The clinical efficacy and safety of auricular acupuncture (AA) for treatment of primary insomnia was evaluated. After a comprehensive retrieval in domestic and foreign databases, literatures were strictly screened and Revman 5.2 software was applied to perform a Meta-analysis on eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The evidence quality was assessed with GRADE profiler 3.6 software. As a result, 8 articles were included involving 894 patients. Compared among AA and sham AA, placebo AA, blank control, there was significant difference in Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) [WMD = -3.48, 95% CI (-3.96, -3.00)], sleep latency LWMD = -10.14, 95% CI (-17.16, -3.12)] and sleep awakening times [WMD = -9.98, 95% CI (-1.10,-0.48)]. Compared between AA and western medication, there was significant difference in PSQI [WMD = -3.62, 95% CI (-4.59, -2.65)]. The evidence quality was moderate in AA vs. sham AA, placebo AA or blank control, while that of the rest was extremely low. No reports of adverse events were described in all studies. In conclusion, for the treatment of primary insomnia, AA could effectively improve sleep quality, but due to the low evidence quality, cautious attitude should be taken on this conclusion, and clinical trials with large sample and high quality were needed in the further.
Acupuncture, Ear ; Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Sleep ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; physiopathology ; therapy

·AIM: To investigate the ocular surface and refractive change after the surgery of levator resection and frontalis suspension. ·METHODS:One hundred and twenty-one patients (146 eyes) for corrective surgery of congenital ptosis were selected in our department from July 2014 to June 2016. According to the severity of congenital ptosis, all the children divided into mild group (47 eyes), moderate group (68 eyes) and severe group(31 eyes). All the children were divided into group of less than 5 years old (104 eyes) and group of more than or equal to 5 years old (42 eyes) according to the age. According to the surgical approach, all the children divided into group of levator resection (62 eyes) and group of frontalis suspension(84 eyes). The effects of the two surgeries on the ocular surface and refractive were compared. The relationship between age, severity of postoperative ptosis and postoperative ocular surface, refractive of children were analyzed. ·RESULTS: There were no significant differences in break-up time (BUT), keratometry (Km) and corneal astigmatism (Ast) in the levator resection group and frontalis suspension group (P > 0. 05). There was significant difference between the mild, moderate and severe group on the proportion of excellent corrected to uncorrected (Z=-2.936, P=0.003). The proportion of excellent correction in mild group was higher than that of moderate and severe group(93.6%, 83.8% and 67.7%). The indexes of BUT (F=9.793, P=0.041) and Km (F=11.657,P=0.037) in the three groups decreased with the increase of severity. While the Ast (F=28.417, P<0.01) showed an increasing trend, the difference was significant. In addition, the proportion of excellent correction in <5 year old group was significantly more than≥5 years old group(x2=4.082,P=0.043). The index of Km (t= 2.813, P= 0.006) was higher and Ast (t=-7.741, P<0.01) was lower in the <5 year old group. There was no significant difference in the index of BUT between the two groups after surgery (P>0.05). · CONCLUSION: The corneal refractive power and astigmatism can be improved similarly after treated with levator resection and frontalis suspension surgery. And there is some damage of corneal epithelial in the initial postoperation, but the function of ocular surface can return to normal after a period of time. The less severity of ptosis before surgery,the better improvement of ocular surface and refractive after sugery. There is no correlation between the age and postoperative ocular surface, but earlier surgical treatment may improve the children's refractive power and astigmatism and achieve greater benefits.

