Based on the literature review and the analysis of specific cases of postpartum frequent micturition,pediatric enuresis,elderly uremia complicated with bradyarrhythmia in clinic,the clinical application of the action of Ephedrae Herba in stimulating yang qi is discussed.Ephedrae Herba has the meridian tropism of the lung and bladder meridians,and is pungent,warm and dispersing,which is the most important medicine for the treatment of external contraction.Ephedrae Herba has the actions of inducing diaphoresis,calming asthma and inducing diuresis,and is widely used for the treatment of external contraction,coughing and asthma,and edema.For the patients with deficiency of both kidney yin and kidney yang without obvious bias of yin-yang consumption which result from the postpartum impairment of qi and blood,deficient innate endowment,and gradually exhaustion of essence in the kidney in the elderly or during chronic illness,a small dosage of Ephedrae Herba can stimulate yang qi during the treatment of warming kidney yang,which is helpful for promoting the drug arriving at the back shu-points of the internal organs distributed along the bladder meridian and enhancing the recovery of zang-fu organ function.Ephedrae Herba is strong in inducing diaphoresis with an intense action.When Ephedrae Herba is used to stimulate yang,the dosage of 3～9 g is appropriate,and medicines for warming yang are needs to be used together.The course of treatment with Ephedrae Herba should be avoided to be too long,in order to prevent the vital energy from the damage by its large cumulative dose.

Objective The leptin receptor,encoded by the LEPR gene,is involved in tumorigenesis.A potential functional variant of LEPR,rs1137101(Gln223Arg),has been extensively investigated for its contribution to the risk of digestive system(DS)cancers,but results remain conflicting rather than conclusive.Here,we performed a case-control study and subsequent meta-analysis to examine the association between rs1137101 and DS cancer risk. Methods A total of 1,727 patients with cancer(gastric/liver/colorectal:460/480/787)and 800 healthy controls were recruited.Genotyping of rs1137101 was conducted using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP)assay and confirmed using Sanger sequencing.Twenty-four eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results After Bonferroni correction,the case-control study revealed that rs1137101 was significantly associated with the risk of liver cancer in the Hubei Chinese population.The meta-analysis suggested that rs1137101 is significantly associated with the risk of overall DS,gastric,and liver cancer in the Chinese population. Conclusion The LEPR rs1137101 variant may be a genetic biomarker for susceptibility to DS cancers(especially liver and gastric cancer)in the Chinese population.

An epidemiological investigation was carried out on a local cluster of outbreak caused by imported cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in rural areas of Chengdu in December 2020, to find out the source of infection and the chain of transmission. According to
COVID-19 ; Disease Outbreaks ; Epidemics ; Humans ; Quarantine ; SARS-CoV-2

The Dendrobium species are rare and endangered medicinal plants, and it is difficult to investigate their wild resources with conventional methods because of typical epiphytic herbaceous. We explored Dendrobium resources(include culture resource) of Qinba Mountains and the boundary Mountain area in Hubei, Chongqing using the methods of literatures and field investigation, and found that the cultural base of Dendrobium were profound in Qinba Mountains region. Furthermore, its germplasm resources of Dendrobium were established for the first time in Wanzhou Luotian town. In case the advantages of local rock resources and poverty alleviation demand, we have actively carried out the cultivating mode of Dendrobium which grow on rock, and the poverty alleviation model of local characteristic Dendrobium industry were established preliminarily. Our application case can provide reference for the mining and transformation of traditional Chinese medicine resources census results.
Agriculture ; economics ; China ; Dendrobium ; growth & development ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Plants, Medicinal ; growth & development ; Poverty

A questionnaire survey of 1 000 clinicians having experience in treating uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections from different levels of hospitals was conducted to mainly evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of clinical application of clinical practice guideline on traditional Chinese medicine therapy alone or combined with antibiotics for uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection(hereinafter referred to as Guideline). The research was conducted with the three-level quality control strictly throughout the process, and the data was real and reliable. The survey's results showed that: most clinicians considered that the Guideline had good clinical applicability. The availability and price of the recommended medicine were moderate. Traditional Chinese medicine had obvious features and advantages in treating lower urinary tract infection for it could reduce the usage of antibiotics and shorten the course of antibiotic application. In the recommendation section, clinicians proposed increasing medication guidance, updating the Guideline timely, as well as increasing treating methods and techniques, strengthen propaganda and promotion, and improve the use of evidence-based methods. In the evaluation of effectiveness, the majority of clinicians agreed that the definition in both traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine and differential diagnosis in the Guideline were accurately described and the basic principle of treatment as well as the treating method of TCM were recommended appropriately. The TCM formulas and Chinese patent medicine had good effect. Some clinicians suggested refining the syndrome differentiation of stranguria. Some clinicians considered that the formulas and herbs recommended in Guideline didn't have obvious effect and some had doubts about the manipulation of fumigation and washing in the part of other methods recommended in Guideline. Moreover, specification and procedure of manipulation of fumigation and washing using herbs and the acupuncture included in characteristic TCM therapy treating uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection remained to be developed.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Urinary Tract Infections

