Objective To study the clinical effect of the treatment for knee osteoarthritis by dissolving the phlegm-stasis.Methods The 100 cases of knee osteoarthritis were randomized into the treatment group and control group with 50 in each.The former was treated by oral administration of Chinese herbal medicine while the latter by oral administration of Votalin and vitamin C.One week as one course,two courses in succession.The comparative analysis on symptom score and therapeutic effect of two groups before and after treatment was carried out.Results After treatment,the symptom scores of both groups were significantly lowered(P

Objective To investigate the echocardiographic features of complete transposition of the great arteries (TGA)in fetuses.Methods Prenatal echocardiographic data of 9 fetuses diagnosed as TGA by autopsy or postnatal echocardiography during January 2010 to January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.Results All of 9 fetuses showed normal cardiac axis and atrioventricular connection on four-chamber view.Eight of them showed the baby bird's beak sign on left ventricular outflow tract view.On left and right ventricular outflow tracts view,the two great arteries were parallel in 8 fetuses.Totally 6 fetuses showed just 2 vessels on three vessels and tracheal (3VT) view.On aortic arch view,the radian of aortic arch had increased in different degrees in 7 fetuses.There were 4 fetuses with ventricular septal defect observed by both of four-chamber and left ventricular outflow tract views.Conclusion The echocardiographic features of fetuses with TGA are characteristic in left ventricular outflow tract,left and right ventricular outflow tracts,3VT and aortic arch views,including baby bird's beak sign,2 great arteries' parallel relations,only 2 vessels on 3VT view,and increased radian of aortic arch.Of these features,baby bird's beak sign is the most common.

Objective To investigate the effects of exenatide on insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetics.Methods 42 diabetics of secondary failure of sulfonylurea were recruited in the study,and were distinguished to the exenatide group and the glargine group.Besides being treated with diabetic conventional and original treatments,the two groups were given respectively exenatide before breakfast and dinner,or glargine before sleeping by subcutaneous injection for five weeks.Insulin sensitivity of the two groups was elevated by euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps before and after treatment.The metabolic indices were determined.Results Compared with baseline levels,after treatment the glucose metabolic rate was improved [(5.12 ± 0.35) vs (2.94 ± 0.41)] mg · kg-1 · min-1,P ＜ 0.05],the BMI and HMOA-IR was reduced[4.51 (1.32 ～ 6.12) vs 1.96 (1.32 ～ 6.12)],in the exenatide groups,which were better than the glargine group (P ＜ 0.05).Gastrointestinal adverse reactions,which were tolerable and decreased,were appeared in nearly 31.42％ of subjects.There were no severe hypoglycemic events in both groups.Conclusion Short-term treatment with exenatide could improve the insulin sensitivity of type 2 diabetics.

BACKGROUND:Tougu Xiaotong Capsule has pretty good clinical therapeutic effect on osteoarthritis of early and middle periods. However, the mechanism of Tougu Xiaotong Capsule is not ful y clarified. The RhoA GTPases can regulate chondrocyte apoptosis and hypertrophy.
OBJECTIVE:To observe the Tougu Xiaotong Capsule on the expression of Rac1and Cdc42 in tumor necrosis factor-α-induced in vitro cultured rat articular chondrocytes, and to explore its mechanism of action for combating osteoarthritis.
METHODS:Knee cartilage of the 4-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats was used to stably establish in vitro culture system of chondrocytes. Passage 3 chondrocytes were identified by toluidine blue staining. Chondrocyte apoptosis was successful y induced by 20μg/L tumor necrosis factor-αand then Tougu Xiaotong Capsule at different dosage (500, 100, 20 mg/L) was given after 24-hour incubation. MTT assay was used to detect cellsurvival, flow cytrometry to measure mitochondrial membrane potential, and western blot assay to determine the protein expression of Rac1, Cdc42, Bax and Bcl-2.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Tougu Xiaotong Capsule could reduce tumor necrosis factor-α-induced apoptosis of chondrocytes to improve the survival rate of the cells, and at the same time, could down-regulate the protein expression of Rac1, Cdc42 and Bax and increase the protein expression of Bcl-2 significantly (P<0.05). Tougu Xiaotong Capsule possibly plays a therapeutic efficacy on osteoarthritis by reducing promote apoptosis Rac1, Cdc42 and Bax expression and increasing apoptosis inhibiting gene Bcl-2 expression, thereby to inhibit apoptosis of chondrocytes.

