Objective:To systematically evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of tuina therapy for primary insomnia.Methods:Nine Chinese and English databases were searched from the inception to May 2017 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) studying tuina therapy for insomnia.The enrolled articles were all RCTs with tuina as the monotherapy or major therapy in the experiment group,with clear diagnostic criteria for primary insomnia well recognized worldwide or in China,and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQ I) as one of the outcome measures.Two researchers evaluated the risk of bias and quality of the enrolled studies by following Cochrane Handbook version 5.1.0.The meta-analysis was performed by RevMan version 5.3.Results:Eleven studies were included with a total of 1 076 participants.The Western medication adopted in the control groups were benzodiazepine receptor agonists.The studies were all assessed as high risk of bias for blinding since blinding method was unable to be performed due to the specificity of tuina therapy;no study reported the support of fund or potential interest conflict,so they were all rated unclear for selective reporting.The meta-analysis showed that compared with other traditional Chinese medicine therapies,tuina worked more effectively in reducing the PSQI score (MD=-4.11＜0,95％ confidence interval (CI)-6.01 to-2.22,P＜0.0001);compared with oral administration of Western medication,tuina showed more significant efficacy in reducing the PSQI score (MD=-3.42＜0,95％CI-5.19 to-1.66,P＜0.0001).Subgroup analysis showed that head tuina alone showed no significant difference compared with oral administration of Western medication regarding the change of PSQI score (MD=-4.19＜0,95％CI-8.87 to 0.50,P＞0.05);a combination of head and back tuina could more effectively reduce the PSQI score compared with oral administration of Western medication (MD=-2.08＜0,95％CI-3.09 to-1.06,P＜0.0001).Conclusion:Tuina can produce more significant efficacy in treating primary insomnia compared with other traditional Chinese medicine therapies and oral administration of Western medication,especially the combination of head and back tuina.

Objective To evaluate the association between the left carotid arterial stiffness and left ventricular diastolic function in patients with lower extremity atherosclerosis (AS).Methods ①A total of 32 patients with AS and 34 control objects were enrolled.The carotid arterial stiffness parameters:compliance coefficient (CC),distensibility coefficient (DC),stiffness parameter (α,β),pulse wave velocity β (PWVβ) were measured by using quality arterial stiffness(QAS) technology.And the values were compared between the two groups.②The parameters of left ventricular (LV) structure and function:LV end-diastolic interventricular septal thickness (IVSd),LV end-diastolic diameter (LVDd),LV end-diastolic wall thickness (PWd),LV ejection fraction (EF),systolic velocity (s'),early-diastolic velocity (e'),Tei index and E/e' ratio were measured by using two-dimensional echocardiography and tissue Doppler.These parameters were compared between the two groups.The association between the carotid arterial stiffness parameters and LV function parameters were analyzed by correlative analysis.Results ①Compared with the control group,the DC and CC were lower,and α,β,PWVβ,IMT were higer than the control group,with statistically significant differences(P ＜0.05).②The IVSd,Tei index and E/e'was significantly higher in the AS group than those in the control group.And the PWd,s',e' were lower than those in the control group (P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference in EF between the two groups (P ＞0.05).③The e' was correlated positively with DC and CC (r =0.39,0.36,P ＜0.01),and negatively with α,β,and PWVβ (r =-0.42,-0.42,-0.49,P ＜0.01).Tei index was correlated negatively with DC and CC (r =-0.50,-0.52,P ＜0.01),and positively with α,β,and PWVβ (r =0.58,0.58,0.62,P ＜0.01).The E/e' was correlated regatively with CC (r =-0.27,P ＜0.05),and positively with PWVβ (r =0.28,P ＜0.05).There were no significant correlation between s',EF and the stiffness parameters of carotid artery (P＞0.05).Conclusions In patients with AS,the left carotid artery stiffness increases and left ventricular systolic and diastolic function are impaired.The carotid artery stiffness and left ventricular diastolic function is correlated.Changes in carotid artery stiffness reflect the change in left ventricular diastolic function.

