Efficient Ozone Elimination Over MnO2 via Double Moisture-Resistance Protection of Active Carbon and CeO2.

The widespread ozone (O3) pollution is extremely hazardous to human health and ecosystems. Catalytic decomposition into O2 is the most promising method to eliminate ambient O3, while the fast deactivation of catalysts under humid conditions remains the primary challenge for their application. Herein, we elaborately developed a splendidly active and stable Mn-based catalyst with double hydrophobic protection of active carbon (AC) and CeO2 (CeMn@AC), which possessed abundant interfacial oxygen vacancies and excellent desorption of peroxide intermediates (O22-). Under extremely humid (RH = 90%) conditions and a high space velocity of 1200 L h-1 g-1, the optimized CeMn@AC achieved nearly 100% O3 conversion (140 h) at 5 ppm, showing unprecedented catalytic activity and moisture resistance toward O3 decomposition. In situ DRIFTS and theory calculations confirmed that the exceptional moisture resistance of CeMn@AC was ascribed to the double protection effect of AC and CeO2, which cooperatively prevented the competitive adsorption of H2O molecules and their accumulation on the active sites of MnO2. AC provided a hydrophobic reaction environment, and CeO2 further alleviated moisture deterioration of the MnO2 particles exposed on the catalyst surface via the moisture-resistant oxygen vacancies of MnO2-CeO2 crystal boundaries. This work offers a simple and efficient strategy for designing moisture-resistant materials and facilitates the practical application of the O3 decomposition catalysts in various environments.

A Critical Review of Deep Oxidation of Gaseous Volatile Organic Compounds via Aqueous Advanced Oxidation Processes.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are considered to be the most recalcitrant gaseous pollutants due to their high toxicity, diversity, complexity, and stability. Gas-solid catalytic oxidation methods have been intensively studied for VOC treatment while being greatly hampered by energy consumption, catalyst deactivation, and byproduct formation. Recently, aqueous advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have attracted increasing interest for the deep oxidation of VOCs at room temperature, owing to the generation of abundant reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, current reviews mainly focus on VOC degradation performance and have not clarified the specific reaction process, degradation products, and paths of VOCs in different AOPs. This study systematically reviews recent advances in the application of aqueous AOPs for gaseous VOC removal. First, the VOC gas-liquid mass transfer and chemical oxidation processes are presented. Second, the latest research progress of VOC removal by various ROS is reviewed to study their degradation performances, pathways, and mechanisms. Finally, the current challenges and future strategies are discussed from the perspectives of synergistic oxidation of VOC mixtures, accurate oxidation, and resource utilization of target VOCs via aqueous AOPs. This perspective provides the latest information and research inspiration for the future industrial application of aqueous AOPs for VOC waste gas treatment.

Efficient Catalytic Elimination of Toxic Volatile Organic Compounds via Advanced Oxidation Process Wet Scrubbing with Bifunctional Cobalt Sulfide/Activated Carbon Catalysts.

Advanced oxidation process (AOP) wet scrubber is a powerful and clean technology for organic pollutant treatment but still presents great challenges in removing the highly toxic and hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Herein, we elaborately designed a bifunctional cobalt sulfide (CoS2)/activated carbon (AC) catalyst to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for efficient toxic VOC removal in an AOP wet scrubber. By combining the excellent VOC adsorption capacity of AC with the highly efficient PMS activation activity of CoS2, CoS2/AC can rapidly capture VOCs from the gas phase to proceed with the SO4•- and HO• radical-induced oxidation reaction. More than 90% of aromatic VOCs were removed over a wide pH range (3-11) with low Co ion leaching (0.19 mg/L). The electron-rich sulfur vacancies and low-valence Co species were the main active sites for PMS activation. SO4•- was mainly responsible for the initial oxidation of VOCs, while HO• and O2 acted in the subsequent ring-opening and mineralization processes of intermediates. No gaseous intermediates from VOC oxidation were detected, and the highly toxic liquid intermediates like benzene were also greatly decreased, thus effectively reducing the health toxicity associated with byproduct emissions. This work provided a comprehensive understanding of the deep oxidation of VOCs via AOP wet scrubber, significantly accelerating its application in environmental remediation.

