[Effect of deep needling "Tianshu" (ST25) on colonic motility in rats with slow transit constipation].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture of "Tianshu"(ST25) at different depths on colonic transportation function, expressions of colonic substance P (SP) and interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in rats with slow transit constipation (STC), so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of STC．. METHODS: Fifty male Wistar rats were selected and randomly divided into control，STC model，conventional acupuncture，deep needling group 1 and deep needling group 2 groups，with 10 rats in each group．The STC model was established by gavage of 1 mg/mL compound diphenoxylate suspension (10 mg/kg), once every other day for 21 days, and rats of the control group were given the same dose of distilled water by gavage．EA (2 Hz, 2 mA) was applied to "Tianshu"(ST25), with the acupuncture needle inserted to a depth of 3 mm for rats of the conventional acupuncture group, 4.5 mm for those of deep needling group 1, and 10 mm for those of the deep needling group 2. The acupuncture needle was twirled for 1 min, then retained for 15 min each time, once a day for 15 consecutive days．Following modeling, rats of the 4 groups and the control group received gavage of active carbon 2 mL (100 g/L) for observing the excretion time of the first black stool grain to assess the intestinal transit function. The colonic myoelectric activities (frequency and amplitude) were recorded by using BIOPAC multichannel physiograph. The immunoactivity of SP and c-kit (a transmembrane protein kinase for identification of ICC) of colonic musculature was detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Compared with the control group，the time of excretion of the first black stool grain, and the amplitude of colonic electromyogram (EMG) were significantly increased (P<0.01), while the frequency of EMG, expressions of SP and c-kit (ICC) were significantly decreased in the model group (P<0.01). In contrast to the model group, both deep needling group 1 and 2 had a decrease in the time of excretion of the first black stool grain, and amplitude of intestinal EMG, and an increase of frequency of intestinal EMG, and immunoactivity of SP and c-kit (P<0.01). The effect of deep needling 2 is superior to that of deep needling 1 in reducing the time of excretion of the first black stool grain (P<0.05), lowering the amplitude of EMG of the gut smooth muscle (P<0.05) and in increasing the frequency of EMG (P<0.05) and the expressions of SP and c-kit (P<0.05). No significant changes were found in the levels of frequency and amplitude of EMG, and expressions of SP and c-kit after routine needling in comparison with the model group (P>0.05), except the excretion time of the first black stool grain (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Deep needling at ST25 at depth of 4.5 mm and 10 mm，especially at depth of 10 mm，has a significant effect in promoting gut motility to ameliorate constipation in rats with STC, which may be related to its function in up-regulating the expressions of SP and ICC activity.

[Effect of electroacupuncture of "Tianshu"(ST25) at different frequencies on electromyography and immunoactivity of SP and VIP of colon in rats with slow transit constipation].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) of bilateral "Tianshu"(ST25) at different frequencies on the first black stool discharge time, colonic electromyography (EMG) and immunoactivity of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and substance P (SP) in the colon tissue in rats with slow transit constipation (STC), so as to choose a better stimulating frequency in the treatment of STC. METHODS: A total of 50 male Wistar rats were randomized into control, model, 2 Hz-EA, 100 Hz- EA, and 2 Hz/100 Hz-EA groups, with 10 rats in each group. The STC model was established by intraperitoneal injection of compound diphenoxylate suspension fluid (10 mg/kg). EA was applied to bilateral ST25 for 30 min, once a day for 14 consecutive days. The discharge time for the first black stool was recorded after gavage of mixed suspension fluid of active carbon (2 mL) for assessing the gastrointestinal motility. The colonic EMG was recorded by using a pair of silver electrodes and bioelectric amplifier. The expression of SP and VIP in the colonic tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Following mode-ling, the colonic EMG amplitude, the discharge time for the first black stool and VIP immunoactivity were significantly increased (P<0.01), and the EMG frequency and SP immunoactivity were significantly decreased （P<0.01） in the model group compared with the control group. Compared with the model group, the increase of the discharge time for the first black stool, EMG amplitude and VIP immunoactivity, the decrease of EMG frequency and SP immunoactivity were reversed in the 3 EA groups (P<0.01, P<0.05). The therapeutic effect of 100 Hz-EA was notably weaker than that of both 2 Hz-EA and 2 Hz/100 Hz-EA in up-regulating EMG frequency and SP immunoactivity and in down-regulating the discharge time for the first black stool, EMG amplitude and VIP immunoactivity (P<0.05, P<0.01). There was no significant difference between the 2 Hz/100 Hz-EA and 2 Hz-EA groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: EA can accelerate colonic EMG activities, which may be associated with its functions in down-regulating VIP immunoactivity and up-regulating SP immunoactivity in the colonic tissues. The therapeutic effects of 2 Hz/100 Hz-EA and 2 Hz-EA are better than that of 100 Hz-EA.

