Working memory is an executive memory process that includes encoding, maintenance, and retrieval. These processes can be modulated by transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) with sinusoidal waves. However, little is known about the impact of the rate of current change on working memory. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of two types of tACS with different rates of current change on working memory performance and brain activity. We applied a randomized, single-blind design and divided 81 young participants who received triangular wave tACS, sinusoidal wave tACS, or sham stimulation into three groups. Participants performed n-back tasks, and electroencephalograms were recorded before, during, and after active or sham stimulation. Compared to the baseline, working memory performance (accuracy and response time) improved after stimulation under all stimulation conditions. According to drift-diffusion model analysis, triangular wave tACS significantly increased the efficiency of non-target information processing. In addition, compared with sham conditions, triangular wave tACS reduced alpha power oscillations in the occipital lobe throughout the encoding period, while sinusoidal wave tACS increased theta power in the central frontal region only during the later encoding period. The brain network connectivity results showed that triangular wave tACS improved the clustering coefficient, local efficiency, and node degree intensity in the early encoding stage, and these parameters were positively correlated with the non-target drift rate and decision starting point. Our findings on how tACS modulates working memory indicate that triangular wave tACS significantly enhances brain network connectivity during the early encoding stage, demonstrating an improvement in the efficiency of working memory processing. In contrast, sinusoidal wave tACS increased the theta power during the later encoding stage, suggesting its potential critical role in late-stage information processing. These findings provide valuable insights into the potential mechanisms by which tACS modulates working memory.
Humans ; Memory, Short-Term/physiology* ; Male ; Female ; Young Adult ; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation/methods* ; Brain/physiology* ; Adult ; Electroencephalography ; Single-Blind Method

OBJECTIVE To establish the fingerprints of Tianma jiannao granules （TJG） and the method for content determination to evaluate the quality of TJG comprehensively combined with chemometric analysis. METHODS High-performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） was used to establish the fingerprints of 13 batches （S1-S3） of TJG and determine the contents of inosine， gastrodin， parishin B and parishin E. Cluster analysis， principal component analysis， and orthogonal partial least squares- discriminant analysis were performed using SPSS 20.0 and SIMCA 18 software； using variable importance projection （VIP） value greater than 1 as a criterion， marker components that affected quality were screened. RESULTS A total of 28 common peaks were identified in the 13 batches of TJG with similarities greater than 0.9， and 7 common peaks were identified， which were gastrodin， p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol， parishin B， parishin E， rhynchophylline， inosine and salidroside. The 13 batches of TJG were clustered into 3 categories， S1-S2， S8-S10 and S12 were clustered into one category； S3 and S7 were clustered into one category； S4-S6， S11 and S13 were clustered into one category. VIP of inosine was greater than 1. The contents of inosine， gastrodin， parishin B and parishin E were 62.637-176.677， 17.821-37.642， 5.748-16.077 and 5.660-13.510 μg/g. CONCLUSIONS The established HPLC fingerprints and content determination method are stable， reliable and highly reproducible， which can be used to evaluate the quality of TJG in combination with chemometric analysis. Inosine may be a marker component that affects the quality of TJG. There are differences in the quality of 13 batches of TJG.

Background::Atopic dermatitis (AD) affects approximately 10% of adults worldwide. CM310 is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-4 receptor alpha that blocks interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 signaling. This trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CM310 in Chinese adults with moderate-to-severe AD.Methods::This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2b trial was conducted in 21 medical institutions in China from February to November 2021. Totally 120 eligible patients were enrolled and randomized (1:1:1) to receive subcutaneous injections of 300 mg CM310, 150 mg CM310, or placebo every 2 weeks for 16 weeks, followed by an 8-week follow-up period. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving ≥75% improvement in the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI-75) score from baseline at week 16. Safety and pharmacodynamics were also studied.Results::At week 16, the proportion of EASI-75 responders from baseline was significantly higher in the CM310 groups (70% [28/40] for high-dose and 65% [26/40] for low-dose) than that in the placebo group (20%[8/40]). The differences in EASI-75 response rate were 50% (high vs. placebo, 95% CI 31%–69%) and 45% (low vs. placebo, 95% CI 26%–64%), with both P values <0.0001. CM310 at both doses also significantly improved the EASI score, Investigator’s Global Assessment score, daily peak pruritus Numerical Rating Scale, AD-affected body surface area, and Dermatology Life Quality Index compared with placebo. CM310 treatment reduced levels of thymus and activation-regulated chemokine, total immunoglobulin E, lactate dehydrogenase, and blood eosinophils. The incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) was similar among all three groups, with the most common TEAEs reported being upper respiratory tract infection, atopic dermatitis, hyperlipidemia, and hyperuricemia. No severe adverse events were deemed to be attributed to CM310. Conclusion::CM310 at 150 mg and 300 mg every 2 weeks demonstrated significant efficacy and was well-tolerated in adults with moderate-to-severe AD.Trial Registration::ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04805411.

