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Objectives: To compare the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) with different time intervals on corticospinal excitability of the primary motor cortex (M1) and the upper limb motor function in healthy subjects and observe the after-effect rule of acupuncture., Methods: Self-comparison before and after intervention design was adopted. Fifteen healthy subjects were included and all of them received three stages of trial observation, namely EA 0 group (received one session of EA), EA 6h group (received two sessions of EA within 1 day, with an interval of 6 h) and EA 48h group (received two sessions of EA within 3 days, with an interval of 48 h). The washout period among stages was 1 week. In each group, the needles were inserted perpendicularly at Hegu (LI 4) on the left side, 23 mm in depth and at a non-acupoint, 0.5 cm nearby to the left side of Hegu (LI 4), separately. Han 's acupoint nerve stimulator (HANS-200A) was attached to these two needles, with continuous wave and the frequency of 2 Hz. The stimulation intensity was exerted higher than the exercise threshold (local muscle twitching was visible, and pain was tolerable by healthy subjects, 1-2 mA ). The needles were retained for 30 min. Using the single pulse mode of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) technique, before the first session of EA (T0) and at the moment (T1), in 2 h (T2) and 24 h (T3) after the end of the last session of EA, on the left first dorsal interosseous muscle, the amplitude, latency (LAT), resting motor threshold (rMT) of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and the completion time of grooved pegboard test (GPT) were detected. Besides, in the EA 6h group, TMS was adopted to detect the excitability of M1 (amplitude, LAT and rMT of MEPs) before the last session of EA (T0*)., Results: The amplitude of MEPs at T1 and T2 in the EA 0 group, at T0* in the EA 6h group and at T1, T2 and T3 in the EA 48h group was higher when compared with the value at T0 in each group separately ( P <0.001). At T1, the amplitude of MEPs in the EA 0 group and the EA 48h group was higher than that in the EA 6h group ( P <0.001, P <0.01); at T2, it was higher in the EA 0 group when compared with that in the EA 6h group ( P <0.01); at T3, the amplitude in the EA 0 group and the EA 6h group was lower than that of the EA 48h group ( P <0.001). The LAT at T1 was shorter than that at T0 in the three groups ( P <0.05), and the changes were not obvious at the rest time points compared with that at T0 ( P > 0.05). The GPT completion time of healthy subjects in the EA 0 group and the EA 48h group at T1, T2 and T3 was reduced in comparison with that at T0 ( P <0.001). The completion time at T3 was shorter than that at T0 in the EA 6h group ( P <0.05); at T2, it was reduced in the EA 48h group when compared with that of the EA 6h group ( P <0.05). There were no significant differences in rMT among the three groups and within each group ( P >0.05)., Conclusions: Under physiological conditions, EA has obvious after-effect on corticospinal excitability and upper limb motor function. The short-term interval protocol (6 h) blocks the after-effect of EA to a certain extent, while the long-term interval protocol (48 h) prolongs the after-effect of EA.

Background: Early parent-child shared reading has been demonstrated to promote the development of literacy, reading skills and learning achievement in young children. Parent-child shared reading intervention programs may strengthen the willingness and reading competence of parents., Purpose: To explore the attitudes and skills related to parent-child shared reading before and after an intervention program conducted in a nursery room and outpatient pediatric clinic., Methods: A single-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was conducted. Seventy-five parents of newborns in the baby rooms from two hospitals in Hualien County were conveniently sampled. Parents who had just given birth received health education before discharge from the hospital from nurses focusing on the knowledge and skills of shared reading. Three age-matched picture books with reading fact sheets and consultation support were offered free to parents of children in three, respective, age groups (newborn, 4-months old and 6-months old) during parent-child visits to the pediatric clinic for regular health examinations and vaccinations. A self-designed questionnaire was administered to analyze the parents' demographic variables, reading environment, parents' attitudes toward parent-child shared reading, and familiarity with regard to parent-child shared reading skills., Results: Parent-child reading attitudes were positively correlated with skill familiarity (r = .39). The presence or absence of children's books at home, the parent-child relationship, and parental reading habits explained 32.0% of the variance in parent-child shared-reading attitudes (R2 = .32). The presence or absence of children's books at home and the presence or absence of a library card for the child explained 44.0% of the variation in familiarity with co-reading skills (R2 = .44). Parent-child shared reading attitude scores (t = -5.14, p < .001) and skill familiarity of parents (t = -7.52, p < .001) both increased significantly after the intervention program., Conclusions / Implications for Practice: Parent-child shared reading educational intervention programs may be used to improve parental attitudes and skills related to parent-child shared reading.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review of the association of levothyroxine treatment with pregnancy outcomes in euthyroid women who are thyroid autoantibody positive. Methods: Medline, Excerpta Medica (EMBASE), Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biology Medicine (CBM), Wanfang data and VIP database were searched from inception until Jan. 28, 2020. All published randomized controlled trials assessing the association of levothyroxine treatment with pregnancy outcomes in euthyroid women with thyroid autoantibody-positive were included. STATA 11.0 and RevMan 5.3 softwares were used to perform this Meta-analysis. Results: A total of 6 studies met the inclusion criteria, with 2 188 women randomized. Meta-analysis showed that there was no significantly association between miscarriage ( OR =0.85, 95% CI : 0.65-1.11, P =0.234) and preterm birth ( OR =0.79, 95% CI : 0.54-1.16, P =0.224) with levothyroxine treatment. Conclusions: Levothyroxine therapy could not reduce the risk of miscarriage and preterm birth in euthyroid women with thyroid autoantibody-positive. Therefore, levothyroxine should be used with caution for these pregnant women.

