Evaluation and optimization of content determination method of Chrysanthemi Flos in Chinese Pharmacopoeia / 中国中药杂志

This study discovered that the resolution of 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid(isochlorogenic acid A) in the content determination method of Chrysanthemi Flos in Chinese Pharmacopoeia(ChP)(2020 edition) was poor, which affected accurate quantification. We tested the method in ChP with chromatographic columns of seven brands to clarify the problems in the existing method, optimized the chromatographic conditions by adjusting the mobile phase composition and elution ratio and replacing the chromatographic column packing, and carried out the reproducibility assay for the new method. The two methods were compared for the content determination results of Chrysanthemi Flos prepared from six different varieties. As evaluated by the resolution based on different chromatographic columns of seven brands, the existing method failed to separate isochlorogenic acid A and isochlorogenic acid D well. The peaks of the two components were not completely separated on three chromatographic columns, and isochlorogenic acid A and isochlorogenic acid D generated a co-effluent peak in the other four columns. Isochlorogenic acid A and isochlorogenic acid D could be completely separated under the optimized chromatographic conditions. The difference in the peak areas of isochlorogenic acid A+isochlorogenic acid D obtained by the optimized method and the method in ChP was not significant, with deviation less than 3.0%, which further proved that the result measured by the method in ChP was the co-effluent of isochlorogenic acid A and isochlorogenic acid D. The optimized method can ensure the accurate quantification of isochlorogenic acid A. The existing content determination method of Chrysanthemi Flos has the problem of poor resolution. It is recommended to revise the chromatographic conditions for the content determination method of Chrysanthemi Flos to improve the resolution of isochlorogenic acid A and ensure its accurate quantification.

Comparison of chemical components between aerial and underground parts of Coptis chinensis based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS~E technology / 中国中药杂志

The ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS~E) technology was employed to compare the chemical components between the aerial and underground parts of Coptis chinensis samples from different batches. According to the retention time, molecular ion peak, and LC-MS~E fragment information of the reference substances and available literature, we identified a total of 40 components. Thirty-three and 31 compounds were respectively identified in the underground part(taproots) and the aerial part(stems and leaves) of C. chinensis. Among them, 24 compounds, including alkaloids(e.g., berberine and jatrorrhizine) and phenolic acids(e.g., chlorogenic acid, quinic acid, and tanshinol), were common in the two parts. In addition, differential components were also identified, such as magnoline glucoside in the underground part and(±) lariciresionol-4-β-D-glucopyranoside in the aerial part. The analysis of fragmentation pathways based on spectra of reference substances indicated the differences among samples of different batches. Furthermore, we performed the principal component analysis(PCA) for the peak areas of C. chinensis in different batches. The results showed that the underground part and the aerial part were clearly clustered into two groups, indicating that the chemical components contained in the two parts were different. Furthermore, the results of partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) identified 31 differential compounds(VIP value>1) between the underground part and the aerial part, mainly including alkaloids, phenolic acids, lignans, and flavonoids. This study proves that C. chinensis possesses great development potential with multiple available compounds in stems and leaves. Moreover, it sheds light on for the development and utilization of non-medicinal organs of C. chinensis and other Chinese medicinal herbs.

Association between the Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte Ratio and New-onset Subclinical Macrovascular and Microvascular Diseases in the Chinese Population / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

OBJECTIVE@#The association between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) with subclinical macrovascular and microvascular diseases has been less investigated. We sought to examine the association between NLR and new-onset subclinical macrovascular and microvascular abnormalities in the Chinese population.@*METHODS@#From a community cohort, we included 6,430 adults aged ≥ 40 years without subclinical macrovascular and microvascular diseases at baseline. We measured subclinical macrovascular and microvascular abnormalities separately using the ankle-brachial index (ABI), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and albuminuria.@*RESULTS@#During a mean follow-up of 4.3 years, 110 participants developed incident abnormal ABI, 746 participants developed incident elevated baPWV, and 503 participants developed incident albuminuria. Poisson regression analysis indicated that NLR was significantly associated with an increased risk of new-onset abnormal ABI, elevated baPWV, and albuminuria. Compared to overweight/obese participants, we found a much stronger association between NLR and subclinical vascular abnormalities in participants with normal weight. Furthermore, we found an interaction between the NLR and body mass index (BMI) on the risk of new-onset abnormal ABI ( P for interaction: 0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#NLR was associated with subclinical macrovascular and microvascular diseases in the Chinese population. Furthermore, in participants with normal weight, the association between NLR and subclinical vascular abnormalities was much stronger.

