Is There Volume Transmission Along Extracellular Fluid Pathways Corresponding to the Acupuncture Meridians?

Weibo Zhang,Ze Wang,Shuyong Jia,Yuying Tian,Guangjun Wang,Hongyan Li,Kjell Fuxe 사단법인약침학회 2017 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.10 No.1

Volume transmission is a new major communication signaling via extracellular fluid (interstitial fluid) pathways. It was proposed by the current authors that such pathways can explain the meridian phenomena and acupuncture effects. To investigate whether meridian-like structures exist in fish body and operate via volume transmission in extracellular fluid pathways, we injected alcian blue (AB) under anesthesia into Gephyrocharax melanocheir, which has a translucent body. The migration of AB could be seen directly and was recorded by a digital camera. The fish was then embedded and cut transversely to observe the position of tracks in three dimensions. Eight longitudinal threadlike blue tracks were recognized on the fish. The positions of these threadlike tracks were similar to meridians on the human body. Transverse sections showed that these tracks distributed to different layers of distinct subcutaneous loose connective tissues and intermuscular septa. Lymphatic vessels were sometimes associated with the extracellular blue tracks where the migration of AB occurred. Extracellular fluid pathways were found on fish through their transport of AB. These pathways operating via volume transmission appeared to be similar in positions and functions to the acupuncture meridians in Chinese medicine.

Acupuncture Regulates the Heart Rate Variability

Weibo Zhang,Guang-Jun Wang,Yu-Ying Tian,Shuyong Jia 사단법인약침학회 2015 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.8 No.2

Acupuncture is widely used in clinical practice. According to traditional acupuncture theory, the Neiguan acupoint (PC6) is one of the most commonly used acupoints and is indicated for treating cardiovascular-related disorders. We present the case of a 27-year-old female who had been diagnosed with ventricular septal defect and had undergone surgery to repair the defect at the age of 11 years. The patient had no obvious symptoms, such as palpitations and difficulty breathing. However, while performing electrocardiography (ECG), we found that she suffered from arrhythmia, and therefore, we treated her by acupuncture at the left PC6. An ECG monitor was used to record data during the entire acupuncture procedure, which was divided into the following three segments: prior to, during, and after acupuncture. Various indices of heart rate variability (HRV) were then determined and analyzed. The results indicate that acupuncture can regulate the HRV effectively; however, more studies are needed to confirm this finding.

Surfactant-stripped naphthalocyanines for multimodal tumor theranostics with upconversion guidance cream

Zhang, Yumiao,Hong, Hao,Sun, Boyang,Carter, Kevin,Qin, Yiru,Wei,Wang, Depeng,Jeon, Mansik,Geng, Jumin,Nickles, Robert J.,Chen, Guanying,Prasad, Paras N.,Kim, Chulhong,Xia, Jun,Cai, Weibo,Lovell, Jonat The Royal Society of Chemistry 2017 Nanoscale Vol.9 No.10

<P>Surfactant-stripped, nanoformulated naphthalocyanines (nanonaps) can be formed with Pluronic F127 and low temperature membrane processing, resulting in dispersed frozen micelles with extreme contrast in the near infrared region. Here, we demonstrate that nanonaps can be used for multifunctional cancer theranostics. This includes lymphatic mapping and whole tumor photoacoustic imaging following intradermal or intravenous injection in rodents. Without further modification, pre-formed nanonaps were used for positron emission tomography and passively accumulated in subcutaneous murine tumors. Because the nanonaps used absorb light beyond the visible range, a topical upconversion skin cream was developed for anti-tumor photothermal therapy with laser placement that can be guided by the naked eye.</P>

Numerical and experimental buckling of segmented spiral pressure hulls

Jian Zhang,Rui Wang,Yongsheng Li,Weibo Wang,Wenwei Wu 대한기계학회 2022 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.36 No.4

To optimally coordinate the operational safety, manoeuvrability, positioning reliability, and space expansibility of deep-sea stations, this study proposed a segmented spiral pressure hull with reference to the geometry of worm snails. The design addresses the disadvantages of existing ring-stiffened cylinder, segmented sphere, and circular toroid structures. This study numerically and experimentally examined the buckling performance of segmented spiral pressure hulls. The numerical, experimental, and analytical data exhibited satisfactory agreement. The proposed pressure hulls exhibited a favourable space expansibility and buckled in a nonlinear manner. The buckling loads varied slightly after the threshold number of segments. All the post buckling modes were local dents. The current findings may serve as a reference for the research and development of original deep-sea stations.

Propamidine decreas mitochondrial complex 3 activity of Botrytis cinerea

( Fangli Wu ),( Weibo Jin ),( Juntao Feng ),( Anliang Chen ),( Zhiqing Ma ),( Xing Zhang ) 생화학분자생물학회 (구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2010 BMB Reports Vol.43 No.9

Propamidine, an aromatic diamidine compound, is widely used as an antimicrobial agent. To uncover its mechanism on pathogenetic fungi, Botrytis cinerea as an object was used to investigate effects of propamidine in this paper. The transmission electron microscope results showed that the mitochondrial membranes were collapsed after propamidine treatment, followed that mitochondria were disrupted. Inhibition of whole-cell and mitochondrial respiration by propamidine suggested that Propamidine is most likely an inhibitor of electron transport within Botrytis cinerea mitochondria. Furthermore, the mitochondrial complex 3 activity were inhibited by propamidine. [BMB reports 2010; 43(9): 614-621]

Violet Laser Acupuncture—Part 2: Effects on Peripheral Microcirculation

Lu Wang,Tao Huang,Weibo Zhang,Gerhard Litscher 사단법인약침학회 2011 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.4 No.1

