Acupuncture improves postoperative symptoms of pigmented villonodular synovitis: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a benign proliferative disease of synovial joint, synovial sac and tendon sheath. PVNS is usually treated by surgery, but postoperative joint dysfunction and pain will be accompanied, which seriously affects the quality of life. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of this intervention in patients with pain and dysfunction caused by postoperative symptoms of PVNS. METHODS: We will search the EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, the Chongqing VIP (VIP), the US National Institute of Health, the NIH clinical registry Clinical Trials, the ICTRP, and the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry and the Chinese clinical registry, from their inception to 1st July 2020. Randomized controlled trials that include patients with postoperative symptoms of pigmented villonodular synovitis receiving acupuncture therapy versus a control group will be included. The selection of studies, data extraction and risk of bias assessment will be conducted by 2 independent researchers. A third review author resolved disagreements. The dichotomous data will be presented as risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and the continuous data will be presented as weighted mean differences or standardized mean differences with 95% CIs. Evidence quality will be evaluated using the GRADE system. RESULTS: The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed journal publication. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review will provide updated evidence of various types of acupuncture specifically focuses on its effectiveness and safety for patients' pain and dysfunction caused by post-operation of pigmented villonodular synovitis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not necessary as this review will not require data from individual patients. The results of this will be published through peer-reviewed journal articles or conference presentations. REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework (OSF). 2020, July 7. 10.17605/OSF.IO/CZW9P.

Acupuncture and manual therapy for rotator cuff tears: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis.

BACKGROUND: The tears of rotator cuff is caused by the tears or aseptic inflammation of tendon tissue such as subscapular muscle, supraspinatus muscle, infraspinatus muscle, teres minor muscle, and so on, which make up the rotator cuff. Managements of rotator cuff disease often include acupuncture and manual therapy, usually delivered together. The aim of this review is to assess the effectiveness and safety of such interventions in patients with pain and dysfunction caused by rotator cuff tears. METHODS: We will search the EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, the Chongqing VIP, the US National Institute of Health, the NIH clinical registry Clinical Trials, the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry and the Chinese clinical registry, from their inception to April 1, 2020. Randomized controlled trials that include patients with rotator cuff tears receiving acupuncture and manual therapy versus a control group will be included. The selection of studies, data extraction and risk of bias assessment will be conducted by 2 independent researchers. A third review author will resolve disagreements. The dichotomous data will be presented as risk ratios with 95% CIs and the continuous data will be presented as weighted mean differences or standardized mean differences with 95% CIs. Evidence quality will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. DISCUSSION: This systematic review will provide updated evidence of various types of acupuncture and manual therapy specifically focuses on its effectiveness and safety for patients' pain and dysfunction caused by rotator cuff tears. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not necessary as this review will not require data from individual patients. The results of this will be published through peer-reviewed journal articles or conference presentations. REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework Preregistration. Registration number 10.17605/OSF.IO/M3NKV.

The plasticity of indigenous microbial community in a full-scale heavy oil-produced water treatment plant.

Indigenous microbial communities are main and promising performers for bioremediation due to their excellent adaptability, degradation capability, and inherent plasticity. Treating heavy oil-produced water (HOPW) is a challenge owing to the high recalcitrance and heterogeneity of chemicals it contains. A full-scale HOPW treatment plant was built at a capacity of 10,000 m3/d with the indigenous microbial community. After the treatment, the outlet water reached the design standard. The microbial community structures in all treatment stages were analyzed by using Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The composition of microbial community changed greatly with the changes in environmental conditions, especially with the only artificially regulated parameter of dissolved oxygen. In the anaerobic stage, the community converted the recalcitrant chemical oxygen demand to biological oxygen demand (BOD), and played a major role in enhancing the biodegradability of HOPW. During the aerobic stage, the community mainly mineralized BOD. These results suggest that the structures of indigenous microbial community differed in different treatment stages to accomplish the corresponding functions. Based on these findings, it is proposed that exploiting the plasticity of microbial communities for bioremediation is feasible, especially treating wastewater with varied components.

