Cognitive and Hippocampal Changes in Older Adults With Subjective Cognitive Decline After Acupuncture Intervention.

OBJECTIVE: Converging evidence indicates that subjective cognitive decline (SCD) could be an early indicator of dementia. The hippocampus is the earliest affected region during the progression of cognitive impairment. However, little is known about whether and how acupuncture change the hippocampal structure and function of SCD individuals. METHODS: Here, we used multi-modal MRI to reveal the mechanism of acupuncture in treating SCD. Seventy-two older participants were randomized into acupuncture or sham acupuncture group and treated for 12 weeks. RESULTS: At the end of the intervention, compared to sham acupuncture, participants with acupuncture treatment showed improvement in composite Z score from multi-domain neuropsychological tests, as well as increased hippocampal volume and functional connectivity. Moreover, the greater white matter integrity of the fornix, which is the major output tract of the hippocampus, was shown in the acupuncture group. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that acupuncture may improve the cognitive function of SCD individuals, and increase hippocampal volume on the regional level and enhance the structural and functional connectivity of hippocampus on the connective level.

Enhanced photo-Fenton degradation of dyes under visible light with recyclable γ-Fe2O3/CQDs: Catalyst preparation, performance and mechanism insight.

A low band gap and visible light-responsive heterogeneous Photo-Fenton catalyst of γ-Fe2O3/CQDs micron composite was prepared under the one-pot hydrothermal method. The Photo-Fenton degradation of γ-Fe2O3/CQDs towards dye solution of rhodamine B(RhB), methyl blue (MB), and methyl orange (MO) was studied comparatively with α-Fe2O3. The γ-Fe2O3/CQDs exhibited remarkable catalytic performance for various dyes and with a first-order rate (k) of 14 times higher than that of initial α-Fe2O3 with a low concentration of H2O2 of 0.049 mmol. L-1 and a wider pH range of 3.1-7.1. The microstructure of the compounds was observed by XRD, SEM, TEM, FT-IR, and XPS characterization results suggested that the γ-Fe2O3/CQDs nanocomposite was formed through the stable Fe-O-C bonds, thus, the band gap decreased, and it is more favorable for the distance of holes and electrons. The free radical trapping experiment and EPR analysis indicated that •OH and 1O2 were the major active species during the typical photo-Fenton reaction. What's more, the γ-Fe2O3/CQDs also exhibited good stability and magnetic properties. DFT conclusion shows that the mechanism of the potential determination step (PDS) on α-Fe2O3(220) is the cleavage of H2O2 with an energy barrier of only 0.08 eV, which is 0.54 eV lower than that of OH* on γ-Fe2O3(220). Thus it can be deemed that γ-Fe2O3/CQDs perform much higher catalytic activity for the dissociation of H2O2 than α-Fe2O3. This work gives a feasible and economical countermeasure of visible light Photo-Fenton dispose of dye wastewater with a recyclable magnetic γ-Fe2O3/CQDs micron catalyst.

Phase-transition materials derived photonic metamaterials for passively dynamic solar thermal and coldness harvesting.

The rising need for energy to actively heat and cool human-made structures is contributing to the growing energy crisis and intensifying global warming. Consequently, there's a pressing need for a sustainable approach to temperature management that minimizes energy consumption and carbon emissions. The substantial temperature differences between the Sun (approximately 5800 K), Earth (around 300 K), and outer space (about 3 K) offer a unique opportunity for passive thermal regulation on a global scale. Recent research indicates the possibility of addressing this issue through various low-carbon, passive technologies such as solar heating and radiative cooling. However, their practical application is often limited to certain seasons and climatic regions due to their static and single-function nature in managing temperature. In this context, we introduce a concept of phase-change metamaterials that provide passive, dynamic, and adjustable radiative thermal control, suitable for widespread engineering applications. Our designed metafilm comprises a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer infused with vanadium dioxide (VO2) nanoparticles, backed by a layer of broadband-reflective silver (Ag). This metafilm exhibits a self-adjusting solar absorptance, shifting from 0.96 to 0.25 at a pivotal temperature while maintaining a nearly constant thermal emittance. We can finely tune the metafilm's optical characteristics by altering the VO2 nanoparticle concentration and PDMS layer thickness. To demonstrate its efficacy in solar thermal management and radiative cooling, we simulate its temperature behavior under various weather conditions.

