Effects of Ultra-High-Pressure Treatment on Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Free, Esterified and Bound Phenolics from Phyllanthus emblica L. Fruits.

Phyllanthus emblica L. fruits (PEFs) were processed by ultra-pressure (UHP) treatment and then extracted by the ultrasonic-assisted extraction method. The influence of UHP on the phenolic composition, enzyme inhibitory activity and antioxidant activity of the free, esterified, and bound phenolic fractions from PEFs were compared. UHP pretreatment of PEFs significantly increased the total phenolic and flavonoid contents (p < 0.05). A total of 24 chemical compositions were characterized in normal and UHP-treated PEFs by UHPLC-ESI-HRMS/MS. Compared with normal PEFs, these three different phenolic fractions had stronger antioxidant activities and inhibitory effects on the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in H2O2-induced HepG2 cells (p < 0.05). The ROS inhibition might be due to an up-regulation of the expressions of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) activities. In addition, these three different phenolic fractions also significantly inhibited the activities of metabolic enzymes, including α-glucosidase, α-amylase and pancreatic lipase. This work may provide some insights into the potential economics and applications of PEFs in food and nutraceutical industries.

Failure mode and effects analysis on the control effect of multi-drug-resistant bacteria in ICU patients.

OBJECTIVE: The failure mode and effect analysis of the prevention and control in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with multi-drug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infection were explored and analyzed in this research. METHODS: A total of 251 critically ill patients who were hospitalized in the ICU from June to December 2019 were selected as the control group, and another 258 patients who were hospitalized in the ICU from January to June 2020 were set as the observation group. The control-group patients received conventional ICU care, the observation group was treated by the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and then the prevention and control effect of the two nursing modes on multi-drug-resistant bacteria infection in the two groups were compared accordingly. RESULTS: The RPN values of the five highest-level factors in the nursing process were critically lower after the improved interventions than before the improvement. The infection rate of MDR bacteria in the observation group was obviously lower than that in the control group (14.73%, 26.69%, χ2 =11.1233, P=0.0009). In addition, the mortality rate of patients with MDR in the observation group was remarkably lower than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (5.26%, 22.39%, χ2 =5.2405, P=0.0221). The satisfaction of the observation group with the ICU treatment was critically higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (89.53%, 76.49%, χ2 =15.4094, P=0.0001). CONCLUSION: Through the application of FMEA to prevent MDR bacterial infection in ICU patients, nursing staff can accurately pay attention to the keynotes in nursing process, and as such reduce the proportion and mortality of MDR infection in ICU patients and promote the patients' satisfaction with nursing, which are all worthy of clinical application.

Nursing effect of continuous blood purification therapy in treatment of severe sepsis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the nursing effect of continuous blood purification therapy in the treatment of severe sepsis patients. METHODS: A total of 142 patients with severe sepsis in our hospital were divided into two groups, 70 patients in the experimental group who received an optimize nursing plan, while 72 patients in the control group were given routine nursing intervention. The SF-36 questionnaire, nursing satisfaction and serious adverse events and complications were collected. RESULTS: The nursing intervention effect of the two groups after intervention were improved before intervention (P<0.05), and the patient's quality of life between the two groups (SF-36 questionnaire) in the experimental group was increased compared to that of the control group after nursing intervention. The nursing satisfaction scores of the experimental group were obviously improved after receiving optimize nursing intervention, and the scores in the experimental group were much higher than in the control group after receiving the intervention, namely (P<0.05). Moreover, the occurrence of serious adverse events and complications in the experimental group was decreased compared to that in the control group, especially the occurrence of acid base imbalance (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The patients with severe sepsis who received continuous blood purification therapy and optimized nursing intervention had shortened ICU hospitalization time, reduced mortality and complication rates, and improved nursing satisfaction and quality of life.

Preventive effect of ethanol extract from Chinese sumac fruits against tetrachloromethane-induced liver fibrosis in mice.

Chinese sumac (Rhus chinensis Mill.) fruits are traditionally used as a condiment and herb. The aim of this study is to evaluate the preventive effect of the ethanolic extract from Chinese sumac fruits against CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in mice and to delineate the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that the ethanolic extract substantially decreased AST, ALT, MDA, and hydroxyprolin (HYP), restored GSH, SOD, and CAT, and prevented liver fibrosis induced by CCl4. Further, investigation revealed that the prevention against liver fibrosis may be related to heightened inflammation due to suppression of the release of IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α, and the downregulation of COX-2, iNOS, p-NF-κB, and p-P38; the prevention of hepatocyte apoptosis was due to the upregulation of Bcl-2 and downregulation of Bax; the reduction of HSCs activation was due to the downregulation of TGF-ß1 and upregulation of PPAR-γ; and the decrease in the extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition was due to the regulation of MMP9 and TIMP2. These findings proved that Chinese sumac fruits could effectively prevent CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in mice and may be used to develop functional foods and/or nutraceuticals to prevent or alleviate liver fibrosis.