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Shenshao Tablet (SST), prepared from Paeoniae Radix Alba (PRA) and total ginsenoside of Ginseng Stems and Leaves (GSL), is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation prescribed to treat coronary heart disease. However, its chemical composition and the components that can migrate into blood potentially exerting the therapeutic effects have rarely been elucidated. We developed an HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS n approach aiming to comprehensively profile and identify both the chemical components of SST and its absorbed ingredients (and metabolites) in rat plasma and urine. Chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent Eclipse XDB C 18 column using acetonitrile/0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase. MS detection was conducted in both negative and positive ESI modes to yield more structure information. Comparison with reference compounds (t R , MS n ), interpretation of the fragmentation pathways, and searching of in-house database, were utilized for more reliable structure elucidation. A total of 82 components, including 21 monoterpene glycosides, four galloyl glucoses, two phenols from PRA, and 55 ginsenosides from GSL, were identified or tentatively characterized from the 70% ethanolic extract of SST. Amongst them, seven and 24 prototype compounds could be detectable in the plasma and urine samples, respectively, after oral administration of an SST extract (4 g·kg -1 ) in rats. No metabolites were observed in the rat samples. The findings of this work first unveiled the chemical complexity of SST and its absorbed components, which would be beneficial to understanding the therapeutic basis and quality control of SST., (Copyright © 2018 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Mining for metal and mineral resources lead to the rapid rise of tailings dams and caused serious damage to the ecological environment of the mining area. Soil physicochemical characteristics and enzyme activities were important indexes for ecosystem functions, and they were also important factors in evaluating soil restoration qualities. We selected nine sub-dams of the Eighteen River copper tailings in Yuanqu County, and analyzed the relationship between soil physicochemical properties and soil enzyme activities. The results showed that there were great differences in soil physicochemical properties over different reclaimed years, and as the reclaimed years passed, soil nutrient contents significantly increased. There were significant negative correlations between catalase and the ratio of soil carbon and nitrogen, and urease was positively correlated to total nitrogen and soil moisture. Phosphatase and sucrose demonstrated no significant relationships with soil physicochemical factors. Copper content gradually accumulated in soil as the restoration period of sub-dams increased. Arsenic and cadmium content increased initially and then decreased before they gradually reached a stable level. In addition, there was no significant difference in zinc content among different sub-dams. Together, these results provide the ecological basis for further studies in soil ecosystem restoration and degradation mechanisms in copper tailings.

Environmental selection and dispersal limitation are two basic processes underlying community assembly. The relative importance of those two processes differs across scales, community identities, and community types. The processes responsible for structuring microbial communities in soil of temperate subalpine forest are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the relationship between soil bacterial community structure and environmental factors, and quantified the relative role of edaphic factors, vegetation, and spatial variables in shaping the structure of six soil bacterial communities (LpMC1, LpMC2, PwMC, PmMC, PtMC, and BMC) in five forest types including Larix principis-rupprechtii, Picea wilsonii, Picea meyeri, Pinus tabulaeformis, and Betula platyphylla in Pangquangou Nature Reserve by using PCR-DGGE technology. Our results showed that the structure and biodiversity of bacterial communities were significantly different among six communities. The biodiversity of bacterial community were higher in LpMC2 and PtMC, lowest in PmMC, and highest in LpMC1. Soil environmental factors, such as pH, soil water content, total carbon, total nitrogen, soil organic matter, available phosphorous, and soil enzymes, were significantly correlated with biodiversity and structure of soil bacterial community. The beta diversity of bacterial communities were significantly correlated with geographic distance, indicating the influence of dispersal limitation on the structure of bacterial community. The order of driving force on the structure of bacterial community was edaphic factors (0.27), spatial factor (0.19) and vegetation (0.15) in six samples. Using regional soil microbes from 10 samples around reserve as source community, results from the microcosm experiments showed that the edaphic factors were the predominant driving factors (0.35) on structure of artificial dispersal bacterial community, while the high diversity of source microbial community affected the structure of microcosm soil. In summary, at local scale, environmental selection predominantly determined the structural and biodiversity of soil bacterial communities in temperate subalpine forest, while dispersal limitation played a significant role. Such a result indicated that deterministic processes and stochastic processes played important roles in shaping the structure of soil bacterial community at local scale, with the former having the leading role. The composition of dispersal soil bacteria community was source-dependent but also modulated by local environmental selection.

