Through collecting the existing clinical evidences on acupuncture and moxibustion for urticaria, the distribution of evidence in this field was mapped. A systematic search of Chinese and English literature was conducted in CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, EMbase, and Cochrane Library for treatment of urticaria with acupuncture and moxibustion, published up to December 31, 2023 since inception of each database. The research status in this field was summarized using an evidence mapping approach, and methodological quality was assessed. A total of 323 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 22 systematic reviews were included. The number of studies on acupuncture and moxibustion for urticaria has been increasing, with a significant rise in recent years. In most RCTs, the study scale was small, and the subjects focused on chronic spontaneous urticaria in adolescents and middle-aged adults, aged 14 to 60 years. Regarding the intervention measures, the single therapy of acupuncture and moxibustion was predominant such as acupoint injection, acupoint embedding thread, and filiform needling. In acupuncture with filiform needles, the commonly used acupoints were Quchi (LI11), Xuehai (SP10), Sanyinjiao (SP6), Zusanli (ST36) and Hegu (LI4). The main outcome measures referred to effectiveness rate, score of disease severity, recurrence rate, laboratory indexes, and score of quality of life; and the short-term effect was evaluated specifically. The overall methodological quality of the included studies was relatively low. It is suggested that the future research should focus on large-scale, multi-center, high-quality clinical trials, optimize the protocols for acupuncture and moxibustion intervention, standardize the outcomes, and draw the attention to the evaluation of long-term efficacy, so as to provide clinical evidences of high certainty for urticaria treated with acupuncture and moxibustion.
Humans ; Moxibustion ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Urticaria/therapy* ; Acupuncture Points ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To reveal the gap between the evidence of systematic reviews (SRs) and clinical concerns by systematically summarizing the evidence on acupuncture and moxibustion for frozen shoulder and investigating the concerns and needs of clinicians in treatment with acupuncture and moxibustion for this disease. METHODS: The articles of SR and Meta-analysis on acupuncture and moxibustion for frozen shoulder were searched from CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, EMbase and Cochrane Library, starting from the inception of each database up to December 31st, 2022. Two researchers screened the articles and extracted data independently. Using AMSTAR-2, the methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated. Based on systematic reviews and expert discussion, a questionnaire on clinical concerns of acupuncture and moxibustion for frozen shoulder was developed and distributed to clinicians. The discrepancies between the evidence and clinical concerns were compared from 5 dimensions, including population, interventions, control measures, outcome indicators and review time points. RESULTS: The evidence gaps existed between SRs and clinical concerns. In the existing studies, the needs of personalized treatment were not fully considered in terms of different syndromes/patterns of frozen shoulder and stages of illness, the outcome indicators were not employed properly, the time for outcome measurement was vague, the control groups were set up outside of standardization, and the methodological quality was lower. CONCLUSION It is suggested that future studies should improve the quality of methodology, lay more consideration to different patient groups, optimize outcome indicators and standardize the setting of control groups, so as to better meet the needs of patients and achieve the best match between evidence and clinicians' needs.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Bursitis/therapy* ; Evidence Gaps ; Moxibustion ; Systematic Reviews as Topic ; Meta-Analysis as Topic

Objective:To understand the characteristics of sexual behaviors in the elderly aged ≥60 years and provide evidence for AIDS prevention and control in the elderly.Methods:Local residents who were aged ≥60 years and had lived in Yongchuan District of Chongqing for more than half a year were recruited by multi-stage sampling with a sample size of 2 721 from September to December 2022 for a face to face questionnaire survey to collect the information about their demographic characteristics, awareness of AIDS related knowledge and sexual behaviors, and the incidence of non-marital sexual behaviors. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze related factors non-marital sexual behaviors in the elderly aged ≥60 years. SPSS 23.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results:A total of 2 974 valid questionnaires were collected from 3 000 old persons aged ≥60 years, the male to female ratio of the elderly who returned the questionnaires was about 1∶1 (1 488∶1 486). The average age of them was (69.3± 7.0) years, and the awareness rate of AIDS related knowledge was 78.5% (2 336/2 974), 26.9% of them (801/2 974) had sexual behavior in the past year, 20.9% (493/2 350) of them had sexual behaviors with their spouses in the past year, and 10.8% (322/2 974) of them had non-marital sexual behaviors. The proportions of the elderly with commercial sexual behaviors and non-marital/non-commercial sexual behaviors were 10.2% (304/2 974) and 1.2% (36/2 974). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that being man (a OR=89.08, 95% CI: 36.30-218.60), age 70-79 years (a OR=1.93, 95% CI:1.44-2.59) and ≥80 years (a OR=2.41, 95% CI: 1.56-3.74), and unawareness of AIDS related knowledge (a OR=2.72, 95% CI: 2.04-3.64) were associated with the incidence of non-marital sex. Conclusions:The proportions of non-marital sexual behaviors were higher among the elderly aged ≥60 years in Yongchuan District of Chongqing. It is necessary to pay attention to the sexual needs and sexual health of the population, improve the awareness rate of AIDS prevention and treatment knowledge, advocate safe sex, and improve the sexual health and quality of life in the elderly.

