OBJECTIVETo explore a new method for body surface orientation of the puncture site, determination of the direction of the needling and puncture depth for caudal block.

METHODSThree-dimensional reconstruction of the pelvis was performed in 8 cases for measuring the distances between the sacral hiatus and the planned site of anesthetic delivery and the size of the sacral hiatus. After image processing with the technique of shaded surface display (SSD), the shapes of sacral hiatus and sacral tube were evaluated.

RESULTSThree-dimensional reconstruction of the pelvis in the 8 cases allowed clear view from any directions of the sacral hiatus and sacral tube and accurate measurement of the size of the sacral hiatus. After simulated cutting of half of the rumpbone, the distances between the sacral hiatus and the drug injection site were accurately measured. With these measurements, accurate preoperative localization of the puncture site on the skin was achieved and the anesthesia was successful in all the cases.

CONCLUSIONSThis technique can provide accurate data for localization of the puncture site on the skin and determination of the direction of the needling and the puncture depth for caudal block to increase the successful rate of anesthesia, lower the operative risks and allow simulated operative training.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Anesthesia, Caudal ; methods ; Anthropometry ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sacrum ; diagnostic imaging ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; methods

OBJECTIVE: For the purpose of more accurate and rapid analysis of aconitine in medicine wine, a reversed-phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method was developed. METHODS: Standard aconitine was added to the blank wine when the wine sample was pretreated. The pretreatment method of samples, the linear range, the precision, the recoveries in the plasma were investigated by using of white wine plasma spiked with standard aconitine. RESULTS: The linear range was 0.45 approximately 9.0 microg x mL(-1), r=0.998 8. The detective limit was 0.45 microg x mL(-1), The intra and inter-day precision of assay for aconitine were less than 3.1% and 4.7% (n=5) in wine respectively. The recoveries of aconitine were more (97.3+/-2.8)% in medicine wine. The HPLC method has been used to investigate the concentration of aconitine in one forensic medicine case. CONCLUSION The HPLC method of quantitative analysis aconitine is rapid and sensitive. It is only in the 2.0 h that determination of aconitine in the medicine wine.
Aconitine/analysis* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Forensic Medicine ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Quality Control ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Time Factors ; Wine/analysis*

OBJECTIVETo study the major risk factors and characteristics of Schistosoma japonicum in the newly identified areas around the Dong Ting Lake.

METHODSData was collected regarding the distribution of snails, prevalence of infection as well as the source of transmission in the newly identified areas in Hunan province from 1979 to 2003.

RESULTSIn all the newly identified sites, Schistosomiasis japonica patients appeared to be the first-seen evidence, some even under acute phase. The highest infection rate among residents had reached 87.1% in the newly identified villages. Most of the new endemic areas concentrated in the ditch and beach areas that close to cities and towns.

CONCLUSIONSEvidence showed that snails had been transferred through boats and fishing nets to be disseminated. Data also revealed that the sources of transmission would include those local infected residents who had been infected in the old endemic areas and the newly imported domestic animals with infection.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Animals ; Cattle ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Disease Outbreaks ; Disease Reservoirs ; Female ; Health Education ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Schistosomiasis japonica ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Snails ; parasitology

Postmenopausal osteoporosis （PMOP） is a systemic disease characterized by increased bone fragility caused by insufficient estrogen secretion in women after menopause，resulting in decreased bone mass and damage to the microstructure of bone tissues. The main clinical manifestations are low back pain，osteoporotic fractures，spinal deformities，and multiple organ dysfunction. PMOP directly leads to high morbidity， high mortality， and a decline in the quality of life. In addition to miss diagnosis， it is often not treated in time. In recent years， significant progress has been made in the research on factors related to the pathogenesis of PMOP. Based on the previous findings in recent years，this article described three major pathogenesis of PMOP， including intestinal flora imbalance，oxidative stress，and abnormal differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells （BMMSCs）， and analyzed the current status of PMOP treatment， such as syndrome differentiation and treatment，acupuncture and moxibustion，exercise therapy， and external treatment in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， and basic measures，drug intervention，and physical therapy in western medicine. Among them，drug intervention in western medicine treatment is generally divided into bone resorption inhibitors，bone formation promoters，and other mechanism drugs according to the mechanism of action. This article summarized the specific methods and effects or mechanisms of TCM and western medicine in the clinical treatment of PMOP，which is expected to provide a reference for formulating reasonable health management models and drug treatments in the future.

