OBJECTIVETo compare the difference in the efficacy on cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR) between acupuncture at the acupoints on the axillary nerve distribution and the regular selection of acupoints. Methods Eighty patients of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 40 ca.ses in each one. In the observation group, Jianjing (GB 21), Jianzhen (SI 9), Jianliao (TE 14) , Jianyu (LI 15) , Quyuan (SI 13), Tianzong (SI 11) and the trigger points in the scalpular region were selected along the axillary nerve distribution. The Hegu needling was adopted at the trigger points and stimulated with electric apparatus, continuous wave, 1Hz. In the control group, Dazhui (GV 14), Tianzhu (BL 10), Houxi (SI 3), cervical Jiaji (EX-B 2) were selected and stimulated with the regular acupuncture. Electric stimulation was added at cervical Jiaii (EX-B 2), with continuous wave, 1Hz. The needles were retained for 30 min in the two groups, once every two days and 10 treatments made one session. The efficacy was assessed in one session of treatment. The 20-point scale of CSR developed by Japanese scholar, Tanaka Yasuhisa, and the visual analogue scale (VAS) were adopted to score the clinical symptoms and pain degree before and after treatment in the patients and assess the efficacy of the two groups.

RESULTSThe symptom scores and VAS scores after treatment were improved apparently as compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0. 05, P<0. 01), and the results in the observation group were better than those in the control group (both P<0. 05). The total effective rate in the observation group was 85. 0% (34/40), better than 71. 8% (28/39) in the control group (P<0. 05).

CONCLUSIONThe acupuncture at the acupoints on the axillary nerve distribution achieves the definite efficacy on CSR, better I than the regular acupuncture at cervical Jiaji (EX-B 2).

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Axilla ; innervation ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain Measurement ; Radiculopathy ; therapy ; Shoulder Pain ; therapy ; Spondylosis ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To compare the relationship between the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) reagent and West‐ern blot(WB) confirmation reagent for analyzing the quality lever of human T‐cell lymphotropic virus(HTLV) detection reagent . Methods The WB confirmation reagent was used to detect anti‐HTLV antibody in 156 human serum samples of ELISA prelimina‐ry screening positive .The ELISA cut‐off value(optimal value) was selected by using the two‐graph receiver operating characteristics (TG‐ROC) analytical method .The two‐by‐two table analysis was constructed to analyze the consistency of results detected by the two methods ,moreover the McNemar test was used to evaluate the consistency of detection results .The quality level of HTLV de‐tection reagent was comprehensively evaluated .Results Among 156 serum samples of ELISA preliminary screening positive ,only 40 samples were positive by the WB confirmation ,and other 116 samples were negative .The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA de‐tection reagent obtained by TG‐ROC analysis were 97 .5% and 45 .7% respectively ,the TG‐ROC test also indicated that the detec‐tion results had significant difference between ELISA and WB(P<0 .05) .By adjusting the cut‐off value ,the sensitivity and specific‐ity of ELISA were increased to 88 .8% (parametric method) .In the comparison of the parametric method and the non‐parametric method ,the obtained areas under the curve(AUC) was 0 .923 5(parametric method) ,their results were basically consistent .Conclu‐sion Although above results indicate that the detection results of ELISA reagent are different from those of WB ,but adjusting the cut off value can increase its sensitivity and specificity ,thus increases the reliability of diagnosis result .

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction of interlobular bile ducts and infiltration of inflammatory factors.An increase in anti-mitochondrial antibody is the major feature of PBC and may eventually lead to intrahepatic cholestasis,liver fibrosis,and even liver cirrhosis.The pathogenesis of this disease remains unclear,and there is no ideal treatment regimen.Therefore,it is necessary to find an animal model matching with PBC,in order to study the pathogenesis,treatment,and prognosis of PBC.This article introduces the research advances in bile duct ligation models,drug models,antigen models,gene models,and spontaneous models,in order to summarize the features and limitations of the mouse model of PBC in the articles published in recent years and provide a basis for the selection and research of PBC models.

