Based on the theory of the five-body constituents from Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic), the approach and methods of acupuncture for facial aging are explored. Acupuncture for facial aging can be guided by the concept of the five-body constituents, targeting the facial "skin, flesh, vessels, tendons, and bones", and utilizing five different types of needles-facial needles, needle knives, filiform needles, retaining needles, and elongated needles and filiform needles-to maximize their respective advantages in treating facial aging. Facial needles are applied to the "skin" by selecting facial acupoints or local ashi points (at wrinkle or pigmentation sites). Needle knives are used for the "flesh" to perform longitudinal dredging and transverse dissection of the facial muscle layers. Filiform needles target the "vessels" with needling at Renying (ST9) to improve facial complexion. Retaining needles act on the "tendons" with needling from Taiyang (EX-HN5) to Xiaguan (ST7), and Jiache (ST6) to Daying (ST5), using clockwise twisting to generate a retaining needle sensation and lifting to achieve an overall facial lifting effect.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Face ; Skin Aging ; Acupuncture Points ; Aging

Objective To analyze the relationship between expression levels of long non-coding RNA(LncRNA)LINC00342 and microRNA-203a-3p(miR-203a-3p)in colorectal cancer tissue and the prognosis of patients within 5 years after surgery.Methods Samples of colorectal cancer tissue and paracancer tissue of 133 patients with colorectal cancer were collected.Expression levels of LncRNA LINC00342 and miR-203a-3p were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR.Survival and death were recorded after 5 years of follow-up.The LncRNA LINC00342 and miR-203a-3p expressions and clinicopathological parameters in patients under different conditions were compared.The correlation between expressions of LncRNA LINC00342 and miR-203a-3p in colorectal cancer tissue was analyzed,and their predictive value for the prognosis was also analyzed.Results The expression level of LncRNA LINC00342 was higher in colorectal cancer tissue than that in paracancer tissue,and the expression level of miR-203a-3p was lower in colorectal cancer tissue than that in paracancer tissue(P＜0.05).The expression levels of LncRNA LINC00342 and miR-203a-3p in colorectal cancer tissue were negatively correlated(P＜0.05).The proportion of patients with low tumor differentiation,TNM stage Ⅲ and lymph node metastasis were higher in the LncRNA LINC00342 high expression group and the miR-203a-3p low expression group than those in the LncRNA LINC00342 low expression group and the miR-203a-3p high expression group,respectively(P＜0.05).The 5-year overall survival rate after operation was lower in the LncRNA LINC00342 high expression group and the miR-203a-3p low expression group(P＜0.05).The proportion of patients with low tumor differentiation,TNM stage Ⅲ,lymph node metastasis,and higher expression level of LncRNA LINC00342 were higher in colorectal cancer tissue of the death group than those in the survival group,and the expression level of miR-203a-3p was lower than that in the survival group(P＜0.05).Low tumor differentiation,TNM stage Ⅲ,lymph node metastasis,high expression of LncRNA LINC00342 and low expression of miR-203a-3p were independent risk factors for death within 5 years after colorectal cancer surgery(P＜0.05).The combined predictive value of LncRNA LINC00342 and miR-203a-3p for prognosis was greater than that of individual prediction.Conclusion LncRNA LINC00342 is higher expressed and miR-203a-3p is lower expressed in colorectal cancer tissue,and the combined detection of the two is expected to become a clinical evaluation indicator for predicting postoperative survival.

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a severe cerebrovascular disease with a high incidence, mortality, and disability rate. The first-line treatment for IS is the use of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (r-tPA). Regrettably, numerous patients encounter delays in treatment due to the narrow therapeutic window and the associated risk of hemorrhage. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has exhibited distinct advantages in preventing and treating IS. TCM enhances cerebral microcirculation, alleviates neurological disorders, regulates energy metabolism, mitigates inflammation, reduces oxidative stress injuries, and inhibits apoptosis, thereby mitigating brain damage and preventing IS recurrence. This article summarizes the etiology, pathogenesis, therapeutic strategies, and relationship with modern biology of IS from the perspective of TCM, describes the advantages of TCM in the treatment of IS, and further reviews the pharmacodynamic characteristics and advantages of TCM in the acute and recovery phases of IS as well as in post-stroke complications. Additionally, it offers valuable insights and references for the clinical application of TCM in IS prevention and treatment, as well as for the development of novel drugs.

