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Background We design this study to assess the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal compound for allergic rhinitis in children. Methods PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang, the Chongqing VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, and China biomedical literature database (CBM) will be searched from the establishment of each database to July 2020. Randomized controlled trials of Chinese herbal compound for the treatment of allergic rhinitis in children will be included. Two researchers will screen the literature, extract data, and assess the risk of bias independently. Statistical analysis will be performed in RevMan 5.3. Results This study will summarize high quality evidence of randomized controlled trials on exploring the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal compound for allergic rhinitis in children. Conclusions The findings of study will provide scientific evidence of the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal compound for allergic rhinitis in children for clinician and further studies. Ethics and dissemination The private information from individuals will not be published. This systematic review also will not involve endangering participant rights. Ethical approval is not required. The results may be published in a peer-reviewed journal or disseminated in relevant conferences. Osf registration number DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/Q5TRZ.

Background. Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction (HGWD) has been applied in the treatment of joint pain for more than 1000 years in China. Currently, most physicians use HGWD to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and it has proved to have high efficacy. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the potential mechanism of action of HGWD in RA treatment based on network pharmacology and molecular docking methods. Methods. The active compounds of HGWD were collected, and their targets were identified from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database (TCMSP) and DrugBank database, respectively. The RA-related targets were retrieved by analyzing the differentially expressed genes between RA patients and healthy individuals. Subsequently, the compound-target network of HGWD was constructed and visualized through Cytoscape 3.8.0 software. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to explore the potential mechanisms of HGWD on RA using the plugin BisoGenet of Cytoscape 3.8.0 software. Gene ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were performed in R software (Bioconductor, clusterProfiler). Afterward, molecular docking was used to analyze the binding force of the top 10 active compounds with target proteins of VCAM1, CTNNB1, and JUN. Results. Cumulatively, 790 active compounds and 1006 targets of HGWD were identified. A total of 4570 differentially expressed genes of RA with a p value log 2fold change > 0.5 were collected. Moreover, 739 GO entries of HGWD on RA were identified, and 79 pathways were screened based on GO and KEGG analysis. The core target gene of HGWD in RA treatment was JUN. Other key target genes included FOS, CCND1, IL6, E2F2, and ICAM1. It was confirmed that the TNF signaling pathway and IL-17 signaling pathway are important pathways of HGWD in the treatment of RA. The molecular docking results revealed that the top 10 active compounds of HGWD had a strong binding to the target proteins of VCAM1, CTNNB1, and JUN. Conclusion. HGWD has important active compounds such as quercetin, kaempferol, and beta-sitosterol, which exert its therapeutic effect on multiple targets and multiple pathways.

This article aims at studying the incentive for factoring in competing supply chains to examine the influences of the factoring decision in one supply chain on other chains. We consider multiple competing supply chains, each consisting of a manufacturer and a retailer. We firstly examine the issue under the special case of two supply chains, and then extend the model to multiple supply chains. The extended model is actually a bi-level non-cooperative game with multiple leaders and multiple followers, which we formulate as an Equilibrium Problem with Equilibrium Constraints. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the rationality of the proposed model for the supply chains competition with financing choices.

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of mesalamine in conjunction with probiotics for ulcerative colitis. Methods. Random controlled trials (RCTs) were searched in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and VIP (VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals) from inception to October 2019. Methodological quality was assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration tool. The quality of evidence was rated by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Data analysis was carried out in Review Manager 5.3. Results. A total of fifteen studies met the criteria for inclusion. Thirteen studies reported the clinical efficacy, three studies provided data on the clinical symptom scores, two trials reported disease activity index, four studies evaluated endoscopic score, and twelve studies reported adverse events. For ulcerative colitis (UC), mesalamine and probiotics had better clinical efficacy than mesalamine alone (≤8 weeks: RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.07–1.18, P<0.0001; >8 weeks: RR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.11–1.41, P=0.0003). On the clinical symptom scores, disease activity index, and endoscopic score, UC patients receiving mesalamine and probiotics had significant difference than patients receiving mesalazine alone (MD = −2.02, 95% CI: −3.28 to −0.76, P=0.002; MD = −1.20, 95% CI: −1.76 to −0.65, P<0.001; and MD = −0.42, 95% CI: −0.61 to −0.23, P<0.0001, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in adverse events between the two groups (RR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.54 to 1.43, P=0.60). Conclusion. Our meta-analysis results supported that mesalamine and probiotics were effective and safe in treating ulcerative colitis.

