Acupuncture ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Hiccup ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

The effects of acupuncture on functional regulation of biological systems have been studied extensively. The most interesting feature of acupuncture is the bidirectional regulatory ability to restore homeostatic values of body systems from either up or down states, which was found by Chinese biomedical researchers several decades ago, and has recently been observed by peers internationally. Acupuncture can produce two physiological response patterns, an immediate short-term response or/and a long-lasting response. The bidirectional regulatory effects of acupuncture are rarely observed under physiological states (normal homeostasis), rather, they are usually observed under pathological states (abnormal homeostasis) with long-lasting response patterns. This suggests that the effects of acupuncture under pathological states are different from the mechanisms under normal physiological states. This is important for understan-ding and developing acupuncture therapy, and also gives insight into understanding the biological control process itself. The present paper reviews the experimental literature and discusses the four conditions that produce bidirectional regulation of acupuncture, i.e. the inherent properties of the target systems, the functional states of the target system, the acupoint characteristics, and the stimulation parameters. Finally, two hypotheses are proposed to explain the mechanisms of bidirectional effects of acupuncture. The possible peripheral mechanism is that acupuncture can stimulate different types of peripheral nerve fibers to produce opposite regulatory effects; and the possible central mechanisms is that acupuncture might activate the adaptive control process of the central nervous system to restore homeostatic balance.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of histogram analysis of susceptible signal intensity in differentiating papillary (pRCC) from chromophobe renal cell carcinoma(ChRCC). Methods Thirteen cases with pRCC and 9 cases with ChRCC, who underwent susceptible-weighted imaging(SWI), MR common scanning and enhancement, were assessed retrospectively. The histogram parameters of susceptible signal intensity were measured, including maximum, minimum, mean, median, skewness and kurtosis. The independent samples t test(normal distribution) and Mann-Whitney rank sum test(skewed distribution) were used to compare the differences in SWI parameters between pRCCs and ChRCCs. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the efficiency of the whole-tumor SWI parameters in differentiating pRCCs from ChRCCs. Results The significant differences of the minimum, mean, median and skewness between pRCCs and ChRCCs were present(P<0.05), and there was no significant differences in maximum and kurtosis between between pRCCs and ChRCCs(P>0.05). In all the histogram parameters, the area of ROC curve of mean value was largest(0.80). The sensitivity of minimum value (84.62％) was the highest and and the specificity of skewness(100.00％) was the highest. Conclusion Histogram analysis of susceptible signal intensity can help differentiate pRCCs from ChRCCs.

Objective To seek the specific receptors associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) adhesion by separating the binding protein of the HBV preS1 region in HepG2 and performing the mass spectrometry .Methods The immunomagnetic bead method was adopted to separate HepG2 membrane protein combined with preS1 peptide fragment and the binding protein was separated by the sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) ,then the destination strips was analyzed by LC-MS/MS mass spectrometry and retrieved by the database .Results 16 bands were separated from HepG2 membrane proteins combined with preS1 by SDS-PAGE ;14 kinds of proteins were identified from 6 bands with better repeatability separated from HepG 2 membrane proteins combined with preS1 .Conclusion Protein analyzed by the mass spectrometry is mainly related with the material transport , cellular signal transduction ,antigen presentation ,immune regulation and energy metabolism .

Objective To evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced CT in diagnosis of mesenteric fibromatosis (MF).Methods CT images of 6 patients with pathologically proved mesenteric fibromatosis were retrospectively analyzed.The imaging characteristics analysis in-cluded the number,size,density of the lesion,the degree and quality of enhancement,as well as the relationship with the surrounding tissues.Results Singular lesion located in the mesentery was found in all the 6 patients (100%).The size of all cases ranges from 2.0 cm to 8.5 cm and the mean diameter was 6.5 cm.CT scan showed 5 tumors were homogeneous (83.3%),while one tumor had mixed den-sity (1 6.7%).On contrast-enhanced CT images,5 cases showed mild enhancement (83.3%),while 1 case showed moderate en-hancement (1 6.7%).And 4 cases appeared as heterogeneous enhancement (66.7%).4 cases of lesions infiltrated the surrounding tissue(66.7%)and the peripheral intestines were compressed in 2 cases(33.3%).5 masses were surrounded by mesenteric vessels (83.3%).Conclusion MF has certain CT manifestations,especially when mesenteric vascular surrounded the lesion.CT can provide important information for the diagnosis of this disease.

Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Drugs, Investigational ; Humans ; Plasma

Objective To study the clinical value of HRCT in staging of lung interstitial disease(LID) in connective tissue disease(CTD).Methods 222 patients with CTD confirmed clinically underwent HRCT scan.The staging of LID according to the HRCT features of LID were done and the therapeutic effect was compared between each stage.Results In 222 cases ,64 cases were negative on HRCT as stage 0,158 cases had disseminated LID in different degree,including stage Ⅰ in 107,stage Ⅱ in 36 and stage Ⅲ in 15.There were significant statistically between the therapeutic effect and staging of LID.Conclusion The staging of CTD with LID by HRCT is helpful for judging the extent of LID and clinical treatment.

Penetration enhancers are substances to improve the rate or amount of transdermal permeation which is an important factor in transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS). Recent researches have found that some of the new penetration enhancers have a higher penetration-effect, little irritation, fewer adverse reactions, and stable properties. In this article, domestic and foreign research reports on penetration enhancers have been collected and summarized. The research progress of penetration enhancers were reviewed, with a purpose to provide a reference for reasonable selection of penetration enhancers.

Objective To investigate the possibility of performing epicanthoplasty with same stage small incision blepharoplasty. Methods At the same stage of designing small incision blepharo-plasty, modified "Z" plasty without flap transposition was designed. The upper lid incisive line of epi-canthoplasty was bided in the double eyelid fold, while the lower eyelid incision located at the edge of eyelid. Results A series of 56 patients were treated with this method. Satisfactory esthctical result of double eyelid fold and inner canthus shape was achieved. Conclusion This modified method including epicanthoplasty combined with same stage small incision blepharoplasty has the advantages of minimal scar formation, easy to design perform and in accordance with physiology.

Objective To clarify the protective effect of nrsodeoxycholic acid ( UDCA ) on endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis in pancreatic β-cell of streptozotocin ( STZ )-induced diabetic rats.Methods Rats( n =40) received a single injection STZ( 50 mg/kg) intra-peritoneally and formed a β-cell injury model.Weight-matched normal rats( the control group,n =10 ) were injected with the buffer alone.STZ-treated rats with persistent random blood glucose higher than 16.7 mmol/L for 1 week were considered as diabetic status( n=14 ),then divided randomly into STZ-induced diabetes mellitus ( DM ) group ( n =7 ) and UDCA-treated DM group ( n =7 ).UDCA (40 mg· kg- 1,d-1 ) was administered daily by intragastric intubations throughout the experimental period (30 d).During the entire experiment,blood glucose in all rats was assessed.By the end of the experiment,all rats were sacrificed with the pancreas removed and the blood sample collected immediately.Fasting insulin levels were assayed by radioimmunoassay.The morphological changes of pancreatic β-cells apoptosis were determined by TUNEL assay.RNA in pancreas was abstracted and microarray containing 89 pieces of apoptosis related genes was applied.The related gene expressions were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot.Results The concentration of blood glucose in diabetic rats was gradually decreased after UDCA treatment,but at the end of the experiment it was still higher than that in the normal control group.The treatment with UDCA raised the fasting insulin level in diabetic rats,but this concentration was significantly lower as compared to the control group.Based on TUNEL stained tissue sections,the percentage of β-cell apoptosis of UDCA-treated DM group was significantly lower than that of STZ-induced diabetic group(P＜0.05 ).Among 89 genes,42 genes up-regulated and 46 genes down-regulated in diabetic rats,some of which were ameliorated by UDCA treatment.The expressions of Caspase-3,Bax,Bip,and CHOP mRNA in pancreas of DM group were significantly up-regulated as compared with those in the control group ( P ＜ 0.05 ) ; while the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA was markedly down-regulated (P＜0.05 ).However,these parameters in the U DCA-treated animals showed a marked improvement.Conclusion Ursodeoxycholic acid seems to protect pancreatic β-cell from apoptosis in STZ-induced diabetes by attenuating the severity of endoplasmic reticulum stress.