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Objective Ginseng is widely used in cosmetics and skin care. The progress of research on the effect of ginseng on the skin was explored through a summary and analysis of skin-related studies on ginseng conducted over in the past 20 years, and this exploration aimed to elucidate new research opportunities with regard to the development and application of ginseng treatments for the skin. Materials and methods Keywords were used to retrieve human studies related to the use of ginseng to treat skin conditions from the Web of Science. Scientometric analyses were performed in R to analyze the studies on the human skin-related effects of ginseng conducted from 2000 to 2019. Results The main active ingredient in ginseng is ginsenoside, and its effects on the skin are mostly anti-aging and whitening. Ginseng extract regulates the levels of matrix metalloproteinases in human fibroblast type I collagen to improve the elasticity and water content of skin. In addition, ginseng inhibits the transcription factors or signaling pathways involved in the formation of melanin, it exerts a whitening effect. The authors of the retrieved studies are mostly located in Asia, mainly South Korea and China. Wang Y, Kim JH, and Kim YJ are relatively influential scholars, these ginseng-related articles published in the Journal of Ginseng Research, Molecules and other journals are very important in this field. Conclusion This study shows the development of trends in research on ginseng as a raw cosmetic material used on the skin and thus enables researchers to rapidly understand the key information in the field of ginseng research, comprehend the research directions, and improve their research efficiency.

Data from clinical and experimental studies have verified the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the concrete mechanism has not been well elucidated. The stress-induced activation of inflammatory response is involved in the development and pathogenesis of PTSD. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on regulating the hippocampal inflammatory response in rats exposed to PTSD. Forty male rats were randomly divided into control, model, acupuncture and sertraline group. Within 1 day after adaptive feeding, all rats were exposed to single prolonged stress (SPS), except for the rats in the control group. Rats in acupuncture group were exposed to acupuncture intervention at the acupoints of Baihui (GV20) and Yintang (GV29), 20 minutes once per day for 15 days. Rats in sertraline group were exposed to a suspension of sertraline and distilled water (0.2mg/ml), once per day for 15 days continuously. Body weight and elevated plus maze experiment were detected at different time-points to evaluate the behavioral changes of rats. HE staining method was used to observe the basic pathological morphological changes in hippocampus. Immunofluorescence staining method was used to observe the activation of hippocampal microglia. The content of IL-6 and IL-1β in serum were detected by ELISA method. Compared with the control group, the body weight of rats in model group significantly decreased on 8 days, and the percentage of time in open arms and open arm entries decreased significantly on 15 days after SPS procedures, which indicated that SPS induced PTSD-like behavior in rats. Acupuncture exerted therapeutic effect. Simultaneously, the result of HE staining confirmed that SPS induced hippocampal morphological changes in SPS rats. Notably, acupuncture reversed the reduction and pathological injury to some extent. The results have also shown that acupuncture intervention effectively reversed the activated microglia of the hippocampus in rats. Moreover, the expression of IL-1β in serum was significantly decreased by acupuncture intervention. In summary, the present study demonstrated that the role of acupuncture in eliminating PTSD-like behavior might be connected with reversing the pathological process of the inflammatory response mediated by the activation of microglia induced by SPS.

Research indicates that particulate matter with an aerodynamic equivalent diameter of less than or equal to 2.5 µm in ambient air may induce lung cancer progression. Circular RNAs are a special kind of endogenous noncoding RNA, and their functions are reflected in various diseases and physiological processes, but there are still few studies related to PM

