Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of abdominal electroacupuncture plus umbilicus application with Chinese medication in treating poststroke constipation.Method A total of 160 patients with poststroke constipation were randomized into a treatment group and a control group, 80 cases in each group. The treatment group was intervened by abdominal electroacupuncture plus umbilicus application with Chinese medication, while the control group was intervened by oral administration of Phenolphthalein tablets. The constipation symptoms scores were observed before and after the treatment, and the clinical efficacies were compared.Result In the treatment group, the constipation symptoms scores were significantly changed after the treatment (P<0.05). In the control group, the scores of defecation duration and abdominal bloating were significantly changed after the treatment (P<0.05). The constipation scores in the treatment group were significantly different from those in the control group after the treatment (P<0.05). The recovery rate and total effective rate were respectively 66.3% and 92.5% in the treatment group, versus 40.0% and 78.8% in the control group, and the between-group differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Abdominal electroacupuncture plus umbilicus application with Chinese medication is an effective method in treating poststroke constipation.

To explore the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients, as well as to compare the clinical characteristics and outcome between HBV infected and non-HBV infected patients. Methods:The serology markers of HBV were detected in 363 MM patients and 11227 cases of healthy controls through chemiluminescence. HBV-DNA was measured via real-time quantitative chain reaction. Results:Sixteen out of 363 MM patients (4.4%) were HBsAg-positive, showing significant difference with healthy controls (2.4%). No statistically significant differences were observed in terms of sex, age, type of monoclonal (M) protein, International Staging System (ISS) stage, stem cell transplantation, and risk stratification between HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative patients. No significant effect of HBV infection was found on the OS of MM patients. HBV reactivation was observed in two HBsAg-positive MM patients who were treated with combination chemotherapy, including bortezomib and dexamethasone. The replication of HBV could be inhibited by anti-HBV drugs. Conclusion:A higher prevalence of HBV infection was revealed in MM patients. Close monitoring of HBV replication should be conducted in MM patients with HBV infection before and during the courses of chemotherapy.

The rats were assigned to blank control group, classical induction group, and drynaria total flavonoid group. Whole bone marrow culture method was applied to isolate and purify rats bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Akaline phosphatase activity, calcium nodes, TGF-β1 and BMP-2 secretion in the process of bone mesenchymal stem cells osteogenic differentiation were detected. The results showed that compared to the blank group and classical group, drynaria total flavonoid promoted osteogenic differentiation accompanied with increased TGF-β1 and BMP-2 secretion (all P＜0. 05). Drynaria total flavonoid may promote osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs via upregulating TGF-β1 and BMP-2 expressions, and play an active role in the treatment of osteoporosis.

AIM: To investigate the changes of transmural repolarization heterogeneity and ion currents in rabbits with left ventricular hypertrophy. METHODS: Ventricular hypertrophy was induced by a partial constriction of the abdominal aorta in rabbits. Myocytes were isolated by a two steps enzymological method. The sub-endocardial (Endo) and sub-epicardium (Epi) tissues were separated from other region (midmyocardium, Mid) with a razor. Whole cell patch clamp technique was used to record the action potential and ion currents. RESULTS: The action potentials duration at 90% repolarization (APD 90 ) of Epi, Mid and Endo were all prolonged significantly in hypertrophy group compared to control group. This prolongation of APD 90 was more pronounced in Mid (26.0%?2.7%) than that in Epi (14.0%?1.6%) and Endo (10.0%?1.1%). The transmural repolarization heterogeneity was increased significantly in the hypertrophy group. The I Ks and I to density in Epi, Mid and Endo was decreased significantly in hypertrophy group compared to those in control group. This decrease in I Ks and I to density was more pronounced in Mid than in Epi and Endo. No significantly difference of I Ca,L and I Kr density between hypertrophy group and control group in three layers was observed. The I K1 density decreased significantly in hypertrophy group compared to control group, but the extent of the decrease had no differences among the three layers. CONCLUSIONS: The transmural repolarization heterogeneity increases significantly in rabbit hypertrophied ventricle. The decrease in transmural heterogeneity of I to and I Ks is the main causes. [