We carried out a 3-year field experiment with three treatments: 1) no fertilizer application (CK), 2) chemical fertilizer application (F), and 3) combined organic and chemical fertilizer (FM) in which the total nitrogen inputs were equal with F (organic fertilizer applied in the early rice season). We evaluated the variations of crop yield, CH 4 and N 2 O emission, and soil nutrient. The results showed that fertilizer application could increase rice yield in both early and late rice seasons. Compared with F treatment, FM treatment increased rice yield by 5.6% and 7.2% for early and late rice, respectively. The enhancement of yield was positively correlated with years. Compared with F treatment, CH 4 emission in early rice season, late rice season and whole year in the field in FM treatment was increased by 8.2%, 4.8% and 6.7%, respectively, while the N 2 O emission was deceased by 31.4%, 5.0% and 18.8%, respectively. Organic fertilizer application reduced the greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) by 6.8% and 8.5%, but there was no significant differences in global warming potential (GWP) across treatments in 2018 and 2019. Compared with F treatment, the content of organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium were increased by 9.7%, 4.1%, 30.9% and 2.5%, respectively. Overall, our results suggested FM application in early rice season is an effective measure to increase crop yield, improve soil nutrient, and reduce GHGI.

Winter wheat is an important crop in Anhui Province. Rational use of fertilizers is crucial for the achievement of successful yield. It is urgently needed to reveal the status of fertilizer application and existing problems in winter wheat planting in Anhui for better fertilization. We conducted a survey on 1591 farmers in the main winter wheat producing areas of Anhui Province. The contents of survey included fertilizer type, fertilizer dosage, fertilization method, planting area and yield level. Based on the survey results, we analyzed the current fertilization status of winter wheat growing areas in Anhui Province. Referred to the average wheat yield and fertilizer usage in Anhui, the relationship between wheat yield and fertilizers, including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P 2 O 5 ) and potassium (K 2 O), was evaluated by Cate-Nelson method (cross-over method) to explore the ways to increase yield and fertilizer utilization efficiency of winter wheat. The results showed that the average yield of winter wheat in Anhui Province was 5185 kg·hm -2 , and the average application rates of N, P 2 O and K 2 O fertilizers were 206, 80 and 78 kg·hm -2 , respectively. Compared with wheat following rice, the N, P 2 O and K 2 O fertilization rates of dry stubble wheat was higher by 14, 16 and 3 kg·hm -2 , respectively. Overall, the average amount of chemical fertilizer in winter wheat cultivation in Anhui Province was rational, but there were still some problems in fertilization methods, nutrient management and fertilizer types. The results of Cate-Nelson method showed that 23.8%, 21.2% and 25.7% (for N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O fertilizers respectively) of winter wheat were below the average level that achieved high yield, reaching highest partial productivity of N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O fertilizers. There were 26.3%, 19.3% and 22.5% (for N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O fertilizers respectively) of winter wheat were below the average use level which did not achieve high yield. There were 26.2%, 29.6% and 25.0% (for N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O fertilizers respectively) of winter wheat realized high yield, but the fertilization rate was high and the partial productivity of N, P 2 O and K 2 O fertilizers was relatively low. Our results suggest that the yield and efficiency of winter wheat in Anhui Pro-vince should be improved. The percentage of mechanical fertilization in winter wheat was 62.7% for base fertilizer and 10.0% for topdressing fertilizer, respectively. Though nitrogen fertilizer was applied at different stages, the proportion of base fertilizer that accounted for 69.0% of the total should be decreased appropriately. It's a problem that farmers preferred to use chemical fertilizers but not organic substitution.

