Objective To observe the efficacy of acupuncture at Hegu (LI4) in treating central facial palsy due to cerebral ischemia, and to explore the dose-effect correlation and the optimal acupuncture protocol.Method Totally 150 patients with central facial palsy due to ischemic stroke were randomized into four groups to receive acupuncture at Hegu with different stimulation parameters plus the conventional integrated Chinese and Western medicine (group A, B, C, D) according to the acupuncture time and direction, and a control group (group E) only to receive the conventional Chinese and Western medicine treatment. The treatment lasted 14 d. The House-Brackmann facial nerve grading system, Toronto Facial Grading System and facial palsy grading scale were adopted as the evaluation indexes.Result After intervention, the scores of the three indexes were all significantly increased in the five groups (P<0.05), and the inter-group comparisons showed significant differences in comparing the improvement rate (P<0.05).Conclusion The study shows that acupuncture at Hegu is effective in treating central facial palsy due to cerebral ischemia, and with the inverse insertion of the needle and manipulation for 5 min at Hegu should be the optimal protocol regarding the improvement of the symptom score and effective rate.

Objective To evaluate the value of lung ultrasound score (LUS) on assessing the severity and extubation opportunity in postoperative patients of general surgery, and to investigate the correlation between LUS and oxygenation index (PaO2/FiO2), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), stay length in ICU and stay length in hospital. Methods A prospective double- blind cohort study was conducted. Eighty- nine postoperative patients of general surgery with successful extubation were selected, and the patients were divided into 2 groups:group A ( admission ICU to extubation time less than 48 h, 52 cases) and group B(admission ICU to extubation time more than 48 h, 37 cases). Before extubation, the PaO2/FiO2 was recorded according the blood gas analysis, and APACHE Ⅱ, SOFA and LUS were examined, and the staying time in ICU and staying time in hospital were recorded. The correlation was analyzed. Results The LUS, APACHE Ⅱ, SOFA, staying time in ICU and staying time in hospital in group A were significantly lower than those in group B: (3.98 ± 2.31) scores vs. (13.41 ± 2.82) scores, (7.52 ± 1.96) scores vs. (14.92 ± 3.07) scores, (4.50 ± 2.24) scores vs. (9.70 ± 3.64) scores, (1.77 ± 1.41) d vs. (8.49 ± 4.35) d and (8.49 ± 2.28) d vs. (15.63 ± 6.10) d, and the PaO2/FiO2 was significantly higher than that in group B:(441.57 ± 45.31) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) vs. (305.78 ± 90.72) mmHg, and there were statistical differences (P<0.01). The LUS had negative correlation with the PaO2/FiO2 (r=-0.882, P<0.01), and it had positive correlation with APACHEⅡ, SOFA, staying time in ICU and staying time in hospital (r=0.711, 0.590, 0.930 and 0.709;P<0.01). Conclusions The LUS is simple and easily available. It can evaluate the changes of pulmonary ventilation, and also evaluate its degree of severity and prognosis. It is helpful in the prediction of the extubation time, staying time in ICU and staying time in hospital in patients with general surgery.

To observe the expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 in brain after spared nerve injury (SNI) and compare the analgesic effects of COX inhibitors with different selectivity. Radioimmunoassay, RT-PCR and Western blotting techniques were used to evaluate the change of brain COX expression at different time points( before SNI, 1 h, 12 h, 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, 14 d, 30 d and 60 d after SNI); By exploring hot plate test, we observed the reacting time of animals after injection of saline, NS-398, SC-560 and indomethacin at different time points. The results showed that: ( 1 ) The expression of brain COX-1 didn't increase significantly until 14 d after SNI, while that of COX-2 increased significantly and rapidly after SNI and reached peak at the time point of 1 d ( all P ＜0.05 ); (2) NS-398 showed significant analgesic effect on neuropathic pain after SNI at the early phase ( P ＜ 0.05 ), but didn't persist for over 30 d; ( 3 ) Indomethacin and SC-560 didn't show significant analgesic effects until 14 d. These results suggest that brain COX-1 is involved in the late phase of neuropathic pain and may play a role in the persistence of pain, while brain COX-2 is involved in the early phase of neuropathic pain and may play a role in the pain origination.

Virginiamycin acetyltransferase D (VatD) plays a vital rule in streptogramins resistance by chemically inactivating streptogramin A. Therefore, it is desirable to discover novel small molecular weight inhibitors of VatD via state-of-the-art virtual screening techniques. This "cocktail" strategy by combining VatD inhibitor with streptogramins may provide new therapeutic opportunity for resistant bacteria infections. Structure-based virtual screening method (molecular docking) was applied to rank and score a chemical database containing 300 000 commercially available compounds against the VatD substrate binding site. Twenty six out of the 200 top scored compounds from the docking calculation were selected and submitted to the VatD enzymatic inhibition assay. The plasmid pRSET B/vatD was constructed and transformed into E.coli (trxB) host cells for over-expression, and VatD enzyme was purified and validated by showing acetyltransferase activity to Virginiamycin M1. Three out of these 26 tested compounds showed enzymatic inhibition on VatD with IC50 168.6, 91.0 and 55.2 μmol·L-1, separately. Other compounds could not be dissolved in the system and/or had little effect on the enzyme (IC50>200 μmol·L-1). To our knowledge, it is first time that small molecular weight organic compounds were identified as VatD inhibitors. It is expected that the VatD inhibitors identified at present study could serve as lead compounds for the further development of the novel therapeutic agents to overcome streptogramins resistance.