Moxibustion for pain relief in patients with primary dysmenorrhea: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Though moxibustion is frequently used to treat primary dysmenorrhea in China, relevant evidence supporting its effectiveness is still scanty. METHODS: This study was a pragmatic randomized, conventional drug controlled, open-labeled clinical trial. After initial screen, 152 eligible participants were averagely randomized to receive two different treatment strategies: Moxibustion and conventional drugs. Participants and practitioners were not blinded in this study. The duration of each treatment was 3 months. The primary outcome was pain relief measured by the Visual Analogue Scale. The menstrual pain severity was recorded in a menstrual pain diary. RESULTS: 152 eligible patients were included but only 133 of them eventually completed the whole treatment course. The results showed that the menstrual pain intensity in experimental group and control group was reduced from 6.38±1.28 and 6.41±1.29, respectively, at baseline, to 2.54±1.41 and 2.47±1.29 after treatment. The pain reduction was not significantly different between these two groups (P = 0.76), however; the pain intensity was significantly reduced relative to baseline for each group (P<0.01). Three months after treatment, the effectiveness of moxibustion sustained and started to be superior to the drug's effect (-0.87, 95%CI -1.32 to -0.42, P<0.01). Secondary outcome analyses showed that moxibustion was as effective as drugs in alleviating menstrual pain-related symptoms. The serum levels of pain mediators, such as PGF2α, OT, vWF, ß-EP, PGE2, were significantly improved after treatment in both groups (P<0.05). No adverse events were reported in this trial. CONCLUSIONS: Both moxibustion and conventional drug showed desirable merits in managing menstrual pain, given their treatment effects and economic costs. This study as a pragmatic trial only demonstrates the effectiveness, not the efficacy, of moxibustion for menstrual pain. It can't rule out the effect of psychological factors during treatment process, because no blind procedure or sham control was used due to availability. In clinical practice, moxibustion should be used at the discretion of patients and their physicians. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinialTrials.gov NCT01972906.

Effectiveness of electroacupuncture for polycystic ovary syndrome: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Whether electroacupuncture is effective for patients with polycystic ovary syndrome is still inconclusive. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the add-on effects of electroacupuncture to conventional drugs for the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome. METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a two-center, open-labeled, randomized, controlled trial. A total of 116 eligible patients with polycystic ovary syndrome will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to the electroacupuncture plus clomiphene citrate group or to the clomiphene citrate group. Participants in the electroacupuncture plus clomiphene citrate group will receive electroacupuncture treatment in addition to clomiphene citrate capsules, whereas participants in the clomiphene citrate group will be prescribed clomiphene citrate capsules only. Electroacupuncture treatment will be performed from the fifth day of menstruation or withdrawal bleeding until the next menstruation, in three sessions per week for three menstrual cycles. The primary outcome is the ovulation rate. The secondary outcomes include the dominant follicle rate, mean number of dominant follicles, endometrial thickness, time point of ovulation, follicular size before ovulation, luteinizing hormone, estradiol level, and pregnancy rate. The measuring points for outcomes will be baseline and the completion of treatment. Any adverse events occurring during the trial process will be recorded. In addition, a quality-monitoring group independent from the research team will be set up to control the quality of the trial. DISCUSSION: The design and methodological rigor of this trial will allow for the collection of valuable data to evaluate the effectiveness of electroacupuncture for treating polycystic ovary syndrome. Therefore, this trial will contribute reliable evidence for use in clinical decision-making in acupuncture therapy of polycystic ovary syndrome as well as to future research in acupuncture for polycystic ovary syndrome. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-IOR-15007358 , registered on 26 October 2015.

Acupuncture for Lateral Epicondylitis: A Systematic Review.

Objective. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for lateral epicondylitis (LE). Methods. Seven databases and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform Search Portal were searched to identify relevant studies. The data were extracted and assessed by two independent authors, and Review Manager Software (V.5.3) was used for data synthesis with effect estimate presented as standard mean difference (SMD) and mean difference (MD) with a 95% confidence interval. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) was used to assess the level of evidence. Results. Four RCTs with 309 participants were included with poor methodological quality. Participants who received acupuncture and acupuncture plus moxibustion with material insulation were likely to have an improvement in elbow functional status and/or myodynamia. The overall quality rated by GRADE was from very low to low. Two studies reported that the needle pain would be the main reason for the dropout. Conclusion. For the small number of included studies with poor methodological quality, no firm conclusion can be drawn regarding the effect of acupuncture of elbow functional status and myodynamia for LE. This trial is registered with CRD42015016199.

