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Status epilepticus (SE) is a medical emergency associated with acute severe systemic damage and high mortality. Moreover, symptomatic SE is one of the highest risk factors for epileptogenesis. While the antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are chosen in favor of acute control of SE, the potential short-term and long-term effects of such AEDs have been ignored in clinics. In this study, we hypothesized that AEDs that are used to control acute SE might affect the feasibility for the chronic development of epileptogenesis after SE. Therefore, we sought to compare the epileptogenic effects of SE that are terminated by three AEDs, i.e., diazepam, midazolam, and pentobarbital, which are widely used as first-line anti-SE AEDs. For this purpose, we used a mouse model of SE induced by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of lithium chloride (LiCl)-pilocarpine. The pilocarpine-induced SE was terminated with diazepam, midazolam, or pentobarbital. Then we compared short-term and long-term effects of SE with different AED treatments by examining SE-associated mortality and behavioral spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRSs) and by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and immunohistochemistry to evaluate pathological and cellular alterations of mice in the different treatment groups. We found that i.p. injections of diazepam (5 mg/kg), midazolam (10 mg/kg), and pentobarbital (37.5 mg/kg) were able to terminate acute pilocarpine-SE effectively, while pentobarbital treatment showed less neuroprotective action against lethality in the short phase following SE. Long-term evaluation following SE revealed that SE treated with midazolam had resulted in relatively less behavioral SRS, less hippocampal atrophy, and milder neuronal loss and gliosis. Our data revealed an obvious advantage of midazolam vs. diazepam or pentobarbital in protecting the brain from epileptogenesis. Therefore, if midazolam provides as strong action to quench SE as other AEDs in clinics, midazolam should be the first choice of anti-SE AEDs as it provides additional benefits against epileptogenesis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Tong, Zhang, Zhu, Li, Qu, Qin, Guo and Chen.)

This work investigates the performance and inter-sectoral interaction mechanism of China's largest vertically integrated care network, the national medical alliance (NMA). The data collected derive from the China Health Statistics Bulletin and the China Health Statistical Yearbook for the period 2009-2018. The data include 64 observation indicators for five medical sectors in the NMA, namely, tertiary hospitals (THS), secondary hospitals (SHS), community health centres (CHCS), township hospitals (TsHS) and professional public health institutions (PPHIS). This research combines complex systems theory with a multilevel structural dynamic factor model, and yields two main results. First, although the trend for the NMA's global factor is increasing, the evolutionary paths for sectoral factors differ substantially. Among the sectoral factors, the sectoral factor of THS continued to decline, and neither the sectoral factor of CHCS nor the sectoral factor of TsHS has significantly improved. Then, the interaction mechanism between the various NMA sectors is investigated. While a close relationship has been formed between THS and CHCS and between SHS and CHCS, there remains no close two-way relationship between either THS and TsHS or THS and SHS. Thus, going forward, to reach the policy expectations, China's NMA implementation must consider the interaction between different constituent sectors., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Phytohormones are small chemicals critical for plant development and adaptation to a changing environment. Strigolactones (SLs), carotenoid-derived small signalling molecules and a class of phytohormones, regulate multiple developmental processes and respond to diverse environmental signals. SLs also coordinate adjustments in the balance of resource distribution by strategic modification of the plant development, allowing plants to adapt to nutrient deficiency. Instead of operating independently, SL interplays with abscisic acid, cytokinin, auxin, ethylene, and some other plant phytohormones, forming elaborate signalling networks. Hormone signalling crosstalk in plant development and environmental response may occur in a fully concerted manner or as a cascade of sequential events. In many cases, the exact underlying mechanism is unclear because of the different effects of phytohormones and the varying backgrounds of their actions. In this review, we systematically summarise the synthesis, signal transduction, and biological functions of SLs and further highlight the significance of crosstalk between SLs and other phytohormones during plant development and resistance to ever-changing environments., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wu, Gao, Yang, Sui and Zhu.)

The very high ionic conductivity of Li 10 GeP 2 S 12 (LGPS) solid electrolyte (SE) makes it a promising candidate SE for solid-state batteries in electrical vehicles. However, chemomechanical failure, whose mechanism remains unclear, has plagued its widespread applications. Here, we report in situ imaging lithiation-induced failure of LGPS SE. We revealed a strong size effect in the chemomechanical failure of LGPS particles: namely, when the particle size is greater than 3 μm, fracture/pulverization occurred; when the particle size is between 1 and 3 μm, microcracks emerged; when the particle size is less than 1 μm, no chemomechanical failure was observed. This strong size effect is interpreted by the interplay between elastic energy storage and dissipation. Our finding has important implications for the design of high-performance LGPS SE, for example, by reducing the particle size to less than 1 μm the chemomechanical failure of LGPS SE can be mitigated.

