SNHG12/NFYC-AS1 Acted as the Sponge for hsa-miR-199a-5p to Promote the Expression of S100A8/S100A7/XDH and was Involved in the Progression of Diabetic Foot Ulcers.

Traditional Chinese medicine has been used to treat diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) for a long time. However, the underlying mechanism of Radix arnebiae seu lithospermi ointment (RAS-ointment) has not been revealed. Effects of RAS-ointment treatment were observed in DFU patients. The endogenous competitive RNA mechanism was constructed based on micro-array sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. RT-PCR was used to detected the expression of genes in DFU ulcerated skins and non-ulcerated skins. Dual luciferase and RT-PCR experiments were used to investigate the endogenous competitive RNA mechanism. Based on micro-array sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we found that SNHG12/NFYC-AS1, hsa-miR-199a-5p and S100A8/S100A7/XDH might form an endogenous competitive RNA mechanism. RT-PCR assay shown that SNHG12, NFYC-AS1, S100A8, S100A7 and XDH were significantly up-regulated, while hsa-miR-199a-5p was significantly down-regulated in DFU ulcerated skins (N = 10) compared with non-ulcerated skins (N = 10). Dual luciferase and RT-PCR experiments showed that SNHG12 or NFYC-AS1 up-regulated the expression of S100A8, S100A7 and XDH by inhibiting hsa-miR-199a-5p in a direct binding way. After 35 days of RAS-ointment treatment, the wound healing of DFU patients was substantially improved and the expression of S100A7 and XDH were reduced expression in DFU patients. In addition, the monomer composition of RAS-ointment, 49070_FLUKA or auraptenol inhibited the expression of S100A7 and XDH in Te317.sk cells. In conclusion, RAS-ointment may be used as an adjunctive therapy for DFU patients.

Nutritional support therapy after GLIM criteria may neglect the benefit of reducing infection complications compared with NRS 2002-Re analysis based on a prospective cohort study / 中华临床营养杂志

The inconsistency of diagnostic criteria for malnutrition has confused clinicians since the 1980s. After the implementation of disease diagnosis related group payment (DRG) in China's public hospitals, the diagnosis of malnutrition and the correct documentation of nutrition-related diagnosis on the front sheet of medical records are related to the correct classification of the disease group and the medical insurance payment. Therefore, the reliable diagnostic criteria for malnutrition, especially disease-related malnutrition, is urgently needed in clinical practice. In September 2018, The global leadership Iinitiative on malnutrition (GLIM) diagnostic criteria consensus was launched. GLIM aimed to provide the explicit and unified diagnostic criteria for malnutrition in adult hospitalized patients. However, GLIM criteria was based on the voting by nutritional experts and was merely a consensus in nature. The clinical validity of GLIM criteria needs prospective verification, i.e., to demonstrate that patients with malnutrition as per GLIM criteria could have improved clinical outcomes with reasonable nutritional interventions. In November 2020, the article titled Nutritional support therapy after GLIM criteria may neglect the benefit of reducing infection complications compared with NRS 2002 was published on the journal Nutrition. It was the first study comparing nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS 2002) and GLIM malnutrition diagnostic criteria among Chinese patients for the indication of nutritional support therapy. The clinical effectiveness of the two tools was retrospectively verified as well. Here we discussed the key points of this retrospective study, including the critical research methods, to inform the currently ongoing prospective validation of the GLIM malnutrition diagnostic criteria (the item of reduced muscle mass not included).

Flavonoids from the roots and rhizomes of Sophoratonkinensis and their in vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity / 中国天然药物

Acute respiratory infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had caused a global pandemic since 2019, and posed a serious threat to global health security. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played an indispensable role in the battle against the epidemic. Many components originated from TCMs were found to inhibit the production of SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease (3CLpro) and papain-like protease (PLpro), which are two promising therapeutic targets to inhibit SARS-CoV-2. This study describes a systematic investigation of the roots and rhizomes of Sophora tonkinensis, which results in the characterization of 12 new flavonoids, including seven prenylated flavanones (1-7), one prenylated flavonol (8), two prenylated chalcones (9-10), one isoflavanone (11), and one isoflavan dimer (12), together with 43 known compounds (13-55). Their structures including the absolute configurations were elucidated by comprehensive analysis of MS, 1D and 2D NMR data, and time-dependent density functional theory electronic circular dichroism (TDDFT ECD) calculations. Compounds 12 and 51 exhibited inhibitory effects against SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro with IC50 values of 34.89 and 19.88 μmol·L-1, repectively while compounds 9, 43 and 47 exhibited inhibitory effects against PLpro with IC50 values of 32.67, 79.38, and 16.74 μmol·L-1, respectively.