Enhanced Cd activation by Coprinus comatus endophyte Bacillus thuringiensis and the molecular mechanism.

Fungal endophytes not only tolerate and activate Cd in soil but also promote host growth, yet its Cd activation capacity and mechanism remain unrevealed. Our previous study isolated a robust endophyte Bacillus thuringiensis L1 from Coprinus comatus fruiting body with splendid Cd resistance and activation abilities under laboratory conditions. In this study, those peculiarities were investigated in the actual soil environment. L1 could significantly increase the soil bioavailable Cd content and effectively compensate for alkali-hydro nitrogen losses and microbial inhibition caused by Cd. Furthermore, L1 inoculation improved the soil's bacterial community structure and increased the relative abundance of Cd-resistant bacteria, such as Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacter, and Firmicutes, closely associated with the soil enzyme activity shift. The genome sequencing analysis revealed the presence of genes related to growth promotion, resistance to Cd stress, and Cd activation, which were significantly up-regulated under Cd stress. Notably, L1 mainly activates Cd in soil by secreting citric acid, succinic acid, siderophore, and soluble phosphorus substances to chelate with Cd or dissolve bounded Cd. Meanwhile, the metal-responsive transcription repressor (CadC) and the Cd-translocating protein P-type ATPase (CadA) can help the L1 to suppress the toxicity of Cd. Those results help to unveil the possible mechanism of L1 in Cd-contaminated soil remediation, providing a clear strategy for Cd bio-extraction from soil.

Imaging characteristics and ECG distribution of coronary fistulas: The first large-scale study.

BACKGROUND: The proportion of abnormal electrocardiogra (ECG) in patients with coronary artery fistula (CAF) is relatively high, but the correlation between CAF and arrhythmia is mostly reported in individual case studies. This paper analyzes the correlation between imaging features and ECG features. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to analyze the incidence and distribution characteristics of abnormal ECG in patients with CAF and further explore the difference in ECG characteristics between coronary-cameral fistula (CCF) and coronary-pulmonary artery fistula (CPAF). METHOD: A total of 144,448 patients who underwent coronary computerized tomography angiography (CTA) examination from January 2016 to December 2022 were included in this study, and 284 patients with CAF (excluding coronary atherosclerosis) were selected for analysis of their ECG and image characteristics. And divided them into the CPAF (221 cases) and CCF (63 cases) groups, the differences in ECG between the two groups was compared. The changes in the ECG after the operation were analyzed. RESULTS: The incidence of abnormal ECG in patients with CAF was approximately 72.9%. There were significant differences in the proportion of ECG block, myocardial ischemia and structural ECG changes between the CPAF group and CCF group (P < 0.05). CCF was more likely to cause conduction block and ischemic and structural ECG changes. A total of 53 patients with CAF underwent surgical treatment, 28 patients with improved ECG (52%). CONCLUSION: CCF especially CCF patients often have abnormal ECG findings such as conduction block, myocardial ischemia, and structural changes, which can often be restored to normal through surgery.

Evaluation and dynamic monitoring of ecological environment quality in mining area based on improved CRSEI index model.

Large-scale open-pit mining in mining areas will cause serious damage to the ecological environment. Building a "green mine" is an essential part of implementing sustainable development. In order to explore the changing characteristics of the environmental quality of the open-pit mining area and provide a scientific basis for improving the ecological environment of the mining area. Taking Sijiying open-pit mining area as the research area, based on four Landsat images from 2000 to 2022, the four index components of greenness, humidity, dryness and heat were integrated, and an improved remote sensing ecological index CRSEI was constructed by principal component analysis to dynamically evaluate and monitor the ecological environment quality of the mining area. The results show that the average correlation between CRSEI and the index components is higher than the average correlation between the components, indicating that it has a favorable expression effect on the ecological quality of the mining area. The ecological environmental quality of the study area experienced a shift to the poor grade, and the poor ecological quality area was mainly distributed in industrial and mining land and construction land, with the mean CRSEI of 0.668, 0.474, 0.460 and 0.494, respectively. The results of dynamic monitoring showed that the proportion of ecological improvement area (41.43 %) was greater than that of ecological deterioration area (33.29 %) in the study area in the past 22 years, and additional restoration efforts should be made to achieve sustainable development of the ecological environment.

