Tujia ethnic group medicine Xuetong is derived from Kadsura heteroclita, the stem of which has the medicinal value for anti-rheumatoid arthritis, liver protection, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation effects, and has been widely used in Hunan and Guangdong in China. The selection of reliable and stable reference genes is the basis for subsequent molecular research on K. heteroclita. In this study, GAPDH, TUA, Actin, UBQ, EF-1α, 18S-rRNA, CYP, UBC, TUB, H2A, and RPL were selected as candidate reference genes in Kadsura heteroclita. The gene expression levels of the 11 candidate reference genes of K. heteroclita in its 6 different parts(stem-inside of the cambium, stem-outside of the cambium, fruit, flower, root, and leaf) and under different intervention conditions [drought stress, salt stress, and methyl jasmonate(MeJA) treatment] were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR). The expression stability of the 11 candidate reference genes was comprehensively analyzed and evaluated by geNorm, NormFinder, ΔCT algorithm, and RefFinder software. The results showed that the expression of UBC and RPL was relatively stable in 6 different parts, and UBC and GAPDH genes were relatively stable under different intervention conditions. To verify the reliability of reference genes for K. heteroclita, this study further examined the relative expression levels of KhFPS, KhIDI, KhCAS, KhSQE, KhSQS, KhSQS-2, KhHMGS, KhHMGR, KhMVD, KhMVK, KhDXR, KhDXS, KhPMVK, and KhGGPS in different parts and under different intervention conditions, which might relate to the synthesis of the main component(Xuetongsu) of K. heteroclita. The results showed that with UBC and RPL or UBC and GAPDH as the reference genes, the expression trends of these 14 genes were basically consistent in different parts or under different intervention conditions for K. heteroclita. In conclusion, UBC can be used as a reference gene of K. heteroclita for its different parts and different intervention conditions, which lays a foundation for further research on the biosynthetic pathway of main components in K. heteroclita.
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods* ; Reference Standards ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

BACKGROUND: China is seeing a growing demand for rehabilitation treatments for post-stroke upper limb spastic paresis (PSSP-UL). Although acupuncture is known to be effective for PSSP-UL, there is room to enhance its efficacy. OBJECTIVE: This study explored a semi-personalized acupuncture approach for PSSP-UL that used three-dimensional kinematic analysis (3DKA) results to select additional acupoints, and investigated the feasibility, efficacy and safety of this approach. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: This single-blind, single-center, randomized, controlled trial involved 74 participants who experienced a first-ever ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke with spastic upper limb paresis. The participants were then randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group in a 1:1 ratio. Both groups received conventional treatments and acupuncture treatment 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The main acupoints in both groups were the same, while participants in the intervention group received additional acupoints selected on the basis of 3DKA results. Follow-up assessments were conducted for 8 weeks after the treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) response rate (≥ 6-point change) at week 4. Secondary outcomes included changes in motor function (FMA-UE), Brunnstrom recovery stage (BRS), manual muscle test (MMT), spasticity (Modified Ashworth Scale, MAS), and activities of daily life (Modified Barthel Index, MBI) at week 4 and week 12. RESULTS: Sixty-four participants completed the trial and underwent analyses. Compared with control group, the intervention group exhibited a significantly higher FMA-UE response rate at week 4 (χ² = 5.479, P = 0.019) and greater improvements in FMA-UE at both week 4 and week 12 (both P < 0.001). The intervention group also showed bigger improvements from baseline in the MMT grades for shoulder adduction and elbow flexion at weeks 4 and 12 as well as thumb adduction at week 4 (P = 0.007, P = 0.049, P = 0.019, P = 0.008, P = 0.029, respectively). The intervention group showed a better change in the MBI at both week 4 and week 12 (P = 0.004 and P = 0.010, respectively). Although the intervention group had a higher BRS for the hand at week 12 (P = 0.041), no intergroup differences were observed at week 4 (all P > 0.05). The two groups showed no differences in MAS grades as well as in BRS for the arm at weeks 4 and 12 (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Semi-personalized acupuncture prescription based on 3DKA results significantly improved motor function, muscle strength, and activities of daily living in patients with PSSP-UL. TRIAL REGISTRATION Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2200056216. Please cite this article as: Huang XY, Liao OP, Jiang SY, Tao JM, Li Y, Lu XY, Li YY, Wang C, Li J, Ma XP. Three-dimensional kinematic analysis can improve the efficacy of acupoint selection for post-stroke patients with upper limb spastic paresis: A randomized controlled trial. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(1): 15-24.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Acupuncture Points ; Upper Extremity/physiopathology* ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Single-Blind Method ; Aged ; Stroke/therapy* ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Stroke Rehabilitation/methods* ; Adult ; Muscle Spasticity/therapy* ; Paresis/physiopathology* ; Treatment Outcome

