Nurses' knowledge of and attitude toward postoperative patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and the associated factors.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative pain control is pivotal for surgical care; it facilitates patient recovery. Although patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been available for decades, inadequate pain control remains. Nurses' knowledge of and attitude toward PCA may influence the efficacy on clinic application. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate nurses' knowledge of and attitude toward postoperative PCA and investigate the associated factors. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. We enrolled registered nurses from a 2200-bed medical center in northern Taiwan within one year. The participants completed an anonymous self-reported PCA knowledge inventory and PCA attitude inventory. Data were analyzed descriptively and associated were tested using logistic regression. RESULTS: With 303 participants enrolled, we discovered that nurses had limited knowledge of and a negative attitude toward PCA. Under half of the participants know how to set up a bolus dose and lockout intervals. The majority held misconceptions regarding side effect management for opioids. The minority agree to increase the dose when a patient experienced persistent pain or suggested the use of PCA. Surprisingly, participants with a bachelor's or master's degree had lower knowledge scores than those with a junior college degree. Those with 6-10 years of work experience also are lower than those with under 5 years of experience. However, the participants with experience of using PCA for patient care had higher knowledge scores and a more positive attitude. CONCLUSIONS: Although postoperative PCA has been available for decades and education programs are routinely provided, nurses had limited knowledge of and a negative attitude toward PCA. A higher education level and longer work experience were not associated with more knowledge. The current education programs on PCA should be revised to enhance their efficacy in delivering up-to-date knowledge and situation training which may convey supportive attitude toward clinical application of PCA.

Protective Effect of Hawthorn Fruit Extract against High Fructose-Induced Oxidative Stress and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Pancreatic ß-Cells.

Hyperglycemia has deleterious effects on pancreatic ß-cells, causing dysfunction and insulin resistance that lead to diabetes mellitus (DM). The possible causes of injury can be caused by glucose- or fructose-induced oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida) fruit has been widely used as a hypolipidemic agent in traditional herbal medicine. The study aimed to investigate whether high fructose-induced pancreatic ß-cell dysfunction could be reversed through amelioration of ER stress by the treatment of polyphenol-enriched extract (PEHE) from hawthorn fruit. The extract was partitioned using ethyl acetate as a solvent from crude water extract (WE) of hawthorn fruits, followed by column fractionation. The results showed that the contents of total polyphenols, flavonoids and triterpenoids in PEHE could be enhanced by 2.2-, 7.7- and 1.1-fold, respectively, in comparison to the original obtained WE from hawthorn fruit. In ER stress studies, a sharp increase in the inhibitory activity on the gene expression levels of GRP79, ATF6, IRE1α and CHOP involved in ER stress was evident when dosages of PEHE at 50-100 µg/mL were used against high-fructose (150 mM)-treated cells. HPLC-MS/MS analysis showed that polyphenols and flavonoids collectively accounted for 87.03% of the total content of PEHE.

Dynamics of immune responses are inconsistent when trauma patients are grouped by injury severity score and clinical outcomes.

The injury severity score (ISS) is used in daily practice to evaluate the severity of trauma patients; however, the score is not always consistent with the prognosis. After injury, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and compensatory anti-inflammatory response syndrome (CARS) are related to the prognosis of trauma patients. We aimed to evaluate the associations between the immune response and prognosis in trauma patients. Patients who admitted to the Trauma Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were eligible. Whole blood samples were collected at admission, and then 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h after admission. Natural killer (NK) cells, lymphocyte subset population and cytokines release were identified using flow cytometry. We grouped patients by their ISS (≤ 25 and > 25 as very severe injury) and ICU stay (≤ 10 days as a short ICU stay and > 10 days as a long ICU stay) for evaluation. Fifty-three patients were enrolled. ICU stay but not ISS was close correlated with activity daily living (ADL) at discharge. Patients with a long ICU stay had an immediate increase in NK cells followed by lymphopenia which persisted for 48 h. Immediate activation of CD8+ T cells and then exhaustion with a higher programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) expression and suppression of CD4+ T cells with a shift to an anti-inflammatory Th2 phenotype were also observed in the patients with a long ICU stay. When the patients were grouped by ISS, the dynamics of immune responses were inconsistent to those when the patients were grouped by ICU stay. Immune responses are associated with the prognosis of trauma patients, however the currently used clinical parameters may not accurately reflect immune responses. Further investigations are needed to identify accurate predictors of prognosis in trauma patients.