Impact of nutrition intervention and physical exercise on muscle mass and body fat among community elderly with sarcopenia: a randomized controlled study / 中华临床营养杂志

Objective:To investigate the impact of nutrition supplementation (whey protein, fish oil and vitamin D) and physical exercise (resistance and aerobic exercise) on muscle mass and body fat metrics among community elderly with sarcopenia.Method:102 eligible sarcopenic participants per inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomized into the control group (routine consultation, n=34) or the groups receiving nutrition supplementation (Nutr, n=34) or nutrition supplementation combined with exercise (Nutr+Ex, n=34) for 12 weeks. Muscle and body fat related indicators were compared across groups pre- and post-intervention. Results:Analysis of covariance showed that all indicators were significantly different between groups (all P<0.05). Further pairwise comparisons showed that compared with controls, patients in Nutr group showed increased appendicular muscle mass (ASM) by 0.837 kg ( P=0.003, 95% CI: 0.301 to 1.372) and decreased fat mass by 2.876 kg ( P<0.01, 95% CI: -3.941 to -1.812), while patients in Nutr+Ex group showed increased ASM by 0.745 kg ( P=0.010, 95% CI: 0.180 to 1.311) and decreased fat mass by 2.928kg ( P<0.01, 95% CI: -4.408 to -1.808). Other muscle-related indicators also increased while fat-related indicators decreased in both Nutr and Nutr+Ex groups. However, there is no significant difference between Nutr and Nutr+Ex groups. Conclusions:Nutrition supplementation and physical exercise contribute to muscle mass and body fat improvement among sarcopenic elderly. Lifestyle intervention based on nutrition intervention is important for the community elderly with sarcopenia.

Dietary supplementation of fermented lemon peel enhances lysozyme activity and susceptibility to Photobacterium damselae for orange-spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides.

The waste recycling of lemon peel, as a functional feed additive in aquafeed was evaluated by estimating the effects of fermented lemon peel (FLP) supplementation in diet on growth performance, innate immune responses, and susceptibility to Photobacterium damselae of grouper, Epinephelus coioides. A basal diet was added FLP at 0%, 1%, 3%, and 5%. Four tested diets were each fed to juvenile grouper (initial weight: 15.89 ± 0.10 g, triplicate groups) in a recirculation rearing system for eight weeks. Fish fed diets with 0%-3% FLP exhibited higher (p < 0.05) final weight, weight gain, and feed efficiency than fish fed the 5% FLP-diet. After challenge test, fish fed the 3% FLP-diet appeared the lowest mortality, followed by fish fed the 1% FLP-diet, and lowest in fish fed 0% and 5% FLP-diets. Plasma lysozyme activities were higher in fish fed diets with FLP than in fish fed the FLP-free control diet before challenge test. After challenge, fish fed diets with 1% and 3% FLP showed highest lysozyme activities, followed by fish fed the diet with 5% FLP, and lowest in fish fed the control diet. Hepatic malondialdehyde content was higher in fish fed the control diet than in fish fed diets with 1%-3% FLP. Results found that diets supplemented with 1%-3% fermented lemon peel can enhance lysozyme activity and resistance to pathogen P. damselae of grouper.

Pilot Study: Physical Examination Evidence of Acupuncture Principal Meridian Coupling.

Objective: This pilot study of acupuncture primary channel coupling examined the effect of anterior tibialis (AT) muscle activation (Stomach = ST channel distribution muscle) on ipsilateral anterior deltoid shoulder elevation strength (Large Intestine = LI channel distribution muscle). Design: Pilot study: prospective before and after trial, nonblinded. Materials and Methods: Twenty healthy adults ages 20-60 years without shoulder pathology were recruited from our institution. All subjects consented with the IRB-approved minimal risk protocol for this study. Average shoulder elevation break strength (kg) with arm elevated 90° from side was measured by dynamometer over 3 trials for each of 4 conditions: standing (baseline), standing with ipsilateral AT activation, seated with legs dangling ipsilateral AT activation, and seated with legs dangling ipsilateral gastrocsoleus (GS) activation. The main outcome measures were percentage decrement in shoulder elevation strength in AT and GS conditions compared with baseline. Paired t-test with a statistical significance alpha level of 0.05 was used for all statistical analyses. Results: A statistically and clinically significant 9.5%-12.5% (P < 0.001) decrease in shoulder elevation strength was found with ipsilateral AT activation whether in the standing or seated position. Reciprocal inhibition of the AT muscle through GS activation in the seated position produced markedly smaller 3%-4% decreases in shoulder elevation strength from baseline. Conclusions: This study provides quantitative physical examination evidence of LI-ST channel coupling, demonstrating a statistically (P < 0.001) and clinically significant decrement in shoulder elevation strength (9.5%-12.5%) with ipsilateral AT activation. These findings support the acupuncture concept of primary channel coupling, with results suggesting a neural basis for these results rather than from a fascial signaling mechanism.

