Influence of impact velocity and impact attack angle of bullets on damage of human tissue surrogate -- ballistic gelatin.

PURPOSE: Terminal performance of a bullet in human body is critical for the treatment of gunshot injury and optimization of bullet design. The effects of the impact velocity (v0) and the impact attack angle (δ0) of the bullet on its terminal performance was investigated, using a new evaluation method (called expansion method) based on the expansion of cracks and the permanent cavity wall in ballistic gelatin. METHODS: Ballistic gelatin was used to simulate human body. The 7.62 mm × 39 mm rifle bullets with different v0 (600-760 m/s) and δ0 (0°-6°) were fired into the gelatin blocks. The gelatin block was cut into slices of about 20 mm thickness. The cracks and the permanent cavity on each slice were obtained manually. The damaged gelatin was determined using two methods: expanding the permanent cavity but ignoring the cracks, and expanding both the permanent cavity and the cracks. The relations between the damaged gelatin and v0 and δ0 were obtained using linear fitting method. RESULTS: According to the distribution of the damaged gelatin along the penetration depth, the damaged gelatin block could be divided into two parts: the less damaged part and the severely damaged part. The length of the less damaged part depends mostly on δ0; while the average damaged area of this part depends on both δ0 as well as v0. The cracks contributed significantly to the total volume of damaged gelatin, particularly when the expansion was larger than 1.9 mm. The total damaged gelatin increases with v0, δ0 and the expansion extent. The average length of equivalent cracks grew with v0 and δ0 when considering the cracks, and decreased with v0 when ignoring the cracks. CONCLUSION: The expansion method is suitable to investigate the influence of different factors of bullets on their terminal performance. The characteristics of the damaged gelatin have a linear relationship with the initial attack angle (δ0) and the initial velocity (v0) of the bullet.

Diagnostic and Categorization Criteria for Palpitations Below the Heart in Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Delphi Consensus Study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore and establish the diagnosis, syndrome classification and syndrome differentiation criteria of palpitations below the heart in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in order to lay a foundation for the clinical diagnosis, treatment and research of palpitations below the heart. METHODS: In the early stage of this study, we searched the literature related to palpitations below the heart in TCM in domestic and foreign databases, analyzed the results and developed an expert consultation questionnaire. Using the Delphi method, a survey was conducted by 19 expert TCM practitioners. The survey results were statistically analyzed, aggregated and categorized to create the next round of questionnaires, and the process was repeated was repeated for a total of 4 rounds of expert opinions and until a consensus was achieved. Finally, the questionnaire items were classified into the main diagnosis (primary disease) and secondary diagnosis (secondary disease) for each syndrome. RESULTS: This study was completed ahead of schedule after 2 rounds of expert questionnaire surveys. A total of 19 exceptional TCM experts from all over China reached a consensus on 1 diagnostic standard and 4 syndrome types. The main diagnoses of palpitations below the heart included "conscious sub cardiac epigastric beating," "throbbing at the lower part of the heart" and "palpitation rhythm consistent with the pulse and obvious pulsation in the heart area," while the secondary diagnosis was "palpitation obvious after nervous tension, fatigue, drinking water or changing body position." Based on the balance of TCM Yin (negative, dark, feminine) and Yang (positive, bright, masculine) energy, TCM syndrome differentiation (Bian Zheng - the comprehensive analysis of clinical information obtained from the 4 main diagnostic TCM procedures: observation, listening, questioning, and pulse analysis, that is used to guide the choice of treatment by acupuncture and/or TCM) of palpitations below the heart are differentiated as heart yang deficiency syndrome, middle yang deficiency syndrome, kidney yang deficiency syndrome and phlegm drink syndrome, and the main and secondary syndromes of each are established. In the consultation process, the expert opinions were highly correlated, questionnaire reliability was strong and the results were credible. CONCLUSIONS: The criteria proposed in this study do not claim to be the best or the most accurate, but they do provide some guidelines for practitioners, a basis for clinical differentiation and treatment with TCM and a basis for further randomized controlled trials in the future. Further research is needed in order to reach a consensus regarding TCM treatment of palpitations below the heart.

