Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture plus tuina in treating cervical vertigo (CV).Methods:One hundred CV patients were randomized into an observation group and an acupuncture group by the random number table,with 50 cases in each group.The acupuncture group received acupuncture at Xiang Ba Zhen (eight acupoints on the nape);the observation group received tuina treatment in addition to the Xiang Ba Zhen acupuncture.The two groups were both treated once every other day for 10 sessions in total.The two groups were examined by transcranial cerebral Doppler (TCD) before and after the treatment,and their therapeutic efficacies were evaluated.Results:After the treatment,the mean velocity (Vm) of vertebral artery (VA) and basilar artery (BA) showed significant improvement in both groups (all P＜0.001);there were significant differences in the Vm of VA and BA between the two groups (both P＜0.05).The total effective rate was 100.0％ in the observation group versus 82.0％ in the acupuncture group,and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.01).Conclusion:Xiang Ba Zhen acupuncture as a monotherapy or used together with tuina can improve CV,but Xiang Ba Zhen plus tuina can produce a more significant efficacy.

Objective To evaluate the Carryover between the chemistry and immunoassay in Beckman Coulter Laboratory Au-tomation System and decide to whether sharing samples for testing between chemistry and immunoassay systems or not. Methods According to a certain order,high concentration samples and low concentration samples of HCG with different sample volume (500 μl,2 000 μl)were tested on Beckman AU5421 automatic biochemical analyzer.The HCG of low concen-tration samples were then tested to evaluate the carryover between the chemistry and immunoassay and explored the correc-tive procedure to deal with the carryover by increasing special cleaning process of beckman AU5421 automatic biochemistry analyzer.Results Under different sample volume,the carryover in a single module and as a whole of the beckman AU5421 automatic biochemistry analyzer were 5.44,15.47,23.51 and 45.96 ppm respectively (t=14.553,P <0.001;t=5.527,P =0.005;t=3.985,P =0.016;t=20.457,P <0.001).By increasing special cleaning process the carryover of 0.22 ppm was detected in 500 μl sample volume of the beckman AU5421 automatic biochemistry analyzer as a whole.Conclusion The car-ryover between the chemistry and immunoassay in Beckman Coulter Laboratory Automation System could been sovled by in-creasing special cleaning process of beckman AU5421 automatic biochemistry analyzer.

Three compounds were isolated from solid culture of endophyte Myrothecium roridum IFB-E091 in Artemisia annua. Their structures were determined as (S)-(-)-N-[2-(3-hydroxy-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indol-3-yl)-ethyl]-acetamide (1), N-(4-hydroxyphenethyl)acetamide (2) and asperfumoid (3), in which compound 1 was a new indole derivative. In cytotoxicity assay, the compound 1 had no obvious inhibition activity in human hepatoma cell line SMMC-7721 and human cervical carcinoma cell line HeLa.
Artemisia annua ; microbiology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; drug effects ; Endophytes ; chemistry ; Humans ; Hypocreales ; chemistry ; Indoles ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Molecular glues are a class of small molecules that induce the formation of protein-protein interactions to confer new biological function or therapeutic effects. As a unique pharmacological modality, molecular glues could target proteins without druggable binding pockets. It exhibits a variety of functions, including regulating signal transduction, stabilization or degradation of targeted proteins, through sticking different proteins together. This review will summarize the development and current status of molecular glues derived from natural products and analogs by illustrating the discovery and interaction mechanism. We hope to present a systematic view, provide valuable clues for researchers and encourage them to explore more efficient and rational molecular glue discovery strategies.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to standardize and validate a Korean version of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI-K), and to evaluate its clinical usefulness. METHODS: We translated the ISI into Korean and then translated it back into English to check its accuracy. The 614 patients with sleep disorders who were enrolled in this study comprised 169 with primary insomnia, 133 with comorbid insomnia, and 312 with obstructive sleep apnea. All subjects underwent one night of polysomnography (PSG) and completed the Korean versions of both the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-K) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, as well as the ISI-K. The ISI-K was compared to these sleep scales and various PSG sleep parameters. RESULTS: The internal consistency the ISI-K total score was confirmed by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92, and the item-to-total-score correlations (item-total correlations) ranged from 0.65 to 0.84, suggesting adequate reliability. The correlation between the ISI-K total score and PSQI-K was 0.84, which suggested adequate convergent validity. Low-to-moderate correlations were obtained between the ISI-K total score and PSG-defined sleep parameters: 0.22 for sleep onset latency, 0.38 for wake after sleep onset, and 0.46 for sleep efficiency. A cutoff score of 15.5 on the ISI-K was optimal for discriminating patients with insomnia. The test-retest scores over a 4-week interval with 34 subjects yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.86, suggesting excellent temporal stability. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study show that the ISI-K is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the severity of insomnia in a Korean population.
Humans ; Polysomnography ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders* ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVETo investigate the chemical constituents of dried whole plants of Artemisia annua.

