Objectives: To elucidate the potential mechanisms of electroacupuncture (EA) in restoring detrusor-bladder neck dyssynergia (DBND) following suprasacral spinal cord injury (SSCI). Methods: A total of 52 specific pathogen-free (SPF) grade famale Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (10 – 12 weeks, 250 – 280 g) were randomly assigned to either a sham group (n = 12) or a spinal cord injury model group (n = 40). In the model group, DBND was induced through Hassan Shaker spinal cord transection at T10 level, with 24 rats meeting inclusion criteria and subsequently randomized into DBND group (n = 12) and EA intervention group (DBND + EA group, n = 12). After spinal shock recovery (day 19 after modeling), DBND + EA group received EA treatment at Ciliao (BL32), Zhongji (RN3), and Sanyinjiao (SP6) acupoints for 20 min per session at 10/50 Hz frequencies, once daily for 10 d. Sham and DBND groups received anesthesia only without EA intervention. On day 29 post-modeling, all rats underwent urodynamic assessments, followed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, tandem mass tag (TMT) proteomics, and Western blot (WB) analysis of detrusor and bladder neck tissues. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were defined as proteins with P < 0.05, unique peptides ≥ 2, and fold change > 1.2 or < 0.83. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis was performed using KOBAS 3.0 (P < 0.01), and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were analyzed using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) 11.5 and Cytoscape 3.9.1. Results: Compared with sham group, DBND group showed significantly elevated leak point pressure (LPP) and maximum cystometric capacity (MCC) (both P < 0.01). EA treatment significantly reduced both LPP and MCC compared with DBND group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). HE staining revealed that EA reduced detrusor fibrosis and improved bladder neck inflammation. TMT proteomics identified 30 overlapping DEPs in detrusor and 59 overlapping DEPs in bladder neck when comparing DBND + EA/DBND groups with sham group. In detrusor tissue, KEGG analysis revealed 10 significantly enriched pathways (P < 0.01), including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. PPI analysis showed 22 of 30 DEPs were interconnected. In bladder neck tissue, 14 pathways were significantly enriched (P < 0.01), including relaxin signaling pathway, with 51 of 59 DEPs showing interconnections. Both TMT and WB validations demonstrated that compared with sham controls, DBND rats exhibited upregulated collagen type IV alpha 2 chain (Col4a2) and downregulated guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(z) subunit alpha (Gnaz) in detrusor tissue, while EA treatment normalized both proteins (both P < 0.05). In bladder neck tissue, DBND rats showed decreased expression of smoothelin (Smtn) and calcium-activated potassium channel subunit beta-1 (Kcnmb1) compared with sham controls (both P < 0.01), which were both upregulated following EA treatment (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Conclusion EA restores detrusor-bladder neck coordination in DBND through dual-target mechanisms. In detrusor tissue, EA modulates contraction via extracellular matrix remodeling, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling pathway regulation, and enhanced adenosine triphosphate (ATP) biosynthesis mediated by neurotransmitters. In bladder neck tissue, EA promotes relaxation by maintaining contractile phenotypes, reducing fibrosis, suppressing smooth muscle excitation, and regulating presynaptic neurotransmitter release. These findings provide mechanistic insights into EA's therapeutic role in managing DBND.

