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Studies on leisure walking among older adults have received extensive attention from various areas such as public health, medicine/prevention, sports, geography, architecture, urban/transportation planning, and leisure, as they focus on various themes, including the health benefits of walking, walking behavior surveys, walking behavior, and influencing factors. In such an information-dense study, the duration and frequency of walking are proven to be critical indicators used to evaluate physical activity and are widely applied to provide an essential basis for health interventions for older adults. Leisure walking is the most common activity among older adults in China and is generally performed daily. However, studies on leisure walking among older adults in China remain lacking, leading to the urgent need for additional empirical studies. This study attempted to build a framework for the factors influencing the duration-frequency pattern of daily leisure walking among older adults using the ecological model theory, which could be used as instructions for the case studies. This study was performed using 1,285 samples of leisure walking behavior of older adults in Nanjing. Multivariate logistic regression and other methods were used to explore the duration and frequency pattern of daily leisure walking and its influencing factors among older adults in Nanjing. The results showed that: 1) even though most older adults in Nanjing have not reached the physical activity level recommended by the World Health Organization. In general, the duration and frequency of daily leisure walking among older adults in Nanjing is characterized by "medium duration and high frequency", with the medium and high duration accounting for 75.02% and the medium and high frequency accounting for 89.96%, and the duration and frequency pattern of leisure walking differed among groups. 2) Certain factors commonly influence the duration and frequency pattern of daily leisure walking among older adults in Nanjing, including individual social factors, such as gender, family structure, and residence time in Nanjing, and psychological factors, such as walking preference, walking motivation, perception of personal constraints, and walking behavior intention. 3) The study reports differential factors, including health conditions, negotiation efficacy, and perceived constraints of the built environment, that could affect the duration pattern of daily leisure walking for older adults. The study reports that age and monthly personal income were the main factors influencing the variable frequency pattern of daily leisure walking among older adults. Based on the above study, theoretical and practical implications for facilitating leisure walking participation among older adults in China are discussed.

To ensure the uniformity and consistency of the color of the hard anodic oxidation film of 7075 aluminum alloy, 7075 aluminum alloy was chosen as the research subject in this study. Utilizing the design of experiments (DOE) analysis method, the impact of process parameters on the color of the hard anodic oxidation film of 7075 aluminum alloy was investigated. The effects of different oxidation temperatures (-6, -3, 0, 4, 8 ℃), different oxidation current densities (2, 4, 6 A/dm2), different sulfuric acid contents (150, 200, 230, 240, 250, 300 g/L), different film thicknesses (20～80 μm), and different loading positions on the color of the hard anodic oxidation film were tested. Results showed that as the temperature increased and the current density decreased, the color difference value of the oxide film gradually decreased. When the current density was 2 A/dm2, the temperature was maintained at 4 ℃ [with a control error of (4±1) ℃], the concentration of sulfuric acid was 200～230 g/L, the color of the oxide film closely matched that of the original sample. At a film thickness ranging from 20 to 80 μm, the color of the oxide film on the sample progressively darkened as the thickness increased, transitioning from light yellow to yellowish-brown and eventually to chocolate-brown. At a thickness of 80 μm, the film’s color changed to blue brick. Different loading positions had no significant effect on the color of the oxide film.

Housing has always been a hot issue in various disciplines. Only when people live in peace can they be happy to work and achieve sustainable economic and social development. In recent years, the construction of a large number of subsidized housing communities has provided material protection for low- and middle-income groups, achieving initial results. However, problems in the construction of supporting facilities and site selection have become increasingly prominent. Therefore, it is important to study the spatial characteristics of the daily activities of the residents of affordable housing to better understand their daily needs and promote the development of affordable housing. Taking a typical community of low-cost housing in Fuzhou City as an example, this study used data from a questionnaire survey and 48 h activity log survey in December 2020, and combined in-depth interview materials from typical samples as the database for this study. Based on the theory of time geography, this study investigated the temporal and spatial behavior characteristics of low-rent housing residents from a microscopic perspective. With the help of GIS visualization techniques, such as 95% standard confidence ellipse, point density analysis, and overlay analysis methods, this study adopted a hybrid analysis method combining qualitative and quantitative analysis to study the spatial characteristics of three types of activities of working, shopping, and leisure of low-rent housing residents on one weekday and one rest day and their use of nearby space from the perspective of micro-individuals, and analyzed their influencing factors using multiple linear regression. The results showed that 1) there is a big difference between the activity space of residents in the case community on weekdays and rest days. The activity space of the sample was more fixed on weekdays, and the working and shopping activities were more dependent on the Juyuanzhou area. On the rest days, the average area of the residents' activity space was four times larger than that on weekdays. Residents needed to use a larger area to meet their shopping and leisure needs, and there were greater internal differences among the samples. 2) Residents had relatively small internal differences in work activities, and their workplaces were mainly distributed in the Juyuanzhou area, with a strong dependence on the Juyuanzhou area. The area of activity space was significantly positively influenced by the residents' income, age and work commute distance. 3) Influenced by residents' travel intentions, there was a big difference between residents' shopping and leisure activities between weekdays and rest days. Workdays relied more on the surroundings of the community, while on the rest days, the internal differences in the resident sample increased. Both shopping and leisure spaces had a significant tendency to expand and decay in distance. Shopping and leisure activities were concentrated within 500 m on weekdays and extended to 5 km on rest days. A comparative analysis with the conclusions of related studies revealed the following significant characteristics of low-rent housing residents in Fuzhou: 1) Short commuting distances to work and dependence on community surroundings. 2) Compared with weekdays, the proportion and space scope of residents' rest days for shopping and leisure activities increased significantly, but the spatial scope of activities was still limited due to the limitation of transportation. Unlike the trend of positioning subsidized housing in first-tier cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, at the edge of the city, Fuzhou has a large space for inner-city renewal and suburban development, and still has enough space to make the siting of subsidized housing relatively balanced. Finally, in view of the existing problems of the case community, some reference measures are provided for the optimization of low-rent housing from two aspects: planning and construction and community building.

In natural scenes,text information usually has the characteristics of diversity and complexity.Due to the way of manua-lly designing features,traditional natural scene text detection methods lack robustness,and the existing text detection methods based on deep learning have the problem of losing important feature information in the process of extracting features in each layer of the network.This paper proposes a natural scene text detection method combined with multi-granularity feature fusion.The main contribution of this method is that by combining the features of different granularities in the general feature extraction network and adding the residual channel attention mechanism,the model can pay more attention to the target feature information and suppress useless information on the basis of fully learning the feature information of different granularities in the image,and this method improves the robustness and accuracy of the model.The experimental results show that,compared with other latest me-thods,the model has achieved 85.3% accuracy and 82.53% F-value on public datasets,and has better performance.

Aimed at the problem that the traditional meta-path random walk in heterogeneous network representation cannot accurately describe the heterogeneous network structure and cannot capture the true distribution of network nodes well, a heterogeneous network representation method based on variational inference and meta-path decomposition is proposed, which is named HetVAE. First, combining with the idea of path similarity, a node selection strategy is designed to improve the random walk of the meta-path. Next, the variational theory is introduced to effectively sample the latent variables in the original distribution. After that, a personalized attention machanism is implemented, which weights the node vector representation of different sub-networks obtained by decomposition. Then, these node vectors are fused by the proposed model, so that the final node vector representation can have richer semantic information. Finally, several experiments on different network tasks are performed on the three real data sets of DBLP, AMiner, and Yelp. The effectiveness of the model is verified by these results. In node classification and node clustering tasks, compared with some state-of-the-art algorithms, the Micro-F1 and normalized mutual information (NMI) increase by 1.12% to 4.36% and 1.35% to 18% respectively. It is proved that HetVAE can effectively capture the heterogeneous network structure and learn the node vetcor representation that conforms more with the true distribution.

