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By using the fluidization technique and electromagnetic heating technique, this paper designed a new type solid electric regenerative device using quartz sand particles to store heat, completed the setting of experimental bench of fluidized bed regenerative device, and analyzed the heat storing and release properties of this regenerative device. The experimental results show that the fluidized bed regenerative device has a good heat storing and release performance. When the metal wall surface of regenerative device was heated by electromagnetic heating to 600∘C and later kept at this temperature, the heat storing temperature of quartz sand particle material can reach above 500∘C after storing heat for 12 hours. After the 12-hour heat storing was finished, the total power of regenerative device’s heat storage obtained according to the temperatures of measuring points in fluidized bed and the physical properties of quartz sand can satisfy the design requirement. The 12-hour total effective heat release of this device is 29.5 kW⋅h and its heat release per unit time is kept at 2–3 kW, indicating that this device has a stable and controllable heat release process and is of actual application value.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disease during infancy, but the preventive effect of probiotics on AD remains unclear.To evaluate the efficacy of probiotic supplementation for the prevention of AD in infants.PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases were reviewed for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two authors independently extracted the data. The primary endpoint was the risk of AD in infants. Risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.A total of 20 related articles including 22 studies were included. A significant reduction in AD risk was revealed for the probiotic group compared to the control group (RR 0.76; 95% CI 0.67-0.87). Subgroup analyses by participant receiving intervention revealed that not only probiotics given to mother (RR 0.70; 95% CI 0.57-0.85) or given to mother and infant (RR 0.76; 95% CI 0.61-0.95) were effective in preventing AD in infants, and probiotics given to infants alone (RR 0.76; 95% CI 0.60-0.96) still effectively decreased the risk of AD.Probiotic supplementation reduced the risk of developing AD in infants. Furthermore, probiotic supplementation given to mother or to mother and infant could effectively prevent AD in infants.

Dendrobium nobile is a traditional Chinese medicine and nourishing food in China. Alkaloids and sesquiterpene glycosides are the two main active ingredients in D. nobile. The previous reports showed that alkaloids and sesquiterpene glycosides have the same upstream biosynthetic pathway, starting from sesquiterpene components, part of which is converted to sesquiterpene glycosides by the action of UDP-glycosyltransferase, and part of which is further synthesized to alkaloids. Therefore, sesquiterpene UDP-glycosyltransferases play an important role in the biosynthesis of alkaloids and sesquiterpene glycosides in D. nobile. In this study, the key glycosyltransferase genes in sesquiterpene glycosylation in D. nobile were explored, predicted and validated by transcriptome technology.

Wine-processed Angelica Sinensis is a widely used Chinese medicinal decoction piece in China. However, there are hardly any robust markers indicating the processing procedure of wine-processed Angelica Sinensis, including the amount of rice wine and processing degree. A strategy integrating untargeted metabolomics and chemometric analysis for deducing robust markers was provided and applied to the discrimination of processing procedure. First, 86 compounds were tentatively identified in wine-processed Angelica Sinensis by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry. Second, 93 potential chemical markers were selected using multivariate analysis, among which nine robust chemical markers were selected by verification with commercial samples. Finally, the effects of processing temperature, time, and amount of rice wine on the three selected chemical markers were investigated through a rapid analytical method. It was demonstrated that both m/z 258.1097 and m/z 238.1189 were positively correlated with the amount of rice wine and processing degree. In summary, this study introduced two candidate processing markers as robust markers for discriminating the processing procedures of wine-processed Angelica sinensis. It also proposed a strategy to provide the reference for the research of other decoction pieces. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Cinnamon was been a widely used plant in medicinal and spices for a long time and has spread all over the world. However, the differences in the components of the bark from Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum verum, the two most common types of cinnamon, have not been thoroughly investigated. In the present experiment, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography LTQ-Orbitrap Velos Pro hybrid mass spectrometer-based metabolomics coupled with chemometrics and feature-based molecular networking were employed to dramatically distinguish and annotate Cinnamomum cassia Bark and Cinnamomum verum bark. As a consequence, principal component analysis, orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminates analysis, and heat map analysis demonstrated clear discrimination between the profiles of metabolites in cinnamon. Besides, as the known compounds, proanthocyanidins (cinnamtannin B1 and procyanidin B2) and alkaloids (norboldine, norisoboldine) with variable importance in the projection scores >6, and an unknown alkaloid (formula C24 H33 NO6 ) were selected as the best markers to discriminate cinnamon. Furthermore, large numbers of proanthocyanidins and alkaloids components were identified through feature-based molecular networking for the first time. Our investigation provides new ideas for the discovery of quality markers and identification of unknown components in natural products.

