Angelica sinensis ; chemistry ; Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; drug therapy ; Male ; Phytotherapy ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; drug therapy ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

BACKGROUND:Understanding the difference of miRNA-34s expression in normal tissue and tumor tissue wil contribute to screen out a miRNA with high sensitivity as the specific tumor molecular marker.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the differential expression of miRNA-34s (miR-34a/b/c) between normal skin and keloid tissue using real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, and to evaluate the role and mechanisms of miRNA-34s in keloid formation and development.
METHODS:Ten cases of keloid tissue and two cases of normal skin tissue were col ected as specimens. Total RNAs were extracted from keloid and nomal skin tissue by Trizol method, and miRNA-34s were further isolated by Ambion’s miRNA Isolation Kit. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR was applied to verify expression levels of microRNA-34s (miR-34a/b/c) in keloid tissue and normal skin tissue.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:miRNA-34s (miRNA-34a/b/c) expression was down-regulated in keloid tissue compared with normal skin tissue (P<0.01). The findings showed that miRNA-34s (miRNA-34a/b/c) are involved in keloid formation and development, and down-regulation of the family member may result in neoplastic growth of keloid.

Objective: To examine the therapeutic effects of dual dorsolateral prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on auditory hallucinations experienced by schizophrenic patients. Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled study was conducted. Totally 25 schizophrenic patients met DSM-Ⅳ criteria for schizophrenia and had anditory hallucination with stable antipsychotic drugs treatment were recruited. Subjects were grouped into active treatment subgroup and sham subgroup randomly. Measurements including the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) for clinical symptom and the Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (TESS) for side-effects were evaluated Results: Totally 25 subjects completed the trial. The treatment efficiency of active treatment group was higher than that of sham group (75% vs. 31%) .No overt side effects of rTMS were observed. Conclusion: It is effective for rTMS to treat schizophrenia with auditory hallucination at 1Hz. rTMS may be a new selection of schizophrenia treatment.

Objective To perform a risk factor analysis of central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO),and compare the difference in risk factors between CRVO and BRVO.Methods Retrospective observational casecontrol study included 46 CRVO patients,33 BRVO patients and 79 control subjects with senile cataract or refractive error,the risk factors and blood lipid spectrum analysis were performed and compared.Results Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that higher serum levels of homocysteine (P ＜ 0.000 1),total cholesterol (P =0.003 0),lipoprotein (a) (P =0.027 0),hypertension (P =0.022 0) and shorter axial length (P ＜0.000 1) were significantly correlated with CRVO.BRVO was associated with higher serum levels of homocysteine (P ＜0.000 1),total cholesterol (P =0.008 0),hypertension (P =0.002 0),body mass index (P =0.004 0) and shorter axial length (P =0.001 0).There was no significant difference in risk factors between CRVO and BRVO patients on multivariate analysis.Conclusion Multiple systemic (hyperlipidemia,hypertension and hyperhomocystinemia) and ocular (shorter axial length) risk factors are associated with both CRVO and BRVO,but these risk factors are not different between CRVO and BRVO.

Response Surface Methodology was applied to optimize the culture components for lipopeptide production by Bacillus natto TK-1. In the first step, two level factorial design of Plackett-Burman was used to evaluate the influence of six related factors. It showed that three factors playing the important roles in the medium, including peptone, yeast extract powder and CaCl_2. The path of steepest ascent was used to approach the optimal region of the fermentation conditions subsequently. In the third step, the concentrations of those three main factors were further optimized by using Box-Behnken and Response Surface Analysis. By solving the quadratic regression model equation, the optimal concentrations of the variables were determined as: peptone 1.73%, yeast extract powder 0.063 %, CaCl_2 1.385?10-4mol/L. Under the optimal culture conditions, the diameter of haemolysis zone increased 29.3 % than before. HPLC analysis showed the precise production of lipopeptide was 30.2% higher than preliminary culture. Furthermore, at three batches cultivation, the experiment values under the optimal conditions agreed with the predictive values. It showed that Response Surface Methodology was proper and a good choice for optimization.

