CATGUT EMBEDDING FOR TREATMENT OF SIMPLE OBESITY COMPLICATED WITH ABNORMAL BLOOD FAT

Objective To compare the therapeutic effect of catgut embedding combined with diet plus exercise with that of diet plus exercise in treating simple obesity complicated with abnormal blood fat. Methods A prescription of diet plus exercise was given to the patients in a control group, and catgut embedding was added to the prescription in a treatment group. It was given once every 15 days for the 1st three treatments, and once every month for the 2^nd three treatments. Six treatments constituted a therapeutic course. Body weight and blood fat were measured before and half a year since treatment. Results After treatment, BMI, TO, TG and LDL were very significantly improved in the treatment group （P〈0.01）, and BMI and TG were very significantly （P〈0.01） and TO and LDL were significantly （P〈0.05） improved in the control group. HDL was not obviously improved in both groups （P〉0.05）. The improvement of TO, TG and LDL in the treatment group was significantly more than that in the control group （P〈0.01）, but no difference in improvement of BMI and HDL was found between the two groups （P〉0.05）. Conclusion The therapy of diet plus exercise was effective in body weight reduction and lowering blood fat in patients with simple obesity complicated with abnormal blood fat, and catgut embedding used in combination was even better in lowering blood fat.

“适可而止”——“集合设计”在浙大网新科技园上的设计策略

“适可而止”是一种态度。文章用这个词归纳并品评了“集合设计”在浙大网新科技园项目上的设计策略。实际上,这种态度不仅体现在本项目的操作上,也反映在大部分中国建筑师目前时常面临的选择当中——关键是态度的指向能否逐渐形成更多积极性的策略。文章希望在追求“单纯性”、设计实验、细节控制和如何介入城市空间等方面的讨论能引导更多的读者有意识地用批判的眼光反观和印证自己的设计实践。

Pure red cell aplasia due to parvovirus B19 infection after liver transplantation:A case report and review of the literature

Pure red cell aplasia （PRCA） due to parvovirus B19 （PVB19） infectiori after solid organ transplantation has been rarely reported and most of the cases were renal transplant recipients, Few have been described after liver transplantation. Moreover, little information on the management of this easily recurring disease is available at present. We describe the first case of a Chinese liver transplant recipient with PVB19-induced PRCA during immunosuppressive therapy. The patient suffered from progressive anemia with the lowest hemoglobin level of 21 g/L. Bone marrow biopsy showed selectively inhibited erythropoiesis with giant pronormoblasts. Detection of PVB19-DNA in serum with quantitative polymerase chain reaction （PCR） revealed a high level of viral load. After 2 courses of intravenous immunoglobulin （IVIG） therapy, bone marrow erythropoiesis recovered with his hemoglobin level increased to 123 g/L. He had a lowlevel PVB19 load for a 5-too follow-up period without recurrence of PRCA, and finally the virus was cleared. Our case indicates that clearance of PVB19 by IVIG in transplant recipients might be delayed after recovery of anemia.

A highly homozygous and parthenogenetic human embryonic stem cell line derived from a one-pronuclear oocyte following in vitro fertilization procedure

Homozygous human embryonic stem cells （hESCs） are thought to be better cell sources for hESC banking because their human leukocyte antigen （HLA） haplotype would strongly increase the degree of matching for certain populations with relatively smaller cohorts of cell lines. Homozygous hESCs can be generated from parthenogenetic embryos, but only heterozygous hESCs have been established using the current strategy to artificially activate the oocyte without second polar body extrusion. Here we report the first successful derivation of a human homozygous ESC line （chHES- 32） from a one-pronuclear oocyte following routine in vitro fertilization treatment, chHES-32 cells express common markers and genes with normal hESCs. They have been propagated in an undifferentiated state for more than a year （〉P50） and have maintained a stable karyotype of 46, XX. When differentiated in vivo and in vitro, chHES-32 cells can form derivatives from all three embryonic germ layers. The almost undetectable expression of five paternally expressed imprinted genes and their HLA genotype identical to the oocyte donor indicated their parthenogenetic origin. Using genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis and DNA fingerprinting, the homozygosity of chHES-32 cells was further confirmed. The results indicated that ‘ unwanted＇ one-pronuclear oocytes might be a potential source for human homozygous and parthenogenetic ESCs, and suggested an alternative strategyfor obtaining homozygous hESC lines from parthenogenetic haploid oocytes.

INFLUENCE OF ACUPUNCTURE ON INSULIN RESISTANCE IN PATIENTS WITH SIMPLE OBESITY

Objective To investigate clinical therapeutic effect and regulative function of acupuncture on insulin resistance in patients with simple obesity. Methods Acupuncture was applied at the eight points surrounding the umbilicus: bilateral Tianshu (天枢ST 25), Huaroumen (滑肉门ST 24) and Wailing (外陵ST 26), Yinjiao (阴交CV 7) and Shuifen (水分CV 9), and also Guanyuan (关元CV 4) and Zusanli (足三里ST 36), and the ear embedding method was used in combination in 50 cases of simple obesity. The changes in FBG, INS, ISI, TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C after the treatment were observed. The changes in waistline (WL) and hip circumference (HC), their ratio (WL/HC), body weight (BW) and body mass index (BMI) after the treatment were also observed, and the therapeutic effects were compared between the patients with obesity in Grade Ⅰ and Grade Ⅱ. The aforementioned values were compared with those in the control group comprised of 30 normal subjects. Results Hyperinsulinemia (HI) appeared in the patients with simple obesity, and the value of ISI was obviously decreased, compared with that in normal subjects ( P<0.01 ). After the treatment, the values of WL, HC, WL/HC, BW and BMI were all obviously decreases ( P<0.05 ), and those of FBG, INS, TC, TG and LDL-C also reduced ( P<0.01 ), but those of ISI and HDL-C obviously increased ( P<0.05 ). Conclusion Acupuncture can not only efficiently improve the parameters in body fat in the patients with simple obesity, but also regulate their abnormal lipid metabolism and improve the situation of insulin resistance.

Soluble forms of extracellular cytokeratin 18 may differentiate simple steatosis from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

AIM: To investigate whether serum levels of two soluble forms of extracellular cytokeratin 18 (M30-antigen and M65-antigen) may differentiate nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) from simple steatosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS: A total of 83 patients with suspected NAFLD and 49 healthy volunteers were investigated. Patients with suspected NAFLD were classified according to their liver histology into four groups: definitive NASH (n = 45), borderline NASH (n = 24), simple fatty liver (n = 9), and normal tissue (n = 5). Serum levels of caspase-3 generated cytokeratin-18 fragments (M30-antigen) and total cytokeratin-18 (M65-antigen) were determined by ELISA. RESULTS: Levels of M30-antigen and M65-antigen were significantly higher in patients with definitive NASH compared to the other groups. An abnormal value (> 121.60 IU/L) of M30-antigen yielded a 60.0% sensitivity and a 97.4% specificity for the diagnosis of NASH. Sensitivity and specificity of an abnormal M65-antigen level (> 243.82 IU/L) for the diagnosis of NASH were 68.9% and 81.6%, respectively. Among patients with NAFLD, M30-antigen and M65-antigen levels distinguished between advanced fibrosis and early-stage fibrosis with a sensitivity of 64.7% and 70.6%, and a specificity of 77.3% and 71.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Serum levels of M30-antigen and M65-antigen may be of clinical usefulness to identify patients with NASH. Further studies are mandatory to better assess the role of these apoptonecrotic biomarkers in NAFLD pathophysiology.

Fresh views on some recent developments in the simplex algorithm

First, the main procedures and the distinctive features of the most-obtuse-angle（MOA）row or column pivot rules are introduced for achieving primal or dual feasibility in linear programming. Then, two special auxiliary problems are constructed to prove that each of the rules can be actually considered as a simplex approach for solving the corresponding auxiliary problem. In addition, the nested pricing rule is also reviewed and its geometric interpretation is offered based on the heuristic characterization of an optimal solution.

A ROBUST PHASE-ONLY DIRECT DATA DOMAIN ALGORITHM BASED ON GENERALIZED RAYLEIGH QUOTIENT OPTIMIZATION USING HYBRID GENETIC ALGORITHM

A robust phase-only Direct Data Domain Least Squares (D3LS) algorithm based on gen- eralized Rayleigh quotient optimization using hybrid Genetic Algorithm (GA) is presented in this letter. The optimization efficiency and computational speed are improved via the hybrid GA com- posed of standard GA and Nelder-Mead simplex algorithms. First, the objective function, with a form of generalized Rayleigh quotient, is derived via the standard D3LS algorithm. It is then taken as a fitness function and the unknown phases of all adaptive weights are taken as decision variables. Then, the nonlinear optimization is performed via the hybrid GA to obtain the optimized solution of phase-only adaptive weights. As a phase-only adaptive algorithm, the proposed algorithm is sim- pler than conventional algorithms when it comes to hardware implementation. Moreover, it proc- esses only a single snapshot data as opposed to forming sample covariance matrix and operating matrix inversion. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has a good signal recovery and interferences nulling performance, which are superior to that of the phase-only D3LS algorithm based on standard GA.

Normal serum alanine aminotransferase activity in uncomplicated obesity

AIM: To evaluate serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)activity in a well-characterized group of uncomplicated obese subjects and its correlation with insulin resistance,plasma adiponectin, and leptin concentrations.METHODS: One hundred and five uncomplicatedobese subjects (87 women, 18 men, age 34.3±9.6 years,BMI 39.9±8.3 kg/m2)were studied. Serum ALT activity was evaluated. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp (M index) and fasting insulin. Plasma leptin and adiponectin levels were also measured.RESULTS: Serum ALT concentration in the whole group of uncomplicated obese subjects was 17.73±6.33 U/L with none of the subjects presenting ALT levels greater than 43 U/L and only 9 (11%) women and 3 (19%) men showed ALT levels ＞19 and ＞30 U/L for women and men,respectively. No significant difference was detected in serum ALT levels between severe obese subjects (BMI ＞40 kg/m2) and those with BMI ＜40 kg/m2 (18.63±6.25 vs 17.26±6.02 U/L). ALT was significantly correlated with fasting insulin (r = 0.485, P = 0.02) and triglycerides (r= 0.358, P= 0.03).CONCLUSION: Serum ALT activity is practically normal in uncomplicated obese subjects, independently of their obesity degree. These findings suggest the role of obesityrelated comorbidities and not of BMI as main risk factors for elevated ALT levels in obese subjects.

A New Nonlinear Yield Criterion

Many experimental results show that a wide class of ductile materials obey often nonlinear behavior, thus it is important to propose a nonlinear criterion describing nonlinear behavior of ductile material. A new nonlinear yield criterion was proposed which gives a series of new failure criteria, establishes a relationship among various failure criteria, and encompasses previous yield criteria as special cases or approximations. The criterion is capable of being expressed in a simple mathematical expression and through a particular physical concept, it also agree with some experimental data. It may therefore serve as a possible admissible isotropic yield criterion.

Construction of the recombinant vector carrying herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase and cytokine genes expressed in cell line Tca8113

Objective: To construct expression vector containing fusion genes of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase(Hsv-tk), Interleukin-2(IL-2) with internal ribosome entry sites(IRES), and to assess their expression in cell line Tca8113. Methods: IL-2 cDNA was obtained by reverse transcription. Hsv-tk, IL-2 and IRES genes were amplified by PCR. The purified amplification products were inserted into pGEM-T-Easy, and transformed into E.coli JM109. The purified recombinant plasmids were identified by restriction endonucleases. The recombinant plasmids were digested and pEGFP-N 3 were linearized, DNA fragments of Hsv-tk, IRES and IL-2 were ligated into linearized pEGFP-N 3, and then transferred into E.coli JM109. The recombinant tk-IL-2 genes were cloned separately and introduced into the expression vector pEGFP-N 3 containing GFP. The recombinant vectors were identified by their restriction sites through PCR. The plasmids pEGFP-TI was also transfected into Tca8113 cells by calcium phosphate method for the expression of fusion proteins. Fusion genes expressing vector PL(TI)SN was generated by the fusion of HSV-tk, IRES and IL-2 with the use of DNA recombination technology. The recombinant retroviruses were transferred into Tca8113 cells by lipofectamine. The positive clones were obtained after G418 selection and named Tca/TI respectively. Results: The pEGFP-TI pasmid was identified respectively by restriction endonucleases, and their fragment sizes were 1 120 bp and 450 bp. The pEGFP-TI pasmid as templates were amplified respectively by PCR, and their PCR products were 1 120 bp and 450 bp. The pEGFP-TI vectors were used to transfect Tca8113 cell, and the cells with fluorescence accounted for 60% of the total amount. Conclusion: pFGFP-tk-IRES-IL-2 expressing vector is easy to assess the expression of tk-IRES-IL-2-GFP fusion protein localization in transfected cells. The successful construction of expressing vector containing fusion genes of Hsv-tk, IRES and IL-2 may be beneficial for gene therapy in cell line Tca8113.

E-cadherin expression and its clinical significance in 41 cases of spinal plasma cell myeloma

Objective： To investigate the expression level of E-cadherin in spinal plasma cell myeloma and its relationship with the clinicopathological indexes of spinal plasma cell myeloma. Methods： The expression of E-cadherin was detected in 41 cases of spinal plasma cell myeloma and 14 cases of simple bone cysts by using S-P （streptavidin-perosidase） immunohistochemical staining. The relationship between E-cadherin expression and the clinicopathological features was analyzed. Results： In spinal plasma cell myelomas, the positive expression rate of E-cadherin （46.34%） was higher than that in simple bone cyst tissues （all negative） （P〈0.01）. And the expression of E-cadherin had no obvious relationship with patients＇ age, gender, clinical classification or M-component （P〉0.05）, but had relationship with the classification of light chain. The expression rate in lambda chain subgroup was lower than that in the others （P〈0.05）. We also found the E-cadherin negative patients had a higher overall survival rate than those who had strong E-cadherin expression （P〈0.05）. Conclusion： E-cadherin expressed higher in spinal plasma cell myelomas than in simple bone cyst tissues and its expression had relationship with the light chain classification in spinal plasma cell myeloma. The patients with no stain of E-cadherin may have a poor prognosis. Detecting the type of light chain associated with expression of E-cadherin might be helpful in evaluating the outcome of spinal PCM patients.

Antiviral Activity of Recombinant Cyanovirin-N against HSV-1

In this study,a standard strain of HSV-1 (strain SM44) was used to investigate the antiviral activity of the recombinant Cyanovirin-N (CV-N) against Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in vitro and in vivo.Cytopathic effect (CPE) and MTT assays were used to evaluate the effect of CV-N on HSV-1 in Vero cells.The number of copies of HSV-DNA was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR).The results showed that CV-N had a low cytotoxicity on Vero cells with a CC50 of 359.03±0.56 μg/mL,and that it could not directly inactivate HSV-1 infectivity.CV-N not only reduced the CPE of HSV-1 when added before or after viral infection,with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) with 2.26 and 30.16μg/mL respectively,but it also decreased the copies of HSV-1 DNA in infected host cells.The encephalitis model for HSV-1 infection was conducted in Kunming mice,and treated with three dosages of CV-N (0.5,5 & 10 mg/kg) which was administered intraperitoneally at 2h,3d,5d,7d post infection.The duration for the appearance of symptoms of encephalitis and the survival days were recorded and brain tissue samples were obtained for pathological examination (HE staining).Compared with the untreated control group,in the 5mg/kg CV-N and 10mg/kg CV-N treated groups,the mice suffered light symptoms and the number of survival days were more than 9d and 14d respectively.HE staining also showed that in 5mg/kg CV-N and 10mg/kg CV-N treated groups,the brain cells did not show visible changes,except for a slight inflammation.Our results demonstrated that CV-N has pronounced antiviral activity against HSV-1 both in vitro and in vivo,and it would be a promising new candidate for anti-HSV therapeutics.

Current Status of Natural Products from Plants as Anti-herpes Simplex Virus 1 Agents

Nucleoside analogues have been the mainstay of clinical treatment of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infections since their development. However, the emergence of drug resistant strains has underlined the urgency of the discovery of novel anti-HSV-1 drugs. Natural products, which provided many novel drug leads, are known to be an important source of anti-HSV-1 agents. Herein, we present an overview of natural products with anti-HSV-1 activities isolated from a variety of plants reported in recent years. Several different compounds, mainly belonging to the three groups of polysaccharides, polyphenols and terpenes, showed antiviral effects against HSV-1, indicating their potential to be promising anti-HSV-1 agents.

OBSERVATION ON THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF ACUPUNCTURE THERAPY FOR SIMPLE OBESITY COMPLICATED WITH PREMENSTRUAL TENSION SYNDROME

Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of simple obesity complicated with premenstrual tension syndrome. Methods: A total of 39 cases of simple obesity complicated with premenstrual tension were treated by combination of body acupuncture and otoacupuncture based on syndrome-differentiation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Symptoms, physical signs, obesity indexes and cumulative scores of clinical disease-syndrome before and after treatment were analyzed and compared. Results: After one, two and three courses of treatment, the effective rates were 69.23%, 79.49% and 87.18% respectively. Conclusion: Acupuncture therapy works well in the treatment of simple obesity with concurrent premenstrual tension syndrome.

The Category of Recens and Pure-Mindedness in J6zefBafika＇s Axiological Reflection

I systematize thoughts within the scope of J6zef Ba6ka＇s philosophical system known as recentivism. I analyze the axiology of recentivism in two categories： recens （i.e., ＂now＂） and pure-mindedness. Also, I differentiate among pure-mindedness, which is a quality of homo euthyphronicus （i.e., pure-minded man）, simplicity, which is a quality of homo simplex （i.e., simple man）, and complexity, which is a quality of homo technicus （i.e., technical man）. Moreover, I present different meanings of pure-mindedness which form the basis for reflection in the axiology of recentivism, i.e., the ethics of pure-mindedness, euthyphronics, and esthetics. Then, I use these meanings of pure-mindedness to define the attitude of homo euthyphronicus. Homo euthyphronicus is a man who seeks balance between simplicity and complexity in the modem world, which is highly complex and full of civilization-related threats, while stressing the importance of axioiogical values.

Feasibility of herpes simplex virus type 1 mutants labeled with radionuclides for tumor treatment

For over one hundred years, viruses have been recognized as capable of killing tumor cells. At present, people are still researching and constructing more suitable oncolytic viruses for treating different malignant tumors. Although extensive studies have demonstrated that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is the most potential oncolytic virus, therapies based on herpes simplex virus type 1 vectors still arouse bio-safety and risk management issues. Researchers have therefore introduced the new idea of treating cancer with HSV-1 mutants labeled with radionuclides, combining radionuclide and oncolytic virus therapies. This overview briefly summarizes the status and mechanisms by which oncolytic viruses kill tumor cells, discusses the application of HSV-1 and HSV-1 derived vectors for tumor therapy, and demonstrates the feasibility and prospect of HSV-1 mutants labeled with radionuclides for treating tumors.

EFFECT OF ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT ON CELLULAR HEMORHEOLOGY, CHOLESTEROL AND TRIGLYCERIDE OF SIMPLE OBESITY PATIENTS

Objective: To observe the effect of acupuncture on simple obesity and cellular hemorheology. Methods: Thirty-two cases of simple obesity patients were enrolled into this study. Acupoints of the Stomach Meridian and Spleen Meridian as Zhongwan (中脘 CV 12), Liangmen (梁门 ST 21), Tianshu (天枢 ST 25), Guayuan (关元 CV 4), etc. were punctured, once daily in the first 5 days, and once every other day afterwards, with 10 sessions being a therapeutic course. Before treatment and after 3 courses of treatment, the body weight, waistline, weight index, seam cholesterol (CH), triglyceride and aggregation index of red blood cell (RBC) were detected. Results: After acupuncture treatment, all the indexes of body weight, waistline, weight index, serum CH, triglyceride and aggregation index of RBC decreased significantly in comparison with those of pre-treatment(P< 0.05). Conclusion: Acupuncture can apparently improve cellular hemorheology, reduce body weight, serum cholesterol and TG levels in simple obesity patients.

APPLICATION OF ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION FOR KEEPING SHAPE

On the basis of TCM diferentiation, the authors have treated 359 adult female cases of non-obesity with undesirable body shape by combined application of body acupuncture and moxibustion and auricular acupuncture, and achieved quite good remoulding and orthopedic results, suggesting that acupuncture and moxibustion can very effectively regulate the somatotypic indexes of body weight, circumference of the chest, loin, hip and thigh, the ratio of the loin to hip, sebum thickness, obesity degree, body mass index and body fat percentage of the cases in the overweight group and orthopedic groups 1,2. It is therefore concluded that acupuncture and moxibustion is a good therapy for obtaining a graceful body shape.

Strategies for Antiviral Screening Targeting Early Steps of Virus Infection

Viral infection begins with the entry of the virus into the host target cell and initiates replication. For this reason, the virus entry machinery is an excellent target for antiviral therapeutics. In general, a virus life cycle includes several major steps: cell-surface attachment, entry, replication, assembly, and egress, while some viruses involve another stage called latency. The early steps of the virus life cycle include virus attachment, receptor binding, and entry. These steps involve the initial interactions between a virus and the host cell and thus are major determinants of the tropism of the virus infection, the nature of the virus replication, and the diseases resulting from the infection. Owing to the pathological importance of these early steps in the progress of viral infectious diseases, the development of inhibitors against these steps has been the focus of the pharmaceutical industry. In this review, Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), and Human Enterovirus 71 (EV71) were used as representatives of enveloped DNA, enveloped RNA, and non-enveloped viruses, respectively. The current mechanistic understanding of their attachment and entry, and the strategies for antagonist screenings are summarized herein.