Can dogs serve as stress mediators to decrease salivary cortisol levels in a population of liberal arts college undergraduate students?

The steroid hormone cortisol can be used to measure physiological stress in humans. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis synthesizes cortisol, and a negative feedback cycle regulates cortisol depending on an individual's stress level and/or circadian rhythm. Chronic stress of college undergraduate students is associated with various adverse health effects, including anxiety and depression. Reports suggest that stress levels have risen dramatically in recent years, particularly among university students dealing with intense academic loads in addition to COVID-19 pandemic-related uncertainty. The increasing rate of mental illness on college campuses necessitates the study of mediators potentially capable of lowering stress, and thus cortisol levels. Research on mediation techniques and coping mechanisms have gained traction to address the concerning levels of stress, including the employment of human-animal interaction sessions on college campuses. In this study, human-canine interaction as a stress mediation strategy for undergraduate students was investigated. We measured salivary cortisol levels in 73 college undergraduate students during a 60-min interaction period with a dog to determine whether human-canine interactions are effective in lowering cortisol levels and potentially reducing chronic stress typical of undergraduate students. Our results indicate that a human-canine interaction for 60 min is an effective method for significantly reducing salivary cortisol and stress levels among undergraduate college students. These findings support the expansion of animal visitation programs on college campuses to help students manage stress.     

EFFECT OF ELECTROACUPUNCTURE OF SCALP-POINTS ON ABNORMAL DISCHARGES OF NEURONSAROUND THE CEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE FOCUS IN THE RAT

Thereexistdifferentdegreesofpathophysi ologicchangesinthetissuesaroundhemorrhagefocusafteracutecerebralhemorrhage[1 ] .Cere bralhemorrhageoftenleadstodysfunctionoftheneuronsinthebrain ,manifestingabnormalelec tricalactivity .Followingacutecerebralhemor rhage,duetotheoppressionofthehematomaandthetoxiceffectofthebloodcontentsaswellaschangesofthemicro environmentaroundthehemorrhagefocus,theelectricalactivityofthecerebralneuronsissuppressedatdifferentde grees.Electroacupuncture (EA)therapyworkell…     

电针对大鼠不稳定膀胱逼尿肌及膀胱颈氮能神经递质的影响

目的:观察电针治疗对大鼠不稳定膀胱模型下尿路组织氮能神经递质的影响。方法:制作大鼠不稳定膀胱模型,电针会阳、中膂俞7d后,采用免疫组织化学法检测大鼠膀胱逼尿肌、膀胱颈平滑肌神经源性一氧化氮合酶(neuronal nitric oxide synthase,nNOS)、内皮型一氧化氮合酶(endothelial nitric oxide syn-thase,eNOS)和诱导型一氧化氮合酶(inducible nitric oxide synthase,iNOS)阳性细胞并计数。结果:不稳定膀胱模型其膀胱逼尿肌、膀胱颈平滑肌中氮能神经递质明显下降,而电针治疗则可促进氮能神经递质的生成和分泌。结论:电针促进膀胱组织中氮能神经递质的生成和分泌可能是电针治疗改善不稳定膀胱功能的主要机制之一。     

丹红注射液对糖尿病大鼠视网膜的保护作用

目的：观察丹红注射液对于糖尿病大鼠视网膜是否具有保护作用,并探讨其机制。

方法：从2015/06～2016/12共60只雄性 SD 大鼠随机分成4组：正常组、糖尿病组、丹红干预组以及空白干预组,后三组大鼠采用链脲佐菌素(STZ)50 mg/kg的剂量腹腔注射建立糖尿病视网膜病变大鼠模型。在大鼠建模成功后当日,丹红干预组每日腹腔注射5 ml/kg丹红注射液,空白干预组每日腹腔注射与丹红干预组等体积的蒸馏水。然后从视网膜血管病变和神经损伤两个层面进行疗效观察,血管病变层面行HE染色观察视网膜形态,免疫组化检测视网膜血管内皮生长因子的表达; 神经损伤层面行Tunel染色观察凋亡细胞,透射电镜观察视网膜神经节细胞形态。

结果：血管层面：正常组视网膜各组织结构显现清晰的层次,糖尿病组和空白干预组较正常组结构紊乱,丹红干预组较糖尿病组和空白干预组有所改善。与糖尿病组和空白干预组相比,丹红干预组VEGF表达降低; 神经损伤层面：糖尿病组和空白干预组神经节细胞出现大量凋亡,丹红干预组凋亡细胞较之减少。

结论：丹红注射液对糖尿病大鼠视网膜有保护作用。通过下调VEGF,改善视网膜缺血缺氧状态,减少视网膜新生血管的形成。同时能在一定程度上减少视网膜神经细胞的凋亡。     

不同预后慢性疲劳综合征患者精神情志因素差别分析

目的:研究CFS患者精神情志因素与预后的关系。方法:运用SCL90量表及FS-14量表对120例未干预治疗CFS患者进行测评并进行3个月随访,分析精神情志因素与患者预后的关系。结果:未干预治疗CFS患者中有70.83%的患者症状未见好转,好转组评分与未好转组SCL-90评分有统计学差异(P<0.05)的因子分有:躯体化、敌对、抑郁、焦虑及总分。结论:(1)未干预治疗CFS患者预后不佳,高达70%以上的患者在未经适当治疗的情况下持续存在各种精神情志症状。(2)当CFS患者存在明显自觉躯体症状、敌对、强迫、抑郁、焦虑等负面情绪时其预后多不佳。     

