OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between the temperature and time in moxa cone moxibustion with different purities of moxa.

METHODSAccording to the purities, the moxa were divided into a 10 : 1 group, a 20 : 1 group, a 30 : 1 group and a 40 : 1 group, 30 moxa cones in each group. With the VICTOR DM6902 electronic thermometer, the temperature of the undersurface center at different time points during the moxa cone moxibustion with different purities of moxa was measured. Once the moxa cone was ignited, the results were recorded at the end of each second. Also the temperature peak of the undersurface center and the time when the peak occurred were recorded.

RESULTThe undersurface temperature was increased in all the groups; the time of moxa cone reaching the lowest peak temperature was significantly different in all the groups (all P<0. 05), which was the 10 : 1 group, 20 : 1 group, 30 : 1 group and 40 : 1 group from slow to fast. 50 s, 60 s, 70 s, 80 s and 90 s after moxa cone was ignited, the temperature of moxa cone at the same time point was significantly different in all the groups (all P<0. 05), which was the 10 : 1 group, 20 : 1 group, 30 : 1 group and 40 : 1 group from slow to fast. Conclusion Among the moxa with purity of 10 : 1, 20 : 1, 30 : 1, and 40 : 1, the temperature change rate of the low-purity moxa cone is smaller than that of higher purity, and the stimulating duration of the former is longer than the latter. It is believed that the moxa with purity of 40 : 1 is suitable for scarring moxibustion; the moxa with purity of 30 : 1 and 20 : 1 is suitable for the non-scarring moxibustion; the moxa with purity of 10 : 1 is suitable for gentle moxibustion therapy. The high-purity moxa can also be applied to the field of the low-purity moxa.

Acupuncture Points ; Artemisia ; chemistry ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; instrumentation ; methods ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Temperature ; Time Factors

Objective To expose the effect and its potential mechanism of vinpocetine (Vinp) on the restenosis of dia?betic grafted veins. Methods Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into saline control group and Vinp treat?ment group. The autologous jugular vein to carotid artery transplantation was performed in diabetic model rats. Normal sa?line or Vinp were intraperitoneally injected. The rats were sacrificed at 0, 2 or 4 weeks after surgery, then the grafted veins were harvested. The pathological sections were used to detect the effect of Vinp on intimal hyperplasia. The protein expres?sion of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was detected by immunohistochemical method, and which was described by cell proliferation index. The phosphorylation of NF-κB was detected by Western blot assay. Results The treatment of Vinp on intimal hyperplasia in vivo was significant at two weeks after surgery (17.06±5.10)μm versus control group (39.79±7.84μm, P<0.01), (30.94±5.18)μm versus (63.67±18.09)μm at four weeks after surgery (P<0.01). Vinp treatment effectively reduced the protein expression of PCNA [2 weeks:(21.07±1.38)%vs. (28.13±1.35)%,P<0.01;4 weeks:(31.73±1.38)%vs. (63.67 ± 18.09)%, P<0.01]. The treatment of Vinp inhibited phosphorylation of NF-κB at two weeks (1.08 ± 0.42 vs. 0.84 ± 0.12, P < 0.01). Conclusion Vinpocetine can effectively attenuate intimal hyperplasia in diabetic grafted veins, which might be related to its effect on inhibiting phosphorylation of NF-κB as well as inflammation.

Objective To study the effect of Pioglitazone(PIO) on intimal hyperplasia after vein graft and its potential mechanism.Methods 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divieded into two groups,one admisnistrated with PIO(3 mg· kg-1 · d-1) and the other with saline.A week later,the right common carotid arteries were reconstructed using homolateral external jugular veins in rats.The drugs treatment was continued after surgery for 2 or 4 weeks until grafted veins were harvested.The neointima thickness was measured by Computer image analysis software.To observe the activation of ERK1/2 pathway,the western blot were performed.In vitro,human great saphenous vein smooth muscle cells were co-cultured with PIO,and cells proliferation was detected by the CCK-8 assay.The TUNEL staining was performed to determine apoptosis.Results PIO treatment significantly attenuated intimal thickening compared with the the control group both at second [(8.56 ± 1.64) μm vs (25.44 ± 0.89) μm,P ＜ 0.01] and fourth week [(10.51 ± 1.47) μm vs (35.69 ± 1.07) μm,P ＜ 0.01)] after veins graft.Also PIO inhibited the ERK1/2 activation in grafted veins.In vitro,PIO significantly reduced PDGF-induced cells proliferation and increased cells apoptosis.Conclusion PIO effectively improved intimal hyperplasia in grafted veins perhaps associated with its ability to suppress vascular smooth muscle cells proliferation and enhance cell apoptosis,and might be related to the down regulation of ERK1/2 activity.

Objective To report a new method of fluorescent labeling technique in microarray studies: universal primer U2 labeling( UPL). The efficiency was compared of the UPL with that of random primer, restriction display labeling method and the reverse transcription coupled random primer spiking labeling method(RT-PSL). Methods Influenza viral RNA was labeled with both UPL and the conventional random primer labeling method as well as two other more laborious labeling methods( RD-direct and RD-incorporate), and hybridized with influenza virus oligonucleotide microarrays. The signals extracted from the microarrays were analyzed using SPSS 10.0 software. Results The fluorescent intensity, signal-to-noise ration(SNR), true positive ratio(TPR) of probes and labeling reproducibility of UPL were demonstrated to be higher than those of the Random primer approaches.Conclusion These results established that UPL is a valid new labeling protocol, which may have wide applications in the research and development of the microarray technology.

Fluorescent Linear Labelling technique is an effective, single-tube and linear amplification method. The sample cDNA was synthesized from total RNA, and was labelled antisense cRNA from double-stranded cDNA with T7RNA polymerase; it can be used for hybridization to oligonucleotide biochip. Fluorescent Linear Labelling Method can result in 50- to 100-fold higher degrees of amplification, and has been shown to retain information on transcript abundance, thus making it an efficient, robust technique for fluorescent labelling on biochip.
Fluorescent Dyes ; chemistry ; Humans ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; methods ; Staining and Labeling ; methods