Surface Hydroxyl and Oxygen Vacancies Engineering in ZnSnAl LDH: Synergistic Promotion of Photocatalytic Oxidation of Aromatic VOCs.

Photocatalytic oxidation has gained great interest in environmental remediation, but it is still limited by its low efficiency and catalytic deactivation in the degradation of aromatic VOCs. In this study, we concurrently regulated the surface hydroxyl and oxygen vacancies by introducing Al into ZnSn layered double hydroxide (LDH). The presence of distorted Al species induced local charge redistribution, leading to the remarkable formation of oxygen vacancies. These oxygen vacancies subsequently increased the amount of surface hydroxyl and elongated its bond length. The synergistic effects of surface hydroxyl and oxygen vacancies greatly enhanced reactant adsorption-activation and facilitated charge transfer to generate •OH, •O2-, and 1O2, resulting in highly efficient oxidation and ring-opening of various aromatic VOCs. Compared with commercial TiO2, the optimized ZnSnAl-50 catalyst exhibited about 2-fold activity for the toluene and styrene degradation and 10-fold activity for the chlorobenzene degradation. Moreover, ZnSnAl-50 demonstrated exceptional stability in the photocatalytic oxidation of toluene under a wide humidity range of 0-75%. This work marvelously improves the photocatalytic efficiency, stability, and adaptability through a novel strategy of surface hydroxyl and oxygen vacancies engineering.

Tunable Self-Thermophoretic Nanomotors with Polymeric Coating.

Thermophoretic micro/nanomotors (MNMs) generate self-propulsion without a chemical reaction. Intrinsically, this promises excellent biocompatibility and is thus suitable for biomedical applications. However, their propulsion efficiency is severely limited due to the poor understanding of the thermophoretic process, which dominates the conversion from thermal energy into mechanical movement. We here developed a series of self-thermophoresis light-powered MNMs with variable surface coatings and discovered obvious self-thermophoresis propulsion enhancement of the polymeric layer. An intrinsically negative self-thermophoretic movement is also observed for the first time in the MNM system. We propose that enthalpic contributions from polymer-solvent interactions should play a fundamental role in the self-thermophoretic MNMs. Quantitative microcalorimetry and molecular dynamics simulations are performed to support our hypothesis. The polymer solvation enthalpy and coating thickness influences on self-thermophoresis are investigated, further highlighting the essential enthalpy contributions to thermophoresis. Our work indicates that surface grafting would be important in designing high-efficiency thermally driven nanorobotic systems for biomedical applications.

Exceptional Ozone Decomposition over δ-MnO2/AC under an Entire Humidity Environment.

Ozone (O3) pollution is highly detrimental to human health and the ecosystem due to it being ubiquitous in ambient air and industrial processes. Catalytic decomposition is the most efficient technology for O3 elimination, while the moisture-induced low stability represents the major challenge for its practical applications. Here, activated carbon (AC) supported δ-MnO2 (Mn/AC-A) was facilely synthesized via mild redox in an oxidizing atmosphere to obtain exceptional O3 decomposition capacity. The optimal 5Mn/AC-A achieved nearly 100% of O3 decomposition at a high space velocity (1200 L g-1 h-1) and remained extremely stable under entire humidity conditions. The functionalized AC provided well-designed protection sites to inhibit the accumulation of water on δ-MnO2. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed that the abundant oxygen vacancies and a low desorption energy of intermediate peroxide (O22-) can significantly boost O3 decomposition activity. Moreover, a kilo-scale 5Mn/AC-A with low cost (∼1.5 $/kg) was used for the O3 decomposition in practical applications, which could quickly decompose O3 pollution to a safety level below 100 µg m-3. This work offers a simple strategy for the development of moisture-resistant and inexpensive catalysts and greatly promotes the practical application of ambient O3 elimination.

Boosting Ozone Catalytic Oxidation of Toluene at Room Temperature by Using Hydroxyl-Mediated MnOx/Al2O3 Catalysts.

