To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Qinghouyan lozenge in the treatment of acute pharyngitis due to Lung-heat and Yin-deficiency, and compare with Qinghouyan oral Liquid. Totally 144 subjects were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups (72 in the test group and 72 in the control group). The participants in the test group were given Qinghouyan lozenge for 5 days, and those in the control group were given Qinghouyan oral Liquid for 5 days. The effectiveness evaluation indexes were pharyngalgia/odynophagia disappearance rate, overall efficacy of TCM syndromes, TCM syndrome scores, and single syndrome and sign disappearance rate. During the test, the safety was evaluated by vital sign, lab examination indexes and adverse events. The results for the full analysis set showed that the couth disappearance rate, the incidence rate of TCM syndromes, and the throat/uvula congestion disappearance rate of the test group were higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05), with significant differences in the changes in syndrome scores between the two groups (P < 0.05). Altogether 3 adverse events were observed in the test group while 6 adverse events in the control group, without significant differences in the adverse event rate between the two groups (P < 0.05), serious abnormal laboratory examinations and vital signs. In conclusion, Qinghouyan lozenge has better efficacy in treatment of acute pharyngitis due to Lung-heat and Yin-deficiency than Qinghouyan oral liquid, with good safety.
Acute Disease ; Double-Blind Method ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Pharyngitis ; drug therapy

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect and mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) for Z syndrome without organic lesion (metabolic syndrome combined with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome).

METHODSFifty-eight patients with Z syndrome were divided into three groups according to mild,moderate and severe degree. Acupuncture and EA were used at Daimai (GB 26), Zhongwan (CV 12), Xiawan (CV 10), Zusanli ST 36), Qihai (CV 6) and Huaroumen (ST 24), etc., once a day and five times a week. The treatment of ten times was a course, and two courses were acquired continuously. Sleep respiration monitoring (PSG) was done before EA and in one week after treatment respectively. Triacylglycerol (TG) fasting blood glucose (FBG) fasting insulin (INS) and serum leptin (Lep) were tested before and after treatment in the three groups.

RESULTSAfter treatment apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and the percentage of the time of arterial oxygen saturation (SaO₂) less than 90% taken in the total sleep time (SLT 90%) were improved apparently than those before treatment in the three groups (all P < 0.05). The levels of TG, FPG, INS and Lep were decreased after treatment in all groups (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONEA can improve AHI and nocturnal hypoxia of Z syndrome, and the mechanism may be related to decreasing the indices of metabolism syndrome and leptin.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin ; blood ; Leptin ; blood ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome ; blood ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Middle Aged ; Sleep ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; blood ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Triglycerides ; blood ; Young Adult

Objective To explore the effects of diethylenetriamine/nitric oxide (DETA/NO)on capillary spasm and early brain injury (EBI)after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)in rats.Methods Sixty-nine male Sprague-dawley rats were randomized into three groups:sham group,SAH group and DETA/NO group.SAH model was established by wearing out the willis ring with thread and then Garcia neurological score was observed in the general animals.The expressions of alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA)and PDGFRβwere detected by dual immunofluorescence staining;nitric oxide kit was used for detecting brain tissue NO concentration.Changes in the hemoglobin-stimulated capillaries were observed in rat slices.Results Three days after surgery,neurological deficit score was remarkably improved in DETA/NO group compared with that in SAH group (P<0 .0 5 ). Immunofluorescence results showed that the expressions of peri-capillaryαSMA and PDGFRβwere significantly increased after SAH (P<0.05 ),and that DETA/NO could down-regulate the expressions (P<0.05 ).NO concentration was greatly reduced about 3 hours after SAH and then gradually increased;DETA/NO could maintain the concentration of NO at an early stage (P<0 .0 5 ).The capillary contraction was observed in slices perfused with hemoglobin;DETA/NO could alleviate capillary spasm.Conclusion DETA/NO can alleviate the severity of capillary spasm and EBI after SAH in rats.

