ZENG Tian-zhi, as one of the disciples of Mr. CHENG Dan-an, is considered as one of the major successors of the Chengjiang acupuncture school in the South of the Five Ridges. By collecting Mr. ZENG's works and papers as well as the interviews with his followers, his life and achievements are verified and his existing representative works are introduced. It is found out that following CHENG Dan-an's steps, ZENG Tian-zhi has practiced the medicine and performed great deeds, established schools and taught students. Also he established the first educational institution of acupuncture in Hong Kong, namely College of Scientific Acupuncture. He has traveled to many places to promote the acupuncture and cultivate a large number of acupuncturists. His works are characterized by organized edition, bringing in modern medical theory and focusing on clinic applicability.
Acupuncture ; education ; history ; methods ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Books ; China ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Male

This study investigates the protective role of IMM-H004, a novel coumarin derivative, on hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) in mice. All animal experiments in this paper have been approved by the Ethics Committee of Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The experimental animals were divided into three groups, including sham group, model group, and IMM-H004 treatment group. Serum biochemical indicators were detected and H&E staining was used to assess liver damage. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed to analysis the mRNA content of inflammatory factors. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were used to observe neutrophil infiltration. Western blot was used to examine the protein levels of NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-1 (caspase-1), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). The results showed that IMM-H004 could significantly reduce the serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). H&E results showed IMM-H004 could alleviate liver damage caused by HIRI. The mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-1β, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were decreased by IMM-H004 administration. Meanwhile, IMM-H004 could markedly inhibit neutrophil infiltration. Furthermore, IMM-H004 could significantly down-regulate the protein expression of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, and IL-1β, inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. Our results confirmed that IMM-H004 could protect mice from HIRI and provide a theoretical foundation for IMM-H004 application for treating HIRI.

Objective:To analyze the predicting values of hematological indicators for the pathological response in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma after preoperative neoadjuvant therapy and radical surgery.Methods:The absolute count of neutrophils (NE), lymphocytes (LY) and monocytes (MO) of 102 patients with locally advanced gastric adenocarcinoma in a multi-center randomized phase Ⅲ clinical trial (NCT01815853) from June 2013 to Feburary 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into the chemotherapy alone group (ChT, 3 cycles of XELOX regimen) and the chemoradiation group (CRT, 1 cycle of induced XELOX regimen and 4500 cGy/25f radiotherapy plus concurrent extenuated 2 cycles of XELOX regimen), 51 cases in each group. The pathological response indicators of tumors after radical surgery included tumor regression grade, pathological complete regression, pathological T stage (ypT), N stage (ypN) and TNM stage (ypTNM).Results:Univariate regression analysis and ROC curves demonstrated a significant association between the absolute neutrophil count (NE) and ypT, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) and ypN 0, and LMR and ypTNM reduction in the entire cohort of patients. Multivariate regression analysis showed that higher NE (>4.10×10 9/L) was significantly associated with higher probability of ypT reduction ( OR=3.308, P=0.007). Higher LMR (>3.46) was significantly associated with higher ypN 0 probability ( OR=4.276, P=0.005) and better ypTNM reduction ( OR=2.805, P=0.019). In subgroup analysis, higher NE (>4.10) was significantly correlated with higher probability of ypT reduction ( OR=3.750, P=0.030) in the CRT group, and higher LMR (>3.46) was significantly associated with higher ypN 0 probability ( OR=8.500, P=0.050) and the probability of ypTNM stage reduction ( OR=4.000, P=0.026) in the ChT group. Conclusions:Pretreatment NE and LMR in the peripheral blood serve as independent predictors for tumor pathological responses after preoperative treatment, and immune condition is correlated with tumor regression after radical surgery in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVETo search for an effective therapy for acute eczema.

METHODSEighty-eight cases were divided into a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group (n=46) were treated with pricking the affected parts with three-edge needle and blood-letting puncturing and cupping at back-shu points with three-edge needle, and the control group (n=42) with oral administration of Clarityne and external application of Pairuisong Ointment.

RESULTSThe total effective rate and the cured and markedly effective rate were 100.0% and 89.1% in the treatment group and 88.1% and 42.9% in the control group with no significant difference in the total effective rate (P > 0.05) and with a very significant difference in the cured and markedly effective rate between the two groups (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONPricking and blood-letting and cupping with a three-edge needle has a definite therapeutic effect on acute eczema, which is better than that of the western medicine.

Acupuncture Therapy ; methods ; Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Eczema ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Phlebotomy ; methods

UNLABELLEDTo observe the efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil(ADV) in combination with Anluohuaxian capsule in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.

METHODS72 cases with CHB were randomly divided into two groups. 36 cases of treatment group were given ADV combined with Anluohuaxian capsule for 48 weeks. 36 cases of control group were given ADV. The levels of serum ALT, AST, Alb, TBil, HA, LN, CIV, HBV DNA and hepatic tissue were compared before and after being treated.

RESULTSAfter 48 weeks treatment,the liver function, serum fibrosis index and histology of treatment group and control group all have improved. After treatment, the two groups in the levels of ALT(t=0.746, P=0.342), AST (t=0.369, P=0.713), TBil (t=0.146, P=0.684), Alb(t=0.148, P=0.883), liver tissue inflammation mobility scoring (t=1.666, P=0.100) and HBV DNA negative rate (x2=0.141, P=0.708) were no evident difference.The level of HA, LN, CIV were significantly lower in treatment group(101.58+/-30.11, 147.89+/-41.72, 38.75+/-9.50) compared with control group(182.25+/-117.59, 181.50+/-56.96, 74.92+/-31.14) (P less than 0.05). After the treatment, the liver tissue fibrosis scoring was significantly lower in treatment group (10.61+/-2.37) compared with before the treatment (12.28+/-3.16) (P less than 0.05).There was no difference found between after the treatment (11.36+/-2.93) and before the treatment (12.17+/-3.01) in control group (P more than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe results show that the treatment with ADV in combination with Anluohuaxian capsule can play promoting antifibrotic effect and significant improved liver histology of chronic hepatitis B patients.

Adenine ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Humans ; Liver ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Organophosphonates ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo study the feasibility and rationale of using a generalized regression neural network model integrated with multiple disease indicators for diagnosing alcoholic liver disease (ALD).

METHODSALD indicators were identified by reviewing the clinical testing results of 40 ALD patients from the literature and 135 patients from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, who were also classified by physician experts upon clinical consultation. Seven indicators were selected as diagnosis indexes and applied to a general regression neural network diagnostic model. Thirty-four of the reported patients and 120 of the clinical patients were selected for use as training samples to establish the indicator recognition pattern for the model, and the remaining six and 15 patients from the two respective groups were selected for use as testing samples to determine the model's diagnostic ability.

RESULTSThe model provided a correct diagnosis of ALD sub-classification for 94.1% (32/34) of the reported patients and 100% (120/120) of the clinical patients in the training set. The correct diagnosis rates achieved with the training sets were 100% for both the reported patient group (6/6) and the clinical patient group (15/15), indicating that the results of the diagnostic model were in good agreement with the ALD classifications generated by the clinical expert consultations.

CONCLUSIONThe general regression neural network model based on multiple indicators of ALD is capable of providing accurate and comprehensive diagnosis of ALD and may be feasible for clinical applications.

Humans ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; diagnosis ; Neural Networks (Computer)

Recent research indicates that TGF-beta and type II receptor (TbetaR-II) play an important role in the pathogenesis of tumor. A high frequency of abnormalities in TbetaR-II has been demonstrated in various cancers. To identify the mutation of TbetaR-II in patients with acute leukemia, the bone marrow samples from 6 patients with acute leukemia and 11 normal individuals as control were detected by long-range RT-PCR. To detect a deletion in sequence of the TbetaR-IIgene, the PCR products were cloned to T vector and then sequenced. The results showed that there was existance of the isoform of TbetaR-II in 2 cases out of 6 patients with acute leukemia. These two patients had more poor prognosis than others. In conclusion, there was the isoform of TbetaR-II in partial patients with acute leukemia, and the isoform may be related with prognosis.
Adult ; Base Sequence ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; Protein Isoforms ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; classification ; metabolism ; Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta ; classification ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; metabolism

