Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals are susceptible to be disturbed by 50 Hz power line interference (PLI) in the process of acquisition and conversion. This paper, therefore, proposes a novel PLI removal algorithm based on morphological component analysis (MCA) and ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD). Firstly, according to the morphological differences in ECG waveform characteristics, the noisy ECG signal was decomposed into the mutated component, the smooth component and the residual component by MCA. Secondly, intrinsic mode functions (IMF) of PLI was filtered. The noise suppression rate (NSR) and the signal distortion ratio (SDR) were used to evaluate the effect of de-noising algorithm. Finally, the ECG signals were re-constructed. Based on the experimental comparison, it was concluded that the proposed algorithm had better filtering functions than the improved Levkov algorithm, because it could not only effectively filter the PLI, but also have smaller SDR value.
Algorithms ; Electrocardiography ; Humans

Objective To observe the effect of sinomenine(SINO) on immune function of adjuvant arthritis(AA) rats.Methods SD rats were randomized into normal group,model group,SINO groups(treated with gastric gavage of SINO at the doses of 60,120 and 240 mg/kg respectively),and glucosides of Tripterygium Wilfordii(30 mg/kg) group.Except the normal group,the rats in other groups received subcutaneous injection of the complete Freund's adjuvant 0.1mL into the left hind foot to induce AA.The medication began from 12 days after the modeling and lasted 12 days.The pedal swelling and joint function scores were observed in different time.Radioimmunoassay was used to detect the contents of interleukin-1?(IL-1?) and tumor necrosis factor ?(TNF-?) in synovial cells.Expression of IL-1? and TNF-? mRNA was examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) assay.Results SINO at different concentrations decreased the pedal swelling and arthritis scores to various degrees,inhibited the production of IL-1? and TNF-? in the synovial cells,reduced the expression of IL-1? and TNF-? mRNA,and recovered the normal histological features of synovial cells in AA rats.Conclusion The therapeutic mechanism of SINO for rheumatoid arthritis may be related with the inhibition of secretion of inflammatory mediators in synovial cells,and with the recovery of histological features of synovial cells.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have found that cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) can promote the regeneration after sciatic nerve injury in rats, but the exact mechanism remains unclear.
OBJECTIVE:To screen effective indicators and analyze the mechanism of CCK-8 promoting sciatic nerve regeneration from the perspective of nerve growth factor and nerve regeneration microenvironment.
METHODS:Healthy Sprague-Dawley rats, for the preparation of unilateral sciatic nerve transection injury model, were randomly divided into two groups. In the CCK-8 group, the animal model received intraperitoneal injection of CCK-8 (8 nmol/kg) for consecutive 7 days, while the control group was injected with equal volume of normal saline. The nerve growth factor expression, inducible nitric oxide synthase in the spinal cord, serum superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde concentration, as wel as apoptotic cel s in spinal cord were al detected.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In the CCK-8 group, nerve growth factor expression was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01), while inducible nitric oxide synthase and the number of apoptotic cel s were lower (P<0.01), serum superoxide dismutase activity was higher but malondialdehyde concentrations was lower (P<0.01, 0.05). The mechanisms of CCK-8 promoting sciatic nerve regeneration include protecting neurons, anti-apoptosis, inhibiting inflammatory response, anti-NO and anti-oxidation, reducing malondialdehyde, and al eviating free radical damage, as wel as stimulating nerve growth factor expression and release.

