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Background: Growing evidence suggests that gut microbiota can affect depression-like behavior, and electroacupuncture (EA) can regulate the composition and abundance of gut microbiota. At the same time, not a lot of research has been done on how EA affects gut microbiota to depression-like behavior. The objective of this study was to study the associated mechanisms by which EA exerts antidepressant effects by modulating gut microbiota. Methods: Twenty-four C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into three groups, one group (n = 8) was the normal control group (NC). And the other two groups was chronic unpredictable mild stress for modeling + electroacupuncture group (CUMS + EA) (n = 8) and chronic unpredictable mild stress for modeling group (CUMS) (n = 8). Both CUMS and EA groups were subjected to 28 days of CUMS, but only the EA group received an additional 14 days of EA procedure. Behavior tests were used to determine the antidepressant effect of EA. Sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was applied to examine alterations in the intestinal microbiome between groups. Results: The findings were compared to those of the NC group, the sucrose preference rate and the total distance of Open Field Test (OFT) in CUMS group decreased, the abundance of Lactobacillus decreased, while the abundance of staphylococci increased. After the intervention of EA, the sucrose preference index and the total distance of OFT increased, the abundance of Lactobacillus increased, while the abundance of staphylococci decreased. Conclusions: These findings indicated EA may play an antidepressant effect by adjusting the abundance of Lactobacillus and staphylococci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By assessing the acupuncture-induced changes in brain images of patients with brain-related conditions such as depression, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease and cerebral arterial thrombosis we can draw the following conclusions: using brain function imaging to explore the therapeutic mechanism of acupuncture is intuitional and noninvasive, the therapeutic mechanism of acupuncture can be at least partially attributed to an increase in blood flow and upregulation of glucose metabolism in the affected brain region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) can be converted to hydroxyl radicals (*OH) by oxidation--reduction reactions to degrade organic matter. To increase the generation of H2O2 and *OH radicals, reed straw activated carbon (RSAC) was prepared by carbonization and activation methods and RSAC cathode was prepared by a tableting machine. The samples were observed by XRD, Raman, SEM, TEM and XPS. The electrochemical performance of the RSAC cathode was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that the obtained RSAC has a large specific surface area, and its surface is rich in oxygen-containing functional groups and active sites, enabling a good degradation performance. The degradation rate of phenol in over 120 min was 93.06%. The chemical oxygen demand COD value decreased from 323.70 to 95.48 mg O2 L-1 in 360 min. The results indicate that RSAC has a good electrocatalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to find evidence of a synergistic effect of acupoint combinations by analyzing different brain regions activated after acupuncture at different acupoint combinations. Methods: A total of 57 healthy subjects were randomly distributed into three groups: LR3 plus KI3 acupoints, LR3 plus sham acupoint, or LR3 alone. They underwent a magnetic resonance imaging scan before and after acupuncture. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) values of different brain regions were analyzed to observe changes in brain function. Results: ALFF and ReHo produced an activated area in the cerebellum posterior lobe after acupuncture at LR3 plus KI3 acupoints versus LR3 alone. ALFF and ReHo revealed altered activity in Brodmann area 10 (BA10), BA18, and brainstem pons after acupuncture at LR3 plus sham acupoint compared with at LR3 alone. A comparison of acupuncture at LR3 plus KI3 acupoints with LR3 plus sham acupoint demonstrated an increase in BA6 of ALFF and a downregulation of ReHo. Conclusions: The increased number of brain regions with altered brain activity after acupuncture at acupoint combinations versus a single acupoint are evidence of the synergistic effect of acupoint combinations. BA6 was significantly activated after acupuncture at LR3 plus KI3 acupoints compared with at LR3 plus sham acupoint, suggesting that BA6 is the specific region of synergistic effect of acupoint combinations of LR3 plus KI3 acupoints. Affected brain regions were different between acupuncture at LR3 plus sham acupoint and LR3 alone, which indicates that the sham acupoint may have some psychological effect. However, the specific mechanism of acupoint combinations requires further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saikosaponin-d (SSd), a triterpene saponin compound derived from Bupleurum radix, has been shown to have a cytotoxic effect on various cancer cell lines. However, its effect on prostate cancer cells has remained unexplored. The present study reports the apoptosis-inducing effect of SSd on the DU145 human prostate carcinoma cell line. Treatment with SSd inhibited DU145 cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. Flow cytometric analysis showed that SSd inhibited the proliferation of DU145 cells by induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase. Further mechanistic experiments demonstrated that SSd arrested the cell cycle