Objective To observe the effect of finger-pressing combined with conventional rehabilitation therapy on the recovery of upper limb function after stroke.Methods A total of 60 cerebral stroke patients were randomly divided into an experimental group (n =30) and a control group (n =30).All patients were treated with conventional anti-symptomatic drugs but no anti-spasticity ones.The experimental group was given conventional rehabilitation and finger-pressing therapy,while the control group was given conventional rehabilitation only.Both groups were measured the motor function,using the upper-extremity portion of the Fugl-Meyer Scale,and the mean integrated electromyography (iEMG) output of biceps and flexor carpi radialis after the first finger-pressing treatment and 1 month later,so as to observe the immediate and continuous effects of finger-pressing therapy respectively.Results After the first session of finger-pressing therapy,the average Fugl-Meyer score(FMA) (12.63 ± 4.64) of the experimental group was significantly higher than in a pretest (12.13 ± 4.88) (P ＜ 0.05),while the iEMG of biceps (41.64 ± 9.22) and flexor carpi radialis (37.06 ± 7.02) were lower than before (P ＜ 0.01).One month after the treatment,compared with the control group,the average FMA (25.17 ± 5.93) and iEMG of biceps(34.42 ± 7.55) and flexor carpi radialis sEMG(30.63 ± 5.54) in the experimental group were significantly improved (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions Finger-pressing therapy has significant and immediate effects in improving the upper extremity spasticity of stroke survivors.Combined with conventional rehabilitation therapy it can effectively reduce the upper extremity spasticity in stroke patients and significantly improve the upper extremity function.The combination is superior to conventional rehabilitation alone.

In this study, the "150-cavity", next to the H5N1 influenza virus neuraminidase activity site, has been used as the target to design and synthesize a structural analogue of chlorogenic acid, N-caffeoyl-GABA, using the flexible docking simulation. The docking study showed that the N-caffeoyl-GABA could be inserted into the "150-cavity" and combined with the Arg156 side chain by hydrogen bond. The best binding free energy of H5N1 NA-N-caffeoyl-GABA complex was -7.70 kcal mol(-1), equivalent that of the NA-oseltamivir. At the same time, using the H5N1 pseudotyping virus-based NA inhibitors screening model, we determined the inhibitory effect of oseltamivir, chlorogenic acid and N-caffeoyl-GABA on the NA. Compared with chlorogenic acid, N-caffeoyl-GABA significantly enhanced the inhibitory effect on NA, but less than oseltamivir. This study showed that the "150-cavity" could possibly be used as a new neuraminidase inhibitors target, and provided a path for the development of new neuraminidase inhibitors.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of maslinic acid on pyroptosis and inflammato-ry response in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion(IR)injury.Methods H9C2 cardiomyocytes were randomly divided into control group,control+maslinic acid group,hypoxia reoxygenation(HR)group,and HR+maslinic acid group.Cellular model of HR injury was constructed by hypoxia for 4 h and then reoxygenation for 12 h.Forty-eight male SD rats were randomly divided into Sham group,IR group,IR+maslinic acid group,IR+maslinic acid+Tri group(n=12).Rat model of myocardial IR injury was established by ligating the left anterior descending branch for 30 min followed by reperfusion for 2 h.The viability of cardiomyocytes was detected,the levels of LDH,CK-MB,IL-1β and IL-18 in the supernatant of cardiomyocytes and rat serum samples were detec-ted in each group.Drug-molecular docking was performed to predict the binding site and binding force of maslinic acid and NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain-associated protein 3(NLRP3).Western blotting was used to detect IκBα,NF-κB P65,NLRP3,apoptosis-associated speck-like protein(ASC),and gasdermid D-N terminal(GSDMD-N)in each group of cardiomyo-cytes and myocardial tissues.Results Compared with the Control group,significantly reduced cell viability,enhanced protein levels of p-IκBα,p-NF-κB P65 and higher releases of LDH,IL-1β and IL-18 were observed in the HR group(P＜0.05).Maslinic acid treatment reversed HR-induced changes in above indicators(P＜0.05).Compared with the Sham group,the protein levels of p-IκBα,p-NF-κB P65,NLRP3,ASC,GSDMD-N and the releases of serum CK-MB,LDH,IL-1βand IL-18 were significantly increased in the IR group(P＜0.05).Maslinic acid treatment also reversed above indicators induced by IR injury(P＜0.05).The protein levels of p-IκBα,p-NF-κB P65,NLRP3,ASC and GSDMD-N were significantly increased,and the releases of serum CK-MB,LDH,IL-1β and IL-18 were also elevated in the IR+maslinic acid+Tri group than the IR+maslinic acid group(1681.00±136.20 U/L vs 1251.00±213.60 U/L,1776.00±185.80 U/L vs 1330.00±172.50 U/L,4.32±0.45 vs 2.95±0.26,3.89±0.20 vs 2.47±0.29,P＜0.05).Conclusion Maslinic acid can show target intervention in NLRP3 activity,thereby inhibiting inflammatory re-sponse and cell pyroptosis,and ultimately attenuate myocardial IR injury effectively.