Fire acupuncture for plaque psoriasis case series.

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of fire acupuncture (FA) on plaque psoriasis (PP), exploring its suitable syndrome types, in order to achieve better therapeutic effects, accelerate the possibility of psoriasis skin lesion recovery, and provide assistance for clinical treatment.

Methods: A total of 8 patients with PP aged between 18 and 60 years were recruited and treated with FA once a week, and the lesion area and severity index (PASI), visual analog scale and pruritus were measured before, 2, 4 and 8 weeks after treatment and at the follow-up period (week 12), respectively. Visual analog scale, and dermoscopy were used for assessment.

Dysregulation of glutamine/glutamate metabolism in COVID-19 patients: A metabolism study in African population and mini meta-analysis.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a serious global threat. The metabolic analysis had been successfully applied in the efforts to uncover the pathological mechanisms and biomarkers of disease severity. Here we performed a quasi-targeted metabolomic analysis on 56 COVID-19 patients from Sierra Leone in western Africa, revealing the metabolomic profiles and the association with disease severity, which was confirmed by the targeted metabolomic analysis of 19 pairs of COVID-19 patients.

Identification of novel biomarkers involved in pulmonary arterial hypertension based on multiple-microarray analysis.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening chronic cardiopulmonary disorder. However, studies providing PAH-related gene expression profiles are scarce. To identify hub genes involved in PAH, we investigate two microarray data sets from gene expression omnibus (GEO).

Square pulse effects on polarized radiative transfer in an atmosphere-ocean model.

Based on our previously proposed modified Monte Carlo method, which is efficient to simulate the time-dependent polarized radiative transfer problem in an atmosphere-ocean model with a reflective/refractive interface, we further investigate the square pulse effect on the polarized radiative transfer in an atmosphere-ocean model. A short square pulse, with a duration of nanoseconds, is assumed to be incident at the top of the atmosphere. The polarized signals varying with time and directions are presented for the locations just above and below the atmosphere-water interface and at the bottom of the ocean, and effects of the incidence and disappearance of the external pulse on the Stokes vector components are analyzed.

Effects of Zuojin pill on depressive behavior and gastrointestinal function in rats with chronic unpredictable mild stress: Role of the brain-gut axis.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Zoujin pill (ZJP), a medication used to treat gastrointestinal disorders since the 15th Century in China, have been reported to exert anti-depressant effects in various models.

Study Aim: To assess the effects of ZJP on gastrointestinal function and depressive behavior in rats under chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), and to examine the underlying mechanisms related to brain-gut axis.

Methods: The rats suffered the stressor once daily for 5 weeks.

Time-dependent polarized radiative transfer in an atmosphere-ocean system exposed to external illumination.

Time-dependent polarized radiative transfer in an atmosphere-ocean system exposed to external illumination is numerically investigated. The specular reflection and transmission effects based on the relative refractive index between the atmosphere and water are considered. A modified Monte Carlo (MMC) algorithm combined with time shift and superposition principle, which significantly improves the computational efficiency of the traditional Monte Carlo (TMC) method, is developed to simulate the time-dependent polarized radiative transfer process.

Successful treatment of reflex epilepsy with praxis induction by stimulus avoidance only.

Purpose: Reflex epilepsy is a type of epilepsy with seizures that are consistently triggered by a specific stimulus. Zipai is a Chinese ancient card game which has been popular in Southern China for hundreds of years. We sought to report and characterize clinical features of patients with reflex epilepsy evoked by playing Zipai.

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, and risk of vitiligo: A meta-analysis.

Objectives: To explore the relationship among the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, and vitiligo.

Methods: Databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Ovid, Web of Science, CNKI, SinoMed, and Wanfang Data were systematically searched. The association was assessed using odds ratios (ORs), standard mean difference (SMD), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Secondary metabolites from Antarctic marine-derived fungus Penicillium crustosum HDN153086.

A new polyene compound (1) and a new diketopiperazine (2), as well as three known compounds (3-5), were isolated from the Antarctic marine-derived fungus Penicillium crustosum HDN153086. The structures of 1-5 were deduced based on MS, NMR and TD-DFT calculations of specific ECD spectra. These compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against K562 cell line and only compound 2 exhibited cytotoxicity against K562 cell, with IC value of 12.

Enriched environment combined with fluoxetine ameliorates depression-like behaviors and hippocampal SYP expression in a rat CUS model.

Effects of enriched environment (EE) combined with fluoxetine in a chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) rat model were examined in our study. Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group, CUS group, CUS+EE group, CUS+fluoxetine group, and CUS+EE+fluoxetine group (n=six per group). Rats in the CUS group were bred under conditions of CUS and separation for 6 weeks; Control group animals were bred in group cages (three rats per cage) under standard laboratory conditions for 6 weeks; Rats in CUS+EE group, CUS+fluoxetine group, and CUS+EE+fluoxetine groups were bred under the conditions of CUS and separation for 6 weeks and had an intervention of EE, an oral gavage of fluoxetine, and an intervention of EE+oral gavage of fluoxetine, respectively, every day for the final 3 weeks.

