Objective To study the clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture in the treatment of depressive neurosis.Methods The 60 selected patients of depressive neurosis were randomized into treatment group(acupuncture regulating the liver group)and con- trol group(near-by sham-point acupuncture group),with 30 in each.The scores of Symptom Checklist 90(SCL-90),Self-rating De- pression Scale(SDS),and Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD),and the total effective rate after treatment were observed.Results The total effective rate of the treatment group and the control group was 92.6% and 56.0% respectively,and the difference was sig- nificant(P

Objective To determine the effect of bacille Calmette-Guerin-polysaccharide nucleic acid (BCG/PSN)on 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene(DNCB)-induced atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in Nc/Nga mice.Methods Fifteen mice were randomly and equally classified into 3 groups,i.e.,control group receiving topical acetone on foot pad and abdomen and intraperitoneal injection of physiological saline,model group receiving topical 5% DNCB solution and intraperitoneal injection of physiological saline,treatment group receiving 5% DNCB solution and intraperitoneal iniection of BCG/PSN,and all drugs were used every other day for 7 weeks.Further more,0.1% DNCB was topically applied on the ear and neck of Nc/Nga mice once a week from week 2 to week 7.The effects of BCG/PSN were evaluated by ear thickness,skin histopathology and immunological parameters.Results Repeated application of DNCB caused the development of eczematous dermatitis in mice.Mice in model group chnieally manifested skin dryness,erythema,edema and erosion with histopathological changes including dermal and epidermal thickening,hyperkeratosis,and inflammatory infiltration.The serum levels of IL-4 and IrE in model group were significantly higher than those in control group[(174.72±12.64)μg/L vs (17.32±3.56)μg/L,(91.49±6.32)ng/L vs (83.95±6.63)ng/L,both P<0.05].Increased serum IL-12 and IFN-γ and decreased serum IgE were observed in treatment group compared with the model group[(122.10±4.64)ng/L vs (20.14±6.15)ng/L(73.89±2.39)ng/L vs (51.53±3.45)ng/L, (84.27±9.35)μg/L vs (174.72±12.64)μg/L, all P<0.05].Conclusion BCG/PSN might be beneficial for the treatment of atopie dermatitis-like skin lesions in Nc/Nga mice by enhancing the secretion of IL-12 and IFN-γ and suppressing the synthesis of IgE.

Objective To construct the serine protease gene(sprE)mutant and to study the pathogenicity of sprE gene of Enterococcus faecalis.Methods Recombinant suicide vector pCQ001 of Enterococcus faecalis with pTX4577,was constructed.Then,created isogenic sprE-deficient mu- tant(*sprE)by allelic replacement was constructed.Moreover,the growth ability and the virulence of the mutant were compared with those of the wide type in vitro and in vivo respectively.A mouse peritonitis model and a rabbit endocarditis model were utilized in the study.Results The *sprE was selected by kanamycin and identified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR),pulsed field gel electropho- resis(PFGE)and Southern blot.The evidences showed that the sprE gene had a major role in helping bacteria to resist the elevated temperature and oxidative stress.The virulence of mutant decreased af- ter sprE gene was knocked out.Conclusions The *sprE of Enterococcus faecalis is constructed suc- cessfully,sprE gene is important in the pathogenesis of Enterococcus faecalis,which probably is a major virulence factor of Enterococcus faecali.

Three types of new high-efficiency phosphate fertilizers were made when pillared clays at certain proportions were added into ground phosphate rock. Chemical analyses showed that their soluble phosphorus content decreased more than that of superphosphate. Pot experiment showed that, under equal weights, the new fertilizers increased their efficiency by a large margin over that of superphosphate. Researches on their structures by means of XRD, IR and EPR spectrum revealed that their crystal structures changed considerably, improving their activity and preventing the fixation of available phosphorus in the soil, and consequently, greatly improved the bioavailability and became the main cause of the increase of biomass.

