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Cerebral infarction (CI) is also known as ischemic stroke. It is one of the most common cerebrovascular diseases, with high mortality and disability rate, which has seriously threatened human health. To better apply the diagnosis and treatment plan of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine to the treatment of patients with CI, the Chinese Association of Integrative Medicine issued the Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebral Infarction with the Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in 2021. It involves etiology and pathogenesis of CI, diagnosis and treatment standards of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Medicine, syndrome elements of TCM, as well as rehabilitation nursing of CI with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine during acute period and recovery period. This study interprets the consensus from routine nursing, dietary nursing, emotional nursing, complication nursing, rehabilitation nursing, and continuous nursing, aiming to provide evidence-based support for clinical TCM nursing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of integrated Chinese and Western medicine (IM) in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in a cohort study.Methods: The survival outcome of patients receiving IM was compared with that of patients receiving Western medicine alone. The study design was adopted with “continuous administration of Chinese medicine for ⩾ 3 months” as the exposure factor. Patients who met this exposure factor were assigned to the IM cohort (Group A, 110 patients). Patients who did not meet this exposure factor were assigned to the Western medicine cohort (Group B, 225 patients). The overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and 1st year, 2nd year, and 3rd year survival in the two cohorts were compared.Results: The median OS in Group A and B were 18 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 15-21] and 16 months (95% CI 14-18), respectively, and the median PFS in Group A and B were 6 months (95% CI 4-7) and 5 months (95% CI 4-6), respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups (P=0.186, P=0.223). Group A demonstrated significantly longer OS and PFS than Group B in the following subgroups: female patients, patients with lesions in the right half of the colon, and those who received first-line treatment (P<0.05). In the subgroup of elderly patients (age>65 years), the OS in Group A was longer than that in Group B (P<0.05).Conclusion: IM could prolong the survival of patients with mCRC. (Registry No. ChiCTR-IOR-17010497) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ex vivo foreskin models have demonstrated that inner foreskin is more susceptible to HIV-1 infection than outer foreskin. In the present study we characterized the compartition of HIV-1 target cells and quantified these cells in the epidermis and dermis of inner and outer foreskins using immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Our data showed that the epidermis of the inner foreskin was more enriched with CD4+ T cells and Langerhans cells (LCs), with the co-expression of CCR5 and α4β7 receptors, than the outer foreskin. Interestingly, the vast majority of CD4+ T cells and LCs expressed CCR5, but not CXCR4, indicating that the inner foreskin might capture and transmit R5-tropic HIV strains more efficiently. In addition, lymphoid aggregates, composed of T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) in the dermis, were closer to the epithelial surface in the inner foreskin than in the outer foreskin. As dendritic cells are able to capture and pass HIV particles to susceptible target cells, HIV may be able to more efficiently infect the inner foreskin by hijacking the augmented immune communication pathways in this tissue. After the inoculation of HIV-1 particles in a foreskin explant culture model, the level of p24 antigen in the supernatant from the inner foreskin was slightly higher than that from the outer foreskin, although this difference was not significant. The present study is the first to employ both CCR5 and α4β7 to identify HIV target cells in the foreskin. Our data demonstrated that the inner foreskin was more enriched with HIV target immune cells than the outer foreskin, and this tissue was structured for efficient communication among immune cells that may promote HIV transmission and replication. In addition, our data suggests the R5-tropism of HIV sexual transmission is likely shaped through the inherent receptor composition on HIV target cells in the mucosa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The VP2 structural protein of parvovirus can produce virus-like particles (VLPs) by a self-assembly process in vitro, making VLPs attractive vaccine candidates. In this study, the VP2 protein of canine parvovirus (CPV) was expressed using a baculovirus expression system and assembled into parvovirus-like particles in insect cells and pupae. Electron micrographs of VLPs showed that they were very similar in size and morphology when compared to the wild-type parvovirus. The immunogenicity of the VLPs was investigated in mice and dogs. Mice immunized intramuscularly with purified VLPs, in the absence of an adjuvant, elicited CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses and were able to elicit a neutralizing antibody response against CPV, while the oral administration of raw homogenates containing VLPs to the dogs resulted in a systemic immune response and long-lasting immunity. These results demonstrate that the CPV-VLPs stimulate both cellular and humoral immune responses, and so CPV-VLPs may be a promising candidate vaccine for the prevention of CPV-associated disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of the Chinese medicine (CM) five-element music on quality of life for senior and non-senior advanced cancer patients. Methods: With a randomized controlled trial, 170 advanced cancer patients were randomly assigned to three groups: the CM five-element music group (68 patients), the Western music therapy group (68 cases), and the no music therapy group (34 cases). All patients of 70 years old or older were considered seniors and the