Analgesic efficacy of collagen peptide in knee osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: The management of knee osteoarthritis involves various treatment strategies. It is important to explore alternative therapies that are both safe and effective. Collagen peptides have emerged as a potential intervention for knee osteoarthritis. This study aims to evaluate the analgesic effects and safety of collagen peptide in patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature search following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Multiple databases including PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to 27 May 2023 that focused on the analgesic outcomes and adverse events associated with collagen peptides or hydrolyzed collagen in patients with osteoarthritis. We assessed the quality of the included studies and the strength of evidence using the Cochrane ROB 2.0 tool and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations. RESULTS: Four trials involving 507 patients with knee osteoarthritis were included and analyzed using the random-effects model. All these trials were considered to have a high risk of bias. Our results revealed a significant difference in pain relief between the collagen peptide group and the placebo group in patients with knee osteoarthritis (standardized mean difference: - 0.58; 95% CI - 0.98, - 0.18, p = 0.004; I2: 68%; quality of evidence: moderate). However, there was no significant difference in the risk of adverse events between collagen peptide and placebo (odds ratio: 1.66; 95% CI 0.99, 2.78, p = 0.05; I2: 0%; quality of evidence: very low). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate significant pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis who received collagen peptides compared to those who received placebo. In addition, the risk of adverse events did not differ significantly between the collagen peptide group and the placebo group. However, due to potential biases and limitations, well-designed randomized controlled trials are needed to validate and confirm these findings.

Impact of Adherence to Operative Standards and Stage-Specific Guideline-Recommended Therapy in Nonmetastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Achieving optimal surgical outcomes in pancreatic adenocarcinoma requires a combination of both curative-intent resection to oncologic standards and stage-specific neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy. This investigation sought to examine factors associated with receipt of standard-adherent surgery (SAS) and guideline-recommended therapy (GRT) and determine the impact of compliance on patient survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From the 2006-2016 National Cancer Database, 21,304 patients underwent resection for nonmetastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. SAS was defined as pancreatic resection with negative margins and ≥ 15 lymph nodes examined. Stage-specific GRT was defined by current National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Multivariable models were used to determine predictors of adherence to SAS and GRT and prognostic impact on overall survival. RESULTS: Overall, SAS was achieved in 39% and GRT in 65% of patients, but only 30% received both SAS and GRT. Increasing age, minority race, uninsured status, and greater comorbidities were associated with a decreased odds of receiving both SAS and GRT (all p < 0.05). SAS (HR 0.79; CI 0.76-0.81; p < 0.001) and GRT (HR 0.67; CI 0.65-0.69; p < 0.001) were each independently associated with a survival advantage. Receipt of both SAS and GRT was associated with significant improvement in median OS compared with receiving neither (2.2 years vs 1.1 years; p < 0.001) which was independently associated with a 78% increased risk of death (HR 1.78; CI 1.70-1.86; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite survival benefits associated with adherence to operative standards and receipt of guideline-recommended therapy, compliance remains poor. Future efforts must be directed toward improved education and implementation efforts around both operative standards and therapy guidelines.

Combination of FAK inhibitor and cytokine-induced killer cell therapy: An alternative therapeutic strategy for patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by the loss of expression of several biomarkers, which limits treatment strategies for the disease. In recent years, immunotherapy has shown promising results in the treatment of various tumors. Emerging evidence demonstrated that TNBC is an immune-activated cancer, suggesting that immunotherapy could be a feasible treatment option for TNBC. Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell therapy is considered as a potential treatment for cancer treatment. However, it is still not approved as a standard treatment in the clinical setting. Our previous study demonstrated that focal adhesion kinase (FAK) plays important role in regulating the sensitivity of TNBC cells to CIK cells. In this study, we further verify the role of FAK in regulating the immune response in vivo. Our in vitro study indicated that knockdown of FAK in TNBC cells or treat with the FAK inhibitor followed by co-culture with CIK cells induced more cell death than CIK cells treatment only. RNA-seq analysis indicated that suppression of FAK could affect several immune-related gene expressions in TNBC cells that affects the immune response in the tumor microenvironment of TNBC cells. The combination of FAK inhibitor and CIK cells significantly suppressed tumor growth than the treatment of FAK inhibitor or CIK cells alone in vivo. Our findings provide new insights into the cytotoxic effect of CIK cell therapy in TNBC treatment and indicate that the combination of CIK cell therapy with FAK inhibitors may be an alternative therapeutic strategy for patients with TNBC.

