OBJECTIVE: The present study evaluated the effects of deep acupuncture at Weizhong acupoint (BL40) on bladder function and brain activity in a rat model of overactive bladder (OAB), and investigated the possible mechanisms around the acupuncture area that initiate the effects of acupuncture. METHODS: Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups, comprising a control group, model group, group treated with deep acupuncture at BL40, group treated with shallow acupuncture at BL40, group treated with acupuncture at non-acupoint next to BL40, and group treated with acupuncture at Xuanzhong (GB39). Urodynamic evaluation was used to observe the urination, and functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to observe the brain activation. The mechanism of acupuncture at BL40 in regulating bladder function was explored by toluidine blue staining and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the mechanism was verified by stabilizing mast cells (MCs) or blocking tibial nerve. RESULTS: Deep acupuncture at BL40 significantly increased the intercontraction interval in OAB rats and enhanced the mean amplitude of low frequency fluctuation of primary motor cortex (M1), periaquaductal gray matter (PAG), and pontine micturition center (PMC). It also increased the zero-lag functional connectivity between M1 and PAG and between PAG and PMC. Shallow acupuncture at BL40 and acupuncture at non-acupoint or GB39 had no effect on these indexes. Further studies suggested that deep acupuncture at BL40 increased the number and degranulation rate of MCs as well as the contents of 5-hydroxytryptamine, substance P, and histamine in the tissues around BL40. Blocking the tibial nerve by lidocaine injection or inhibiting MC degranulation by sodium cromoglycate injection obstructed the effects of acupuncture on restoring urinary function and modulating brain activation in OAB rats. CONCLUSION Deep acupuncture at BL40 may be more effective for inhibiting OAB by promoting degranulation of MCs around the acupoint and stimulating tibial nerve, thereby regulating the activation of the brain area that controls the lower urinary tract. Please cite this article as: Liu X, Zhang CY, Du XY, Li SS, Wang YQ, Zheng Y, Deng HZ, Fang XQ, Li JY, Wang ZQ, Xu SF, Mi YQ. Acupuncture at Weizhong (BL40) attenuates acetic acid-induced overactive bladder in rats by regulating brain neural activity through the modulation of mast cells and tibial nerves. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(1): 46-55.
Animals ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive/physiopathology* ; Mast Cells/physiology* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Female ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Acupuncture Points ; Rats ; Brain/physiopathology* ; Tibial Nerve/physiopathology* ; Acetic Acid ; Urinary Bladder/physiopathology*

Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) and Viabahn covered stent placement (CSP) for the treatment of delayed hemorrhage after hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery (DH-HPS).Methods:The clinical data of 41 patients with DH-HPS at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from January 2019 to June 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Among these patients, 27 were male and 14 were female, with an average age of (63.1±10.3) years. 22 patients who underwent TAE was in TAE group and 19 who underwent Viabahn CSP was in CSP group. The interventional treatment effect, blood biochemical indexes and complications were compared between the two groups.Results:In the TAE group, the success rate of hemostasis was 90.9% (20/22), and the rebleeding rate was 9.1% (2/22) after interventional treatment. In the CSP group, the success rate of hemostasis was 94.7% (18/19), and the rebleeding rate of was 5.3% (1/19) after interventional treatment. There was no statistically significant difference in the success rate of hemostasis and the rebleeding rate between the two groups (both P>0.05). The rate of liver function exacerbation after the procedure was 100% (20/20) in the TAE group and 58.8% (10/17) in the CSP group, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=9.77, P=0.002). 37 patients were followed up (18.4±1.7) months, and no rebleeding occurred in all patients. Conclusion:TAE and CSP are both effective for DH-HPS, while CSP is superior to TAE in terms of liver function protection.