remaining patients younger than 70 years were considered nonseniors. Patients in the CM five-element music group listened to CM five-element music, the patients in the Western music group listened to Western music, and the patients in the no music group did not listen to music. A course of treatment was 3 weeks, with 30 min each day, 5 days a week. The Hospice Quality of Life Index-Revised (HQOLI-R) and Karnofsky performance score (KPS) were measured in the three groups before and after treatment. The symptom diary score was measured in the three groups every 3 days, 7 times in total. Results: CM five-element music group showed a significant difference of HQOLI-R, KPS and symptom diary score with other groups (all P<0.01). There were significant differences of HQOLI-R, symptom diary score, and KPS after treatment in CM five-element music group and other groups in the non-senior subgroup ( P<0.05). Additionally, there were significant differences in HQOLI-R and KPS after treatment among the three groups in the senior subgroup ( P<0.05). Conclusions: CM five-element music therapy could improve the quality of life and KPS for senior and non senior advanced cancer patients, and it could improve subjective symptoms for non-senior advanced cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for 5.8% of all malignancies in Taiwan and the incidence of OSCC is on the rise. OSCC is also a common malignancy worldwide and the five-year survival rate remains poor. Therefore, new and effective treatments are needed to control OSCC. In the present study we have investigated the efficacy and associated mechanisms of polyenylpyrroles and their analogs in both in vitro cell culture and in vivo nude mice xenografts. Auxarconjugatin B (compound 1a) resulted in cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase and caspase-dependent apoptosis in OEC-M1 and HSC-3 cells by activating DNA damage and mitochondria dysfunction through the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c, increase in B-cell lymphoma-2-associated X protein level, and decrease in B-cell lymphoma-2 level. Compound 1a-induced generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species through cytochrome P450 1A1 was identified as a major mechanism of its effect for DNA damage, mitochondria dysfunction and apoptosis, which was reversed by antioxidant N-acetylcysteine as well as cytochrome P450 1A1 inhibitor and specific siRNA. Furthermore, compound 1a-treated nude mice showed a reduction in the OEC-M1 xenograft tumor growth and an increase in the caspase-3 activation in xenograft tissue. These results provide promising insights as to how compound 1a mediates cytotoxicity and may prove to be a molecular rationale for its translation into a potential therapeutic against OSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effect of intraventricular injection of human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) on hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) in neonatal rats. Methods: Thirty-six neonatal rats (postnatal day 7) were assigned to control, HIBD, or HIBD+DPSC groups (n = 12 each group). For induction of HIBD, rats underwent left carotid artery ligation and were exposed to 8% to 10% oxygen for 2 h. Hoechst 33324-labeled human DPSCs were injected into the left lateral ventricle 3 days after HIBD. Behavioral assays were performed to assess hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and on postnatal day 45, DPSC survival was assessed and expression of neural and glial markers was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Results: The HIBD group showed significant deficiencies compared to control on T-maze, radial water maze, and postural reflex tests, and the HIBD+DPSC group showed significant improvement on all behavioral tests. On postnatal day 45, Hoechst 33324-labeled DPSC nuclei were visible in the injected region and left cortex. Subsets of DPSCs showed immunostaining for neuronal (neuron-specific enolase [NSE], Nestin) and glial markers (glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP], O4). Significantly decreased staining/expression for NSE, GFAP, and O4 was found in the HBID group compared to control, and this was significantly increased in the HBID+DPSC group. Conclusion: Intraventricular injection of human DPSCs improves HIBD in neonatal rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association of galanin (GAL) gene and the development of depression in the Chinese Han population. Methods: A total of 700 patients with depression who met the diagnostic criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) and 673 healthy controls were used in this study. Ligase detection reactions were performed on 10 selected single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites in the GAL gene. A series of statistical methods were carried out to investigate the correlation between the GAL gene SNP and the patient susceptibility to depression. Results: The SNPs of rs694066 in the GAL gene showed a positive correlation with MDD. Compared with the healthy controls, lower frequency of G/G genotype and higher frequency of A/G genotype were observed in rs694066 in MDD patients, a lower frequency of G-allele and higher frequency of A-allele were observed in rs694066. These correlations were more pronounced in the 376 female patients and 360 female control subjects than in the 324 male patients and 313 healthy male subjects. Conclusions: This study investigated the relationship between the GAL gene SNP and the susceptibility to depression in the Chinese Han population. The findings clearly indicate that the GAL gene polymorphism is closely correlated to the incidence of depression in the Chinese Han female patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) were found to be one of the high-risk populations for Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) infection. Accompanied by the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among MSM, invasive amebiasis caused by E. histolytica has been paid attention to as an opportunistic parasitic infection. However, the status of E. histolytica infection among MSM has been barely studied in mainland China. Methods: Seroprevalance of E. histolytica was determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on a cross-sectional study conducted in Beijing and Tianjin, China. Factors potentially associated with E. histolytica infection were identified by logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 602 MSM were included in the study and the laboratory data on serostatus of E. histolytica were available for 599 of them (99.5%). 