Objective To evaluate the correlation between left ventricular function and arterial stiffness of left femoral artery in patients with lower extremity atherosclerotic disease (LEAD).Methods Thirty-three patients with LEAD and 37 healthy subjects (control group) were enrolled in this study.The intima-media thickness (IMT),diameter and parameters of arterial stiffness [dispensability coefficient (DC),compliance coefficient (CC),stiffness α,stiffness β,pulse wave velocity (PWVβ) ]were measured by ultrasonography with the technology of QIMT and QAS.The thickness of the interventricular septum (IVSd),end-diastolic left ventricular diameter (LVDd) and left ventricular mass (LVM),and parameters of the left ventriculsr function (EF,E/A,E'/A',E/E' and Tei index) were measured by echocardiography.These parameters were compared between two groups.Correlations between the parameters of the arterial stiffness and those of the cardiac function were evaluated by Pearson correlative analysis.Results ①The IVSd,LVM and E/E' ratio were significantly higher in LEAD group than those in control group ( P ＜0.05).There were no significant differences in EF,E/A,E'/A',and Tei index between two groups ( P ＞0.05).②The IMT,α,β,PWVβ of left femoral artery were significantly higher in LEAD group than those in control group,while DC and CC were significantly lower in LEAD group than those in control group ( P ＜0.05).③The E/E' ratio,one of the parameters representing the left ventricular diastolic function,was correlated negatively with CC and positively with α,β,and PWVβ ( P ＜0.05 or P ＜0.01 ).The E'/A' ratio was correlated positively with DC and CC,and negatively with α,β,and PWVβ ( P ＜0.05 or P ＜0.01 ).Both EF and Tei index were not significantly correlated with the above parameters of arterial stiffness ( P ＞0.05).Conclusions Patients with LEAD have thickened femoral IMT,higher arterial stiffness of left femoral artery,as well as impaired left ventricular function.There is a close correlation between the atherosclerosis of the femoral artery and the early left vcntricular dysfunction.

Objective To find out the importance of human bocavirus (HBoV) as an infectious agent for population in Beijing, China. Seroprevalence study was conducted by using expressed recombinant major capsid VP2 protein as an antigen.Methods Serum specimens collected from infants and children who visited the Children's Hospital Affiliated to the Capital Institute of Pediatrics for health check-up and adults visiting the Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing for diseases other than respiratory infections from April 1996 to March 1997 were used for the investigation. The major capsid protein VP2 from HBoV was expressed in E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) with the transformed PET30b vector inserted with full-length VP2 gene of HBoV and the specific antigenicity of this expressed protein was validated by previous study. Western blotting was used to detect specific IgG antibody against HBoV in collected serum specimens diluted to 1:200. Mock expressed protein was E. coli cells strain BL21 (DE3) with the transformed PET30b vector without insert. Anti-His monoclonal antibody and rabbit anti-HBoV VP2 polypeptides hyper-immune serum were used as positive control for antibody detection.Results Out of 677 serum specimens tested, 400 (59.1% ) were positive for HBoV by Western blotting. About 45.3% (34/75) of the newborns under 1 month of age had anti-HBoV antibodies, and antibody positive rates were decreased in age groups of 1 and 2 months (41.4% and 31.3%, respectively) then increased in the following ages from 6 months to 7 years old ( from 45.6% to 69.7% ). The antibody positive rates were maintained at a relatively constant level ( about 70% ) in the age groups from 7 years to 40 years of age and became lower ( 61.8% - 62. 8% ) in those over 50 years.Conclusions The high seroprevalence of antibody against recombinant HBoV VP2 protein and early age antibody acquisition indicate that HBoV has been circulating in population of Beijing, China as early as in 1996 and most of children had been exposed to HBoV by the age of 7 years. Infants under the age of 6 months were susceptible to this virus.

The cry gene family, produced during the late exponential phase of growth in Bacillus thuringiensis, is a large, still-growing family of homologous genes, in which each gene encodes a protein with strong specific activity against only one or a few insect species. Extensive studies are mostly focusing on the structural and functional relationships of Cry proteins, and have revealed several residues or domains that are important for the target recognition and receptor attachment. In this study,we have employed a maximum likelihood method to detect evidence of adaptive evolution in Cry proteins, and have identified 24 positively selected residues, which are all located in Domain Ⅱ or Ⅲ. Combined with known data from mutagenesis studies, the majority of these residues, at the molecular level, contribute much to the insect specificity determination. We postulate that the potential pressures driving the diversification of Cry proteins may be in an attempt to adapt for the "arm race" between δ-endotoxins and the targeted insects, or to enlarge their target spectra, hence result in the functional divergence. The sites identified to be under positive selection would provide targets for further structural and functional analyses on Cry proteins.