This study used bioinformatics analysis to screen out key genes involved in the transformation of idiopathic membranous nephropathy to end-stage renal disease and to predict targeted Chinese herbs and medicines and active ingredients with preventive and curative effects. The GSE108113 microarray of idiopathic membranous nephropathy and GSE37171 microarray of were downloaded from the comprehensive gene expression database, and 8 homozygous differentially expressed genes for the transformation of idiopathic membranous nephropathy into end-stage renal disease of were screened out by R software. GraphPad Prism was used to verify the expression of homozygous differentially expressed genes in GSE115857 microarray of idiopathic membranous nephropathy and GSE66494 microarray of chronic kidney disease, and 7 key genes(FOS, OGT, CLK1, TIA1, TTC14, CHORDC1, and ANKRD36B) were finally obtained. The Gene Ontology(GO) analysis was performed. There were 209 functions of encoded proteins, mainly involved in regulation of RNA splicing, cytoplasmic stress granule, poly(A) binding, etc. Thirteen traditional Chinese medicines with the effect of preventing the transformation of idiopathic membranous nephropathy to end-stage renal disease were screened out from Coremine Medical database, including Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Lycopi Herba, and Gardeniae Fructus, which were included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition). The active ingredient quercetin mined from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP) had ability to dock with the key gene FOS-encoded protein molecule, which provided targets and research ideas for the development of new traditional Chinese medicines.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Glomerulonephritis, Membranous ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Computational Biology

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of plumbagin as a novel ferroptosis inducer in bladder cancer inhibition. MethodBladder cancer T24 cells were used in this study. The effect of different concentrations of plumbagin （0.1， 1， 2， 3， 6， 12， 24， 48 μmol·L^-1） on the viability of T24 cells was detected by cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8）. The effect of different concentrations of plumbagin （1.5， 3， 6 μmol·L^-1） on the apoptosis of T24 cells was detected by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate （Annexin V FITC）/PI apoptosis kit. Different inhibitors （ferroptosis inhibitor Fer-1， apoptosis inhibitor VAD， and necroptosis inhibitor Nec-1） were used in combination with plumbagin （6 μmol·L^-1）. Reactive oxygen species （ROS） fluorescent probe （DCFH-DA）， malonaldehyde （MDA）， and glutathione （GSH） kits were used to detect the effects of different concentrations of plumbagin （1.5， 3， 6 μmol·L^-1） on the level of ROS and the content of MDA and GSH in T24 cells， respectively. The effect of different concentrations of plumbagin （1.5， 3， 6 μmol·L^-1） on peroxide levels in T24 cells was detected by C11-BODIPY fluorescent probe. Western blot was used to detect the effect of different concentrations of plumbagin （1.5， 3， 6 μmol·L^-1） on the protein expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 （SLC7A11）， glutathione peroxidase 4 （GPX4）， nuclear factor E₂-related factor-2 （Nrf-2）， and Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 （Keap1）. ResultCompared with the blank group， plumbagin could inhibit the activity of T24 cells （P<0.05） with IC₅₀ of 3.52 μmol·L^-1. At the concentrations of 1.5， 3， 6 μmol·L^-1， plumbagin significantly promoted the apoptosis of T24 cells （P<0.05） as compared with the blank group. Compared with the plumbagin group at 6 μmol·L^-1， the ferroptosis inhibitor and apoptosis inhibitor groups could reverse the inhibitory effect of 6 μmol·L^-1 plumbagin on the proliferation of T24 cells （P<0.05）. Compared with the blank group， the plumbagin groups at 1.5， 3， 6 μmol·L^-1 showed increased content of ROS， MDA， and lipid peroxides in T24 cells， decreased GSH level， and reduced SLC7A11， GPX4， and Nrf-2/Keap1 （P<0.05）. Conclusionplumbagin can induce ferroptosis， and its mechanism is related to the Nrf-2/Keap1 signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVETo assess the effects of early intestinal application of sijunzi decoction (SJZD) on the immune function in post-operational patients of gastrointestinal tumor.