Smart healthcare monitoring systems are proliferating due to the Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled portable medical devices. The IoT and deep learning in the healthcare sector prevent diseases by evolving healthcare from face-to-face consultation to telemedicine. To protect athletes’ life from life-threatening severe conditions and injuries in training and competitions, real-time monitoring of physiological indicators is critical. In this research work, we present a deep learning-based IoT-enabled real-time health monitoring system. The proposed system uses wearable medical devices to measure vital signs and apply various deep learning algorithms to extract valuable information. For this purpose, we have taken Sanda athletes as our case study. The deep learning algorithms help physicians properly analyze these athletes’ conditions and offer the proper medications to them, even if the doctors are away. The performance of the proposed system is extensively evaluated using a cross-validation test by considering various statistical-based performance measurement metrics. The proposed system is considered an effective tool that diagnoses dreadful diseases among the athletes, such as brain tumors, heart disease, cancer, etc. The performance results of the proposed system are evaluated in terms of precision, recall, AUC, and F1, respectively.

Cinnamomum verum and Cinnamomum cassia are widely used as spice and herbal medicine around the world. However, it is challenging to differentiate and make a quality evaluation for both Cinnamomum types due to their similarities in morphological features and general chemical composition using traditional analytical methods. In this study, a simple and efficient method was developed for the comprehensive evaluation of the two Cinnamomum, together with Cassia twig, by combining UPLC fingerprint analysis combined with quantitative analysis using two internal standards for the determination of multiple components (TSDMC). The content of 9 components (procyanidin B2, cinnamtannin B1, coumarin, 2-hydroxycinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl alcohol, cinnamic acid, cinnamaldehyde, 2'-methoxycinnamaldehyde, and eugenol) in samples was determined using reliable relative conversion factor factors that were obtained using procyanidin B2 and cinnamic acid as two internal reference standards. The quantitative results combined with chemometrics analysis were employed to identify these samples. This simple and reproducible method revealed great differences among the three Cinnamomum in their chemical composition and provides a promising method for accurate differentiation and quality evaluation for the three Cinnamomum.

In order to improve the recognition accuracy of action poses for athletes in martial arts competitions, it is considered that a single frame pose does not have the temporal features required for sequential actions. Based on deep learning, this paper proposes an image arm movement analysis technology in martial arts competitions. The motion features of the arm are extracted from the bone sequence. Taking human bone motion information as temporal dynamic information, combined with RGB spatial features and depth map, the spatiotemporal features of arm motion data are formed. In this paper, we set up a slow frame rate channel and a fast frame rate channel to detect sequential motion of images. The deep learning model takes 16 frames from each video as samples. The softmax classifier is used to get the classification result of which action category the human action in the video belongs to. The test results show that the accuracy and recall rate of the arm motion analysis technology based on deep learning in martial arts competitions are 95.477% and 92.948%, respectively, with good motion analysis performance.

Background Till date, China has not issued industry standards for reference intervals (RIs) of pediatric blood coagulation indices. Here, we evaluated changes in the coagulation indices in the venous blood of healthy children aged 29 days to 12 years derived using the ACL Top 700 system and established appropriate RIs. Methods We analyzed venous blood from 1770 healthy children for five coagulation indices. RIs were established according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute C28-A3c guideline. Results The coagulation indices were grouped by age. For prothrombin time (PT) and international normalization ratio (INR), the RIs of infants and toddlers were identical; preschool children had the same RI as school-age children. Pediatric RIs for PT and INR were slightly lower than those for adults. The RIs of activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), and fibrinogen (FIB) in childhood were divided into two groups by age (1 month to 1 year and 1–12 years). The RI of APTT in infants was the widest; the overall level of FIB in infants was the lowest; children's APTT and FIB RIs were lower than those of adults. The pattern of TT values and RI trends in childhood were similar to those of APTT. Conclusions There were minor changes in the RIs of coagulation indices for children. The RIs of PT, INR, APTT, TT, and FIB must be grouped by age. The RIs of coagulation indices for children were different from those for adults; therefore, establishing separate RIs for children is necessary.

