Literatures of study on acupoint functional effect of encephalic region with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are collected from the database of China National Knowledge Information (CNKI) and Wan fang database. Analysis and comments are made respectively from the status quo of studies on combination of single acupoint, two acupoints and multiple acupoints under both physiological and pathological conditions. The results show that the corresponding encephalic regions can be specifically activated by acupuncture. And different regions can be activated by different acupoints. However, studies on single acupoint, two acupoints and three acupoints are the major researches carried out at present. It is still lack of observation on effect of commonly-used combinations in clinic. Moreover, the reliability of the research results are also affected by disunity of operations protocol, reinforcing or reducing manipulations, intensity or depth of stimulation and duration of needling retention. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a unified and standard operation protocol to strictly control the bias factors which may affect the result of research in the future, and take patients as the study target as much as possible, so as to further explore the central effect mechanism.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Brain ; diagnostic imaging ; physiology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Radiography

The skin ulceration syndrome of sea cucumber is a kind of desease induced by bacterium.In order to investigate the bacterium of infected sea cucumber and detect the N-acyl-homoserine lactones(AHLs) se-cretion of the bacterium,7 bacterial strains were isolated from the infected sea cucumber.These strains were identified by physiological-biochemical characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence.Results show that strain C6 belongs to Tenacibaculum,strain 4 belongs to Shewanella putrefaciens group,strain TB belongs to Vibrio,strain BP2,BP3,BP4 and BP6 belong to Pseudoalteromonas,respectively.AHLs were detected with strain Agrobacterium tumefaciens KYC55.Among these bacterial strains,strain C6,4,TB,BP3 and BP4 can se-cret AHLs,while strain BP2 and BP6 can’t.And the AHLs activity differs,from the highest to the lowest are 4,TB,BP4,BP3 and C6.

Through scale-up cultivation of Eriobotrya japonica suspension cells using WAVE bioreactor, the cell growth and ursolic acid (UA) accumulation were studied. The comparison test was carried out in the flask and the reactor with cell dry weight (DW) and UA content as evaluation indexes. The culture medium, DW and UA content were compared in 1 L and 5 L working volumes of bioreactor. The orthogonal test with main actors of inoculation amount, speed and angle of rotation was developed to find the optimal combination, in 1 L working volume of bioreactor. DW of the cell growth and the UA content in bioreactor were higher than those of the shaker by 105.5% and 27.65% respectively. In bioreactor, the dynamic changes of elements in the fluid culture, the dry weight of the cell growth and the UA content in 1 L and 5 L working volumes were similar. Inoculation of 80 g, rotational speed of 26 r · min(-1), and angle of 6 ° was the optimal combination, and the cell biomass of 19.01 g · L(-1) and the UA content of 27.750 mg · g(-1) were achieved after 100 h cultivation in 1 L working volume of bioreactor. WAVE Bioreactor is more suitable than flasks for the E. japonica cell suspension culture, and culture parameters can be achieved from 1 L to 5 L amplification.
Biomass ; Bioreactors ; Cell Culture Techniques ; instrumentation ; methods ; Culture Media ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Eriobotrya ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Triterpenes ; analysis ; metabolism

BACKGROUND: Coronary microembolization (CME) is a serious complication following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute coronary syndromes. The use of metoprolol before PCI can significantly protect ischemic myocardium from myocardial damage, but the function of metoprolol in the treatment of CME is not entirely clear. This study was to explore the effect and significance of metoprolol on myocardial apoptosis and caspase-3 activation after CME in rats. METHODS: Thirty rats were randomly divided into three groups including sham-operation (control group), CME plus saline (CME group), CME plus metoprolol (metoprolol group), 10 rats for each group. The CME group was induced by injecting 3000 polyethylene microspheres (42 μm) into the left ventricle during a 10-second occlusion of the ascending aorta; the control group was injected with physiological saline instead of microembolization ball; the metoprolol or saline group was given three intravenous bolus injections before CME. Echocardiography, TUNEL staining, and Western blotting were used to evaluate cardiac function, proportion of apoptotic cells and activation of caspase-3 respectively at 6 hours after operation. RESULTS: Echocardiographic parameters displayed that the metoprolol group improved cardiac function significantly compared with the CME group (P<0.05). The myocardial apoptotic rate of the CME group as wel as the contents of activated caspase-3 increased significantly (P<0.05), both of which were ameliorated significantly by metoprolol treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that metoprolol can protect the myocardium during CME in rats by inhibiting apoptosis and improving cardiac function. These results suggest that the inhibition of apoptosis can be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of CME.

Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics and make genetic diagnosis in the patients with hereditary spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7).Methods Pedigree analysis and clinical examination were performed in one family with SCA7 by clinical findings,of which retinal morphology and visual electrophysiology were available on part numbers.The polymorphic cytosine adenine guanine (CAG) repeats in the encode region of SCA7 gene were detected by combining polymerase chain reaction with deoxyribonucleic acide (DNA) sequencing on 19 familial numbers and 12 controls.Results 6 patients were identified,who manifesting cerebellar ataxia,decreased visual acuity and colour vision defect,as was pigmentary retinopathy on fundoscopy;The 6 patients had not only extinction of the electroretinogram (ERG) but also remarkably reduced amplitudes of oscillatory potentials and flash-visual evoked potentials. On normal alleles CAG repeat size ranges from 8 to 25 repeats,wherease on mutated alleles of the 6 numbers it ranges from 50 to 97 repeats.The 6 numbers were diagnosised as SCA7 patients.One asymptomatic individual of this family,who displayed a normal allele with 18 CAG repeats and another containing abnormal expantion of 56 repeats,was diagnosised as a asymptomatic carrier whose age maybe still below the age of onset.Conclusion The clinical manifestations of SCA7 are heterogeneous,and the detection of CAG repeats can provide an effective way for the gene diagnosis and the prediction of asymptomatic patients.

Objective To study the immunogenicity of human embryonic stem cells(hESCs)and the derived neural stem cells(NSCs)in vitro.Methods The constitutive expression of human leucocyte antigen(HLA)Ⅰ and Ⅱ in hESCs and the NSCs derived from these hESCs were detected by flow cytometry (FCM), as well as the expression of HLA-Ⅰ,Ⅱin NSCs induced by 30 ng/ml recombination human interferon-?(IFN-?).Meanwhile, the NSCs before and after induction of IFN-? were co-cultured with peripheral blood lymphocyte obtained from healthy person.Lymphocyte proliferation standing for the immunoreactivity of NSCs was then investigated.Results The hESCs slightly expressed HLA-Ⅰ(6.18%) and hardly any HLA-Ⅱ before differentiation.However, the NSCs expressed more HLA-Ⅰ(23.56%)as well as HLA-Ⅱ(1.28%, 1.73%)than the hESCs did.Both HLA-Ⅰ(46.43%)and HLA-Ⅱ(8.73%, 10.57%)expressed by the NSCs after they were induced by IFN-? were up-regulated.Conclusions hESCs express certain level of HLA-Ⅰ molecules but do not constitutively express HLA-Ⅱ molecules.The derived NSCs express heavy HLA-Ⅰ and a little HLA-Ⅱ, when treated by IFN-? they can inducibly up- regulated both molecules.The NSCs derived from HESCs are of immunogenicity, which induce rejection aiming at HLA-Ⅰ molecules or even at HLA-Ⅱ molecules when the host is inflammative or under stress, which can result in a failure of cellular transplantation.

