Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of Tiaoxinyin treatment for diabetic cardiac autonomic neuropathy (DCAN);To evaluate its efficacy and safety.Methods One hundred patients of DCAN were randomly divided into experimental group (51 cases) and control group (49 cases). Both groups were given basic treatment of diet control and Metformin hydrochloride tablets orally taking. Patients in the experimental group were given Tiaoxinyin, while patients in the control group were treated with Mecobalamin tablets for 8 weeks. Changes and untoward effects in blood glucose, blood fat and heart rate variability were observed before and after treatment so as to compare the efficacy of two groups.Results The total effective rate of the experimental group was 82.35% (42/51) and the control group was 63.27% (31/49), with statistical significance between the two groups (P<0.01). The TCM scores of the two groups decreased after treatment, with statistical significance compared with those before treatment (P<0.01). The difference in TCM scores between the two groups was significance (P<0.05). The level of FBG and 2 h PG in the two groups declined (P<0.05). Heart rate variability had statistical significance compared with that before treatment (P<0.05), with statistical significance between the two groups (P<0.05). No obvious adverse reaction was found.Conclusion Tiaoxinyin is effective and safe in treating DCAN and can improve the heart rate variability indicators in patients.

The role of chronic inflammation and autonomic neuropathy in the crucial underlying process con -tributing to the initiation and the progression of various cardiovascular diseases is well established .It is well known that the immune system is innervated by the autonomic nervous system , and the inflammatory reaction and immune reaction are re-gulated by the autonomic nerve system .Vagus nerve depresses inflammatory reaction via cholinergic anti-inflammatory path-way (CAP), while sympathetic nervous system has bidirectional regulation of pro-inflammation and anti-inflammation, which are affected by several factors such as the concentration of neurotransmitters or types of receptors .In this paper , we reviewed different effects of CAP and sympathetic nervous system on cardiovascular inflammatory reaction .Activation of CAP and regaining normal sympathetic function will improve the chronic inflammation in the process of cardiovascular disea -ses.Low-toxic and selective α7nAchR agonist is expected to be applied in cardiovascular diseases to alleviate chronic in -flammation .

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture in treating mild and moderate female stress incontinence.Methods One hundred and eighty female patients with mild or moderate stress incontinence were randomly allocated to treatment and control groups, 90 cases each. The treatment group received electroacupuncture and the control group took midodrine hydrochloride tablets. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF) score was recorded and 1-hour pad test leakage was measured in the two groups before and after treatment. The clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups.Results There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in the ICIQ-UI SF score and pad test leakage in both groups (P<0.01). There were statistically significant post-treatment differences in the ICIQ-UI SF score and pad test leakage between the treatment and control groups (P<0.01). The total efficacy rate was 86.7% in the treatment group and 68.9% in the control group; there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05).Conclusions Electroacupuncture is an effective way to treat mild and moderate female stress incontinence. It can improve urinary continence and reduce urine leakage in the patients.

Objective To retrospectively analyze the efficacy and safety of splenic embolization in the treatment of hypersplenism.Methods Thirty-six cases of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with cirrhosis,splenomegaly and hypersplenism underwent hepatocellular carcinoma embolization as well as with spleen embolization.White blood cells (WBC) and platelets were tested and postoperative clinical reactions were observed at 3,7,30 days and 3-6 months after the operation.Results The number of WBC and platelet were both significantly increased after the operation,the difference was significantly statistical [WBC:3 d:( 9.4 ±2.1 ) × 109/L,7 d:(9.3 ± 2.3 ) × 109/L,30 d:( 8.6 ± 2.1 ) × 109/L,3 months:( 6.4 ± 1.6 ) × 109/L vs (2.6 ± 1.4) × 109/L,P＜0.01;platelet:3 d:(94 ±23) × 109/L,7 d:(140 ±32) × 109/L,30 d:(136 ±38) ×109/L,3 months:( 119 ±26) × 109/L vs (32 ± 18) × 109/L,P＜0.01].All patients got fever,loss of appetite,nausea and pain in the spleen,of which 6 patients needed clinical treatment to control symptoms and left pleural effusion occurred in 3 patients,but without cases with serious complications.Conclusion The functional splenic artery blood flow embolization is a safe and effective treatment for liver cirrhosis caused by hypersplenism.