Background: The risk factors for mucus plug in children with adenovirus (ADV) pneumonia. Methods and materials：A retrospective analysis was conducted of children diagnosed ADV pneumonia and underwent bronchoscopy. The patients were divided into a mucus plug group (39 cases) and a non-mucus plug group (53 cases). The children’s data including sex, age, clinical presentation, laboratory test parameters, imaging and bronchoscopic data were collected. The risk factors for the development of airway mucus plug were analysed by multifactorial logistic regression. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in sex, age, fever, hospitalization days, mixed infection, WBC count, neutrophil proportion, CRP, and D-dimer (all P>0.05); Thermal range, calcineurin (PCT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Pleural effusion and associated decreased breath sounds was significantly higher in mucus plug group than in non-mucus plug group; multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that the duration of fever, PCT, and LDH were independent risk factors for the formation of mucus plugs. The critical values of ROC curves were pyroprocedure ≥6.5 d, PCT ≥0.705 ng/ml and LDH ≥478.5 U/L. Conclusion: Duration of fever, PCT and LDH levels were the independent risk factors for the formation of an airway mucus plug in children with ADV pneumonia.

Lilium lancifolium and Lilium brownii viridulum were two common cultivars of Lilium in China, which have been used as a source of food in ancient China, and as a traditional herbal medicine in most northern hemispheres countries continues today. However, only a few secondary metabolites in Lilium closely related to human health have been reported. In this research, an offline two-dimensional (HILIC and RP C18) separation system combined with multimode high-resolution mass spectrometry data acquisition was established for in-depth exploration and comparison of the chemical components in Lilium. In total, 331 components were identified, among which phenylpropanoid derivatives and steroidal saponins were the most abundant components. Furthermore, sulfur derivatives and steroidal alkaloids were systematically characterized in Lilium for the first time. These results provided valuable information for in-depth differentiating types of components characterization, which may be applied to assess and improve the edible and medicinal values of Lilium.

Background Medication errors have significant health and economic consequences. Monitoring medication errors by implementing monitoring systems proved in the USA and European countries since 1990s to be an effective method for error detection, leading to improved safety at all levels of health care. Currently, China does not have a universal medication error monitoring system. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of the Medication Error Monitoring System for the reduction of medication errors in Xiamen Maternity and Child Care Hospital. Methods Between January–June 2014, the Medication Error Monitoring System developed by Xiamen Maternity and Child Care Hospital was employed to monitor medication errors through error reporting by physicians and pharmacists. The errors collected by this system were then thoroughly assessed and addressed by specific improvements including more frequent training, introducing computerised prescribing systems and a bar-coding medicine dispensing system. Data collected from January–June 2015, was then compared with the data collected in 2014 to determine whether medication errors had been reduced. Results Between 2014 and 2015, the total medication errors in prescribing and dispensing were reduced by approximately 27%. Compared with 2014, there was a marked reduction in the number of errors due to misdiagnoses and inappropriate usage/dosage in 2015, while the number of data entry errors increased and became the most common cause of medication error. The success rate of pharmacy interventions increased from 95.25% to 96.88%, albeit modest. However, across all medication errors in the stage of prescribing and dispensing, non-human-related errors significantly decreased from 44.25% in 2014 to 37.94% in 2015 with a p value of 0.021. Conclusion The Medication Error Monitoring System is effective at monitoring medication error data, leading to a reduction in reported medication errors. Better training for hospital staff including doctors and pharmacists will be critical to reduce human-related medication errors in the hospital.

Rubiaceae-type cyclopeptides (RAs) are one of characteristic constituents isolated from Rubia species, which are candidates of innovative anti-tumor drugs due to their significant bioactivity. However, approaches on the systematic characterization and quantification of RAs are still not available because of low contents and complicated purification. In this study, an ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) method was established and validated for qualitative and quantitative analysis of 14 RAs (1-14) in 20 Rubia plants from China. The separation was achieved on a Waters ACQUITY UPLC® BEH C18 column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) using gradient elution with a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile and water. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in positive mode was used to enable the selective detection of RAs from the Rubia root and rhizome extracts within 10 min. This method was proved to be specific, sensitive, precise, and accurate with the limits of detection and quantification at 0.6–11.4 ng/mL and 1.9–34.2 ng/mL, respectively, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the overall intra-day and inter-day precision less than 5.24%. Satisfactory recovery was obtained from 83.80% to 111.77%, with the RSD less than 5.32%. Totally, 67 samples were then qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by this method and 51 of them were proved to contain RAs. Thereinto, R. podantha and R. yunnanensis from Yunnan were the two most abundant species. Additionally, RAs were detected in 8 Rubia species for the first time. Then chemometric approaches were revealed to explain the relationship between samples based on their contents of RAs. This study demonstrated that the method was not only useful for RAs source discovery and chemotaxonomy of Rubia species, but also could be extended to standardization of RAs medical materials and their new drug research and development.