Background/Aims: Ubiquitination is widely involved in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by regulating various cellular processes. However, systematic strategies for screening core ubiquitin-related genes, clarifying their functions and mechanisms, and ultimately developing potential therapeutics for patients with HCC are still lacking. Methods: Cox and LASSO regression analyses were performed to construct a ubiquitin-related gene prediction model for HCC. Loss- and gain-of-function studies, transcriptomic and metabolomics analysis were used to explore the function and mechanism of UBE2S on HCC cell glycolysis and growth. Results: Based on 1,423 ubiquitin-related genes, a four-gene signature was successfully constructed to evaluate the prognosis of patients with HCC. UBE2S was identified in this signature with the potential to predict the survival of patients with HCC. E2F2 transcriptionally upregulated UBE2S expression by directly binding to its promoter. UBE2S positively regulated glycolysis in a HIF-1α-dependent manner, thus promoting the proliferation of HCC cells. Mechanistically, UBE2S enhanced K11-linkage polyubiquitination at lysine residues 171 and 196 of VHL independent of E3 ligase, thereby indirectly stabilizing HIF-1α protein levels by mediating the degradation of VHL by the proteasome. In particular, the combination of cephalomannine, a small molecule compound that inhibits the expression of UBE2S, and PX-478, an inhibitor of HIF-1α, significantly improved the anti-tumor efficacy. Conclusions UBE2S is identified as a key biomarker in HCC among the thousands of ubiquitin-related genes and promotes glycolysis by E3 enzyme-independent ubiquitination, thus serving as a therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.

