Skip participates in formation and lipid metabolism of beige adipose and might mediate the effects of SIRT1 activator BTM-0512 on beige remodeling.

Dissipating energy by activating thermogenic adipose to combating obesity attracts many interests. Ski-interacting protein (Skip) has been known to play an important role in cell proliferation and differentiation, but whether it participates in energy metabolism is not known. Our previous study revealed that BTM-0512 could induce beige adipose formation, accompanying with up-regulation of Skip, but the role of Skip in metabolism was unknown. In this study, we mainly investigated whether Skip was involved in beige remodeling of subcutaneous white preadipocytes as well as in lipid metabolism of differentiated beige adipocytes. The results showed that in high fat diet-induced obesity mice, the protein levels of Skip in subcutaneous and visceral white adipose as well as in brown adipose were all down-regulated, especially in subcutaneous white adipose. Then we cultured subcutaneous adipose derived-stem cells (ADSCs) and found knock-down of Skip (siSkip) inhibited the expressions of thermogenic adipose specific genes including PRDM16 and UCP1 in both undifferentiated ADSCs and differentiated beige adipocytes, which could abolish the effects of BTM-0512 on beige remodeling. We further observed that siSkip affected multiple rate-limiting enzymes in lipid metabolism. The expressions of ACC, GPAT-1, HSL and ATGL were down-regulated, while CPT1α expression was up-regulated by siSkip. The expression of AMPK was also decreased by siSkip. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that Skip might play an important role in the beige remodeling of white adipocytes as well as lipid metabolism of beige adipose.

MicroRNA-103/107 Regulate Programmed Necrosis and Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury Through Targeting FADD.

RATIONALE: Necrosis is one of the main forms of cardiomyocyte death in heart disease. Recent studies have demonstrated that certain types of necrosis are regulated and programmed dependent on the activation of receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase (RIPK) 1 and 3 which may be negatively regulated by Fas-associated protein with death domain (FADD). In addition, microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs have been shown to play important roles in various biological processes recently. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that microRNA-103/107 and H19 can participate in the regulation of RIPK1- and RIPK3-dependent necrosis in fetal cardiomyocyte-derived H9c2 cells and myocardial infarction through targeting FADD. METHODS AND RESULTS: Our results show that FADD participates in H2O2-induced necrosis by influencing the formation of RIPK1 and RIPK3 complexes in H9c2 cells. We further demonstrate that miR-103/107 target FADD directly. Knockdown of miR-103/107 antagonizes necrosis in the cellular model and also myocardial infarction in a mouse ischemia/reperfusion model. The miR-103/107-FADD pathway does not participate in tumor necrosis factor-α-induced necrosis. In exploring the molecular mechanism by which miR-103/107 are regulated, we show that long noncoding RNA H19 directly binds to miR-103/107 and regulates FADD expression and necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reveal a novel myocardial necrosis regulation model, which is composed of H19, miR-103/107, and FADD. Modulation of their levels may provide a new approach for preventing myocardial necrosis.

[Characterization of processing batch for preparation of radix scutellariae based on dependent component analysis and infrared spectrometry].

Dependent component analysis (DCA) was applied to directly estimate source spectral profiles from IR spectra of synthetic mixtures and characterize processing batch for preparation of radix scutellariae. The results show that DCA can estimate information of dependent components (DCs) from the measured infrared spectral (IR) signal obtained during the processing batch for preparation of radix scutellariae, and the estimated information of DCs is corresponding to the IR features of the active components of scutelliare; by inspection of the change trends of the estimated DCs, the endpoint of the processing batch was determined as 55 min. The proposed approach provides a novel way for process analysis and endpoint determination of procedure for preparation of scutellariae.

Magnetic Fe3O4 embedded chitosan-crosslinked-polyacrylamide composites with enhanced removal of food dye: Characterization, adsorption and mechanism.