Objective To analyze the learning curve of Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy. Methods Cumulative sum analysis (CUSUM) was used to analyze the learning curve of Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy performed by the General Hospital of Northern Theater Command from February 2018 to December 2020. The learning curve was obtained by fitting, and R2 was used to judge the goodness of fitting. The clinical data of patients in different stages of learning curve were compared and analyzed. Results The first 50 patients who received Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy were included, including 24 males and 26 females, with an average age of 61.9±10.6 years. The operation time decreased gradually with the accumulation of operation patients. The goodness of fitting coefficient reached the maximum value when R2=0.907 (P<0.001), CUSUM (n) =0.009×n3−0.953×n2+24.968×n−7.033 (n was the number of patients). The fitting curve achieved vertex crossing when the number of patients reached 17. Based on this, 50 patients were divided into two stages: a learning and improving stage and a mastering stage. There were statistical differences in the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, number of lymph node dissection, postoperative catheter time, postoperative hospital stay, and postoperative complications between the two stages (P<0.05). Conclusion It shows that the technical competency for assuring feasible perioperative outcomes can be achieved when the cumulative number of surgical patients reaches 17.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of multidisciplinary team (MDT) model combined with Da Vinci robot-assisted thoracic surgery in the treatment of early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods From July 2020 to December 2021, the patients with NSCLC who received Da Vinci robot-assisted thoracic surgery in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command were collected. According to whether MDT were performed before hospitalization, the patients were divided into an MDT group and a common group. The recovery and clinical efficacy were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 187 patients were enrolled, including 81 males and 106 females, aged 63 (56, 67) years. There were 85 patients in the MDT group, and 102 patients in the common group. Compared with the common group, the MDT group had lower incidence of postoperative complications (9.4% vs. 29.4%, P=0.017), shorter intraoperative operation time [55 (45, 61) min vs. 79 (65, 90) min, P<0.001], and less intraoperative blood loss [25 (20, 30) mL vs. 30 (20, 50) mL, P=0.029] in the same operation mode. In addition, the drainage volume on the second postoperative day [270 (200, 350) mL vs. 215 (190, 300) mL, P=0.004], the number of dissected lymph nodes groups [6 (5, 6) groups vs. 5 (3, 6) groups, P=0.004] and the number of dissected lymph nodes [16 (13, 21) vs. 13 (9, 20), P=0.005] in the MDT group were significantly better than those in the common group. The differences in the postoperative intubation time and postoperative hospital stay between the two groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion MDT combined with Da Vinci robot-assisted thoracic surgery can further reduce the risk of surgery, improve the clinical treatment effect, reduce the incidence of postoperative complications, and accelerate the rehabilitation of patients.

Objective To observe the effects of electroacupuncture at"Ciliao","Zhongji","Sanyinjiao"and"Dazhui"on urodynamics and expression of ERK/CREB/Bcl-2 pathway in spinal cord tissue of neurogenic bladder rats after suprasacral spinal cord injury.Methods Sixty female SD rats randomly selected 24 and divided into blank group and sham-operation group(12 rats in each group),the remaining 36 rats were subjected to surgical modeling.After modeling,rats were randomly divided into the model group and the electroacupuncture group,with 12 rats in each group.The electroacupuncture group received unilateral electroacupuncture stimulation at acupoints"Ciliao","Zhongji","Sanyinjiao",and"Dazhui"for 30 minutes each time,once a day,for 7 consecutive days.After administration,urodynamic testing was performed,HE staining was used to observe the morphology of bladder detrusor tissue,TUNEL method was used to detected apoptosis in spinal cord tissue,Western blot was used to detected expressions of p-ERK1/2,p-CREB,p-p90Rsk,CRE,Bcl-2,and Bax proteins in spinal cord tissue.Results Compared with the sham-operation group,the basal pressure,maximum pressure,and leakage point pressure of the bladder in the model group increased significantly(P<0.01),while the maximum capacity and compliance of the bladder decreased significantly(P<0.01);the structure of bladder smooth muscle cells was severely damaged and disorderly arranged,accompanied by a large amount of inflammatory cell infiltration;the apoptosis rate of spinal cord tissue cells significantly increased(P<0.01),and the expressions of p-ERK1/2,p-p90Rsk,p-CREB,CRE,and Bcl-2 proteins in spinal cord tissue were significantly decreased,while the expression of Bax protein significantly increased(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the basal pressure,maximum pressure,and leakage point pressure of the bladder in the electroacupuncture group decreased significantly(P<0.05),while the maximum capacity and compliance of the bladder increased significantly(P<0.05,P<0.01);the integrity of bladder smooth muscle cells was enhanced,the degree of cell edema was reduced,and inflammatory cell infiltration was reduced;the apoptosis rate of spinal cord tissue cells was significantly reduced(P<0.05),and the expressions of p-ERK1/2,p-p90Rsk,p-CREB,CRE,and Bcl-2 proteins in spinal cord tissue significantly increased,while the expression of Bax protein was significantly decreased(P<0.05,P<0.01).Conclusion Electroacupuncture can promote the repair of bladder detrusor tissue in rats with neurogenic bladder model after suprasacral spinal cord injury,increase the maximum capacity and compliance of the bladder,alleviate the high pressure state in the bladder,and its mechanism is related to activating the ERK/CREB/Bcl-2 pathway,reducing secondary apoptosis of damaged neurons,effectively improving bladder innervation,and protecting bladder function.

