Tenuifolin improves learning and memory by regulating long-term potentiation and dendritic structure of hippocampal CA1 area in healthy female mice but not male mice.

Polygala tenuifolia Wild is an ancient traditional Chinese medicine. Its main component, tenuifolin (TEN), has been proven to improve cognitive impairment caused by neurodegenerative diseases and ovariectomy. However, there was hardly any pharmacological research about TEN and its potential gender differences. Considering the reduction of TEN on learning and memory dysfunction in ovariectomized animals, therefore, we focused on the impact of TEN in different mice genders in the current study. Spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB), light-dark discrimination, and Morris water maze (MWM) tests were used to evaluate the mice's learning and memory abilities. The field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) of the hippocampal CA1 region was recorded using an electrophysiological method, and the morphology of the dendritic structure was examined using Golgi staining. In the behavioral experiments, TEN improved the correct rate in female mice in the SAB test, the correct rate in the light-dark discrimination test, and the number of crossing platforms in the MWM test. Additionally, TEN reduced the latency of female mice rather than male mice in light-dark discrimination and MWM tests. Moreover, TEN could significantly increase the slope of fEPSP in hippocampal Schaffer-CA1 and enhance the total length and the number of intersections of dendrites in the hippocampal CA1 area in female mice but not in male mice. Collectively, the results of the current study showed that TEN improved learning and memory by regulating long-term potentiation (LTP) and dendritic structure of hippocampal CA1 area in female mice but not in males. These findings would help to explore the improvement mechanism of TEN on cognition and expand the knowledge of the potential therapeutic value of TEN in the treatment of cognitive impairment.

RCAd-LTH-shPD-L1, a double-gene recombinant oncolytic adenovirus with enhanced antitumor immunity, increases lymphocyte infiltration and reshapes the tumor microenvironment.

BACKGROUND: With the successful development of modern immunotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are currently considered potential therapeutic options for patients with cancer. However, the therapeutic potential of ICIs in human cancer is mainly limited by their systemic toxicity and low response rate, which suggests the necessity of local drug delivery with an effective vector and reshaping the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) to enhance ICI therapy. Here, we constructed a novel double-gene recombinant oncolytic adenovirus named RCAd-LTH-shPD-L1 based on the RCAd virus platform armed with a DNA fragment encoding an anti-VEGF antibody and shRNA to inhibit PD-L1 expression. METHODS: The correct assembly of RCAd-LTH-shPD-L1 was characterized by analyzing its secretion, antigen specificity, and replication using western blotting, ELISA and quantitative PCR, respectively. The in vitro effects of RCAd-LTH-shPD-L1 on cell proliferation, vasculogenic, and cell migration were assessed. Antitumor effects and therapeutic mechanisms were evaluated in vivo using immunodeficient and humanized immune system mouse models. The TME was studied by ELISA, immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. RESULTS: RCAd-LTH-shPD-L1 cells secreted anti-VEGF antibodies and inhibited the expression of PD-L1 in cancer cells. Moreover, RCAd-LTH-shPD-L1 exerted a specific cytotoxic effect on human cancer cells, but not on murine cancer cells or normal human cells. RCAd-LTH-shPD-L1 elicited a more potent antitumor effect in an immunodeficient mouse model and a humanized immune system mouse model than RCAd-shPD-L1, as demonstrated by the significant decrease in tumor growth. Furthermore, RCAd-LTH-shPD-L1 modulated the TME, which led to lymphocyte infiltration and alteration of their immune phenotype, as characterized by downregulation of anoxic factor HIF-1α and angiogenesis marker CD31, upregulation of cytokine such as IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-12. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, our data demonstrated that the localized delivery of anti-VEGF antibodies and shPD-L1 by engineered RCAd-LTH-shPD-L1 is a highly effective and safe strategy for cancer immunotherapy. Moreover, the data underscore the potential of combining local virotherapy and anti-angiogenic therapy with ICIs as an effective TME therapy for poorly infiltrating tumors.

