Electroacupuncture for weight loss by regulating microglial polarization in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus.

Electroacupuncture (EA) has a weight loss effect, but the underlying molecular mechanisms of weight loss with EA have not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the modulatory effects of EA on the phenotype of hypothalamic microglia in obese mice. A total of 50 male C57BL/6J mice were used in this study. There were three groups in this experiment: The conventional diet group (Chow group), the high-fat diet group (HFD group), and the EA intervention group (HFD + EA group). EA was applied at "Tianshu (ST25)", "Guanyuan (RN4)", "Zusanli (ST36)" and "Zhongwan (RN12)" every day for 10 min. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, immunohistochemical staining, and real-time PCR were applied in this study. The results showed that EA intervention was associated with a decrease in body weight, food intake, adipose tissue weight, and adipocyte size. At the same time, EA induced microglia to exhibit an M2 phenotype, representing reduced iNOS/TNF-α and increased Arg-1/IL-10/BDNF, which may be due to the promotion of TREM2 expression. EA also reduced microglia enrichment in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus and declined TLR4 and IL-6, inhibiting microglia-mediated neuroinflammation. In addition, EA treatment promoted POMC expression, which may be associated with reduced food intake and weight loss in obese mice. This work provides novel evidence of EA against obesity. However, further study is necessary of EA as a therapy for obesity.

QTL mapping and identification of candidate genes for cold tolerance at the germination stage in wild rice.

BACKGROUND: Cold damage stress significantly affects rice growth (germination and seedling) and causes serious losses in yield in temperate and high-altitude areas around the globe. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the cold tolerance (CT) locus of rice and create new cold-tolerant germplasm. We constructed a chromosome segment substitution line (CSSL) with strong CT and fine mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with CT by performing the whole-genome resequencing of CSSL with phenotypes under cold treatment. METHODS: A chromosome CSSL, including 271 lines from a cross between the cold-tolerant wild rice Y11 (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) and the cold-sensitive rice variety GH998, was developed to map QTLs conferring CT at the germination stage. The whole-genome resequencing was performed on CSSL for mapping QTLs of associated with CT at the germination stage. RESULTS: A high-density linkage map of the CSSLs was developed using the whole-genome resequencing of 1484 bins. The QTL analysis using 615,466 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) led to the identification of 2 QTLs related to germination rate at low-temperature on chromosome 8 (qCTG-8) and chromosome 11 (qCTG-11). The qCTG-8 and qCTG-11 explained 14.55% and 14.31% of the total phenotypic variation, respectively. We narrowed down qCTG-8 and qCTG-11 to 195.5 and 78.83-kb regions, respectively. The expression patterns of important candidate genes in different tissues, and of RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) in CSSLs, were identified based on gene sequences in qCTG-8 and qCTG-11 cold-induced expression analysis. LOC_Os08g01120 and LOC_Os08g01390 were identified as candidate genes in qCTG-8, and LOC_Os11g32880 was identified as a candidate gene in qCTG-11. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated a general method that could be used to identify useful loci and genes in wild rice and aid in the future cloning of candidate genes of qCTG-8 and qCTG-11. The CSSLs with strong CT were supported for breeding cold-tolerant rice varieties.

Trichoscopy for early diagnosis and follow-up of pet-related neonatal tinea capitis.

We report infant zigzag hairs as a distinct trichoscopic sign for follow up a case of pet-related newborn tinea capitis due to Microsporum canis. Formation of infant zigzag hairs due to ectothrix M. canis infection may be associated soft neonatal widespread thin hair, which is different from vellus hair and terminal hair. In addition, tinea capitis was further confirmed by transmission electric microscopy and fungal culture. The patient was successfully treated by weekly oral fluconazole (8 mg/kg). Therefore, the handheld dermoscopy is a simple, non-invasive and very inexpensive technique for the diagnosis and follow-up of tinea capitis, especially for infant.

Ji-Chuan decoction ameliorates slow transit constipation via regulation of intestinal glial cell apoptosis.