Background: Clinical treatment of hypertension recommends the use of drugs to reduce the incidence and mortality of cardiovascular diseases in hypertensive patients. However, the side effects of long-term medication and economic pressure have increased the medical community's interest in Baduanjin as a method of exercise therapy. Clinical studies have shown that Baduanjin can be used to treat various diseases, and it can also regulate physical and mental factors such as tension and anxiety. This study aims to evaluate the antihypertensive effect of Baduanjin on patients with essential hypertension. Methods/design: In this study, 92 patients with essential hypertension were randomly divided into the Baduanjin group and the routine care group, using a randomized, active control, evaluator blind method, and two parallel control methods, with 46 cases in each group, signed informed Subjects with the consent form will manage their blood pressure by limiting salt intake, losing weight, drinking moderately, exercising, and adjusting dietary intake during the first visit. In addition to self-management, the Baduanjin group will also conduct 30-minute Baduanjin training three times a week for a total of 8 weeks. The main result is the measurement of blood pressure. In addition, body composition will be measured as a secondary result.Discussion: This study is a randomized controlled Baduanjin trial and is not currently widely used. It may provide valuable data on the impact of Baduanjin on essential hypertension, which will inform non-drug treatment options for this disease.Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registration Center, ChiCTR200003570. Register on August 16, 2020.

Suppliers offering trade credit to the downstream retailers have to face many problems, such as receivables management, capital occupancy, and buyer’s credit risk. Many of them choose factoring finance to solve those problems simultaneously. This paper develops several supply chain decision models to show the benefits a supplier can obtain from the main functions of factoring and how he should choose between recourse factoring and nonrecourse factoring. In particular, we identify the conditions on which factoring may bring benefits (including financial benefit, guarantee benefit, and receivables management benefit) to the supplier. The supplier’s choice between recourse and nonrecourse factoring relies on his risk attitude. Given that the supplier is risk-neutral and the factoring fees are acceptable, recourse factoring is preferred when the factoring finance ratio is relatively high; otherwise, nonrecourse factoring is preferred. However, if the supplier is risk-averse, his preference for the two factoring schemes under different finance ratios may change when the risk constraints become stricter. If the target profit is lower than a certain level, the supplier’s financial choice will switch from recourse factoring to nonrecourse factoring in the case finance ratio is relatively low; otherwise, his financial choice switches from nonrecourse factoring to recourse factoring in the case finance ratio is relatively high.

Continuous cross touching metal transfer in arcing-wire gas tungsten arc welding using a constant-current power supply is proposed. With increasing wire feed rate, the metal transfer behavior changed from critical touching to completely touching to over touching. In addition, the arc voltage waveform changed from an unstable to a stable state before reverting to an unstable state. With increasing welding speed, the weld pool moved away from the extension line of the tungsten electrode and the length of the preheated wire increased. With increasing main arc welding current, the weld pool began to close the extension line of the tungsten electrode, which allowed the wire tip to be easily inserted into the weld pool. Finally, the surface of the weld pool changed from convex to concave.

This article aims at studying the strategic behaviours of competing firms with sticky retail pricing for the product. We base our study in the context of a supply chain network comprising multiple manufacturers and retailers. The manufacturers are involved in the production of a homogeneous product while the retailers purchase the product and sell it to consumers in the end markets. The retail price of the product is sticky. A differential variational inequality model is proposed to handle the multiple agents and their independent behaviours. Furthermore, the existence and uniqueness of the solution to the dynamic supply chain network with sticky price are shown. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the model and the computational results of equilibrium behaviour are presented. This paper contributes to literature by introducing price stickiness into supply chain networks and developing a differential variational inequality model to analyze the dynamic strategies of firms in the decentralized supply chain network.

