OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of Qihuang needle therapy for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children with sleep disorder. METHODS: A total of 60 ASD children with sleep disorder were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each group. Both groups were treated with structured education intervention, 60 min each time, once a day, 6 times a week. Qihuang needle therapy was applied at Yintang (GV24⁺), Baihui (GV20) and bilateral Jueyinshu (BL14), Xinshu (BL15) in the observation group, multi-direction needling was delivered and without needle retaining. The treatment was given 2 times a week, each treatment was delivered at interval of 2 days at least. Behavioral intervention was adopted in the control group. Treatment for consecutive 12 weeks was required in both groups. Before and after treatment, the scores of children's sleep habits questionnaire (CSHQ), the autism behavior checklist (ABC), the childhood autism rating scale (CARS), and the childhood autism behavior scale (CABS) were observed in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the scores of CSHQ, ABC, CARS and CABS were decreased compared with those before treatment (P<0.01), and the above scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Qihuang needle therapy can effectively treat ASD with sleep disorder, improve the core symptoms of ASD and the sleep quality.
Humans ; Autism Spectrum Disorder/physiopathology* ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Sleep Wake Disorders/physiopathology* ; Child, Preschool ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Acupuncture Points ; Treatment Outcome ; Sleep ; Needles

Although clinical evidence suggests that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is an established major risk factor for heart failure, it remains unexplored whether sleep disorder-caused hepatic damage contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Here, our findings revealed that sleep fragmentation (SF) displayed notable hepatic detrimental phenotypes, including steatosis and oxidative damage, along with significant abnormalities in cardiac structure and function. All these pathological changes persisted even after sleep recovery for 2 consecutive weeks or more, displaying memory properties. Mechanistically, persistent higher expression of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 4 (NOX4) in the liver was the key initiator of SF-accelerated damage phenotypes. SF epigenetically controlled the acetylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27ac) enrichment at the Nox4 promoter and markedly increased Nox4 expression in liver even after sleep recovery. Moreover, fine coordination of the circadian clock and hepatic damage was strictly controlled by BMAL1-dependent Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) transcription after circadian misalignment. Accordingly, genetic manipulation of liver-specific Nox4 or Sirt1, along with pharmacological intervention targeting NOX4 (GLX351322) or SIRT1 (Resveratrol), could effectively erase the epigenetic modification of Nox4 by reducing the H3K27ac level and ameliorate the progression of liver pathology, thereby counteracting SF-evoked sustained CVD. Collectively, our findings may pave the way for strategies to mitigate myocardial injury from persistent hepatic detrimental memory in diabetic patients.

A major obstacle in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is sleep fragmentation (SF), which negatively affects testicular function. However, the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that SF induces testicular damage through a mechanism involving lipid metabolism, specifically mediated by melatonin (MEL) receptor 1a (MT1). T2DM mice with SF intervention displayed several deleterious phenotypes such as apoptosis, deregulated lipid metabolism, and impaired testicular function. Unexpectedly, sleep recovery (SR) for 2 consecutive weeks could not completely abrogate SF's detrimental effects on lipid deposition and testicular function. Interestingly, MEL and MT1 agonist 2-iodomelatonin (2IM) effectively improved lipid homeostasis, highlighting MEL/2IM as a promising therapeutic drug for SF-trigged testicular damage. Mechanistically, MEL and 2IM activated FGFR1 and sequentially restrained the crosstalk and physical interaction between TAB1 and TAK1, which ultimately suppressed the phosphorylation of TAK1 to block lipid deposition and cell apoptosis caused by SF. The ameliorating effect of MEL/2IM was overtly nullified in Fgfr1 knockout (Fgfr1-KO ^+/- ) diabetic mice. Meanwhile, testicular-specific overexpression of Tak1 abolished the protective effect of FGF1^mut on diabetic mouse testis. Our findings offer valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the testicular pathogenesis associated with SF and propose a novel therapeutic approach for addressing male infertility in T2DM.