Photodegradation of Cationic and Anioic Dyes by pH-Dependent Dispersion of Amphoteric g-C3N4 Nanosheets.

g-C3N4 nanosheets (NSs) were prepared via H2SO4 exfoliation from the bulky g-C3N4 and the photocatalytic (PC) activities were investigated comprehensively using Rodamine B (RhB) and Chromotrope 2R (Ch2R) as candidate pollutants. The results showed that the pH value have important functions in the improvement of photodegradation performance of C3N4 NSs. RhB as cationic dye could be photodegraded more efficiently under acidic conditions while Ch2R as anionic dye was degraded easily in pH ≥ 11 solution. In particular, the Ch2R could be degraded completely within only 30 min in pH = 11 solution. It might be because the amphoteric C3N4 NSs surface with carboxyl and amino groups possessed negative and positive charges in alkaline and acidic conditions, respectively. These results presumably provided a new idea to enhance the pH-dependent photodegradation activity and degrade different types of pollutants selectively by adjusting the pH of amphoteric nanocatalyts.

Schisandrin A ameliorates MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease in a mouse model via regulation of brain autophagy.

Schisandrin A (Sch A) is one of the principal bioactive lignans isolated from Fructus schisandrae. In this study, we demonstrated its protective effect and biochemical mechanism of action in a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine-induced mouse model of Parkinson's disease. Sch A significantly ameliorated behavioural abnormalities and increased the number of nigral dopaminergic neurons detected by tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry. Pre-treatment with Sch A significantly decreased the levels of the inflammatory mediators IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α and markedly improved antioxidant defences by inhibiting the activity of MDA and increasing that of SOD. Furthermore, Sch A activated expression of the autophagy-related proteins LC3-II, beclin1, parkin, and PINK1 and increased mTOR expression. Taken together, these findings indicate that Sch A has neuroprotective effects against the development of Parkinson's disease via regulation of brain autophagy.

The experimental and numerical investigation on the ballistic limit of BB-Gun pellet versus skin simulant.

The insufficient recognition of injuries by the BB-gun (regarded as toys for children) has led to its increasing misuse without permission, which has caused many public safety issues. Aiming to enhance the understanding of the injuries by the BB-gun, the experimental and numerical study of BB-Gun pellet penetrating "cowhide + gelatine" composite target was comprehensively carried out. It was confirmed from the experiment that BB-Gun is capable of inflicting severe or fatal wounds to important organs, and perforating the skin or not could be employed to evaluate the safety of BB-guns. Moreover, three forms of ballistic limit (including: velocity, kinetic energy and specific kinetic energy) of typical BB were calculated and analyzed by reasonably validated numerical simulation method. Additionally, a formulation was acquired by dimensional analysis based on the simulation results and was verified to accurately predict the ballistic limit velocity of BB with different mechanical properties. The method may help to improve the understanding on the minimal velocity needed to perforate skin and may be advised as the determination of the safety of BB-gun.

Comparison of ballistic impact effects between biological tissue and gelatin.

Gelatin is commonly used in ballistic testing as substitute for biological tissue. Comparison of ballistic impact effects produced in the gelatin and living tissue is lacking. The work in this paper was aimed to compare the typical ballistic impact effects (penetration trajectory, energy transfer, temporary cavity) caused by 4.8mm steel ball penetrating the 60kg porcine hind limbs and 10wt% gelatin. The impact event in the biological tissue was recorded by high speed flash X-ray machine at different delay time, while the event in the gelatin continuously recorded by high speed video was compared to that in the biological tissue. The collected results clearly displayed that the ballistic impact effects in the muscle and gelatin were similar for the steel ball test; as for instance, the projectile trajectory in the two targets was basically similar, the process of energy transfer was highly coincident, and the expansion of temporary cavity followed the same pattern. This study fully demonstrated that choosing gelatin as muscle simulant was reasonable. However, the maximum temporary cavity diameter in the gelatin was a little larger than that in the muscle, and the expansion period of temporary cavity was longer in the gelatin. Additionally, the temporary cavity collapse process in the two targets followed different patterns, and the collapse period in the gelatin was two times as long as that in the muscle.

Pharmacokinetics and UPLC-MS/MS of Delsoline in Mouse Whole Blood.

Delsoline, a major alkaloid of Delphinium anthriscifolium Hance, has both a curare-like effect and a ganglion-blocking effect and is used to relieve muscle tension or hyperkinesia. A ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was established for the determination of delsoline in mouse blood, and the pharmacokinetics of delsoline after intravenous administration (1 mg/kg) and intragastric administration (9, 6, and 3 mg/kg) were studied. Gelsenicine served as an internal standard, and a UPLC BEH C18 chromatographic column was used. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid; the gradient elution flow rate was 0.4 mL/min. The MRM model was used for the quantitative analysis of delsoline m/z 468.3⟶108.1 and the internal standard m/z 327.1⟶296.1. Mouse blood samples were treated with acetonitrile precipitation to remove proteins. In the concentration range of 0.1-1000 ng/mL, delsoline in mouse blood showed a good linearity (r 2 > 0.995), and the lower limit of quantitation was 0.1 ng/mL. The intraday precision relative standard deviation (RSD) was below 14%, and the interday precision RSD was below 15%. The accuracy ranged between 94.3% and 110.1%, the average recovery was above 90.8%, and the matrix effect ranged between 97.0% and 102.5%. The UPLC-MS/MS method was sensitive, rapid, and selective in the study of pharmacokinetics of delsoline. The absolute bioavailability of delsoline was 20.9%.

