Objective In order to understand the current resistance status of Aedes albopictus(Ae. albopictus) adult population to commonly used insecticides and the resistance dynamics development in Zhejiang Province and provide a theoretical basis for the scientific and rational use of hygienic insecticides. Methods Resistance determination was carried out using the diagnostic dose method(GB/T 26347-2010)recommended by WHO in the adult mosquito contact cylinder method to monitor the resistance of Ae. albopictus field populations in 11 cities and districts in Zhejiang Province in 2024. Results The monitoring result showed that adult Ae. albopictus in 11 areas were resistant or suspected resistant populations to both cis-cypermethrin and permethrin; suspected and resistant populations to the organophosphate insecticide malathion were as high as 81.82%; while suspected resistance to the carbamate insecticide residual carbofuran accounted for 45.45%, and the rest of the monitoring sites were sensitive to it. Conclusions The result suggest that the generalized resistance of Ae. albopictus populations to pyrethroids and organophosphorus insecticides in the field in Zhejiang Province needs to be highly emphasized. In future mosquito vector and mosquito-borne disease control, insecticides should be selected based on the resistance monitoring information, while following scientific guidelines for insecticide use.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the factors associated with mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in children with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). METHODS: The clinical data of 90 children with SAA who received allo-HSCT in the Department of Hematology, Wuhan Children's Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from August 2016 to July 2023 were collected. The clinical features and causes of death were analyzed retrospectively. Cox proportional hazards model was used to screen the risk factors of death. RESULTS: Only 9 children died with a median time of 6.3(2.6, 8.3) months among the 90 children with SAA after allo-HSCT. Among the 5 deaths due to infection, 3 were pulmonary infection, including 2 cases of cytomegalovirus pneumonia. One case developed septic shock due to gastrointestinal infection. One case experienced graft failure, which was complicated by bloodstream infection, and developed septic shock. Three cases died of transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA). One case died of gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The results of multivariate analysis showed that post-transplant +60 d PLT≤30×10⁹/L (HR=7.478, 95%CI : 1.177-47.527, P =0.033), aGVHD Ⅲ-Ⅳ (HR=7.991, 95%CI : 1.086-58.810, P =0.041), and TA-TMA occurrence (HR=13.699, 95%CI : 2.146-87.457, P =0.006) were independent risk factors for post-transplant mortality. CONCLUSION Allo-HSCT is an effective therapy for SAA in children. Post-transplant +60 d PLT≤30×10⁹/L, aGVHD Ⅲ-Ⅳ, and TA-TMA occurrence are independently associated with post-transplant mortality, which may be helpful for early detection of potential high-risk children and optimization of clinical diagnostic and treatment strategies.
Humans ; Anemia, Aplastic/therapy* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Risk Factors ; Retrospective Studies ; Child ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Male ; Female ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Child, Preschool ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Adolescent ; Infant

Acupuncture is an ancient treatment method used in traditional Chinese medicine and has been popularized worldwide. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the amount of acupuncture research, mostly comprised of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that aimed to answer the question on the efficacy of acupuncture. However, poor methodology and low replicability in these acupuncture RCTs have resulted in uncertainty about the efficacy of acupuncture. In this review, current advancements and challenges in acupuncture RCTs, regarding the methodological aspects of randomization, blinding, sham acupuncture and quality of reporting, were discussed. While there have been advancements in various aspects, current acupuncture RCTs still face pressing issues such as inadequate randomization and blinding, unviable sham acupuncture controls, and poor reporting quality. Given these limitations, this review seeks to identify the methodological problems that are responsible for these problems and to suggest solutions that could help to overcome them so as to improve the quality of future studies evaluating the efficacy of acupuncture. Please cite this article as: Seetoh WS, Lim RQR, Xu RB, Sun MX, Zhang P, Wang MN. Advancements and challenges of acupuncture randomized controlled trials. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(4): 333-343.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic/methods* ; Research Design

Objective To investigate the value of procalcitonin-to-albumin ratio(PAR)for predicting 28-day mortality risk in elderly patients with sepsis for optimizing the diagnosis and treatment strategies.Methods The clinical data of 112 elderly patients diagnosed with sepsis in the intensive care unit were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed.Patients were assigned to survivors group or deaths group based on 28-day outcomes.Clinical characteristics and the results of laboratory tests were collected,including procalcitonin(PCT),albumin,and C-reactive protein(CRP).The normally distributed data were compared between groups using t-test.Mann-Whitney U test was adopted for comparing non-normally distributed data.Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the effects of multiple variables on survival time.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was performed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of various variables in predicting mortality risk.Results Mechanical ventilation,APACHE Ⅱ scores,and length of hospital stay(all P＜0.05)were significantly different between survivors group and deaths group.Blood culture results showed that Gram-negative bacteria were predominant pathogen(75.9％),especially Escherichia coli(45.5％).Albumin level was significantly lower(P=0.026),while PCT,CRP,and PAR levels were significantly higher(P＜0.05)in the deaths group compared to those in the survivors group.Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that PAR was an independent predictor of 28-day mortality(HR=3.72,95％CI:1.98-4.42,P＜0.001).ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve(AUC)of PAR was 0.852 in predicting mortality,with a sensitivity of 81.25％and specificity of 87.82％.Conclusions PAR outperformed PCT or albumin alone in predicting 28-day mortality risk in elderly patient with sepsis.For every 0.1 increase in PAR,the risk of mortality increased by 272％.Early monitoring of PAR can assist clinicians in rapidly identifying high-risk patients and optimizing treatment strategies.