Objective To explore the psychological experience and needs of female caregivers of stroke patients in rehabilitation period. Methods The phenomenological research method was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with 12 female caregivers of stroke patients. Results Based on the real experience of female caregivers during stroke rehabilitation period, four themes were extracted, including imbalance in physical and mental health, coping with multiple roles, insufficient of nursing information acquisition and lack of social support. Conclusion The feelings of female caregivers of patients in stroke rehabilitation stage are multi-dimensional, suggesting that we should pay attention to the mental health of female caregivers and guide them to seek positive coping styles, so as to provide better care for the rehabilitation of stroke patients. (目的 探讨脑卒中康复期患者的女性照顾者的照顾心理体验及需求。方法 采用现象学研究方法, 对12例脑卒中康复期患者的女性照顾者进行半结构式访谈, 采用质性研究的类属法进行整理和分析。结果 根据脑卒中康复期女性照顾者的真实体验提炼出4个主题: 身心健康失衡、多重角色应对失调、护理信息获取不足、社会支持缺乏。结论 脑卒中康复期患者的女性照顾者的感受呈现多维度, 提示应关注女性照顾者的心理健康, 引导其寻求积极的应对方式, 进而为脑卒中患者的康复提供更好的照护。)

Aiming at low dyeing rate and poor color fastness of cellulose fabric dye with turmeric pigment, polycarboxylic acid cross-linking method is used to graft β-cyclodextrin through citric acid to viscose fiber for modification, and the inclusion of curcumin is also performed. Through the single-factor experiments, the optimum modification process is determined as follows; β-cyclodextrin concentration 80 g/L, citric acid concentration 80 g/L, 2 h reaction time, curing temperature 120 °C, sodium phosphite concentration 40 g/L. Waterless dyeing process; using absolute ethanol as solvent, bath ratio 1 :50, curcumin 5% ( owf), dyeing at 80 °C for 45 min. The results show that the dyeing effect and fastness of viscose fabric are improved by this method. The final K/S value of the dyed fabric is 4. 287, and the color fastness can reach more than 3 grades. The cross-linking of esterification is shown by infrared spectroscopy, and the inclusion is shown by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous kyphosis is improved on the basis of vertebroplasty, which can well restore the height of compressed vertebral body and reduce bone cement leakage. In recent years, it has been widely used in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. However, it is often reported that there are recurrent fractures of the enhanced vertebral body and adjacent vertebral body after surgery, and the related factors affecting the recurrent fracture are still controversial. OBJECTIVE: To identify the risk factors for the fractures secondary to percutaneous kyphoplasty for treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures in the elderly by meta-analysis. METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted for the studies published from January 2009 to April 2019 on the risk factors for secondary fractures after percutaneous kyphoplasty in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, CBM, CNKI and Wan Fang databases and manually as well. After the relevant data were extracted, statistical analysis was carried out with RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The secondary fracture after percutaneous kyphoplasty for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture was related to age [WMD=1.87, 95%CI (0.79, 2.95), P < 0.05], bone mineral density [WMD=-0.46, 95%CI (-0.61, -0.31 ), P < 0.05], bone cement leakage [OR=2.68, 95% Cl (2.11, 3.39), P < 0.000 01], correction of kyphosis angle after primary operation [WMD=2, 95% Cl (0.34, 3.88), P=0.02] and recovery rate of vertebral height after primary operation [WMD=5.25, 95% Cl (2.16, 8.34), P=0.000 9]. (2) The secondary fracture after percutaneous kyphoplasty for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture was not related to sex [OR=0.83, 95% Cl (0.67, 1.02), P > 0.05], body mass index [WMD=-0.27, 95% Cl (-1.06, 0.51), P=0.49], cement volume [WMD=0.06, 95% Cl (-0.21, 0.32), P=0.68], surgical approach [OR=0.87, 95%CI (0.61, 1.25), P=0.46], primary fracture was thoracolumbar segment (T11-L.,) [OR=1.48, 95% Cl (0.93, 2.38), P=0.1]. (3) These results suggest that age, bone mineral density, bone cement leakage, correction of kyphosis angle after primary operation and recovery rate of vertebral height after primary operation may be the risk factors closely correlative to the secondary fracture after percutaneous kyphoplasty. There has not been enough evidence to support the associations between the secondary fracture and sex, body mass index, cement volume, surgical approach or thoracolumbar spine, and the above conclusions need to be studied and verified by more high quality literature in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to replace the synthetic pigment and broaden the application of capsicum red pigment in dyeing and finishing, the edible pigment capsanthin is mordantly dyed on viscose fibers, and then fixed by zein. The effects of mordant types and mordant dyeing methods on fabric dyeing properties were compared. The effects of mordant dyeing time, temperature, mordant dosage and pH value on fabric mordant dyeing properties were discussed, and the dyeing process was optimized. It compared the color fastness of fabrics before and after fixing with zein. The results showed that using aluminum sulfate as mordant in the same bath mordant dyeing could obtain deep color fabrics, and the optimal dyeing conditions were as follows: mordant dyeing time was about 45 min, temperature was 80 °C, aluminum sulfate dosage was 4.0% (owf), and pH value was 4.0. The dyed fabric has deep color and certain rubbing fastness and soaping fastness, but the color change fastness cannot meet the actual demand. After zein treatment, the color of the fabric is not affected, and the soaping fastness of the fabric is improved by 3-4 grades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to obtain the reasonable parameters of stope structure and realize safe and efficient mining with sublevel open stoping method in a certain mine, four groups of optimization schemes were designed by taking pillar thickness, chamber span and pillar width as variables in combination with the mine practice. The entropy coefficient-ideal point method evaluation model was used to evaluate and select the optimum scheme, and FLAC3D was used to simulate the scheme. The results of comparative analysis show that the comprehensive evaluation system can optimize reasonable structural parameters and has practical significance for mine production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The numerical simulations of different grade random roads are carried out using autoregressive (AR) model, and the travelling and launching integration models of vehicle-mounted antiaircraft missile based on flexible multi-body dynamics are established. According to the simulation results of vehicle dynamics, the worst missile launching time is established. The launching dynamics simulation is conducted and the missile attitude parameters are obtained based on the analyzed results. The effect of velocity and road condition on launching accuracy is analyzed. The research results show that all the three vehicle speeds on B-grade road can ensure launching safety, but vehicle speed on C-grade road is restricuted to 25 km/h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Neiguan" (PC 6) on myocardial fibrosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and explore preliminarily the mediating role of cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) and its downstream nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway., Methods: Six 12-week-old WKY male rats were employed as the normal group. Eighteen 12-week-old SHR were randomly divided into 3 groups, i.e. a model group, an EA group and a blocking group (EA after blocking α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor [α7nAchR]), with 6 rats in each one. In the EA group, EA was delivered at "Neiguan"(PC 6) and the site 0.5 cm from its left side, with disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/15 Hz in frequency and 1 mA in current intensity. One intervention took 30 min and was given once every 2 days, lasting 8 weeks. In the blocking group, prior to each EA, the α7nAchR specific blocker, α-bungartoxin was injected intravenously in the tails of the rats. After EA intervention, the systolic blood pressure (SBP), the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and the mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured with non-invasive blood pressure monitor. Using echocardiogram, the left ventricular (LV) anterior wall end-diastolic thickness (LVAWd) , LV posterior wall end-diastolic thickness (LVPWd) and the LV end-diastolic internal diameter (LVIDd) were measured. The level of hydroxyproline (Hyp) in the myocardial tissue was determined by using alkaline hydrolysis, and that of acetylcholine (Ach) was detected by ELISA. With the real-time PCR adopted, the mRNA expression of NF-κB p65, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 were determined., Results: Compared with the normal group, SBP, DBP, MAP, LVAWd and LVPWd were increased ( P <0.01), and LVIDd was decreased ( P <0.01) in the rats of the model group. SBP, DBP, MAP and LVAWd were dropped ( P <0.01, P <0.05), and LVIDd rose ( P <0.01) in the EA group when compared with those in the model group. The differences in the above indexes were not statistically significant between the blocking group and the model group ( P >0.05). Compared with the normal group, Hyp level and the mRNA expression of NF-κB p65, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the myocardial tissue increased ( P <0.01, P <0.05) and Ach level decreased ( P <0.01) in the model group. Hyp level, the mRNA expression of NF-κB p65, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the myocardial tissue were reduced ( P <0.05, P <0.01) and Ach level rose ( P <0.01) in the EA group when compared with those in the model group. These indexes were not different statistically between the blocking group and the model group ( P >0.05)., Conclusion: CAP may be involved in ameliorating the pathological damage of myocardial fibrosis during EA at "Neiguan"(PC 6). The underlying effect mechanism is associated with up-regulating the neurotransmitter, Ach and down-regulating mRNA expression of NF-κB p65 and pro-inflammatory factors such as TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in myocardial tissue.