Evaluation of Guided Respiration Mindfulness Therapy (GRMT) for Reducing Stress in Nurses.

Guided respiration mindfulness therapy (GRMT) is a clinical model of breathwork that has shown promise as a treatment for depression, anxiety, and stress. This study examined the effectiveness of GRMT as a holistically oriented intervention for reducing psychological distress in nurses. Sixty-two nurses were assigned to either five sessions of GRMT or 5 sessions of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) comparison condition which were conducted over 5 weeks. A no-treatment control was also included. Session-by-session change in depression, anxiety, and stress, along with change in mindfulness and self-compassion were assessed. Multilevel analysis showed GRMT resulted in statistically significant reductions in overall psychological distress, anxiety, and stress levels, as well as significant increases in mindfulness and self-compassion with large to very large effect sizes. On all measures, GRMT performed better than the comparison MBI intervention which showed no significant effect on stress levels. Results suggest that GRMT can provide nurses with an effective group intervention for reducing stress, and increasing mindfulness and self-compassion which are foundational elements of self-care for the holistic nurse.

Structural compositions and biological activities of cell wall polysaccharides in the rhizome, stem, and leaf of Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce.

Polygonatum odoratum is a perennial rhizomatous medicinal plant and different plant parts have been used in the treatment of various ailments. Herein, we have investigated the structural compositions of rhizome, leaf, and stem cell walls. We found 30-44% of polysaccharides in these wall preparations were cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA) extractable, the proportion of heteromannans (HMs) in the rhizome is nearly three-fold compared to that of the leave and stem. The pectic polysaccharides of the rhizome are also structurally more diverse, with arabinans and type I and type II arabinogalactans being richest as shown by linkage study of the sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) extract. In addition, the 2-linked Araf was rhizome-specific, suggesting the cell walls in the rhizome had adapted to a more complex structure compared to that of the leaf and stem. Water-soluble polysaccharide fractions were also investigated, high proportion of Man as in 4-linked Manp indicated high proportion of HMs. The 21.4 kDa pectic polysaccharides and HMs derived from rhizome cell walls induced specific immune response in mice macrophage cells producing IL-1α and hematopoietic growth factors GM-CSF and G-CSF in vitro.

An Initial Study on Multi-Point Laser Acupuncture Based on 2-D Galvo Mirror.

Currently, the majority of commercially available laser acupuncture instruments are still hand-held and only support single-point stimulation. Simultaneous multi-point stimulation improves the therapeutic efficacy of laser acupuncture by stimulating multiple acupoints at the same time. A "2-dimensional (2-D) galvo mirror" was utilized as a positioning laser acupuncture device for multi-acupoints stimulation. Due to its ability to perform 2-D fast scanning, a single laser beam was reflected by the mirror and stimulated multiple acupuncture points simultaneously. This introduction to the new system, presents its architecture, and shows some initial results. This initial stage of development was focused on the acupoints of the human forearm. This proposed system is the first low-cost, noncontact laser acupuncture system that enables continuous multi-acupoint stimulation with a single laser beam. Notably, it is technically feasible to develop this technique into a whole-body laser acupuncture stimulation system.

Phenolic Constituents, Antioxidant and Cytoprotective Activities, Enzyme Inhibition Abilities of Five Fractions from Vaccinium dunalianum Wight.

The bud of Vaccinium dunalianum Wight has been traditionally consumed as health herbal tea by "Yi" people in Yunnan Province, China, which was locally named "Que Zui tea". This paper studied the chemical constituents of five fractions from Vaccinium dunalianum, and their enzyme inhibitory effects of α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase, antioxidant activity, and cytoprotective effects on H2O2-induced oxidative damage in HepG2 cells. The methanol extract of V. dunalianum was successively partitioned with petroleum ether (PF), chloroform (CF), ethyl acetate (EF), n-butanol (BF), and aqueous (WF) to obtain five fractions. The chemical profiling of the five fractions was analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS), and 18 compounds were tentatively identified. Compared to PF, CF, BF and WF, the EF revealed the highest total phenols (TPC) and total flavonoids (TFC), and displayed the strongest enzyme inhibition ability (α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase) and antioxidant capacity (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP). Furthermore, these five fractions, especially EF, could effectively inhibit reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell apoptosis on H2O2-induced oxidative damage protection in HepG2 cells. This inhibitory effect might be caused by the up-regulation of intracellular antioxidant enzyme activity (CAT, SOD, and GSH). The flavonoids and phenolic acids of V. dunalianum might be the bioactive substances responsible for enzyme inhibitory, antioxidant, and cytoprotective activities.

