The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding acupuncture direction published from January 1st, 2013, to November 7th, 2023 were searched in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and VIP Chinese Journal Database. As a result, 21 RCTs were included. The problems identified included conceptual misunderstandings regarding acupuncture direction, incomplete selection strategies, confounding research factors, and inaccuracies in reporting. Based on the findings, four strategic approaches for enhancing therapeutic efficacy through acupuncture direction were summarized: aligning needle direction with the meridian pathway, directing the needle toward the lesion site, orienting the needle toward adjacent acupoints, and targeting special anatomical structures. Two additional strategies were proposed for optimizing the procedure: simplifying acupuncture operations and directing the needle toward safe anatomical sites. Recommendations were made to improve the rationality of research factor settings and the completeness of acupuncture operation reporting. Furthermore, three methods for reporting acupuncture direction were discussed: reporting the tip-pointed position, reporting the insertion angle and orientation, and reporting azimuth and polar angles, aiming to promote greater standardization and completeness in acupuncture practice and reporting.
Acupuncture Therapy/standards* ; Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Meridians

Objective The aim of this study is to discuss the causal relationship between periodontal disease(PD)and prostate cancer(PCa).Methods A two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization(MR)analysis based on publicly statistical data from genome-wide association studies(GWAS)was conducted.MR Egger,weighted medium,simple mode and weighted mode were supplemented,while inverse variance weighted analysis(IVW)was the main method of analysis.Heterogeneity testing,pleiotropy testing and leave-one-out testing were used to assess the sensitivity and stabili-ty.Results The results of MR analysis showed that PD had no significant impact on the occurrence of PCa:East Asian(IVW,PD:OR=1.07,P=0.48);European(IVW,PD:OR=1.00,P=0.37,periodontitis:OR=1.03,P=0.14,chronic gingivitis:OR=0.99,P=0.37,chronic periodontitis:OR=1.03,P=0.22).The reverse MR analysis also did not show a causal relationship between PCa and PD:East Asian(IVW,PD:OR=0.97,P=0.22);European(IVW,PD:OR=0.84,P=0.44,periodontitis:OR=1.01,P=0.75,chronic gingivitis:OR=0.93,P=0.23,chronic periodontitis:OR=0.99,P=0.80).The results of other analysis were consistent with those of IVW analysis.Conclusions The results of our two-sample bidirectional MR analysis do not support a causal relationship between PD and PCa.

Objective:To discuss the effects of microRNA(miR)-199a-5p overexpression on cell migration and apoptosis in the glioblastoma U251 cells,and to clarify the targeting regulatory relationship between miR-199a-5p and caveolin-1(CAV-1).Methods:The glioblastoma U251 cells and oligodendroglioma Hs683 cells were cultured in vitro.Western blotting method was used to detect the expression levels of CAV-1 protein in 2 kinds of cells;real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR)method was used to detect the expression levels of miR-199a-5p in 2 kinds of cells.The U251 cells were divided into blank group(non-transfection),mimics NC group(transfected with empty vector),and miR-199a-5p mimics group(transfected with miR-199a-5p mimics).The Hs683 cells were divided into blank group(no transfection),inhibitor NC group(transfected with empty vector),and miR-199a-5p inhibitor group(transfected with miR-199a-5p inhibitor).RT-qPCR method was used to detect the transfection efficiency of the cells in various groups;Western blotting method was used to detect the expression levels of CAV-1 protein in the cells in various groups.TargetScan database was used to predict the binding sites between miR-199a-5p and CAV-1 in the 3'untrans lated region(3'UTR);psiCHECKTM-2-CAV-1-WT and psiCHECKTM-2-CAV-1-Mut were co-transfected with miR-199a-5p mimics and mimics NC into the U251 cells,respectively,forming psiCHECKTM-2-CAV-1-WT+mimics NC group,psiCHECKTM-2-CAV-1-WT+miR-199a-5p mimics group,psiCHECKTM-2-CAV-1-Mut+mimics NC group,and psiCHECKTM-2-CAV1-Mut+miR-199a-5p mimics group;dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was used to verify the targeting relationship between miR-199a-5p and CAV-1;cell scratch assay was used to detect the scratch healing rates of the U251 cells in various groups;flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptotic rates of the U251 cells in various groups.Results:The Western blotting and RT-qPCR results showed that compared with Hs683 cells,the expression level of CAV-1 protein in the U251 cells was significantly decreased(P<0.05);compared with U251 cells,the expression level of miR-199a-5p in the Hs683 cells was significantly increased(P<0.01).Compared with blank group and mimics NC group,the expression level of miR-199a-5p in the U251 cells in miR-199a-5p mimics group was significantly increased(P<0.01),the expression level of CAV-1 protein in the U251 cells in miR-199a-5p mimics group was significantly decreased(P<0.05).Compared with blank group,the expression levels of miR-199a-5p in the Hs683 cells in inhibitor NC group and miR-199a-5p inhibitor group were significantly decreased(P<0.01).No significant differences were observed in the expression levels of CAV-1 protein in the Hs683 cells among various groups(P>0.05).The dual-luciferase reporter gene assay results showed that psiCHECKTM-2-CAV-1-wild type(WT)and psiCHECKTM-2-CAV-1-mutant(Mut)expression vectors were successfully constructed;compared with psiCHECKTM-2-CAV-1-WT-mimics NC group,the relative luciferase activity of WT CAV-1 in the U251 cells in psiCHECKTM-2-CAV-1-WT-miR-199a-5p mimics group was significantly decreased(P<0.01).The cell scratch assay results showed that at 12,24,and 48 h after transfection,compared with blank group,the scratch healing rate of the U251 cells in miR-199a-5p mimics group was significantly decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01).The flow cytometry results showed that compared with blank group and mimics NC group,the apoptotic rate of the U251 cells in miR-199a-5p mimics group was significantly increased(P<0.01).Conclusion:Transfection of mature miR-199a-5p mimics into the glioblastoma U251 cells can reduce the expression of CAV-1 protein,inhibit glioma cell migration,promote apoptosis,and suppress tumorigenesis and development.The targeting relationship between miR-199a-5p and CAV-1 may represent a potential mechanism for glioma development and could serve as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for glioma.

