Objective To analyze the diversity of intestinal microecology in different healthy age groups and explore the relationship between age and the composition of intestinal microflora.MethodsFecal samples were collected from the children,adult and elderly groups.The main intestinal microflora were cultured and quantified,and the qualitative and quantitative changes in the level of category were determined by fluorescence quantitative PCR.The Bifidobacteria/Enterobacteriaceae (B/E) ratio reflexing intestinal colonization resistance was also calculated.Results The germiculture of fecal samples indicated that the counts of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus (P＜0.01 and P＜0.05,respectively) were significantly lower in the adult and aged groups than in children group.The number of Bacteriodes and Enterobacteriaceae in the elderly group were higher than in the children and the adult groups (all P＜0.01).The counts of Enterococcus were increased in the adult and the aged groups (P＜0.05 and P＜0.01) compared with the children group,and were higher in the aged group than in the adult group (P＜0.05).The B/E ratio was significantly decreased in the aged group (0.88-±-0.13) as compared with the children (1.15±0.15) and the adult groups ( 1.01± 0.20) ( both P ＜ 0.01).The diversities of Bifidobacteria,Bacteriodes,Enterobacteriaceae and B/E ratio by fluorescent quantification PCR were consistent with the results by germiculture technology.The diversity of Lactobacillus (P＜0.01) between the children and the aged groups as well as between the children group and the adult group significantly improved (P＜0.01 and P＜0.05 ) in PCR compared with the germiculture technology. ConclusionsThe numbers of intestinal Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus are decreased with lower colonization resistance,while the numbers of Bacteriodes,Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcus are increased with aging.

Objective To discuss the effect of quick freezer equipment and quick freezing time on the preparation of cryoprecipitate.Methods The cryoprecipitate,already prepared,was placed into the MBF21 freezer and minus 30℃ SANYO refrigerator for 30-minute and 50-minute storage.The activity of coagulation factor VⅧ,and the content of fibrinogen in different equipment were detected by automatic coagulation analyzer,in order to make sure whether it met the quality requirements.Results The content of fibrinogen in the cryoprecipitates from both of the equipment after 30-minute storage met the requirement,with the qualification rate of 100％.As to the activity determination of coagulation FⅧ,low temperature refrigerator showed a qualification rate of 62.5％,which was significantly lower than that of quick freezer with a qualification rate of 97.5％ (P＜0.01).The cryoprecipitates from both of the equipment after 50-minute storage,with part of fibrin precipitation,had a qualification rate of fibrinogen content lower than 50％ (P＞0.05).The qualification rate of quick freezer and low temperature refrigerator was 35％ and 12.5％,respectively,with significant difference.Conclusion Quick freezer can make the cryoprecipitate quick-frozen,which can ensure the quality.The coagulation factor VⅧ is unstable,whose activity decreased with the increase of temperature.We should try our best to shorten the time off the cold chain.

Objective To screen differentially expressed serum proteins by label-free quantitative proteomics in patients with atopic dermatitis,in order to discover serum protein markers for atopic dermatitis.Methods Serum samples were collected from 6 patients with atopic dermatitis and 6 healthy human controls.Then,the samples from the patients were pooled together,so with those from the controls.Proteins were extracted from the two joint serum samples followed by separation with one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electropheresis (SDS-PAGE).Peptides were obtained by enzymolysis in protein gels,which were subsequently identified by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.The Mascot software was used for database searching,and the Scaffold software for relatively quantitative analysis of proteins.Results Totally,76 proteins with a difference of greater than 1.5 folds were identified between the serum samples of patients with atopic dermatitis and controls.There were 50 up-regulated and 26 down-regulated serum proteins in the patients compared with the healthy controls.Among these differentially expressed proteins,26 were only detected in the sera of the patients,and 14 proteins in those of the controls.Conlusion Differences exist in the expression of serum proteins between atopic dermatitis patients and healthy people.

Objective:To observe the therapeutic effect of warm needling moxibustion for erectile dysfunction (ED).
Methods:A total of 46 eligible ED patients were randomized into a treatment group (n=24) and a control group (n=22). The treatment group was intervened by warm needling moxibustion while the control group by conventional acupuncture treatment, for a total of 4 courses. The therapeutic effect was evaluated by the international index of erectile function 5 (IIEF-5).
Results:After 4 courses of treatment, the overall effective rate was 91.3% in the treatment group (23 completed), versus 75.0% in the control group (20 completed), with a significant difference (P<0.05). After the treatment, the change of IIEF-5 score in the treatment group was significantly different from that in the control group (P<0.05).
Conclusion:Warm needling moxibustion can produce a more significant efficacy than conventional acupuncture in the treatment of ED.

To summarize the clinical experience of Prof. Yan Jun-bai in treating rheumatic arthritis (RA) with suppurative moxibustion and aim to guide acupuncture treatment for RA. Prof. Yan believes that contributing factors of RA include external contraction of pathogenic factors, obstructed flow of qi and blood, internal phlegm-turbidity (due to deficiency of healthy qi or improper diet), and obstruction or malnourishment of meridians. As a result, the treatment strategies are to warm yang, remove pathogenic factors, and tonify the liver, spleen and kidney. Suppurative moxibustion is a reliable therapy for RA.