A standardised differential privacy framework for epidemiological modeling with mobile phone data.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of mobile phone data for monitoring human mobility patterns has become increasingly common, both to study the impact of travel restrictions on population movement and epidemiological modeling. Despite the importance of these data, the use of location information to guide public policy can raise issues of privacy and ethical use. Studies have shown that simple aggregation does not protect the privacy of an individual, and there are no universal standards for aggregation that guarantee anonymity. Newer methods, such as differential privacy, can provide statistically verifiable protection against identifiability but have been largely untested as inputs for compartment models used in infectious disease epidemiology. Our study examines the application of differential privacy as an anonymisation tool in epidemiological models, studying the impact of adding quantifiable statistical noise to mobile phone-based location data on the bias of ten common epidemiological metrics. We find that many epidemiological metrics are preserved and remain close to their non-private values when the true noise state is less than 20, in a count transition matrix, which corresponds to a privacy-less parameter ϵ = 0.05 per release. We show that differential privacy offers a robust approach to preserving individual privacy in mobility data while providing useful population-level insights for public health. Importantly, we have built a modular software pipeline to facilitate the replication and expansion of our framework.

Bandit Change-Point Detection for Real-Time Monitoring High-Dimensional Data Under Sampling Control.

In many real-world problems of real-time monitoring high-dimensional streaming data, one wants to detect an undesired event or change quickly once it occurs, but under the sampling control constraint in the sense that one might be able to only observe or use selected components data for decision-making per time step in the resource-constrained environments. In this paper, we propose to incorporate multi-armed bandit approaches into sequential change-point detection to develop an efficient bandit change-point detection algorithm based on the limiting Bayesian approach to incorporate a prior knowledge of potential changes. Our proposed algorithm, termed Thompson-Sampling-Shiryaev-Roberts-Pollak (TSSRP), consists of two policies per time step: the adaptive sampling policy applies the Thompson Sampling algorithm to balance between exploration for acquiring long-term knowledge and exploitation for immediate reward gain, and the statistical decision policy fuses the local Shiryaev-Roberts-Pollak statistics to determine whether to raise a global alarm by sum shrinkage techniques. Extensive numerical simulations and case studies demonstrate the statistical and computational efficiency of our proposed TSSRP algorithm.

Abnormal Antennal Olfactory Sensilla Phenotypes Involved in Olfactory Deficit in Bactrocera correcta (Diptera: Tephritidae).

The guava fruit fly, Bactrocera correcta, is one of the most destructive pests in the genus Bactrocera and detects environmental odorants mainly through antennal olfactory sensilla phenotypes with nanopores. However, it is unclear whether there are naturally occurring abnormal antennal olfactory sensilla phenotypes that affect olfaction. Here, we found that there were abnormal bulges besides nanopores on the surface of trichoid and basiconic olfactory sensilla in the antennal flagellum of long-term laboratory rearing colony (LTC), and that nanopore number in these olfactory sensilla was also remarkably reduced. Notably, the electroantennogram (EAG) responses of LTC insects to methyl eugenol or ß-caryophyllene were inhibited, and their behavioral responses elicited by the same odorants were also impaired. These results revealed naturally occurring abnormal antennal olfactory sensilla phenotypes which were involved in olfactory deficit in B. correcta, providing a platform to further study nanopore-targeted pest control technologies in the future.

Ginkgo Biloba Extract Is Comparable With Donepezil in Improving Functional Recovery in Alzheimer's Disease: Results From a Multilevel Characterized Study Based on Clinical Features and Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Background: Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) and donepezil have been reported to be effective in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nonetheless, how these drugs impact spontaneous brain activities and how they consequently improve functional recovery are currently unclear. Objectives: This study was to explore the efficacy of GBE vs. donepezil and their add-on efficacy on functional recovery and the adaption of spontaneous brain activities following pharmacologic treatment in patients with AD. Methods: Patients with AD were enrolled and assigned to the GBE group (n = 50), the donepezil group (n = 50), or the combined group (n = 50). Neuropsychological assessments, including minimum mental state examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's disease assessment scale-cognition (ADAS-Cog), instrumental activity of daily living (IADL), geriatric depression scale (GDS), neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI), and quality of life in Alzheimer's disease (QOL-AD), were conducted at baseline, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was collected to compare the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), percent amplitude of fluctuation (PerAF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and degree centrality (DC) at baseline and 6 months. Results: No major significant differences were detected in all comparisons between groups across all follow-up time points. For intragroup comparison, MMSE and ADAS-Cog scores differed significantly across all follow-ups in three groups. The combined group showed significant improvement of GDS scores between baseline and 6 months (p = 0.007). The GBE group (p = 0.044) and donepezil group (p = 0.012) demonstrated significant improvement of NPI scores between baseline and 6 months. Significant correlations were observed between IADL and ALFF in the right gyrus rectus (p = 0.03) and in the left superior cerebellum gyrus (p = 0.01), between GDS and ALFF in the right middle temporal gyrus (p = 0.01), between NPI and PerAF in the left fusiform gyrus (p = 0.03), and between MMSE and ReHo in right superior frontal gyrus (p = 0.04). Conclusion: GBE was comparable with donepezil in the improvement of functional recovery in patients with AD while the combined application of GBE and donepezil seems unnecessary. GBE-mediated improvement of functional recovery was characterized by decreased ALFF values in the right gyrus rectus and decreased PerAF values in the left fusiform gyrus. These featured variations of imaging metrics in specific brain regions may serve as biomarkers in the monitoring of the therapeutic efficacy of GBE.