To make a thorough investigation of the common She's nationality wild medicinal plants resources in our country, including the species, the distribution, the folk application and the endemic medicinal plant species, Field surveyed was conducted with 25 She people mainly lived area (county, district or city) throughout the country, the folk prescription and treatment cases provided by She's medical personnel, the drug usage and dosage, the commonly used traditional She's medicine and drug samples were collected. And the distribution, growing environment of these plants were investigated, their characteristics, photographs, GPS data and track were record , and the fresh wax leaf or plants specimens were collected. In total 1 600 varieties of folk medicine of She's nationality, 450 disease names and 1 016 prescriptions were collected. 520 kinds of these medicinal plants were commonly used, growing mainly distributed in the southeastern China, about 200 meters above sea level to 1 500 meters. There are 5 First-Grade State protection wild plants (medicinal), 15 second-Grade State protection wild plants (medicinal), and 11 She characteristic medicinal plants in our study, they belong to 144 families, 312 genera 494 species, 2 subspecies, 17 varieties, 3 forms and 1 cultivated varieties of She's nationality. Folk medicine usage is different from the traditional Chinese medicine and ethnic medicine. This survey finds out the common She's nationality wild medicinal plants resources in China, including the species, the distribution, the folk application and commonly used drugs, and found the rare and endangered medicinal plants and the She's nationality endemic medicinal plants, which provides a basis for further development and use the traditional She's medicine resources.

To explore anti-tumor active components of Chimonanthus salicifolius, the phytochemistry of the chloroform fraction from leaves extract was investigated by repeated silica gel column chromatography. Twelve compounds were isolated and their structures were identified by physicochemical properties and spectroscopic data analysis as 9-epi-blumenol C(1), blumenol C(2), (+)-dehydrovomifoliol (3), (+)-vomifoliol (4), robinlin (5), (-)-loliolide (6), isofraxidin (7), scopoletin (8), 6,7-dimethoxycoumarin (9), 6, 7, 8-trimethoxycoumarin (10), beta-sitostenone (11), and beta-stigmasterol(12). Compounds 1-6 belonging to nor-sesquiterpenoids were isolated from the family Calycanthaceae for the first time. Compound 1 was a new natural product. Compounds 7, 11 and 12 were obtained from this plant for the first time.

Objective: To explore the elastic lamina degradation and the collagen remodeling of aortic artery as well as oxides stress and inflammation of the apolipoprotein (Apo E) deficient mice with or without experimental hypertension., Methods: Eighty male Apo E deficient mice were fed with high-fat diet beginning at six weeks of age. At 8-week old, they were randomly divided into hypertension group and control group (n=40 each), the mice in hypertension group were subjected the suprarenal aortic constriction operation and then randomly divided into two subgroups: 15 weeks age and 30 weeks age groups. At the end of experiment, the vascular elastic lamina degradation and the content of collagen were determined by morphological method, plasma ICAM-1 level was measured by ELISA, and the rennin activity measured by radioimmunoassay, the superoxide anion detected by fluorescence, the MOMA-2 observed by immunofluorescence in all animals. mRNA expression of NF-κB P65 and MMP9 was detected by real-time PCR., Result: In 15-week old group, the elastic lamina degradation Grade II and the intima-media thickness in the hypertension group were significantly higher than in the control group [(5.4±3.3)% vs. (8.9±2.5)%, P<0.05; (98.66±18.90) µm vs. (70.08±11.71) µm, P<0.05]. In 30-week old group, the elastic lamina degradation Grade III, the III type of collagen and the intima-media thickness were also significantly higher than in the control group [(15.2±3.7)% vs. (8.1±3.3)%, P<0.01; (23.00±7.73)% vs. (11.00±3.82)%, P<0.05; (147.31±22.60) µm vs. (103.98±17.21) µm, P<0.01]. The level of ICAM-1 in hypertension group was significantly higher than that of control group in both 15-week old and in 30-week old mice [(46.3±3.7) µg/ml vs. (40.6±5.7) µg/ml, P<0.05; (56.0±3.1) µg/ml vs. (45.2±2.8) µg/ml, P<0.05]. The superoxide anion, the MOMA-2, mRNA expression of NF-κB P65 and MMP9 in the hypertension group were significantly higher than in the control group in both 15-week old and in the 30-week old mice. The increase in hypertension group was more pronounced in the 30-week old mice than in the 15-week old mice., Conclusion: The elastic lamina degradation and the collagen remodeling of aortic artery as well as oxides stress and inflammation are more significant in the Apo E deficient mice with hypertension than in control Apo E deficient mice.