A Spinel Tin Ferrite with High Lattice-Oxygen Anchored on Graphene-like Porous Carbon Networks for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Super Cycle Stability and Ultra-fast Rate Performances.

A new type of nano-SnFe2O4 with stable lattice-oxygen and abundant surface defects anchored on ultra-thin graphene-like porous carbon networks (SFO@C) is prepared for the first time by an interesting freezing crystallization salt template method. The functional composite has excellent rate performance and long-term cycle stability for lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes due to the stable structure, improved conductivity, and shortened migrating distance for lithium-ions, which are derived from the higher lattice-oxygen of SnFe2O4, abundant porous carbon networks and surface defects, and smaller nanoparticles. Under the ultra-high current density of 10, 15, and 20 A g-1 cycling for 1000 times, the SFO@C can provide high reversible capacities of 522.2, 362.5, and 361.1 mAh g-1, respectively. The lithium-ion storage mechanism of the composite was systematically studied for the first time by in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), ex situ XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results indicate that the existence of Li2O and metallic Fe during the lithiation/delithiation process is a key reason for reducing the initial lithium-ion storage reversibility but increasing the rate performance and capacity stability in the subsequent cycles. DFT calculations show that lithium-ions are more easily adsorbed on the (111) crystal plane with a much lower adsorption energy of -7.61 eV than other planes, and the Fe element is the main acceptor of electrons. Moreover, the kinetics investigation indicates that the lithium-ion intercalation and deintercalation in SFO@C are mainly controlled by the pseudocapacitance behavior, which is favorable to enhancing the rate performance. The research provides a new strategy for designing LIB electrode materials with a stable structure and outstanding lithium-ion storage performance.

[Research status and thinking of auricular acupuncture theory].

In this paper, the articles of auricular acupuncture in recent 20 years are sorted out and analyzed, and the theory and mechanism of auricular acupuncture in different schools are summarized and compared. Eight theories are included totally, i.e. meridian-collateral theory and zangfu theory of classic TCM, as well as neurodoctrine, neurohumoral theory, embryology theory, holography theory, biological cybernetics and chronobiology theory in modern times. Each of them has its own rationality.Hereafter, through more rigour scientific deign and in accordance with clinical and experimental studies, auricular acupuncture theory should be explored more scientifically and universally so as to provide the theoretic guidance and evidences for clinical treatment with auricular acupuncture, and then to improve the clinical therapeutic effect and promote the application of auricular acupuncture.

[Comparison and analysis on different academic schools of scalp acupuncture].

The scalp acupuncture therapy, an important component of the microneedle system of the acupuncturology, is effective in the treatment of multiple types of diseases. In the present paper, we made a comparative analysis about the theoretical basis, acupoint location and main clinical indications of the ten academic schools of scalp-acupuncture, including FANG Yun-peng's Scalp Acupuncture, JIAO Shun-fa's Scalp Acupuncture, ZHU Ming-qing's Scalp Acupuncture, etc. which are widely used in clinic at present after collecting the related articles published in recent 60 years from databases of CNKI, Wanfang and VIP, and relevant books. These nine academic schools are similar in clinical indications (such as neurological disorders, brain-derived di-seases) and in needle inserting angle and depth, and different in the needling manipulations, needlingmethods, needle retaining time, theoretical basis, attending diseases of the same one stimulated region, and the position and yin or yang of holograms. The main problems facing the scalp acupuncture are non-uniform positioning method, non-uniform needling method, and non-uniform indications of the same scalp acupoint. Up to now, it remains unclear that which academic school is better in the therapeutic efficacy, thus, we should strengthen clinical research to find out its inherent law in diagnosis and treatment, constantly optimize the needle scheme, determine the best scalp-acupoint position and best needling manipulations, quantize and standardize the related issues, and accelerate the integration of the different academic schools, so as to improve clinical curative effect and to further promote the application and popularization, serving the patients in a better way.

Composition characteristics of the gut microbiota in infants and young children of under 6 years old between Beijing and Japan.