Cognitive dysfunction is one of the common central nervous systems (CNS) complications of diabetes mellitus, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients and results in a huge economic burden. The glymphatic system dysfunction mediated by aquaporin-4 (AQP4) loss or redistribution in perivascular astrocyte endfeet plays a crucial role in diabetes-induced cognitive impairment (DCI). However, the mechanism of AQP4 loss or redistribution in the diabetic states remains unclear. Accumulating evidence suggests that peripheral insulin resistance target tissues and CNS communication affect brain homeostasis and that exosomal miRNAs are key mediators. Glucose and lipid metabolism disorder is an important pathological feature of diabetes mellitus, and skeletal muscle, liver and adipose tissue are the key target insulin resistance organs. In this review, the changes in exosomal miRNAs induced by peripheral metabolism disorders in diabetes mellitus were systematically reviewed. We focused on exosomal miRNAs that could induce low AQP4 expression and redistribution in perivascular astrocyte endfeet, which could provide an interorgan communication pathway to illustrate the pathogenesis of DCI. Furthermore, the mechanisms of exosome secretion from peripheral insulin resistance target tissue and absorption to the CNS were summarized, which will be beneficial for proposing novel and feasible strategies to optimize DCI prevention and/or treatment in diabetic patients.

Objective To analyze the microflora structure and abundance of ileum and colon of SPF male SD rats by high-throughput sequencing technique. MethodsThe ileal and colonic lumen contents of 30 SPF male SD rats were collected, the total bacterial DNA in the contents was extracted and amplified by PCR. The V3-V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA in the samples was sequenced using Illumina NovaSeq sequencing platform. Then the species structure and abundance of the intestinal flora were analyzed at the phylum and genus level based on validated data. The diversity and differences between ileal and colonic flora were analyzed using the QIIME software (amplicon) analysis tool. The Tax4Fun program was applied to predict the dominant gene enrichment pathways of ileal and colonic flora. ResultsAt the phylum level, the dominant microflora in the ileum of male SD rats were Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, accounting for more than 98%. The dominant colonic microbial community were mainly Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, accounting for more than 95%. At the genus level, Lactobacillus and Alistipes were the predominant bacteria in the ileum. The colon was dominated by Lactobacillus and Romboutsia. In terms of flora diversity, the alpha diversity of colonic flora including richness index (Chao1 index) and diversity index (Shannon index) were significantly higher than those of ileum (P < 0.01), and the structural variability of the composition of its flora species was smaller than that of ileum; the ileal flora with significant structural variability were mainly of the phylum Firmicutes, Romboutsia, Peptostreptococcaceae, while the colonic flora had significant structural differences in Bacteroidales. In terms of flora function, the ileal flora dominant genes were significantly enriched in lipid-like metabolism, polyketide metabolism, membrane transport, biodegradation and other pathways, while the colonic flora dominant genes were significantly enriched in glycan biosynthesis metabolism, energy metabolism, biosynthesis of cofactor and vitamins and other products, and other pathways. ConclusionThere are significant differences in structure and abundance between the ileal and colonic flora of SPF male SD rats, and the abundance and diversity of colonic flora are higher than those of ileal flora.

Objective To evaluate the quality of the clinical trial literatures published on the treatment of COVID-19 with TCM, find out the shortcomings and put forward corresponding suggestions, in order to promote TCM against COVID-19. Methods "COVID-19", "New Coronavirus Pneumonia", "TCM", "Chinese Medicine", "Clinical Trial", "Lianhua Qingwen", "Huoxiang Zhengqi", "Jinhua Qinggan", and other keywords were used to search relevant literatures in CNKI and PubMed database. Among the all the screened relevant literatures on the treatment of COVID-19 with TCM, the literature quality was assessed according to evaluation criteria of clinical trial literatures. Results A total of 463 papers related to the treatment of COVID-19 with TCM were obtained. 440 papers on theoretical research on the network pharmacology mechanism of Chinese medicine treatment of COVID-19 were excluded. Among the 23 articles included in the quality analysis, there are 3 randomized controlled studies, 1 multi-center prospective randomized controlled trial, 2 disease case report trials, and 5 uncontrolled single arm studies, 5 controlled trials and 7 retrospective studies. In the period of more than half a year, although many clinical trial documents of TCM for the treatment of COVID-19 have been published, the clinical trial design reflected in most TCM clinical trials were not standardized. There are problems in "randomness and rationality", such as no control group, no randomization design, only case studies, no blinding method in controlling bias, and insufficient objectivity in the evaluation criteria of efficacy. All of these need to be improved. Conclusion The treatment of new coronavirus pneumonia with TCM still requires more and standardized clinical trial verifications and publications to generate strong evidence-based results, such as adding control groups, increasing sample size, and using blinding methods to increase the credibility of clinical trials.

