Clinical study of Bian-shi therapy to mitigate insomnia symptoms in young and middle-aged patients with chronic insomnia by regulating neurotransmitters

Objective To investigate the therapeutic mechanism of Bian-shi therapy in improving sleep quality in young and middle-aged patients with chronic insomnia. Methods 40 young and middle-aged patients with chronic insomnia were randomly divided into the western medicine group （n = 20） and Bian-shi group （n = 20）. In the western medicine group， patients were orally treated with zopiclone （7.5 mg， oral administration before bedtime）， and those in the Bian-shi group were treated with placebo and Bian-shi therapy （once a week， 40 min a time， 4 times in total）. The changes of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI）， and serum melatonin， acetylcholine and norepinephrine before and after 30 d treatment were analyzed and compared between two groups. Results After 30 d treatment， PSQI scores were significantly lower compared with those before treatment in two groups （both P < 0.05）. In the Bian-shi group， PSQI scores were more significantly decreased than those in the western medicine group （all P < 0.05）. After 30 d treatment， serum levels of melatonin and acetylcholine were significantly higher， whereas norepinephrine levels were significantly lower than those before treatment in two groups （all P < 0.05）. In the Bian-shi group， serum levels of melatonin and acetylcholine were significantly higher， whereas norepinephrine levels were significantly lower compared with those in the western medicine group （all P < 0.05）. Conclusions Bian-shi therapy can effectively improve the sleep quality of young and middle-aged patients with chronic insomnia， which yields higher clinical efficacy than that of zopiclone tablets. Multiple neurotransmitters may be involved in the mechanism of Bian-shi therapy to mitigate chronic insomnia symptoms

Imaging small animal whole-body dynamics by single-impulse panoramic photoacoustic computed tomography

Small animal whole-body imaging, providing physiological, pathological, and phenotypical insights into biological processes, is indispensable in preclinical research. With high spatiotemporal resolution and functional contrast, small animal imaging can visualize biological dynamics in vivo at whole-body scale, which can advance both fundamental biology and translational medicine. However, current non-optical imaging techniques lack either spatiotemporal resolution or functional contrasts, and pure optical imaging suffers from either shallow penetration (up to ~1 mm) or a poor resolution-to-depth ratio (~1/3). Here, we present a standalone system, termed single-impulse panoramic photoacoustic computed tomography (SIP-PACT), which overcomes all the above limitations. Our technology, with unprecedented performance, is envisioned to complement existing modalities for imaging entire small animals. As an optical imaging modality, SIP-PACT captures the high molecular contrast of endogenous substances such as hemoglobin, melanin, and lipid, as well as exogenous biomarkers, at the whole animal scale with full-view fidelity. Unlike other optical imaging methods, SIP-PACT sees through ~5 cm of tissue in vivo, and acquires cross-sectional images with an in-plane resolution of ~100 μm. Such capabilities allow us to image, for the first time, mouse wholebody dynamics in real time with clear sub-organ anatomical and functional details and without motion artifacts. SIPPACT can capture transients of whole-body oxygen saturation and pulse wave propagation in vivo without labeling. In sum, we expect widespread applications of SIP-PACT as a whole-body imaging tool for small animals in fundamental biology, pharmacology, pathology, oncology, and other areas

