“Three Methods and Three Points” regulates p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in a rat model of sciatic nerve injury

Tuina is a traditional Chinese treatment for sensory disturbances caused by peripheral nerve injury and related diseases. Our previous studies showed that tuina regulates relevant regions and indices of the spinal dorsal horn using the Dian, Bo, and Rou method in Yinmen（BL37）, Yanglingquan（GB34）, and Weizhong（BL40）. Treatment prevents muscle atrophy, protects spinal cord neurons, and promotes sciatic nerve repair. The mechanisms of action of tuina for treating peripheral nerve injury remain poorly understood. This study established rat models of sciatic nerve injury using the crushing method. Rats received Chinese tuina in accordance with the principle of ＂Three Methods and Three Points,＂ once daily for 20 days. Tuina intervention reduced paw withdrawal latency and improved wet weight of the gastrocnemius muscle, as well as promoting morphological recovery of sciatic nerve fibers, Schwann cells, and axons. The protein expression levels of phospho-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-1β also decreased. These findings indicate that ＂Three Methods and Three Points＂ promoted morphological recovery and improved behavior of rats with peripheral nerve injury.

Comparison of Three Methods in Extracting Coherent Modes from a Doppler Backscatter System

We compare three different methods to extract coherent modes from Doppler backscattering （DBS）, which are center of gravity （COG） of the complex amplitude spectrum, spectrum of DBS phase derivative （phase derivative method）, and phase spectrum, respectively. These three methods are all feasible to extract coherent modes, for example, geodesic acoustic mode oscillation. However, there are stilI differences between dealing with high frequency modes （several hundred kHz） and low frequency modes, （several kHz） hiding in DBS signal. There is a significant amount of power at low frequencies in the phase spectrum, which can be removed by using the phase derivative method and COG. High frequency modes are clearer by using the COO and the phase derivative method than the phase spectrum. The spectrum of DBS amplitude does not show the coherent modes detected by using COG, phase derivative method and phase spectrum. When two Doppler shifted peaks exist, coherent modes and their harmonics appear in the spectrum of DBS amplitude, which are introduced by the DBS phase.