Objective To investigate the role of T helper 17 cells/interleukin?17(Th17/IL?17) axis in the occurrence of vaginal candidiasis in mice. Methods A total of 120 female BALB/c mice were randomly and equally divided into Ei, En, Ci and Cn groups. Three days before vaginal inoculation, estrogen (Ei and En)groups and control(Ci and Cn)groups received subcutaneous injection of 0.05 mg estradiol and 0.1 ml sterilized soybean oil at the hind legs, respectively, and then the hormone treatment continued every other day until the end of experiment. Infected(Ei and Ci)groups and noninfected(En and Cn) groups were inoculated intravaginally with 10μl(5 × 104 conidia)of Candida albicans suspension and 10μl of sterilized phosphate?buffered saline, respectively. Ten mice were randomly selected from each group and sacrificed on day 3, 7 and 14 after inoculation. The intact vagina tissues were resected and then frozen in liquid nitrogen or embedded in paraffin. Real?time fluorescence?based quantitative PCR(qRT?PCR)and immunofluorescent staining were performed to measure mRNA expression and immunofluorescence intensities of retinoic acid?related orphan receptorγt(RORγt), RORα and IL?17, respectively. Western blot analysis was conducted to determine protein expression of RORγt and IL?17. Results Laser scanning confocal microscopy showed that RORγt, RORα and IL?17 immunofluorescence was mainly located at inflammatory cells of the lamina propria and blood vessels in En and Cn groups, at mucosal epithelium, adherent hyphae, and inflammatory cells of the lamina propria and blood vessels in Ci group, and at mucosal epithelium, vaginal canal and endocytosed hyphae, and inflammatory cells of the lamina propria and blood vessels in Ei group. qRT?PCR and immunofluorescent staining uncovered that mRNA expression and immunofluorescence intensities of RORγt, RORα and IL?17 were significantly higher in En, Ci and Ei groups than in Cn group at the same time points(all P<0.05), as well as in the Ei group than in En and Ci groups(both P<0.05), and were increased gradually over time in En, Ci and Ei groups, but not in the Cn group. Additionally, mRNA expression and immunofluorescence intensities of RORγt and RORαand IL?17 generally peaked on day 14 after inoculation, while the immunofluorescence intensity of IL?17 peaked on day 7 (P < 0.05). Western blot analysis revealed that protein expression of RORγt and IL?17 was significantly higher in the infected(Ei and Ci)groups than in the noninfected(En and Cn)groups at the same time points(RORγt:F=45.685, P<0.001;IL?17:F=29.655, P<0.01), and was highest in the Ei group(P<0.05);however, no significant differences were observed between Cn and En groups(both P>0.05). Moreover, RORγt and IL?17 protein expression in Ci and Ei groups was obviously up?regulated on day 7 after inoculation (RORγt: F = 13.137, P < 0.001; IL?17: F = 11.182, P < 0.001), but was not increased further on day 14. Conclusion Vaginal candida infection can up?regulate the expression of RORγt, RORα and IL?17, suggesting that Th17/IL?17 axis may be involved in the occurrence of vaginal candidiasis in BALB/c mice.

BACKGROUND:Cholecystokinin as an endogenous neuroprotective factor in the nervous system has garnered increasing attention. Findings from previous animal studies show that cholecystokinin can effectively promote the regeneration of the injured peripheral nerve. On this basis, further clinical trials wil be performed to observe whether local application of cholecystokinin at nerve anastomosis can promote peripheral nerve regeneration.
METHODS/DESIGN:As a prospective randomized controled trial, this study wil enrol 100 patients with complete rupture of the peroneal nerve, who wil be randomly divided into two groups: after nerve suture and partial gelatin sponge infiltration at nerve anastomosis, the patients wil be treated with 8 nmol/kg cholecystokinin (treatment group) or saline (control group). At 6, 12, 24 weeks after treatment, common peroneal nerve conduction velocity and electromyography and nerve fiber morphology wil be detected; the clinical efficacy at the last folow-up wil be assessed; and al adverse events during the folow-up wil be recorded to assess the therapeutic efficacy and safety.
DISCUSSION:In this study, cholecystokinin as an inducing agent for nerve growth factor synthesis wil be observed and studied, with a view to providing a new idea for seeking peripheral nerve therapy.
ETHICAL APPROVAL: The study protocol was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Putian University (approval No. 2014116). Written informed consent wil be obtained from patients before treatment.

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a promising anti-cancer agent. However, emergence of drug resistance limits its potential use. Plumbagin is a natural quinonoid compound isolated from plant. In this study, induced apoptosis effect of the combined treatment with plumbagin and TRAIL on human melanoma A375 cell line was examined and possible mechanism was investigated. The cells were divided into four groups: control group, plumbagin group (plumbagin, 5 or 10 mumol/L), TRAIL group (TRAIL, 30 ng/mL) and plumbagin+TRAIL group (combined treatment group). The apoptosis, and the expression of DR4 and DR5 were detected by flow cytometry. The activities of caspase-8 and caspase-3 were determined by colorimetric assay. The results showed that the apoptosis rate was 8.3% in TRAIL group, 10.35%-16.94% in plumbagin group and 52.39%-65.39% in combined treatment group, respectively, with the difference being significant between combined treatment group and plumbagin or TRAIL group (P<0.05 for each). Moreover, plumbagin alone could markedly up-regulate DR5 mRNA and protein expression, and slightly increase DR4 mRNA and protein expression. Treatment of human melanoma A375 cells with plumbagin resulted in the activation of Caspase-3, but not Caspase-8. These results suggest that plumbagin might be useful for TRAIL-based treatment for melanoma.

Objective To investigate the possible mechanism of metoprolol on protecting against ischemia‐reperfusion in‐duced injury .Methods A total of 32 healthy 3-4 months male C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups(n=8)as following :Sham‐operating group(control group);metoprolol group;ischemia‐reperfusion group(I/R group);metoprolol + I/R group .Myo‐cardial injury ,apoptosis ,cytochrome c release ,Caspase‐3 activity and calpain activity were determined in these groups .Results Al‐though there was no obvious changes in the regions at risk between I/R group and metoprolol + I/R group ,metoprolol pretreat‐ment significantly reduced the ratio of the infarct to risk regions(P<0 .05) .In the I/R group ,the rate of cardiomyocyte apoptosis , cytochrome c release ,as well as the activity of Caspase‐3 and calpain significantly increased compared to the control group(P<0 .01) .However ,these effects of I/R injury were alleviated by pretreatment with metoprolol .Conclusion metoprolol might protect against ischemia‐reperfusion induced injury by preventing calpain activation .