246 (41.1%) and 51 (8.5%) of the study participants were E. histolytica seropositive and HIV seropositive, respectively. Univariate analyses suggested preferred anal sex behaviors were associated with E. histolytica seropositivity. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, “only has receptive anal sex” (OR: 2.03; 95% CI: 1.22 3.37), “majority receptive anal sex” (OR: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.13, 2.95), and “sadomasochistic behavior (SM)” (OR: 2.30; 95% CI: 1.04, 5.13) were found to be significantly associated with E. histolytica infection. Conclusions: High seroprevalence of E. histolytica infection was observed among MSM from Beijing and Tianjin, China. Receptive anal sex behavior and SM were identified as potential predictors. Therefore, E. histolytica and HIV co-infection needs to be concerned among MSM due to their sharing the common risk behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helicobacter pylori neutrophil-activating protein (HP-NAP), a major virulence factor of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), is capable of activating human neutrophils to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and secrete inammatory mediators. HP-NAP is a vaccine candidate, a possible drug target, and a potential in vitro diagnostic marker for H. pylori infection. HP-NAP has also been shown to be a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of allergic asthma and bladder cancer. Hence, an efficient way to obtain pure HP-NAP needs to be developed. In this study, one-step anion-exchange chromatography in negative mode was applied to purify the recombinant HP-NAP expressed in Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis). This purification technique was based on the binding of host cell proteins and/or impurities other than HP-NAP to DEAE Sephadex resins. At pH 8.0, almost no other proteins except HP-NAP passed through the DEAE Sephadex column. More than 60% of the total HP-NAP with purity higher than 91% was recovered in the flow-through fraction from this single-step DEAE Sephadex chromatography. The purified recombinant HP-NAP was further demonstrated to be a multimeric protein with a secondary structure of α-helix and capable of activating human neutrophils to stimulate ROS production. Thus, this one-step negative chromatography using DEAE Sephadex resin can efficiently yield functional HP-NAP from B. subtilis in its native form with high purity. HP-NAP purified by this method could be further utilized for the development of new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for H. pylori infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1), which has the dual functions of both DNA repair and redox activity, has been reported to be highly expressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and this appears to be a characteristic related to chemotherapy resistance. In this study, we identified serum APE1 autoantibodies (APE1-AAbs) in NSCLC patients and healthy controls by immunoblotting and investigated the expression of APE1-AAbs by indirect ELISA from the serum of 292 NSCLC patients and 300 healthy controls. In addition, serum APE1-AAbs level alterations of 91 patients were monitored before and after chemotherapy. Our results showed that serum APE1-AAbs can be detected in both NSCLC patients and healthy controls. Serum APE1-AAbs were significantly higher than those of healthy controls and closely related to APE1 antigen levels both in tumor tissues and the peripheral blood. Moreover, the change in levels of serum APE1-AAbs in NSCLC is closely associated with the response to chemotherapy. These results suggest that APE1-AAbs is a potential tumor marker and predictor of therapeutic efficacy in NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To establish equations for the estimation of glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) based on serum creatinine (SCr) and/or serum cystatin C (SCysC) in Chinese patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and to compare the new equations with both the reference GFR (rGFR) and the literature equations to evaluate their applicability. Methods: The 788 Chinese CKD patients were randomly divided into two groups, the training group and the testing group, to establish new eGFR-formulas based on serum CysC and to validate the established formulas, respectively. 99mTc-DTPA clearance (as the rGFR), serum Cr, and serum CysC were determined for all patients, and GFR was calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault equation (eGFR1), the MDRD formula (eGFR2), the CKD-EPI formulas (eGFR3, eGFR4), and the Chinese eGFR Investigation Collaboration formulas (eGFR5, eGFR6). The accuracy of each eGFR was compared with the rGFR. Results: The training and testing groups' mean GFRs were 50.84±31.36 mL/min/1.73 m2 and 54.16±29.45 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively. The two newly developed eGFR formulas were fitted using iterative computation: and . Significant correlation was observed between each eGFR and the rGFR. However, proportional errors and constant errors were observed between rGFR and eGFR1, eGFR2, eGFR4, eGFR5 or eGFR6, and constant errors were observed between eGFR3 and rGFR, as revealed by the Passing & Bablok plot analysis. The Bland-Altman analysis illustrated that the 95% limits of agreement of all equations exceeded the previously accepted limits of <60 mL/min •1.73 m2, except the equations of eGFR7 and eGFR8. Conclusion: The newly developed formulas, eGFR7 and eGFR8, provide precise and accurate GFR estimation using serum CysC detection alone or in combination with serum Cr detection. Differences in detection methods should be carefully considered when choosing literature eGFR equations to avoid misdiagnosis and mistreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]