Objective To evaluate the value of lung ultrasound score (LUS) in the quantitative assessment of the severity of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) and the value of clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods Totally 74 NRDS cases and 30 normal neonates were studied.LUS was compared with X-ray examination,clinical data,ventilator assisted ventilation and ventilator parameters.ROC curve was used to calculate sensitivity and specificity of LUS to predict the severity of NRDS and application of invasive ventilator treatment.Results The main findings of the lung ultrasound in NRDS included diffuse distribution of dense B line,disappeared A line,pleural line abnormalities,decreased pulmonary slip sign and pulmonary consolidation.LUS in patients with NRDS was significantly correlated with X ray grades,clinical grades,assisted ventilation mode grades,number of days on ventilator and ventilator parameters (all P＜0.05).LUS value to predict mild,moderate and severe NRDS were 13.0,22.5,and 29.5,respectively.The best cutoff point for LUS to predict the adoptation of invasive assisted ventilation was 22.5,which had sensitivity of 86.0 ％ and specificity of 64.5 ％.Conclusion LUS can be used to diagnose and evaluate the severity of the desease,and to guide the clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Aim To investigate the preventive effect of Guizhi decoction on cardiac sympathetic sprouting induced by 4-Methylcatechol (4-MC) . Methods The rat models of cardiac sympathetic sprouting were in-duced by 10 mg · L-1 4-MC ( 10μg · kg-1 body weight, i. p. ) . Guizhi decoctions ( with different pro-portion between Ramulus Cinnamomi and Radix Paeon-iae Alba, 1 : 1, 1 : 2 and 2 : 1) and metoprolol were administered to the rats. Heart rate and electrocardio-gram ( ECG ) were observed, the content of norepi-nephrine (NE), growth associated protein (GAP-43), tyrosine hydroxylase ( TH ) and acetylcholine transfer-ase enzyme ( CHAT) in myocardial homogenate of left ventricular and right atrial were determined by ELISA method, and immunofluorescence assay was used to observe cardiac nerve sprouting and sympathetic distri-bution. Results 4-MC caused cardiac sympathetic sprouting and parasympathetic was not influenced. Heart rate of the model group was improved significant-ly and higher than that of the other groups . Compared with the model group, the content of NE, GAP-43 and TH in left ventricle and right atrium of the metoprolol group and Guizhi decoction group were decreased( P<0.05 ) , and the immunofluorescence result showed that the distribution of TH positive nerve was reduced sig-nificantly(P<0.05). It was demonstrated that Guizhi decoction of the proportion between Ramulus Cinnamo-mi and Radix Paeoniae Alba 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 had the best efficacy, which was similar to the efficacy of meto-prolol. Conclusion Guizhi decoction ( with the pro-portion between Ramulus Cinnamomi and Radix Paeon-iae Alba 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 ) effectively inhibits the cardi-ac sympathetic sprouting induced by 4-MC.

60 curved root canals of permanent teeth with angles of curvature ranging from 15°to 40°(Schneider's methodology)were prepared using the instruments of Hyflex CM(HC) and ProTaper(PT) Universal respectively(n=30).Using standardized pre-and post-instrumentation paralleling periapical radiographs,canal curvature was determined by image analysis software and the clinical shaping effect of Hyflex CM and ProTaper rotary NiTi files were compared.The canal curvature in group HC and PT decreased by 4.54°±3.25° and 5.63°±3.84° respectively(between pre-and post-treatment in both groups,P<0.05;between groups,P>0.05).Hyflex CM can meet the clinical necessity for the instrumentation of curved root canals.

[ ABSTRACT] AIM:To investigate the preventive effect of Guizhi decoction on myocardial injury after chemical sympathectomy induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA).METHODS:Wistar rats (n=54) were randomly divided in-to 6 groups.Methycobal and Guizhi decoction ( with different proportions between Ramulus Cinnamomi and Radix paeoniae Alba at 2∶1, 1∶2 or 1∶1) were pre-administered to the rats.Immunohistochemical method was used to observe the cardiac sympathetic nerve distribution.The contents of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), choline acetylaminotransferase (ChAT) and growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43) in the left ventricle were measured by ELISA.The serum levels of myocardial en-zymes and morphology of myocardial tissues were also observed.RESULTS:6-OHDA successfully induced cardiac sympa-thetic denervation as the contents of TH and GAP-43 in the left ventricle declined significantly.Compared with model group, the content of TH was elevated in both methycobal group and Guizhi decoction groups, while the content of GAP-43 was elevated only in Guizhi decoction groups.The serum levels of myocardial enzymes and the histopathological changes of the cardiac tissues were deteriorated after injection of 6-OHDA, indicating that the myocardial injury was established. Methycobal and Guizhi decoction normalized the abnormal change.Guizhi decoctions at 2∶1 and 1∶1 showed the best effi-cacy.CONCLUSION:6-OHDA-induced sympathetic denervation causes myocardial injury.Guizhi decoction with the proportions between Ranulus Cinnamomi and Radix paeoniae Alba at 2∶1 and 1∶1 effectively alleviate the myocardial injury after cardiac sympathetic denervation induced by 6-OHDA.

