OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) with different frequencies on spermatogenic function, testicular morphology and oxidative stress in oligoasthenospermia (OAT) rats, and to explore the mechanism and the optimal parameters of EA for OAT. METHODS: Sixty SPF-grade male SD rats were randomly divided into a solvent control group, a model group, a 2 Hz EA group, a 100 Hz EA group and a 2 Hz/100 Hz EA group, with 12 rats in each group. Except for the solvent control group, the other 4 groups were administered ornidazole suspension (800 mg·kg^-1·d^-1) by gavage for 28 d to establish the OAT model. Starting from the 1st of modeling, EA was applied at "Guanyuan" (CV4), "Qihai" (CV6) and bilateral "Sanyinjiao" (SP6) and "Zusanli" (ST36) in the 3 EA groups, continuous wave of 2 Hz, continuous wave of 100 Hz, and disperse-dense wave of 2 Hz/100 Hz were used in the 2 Hz EA group, the 100 Hz EA group, and the 2 Hz/100 Hz EA group, respectively, with current intensity of 1-3 mA, 30 min a time, once every other day, for 28 consecutive days. After intervention, the testicular index was calculated, epididymal sperm quality was assessed, and the fertility ability was observed; morphology of testicular tissue was observed by HE staining, and the Johnson score was calculated; the positive expression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in testicular tissue was detected by immunofluorescence; the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), as well as the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in testicular tissue were measured by ELISA; the protein expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in testicular tissue was detected by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the solvent control group, in the model group, the testicular index, sperm concentration, sperm motility and the number of offspring were decreased (P<0.01), the seminiferous tubules atrophied and the Johnson score decreased (P<0.01); the activity of SOD and CAT, as well as the protein expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 in testicular tissue were decreased (P<0.01); the sperm deformity rate, the positive expression of ROS and the MDA level in testicular tissue were increased (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, in the 2 Hz EA group, the 100 Hz EA group and the 2 Hz/100 Hz EA group, the testicular index, sperm concentration, sperm motility and the number of offspring were increased (P<0.05, P<0.01), the pathological morphology of testicular tissue improved and the Johnson scores increased (P<0.01); the activity of SOD and CAT, as well as the protein expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 in testicular tissue were increased (P<0.05, P<0.01); the sperm deformity rate, the positive expression of ROS and the MDA level in testicular tissue were decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the 2 Hz EA group, in the 2 Hz/100 Hz EA group, the testicular index, sperm concentration, sperm motility, as well as the CAT activity and HO-1 protein expression in testicular tissue were increased (P<0.01, P<0.05); the positive expression of ROS was decreased (P<0.01). Compared with the 100 Hz EA group, in the 2 Hz/100 Hz EA group, the testicular index was increased (P<0.01), the positive expression of ROS in testicular tissue was decreased (P<0.01). CONCLUSION EA with 2 Hz continuous wave, 100 Hz continuous wave, and 2 Hz/100 Hz disperse-dense wave can all improve the spermatogenic arrest and reduce the level of oxidative stress in testicular tissue in OAT rats, the mechanism may be related to up-regulating the protein expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 and improving oxidative stress. EA with disperse-dense wave of 2 Hz/100 Hz shows the optimal effect.
Male ; Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Oxidative Stress ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spermatogenesis ; Oligospermia/genetics* ; Humans ; Testis/metabolism* ; Superoxide Dismutase/metabolism* ; Asthenozoospermia/genetics* ; Acupuncture Points ; Malondialdehyde/metabolism*

The rapid development of modern industries is accompanied with the aggravating water heavy metal pollution, which poses a potential threat to the aquatic environment and the health of local populations. As an efficient and economical adsorbent, biochar demonstrates the adsorption capacity for heavy metal ions and its adsorption capacity is significantly enhanced after modification. Therefore, biochar can effectively mitigate environmental pollution. By reviewing the existing studies, we summarize the modification methods of biochar, compare the advantages and disadvantages of physical, biological, and chemical modification methods, analyze the effects of modification on the adsorption capacity of biochar for heavy metal ions, and expound the modification mechanism of biochar. On this basis, this article puts forward the future research directions of the application of biochar in treating coexisting pollutants, aiming to provide a reference for the application of biochar in the purification of heavy metal-containing wastewater.
Charcoal/chemistry* ; Metals, Heavy ; Adsorption ; Wastewater/chemistry* ; Water Pollutants, Chemical/chemistry* ; Water Purification/methods* ; Heavy Ions ; Waste Disposal, Fluid/methods*