Graphical abstract, Highlights • A new UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS method in the MRM mode is established for qualitation and quantitation of natural lignans in complicated samples. • A novel ultrasonic-assisted extraction based on hybrid ionic liquids (HILs) was firstly proposed for simultaneous extraction of different polarities components from traditional Chinese medicines. • The HILs significantly improved the extract efficiency of lignans compared to conventional organic solvent and single ionic liquid, and the content of total lignans in the HILs system was 47% higher than that in ethanol system., Recently, efficient extraction of natural products from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) by green solvents is deemed an essential area of green technology and attracts extensive attentions. In this work, a green protocol for simultaneous ultrasonic-extraction of the native compounds with different polarities of TCMs by using a hybrid ionic liquids (HILs)-water system was reported for the first time. As a case study, three superior ILs (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([EMIM][BF4]), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([EMIM][OAc]), and 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([AMIM]Cl)) were chosen as the compositions of the HILs system, and the TCMs Suhuang antitussive capsule (SH) containing different-polarity lignans was selected. Primarily, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) method in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was established for qualitative and quantitative analysis of 18 lignans. After majorization by uniform design experiment, the HILs prepared with [AMIM]Cl, [EMIM][BF4], and [EMIM][OAc] at a volume ratio of 1:5:5 could simultaneously extract multi-polarity lignans compared to single IL. Subsequently, the conditions of ultrasonic extraction employing with HILs and traditional organic solvent were optimized by the response surface methodology, respectively. The results indicated that the extract efficiency of the HILs system for target compounds was significantly improved compared with the traditional organic solvent-extraction, i.e. the content of total lignans in ethanol system was up to 47 mg/g, while that in the HILs system was up to 69 mg/g, with an increasing of 47%. Additionally, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectra were used to characterize the hydrogen-bond interactions in the HILs-lignan mixtures. Extraction with the HILs in TCMs is a new application schema of ILs, which not only avoids the use of volatile toxic organic solvents, but also shows the potential to be comprehensively applied for the extraction of bioactive compounds from TCMs.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Suhuang antitussive capsule (Suhuang), one of traditional antitussive Chinese patent medicines, has been used for the treatment of post-infectious cough and cough variant asthma in clinical practice. It has been demonstrated to show numerous biological actions including antitussive and anti-inflammatory effects. Aim of the study This study aims to investigate the effects of Suhuang on non-resolving inflammation and its underlying molecular mechanism. Material and methods In vitro, mitochondrial membrane potential and ROS were detected by flow cytometry analysis. mtDNA release and mPTP fluorescence were determined by Q-PCR and fluorescence microplate reader analysis. Cytochrome C release and 8-OHdG levels were evaluated by ELISA. Additionally, the effects of Suhuang on Drp1, MMP9, IκBα/NF-κB and NLRP3/ASC/Caspase-1 expression were determined by Q-PCR, gelatin zymography or immunoblot analysis. In vivo, C57/BL6 mice were orally administrated for 2 weeks with Suhuang, then lung injury was induced by LPS. Inflammatory mediators mRNA, histological assessment and NF-κB/Caspase-1/IL-1β levels were evaluated by Q-PCR, H&E staining and immunoblot analysis. Two sepsis models of mice were further used to evaluate its anti-inflammatory effects. Results Suhuang restored mitochondrial homeostasis by inhibiting Drp1 activation and mitochondrial fission. Besides, Suhuang reduced mPTP opening, mitochondrial membrane potential collapse, ROS overproduction and mtDNA release. Moreover, Suhuang down-regulated MMP9 expression. As a consequence of preserved mitochondrial homeostasis, Suhuang inhibited NF-κB pathway activation by prevention of NF-κB-p65 phosphorylation and IκBα degradation. Suhuang also limited NLRP3 inflammasome activation by blocking NLRP3-ASC interaction and promoting NLRP3 ubiquitination degradation. Drp1 knockdown in vitro diminished the inhibitory effects of Suhuang on inflammatory responses, indicating the essential role of Drp1 in the Suhuang's activity. Consistently, the therapeutic effects of Suhuang were confirmed in LPS-inhaled mice, which recapitulated the protective actions of Suhuang in mitochondrial homeostasis in vitro. Additionally, two sepsis models of mice confirmed the inhibitory effects of Suhuang on uncontrolled inflammation. Conclusions Altogether, our work reveals that Suhuang inhibits non-resolving inflammation through inhibition of NF-κB signaling and NLRP3 inflammasome activation by preserving mitochondrial homeostasis, providing new pharmacological data for the clinical use of Suhuang. Our study also suggests mitochondrial homeostasis as a potential intrinsic regulatory strategy for treating inflammatory diseases.

