BACKGROUND:The high level of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) is thought to slow down the healing of diabetic foot ulcers. Whether it can influence the biological behaviors of skin fibroblasts and affect wound healing is stillunclear. The present study aimed to observe changes in the biological behaviors of rat dermal fibroblasts induced by high expression of MMP9 and to clarify the possible mechanisms of wound healing for diabetic foot. METHODS:A cellmodel of skin fibroblast with high expression of MMP9 was established by co-culture of high glucose (22.0 mmol/L) and homocysteine (100 μmol/L). A control group was incubated with normal glucose (5.5 mmol/L). Realtime PCR, ELISA and gelatin zymography were used to detect the MMP9 mRNA, protein expression and activity of MMP9. Flow cytometry, CCK-8, ELISA assay, scratch test and transwellwere used to detect cellproliferation, viability, collagen (hydroxyproline) secretion, horizontal migration and vertical migration of cells. The data were expressed as mean±SD. P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS:The expression of MMP9 mRNA, protein levels and the activity of MMP9 were much higher in the high MMP9 group than in the control group (7.05±1.02 vs. 1.00±0.00, 206.9±33.6 pg/mL vs. 40.4±5.9 pg/mL, and 1.47±0.13 vs. 0.57±0.12, respectively,P<0.01). The proportion of S-phase cells, proliferation index, cellviability, collagen (hydroxyproline) secretion, horizontal migration rate and the number of vertical migration cells were lower in the high MMP9 group than in the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION:Fibroblasts with a high expression of MMP9 decreased proliferation, activity, secretion and migration of collagens, suggesting that MMP9 may inhibit the biological behaviors of fibroblasts.

The characteristics of syndrome differentiation and the experience of professor were briefly introduced for the treatment of infertility of ovulation disturbance, including three aspects, named the thought of diagnosis and treatment, the therapeutic method and the acupoint prescription, as well as the clinical case report. Academically, professor is deeply influenced by professor , the acupuncture master of Xin'an school and Lingnan school. Regarding the treatment of gynecological diseases, the academic thought of professor - and - is contributed. Professor attaches the importance to the syndrome differentiation based on meridian and collateral, supplemented by the syndrome differentiation of , , and blood, cold and heat, as well as the deficiency and excess. In clinical treatment, the acupoints are selected specially from the conception vessel, the governor vessel, the thoroughfare vessel and the belt vessel. The extra meridians are equally important as the regular ones in the treatment, especially the belt vessel. Additionally, the treatment focuses on communicating the congenital with the acquired one, regulating the liver and benefiting the kidney, as well as adjusting the heart, the spleen and the stomach to ease the uterus. Simultaneously, the great consideration is paid to the menstruation regulation so as to promote pregnancy.

【Objective】 To compare the volumes of brain regions and the white matter hyperintensities(WMH) in Alzheimer's disease(AD) and vascular dementia(VaD) patients, and discuss values of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the differential diagnosis of AD and VaD. 【Methods】 The clinical data and MRI images of 35 patients with VaD and 74 patients with AD were retrospectively analyzed. Volumes of different brain regions and WMH were measured by using AccuBrain^TM system and visual rating scale was used to assess WMH. We then compared the volumes of brain regions and the WMH between AD and VaD. The principal component analysis(PCA) and logistic regression analysis were adopted for differential diagnosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of the indexes. 【Results】 ①Compared with VaD patients, AD patients showed statistically smaller volumes of total intracranial volume, brain parenchyma, gray matter, white matter, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, frontal lobe(left, right), occipital lobe(left, right), temporal lobe(left, right), parietal lobe(left, right), hippocampus (left, right), amygdala(left, right), hypothalamus(left, right) (P<0.05). ②There was statistically significant difference in the visual scores for deep WMH(DWMH) between AD and VaD patients(P=0.015). The absolute and relative volumes of WMH in VaDpatients were statistically larger than those in AD patients(P<0.05). ③PCA revealed eight important parameters including brain parenchyma, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, frontal lobe(left), occipital lobe(left), temporal lobe(left) and parietal lobe(left) .The identification model consisting of amygdala, occipital lobe (left) and absolute volume of WMH was established based on logistic regression analysis. ④Among all the indexes, the identification model had the best diagnostic performance to differentiate AD from VaD and its sensitivity and specificity were 81.1% and 74.3%, respectively. 【Conclusions】 There are significant differences in both volumes of certain brain regions and severity of WMH between VaD and AD patients. The cranial MRI is of great value for the differential diagnosis of VaD and AD.

