Objective To observe the influence of silymarin on expressions of transforming growth factor-?1(TGF-?1) and collagen type Ⅲ(Col Ⅲ) in rats with experimental tubulointerstitial fibrosis(TIF) induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO).Methods Se-venty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups:sham operation group(n=24),model group(n=24) and silymarin treatment group(n=24).The rats in model group and treatment group were operated by ligation of left-ureter.The rats in sham opera-tion group operated by dissociating left-ureter were taken as controls.Rats in treatment group were fed with silymarin [30 mg/(kg?d)]24 h before operation,and rats in model group and sham operation group were treated by intragastric administration with the same volume nomal saline at the same time.Eight rats were killed at day 7,14,and 21,respectively.The score of TIF changes,histologically,was evaluated under light microscope.Expressions of TGF-?1 and Col Ⅲ in tubulointerstitial tissue in 3 groups were investigated by immunohistochemistry.Results 1.The TIF pathological index in treatment group was less than that in model group,but more than sham operation group at day 14 and 21(Pa

As a kind of additive in feed of monogastric animals, the application of natural phytase is limited due to its disadvantages. In this paper, the strategies of phytse reform was introduced. Furthermore, the research and progress on protein engineering of feed phytase was reviewed, including phytase over-expression, phytase thermostability, catalytic efficiency and optimum pH.

ObjectiveTo observe the retinal function and nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). MethodsLASIK was performed in 15 cases (30 eyes) with myopia after strict preoperative examination. All examinations such as vision, correction vision, diopter, intraocular pressure, corneal thickness, ocular axis, topography scan and fundus of eye examination were performed before and 1 day, 1 week, 1 month,3 months and 6 months after operation, as well as electroretinography (ERG), visual evoked potential (VEP), optical coherece tomography at same time. ResultsThere was not significant difference in the intraocular pressure, ERG and VEP 1 day after LASIK. The thickness of RNFL decreased 1 week after LASIK (P<0.05) and recovered 1～6 months later. ConclusionLASIK does not disturb the retinal function and RNFL thickness irreversiblely.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of filtering surgery on glaucoma.Methods50 glaucoma cases (60 eyes) were underwent trabeculectomy, including paracentesis in advance, suturing of sclera flap and conjunctiva flap, using mitomycin (MMC) and forming anterior chamber as soon as finished operation. All cases were followed up 1 year.ResultsPostoperative IOP was lower than 21 mmHg in 54 eyes, 6 eyes were <30 mmHg when treated with drugs. After operation, there were only 2 eyes had lower vision, the others had higher vision. Two eyes had conjunctiva filtering, two eyes had choroidal separation, but they recovered after non surgical therapy.ConclusionFiltering surgery can decrease common complications, increase vision of early stage, and make IOP recovered to normal.

Objective: To observe the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) plus Luohua Anshen oral liquid for patients with perimenopausal insomnia. Methods: A total of 66 participants who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the randomized controlled trial and allocated to a treatment group and a control group at a ratio of 1:1, with 33 cases in each group. Both groups were given Luohua Anshen oral liquid as a basic treatment. The treatment group was additionally given EA every other day, three times a week. Both groups were treated for four weeks and a four-week follow-up was conducted. The scores of Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Kupperman index (KI) and traditional Chinese medicine sleep syndrome scale (TCMSSS) were recorded at pre- and post-treatment, and at the follow-up. Meanwhile, adverse effects were monitored and recorded. Results: After four-week treatment, the global scores of PSQI, KI and TCMSSS in both groups declined significantly (all P<0.05), and the decreases in the treatment group were more significant than those in the control group (allP<0.05). The global scores of PSQI, KI and TCMSSS in both groups at the follow-up visit were significantly different from the corresponding baseline (allP<0.05), while insignificantly different from those assessed at post-treatment (allP>0.05). The total effective rate was 93.9％ in the treatment group, significantly higher than 72.2％ in the control group (P<0.05). No significant adverse event was reported in this trial excepted one patient experienced slight dizziness in the first acupuncture treatment. Conclusion: EA plus Luohua Anshen oral liquid is safe for perimenopausal insomnia with satisfactory short- and long-term effectiveness, and it shows certain advantage compared with using Luohua Anshen oral liquid alone.

Objective: To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on cognitive function in D-galactose (D-gal)-induced aging rats, and the correlation between the effect and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3)-ASC-Caspase-1 signaling pathway. Methods: Forty-six male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a control group (n=10), a model group (n=12), an EA-7 d group (n=12) and an EA-21 d group (n=12). Except the control group, the other three groups received 42 consecutive days of intraperitoneal injection of D-gal to establish aging rat models with cognitive dysfunction. The control group received the same amount of normal saline via intraperitoneal injection. Two EA groups were given EA therapy for 21 consecutive days (began from the 22nd day of modeling) or 7 consecutive days (began from the 36th day of modeling) accordingly at Dazhui (GV 14), Baihui (GV 20), Shenshu (BL 23) and Zusanli (ST 36). After modeling/ intervention, all four groups received behavioral evaluations by Morris water maze (MWM) test, novel object recognition (NOR) test and step-down passive avoidance (SDPA) test followed by the Western blot (WB) detection of the expression levels of hippocampal NLRP3 inflammasome-associated proteins NLRP3, ASC and Caspase-1. Results: MWM (place navigation test, PNT) results showed that the escape latency in the model group was significantly longer than that in the other three groups (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference among the other three groups on the 1st day of the test (P>0.05). From the 2nd day to the 4th day of the test, there was no significant difference between the EA-21 d group and the control group (P>0.05) in the escape latency; the escape latency was significantly shorter in the EA-21 d group than in the model group and the EA-7 d group (P<0.05). MWM (spatial probe test, SPT) results showed that the time spent in the target quadrant was significantly shorter and platform crossover number was significantly lower in the model group than in the other three groups (P<0.05). The time spent in the target quadrant was longer in the EA-7 d group than in the model group (P<0.05), but was shorter than that in the control group and the EA-21 d group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the swimming speed among the four groups (P>0.05). NOR results showed that there was no significant difference in the recognition ratio between the EA-7 d group and the EA-21 d group (P>0.05), and the recognition ratio was significantly higher in the two EA groups than in the model group (P<0.05), but was lower than in the control group (P<0.05). SDPA results showed that the electric shock number was higher in the model group than in the other three groups (P<0.05), and the differences among the other three groups were statistically insignificant (P>0.05). The model group had the shortest step-down latency, followed by the EA-7 d group, the EA-21 d group and the control group in order (P<0.05). The WB results indicated that the expression level of NLRP3 was significantly lower in the control group and the EA-21 d group than in the model group and the EA-7 d group (P<0.05). The expression levels of ASC and Caspase-1 were significantly higher in the model group than in the other three groups (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference among these three groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: NLRP3 inflammasome may be involved in the development of cognitive decline in aging rats; 7 consecutive days of EA intervention can partially improve the cognitive impairment in aging rats though the effect is rather limited; 21 consecutive days of EA intervention may improve the learning and memory abilities in aging rats via downregulating the expression levels of NLRP3 inflammasome-associated proteins in hippocampus.

Objective:To investigate the effectiveness and safety of manual acupuncture for memory loss and sleep quality in chronic insomniacs.Methods:A total of 60 eligible participants were enrolled and randomized into either a treatment group or a control group,with 30 cases in each group.The treatment group was intervened by manual acupuncture whereas the control group was given sham acupuncture.In the two groups,the interventions were offered once every other day and three times a week,for 8 weeks in total.Before and after the treatment,Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and eventrelated potentials (ERPs) were used to assess the patients' sleep quality and memory,respectively.Meanwhile,adverse events were monitored and recorded.Results:After 8-week treatment,both the treatment group and the control group showed a significant decrease in the PSQI global score (P＜0.001,P＜0.01),and the decrease in the treatment group was more significant than that in the control group (P＜0.001).The intra-group comparisons of ERPs indicated that,the latencies of N1 and P3 were shortened and the amplitudes of N1 and P3 were increased in the treatment group after the intervention,and the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05,P＜0.001);in the control group,there were no significant changes in the latency and amplitude after the treatment (P＞0.05).The between-group comparisons of ERPs showed that the treatment group was more effective than the control group in shortening the latency of P3 (P＜0.01).Conclusion:Acupuncture can be a safe and effective treatment option for chronic insomnia coupled with memory impairment.

Objective:To observe the efficacy and safety of dexzopiclone plus auricular acupressure in intervening primary insomnia.Methods:A total of 72 participants who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial,with 36 cases allocated to a treatment group and 36 cases allocated to a control group.Both groups were given dexzopiclone as the routine treatment.Patients in the treatment group were given auricular acupressure with Wang Bu Liu Xing (Semen Vaccariae) seeds at the auricular acupoints related to sleep and emotion based on meridian theory,whereas for patients in the control group,the medical plasters with Wang Bu Liu Xing (Semen Vaccariae) seeds were only gently stuck to acupoints unrelated to sleep without stimulation.Patients in both groups were required to visit the hospital once a week for replacing the seeds and plasters.The course of intervention lasted for 8 weeks and the patients were followed up for another 4 weeks.Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and Karolinska sleep diary (KSD) were used to evaluate the outcomes.Meanwhile,adverse effects were monitored and recorded.Results:In the enrolled 72 cases,4 patients (one in the treatment group and three in the control group) reported thirst and a bitter taste,and one case in the control group reported nausea and vomiting.At last,3 cases in the control group dropped out for adverse reactions,and 69 cases completed the clinical trial.After 8 weeks of treatment,the global scores of PSQI in both treatment and control groups decreased significantly compared with the baseline (both P＜0.001).Furthermore,the global score of PSQI in the treatment group was lower than that in the control group (P＜0.01).The global scores of PSQI in both groups at the follow-up were significantly different from the baseline (both P＜0.001),but insignificantly different compared with the post-treatment results (both P＞0.05).According to KSD,both treatment protocols could prolong the total sleep time,shorten sleep-onset latency,improve sleep efficacy and sleep quality significantly,and the changes in the treatment group were more significant.The total effective rate was 88.9％ in the treatment group,higher than 81.8％ in the control group,though the difference was statistically insignificant (P＞0.05).Conclusion:Dexzopiclone plus auricular acupressure is effective and safe for patients with primary insomnia both in short and long terms,and it is more effective than monotherapy of dexzopiclone.

The study was aimed to explore the possible association between HLA-DRB1 allele polymorphism and the susceptibility to leukemia in Gansu Chinese Han nationality and to find the genes susceptible to leukemia. HLA-DRB1 genes in 74 patients with leukemia from northwestern China and 82 healthy Chinese controls were determined by polymerase chain reaction and sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe hybridizations (PCR/SSO) DNA analysis. The results showed that as compared with control, the allele frequencies of HLA-DRB1*03 (chi(2) = 8.125, P = 0.004), HLA-DRB1*07 (chi(2) = 13.526, P = 0.000), HLA-DRB1*08 (chi(2) = 18.855, P = 0.000), HLA-DRB1*13 (chi(2) = 7.039, P = 0.008) significantly increased in AML group. The allele frequencies of HLA-DRB1*07 (chi(2) = 5.689, P = 0.017), HLA-DRB1*11 (chi(2) = 7.73, P = 0.005), HLA-DRB1*12 (chi(2) = 4.234, P = 0.040), HLA-DRB1*13 (chi(2) = 38.333, P = 0.000) significantly increased in CML group. The allele frequency of HLA-DRB1*01 (chi(2) = 5.294, P = 0.021) significantly increased in ALL group. It is concluded that the susceptibility to AML in Gansu Han nationality is positively related to HLA-DRB1*03. 1*07.1*08.1*13. CML positively correlates with HLA-DRB1*07. 1*11.1*12.1*13, and ALL may be positively in relation with HLA-DRB1*01. Allele polymorphism is associated with the leukemia occurrence.
Acute Disease ; Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; China ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; HLA-DR Antigens ; genetics ; HLA-DRB1 Chains ; Humans ; Leukemia ; ethnology ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic

Objective To compare the coherence of serum creatinine,creatinine clearance(Ccr), Cystatin C,and estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR)in each stage of chronic kidney disease(CKD) patients.Methods Creatinine in serum and urine were determined by Jaffe method;serum Cystatin C was measured by particle enhanced turbidimetric method,while eGFR was calculated using the abbreviated Modification of Diet in Renal Disease(MDRD)equation which was mainly based on the serum creatinine concentration.According to the American national kidney foundation-Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative(NKF-K/DOQI)guideline,all cases were grouped by eGFR into 5 stages.Results In these 228 cases,as eGFR decreased gradually,the average levels of creatinine and Cystatin C increased,while Ccr decreased.The level of each items showed a statistic difference among each stage(P0.05);in eGFR 60-89 ml/min group,the average level of creatinine was 83.3 ?mol/L,the abnormal rate was only 6.8%,it was not a sensitive marker to detect the slightly damaged GFR,the levels of Ccr and Cystatin C showed a marginal decrease and increase,with an abnormal rates of 70% and 86%,there was a statistic difference among the three abnormal rates(P