Background Microsurgical toe-to-hand transfer is a gold standard when it comes to repairing a thumb defect. Great toenail flap, thumbnail valva flap, free great toe, and second toe transplantation are the common methods in thumb reconstruction. Second toe transplantation achieves good function, but poor esthetics. Great toe transplantation achieves better esthetics, but hindered walking, due to the foot’s loss of the great toe and moreover suboptimal thumb function. It is difficult to maintain both functional and esthetic satisfaction in thumb reconstruction. Methods We experimented with three different methods of toe to hand transfer. From October 2009 to July 2019, 30 patients with traumatic thumb defects received one of 3 different kinds of thumb reconstruction in our clinic according to their level of amputation. Divided evenly into three groups of ten, group one received a great toe transplantation, group two received a second toe transplantation, and group three received a combined great toenail flap and second toe phalanx transplantation. Each of the patients’ thumbs had different levels of amputation at the metatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ) or distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ). Results One patient suffered from a partial flap necrosis and received a groin flap to cover the defect. No other thumbs had any complications. The functional and esthetic results of both the donor and the recipient sites were satisfactory. Results show that, for patients with traumatic thumb defects, the combined transfer of flap and second toe phalanx was the best option. Conclusions Compared to the great toe or second toe transfer, combined free transfer of the great toenail flap and second toe phalanx achieved a substantially better functional and esthetic result in the thumb reconstruction.

Background The inguinoscrotal stage of testicular descent is characterized by an increase in cell density and collagen fibers as the gubernaculum undergoes cell division and increases Extracellular Matrix (ECM) activity. Rats that lack the enzyme Adamts16, a known ECM proteinase, develop cryptorchidism postnatally and are infertile. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the link between the Adamts16 enzyme and congenital undescended testes (UDT) in Adamts16 knockout (KO) rats during postnatal development. Methods Formalin-fixed specimens of Wild-Type, Adamts16 heterozygous and Adamts16 homozygous KO rats post birth were sectioned and used for standard H&E histology and Masson's trichrome staining. A quantitative analysis on image J was performed to determine the intensity of collagen fibers within the inguinoscrotal fat pad (IFP) (n = 3 age/genotype). Results The migration of the gubernaculum within the Adamts16 heterozygous and Adamts16 KO rat was considerably disrupted. Furthermore, the Masson's trichrome staining demonstrated a significant increase in collagen fibers around the gubernaculum of rats that lacked Adamts16 enzyme at day 8. Conclusion This study reports a failure of gubernacular migration leading to UDT in Adamts16 KO rats during development, suggesting that the expression of Adamts16 gene is critical for normal gubernacular migration through the breakdown of collagen fibers within the IFP.

The brain is probably the most complex organ in the human body. It has been the hot spot and direction of brain science research all over the world to deeply study the pathogenesis of various kinds of brain diseases and find effective treatment methods. Acupuncture is a nonpharmacological therapy of traditional Chinese medicine originating from ancient clinical practice. The research on the treatment of brain diseases by acupuncture has been constantly enriched and updated with the promotion of interdisciplinary research. In order to account for the current achievements in the field of acupuncture for brain diseases, this article reviews it in terms of conception, application, and exploration. Based on the literature review, we found that in the past decades, acupuncture has received widespread attention worldwide and many literatures have reported the clinical efficacy and underlying mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of brain diseases. Presently, the conception, application, and exploration of acupuncture in the treatment of brain diseases have evolved from empirical medicine to evidence-based medicine and precision medicine, and are experiencing a deeper understanding of the information about acupuncture regulating the brain function based on interdisciplinary research.脑是人体最为复杂的器官，深入研究各类脑病的发病机制并寻找有效的治疗方法，已成为世界各国脑科学研究的热点和方向。针刺作为一种起源于古代临床实践的中医非药物疗法，其在学科交叉影响下关于脑病的研究不断被丰富和更新。为反映近年来针刺治疗脑病的研究进展，本文试从理念、应用和探索三方面对该领域进行综述。基于文献回顾，我们发现，在过去的几十年中，针刺治疗脑病受到世界范围内的广泛关注，大量文献报道了针刺治疗脑病的临床疗效及关于这些疗效的潜在机制。目前，针刺治疗脑病的理念、应用和探索已从经验医学跨越到向循证医学和精准医学的演变，并正在经历着基于跨学科研究对针刺调节脑功能信息的更深层次理解。.