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Neiguan" (PC 6) on cardiac function of ventriculus sinister in rats with spontaneously hypertensive (SHR), and to explore the mediation effect of endothelin-1 (ET-1)/endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)., Methods: Six 12-week-old male Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were taken as the normal group. Eighteen 12-week-old SHR were randomly divided into a model group, an EA group and a sham EA group, 6 rats in each group. The rats in the EA group were treated with EA (disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/15 Hz in frequency, 1 mA in current intensity) at "Neiguan" (PC 6), 30 min each time, once a day for 8 weeks. The rats in the sham EA group were treated with superficial needling at "Neiguan" (PC 6) with no electrical stimulation applied. After treatment, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS) were tested by echocardiographic analysis. The left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), heart rate (HR), the maximum rate of increase/decrease of left ventricular pressure (±dp/dt max ) were detected. The serum content of ET-1 was detected by ELISA. Western blot was used to evaluate the expression of ETAR, eNOS in myocardial tissue of left ventricular., Results: Compared with the normal group, LVEF, LVFS, +dp/dt max /LVSP and -dp/dt max /LVSP were decreased ( P <0.01, P <0.05), while LVSP, LVEDP, +dp/dt max and -dp/dt max were increased ( P <0.01) in the model group. Compared with the model group, LVEF, LVFS, +dp/dt max /LVSP and -dp/dt max /LVSP were increased ( P <0.01, P <0.05), and LVSP and LVEDP were decreased ( P <0.01) in the EA group. Compared with the normal group, the serum content of ET-1 and the expression of ETAR in myocardial tissue were increased ( P <0.01), whereas expression of eNOS was decreased ( P <0.01) in the model group. Compared with the model group, the serum content of ET-1 and the expression of ETAR in myocardial tissue were decreased ( P <0.05), whereas expression of eNOS was increased ( P <0.05) in the EA group., Conclusion: EA intervention may alleviate hypertensive cardiac function damage by up-regulating the expression of eNOS protein in myocardial tissue, down-regulating the serum content of ET-1 and the expression of ETAR protein in myocardial tissue.

Objective: To proceed the clinical evaluation of DNA microarray for thalassemia gene detection., Methods: Peripheral blood samples of 166 thalassemia gene test subjects were collected and tested for thalassemia genes by microarray chip method and Gap-PCR method combined with PCR-reverse dot blot hybridization method according to double-blind control test. The specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and total coincidence rate of the microarray chip method were evaluated. When the two methods were inconsistent, multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification (MLPA) was used to verify the deletional α-thalassemia., Results: Compared with Gap-PCR method, specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, Youden index, and total coincidence rate of microarray chip method was 100% (70/70), 96.88% (93/96), 100% (93/93), 95.89% (70/73), 0.969, and 97.59% (162/166), respectively, while compared with PCR-reverse dot blot hybridization method was 100% (125/125), 100% (41/41), 100% (41/41), 100% (125/125), 1, and 100% (166/166), respectively., Conclusion: The microarray chip method for α-thalassemia gene detection shows the advantages of high specificity, sensitivity, and throughput.

The present study optimized the extraction of flavonoids from Lonicera rupicola Hook. f. et Thoms(LRH) and explored its pharmacological effects, such as resisting inflammation, relieving pain, enhancing immunity, and inhibiting pyroptosis, aiming to provide data support and scientific basis for the development and utilization of LRH. Response surface methodology(RSM) was applied to optimize the extraction of flavonoids from LRH based on the results of single-factor experiments. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of LRH flavonoids were evaluated via inflammation and pain models in mice, such as xylene-induced ear swelling, carrageenan-induced footpad swelling, writhing caused by acetic acid, and paw licking. The effect of LRH flavonoids on the carbon clearance index of monocytes and serum immunoglobulin A(IgA) and IgM levels was analyzed on the immunosuppression model induced by cyclophosphamide in mice. The anti-oxidative effect in vivo of LRH flavonoids on liver superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase(CAT), and malondialdehyde(MDA) levels was determined based on the chronic/subacute aging model in mice induced by D-galactose. The levels of cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-1(caspase-1), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), and IL-18 in the supernatant of J774 A.1 mononuclear phagocytes were detected to evaluate the effect of LRH flavonoids on the pyroptosis of mononuclear phagocytes in mice induced by the combination of lipopolysaccharide(LPS) and adenosine triphosphate(ATP). Meanwhile, the effect of LRH flavonoids on the cAMP-PKA signaling pathway was also explored. The optimum conditions for the extraction of LRH flavonoids are listed below: extraction temperature of 65 ℃, the ethanol concentration of 50%, extraction time of 60 min, a material-liquid ratio at 1∶25, and the yield of LRH flavonoids of 0.553%. RSM determined the multiple quadratic regression equation model of response value and variables as follows: the yield of LRH flavonoids=0.61-0.48A+0.1B+0.029C-0.014D+0.32AB+0.04AC-0.012AD-0.02BC+0.037BD-0.031CD-0.058A~2-0.068B~2-0.069C~2-0.057D~2. LRH flavonoids could effectively inhibit ear swelling and footpad swelling, reduced acetic acid-induced writhing, and delayed the paw licking response time in mice. Additionally, LRH flavonoids could improve the carbon clearance index in immunosuppressed mice, potentiate the activities of SOD and CAT and reduce MDA levels in the liver of aging mice induced by D-galactose, and effectively inhibit macrophage pyroptosis by decreasing the levels of caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18. The results reveal that LRH flavonoids possess excellent pharmacological activities such as resisting inflammation and oxidation, relieving pain, and enhancing immunity. They can inhibit pyroptosis by enhancing the cAMP-PKA signaling pathway. The results of this study can underpin the pharmacological research, development, and utilization of LRH.

Objective: To perform dried blood spots thalassemia gene detection in patients with positive blood phenotypes by microarray technology, and evaluate its value in clinical detection., Methods: DNA samples were extracted from dried blood spots of 410 patients. Microarray technology was used to detect 3 deletion and 3 non-deletion types of α-thalassemia and 19 β-thalassemia point mutations which were common gene mutions in China., Results: There were 357 positive cases in all the 410 tested samples with the positive rate 87.07%, among which 299 cases (72.93%) carried deletion or point mutations of α-thalassemia, 29 cases (7.07%) carried point mutations of β-thalassemia and 29 cases (7.07%) carried gene mutations of complex αβ-thalassemia syndrome. The mutations of α-thalassemia were involved with -- SEA heterozygous deletion (177 cases, 59.2%), α CS heterozygote (60 cases, 20.07%) and several other genotypes. The common mutations of β- thalassemia were involved with β CD41-42 heterozygote (10 cases, 34.48%) and β CD17 heterozygote (9 cases, 31.03%). The mutations of complex αβ-thalassemia syndrome were mainly involved with -- SEA /αα+β CD17 /β N (7 cases, 24.14%), α CS α/αα + β CD41-42 /β N (3 cases, 10.34%) and -α 4.2 /αα + β CD17 /β N (3 cases, 10.34%)., Conclusion: The most common genetic mutations are -- SEA for α-thalassemia and CD41-42 for β-thalassemia in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A and β-thalassemia can be detected at the same time by microarray chip technology in a high throughput manner.

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) with the involvement of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ -ATPase2a (SERCA2a)/phospholamban (PLB) on the synergistic and attenuated effect of aconitine for heart failure., Methods: Thirty SPF-ranked SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, a model group, an EA group, an aconitine group and an EA plus aconitine group, with 6 rats in each group. The rat model of acute heart failure was established by infusion of high-dose propranolol hydrochloride solution into the right femoral vein. After stabilized for 10 min in the modeled rats, EA was exerted at "Neiguan" (PC 6), with disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/15 Hz in frequency, 3 mA in intensity, for 30 min in the EA group and the EA plus aconitine group; aconitine solution (10 μg/kg) was injected from the left femoral veins in the rats in the aconitine group and the EA plus aconitine group. Hemodynamic indexes such as the left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP) and the maximum rate of increase/decrease of left ventricular pressure (±dp/dt max ) were detected and arrhythmia types were observed and scored. SERCA2a protein and PLB protein expressions in left ventricular myocardial tissue of rats were detected by multiplex fluorescence Western blot., Results: Compared with the control group, LVSP and ±dp/dt max all were decreased after modeling and at each time point after intervention in the model group ( P <0.01). Compared with the model group, ±dp/dt max was increased in the aconitine group and the EA group at 1 min after intervention ( P <0.01, P <0.05), +dp/dt max was increased at 10 to 60 min after intervention in the aconitine group and at 20 to 60 min after intervention in the EA group ( P <0.01, P <0.05), LVSP was increased at 1 min after intervention in the EA group ( P <0.01), while LVSP and ±dp/dt max were all increased at 1 to 60 min after intervention in the EA plus aconitine group ( P <0.01, P <0.05). Compared with the aconitine group, LVSP and +dp/dt max were increased at 1 min after intervention in the EA group ( P <0.01, P <0.05), LVSP and ±dp/dt max at 1 min after intervention while +dp/dt max at 20 to 60 min after intervention were all increased in the EA plus aconitine group ( P <0.01, P <0.05). Compared with the EA group, +dp/dt max was higher at 10 to 60 min after intervention in the EA plus aconitine group ( P <0.01). Compared with the model group, arrhythmia score was higher in the aconitine group ( P <0.01). Compared with the aconitine group, arrhythmia score was lower in the EA group and the EA plus aconitine group ( P <0.01). As compared with the control group, the expression of SERCA2a protein in the left ventricular cardiomyocytes was decreased ( P <0.01), while the expression of PLB protein was increased in the model group ( P <0.01). Compared with the model group, the expression of SERCA2a protein was increased in both the EA group and the EA plus aconitine group ( P <0.05, P <0.01), and PLB protein expression was decreased in each intervention group respectively ( P <0.01, P <0.05). As compared with the EA group and the aconitine group, the expression of SERCA2a protein was increased and the expression of PLB protein was decreased in the EA plus aconitine group separately ( P <0.05, P <0.01)., Conclusion: The intervention with electroacupuncture achieves the synergism/ attenuation effect of aconitine for the improvements in heart failure probably by up-regulating the expression of SERCA2a and down-regulating the expression of PLB in myocardial tissue.