Complementary effects of pine bark extract supplementation on inattention, impulsivity, and antioxidative status in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled cross-over study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the complementary effects of polyphenolic compounds from pine bark extract (PE) as a strong antioxidative substrate on the symptoms of inattention and impulsivity in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This was a randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study that included two experimental units (4 weeks with PE supplementation and 4 weeks with placebo supplementation) separated by a 2-week washout period. ADHD participants were supplemented with 25 mg or 50 mg PE. We recruited 20 participants (17 boys and 3 girls) with a mean age of 10.0 ± 2.1 years. PE supplementation caused a significant reduction in the inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity items of SNAP-IV. During the period of PE supplementation, the item of commissions in the Continuous Performance Test III (CPT III) significantly decreased, which was used to evaluate the symptoms of inattention and impulsivity. In addition, the erythrocytic reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione ratio significantly increased, and the plasma TBARs level significantly decreased after 4 weeks of PE supplementation. However, there was no significant correlation between CPT III (commission) and antioxidative status indictors. PE supplementation may have potential effects of ameliorating inattention and impulsivity, and elevating the antioxidative status in children with ADHD.

Applications of Long-Length Carbon Nano-Tube (L-CNT) as Conductive Materials in High Energy Density Pouch Type Lithium Ion Batteries.

Lots of lithium ion battery (LIB) products contain lithium metal oxide LiNi5Co2Mn3O2 (LNCM) as the positive electrode's active material. The stable surface of this oxide results in high resistivity in the battery. For this reason, conductive carbon-based materials, including acetylene black and carbon black, become necessary components in electrodes. Recently, carbon nano-tube (CNT) has appeared as a popular choice for the conductive carbon in LIB. However, a large quantity of the conductive carbon, which cannot provide capacity as the active material, will decrease the energy density of batteries. The ultra-high cost of CNT, compared to conventional carbon black, is also a problem. In this work, we are going to introduce long-length carbon nano-tube s(L-CNT) into electrodes in order to design a reduced-amount conductive carbon electrode. The whole experiment will be done in a 1Ah commercial type pouch LIB. By decreasing conductive carbon as well as increasing the active material in the positive electrode, the energy density of the LNCM-based 1Ah pouch type LIB, with only 0.16% of L-CNT inside the LNCM positive electrode, could reach 224 Wh/kg and 549 Wh/L, in weight and volume energy density, respectively. Further, this high energy density LIB with L-CNT offers stable cyclability, which may constitute valuable progress in portable devices and electric vehicle (EV) applications.

Chondroitin sulfate synthase 1 enhances proliferation of glioblastoma by modulating PDGFRA stability.

Chondroitin sulfate synthases, a family of enzyme involved in chondroitin sulfate (CS) polymerization, are dysregulated in various human malignancies, but their roles in glioma remain unclear. We performed database analysis and immunohistochemistry on human glioma tissue, to demonstrate that the expression of CHSY1 was frequently upregulated in glioma, and that it was associated with adverse clinicopathologic features, including high tumor grade and poor survival. Using a chondroitin sulfate-specific antibody, we showed that the expression of CHSY1 was significantly associated with CS formation in glioma tissue and cells. In addition, overexpression of CHSY1 in glioma cells enhanced cell viability and orthotopic tumor growth, whereas CHSY1 silencing suppressed malignant growth. Mechanistic investigations revealed that CHSY1 selectively regulates PDGFRA activation and PDGF-induced signaling in glioma cells by stabilizing PDGFRA protein levels. Inhibiting PDGFR activity with crenolanib decreased CHSY1-induced malignant characteristics of GL261 cells and prolonged survival in an orthotopic mouse model of glioma, which underlines the critical role of PDGFRA in mediating the effects of CHSY1. Taken together, these results provide information on CHSY1 expression and its role in glioma progression, and highlight novel insights into the significance of CHSY1 in PDGFRA signaling. Thus, our findings point to new molecular targets for glioma treatment.

Effectiveness of Essence of Chicken in Improving Cognitive Function in Young People Under Work-Related Stress: A Randomized Double-Blind Trial.