Dense vesicles (DVs) are Golgi-derived plant-specific carriers that mediate post-Golgi transport of seed storage proteins in angiosperms. How this process is regulated remains elusive. Here, we report a rice (Oryza sativa) mutant, named glutelin precursor accumulation8 (gpa8) that abnormally accumulates 57-kDa proglutelins in the mature endosperm. Cytological analyses of the gpa8 mutant revealed that proglutelin-containing DVs were mistargeted to the apoplast forming electron-dense aggregates and paramural bodies in developing endosperm cells. Differing from previously reported gpa mutants with post-Golgi trafficking defects, the gpa8 mutant showed bent Golgi bodies, defective trans-Golgi network (TGN), and enlarged DVs, suggesting a specific role of GPA8 in DV biogenesis. We demonstrated that GPA8 encodes a subunit E isoform 1 of vacuolar H+-ATPase (OsVHA-E1) that mainly localizes to TGN and the tonoplast. Further analysis revealed that the luminal pH of the TGN and vacuole is dramatically increased in the gpa8 mutant. Moreover, the colocalization of GPA1 and GPA3 with TGN marker protein in gpa8 protoplasts was obviously decreased. Our data indicated that OsVHA-E1 is involved in endomembrane luminal pH homeostasis, as well as maintenance of Golgi morphology and TGN required for DV biogenesis and subsequent protein trafficking in rice endosperm cells., (© American Society of Plant Biologists 2021. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Protein storage vacuoles (PSVs) are unique organelles that accumulate storage proteins in plant seeds. Although morphological evidence points to the existence of multiple PSV-trafficking pathways for storage protein targeting, the molecular mechanisms that regulate these processes remain mostly unknown. Here, we report the functional characterization of the rice (Oryza sativa) glutelin precursor accumulation7 (gpa7) mutant, which over-accumulates 57-kDa glutelin precursors in dry seeds. Cytological and immunocytochemistry studies revealed that the gpa7 mutant exhibits abnormal accumulation of storage prevacuolar compartment-like structures, accompanied by the partial mistargeting of glutelins to the extracellular space. The gpa7 mutant was altered in the CCZ1 locus, which encodes the rice homolog of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) CALCIUM CAFFEINE ZINC SENSITIVITY1a (CCZ1a) and CCZ1b. Biochemical evidence showed that rice CCZ1 interacts with MONENSIN SENSITIVITY1 (MON1) and that these proteins function together as the Rat brain 5 (Rab5) effector and the Rab7 guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF). Notably, loss of CCZ1 function promoted the endosomal localization of vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 9 (VPS9), which is the GEF for Rab5 in plants. Together, our results indicate that the MON1-CCZ1 complex is involved in post-Golgi trafficking of rice storage protein through a Rab5- and Rab7-dependent pathway., (© American Society of Plant Biologists 2021. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Ischemic stroke is an inflammation-related disease, during which process activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and subsequent pyroptosis play crucial roles. Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a potent phospholipid regulator of inflammation which exerts its effect via binding specific PAF receptor (PAFR). However, whether PAFR contributes to pyroptosis during ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains to be elucidated. To explore the underlying effect of PAFR on ischemic stroke from the perspective of pyroptosis, mice were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) injury and primary cultures of mice cerebral cortical neurons were exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) injury to mimic I/R in vivo and in vitro, after which indexes associated with pyroptosis were analyzed. Intriguingly, our results indicated that inhibition of PAFR with its inhibitor XQ-1H or PAFR siRNA exerted a neuroprotective effect against I/R injury both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, inflammasome activation and pyroptosis after ischemic challenge were attenuated by XQ-1H or PAFR siRNA. Besides, the protection of XQ-1H was abolished by PAF stimulaiton to some extent. Moreover, XQ-1H or PAFR siRNA alleviated the neuronal pyroptosis induced by LPS and nigericin (an NLRP3 activator) in cortical neurons. Taken together, this study firstly demonstrates that PAFR is involved in neuronal pyroptosis after I/R injury, and XQ-1H, a specific PAFR inhibitor, has a promising prospect in attenuating I/R injury from the perspective of anti-pyroptosis., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Cannabinoids (CBs), such as phytocannabinoids, synthetic CBs, and endogenous CBs, can be neuroprotective, rewarding, or aversive. The aversive effects of CBs may hinder their medical and recreational applications. It is unknown which type of CB receptors mediates the direct aversive effects of synthetic CB CP 55,940 which is an analog of Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol, the major psychoactive component of marijuana. In this study, we address this question by taking the advantage of systematic type 1 CB receptor (CB1R) knockout mice and conditional reinstatement of this receptor only in astrocytes. We show that CP 55,940 at a concentration of 1 mg/kg induces conditioned place aversion (CPA) and the CPA effect of CP 55,940 is mediated by the astroglial CB1Rs. Inhibiting cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) eliminates CP 55,940-induced CPA in mice that only express CB1Rs in astrocytes. These findings conclude that CPA effect of CP 55,940 is mediated by the astroglial CB1Rs through COX-2 signaling, suggesting that selective COX-2 inhibition or precise isolation of astroglial CB1R activity may be the strategy for treating aversive response of medical and recreational administrations of marijuana., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Cong, Lu, Zou, Li, Guo, Tong, Zheng, Zhu, Li, Zhang, Guo, Gao and Chen.)

Ultrafine ternary carbide Co 6 W 6 C@C nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized and these NPs exhibited high catalytic activities for the hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) under alkaline conditions. In a practical O 2 -hydrazine fuel cell test, its peak power density reached 203 mW cm -2 , a value superior to that of the state-of-the-art commercial Pt/C catalyst.

The prevalence of dry eye disease (DED) in old patients are high, corresponding to a substantial economic burden. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the trends in the topical prescriptional treatment of old patients with DED in six major areas of China. Information on topical drug prescriptions for DED patients aged above 60 years was extracted from the Hospital Prescription Analysis Cooperative Program of China database. Trends in yearly prescriptions and cost were analyzed. The data were further stratified by patient age and sex, drug class, and specific drug. A total of 130,734 prescriptions from 52 hospitals located in six major areas of China were analyzed. The number of prescripptions per year for patients with DED increased from 13,308 in 2013 to 22,074 in 2019, with a corresponding increase in cost of all topical drugs from 1,490,014 Chinese Yuan (CNY) to 2,618,206 CNY. Drugs for the treatment of DED accounted for the largest proportion of the total cost in each year. Ocular lubricants were the main pharmacotherapy agent. Sodium hyaluronate use increased over time, and the drug was used by 65.9% of patients by the end of the study. Pranoprofen was the second most frequently used drug. The most frequently used drugs for co-incident disease were antimicrobials. Treatment patterns for DED haven't changed, and the most frequently used drug combination was sodium hyaluronate and pranoprofen. In summary, prescription for old patients with DED and the cost of treatment are increasing. Ocular lubricants are the main treatment option, while sodium hyaluronate is the most frequently used drug. The observed trends can lead to more efficient allocation of health care resources in China., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Yu, Wu, Zhu, Jin, Zhao and Yu.)