Objective:To study the protective effects of different concentrations of curcumin on lung injury of rats in dry heat environment.Methods:Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly (random number) divided into five groups ( n = 10 each group): normal control group (NC), dry heat control group (DHC), and three different concentrations of curcumin pretreated dry-heat groups (50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and 200 mg/kg). Rats in the NC and DHC groups were given a gavage of normal saline, and rats in the curcumin pretreatment groups were given a gavage of curcumin with different concentrations, once a day for 7 consecutive days. At 8th day, all groups except for the NC group were transferred to the climate cabin (The Simulated Climate Cabin for Special Environment of Northwest of China), with a temperature of (41 ± 0.5) and relative humidity of (10 ± 1)%. Rats in each group were anesthetized and sampled after reaching the state of heat stroke at 150 min, and same done to the NC group. Lung tissues were harvested and pathological changes were observed by HE staining. Lung wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio was detected and lung injury indicators such as total protein, white blood cell count and neutrophil count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were also determined. Results:The lung injury pathology score, W/D weight ratio, total protein, white blood cell count and neutrophil count in BALF were the lowest in the NC group, and the highest in the DHC group, with significant difference ( P <0.01). With the increase of the concentration in the curcumin pretreatment groups, lung injury pathology score, W/D weight ratio, total protein, white blood cell count and neutrophil count in BALF were all declined. There were significant differences among the different concentration groups of curcumin and the NC and DHC groups ( P <0.01). Correlation analysis indicated that lung injury scores were correlated with W/D weight ratio of lung tissue, alveolar total protein content in BALF, white blood cell count, and neutrophil count (correlation coefficient r = 0.879, r = 0.935, r = 0.916, and r = 0.880, respectively, P <0.01). Conclusions:Pretreatment with different concentrations of curcumin can exert protective effects on lung injury of heat stroke rats in dry heat environment. Curcumin may have important clinical value in prevention and treatment of lung injury caused by heat stroke in dry heat environment.

Objective? To?investigate?the?effects?of?different?doses?of?curcumin?on?the?levels?of?immune?factors?CD11b?and?CD19?in?peripheral?blood?of?heat?stroke?rats?in?a?simulation?dry-heat?environment.? Methods? 160?SPF??healthy?male?Sprague-Dawley?(SD)?rats?were?selected?and?divided?into?different?groups?according?to?random?number?table?method:?normal?saline?(NS)?control?group?(given?NS),?solvent?control?group?[given?sodium?carboxymethylcellulose?(CMCNa)],?and?curcumin?low,?medium?and?high?dose?pretreatment?group?(given?0.05,?0.10,?0.20?mg/g?of?curcumin+0.5%?CMCNa?solution).?There?were?32?rats?in?each?group,?and?were?challenged?only?by?10?mL·kg-1·d-1?lavage,?and?continuous?dosing?for?7?days.?On?the?8th?day,?rats?were?challenged?at?ambient?temperature?(41.0±0.5)?℃,?relative?humidity?(10±1)%?of?the?northwest?in?the?special?environment?of?artificial?lab,?placed?in?0?(normal?temperature),?50,?100?and??150?minutes?respectively.?The?levels?of?CD19?and?CD11b?in?peripheral?blood?of?each?rat?were?detected?by?flow?cytometry?instrument.? Results? With?the?extension?of?time?in?the?simulated?dry?and?heat?environment,?the?level?of?CD11b?in?peripheral?blood?was?gradually?increased?in?each?group,?and?the?peak?value?was?reached?at?150?minutes,?the?NS?control?group,?solvent?control?group?and?curcumin?low,?medium?and?high?dose?pretreatment?groups?were?0.346±0.013,?0.342±0.013,?0.342±0.012,?0.325±0.012,?and?0.281±0.012,?respectively.?In?each?group,?the?level?of?CD19?was? first?increased?and?then?decreased,?reaching?its?peak?value?at?100?minutes,?and?the?level?of?the?NS?control?group,?solvent?control?group?and?curcumin?low,?medium?and?high?dose?pretreatment?groups?were?0.586±0.010,?0.601±0.014,?0.684±0.009,?0.613±0.012?and?0.604±0.006,?respectively.?The?level?of?CD11b?in?the?curcumin?medium?and?high?dose?pretreatment?groups?were?significantly?lower?than?those?in?the?NS?control?group?and?solvent?control?group??(50?minutes:?0.237±0.011,?0.188±0.006?vs.?0.283±0.009,?0.289±0.012;?100?minutes:?0.260±0.010,?0.248±0.008?vs.?0.293±0.008,?0.290±0.007,?all?P?