Ozone catalytic oxidation (OZCO) has gained great interest in environmental remediation while it still faces a big challenge during the deep degradation of refractory volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at room temperature. Hydroxylation of the catalytic surface provides a new strategy for regulating the catalytic activity to boost VOC degradation. Herein, OZCO of toluene at room temperature over hydroxyl-mediated MnOx/Al2O3 catalysts was originally demonstrated. Specifically, a novel hydroxyl-mediated MnOx/Al2O3 catalyst was developed via the in situ AlOOH reconstruction method and used for toluene OZCO. The toluene degradation performance of MnOx/Al2O3 was significantly superior to those of most of the state-of-the-art catalysts, and 100% toluene was removed with an excellent mineralization rate (82.3%) and catalytic stability during OZCO. ESR and in situ DRIFTs results demonstrated that surface hydroxyl groups (HGs) greatly improved the reactive oxygen species generation, thus dramatically accelerating the benzene ring breakage and deep mineralization. Furthermore, HGs provided anchoring sites for uniformly dispersing MnOx and greatly enhanced toluene adsorption and ozone activation. This work paves a way for deep decomposition of aromatic VOCs at room temperature.

Crosstalk Defect Detection Method Based on Salient Color Channel Frequency Domain Filtering.

Display crosstalk defect detection is an important link in the display quality inspection process. We propose a crosstalk defect detection method based on salient color channel frequency domain filtering. Firstly, the salient color channel in RGBY is selected by the maximum relative entropy criterion, and the color quaternion matrix of the displayed image is formed with the Lab color space. Secondly, the image color quaternion matrix is converted into the logarithmic spectrum in the frequency domain through the hyper-complex Fourier transform. Finally, Gaussian threshold band-pass filtering and hyper-complex inverse Fourier transform are used to separate the low-contrast defects and background of the display image. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the proposed algorithm reaches 96% for a variety of crosstalk defect detection. Compared with the current advanced defect detection algorithms, the effectiveness of the proposed method for low-contrast crosstalk defect detection is confirmed.

Celastrol induces lipophagy via the LXRα/ABCA1 pathway in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Celastrol is a triterpene derived from the traditional Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f, which displays potential anticancer activity. In the present study, we investigated the anticancer effects of celastrol against clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and the underlying mechanisms. Using Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and genotype-tissue expression (GTEx) database we conducted a bioinformatics analysis, which showed that the mRNA levels of liver-X receptors α (LXRα) and ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) in ccRCC tissues were significantly lower than those in adjacent normal tissues. This result was confirmed by immunoblotting analysis of 4 ccRCC clinical specimens, which showed that the protein expression of LXRα and ABCA1 was downregulated. Similar results were obtained in a panel of ccRCC cell lines (786-O, A498, SN12C, and OS-RC-2). In 786-O and SN12C cells, treatment with celastrol (0.25-2.0 µM) concentration-dependently inhibited the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion as well as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. Furthermore, we demonstrated that celastrol inhibited the invasion of 786-O cells through reducing lipid accumulation; celastrol concentration-dependently promoted autophagy to reduce lipid storage. Moreover, we revealed that celastrol dramatically activated LXRα signaling, and degraded lipid droplets by inducing lipophagy in 786-O cells. Finally, celastrol promoted cholesterol efflux from 786-O cells via ABCA1. In high-fat diet-promoted ccRCC cell line 786-O xenograft model, administration of celastrol (0.25, 0.5, 1.0 mg·kg-1·d-1, for 4 weeks, i.p.) dose-dependently inhibited the tumor growth with upregulated LXRα and ABCA1 protein in tumor tissue. In conclusion, this study reveals that celastrol triggers lipophagy in ccRCC by activating LXRα, promotes ABCA1-mediated cholesterol efflux, suppresses EMT progress, and ultimately inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion as well as tumor growth. Thus, our study provides evidence that celastrol can be used as a lipid metabolism-based anticancer therapeutic approach.

The prognostic potential of alpha-1 type I collagen expression in papillary thyroid cancer.

The present study aimed to identify the expression of key mRNAs as prognostic factors for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) using integrated bioinformatic analyses and in vitro assays. Using mRNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, we found that alpha-1 type I collagen (COL1A1), an extracellular matrix protein, was significantly overexpressed in PTC, and its expression was correlated with a lower probability of disease-free survival and clinical characteristics of PTC patients by applying Kaplan-Meier curves and logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, we performed in vitro assays, including cell proliferation, colony formation, transwell, and wound healing assays, to validate the role of COL1A1 in the progression and metastasis of PTC. Downregulation of COL1A1 with siRNA inhibited cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. COL1A1 is a potential prognostic biomarker and target for preventing the recurrence of PTC.

