Convenient tumor 3D spheroid arrays manufacturing via acoustic excited bubbles for in situ drug screening.

The quick and convenient fabrication of in vitro tumor spheroids models has been pursued for clinical drug discovery and personalized therapy. Here, uniform three-dimensional (3D) tumor spheroids are quickly constructed by acoustically excited bubble arrays in a microfluidic chip and performed drug response testing in situ. In detail, bubble oscillation excited by acoustic waves induces second radiation force, resulting in the cells rotating and aggregating into tumor spheroids, which obtain controllable sizes ranging from 30 to 300 µm. These spherical tumor models are located in microfluidic networks, where drug solutions with gradient concentrations are generated from 0 to 18 mg mL-1, so that the cell spheroids response to drugs can be monitored conveniently and efficiently. This one-step tumor spheroids manufacturing method significantly reduces the model construction time to less than 15 s and increases efficiency by eliminating additional transfer processes. These significant advantages of convenience and high-throughput manufacturing make the tumor models promising for use in tumor treatment and point-of-care diagnosis.

The effectiveness of auricular acupressure on pain management during labor: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

AIM: This meta-analysis aimed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of auricular acupressure on pain management during labor. METHODS: Six English and three Chinese electronic databases were comprehensively searched from inception to 6 November 2021. The PRISMA checklist was followed. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration Bias Risk Assessment Tool. The meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 software. Heterogeneity between studies was calculated using I2 . RESULTS: Five studies comprising 312 participants were included. The labor pain scores of the auricular acupressure group were significantly lower than those of the usual care group at cervix dilations of 6, 8, and 10 cm, with mean differences (95% confidence intervals) of -1.05 (-1.41, -0.69), -1.44 (-2.07, -0.82), and -1.96 (-3.30, -0.61), respectively. Auricular acupressure can thus effectively improve the labor pain perception at cervix dilations of 6, 8, and 10 cm. Moreover, auricular acupressure shortened the active phase, and had the trend of shortening the second and third stages of labor. There was no evidence that auricular acupressure had an effect on the rate of cesarean section or the 1 and 5 min Apgar scores. CONCLUSION: Effective labor pain relief, better labor pain perception, and the lack of adverse effects support the use of auricular acupressure. More high-quality and rigorous trials are needed to verify our findings before we can make strong recommendations.

Effects of external application of compound Qingbi granules on acute gouty arthritis with dampness-heat syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The use of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) for treating acute gout has limitations, such as adverse reactions in the gastrointestinal tract and toxicity in the liver, kidney, and heart. Hence, a new safe and effective treatment approach needs to be explored to reduce the use of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, incidence of adverse reactions, and patients' burden. This randomized controlled clinical trial aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of the external application of compound Qingbi granules (CQBG) in treating acute gouty arthritis(AGA), providing evidence for designing a safe, effective, and optimized protocol for AGA comprehensive treatment. METHODS: A total of 90 patients in line with the diagnostic standard of AGA were recruited and randomly divided into control, T1, and T2 groups (30 in each group). All the participators in the three groups all received Western-medicine-basic treatment (low-purine diet, drinking water more than 2000 mL/days, oral loxoprofen, and NAHCO3). Besides, the T1 group received an external application of diclofenac diethylamine emulgel, while the T2 group received an external application of CQBG. The participants in the control group received single-use Western-medicine-basic treatment. With a treatment course of 7 days and a follow-up of 7 days, the three groups were compared in terms of primary outcome indicators, including swelling, pain improvement, and change in pain duration and secondary outcome indicators, including serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level, uric acid (UA) level, and change in the thickness of the inflammatory synovium of joints under ultrasound. Meanwhile, the safety of the protocol was evaluated. RESULTS: The three groups of patients had no apparent differences in age, body mass index, history of gout, complications, and so on before recruitment. A comparison between pretreatment and post-treatment revealed remarkable reductions in the arthralgia visual analog scale score(VAS) and the swelling score in the three groups after the treatment and the improvements in the T2 group were more significant than those in the T1 and control groups (P < 0.05). Regarding the onset time of pain improvement and pain duration, the T2 group had more significant efficacy compared with the other two groups (P < 0.05). The serum CRP and blood UA levels in the three groups significantly decreased after the treatment, but with no significant intergroup difference. The improvement in the thickness of the inflammatory synovium in joints tested by ultrasound was more significant in the T2 group than in the control group (P < 0.05). For safety evaluations, no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events was found. CONCLUSIONS: The external application of CQBG combined with Western-medicine-basic treatment in patients with AGA improved arthralgia and swelling, shortened the period of taking NSAIDs, and reduced the levels of CRP and serum UA. Its therapeutic effect was significantly better than the effect of single-use Western-medicine-basic treatment. The study provided evidence for the clinical application of CQBG combined with Western medicine in treating AGA. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR, ChiCTR1800018020. Registered 27 August 2018, https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=27138.

Phenylethanoid glycosides of Pedicularis muscicola Maxim ameliorate high altitude-induced memory impairment.

Exposure to hypobaric hypoxia causes oxidative stress, neuronal degeneration and apoptosis that leads to memory impairment. Though oxidative stress contributes to neuronal degeneration and apoptosis in hypobaric hypoxia, the ability for phenylethanoid glycosides of Pedicularis muscicola Maxim (PhGs) to reverse high altitude memory impairment has not been studied. Rats were supplemented with PhGs orally for a week. After the fourth day of drug administration, rats were exposed to a 7500 m altitude simulation in a specially designed animal decompression chamber for 3 days. Spatial memory was assessed by the 8-arm radial maze test before and after exposure to hypobaric hypoxia. Histological assessment of neuronal degeneration was performed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Changes in oxidative stress markers and changes in the expression of the apoptotic marker, caspase-3, were assessed in the hippocampus. Our results demonstrated that after exposure to hypobaric hypoxia, PhGs ameliorated high altitude memory impairment, as shown by the decreased values obtained for reference memory error (RME), working memory error (WME), and total error (TE). Meanwhile, administration of PhGs decreased hippocampal reactive oxygen species levels and consequent lipid peroxidation by elevating reduced glutathione levels and enhancing the free radical scavenging enzyme system. There was also a decrease in the number of pyknotic neurons and a reduction in caspase-3 expression in the hippocampus. These findings suggest that PhGs may be used therapeutically to ameliorate high altitude memory impairment.