Xanthogranulomatous cystitis is a rare, benign chronic inflammatory disorder with unclear etiology. Since its similar features to bladder neoplasm, it is extremely easy to be mistaken for malignant tumor. We herein reported a case of xanthogranulomatous cystitis in a 54-year-old male who presented with low abdominal pain and painless, total macrohematuria. Microscopy showed proliferation of large foam histiocytes which expressed CD68 and vimentin. Ki-67 showed a lower proliferation index (< 10%). Histopathology and immunohistochemical findings confirmed the diagnosis. This case highlighted the significance of recognizing this unusual lesion and differentiating it from its histological mimics by immunohistochemical staining.

Objective: To observe the differences in bispectral index (BIS) in unconscious patients with acute brain injury due to different pathogenic factors, and approach its clinical significance., Methods: A retrospective study was conducted. One hundred and twenty-two unconscious patients with acute brain injured admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) from March 2009 to August 2012 were involved. According to the pathogenic factors, all patients were divided into direct injury group (n=66) and indirect injury group (n=56). Based on BIS value, all patients were divided into the BIS<60 group (n=80) and the BIS≥60 group (n=42). The BIS was continuously measured for 12 hours during the first 3 days, or 24 hours after stoppage of sedative after admission to ICU. The mean value of BIS (BISmean) was evaluated. The acute physiology and chronic health evaluationII (APACHEII) score, probability of survival (PS) and Glasgow coma score (GCS) were recorded. On the same day, the serum protein S100 and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were determined. The mortality and the rate of the poor neurological outcome were analyzed., Results: (1) There were no significant differences in the age, sex, APACHEII score, PS and days of stay in ICU between the direct and indirect injury groups. (2) BISmean and GCS in direct injury group were significantly lower than those of the indirect injury group [BISmean: 39.0 (2.5, 58.0) vs. 59.0 (42.0, 71.0), GCS score: 3 (3, 5) vs. 4 (3, 6), both P<0.01], while serum S100 levels was significantly higher [2.30 (0.75, 6.66) mg/L vs. 0.84 (0.40, 3.62) mg/L, P<0.01]. There was no significant difference in the NSE level between the direct and indirect injury groups. (3) The mortality rate and poor neurological outcome rate in BIS<60 group were significantly higher than the BIS≥60 group (mortality rate: 67.50% vs. 40.48%, poor neurological outcome rate: 86.25% vs. 66.67%, P<0.01 and P<0.05). In the BIS<60 group, there were no significant differences in the mortality and poor neurological outcome rate between direct and indirect injury group., Conclusions: There are differences in pathogenic factors, the injury mechanism, and the degree of the brain injury between the direct and indirect injury groups. BIS monitoring could help judge the degree of different kinds of brain injury. BIS<60 indicates poor prognosis and neurological outcome in spite of the inducing factor of brain injury.

Objective: To study the expressions of Integrinalpha2beta1 and CD133 in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) complicated by prostatitis and their significance., Methods: Specimens were obtained from 56 BPH patients undergoing transvesical prostatectomy. Paraffin sections of the specimens were subjected to HE staining for pathological examination of inflammatory changes under the light microscope. Twenty-four patients with simple BPH were included in Group A, and the other 32 with BPH complicated with prostatitis in Group B. The expressions of Integrinalpha2beta1 and CD133 in the prostatic tissues of the two groups were determined by immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and IPP6.0 image analysis software., Results: The expressions of Integrinalpha2beta1 and CD133 were significantly higher in Group B than in A (P < 0.05), and so were the mean relative value of the optical density of Integrinalpha2beta1 (0.29 +/- 0.18 vs 0.04 +/- 0.03) and that of CD133 (0.08 +/- 0.07 vs 0.0020 +/- 0.0018) (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Inflammation can up-regulate the expressions of Integrinalpha2beta1 and CD133 in BPH tissue.