Objective To explore the clinical effect and application value of four-point internal fixation technique (internal fixation of C_1-C_2 transarticular screws combined with Apofix laminar clamp technique) for traumatic atlantoaxial instability.Methods A total of 16 patients with traumatic atlanto- axial instability,who had reducible atlantoaxial dislocation with reduction after traction and irreducible at- lantoaxial dislocation with traction reduction after anterior laxation,were treated with four-point internal fixation technique using autologous bone grafts.Results All patients' symptoms were improved to some extent,and no severe complications,such as injury of nerve blood vessels were found.All patients were followed up for 8-26 months (average 16 months).Bony fusion was obtained in all cases.The spinal cord function improvement was marked in 5 cases (31%),good in 8(50%),mild in 2(13%),but un- changed in 1 (6%).No deterioration occurred in all cases.There was no loosening or breakage of screws and clamps.Conclusion Fixation of C_1-C_2 transarticular screws combined with Apofix laminar clamp technique can atlain four-point internal fixation,and can provide three-dimensional stability of atlantoaxial complex and excellent biomechanics environment for bony fusion if the structure of the posterior arch of C_1-C_2 is intact.

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of serum cytokines concentrations and A- PACHE scores in evaluating the illness state for critical trauma patients.Methods A clinical prospective self-control trial was performed,in which 36 patients admitted to ICU by SIRS were enrolled.Objects were divided into mild and severe trauma group according to APACHE score.The TNF-?and IL-6 concentrations were determined on the 1st, 3rd and 5th day of admission,the APACHE score were assessed at the same time.Statistic analysis was performed according to this group.Results The TNF-?concentrations decreased continuously in the following days while IL-6 decreased from the 7th day in the mild trauma group.In the severe trauma group the TNF-?and IL-6,APACHE score concentrations kept increasing.There was a significant difference of TNF-?and IL-6 concentrations between severe trauma and mild trauma group.Conclusion Dynamic measurement of TNF-?and IL-6 concentrations with APACHE score provide great help to evaluate the illness state and predict the prognosis.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the polymorphism of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL150 open reading frame (ORF) in low-passaged clinical isolates, and to study the relationship between the polymorphism and different pathogenesis of congenital HCMV infection.

METHODSPCR was performed to amplify the entire HCMV UL150 ORF region of 29 clinical isolates, which had been proven containing detectable HCMV-DNA using fluorescence quantitative PCR. PCR amplification products were sequenced directly, and the data were analyzed.

RESULTSTotally 25 among 29 isolates were amplified, and 18 isolates were sequenced successfully. HCMV UL150 ORF sequences derived from congenitally infected infants were high variability. The UL150 ORF in all 18 clinical isolates shifted backward by 8 nucleotides leading to frame-shift, and contained a single nucleotide deletion at nucleotide position 226 compared with that of Toledo strain. The nucleotide diversity was 0.1% to 6.8% and the amino acid diversity was 0.2% to 19.2% related to Toledo strain. However, the nucleotide diversity was 0.1% to 6.4% and amino acid diversity was 0.2% to 8.3% by compared with Merlin strain. Compared with Toledo, 4 new cysteine residues and 13 additional posttranslational modification sites were observed in UL150 putative proteins of clinical isolates. Moreover, the UL150 putative protein contained an additional transmembrane helix at position of 4-17 amino acid related to Toledo.

CONCLUSIONHCMV UL150 ORF and deduced amino acid sequences of clinical strains are hypervariability. No obvious linkage between the polymorphism and different pathogenesis of congenital HCMV infection is found.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; Cytomegalovirus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; congenital ; virology ; DNA, Viral ; genetics ; Genes, Viral ; Genetic Variation ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Open Reading Frames ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Viral Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and risk factors for its transmission among injection drug users (IDUs) in Liangshan Yizu Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, China.

METHODSA community-based survey was conducted to investigate demographic characteristics, pattern and frequency of sharing injection equipment, and sexual behaviors in IDUs. Blood samples were also collected from them to detect for antibodies against HIV and syphilis.

