Search

Objective: To compare the pharmacokinetic differences of the main components of Naoxintong capsule (NXTC) in normal and acute blood stasis rats. Materials and Methods: Rats were subcutaneously injected with adrenaline hydrochloride twice; during the two subcutaneous injections, the rats were placed in ice water for 4 min to reproduce the model rat of acute blood stasis. The normal and acute blood stasis rats were administrated a 5.04 g/kg dose of NXTC suspension. Then, blood samples were collected from the posterior retinal venous plexus at different time points. Plasma concentrations of four major bio-active components including caffeic acid, ferulic acid, formononetin, and tanshinone IIA in NXTC were measured using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry. Phoenix WinNonlin v6.2 software was used to calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters. Results: Compared with the normal rats, the acute blood stasis rats showed a significant decrease in Cmax of ferulic acid and formononetin, AUCall of caffeic acid and ferulic acid, and AUCINF_obs of ferulic acid. Conversely, an increase in the Vz_F_obs and MRTlast of ferulic acid and caffeic acid was observed. These findings demonstrate that the absorption of the four NXTC components was weakened in the acute blood stasis rats and that the elimination time was prolonged. Conclusions: The significant difference in some parameters of the four NXTC components between the normal and acute blood stasis rats might be caused by an increase in blood viscosity and the subsequent slowing down of blood flow in the acute blood stasis rats. The pharmacokinetic study conducted in pathological state can provide important information and scientific basis for further rational clinical application of NXTC.

As China is implementing the policy ofquot;Announcement on Ending the Pilot Work of Chinese medicine formula gra-nulesquot;, the standard of Chinese medicine formula granules has gradually become the focus of industry development. Up to now, 196 national drug standards for Chinese medicine formula granules have been published by China, which guaranteed the production quality of Chinese medicine formula granules. However, there are still several challenges such as the rational application of national drug standards and the enrichment and improvement of varieties. The basic content of the issued national drug standards for Chinese medicine formula granules was analyzed and compared with the quality standard provisions of the corresponding decoction pieces in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition) in this paper. This paper discussed the main characteristics of paste-forming rate of each medicinal raw materials,quot;quantity-qualityquot; transformation, equivalent ratio, and so on, and clarified the characteristics of the national standard for Chinese medicine formula granules. This paper provided references for achieving the unified quality control and meeting the overall quality requirements of Chinese medicine formula granules.

Mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with a reversible splenial lesion (MERS) is a clinicoradiologic syndrome typically characterized by transient mild encephalitis or encephalopathy with reversible lesions being found in the splenium of corpus callosum (SCC) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A variety of pathogens including influenza virus, rotavirus, and adenovirus associated with MERS have been reported. However, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related MERS is relatively rare in infants. In this study, we report two Chinese infants who suffered from RSV-related MERS. Both infants manifested as fever, seizure, and altered states of consciousness with confirmed detections of RSV-RNA in the specimens from throat swab. Clinical symptoms/signs such as apnea and shallow breathing were also noted in these two infants. Furthermore, brain MRI images indicated reversible isolated lesions with transiently reduced diffusion in the SCC. Fortunately, both of these two infants recovered completely following treatment within a month. Our study suggests that RSV may serve as a novel causative agent for MERS in infants. Clinicians should focus more attention on RSV-related MERS in infants in order to improve early accurate diagnosis and therapeutic decision making.

Background Panic disorder (PD) is thought to be related with deficits in emotion regulation, especially in cognitive reappraisal. According to the cognitive model, PD patients’ intrinsic and unconscious misappraisal strategies are the cause of panic attacks. However, no studies have yet been performed to explore the underlying neuromechanism of cognitive reappraisal that occur on an unconscious level in PD patients. Methods Twenty-six patients with PD and 25 healthy controls (HC) performed a fully-verified event-block design emotional regulation task aimed at investigating responses of implicit cognitive reappraisal during an fMRI scan. Participants passively viewed negatively valanced pictures that were beforehand neutrally, positively, or adversely portrayed in the task. Results Whole-brain analysis of fMRI data showed that PD patients exhibited less activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) compared to HC, but presented greater activation in parietal cortex when negative pictures were preceded by positive/neutral vs negative descriptions. Simultaneously, interactive effects of Group × Condition were observed in the right amygdala across both groups. Furthermore, activation in dlPFC and dmPFC was is negatively correlated to severity of anxiety and panic in PD when negative images were preceded by non-negative vs negative descriptions. Conclusions Emotional dysregulation in PD is likely the result of deficient activation in dlPFC and dmPFC during implicit cognitive reappraisal, in line with impaired automatic top-down regulation. Correlations between severity of anxiety and panic attack and activation of right dlPFC and dmPFC suggest that the failure to engage prefrontal region during implicit cognitive reappraisal might be associated wtih the severity of anxiety and panic; such functional patterns might be the target of possible treatments.