Objectives To study the performance of different microbial automated inoculation systems and to evaluate the performance of the Probact microbial automated inoculation and incubation system ( Probact system) and its applications in clinical microbiology laboratory.Methods A total of 160 clinical specimens, including respiratory secretions ( n=61 ) , urine ( n=49 ) , and feces ( n=50 ) , that were submitted to the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory in Peking Union Medical College Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from February 2015 to April 2015 were evaluated.These specimens were processed with conventional manual method, the Probact automated inoculation system, and PREVI Isola Inoculator.The quantity of bacterial species recovery, number of effectively isolated colonies, total number of colonies recovery per plate, and time of processing the 160 specimens by the three methods were evaluated. Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test were used for statistical analysis.Results The Probact system had significantly higher quantity of bacterial species recovery (respiratory specimens 3.41 ±1.40, urine 1.92 ±0.86, and feces 1.16 ±0.79) than those by the Isola Inoculator (respiratory specimens 3.75 ±1.29, urine 2.24 ±0.97, and feces 1.92 ±0.72), (P=0.006, 0.011, <0.001).Compared to the manual method, Probact performed less quantity of bacterial species recovery for respiratory specimens(3.85 ±1.38), but higher in feces(0.80 ±0.81)( P<0.001).There is no significant differences for urine ( 1.84 ±1.23 ) ( P=0.266 ) .As for number of isolated colony, the Probact system ( respiratory specimens 12.16 ±7.72, urine 2.71 ±4.24, and feces 5.40 ±5.04 ) had significant smaller numbers than that of Isola Inoculator (respiratory specimens 16.56 ±5.76, urine 4.35 ± 4.89, and feces 8.40 ±3.70) (P<0.001,0.007,0.003).However, both system had larger numbers of isolated colonies than those by the manual method (respiratory specimens 11.30 ±8.42, urine 2.67 ±4.34, and feces 1.90 ±3.90) and the difference was significant for fecal specimens(P<0.001).Regarding the total number of colonies recovery, larger number was found by Isola Inoculator than that by the Probact system for fecal specimens, however, there were no significant differences for respiratory or urine specimens (P=0.524,0.738).Compared with manual method, the Probact system had significantly more numbers of colonies recovery for respiratory and fecal specimens ( P<0.001 ) . The total time for processing 160 specimens was shortest for manual method (281 min), followed by Probact system (419 min) and Isola Inoculator (495 min) .Conclusions The performance of the Probact system is better than the manual method but no superior to the Isola Inoculator.The Probact system can meet the clinical need in terms of full automation and standardization of specimen inoculation and prevention of bias of processing by laboratory staffs using manual method.

In order to investigate the impact of fulvic acid (FA) on the hydroxylysyl glycosylation in collagen bio-synthesis, 40 NMRI mice were divided into two groups (n = 20 in each group, consisting 10 females and 10 males). The animal was maintained for two generations by different diets: control group with normal water and food and study group with water containing 30 mg/L FA and normal food. The second generation of the animal was slaughtered, and the biochemical parameters of collagen content and the degree of collagen hydroxylysyl glycosylation in skin, rib and tibia were detected by biochemical methods. The mean value of collagen in the study group was increased slightly, and no significant difference between study group and control group was found (P > 0.05), but the content of glucose-glactose-hydroxylysine (GGH) was significantly decreased in the study group in comparison with the control group (P<0.01). It was suggested that through the decrease of GGH 30 mg/L FA could inhibit the activity of galactosyl-hydroxylysylglucosyl-transferase and further disturb the post-translational modification of collagen intracellularly.
Benzopyrans/*pharmacology ; Bone Development ; Bone and Bones/chemistry ; Bone and Bones/*metabolism ; Collagen/*biosynthesis ; Glycosylation ; Hydroxylysine/*metabolism ; Mice, Inbred Strains ; Osteoarthritis/etiology ; Selenium/deficiency