Metal-organic framework-based membranes for ion separation/selection from salt lake brines and seawater.

Nanofiltration (NF) technologies have evolved into a stage ready for industrial commercialization. NF membranes with unique separation characteristics are widely used for ion selection in water environments. Although many materials have been synthesized and functionalized for specific ion separation, the permeability-selectivity trade-off is still a major challenge. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as a class of promising materials to meet industrial demands, are gaining increasing attention. Many experimental and theoretical studies have been conducted on the applications of MOF-based membranes in ion selection. This review focuses on MOF-based NF membranes for ion separation/selection from seawater and salt lake brines, including their applications in industry. First, a brief discussion on the development of membrane technology for ion selection is given, with the principles of ion separation via NF membranes, industrial implementations, and technical difficulties being discussed. Next, the benefits and challenges of using MOF membranes in NF processes are elaborated, including the basic properties of MOFs, approaches to fabricate MOF membranes for efficient ion selection and challenges in constructing industrially viable membranes. Finally, state-of-the-art studies on key characteristics of MOFs for NF membrane fabrication are presented. It indicates that the utilization of MOF-based membranes has significant potential to improve ion separation performance. However, the lack of sufficient data under industrial conditions highlights the need for further development in this area.

Enhancing YOLO for occluded vehicle detection with grouped orthogonal attention and dense object repulsion.

In real-life complex traffic environments, vehicles are often occluded by extraneous background objects and other vehicles, leading to severe degradation of object detector performance. To address this issue, we propose a method named YOLO-OVD (YOLO for occluded vehicle detection) and a dataset for effectively handling vehicle occlusion in various scenarios. To highlight the model attention in unobstructed region of vehicles, we design a novel grouped orthogonal attention (GOA) module to achieve maximum information extraction between channels. We utilize grouping and channel shuffling to address the initialization and computational issues of original orthogonal filters, followed by spatial attention for enhancing spatial features in vehicle-visible regions. We introduce a CIoU-based repulsion term into the loss function to augment the network's localization accuracy in scenarios involving densely packed vehicles. Moreover, we explore the effect of the knowledge-based Laplacian Pyramid on the OVD performance, which contributes to fast convergence in training and ensures more detailed and comprehensive feature retention. We conduct extensive experiments on the established occluded vehicle detection dataset, which demonstrates that the proposed YOLO-OVD model significantly outperforms 14 representative object detectors. Notably, it achieves improvements of 4.7% in Precision, 3.6% in AP@0.5, and 1.9% in AP@0.5:0.95 compared to the YOLOv5 baseline.

Construction of hollow sphere MnOX with abundant oxygen vacancy for accelerating VOCs degradation: Investigation through operando spectroscopycombined with on-line mass spectrometry.

To clarify the key role of oxygen vacancy defects on enhancing the oxidative activity of the catalysts, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) derived MnOX catalysts with different morphologies and oxygen vacancy defects were successfully prepared using a facile in-situ self-assembly strategy with different alkali moderators. The obtained morphologies included three-dimensional (3D) triangular cone stacked MnOX hollow sphere (MnOX-H) and 3D nanoparticle stacked MnOX nanosphere (MnOX-N). Compared to MnOX-N, MnOX-H exhibited higher activity for the oxidation of toluene (T90 = 226 °C). This was mainly due to the large number of oxygen vacancy defects and Mn4+ species in the MnOX-H catalyst. In addition, the hollow structure of MnOX-H not only facilitated toluene adsorption and activation of toluene and also provided more active sites for toluene oxidation. Reaction mechanism studies showed that the conversion of toluene to benzoate could be realized over MnOX-H catalyst during toluene adsorption at room temperature. In addition, abundant oxygen vacancy defects can accelerate the activated oxidation of toluene and the formation of oxidation products during toluene oxidation.

Key role of •O2- in promoting deep degradation of VOCs in VUV-based process.