Focused extracorporeal shock wave therapy with centrifugal exercise for the treatment of greater trochanteric pain syndrome / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the clinical efficacy of focused extracorporeal shock wave therapy with centrifugal exercise in the treatment of greater trochanteric pain syndrome.@*METHODS@#From September 2017 to June 2019, 53 eligible cases of greater trochanteric pain syndrome were randomly divided into observation group (29 cases) and control group (24 cases). In observation group, there were 8 males and 21 females, aged from 38 to 62 years old with an average of (49.96±6.39) years old; the course of disease ranged from 6 to 13 months with an average of (8.58±1.99) months;treated with focused extracorporeal shock wave therapy with centrifugal exercise. In control group, there were 5 males and 19 females, aged from 39 to 62 years old with an average of (52.79±5.86) years old;the course of disease ranged from 6 to 14 months with an average of (9.04±2.51) months;treated with centrifugal exercise alone. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and hip Harris score were measured before ESWT treatment and at 1, 2, and 6 months to evaluate relieve degree of pain and functional recovery of hip joint, respectively.@*RESULTS@#At 1 month after treatment, there were no significant differences in VAS, hip Harris score and treatment success rate (all @*CONCLUSION@#In treatment of greater trochanteric pain syndrome, focused extracorporeal shock wave therapy with centrifugal exercise could significantly relieve symptoms of lateral hip pain, improve functional recovery of hip joint with good safety. This treatment strategy is worthy of application and promotion in clinical practice.

TISNet-Enhanced Fully Convolutional Network with Encoder-Decoder Structure for Tongue Image Segmentation in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Extracting the tongue body accurately from a digital tongue image is a challenge for automated tongue diagnoses, as the blurred edge of the tongue body, interference of pathological details, and the huge difference in the size and shape of the tongue. In this study, an automated tongue image segmentation method using enhanced fully convolutional network with encoder-decoder structure was presented. In the frame of the proposed network, the deep residual network was adopted as an encoder to obtain dense feature maps, and a Receptive Field Block was assembled behind the encoder. Receptive Field Block can capture adequate global contextual prior because of its structure of the multibranch convolution layers with varying kernels. Moreover, the Feature Pyramid Network was used as a decoder to fuse multiscale feature maps for gathering sufficient positional information to recover the clear contour of the tongue body. The quantitative evaluation of the segmentation results of 300 tongue images from the SIPL-tongue dataset showed that the average Hausdorff Distance, average Symmetric Mean Absolute Surface Distance, average Dice Similarity Coefficient, average precision, average sensitivity, and average specificity were 11.2963, 3.4737, 97.26%, 95.66%, 98.97%, and 98.68%, respectively. The proposed method achieved the best performance compared with the other four deep-learning-based segmentation methods (including SegNet, FCN, PSPNet, and DeepLab v3+). There were also similar results on the HIT-tongue dataset. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method can achieve accurate tongue image segmentation and meet the practical requirements of automated tongue diagnoses.

Clinical effect of Astragalus injection combined with meropenem in the treatment of severe infection patients and its influence on T lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory factors in peripheral blood / 中国基层医药

