A robot arm-assisted acupuncture system with motion and force monitoring: establishment and validation.

Objective: Traditional manual acupuncture faces challenges in quantifying stimulation parameters and preserving techniques consistency. This study presents a robot arm-assisted acupuncture system replicating manual manipulations with precise motion and force monitoring.

Methods: System validation was conducted through a Laser Vibrometer to measure multiple frequency-amplitude combinations, followed by comparative analysis between robotic and manual acupuncture manipulations using both motion and force monitoring.

The Dual Effect of Spatially Symmetric Polymer for Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells with Mechanical Robustness and Stability.

The successful commercialization of flexible perovskite solar cells (FPSCs) hinges on their long-term stability and scalability. Surface defects and residual stress stand out as the main factors impeding their performance. These elements play a substantial role in causing perovskite instability, which not only undermines the efficiency of FPSCs but also expedites device degradation.

Efficacy and safety of TACE-HAIC combined with tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors for the patients with BCLC-defined stage B-C HCC.

Background: To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety profile of combining transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) combined with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) classified as Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage B or C.

Methods: This single-center retrospective analysis included patients with intermediate-to-advanced HCC diagnosed and treated between January 2020 and December 2023. Of 197 eligible patients meeting inclusion criteria, 103 were allocated to the TACE+HAIC+TKI+ICI (T+H+T+I) group and 94 to the HAIC+TKI+ICI (H+T+I) group.

Mast cell degranulation mediates analgesic effects of acupuncture at different stimulation durations in arthritic rats.

Background: To understand the effect and mechanism of different acupuncture durations on analgesic effects.

Methods: An adjuvant-induced arthritis rat model evaluated the therapeutic effects of acupuncture at the Zusanli acupoint (ST36). A robotic arm provided stable lifting-thrusting stimulation for different durations (2, 5, 10, 20, and 30 min).

Influence of acupuncture twisting parameters on analgesic effects mediated by mast cells in AA rat models.

Acupuncture has been recognized for its potential effectiveness in pain relief without the side effects commonly associated with pharmaceutical treatments. This study investigates the effects of various acupuncture twisting parameters on analgesia using an acute adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) rat model, focusing on the roles of mast cell activation, histamine (HIS) release, and local neural pathways. Utilizing robot-assisted acupuncture, we varied rotation angles (60°-360°) and frequencies (0.

Effectiveness and Safety of Butyphthalide Injection in Treatment of Aphasia after Cerebral Infarction: A Meta-analysis.

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of butylphthalide injection in the treatment of aphasia after cerebral infarction.

Methods: CNKI, Wanfang database, Duxiu, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Socolar databases were searched from the establishment of the database to August 2024. According to the topic of butylphthalide injection treated aphasia after cerebral infarction, the eligible RCT was selected and meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.

Bifunctional Passivation of Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells via Long-Chain Organic Ammonium Salts.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with wide bandgaps (WBG) have emerged as critical enablers as the top subcells in various series-connected configurations, enabling effective absorption of high-energy photons and yielding a high open-circuit voltage (). However, these cells face significant challenges, including substantial photovoltage losses and phase separation, which hinder their potential efficiency and stability. We develop a molecular additive strategy employing the bifunctional ODABr diammonium salt (octadecane-1,8-diammonium bromide) during perovskite processing, and a hierarchically structured two-dimensional/three-dimensional (2D/3D) perovskite film with preferred crystallographic alignment and enhanced phase homogeneity is successfully engineered.

Discovery of Novel Inhibitors Targeting Fungal Chitin Deacetylase via Virtual Screening for Plant Disease Control.

Fungal chitin deacetylase (CDA) plays a crucial role in pathogen-plant interactions, which is regarded as an innovative and promising target for fungicides. In this study, a pharmacophore-based virtual screening strategy was employed to identify compounds and as potent inhibitors against f. sp.

Nonvolatile and Strongly Coordinating Solvent Enables Blade-coating of Efficient FACs-based Perovskite Solar Cells.

Blade-coating has emerges as a critical route for scalable manufacturing of perovskite solar cells. However, the N knife-assisted blade-coating process under ambient conditions typically yields inferior-quality perovskite films due to inadequate nucleation control and disorderly rapid crystallization. To address this challenge, a novel solvent engineering strategy is developed through the substitution of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) with 1,3-dimethyl-1,3-diazinan-2-one (DMPU).