20230513 Real-time ultrasound feedback of transversus abdominis muscle activation on postpartum diastasis recti abdminis http://zglcyj.ijournals.cn/zglcyj/ch/reader/create_pdf.aspx?file_no=20230513 10.13429/j.cnki.cjcr.2023.05.013 LIN Jun*, SONG Chengxian, QUE Kexin, CEN Wanyi, WANG Runmei, ZHANG Jiayong, LIU Gang *Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, China Objective To observe the effect of abdominal hollowing exercise (AHE) through real-time ultrasound imaging feedback on transverse abdominis (TrA) muscle activation and diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) after postpartum. Methods From December 2021 to July 2022, 62 patients with DRA more than 20 mm treated in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were selected and randomly divided into experimental group and control group. The real-time ultrasound imaging feedback for AHE was performed in experimental group, and conventional feedback for AHE was given in control group. The treatment lasted for four weeks in both groups. Before treatment and after 2 weeks and 4 weeks of treatment, the abdominal circumference (AC) was measured, and the abdominal muscle thickness and inter-recti distance(IRD) were measured by high-frequency ultrasound to calculate AC difference and the activation degree of TrA muscle. Results Compared with those in control group, the activation degree of TrA muscle significantly increased, and AC reduced in experimental group after 2 weeks of treatment (P＜0.05). Compared with those in control group, in experimental group, IRD became smaller ［（18.02±4.82）mm vs (20.36±4.13）mm, P＜0.05］, and the static TrA muscle thickness ［(3.21±0.59)mm vs (2.91±0.51)mm, P＜0.05］ and the dynamic TrA muscle thickness ［(5.16±0.86)mm vs (4.54±0.70)mm, P＜0.05］ significantly increased after 4 weeks of treatment. Conclusions AHE based on real-time ultrasound feedback can promote the activation of TrA muscle and an increase in thickness of TrA muscle, which may be conducive to the recovery of the postpartum patients with diastasis recti abdominis. Postpartum rehabilitation, Diastasis recti abdominis, Transverse abdominis muscle, Real-time ultrasound feedback, Abdominal hollowing exercise, Iner-recti distance 698 703 2022-08-08 2023-05-20 Real-time ultrasound feedback of transversus abdominis muscle activation on postpartum diastasis recti abdminis

Objective To observe the effect of abdominal hollowing exercise (AHE) through real-time ultrasound imaging feedback on transverse abdominis (TrA) muscle activation and diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) after postpartum. Methods From December 2021 to July 2022, 62 patients with DRA more than 20 mm treated in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were selected and randomly divided into experimental group and control group. The real-time ultrasound imaging feedback for AHE was performed in experimental group, and conventional feedback for AHE was given in control group. The treatment lasted for four weeks in both groups. Before treatment and after 2 weeks and 4 weeks of treatment, the abdominal circumference (AC) was measured, and the abdominal muscle thickness and inter-recti distance(IRD) were measured by high-frequency ultrasound to calculate AC difference and the activation degree of TrA muscle. Results Compared with those in control group, the activation degree of TrA muscle significantly increased, and AC reduced in experimental group after 2 weeks of treatment (P＜0.05). Compared with those in control group, in experimental group, IRD became smaller ［（18.02±4.82）mm vs (20.36±4.13）mm, P＜0.05］, and the static TrA muscle thickness ［(3.21±0.59)mm vs (2.91±0.51)mm, P＜0.05］ and the dynamic TrA muscle thickness ［(5.16±0.86)mm vs (4.54±0.70)mm, P＜0.05］ significantly increased after 4 weeks of treatment. Conclusions AHE based on real-time ultrasound feedback can promote the activation of TrA muscle and an increase in thickness of TrA muscle, which may be conducive to the recovery of the postpartum patients with diastasis recti abdominis

Endothelial Surface Glycocalyx Can Regulate Flow-Induced Nitric Oxide Production in Microvessels In Vivo

Due to its unique location, the endothelial surface glycocalyx (ESG) at the luminal side of the microvessel wall may serve as a mechano-sensor and transducer of blood flow and thus regulate endothelial functions. To examine this role of the ESG, we used fluorescence microscopy to measure nitric oxide (NO) production in post-capillary venules and arterioles of rat mesentery under reduced (low) and normal (high) flow conditions, with and without enzyme pretreatment to remove heparan sulfate (HS) of the ESG and in the presence of an endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) inhibitor, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA). Rats (SD, 250–300g) were anesthetized. The mesentery was gently taken out from the abdominal cavity and arranged on the surface of a glass coverslip for the measurement. An individual post-capillary venule or arteriole was cannulated and loaded for 45 min with 5 μM 4, 5-Diaminofluorescein diacetate, a membrane permeable fluorescent indictor for NO, then the NO production was measured for ~10 min under a low flow (~300 μm/s) and for ~60 min under a high flow (~1000 μm/s). In the 15 min after switching to the high flow, DAF-2-NO fluorescence intensity increased to 1.27-fold of its baseline, DAF-2-NO continuously increased under the high flow, to 1.53-fold of its baseline in 60 min. Inhibition of eNOS by 1 mM L-NMMA attenuated the flow-induced NO production to 1.13-fold in 15 min and 1.30-fold of its baseline in 60 min, respectively. In contrast, no significant increase in NO production was observed after switching to the high flow for 60 min when 1 h pretreatment with 50 mU/mL heparanase III to degrade the ESG was applied. Similar NO production was observed in arterioles under low and high flows and under eNOS inhibition. Our results suggest that ESG participates in endothelial cell mechanosensing and transduction through its heparan sulfate to activate eNOS

