Objective To observe the effects of application at different acupoints in improving the quality of life in allergic rhinitis patients. Method Seventy-seven patients with allergic rhinitis were randomized into a 12-point application group (39 cases) and a 6-point application group (38 cases), to receive Dong Bing Xia Zhi (treating cold-induced diseases in summer) application during each of the three periods of canicular days at corresponding points, 2 h each time. Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ) was evaluated before and after the treatment, and half a year later. Result After the treatment, the total effective rate was 92.3% in the 12-point application group versus 71.1% in the 6-point application group, and the 12-point application group was significantly better (P<0.05); half a year later, the total effective rate was 87.2% in the 12-point application group versus 63.2% in the 6-point application group, and the 12-point group was significantly better (P<0.05); regarding the RQLQ, the 6-point application group didn't gain marked improvement in sleep quality after the treatment and half a year later (P>0.05), but the 12-point application group showed marked improvement (P<0.05); the rest component scores in RQLQ were significantly improved after the treatment and half a year later compared to those before the treatment in both groups (P<0.05); after the treatment, the 12-point application group was superior to the 6-point application group in comparing the reductionof all component scores and general score except the non-nose/eye symptoms score (P<0.05); half a year later, except the non-nose/eye symptoms and behavior scores, the 12-point application group was superior to the 6-point application group in comparing the reduction of all component scores and general score (P<0.05). Conclusion Dong Bing Xia Zhi acupoint application can effectively improve the quality of life in allergic rhinitis patients, especially with acupoints selected based on holism.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the pattern and main characteristics of fatal cases related to medical disputes in Yancheng area. METHODS: Sixty fatal cases of medical disputes were retrospectively analyzed to elucidate the annual incidence, characters of distribution of hospitals, gender and age of the decedents, types of diseases, and cause of death. RESULTS: Among 60 fatal cases, most cases happened in health clinics of county, township and village. There were more males than females. The major medical specialties involved included internal medicine, surgery, gynecology and pediatrics, with the internal medicine specialty having the highest incidence. CONCLUSION Police institutions have advantages in investigation of these cases in their jurisdictions, which could enhance the ability of local medicolegal examination.
Autopsy ; Cause of Death ; Dissent and Disputes ; Environment ; Female ; Forensic Medicine ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Medicine ; Police ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To study the effect of exogenous rhBMP-2(recombinant human bone morpho- genetic protein-2)on the expression of endogenous TGF-?1 during osteogenesis in rabbits.Methods After successfully duplicating experimental rabbit skull defect model,we detected and analyzed the expression of en- dogenous TGF-?1 of the pericranium in different stages by using immunohistochemieal method in both the ex- perimental group and the control group.Results In the experimental group a lot of mesenchymal cells with positive expression of endogenous TGF-?1 of the pericranium aggregated in duramater in the early stage after operation,and the expression level increased rapidly with the differentiation of mesenchymal cells,and reached the peak at 17,19 day postoperation.Positive cell number of TGF-?1 of pericranium was statistically analyzed in both groups at 7,15,21 days,showing significant difference(t-test,P＜0.01 ).Conclusion Exogenous rhBMP-2 can induce and enhance the expression of endogenous TGF-?1 during osteogenesis.

OBJECTIVETo compare the differences on onset timing of acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in young and aged patients.

METHODSThe exact onset time of symptoms was obtained from 1024 consecutive patients with STEMI admitted to our hospital between January 2000 and May 2010. Patients were classified as the middle-aged group [< 65 years old, mean (52.2 ± 8.0) years, n = 536] and old group [≥ 65 years old, (72.2 ± 5.5) years, n = 488], the difference of the onset months, weeks, weekdays and hours between two groups was compared.

RESULTSThe high onset timing of STEMI in middle-aged group was October and February, Friday, Saturday and Wednesday, at 10 A.m. and 10 P.m. The high onset timing of STEMI in old group was October, January and March, Friday, Sunday and Monday, at 6 A.m. and 2 A.m. The incidences of STEMI in the old group were significant higher than in the middle-aged group in March (11.89%), on Sunday (15.97%) and Monday (17.42%), at 6 A.m. (6.35%) and 2 A.m. (5.74%) (all P < 0.05) while the onset rate was significant higher in February (9.89%), On Saturday (16.98%), At 8 P.m. (4.86%) and 10 P.m. (5.78%) in the middle-aged group than old group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe onset timing of STEMI in old patients was significant different from the middle-aged patients suggesting the onset timing of STEMI changes with aging.

