Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture in a rat model of insomnia and its regulatory effect on the glutamic acid(Glu)/γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA)-glutamine(Gln)metabolic loop.Methods Forty male SD rats were randomly assigned to control group,model group,Najia group and Nazi group(n=10).In the latter 3 groups,rat models of insomnia were established by intraperitoneal injections of p-chlorophenylalanine and verified using a sodium pentobarbital-induced sleep test.After modeling,the rats in Najia and Nazi groups received acupuncture for 7 days at specifically chosen sets of acupoints based on the Ziwuliuzhu rationale in traditional Chinese medicine.Pathological changes in the hypothalamic tissue of the rats were examined with HE staining,and the levels of Glu and GABA in the hypothalamus were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)-mass spectrometry(MS)/MS.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of GABAA receptors(GABAARs)in the hypothalamus,and the expression levels of glutamate decarboxylase(GAD65/67)and glutamine synthetase(GS)were determined with Western blotting.Results Compared with the model group,the rats in Najia and Nazi groups exhibited decreased Glu levels and GABAA receptor expression and increased GABA levels with a decreased Glu/GABA ratio in the hypothalamus.Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture significantly increased the protein expressions of GAD65 and GAD67 and lowered the expression of GS in the hypothalamus in the rat models of insomnia.Conclusion Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture produces sedative and hypnotic effects in rat models of insomnia possibly by regulating Glu and GABA-Gln metabolism to restore the excitatory/inhibitory balance between Glu and GABA.

While tumor immunotherapy has improved the prognosis of many patients,immunotherapy drug resistance develops in most tu-mors.Studies of new targets and therapies are needed to overcome this challenge.Growing evidence indicates that Siglecs function in im-mune checkpoints.Siglecs belong to a family of salivary acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectins.The majority of Siglecs are immunosup-pressive transmembrane proteins that bind to sialic acid-containing glycans on glycoproteins and glycolipids.Sialoglycan-Siglec interactions contribute to tumor immune escape and are strongly correlated with poor prognosis in tumor patients.This review will discuss Siglec func-tion in immune checkpoints,and how the interaction between sialic acid and Siglecs regulates the tumor microenvironment to exert thera-peutic effects.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the therapeutic effect of Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture in a rat model of insomnia and its regulatory effect on the glutamic acid (Glu)/γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-glutamine (Gln) metabolic loop. METHODS: Forty male SD rats were randomly assigned to control group, model group, Najia group and Nazi group (n=10). In the latter 3 groups, rat models of insomnia were established by intraperitoneal injections of p-chlorophenylalanine and verified using a sodium pentobarbital-induced sleep test. After modeling, the rats in Najia and Nazi groups received acupuncture for 7 days at specifically chosen sets of acupoints based on the Ziwuliuzhu rationale in traditional Chinese medicine. Pathological changes in the hypothalamic tissue of the rats were examined with HE staining, and the levels of Glu and GABA in the hypothalamus were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-mass spectrometry (MS)/MS. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of GABAA receptors (GABAARs) in the hypothalamus, and the expression levels of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD65/67) and glutamine synthetase (GS) were determined with Western blotting. RESULTS: Compared with the model group, the rats in Najia and Nazi groups exhibited decreased Glu levels and GABAA receptor expression and increased GABA levels with a decreased Glu/GABA ratio in the hypothalamus. Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture significantly increased the protein expressions of GAD65 and GAD67 and lowered the expression of GS in the hypothalamus in the rat models of insomnia. CONCLUSIONS Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture produces sedative and hypnotic effects in rat models of insomnia possibly by regulating Glu and GABA-Gln metabolism to restore the excitatory/inhibitory balance between Glu and GABA.
Animals ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Male ; Rats ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/metabolism* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/therapy* ; Glutamine/metabolism* ; Glutamic Acid/metabolism* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Hypothalamus/metabolism* ; Receptors, GABA-A/metabolism* ; Acupuncture Points

To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of fall risk among Chinese older adults, and to examine the roles of urban-rural differences, regional disparities, physical health status, and psychosocial factors in falls among this population, thereby providing evidence for tailored fall prevention strategies.