The water solubility in acid solution, relative low adsorption capacities and unsatisfactory separation performance limit application of traditional chitosan-based adsorbents in wastewater treatment. To break the limitation, a hydrophilic magnetic Fe3O4 embedded chitosan-crosslinked-polyacrylamide composites (abbreviated as m-CS-c-PAM) were prepared by a two-step method. The m-CS-c-PAM composites were systematically characterized using SEM, XRD, FTIR, VSM, TGA and BET. Sunset yellow (SY) was selected as model food dye to investigate adsorption kinetics and thermodynamic parameters of food dye adsorption onto m-CS-c-PAM. Compared with magnetic Fe3O4/chitosan, m-CS-c-PAM can adapt to a wider range of pH (2-10) and resist the presence of inorganic salts. m-CS-c-PAM was proved to have high adsorption capacity (359.71 mg g-1) for SY dye at 298 K, much higher than magnetic Fe3O4/chitosan and many reported adsorbents. Moreover, m-CS-c-PAM could be rapidly and efficiently separated from treated solution within 15 s by an external magnet and regenerated by NaOH solution. With its excellent adsorption capacity, pH-independent adsorption capability for food dye, easy and convenient separation ability, satisfactory reusability, m-CS-c-PAM can be a promising material for food wastewater treatment.

Addition of venetoclax to myeloablative conditioning regimens for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in high-risk AML.

BACKGROUND: Venetoclax monotherapy is an effective option for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Venetoclax has also been used in non-myeloablative conditioning allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for high-risk AML with a tolerable toxicity profile. However, the efficacy and safety of a venetoclax-containing myeloablative conditioning (MAC) allo-HSCT regimen for high-risk AML have not been evaluated. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a MAC regimen containing venetoclax for high-risk AML. STUDY DESIGN: From 25 February 2021 to 4 September 2022, a total of 31 patients with high-risk AML who underwent allo-HSCT and a MAC regimen with venetoclax were analyzed. RESULTS: At the time of transplantation, 21 patients were in first complete remission (CR1), 4 were in a second complete remission (CR2), and 6 in non-remission (NR). Twenty-four patients (77.4%) were minimal residual disease (MRD)-positive before transplant. The FLT3-ITD gene mutation was present in 51.6% of patients. NUP98 rearrangement, MLL rearrangement or MLL-PTD and DEK::CAN fusion genes were found in 5 (16.1%), 7(22.6%) and 2 (6.5%) patients, respectively. Twenty-nine (93.6%) patients underwent haploidentical allo-HSCT. The median follow-up time was 278 days (range: 52-632 days). The 100-day cumulative incidence of grade 3 to 4 acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) was 16.1% (95%CI, 7.2-36.0%). The 180-day cumulative incidence of moderate to severe chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) was 7.1% (95%CI, 1.9-26.9%). Cumulative incidence of 100-day cytomegalovirus (CMV) viraemia and 100-day Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) viraemia was 61.6% (95%CI, 46.5-81.4%) and 3.2% (95%CI, 0.4-22.2%), respectively. The 600-day overall survival (OS) and leukemia-free survival (LFS) were 80.9% (95%CI, 63.5-93.6%) and 81.3% (95%CI, 64.2-93.7%), respectively. The 600-day relapse incidence (RI) and non-relapse mortality (NRM) was 6.9% (95%CI, 1.8-26.3%) and 11.7% (95%CI, 3.9-35.0%). CONCLUSION: Our study shows that the addition of venetoclax to a MAC allo-HSCT was feasible, safe and effective for high-risk AML patients.

CsHscB Derived from a Liver Fluke Clonorchis Sinensis Ameliorates Cholestatic Hepatic Fibrosis in a Mouse Model of Sclerosing Cholangitis.