Blood stasis syndrome is one of the core clinical syndrome of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but the biological connotation of this syndrome is not clear, and there is a lack of disease improved animal models that match the characteristics of this disease and syndrome. The aim of this study was to screen the candidate biomarker gene set of blood stasis syndrome of RA, reveal the biological connotation of this syndrome, and explore and evaluate the preparation method of the improved animal model based on the characteristics of "disease-syndrome-symptom". The study was approved by the ethics committee of Guang'anmen Hospital, Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. 2019-073-KY-01) and the First Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. TYLL2021[K]018), and the study subjects gave their informed consent. Animal welfare and experimental procedures followed the regulations of the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. IBTCMCACMS21-2207-01). The whole blood samples were collected clinically from RA patients with blood stasis syndrome (3 cases) or other syndromes (7 types, 3 cases/type), and healthy volunteers (4 cases), and then transcriptome sequencing, KEGG, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) analysis were performed. 126 pivotal genes were screened, and their functional annotation results were significantly enriched in "immune-inflammation" related pathways and lipid metabolism regulation (sphingolipids, ether lipid metabolism and steroid biosynthesis). Syndrome-symptom mapping of hub gene set to the TCM primary and secondary symptoms, Western phenotypic symptoms and pathological links showed that joint tingling, abnormal joint morphology, petechiae and abnormal blood circulation are representative of blood stasis syndrome of RA. The results of the improved animal model showed that the rats in the collagen-induced arthritis + adrenaline hydrochloride (CIA+Adr) 3 model group had increased blood rheology, coagulation, platelet function and endothelial function abnormalities compared with the CIA-alone model group, suggesting that the rats with blood stasis syndrome of RA may be in a state of "blood stasis". The results of the study can help to advance the objective study of the evidence of blood stasis syndrome in RA, and provide new ideas for the establishment of an animal model that reflects the clinical characteristics of the disease and syndrome.

Gouty arthritis is a type of metabolic rheumatic disease caused by autoimmune abnormalities. Currently, the use of Western medicine in the clinical treatment of gouty arthritis has been associated with a high risk of adverse reactions. Therefore, there is a growing interest in exploring therapeutic drugs from traditional Chinese medicine as a potential alternative. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, gouty arthritis has been classified as damp-heat arthralgia syndrome. Shirebi granules has been found to have good clinical efficacy in treating gouty arthritis. However, its underlying pharmacological mechanisms remain unclear. To address this problem, the study first established the interaction network of candidate targets for Shirebi granules, which is used to treat damp-heat syndrome of gouty arthritis. Then, the key candidate targets of Shirebi granules for treating gouty arthritis with damp-heat syndrome were screened by calculating the topological features of the network nodes. Then, the functional mining of the key candidate targets revealed that the candidate targets of Shirebi granules may intervene in the biological process of inflammatory response and lipid metabolism through the crosstalk of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. To verify the effectiveness of Shirebi granules in treating gouty arthritis with damp-heat syndrome, a rat model was established. The results demonstrated that the granules significantly improved the severity of arthritis in rats with this condition, reduced joint inflammation, gait score, swelling index, increased mechanical pain threshold (P < 0.05), and reduced the content of serum inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in gouty arthritis rats with damp-heat syndrome (P < 0.01) gouty. It was also found that Shirebi granules effectively alleviated the symptoms of dampness heat syndrome such as local joint fever and dry mouth by reducing the temperature of the joints in acute gouty arthritis with damp-heat syndrome (AD) rats, increasing the threshold of heat pain, increasing water intake (P < 0.01), and inhibiting abnormal changes in the content of fatty acid oxidation related enzymes (P < 0.01). Western blot analysis showed that Shirebi granules increased the protein expression levels of Wnt and β-catenin (P < 0.01) while decreasing the protein expression of p65, p-p65 and PPARγ (P < 0.01) in rats with gouty arthritis and damp-heat syndrome. The results showed that Shirebi granules may reverse the "inflammation-immune" imbalance and lipid metabolism disorder by regulating the crosstalk of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and play a role in alleviating the severity of the disease. This study provides a methodological reference for elucidating the pharmacological mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine formulas. It also presents research ideas for the appropriate clinical use of Chinese patent medicines and the development of new clinical drugs for gouty arthritis therapy. The animal welfare and experiment procedures of this study were performed in accordance with the regulations of the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Experimental Research Center, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (grant No. ERCCACMS11-2302-08).