Objective To observe the value of feature pyramid network(FPN)for automatic segmentation and semantic feature classification of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage(sICH)hematoma showed on non-contrast CT.Methods Non-contrast CT images of 408 sICH patients in hospital A(training set)and 103 sICH patients in hospital B(validation set)were retrospectively analyzed.Deep learning(DL)segmentation model was constructed based on FPN to segment the hematoma region,and its efficacy was assessed using intersection over union(IoU),Dice similarity coefficient(DSC)and accuracy.Then DL classification model was established to identify the semantic features of sICH hematoma.Receiver operating characteristic curves were drawn,and the area under the curves(AUC)were calculated to evaluate the efficacy of DL classification model for recognizing semantic features of sICH hematoma.Results The IoU,DSC and accuracy of DL segmentation model for 95％sICH hematoma in training set was 0.84±0.07,0.91±0.04 and(88.78±8.04)％,respectively,which was 0.83±0.07,0.91±0.05 and(88.59±7.76)％in validation set,respectively.The AUC of DL classification model for recognizing irregular shape,uneven density,satellite sign,mixed sign and vortex sign of sICH hematoma were 0.946-0.993 and 0.714-0.833 in training set and validation set,respectively.Conclusions FPN could accurately,effectively and automatically segment hematoma of sICH,hence having high efficacy for identifying semantic features of sICH hematoma.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of inducing macrophage polarization induced by acupoint effect of electroacupuncture to promote the repair of acute skeletal muscle injury.Methods 45 SD rats were randomly divided into blank group,model group,electroacupuncture group(EA group),sodium chrominate group (DSCG group) and electroacupuncture+sodium chrominate group (hereinafter referred to as EA+DSCG group),with 9 rats in each group. The rats in the EA group and the EA+DSCG group were subjected to EA intervention at the right "Chengshan" (BL57) and "Yanglingquan"(GB34),with a frequency of 2 Hz/100 Hz. The gait changes of rats were recorded by animal gait analyzer. The morphological changes of the right gastrocnemius were observed by HE staining. The changes of mast cell aggregation and degranulation in local skin muscles of "chengshan" point were observed by toluidine blue staining. The expressions of Pax7,MyoD and skin mast cells and 5-HT in the right gastrocnemius were detected by immunofluorescence method. The positive expressions of CD68 and CD206 in right gastrocnemius macrophage was observed by immunohistochemical staining.Results Compared with blank group,the wiggle time of the right hind leg in model group and DSCG group increased,stride length decreased,HE staining showed inflammatory cell infiltration,myocyte enlargement,degeneration and necrosis. The degranulation rate of local skin mast cells in "Chengshan" (BL57) area increased,and the expressions of mast cell tryptase,5-HT,Pax7,MyoD,CD68 and CD206 increased (P<0.05). Compared with model group,the wiggle time of the right hind leg in EA group and EA+DSCG group decreased,stride length increased,HE staining showed that inflammatory cell infiltration was reduced,muscle cells were uniform in size and arranged neatly. Mast cell degranulation rate increased significantly in EA group,and the expressions of mast cell tryptase,5-HT,Pax7,MyoD and CD206 increased (P<0.05),while CD68 expression decreased (P<0.05). Compared with EA+DSCG group,the degranulation rate of mast cells and the expressions of mast cell tryptase,5-HT,Pax7,MyoD and CD206 increased (P<0.05),while CD68 expression decreased in EA group (P<0.05). Conclusion EA "Chengshan" (BL57) and "Yanglingquan" (GB34) can stimulate acupuncture points to locally induce mast cell degranulation,promote the polarization of macrophages,and then activate muscle satellite cells to play the regulatory process of repairing skeletal muscle injury.

Background::The potential impact of pre-existing coronary artery stenosis (CAS) on acute pulmonary embolism (PE) episodes remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between pre-existing CAS and the elevation of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) levels in patients with PE.Methods::In this multicenter, prospective case-control study, 88 cases and 163 controls matched for age, sex, and study center were enrolled. Cases were patients with PE with elevated hs-cTnI. Controls were patients with PE with normal hs-cTnI. Coronary artery assessment utilized coronary computed tomographic angiography or invasive coronary angiography. CAS was defined as ≥50% stenosis of the lumen diameter in any coronary vessel >2.0 mm in diameter. Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between CAS and hs-cTnI elevation.Results::The percentage of CAS was higher in the case group compared to the control group (44.3% [39/88] vs. 30.1% [49/163]; P = 0.024). In multivariable conditional logistic regression model 1, CAS (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.680; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.243–5.779), heart rate >75 beats/min (OR, 2.306; 95% CI, 1.056–5.036) and N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) >420 pg/mL (OR, 12.169; 95% CI, 4.792–30.900) were independently associated with elevated hs-cTnI. In model 2, right CAS (OR, 3.615; 95% CI, 1.467–8.909) and NT-proBNP >420 pg/mL (OR, 13.890; 95% CI, 5.288–36.484) were independently associated with elevated hs-cTnI. Conclusions::CAS was independently associated with myocardial injury in patients with PE. Vigilance towards CAS is warranted in patients with PE with elevated cardiac troponin levels.