Abstract: Objective　To understand the kdr (knockdown resistance, kdr) gene mutation of the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) of Anopheles sinensis in Yunnan Province. Methods　From 2018 to 2019, mosquitoes were collected in Luoping County, Suijiang County, Tengchong City, Yingjiang County, Yuanjiang County and Mengla County in Yunnan Province. The collected mosquitoes were morphologically identified as Anopheles sinensis and genomic DNA was extracted by kits. The DNA templates were sequenced after PCR amplification and the sequencing results were identify as Anopheles sinensis by homology alignment in NCBI. After the ⅡS5 and ⅡS6 fragments of the sodium channels in Anopheles sinensis were amplified and sequenced, the sequencing results were multiple aligned by DNAMAN software, and the mutations were analyzed one by one with BioEdit software to determine the kdr allele types and genotypes, and the frequencies were calculated. Results This survey amplified 287 sequences, and the sequence maps showed that 1014 loci had three alleles, including wild type TTG/L (89.20%), mutant type TTT/F (9.76%) and TCG/S (1.04%). Five genotypes: homozygous wildtype L/L (85.02%), homozygous mutant F/F (6.27%) and S/S (0.35%), heterozygous mutant L/F (6.97%) and L/S (1.39%). The wild type allele TTG/L was the main allele in six sampling sites except Suijiang County. The frequency of wild type allele in Tengchong City was the highest (100.00%). That is, no mutation was detected, while the rest of counties occurred different degrees of mutation at 1014 loci. The frequency of mutant allele in Suijiang County was the highest, reaching 55.68%. Luoping County, Mengla County and Suijiang County had two mutant types. Yingjiang County and Yuanjiang County had one heterozygous mutant L/F. Conclusion　Wild type L1014 (TTG/L) is still dominant in most areas of Yunnan Province. The kdr mutation type is mainly L1014F, followed by L1014S, and the mutation frequency is lower than that in central provinces of China.

The aim of this study was to investigated the biological diversity, antibacterial activites and the plant growth-promoting traits of endophytic fungi of sandal (Santalum album), and to assess their potential in the development of antibacterial substances and rapid cultivation of sandal. The results of isolation and taxa analysis of endophytic fungi from sandal showed that 325 strains of endophytic fungi belonging to 16 genera of endophytic fungi were isolated from sandal (of which 86 from roots, 105 from stems and 134 from leaves). The isolation rate and colonization rate of endophytic fungi in different sandal parts showed the same pattern of change: leave>stems>roots. The diversity index of endophytic fungi in sandal roots was significantly higher than that of stems and leaves. The dominant endophytic fungi of sandal roots, stems and leaves showed significant differences. The dominant endophytic fungi of roots were Fusarium (50.00%) and Alternaria (10.47%), Alternaria (58.11%) and Acremonium (20.00%) for stems, and Pantoea (74.63%) for leaves. The antibacterial activity of 40 representative strains of sandal endophytic fungi were analyzed and the results showed that 90% of endophytic fungi exhibited inhibitory activity against at least one of the tested bacteria strains, and the strains with inhibitory activity to Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis accounted for 45.0%, 30%, 47.5%, 55%, 72.5%, and 62.5%, respectively. The sandal fungal endophytes with plant growth-promoting characteristics were screened, and 5 strains of endophytic fungi with phosphorus-solubilizing activity, 8 strains of endophytic fungi producing IAA, and 4 strains of endophytic fungi producing siderophores were found. Among them, endophytic fungus Monilia sp TXRF45 clould produced IAA and siderophores, and also show phosphate-solubilizing activity. The results indicated that the endophytic fungi of Sandal were rich in species diversity and their distribution had a certain tissue specificity. Some strains showed good antibacterial activity and growth-promoting properties, which could potentially applicable for the development of antibacterial substances and rapid cultivation of sandal.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene Apa I polymorphism and the susceptibility to bone and joint tuberculosis in Chinese Han population.

METHODSBetween May, 2015 and June, 2016, 100 patients with bone and joint tuberculosis and 100 healthy volunteers were recruited concomitantly in Heyuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Vitamin D receptor gene Apa I polymorphisms in these subjects were analyzed using SNaPshot.

RESULTThe genotype frequencies of Apa I-AA, Apa I-Aa and Apa I-aa were 51%, 41%, and 8% in the case group and 33%, 55%, and 12% in the control group, respectively, showing significant differences between the two groups (P<0.05). The genotype of Apa I-AA was significantly higher in the case group with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.073 (95% CI: 1.142-3.763).