A metal-free coupling of quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones with tert-butyl nitrite has been developed. Distinctly from the previous functionalization of quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones, this nitration reaction took place selectively at the C7 or C5 position of the phenyl ring, affording a series of 7-nitro and 5-nitro quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones in moderate to good yields. Preliminary mechanistic studies revealed that the reaction may involve a radical process.

Chinese medicine dispensing granules, the result of the efforts to transform Chinese medicinal decoction pieces in China, features portability and ease of storage. Thus, it is destined to be an indispensible dosage form in the modernization drive of Chinese medicine. The Announcement on Ending the Pilot Project of Chinese Medicine Dispensing Granules was released in February 2021 and relevant regulations went into force in November 2021, which marks the a new journey for the development of Chinese medicine dispensing granules and the beginning of thequot;post-pilot eraquot;. However, it faces the challenges in quality and standard. This study reviewed the history of Chinese medicine dispensing granules, analyzed the technical progress, market, and main problems in development, and proposed suggestions and prospects for its development in thequot;post-pilot eraquot;, which is expected to serve as a reference for its industry development and rational use.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is one of the most damaging noctuid pests of maize and is reported in China at the beginning of 2019. It poses a serious threat to the food security of China. In order to find an attractive alternative to reduce the application of chemical insecticides, we screened different initial mite densities of Pyemotes zhonghuajia on the mortality rate of different stages of FAW and also recorded the number of P. zhonghuajia on FAW at the different times (24, 48, and 72 h). The results showed that initial mite densities had a significant effect on the mortality rates of all stages of FAW and the number of P. zhonghuajia found on the surface of FAW. One P. zhonghuajia female was able to significantly induce the mortality of FAW in the 1st to 3rd instar larvae, and the mite density of 40 could achieve 100% FAW mortality when added 1st to 5th instar larvae and prepupae. There was an increasing number of P. zhonghuajia on FAW from the 2nd to 4th instar larvae stages at all three days. These results provide the basic information for considering P. zhonghuajia as a suitable bio-control agent against FAW in China.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) constitutes the pathological foundation of most musculoskeletal disorders of the spine. Previous studies have noted that cell proliferation is a common feature of IDD. Bioinformatics indicated that aberrantly expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were involved in the development of IDD. In this study, we aimed to investigate the function of lncRNA HOTAIR in the proliferation of human nucleus pulposus (NP) cells of IDD in vitro and further clarified its mechanism. The expression of HOTAIR and miR-130b was quantified by qRT-PCR in nucleus pulposus (NP) tissues. Furthermore, NP cells proliferation were assayed by CCK8 and Immunostaining. Dual-luciferase reporter and RIP assay were used to examine the expression of HOTAIR, PTEN, and their co-target gene miR-130b. Western blotting was used to test AKT expression. Our in vitro experiments on human normal NP cells observed that HOTAIR was significantly dysregulated in IDD. Further, HOTAIR can suppress proliferation by directly targeting miR-130b. In addition, Both HOTAIR and PTEN were confirmed to target miR-130b, and miR-130b upregulation reversed the phenomenon of ectopic expression of HOTAIR. More importantly, HOTAIR upregulation significantly reduced CyclinD1 protein expression by PTEN/AKT signaling pathway. Our findings suggest that HOTAIR may bind to miR-130b and subsequently increased CyclinD1 expression via PTEN/Akt pathway. Thereby, HOTAIR could become a potential target for the treatment of IDD. Abbreviations : IDD; intervertebral disc degeneration ncRNAs; non-coding RNAs lncRNAs; long non-coding RNAs miRNAs; microRNAs NP; nucleus pulposus qRT-PCR; quantitative reverse transcription–PCR LBP; Low back pain ORF; open reading frame HOTAIR; Hox transcript antisense intergenic RNA FAF1; Fas-associated protein factor-1 Erk; extracellular signal-regulated kinase TUG1; Taurine Up-regulated Gene 1 HIF1A hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha PI3K; phosphoinositide-3 kinase AIS; adolescent idiopathic scoliosis ECM; extracellular matrix LN;lupus nephritis CT;computed tomography MRI; magnetic resonance imaging PBS; phosphate-buffered salin PBS; phosphate-buffered salin PVDF; polyvinylidene fluoride TBST; Tris-buffered saline Tween ECL; enhanced chemiluminescence RIP; RNA immunoprecipitation