VUV photolysis presents a simple process for VOCs degradation, while the poor mineralization rate and extensive by-products greatly limit its application. In this study, the contribution and synergy between •OH and •O2- to toluene degradation in the VUV-based process were comprehensively investigated by controlling water and oxygen in the gas flow. It was found that •OH promoted the initial degradation of toluene and macromolecular intermediates, while •O2- dominated toluene mineralization by boosting the formation of small molecules and CO2. Compared with the •OH-dominated VUV photolysis, the presence of catalyst greatly changed the degradation pathway, promoted toluene mineralization into CO2 and reduced health toxicity via promoting •O2- formation. This study originally focuses on the key role of •O2- in VOCs deep oxidation and provides an effective strategy to boost its clean mineralization via the VUV-based process.

Tunable Interfacial Electronic Pd-Si Interaction Boosts Catalysis via Accelerating O2 and H2O Activation.

Engineering the interfacial structure between noble metals and oxides, particularly on the surface of non-reducible oxides, is a challenging yet promising approach to enhancing the performance of heterogeneous catalysts. The interface site can alter the electronic and d-band structure of the metal sites, facilitating the transition of energy levels between the reacting molecules and promoting the reaction to proceed in a favorable direction. Herein, we created an active Pd-Si interface with tunable electronic metal-support interaction (EMSI) by growing a thin permeable silica layer on a non-reducible oxide ZSM-5 surface (termed Pd@SiO2/ZSM-5). Our experimental results, combined with density functional theory calculations, revealed that the Pd-Si active interface enhanced the charge transfer from deposited Si to Pd, generating an electron-enriched Pd surface, which significantly lowered the activation barriers for O2 and H2O. The resulting reactive oxygen species, including O2 -, O2 2-, and -OH, synergistically facilitated formaldehyde oxidation. Additionally, moderate electronic metal-support interaction can promote the catalytic cycle of Pd0 ⇆ Pd2+, which is favorable for the adsorption and activation of reactants. This study provides a promising strategy for the design of high-performance noble metal catalysts for practical applications.

Comprehensive analysis of FOXM1 immune infiltrates, m6a, glycolysis and ceRNA network in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) is a member of the Forkhead box (Fox) transcription factor family. It regulates cell mitosis, cell proliferation, and genome stability. However, the relationship between the expression of FOXM1 and the levels of m6a modification, immune infiltration, glycolysis, and ketone body metabolism in HCC has yet to be fully elucidated. Methods: Transcriptome and somatic mutation profiles of HCC were downloaded from the TCGA database. Somatic mutations were analyzed by maftools R package and visualized in oncoplots. GO, KEGG and GSEA function enrichment was performed on FOXM1 co-expression using R. We used Cox regression and machine learning algorithms (CIBERSORT, LASSO, random forest, and SVM-RFE) to study the prognostic value of FOXM1 and immune infiltrating characteristic immune cells in HCC. The relationship between FOXM1 and m6A modification, glycolysis, and ketone body metabolism were analyzed by RNA-seq and CHIP-seq. The competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network construction relies on the multiMiR R package, ENCORI, and miRNET platforms. Results: FOXM1 is highly expressed in HCC and is associated with a poorer prognosis. At the same time, the expression level of FOXM1 is significantly related to the T, N, and stage. Subsequently, based on the machine learning strategies, we found that the infiltration level of T follicular helper cells (Tfh) was a risk factor affecting the prognosis of HCC patients. The high infiltration of Tfh was significantly related to the poor overall survival rate of HCC. Besides, the CHIP-seq demonstrated that FOXM1 regulates m6a modification by binding to the promoter of IGF2BP3 and affects the glycolytic process by initiating the transcription of HK2 and PKM in HCC. A ceRNA network was successfully obtained, including FOXM1 - has-miR-125-5p - DANCR/MIR4435-2HG ceRNA network related to the prognosis of HCC. Conclusion: Our study implicates that the aberrant infiltration of Tfh associated with FOXM1 is a crucial prognostic factor for HCC patients. FOXM1 regulates genes related to m6a modification and glycolysis at the transcriptional level. Furthermore, the specific ceRNA network can be used as a potential therapeutic target for HCC.

Catalytic ozonation of VOCs at low temperature: A comprehensive review.