Recent advances in the pharmacological applications and liver toxicity of triptolide.

Triptolide is a predominant active component of Triptergium wilfordii Hook. F, which has been used for the treatment of cancers and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and diabetic nephropathy. Therefore, triptolide and its derivates are considered to have promising prospects for development into drugs. However, the clinical application of triptolide is limited due to various organ toxicities, especially liver toxicity. The potential mechanism of triptolide-induced hepatotoxicity has attracted increasing attention. Over the past five years, studies have revealed that triptolide-induced liver toxicity is involved in metabolic imbalance, oxidative stress, inflammations, autophagy, apoptosis, and the regulation of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes, gut microbiota and immune cells. In this review, we summarize the pharmacological applications and hepatotoxicity mechanism of triptolide, which will provide solid theoretical evidence for further research of triptolide.

Highly efficient catalytic ozonation degradation of levofloxacin by facile hydrogenation-modified red mud wastes.

Iron-rich red mud (RM) is a potential catalyst. However, as industrial waste, is strongly alkaline, low effectiveness, and safety concerns are problems that cannot be ignored, it is urgent to mine out a reasonable disposal and utilization technology for the waste. In this study, an effective catalyst (H-RM) was obtained by facile hydrogenation heating modification of red mud. Then above-prepared H-RM was applied in the catalytic ozonation degradation of levofloxacin (LEV). The H-RM exhibited more remarkable catalytic activities than the RM in terms of LEV degradation, and the optimal efficiency can reach over 90% within 50 min. The mechanism experiment proved that the concentration of dissolved ozone and hydroxyl radical (•OH) significantly increased, which enhanced the oxidation effect. Hydroxyl radical played a dominant role in the degradation of LEV. In the safety test, it is concluded that the concentration of total hexavalent chromium (total Cr(Ⅵ)) in the H-RM catalyst decreases and the leaching concentration of water-soluble Cr(Ⅵ) in aqueous solution is low. The results indicated that the hydrogenation technique is an available Cr (Ⅵ) detoxification method for RM. Moreover, the H-RM has excellent catalytic stability, which is beneficial to recycling and maintains high activity. This research provides an effective means to fulfill the reuse of industrial waste as an alternative to standard raw materials, and comprehensive utilization of the waste to attain the purpose of treating pollution with wastes.

Psychological and neurological predictors of acupuncture effect in patients with chronic pain: a randomized controlled neuroimaging trial.

ABSTRACT: Chronic pain has been one of the leading causes of disability. Acupuncture is globally used in chronic pain management. However, the efficacy of acupuncture treatment varies across patients. Identifying individual factors and developing approaches that predict medical benefits may promise important scientific and clinical applications. Here, we investigated the psychological and neurological factors collected before treatment that would determine acupuncture efficacy in knee osteoarthritis. In this neuroimaging-based randomized controlled trial, 52 patients completed a baseline assessment, 4-week acupuncture or sham-acupuncture treatment, and an assessment after treatment. The patients, magnetic resonance imaging operators, and outcome evaluators were blinded to treatment group assignment. First, we found that patients receiving acupuncture treatment showed larger pain intensity improvements compared with patients in the sham-acupuncture arm. Second, positive expectation, extraversion, and emotional attention were correlated with the magnitude of clinical improvements in the acupuncture group. Third, the identified neurological metrics encompassed striatal volumes, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) cortical thickness, PCC/precuneus fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF), striatal fALFF, and graph-based small-worldness of the default mode network and striatum. Specifically, functional metrics predisposing patients to acupuncture improvement changed as a consequence of acupuncture treatment, whereas structural metrics remained stable. Furthermore, support vector machine models applied to the questionnaire and brain features could jointly predict acupuncture improvement with an accuracy of 81.48%. Besides, the correlations and models were not significant in the sham-acupuncture group. These results demonstrate the specific psychological, brain functional, and structural predictors of acupuncture improvement and may offer opportunities to aid clinical practices.