Objective To investigate the role of the combination of alpha2-heremans-schmid glycoprotein (AHSG) , tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) , and interleukin-1 β (IL-1β) in detecting carotid vulnerable plaque in patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI). Methods A total of 136 ACI patients were enrolled. According to the carotid ultrasound results, patients were assigned into the stable plaque group (n = 57) and vulnerable plaque group (n = 79). And their clinical data were collected. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors of carotid vulnerable plaque in ACI patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was used to explore the diagnostic efficacy of AHSG, TNF-α, IL-1β and their combination in detecting carotid vulnerable plaque. Results (1) AHSG level of vulnerable plaque group was significantly lower than that of stable plaque group (P < 0.05) , while the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β of vulnerable plaque group were higher than those of stable plaque group. (2) Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that hypertension (OR = 1.257, 95％CI: 1.017～ 1.554) , type 2 diabetes (OR=1.474, 95％ CI: 1.048 ～2.074) , AHSG (OR= 0.510, 95％ CI:0.287 ～0.920) , TNF-α (OR = 1.020, 95％CI: 1.006 ～1.029) and IL-1β (OR= 1.484, 95％CI: 1.067 ～2.062) were independent risk factors of carotid vulnerable plaque. (3) ROC curves revealed that the area under the curve (AUC) of AHSG combined with TNF-α and IL-1β detecting carotid vulnerable plaque was 0.903 (95％CI: 0.840～0.947) , with sensitivity of 89.87％ and specificity of 75.44％, which was significantly superior to that of three individual biomarker (P < 0.05). Conclusions AHSG, TNF-α and IL-1β are independent risk factors of carotid vulnerable plaque in ACI patients, and their combination has the highest predictive efficacy which is of high clinical significance.

Objective:To screen the neutralizing epitope of enterovirus 71 (EV71) and determine the specific minimum amino acid sequence that triggers immunity for providing a theoretical basis for the development of synthetic peptide vaccines.Methods:EV71 neutralizing antibody-specific binding clones were panned and sequenced using a phage display random 12-peptide library to obtain the key sequences of neutralizing epitopes. A series of peptides containing the key sequences with N-terminal acetylation (AC) and C-terminal linking to Keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) were synthesized. Serum samples were collected after immunizing mice with the modified peptides. Then the immunogenicity of the peptides and the neutralizing activity of serum samples were analyzed by Western blot, ELISA and neutralization test.Results:After three rounds of panning, cloning and sequencing, KQEKDL was identified as the key motif. The serum samples collected from the mice immunized with the modified series of peptides containing key motifs had different degrees of binding ability to EV71 and VP1 protein. The serum samples of mice immunized the synthetic peptide containing only the minimum key motif (AC-KQEKDL-KLH) had the strongest response to the other three peptides and EV71 and the highest neutralizing titer.Conclusions:The EV71 neutralizing epitope was successfully screened using the phage display random peptide library. The key motif of KQEKDL might be the specific minimum amino acid sequence that triggered the immune system. This study provides a theoretical basis for better understanding the immune response mechanism, evaluating the immunogenicity of the antigens and further research and development of polypeptide vaccines.

As one of the tyrosine kinase receptors, Axl is an important downstream regulator of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and can bind to its ligand Gas6 protein. By activating the downstream signal transduction pathways, Axl is closely associated with vascular invasion, tumor metastasis, recurrence, and low survival rate of hepatocellular carcinoma. Current studies on the Gas6/Axl signaling pathway have confirmed that Axl inhibitors play an important role in the treatment of liver cancer and the Gas6/Axl signaling pathway may be a potential therapeutic target for liver cancer. This article mainly introduces the association of Axl and its ligand Gas6 with the development and progression of liver cancer and their application in the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer, in order to provide new ideas for the early diagnosis of liver cancer and clinical research on anti-cancer treatment.