Multidrug resistance (MDR) remains the primary issue leading to the failure of chemotherapy. In this study, a d-α-tocopherol polyethylene 1000 glycol succinate (TPGS) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) dual-modified lipid-albumin nanosystem was constructed for targeted delivery of paclitaxel (PTX) in treating MDR cancer. The obtained nanosystem (TLA/PTX@CS) had an average size of around 176 nm and a negative zeta potential of around -18 mV. TPGS was confirmed to improve the intracellular accumulation of PTX and facilitate the mitochondrial-targeting of lipid-albumin nanosystem. Functionalized with the outer CS shell, TLA/PTX@CS entered MDR breast cancer (MCF-7/MDR) cells via CD44 receptor-mediated endocytosis. CS shell was degraded by concentrated hyaluronidase in the lysosomes, thereby releasing PTX into cytoplasm and inhibiting cell proliferation. In vivo studies revealed that TLA/PTX@CS possessed prolonged blood circulation, resulting in elevated tumor accumulation, excellent antitumor efficacy with a tumor inhibition ratio of 75.3%, and significant survival benefit in MCF-7/MDR tumor-bearing mice. Hence, this TPGS and CS dual-modified lipid-albumin nanosystem provides a promising strategy for targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drug and reversal of MDR in cancer treatment., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Colchicine (COL), which is extracted from colchicine and papaya, is widely used in medicine. However, COL poisoning causes serious adverse complications including death. Therefore, there is a need to develop a sensitive COL detection method. In this study, we developed a highly sensitive monoclonal antibody 1E4 with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration and linear range of 0.43 ng mL -1 and 0.09-2.16 ng mL -1 , respectively. Using 1E4, we developed a lateral-flow immunochromatographic assay (ICA) strip for COL detection. Based on the results, the detection interval was 1-25 ng mL -1 in milk, 2.5-50 ng mL -1 in beef, 1-25 ng mL -1 in edible lily and 2.5-25 ng mL -1 in daylily. The lateral-flow ICA strip can be used as an effective tool for COL detection in food samples on site.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to make a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the stent diameter (8mm vs. 10mm) that conveys better safety and clinical efficacy for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)., Materials and Methods: Four databases were used to identify clinical trials published from inception until March 2020. Data were extracted to estimate and compare one-year and three-year overall survivals, hepatic encephalopathy, variceal rebleeding, and shunt dysfunction rates between patients with 8mm covered stents and those with 10mm covered stents., Results: Five eligible studies were selected, which included 489 patients (316 men, 173 women). The 8mm covered stent group had higher efficacy regarding one-year or three-year overall survival (odds ratio [OR], 2.88; P=0.003) and (OR, 1.81; P=0.04) and lower hepatic encephalopathy (OR, 0.69; P=0.04) compared with 10mm covered stent group. There were no significant differences in variceal rebleeding rate (OR 0.80; P=0.67). However, shunt dysfunction was lower in 10mm covered stent group (OR, 2.26; P=0.003)., Conclusions: Our results suggest that the use of 8mm covered stents should be preferred to that of 10mm covered stents for TIPS placement when portal pressure is frequently monitored., (Copyright © 2020 Société française de radiologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation dearomatization of β-naphthols and indoles with gem-difluorinated cyclopropanes has been developed. This reaction provided an efficient route to access 2-fluoroallylic β-naphthalenones and indolenines bearing quaternary carbon centers in good yields with high Z-selectivity via C-C bond activation, C-F bond cleavage and the dearomatization process, benefiting from the wide substrate scope and good functional group tolerance. Moreover, 2-fluoroallylic furanoindoline and pyrroloindolines were achieved in good efficiency via cascade allylic alkylation, dearomatization and cyclization processes in the presence of Et3B.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACR) are the standard treatments for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate is still far from satisfactory. In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown promising results in the treatment of ESCC. More than 20 phase II clinical trials have been launched to explore combinations of ICIs in the neoadjuvant setting for ESCC. Based on our phase II clinical trial, a two-arm phase III trial was launched in Henan Cancer Hospital. ICIs combined with NAC may usher in a new era and may benefit locally advanced, resectable ESCC patients., Methods: A two-arm phase III trial was launched in April 2020 in Henan Cancer Hospital. Patient recruitment will be completed within 18 months. The primary endpoint is event-free survival (EFS). The secondary endpoints include pathologic complete response (pCR), disease-free survival (DFS) rate, overall response rate (ORR), R0 resection rate, major pathologic response (MPR), adverse events (AEs), complication rate and quality of life (QOL). A biobank of pretreatment, resected tumor tissue and paired blood samples will be built for translational research in the future., Discussion: This RCT directly compares NAC with neoadjuvant toripalimab plus chemotherapy in terms of EFS for locally advanced ESCC. The results may usher in a new era of resectable ESCC treatment., Trial Registration: NCT04280822 (https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04280822). Registered title: "A Phase III, Randomized Controlled Study of Neo-adjuvant Toripalimab (JS001) in Combination with Chemotherapy versus Neo-adjuvant Chemotherapy for Resectable Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma". Version 1.0/Nov. 21, 2019., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/atm-20-5404). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2021 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)

The doping behaviors of Pb in sulfoaluminate cement (SAC) clinker phases were systematically studied combined with density functional theoretical simulations and experiments. The results present that, in the three composed minerals of C 4 A 3 S, C 2 S, and C 4 AF, Pb ions prefer to incorporate into C 4 A 3 S by substituting Ca ions. Further analyses from partial density of states, electron density difference, and local distortions show that such doping preference can be attributed to the small distortions as Pb introduced at Ca sites of C 4 A 3 S. The results and clear understandings on the doping behaviors of Pb ions may provide valuable information in guiding the synthesis of Pb-bearing SAC clinker, thus should draw broad interests in fields from sustainable production of cement and environmental protection.

The growth of sodium dendrites and the associated solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer is a critical and fundamental issue influencing the safety and cycling lifespan of sodium batteries. In this work, we use in-situ 23 Na magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, along with an innovative analytical approach, to provide space-resolved and quantitative insights into the formation and evolution of sodium metal microstructures (SMSs; that is, dendritic and mossy Na metal) during the deposition and stripping processes. Our results reveal that the growing SMSs give rise to a linear increase in the overpotential until a transition voltage of 0.15 V is reached, at which point violent electrochemical decomposition of the electrolyte is triggered, leading to the formation of mossy-type SMSs and rapid battery failure. In addition, we determined the existence of NaH in the SEI on sodium metal with ex-situ NMR results. The poor electronic conductivity of NaH is beneficial for the growth of a stable SEI on sodium metal.