Investigation of T site variation in spinel aluminates TAl2O4 (T= Mg, Zn & Cu), and formation of electrocatalyst CuAl2O4/carbon for efficient sensing application.

Spinel structured aluminates TAl2O4 (T = Mg, Zn, and Cu) were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The resultant enhancement in the electrochemical behavior was achieved due to the covalent synergism among the elements coexisting together. Structural and morphological characterizations were performed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. MgAl2O4, ZnAl2O4 and CuAl2O4 has displayed same space group Fd3m of Laue class lattice type of the cubic structure as they were synthesized at same temperature (600 °C). CuAl2O4 spinel structure displayed a nanoneedle like structure along with the small sized cylindrical particles alongside to which CuAl2O4 spinel is combined with activated carbon (CuAl/C) and was applied to develop a facile sensor for the electrochemical detection of Acetaminophen (ACAP) using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), which exhibited maximum conductivity, and a substantial electroactive surface area. Finally, the defect-rich composite, CuAl/C, showed excellent sensor performance towards DPV with 21.5 nM limit of detection (LOD) in a wide linear working range of 0.199 µM-165.88 µM ACAP concentration, with a high sensitivity of 19.1221 µA µM-1cm2. Additionally, the sensor showed excellent recovery results in real-time analysis for environmental aquatic samples like industrial wastewater and Tuna Fish.

Chemical Components and Mechanism of Qiling Wenshen Formula in Treating Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo systematically analyze the chemical components of QiLing Wenshen （QLWS） formula and explore the key active components and mechanism of the formula in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome （PCOS）. MethodThe chemical components of QLWS formula were systematically identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-TOF/MSE） combined with comparison with reference substances， literature data， and databases. Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP） and SwissADME were employed to screen the active components for network pharmacological analysis. SwissTargetPrediction， GeneCards， DisGeNET， and DrugBank were used to obtain the potential components and targets of the formula for the treatment of PCOS. The protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was constructed via STRING database for further screening of the core targets. Gene ontology （GO） annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment of core targets were carried out with DAVID database. Molecular docking was performed in MOE 2019. ResultA total of 90 components of QLWS formula were identified， and 32 active components and 45 core targets for treating PCOS were obtained. GO annotation obtained 429 terms and KEGG pathway enrichment screened out 110 signaling pathways， mainly involving phosphatidylin-ositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathway， estrogen signaling pathway， and hypoxia inducible factor-1 （HIF-1） signaling pathway. The molecular docking revealed that key active components in QLWS formula were icariin， salvianolic acid A\B\C， wogonin， magnoflorine， etc.， which may play a role in treating PCOS through regulating mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 （MAPK1）， epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR）， mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 （MAPK3）， etc. ConclusionThis study preliminarily predicted that several key active components of QLWS formula could treat PCOS via multiple targets and multiple pathways based on UPLC-Q-TOF/MSE and network pharmacology， which could provide ideas and references for the study of pharmacodynamic material basis and mechanism of action of the formula.

Behavioral Factors Associated with Medication Nonadherence in Patients with Hypertension.

Medication nonadherence is associated with an increased risk of complications in hypertensive patients. We investigated behavioral factors associated with medication nonadherence in hypertensive patients in southern Taiwan. Using questionnaires, we collected data regarding clinicodemographic characteristics and nonadherence behaviors from 238 hypertensive patients. We assessed the self-reported prevalence of specific behaviors of medication nonadherence and investigated factors associated with each behavior using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The most common behavior of medication nonadherence was forgetting to take medication (28.6%), followed by discontinuing medication (9.2%) and reducing the medication dose (8.8%). Age ≥ 65 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.15-0.69) and male sex (aOR = 2.61, CI = 1.31-5.19) were associated with forgetting to take medication. The presence of comorbidities (diabetes, kidney disease, or both) and insomnia (aOR = 3.97, 95% CI = 1.30-12.1) was associated with reducing the medication dose. The use of diet supplements was associated with discontinuing the medication (aOR = 4.82, 95% CI = 1.50-15.5). Compliance with a low oil/sugar/sodium diet was a protective factor against discontinuing medication (aOR = 0.14; 95% CI = 0.03-0.75). The most pervasive behavior associated with medication nonadherence among hypertensive patients was forgetting to take medication. Age <65 years, male sex, comorbidities, insomnia, noncompliance with diet, and the use of dietary supplements were specifically associated with medication nonadherence.

Effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on quality of life and menopausal symptoms in menopausal women: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Menopause is a normal physiological process experienced by women, but it is often accompanied by physical and emotional symptoms that may negatively affect quality of life. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on quality of life and menopausal symptoms by examining randomized controlled trials. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted across six electronic databases to collect relevant articles published up to June 30, 2020. The articles' quality was assessed using the modified Jadad scale. We performed a meta-analysis with Review Manager 5.3, calculating 95% confidence intervals and standardized mean differences, and conducted sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: The meta-analysis of five randomized controlled trials included 475 participants. The results indicated that the mindfulness-based intervention groups showed significant improvements in total quality of life and vasomotor and physical quality of life, compared to control groups (standardized mean differences range: from -0.48 to -0.68, all ps < 0.05). After the sensitivity analyses, evidence of heterogeneity remained. Insufficient data prevented conducting a meta-analysis with the sexual subscale of MENQOL or on vasomotor symptoms of menopause. CONCLUSION: For menopausal women, mindfulness-based interventions may improve quality of life (except for psychological and sexual subscales). However, there is insufficient evidence to analyze whether such interventions can reduce vasomotor-related menopausal symptoms. Although heterogeneity should be carefully assessed, mindfulness-based interventions may be a novel approach for improving women's overall quality of life during menopause. However, further research is needed to verify these effects.

The Herbal Cocktail GSYJ Attenuated Airway Inflammatory Cell Infiltration in a Chronic Asthmatic Mouse Model.

This study explored the potential therapeutic efficacy of GSYJ in attenuating asthma symptom severity and aimed to determine the immunomodulatory mechanism of GSYJ. A mouse model of chronic asthma induced by repeated Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p) challenge was established. In addition, 30 minutes before Der p challenge, the mice were orally administered GSYJ (1 g/kg). The mice were sacrificed to evaluate inflammatory cell infiltration, collagen deposition in the lung, total IgE in serum, and expression profiles of various cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and various genes in lung tissue. Furthermore, 30 minutes after the addition of GSYJ to RAW264.7 cell cultures, 100 ng/ml LPS was added to evaluate the effect of the drug on the LPS-induced expression of genes, proteins, and transcription factors. GSYJ may regulate transcription factors (cJUN/IRF3/NF-κB) to decrease the expression of IL-1ß, IL-6, RANTES, and iNOS in macrophages and affect the IL-12, IFN-γ, IL-5, and IL-6 levels in the BALF of mice to relieve asthma symptoms, such as inflammatory cell infiltration, hyperresponsiveness, and increased serum total IgE levels. Therefore, GSYJ has the potential to be developed into a drug treatment for chronic asthma.

Effectiveness of empathic caring on stress and depression for women with recurrent miscarriage: A randomized controlled trial.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of empathic caring on sleep quality, depression, stress, and social support in women with recurrent miscarriage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-two eligible women were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 31), which received three face-to-face nursing counseling sessions, or the control group (n = 31). Outcome measures included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Edinburgh Prenatal Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Interpersonal Support Evaluation List. RESULTS: Paired-sample t-tests revealed that, after receiving nursing counseling, the participants in the experimental group showed significant decreases in stress and depression. However, no significant mean differences were found in the control group between the pretest and the 12-week posttest for any of the four outcome measures. CONCLUSION: Clinical healthcare professionals may incorporate empathic caring into health-promotion protocols to assist women with recurrent miscarriage to improve their psychosocial health.

Role-play of real patients improves the clinical performance of medical students.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate whether the role-play (RP) of real patients by medical students as part of interactive clinical reasoning training can improve medical students' clinical performance. METHODS: A total of 26 medical students volunteered to portray real patients within this program and were treated as the RP group while the other 72 students as the non-RP group. In the interactive morning meeting, the medical students practiced how to approach the RP student as if they were encountering a real patient. All students were evaluated by mini-clinical evaluation exercises (mini-CEX) before and after this training program. RESULTS: We found that all students had an increased total mini-CEX score after 4-week training, especially for interviewing skills. Notably, after training, the RP students had significantly elevated total mini-CEX scores (51.23 ± 1.06 vs 53.12 ± 1.11, p = 0.028), and for counselling (7.15 ± 0.14 vs 7.54 ± 0.18, p = 0.015) and overall clinical competence (7.27 ± 0.15 vs 7.65 ± 0.16, p = 0.030). In contrast, the non-RP students had lower scores compared with the RP group, as revealed by both the pre- and post-training tests. Moreover, their mini-CEX scores were not improved after training. CONCLUSION: Medical students who were motivated to RP real patients had better performance scores than those who did not. In addition, RP can enhance their counselling skills and clinical competences.