Objective To explore the post-traumatic growth course for women with termination of pregnancy due to fetal abnormalities and analyze the promoting factors,in order to provide a basis for nursing and intervention tactics.Methods The purposive sampling and theoretical sampling methods were used to select 16 women who were diagnosed with fetal abnormalities and decided to terminate pregnancy in the obstetrics department of a tertiary care maternity hospital in Beijing from May 2021 to February 2022.Women were interviewed by semi-structured interviews,and the data was analyzed by Charmaz's constructing grounded theory paradigm.Results Women with termination of pregnancy due to fetal abnormalities underwent 4 stages of post-traumatic growth:traumatic stress period,rumination and seeking of help period,and acceptance internalization period,and post-traumatic growth period.The behavior of each period was influenced by the psychological experience of the corresponding period and influenced the experience of the next period.Extroverted personality,previous normal pregnancy and delivery experience,positive perception of events,positive self-identification,good social support,appropriate hospitalization environment and regulations,open mindedness towards death and religious belief,affected women's post-traumatic growth.Conclusion The post-traumatic growth course of women with termination of pregnancy due to fetal anomaly is a complex continuously sublimated process.Medical staff should pay attention to psychological and behavioral changes in women's post-traumatic growth,combine the factors that promote post-traumatic growth,and provide targeted guidance to help them successfully go through this difficult period and achieve personal growth.

Pseudorabies virus(PRV)is the etiological agent of pseudorabies in pigs,which is char-acterized by dyspnea,reproductive disorders,and neurological diseases,and it spreads widely a-round the world.Since 2011,the newly emerged PRV variants have resulted in poor immunity pro-tection of traditional vaccine strains,and the original method of vaccine strain preparation is time-consuming and labor-intensive.Therefore,it is urgently needed to develop an efficient screening method of the vaccine strain at present.Using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology in this study,two single guide RNAs(sgRNA)were designed targeting the virulence gene TK of PRV variant strain CH/JX/2016,and then the enhanced green fluorescent protein the reporter(EGFP)gene was inserted at the TK locus by a homologous repair plasmid.After multiple rounds of plaque puri-fication,the rPRV-ΔTK/EGFP strain was obtained.The results showed the cleavage efficiency of the two sgRNAs was extremely high.The preparation of rPRV-ΔTK/EGFP strain was succeed af-ter only three rounds of purification,and the EGFP expressed normally.The CRISPR/Cas9 system can edit the PRV gene simply,rapidly,and efficiently,and exhibits great potential in the construction of vaccine candidate strains.Meanwhile,the rescued rPRV-ΔTK/EGFP strain not only could be used as a tracer strain in PRV variant infection progresses,but also for subsequent antivi-ral drug screening.

As a malignant hematological disease mainly originating from T or B lymphoid progenitor cell, acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is more prevalent in children. With the gradual revelation of the autophagy mechanism, the role of autophagy in ALL has gained increasing attention. Autophagy can not only stimulate the survival of leukemia cells as an adaptive response, but also inhibit cell proliferation in some other cases. Therefore, how to regulate autophagy in promoting death or survival and reduce the drug resistance in ALL has become a hotspot. This article reviews the role of autophagy in ALL.

