Application of Acupoints and Meridians for the Treatment of Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Data Mining-Based Literature Study

Background. Dysmenorrhea is a common problem for which acupuncture provides effective analgesia. Although acupoint selection affects the effectiveness of acupuncture, the basic rules of acupoint selection are little understood. This study aims to investigate the principles of acupoint selection and characteristics of acupoints used for primary dysmenorrhea. Methods. PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Biomedical Database were searched for clinical trials published in English or Chinese from January 1978 to April 2014 evaluating the effect of acupuncture on primary dysmenorrhea, with or without methods of randomization and/or control. Three authors extracted information and two reviewers inputted information on titles, journals, interventions, main acupoints, and outcomes using the self-established Data Excavation Platform of Acupoint Specificity for data mining. Results. Sanyinjiao (SP06), Guanyuan (CV04), and Qihai (CV06) were used most frequently. The most frequently used meridians were Conception Vessel, Spleen Meridian of Foot Taiyin, and Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang. 67.24% of acupoints used were specific acupoints. Acupoints on lower limbs were most frequently used. Conclusion. Data mining is a feasible approach to identify the characteristics of acupoint selection. Our study indicated that modern acupuncture treatment for primary dysmenorrhea is based on selection of specific acupoints according to traditional acupuncture theory

Simulation Biomass Effecting On Microbial Fuel Cell Electricity Properties and Substrate Degradation

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) mathematical model was established with suspended microorganisms, biomass on the electrode material, soluble chemical substrates and intermediary. By simulating the process of the substrate degradation, biomass growth and the electric current production process, With different initial biomass concentration, suspended microbial biomass and biomass attaching on electrode varing with time,current and charge varing with time,substrate concentration varing with time and mediator concenration varing with time were investigated. The results showed that initial suspended microbial is little, growth of biomass is main on electrode, biomass in solution grow slowly, producing electricity the main function biomass is on electrode, while initial suspended microbial concentration is high, growth of biomass is main in solution, biomass on electrode grow slowly, producing electricity the main function biomass is  in solution; the more initial suspended microbial, the faster current reaching the maximum, the more charge, the faster substrate degradation, the faster mediator variation; initial add biomass benefit to MFC producing electricity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v11i2.197

Cuscuta chinensis flavonoids alleviate ovarian damage in offspring female mice induced by BPA exposure during pregnancy by regulating the central carbon metabolism pathway

Pregnancy is a sensitive window period for bisphenol A (BPA) exposure. BPA can pass through the placenta and cause reproductive damage in offspring female mice. Even BPA that is not metabolized during lactation can be passed through milk. Cuscuta chinensis flavonoids (CCFs) can alleviate reproductive damage caused by BPA, but the mechanism of action is unclear. To investigate the potential mitigating impact of CCFs on ovarian damage resulting from BPA exposure during pregnancy, we administered BPA and CCFs to pregnant mice during the gestational period spanning from 0.5 to 17.5 days. Aseptic collection of serum and ovaries from female mice was conducted on postnatal day 21 (PND21). Serum hormone levels and tissue receptor levels were quantified utilizing ELISA and PCR, while ovaries underwent sequencing and analysis through transcriptomics and metabolomics techniques. Additionally, the assessment of ovarian oxidative stress levels was carried out as part of the comprehensive analysis. The results showed that CCFs administration mitigated the adverse effects induced by BPA exposure on ovarian index, hormone levels, receptor expression, and mRNA expression levels in female offspring mice. The joint analysis of transcriptome and metabolome revealed 48 enriched pathways in positive ion mode and 44 enriched pathways in negative ion mode. Among them, the central carbon metabolism pathway is significantly regulated by BPA and CCFs. The screened sequencing results were verified through qPCR and biochemical kits. In this study, CCFs may participate in the central carbon metabolism pathway by reducing the expression of Kit proto-oncogene (Kit), hexokinase 1 gene (Hk1) and pyruvate kinase M (Pkm) mRNA and increasing the expression of h-ras proto-oncogene (Hras), sirtuin 3 (Sirt3), sirtuin 6 (Sirt6) and TP53 induced glycolysis regulatory phosphatase gene (Tigar) mRNA, thereby resisting the effects of BPA on the body. At the same time, the metabolic levels of D-Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and L-Asparagine tend to be stable. Moreover, CCFs demonstrated a capacity to diminish the BPA-induced escalation in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Simultaneously, it exhibited the ability to elevate levels of glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT), thereby effectively preventing peroxidation. In summary, CCFs alleviate BPA-induced ovarian damage in offspring female mice by regulating the central carbon metabolism pathway. This study will improve the information on BPA reproductive damage antagonist drugs and provide a theoretical basis for protecting animal reproductive health

Salvia miltiorrhiza polysaccharides alleviate florfenicol-induced inflammation and oxidative stress in chick livers by regulating phagosome signaling pathway