BackgroundThe highly heterogeneous pathogenesis of depression and limited response to current antidepressants call for more objective evidence for depression subtypes. Reactive and endogenous depression are two etiologically distinct subtypes associated with different treatment responses. This study aims to explore the potential biomarkers that differentiate reactive and endogenous depressions.MethodsThe clinical manifestations and biological indicators of 64 unmedicated mild-to-moderate depression patients (32 reactive depression patients and 32 endogenous depression patients) and 21 healthy subjects were observed. The 24-item Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAMD-24) was used to evaluate the severity of depression. Serum levels of depression-related biological indicators were measured by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.ResultsThe NLRP3 level of reactive depression was significantly lower than those of endogenous depression and healthy controls. There was a significant negative correlation between the BDNF level and the HAMD-24 total scores for patients with reactive depression.ConclusionOur findings suggested the serum NLRP3 and BDNF levels could be potential biomarkers for detecting and evaluating the severity of reactive depression.

The effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) for depression have been identified by abundant clinical trials and experimental findings. The c-Jun-NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway is considered to be involved in the antidepressant mechanism of EA. However, the antidepressant effect of EA via modulating the expression of c-Fos/activator protein-1 (AP-1) under the condition of JNK inhibition remains unexplored. In this study, we investigated the antidepressant effect and possible mechanism of EA in regulating the expression of c-Fos/AP-1 under the condition of JNK inhibition by SP600125 in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). The depression-like behaviors were evaluated by the body weight, sucrose preference test (SPT), and open field test (OFT). The expression levels of c-Jun in the hypothalamus, c-Fos in the pituitary gland, and c-Fos and AP-1 in the serum of CUMS induced rat model of depression were detected by ELISA. The results indicated that treatment with EA and fluoxetine can reverse the CUMS-induced depression-like behaviors in rats and can up-regulate the expression levels of c-Jun in the hypothalamus, c-Fos in the pituitary gland, and c-Fos and AP-1 in the serum. Of note, the data demonstrated that SP600125, the inhibitor of JNK signaling pathway, can exert synergistic effect with EA in regulating CUMS-induced abnormal activation of the JNK signaling pathway. The antidepressant effect of EA might be mediated by modulating the expression of c-Fos/AP-1.摘要:目前电针抗抑郁的有效性和安全性得到大量临床研究和实验结果的证实，JNK信号通路被认为是参与了电针抗抑郁的机制过程。然而，电针通过在阻断JNK信号通路条件下调节c-Fos/AP-1表达的抗抑郁机制尚未阐明。在本研究中，我们主要探究电针通过SP600125抑制JNK信号通路条件下调节慢性温和不可预知性应激(CUMS)抑郁模型c-Fos/AP-1表达的抗抑郁效应机制。通过体重监测、糖水偏好实验和旷场实验评价抑郁样行为；采用酶联免疫吸附剂测定技术(ELISA)检测下丘脑c-Jun、垂体c-Fos及血清c-Fos、AP-1水平。结果显示，电针及氟西汀干预显著改善了CUMS诱导的大鼠抑郁样行为，并逆转了CUMS诱导的下丘脑水平c-Jun、垂体c-Fos及血清c-Fos、AP-1上调表达。值得注意的是，研究数据表明JNK信号通路特异性阻断剂SP600125同电针一起在调节CUMS诱导的JNK信号通路异常激活上起到协同作用，电针抗抑郁效应可能是通过调节应激诱导的c-Fos/AP-1表达介导的。.

