compounds for three targeted proteins were tested in vitro by applying various technologies, including fluorescence quenching titration (FQT), saturation transfer difference (STD), and chemical shift perturbation (CSP) assays. The results showed that seven compounds had a high affinity for the targeted proteins. Our discovery set the stage for discovering new chemical entities (NCEs) for PZA-resistant tuberculosis and providing key residues for rational drug design to target RpsA.

[Shallow Fire-needle Acupuncture Stimulation Plus Cupping Relieves Neuralgia and Down-regulates Serum Substance P Level in Patients with Acute Herpes Zoster].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the influence of repeated shallow fire-needle acupuncture stimulation plus cupping on local neuralgia and serum substance P(SP)content in patients with acute herpes zoster (AHZ). METHODS: A total of 60 cases of AHZ patients were randomly divided into control (medication) group and treatment (medication plus fire-needle) group (n＝30 in each). Patients of both groups were ordered to take Famciclovir (0.25 g/time, three times a day) and Mecobalamin (0.5 g/time, three times a day) orally for 7 days. In addition, patients of the treatment group were also treated by repeated shallow fire-needle stimulation and cupping, once a day for 7 days. Before and after the treatment, the patient's pain severity was assessed using visual analogue scale (VAS) and serum SP concentration was measured using ELISA. RESULTS: After the treatment, the VAS scores and serum SP concentrations in both groups were significantly decreased in comparison with those of their own pre-treatment (P<0.01), and were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group(P<0.01). There was a highly positive correlation between the decreased VAS score and serum SP content in the treatment group(P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Repeated shallow fire-needle stimulation plus cupping can accelerate the relief of local neuralgia in AHZ patients, which may be associated with its effect in down-regulating serum SP level.

Optimization conditions for extracting polysaccharide from Angelica sinensis and its antioxidant activities.

In this study, polysaccharides from Angelica sinensis were extracted using the ultrasound-assisted extraction method. Based on the results of single factor experiments and orthogonal tests, three independent variables-water/raw material ratio, ultrasound time, and ultrasound power-were selected for investigation. Then, we used response surface methodology to optimize the extraction conditions. The experimental data were fitted to a quadratic equation using multiple regression analysis, and the optimal conditions were as follows: water/raw material ratio, 43.31 mL/g; ultrasonic time, 28.06 minutes; power, 396.83 W. Under such conditions, the polysaccharide yield was 21.89±0.21%, which was well matched with the predicted yield. In vitro assays, scavenging activity of superoxide anion radicals, hydroxyl radicals, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picry-hydrazyl radical showed that polysaccharides had certain antioxidant activities and that hydroxyl radicals have a remarkable scavenging capability. Therefore, these studies provide reference for further research and rational development of A. sinensis polysaccharide.

[Effects of different K fertilizer and water level on growth and physiological characteristics of Isatis indigotica].

The experiment included three potassium levels (K0 0 g x kg(-1), K1 0.33 g x kg(-1), K2 0.67 g x kg(-1)) and two water gradients (well watered and drought stress), then measured growth indicators, SOD, POD, CAT activities and concents of osmotic regulation substances. To explore the effects of K fertilizer and water on growth and physiological characteristics of Isatis indigotica, providing reference for improving drought resistance of I. indigotica. The result showed drought stress inhibited the growth and decreased the biomass of I. indigotica but K fertilizer can alleviate the drought stress. Compared with K0 treatment, K1, K2 treatment increased the biomass of overground part of by 89. 13% ,60. 87% under drought stress. The corresponding increase in soluble sugar content was 16.67%, 5.00%, and in proline content was 42.41%, 65.62%, respectively. SOD,POD and CAT activities was significantly improved in K1, K2 treatment in comparison with K0 treatment under drought stress, but soluble protein content significantly reduced. The conclusion is that appropriate amount of K fertilizer can increase the activities of antioxidase and the content of osmoregulation substance under drought stress, and improve drought resistance of I. indigotica.

Nitric oxide-induced bacteriostasis and modification of iron-sulphur proteins in Escherichia coli.

The nitric oxide (NO) cytotoxicity has been well documented in bacteria and mammalian cells. However, the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. Here we report that transient NO exposure effectively inhibits cell growth of Escherichia coli in minimal medium under anaerobic growth conditions and that cell growth is restored when the NO-exposed cells are either supplemented with the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) anaerobically or returned to aerobic growth conditions. The enzyme activity measurements show that dihydroxyacid dehydratase (IlvD), an iron-sulphur enzyme essential for the BCAA biosynthesis, is completely inactivated in cells by NO with the concomitant formation of the IlvD-bound dinitrosyl iron complex (DNIC). Fractionation of the cell extracts prepared from the NO-exposed cells reveals that a large number of different protein-bound DNICs are formed by NO. While the IlvD-bound DNIC and other protein-bound DNICs are stable in cells under anaerobic growth conditions, they are efficiently repaired under aerobic growth conditions even without new protein synthesis. Additional studies indicate that L-cysteine may have an important role in repairing the NO-modified iron-sulphur proteins in aerobically growing E. coli cells. The results suggest that cellular deficiency to repair the NO-modified iron-sulphur proteins may directly contribute to the NO-induced bacteriostasis under anaerobic conditions.

Complementary roles of SufA and IscA in the biogenesis of iron-sulfur clusters in Escherichia coli.

Biogenesis of iron-sulfur clusters requires a concerted delivery of iron and sulfur to target proteins. It is now clear that sulfur in iron-sulfur clusters is derived from L-cysteine via cysteine desulfurases. However, the specific iron donor for the iron-sulfur cluster assembly still remains elusive. Previous studies showed that IscA, a member of the iron-sulfur cluster assembly machinery in Escherichia coli, is a novel iron-binding protein, and that the iron-bound IscA can provide iron for the iron-sulfur cluster assembly in a proposed scaffold IscU in vitro. However, genetic studies have indicated that IscA is not essential for the cell growth of E. coli. In the present paper, we report that SufA, an IscA paralogue in E. coli, may represent the redundant activity of IscA. Although deletion of IscA or SufA has only a mild effect on cell growth, deletion of both IscA and SufA in E. coli results in a severe growth phenotype in minimal medium under aerobic growth conditions. Cell growth is restored when either IscA or SufA is re-introduced into the iscA-/sufA- double mutant, demonstrating further that either IscA or SufA is sufficient for their functions in vivo. Purified SufA, like IscA, is an iron-binding protein that can provide iron for the iron-sulfur cluster assembly in IscU in the presence of a thioredoxin reductase system which emulates the intracellular redox potential. Site-directed mutagenesis studies show that the SufA/IscA variants that lose the specific iron-binding activity fail to restore the cell growth of the iscA-/sufA- double mutant. The results suggest that SufA and IscA may constitute the redundant cellular activities to recruit intracellular iron and deliver iron for the iron-sulfur cluster assembly in E. coli.