Functional connectivity changes during migraine treatment with electroacupuncture at Shuaigu (GB8) / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the changes in the functional connectivity (FC) in the right insula between migraine without aura (MWoA) and healthy controls by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), and to observe the instant alteration of FC in MWoA during electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation at Shuaigu (GB8).@*METHODS@#A total of 30 patients with MWoA (PM group) and 30 healthy controls (HC group) underwent rs-fMRI scans. The PM group underwent a second rs-fMRI scan while receiving EA at GB8. The right insula subregions, including the ventral anterior insula (vAI), dorsal anterior insula (dAI) and posterior insula (PI), were selected as the seed points for FC analysis.@*RESULTS@#Aberrant FC, including dAI with right postcentral gyrus, PI with left precuneus, was found among PM before EA (PMa), PM during EA (PMb) and HC. Meanwhile, decreased FC between dAI and the right postcentral gyrus was found in the PMa compared to the HC and PMb. Increased FC between the PI and left precuneus was found in the PMa compared to the HC and PMb. Correlation analysis showed that the FC value of the right postcentral gyrus in PMa was negatively correlated with the scores of Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety. The FC value of the left precuneus in PMa was positively correlated with the visual analogue scale score.@*CONCLUSION@#The alteration of FC between the right insula subregions and multiple brain regions may be an important index for MWoA. EA at GB8 was able to adjust the FC between the right insula subregions and parietal lobe, namely, the right dAI and right postcentral gyrus, and the right PI and left precuneus, thereby rendering an instant effect in the management of MWoA.

Research progress of chemokines and their receptors in breast cancer / 药学学报

Chemokines are small cytokines with chemotactic activity, they are involved in regulating immune responses and inflammatory responses. In the development of tumors, chemokines are multi-functional mediators that not only affect the infiltration of immune cells into the tumor, but also have an important impact on tumor growth, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. Besides, they are important targets of tumor therapy. Here we review chemokines involved in the regulation of signaling pathways, analyze the mechanism of chemokines in the development of breast cancer, summarize the chemokines targeted drugs for breast cancer in recent years and make a prospect about the role of chemokines in anti-breast cancer therapy.

Optimized experimental method for determination of hydroxyproline in lung tissue of mice / 医学研究生学报

ObjectiveThere are many methods for the detection of hydroxyproline (HYP), but few of them are suitable for the detection of lung tissue in mice. We intend to establish an accurate and reliable method for measuring HYP levels based on mouse lung tissues to assess the degree of fibrosis development more effectively.MethodsBased on the alkali hydrolysis method, the effects of the concentration of alkali hydrolysate and hydrolysis time on the determination results of HYP level in mice lung tissue were compared; the effects of the changes of experimental conditions on the determination results of HYP standard were compared; and the results of the determination of HYP level in mice lung tissue under dry and wet conditions were compared on the basis of the above experimental results.ResultsThe optimum concentration of alkali hydrolysate is 2 mol/L and the optimum hydrolysis time is 20 min. The optimum pH value of citric acid buffer is 6.0-6.5. The optimum solvent for chloramine T is methanol, the optimum reaction time for chloramine T solution is 15 min, the optimum reaction time for perchloric acid solution is 5 min, and the optimum reaction time for 4-(dimethylamino) benzoyl toluene is 5 min. The optimum condition of aldehyde solution color development is that it is bathed in water at 85 for 3 minutes. Some related reagents are stored in suitable environment after preparation, and the experimental data will not be affected within 7 days. Dry lung tissue of mice can improve the detection level of HYP. The improved experimental protocol was applied to the bleomycin-induced mouse pulmonary fibrosis model, and the HYP measurement results were significantly higher than that of the original protocol.ConclusionAn accurate and reliable method for the determination of hydroxyproline in lung tissue of mice was established.

The cell cycle inhibitor p21 promote mouse lung fibrosis by activating alveolar macrophages / 药学学报

This study was to determine the expression of the cell cycle inhibitor p21 in alveolar macrophages (AMs) and the role of p21 in activation of AMs in bleomycin (BLM) injury-induced lung fibrosis. The expression of CD206 in AMs was measured by immunofluorescence staining. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was used to detect the expression of macrophage activation markers. The coculture assay for macrophage and fibroblast was employed to explore the effect of macrophage on fibroblast activation. Immunofluorescence staining and western blotting assay were adopted to detect the expression of p21 in fibrotic tissues. AMs were treated with p21 knockdown or overexpression virus, RT-PCR and the co-culture system were used to explore the effect of p21 expression on macrophage activation. The Experimental Animal Welfare Ethics Committee of the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College approved all of the protocols for this research. Our results showed that the expression of CD206 and macrophage activation markers was increased in AMs from fibrotic mice, indicating that AMs from fibrotic mice were associated with a profibrotic phenotype. Moreover, the expression of p21 was upregulated in AMs after BLM treatment. Depletion of p21 suppressed macrophage activation, while overexpression of p21 promoted the profibrotic phenotype of AMs from healthy mice. In summary, BLM injury causes the progressive accumulation of p21 in AMs, which induces the production of a number of profibrotic factors promoting the development of pulmonary fibrosis.

Rolling needle pricking-cupping therapy and traditional pricking-cupping therapy for cervical spondylosis of neck type: a randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the clinical efficacy between rolling needle pricking-cupping (RNP-C) and traditional pricking-cupping (TP-C) for cervical spondylosis of neck type.@*METHODS@#A total of 96 patients with cervical spondylosis of neck type were randomly divided into an RNP-C group, a TP-C group and an electroacupuncture (EA) group, 32 cases in each group. Each group was treated with EA at Jingbailao (EX-HN 15), Fengchi (GB 20), Dazhui (GV 14), Jianjing (GB 21) and @*RESULTS@#Compared before treatment, the scores of NPQ and VAS in each group were all reduced at 2 and 4 weeks into treatment and follow-up (@*CONCLUSION@#TP-C and RNP-C could both improve the cervical pain symptoms in patients with cervical spondylosis of neck type, and improve the overall function of the cervical spine, and the curative effect is similar.

Pirfenidone and nintedanib inhibit the lung alveolar regeneration in chronic pulmonary fibrosis mouse / 药学学报

The aim of this study was to determine whether the anti-fibrotic effects of pirfenidone (Pirf) and nintedanib (Nint) associated with the regulation of the alveolar epithelial type 2 cell (AEC II)-mediated lung alveolar regeneration in single- and multiple-dosage animal models of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. All procedures involving animal treatment were approved according to the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. We found that the Pirf and Nint treatment of mice decreased the lung weight index, inflammation level, and the content of hydroxyproline compared with nontreated fibrotic mice in the single dosage model. Also, Pirf and Nint increased the oxygen saturation level and improved the lung functions in fibrotic mice, indicating that both drugs have anti-fibrotic effects in this model. However, the anti-fibrotic effects of Pirf and Nint were not observed in the multiple-dosage model. Further studies showed that Pirf and Nint decreased the expression of β-catenin, Axin2, c-Myc, Cyclin D1, and inhibited the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, suggesting that Pirf and Nint did not produce anti-fibrotic effects in the multiple-dosage model due to their inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and suppressing the stemness of AEC II, namely, suppressing AEC II-mediated lung alveolar regeneration.

Novel Methods on Improving Drugs Across the Blood-brain Tumor Barrier into the Tumor / 中国药学杂志

The treatment of brain tumors is greatly limited due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier/blood-brain tumor barrier. In recent years, the application of some new technologies has improved the permeability of the blood-brain barrier and improved the curative effect. However, malignant tumors cause the gap between the tight connections to be larger, and capillary leakage appears. Another barrier to glioma chemotherapy, the blood-brain tumor barrier, is formed among the leaky blood-brain barrier, the neovascular and malignant brain tumor tissues, which greatly limits the penetration and accumulation of drugs into the tumor. The author has reviewed relevant information at home and abroad in recent years, and then analyzed and summarized. This article not only analyzed the structural characteristics of the blood-brain tumor barrier, but also reviewed the technologies and methods which had been proved to improve the drug across the blood-brain tumor barrier such as drug combination, novel formulation technology, physical technology and biotechnology, aiming to explore the comprehensive treatment of brain tumors.

Ideal Cardiovascular Health is Inversely Associated with Subclinical Atherosclerosis: A Prospective Analysis / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

OBJECTIVE@#Ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) could predict a lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. This study was conducted to investigate the association between ideal CVH and subclinical atherosclerosis in a population cohort of Chinese adults aged ⪖ 40 years.@*METHODS@#This study was designed as a cross-sectional analysis of 8,395 participants who had complete data at baseline and a prospective analysis of 4,879 participants who had complete data at 4.3 years of follow-up. Ideal CVH metrics were defined according to the American Heart Association. Subclinical atherosclerosis was evaluated by plaques in carotid arteries, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR).@*RESULTS@#Both the prevalence and incidence of atherosclerosis measures were found to be decreased with increasing numbers of ideal CVH metrics at baseline (all P values for trend < 0.01). The levels of CIMT and UACR at follow-up showed an inverse and significant association with the numbers of ideal CVH metrics at baseline (both P values for trend < 0.05) but a borderline significant association with baPWV (P for trend = 0.0505). Taking participants with 0-1 ideal metric as reference, we found that participants with 5-6 ideal metrics had significantly lower risks of developing carotid plaques (odds ratio, OR = 0.46; 95% confidence interval, CI 0.27-0.79), increased CIMT (OR = 0.60; 95% CI 0.42-0.84), and increased baPWV (OR = 0.57; 95% CI 0.34-0.97) after full adjustments. A significant interactive effect of age and CVH was detected on CIMT and baPWV progression (both P values for interaction < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The numbers of ideal CVH metrics showed a significant and inverse association with the risk of developing subclinical atherosclerosis in middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults, whereas its dose-response effect was attenuated in individuals aged ≥ 60 years and partially weakened in male participants.

Quantification of norfloxacin in human plasma by LC-MS/MS and validation of the analytical method / 药学学报

A LC-MS/MS method for quantification of norfloxacin in human plasma had been developed. This method was applied to the pharmacokinetics study of norfloxacin in the human. The plasma sample was precipitated by methanol and ciprofloxacin was used as the internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was performed on a Symmetry® C18 column(100 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm). Mobile phase contains 0.3% formic acid and 5% methanol in deionized water at a flow rate of 0.45 mL·min-1. Norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin (IS) were ionized with an ESI source and operated in positive ion mode. The detected ions were m/z 320.3→302.1 (norfloxacin), m/z 332.3→314.1 (ciprofloxacin). This LC-MS/MS method yielded a linearity over the range of 10-1 000 ng·mL-1 with the lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 10 ng·mL-1. The intra and inter-assay precisions (RSD%) were within the range of 2.64%-7.23% and the accuracy (RE%) was less than ±5.00%. The pharmacokinetic parameters tmax, Cmax, AUC0-t, and t1/2 were 1.28±0.364 h, 627±171 ng·mL-1, 2 938±850 h·ng·mL-1, and 6.01±1.36 h, respectively. This LC-MS /MS method was proven simple, sensitive, rapid and suitable for pharmacokinetics study of norfloxacin in the human and Approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Liuzhou Workers' Hospital.

Association between Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque Composition and Cardiovascular Disease Risk / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

OBJECTIVE@#The objective of this study is to determine whether coronary atherosclerotic plaque composition is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in Chinese adults.@*METHODS@#We performed a cross-sectional analysis in 549 subjects without previous diagnosis or clinical symptoms of CVD in a community cohort of middle-aged Chinese adults. The participants underwent coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography for the evaluation of the presence and composition of coronary plaques. CVD risk was evaluated by the Framingham risk score (FRS) and the 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk score.@*RESULTS@#Among the 549 participants, 267 (48.6%) had no coronary plaques, 201 (36.6%) had noncalcified coronary plaques, and 81 (14.8%) had calcified or mixed coronary plaques. The measures of CVD risk including FRS and ASCVD risk score and the likelihood of having elevated FRS significantly increased across the groups of participants without coronary plaques, with noncalcified coronary plaques, and with calcified or mixed coronary plaques. However, only calcified or mixed coronary plaques were significantly associated with an elevated ASCVD risk score [odds ratio (OR) 2.41; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-5.32] compared with no coronary plaques, whereas no significant association was found for noncalcified coronary plaques and elevated ASCVD risk score (OR 1.25; 95% CI 0.71-2.21) after multivariable adjustment.@*CONCLUSION@#Calcified or mixed coronary plaques might be more associated with an elevated likelihood of having CVD than noncalcified coronary plaques.

