Objective To investigate the prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum infections in wild rodents in schistosomiasis-endemic areas of China, so as to provide insights into formulation of technical guidelines for monitoring of and the precise control strategy for S. japonicum infections in wild rodents during the elimination phase. Methods Two administrative villages where schistosomiasis was historically highly prevalent were selected each from Dongzhi County, Anhui Province, and Duchang County, Jiangxi Province as study villages. Wild rodents were captured from study villages with baited traps or cages at night in June and September, 2021. The number of rodents captured was recorded, and the rodent species was characterized based on morphologi-cal characteristics. Liver tissues were sampled from captured rodents for macroscopical observation of the presence of egg granu- lomas, and S. japonicum infection was detected simultaneously using liver tissue homogenate microscopy, examinations of mesenteric tissues for parasites, and modified Kato-Katz thick smear technique (Kato-Katz technique). A positive S. japonicum infection was defined as detection of S. japonicum eggs or adult worms by any of these methods. The rate of wild rodent capture and prevalence of S. japonicum infections in wild rodents were compared in different study villages and at different time periods, and the detection of S. japonicum infections in wild rodents was compared by different assays. Results The overall rate of wild ro- dent capture was 8.28% (237/2 861) in Dongzhi County, and the wild rodent capture rates were 9.24% (133/1 439) and 7.31% (104/1 422) in two study villages (χ² = 3.503, P = 0.061), and were 8.59% (121/1 409) and 7.99% (116/1 452) in June and September, 2021, respectively (χ² = 0.337, P = 0.561). The overall rate of wild rodent capture was 3.72% (77/2 072) in Duchang County, and the wild rodent capture rates were 6.91% (67/970) and 0.91% (10/1 102) in two study villages (χ² = 51.901, P < 0.001), and were 4.13% (39/945) and 3.37% (38/1 127) in June and September, 2021, respectively (χ² = 0.815, P = 0.365). Rattus norvegicus was the predominant rodent species captured in both counties, accounting for 70.04% (166/237) of all captured wild rodents in Dongzhi County and 88.31% (68/77) in Duchang County. No S. japonicum infection was detected in wild rodents captured in Duchang County. Nevertheless, the overall prevalence of S. japonicum infections was 51.05% (121/237) in wild rodents captured in Dongzhi County, with prevalence rates of 50.38% (67/133) and 51.92% (54/104) in two study villages (χ² = 0.098, P = 0.755), and 54.31% (63/116) and 47.93% (58/121) in September and June, 2021, respectively (χ² = 0.964, P = 0.326). Of 237 wild rodents captured in Dongzhi County, there were 140 (59.07%) rodents with visible hepatic egg granulomas, 117 (49.47%) tested positive for S. japonicum eggs by liver tissue homogenate microscopy, 34 (14.35%) tested positive for S. japonicum eggs with Kato-Katz technique; however, no adult S. japonicum worms were detected in mesenteric tissues. In addition, hepatic egg granulomas were found in all wild rodents tested positive for S. japonicum eggs with liver tissue homogenate microscopy. Conclusions The rate of wild rodent capture and prevalence of S. japonicum infection in wild rodents vary greatly in schistosomiasis-endemic areas of China, and the prevalence of S. japonicum infection is slightly higher in wild rodents captured in autumn than in summer. Liver tissue is recommended as the preferred sample for surveillance of S. japonicum infection in wild rodents, and a combination of macroscopical observation of hepatic egg granulomas and liver tissue homogenate microscopy may be a standard method for surveillance of S. japonicum infection in wild rodents.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between acupuncture during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) and the live birth rate (LBR) using different propensity score methods. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, eligible women who underwent a COH were divided into acupuncture and non-acupuncture groups. The primary outcome was LBR, as determined by propensity score matching (PSM). LBR was defined as the delivery of one or more living infants that reached a gestational age over 28 weeks after embryo transfer. The propensity score model encompassed 16 confounding variables. To validate the results, sensitivity analyses were conducted using three additional propensity score methods: propensity score adjustment, inverse probability weighting (IPW), and IPW with a "doubly robust" estimator. RESULTS: The primary cohort encompassed 9751 patients (1830 [18.76%] in the acupuncture group and 7921 [81.23%] in the non-acupuncture group). Following 1:1 PSM, a higher LBR was found in the acupuncture cohort (41.4% [755/1824] vs 36.4% [664/1824], with an odds ratio of 1.23 [95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.41]). Three additional propensity score methods produced essentially similar results. The risk of serious adverse events did not significantly differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION This retrospective study revealed an association between acupuncture and an increased LBR among patients undergoing COH, and that acupuncture is a safe and valuable treatment option. Please cite this article as: Zheng XY, Jiang ZY, Li YT, Li CL, Zhu H, Yu Z, Yu SY, Yang LL, Tang SY, Lü XY, Liang FR, Yang J. Association between acupuncture and live birth rates after fresh embryo transfer: A cohort study based on different propensity score methods. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):528-536.
Humans ; Female ; Propensity Score ; Embryo Transfer ; Adult ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Pregnancy ; Live Birth ; Birth Rate ; Cohort Studies