Objective: To observe the influence of electroacupuncture(EA) combined with aconitine on the hemodyna-mics, echocardiogram, and arrhythmias in heart failure rats, so as to explore the facilitation and attenuation effects of EA combined with aconitine., Methods: SD rats were randomly divided into control, model, aconitine and aconitine+EA groups, with 6 rats in each group. Propranolol hydrochloride was used to establish the heart failure model. Rats in the aconitine group were trea-ted with aconitine continuously for 1 h (40 μg/kg). Rats in the aconitine +EA group were given the same treatment as the aconitine group, meanwhile, EA (3 mA, 2 Hz/15 Hz) was applied at "Neiguan"(PC6) for 30 min. Left ventricular catheter and small animal ultrasound imaging system were used to observe the heart hemodynamic indexes such as left ventricular systolic pressure(LVSP), maximal rate for left ventricular pressure rising (+dp/dt max ), and maximal rate for left ventricular pressure declining (-dp/dt max ), ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS). The incidence rate of arrhythmia and arrhythmia score was observed by electrocardiogram., Results: Following modeling and compared with the control group, LVSP, +dp/dt max , -dp/dt max , EF and FS in the aconitine group all decreased( P <0.01) and maintained in the model group. The LVSP of rats in the aconitine group was higher than that of the model group at 15 min after administration of aconitine ( P <0.05), and +dp/dtmax was higher at 15, 60 min after administration ( P <0.05). Since 15 min after administration, EF and FS in the aconitine group were significantly higher than those of the model group ( P <0.01, P <0.05). After EA intervention, compared with the aconitine group, LVSP, +dp/dt max , -dp/dt max in the aconitine+EA group were significantly increased ( P <0.01, P <0.05) during administration and EF and FS in the aconitine+EA group significantly increased at the beginning of administration of aconitine and 30 and 60 min during administration ( P <0.05, P <0.01). The incidence rate of arrhythmia was 100% in the aconitine group, and 50.0% in the rats of aconitine + EA group. The arrhythmia score of aconitine + EA group was significantly lower than that of aconitine group ( P <0.05)., Conclusion: Aconitine has a certain inotropic effect, but it is easy to cause arrhythmia. The combination of EA and aconitine can not only improve the contractile function of the heart in rats with heart failure, but also reduce the toxic reaction of aconitine.

Objective: To investigate the effect of acupuncture in different tissue structures on deqi and the electromyography of acupoint area., Methods: Twenty healthy subjects, respectively accepted 4 kinds of needling stimulation, i.e. stimulating skin at Zusanli (ST36), stimulating ST36 with and without skin anesthesia using compound lidocaine cream, and stimulating at Dubi (ST35) without skin anesthesia. Deqi sensation of the acupuncturist and subjects were measured according to MGH Acupuncture Sensation Scale (MASS) during needling, and the myoelectricity around the acupoints was recorded simultaneously. The occurrence rate and intensity of the different deqi sensations, the relationship between the acupuncturist's and subjects' deqi sensations, and the integrated electromyogram (iEMG) were analyzed., Results: Sharp pain and tingling were the main sensations during skin needling at ST36. Fullness, dull pain, soreness and acupuncturist's tightness were the main sensations during needling with or without skin anesthesia at ST36. Fullness was the main sensation during needling at ST35, while the intensity was lower than that during needling at ST36. A positive correlation in the intensity was found between subjects' fullness and acupuncturist's tightness during needling with or without skin anesthesia at ST36. The subjects' fullness appeared earlier about 5 seconds than acupuncturist's tightness. The iEMGs during subjects' fullness and acupuncturist's tightness were 2-3 times of that before needling., Conclusion: Deqi sensations such as subjects' fullness, dull pain, soreness and acupuncturist's tightness are mainly related to the activity of the muscles under the acupoints. Subjects' fullness and acupuncturist's tightness always appear together. Acupuncturist's tightness may be mediated by the muscle stretch reflex induced by needling stimulation.

Chronic hypertension evoked aberrant myocardial remodeling is the main reason for progressive death from heart failure. It is of great clinical significance to find effective prevention and treatment methods to block this pathological process. It has been shown that imbalance of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) induced by chronic hypertension, i.e., hyper-excitation of sympathetic nerve system and suppression of parasympathetic (vagal) nerve system, activates immune cells-mediated inflammatory responses, and exacerbates the pathological remodeling of cardiac tissue. Except the negative inotropic outcomes, excitation of vagal nerves also has an anti-inflammatory effect which is mediated by activating the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAIP). Previous studies showed that electroacupuncture (EA) could exert anti-hypertensive and systematic anti-inflammatory effects by increasing vagal activity. In addition, preliminary study from our lab demonstrated that EA was able to alleviate the pathological progress from hypertension to cardiac hypertrophy. However, the potential role of CAIP in restoring hypertension induced aberrant myocardial remodeling is still unknown. Herein, based on the alteration of ANS function in hypertension and EA's impact on vagal activity, we propose novel research ideas that EA could attenuate the pathological process of hypertension induced abnormal myocardial remodeling via activating CAIP.

Objective: To investigate the autonomic nervous mechanism of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of ischemic cardiomyopathy by observing the influence of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Neiguan"(PC6) on the superior cervical cardiac nerve activity and cardiac function in chronic myocardial ischemia (CMI) rats., Methods: Male SD rats were randomly divided into control, model and EA groups ( n ＝8 in each group). The CMI model was established by ligating the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery. EA (15 Hz, 1.5 mA) was applied to bilateral PC6 for 20 min, once a day for 28 consecutive days. Cardiac sympathetic nerve electrical activities (CSNEA), electrocardiogram (ECG) of the standard limb lead Ⅱ and ultrasonic cardiogram (UCG) were recorded for observing changes of ST segment height, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS)．., Results: The CSNEA was significantly increased( P <0.001), and the hight of ECG-STⅡ， LVEF and LVFS were considerably decreased in the model group relevant to the control group ( P <0.01, P <0.001), while after the intervention, modeling induced increase of CSNEA and decrease of ECG-STⅡ， LVEF and LVFS were obviously suppressed in the EA group in comparison with the model group ( P <0.01, P <0.05, P <0.001)., Conclusion: EA of PC6 can improve cardiac function and myocardial ischemia in CMI rats, which is possibly related to its effect in decreasing cardiac sympathetic hyperactivity.

The measurement of heart rate variability (HRV) has the advantages of noninvasiveness and simple operation and is widely used in clinical trials and scientific research for assessing reactions of the autonomic nervous system. More and more studies on acupuncture also take HRV as an important index. In addition to the definition, origin, analytical methods, and significance of time domain and frequency domain parameters of HRV, we reviewed the situations of application of HRV to acupuncture research in recent years, analyzed the influence of acupuncture and sham acupuncture, different acupuncture methods, and different acupoints on HRV, and confirmed the role of HRV in reflecting the effect of acupuncture on the vagal and sympathetic systems. However, various interference factors for HRV measurement and diverse methods for data analysis may lead to great differences in the experimental results of HRV and the interpretation of parameters. Therefore, careful analysis is needed in future studies on acupuncture with HRV as an observation index.