BACKGROUND:Tougu Xiaotong capsule is the clinical prescription for the treatment of osteoarthritis in Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the previous studies mainly focus on effect to cartilage.
OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect of Tougu Xiaotong capsule on the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts as wel as the expressions of bone remodeling correlated factors.
METHODS:Rat osteoblast-like cel line ROS17/2.8 cel s were incubated with Tougu Xiaotong capsule. The ROS17/2.8 cel s were divided into blank control group and Tougu Xiaotong capsule groups with different
concentrations. The cel proliferation was determined by methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay. Osteoblast differentiation biomarkers alkaline phosphatase activity, osteocalcin and bone mineralized nodules were measured with colorimetry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and alizarin red staining, respectively. The real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to detect the expressions of bone remodeling factors osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of nuclear factorκB ligand.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the control group, the Tougu Xiaotong capsule with the
concentration of 0.25-2 g/L could significantly promote the ROS17/2.8 cel proliferation (P<0.05), up-regulate the alkaline phosphatase activity, osteocalcin expression level and mineralized nodules area, and increase the
percentage of bone remodeling factors osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of nuclear factorκB ligand (P<0.05). The mechanism of Tougu Xiaotong capsule protecting osteoarthritis may partly result from the regulation of
proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts and bone remodeling.

A total of 30 cats were used in this experiment.The nucleus raphe magnus wasinjected with 0.1～0.3?l of 25～50% HRP solution(RZ:2.4～3.1).Two or three daysafter operation,the animals were killed and then perfused with the fixing fluid.Thebrainstem and spinal cord were sectioned serially on a freezing microtome and treatedaccording to the method of retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase.Parts of the sections were counterstained with toloidine-blue.The labelled neuronswere examined microscopically under bright-field and dark-field illumination Thelabelled neurons were distributed as follows.After injections of nucleus raphe magnus,a few labelled neurons were foundin the medial part of parafascicular nucleus of the thalamus.A greater numbers oflabelled cells were consistently found in the ventrolateral area of the central greymatter of the midbrain.The dorsal nucleus of the midbrain raphe had a few labelled neurons.The HRPpositive neurons were found in the nucleus Darkschewitsch,mesencephalic reticularformation,nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis,nucleus reticularis paramedianus,nucleus vestibularis medialis and nucleus vestibularis lateralis.In some cases a fewlabelled cells were also seen in the posterior area of hypothalamus,nucleus posteriorcommissure,nucleus tegmentalis dorsalis,superior collicus,nucleus annularis,reticularformation of the pons,nucleus nervi facialis and nucleus gracilis.In summary,the present studies show that the afferent connections of nucleusraphe magnus are widely concerned with the structures of the pain control.Itsuggests that the nucleus raphe magnus is an important relay station for pain control.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have found that electroacupuncture can delay articular cartilage degeneration mediated by JAK-STAT signaling pathway through upregulating the expression level of transforming growth factor β1 as well as mRNA expression levels of STAT3, Smad3 and LepR. In the meanwhile, electroacupuncture can inhibit the mRNA expression of p38 and Fas mRNA mediated by MAPK signaling pathways, further inhibiting the apoptosis of chondrocytes. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of electroacupuncture on the degeneration of articular cartilage in rats with knee osteoarthritis based on Ras-Raf-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway. METHODS:120 male healthy Sprague-Dawley rats aged 2 months olds were selected and randomly divided into normal, model, 15-minite electroacupuncture and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups (n=30 per group). The rats in the latter three groups received the intra-articular injection of 4% papain bilaterally, and the remaining rats received no intervention. At 2 weeks after modeling, the latter two groups were respectively given 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture, five times weekly for consecutive 12 weeks. The morphology of the cartilage was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining, the expression level of interleukin-1β in the synovium was detected by ELISA assay, and the protein expression levels of Ras, Raf, MEK1/2, ERK1/2, C-MYC, C-FOS, and C-JUN were detected by western blot analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that: in the model group, the cartilage surface was rough, the cartilage layer became thinner, and the cartilage structure was damaged with incomplete tidal line; in the 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups, the cartilage structure was complete with clear layers and complete tidal line. ELISA showed that the expression level of interleukin-1β in the model group was significantly higher than that in the normal group (P< 0.01), and the level in the 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups was significantly lower than that in the model group (P < 0.05). Western blot assay found that compared with the normal group, the protein expression levels of Ras, Raf, MEK1/2, ERK1/2, C-MYC, C-FOS, and C-JUN were increased in the model group. However, all above protein levels except ERK1/2 in the 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups were significantly lower than those in the model group (P < 0.01,P < 0.05). To conclude, electroacupuncture inhibits the degeneration of articular cartilage in osteoarthritisvia Ras-Raf-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway and downregulating the expression level of interleukin-1β.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of human adenovirus ( HAdv) epidemic strains and the variations of hexon protein and amino acid residues in acute respiratory infections in Anqing. Methods A total of 596 throat swab samples of children with acute respiratory infections were collected from influenza surveillance sites between 2013 and 2015 and detected with real-time fluorescent PCR adeno-virus nucleic acid test kit. Hep cells were used to separate viruses from positive samples. PCR amplification of hexon gene and sequencing analysis were conducted. Homologous alignment and phylogenetic tree analysis were performed between the obtained sequences and those published in GenBank. Results HAdv-positive samples accounted for 11. 4% (68). Thirty-four viruses were successfully isolated, including nine HAdv-3 (26. 5% ), 12 HAdv-7 (35. 3% ), 12 HAdv-14 (35. 3% ) and one HAdv-55 (2. 9% ). The 9 strains of HAdv-3 had a close genetic relationship with KX384958, sharing a homology of 99. 8%-100% . Three muta-tions in main amino acid residues were found in them as compared with reference strains. The 12 strains of HAdv-7 were genetically related to KX897164 and KU361344 with a homology ranging from 99. 8% to 100% and had seven major amino acid residue mutations in comparison to reference strains. The 12 strains of HAdv-14 were highly similar to JF420883 with a homology of 99. 6%-99. 9% , and possessed three major variations in amino acid residues in comparison to reference strains. The HAdv-55 strain was closely related to KP279748 and KX289874, showing a homology of 100% in both nucleotide and amino acid sequences. HAdv-7 strains had the greatest variations, followed by HAdv-14 strains. Conclusion From 2013 to 2015, the epidemic adenovirus strains causing acute respiratory infections in Anqing area were mainly HAdv-3, HAdv-7 and HAdv-14 with a small number of HAdv-55. The hexon genes of HAdv-55 strains were stable and no variation occurred. However, HAdv-3, HAdv-7 and HAdv-14 strains all had some variations in nu-cleotides and amino acids. Amino acid variations in the antigenic determinants of HVR1, HVR2 and HVR7 regions were detected.