Central Mechanism of Acupuncture Treatment in Patients with Migraine: Study Protocol for Randomized Controlled Neuroimaging Trial.

Purpose: Acupuncture has been recognized as an effective and safe alternative therapy for migraine, but its central mechanism has not yet been adequately explained. Meanwhile, research into the clinical efficacy and central mechanism of true acupuncture (TA) and sham acupuncture (SA) is lacking. It is necessary to investigate whether TA has better efficacy than SA, and how they achieve different effects. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of TA and SA, observe the brain response caused by TA and SA, and further investigate the central nervous mechanism of TA and SA treatment for patients with migraine. Patients and Methods: This is a randomized controlled neuroimaging trial combining acupuncture treatment with functional magnetic resonance imaging, with patients and outcome assessors blinded. A total of 60 patients with migraine will be randomly allocated to receive 12 sessions of either TA or SA treatments (three sessions per week for 4 weeks), and 30 healthy participants will be recruited as the healthy control (HC) group. Outcome assessment and neuroimaging will be conducted before and after the entire intervention. A headache diary and questionnaires of life quality and psychological properties will be used to evaluate clinical efficacy. Multimodal magnetic resonance imagining data analysis will be used to investigate the central mechanism of TA or SA in treating migraine. Pearson's correlation analysis will be used to reveal the relationship between the brain response and clinical improvements. Conclusion: The results of this study will reveal the brain response to TA and SA in patients with migraine and contribute to further expanding the knowledge of their central mechanism. Study Registration: This trial has been approved by the ethics committee of Dongzhimen Hospital affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (DZMEC-KY-2020-38) and registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (registration number ChiCTR2000033995).

Acupoint massage at Shenque (CV 8) for chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. / ç¥žé˜™ç©´ä½æŒ‰æ‘©æ²»ç–—æ ¢æ€§ç–²åŠ³ç»¼åˆå¾ï¼šéšæœºå¯¹ç §è¯•éªŒ.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the clinical efficacy of acupoint massage at Shenque (CV 8) for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). METHODS: A total of 71 patients with CFS were randomized into an observation group (36 cases, 2 cases were eliminated, 3 cases dropped out) and a control group (35 cases). Using a specially made massage instrument, acupoint massage was adopted at the the five points of Shenque (CV 8), i.e. the center and the upper, lower, left, and right parts of the inner wall. The manipulation was given 10 min a time, once every 2 days, 3 times a week for 4 weeks continuously. No intervention was delivered in the control group. Before and after treatment, the scores of fatigue scale-14 (FS-14) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) were observed, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated in the both groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the physical fatigue and mental fatigue scores, as well as the total score of FS-14 were decreased compared with those before treatment in the observation group (P<0.001); the above scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.001). After treatment, excepted for the sleep time and hypnotic scores, the remaining item scores and the total score of PSQI were decreased compared with those before treatment in the observation group (P<0.05); the each item score and the total score of PSQI were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate in the observation group was superior to that in the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Acupoint massage at Shenque (CV 8) can effectively improve the fatigue state and sleep quality in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Smart phone-based transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation as adjunctive therapy for hypertension (STAT-H trial): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension is a common risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) may be effective for hypertension, but the evidence remains limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the smart phone-based TEAS as adjunctive therapy for hypertension. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study is a 52-week cluster randomised controlled trial with 1600 hypertension patients in 32 community health service centres. Patients who meet the inclusion criteria will be randomised into usual care group or TEAS group in a 1:1 ratio. All patients will be provided with usual care as recommended by the guidelines. In addition to this, patients in the TEAS group will receive non-invasive acupoint electrical stimulation for 30 min at home, 4 times weekly for 12 weeks. The primary outcome will be the mean difference in the changes in office systolic blood pressure from baseline to 12 weeks between TEAS and usual care groups. Secondary outcomes will include the change of mean diastolic blood pressure, proportion of patients with controlled blood pressure (blood pressure <140/90 mm Hg), proportion of patients taking antihypertensive drugs, change in number of antihypertensive drugs and changes in 12-item Short-Form. Tertiary outcomes will include change in body mass index, change in waist circumference, physical activity and medication adherence. Safety outcomes will be any serious adverse events and clinical events. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been approved by ethics committee of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (No. 2020BZHYLL0104). Written informed consent will be obtained from all patients before randomisation. Trial results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2000039400.