Analysis of the following Related Surgeries of Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty and Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database Population-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: Current treatment options for both unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are still controversial with no consistent results in which one is superior to others. This is the first study to examine and analyze the following related data available in patients receiving either UKA or TKA from the National Health Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan. METHODS: The database was searched from NHIRD, pooling one million random patients. Patients' age, gender, and comorbidities were analyzed in either UKA or TKA between January 2005 and December 2013, or up until death. For the patients that had received bilateral surgeries, further subgrouping was divided into TKA to TKA, UKA to UKA, TKA to UKA, and UKA to TKA to analyze the completion rate curve. Additional analysis of the order codes 64202B, 64053B, and 64198B was defined as failures, and the related failure rate curves were analyzed separately within ten years. Finally, infection-related codes were analyzed. RESULTS: 6,179 patients (n = 276 UKA; n = 5903 TKA) were selected. Age (p < 0.0001) and gender (p = 0.037) had significant differences, with more young population and males having UKA than TKA. Most comorbidities had no significant difference. For the bilateral surgery analysis, the UKA to UKA group had the fastest completion rate (p < 0.001) and UKA to TKA was the slowest. There were no significant differences in the failure rates of 64202B, 64053B, and 64198B. CONCLUSION: Most UKA and TKA are appropriate solutions to treat patients with osteoarthritis or osteonecrosis. UKA to UKA is the quickest bilateral completion surgery, and UKA has a higher chance of undergoing revision surgery than TKA.

Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on sleep quality and mental health for insomnia patients: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a potentially effective supplement for the treatment of insomnia; however, there is no comprehensive review of its mental health effects among insomnia patients. This study aimed to synthesize relevant quantitative evidence and evaluate MBSR application and effectiveness for insomnia patients' sleep quality and mental health. METHODS: A systematic search through eight databases from the earliest available dates until August 2019 was conducted. Randomized controlled trials assessing the effects of MBSR on sleep quality, anxiety, and depression as outcome measures among insomnia patients comprising patients aged above 18 years were included in this meta-analysis. Each study's quality was assessed using the modified Jadad quality scale. The Review Manager 5.3 software was used to calculate the standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the data analyses. RESULTS: In total, data for 497 patients in seven randomized controlled trials were analyzed. The results revealed that compared to the control group, the MBSR group significantly improved in sleep quality (SMD = -0.69, 95% CI: -1.12~ - 0.26, Z = 3.16, p = .002), depression (SMD = -1.83, 95% CI: -2.81-0.84, Z = 3.63, p < .001), and anxiety (SMD = -1.74, 95% CI: -2.90-0.59, Z = 2.96, p = .003). A sensitivity analysis was undertaken. After carefully reviewing included trials, we can reasonably conclude that these heterogeneities did not impair the overall effect size of MBSR in the results. CONCLUSIONS: MBSR significantly improved sleep quality and mental health. Future research is needed using standardized methods examining the long-term effects of MBSR on the mental health of individuals with insomnia.

Efficacy and safety of indigo naturalis ointment in Treating Atopic Dermatitis: A randomized clinical trial.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Indigo naturalis, a herbal medicine with a history of use dating back to ancient times, may be a good alternative topical treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD). AIM OF THE STUDY: To provide empirical evidence of the efficacy and safety of Indigo naturalis ointment in treating AD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized double-blind clinical trial, participants aged 6 to 65 years with AD affecting less than 40% of their body surface area (BSA) and an Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) score of 2 to 4 were randomized (2:1) to receive either Lindioil ointment or a vehicle ointment twice daily for 6 weeks. The primary endpoint was the percentage change in the Eczema Area Severity Index (EASI) from baseline to week 6. Secondary endpoints were as follows: EASI improvement ≥50%, 75%, and 90%; IGA score; BSA affected by AD; pruritus severity; and Dermatology Life Quality Index. The safety assessment included adverse events (AEs), laboratory tests, and physical examinations. RESULTS: The Lindioil group (32 participants) and vehicle group (16 participants) achieved mean percentage EASI reductions of 49.9% ± 36.5% (95% CI 36.8%-63.1%) and 19.6% ± 52.2% (95% CI -8.2%-47.4%), respectively (P = 0.0235). The Lindioil group also showed greater improvement in every secondary assessment category. No significant AEs occurred. CONCLUSION: Indigo naturalis ointment is effective for treating mild to severe AD topically, and appears to be safe. This is the first clinical trial to provide evidence supporting topical indigo-based AD treatment. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02669888.

