The quality of reporting in randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis: A cross-sectional survey

<div><p>Objective</p><p>To assess the reporting quality of acupuncture trials for knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and explore the factors associated with the reporting.</p><p>Method</p><p>Three English and four Chinese databases were searched from inception to December 2016 for randomized control trials testing effects of acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis. We used the standard CONSORT (2010 version), CONSORT Extension for Non-Pharmacological Treatments, and STRICTA for measuring the quality of reporting. Using pre-specified study characteristics, we undertook regression analyses to examine factors associated with the reporting quality.</p><p>Results</p><p>A total of 318 RCT reports were included. For the standard CONSORT, ten items were substantially under-reported (reported in less than 5% of RCTs), including specification of important changes to methods after trial commencement (0.6%), description of any changes to trial outcomes (0.0%), implementation of interim analyses and stopping guidelines (0.6%), statement about why the trial ended or was stopped (1.6%), statement about the registration status (4.4%), accessibility of full trial protocol (4.7%), implementation of randomization (4.7%), description of the similarity of interventions (3.5%), conduct of ancillary analyses (3.8%) and presentation of methods for additional analyses (4.4%). Four of the STRICTA items were under-reported (reported in less than 10% of RCTs), including description of acupuncture style (8.5%), presentation of extent to which treatment varied (1.3%), statement of practitioner background (7.2%) and rationale for the control (9.1%). For CONSORT Extension, the reporting was poor across all items (reported in less than 10% of trials). Trials including authors with expertise in epidemiology or statistics, published in English, or enrolling patients from multiple centers were more likely to have better reporting.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>The reporting in RCTs of acupuncture for KOA was generally poor. To improve the reporting quality, journals should encourage strict adherence to the reporting guidelines.</p></div

Enhancing Li–S Battery Performance with Limiting Li[N(SO₂F)₂] Content in a Sulfolane-Based Sparingly Solvating Electrolyte

By enhancing the stability of the lithium metal anode and mitigating the formation of lithium dendrites through electrolyte design, it becomes feasible to extend the lifespan of lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. One widely accepted approach involves the utilization of Li[N(SO2F)2] (Li[FSA]), which holds promise in stabilizing the lithium anode by facilitating the formation of an inorganic-dominant solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film. However, the use of Li[FSA] encounters limitations due to inevitable side reactions between lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and [FSA] anions. In this study, our focus lies in precisely controlling the composition of the SEI film and the morphology of the deposited lithium, as these two critical factors profoundly influence lithium reversibility. Specifically, by subjecting an initial charging process to an elevated temperature, we have achieved a significant enhancement in lithium reversibility. This improvement is accomplished through the employment of a LiPS sparingly solvating electrolyte with a restricted Li[FSA] content. Notably, these optimized conditions have resulted in an enhanced cycling performance in practical Li–S pouch cells. Our findings underscore the potential for improving the cycling performance of Li–S batteries, even when confronted with challenging constraints in electrolyte design

Flow diagram for searching and selection processes.

<p>Flow diagram for searching and selection processes.</p

Compliance of reporting to the standard CONSORT and CONSORT extension checklists.

<p>Compliance of reporting to the standard CONSORT and CONSORT extension checklists.</p

General characteristics of included RCTs.

<p>General characteristics of included RCTs.</p

Tunicamycin aggravates endoplasmic reticulum stress and airway inflammation via PERK-ATF4-CHOP signaling in a murine model of neutrophilic asthma

<p><i>Introduction</i>: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been considered to be an important regulator of airway inflammation in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma, but the mechanism of ER stress involved in neutrophilic asthma remain not fully understood. <i>Methods</i>: Tunicamycin is a mixture of homologous nucleoside antibiotics, which is used to induce ER stress. In the present study, Tunicamycin was administered to mouse bronchial epithelial cells and a neutrophilic asthma model (OVA_LPS-OVA mice), and ER stress indicators and inflammatory cytokines were measured by Western blotting and Elisa. <i>Results</i>: Tunicamycin not only induced ER stress in mouse bronchial epithelial cells, but also increased expression of inflammation indicators such as IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α via PERK-ATF4-CHOP signaling. Additionally, the phosphorylation of PERK and the expression levels of ATF4 and CHOP proteins and inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α) were elevated in the lung tissue of OVA_LPS-OVA mice. Administering tunicamycin further increased protein expression levels of ER stress indicators and inflammatory cytokines, and resulted in more severe asthma phenotypes in OVA_LPS-OVA mice, suggesting that PERK-ATF4-CHOP signaling is associated with airway inflammation in neutrophil-dominant asthma. <i>Conclusions</i>: These data support the emerging notion that regulation of ER stress could be strongly associated with the development of neutrophilic asthma.</p