Clinical effect of comprehensive intervention on submission rates of microbiological specimens / 中国感染控制杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of comprehensive intervention measures on submission of microbiological specimens before therapeutic use of antimicrobial agents.Methods August 2014 to August 2015 was as preintervention group,comprehensive intervention measures were started to carry out from September 2015,Septem ber 2015 to September 2016 was as post-intervention group.Microbiology specimen submission rates before therapeutic antimicrobial use,positive rate of blood culture,and rate of antimicrobial use in all departments and key departments were compared between pre-intervention group and post-intervention group.Results The submission rates of microbiological specimens before general,restricted,and special therapeutic antimicrobial use increased from 42.21％,45.19％,and 74.71％ of pre-intervention respectively to 53.54％,55.68％,and 89.70％ of postintervrntion respectively,showing significant difference (all P＜0.01);after intervention,except gastrointestinal surgery and trauma department of orthopedics,the other departments all met the requirements of the microbiological specimen submission rates set by the hospital;but submission rates of microbiological specimens from department of gastrointestinal surgery and trauma department of orthopedics increased from 5.46％ and 11.67％ before intervention to 11.66％ and 29.45％ respectively after intervention,difference was statistically significant (both P＜0.001).The missing report rate of healthcare-associated infection(HAI) dropped from 13.56％ before intervention to 10.98％ (P＜ 0.05),and the use rate of antimicrobial agents decreased from 57.36％ to 54.47％ (P＜0.001).Conclusion Comprehensive intervention measures can effectively improve the submission rates of microbiological specimens before therapeutic use of antimicrobial agents,reduce missing report rates of HAI and utilization rate of antimicrobial agents,and achieve certain clinical effectiveness.

Incidence and antimicrobial resistance of pathogens of healthcare-associated infection in a general hospital for three consecutive years / 中国感染控制杂志

Objective To understand the occurrence of healthcare-associated infection (HAI),distribution of pathogens,and drug resistance in a general hospital in 2014-2016,provide basis for prevention and control of HAI.Methods Clinical data of hospitalized patients from January 2014 to December 2016 were collected by prospective and retrospective investigation,distribution and drug resistance of pathogens causing HAI were statistically analyzed.Results From 2014 to 2016,4 750 patients had 5 352 cases of HAI,incidence and case incidence of HAI were 2.19％ and 2.46％ respectively.Incidences of HAI in three years were 2.47％,2.07％,and 2.05％ respectively,showing a decreased tendency,difference was statistically significant (x2 =36.217,P＜0.01).Incidences of HAI were high in intensive care unit,department of neurosurgery,as well as department of burn and plastic surgery,the common HAI sites were respiratory tract,urinary tract,and surgical sites.The main pathogens causing HAI were gram-negative bacteria (76.10％).Resistance rates of Escherichia coli to cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones were relatively higher (＞60％);resistance rates of Klebsiella pneumoniae to carbapenems were relatively higher;resistance rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to carbapenems showed a increased tendency year by year (x2 =15.175,P =0.001);antimicrobial resistance rates of Acinetobacter baumannii were all＞50 ％.Methicillin-resistant Staphy lococcus aureus (SA) accounted for about 60％ of SA,methicillin-resistant coagulase negative Staphylococcus(CNS) accounted for more than 80％ of CNS,vancomycin-and linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus spp.were not found.Conclusion The common pathogens causing HAI in this hospital are higher.Scientific monitoring on HAI and regular analysis of clinical data are of great significance for guiding rational use of antimicrobial agents,controlling multidrug-resistant organisms,and reducing the occurrence of HAI.

Non-fastidous antibiotic-resistance bacteria pollution in tap water / 军事医学

Objective To study the non-fastidous antibiotic-resistance bacteria pollution in tap water from a neighborhood in Tianjin.Methods Tap water samples were collected and bacteria were isolated by R2A agar,and 16S rRNA gene sequence for the identification of bacteria isolates was used.Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method.Results Among the 39 non-fastidous bacteria isolates,the resistance rate of antibioticresistance bacteria was 79.49％,including Enterococcus,Staphylococcus,Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas.Some bacteria (28.21％) showed resistance against only one antibiotic.The others (51.28％) were multiple resistant bacteria.Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole resistance was most prevalent (53.85％),and sulfamethoxazole resistance was also widely distributed (28.21％).Conclusion Tap water from this neighborhood is heavily polluted by non-fastidous antibioticresistantance bacteria,which deserves more attention.

Effects of lithium chloride on transforming growth factor beta and connective tissue growth factor in cultured human Tenon's capsule fibroblasts / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM:To research the effects of lithium chloride on transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in cultured human Tenon capsule fibroblasts (HTFs) and explore its mechanism.METHODS:HTFs were cultured and identified by vimentin staining with immunofluorescence and the morphological characteristics.The experimental group was processed 48h with LiCl in concentration of 80mmol/L, the control group without LiCl.The mRNA expression of TGF-β and CTGF in two groups were analyzed with real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real time-qPCR) and the protein expression was detected with Western blot.RESULTS:The cultured HTFs expressed TGF-β and CTGF.The mRNA expression of TGF-β and CTGF significantly decreased compared with the control group(t=20.042, 14.995, P<0.05).the protein expression of TGF-β and CTGF also decreased significantly compared with the control group(t=46.058、12.452, P<0.05)CONCLUSION:The cultured HTFs can express TGF-β and CTGF in mRNA and proteins' level.LiCl can reduce the expression of TGF-β and CTGF both in gene and proteins' level.LiCl has the potential to modulate wound healing for glaucoma filtration surgery.