Single-impulse panoramic photoacoustic computed tomography of small-animal whole-body dynamics at high spatiotemporal resolution

Imaging of small animals has played an indispensable role in preclinical research by providing high-dimensional physiological, pathological and phenotypic insights with clinical relevance. Yet, pure optical imaging suffers from either shallow penetration (up to ~1–2 mm) or a poor depth-to-resolution ratio (~3), and non-optical techniques for whole-body imaging of small animals lack either spatiotemporal resolution or functional contrast. Here, we demonstrate that stand-alone single-impulse panoramic photoacoustic computed tomography (SIP-PACT) mitigates these limitations by combining high spatiotemporal resolution (125 μm in-plane resolution, 50 μs per frame data acquisition and 50 Hz frame rate), deep penetration (48 mm cross-sectional width in vivo), anatomical, dynamical and functional contrasts, and full-view fidelity. Using SIP-PACT, we imaged in vivo whole-body dynamics of small animals in real time and obtained clear sub-organ anatomical and functional details. We tracked unlabelled circulating melanoma cells and imaged the vasculature and functional connectivity of whole rat brains. SIP-PACT holds great potential for both preclinical imaging and clinical translation

Incorporating MicroRNA into molecular phenotypes of circulating tumor cells enhances the prognostic accuracy for patients with metastatic breast cancer

Background. The molecular phenotype of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) was associated with clinical outcome of patients with breast cancer. CTCs isolated from patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) display a unique microRNA (miRNA) expression profile. The aim of this study was to enhance the prognostic accuracy of the CTC phenotype in patients with MBC, by incorporating miRNA into a combined prediction model. Subjects, Materials, and Methods. CTCs were detected by CellSearch and enriched by magnetic cell sorting. miRNA deep sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to screen and verify potentially CTC‐specific miRNA candidates. Patients with MBC were enrolled from two independent cohorts, and overall survival (OS) and chemotherapy response were analyzed. Results. We screened and identified that miR‐106b was an upregulated molecule in patients with MBC with CTC ≥5/7.5 mL (n = 16) compared with patients with CTC = 0/7.5 mL (n = 16) and healthy donors (n = 8). The expression of CTC‐specific miR‐106b correlated with vimentin and E‐cadherin in CTC and acted as an independent factor for predicting OS (hazard ratio 2.157, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.098–4.239, p = .026). Although CTC‐specific miR‐106b, E‐cadherin, and vimentin showed a prognostic potential independently, the prognostic performance for OS based on the combination of three markers was significantly enhanced in Cohort 1 (area under the curve [AUC] 0.752, 95% CI 0.658–0.847, n = 128) and further validated in Cohort 2 (AUC 0.726, 95% CI 0.595–0.856, n = 91). Besides, a combined model incorporating miR‐106b was associated with therapy response. Conclusion. The phenotypic assemblies of CTC incorporating miR‐106b show enhanced prognostic accuracy of overall survival in patients with MBC

Autophagy-associated circRNA circCDYL augments autophagy and promotes breast cancer progression

