Systematic review and meta-analysis of acupuncture in the treatment of cognitive impairment after stroke.

BACKGROUND: We aim to make a systematic evaluation of the clinical efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of cognitive impairment after stroke, to provide evidence-based medical evidence for clinical practice. METHODS: We searched all the randomized controlled trials of China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan fang data knowledge service platform, VIP Chinese periodical service platform full-text Journal Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Cochrane Library Database, and PubMed Database about acupuncture treatment of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). Two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted the data according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The bias risk assessment manual of Cochrane collaboration Network was used to evaluate the bias risk, and all data were analyzed by Stata16.0. RESULTS: Fourteen articles were included, with a total of 2402 patients. Meta-analysis showed that acupuncture combined with routine therapy could significantly reduce the score of cognitive impairment symptoms compared with the control group. The mini-mental state examination scale (MMSE) score (weighted mean difference [WMD] = 3.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.89-4.56, P < .01), Montreal cognitive assessment scale (MoCA) score (WMD = 3.41, 95% CI: 0.93-5.89, P < .01), Barthel index of activities of daily living (MBI) score (WMD = 4.59, 95% CI: 1.43-7.75, P < .01), and Lowenstein assessment scale (LOTCA) score (WMD = 8.60, 95% CI: 6.32-10.89, P = .00) were significantly improved in the patients receiving group acupuncture combined with routine therapy. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture combined with routine therapy seems to be more effective than conventional therapy alone in the treatment of PSCI. However, the differences between different acupuncture types need to be clarified in more high-quality randomized controlled trials.

Alantolactone reduced neuron injury via activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway after subarachnoid hemorrhage in rats.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a common disease with high morbidity and mortality, which can cause pathological, physiological, and biological reactions. SAH causes a series of responses such as neuronal and cerebral cortex damage, which in turn leads to inflammation and apoptosis. Traditional Chinese medicine has a strong anti-inflammatory effect, such as Alantolactone (ATL). However, studies on ATL therapy for SAH have not been reported. We observed the neurological scores, brain water content, Evans blue (EB) extravasation, neuroinflammation, and apoptosis via performing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blotting, immunofluorescence staining, and other methods after SAH. In this study, we found that ATL treatment attenuated the neurologic deficits, inhibited neuronal apoptosis and inflammatory reaction, promoted polarization of microglia toward the M2 phenotype, and activated the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. ATL can reduce the neurons and cerebral cortex damage of SAH rats through activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Curcumin nanoparticles incorporated in PVA/collagen composite films promote wound healing.

Skin repair remains a common problem in plastic surgery. Wound dressing plays an important role in promoting local skin healing and has been widely studied. This study aimed to manufacture a composite film (CPCF) containing curcumin nanoparticles, collagen, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to effectively promote the healing of skin wounds. Sustained drug release from the composite film provides long-term protection and treatment for skin wounds. Both antibacterial property and good histocompatibility of the CPCF were examined by analyzing antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity to validate its applicability for wound management. Moreover, in vivo studies proved that the CPCF had a rapid healing rate of 98.03%±0.79% and mature epithelialization on day 15 after surgery. Obvious hair follicles and earlier re-epithelialization was also noticed in the CPCF group using H&E staining. The result of Masson's trichrome staining confirmed that CPCF could promote the formation of collagen fibers. In summary, CPCF may be promising as a wound dressing agent in wound management owing to its rapid wound-healing effects.

Active Micromotor Systems Built from Passive Particles with Biomimetic Predator-Prey Interactions.

Inspired by chasing-escaping behaviors of predator and swarming prey in nature, here we demonstrate a concept to create active micromotor systems from two species of passive microparticles with biomimetic predator-prey interactions. In this concept, the biomimetic predator-prey interactions are established in a binary particle system comprising the diffusiophoretic attractive microparticles (prey particles) and the diffusiophoretic repulsive ones (predator particles). In the absence of additional chemical fuels and external fields, the predator particles are attracted by and constantly chase the swarming prey particles, which, in response, escape from the former and show dynamic group reconfigurations because of the local repulsion. Based on this concept, various synthetic active micromotor systems have been demonstrated, including active ZnO-TiO2, Ag3PO4-TiO2, and ZnO-AgBr micromotor systems. As the predator and prey particles are powered by each other through the biomimetic predator-prey interactions, the concept proposed here provides an advanced method to develop not only a class of single micromotors powered by passive particles or "solid fuels" but also micromotor swarms capable of manipulating "moving cargo". In addition, it also illustrates a proof-of-concept implementation of intelligent micro/nanomotor systems composed of heterogeneous individuals with complementary or cooperative functions.

25 Gbit/s silicon microring modulator based on misalignment-tolerant interleaved PN junctions.

A high-speed depletion-mode silicon-based microring modulator with interleaved PN junctions optimized for high modulation efficiency and large alignment tolerance is demonstrated. It is fabricated using standard 0.18 µm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor processes and provides low V(π)L(π)s of 0.68 V·cm to 1.64 V·cm with a moderate doping concentration of 2 × 10(17) cm(-3). The measured modulation efficiency decreases by only 12.4% under ± 150 nm alignment errors. 25 Gbit/s non-return-zero modulation with a 4.5 dB extinction ratio is experimentally realized at a peak-to-peak driving voltage of 2 V, demonstrating the excellent performance of the novel doping profile.