BACKGROUND: The composition of intestinal flora in Chinese and Japanese has been reported in many studies but that in infants aged 0-6 years old has not been studied yet. METHODS: The distribution characteristics of the fecal flora of infants in Beijing (n=84) and Japan (n=53) were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. RESULTS: This study showed the higher relative abundance of Erysipelotrichaceae_ UCG-003 and Anaerostipes in male group that of Ruminiclostridium, Eubacterium, Senegalimassilia and Senegalimassilia in female group, especially Senegalimassilia, which was not detected in male group. Defecation trait groups indicated significantly higher relative abundance of Bifidobacterium in abnormal bowel trait group than that in the normal group (P<0.05). The feeding groups' analysis showed significantly higher relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus and lower abundance of Bacteroides and Lacetospirillaceae in the breast-feeding group than that in the formula feeding and mixed-feeding groups. The relative abundance of Parasutterella and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-003 in the halitosis group was significantly higher than that in the normal group. The comparison of cold and fever group and normal group indicated significantly higher relative abundance of Erysipelatoclostridium and lower relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae _UCG-001 in the fever and cold group than that in the normal group (P<0.05). The regional comparison of intestinal flora of Beijing and Japan showed significant increase in the relative abundance of Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Prevotella, megamonas and Veillonella in the intestinal flora of 0-6 years old infants in Beijing. CONCLUSIONS: These findings improve the understanding of intestinal bacterial and viral communities of infants from the two Asian countries.

Synergistic effects of flake-like ZnO/SnFe2O4/nitrogen-doped carbon composites on structural stability and electrochemical behavior for lithium-ion batteries.

In order to improve the electrochemical performance and relieve volume expansion of pure SnFe2O4 anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), we synthesized a novel ZnO/SnFe2O4/nitrogen-doped carbon composites (ZSFO/NC) with flake-like polyhedron morphology by using ZIF-8 as a sacrificial template. Remarkably, it exhibited an initial charge/discharge capacities of 1078.3/1507.5 mAh g-1 with a high initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 71.2%, and maintained a steady charge/discharge capacities of 1495.7/1511.8 mAh g-1 at 0.2 A g-1 after 300 cycles. The excellent rate performance of 435.6 mAh g-1 at a higher current density of 10.0 A g-1 and superior reversible capacity of 532.3/536.2 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at 2.0 A g-1 were obtained. It revealed that the nitrogen-doped carbon matrix and peculiar structure of ZSFO/NC not only effectively buffered large volume expansion upon (de)lithiation through the synergistic interface action between ZnO, SnFe2O4 and NC, but also improved capacity of the composite by large contribution of surface pseudo-capacitance. The excellent charge-discharge performance showed that ZSFO/NC composite has a great potential for LIBs due to the synergistic effect of the multi-components.

ErbB4 regulate extracellular dopamine through the p38 MAPK signaling pathway.

ErbB4 loss-of-function in catecholaminergic neurons induces catecholamine dyshomeostasis. Despite ErbB4's significant role in neuropathology, the signaling pathways that regulate these changes are still widely unknown. In this study, we attempt to identify the downstream pathway of ErbB4 that regulates catecholamine homeostasis. The SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell line was used as the in vitro model for catecholaminergic neurons. Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and pharmacological and genetic manipulations by agonist/antagonist or small interference RNA were used to investigate the relationship between ErbB4 and extracellular catecholamines. We confirmed that ErbB4 is abundantly expressed in undifferentiated and retinoic acid-differentiated catecholaminergic cells from the SH-SY5Y cell line. ErbB4 inhibition increase the ratio of phosphorylated p38 to total p38 in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Consistent with previous in vivo observations in mice, ErbB4 deficiency led to increases in extracellular dopamine and norepinephrine levels. However, the resulting increase in extracellular dopamine, but not norepinephrine, could be suppressed by p38 inhibitor SB202190. Our results suggest that both extracellular dopamine and norepinephrine homeostasis could be regulated by ErbB4 in human catecholaminergic cells, and ErbB4 may regulate extracellular dopamine, but not norepinephrine, through the p38 MAPK signaling pathway, thus indicating different regulatory pathways of dopamine and norepinephrine by ErbB4 in catecholaminergic neurons.

[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.

[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.

One-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis of SnO2@Carbon Composites with Super Lithium Ions Storage Performances.