Laser Doppler flowmetry for microcirculation monitoring was performed in 10healthy volunteers (mean age ± SD: 24.9 ± 3.3 years; 5 females, 5 males) prior to,during, and after stimulation using a noninvasive violet (405 nm) laser needle at the Dazhui (GV14) acupoint. The results of this controlled study (control point at the shoulder) showed significant (p < 0.05) increases in Flux (product of concentration and velocity of erythrocytes) at a distance of 3 cm from the acupoint. At the same time, no changes were found at the control point. Furthermore, 5 minutes after stimulation the microcirculation still flowed at a higher level than baseline values at the beginning of the investigation. In a single individual it was demonstrated that needle acupuncture enhanced this effect and placebo (deactivated laser) did not have a significant effect. The results suggest that violet laser acupuncture at the acupoint Dazhui can increase vascular effects on microcirculation.

Research on the Law of Stress Development Along Backfi lling Process Between Crest and Valley of Buried Corrugated Steel Pipe Culverts

Baodong Liu,Haibo Sun,Weibo Xu,Yafei Shi,Beichen Zhang,Mengmeng Yao 한국강구조학회 2021 International Journal of Steel Structures Vol.21 No.1

Although buried corrugated steel pipe culverts have been studied intensively in the past decades, the stress development law between crest and valley during backfi lling process is still not analyzed suffi ciently, which is an important technical diffi culty for the construction of this kind of structures. In this paper, a three-dimensional fi nite element model (FEM) is developed to simulate the behavior of buried pipes during construction and the stress development law within a wavelength (curvature of corrugated pipe) ranging at the crown and the spring-line inside the pipe is proposed. Based on the measured stress data of a porous continuous corrugated steel plate pipe-arch culvert, the proposed three-dimensional FEM and stress development law are verifi ed. The results show that the stress variations in a wavelength range of corrugated steel plate are trigonometric curves. With the increase of the backfi lling height, the ratio of the stress at the crest or valley, to that of the spring-line is reduced, while the axial force is increased. The absolute value of the bending moment decays and the pipe culvert tends to be ring compression as the backfi lling height increased. The study verifi es the "ring compression theory" and the necessity of the minimum burial depth in design. Meanwhile, some design and construction guidelines which is necessary for the structure safety during backfi lling process are provided for buried corrugated steel pipe culverts.

Strain-Rate Effect on the Stress and Strain Concentration in a Visco-Plastic Plate With An Elliptic Hole

Yanqiu Chen,Jin Zhang,Peishi Yu,Jian Wu,Weibo Wang,Junhua Zhao 한국강구조학회 2020 International Journal of Steel Structures Vol.20 No.4

The stress and strain concentration in some component has been a signifi cant topic for structural safety assessment. However, the evaluation of the stress and strain concentration based on the widely existing solutions for linear elastic material under static loading would lead to remarkable errors when the material undergoes the dynamic loading, since the coupling eff ect induced by the nonlinearity of the stress–strain relationship and the strain-rate strengthening could be of signifi cant infl uence. Here we analyzed the strain-rate dependent concentration of stress and strain for a visco-plastic plate with an elliptic hole subjected to dynamic loading. The three-dimensional stress and strain are calculated by fi nite element analyses based on a rate-dependent Johnson–Cook model in which the material constants are set according to a typical visco-plastic standard 45 carbon steel. Our results show that both the plastic stress and strain concentration factors signifi cantly depend on not only the strain but also the strain rate. With the increment of the remote strain rate, the stress concentration monotonically increases, while the strain concentration shows decreasing tendency.

Violet Laser AcupuncturedPart 3: Pilot Study of Potential Effects on Temperature Distribution

Gerhard Litscher,Lu Wang,Tao Huang,Weibo Zhang 사단법인약침학회 2011 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.4 No.3

Infrared thermography for temperature distribution monitoring was performed in ten healthy volunteers (M/F, 5/5; mean age SD, 24.9 3.3 years) before, during, and after stimulation by noninvasive violet (405 nm) laser needle at the Dazhui (GV14) acupoint. Significant (p < 0.001) increases of temperature at a region of interest around the acupoint were observed. Furthermore, temperature also increased significantly (p < 0.05)at a so-called “far field” area Zhiyang (GV9). In two persons, however, needle acupuncture and placebo (deactivated laser) did not have the same temperature effects. Violet laser induces changes in skin surface temperature distributions.

Violet Laser Acupuncture—Part 1: Effects on Brain Circulation

Gerhard Litscher,Tao Huang,Lu Wang,Weibo Zhang 사단법인약침학회 2010 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.3 No.4

Violet laser acupuncture using a wavelength of 405 nm has been investigated in only a few scientific studies. The aim of this study was to provide selective evidence of a specific effect of violet laser acupuncture on mean cerebral blood flow velocity using a Doppler ultrasound technique. A transcranial Doppler sonography construction was developed especially for this study to monitor blood flow profiles in the basilar and middle cerebral arteries simultaneously and continuously. The acupuncture point Dazhui on the upper back was tested in a controlled study with 10 healthy volunteers (24.9 ± 3.3 years, mean age ± SD; 5 females, 5 males). In addition to an on/off-effect, violet laser stimulation increased the blood flow velocity in the basilar artery significantly (p < 0.001) compared with the reference interval before laser acupuncture. In the middle cerebral artery, only minimal, nonsignificant changes in blood flow velocity were seen. Metal needle acupuncture at the same point intensified the effects; however, blood flow profiles did not change significantly during and after stimulation with a deactivated violet laser.