Potential immunotoxic effects of trichloroethylene-induced IV allergic reaction in renal impairment.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is known to induce allergic contact dermatitis and subsequent occupational medicamentosa-like dermatitis (OMLD) with multi-system injuries, including liver, kidney, and skin injuries. However, the mechanisms underlying immune system dysfunction that result in organ injury have not yet been clearly elucidated. In the present study, we measured the levels of secreted cytokines by effect or T cells in TCE-treated guinea pigs to better understand the contribution of allergic disorders in renal injuries.

Characterization of a novel class A carbapenemase PAD-1 from Paramesorhizobium desertii A-3-E, a strain highly resistant to β-lactam antibiotics.

Although clinical antibiotic-resistant bacteria have attracted tremendous attention in the microbiology community, the resistant bacteria that persist in natural environments have been overlooked for a longtime. We previously proposed a new species Paramesorhizobium desertii, isolated from the soil of the Taklimakan Desert in China that is highly resistant to most β-lactam antibiotics. To identify potential β-lactamase(s) in this bacteria, we first confirmed the carbapenemase activity in the freeze-thawed supernatant of a P.

Transient/time-dependent radiative transfer in a two-dimensional scattering medium considering the polarization effect.

Transient/time-dependent radiative transfer in a two-dimensional scattering medium is numerically solved by the discontinuous finite element method (DFEM). The time-dependent term of the transient vector radiative transfer equation is discretized by the second-order central difference scheme and the space domain is discretized into non-overlapping quadrilateral elements by using the discontinuous finite element approach. The accuracy of the transient DFEM model for the radiative transfer equation considering the polarization effect is verified by comparing the time-resolved Stokes vector component distributions against the steady solutions for a polarized radiative transfer problem in a two-dimensional rectangular enclosure filled with a scattering medium.

Six generations of epidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma, associated with a KRT9 R163W mutation.

Epidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma (EPPK) is a rare autosomal dominant skin disorder characterized by diffuse hyperkeratosis on the palms and soles. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) has become a powerful tool for the detection of rare causal variants of Mendelian disorders. However, no causal gene for EPPK in the Uygur population has been identified until now, and no treatment exists than can address the underlying pathology.

The expression profiles of microRNAs in Kaposi's sarcoma.

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a multicentric angioproliferative tumor of mesenchymal origin. The molecular and biologic aspects of KS are not fully understood. MicroRNAs are non-protein-coding small RNAs in the size range 19-25 nucleotides (nt) that play important roles in biological processes, including cellular differentiation, proliferation, and death.

Identification of a new bis-amino acid glycoside selectively toxic to multiple myeloma cells.

A bis-triazolyl phenylalaninyl galactoside was synthesized by a two-fold click reaction between an azido phenylalanine and a di-O-propynyl galactoside. By a cytotoxicity assay the compound was determined to be selectively toxic for multiple myeloma (MM) among a series of cancer cell lines with no toxicity to a control cell line. A Western blot analysis suggested that this compound could potentiate the cleavage of poly ADP-ribose polymerase in MM cells, leading to apoptosis.

[Sequence analysis of varicella-zoster virus gE gene in varicella-zoster virus strains with different clades].

To analyze the gE gene sequence of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) strains of different clades and subclades currently circulating in China. Eighteen skin lesion fluid swabs or skin scab pieces from patients with chickenpox or shingles were obtained from Beijing, Changchun, Lhasa and Urumqi between December 2010 and June 2011. The genotype of the virus strains was determined by a group of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located in 15 ORFs, and the full-length gE genes of 18 strains representing all the clades in the study was amplified by PCR and sequenced.

[Multi-locus sequence typing of multidrug-resistant of Acinetobacter baumannii from China and characterization of population structure of Acinetobacter baumannii].

Objective: To characterize the genetic background of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) from China, and the population structure of this pathogen.

Methods: A previously reported MLST scheme was applied to a collection of 33 multidrug-resistant strains of A.

[Prediction of chemoresistance in epithelial ovarian cancer by clinical factors].

Objective: To compare the clinical features and prognosis among patients with different chemosensitivity and determine the specific clinical influencing factors of chemotherapeutic resistance.

Methods: In references to the 2010 NCCN clinical practice guidelines on ovarian cancer and in accordance with the length of disease-free interval, 244 patients were divided into 3 groups: platinum-resistant, partially sensitive and platinum-sensitive. The differences of clinical features, treatment and prognosis were compared among these 3 groups.