Objectives To explore the effects of acupuncture (manual acupuncture or electroacupuncture) combined with SSRIs for moderate to severe depression improving major clinical symptoms and life quality of the patients on secondary outcomes. Design Pragmatic, parallel, randomized controlled trial. Setting 6 hospitals in China. Interventions 6 weeks of manual acupuncture (MA)+selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), electroacupuncture (EA)+SSRIs, and SSRIs alone. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was response rate of 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) total score at 6th week. The secondary outcomes reported in this analysis were HAMD-17 factor scores at 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 10th week and WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) scores at 6th week. Results 477 patients were randomly assigned into MA + SSRIs (n = 161), EA + SSRIs (n = 160), or SSRIs alone (n = 156) groups. For HAMD-17 (at 6th week), the MA + SSRIs group was significantly better than the SSRIs alone group in retardation factor (p = 0.008), while the EA+SSRIs group was significantly better than the SSRIs alone group in anxiety/somatization factor (p Conclusions Either MA or EA combined SSRIs treatment could improve symptoms and quality of life for patients with moderate to severe depression. The main limitation of this trial was not using a sham control therefore the placebo effect could not be excluded.

Objective: Many noninvasive brain stimulation techniques have been applied to treat depressive disorders. However, the target brain region in most noninvasive brain stimulation studies is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Exploring new stimulation locations may improve the efficacy of noninvasive brain stimulation for depressive disorders. We aimed to explore potential noninvasive brain stimulation locations for depressive disorders through a meta-analysis and a functional connectivity approach. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis of 395 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies to identify depressive disorder–associated brain regions as regions of interest. Then, we ran resting-state functional connectivity analysis with three different pipelines in 40 depression patients to find brain surface regions correlated with these regions of interest. The 10–20 system coordinates corresponding to these brain surface regions were considered as potential locations for noninvasive brain stimulation. Results: The 10–20 system coordinates corresponding to the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, medial prefrontal cortex, supplementary motor area, bilateral supramarginal gyrus, bilateral primary motor cortex, bilateral operculum, left angular gyrus and right middle temporal gyrus were identified as potential locations for noninvasive brain stimulation in depressive disorders. The coordinates were: posterior to F3, posterior to F4, superior to F3, posterior to F7, anterior to C4, P3, midpoint of F7–T3, posterior to F8, anterior to C3, midpoint of Fz–Cz, midpoint of Fz–Fp1, anterior to T4, midpoint of C3–P3, and anterior to C4. Conclusion: Our study identified several potential noninvasive brain stimulation locations for depressive disorders, which may serve as a basis for future clinical investigations.

Background Yellow complexion is a major skin issue that bothers Chinese women. The major factor leading to sallow complexion is the accumulation of advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treats dull, yellow complexion as being associated with liver-, spleen- or stomach-related functional disorders. Through analysis of prescription data, we explored combinations of new prescriptions with yellow-dispelling effects.Methods We extracted the most commonly used drug pairs and core medicine in anti-yellowing formulas, then carry out hierarchical clustering analysis and extract new formula combinations. The combination effect was determined by falvnoe, DPPH radical scavenging activity and Non-enzymatic glycosylation inhibiting activity. Toxicological analysis included HET-CAM, 3T3 phototoxicity, multiple irritation and patch test.Result Three empirical formulas were identified according to drug frequency analysis, and a new formula was identified according to the results of hierarchical clustering analysis. A series of biochemical experiments proved that the best anti-yellow-complexion formula combination was the new one. The results of the safety investigation showed that the new formula at a concentration of 5% had no eye irritation effects, no irritant or corrosive effects on mammalian skin, and no adverse reactions with human skin.Conclusion This study explored and analysed the internal laws of TCM for treatment of yellow complexion and, on this basis, developed a plant combination extract material with an anti-yellowing effect on skin.