Objective: To investigate the incidence of coutrast media iodixanol-induced delayed adverse reaction with the risk factors in general clinical practice.
Methods: A total of 20,185 patients with contrast iodixanol were recruited from 95 medical centers in China. The risk factors for adverse drug reaction as hypertension, asthma, previous contrast reaction were assessed;the administrative processes as route, injection manner, lfow rate of injection, prior heating of iodixanol were monitored and the demographic information was documented. The immediate adverse reaction within 1 hour of media administration and the delayed adverse reaction from 1 hour to 7 days after administration were recorded. The risk factors for iodixanol-induced delayed adverse reaction were studied by singlevariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Results: The overall iodixanol-induced adverse reaction rate was 1.52%, of which the immediate reaction was 0.58%and delayed reaction was 0.97%. The major delayed reaction was mild and it mostly happened in skin (0.68%) including rash, pruritus and urticaria. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that male gender (OR=0.71, P=0.036), age (OR=0.82, P=0.001), route of administration (OR=0.21, P<0.001), prior heating of iodixanol (OR=1.44, P=0.036), lfow rate of injection (OR=1.28, P=0.001) and previous contrast reaction (OR=16.04, P<0.001) were the independent risk factors for delayed adverse reactions.

Plasmodium vivax merozoite surface protein-1 (PvMSP1) gene codes for a major malaria vaccine candidate antigen. However, its polymorphic nature represents an obstacle to the design of a protective vaccine. In this study, we analyzed the genetic polymorphism and natural selection of the C-terminal 42 kDa fragment within PvMSP1 gene (Pv MSP142) from 77 P. vivax isolates, collected from imported cases of China-Myanmar border (CMB) areas in Yunnan province and the inland cases from Anhui, Yunnan, and Zhejiang province in China during 2009–2012. Totally, 41 haplotypes were identified and 30 of them were new haplotypes. The differences between the rates of non-synonymous and synonymous mutations suggest that PvMSP142 has evolved under natural selection, and a high selective pressure preferentially acted on regions identified of PvMSP133. Our results also demonstrated that PvMSP142 of P. vivax isolates collected on China-Myanmar border areas display higher genetic polymorphisms than those collected from inland of China. Such results have significant implications for understanding the dynamic of the P. vivax population and may be useful information towards China malaria elimination campaign strategies.
China ; Genetic Variation* ; Haplotypes ; Malaria ; Merozoite Surface Protein 1* ; Merozoites* ; Myanmar ; Plasmodium vivax* ; Plasmodium* ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Selection, Genetic* ; Silent Mutation

The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic polymorphism of Y-chromosome specific short tandem repeat (Y-STR) loci in Zhuang ethnic group of China. Nine Y-STR loci were amplified by single multiplex and the PCR products were detected by using ABI Prism(TM) 3100 DNA Sequencer. The allele frequencies and haplotype frequencies at 9 Y-STR loci were determined in a total of 85 unrelated male individuals from Zhuang ethnic group of China. The results indicated that in the 85 unrelated male individuals, except for the DYS426 locus with a low GD value, the GD values for other 8 Y-STR loci ranged from 0.4387 to 0.8129. A total of 70 haplotypes at 9 Y-STR loci were found, the haplotype diversity was 0.9926. It is concluded that the haplotype polymorphism of 9 Y-STR loci are highly polymorphic in Zhuang ethnic group and also significantly different from our previous reported data of unrelated male individnals in southern Chinese Han population.
Alleles ; China ; ethnology ; Chromosomes, Human, Y ; genetics ; Genetic Loci ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic

Objective To explore a kind of simple and high efficient approach to differentiate human embryonic stem cells(hESCs)into neural stem cells(NSCs).Methods hESCs were cultured in bacterial culture dish filled with serum free medium to gain embryoid bodies.Then the mature embryoid bodies grew in the special medium including B27 and noggin by adherent culture to differentiate into NSCs. Results The hESCs kept floating in the bacterial culture dish and growing all the time and then formed mature embryoid bodies 7 to 10 days later.The embryoid bodies could be differentiated into highly pure (96.4%)nestin positive cells.And these cells were differentiated into all kinds of neural cells if cultured further.Conclusions This kind of method is less time-consuming,cheaper,and more efficient than those of the results in literatures reported.It affords very good source of seed cells for cell transplantation therapy in the future.