Objective    To summarize the efficacy of robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in the treatment of left upper lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer. Methods    The clinical data of patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent left upper lobectomy with RATS or VATS in our center from January 2019 to October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups according to surgical methods: a RATS group and a VATS group. The baseline clinical data and results were compared between the two groups. Results    A total of 145 patients were included. There were 78 males and 67 females with a mean age of 59.9 years. There were 63 patients in the RATS group and 82 patients in the VATS group. There was no death within 30 days after operation in both groups. In the RATS group, the drainage volume on the second postoperative day (233.49±83.94 mL vs. 284.88±120.21 mL, P=0.003), total operative time (126.94±29.50 min vs. 181.59±61.51 min, P=0.000), intraoperative resection time of the left upper lobe (76.48±27.52 min vs. 107.23±47.84 min, P=0.000), intraoperative blood loss (P=0.000), and conversion rate to thoracotomy (P=0.018) were significantly better than those in the VATS group. The group (5.41±0.94 groups vs. 4.83±1.31 groups, P=0.002) and number (18.27±7.39 vs. 12.76±6.54, P=0.000) of dissected lymph nodes in the RATS group were significantly more than those in the VATS group. The differences in the drainage volume on the first day after operation, postoperative intubation time, postoperative hospital stay or postoperative complications between the two groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion    The application of RATS in the left upper lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer is safe and feasible, and has obvious advantages over VATS.

Paeonia lactiflora is an important medicinal resource in China. It is of great significance for the protection and cultivation of P. lactiflora resources to find the suitable habitats. The study was based on the information of 98 distribution sites and the data of 20 current environmental factors of wild P. lactiflora in China. According to the correlation and importance of environmental factors, we selected the main environmental factors affecting the potential suitable habitats. Then, BCC-CSM2-MR model was employed to predict the distribution range and center change of potential suitable habitat of wild P. lactiflora in the climate scenarios of SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 during 2021-2100. The ensemble model combined with GBM, GLM, MaxEnt, and RF showed improved prediction accuracy, with TSS=0.85 and AUC=0.95. Among the 20 environmental factors, annual mean temperature, monthly mean diurnal range of temperature, temperature seasonality, mean temperature of the warmest quarter, precipitation of the wettest month, precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the driest quarter, and elevation were the main factors that affected the suitable habitat distribution of P. lactiflora. At present, the potential suitable habitats of wild P. lactiflora is mainly distributed in Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Beijing, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, Gansu, Xinjiang, Tibet, and Ningxia, and concentrated in the northeastern Inner Mongolia, central Heilongjiang, and northern Jilin. Under future climate conditions, the highly sui-table area of wild P. lactiflora will shrink, and the potential suitable habitat will mainly be lost to different degrees. However, in the SSP5-8.5 scenario, the low suitable area of wild P. lactiflora will partially increase in the highlands and mountains in western China including Xinjiang, Tibet, and Qinghai during 2061-2100. The distribution center of wild P. lactiflora migrated first to the northeast and then to the southwest. The total suitable habitats were stable and kept in the high-latitude zones. The prediction of the potential geo-graphical distribution of P. lactiflora is of great significance to the habitat protection and standardized cultivation of this plant in the future.