ObjectiveTo investigate the development trend of drinking water type of endemic fluorosis in Qinghai province, and to provide the basis for the prevention and treatment of the disease. MethodsIn 2009, six monitoring counties were chosen by using simple random sampling methods, all diseased villages of the six monitoring counties were classified into light, moderate and severe disease types according to water fluorine content on the historical data, and 1 village was respectively chosen from each type. In monitoring villages with improved water, 3 tap water and one source water samples were collected, respectively. Five water samples were collected randomly in water unimproved monitoring villages according to water well locations of east, west, south, north and center. The fluorine content in water and urine was determined according to the Standard Testing Methods for Drinking Water (GB/T 5750-2006). Children aged 8 to 12 were examined for dental fluorosis by Dean method.Clinical osteofluorosis of all the resident over the age of 16 was examined, 2 village of these counties were randomly selected, and clinically diagnosed patients with skeletal fluorosis were examined again by X-ray using Diagnostic Criteria of Endemic Skeletal Fluorosis (WS 192-2008). Urine sample of 30 children aged 8 to 12 and of 20 adults over the age of 16 were randomly collected and urinary fluoride was determined by F-ion selective electrode method (WS/T 89-2006). ResultsImproving water projects had been implemented in 14 monitoring villages of the 18 villages in 6 counties, the rate of improved-water was 77.78％(14/18). Among the 14 projects, 5 improved-water projects ran normally, and 9 projects ran with intermittently water supply. Seventy-five water samples were tested, themean of water fluoride was 0.48 mg/L. The prevalence of dental fluorosis was 31.95％ (285/892), that of clinical skeletal fluorosis was 36.55％(1570/4295) and the X-ray detection rate of skeletal fluorosis was 25.64％ (20/78).Five hundred and seventy-one urine samples of children were determined, and geometric mean of urinary fluorine was 1.04 mg/L; 370 adult urine samples were determined, and geometric mean of urinary fluorine was 1.52 mg/L Conclusion Epidemic of drinking water type of endemic fluorosis is still serious in Qinghai province, and drinking water defluoride measures should be further strengthened and improved.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of ligustrazine on the expression of stem cell factor mRNA (SCF) in bone marrow tissue and explore the mechanism of hematopoietic reconstitution after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The colony forming unit of spleen (CFU-S) were counted, the survival rate at days 7, 14 and 21 after BMT were measured, as well as the expression level of SCF mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. The results showed that in ligustrazine group CFU-S counts on day 10 and survival rate, expression level of SCF mRNA on day 7, 14 and 21 after BMT were higher than that in the control group (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05). In conclusion, ligustrazine promotes the recovery of hematopoietic cells in bone marrow, enhances the repair of bone marrow microvessels, and then improves bone marrow microenvironment and promotes hematopoietic reconstitution.
Animals ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Hematopoiesis ; drug effects ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Pyrazines ; pharmacology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Stem Cell Factor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transplantation, Isogeneic

Objective To understand the awareness of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and characteristics of sexual behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Changsha City. Methods By a snowball sampling method, volunteers were recruited in two social public welfare organizations in Changsha (Qingcai and Zhongda Sunshine) and interviewed by anonymous electronic questionnaires. Data were analyzed using software SPSS 19.0. Results Among 150 MSM, the overall awareness rate of HIV/ AIDS-related knowledge was 86.0% (129/150). For different demographic characteristics, higher age group, higher education level and higher income groups had significantly higher rates of awareness about HIV/AIDS related knowledge, compared with the reference groups, respectively. For the sexual behaviors, 32.7% of the investigated MSM population had their first MSM sexual intercourse at age of <18 years old, the rate of ≥18 years old group was significantly higher than the <18 years old group (2=4.315, P=0.038), 46.7% of the MSM population had more than 1 sexual partner during the past six months, the ratio of MSM used condoms in the sexual intercourse occasionally or never was 29.3% and 6.7%, respectively. Conclusions Young age, relatively low educational level and low income MSM in Changsha had a relative low awareness of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge. MSM in Changsha City had first MSM sexual intercourse at a very younger age. There is an urgent need to take well-targeted measures to improve the HIV/AIDS-related knowledge with special MSM population, and develop effective intervention measures for the high-risk sexual behaviors among MSM.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of microglial pyroptosis in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage. METHODS: An oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) model of rat microglial cells were cultured in vitro. Western blot was used to measure the expression of the pyroptosis-related proteins caspase-1, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and N-terminal gasdermin D (GSDMD-N) at 0, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours after OGD/R. After the microglial cells were transfected with lentivirus-mediated silenced gasdermin D (GSDMD), immunofluorescence assay and Western blot were used to measure the transfection rate of GSDMD. Microglial cell lines were divided into three groups: normal control, negative control, and LV-sh_GSDMD (lentivirus-mediated GSDMD silencing). CCK-8 assay and LDH kit were used to observe the effect of GSDMD silencing on the viability and toxicity of microglial cells at 24 hours after OGD/R. Western blot was used to observe the effect of GSDMD silencing on the levels of caspase-1, GSDMD-N, and IL-1β in the microglial cells at 24 hours after OGD/R. RESULTS: The expression levels of the pyroptosis-related proteins caspase-1, GSDMD-N, and IL-1β in microglial cells were upregulated since 0 hour after OGD/R and reached the peak levels at 24 hours. A microglial cell model of lentivirus-mediated GSDMD silencing was successfully constructed. At 24 hours after OGD/R, compared with the normal control group, the GSDMD silencing group had a significant increase in the cell viability and a significant reduction in the cytotoxicity (P<0.05), as well as significant reductions in the protein expression levels of caspase-1, GSDMD-N, and IL-1β in microglial cells (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Lentivirus silencing of the key substrate protein for pyroptosis GSDMD can alleviate hypoxic-ischemic brain damage, suggesting that microglial pyroptosis aggravates hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.
Animals ; Brain/metabolism* ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Microglia/metabolism* ; Pyroptosis ; Rats

