Search

The paper introduced the experiences of quality management in the implementation of multi-center acupuncture clinical trials and the keys in training acupuncture operators. The process management was explained in view of the division of labor for researchers, protocol learning and the communication among sub-centers. Besides, specificity links of acupuncture research were summarized, i.e. meaning implementation brief of acupuncture operation training, control for quantity of stimulus in acupuncture and doctor-patient communication. It is anticipated to provide a valuable reference for the quality control and improvement of multi-center acupuncture clinical trial in future.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) colorimetric assays based on distance-dependent optical characteristics have been widely employed for bioanalysis. However, this assay is not effective for visually detecting low-concentration targets due to the faint color change. Here, we developed a handheld nano-centrifugal device which could separate the crosslinked and non-crosslinked AuNPs. Results showed that the handheld nano-centrifugal device could easily reach more than 6000 r/min within 10 s simply by stretching and tightening the coiled rope in an appropriate rhythm. Further, combined with the CRISPR/Cas12a nucleic acids recognition system, a field-deployable colorimetric platform termed handheld nano-centrifugal device assisted CRISPR/Cas12a (Hand-CRISPR) has been validated. Moreover, clinical diagnostics applications for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection with high sensitivity and accuracy (100% consistency with reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) test results) have been demonstrated. Overall, the Hand-CRISPR platform showed great promise in point-of-care-test (POCT) application, expected to become a powerful supplement to the standard nucleic acid testing method in remote or poverty-stricken areas., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41664-022-00232-0., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors have declared no conflict of interest., (© The Nonferrous Metals Society of China 2022.)

Four undescribed ent-kaurane diterpenoids, wilkaunoids A - D (1-4), and three undescribed abietane diterpenoids, wilabinoids A - C (13-15), along with thirteen known ones (5-12 and 16-20), were isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods, electroniccirculardichroism calculation, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 were a pair of C-19 epimers of ent-kaurane diterpenoids, featuring a rare 19,20-epoxy-19,20-dimethoxy-kaurane fragment. Compound 3 possessed a rare naturally occurring 1,3-dioxacyclohexane moiety. Compounds 13 and 15 represented the first example of abietane diterpenoids with an isovalerate substitution from the genus of Tripterygium. The possible biosynthetic pathways of 1-3 were postulated. The effect of 1-20 on nitric oxide production was examined in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Abietane diterpenoid quinones 7-13 (IC 50 : 1.9-10.2 μM) exhibited the significant activity to inhibit nitric oxide production versus positive control (NG-monomethyl-l-arginine acetate salt, IC 50  = 24.9 μM). The structure activity relationship of 7-13 in inhibiting nitric oxide production was then discussed. The most potent 7 and 8 were found to significantly suppress the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase proteins, showing a good anti-inflammatory potential. The findings provided some valuable insights for the discovery and structural modification of abietane diterpenoids towards anti-inflammatory lead compounds., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: A local coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case confirmed on June 11, 2020 triggered an outbreak in Beijing, China after 56 consecutive days without a newly confirmed case. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were used to contain the source in Xinfadi (XFD) market. To rapidly control the outbreak, both traditional and newly introduced NPIs including large-scale management of high-risk populations and expanded severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) PCR-based screening in the general population were conducted in Beijing. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing's XFD market and inform future response efforts of resurgence across regions., Methods: A modified susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered (SEIR) model was developed and applied to evaluate a range of different scenarios from the public health perspective. Two outcomes were measured: magnitude of transmission (i.e., number of cases in the outbreak) and endpoint of transmission (i.e., date of containment). The outcomes of scenario evaluations were presented relative to the reality case (i.e., 368 cases in 34 days) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI)., Results: Our results indicated that a 3 to 14 day delay in the identification of XFD as the infection source and initiation of NPIs would have caused a 3 to 28-fold increase in total case number (31-77 day delay in containment). A failure to implement the quarantine scheme employed in the XFD outbreak for defined key population would have caused a fivefold greater number of cases (73 day delay in containment). Similarly, failure to implement the quarantine plan executed in the XFD outbreak for close contacts would have caused twofold greater transmission (44 day delay in containment). Finally, failure to implement expanded nucleic acid screening in the general population would have yielded 1.6-fold greater transmission and a 32 day delay to containment., Conclusions: This study informs new evidence that in form the selection of NPI to use as countermeasures in response to a COVID-19 outbreak and optimal timing of their implementation. The evidence provided by this study should inform responses to future outbreaks of COVID-19 and future infectious disease outbreak preparedness efforts in China and elsewhere.

The employment situation and advantages of interdisciplinary talents of English and acupuncture-moxibustion and tuina at home and abroad are analyzed. The employment rate and further education rate of interdisciplinary talents of English and acupunctue-moxibustion and tuina are higher than those of the normal undergraduates majoring in acupunctue-moxibustion and tuina . The interdisciplinary talents of English and acupuncture-moxibustion and tuina at home are characterized by solid professional foundation and good specialized English, and high comprehensive quality; and the interdisciplinary talents at abroad are characterized by solid professional foundation and good language ability. The interdisciplinary talents of English and acupuncture-moxibustion and tuina should grasp the advantages, cultivate international vision to adapt to international standards, improve the level of clinical practice, promote comprehensive ability, furthermore, improve the employment competitiveness and promote the internationalization of acupuncture- moxibustion and tuina .

This study aimed to determine the effect of excessive fluoride (F) on the morphological characteristics of the small intestine and the contents of serum cytokines in rats. A total of 48 3-week-old healthy female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 12). The control group was given deionized distilled water, while the F treatment groups were treated with water containing 25, 50, and 100 mg F - /L. After 70 days of treatment, the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum were collected to measure the developmental parameters and the distribution of intestinal glycoproteins, goblet cells, and mast cells through Pannoramic Viewer, Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS) staining, Alcian blue and periodic acid-Schiff (AB-PAS) staining, and toluidine blue staining, respectively. The contents of cytokines, namely, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, in serum were detected via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results showed that the villus height, crypt depth, villus height to crypt depth ratio, goblet cells, glycoproteins, and mast cells of the small intestine significantly decreased (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) in the F treatment group. The contents of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly lower in the F treatment group than in the control group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). In summary, excessive F intake impaired intestinal development and immune function by decreasing the developmental parameters and the distribution of immune cells, glycoproteins, and cytokines.

Size-resolved atmospheric particles were collected monthly from February 2012 to January 2013 on the campus of Chengdu University of Technology using the Anderson multi-stage impactor sampler. The mass concentrations of these samples and the contents of nine water-soluble ion species were analyzed. The results showed that the annual average concentrations of PM 2.1 and PM 11 in Chengdu during the sampling period were (125.9±56.14) μg·m -3 and (224.5±83.64) μg·m -3 , respectively. The highest mass concentration of particulate matter was observed in winter, followed by spring while the lowest was in autumn. The average content of water-soluble ions in particulate matter in Chengdu was about 37.15 μg·m -3 and the order of water-soluble ion mass concentrations was SO 4 2- > NO 3 - > NH 4 + > Ca 2+ > Cl - > Mg 2+ > K + > Na + > F - . Meanwhile, SO 4 2- , NO 3 - , and NH 4 + were the major water-soluble ionic components that accounted for 78% of total water-soluble ions. Unimodal distribution was observed for SO 4 2- , NO 3 - , and NH 4 + mainly in fine particles, while Ca 2+ and F - were concentrated in coarse particles and their distribution was also unimodal. Similar size distributions were found for Cl - and K + , as well as Mg 2+ and Na + , both of which were bimodal. The content of water-soluble ions in both fine and coarse particles during winter and spring was significantly higher than that in summer and autumn in Chengdu. Based on the correlation analysis for major ions, SO 4 2- , NO 3 - , and NH 4 + in fine particles are likely in the form of (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , NH 4 HSO 4 , and NH 4 NO 3 . In coarse particles, the major water-soluble ions (i.e. SO 4 2- , NO 3 - , and Ca 2+ ) might exist in the forms of Ca(NO 3 ) 2 and CaSO 4 . The secondary formation processes, soil dust, and biomass burning are the major sources of water-soluble ion species in the particulate matter in Chengdu.