BACKGROUND:Acute poisoning is frequently encountered at emergency department. This study was to investigate the epidemiology and characteristics of patients with acute poisoning who were treated at the Emergency Center, Fujian Provincial Hospital, China. METHODS:We retrospectively analyzed the gender, age, causes of poisoning, types of poisons, poisoning route, emergency diagnoses, outcomes, and prognoses of these patients. RESULTS:Altogether 2867 patients with acute poisoning were treated from January 2004 to December 2009. The ratio of male to female was 1:1.04, and their average age was 33.8 years. Of the 2867 patients, 76.39％ were between 18 and 40 years old. The incidence of acute poisoning was as high as 11.33％ in January each year. The incidence of poisoning was in a descending order:alcohol poisoning (54.55％), medication poisoning (25.95％), pesticide poisoning (5.65％), and drug poisoning (4.88％). Most (56.44％) of the patients with drug poisoning were under 25 years and their mean age was significantly lower than that of patients with medication poisoning or alcohol poisoning (P < 0.01). Approximately 69.54％ of the patients were followed up after emergency treatment, 30.39％ were hospitalized, and four patients died. CONCLUSIONS:Acute poisoning is largely alcohol poisoning and medication poisoning in a city. The emergency green channel "pre-hospital emergency care-emergency department-hospital treatment"can significantly improve the survival rate of patients with acute poisoning.

Isoliquiritigenin (ISL) is a flavonoid compound isolated from licorice. It possesses excellent antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities. This study aims to investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the alleviatory effect of ISL on energy metabolism imbalance caused by type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). 8-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were used in in vivo experiments. The high-fat-high-glucose diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin was applied to establish T2DM animal model. All animal experiments were performed in accordance with the Institutional Guidelines of Laboratory Animal Administration issued by the Committee of Ethics at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. HepG2 cells were used in in vitro experiments. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to examine the protein and mRNA levels of mitochondrial function-related targets. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in HepG2 cells were measured by the flow cytometry. Additionally, the molecular docking of ISL and key target proteins was analyzed. It was found that ISL significantly inhibited the activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I and increased the protein levels of uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) in the livers of mice and HepG2 cells. It also obviously decreased the ROS levels and increased the MMP levels in cultured HepG2 cells. In addition, ISL promoted mitochondrial biogenesis by activating proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator 1α (PGC-1α) and enhanced mitophagy by upregulating Parkin. It also improved mitochondrial fusion by increasing the mRNA and protein levels of mitofusin 2 (MFN2). In conclusion, ISL alleviates energy metabolism imbalance caused by T2DM through suppression of excessive mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and promotion of mitochondrial biogenesis, mitophagy, and fusion.

Isoliquiritigenin (ISL) is an active chalcone compound isolated from licorice. It possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. In our previous study, we uncovered a great potential of ISL in treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, this study aims to reveal the mechanism underlying the alleviatory effects of ISL on T2DM-induced glycolipid metabolism disorder. High-fat-high-sugar diet (HFD) combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) were used to establish T2DM mice model. All animal experiments were carried out with approval of the Committee of Ethics at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. HepG2 cells were used in in vitro experiments, and sodium palmitate (SP) was applied to establish insulin resistance (IR) model cells. The effects of ISL on body weight, fasting blood glucose levels, and pathological changes in the livers of mice were examined. Enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) were applied to detect the regulatory effects of ISL on key targets involved in glucolipid metabolism. Additionally, molecular docking and analytical dynamics simulation methods were used to analyze the interaction between ISL and key target protein. The results indicate that ISL significantly downregulates the transcriptional levels and inhibits the activities of key enzymes involved in gluconeogenesis, including pyruvate carboxylase (PC), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), and fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase (FBP). It also downregulates the transcriptional and protein levels of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), the two transcriptional factors involved in gluconeogenesis. Thus, ISL inhibits hepatic gluconeogenesis in T2DM mice. In addition, ISL reduces total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels in the livers of T2DM mice. Moreover, ISL downregulates the mRNA levels of lipogenesis genes and upregulates those of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation, lipid uptake, and lipid export. In conclusion, ISL suppresses hepatic gluconeogenesis, promotes lipolysis, and restrains lipogenesis in T2DM mice, thereby improving the abnormal glycolipid metabolism caused by T2DM.

