[Objective] To observe the effect of Rebi Kang Capsule (RKC) for damp-heat rheumatoid arthritis. [Methods] Eighty-six cases of damp-heat rheumatoid arthritis (Group A) were treated with RKC (mainly composed of Radix Gentianae Macrophyllae, Radix Ledebouriellae, Ramulus Cinnamomi, Radix Clematidis, etc.) and 40 cases treated with diclofenac sodium (served as control, Group B) . [Results] After treatment, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum level of C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor and IgG, IgA and IgM content were all improved in the two groups ( P

Objective To investigate and analyze the usage of expensive outpatient prescriptions in different hospitals in Longgang area,Shenzhen,and to discuss and provide reference for the rational usage of expensive pre-scriptions.Methods Two primary hospitals,two secondary hospitals and one tertiary hospital in the Longgang area, Shenzhen,were chosen as the research targets.The expensive outpatient prescriptions,defined as the amount of pre-scription was over 150,200 and 300 yuan for primary,secondary and tertiary hospital respectively,were randomly selected and evaluated using international standards for the rational use of drugs.Results The average prescription items for primary,secondary and tertiary hospitals were 2.96,2.61 and 2.61.The largest proportions of prescription costs were 150 to 200 yuan,200 to 250 yuan and 300 to 350 yuan,which were respectively accounted for 49.6%, 56.6% and 37.7%.The frequency of using proprietary Chinese medicine,was 60.08%,68.18% and 41.62%respectively,which was not reasonable.The clinical diagnosis for the prescriptions of primary and secondary hospitals was mainly composed of trauma,bronchitis and vaginitis.The usage of drugs was not reasonable about the use of anti-biotics and infusion.In addition,the clinical diagnosis for the prescription of tertiary hospital was mainly diabetes, hypertension and cerebral infarction,where the abuse of using large dose of adjuvant drug was observed.Conclusion The frequency of using proprietary Chinese medicine is higher at all levels of hospital.In order to reduce the propor-tion of expensive prescription,the medicine institution should establish a sound system for drug use management and strengthen supervision and verification for western medicine physicians using proprietary Chinese medicine in their prescription.Furthermore,we should intervene and restrict the abuse usage of the adjuvant medicine.

Objective To observe the effects of the chronic adventitia injury on the vasoconstriction of the rat carotid artery. Methods A non-occlusive silicone collar was positioned around the right carotid artery of rats. Blood flow and vascular reactivity to 5-HT were examined, and both carotids were harvested for morphometry at day 3,7 and 14 after operation. Results In the early stage of advenfitia injury induced by positioning a silicone collar around file rat carotid artery, there appeared the characteristic histological changes of chronic vasospasm in collared artery, such as the reduction of the luminal area for （12.15±2.29）% at day 3 after operation （P =0.003 ） and （45.17±3.84）% at day 7 （P 〈 0.001 ）] ,corrugation of the internal elastic lamina,medial thickening up to [ （23.04±5.96）% at day 3 （P =0.009）, （61.65±10.32）% for day 7 （P 〈 0.001 ）] ,the reduction of the blood flow and the increase of vascular reactivity to 5-HT when compared to con- tralateral arteries. Two weeks after collar placement, the vascular wall remodeling was observed in injured artery, such as the medial thickening for [（31.52±4.56） %,P =0.012] and a diffuse intimal hyperplasia,the reduction of the lunfinal area [（37.17±4.57）% （P 〈 0.001）] and the carotid artery blood flow. The average neointima area was （0.19±0.05） rom2 in collared arteries. The vascular reactivity to 5-HT came back to the normal level. Conclusions Collar-induced advenfitia injury caused the enhancement of vascular contractility and the neointima formation. The change of vascular contractility appeared before the formation of neointima.

Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of a portable REF-XT01 uric acid meter in measuring blood uric acid concentration, and to determine whether the results of the uric acid meter could be used to guide the adjustment of uric acid-lowering drugs.Methods:1 551 subjects were enrolled from the Gout Clinical Medical Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University. The fasting venous blood was collected and the serum uric acid was measured by an automatic biochemical analyzer. Meanwhile, the capillary blood uric acid was measured by fingertip puncture using the REF-XT01 uric acid meter. Linear regression, intra-group correlation coefficient(ICC), and Bland-Altman plots were used to analyze the uric acid concentration correlation between the biochemical analyzer(sUA BA)and the uric acid meter(sUA UM). The receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC curve)was conducted to evaluate whether sUA UM can be used as a reference for the gout patients to take uric acid-lowering drugs. Results:The regression analysis showed correlation between sUA BA and sUA UM, with the regression formula Y=0.875X+ 39.525( r=0.84, P<0.01)and the ICC was 0.829(95% CI 0.814-0.844, P<0.01). The Bland-Altman diagram showed a good consistence(the absolute deviation was-143.4-114.5 μmol/L, mean deviation was -14.4 μmol/L)between sUA BA and sUA UM. The sensitivity was 96.61%, specificity was 48.81%, and the area under the ROC curve(AUC)was 0.926( P<0.01)when 300 μmol/L was defined as the detection threshold of the uric acid meter, the sensitivity was 90.98%, specificity was 66.78%, and the area under the ROC curve(AUC)was 0.914( P<0.01)when 360 μmol/L was defined as the detection threshold of the uric acid meter. Conclusion:REF-XT01 uric acid meter is applicable for the adjustment of uric acid-lowering drugs for the gout patients, because of its high accuracy for the detection of uric acid.

Objective To investigate the association between the value of α-thalassemia minor and the outcomes in pregnant women.Methods A total of 445 pregnant women with α-thalassemia minor were selected as thalassemia group in the Pingguo County Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Guangxi from January 2011 to December 2015,with ratio of 1 ∶ 4 healthy pregnant women was randomly recruited as non-thalassemia group.Clinical characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of the two groups were retrospectively analyzed using methods including t test,x2 test,and logistic regression model and ROC curve.Results There were no significant differences noticed in factors as age,BMI,gestational age and educational level of the two groups.Hemoglobin of the thalassemia group was significantly lower than that of the non-thalassemia group (P＜0.001).Differences on parity,ethnicities or occupation were statistically significant.Results from univariate analysis showed that the proportions of low birth weight,small for date infant and 1 min Apgar score ＜7 were higher in the thalassemia group,but the ratio of adverse pregnancy outcomes was comparable on parameters as preterm birth,stillbirth,macrosomia.Findings from the unconditional logistic regression showed that pregnancy complicated with α-thalassemia minor appeared a risk for both newboms with low birth weight (aOR=2.29,95％CI:1.32-3.95) and small for date infant (aOR=2.11,95％ CI:1.16-3.84).The ROC curve showed that α-thalassemia minor combined with multiple indicators presented a certain predictive value on neonatal birth weight.Conclusion Pregnancy complicated with α-thalassemia minor was likely to increase the risk of birth weight loss in newborns,suggesting that prenatal care for pregnant women with thalassemia be strengthened,in order to reduce the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

BACKGROUNDIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common and devastating form of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in the clinic. There is no effective therapy except for lung transplantation. Rapamycin is an immunosuppressive drug with potent antifibrotic activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of rapamycin on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats and the relation to the expression of metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1).

METHODSSprague-Dawley rats were treated with intratracheal injection of 0.3 ml of bleomycin (5 mg/kg) in sterile 0.9% saline to make the pulmonary fibrosis model. Rapamycin was given at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg per gavage, beginning one day before bleomycin instillation and once daily until animal sacrifice. Ten rats in each group were sacrificed at 3, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days after bleomycin administration. Alveolitis and pulmonary fibrosis were semi-quantitatively assessed after HE staining and Masson staining under an Olympus BX40 microscope with an IDA-2000 Image Analysis System. Type I and III collagen fibers were identified by Picro-sirius-polarization. Hydroxyproline content in lung tissue was quantified by a colorimetric-based spectrophotometric assay, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 were detected by immunohistochemistry and by realtime quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTSBleomycin induced alveolitis and pulmonary fibrosis of rats was inhibited by rapamycin. Significant inhibition of alveolitis and hydroxyproline product were demonstrated when daily administration of rapamycin lasted for at least 14 days. The inhibitory efficacy on pulmonary fibrosis was unremarkable until rapamycin treatment lasted for at least 28 days (P < 0.05). It was also demonstrated that rapamycin treatment reduced the expression of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in lung tissue that was increased by bleomycin.

CONCLUSIONThese results highlight the significance of rapamycin in alleviating alveolitis and pulmonary fibrosis, which is associated with decreased expression of MMP-9 and TIMP-1.