Background Many traditional Chinese medicine compositions can moisturize the skin and utilize in cosmetics. Using a combination of Chinese Medicine Materials and guided by Traditional Chinese Medicine principles, this study selected Echinacea purpurea to protect the skin barrier, Dendrobium nobile to clear heat and promote fluid production, Sophora flavescens to clear heat for diminished inflammation, and Aloe vera combined Lycium barbarum to nourish yin, to together form a "poly TCM moisturizing formulation". Methods These poly plant extracts were investigated and optimized for the stability, safety and moisturizing ability. The combination moisturizing effect was determined by measuring the expression of FLG mRNA, CLDN-1 mRNA and AQP3 protein. Toxicological analysis included a red blood cell hemolysis test and a 3T3 phototoxicity test . Results It has been observed that by using polysaccharide yield as the evaluation criterion showed optimal extraction at a material-to-liquid ratio of 1:100, an extraction temperature of 100 °C, and an extraction time of 3 h. Moisturizing effect experiments showed that the expression of FLG mRNA, CLDN-1 mRNA and AQP3 protein was significantly increased. Toxicological tests showed that the composition was safe and caused no irritating effects. Conclusion Based on these results, this poly TCM moisturizing formulation is safe within moisturizing effects and can be used as a moisturizing raw material in cosmetics.

Supplemental material, Supplementary_materials_for for Locations for noninvasive brain stimulation in treating depressive disorders: A combination of meta-analysis and resting-state functional connectivity analysis by Binlong Zhang, Jiao Liu, Tuya Bao, Georgia Wilson, Joel Park, Bingcong Zhao and Jian Kong in Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry

During early testicular development, neonatal gonocytes transform into spermatogonial stem cells (SSC), and any untransformed gonocytes are thought to undergo apoptosis. In human cryptorchidism, persisting gonocytes may lead to seminoma. Using Bcl2-associated X knockout (BAXKO) mice, we investigated apoptosis in gonocyte development during mouse minipuberty. Testes from BAXKO, heterozygous (HET), and wild-type (WT) littermates were collected on postnatal days 1, 3, 6, and 9 (n = 6/group), labelled with antibodies against mouse vasa homologue (MVH, germ cell marker) or promyelocytic leukaemia zinc-factor (PLZF, SSC marker) and imaged for cell counting. Total germ cells/tubule, i.e., the number of germ cells on and off the basement membrane (BM), were counted using Image J followed by 2-way ANOVA analysis with Prism. Total PLZF+ germ cells/tubule, PLZF+ germ cells/tubule off BM, total MVH+ germ cells/tubule, and MVH+ germ cells off BM/tubule were significantly higher at day 9 in BAXKO compared to WT and HET mice (p < 0.01). In conclusion, knockout of BAX in mouse leads to gonocytes persisting at the centre of the tubules after minipuberty, which failed to migrate and transform into SSC, indicating the important role of apoptosis is to eliminate undifferentiated gonocytes during transformation. Failed apoptosis in gonocytes may be the cause of malignancy in humans with cryptorchidism.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a chronic disease that adversely affects mood and cognition. In this study, we randomly divided the rats into control group (C), model group (M), fluoxetine group (F), and acupuncture group (A), used open-field test to ascertain whether acupuncture affects chronic restraint stress (CRS) induced depression-like behaviors of rats, and explored the antidepressant mechanism of acupuncture at the molecular level of transcriptome in the frontal cortex of CRS rats by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). According to differentially expressed genes (DEG) analysis, we identified 134, 46, and 89 response genes differentially expressed in C versus M, F versus M, and A versus M, respectively. Through Gene Ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, we identified the gene sets involved in extracellular space, inflammatory response, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, and TNF signaling pathway. In this study, RNA-seq technology was used to investigate the frontal cortex genome-wide transcriptomes in depression rats under CRS, which suggested that the antidepressant effect of acupuncture is effective and has a multitarget characteristic, which may be related to amino acid metabolism and inflammatory pathways, especially the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, and NF-kappa B signaling pathway.