A male infant,aged 6 days,was admitted to the hospital due to respiratory distress and systemic desquamative rash after birth.The infant presented with erythema and desquamative rash,respiratory failure,recurrent infections,chronic diarrhea,hypernatremic dehydration,and growth retardation.Comprehensive treatment,including anti-infection therapy,intravenous immunoglobulin administration,and skin care,resulted in improvement of the rash,but recurrent infections persisted.Second-generation sequencing revealed a homozygous mutation in the SPINK5 gene,consistent with the pathogenic variation of Netherton syndrome.The family opted for palliative care,and the infant died at the age of 2 months after discharge.This report documents a case of Netherton syndrome caused by the SPINK5 gene mutation in the neonatal period,and highlights multidisciplinary diagnosis and therapy for this condition.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of brexpiprazole in treating acute schizophrenia.Methods Patients with schizophrenia were randomly divided into treatment group and control group.The treatment group was given brexpiprozole 2-4 mg·d-1 orally and the control group was given aripiprazole 10-20 mg·d-1orally,both were treated for 6 weeks.Clinical efficacy of the two groups,the response rate at endpoint,the changes from baseline to endpoint of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS),Clinical Global Impression-Improvement(CGI-S),Personal and Social Performance scale(PSP),PANSS Positive syndrome subscale,PANSS negative syndrome subscale were compared.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events in two groups were compared.Results There were 184 patients in treatment group and 186 patients in control group.After treatment,the response rates of treatment group and control group were 79.50％(140 cases/184 cases)and 82.40％(150 cases/186 cases),the scores of CGI-I of treatment group and control group were(2.00±1.20)and(1.90±1.01),with no significant difference(all P＞0.05).From baseline to Week 6,the mean change of PANSS total score wese(-30.70±16.96)points in treatment group and(-32.20±17.00)points in control group,with no significant difference(P＞0.05).The changes of CGI-S scores in treatment group and control group were(-2.00±1.27)and(-1.90±1.22)points,PSP scores were(18.80±14.77)and(19.20±14.55)points,PANSS positive syndrome scores were(-10.30±5.93)and(-10.80±5.81)points,PANSS negative syndrome scores were(-6.80±5.98)and(-7.30±5.15)points,with no significant difference(P＞0.05).There was no significant difference in the incidence of treatment-related adverse events between the two group(69.00％vs.64.50％,P＞0.05).Conclusion The non-inferiority of Brexpiprazole to aripiprazole was established,with comparable efficacy and acceptability.