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of Astragalus injection combined with meropenem in the treatment of severe infection patients and its influence on T lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory factors in peripheral blood.Methods From January 2016 to December 2018,80 patients with severe infections in Yiwu Fuyuan Private Hospital were selected and divided into observation group (n＝40) and control group (n＝40) according to single blind random table method.The observation group was treated with Astragalus injection combined with meropen-em,while the control group was treated with meropenem.Both two groups were treated for 10 days.The therapeutic effects,changes of body temperature ,heart rate and respiratory rate ,changes of T lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory factors in peripheral blood ,and negative time of bacterial culture before and after treatment were compared between the two groups.Results The total effective rate of the observation group (92.50%) was higher than that of the control group (70.00%) (χ2 ＝6.646,P＜0.05).After treatment,the levels of CD +3 [(62.38 ±4.51)%],CD+4 [(40.63 ±2.15)%] and CD +4 ／CD+8 (1.63 ±0.18) in the observation group were higher than those in the control group [(57.27 ±3.19)%,(35.47 ±1.93)% and (1.30 ±0.21)] ( t＝5.850,11.296,7.546,all P＜0.05). After treatment,the levels of CRP [(28.79 ±8.74)mg／L],PCT [(0.56 ±0.12) g／L] and TNF-α[(157.93 ± 20.47) pg／mL] in the observation group were lower than those in the control group [(43.71 ±12.67) mg／L, (1.10 ±0.23) g／L and (247.16 ±34.64) pg／mL] ( t ＝13.640,13.165,14.026,all P ＜0.05).The negative turning time of bacterial culture in the observation group [(4.36 ±1.29)d] was shorter than that in the control group [(7.43 ±1.57) d] ( t＝9.493,P＜0.05).Conclusion Astragalus membranaceus injection combined with mero-penem has significant clinical effect in the treatment of patients with severe infections .It can improve cellular immune function and reduce inflammatory reaction ,which is worthy of clinical reference.

Clinical effect of Astragalus injection combined with meropenem in the treatment of severe infection patients and its influence on T lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory factors in peripheral blood / 中国基层医药

Objective@#To investigate the clinical effect of Astragalus injection combined with meropenem in the treatment of severe infection patients and its influence on T lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory factors in peripheral blood.@*Methods@#From January 2016 to December 2018, 80 patients with severe infections in Yiwu Fuyuan Private Hospital were selected and divided into observation group (n=40) and control group (n=40) according to single blind random table method.The observation group was treated with Astragalus injection combined with meropenem, while the control group was treated with meropenem.Both two groups were treated for 10 days.The therapeutic effects, changes of body temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate, changes of T lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory factors in peripheral blood, and negative time of bacterial culture before and after treatment were compared between the two groups.@*Results@#The total effective rate of the observation group (92.50%) was higher than that of the control group (70.00%) (χ2=6.646, P<0.05). After treatment, the levels of CD3+ [(62.38±4.51)%], CD4+ [(40.63±2.15)%] and CD4+ /CD8+ (1.63±0.18) in the observation group were higher than those in the control group [(57.27±3.19)%, (35.47±1.93)% and (1.30±0.21)] (t=5.850, 11.296, 7.546, all P<0.05). After treatment, the levels of CRP [(28.79±8.74)mg/L], PCT [(0.56±0.12)g/L] and TNF-α [(157.93±20.47)pg/mL] in the observation group were lower than those in the control group [(43.71±12.67)mg/L, (1.10±0.23)g/L and (247.16±34.64)pg/mL] (t=13.640, 13.165, 14.026, all P<0.05). The negative turning time of bacterial culture in the observation group [(4.36±1.29)d] was shorter than that in the control group [(7.43±1.57)d] (t=9.493, P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#Astragalus membranaceus injection combined with meropenem has significant clinical effect in the treatment of patients with severe infections.It can improve cellular immune function and reduce inflammatory reaction, which is worthy of clinical reference.

Effectiveness of telemedicine for glucose control and pregnancy outcomes in gestational diabetes mellitus: systematic review and meta-analysis / 中华健康管理学杂志

Objective:This paper systematically reviews the application of telemedicine on glucose control and pregnancy outcome improvement among patients with GDM.Methods:We searched Cochrane Library databases, Scopus, Pubmed, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Data database to collect English or Chinese randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to the adoption of telemedicine interventions on glucose and clinical outcomes for GDM from January 2000 to June 2020. Literature screening, data extraction and evaluation of the risk of bias were done independently by two reviewers. RevMan 5.4 was conducted for meta-analysis.Results:16 RCTs were identified, with 1859 pregnancies. The meta-analysis found that telemedicine group had significantly reduced fasting blood glucose [MD=-0.41, 95% CI(-0.65, -0.17), P<0.001], 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2hPBG) [MD=-1.08, 95% CI (-1.44, -0.73), P<0.001]、and HbA1c [MD=-0.73, 95% CI(-0.95, -0.50), P<0.001]. However there were no statistically significant differences in caesarean delivery rate [ OR=0.85,95% CI(0.55,1.31)], insulin adoption rate [ OR=0.94, 95% CI(0.46, 1.91)], macrosomia or large-for-age (LGA) rate [ OR=1.06, 95% CI (0.77, 1.46)], birth weight [MD=-14.10, 95% CI (-45.68, 73.87)], preelampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension rate [ OR=1, 95% CI (0.51, 1.96)], neonatal hypoglycemia rate [ OR=0.81, 95% CI(0.42, 1.59)], or NICU admission rate [ OR=0.97, 95% CI (0.60, 1.57)] between telemedicine and traditional medicine model. Conclusion:Compared to traditional medicine model, telemedicine has its advantage in glucose control, but achieved similar ability in pregnancy outcome improvement.

