OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at investigating the carrier rate of, and molecular variation in, α- and β-globin gene mutations in Hunan Province. METHODS: We recruited 25,946 individuals attending premarital screening from 42 districts and counties in all 14 cities of Hunan Province. Hematological screening was performed, and molecular parameters were assessed. RESULTS: The overall carrier rate of thalassemia was 7.1%, including 4.83% for α-thalassemia, 2.15% for β-thalassemia, and 0.12% for both α- and β-thalassemia. The highest carrier rate of thalassemia was in Yongzhou (14.57%). The most abundant genotype of α-thalassemia and β-thalassemia was -α ^3.7/αα (50.23%) and β ^IVS-II-654/β ^N (28.23%), respectively. Four α-globin mutations [CD108 (ACC>AAC), CAP +29 (G>C), Hb Agrinio and Hb Cervantes] and six β-globin mutations [CAP +8 (C>T), IVS-II-848 (C>T), -56 (G>C), beta nt-77 (G>C), codon 20/21 (-TGGA) and Hb Knossos] had not previously been identified in China. Furthermore, this study provides the first report of the carrier rates of abnormal hemoglobin variants and α-globin triplication in Hunan Province, which were 0.49% and 1.99%, respectively. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrates the high complexity and diversity of thalassemia gene mutations in the Hunan population. The results should facilitate genetic counselling and the prevention of severe thalassemia in this region.
Humans ; beta-Thalassemia/genetics* ; alpha-Thalassemia/genetics* ; Hemoglobinopathies/genetics* ; China/epidemiology* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing

As an effective antipyretic medicine,Indigo Naturalis has a long history of application in the field of Chinese medicine.The content of organics,mainly indigo and indirubin,is about 10%. However,the active ingredients and mechanism of its antipyretic effect have not yet been fully elucidated. In view of this,they were investigated in this study with the rectal temperature change as an indicator and 2,4-dinitrophenol-induced fever rats as subjects. The content of PGE2 and c AMP in the hypothalamus and the serum levels of TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 were determined by ELISA. Moreover,the plasma samples of fever rats were analyzed by metabonomics in combination with UPLC-Q-TOF-MS for the exploration of potential biomarkers and the discussion on the antipyretic mechanism of Indigo Naturalis and its active ingredients. The results showed that the rising trend of rectal temperature in rats was suppressed 0. 5 h after the treatment with Indigo Naturalis,organic matter,indigo or indirubin as compared with the rats of model group( P < 0. 05),among which Indigo Naturalis and organic matter had better antipyretic effect. ELISA results showed that organic matter and indigo can inhibit the expression of PGE2 and c AMP( P<0. 01),while Indigo Naturalis and organic matter were effective in curbing the increase in TNF-α( P<0. 05). A total of 21 endogenous metabolites were identified from the plasma samples of the Indigo Naturalis,organic matter,indigo and indirubin groups,which were mainly involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism.
2,4-Dinitrophenol ; Animals ; Antipyretics ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Indigo Carmine ; Indigofera ; Rats

Fourteen classical prescriptions in the Catalog of 100 Ancient Classical Prescriptions(First Batch) promulgated in 2018 contain Chuanxiong Rhizoma, which reveals the high medicinal value and wide application of Chuanxiong Rhizoma. This paper systematically reviews the ancient herbal books and modern literature to explore the name, origin, genuine producing area, medicinal part, harvesting, and processing of Chuanxiong Rhizoma, thus facilitating the development of classical prescriptions containing Chuan-xiong Rhizoma. It is confirmed that Chuanxiong Rhizoma, formerly known as "Xiongqiong" in Chinese, was first called "Chuanxiong" in late Tang Dynasty, which has been gradually accepted as its official name due to the rise of the status of Chuanxiong Rhizoma produced in Sichuan. The main original plant of Chuanxiong Rhizoma in past dynasties has always been deemed to be Ligusticum chuan-xiong(Umbellifera), whose rhizome serves as the medicinal part. In general, it is best harvested in summer but the harvesting time can vary with different growth environments. Since the Song Dynasty, Sichuan province has been recognized as the genuine producing area of Chuanxiong Rhizoma in light of the high yield and good quality. It is suggested that Chuanxiong Rhizoma from Sichuan be used preferentially in the development of classical prescriptions. There are multiple processing methods of Chuanxiong Rhizoma recorded in ancient medical classics, and the raw(after purifying and slicing) or wine-processed or stir-fried Chuanxiong Rhizoma is still in use today. In the development of classical prescriptions containing Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Chuanxiong Rhizoma is advised to be processed in accordance with current processing standards if the specific processing method is described in the medical classics. If not, the raw Chuanxiong Rhizoma is preferred and then processed following the processing standards of Chuanxiong Rhizoma decoction pieces in Chinese Pharmacopoeia.
China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Prescriptions ; Rhizome