Objective To analyze the therapeutic efficacy of low-temperature plasma surgery for children with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS)and its effects on inflammatory response,immune function,pain,and sleep quality for providing a basis for the rational treatment of OSAHS.Methods A prospective study was conducted on 92 children with OSAHS from January 2021 to December 2023,and they were randomly divided into control group(n=46)and pilot group(n=46).Control group were given conventional tonsil and adenoidectomy,while observation group were given low-temperature plasma tonsil and adenoid ablation.These patients in both groups were followed-up for 6 months after surgery,and there was no lost case during the follow-up period.The two groups were compared for the efficacy at 6 months after surgery,surgery-related indexes,scores of visual analogue scale for pain at 1,2,and 3 days after surgery,sleep quality before and at 6 months after surgery,inflammatory response,immune function,and the occurrence of complications during the 6 month follow-up period.Results Compared with control group,pilot group had higher overall effective rate at 6 months postoperatively(93.48%vs 78.26%,P<0.05),less intraoperative bleeding,and shorter operation and hospitalization time(P<0.05).The visual analog scale score gradually decreased in both groups at 1,2,3 days postoperatively,and the scores were lower in pilot group than in control group(P<0.05).Compared with those before surgery,apnea hypoventilation index and respiratory disturbance index were lower in both groups at 6 months postoperatively,with lower indicator values in the pilot group(P<0.05);while the lowest blood oxygen saturation increased in the two groups,with higher indicator values in the pilot group(P<0.05).Compared with those before surgery,serum procalcitonin,interleukin-1β,interleukin-6,high sensitive C-reactive protein,tumor necrosis factor-α,and whole-blood CD8+were lower in both groups at 3 days postoperatively,with lower indicator values in pilot group(P<0.05);while whole-blood CD3+,CD4+,CD4+/CD8+were higher in both groups at 3 days postoperatively,with higher indicator values in pilot group(P<0.05).The total complication rate within 6 months of follow-up was lower in pilot group than in control group(4.35%vs 17.39%,P<0.05).Conclusion Low-temperature plasma surgery is effective and safe in children with OSAHS,and it is considered that it might be related to its contributions to improvements in surgery-related indexes,inflammatory response,immune function,pain and sleep quality.

Objective To screen metabolic core genes in colon cancer based on machine learning algorithms and analyze their functional mechanisms.Methods Data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)database and the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database.The TCGA co-hort included 375 tumor samples and 32 adjacent normal tissue samples,while the GSE39582 cohort comprised 419 tumor samples.Univariate Cox regression analysis combined with random forest,sup-port vector machine recursive feature elimination(SVM-RFE),and least absolute shrinkage and selec-tion operator(LASSO)regression algorithms were employed to screen for metabolic core genes.Re-ceiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were plotted,and the area under the curve(AUC)was used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of the core genes.Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)and immunohistochemistry(IHC)methods were adopted to detect the ex-pression of the core genes.The core genes were knocked down to explore their roles in colon cancer.Results Three core genes,namely CPT2,SCP2 and NR3C2,were screened based on machine learning algorithms.According to the comparison results of the AUCs of the ROC curves,NR3C2 exhibited the best predictive efficacy.qRT-PCR detection results showed that NR3C2 mRNA was lowly ex-pressed in colon cancer cell lines;IHC detection results revealed that NR3C2 was lowly expressed in colon cancer tissues.Knocking down NR3C2 significantly promoted the proliferation and migration of colon cancer cells.Conclusion NR3C2 is identified as a core metabolic inhibitory gene in colon cancer by cross-applying three machine learning algorithms,which may provide a new strategy for metabolic targeted therapy.