Objective:To explore the effectiveness, safety and cost between urinary follicle stimulating hormone (uFSH) and recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) in controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) in China.Methods:Data were collected from 16 reproductive centers in China covering oocytes collection time from May 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018. Eligible patients were over 18 years old, adopting COS with uFSH (uFSH group) or rFSH (rFSH group) as start gonadotropins (Gn), and using in vitro fertilization (IVF) and (or) intracytoplasmic sperm injection for fertilisation, excluding frozen embryo recovery cycle. Generalised estimating equation was used to address the violation of independency assumption between cycles due to multiple IVF cycles for one person and clustering nature of cycles carried out within one center. Controlling variables included age, body mass index, anti-Müllerian hormone level, cause of infertility, ovulation protocol, type of fertilisation, number of embryos transferred, number of days of Gn use.Results:Totally 102 061 cycles met eligibility criteria and were included in the analyses. In terms of effectiveness, after controlling relevant unbalanced baseline characteristics, compared with rFSH group, the high oocyte retrieval (>15 oocytes was considered high retrieval) rate of uFSH group significantly decreased in gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist protocol ( OR=0.642, P<0.01) and in gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist protocol ( OR=0.556, P=0.001), but the clinical pregnancy rate per transfer cycle and the live birth rate per transfer cycle significantly increased ( OR=1.179, OR=1.169, both P<0.01) in both agonist and antagonist protocols. For safety, multiple analysis result demonstrated that in the agonist protocol, compared with rFSH group, the incidence of moderate to severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome of uFSH group significantly decreased ( OR=0.644, P=0.002). The differences in ectopic pregnancy rate and multiple pregnancy rate between the uFSH and rFSH groups were not significant ( P=0.890, P=0.470) in all patients. In terms of cost, compared with rFSH group, the uFSH group had lower total Gn costs for each patient ( P<0.01). Conclusion:For patients who underwent COS, uFSH has better safety, and economic profiles over rFSH in China.

Cysathionine γ-lyase (CSE) is a core enzyme for the synthesis of endogenous H

AIM: To analyze the therapeutic effects of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)drugs on patients with macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion(CRVO-ME)in different age groups.

METHODS: The study retrospectively reviewed 102 patients(102 eyes)with CRVO-ME treated with intravitreal injection of ranibizumab in ophthalmology department of the hospital between February 2017 and March 2019. The subjects were divided into CM1 group(under 50 years old, 50 cases, 50 eyes)and CM2 group(50 years old or older, 52 cases, 52 eyes), and were followed up for 12mo after treatment. The best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), central macular thickness(CMT), intraocular pressure, average injection times, first injection interval, and complications were recorded.

RESULTS: After treatment, the BCVA of both groups was improved, and the CMT decreased. Besides, CM1 group had better BCVA and CMT than CM2 group at 9mo and 12mo(P<0.001). At 1mo, 2mo, and 3mo, the intraocular pressure of both groups was higher than that before treatment(P<0.01). The intraocular pressures of both groups was lower at 6mo and 9mo than at 3mo after treatment(P<0.05), which returned to the pre-treatment level at 12mo(P>0.05). Additionally, CM1 group had lower intraocular pressure than CM2 group at 1mo, 2mo, and 3mo after treatment(P<0.01). The average injection times in CM1 group was(3.24±0.35), more than(2.38±0.26)in CM2 group, and the first injection interval(1.75±0.19mo)was shorter than(4.13±0.42mo)in CM2 group(P<0.01). No serious complications such as cataract aggravation, retinal detachment, and endophthalmitis were observed in the two groups during follow-up.

CONCLUSION: The treatment with anti-VEGF drugs(ranibizumab)for CRVO-ME can significantly improve the patients' visual acuity, and reduce CMT. The condition can be significantly improved within 1mo after injection, without significant influence on intraocular pressure. Compared with patients over 50 years old, patients under 50 years old can obtain better results after treatment with ranibizumab, more significant improvement of visual acuity, significantly thinner CMT, smaller intraocular pressure fluctuations and shorter first injection interval.