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is a neuromodulator in the central nervous system. However, the physiological role of H 2 S in the nucleus ambiguus (NA) has rarely been reported. This research aimed to elucidate the role of H 2 S in the regulation of gastrointestinal motility in rats. Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS; 4 and 8 nmol) groups, physiological saline (PS) group, capsazepine (10 pmol) + NaHS (4 nmol) group, L703606 (4 nmol) + NaHS (4 nmol) group, and pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC, 4 nmol) + NaHS (4 nmol) group. Gastrointestinal motility curves before and after the injection were recorded using a latex balloon attached with a pressure transducer, which was introduced into the pylorus through gastric fundus. The results demonstrated that NaHS (4 and 8 nmol), an exogenous H 2 S donor, remarkably suppressed gastrointestinal motility in the NA of rats ( P < 0.01). The suppressive effect of NaHS on gastrointestinal motility could be prevented by capsazepine, a transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) antagonist, and PDTC, a NF-κB inhibitor. However, the same amount of PS did not induce significant changes in gastrointestinal motility ( P > 0.05). Our findings indicate that NaHS within the NA can remarkably suppress gastrointestinal motility in rats, possibly through TRPV1 channels and NF-κB-dependent mechanism., (Copyright © 2020 Sun, Ding, Shi, Li, Jin, Yang, Chen, Tian, Zhu and Sun.)

Background: The rate of patients with unilateral hearing impairments (UHI) increase with age and are characterized by asymmetric auditory afferents in which auditory information is asymmetrically transmitted to the brain. Long-term bilateral hearing imbalance can cause abnormal functional changes in the cerebral cortex. However, the relationship between functional alterations in the brain and the severity of the hearing impairment remains unclear., Methods: This study included 33 patients with UHI (left-sided impairment in 17 and right-sided impairment in 16) and 32 healthy patients. All participants underwent resting-state, blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) values were calculated after data preprocessing and compared among the left-sided and right-sided impairment groups and the control group. Pure tone audiometry was used to evaluate patients' hearing impairment level. The correlation between fALFF values of abnormal brain regions and the duration and severity of hearing impairment was analyzed., Results: Results provide evidence for altered resting-state functional activities in the brain of patients with left or right long-term UHI, with significantly increased fALFF values in the Heschl's gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and insula were observed. Moreover, complicated networks reorganization involved in the visual, cognitive, sensorimotor and information transmission functions except for the auditory function and some brain regions exhibited functional changes only in the one-sided impairment group. In addition, the severity of hearing impairment is related with the functional activities in the bilateral Heschl's gyrus, bilateral insula, right superior temporal gyrus, and left middle frontal gyrus., Conclusion: In conclusion, alterations in functional activity are observed in the brains of patients with long-term hearing impairments and multiple brain regions within different functional networks are involved in the brain functional remodeling. The brain reintegration mechanism appears to be asymmetrical and the lateralization pattern in the contralateral brain hemisphere for auditory information processing related with the severity of hearing impairment., (Copyright © 2019 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The present study was designed to investigate the anti-apoptosis effect of Ma xing shi gan decoction (MXD) on PM2.5-induced lung injury via protein kinase B (Akt)/mTOR/p70S6K pathway. A UPLC-MS/MS system was introduced for component analysis of MXD. Rats were instilled with PM2.5 solution suspension intratracheally to induce acute lung injury. The rats were then orally administered with MXD (16, 8, and 4 g/kg) once a day for 7 consecutive days. The therapeutic effects of MXD were evaluated by Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) staining. The apoptotic cell death was analyzed by terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The alterations in cytochrome c (Cytc) and cleaved-caspase-3 (C-caspase-3) were measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The expressions of Bax, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), p-Akt, p-mTOR and p-p70S6K were detected by Western blot. In vitro, PM2.5 exposure model was introduced in A549 cell, followed by incubation with MXD-medicated serum. Hoechst staining was used to determine apoptotic rate. The levels of Bax, Bcl-2, p-Akt, p-mTOR and p-p70S6K were detected by Western blot. Our results in vivo indicated that treatment with MXD decreased histopathological changes score, TUNEL-positive cells rate, expressions of Cytc and C-caspase-3. The in vitro results revealed that incubation with MXD-mediated serum decreased apoptotic rate. Both results in vivo and in vitro demonstrated that MXD inhibited pro-apoptotic protein Bax and promoted anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 expression. Likewise, MXD activated Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signal pathway, which was also confirmed by Western immunoblotting. In conclusion, MXD attenuates lung injury and the underlying mechanisms may relate to regulating the apoptosis via Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway activation., (© 2020 The Author(s).)

Lead is a heavy metal which has long been known to have toxic effects on the body. However, much remains to be learnt about the labile lead pool and cellular uptake of lead. We report here RPb1 that undergoes a 100-fold increase in fluorescence emission in the presence of Pb2+, and which can be applied to study the labile lead pool within cells. We demonstrate the capacity of RPb1 for investigating labile lead pool in DLD-1 cells and changes in labile lead during differentiation of K562 cells.

Deep tumor penetration, long blood circulation, rapid drug release, and sufficient stability are the most concerning dilemmas of nano-drug-delivery systems for efficient chemotherapy. Herein, we develop reduction/oxidation-responsive hierarchical nanoparticles co-encapsulating paclitaxel (PTX) and pH-stimulated hyaluronidase (pSH) to surmount the sequential biological barriers for precise cancer therapy. Poly(ethylene glycol) diamine (PEG-dia) is applied to collaboratively cross-link the shell of nanoparticles self-assembled by a hyaluronic acid-stearic acid conjugate linked via a disulfide bond (HA-SS-SA, HSS) to fabricate the hierarchical nanoparticles (PHSS). The PTX and pSH coloaded hierarchical nanoparticles (PTX/pSH-PHSS) enhance the stability in normal physiological conditions and accelerate drug release at tumorous pH, and highly reductive or oxidative environments. Functionalized with PEG and HA, the hierarchical nanoparticles preferentially prolong the circulation time, accumulate at the tumor site, and enter MDA-MB-231 cells via CD44-mediated endocytosis. Within the acidic tumor micro-environment, pSH would be partially reactivated to decompose the dense tumor extracellular matrix for deep tumor penetration. Interestingly, PTX/pSH-PHSS could be degraded apace by the completely activated pSH within endo/lysosomes and the intracellular redox micro-environment to facilitate drug release to produce the highest tumor inhibition (93.71%) in breast cancer models.