Hyperbaric oxygen improves functional recovery of rats after spinal cord injury via activating stromal cell-derived factor-1/CXC chemokine receptor 4 axis and promoting brain-derived neurothrophic factor expression / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a worldwide medical concern. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the protective effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) against SCI-induced neurologic defects in rats via exploring the stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)/CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) axis and expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).@*METHODS@#An acute SCI rat model was established in Sprague-Dawley rats using the Allen method. Sixty rats were divided into four groups (n = 15 in each group): sham-operated, SCI, SCI treated with HBO (SCI + HBO), and SCI treated with both HBO and AMD3100 (an antagonist of CXCR4; SCI + HBO + AMD) groups. The rats were treated with HBO twice a day for 3 days and thereafter once a day after the surgery for up to 28 days. Following the surgery, neurologic assessments were performed with the Basso-Bettie-Bresnahan (BBB) scoring system on postoperative day (POD) 7, 14, 21, and 28. Spinal cord tissues were harvested to assess the expression of SDF-1, CXCR4, and BDNF at mRNA and protein levels, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot analysis, and histopathologic analysis.@*RESULTS@#HBO treatment recovered SCI-induced descent of BBB scores on POD 14, (1.25 ± 0.75 vs. 1.03 ± 0.66, P < 0.05), 21 (5.27 ± 0.89 vs. 2.56 ± 1.24, P < 0.05), and 28 (11.35 ± 0.56 vs. 4.23 ± 1.20, P < 0.05) compared with the SCI group. Significant differences were found in the mRNA levels of SDF-1 (mRNA: day 21, SCI + HBO vs. SCI + HBO + AMD, 2.89 ± 1.60 vs. 1.56 ± 0.98, P < 0.05), CXCR4 (mRNA: day 7, SCI + HBO vs. SCI, 2.99 ± 1.60 vs.1.31 ± 0.98, P < 0.05; day 14, SCI + HBO vs. SCI + HBO + AMD, 4.18 ± 1.60 vs. 0.80 ± 0.34, P < 0.05; day 21, SCI + HBO vs. SCI, 2.10 ± 1.01 vs.1.15 ± 0.03, P < 0.05), and BDNF (mRNA: day 7, SCI + HBO vs. SCI, 3.04 ± 0.41 vs. 2.75 ± 0.31, P < 0.05; day 14, SCI + HBO vs. SCI, 3.88 ± 1.59 vs. 1.11 ± 0.40, P < 0.05), indicating the involvement of SDF-1/CXCR4 axis in the protective effect of HBO.@*CONCLUSIONS@#HBO might promote the recovery of neurologic function after SCI in rats via activating the SDF-1/CXCR4 axis and promoting BDNF expression.

Discovery and Application of Quality Marker of Traditional Chinese Medicine Based on Integrative Pharmacology / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Quality marker(Q-marker) is a new concept and pattern for quality control of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),which will lead the development direction for quality control of TCM.Among them,how to characterize the overall quality attribute of TCM and its biological effect,is a critical scientific problem in the study of Q-marker.In this paper,integrated pharmacology is utilized to screen out and confirm the Q-marker from the complex system of TCM,so as to solve the critical scientific problem.System biology in vivo is firstly applied to establish the correlation of chemical fingerprints of TCM,their metabolic fingerprints,network targets,biological effects and efficacy of TCM,which is used to preliminary screen out Q-marker of TCM.Following that,a pharmacological method in vitro,including intestinal absorption in vitro coupled with bioactivity assessment,is employed to simultaneously determine the absorbed doses of TCM and evaluate their biological activity.Furthermore,data mining is utilized to establish the exact quantitative mathematic model between Q-marker of TCM and bioactivity.Meanwhile,two representative examples,including Yuanhu Zhitong tablets,Xinsuning capsules,are introduced to identify Q-marker of TCM and establish their quality standards related with bioactivity,which will be beneficial to improve the level of quality control of TCM and ensure the effectiveness and safety of clinical applications.

