Effect of Electroacupuncture at “Fenglong”（ST 40） on Liver Lipid Synthesis and Insulin Resistance in Hyperlipidemic Model Rats / 中医杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the effect and possible mechanism of electroacupuncture （EA） at Fenglong （ST40） on liver lipid synthesis and insulin resistance （IR） in hyperlipidemic （HLP） rats. MethodEighteen rats were randomly divided into three groups， blank group， model group， and EA group， each consisting of six rats. The blank group rats were with fed a basic diet， while those in the model group and EA group were fed high-fat diet for 8 weeks. After modeling， the rats in the EA group received bilateral EA treatment at “Fenglong” （ST 40）. The rats in the model group underwent daily binding treatment， once a day， continuously 5 days a week， for a total of 4 weeks. Following the intervention， the levels of triglycerides （TG） and free fatty acids （FFA） in liver tissue was determined using ELISA. Serum TG， FFA， fasting insulin （FINS）， alanine transaminase （ALT）， aspartate Transaminase （AST）， tumor necrosis factor-ɑ （TNF-ɑ）and interleukin 6 （IL-6） were also measured. The fasting plasma glucose （FBG） assessed using a glucose meter and the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance （HOMA-IR） was calculated. Liver pathology was examined through HE staining and oil red O staining. The expression of hepatic sterol regulator binding protein 1c （SREBP1c）， recombinant fatty acid synthase （FASN） and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 （SCD1） were detected through immunofluorescence. The protein expression levels of liver insulin receptor substrate 1 （IRS1） and tyrosine-phosphorylated insulin receptor substrate 1 （p-IRS1-Tyr） were determined via Western blot. ResultsWhen compared to the blank group， the model group of rats exhibited elevated serum and liver tissue levels of TG and FFA， as well as increased serum levels of AST， ALT， TNF-α， IL-6， FBG， FINS， and HOMA-IR （P＜0.05）. HE staining revealed disordered arrangements of liver cells， indicating widespread fatty degeneration. Oil red O staining showed abundant bright red lipid droplets within liver cell cytoplasm， indicating severe lipid accumulation. The average fluorescence intensity of SREBP1c， FASN， and SCD1 in liver tissue significantly increased （P＜0.05）， while p-IRS1-Tyr protein expression levels significantly decreased （P＜0.05）. In comparison to the model group， the EA group of rats showed significantly reduced serum and liver tissue levels of TG and FFA， along with decreased serum levels of AST， ALT， TNF-α， IL-6， FBG， FINS， and HOMA-IR （P＜0.05）. HE staining indicated more regular arrangements of liver cells， and oil red O staining revealed a significant reduction in liver cell lipid droplets， indicating a less severe degree of lipid accumulation. The average fluorescence intensity of SREBP1c， FASN， and SCD1 in liver tissue significantly decreased （P＜0.05）， while p-IRS1-Tyr protein expression levels significantly increased （P＜0.05）， with no significant difference in IRS1 protein expression （P＞0.05）. ConclusionEA at “Fenglong” （ST 40） can significantly decrease serum lipid in HLP rats， improves liver fat accumulation， and also ameliorate insulin resistance. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of hepatic lipid synthesis molecule expression， reduced serum inflammatory factors， and an increase in insulin substrate receptor phosphorylation levels.

Recognition of Peripheral Lung Cancer and Focal Pneumonia on Chest Computed Tomography Images Based on Convolutional Neural Network.

Introduction: Chest computed tomography (CT) is important for the early screening of lung diseases and clinical diagnosis, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose a method for classifying peripheral lung cancer and focal pneumonia on chest CT images and undertake 5 window settings to study the effect on the artificial intelligence processing results. Methods: A retrospective collection of CT images from 357 patients with peripheral lung cancer having solitary solid nodule or focal pneumonia with a solitary consolidation was applied. We segmented and aligned the lung parenchyma based on some morphological methods and cropped this region of the lung parenchyma with the minimum 3D bounding box. Using these 3D cropped volumes of all cases, we designed a 3D neural network to classify them into 2 categories. We also compared the classification results of the 3 physicians with different experience levels on the same dataset. Results: We conducted experiments using 5 window settings. After cropping and alignment based on an automatic preprocessing procedure, our neural network achieved an average classification accuracy of 91.596% under a 5-fold cross-validation in the full window, in which the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.946. The classification accuracy and AUC value were 90.48% and 0.957 for the junior physician, 94.96% and 0.989 for the intermediate physician, and 96.92% and 0.980 for the senior physician, respectively. After removing the error prediction, the accuracy improved significantly, reaching 98.79% in the self-defined window2. Conclusion: Using the proposed neural network, in separating peripheral lung cancer and focal pneumonia in chest CT data, we achieved an accuracy competitive to that of a junior physician. Through a data ablation study, the proposed 3D CNN can achieve a slightly higher accuracy compared with senior physicians in the same subset. The self-defined window2 was the best for data training and evaluation.

