Efficacy of acupuncture therapy on cancer-related insomnia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

ObjectivesCancer-related insomnia (CRI) takes a toll on many cancer survivors, causing distressing symptoms and deteriorating the quality of life. Acupuncture therapy has been used for CRI already. However, it is still uncertain which acupuncture regime is best for CRI. The primary objective of this review is to conduct a comparative evaluation and ranking of the effectiveness of different acupuncture therapies for CRI.MethodsRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were published up to July 31, 2023, from 8 databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and China Biology Medicine disc) were integrated in this study. Trials that met the inclusion criteria were evaluated the risk of bias. Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) was used to assess the efficacy of different acupuncture therapies as the primary outcome. Then, STATA 15, R, and OpenBUGS were applied to perform the network meta-analysis. PRISMA statements were followed in this network meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 37 studies were included in this review, involving 16 interventions with 3,246 CRI participants. Auriculotherapy + moxibustion [surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) 98.98%] and auriculotherapy (SUCRA 77.47%) came out top of the ranking, which were more effective than control, medicine, usual care and sham acupuncture.ConclusionAuriculotherapy + moxibustion and auriculotherapy + acupuncture emerged as the top two acupuncture regimes for CRI and future studies should pay more attention to CRI.Clinical trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier INPLASY202210095

<ORIGINAL REPORT>X-ray scanning analytical microscopic and scanning electron microscopic studies of an unusual case of dens invaginatus

A mass was extirpated from the region of the maxillary right third molar of a 20 year-old patient. It was proved to be an extreme and unerupted case of dens invaginatus. The clinical and histopathological features have been presented in a previous paper. Ameloblasts and odontoblasts were noted along the surface of enamel or dentin. In the present study, X-ray scanning analytical microscopy (XSAM), a newly developed technique, together with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was applied for the study of this malformed tooth. SEM study showed a strange arrangement of well-formed enamel and dentin in normal structures. The distribution of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) was clearly observed by the XSAM method. It revealed that the bulk of dentin was composed of two kinds of dentin quite different in mineral content while their SEM appearances were similar. The part of the dentin near the dentinoenamel junction had much higher Ca and P concentrations than the outer parts. In conclusion, the disagreement between the microscopic findings and the XSAM findings suggests the importance of applying various methods in studies to obtain a comprehensive understanding of such malformation. In addition, the present investigation also points out the complexity of the disturbance ranging within the term dens invaginatus

How Well Does the ERA5 Reanalysis Capture the Extreme Climate Events Over China? Part II: Extreme Temperature

The fifth-generation atmospheric reanalysis of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ERA5) is the latest reanalysis product. However, the reliability of ERA5 to capture extreme temperatures is still unclear over China. Hence, based on conventional meteorological station data, a new criterion (DISO) was used to validate the ERA5 capturing extreme temperature indices derived from the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI) across the six subregions of China on different timescales. The conclusions are as follows: the original daily temperatures (mean temperature, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature) can be well reproduced by ERA5 reanalysis over China. ERA5 tends to exhibit more misdetection for the duration of extreme temperature events than extreme temperature intensity and frequency. In addition, ERA5 performed best in the summer and worst in the winter, respectively. The trend of absolute indices (e.g., TXx and TNx), percentile-based indices (e.g., TX90p, TX10p, TN90p, and TN10p), and duration indices (e.g., WSDI, CSDI, and GSL) can be captured by ERA5, but ERA5 failed to capture the tendency of the diurnal temperature range (DTR) over China. Spatially, ERA5 performs well in southeastern China. However, it remains challenging to accurately recreate the extreme temperature events in the Tibetan Plateau. The elevation difference between the station and ERA5 grid point contributes to the main bias of reanalysis temperatures. The accuracy of ERA5 decreases with the increase in elevation discrepancy

How Well Does the ERA5 Reanalysis Capture the Extreme Climate Events Over China? Part I: Extreme Precipitation

ERA5 is the fifth-generation atmospheric reanalysis of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, with high spatiotemporal resolution and global coverage. However, the reliability of ERA5 for simulating extreme precipitation events is still unclear over China. In this study, 12 extreme precipitation indices and a comprehensive quantitative distance between indices of simulation and observation were used to evaluate ERA5 precipitation from three fundamental aspects: intensity, frequency, and duration. The geomorphological regionalization method was used to divide the subregions of China. The results showed that the ability of ERA5 to simulate annual total precipitation was better than that of daily precipitation. For the intensity indices, ERA5 performs well for simulating the PRCPTOT (annual total wet days precipitation) over China. ERA5 performs better on RX5day (max 5-days precipitation amount) and R95p (very wet days), especially in eastern China, than on RX1day (max 1-day precipitation amount) and R99p (extremely wet days). For the frequency indices, the ability of the ERA5 simulation increased as the amount of precipitation increased, except for northwestern China. However, the ability of ERA5 to simulate R50 mm (number of extreme heavy precipitation days) decreased. For the duration indices, ERA5 was better at simulating drought events than wet events in eastern China. Our results highlight the need for ERA5 to enhance the simulation of trend changes in extreme precipitation events

Metabolomics to identify fingerprints of carotid atherosclerosis in nonobese metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease

Abstract Background/aims Nonobese metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is paradoxically associated with improved metabolic and pathological features at diagnosis but similar cardiovascular diseases (CVD) prognosis to obese MAFLD. We aimed to utilize the metabolomics to identify the potential metabolite profiles accounting for this phenomenon. Methods This prospective multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in China enrolling derivation and validation cohorts. Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were applied to perform a metabolomics measurement. Results The study involved 120 MAFLD patients and 60 non-MAFLD controls in the derivation cohort. Controls were divided into two groups according to the presence of carotid atherosclerosis (CAS). The MAFLD group was further divided into nonobese MAFLD with/without CAS groups and obese MAFLD with/without CAS groups. Fifty-six metabolites were statistically significant for discriminating the six groups. Among the top 10 metabolites related to CAS in nonobese MAFLD, only phosphatidylethanolamine (PE 20:2/16:0), phosphatidylglycerol (PG 18:0/20:4) and de novo lipogenesis (16:0/18:2n-6) achieved significant areas under the ROC curve (AUCs, 0.67, p = 0.03; 0.79, p = 0.02; 0.63, p = 0.03, respectively). The combination of these three metabolites and liver stiffness achieved a significantly higher AUC (0.92, p < 0.01). In obese MAFLD patients, cystine was found to be significant with an AUC of 0.69 (p = 0.015), followed by sphingomyelin (SM 16:1/18:1) (0.71, p = 0.004) and de novo lipogenesis (16:0/18:2n-6) (0.73, p = 0.004). The combination of these three metabolites, liver fat content and age attained a significantly higher AUC of 0.91 (p < 0.001). The AUCs of these metabolites remained highly significant in the independent validation cohorts involving 200 MAFLD patients and 90 controls. Conclusions Diagnostic models combining different metabolites according to BMI categories could raise the accuracy of identifying subclinical CAS. Trial registration The study protocol was approved by the local ethics committee and all the participants have provided written informed consent (Approval number: [2014] No. 112, registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-ChiCTR2000034197) Graphical Abstrac

Determination of the Mechanical Properties of PIN–PMN–PT Bulk Single Crystals by Nanoindentation

The present study aimed to experimentally evaluate the mechanical properties of Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3&ndash;Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3&ndash;PbTiO3 (PIN&ndash;PMN&ndash;PT) bulk single crystals with different crystallographic directions using the nanoindentation technique. The load&ndash;indentation depth curves, elastic and plastic deformations, hardnesses, and Young&rsquo;s moduli of [100]- and [110]-oriented 0.28PIN&ndash;0.43PMN&ndash;0.29PT bulk single crystals were investigated. Our results show that with an increase in the maximum indentation depth hmax, the plastic residual percentage increased for both the [100]- and the [110]-oriented single crystals. At each hmax, the plastic residual percentage of the [100]-oriented PIN&ndash;PMN&ndash;PT single crystals was less than that of the [110]-oriented PIN&ndash;PMN&ndash;PT single crystals. At hmax from 500 nm to 2000 nm, the plastic deformation was larger than the elastic deformation, and the plastic residual percentage was larger than 50% for both the [100]- and the [110]-oriented single crystals. This means that the plastic deformation dominated in the indentation process of PIN&ndash;PMN&ndash;PT single crystals. The indentation size effect on the hardness of the PIN&ndash;PMN&ndash;PT single crystals was apparent in the nanoindentation process. Both the hardness and the Young&rsquo;s modulus of the [100]-PIN&ndash;PMN&ndash;PT single crystals were greater than those of the [110]-PIN&ndash;PMN&ndash;PT single crystals, which indicates that the PIN&ndash;PMN&ndash;PT single crystals had anisotropic mechanical characteristics

Data_Sheet_1_Efficacy of acupuncture therapy on cancer-related insomnia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.docx

ObjectivesCancer-related insomnia (CRI) takes a toll on many cancer survivors, causing distressing symptoms and deteriorating the quality of life. Acupuncture therapy has been used for CRI already. However, it is still uncertain which acupuncture regime is best for CRI. The primary objective of this review is to conduct a comparative evaluation and ranking of the effectiveness of different acupuncture therapies for CRI.MethodsRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were published up to July 31, 2023, from 8 databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and China Biology Medicine disc) were integrated in this study. Trials that met the inclusion criteria were evaluated the risk of bias. Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) was used to assess the efficacy of different acupuncture therapies as the primary outcome. Then, STATA 15, R, and OpenBUGS were applied to perform the network meta-analysis. PRISMA statements were followed in this network meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 37 studies were included in this review, involving 16 interventions with 3,246 CRI participants. Auriculotherapy + moxibustion [surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) 98.98%] and auriculotherapy (SUCRA 77.47%) came out top of the ranking, which were more effective than control, medicine, usual care and sham acupuncture.ConclusionAuriculotherapy + moxibustion and auriculotherapy + acupuncture emerged as the top two acupuncture regimes for CRI and future studies should pay more attention to CRI.Clinical trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier INPLASY202210095.</p

Graphene Oxide Glue-Electrode for Fabrication of Vertical, Elastic, Conductive Columns

Graphene has a planar atomic structure with high flexibility and might be used as ultrathin conductive glues or adhesion layers in electronics and other applications. Here, we show that graphene oxide (GO) sheets condensed from solution can act as a pure, thin-layer, nonpenetrating glue for fabrication of vertical architectures anchored on rigid and flexible substrates. Carbon nanotube (CNT) sponges are used as a porous template to make polymer-reinforced composite columns, to achieve both high conductivity and elastic behavior. These vertical columns are fixed on a substrate by reduced GO sheets as an electrode and exhibit reversible resistance change under large-strain compression for many cycles. Similar to the CNT gecko feet, we disclose high adhesion forces at the CNT-GO and GO-SiO₂ interfaces by mechanical tests and theoretical calculation. Three-dimensional CNT, graphene, and nanowire networks with our GO glue-electrodes have potential applications as energy storage electrodes, flexible sensors, functional composites, and vertical interconnects