Traditional Chinese medicine considers that the final purpose of acupuncture treatment for disease is to harmonize yin and yang. Acupuncture redresses a balance between yin and yang by transmitting information to acupoints and then to corresponding visceral tissues and organs and the brain through the meridian system or the nervous system. In recent years, scholars at home thoroughly studied heart rate variability (HRV) analysis for acupuncture treatment of diseases and found that the regulating effect of acupuncture on visceral organs was closely related to autonomic nerves and acupuncture could restore a balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves. Many scholars explored the effect of acupuncture on diseases related to autonomic nervous dysfunction by HRV frequency domain or time domain analysis and gained a certain achievements. This article summarizes recent years’ domestic studies on HRV-based analysis of acupuncture for diseases with autonomic nervous dysfunction and reviews the close relationship between autonomic nerves and diseases and the related mechanism of acupuncture action.

Objective To investigate the adverse effects of taurine on rabbit corneal endothelial cells. Methods Six rabbits (12 eyes) were selected, and 6 histologic sections were prepared from each of the eyes. Rabbit corneal endothelial cells were cultured by explant culture method. Cells were innoculated on a 12-well tissue culture plate, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% taurine solutions were added respectively (cells from the right and left eyes of the same rabbit were added the same concentration of taurine solution), and blank control was established. The growth of corneal endothelial cells was observed by inverted microscopy, and cell morphology on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th day of culture was observed with Wright staining. Results Corneal endothelial cells cultured with 2%, 4% and 6% taurine solutions and those of blank control formed endothelial cell layers after culture for one week, and the cells exhibited hexagonal or round-like morphology. Corneal endothelial cells cultured with 8% taurine solution appeared to be undergrowth with small cell body on the 4th day, and cell death occurred on the 8th day. Corneal endothelial cells cultured with 10% taurine solution turned out to be undergrowth with small cell body on the 2nd day, and cell death had occurred. The same growth velocity and cell morphology were observed in the corneal endothelial cells from the right and left eyes of the same rabbit. Conclusion Taurine with concentration between 2% and 6% has no adverse effects on the growth of rabbit corneal endothelial cells.

Adenocarcinoma ; chemically induced ; pathology ; Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Lung Neoplasms ; chemically induced ; pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Random Allocation ; Sterigmatocystin ; toxicity

Objective To improve the level of early detection and treatment of pyonephrosis. Methods This study included 41 cases(17 men and 24 women;mean age,49 years)of pyonephrosis.A variety of examinations,including urinary analysis,blood analysis,kidney nuclear medicine scan,ultrasonog- raphy,intravenous urography(IVU),and CT were used for the early diagnosis of pyonephrosis.Pereutaneous nephrostomy(PCN)drainage was done for the interim management of pyonephrosis,then phase 2 operation was performed in 28 cases.The double-J tube was placed in ureter by ureteroscope for drainage,and then phase 2 operation was done in 2 cases.Emergency operation was done in 10 cases.The remaining 1 case un- derwent ESWL after anti-infective therapy.Results Definite diagnosis of pyonephrosis before operation was made by invasive examinations in 31 cases(75.6%),and by percutaneous drainage in 4 cases;the other 6 cases were detected during operation.Only 6 cases(14.6%)underwent nephrectomy;the other 35 cases (85.4%)underwent kidney-sparing operation.Follow-up of 3 months to 9 years was available in 37 cases. No nephrectomy was needed in 33 cases with spared kidney.Serum creatinine was normal in the 4 cases un- dergoing nephrectomy.Conclusions The key to the treatment of pyonephrosis by kidney-sparing surgery is early diagnosis,timely drainage and relief of obstruction.Ultrasonography plays an important role in the early diagnosis of pyonephrosis,and CT has a high sensibility in the diagnosis.Pereutaneons nephrolithotomy (PCNL)secondary to drainage through pereutaneous nephrostomy was beneficial to the patients with kidney stones or upper ureter stones.

Abstract?AIM:To study the Influence and outcomes of eye healthcare information teaching for the visual development of children under“combination of medicine and education” in kindergartens.?METHODS:The children(5-6 years old) were randomly selected from 6 kindergartens in Nanjing, 3 in Yuhua District as the experimental group, and the other 3 in Jianye District as the control group.A one-year follow-up was conducted to evaluate the difference of visual development, including the rate of low vision, rate of referral caused by refractive abnormality, rate of astigmatism, the average of the equivalent spherical lens and the rate of lacking physiological hypermetropia, between the experimental group and the control group children.?RESULTS:One school year later,the rate of low vision, rate of referral caused by refractive abnormality and the rate of astigmatism, were significantly lower (P<0.05)in the experimental group under the mode of“combination of medicine and education”, which were also lower than those before experiment(P<0.05).The average of the equivalent spherical lens of experimental group increased and the rate of lacking physiological hypermetropia decreased significantly, compared with the control group ( P <0.05 ) and with those before experiment(P<0.05).?CONCLUSION:Using “combination of medicine and education” eye health care model,is good for children's visual development,so as to reduce the rate of low vision and delay the occurrence of myopia.