Objective To observe the effect of full-responsibility nursing model in rehabilitation exercise on patients with chronic heart failure (HF).Methods Eighty-six patients with HF were randomly divided into observation group and control group,with 43 cases in each group.sixteen nurses were randomly divided into A and B group ; A group carried out full - responsibility nursing model and was in charge of the rehabilitation exercise of observation group,B group carried out routine holistic nursing model and was in charge of the rehabilitation exercise of control group.After 4 weeks,the effects including EF,6MWT,the knowing of rehabilitation exercise,satisfaction to the hospital were evaluated.Results Before rehabilitation exercise,there were no significant differences in EF and 6MWT( P ＞ 0.05 ).After 4 weeks,EF was( 54.13 ± 9.12 ) and 6MWT was (402.63 ± 74.81 ) in the observation group,while EF was (43.26 ± 8.57 ) and 6MWT was ( 336.16 ±75.82) in the control group.There were significant differences between the two groups ( t =2.093,2.145 ; P ＜0.05).there were significant differences before and after rehabilitation exercise in two groups ( P ＜ D.05 ).After 4 weeks,EF and 6MWT of the two groups were both increased,but the effect of the observation group was better (P ＜ 0.05 ). After 4 weeks,there were significant differences in the knowing of rehabilitation exercise and the satisfaction to the hospital in the two groups ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusions Full-responsibility nursing model in rehabilitation exercise can make an effective effect.

OBJECTIVETo develop a RP-HPLC method to determine plumbagin in Plumbago zeylanica, and to investigate contents of plumbagin in different parts of. P. zeylanica.

METHODThe analysis was carried out at 30 degrees C on a Kromasil C18, column eluted with a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of methanol-water (65: 35). The flow rate was 1 mL x min(-1), the detector wavelength was 213 nm.

RESULTThe calibration curve was linear within the concentration ranges of 0.020 8-0. 104 microg (r = 0. 9999). The average recovery was 98.7%. The contents in the root, stem and leaf were 0.394 5%, 0.050 8%, 0.031 4% respectively.

CONCLUSIONThis method is simple, accurate, replicate and suitable for the determination of plumbagin in P. zeylanica.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Naphthoquinones ; analysis ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Plumbaginaceae ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results

The aim of this study was to characterize the N and E protein encoding genes of a new human coronavirus (HCoV-NL63) which was identified from one of the clinical specimens (BJ8081) collected from a 12 years-old patient with acute respiratory infection in Beijing. The complete N and E gene sequences of HCoV-NL63 were amplified from clinical sample by RT-PCR, then were cloned into the pCF-T and pUCm-T vectors respectively and sequenced. The complete sequences of N and E genes were submitted to GenBank by Sequin and compared with N and E genes of prototype HCoV-NL63 and the other coronaviruses published in GenBank. The secondary structure and the characteristics of sample BJ8081 N and E proteins were predicted by bioinformatics. It was indicated that the N and E genes amplified from sample BJ8081 were 1134 bp and 234 bp in length and the predicted proteins including 377 amino acids and 77 amino acids, respectively. The data suggested that the region of amino acids 78-85 within N protein probably was the conserved region for all coronaviruses identified so far including HCoV-NL63. The region of amino acids 15-37 for E protein was probably the transmembrane domain. In conclusion, the recombinant plasmids pCF-T-8081 N and pUCm-T-8081 E were successfully constructed and sequenced, and the data predicted by bioinformatics are helpful for the further analysis of HCoV-NL63.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Child ; China ; Computational Biology ; methods ; Coronavirus ; classification ; genetics ; metabolism ; Coronavirus Infections ; virology ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Nucleocapsid Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Phylogeny ; Protein Structure, Secondary ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Viral Envelope Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo understand the impact of human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) on acute respiratory infections in infants and young children in Beijing.