Acupuncture therapy has a positive role in the prevention and treatment of some related diseases by regulating autonomic nervous function. But it has been found in experimental researches that the modulatory effects of acupuncture on autonomic nervous system are not always consistent with each other. Because in the animal studies on the mechanism of acupuncture intervention, the anesthetic agent has to be used and definitely affects the activities of the autonomic nervous system while playing its pharmacological effects. Hence, it is very significant to explore the rational application of anesthetic agents and minimize their unfavorable impacts on the research outcomes. In the present paper, we make a retrospective analysis on (1) the effect of acupuncture intervention on activities of the autonomic nerve in animal models of myocardial ischemia, gastrointestinal mobility, and urinary system; (2) the effect of anesthetics as isoflurane, urethane, pentobarbital sodium, ketamine, α-chloralose, propofolum, etc. on activities of the autonomic nerve system. In terms of different anesthetic modes and various depths of anesthesia by using isoflurane inhalation, mixed solution of urethane and chloralose, etc., some approaches for assessing the state of anesthesia in accordance with the pupillary reflex, righting reflex, footboard reflex, swallowing reflex, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, respiration frequency, ventilation volume, oxygen saturation, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, neuromuscular blo-ckade, etc. in combination with the indexes directly and indirectly reflecting functions of the sympathetic and vagus nerves are proposed to analyze the impact of different anesthetic states on the therapeutic effect of acupuncture in various models of dysfunction of the autonomic nerve system. Under the circumstances, it is possible to provide a reference for rational use of anesthetic agents and dosages in the acupuncture research of autonomic nerve regulation.

It has been shown that ischemia preconditioning (IPC) can attenuate the myocardial injury induced by ischemic and reperfusion. But it was rarely used in clinic due to its inoperability. Previous studies indicate that electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment can mimic myocardial ischemia preconditioning (MIPC) to produce cardioprotective effect. The activated adenosine A 2 b receptor has been proven to be involved in mediating the cardioprotection of IPC. In the studies on acupuncture analgesia, it was reported that adenosine receptor was activated by acupuncture stimulation, and acupuncture pretreatment can affect the acti-vities of intracellular A 2 b receptor. Based on those mentioned above, it is highly likely that the A 2 b receptor may also participate in the cardioprotection produced by acupuncture pretreatment. In this paper, we comprehensively reviewed relevant studies regarding 1) the cardioprotective effect of IPC and its limitations, 2) the similar cardioprotection produced by both acupuncture pre-treatment and IPC, 3) the mechanism underlying myocardial ischemic injury and intracellular calcium regulation, 4) the acti-vation of adenosine receptors and effects of acupuncture, 5) the relationship between adenosine receptors and intracellular calcium ion, and 6) the effect of acupuncture on adenosine receptors, so as to provide a novel assumption that A 2 b receptor may be a key factor in mediating the cardioprotection of acupuncture pretreatment. Our future research will systematically explore the me-chanism of acupuncture pretreatment in protecting ischemic myocardium from myocardial cell adenosine A 2 b receptor and intracellular calcium signal transduction related factors.

To identify plants with potential application in phytoremediation, the concentration of cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in soil and 14 dominant plants sampled from a lead-zinc mining area in Nanjing City was measured. Furthermore, the heavy metal contamination of soil, and bioaccumulation and translocation of the 6 heavy metals by the 14 plants were evaluated. The results showed that the principal contaminants were Cd, Mn, Zn, and Pb, and their single factor pollution index was 45.71, 11.68, 10.40, and 4.46, respectively. Furthermore, the Nemerow index of this area was 33.45, which indicated that the mining area was severely polluted. All the 14 dominant plant species were metal-tolerant, although the concentration of metal varied between different spices. Among them, Pteris multifida and Trachelospermum jasminoides significantly accumulated the heavy metals. The concentration of Zn in all the dominant plants was beyond the normal range; however, the bio-concentration factor (BCF) of only Digitaria sanguinalis for Zn was>1, while the BCF of the remaining species for the 6 heavy metals was<1. Furthermore, the heavy metal bio-transfer factor (BTF) of the 14 species was generally high. The BTF of Helianthus tuberosus and Dendranthema indicum for the 6 heavy metals was>1. According to the mechanism of heavy metal accumulation, the 14 plant species were classified into 3 types:accumulators ( H. tuberosus, D. indicum, Phytolacca americana, Justicia procumbens, D. sanguinalis, Sonchus brachyotus, Solanum nigrum , and Setaria viridis ), root compartment ( P. multifida and T. jasminoides ), and excluders ( Solidago decurrens, Duchesnea indica, Carex breviculmis , and Cyrtomium fortunei ).

Objective: To observe the effects of mild moxibustion on the uterine microcirculation in patients of primary dysmenorrhea (PD) and explore the potential mechanism of mild moxibustion in the treatment of PD., Methods: A total of 30 patients were randomized into a treatment group and a waiting list group, 15 cases in each one. Additionally, 15 healthy people were collected in the healthy group. In the treatment group, the mild moxibustion was used at Guanyuan (CV 4) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6). The treatment was given once a day since 5 to 7 days before menstruation until menses, 20 min each time. The treatment lasted for 3 menstrual cycles. No any intervention was provided in the waiting list group and the healthy group. The three-dimensional Doppler ultrasound test was adopted to observe the changes of the relevant indexes of uterine arterial blood, such as the systolic velocity (Vs), the diastolic velocity (Vd), the mean velocity (Vm), peak systolic velocity/end diastolic velocity (S/D), pulsatility index (PI) and the resistance index (RI) before treatment and at the end of 3-menstrual-cycle treatment., Results: Before treatment, as compared with the healthy group, Vs, Vd and Vm reduced in the treatment group and the waiting list group, S/D, PI and RI increased in the treatment group (all P <0.05). The differences were not significant in S/D, PI and RI between the waiting list group and the healthy group (all P >0.05). After treatment for 3 menstrual cycles, Vs, Vd and Vm increased in the treatment group (all P <0.05), S/D, PI and RI reduced (all P <0.05). The difference was not significant in every index before and after trial in the waiting list group and the healthy group (all P >0.05). After treatment, Vs, Vd and Vm in the treatment group were higher than those in the waiting list group (all P <0.05) and the difference was not significant as compared with those in the healthy group (all P >0.05). S/D, PI and RI in the treatment group were lower than those in the waiting list group and the healthy group (all P <0.05)., Conclusion: The mild moxibustion remarkably improves the uterine microcirculation in PD patients, which is achieved possibly by increasing blood velocity and reducing vascular resistance.

Objective To explore the association between the severity of scrub typhus (ST) and the serum procalcitonin (PCT) level. Methods The clinical data of 58 ST patients who were treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and confirmed by Xiamen Municipal Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) from January 2016 to October 2017,were retrospectively analyzed. According to clinical manifestations and related laboratory tests,these patients were divided into four grades:Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,and Ⅳ. These four grade groups were compared in terms of age,interval from symptom onset to hospital presentation,hospitalization days,and serum PCT level. Results These 58 patients were divided into four grade groups:grade Ⅰ group (n=17),grade Ⅱ group (n=17),grade Ⅲ group (n=11),and grade Ⅳ group (n=13). No significant difference was found among these four groups in terms of age (F=0.618,P=0.606),interval from symptom onset to hospital presentation (F=1.744,P=0.169),and hospitalization days (F=0.398,P=0.755).However,the median serum PCT level in the grade Ⅳ patients[2.60(1.33,61.08)ng/ml] was significantly higher than those in grade I[0.24(0.10,0.33)ng/ml;Z=-4.63,P=0.000], grade Ⅱ[0.29(0.21,0.51)ng/ml;Z=-4.63,P=0.000], and grade Ⅲ[1.33(0.89,2.41)ng/ml;Z=-2.09,P=0.040].The median serum PCT level in the grade Ⅲ patients was also significantly higher than grade Ⅰ (Z=-4.16,P=0.000)and grade Ⅱ(Z=-3.83,P=0.000).There was no significant difference between the grade Ⅰ patients and grade Ⅱ patients(Z=-1.37,P=0.170).There was significantly positive correlation between PCT level and the severity of ST (r=0.804,P=0.000).Conclusion There is positive correlation between serum PCT level and the severity of ST,and serum PCT level may be a biomarker in assessing the severity of ST.

By reviewing the literature regarding the development mechanism of myocardial stunning, effects of acupuncture on myocardial ischemic injury, and correlation between acupuncture and κ-opioid receptor, it was suggested that acupuncture was highly likely to act on κ-opioid receptor in myocardial cells, and directly treated myocardial malfunction induced by myocardial stunning through κ-opioid receptor and its signaling pathway. In addition, acupuncture could inhabit the signaling pathway of adrenoceptor β1, one of the main functional receptors, to indirectly improve myocardial ischemic injury. From κ-opioid receptor signaling pathway, the action mechanism of acupuncture for prevention and treatment of myocardial stunning was discussed in this paper, hoping to provide new ideas for possible mechanism of acupuncture for myocardial ischemic injury.