Scutellariae Radix is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, which has the functions of heat-clearing and damp-drying, purging fire and detoxifying, hemostasis and miscarriage prevention. Modern pharmacological studies show that Scutellariae Radix has various effects, such as anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, liver protection and antiviral microorganisms. By searching the documents in the past ten years, the author has found that Scutellariae Radix and its active components play an important role in protecting the liver. It can prevent and cure liver injuries caused by different reasons, including acute or chronic hepatitis, liver fibrosis and liver cancer. Among all kinds(chemical, immunological, alcoholic, nonalcoholic, viral, ischemia-reperfusion, etc.) of acute or chronic hepatitis, most studies are on CCl_4 induced chemical liver injury. Scutellariae Radix and its active components can significantly reduce the serum transaminase level in hepatitis animals, and reduce the degree of liver pathological damage. The mechanisms include antioxidant stress, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptosis, inhibition of immunity, anti-virus and regulation of lipid metabolism, etc. Scutellariae Radix and its active components can significantly inhibit the activation of hepatic stellate cells and reduce extracellular matrix, and its anti-fibrosis mechanism involves antioxidation, anti-inflammatory, inducing apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells and so on. Whether in vivo or in vitro, Scutellariae Radix and its active components show a good anti-hepatocarcinoma effect, especially on hepatocarcinoma. Its prevention and treatment mechanisms for hepatocarcinoma mainly include blocking cancer cell cycle, inhibiting cancer cell metastasis, promoting cancer cell apoptosis and inducing autophagy. It can be seen that Scutellariae Radix has multiple functions and mechanisms in liver protection, and has a great development potential. Therefore, this paper reviews the prevention and treatment effects and mechanism of Scutellariae Radix and its components on different liver diseases, in order to provide reference for in-depth study, development and clinical application in the prevention and treatment of liver disease.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Flavonoids ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Scutellaria baicalensis

OBJECTIVE：To identi fy chemical components of Actinidia chinensis root rapidly ，and to provide reference for further material basis and quality control study of the crude medicine. METHODS ：UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technique was used to detect chemical components of A. chinensis root. The separation was performed on Waters XSelect HSS T 3 column with mobile phase consisted of 0.1％ formic acid acetonitrile solution- 0.1％ formic acid water solution （gradient elution ）at the flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The column temperature was set at 40 ℃，and sample size was 3 μL. Electrospray ion source was adopted，the data was collected under negative ion mode ；the scanning range was m/z 50-1 500；the drying gas temperature was 350 ℃，the atomizing air pressure was 45 psi，the capillary voltage was 3 500 V，and sheath gas temperature was 350 ℃. According to the information of excimer ion and secondary fragment ion ，the chemical components were identified by combining with the relevant literature ，the retention time of the reference substance and the law of mass spectrometry cracking. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS ：Totally 58 chemical components was identified ，which included 16 pentacyclic triterpenes （such as hydroxyasiatic acid ，asiatic acid ，maslinic acid，corosolic acid ，oleanic acid ，ursolic acid ，etc.），12 flavonoids（such as rutin ，quercitrin，cynaroside，astragalin，etc.），17 organic acids （such as cryptochlorogenic acid ，chlorogenic acid ，isochlorogenic acid A ，isochlorogenicacid C ，etc.）. There were 9 components（such as procydanidin B 1，B2 and luteolin ，etc.）identified for the first time in A. chinensis root. UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/ MS technique can be used for the rapid identification of chemical components in A. chinensis root.