Age Distribution ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; Time Factors

Flavonoids are a large class of compounds widely distributed in nature. Many pharmacological activities of flavonoids have been reported such as anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antithrombotic, vasodilator, antiviral, antibacterial, antiallergic, and so on. In recent years, domestic and foreign research groups choose natural flavonoids and optimize their chemical structures in order to develop a number of new derivatives with stronger pharmacological activities. As part of the mechanisms are not clear, we need to strengthen in-depth research in the SAR (structure-activity relationship) study for targeted and efficient structure optimization. This paper systematically summarize current researches in the SAR studies of flavonoids and their derivatives, which can serve as a reference for synthesizing new flavonoid derivatives.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Antioxidants ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Antisepsis ; Antiviral Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Fibrinolytic Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Structure-Activity Relationship ; Vasodilator Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology

Data of clinical trial projects involved by clinical trial institutions certified by the State Food and Drug Administration from 2002 to November 2012 were collected to summarize adverse reactions in project summary/statistical reports, analyze the rate of adverse reactions of clinical trials of new traditional Chinese medicines and relevant influencing factors, and increase the awareness of the safety of new traditional Chinese medicines. A total of 73 050 cases in 209 projects of 14 specialties were collected, including 49 689 cases in the new traditional Chinese medicine group and 271 adverse reaction cases, with an incidence rate of adverse reactions at 0.55%. The adverse reaction rate in 3 months < middle long course ≤ 6 months was the highest (1.04%), whereas that in short course ≤ half a month was the lowest (0.48%). The adverse reaction was closely related with the route of administration, 1.28% for topical > 0.63% for injection > 0.50% for oral. In the administration of only the test drug, the adverse reaction rate of patches was the highest (2.68%), whereas that of aerosols and suppositories was lowest (0). In the combined administration of the test drug and the simulation agent, the adverse reaction rate of external test patch + capsule was the highest (3.38%), whereas that of capsule + oral liquid, pills + granules, tablets + oral liquid, tablets + pills, tablet + capsule was the lowest (0). In the administration of only the test drug, the adverse reaction rate was 0.47%; In the combined administration with simulation agent (drug volume increase), the adverse reaction rate was 0.74%. Different doses caused adverse reaction different rates; The adverse reaction rate of drugs with whole-course dose between 1 100-1 200 g was the highest (3.36%), that for whole-course doses of 500-600, 900-1 000, 1 400-1 500, 1 600-1 700, 1 800-1 900 g was the lowest (0). In conclusion, the adverse reaction rate of new traditional Chinese medicines was still up to 0.55%, with the adverse reaction rate between 0.47% and 0.72% over the 11 years, without significant difference in each year. The adverse reaction rate was closely related to course of treatment, approach of administration, dosage form and medication dosage, with no significant correlation with medication dosage during the course of treatment. The adverse reaction rate increased with the rise in trial duration and drug volume. In the administration of only the test drug, the adverse reaction rates of external formulations and injections were higher than that of oral dosage forms. It is suggested to give more attention to the adverse reactions of drugs with long course of treatment and large volumes, injections and external patches in clinical trials of new traditional Chinese medicines.
Clinical Trials as Topic ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

OBJECTIVETo isolate the bioflocculant-producing bacteria from activated sludge and investigate the flocculating characteristics of the newly isolated bioflocculant.

METHODSBacteria were screened from activated sludge samples to isolate bioflocculant-producing bacteria. Flocculating activity was used as a measure of the flocculating capability of the bioflocculant.

RESULTSA novel bioflocculant-producing bacterium was isolated, which was identified to belong to genus Aeromonas and named as Aeromonas sp. N11. Flocculating activity increased in the presence of K+, Na+, or Ca2+. The highest flocculating activities for kaolin suspension were obtained in acidic pH ranges, and optimum pHs for it were 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 with 1 mmol/L K+, Ca+, and Na+ present, respectively. The highest flocculating activities for soil suspension were observed at pH 8.0. The bioflocculant had a good flocculating activity and could achieve a flocculating activity of 92.4% for kaolin suspension at a dosage of only 1 mgxL(-1), and its activity in kaolin suspension was decreased by only 9.2% after heating at 100 degrees C for 60 min.

CONCLUSIONThe bioflocculant produced by Aeromonas sp. N11 has strong flocculating activity and high stability, which affords high possibility of its practical use.