RESULTSA total of 379 subjects were recruited with informed consent for study through community outreach and peer recruiting methods. Their prevalence of HIV infection was 11.3% (43/379). Ethnicity, frequency of sharing syringes and cotton swab during the past three months and syphilis infection associated with HIV infection by univariate analysis using chi-square test. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed odds ratio of frequency of sharing syringes for HIV infection during the past three months was 2.28 (95% CI 1.18 - 4.43), and that for syphilis infection 3.10 (95% CI 1.48 - 6.48).

CONCLUSIONFrequency of sharing syringes during the past three months associated with syphilis and HIV infection.

Adolescent ; Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Disease Transmission, Infectious ; Female ; HIV Infections ; epidemiology ; transmission ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Needle Sharing ; adverse effects ; Prevalence ; Sexual Behavior ; Substance Abuse, Intravenous ; virology

Host genetic factors, such as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, are important in Human immunod-eficiency virus (HIV) infection and its progression to AIDS. HLA class I genes, especially highly polymorphicHLA-B genes, are involved in the activation of HLA-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against HIV, andthus control susceptibility to or protect against this virus. The present study was aimed to determine the distributionof HLA-B alleles in the Chinese Uygur ethnic group and its association with HIV infection. One hundred ten healthycontrol (HIV negative) and 128 HIV positive Chinese Xinjiang Uygur ethnic individuals were used in this study.HLA typing for B allele was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with sequence-specific primers (SSP).Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was calculated using POPGENE software for the healthy control group. The HLA-Bfrequency of each allele was compared between the patients and the controls using the chi-square test. In HIV-1-pos-itive group, gene frequency of allele B * 4901 was significantly higher compared to the healthy control subjects (P=0.02, OR=3.06, 95%CI=1.16～8.10 forB*4901). In contrast, the gene frequency of B * 40 in healthy controlswas significantly higher than in the HIV-positive patients (P=0.02, OR=0.39, 95%CI=0.07～0. 92 for B* 40).In this study, HLA allele B * 4901 may be associated with increased susceptibility to HIV-1 infection, whereas the B* 40 allele may be associated with resistance to H HIV-1 infection.

The relationship of HLA-A, -Cw alleles on HIV infection and AIDS disease progression in the Chinese Yi ethnic group of Sichuan province were investigated. The genetic polymorphisms of HLA-A, -Cw alleles of 102 unrelated healthy Chinese Yi ethnic individuals, 68 HIV-1 infected and 21 HIV positive long-time survivors were typed by PCR-SSP assay. Statistic signifiance was determined by the χ2 test with the SPSS software. No significant differences were observed between the HLA-A, -Cw alleles of the 68 HIV-1 infected and 102 non-infected Chinese Yi control individuals. Whereas the prevalence of A*3601,Cw*14(01-03)and Cw*0304 was significantly higher in 21 long time survivors compared with 102 healthy controls with P values of 0.016, 0.016 and 0.000 by χ2 or the Fisher exact test respectively. The result implies that A*3601,Cw*14(01-03) and Cw*0304 may be associated with slow AIDS disease progression in the Chinese Yi ethnic group, further studies on this association may yield insight on the pathogenesis of HIV-1 infection.

Objective To investigate the association between general self-efficacy (GSES) and human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)-related stigma among newly HIV-diagnosed men who have sex with men (MSM) in Beijing. Methods HIV testing was conducted among MSM who met the inclusion criteria in Beijing from April 2013 to April 2014. Face-to-face interviews were conducted among newly HIV-diagnosed MSM. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the association between general self-efficacy and HIV-related stigma among newly HIV-diagnosed MSM. Results Of the 367 newly HIV-diagnosed MSM, the general self-efficacy score of was (31.5±6.3) and the HIV-related stigma score was (26.9±20.9). Multiple linear regression showed that after adjusting for confounding factors, general self-efficacy was negativly associated with HIV-related stigma (GSES was continuous variable β=-0.010, P=0.022; GSES was dichotomous variable β=-0.117, P=0.028 ). Conclusions The newly HIV-diagnosed MSM face the problem of HIV-related stigma. For newly HIV-diagnosed MSM, higher self-efficacy helps reduce HIV-related stigma.