Transcutaneous electrical stimulation equipment is a kind of characteristic therapeutic devices developed on the basis of the integration of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory and modern science and technology, which is widely used in clinical practice. Significant breakthroughs have been made in the development of related devices such as transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) devices, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) devices, and transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) devices in recent years. Although the market for these devices is vast, there are still limitations that need to be optimized in terms of electrode materials and power supply methods, bulky instrument size, cumbersome wiring, restricted applications, and inadequate intelligent functionality. In the future, it is still necessary to further build upon the theoretical foundation of TCM acupuncture, integrate a variety of modern scientific technologies to advance the intelligence and modernization of acupuncture equipment, and thereby improving its capabilities to support clinical practice and research.
Humans ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation/methods* ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy/instrumentation* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

After being treated with acupuncture, some patients with idiopathic tinnitus may experience a short-term aggravation of tinnitus symptoms on the original basis. These symptoms can be gradually relieved and the overall condition fluctuates towards recovery. This phenomenon has brought some difficulties to patients and clinicians. Based on the academic view of TCM, "destroying pathogens and re-building balance", and in association with the existing understanding of acupuncture in modern medicine for tinnitus, this paper briefly discusses the mechanism and influencing factors of symptom fluctuation in patients with idiopathic tinnitus after acupuncture treatment in terms of both TCM and modern medicine, and proposes the future direction in the research of symptom fluctuation, so as to promote the recognition of clinicians and patients on symptom fluctuation and make rational use of its positive effects. Besides, it is hoped that more researchers will pay attention to symptom fluctuation and advance the exploration of it in academic field.
Humans ; Tinnitus/physiopathology* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Male ; Female

Autophagy is a fundamental biological metabolic process involved in immune defense, material metabolism, and homeostasis and closely linked to immune regulation. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a widespread connective tissue disorder primarily resulting from immune system imbalance. Due to the immune system's failure to recognize its own substances, it generates autoantibodies that can affect various tissues and organs, leading to diverse clinical manifestations. The pathogenesis and treatment of SLE are currently under extensive investigation. In normal metabolic processes, autophagy engages in both innate and adaptive immunity, regulates the immune response, and is crucial for maintaining normal immune function and the body's internal homeostasis. Research has indicated that SLE patients exhibit immune dysfunction and altered autophagy levels. Modulating autophagy expression can influence immune system functionality and alleviate SLE symptoms. Additionally, autophagy aids in the innate immune response and adaptive immunity by clearing metabolites and regulating the life cycle of immune cells. Studies suggest that drugs targeting autophagy can positively influence the progression of SLE. This article reviews advancements in research regarding the impact of autophagy on the pathogenesis of SLE through the regulation of immune system functions.
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/pathology* ; Autophagy/immunology* ; Humans ; Animals ; Immunity, Innate ; Adaptive Immunity ; Disease Progression ; Immune System/immunology*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the operability and effectiveness of a self-developed patellar bone canal locator (hereinafter referred to as "locator") in the reconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL). METHODS: A total of 38 patients with recurrent patellar dislocation who met the selection criteria admitted between January 2022 and December 2022 were randomly divided into study group (the patellar canal was established with a locator during MPFL reconstruction) and control group (no locator was used in MPFL reconstruction), with 19 cases in each group. There was no significant difference in baseline data between the two groups ( P>0.05), such as gender, age, body mass index, disease duration, patella Wiberg classification, constituent ratio of cartilage injury, Caton index, tibia tubercle-trochlear groove, and preoperative Lysholm score, Kujal score, Tegner score, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, and so on. The Lysholm score, Kujal score, Tegner score, and VAS score were used to evaluate knee joint function before operation and at 3 days,1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after operation. The ideal prepatellar cortical thickness and canal length were measured before operation, and the actual prepatellar cortical thickness and canal length after operation were also measured, and D1 (the distance between the ideal entrance and the actual entrance), D2 (the ideal canal length minus the actual canal length), D3 (the ideal prepatellar cortical thickness minus the actual prepatellar cortical thickness) were calculated. RESULTS: Patients in both groups were followed up 6-8 months (mean, 6.7 months). The incision length and intraoperative blood loss in the study group were smaller than those in the control group, but the operation time was longer than that in the control group, the differences were significant ( P<0.05). There was no complication such as incision infection, effusion, and delayed healing in both groups, and no further dislocation occurred during follow-up. One patient in the study group had persistent pain in the anserine area after operation, and the symptoms were relieved after physiotherapy. The VAS score of the two groups increased significantly at 3 days after operation, and gradually decreased with the extension of time; the change trends of Lysholm score, Kujal score, and Tegner score were opposite to VAS score. Except that the Lysholm score and Kujal score of the study group were higher than those of the control group at 3 days after operation, and the VAS score of the study group was lower than that of the control group at 3 days and 1 month after operation, the differences were significant ( P<0.05), there was no significant difference in the scores between the two groups at other time points ( P>0.05). Patellar bone canal evaluation showed that there was no significant difference in preoperative simulated ideal canal length, prepatellar cortical thickness, and postoperative actual canal length between the two groups ( P>0.05). The postoperative actual prepatellar cortical thickness of the study group was significantly smaller than that of the control group ( P<0.05). D1 and D3 in the study group were significantly higher than those in control group ( P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in D2 between the two groups ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION The locator can improve the accuracy of MPFL reconstruction surgery, reduce the possibility of intraoperative damage to the articular surface of patella and postoperative patellar fractures.
