To evaluate the change of the risk of bias (RoB) of acupuncture randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the past five decades.

Since its outbreak in December 2019, a series of clinical trials on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been registered or carried out. However, the significant heterogeneity and less critical outcomes of such trials may be leading to a waste of research resources. This study aimed to develop a core outcome set (COS) for clinical trials on COVID-19 in order to tackle the outcome issues. The study was conducted according to the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) Handbook: Version 1.0, a guideline for COS development. A research group was set up that included experts in respiratory and critical medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), evidence-based medicine, clinical pharmacology, and statistics, in addition to medical journal editors. Clinical trial registry websites (www.chictr.org.cn and clinicaltrials.gov) were searched to retrieve clinical trial protocols and outcomes in order to form an outcome pool. A total of 78 clinical trial protocols on COVID-19 were included and 259 outcomes were collected. After standardization, 132 outcomes were identified within seven different categories, of which 58 were selected to develop a preliminary outcome list for further consensus. After two rounds of Delphi survey and one consensus meeting, the most important outcomes for the different clinical classifications of COVID-19 were identified and determined to constitute the COS for clinical trials on COVID-19 (COS-COVID). The COS-COVID includes one outcome for the mild type (time to 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) negativity), four outcomes for the ordinary type (length of hospital stay, composite events, score of clinical symptoms, and time to 2019-nCoV RT-PCR negativity), five outcomes for the severe type (composite events, length of hospital stay, arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2)/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2), duration of mechanical ventilation, and time to 2019-nCoV RT-PCR negativity), one outcome for critical type (all-cause mortality), and one outcome for rehabilitation period (pulmonary function). The COS-COVID is currently the most valuable and practical clinical outcome set for the evaluation of intervention effect, and is useful for evidence assessment and decision-making. With a deepening understanding of COVID-19 and application feedback, the COS-COVID should be continuously updated.

The association between global and segmental myocardial strain impairment and fibrosis extent in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is widely verified. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of high T2-weighted signal intensity (HighT2) to myocardial deformation in HCM. We prospectively recruited 57 patients with HCM examined by a 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance scanner with cine, T2-weighted imaging with fat saturation and phase-sensitive inversion recovery. Global and segmental radial, circumferential and longitudinal strains were included for analysis. The extent of HighT2 was negatively correlated with global radial strain (ρ = -0.275, p = 0.038) and positively correlated with global circumferential strain (ρ = 0.308, p = 0.02) and global longitudinal strain (ρ = 0.422, p = 0.001). Radial, circumferential and longitudinal strains were all significantly associated with segment thickness. Regarding circumferential strain, segments at the mid-ventricular level with LGE and HighT2 showed more impairment than segments with only LGE. For longitudinal strain, the influence of HighT2 appeared only at the mid-ventricular level. The HighT2 extent in HCM was observed to contribute to global and segmental strain parameters. At the segmental level, HighT2 indeed affects left ventricular deformation, and follow-up studies are still warranted.

Observational studies had suggested an inverse association between whole grain consumption and concentration of inflammatory markers, but evidence from interventional studies was inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of randomized trials to have a better understanding of this issue.