METHODThe chemical constituents were isolated by repeated silica gel chromatography, medium pressure column chromatography, and semi-preparative HPLC, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and comparison of NMR data with those reported in literature.

RESULT15 compounds were isolated and identified to be 5-O-[(E)-Caffeoyl] quinic acid(l), 1,3-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid(2), 4 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid(3), 3, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (4), 3, 4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (5), methyl-3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid(6), methyl-3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid(7), 3,6'-O-diferuloylsucrose(8), 5'-β-D-glucopyranosyloxyjasmonic acid(9), Scopoletin(10), scoparone (11), 4-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-2-hydroxyl-6-methoxyacetophenone (12), chrysosplenol D (13), casticin (14), chrysosplenetin(15).

CONCLUSIONCompounds 2, 6, 8 and 9 are obtained from the Artemisia genus for the first time. Compounds 7 and 15 are obtained from this plant for the first time.

Artemisia annua ; chemistry ; Chromatography, Gel ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Plants, Medicinal ; Quinic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Silica Gel

As a common protease with high similarity among coronavirus species, the main protease (M^pro) of SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the catalytic hydrolysis of viral precursor proteins into functional proteins, which is essential for coronavirus replication and is one of the ideal targets for the development of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. This paper reviews the main protease inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2, including their molecular structures, potencies and drug-like profiles, binding modes and structure-activity relationships, etc.

Immunotherapy has dramatically altered the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Currently, the emergence of combination strategies in immunotherapy has brightened the prospects of improved clinical outcomes and manageable safety profiles in the first/second-line settings. However, sub-optimal response rates are still observed in several clinical trials. Hence, alternative combination models and candidate selection strategies need to be explored. Herein, we have critically reviewed and commented on the published data from several clinical trials, including combined immunotherapy and chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic agents, epidermal growth factor receptor/anaplastic lymphoma kinase tyrosine kinase inhibitors, radiotherapy, and other immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Angiogenesis Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors/therapeutic use*

COVID-19 epidemic continues to spread around the world till these days, and it is urgent to develop more safe and effective new drugs. Due to the limited P3 biosafety laboratories for directly screening inhibitors of virulent viruses with high infectivity, it is necessary to develop rapid and efficient screening methods for viral proteases and other related targets. The main protease (M^pro), which plays a key role in the replication cycle of SARS-CoV-2, is highly conserved and has no homologous proteases in humans, making it an ideal target for drug development. From two different levels, namely, molecular level and cellular level, this paper summarizes the reported screening methods of SARS-CoV-2 M^pro inhibitors through a variety of representative examples, expecting to provide references for further development of SARS-CoV-2 M^pro inhibitors.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the outcome of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) in couples with the husband positive for chronic infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV).

METHODSThis study involved 102 infertile couples receiving IVF-ET with the husbands(but not the wives) positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and another 204 couples negative for HBsAg receiving the treatment served as the control group. The cumulative embryo score, fertilization rate, cleavage rate, rate of good quality embryos, implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, first trimester and late miscarriage rates, delivery rate, and neonatal malformation rate were recorded and compared between the two groups.

RESULTSBetween the HBsAg-positive and the control groups, the cumulative embryo score (52.8-/+18.7 vs 55.4-/+16.9), insemination rate (66.9% vs 66.1%), cleavage rate (97.6% vs 97.2%), rate of good quality embryos (34.0% vs 37.1%), implantation rate (40.9% vs 34.6%), clinical pregnancy rate (56.9% vs 50%), first trimester miscarriage rate (6.9% vs 5.9%) and late pregnancy miscarriage rate (8.6% vs 4.9%), delivery rate (40.2% vs 43.6%) and neonatal malformation rate (0 vs 0) were all similar (P>0.05;).

CONCLUSIONChronic HBV infection in the husband might not affect the outcome of IVF-ET treatment.

Case-Control Studies ; Embryo Transfer ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome