毒刺

抚摸着手中的一枚长长的金子弹,他的眼中漾着泪水。

PRESENT SITUATION AND ANALYSIS OF ACUPUNCTURE IN DRUG WITHDRAWAL

Drug withdrawal with acupuncture appeared in 1970 s, which is one of the major achievements in modern medicine. The paper reviews the formation and development of acupuncture in drug withdrawal, analyzes its advantages and mechanisms as well as the questions encountered in drug withdrawal. Additionally, some feasible suggestions are provided for the further development of acupuncture in drug withdrawal.

Identification of Immunogenic Determinants of the Spike Protein of SARS-like Coronavirus

Bat SARS-Iike coronavirus （SL-CoV） has a genome organization almost identical to that of SARS-CoV, but the N-terminus of the Spike （S） proteins, which interacts with host receptor and is a major target of neutralizing antibodies against CoVs, of the two viruses has only 63-64% sequence identity. Although there have been reports studying the overall immunogenicity of SsL, knowledge on the precise location of immunodominant determinants for SSL is still lacking. In this study, using a series of truncated expressed SsL fragments and SsL specific mouse sera, we identified two immunogenic determinants for SSL. Importantly, one of the two regions seems to be located in a region not shared by known immunogenic determinants of the SSARS. This finding will be of potential use in future monitoring of SL-CoV infection in bats and spillover animals and in development of more effective vaccine to cover broad protection against this new group of coronaviruses.

Needling and Cupping Used to Treat 20 Cases of Erysipelas

We have used needling and cupping to treat 20 cases of erysipelas with good results. A report follows.

EFFECTS OF ELECTROACUPUNCTURE ON CARNITINE IN SERUM AND BRAIN

Objective Electroacupuncture （EA） has been shown to have therapeutic effect on chronic fatigue syndrome. But its action has not been made clear. Methods After the rats of EA group were fixed in an animal cage, bilateral Shènshū （肾俞 BL23） were punctured and stimulated with uniform reinforcing and reducing method by twirling the acupuncture needle for one minute. And then the needle handles were connected to an electric stimulator for stimulating the acupoint with dense-sparse waves, frequency of 3 Hz for 30 minutes, and amplitude： positive： 50 V, negative： 25 V. Electrocupuncture was given once a day, continuously for 5 days. The rats of normal control group were not punctured and stimulated. The rats of all groups were killed for collecting blood and brain tissue on the next day after the final treatment. Carnitine in serum and brain tissue was determined. Results Oarnitine contents in serum of EA group and of normal control group were 5.10±0.50 μmol/L and 2.17±0.46 μmol/L, respectively. Oarnitine contents in brain tissue of elctroacupuncture group and of normal control group were 44.66 ± 2.67 μmol/L and 24.05 ± 3.65 μmol/L, respectively. Oarnitine levels in serum and brain of EA group were significantly higher than those of normal control group. （P〈0.001） Conclusion This report presented that carnitine in serum and brain is increased by EA, suggesting that EA may affect energy metabolism and may have effects on fatigue.

Effect of Efferent Vagus Nerve Excitation by Electrical Stimulation on Acute Liver Injury in Rabbits with Endotoxemia

Objective:To study the effect of electrical stimulation of efferent vagus nerve on the acute liver injury induced by endotoxemia in rabbits. Methods:Sixteen rabbits were randomly divided into stimulation group(Group A,n=8) and control group (Group B,n=8).They were subjected to bilateral cervical vagotomy and intravenously challenged by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (E.coli 0111:B4,DIFCO,USA) at a dose of 100 μg/kg injected within 30 min.The distal end of the left vagus nerve trunk was placed across bipolar electrodes connected to a stimulation module and controlled by an acquisition system.Stimuli with constant voltage (10V,5Hz,5ms) were applied twice to the nerve for 10 min before and after the administration of LPS in Group A.At the time 30,60,120,180,240,300 min before and after infusion of LPS respectively in each animal,blood samples were taken for late measurement of the serum Alanine aminotransferase (ALT),Aspartate aminotransferase (AST),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10).Immediately after the experiment was finished,autopsy was performed and liver samples were taken to pathologic study. Results:Compared with Group B,the electrical stimulation of efferent vagus nerve could significantly decrease the contents of ALT,AST and TNF-α,but increase the contents of IL-10,in serum of Group A.It could also alleviate inflammation of liver tissue after LPS attack. Conclusion:The results suggest that excitation of the efferent vagus nerve can inhibit the inflammation cascade in liver after LPS challenge.Thus,it might have a protective effect on acute liver damage caused by endotoxemia.