Targeting RECQL4 in hepatocellular carcinoma: from prognosis to therapeutic potential.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the clinical utility of RecQ Like Helicase 4 (RECQL4) as a prognostic marker in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and investigate its associations with various biological processes, angiogenesis-related factors, immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoints, and drug sensitivity.

Methods: RECQL4 expression was analyzed across a range of cancer types utilizing data from the TCGA database. Disparities in RECQL4 expression levels between normal and malignant tissues were evaluated, alongside an analysis of progression-free interval (PFI), disease-specific survival (DSS), and overall survival (OS) curves.

Influence of acupuncture intensity on analgesic effects in AA rat models.

Objective: To investigate the influence of acupuncture lifting-thrusting frequency and amplitude on the analgesic effects, and its correlation with mast cell degranulation.

Methods: Acute adjuvant arthritis (AA) rat models were employed. Robot-arm aided lifting-thrusting acupuncture therapy was conducted with various frequencies (ranging from 0.

Effects of acupuncture needle modification on acupuncture analgesia.

Objective: The analgesic effect of acupuncture has been widely accepted. Nevertheless, the mechanism behind its analgesic effect remains elusive, thus impeding the progress of research geared toward enhancing the analgesic effect of acupuncture. This paper investigated the role of acupuncture needle surface textures on acupuncture's analgesic effect by creating four experimental acupuncture needles with different patterns of surface augmentation.

Structure-based virtual screening of novel chitin synthase inhibitors for the control of Phytophthora sojae.

Background: Chitin synthase (CHS) is an important target for pesticide development as chitin biosynthesis is essential for the survival and reproduction of various organisms, such as oomycetes, fungi and insects. Small-molecule inhibitors of CHS have potential applications for the control of agricultural pests and diseases.

Results: In this study, exploiting the cryo-EM structures of PsChs1, the CHS indispensable to the sporangial production and virulence of soybean root rot pathogenic oomycete Phytophthora sojae, a virtual screening method combining by molecular docking, inhibitory activity measurement and biological activity determination was conducted, to identify novel small-molecule inhibitors of CHS.

Effects of extracellular vesicles for ischemic stroke: A meta‑analysis of preclinical studies.

Ischemic stroke is a common occurrence worldwide, posing a severe threat to human health and leading to negative financial impacts. Currently available treatments still have numerous limitations. As research progresses, extracellular vesicles are being found to have therapeutic potential in ischemic stroke.

Revealing a causal relationship between gut microbiota and lung cancer: a Mendelian randomization study.

Background: The gut microbiota has been found to be associated with the risk of lung cancer. However, its causal relationship with various types of lung cancer remains unclear.

Methods: We conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) study using the largest genome-wide association analysis of gut microbiota data to date from the MiBioGen consortium, with pooled statistics for various types of lung cancer from the Transdisciplinary Research in Cancer of the Lung, the International Lung Cancer Consortium, and FinnGen Consortium R7 release data.

Inhibition of chitin deacetylases to attenuate plant fungal diseases.

Phytopathogenic fungi secrete chitin deacetylase (CDA) to escape the host's immunological defense during infection. Here, we showed that the deacetylation activity of CDA toward chitin is essential for fungal virulence. Five crystal structures of two representative and phylogenetically distant phytopathogenic fungal CDAs, VdPDA1 from Verticillium dahliae and Pst_13661 from Puccinia striiformis f.

Mechanical effects of needle texture on acupoint tissue.

Objective: This study aims to clarify how the stimulation of acupuncture points is achieved by needles with different surface texture during acupuncture; it also seeks to lessen injury at the insertion site and increase the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture, by simulating the mechanical effects of various needle surface patterns on Zusanli (ST36) without changing the radius of acupuncture needles.

Methods: Five acupuncture needle models with different surface patterns, including the smooth needle, the lined needle, the ringed needle, the left-hand threaded needle and the right-hand threaded needle, and a layered model of the Zusanli acupoint were used to investigate how to reduce tissue damage and increase stimulation during acupuncture treatment. Puncturing of the skin as well as lifting-inserting and twisting needle manipulations were simulated using these models, and the degree of damage and force of stimulation caused by the acupuncture needles with different surface patterns during acupuncture were compared.

A randomized double-blind controlled study protocol on the efficacy and safety of Sangdantongluo granule in the treatment of post-stroke spasticity.