This paper makes an interpretation of the collection Acupuncture: how to improve the evidence base published by BMJ & BMJ Open. Studies show that the quality of randomized controlled trial (RCT) of acupuncture is low, and multivariable Meta-regression analysis fails to confirm most factors commonly believed to influence the effect of acupuncture. The methodological challenges in design and conduct of RCT in acupuncture were analyzed, and a consensus on how to design high-quality acupuncture RCT was developed. The number of acupuncture systematic reviews was huge but the evidence was underused in clinical practice and health policy, and a large number of western clinical practice guidelines recommended acupuncture therapy, but the usefulness of recommendations needed to be improved. In view of the problems in clinical research on acupuncture mentioned in this collection, combined with the analysis of the purpose of clinical research on acupuncture, perspectives, study types, as well as the relationship between evidence and clinical decision-making, a five-stage study paradigm of clinical research on acupuncture is proposed.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Acupuncture ; Research Design ; Consensus

In this study, the crude polysaccharides was extracted from Shengfupian and purified by Sevag deproteinization. Then, the purified neutral polysaccharide fragment was obtained by the DEAE-52 cellulose chromatography column and Sephadex G-100 co-lumn. The structure of polysaccharides was characterized by ultraviolet spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, ion chromatography, and gel permeation chromatography. To investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of Shengfupian polysaccharides, LPS was used to induce inflammation in RAW264.7 cells. The expression of the CD86 antibody on surface of M1 cells, the function of macrophages, and the content of NO and IL-6 in the supernatant were examined. An immunodepression model of H22 tumor-bearing mice was established, and the immunomodulatory activity of Shengfupian polysaccharides was evaluated based on the tumor inhibition rate, immune organ index and function, and serum cytokine levels. Research indicated that Shengfupian polysaccharides(80 251 Da) was composed of arabinose, galactose, glucose, and fructose with molar ratio of 0.004∶0.018∶0.913∶0.065. It was smooth and lumpy under the scanning electron microscope. In the concentration range of 25-200 μg·mL~(-1), Shengfupian polysaccharides exhibited little or no toxicity to RAW264.7 cells and could inhibit the polarization of cells to the M1 type and reduce the content of NO and IL-6 in the cell supernatant. It could suppress the phagocytosis of cells at the concentration of 25 μg·mL~(-1), while enhancing the phagocytosis of RAW264.7 cells within the concentration range of 100-200 μg·mL~(-1). The 200 mg·kg~(-1) Shengfupian polysaccharides could alleviate the spleen injury caused by cyclophosphamide, increase the levels of IL-1β and IL-6, and decrease the level of TNF-α in the serum of mice. In conclusion, Shengfupian polysaccharides has anti-inflammatory effect and weak immunomodulatory effect, which may the material basis of Aconm Lateralis Radix Praeparaia for dispelling cold and relieving pain.
Animals ; Mice ; Interleukin-6/genetics* ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Polysaccharides/chemistry* ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/chemistry* ; Spectrophotometry, Infrared