Objective     To investigate the early safety and efficacy of transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for high-risk elderly patients with pure aortic valve insufficiency. Methods     A prospective multicenter clinical study of domestic J-valveTM TAVI for high-risk native non-calcified aortic valve insufficiency was conducted from April 2014 to May 2018, and the early postoperative results were analyzed. A total of 82 patients were enrolled, including 62 patients from West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 16 patients from Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, and 4 patients from Beijing Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases. There were 55 males and 27 females. The age was 61-90 (73.8±6.3) years. The logistic EuroSCORE was 10.0%-44.4% (17.5%±8.1%). All patients underwent TAVI using J-ValveTM system. Clinical evaluation and echocardiography were performed preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively. Multislice spiral CT was reviewed before discharge. Results     Three patients were transferred to thoracotomy for cardiopulmonary bypass operation, and 1 patient had decreased cardiac function due to leakage of the valve 1 week after surgery. The overall technical and procedural success rate was 95.1% and 93.9%, respectively. During hospitalization, 1 patient died of moderate pericyclosis complicated with multiple organ failure, and 1 patient died of pulmonary infection. Six (7.6%) patients received pacemaker implantation due to new onset Ⅲ° atrioventricular block. Echocardiographic follow-up showed paravalvular leak was observed in the few of patients, mild paravalvular leak was in 13 patients on the 30th day. Two patients showed moderate paravalvular leak. Left ventricular end-diastolic volume decreased from 197.7±66.8 mL (pre-TAVI) to 147.2±53.3 mL (30-day post-TAVI) (P<0.05). Mean pressure gradient was 9.5±4.1 mm Hg (30-day post-TAVI). Conclusion     This multicenter study demonstrates that TAVI with the J-Valve system for the treatment of pure aortic regurgitation is associated with sustained clinical and functional cardiovascular benefits in high-risk patients with symptomatic aortic regurgitation early-term follow-up. Our results further support that TAVI with the specific designed J-Valve system is an acceptable alternative therapy for high-risk patients with pure AR. Our result demonstrates good early-term durability and preserved hemodynamic function. The procedure appears to offer an adequate and lasting resolution for selected patients with pure aortic regurgitation.

Objective To observe the analgesic effect of compound coeruleum methylene blue preparation after thoracoscopic surgery,and to provide a new idea for the choice of analgesic drugs for thoracoscopic patients.Methods The clinical data of 116 patients who underwent selective thoracoscopic surgery in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of Jieyang People's Hospital from January 2016 to May 2018 were analyzed.This study was a prospective study.Research subjects were divided into control group (n =57) and observation group (n =59) by random digital table.In the two groups,no analgesic measures were used in advance,of which the patients in the control group were given the routine injection of piperidine hydrochloride by intramuscular injection after operation.While patients in the observation group were given intercostal nerve block across the upper and lower fibs after operation,and the dosage of compound methylene blue was 1 ml in each rib.on the basis with pethidine hydrochloride.The visual analog score and Ramsay sedation score were compared between the two groups of patients at 4 h,12 h 24 h and 48 h after operation and compared the use of pethidine hydrochloride,adverse drug reactions,ambulation time and hospitalization time.The counting data was expressed in terms of frequency and percentage (％).The measurement data were represented by ((x) ± s).The comparison of different time points within the group was performed by single-factor analysis of variance,and the comparison between the two groups was performed by independent sample t test.Results Compared with the control group's patients [in resting state,12 h:(3.85 ± 1.97) points;24 h:(2.74 ± 1.91) points;48 h:(2.11 ± 1.70) points;in activity state,12 h:(5.02 ± 1.64) points;24 h:(4.89 ± 1.36) points;48 h:(3.83 ± 1.51) points],the VAS scores of the patients in the observation group in resting state [12 h:(2.68 ± 1.24) points;24 h:(1.35 ± 1.16) points;48 h:(0.74 ± 0.63) points] and activity state[12 h:(3.81 ±1.53) points;24 h:(3.25±1.71) points;48 h:(2.42± 1.33)points] were significantly lower at 12 h,24 h and 48h after operation.Compared with the control group's patients 12 h [(2.58 ± 0.41) points] and 24 h [(2.29 ± 0.34) points],the Ramsay scores were significantly higher at 12 h[(2.93 ±0.35)points] and 24 h [(2.79 ±0.30)points] after operation (P＜0.05).The observation group's amount of piperidine hydrochloride was less,and the ambulation and hospitalization time were shorter than the control group's (P ＜ 0.05).The incidence of analgesia-related adverse reactions in the control group and the observation group were 35.09％ and 27.12％,respectively,with no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Compound coeruleum methylenum's analgesic effect after thoracoscopic surgery is accurate and maintains long time,and the side effects are less and the operation is convenient.It is worthy of clinical application.

To investigate the expression of microRNA-34a (miR-34a) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in Xinjiang Uygur and Han nationalities and its prognostic significance. Our data showed that miR-34a expression in Uygur and Han CLL patients was significantly higher than that in their respective healthy controls, while miR-34a levels were similar between Uygur and Han patients. By comparing with known prognostic factors, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed that miR-34a was a good predictive factor for the prognosis of CLL (demarcation value was 3.567 6). Survival analysis was further performed according to miR-34a expression level, that low expression of miR-34a translated into poor prognosis.