Objective: To review the problems existing in the development and application of current electroacupuncture (EA) apparatuses, and provide reference for the development of EA apparatuses. Methods: Related literatures about EA apparatus were derived from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database (Wanfang) and Chongqing VIP Database (CQVIP) between 2013 and 2017. Literatures about the development of EA apparatuses and the application for experimental research and clinical treatment published in Chinese journals were retrieved, and the development and application of EA apparatuses were summarized. Results: Among the 107 selected literatures, 48 types of EA apparatuses were used, of which only 11 models could be found in the registration list and within the validity period. There was no registration information for the EA apparatus newly developed in the past 5 years. The EA parameters used in experimental research and clinical treatment in Chinese medicine were different, and the combination of stimulation parameters was diverse. Conclusion: At present, most of the new EA products are still in the experimental or research stage, and the transformation of results has not yet been achieved. Moreover, there is no unified standard for the use of EA apparatus and its stimulation parameters in experimental research and clinical treatment, which is not conducive to the standardization process of EA stimulation.

Objective To explore the correlation of cognitive impairment and areas of middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory infarction.Methods The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was used to evaluate neuropsychological statuses in the patients who developed first-time acute cerebral infarction for 2 weeks. MoCA scores and sub-scores were recorded. 132 patients were selected with MCA occlusion,scores of MoCA were more than 15, and cognitive impairment in at least one domain, and then subgrouped by infarction site. The correlation between the results of neuropsychological cognitive assessment and the sites of infarction was analyzed. Results MCA occlusion was correlated with the impairments of visual spatial/executive, attention, language and memory (B=-1.875~-1.094, P<0.05). Infarction in frontal lobe was correlated with the impairments of visual spatial/executive, attention, abstract and memory (B=-1.760~-1.329, P<0.05),temporal lobe with visual spatial/executive and memory impairment (B=-1.849~-1.735, P<0.05), parietal lobe with visual spatial/executive, attention and memory impairment (B=-1.695~-1.482, P<0.05), basal ganglia with visual spatial/executive, attention, language and memory impairment (B=-1.932~-1.041, P<0.01). Conclusion The characteristics of impairment in cognitive function is different with infarction sites in MCA territory.

Long-term treatment with an agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ is associated with bone fractures in the clinical practice. However, the mechanisms underlying the fractures are not fully understood. This study was aimed to examine the effect of rosiglitazone (an agonist of PPAR-γ) of different doses on the proliferation, differentiation, and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1)-induced expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in primary rat osteoblasts in vitro. Osteoblasts were isolated from newly born SD rats and treated with different doses of rosiglitazone (0-20 μmol/L). The proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts were measured by MTT assay and NPP assay, respectively. The expression of CTGF was determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The results showed that most isolated osteoblasts displayed strong alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and treatment with different doses of rosiglitazone did not affect their proliferation, but significantly inhibited the differentiation of osteoblasts in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, treatment with different doses of rosiglitazone significantly reduced the TGF-β1-induced CTGF mRNA transcription and protein expression in a dose-dependent manner in rat osteoblasts. It was concluded that the activation of PPAR-γ may inhibit the differentiation of osteoblasts by reducing the TGF-β1-induced CTGF expression in vitro.

OBJECTIVETo explore the risk factors of low back pain (LBP) among greenhouse vegetable planting farmers and estimate the level of the effects.

METHODSA self-made questionnaire based on the Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and the Nordic Questionnaire was conducted to 639 greenhouse vegetable planting farmers and then structural equation model was used to analyze the risk factors of LBP in SmartPLS software.

RESULTSThe coefficient of determination of the model was 0.827, and the structural coefficients of dynamic loads, static loads, force exertion, ergonomic environment and repetitive loads on LBP were 0.21, 0.43,0.27, 0.045 and 0.034 respectively, and the total effects of the above latent variables on LBP were 0.21, 0.43,0.27, 0.33 and 0.034 respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe main risk factors of LBP among greenhouse vegetable planting farmers were static loads, ergonomic environment, force exertion and dynamic loads.