Objective To investigate dynamic changes in extracellular striatal 5-hydroxy indole acetic acid (5-HIAA) and melatonin (MLT) concentrations in the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced Parkinson's disease (PD) rat models.Methods A hemiparkinsonium rat model was established by a unilateral injection of 6-OHDA into the right substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and the right medial forebrain bundle (MFB).Dialysate samples were collected at 10:00 in the lesioned striatum by microdialysis at 1,2,3 and 4 weeks post-lesion,respectively.The levels of dopamine (DA) and 5-HIAA,as well as MLT in dialysate sanples were measured by high performance liquid chromotorgraphy (HPLC).Results One week after surgery,the level of DA in PD group was (1.19±0.22) ng/ml,which was distinctly lower than those in the vehicle group ((8.62 ± 0.73) ng/ml) and the sham group ((8.73 ± 0.78) ng/ml) (P ＜ 0.01).The levels of 5-HIAA in PD group had a downward trend,but there were no significant differences.The level of MLT in PD group was (43.31 ± 11.37) pg/ml at 4 weeks post-lesion,and significantly higher than those in the vehicle group ((19.13 ± 5.38)pg/ml) and the sham group ((19.80 ± 6.96) pg/ml) (P＜ 0.05).The striatal dialysate DA and 5-HIAA concentrations had a good positive correlation in the PD group (r =0.867,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion Decreased DA level concomitantly with changes of 5-HIAA and MLT in the ipsilateral striatum of 6-OHDA-induced PD rats,and these changes may be related to PD progression.

Objective　To find out if an unique blood mode-vasculogenic mimicry (VM) exist in prostate cancer and analyze its relationship with prognosis.　Methods　The age of the patients was 59 to 72 years,with a mean age of (66.7 ± 11.0) years.All had been confirmed as prostate cancer by biopsy.The level of serum PSA was 15.6 to 76.7 μg/L,with a mean level of (34.6 ± 1.7 ) μg/L.A histochemical and immunohistochemical dual staining method for PAS-CD31 and MMP-2 in 96 prostatic adenocarcinomas were conducted to explore if VM exist in prostate cancer,describe its morphology and distribution.The different expression of MMP-2 in VM positive and VM negative tissue were.The clinical data were collected and analyzed to explore the relationship between disease progression and VM.　Results　Among 96 cases,24 cases were found VM positive,the others were negative.The boundary membrane of VM was PAS positive,which was continuous or incontinuous. A positive correlation between VM density and high Gleason score were found.The tPSA were higher in the VM positive cases than that in VM negatives.The VM positive patients had poorer prognosis than that of the negatives.The MMP-2 expression was found correlated with VM positive (rs =0.60,P ＜ 0.01 ).　Conclusions　VM exists in the prostate cancer as an independent structure,and it is more common in the high-grade cancer.The progression-free survival of VM positive patients could be worse than the negative.MMP-2 and VM could be the indicators of poor prognosis.

