Search

In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted extensive attention from researchers for their unique structures and electrical properties. 2D materials have been widely applied in field effect transistors, sensors, and photodetectors. Integration is extremely important for practical applications in devices, which requires both minimal crosstalk and high performance. The fabrication of patterned arrays of 2D materials can realize high-density fabrication. In addition, the properties of 2D materials can be also adjusted by the patterned nanostructures. In this review, we summarize the emerging researches related to 2D materials and arrays. Firstly, the preparation strategies of different arrays have been introduced. Then, the applications of arrays have been investigated, such as physical unclonable functions, sensors, energy consumption, photoluminescence enhancement, quantum emitters and photodetectors. Finally, the prospects and existing challenges have been proposed.

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.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a kind of chronic mental disorder after severe traumatic events. In this paper, the author reviewed the development of clinical and mechanism research of acupuncture and moxibustion for treating PTSD in the past 5 years. Clinical studies have shown that acupuncture could alleviate the symptoms of PTSD, and is an effective therapy for PTSD. The underlying mechanisms may include regulating neural circuit, neurotransmitters and receptors expression, signal pathway, apoptosis, immune cytokines and endocannabinoid system, et al. It could provide scientific basis of acupuncture and moxibustion for treating PTSD, and provide references for further study.对近5年来国内外针灸治疗PTSD的临床和机制研究进行综述。临床研究显示, 针灸可有效减轻PTSD相关症状, 是治疗PTSD的有效手段。实验研究显示, 针灸治疗PTSD的作用机制可能涉及调节神经环路、神经递质与受体表达、信号传导通路、细胞凋亡、免疫细胞因子和内源性大麻素等方面。这可以为针灸治疗PTSD的临床应用提供科学依据, 为今后深入开展相关研究提供参考。.

IntroductionMild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered the intermediate phase between normal age-related cognitive decline and dementia. Moxibustion has gained increased popularity for the management of MCI in China.This study aimed to evaluate the effects and safety of moxibustion on symptoms of MCI.Methods and analysisFour English databases and six Chinese databases will be searched from their inception to October 2019: Embase, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chongqing VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, Wanfang Database, SinoMed, China Doctoral Dissertations Full-text Database and the China Master’s Theses Full-text Database. Only clinical randomised controlled trials and the first period in randomised cross-over trial related to moxibustion for MCI will be included. The primary outcomes include the improvement of cognitive function, as measured by validated assessment tools. The secondary outcomes include changes in the activity of daily living scale, effective rate and the incidences of adverse events. The selection of studies, data extraction and risk of bias assessment will be carried out by two independent reviewers. Review Manager V.5.3 software will be used for statistical analyses. Heterogeneity test, data synthesis and subgroup analysis will be performed if necessary. The risk of bias of included studies will be assessed by theCochrane Handbookrisk of bias tool. Evidence quality will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval is not required as no private information from individuals are collected. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal or disseminated in relevant conferences.Trial registration numberCRD42018112657.

Objective To analyze 48 cases the risk factors of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) infections, the antibiotic costs after infection, and the survival conditions. Design 1:3 matched case-control study a medical center in the eastern Taiwan area. The case group, patients with VRE bacterial strains detected at the sterile sites, and the control group were randomly selected from invasive vancomycin-sensitive Enterococcus (VSE) infected patients at the nearest time point by taking the occurrence time of each VRE infection case as the reference time. Fisher exact tests were conducted in order to verify the existence of differences between the case and control groups; survival analysis was applied to explore the prognoses of the VRE infection cases. Results The mortality rate of the invasive VRE infection cases was 64.6%, which is obviously higher than that of the invasive VSE infection cases (39.4%); the fact of taking chemotherapy during a hospital stay as well as the use of third-generation cephalosporin, glycopeptides, and medicines of the metronidazole category before the infections, are the risk factors of future invasive VRE infections. Moreover, the antibiotic costs after the infections of invasive VRE infection cases are much higher than those of the VSE infection cases (the average daily cost is 3,433 new Taiwan dollars (NTD) vs. 1,742 NTD). Conclusions The history of receiving chemotherapy, the use of third-generation cephalosporin, glycopeptides, and medicines of the metronidazole category before the infections are the risk factors of VRE infections. The antibiotic costs after the infections of invasive VRE infection cases are much higher than those of the VSE infection cases.