METHODSNinety-two patients with malignant gastrointestinal tumor were randomly divided into two groups. Patients in both groups were given the isocaloric and isonitrogenous enteral nutritional support starting from the first day after operation for 1 week, but to the tested group, SJZD was given additionally. The concentration of serum cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), the peripheral blood cell counts of total lymphocyte, T-lymphocyte, B lymphocyte, and T lymphocyte subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD4/CD8) as well as the levels of IgA, IgG, IGM and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured on the day before operation, the first morning after operation and at the end of study.

RESULTSAt the end of the study, the concentration of IgA, IgG, 1gM, number of total lymphocyte, CD3, CD4 and CD4 lCD8, and serum IL-2 were obviously higher (P < 0.05), and levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha and CRP were obviously lower in the tested group than those in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONEarly application of SJZD on the base of enteral nutritional therapy can lessen the degree of post-operational stress and inflammatory response, and enhance the immune function of patients.

Adult ; Aged ; CD4-CD8 Ratio ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; immunology ; surgery ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; blood ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Interleukin-1 ; blood ; Interleukin-2 ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Postoperative Period

"Subluxation" is the core of pathological conception of spinal injuries treated by spinal manipulation. The conception of "Subluxation" not only includes changes of joint anatomy,but also emphasizes on joint dysfunction which is caused by changes of the anatomical position. The name of "Subluxation" in manual medicine is the same as modern medicine,but the content is obviously different. Nonetheless, it would be confused and not reflect the characteristics of manual practices. So we can consider changing the name of "Subluxation" in manual medicine into "Yatuowei".
Animals ; Humans ; Manipulation, Spinal ; Models, Animal ; Spinal Injuries ; therapy ; Terminology as Topic

This paper reviewed the prevention and control of schistosomiasis in the Yangtze River Basin in three stages, centered on the measures and achievements. It pointed out the key work of prevention and control which are infectious source control and effective surveillance at present stage. It will be beneficial to schistosomiasis control in China.

OBJECTIVE: Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease that is prone to recurrence, and the proinflammatory factor, cysteine-rich protein 61 (Cyr61), is important in its pathophysiology. Long-term clinical practice has shown that Sancao Formula (SC), a Chinese herbal compound, is effective in the treatment of psoriasis, but the precise mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we investigate the mechanism by which SC extract alleviates imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis. METHODS: The expression of Cyr61 in psoriatic lesions and normal healthy skin was detected using immunohistochemical analysis to investigate the biological role of Cyr61 in models of psoriatic inflammation. A psoriatic mouse model was established by topical application of IMQ, and the effect of topical application of SC extract was evaluated using the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score, hematoxylin-eosin staining, and histopathological features of the skin. Next, a HaCaT cell inflammation model was established using interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and the effect of SC extract on the mRNA and protein levels of Cyr61 and intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) was confirmed using Western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analyses. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical staining showed that the expression of Cyr61 in psoriatic lesions was higher than that in normal skin samples (78.26% vs 41.18%, P < 0.05), and the number of Cyr61-positive cells in psoriatic lesions was also significantly higher than in normal skin (18.66 ± 2.51 vs 4.33 ± 1.52, P < 0.05). Treatment in mice with IMQ-induced psoriasis showed that SC extract could significantly improve the inflammatory phenotype, PASI score (10.875 ± 0.744 vs 3.875 ± 0.582, P < 0.05), and pathological features compared with those in IMQ model group; SC treatment was also associated with decreased levels of Cyr61 and ICAM-1. In the IFN-γ-induced inflammatory cell model, the mRNA and protein levels of Cyr61 and ICAM-1 were upregulated, while the SC extract downregulated the levels of Cyr61 and ICAM-1. CONCLUSION The results provide a theoretical basis for the involvement of Cyr61 in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, and suggest that SC should be used to target Cyr61 for the prevention of psoriasis recurrence.
Animals ; China ; Cysteine-Rich Protein 61/metabolism* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Imiquimod/adverse effects* ; Inflammation/drug therapy* ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1/genetics* ; Interferon-gamma ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Psoriasis/pathology* ; RNA, Messenger/therapeutic use*