The protective effects of Mai-Luo-Ning injection against LPS-induced acute lung injury via the TLR4/NF-κB signalling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe inflammatory disorder associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Various therapeutic strategies for ALI have been proposed over the last few decades; however, the treatment options remain limited. Mai-Luo-Ning injection (MLN), a traditional Chinese medical formulation, has been extensively used for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Nevertheless, the effects of MLN on ALI remain unclear. PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the protective and therapeutic effects of MLN on lipopolysaccharide-induced ALI mouse models and RAW 264.7 cells, and further explore the underlying mechanism of these effects. METHODS: The therapeutic activity of MLN was evaluated using an in vivo ALI model and an in vitro model of RAW 264.7 macrophages. UHPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS was used to investigate the chemical constituents of the MLN. The material basis and potential protective mechanism of MLN were analyzed using network pharmacology. The roles of MLN in inhibiting the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/ nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signalling pathway were investigated via western blotting, real-time polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: In vivo experiments demonstrated that MLN ameliorated LPS-induced histological changes in lung tissues and reduced lung wet/dry weight ratio, total protein concentration in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and myeloperoxidase activity. Furthermore, MLN downregulated the in vivo and in vitro expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1ß. Network pharmacology analysis revealed that MLN could act synergistically through multiple targets and pathways and exert a protective effect, possibly through inhibiting TLR4/ NF-κB signalling pathways. Western blotting and immunofluorescence experiments further confirmed that MLN could regulate the expression of TLR4, MyD88, phospho-IκB-α, and phospho-NF-κB p65 in the TLR4/NF-κB signalling pathway and decrease the translocation of phospho-NF-κB p65 into the nucleus. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that MLN has a potential protective effect against LPS-induced ALI, which might be associated with the inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB signalling pathway. Therefore, MLN is worthy of further investigation as a potential candidate for the treatment of ALI in the future.

Selenium nanoparticles coupling with Astragalus Polysaccharides exert their cytotoxicities in MCF-7 cells by inhibiting autophagy and promoting apoptosis.

BACKGROUND: Astragalus Polysaccharides (APS) had been reported to exhibit antitumor activities. Given that nanoparticles possessed unique advantages in cancer treatment, APS was used as the modifier to prepare gold, silver and selenium nanoparticles (APS-Au, APS-Ag and APS-Se NPs) in the present study. METHODS: The three nanoparticles were synthesized via a green approach and characterized by DLS, TEM, XRD, FT-IR and UV-Vis. The inhibitory effects of these nanoparticles on various tumor cells proliferation were examined by MTT assay in vitro. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and the expression of apoptosis and autophagy-related proteins were also detected. RESULTS: Among these, APS-Se NPs displayed the most potent antitumor activities against MCF-7 cells in vitro. Flow cytometric analysis suggested that after cells were exposed to elevated concentrations of APS-Se NPs (10, 20 and 40 µmol/L), the rate of apoptosis was increasing (16.63 ± 0.89, 38.60 ± 3.46 and 44.38 ± 2.62%, respectively). Further analysis by immunofluorescence revealed an increase in intracellular ROS and a loss of MMP. This was accompanied by increased LC3-I to LC3-II conversion. Also, western blot analysis demonstrated that the ratios of Bax/Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase9/caspase 9 rose, and LC3-II and p62 protein levels increased. The addition of chloroquine, an inhibitor of autophagy, further enhanced protein expression of p62 and LC3-II. CONCLUSION: APS-Se NPs exerted their cytotoxic activity in MCF-7 cells by blocking autophagy and facilitating mitochondrial pathway-mediated apoptosis.