BACKGROUND: Slow transit constipation (STC) is a common intestinal disease with increasing incidence. STC results from various factors, such as the enteric nervous system and metabolic changes. As a classical formula of traditional Chinese medicine, Ji-Chuan decoction (JCD) has been extensively and effectively used in STC treatment, yet its pharmacological mechanism remains unclear. AIM: To explore the integrated regulatory pattern of JCD against STC through hyphenated techniques from metabolism, network pharmacology and molecular methods. METHODS: STC model mice were generated by intragastric administration of compound diphenoxylate (10 mg/kg/d) for 14 d. The STC mice in the low dose of JCD (3.04 g/kg), middle dose of JCD (6.08 g/kg) and high dose of JCD (12.16 g/kg) groups were orally administered JCD solution once a day for 2 wk. The acetylcholine (ACH) level was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The pathological features of colon tissue were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The differentially expressed metabolites and metabolic pathways were tested by nontargeted metabolomics. The main targets and core ingredients of JCD were identified by network pharmacology, and the expression of AKT was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Finally, the pathways involved in JCD treatment were predicted using a combination of differentially expressed metabolites and targets, and intestinal glial cell apoptosis was demonstrated by immunofluorescence. RESULTS: JCD significantly promoted intestinal motility, increased the levels of the excitatory neurotransmitter ACH and reduced intestinal inflammation in STC mice. Untargeted metabolomics results showed that JCD significantly restored metabolic dysfunction and significantly affected taurine and hypotaurine metabolism. Network pharmacology and molecular experiments showed that JCD regulates AKT protein expression, and the core component is quercetin. Combined analysis demonstrated that apoptosis may be an important mechanism by which JCD relieves constipation. Further experiments showed that JCD reduced enteric glial cell (EGC) apoptosis. CONCLUSION: This work demonstrated that reducing EGC apoptosis may be the critical mechanism by which JCD treats STC. These findings call for further molecular research to facilitate the clinical application of JCD.

Bedside Diagnosis for Disseminated Deep Dermatophytosis: a Case Series Study.

Deep cutaneous fungal infections including deep dermatophytosis are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality, especially in immunocompromised patients. Variable and longer turnaround time on tissue culture results delay diagnosis. We sought to seek the fast bedside diagnosis for disseminated deep dermatophytosis by direct microscopy using a blunt scalpel or needle aspiration before biopsy. This is a 6-year retrospective review of patients with a diagnosis of disseminated deep dermatophytosis seen at a single tertiary care institution. Trichophyton rubrum was isolated in four patients, and T. mentagrophyte complex in one patient. All the dermatophyte isolates can grow at 37 °C. Microscopy of purulence sampling from intact nodules demonstrated abundant septate hyphae, and also isolation from purulence was concordance with skin tissue culture. Ultrasound-guided sampling from non-eroded can yield purulence, and direct microscopy of purulence may facilitate rapid diagnosis of deep dermatophytosis and serve to prevent disease progression and dissemination.

Tinea auricularis: a neglected tinea incognito.

Ultraviolet dermoscopy is a rapid and noninvasive diagnosis tool for tinea auricularis caused by Microsporum canis, which facilitated early treatment with systemic antifungals.

Comparison of different immobilization methods in breast cancer radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective:To compare and analyze the differences in the setup accuracy of different immobilization method in breast cancer radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 60 patients who received radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery from January to August, 2021. These patients were divided into two groups. One group consisted of 30 cases who were immobilized using a modified body thermoplastic membrane combined with a multifunction body board during the breast cancer radiotherapy and was called the modified body thermoplastic membrane group. The other group comprised 30 cases immobilized using a vacuum cushion during breast cancer radiotherapy and was referred to as the vacuum cushion group. The setup errors, 3D vector errors, the proportion of errors of > 5 mm, and the dosimetric differences in the planning target volume (PTV) and the clinical target volume (CTV) before and after simulated treatment bed moving (including the PTV_ V100, PTV_ V95, and CTV_ V95 before simulated treatment bed moving and the PTV_ V100 S, PTV_ V95 S, and CTV_ V95 S after simulated treatment bed moving) were compared between two groups. Moreover, for the modified body thermoplastic membrane group, the changes in the average setup errors at different radiotherapy stages were also analyzed. Results:A total of 369 cone-beam CT scans were conducted for 60 patients, including 195 CT scans for the modified body thermoplastic membrane group and 174 CT scans for the vacuum cushion group. The setup errors in the x, y, and z directions (right-left, anterior-posterior, and superior-inferior, respectively) of the modified body thermoplastic membrane group were (2.59±1.98) mm, (2.38±2.04) mm, and (1.45±1.16) mm, respectively, while those of the other group were (2.24±1.63) mm, (2.78±2.17) mm, and (2.70±1.88) mm, respectively. The 3D vector errors of both groups were (4.32±2.28) mm and (5.13±2.14) mm, respectively. Therefore, the setup error in direction z and the 3D vector error of the modified body thermoplastic membrane group were less than those of the vacuum cushion group ( t = -7.77, -3.41, P<0.05). Moreover, the proportion of setup errors of > 5 mm in the x direction of the vacuum cushion group was lower than that of the modified body thermoplastic membrane group ( χ2 = 7.13, P<0.05), while such proportion in the z direction of the modified body thermoplastic membrane group was lower than that of the vacuum cushion group ( χ2= 5.90, P<0.05). After the simulated treatment bed moving, the PTV_ V100 S of the modified body thermoplastic membrane group was better than that of the vacuum cushion group ( t = 2.47, P < 0.05). Furthermore, for the modified body thermoplastic membrane group, the setup errors in the x direction in the first week were higher than those in the 2-3 weeks and 4-5 weeks ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The modified body thermoplastic membrane combined with a multifunction body board yield better immobilization effects than a vacuum cushion. However, it produces high setup errors in the x direction in the first week of the radiotherapy, to which special attention should be paid.