Animals ; Bleomycin ; pharmacology ; Lung ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sirolimus ; therapeutic use ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; metabolism

ObjectiveThrough a randomized， double-blind， double-simulation， positive-control， multicenter design， this study aimed to analyze the relationship between the dosage， efficacy， and safety of Pudilan anti-inflammatory oral liquid in treating acute pharyngitis/tonsillitis in adults caused by bacterial infection and validate the regulatory effect of Pudilan anti-inflammatory oral liquid on inflammatory markers such as serum amyloid A （SAA）， C-reactive protein （CRP）， white blood cells （WBC）， neutrophil percentage （NE%）， and erythrocyte sedimentation rate （ESR）， thereby exploring the feasibility of using Pudilan anti-inflammatory oral liquid as a substitute for antibiotics in the treatment of infectious diseases and providing a basis for rational clinical medication. MethodUsing a stratified randomized， double-blind， double-simulation， positive-control， multicenter design， 220 participants were enrolled from nine centers. The participants were randomly divided into three groups at 1∶1∶1 — a Pudilan anti-inflammatory oral liquid 20 mL group （73 cases）， a Pudilan anti-inflammatory oral liquid 10 mL group （73 cases）， and a control group （amoxicillin group， 74 cases）. The treatment course was 7 days. The study observed parameters including the total effective rate of sore throat， onset and disappearance time of sore throat， health status score， treatment time， and inflammation markers. Result①Dataset division： The 211 cases were included in the full analysis dataset （FAS）， 208 cases were included in the per-protocol dataset （PPS）， and 218 cases were included in the safety dataset （SS）. ② Efficacy evaluation： There were statistically significant differences （P<0.05） in the comparison of the three groups regarding the total effective rate of sore throat， disappearance time of sore throat， and health status. Both the 20 mL and 10 mL groups were non-inferior to the control group， and there was a statistically significant difference between the 20 mL and 10 mL dosage groups （P<0.05）. There was no statistically significant difference in the comparison of onset time of sore throat among the groups. CRP， WBC， and NE% of patients in all three groups significantly decreased on the 7^th day of treatment compared with those before treatment （P<0.01）. ③Safety evaluation： Adverse events mainly occurred in various examination indicators. There were no statistically significant differences in the comparison between groups， and no adverse reactions or serious adverse events occurred. ④Economic evaluation： The increased cost of the 10 mL and 20 mL dosage groups was entirely justified as compared with that in the control group. When comparing the 10 mL and 20 mL dosage groups， the 10 mL dosage group was deemed less advantageous. ConclusionPudilan anti-inflammatory oral liquid can be used alone as an alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of acute pharyngitis/tonsillitis caused by bacterial infection. It demonstrates good safety and can lower inflammation markers such as CRP， WBC， and NE%， suggesting its potential to reduce the body's inflammatory response. Its mechanism of action may be related to its multi-target regulatory mechanism.

As confusion mounts over RNA isoforms involved in phenotypic plasticity, aberrant CpG methylation-mediated disruption of alternative splicing is increasingly recognized as a driver of intratumor heterogeneity (ITH). Protease serine 3 (PRSS3), possessing four splice variants (PRSS3-SVs; PRSS3-V1-V4), is an indispensable trypsin that shows paradoxical effects on cancer development. Here, we found that PRSS3 transcripts and their isoforms were divergently expressed in lung cancer, exhibiting opposing functions and clinical outcomes, namely, oncogenic PRSS3-V1 and PRSS3-V2 versus tumor-suppressive PRSS3-V3, by targeting different downstream genes. We identified an intragenic CpG island (iCpGI) in PRSS3. Hypermethylation of iCpGI was mediated by UHRF1/DNMT1 complex interference with the binding of myeloid zinc finger 1 (MZF1) to regulate PRSS3 transcription. The garlic-derived compound diallyl trisulfide cooperated with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine to exert antitumor effects in lung adenocarcinoma cells through site-specific iCpGI demethylation specifically allowing MZF1 to upregulate PRSS3-V3 expression. Epigenetic silencing of PRSS3-V3 via iCpGI methylation (iCpGIm) in BALF and tumor tissues was associated with early clinical progression in patients with lung cancer but not in those with squamous cell carcinoma or inflammatory disease. Thus, UHRF1/DNMT1-MZF1 axis-modulated site-specific iCpGIm regulates divergent expression of PRSS3-SVs, conferring nongenetic functional ITH, with implications for early detection of lung cancer and targeted therapies.