The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding acupuncture direction published from January 1st, 2013, to November 7th, 2023 were searched in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and VIP Chinese Journal Database. As a result, 21 RCTs were included. The problems identified included conceptual misunderstandings regarding acupuncture direction, incomplete selection strategies, confounding research factors, and inaccuracies in reporting. Based on the findings, four strategic approaches for enhancing therapeutic efficacy through acupuncture direction were summarized: aligning needle direction with the meridian pathway, directing the needle toward the lesion site, orienting the needle toward adjacent acupoints, and targeting special anatomical structures. Two additional strategies were proposed for optimizing the procedure: simplifying acupuncture operations and directing the needle toward safe anatomical sites. Recommendations were made to improve the rationality of research factor settings and the completeness of acupuncture operation reporting. Furthermore, three methods for reporting acupuncture direction were discussed: reporting the tip-pointed position, reporting the insertion angle and orientation, and reporting azimuth and polar angles, aiming to promote greater standardization and completeness in acupuncture practice and reporting.
Acupuncture Therapy/standards* ; Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Meridians

Objective:To investigate the current situation and influence factors of prehospital thrombolysis treatment for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in China, to analyze the main factors affecting prehospital thrombolysis implementation, and optimize the pre-hospital thrombolysis strategy for STEMI to reduce mortality.Methods:A multicenter cross-sectional survey was conducted. 21 cities from six major geographical regions in China were selected by using convenient sampling method. An anonymous online electronic questionnaire was used to investigate the current situation and influence factors of prehospital emergency physicians and grassroots physicians implementing prehospital thrombolysis treatment for STEMI patients. Chi-square test was used to analyze the differences in count data between groups, and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the factors affecting prehospital thrombolysis in STEMI.Results:A total of 5 163 prehospital emergency physicians and physicians from grassroots township health centers/community health service centers or village clinics participated in this survey. Among them, 3208 (62.13%) have never implemtent thrombolysis, and 1 955 (37.87%) have did it before. The results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that physicians with 5-10 years of experience ( OR=1.41, 95% CI: 1.18-1.69, P<0.01), 11-20 years of experience ( OR=1.25, 95% CI: 1.03-1.52, P=0.02), those working in village clinics ( OR=1.30, 95% CI: 1.05-1.61, P=0.02), those in pre-hospital emergency medical institutions/departments ( OR=3.19, 95% CI: 2.80-3.64, P<0.01), those whose units are equipped with remote ECG transmission capabilities ( OR=1.72, 95% CI: 1.50-1.96, P<0.01), or ECG AI-assisted diagnostic tools ( OR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.15-1.49, P<0.01), and those who believe that thrombolysis is highly effective and should be widely adopted ( OR=2.55, 95% CI: 2.09-3.12, P<0.01) or consider it somewhat effective but warranting caution ( OR=2.11, 95% CI: 1.73-2.59, P<0.001), were more likely to make pre-hospital thrombolysis decisions for STEMI patients. To improve the current situation of pre-hospital thrombolysis for STEMI, the top four measures prioritized by pre-hospital emergency and grassroots physicians were enhancing the rescue capabilities of primary care doctors (92.22%), strengthening guidance from higherlevel hospitals (84.99%), increasing support for information technology (83.37%), and improving public health education (74.75%). Conclusions:The implementation rate of prehospital thrombolysis for STEMI in China still needs to be improved. Optimizing the prehospital thrombolysis strategy for STEMI, strengthening the allocation of basic medical resources and information technology support, and improving the referral mechanism are conducive to the implementation of prehospital thrombolysis for STEMI.

Objective To investigate the effect of diurnal temperature difference on hospitalization volume of patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in Urumqi City. Methods The daily hospitalization data for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in Urumqi City from 2019-2021, and meteorological and pollutant data for the same period were collected. The relationship between diurnal temperature range and hospitalizations for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases was analyzed using a distribution lag non-linear model (DLNM), controlling for the long-term trends, the day-of-week effects and other factors. Results The greater the diurnal temperature range, the longer the lag time, and the higher the risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The lag effect increased significantly when the maximum diurnal temperature range reached 21.0°C. The risk effect appeared on the day of exposure and lasted until day 20, with a maximum RR of 1.266 (95% CI: 1.129-1.421) at a lag of 13 days. At very high diurnal temperature range, the risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases was higher in the cold season than that in the warm season. Results after stratified analysis by sex and age showed that men and people aged ≥65 years were more susceptible to diurnal temperature range. Conclusion Extremely high diurnal temperature range is a potential trigger for hospitalization for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in Urumqi. Men and people aged ≥65 years are more vulnerable to the impact of diurnal temperature range. In the cold season, more attention should be paid to protecting vulnerable people from the impact of the extremely high diurnal temperature difference.

Humans ; Staphylococcus lugdunensis/genetics* ; Peptides, Cyclic ; Chromosomes ; Operon/genetics* ; Staphylococcal Infections/genetics* ; Bacterial Proteins/genetics* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents

Antrodia cinnamomea is extensively used as a traditional medicine to prevention and treatment of liver cancer. However, its comprehensive chemical fingerprint is uncertain, and the mechanisms, especially the potential therapeutic target for anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are still unclear. Using UPLC‒Q-TOF/MS, 139 chemical components were identified in A. cinnamomea dropping pills (ACDPs). Based on these chemical components, network pharmacology demonstrated that the targets of active components were significantly enriched in the pathways in cancer, which were closely related with cell proliferation regulation. Next, HCC data was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO). The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and DisGeNET were analyzed by bioinformatics, and 79 biomarkers were obtained. Furtherly, nine targets of ACDP active components were revealed, and they were significantly enriched in PI3K/AKT and cell cycle signaling pathways. The affinity between these targets and their corresponding active ingredients was predicted by molecular docking. Finally, in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that ACDPs could reduce the activity of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and downregulate the expression of cell cycle-related proteins, contributing to the decreased growth of liver cancer. Altogether, PI3K/AKT-cell cycle appears as the significant central node in anti-liver cancer of A. Cinnamomea.

Objective:Platelet-derived growth factor alpha (PDGFRA) mutations are respectively rare in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Most GIST with PDGFRA exon 18 mutations including D842V mutation are highly resistant to imatinib. The treatment of GIST harboring PDGFRA primary drug-resistant mutation is a major challenge. This article aims to investigate clinicopathologic features of GIST with PDGFRA-D842V mutation and the efficacy of comprehensive treatment, providing a reference for clinical practice. Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted to collect the clinicopathological and follow-up data of patients with GIST harboring PDGFRA mutation who were diagnosed and treated in the GIST Clinic of Renji Hospital from January 2005 to May 2020. According to the mutation site, the enrolled patients were divided into D842V mutation group and non-D842V mutation group. The differences of clinicopathologic characteristics between the two groups were compared. Furthermore, overall survival and prognostic factors were analyzed. Results:A total of 71 patients with PDGFRA-mutant GIST were included in this study, including 47 cases of D842V mutation (66.2%) and 24 cases of non-D842V mutation (33.8%). There were 28 male patients and 19 female patients in D842V mutation group, with a median age of 60 (36-82) years. There were 16 male patients and 8 female patients in non-D842V mutation group, with a median age of 62 (30-81) years. There were no significant differences in age, gender, primary location, surgical procedure, tumor size, mitotic count, expression of CD117 and DOG1, Ki-67 proliferation index and modified NIH grade between the two groups (all P>0.05). The positive rate of CD34 was 89.4% (42/47) and 62.5% (15/24) in the D842V mutation group and the non-D842V mutation group, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (χ 2=5.644, P=0.018). Among all the cases, 66 cases underwent R0 resection without preoperative treatment; two cases underwent emergency operation with R1 resection because of tumor rupture; 2 cases were not operated after the pathological and mutation types were confirmed by biopsy (one case received avapritinib treatment and obtain partial remission). One case was diagnosed as wild-type GIST per needle biopsy in another institute, and underwent R0 resection after preoperative imatinib treatment for 6 months. After surgery, 5 high-risk GIST patients with D842V mutation and 5 high-risk GIST patients with non-D842V mutation were treated with imatinib for more than one year. The median follow-up time was 37 (1-153) months. As of the last follow-up among the patients who received R0 resection, 4 patients with D842V mutation had relapse, of whom 1 was in the period of imatinib administration, and the 3-year relapse-free survival rate was 94.2%; none of the patients with non-D842V mutation had relapse. There was no statistically significant difference in relapse-free surivval between two groups ( P=0.233). Univariate analysis revealed that mitotic count ( P=0.002), Ki-67 proliferation index ( P<0.001) and modified NIH grade ( P=0.025) were the factors associated with relapse-free survival of patients with D842V mutation after R0 resection (all P<0.05). However, the above factros were not testified as independant prognostic facors in multivariate Cox analysis (all P<0.05). Conclusion:Clinicopathologic features and the efficacy of radical resection in patients with PDGFRA-D842V mutation are similar to those in patients with non-D842V mutation.

Purpose: Whether craniospinal irradiation (CSI) could be replaced by limited-field radiation in non-metastatic bifocal germinoma remains controversial. We addressed the issue based on the data from our series and the literature. Methods: Data from 49 patients diagnosed with non-metastatic bifocal germinoma at our hospital during the last 10 years were collected. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 was used to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Additionally, 81 patients identified from the literature were also analyzed independently. Results: In our cohort, 34 patients had tumors in the sellar/suprasellar (S/SS) plus pineal gland (PG) regions and 15 in the S/SS plus basal ganglia/thalamus (BG/T) regions. The median follow-up period was 52 months (range, 10 to 134 months). Our survival analysis showed that patients treated with CSI (n=12) or whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT; n=34) had comparable disease-free survival (DFS; p=0.540), but better DFS than those treated with focal radiotherapy (FR; n=3, p=0.016). All 81 patients from the literature had tumors in the S/SS+PG regions. Relapses were documented in 4/45 patients treated with FR, 2/17 treated with whole-ventricle irradiation, 0/4 treated with WBRT, and 1/15 treated with CSI. Survival analysis did not reveal DFS differences between the types of radiation field (p=0.785). HRQOL analysis (n=44) in our cohort found that, compared with S/SS+PG germinoma, patients with BG/T involvement had significantly lower scores in social and school domains. However, HRQOL difference between patients treated with CSI and those not treated with CSI was not significant. Conclusion In patients with non-metastatic bifocal germinoma, it is rational that CSI could be replaced by limited-field radiation. HRQOL in patients with BG/T involvement was poorer.