Violet colonies of Talaromyces marneffei produce on CHROMagar candida medium.

In the present report, we describe an unusual case of mixed infection of Candida albicans and Talaromyces marneffei in the oral cavity and oropharynx with cutaneous involvement. On the CHROMagar Candida plate, green colonies (identified as C. albicans) and tiny violet colonies (identified as T. marneffei) grew from the throat swab after incubation for 96 hours. 10 clinical isolates of T. marneffei were used to verify their color production on CHROMagar Candida. All colonies were violet on the fourth, seventh and ninth day incubated at 37 °C. T. marneffei appears violet on the CHROMagar Candida plate, but it may be easily ignored because of its slow growth and small colony size, especially after incubation for 48 hours. Therefore, when using CHROMagar Candida plate to detect specimens in AIDS patients, special attention must be paid to detect non-yeasts such as T. marneffei for up to 96 hours.

Invasive Microsporum canis infection as a presenting complaint of late-diagnosed HIV infection.

A 43-year-old male barber presented with 1 year history of a painful, itchy plaque on the dorsal hand. Microsporum canis was recovered from pus of the lesion. Serologic testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody was positive, with a CD4+ count of 81 cells per cubic millimeter. Invasive cutaneous Microsporum canis infection is uncommon and can be suggestive of HIV infection or other conditions of immunocompromise.

Hypofractionated versus conventionally fractionated image-guided volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer: a phase II randomized trial from China.

PURPOSE: To determine the safety of hypofractionated imaging-guided (IG) volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy (IG-VMAT; 70 Gy/28 fractions over 5.5 weeks) versus conventionally fractionated regimen (IG-VMAT; 80 Gy/40 fractions over 8 weeks) in Chinese patients with localized prostate cancer. METHOD: In this randomized non-comparative phase II trial, 92 patients with localized prostate cancer were assigned to receive either hypofractionated IG-VMAT (HFRT; 70 Gy/2.5Gy/28f) or conventionally fractionated IG-VMAT (CFRT; 80 Gy/2Gy/40f). Primary endpoint was grade 2 or higher late gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicity at 2 years. The GI/GU toxicity and biochemical relapse-free survival (bRFS) were compared between the two treatment groups. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 26 months. The incidence of grade 2 or higher late GI/GU toxicity was low in both groups; the 5-year cumulative incidence of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group grade 2 or higher GI/GU toxicity at 2 years was 7.6% with HFRT versus 10.3% with CFRT (P = 0.707). Biochemical control was not significantly different between the two groups; the 2-year bRFS was 94.6% for HFRT versus 95.0% for CFRT (P = 0.704). CONCLUSION: Hypofractionated IG-VMAT appears to be equivalent to conventionally fractionated IG-VMAT in terms of toxicity in Chinese patients with localized prostate cancer.

Pathological Impact on the Phyllosphere Microbiota of Artemisia argyi by Haze.

The pathological impact of haze upon the phyllosphere microbiota awaits investigation. A moderate degree of haze environment and a clean control were selected in Chengdu, China. Artemisia argyi, a ubiquitously distributed and extensively applied Chinese herb, was also chosen for experiment. Total genome DNA was extracted from leaf samples, and for metagenome sequencing, an Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform was applied. The results showed that the gene numbers of phyllosphere microbiota derived from haze leaves were lower than those of the clean control. The phyllosphere microbiota derived from both haze and clean groups shared the same top ten phyla; the abundances of Proteobacteria, Actinomycetes and Anorthococcuso of the haze group were substantially increased, while Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes decreased. At the genus level, the abundances of Nocardia, Paracoccus, Marmoricola and Knoelia from haze leaves were markedly increased, while the yeasts were statistically decreased. KEGG retrieval demonstrated that the functional genes were most annotated to metabolism. An interesting find of this work is that the phyllosphere microbiota responsible for the synthesis of primary and secondary metabolites in A. argyi were significantly increased under a haze environment. Relatively enriched genes annotated by eggNOG belong to replication, recombination and repair, and genes classified into the glycoside hydrolase and glycosyltransferase enzymes were significantly increased. In summary, we found that both structure and function of phyllosphere microbiota are globally impacted by haze, while primary and secondary metabolites responsible for haze tolerance were considerably increased. These results suggest an adaptive strategy of plants for tolerating and confronting haze damage.