Florfenicol (FFC) is a commonly used antibiotic in animal breeding, especially in broiler breeding. Previous studies found that FFC could affect the liver function of chickens. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of FFC on liver function are still not completely clear. Moreover, the research on drugs that antagonize FFC hepatotoxicity is relatively lacking. Salvia miltiorrhiza polysaccharides (SMPs) have been proved to have obvious liver protection effects. Therefore, we exposed chicks to FFC at the clinically recommended dose of 0.15 g/L. At the same time, 0.15 g/L FFC and 5 g/L SMPs were given to another group of chicks. After 5 days of continuous administration, the livers of chicks from different treatment groups were sequenced by transcriptome and proteome. Based on the analysis of sequencing data, we also focused on the detection of inflammation and oxidation indicators related to the phagosome signaling pathway with significant enrichment of differential factors in the livers of chicks. The results showed that some significantly differentially expressed genes and proteins induced by FFC were enriched in the phagosome signaling pathway, and they increased the expression levels of inflammatory factors and peroxides. However, SMPs intervention significantly reversed the tendency of FFC to alter phagosome signaling pathways and reduced the expression levels of inflammatory factors and peroxides. In conclusion, FFC caused liver inflammation and oxidative stress in chicks by regulating the phagosome signaling pathway. Meanwhile, SMPs could improve the adverse effects of FFC on the phagosome signaling pathway. This study provided new insights into the ameliorative effects and mechanisms of SMPs on hepatotoxicity of FFC

Assessing the risk of check dam failure due to heavy rainfall using machine learning on the Loess Plateau, China

Check dams are widely used throughout the world to tackle soil and water loss. However, the frequency of extreme rainfall events has increased owing to global climate change and the main structure of check dam is gradually aging, which lead to an increase in the failure risk of check dams. Thus, it is necessary to carry out the study on failure risk diagnosis and assessment of check dams. In the study, machine learning algorithms (ML), including random forests (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and logistic regression (LR), were used to integrate the environmental and engineering factors and then assess the risk of check dam failure due to the “7.26” rainstorm on July 26, 2017, in the Chabagou watershed, located in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau, China. To verify the generalizability of the model in this study, these models were used for the Wangmaogou catchment north of the Loess Plateau. The accuracy assessment by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve indicated that the RF model with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) greater than 0.89 was the most precise model and had a higher generalization ability. In addition, the model dataset was relatively small and easy to obtain, which make the risk modeling of check dam failure in the study has the potential for application in other regions. In the RF model, each factor selected was confirmed to be important, and the importance values for engineering factors were generally higher than those for the environmental factors. The risk map of check dam failure in the RF model indicated that 56.34% of check dams in the study area had very high and high risks of dam failure under high-intensity rainfall in 2017. Based on the importance of factors and the risk map of check dam failure, the prevention and control measures for reducing the risk of check dam failure and promoting the construction of check dam are proposed. These proposals provide a scientific basis for the reinforcement of check dams and the future layout of check dams in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Modeling the impacts of fully-filled check dams on flood processes using CAESAR-lisflood model in the Shejiagou catchment of the Loess Plateau, China

Study region: The Shejiagou catchment on the Loess Plateau, China Study focus: This study used CAESAR-lisflood to simulate the impacts on flood processes of fully-filled check dams with different numbers, silt land areas and connection modes. According to the model results, the protective measures of fully-filled check dams and recommendations for promoting the construction of check dams were proposed in the study. New hydrological insights for the region: CAESAR-lisflood model in the study obtained higher accuracy with both the Nash-Sutcliff coefficient of efficiency and the coefficient of determination greater than 0.8. Our results showed the presence of fully-filled check dams made the flood process tend to balance, and reduced the flood volume by 9.56–75.52%, peak discharge by 14.25–89.74%, runoff kinetic energy by 30.21–99.75% and runoff power by 20.17–95.23% under different layout scenarios. Meanwhile, the results indicated that the impacts of fully-filled check dams in main channel mainly manifested in the energy dissipation of silt land and energy increase at the outside slope of dam body, which was aggravated by downstream channel with steep slope. The combination of fully-filled check dams could amplify the flood control efficiency of individual dam. These results provide a scientific basis for reinforcement of fully-filled check dams and optimization of check dams layout in the future on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Targeting Pin1 by inhibitor API-1 regulates microRNA biogenesis and suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma development

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide, but there are few effective treatments. Aberrant microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis is correlated with HCC development. We previously demonstrated that peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (Pin1) participates in miRNA biogenesis and is a potential HCC treatment target. However, how Pin1 modulates miRNA biogenesis remains obscure. Here, we present in vivo evidence that Pin1 overexpression is directly linked to the development of HCC. Administration with the Pin1 inhibitor (API-1), a specific small molecule targeting Pin1 peptidyl-prolyl isomerase domain and inhibiting Pin1 cis-trans isomerizing activity, suppresses in vitro cell proliferation and migration of HCC cells. But API-1-induced Pin1 inhibition is insensitive to HCC cells with low Pin1 expression and/or low exportin-5 (XPO5) phosphorylation. Mechanistically, Pin1 recognizes and isomerizes the phosphorylated serine-proline motif of phosphorylated XPO5 and passivates phosphorylated XPO5. Pin1 inhibition by API-1 maintains the active conformation of phosphorylated XPO5 and restores XPO5-driven precursor miRNA nuclear-to-cytoplasm export, activating anticancer miRNA biogenesis and leading to both in vitro HCC suppression and HCC suppression in xenograft mice. Conclusion: Experimental evidence suggests that Pin1 inhibition by API-1 up-regulates miRNA biogenesis by retaining active XPO5 conformation and suppresses HCC development, revealing the mechanism of Pin1-mediated miRNA biogenesis and unequivocally supporting API-1 as a drug candidate for HCC therapy, especially for Pin1-overexpressing, extracellular signal-regulated kinase-activated HCC. (Hepatology 2018)