Objective To investigate the micro-anatomical approach to resect both intracranial and extracranial jugular foramen tumors in one-stage. Methods With the aid of surgical microscope, fifteen cadaver heads were used to study the microsurgical anatomy of high cervical part and jugular foramen, measure relative data. Results Detailed dissection was performed on high cervical part between the 1st cervical vertebra and the 4th cervical vertebra, resect foramen processus transversi of the 1st cervical vertebra, free vertebral artery 2nd and 1st cervical vertebra segment and horizontal segment. The jugular tubercle, jugular tunisia and part of the occipital condylus was drilled away as much as possible, total exposure of lateral semicircular canal was completed after the removal of the mastoid revealed labyrinthinem. Then the sigmoid sinus and jugular bulb were skeletonized. The vertical of segment of facial nerve was fully skeletonized to study the necessity of the facial nerve translocation. Full exposure to the sigmoid sinus, open jugular foramen. JF areas expanded, and the measured parameters revealed. The distance was (29.65 ± 3.24)mm from mastoidalec to oncentrated focus of condyle (10.18 ± 0.81)mm from hinder margin of condyle to endostoma of hypoglossal canal. The left distance was (6.8 ± 0.35)mm from jugular foramen to perpendicular part of facial nerve, right was (4.6 ± 0.33)mm. Conclusions Total exposure of JF can be achieved through the approach we described, and will enable the facial nerve, cochlea, and the structure of the vertebral artery to be performed. Both intracranial and extracranial tumors can be removed in a one-stage procedure related to anatomical parameters. Improve the cure, reduce complication and lower mortality.

Microscopic and histochemical methods were used to investigate flavonoids localization in the leaf and the stem of the Sarcandra glabra. The results indicated that flavonoids distributed mainly in epidermis, collenchyma, vascular bundles, secretory cells and palisade tissue of leaf. In the stem, they distributed mainly in epidermis, collenchyma, phloem and secretory cells. Histochemical localization of flavonoids using 5% solution of NaOH is convenient, rapid and reliable. The content of flavonoids in the leaf was higher those than in the stem. For sustainable utilization of the resources we suggested that only the leaves could be harvested.
Flavonoids ; metabolism ; Magnoliopsida ; metabolism ; Microscopy ; Plant Leaves ; metabolism ; Plant Stems ; metabolism