Objective To investigate the ameliorative effect of deferoxamine(DFO)on cognitive impairment in a rat model of type 1 diabetes mellitus(T1DM)and to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying cerebral iron overload in T1DM rats.Methods Thirty-six healthy male SD rats(weighing 180～250 g)were randomly assigned into a blank control group(Ctrl),a T1DM model group and a DFO group,with 12 rats in each group.A single dose of 65 mg/kg streptozotocin(STZ)was intraperitoneally injected to the rats to establish a T1DM model,and those with fasting blood glucose≥16.7 mmol/L at 3 d later were designated as the T1DM group.Intracerebroventricular administration of DFO(5 μg/kg·d)was given to the DFO group for 28 consecutive days since 21 d after STZ injection.Morris water maze test was carried out to assess the spatial learning and memory abilities.Nissl staining and immunofluorescence assay were applied to observe neuronal morphology and number in the hippocampus and cortex.The iron content in the hippocampus was measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS).The expression levels of iron metabolism related proteins were detected with Western blotting.Results In the T1DM group,significant declines in learning and memory abilities(P<0.01)and impaired neuronal morphology and reduced neuronal counts in the hippocampal CA1 region(P<0.01),CA3 region(P<0.01),and cortex(P<0.05)were observed when compared with those in the Ctrl group.ICP-MS analysis showed a marked increase in the hippocampal iron content in the T1DM group(P<0.01).Western blot results demonstrated that T1DM rats exhibited obviously up-regulated expression of iron storage proteins FTH and FTL in both the hippocampus(P<0.01,P<0.05)and the cortex(P<0.05,P<0.01),enhanced expression of iron import protein DMT1 in both the hippocampus and the cortex(P<0.05),while decreased expression of iron export protein FPN1 in the hippocampus(P<0.01)and the cortex(P<0.05).DFO treatment significantly ameliorated all above abnormalities.Conclusion The declines in learning and memory in T1DM rats are closely associated with neuronal damage induced by cerebral iron overload.Iron import protein DMT1 and export protein FPN1 jointly regulate cerebral iron content in T1DM rats.DFO reduces brain iron levels and mitigates iron overload-mediated neuronal injury by modulating the expression of DMT1 and FPN1.

Objective:To explore the characteristics of attention bias and the role of embodied emotion prim-ing in college students with different traits of anxiety.Methods:From 2 310 college students,28 from low trait anxi-ety group and 30 from high trait anxiety group were selected based on the scores of the Trait Anxiety Scale.The at-tention bias index,attention orientation index and attention detachment difficulty index were calculated by point de-tection experiment.By asking two groups of subjects to change their body posture to induce embodied emotion,and then responding to the location of the detection point,the effects of embodied emotion priming on the attention bias of college students with different traits of anxiety were investigated.Results:The point detection experiment found that the attention detachment difficulty index of negative emotional faces in the high trait anxiety group was signifi-cantly greater than 0,and the attention orientation index of positive emotional faces in the low trait anxiety group was significantly greater than 0(Ps＜0.05).The attention bias index for positive emotional faces in low trait anxie-ty group was significantly higher than that in high trait anxiety group(P＜0.05).Under embodied negative prim-ing,the attention bias index of negative emotional faces in low trait anxiety group was significantly greater than 0(P＜0.05).The attention orientation indices of negative emotional faces were significantly higher than that of posi-tive emotional faces in both groups(P＜0.05).Conclusion:College students with high trait anxiety have difficulty in escaping attention to negative faces,while those with low trait anxiety have accelerated attention orientation to positive emotional faces.Embodied negative priming may have a greater impact onattention bias of towards negative emotional faces in students with low trait anxiety.

