OBJECTIVETo compare therapeutic effects of pecking moxibustion therapy and common acupuncture on irritable bowel syndrome (diarrhea type).

METHODSFifty cases of irritable bowel syndrome were randomly divided into a pecking moxibustion group (n=30) and an acupuncture group (n=20). The pecking moxibustion group was treated by pecking moxibustion with a ZHOU's pecking moxibustion pen, and the acupuncture group by common acupuncture. In the two groups, Ganshu (BL 18), Pishu (BL 20), Weishu (BL 21), Shenshu (BL 23), etc. were selected. After treatment of 15 sessions the scores of symptoms and clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSAfter treatment, the scores of symptoms significantly decreased (both P < 0.01), with a significant difference in the decrease of symptom scores between the two groups (P < 0.05); the total effective rate of 93.3% in the pecking moxibustion group was higher than 75.0% in the acupuncture group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPecking moxibustion therapy can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (diarrhea type), with a better therapeutic effect than common acupuncture.

Acupuncture Points ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Diarrhea ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion ; Young Adult

Objective:To analyze the data of ultra-high dose rate (FLASH) radiotherapy in GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) database by bioinformatics method, in order to find the hub genes involved in flash radiotherapy induced acute T-lymphoblastic leukemia.Methods:The gene expression profiles of malignant tumors receiving FLASH radiotherapy were downloaded from GEO database. The R software was used to screen the differential expressed genes (DEGs) and analyze their biological functions and signal pathways. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was analyzed by online tool of STRING, and Hub genes were screened by Cytoscape plug-in. The expressions of screened Hub genes in acute T lymphoblastic leukemia were identified with TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) and GTEx (Genotype-Tissue Expression) database.Results:Based on the analysis of GSE100718 microarray dataset of GEO database, a total of 12 800 genes were found to be associated with radiosensitivity of acute T lymphoblastic leukemia, of which 61 significantly altered DEGs were selected for further analysis. It was found that these genes were involved in the biological processes of metabolism, stress response, and immune response through the pathways of oxidative phosphorylation, unfolded protein response, fatty acid metabolism, and so on. PPI analysis indicated that HSPA5 and SCD belonged to the Hub genes involved in the regulation of FLASH radiosensitivity, and they were significantly highly expressed in acute T lymphoblastic leukemia combined with TRD/LMO2-fusion gene.Conclusions:Through bioinformatics analysis, the Hub genes involved in regulating the sensitivity of FLASH radiotherapy and conventional radiotherapy can be effectively screened, and thus the gene expression profiles can be used to guide the stratification of cancer patients to achieve a precise radiotherapy.