Effects of electroacupuncture at Zusanli on duodenal Caspase-1 and GSDMD of rats with functional dyspepsia / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective:To explore any effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at the Zusanli point on the scorch death of duodenal cells in rats with functional dyspepsia (FD) and possible mechanisms.Methods:Twenty-four 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group and an EA group, each of 8. FD was induced in both the model and EA group rats using iodoacetamide gavage with tail-clip stimulation. After successful modeling the EA group was given acupuncture at the Zusanli point and then connected with a Korean acupuncture point nerve stimulator for 2 weeks. The other 2 groups were not given any intervention. The rats′ body weight was recorded before and after the modeling, as well as 7 and 14 days later. The gastric emptying rate and the small intestine propulsion rate of the three groups were detected right after the EA intervention, and the serum expression levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassays. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reactions were used to detect the transcription levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in the rats′ duodenums, while western blotting was employed to assess the expression of caspase-1 P20 and dermatin D (GSDMD) in their duodenums.Results:After successful modeling, the average body weight of the rats in the model and EA groups was significantly different from that in blank group, and after 7 and 14 days the average body weight of the former groups was significantly different from that of the blank group, with significant differences between the two groups as well. After the EA intervention significant differences were observed in gastric reside and small intestine propulsion rate between the EA group and the model group, as well as between the model and the blank group. After the intervention, there were significant differences between the blank group and the other two groups in the average expression of IL-1β and IL-6 in serum, IL-1β and IL-6 mRNA in the duodenum, as well as the GSDMD and caspase-1 p20 proteins in the duodenum. There were significant differences between the model and EA groups in all of the above measurements.Conclusions:EA at the Zusanli point can significantly reduce the level of scorch death in the duodenum of FD rats, as well as relieve low-grade duodenal inflammation and the clinical symptoms of FD. Its mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of the expression of caspase-1 P20 and GSDMD-N protein, and of inflammatory factors such as IL-1β and IL-6, relieving low-grade duodenal inflammation.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for treatment of emphysema:intravenous versus intratracheal approach / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s transplantation can inhibit experimental emphysema inflammatory reaction and apoptosis, and has been experimental y confirmed to treat severe lung function impairment. OBJECTIVE:To explore the inhibitory effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s transplantation via different ways on inflammatory reaction and apoptosis due to experimental emphysema. METHODS:Female Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group, intravenous group and endotracheal group fol owing model establishment using fumigation plus intratracheal instil ation of porcine pancreatic elastase. In the latter two groups, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s from male rats were injected via the tail vein and the trachea, respectively. In the control group, rats were given PBS via he tail vein and trachea. At 14 days after transplantation, pathological changes of rat lung tissues were observed, cel apoptotic index in alveolar wal cel s and tumor necrosis factorαlevel in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were detected. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the control group, in the intravenous and endotracheal groups,the pathological changes of lung tissues were relieved, tumor necrosis factorαlevel and apoptosis index were reduced significantly (P0.05). These findings indicate that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s transplantation via the tail vein and trachea both can exert obvious therapeutic effects on emphysema. Moreover, cel transplantation via the tail vein is more convenient and easier than that via the trachea in the treatment of emphysema.