BACKGROUND:Our previous research found that Tougu Xiaotong Capsules can be used not only for the treatment of osteoarthritis,but also for rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis.However,the specific mechanism of action of"Same Treatment for Different Diseases"is still unclear.OBJECTIVE:To identify the main effects and mechanisms of Tougu Xiaotong Capsules in the treatment of osteoarthritis,rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis with the treating principle of"Same Treatment for Different Diseases"by the methodologies of integrated pharmacology,molecular docking techniques and molecular dynamics simulation.METHODS:The active chemical components of Tougu Xiaotong Capsules and their corresponding targets were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP)and the Swiss Target Prediction database.The disease genes for osteoarthritis,rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis were obtained from the GeneCards and OMIM databases.Cytoscape 3.7.2 software was used to construct a drug-component-disease-target network diagram and a protein-protein interaction network.Gene ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis were conducted using the Daivd database.Molecular docking simulations were performed on the CB-DOCK2 website,and molecular dynamics simulations were carried out using the GROMACS 2020.6 software.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)A total of 50 active components of Tougu Xiaotong Capsules were screened,with 184 potential targets and 29 intersection targets across the three types of arthritis.(2)The gene ontology enrichment analysis of the intersection targets indicated that the key gene functions of Tougu Xiaotong Capsules in treating the three types of arthritis were found to be cellular response to lipopolysaccharide,inflammatory response,extracellular matrix,protein binding,and zinc ion binding.(3)Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis identified key pathways as interleukin-17 signaling pathway,tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway,NOD-like receptor and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways.(4)Six core targets[interleukin-6,interleukin-1β,prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 1,prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2,cytochrome P450 1A2(CYP1A2)and C-X-C chemokine ligand 8]were determined based on the protein-protein interaction network.(5)Molecular docking results confirmed that(+)-catechin,β-sitosterol,kaempferol,myricetin,and wallichilide had good structure-activity relationships.Molecular dynamics simulations further confirmed the stable binding of CYP1A2 with wallichilide,corroborating the network pharmacology and molecular docking results.Therefore,Tougu Xiaotong Capsules may regulate the interleukin-17 signaling pathway,tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway,and other signaling pathways by targeting interleukin-1β,prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 1,prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2 and CYP1A2,exert an effect of"Same Treatment for Different Diseases"on osteoarthritis,rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis.

Objective:To explore the characteristics of attention bias and the role of embodied emotion prim-ing in college students with different traits of anxiety.Methods:From 2 310 college students,28 from low trait anxi-ety group and 30 from high trait anxiety group were selected based on the scores of the Trait Anxiety Scale.The at-tention bias index,attention orientation index and attention detachment difficulty index were calculated by point de-tection experiment.By asking two groups of subjects to change their body posture to induce embodied emotion,and then responding to the location of the detection point,the effects of embodied emotion priming on the attention bias of college students with different traits of anxiety were investigated.Results:The point detection experiment found that the attention detachment difficulty index of negative emotional faces in the high trait anxiety group was signifi-cantly greater than 0,and the attention orientation index of positive emotional faces in the low trait anxiety group was significantly greater than 0(Ps＜0.05).The attention bias index for positive emotional faces in low trait anxie-ty group was significantly higher than that in high trait anxiety group(P＜0.05).Under embodied negative prim-ing,the attention bias index of negative emotional faces in low trait anxiety group was significantly greater than 0(P＜0.05).The attention orientation indices of negative emotional faces were significantly higher than that of posi-tive emotional faces in both groups(P＜0.05).Conclusion:College students with high trait anxiety have difficulty in escaping attention to negative faces,while those with low trait anxiety have accelerated attention orientation to positive emotional faces.Embodied negative priming may have a greater impact onattention bias of towards negative emotional faces in students with low trait anxiety.

