Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction, Structural Characteristics, and Activity of Polysaccharides From Gymnocladus chinensis Baill.

In this study, the response surface method (RSM) was used to determine the optimal parameters of ultrasonic-assisted extraction of Gymnocladus chinensis Baill. polysaccharides (GCBPs). The optimal extraction conditions were as follows: a liquid-solid ratio of 50.

Modulation of Brain Activities in Healthy Individuals by Acupuncture at Quchi (LI11).

This research investigated the modulation of acupuncture at Quchi (LI11) on the brain activities in healthy individuals. Sub-bands power and EEG microstate analysis were carried out at pre-acupuncture, acupuncture, needle retaining and post-acupuncture periods in both the acupuncture group (n = 16) and control group (n = 18). Four microstate classes (A-D) were derived from the clustering procedure.

Identification and validation of aging-related genes in neuropathic pain using bioinformatics.

Background: Neuropathic pain (NP) is a debilitating and refractory chronic pain with a higher prevalence especially in elderly patients. Cell senescence considered a key pathogenic factor in NP. The objective of this research is to discover genes associated with aging in peripheral blood of individuals with NP using bioinformatics techniques.

Microneedle Patches-Integrated Transdermal Bioelectronics for Minimally Invasive Disease Theranostics.

Wearable epidermal electronics with non- or minimally-invasive characteristics can collect, transduce, communicate, and interact with accessible physicochemical health indicators on the skin. However, due to the stratum corneum layer, rich information about body health is buried under the skin stratum corneum layer, for example, in the skin interstitial fluid. Microneedle patches are typically designed with arrays of special microsized needles of length within 1000 µm.

Bioelectric phenomena in electroacupuncture analgesia.

Pain is a complex process of electrical signal transmission. Electroacupuncture may adjust the bioelectric state of the tissues in painful sites through electrical characteristic structural units (acupoints), thereby exerting analgesic effect. The treatment of diseases with electroacupuncture results from the interaction between the external electric field and the electrical properties of acupoint tissues.

Machine learning and bioinformatics analysis to identify autophagy-related biomarkers in peripheral blood for rheumatoid arthritis.

Although rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease, the precise pathogenesis of the disease remains unclear. Recent research has unraveled the role of autophagy in the development of RA. This research aims to explore autophagy-related diagnostic biomarkers in the peripheral blood of RA patients.

The nucleus accumbens functional connectivity in patients with insomnia using resting-state fMRI.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the functional abnormalities between the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the whole brain in individuals with Insomnia Disorder (ID) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Additionally, the study aimed to explore the underlying neural mechanisms of ID.

Methods: We enrolled 18 participants with ID and 16 normal controls (NC).

Global Trends and Hotspots on Microglia Associated with Pain from 2002 to 2022: A Bibliometric Analysis.

Background: Researchers have made significant progress in microglia associated with pain in recent years. However, more relevant bibliometric analyses are still needed on trends and directions in this field. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive perspective and to predict future directions of pain-related microglia research via bibliometric tools.

Altered brain functional networks after Quchi (LI 11) acupuncture: An EEG analysis.

Background: As a unique traditional Chinese medicine therapy, the central effect of acupuncture has received increasing attention. Functional brain networks can provide connectivity information among brain regions.

Objective: The study goal is to explore the regulatory effect of acupuncture on the brain functional network.

The Efficacy of Electroacupuncture in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This study aims to evaluate the comparative efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) and analgesics in treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and provide evidence-based medical support for EA for the treatment of KOA. Randomized controlled trials from January 2012 to December 2021 are included in electronic databases. The Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized trials is used to assess the risk of bias in the included studies, while the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation is used to assess the quality of evidence.

Manual acupuncture for neuromusculoskeletal disorders: The selection of stimulation parameters and corresponding effects.

As a minimally invasive method of physical stimulation, manual acupuncture (MA) is used globally as a sort of therapy for neuromusculoskeletal disorders. In addition to selecting appropriate acupoints, acupuncturists should also determine the stimulation parameters of needling, such as the manipulation (lifting-thrusting or twirling), needling amplitude, velocity, and stimulation time. At present, most studies focus on acupoint combination and mechanism of MA, the relationship between stimulation parameters and their therapeutic effects, as well as the influence on mechanism of action are relatively scattered, and lack of systematic summary and analysis.

Dexamethasone-Loaded Injectable Thermal Crosslinking Magnetic Responsive Hydrogel for the Physiochemical Stimulation of Acupoint to Suppress Pain in Sciatica Rats.

The physicochemical stimulation of acupoints is a widespread treatment strategy for different diseases, such as sciatica. Its efficacy is mainly based on the temporal and spatial modulation of the physicochemical properties of the acupoints. The existing therapies based on the stimulation of acupoints have certain disadvantages.

New Proposals for Application of Terahertz Imaging Technique in Chinese Medicine.

The rapid development of terahertz technology promotes the realization of various terahertz imaging systems. Terahertz technology features terahertz waves as good non-invasive illumination sources due to their high spectral resolution, penetration and safety. The terahertz imaging technique (TIT) has gradually been extended from the biomedical field to the field of Chinese medicine (CM), and it has become a powerful tool for seeking scientific evidence for CM theories with the use of modern science and technology.