Incorporation of integrative medicine education into undergraduate medical education: a longitudinal study / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Integrative medicine (IM) combines complementary medical approaches into conventional medicine and considers the whole person. We implemented a longitudinal IM short-course curriculum into our medical school education. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the curriculum via knowledge and attitude surveys regarding IM among students.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A mandatory short IM curriculum across all years of medical school was created and taught by IM professionals and physician faculty members with expertise in integrative therapies. Graduating classes of 2015 and 2016 completed the same survey in their first and third years of medical school. Paired data analysis was done, and only students who completed surveys at both time points were included in final analyses.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of 52 students in each class, 17 (33%) in the class of 2015 and 22 (42%) in the class of 2016 completed both surveys. After the IM curriculum, students' knowledge of and comfort with several IM therapies-biofeedback, mindfulness, and the use of St. John's wort-improved significantly. Students' personal health practices also improved, including better sleep, exercise, and stress management for the class of 2015. Students graduating in 2016 reported decreased alcohol use in their third year compared with their first year.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>It is feasible to incorporate IM education into undergraduate medical education, and this is associated with improvement in students' knowledge of IM and personal health practices.</p>

Safety and efficiency of microwave ablation for recurrent and persistent secondary hyperparathyroidism after parathyroidectomy: A retrospective pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Recurrent and persistent secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) nodules have an incidence of 10-70% after surgery. The treatment of recurrent and persistent SHPT nodules is a challenge, and surgical resection of difficult-to-reach or post-operative adhesions often fails. PURPOSE: The aim of this research was to study the safety and effectiveness of microwave ablation (MWA) for recurrent and persistent SHPT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 11 patients enrolled with a total of 16 nodules, and MWA was employed to manage SHPT. The laboratory test results, including the intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), serum calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels, improvement of SHPT-related symptoms after ablation, and complications during and after MWA were recorded and analysed. RESULTS: After ablation the value of iPTH was markedly decreased from 1570 ± 1765 pg/mL to 287 ± 239 pg/mL 1 day after MWA (p < 0.05). The levels of serum calcium and phosphorus decreased from 2.51 ± 0.23 mmol/L to 2.06 ± 0.27 mmol/L (p < 0.001) and 1.80 ± 0.43 mmol/L to 1.48 ± 0.32 mmol/L (p < 0.05), respectively, 1 day after MWA. There was no significant difference in the ALP value before and after MWA (p > 0.05). The clinical symptoms, including ostalgia, pruritus, disability, and restless legs, improved after MWA. Minor complications and side effects encountered during or after MWA include haematoma (1/11, 9%), transient hoarseness (2/11, 18.2%), hypocalcemia (6/11, 54.5%). No major complication occurred. CONCLUSION: MWA may be safe and effective to manage recurrent and persistent SHPT nodules; a definite conclusion needs to expand the sample size with a longer follow-up time.

Pregnane receptor gene polymorphisms, pathogenic bacteria distribution and drug sensitivity, and TCM syndrome differentiation in patients with cholelithiasis