Exploring the action targets (groups) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important proposition to promote the innovation and development of TCM, but it has attracted a lot of attention as to whether it is related to the efficacy or the disease. Our team found that the metabolomic signature molecules in the development of diabetes mellitus (DM) were significantly associated with the clinical efficacy of Yuquan Pill through a large clinical sample study. Taking this as a clue, our team intends to expand the information on the omics features of DM development, and discover the key targets (groups) and their lead compounds for the hypoglycemic effect of Yuquan Pill. The project includes: ① Based on the retrospective clinical trials, using omics technology integrated with generative artificial intelligence, mining the characteristic information of proteome and microbiome, forming driving factors together with metabolome characteristic molecules, and characterizing the molecular trajectories of diabetes evolution and their interference by Yuquan Pill; ② Taking the evolving molecular trajectories as a link and pointer, using anthropomorphic modeling and molecular biology techniques such as chemical proteomics to discover the key targets (groups) of Yuquan Pill's hypoglycemic effect, with the prospective clinical samples for validation; ③ Evaluate the overall response of key targets (groups) using graph neural network technology, and search for drug-derived/endogenous lead compounds with proven clinical pathologies and clear mechanisms of action, so as to provide a new paradigm and technology for the discovery of complex active ingredient targets (groups) of TCM that are related to their clinical efficacy, as well as for the discovery of innovative medicines.

Objective:To analyze the current situation of the development and allocation of medical and health resources in Liaoning Province,and provide references and guidance for relevant departments to optimize and balance the allocation of medical resources.Methods:Based on data from the Liaoning Provincial Bureau of Statistics,a comparative analysis was conducted on the development and allocation of medical resources in Liaoning Province from the dimensions of time and geography.Indicators such as Lorentz curve,Gini coefficient,and health resource density index were used to quantitatively evaluate the equity of medical and health resource allocation and distribution in Liaoning Province.Results:The allocation level of medical resources in central cities is relatively high,while the northwest region of the province is relatively weak.Conclusion:In recent years,the allocation of medical resources in various regions of the province has been improved,but differences still exist.These differences can be gradually reduced through policy guidance,introduction of information technology,and strengthening of human resource construction.