Objective: To determine the comprehensive metabolic profiling of inflammation with capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) in rat urine., Methods: CZE-based metabolomics method was used to acquire urine metabolom data, with Computer Aided Similarity Evaluation System aligning peaks and analyzing urine profiling. Principle component analysis (PCA) was performed to compare and classify the phenotypes of the urine CZE spectra., Results: The PCA revealed different phenotypes of metabolites between rats with and without inflammation, which were independent from gender, individual diversity, day-night diversity and diurnal variation., Conclusion: CZE-based metabolomics method could be used as a potential tool for urinary profiling for disease diagnosis and drug studies.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicinal shensongyangxin capsules in the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation., Methods: From August 2007 to July 2008, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital conducted a multicenter study, select the eleven hospital's outpatient subjects, aged 18 to 75 years old, male or female, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (at least one electrocardiogram diagnosis) seizure frequency ≥ 2 times/month, according to the ratio 1:1:1, subjects were randomly divided into three groups: a. shensongyangxin group, taking shensongyangxin capsule 4 + propafenone analogues 150 mg, 3 times a day; b. propafenone group, taking propafenone tablets 150 mg + 4 shensongyangxin analogues, 3 times a day; shensongyangxin capsule + propafenone group, taking shensongyangxin capsule 4 + propafenone 150 mg, 3 times a day. The treatment course is 8 weeks, with 3 times of follow-up., Results: Total of 349 cases of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, which 117 cases in shensongyangxin group, 115 cases in propafenone group; 117 cases in shensongyangxin + propafenone group. The baseline data analysis showed that there were no significantly difference (P > 0.05) among the three groups of atrial fibrillation seizure frequency, vital signs, general condition, medical history, 24-hour ambulatory ECG, 12-lead normal electrocardiogram, cardiac ultrasound and symptoms. The comparison before and after (8 weeks) treatment showed that the frequency (from 6 times/m to 2 times/m in each group, P < 0.01), number of cases [from 46 (43.3%) to 22 (20.8%), 43 (43.4%) to 25 (25.3%), and 40 (40.6%) to 31 (29.2%), respectively P < 0.01] and duration time of attack of atrial fibrillation (from 4 h to 0.5 h, 4 h to 0.5 h, and 4.25 h to 0.5 h, respectively P < 0.01) all decreased in three groups. No significant difference among the three groups comparing the overall effect (62.3%, 58.6%, and 58.5%, respectively, P > 0.05), while the efficacy of TCM symptoms in shensongyangxin group (80.2%) was better than that of propafenone group (67.7%) (P < 0.05). Safety evaluation showed that adverse reaction rate was 1.8% in shensongyangxin group, and 8.2% and 5.4% in propafenone group and shensongyangxin + propafenone group., Conclusion: Shensongyangxin capsules and propafenone have comparable efficacies in the treatment of PAF. The efficacy of TCM symptoms is better than propafenone. Shensongyangxin capsules have an excellent profile of safety.

Objective: To discuss the effect of continuous monitoring of bispectral index (BIS) on the prognosis of patients with acute brain injury., Methods: A retrospective study was carried out, 61 patients with acute brain injury admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) from March 2009 to July 2010 were divided into survival group (n=25) and death group (n=36). The BIS was continuously monitored for 12 hours within the first 3 days or 24 hours after stoppage of sedative after admission to ICU. The mean value of BIS (BISmean), the maximal value of BIS (BISmax), and the minimal value of BIS (BISmin) were evaluated. At the same time, the acute physiology and chronic health evaluationII (APACHEII) score, probability of survival (PS) and Glasgow coma score (GCS) were evaluated. The values of serum S100 protein and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were determined. The relationship between BISmean and GCS, S100 protein and NSE were respectively analyzed., Results: (1)There was no significant difference in the sex, age, or duration of mechanical ventilation between two groups. APACHEII score in death group was significantly higher than the survival group (27.36±5.99 vs. 23.28±6.69), PS was significantly lower than the survival group (0.31±0.17 vs. 0.49±0.19), and length of stay in ICU (days) was significantly lower than that of the survival group (6.33±4.48 vs. 27.88±54.46), P<0.05 or P<0.01. (2) BISmean, BISmax, BISmin, GCS in death group were significantly lower than those in the survival group (BISmean: 35.45±28.31 vs. 55.91±17.53, BISmax: 51.92±34.24 vs. 74.84±16.58, BISmin: 22.39±24.83 vs. 39.68±15.72, GCS score: 3.64±1.19 vs. 5.60±2.22), P<0.05 or P<0.01, while serum S100 protein and NSE levels were significantly higher than the survival group [S100 protein (μg/L): 7.54±10.49 vs. 1.18±1.57, NSE (μg/L): 120.74±109.01 vs. 49.83±54.94], both P<0.01. (3) By bivariate analysis, BISmean was positively correlated with GCS (r=0.379, P=0.003), whereas it was found to be negatively correlated with S100 protein and NSE levels (r₁=-0.418, P₁=0.001; r₂=-0.290, P₂=0.023)., Conclusion: BIS monitoring can be applied as an early objective indicator to evaluate the prognosis of the acute brain injured patients with the characteristics of being noninvasive, intuitive, easy-to-manipulate, and non-stop monitoring.