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the distribution of pathogens and drug resistance in bile and the association between the pregnane X receptor (PXR) gene polymorphisms, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes and the risk of cholesterol gallstone disease (CGD).@*METHODS@#A total of 392 samples were enrolled in this study from January 2014 to February 2015, among which 192 patients were with CGD, and 200 samples were healthy. Strains were isolated and susceptibility testing was the disk diffusion method susceptibility testing. The patients were divided into hepatochlic hygropyrexia, stagnation of liver-qi, and the accumulation of damp. The PXR gene polymorphisms were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The association between the PXR gene polymorphisms and the risk of CGD was examined by logistic regression analysis.@*RESULTS@#A total of 192 cases were detected in 230 of bile culture pathogens, including Gram-negative bacteria 133 (57.83%), Gram-positive bacteria 76 (33.04%), and fungi 21 (9.13%). The top five pathogens were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, Candida albicans, and Enterococcus feces, of which 110 cases was of single infection, 48 cases of mixed infection of two strains, eight cases of mixed infection of three bacteria. Among 59 Escherichia coli, the yield extended-spectrum beta-lactamases had 40 (67.80%). The hepatochlic hygropyrexia was the most TCM syndrome, followed by stagnation of liver-qi, and the accumulation of damp was least. Different pathogens and the rs6785049 genotypes distributed differently in cholelithiasis patients with different TCM syndromes (P < 0.05). In hepatochlic hygropyrexia patients the Gram-negative bacteria was most. There was significant differences between CGD group and control group in rs6785049 (P < 0.001). Comparison with wild-type portable GG, GA genotype increased the risk of the occurrence of gallstones (OR = 0.40, 95%CI: 0.16-0.79); likewise, carrying the GA+AA genotype also increased the risk (OR = 0.38, 95%CI: 0.19-0.81). There was no significant differences in rs2276707, rs3814055 site polymorphic loci alleles in CGD group and control group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#In the treatment of cholelithiasis, bile samples should be collected for bacterial culture and sensitivity test, and drugs should be strictly chosen based on the results. The rs6785049 polymorphisms in PXR gene may increase the risk of gallstones ontogeny, and gallstones can be early detected and prevented by detecting genotypes. rs6785049 polymorphisms in PXR gene may has relationship with TCM syndromes.

Pregnane receptor gene polymorphisms, pathogenic bacteria distribution and drug sensitivity, and TCM syndrome differentiation in patients with cholelithiasis

Objective: To investigate the distribution of pathogens and drug resistance in bile and the association between the pregnane X receptor (PXR) gene polymorphisms, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes and the risk of cholesterol gallstone disease (CGD). Methods: A total of 392 samples were enrolled in this study from January 2014 to February 2015, among which 192 patients were with CGD, and 200 samples were healthy. Strains were isolated and susceptibility testing was the disk diffusion method susceptibility testing. The patients were divided into hepatochlic hygropyrexia, stagnation of liver-qi, and the accumulation of damp. The PXR gene polymorphisms were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The association between the PXR gene polymorphisms and the risk of CGD was examined by logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 192 cases were detected in 230 of bile culture pathogens, including Gram-negative bacteria 133 (57.83%), Gram-positive bacteria 76 (33.04%), and fungi 21 (9.13%). The top five pathogens were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, Candida albicans, and Enterococcus feces, of which 110 cases was of single infection, 48 cases of mixed infection of two strains, eight cases of mixed infection of three bacteria. Among 59 Escherichia coli, the yield extended-spectrum beta-lactamases had 40 (67.80%). The hepatochlic hygropyrexia was the most TCM syndrome, followed by stagnation of liver-qi, and the accumulation of damp was least. Different pathogens and the rs6785049 genotypes distributed differently in cholelithiasis patients with different TCM syndromes (P < 0.05). In hepatochlic hygropyrexia patients the Gram-negative bacteria was most. There was significant differences between CGD group and control group in rs6785049 (P < 0.001). Comparison with wild-type portable GG, GA genotype increased the risk of the occurrence of gallstones (OR = 0.40, 95%CI: 0.16-0.79); likewise, carrying the GA+AA genotype also increased the risk (OR = 0.38, 95%CI: 0.19-0.81). There was no significant differences in rs2276707, rs3814055 site polymorphic loci alleles in CGD group and control group. Conclusions: In the treatment of cholelithiasis, bile samples should be collected for bacterial culture and sensitivity test, and drugs should be strictly chosen based on the results. The rs6785049 polymorphisms in PXR gene may increase the risk of gallstones ontogeny, and gallstones can be early detected and prevented by detecting genotypes. rs6785049 polymorphisms in PXR gene may has relationship with TCM syndromes.

