Clinical Evidence of Acupoint Stimulation for Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review and Updated Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: Meridian-based acupoint stimulation is increasingly used for primary dysmenorrhea (PD), yet its evidence remains inconsistent. This systematic review aims to evaluate efficacy and safety of both invasive and noninvasive acupoint stimulation for PD through analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Methods: The PROSPERO registration number is CRD42024586857.

MreB: unraveling the molecular mechanisms of bacterial shape, division, and environmental adaptation.

As a key bacterial actin-like protein, MreB plays crucial roles in maintaining cell shape, regulating peptidoglycan synthesis, and coordinating chromosome segregation, making it a promising target for novel antibiotics. This review comprehensively explores MreB’s molecular architecture, its assembly into antiparallel protofilaments, and its pivotal roles in bacterial cell morphology and division. We also delve into how MreB interacts with membrane-associated proteins such as RodZ and MreC/D to coordinate cell wall synthesis and respond to environmental signals like ion gradients and temperature changes.

Trajectories and Co-Occurrence of Perceived Control in Patients With Heart Failure and Self-Efficacy in Their Caregivers: A Three-Month Longitudinal Study of Dual Trajectories.

Aim: This study aims to explore the trajectories and co-occurrence of perceived control and caregiver self-efficacy among patients with heart failure (HF) and their caregivers within 3 months post-discharge and identify associated risk factors.

Design: A prospective cohort design.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted from March to June 2024 in Tianjin, China.

Latent Transition and Predictors of Cognitive Function Among Community-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults With Cardiovascular Metabolic Diseases.

Objectives: Despite the recognized heterogeneity of cognitive function in older adults and its propensity for transition, this phenomenon remains inadequately understood among older adults with cardiovascular metabolic diseases (CMD). We aimed to explore the latent profiles of cognitive function among older adults with CMD, along with the transition probabilities between profiles and associated predictors.

Methods: A cohort study including 2304 older adults with CMD was drawn from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey.

Anatomical Determinants of Postoperative In-the-Bag IOL Position: Introducing a Novel Biometric Index.

Purpose: To investigate whether a novel preoperative biometric index that integrates lens geometry and the relative position of the capsular bag can predict the postoperative in-the-bag intraocular lens (IOL) position proportion coefficient and subsequently the final IOL position.

Design: Retrospective study.

Subjects: This study included 322 eyes of 322 patients undergoing uneventful cataract surgery with in-the-bag implantation of an aspheric Tecnis IOL (Johnson & Johnson Vision, Santa Ana, CA).

Asymptotic Synchronization Analysis in Drive-Response Markovian Jump Boolean Networks.

This paper explores the asymptotic synchronization of drive-response Markovian jump Boolean networks (MJBNs) using an algebraic state space representation. For two switching signals, an augmented variable is introduced, recasting the synchronization problem into an asymptotic set stability challenge. Initially, a criterion is developed to identify all nonnegative solutions of a related equation via stochastic processes.

Efficacy and safety of Tuomin Zhiti decoction on patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Tuomin Zhiti decoction (, TZD) in the short-term treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR).

Methods: This study is a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled, and single-center clinical trial. In April 2021, during the spring pollen season in Beijing, 94 SAR patients aged 19-60 years were randomized (1:1 ratio) to receive two weeks of TZD or placebo.

Multi-mirror-aided digital image correlation for internal and external panoramic deformation measurement.

This study developed a variable-attitude multi-mirror-assisted digital image correlation method for realizing the simultaneous measurement of panoramic deformation inside and outside a tubular structure. The setup consists of a co-axial imaging system containing three variable-attitude optical mirrors and the necessary cold light source. The arrangement and attitude adjustment of the mirrors are the key to realizing panoramic imaging, thus enabling simultaneous imaging of the interior and exterior surfaces of a pipe.

A dynamic online nomogram based on the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria for predicting 30-day mortality in patients with severe stroke.

Background: The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) has released new criteria for diagnosing and grading malnutrition. However, their validation in patients with severe stroke has not been thoroughly documented. This study aims to investigate the application of GLIM criteria in nutrition assessment and mortality prediction among patients with severe stroke.

Mechanistic Insight into Serine Flux Regulation through Nanoscale Organization of Glucose and Serine Transporters by Substrate Probe-Based Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy Imaging.

Serine serves as a metabolic nexus in tumors, coordinating one-carbon metabolism, nucleotide synthesis, and redox regulation. While serine transporters (SerTs) are known to be dysregulated in cancer, their functional nanoscale organization remains unresolved due to the limitation of resolution imaging and available probes. Here, we developed a substrate-based fluorescent probe (Ser-probe) enabling direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy of SerTs, revealing malignancy-associated clustering assembly of SerTs that correlates with transport capacity.

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Indoor Air Pollution and Its Association with Depressive Symptoms Among Schoolchildren in China.

Despite spending a substantial proportion of their time indoors, the mental health effects of indoor air pollution on children and adolescents remain inadequately explored. This study aimed to elucidate the spatiotemporal variations and sociodemographic inequalities in exposure to multiple indoor pollutants and to assess their potential associations with depressive symptoms among school-aged children in Beijing. Using real-time portable monitors, concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM), coarse particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO), formaldehyde (HCHO), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), temperature, and humidity in classrooms and bedrooms were measured during both weekdays and weekends.