Effects of Electroacupuncture on Facial Nerve Function and HSV-1 DNA Quantity in HSV-1 Induced Facial Nerve Palsy Mice.

Acupuncture is a common and effective therapeutic method to treat facial nerve palsy (FNP). However, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of electroacupuncture on symptoms and content of HSV-1 DNA in FNP mice. Mice were randomized into four groups, an electroacupuncture treatment group, saline group, model animal group, and blank control group. Electroacupuncture was applied at Jiache (ST6) and Hegu (LI4) in electroacupuncture group once daily for 14 days, while electroacupuncture was not applied in model animal group. In electroacupuncture group, mice recovered more rapidly and HSV-1 DNA content also decreased more rapidly, compared with model animal group. We conclude that electroacupuncture is effective to alleviate symptoms and promote the reduction of HSV-1 in FNP.

Effectiveness study of moxibustion on pain relief in primary dysmenorrhea: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

Dysmenorrhea is a prevalent problem in menstruating women. As a nonpharmacologic and free of relevant side effects intervention, moxibustion is considered as a safe treatment and has long been recommended for dysmenorrhea in China. However, the exact effects of moxibustion in PD have not been fully understood. Therefore we designed this random clinical trial aiming to (1) investigate whether moxibustion is safe and effective for pain relief in primary dysmenorrhea when compared to conventional pain-killers and (2) assess the acceptability and side effects associated with moxibustion. The results of this trial will contribute to a better understanding of the different effects of moxibustion in pain relief in primary dysmenorrhea when compared to conventional pharmacologic pain treatment.

[Review on sustained effect of acupuncture].

The sustained effect of acupuncture refers to the lasting effect after the cease of acupuncture. Through large amount of acupuncture clinical practices and experimental researches, the objective existence of the sustained effect of acupuncture is approved. However, the lasting period of acupuncture effect may be related with category and stage of disease, individualized acupuncture reaction, acupuncture methods, intervals between treatments and therapeutic course. Therefore, it has great scientific significance and practice value to carry out further systematic and in-depth research on effect onset time of different diseases as well as the discipline of the sustained effect, so as to promote and prolong acupuncture effect.

[Acupuncture resources in Cochrane Library].

To identify acupuncture resources in six databases of Cochrane Library (CL) with computer retrieve. Seventy-two literatures were identified in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR). Among them, 12 Cochrane systematic review (CSR) verified the effectiveness of acupuncture, 29 concerning the indeterminacy of the efficacy of acupuncture with 1 didn't support acupuncture for epilepsy and 31 remained as protocols; 121 literatures were found in Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) with more types of diseases or symptoms and rich modality comparing to CSR; 4218 randomized controlled trials and clinical controlled trials were identified in Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CCRCT); 43 literatures in Cochrane Methodology Register Database (CMRD) which focused on blindness study, quality assessment of methodology of research and publication bias and so on; 25 literatures in Health Technology Assessment Database (HTAD) and 18 in NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED) which were centered on acupuncture analgesia. Consequently, acupuncture literatures in 6 databases of CL do provide good resources for acupuncture researchers due to its abundant content, concrete classification and high quality evidence.

Characterization and biotechnological potential of petroleum-degrading bacteria isolated from oil-contaminated soils.

A collection of 38 bacteria was obtained by enrichment cultivation from oil-contaminated soils of an oil field in Daqing, China. Twenty-two strains could utilize diesel oil as the sole source of carbon and energy, and 11 strains could degrade the total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) of diesel oil by more than 70% in 7d. Phylogenetically, 19 of the bacteria related to Bacillus species. About 87.5% TPHs of crude oil were degraded by a consortium of seven strains. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis suggested that five of the strains persisted throughout the degradation process. The collection of isolated bacteria might be a useful resource for bioremediation of oil-contaminated soils and biotreatment of oil wastewater.