Evidence Base of Clinical Studies on Qi Gong: A Bibliometric Analysis

© 2020 The Authors Objective: This bibliometric study aimed to systematically and comprehensively summarize the volume, breadth and evidence for clinical research on Qigong. And this bibliometric analysis also can provide the evidence of this field. Design: Bibliometric analysis. Methods: All types of primary and secondary studies on humans were included: systematic reviews, randomized clinical trials, non-randomized controlled clinical studies, case series and case reports. Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, Chinese Academic Conference Papers Database and Chinese Dissertation Database, PubMed and the Cochrane Library were searched from the date of inception to December 10, 2018. Bibliometric information, such as publication information, disease/condition, Qigong intervention and research results were extracted and analyzed. Results: A total of 886 clinical studies were identified: including 47 systematic reviews, 705 randomized clinical trials, 116 non-randomized controlled clinical studies, 12 case series and 6 case reports. The studies were conducted in 14 countries. The top 15 diseases/conditions studied were: diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, stroke, cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation, insomnia, knee osteoarthritis, low back pain, and osteoporosis, Coronary heart disease, breast cancer, periarthritis of shoulder, depression, metabolic syndrome. Of the various Qigong exercises reported in these 886 clinical studies, Ba Duan Jin was the most frequently researched in 492 (55.5%) studies, followed by Health Qigong 107 (12.1%), Dao Yin Shu 85 (9.6%), Wu Qin Xi 67 (7.6%) and Yi Jin Jing 66 (7.4%). The most frequently used comparisons in randomized trials were maintaining normal way of life unchanged 149 (18.1%), the remaining controls included conventional treatment, mainly western medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, health education, psychological therapy, Yoga, Tai Chi and other non-drug therapy. The most frequently reported outcomes were physical function, quality of life, symptoms, pain and mental health indicators. Beneficial results from practicing Qigong were reported in 97% of studies. Conclusions: Qigong research publications have been increasing gradually. Reports on study types, participants, Qigong Intervention, and outcomes are diverse and inconsistent. There is an urgent need to develop a set of reporting standards for various interventions of Qigong. Further trials of high methodological quality with sufficient sample size and real world studies are needed to verify the effects of Qigong in health and disease management

Anti-epileptic effect of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides by inhibition of intracellular calcium accumulation and stimulation of expression of CaMKII a in epileptic hippocampal neurons

Purpose: To investigate the mechanism of the anti-epileptic effect of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides (GLP), the changes of intracellular calcium and CaMK II a expression in a model of epileptic neurons were investigated. Method: Primary hippocampal neurons were divided into: 1) Control group, neurons were cultured with Neurobasal medium, for 3 hours; 2) Model group I: neurons were incubated with Mg2+ free medium for 3 hours; 3) Model group II: neurons were incubated with Mg2+ free medium for 3 hours then cultured with the normal medium for a further 3 hours; 4) GLP group I: neurons were incubated with Mg2+ free medium containing GLP (0.375 mg/ml) for 3 hours; 5) GLP group II: neurons were incubated with Mg2+ free medium for 3 hours then cultured with a normal culture medium containing GLP for a further 3 hours. The CaMK II a protein expression was assessed by Western-blot. Ca2+ turnover in neurons was assessed using Fluo-3/AM which was added into the replacement medium and Ca2+ turnover was observed under a laser scanning confocal microscope. Results: The CaMK II a expression in the model groups was less than in the control groups, however, in the GLP groups, it was higher than that observed in the model group. Ca2+ fluorescence intensity in GLP group I was significantly lower than that in model group I after 30 seconds, while in GLP group II, it was reduced significantly compared to model group II after 5 minutes. Conclusion: GLP may inhibit calcium overload and promote CaMK II a expression to protect epileptic neuron

Early Ultraviolet Observations of Type IIn Supernovae Constrain the Asphericity of Their Circumstellar Material

© 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.. We present a survey of the early evolution of 12 Type IIn supernovae (SNe IIn) at ultraviolet and visible light wavelengths. We use this survey to constrain the geometry of the circumstellar material (CSM) surrounding SN IIn explosions, which may shed light on their progenitor diversity. In order to distinguish between aspherical and spherical CSM, we estimate the blackbody radius temporal evolution of the SNe IIn of our sample, following the method introduced by Soumagnac et al. We find that higher-luminosity objects tend to show evidence for aspherical CSM. Depending on whether this correlation is due to physical reasons or to some selection bias, we derive a lower limit between 35% and 66% for the fraction of SNe IIn showing evidence for aspherical CSM. This result suggests that asphericity of the CSM surrounding SNe IIn is common - consistent with data from resolved images of stars undergoing considerable mass loss. It should be taken into account for more realistic modeling of these events

Activation of Human Stearoyl-Coenzyme A Desaturase 1 Contributes to the Lipogenic Effect of PXR in HepG2 Cells