Objective:This study aimed to analyze the specific measures and practical effects of standardizing the management of patent conversion work in a certain district tertiary hospital, aiming to provide valuable references and guidance for improving patent conversion management for other hospitals of the same level.Methods:This study selected a series of standardized management measures taken by the hospital from July 2022 to December 2023 as the research object, including but not limited to the approval process before patent application, the combing and optimization of the approval process of patent conversion application, and the formulation and implementation of the tax reduction system and other policies.Results:The smooth implementation of various standardized management patent transformation measures in the hospital effectively improved the efficiency of patent quality control and patent conversion. Specifically, it was reflected in the shortening of the ″application conversion contract signing″ period, as well as a significant increase in the total number of patent implementation conversions and the total amount of conversion contracts signed.Conclusions:By standardizing the management of hospital patent conversion, not only can the efficiency and success rate of patent conversion be effectively improved, but also can effectively promote the development of hospital innovation and conversion work.

BACKGROUND: Tissue engineering is increasingly viewed as a promising avenue for functional cartilage reconstruction.However, chondrocyte dedifferentiation during in vitro culture remains an obstacle for clinical translation of tissue engineered cartilage. Re-differentiated induction have been employed to induce dedifferentiated chondrocytes back to their original phenotype. Regrettably, these strategies have been proven to be only moderately effective. METHODS: To explore underlying mechanism, RNA transcriptome sequencing was conducted on primary chondrocytes (P0), dedifferentiated chondrocytes (P5), and redifferentiated chondrocytes (redifferentiation-induction of P5, P5.R). Based on multiple bioinformatics analysis, LGR5 was identified as a target gene. Subsequently, stable cell lines with LGR5 knocking-down and overexpression were established using P0 chondrocytes. The phenotypic changes in P1 and P5 chondrocytes with either LGR5 knockdown or overexpression were assessed to ascertain the potential influence of LGR5 dysregulation on chondrocyte phenotypes. Regulatory mechanism was then investigated using bioinformatic analysis, protein–protein docking, immunofluorescence co-localization and immunoprecipitation. RESULTS: The current study found that dysregulation of LGR5 can significantly impact the dedifferentiated phenotypes of chondrocytes (P5). Upregulation of LGR5 appears to activate the PI3K/AKT signal via increasing the phosphorylation levels of AKT (p-AKT1). Moreover, the increase of p-AKT1 may stabilize b-catenin and enhance the intensity of Wnt/b-catenin signal, and help to restore the dedifferentated phenotype of chondrocytes. CONCLUSION LGR5 can modulate the phenotypes of chondrocytes in P5 passage through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy， safety and cost-effectiveness of polyisobutylene （PIB）-type Gutong plaster （called “PIB Gutong plaster” for short） versus non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs （NSAIDs） in the treatment of osteoarthritis in Chinese adults. METHODS Based on a real-world study， after propensity score matching， the decrease in pain visual simulation score， utility increase， time to pain resolution， time to return to normal range of motion and total adverse events of PIB Gutong plaster versus three NSAIDs （celecoxib， diclofenac sodium， and ibuprofen） were evaluated. Cost-utility analysis was used to calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio （ICER） of patients using PIB Gutong plaster versus the three NSAIDs from the perspective of the whole society， and sensitivity analysis was carried out. RESULTS In terms of effectiveness， the recovery time of joint activity in PIB Gutong plaster group was significantly longer than that in celecoxib group， the decrease in VAS score of PIB Gutong plaster was significantly higher than that of ibuprofen but significantly lower than that of diclofenac sodium； the time of pain disappearance was longer than that in diclofenac sodium group and ibuprofen group， and the increase in health utility was significantly lower than that in diclofenac sodium group （P＜0.05）. In terms of safety， there were no significant differences in the incidence and severity of adverse events of PIB Gutong plaster， compared with the three NSAIDs， without statistical significance （P＜0.05）. In terms of cost-effectiveness， compared with celecoxib and diclofenac sodium， PIB Gutong plaster was dominant. Compared with ibuprofen， the ICER value of PIB Gutong plaster was 178 611.58 yuan/QALY， indicating that at the current price， PIB Gutong plaster was cost-effective if the threshold was 3 times GDP per capita. The results of sensitivity analysis were consistent with those of basic analysis. CONCLUSIONS The efficacy of PIB Gutong plaster was better than that of ibuprofen， similar to that of celecoxib， but worse than that of diclofenac sodium， the safety was consistent with the three NSAIDs， and the cost-effectiveness of PIB Gutong plaster needs to be improved.