BACKGROUND: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease characterized by inflammatory fibrosis usually involving the whole biliary tree. However, there are very limited treatment options to treat this disease. Our previous study found a lipid-protein rCsHscB from a liver fluke - Clonorchis sinensis, which had full capacities of immune regulation. Therefore, we investigated the role of rCsHscB in a mouse model of sclerosing cholangitis induced by xenobiotic 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine (DDC) to explore whether this protein had potential therapeutic value for PSC. METHODS: Mice were fed 0.1% DDC for 4 weeks and treated with CsHscB (30 µg/mouse, intraperitoneal injection, once every 3 days); the control group was given an equal amount of PBS or CsHscB under normal diet conditions. All the mice were sacrificed at 4 weeks for the evaluation of biliary proliferation, fibrosis, and inflammation. RESULTS: rCsHscB treatment attenuated DDC-induced liver congestion and enlargement and significantly decreased the upregulation of serum AST and ALT levels. The administration of rCsHscB to DDC-fed mice significantly decreased cholangiocyte proliferation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production compared to mice fed with DDC alone. Also, rCsHscB treatment showed a decreased expression of α-SMA in the liver and other markers of liver fibrosis (Masson staining, Hydroxyproline content, and collagen deposit). More interestingly, DDC-fed mice treated with rCsHscB showed a significant up-regulation of PPAR-γ expression, which was similar to control mice, indicating the involvement of PPAR-γ signaling in the protective action of rCsHscB. CONCLUSION: Overall, our data show that rCsHscB attenuates the progression of cholestatic fibrosis induced by DDC and supports the potential for manipulating the parasite-derived molecule to treat certain immune-mediated disorders.

Clonorchis sinensis infection induces hepatobiliary injury via disturbing sphingolipid metabolism and activating sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 2.

Clonorchis sinensis (C. sinensis) infection induces severe hepatobiliary injuries, which can cause inflammation, periductal fibrosis, and even cholangiocarcinoma. Sphingolipid metabolic pathways responsible for the generation of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and its receptor S1P receptors (S1PRs) have been implicated in many liver-related diseases. However, the role of S1PRs in C. sinensis-mediated biliary epithelial cells (BECs) proliferation and hepatobiliary injury has not been elucidated. In the present study, we found that C. sinensis infection resulted in alteration of bioactive lipids and sphingolipid metabolic pathways in mice liver. Furthermore, S1PR2 was predominantly activated among these S1PRs in BECs both in vivo and in vitro. Using JTE-013, a specific antagonist of S1PR2, we found that the hepatobiliary pathological injuries, inflammation, bile duct hyperplasia, and periductal fibrosis can be significantly inhibited in C. sinensis-infected mice. In addition, both C. sinensis excretory-secretory products (CsESPs)- and S1P-induced activation of AKT and ERK1/2 were inhibited by JTE-013 in BECs. Therefore, the sphingolipid metabolism pathway and S1PR2 play an important role, and may serve as potential therapeutic targets in hepatobiliary injury caused by C. sinensis-infection.

Diaqua-bis-{5-carb-oxy-2-[(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)meth-yl]-1H-imidazole-4-carboxyl-ato}zinc.

In the title compound, [Zn(C(8)H(6)N(5)O(4))(2)(H(2)O)(2)], the six-coordinate Zn(II) ion, which is located on an inversion center, has a distorted octa-hedral configuration. Each 5-carb-oxy-2-[(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)meth-yl]-1H-imidazole-4-carboxyl-ate ligand chelates to the Zn(II) ion through a triazole N atom and a carboxyl-ate O atom in the equatorial plane. The coordination sphere is completed by two water mol-ecules in axial positions. There is an intra-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bond in the ligand. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via inter-molecular O-H⋯O, O-H⋯N and N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional structure.

Molecular characteristics of Brucella melitensis isolates from humans in Qinghai Province, China.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of human brucellosis in Qinghai Province of China has been increasing rapidly, with confirmed cases distributed across 31 counties. However, the epidemiology of brucellosis transmission has not been fully elucidated. To characterize the infecting strains isolated from humans, multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeats analysis (MLVA) and whole-genome single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based approaches were employed. METHODS: Strains were isolated from two males blood cultures that were confirmed Brucella melitensis positive following biotyping and MLVA. Genomic DNA was extracted from these two strains, and whole-genome sequencing was performed. Next, SNP-based phylogenetic analysis was performed to compare the two strains to 94 B. melitensis strains (complete genome and draft genome) retrieved from online databases. RESULTS: The two Brucella isolates were identified as B. melitensis biovar 3 (QH2019001 and QH2019005) following conventional biotyping and were found to have differences in their variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) using MLVA-16. Phylogenetic examination assigned the 96 strains to five genotype groups, with QH2019001 and QH2019005 assigned to the same group, but different subgroups. Moreover, the QH2019005 strain was assigned to a new subgenotype, IIj, within genotype II. These findings were then combined to determine the geographic origin of the two Brucella strains. CONCLUSIONS: Utilizing a whole-genome SNP-based approach enabled differences between the two B. melitensis strains to be more clearly resolved, and facilitated the elucidation of their different evolutionary histories. This approach also revealed that QH2019005 is a member of a new subgenotype (IIj) with an ancient origin in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

ß2-Adrenergic Receptor Enhances the Alternatively Activated Macrophages and Promotes Biliary Injuries Caused by Helminth Infection.