Aeromonas ; metabolism ; Culture Media ; Flocculation ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Kaolin

OBJECTIVETo investigate mRNA expression of caspase apoptosis pathway genes in colorectal cancer, polyps and normal mucosa.

METHODSNineteen patients with colorectal cancer, 86 patients with polyps and 10 normal controls were enrolled from 2008 to 2010. Fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR was performed to detect the mRNA expression of caspase apoptosis pathway genes (caspase-2,-3,-6,-7,-8,-9 and -10) in colorectal cancer, polyps and normal mucosa.

RESULTThere were no statistically significant differences of demographic characteristics between patients with colorectal cancer, patients with polyps and normal controls. Compared with normal control group, the mRNA expression of all selected genes except for caspase-3 were lower; however, the P values did not reach statistic significance. Highly positive correlations were observed between mRNA expression of all selected genes except caspase-9.

CONCLUSIONThere are no significant changes in mRNA expression levels of caspase apoptosis pathway genes from normal mucosa to polyps to cancer. The mRNA expressions of most caspase pathway genes are highly correlated with each other.

Aged ; Caspases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Intestinal Mucosa ; metabolism ; Intestinal Polyps ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective To detect the serum levels of calpainin (S100A11) using nanomagicbeabs sorting-time resolved fluoroimmuno assay (NMBS-TRFIA) and evaluate its diagnostic value in pancreatic carcinoma.Methods 88 patients with pancreatic carcinoma,50 patients with acute pancreatitis,10 patients with pancreatic cyst and 20 healthy controls were selected as the study subjects.The human peripheral serum blood was sorted with S100A11 antibody coupled nanomagicbeabs,and the concentration of S100A11 was detected by TRFIA method.The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was used to determine the cut-off level for diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma,in order to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma.Results S100A11 showed a linear relationship within the range of 6.08～ 500 ng/ml using NMBS-TRFIA method,intraassay CV≤6.35％,inter-assay CV≤7.12％,and the average recovery rate was 104.7％.The serum levels of S100A11 in patients with pancreatic carcinoma,patients with acute pancreatitis and patients with pancreatic cyst were 185.53 ± 161.19,106.06±113.83 and 68.99± 47.83 ng/ml respectively.Compared with the normal control group (37.98±25.14 ng/ml),the differences were statistically significant (t=-8.065,-3.375,-2.266,all P ＜0.01).The serum levels of S100A11 in patients with pancreatic carcinoma was significantly higher than those in patients with acute pancreatitis and patients with pancreatic cyst (all P＜0.05).According to the ROC curve,ROCAUC=0.985 (95％ CI:0.972 ～ 0.997),the best cut-off level for the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma was 89.5 ng/ml (sensitivity 81.8 ％,specificity 67.5 ％).Conclusion NMBS-TRFIA can enrich S100A11 in serum and improve the detection sensitivity of serum S100A11,and the method is simple and easy to be popularized.Serum S100A11 has a high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma,and is a new serum marker for the diagnosis of early pancreatic carcinoma.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical effect of surgery following systemic targeted therapy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

METHODSFrom June 2007 to December 2009, data of 15 consecutive patients with metastatic GIST treated with imatinib/sunitinib followed by surgery were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTSDisease responses to TKI treatment was categorized into controlled disease (including partial response and stable disease) (6, 40.0%), limited progression (4, 26.7%), and generalized progression (5, 33.3%), respectively. Surgeries were performed after mean 12 months following TKI therapies. Gross complete resection or optimal debulking with minimal residual disease were managed to performed in 8/10 patients with disease controlled and limited progression, while optimal debulking only achieved in 2/5 patients with generalized progression. Surgical morbidity was 20.0% (3/15). After operation, patients with disease controlled and limited progression had a median progression-free survival of 25.0 months and 2-year overall survival rate of 100%. In contrast, for patients with generalized progression, the median progression- free survival was 3 months (P<0.01), and median overall survival 10.5 months.

CONCLUSIONSPatients with metastatic GIST who have controlled disease or limited progression to TKI therapy can benefit from surgical resection. Surgery should be selective in patients with generalized progression since surgery hardly improves survival in these patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Benzamides ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; pathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Indoles ; therapeutic use ; Intraoperative Period ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Piperazines ; therapeutic use ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Pyrimidines ; therapeutic use ; Pyrroles ; therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome