Transcriptome and metabolome reveal the accumulation of secondary metabolites in different varieties of Cinnamomum longepaniculatum.

BACKGROUND: Cinnamomum longepaniculatum (Gamble) N. Chao ex H. W. Li, whose leaves produce essential oils, is a traditional Chinese medicine and economically important tree species. In our study, two C. longepaniculatum varieties that have significantly different essential oil contents and leaf phenotypes were selected as the materials to investigate secondary metabolism. RESULT: The essential oil content and leaf phenotypes were different between the two varieties. When the results of both transcriptome and metabolomic analyses were combined, it was found that the differences were related to phenylalanine metabolic pathways, particularly the metabolism of flavonoids and terpenoids. The transcriptome results based on KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that pathways involving phenylpropanoids, tryptophan biosynthesis and terpenoids significantly differed between the two varieties; 11 DEGs (2 upregulated and 9 downregulated) were associated with the biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites, and 12 DEGs (2 upregulated and 10 downregulated) were related to the metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides. Through further analysis of the leaves, we detected 196 metabolites in C. longepaniculatum. The abundance of 49 (26 downregulated and 23 upregulated) metabolites differed between the two varieties, which is likely related to the differences in the accumulation of these metabolites. We identified 12 flavonoids, 8 terpenoids and 8 alkaloids and identified 4 kinds of PMFs from the leaves of C. longepaniculatum. CONCLUSIONS: The combined results of transcriptome and metabolomic analyses revealed a strong correlation between metabolite contents and gene expression. We speculate that light leads to differences in the secondary metabolism and phenotypes of leaves of different varieties of C. longepaniculatum. This research provides data for secondary metabolite studies and lays a solid foundation for breeding ideal C. longepaniculatum plants.

Expression of Long Non-Coding RNA (lncRNA) SNHG5 in Patients with Refractory Diabetic Macular Edema and Its Regulatory Mechanism.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to assess use of lncRNAs as biomarkers in serum and aqueous humor of patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). MATERIAL AND METHODS Optical coherence tomography and fundus photography were used to analyze the retinal features of the patients. RT-qPCR was used to analyze the differential expression of lncRNA snhg5 in patients who have idiopathic macular hole (MH), DME, or refractory DME. The relationship between SNHG5 and the clinical characteristics of the patients was analyzed. The effect of SNHG5 on the hyperplasia and apoptosis of human retino-microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs) and its mechanism were analyzed in vitro. RESULTS Patients with idiopathic MH developed retinal nerve epithelium rupture and retinal fundus thickening, and patients with DME or refractory DME showed significant macular edema with hemorrhaging. The refractory DME patients improved after treatment but still showed significant macular edema and multiple laser scarring. SNHG5 expression was not only low in the atrial fluid and plasma in DME patients, but also lower in the refractory DME group compared to the idiopathic MH patients. SNHG5 expression in the aqueous humor and plasma was negatively correlated with disease duration, body mass index, and levels of fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, proteinuria, and glycosuria. In the in vitro experiments, SNHG5 expression was significantly downregulated in high glucose-induced HMECs. After SNHG5 overexpression, cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and VEGF-A protein levels were distinctly downregulated. CONCLUSIONS SNHG5 correlates with the development of DME and is a potential target for therapy.

Optimal Lymph Node Staging System in Evaluating Prognosis of Gallbladder Carcinoma: A Multi-institutional Study.

BACKGROUND: Lymph node (LN) involvement is a critical prognostic factor in patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC). Controversy exists regarding optimal categorization of nodal metastasis status, including anatomical location of positive nodes (AJCC 7th N staging), number of metastatic lymph nodes (NMLN), log odds of metastatic LNs (LODDS), and lymph node ratio (LNR). METHODS: Patients who underwent curative-intent resection for GBC from six Chinese tertiary hospitals between 2008 and 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. The relative discriminative abilities of the different LN staging systems were assessed by different models including the tree-augmented naïve Bayesian (TAN) model, Cox proportional hazards regression model, and binary logistic regression model. RESULTS: A total of 226 patients were involved in this cohort. Based on the TAN model and composite importance measures, the most important factor affecting the prognosis in the different LN staging systems was NMLN. Among the four TAN models which were built with 4 metastatic LN markers and baseline variables, the accuracy of the NMLN-based prognostic model was 88.15%, higher than 7th N staging (86.44%), LNR (87.34%), and LODDS (85.19%). The Cox model based on NMLN (C-index: 0.763, AIC: 1371.62) had a higher fitness than the others (7th N staging C-index: 0.756, AIC: 1375.51; LNR C-index: 0.759, AIC: 1378.82; LODDS C-index 0.748, AIC: 1390.99). The AUCs of different staging binary logistic regression models were NMLN (0.872), LNR (0.872), 7th N staging (0.869) and LODDS (0.856), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: NMLN was the optimal LN staging system in evaluating prognosis of GBC.

Desmopressin Suppresses Gonadotropin-Induced Spermatogenesis in Patients With Pituitary Stalk Interruption Syndrome: A Retrospective, Single-Center Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of desmopressin on gonadotropin-induced spermatogenesis in patients with pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS). METHODS: A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted. All patients with PSIS had both gonadotropin and growth hormone (GH) deficiency. Patients were divided into desmopressin and nondesmopressin groups. The desmopressin and nondesmopressin groups were defined by the presence or absence of central diabetes insipidus, which determined whether the patient received desmopressin or not. RESULTS: The average age of gonadotropin therapy was 24.3 and 26.1 in the desmopressin and nondesmopressin groups, respectively. The rate of successful spermatogenesis in the 2 groups was 31.58% and 77.27%, respectively. The period for first sperm appearance was 13.62 ± 5.95 and 13.48 ± 6.69 months, respectively. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model found that the adjusted hazard ratio for desmopressin was 0.260, indicating a "possible" detrimental effect of desmopressin on spermatogenesis. Central diabetes insipidus would be expected to show a similar detrimental effect. The spermatogenesis rate decreased with increased dosage of desmopressin. In the nondesmopressin group, the rate of spermatogenesis was similar between the GH group and the non-GH subgroup. The GH group had higher sperm count and concentration than the non-GH group. CONCLUSION: A minority of patients with PSIS had mild diabetes insipidus and received desmopressin therapy. The spermatogenesis rate decreased with increasing desmopressin dosage. In addition, GH supplementation did not affect the spermatogenesis rate.

Gestational weight gain and risk of autism spectrum disorders in offspring: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

It has been revealed that gestational weight gain (GWG) influences the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the offspring, but the findings are inconsistent. The current study aimed to evaluate the relationship between GWG and risk of ASD in offspring. Four electronic databases were searched up to August 28 2018 to identify observational studies reporting the association between GWG and risk of ASD in the offspring. Nine studies which met the inclusion criteria were included in the systematic review. Finally, five studies with a total of 3793 children with ASD were included in the meta-analysis. The-results indicated that excessive GWG might increase the risk of ASD in offspring (p = .0008, OR = 1.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-1.38). More high quality cohort studies are needed to confirm this result. This research has the potential to inspire new research on ASD and promote efforts to design appropriate interventions against excessive GWG.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? It has been revealed that gestational weight gain (GWG) influences the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the offspring, but the findings are inconsistent.What the results of this study add? This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis on the association between GWG and ASDs in offspring. This study suggested that excessive GWG was associated with higher risk of ASD in offspring.What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? More high quality cohort studies are needed to confirm this result. This research has the potential to inspire new research on ASD and promote efforts to design appropriate interventions against excessive GWG.

[Regulation mechanism of plant hormones on secondary metabolites].

Plant hormones participate in the regulation of plant growth, and have significant physiological activities. Secondary metabolites are important raw materials of pharmaceutical and chemical industry, which have attracted extensive attention due to their economic and medicinal value. With the development of biotechnology, plant hormones have played an important role in regulating the synthesis of secondary metabolites. This paper mainly introduces the synthesis pathway, signal transduction mechanism and regulation of secondary metabolites of auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, abscisic acid, ethylene, brassinosteroids and methyl jasmonate in plants. Researching the accumulation of secondary metabolites from a micro aspect is helpful to better understand the formation of plant hormones and their development in the process of secondary metabolism. In additionally, it provides a reference for the rational utilization of plant hormones and the scientific and efficient improvement of the production of secondary metabolites in plants.

Fibroblast-like synoviocyte migration is enhanced by IL-17-mediated overexpression of L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) via the mTOR/4E-BP1 pathway.

In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), activated synovial fibroblasts have the ability to invade joint cartilage, actively contributing to joint destruction in RA. The mechanisms underlying this cell migration and invasion remain unclear. Our previous results and data from the GEO profile indicate that the L-type amino acid transporter gene, LAT1, is overexpressed in the synovium of RA. To identify its potential role in RA, fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) from patients with RA were used to determine the effects of suppressing the LAT1 genes using RNA interference and the LAT inhibitor, BCH. We found that BCH exposure reduced the phosphorylation of mTOR and its downstream target 4EBP1, radiolabeled leucine uptake, and migration of RA FLS. LAT1 silencing by siRNA presented effects similar to BCH inhibition. Treatment of cells with IL-17 stimulated the expression of LAT1. In contrast, applying an inhibitor of mTOR pathway, temsirolimus, or silencing eIF4E neutralized the stimulation of IL-17 on LAT1. BCH and siLAT1 also resulted in lower IL-17-stimulated leucine uptake and cell migration. These results suggest that the migration of RA FLS is aggravated by IL-17-mediated overexpression of LAT1 via mTOR/4E-BP1 pathway. In conclusion, further investigation is warranted into LAT1 as a potential target for drug therapies aimed at attenuating migration of transformed-appearing fibroblasts and subsequently preventing further erosion of bone and cartilage.

Fast and full range measurements of ellipsometric parameters using a 45° dual-drive symmetric photoelastic modulator.

The fast and full range measurements of ellipsometric parameters ψ and Δ using a 45° dual-drive symmetric photoelastic modulator (PEM) are proposed. The PEM operates in a pure traveling modulation mode with a constant retardation magnitude and the modulation axis performing circular motion. A field programmable gate array is used to control the PEM and fulfill the data processing. The parameters sin 2ψ sinΔ, sin 2ψ cosΔ, and sin 2ψ can be measured simultaneously, providing accurate measurements of ψ and Δ over the full range. The experimental results show that the repeatability and sensitivity of this system are at 10-3°, and the data acquisition rate is 1 ms/point.

Haploidentical parental hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in pediatric refractory Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Children with MS-LCH that fail to respond to conventional chemotherapy have poor outcomes. HSCT represents a potential salvage approach. It has been applied in over 50 cases in recent years. HSCT can achieve greater disease control than chemotherapy, but it carries a high risk of transplant-related mortality; thus, the haploidentical parental HSCT is used infrequently in pediatric refractory LCH. We report the first successful haploidentical parental HSCT, with no T-cell depletion, in two girls, aged 26 months and five months, with refractory MS-LCH. The mothers were donors with 5/6 and 4/6 HLA matches, respectively. The conditioning regimen included busulfan + cyclophosphamide + etoposide + antithymocyte-globulin ± fludarabine; the GVHD prophylaxis was based on cyclosporine + methotrexate ± mycophenolate-mofetil ± zenapax. In both cases, the stem cells were sourced from peripheral blood and BM, which included CD34+ cells (13.17 × 10(6)/kg and 40.23 × 10(6)/kg, respectively). These patients survived and showed no signs of disease activity in 54- and 44-month post-HSCT follow-ups. Our results indicated that, for patients that fail chemotherapy delivered early in the disease, but do not show organ dysfunction progression, it may be possible to achieve successful haploidentical parental HSCT with a strong myeloablative regimen.

Influence of acid-reducing Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the microbial communities and metabolites of Suanyu.

The inoculation of S. cerevisiae can address the excessive acidity in Suanyu, but its influence on the microbial community structure has not been documented. In this study, the microbiota succession, and metabolites of Suanyu with the inoculation of acid-reducing S. cerevisiae L7 were explored. The findings revealed that the addition of S. cerevisiae L7 elevated the pH, and decreased the microbial α-diversity. In Suanyu, the dominant bacterial genera were Lactiplantibacillus and Bacillus, while the dominant fungal genera were Meyerozyma and Saccharomyces. Following the inoculation of S. cerevisiae L7, the relative abundance of Lactiplantibacillus decreased from 21 % to 13 %. Meanwhile, the growth of fungi such as Meyerozyma and Candida was suppressed. The rise in Saccharomyces had a significant impact on various pathways related to amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism, causing the accumulation of flavor compounds. This study sheds more lights on the methods for manipulating microbial community structure in fermented food.

Benzyl isothiocyanate ameliorates cognitive function in mice of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a prevalent refractory partial epilepsy seen in clinical practice, with most cases originating from the hippocampus and being characterized by impaired learning and memory. Oxidative stress plays a direct role in the development of epilepsy and neurodegeneration while promoting cognitive dysfunction. Previous research indicates that benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) has antioxidative stress properties and contributes to neuroprotection. In this study, we aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of BITC on a lithium-pilocarpine-induced temporal lobe epileptic mice model. Methods: We conducted Intellicage learning tests, Morris water maze, open field test, and step-down-type passive avoidance tests, respectively. In addition, body weight and brain-to-body ratio were calculated. Nissl staining, real-time quantitative PCR detection of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H dehydrogenase quinone 1(NQO1) were performed. Content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were determined. Results: Our results demonstrate that BITC enhances cognitive function and motor ability in mice, as determined by Intellicage learning tests, Morris water maze, open field test, and step-down-type passive avoidance tests, respectively. Epilepsy leads to the loss of neurons in the CA3 region, while BITC treatment plays a positive role in neuroprotection, especially in the cortex. In comparison to the control group, the EP group exhibited decreased transcription levels of HO-1 and NQO1, alongside reduced GSH-Px activity, while MDA content was elevated. Conversely, the BITC treatment group, when compared to the EP group, showed enhanced transcription levels of Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1, along with increased GSH-Px activity, and a decrease in MDA content. Conclusion: In summary, our study provides evidence that BITC can improve cognitive impairments in pilocarpine-induced epileptic mice, demonstrating significant antioxidant effects and neuroprotective properties. This highlights its potential as a phytochemical for managing the sequelae of epilepsy.

Bio-evaluations of sericin coated hesperidin nanoparticles for gastric ulcer management.

Gastric ulcers are worrying, and their worsening conditions may result in bleeding in the internal lining of the stomach. The problem is annoying, and both patients and professionals are still not satisfied with the available treatment options. Hesperidin, a flavonoid molecule with potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, can work like witchcraft to repair gastric ulcers and preserve the stomach lining. Here, we employed a strategy that involved covering the surface of the nano-lipid carriers (NLCs) with sericin before encasing the hesperidin within (Se-He-NLC). Sericin, a biodegradable polymer increases the muco-adhesion with stomach lining and deployment of hesperidin in controlled manner. Se-He-NLCs were physico-chemically characterized for drug loading, encapsulation, particle size, morphology, drug release, chemical stability, and chemical bonding. The nanocarriers showed first order drug release in a controlled manner. Se-He-NLCs showed better in vitro permeation and ex vivo mucoadhesion, thereby by promoting the in vivo bioavailability. Se-He-NLCs also promoted the reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) levels by 2.24- and 1.61-folds, respectively in the stomach lining, and also the regulation of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities parallel to the control group. In addition, tissues lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were reduced significantly with Se-He-NLCs administration. Se-He-NLC therapy of stomach ulcers in vivo demonstrated better binding ratio and ulcer healing potential. This approach reveals huge capacity for delivering therapies to treat gastric ulcers based on the clinical significance of sericin coated hesperidin nanocarriers in gastric ulcer treatment.

Changes in macrophage infiltration and podocyte injury in lupus nephritis patients with repeated renal biopsy: Report of three cases.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we retrospectively analysed macrophage infiltration and podocyte injury in three patients with diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis (LN) who underwent repeated renal biopsy. CASE SUMMARY: Clinical data of three diffuse proliferative LN patients with different pathological characteristics (case 1 was LN IV-G (A), case 2 was LN IV-G (A) + V, and case 3 was LN IV-G (A) + thrombotic microangiopathy) were reviewed. All patients underwent repeated renal biopsies 6 mo later, and renal biopsy specimens were studied. Macrophage infiltration was assessed by CD68 expression detected by immunohistochemical staining, and an immunofluorescence assay was used to detect podocin expression to assess podocyte damage. After treatment, Case 1 changed to LN III-(A), Case 2 remained as type V LN lesions, and Case 3, which changed to LN IV-S (A), had the worst prognosis. We observed reduced macrophage infiltration after therapy. However, two of the patients with active lesions after treatment still showed macrophage infiltration in the renal interstitium. Before treatment, the three patients showed discontinuous expression of podocin. Notably, the integrity of podocin was restored after treatment in Case 1. CONCLUSION: It may be possible to reverse podocyte damage and decrease the infiltrating macrophages in LN patients through effective treatment.

Clinical efficacy of rhGM-CSF gel and medical collagen sponge on deep second-degree burns of infants: A randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to observe clinical efficacy of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) gel, medical collagen sponge and rhGM-CSF gel in combination with medical collagen sponge on deep second-degree burns of head, face or neck in infants. METHODS: A total of 108 infants with deep second-degree burns on head, face or neck were randomly divided into rhGM-CSF group, medical collagen sponge group, and rhGM-CSF + medical collagen sponge group. The scab dissolving time, healing time, bacterial positive rate and Vancouver scar scale were evaluated and analyzed. RESULTS: The data analysis showed that scab dissolving time and healing time were shorter in rhGM-CSF + medical collagen sponge group than that in rhGM-CSF group and medical collagen sponge group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < .05). Bacterial positive rate was lower in rhGM-CSF + medical collagen sponge group than that in rhGM-CSF group and medical collagen sponge group (P < .05). After 3 months, score of Vancouver scar scale (scar thickness, pliability, pigmentation and vascularity) was less in rhGM-CSF + medical collagen sponge group than that in rhGM-CSF group and medical collagen sponge group (P < .05). CONCLUSION: rhGM-CSF gel in combination with medical collagen sponge is significantly effective in treating deep second-degree burns of head, face or neck in infants. This combination is beneficial for infection control, acceleration of scab dissolving and wound healing, and reduction of scar hyperplasia and pigmentation, which is worthy of clinical application and promotion.

Isolation and characterization of a novel antibacterial peptide derived from hemoglobin alpha in the liver of Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica.

We isolated and characterized a novel antibacterial peptide, AJHbα, derived from hemoglobin alpha in the liver of Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica. It with concentration of 11.30 µM exhibited stronger antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacterium 1 × 10(6) cell ml(-1)Edwardsiella tarda than other two bacteria. The extraction procedure for AJHbα included extraction with acetate acid, ultrafiltration, cation-exchange chromatography on HiTrap™ CM FF, reverse-phase liquid chromatography on Source 5R RPC and C18 RP-HPLC. MALDI-TOF MS suggested that the peptide had an observed molecular weight of 2388.05 Da. Its amino acid sequence determined by Edman degradation was similar to those of hemoglobin alpha chain in other fish by BLAST analysis. A complete N-terminal amino acid sequence of the AJHbα was FAHWPDLGPGSPSVKKHGKVIM corresponding to the cDNA sequence by RACE amplification. Its synthetic peptide had strong antibacterial activities against ten Gram-positive or negative bacteria. To our knowledge, AJHbα was the first identified fragment of hemoglobin alpha chain with strong antibacterial activity in fish.

Immune effects of a bivalent expressed outer membrane protein to American eels (Anguilla rostrota).

The specific and non-specific immune parameters and protection of American eels (Anguilla rostrata) were evaluated after immunized eels with a bivalent expressed out membrane protein (OMP) of porin Ⅱ of Aeromonas hydrophila and ompS2 of Edwardsiella tarda. One hundred eighty eels were distributed into 3 equal groups and intraperitoneal (i.p) injection with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS group), formalin-killed-whole-cell (FKC) of A. hydrophila and E. tarda (FKC group) or the bivalent OMP (OMP group). The lymphocytes and red blood cells collected on 14, 21 and 42 days post-vaccination were used to evaluate the stimulation index (SI) and the sera collected on 14, 21, 28 and 42 days were used to assize the titers of specific antibody as well as lysozyme activity. Lysozyme activities in skin mucus, suspension of liver and kidney were also recorded on 14, 21 and 28 days. On 28 d post-vaccination, eels from all three groups were challenged by i.p injection of live A. hydrophila or E. tarda. The results show that, compared with the PBS group, proliferation of lymphocytes in OMP group was significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced on 21 days, and the serum titers of anti-A. hydrophila and anti- E. tarda antibody in eels of FKC and OMP group were significant increased (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) on 14, 21 and 28 days. Activity of the lysozyme in serum, skin mucus, liver and kidney were significant changed (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) between the three groups. Relative Percent Survival (RPS) after challenged with A. hydrophila on 28 days post immunization in two vaccinated groups vs. PBS group were 50%, and the RPS challenge E. tarda in FKC and OMP vs. PBS group were 50% and 37.5% respectively. These results suggest that American eels immunized with the bivalent OMP would positively affect specific as well as non-specific immune parameters and protect against infection by the two pathogens in freshwater farming.

Leak detection in real water distribution networks based on acoustic emission and machine learning.

Water scarcity as well as social and economic damages caused by the increasing amounts of non-revenue water in the water distribution networks (WDNs) have been prompting innovative solutions. A great deal of potable water is wasted due to leakage in the WDNs all over the world. Hence, various leak detection approaches have been explored, including the promising application of acoustic devices. Exploiting the benefits of technological advances in acoustic devices, signal processing, and machine learning (ML), this study aimed to develop a sophisticated system for leak detection in WDNs. Different from laboratory-based studies, this study was conducted on real WDNs in Hong Kong and lasted for about two years. Utilizing acoustic emissions acquired using wireless noise loggers, various ML algorithms were explored to develop inspection models for in-service and buried WDNs. ML classification algorithms can identify patterns in the acquired signals for leak and no-leak statuses. Thus, a combination of features describing acoustic signals in time and frequency domains was utilized to facilitate the development of ML models. Separately for metal and non-metal WDNs, ten well-known ML algorithms were used to develop leak detection models. The validation results demonstrate the promising application of noise loggers and ML for leak detection in real WDNs. Support Vector Machine (SVM), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and Deep Learning (DL) leak detection models demonstrated a largely stable performance and a very good accuracy, particularly for new unlabelled cases.

HPLC-UV/VIS for Determination of Ipratropium Bromide Mixed with Salbuterol, Beclomethasone Propionate and Budesonide using Dual Wavelength-Detection Method.

BACKGROUND: Inhalation preparation involves liquid or solid raw materials for delivering to lungs as aerosol or vapor. The liquid preparation for nebulizer is effective for convenient use and patient compliance and it has been extensively used in the treatment of clinical lung diseases. Clinical staff often mixes the compound ipratropium bromide with beclomethasone propionate and budesonide inhaler but reference values of inhalants for clinical use need to be established for simplifying the operation procedure. The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method of compound ipratropium bromide solution, beclomethasone propionate suspension and budesonide suspension after mixed atomization was studied. METHODS: The specificity, linearity, recovery (accuracy), precision and stability of compound ipratropium bromide, beclomethasone propionate and budesonide were tested to verify the developed liquid phase method. RESULTS: The developed liquid phase method had high specificity, linear R2≥0,999, recovery (accuracy) RSD (relative standard deviation) less than 2%, precision RSD less than 2,0%, and stability RSD less than 2,0%. CONCLUSION: The liquid phase methodology developed in this study can be used for the determination of compound ipratropium bromide mixed with beclomethasone propionate and budesonide. The current methodology can also be used to provide a reference for the determination of its content after mixing, and further data support for its clinical medication.

Self-focusing length in highly multimode ultra-large-mode-area fibers.

Recent theoretical researches reveal that the self-focusing critical power in the fiber waveguide is identical to that in the bulk medium. However, the delivery of peak power much higher than the self-focusing critical power has been demonstrated experimentally in ultra-large-mode-area fiber (ULMAF). And no experimental observation of self-focusing effect has been reported in recent pulsed fiber laser system whose peak power has reached or even exceeded the critical power. In this paper, we try to address this issue by studying the self-focusing length theoretically in the ULMAF which is highly multimode. Nonlinear beam propagation method employing PÁDE(2,2) approximation is applied in the numerical simulation. The results show that the self-focusing length of the fundamental mode is typically a few millimeters which is almost identical to that in the bulk medium. However, the self-focusing length of the summation of numerous modes can be as long as a few meters.

Prevention and treatment of surgical site infection in HIV-infected patients.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection (SSI) are the third most frequently reported nosocomial infection, and the most common on surgical wards. HIV-infected patients may increase the possibility of developing SSI after surgery. There are few reported date on incidence and the preventive measures of SSI in HIV-infected patients. This study was to determine the incidence and the associated risk factors for SSI in HIV-infected patients. And we also explored the preventive measures. METHODS: A retrospective study of SSI was conducted in 242 HIV-infected patients including 17 patients who combined with hemophilia from October 2008 to September 2011 in Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center. SSI were classified according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria and identified by bedside surveillance and post-discharge follow-up. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 statistical software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). RESULTS: The SSI incidence rate was 47.5% (115 of 242); 38.4% incisional SSIs, 5.4% deep incisional SSIs and 3.7% organ/space SSIs. The SSI incidence rate was 37.9% in HIV-infected patients undergoing abdominal operation. Patients undergoing abdominal surgery with lower preoperative CD4 counts were more likely to develop SSIs. The incidence increased from 2.6% in clean wounds to 100% in dirty wounds. In the HIV-infected patients combined with hemophilia, the mean preoperative albumin and postoperative hemoglobin were found significantly lower than those in no-SSIs group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: SSI is frequent in HIV-infected patients. And suitable perioperative management may decrease the SSIs incidence rate of HIV-infected patients.