A metal-free coupling of quinoxalin-2(1

Objective: To retrospectively analyze causes of, and factors influencing, early recurrence after percutaneous endoscopic transforaminal discectomy (PETD) used to treat lumbar-disc herniation. Methods: We included 285 patients with single-segment lumbar-disc herniation, treated using PETD from January 2017 to December 2019 in the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of South China. Patients were classified into early recurrence and non-early recurrence groups based on clinical symptoms and MRI reexamination. Differences in disc-height index (DHI), sagittal range of motion (sROM), base-width of intervertebral disc degeneration, and postoperative intervertebral annulus-fibrosus tear size were compared using independent-sample t test. Differences in degree of intervertebral disc degeneration and herniation sites were analyzed using rank-sum and chi-square tests. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis of factors associated with early recurrence after PETD. Results: Two hundred and eighty five patients completed surgery and underwent clinical follow-up. Mean follow-up duration was 15.5 months (12–24 months). During follow-up, 19 patients relapsed within 6 months post-surgery. Early recurrence rate was 6.7%, and mean recurrence duration was 73.4 days (3–168 days). Differences in DHI, base-width, postoperative annulus-fibrosus tear size, degree of intervertebral disc degeneration, and herniation sites between early recurrence and non-early recurrence groups were statistically significant (PConclusions: DHI, postoperative annulus-fibrosus tear size, and degree of intervertebral disc degeneration were associated with early recurrence after PETD. Increased base-width of herniation was a risk factor for early recurrence after PETD. Central-herniation patients with were more prone to postoperative early recurrence than paracentral-herniation patients.

Background Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate (anti-NMDA) receptor encephalitis is a severe autoimmune disease characterized by complicated psychiatric and neurological symptoms and a difficult diagnosis. This disorder is commonly misdiagnosed, and diagnosis is often delayed. The clinical signs can mimic other psychiatric abnormalities, such as neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) that is usually caused by antipsychotic exposure. This fact raises the question of whether the symptoms common to NMS are due to anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis or established NMS. Cases presentation We describe a rare case of a 29-year-old male without psychiatric history who initially presented with a fever, altered consciousness, behavioral changes, rigidity, and elevated creatine kinase. He was initially diagnosed with NMS. NMS-like symptoms did not improve with active treatments and disappeared for a long period after discontinuing antipsychotics. The patient gradually developed a complicated disease progression, including speech impairment, mutism, and movement disorders, and symptom progression led to the final diagnosis of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. The related pathophysiological mechanisms, clinical features, and treatment of this disease are reviewed. Conclusion We highlight that the natural progress of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis can mimic the symptoms of NMS and NMS-like features could be due to anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis upon antipsychotic exposure, and not true NMS. Clinically, the suspicion of NMS may serve as a significant alarm to suspect anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and lead neurologists or psychiatrists to investigate such a diagnosis.