Concentrations of seven heavy metals in the coastal sediments of the northern Dongying City were measured. The spatial distribution and sources of heavy metals were discussed and the ecological risk was assessed using sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) and the potential ecological risk index (PERI). The concentration ranges of Hg, As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Zn were calculated as 0.005-0.092, 3.44-10.41, 6.59-19.00, 0.50-1.10, 32.42-60.25, 1.72-23.78, and 31.13-69.96 mg·kg -1 , respectively. Higher metal concentrations were observed at site S10, which was close to the mouth of Tiaohe River and contained plenty of organic matter, silt, and clay. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that As and Pb in the sediments were derived from natural weathering processes, while other metals were mainly attributed to anthropogenic sources, i.e., land-sourced pollutants transported by runoff. Concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, and Cu at some sampling sites exceeded the threshold effect level (TEL) stated in the SQGs implying occasional harmful effects on biological life. PERI showed that the sediments in this area generally had a medium risk, except sites S10, S3, and S9 posing a considerable risk, and that Cd and Hg were the major contributors to the ecological risk. It is necessary to take effective measures to control heavy metal fluxes from rivers around this area and to reduce the risk.

Warming-induced decrease in seasonal snow cover has a great potential to affect soil nitrogen cycle in alpine cold forest ecosystems. In this study, a wooden-shelter method was used to remove the snow accumulation. Soil nitrogen pools and mineralization rates in the snow removal and control plots were measured synchronously in three critical periods (early snow cover, deep snow cover and snow cover melting) in a subalpine spruce forest of western Sichuan, China. Seasonal snow cover kept soil from cold air temperature. Snow removal decreased average and minimum soil temperatures (5 cm) by 0.33 and 1.17 ℃, respectively. In addition, snow removal caused a positive effect on soil frost depth and freeze-thaw cycle. There was a significant dynamic in soil labile nitrogen pool among different periods. Snow removal on average increased NH 4 + -N, NO 3 - -N and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) contents by 38.6%, 23.5% and 57.3%, respectively, over the winter. Moreover, snow removal increased soil net nitrification and mineralization rates in the snow co-ver melting period. Overall, warming-induced decrease in snow cover could stimulate winter soil nitrogen cycle of subalpine forests.

Shexiang Baoxin pill(SBP) is widely used for treating coronary heart disease in clinic, with ginsenosides as its main effective component. This study was designed to investigate and compare the pharmacokinetic characteristics of five ginsenosides of five compounds after multiple oral administrations, ginseng extract(GE) and SBP in myocardial infarction rats. After intragastric administration to myocardial infarction rats, the plasma samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem triple-quad mass spectrometry. The results showed that Cmax of five compounds in all groups were less than 200 μg•L⁻¹. Tmax of corresponding analytes between groups revealed that ginsenosides in both SBP and GE were absorbed faster than each of the five compounds, indicating that GE and compounds contain components promoting absorption of ginsenosides. The oral administration doses of ginsenosides in SBP were the least in all groups, but with the greatest AUC0-tand AUCINF, which indicated that ginsenosides in SBP had the best absorption in all groups after oral administration to myocardial infarction rats. This study also demonstrated that compound is the best form of traditional Chinese medicine., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Objective: To investigate the effect of α-lipoic acid on the oxidative stress of wound tissues and diabetic wound healing in mice with diabetic feet., Methods: Sixty male C57BL/6J mice weighting 200-300 g were randomly divided into model group (control group, n =15), α-lipoic acid-treated model group ( n =15), miR-29b mimic group ( n =15), and miR-29b mimic negative control group (NC group, n =15). All animals received intraperitoneal injection of streptozocin to establish the diabetic model. Then, a full thickness wound of 5 mm×2 mm in size was created at 4 weeks after modeling. All mice were administrated with high-sugar-fat-diet. At the same day after modeling, α-lipoic acid-treated model group was continuously given intravenous injection of 100 mg/(kg·d) α-lipoic acid for 14 days; miR-29b mimic group and NC group received the tail intravenous injection of lentiviral vector for miR-29b mimic and miR-29b mimic negative control (a total of 2×10 7 TU), respectively, with the treatment of α-lipoic acid. The wound healing was observed and wound area was measured at 7 and 14 days. The wound tissues were harvested to detect the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) using xanthine oxidase method and 5, 5-dithiobis-2-nitrobenzoic acid staining method at 14 days. At the same day, 7, and 14 days after modeling, the relative miR-29b expression in wound tissues from control and α-lipoic acid-treated model groups was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR., Results: All mice survived to the experiment end. The wound healing was faster in α-lipoic acid-treated group than control group. At 7 and 14 days, the relative wound area and miR-29b expression level were significantly lower, while the contents of SOD and GSH were significantly higher in α-lipoic acid-treated group than control group ( P <0.05). In addition, miR-29b mimic group had significantly increased relative wound area and significantly decreased the contents of SOD and GSH when compared with NC group at 7 and 14 days ( P <0.05)., Conclusions: α-lipoic acid could inhibit oxidative stress and promote diabetic wound healing by suppressing expression of miR-29b in mice.

Objective: To observe the clinical effects of early blood purification in the treatment of phenol burn patients complicated by acute kidney injury (AKI)., Methods: Five phenol burn patients complicated by AKI, matched with the inclusion criteria, were hospitalized from January 2010 to July 2014. Within post injury hour 24, patients received rapid liquid support, positive wound management, and hemoperfusion (HP) combined with continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) for 2 to 3 hours, then HP was stopped and CVVH was continued for 16 to 21 hours. HP combined with CVVH was performed for 2 to 3 times, then HP was stopped and CVVH was continued for 12 to 22 days. On post injury day (PID) 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, and 21, urea nitrogen, creatinine, ALT, AST, total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL) in serum were determined, and the volume of liquid intake, urine, ultrafiltration, and liquid output were recorded, and the concentrations of IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α in serum were determined by ELISA. General conditions of patients were recorded. Data were processed with one-way analysis of variance and LSD- t test., Results: (1) On PID 1, the levels of urea nitrogen and creatinine were (9.0 ± 3.2) mmol/L and (115 ± 24) µmol/L respectively, which were obviously higher than normal values (with the values of 2.9-8.2 mmol/L and 45-104 µmol/L respectively). On PID 3, 5, 7 and 21, the levels of urea nitrogen were (12.5 ± 4.1), (11.2 ± 5.6), (8.7 ± 2.3) and (6.4 ± 3.9) mmol/L respectively, which were similar with the value of DID 1 (with t values 1.53, 0.76, 0.17 and 1.17 respectively, P values above 0.05). On PID 14, the level of urea nitrogen was (15.8 ± 3.3) mmol/L, which was obviously higher than the value of PID 1 (t =3 .29, P = 0.023). On PID 3, 5, 7 and 14, the levels of creatinine were (248 ± 67), (224 ± 87), (276 ± 59) and (307 ± 77) µmol/L respectively, which were obviously higher than the value of PID 1 (with t values 4.17, 2.70, 5.65 and 5.32 respectively, P values below 0.01). On PID 21, the level of creatinine was (78 ± 28) µmol/L, which was obviously lower than the value of PID 1 (t = 2.23, P = 0.041). The levels of ALT, AST, TBIL, and DBIL were higher than normal values from PID 1, and the levels were higher than normal values on PID 3, 5, 7, and 14, and they were similar with the normal values on PID 21. (2) On PID 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, and 21, the volume ratio of liquid intake to liquid output maintained from1:1 to 2:1. On PID 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14, although the volume of urine fluctuated, they were still less than 400 mL/d, and the volume for ultrafiltration showed a tendency from declining at first to a rise later. On PID 21, the volume of urine increased, and the volume for ultrafiltration decreased. (3) On PID 1, the serum concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6 increased, and the serum concentration of IL-10 decreased. On PID 3, 5, and 7, the serum concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6 decreased, and the serum concentration of IL-10 increased. On PID 14, the serum concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6 were elevated again but without a high peak value, and the serum concentration of IL-10 decreased but still higher than the value of PID 1. On PID 21, the serum concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6 obviously decreased, and the serum concentration of IL-10 obviously elevated. (4) Primary healing of the wound was achieved on PID 21 to 28. Patients were all cured and left hospital on PID 28 to 45. All the patients were followed up for 6 months to 3 years. At the last follow up, patients had no symptoms of chronic poisoning and the functions of liver and kidney were normal., Conclusions: Early blood purification treatment is effective for phenol patients phenol burn patients complicated by AKI, and wound healing and kidney function recovery were assured.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of penile frenulum lengthening in the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE)., Methods: Thirty-four males with PE were enrolled in this study, of whom 8 had received circumcision six months before and 4 had redundant prepuce, all with short frenulum. Those with a history of circumcision underwent reconstruction and lengthening of the frenulum, and those without received frenulum lengthening only., Results: Compared with the baseline, the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) was significantly increased at 1 month after operation ([1.35 ± 0.49] vs [5.71 ± 2.69] min, t = -9.42, P <0.01), (1.42 ± 0.5) vs (5.31 ± 2.74) min in the patients without circumcision (t = -7.41, P <0.01), (1.12 ± 0.35) vs (7.00 ± 2.20) min in those with circumcision (t = -7.24, P <0.01), and (1.50 ± 0.58) vs (4.75 ± 1.71) min in those with redundant prepuce (t = -3.81, P <0.05). Totally, 94% of the patients were satisfied with their sexual intercourse postoperatively., Conclusion: Penile frenulum plays an important role in penile erection. Reconstruction and/or lengthening of the frenulum can prolong penile erection and IELT in PE patients.