Lycopene and Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a common illness for aging males. Lycopene has been identified as an antioxidant agent with potential anticancer properties. Studies investigating the relation between lycopene and PCa risk have produced inconsistent results. This study aims to determine dietary lycopene consumption/circulating concentration and any potential dose-response associations with the risk of PCa. Eligible studies published in English up to April 10, 2014, were searched and identified from Pubmed, Sciencedirect Online, Wiley online library databases and hand searching. The STATA (version 12.0) was applied to process the dose-response meta-analysis. Random effects models were used to calculate pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and to incorporate variation between studies. The linear and nonlinear dose-response relations were evaluated with data from categories of lycopene consumption/circulating concentrations. Twenty-six studies were included with 17,517 cases of PCa reported from 563,299 participants. Although inverse association between lycopene consumption and PCa risk was not found in all studies, there was a trend that with higher lycopene intake, there was reduced incidence of PCa (P = 0.078). Removal of one Chinese study in sensitivity analysis, or recalculation using data from only high-quality studies for subgroup analysis, indicated that higher lycopene consumption significantly lowered PCa risk. Furthermore, our dose-response meta-analysis demonstrated that higher lycopene consumption was linearly associated with a reduced risk of PCa with a threshold between 9 and 21 mg/day. Consistently, higher circulating lycopene levels significantly reduced the risk of PCa. Interestingly, the concentration of circulating lycopene between 2.17 and 85 µg/dL was linearly inversed with PCa risk whereas there was no linear association >85 µg/dL. In addition, greater efficacy for the circulating lycopene concentration on preventing PCa was found for studies with high quality, follow-up >10 years and where results were adjusted by the age or the body mass index. In conclusion, our novel data demonstrates that higher lycopene consumption/circulating concentration is associated with a lower risk of PCa. However, further studies are required to determine the mechanism by which lycopene reduces the risk of PCa and if there are other factors in tomato products that might potentially decrease PCa risk and progression.

Therapeutic effects and the possible mechanism of fecal transplantation on rats with Clostridium diffi-cile-associated pseudomembranous colitis / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects and the possible mechanism of fecal transplantation on rats with Clostridium difficile-associated pseudomembranous colitis. Methods A total of 40 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups including the healthy control group, model group, fecal transplant treatment group and vancomycin treatment group. Rats in three experimental groups were subcuta-neously injected with clindamycin phosphate (10 mg), followed by treatment with toxin producing Clostridi-um difficile (ACTT43255) enema 24 hours later. The rats in fecal transplant treatment group and vancomy-cin treatment group were respectively treated with fecal suspension and vancomycin one day after modeling. The rats were fasted for one day after the last administration and then executed. The levels of potassium ion ( K) , sodium ion ( Na) , albumin ( ALB) , white blood cells ( WBC) , C-reaction protein ( CRP) , interleu-kin-1β ( IL-1β) , interleukin-10 ( IL-10 ) , interleukin-12 ( IL-12 ) and interleukin-17 ( IL-17 ) as well as the percentage of neutrophils ( N%) in serum samples were detected. The colon tissue samples were collect-ed for pathology examination. Results The rat model of pseudomembranous colitis was successfully estab-lished by subcutaneous injection of clindamycin in combination with toxin-producing Clostridium difficile (ACTT43255) enema. The signs of intestinal inflammation including serious weight loss, remarkably short-ened colon length and significantly increased colon wet weight index were observed in rats from the model group (P<0. 05). Compared with the rats from model group, the rats received fecal transplant showed sig-nificantly increased levels of K, ALB, IL-10 and IL-10/IL-12 in serum and decreased levels of WBC, N%, CRP, IL-1β and IL-17 (P<0. 05). Conclusion Fecal transplantation was proved to be an effective ap-proach for the treatment of pseudomembranous colitis. The therapeutic mechanism might due to its impacts on serum inflammatory factors.

Comparative study on pro-inflammatory toxicity of Pinellia pedatiecta before and after being processed with alum / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the pro-inflammatory toxicity of Pinellia pedatiecta, as well as the alum processing method on its pro-inflammatory effect.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Raphide and agglutinin (PPA) proteins were isolated from fresh P. pedatiecta. The overall animal and cellular level models were applied to investigate the pro-inflammatory effect of raphide and PPA in P. pedatiecta, as well as the impact of the alum processing method on the pro-inflammatory effect, with inflammatory mediators as the index.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Intraperitoneal injection with P. pedatiecta raphide suspension could significantly increase the content of inflammatory mediators PGE2 and NO. After the alum processing method was adopted, fresh P. pedatiecta and raphide-induced PGE2 and NO release significantly reduced. The stimulation of mice macrophages with P. pedatiecta agglutinin protein could cause the content of dose-dependent inflammatory mediators TNF-alpha and IL-6. After the alum processing method was adopted, PGE2 content in P. pedatiecta agglutinin protein-induced mice peritoneal exudate notably decreased.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The irritation and toxicity of P. pedatiecta were inflammatory responses in organisms. Its raphide and agglutinin proteins were toxic components, both could cause significant the release of inflammatory medium. The alum processing method could help significantly reduce the pro-inflammatory toxicity of P. pedatiecta.</p>