Based on the survey on Anhui indigenous medicine and the protection for the traditional Chinese medicine knowledge, we made an analysis and summary for the survey result of Anhui indigenous and special acupuncture techniques in terms of area distribution, types, diseases of treatment, etc. The result shows that though acupuncture and moxibustion are widely applied for all kinds of diseases in most areas of Anhui grassroots regions, they mainly concentrat in major cities like Hefei, Wuhu, Anqing, etc. The techniques are mainly used in orthopedics department and neurology department. They have weighted too much on needling skills, but moxibustion and other special techniques are not paid attention to. We propose that special acupuncture-moxibustion techniques should be promoted, and the relevant training for grassroots medical workers should be developed so as to further enhance their ability to serve grassroots people as well as inherit and innovate the techniques.

Xin'an doctor discussed acupuncture and moxibustion on ' and , calling it "orthodox needling method". 's academic thoughts on moxibustion were mainly reflected in () and (). made an incisive exposition of moxibustion treatment of heat syndrome, ulcer and other issues, and there is a corresponding test case for mutual reference. He believed that the moxibustion method only adapts to sick patients and holds opposition to moth moxibustion care for those who were disease-free; he also advocated that detailed verification of different syndrome should be conducted before acupuncture. This paper expounds 's academic thoughts on moxibustion can be used for heat syndrome, moxibustion does not stay phlegm, moxibustion need syndrome and moxibustion treatment of ulcer. It is believed that can present his own unique insights on the basis of his successors. He had played a guiding and promoting role in the development of academic theory of moxibustion.

To analyze statistically the situation of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) from 2007 to 2016 in the field of acupuncture and moxibustion for supporting the national Universities colleges of traditional Chinese medicine on the General Program (GP) and the National Science Fund for Young Scholars (NSFYS). In view of five aspects, named fund, supporting units, key words, method, disorder and signal path, the differences were compared between GP and NSFYS, the following characteristics were summarized. ① The fund aid was increased from 2007 through 2013 and down-regulated from 2013 through 2016. In recent ten years, the funding condition was fluctuated, but increasing in tendency generally. ② The relevant projects of the same research direction had been approved continuously for over 3 years in a part of TCM universities, in which, the research continuity was the hot topic. ③ Regarding the therapeutic methods, acupuncture was the chief therapy; electroacupuncture, moxibustion and acupoints were involved as well. ④ The disorders involved in the research were cerebral ischemia, myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury. It is suggested that the ischemic disorder is predominated in the research. ⑤ The signal path occupied the main research index system, including cell proliferation, metabolism, immune, apoptosis and autophagy. The researches on the other aspects were less.
Acupuncture Therapy ; trends ; China ; Humans ; Ischemia ; therapy ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Moxibustion ; trends ; Universities

Lysosomes are degradation and signaling centers within the cell, and their dysfunction impairs a wide variety of cellular processes. To understand the cellular effect of lysosome damage, we screened natural small-molecule compounds that induce lysosomal abnormality using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) as a model system. A group of vobasinyl-ibogan type bisindole alkaloids (ervachinines A-D) were identified that caused lysosome enlargement in C. elegans macrophage-like cells. Intriguingly, these compounds triggered cell death in the germ line independently of the canonical apoptosis pathway. In mammalian cells, ervachinines A-D induced lysosomal enlargement and damage, leading to leakage of cathepsin proteases, inhibition of autophagosome degradation and necrotic cell death. Further analysis revealed that this ervachinine-induced lysosome damage and lysosomal cell death depended on STAT3 signaling, but not RIP1 or RIP3 signaling. These findings suggest that lysosome-damaging compounds are promising reagents for dissecting signaling mechanisms underlying lysosome homeostasis and lysosome-related human disorders.
Alkaloids ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Caenorhabditis elegans ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Cell Death ; drug effects ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Lysosomes ; drug effects ; pathology ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects