OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of relaxing needling at the contracted sites of meridian-muscle regions in the patients with post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome (SHS) at acute stage. METHODS: Eighty patients with post-stroke SHS at acute stage were randomized into an observation group (40 cases, 1 case dropped out) and a control group (40 cases, 1 case was eliminated). In the control group, the routine medication, basic rehabilitation training, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy were administered. In the observation group, besides the treatment as the control group, relaxing needling was delivered at the contracted sites of meridian-muscle regions. These contracted sites were distributed along three yin meridians of hand and three yang meridians of hand on the affected upper limbs. The intervention was given once daily, 5 times a week and for 4 weeks. Before and after treatment, the scores of visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, edema degree, modified Barthel index (MBI), and Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) for motor function, and the integrated electromyography (iEMG) of surface electromyogram (sEMG) were observed in the two groups. The curative effect was evaluated after treatment and in follow-up of 2 months after treatment in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, VAS scores and the scores of edema degree were reduced when compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05), and the scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). MBI and FMA scores increased after treatment compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05), and the scores in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05) after treatment. The iEMG values of the biceps brachii, triceps brachii, and wrist extensors were elevated after treatment in comparison with those before treatment (P<0.05) in the two groups, and the values in the observation group were larger than those in the control group after treatment (P<0.05). The total clinical effective rate in the observation group was 92.3% (36/39), which was better than that of the control group (74.4%, 29/39, P<0.05) after treatment; and that of the observation group was 97.4% (38/39), which was better than 82.1% (32/39) in the control group (P<0.05) in follow-up. CONCLUSION Relaxing needling at the contracted sites of meridian-muscle regions in treatment of post-stroke SHS at acute stage can attenuate the symptoms such as upper limb pain, swelling and spasm, improve motor function and the activity of daily living of patients.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Meridians ; Stroke/complications* ; Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/etiology* ; Adult ; Acupuncture Points

[Objective]To explore how hyperthyroidism induces ventricular remodeling via activating β-catenin/FoxO1 in rat cardiomyocytes.[Methods]Hyperthyroidism-induced ventricular remodeling rat models were established by intraperitoneal injection of levothyroxine(T4)at 0.1 mg/kg for 30 days.β-catenin inhibitor MSAB(14 mg/kg)was admin-istrated for 30 days.We used western blot to detect the expression of myocardial hypertrophy marker ANP,β-catenin and FoxO1;immunofluorescence to examine the expression and intracellular distribution of β-catenin and FoxO1.Hyperthy-roidism-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy rat models were established by treatment of triiodothyronine(T3)into cul-tured primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes for 24 hours.β-catenin siRNA(30 nmol/L)was used to down-regulate β-catenin expression in cardiomyocytes.Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to analyze the effects of β-catenin inhibition on the hyperthyroidism-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.[Results]Following Wnt/β-catenin activation,β-catenin was found increased nuclear expression,to bind to the nuclear transcriptional factors and regulate the gene ex-pression.β-catenin nuclear expression was significantly increased in the hyperthyroidism-induced ventricular remodeling rats,but no change was found in the expression of typical transcriptional factor TCF7l2.Our results revealed that inhibiting β-catenin by MSAB attenuated the hyperthyroidism-induced rat ventricular remodeling.Further analysis indicated that β-catenin/FoxO1 expression was significantly increased in hyperthyroidism-induced myocardial hypertrophy which could be attenuated by suppressing β-catenin/FoxO1 in cardiomyocytes.[Conclusions]β-catenin/FoxO1 is activated in hyperthy-roidism-induced myocardial hypertrophy and β-catenin/FoxO1 inhibition attenuates hyperthyroidism-induced cardiomyo-cyte hypertrophy.

Objective To investigate the correlations of computed tomography (CT), clinical, and pathological features in patients with invasive lung adenocarcinoma positive and negative for spread through air spaces (STAS). Methods A total of 236 patients with invasive lung adenocarcinoma confirmed by surgery and pathology were selected, including 118 patients in STAS-positive group and 118 patients in STAS-negative group. The clinical data, CT signs, and pathological features of the two groups were collected and analyzed. Results There was a correlation between age and the occurrence of STAS. The age of the positive group was higher than that of the negative group. Smoking history and family history of tumor had no correlation with the occurrence of STAS. CT features signs such as nodule type and shape, tumor-lung interface, lobulation sign, spiculation sign, vacuole/cavity, air-bronchogram, pleural indentation sign, vascular changes, mean diameter of tumor, mean diameter of solid component, and the percentage of tumor solid components were significantly different between patients with and without STAS. The incidence of STAS in patients with solid nodules and partial solid nodules was significantly higher than that in patients with ground glass nodules. Multivariate analysis showed that the percentage of tumor solid components, air-bronchogram sign, lobulation sign, and tumor-lung interface were independent risk factors for predicting the occurrence of STAS. Conclusion The clinical data and CT signs of patients with invasive lung adenocarcinoma are related to the occurrence of STAS. CT signs such as the percentage of tumor solid components, air-bronchogram, lobulation sign, and tumor-lung interface are of great significance to STAS prediction. Our findings provide an important basis for selection of personalized clinical treatment plans.

Objective:This study aims to explore the impact of various clinical factors on the risk of polymyxin B induced DKI in patients.Methods:This is a single-center retrospective case-control study. A total of 139 patients receiving polymyxin B intravenous treatment in our hospital from January 1 to December 31, 2020 were collected. Baseline variables between polymyxin B induced DKI group and non-DKI group were compared using the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and the T-test or Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables, as appropriate. Statistical analysis was performed using univariate and multivariate Logistic regression models, Logistic regression models, multivariate Logistic regression models, Kaplan Meier curve, as well as Log-Rank test.Results:Among a total of 139 patients receiving polymyxin B treatment, 49 cases have experienced DKI, 90 cases did not. The incidence of DKI was 35.25%. There was no statistical difference in general information of age, gender, and proportion of standard weight between the two groups. Among the related indexes of polycolistin B administration, the proportion of high daily dose [>25 000 U/(kg·d)] and the total dosage of medication in the DKI group were both significantly higher than that in the non-DKI group ( P< 0.05, respectively). Among the organ function indexes, there were significant differences in initial serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, urinary occult blood and urinary specific gravity between DKI group and non-DKI group 48 hours before polymyxin B administration ( P< 0.05). Binary Logistic regression analysis suggested that daily dose and initial creatinine before medication were independent risk factors for DKI caused by polymyxin B ( P< 0.05). Kaplan-meier survival analysis showed that with the accumulation of Polymyxin B administration, the higher the daily dose of Polymyxin B was, the faster the DKI occurred (Log-Rank P= 0.0194). Conclusions:Using intravenous polymyxin B is associated with the risk of DKI, among which higher initial blood creatinine values and higher daily doses are independent risk factors for DKI.

In order to reflect the research achievements of acupuncture on international academic community and study the acupuncture international discourse power from 2007 through 2017, we used text analysis software to analyze 5668 papers that focusing on acupuncture research in the recent 10 years. The results show that international acupuncture research trend has been formed, the research force diverges to the rest of the world with "China-America" as the center, and the study focuses on its sight and the interaction between China and foreign countries is good. Under the perspective of international discourse power, the construction of the national communication platform, the cultivation of academic centers and research fields, and the interaction with international research forces will enhance the quality of Chinese acupuncture research, and these will become an important task in enhancing the international discourse power of Chinese acupuncture.
Acupuncture ; Acupuncture Therapy ; China ; Humans ; Internationality ; Research ; trends

In order to obtain the serotype distribution of E.coli from duck and to screen the vaccine bacterial strains,the serotype identifications and biological characteristics of E.coli were analyzed in recent years from Shandong,Hebei and other areas of commercial duck field;selections of vaccine strains were detected by the virulence and immunogenicity.Totally 44 isolated bacterial strains of E.coli from duck were identified to a total of six serotypes:O78,O93,O76,O2,O92 and O32.The O78 serotype was the dominant serotype,accounting for 56.8％ (25/44);O93 serotype for 15.9％ (7/44) according to bacterial Oantigen typing.The strain SD (O78 serotype) was confirmed to have strong virulence and good immunogenicity.The O78,O93 and O76 are the dominant serotypes of duck E.coli in the study areas.The SD strain could be used as the candidate for the next development of inactivated vaccine.

Aim To investigate the effects of DGK in-hibitor R59022 on ET-1-induced myocardial hypertro-phy and autophagy, and explore the possible mecha-nisms. Methods Myocardial hypertrophy was in-duced by ET-1 in cultured rat neonatal cardiomyo-cytes. Western blot was used to detect the expression of microtubule-associate protein 1 light chain 3 ( LC3 ) , beclin-1, p62, p-Akt and Akt. mRNA expression of brain natriuretic peptide ( BNP) and beta mysion heav-y chain (β-MHC) and the cell size of cardiomyocytes were detected by RT-PCR and immunofluorescence, respectively. Results Treatment cardiomyocytes with ET-1(10 -7 mol·L-1 ) for 24 h induced the myocardi-al hypertrophy in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes with the activation of autophagy as evidenced by the in-creased expression of autophagy-related proteins LC3-II/I and beclin-1 , as well as the increased p62 degra-dation. While, myocardial hypertrophy induced by ET-1 , including the increased myocardial cell size and the mRNA expression of fetal gene BNP and β-MHC, could be reversed by autophagy inhibitor 3-methyl ade-nine (3-MA) and chloroquine ( CQ) ,but promoted by autophagy agonist rapamycin ( RAPA ) . Pretreatment cardiomyocytes with R59022, an inhibitor of DGK, en-hanced ET-1-induced myocardial hypertrophy by en-hancing autophagy in cardiomyocytes. Furthermore,ET-1 treatment inhibited the activation of Akt by the down-regulation of the Akt phosphorylation, and R59022 en-hanced the effect of ET-1 on the activation of Akt. Conclusions Enhanced autophagy contributes to car-diomyocyte hypertrophy. R59022 deteriorate ET-1-in-duced myocardial hypertrophy by activating autophagy. The possible mechanism may be related to the inhibi-tion of activation of mTOR signaling pathway by inhibi-ting the activation of Akt.

This study is to evaluate the therapeutic effect of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) on type 2 diabetic mice model and to provide mechanistic insights into its therapeutic effect. Type 2 diabetic animal model was established with high calorie fat diet and low dose streptozotocin (STZ) injection. Mice were then randomized into 5 groups: model control, FGF21 0.25 and 0.05 μmol x kg(-1) x d(-1) groups, insulin treatment group. Ten age-matched normal KM mouse administered with saline were used as normal controls. Serum glucose, insulin, lipid products and the change of serum and liver tissue inflammation factor levels between five groups of mouse were determined. The results showed that blood glucose, insulin, free fatty acids (FFAs), triglycerides, and inflammatory factor average FGF-21 of type 2 diabetes model group and normal control group were significantly higher (P < 0.01), while compared with insulin group, no difference was significant. Average blood glucose, insulin, blood lipid and inflammatory factor of FGF-21 treatment group compared with type 2 diabetes group was significantly lower (P < 0.01) and insulin group has no difference with the model control group. The results of OGTT and HOMA-IR showed that insulin resistance state was significantly relieved in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, this study demonstrates that FGF-21 significantly remits type 2 diabetic mice model's insulin resistance state and participates in the regulation of inflammatory factor levels and type 2 diabetes metabolic disorders.

Aim To study the effect of activating Sonic hedgehog( Shh) pathway on the function of endothelial progenitor cells ( EPCs ) in type 1 diabetic mice. Methods EPCs were isolated and cultured by density gradient method from diabetic mice. The effects of Shh N-terminal peptide and agonist SAG on EPCs prolifera-tion were evaluated by using the MTT colorimetric as-say. EPCs migration was measured by Transwell meth-od. EPCs tube formation ability was estimated by Matrigel . EPCs senescence activity was determined by β-galactosidase staining. Results Compared with control mice, the function of EPCs in type 1 diabetic mice was impaired. The proliferation, migration and tube formation of diabetic EPCs could be promoted by Shh peptide and agonist SAG. The senescence of dia-betic EPCs could be decreased by Shh peptide and ag-onist SAG. Conclusion Activating Shh signaling pathway can improve the impared function of diabetic EPCs in type 1 diabetic mice.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the correlation of liver hardness testing

RESULTSobtained by FibroTouch and FibroScan and the liver pathological stage.

METHODSSeventy-five patients with chronic hepatitis B who presented to our clinic between January 2011 and April 2013 were examined with FibroTouch and FibroScan to evaluate the degree of liver fibrosis. Forty-six of those patients also underwent liver biopsy examination.

THE RESULTSfrom technology-based testing and histopathological evaluation of the biopsy were compared by statistical analysis to determine the consistency of FibroTouch and FibroScan in regard to histological stage.

RESULTSAnalysis by paired t-test showed that the

RESULTSfrom FibroTouch and FibroScan were not significantly different (t = -0.17, P =0.8616), and the correlation coefficient from Pearson's correlation analysis was 0.9949 (P less than 0.05), suggesting that the two technologies'

RESULTSare correlated. Based on the histopathology

RESULTSfor liver fibrosis stage, the FibroTouch diagnosis of liver fibrosis more than or equal to S 1 had a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area under the curve (AUC) of 0.889, diagnosis of liver fibrosis more than or equal to S2 had a ROC AUC of 0.941, diagnosis of liver fibrosis more than or equal to S3 had a ROC AUC of 0.908, and diagnosis of liver fibrosis more than or equal to S4 had a ROC AUC of 0.911.

CONCLUSIONCompared to FibroScan, FibroTouch has a better ability for detecting liver fibrosis and a better consistency with liver pathological stage determined by histopathological analysis.

Adult ; Aged ; Area Under Curve ; Biopsy ; Case-Control Studies ; Elasticity Imaging Techniques ; instrumentation ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; pathology ; Humans ; Liver ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Young Adult