Humans ; Patella/surgery* ; Patellar Dislocation/surgery* ; Patellofemoral Joint/surgery* ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Joint Dislocations ; Ligaments, Articular/surgery*

Objective To investigate the influencing factors of willingness to screen for cervical cancer in women in Chizhou. Methods A cross-sectional web-based survey of 3,058 migrant women living in Chizhou was conducted through a social media platform. The survey included questionnaires on socioeconomic characteristics, history of cervical cancer screening, knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and treatment, and attitude. The χ² test and logistic regression were used to analyze the influencing factors of willingness to screen. Results Under 60 years of age, having a spouse or sexual partner (OR=1.368), having a junior high school education or above, living in urban areas (OR = 1.501), local household registration (OR=1.363), high monthly income, and high knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and control (OR=1.198) were positively associated with the rate of willingness to undergo cervical screening. Among attitude barriers, there were statistically significant differences in fear of seeing male doctors (38.23%), fear of seeing poor results (31.92%), belief that screening was painful (23.56%), shyness or embarrassment (20.18%), and belief that they did not need to participate in screening due to asymptomatic (17.56%), having received HPV vaccine (15.86%), or ages at which screening was not considered necessary (15.14%) between the groups (P<0.05). Conclusion Socioeconomic characteristics, knowledge of prevention and treatment, fear of screening experience, and lack of motivation are related factors affecting cervical cancer screening willingness. Achieving cervical cancer elimination requires action to improve screening coverage in socio-economic, health education and women's attitudes.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a new Chinese-made surgical biopatch for atrial septum under the establishment of atrial septal defect animal model in miniature pigs.Methods:From June 2018 to April 2019, 26 pigs were divided into experimental group (15 pigs) and the control group (11 pigs). Animal models of atrial septal defect were established by traditional surgical methods. The to-be-evaluated and listed surgical biological patches (with a diameter of 10 mm) were implanted in the experimental group and the control group to repair the atrial septal defect. Cardiac ultrasound and blood examination of all animals were performed before and at 7, 30, 90, 180 days after operation, the results were analyzed with repetitive measurement and analysis of variance. At 90 days and 180 days after the operation, tissue samples were taken from animals after euthanasia. Pathological examination of heart and major organs were conducted. The independent sample t test and rank sum test were used to compare the data between the two groups, and the nonparametric was used to compare the patch calcification score between the two groups. Results:In total of 26 animals, 14 animals in the experimental group(6 at 90 days, 8 at 180 days) and 9 animals in the control group(4 at 90 days, 5 at 180 days) reached the end of the experiment. The other 3 animals (1 in the experimental group and 2 in the control group) died of arrhythmia, whole heart failure and right heart failure, the results of pathological examination showed that the causes of death were unrelated to the experimental materials. Cardiac ultrasound showed no patch leakage in all animals. There was no statistically significant difference in cardiac ultrasound and blood examination between the two groups at different time points after operation (all P>0.05). The pathological results showed that all the implants were intact and had good biocompatibility. There was no significant difference in the mean endothelialization rate between the experimental group and the control group at 90 and 180 days after operation ((80.8±29.1)% vs. (82.5±23.6)%, t=0.095, P=0.927; (78.8±36.4)% vs. (82.0±19.2)%, t=0.182, P=0.859) on 90 and 180 days, there was no significant difference in the patch calcification score between the two groups (1.00(1.25) vs. 2.00(0.75), Z=6.500, P=0.214; 0(0.75) vs. 1.00(2.00), Z=12.000, P=0.139). Conclusion:The new Chinese-made surgical biopatch for atrial septum has comparable safety and efficacy to that of the marketable patch in miniature pig atrial septal defect animal model.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a new Chinese-made surgical biopatch for atrial septum under the establishment of atrial septal defect animal model in miniature pigs.Methods:From June 2018 to April 2019, 26 pigs were divided into experimental group (15 pigs) and the control group (11 pigs). Animal models of atrial septal defect were established by traditional surgical methods. The to-be-evaluated and listed surgical biological patches (with a diameter of 10 mm) were implanted in the experimental group and the control group to repair the atrial septal defect. Cardiac ultrasound and blood examination of all animals were performed before and at 7, 30, 90, 180 days after operation, the results were analyzed with repetitive measurement and analysis of variance. At 90 days and 180 days after the operation, tissue samples were taken from animals after euthanasia. Pathological examination of heart and major organs were conducted. The independent sample t test and rank sum test were used to compare the data between the two groups, and the nonparametric was used to compare the patch calcification score between the two groups. Results:In total of 26 animals, 14 animals in the experimental group(6 at 90 days, 8 at 180 days) and 9 animals in the control group(4 at 90 days, 5 at 180 days) reached the end of the experiment. The other 3 animals (1 in the experimental group and 2 in the control group) died of arrhythmia, whole heart failure and right heart failure, the results of pathological examination showed that the causes of death were unrelated to the experimental materials. Cardiac ultrasound showed no patch leakage in all animals. There was no statistically significant difference in cardiac ultrasound and blood examination between the two groups at different time points after operation (all P>0.05). The pathological results showed that all the implants were intact and had good biocompatibility. There was no significant difference in the mean endothelialization rate between the experimental group and the control group at 90 and 180 days after operation ((80.8±29.1)% vs. (82.5±23.6)%, t=0.095, P=0.927; (78.8±36.4)% vs. (82.0±19.2)%, t=0.182, P=0.859) on 90 and 180 days, there was no significant difference in the patch calcification score between the two groups (1.00(1.25) vs. 2.00(0.75), Z=6.500, P=0.214; 0(0.75) vs. 1.00(2.00), Z=12.000, P=0.139). Conclusion:The new Chinese-made surgical biopatch for atrial septum has comparable safety and efficacy to that of the marketable patch in miniature pig atrial septal defect animal model.

Objective To investigate the cell origin of interleukin (IL)-22-secreting cell of mice infected with Trichinella spiralis (T.spiralis) at the early encapsulated stage.Methods Twelve Balb/c mice were divided into the infected group and the control group according to body weight by random number table.The infected mice were intragastrically administrated with 300 muscle larvae of T.spiralis,and the control mice were given the same amount of normal saline.The IL-22-secreting cell subsets in mouse splenic lymphocytes were detected by flow cytometry at the fourth week after infection.Results The proportion of IL-22-secreting cells in splenic lymphocytes of T.spiralis infected mice was increased when compared with control group [(0.88 ± 0.25)％ vs (0.28 ±0.17)％,t =-4.899,P ＜ 0.05].There was no significant difference between the proportion of CD3+IL-22+ cells and CD3-IL-22+ cells in the splenic lymphocytes of the infected group [(0.29 ± 0.17)％ vs (0.51 ± 0.17)％,t =-2.195,P ＞ 0.05],and the percentage of CD3-IL-22+ cells were similar between the infected group and the control group [(0.51 ± 0.17)％ vs (0.44 ± 0.22)％,t =-0.600,P ＞ 0.05].The proportion of CD3+IL-22+ cells in the infected group was significantly higher than that in the control group [(0.29 ± 0.17)％ vs (0.07 ± 0.06)％,t =-3.068,P ＜ 0.05],and the percentage of CD4+IL-22+ T cells and γδTCR+IL-22+ T cells were obviously increased in CD3+ lymphocytes [(1.28 ± 0.54)％ vs (0.16 ± 0.07)％,(0.33 ± 0.22)％ vs (0.02 ± 0.00)％,t =-4.997,-3.342,P ＜ 0.05].Conclusions The proportion of IL-22-secreting splenic lymphocytes is increased in mice infected with T.spiralis at the early encapsulated stage.The rise is caused by increased numbers of IL-22-secreting CD3 + lymphocytes,especially CD4+ T cells and γδT cells.

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of abnormally expressed PD-1 on CD 4+CD 2 8+/-T cells in peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus ( SLE ) . Methods Peripheral blood samples were collected form 50 patients with primary SLE and 40 healthy subjects and used to isolated mononuclear cells. Expression of CD4+CD28-, CD4+CD28+, CD4+CD28+PD-1+and CD4+CD28-PD-1+T cells in peripheral blood samples of the two groups were detected by flow cytometry. Clinical data of SLE patients were collected. Based on SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI), SLE patients were classified into two groups: stable group (SLEDAI<10) and active group (SLEDAI≥10). Based on the condition of renal damage, they were also divided into two groups: lupus nephritis group and non-lupus ne-phritis group. Differences in T cell expression were compared among these groups. Statistical analysis was performed to analyze the relationships of different T cell subsets with laboratory and clinical parameters rela-ting to SLE and SLEDAI. Results The percentages of peripheral CD4+CD28-, CD4+CD28+PD-1+and CD4+CD28-PD-1+T cells of active group were higher than those of stable and healthy control groups ( P<0. 05). Moreover, patients with lupus nephritis had higher percentages of these T cell subsets than those without (P<0. 01). SLE patients who were positive for anti-dsDNA or anti-SmRNP antibody, or had de-creased complement C3, thrombocytopenia or decreased lymphocytes had higher percentages peripheral CD4+CD28-T cells than those in the corresponding negative group. SLE patients who were positive for anti-dsDNA or anti-SmRNP antibody, or had decreased complement C3, complement C4 or lymphocytes showed en-hanced expression of peripheral CD4+CD28+PD-1+T cells as compared with those in the corresponding nega-tive group. SLE patients positive for anti-dsDNA antibody, or with decreased complement C3 or lymphocytes or suffering from alopecia had higher percentages of peripheral CD4+CD28-PD-1+T cell than those in the cor-responding negative group. Differences between different groups were statistically significant (P<0. 05). Conclusion Abnormal expression of CD4+CD28-T cells and PD-1 on CD4+CD28-and CD4+CD28+T cells in peripheral blood of patients with SLE has certain correlation with laboratory parameters and clinical indicators.

OBJECTIVE:To study the effects of nimesulide combined with oxaliplatin on microvessel density and immune func-tion of esophageal cancer model rats. METHODS:48 rats were selected to establish esophageal cancer model and then randomly di-vided into model group,oxaliplatin group,nimesulide group and combination group,with 12 rats in each group. 1 d after model-ing,model group was given 5% Glucose injection 1 mL via tail vein,3 times a week,and constant volume of Sodium carboxy-methylcellulose solution,once a week. Oxaliplatin group was given oxaliplatin 13.6 mg/kg via tail vein,3 times a week. Nimesu-lide group was given nimesulide 20 mg/kg intragastrically,once a week. Combination group was given oxaliplatin and nimesulide with same usage as above. The administration lasted for 8 weeks. The cancer growth,microvessel density of cancer tissue,peripher-al blood immune function index were observed in four groups. RESULTS:Compared with model group,cancer size,cancer weight,integral absorbance of cancer and positive vessel density were all decreased in treatment groups(P<0.05). The number of peripheral blood CD3+,CD4+T cells and CD4+/CD8+were all decreased in oxaliplatin group and combination group,while the num-ber of CD8+T cells was decreased(P<0.05). Compared with nimesulide group,cancer size,cancer weight,integral absorbance of cancer,positive vessel density,the number of peripheral blood CD3+,CD4+T cells and CD4+/CD8+ were all decreased in oxaliplat-in group and combination group,while tumor inhibition rate and the number of CD8+T cells were all increased(P<0.05);combi-nation group was more significant than oxaliplatin group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Oxaliplatin combined with nimesulide can effectively inhibit cancer growth of esophageal cancer,the mechanism of which may be associated with inhibiting angiogenesis of tumor tissue and strengthening immune function.