Purpose To investigate the expression of semaphorin 5 A(SEMA5A)and programmed death ligand-1(PD-L1)and their clinicopathological significance in gastric cancer.Methods Clinical data of 41 cases of gastric cancer tissues and paired adjacent tissues were collected.Immunohistochemical staining and RT-qPCR were used to de-tect the expression levels of SEMA5A and PD-L1,and analysed the correlation between SEMA5A and PD-L1 and clini-copathological features.In addition,we used lentivirus to construct SEMA5A stable low-expression cell lines.RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to analyse the correlation between the expression of SEMA5A and PD-L1 in gastric cancer tissues.Results The high expression rate of SEMA5A was 65.9％(27/41)in gastric cancer tissues and 39.0％(16/41)in paracancerous tissues,respectively.The positive rates of PD-L1 were 58.5％(24/41)and 14.6％(6/41),respectively.RT-qPCR showed that the relative expression levels of SEMA5A mRNA in gastric cancer and paracancerous tissues were 1.30±0.50 and 0.81±0.48,respectively,while the relative expression levels of PD-L1 mRNA were 0.70±0.42 and 0.12±0.09,respectively.SEMA5A expression was correlated with histological typ-ing of gastric cancer and lymph node metastasis(P＜0.05).PD-L1 expression was correlated with tumour size,T stage,and pathological stage of gastric cancer(P＜0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between the expression of SEMA5A and PD-L1 mRNA in gastric cancer tissues,and spearman correlation analysis showed that there was no correlation between the expression of the two in paracancerous tissues.Knockdown of SE-MA5A gene in human gastric adenocarcinoma cell lines resulted in down-regulation of PD-L1 expression.Conclusion Both SEMA5A and PD-L1 are highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues,and there is a correlation between the ex-pressions of SEMA5A and PD-L1.They can serve as potential molecular markers for prognostic evaluation and combi-nation therapy of gastric cancer.

Purpose To investigate the expression of semaphorin 5 A(SEMA5A)and programmed death ligand-1(PD-L1)and their clinicopathological significance in gastric cancer.Methods Clinical data of 41 cases of gastric cancer tissues and paired adjacent tissues were collected.Immunohistochemical staining and RT-qPCR were used to de-tect the expression levels of SEMA5A and PD-L1,and analysed the correlation between SEMA5A and PD-L1 and clini-copathological features.In addition,we used lentivirus to construct SEMA5A stable low-expression cell lines.RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to analyse the correlation between the expression of SEMA5A and PD-L1 in gastric cancer tissues.Results The high expression rate of SEMA5A was 65.9％(27/41)in gastric cancer tissues and 39.0％(16/41)in paracancerous tissues,respectively.The positive rates of PD-L1 were 58.5％(24/41)and 14.6％(6/41),respectively.RT-qPCR showed that the relative expression levels of SEMA5A mRNA in gastric cancer and paracancerous tissues were 1.30±0.50 and 0.81±0.48,respectively,while the relative expression levels of PD-L1 mRNA were 0.70±0.42 and 0.12±0.09,respectively.SEMA5A expression was correlated with histological typ-ing of gastric cancer and lymph node metastasis(P＜0.05).PD-L1 expression was correlated with tumour size,T stage,and pathological stage of gastric cancer(P＜0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between the expression of SEMA5A and PD-L1 mRNA in gastric cancer tissues,and spearman correlation analysis showed that there was no correlation between the expression of the two in paracancerous tissues.Knockdown of SE-MA5A gene in human gastric adenocarcinoma cell lines resulted in down-regulation of PD-L1 expression.Conclusion Both SEMA5A and PD-L1 are highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues,and there is a correlation between the ex-pressions of SEMA5A and PD-L1.They can serve as potential molecular markers for prognostic evaluation and combi-nation therapy of gastric cancer.