Objective To investigate the value of procalcitonin-to-albumin ratio(PAR)for predicting 28-day mortality risk in elderly patients with sepsis for optimizing the diagnosis and treatment strategies.Methods The clinical data of 112 elderly patients diagnosed with sepsis in the intensive care unit were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed.Patients were assigned to survivors group or deaths group based on 28-day outcomes.Clinical characteristics and the results of laboratory tests were collected,including procalcitonin(PCT),albumin,and C-reactive protein(CRP).The normally distributed data were compared between groups using t-test.Mann-Whitney U test was adopted for comparing non-normally distributed data.Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the effects of multiple variables on survival time.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was performed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of various variables in predicting mortality risk.Results Mechanical ventilation,APACHE Ⅱ scores,and length of hospital stay(all P＜0.05)were significantly different between survivors group and deaths group.Blood culture results showed that Gram-negative bacteria were predominant pathogen(75.9％),especially Escherichia coli(45.5％).Albumin level was significantly lower(P=0.026),while PCT,CRP,and PAR levels were significantly higher(P＜0.05)in the deaths group compared to those in the survivors group.Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that PAR was an independent predictor of 28-day mortality(HR=3.72,95％CI:1.98-4.42,P＜0.001).ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve(AUC)of PAR was 0.852 in predicting mortality,with a sensitivity of 81.25％and specificity of 87.82％.Conclusions PAR outperformed PCT or albumin alone in predicting 28-day mortality risk in elderly patient with sepsis.For every 0.1 increase in PAR,the risk of mortality increased by 272％.Early monitoring of PAR can assist clinicians in rapidly identifying high-risk patients and optimizing treatment strategies.

Objective:To explore the diagnostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging in etiology of patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Methods:Retrospective analysis was performed on 49 patients newly diagnosed as HLH (32 males, 17 females; age 19-61 years) who received 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging in Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University from January 2017 to January 2023. PET/CT images and clinical parameters were observed and recorded. Based on the pathological examination and clinical follow-up results, diagnostic efficacies for HLH etiology of PET/CT, PET and CT imaging were calculated. χ2 test, independent-sample t test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare the differences between hematologic tumors associated HLH and non-hematologic tumor associated HLH. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the predictors of secondary HLH in hematologic tumors. ROC curve analysis was used to calculate AUCs and optimal threshold of lymph node SUV max and soluble CD25 (sCD25) to predict secondary HLH in patients with hematologic tumors. Results:The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of PET/CT, PET and CT in the etiological diagnosis of HLH were 85.7%(30/35), 8/10, 84.4%(38/45), 93.8%(30/32), 8/13; 77.1%(27/35), 6/10, 73.3%(33/45), 87.1%(27/31), 6/14; 62.9%(22/35), 5/10, 60.0%(27/45), 81.5%(22/27), 5/18, respectively. There were differences in lymph node distribution and boundary, liver and spleen and bone lesions, SUV max of lymph node and liver and spleen and bone, gender, age, WBC, neutrophil (ANC), PLT, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total bilirubin (TBIL), C-reactive protein (CRP) and sCD25 between different etiology groups ( χ2 values: 3.91-9.66, t values: 3.75-7.90, z values: 3.82-4.01, all P<0.05). SUV max of lymph nodes and sCD25 were predictive factors for secondary HLH of hematological tumors (odds ratio ( OR): 1.28 (95% CI: 1.09-1.72), 1.56 (95% CI: 1.17-2.49), P values: 0.004, 0.013). The optimal thresholds were 12.6 and 40 028 ng/L, with the AUC of 0.87 and 0.76, with the sensitivity and specificity of 88.6%(31/35) and 8/10, 65.7%(23/35) and 7/10, respectively. The combined AUC was 0.83 and the sensitivity and specificity were 74.3% (26/35) and 9/10. Conclusions:18F-FDG PET/CT imaging is of high value for the diagnosis of the cause of HLH. SUV max of lymph node and sCD25 are predictive factors for secondary HLH of hematologic tumors.