Background Recently, a percutaneous spinal endoscopy unilateral posterior interlaminar approach to perform bilateral decompression has been proposed for use in treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis, As a development and supplement to traditional surgery, its advantages regarding therapeutic effects and prognosis, such as minor soft tissue damage, little intraoperative blood loss, and a quick return to daily life. However, there are few analyses of this surgery with a follow-up of more than 1 year,we conducted this study in order to quantitatively investigate radiographic and clinical efficacies of this surgery for central lumbar spinal stenosis. Materials and methods Forty-six patients with central lumbar spinal stenosis were enrolled from January 2017 to July 2018. The visual analog scale (VAS) for back pain and leg pain, Oswestry disability index (ODI), modified MacNab criteria were used to evaluate clinical efficiency at preoperative and postoperative time points. The intervertebral height index (IHI), cross-sectional area of the spinal canal (CSAC), calibrated disc signal (CDS) and spinal stability were examined to assess radiographic decompression efficiency via magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray at preoperative and postoperative time points. Results The VAS score for lower back pain and leg pain improved from 7.50 ± 0.78 to 1.70 ± 0.66 and from 7.30 ± 0.79 to 1.74 ± 0.68, respectively, and the ODI improved from 72.35 ± 8.15 to 16.15 ± 4.51. In terms of modified MacNab criteria, 91.3% of the patients achieved good or excellent outcomes. Furthermore, significant changes after surgery were observed for the percentage of CSAC, increasing from 125.3 ± 53.9 to 201.4 ± 78 mm2; however, no significant differences were observed for the remaining measurement indicators. Conclusions The clinical and radiographic efficacies of this surgery for central lumbar spinal stenosis were good in short-term follow-up, and this surgery did not cause meaningful changes in IHI, CDS, and spine stability in short-term follow-up. The effect of long-term follow-up needs further investigation.

Mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with a reversible splenial lesion (MERS) is a clinicoradiologic syndrome typically characterized by transient mild encephalitis or encephalopathy with reversible lesions being found in the splenium of corpus callosum (SCC) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A variety of pathogens including influenza virus, rotavirus, and adenovirus associated with MERS have been reported. However, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related MERS is relatively rare in infants. In this study, we report two Chinese infants who suffered from RSV-related MERS. Both infants manifested as fever, seizure, and altered states of consciousness with confirmed detections of RSV-RNA in the specimens from throat swab. Clinical symptoms/signs such as apnea and shallow breathing were also noted in these two infants. Furthermore, brain MRI images indicated reversible isolated lesions with transiently reduced diffusion in the SCC. Fortunately, both of these two infants recovered completely following treatment within a month. Our study suggests that RSV may serve as a novel causative agent for MERS in infants. Clinicians should focus more attention on RSV-related MERS in infants in order to improve early accurate diagnosis and therapeutic decision making.

Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) has been widely used, before which foraminoplasty is necessary to widen the foramen for subsequent procedures. However, the learning curve of this technology is high, as the use of traditional reamers requires repeated intraoperative fluoroscopy. We sought to compare the clinical outcomes by using the visualized and traditional reamers in PELD foraminoplasty for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation.Eighty patients with lumbar disc herniation who were treated with PELD between 1 January 2017 and 1 January 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were randomly divided into 2 groups (40 patients in the Visualized Bone Reamer group) and (40 patients in the Traditional Bone Reamer group). Intraoperative fluoroscopy time, cannulation introduction time, visual analog scale, and Macnab criteria score were compared between the 2 groups.The mean follow-up durations were 17.41 ± 1.47 and 18.37 ± 1.69 months in the visualized and traditional groups, respectively. The average cannulation introduction time and intraoperative fluoroscopy times in the visualized group is significantly lower than those in traditional group (29.20 ± 3.31 vs. 39.85 ± 3.98 minutes, P0.001; and 12.30 ± 2.38 vs. 20.65 ±3.51 seconds, P0.001, respectively). One patient in the traditional group required reoperation, and no complications occurred in the visualized group. There were no severe durotomies or vascular or visceral injuries.Full-endoscopic foraminoplasty using a visualized reamer is safe and effective and can decrease intraoperative fluoroscopy time in PELD.

This study aims to explore the change laws of water absorption in Chinese herbal pieces and establish the prediction model of relative density for Chinese medicine compound decoction. Firstly, fitted equations of water absorption and decocting time was established by observing the change laws of water absorption in 36 kinds of Chinese herbal pieces in 12 groups(according to the drug-parts) with decocting time. The r value of the mineral group and other type group was 0.691 2 and 0.663 3, respectively. The r value of the remaining 10 groups was 0.802 2-0.925 4. All P values were less than 0.05(n=21). The formula of the amount of water added was optimized by combining the fitted equations with determined water absorption, and the liquid yield could be controlled in a range of 100%±10%. Secondly, it was determined that the liquid density tester could be used for the rapid determination of relative density of Chinese medicine decoction after methodological study and comparison with the pycnometer method. The linear regression equation between the corrected relative density(y) and extraction ratio(%, x) was built by measuring and analyzing the related parameters such as liquid yield, relative density and extraction ratio in 46 kinds of Chinese herbal pieces. The established equation was y=0.041 3x+1.003 7, r=0.930 9(Plt;0.01, n=46), with linear range of 1.94%-65.75%. Based on this, the prototype model for predicting relative density of Chinese medicine decoction was established, and the relative densities of 8 Chinese medicine decoctions were within the prediction interval of this model in verification. This study lays a foundation for database construction of Chinese medicine decoction, implementation of personalized decocting mode and rapid quality control of Chinese medicine decoction.