Objective Lung-toxin Dispelling Formula No. 1, referred to as Respiratory Detox Shot (RDS), was developed based on a classical prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the theoretical understanding of herbal properties within TCM. Therapeutic benefits of using RDS for both disease control and prevention, in the effort to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), have been shown. However, the biochemically active constituents of RDS and their mechanisms of action are still unclear. The goal of the present study is to clarify the material foundation and action mechanism of RDS. Methods To conduct an analysis of RDS, an integrative analytical platform was constructed, including target prediction, protein–protein interaction (PPI) network, and cluster analysis; further, the hub genes involved in the disease-related pathways were identified, and the their corresponding compounds were used for in vitro validation of molecular docking predictions. The presence of these validated compounds was also measured in samples of the RDS formula to quantify the abundance of the biochemically active constituents. In our network pharmacological study, a total of 26 bioinformatic programs and databases were used, and six networks, covering the entire Zang-fu viscera, were constructed to comprehensively analyze the intricate connections among the compounds-targets-disease pathways-meridians of RDS. Results For all 1071 known chemical constituents of the nine ingredients in RDS, identified from established TCM databases, 157 passed drug-likeness screening and led to 339 predicted targets in the constituent–target network. Forty-two hub genes with core regulatory effects were extracted from the PPI network, and 134 compounds and 29 crucial disease pathways were implicated in the target–constituent–disease network. Twelve disease pathways attributed to the Lung–Large Intestine meridians, with six and five attributed to the Kidney–Urinary Bladder and Stomach–Spleen meridians, respectively. One-hundred and eighteen candidate constituents showed a high binding affinity with SARS-coronavirus-2 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro), as indicated by molecular docking using computational pattern recognition. The in vitro activity of 22 chemical constituents of RDS was validated using the 3CLpro inhibition assay. Finally, using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry in data-independent analysis mode, the presence of seven out of these 22 constituents was confirmed and validated in an aqueous decoction of RDS, using reference standards in both non-targeted and targeted approaches. Conclusion RDS acts primarily in the Lung–Large Intestine, Kidney–Urinary Bladder and Stomach–Spleen meridians, with other Zang-fu viscera strategically covered by all nine ingredients. In the context of TCM meridian theory, the multiple components and targets of RDS contribute to RDS’s dual effects of health-strengthening and pathogen-eliminating. This results in general therapeutic effects for early COVID-19 control and prevention.

Tack coat is a thin, bituminous material layer which may be applied to an existing pavement surface to promote interface bonding between new and existing pavement components. This ensures a monolithic structure that carries traffic loads and releases thermal stress. Insufficient tack coat application can result in inadequate interface bonding, delamination, or debonding within pavement layers; conversely, excessive tack coat application can cause weak interface bonding, rutting, or bleeding. A slow setting anionic polymer-modified emulsion (SS-1hP) with a standard application rate of 0.23 L/m2 is commonly used as the tack coat for hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavement overlay. To investigate optimum tack coat rates, a 6.1 m × 4.3 m. HMA section was divided in this study into four test sections and coated with 50%, 100%, 160%, and 240% of 0.23 L/m2 tack rate and overlay. The test sections were then subjected to 2 million load repetitions on an accelerated pavement testing machine with an 89 kN single-axle load. The transverse rutting profile and strain at the overlay interface were measured at intervals of 100,000 load repetitions. Laboratory and in-situ pull-off tests were conducted after 1.5 million load repetitions. The results indicate that the test section with a tack rate of 240% has the smallest rut depth, while the 160% sample shows the greatest strain. However, the test section with a tack rate of 100% (0.23 L/m2) showed optimal performance based on in-situ strain and in-situ bond strength tests.