VOCs abatement has attracted increasing interest because of the detrimental effects on both atmospheric environment and human beings of VOCs. The assistance of ozone has enabled efficient VOCs removal at low temperature. Thereby, catalytic ozonation is considered as one of the most feasible and effective methods for VOCs elimination. This work systematically reviews the emerging advances of catalytic ozonation of different VOCs (i.e., aromatic hydrocarbons, oxygenated VOCs, chlorinated VOCs, sulfur-containing VOCs, and saturated alkanes) over various functional catalysts. General reaction mechanism of catalytic ozonation including both Langmuir-Hinshelwood and Mars-van-Krevelen mechanisms was proposed depending on the reactive oxygen species involving the reactions. The influence of reaction conditions (water vapor and temperature) is fully discussed. This review also introduces the enhanced VOCs oxidation via catalytic ozonation in the ozone-generating systems including plasma and vacuum ultraviolet. Lastly, the existing challenges of VOCs catalytic ozonation are presented, and the perspective of this technology is envisioned.

[Screening and characterization of peptides specifically binding to the schistosomulum tegument of Schistosoma japonicum].

OBJECTIVE: To screen and analyze the peptides in 12 phage-display peptide library specifically binding to the schistosomulum tegument of Schistosoma japonicum. METHODS: A 12 phage-display peptide library was screened with the S. japonicum schistosomula as the target cells for biopanning by degrees, positive clones picked randomly were deduced by DNA sequencing. According the sequence seeing result, immunohistochemical staining was performed to determine the specificity of the phages to the tegument. To test their targeting efficacy, the interested phage clones were infused back to the mice infected with S. japonicum, mice were sacrificed 2.5 hours later, and the phage distribution in the liver and the tegument of schistosomula was appraised, respectively. RESULTS: After 3 rounds of biopanning, the phage recovery rate increased from 0.77 x 10(-8) to 0.75 x 10(-5), indicating that the phage library was successfully enriched in the tegument of schistosomula. Seventy-five percent (15/20) of the analyzed sequences were identical with a sequence of QHPRIRKOOOOO. The immunohistochemical stainings showed this sequence specifically binding to the tegument. In vivo titering displayed that this sequence selectively targeted the tegument. CONCLUSION: The peptide of QHPRIRKOOOOO specifically binds to the schistosomulum tegument.

The efficacy and safety of Health Qigong for ankylosing spondylitis: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Non-pharmacological treatments (education, exercise, and physical therapy) are remain basic approaches to long-term management of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. As an important part of non-pharmacological treatments, Health Qigong is widely used for AS treatment. We will perform the systematic review to confirm the safety and efficacy of Health Qigong for AS. METHODS: Systematical search of 6 electronic databases will be done, including English and Chinese, until December 2019. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving Health Qigong in combination with conventional therapy for AS will be included. Study selection, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by 2 reviewers. RevMan (V.5.3) will be used for mata-analysis. RESULTS: This systematic review will identify the safety and efficacy of Health Qigong in the treatment of AS and update evidence summaries of Health Qigong. At the end of the treatment, the primary outcome is Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) with a range of 0 to 10,and the secondary outcomes will include functional ability that measured by Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), mobility measured by Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI), chest expansion, night spinal pain, adverse reactions, laboratory measures such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C protein response (CRP). CONCLUSION: This study will provide evidence that whether Health Qigong can benefit patients with ankylosing spondylitis by reducing disease activity, alleviating pain to support the application of Health Qigong in the AS treatment. REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019159126.

The effectiveness and safety of acupuncture therapy for Guillain-Barré syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

BACKGROUND: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is the most common acute paralytic neuropathy. Many clinical trials indicate acupuncture provides a good effect as a complementary therapy of Western medicine for GBS. The objective of this systematic review protocol is to provide the evidence to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture on the treatment of GBS. METHODS: We will search relevant randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of acupuncture for GBS in following databases from start to October 2019: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL Complete, National Digital Science Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Database without language restriction. For articles that meet our inclusion criteria, 2 researchers will extract the data information independently, and assess the risk of bias and trial quality by the Cochrane collaboration's tool. All data will be analyzed by RevMan V.5.3.3 statistical software. RESULTS: According to the Barthel index of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) muscle scale, the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for GBS will be determined in this study. CONCLUSION: This systemic review will provide high quality evidence to judging whether acupuncture provides benefits to treat GBS.Prospero registration number: CRD42019158710.