Work-related stress (WS) can result in considerable and extensive changes in physiological and psychological performance. WS beyond the optimal levels induces anxiety, confusion, exhaustion, and burnout. Chronic WS affects neurocognitive performance, particularly attention and visuospatial memory. Essence of chicken (EC) has been reported to improve neurocognitive function after mental stress.To investigate the beneficial effects of EC in improving neurocognitive performance under WS, we conducted a randomized, double blind trial. Total 102 young workers in New Taipei City with high WS, evaluated using the Individual Subjective Perception Job Stress Scale scores (>36 for job leaders and 33 for nonleaders) were recruited. Fifty-one participants received 70 mL of EC and 51 received a placebo daily for 2 weeks. Blood tests and neurocognitive assessment were performed before treatment, at the end of treatment, and 2 weeks after treatment.EC improved the performance of participants with high depression scores in the form-color associative memory test, used for assessing short-term memory. Although creatinine and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) levels increased in week 2, but the levels returned to the baseline in week 4. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels decreased in week 4.EC significantly improved short-term memory in participants with high WS and concomitant depressive mood, although it slightly increased GPT and creatinine levels and reduced BUN levels. The long-term treatment effects of EC warrant further investigation.

[Acupuncture for premature ovarian failure: a prospective cohort study].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy and action mechanism of acupuncture for premature ovarian failure (POF). METHODS: According to prospective cohort study design, 30 cases were included. Based on theory of regulating Chong and Conception Vessels as well as soothing the liver and calming the nerves, acupuncture at Guanyuan (CV 4), Dahe (KI 12), Taixi (KI 3), Taichong (LR 3), Baihui (GV 20) was applied, three times per week and 3 months were considered as one session. Totally two sessions were performed. The menstruation condition, estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and scores of the clinical perimenopausal symptoms were taken as treatment outcomes. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 86.7% (26/30) and the cured rate was 16.7% (5/30). The recovery rate of menstruation was 16.7% (5/30) and the regain rate of menstruation was 56.7% (17/30). After the treatment, the level of E2 was significantly increased from (45.41 +/- 18. 09) pmol/L to (59.07 +/- 24.21) pmol/L (P < 0.05), and the score of perimenopausal symptoms was obviously reduced from 14.28 +/- 8. 30 to 4.04 +/- 3.28 (P < 0.01). However, no statistical differences could be seen in FSH before and after treatment (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture has certain effect on improving menstruation and perimenopausal symptoms in POF patients, which is likely to he related with increasing the level of E2.

[Development of researches on acupuncture-assisted fertilization outside of China].

Increasing evidence shows that acupuncture therapy may have a role in promoting fertilization. Authors of the present paper collected the related articles in English published from January 2003 to May 2013 in databases of Ovid Medline, Maternity and Infant Care and Medline (Pubmed), and made an analysis. Results of many randomized controlled clinical trials (RCT) indicated that acupuncture intervention had a positive role in raising pregnancy rate, fetus surviving rate of the transplanted embryo, and increasing the neuropeptide Y content in the ollicular fluid in patients experiencing embryo transplantation, and in raising survival rate of zygote, conception rate of embryo transplantation, and in improving azoospermia in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization. But many systematic reviews and Meta-analysis did not support the above-mentioned conclusion of acupuncture therapy about promoting fertilization. The authors hold that despite of dominated positive outcomes of RCT for acupuncture-assisted fertilization, further well designed RCT are still warranted for providing further definite and convincing evidence.

[Progress of researches on specificity of acupoints in China in recent 10 years].

After searching for literature about the specificity of acupoints from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database (in Chinese) and MEDLINE (in English), published by Chinese scholars from June 2003 to June 2012, the authors made a systemic analysis on the retrieved papers. It was found that most Chinese scholars took a positive viewpoint about the specificity of acupoints in morphological structure, biophysical characters, pathological reactions, acupuncture stimulation-induced responses in different brain regions and therapeutic effects. However, the research methods and comprehensive analysis of abundant research results need being improved, and the conclusion should be validated extensively. Moreover, the research on the affecting factors of specificity of acupoints will be one of the major directions.