Establishing the identity of bioactive compounds to control the quality of Traditional Chinese Medicines is made more challenging by the complexity of the metabolite matrix, the existence of isomers, and the range of compound concentration and polarity observed between individual samples of the same plant in a multicomponent preparation. In addition, LC-MS analysis has limited capability for the separation and analysis of potentially important trace compounds and isomers, which hinders the comprehensive metabolite characterization of functional foods and Traditional Natural Medicine. To facilitate and improve the chemical composition characterization and enhance metabolite discernment, a comprehensive strategy was developed which integrates ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMS) with offline two-dimensional liquid chromatography based on hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) and conventional reversed phase (RP) C18 chromatography. Through application of the HILIC × RP offline 2D-LC approach, trace compounds were enriched and separated promoting a more efficient and detailed analysis of the matrix complexity. Comprehensive non-targeted multidimensional data (Rt1D, Rt2D, MS, CCS and MS/MS) and data-independent-acquisition (DIA) mass data of the metabolites in complex food and drug samples were obtained in the IMS-DIA-MS/MS mode on a Waters-SYNAPT G2-Si mass spectrometer with an ESI source. Through the application of high-efficiency neutral loss (NLs) and diagnostic product ions (DPIs) filter strategies, information from DIA mass data permitted the rapid detection and identification of compounds. The identification coverage of metabolites with low-quality MS/MS data was also improved. In the absence of analytical standards, Collision Cross Section (CCS) prediction and matching strategies based on theoretical chemical structures provided a method to distingish isomers. To demonstrate the efficacy of the technique this comprehensive strategy was applied to the compound characterization of Gastrodia Rhizoma (GR). Characterization of 272 compounds was achieved, including 146 unreported compounds. The results affirm that this comprehensive five-dimensional data collection strategy has the capacity to support the in-depth study of the high level of chemical diversity in Traditional Chinese Medicines.

This study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effects and explore mechanisms of chlorogenic acid against testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in mice. Benign prostatic hyperplasia model was induced in experimental groups by daily subcutaneous injections of testosterone propionate (7.5mg/kg/d) consecutively for 14 d. A total of 60 mice were randomly divided into six groups: (Group 1) normal control group, (Group 2) benign prostatic hyperplasia model control group, (Group 3) benign prostatic hyperplasia mice treated with finasteride at a dose of 1mg/kg, (Group 4) benign prostatic hyperplasia mice treated with chlorogenic acid at dose levels of 0.8mg/kg (low dose group), (Group 5) benign prostatic hyperplasia mice treated with chlorogenic acid at dose levels of 1.6mg/kg (medium dose group) and (Group 6) benign prostatic hyperplasia mice treated with chlorogenic acid at dose levels of 3.2mg/kg (high dose group). Animals were sacrificed on the scheduled termination, pick out the eyeball to get blood, then prostates were weighed and prostatic index were determined. Then the serum acid phosphatase (ACP), prostatic acid phosphatase (PACP) and typeⅡ5-alpha-reductase (SRD5A2) levels were measured and observed morphological changes of the prostate. Comparing with benign prostatic hyperplasia model group, the high and medium dose of chlorogenic acid could significantly reduce prostate index and levels of acid phosphatase, prostatic acid phosphatase and typeⅡ5-alpha-reductase (P

Background This 4-year retrospective cohort study aimed to establish reference intervals for free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), and thyrotropin (TSH) in premature infants using the Beckman Coulter Unicel DxI 800 automated immunoassay system. Methods Study subjects included 605 preterm infants with a gestational age of 26–36 weeks (corrected: 29–38 weeks). Pearson correlation was used to evaluate the association between hormone levels and gestational and corrected gestational ages. A nonparametric method was used to establish reference intervals based on corrected gestational age. Results FT3 and FT4 levels were positively correlated with gestational and corrected gestational ages, respectively. TSH levels were slightly negatively correlated with gestational and corrected gestational ages. FT3 significantly differed according to corrected gestational age (29–33 weeks vs 34–38 weeks); however, the difference was smaller than the reference change value (RCV) for the FT3 test. Thus, we combined the FT3 reference intervals into a single reference interval: 2.65–4.93 pmol/L (29–38 weeks). The reference intervals of FT4 and TSH were 11.20–24.97 pmol/L (29–38 weeks) and 1.01–10.14 mIU/L (29–38 weeks), respectively. Conclusions Unlike those of full-term infants or adults, the reference intervals established in this study are applicable in premature infants. These results highlight the importance and complexity of establishing instrument-specific thyroid hormone reference intervals for preterm infants.