The pregnane X receptor (PXR) was previously known as a xenobiotic receptor. Several recent studies suggested that PXR also played an important role in lipid homeostasis but the underlying mechanism remains to be clearly defined. In this study, we found that rifampicin, an agonist of human PXR, induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. Lipid analysis showed the total cholesterol level increased. However, the free cholesterol and triglyceride levels were not changed. Treatment of HepG2 cells with rifampicin induced the expression of the free fatty acid transporter CD36 and ABCG1, as well as several lipogenic enzymes, including stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1), long chain free fatty acid elongase (FAE), and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), while the expression of acyl:cholesterol acetyltransferase(ACAT1) was not affected. Moreover, in PXR over-expressing HepG2 cells (HepG2-PXR), the SCD1 expression was significantly higher than in HepG2-Vector cells, even in the absence of rifampicin. Down-regulation of PXR by shRNA abolished the rifampicin-induced SCD1 gene expression in HepG2 cells. Promoter analysis showed that the human SCD1 gene promoter is activated by PXR and a novel DR-7 type PXR response element (PXRE) response element was located at -338 bp of the SCD1 gene promoter. Taken together, these results indicated that PXR activation promoted lipid synthesis in HepG2 cells and SCD1 is a novel PXR target gene. © 2013 Zhang et al

A specific case in the classification of woods by FTIR and chemometric: discrimination of Fagales from Malpighiales

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic data was used to classify wood samples from nine species within the Fagales and Malpighiales using a range of multivariate statistical methods. Taxonomic classification of the family Fagaceae and Betulaceae from Angiosperm Phylogenetic System Classification (APG II System) was successfully performed using supervised pattern recognition techniques. A methodology for wood sample discrimination was developed using both sapwood and heartwood samples. Ten and eight biomarkers emerged from the dataset to discriminate order and family, respectively. In the species studied FTIR in combination with multivariate analysis highlighted significant chemical differences in hemicelluloses, cellulose and guaiacyl (lignin) and shows promise as a suitable approach for wood sample classification

Analysis of different characteristics of smile

Introduction: Analysis of smile is imperative in the diagnosis and treatment planning phases of aesthetic dentistry.Aim: To evaluate the components of smile among students of a dental institution.Methods: Frontal view digital photographs with posed smile of 157 dental students were assessed using Adobe Photoshop7.0. Smile characteristics evaluated included; smile line, smile arc, smile design, upper lip curvature, labiodental relationship and number of teeth displayed. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Pearson chi-square test was used to determine the gender based differences for various parameters.Results: Average smile line (43.3%), consonant smile arcs (45.2%), cuspid smiles (45.9%), upward lip curvature (43.9%), maxillary anterior teeth not covered by lower lip (60.5%) and teeth displayed up to first premolars (35.7%). Gender based differences were not statistically significant except for smile arc (p value = 0.02) and number of teeth displayed (p value \u3c 0.001). There was a significant relationship between lip curvature and smile pattern (p value \u3c 0.001) and lip curvature and smile arc (p value = 0.01) revealing that upward lip curvature was associated with commissure type smiles and consonant smile arcs.Conclusions: The smile characteristics should be considered before beginning the aesthetic treatment of the patient to obtain adequate results in oral rehabilitation

Decitabine impact on the endocytosis regulator RhoA, the folate carriers RFC1 and FOLR1, and the glucose transporter GLUT4 in human tumors.

BackgroundIn 31 solid tumor patients treated with the demethylating agent decitabine, we performed tumor biopsies before and after the first cycle of decitabine and used immunohistochemistry (IHC) to assess whether decitabine increased expression of various membrane transporters. Resistance to chemotherapy may arise due to promoter methylation/downregulation of expression of transporters required for drug uptake, and decitabine can reverse resistance in vitro. The endocytosis regulator RhoA, the folate carriers FOLR1 and RFC1, and the glucose transporter GLUT4 were assessed.ResultsPre-decitabine RhoA was higher in patients who had received their last therapy >3 months previously than in patients with more recent prior therapy (P = 0.02), and varied inversely with global DNA methylation as assessed by LINE1 methylation (r = -0.58, P = 0.006). Tumor RhoA scores increased with decitabine (P = 0.03), and RFC1 also increased in patients with pre-decitabine scores ≤150 (P = 0.004). Change in LINE1 methylation with decitabine did not correlate significantly with change in IHC scores for any transporter assessed. We also assessed methylation of the RFC1 gene (alias SLC19A1). SLC19A1 methylation correlated with tumor LINE1 methylation (r = 0.45, P = 0.02). There was a small (statistically insignificant) decrease in SLC19A1 methylation with decitabine, and there was a trend towards change in SLC19A1 methylation with decitabine correlating with change in LINE1 methylation (r = 0.47, P <0.15). While SLC19A1 methylation did not correlate with RFC1 scores, there was a trend towards an inverse correlation between change in SLC19A1 methylation and change in RFC1 expression (r = -0.45, P = 0.19).ConclusionsIn conclusion, after decitabine administration, there was increased expression of some (but not other) transporters that may play a role in chemotherapy uptake. Larger patient numbers will be needed to define the extent to which this increased expression is associated with changes in DNA methylation

Stent implantation for a totally occluded right coronary artery in a six-year-old boy after Kawasaki disease: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Coronary stenting has previously been considered to be less feasible in children under 12 years old due to the limitation of vascular access. We report the case of a six-year-old boy who successfully underwent stent implantation for his totally occluded right coronary artery.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A Taiwanese boy aged six years and nine months old was found to have giant aneurysms after an acute episode of Kawasaki disease. An angiography revealed that his middle right coronary artery was totally occluded. A 0.014-inch guidewire was advanced to cross the totally occluded site. After pre-dilating the middle portion of his right coronary artery with a 1.5 mm balloon, stenting of his right coronary artery was accomplished using a 2.5 × 28 mm and a 2.5 × 18 mm bare metal stent. A final angiography demonstrated no residual stenosis or dissection.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Coronary stenting could be a therapeutic option for children as young as six years old. Close follow-up is mandatory because the long-term outcome is still unclear, especially in a small child.</p