Effects of the New Lift-Thrust Operation in Laser Acupuncture Investigated by Thermal Imaging.

Acupuncture manipulation is one of the key factors affecting the performance of acupuncture in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Lift-thrust and twirl-twist are two of the most commonly used manipulation methods for needle acupuncture. We previously have developed a novel laser acupuncture model that emulates lift-thrust operation. In this study, we intend to show the effectiveness of such a model by applying it on the Neiguan acupoint (PC6). Stimulation was reported to be beneficial for improving cardiac output and peripheral circulation. Therefore, we hypothesized that the stimulation of laser acupuncture may increase the temperature of the subjects' fingertip due to increased peripheral blood flow. A thermal imager was used to measure the temperature change of subjects' fingertips. Through regression analysis, it has been shown that while PC6 is stimulated, laser acupuncture with lift-thrust operation caused a more rapid, stable, and lasting temperature rise of fingertip than that without lift-thrust operation. On the contrary, we observe no significant temperature change when a sham point nearby PC6 (a point which is not traditionally defined as the acupoint) was stimulated. Our results suggest the emulation of manipulation methods such as the lift-thrust operation could be a potential direction for the future development of laser acupuncture.

Benefits of blended oil consumption over other sources of lipids on the cardiovascular system in obese rats.

High consumption of cooking oils in modern society is believed to be the major cause of cardiovascular disease. The effect of cooking oils depends on their fatty acid composition. Therefore, it is important to blend different types of oils to improve functional properties. In this study we evaluated the effects of a functional blended oil (BO) composed of a high level of oleic acid (OA) (50.93%) and α-linolenic acid (ALA) (5.41%) on cardiovascular health, blood pressure (BP) and body weight (BW) in comparison with lard oil (LO) and peanut oil (PO). Ninety male Wistar rats were divided into three groups and fed for 12 weeks with BO, LO and PO. Each group was divided into low, middle and high fat groups and fed with oil supply ratios of 6.7%, 10.9% and 48.1%, respectively. After the feeding period, the rats were sacrificed, and data were collected and analyzed. Rats treated with BO especially at a high dose (HBO) showed a significantly lower body weight, fat weight, liver weight, fat ratio, food intake and energy intake. BO significantly reduced n-6/n-3 levels in plasma, liver and adipose tissues as well as serum triglycerides (TGs) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) but contrarily increased high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Furthermore, HBO treatments decreased mRNA expression of lipid anabolism-related genes, lipid inflammatory-related genes, toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-κB) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 and increased lipid catabolism-related genes as well as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma mRNA (PPARγ mRNA). In terms of antioxidant enzymes, BO treatment has increased the activity of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) by lowering malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tissues. Moreover, BO supplementation showed a significant lowering effect on the serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), blood pressure (BP), atherosclerosis index (AI) and heart rate (HR). These findings highlight that the new blend of canola oil, corn oil, olive oil, peanut oil and sunflower oil with a low n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio of 6 : 1 could prevent and control cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Persistent organic pollutant lindane degradation by alkaline cold-brew green tea.

The environmental persistence of hazardous organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) such as lindane has resulted in a need for the development of reliable remediation technology for the removal of OCPs. Green tea extract/Fe2+ under alkaline conditions is a potential green chemistry technology proven to be effective in reducing lindane. This study investigated the feasibility of directly using green tea leaves (GT-leaf) or cold-brew tea solution (GT-sol) with Fe2+ additives at (bi)carbonate buffered pH 10 to treat lindane in the aqueous phase. The polyphenol was gradually released in the GT-leaf system and reached a similar concentration as that in the GT-sol system (∼800 mg L-1 at pH 6.5). Based on the analytical results of lindane degradation byproducts, it was recognized that the reductive mechanism acts as a major pathway and alkaline hydrolysis is a minor pathway. However, physical adsorption rapidly removes lindane from the GT-leaf system. A comprehensive evaluation of lindane degradation, chlorobenzene formation, degradation kinetics, and chloride liberation were conducted for the alkaline GT-sol/Fe2+ system. The nonlinear simulations of the models developed showed good fits, with R2 > 0.96. This study highlights the potential for GT-sol/Fe2+ systems to remediate OCPs contamination.