From original concept and literature of acupoint, the concept and clinical significance of ashi method is discussed, which clarifies that the essence of ashi method is to locate the acupoints by patients' sensitivity on force. The clinical application of heat-sensitive moxibustion has illustrated that positioning method of this therapy is based on the appearance of heat-sensitive moxibustion sensation. Although both types are based on patients' feeling, positioning method of heat-sensitive moxibustion stands on a new angle and uses a new method to locate acupoint. Therefore, it is believed that the positioning method of heat-sensitive moxibustion is the inheritance and development of ashi method.
Acupuncture Points ; China ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Medicine in Literature ; Moxibustion ; history ; methods ; Sensation

OBJECTIVETo observe the collagen spatial distribution, collagen volume fraction (CVF) and Cx40, Cx43mRNA expressions in rapid atrial pacing dogs post vagal denervation by removing fat pad located between the medial superior vena cava and aortic root (SVC-Ao fat pad).

METHODSTwenty-four dogs were randomly divided into unpaced sham operation group (S group, n = 8), Keeping SVC-Ao fat pad group (K group, n = 8) and Removing SVC-Ao fat pad group (R group, SVC-Ao fat pad was removed by surgical excision before pacing, n = 8). K and R groups were paced for six weeks. Six weeks later, all dogs were sacrificed, left atrium (LA), right atrium (RA), left atrial appendage (LAA), right atrial appendage (RAA) and atrial septum (AS) were collected and stained with HE or Masson Trichrome or frozen in liquid nitrogen for quantifying the expression of Cx40, Cx43 mRNA by Real-time quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTSSpatial distribution of collagen fibers as well as CVF between S and R group were similar (all P > 0.05). CVF was significantly higher in K group compared to R group, especially at LAA and AS locations (all P < 0.05). Cx40mRNA expression in K group was significantly decreased in LA, RA, and significantly increased in LAA, RAA and AS compared those in S group (all P < 0.05), significantly lower in LA and RA while significantly higher in LAA and RAA compared to R group (all P < 0.05). Cx43mRNA expression in K group was significantly reduced in LA, RA, LAA and RAA while significantly increased in AS compared to S group (all P < 0.05), significantly higher in LA, RA, RAA and AS while significantly lower in LAA compared to R group.

CONCLUSIONPacing induced collagen remodeling and modulation on Cx40mRNA and Cx43 mRNA expressions could be partially attenuated by removing SVC-Ao fat pad suggesting vagal denervation plays a key role in the initiation and preservation of atrial fibrillation.

Animals ; Atrial Fibrillation ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cardiac Pacing, Artificial ; Collagen ; metabolism ; Connexin 43 ; metabolism ; Connexins ; metabolism ; Dogs ; Heart Atria ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics

OBJECTIVEFurther investigation on the incidence and clinicopathologic features of bronchioloalveolar carcinomas (BAC) including: (1) BAC of strictly defined, (2) adenocarcinoma with bronchioloalveolar features, (3) other different histologic subtypes of lung adenocarcinomas.

METHODSSurgical specimens from 348 lung adenocarcinoma patients admitted in that hospital between 1998 - 2005 were included. And clinical data were collected at the same time. Patients of strictly defined BAC, BAC with focal invasion (BWFI), and adenomas with bronchioloalveolar features (AWBF) were followed-up. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistics software and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were constructed.

RESULTSThe resected lung adenocarcinomas consisted of different histologic subtypes. The most frequent one was adenocarcinoma of mixed subtypes (78.2%, 272/348), followed by the acinar type (8.1%, 28/348), the papillary type (4.0%, 14/348), the BAC (3.7%, 13/348), the mucinous (colloid) type (3.4%, 12/348) and the solid types (2.3%, 8/348). The fetal adenocarcinoma was the least component detected. There was no significant difference on the survival curves between groups BAC and BWFI. The survival rate of patients with AWBF was poorer than that of BAC and BWFI.

CONCLUSIONSSince patients with strictly defined (simple) BAC, BWFI, and AWBF have their own distinct clinicopathologic features and prognosis respectively, they should be strictly distinguished from other types of pulmonary adenocarcinomas.