Background Although both circular RNAs (circRNAs) and autophagy are associated with the function of breast cancer (BC), whether circRNAs regulate BC progression via autophagy remains unknown. In this study, we aim to explore the regulatory mechanisms and the clinical significance of autophagy-associated circRNAs in BC. Methods Autophagy associated circRNAs were screened by circRNAs deep sequencing and validated by qRT-PCR in BC tissues with high- and low- autophagic level. The biological function of autophagy associated circRNAs were assessed by plate colony formation, cell viability, transwells, flow cytometry and orthotopic animal models. For mechanistic study, RNA immunoprecipitation, circRNAs pull-down, Dual luciferase report assay, Western Blot, Immunofluorescence and Immunohistochemical staining were performed. Results An autophagy associated circRNA circCDYL was elevated by 3.2 folds in BC tissues as compared with the adjacent non-cancerous tissues, and circCDYL promoted autophagic level in BC cells via the miR-1275-ATG7/ULK1 axis; Moreover, circCDYL enhanced the malignant progression of BC cells in vitro and in vivo. Clinically, increased circCDYL in the tumor tissues and serum of BC patients was associated with higher tumor burden, shorter survival and poorer clinical response to therapy. Conclusions circCDYL promotes BC progression via the miR-1275-ATG7/ULK1-autophagic axis and circCDYL could act as a potential prognostic and predictive molecule for breast cancer patients

Outlier Detection in Adaptive Functional-Coefficient Autoregressive Models Based on Extreme Value Theory

This paper proposes several test statistics to detect additive or innovative outliers in adaptive functional-coefficient autoregressive (AFAR) models based on extreme value theory and likelihood ratio tests. All the test statistics follow a tractable asymptotic Gumbel distribution. Also, we propose an asymptotic critical value on a fixed significance level and obtain an asymptotic p-value for testing, which is used to detect outliers in time series. Simulation studies indicate that the extreme value method for detecting outliers in AFAR models is effective both for AO and IO, for a lone outlier and multiple outliers, and for separate outliers and outlier patches. Furthermore, it is shown that our procedure can reduce possible effects of masking and swamping

Comparison of Immediate Neuromodulatory Effects between Focal Vibratory and Electrical Sensory Stimulations after Stroke

Focal vibratory stimulation (FVS) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) are promising technologies for sensory rehabilitation after stroke. However, the differences between these techniques in immediate neuromodulatory effects on the poststroke cortex are not yet fully understood. In this research, cortical responses in persons with chronic stroke (n = 15) and unimpaired controls (n = 15) were measured by whole-brain electroencephalography (EEG) when FVS and NMES at different intensities were applied transcutaneously to the forearm muscles. Both FVS and sensory-level NMES induced alpha and beta oscillations in the sensorimotor cortex after stroke, significantly exceeding baseline levels (p p p p > 0.05), but it was significantly weakened during FVS (p < 0.05) after stroke. The results indicated that both FVS and NMES effectively activated the sensorimotor cortex after stroke. However, FVS was particularly effective in eliciting transient involuntary attention, while NMES primarily fostered the cortical responses of the targeted muscles in the contralesional motor cortex

Mo2C as Non-Noble Metal Co-Catalyst in Mo2C/CdS Composite for Enhanced Photocatalytic H-2 Evolution under Visible Light Irradiation

Co-catalysts are a major factor to enhance photocatalytic H-2 activity; they are mainly composed of expensive noble metals. Here, we reported a new non-noble-metal co-catalyst Mo2C that efficiently improves the photocatalytic H-2 evolution of CdS under visible light irradiation. Mo2C is prepared by temperature-programmed reaction with molybdenum oxide as precursor, and the Mo2C/CdS composite is prepared by deposition of CdS on Mo2C. The optimum composite 2.0% Mo2C/CdS shows a high H-2 evolution rate of 161 mu mol h(-1), which is tentimes higher than that of CdS alone and 2.3 times higher than the optimum for 1.0% Pt/CdS. Moreover, the Mo2C/CdS is stable for 50 h. This study presents a new low-cost non-noble-metal co-catalyst as a photocatalyst to achieve highly efficient H-2 evolution