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; etiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; etiology ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vegetables

Objective:To study the effects of smokeless tobacco extract(ST)on the proliferation and the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70)expression of human periodontal ligament cells(hPDLCs).Methods:hPDLCs were cultured in vitro and identified by im-munohistochemistry(IHC).The cells were stimulated with ST at 0.01 6 -50 g/L respectively for 24 h,the proliferation was examine by MTT assay,HSP70 expression was detected by immunehistochemical staining and Western Blot.Results:ST inhibited the prolifer-ation and increased HSP70 expression in cytoplasm and nucleus at 0.4 -50 g/L dose dependantly.Conclusion:ST may inhibit the proliferation and increase HSP70 expression of hPDLCs in a dose depandant manner.

Objective To determine the value of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (MRDWI) combined with squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the evaluation of the efficacy and prognosis of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for cervical carcinoma.Methods A total of 80 patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma confirmed by histology or cytology in our hospital from 2013 to 2016 were included in this study.Of the 80 patients, 39 were FIGO stage ⅡB, 7 were stage ⅢA, 26 were stage ⅢB, and 8 were stage ⅠVA.MRDWI examination and SCC and CEA measurements were first performed for the patients following group assignment, and the patients were then given extrapelvic radiotherapy (45-50 Gy)+platinum-based chemotherapy plus brachytherapy (20-25 Gy) based on their conditions.MRDWI, SCC, and CEA examinations were performed again after treatment to determine the changes in ADC, SCC, and CEA.In addition, ADC, SCC, and CEA were examined in the middle stage of treatment for 40 patients.Data were analyzed using the paired t-test or ANOVA.Results The overall response rate of the 80 patients after concurrent chemoradiotherapy was 100%.No disease progression was identified in any of the patients until the end of treatment, and the overall survival time of the patients was all above 6 months.Serum SCC and CEA were reduced after treatment (P=0.000,0.000), whereas the ADC value was increased after treatment (P=0.000).The increase in ACD following the decreases in SCC and CEA after treatment (P=0.000, 0.000) was indicative of increased efficacy of the concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy.Conclusions MRDWI combined with SCC and CEA is highly reliable for the evaluation of efficacy and prognosis of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for cervical cancer.

To report the clinical, radiological and neuropathological findings of a patient with rheuma-toid meningitis. The patient was a 71-year-old Chinese man with a two-year history of rheumatoid arthritisand no other significant medical history, who presented to our hospital recurrent weakness of his left ex-tremities, dysarthria and a continuous bilateral hand tremor. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serumexam-inations were normal apart from a mildly raised serum perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody(p-ANCA). Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed leptomeningeal enhancementin both fron-tal and parietal lobes, in addition to several old white matter infarcts. Meningeal biopsy showed numerousinfiltrating macrophages and lymphocytes within the leptomeninges. The patient responded clinically andradiologically to corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide therapy. The patient subsequently developed herpeszoster over his left chest as a complication of his immunosuppressive treatment. His cyclophosphamidewas ceased and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy was commenced, with good clinical responseto both the herpes zoster and meningitis. According to the result of the biopsy, aseptic meningitis wasconsidered the MRI results and the patient’s clinical history were given, and a diagnosis of rheumatoidmeningitis was made. The patientwas p-ANCApositive. Although there was no evidence for cerebral vas-culitis on biopsy, it remains a possibility that the patient’s recurrent minor cerebral infarcts visible onMRI were vasculitic in nature.