Objective: To establish and evaluate a rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) associated with depression for further elaborating the disease., Methods: Twenty-four Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: normal group (group N), T2DM group (group T) and T2DM with depression group (group T + D), with 8 rats in each group. The T2DM rat model was induced by high fat diet and low dose of Streptozotocin (STZ) injection, and in addition, the T2DM rats were made restraint stress for 21 days. After the model was established, the insulin tolerance test (ITT) and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were performed. Then the rat depression level was analyzed by open field test, and the concentration of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and dopamine (DA)was determined by ELISA to confirm the model identity., Results: The blood glucose level in group T and group T + D didn't return to the normal level at 180 minutes in the ITT and OGTT test; Compared with the group N, the max movement distance, retaining time in the central zone and the retaining frequency within 5 minutes in the group T + D decreased; 5-HT and DA level in the serum of rats in. group T + D was reduced., Conclusion: A rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus associated with depression has been successfully established by high fat diet and injection of low dose streptozotocin in combination with restraint stress for 21 days. This rat model is useful for further relevant studies.

Objective: To explore the clinical predictive factors of coronary artery stenosis located distally to myocardial bridging (MB)., Methods: A total of 603 patients with MB-mural coronary artery (MB-MCA) diagnosed by angiography initially were enrolled during May 2004 to May 2009. Their angiographic and clinical data were collected according to an uniform protocol. And standard questionnaires were used to acquire demographic information and clinical examinations. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to explore the related clinical predictive factors., Results: A total of 644 MB-MCAs were detected. Diastolic vessel diameters in MCAs were significantly smaller than those in reference segments ( (2.29 ± 0.39) vs (2.48 ± 0.40) mm, P < 0.001) . Lesions located distally to MB detected in 36 patients were significantly fewer than those proximally to MB in 382 patients (5.9% vs 62.4%, P < 0.001) . Univariate analysis suggested that the narrowing degree of vessel located proximally to MB, the narrowing degree and the number of diseased coronary vessels of non-MB-MCAs and course of hypertension were positively correlated with the narrowing degree of vessel located distally to MB (all P < 0.05) . Multivariate Logistic regression analysis suggested that the number of cigarettes per day, the narrowing degree of diseased coronary vessels of non-MB-MCAs, the narrowing degree of vessel located proximally to MB and diastolic narrow rate of MCA were positively correlated with the occurrence of coronary artery stenosis located distally to MB (all P < 0.05) . Their standardized coefficients (β) were 0.763, 0.727, 0.420 and 0.403 respectively. And the corresponding Exp (β) were 2.146 (1.089-4.229) , 2.070 (1.371-3.125) , 1.521 (1.050-2.204) and 1.496 (1.094-2.045) ., Conclusion: The number of cigarettes per day, the narrowing degree of diseased coronary vessels of non-MB-MCAs, the narrowing degree of vessel located proximally to MB and diastolic narrowing rate of MCA are likely to be important clinical predictive factors of coronary artery stenosis located distally to MB.

Objective: To explore the imaging and clinical characteristics and related risk factors of patients with coronary artery stenosis located proximally to myocardial bridging., Methods: This study enrolled 603 patients with angiography evidenced myocardial bridging-mural coronary artery between May 2004 to May 2009. Angiographic and clinic data were collected according to uniform protocol and standard questionnaires were used to obtain patients' demographic and clinical information. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to explore related risk factors., Results: Chest pain was present in 247 cases (41.0%). Dynamic ST-T changes were found in 229 cases (38%). A total of 644 myocardial bridging-mural coronary arteries were detected including 382 (62.4%) segments located proximally to myocardial bridging. Diastolic vessel diameters in the myocardial bridging segment were significantly smaller than reference segments (all P < 0.01). Stepwise multiple regression analysis suggested that vascular bifurcation lesions, the degree of narrowing and the number of diseased coronary vessels of non- myocardial bridging-mural coronary arteries, age, LDL-C/HDL-C, male gender, diabetes, and systolic narrow rate of myocardial bridging-mural coronary arteries were positively related with the narrowing degree of the first coronary artery stenosis located proximally to myocardial bridging (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Vascular bifurcation lesions, the degree of narrowing and the number of diseased coronary vessels of non- myocardial bridging-mural coronary arteries, age, LDL-C/HDL-C, male, diabetes and dyslipidemia were positively related with the narrowing degree of the most severe coronary artery stenosis located proximally to myocardial bridging (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01)., Conclusions: Myocardial ischemia is common in patients with myocardial bridging and the artery segments located proximally to myocardial bridging are prone to stenosis. Systolic narrow rate of myocardial bridging-mural coronary arteries is one of major determinants of coronary artery stenosis located proximally to myocardial bridging. Whereas the other coronary heart disease risk factors are likely to play more important roles.

Objective: To determine the role of miR-155 in the pathogenesis of generalized myasthenia gravis (GMG) and the effect of dexamethasone (DXM) on miR-155., Methods: The expression of miR-155 in B cells from the GMG patients and healthy controls was analyzed by qPCR. The B cells were cultured with DXM and PBS. The B cell proliferation was examined by MTT; CD80 and CD86 frequencies were detected by flow cytometry; and anti-AChRIgG and isotypes anti-AChR-IgG1, 2, 3 in the supernatant were detected by ELISA., Results: qPCR revealed that the expression of miR-155 in the B cells was much higher than that in the controls, and the miR155 expression decreased after DXM treatment. flow cytometry showed that there was no significant difference in the proliferation and the expressions of CD80 and CD86 in the B cells between the DXM group and the PBS group. The concentration of anti-AChR-IgG1 was obviously lower in the DXM group than in the PBS group, but the concentration of anti-AChRIgG, anti-AChR-IgG2, and anti-AchR-IgG3 was similar., Conclusion: high expression of miR-155 may be associated with myasthenia gravis progression. DXM may disturb the antibody class switch of B cells by suppressing the expression of miR-155 and improve the symptom of MG patients.

Objective: To analyze the relationship between the number of removed axillary lymph nodes and prognosis of axillary node-negative breast cancer., Methods: The clinicopathological data of 655 patients with breast cancer were analyzed retrospectively. The disease-free survival curves were generated according to the number of removed axillary lymph nodes using Kaplan-Meier plots. The correlation between the co-variables and rate of breast cancer-related events was analyzed using Cox model., Results: The overall five year-disease free survival rate of the 655 cases was 94.4%. The rate of patients with lymph node number ≤ 12 was 90.3%, and that of lymph node number > 12 was 96.5%, with a statistically significant difference (P = 0.009). Significantly less breast cancer-related events were observed in patients with lymph node number > 12 (15/426, 3.5%) than that in patients with lymph node number ≤ 12 (22/229, 9.6%) (P = 0.009)., Conclusions: When axillary node dissection is indicated, dissection of lymph nodes >12 leads to much less breast cancer-related events than that in patients with dissected lymph node ≤ 12. The more lymph nodes are dissected, the more accurate prognosis can be estimated.