Adenocarcinoma ; pathology ; Adenocarcinoma, Bronchiolo-Alveolar ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Lung ; pathology ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; methods ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate

The study was purposed to investigate the polymorphism of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) gene of the patients with leukemia and to explore the correlation between the KIR gene and susceptibility of leukemia. The KIR genotype of 50 patients with leukemia and 60 healthy controls in northern. Hans were analyzed by PCR-SSP. The results indicated that the present known 18 KIR genes were detected and identified. The frequencies of KIR 3DL3, 3DL2 and 2DL4 were 100% in all subjects, with the most frequent genotype KIR 3DP1 (0.86) followed by 2DP1, 2DL3, 3DL1, 2DL1, 3DS1, 2DL5, 2DS4, 2DS2, 1D, 2DS5, 2DL2, 2DS1, 2DS3 and 3DP1v in leukemia successively. Compared with the control, the KIR 3DL1 (0.60) and 2DL1 (0.57) were significantly lower in the leukemia patient group than that in the control group (1.00) (P < 0.01). It is concluded that the polymorphism of KIR gene is associated with susceptibility of leukemia in Hans. There may be a negative correlation between pathogenesis of leukemia and KIR 3DL1, KIR 3DS1, KIR 2DL1, KIR 2DL5 genes.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; genetics ; Receptors, Immunologic ; genetics ; Receptors, KIR ; Receptors, KIR2DL1 ; Receptors, KIR2DL3 ; Receptors, KIR2DL4 ; Receptors, KIR3DL1 ; Receptors, KIR3DL2 ; Receptors, KIR3DS1

BACKGROUNDWarfarin is the most common oral anticoagulant to decrease the stroke risk associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). There are very few prospective studies that have explored whether warfarin has an association with damage on renal function in Chinese patients with nonvalvular AF (NVAF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of warfarin on renal function and study the factors associated with kidney dysfunction in Chinese adult NVAF patients without dialysis therapy.

METHODSFrom January 2011 to December 2013, a total of 951 NVAF patients from 18 hospitals were enrolled. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated from baseline and follow-up serum creatinine levels. Kaplan-Meier survival curves compared the survival of a ≥25% decline in eGFR (hereafter, endpoint), while Cox models estimated hazard ratios (HR s) and 95% confidence intervals for this event after adjustment for age, gender, and selected potential risk factors for renal dysfunction. Cox regression analysis of the various clinical potential variables was performed to identify the predictors of a ≥25% decline in eGFR.

RESULTSAfter a 58-month follow-up, 951 NVAF patients were divided by observation into warfarin (n = 655) and no anticoagulation groups (n = 296) and 120 (12.6%) patients experienced renal endpoint. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that the survival period was not different in the two groups (χ2 = 0.178, log-rank P= 0.67), but patients with systolic blood pressure (SBP) <140 mmHg have significant difference with patients with SBP ≥140 mmHg (χ2 = 4.903, log-rank P= 0.03). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed baseline eGFR and SBP as independent predictors of the endpoint, with HR s of 1.00, and 1.02, respectively.

CONCLUSIONIn patients with NVAF, eGFR and SBP are associated with the deterioration of kidney function while Warfarin is not the risk factor of the ≥25% decline in eGFR.

TRIAL REGISTRATIONChinese Clinical Trial Registry (No. ChiCTR-OCH-13003729); http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj = 5831.

Aged ; Anticoagulants ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Atrial Fibrillation ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Female ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; physiology ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Kidney ; drug effects ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Warfarin ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

A new flavonoid glycoside, named complanatoside C (1), and 19 known compounds (2-20) were isolated from an 95% ethanol extract of Astragali Semen by various chromatographic methods. Their structures were identified on the basis of UV, IR, NMR, MS spectroscopic data analysis, and comparison with those in literature, including fifteen flavonoid glycoside (1-15), and six other constituents (16-20), among which compounds 16-19 were isolated from this plant for the first time.

