Traditional Chinese medicine for smoking cessation: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) may have special advantages in facilitating smoking cessation, but consensus on effectiveness is lacking. We aim to comprehensively review, update, and refine current evidence on TCM effectiveness and safety. Nine databases were searched from their inception up to 28 February 2023. Systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analysis of TCM for smoking cessation were identified and retrieved. Additional databases and hand searches of RCTs from included SRs were performed for data pooling. Cochrane ROB tools and AMSTAR-2 were used to evaluate the methodological quality of RCTs and SRs, respectively. RCT data are presented as relative risks (RR) or mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using RevMan 5.4. Thirteen SRs involving 265 studies with 33081 participants were included. Among these 265 studies, 157 were duplicates (58.36%) and 52 were non-RCTs (19.62%). Combined with the remaining 56 RCTs identified through hand searches, 88 RCTs involving 12434 participants were finally included for data synthesis. All the SRs focused on acupoint stimulation, and the majority were of low or very low quality. The methodological quality of RCTs was either unclear or high risk. For continuous abstinence rate, TCM external interventions were better than placebo in 6 months to 1 year (RR=1.60; 95% CI: 1.14-2.25; I =27%; n=5533 participants). Compared with placebo, TCM external application was effective in reducing nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and the effect was gradually stable and obvious in the fourth week (MD= -4.46; 95% CI: -5.43 - -3.49; n=165 participants). Twelve RCTs reported adverse events as outcome indicators for safety evaluation, and no serious adverse events occurred. Despite the methodological limitations of the original studies, our review suggests that TCM intervention shows potential effectiveness on the continuous abstinence rate. Extending the intervention time can enhance the effect of TCM on nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Referred to adverse events, more data for safety evaluation are required. [Abstract copyright: © 2023 Lu CL. et al.

Prospects for detection rate of very-high-energy {\gamma}-ray emissions from short {\gamma}-ray bursts with the HADAR experiment

The observation of short gamma ray bursts (SGRBs) in the TeV energy range plays an important role in understanding the radiation mechanism and probing new areas of physics such as Lorentz invariance violation. However, no SGRB has been observed in this energy range due to the short duration of SGRBs and the weakness of current experiments. New experiments with new technology are required to detect sub-TeV SGRBs. In this work, we observe the very high energy (VHE) $\gamma$-ray emissions from SGRBs and calculate the annual detection rate with the High Altitude Detection of Astronomical Radiation HADAR (HADAR) experiment. First, a set of pseudo-SGRB samples is generated and checked using the observations of Fermi-GBM, Fermi-LAT, and SWIFT measurements. The annual detection rate is calculated from these SGRB samples based on the performance of the HADAR instrument. As a result, the HADAR experiment can detect 0.5 SGRB per year if the spectral break-off of $\gamma$-rays caused by the internal absorption is larger than 100 GeV. For a GRB09010-like GRB in HADAR's view, it should be possible to detect approximately 2000 photons considering the internal absorption. With a time delay assumption due to the Lorentz invariance violation effects, a simulated light curve of GRB090510 has evident energy dependence. We hope that the HADAR experiment can perform the SGRB observations and test our calculations in the future

The diversity of human papillomavirus infection among human immunodeficiency virus-infected women in Yunnan, China Other viruses (e.g. pox, papilloma, parvo, reoviridae)

Background: Yunnan has one of the oldest and the most severe human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemics in China. We conducted an observational study to evaluate the human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype distribution in relation to cervical neoplastic disease risk among HIV-infected women in Yunnan. Methods: We screened 301 HIV-infected non-pregnant women in Mangshi prefecture in Yunnan province. All consenting participants underwent simultaneous and independent assessment by cervical cytology, colposcopy-histopathology, and HPV genotyping. Unadjusted and multivariable-adjusted multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate factors associated with single or multiple carcinogenic HPV genotypes. Results: HPV genotypes were present in 43.5% (131/301) overall, and carcinogenic HPV genotypes were present in 37.5% (113/301) women. Among women with carcinogenic HPV genotypes, 80 (70.8% of 113) had a single carcinogenic HPV type, while 33 (29.2%) women had multiple (2 or more) carcinogenic HPV types. Overall, the most common carcinogenic HPV types were HPV52 (7.3%), HPV58 (6.6%), HPV18 (6.3%), HPV16 (6.0%), and HPV33 (5.3%). In women with cervical precancerous lesions (i.e., high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions [HSIL] on cytology or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse [CIN2+] detected on colposcopy-histology), the most commonly detected genotypes were HPV16 (28.6%), HPV52 (25.0%), HPV58 (17.9%), HPV18 (10.7%) and HPV31 (10.7%). Increasing age was an independent risk factor associated with presence of single carcinogenic HPV types (adjusted odds ratio: 1.04, 95%CI: 1.01-1.07, p=0.012) but not with the presence of multiple carcinogenic types in the multivariable-adjusted models. Conclusions: As HIV-infected women continue to live longer on antiretroviral therapy in China, it will be increasingly important to screen for, and prevent, HPV-associated cervical cancer in this population, especially given the wide diversity and multiplicity of HPV genotypes