To investigate the effect of acupuncture on behavior changes and the expression of reactive oxygen species (ROS), cytochrome C, cysteine-containing aspartate-specific proteases-3 (caspase-3), apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) in the hippocampus of rats exposed to chronic restraint stress (CRS), so as to provide experimental evidence for the prevention and treatment of depression.Thirty two male SD rats were equally randomized into control, model, acupuncture and medication (Fluoxetine) groups according to the random number table. The depression model was established by chronic psychological stress stimulation (fasting, water deprivation, chronic restraint combined with solitary raising for 28 days). Manual acupuncture stimulation (2 circles/s) was applied to "Baihui" (GV20), "Yintang" (GV29) and bilateral "Sanyinjiao" (SP6) for 2 min, followed by retaining the needles for 20 min. Rats in the medication group were treated by gavage of Fluoxetine (0.18 mg/mL, 1 mL/100 g body weight). The treatment was conducted once daily for 28 days. The depression-like behavior was evaluated by using open-field test, sucrose preference test, and body weight. The content of ROS of the right hippocampus tissue was detected by using dichloro-dihydro-fluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay, and the expression levels of cytochrome C, caspase-3 and AIF proteins of hippocampus were determined by using Western blot.After 28 days' stress procedure, the depression rats in the model group showed a significant decrease in the numbers of crossing and rearing of open-field test, sucrose preference index and the body weight compared to the control group (Acupuncture intervention can significantly reduce ROS content and expression level of cytochrome C, caspase-3 and AIF proteins in the hippocampus possibly by inhibiting the chronic psychological stress-hippocampal oxidative stress-mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in psychological stress-induced depression rats, which may contribute to its effect in relieving depression.

To investigate the effect of acupuncture intervention on the depression behavior and expression of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERK 1/2), p-ERK 1/2 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the prefrontal cortex of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) induced depression rats, so as to explore its antidepressant mechanism.Sixty-four male SD rats were randomly divided into control, model, acupuncture, Fluoxetine, model ＋ Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), model ＋ PD 98059(an ERK pathway inhibitor), acupuncture ＋ PD 98059 and Fluoxetine ＋ PD 98059 groups (Compared with the control group, the sucrose consumption and the expression levels of p-ERK 1/2 and BDNF protein in the prefrontal cortex were significantly reduced in the model and model＋DMSO group (Acupuncture intervention has an anti-depressive role in CUMS induced depression rats, which may be related to its effects in up-regulating the expression of p-ERK 1/2 and BDNF in the prefrontal cortex tissue.

To observe the effect of acupuncture on the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex and the level of serum interleukin 10 (IL-10) in rats with depression, so as to explore its mechanism underlying improvement of depression.Thirty-two male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, model, acupuncture, and medication (Fluoxetine, Flu) (After modeling, the sucrose consumption, the crossing numbers and rearing times, hippocampal GFAP protein expression and serum IL-10 content were significantly decreased and prefrontal GFAP protein expression was up-regulated markedly in the model group relevant to the control group (Acupuncture intervention plays a positive role in anti-depression in rats, which may be related to its effects in regulating the expression of GFAP in the hippocampal and prefrontal astrocytes, and in increasing the content of serum anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10.

Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light reduces levels of type I collagen in the dermis and results in human skin damage and premature skin aging (photoaging). This leads to a wrinkled appearance through the inhibition of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad signaling. UV irradiation increases type I collagen degradation through upregulating matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression. Astragaloside IV (AST) is one of the major active components extracted from Astragalus membranaceus. However, its multiple anti-photoaging effects remain to be elucidated. In the present study, the effects of AST against collagen reduction in UV-induced skin aging in human skin fibroblasts were investigated. The expression of type I procollagen (COL1), MMP-1, TGF-βRII and Smad7 were determined using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and ELISA, respectively. UV irradiation inhibits type I collagen production by suppressing the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway and increasing COL1 degradation by inducing MMP-1 expression. Transforming growth factor-β type II protein and COL1 mRNA decreased but MMP-1 and Smad7 levels increased in the photoaging model group, which was reversed by topical application of AST. AST prevents collagen reduction from UV irradiation in photoaging skin by improving TGF-β/Smad signaling suppression and inhibiting MMP-1, thus AST may be a potential agent against skin photoaging.

Objective: Pain from herniated disc is a common type of neuropathic pain. This study investigated whether electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation at distal–proximal combinations of acupoints in the rat model of neuropathic pain modulates spinal interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) to induce acupuncture analgesia and possibly serve as a pain-relief modality for herniated disc. Methods: A rat model of neuropathic pain was established. Rats were randomly divided into normal, model, sham, EA 1, EA 2, and EA 3 groups. EA 1 rats were needled at bilateral Ex-B2, BL25, BL40, and BL60 acupoints. EA 2 rats were needled at bilateral BL40 and BL60. EA 3 rats were needled at bilateral L5 Ex-B2 and BL25. EA stimulation was administered once daily over 7 days. Mechanical withdrawal threshold from noxious mechanical stimulation was measured 1 day preoperatively and at 3, 5, and 7 days postoperatively. After 7 days of intervention, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to quantify IL-1β in the spinal cord. Results: Mechanical withdrawal threshold of rats in the model group decreased at 3 days postoperatively when compared with the normal group (P

Proper combination of acupoints is one of the core issues of acupuncturology, and is also one of the factors affecting clinical outcomes. In the present paper, the authors make a review on the development of researches on the underlying mechanisms of acupoint combination for some clinical disorders from nerve system, humoral factors and immunological regulation. The neural mechanism involves both the peripheral nervous system (mainly the segmental innervation) and central nervous system (spinal cord, brainstem, hypothalamus, cerebral cortex and cerebellum) , while the humoral factors chiefly contain neurotransmitters and hormones of the endocrine system. The immunological mechanisms involve immunocytes and cytokines. Generally speaking, following acupuncture stimulation of different combined-acupoints or acupoint groups, some synergistic effects may be produced. In fact, the relatively specific clinical effect may be easy to be obtained at the peripheral segmental innervations level.

An improved capillary electrophoresis indirect chemiluminescence system was employed for the determination of chlorogenic acid and rutin in cigarette samples. After being separated by capillary electrophoresis, the analyte zones were determined by indirect chemiluminescence of luminol–potassium hexacyanoferrate. In this system, luminol was added into running buffer solution and introduced at the head of separation capillary, and potassium hexacyanoferrate was introduced at the end of the capillary. A high potential buffer reservoir was constructed from a running buffer cell and an electrode buffer one, which were jointed with a frit, in order to avoid luminol electrolysis in high potential reservoir and the excursion of chemiluminescence baseline. A low potential flow reservoir was used to prevent electrode buffer solution from the contamination of chemiluminescence waste. Therefore, the proposed capillary electrophoresis–chemiluminescence system can avoid the electrolysis of chemiluminescence reagent, retain the stability of chemiluminescence baseline and prolong the working time of running and electrode buffer solutions. In addition, the matrix of cigarette sample solutions has also an inhibitory effect on the chemiluminescence intensity in the indirect detection, whereas the influence was not observed in the separation of standard solutions. After the correction of matrix inhibition and the calibration with standard addition method, chlorogenic acid and rutin were determined in four cigarette samples by the improved capillary electrophoresis–chemiluminescence system.