Acupuncture vs Sham Acupuncture for Chronic Sciatica From Herniated Disk: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Sciatica is commonly caused by herniated lumbar disc and contributes to severe pain and prolonged disability. Although acupuncture is widely used by patients with chronic sciatica, the evidence of its efficacy is scarce.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture in patients with chronic sciatica from herniated disk.

A novel Pik allele confers extended resistance to rice blast.

In the ongoing arms race between rice and Magnaporthe oryzae, the pathogen employs effectors to evade the immune response, while the host develops resistance genes to recognise these effectors and confer resistance. In this study, we identified a novel Pik allele, Pik-W25, from wild rice WR25 through bulked-segregant analysis, creating the Pik-W25 NIL (Near-isogenic Lines) named G9. Pik-W25 conferred resistance to isolates expressing AvrPik-C/D/E alleles.

Widely targeted metabolomics combined with E-tongue and E-nose reveal dynamic changes of tender coconut water in responses to the infection of Ceratocystis paradoxa.

Ceratocystis paradoxa is a major cause of postharvest disease in tender coconuts worldwide. We conducted a comprehensive study using widely targeted metabolomics, electronic tongue (E-tongue), and electronic nose (E-nose) analyses to investigate the impacts of C. paradoxa invasion on the quality of tender coconut water (TCW) from fresh control (FC), uninoculated (UN), skin-inoculated (SI), and deep-inoculated (DI) nuts.

First Report of 16SrI-B Subgroup Related Phytoplasma Associated with Yellows Symptoms of Rubus cochinchinensis in China.

Rubus cochinchinensis, an important traditional Chinese medicine in China is used to treat rheumatic arthralgia, bruises and lumbocrural pain (He et al.2005). In January 2022, yellow leaves of R.

Efficacy of acupuncture for sciatica: study protocol for a randomized controlled pilot trial.

Background: Acupuncture is widely used for pain diseases while evidence of its efficacy for sciatica is insufficient. We aim to explore the feasibility and efficacy of acupuncture with different acupoint selecting strategies for sciatica induced by lumbar disc herniation.

Methods: This is a multicenter, three-arm, patient-assessor-blinded randomized controlled pilot trial.

The broad-spectrum rice blast resistance (R) gene Pita2 encodes a novel R protein unique from Pita.

Background: Rice blast is generally considered the most devastating rice disease worldwide. The development of resistant varieties has been proven to be the most economical strategy to control the disease. A cluster of resistant (R) genes on rice chromosome 12 including Pita, Pita2 and Ptr has been studies for decades.

Functional characterization of electron-transferring flavoprotein and its dehydrogenase required for fungal development and plant infection by the rice blast fungus.

Electron-transferring flavoprotein (ETF) and its dehydrogenase (ETFDH) are highly conserved electron carriers which mainly function in mitochondrial fatty acid β oxidation. Here, we report the identification and characterization of ETF α and β subunit encoding genes (ETFA and ETFB) and ETFDH encoding gene (ETFDH) in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. It was demonstrated that, by impacting fatty acid metabolism, ETF and ETFDH mutations led to severe growth and conidiation defects, which could be largely rescued by exogenous acetate or carbonate.

[Influence of different sevoflurane concentration on somatosensory evoked potentials monitoring in spinal cord surgery].

Objective: To evaluate the effects of different end-tidal concentrations of sevoflurane on somatosensory evoked potentials, to explore the feasibility of sevoflurane applied in such kind of surgery, so as to provide useful information in making anesthesia plan for spinal cord surgery.

Methods: Thirty-two patients scheduled for spinal cord surgery (ASA I-II, 18-65 years old) were enrolled. After induction of anesthesia, they were assigned to receive sevoflurane anesthesia of increment end-tidal concentration in the sequence of 0.

The putative Gγ subunit gene MGG1 is required for conidiation, appressorium formation, mating and pathogenicity in Magnaporthe oryzae.

Heterotrimeric G-proteins play key roles in the transduction of extracellular signals to various downstream effectors in eukaryotes. In our previous study, a T-DNA insertional mutant A1-412, in which the promoter of a putative Gγ subunit gene MGG1 was disrupted, was impaired in asexual/sexual sporulation, appressorium formation, and pathogenicity in Magnaporthe oryzae. Here the roles of MGG1 in regulating fungal development and plant infection were further investigated and verified using a gene deletion strategy.

The antiallodynic action of pregabalin may depend on the suppression of spinal neuronal hyperexcitability in rats with spared nerve injury.

Background: Pregabalin (PGB) is a novel antiepileptic drug and is also used as a first-line medication for the treatment of neuropathic pain. However, the mechanisms of its analgesic effects remain largely unknown.

Objectives: To elucidate the mechanisms underlying the antiallodynic action of PGB in rats with neuropathic pain.

[Comparative study on two total intravenous anesthesia techniques in complex spine surgery].

Objective: To compare anesthesia profiles of target-controlled infusion (TCI) and manual-controlled infusion (MCI) of propofol and remifentanil in kyphosis correction or scoliosis correction surgery, in which intraoperative spinal cord monitoring was employed.

Methods: In the study, 160 patients scheduled for kyphosis correction surgery or scoliosis correction were enrolled and randomly allocated into 2 groups, group TCI and group MCI. In group TCI, induction and maintenance of general anesthesia were carried out by target-controlled infusion of propofol and remifentanil.

[Anesthesia for cesarean section in pregnancy complicated with severe scoliosis: a case report].

Scoliosis refers to a complex three-dimensional spine deformity. Onset of scoliosis can occur in an infantile, juvenile, adolescent, or adult period. Severe scoliosis not only affects the appearance of the patient, but also impairs the functions of circulation and respiratory systems.

Two-stage analysis of pharmacokinetics of sufentanil administered by target-controlled infusion in Chinese patients.

Background: Sufentanil is a suitable choice for target-controlled infusion (TCI) because of its shorter context-sensitive half-time. The current study was to estimate the pharmacokinetics of sufentanil TCI in Chinese patients using the two-stage analysis.

Methods: Twelve adult patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I or II undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia were included.

Cellular basis of itch sensation.

Itch and pain are two distinct sensations. Although our previous study suggested that gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) is an itch-specific gene in the spinal cord, a long-standing question of whether there are separate neuronal pathways for itch and pain remains unsettled. We selectively ablated lamina I neurons expressing GRPR in the spinal cord of mice.

Performance of biotrickling filters for hydrogen sulfide removal under starvation and shock loads conditions.

In the industrial operation of biotrickling filters for hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) removal, shock loads or starvation was common due to process variations or equipment malfunctions. In this study, effects of starvation and shock loads on the performance of biotrickling filters for H(2)S removal were investigated. Four experiments were conducted to evaluate the changes of biomass and viable bacteria numbers in the biotrickling filters during a 24-d starvation.