Objective To analyze the efficacy and safety of different acupuncture methods on outcome of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET). Methods The PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data and CBM databases were searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to the objectives of the study from the inception to April 16, 2023. After two investigators independently screened the literature, extracted the data and evaluated the risk of bias of the included studies, a network meta-analysis was performed using Stata 16.0 software. Results There were 62 trials total with 9844 patients, involving 7 interventions. Network meta-findings analysis revealed the following: ① Clinical pregnancy rate (CPR): needle warming > auricular acupressure > transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) > electroacupuncture > acupuncture > sham acupuncture > no adjunctive treatment; ② Live birth rate (LBR): electroacupuncture > auricular acupressure > TEAS > acupuncture > sham acupuncture > no adjunctive treatment. Conclusion Needle warming assisted IVF-ET is superior to other acupuncture therapies in improving CPR, especially during the promotion period of excretion, and the selection of Zusanli, Guanyuan and uterine acupoints for 3-month cycles may have the best effect. And for the LBR, the effect of electroacupuncture is better than that of other therapies. Besides, auricular acupressure may have good therapeutic potential. Due to the limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify the above conclusions.
Targeting p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) is a novel strategy for pancreatic cancer treatment. Compound Kushen injection contains many anti-pancreatic cancer components, but the specific targets are unknown. In this study, 14α-hydroxymatrine, an active component of Kushen injection, was found to possess high binding free energy with the allosteric site of PAK1 by molecular docking based virtual screening. Molecular dynamics simulations suggested that 14α-hydroxymatrine caused the α1 and α2 helices of the allosteric site of PAK1 to extend outward to form a deep allosteric regulatory pocket. Meanwhile, 14α-hydroxymatrine induced the β-folding region at the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding pocket of PAK1 to close inward, resulting in the ATP-binding pocket in a “semi-closed” state which caused the inactivation of PAK1. After removal of 14α-hydroxymatrine, PAK1 showed a tendency to change from the inactive conformation to the active conformation. We supposed that 14α-hydroxymatrine of compound Kushen injection might be a reversible allosteric inhibitor of PAK1. This study used modern technologies and methods to study the active components of traditional Chinese medicine, which laid a foundation for the development and utilization of natural products and the search for new treatments for pancreatic cancer.
Objective To evaluate the value of Sysmex XT-4000i hematology analyzer in its body-fluid mode in cell count and cell differential count of pleural effusion, ascites and cerebrospinal fluid samples. Methods A total of 95 pleural effusion, ascites and cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected from patients hospitalized between May and September 2015. The samples were tested by Sysmex XT-4000i hematology analyzer (instrument method) and modified Neubauer hemocytometer (manual method) for cell count, and the results of them were compared and analyzed. Results The instrument method and the manual method had a good consistency in nuclear cell count and erythrocyte count (kappa=0.965,P< 0.001; kappa=0.988,P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the count of mononuclear cells (P> 0.05). However, there was a significant difference in the count of multiple nuclear cells (P<0.05). Conclusions Hematology analyzer in its body-fluid mode may replace manual method in cell count of pleural effusion, ascites and cerebrospinal fluids for its high precision, high efficiency and easy operation. However, cell differential count of this method needs microscopic examination assistance.
Objective To detect the difference between the peroxidase (POX) by cytochemical staining and cytoplasm myeloperoxidase (cMPO) by flow cytometry in acute leukemia cells, and provide a more accurate basis for the classification of leukemia. Methods The positive rate of POX in acute leukemia cells was detected by cytochemical staining. The positive rate of cMPO in acute leukemia cells was detected by flow cytometry. Then the positive rate of POX and cMPO, and the positive cells score were analyzed. Results The positive rate and the positive cells scores between POX and cMPO in acute lymphoblastic leukemia were significantly different (P<0.05), the positive rate and the positive cells scores of POX were significantly higher than those of cMPO. The positive rate between POX and cMPO in acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL) had significant differences (P<0.05), the positive rate of cMPO was higher than that of POX; but no difference was found between POX and cMPO positive cells scores in ANLL (P>0.05). In acute myelocytic leukemia (AML)-M1 subtype, significant difference was found in the positive rate between POX and cMPO (P=0.006); cMPO positive rate was significantly higher than that of POX, but the POX positive cells score was significantly higher than that of cMPO (P=0.001). There were no significances of positive rate and positive cells score in AML-M2, AML-M3, AML-M4, AML-M5 subtypes between POX and cMPO (P>0.05). Conclusions There are not major differences between positive rate of POX and cMPO, as well as the positive cells scores in acute leukemia, especially acute myelocytic leukemia. We can choose the better method according to the actual situation and the sensitivity requirements. The two methods should be replenished by each other and used alternately.