at G0/G1 phase via upregulation of p53 and p21 and induced apoptosis by modulating B-cell lymphoma 2 family proteins, dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c into the cytosol and activation of caspase-3. In conclusion the present study indicated that SSd induced apoptosis in DU145 cells by the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Therefore, SSd may become a leading candidate drug for the therapy of prostate carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To observe the clinical effect of Dong's extraordinary points therapy on simple central body-type obesity. Methods: 90 patients with simple central body-type obesity were randomly divided into the treatment group (n = 45) and control group (n = 45). In addition to receiving diet and exercise therapy, patients in the treatment group were treated with Dong's extraordinary points therapy, and those of the control group with conventional acupuncture. All the patients were treated once every two days, 15 times as a course, and finished 3 treatment courses with a 7-day interval between two courses. Change of patients' body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, fat percentage and waist-to-hip ratio were observed and then analyzed by SPSS19.0 after finishing each course. Results: Patients' body weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference and fat percentage in different periods all changed significantly (P ⩽ 0.05), while, waist-to-hip ratio had no significant statistical difference (P > 0.05); There were significant differences in patients' body weight, BMI and waist and hip circumference after 1 course of treatment. Waist circumference after the 1st and 3rd courses of treatment also changed (P ⩽ 0.05). Differences of waist-to-hip ratio and percentage of fat after the 1st, 2nd and 3rd courses of treatment, waist-to-hip ratio and percentage of fat in both groups before treatment in different observing time points had no significant statistical differences (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Dong's extraordinary points had a definite therapeutic effect on simple and abdominal obesity types. At the end of the first course of treatment, changes of body weight, BMI, waist circumference and hip circumference of patients in the treatment group were more apparent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We give the analytical solution and the series expansion solution of a class of singularly perturbed partial differential equation (SPPDE) by combining traditional perturbation method (PM) and reproducing kernel method (RKM). The numerical example is studied to demonstrate the accuracy of the present method. Results obtained by the method indicate the method is simple and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acupuncture has been applied to aid in the recovery of post-stroke patients, but its mechanism is unclear. This study aims to analyze the relationship between acupuncture and glucose metabolism in cerebral functional regions in post-stroke patients using 18 FDG PET-CT techniques. Forty-three ischemic stroke patients were randomly divided into 5 groups: the Waiguan (TE5) needling group, the TE5 sham needling group, the sham point needling group, the sham point sham needling group and the non-needling group. Cerebral functional images of all patients were then acquired using PET-CT scans and processed by SPM2 software. Results: Compared with the non-needling group, sham needling at TE5 and needling/sham needling at the sham point did not activate cerebral areas. However, needling at TE5 resulted in the activation of Brodmann Area (BA) 30. Needling/sham needling at TE5 and needling at the sham point did not deactivate any cerebral areas, whereas sham needling at the sham point led to deactivation in BA6. Compared with sham needling at TE5, needling at TE5 activated BA13, 19 and 47 and did not deactivate any areas. Compared with needling at the sham point, needlingat TE5 had no associated activation but a deactivating effect on BA9. Conclusion: Needling at TE5 had a regulating effect on cerebral functional areas shown by PET-CT, and this may relate to its impact on the recovery of post-stroke patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex and dynamic population of gut microbiota exerts a marked influence on the host during homeostasis and disease. Imbalance of gut microbiota metabolites may lead to cardiac dysfunction in patients with heart failure, which is related to myocardial infarction(MI) severity. However, the role of gut microbiota in the repair process after MI has rarely been reported. To explore the role of gut microbiota in MI repair and its underlying mechanism, we mixed antibiotics in drinking water to interfere with gut microbiota in rats. Hematoxylin and eosin staining, Sirius red staining, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry were used to detect tissue repair and fibrosis. We found that the expressions of alpha-smooth muscle actin, collagen, and histone deacetylase (HDAC) activities were significantly increased. We detected gut microbiota at different time points after MI using 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing and detected that Prevotellaceae, Clostridiaceae, and Lachnospiraceae were significantly altered among the butyric acid producers. We administered sodium butyrate via drinking water and discovered that sodium butyrate reduced HDAC activities and adverse repair. Therefore, we speculated that gut microbiota influences the acetylation level and tissue repair process after MI by affecting butyric acid production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]