MiR-34c knock-down enhances resistance to cell apoptosis <i>in vivo</i>.

<p>(A) <i>In situ</i> DNA TUNEL labeling after flutamide induction in different treatment groups. Non-transfected: no injection testis; in-NC: inhibitor NC transfection with Lipofectamine 2000 testis as a negative control; inhibitor: miR-34c inhibitor transfection with Lipofectamine 2000 testis. (B) Number of apoptotic germ cells per 100 seminiferous tubules in different treatment group. At least 500 seminiferous tubules were counted for every testis. Each bar presents the mean ± S.E.M of 6 testes from different mice. (*<i>P</i><0.05, **<i>P</i><0.01).</p

Preparation and Properties of Self-Cross-Linking Hydrogels Based on Chitosan Derivatives and Oxidized Sodium Alginate

A self-cross-linking and biocompatible hydrogel has wide application potential in the field of tissue engineering. In this work, an easily available, biodegradable, and resilient hydrogel was prepared using a self-cross-linking method. This hydrogel was composed of N-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (HACC) and oxidized sodium alginate (OSA). A stable and reversible cross-linking network was formed by the Schiff base self-cross-linked and hydrogen bonding. The addition of a shielding agent (NaCl) may weaken the intense electrostatic effect between HACC and OSA and solve the problem of flocculation caused by the rapid formation of ionic bonds, which provided an extended time for the Schiff base self-cross-linked reaction for forming a homogeneous hydrogel. Interestingly, the shortest time for the formation of the HACC/OSA hydrogel was within 74 s and the hydrogel had a uniform porous structure and enhanced mechanical properties. The HACC/OSA hydrogel withstood large compression deformation due to improved elasticity. What’s more, this hydrogel possessed favorable swelling property, biodegradation, and water retention. The HACC/OSA hydrogels have great antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and demonstrated good cytocompatibility as well. The HACC/OSA hydrogels have a good sustained release effect on rhodamine (model drug). Thus, the obtained self-cross-linked HACC/OSA hydrogels in this study have potential applications in the field of biomedical carriers

MiR-34c expression is dynamic in immature and adult mouse testes.

<p>(A) Real-time PCR for miR-34c. (B) Localization of miR-34c in mouse testis at different development stages using LNA <i>in situ</i> hybridization. The first five pictures are 12 dpp-adult ISH of miR-34c and a scrambled probe control (sc-adult). The last picture is a PI staining (red) of cell nuclei of the adult section. All the panels are shown at the same magnifications. L - Leptotene spermatocytes; P - Pachytene spermatocytes; Sd - Spermatids. Data were shown as mean ± S.E.M of three samples for each group.</p

The effects of miR-34c inhibition on Fas, Bcl-2, Bax mRNA expressions and Bcl-2/Bax ratio.

<p>(A) MiRNA inhibitor with Lipofectamine™ 2000 injected into the seminiferous tubule of 14 dpp mouse testis. 0.4% Trypan blue (10 fold more than needed for experimental concentrations and used in order to take a clear picture) was added to transfection mix. (B) Real-time PCR analysis two days after injection. (lipo: lipofectamine™; inhibitor: miR-34c inhibitor; in-NC: miRNA inhibitor nonsense control. (C) Apoptosis-related genes were tested by real-time PCR after miR-34c knockdown. (D) Bcl-2/Bax ratio increased after miR-34c inhibition. Each bar presents the mean ± S.E.M of 6 testes from different mice. (*<i>P</i><0.05, **<i>P</i><0.01).</p