The quality of traditional Chinese medicine tablets is correlated with clinical efficacy and drug safety, and plays a great role in promoting the development of traditional Chinese medicine. However, the existing traditional artificial identification and modern instrument detection in terms of accuracy and timeliness have both advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, how to quickly and accurately identify the quality of traditional Chinese medicine tablets has become a high-profile issue. The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of the application of electronic eye technology in the study of rapid identification of traditional Chinese medicine quality. A total of 80 batches of samples were collected and tested by Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus for traditional empirical identification(M_1) and modern pharmacopeia(M_2). The optical data was collected from electronic eyes, and the chemical metrology was used to establish suitable discrimination models(M_3). Four authenticity and commodity specification models, namely identification analysis(DA), minimum bidirectional support vector machine(LS-SVM), partial minimum two-multiplier analysis(PLS-DA), main component analysis identification analysis(PCA-DA), were established, respectively. The accuracies of the authenticity identification models were 82.5%, 90.0%, 96.2% and 93.8%, while the accuracies of the commodity specification identification models were 89.3%, 96.0%, 90.7% and 97.3%, respectively. The models were well judged, the authenticity identification was based on the final identification model of PLS-DA, and the commodity specification was based on the final identification model of PCA-DA. There was no significant difference between its accuracy and M_1, and the time of determination was much shorter than M_2(Plt;0.01). Therefore, electronic-eye technology could be used for the rapid identification of the quality of Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus.

Chinese herbal medicine decoction pieces(CHMDP), one of the main forms of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) in clinic, have been widely used. However, the irrational use is increasingly serious due to the lack of the indicators for judging the rational use of CHMDP in medical institutions and the codes and standards for the clinical use of CHMDP. In order to regulate the rational clinical use of CHMDP, improve the clinical efficacy and ensure the drug safety for the patients, clinical pharmaceutical experts and clinical medical experts from 40 third-grade class-A hospitals nationwide were organized to give thequot;expert consensus on clinical application of CHMDPquot; in terms of prescription writing, combined use of drugs, use of special drugs, and drug use for special population. Detailed analysis and argumentation were conducted in accordance with the laws and regulations, Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2015 edition, Chinese Pharmacopoeia Code Notice for Clinical Use of Medicine, Administrative Regulations for Prescriptions, Administrative Specifications for Hospital Prescription Review(interim), and Chinese Traditional Medicine Prescription Format and Writing Specifications, as well as relevant project findings.

Autoimmune glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) astrocytopathy has been considered a novel central nervous system autoimmune disease characterized by relapse and responsiveness to corticosteroid with a specific GFAP-Immunoglobulin G (IgG) being noted in cerebrospinal fluid. We report the case of a 21-year-old girl presenting with dysuria and weariness, who subsequently developed blurry vision, slight dysphagia, slurred speech, and sensory abnormality. GFAP-IgG was detected in her cerebrospinal fluid. Magnetic resonance imaging using both T2-weighted and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images revealed a rare finding of lesions distributed mainly in the entire spinal cord rather than typical brain lesions. After treating with corticosteroids, her clinical symptoms were alleviated, and the spinal cord lesion enhancement was reduced. Our observations extend the clinical spectrum of autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy. We suggest that rare distributed lesions in the entire spinal cord in patients with autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy cannot be ignored by neurologists. The identification of potential atypical lesions broadens the understanding of autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy.

Objective To develop tumor-targeted multifunctional nanoparticles with phase transition, and to investigate their multimodal imaging, delivery efficiency on tumor cells and efficacy of sonodynamic therapy (SDT). Methods IR780 and perfluoropentane (PFP) based liposome (Lip-PFP-IR780) nanoparticles were synthesized by an emulsion strategy. The characteristics of these nanoparticles were determined. Multimodal imaging ability of Lip-PFP-IR780 nanoparticles was evaluated by ultrasound (US), photoacoustic (PA) and fluorescence (FL) imaging in vitro. The delivery efficiency of Lip-PFP-IR780 to 4T1 cancer cells (mouse breast cancer cells) was evaluated by the laser scanning confocal microscope and flow cytometry. In vitro sonodynamic properties of these nanoparticles was evaluated by Singlet Oxygen Sensor Green (SOSG) assay and CCK-8 assay. Results These nanoparticles presented homogenized size distribution. The average diameter was 338.5±124.2nm and zeta potential was –27.6±2.4mV. Meanwhile, the entrapment efficiency of IR780 was calculated as 91.6%. In vitro, after low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) radiation, the Lip-PFP-IR780 nanoparticles undergone phase transformation and could be used for US contrast imaging. The PA signal intensity of nanoparticles increased along with the increase of the concentrations. The nanoparticles also could be used for near-infrared fluorescence imaging in vitro. The binding efficiency of targeting nanoparticles in 4T1 cells was much higher than non-targeted nanoparticles (P＜0.05). During SDT, it would cause cell death due to singlet oxygen (1O2) produced after the LIFU irradiation. As expected, the 4T1 tumor cells were ablated and the cell viability in LIFU irradiation groups significantly decreased compared with the groups without LIFU irradiation (P＜0.05). Conclusion Tumor-targeted multifunctional nanoparticles with phase transition were successfully constructed for multimodal-imaging-guided SDT. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2018.10.03

The effect of shallow and deep roots on compensatory growth of potted corn seedlings during post-drought rewatering was investigated on the basis of leaf cytokinin induced by roots. Two treatment conditions, namely, root cutting and nitrate (NO3−) addition, were used in the study. Results showed that drought stress retained corn growth. In the absence of root cutting, rewatering increased the net photosynthetic rates of corn and induced compensatory growth. However, under root cutting, no compensatory growth occurred in the rewatered corns. In the absence of root cutting, significantly higher zeatin riboside (ZR) concentrations in the leaves and xylem saps were recorded under rewatering treatment than under wet treatment. However, these results were not observed under root cutting owing to loss of deep roots. Furthermore, corns with deep roots added with NO3− showed significantly higher ZR concentration in the leaves and xylem saps than those with shallow roots added with NO3−. High leaf cytokinin concentration is known to induce rapid corn growth. Thus, no compensatory growth occurred during post-drought rewatering in corns with few deep roots, likely due to lack of leaf cytokinin enhancement induced by deep roots.

This study explored the effects of ammonia oxidizing bacterial (AOB) strain S2_7_25 on the compensatory growth of corn (Zea mays L.) upon post-drought rewatering using seedlings as test materials. This study consisted of two treatment conditions: isolation and screening of AOB strain and AOB strain inoculated to soils. Isolated and screened from soil, S2_7_25 had 100% similarity to Acinetobacter pittii. The experimental design of S2_7_25 inoculation to soils was composed of five treatments: (1) wetness, (2) post-drought rewatering, (3) post-drought rewatering with S2_7_25 inoculation, (4) post-drought rewatering with nitrification inhibitor addition to soil and (5) post-drought rewatering with nitrification inhibitor addition to soil and S2_7_25 inoculation. Rewatering increased the total biomass and net photosynthetic rate of corn compared with wetness, and S2_7_25 inoculation greatly increased these parameters of rewatering corn. However, nitrification inhibitor addition greatly decreased these parameters of rewatering corn inoculated with or without S2_7_25. Rewatering increased the rhizosphere soil nitrification rate of corn, and rewatering with S2_7_25 inoculation further increased it. However, nitrification inhibitor addition decreased this parameter in rewatering corn with or without S2_7_25 inoculation. The cytokinin delivery rates from the roots to the leaves were regulated by soil nitrification in the rhizosphere, and it determined the leaf cytokinin concentration that is closely related to corn rewatering growth. The highest leaf cytokinin concentration during rewatering caused over-compensatory growth and the highest water use efficiency in rewatering corn with S2_7_25 inoculation among all treatments. Compensatory and under-compensatory growth occurred in rewatering corn and in corn with nitrification inhibitor addition, respectively. In a word, S2_7_25 increased corn compensatory growth by regulating soil nitrification and root-induced leaf cytokinin.

