Dysrhythmic saliva microbiota in mobile phone addicts with sleep disorders and restored by acupuncture.

Background: Mobile phone addiction (MPA) greatly affects the biological clock and sleep quality and is emerging as a behavioral disorder. The saliva microbiota has been linked to circadian rhythms, and our previous research revealed dysrhythmic saliva metabolites in MPA subjects with sleep disorders (MPASD). In addition, acupuncture had positive effects. However, the dysbiotic saliva microbiota in MPASD patients and the restorative effects of acupuncture are unclear. Objectives: To probe the circadian dysrhythmic characteristics of the saliva microbiota and acupunctural restoration in MPASD patients. Methods: MPASD patients and healthy volunteers were recruited by the Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale (MPATS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Saliva samples were collected every 4 h for 72 h. After saliva sampling, six MPDSD subjects (group M) were acupuncturally treated (group T), and subsequent saliva sampling was conducted posttreatment. Finally, all the samples were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. Results: Significantly increased MPATS and PSQI scores were observed in MPDSD patients (p< 0.01), but these scores decreased (p<0.001) after acupuncture intervention. Compared with those in healthy controls, the diversity and structure of the saliva microbiota in MPASD patients were markedly disrupted. Six genera with circadian rhythms were detected in all groups, including Sulfurovum, Peptostreptococcus, Porphyromonas and Prevotella. There were five genera with circadian rhythmicity in healthy people, of which the rhythmicities of the genera Rothia and Lautropia disappeared in MPASD patients but effectively resumed after acupuncture intervention. Conclusions: This work revealed dysrhythmic salivary microbes in MPASD patients, and acupuncture, as a potential intervention, could be effective in mitigating this ever-rising behavioral epidemic.

Role of Removed Lymph Nodes on the Prognosis of M0 Small-Bowel Neuroendocrine Tumors: a Propensity Score Matching Analysis from SEER Database.

BACKGROUND: Current studies on the number of removed lymph nodes (LNs) and their prognostic value in small-bowel neuroendocrine tumors (SBNETs) are limited. This study aimed to clarify the prognostic value of removed LNs for SBNETs. METHODS: SBNET patients without distant metastasis from 2004 to 2017 in the SEER database were included. The optimal cutoff values of examined LNs (ELNs) and negative LNs (NLNs) were calculated by the X-tile software. Propensity score matching (PSM) was done to match patients 1:1 on clinicopathological characteristics between the two groups. The Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test and multivariable Cox proportional-hazards regression model were used to evaluate the prognostic effect of removed LNs. RESULTS: The cutoff values of 14 for ELNs and 9 for NLNs could well distinguish patients with different prognoses. After 1:1 PSM, the differences in clinicopathological characteristics between the two groups were significantly reduced (all P > 0.05). Removal of more than one LN significantly improved the prognosis of the patients (P < 0.001). The number of lymphatic metastasis in the sufficiently radical resection group (SRR, 3.74 ± 3.278, ELN > 14 and NLN > 9) was significantly more than that in the insufficiently radical resection group (ISRR, 2.72 ± 3.19, ELN < 14 or NLN < 9). The 10-year overall survival (OS) of the SRR was significantly better than that of the ISRR (HR = 1.65, P = 0.001, 95% CI: 1.24-2.19). CONCLUSION: Both ELNs and NLNs can well predict the OS of patients. Systematic removal of more than 14 LNs and more than 9 NLNs can increase the OS of SBNET patients.

Critical prognostic value of the log odds of negative lymph nodes/tumor size in rectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The number of negative lymph nodes (NLNs) and tumor size are associated with prognosis in rectal cancer patients undergoing surgical resection. However, little is known about the prognostic significance of the NLN count after adjusting for tumor size. AIM: To assess the prognostic impact of the log odds of NLN/tumor size (LONS) in rectal cancer patients. METHODS: Data of patients with stage I-III rectal cancer were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database. These patients were randomly divided into a training cohort and a validation cohort. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to determine the prognostic value of the LONS. The optimal cutoff values of LONS were calculated using the "X-tile" program. Stratified analysis of the effect of LONS on cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) were performed. The Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test was used to plot the survival curve and compare the survival data among the different groups. RESULTS: In all, 41080 patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into a training cohort (n = 28775, 70%) and a validation cohort (n = 12325, 30%). Univariate and multivariate analyses identified the continuous variable LONS as an independent prognostic factor for CSS [training cohort: Hazard ratio (HR) = 0.47, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44-0.51, P < 0.001; validation cohort: HR = 0.46, 95%CI: 0.41-0.52, P < 0.001] and OS (training cohort: HR = 0.53, 95%CI: 0.49-0.56, P < 0.001; validation cohort: HR = 0.52, 95%CI: 0.42-0.52, P < 0.001). The X-tile program indicated that the difference in CSS was the most significant for LONS of -0.8, and the cutoff value of -0.4 can further distinguish patients with a better prognosis in the high LONS group. Stratified analysis of the effect of the categorical variable LONS on CSS and OS revealed that LONS was also an independent predictor, independent of pN stage, pT stage, tumor-node-metastasis stage, site, age, sex, the number of examined lymph nodes, race, preoperative radiotherapy and carcinoembryonic antigen level. CONCLUSION: LONS is associated with improved survival of rectal cancer patients independent of other clinicopathological factors.

[Effect of electroacupuncture on CD 34+ endothelial progenitor cell counts in bone marrow and peripheral blood in focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on CD 34+ endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in bone marrow and peripheral blood and the expression of p-AKT protein in bone marrow in focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R) rats, so as to investigate its mechanism underlying improvement of cerebral ischemia. METHODS: A total of 108 male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation (sham) group, model (CI/R) group, and EA group which were further divided into 12, 24, 48 h subgroups (n = 12/group, 6 rats for biochemical analysis and the other 6 rats for Western blot analysis). Cl/R model was established by occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery for 2 hours followed by reperfusion. EA (2 Hz/20 Hz) was applied to "Baihui"(GV 20), left "Hegu" (LI 4) and left "Taichong" (LR 3) acupoints for 30 min, once daily. The neurological deficit scores were evaluated using Longa 5-grade standards. Flow cytometer was used to detect the percentages of CD 34+ EPCs in bone marrow and peripheral blood. The expression of p-AKT protein of bone marrow was detected by Western blot. RESULTS: In comparison with the CIl/R model group, the neurological deficit score were gradually and significantly decreased 48 h after CI/R in the EA group (P<0. 05), suggesting an improvement of the neurological function after EA. Compared with the sham group, the percentages of CD 34+ EPCs in bone marrow and peripheral blood and the expression level of bone-marrow p-AKT protein were significantly up-regulated in the model group at the three time-points after CI/R (P<0. 01, P<0. 05). Following EA intervention, the percentages of CD 34+ EPCs at the three time-points in the peripheral blood, and at time-points of 12 h and 24 h in the bone marrow, and the expression levels of p-AKT protein at the three time-points were significantly further up-regulated in the EA group in comparison with the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: EA can effectively up-regulate the percentages of CD 34+ EPCs in the bone marrow and peripheral blood, and increase p-AKT protein expression in the bone marrow in CI/R rats, which may contribute to its effect in improving neurological function.