MiR-146a-5p targeting SMAD4 and TRAF6 inhibits adipogenensis through TGF-ß and AKT/mTORC1 signal pathways in porcine intramuscular preadipocytes.

BACKGROUND: Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is a vital parameter for assessing pork quality. Increasing evidence has shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in regulating porcine IMF deposition. Here, a novel miRNA implicated in porcine IMF adipogenesis was found, and its effect and regulatory mechanism were further explored with respect to intramuscular preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation. RESULTS: By porcine adipose tissue miRNA sequencing analysis, we found that miR-146a-5p is a potential regulator of porcine IMF adipogenesis. Further studies showed that miR-146a-5p mimics inhibited porcine intramuscular preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation, while the miR-146a-5p inhibitor promoted cell proliferation and adipogenic differentiation. Mechanistically, miR-146a-5p suppressed cell proliferation by directly targeting SMAD family member 4 (SMAD4) to attenuate TGF-ß signaling. Moreover, miR-146a-5p inhibited the differentiation of intramuscular preadipocytes by targeting TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) to weaken the AKT/mTORC1 signaling downstream of the TRAF6 pathway. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-146a-5p targets SMAD4 and TRAF6 to inhibit porcine intramuscular adipogenesis by attenuating TGF-ß and AKT/mTORC1 signaling, respectively. These findings provide a novel miRNA biomarker for regulating intramuscular adipogenesis to promote pork quality.

Isoleucine increases muscle mass through promoting myogenesis and intramyocellular fat deposition.

Isoleucine (Ile), as a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA), has a vital role in regulating body weight and muscle protein synthesis. However, the regulatory effect of Ile on muscle mass under high-fat diet (HFD) conditions and intramyocellular lipid deposition remains largely unclear. In this study, a feeding experiment with HFD with or without 25 g L-1 Ile was performed using 32 wild male C57BL/6J mice randomly divided into two groups. The results showed that Ile significantly increased both muscle and fat mass, as well as causing insulin resistance and meanwhile upregulating the levels of key adipogenic and myogenic proteins. More importantly, Ile damaged the mitochondrial function by vacuolation, swelling and cristae fracture in the gastrocnemius (GAS) and tibialis anterior (TA) with downregulation of mitochondrial function-related genes. Furthermore, Ile promoted myogenesis and more lipid droplet accumulation in myotubes. Compared with the control, the protein levels of myosin heavy chain (MyHC), myoblast determination protein 1 (MyoD), myogenin (MyoG), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARg) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) were upregulated in the Ile group, whereas the protein levels of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) were downregulated. Collectively, Ile increased muscle mass through myogenesis and intramyocellular lipid deposition. Our findings provide a new perspective for not only improving the lean juiciness of farm animals by increasing intramyocellular lipid accumulation, but also modulating myopathies under obesity.

High-Uniformity Threshold Switching HfO2-Based Selectors with Patterned Ag Nanodots.