Background Researches showed that femtosecond laser corneal small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) was used in the correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism due to its fast recovery,good shortterm efficacy and few complications.However,few research focused on its long-term efficacy.Objective Thisstudy was to evaluate the effectiveness,safety,predictability,stability and complications of SMILE.Methods A serial cases-observational study was carried out under the approval of Ethic Committee of Henan Eye Institute and informed consent of patients.Sixty-seven eyes of 34 patients with myopia and myopic astigmatism were included in Henan Eye Institute from January to June 2013.All the patients received SMILE and followed-up for 2-year duration.The uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA),best corrected visual acuity (BCVA),automatic optometry,intraocular pressure and corneal topography were examined before surgery and 1 day,1 week,1 month,3 months,1 year and 2 years after surgery and calculated the spherical equivalent (SE).The long-term efficacy of SMILE included effective index (preoperative BCVA/postoperative UCVA),safety index (postoperative BCVA/ preoperative BCVA),predictability (linear regression analysis between actual SE and attempted SE) and refractive stability (SE changes at postoperative time points).Results The preoperative BCVA was ≥ 20/20 in 60 eyes with the percentage of 89.55％.UCVA≥ 20/20 were found in 61 eyes and 60 eyes in postoperative 3 months and 2 years respectively (91.04％ and 89.55％).The effective index was 1.038±0.182 and 1.029±0.231 in postoperative 3 months and 2 years respectively,showing an insignificant difference between them (t =0.400,P ＞ 0.05).Compared with the preoperative BCVA,8.96％ (6/67) and 10.45％ (7/67) eyes lost 1 line at 3 months and 2 years after surgery,respectively.The safety indexes were 1.141±0.193 and 1.312±0.242 at 3 months and 2 years after surgery,with no significant difference between them (t =0.414,P＞0.05).A linear correlation was found between actual SE and attempted SE both at postoperative 3 months and 2 years,with the linear regression equations of Y=0.897 1X-0.440 8 (R2 =0.914 2,P＜0.05) and Y =0.893 7X-0.382 3 (R2 =0.915 7,P＜0.05),respectively.The SE was (0.013±0.578),(-0.033±0.489),(-0.106±0.508),(-0.103±0.375),(-0.154±0.518) and (-0.147±0.366)D 1 day,1 week,1 month,3 months,1 year and 2 years after surgery,respectively,and there were no significant difference among different time points (F =0.185,P =0.176).Eighteen in the 67 eyes occurred opaque bubble layer after surgery.Diffuse lamellar keratitis appeared in 6 eyes and punctate keratitis was in 2 eyes.These complications were cured 1 month after administration of drugs.Conclusions SMILE is good in effectiveness,safety,predictability and refreactive stability and has fewer complications during 2-year following-up.

Expressions of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its receptor (gp80、gp130) in 8 patients with Graves' disease (GD) were compared with those in 8 euthyroid patients with nodular goiter or benign thyroid adenoma. The thyroid tissues of GD expressed significantly higher IL-6 mRNA, gp130 mRNA and IL-6 protein than those of the control group, suggesting that activated IL-6/gp130 signal pathway in the thyroid tissue may contribute to the pathogenesis of GD.

AIM: To compare the expression of three cyclooxygenase (COX) isoforms in the process of inflammatory pain and evaluate the analgesic effects of different protocols about usage of COX inhibitors on inflammatory pain. METHODS: Formalin was injected subplantarly to mice to induce inflammatory pain. The expression of COX-1, COX-2 and COX-3 was evaluated by radioimmunoassay and RT-PCR, respectively. For the analgesic effect assay, animals were divided into 5 groups including control, SC, NS, IN and NS + SC group. The former 4 spectively. In the NS + SC group, animals received NS398 during the first 1 month and SC-560 during the second month in the NS + SC group. RESULTS: The expression of COX-1 was higher at the late phase while that of COX-2 was higher at the early phase of inflammatory pain. The expression of COX-3 did not significantly change in the process of inflammatory pain. Additionally,behavioral assessment showed that using COX-2 inhibitors at the early phase followed by COX-1 inhibitors at the late phase could get better analgesic effect on inflammatory pain compared with single using COX-1 selective or COX-2 selective inhibitors. CONCLUSION: In brain, the expression of COX-2 increases rapidly in the inflammatory pain process while COX-1 expression does not increase till the late phase. Brain COX-3 is poorly involved in the inflammatory process. Combined use of COX-1 and COX-2 selective inhibitors may be a better protocol in inflammatory pain treatment.

Objective To investigate the possible correlation between the monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 ( MCP-1 ) gene A-2518G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in the promoter region and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Chinese Han ethnic population of Sunan region,Methods This study was conducted with a case-control design in 484 ACS patients including 290 acute myocardial infarction (AMI)patients and 194 patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP) and 346 control subjects ruled out coronary disease by coronary angiography (control group),including 166 patients with coronary atherosclerosis and 180 subjects without coronary stenosis.Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used for the detection of the A-2518G polymorphism in MCP-1 gene,and then thefrequency of genetype was statistically analyzed.Results There were AA,AG and GG genotypes of MCP-1 gene A-2518G polymorphism in the ACS group and control group.The two groups could be considered as a genetic equilibrium representative by Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium ( P ＞ 0.05 ).Compared with the control group,the frequencies of AA genotype ( 15.32％ vs.16.12％ ),AG genotype (53.47％ vs.51.86％ ),GG genotype (31.21％ vs.32.02％ ) and G allele genotype (57.95％ vs.57.95％ ) in ACS group were not significantly different ( P was 0.083,0.673,0.821 and 1.00,respectively).Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that there was no significant correlation between MCP-1 gene A-2518G polymorphism and ACS regardless of differences in gender,age,smoking,diabetes,TG and LDL-C ( P ＞0.05 ).There was no significant difference in gender and age of ACS onset between two groups ( P ＞ 0.05).There were no significant differences in the frequencies of AA,AG and GG genotypes and G allele genotype among AMI group,UAP group and normal coronary group ( P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The data shows that MCP-1 gene A-2518G polymorphism is not associated with the risk of ACS in the Chinese Han ethnic population living in Sunan region.