The diversity of human papillomavirus infection among human immunodeficiency virus-infected women in Yunnan, China

Abstract Background Yunnan has one of the oldest and the most severe human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemics in China. We conducted an observational study to evaluate the human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype distribution in relation to cervical neoplastic disease risk among HIV-infected women in Yunnan. Methods We screened 301 HIV-infected non-pregnant women in Mangshi prefecture in Yunnan province. All consenting participants underwent simultaneous and independent assessment by cervical cytology, colposcopy-histopathology, and HPV genotyping. Unadjusted and multivariable-adjusted multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate factors associated with single or multiple carcinogenic HPV genotypes. Results HPV genotypes were present in 43.5% (131/301) overall, and carcinogenic HPV genotypes were present in 37.5% (113/301) women. Among women with carcinogenic HPV genotypes, 80 (70.8% of 113) had a single carcinogenic HPV type, while 33 (29.2%) women had multiple (2 or more) carcinogenic HPV types. Overall, the most common carcinogenic HPV types were HPV52 (7.3%), HPV58 (6.6%), HPV18 (6.3%), HPV16 (6.0%), and HPV33 (5.3%). In women with cervical precancerous lesions (i.e., high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions [HSIL] on cytology or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse [CIN2+] detected on colposcopy-histology), the most commonly detected genotypes were HPV16 (28.6%), HPV52 (25.0%), HPV58 (17.9%), HPV18 (10.7%) and HPV31 (10.7%). Increasing age was an independent risk factor associated with presence of single carcinogenic HPV types (adjusted odds ratio: 1.04, 95%CI: 1.01-1.07, p = 0.012) but not with the presence of multiple carcinogenic types in the multivariable-adjusted models. Conclusions As HIV-infected women continue to live longer on antiretroviral therapy in China, it will be increasingly important to screen for, and prevent, HPV-associated cervical cancer in this population, especially given the wide diversity and multiplicity of HPV genotypes

A Novel Non-Lens βγ−Crystallin and Trefoil Factor Complex from Amphibian Skin and Its Functional Implications

In vertebrates, non-lens betagamma-crystallins are widely expressed in various tissues, but their functions are unknown. The molecular mechanisms of trefoil factors, initiators of mucosal healing and being greatly involved in tumorigenesis, have remained elusive.A naturally existing 72-kDa complex of non-lens betagamma-crystallin (alpha-subunit) and trefoil factor (beta-subunit), named betagamma-CAT, was identified from frog Bombina maxima skin secretions. Its alpha-subunit and beta-subunit (containing three trefoil factor domains), with a non-covalently linked form of alphabeta(2), show significant sequence homology to ep37 proteins, a group of non-lens betagamma-crystallins identified in newt Cynops pyrrhogaster and mammalian trefoil factors, respectively. betagamma-CAT showed potent hemolytic activity on mammalian erythrocytes. The specific antiserum against each subunit was able to neutralize its hemolytic activity, indicating that the two subunits are functionally associated. betagamma-CAT formed membrane pores with a functional diameter about 2.0 nm, leading to K(+) efflux and colloid-osmotic hemolysis. High molecular weight SDS-stable oligomers (>240-kDa) were detected by antibodies against the alpha-subunit with Western blotting. Furthermore, betagamma-CAT showed multiple cellular effects on human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Low dosages of betagamma-CAT (25-50 pM) were able to stimulate cell migration and wound healing. At high concentrations, it induced cell detachment (EC(50) 10 nM) and apoptosis. betagamma-CAT was rapidly endocytosed via intracellular vacuole formation. Under confocal microscope, some of the vacuoles were translocated to nucleus and partially fused with nuclear membrane. Bafilomycin A1 (a specific inhibitor of the vacuolar-type ATPase) and nocodazole (an agent of microtuble depolymerizing), while inhibited betagamma-CAT induced vacuole formation, significantly inhibited betagamma-CAT induced cell detachment, suggesting that betagamma-CAT endocytosis is important for its activities.These findings illustrate novel cellular functions of non-lens betagamma-cyrstallins and action mechanism via association with trefoil factors, serving as clues for investigating the possible occurrence of similar molecules and action mechanisms in mammals