Objective The aim of this study is to discuss the causal relationship between periodontal disease(PD)and prostate cancer(PCa).Methods A two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization(MR)analysis based on publicly statistical data from genome-wide association studies(GWAS)was conducted.MR Egger,weighted medium,simple mode and weighted mode were supplemented,while inverse variance weighted analysis(IVW)was the main method of analysis.Heterogeneity testing,pleiotropy testing and leave-one-out testing were used to assess the sensitivity and stabili-ty.Results The results of MR analysis showed that PD had no significant impact on the occurrence of PCa:East Asian(IVW,PD:OR=1.07,P=0.48);European(IVW,PD:OR=1.00,P=0.37,periodontitis:OR=1.03,P=0.14,chronic gingivitis:OR=0.99,P=0.37,chronic periodontitis:OR=1.03,P=0.22).The reverse MR analysis also did not show a causal relationship between PCa and PD:East Asian(IVW,PD:OR=0.97,P=0.22);European(IVW,PD:OR=0.84,P=0.44,periodontitis:OR=1.01,P=0.75,chronic gingivitis:OR=0.93,P=0.23,chronic periodontitis:OR=0.99,P=0.80).The results of other analysis were consistent with those of IVW analysis.Conclusions The results of our two-sample bidirectional MR analysis do not support a causal relationship between PD and PCa.

BACKGROUND:Our previous research found that Tougu Xiaotong Capsules can be used not only for the treatment of osteoarthritis,but also for rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis.However,the specific mechanism of action of"Same Treatment for Different Diseases"is still unclear.OBJECTIVE:To identify the main effects and mechanisms of Tougu Xiaotong Capsules in the treatment of osteoarthritis,rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis with the treating principle of"Same Treatment for Different Diseases"by the methodologies of integrated pharmacology,molecular docking techniques and molecular dynamics simulation.METHODS:The active chemical components of Tougu Xiaotong Capsules and their corresponding targets were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP)and the Swiss Target Prediction database.The disease genes for osteoarthritis,rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis were obtained from the GeneCards and OMIM databases.Cytoscape 3.7.2 software was used to construct a drug-component-disease-target network diagram and a protein-protein interaction network.Gene ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis were conducted using the Daivd database.Molecular docking simulations were performed on the CB-DOCK2 website,and molecular dynamics simulations were carried out using the GROMACS 2020.6 software.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)A total of 50 active components of Tougu Xiaotong Capsules were screened,with 184 potential targets and 29 intersection targets across the three types of arthritis.(2)The gene ontology enrichment analysis of the intersection targets indicated that the key gene functions of Tougu Xiaotong Capsules in treating the three types of arthritis were found to be cellular response to lipopolysaccharide,inflammatory response,extracellular matrix,protein binding,and zinc ion binding.(3)Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis identified key pathways as interleukin-17 signaling pathway,tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway,NOD-like receptor and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways.(4)Six core targets[interleukin-6,interleukin-1β,prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 1,prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2,cytochrome P450 1A2(CYP1A2)and C-X-C chemokine ligand 8]were determined based on the protein-protein interaction network.(5)Molecular docking results confirmed that(+)-catechin,β-sitosterol,kaempferol,myricetin,and wallichilide had good structure-activity relationships.Molecular dynamics simulations further confirmed the stable binding of CYP1A2 with wallichilide,corroborating the network pharmacology and molecular docking results.Therefore,Tougu Xiaotong Capsules may regulate the interleukin-17 signaling pathway,tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway,and other signaling pathways by targeting interleukin-1β,prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 1,prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2 and CYP1A2,exert an effect of"Same Treatment for Different Diseases"on osteoarthritis,rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics and survival prognosis of patients with triple/quad-class exposed relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma(RRMM).Methods:The clinical data of patients with triple/quad-class exposed RRMM from eight centers in Shanxi Province between May 2017 and May 2024 were retrospectively analyzed.Overall survival(OS)and progression-free survival(PFS)were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method,and factors affecting survival were examined by the Cox proportional hazards model and Log-rank test.Results:Among the 112 patients with triple-class exposure,16 were quadruple-class exposed.The detection rates of high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities and extramedullary lesions in patients with triple-class exposure were 57.1%and 36.6%,respectively,while those in patients with quadruple-class exposure were 87.5%and 62.5%,respectively.The median PFS and OS of patients with triple-class expos-ure were 5.6 months and 12.2 months,respectively,while those of patients with quadruple-class exposure were 9.4 months and 16.9 months,respectively.Cox model analysis showed that extramedullary lesions and multi-line treatment(≥3 lines)were independent risk factors for the survival of patients with triple-class exposed RRMM(P<0.05).Previous autologous stem cell transplantation,subsequent con-ventional drug treatment,and B-cell maturation antigen(BCMA)chimeric antigen receptor T-cell(CAR-T)treatment were protective factors(P<0.05).After triple-class drug resistance,the Log-rank test verified that BCMA CAR-T treatment significantly prolonged the median PFS of patients compared to conventional drug treatment(9.4 months vs.5.2 months,P=0.026 9),whereas the difference in OS was not statistic-ally significant(16.9 months vs.7.9 months,P=0.263 4).Conclusions:Patients with triple/quad-class exposed RRMM have a poor prognosis,and BCMA CAR-T cell therapy can improve survival in patients with triple-class drug-resistant RRMM.