Development of a Novel PmpD-N ELISA for Chlamydia psittaci Infection / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Chlamydia psittaci is an avian respiratory pathogen and zoonotic agent. The wide prevalence of C. psittaci poses a threat to the poultry industry and its employees. However, few commercial kits are available for detecting avian antibodies excluding the in-house ELISA kit. In this study, we developed a novel ELISA kit for detecting antibodies against C. psittaci based on the N-terminal fragment of polymorphic outer membrane protein D (PmpD-N) as the coating antigen.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The antigen concentrations, primary antibody, and cut-off value were determined and optimized. The ELISA, designated PmpD-N ELISA, was assessed for sensitivity, specificity, and concordance using sera samples from 48 experimentally infected and 168 uninfected SPF chickens.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The sensitivity and specificity of PmpD-N ELISA were 97.9%, 100%, respectively, while the concordance was 98.1% as compared to that of MOMP-ELISA. No cross-reaction with positive sera for other avian pathogens was found. Using PmpD-N ELISA, 799/836 clinical samples were positive, including 93.0% and 98.1% positivity in layers and broilers, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These data indicate that indirect ELISA with PmpD-N as the antigen candidate is a promising approach for the surveillance of C. psittaci infection.</p>

Vitamin D Insufficiency and Its Association with Biochemical and Anthropometric Variables of Young Children in Rural Southwestern China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>With recognition of the important roles of Vitamin D (VitD) in various physiological processes, increasing attention has been drawn to the status of VitD in early life. However, the VitD status of young children and the related factors in rural areas of Southwestern China remain unclear. This study aimed to explore VitD status and its seasonal variation in 18-month-old children living in rural Southwestern China. The association of VitD with biochemical and anthropometric variables was also investigated.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 177 18-month-old children in a rural area of Yunnan Province, Southwestern China, were enrolled. Serum concentrations of 25-hydroxy Vitamin D (25(OH)D) were measured through high-performance liquid chromatogram-tandem mass spectrometry. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were measured with a chemiluminescence assay. Serum concentrations of calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were also measured. Anthropometric data and the outdoor activity time of each participant were collected.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The serum 25(OH)D concentration was 26.61 ± 7.26 ng/ml; concentrations lower than 30 ng/ml accounted for 70.6% of the participants and concentrations lower than 20 ng/ml accounted for 16.4%. The level of serum 25(OH)D was not significantly different among four seasons (P >0.05). A positive relationship was found between 25(OH)D concentration and the time of outdoor activities (r = 0.168, P < 0.05). Serum PTH concentration was negatively correlated with 25(OH)D concentration (r = -0.163, P < 0.05). A positive relationship was found between the serum concentrations of 25(OH)D and calcium (r = 0.154, P < 0.05). No significant association was observed between 25(OH)D and ALP, phosphorus, or anthropometric variables.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The prevalence of VitD insufficiency is high among young children in the rural Southwestern China regardless of the seasons. VitD supplementation is still essential to maintain VitD sufficiency for children living in rural area.</p>

Exploration of regulating blood lipids metabolism by integrative medicine / 中国中西医结合杂志

Hyperlipidemia is an important risk factor of cardio-/cerebrovascular disease, and reducing lipids has become an important project for itsclinical preventing and treating. Western medicine, with its confirmative efficacy and clear mechanism, has played an irreplaceable role. Along with the development of modern medicine, integrative medicine has gradually become a growing trend in regulating blood lipids metabolism. It not only could make up the insufficient power for Chinese medicine in lowering lipids, but also could reduce adverse reactions and economic costs brought by long-term administration of Western medicine. As a modern practitioner of Chinese medicine, we should keep clear that integrative medicine regulating blood lipids metabolism does not mean a simple combination of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. We should treat it guided by systematic theories. We combine disease identification and syndrome differentiation, guide lipids lowering by integrative medicine including selecting Western drugs for blood lipids lowering, Chinese medical prescriptions for syndrome typing, and effective Chinese herbs based on modern pharmacologies.