The autonomic nervous system has been studied for its involvement in the control of macrophages; however, the mechanisms underlying the interaction between the adrenergic receptors and alternatively activated macrophages (M2) remain obscure. Using FVB wild-type and beta 2 adrenergic receptors knockout, we found that ß2-AR deficiency alleviates hepatobiliary damage in mice infected with C. sinensis. Moreover, ß2-AR-deficient mice decrease the activation and infiltration of M2 macrophages and decrease the production of type 2 cytokines, which are associated with a significant decrease in liver fibrosis in infected mice. Our in vitro results on bone marrow-derived macrophages revealed that macrophages from Adrb2-/- mice significantly decrease M2 markers and the phosphorylation of ERK/mTORC1 induced by IL-4 compared to that observed in M2 macrophages from Adrb2+/+ . This study provides a better understanding of the mechanisms by which the ß2-AR enhances type 2 immune response through the ERK/mTORC1 signaling pathway in macrophages and their role in liver fibrosis.

[Application characteristics of abdominal acupuncture based on data mining technique].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the disease spectrum and predominant diseases treated by abdominal acupuncture by data mining and analysis of journal articles on abdominal acupuncture, and to provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: Based on the database of abdominal acupuncture established by the research group, the data mining technique was used for the analysis and extraction of the articles on abdominal acupuncture included in this study. RESULTS: A total of 788 original journal articles were included. Six departments and 96 disease categories, among which there were 45 internal diseases (46.84%) and 18 surgical diseases (18.75%) were involved. As for the diseases involved, cervical spondylosis had the highest frequency of 84, followed by low back and leg pain with a frequency of 77 and stroke sequela with a frequency of 67. Of all 788 studies, 519 (65.86%) used abdominal acupuncture combined with other therapies with a total frequency of 552, among which acupuncture had the highest frequency of 135 (24.46%), followed by oral administration of traditional Chinese medicine with a frequency of 81 (14.67%) and moxibustion with a frequency of 80 (14.49%). Abdominal acupuncture had a marked clinical effect in the treatment of various diseases, with the highest effective rate of 95.10% in surgical diseases. CONCLUSION: Abdominal acupuncture has a wide disease spectrum and is most frequently used for the treatment of cervical spondylosis, with a marked clinical effect. Abdominal acupuncture has unique therapeutic characteristics and advantages, but it can achieve a better clinical effect when combined with other therapies.