Data from clinical investigations and laboratory fundings have provided preliminary evidence for the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture therapy in depression. However, the mechanisms underlying the antidepressant response of acupuncture are not fully elucidated. To elucidate the potential effects of acupuncture for depression on the hippocampal genome-wide transcriptome at the molecular level, we evaluated the transcriptomic profile of depression rats under treatment of acupuncture, and fluoxetine. We identified a very significant effect of acupucture intervention, with 107 genes differentially expressed in acupuncture vs. model group; while 41 genes between fluoxetine vs. model group. Notably, the 54 differentially expressed genes between acupuncture and fluoxetine showed the significantly different effect between acupuncture and fluoxetine. Through GO (gene ontology) functional term and KEGG (kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes) pathway analysis, we identified that the upregulation of gene sets were related to inflammatory response, innate immunity and immune response. We found that toll-like receptor signalling pathway and NOD like receptor signalling pathway were associated with the function of inflammatory response, innate immunity and immune response. Importantly, acupuncture reversed the upregulation of gene sets that were related to inflammatory response, innate immunity and immune response (including toll-like receptor signalling pathway and NOD like receptor signalling pathway), which might be critical for the pathogenesis of depression and provide evidence for the antidepressive effects of acupuncture by regulating inflammatory response, innate immunity and immune response via toll-like receptor signalling pathway and NOD like receptor signalling pathway.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are first-line antidepressants, however, only around 60% of patients could benefit from them. Acupuncture is supported by insufficient evidence to help with symptom relieving and SSRIs tolerance. This pragmatic randomized controlled trial compared SSRIs alone versus SSRIs together with manual acupuncture (MA) or electroacupuncture (EA) in moderate to severe depressed patients. Patients were randomly allocated to receive MA + SSRIs (161), EA + SSRIs (160), or SSRIs alone (156) for six weeks, and then followed up for another four weeks. The primary outcome was response rate of the 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) at 6th week. The secondary outcomes were HAMD-17 (remission rate, early onset rate, total score), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS: total score), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), Rating Scale for Side Effects (SERS: total and domain scores), number of patients with adjusted dosage of SSRIs and adverse events (AEs). Both MA + SSRIs and EA + SSRIs were significantly better than SSRIs at 6th week on HAMD-17 response rate (RR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.04, 1.42, P = 0.013; RR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.09, 1.48, P = 0.0014), HAMD-17 early onset rate (P 0.0001), HAMD-17 and SDS total scores (P 0.05), CGI (P 0.01), SERS total score (P 0.01), number of patients with increased dosage of SSRIs (P 0.01). For HAMD-17 remission rate, EA + SSRIs was significantly higher than SSRIs (P = 0.0083), while MA + SSRIs showed no significant difference at 6th week (P = 0.092). No unintended acupuncture-related severe AE was observed. This study identified that both MA and EA showed beneficial effects in addition to SSRIs alone in patients with moderate to severe depression, and were well tolerated. Clinical trials registration: ChiCTR-TRC-08000297.

Background Subthreshold depression (StD) is a prevalent condition that may increase the risk of incident major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the relationship between StD and MDD remains unclear. Methods A total of 153 adult subjects, including 53 drug-naive MDD, 50 StD and 50 healthy control (HC) subjects, underwent a T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scan, and the gray matter volume (GMV) alterations among the three groups were quantitatively analyzed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Then, to capture the whole-brain connectivity characteristics, we constructed morphological brain networks (MBN) based on the similarity among brain regions of individual VBM images and compared the network connection strengths among the three groups. Results The StD and MDD subjects had similar patterns of GMV reductions in the orbitofrontal cortex and left temporal gyrus, although the magnitude of the reductions was smaller in StD subjects. Moreover, a total of 21 morphological connections were significantly different among the three groups. For the majority of the different connections (15/21), the connection strength of the StD group took an intermediate position between that of the MDD and HC groups. Limitations There is still a lack of a consistent definition of StD, and the age range of the subjects in this study was wide. Meanwhile the mechanisms and biological significance of the MBN remains to be clarified. Conclusions These results may support the hypothesis that depression is better expressed as a spectrum and that StD exists on a spectrum with MDD.

We characterize some homogeneous Hopf real hypersurfaces in a nonflat complex space form by studying trajectories for Sasakian magnetic fields whose extrinsic shapes are tangentially of order 2.

In this paper we give inequalities on volume growths of Euclidean bodies which are obtained by n-cubes through nonlinear transformations.

Acupuncture has demonstrated the function in ameliorating depressive-like behaviors via modulating PKA/CREB signaling pathway. To further confirm the antidepressant mechanism of EA on the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and dopaminergic synapse signaling pathways, 4 target proteins were detected based on our previous iTRAQ analysis. Rats were randomly divided into control group, model group, and electroacupuncture (EA) group. Except for the control group, all rats were subjected to 28 days of chronic restraint stress (CRS) protocols to induce depression. In the EA group, EA pretreatment at Baihui (GV20) and Yintang (GV29) was performed daily (1 mA, 2 Hz, discontinuous wave, 20 minutes) prior to restraint. The antidepressant-like effect of EA was measured by body weight and open-field test. The protein levels of DAT, Th, Mapt, and Prkc in the hippocampus were examined by using Western blot. The results showed EA could ameliorate the depression-like behaviors and regulate the expression levels of Prkc and Mapt in CRS rats. The effect of EA on DAT and Th expression was minimal. These findings implied that EA pretreatment could alleviate depression through modulating MAPK signaling pathway. The role of EA on dopaminergic synapse signaling pathways needs to be further explored.

Protein kinase A (PKA)/cAMP response element-binding (CREB) protein signaling pathway, contributing to impaired neurogenesis parallel to depressive-like behaviors, has been identified as the crucial factor involved in the antidepressant response of acupuncture. However, the molecular mechanisms associated with antidepressant response of acupuncture, neurogenesis, and depressive-like behaviors ameliorating remain unexplored. The objective was to identify the mechanisms underlying the antidepressant response of acupuncture through PKA signaling pathway in depression rats by employing the PKA signaling pathway inhibitor H89 in in vivo experiments. Our results indicated that the expression of hippocampal PKA-αand p-CREB was significantly downregulated by chronic unpredicted mild stress (CUMS) procedures. Importantly, acupuncture reversed the downregulation of PKA-αand p-CREB. The expression of PKA-αwas upregulated by fluoxetine, but not p-CREB. No significant difference was found between Acu and FLX groups on the expression of PKA-αand p-CREB. Interestingly, H89 inhibited the effects of acupuncture or fluoxetine on upregulating the expression of p-CREB, but not PKA-α. There was no significant difference in expression of CREB among the groups. Conclusively, our findings further support the hypothesis that acupuncture could ameliorate depressive-like behaviors by regulating PKA/CREB signaling pathway, which might be mainly mediated by regulating the phosphorylation level of CREB.

A trajectory for a Sasakian magnetic field, which is a generalization of geodesics, on a real hypersurface in a complex hyperbolic space CHn is said to be extrinsic circular if it can be regarded as a circle as a curve in CHn. We study how the moduli space of extrinsic circular trajectories, which is the set of their congruence classes, on a totally η-umbilic real hypersurface is contained in the moduli space of circles in CHn. From this aspect we characterize tubes around totally geodesic complex hypersurfaces CHn-1 in CHn by some properties of such trajectories.

Background The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway is considered to be associated with the pathogenesis and treatment of depression. Acupuncture has been demonstrated to ameliorate depression-related behavior and promote neurogenesis. In this study, we explored the role of the ERK signaling pathway in the antidepressant-like effects of acupuncture in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Methods Eighty male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into eight groups: control group, model group, model + Acupuncture group (Acu group), model + fluoxetine group (FLX group), model + DMSO group (DMSO group), model + PD98059 group (PD group), model + Acupuncture + PD98059 group (Acu + PD group) and model + fluoxetine + PD98059 group (FLX + PD group). Except for the control group, all rats were subjected to 3 weeks of CUMS protocols to induce depression. Acupuncture was carried out for 10 min at acupoints of Baihui (GV-20) and Yintang (GV-29) each day during the experimental procedure. The ERK signaling pathway was inhibited using PD98059 through intracerebroventricular injection. The depression-like behaviors were evaluated using the sucrose intake and open-field tests. The protein levels of ERK1/2, phosphor (p)-ERK1/2, cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), p-CREB and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus were examined using western blot. Results Acupuncture ameliorated the depression-like behaviors and dysfunction of the ERK signaling pathway in the hippocampus of CUMS rats. PD98059 pretreatment inhibited the improvements brought about by acupuncture on the ERK signaling pathway. Conclusions Taken together, our results indicated that acupuncture had a significant antidepressant-like effect on CUMS-induced depression model rats, and the ERK signaling pathway was implicated in this effect.