Objective To investigate the effect of artesunate(ART)on hypoxia/reoxygenation(H/R)-induced injury of human renal proximal tubular HK-2 cells by regulating the high mobility group protein B1(HMGB1)-receptor of advanced glycation endproduct(RAGE)signaling pathway.Methods HK-2 cells cultured in vitro were stochastically separated into control group,model group,L-ART group(4 μg/ml ART),H-ART group(16 μg/ml ART),H-ART+pcDNA NC group(16 μg/ml ART+transfected pcDNA NC plasmid),and H-ART+pcDNA-HMGB1 group(16 μg/ml ART+transfected pcDNA-HMGB1 plasmid).HK-2 cells in the control group were cultured normally,while the cells in the other groups were induced with hypoxia/reoxygenation(H/R).MTT and plate clone formation experiments were applied to detect the proliferation of cells in each group;ELISA kits were used to measure the expression of interleukin(IL)-1β,IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in various groups;flow cytometry was applied to detect the apoptosis in various groups;Western blot was applied to detect the expression of proliferation related proteins(PCNA),apoptosis related proteins(Bcl-2,Bax),and HMGB1-RAGE signaling pathway related proteins(HMGB1,RAGE)in each group.Results Compared with the control group,the survival rate,clone number,PCNA and Bcl-2 proteins expression of HK-2 cells decreased in the model group,but the apoptosis rate,IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,Bax,HMGB1 and RAGE proteins expression increased(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the survival rate,clone number,PCNA and Bcl-2 proteins expression of HK-2 cells increased in L-ART and H-ART groups,but the apoptosis rate,IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,Bax,HMGB1 and RAGE proteins expression decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the H-ART and H-ART+pcDNA NC groups,the survival rate,clone number,PCNA and Bcl-2 proteins expression of HK-2 cells decreased in the H-ART+pcDNA-HMBB1 group,but the apoptosis rate,IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,Bax,HMGB1 and RAGE proteins expression increased(P<0.05).Conclusion ART may suppress inflammatory response and cell apoptosis,promote cell proliferation,and alleviate H/R-induced injury of renal proximal tubular HK-2 cells by inhibiting the HMGB1-RAGE signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the effect of artesunate(ART)on hypoxia/reoxygenation(H/R)-induced injury of human renal proximal tubular HK-2 cells by regulating the high mobility group protein B1(HMGB1)-receptor of advanced glycation endproduct(RAGE)signaling pathway.Methods HK-2 cells cultured in vitro were stochastically separated into control group,model group,L-ART group(4 μg/ml ART),H-ART group(16 μg/ml ART),H-ART+pcDNA NC group(16 μg/ml ART+transfected pcDNA NC plasmid),and H-ART+pcDNA-HMGB1 group(16 μg/ml ART+transfected pcDNA-HMGB1 plasmid).HK-2 cells in the control group were cultured normally,while the cells in the other groups were induced with hypoxia/reoxygenation(H/R).MTT and plate clone formation experiments were applied to detect the proliferation of cells in each group;ELISA kits were used to measure the expression of interleukin(IL)-1β,IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in various groups;flow cytometry was applied to detect the apoptosis in various groups;Western blot was applied to detect the expression of proliferation related proteins(PCNA),apoptosis related proteins(Bcl-2,Bax),and HMGB1-RAGE signaling pathway related proteins(HMGB1,RAGE)in each group.Results Compared with the control group,the survival rate,clone number,PCNA and Bcl-2 proteins expression of HK-2 cells decreased in the model group,but the apoptosis rate,IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,Bax,HMGB1 and RAGE proteins expression increased(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the survival rate,clone number,PCNA and Bcl-2 proteins expression of HK-2 cells increased in L-ART and H-ART groups,but the apoptosis rate,IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,Bax,HMGB1 and RAGE proteins expression decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the H-ART and H-ART+pcDNA NC groups,the survival rate,clone number,PCNA and Bcl-2 proteins expression of HK-2 cells decreased in the H-ART+pcDNA-HMBB1 group,but the apoptosis rate,IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,Bax,HMGB1 and RAGE proteins expression increased(P<0.05).Conclusion ART may suppress inflammatory response and cell apoptosis,promote cell proliferation,and alleviate H/R-induced injury of renal proximal tubular HK-2 cells by inhibiting the HMGB1-RAGE signaling pathway.