In patients with anterior teeth loss, especially in patients with soft tissue defects, the aesthetic problem of soft tissue is still a major problem in the delayed planting restoration. In the restoration of anterior teeth, the health of the soft tissue around implants play a key role in guaranteeing the long-term success of dental implants. Therefore, consideration is worth being taken that how to deal with the soft tissue during the process of the delayed implant restoration as well as how to evaluate the effects after treatment. According to the process of the delayed implant operation sequence therapy-preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative treatment, this article will have a literature review and summary through these aspects as followings: the red aesthetic evaluation index, treatment of soft tissue around delayed implant, clinical curative effect evaluation.

Background: Esophageal cancer is associated with substantial disease burden in China, and data on the economic burden are fundamental for setting priorities in cancer interventions. The medical expenditure for the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer in China has not been fully quantified. This study aimed to examine the medical expenditure of Chinese patients with esophageal cancer and the associated trends. Methods: From 2012 to 2014, a hospital-based multicenter retrospective survey was conducted in 37 hospitals in 13 provinces/municipalities across China as a part of the Cancer Screening Program of Urban China. For each esophageal cancer patient diagnosed between 2002 and 2011, clinical information and expense data were extracted by using structured questionnaires. All expense data were reported in Chinese Yuan (CNY; 1 CNY= 0.155 USD) based on the 2011 value and inflated using the year-specific health care consumer price index for China. Results: A total of 14,967 esophageal cancer patients were included in the analysis. It was estimated that the overall average expenditure per patient was 38,666 CNY, and an average annual increase of 6.27％ was observed from 2002 (25,111 CNY) to 2011 (46,124 CNY). The average expenditures were 34,460 CNY for stage Ⅰ, 39,302 CNY for stage Ⅱ, 40,353 CNY for stage Ⅲ, and 37,432 CNY for stage IV diseases (P < 0.01). The expenditure also differed by the therapy type, which was 38,492 CNY for surgery, 27,933 CNY for radiotherapy, and 27,805 CNY for chemotherapy (P < 0.05). Drugs contributed to 45.02％ of the overall expenditure. Conclusions: These conservative estimates suggested that medical expenditures for esophageal cancer in China substantially increased in the last 10 years, treatment for early-stage esophageal cancer costs less than that for advanced cases, and spending on drugs continued to account for a considerable proportion of the overall expenditure.

Background:The increasing prevalence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in China and the paucity of information about relevant expenditure highlight the necessity of better understanding the financial burden and effect of CRC diagnosis and treatment.We performed a survey to quantify the direct medical and non-medical expenditure as well as the resulting financial burden of CRC patients in China.Methods:We conducted a multicenter,cross-sectional survey in 37 tertiary hospitals in 13 provinces across China between 2012 and 2014.Each enrolled patient was interviewed using a structured questionnaire.All expenditure data were inflated to the 2014 Chinese Yuan (CNY;1 CNY =0.163 USD).We quantified the overall expenditure and financial burden and by subgroup (hospital type,age at diagnosis,sex,education,occupation,insurance type,household income,clinical stage,pathologic type,and therapeutic regimen).We then performed generalized linear modeling to determine the factors associated with overall expenditure.Results:A total of 2356 patients with a mean age of 57.4 years were included,57.1％ of whom were men;13.9％ of patients had stage Ⅰ cancer;and the average previous-year household income was 54,525 CNY.The overall average direct expenditure per patient was estimated to be 67,408 CNY,and the expenditures for stage Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲll,and Ⅳ disease were 56,099 CNY,59,952 CNY,67,292 CNY,and 82,729 CNY,respectively.Non-medical expenditure accounted for 8.3％ of the overall expenditure.The 1-year out-of-pocket expenditure of a newly diagnosed patient was 32,649 CNY,which accounted for 59.9％ of their previous-year household income and caused 75.0％ of families to suffer an unmanageable financial burden.Univariate analysis showed that financial burden and overall expenditure differed in almost all subgroups (P ＜ 0.05),except for sex.Multivariate analysis showed that patients who were treated in specialized hospitals and those who were diagnosed with adenocarcinoma or diagnosed at a later stage were likely to spend more,whereas those with a lower household income and those who underwent surgery spent less (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions:For patients in China,direct expenditure for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC seemed catastrophic,and non-medical expenditure was non-ignorable.The financial burden varied among subgroups,especially among patients with different clinical stages of disease,which suggests that,in China,CRC screening might be cost-effective.