Introduction: Contusion spinal cord injury is involved in a number of cellular, biochemical and molecular changes. We studied the overall expression pattern of miRNAs on day 1 and 3 after spinal cord injury and the involved pathways., Material and Methods: A spinal cord injury model was developed by contusion injury in rats. Microarray analysis and qRT-PCR were done for expression of miRs. The Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor score was determined after spinal injury. Lesions at the injured site were analyzed by cresyl staining. Western blot analysis was carried out to analyze protein levels. Immunohistochemical staining was done to evaluate immunoreactivity. TUNEL assay was performed to determine the number of apoptotic cells., Results: The microarray analysis data suggested that about eight miRs were upregulated whereas four were downregulated in rats subjected to spinal cord injury on day 1. On comparing sham operated rats from the day 3 group two miRs were overexpressed and four were downregulated. miR-19a was the most deregulated. miR-19a antagomir was used as an inhibitor, which aggravated the functional deficit, decreased the protection of spinal cord tissue and elevated the number of apoptotic cells. The treatment of miR-19a antagomir increased the expression of FasL along with PTEN, but it failed to affect the levels of PDCD4., Conclusions: The results suggested that miR-19a plays a potential role in halting the neuronal cell death spinal cord injury and that the protective role of miR-19a may be due to its regulatory effect on pro-apoptotic genes., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2019 Termedia & Banach.)

Background: Platinum-based drugs prevail as the main treatment of lung cancer; this is caused by their relative effectiveness despite known side effects, such as neurotoxicity. The risk reward of the treatment and side effects is confronted when dosage is considered and when resistance to treatment develops. Development of new compounds that improve effectiveness and safety profiles addresses this ongoing need in clinical practice. Objectives: The novel water-soluble platinum complex, diplatin, was synthesized, and its antitumor potency and toxicology profile were evaluated in murine xenograft tumor models and in lung cancer cell lines. Methods: The effects of diplatin, cisplatin (DDP), and carboplatin (CBP) on the viability of nine lung tumor cell lines and one normal human lung epithelial cell line were evaluated using the MTT assay. Therapeutic index was calculated as LD 50 /ED 50 to identify and compare the ideal therapeutic windows of the above compounds. Diplatin's antitumor effects were assessed in lung xenograft tumors of nude mice; molecular mechanisms of therapeutic effects were identified. Results: Diplatin had desirable IC 50 compared to CBP in a variety of cultured tumor cells, notably lung tumor cells. In the mouse xenograft lung tumor, diplatin led to a substantially improved therapeutic index when compared to the effects of DDP and CBP. Importantly, diplatin inhibited the growth of DDP-resistant lung tumor cells. Diplatin's mode of action was characterized to be through cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase and induction of lung tumor apoptosis via ROS/JNK/p53-mediated pathways. Conclusion: Diplatin was observed to have antitumor effects in mice with both greater potency and safety compared with DDP and CBP. These observations indicate that diplatin is promising as a potential treatment in future clinical applications., (Copyright © 2019 Lin, Jia, Dong, Shen, Jin, Li, Wang, Anenberg, Zhou, Zhu, Chen, Xie and Xie.)

Key Message: Rice WSL6 is involved in chloroplast ribosome biogenesis and is essential for early chloroplast development. Construction of the genetic translation system is a prerequisite for chloroplast development in plants. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this process is largely unknown. Here, we isolated a white stripe leaf6 (wsl6) mutant in rice. The mutant seedlings displayed white-striped leaves that were more severe under low-temperature conditions. Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that the wsl6 mutant was defective in early chloroplast development. Map-based cloning revealed that WSL6 encodes an Era-type guanosine-5'-triphosphate (GTP)-binding protein located in chloroplasts. Immunoblotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analyses demonstrated an absence of 70S ribosomes in wsl6 chloroplasts. Further research showed that WSL6 binds to the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) subunit of chloroplast ribosome 30S. In summary, these results show that WSL6 is essential for chloroplast ribosome biogenesis during early chloroplast development in rice.

Background: Emotion is composed of cognitive processing, physiological response and behavioral reaction. Heart rate variability (HRV) refers to the fluctuations between consecutive heartbeat cycles, and is considered as a non-invasive method for evaluating cardiac autonomic function. HRV analysis plays an important role in emotional study and detection., Objective: In this paper, the physiological foundation of HRV is briefly described, and then the relevant literature relating to HRV-based emotion studies for the performance of HRV in different emotions, emotion recognition, the evaluation of emotional disorders, HRV biofeedback, as well as HRV-based emotion analysis and management enhanced by wearable devices, are reviewed., Significance: It is suggested that HRV is an effective tool for the measurement and regulation of emotional response, with a broad application prospect.

We herein explore a facile and straightforward approach to enhance the interface stability between the lithium superionic conducting Li 10 GeP 2 S 12 (LGPS) solid electrolyte and Li metal by employing ionic liquid such as 1 M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI)/ N-methyl- N-propylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (PYR 13 TFSI) as the interface modifier. The results demonstrated the presence of 1 M LiTFSI/PYR 13 TFSI ionic liquid; the interface stability at the electrode/solid electrolyte (i.e., Li/LGPS) was improved remarkably by forming an in situ solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer. As a result, an effectively reduced interfacial resistance from 2021 to 142 Ω cm 2 and stable Li stripping/plating performance (over 1200 h at 0.038 mA cm -2 and 1000 h at 0.1 mA cm -2 ) were achieved in the Li/LGPS/Li symmetric cells. On this basis, the Li-S solid-state batteries were further architectured with one of the S@C composite [where C is the ketjen black carbon (KBC) or PBX 51-type activated carbon (PBX51C) or multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MCNTs)] cathode and the LGPS solid electrolyte. The batteries with S@KBC electrodes delivered an excellent discharge/charge performance with a high initial discharge capacity of 1017 mA h g -1 and better stability than those of the batteries with the S@PBX51C and S@MCNTs electrodes. High surface area, unique beneficial pore structure, and better particle dispersion of sulfur in the S@KBC composite facilitate high sulfur utilization and also increase the intimate contact between the electrode and LGPS solid electrolyte during the discharge/charge process.