The invasion of Phytolacca americana has produced serious damage to the coastal shelter forests in China. In order to search for the effective measures for controlling the growth of P. americana, several plots in the Robinia pseudoacacia forest invaded by P. Americana to the relatively same extent were installed, and the measures of physical control (mowing and root cutting) and chemical control (spraying herbicides) were adopted to control the invasion of P. Americana, taking the site with good growth of Amorpha fruticosa in the forest and without any control measures as the comparison. The results showed that mowing could rapidly decrease the growth of P. americana in the same year, but the growth recovered in the next year. 1/3 root cutting only reduced the aboveground growth of P. americana in the same year, and the growth was recovered in the third year; while 2/3 root cutting and whole cutting could effectively cleanup the P. americana plants all the time. Spraying quizalofop-p-ethyl and paraquat only killed the aboveground part of P. americana in the same year, but this part of P. americana recovered to the normal level in the next year; while spraying 45 g x L(-1) of glyphosate could completely kill the whole P. americana plants till the third year. The growth of P. americana at the site with good growth of A. fruticosa and without any control measures maintained at a low level all the time, suggesting that planting A. fruticosa in R. pseudoacacia forest would be an effective approach to prevent and control the P. americana invasion.

Objective: To investigate the effect of qingre quyu granule (QQG) for treatment of carotid vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque (CVAP) in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD)., Methods: Eighty-two CHD patients with stable exertional angina, complicated with CVAP and differentiated to phlegm-heat and blood-stasis syndrome type were randomly assigned to two groups equally, the test group treated by Western medical routine therapy combined with QQG, and the control group treated with Western medical routine therapy with placebo. Using high frequency ultrasonography, the number (complex and simple) and Crouse integral of CVAP and the intima-media membranous thickness of carotid artery were measured, and changes in serum levels of CD40L and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), liver and renal functions were observed., Results: After treatment, significant improvement were shown in the test group in terms of complex plaques' number, Crouse integral, intima-media thickness and serum levels of CD40L and hs-CRP as compared with that before treatment, also with those in the control group after treatment (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). No adverse reaction was found in the treatment course., Conclusion: QQG has certain stabilizing action on CVAP in patients with CHD.

Objective: To observe the immunomodulatory effects of codonopsis, atractylodes macrocephala, tuceahoe, broiled licorice and sijunzi decoction on D-galactose-induced aging mice., Methods: The models of aging mice were induced by D-galactose, the garlands and splenic lymphocyte transformation test (MTT) were used to determine the ability of erythrocytes immune and lymphocytes conversion; The content of maleic dialdehyde (MDA), activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione pemfidase (GSH-Px) in serum were detected., Results: Sijunzi decoction and its disassembled prescription codonopsis could significantly increase the ability of T lymphocyte transformation (P<0.05); Atractylodes macrocephala and sijunzi decoction could significantly enhance C(3b) garlands ratio (P<0.05) and decrease IC garlands ratio (P<0.05) on D-galactose-induced aging mice. Sijunzi decoction significantly increased the activity of SOD and GSH-Px (P<0.01), and decreased the content of MDA in serum (P<0.05)., Conclusion: Sijunzi decoction and its disassembled prescription codonopsis, atractylodes macrocephala can improve the immunomodulatory effects on D-galactose-induced aging mice; but tuceahoe and broiled licorice have no obvious effects.

Objective: To compare the effects of perindopril and enalapril on the development of atherosclerotic lesions in ApoE knockout mice., Methods: ApoE knockout mice were treated with perindoprilor (1.5 mg.kg(-1).d(-1), n = 20), enalapril (7.5 mg.kg(-1).d(-1), n = 20) or saline (0.2 ml saline/d, n = 20) per gavage for 20 weeks. Blood pressure and lipids were measured at the study end. Aortic root atherosclerotic plaque was then quantified and the content of collagen and the size of lipid core in the plaque assessed. Cryostat sections were used to quantify the expressions of monocyte/macrophage-2 (MOMA-2), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9) in the plaque by immunofluorescence method., Results: Blood pressure and lipid profiles were similar among different groups. Compared with control group, the plaque areas of perindopril group and enalapril group displayed significantly decrease (25.33% and 22.86%, respectively, both P < 0.01). However, no significant different were observed in the plaque size between the different ACE inhibitors groups. Perindopril group and enalapril group also significantly decreased the size of lipid core (52.98% and 38.98%, respectively, both P < 0.01) and the expression of MOMA-2 (88.38% and 52.16%, respectively, both P < 0.01), ICAM-1 (80.87% and 49.59%, respectively, both P < 0.01), VCAM-1 (77.56% and 56.44%, respectively, both P < 0.01) and MMP-9 (86.93% and 55.56%, respectively, both P < 0.01), and increased the plaque collagen content (298.36% and 168.14%, respectively, both P < 0.01) and the effects of perindopril was superior to those of enalapril (all P < 0.05)., Conclusions: ACE inhibitors significantly suppressed tissue inflammation and attenuated the development of atherosclerosis in ApoE knockout mice independent of their effects on the lipid and blood pressure. Perindopril is superior to enalapril in stabilizing the plaques and has similar effect on reducing the plaque size as that of enalapril.