While tumor immunotherapy has improved the prognosis of many patients,immunotherapy drug resistance develops in most tu-mors.Studies of new targets and therapies are needed to overcome this challenge.Growing evidence indicates that Siglecs function in im-mune checkpoints.Siglecs belong to a family of salivary acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectins.The majority of Siglecs are immunosup-pressive transmembrane proteins that bind to sialic acid-containing glycans on glycoproteins and glycolipids.Sialoglycan-Siglec interactions contribute to tumor immune escape and are strongly correlated with poor prognosis in tumor patients.This review will discuss Siglec func-tion in immune checkpoints,and how the interaction between sialic acid and Siglecs regulates the tumor microenvironment to exert thera-peutic effects.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the surgical efficacy and prognostic factors of patients with advanced nasal and sinuses malignancies,in order to provide more reference for surgical plan selection and prognosis evaluation.METHODS A total of 117 patients with advanced nasal and sinuses malignancies were retrospectively chosen in the period from January 2010 to January 2019 in our hospital.The clinical characteristics and follow-up survival data were analyzed,and the independent prognostic factors of advanced nasal and paranasal malignant tumors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate methods.RESULTS The progression free survival rate and overall survival rate were 48.71％and 62.39％,respectively.The median progression free survival time and overall survival time were 32.48 months and 39.80 months,respectively.Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that age,histopathological type,marginal status and whether adjuvant therapy was accepted were independent factors influencing progression free survival time and overall survival time after surgery for advanced nasal and sinus malignancies(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION The surgical efficacy of advanced nasal and sinusoidal malignancies is satisfactory and the clinical prognosis is related to age,marginal status and adjuvant therapy.

Ulcerative colitis(UC)is characterized by chronic relapsing intestinal inflammation.Currently,there is no effective treatment for the disease.According to our preliminary data,1,8-cineole,which is the main active compound of Amomum compactum Sol.ex Maton volatile oil and an effective drug for the treat-ment of pneumonia,showed remarkable anti-inflammatory effects on colitis pathogenesis.However,its mechanism of action and direct targets remain unclear.This study investigated the direct targets and mechanism through which 1,8-cineole exerts its anti-inflammatory effects using a dextran sulfate so-dium salt-induced colitis mouse model.The effects of 1,8-cineole on macrophage polarization were investigated using activated bone marrow-derived macrophages and RAW264.7 cells.In addition,1,8-cineole targets were revealed by drug affinity responsive target stability,thermal shift assay,cellular thermal shift assay,and heat shock protein 90(HSP90)adenosine triphosphatases(ATPase)activity assays.The results showed that 1,8-cineole exhibited powerful anti-inflammatory properties in vitro and in vivo by inhibiting the macrophage M1 polarization and protecting intestinal barrier function.Mech-anistically,1,8-cineole directly interacted with HSP90 and decreased its ATPase activity,also inhibited nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain-,leucine rich repeat-,and pyrin domain-containing 3(NLRP3)binding to HSP90 and suppressor of G-two allele of SKP1(SGT1)and suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages.These results demonstrated that 1,8-cineole is a potential drug candidate for UC treatment.

Objective:To construct the evaluation index system of lumbar puncture teaching for medical students, aiming to create a scientific assessment and evaluation method covering theoretical knowledge, skill practice, and professional accomplishment, so as to comprehensively evaluate the teaching effect of lumbar puncture for medical students, and improve the practical ability of clinical skills of medical students more effectively.Methods:The evaluation index scheme of lumbar puncture teaching for medical students was initially formulated through literature review and group discussion, and 20 experts related to clinical front-line work and medicine were invited to revise the scheme by applying Delphi expert consultation and applying analytic hierarchy process to quantify the entries and establish the final index weights at all levels.Results:The valid recovery rate of both rounds of expert consultation questionnaires in this study was 100%. The second round of expert consultation was conducted without changing experts, with an authority factor of 0.88. Kendall's coefficient of harmony was 0.136 and 0.184, respectively. After two rounds of expert consultation, the evaluation index system of lumbar puncture teaching for medical students, including 3 primary indicators (theoretical knowledge, comprehensive clinical ability and professionalism), 7 secondary indicators and 22 tertiary indicators, was initially constructed.Conclusion:The evaluation index system of lumbar puncture teaching for medical students constructed in this study is scientific and credible, which can provide quantitative basis for the training and assessment of medical students, and is of great theoretical and practical significance.