The purpose of this study was to understand the prevalence of Neoehrlichia mikurensis in rodents in Yunnan commensal rodent plague foci.Lianghe Country,Mangshi City,and Mile City in Yunnan Province were chosen as sampling sites,where rodents were captured with dead-traps.The N.mikurensis groEL gene in rodent spleen samples was detected with nested PCR,and the positive products were sequenced with Sanger bidirectional assays.The infection rate of N.mikurensis a-mong plague foci,habitats,species,and sexes was compared with Chi-square tests or Fisher's exact probability method.Of 656 rodent spleen samples,12 N.mikurensis positive samples were detected in R.tanezumi,R.sladeni,N.confucianus,and B.bowersi.The positivity rate was 1.83％.No significant difference in the N.mikurensis positivity rate was observed a-mong plague foci,habitats,species,and sexes(P＞0.05).Genetic evolution analysis of the groEL gene indicated that the se-quence similarity of nucleic acid sequences in 12 positive samples was 99.5％-100％,and the nucleic acid sequences of N.mikurensis were in the same branch,belonging to cluster Ⅳ.Thus,four species of rodents were found to have low frequency infection with N.mikurensis in Yunnan commensal rodent plague foci.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors affecting the prognosis of penile cancer after surgery.Methods:We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data on 112 cases of penile cancer treated in Weifang People's Hospital from January 2013 to De-cember 2023.Using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve,χ2 test,Fisher's exact test,and univariate and multivariate Cox risk regression analyses,we compared the clinical characteristics among different groups,and determined the independent prognostic risk factors for cancer-specific survival(CSS)of the patients.Results:The 1-,3-and 5-year CSS rates of the penile cancer patients were 78.2%,66.1% and 63.7%,respectively.Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated a significant correlation of a higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)with a lower CSS rate(P<0.001).Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed high NLR(HR=2.6;95% CI:1.031-6.558;P=0.043)to be an independent risk factor for CSS.Conclusion:Preoperative NLR is an independent risk factor for the prognosis of penile cancer.In addition,older age,farmer or worker occupation,lower education,preoperative lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio(LMR)≤2.81,preoperative fibrinogen(FIB)≥3.41 g/L,advanced tumor stage and tumor differentiation are associated with the poor prognosis the malignancy.

Objective: To analyze the prevalence and the risk factors of fungal sepsis in 25 neonatal intensive care units (NICU) among preterm infants in China, and to provide a basis for preventive strategies of fungal sepsis. Methods: This was a second-analysis of the data from the "reduction of infection in neonatal intensive care units using the evidence-based practice for improving quality" study. The current status of fungal sepsis of the 24 731 preterm infants with the gestational age of <34⁺⁰ weeks, who were admitted to 25 participating NICU within 7 days of birth between May 2015 and April 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. These preterm infants were divided into the fungal sepsis group and the without fungal sepsis group according to whether they developed fungal sepsis to analyze the incidences and the microbiology of fungal sepsis. Chi-square test was used to compare the incidences of fungal sepsis in preterm infants with different gestational ages and birth weights and in different NICU. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to study the outcomes of preterm infants with fungal sepsis, which were further compared with those of preterm infants without fungal sepsis. The 144 preterm infants in the fungal sepsis group were matched with 288 preterm infants in the non-fungal sepsis group by propensity score-matched method. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the risk factors of fungal sepsis. Results: In all, 166 (0.7%) of the 24 731 preterm infants developed fungal sepsis, with the gestational age of (29.7±2.0) weeks and the birth weight of (1 300±293) g. The incidence of fungal sepsis increased with decreasing gestational age and birth weight (both P<0.001). The preterm infants with gestational age of <32 weeks accounted for 87.3% (145/166). The incidence of fungal sepsis was 1.0% (117/11 438) in very preterm infants and 2.0% (28/1 401) in extremely preterm infants, and was 1.3% (103/8 060) in very low birth weight infants and 1.7% (21/1 211) in extremely low birth weight infants, respectively. There was no fungal sepsis in 3 NICU, and the incidences in the other 22 NICU ranged from 0.7% (10/1 397) to 2.9% (21/724), with significant statistical difference (P<0.001). The pathogens were mainly Candida (150/166, 90.4%), including 59 cases of Candida albicans and 91 cases of non-Candida albicans, of which Candida parapsilosis was the most common (41 cases). Fungal sepsis was independently associated with increased risk of moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (adjusted OR 1.52, 95%CI 1.04-2.22, P=0.030) and severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) (adjusted OR 2.55, 95%CI 1.12-5.80, P=0.025). Previous broad spectrum antibiotics exposure (adjusted OR=2.50, 95%CI 1.50-4.17, P<0.001), prolonged use of central line (adjusted OR=1.05, 95%CI 1.03-1.08, P<0.001) and previous total parenteral nutrition (TPN) duration (adjusted OR=1.04, 95%CI 1.02-1.06, P<0.001) were all independently associated with increasing risk of fungal sepsis. Conclusions: Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis are the main pathogens of fungal sepsis among preterm infants in Chinese NICU. Preterm infants with fungal sepsis are at increased risk of moderate to severe BPD and severe ROP. Previous broad spectrum antibiotics exposure, prolonged use of central line and prolonged duration of TPN will increase the risk of fungal sepsis. Ongoing initiatives are needed to reduce fungal sepsis based on these risk factors.
Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Birth Weight ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Gestational Age ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Sepsis/epidemiology* ; Retinopathy of Prematurity/epidemiology* ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology*

Excessive application of chemical fertilizer has caused many problems in Angelica dahurica var. formosana planting, such as yield decline and quality degradation. In order to promote the green cultivation mode of A. dahurica var. formosana and explore rhizosphere fungus resources, the rhizosphere fungi with nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, potassium solubilization, iron-producing carrier, and IAA-producing properties were isolated and screened in the rhizosphere of A. dahurica var. formosana from the genuine and non-genuine areas, respectively. The strains were identified comprehensively in light of the morphological characteristics and ITS rDNA sequences, and the growth-promoting effect of the screened strains was verified by pot experiment. The results showed that 37 strains of growth-promoting fungi were isolated and screened from the rhizosphere of A. dahurica var. formosana, mostly belonging to Fusarium. The cultured rhizosphere growth-promoting fungi of A. dahurica var. formosana were more abundant and diverse in the genuine producing areas than in the non-genuine producing areas. Among all strains, Aspergillus niger ZJ-17 had the strongest growth promotion potential. Under the condition of no fertilization outdoors, ZJ-17 inoculation significantly promoted the growth, yield, and accumulation of effective components of A. dahurica var. formosana planted in the soil of genuine and non-genuine producing areas, with yield increases of 73.59% and 37.84%, respectively. To a certain extent, it alleviated the restriction without additional fertilization on the growth of A. dahurica var. formosana. Therefore, A. niger ZJ-17 has great application prospects in increasing yield and quality of A. dahurica var. formosana and reducing fertilizer application and can be actually applied in promoting the growth of A. dahurica var. formosana and producing biofertilizer.
Fertilizers ; Rhizosphere ; Angelica/chemistry* ; Fungi/genetics* ; Phosphorus

Cortical interneurons can be categorized into distinct populations based on multiple modalities, including molecular signatures and morpho-electrical (M/E) properties. Recently, many transcriptomic signatures based on single-cell RNA-seq have been identified in cortical interneurons. However, whether different interneuron populations defined by transcriptomic signature expressions correspond to distinct M/E subtypes is still unknown. Here, we applied the Patch-PCR approach to simultaneously obtain the M/E properties and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of >600 interneurons in layer V of the mouse somatosensory cortex (S1). Subsequently, we identified 11 M/E subtypes, 9 neurochemical cell populations (NCs), and 20 transcriptomic cell populations (TCs) in this cortical lamina. Further analysis revealed that cells in many NCs and TCs comprised several M/E types and were difficult to clearly distinguish morpho-electrically. A similar analysis of layer V interneurons of mouse primary visual cortex (V1) and motor cortex (M1) gave results largely comparable to S1. Comparison between S1, V1, and M1 suggested that, compared to V1, S1 interneurons were morpho-electrically more similar to M1. Our study reveals the presence of substantial M/E variations in cortical interneuron populations defined by molecular expression.
Mice ; Animals ; Neocortex/physiology* ; Mice, Transgenic ; Interneurons/physiology*

Acupuncture and moxibustion has certain advantages in the treatment of post-stroke spastic paralysis，but the treatment methods and diagnosis and treatment ideas are complicated. This paper sortes out the representative contemporary acupuncture and moxibustion schools in the treatment of post-stroke spastic paralysis, analyzes their academic origins，summarizes and compares the theory，acupoint selection and technique characteristics of different schools in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease，so as to provide some references for guiding optimal treatment schemes selection in clinic.
Humans ; Moxibustion ; Muscle Spasticity/therapy* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Schools ; Acupuncture Points ; Stroke/therapy*