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the incidence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in cleft patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) after pharyngeal flap surgery (PFS) and explore the influence of operation age. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in 82 cleft patients after PFS. The patients were divided into two groups according to their age at the time of surgery. The incidence and severity of OSA were assessed at least 1.2 years (mean 6.0 years) postoperatively by polysomnography (PSG). RESULTS: The incidence rates of OSA were 20% in the adult group and 31% in the child group. No significant difference was found between the two groups ( CONCLUSIONS Some patients still have OSA average of 6.0 years after PFS, and operation ageis unrelated to the incidence and severity of OSA.
Adult ; Child ; Humans ; Pharynx ; Polysomnography ; Retrospective Studies ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/epidemiology* ; Velopharyngeal Insufficiency/etiology*

Aim To investigate the influence of Schisandrae Fructus ( Wuweizi in Chinese) and com¬patible with Glycyrrhiza ( Gancao in Chinese ) on the levels of serum lipids and their influence on liver syn¬thesis pathway of triglyceride ( TG ). Methods ICR mice were divided, according to weight randomized block method, into four groups; normal control group ( Control, C ), Schisandrae Fructus ethanolic extract group (SF) , Schisandrae Fructus compatible with Gly¬cyrrhiza ethanolic extract (SG) 1 : 1 and 1 : 1.5. The control group was intragastrically given normal saline (10 mL • kg-1), SF group, SG 1 : 1 and 1 : 1. 5 group were given the extract 3. 9 g • kg"1 in crude of Schisandrae Fructus for 10 days. The levels of TG, to¬tal cholesterol (TC) , low-density lipoprotein-cholester¬ol ( LDL-C ) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol ( HDL-C ) were detected by biochemical method, as well as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity. The activities of liver fatty acid synthase (FAS) and acctyl-COA carboxylase ( ACC ), and levels of GPAT, acy- CoA oxidase ( ACO ) were detected by enzyme immu¬noassay ( ELISA ). The protein expressions of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-lc (SREBP-lc) and peroxisome proliferator-activiated receptor-a ( PPARa ) were detected by immunohistochemistry technique. Results Compared with C group, the lev¬els of TG and TC increased significantly, the level of serum LDL-C decreased significantly, the activities of liver ACC and GPAT level increased markedly, the protein expression of SREBP-1 c was markedly up-regu¬lated, and the protein expression of PPARa was evi¬dently down-regulated in SF group. When compared with SF group, the levels of serum TG and ACO, the activities of serum ALT and GPAT apparently de¬creased in SG 1 : 1 group. The protein expression of SREBP-1 c in SG 1 : 1 and 1 : 1.5 group was signifi¬cantly down-regulated, and the protein expression of PPARa was markedly up-regulated. Conclusions High dose of SF can increase the serum TG and TC levels , and the mechanisms may be related to that SF can promote the expression of liver SREBP-lc, in¬crease the activities and levels of FAS, ACC and GPAT in TG synthesis pathway, and down-regulate protein expression of PPARct and ACO for promoting liver TG synthesis. Compatible with Glycyrrhiza can significantly improve the elevated blood lipids and the proteins in the TG synthesis pathway.

We evaluated the effects of Danggui-Chuanxiong (GX) herb pair with different proportions (1∶0, 3∶2, 1∶1, 2∶3, 0∶1) and preparation methods (water extract W, alcohol extract A, and water-alcohol extracts WA) on vasoactive substances and endothelial cell adhesion molecules in the serum of acute blood stasis in rats. An acute blood stasis model was co-replicated by ice water bath and subcutaneous injection of epinephrine hydrochloride in rats. The expressions of vasoactive substances (arachidonic acid metabolites, coagulation-fibrin system index) and adhesion molecules in the serum were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method; the Spearman method was used to analyze the correlation of those detection indicators; the partial least squares-discriminant analysis and multi-attribute comprehensive index method were used to comprehensively evaluate the total effect of GX herb pair samples with different proportions and preparation methods on vasoactive substances and adhesion molecules. The experimental scheme was approved by the Animal Experimental Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine. The results showed that GX 1∶1_WA had the strongest effect on the improvement of vasoactive substances and adhesion molecules in the serum of acute blood stasis in rats (the total effect value was 6.96). When extraction method was same, the overall effect of GX 1∶1 had better effect than that of other proportions; when the proportion of GX was same, the total effects of GX_WA and GX_A were better than GX_W. The combination of Danggui and Chuanxiong can significantly improve the expressions of vasoactive substances and adhesion molecules in the serum of blood stasis in rats. But the action strength of GX herb pairs was different when the proportions and preparations of GX herb pair were different. These findings provide a basis for clinical rational application of GX herb pair, and lay the foundation for in-depth research on GX herb pair for treatment of blood stasis related diseases.