Purpose Focusing on the characteristics of for-malin fixed paraffin embedded(FFPE)samples,explored nano-magnetic bead nucleic acid extraction solutions with higher qual-ity/yield and continued to improve molecular pathology technolo-gy.Methods Alternative magnetic beads were synthesised in four major categories and 15 sub-categories and we screened to obtain high-quality/yield magnetic beads centred on FFPE samples.Simulated conventional tissues,simulated coarse needle punctures(liver),and simulated fiberoptic bronchoscopy sam-ples(lungs)were sectioned with the same number of serial slices in tubes.The nucleic acids of slices were extracted using the best magnetic beads screened in this study and common com-mercially available kits,and then perform comparison and purifi-cation quality parameters such as total amount and fragment size.The downstream applications of nucleic acids were validated by PCR and Sanger sequencing.Results Screening all homemade nanomagnetic beads centered on the DNA of FFPE samples,the total recoveries of the best performance nanomagnetic beads were obtained to be 58.5％±1.58％,and the total recoveries of five commercially available commercial magnetic beads and three do-mestic kit magnetic beads ranged from 18.68％to 40.71％.The total amount of DNA(ng)extracted from the same amount of tis-sue(serial slices),the nucleic acid yield of this study in simu-lated conventional tissues,simulated coarse needle punctures,and simulated fiberoptic bronchoscopy samples were increased by 39.49％-181.72％compared with those of the commercially a-vailable kits(P＜0.05).The total amount of extracted nucleic acid from simulated fiberoptic bronchoscopy tissue sections can be more than 100 ng for 1 slice(4 μm)and more than 400 ng for 5 slices.Conclusion The DNA purification nanomagnetic beads screened with DNA from FFPE samples have a significant enhancement comparing to the existing commercial bead proto-cols,and provide space for quality assurance,automated testing,and program expansion for clinical molecular pathology testing.

AIM:To study whether glycyrrhizic acid(GL)can resist the ototoxicity of cisplatin(CDDP)in mice and its molecular mechanism.METHODS:Male C57BL/6J mice were divided into 5 groups:control group,DMSO(5%)group,CDDP(4 mg/kg)group,CDDP+low-dose(50 mg/kg)GL group,and CDDP+high-dose(100 mg/kg)GL group(n=14).Auditory brainstem response(ABR)was used to detect hearing changes of mice.HE staining was used to observe the morphological change of cochlear stria vascular in mice.Evans blue(EB)staining was used to observe the per-meability change of the blood-labyrinth barrier(BLB).Immunohistochemical technique was used to detect the expression and distribution of adhesion protein VE-cadherin and tight junction protein ZO-1 on the cochlear stria.ELISA assay and immunofluorescence technology were employed to detect the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and interleu-kin-1β(1L-1β).RESULTS:In CDDP group,ABR waveforms of all frequencies were disturbed,the hearing threshold was significantly increased,and I wave latency was prolonged(P＜0.05).In CDDP+GL group,ABR waveforms of various frequencies were well differentiated,the hearing threshold was significantly decreased,and the latency of I-wave was shortened(P＜0.01).The disordered morphology and more vacuoles in the stria vascularis were observed by HE staining in CDDP group.The GL alleviated CDDP-induced damage in the stria vascularis.In EB staining,CDDP caused an increase in per-meability of BLB(P＜0.01),which was improved by GL treatment(P＜0.01).Immunohistochemical results showed that the expression of VE-cadherin and ZO-1 in CDDP group were decreased(P＜0.01),which was restored in CDDP+GL group(P＜0.01).The ELISA and immunofluorescence results showed that the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α was in-creased after CDDP treatment(P＜0.01),which was restored in CDDP+GL group(P＜0.01).CONCLUSION:The GL alleviates CDDP-induced hearing loss in mice by inhibiting CDDP-induced inflammation and reducing the permeability of BLB.