[Influence of electroacupuncture stimulation of delivery-facilitating acupoints with different stimulating parameters on serum endocrine hormones of late-stage pregnant rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the influence of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation of "Hegu" (LI 4) and "Sanyinjiao"(SP 6; a classical delivery-facilitating acupoint recipe) at different parameters on endocrine hormone levels of late-stage pregnant rats, so as to find the better stimulation parameters for delivery facilitation. METHODS: Ninety-six female Wistar rats were randomly divided into eight groups: normal control (normal), pregnancy (model), EA-15 Hz, EA-30 Hz, EA-50 Hz, EA-2 Hz/ 15 Hz, EA-2 Hz/30 Hz and EA-2 Hz/50 Hz, with 12 rats in each group except EA-30 Hz group (n = 10). EA stimulation (0.2 to 0. 3 mA) was delivered to bilateral LI 4 for 20 min and then bilateral SP 6 for 5 min (25 min). The contents of serum estradiol (E2), progesterone (P) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were detected by ELISA. RESULTS: Compared with the normal group, serum E2, P and PGE2 contents were significantly increased in the pregnancy model group (P<0.01), and E2/ P level was downregulated mildly (P>0.05). Compared with the model group, the contents of serum E2 in the EA-15 Hz, EA-30 Hz, EA-50 Hz, EA-2 Hz/15 Hz and EA-2 Hz/50 Hz groups, serum PGE2 contents in the EA-15 Hz, EA-30 Hz and EA-2 Hz/50 Hz groups, and E2/P levels in the EA-15 Hz, EA-30 Hz, EA-50 Hz and EA-2 Hz/50 Hz groups were significantly increased (P<0.01, P<0.05), whereas serum P contents in the EA-15 Hz, EA-30 Hz, EA-50 Hz and EA-2 Hz/50 Hz groups were significantly down-regulated (P<0. 01, P<0. 05). The effects of EA-2 Hz/50 Hz group were significantly superior to those of EA-2 Hz/15 Hz and EA-2 Hz/ 30 Hz groups in raising serum E2 and E2/P levels (P<0.05, P<0.01). No significant differences were found among the EA-15 Hz, EA-30 Hz, EA-50 Hz and EA-2 Hz/50 Hz groups in raising serum E2, PGE2 and E2/P levels, and among the EA-30 Hz, EA-50 Hz and EA-2 Hz/50 Hz groups in lowering serum P levels (P>0. 05). It displayed that the effects of EA at 15 Hz, 30 Hz and 2 Hz/50 Hz on the abovementioned 4 indexes were relatively better. CONCLUSION: EA of LI 4 and SP 6 at 15 Hz, 30 Hz and 2 Hz/ 50 Hz can effectively up-regulate serum E2, PGE2 and E2/P levels and down-regulate serum P content in pregnancy rats, which may contribute to its effect in promoting labor.

Sex-specific correlations of individual heterozygosity, parasite load, and scalation asymmetry in a sexually dichromatic lizard.

Heterozygosity-fitness correlations (HFCs) provide insights into the genetic bases of individual fitness variation in natural populations. However, despite decades of study, the biological significance of HFCs is still under debate. In this study, we investigated HFCs in a large population of the sexually dimorphic lizard Takydromus viridipunctatus (Lacertidae). Because of the high prevalence of parasitism from trombiculid mites in this lizard, we expect individual fitness (i.e., survival) to decrease with increasing parasite load. Furthermore, because morphological asymmetry is likely to influence individuals' mobility (i.e., limb asymmetry) and male biting ability during copulation (i.e., head asymmetry) in this species, we also hypothesize that individual fitness should decrease with increasing morphological asymmetry. Although we did not formally test the relationship between morphological asymmetry and fitness in this lizard, we demonstrated that survival decreased with increasing parasite load using a capture-mark-recapture data set. We used a separate sample of 140 lizards to test the correlations between individual heterozygosity (i.e., standardized mean d(2) and HL based on 10 microsatellite loci) and the two fitness traits (i.e., parasite load and morphological asymmetry). We also evaluated and excluded the possibility that single-locus effects produced spurious HFCs. Our results suggest male-only, negative correlations between individual heterozygosity and parasite load and between individual heterozygosity and asymmetry, suggesting sex-specific, positive HFCs. Male T. viridipunctatus with higher heterozygosity tend to have lower parasite loads (i.e., higher survival) and lower asymmetry, providing a rare example of HFC in reptiles.