A pivotal role of selective autophagy in mitochondrial quality control: Implications for zinc oxide nanoparticles induced neurotoxicity.

Excessive occupational, medical, and environmental exposure of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) caused its accumulation in the nervous system and raised global concerns over its detrimental effects. However, very few researches had been conducted on the impact of mitochondrial quality control process on central nervous system (CNS) after ZnONPs administration, including mitochondrial fission, fusion, biogenesis, and autophagy. In present study, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis were triggered in ZnONPs-exposed human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Upregulation of mitochondrial biogenesis regulator (PGC-1α) and fission proteins (Drp1) and downregulation of fusion proteins (OPA1 and Mfn2) were observed in 3 and 6 µg/mL ZnONPs-treated cells. Meanwhile, loss of mitochondrial dynamics and biogenesis was observed in the severe impaired cells (treated with 12 µg/mL ZnONPs). More, autophagy and mitophagy were significantly activated in ZnONPs-treated cells. The increased Beclin1 and LC3 II proteins, decreases of p62 protein, and activated PINK1/Parkin signaling were quantified. The autophagy agonist (Rapamycin), inhibitor (3-MA), and mitophagy inhibitor (Cyclosporine A, CsA) were employed to verify the roles of autophagy and mitophagy in ZnONPs-treated cells. Consequently, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis were aggravated by the blockage of autophagy and mitophagy. Our research could be used to evaluate the risk assessment of ZnONPs exposure in CNS neurons so as to provide a crucial guideline for their future biological applications.

Abnormalities of Thalamic Functional Connectivity in Patients with Migraine: A Resting-State fMRI Study.

INTRODUCTION: Migraine is a common headache disorder. Many studies have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to explore the possible pathogenesis of migraine, but they have not reached consistent conclusions and lack rigorous multiple comparison correction. Thus, this study investigates the mechanisms of migraine development from the perspective of altered functional connectivity (FC) in brain regions by using data-driven and regions of interest (ROI)-based approaches. METHODS: Resting-state functional MRI data were collected from 30 patients with migraine and 40 healthy controls (HCs) matched for age, gender, and years of education. For the data-driven method, we used a voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) approach to compare the FC between the patients and HCs. For the ROI-based method, significant differences in VMHC maps between the patients and HCs were defined as ROI. The seed-based approach further revealed significant differences in FC between the seeds and the other brain regions. Furthermore, the correlations between abnormal FC and clinical characteristics of patients were investigated. A rigorous multiple comparison correction was used with false discovery rate and permutation test (5000 times). RESULTS: In comparison with the controls group, patients showed enhanced VMHC in the bilateral thalamus. We also observed enhanced FC between the left thalamus and the left superior frontal gyrus, and increased FC between the right thalamus and the left middle frontal gyrus (Brodmann area 45 and Brodmann area 8) in patients. Further analysis showed that the FC values in the left superior frontal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus were negatively corrected with visual analogue scale scores or attack times for headaches. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with migraine showed altered VMHC in the bilateral thalamus, and abnormal FC of bilateral thalamus and other brain regions. The abnormalities in thalamic FC are a likely mechanism for the development of migraine. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000033995. Registered on 20 June 2020.

Clinical study on acupuncture treatment of gastrointestinal damp-heat acne.

