ObjectiveTo explore the characteristics of ecological niche and interspecific relationships of mosquitoes in different habitats in Dongcheng District, Beijing, and to provide a basis for mosquito ecological monitoring, control and the development or optimization of prevention and control strategies for related mosquito-borne diseases. MethodsFrom May to October 2023, the ecological monitoring in residential areas, parks, tourist attractions and medical institutions in Dongcheng District of Beijing was carried out using the carbon dioxide (CO₂) mosquito trapping method, and the ecological niche characteristics and interspecific relationships of mosquitoes in different habitats were analyzed using Levins ecological niche breadth index, Pinaka ecological niche overlap index and ecological niche similarity coefficients. ResultsThe temporal ecological niche of Culex pipiens pallens (10.62) was higher than that of Aedes albopictus (8.29) in different habitats in Dongcheng District of Beijing, and the temporal ecological niche overlap index of the two mosquitoes was as high as 0.87. The ecological niche breadth of Culex pipiens pallens was higher than that of Aedes albopictus in different monitoring habitats, and the order of the ecological niche breadth of Culex pipiens pallens in different monitoring habitats was, from high to low, as follows: residential areas (11.09) > tourist attractions (10.25) > medical institutions (9.15) > parks (9.07), while the ecological niche breadth of Aedes albopictus in different habitats was, in descending order, residential areas (8.56) > medical institutions (7.68) > parks (7.44) > tourist attractions (5.73). The results of niche overlap analysis showed that the overlap index between Culex pipiens pallens and Aedes albopictus was the largest in residential areas (0.86), as for in other habitats, which was, in descending order, parks (0.81) > medical institutions (0.68) > tourist attractions (0.60). Besides, the ecological similarity coefficients further verified that similarity coefficients, between the two mosquito species, were highest in residential areas (0.712), lowest in tourist attractions (0.497), and which were 0.675 in parks and 0.598 in medical institutions, respectively. ConclusionIn different monitoring habitats in Dongcheng District of Beijing, Culex albopictus pallens demonstrates a stronger spatio-temporal resource utilization ability than Aedes albopictus, and the two species exhibit more similar spatio-temporal resource utilization patterns in residential areas. Corresponding control strategies targeting the characteristics of ecological niches and interspecific relationships of these two mosquito species in different habitats should be developed to enhance the prevention and control effect.

As evidence-based medicine advances and the number of published acupuncture clinical trials in international journals increases,the quality of these trials has become a major focus.The inherent diversity,complexity,and individualization of acupuncture treatments pose unique challenges for quality control in multicenter clinical studies,particularly in Investigator-Initiated Trial(IIT).Refined quality control is essential for the successful conduct of multicenter clinical trials in acupuncture.This study uses the multicenter clinical trials of acupuncture led by our research group as a case study to summarize the quality control experiences throughout the entire process of multicenter IITs.It synthesizes quality control strategies across the trial lifecycle,examines the management of key elements such as participants,materials,data,and specimens,and discusses project design,process management,protocol adherence,and subject safety.These insights are intended to enhance the scientific rigor and reliability of the trials,providing a reference and point of view for researchers in future similar studies.

Objective:A preliminary trial is conducted to explore whether perioperative(preoperative,intraoperative,and postoperative)electroacupuncture is more effective than postoperative electroacupuncture in improving gastrointestinal function for colorectal cancer patients.Methods and analysis:The study proposes a randomized,parallel-controlled,single-center trial involving 30 colorectal cancer patients aged 18-79 requiring elective surgery.Participants are randomly assigned to two groups,with equal allocation,where one group receives perioperative electroacupuncture,and the other group receives postoperative electroacupuncture.The treatment duration spans from preoperative to postoperative 72 h,with a subsequent 28-day follow-up period.The primary outcome is the time of first postoperative defecation.The secondary outcomes include the recovery time of postoperative bowel sounds,time of the first flatus,dietary recovery,postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction frequency,quality of life scale,postoperative pain degree,time of the first ambulation,length of hospital stay,gastrointestinal hormone indicators,and adverse events.The coagulation function test,liver and renal function,and stool and blood routine serve as security biomarkers.The statistical analysis includes the t-test,rank-sum test,Chi-square test,and analysis of variance.A two-sided significance level is set at 5%.Discussion:This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of perioperative electroacupuncture for gastrointestinal function recovery following colorectal cancer surgery.The study's strengths include its randomized design,well-defined intervention periods,and multi-dimensional outcome assessment.Nevertheless,limitations,such as the small sample size and single-center setting,may affect external validity.The findings will guide protocol refinement and sample size estimation for future large-scale multi-center randomized controlled trials.

