The effect of acupoint therapy on sleep quality of hemodialysis patients: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Hemodialysis patients usually have sleep disturbance at varying degrees, which seriously affects the therapeutic efficacy and quality of life. Therefore, improving the sleep quality of hemodialysis patients is the key during treatment. Acupoint therapy can improve the sleep quality of patients. However, guidelines for improving sleep quality of hemodialysis patients by acupoint therapy are scant. This study aims to evaluate the effect of acupoint therapy on sleep quality in hemodialysis patients through a meta-analysis, providing clinical evidences. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting the effect of acupoint therapy on sleep quality in hemodialysis patients published before November 2021 will be searched in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Wanfang database, the Chinese Scientific Journal Database, PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases. Eligible literatures will be screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and assessed for quality using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Meta-analysis will be performed using Revman 5.4 software. RESULTS: This study will evaluate the effect of acupoint therapy on sleep quality in hemodialysis patients using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). CONCLUSION: This study will provide a reliable evidence-based basis for conducting acupoint therapy to improve sleep quality in hemodialysis patients.

Rhodomentosones A and B: Two Pairs of Enantiomeric Phloroglucinol Trimers from Rhodomyrtus tomentosa and Their Asymmetric Biomimetic Synthesis.

Rhodomentosones A and B (1 and 2), two pairs of novel enantiomeric phloroglucinol trimers featuring a unique 6/5/5/6/5/5/6-fused ring system were isolated from Rhodomyrtus tomentosa. Their structures with absolute configurations were elucidated by NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and ECD calculation. The bioinspired syntheses of 1 and 2 were achieved in six steps featuring an organocatalytic asymmetric dehydroxylation/Michael addition/Kornblum-DeLaMare rearrangement/ketalization cascade reaction. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited promising antiviral activities against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Effectiveness of photobiomodulation in the treatment of primary burning mouth syndrome-a systematic review and meta-analysis.

To evaluate the effectiveness of photobiomodulation (PBM) on primary burning mouth syndrome (pBMS). We searched Chinese and English studies published before February 10, 2020. The databases used include PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) that used the PBM to treat pBMS and reported specific treatment outcomes were considered for inclusion. We eventually included 12 RCTs, and 574 samples were included in these studies. The primary outcomes investigated were pain reduction and life quality improvement. A meta-analysis performed on 9 groups in 5 trials showed that PBM was effective in reducing pain compared with placebo (MD - 1.86, 95% CI - 2.59 to - 1.13, Z = 4.99, P < 0.00001). Meta-analysis was also performed on 7 groups in 4 trials and showed that PBM was effective in improving life quality compared with placebo (MD - 3.43, 95% CI - 5.11 to - 1.75, Z = 4.00, P < 0.0001). Qualitative analysis of the included RCTs found that PBM might also play a role in the decrease of TNF-α and IL-6 in saliva. Three studies that compared PBM with medications were evaluated by descriptive analysis. None of the treatment-related adverse event was reported. Up to date, PBM appears to have an effect on pain reduction and life quality improvement in pBMS patients. However, more evidence is still required to warrant its efficacy and safety in treating pBMS.

Unprecedented Quassinoids from Eurycoma longifolia: Biogenetic Evidence and Antifeedant Effects.

Six new quassinoids (1-6) were isolated from the roots of Eurycoma longifolia, and their structures with absolute configurations were determined unambiguously by spectroscopic analyses and single-crystal X-ray crystallographic experiments. Compounds 1 and 2 are the first members of a new class of quassinoids with an unusual C26 carbon skeleton. Compound 6 features a C20 cage-like scaffold with an unprecedented densely functionalized 2,5-dioxatricyclo[5.2.2.04,8]undecane core. The discovery of the two C26 quassinoids 1 and 2 has provided firm evidence for the better understanding the biogenetic process from C30 triterpenoid precursors to quassinoids. Compound 5 exhibited significant antifeedant activity on the diamondback moth (DBM) larvae and excellent systemic absorption and accumulated properties in Brassica chinensis.

Neurophysiological evidences of the transient effects of mindfulness induction on emotional processing in children: An ERP study.

Mindfulness has been shown to improve mental health through adaptive responses during emotional processing. Although the benefits of mindfulness and the corresponding neural correlates have been demonstrated in adults, little is known about the impact of mindfulness on pre-adolescent children. The present study examined the influence of mindfulness induction on electrocortical responses during emotional processing in pre-adolescent children. Electroencephalograms were recorded from 35 pre-adolescent children; 18 children (Mage = 10.44 years) were randomly assigned to a mindfulness induction group and 17 children were randomly assigned to a control group (Mage = 9.88 years). Group differences in event-related brain potentials (ERPs) associated with the processing of positive, negative and neutral stimuli were analysed. The P1, N2 and late positive potentials (LPPs) were compared between the mindfulness induction group and the control group. The amplitude of the P1 was smaller in the mindfulness induction group compared to the control group under both the negative and neutral conditions. For both groups, the amplitude of the N2 was larger during the presentation of negative stimuli compared to both positive and neutral stimuli. Additionally, the LPP 600-1000 and LPP 1000-1500 were smaller in the mindfulness induction group than in the control group. The presented findings suggest that the impacts of mindfulness during emotional processing are reflected by both bottom-up (evidenced by the early ERP components) and top-down (evidenced by the later ERP components) processes. These results indicate that mindfulness modulates emotional responses in pre-adolescent children and thus has important implications in training and clinical practices.

Regulation of the kynurenine metabolism pathway by Xiaoyao San and the underlying effect in the hippocampus of the depressed rat.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Xiaoyao San (XYS) is a classic Chinese herbal formula for treatment of depression. The present study aimed to investigate the antidepressant effects of XYS in a rat model of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) and the underlying mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A CUMS rat model of depression was established via 4 weeks of unpredictable stimulation. Then the rats were orally administered paroxetine and XYS for 2 weeks with continued stress. Behavioral assessments, including an open field test (OFT), sucrose preference test (SPT) and forced swim test (FST), were conducted to evaluate the antidepressant effects of XYS. The concentrations in rat plasma of tryptophan (Trp) and its metabolic products, including kynurenine (Kyn) and quinolinic acid (QUIN), were determined using high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with electrochemical detection (HPLC-MS/MS). The mRNA and protein levels in rat hippocampus of depression-related brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) and nerve cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) were determined by real-time qPCR and Western blot, respectively. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was used to detect the activities of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and kynurenine-3-monooxygenase (KMO) in rat plasma. RESULTS: The results showed that a successful CUMS rat model was established through 4 weeks of continuous unpredictable stimulation, as indicated by the significant decrease in locomotor activity and increase in immobility time in the OFT, reduction in body weight and food intake etc. Compared with the normal group, the concentrations of Kyn and QUIN had significantly (p < 0.05) decreased at day 28 in the control group, but then improved after drug treatment with paroxetine and XYS. There were no obvious changes in the activities of IDO and KMO. Compared with the normal group, the mRNA of NCAM, CREB and BDNF were significantly down-regulated (p < 0.001) in the control group, BDNF gene was up-regulated by paroxetine or XYS treatment, NCAM and CREB gene did not change in XYS group, protein expressions of BDNF and CREB were significantly increased, and NCAM was significantly reduced (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: XYS reversed the abnormalities of the tryptophan-kynurenine metabolic pathways in depressed rats and achieved an excellent antidepressant effect. Its direct impact may be observed as changes in biological indicators in rat hippocampus tissue.