ObjectiveTo compare the therapeutic efficacies of pricking Sifeng (EX-UE10), spine pinching, and the combination of pricking Sifeng and spine pinching in treating infantile dyspepsia.MethodBy simple randomization, ninety-six patients were divided into a pricking group (n=32), a spine pinching group (n=32), and a combination group (n=32). One-month treatment was considered as a course. Before treatment and after 1 treatment course, the 3 groups were evaluated by symptom scale and the criteria of symptom and therapeutic efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine to determine the therapeutic efficacy. ResultThe total symptom score decreased significantly in the three groups after treatment (P<0.01), indicating that the three treatment protocols were all effective; according to the paired comparison of the post-treatment total symptom score by using Chi-square test, the score of the combination group was significantly lower than that of the other two groups (P<0.05). The improvement of body weight and height was statistically insignificant in the three groups (P>0.05); while the improvements of appetite, vitality, sleep, hyperidrosis, infection, irregular defecation, abdominal bloating, and hairglossiness were statistically significant in the three groups (P<0.01). The recovery and markedly-effective rate was 51.6% in the pricking group, 48.4% in the spine pinching group, and 77.4% in the combination group; the therapeutic efficacy of the combination group was significantly higher than that of the other two groups (P<0.05).ConclusionThe three treatment protocols, i.e. pricking Sifeng, spine pinching, and the combination of the two methods, all can effectively improve the symptoms of infantiledyspepsia, while the therapeutic efficacy of the combination protocol is superior to the two methods usedseparately.

OBJECTIVE To prepare tetrandrine （TET）-loaded chitosan（CS）-stearic acid （SA） nano micelles modified with folic acid （FA）（ FA-CS-SA/TET nano micelles）， characterize them and study the anti-inflammatory effect in vitro. METHODS FA- CS-SA/TET nano micelles were prepared by ultrasonic method； the preparation technology was optimized by orthogonal test and validation test was also performed with the mass ratio of FA-CS-SA to TET， ultrasound power and ultrasound times as the factors， using the comprehensive score of entrapment efficiency （EE）， drug loading （DL） and particle size as evaluation index. FA-CS-SA/ TET nano micelles prepared by the optimal technology were characterized， and their release performance in vitro was investigated. RAW264.7 cells were used as subjects to investigate their anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. RESULTS The optimal preparation technology included that the mass ratio of FA-CS-SA to TET was 2∶1， ultrasonic power was 200 W， and the ultrasonic frequency was 200 times. The parameters of FA-CS-SA/TET nano micelles prepared by optimized technology included that EE was （98.86± 0.30）%， DL was （28.57±0.34）%， the average particle size was （227.0±9.4） nm， polydispersity index was 0.42±0.04， and the Zeta potential was（12.6±2.3）mV， respectively. The nano micelles were uniform in appearance and round in shape. The nano micelles were released quickly in 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate solution， with a cumulative release rate of （79.49±3.43）% within 72 hours， and its anti-inflammatory effect was stronger than that of TET raw materials. CONCLUSIONS FA-CS-SA/TET nano micelles are prepared successfully in the study， with good drug loading performance， uniform particle size， and good in vitro anti-inflammatory activity.

To explore the mechanism of tea albino variation and high theanine formation, 'Fuyun 6' and a new theanine-rich tea cultivar 'Fuhuang 2' were as materials in this study, pigment content, metabolome and transcriptome of the two cultivars were analyzed by ultramicroelectron microscopy, widely targeted metabolomics, targeted metabolomics and transcriptomics. The results showed that five catechins, theobromine, caffeine, and 20 free amino acids, including theanine, glutamine, arginine, etc., were identified by targeted metabolomics. The amino acid content of 'Fuhuang 2' was significantly higher than that of 'Fuyun 6', and the theanine content was as high as 57.37 mg/g in 'Fuhuang 2'. The ultrastructure of leaves showed that the chloroplast cell structure of 'Fuhuang 2' was fuzzy, most of the grana lamellae were arranged in disorder, with large gaps, and the thylakoids were filiform. The determination of pigments showed that compared with 'Fuyun 6', the contents of chlorophyll A and B, carotenoids, flavonoids and other pigments of 'Fuhuang 2' decreased significantly, some important pigment-related-genes, such as chlorophyllase (CLH), 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED), flavonoid 3β-hydroxylase (F3H) and flavonoid 3', 5'-hydroxylase (F3'5'H) were significantly changed. Compared with 'Fuyun 6', 'Fuhuang 2' identified 138 significantly changed metabolites (SCMs) and 658 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). KEGG enrichment analysis showed that SCMs and DEGs were significantly enriched in amino acid biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism and TCA cycle. In general, the albino phenotype of 'Fuhuang 2' may be caused by a deficiency in photosynthetic proteins, chlorophyll metabolism genes and chlorophyll content. The accumulation of high theanine in 'Fuhuang 2' may be due to the low nitrogen consumption in yellowed leaves and the lack of carbon skeleton, amino and nitrogen resources are stored more effectively, resulting in the up regulation of metabolites and related gene expression in the amino acid synthesis pathway, theanine has become a significant accumulation of nitrogen-containing compounds in yellowed leaves.
Camellia sinensis/genetics* ; Chlorophyll A/metabolism* ; Plant Proteins/genetics* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry* ; Chlorophyll/metabolism* ; Transcriptome ; Flavonoids/metabolism* ; Amino Acids/genetics* ; Tea ; Mixed Function Oxygenases/metabolism* ; Nitrogen/metabolism*

BACKGROUNDInsulin resistance (IR) plays an important pathophysiological role in the development of diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Moreover, IR can occur even in non-obese people without diabetes. However, direct detection of IR is complicated. In order to find a simple surrogate marker of IR early in non-obese people, we investigate the association of commonly-used biochemical markers (liver enzymes and lipid profiles) with IR in urban middle-aged and older non-obese Chinese without diabetes.

METHODSThis cross-sectional study included 1 987 subjects (1 473 women). Fasting blood samples were collected for measurement of glucose, insulin, liver enzymes, lipid profiles and creatinine. Subjects whose homeostasis model of assessment-IR (HOMA-IR) index values exceeded the 75th percentile (2.67 for women and 2.48 for men) of the population were considered to have IR. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to compare the power of potential markers in identifying IR.

RESULTSTriglycerides (TG) and ratio of TG to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) discriminated IR better than other indexes for both sexes; areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (AUC) values were 0.770 (95% confidence interval 0.733-0.807) and 0.772 (0.736-0.809), respectively, for women and 0.754 (0.664-0.844) and 0.756 (0.672-0.840), respectively, for men. To identify IR, the optimal cut-offs for TG and TG/HDL-C ratio were 1.315 mmol/L (sensitivity 74.3%, specificity 71.0%) and 0.873 (sensitivity 70.1%, specificity 73.4%), respectively, for women, and 1.275 mmol/L (sensitivity 66.7%, specificity 74.4%) and 0.812 (sensitivity 75.8%, specificity 69.2%), respectively, for men.

CONCLUSIONTG and TG/HDL-C ratio could be used to identify IR in urban middle-aged and older non-obese Chinese without diabetes.

Aged ; Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; physiology ; Liver ; enzymology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Triglycerides ; blood