Objective To study effects of flow shear stress combined with salvianolic acid B (Sla B) on anti-platelet aggregation and its possible mechanism under the theoretical framework of biomechanopharmacology. Methods 2×4 factor experimental design was employed. By using Bioflux 1000 microfluidic system, shear stresses of 0.02 Pa and 1.5 Pa were applied together with four levels of Sla B concentration treatment on human vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) for 20 hours. Then the cell supernatant was collected to detect concentration of 6-keto-PGF1α and vWF by ELISA and their effects on ADP-induced platelet aggregation were tested. Immunofluorescence method was used to detect vWF in endothelial cell cytoplasm. Results Physical shear stress of 1.5 Pa combined with Sla B of 100 μg/mL could significantly promote the endothelial secretion of 6-keto-PGF1α as compared to low shear stress condition (P<0.05). The endothelial cell supernatant under shear stress of 1.5 Pa showed an obvious anti-platelet aggregation effect. As the single factor, shear stresses significantly influenced vWF secretion (P<0.01), but Sla B had no obvious effects on vWF secretion. Conclusions Sla B inhibited ADP-induced platelet aggregation by increasing endothelial secretion of PGI2 under physical shear stresses. From the view of biomechaopharmacology (interaction between blood flow, blood vessel and blood), the physical flow shear stress is beneficial for the anti-thrombosis effect of Sla B.

Objective:HPLC for the determination of five components in Descurainiae Semen was established to investigate the change rule of contents of five components in the herb before and after being processed. Method:The contents of quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucose-7-O-β-D-gentiobioside(QGG),sinapic acid,quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(QG),isorhamnetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(IG) and 1,2-di-O-sinapoyl-β-D-glucopyranose(SG) was determined simultaneously by HPLC,the change rule of contents of these components before and after processing and its reasons were analyzed.Waters Symmetry^® C₁₈ column(4.6 mm×250 mm,5 μm) was employed,and the mobile phase was acetonitrile(A)-1% acetic acid aqueous solution(B) for gradient elution(0-5 min,5%-10%A;5-15 min,10%-13%A;15-23 min,13%-20%A;23-43 min,20%-25%A;43-46 min,25%A;46-55 min,25%-40%A;55-60 min,40%A).The flow rate was 1 mL·min^-1.The detection wavelength was set at 265 nm,the injection volume was 10 μL,and the column temperature was 30℃. Result:Contents of the above five components before processing were 0.114 3%,0.041 6%,0.036 2%,0.022 6% and 0.097 6%;after processing,the contents of these five components turn into 0.107 4%,0.011 3%,0.034 2%,0.021 9% and 0.058 9%;among them,the contents of these five components decreased by 6.04%,72.84%,5.52%,3.10% and 39.65%,respectively. Conclusion:The contents of these five components in Descurainiae Semen is reduced to varying degrees after processing.The contents of phenylpropanoids decrease significantly,while the contents of flavonoid glycosides do not change significantly.

Aim To analyze the molecular mechanism of rhubarb in the treatment of aeute pancreatitis ( AP) by network pharmacology and molecular docking.Methods TCMSP,TCMID and Swiss target predic¬tion databases were used to screen the active compo¬nents and targets of rhubarb,and genecards and OMIM databases were used to screen the targets of AP.Then the active ingredient drug target network of rhubarb and theactive ingredient disease target network of rhubarb for AP were constructed by using Cytoscape software.PPI network was constructed in string database, and go and KEGG enrichment analysis was performed in metascape database and R language.Finally,molecular docking was used to verify the possibility of binding the core active components to the core target.Results A total of 192 active components and 1 882 AP targets were obtained.The first three active components of rhubarb in the treatment of AP were beta sitosterol, aloe emodin and eupatin.The core target of rhubarb in the treatment of AP was hsp90aal.Go enrichment analysis focused on reaction to toxic substances, while KEGG enrichment analysis was significantly enriched in p53 signaling pathway closely related to AP.Molecular docking showed good binding and stable conformation.Conclusions Rhubarb can affect the expression of AP related genes and proteins through p53 signaling pathway, thereby inhibiting cell apoptosis and allevia¬ting the inflammatory injury of AP.

References and our previous experiment showed that the contents of glycosides were significantly decreased，while the contents of aglycones were significantly increased after processing of Cassiae Semen.It may be related to its glycosidases or the heating process. In order to investigate the reasons, high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) was used to study the effects of these two factors on contents of Cassiae Semen's main chemical components in processing. The results showed that glycoside hydrolases was present in Cassiae Semen and could rapidly hydrolyze glycosides from Cassiae Semen into aglycones in suitable temperature with sufficient water.However，it didn't show effect on contents change of main constituents in the procedure of Cassiae Semen processing.The reason for content decrease of glycosides and content increase of aglycones in processed Cassiae Semen was glycoside bond cracking to produce corresponding aglycone at high temperature.This study further provides basis for further revealing of the processing mechanism of Cassiae Semen.