By the method of field in situ culture and 15N isotopic tracer technique, and taking flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tobacum) cultivar K326 as test material, a field experiment was conducted in the Nanxiong tobacco-planting area of Guangdong Province to study the characteristics of soil nitrogen (N) mineralization, the patterns of N accumulation and allocation in tobacco plants, and the allocation of plant-absorbed fertilizer N applied in current growth season. In the study area, the amount of soil mineralized N increased with tobacco growth, peaked at 75 days after transplanting, and decreased thereafter. The soil mineralized N at each tobacco growth stage was significantly higher in the control than in the N fertilization treatment. The N accumulation in tobacco plant organs was in the order of leaf > stalk > root. Tobacco plants mainly absorbed fertilizer N at rosette stage and topping stage, and mainly absorbed soil N at mature stage. The absorbed N in tobacco whole growth period was mainly derived from soil N, and the absorbed soil N and its proportion to the total absorbed N increased evidently with extending growth stage and ascending leaf position. The fertilizer N use efficiency per plant and the residual rate and loss rate of applied fertilizer N were 30. 8%, 32. 3% , and 36. 9% , respectively. In the study area, soil N mineralization rate was relatively high, and soil N had greater effects on the quality of upper tobacco leaves. Under the application rate of 150 kg N x hm(-2), the residual amount and loss amount of applied fertilizer N were relatively high.

In the title compound, C(12)H(10)F(3)N(3)O(2), the dihedral angle between the phenyl and pyrazole rings is 96.6 (3)°. In the crystal, pairs of O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules, forming inversion dimers. Weak inter-molecular C-H⋯F hydrogen bonds are also observed.

With flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cultivar K326 as test material, a field experiment was conducted at Nanxiong area of Guangdong Province in 2008 to study the effects of four planting patterns, i.e., single-row ridge + film mulching at early stage, single-row ridge + film mulching at early and late stages, double-row concave ridge + film mulching at early stage, and double-row concave ridge + film mulching at early and late stages, on the senescence characteristics of its roots and leaves, and the economic traits of its leaves. Comparing with other three planting patterns, double-row concave ridge + film Aulching at early and late stages promoted the root growth of test cultivar during its whole growth period, with the root vigor increased significantly. Meanwhile, the leaf chlorophyll content and protective enzymes (SOD and POD) activities were higher, and the MDA content was lower. The leaf yield, output value, average price, and the proportion of superior leaves were also higher. Double-row concave ridge + film mulching at early and late stages alleviated the senescence characteristics of roots and leaves, and improved the economic traits of flue-cured tobacco leaves, being the efficient planting pattern to product high-quality flue-cured tobacco leaves in Nanxiong tobacco-growing area of Guangdong Province.

Objective: To prepare a novel floating micropellets containing hydroxy propyl-beta-oyclodextrin(puerarin-HP-beta-CD) for gastroretentive dosage form and evaluate its pharmaceutical characteristics in vitro., Method: The puerarin HP-beta-cyclodextrin inclusion complex was prepared by freeze-drying method. Puerarin and its HP-beta-CD inclusion complex were incorporated into alginate beads, respectively. The effect of methyl cellulose (MC), Mg-Stearate and chitosan on buoyancy and cumulative release rate of puerarin were investigated in simulated gastric fluid., Result: The spectrums of FTIR and profiles of X-ray powder diffraction of samples proved the formation of inclusion complex between puerarin and HP-beta-CD. Magnesium stearate had a significant effect on the buoyancy of micropellets, and satisfied results were gained by the content with 2%. The solubility of puerarin was increased 65.6-fold by the formation of inclusion complex, the dissolution rate and cumulative release percentage also improved significantly although with the burst release phenomena. The micropellets showed sustained release properties by using puerarin-HP-beta-CD inclusion complex mixed with puerarin (1:1) and treated thoroughly under homogenizer., Conclusion: The solubility and release rate of puerarin are increased by the formation of inclusion complex with HP-beta-CD and its gastroretentive dosage forms displayed satisfied floating and sustained release characteristics.