Tin oxide (SnO2) based anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have drawn much attention for their high theoretical capacity and energy density, but suffer from a large volume change and resulting a rapid capacity fading during charging/discharging cycles. To optimize the status, herein, SnO2/carbon composites are synthesized using SnCl4 · 5H2O and glucose with different mass ratio as raw materials via a simple one-step hydrothermal process, following calcination under Ar gas atmosphere. As comparison, pure SnO2 is synthesized as the same as SnO2/carbon composites without glucose and calcination in air. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were used to investigate the lithium ions storage behavior in pure SnO2 and the SnO2@carbon composites. The EIS results indicate that pure SnO2 has much larger electronic transfer resistance and smaller diffusion coefficient of Li+ resulting worst electrochemical performances, while carbon can substantially enhance the electronic conductivity of the composites and resulting better cycle stability and rate capability of the composite anodes. Moreover, the stability and capacity of the composites are different from each other due to diverse carbon content, surface area and particle size, in which, SnO2-24%C exhibits better lithium storage performances. The initial discharge/charge capacities are up to 1650 and 890 mAh g-1 at the current density of 0.2 A g-1, and the reversible capacity even still maintains at 800 mAh g-1 after 60 cycles. The super electrochemical performances are attributed to that the proper content of carbon clusters as a support can buffer volume expansion of SnO2 during cycling, enhance the electrode conductivity and accelerate the diffusion of Li+ ions in the composite. The results implying that the composite with proper carbon content has a wide application prospect for anode material of LIBs.

[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.

[Protective effect of Fuzheng Yanggan Mixture on drug-induced liver injury].

The model of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) induced by acetaminophen (APAP) in mice was established to investigate the anti-oxidation and anti-ferroptosis mechanisms of Fuzheng Yanggan Mixture on DILI. C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into five groups: control group, model group, positive group, and low and high-dose Fuzheng Yanggan Mixture groups (0.12, 0.24 g·kg⁻¹). Mice were intragastrically administration with Fuzheng Yanggan Mixture (0.12, 0.24 g·kg⁻¹) once per day for 21 consecutive days, and at the same time, mice were weighted every day. The mice were injected intraperitoneally with 600 mg·kg⁻¹ of APAP to establish a mouse model of acute DILI after 16 h from the last administration of Fuzheng Yanggan Mixture. After 6 h from APAP challenge, the experimental animals were weighted and sacrificed to collect blood and liver tissue samples. And then, the effect of Fuzheng Yanggan Mixture on liver weight and the liver weight ratio of mice were examined; the content of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in the serum and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) in the liver tissue were measured. Prostaglandinendoperoxide synthase 2(ptgs2) mRNA level in liver tissues was detected by Q-PCR, and protein expression levels of SLC7A11 and GPX4 in liver tissues were detected by Western blot. Moreover, HE staining, immunohistochemical assay and TUNEL staining were used to observe pathological changes of the liver tissue sections. It is found that Fuzheng Yanggan Mixture could relieve APAP-induced liver enlargement and inhibit hepatic weight ratio increase. Compared with model group, the mice in Fuzheng Yanggan Mixture groups showed decreases in the content of ALT, AST and MDA, and increases in the content of GSH and NADPH. What is more, Fuzheng Yanggan Mixture could down-regulate ptgs2 mRNA level and up-regulate SLC7A11 and GPX4 protein levels. All of the results lead to a conclusion that Fuzheng Yanggan Mixture plays a protective effect on DILI in mice, which may be associated with the inhibition of ferroptosis.

[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.

Highly expressed lncRNA CCND2-AS1 promotes glioma cell proliferation through Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.

Glioma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Long-non coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been recently shown to play important roles in regulating numerous biological processes both in physiologic and pathologic condition. However, the role of lncRNAs in glioma remains largely unknown. In this study, we firstly found that lncRNA CCND2-AS2 is significantly up regulated in malignant glioma tissues and cell lines. Both loss- and gain-functions assays show that CCND2-AS1 promotes glioma cells proliferation and growth. In addition, we also revealed that highly expressed CCND2-AS1 could enhance Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in glioma. Taken together, our findings revealed a novel lncRNA CCND2-AS1 promotes glioma cell proliferation through Wnt/ß-catenin signaling and CCND2-AS1 might function as a potential novel therapeutic target for the treatment of glioma.

Intracranial Rosai-Dorfman disease.

Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare histioproliferative disorder that only occasionally involves the central nervous system. We present the diagnosis and treatment of five patients with intracranial RDD. The patients were preoperatively misdiagnosed as meningioma or eosinophilic granuloma. All five patients were treated by total or subtotal surgical resection and none of them experienced recurrence. Histopathological examination showed a characteristic emperipolesis, the lymphocytes were engulfed in the S-100 protein and CD68 positive histiocytes, with negative expression of CD1a. Preoperative diagnosis of intracranial RDD is still challenging because the lesion is usually a dural-based lesion that mimics a meningioma. Surgical resection is an effective treatment and radiotherapy, steroid and chemotherapy has not demonstrated reliable therapeutic efficiency.

