OBJECTIVETo study the expression difference in MicroRNA-21 (miRNA-21) levels of the plasma between the patients with coronary heart disease and the subjects without coronary artery lesions, and its clinical significance.

METHODSPlasma was obtained from the patients with coronary heart disease(trial group,56 cases) and the subjects without coronary artery lesions(control group, 10 cases), patients with coronary disease were divided into angina(AP, 39 cases) and acute myocardial infarction(AMI, 17 cases)subgroup, the contents of miRNA-21 were detected using qRT-PCR method, and the differential expression of miRNA-21 in each group was analyzed. The levels of creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), high sensitive troponin I(cTnI), B type natriuretic peptide urea (BNP), Gensini, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), integral value of coronary left ventricular end diastole diameter (LV) and homocysteine (HCY) were determined and the correlation between miRNA-21 and these clinical indexes was analyzed.

RESULTSCompared with control group, there was a significant difference in expression of miRNA-21 in patients with angina and AMI (P < 0.05), and miRNA-21 expression in AMI group was much higher than that in AP group. There was statistical significance in CK, CK-MB, cTnI, Genisis integral comparison between AMI group and control group (P < 0.05). The correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between expression of CK, CK-MB, cTnI and the level of circulating miRNA-21 in patients with acute myocardial infarction. And there was a negative correlation between BNP, Gensini integral, LVEF value of coronary artery, LV and circulating miRNA-21.

CONCLUSIONmiRNA-21 was significantly elevated in acute myocardial infarction subgroup than the control group. The level of miRNA-21 associates with the degree of coronary artery stenosis, and might be a potential marker for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. miRNA-21 may play an important role in protecting myocardium from ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Acute Disease ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Coronary Disease ; blood ; Creatine Kinase, MB Form ; metabolism ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; blood ; Myocardial Infarction ; blood ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; metabolism ; Troponin I ; metabolism

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Disease Outbreaks ; Female ; Herbicides ; poisoning ; toxicity ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Paraquat ; poisoning ; toxicity ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors ; Young Adult

Objective: To observe the therapeutic efficacy of acupoint application at different groups of acupoints in treating bronchial asthma in remission stage. Methods:A total of 120 patients with bronchial asthma in remission stage were recruited and divided by the random number table method into acupoint application group 1, acupoint application group 2 and acupoint application group 3, with 40 cases in each group. In all the three groups, Tiantu (CV 22), Dazhui (GV 14) and Feishu (BL 13) were selected, with Dingchuan (EX-B 1) added in acupoint application group 1, Shenshu (BL 23) added in acupoint application group 2, and Gaohuang (BL 43) added in acupoint application group 3. Before intervention, one month and 3 months after intervention, clinical symptoms, peak expiratory flow (PEF) andforced expiratory volume in 1 second percentage of predicted value (FEV1％) of the three groups were observed, and their clinical efficacies were evaluated. Results: Comparing the therapeutic efficacy regarding traditional Chinese medicine symptoms and signs, after 1-month treatment, the total effective rate was 87.5％ in acupoint application group 1, versus 62.5％ in acupoint application group 2 and 55.0％ in acupoint application group 3, and the between-group differences were statistically significant. After 3-month treatment, the total effective rate was 95.0％ in acupoint application group 1, versus 70.0％ in acupoint application group 2 and 65.0％ in acupoint application group 3, and the between-group differences were statistically significant. After intervention, the three groups all showed significant improvements in pulmonary function with statistical significance; among the three groups, the improvement in acupoint application group 1 was more significant than that in the other two groups. Conclusion: Tiantu (CV 22), Dazhui (GV 14) and Feishu (BL 13) as basic prescription plus Dingchuan (EX-B 1) can improve symptoms of bronchial asthma in remission stage, and it works better in improving pulmonary function than the basic prescription plus Shenshu (BL 23) or Gaohuang (BL 43).

Objective: To summarize and critically assess the evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture in treating dry eye syndrome (DES) according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement and the Cochrane Collaboration recommendations. Methods: A search of PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ClinicalTrials.gov and Embase was made from their inception to August 2016, as well as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean databases. Two reviewers independently selected RCTs and assessed the methodological quality. Meta-analysis and the level of evidence were processed by RevMan 5.3 and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results: After selection, 8 trials were subjected to our systematic review. The methodological quality was low generally. The 3-10 weeks follow-up showed that acupuncture improved the tear film break-up time (BUT) (MD=1.33, 95%CI=1.01-1.66, 619 participants). The mean difference of Schirmer's test was 1.73 mm (95%CI=1.28-2.18, 618 participants) between the acupuncture group and the control group. The subjective variables exhibited no significant differences. Conclusion: The low methodological quality of the trials does not suggest drawing firm conclusions on the value of acupuncture therapy for DES. Acupuncture treatment may have some effects on the tear film BUT and Schirmer's test, but not on the subjective symptoms. Well-planned large-scale high-quality RCTs are needed to make it clear whether acupuncture is effective in treating DES.