This study was purposed to establish the method of quantifying RhD antigen on red blood cells (RBC) by flow cytometry (FCM) and to explore the expression of D antigen on RBC of different RhD serotype. RhD(+) RBCs and RhD(-) RBCs were mixed in 1:1 ratio. Cells were stained by the indirect method (IgG anti-D as the first antibody, FITC-anti-IgG F(ab')2 as the second antibody), and the ratio of RhD(+) on RBCs was quantified by FCM. The optimal dosage of IgG anti-D was defined. Expression of RhD antigen on RBC of RhD(+), weak D, RhDel and RhD(-) type were detected by FCM. The results showed that optimal dilution of IgG anti-D monoclonal antibody was 1:4, 1x10(6) cells/50 microl. The percentage of D(+) RBC of RhD(+), weak D, RhDel and RhD(-) type were 96.8+/-2.97%, 79.5+/-9.88%, 47.8+/-11.43%, 3.7+/-2.96%, respectively. The mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of RhD antigen expression of RhD(+), weak D, RhDel and RhD(-) type were 33.3+/-6.21 Dal, 18.6+/-5.39 Dal, 7.10+/-1.17 Dal, 0.79+/-0.55 Dal, respectively. In conclusion, there are significant differences of RhD antigen expressions among RBC of different RhD serotypes. The level of antigen on RhD(+) RBC is the highest and then weak D the next, while the level of antigen on RhDel RBC is the lowest level.
Blood Donors ; Erythrocytes ; immunology ; metabolism ; Flow Cytometry ; methods ; Humans ; Rh-Hr Blood-Group System ; immunology ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of proline-rich tyrosine kinase-2 (Pyk2) in human primary colorectal carcinoma (CRC) and it's prognostic significance.

METHODSThe expression of Pyk2 was retrospectively examined with immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 108 tissues of primary CRC. The correlation of Pyk2 expression to prognosis and relevant clinical factors were analyzed.

RESULTSThe rate of Pyk2 low-expression in CRC was 56.5% (61/108). The expression of Pyk2 correlated significantly to the histological grade (P < 0.05) and the TNM stage (P < 0.05), while no correlation between Pyk2 expression and age, tumor size (P > 0.05). Patients with Pyk2 over-expression had significantly higher 5-year survival rate (66.0%) than those with Pyk2 low-expression (31.4%). Pyk2 expression, together with carcinoma histologic grade and TNM stage were prognostic factors to CRC on the multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONSPyk2 expression can be a prognostic factor to the CRC patients together with other predictors.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; enzymology ; pathology ; Female ; Focal Adhesion Kinase 2 ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis

Jiangsu province is rich in intertidal marine resources,especially gastropod and bivalve shellfish.In this study,we performed shotgun proteomic analysis on shellfish from Lüsi,Jiangsu to identify protein content.In total,265 proteins were identified in nine species of shellfish using nano LC-MS/MS.The highest number of proteins were identified in the gastropod Hemifusus tuba (HF) (105 proteins),whereas the bivalve Scapharca subcrenata (SSC) produced the fewest (39 proteins).The most abundant proteins are constituents of cytoskeleton,including actin,tubulin,tropomyosin,myosin heavy chain,as well as histone proteins.Additional proteins were also identified,including ribosomal proteins,enzymes such as arginine kinase and ATP synthase,and housekeeping proteins such as elongation factor and heat shock protein.Proteins were classified based on cellular components and molecular function using the principal component analysis (PCA).Results of PCA analysis revealed that Sinonovacula constrzcta (SC),Bullacta exarata (BE) and Hemifusus tuba (HF) showed similar protein profiles,whileSolen strictus (SS),Meretrix meretrix (MM),Ruditapes philippinarum (RP),and Mactra veneriformis (MV) also showed similar protein profiles.Hierarchical clustering results of heat map studies showed that RP and Mactra antiquate (MA) were classified into one group.SC,BE,HF,MM,SSC,and MV were classified into another group.SS showed the furthest distance from this group.We established a method for analyzing and characterizing the protein composition characteristics of predominant shellfish species in Jiangsu providence's intertidal zone area,which provides basic data for the development of shellfish resources.