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of blood cell parameters in children with vasovagal syncope (VVS). Methods: In this case-control study, the VVS group included 111 patients with unexplained syncope or prodromata who were diagnosed with VVS by head-up tilt test in the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University from January 2018 to October 2020, and 111 healthy children were enrolled as control. The differences in blood cell parameters between the 2 groups were compared by t test and Mann-Whitney U test. Multivariate binary Logistic regression was used to analyze the independent correlation factors of VVS, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to explore the predictive value of blood cell parameters for diagnosing VVS. Results: Sex composition ratios were consistent in the 2 groups (51 males vs. 60 females), while the age of the VVS group was higher than that of the control group (11.0 (8.0, 12.5) vs. 8.0 (7.0, 11.0) years, Z=4.39, P<0.001). Compared with the control group, VVS group had lower level of white blood cell (WBC) (6.0 (5.3, 7.1)×10⁹ vs. 8.6 (6.7, 10.1)×10⁹/L, Z=-7.96, P<0.001), lymphocyte (LY) (2.3 (1.9, 2.7)×10⁹ vs. 4.0 (2.8, 6.3)×10⁹/L, Z=-8.49, P<0.001), lymphocyte ratio (0.39 (0.33, 0.44) vs. 0.52 (0.37, 0.69), Z=-5.59, P<0.001), monocyte (0.3 (0.3, 0.4)×10⁹ vs. 0.4 (0.3, 0.6)×10⁹/L, Z=-6.19, P<0.001), eosinophil (0.1 (0.1, 0.2)×10⁹ vs. 0.2 (0.2, 0.4)×10⁹/L, Z=-5.75, P<0.001), mean corpuscular-hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) ((328±12) vs. (333±11) g/L, t=-3.27, P<0.001) and blood platelet (263 (235, 313)×10⁹ vs. 341 (295, 409)×10⁹/L, Z=-2.69, P<0.001), but higher neutrophil ratio (0.53 (0.48, 0.58) vs. 0.37 (0.22, 0.54), Z=5.86, P<0.001), hematocrit (0.39±0.04 vs. 0.37±0.04, t=2.75, P=0.006), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (85 (82, 88) vs. 81 (78, 84) fl, Z=5.56, P<0.001), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (28 (27, 29) vs. 27 (26, 28) pg, Z=3.39, P=0.001), red cell distribution width (39 (37, 41) vs. 37 (36, 40) fl, Z=4.02, P<0.001) and mean platelet volume (11 (10, 11) vs. 10 (9, 11) fl, Z=2.81, P=0.005) levels. After adjusting for confounding factors such as sex and age, LY (OR=0.42, 95%CI 0.29-0.62, P<0.001), WBC (OR=0.75, 95%CI 0.59-0.95, P=0.015), MCHC (OR=0.94, 95%CI 0.91-0.97, P<0.001) were independent negative correlation factors of VVS, while MCV (OR=1.08, 95%CI 1.01-1.15, P=0.021) was independent positive correlation factor. ROC curve showed that the combination of LY, WBC, MCV and MCHC had acceptable predictive value for the diagnosis of VVS, with area under curve of 0.88, sensitivity of 0.80, specificity of 0.83, and Youden index of 0.63. Conclusions: Compared with healthy children, the blood cell parameters usually change in those with VVS. Combination of LY, WBC, MCHC and MCV can facilitate the diagnosis of VVS in children with unexplained syncope or prodromata.
Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Male ; Syncope ; Syncope, Vasovagal/diagnosis* ; Tilt-Table Test

Fourteen compounds were isolated from the ethanol extract of Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum by various chromatographic techniques, including column chromatographies on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic techniques as S-3'-hydroxy-7,2',4'-trimethoxyisoxane(1), 2-(2',4'-dimethoxyphenyl)-6-hydroxybenzofuran(2), 2-(2'-hydroxy-4'-methoxyphenyl)-6-methoxybenzofuran(3), 7,2',4'-trimethoxydihydroisoflavone(4), sativanone(5), 3,9-dimethoxy-6H-benzofuro[3,2-c]chromen-6-one(6),(6 aS,11 aS)-homopterocarpin(7),(6 aS,11 aS)-8-hydroxy-3,9-dimethoxypterocarpan(8),(6 aS,11 aS)-3,8,9-trimethoxypterocarpan(9), isodalbergin(10), isoliquiritigenin(11), butein(12), butin(13) and 3,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone(14). Among them, compound 1 was a new compound, while 2 and 3 were new natural products, 6, 8, 9 and 14 were isolated for the first time from Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum. Compounds 1-14 were tested for their cytotoxic activity against human hepatoma cell line BEL-7402, human gastric cancer cell line SCG-7901, human lung cancer cell line A549, human chronic myeloid leukemia cell line K562 and HeLa human cervical cancer cellline by MTT method. Compound 1 exhibited significant cytotoxicity with IC_(50) values ranging from 2.85 to 11.62 μg·mL~(-1). In addition, 2, 11 and 12 showed weak cytotoxic activities.
Antineoplastic Agents ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; HeLa Cells ; Humans