Objective To study the efficacy and safety of T-614 in treating rheumatoid arthritis(RA). Methods Two hundred and eighty patients with active RA were randomly allocated to 3 groups:T-614 50 mg each day,25 mg each day or placebo.Clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed at baseline,2,4,6,12, 18 and 24 weeks.Results The ACR response rate was significantly higher in the T-614 treatment group com- pared with the placebo group during the first 6 weeks.After 24 weeks,25 mg/d,50 mg/d dosage group and the placebo group showed 39.1%,61.3% and 24.2% in ACR20,23.9%,31.2% and 7.4% in ACR50 respectively.A time-response in ACR response after 24 weeks was observed,with clear superiority of the 25 mg/d and 50 mg/d dosage groups compared to the placebo,and 50 mg/d dosage group compared to 25 mg/d dosage group(P

This study was purpose to investigate the effects of CD147 on the invasiveness of leukemia cells U937. The experiments were divided into 4 groups: control group, LPS group, CD147mAb group and LPS+CD147 mAb group. Cells were treated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or anti-CD147 monoclonal antibody, and the expression of CD147 and MMP-2, -9, the invasive potential of the cells in vitro and ex vivo, as well as the invasion of the implanted tumors in SCID mice were analysed by RT-PCR, FCM, gel zymography and invasion test in vitro respectively. The results showed that the expression of CD147 was elevated by the induction of LPS, and the enhanced expression of CD147 on U937 cells increased the production and secretion of MMP-2 and MMP-9 as measured by reverse transcription-PCR and gel zymography. An increased number of LPS-induced cells invading through a reconstituted basement membrane were observed by invasion assays. These responses were down-regulated after blocking CD147 with anti-CD147 antibody. At 30 days after intravenous injection of LPS pretreated U937 cells to SCID mice human U937 cells were found in the bone marrow and lung of the mice, indicating the invasion of the tumor cells. And overexpressions of CD147, MMP-2 and MMP-9 were found in the lung tissue of the mice injected with LPS-treated but not anti-CD147 antibody treated tumor cells. It is concluded that overexpression of CD147 on U937 cells may increase the secretion and activation of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and thus promote the invasiveness of the tumor cells.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; pharmacology ; Basigin ; genetics ; immunology ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Mice, SCID ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; U937 Cells

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship of ezrin protein expression to the carcinogenesis and prognosis of infiltrating breast ductal carcinoma.

METHODSS-P immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the ezrin protein expression in 88 patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma, and in 54 patients with intraductal hyperplastic lesions of the breast. The clinicopathological data and follow-up information of these patients were all obtained. The relationship of ezrin protein expression to the clinicopathological parameters and the prognostic significance in the infiltrating breast ductal carcinoma was analyzed using Chi-square test (chi2), Kaplan-Meier and Cox models.

RESULTSThe immunohistochemical staining results showed that the strong positive expression rate of ezrin protein in the normal ductal epithelium, simple ductal hyperplasia, atypical hyperplasia and infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast was 9.1%, 16.7%, 43.3% and 64.8%, respectively, which was significantly higher in atypical hyperplasia and infiltrating ductal carcinoma than that in the normal ductal epithelium and simple ductal hyperplasia (P < 0.05). The strong ezrin protein expression in the infiltrating ductal carcinoma was positively correlated with axillary lymph node metastasis, histological differentiation grade, TNM stage and CD44v6 expression, but negatively correlated with the expression of E-cadherin (P < 0.05). It was also found that the survival of the patient with strong positive expression of ezrin protein was significantly shorter than that of the control (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONEzrin protein may play an important role in the carcinogenesis of infiltrating breast ductal carcinoma. The strong expression of ezrin protein may be used as a biomarker for predicting poor prognosis in the patients with infiltrating breast ductal carcinoma.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cadherins ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cytoskeletal Proteins ; metabolism ; Epithelium ; metabolism ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyaluronan Receptors ; metabolism ; Hyperplasia ; metabolism ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Precancerous Conditions ; metabolism ; pathology ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo explore the putative effects of Vitamin C (Vit C) on inhibition of human leucocyte antigen class I (HLA-I) expression of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (HPBMCs) induced by deoxynivalenol (DON) in vitro.

METHODSThe effects of Vit C on the changes of HLA-I expression of HPBMCs induced by DON in vitro were evaluated with cell culture, flow cytometry (FCM), Western blotting and immunocytochemical methods.

RESULTSFCM analysis showed that HLA-I expression of HPBMCs in DON treated cells was significantly lower than that in controls (FI 0.88 +/- 0.02 vs 1.00 +/- 0.03, P < 0.05). As compared with DON group, the HLA-I expressions of HPBMCs in the two Vit C (25 micromol/L and 100 micromol/L) pretreatment groups were all significantly increased (1.15 +/- 0.06 and 1.10 +/- 0.02 vs 0.88 +/- 0.02, P < 0.05). Exposure to different dosage of Vit C alone could dramatically increase the expression of HLA-I of HPBMCs in vitro as compared with that in the normal control (FI for 25 micromol/L and 100 micromol/L Vit C treatment group was 1.28 +/- 0.03 and 1.25 +/- 0.05 respectively, P < 0.05). Immunocytochemical results showed that the percentages of HLA-I positive expression of HPBMCs in Vit C pretreatment groups at different dosages were significantly higher than those in DON group (70.10 +/- 6.90)%, (64.50 +/- 5.50)% vs (42.20 +/- 4.30)%, P < 0.05. Western blotting confirmed the results of FCM and immunocytochemistry.

CONCLUSIONSVitamin C pretreatment at different dosages could reverse at some extent the inhibitive effects of DON on HLA-I expression of HPBMCs.

Ascorbic Acid ; pharmacology ; Cells, Cultured ; Flow Cytometry ; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I ; metabolism ; Humans ; Monocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Trichothecenes ; pharmacology