The blinding status and characteristics in acupuncture clinical trials: a systematic reviews and meta-analysis.

Background: Sham acupuncture is a widely accepted control in acupuncture clinical trials. Given the nature of acupuncture, it is warranted to assess the blinding of sham-controlled trials. Despite the sham acupuncture design having been widely used, the overall blinding of sham acupuncture and the characteristics of blinding assessment in acupuncture trials are unclear.

Efficacy of electro-acupuncture versus sham acupuncture for diabetic peripheral neuropathy: study protocol for a three-armed randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Specific treatment for diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is still lacking, and acupuncture may relieve the symptoms. We intend to investigate the efficacy and safety of electro-acupuncture (EA) in alleviating symptoms associated with DPN in diabetes.

Methods And Analysis: This multicentre, three-armed, participant- and assessor-blind, randomised, sham-controlled trial will recruit 240 eligible participants from four hospitals in China and will randomly assign (1:1:1) them to EA, sham acupuncture (SA) or usual care (UC) group.

Analysis of Variables Associated with Positive Micro-Embolic Signals Detected by Transcranial Doppler in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Their Predictive Value for Embolic Risk.

Objective: This study examined the factors associated with positive micro-embolic signals (MES) on transcranial Doppler monitoring in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), as well as the predictive value of MES for the risk of embolism in AF.

Methods: Sixty-six patients who had micro emboli with AF were included in the positive group, and 75 patients who did not have micro emboli with AF served as the control group. The clinical data, congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥ 75 (doubled), diabetes mellitus, prior stroke or transient ischemic attack (doubled), vascular disease, age 65-74, female (CHA2DS2-VASc) score, D-dimer (D-d) level, echocardiography results, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were compared between the two groups.

The Influence of Pubertal Development on Adolescent Depression: The Mediating Effects of Negative Physical Self and Interpersonal Stress.

The current study examined the influence of pubertal development stage on depression and its psychosocial mechanisms in a non-clinical population of 502 adolescents (244 boys and 258 girls) in China, graded 5 to 8. Results indicated that (1) pubertal development was positively correlated with depression, negative physical self and interpersonal stress. (2) There is a significant gender by pubertal development interaction on the measure of academic self-concept, which is accounted for by decreased academic self in boys but not in girls as a function of pubertal development.

Roles of Microembolus and Plasma D-dimer in Evaluating the Warfarin Anticoagulant Therapy Efficacies for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: To investigate the roles of microembolus and plasma D-dimer in evaluating the warfarin anticoagulant therapy efficacies for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods: Fifty-six AF patients were treated with aspirin antiplatelet therapy (Group ASP) and forty AF patients were treated with warfarin anticoagulant therapy (Group WAR). The microemboli and plasma D-dimer in these two groups were monitored and compared before and after treatment.

[Serum levels of Th1/Th2 cytokines in children with non-systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis].

Objective: To investigate the serum levels of Th1/Th2 cytokines in children with non-systemic juvenile onset idiopathic arthritis (non-SOJIA).

Methods: Clinical data of 41 children with non-SOJIA, including 11 cases of polyarthritis, 10 cases of oligoarthritis and 20 cases of enthesitis related JIA (ERA), admitted in Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine during November 2012 and May 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Serum levels of Th1/Th2 cytokines including IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α and IFN-γ were measured by flow cytometry in patients with non-SOJIA, and compared with those in patients with SOJIA (SOJIA group, n=85) and healthy children (control group, n=202); their correlations with erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C reactive protein and CRP were analyzed.

A concise, protection-free and divergent approach for the enantioselective syntheses of two pheromonal epoxide components of the fall webworm moth and other species.

On the basis of Zhou's modified Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation, sequential coupling reactions, and a divergent strategy, the protection-free syntheses of two main pheromonal components 1 and 5, found in the fall webworm moth, Hyphantria cunea, and other species have been accomplished in 10 steps (for two compounds). The overall yields are 31% for 1, 28% for 5, and 25% for both 1 and 5, respectively. The ee values of the final products 1 and 5 are at least 99%.

(S)-5-Hexyl-1-[(S)-2-hydr-oxy-1-phenyl-ethyl]-4-meth-oxy-1H-pyrrol-2(5H)-one.

The title compound, C(19)H(27)NO(3), was obtained by the reaction of (3S,7aR)-7a-hexyl-7-meth-oxy-3-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-pyrrolo[2,1-b]oxazol-5(7aH)-one and triethyl-silane using titanium(IV) chloride as catalyst. In the mol-ecule, the phenyl and dihydro-pyrrolone rings form a dihedral angle of 83.8 (1)°.

(3S,7aR)-7-Meth-oxy-7a-methyl-3-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-pyrrolo[2,1-b]oxazol-5(7aH)-one.

In the title chiral butterfly-like bicyclic lactam, C(14)H(15)NO(3), the phenyl and methyl groups are syn with respect to each other. The dihydro-pyrrrole ring adopts a boat conformation, whereas the oxazole ring has a slightly distorted boat conformation. The packing of mol-ecules in the crystal structure is stabilized by inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.