High-performance selector devices are essential for emerging nonvolatile memories to implement high-density memory storage and large-scale neuromorphic computing. Device uniformity is one of the key challenges which limit the practical applications of threshold switching selectors. Here, high-uniformity threshold switching HfO2-based selectors are fabricated by using e-beam lithography to pattern controllable Ag nanodots (NDs) with high order and uniform size in the cross-point region. The selectors exhibit excellent bidirectional threshold switching performance, including low leakage current (<1 pA), high on/off ratio (>108), high endurance (>108 cycles), and fast switching speed (≈75 ns). The patterned Ag NDs in the selector help control the number of Ag atoms diffusing into HfO2 and confine the positions to form reproducible filaments. According to the statistical analysis, the Ag NDs selectors show much smaller cycle-to-cycle and device-to-device variations (C V < 10%) compared to control samples with nonpatterned Ag thin film. Furthermore, when integrating the Ag NDs selector with resistive switching memory in one-selector-one-resistor (1S1R) structure, the reduced selector variation helps significantly reduce the bit error rate in 1S1R crossbar array. The high-uniformity Ag NDs selectors offer great potential in the fabrication of large-scale 1S1R crossbar arrays for future memory and neuromorphic computing applications.

Cognitive Gains of Aerobic Exercise in Patients With Ischemic Cerebrovascular Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Cognitive impairment has become an important problem in ischemic cerebrovascular disorder survivors as disease related deaths have been significantly reduced. Aerobic exercise, the most prevalent mode of physical activity, positively contributes to cognition in both healthy population and people with cognitive impairment. However, studies on its associations with cognitive gains in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease showed mixed findings. Objective: To explore the cognitive effects of aerobic exercise on ischemic cerebrovascular disorder survivors and investigate the possible moderators on exercise benefits. Method: Randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of sole aerobic exercise on cognitive function in population with ischemic intracranial vascular disorder compared to any control group who did not receive the intervention were enrolled in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Four online database (Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science) were searched. Results: The initial search returned 1,522 citations and ultimately 11 studies were included in the systematic review. Analysis of seven studies showed the beneficial but not statistically significant impact of aerobic exercise on global cognitive function (0.13; 95% Cl -0.09 to 0.35; p = 0.25). Participants already with cognitive impairment benefited more from this intervention (0.31; 95% Cl 0.07-0.55; p = 0.01) and moderate intensity might be the optimal choice (0.34; 95% Cl -0.01 to 0.69; p = 0.06). The program duration and initiation time after stroke occurrence did not predict better cognitive outcome. Aerobic exercise was not associated with improvement of processing speed and executive function, the two subdomains of cognitive function. Conclusions: Aerobic exercise may contribute to cognitive gains in survivors of ischemic cerebrovascular disorder, especially for population already with cognitive decline. Our findings suggest that the adoption of moderate intensity aerobic exercise might improve cognition in such population.

[Moxibustion therapy is superior to manual acupuncture in the treatment of perimenopausal insomnia: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical effect of manual acupuncture and moxibustion therapies in the treatment of perimenopausal insomnia (PMI). METHODS: A total of 60 outpatients with PMI were randomly and equally divided into an acupuncture group (29 cases) and a moxibustion group (28 cases). Acupoints Zhongwan (CV12), Xiawan (CV10), Qihai (CV6) and Guanyuan (CV4) were employed in these two groups. For acupuncture group, filiform needles were inserted slowly into these acupoints and twirled mildly for a while, and then retained for 30 min. When moxibustion performed, the ignited moxa-cone was applied to the same 4 acupoints, with 7 cones for each acupoint. The treatment was conducted once daily for 10 consecutive days, suspended for 2 days, then another 10 days' treatment followed. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale (7 items: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, duration of sleep, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, use of sleeping medications, and daytime dysfunction, 0－3 points per item, 0－21 points in total) was used to evaluate the patient's sleep quality. The clinical therapeutic effect was also assessed according to the sleep rate (＝sleep duration/total duration from spin-in to wake-up×100%). The contents of serum follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol (E2) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were detected using radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: After treatment, the total score of PSQI and the score of each item were all significantly reduced in the two groups relevant to their own pre-treatment (P<0.01). The scores of sleep latency, sleep disturbance and daytime dysfunction were comparable between the two groups (P>0.05), but the total score, and scores of sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and use of sleeping medication were significantly lower in the moxibustion group than in the acupuncture group (P<0.05). Of the 29 and 28 cases in the acupuncture and moxibustion groups, 6 (20.69%) and 11 (39.29%) were cured, 7 (24.14%) and 9 (32.14%) experienced marked improvement, 9(31.03%) and 5 (17.86%) were effective, and 7(24.14%) and 3 (10.71%) ineffective, with the total effective rate being 75.86% and 89.29%, respectively. The therapeutic effect of moxibustion was obviously superior to that of acupuncture treatment (P<0.05). After the treatment, the levels of serum FSH and LH were significantly decreased (P<0.01), and that of E2 was significantly increased in both groups (P<0.01). The levels of FSH and E2 in the moxibustion group were obviously improved than those of the acupuncture group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Both acupuncture and moxibustion can relieve the sleep quality of patients with PMI, which may be associated with their effect in regulating serum hormone levels. The therapeutic effect of moxibustion is superior to that of acupuncture.

A Novel lnc-RNA, Named lnc-ORA, Is Identified by RNA-Seq Analysis, and Its Knockdown Inhibits Adipogenesis by Regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Pathway.

Obesity is closely associated with numerous adipogenic regulatory factors, including coding and non-coding genes. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a major role in adipogenesis. However, differential expression profiles of lncRNAs in inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT) between wild-type (WT) and ob/ob mice, as well as their roles in adipogenesis, are not well understood. Here, a total of 2809 lncRNAs were detected in the iWAT of WT and ob/ob mice by RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq), including 248 novel lncRNAs. Of them, 46 lncRNAs were expressed differentially in WT and ob/ob mice and were enriched in adipogenesis signaling pathways as determined by KEGG enrichment analysis, including the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction signaling pathways. Furthermore, we focused on one novel lncRNA, which we named lnc-ORA (obesity-related lncRNA), which had a seven-fold higher expression in ob/ob mice than in WT mice. Knockdown of lnc-ORA inhibited preadipocyte proliferation by decreasing the mRNA and protein expression levels of cell cycle markers. Interestingly, lnc-ORA knockdown inhibited adipocyte differentiation by regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. In summary, these findings contribute to a better understanding of adipogenesis in relation to lncRNAs and provide novel potential therapeutic targets for obesity-related metabolic diseases.

Identification, characterization and expression analysis of MAVS in Pelodiscus sinensis after challenge with Poly I:C.

Pelodiscus sinensis, which is one of the important reptile species in the aquaculture industry in China, frequently suffers from serious infectious diseases caused by viruses. However, there is a lack of biological knowledge about its antiviral innate immunity. In this study, we identified and characterized the open reading frame (ORF) of PsMAVS cDNA in P. sinensis. It consisted of 2691 nucleotides encoding a protein of 896 amino acid residues, which were composed of an N-terminal CARD, a central proline-rich domain and a C-terminal TM domain. Based on the amino acid sequence, phylogenetic analyses revealed a closer relationship of PsMAVS with those of Chelonia. qRT-PCR analysis indicated that PsMAVS was ubiquitously expressed in all of the examined healthy tissues with different expression levels; it was expressed at high levels in spleen, muscle and heart and at moderate levels in kidney, liver, intestine, intestinum crissum and oesophagus. PsMAVS was detected in embryos at 10 days post hatching, and it gradually upregulated with the embryonic development stage. Its expression levels in the examined tissues were all upregulated significantly after challenge with Poly I:C. The PsMAVS protein was detected in the intestinal tissues from both the challenge and the control groups, and it was distributed widely in the cytoplasm of the intestinal cells, suggesting PsMAVS plays multiple roles in the complicated mechanisms of immune defence against virus invasion in P. sinensis.

Imidazole improves cognition and balances Alzheimer's-like intracellular calcium homeostasis in transgenic Drosophila model.

AIMS: The characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the accumulation and aggregation of amyloid-ß (Aß). So far, we already know that the dysregulation of intracellular calcium homeostasis is considered to be associated with Aß neurotoxicity. Meantime, we also found that the channels formed by Aß are electronegative as calcium channels. Base on this hypothesis, the formation of Aß channels will provide us with a new therapeutic direction for AD. Aß channel hypothesis is proposed that the axis of Aß channel's pore was encompasses by the His13 -His14 diad. Imidazole especially the imidazole ring was supposed binding to the side chains of Aß peptides. METHODS: In our study, we adopted Gal4/UAS system to establish transgenic drosophila model which lay a good foundation to explore the imidazole's function and mechanism of action. RESULTS: The results suggested that Imidazole could not only improve the cognition of Aß42-expressing flies, but also decreases p-JNK activation in whole brain of Aß42-expressing flies. CONCLUSIONS: Furthermore, freshly prepared oligomeric Aß42 peptide ascended primary pupal neuronal calcium concentration and this phenomenon was alleviated by Imidazole and Zn2+ .