Objective To observe the changes of potassium ion (K+), lactic acid (Lac) and glucose (Glu) in swine with traumatic hemorrhagic shock (THS) inside the dry-heat environment and to explore its possible mechanism. Methods A total of 40 local Landrace piglets were randomly(random number) divided equally into 4 groups: the normal temperature sham operation group (NS), the normal temperature traumatic hemorrhagic shock group (NTHS), the dry-heat sham operation group (DS group) and the dry-heat traumatic hemorrhagic shock group (DTHS). The experiment was carried out in the artifi cia climate cabin simulated the special environment of northwest of China. After exposed to their respective environment[dry-heat environment: (40.5±0.5), plus(10±2)% humidity; normal temperature environment: (25±0.5), plus(35±5)% humidity] for 3 h. Laparotomy were performed in swine of all groups, and then splenectomy and partial hepatectomy were performed only in NTHS and DTHS. The process of exsanguination from the external iliac artery was established to make the MAP reaching to 40-50 mmHg, and thus the traumatic hemorrhagic shock model of swine was successfully made. Blood samples were collected from external iliac artery at different intervals including the time just after exposure for 3 h and the successful establishment of traumatic hemorrhagic shock model (0 h) and then every 30 min after 0 h, serum levels of K+, Lac and Glu were detected. The features of varied serum K+, Lac and Glu were observed in each group. All data were statistically analyzed using One-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation analysis. Results After exposed , the level of serum K+inside the dry-heat environment was higher than that of swine inside the normal temperature group ( P<0.01), however the Glu level was lower in the swine inside dry-heat environment than that of swine inside the normal temperature ( P<0.01).The level of serum K+and Lac of DTHS group were rapidly increased from the establishment of the model to the death in about 3 h, while those of NTHS group were increased slowly. The level of K+and Lac were positively correlated in the two groups amd the correlation coeffi cient were rDTHS=0.927 (P<0.01) and rNTHS=0.539 (P<0.01),respectively. The level of Glu was progressively decrease in DTHS group, while in NTHS group, it was not noticeable. The level of K+and Glu were negatively correlated in the two group, the correlation coeffi cient were rDTHS=-0.804 (P<0.01) and rNTHS=0.420 (P<0.01),respectively. Conclusions The changes of serum K+, Lac and Glu occurred sooner and more obvious in traumatic hemorrhagic shock models inside dry heat environment (DTHS) group than those in NTHS group. The level of serum K+positively correlated with Lac, however, negatively correlated with Glu, which suggested that hyperkalemia and acidosis should be paid more attention to the treatment of traumatic hemorrhagic shock inside the dry heat environment, and the hypoglycemia should be treated at the same time.

Objective:To study the characteristics of intestinal tract pathological injury of rats in hypobaric hypoxia at different high altitude.Methods:30 male SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups:Plain group (n=6),High-altitude (HA) 5000 m for 10 day group(n=6),HA 5000 m for 21day group(n=6),HA 6500 m for 10day group(n=6),HA 6500 m for 21day group (n=6).Rats were raised normally either in plain or simulated high altitude environment,at the corresponding time point,rats were euthanized,small intestines were harvested,fixed tissues were processed routinely into paraffin and sections were stained routinely with hematoxylin and eosin.Morphologic parameters were measured by optical microscope and then the pathological injury score were evaluated.Results:The pathological injury scores ofjejunnm and ileum in the high altitude group were significantly higher than that of the plain group (P＜0.01),the pathological injury scores of jejunum,ileum and colon were significantly higher in the HA 5000 m for 21 day group than that of the HA 5000 m for 10 day group,but significant lower than that of the HA 6500 m for 21 day group,the pathological injury scores of jejunum,ileum and colon were significantly higher in the HA 6500 m for 10 day group than that of the HA 5000 m for 10 day group(P＜0.01,P＜0.05).The pathological injury scores of colon were significantly higher in the groups of the high altitude than the plain group except for the HA 5000 m for 10 day group (P＜0.01,P＜0.05).The pathological injury scores of jejunum had significant different with that of the colon in the HA 5000 m for 21 day group (P＜0.05);the pathological injury scores of both jejunum and ileum had significant different with that of the colon in the HA 6500 m for 21 day group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Conclusions:The injuries of the intestinal mucosa became serious with the with rising altitude and the stayed time,the intestinal injuries were more serious than that of colon at same situation,however there were no significant different between jejunum and ileum,the injuries of colon happened later than intestine,and they correlated with the stay time in the high altitude,which indicated that intestinal injury should be pay more attention in the early time of entering the hypobaric hypoxia environment of the high altitude.