ObjectiveTo adapt to the dynamic multidimensional changes in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） constitution， the paths of improving the quality of life through TCM constitution intervention are proposed from a configuration perspective. MethodsFive hundred and nine subjects were included in the study， all of whom voluntarily participated in and completed TCM constitution interventions， and completed 60-item Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire （CCMQ） （including 9 subscales： neutral type， qi deficient type， yang deficient type， yin deficient type， phlegm-dampness type， damp-heat type， blood stasis type， qi stagnation type， and special constitution type） to evaluate the TCM constitution， and the Short Form Health Questionnaire （SF-36） in Chinese version （including overall， physical component scores （PCS）， and mental component scores （MCS）） before and 6 months after the intervention to evaluate the quality of life. The necessary condition analysis （NCA） and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis （fsQCA） were used to explore the necessary conditions and advantage configurations for improving the overall， physical and mental quality of life of TCM constitution dimension changes. ResultsThe results of NCA showed that the changes in the scores of neutral type and qi stagnation type can serve as necessary conditions for improving the SF-36 overall quality of life scores （P＜0.05）. The changes in the scores of neutral type and blood stasis type can serve as necessary conditions for improving PCS scores. The changes in scores of the other 7 types can serve as necessary conditions for improving MCS scores. The fsQCA results showed that the necessary consistency of a change in a particular physical subscale score alone did not reach to a necessary condition for a change in SF-36 total score， PCS score， and MCS score （consistency ＜ 0.9 for all）， so the results of NCA were considered. The results of configuration analysis found that 6 configurations were included in increasing the overall quality of life scores and PCS scores， and 7 in increasing the MCS scores， with overall consistency ＞ 0.7. Improving the overall quality of life scores required a focus on lowering the qi deficient type scores， or reducing the yang deficient type scores while increasing the neutral type scores； reducing the scores of phlegm-dampness type and qi stagnation type is beneficial for improving the PCS scores； increasing the neutral type scores and reducing the scores of deficient type， yang deficient type， phlegm-dampness type， and stagnation type is beneficial for increasing MCS scores. ConclusionTCM constitution interventions can improve physical， mental and overall quality of life， and its improvement in the mental domain of quality of life is closely related to the paths of overall quality of life. In order to improve the quality of life， in addition to increasing the tendency of the neutral type， more focused and targeted measures should also be taken to decrease the degrees of qi deficient type， yang deficient type， qi stagnation type， and phlegm-dampness type.

In-stent restenosis is the major problem of percutaneous coronary interventions. Drug-eluting stent became a landmark in the treatment of coronary disease. Curcumin could be used for drug-eluting stent due to its antithrombogenity and antiproliferative properties. In this paper, 3-(4, 5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays were performed to decide the optimal concentration of curcumin for inhibiting the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). The result disclosed that more than 80% of VSMC were inhibited when the concentration of curcumin ranged from 2.5 microg/ml to 10 microg/ml (P < 0.05, compared to ethanol). Three weight percent curcumin-loaded films (3wt%, 5wt%, 8wt%) were prepared using a biodegradable polymer (poly (lactic acid-co-glycol acid), PLGA) as the carrier of curcumin. The release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was used to evaluate the immediate toxicity of the curcumin-loaded PLGA films, and the three concentration curcumin-loaded films were revealed to be of no acute toxicity to the smooth muscle cells. The results of Alamar Blue test indicated that the curcumin-loaded films had better antiproliferation effect than did the 316 stainless steel (SS). Therefore, these films may be used for stent coating to inhibit the in-stent restenosis induced by VSMC proliferation.
Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Animals ; Carotid Arteries ; cytology ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Coated Materials, Biocompatible ; pharmacology ; Coronary Restenosis ; prevention & control ; Curcumin ; pharmacology ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Lactic Acid ; pharmacology ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; Polyglycolic Acid ; pharmacology ; Rats

Objective To explore the effects of biased constitutions on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and mechanisms of the role of sleep quality in the relationship between biased constitutions and HRQOL.Methods Data collected from the propulation of Beijing and Shijiazhuang,Hebei province for health check-up from March 2015 to December 2016. The biased constitutions were evaluated using the Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire (CCMQ) score;CCMQ consists of gentleness type (A type),qi-deficiency type (B type),yang-deficiency type (C type),yin-deficiency type (D type),phlegm-wetness type (E type),wet-heat type (F type),blood-stasis type (G type),qi-depression type (H type),and special diathesis type (I type),the eight constitutions except A type are classified as biased constitution (BC),Sleep quality (SQ) was evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). HRQOL was evaluated using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Pearson's correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation among the eight BCs,SQ,and HRQOL,and the structural equation model was further constructed to explore the effects of the eight BCs on HRQOL and the mediating effect of SQ.Results A total of 2,170 samples were included in the database. Finally,1,982 samples were included as study subjects after excluding 188 unqualified samples. The SF-36 and PSQI scores of the samples were 79.73±12.89 and 4.29±2.66,respectively,and the scores for the eight BCs were 27.46±14.84,25.12±19.17,23.55±14.99,21.57±15.20,23.67±15.49,21.68±14.49,22.00±16.14,and 16.13±14.19 for B,C,D,E,F,G,H,and I types,respectively. The result of Pearson's correlation analysis showed that all biased constitution scores were negatively correlated with the SF-36 score (r=-0.562 to-0.327,P<0.01),and were positively correlated with the PSQI score (r=0.272 to 0.431,P<0.01),and PSQI score was negatively correlated with the SF-36 score (r=-0.471,P<0.01). The result of the structural equation model showed that all biased constitutions had a negative effect on HRQOL and that the mediating role of SQ in the relationship between eight BCs and HRQOL was all statistically significant. The total effects of the eight BCs on HRQOL were-0.776,-0.528,-0.603,-0.684,-0.596,-0.678,-0.751,and-0.452 for the B,C,D,E,F,G,H,and I types,respectively. Moreover,the absolute effects of the B and H types were significantly higher than in other BCs;the mediation effect of SQ was-0.242,-0.272,-0.291,-0.261,-0.265,-0.395,-0.203,and-0.287 for the B,C,D,E,F,G,H,and I types,respectively,the absolute value of the mediation effect between G type and HRQOL was significantly higher than that of other BCs. Conclusion The eight BCs had negative effects on HRQOL,and SQ played a mediator role in the relationship between the eight BCs and HRQOL.

In-stent restenosis is the major problem in clinical application of coronary stent. Drug-eluting stent became a landmark in the treatment of coronary disease. However, thrombosis is still a problem of drug-eluting stent. There has been clinical report indicating that thrombosis sometimes is induced by drug-eluting stent implantation in late stage. Curcumin could be used for drug-eluting stent due to its antithrombogenity and antiproliferative properties. In this paper, three weight percent curcumin-loaded films (3wt%, 5wt%, 8wt%) were prepared using a biodegradable polymer (poly (lactic acid-co-glycol acid), PLGA) as the carrier of curcumin. The component of curcumin-loaded film was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and the major peaks of curcumin and PLGA were both observed in the composite film. The result of in vitro platelet adhesion test shows that the number of adhered platelet reduces, and few aggregated and activated platelets are observed. For all composite films, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) increases. The results indicate that the curcumin-loaded films have better anticoagulative effect when compared with PLGA. In addition, all anticoagulation tests indicate "the higher the drug content in the film, the better the anticoagulative effect".
Coated Materials, Biocompatible ; pharmacology ; Coronary Restenosis ; prevention & control ; Curcumin ; pharmacology ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Humans ; Lactic Acid ; pharmacology ; Platelet Adhesiveness ; drug effects ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Polyglycolic Acid ; pharmacology ; Polymers