Three-dimensional Finger Motion Tracking during Needling: A Solution for the Kinematic Analysis of Acupuncture Manipulation.

Three-dimensional (3D) motion tracking has been used in many fields, such as the researches of sport and medical skills. This experiment aimed to use 3D motion tracking technology to measure the kinematic parameters of the joints of fingers during acupuncture manipulation (AM) and establish three technical indicators "amplitude, velocity and time". This method can reflect the operation characteristics of AM and provide quantitative parameters along three axes of multiple finger joints.

[Conduction pathway and function of physical signals of moxibustion stimulus].

By reviewing the relevant literature in recent years, this paper analyzes the transformation and conduction of moxibustion physical signals, and explores the action mechanism of moxibustion. It is found that the different molecular targets activated by moxibustion photothermal signal are the keys to transform stimulation signal into biological signal. Photothermal signal transmits signal through neuroendocrine immune system and produces a series of biological reactions, thus regulating the functions of various systems of the body.

[Development of handshape -cupping instrument based on pulsating airflow technology].

A new type of handshape -cupping instrument is developed to overcome the shortcomings of traditional cupping therapy, such as indentation and pain, and simulates the manipulation, so as to realize the combination of cupping therapy and manipulation. The handshape -cupping instrument has a trumpet-shaped, silica gel edge. At the same time, the finger-belly shape is added at the cupping edge to simulate the shape of fingers during .

Increased Level of Systolic Blood Pressure in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: More than 50% of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) also have hypertension. Moreover, hypertension has been regarded as one paraneoplastic phenomenon of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our study was designed to determine the relationship between blood pressure and DM in HCC patients.

Effect of different twirling and rotating acupuncture manipulation techniques on the blood flow perfusion at acupoints.

Objective: To analyze the effect of different twirling and rotating acupuncture manipulation techniques on the blood flow perfusion at acupoints to provide a reference for the study of acupoint specificity and the quantification and effectiveness of acupuncture methods.

Methods: Twenty healthy male or female college students each received four different acupuncture manipulation techniques, including simple acupuncture, uniform reinforcing-reducing needling, twirling reinforcing needling, and twisting reducing needling. The self-control method was applied.

Electroacupuncture Promoting Axonal Regeneration in Spinal Cord Injury Rats via Suppression of Nogo/NgR and Rho/ROCK Signaling Pathway.

Purpose: To observe the changes of Nogo/NgR and Rho/ROCK signaling pathway-related gene and protein expression in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI) treated with electroacupuncture (EA) and to further investigate the possible mechanism of EA for treating SCI.

Methods: Allen's method was used to create the SCI rat model. Sixty-four model rats were further subdivided into four subgroups, namely, the SCI model group (SCI), EA treatment group (EA), blocking agent Y27632 treatment group (Y27632) and EA+blocking agent Y27632 treatment group (EA+Y), according to the treatment received.

A Hydrogel Microneedle Patch for Point-of-Care Testing Based on Skin Interstitial Fluid.

Skin interstitial fluid (ISF) holds great potential as a highly desirable sample resource for point-of-care testing (POCT), where the key is to effectively collect target biomarkers from ISF. Hydrogel microneedle patch has great promise for ISF extraction. However, it is challenging to recover target biomarkers from the extracted skin ISF in hydrogel microneedle patches in an easy-administrated, fast, and bulky instrument-free manner.

Stimulation Parameters of Manual Acupuncture and Their Measurement.

The therapeutic effect of manual acupuncture (MA) is closely related to the stimulation amount. In the clinical studies, the stimulation amount is often difficult to be determined. The reason is that there are many parameters affecting the stimulation amount, including manipulation selection, treatment time, needling velocity, and force, and no complete and reasonable scheme is available for the measurement of stimulation parameters.

Paper-based point-of-care immunoassays: Recent advances and emerging trends.

Immunoassay has been routinely used in hospitals and central labs. Nowadays, to further meet the requirement of widespread applications of immunoassays, it is urgently needed to produce a simplified, rapid and low-cost immunoassay to perform tests on site. To this end, paper-based point-of-care (POC) immunoassays have attracted intensive interests in recent years.

[Design and implementation of a method for temperature parameter collection inside acupoint].

Objective: To realize real-time measurement and recording of temperature parameters inside acupoints during acupuncture treatment.

Methods: The fine wire thermocouple was embedded in hollow needle body as acupoint detection probe. According to the structure of acupoint temperature signal processing circuit, the Agilent 34420A nanovolt/micro-eurometer was used to design the technology method of acupoint temperature data acquisition, and an acupoint temperature collection platform was established.

[Teaching exploration and practice of research experiment of experimental curriculum in ].

In order to improve students' ability of performing investigative study, promote practical teaching, optimize teaching philosophy and methods, we integrated the subject frontier dynamics and development achievements and knowledge into teaching content, the teaching exploration and practice of research experiment of experimental curriculum in - was performed. The experimental curriculum was used as starting point. Before experimental teaching, the learning of knowledge was completed by theoretical study and key self-study points.