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INTRODUCTION: The widespread popularity of e-cigarettes is considered an important public health concern. However, only some studies have investigated the prevalence of e-cigarette use in Shanghai, China. Research on the perceived harmfulness of e-cigarettes and public support for e-cigarette regulations in China is limited. This study aimed to estimate e-cigarette awareness, prevalence, and associated factors among adults in Shanghai, China. METHODS: This study used data from a representative survey conducted in Shanghai, China, in 2019. The survey was conducted at 64 surveillance points in Shanghai, China, using a multistage, stratified, cluster-randomized sampling design, recruiting community-based Chinese adults aged ≥15 years. Based on the principles outlined in the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) China Project, data were collected by conducting face-to-face interviews in households. Of the 3200 selected households, 3060 people completed the individual survey. The overall response rate was 97.4%. RESULTS: In all, 72.3% of the respondents had heard of e-cigarettes. The respondents who had used e-cigarettes at some point in their life, used them in the last 12 months, and used them currently were 5.8%, 2.6%, and 1.3%, respectively. Among adult residents who had heard of e-cigarettes, 38.2% thought they were less harmful than traditional cigarettes. The respondents who perceived e-cigarettes as more harmful than traditional cigarettes were less likely to have ever used e-cigarettes (AOR=0.2; 95% CI: 0.1-0.5, p=0.0015) and more likely to support incorporating e-cigarettes into the regulation of smoking control (AOR=3.9; 95% CI: 1.8-8.6, p=0.0008). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reveal that the awareness about e-cigarettes was high, and the prevalence of e-cigarette use was similar to the findings from previous studies in China. The harmful perception of e-cigarettes warrants further attention from public health practitioners.
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Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (ta-VNS) is a novel noninvasive treat-ment for stroke that directly stimulates the peripheral auricular branch of the vagus nerve. There have been recent reports that ta-VNS combined with conventional rehabilitation training promotes the recovery of neurological function of patients with acute stroke. However, these were small-sample-sized studies on the recovery of neurological function in patients after percutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in the subacute and chronic phases after stroke. This double-blinded randomized controlled trial involved 60 acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke patients aged 18-80 years who received treatment in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. The subjects were randomly assigned to receive ta-VNS or sham ta-VNS combined with conventional rehabilitation training. The follow-up results over 1 year revealed that ta-VNS combined with conventional rehabilitation training greatly improved the recovery of motor and sensory functions and emotional responses compared with sham ta-VNS combined with conventional rehabilitation training. There were no obvious side effects. These findings suggest that ta-VNS combined with conventional rehabilitation training for the treatment of acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke patients is safe and effective.
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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.