[Regularities of clinical application of hand acupuncture therapy to treatment of various diseases based on data mining].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the regularities of clinical application of hand acupuncture therapy to the treatment of diseases of different departments by using data mining technique, so as to provide a reference for clinical practice. METHODS: We searched papers, academic dissertations and case reports (published in journals from Jan 1, 1953 to December 31, 2017) from databases of China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI), VIP, and Wanfang, and also searched papers from medical books about hand acupuncture treatment of different diseases/illness by using keywords of "hand acupuncture" and "hand acupoints"， followed by constructing a database after sorting, screening, recording, extracting, and statistical analysis by using a computer. Then, the data mining was conducted for summarizing the characteristics and rules of the hand acupuncture therapy in clinical application. RESULTS: The hand acupuncture therapy in Chinese medical journals was found to be applied to various clinical departments, with the frequency from high to low successively being 16 types of diseases (37.21%) in the surgery, 15 diseases (34.88%) in the internal medicine, 2 diseases (4.65%) in the pediatrics, 8 diseases (18.60%) in the ophthalmology-otorhinolaryngology, 1 disease (2.33%) in the genecology and 1 disease (2.33%) in the dermatology. In the treatment of diseases, the cure plus markedly effective rate of hand acupuncture was found to be highest for diseases of the pediatrics (90.65%), and was 88.45% surgery, 78.06% internal medicine, 89.96% ophthalmology-otorhinolaryngology, 60.61% gynecology, and 67.73% dermatology, respectively. When hand acupuncture used, the acupoints of the hand region on both sides, healthy side and affected side were often selected, and movement exercise was often used in combination, particularly for problems of the surgery. In the collected medical records and 6 acupuncture books, the hand acupuncture was employed for treatment of 34 and 123 kinds of diseases or problems, respectively, with the tissue injury, lumbocrural pain being most frequently seen in the records, and abdominal pain, lumbocrural, chest obstruction, etc. most frequently seen in the acupuncture books. CONCLUSION: Hand acupuncture therapy is widely used in the treatment of many clinical problems of different departments, such as tissue injury, leg pain, etc. of the surgery; abdominal pain, asthma, etc. of the internal medicine; infantile enuresis, diarrhea, etc. of the pediatrics. Acupoints of the hand on the unilateral side are frequently employed and may have a better therapeutic effect.

[Exploration of dominant diseases and clinical application characteristics of wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy based on data mining technology].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the literature regarding wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy by data mining technology, and the dominant diseases of wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy were summarized to provide reference for evaluation of specificity effect of wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy. METHODS: The journal articles regarding wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy from the CNKI, WANFANG, and VIP since January 1, 1975 to December 31, 2017, and the medical cases regarding wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy in Practical Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture Therapy and Microacupuncture System Diagnosis and Treatment were retrieved. Based on the disease types of wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy in the journal articles and medical cases, the association rules method of data mining technology was applied to calculate frequent itemsets. The self-developed database platform for wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy was used to extract and summarize the information to explore the rules of clinical application. RESULTS: The scope of disease involved a total of 7 disease entities in the literature regarding wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy. In the journal articles, there were 83 disease types and the most common surgical diseases were soft tissue injury and periarthritis of shoulder, the frequency were 34 and 24 times respectively. The total effective rates of wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy were 92.74% in internal medicine, 91.39% in surgery, 91.51% in gynecology, 90.88% in dermatology, 96.20% in pediatric, 89.05% in ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology and 88.78% in psychiatry. In the medical cases of wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy, there were 118 disease types and the most common diseases were pain and Bi syndrome, herpes zoster was also a common disease. Psychiatric diseases used more wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy, and the common diseases were anxiety and mania. CONCLUSION: Wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy is widely used in treatment of clinical diseases and has significant therapeutic effects. It is mostly used in the treatment of surgery, internal medicine (neurology particularly), dermatology (herpes zoster particularly). Besides, the wrist-ankle acupuncture therapy is also applicable in the treatment of diseases of ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology, gynecology, pediatric and psychiatry.