Objective: To study the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome distribution in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Qidong region of Jiangsu Province, China., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed. Subjects from Qidong of Jiangsu Province of China were screened among the locally enrolled residents by detecting hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) from May 2007 to May 2011 and were assigned to HBsAg-negative cohort or HBsAg-positive cohort. Then, the subjects were diagnosed according to alanine aminotransferase, alpha-fetoprotein and B ultrasound. The syndrome of the subjects was determined using a TCM questionnaire consisting of signs and symptoms., Results: A total of 5 908 subjects were enrolled in this survey, among whom, 4 718 were diagnosed with HbsAg infection (positive result of HbsAg detection) and 1 147 were negative. 143 subjects were excluded for not receiving the blood examination. The final diagnoses of the subjects were non-HBV infection (n=1128), HBV carrier (n=4019), chronic hepatitis B (n=225), posthepatitic cirrhosis (n=263) or liver cancer (n=111). The TCM syndrome differentiation results showed that there were differences in syndrome distribution between HBV-infected and non-HBV-infected patients. The main syndromes of the HBV-infected patients were qi deficiency, qi stagnation, blood stasis and dampness heat, related to the Zang of liver and spleen. The distribution principles of TCM syndrome among patients of HBV carrier, chronic hepatitis B and cirrhosis were similar. Moreover, with the progression of the patients' condition, the scores of syndromes increased, and the number of accompanying syndromes increased as well. The main syndromes of patients with liver cancer were blood stasis and excess heat, which was slightly different from that of the other HBV-infected patients., Conclusion: The TCM syndrome distribution in patients of HBV infection in Qidong region of Jiangsu Province shows regularity. The disorder is mainly due to qi stagnation and blood stasis and is also related to deficiency of healthy qi, especially deficiency of spleen qi.

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and the relationship between rational therapy and prognosis in primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL)., Methods: Clinical data of 23 patients pathologically confirmed as PCNSL and treated in our hospital from January 2005 to December 2007 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. SPSS 13.0 statistical analysis software was used to analyze the correlation between therapy, clinical characteristics and prognosis. Among the 23 patient, 10 were male and 13 were female, with a median age of 50 (2 - 75) years old. Eighteen patients were undertaken lumbar puncture, and tumor cells in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) was found in 4 patients. Tumorectomy was performed in 8 patient, while 15 patients biopsy. Among them, 4 accepted whole brain irradiation, 6 accepted associated chemotherapy based on a high-dose of methotrexate (MTX) and 13 accepted radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy., Results: Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that in this serial patients, the median survival time was 45.0 months and the 3-year survival rate was 56.5%. Log-Rank test revealed that the whole survival time and the non-progression survival time of radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy (43.8 and 30.0 months, respectively) and high-dose MTX chemotherapy (39.7 and 29.7 months, respectively) were much longer than those of radiotherapy alone (25.7 and 19.8 months, respectively, all P < 0.05). Log-Rank test showed no significant difference between high-dose MTX chemotherapy alone and radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy (P > 0.05), but the whole survival time was much shorter in high-dose MTX chemotherapy (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: The detection of tumor cells in CSF can confirm the diagnosis, but pathological biopsy is the gold standard. The efficacy of associated chemotherapy based on a high-dose of MTX combined with radiotherapy is much better than radiotherapy or chemotherapy alone.

Objective: To explore the feasibility and safety of microdrop-vitrification for epididymal spermatozoa obtained by percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) without cryoprotectants., Methods: We treated the epididymal sperm samples from 22 patients by conventional freezing (Group 1) and microdrop-vitrification without cryoprotectants (Group 2), and evaluated the effectiveness of the two methods by comparing their revival rate, retrieval rate and incidence of sperm nuclear DNA fractures., Results: Motile sperm were found in all but 1 case in Group 1. The revival rates of the frozen sperm were low in both Groups 1 and 2 ([18.16 +/- 9.38]% vs [21.99 +/- 10.95]%, P > 0.05), but statistically significant differences were shown between the two groups in the retrieval rate ([58.39 +/- 12.67]% vs [70.82 +/- 14.94]%, P < 0.01). Before freezing, nuclear DNA fractures existed in the epididymal sperm samples of all the 22 patients, comet sperm were seen after unicellular gel electrophoresis, and the incidence of sperm nuclear DNA fracture was (26.68 +/- 9.45)%. After freezing, no increase was observed in the incidence of sperm nuclear DNA fracture in either Group 1 or 2 ([28.68 +/- 12.54]% vs [27.64 +/- 10.70]%, P > 0.05)., Conclusion: Microdrop can be used as a suitable freezing carrier for a low number of sperm, and cryoprotectant-free vitrification with microdrop may be a simple, safe and effective method for the cryopreservation of a low number of epididymal sperm.

Aim: To prepare anti-Sperm protein 17 (Sp17) immunomagnetic nanoparticles (IMNPs), and make foundation for target diagnosis of ovarian cancer by magnetic resonance imaging., Methods: The anti-human Sp17 IMNPs were prepared by grafting anti-Sp17 antibodies on the surface of chitosan-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) using the linker of EDC/NHS (1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl]carbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide). The morphology and properties of the nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), the conjugation of the antibodies was evaluated by native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the immunologic activity of IMNPs was evaluated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A set of in vitro magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiments were performed after incubated the IMNPs with human Sp17 gene transfected ovarian cancer HO-8910 cells., Results: We had successfully grafted the MNPs with anti-Sp17 antibody and the IMNPs kept good bioactivity. The MRI showed that the IMNPs were targeted successfully to the positive cells, and no obviously non-specific adsorption was observed., Conclusion: The anti-Sp17 IMNPs with good specificity can used for further study of ovarian cancer target therapy.

Objective: To study the plasma content of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in patients with severe burn during shock stage and probe its clinical significance., Methods: Forty-two patients aged 18-60 years, with total burn surface area 30% TBSA or full-thickness burn area > or = 10% TBSA, hospitalized within 4 hours after burn, were divided into A group (with total burn surface area 30%-50% TBSA or full-thickness burn area 10%-20% TBSA, n = 21), and B group (with total burn surface area > 50% TBSA or full-thickness burn area > 20% TBSA, n = 21). Twenty patients admitted during the same time for plastic surgery were enrolled as control group. The plasma levels of BNP, creatine kinase (CK), CK-MB, troponin I (TnI) of all patients were determined on admission. The levels of BNP, TnI and fluid resuscitation volume were examined at 8, 16, 24, 48 post burn hour (PBH) in A and B groups. Analysis of correlation between BNP and fluid resuscitation volume was performed., Results: On admission: BNP level in A group (68 +/- 19 ng/L) and B group (99 +/- 38 ng/L), respectively, was increased as compared with that in control group (17 +/- 7 ng/L, P < 0.01). TnI level in A group (2.13 +/- 0.67 microg/L) and B group (2.98 +/- 0.58 microg/L), respectively, was increased as compared with that in control group (0.12 +/- 0.03 microg/L, P < 0.01). There was no obvious difference in CK, CK-MB levels among A, B, and control groups (P > 0.05). BNP levels in A, B groups continuously rose during 8-48 PBH, and they were positively correlated with fluid resuscitation volume. TnI level peaked at 24 PBH, and decreased at 48 PBH., Conclusions: The plasma level of BNP is sensitive to reflect changes in myocardial ischemia and hypoxia as a rise in level of TnI in shock stage of severe burn, and it was positively correlated with fluid resuscitation volume. BNP can be used to guide fluid resuscitation during shock stage.

Objective: To estimate the current prevalence, awareness and treatment status of hypercholesterolemia among inpatients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in China., Methods: Sixty-four hospitals across China, including 32 secondary hospitals and 32 tertiary hospitals were selected for baseline survey. Fifty inpatients diagnosed with ACS were recruited consecutively in each participated hospitals. Retrospective information for 2751 patients were collected, and the prevalence, awareness, and treatment status of hypercholesterolemia among the patients were analyzed., Results: (1) Mean age of the patients was 65 +/- 11. Sixty-nine percent of the patients were males and 31.2% were females. Among them, 39.4% were diagnosed as ST-segment elevation MI, 8.8% as non-ST-segment elevation MI and 51.8% as unstable angina. Twenty-seven percent of them had previous ACS history. (2) Hypercholesterolemia was found in 19.6% ACS patients. Among 7 geographic districts (north China, east China, south China, middle China, northeast, northwest and southwest), the prevalence rate of hypercholesterolemia was highest (24.7%) in east China and lowest (10.0%) in middle China. Significant difference was observed among these areas. (3) Awareness rate of hypercholesterolemia was 12.2% among patients with hypercholesterolemia, with significant difference among various areas. Treatment rate was 66.7% among patients with known hypercholesterolemia, with the highest (83.3%) seen in south China and lowest (0%) in southwest area. (4) The prevalence, awareness rate and treatment rate of hypercholesterolemia were higher in recurrent ACS patients than in those without ACS history., Conclusions: Nearly 20% ACS inpatients have hypercholesterolemia.It is essential to pay more attention on the treatment of hypercholesterolemia for the purpose of secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.