Despite the extremely high ionic conductivity, the commercialization of Li 10 GeP 2 S 12 -type materials is hindered by the poor stability against Li metal. Herein, to address that issue, a simple strategy is proposed and demonstrated for the first time, i.e., in situ modification of the interface between Li metal and Li 10 SnP 2 S 12 (LSPS) by pretreatment with specific ionic liquid and salts. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results reveal that a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer instead of a mixed conducting layer is formed on Li metal by adding 1.5 M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI)/ N-propyl- N-methyl pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Pyr 13 TFSI) ionic liquid, where ionic liquid not only acts as a wetting agent but also improves the stability at the Li/LSPS interface. This stable SEI layer can prevent LSPS from directly contacting the Li metal and further decomposition, and the Li/LSPS/Li symmetric cell with 1.5 M LiTFSI/Pyr 13 TFSI attains a stable cycle life of over 1000 h with both the charge and discharge voltages reaching about 50 mV at 0.038 mA cm -2 . Furthermore, the effects of different Li salts on the interfacial modification is also compared and investigated. It is shown that lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide (LiFSI) salt causes the enrichment of LiF in the SEI layer and results in a higher resistance of the cell upon a long cycling life.

Objectives: To investigate if intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) MR imaging can predict the tumour-stroma ratio (TSR) in patients with early cervical carcinoma., Methods: Fifty-four patients with early cervical carcinoma were prospectively enrolled into this study. All patients underwent IVIM imaging and parameters including D, D* and f value were measured. The tumours were classified into stroma-rich and stroma-poor group according to TSR, and comparisons of IVIM parameters between two groups were performed. The relationships between IVIM parameters and TSR were analysed by using a multivariate multi-regression analysis., Results: D and f values were significantly lower in stroma-poor tumours than in stroma-rich tumours (p=0.02, 0.04), while the difference in D* value between two groups didn't achieve statistical significance (p=0.09). The areas under ROC curves of D and f values in discriminating stroma-rich and stroma-poor tumours were 0.835 (95%CI=0.616~0.905) and 0.686 (95%CI=0.575~0.798). In multiple linear regression analysis, D value, pathologic type, histologic grade, tumour size and f value were independently correlated with TSR of cervical carcinoma., Conclusions: D and f values are independently correlated with TSR of cervical carcinoma and have the potential for quantitative measurement of TSR., Key Points: • TSR is a recognized independent prognostic factor in many solid tumours. • D and f values measured by IVIM MRI are independently correlated with TSR while D* is not. • IVIM offers the potential to predict TSR.

Cu 3 P/reduced graphene oxide (Cu 3 P/RGO) nanocomposite was successfully synthesized by a facile one-pot method as an advanced anode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. Cu 3 P nanostructures with a polyhedral shape with the mean diameter (80-100 nm) were homogeneously anchored on the surface of RGO. The flexible RGO sheets acted as elastic buffering layer which not only reduced the volume change, but also prevented the aggregation of Cu 3 P nanostructures, the cracking and crumbing of electrodes. On the other hand, the presence of Cu 3 P nanostructures could also avoid the agglomeration of RGO sheets and retain their highly active surface area. Therefore, as an advanced anode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries, the as-prepared Cu 3 P/RGO exhibited high capacity of 756.15 mAhg -1 at the current density 500 mAg -1 after 80 cycles, superior cyclic stability and good rate capability.

Zhu Danxi, one of the four Major Schools of the Jin-Yuan Dynasties, had a lot of works circulated with its authorship in disarray. Part of the works were compiled by his disciples, while others were by his self-taught followers based on prior circulated Danxi's originals, plus some apocryphal so-called Danxi's works circulated posthumously. When sorting out Danxi's Hand Mirror, we found that some of its contents are closely related to Bei ji qian jin yao fang (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies), Qian jin yi fang (Supplements to Qian jin yao fang), Tai ping sheng hui fang (Peaceful Holy Benevolent Prescriptions), Zhu jie shang han lun (Annotated Treatises of Cold Pathogenic Disease), Shang han ming li lun (Elucidation of Cold Pathogenic Disease), Ge zhi yu lun (Treatise of Inquiring the Properties of Things), either by transcription or with an identical origin. By clearing their relationships, it can provide assistance to the research of the philological structure of Danxi's hand Mirror.

During the republican period, western science and technology as well as western medicine spread quickly in China, and inevitably had a profound influence on the academic of acu-moxibustion. The confluence of Chinese and western medicine with the scientification of acu-moxibustion had left an obvious mark on the academic of acu-moxibustion. No matter whether the theory involves science of channels and collaterals, acupoints and methods of needling and moxibustion or the improvement of acu-moxibustion apparatus and new therpy methods, all carrying remarkable characteristic of new merge of knowledge, and providing solid foundation and valuable reference for the development of contemporary academic of acu-moxibustion.

The continuous effects on Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity of medaka (Oryzias latipes) caused by dichlorvos, methomyl and deltamethrin in vivo were investigated, and the trends of AChE activity inhibition due to the influence of these insecticides were discussed. The LC50-24h of dichlorvos, methomyl and deltamethrin on medaka were 2.3 mg/L, 0.2 mg/L, and 2.9×10(-3) mg/L respectively. The result suggested that at the beginning of the exposure, the AChE activity might increase, and the AChE activity in dead individuals was obviously lower than the live individuals. Though the de novo synthesis of AChE in medaka might help the AChE activity recover, the trends during the exposure in different treatments were downward, and it showed both exposure time and concentration dependent. Meanwhile, higher temperature might cause the AChE inhibition earlier due to the higher metabolic rate. Therefore, as a specific biomarker for organophosphate, carbamate pesticides and pyrethroids, the degree of the AChE inhibition with in vivo conditions is a good tool in continuous monitoring of insecticides, which may induce the nerve conduction disorders.