Objective:There are a variety of minimally invasive interventional treatments for trigeminal neuralgia,and the efficacy evaluation is different.The preferred treatment scheme is still controversial.This study aims to investigate the differences in treatment effects between patients with primary trigeminal neuralgia(PTN)treated with percutaneous balloon compression(PBC)for the first intervention and patients with pain recurrence after radiofrequency thermocoagulation(RT)who then received PBC for PTN,and to offer clinicians and patients more scientifically grounded and precise treatment alternatives. Methods:We retrospectively analyzed 103 patients with PTN admitted to the Department of Pain Management of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from January 2020 to December 2021,including 49 patients who received PBC for the first time(PBC group)and 54 patients who received PBC for pain recurrence after RT(RT+PBC group).General information,preoperative pain score,intraoperative oval foramen morphology,oval foramen area,balloon volume,duration of compression,and postoperative pain scores and pain recurrence at each time point on day 1(T1),day 7(T2),day 14(T3),1 month(T4),3 months(T5),and 1 year(T6)were collected and recorded for both groups.The differences in treatment effect,complications and recurrence between the 2 groups were compared,and the related influencing factors were analyzed. Results:The differences of general information,preoperative pain scores,foramen ovale morphology,foramen ovale area,T1 to T3 pain scores between the 2 groups were not statistically different(all P>0.05).The balloon filling volume in the PBC group was smaller than that in the RT+PBC group,the pain scores at T4 to T6 and pain recurrence were better than those in the RT+PBC group(all P<0.05).Pain recurrence was positively correlated with pain scores of T2 to T6(r=0.306,0.482,0.831,0.876,0.887,respectively;all P<0.01). Conclusion:The choice of PBC for the first intervention in PTN patients is superior to the choice of PBC after pain recurrence after RT treatment in terms of treatment outcome and pain recurrence.

A high-throughput three-dimensional (3D) hepatocyte culture model is constructed in this study. It is capable of replicating the 3D in vivo environment and offers the advantages of high throughput, enhanced reproducibility, low cost, and simplified operation, rendering a valuable tool for hepatotoxicity screening of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). First, we constructed the 3D high throughput liver chip model using collagen hydrogel. The precision and its difference with traditional cell culture plates were assessed using acetaminophen, Tripterygium hypoglaucum, and Qili San as the references. The feasibility of this model was also investigated by comparing the hepatotoxicity among four batches of T. hypoglaucum and Qili San. The methodology verification shows that the 3D hepatocyte model is better than traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture model in precision and feasibility. Subsequently, we compared the hepatotoxicity of different samples over a period of three or seven days and found that the hepatotoxicity of TCM extracts increased over time. Finally, we compared the hepatotoxicity of T. hypoglaucum and its compound formula Kunxian capsule under equivalent concentration. The results showed that the compound Kunxian capsule could significantly reduce hepatotoxicity of T. hypoglaucum. Generally, we constructed a high-throughput, robust 3D liver-on-a-chip model with the potential of rapid assessing TCM-induced liver toxicity.

Bacterial biofilms(BF)are complex microbial communities formed by bacteria on living or abiotic surfaces.Their formation significantly enhances bacterial virulence and drug resistance and is associated with a high proportion of chronic bacterial infections,posing a serious threat to human health.The ability of traditional antibiotics and commonly used disinfectants to clear biofilms is limited,and an effective new strategy to treat BF is urgently needed.Bacteriophage,as a kind of virus that can infect and lyse bacteria,has high safety and specificity,and is considered as a promising alternative method for the treatment of BF.In this paper,the mechanism of bacteriophage anti-bacterial biofilm and the application strategies based on bacteriophage and its derivatives in the prevention and control of bacteriophage biofilm formation were reviewed,which provided new ideas for the development of efficient bacteriophage anti-bacterial biofilm methods.

Objective To develop and validate a deep learning model for automatic identification of liver CT contrast-enhanced phases.Methods A total of 766 patients with liver CT contrast-enhanced images were retrospectively collected.A three-phase classification model and an arterial phase(AP)classification model were developed,so as to automatically identify liver CT contrast-enhanced phases as early arterial phase(EAP)or late arterial phase(LAP),portal venous phase(PVP),and equilibrium phase(EP).In addition,221 patients with liver CT contrast-enhanced images in 5 different hospitals were used for external validation.The annotation results of radiologists were used as a reference standard to evaluate the model performances.Results In the external validation datasets,the accuracy in identifying each enhanced phase reached to 90.50%-99.70%.Conclusion The automatic identification model of liver CT contrast-enhanced phases based on residual network may provide an efficient,objective,and unified image quality control tool.