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of warm needling moxibustion plus functional exercises in treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA).Methods:Totally 108 eligible KOA patients were intervened by warm needling moxibustionplus functional exercises. The warm needling moxibustion was given 3 times a week, successively for 4 weeks. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was adopted to evaluate the pain intensity of the knee joint. After 4-week treatment, the change of VAS score, range of motion (ROM) of knee, and Lysholm score were observed, and the clinical efficacy was also estimated. Results:After treatment, the VAS score dropped obviously, and the ROM and Lysholm score increased markedly; the total effective rate was 83.3%. Conclusion:Warm needling moxibustionplus functional exercises is effective in treating KOA, as it can relieve the knee joint pain and improve the joint motion.

Objective:To observe the therapeutic effect of warm needling moxibustion for erectile dysfunction (ED).
Methods:A total of 46 eligible ED patients were randomized into a treatment group (n=24) and a control group (n=22). The treatment group was intervened by warm needling moxibustion while the control group by conventional acupuncture treatment, for a total of 4 courses. The therapeutic effect was evaluated by the international index of erectile function 5 (IIEF-5).
Results:After 4 courses of treatment, the overall effective rate was 91.3% in the treatment group (23 completed), versus 75.0% in the control group (20 completed), with a significant difference (P<0.05). After the treatment, the change of IIEF-5 score in the treatment group was significantly different from that in the control group (P<0.05).
Conclusion:Warm needling moxibustion can produce a more significant efficacy than conventional acupuncture in the treatment of ED.

Eleven compounds were isolated and purified from the barks extract of Nothopanax delavayi and their structures were identified as serratagenic acid-3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (1), serratagenic acid-3-0-alpha-L-arabi-nopyranosyl-28-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl] ester (2), serratagenic acid (3), serratagenic acid-3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (4), serratagenic acid-beta-O-beta-(2', 4'-O-diacetyl) -D-xylopyranosyl-28-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopy-ranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->46)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl] ester (5), serratagenic acid-3-O-alpha-(4'-O-acetyl)-L-arabino pyrano-syl-28-0- [-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl] ester(6), serratagenic acid-3-O-alpha-(2'-O-acetyl)-L-arabinopyranosyl-28-O-[-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl- (1-->4) -beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl] ester(7), serratagenic acid-3-0-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-28-O-[-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl] ester (8), protocatechuic acid (9), ethyl caffeate (10) and caffeic anhydride (11) by physicochemical properties and spectroscopic data analysis. Among them, compounds 3-4 and 9-11 were firstly isolated from the genus Nothopanax, and compounds 5-8 were isolated from this plant for the first time.
Araliaceae ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Bark ; chemistry

Objective To analyze nucleic acid sequence homology of the 6 kb(pYC) plasmid of Yersina. pestis (Y. pestis) isolated from Yurman by searching GenBank. Method The search of sequence similarity was accomplished with BLAST. Results The pYC plasmid sequence had high homology with some genes in nueleotide sequence, such as: 97.1% homology with Shigella sonnei pKYM, 92.1% homology with Haemophilus influenzae(H. influenzae) gene, Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) gene LT2 and plMVSI with 88.2% and 87.2% of homology respectively, Escherichia coli(E, coli) O157:H7 and K-12, ECOR31 with 81.4%, 81.4% and 84.7% of homology respectively. This plasmid ORFs could code for some proteins which were similar with others in GenBank, such as: ORFi and H. paragallinarum replication protein B(47.2%), ORF4 and E. coli hypothetical protein(52.7%), ORF5 and Y. pseudotuberculosis Tile (48.3%), ORF6 and E. coil Pilx5/VirB5-1ike protein (42.3%), Y. enterocolitica TriD protein(38.5%), ORFIO and S. typhimurium LT2, E. coli O157:H7 hypothetical protein(83.1% and 81.9%, respectively), ORF11 and E. coli, damage-inducible protein J(81.4%). Conclusions The pYC plasmid sequence has high homology with a few bacterial genes of Enterobacteriaceac. This plasmid may code for some proteins that are similar with hypothetical protein, damnge-indncible protein, TriD and TilE protein, Pilx5/VirB5-hke protein of Escherichia or Yersinia.

Adult ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; pathology ; surgery ; Cerebellar Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Cystadenoma, Papillary ; pathology ; surgery ; Diseases in Twins ; pathology ; surgery ; Epididymis ; pathology ; surgery ; Genital Neoplasms, Male ; pathology ; surgery ; Hemangioblastoma ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Kidney Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; von Hippel-Lindau Disease ; pathology ; surgery

Adult ; Aged ; Anaplasma phagocytophilum ; isolation & purification ; China ; epidemiology ; Ehrlichiosis ; blood ; epidemiology ; Environment ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rural Population ; Seroepidemiologic Studies