Objective: To investigate the effect of fosinopril and metoprolol on metalloproteinases 9 (MMP9) expression of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) stimulated by oscillatory flow., Methods: HUVECs were exposed to steady laminar flow or oscillatory flow, laminar flow or oscillatory flow plus various concentrations (1 x 10(-7) mol/L, 1 x 10(-5) mol/L) of fosinopril and metoprolol for 4 and 24 hours. MMP9 mRNA and protein expressions of HUVECs were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively., Results: MMP9 expression at mRNA and protein levels were significantly increased in HUVECs exposed to oscillatory flow than that to laminar flow and these could be down-regulated by coincubation with fosinopril (1 x 10(-7) mol/L, 1 x 10(-5) mol/L, P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively) but not by co-incubation with metoprolol., Conclusion: Fosinopril can attenuate the increased MMP9 expression at mRNA and protein levels of HUVECs exposed to oscillatory flow.

Objective: To examine the effects of carvedilol on myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury and on gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC)., Methods: The left coronary artery was occluded for 30 min and reperfused for 4 h. The activity of creatine phosphokinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the infarct size were measured. Isolated buffer-perfused hearts were divided randomly into four groups, sham operation (SO), myocardial ischemia and reperfusion (IR), carvedilol (CV) and heptanol (a gap junctional inhibitor) (HT). The effect of carvedilol on GJIC was measured by a modification of Scrape-loading and dye transfer method, and the state of CX43 phosphorylation was evaluated by Western blot., Results: Compared with the SO group, Increased CK, LDH and infarct size were found in the IR group after 4 h reperfusion. GJIC in the IR group was not inhibited, but dephosphorylated CX43 was increased after 30 minutes of ischemia. Carvedilol decreased CK, LDH and infarct size compared with the IR rats; after 30 minutes of ischemia, both carvedilol and heptanol significantly reduced the GJIC, associated with a significant augmentation of dephosphorylated CX43., Conclusions: These results suggest that carvedilol reduces GJIC during ischemia presumably by dephosphorylating Cx43, which may be one of the mechanisms of lessening myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Objective: To study the changes of the intramembrane protein particles of erythrocyte from Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and the gene carriers and to explore the pathogenesis of DMD and the diagnostic value of erythrocyte freeze-fracture technology., Methods: The fixed erythrocyte mass was treated to form replica membrane by means of the freeze-fracture technology. Then the replica membrane was observed and a picture was taken under electron microscope. The protein particles of extracellular face(EF) and protoplasmic face(PF) per square were counted. The statistical comparative analysis was performed., Results: The protein particle counts of EF face and PF face of erythrocyte membrane from DMD patients and DMD carriers decreased obviously in comparison with the normal control group (P<0.001)., Conclusion: The erythrocyte freeze-fracture electron microscopic technology may serve as a method for accessory examination of diagnosing DMD patients and a method for detecting DMD carriers. This investigation material supplies reliable evidence for the theory of the systemic membrane defect of DMD.

Objective: To explore the effect of Huoxue Tablet on the rheology of erythrocyte and the therapeutic effect in treating primary hypertension., Methods: Seventy-five cases of primary hypertension patients were randomly divided into 3 groups. Group I was treated by Huoxue Tablet, group II was treated by composite Danshen tablet, group III was treated by placebo. Erythrocytes deformability and aggregation were determined by laser diffractometry apparatus before and after treatment., Results: After treated by Huoxue Tablet for 5-6 weeks. The authors found that deformability of erythrocyte was increased, the aggregation of erythrocyte, the whole blood viscosity and the blood pressure were reduced. The clinical symptoms were relieved., Conclusions: Huoxue Tablet can obviously improve the rheology of erythrocyte of the primary hypertension and relieve the clinical symptoms. It can be used as a supplementary medicine in treating primary hypertension.