OBJECTIVE:To explore the improvement effect of different polar parts of Sanye Chongcha on models rat with ul-cerative colitis(UC). METHODS:The total extract was obtained from Sanye Chongcha by extraction with 80% ethanol,and dis-persed in water,from which the extracts of corresponding parts were obtained after extraction successively with trichloromethane and ethyl acetate and drying. 60 rats were randomized into normal group,model group,positive group(sulfasalazine enteric-coated tablets,312.5 mg/kg),trichloromethane extraction part group(70 mg/kg),ethyl acetate extraction part group(35 mg/kg)and wa-ter extraction part group(320 mg/kg). The rats except for normal group received 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid solution(TN-BS)to establish UC model. 24 h later,the rats in the drug administration groups were given corresponding drugs ig,while those in normal group and model group were given normal saline ig,once a day,for 14 consecutive days. For the rats,the pathological change of the colon tissue was observed,and the colon mucosa damage index(CMDI)was scored;the activity of superoxide dis-mutase(SOD)and the content of malondialdehyde(MDA)in serum were determined. RESULTS:Compared to normal group,the rats in model group had obvious UC-like lesion,higher CMDI,lower activity of SOD and higher content of MDA in serum(P<0.01). Compared to model group,the rats in the drug administration groups had the lesion which became less serious or improved and had lower CMDI score,among which those of the ethyl acetate extraction part group and the positive group demonstrated a sta-tistically significant difference(P<0.01);and the rats in the drug administration groups except for trichloromethane extraction part group had higher activity of SOD and lower content of MDA in serum,among which the activity of SOD of the ethyl acetate ex-traction part group and the activity of SOD and content of MDA of the positive group demonstrated a statistically significant differ-ence(P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS:The ethyl acetate extraction part of Sanye Chongcha can reduce colonic lipid peroxi-dation and thus has obvious improvement effect on the rats with UC caused by TNBS.

Objective To explore the effects of the autoantibody against the second extracellular loop of ?3-adrenoceptor(?3AR)from children with heart failure on isolated cardiomyocytes of adult rats.Methods The synthetic peptide corresponding to the sequence of the se-cond extracellular loop(176-202 amino acid residues)of the human ?3AR was used as the antigen to screen the anti-?3AR autoantibodies from the sera of the 50 children with heart failure and 50 healthy children by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA);IgG in the children with heart failure of positive autoantibodies sera was purified.The effects of purified IgG per each group on contractile response of isolated cardiomyocytes of adult rats were observed using motion-edge detection system and double-provocation fluorescence photomultiplier system.Results Among the 50 children with heart failure,the anti-?3AR autoantibodies positive rate was 30%(15/50 cases),and ob-viously higher than that of healthy children[12%(6/50)cases,P

Background Currently,the recommendation when treating acute biliary or pancreatic disease during pregnancy is to perform endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) without radiation exposure,either empirically (with no radiographic guidance) or with ultrasound guidance.However,few published studies compared these two ways.This study aimed to compare ultrasound-guided ERCP with the procedure without radiographic guidance in the treatment of acute pancreaticobiliary disease in pregnant patients.Methods The clinical data of 68 pregnant patients with acute pancreaticobiliary disease admitted to our hospital between January 2004 and May 2010 were reviewed retrospectively.ERCP was performed without radiographic guidance in 36 cases (group A) and with ultrasound guidance in 32 cases (group B).Data on the following variables were compared between the two groups:surgical success rate,rate of complete stone removal,time to resolution of clinical manifestations and laboratory indicators,length of hospital stay,complications,outcome and differences in efficacy of ERCP during different stages of pregnancy.Results In group A,the rates of surgical success and complete removal of stones were 69％ and 60％,respectively; the corresponding values were 91％ and 89％ in group B (P ＜0.05).Postoperatively,clinical manifestations improved rapidly in all patients; there was no statistically significant difference between the groups (P ＞0.05).Leukocyte counts and liver function had improved significantly after one week in all patients; they recovered more quickly in group B ((8.64±1.83)days vs.(14.57±3.74) days,(14.29±4.64) days vs.(20.00±5.40) days,P ＜0.01).The hospital stay was shorter in group B ((16.28±7.25) days vs.(28.00±6.83) days,P＜0.001).The complication rate was 14％ in group A and 3％ in group B (P ＜0.05).There were no significant differences between the two groups in the procedure's efficacy during different stages of pregnancy.Conclusions In the treatment of acute pancreaticobiliary disease during pregnancy,ultrasound-guided ERCP is safer and more effective than performing the procedure empirically without radiographic guidance when performed by experienced practitioners.Its more widespread use is recommended.