Objective To investigate the intervention effects and mechanism of Danggui Shaoyao power on spontaneous abortion rats.Methods A total of 60 first-day pregnant rats were randomly divided into normal group,model group,dydrogesterone group and Danggui Shaoyao power low,middle,and high dose groups,with 10 rats in each group.The low,middle,and high dose groups were given Danggui Shaoyao power 5.175 g·kg-1,10.35 g·kg-1,20.7 g·kg-1,respectively,from 1 to 12 days of gestation,and the dydrogesterone group was given dydrogesterone tablet solution 2 mg·kg-1 once a day.On the 13th day of gestation,rats model of spontaneous abortion was established by intragastric administration of 5 mg·kg-1 of mifepristone tablet solution except for the normal group.Serum levels of GnRH,FSH,LH,E2 were measured,and abortion rates and uterine coefficients were calculated.The pathological changes of pregnant uterus were observed by haematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining.The differential proteins in rats pregnant uterus were detected by Label-Free shotgun proteomic technique,and the PPI,Gene Ontology(GO),and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathways analysis of the differential proteins were analyzed.Immunohistochemistry was used to verify the expression levels of differential proteins.Results Compared with normal group,the serum levels of GnRH,FSH,LH,E2 and uterine coefficients were decreased,and the abortion rates were increased in model group(P<0.05).There were abortion lesions of spontaneous abortion in model group.Compared with model group,the serum levels of GnRH,FSH,LH,E2 and uterine coefficients were increased(P<0.05),and the abortion rates were decreased(P<0.05)in dydrogesterone group and Danggui Shaoyao power low,middle,and high dose groups.Proteomic results showed that a total of 550 proteins were quantified in this study.PPI analysis showed that a total of 159 proteins interacted with other proteins as hubs;the results of GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the intervention effect of Danggui Shaoyao power on spontaneous abortion is related to the focal adhesion pathway,and involved upregulation of Akt2,Col6a1,Col6a2 and downregulation of Pten.Immunohistochemistry results showed that compared with normal group,the expression level of Akt2,Col6a1 and Col6a2 were decreased(P<0.05),and the expression level of Pten was increased(P<0.05)in model group.Compared with model group,the expression level of Akt2,Col6a1 and Col6a2 were increased(P<0.05),and the expression level of Pten was decreased(P<0.05)in dydrogesterone group and Danggui Shaoyao power low,middle,and high dose groups.Conclusions Danggui Shaoyao power has the intervention effect on spontaneous abortion,and its mechanism may be related to by demoting the protein expressions of Pten,and promoting the protein expressions of Akt2,Col6a1 and Col6a2.

Objective:To explore the application value of part-cut jejunal transection in digestive tract reconstruction of totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy.Methods:The propensity score matching and retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 112 patients with gastric cancer who underwent totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from June 2018 to September 2022 were collected. There were 81 males and 31 females, aged (70±8)years. Among the 112 patients, 60 patients undergoing diges-tive tract reconstruction by Roux-en-Y anastomosis with part-cut jejunum were set as the part-cut group, and 52 patients undergoing digestive tract reconstruction by traditional Roux-en-Y anasto-mosis were set as the traditional group. Observation indicators: (1) propensity score matching status and comparison of clinical data of patients between the two groups after matching; (2) intraopera-tive and postoperative conditions; (3) follow-up. Comparison of measurement data with normal dis-tribution between groups was conducted using the independent sample t test. Comparison of count data between groups was conducted using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Com-parison of ordinal data was conducted using the nonparametic rank sum test. Propensity score matching was performed using the 1∶1 nearest neighbor matching method, with the caliper value of 0.02. Results:(1) Propensity score matching status and comparison of clinical data of patients between the two groups after matching. Of the 112 patients, 90 patients were successfully matched, with 45 cases in each of the part-cut group and the traditional group. After propensity score matching, the elimination of body mass index, clinical TNM staging confounding bias ensured comparability. (2) Intraoperative and postoperative conditions. After propensity score matching, the total operation time and digestive tract reconstruction time of patients in the part-cut group were (217.0±15.1)minutes and (34.7±1.8)minutes, versus (252.6±21.9)minutes and (52.6±7.4)minutes in the traditional group, respectively, showing significant differences in the above indicators between the two groups ( t=?8.97, ?15.66, P<0.05). (3) Follow-up. After propensity score matching, 90 patients were followed up postoperatively for (47±15)months. During the follow-up, no patient in either group received secondary surgery, and there was no death. There were 3 cases and 10 cases of Roux stasis syndrome in the part-cut group and the traditional group, respectively, showing a significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=4.41, P<0.05). Conclusion:Compared with traditional Roux-en-Y anastomosis, the Roux-en-Y anastomosis with part-cut jejunum in totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy can signifi-cantly shorten the time for digestive tract reconstruction and reduce the incidence of postoperative Roux stasis syndrome.