Mechanical and water-resistant properties of rice straw fiberboard bonded with chemically-modified soy protein adhesive.

In this work, rice straw and soy protein were used to make fiberboard which may replace wood fiberboard. Soy protein isolates (SPI) were modified by epoxidized oleic acid to improve the soy protein adhesive properties such as adhesion strength and water resistance. The effects of NaOH content, the addition of modified-SPI adhesives and fiberboard density on the mechanical and water-resistant properties of the rice straw fiberboards were investigated. FTIR and XRD results of modified SPI indicated the epoxidized oleic acid and soy protein reacted with each other. FTIR and SEM images of rice straw fibers showed that NaOH solution removed the wax layer through chemical etching. The results of investigating mechanical properties and water absorption illustrate that when the soy protein-based adhesives content and density and the hot pressing temperature and pressure of fiberboard are 12%, 0.8 g cm-3, 140 °C and 6 MPa, respectively, the panels have optimal mechanical and water-resistant performances. Moreover, the panels meet the requirements of chinese medium density fiberboard (MDF) Standard of GB/T 11718-2009. Since biological raw materials are recyclable and biomass, the fiberboard bonded with modified soy protein adhesive has no toxicity and is easily biodegradable. In addition, the rice straw burned to produce haze has been preferably utilized.

[Clinical observation of "Yinqi Guiyuan needles therapy" combined with moxibustion at Yongquan (KI 1) on perimenopausal insomnia with heart-kidney imbalance].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of "Yinqi Guiyuan needles therapy" combined with moxibustion at yongquan (KI 1) on perimenopausal insomnia (PMI) with heart-kidney imbalance. METHODS: One hundred patients of PMI with heart-kidney imbalance were randomly divided into a medication group and an acupuncture group, 50 cases in each group. In the medication group, diazepam and oryzanol were given. "Yinqi Guiyuan needles therapy" combined with moxibustion at yongquan (KI 1) were applied in the acupuncture group. The treatment was given for 2 courses, 10 days as a course. Before and after treatment, the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) scale was used to evaluate the improvement of sleep quality in the two groups, and the clinical efficacy was compared. RESULTS: After 2 courses of treatment, the total PSQI score was (4.88±1.80) in the acupuncture group, which was significantly lower than (8.00±1.93) in the medication group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Except for the sleep efficiency, the scores of other components in the acupuncture group were lower than those in the medication group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). The total effective rate was 90.0% (45/50) in the acupuncture group and 68.0% (34/50) in the medication group. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no obvious adverse reactions in entire course of the treatment in the acupuncture group and the safety was satisfactory. CONCLUSION: "Yinqi Guiyuan needles therapy" combined with moxibustion at Yongquan (KI 1) on PMI with heart-kidney imbalance has good clinical effect.

Acupuncture as a primary and independent treatment for a patient with chronic insomnia: One-year follow-up case report.

RATIONALE: Insomnia is a common disease. Till date, no study has reported the long-term (up to 1 year) outcomes of acupuncture as a primary and independent treatment in patients with insomnia. This report aims to present response of patient who was treated by acupuncture. This patient was evaluated with polysomnography. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 40-year-old patient had been diagnosed with insomnia for 2 years and getting worse since 1 month ago. He had undergone depression and anxiety emotion, but refused to take medical treatment for chronic insomnia. DIAGNOSES: In this study, the diagnosis of chronic insomnia was based on the International Classification of Sleep Disorders insomnia. The patient had no obvious differential diagnosis. INTERVENTIONS: Acupuncture treatment was planned for this patient who refused to take medical treatment with chronic insomnia. So the patient received 1 hour of acupuncture treatment for 12 weeks. OUTCOME: Polysomnographic evaluation was performed at baseline and 3 months, and 1 year after acupuncture treatment. He was asked to keep a diary of all his insomnia-related symptoms. All outcome measures substantially improved. Moreover, during the observation period, the patient's sleep quality did not worsen. LESSONS: After acupuncture treatment, improvements of subjective symptoms such as unrefreshing sleep, sleep disturbances, accompanied symptoms (morning headache, fatigue, and mood worsening) were observed. Remarkable improvement was recorded by polysomnographic parameters. The costs of the treatment of insomnia may be reduced, if this therapy was proved useful in future controlled studies.