Objective To investigate the perioperative analgesic effect of ultrasound-guided bilateral thora-columbar interfascial plane block(TLIPB)in patients with discogenic low back pain(DLBP)undergoing percuta-neous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy(PTED).Methods Fifty-seven patients with discogenic low back pain admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2022 to April 2022 were randomly divided into group A(control group)with 28 patients and group B(ultrasound-guided bilateral thoracolumbar inter-fascialinterfacial plane block group)with 29 patients.The differences of visual analogue scale(VAS)at rest and turning over were compared between the two groups preoperative(t0),2 hours postoperative(t1),6 hours postop-erative(t2),12 hours postoperative(t3)and 24 hours postoperative(t4).The differences of quality of recovery-15 scores(QoR-15)were compared between the two groups preoperative and 24 hours postoperative.The changes of mean arterial pressure(MAP)and heart rate(HR)were compared between the two groups after entering the oper-ating room(T0),at the time of skin incision(T1),at the time of foraminoplasty(T2),at the time of the most severe pain recognized by the surgeon(T3),and at the end of the operation(T4).Adverse events were recorded during the operation and within 24 hours postoperative.Results All patients successfully completed the operation and ultrasound-guided bilateral TLIPB,without intervertebral space infection,spinal cord,nerve root and vascular injury,and serious complications such as nausea and vomiting.VAS scores at rest and turning over and QoR-15 scores at 24 hours postoperative were significantly lower than preoperative in the two groups(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in VAS scores between the two groups at rest at preoperative and postoperative time points(P>0.05).There were significant differences in VAS scores at 2 hours,6 hours and 12 hours postoperative between the two groups(P<0.05).There were significant difference in QoR-15 scores between the two groups at preoperative and 24 hours postoperative(P>0.05).There was a significant difference in QoR-15 scores between the two groups at 24 hours postoperative(P>0.05).There were significant differences in MAP and HR between the two groups at the time of foraminoplasty(T2)and at the time of the most severe pain recognized by the surgeon(T3)(P<0.05).Conclusions Ultrasound-guided bilateral thoracolumbar interfascial plane block can effectively relieve the pain after PTED,reduce the occurrence of perioperative stress response and adverse events,accelerate the postoperative rehabilitation of patients,and shorten the postoperative duration of hospitalization.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between osteoarthritis and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)/depression among rural middle-aged and elderly people in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.Methods:From 2016 to 2018, a one-to-one interview questionnaire survey was conducted among 832 rural middle-aged and elderly people aged 45 or above in Bayannur. Logistic regression model was used to explore the relationship between osteoarthritis and GAD/depression.Results:Of 832 rural middle-aged and elderly participants, 28.73% (239/832) were diagnosed with osteoarthritis. The risk of GAD and depression increased by 71% [adjusted odds ratio ( AOR): 1.71, 95% confidence interval ( CI): 1.12 - 2.60] and 68% ( AOR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.10 - 2.58), respectively, in patients with osteoarthritis compared with those without osteoarthritis. Conclusions:The prevalence of osteoarthritis is high among the middle-aged and elderly people in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Osteoarthritis may increase the risk of GAD/depression. It is necessary to take corresponding intervention measures to prevent the occurrence of osteoarthritis to reduce GAD/depression.

Objective To investigate the current status,research hotspots,and emerging trends in the field of TCM treatment for tic disorder(TD);To provide references for relevant research.Methods Literature on the TCM treatment for TD was retrieved from CNKI,VIP,Wanfang Data,Web of Science Core Collection,and PubMed databases from January 1,2000 to May 1,2022.NoteExpress 3.7.0.9296 software was used for literature management.VOSviewer 1.6.18 software was utilized to conduct co-occurrence analysis on author,institution,and keyword information.R 4.1.3 was applied to statistically analyze keyword frequency and time distributions and generate visualizations.Results A total of 1 520 articles were included in the analysis,involving 107 core authors.High-frequency keywords included experience of famous doctors,clinical observation,acupuncture,and ear acupoints.Commonly used Chinese herbal medicines included Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma and Bombyx Batryticatus.Frequently prescribed TCM formulae included Wendan Decoction,Changpu Yujin Decoction,Yinqiao Powder,and Tianma Gouteng Decoction.Conclusion Current research hotspots in this field focus on experience of famous doctors,the clinical efficacy of TCM interventions for TD,and molecular biological mechanism studies.Emerging research trends include external TCM treatment and comorbidity investigations.