Study on Purification, Identification and Antioxidant of Flavonoids Extracted from Perilla leaves.

The flavonoids from Perilla leaves were extracted using flash extraction assisted by ultrasonic extraction with ethanol. Subsequently, macroporous resin was employed for the isolation and purification of these flavonoids, followed by an investigation into their antioxidant activity. The process conditions for the extraction of flavonoids from Perilla leaves were designed and optimized using a one-way experiment combined with a response surface methodology. The optimal extraction conditions were determined as follows: the liquid-solid ratio was 20:1, ethanol volume fraction of 60%, ultrasound temperature of 60 °C, ultrasound time of 10 min and flash evaporation time of 60 s. The optimal extraction rate of flavonoids is 9.8 mg/g. In terms of separation and purification, a high-performance macroporous resin (HPD450 resin) with high purification efficiency was selected through static analysis and adsorption experiments. The optimal enrichment conditions were as follows: loading concentration of 0.06 mg/mL, optimal loading concentration of 20 mL, elution concentration of 70% and 76 mL, providing a reference for the further development and utilization of Perilla leaf flavonoids.

Environmental contamination with SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 hospitals in Wuhan, China, 2020.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused high number of infections and deaths of healthcare workers globally. Distribution and possible transmission route of SARS-CoV-2 in hospital environment should be clarified. We herein collected 431 environmental (391 surface and 40 air) samples in the intensive care unit (ICU) and general wards (GWs) of three hospitals in Wuhan, China from February 21 to March 4, 2020, and detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA by real-time quantitative PCR. The viral positive rate in the contaminated areas was 17.8% (28/157), whereas there was no virus detected in the clean areas. Higher positive rate (22/59, 37.3%) was found in ICU than that in GWs (3/63, 4.8%). The surfaces of computer keyboards and mouse in the ICU were the most contaminated (8/10, 80.0%), followed by the ground (6/9, 66.7%) and outer glove (2/5, 40.0%). From 17 air samples in the contaminated areas, only one sample collected at a distance of around 30 cm from the patient was positive. Enhanced surface disinfection and hand hygiene effectively decontaminated the virus from the environment. This finding might help understand the transmission route and contamination risk of SARS-CoV-2 and evaluate the effectiveness of infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities.

Multicenter surveillance study of surgical site infection and its risk factors in radical resection of colon or rectal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal surgery is associated with high rates of surgical site infection (SSI). We investigated SSI in radical resection of colon or rectal carcinoma and its epidemiological distribution in 26 hospitals in China. METHODS: We conducted prospective surveillance of patients who underwent radical resection of colon or rectal carcinoma in 26 selected hospitals from January 2015 to June 2016.An information system monitored all of the surgical inpatients. Infection control professionals observed the inpatients with suspected SSI who had been screened by the system at the bedside. The infection status of the incisions was followed up by telephone 1 month after the operation. RESULTS: In total, 5729 patients were enrolled for the two operations; SSIs occurred in 206 patients, and the infection rate was 3.60%. The incidence of SSI after radical resection of rectal carcinoma (5.12%; 119/2323) was 2.1 times higher than that after radical resection of colon carcinoma (2.55%; 87/3406) (P < 0.0001). Additionally, in the colon versus rectal groups, the rate of superficial incisional SSI was 0.94% versus 2.28% (P < 0.0001), the rate of deep incisional SSI was 0.56% versus 1.11% (P = 0.018), and the rate of organ space SSI was 1.06% versus 1.72% (P = 0.031), respectively. The most common pathogens causing SSIs after radical resection of colon carcinoma were Escherichia coli (21/38) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5/38). Escherichia coli (24/65) and Enterococcus spp. (14/65) were the two most common pathogens in the rectal group. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only the operating time and number of hospital beds were common independent risk factors for SSIs after the two types of surgery. CONCLUSION: This multicenter study showed that there were significant differences in the incidence of SSIs, three types of SSIs, and some risk factors between radical resection of colon carcinoma and rectal carcinoma.

Sharp instrument injuries among hospital healthcare workers in mainland China: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of sharp instrument injuries in hospital-based healthcare workers (HCWs) in mainland China and the contributing factors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: The data were derived from public hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 360 hospitals were recruited in the study, including 289 general hospitals and 71 specialised hospitals. Among them, 194 are tertiary-level hospitals and 166 are secondary level. The study population finally consisted of 223 149 hospital HCWs. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: A questionnaire was designed based on the aim of the study. Profession of HCWs, workplace, circumstance and medical apparatus and instrument were covered in the survey. HCWs completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding details of sharp instrument injuries within the previous month. Prevalence estimates for the injuries were calculated for the overall HCWs and for subgroups according to profession, workplace, circumstance or instrument. RESULTS: Within the included HCWs, the prevalence of sharp instrument injuries was 0.08 per person-month. Only 4.6% of the HCWs reported to their hospitals after injury. The highest number of injuries occurred in nursing staff (10.3%). Injuries took place most frequently on general wards (44.5%). The circumstances that involved most frequent injuries include surgical needle insertion, removing an arteriovenous needle from a patient and recapping the needle. Single-use syringe caused more injuries incidents than other instruments. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that sharp instrument injuries have become a major occupational problem of HCWs in mainland China. Attentions need to be paid to the issue and strategies for preventing such injuries are needed.

Surgical treatment of giant coronary artery aneurysm secondary to Kawasaki disease.

AIM: To investigate the clinical features and surgical management of giant coronary artery aneurysm during end-stage Kawasaki disease. METHODS: From May 2006 to October 2007, 5 patients, 2 to 57 years old, presented with giant coronary artery aneurysm and underwent surgical correction. The coronary aneurysm diameters were 1.5 to 2.5 cm. The coronary aneurysm lesion sites included the right main coronary artery in 1 case, the left main coronary artery in 2 cases, and both the left and right coronary arteries in 2 cases. Preoperative electrocardiogram revealed altered S-T segments in 5 cases and reduced ejection fraction values in 3 cases, resulting in 1 emergency admission for congestive heart failure. Surgical treatments included thromboendarterectomy, thrombectomy, and aneurysmal reconstruction under the orthophoria of extracorporeal circulation. RESULTS: There were no operative deaths. All patients recovered and received dopamine 2 to 4 microg/min per kg and nitroglycerine 0.3 to 0.5 microg/min per kg. Time spent by patients in intensive care was uneventful. Following surgery, 4 patients showed ischemic improvement of the S-T segment on electrocardiograms, and 4 patients presented with increased ejection fraction, according to cardiac ultrasound inspection. The improvement of ejection fraction value was not significant in only 1 case. CONCLUSION: Surgery is necessary for stage-3 Kawasaki disease patients that have giant coronary artery aneurysm complications. Surgical treatment includes thromboendarterectomy, thrombus clearing, aneurysmal reconstruction, and coronary artery bypass grafting, followed by postoperative anticoagulation and immunotherapy. Myocardial ischemia and cardiac function can be greatly improved through surgery.