METHODSMultiplex reverse transcription-PCR was used to amplify the hemagglutinin (HA) gene fragment of HPIV from clinical specimens. Primer pairs derived from a conserved region of the HA genes of HPIV were used to develop the multiplex RT-PCR for detecting and typing HPIV. The sensitivity and specificity of the method were determined by using various RNA and DNA viruses as controls. Specimens collected from 3519 children with acute respiratory infections from Aug. 2003 to Apr. 2006 were analyzed for HPIV by the multiplex RT-PCR as well as for other respiratory viruses by virus isolation and/or indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA). Ten amplicons with expected molecular weight matching different types of HPIV were randomly selected for sequence analysis.

RESULTSOnly the cDNA from the isolated strains of HPIV 1 and 3 was positive by the multiplex RT-PCR. Phylogenetic analysis for those 10 amplicons' sequences which belong to HPIV 1 - 4 types respectively as determined by multiplex-PCR indicated that these specimens were truly HPIV positive. These 10 HPIV positive specimens included two specimens of type 4 which was further subtyped as HPIV4A and 4B by sequence analysis. With the multiplex RT-PCR, HPIV were detected in 349 out of 3519 specimens with the positive rate of 9.9% (349/3519), which is higher than 4.8% by the methods of virus isolation and/or IFA. And the HPIV positive rates were high in patients with not only acute upper but also lower respiratory tract infection. No regular seasonality distribution of HPIV infection was found. HPIV 1 and 3 were more common than HPIV 2 and 4.

CONCLUSIONWith higher sensitivity and specificity than virus isolation and IFA, multiplex RT-PCR is beneficial for the etiologic and epidemiologic studies on HPIV, as well as for HPIV typing. The data from this study indicate that HPIV is one of the important etiological viruses of acute respiratory tract infections in infants and young children in Beijing.

Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Genes, Viral ; HN Protein ; genetics ; Humans ; Infant ; Paramyxoviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Phylogeny ; Prevalence ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Respirovirus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVETo characterize the prevalence and occurrence of subgroups of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants and young children with acute respiratory infections (ARI) in Beijing area.

METHODSRSVs were identified from nasopharyngeal aspirates and throat swabs collected from infants and children with ARI who visited the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Institute of Pediatrics during the period of November 2000 to March 2006, by virus isolation in Hep-2 cells and antigen detection by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). RT-PCR was used to differentiate subgroups A and B of RSV from part of the positive specimens.

RESULTSOut of 10 048 specimens including 7176 nasopharyngeal aspirates from inpatients and 2872 throat swabs from outpatients, 2286 (22.8%) were RSV positive. The positive rate for RSV identification were 30.0% (2153/7176) in specimens from the hospitalized patients, which was higher than that from outpatients (4.6%, 133/2872). The youngest of the RSV positive patients was 1 day after birth and the oldest was 15 years of age, with 73.0% younger than 1 year. Among those RSV positives, only 1.6% were older than 5 years. The ratio of male to female who were RSV positive was 2.4:1 (1598:674). The clinical diagnosis for 91.2% (1991) of those RSV positive patients was severe lower respiratory infections including bronchiolitis and pneumonia, whereas in only 8.8% (192) the diagnosis was upper respiratory infections. The data revealed that RSV started to be detected in October each year during the survey period and November to next April was the RSV season. The detection rate declined in May and almost no RSV could be found in summer. Positive rates for RSV detection were 42.3%, 41.0% and 40.5% in the seasons of 2001 - 2002, 2003 - 2004, 2005 - 2006, which were higher than those in seasons of 2000 - 2001 (14.0%), 2002 - 2003 (18.2%), 2004 - 2005 (20.4%). Subtyping of A and B during the surveillance period showed that 73.7% (691/938) were subgroup A and 26.3% (247/938) were subgroup B. Subgroup B was predominant in the 2000 - 2001 and 2004 - 2005 seasons, whereas subgroup A predominated in the 2001 - 2002, 2002 - 2003 and 2003 - 2004 seasons. Almost equal proportions of subgroup A and B appeared in 2005 - 2006 seasons.

CONCLUSIONThe data indicate that RSV is an important etiological agent for lower respiratory infections in infants and young children in winter and spring during the survey period. The pattern of RSV circulation varied alternately with higher rate every other year. The predominant subgroup changed between A and B, and co-circulated in equal proportion in some years.

Adolescent ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Population Surveillance ; Prevalence ; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; virology ; Seasons