Objective:A preliminary trial is conducted to explore whether perioperative(preoperative,intraoperative,and postoperative)electroacupuncture is more effective than postoperative electroacupuncture in improving gastrointestinal function for colorectal cancer patients.Methods and analysis:The study proposes a randomized,parallel-controlled,single-center trial involving 30 colorectal cancer patients aged 18-79 requiring elective surgery.Participants are randomly assigned to two groups,with equal allocation,where one group receives perioperative electroacupuncture,and the other group receives postoperative electroacupuncture.The treatment duration spans from preoperative to postoperative 72 h,with a subsequent 28-day follow-up period.The primary outcome is the time of first postoperative defecation.The secondary outcomes include the recovery time of postoperative bowel sounds,time of the first flatus,dietary recovery,postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction frequency,quality of life scale,postoperative pain degree,time of the first ambulation,length of hospital stay,gastrointestinal hormone indicators,and adverse events.The coagulation function test,liver and renal function,and stool and blood routine serve as security biomarkers.The statistical analysis includes the t-test,rank-sum test,Chi-square test,and analysis of variance.A two-sided significance level is set at 5%.Discussion:This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of perioperative electroacupuncture for gastrointestinal function recovery following colorectal cancer surgery.The study's strengths include its randomized design,well-defined intervention periods,and multi-dimensional outcome assessment.Nevertheless,limitations,such as the small sample size and single-center setting,may affect external validity.The findings will guide protocol refinement and sample size estimation for future large-scale multi-center randomized controlled trials.

As evidence-based medicine advances and the number of published acupuncture clinical trials in international journals increases,the quality of these trials has become a major focus.The inherent diversity,complexity,and individualization of acupuncture treatments pose unique challenges for quality control in multicenter clinical studies,particularly in Investigator-Initiated Trial(IIT).Refined quality control is essential for the successful conduct of multicenter clinical trials in acupuncture.This study uses the multicenter clinical trials of acupuncture led by our research group as a case study to summarize the quality control experiences throughout the entire process of multicenter IITs.It synthesizes quality control strategies across the trial lifecycle,examines the management of key elements such as participants,materials,data,and specimens,and discusses project design,process management,protocol adherence,and subject safety.These insights are intended to enhance the scientific rigor and reliability of the trials,providing a reference and point of view for researchers in future similar studies.

Fusobacterium nucleatum is an opportunistic pathogenic bacterium that can be enriched in colorectal cancer tissues, affecting multiple stages of colorectal cancer development. The two-component system plays an important role in the regulation and expression of genes related to pathogenic resistance and pathogenicity. In this paper, we focused on the CarRS two-component system of F. nucleatum, and the histidine kinase protein CarS was recombinantly expressed and characterized. Several online software such as SMART, CCTOP and AlphaFold2 were used to predict the secondary and tertiary structure of the CarS protein. The results showed that CarS is a membrane protein with two transmembrane helices and contains 9 α-helices and 12 β-folds. CarS protein is composed of two domains, one is the N-terminal transmembrane domain (amino acids 1-170), the other is the C-terminal intracellular domain. The latter is composed of a signal receiving domain (histidine kinases, adenylyl cyclases, methyl-accepting proteins, prokaryotic signaling proteins, HAMP), a phosphate receptor domain (histidine kinase domain, HisKA), and a histidine kinase catalytic domain (histidine kinase-like ATPase catalytic domain, HATPase_c). Since the full-length CarS protein could not be expressed in host cells, a fusion expression vector pET-28a(+)-MBP-TEV-CarS_cyto was constructed based on the characteristics of secondary and tertiary structures, and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21-Codonplus(DE3)RIL. CarS_cyto-MBP protein was purified by affinity chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography, and gel filtration chromatography with a final concentration of 20 mg/ml. CarS_cyto-MBP protein showed both protein kinase and phosphotransferase activities, and the MBP tag had no effect on the function of CarS_cyto protein. The above results provide a basis for in-depth analysis of the biological function of the CarRS two-component system in F. nucleatum.
Humans ; Histidine Kinase/metabolism* ; Fusobacterium nucleatum/metabolism* ; Automobiles ; Protein Kinases/genetics* ; Escherichia coli/metabolism* ; Colorectal Neoplasms