CONCLUSIONThe Apa I polymorphisms of the VDR gene are associated with the susceptibility to bone and joint tuberculosis in Chinese Han population, and individuals with a Apa I-AA genotype are at greater risks to develop bone and joint tuberculosis.

Objective To investigate the correlation and significance of S100A12 with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).Methods Fifty-three patients with OSAHS were chosen as OSAHS group and 46 healthy volunteers were chosen as control group.The levels of S100A12 and hs-CRP in the two groups were compared,and its relationship with those of epworth (ESS),apnea hypopnea index (AHI),and minimum blood oxygen saturation (L-SpO2) were analysised.Results The scores of ESS,BMI,A HI,L-SpO2,hs-CRP and S100A12 in two groups were statistically significant (P＜0.05).The severity of hs-CRP in severe OSAHS group was significantly higher than that of mild OSAHS group (P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in hs-CRP between moderate OSAHS group and mild OSAHS group and severe group (P＞0.05).The level of S100A12 in severe OSAHS group was significantly higher than that of moderate OSAHS group and OSAHS mild group(P＜0.05).The level of S100A12 in moderate moderate group was significantly higher than that of mild group(P＜0.01).hs-CRP was negatively correlated with ESS and AHI (r=0.822,0.787,P＜0.01),was positively correlated with L-SpO2 (r=-0.740,P＜0.01),S100A12 was positively correlated with ESS and AHI (r =0.707,P ＜ 0.01),and negatively correlated with ESS and AHI (r =0.707,0.807,P＜0.01),and negatively correlated with with L-SpO2 (r=-0.670,P＜0.01).Conclusion S100A12 is associated with OSAHS.The higher the severity of OSAHS,the higher the S100A12 value,which can be used as a new predictor of cardiovascular disease risk in OSAHS patients.

Objective In cerebral aneurysm clipping and embolization, blood pressure control and temporary parent artery blocking are common methods to prevent aneurysm rupture. Their influence on the prognosis is uncertain. In this study, we try to find out the association between methods above and prognostic indicators.Methods We held a retrospective analysis on patients' medical records of cerebral aneurysms surgical clipping and endovascular coiling , and recorded gender, age, diagnosis, Hunt-Hess grade, Glasgow coma scale score, treatment methods, a history of hypertension, preoperative systolic blood pressure, with or without controlled hypotension, systolic blood pressure difference before and after controlled hypotension, with or without temporary artery blocking, with or without hypertension after treated aneurysm, prognostic indicators including mortality after 1 month, intensive care unit (ICU) stay time of survivors, discharged Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) score. Prognostic indicators were regarded as dependent variable, all the factors were regarded as independent variable, and the strength analysis of influence factors on prognostic indicators was made by binary logistic regression.Results Total cases were 165, including 68 males and 97 females, with an average age of 56 (12-85) years. The mortality after 1 month was 10.9% (18 cases). The ICU stay time of survivors was 7.35 (0-67) days. GOS score at discharge was 1-3 in 40 (24.2%) patients and 4-5 in 125 (75.8%) patients. Systolic blood pressure difference before and after controlled hypotension was an independent factor influencing mortality (t=2.273, P=0.024), and the greater the difference was, the higher the mortality would be. Timely hypertension after aneurysm treated was an independent factor affecting ICU stay time of survivors and patients with hypertension had shorter ICU stay time (χ=10.017, P=0.001). Blood pressure control (χ=0.088, P=0.767) and temporary blocking (χ=1.307, P=0.253) did not show significant influence on GOS score at discharge.Conclusions Timely controlled hypertension after aneurysm clipping and embolization can significantly shorten the stay time in ICU. The degree of controlled hypotension associates with postoperative mortality, the greater systolic blood pressure difference before and after antihypertensive treatment is, the higher the mortality will be.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological features and influencing factors of human brucellosis in Qinghai province,and to provide scientific basis for prevention and control of brucellosis.Methods From 2006 to 2010,select the high incidence areas of brucellosis in Qinghai province and five counties(Henan,Dari,Tianjun,Ping'an and Haiyan counties) included in the “Central Subsidies to Local Public Health Special Fund Human Brucellosis Prevention and Control Projects” for the survey point,as well as high-risk employees from Qinghai Biological Pharmaceutical Factory were investigated.Combined with epidemiological questionnaire investigation [done according to the “National Human Brucellosis Surveillance Program(Trial)”],clinical symptoms and signs,confirmed human brucellosis patient were tested by intradermal allergy test,rose bengal plate agglutination test(RBPT) and standard tube agglutination test (SAT),in accordance with “Diagnostic Criteria and Principles of Management of Brucellosis” (GB 15988-1995) and“Diagnostic Criteria for Brucellosis” (WS 269-2007).Results Of 8368 serum samples detected,347 were RBPT positive,and the positive rate was 4.15％;5346 serum samples were tested by SAT,180 were positive,and the positive rate was 3.37％.In June 2009,112 employees in Qinghai Biological Pharmaceutical Factory were investigated on a follow-up survey,83 were RBPT positive,the positive rate was 74.11％; 58 were SAT positive,the positive rate was 51.79％.Eight of them were new cases and 4 were chronic brucellosis.Twenty five new cases were reported between 2006 and 2010.The peak incidence was from March to July.Most of the cases were herdsmen.ConclusionStrengthening animal quarantine,strengthening public education,and improving protection awareness,can effectively control the disease brucellosis.