Objective To investigate whether inhibiting the expression of typeⅠ collagen gene is one of the mechanisms of action of electroacupuncture in improving knee osteoarthritis.Methods Forty male adult SD rats were randomized into normal, model, medication and electroacupuncture group, 10 rats each. A rat model of MIA-induced knee osteoarthritis was made by injecting monomer sodium iodoacetate (MIA) and driving rat movement. After model making, the medication group received an oral gavage of celecoxib dissolved in 10% DMSO and the electroacupuncture group, electroacupuncture at points Zusanli and Yanglingquan. Pain thresholds and the levels of cartilage expression of typeⅠ collagen mRNA were compared between various groups of rats before and after treatment.Results There was a statistically significant difference in pain threshold between the model, medication or electroacupuncture group of rats and the normal group after model making (P<0.01) and between the medication or electroacupuncture group of rats and the model group before sacrifice (P<0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in pain threshold between the medication and andelectroacupuncture groups of rats before sacrifice (P>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the expression of typeⅠ collagen mRNA between the model, medication or electroacupuncture group of rats and the normal group (P<0.01) and between the medication or electroacupuncture group of rats and the model group before sacrifice (P<0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in the expression of typeⅠ collagen mRNA between the electroacupuncture and medication groups of rats before sacrifice (P>0.05).Conclusion The mechanisms of actions of electroacupuncture and medication in treating knee osteoarthritis may be related to inhibiting the expression of typeⅠ collagen mRNA.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic significance of basophil activation test (B A T) in ana-phylaxis to non-ionic contrast media through testing the content of CD 63, m ast cell-carboxypeptidase A 3 (M C-CPA 3), and term inal com plem ent com plex SC5b-9 of the individuals by testing their levels in the norm al im m une group and the anaphylaxis groups to β-lactam drugs and non-ionic contrast media. Methods The CD 63 expression of basophilic granulocyte in blood w as detected by flow cytom etry. The levels of M C-CPA 3 in blood serum and SC5b-9 in blood plasm a w ere detected by ELISA . Results The CD 63 expression of basophilic granulocyte in blood, the levels of M C-CPA 3 and SC5b-9 of anaphylaxis to non-ionic contrast media and β-lactam drugs w ere significantly higher than that in norm al im m une group (P<0.05). Conclusion There is activation of basophilic granulocytes, m ast cells and com plem ent system in anaphylaxis to non-ionic contrast media. B A Tcan be used to diagnose the anaphylaxis to non-ionic contrast media.

Objective: To summarize and critically assess the evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture in treating dry eye syndrome (DES) according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement and the Cochrane Collaboration recommendations. Methods: A search of PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ClinicalTrials.gov and Embase was made from their inception to August 2016, as well as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean databases. Two reviewers independently selected RCTs and assessed the methodological quality. Meta-analysis and the level of evidence were processed by RevMan 5.3 and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results: After selection, 8 trials were subjected to our systematic review. The methodological quality was low generally. The 3-10 weeks follow-up showed that acupuncture improved the tear film break-up time (BUT) (MD=1.33, 95%CI=1.01-1.66, 619 participants). The mean difference of Schirmer's test was 1.73 mm (95%CI=1.28-2.18, 618 participants) between the acupuncture group and the control group. The subjective variables exhibited no significant differences. Conclusion: The low methodological quality of the trials does not suggest drawing firm conclusions on the value of acupuncture therapy for DES. Acupuncture treatment may have some effects on the tear film BUT and Schirmer's test, but not on the subjective symptoms. Well-planned large-scale high-quality RCTs are needed to make it clear whether acupuncture is effective in treating DES.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the risk factors of nonspecific low back pain in community populations.

METHODSTwo community populations were investigated using questionnaires in this case-control study. The questionnaire was designed to collect data including age, gender, body weight, marriage, education, income, occupation, labor intensity, smoking, alcohol drinking and social mental status. The subjects with low back pain constituted the case group and those without low back pain served as the control group, and the data was analyzed by a Logistic regression model.

RESULTSA total of 1747 community residents participated in this survey, among whom 398 subjects had low back pain and 1126 subjects without low back pain were selected as the control group. Of all the latent risk factors of low back pain in Logistic regression model, gender was the most relevant factor (OR=3.5522) followed by education (OR=1.958), labor intensity (OR=1.956), marital status (OR=1.612), vibration source exposure (OR=1.491), BMI (OR=1.127) and age (OR=1.060).

CONCLUSIONGender, education, labor intensity, marriage, vibration source exposure and BMI are risk factors of nonspecific low back pain in community populations, and exercises and mental status can be protective factors against low back pain.

Background/Aims: To investigate the autoantibody against fumarate hydratase (FH), which is a specific liver failure-associated antigen (LFAA) and determine whether it can be used as a biomarker to evaluate the prognosis of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Methods: An immunoproteomic approach was applied to screen specific LFAAs related to differential prognosis of ACLF (n=60). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technology was employed for the validation of the frequency and titer of autoantibodies against FH in ACLF patients with different prognoses (n=82). Moreover, we clarified the expression of autoantibodies against FH in patients with chronic hepatitis B (n=60) and hepatitis B virus-related liver cirrhosis (n=60). The dynamic changes in the titers of autoantibodies against FH were analyzed by sample collection at multiple time points during the clinical course of eight ACLF patients with different prognoses. Results: Ultimately, 15 LFAAs were screened and identified by the immunoproteomic approach.Based on ELISA-based verification, anti-FH/Fumarate hydratase protein autoantibody was chosen to verify its expression in ACLF patients. ACLF patients had a much higher anti-FH autoantibody frequency (76.8%) than patients with liver cirrhosis (10%, p=0.000), patients with chronic hepatitis B (6.7%, p=0.022), and normal humans (0%, p=0.000). More importantly, the frequency and titer of anti-FH protein autoantibodies in the serum of ACLF patients with a good prognosis were much higher than that of patients with a poor prognosis (83.9% vs 61.5%, p=0.019; 1.41±0.85 vs 0.94±0.56, p=0.017, respectively). The titer of anti-FH autoantibodies showed dynamic changes in the clinical course of ACLF. Conclusions The anti-FH autoantibody in serum may be a potential biomarker for predicting the prognosis of ACLF.