Chronic Toxicity of a Novel Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony-stimulating Factor in Rats

Objective To assess the severity and reversibility of the chronic toxicity of a novel recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSFa) in rats and the dose-effect relationship.Methods A total of 100 Sprague-Dawley rats (equal numbers of male and female) were randomly divided into five groups (20 rats in each group):four groups were treated with rhG-CSFa at 500,100,10,1 μg/kg,respectively,and one group was treated with vehicle only to serve as the control.The rats were received subcutaneous injections of rhG-CSFa or vehicle daily for 13 weeks.During the course of the chronic toxicity study,the physical status,body weight,and food consumption were monitored.Half of the rats in each group (n=10) were sacrificed after the last rhG-CSFa administration,and the other half were sacrificed at five weeks after the last rhG-CSFa administration.Urinalyses,blood biochemistry,hematological analysis,histopathological examination,and immunological tests were performed for each of the rats.Results The hematological analyses revealed that the mean white blood cells count,neutrophils count,and neutrophils percentage were increased in male rats at the dose of 10 μg/kg or higher,and these were related with the biological activity of rhG-CSFa.Some small abnormalities were observed in the spleen of a few rats when used highest dose (500 μg/kg,a dosage of 200 folds higher than the normal clinical dosage),but these abnormalities were recovered within 5-week recovery period.No other rhG-CSFa-related abnormalities were observed in this chronic toxicity study.Conclusion No significant toxicity and immunogenicity are observed with rhG-CSFa administration to rats in the chronic toxicity studies.

A novel endogenous badnavirus exists in Alhagi sparsifolia

We report the recovery of a 7068-nt viral sequence from the ＂viral fossils＂ embedded in the genome of Alhagi sparsifolia, a typical desert plant. Although the full viral genome remains to be completed, the putative genome structure, the deduced amino acids and phylogenetic analysis unambiguously demonstrate that this viral sequence represents a novel species of the genus Badnavirus. The putative virus is tentatively termed Alhagi bacilliform virus （ABV）. Southern blotting and inverse polymerase chain reaction （PCR） data indicate that the ABV-related sequence is integrated into the A. sparsifolia genome, and probably does not give rise to functional episomal virus. Molecular evidence that the ABV sequence exists widely in A. sparsifolia is also presented. To our knowledge, this is the first endogenous badnavirus identified from plants in the Gobi desert, and may provide new clues on the evolution, geo- graphical distribution as well as the host range of the badnaviruses.

Clinical Observation of Adiponectin in Inhibiting Fatty Toxicity by Acupuncture

Objective：To investigate if acupuncture has an inhibitory effect on fatty toxicity and its possible mechanism. Methods： Thirty-four patients with simple obesity were clinically treated with acupuncture for 3 courses. Before and after treatment, body mass index（BMI） and fat percentage （F%） were determined, and serum insulin and adiponectin were measured by enzyme linked immunoassay, blood lipid and sugar by biochemical colorimetry and eight kinds of free fatty acids （FFAs） by high performance liquid chromatography. Twenty normal persons were selected as a control. Results： The total efficacy rate was 88.2%. Acupuncture could increase the decreased insulin sensitivity index（ISI） in the patients（t= -5.103, P= 0.000）. The correlation of a decrease in F% with an increase in unsaturated fatty acid after acupuncture was of significance（r= 0.402, P= 0.019） and its correlation with an increase in the ratio between unsaturated fatty acid and saturated fatty acid was also of significance （r= 0. 348, P= 0. 044）. The correlation between increases in high density lipoprotein and in eicosapentaenoic acid was of significance（r= 0.352, P=0.041）. The correlation between a decrease in BMI and an increase in high density lipoprotein was of significance（r= 0.357, P= 0.038）. Adiponectin level significantly rose after acupuncture （compared with pre treatment, P= 0.000）. The correlation between a decrease in FFAs and an increase in adiponectin was of significance（r= 0.349, P= 0.043）. Conclusion： Acupuncture can lower the levels of free fatty acids in the patients and increase their sensitivity to insulin to inhibit the fatty toxicity. The inhibitory effect of acupuncture on fatty toxicity is somewhat related to a rise in adiponectin level.