Objective To investigate the effect of glycemic control on progress of left ventricular structure and diastolic dysfunction in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1 DM).Methods A total of 36 T1DM adolescent patients(observation group) and 36 age-matched healthy controls (healthy control group),who consulted doctors in Chengdu Women and Children's Central Hospital between Dec.2009 and Dec.2010,were recruited into the study.Patients in the observation group were performed standard treatment for glycemic control.All patients were followed-up for 2 years.At the end of the study,the patients in observation group were divided into 3 subgroups according to the average HbA1 c level:excellent glycemic control group [glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1 c) ＜ 7.6％],good glycemic control group(7.6％ ≤HbA1c≤9.0％) and bad glycemic control group(HbA1c ＞9.0％).All of the subjects were evaluated by means of echocardiography for assessment of left ventricular structural and functional parameters.Results Left ventricular posterior wall depth (LVPW),left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) were elevated,while E/A was decreased in the observation group compared with the healthy control group at baseline (all P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference between 2 groups in interventricular septum thickness (IVS),left ventricular end-diastolic dimension(LVEDd) and cardiac systolic function(all P ＞ 0.05).Echocardiographic parameters of left ventricular structure and function were unchanged in well-controlled patients.At the end of follow-up,mild-control group and non-control group demonstrated increased IVS,LVPW and LVMI,and exacerbated left ventricular diastolic function in the present of IVRT prolonging and E/A decreasing.Conclusions There is an inclination in T1 DM adolescent patients developing to left ventricular diastolic dysfunction,and improved glycemic control can delay the progress of left ventricnlar hypertrophy,but it can't ameliorate the decreased diastolic dysfunction.Whereas,non-improved glycemic control can accelerate left ventricular remodeling and exacerbate diastolic dysfunction in T1DM adolescent patients.

OBJECTIVETo study the expression profile of microRNAs in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells during differentiation.

METHODSDifferentiation of APL cell line NB4 cells was induced by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (As2O3). Morphological and immunological assay was performed by Wright-Giemsa staining and flow-cytometric analysis of CD11b surface expression. During in vitro NB4 differentiation induced by ATRA and As2O3, microRNA expression profiles (miR-15b, miR-16, miR-34a, miR-107, miR-124a, miR-146, miR-155, miR-181a, miR-223, miR-342, let7c) were detected by real time RT-PCR, and the relative expression level of microRNAs were quantitatively analyzed by using 2(-ΔΔCt), and compared with that of control group. Meanwhile, the microRNA expression profiles were also detected in 15 newly diagnosed APL patients and 15 complete remission (CR) APL cases by real time RT-PCR, and the relative expression level of microRNA was quantitated by using 2(-ΔCt), and compared with that of control group (newly diagnosed APL as control group). These data were expressed as x(-) ± s, and differences between groups were examined using t test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTSThe expression levels of miR-15b, miR-16, miR-107, miR-223 and miR-342 in NB4 differentiation group were obviously up-regulated (3.40, 4.22, 5.41, 20.03 and 5.29 folds higher in ATRA treated NB4 cells than that of control group respectively, and 3.62, 2.49, 2.58, 4.27 and 1.94 folds higher in AS2O3 treated NB4 cells than that of control group respectively), except for miR-15b, the expression levels of miR-16, miR-107, miR-223 and miR-342 in ATRA treated group was significantly higher than that in As2O3 treated group. The relative expression levels of miR-15b, miR-16, miR-107, miR-181a, miR-223 and miR-342 were 0.4137, 0.6367, 0.1260, 0.0522, 0.6611, 0.0280 in APL CR group, and 0.0751, 0.2022, 0.0425, 0.3064, 0.1733, 0.0090 in newly diagnosed APL group, respectively. The expression level of miR-15b, miR-16, miR-107, miR-223 and miR-342 in APL CR group were significantly upregulated compared with that of newly diagnosed APL groups (P < 0.05), while the expression level of miR-181a was significantly downregulated (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSpecific expression of microRNA profiles is a key contributing factor in the differentiation of APL.

Arsenicals ; pharmacology ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute ; genetics ; metabolism ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Oxides ; pharmacology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Tretinoin ; pharmacology ; Tumor Cells, Cultured