The foreign exchange activities of traditional Chinese medicine are conducted under the guidance of the policy of the CPC and Chinese government. After the carrying out of the reform and opening-up policy, foreign exchange policy of TCM has experienced the process of growing up from nothing, from less to more, and from coarse to fine, which is closely related to our country's foreign policy, the cause of Chinese medicine development, and urgent need of international communication. In the three decades after the reform and opening-up policy, the formulation of foreign exchange policy of TCM can be divided into three stages: viz., inclusion in the framework of national foreign policy (1978-1985), embodiment in the policy of developing TCM cause (1986-1996), and appearance in the special policy of foreign exchange of Chinese medicine (since 1997). From the development process of these policies, the development of each policy gradually complies with the process of the development of the times, with its contents basically in line with the requirements of the times. The implementation of some policies promotes the foreign exchanges and cooperation of Chinese medicine.

Dan tai yu an (Jade Case Records of Red Stage) was compiled by a doctor of the Ming Dynasty Sun Wenyin, including 6 volumes. This book involves Chinese internal medicine, paediatrics, gynaecology, external medicine, and Department of the sense organs (ENT) classified into 73 categories, each of which contains 80 kinds of disease. The total number of disease was 157. Each kind of disease is discussed under the order of etiology, syndrome, pulse condition and treatment. The range of traditional Chinese prescriptions in this book is rather extensive with its indications, administrations and modification of main prescriptions given concretely. Both internal and external treatment are included, and the individual drug and proved recipe are practical and effective, which is a significant reference to clinical practice. There are many versions of this book extant. According to our investigation and research, we replenished some information to the"General Catalogue of TCM Ancient Books", and at the same time, correct some mistakes, providing the basis for further collation and publishing.

As the teaching work of gynecology, Qin Bowei's Teaching Material of Gynecology was used in the China Medical College in Shanghai in the Republican period. It is composed of 2 parts, the first part deals with the introduction to the characteristics of female physiology, pathology, principles of treatment based on differential diagnosis and treatment of women's disorders; the 2(nd) part discusses in details the pathogenesis, pathological mechanism, the system of theory-methodology-recipes-medicines. The whole book deals mainly with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) combined with the research results of TCM gynecology by western medical theory of gynecology to make mutual interpretation in a concise structure and clear analysis with uniqueness. It is a rather systematic and essential TCM gynecological teaching material, embodying the author's personal academic idea, with profound influence on the education and compilation of teaching materials of TCM gynecology.

Objective: To investigate the clinical value of computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and three-dimensional reconstruction technique in repairing scalp avulsion wound with large skull exposure by the free latissimus dorsi flap transplantation., Methods: Between October 2007 and June 2012, 9 female patients with serious scalp avulsion and large skull exposure were treated, aged 23-54 years (mean, 38 years). The injury causes included machine twist injury in 6 cases, traffic accident injury in 2 cases, and falling from height injury in 1 case. Before admission, 3 patients had scalp necrosis after scalp in situ replantation, and 6 patients underwent debridement and dressing. The time from injury to admission was 8 hours to 7 days (mean, 1 day). The avulsed scalp area ranged from 75% to 90% of the scalp area (mean, 81%); the exposed skull area ranged from 55% to 70% of the scalp area (mean, 63%). Two patients had unilateral auricle avulse. CTA was used to observe the superficial temporal artery and vein, facial artery, external jugular vein, dorsal thoracic artery and vein, and measure the blood vessel diameter before operation. According to the CTA results, the latissimus dorsal skin flaps were desinged to repair wounds in 7 cases, the latissimus dorsal muscle flaps combined with skin graft were used to repair wounds in 2 cases. According to preoperative design, operation was successfully completed in 7 cases; great saphenous vein was used as vascular graft in 2 cases having poor images of superficial temporal vessels. The size of latissimus dorsal skin flaps ranged from 20 cm x 14 cm to 25 cm x 20 cm; the donor site was repaired with skin graft. The size of latissimus dorsal muscle flaps were 23 cm x 16 cm and 16 cm x 10 cm; the donor site was directly sutured., Results: The blood vessel diameter measured during operation was close to the value measured before operation. The operation time was 6-8 hours (mean, 6.5 hours). The latissimus dorsal muscle (skin) flap and skin graft survived, with primary healing of wound or incision at donor site. The patients were followed up 3 months-2 years (mean, 6 months). The flap had soft texture and skin had no ulceration., Conclusion: The free latissimus dorsi flaps can repair scalp avulsion with large skull exposure. Preoperative CTA can get the vessel anatomical structure and diameter at donor and recipient sites, which will guide the operation program design and implementation so as to shorten the operation time and improve the accuracy rate of vascular anastomosis.

Objective: To observe the effectiveness of the superior fibular head approach for the treatment of posterolateral fracture of the tibial plateau., Methods: Between June 2010 and February 2012, 20 cases of posterolateral fracture of the tibial plateau were treated through superior fibular head approach, including 1 case of simple posterolateral fracture of the tibial plateau and 19 cases of posterolateral fracture of the tibial plateau with other fractures. There were 12 males and 8 females with an average age of 42.2 years (range, 28-58 years). All patients had closed fractures. Fracture was caused by traffic accident in 14 cases, by falling from height in 4 cases, and by twist injury in 2 cases. Associated injuries included lateral meniscus injury in 5 cases, medial meniscus injury in 2 cases, and anterior cruciate ligament injury in 1 case. The time from injury to admission ranged from 90 minutes to 32 hours (mean, 4.5 hours), and the time from admission to operation was 5-12 days (mean, 7.8 days). All cases underwent fracture reduction and fixation with Pilon plates through the superior fibular head approach, and associated fracture and meniscal injury were treated., Results: All incisions healed by first intention, and no numbness or articular instability occurred. All patients were followed up 6-26 months (mean, 19.1 months). The average fracture healing time was 10.2 weeks (range, 8-12 weeks). During following-up, no related complication of fixation loosening or articular surface loss occurred. According to Rasmussen knee score criteria at last follow-up, the score was 18-30 (mean, 27.9); 16 cases were graded as excellent, 3 cases as good, and 1 case as fair, with an excellent and good rate of 95%., Conclusion: The superior fibular head approach for the treatment of posterolateral fracture of the tibial plateau is simple, safe, and effective, and can achieve a good surgical outcome.