[Features of clinical application of eye acupuncture therapy revealed by data mining].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the features, dominant indications and application regularities of eye acupuncture therapy in clinical practice. METHODS: We first collected original articles, academic dissertations, conference articles, and case reports from databases of CNKI, Wanfang, and Chinese biomedical literature (CBM) from Jan. 1 of 1980 to Dec. 31 of 2017, and medical records from medical books of Zhonghua Yan Zhen (Chinese Eye Acupuncture Therapy), Yanzhen Shijian Lu (Records of Application of Eye Acupuncture Therapy), and Peng Jing-shan's Yanzhen Liaofa Yanjiu (Peng Jing-shan's Eye Acupuncture Therapy) by using keyword of "eye acupuncture". Then, we established an "Eye-acupuncture Database" after sorting, screening, typing-in, checking, and extraction of the collected data by SQL server 2005 and 2005 Analysis Services (SASS), followed by analysis of the dominant indications, needling methods, needle manipulations, principles for acupoint selection, and clinical effect. RESULTS: Among the 850 articles retrieved, 178 were eligible to be subjected to analysis, including 42 disorders/diseases in 7 categories. The eye acupuncture therapy has the highest application frequency for 19 types of disorders/diseases of the internal medicine, such as sequela of apoplexy, hiccup, insomnia, vertigo, hypertension, etc., followed by head and body pain (7 types: headache, lumbago, sciatica, shoulder pain, etc.), disorders of the ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology (deafness, squinting eyes, dry eye syndrome, amblyopia, etc.), traumatic injury, gynecopathy, acute pain (biliary colic, renal colic). The effect rate was 95.87% for disorders of the gynecopathy, 95.54% for head and body pain, 94.53% for traumatic skin injury, 92.16% for emergency, 91.98% for disorders of the five sense organs, 91.43% for problems of the internal medicine, etc. Regarding the principle of acupoint selection, acupoints were chosen mainly according to the meridian running (146 articles), local region of the eye (14 articles) and diseased location (153 articles). A total of 157 articles have a marked description about the needling methods, including horizontal needling (81 articles), intra-orbital straight needling (22 articles), extra-orbital oblique needling (13 articles), etc. The duration of needle retaining was mostly from 15 to 30 minutes, and the handle-scraping was frequently adopted (34 articles), and the overall treatment frequency ranged from 11 to 20 times. In regard to the medical records, a total of 53 types of disorders were involved, including 37 types of the internal medicine such as stroke sequelae (34 articles), facial paralysis (11 articles), etc. The acupoints were selected according to the local region of eye (129 articles), the needle insertion involved horizontal needling (102 articles), and cured rate reported was higher than 90%. CONCLUSION: Eye acupuncture therapy is widely used for a variety of disorders and has a positive effect, particularly for stroke sequelae and various acute and chronic pain problems.

Acid stabilization of Bacillus licheniformis alpha amylase through introduction of mutations.

This paper provided further understanding of the relationships between acid resistance and structural features of different mutants in Bacillus licheniformis alpha amylase (BLA) due to the changes of two crucial positions Leu134 and Ser320. In order to investigate effect of the two positions on the acid stability, we described the detailed characterization of wild-type and the single mutants L134R and S320A as well as the double mutant L134R/S320A. The highest k(cat)/Km with pH 4.5, approximately 14 times that of wild type, was observed in L134R/S320A. The k(cat)/Km corresponding to L134R and S320A were at an intermediate values between those for wild type and L134R/S320A. In addition, compared with wild type, which had a rapid decline of the activity, L134R/S320A could maintain its activity strongly in low pH. Meanwhile, lower tolerance of L134R and S320A in acidic conditions than that of L134R/S320A was determined. Surprisingly, the acid-resistant capability of L134R/S320A was significantly enhanced by directed evolution. These results, combined with three-dimensional structure analysis, show that the electrostatic effects play a significant role in determining the stability of BLA at two crucial positions, 134 and 320.

[Data Mining-revealed Characteristics of Clinical Application of Scalp Acupuncture].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the regularity and characteristics of clinical application of scalp acupuncture therapy for different types of clinical conditions so as to provide a reference for clinical practice. METHODS: In the present study, "head acupuncture" and"scalp acupuncture" were used as the keywords to search papers and academic dissertations having definite standards for diagnosis and therapeutic effect assessment and published in journals and academic conferences collected in database China National Knowledge Internet(CNKI) from January 1 of 1959 to December 31 of 2016, followed by constructing a database after sorting, screening, recording, extracting, and statistical analysis by using a computer. Then, the data mining was conducted for summarizing the indications of disease categories, involved medical departments, needle-insertion methods, needle manipulation techniques, academic schools, and clinical efficacy of scalp acupuncture therapy. RESULTS: As a result, a total of 587 papers met our including criteria were analyzed. The scalp acupuncture therapy was widely employed in the treatment of various clinical conditions of different departments, with the application frequency being the internal medicine (438 times), surgery (75 times), pediatrics (44 times), etc. Of the indicated 102 types of clinical problems, 55 belong to the internal medicine, constituting of 53.92%, particularly the cerebral apoplexy and its sequelae with the top application frequency being 102 and 115 times, respectively. In terms of needle inserting methods mentioned in partial papers (most papers do not mention), fingernail-pressing-aided needle insertion, needle-twirling insertion, fingers-squeezed-needle insertion, particularly the swiftly rotating needle insertion and rapid needle-propelling insertion were most commonly used.Regarding the needle manipulation method, rapid needle twirling technique was frequently employed, usually at a frequency of approximately 200 times per min. In regard to the academic schools, JIAO Shun-fa's scalp acupuncture system was most frequently used, followed by the international standardized scalp acupuncture. The therapeutic effect of scalp acupuncture is effective in the treatment of different conditions of various departments, especially those of the dermatology and gynecology. CONCLUSION: Scalp acupuncture has superiority in the treatment disorders of the internal medicine and has been demonstrated to have positive effects for many types of problems, particularly for apoplexy and its sequelae. Rapid needle-propelling insertion and rapid needle-twirling technique are often employed.