Protective effect and mechanism of parthenolide in rats with doxorubicin-induced nephropathy / 中国生化药物杂志

Objective To observe protective effects of parthenolide ( PTN) in rats with doxorubicin-induced nephropathy and its mechanims. Methods 48 male rats were randomly divided into six groups: blank group, model group, vehicle group, and parthenolide-treated group (1.5, 3, 6 mg/kg).The models of doxorubicin-induced nephropathy were established by tail vein injection of 5 mg/kg doxorubicin for one time.After consecutive treatment of PTN for seven days, the BUN and Cr in serum, and nitricoxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitricoxidesynthase (NOS), glutathione peroxidase (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) in renal tissues were detected.The pathological changes of renal tissue was observed by HE method. ResuIts There was significant pathological changes of renal tissue in model group, that showed basophilic change, interstitial inflammatory hyperplasia and inflammatory infiltratio, after PTN 6 mg/kg treatment, the above changes significant improved.The serum BUN and Cr levels in PTN 1.5 mg/kg, PTN 3 mg/kg and PTN 6 mg/kg group were lower than those in model group (P<0.05);there were no significant differences of above indexes between PTN 3 mg/kg, PTN 6 mg/kg group and blank gorup.Compared with model group, the SOD and GSH activity were higher and MDA level was lower in three different dosage of PTN groups (P<0.05); there were no significant differences of SOD activity between PTN 3 mg/kg, PTN 6 mg/kg group and blank gorup; there were no significant differences of GSH activity and MDA level between PTN 6 mg/kg group and blank gorup.The NO level and NOS activity in three different dosage of PTN groups were higher (P<0.05);there were no significant differences of NO level and NOS activity between PTN 6 mg/kg group and blank gorup.ConcIusion Parthenolide has protective effects on doxorubicin-induced nephropathy, and its mechanism might be antioxidative effects.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation suppresses emphysema-induced inflammation and apoptosis / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells transplantation can change the surrounding microenvironment through paracrine mechanisms, and can be employed for treatment of serious damage to lung function through the promotion of angiogenesis, inhibition of apoptosis and maintaining functional stability of autonomic nervous system. OBJECTIVE:To observe the inflammatory reaction in experimental emphysema and inhibition of apoptosis through bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells transplantation. METHODS:Twenty-four Wistar female rats were randomly divided into three groups:healthy control group, model group and experimental group. In the latter two groups, smoking and endotracheal instil ation of porcine pancreatic elastase were performed to establish emphysema models. After modeling, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were injected via tail vein in the experimental group. Pathological changes of the lung, the level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and cellnumber in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid as wel as apoptotic index in lveolar wal s were detected after celltransplantation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In the model and experimental groups, pathological changes of lung tissues were observed to different extent. The lung pathological changes were slighter in the experimental group than the model group (P<0.01). The level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and apoptotic index in lung tissue were lower in the experimental group than the model group (P<0.01). These findings indicate that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells can improve emphysema pathological y through inhibition of inflammatory response and apoptosis in experimental emphysema.

Chemical constituents of n-BuOH extract of Comastoma pedunculatum / 中国中药杂志

Thirteen compoumds were isolated from the n-BuOH portion of the 70% ethanolic extract of Comastoma pedunculatum by a combination of various chromatographic techniques including silica gel, macroporous adsorbent resin, Sephadex LH-20, and preparative HPLC, of which nine were triterpenoid saponins and four were flavone C-glycosides. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data as saikogenin F (1), 3-O-beta-D-fucopyranosylsaikogenin F (2), clinoposaponin XV (3), saikosaponin A (4), 6"-acetylsaikosaponin A (5), clinoposaponin I (6), bupleuroside I (7) , clinoposaponin XII (8) , saikoponin b3 (9), isovitexin (10) , swertisin (11) , isoorientin (12), 3',4',5-trihydroxy-7-methoxy-6-C-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-flavone (13). Compounds 1-10, 12-13 were all isolated from Comastoma genus for the first time.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of 3 Drug Regimes for Infection of Helicobacter Pylori / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of three drug regimes for infection of Helicobacter Pylori (Hp).METHODS:150 patients with peptic ulcer infected by positive Hp were randomly assigned to three groups.They were treated with Lansoprazole,Clarithromycin and amoxicillin (group A,n=50),Rabeprazole,amoxicillin and metronidazole (group B,n=50) or omeprazole,Clarithomycin and amoxicillin (group C,n=50),respectively with course of treatment as 7 days.The observation of clinical efficacy and analysis of cost-effectiveness were conducted.RESULTS:In group A,B,C,the costs were 120.19,62.02,120.75 yuan;the eradication of Hp was 82%,92%,80%;ratio of cost-effectiveness was 146.57,67.41,150.94,respectively;incremental costs were 523.50,440.50.CONCLUSION:The regime for Hp in group B is the best one among 3 groups.