MiR-130b attenuates vascular inflammation via negatively regulating tumor progression locus 2 (Tpl2) expression

Endothelial cell (EC) activation and dysfunction have been linked to a wide variety of vascular inflammatory diseases. However, the role of microRNAs in EC activation and inflammation remains largely unknown. In this study, we found that miR-130b was significantly decreased in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) after lipopolysaccharides (LPS) treatment. Forced expression of miR-130b inhibited the LPS-induced activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and the inflammatory genes expression, such as interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). Furthermore, we identified that tumor progression locus 2 (Tpl2) is a direct target of miR-130b. Finally, in vivo overexpression of miR-130b via miR-130b agomir attenuates acute lung vascular inflammation in the LPS-induced sepsis mouse model. Taken together, our data demonstrated that miR-130b represses vascular inflammation via targeting Tpl2, suggesting that miR-130b mimics might be a promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of vascular inflammatory diseases.     

Methods for development of a core outcome set for clinical trials integrating traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine

Clinical trial outcome reporting differs between studies integrating traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, so that some clinical trials are not eligible for inclusion in a systematic review. The excluded studies are therefore less widely disseminated, and even valid studies are less likely to yield impact. This problem may be addressed by developing core outcome sets (COSs) for integrative medicine in specific healthcare areas. The first stage of development is to define the scope of the COS for integrative medicine, the second stage is to establish the need for such a COS, and the third stage is to develop a protocol and register the COS. The final stage involves three steps: (i) development of a comprehensive list of outcomes (including efficacy outcomes and safety outcomes and TCM syndromes) using systematic review, qualitative or cross-sectional research, and reviews of package inserts and medical records; (ii) merging and grouping of outcomes within domains; (iii) conducting two rounds of Delphi survey and consensus meetings with a range of stakeholders. The final COS will include a general COS and core TCM syndrome- set. Development of COSs for clinical trials of integrative medicine may help to standardize outcome reporting and reduce publication bias in the future.     

Potential role of the gut microbiota in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: Implication for intervention

The gut microbiota plays an important role in the occurrence and development of neuroimmunological diseases. Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by the peripheral production of the disease-specific serum autoantibody aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-IgG. Recently, accumulating evidence has provided insights into the associations of gut microbiota dysbiosis and intestinal mucosal barrier destruction with NMOSD, but the underlying pathogenesis remains unclear. Thus, a microbiota intervention might be a potential therapeutic strategy for NMOSD by regulating the gut microbiota, repairing the intestinal mucosal barrier, and modulating intestinal immunity and peripheral immunity.     

三种不同严重程度大鼠重症胰腺炎模型比较研究

目的 为研究者选择合适的牛磺胆酸钠浓度来制备大鼠重症胰腺炎(severe acute pancreatitis,SAP)SAP模型提供依据。方法 将60只SD大鼠随机分为假手术组、1.5%浓度组、3.5%浓度组和5%浓度组, 造模各组分别用1.5%、3.5%和5%牛磺胆酸钠按逆行胆胰管注射法制备SAP模型。术后统计各组大鼠的死亡率;检测血清淀粉酶、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)、白介素-6(IL-6)水平;观测各组大鼠胰腺组织HE染色病理评分。结果 5%浓度组死亡率较1.5%浓度组显著升高, 血淀粉酶、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)、白介素-6(IL-6)水平、出血和腺泡组织坏死的病理评分较1.5%浓度组和3.5%浓度组均有显著升高。结论 5%的牛磺胆酸钠逆行胆胰管注射法能更好的制备SAP模型, 且更符合SAP的生理、病理表现。     

便秘患者的特征及中药治疗用药归经特点分析

目的析便秘患者治疗中的中医用药归经特点,为规范便秘患者中医治疗方案提供参考依据。方法采用描述流行病学方法,收集2018年1月至2018年12月上海中医药大学附属岳阳中西医结合医院健康信息系统(health information system,HIS)中诊断为便秘的患者信息,应用SPSS16.0统计软件对便秘患者的一般人口学特征、药物频次及归经特点进行描述、分析。结果本研究共纳入便秘患者12786例,其中男性5043例(39.44%),患者年龄0~100岁,中位年龄64岁。12786例患者中,5623例患者接受纯中药治疗(43.98%),3788例患者接受中西医联合治疗(29.63%)。接受中药治疗的9411例患者中,5487例使用了中药饮片(58.30%),中药饮片使用频数排名前五位的药物为甘草、白术、火麻仁、枳实及厚朴。中药的归经分析显示药味归经均数排名前五为脾、胃、肺、大肠及心。女性患者使用中药归经为"肝"的多于男性患者。结论便秘患者的中药治疗以固护脾胃为主,通调肺、肠为辅;对于女性便秘患者,用药多投以肝经药味。