In 2013,China pharmaceutical regulatory department issued guiduance on postmarketing drug safety monitoring for industry. It aimed to encourage industry to carry out postmarketing drug safety monitoring including hospital-based intensive monitoring of postmarketing Chinese patent medicine. Subsequently,more and more such kind of studies have been performed all over China. However,in view of the current situation in this field,the development of hospital-based intensive monitoring of postmarketing Chinese patent medicine lacks standardization,such as unreasonable design,omission of reports about adverse drug reactions,inadequate process of quality control,non-standardized interpretation of adverse reactions,etc. Therefore,it is necessary to formulate relevant technical specifications to guide this area. The developing of this technical specification refered to the international post-marketing safety monitoring model and advanced design concepts and methods. We developed it under the guidance of relevant laws,regulations and technical documents in China. Meanwhile the characteristics of Chinese patent medicines and the real situation in this area were considered. The aim of this technical specification is to obtain the incidence,type,degree and clinical manifestation of adverse drug reactions of Chinese patent medicines,to find new risk signals of adverse reactions,to identify risk factors,and to provide a basis for the formulation of risk management and control plans. This specification has been approved by China association of Chinese medicine which is numbered T/CACM011-2016.

The superstructures of marine structures supported by the elastic legs and located in the splash zone will subject to violent wave slamming and vibrate consequently during storms. A series of model tests are carried out to investigate the wave impacting on the open structures supported elastically. Three kinds of models with different natural frequencies are designed. The characteristics of the wave pressures on the three models are compared. The durations of the uplift forces and the corresponding accelerations of the structure during wave impact are analyzed simultaneously. The distributions of the peak impact pressures on the subfaces of the plates with different supporting stiffness are given. The relationship between the uplift force on the three models and the relative clearance are obtained. The spectral properties of the slamming loads on the three different structures are compared. The experimental results indicate that the behaviors of the impact pressures, the uplift forces and accelerations of the plates with small natural frequencies are obviously different from those of the plates with larger natural frequencies within the range of the experimental parameters.

Study design This prospective observational study included 22 patients who were diagnosed with symptomatic degenerative disc disease treated via artificial disc replacement (ADR) with a laparoscopic technique. Objective The current study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of ADR using a laparoscopic technique for lumbar disc herniation. Summary of background data Symptomatic degenerative disc disease is the major cause of low back pain with lumbar segmental instability. ADR has increased in popularity as an alternative treatment for lumbar disc herniation. However, the traditional approach to spinal surgery carries the risk of catastrophic bleeding from injury to major vessels, as well as iatrogenic injury to the viscera and associated structures. Therefore, laparoscopic lumbar discectomy and ADR may represent a useful alternative. Methods Twenty-two patients (8 males and 14 females) who were diagnosed with symptomatic degenerative disc disease were included in this study. Seven cases involved the L4/5 level, and 15 cases involved the L5/S1 level. All patients were ineffective after at least 6 months of conservative treatments; all patients were informed of the surgery before the operation and provided consent. Three-dimensional computed tomographic angiography (3D-CTA) of the iliac great blood vessels was completed before the surgery. All surgical procedures were performed under a laparoscope. All patients were followed up. Results All surgeries were successfully completed. The average operation time was 120 minutes (range 110-150 min), and the average hemorrhage was 145 mL (range 80-360 mL). All cases underwent X-rays at 3 days, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and the final postoperative follow-up. The outcome indicated that there was no mobilization, displacement, or subsidence in all patients with the exception of one case with prosthesis migration. The follow-up time was 43.8 months (range 24-64 months). The mean visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry scores were decreased postoperatively. The mean improvement rate of the VAS score was 73.5%. Conclusion Lumbar ADR using a laparoscope represents a novel, minimally invasive treatment for symptomatic degenerative disc disease and severe lumbar discogenic pain.

An on-line solid phase extraction coupled to capillary HPLC method was established for the simultaneous determination of fifteen kinds of biologic amines in cheese. The biogenic amines were concentrated using the solid phase extraction column and transferred by the six-way valve to analytical column for separation and detection. The separation conditions, including gradient elution, pH, flow rate and column temperature on capillary HPLC, composition of on-line SPE mobile phase, pH of the sample solution and switching time of six-way switching valve were optimized. Optimum on-line SPE conditions including 5% of the acetonitrile-water as mobile phase for SPE column, pH 11 of the sample solution and 3 min of valve switching time were chosen in this method. The linear ranges of standard curve for fifteen biogenic amines were 0.25–50.0 mg L −1 ; LOD was within the range of 0.05–0.25 mg L −1 and LOQ was in the range of 0.15–0.80 mg L −1 . In the spike and recovery study, four types of cheese were investigated. The recoveries for fifteen biogenic amines on four kinds of cheese ranged were from 79.6% to 118.7% except methylamine, ethylamine, 3-methylbutanamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine; with RSDs from 0.3% to 14.9%, except 3-methylbutanamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine. The method is accurate and reliable for detecting biogenic amines in cheese.