Objective:To study the genomic sequence of Coxsackievirus A8 (CV-A8) associated with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) from 2013 to 2018 in China and to analyze the genetic evolution of each coding region of the full-length genome.Methods:The genome sequences of 11 CV-A8 strains isolated from patients with HFMD in different regions of China from 2013 to 2018 were determined. Sequence alignment and genetic evolution analysis were performed by Sequencher 5.0 and MEGA 7.0 software, etc.Results:Sequence alignment showed that the genome length of 11 CV-A8 strains ranged from 7 393 bp to 7 400 bp. There was no base insertion or deletion in the coding region compared with the prototype strain, but there were individual base insertion or deletion in the non-coding region. The nucleotide and amino acid similarities in the VP1 region of 11 CV-A8 strains were 78.3%-98.6% and 92.6%-99.7%, respectively, and the nucleotide and amino acid sequences identities with the CV-A8 prototype strain were 78.3%-98.2% and 92.6%-99.7%, respectively. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of VP1 region sequences, the CV-A8 can be divided into five genotypes: A, B, C, D and E. The 11 CV-A8 strains in this study belonged to genotypes C (1 strain), D (2 strains) and E (8 strains). The nucleotide and amino acid similarities of 11 CV-A8 full-length genomes were 81.3%-98.8% and 95.9%-99.5%, respectively. The phylogenetic tree of the P2 region showed that the eight E genotypes CV-A8 had the closest evolutionary distance with CV-A4, CV-A14, and CV-A16. The phylogenetic tree of the P3 region showed that the eight E genotypes CV-A8 had a close evolutionary distance with CV-A5, CV-A16, CV-A14 and CV-A4.Conclusions:The 11 CV-A8 stains in this study showed significant intra-genotype diversity in capsid region and recombinant diversity in non-capsid region which indicated that CV-A8 quasispecies were still undergoing dynamics variation. CV-A8 may become an important pathogen of HFMD and the monitoring of CV-A8 needs to be further strengthened.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of Shexiang Baoxinwan in treating stable angina pectoris with Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome in patients with coronary artery disease （CAD） complicated with anxiety and depression and explore its underlying mechanisms. MethodsThis study employed a randomized， double-blind， and placebo-controlled clinical trial design. Patients admitted to the hospital were randomly assigned to the observation group and the control group， with 52 patients in each group. Patients in the observation and control groups received Shexiang Baoxinwan and placebo， respectively， both in combination with conventional Western medication. The dose was 45.0 mg， three times daily， for a total duration of eight weeks. The primary outcome was the Seattle Angina Questionnaire （SAQ） scores before and after treatment. Secondary outcomes included changes in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， the patient health questionnaire-9 （PHQ-9）， generalized anxiety disorder-7 （GAD-7）， inflammatory markers ［interleukin-18 （IL-18）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）， CD40， etc.］， monoamine neurotransmitters ［e.g.， dopamine （DA）］， vascular endothelial function markers ［e.g.， endothelin-1（ET-1）］， adipokines， and ischemia-modified albumin （IMA）. Adverse reactions were also recorded. ResultsA total of 92 patients completed the study， with 44 in the observation group and 48 in the control group. Compared with baseline， both groups showed significant decreases in PHQ-9， GAD-7， and TCM syndrome scores following treatment （P<0.05）， along with a significant increase in SAQ scores （P<0.05）. In the observation group， DA levels were significantly increased （P<0.05）， while levels of IL-18， TNF-α， CD40， ET-1， and IMA were decreased （P<0.05）. In contrast， the control group exhibited significantly increased CD40 levels （P<0.05）. Compared with the control group after treatment， the observation group showed significant improvements in the SAQ dimensions of physical limitation， angina stability， treatment satisfaction， and disease perception， as well as in TCM syndrome score， PHQ-9 score， IL-18， CD40， ET-1， and IMA （P<0.05）. No adverse reactions were observed in either group during treatment. ConclusionShexiang Baoxinwan can improve anxiety and depression， alleviate angina symptoms， and reduce TCM symptoms of Qi stagnation and blood stasis in CAD patients. The mechanism may involve anti-inflammation， improvement of vascular endothelial function， reduction of IMA， and increase of monoamine neurotransmitter levels.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of Shexiang Baoxinwan in treating stable angina pectoris with Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome in patients with coronary artery disease （CAD） complicated with anxiety and depression and explore its underlying mechanisms. MethodsThis study employed a randomized， double-blind， and placebo-controlled clinical trial design. Patients admitted to the hospital were randomly assigned to the observation group and the control group， with 52 patients in each group. Patients in the observation and control groups received Shexiang Baoxinwan and placebo， respectively， both in combination with conventional Western medication. The dose was 45.0 mg， three times daily， for a total duration of eight weeks. The primary outcome was the Seattle Angina Questionnaire （SAQ） scores before and after treatment. Secondary outcomes included changes in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， the patient health questionnaire-9 （PHQ-9）， generalized anxiety disorder-7 （GAD-7）， inflammatory markers ［interleukin-18 （IL-18）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）， CD40， etc.］， monoamine neurotransmitters ［e.g.， dopamine （DA）］， vascular endothelial function markers ［e.g.， endothelin-1（ET-1）］， adipokines， and ischemia-modified albumin （IMA）. Adverse reactions were also recorded. ResultsA total of 92 patients completed the study， with 44 in the observation group and 48 in the control group. Compared with baseline， both groups showed significant decreases in PHQ-9， GAD-7， and TCM syndrome scores following treatment （P<0.05）， along with a significant increase in SAQ scores （P<0.05）. In the observation group， DA levels were significantly increased （P<0.05）， while levels of IL-18， TNF-α， CD40， ET-1， and IMA were decreased （P<0.05）. In contrast， the control group exhibited significantly increased CD40 levels （P<0.05）. Compared with the control group after treatment， the observation group showed significant improvements in the SAQ dimensions of physical limitation， angina stability， treatment satisfaction， and disease perception， as well as in TCM syndrome score， PHQ-9 score， IL-18， CD40， ET-1， and IMA （P<0.05）. No adverse reactions were observed in either group during treatment. ConclusionShexiang Baoxinwan can improve anxiety and depression， alleviate angina symptoms， and reduce TCM symptoms of Qi stagnation and blood stasis in CAD patients. The mechanism may involve anti-inflammation， improvement of vascular endothelial function， reduction of IMA， and increase of monoamine neurotransmitter levels.