NK/T cell leukemia/lymphoma is a type of malignancy originating from T cells or natural killer cells with low incidence and poor clinical prognosis. There is still no effective treatment strategy. In recent years, targeted therapy has made great progress in the treatment of hematological malignancies, including monoclonal antibody and chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T), among which CD30, CD7, CD5, CD52, CCR4 and other target antigens are effective in the treatment of NK/T cell leukemia/lymphoma, but its widespread application still faces a great challenge. This article reviews the progress of immunotherapy for NK/T cell leukemia/lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide, with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounting for the majority of cases. Patients with NSCLC have achieved great survival benefits from immunotherapies targeting immune checkpoints. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are frequently used for palliation of cancer-associated symptoms, as supportive care for non-cancer-associated symptoms, and for management of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). The aim of this study was to clarify the safety and prognostic significance of glucocorticoid use in advanced patients with NSCLC treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). METHODS: The study searched publications from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China Biology Medicine disc, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, and Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database up to March 1st, 2022, and conducted a meta-analysis to assess the effects of glucocorticoid use on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in NSCLC patients treated with ICIs through the available data. The study calculated the pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: This study included data from 25 literatures that were mainly retrospective, with 8713 patients included. Patients taking GCs had a higher risk for tumor progression and death compared with those not taking GCs (PFS: HR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.33-1.86, P <0.001; OS: HR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.41-1.88, P <0.001). GCs used for cancer-associated symptoms caused an obviously negative effect on both PFS and OS (PFS: HR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.32-2.29, P <0.001; OS: HR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.52-2.04, P <0.001). However, GCs used for irAEs management did not negatively affect prognosis (PFS: HR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.46-1.00, P = 0.050; OS: HR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.34-0.83, P = 0.005), and GCs used for non-cancer-associated indications had no effect on prognosis (PFS: HR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.63-1.32, P = 0.640; OS: HR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.59-1.41, P = 0.680). CONCLUSIONS In advanced NSCLC patients treated with ICIs, the use of GCs for palliation of cancer-associated symptoms may result in a worse PFS and OS, indicating that they increase the risk of tumor progression and death. But, in NSCLC patients treated with ICIs, the use of GCs for the management of irAEs may be safe, and the use of GCs for the treatment of non-cancer-associated symptoms may not affect the ICIs' survival benefits. Therefore, it is necessary to be careful and evaluate indications rationally before administering GCs in individualized clinical management.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Retrospective Studies

Hereditary epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a rare mutilating and lethal single-gene genodermatosis, and places a heavy burden on society and families. Cell therapy has become a very promising method for the treatment of EB due to its excellent and stable clinical efficacy. This review summarizes progress in laboratory research and clinical application of stem cell- and somatic cell-based therapies in EB in recent years.

Objective:To evaluate the status of T, B and NK lymphocytes in peripheral blood of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection and low-level viremia after nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) treatment and to provide ideas for solving low-level viremia.Methods:This retrospective study involved 344 patients with chronic HBV infection who had been treated with NAs. They were divided into two groups: low-level viremia group (LLV group) and complete virological response group (CVR group). Clinical data including basic information, biochemistry and coagulation test results, HBV DNA, peripheral blood lymphocyte counts, PD1 and CD28 expression by T lymphocytes, and perforin and granzyme B expression by NK lymphocytes were collected and compared between the two groups. Propensity matching analysis was performed to verify the accuracy of the results.Results:Among the 344 cases, 162 were in the LLV group and 182 in the CVR group. There were no significant differences in disease diagnosis, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or albumin (ALB) level between the two groups ( P>0.05), but the differences in gender and age were statistically significant ( P<0.05). The differences in the counts and percentages of peripheral blood CD3 +, CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocyte and CD4 + /CD8 + ratios between the two groups were not statistically significant ( P>0.05), but the expression of PD1 and CD28 by peripheral blood CD3 +, CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocytes was higher in the LLV group than in the CVR group ( P<0.05). The count of peripheral blood CD19 + B lymphocytes in the LLV group was higher than that in the CVR group ( P>0.05), and the percentage of peripheral blood CD19 + B lymphocytes was also higher in the LLV group ( P<0.05). The count of peripheral blood CD16 + CD56 + NK lymphocytes and the expression of perforin in the LLV group were lower than those in the CVR group ( P>0.05). The percentage of peripheral blood CD16 + CD56 + NK lymphocytes and the expression of granzyme B in the LLV group were lower than those in the CVR group ( P<0.05). After propensity score matching, 108 cases in the LLV group and 108 cases in the CVR group showed no significant differences in basic information ( P>0.05); the percentage of CD4 + T lymphocytes and CD4 + /CD8 + ratio in peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets were higher in the LLV group than in the CVR group, while the percentage of CD8 + lymphocytes was lower in the LLV group ( P<0.05); the expression of PD1 and CD28 by CD3 +, CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocytes remained higher in the LLV group ( P<0.05); the differences in the counts and percentages of peripheral blood CD19 + B lymphocytes as well as CD16 + CD56 + NK lymphocytes between the two groups were not statistically significant ( P>0.05); no significant difference in the expression of perforin by CD16 + CD56 + NK lymphocytes was found between the two groups ( P>0.05), and the expression of granzyme B remained lower in the LLV group ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Abnormal number and function of T lymphocytes and decreased function of NK lymphocytes might be related to the development of LLV in patients with chronic HBV infection after treatment. Therefore, in addition to adjusting NAs, targeting of T and NK lymphocytes might also be a feasible measure for future LLV treatment.