Background At present,researches about retinitis and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) mainly focus on observation and analysis of the cytomegalovirus (CMV)-induced ocular complication.To screen the effective drugs is very important for the treatment of AIDS-related CMV-induced retinitis.Objective This study was to describe the clinical features,diagnosis and treatment outcome of CMV-induced retinitis with BAY 38-4766 and evaluate the relationship between CMV retinitis and AIDS.Methods This was a case observational study.A total of 154 eyes of 84 patients with CMV retinitis and AIDS were enrolled in this study.Before the definitive diagnosis of CMV retinitis,the AIDS course of these patients were 4-26 months.In the initial examination,the visual acuity ranged from finger counting to 0.4,and the number of CD4+ T-lymphocyte was 0-30 cells/μl.The survival time in the patients ranged from 3 weeks to 18 months.BAY 38-4766 was used in 117 eyes of 62 patients,and 102 eyes of 53 patients showed the srinked of retinal lesion and improvement of vision (0.1-0.7).BAY 38-4766 was used to treat the CMV retinitis in 117 eyes of 62 patients with the initial intravenous dose of 5 mg/kg,twice per day for consecutive 2 weeks and followed by oral dose 1 gram per day.The follow-up duration was 2 weeks to 18 months.The fundus feature,visual acuity and CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts were analyzed.This study proposal was approved by Ethic Committee of the 474th Hospital of PLA,and written informed consent was obtained from each patient prior to entering this study.Results The numbers of CD4+T-lymphocytes increased to 12-402 eells/μl after administration of BAY 38-4766.The CMV retinitis aggravated and the vision decreased in the untreated 22 patients with the CD4+T-lymphocytes 0-30 cells/μl.Conclusions CMV retinitis is the most common intraocular complication in patients with AIDS.Diagnosis of CMV retinitis is based on the characteristics of necrotizing retinitis,which is typically associated with retinal hemorrhage and vasculitis.BAY 38-4766 is an effective drug for the treatment of CMV retinitis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of furanodiene(FDE),a diterpene derived from the medicinal plant Zedoary,on apoptosis of human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells induced in vitro. METHODS MGC-803 cells were treated with FDE 46.29~740.74μmol·L-1 for 24,48 and 72 h,and the cell viability was detected with MTT assay. Cell morphology was observed by light microscopy and Hoechst33342 staining. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptotic rate and cell cycle. Rh123 staining and fluorescence probe DCFH-DA were employed to detect the changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and reactive oxygen species(ROS). RESULTS MTT Results showed that FDE 46.29-740.74μmol · L-1 exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity to gastric cancer MGC-803 cells. IC50 for MGC-803 of 24,48 and 72 h treatment was 347.91,257.41 and 101.01μmol·L-1,respectively. Treatment with FDE 92.58-370.32μmol·L-1 for 24 h also caused significant morphological changes in MGC-803 cells. AnnexinⅤ-FITC/PI double staining showed that the apoptotic rate increased after FDE 92.58-370.32μmol·L-1 treatment for 24 h(P<0.05). FDE enabled MGC-803 cell cycle arrest in S phase. DCFH-DA staining showed that FDE resulted in an increase in intracellular ROS levels(P<0.05) when PDE concentration was 370.37μmol·L-1(P<0.05). MMP decreased after FDE treatment when PDE concen?tration was 370.37μmol·L-1(P<0.05). CONCLUSION FDE Possesses potent tumor selected toxicity and can induce apoptosis of MGC-803 cells through cell cycle arresting,which is related to inhibition of DNA biosynthesis.

Lactic acid production of twelve strains of LAB isolated from broiler intestine and tolerance property of three strains were investigated. The results of lactic acid production showed that among all strains K6 exhibited the most rapid production during the first twelve hours, the seconds were K9 and C1; D17 exhibited the highest production of lactic acid by twenty-four hours, C1 exhibited the highest production of lactic acid by forty-eight hours. The pH values in three strains of K9、D17 and C1 culture showed the fast decline during the first twelve hours, with the final values significantly lower than those of other strains cultures. The results of tolerance property showed that the survival counts of C1could be detected when pH value was at 2 after three hours, but the survival counts of D17 and K9 could not be detected after one hour. When pH value was at 2.5 after three hours ,the survival counts of C1 declined from 10~ 8.2 /mL to 10~ 4.8 /mL, K9 from 10~ 8.2 /mL to 10~ 4.6 /mL, the survival counts of D17 could not be detected. 0.08% bile had few effects on the survival counts of three strains; when incubated in the medium with 0.40% bile, the survival counts of C1 declined from 10~ 8.4 /mL to 10~ 6.5 /mL,D17 from 10~ 10.3 /mL to 10~ 7.5 /mL, and K9 from 10~ 9.8 /mL to 10~ 7.7 /mL. When the group treated with 37℃ for 20 minutes was served as the control, the survival counts of C1 and K9 was not detected when treated with 80℃, but the survival counts of D17 were 10~ 4.9 /mL, when treatment with 65℃ the survival counts of C1 and K9 decreased significantly .