OBJECTIVE: To observe the skin surface temperature at the related back-shu points in the patients with the different levels of pulmonary ventilation function in chronic persistent asthma, and to explore the correlation between the skin temperature at the back-shu points and pulmonary ventilation function indexes based on "lung governing the skin and hair". METHODS: Sixty-one patients with chronic persistent asthma, based on the level of pulmonary ventilation function, were assigned into a reduced pulmonary ventilation function group (reduced function group, 32 cases) and a normal pulmonary ventilation function group (normal function group, 29 cases). In the two groups, the skin surface temperature was measured in the sites of bilateral Feishu (BL13), Geshu (BL17), Pishu (BL20) and Shenshu (BL23); and the pulmonary ventilation function indexes (the percentage of predicted value of forced vital capacity [FVC%pred], the percentage of predicted value of forced expiratory volume in the first second [FEV1%pred], the percentage of predicted value of FEV1/FVC [FEV1/FVC%pred] and the percentage of predicted value of the peak expiratory flow [PEF%pred]) were recorded. The correlation between the skin surface temperature of acupoints and pulmonary ventilation function was analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the normal function group, the surface skin temperature at the bilateral Feishu (BL13), Geshu (BL17), Pishu (BL20) and Shenshu (BL23) was higher in the reduced function group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the normal function group, FEV1%pred, FEV1/FVC%pred and PEF%pred were decreased in the reduced function group (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in FVC%pred between the two groups (P>0.05). The skin surface temperature at the bilateral Feishu (BL13), Geshu (BL17), Pishu (BL20) and Shenshu (BL23) was negatively correlated with FVC%pred, FEV1%pred, FEV1/FVC%pred and PEF%pred in 61 patients with chronic persistent asthma (P<0.001, P<0.01, P<0.05). CONCLUSION The skin surface temperature at back-shu points is elevated in line with the the decline of pulmonary ventilation function in the patients with chronic persistent asthma, presenting a negative correlation with pulmonary ventilation function indexes. It is preliminarily verified that back-shu point is characterized by reflecting the visceral disorders.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Asthma/therapy* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Skin Temperature ; Lung/physiopathology* ; Acupuncture Points ; Pulmonary Ventilation ; Aged ; Chronic Disease/therapy* ; Young Adult ; Hair

Astragali Radix (AR), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy against various diseases, including cardiovascular conditions, over centuries of use. While doxorubicin serves as an effective chemotherapeutic agent against multiple cancers, its clinical application remains constrained by significant cardiotoxicity. Research has indicated that AR exhibits protective properties against doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy (DIC); however, the specific bioactive components and underlying mechanisms responsible for this therapeutic effect remain incompletely understood. This investigation seeks to identify the protective bioactive components in AR against DIC and elucidate their mechanisms of action. Through network medicine analysis, astragaloside IV (AsIV) and formononetin (FMT) were identified as potential cardioprotective agents from 129 AR components. In vitro experiments using H9c2 rat cardiomyocytes revealed that the AsIV-FMT combination (AFC) effectively reduced doxorubicin-induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner, with optimal efficacy at a 1∶2 ratio. In vivo, AFC enhanced survival rates and improved cardiac function in both acute and chronic DIC mouse models. Additionally, AFC demonstrated cardiac protection while maintaining doxorubicin's anti-cancer efficacy in a breast cancer mouse model. Lipidomic and metabolomics analyses revealed that AFC normalized doxorubicin-induced lipid profile alterations, particularly by reducing fatty acid accumulation. Gene knockdown studies and inhibitor experiments in H9c2 cells demonstrated that AsIV and FMT upregulated peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) and PPARα, respectively, two key proteins involved in fatty acid metabolism. This research establishes AFC as a promising therapeutic approach for DIC, highlighting the significance of multi-target therapies derived from natural herbals in contemporary medicine.
Animals ; Doxorubicin/adverse effects* ; Saponins/administration & dosage* ; Isoflavones/pharmacology* ; Rats ; Cardiomyopathies/prevention & control* ; Mice ; Fatty Acids/metabolism* ; Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism* ; Triterpenes/administration & dosage* ; Male ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Humans ; Cardiotonic Agents/administration & dosage* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Cell Line ; Astragalus Plant/chemistry* ; Astragalus propinquus

Objective:To investigate the relationship between bedtime procrastination and daytime sleepiness in college students,and to explore the mediating effect of sleep quality and the moderating effect of gender in the a-bove-mentioned relationship.Methods:A total of 2 823 college students(808 males,2 015 females)from two uni-versities were selected.They were assessed with the Bedtime Procrastination Scale(BPS),Epworth Sleeping Scale(ESS,ESS score≥11 indicated daytime sleepiness)and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI).Process model 4 was used to test the mediating effect of sleep quality and model 14 was used to test the moderating effect of gender.Results:There were 1 214(43.0％)college students suffering from daytime sleepiness.The scores of ESS in college students were positively associated with the BPS scores(β=0.16).The total scores of PSQI partially mediated the effect of BPS scores on college students'ESS scores,and the value of mediating effect was 39.9％.The association between PSQI scores and ESS scores was moderated by gender(β=-0.13).Conclusion:Daytime sleepiness is associated with bedtime procrastination and sleep quality in college students,and the association be-tween sleep quality and daytime sleepiness is moderated by gender.

To investigate the distribution of virulence associated factors of 5 strains of Streptococcus suis type 2 from slaughtered pigs isolated in Fujian province , 7 virulence genes were detected through PCR amplification. They were the glutamate dehydrogenase gene(gdh), the capsular polysaccharides gene(cps), the extracellular factor gene(ef), the muramidate-released protein gene(mrp), the suilysin gene(sly), the fibronectin-binding protein gene(fbps) and the virulence-associated sequence or f2. Among these 5 strains isolated, the virulence genotypes of 4 strains S.suis type 2 and strain SS2PFJ07 was gdh+/cps2J+/mrp+/ef-/sly-/fbps+/orf2+ and the other one strain isolated from slaughtered pigs was gdh+/cps2J+/mrp+/ef+/sly+/fbps+ /orf2+ respectively. This results showed that there are at least 2 virulence genotypes in Streptococcus suis type 2 from slaughtered pigs isolated in Fujian province.