It was reported that pancreatic arteries constricted during the early phase of bile salt-induced acute pancreatitis (AP), leading to pancreatic microcirculatory disturbance. We conducted this experiment to verify whether the above-mentioned finding was true. AP was induced with intraductal injection of taurodeoxyholate. Small pancreatic artery pressure in dogs was recorded. Functional capillaries were counted and calibrated by multiplying wet weight of pancreas. Pancreatic perfusion was measured with Laser Doppler flowmeter. Pancreatic arterioles of rats dilated during the initial 20 min of AP, and pancreatic arterial pressure declined during the early phase of AP in dogs (from 104.5 +/- 4.8 mmHg to 54.6 +/- 5.6 mmHg). The hematocrit of blood from inferior vena cava was significantly lower than that of portal vein at 5 min after pancreatitis induction. The "true" pancreatic functional capillary density increased. The early pancreatic microcirculatory disturbance coincided with a marked increase of portal vein pressure (PVP) as high as 9.18 +/- 0.78 mmHg. Reduction of PVP to baseline level was followed by a marked increase of pancreatic perfusion (by 1.4-fold). Arterial dilatation, but not constriction, occurred during the early phase of bile salt-induced AP. The pancreatic microcirculatory disturbance was due to a marked rise in PVP that greatly reduced the pressure difference in the pancreatic blood vessels and increased plasma extravasation which led. to local hemoconcentration.
Animals ; Bile Acids and Salts ; adverse effects ; Hypertension, Portal ; complications ; Male ; Microcirculation ; drug effects ; physiology ; Pancreas ; blood supply ; Pancreatitis ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Portal Pressure ; Portal Vein ; physiopathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective: To explore whether Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD) program has effectively improved the nurturing care for children aged 0-35 months in rural China. Methods: IECD has been implemented by the government of China with support from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in four poverty-stricken rural counties since 2014. The interventions targeting the five key components of nurturing care (i.e. child and caregiver health, child nutrition, early learning support, child protection and social security) were delivered through the IECD program to children aged 0 to 35 months and their caregivers. A population-based intervention trial was designed to evaluate intervention effectiveness with data collected in 2013 (baseline) and 2016 (mid-term). The changes of nurturing care in the intervention and control group were analyzed by using a difference-in-differences (DID) model. This approach provided adjustment for sociodemographic and other confounding factors. Results: The baseline and mid-term survey enrolled 1 468 and 1 384 children in the intervention group, and 1 485 and 1 361 in the control group. After two years of implementation, the prevalence of caregiver's depression in the intervention group showed a decrease of 9.1% (mid-term 34.8% (479/1 377) vs. baseline 43.9% (621/1 414)), whereas that in control group showed a decrease of 1.6% (mid-term 34.3% (464/1 353) vs. baseline 35.9% (509/1 419)). With the confounding adjusted in the difference-in-differences model, the decrease of the caregiver's depression prevalence in the intervention group was 7.0% greater than that in the control group (P=0.008). The qualified rate of minimum meal frequency in the intervention group showed an increase of 10.4% (mid-term 69.0% (532/771) vs. baseline 58.6% (481/821)), whereas the qualified rate in the intervention group showed an increase of 2.9% (mid-term 66.4% (469/706) vs. baseline 63.5% (508/800)). With the confounding adjusted in the difference-in-differences model, the increase of the qualified rate in the intervention group was 8.2% greater than that in the control group (P=0.021). The proportion of violent discipline by caregivers in the intervention group showed a decrease of 6.2% (mid-term 49.1% (478/973) vs. baseline 55.3% (554/1 001)), whereas the proportion in control group showed an increase of 4.5% (mid-term 58.4% (560/959) vs. baseline 53.9% (558/1 036)), and with the confounding adjusted in the difference-in-differences model, the difference in increase rate between two groups was 11.0% (P=0.001). The proportion of families with three or more children's books in the intervention group showed an increase of 12.7% (mid-term 42.7% (588/1 378) vs. baseline 30.0% (432/1 440)), whereas the proportion of the control group showed an increase of 4.2% (mid-term 25.7% (349/1 357) vs. baseline 21.5% (298/1 388)), and with the confounding adjusted in the difference-in-differences model, the difference in increase rate between two groups was 6.1% (P=0.007). Conclusions The IECD intervention strategy implemented in rural China effectively improved the mental health of caregivers, optimizes families' child feeding and early stimulation behaviors, while reducing violent discipline and other risk factors. IECD provides better nurturing care for the early development of children aged 0-35 months in rural China.

OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed to report the development, the reliability and validity of the Chinese Children Physical Activity Questionnaire (CCPAQ) which was designed for the assessment of physical activity pattern in young population in China. METHODS: The CCPAQ was administered for two times in 119 children (mean age 13.1 ± 2.4 years; boys 47%) to examine reliability by using intraclass correlation coefficients. Validity was determined in 106 participants by agreement with the CCPAQ measures and the objective method, the ActiGraph accelerometer. Data on physical activity pattern including time spent on different intensities and total physical activity, sedentary behavior as well as physical activity energy expenditure were used to assess the validity with Spearman's correlation coefficient and the Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS: The reliability coefficient of the CCPAQ ranged from 0.63-0.93 (Intra-class correlation coefficient). Spearman's correlation coefficient for validity of time spent on total physical activity and sedentary behavior were all 0.32 (P < 0.001), and for physical activity energy expenditure was 0.58 (P < 0.001). Time spent on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and light physical activity showed a relatively low correlation with the accelerometer (rho = 0.20, P = 0.040; rho = 0.19, P = 0.054). CONCLUSION The CCPAQ appears to be a promising and feasible method to assess physical activity pattern in Chinese children.