Identification of UQCRB as an oxymatrine recognizing protein using a T7 phage display screen.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Sophora flavescens Aiton (Radix Sophorae Flavescentis, Kushen) is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and has the ability to clear heat and dampness from the body. Oxymatrine is one of the major bioactive compounds extracted from Sophora flavescens Aiton and constitutes more than 90% of the oxymatrine injection commonly used for CHB treatment in clinics in China. AIM OF THE STUDY: We aim to analyze the protein binding target of oxymatrine in treating CHB by screening a T7 phage display cDNA library of human CHB and examine the biochemistry of protein-ligand binding between oxymatrine and its ligands. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A T7 phage cDNA library of human CHB was biopanned by affinity selection using oxymatrine as bait. The interaction of oxymatrine with its candidate binding protein was investigated by affinity assay, molecular docking, Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). RESULTS: A library of potential oxymatrine binding peptides was generated. Ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase binding protein (UQCRB) was one of the candidate binding proteins of oxymatrine. UQCRB-displaying T7 phage binding numbers in the oxymatrine group were significantly higher than that in the control group, biotin group, and matrine group (p<0.05 or p<0.01). Three-dimensional structure modeling of the UQCRB with oxymatrine showed that their binding interfaces matched and oxymatrine inserted into a deeper pocket of UQCRB, which mainly involved amino acid residues Tyr21, Arg33, Tyr83, Glu84, Asp86, Pro88, and Glu91. The binding affinity constant (Kb) from SPR was 4.2mM. The Kb from ITC experiment was 3.9mM and stoichiometry was fixed as 1, which fit very well with the result of SPR. The binding of oxymatrine to UQCRB was driven by strong enthalpy forces such as hydrogen bonds and polar interactions as the heat released was about 157kcal/mol and ΔG was less than zero. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, using the T7 phage display system, we have identified UQCRB as a direct binding protein of oxymatrine. Furthermore, the specificity and molecular interaction of oxymatrine with UQCRB were also determined. The binding of UQCRB to oxymatrine suggests that UQCRB is a potential target of oxymatrine in treating CHB. These results provide new understanding into the mechanism of oxymatrine and insights into the strategy on the treatment of CHB.

[Basic Regularities and Characteristics of Compound Reinforcing--reducing Manipulation of Acu- puncture Revealed by Data Mining].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the regularities and features of compound reinforcing-reducing manipulation of acupuncture filiform needles in the treatment of clinical conditions or diseases by using data mining technique, so as to guide clinical practice. METHODS: At first, the data base about the reinforcing-reducing manipulation (CRRM) of filiform needles for different clinical problems was established by collection, sorting, screening, recording, collation, data extraction of the related original papers published in journals and conferences and related academic dissertations from Jan. 1 of 1950 to Jan. 31 of 2015 by using key words of "acupuncture" "moxibustion" "needling" "filiform needle", and according to the included and excluded standards. RESULTS: A total of 130 835 papers met the included standards were collected. Outcomes of data mining in the present study showed that (1) the ORRM is most frequently applied in the internal medicine, followed by surgery, gynecology, ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology, dermatology, and pediatrics, successively, mostly for lumbago and leg pain; (2) the heat-producing needling manipulation is the most frequently applied technique, followed by cool-producing needling, dragon-tiger warring, yang occluding in yin, yin occluding in yang techniques; (3) the highest effective rate of CRRM is for problems of the pediatrics, followed by those of the internal medicine, surgery, ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology, dermatology, and gynecology; (4) the most fre- quently used acupoints are Zusanli (ST 36), then Sanyinjiao (SP 6), stimulated by heat-producing needling, and Zusanli (ST 36), then Quchi (LI 11), stimulated by cool-producing needling, and Huantiao (GB 30), stimulated by dragon-tiger warring needling. CONCLUSION: The compound reinforcing-reducing manipulation of acupuncture is most frequently applied to problems in the inter- nal medicine, predominately for lumbago and leg pain, and the best effectiveness is for pediatric conditions. The heat-producing needling and cool-producing needling are most frequently applied at Zusanli (ST 36) and the dragon-tiger warring manipulation is most frequently applied at Huantiao (GB 30).