China ; Climate ; Climate Change ; Ecosystem ; Paeonia

This study aimed to further explore the relevant mechanism of action by network pharmacology integrated with animal experimental verification based on previous proven effective treatment of vertebral artery type of cervical spondylosis(CSA) by Panlongqi Tablets. Bionetwork analysis was performed to establish drug-disease interaction network, and it was found that the key candidate targets of Panlongqi Tablets were enriched in multiple signaling pathways related to CSA pathological links, among which phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3 K)/serine-threonine kinase(AKT/PKB) signaling pathway was the most significant. Further, mixed modeling method was used to build the CSA rat model, and the rats were divided into normal, model, Panlongqi Tablets low-, medium-and high-dose(0.16, 0.32, 0.64 g·kg~(-1)) and Jingfukang Granules(positive drug, 1.35 g·kg~(-1)) groups. After successful modeling, the rats were administered for 8 consecutive weeks. Pathological changes of rat cervical muscle tissues were detected by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining, and the content of interleukin-1β(IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), vascular endothelial cell growth factor(VEGF) and chemokine(C-C motif) ligand 2(CCL2) in rat serum and/or cervical tissues was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Western blot was employed to detect the protein expression levels of chemokine(C-C motif) receptor 2(CCR2), PI3 K, AKT, phosphorylated AKT(p-AKT), I-kappa-B-kinase beta(IKK-beta/IKKβ), nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB P65) and phosphorylated nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB p-P65) in rat cervical tissues, and positive expression of p-NF-κB P65 in rat cervical muscle tissues was detected by immunofluorescence. The results showed that Panlongqi Tablets at different doses improved the degree of muscle fibrosis and inflammation in cervical muscle tissues of CSA rats, and reduced the content of inflammatory factors IL-1β, TNF-α, VEGF, CCL2 and CCR2 in serum and/or cervical tissues. The protein expression levels of PI3 K, p-AKT, IKKβ and p-NF-κB P65 as well as the nuclear entry of p-NF-κB P65 in cervical tissues were down-regulated. These findings suggest that Panlongqi Tablets can significantly inhibit the inflammatory response of CSA rats, and the mechanism of action may be related to the down-regulation of the activation of PI3 K/AKT signaling pathway.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; I-kappa B Kinase/pharmacology* ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Network Pharmacology ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Rats ; Signal Transduction ; Spondylosis/drug therapy* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/genetics* ; Vertebral Artery/metabolism*

Objective: To analyze the course of disease and epidemiological parameters of COVID-19 and provide evidence for making prevention and control strategies. Methods: To display the distribution of course of disease of the infectors who had close contacts with COVID-19 cases from January 1 to March 15, 2020 in Guangdong Provincial, the models of Lognormal, Weibull and gamma distribution were applied. A descriptive analysis was conducted on the basic characteristics and epidemiological parameters of course of disease. Results: In total, 515 of 11 580 close contacts were infected, with an attack rate about 4.4%, including 449 confirmed cases and 66 asymptomatic cases. Lognormal distribution was fitting best for latent period, incubation period, pre-symptomatic infection period of confirmed cases and infection period of asymptomatic cases; Gamma distribution was fitting best for infectious period and clinical symptom period of confirmed cases; Weibull distribution was fitting best for latent period of asymptomatic cases. The latent period, incubation period, pre-symptomatic infection period, infectious period and clinical symptoms period of confirmed cases were 4.50 (95%CI:3.86-5.13) days, 5.12 (95%CI:4.63-5.62) days, 0.87 (95%CI:0.67-1.07) days, 11.89 (95%CI:9.81-13.98) days and 22.00 (95%CI:21.24-22.77) days, respectively. The latent period and infectious period of asymptomatic cases were 8.88 (95%CI:6.89-10.86) days and 6.18 (95%CI:1.89-10.47) days, respectively. Conclusion: The estimated course of COVID-19 and related epidemiological parameters are similar to the existing data.
COVID-19 ; Cohort Studies ; Contact Tracing ; Humans ; Incidence ; Prospective Studies