BACKGROUND: Acne is a common inflammatory disease of sebaceous glands, which brings extensive emotional and psychological distress to patients. Although acupuncture has certain advantages in the treatment of acne, the curative effect is not exact. The purpose of this trial is to evaluate the feasibility, preliminary efficacy, and safety of the "Spleen and Stomach Guiyuan Acupuncture Method" (SSGA) in the treatment of gastrointestinal damp-heat acne. METHODS: The proposed protocol is planned as a randomized, assessor-blind, conventional-treatment-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of SSGA on gastrointestinal damp-heat acne. Seventy six gastrointestinal damp-heat acne patients will be randomly divided into 2 groups and receive SSGA or conventional acupuncture treatment. The entire study period is 12 weeks, including an 8-week treatment period and a 4-week follow-up period. All patients will receive 16 sessions of acupuncture treatment over 8 weeks. The primary outcome is the investigation global assessment (IGA) at week 8, which is an overall assessment of the degree of the inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesion. The secondary outcomes include IGA, the total facial lesion count (Total Lesion Count), the acne-specific quality of life, etc at weeks 8 and 12. The Expectation and Credibility of treatment rating scale will be used to measure the patients' attitudes to acupuncture after the first treatment. Adverse events will also be recorded. DISCUSSION: This study is helpful to evaluate the feasibility, preliminary efficacy, and safety of SSGA in the treatment of gastrointestinal damp-heat acne. The results will be used in sample size calculations for subsequent large-scale studies.Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100047363. Registered on June 13, 2021.

[Effect of acupuncture on default mode network in patients with migraine based on functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: a preliminary study].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of acupuncture on default mode network (DMN) in migraine patients without aura based on functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). METHODS: Fifteen patients with migraine were included and treated with acupuncture based on "root-knot" theory (Zuqiaoyin [GB 44] for shaoyang headache, Lidui [ST 45] for yangming headache, Zhiyin [BL 67] for taiyang headache, and ashi point), once every other day, three times a week for 4 weeks. The patients received fMRI scanning before and after acupuncture treatment, the effect of acupuncture on DMN in patients with migraine was observed; the frequency of migraine attack, visual analogue scale (VAS) score and the using of analgesic medication before and after treatment were recorded to evaluate the curative effect of acupuncture; the migraine-specific quality of life questionnaire (MSQ), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) were used to evaluate the improvements of quality of life and emotional state. RESULTS: Compared before acupuncture, the functional connections of left parahippocampal cortex (PHC) and anterior medial prefrontal cortex (aMPFC), dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC) and lateral temporal cortex (LTC) in DMN after acupuncture were weakened (P<0.05), and the functional connections of bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and dMPFC were weakened (P<0.05). Compared before treatment, the frequency of migraine attack, VAS, SAS and SDS scores after treatment were decreased (P<0.05), and MSQ score was increased (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture shows good clinical efficacy for migraine without aura, and could adjust the functional connection of DMN.

Simultaneous Removal of Nitrogen and Refractory Organics from a Biologically Treated Leachate by Pulse Electrochemical Oxidation in a Multi-channel Flow Reactor.

Electrochemical oxidation (EO) is often used in the advanced treatment of refractory wastewater. However, in a conventional EO process of direct-current (DC) power supply, oxide layers often form on the anodes, which not only hinder the oxidation reaction on them but also cause higher energy consumption. In this paper, a biologically treated leachate (BTL) of municipal solid waste (MSW) was comparably treated by EO with DC (DC-EO), monopulse (MP-EO), and double pulse (DP-EO) power source models in a home-made multi-channel flow reactor. The effects of process parameters of current density (I A), superficial liquid velocity (U L), pulse frequency (f P), duty ratio (R D), and so forth on the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) (RECOD), total organic carbon (TOC) (RETOC), and total nitrogen (TN) (RETN) were investigated simultaneously. Average energy consumption () and organic composition of the treated effluent of DC-EO and MP-EO were also compared comprehensively, and a new mechanism of MP-EO has been proposed accordingly. Under optimal conditions, 2 L of BTL was treated by MP-EO for 180 min, and the RECOD, RETOC, and RETN could reach as high as 80, 30, and 80%, respectively. Compared with DC-EO, the of MP-EO is reduced by 69.27%. Besides, the kinds of organic matter in the treated effluent of MP-EO are reduced from 53 in the BTL to 11, which is much less than in the DC-EO process of 29 kinds. Therefore, the MP-EO process exhibits excellent removal performance of organics and TN and economic prospects in the treatment of refractory organic wastewater.