Using mutation PCR, we cloned the target gene containing 421-480nt (141-160aa) and 598-639nt (200-213aa) of VP1 gene of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) into the deleted region (508-532aa) of Nsp2 gene of a highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus derived vaccine strain (HuN4-F112) that was used as vector. The recombinant cDNA was in vitro transcribed followed by transfection of BHK-21 cells for 36 h. Then, the supernatant of the cell culture was continuously seeded to monolayer of MARC-145 cells for recovery of the recombinant virus. CPE was obviously visible after a couple of passages in the seeded MARC-145, and the rescued virus (designated as rPRRSV-F112-O/VP1ep) was identified by Mlu I digestion, sequencing and immunofluorescence assay. Meanwhile, expression of inserted FMDV epitopes was also detected by indirect immunofluorescence assay with polyclonal antibodies against VP1 protein of FMDV. The analysis of biological characteristics shows that the titer of the rescued recombinant PRRSV (TCID50 = -log10(-6.75)/0.1 mL) was similar to its direct parental virus rHuN4-F112-delta508-532, but higher than rHuN4-F112.

"Danxi Theory" had deep influence on the traditional medicine in Korea and Japan. In Korea, the compilation of Yi Fang Lei Ju and Dong Yi Bao Jian referred to the medical works of ZHU Danxi and that of his students, the Korean doctors advocated the theory of ZHU Danxi's theory of "four injuries by qi, blood, phlegm and stagnation", and quoted large number of formulas and herbs from Dangxi's works into the above books. In Japan, Tashiro Sanki had came to China and studied medicine from Japanese monk Yue Hu, who was the disciple of YU Tianmin (a private disciple of ZHU Danxi). After returned to Japan he energetically initiated Danxi's theory and classified diseases to blood disease, qi disease and phlegm disease (water toxin) according to Danxi's theory of "four injuries by qi, blood, phlegm and stagnation". His student Manase Dōsan set up a "Danxi Society" and spread Danxi Theory in Japan and therefore the unique medical system "Gose Ha shcool" was formed. His student Manase Gensaku, and Manase Gensaku's students Okamoto Genya, Nagasawa Doju and Hurubayashi Kengi spread and developed Danxi Theory, hich was popular in Japan for more than 200 years. It was proved that Danxi Theory had deep and far influence on the formation and development of overseas traditional medicine in Korea and Japan.

Recording and extracting characteristic brain signals in freely moving animals is the basic and significant requirement in the study of brain-computer interface (BCI). To record animal's behaving and extract characteristic brain signals simultaneously could help understand the complex behavior of neural ensembles. Here, a system was established to record and analyse extracellular discharge in freely moving rats for the study of BCI. It comprised microelectrode and micro-driver assembly, analog front end (AFE), programmer system on chip (PSoC), wireless communication and the LabVIEW used as the platform for the graphic user interface.

The effects of running buffer on reproducibility of the migration time in the modes of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) were investigated. The parameters include concentration, pH value and the properties change of the running buffer. The results showed that the reproducibility of migration times may be improved through three approaches. First, the correlation between running buffer concentration and migration time was established and the running buffer concentration was determined by conductivities in order to improve the reproducibility. Second, it was found that the residual running buffer in the capillary showed significant influence on the repeatability of migration times. Thus, appropriate running or washing procedure between separations is necessary. Finally, the inlet reservior buffer plays an extremely important role in affecting the migration behaviors of solutes. Through improving the test apparatus, reproducible migration time was achieved as a result of increasing the frequency of replacing the buffer in the inlet reservior.

Objective: To investigate the correlated factors of early mortality after orthotopic liver transplantation., Methods: The preoperative liver function, coagulative status, the graft's warm and cold ischemia times and the details of the operations of 42 patients were summarized retrospectively and the comparison between survival and death patients performed to analyse the correlated factors of early death after orthotopic liver transplantation., Results: Thirteen of the 42 patients died early after the transplantation. Two died of vascular complication and two fo graft primary nonfunction. The comparison between those without identified causes (9 patients, in death group) and survivors (29 patients, in survival group) showed that the patients in death group had a poorer preoperative liver function and coagulative status than those in survival group, the blood loss was more than that in survival group, the length of time of operation, the duration of hypotension and anhepatic time were also longer than those in survival group., Conclusion: The poorer preoperative liver function, and especially the coagulative status were the main causes of early mortality after orthotopic liver transplantation, the vascular complications and the graft primary nonfunction were the other reasons that led to some patients' deaths.

Investigation has been made on the folk medicine and health care in Jingning Autonomous Prefecture of She ethnic group, the only of its kind in China. It is demonstrated that since the living condition is bad, the hygienic environment is very poor, epidemics like measle, malaria and venereal diseases are very prevalent, and a high incident area of hyperthyroidism. Since there are no special writing characters, She ethnic group spread their medical know - how by oral transmission. Collection of herbs and compounding of recipes are mainly through the family. Medicine of the She ethnic group has a long history, and the treatment of bone - injury, snake - bites and wind - pain are very unique. It has been found that there are 599 genuses, 199 families of herbs in She medicine with 1043 species; among them, 214 herbs are in common use, falling under 126 genuses. In addition, 7 new herbal plants are found, and 332 recipes collected. Currently, over 40 She physicians are practicing in the prefecture.

Since the main contents of the Huang di nei jing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) was completed in the Warring States, in the form of questions and answers between Huang Di and Qi Bo, Qi - Huang is used as the appellation for Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon in later generation. As the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon laid the foundation for the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in the Song Dynasty, Qi Bo and Huang Di was jointly called Qi - Huang for the first time in Bian que xin shu (Medical Understanding of Bian Que) by Dou Cai. And they were also worshipped as the orthodox ancestors of medicine in the shrine with new implication. Since then, Qi - Huang had an extended meanings for orthodox TCM or TCM science. However, in most cases, Qi - Huang was the appellation of TCM and TCM science. Meanwhile, new words derived from Qi - Huang have their respective meanings, such as "the art of Qi - Huang" and "the theoretical principles of Qi - Huang" standing for the science of TCM or the art of healing, and the theoretical principles. As for the "Qi - Huang physicians", it represents the TCM doctors and specialists. Dan xi shou jing (Medical Mirror of Danxi) by Wu Shangmo in the Ming Dynasty says that "meeting Qi - Huang specialists". "Qi - Huang books" means TCM books. And Qi - Huang profession refers to TCM profession, etc. It can be seen that the term Qi - Huang does have a rich content of Chinese traditional culture.