ObjectiveTo further study the pathogenic role of different types of Chlamydia trachomatis （CT） proteins in tubal factor infertility， evaluate the clinical detection value of Chlamydia trachomatis protein antibody in predicting tubal factor infertility. MethodsA total of 58 cases of tubal factor infertility （TFI）， 41 cases of fertile controls （FC） and 18 cases of infertile controls （IFC） were included. For serum detection， first， CT-IgG ELISA kit was used to detect the expression of CT-IgG in serum of three groups of people； then， 6 kinds of Chlamydia trachomatis proteins were expressed and purified in the early stage to establish the antibody test for these proteins， and ELISA detection method was used to detect the expression of their antibodies in the serum of TFI group， FC group and IFC group， respectively； and finally， the antibody OD value of the 6 kinds of Chlamydia trachomatis proteins in the three groups of subjects were statistically described， and CT-IgG was used as the reference standard to draw the receiver operating characteristic curve （ROC curve） of each CT antibody. The Youden Index determines the cutoff value for each antibody. Taking TFI as the reference class， two disordered multiple classification logistic regression models were established with the FC and IFC groups， respectively； and the reference class was used to explore the value of various antibodies and age in predicting TFI， FC and IFC of Chlamydia trachomatis. The back-off method was used to screen the variables. ResultsThe OD value of CT376 antibody in the TFI group was higher than that in the FC group （0.86 vs. 0.60， P=0.026）. The CT376 antibody OD value in the TFI group was higher than that in the IFC group （0.86 vs. 0.64， P=0.026）. The CT443 antibody OD value in the IFC group was higher than that in the TFI group （0.59 vs. 0.34， P=0.036） and higher than that in the FC group （0.59 vs. 0.30， P=0.02）. The multiple classification logistic regression analysis established between TFI and FC showed that CT-IgG ［P<0.001， OR=0.084， 95%CI （0.025， 0.284）］， CT376 antibody ［P=0.068， OR=0.359， 95%CI （0.120， 1.078）］. CT-IgG is an independent risk factor for tubal infertility， and CT376 antibody cannot be an independent risk factor for tubal infertility. The multiple classification logistic regression analysis established between TFI and IFC showed that among infertile patients， CT-IgG ［P<0.05， OR=0.194， 95%CI （0.046， 0.817）］， CT376 antibody ［P<0.05， OR=0.176， 95%CI （0.038， 0.818）］ and CT381 antibody ［P<0.05， OR=0.112， 95%CI （ 0.016， 0.796）］ were independent risk factors for tubal infertility. ConclusionThe expression of CT376 antibody in tubal infertility patients is higher than that in fertile and infertile controls， suggesting that CT-induced tubal factor infertility may be related to CT376. CT-IgG， and CT376 antibodies are meaningful in predicting CT-induced tubal factor infertility.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common microvascular complications occurring in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, which often results in patients suffering from severe hyperalgesia and allodynia. Up to now, the clinical therapeutic effect of DPN is still unsatisfactory. Metformin is an anti-diabetic drug that has been safely and widely used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes for decades. Studies have shown that metformin can improve pain caused by DPN, but its effects on the nerve conduction velocity and morphology of the sciatic nerve of DPN, and the mechanism for improving DPN are not clear. Therefore, the STZ-induced model of type 1 DPN in SD rats was used to study the effects of metformin on DPN, and to preliminarily explore its mechanism in this study. All animal experiments were carried out with approval of the Experimental Animal Welfare Ethics Committee of the Institute of Materia Medica (Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College). After the model was established successfully, STZ diabetic rats were randomly divided into a model group and a metformin treatment group, and 10 normal SD rats were selected as the normal control group, and the rats were intragastrically administered for 12 weeks. The results showed that metformin significantly reduced blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, food consumption and water consumption in STZ rats. Metformin markedly increased the motor nerve conduction velocity and mechanical stabbing pain threshold, prolonged the hot plate latency threshold, and improved the pathological morphological abnormalities of the sciatic nerve in STZ rats. In addition, metformin increased the content of glutathione (GSH), enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), and reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum and sciatic nerve of STZ diabetic rats, as well as regulating the expression of genes related to oxidative stress in the sciatic nerve. Metformin obviously reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in the serum in STZ rats, and inhibited the gene expression of these inflammatory factors in the sciatic nerve. In summary, metformin significantly increased nerve conduction velocity, improved sciatic nerve morphological abnormalities and pain in DPN rats, which may be related to its effect in improving oxidative stress and reducing inflammation.