Long-Term Survival Analysis of Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Versus Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Low Rectal Cancer.

Purpose: To compare the long-term survival of patients with locally advanced low rectal cancer (LALRC), receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) versus adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (ACRT).

Methods And Materials: This retrospective observational study included 1169 patients with LALRC (Stage II/III disease located ≤ 5 cm from the anal verge) who underwent diagnosis and treatment at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center from February 2006 to March 2021. In Stage II/III low rectal cancer patients, one-to-one matched pairs were created from the ACRT and NCRT groups using propensity score matching (PSM) based on baseline characteristics.

Mechanism of capsaicin entry into buried vanilloid sites in TRPV1.

The transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptor is a promising target for nonopioid analgesics, yet hyperthermic side effects have hindered drug development. The prevailing perspective maintains that extracellular hydrophobic vanilloid ligands, such as capsaicin, traverse the cell membrane to reach the buried vanilloid site during TRPV1 activation. Here, we present an alternative mechanism based on computational and experimental approaches, which suggests a distinct hydrophobic pathway at the TRPV1-cell membrane interface as the principal route for ligand entry to the vanilloid site, rather than direct membrane penetration.

Enhancing buckwheat maturity classification with generative adversarial networks for spectroscopy data augmentation.

Introduction: The optimal harvest period for buckwheat is challenging to determine due to its short growth cycle. Harvesting too early or too late can negatively affect the quality of the crop. Traditional harvest methods are labor-intensive and fail to account for the spatial variability in buckwheat quality within a field.

Abnormal peripheral cellular immune profiles in gestational diabetes mellitus: A meta-analysis.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has recently been associated with abnormal profiles of inflammatory cells and cytokines, though the findings remain inconsistent and unclear.

Aim: To elucidate the peripheral immune status in GDM.

Methods: We systematically screened databases including Web of Science, PubMed, and EMBASE for eligible studies.

Individualized survival prediction and risk stratification using machine learning for patients with malignant struma ovarii: a population-based study with external validation.

Background: Malignant struma ovarii (MSO) is a rare thyroid-type cancer originating in ovarian teratoma. Prognosis of MSO is less studied without unanimous staging or stratification system. This study aimed to developed and validated a machine learning (ML)-based model to predict overall survival (OS) for patients with MSO and to risk-stratify them.

Adipose tissue-derived PRXL2A suppresses hepatic lipogenesis in a study with male mice.

Hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL) is crucial for maintaining lipid homeostasis, and its dysregulation is implicated in various metabolic diseases. While it is well established that hepatic DNL is tightly regulated by hormones such as insulin and glucagon secreted from the pancreatic islets during feeding and fasting, further investigations are required to identify more hormones affecting hepatic DNL during the feeding-fasting transition. Here, we identify PRXL2A (peroxiredoxin like 2 A), an adipokine secreted during fasting, as an inhibitor of hepatic DNL.

Discovery and structural basis of endogenous and exogenous inhibitors of the proton-activated-chloride channel.

The proton-activated chloride (PAC) channel is a broadly expressed chloride channel that senses extracellular acidification, regulates endosomal acidification, and participates in many processes, including acid-induced cell death and cancer cell migration. However, the lack of specific modulators has limited our understanding of its function and therapeutic potential. Here, we discovered that endogenous cholesterol (CHL) partially inhibits PAC channel activation.

SLMO2 inhibits apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells by modulating mitochondrial function via TRIAP1.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of SLMO2 in regulating mitochondrial function and its interaction with TRIAP1, which inhibited apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. The findings provided valuable insights into potential therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer.

Methods: Lentiviral infection models were developed using SKOV3 and OVCAR3 ovarian cancer cell lines.

The effects of warning design features on risk perception and performance in remote emergency response.

The failure to respond to warnings can have fatal consequences, however, it is a common occurrence for even professional monitoring staff to overlook the warnings. This study developed a set of warning notification designs for remote emergency response and assessed their effectiveness by analyzing the performance and risk perception of monitoring staff through simulation experiments. Sixty participants of safety professionals (42 males and 18 females, Mean age = 28.

Protective effect and mechanism of Zhuang medicine Tinosporae Radix on LPS-induced neuroinflammation.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: In Zhuang medicine, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is termed "Qiaowuwa', attributed to the accumulation of heat-toxin in the Huolu (Fire Pathway) and malnutrition of Qiaowu. The dried tuberous roots of Tinospora sagittata (Oliv.) Gagnep.

Effect of serum MMP-7 on the diagnostic accuracy of biliary atresia: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Biliary atresia (BA) is an obstructive fibrotic disorder that typically progresses to cirrhosis and, ultimately, death in children. Current gold standard diagnostics for BA include intraoperative cholangiography and liver biopsy, both invasive procedures with significant complication risks. Matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) has emerged as a highly accurate noninvasive diagnostic biomarker for BA.

Host SUMOylation in bacterial infections and immune defense mechanisms.

SUMOylation, the covalent attachment of small ubiquitin-like modifier proteins (SUMO) to lysine residues of target substrates, has emerged as a crucial post-translational modification regulating various cellular processes. Recent studies have revealed that SUMOylation also plays significant roles in host-pathogen interactions during bacterial infections. On the one hand, SUMOylation can modulate host innate immune responses, such as inflammatory signaling and autophagy, to defend against invading bacteria.