Introduction: Stroke is the first leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide, and post-stroke spasticity (PSS) is the common complication of stroke. Sangdantongluo Granule (Z20210481000), a modern patent Chinese medicine, is widely used in clinical practice to treat PSS. Whereas, there is limited evidence of effectiveness for Sangdantongluo Granule to treat PSS.

Mast Cells and Acupuncture Analgesia.

Mast cells are widely distributed in various parts of the human body and play a vital role in the progression of many diseases. Recently, the close relationship between mast cells and acupoints was elucidated, and the role of mast cells in acupuncture analgesia has attracted the attention of researchers worldwide. Using mast cells, acupuncture analgesia and acupoint as key words to search CNKI, PubMed, Web of Science and other databases, combining the representative articles in these databases with the published research papers of our group, we summarized: The enrichment of mast cells and the dense arrangement of collagen fibers, microvessels, and nerves form the basis for acupoints as the reaction sites of acupuncture; acupuncture can cause the deformation of collagen fibers and activate TRPV channels on mast cells membrane, so as to stimulate mast cells to release bioactive substances and activate nerve receptors to generate analgesic effect; system biology models are set up to explain the quantitative process of information initiation and transmission at acupuncture points, and indicate that the acupuncture effect depends on the local mast cells density.

Predicting plant diversity in beach wetland downstream of Xiaolangdi reservoir with UAV and satellite multispectral images.

Accurate and timely acquisition of plant diversity information downstream of the reservoir is helpful to understand the impact mechanism of reservoir operation on wetland plant diversity and formulate reasonable water and sediment regulation strategies. In this study, we conducted field surveys in two communities (Phragmites australis and Tamarix chinensis) at a typical wetland in the lower reaches of Xiaolangdi Reservoir on the Yellow River, and employed UAV and Gaofen 1B multispectral images to estimate the wetland plant diversity. Results showed that most diversity indexes had a higher correlation with the mean of spectral vegetation indexes (DVI, RVI, NDVI, SAVI, and MSAVI).

Effects and mechanisms of land-types conversion on greenhouse gas emissions in the Yellow River floodplain wetland.

The mechanism and extent of changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from seasonal river-floodplain wetlands subjected to land-type conversion are unknown. We monitored GHG fluxes and characterized soil microbial communities in four types of wetland (Riverside lower-beach wetland (RLW), Riverside higher-beach wetland (RHW), Cultivated wetland (CW), Mesophytic wetland (MW)) in the Yellow River flood land. Results revealed that land reclamation activities altered the distribution patterns of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in soil, as well as the structure and activities of microbial communities, leading to changes in the GHG emissions.

Association between diffusion tensor imaging findings and domain-specific cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Cognitive impairment is the main clinical manifestation of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). However, the mechanism and structural damage in different domains of cognitive disorders are poorly understood. There is an urgent need to quantify the relation between diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data and impaired cognitive testing in CSVD, which may help to find biomarkers for early diagnosis or treatment evaluation.

Flexible Ta/TiO/TaO/Ru memristive synaptic devices on polyimide substrates.

It is very urgent to build memristive synapses and even wearable devices to simulate the basic functions of biological synapses. The linear conductance modulation is the basis of analog memristor for neuromorphic computing. By optimizing the interface engineering wherein Ta/TiO/TaO/Ru was fabricated, all the memristor devices with different TiOthickness showed electroforming-free property.

An overall look at insect chitin deacetylases: Promising molecular targets for developing green pesticides.

Chitin deacetylase (CDA) is a key enzyme involved in the modification of chitin and plays critical roles in molting and pupation, which catalyzes the removal of acetyl groups from -acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in chitin to form chitosan and release acetic acid. Defects in the CDA genes or their expression may lead to stunted insect development and even death. Therefore, CDA can be used as a potential pest control target.

Involvement of mTOR/Survivin signaling pathway in TUA(2β, 3β, 23-trihydroxy-urs-12-ene-28-olic acid)-induced apoptosis in human gastric cancer cell line BGC823 cells.

Ethno-pharmacological Relevance: A natural ursolic compound, 2β,3β,23-trihydroxy-urs-12-ene-28-olic acid (TUA) was isolated from the root of Actinidiafulvicoma Hance. (A.fulvicoma Radix), which is used as a traditional hebal medicine to cure innominate inflammation of unknown origin of the digestive tract in the She nationality.