[Progress on the research of acupuncture's role in anti-early pregnancy in recent 9 years].

Through CNKI retrieval, 40 articles were selected from Medical Journals published between January 2003 and December 2011, and the study designs, intervention methods and conclusions of the articles were analyzed. It turned out that in the area of clinical research, the main usage of acupuncture was assist treatment of artificial abortion and drug-induced abortion: in artificial abortion, acupuncture can play a role in analgesia, artificial abortion syndrome relieving, and cervix dilating, while in the drug induced abortion, acupuncture can play a role in improving completed abortion rate, accelerating foetal sac release, decreasing side effects and regulating postoperative bleeding. In mechanism research, the effect of acupuncture on uterine tissue was revealed in terms of neuroendocrine. Although the certain role of acupuncture in assisting artificial abortion and drug-induced abortion has been confirmed in numerous clinical trials, its mechanism revealing was limited. The further study should focus on improving research method, acupuncture manipulation standardization and stimulation parameters optimization. What's more, the revealing of acupuncture's role in anti-early pregnancy should be emphasized to improve its effectiveness and scientificalness.

[Effect of electroacupuncture at different frequencies on serum estradiol and progesterone levels in late-stage pregnancy rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at different frequencies on serum estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), thromboxance B2 (TXB2), 6-Keton-prostaglandin F 1 alpha (6-keto-PGF1alpha) contents in late pregnancy rats so as to study its mechanisms underlying labor promotion. METHODS: A total of 66 late-stage pregnant Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: normal control, late-pregnancy model (model), 2 Hz-EA, 20 Hz-EA, 50 Hz-EA and 100 Hz-EA groups, with 11 rats in each group. On the 19th day after pregnancy, EA (2 Hz, 20 Hz, 50 Hz, 100 Hz, 0.1 mA) was applied to bilateral "Hegu" (LI 4) for 20 min first and to bilateral "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) for 5 min afterwards. Serum E2, P, TXB2 and 6-keto-PGF1alpha contents were assayed by radioimmunoassay, and the ratios of E2/P and TXB2/6-keto-PGF1alpha were calculated. RESULTS: Compared to the normal control group, serum E2 contents in 2 Hz-EA, 20 Hz-EA, 50 Hz-EA and 100 Hz-EA groups were increased significantly (P < 0.001, P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Compared to the model group, serum E2 levels in the 2 Hz-EA and 20 Hz-EA groups were up-regulated further significantly (P < 0.05). Comparison among the four EA groups showed that serum P level in the 100 Hz-EA group was significantly higher than those in the 20 Hz-EA and 50 Hz-EA groups (P < 0.05). Compared to the normal control group, the contents of serum TXB2 and the ratios of E2/P in both 2 Hz-EA and 50 Hz-EA groups were significantly higher (P < 0.05, P < 0.001, P< 0.01). CONCLUSION: Both 2 Hz and 20 Hz EA can effectively increase serum E2 content, and 2 Hz and 50 Hz EA can raise serum TXB2 and E2/P levels in late pregnancy rats, which may contribute to their effects in strengthening the uterine contractility to promote labor by regulating hormone secretion.

[Current state of clinical application of acupuncture therapy in maternity department in countries outside China].

In the present review, the authors sumarrize current situations about application of acupuncture and moxibustion therapies in the maternity department in countries outside China in accordance with 68 articles in English published from 2000 to 2011. The clinical application includes: 1) dilivery processing, 2) lumbo-sacrodynia, 3) dilivery pain, 4) pregnancy problems, 5) problems of post-dilivery, 6) conversion of fetal breech presentation, 7) nausea and vomitting during early pregnancy, 8) safety, 9) depression during pregnancy, and 10) blood supply of fetus. In addition, the retrieved papers include 13 review papers, 4 survey papers and one animal study. Although the purposes of those clinical trials are different, most of them focus on acupuncture analgesia. Despite most of those clinical trials achieved positive results particularly in pain relief, nausea remission, etc., and majority of the pregnant women were willing to accept acupuncture intervention, most systematic reviews or meta-analysis do not show conclusively positive results, and stress that further well designed researches are warranted for providing convincing evidence

[Survey on the evaluation indices of acupuncture clinical trials for primary dysmenorrhea in recent 10 years].