Rifle bullet penetration into ballistic gelatin.

The penetration of a rifle bullet into a block of ballistic gelatin is experimentally and computationally studied for enhancing our understanding of the damage caused to human soft tissues. The gelatin is modeled as an isotropic and homogeneous elastic-plastic linearly strain-hardening material that obeys a polynomial equation of state. Effects of numerical uncertainties on penetration characteristics are found by repeating simulations with minute variations in the impact speed and the angle of attack. The temporary cavity formed in the gelatin and seen in pictures taken by two high speed cameras is found to compare well with the computed one. The computed time histories of the hydrostatic pressure at points situated 60 mm above the line of impact are found to have "two peaks", one due to the bullet impact and the other due to the bullet tumbling. Contours of the von Mises stress and of the effective plastic strain in the gelatin block imply that a very small region adjacent to the cavity surface is plastically deformed. The angle of attack is found to noticeably affect the penetration depth at the instant of the bullet tumbling through 90°.

Assessment of effect of Zhu-tan Tong-luo decoction on CYP450 isoforms activity of rats.

In order to investigate the effects of Zhu-tan Tong-luo decoction on the metabolic capacity of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, a cocktail method was employed to evaluate the activities of CYP2B6, CYP2C19, CYP1A2, CYP3A4, CYP2C9, CYP2D6. The rats were randomly divided into acute Zhu-Tan Tong-Luo decoction group (Low, High), chronic Zhu-Tan Tong-Luo decoction group (Low, High) and control group. The acute group rats were given 0.6, 1.2 g/kg (Low, High) Zhu-tan Tong-luo decoction by intragastric administration for 1 day, and the chronic group for 14 days. Six probe drugs bupropion, omeprazole, phenacetin, testosterone, tolbutamide, and metroprolol were given to rats through intragastric administration, and the plasma concentrations were determined by UPLC-MS/MS. There statistical pharmacokinetics differences for omeprazole, phenacetin, testosterone, tolbutamide, and metroprolol in rats were observed by comparing acute Zhu-tan Tong-luo decoction group with control group; and statistical pharmacokinetics differences for bupropion, omeprazole, phenacetin, testosterone, tolbutamide, and metroprolol were observed by comparing chronic Zhu-Tan Tong-Luo decoction group with control group. After intragastric administration of Zhu-Tan Tong-Luo decoction may slightly induce the activities of CYP2B6, CYP2C19, CYP1A2, CYP3A4, CYP2C9, CYP2D6 of rats. Induction of drug metabolizing enzyme by Zhu-Tan Tong-Luo decoction would reduce the efficacy of other drug. Additional, there no statistical difference for biochemical results after 1 or 14 intragastric administration of Zhu-Tan Tong-Luo decoction.

Clinical efficacy and sEMG analysis of a new traditional Chinese medicine therapy in the treatment of spasticity following apoplectic hemiparalysis.

To investigate the clinical effect and surface electromyography (sEMG) of rehabilitation exercise therapy in combination with total glucosides form Shaoyao Gancao decoction in treating spasticity after apoplectic hemiparalysis. Composite spasticity scale (CSS), Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) and modified Barthel index were compared between the exercise only group and the combined therapy group before and 1 month after the treatment to scale muscular tension, function and activities of daily living. Meanwhile, integrate EMG and root mean square (RMS) were used to detect the tension of upper limbs (biceps brachii) and ankles (tibialis anterior muscle and gastrocnemius) after the 1-month treatment. In the combined therapy group, the Ashworth and CSS scales were significantly improved compared to before the treatment (P < 0.05) and compared to the patients in the control group (P < 0.05). After the 1-month treatment, the combined therapy group showed significantly higher FMA and BI scores (P < 0.05) compared to the control group. For the combined therapy group, the sEMG was significantly improved at 1 month after the treatment (P < 0.05), while the control group only showed relatively slight improvement in the RMS of the tibialis anterior muscle and the gastrocnemius. The total glucosides form Shaoyao Gancao decoction could significantly improve the efficacy of the rehabilitation exercise therapy in the treatment of spasticity after apoplectic hemiparalysis, and its mechanism might involve the decrease of muscular tension.