With the growth of number of Chinese patent medicines and clinical use, the rational use of Chinese medicine is becoming more and more serious. Due to the complexity of Chinese medicine theory and the uncertainty of clinical application, the prescription review of Chinese patent medicine always relied on experience in their respective, leading to the uncontrolled of clinical rational use. According to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory and characteristics of the unique clinical therapeutics, based on the practice experience and expertise comments, our paper formed the expert consensus on the prescription review of Chinese traditional patent medicine for promoting the rational use of drugs in Beijing. The objective, methods and key points of prescription review of Chinese patent medicine, were included in this expert consensus, in order to regulate the behavior of prescription and promote rational drug use.

Objective To analyze the status of quality indicators(QI) on specimen acceptability and establish preliminary qual ity specification.Methods Web based External Quality Assessment system was used to collect data of laboratories partici pated in "Medical quality control indicators in clinical laboratory" from 2015 to 2017,including once in 2015 and 2017 and twice in 2016.Rate and sigma scales were used to evaluate incorrect sample type,incorrect sample container,incorrect fill level and anticoagulant sample clotted.The 25th percentile (P25) and 75th percentile (P75) of the distribution of each QI were employed to establish the high,medium and low specification.Results 5 346,7 593,5 950 and 6 874 laboratories sub mitted the survey results respectively.The P50 of biochemistry (except incorrect fill level),immunology and microbiology reach to 6σ.The P50 of clinical laboratory is 4 to 6σ except for incorrect sample container.There is no significant change of the continuous survey results.Based on results in 2017 to establish the quality specification,the P25 and P75 of the four QIs is 0 and 0.084 4 ％,0 and 0.047 6 ％,0 and 0.114 2 ％,0 and 0.078 4 ％,respectively.Conclusion According to the results of the survey,most laboratories had a faire performance in biochemistry,immunology and microbiology,and clinical laboratory needs to be strengthened.Laboratories should strengthen the laboratory information system construction to ensure the actual and reliable data collection,and make a long time monitoring to achieve a better quality.

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a complex disease caused by interactions between environmental and genetic factors. This study investigated whether genetic variability in protocadherin related 15 (PCDH15) underlies an increased susceptibility to the development of NIHL in a Chinese population. The results showed that compared with the TT genotype of rs11004085, CT/CC genotypes were associated with an increased risk of NIHL [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.64; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14-6.11, P = 0.024]. Additionally, significant interactions between the rs11004085 and rs978842 genetic variations and noise exposure were observed in the high-level exposure groups (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the risk haplotype TAGCC was observed when combined with higher levels of noise exposure (P < 0.05). Thus, our study confirms that genetic variations in PCDH15 modify the susceptibility to NIHL development in humans.
Cadherins ; genetics ; China ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genetic Variation ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced ; epidemiology ; genetics ; Humans ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the application value of chemiluminescence method (CMIA) detection of Treponema pallidum (TP) specific antibodies in the blood test.

METHODSOver the same period the de novo enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Abbott chemical luminescence method were used to detect the specific antibody of syphilis in a total of 66298 samples; TP-ELISA negative and TP-CMIA positive unpaid blood donation blood samples for syphilis specific antibody were detected and confirmed by Western blot.

RESULTSBlood samples from 66298 blood donors were detected by TP-ELISA, the positive samples was 250 and the positive rate was 0.38%. The positive samples of TP-CMIA was 297, the positive rate was 0.45%, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The blood samples of 47 unpaid blood donors were confirmed by TP-Western blot method, as a result, 32 samples were positive, 15 were negative, and result detected by TP-ELISA method was negative.

CONCLUSIONTP-CMIA sensitivity is higher than that of TP-ELISA, and possesses higher sensitivity and specificity, and quick detection, simple operation, easy automation, suggesting greater application value in blood detection of Treponema pallidum.