Objective: To explore the relationship between polymorphisms of FAS and FASL genes and genetic susceptibility of silicosis., Methods: A case-control study was conducted. The case group was 183 male patients with silicosis and the control group was 111 male silica-exposed but without silicosis miners. Data on total dust concentrations was collected to estimate cumulative total dust exposure (CTE) of each subject and each person's characteristics and work history were obtained from questionnaire. Polymerase chain reaction re-strained fragment length polymorphism technique (PCR-RFLP) was applied to detect the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of FAS-1377, FAS-670 and FASL-844. Associations between polymorphisms and risk of silicosis and stages, interactions between polymorphisms, between polymorphisms and CTE and smoking and haplotypes were analyzed., Results: There were no differences in the FAS-1377, FAS-670 and FASL-844 genotypes between the case group and the control group (P > 0.05). No association was observed between FAS-1377, FAS-670 and FASL-844 polymorphisms and silicosis and stages (P > 0.05). The frequencies of FAS-1377G/-670G haplotype in the cases (9.6%) were higher than those in the controls (3.6%) (P < 0.05). No interactions between the polymorphisms of different genes, the gene polymorphism and the total accumulative total dust, the gene polymorphism and smoking were observed (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: FAS-1377, FAS-670 and FASL-844 polymorphisms are not susceptible factors of silicosis. The FAS-1377G/-670G haplotype might be a susceptibility marker of silicosis.

Objective: To investigate the prognostic value of serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) and S100 protein in evaluation of brain damage in patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest (CA)., Methods: According to whether the patients regained consciousness after 6 months or not, 25 patients after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) were divided into 2 groups, and blood samples were obtained for determination of NSE and S100 protein at 2, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after recovery of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), then the values at each time point were compared between 2 groups and also with that of 7 healthy volunteers. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves of serum NSE and S100 protein were depicted and used area under curve (AUS) to scale the ability in evaluating the state of consciousness in patients after CPR., Results: (1)The levels of serum NSE at 12, 48 and 72 hours and S100 protein at 2, 12, 48 and 72 hours were significantly higher in patients who did not regain consciousness compared with patients who regained consciousness (all P<0.01). (2)Compared with healthy volunteers, the levels of NSE at 12 and 24 hours and S100 protein at 12 hours were higher in patients who regained consciousness (all P<0.05), the levels of NSE at all time points and S100 protein at 12, 48 and 72 hours were significantly higher in patients who did not regain consciousness (P<0.05 or P<0.01). (3)Area under curve AUC(NSE) =0.848 (P=0.000), AUC(S100) =0.896 (P=0.000), therefore both serum NSE and S100 protein had diagnostic value for predicting whether patients resuscitated from CA could regain consciousness or not. Serum S100 protein cut-off was 0.165 microg/L, with a sensitivity of 94.4%, a specificity of 100%, a positive predictive value of 100%, a negative predictive value of 80% and an accuracy of 95.5% at 2 hours after ROSC. Serum NSE cut-off was 45.6 microg/L, all values reached 100% 48 hours after ROSC., Conclusion: Measurement of serum NSE and S100 protein concentrations can help judge the degree of brain damage and whether patients can regain consciousness after CPR. It will be more valuable to prognosticate a serious and continuous brain damage with dynamic observation of the serum NSE together with S100 protein.

A population kinetics code was developed to analyze K alpha emission from partially ionized chlorine atoms in hydrocarbon plasmas. Atomic processes are solved under collisional-radiative equilibrium for two-temperature plasmas. It is shown that the fast electrons dominantly contribute to ionize the K-shell bound electrons (i.e., inner-shell ionization) and the cold electrons to the outer-shell bound ones. Ratios of K alpha lines of partially ionized atoms are presented as a function of cold-electron temperature. The model was validated by observation of the K alpha lines from a chlorinated plastic target irradiated with 1 TW Ti:sapphire laser pulses at 1.5 x 10(17) W/cm(2), inferring a plasma temperature of about 100 eV on the target surface.