[Effect on chronic urticaria and serum IL-4 and IgE in the patients treated with moving cupping therapy and autohemotherapy with acupoint inection].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy and effect mechanism on chronic urticaria treated with moving cupping therapy combined with autohemotherapy with acupaint injection for desensitization at acupoints. METHODS: One hundred and four patients of chronic urticaria were randomized into a comprehensive therapy group and a medication group, 52 cases in each one. In the comprehensive therapy group, the moving cupping therapy along the governor vessel and bladder meridian of foot-taiyang was applied combined with autohemotherapy with acupaint injection for desensitization at acupoints. The self-venous blood was injected at bilateral Quchi (LI 11) and Zusanli (ST 36), 1 mL at each acupoint, once every 3 days. In the medication group, cetirizine tablets, 10 mg were prescribed for oral administration, once every day, and the compound dexamethasone acetate cream was used externally, once to twice a day. The clinical efficacy: was observed in 30 days of treatment in the two groups. The changes of serum interleukin 4 (IL-4) and immunoglobulin E (Ig E) before and after treatment were observed. The recurrence rate was compared between the two groups in 3 months after treatment. RESULTS: The cured and markedly effective rate was 90.4% (47/52) in the comprehensive therapy group, which was higher obviously than 78.8% (41/52, P < 0.05) in the medication group. The levels of serum IL-4 and IgE were reduced in the patients of the two groups, indicating the significant difference in comparison before and after treatment (all P < 0.01) and the reducing degree in the comprehensive therapy group was much more significant than that in the medicine group (both P < 0.01). The recurrence rate was 19. 1% (9/47) in the comprehensive therapy group in the 3-month follow-up after treatment, and apparently lower than 51.2% (21/41, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The moving cupping therapy combined with autohemotherapy with acupaint injection for desensitization at acupoints achieves the better efficacy on chronic urticaria compared with the routine western medicine treatment and the recurrence rate is low. The effect mechanism is possibly related to the down-regulation of serum IL-4 and IgE in the patients.

Voltage-dependent anion channel 2 of Arabidopsis thaliana (AtVDAC2) is involved in ABA-mediated early seedling development.

The voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) is the major transport protein in the outer membrane of mitochondria and plays crucial roles in energy metabolism, apoptosis, and metabolites transport. In plants, the expression of VDACs can be affected by different stresses, including drought, salinity and pathogen defense. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern of AtVDAC2 in A. thaliana and found ABA suppressed the accumulation of AtVDAC2 transcripts. Further, phenotype analysis of this VDAC deregulated-expression transgenic Arabidopsis plants indicated that AtVDAC2 anti-sense line showed an ABA-insensitivity phenotype during the early seedling development under ABA treatment. The results suggested that AtVDAC2 might be involved in ABA signaling in A. thaliana.

[Study on the polymorphism of angiotensin converting enzyme genes and serum angiotensin II level in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome accompanied hypertension].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship of the ACE gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and the rennin-angiotensin system in the pathogenesis of hypertension in OSAHS. METHOD: Gene DNA was extracted from blood samples and amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The distribution of.the ACE gene I/D allele and genotypes were analyzed in 30 OSAHS with hypertension patients, 30 normotensive OSAHS patients and 30 healthy control group without cardiovascular diseases. The serum level of angiotensin II were also measured in all subjects by angiotensin II enzyme immunoassay kit. RESULT: The frequency of II genotype and I allele were significantly higher in the OSAHS accompanied hypertension patients than those in the healthy controls (chi2=9.88, chi2=16.13, P<0.01, respectively) and in the normotensive OSAHS patients (chi2=5.67, P<0.05, chi2=8.61, P<0.01). The frequency of II genotype and I allele had no significantly different between the normotensive OSAHS patients and the healthy controls (P>0.05). The serum level of angiotensin II was significantly higher in both OSAHS patients with and without hypertension than that in the healthy control (t=3.66, t=3.23, respectively P<0.01). Whereas the serum level of angiotensin II have no significantly different in the OSAHS patients with and without hypertension (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the higher frequency of ACE gene I allele and genotype are closely associated with OSAHS patients accompanied hypertension. It is one of the important risk factors for the genesis of hypertension in OSAHS. The activity of rennin-angiotension system is higher in the OSAHS may have contribute to OSAHS-induced hypertension.