In this paper we study which trajectories for Sasakian magnetic fields are circles on certain standard real hypersurfaces which are called hypersurfaces of type A in a nonflat complex space form. We also give a characterization of these real hypersurfaces by such a circular property of trajectories for Sasakian magnetic fields.

In this paper we study congruency of minimal ruled real hypersurfaces in a nonflat complex space form with respect to the action of its isometry group. We show that those in a complex hyperbolic space are classified into 3 classes and show that those in a complex projective space are congruent to each other hence form just one class.

Background Mucosal epithelia, including those of the oviduct, secrete antimicrobial innate immune molecules (AIIMS). These have bactericidal/bacteriostatic functions against a variety of pathogens. Among the AIIMs, sheep β-defensin-1 (SBD-1) is one of the most potent. Even though the SBD-1 is an important AIIM and it is regulated closely by estrogenic hormone, the regulation mechanism of 17β-estradiol has not been clearly established. We investigated the effects of E2 and agonist or inhibitor on ovine oviduct epithelial cells in regard to SBD-1 expression using reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). In addition, three different pathways were inhibited separately or simultaneously to confirm the effect of different inhibitors in the regulation mechanism. Results 17beta-estradiol (E2) induced release of SBD-1 in ovine oviduct epithelial cells. SBD-1 expression was mediated through G-protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30) and Estrogen Receptors (ERs) activation in ovine oviduct epithelial cell. Inhibition of gene expression of protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase C (PKC), and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) led to a decreased SBD-1 expression. Conclusions Taken together, E2-induced up-regulation of SBD-1 expressions were GPR30-dependent during prophase and ERs-dependent during later-stage in ovine oviduct epithelial cells, and we assume that the effect was completed by the PKA, PKC, and NF-κB pathways simultaneous.

We study circular trajectories for Sasakian magnetic fields on geodesic spheres, horospheres and tubes around totally geodesic complex hypersurfaces in a complex hyperbolic space. Investigating their extrinsic shapes in the ambient complex hyperbolic space, we give conditions for them to be bounded and to be closed. By use of information on lengths of circles in complex space forms, we give expressions of lengths of circular trajectories on those real hypersurfaces and show that their length spectrum is a discrete subset of a real line.

We study trajectories for Sasakian magnetic fields which are also circles of positive geodesic curvature on geodesic spheres in a complex projective space. Investigating their extrinsic shapes we give a condition for them to be closed. By use of information on lengths of circles on a complex projective space, we give their lengths, and estimate the bottom of the length spectrum of circular trajectories.

On a real hypersurface in a Kahler manifold we can consider a natural closed 2-form associated with the almost contact metric structure induced by Kahler structure. Contrary to real hypersurfaces of type (A), on real hypersurfaces of type (B) in a complex hyperbolic space we show that non-geodesic trajectories under Sasakian magnetic fields, which are constant multiples of the natural closed 2-form, are not curves of order 2.

On a real hypersurface in a Kahler manifold we can consider a natural closed 2-form associated with the almost contact metric structure induced by Kahler structure. We treat trajectories under magnetic fields which are constant multiples of this 2-form. We consider a condition for them to be also curves of order 2 on tubes around totally geodesic real hyperbolic spaces in a complex hyperbolic space.

主査：足立 俊明