Objective:To investigate anti-inflammatory effects of celastrol as pulp capping agent on experimental pulpitis in rats and to explore its mechanism.Methods:Rat model of experimental pulpitis was established by lipopolysaccharide(LPS).A total of 28 rats were randomly divided into 4 groups(model group,calcium hydroxide group,celastrol group,drug mixture group).After 5 days,the rats were sacrificed and the maxillary and molar specimens were obtained.Pathological changes of pulp tissue were observed by HE staining,as well as the inflammation level was evaluated by a modified histological scoring system.Relative mRNA expression levels of TNF-α and IL-β in dental pulp were detected by qRT-PCR.Western blot was used to assess phosphorylation level of NF-κB p65 in dental pulp.Results:Histological scores of celastrol group and drug mixture group were significantly lower than those of model group and calcium hydroxide group(P<0.01),while there was no significant statistical differences between celastrol group and drug mixture group(P>0.05).Compared with model group,levels of TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA in pulp tissue of calcium hydroxide group,celastrol group and drug mixture group were decreased(P<0.05).Western blot showed that treatment of celastrol and mixed drugs could considerably reduce phosphorylation level of NF-κB p65 in rat pulp tissue.Conclusion:Celastrol can relieve experimental pulpitis in rats,and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of NF-κB p65 activation and reduce the expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β.

Objective To analyze the therapeutic efficacy of low-temperature plasma surgery for children with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS)and its effects on inflammatory response,immune function,pain,and sleep quality for providing a basis for the rational treatment of OSAHS.Methods A prospective study was conducted on 92 children with OSAHS from January 2021 to December 2023,and they were randomly divided into control group(n=46)and pilot group(n=46).Control group were given conventional tonsil and adenoidectomy,while observation group were given low-temperature plasma tonsil and adenoid ablation.These patients in both groups were followed-up for 6 months after surgery,and there was no lost case during the follow-up period.The two groups were compared for the efficacy at 6 months after surgery,surgery-related indexes,scores of visual analogue scale for pain at 1,2,and 3 days after surgery,sleep quality before and at 6 months after surgery,inflammatory response,immune function,and the occurrence of complications during the 6 month follow-up period.Results Compared with control group,pilot group had higher overall effective rate at 6 months postoperatively(93.48%vs 78.26%,P<0.05),less intraoperative bleeding,and shorter operation and hospitalization time(P<0.05).The visual analog scale score gradually decreased in both groups at 1,2,3 days postoperatively,and the scores were lower in pilot group than in control group(P<0.05).Compared with those before surgery,apnea hypoventilation index and respiratory disturbance index were lower in both groups at 6 months postoperatively,with lower indicator values in the pilot group(P<0.05);while the lowest blood oxygen saturation increased in the two groups,with higher indicator values in the pilot group(P<0.05).Compared with those before surgery,serum procalcitonin,interleukin-1β,interleukin-6,high sensitive C-reactive protein,tumor necrosis factor-α,and whole-blood CD8+were lower in both groups at 3 days postoperatively,with lower indicator values in pilot group(P<0.05);while whole-blood CD3+,CD4+,CD4+/CD8+were higher in both groups at 3 days postoperatively,with higher indicator values in pilot group(P<0.05).The total complication rate within 6 months of follow-up was lower in pilot group than in control group(4.35%vs 17.39%,P<0.05).Conclusion Low-temperature plasma surgery is effective and safe in children with OSAHS,and it is considered that it might be related to its contributions to improvements in surgery-related indexes,inflammatory response,immune function,pain and sleep quality.

Objective:To investigate anti-inflammatory effects of celastrol as pulp capping agent on experimental pulpitis in rats and to explore its mechanism.Methods:Rat model of experimental pulpitis was established by lipopolysaccharide(LPS).A total of 28 rats were randomly divided into 4 groups(model group,calcium hydroxide group,celastrol group,drug mixture group).After 5 days,the rats were sacrificed and the maxillary and molar specimens were obtained.Pathological changes of pulp tissue were observed by HE staining,as well as the inflammation level was evaluated by a modified histological scoring system.Relative mRNA expression levels of TNF-α and IL-β in dental pulp were detected by qRT-PCR.Western blot was used to assess phosphorylation level of NF-κB p65 in dental pulp.Results:Histological scores of celastrol group and drug mixture group were significantly lower than those of model group and calcium hydroxide group(P<0.01),while there was no significant statistical differences between celastrol group and drug mixture group(P>0.05).Compared with model group,levels of TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA in pulp tissue of calcium hydroxide group,celastrol group and drug mixture group were decreased(P<0.05).Western blot showed that treatment of celastrol and mixed drugs could considerably reduce phosphorylation level of NF-κB p65 in rat pulp tissue.Conclusion:Celastrol can relieve experimental pulpitis in rats,and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of NF-κB p65 activation and reduce the expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β.