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are a novel family of glucose-lowering agents. Accumulating evidence suggests that DPP-4 inhibitors preserve pancreatic beta-cell function, but results in previous studies have been inconsistent. We assessed the effects of DPP-4 inhibitors on the homoeostasis model assessment beta-cell function (HOMA-B) or insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index in patients with type 2 diabetes through a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Relevant articles were identified from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases up to December 27, 2016. We calculated weighted mean differences (WMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in each included trial and pooled the data using a random-effects model. Fifty-two trials were included in the present analysis. Compared with placebo control, DPP-4 inhibitors as monotherapy significantly improved HOMA-B (WMD 9.15; 95% CI 7.48, 10.81). Similarly, DPP-4 inhibitors as add-on therapy in combination with other drugs showed significant improvement in HOMA-B (WMD 9.04; 95% CI 5.72, 12.37). However, we found no significant improvement in HOMA-IR following treatment with DPP-4 inhibitors as mono-therapy or as add-on therapy. In conclusion, DPP-4 inhibitors as monotherapy or as add-on therapy significantly improved beta-cell function but had no significant effect on insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND Avicularin is a plant-derived flavonoid used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat conditions that include ankle fracture. Bradykinin stimulated MG-63 human osteoblastic osteosarcoma cells has previously been studied in an in vitro model. This study aimed to investigate the effects of avicularin on bradykinin-treated MG-63 human osteoblastic osteosarcoma cells in vitro. MATERIAL AND METHODS MG-63 cells were treated with increasing concentrations of avicularin for 48 hours, followed by 1 μM of bradykinin for 24 h. The MTT assay was used to measure cell viability. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to measure the expression of inflammatory mediators, interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) mRNA and protein, respectively. The expression of oxidative stress factors, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase were measured. Western blot and qRT-PCR were performed to determine p38, p65, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein levels and mRNA expression, respectively. RESULTS Avicularin had no cytotoxic effect on MG-63 cells. Avicularin significantly upregulated the expression levels IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-alpha in the bradykinin treated group in a dose-dependent manner. Avicularin reduced the level of MDA and the activity of SOD and catalase in the bradykinin treated MG-63 cells, reduced p-p38, p-p65, iNOS, and COX-2 expression, and decreased the p-p38/p38 ratio and the p-p65/p65 ratio in bradykinin treated MG-63 cells in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS Avicularin reduced the expression of inflammatory cytokines and the levels of markers of oxidative stress in MG-63 human osteoblastic osteosarcoma cells in vitro.

While the physical and chemical properties of airborne particulate matter (PM) have been extensively studied, their associated microbiome remains largely unexplored. Here, we performed a longitudinal metagenomic survey of 106 samples of airborne PM2.5 and PM10 in Beijing over a period of 6 months in 2012 and 2013, including those from several historically severe smog events.

Telomeres consist of highly conserved simple tandem telomeric repeat motif (TRM): (TTAGG)n in arthropods, (TTAGGG)n in vertebrates, and (TTTAGGG)n in most plants. TRM can be detected from chromosome-level assembly, which typically requires long-read sequencing data. To take advantage of short-read data, we developed an ultra-fast Telomeric Repeats Identification Pipeline and evaluated its performance on 91 species. With proven accuracy, we applied Telomeric Repeats Identification Pipeline in 129 insect species, using 7 Tbp of short-read sequences. We confirmed (TTAGG)n as the TRM in 19 orders, suggesting it is the ancestral form in insects. Systematic profiling in Hymenopterans revealed a diverse range of TRMs, including the canonical 5-bp TTAGG (bees, ants, and basal sawflies), three independent losses of tandem repeat form TRM (Ichneumonoids, hunting wasps, and gall-forming wasps), and most interestingly, a common 8-bp (TTATTGGG)n in Chalcid wasps with two 9-bp variants in the miniature wasp (TTACTTGGG) and fig wasps (TTATTGGGG). Our results identified extraordinary evolutionary fluidity of Hymenopteran TRMs, and rapid evolution of TRM and repeat abundance at all evolutionary scales, providing novel insights into telomere evolution.

The Golden2-like (GLK) transcription factors are plant-specific transcription factors (TFs) that perform extensive and significant roles in regulating chloroplast development. Here, genome-wide identification, classification, conserved motifs, cis-elements, chromosomal locations, evolution and expression patterns of the PtGLK genes in the woody model plant Populus trichocarpa were analyzed in detail. In total, 55 putative PtGLKs (PtGLK1-PtGLK55) were identified and divided into 11 distinct subfamilies according to the gene structure, motif composition and phylogenetic analysis. Synteny analysis showed that 22 orthologous pairs and highly conservation between regions of GLK genes across P. trichocarpa and Arabidopsis were identified. Furthermore, analysis of the duplication events and divergence times provided insight into the evolutionary patterns of GLK genes. The previously published transcriptome data indicated that PtGLK genes exhibited distinct expression patterns in various tissues and different stages. Additionally, several PtGLKs were significantly upregulated under the responses of cold stress, osmotic stress, and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and gibberellic acid (GA) treatments, implying that they might take part in abiotic stress and phytohormone responses. Overall, our results provide comprehensive information on the PtGLK gene family and elucidate the potential functional characterization of PtGLK genes in P. trichocarpa.