Based on the retrieval of literatures at home and abroad from 2000 to 2011, the evaluation indices of acupuncture clinical trials for primary dysmenorrhea (PD) were analyzed. The results indicated that in domestic area the reports were more concerned with the improvement of clinical symptoms and signs while paid less attention on the objective evaluation methodology, on the other hand, the studies abroad generally took many kinds of scales as their evaluation indices and focused on the patients' quality and activity of daily life. The authors suggeste that our clinical research, according to the designed intentions, should combine the general indicators with the specific indicators of diseases to have a more comprehensive evaluation on the effects of acupuncture for PD in clinical practice.

[Discussion on point selection and compatibility of acupuncture formula].

Acupuncture prescription is the key and effectiveness guarantee to acupuncture treatment. Proper selection of acupoint is directly related to the therapeutic effect of acupuncture. Several issues were discussesed, which were acupoint indications, clinical syndrome differentiation and acupoints selection. Acupuncturists should grasp the acupoints characteristic and pay attention to syndrome differentiation. Also they should have flexible selection of acupoints and keep pace with research updates when facing clinical problems in order to maximize the curative effect of acupuncture.

Characterization of the early response of the orchid, Phalaenopsis amabilis, to Erwinia chrysanthemi infection using expression profiling.

Erwinia chrysanthemi is a devastating bacterial pathogen in Phalaenopsis amabilis and causes soft-rotting disease by secretion of cell wall-degrading enzymes. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the interaction of P. amabilis with E. chrysanthemi remain elusive. In this study, early molecular events of the plant in response to the pathogen attack were investigated. The alteration in reactive oxygen species accumulation and peroxidase activity occurred at the site of infection. Subsequently, a systematic sequencing of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) using suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was performed to obtain the first global picture of the assembly of genes involved in the pathogenesis. The majority of the SSH clones showed a high identity with genes coding for proteins that have known roles in redox homeostasis, responses to pathogens and metabolism. A notable number of the SSH clones were those encoding WRKY, MYB and basic leucine zipper transcription factors, indicating the stimulation of intracellular signal transduction. An orchid gene encoding trans-2-enoyl-CoA reductase (ECR) was the most abundant transcripts in the EST library. ECR is an enzyme catalyzing the very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) biosynthesis, and the full-length cDNA of the ECR gene (PaECR1) was obtained. Functional analysis of PaECR1 was conducted by virus-induced gene silencing to knock down the gene expression in P. amabilis. The PaECR1-silenced plants were more susceptible to E. chrysanthemi infection, implying potential roles for VLCFAs in the pathogenesis. In summary, the pathogen-responsive gene expression profiles facilitated a more comprehensive view of the molecular events that underlie this economically important plant-pathogen interaction.

[Effect of the optimized traditional acupuncture prescription for accouchement on cervical ripening in late-stage pregnant rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the mechanism of the optimized traditional acupuncture prescription for accouchement on cervical ripening based on the molecular biology by observing related indices of cervical ripening in late-stage pregnant rats. METHODS: Twenty initial pregnant Wistar rats were randomly divided into an electroacupuncture (EA) group (n = 10) and a model group (n = 10), and other 10 non-pregnancy female rats with same lot were selected as a blank control group. EA group was treated with the optimized traditional acupuncture prescription for accouchement on the 20th day of pregnant, which performed EA at bilateral "Hegu" (LI 4) for 20 min and then at bilateral "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) for 5 min with 2 Hz/50 Hz sparse-dense wave, while the other groups without acupuncture intervention. The contents of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and interleukin 8 (IL-8) in cervix tissue were detected by ELISA method. RESULTS: Compared with the blank control group, the contents of MMP-9 and IL-8 in the model group were increased significantly (both P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, the contents of MMP-9 and IL-8 in the EA group were increased significantly (P < or = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Optimized traditional acupuncture prescription for accouchement can increase the contents of MMP-9 and IL-8 in cervix tissue of late-stage pregnant rats so as to promote cervical ripening, and the mechanism of EA in promoting cervical ripening is explained from the perspective of molecular biology.