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical features of catch-up growth of body height after kidney transplantation in children and related influencing factors. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed from the chart review data of 15 children who underwent kidney transplantation in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center from July 2017 to November 2019. According to whether the increase in height standard deviation score (ΔHtSDS) in the first year after kidney transplantation reached ≥0.5, the children were divided into a catch-up group with 8 children and a non-catch-up group with 7 children. According to whether final HtSDS was ≥-2, the children were divided into a standard group with 6 children and a non-standard group with 9 children. The features of catch-up growth of body height and related influencing factors were compared between groups. RESULTS: The data showed that median ΔHtSDS was 0.8 in the first year after transplantation, which suggested catch-up growth of body height. There was a significant difference in HtSDS between the non-catch-up and catch-up groups (P<0.05). Baseline HtSDS before transplantation was positively correlated with HtSDS at the end of follow-up (r=0.622, P<0.05) and was negatively correlated with ∆HtSDS in the first year after transplantation (r=-0.705, P<0.05). Age of transplantation and mean dose of glucocorticoid (GC) per kg body weight were risk factors for catch-up growth after kidney transplantation (OR=1.23 and 1.74 respectively; P<0.05), while baseline HtSDS and use of antihypertensive drugs were independent protective factors for catch-up growth (OR=0.08 and 0.18 respectively; P<0.05); baseline HtSDS and ΔHtSDS in the first year after kidney transplantation were influencing factors for final HtSDS (β=0.984 and 1.271 respectively; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Kidney transplantation should be performed for children as early as possible, growth retardation before transplantation should be improved as far as possible, and multiple treatment methods (including the use of GC and antihypertensive drugs) should be optimized after surgery, in order to help these children achieve an ideal body height.
Body Height ; Body Weight ; Child ; Glucocorticoids ; Growth Disorders ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation ; Retrospective Studies

To explore the hematopoiesis inhibition mechanisms of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), the effects of IFN-gamma on the expression of the cyclin D in the umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells were observed. In the experiments the CD34(+) cells were isolated from the cord blood with MIDI-MACS system; semi-solid methylcellulose culture technique was used to measure the formation of CFU-GM; the expression levels of cyclin D isoforms were assayed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, after the hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells were incubated with IFN-gamma. The results indicated that IFN-gamma could inhibit the formation of CFU-GM and down-regulate the expression of cyclin D2 and cyclin D3 at the mRNA level. It is concluded that the IFN-gamma could inhibit the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells and down-regulate the expression of cyclin D, that may be one mechanism underlying the hematopoietic inhibition of IFN-gamma.
Cyclin D ; Cyclins ; genetics ; Fetal Blood ; cytology ; G1 Phase ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; pharmacology ; Protein Isoforms ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo analyze the characteristics and etiology of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in a sentinel hospital of Guangzhou.

METHODSThe epidemiological data and clinical specimens were collected from May to December, 2008 for virological investigations (viral isolation, RT-PCR and molecular identification) and phylogenetic analysis.

RESULTSA total of 309 clinical cases were reported, and the incidence was the highest in 2-4-year-old children, among whom only 15 developed complications, with human enterovirus 71 (HEV71) as the main pathogen (64.7%). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that ten Guangzhou EV71 isolates belonged to Cluster C4a.

CONCLUSIONHFMD is an important infectious disease in children resulting from infections by HEV71 as the main pathogen in 2008, and the Guangzhou C4a strains co-evolved with the isolates from other provinces in China and the neighboring countries.

Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Enterovirus A, Human ; isolation & purification ; Female ; Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease ; epidemiology ; virology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of prebiotics supplementation for 9 days on gut microbiota structure and function and establish a machine learning model based on the initial gut microbiota data for predicting the variation of Bifidobacterium after prebiotic intake.

METHODSWith a randomized double-blind self-controlled design, 35 healthy volunteers were asked to consume fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) or galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) for 9 days (16 g per day). 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing was performed to investigate the changes of gut microbiota after prebiotics intake. PICRUSt was used to infer the differences between the functional modules of the bacterial communities. Random forest model based on the initial gut microbiota data was used to identify the changes in Bifidobacterium after 5 days of prebiotic intake and then to build a continuous index to predict the changes of Bifidobacterium. The data of fecal samples collected after 9 days of GOS intervention were used to validate the model.

RESULTSFecal samples analysis with QIIME revealed that FOS intervention for 5 days reduced the intestinal flora alpha diversity, which rebounded on day 9; in GOS group, gut microbiota alpha diversity decreased progressively during the intervention. Neither FOS nor GOS supplement caused significant changes in β diversity of gut microbiota. The area under the curve (AUC) of the prediction model was 89.6%. The continuous index could successfully predict the changes in Bifidobacterium (R=0.45, P=0.01), and the prediction accuracy was verified by the validation model (R=0.62, P=0.01).

CONCLUSIONShort-term prebiotics intervention can significantly decrease α-diversity of the intestinal flora. The machine learning model based on initial gut microbiota data can accurately predict the changes in Bifidobacterium, which sheds light on personalized nutrition intervention and precise modulation of the intestinal flora.