Background: Five-year survival is an important metric for progress in cancer control broadly used both in the cancer literature and by the public. In order to assess its validity and relation to other common metrics, we analyzed the relationship between 5-year survival, incidence and mortality using publicly available cancer registry data from England and Wales. Methods: Five-year survival, incidence and mortality data were obtained from the online database of a registered charity, Cancer Research UK. We extracted sex-specific age-standardized mortality, incidence, and 5-year survivalfor16 types of cancer over the period from 1976 to 1995. The relationships between 5-year survival, incidence and mortality were estimated using both Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. Results: All 16cancer types showed an increase in 5-year survival for both genders from 1976 to 1995, ranging from 0.2% (pancreas and lung cancer) to 16.6% (prostate cancer) for males and 0.2% (pancreas cancer) to 16.6% (leukemia) for females. From 1976 to 1995, there was no significant correlation between changes in 5-year survival and cancer mortality for either sex (males, Pearson r=0.16, Spearman r=-0.06; females, Pearson r=-0.33, Spearman r=-0.43). A positive relationship between 5-year survival and incidence was noted among males, but not among females (males, Pearson r=0.61, Spearman r=0.53; females, Pearson r=0.03, Spearman r=0.11). However, after excluding breast and prostate cancer, the positive association became weaker and became statistically non-significant for males (Pearson r=0.47; Spearman r=0.41). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that there are no reliable relationships between changes in 5-year survival and cancer incidence or mortality. Increases in 5-year survival might therefore represent poor indicators of progress in cancer control at the population level. In the absence of over-diagnosis, 5-year survival might only indicate improved diagnosis and treatment in clinical practice., (Creative Commons Attribution License)

Based on 1390 fixed plots data collected in 2005 and 2010 in Heihe Region of Heilongjiang Province, biomass allometric models of tree species in northeastern China were applied to calculate aboveground biomass (AGB) and net primary productivity (NPP). Based on ETM + ima-geries in 2005 and 2010, Kriging and co-Kriging methods in geostatistics were applied to interpolate AGB and NPP and different variogram models were compared. The distribution maps of AGB and NPP were produced using the best interpolation method. The change of AGB and NPP over time and space and the impacts of stand types and terrain factors (aspect, slope and altitude) on the distributions of AGB and NPP were analyzed by comparing the distribution maps in different years. The results indicated that AGB had an increasing trend and areas with AGB higher than 40 t·hm -2 also increased. However, NPP decreased from 2005 to 2010. Some high NPP regions were changed into low NPP regions. AGB and NPP were correlated with forest terrain factors, especially altitude, which indicated that the distribution of biomass and NPP were highly influenced by altitude. During the study period, AGB increased at all slope aspects while NPP decreased, AGB and NPP had an increasing trend with raised slope degree andaltitude, the AGB and NPP of evergreen coniferous forest increased most, and the AGB of mixed deciduous-coniferous forest and NPP of broad-leaved deciduous forest had the least increase.

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of the action of glucocorticoid induced leucine zipper (GILZ) in inflammatory reaction., Methods: Human monocyte cell line THP-1 cells were divided into two groups and cultured in non-serum RPMI1640 medium.In one group the cells were treated with dexamethasone (DEX). Twelve hours later total RNA and total protein were abstracted in both two groups. The mRNA encoding for expression of GILZ was semiquantitatively detected by reserve transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Protein expression of nuclear factor-KappaB (NF-KappaB) p65 and activator protein-1 (AP-1) were assessed by Western blotting. Peripheral blood of 10 trauma patients [injury severity score (ISS) >or=16 scores] were collected and the leukocytes were isolated within 24 hours after trauma. The leukocytes were divided into two groups and cultured in non-serum medium. In one group the cells were treated with DEX. Twelve hours later total RNA and total protein were abstracted in both two groups. The mRNA encoding for expression of GILZ was semiquantitatively detected by RT-PCR. Protein expression of NF-KappaB p65 and AP-1 were assessed by Western blotting., Results: Stimulated by DEX, the expression of GILZ mRNA was increased both in THP-1 cells and the leukocytes of trauma patients compared with those of control groups (both P<0.01). Whereas, protein expressions of NF-KappaB p65 and AP-1 of THP-1 cells and leukocytes in peripheral blood of trauma patients were decreased in the stimulation groups compared with those of control groups (all P<0.01)., Conclusion: The expression of GILZ gene is up-regulated by glucocorticoid. Overexpression of GILZ inhibits NF-KappaB and AP-1 activities, suggesting that GILZ possesses anti-inflammatory function.