Objective To study the effect of the 18kDa translocator protein (TSPO) on U251cells of human glioma. Methods U251 cell line was cultured in vitro conventionally.The specific ligand ofTSPO,pk11195,was used in 5 experimental groups respectively with concentrations of 100,50,25,12.5 and 6.25 μmol/L,in comparison with a control group.MTr colorimetry and trypan blue staining were used to detect cell proliferation.Hoechst33342 staining and flow cytometry were applied to detect cell apoptosis. Western blotting and immumofluorescence method were used to detect the expression level of TSPO. DCFH-DA probe and GSH kit were used to respectively detect the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and GSH level in cells.Jc-1 staining was applied to detect the mitochondrial membrane potential.Luciferase enzyme was used to detect the quantity of ATP in cells. Results MTT showed the survival of U251 cells was significantly higher in the groups of 50 and 25 μmol/L pk11195than in the control group (P＜0.05). Trypan blue staining showed the cell death rate was significantlylower in the group of 50 μmol/L pk11195 than in the control group (P＜0.05).The apoptosis rate,TSPO expression,ROS and GSH levels decreased significantly in the groups of 6.25 and 50 μmol/L pk11195,compared with the control group; the apoptosis rate was significantly lower in the group of 50 μmol/Lpk11195 than in the group of 6.25 μmol/L pk11195 (P＜0.05).The cell membrane potential and ATP quantity were significantly higher in the groups of 6.25 and 50 μmol/L pk11195 than in the control group,and those in the group of 50 μmol/L pk11195 were significantly higher than in the group of 6.25 μmol/Lpk11195 (P＜0.05). Conclusion TSPO may promote apoptosis of U251 cells in human glioma and inhibit proliferation of glioma cells,functioning similarly as a cancer suppressor gene.

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of Chinese patients with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (AHCM). Methods A total of 188 patients with AHCM diagnosed at Fuwai Hospital were included in this retrospective study. Clinical characteristics, mortality and cardiovascular morbidity were analyzed. A multiple logistic regression was performed to adjust for potential confounding factors. Results Males predominated with a number of 139 (73.9%) in this cohort. Patient's age ranged from 15 to 81 (51.9 ± 12. 6) years. There were 120 patients (63. 8% ) with "pure" type and 68 patients (36.2%) with "mixed" type of AHCM, 171 patients were followed up for (5.0 ± 3.0)years,cardiovascular mortality was 1.2%, 28 patients (16.4%) experienced one or more cardiovascular events. Conclusion The prevalence of AHCM is high in Chinese HCM patients, pure type AHCM is more common, and AHCM patients have a benign clinical course.