Effects of lactic acid bacteria fermented yellow whey on the protein coagulation and isoflavones distribution in soymilk.

This study investigated the soymilk coagulation induced by fermented yellow whey (FYW), which is extensively used as a natural tofu coagulant in China. The aggregations involving proteins and isoflavone particles caused by FYW were analyzed using the proteomic technology and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. As indicated, the FYW-induced coagulation of soy proteins mainly occurred at pH 5.80-5.90. When the pH of soymilk decreased, the 7S ß, 11S A3 and some of 11S A1a subunits and SBP, Bd, lectin and TA aggregated the earliest, and later did the 11S A4, other 11S A1a, 11S A2 and 11S A1b subunits. The 7S α and α' subunits and TB showed an obvious delay in aggregation. Moreover, isoflavones in the form of aglycones were more likely to coprecipitate with proteins, compared with glycosides. These results could provide an important reference and assistance for future research on the development of traditional FYW-tofu.

Comparative study of allicin-containing quadruple therapy vs. bismuth-containing quadruple therapy for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection: a prospective randomized study.

BACKGROUND: Bismuth has antimicrobial activity and can improve the efficacy of triple Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) therapy. Allicin added to conventional therapy for H. pylori infection also improves H. pylori eradication rates. Thus, this study aims to evaluate and compare the efficacy, safety and tolerability of allicin-containing quadruple therapy and bismuth-containing quadruple therapy and to investigate the factors that affect the eradication rates. METHODS: Two hundred twenty H. pylori-infected patients were included and randomly (1:1) assigned to 14-day quadruple therapy: ilaprazole (5 mg bid), doxycycline (100 mg bid), and furazolidone (100 mg bid) with an allicin soft capsule (40 mg of DATS tid) (IDFA) or colloidal bismuth tartrate (220 mg of elemental bismuth bid) (IDFB). Eradication was confirmed by urea breath tests. Symptom improvement, adverse events, and adherence were assessed by a questionnaire. RESULTS: In the intention-to-treat and per-protocol analysis, the eradication rates for IDFA and IDFB groups were 87.5% (70/80) vs. 86.3% (69/80, P = 0.815) and 91.9% (68/74) vs. 91.8% (67/73, P = 0.980) as first-line therapies; 83.3% (25/30) vs. 83.3% (25/30, P = 1) and 89.3% (25/28) vs. 88.9% (24/27, P = 1) as second-line therapies. Symptom improvement rates were 96.1% and 97.0% for IDFA and IDFB (P = 1). The adverse event rates were 10.9% in IDFA and 14.5% in IDFB groups (P = 0.418). Nausea occurred frequently in IDFB than IDFA (1.8% vs. 8.2%, P = 0.030). Smoking and sharing utensils significantly affected the efficacy. CONCLUSION: Allicin-containing quadruple therapy might be regarded as a promising alternative to bismuth-containing quadruple therapy in H. pylori eradication.

Regulating the Enteric Nervous System against Obesity in Mice by Electroacupuncture.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The enteric nervous system (ENS) dominates the onset of obesity and has been shown to regulate nutrient absorption and energy metabolism. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: This study was performed to investigate the role of electroacupuncture in regulating ENS function in obese mice. Obese mice were obtained by high-fat diet. 16S rRNA pyrosequencing, Western blotting, quantitative PCR, and neurotransmitter analysis were used for this purpose. RESULTS: Body weight, Lee index, serum lipid, leptin, and adiponectin levels, and other basic indices were significantly ameliorated after electroacupuncture intervention. The pathological ENS scores, serum neurotransmitter levels, and intestinal transit rate were markedly changed in obese mice. Moreover, electroacupuncture promoted the diversity of gut microbiota. No significant differences were observed 21 and 28 days after electroacupuncture. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested ENS may be a new treatment approach to obesity.