Background Pentatrichomonas hominis is a flagellated protozoan that inhabits the large intestine of humans. Although several protozoans have been proposed to have a role in cancer progression, little is known about the epidemiology of P. hominis infection in cancer patients. Methods To determine the prevalence of P. hominis in patients with digestive system malignancies, we collected 195 and 142 fecal samples from gastrointestinal cancer patients and residents without any complaints related to the digestive system, respectively. Each sample was detected for the presence of P. hominis by nested PCR amplifying the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and partial 18S rRNA gene. Results A significantly higher prevalence of P. hominis was found in cancer patients than that in the control population (41.54 vs 9.15%, χ 2 = 42.84, df = 1, P

Additional file 3: Table S3. Prevalence of P. hominis infections in the control population by selected characteristics.

This paper studies the incentive for vertical and horizontal information sharing in two competing supply chains with uncertain demand. Retailers obtain the uncertain demand information from the market, and can exchange the private information with each other. We investigate the equilibrium information sharing arrangement in the competing supply chains and discuss how expected payoffs of the firms and the supply chains is impacted by horizontal information sharing. The results show that no vertical information sharing in both supply chains is the unique equilibrium in one-shot game, and horizontal information sharing won't affect the vertical information sharing strategy for the competing supply chains. However, horizontal information sharing will increase the supply chain profits if the competition between two supply chains is sufficiently less intense. Furthermore, we analyse the conditions of prisoner's dilemma for the equilibrium information sharing arrangement and the perfect Nash equilibrium of the repeated game. [Received: 9 November 2015; Revised: 29 September 2017; Revised: 16 June 2018; Accepted: 21 August 2018]

A series of LZnX zinc/β-ketoiminato complexes [L = CH3C(OH)C(CH2CHCH2)C(CH3)NAr (L1), CH3C(OH)C(CH2CH2CN)C(CH3)NAr (L2), CH3C(OH)C(CH2C6H5)C(CH3)NAr (L3), or CH3C(OH)CHC(CH3)NAr (L4); Ar = 2,6-iPr2C6H3; and initiation group X = alcoholate or acetate (for L1) or alcoholate (for L2–L4)] were synthesized, and their activities toward the copolymerization of carbon dioxide with cyclohexene oxide were determined. The 3-position substituents on the β-ketoiminato ligand backbone of the zinc/β-ketoiminato complexes played an important role not only in the catalytic activity but also in the intrinsic viscosity, chemical composition, and refined microstructure of the resultant copolymers. The order of the catalytic activity of L1ZnX with different initiation groups (X = OMe, OiPr, or OAc) was L1Zn (OiPr) > L1Zn (OMe) > L1Zn (OAc), being the opposite of the order of the leaving ability of the initiation groups. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6243–6251, 2006

Fecundity is an important trait in sheep. Because it is directly related to production costs and efficiency, it has great economic impact in sheep husbandry. Because Mongolian sheep are a longstanding, indigenous breed, they are genetically related to most other breeds of sheep in China. The study of genes related to reproductive traits is essential to improving the fecundity of Mongolian sheep. In the present study, suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was performed using forward and reverse nested primers on cDNA libraries from ovarian tissue of single-bearing (S) and biparous (B) Mongolian sheep (MS). This yielded 768 clones. The length of the inserted fragments ranged from 150 to 1000 bp. From these, dot blot hybridization followed by sequencing and homology blast search in GenBank resolved 373 differentially expressed clones, representing 185 gene sequences (homology >85% and length >200 bp), 10 expressed sequence tags (ESTs; homology >95% and length >100 bp), and 4 unknown ESTs. The analysis of the differentially expressed gene functions allowed these genes to be categorized into seven groups: cell/body or immune defense, metabolism, transportation, nucleic acid modification, cell development, signal transduction, and cell structure. Four differentially expressed genes, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 1 (ADAMTS1), inhibitor of DNA binding 3 (ID3), bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6), and integrin beta 1 (ITGB1), were randomly selected and verified using relative quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR). The expression of these genes in BMS ovaries was 30.06, 11.55, 0.82, and 1.12-fold that of SMS ovaries, respectively.

In this paper, the prototype system of the integration of MPLS and MIPv6 (mobile IPv6), and a test network supporting both MIPv6 and MPLS are presented; and the performance of the applications running on the test network is evaluated. The testing results indicate that the integrated network can achieve better RTT, jitter, loss rate, data transmission rate and handover delay than a non-integrated network. Nevertheless, with the variation of the background payloads, the improvements on the performance of the integrated network are not obvious and in some cases even worse than non-integrated network.