[Rule of Clinical Application of Auricular Acupuncture Based on Data Mining].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the rule of clinical application of auricular acupuncture therapy by data mining in order to guide clinical practice. METHODS: The data base about single auricular acupuncture therapy for different clinical diseases was established by collection, sorting, screening, recording, collation, data extraction, statistic analysis on data samples from journals, academic theses dissertations published in near 60 years. The application rules of auricular therapy including its predominant diseases, stimulus modality, therapeutic effect, and angle of needling were summarized by data mining technique. RESULTS: Auricular acupuncture therapy has been widely and mostly used in the internal medicine department, accounting for 48.56%. Of stimulus modalities, auricular point paste and pressure is applied with the highest frequency, accounting for 64%. The highest effective rate is found in the surgery department diseases(81.41%). Pressure is the most effective stimulus in the internal medi-cine department, and bloodletting combined with paste and pressure in the surgery department, auricular point injection in the gynecology and pediatrics departments, bloodletting in the ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology department, and auricular point incision in the dermatology department. Auricular point injection has remarkable effect. Bloodletting combined with paste and pressure has nearly the same effect as bloodletting in the same medical department except dematology department. Otherwise, angle of needling is rarely studied. CONCLUSIONS: Auricular therapy is widely used and has remarkable effect in treating diseases by using different stimulus modalities. Whereas the angle of needling is rarely studied and future investigation is needed.

[Research of Characteristics of Stimulation Methods and Application of Acupoint in Auricular Needle Therapy Based on Data Mining].

In the present paper, using data mining technology,the authors downloaded information from databases on auricular needle therapy, and obtained data samples from journals and academic dissertations involving the application of auricular needle therapy to treat diseases, and then screened, audited, and extracted the data and performed a statistical analysis. The authors extracted data on the application of auricular needle therapy in the stimulation methods of medicine (needling instrument), selection of the side of ear to treat disease and the number of times the ear was pressed per day and the compression time. In the stimulation methods, the needling instrument varied, the seeds of cowherb Semen Vaccariae were applied in 60.89% of the total stimulation methods. The number of times the ear was pressed per day and the compression time in the clinic were optional. The main points in auricular needle therapy were the contralateral side; there was no significant difference in the effect of a single side or both sides of the ear to treat disease.

Suspended particle effects on ClO2/ultraviolet light combined disinfection of effluent.

The concentration of suspended solids of effluent often varies in a wide range, therefore the dose of ultraviolet light (UV) in disinfection process needs to be adjusted to meet the disinfection criterion at a high frequency, and the desired disinfection effect is difficult to be ensured. The particles size and particle-associated fecal coliform (F.C.) contribution, and their influence on UV disinfection were investigated when ClO2 and UV combined disinfection process was used. The results showed that suspended solids content had a major impact on UV disinfection efficiency, especially the large particle size fraction. Particles (D>10 microm) associated F. C. were difficult to be disinfected and were the main part of the tailings of F.C. inactivation curve. Pre-ClO2 oxidation could reduce the number of particles in effluent, and make large particles decrease to small ones. Therefore, the influence of particles on UV disinfection could be reduced after pre-ClO2 oxidation, and the resistance ability to particle loadings of combined process was enhanced. Moreover, the combined process has a lot of advantages, such as low toxicity, low operational/maintenance costs; it is also convenient to be established in the existing wastewater plant or the new planned one.