The mechanism of compensatory growth in corn after post-drought rewatering at the seedling stage was explored by investigating the levels and effects of several plant hormones. This study consisted of two treatment conditions: nitrate (NO3−) addition to the roots and cytokinin addition to the leaves. Results showed that drought stress reduced the biomass of aboveground parts and the whole plant, but increased root soluble carbohydrate concentration and root activity. Post-drought rewatering under the addition of NO3− to the roots increased corn growth. Biomass values of the aboveground parts and the whole plant were similar between the rewatering and wetness at 10 days after rewatering conditions. Upon addition of NO3− to roots, post- drought rewatering increased the cytokinin contents of leaves and its delivery rate from roots to leaves. Addition of cytokinin to leaves without the addition of NO3− to roots increased the growth rate of corn seedlings upon post-drought rewatering and simultaneously caused high leaf cytokinin concentration. Thus, increase in concentration of root-derived cytokinin concentration in leaves was closely related to compensatory growth in corn upon post-drought rewatering at the seedling stage.

Danhong injection (DHI), one of the best-selling traditional Chinese medicine injections (TCMIs), is used extensively for treating myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and traumatic intracranial hematoma in clinics. It has attracted increasing attention as one of the most popular and valuable herbal medicines. However, the systematic analysis of the chemical constituents of DHI is difficult and thus has not been well established. In this paper, rapid, sensitive, and reliable ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF/MS) was established to characterize the components of DHI. And the UNIFI software with the Traditional Medicine Library was applied to identify the chemical constituents of DHI for the first time, which is simpler and more effective. Under the optimized conditions, a total of 44 peaks including nucleotides, phenolic acids, and flavonoid glycosides were identified or tentatively characterized by comparing the retention time and MS data. The results may provide useful information for the further study of the pharmacology and mechanism of DHI. Furthermore, with the introduction of the UNIFI software into the analysis of TCM, this will provide a type of validated rapid and high-throughput methodology for the identification of constituents in Chinese herbal prescriptions; we expect that this approach would be useful for the screening and characterization of compounds in other famous TCM products.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between rhizosphere soil nitrification and compensatory growth of potted corn (Zea mays L.) seedlings upon post-drought rewatering on the basis of leaf cytokinin induced by roots. The nitrification inhibitor 3, 4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate was added to the soil to restrain nitrification in soil. The experimental design consisted of six treatments: (1) wetness, (2) wetness with the nitrification inhibitor addition, (3) wetness with the nitrification inhibitor and nitrate additions, (4) post-drought rewatering, (5) post-drought rewatering with the nitrification inhibitor addition, and (6) post-drought rewatering with the nitrification inhibitor and nitrate additions. The results showed that compared with wetness rewatering alone increased the aboveground and total biomasses and the net photosynthetic rates of corn, but rewatering had little influence on these parameters following the nitrification inhibitor addition or both the inhibitor and nitrate additions. Without the nitrification inhibitor addition, the increase of carbohydrate content in root exudates of rewatering corn caused by drought stress accounted for rhizosphere soil nitrification rate augment during rewatering that were closely related to the delivery rate of cytokinin from the roots to the leaves; however, increased nitrification rates in non-rhizosphere soil were not recorded in rewatering treatment. Without the addition of the nitrification inhibitor, the net leaf photosynthetic rate of corn increased due to the elevated cytokinin levels in leaves, leading to the occurrence of compensatory growth and high water use efficiency of corn. By contrast, nitrification inhibitor application decreased the rhizosphere soil nitrification rate, followed by the consequent under-compensatory growth and low water use efficiency of corn; and the under-compensatory growth and low water use efficiency of corn also occurred in corns with the addition of both nitrification inhibitor and nitrate. Therefore, rhizosphere nitrification plays a key role in corn compensatory growth.