The construction of a countywide community for medical and health services is designed to upgrade the service capacity of primary medical and health institutions, to promote resource sharing and collaborative services, and promote the hierarchical medical system. Huzhou of Zhejiang province has launched its initiative in building a countywide community for medical services since 2018. The authors summarized its main practices in promoting the integration of the management system and optimizing operating mechanism of countywide medical and health institutions, promoting the reform of the county medical and health governance system, as well as the achievements and shortcomings, with a view to providing reference for promoting the high-quality development of the countywide medical and health service system.

Acupuncture is a promising treatment for relieving pain and improving lower back function in clinical practice. However, evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) remains controversial. Most RCTs conclude that acupuncture procedures for chronic low back pain (CLBP) had no significant difference in efficacy and belonged to placebo. We carefully reviewed and analyzed the methodology and implementation of sham acupuncture in RCTs. Controversial evidence of acupuncture for CLBP is only a microcosm of the evaluation methodological limitation of acupuncture. Inappropriate selection of sham acupuncture controls, rigorous RCT research models, and incorrect interpretation of results may contribute to negative evidence. Evaluating and disregarding the holistic efficacy of acupuncture with an explanatory RCT model based on evaluation drugs may be unwise. Moreover, sham acupuncture is often proven to be non-inert, unreasonable, and with low fidelity. Pitfalls of the explanatory RCT model and sham acupuncture design should be avoided. Establishing a new evaluation system that is in line with the clinical characteristics of acupuncture and obtaining high-quality evidence are difficult but promising tasks.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Chronic Pain/therapy* ; Humans ; Low Back Pain/therapy* ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To test the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS).Methods:Totally 166 patients with major depression completed the Chinese version of SHAPS,Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-Ⅰ) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17).The validity was tested by using correlation analysis and exploratory factor analysis.The reliability was tested by using internal consistency coefficient and Pearson correlation analysis.Results:The ICCs between three different Scale score were 0.90 and 0.91(Ps ＜ 0.001).Exploratory factor analysis identified 2 common factors,which explained 62.8％ of total variancel.The Cronbach coefficient of SHAPS was 0.94.The test-retest coefficient was 0.91 (P ＜ 0.001).The intercorrelations of 14 items ranged from 0.30 to 0.93 and item-total correlations ranged from 0.61 to 0.79.Conclusion:The Chinese version of SHAPS has good validity and reliability,it could be used to assess anhedonia in Chinese patients with major depression.

Objective To explore the levels of leptin(LEP) and soluble leptin receptor (sOB‐R) in breast cancer patients′ser‐um ,and to discuss the relationship between LEP ,sOB‐R ,free leptin index(FLI) and the patients′clinical pathologic features .Meth‐ods 70 serum specimens of breast cancer patients who confirmed by pathological diagnosis were collected before the surgery ,the serum of benign breast disease group(n=50) and normal group(n=50) were also collected as control .The levels of LEP and sOB‐Rinserumweredetected,andtheresultafterbodymassindex(BMI)correctionwereanalyzed.Finally,therelationshipbetweenthe expression of LEP ,sOB‐R and clinical pathologic features were analyzed .Results The serum level of LEP in breast cancer group was highly increased than the other two groups (P<0 .05) ,and sOB‐R was reduced(P<0 .05) .After BMI correction ,LEP was still highly increased(P<0 .05) ,but sOB‐R was no significant difference (P>0 .05) .The level of LEP in the postmenopausal breast cancer patients were highly increased than menopause patients (P>0 .05) ,and the expression of LEP in cancer group were signifi‐cant higher than two control groups by both postmenopausal and menopause (P>0 .05) .The result suggested the serum level of LEP and FLI are associated with pTNM stages and lymph node metastases (P<0 .05) ,and elevated level of LEP in postmenopausal patients had differences in pTNM stages and lymph node metastases (P< 0 .05) .Conclusion The serum LEP level and the FLI may be potential indicators to evaluate the prognosis of the patient with breast cancer .The serum LEP may promoted the process of the postmenopausal patients of breast cancer .