Observation of a ppb mass threshoud enhancement in \psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p}) decay

The decay channel $\psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p})$ is studied using a sample of $1.06\times 10^8$ $\psi^\prime$ events collected by the BESIII experiment at BEPCII. A strong enhancement at threshold is observed in the $p\bar{p}$ invariant mass spectrum. The enhancement can be fit with an $S$-wave Breit-Wigner resonance function with a resulting peak mass of $M=1861^{+6}_{-13} {\rm (stat)}^{+7}_{-26} {\rm (syst)} {\rm MeV/}c^2$ and a narrow width that is $\Gamma<38 {\rm MeV/}c^2$ at the 90% confidence level. These results are consistent with published BESII results. These mass and width values do not match with those of any known meson resonance.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Chinese Physics

Measurement of azimuthal asymmetries in inclusive charged dipion production in e+e−e^+e^- annihilations at s\sqrt{s} = 3.65 GeV

We present a measurement of the azimuthal asymmetries of two charged pions in the inclusive process $e^+e^-\rightarrow \pi\pi X$ based on a data set of 62 $\rm{pb}^{-1}$ at the center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=3.65$ GeV collected with the BESIII detector. These asymmetries can be attributed to the Collins fragmentation function. We observe a nonzero asymmetry, which increases with increasing pion momentum. As our energy scale is close to that of the existing semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering experimental data, the measured asymmetries are important inputs for the global analysis of extracting the quark transversity distribution inside the nucleon and are valuable to explore the energy evolution of the spin-dependent fragmentation function.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Observation and study of the decay J/ψ→ϕηη′J/\psi\rightarrow\phi\eta\eta'

We report the observation and study of the decay $J/\psi\rightarrow\phi\eta\eta'$ using $1.3\times{10^9}$ $J/\psi$ events collected with the BESIII detector. Its branching fraction, including all possible intermediate states, is measured to be $(2.32\pm0.06\pm0.16)\times{10^{-4}}$. We also report evidence for a structure, denoted as $X$, in the $\phi\eta'$ mass spectrum in the $2.0-2.1$ GeV/$c^2$ region. Using two decay modes of the $\eta'$ meson ($\gamma\pi^+\pi^-$ and $\eta\pi^+\pi^-$), a simultaneous fit to the $\phi\eta'$ mass spectra is performed. Assuming the quantum numbers of the $X$ to be $J^P = 1^-$, its significance is found to be 4.4$\sigma$, with a mass and width of $(2002.1 \pm 27.5 \pm 21.4)$ MeV/$c^2$ and $(129 \pm 17 \pm 9)$ MeV, respectively, and a product branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(J/\psi\rightarrow\eta{}X)\times{}\mathcal{B}(X\rightarrow\phi\eta')=(9.8 \pm 1.2 \pm 1.7)\times10^{-5}$. Alternatively, assuming $J^P = 1^+$, the significance is 3.8$\sigma$, with a mass and width of $(2062.8 \pm 13.1 \pm 7.2)$ MeV/$c^2$ and $(177 \pm 36 \pm 35)$ MeV, respectively, and a product branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(J/\psi\rightarrow\eta{}X)\times{}\mathcal{B}(X\rightarrow\phi\eta')=(9.6 \pm 1.4 \pm 2.0)\times10^{-5}$. The angular distribution of $J/\psi\rightarrow\eta{}X$ is studied and the two $J^P$ assumptions of the $X$ cannot be clearly distinguished due to the limited statistics. In all measurements the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures and 4 table