Suhuang antitussive capsule (SH), one of traditional Chinese patent medicines, has been widely used for treating cough variant asthma and postinfectious cough in clinic. The objective of this work is to identify the characteristic and active ingredients as the quality control markers for SH based on high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector (HPLC-PDA) fingerprint and screening of anti-inflammatory components. Similarity analysis (SA), hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to evaluate 16 different batches of SH. 13 compounds accounting for 36% of the total components in the fingerprint were identified and semi-quantitatively analyzed, which anti-inflammatory activity was tested with the in vitro assay. The results showed that the established chemical fingerprint could clearly distinguish different batches of SH by SA, HCA, and PCA analysis. Furthermore, four known compounds (chlorogenic acid, schisandrin, angeloylgomisin H and praeruptorin A) were screened out to be the most discriminant variables, which could be applied to quality control of SH by quantitative analysis. The semi-quantitative results showed that six compounds were major components, i.e. arctiin (10.28 ± 3.18 mg/g), ephedrine (9.26 ± 1.58 mg/g), schisandrin (3.09 ± 0.83 mg/g), pseudoephedrine (2.34 ± 1.04 mg/g), schisandrin B (1.48 ± 0.16 mg/g), and 1-caffeoylquinic acid (1.36 ± 0.42 mg/g). The anti-inflammatory results showed that SH extract, praeruptorin A, schisandrin, arctigenin and pseudoephedrine could significantly inhibit inflammatory mediator NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. These findings indicated that praeruptorin A, schisandrin, arctiin and pseudoephedrine could be proposed as the quality control markers for SH.

This research focuses on propagation and evolution of strain localization in clay. To this end, an undrained plane strain compression test program was performed to investigate the effects of the past stress history and strain rates on the strain localization response of kaolin clay. Results of a single test (T3) are presented herein. They include the overall global stress/pore pressure versus axial strain response, as well as indicators of propagation and evolution of strain localization. The results indicate that the response consisted of the three distinct phases: (1) a homogenous deformation, (2) an inception and propagation of strain localization, and (3) an evolution of strain localization within the shear band. The Lagrange strain tensor was used to obtain local volumetric and shear strains developed within the shear band during the evolution stage. It was found that local volumetric and shear strains reached 80% and 200% respectively, which corresponds to a global axial strain increment of only 1.7%. Furthermore, the shear band exhibited a decreasing tendency to compress, thus resulting in its incremental dilatancy angle varying from initially −24° to a final value of −6°.

Normalizing the disordered tumor vasculature, rather than blocking it, is a novel method for anticancer therapy. Astragali polysaccharide (APS) and curcumin were reported to be active against carcinomas. However, the effect and mechanism of the combination of APS and curcumin on vascular normalization in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was not clear. In the present study, effects of combined APS and curcumin on tumor vascular normalization were evaluated in HepG2 tumor-bearing mice. Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) was performed to observe the morphological structure of tumor vessels in vivo. The microstructure of the tumor vessels was also analyzed through scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, the expression of CD31 and NG2 was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. Tumor vessels of HepG2 tumor-bearing mice treated with the combination were sparse with uniform growth, morphology rules, and complete vascular walls, which had fewer branches and sprouts. ECs of tumor vessels were arranged regularly and were tightly connected, tending toward normalization. The expression of CD31 was reduced while NG2 was increased significantly by the combination of APS and curcumin. The results indicated that APS and curcumin in combination showed a better effect on inhibiting tumor growth in an orthotopic nude-mouse model of HCC. More important, the combination induced normalization of tumor vascular better than APS or curcumin administration alone, improving the morphological structure of tumor vessels and promoting maturation of tumor vessels. The results of the present study provided a reasonable possibility for combination therapy of APS and curcumin in the treatment of HCC via tumor vascular normalization.