To investigate the effects of manual acupuncture at Shenmen (HT7) or Taiyuan (LU9) on the attention function of the brain, and to lay an experimental foundation for researching brain function and integration mechanisms of the human brain in relation to acupuncture stimulation.

The incidence of aduIt obesity,diabetes,hyperIipidemia and hypertention has been rising dramaticaIIy in recent years. Obesity and overweight have become a significant pubIic heaIth probIem worIdwide. Though obesity is caused by compIex interactions between genetic,behavioraI,and environ-mentaI factors,its etioIogy is stiII uncIear. There is growing evidence that exposure to bisphenoI A(BPA) during prenataI and neonataI or adoIescence periods Ieads to much body mass gain. In addition,in epi-demioIogicaI studies,the association between BPA exposure and obesity and type 2 diabetes has been found. The potentiaI mechanism may be attributed to promoted differentiation and function in adipocytes via aIteration of a number of genes. BPA may act aIso through other mechanisms. It can directIy bind to nucIear receptors acting as agonists or antagonists and indirectIy disrupt hormone IeveIs by inhibiting enzymatic activity or by activating expression of the P450 enzymes. This review is focused on the effects of estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicaIs such as BPA on the deveIopment of obesity.

This article gives a profound exploration on the theoretical origin, prohibitions and mechanisms of moxibustion for heat syndrome. Based upon the ancient and modem literature, this article also gives a classified summarization on diseases of moxibustion for heat syndrome, in order to obtain a thorough understanding about the theory and clinical application of moxibustion for heat syndrome, hence to further perfect the theory of moxibustion and guide the clinical practice.

Objective: To observe the influence on IL-1β and IL-2 in rat models with rheumatoid arthritis after moxibustion on Shenshu (BL 23) and Zusanli (ST 36) points, and to discuss the mechanism of moxibustion. Methods: Fifty male Wistar rats were divided randomly into 5 groups,control group, model group, drug group, moxibustion group, and laser group, 10 for each. Four groups except the normal group were built on the model of rheumatoid arthritis. The changes of body weight and plantar circumference were measured and the level of IL-1β、 IL-2 in sera were examined by ELISA. Results: Compared with the model group, the weight and plantar circumference of rats in the moxibustion group were improved significantly after treatment (P＜0.01), and the improvement of plantar circumference also had significant differences compared with the drug group and the laser group (P＜0.05). The level of IL- 1β、 IL-2 in sera were down regulated in the moxibustion group and the laser group, which had statistical differences compared with the model group (P＜0.05), but no statistical differences were found when comparing with the drug group. Conclusion: Moxibustion obviously improves the toe tumefaction of the rats with rheumatoid arthritis, which is better than CO2 laser of 10.6μm. On the aspect of decreasing the amount of IL-1β、 IL-2, CO2 laser of 10.6 μm is similar with moxibustion.

Objective: To observe the effects of moxibustion therapy at Shenshu (BL 23) and Zusanli (ST 36) of rats with induced rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on the serumal intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICMA-1) and the pathological tissue, to discuss the mechanism of the warming and activating effect of moxibustion. Methods: After establishing the RA rats model, the induced rats were treated with moxibustion therapy on the acupoint Shenshu (BL 23) and Zusanli (ST 36), followed by analyzing the pathological section of the ankle of the hind limb and testing the ICAM-1 content with ELISA. Results: The plantar circumferences of the induced rat increased significantly compared with the rats in the control group (P<0.01), accompanying with the increase of the synovial layer, the erosion of phlogocytes to chondrocytes and the specific increase of ICAM-1 content. After the moxibustion therapy, the plantar circumferences decreased significantly (P<0.01) while the synovial layer tended to reduce. In addition, there was no pathological damage of the articular cartilage and the ICAM content decreased with significant deviation (P<0.01), compared to the model group. Conclusion: It was concluded that moxibustion therapy could inhibit the arthrosynovitis and hyperplasia, ameliorate the erosion of phlogocyte to cartilage, prevent articular periosteal lesions and delay the pathological course. The warming and activating effect of moxibustion therapy may involve the inhibition of the formation of ICAM-1 and pannus.