[Properly managing the cataract patients with diabetes mellitus].

The recent years has witnessed the fast growing number of cataract patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). The complexity and diversity of DM-related ocular complications has made the cataract treatment of such patients intractable and easily ignored. Cataract surgery has become an essential part of the comprehensive treatment of diabetic ophthalmopathy. Therefore, it is more necessary to implement proper perioperative management. In this article, we discuss the preoperative blood glucose control and the prevention of infective endophthalmitis. Moreover, the importance of ocular surface health and the strategy-making in the patients with diabetic retinopathy are elaborated. We also emphasize the details of surgical techniques and postoperative follow-up. We strive to create a holistic concept throughout the process of diagnosis and treatment with an individualized and standardized view, so that the concurrence of cataract and DM may not be a challenge in the future. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2020, 56: 325-329).

[Effect of postoperative hypoalbuminemia and supplement of human serum albumin on the development of poor wound healing following lumbar internal fixation surgery].

Objective: To analyze the association between postoperative hypoalbuminemia and poor wound healing, and to evaluate whether postoperative supplementation of human serum albumin can improve postoperative wound healing after lumbar internal fixation surgery. Methods: From January 2014 to December 2018, 602 patients who underwent lumbar internal fixation surgery in the Department of Orthopedics, Zhujiang Hostiptal of Southern Medical University were identified. There were 250 males (41.5%) and 352 females (58.5%), with an average age of (60±12) years. All patients' clinical records were reviewed, including demographics data, comorbidity data, preoperative serum laboratory values, intraoperative factor, postoperative serum laboratory values and wound healing, and the incidence rate of poor wound healing was calculated. The statistical analyses were performed with R software and Empower(R) to analyze the factors related to poor wound healing. Multiple logistic regression models were performed with adjustment for the potential confounders to evaluate the effect of postoperative hypoalbuminemia and supplementation of human serum albumin on the development of poor wound healing. Results: Poor wound healing occurred in 51(8.47%) patients. After adjusting for the confounding factors, multiple regression analysis showed that there was no correlation between postoperative albumin levels and poor wound healing(OR=1.00, 95%CI: 0.91-1.10, P=1.000). Compared with patients with postoperative normal albumin level, postoperative hypoalbuminemia would increase the risk of poor wound healing by 13% (OR=1.13, 95%CI: 0.47-2.70, P=0.787). There was no correlation between supplementation of human serum albumin and poor wound healing in patients with normal albumin levels or postoperative hypoalbuminemia (P>0.05). Conclusions: There is no correlation between postoperative hypoalbuminemia and poor wound healing after lumbar internal fixation surgery. Postoperative supplementation of human serum albumin can't improve wound healing.

[On Annotation on the Names and Syndromes of Ancient Diseases, with textual research on"dian (depressive psychosis)","kuang (manic psychosis)", and"xian (epilepsy)"].

The book Gu dai ji bing ming hou shu yi (Annotation on the Names and Syndromes of Ancient Diseases) written by Yu Yunxiu holds that dian can be divided into two conditions, namely, epilepsy and manic psychosis. By analysis on related materials in ancient lexicographical works, ancient medical books and other ancient books, it reveals that dian and kuang are two very different diseases, but dian and xian refer to the same conditions. Dian was the special name of a disease, while xian was a stage of syndrome of that disease with typical symptoms. Dian and xian might also refer to two different types of that disease. Dian always refers to epilepsy from its very beginning besides cephalopathy, including both mental symptom and physical symptom.

Treatment of municipal wastewater using a contact oxidation filtration separation integrated bioreactor.

A new contact oxidation filtration separation integrated bioreactor (CFBR) was used to treat municipal wastewater. The CFBR was made up of a biofilm reactor (the upper part of the CFBR) and a gravitational filtration bed (the lower part of the CFBR). Polyacrylonitrile balls (50mm diameter, 237 m(2)/m(3) specific surface, 90% porosity, and 50.2% packing rate) were filled into the biofilm reactor as biofilm attaching materials and anthracite coal (particle size 1-2mm, packing density 0.947 g/cm(3), non-uniform coefficient (K(80)=d(80)/d(10))<2.0) was placed into the gravitational filtration bed as filter media. At an organic volumetric loading rate of 2.4 kg COD/(m(3)d) and an initial filtration velocity of 5m/h in the CFBR, the average removal efficiencies of COD, ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen and turbidity were 90.6%, 81.4%, 64.6% and 96.7% respectively, but the treatment process seemed not to be effective in phosphorus removal. The average removal efficiency of total phosphorus was 60.1%. Additionally, the power consumption of the CFBR was less than 0.15 kWh/m(3) of wastewater treated, and less than 1.5 kWh/kg BOD(5) removal.

De novo urothelial carcinoma in kidney transplant patients with end-stage aristolochic acid nephropathy in China.

OBJECTIVE: Aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN) is a progressive renal interstitial fibrosis disease that was initially reported among a Belgian cohort of about 50 patients after the intake of diet pills containing the Chinese herb Aristolochia fangchi. In addition to renal disease, foci of AAN show increased incidences of urothelial carcinomas (UC). Immunosuppression is associated with an increased risk for the development of different malignancies. Our aim was to examine the outcomes of UC among patients with AAN after transplantation in China, the cradle of this traditional medicine. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective evaluation of the charts and pathology reports of 1612 renal transplant recipients treated at our 2 institutions. RESULTS: From January 1998 to December 2006, we performed cadaveric kidney transplantations in 17 patients with AAN, all of whom were treated with cyclosporine plus azathioprine or mycophenolate mofetil plus prednisone. One-year graft survival was 100%. During the mean follow-up of 57 months (range, 21-108 months), 9 recipients (52.9%) developed UC, compared with a 0.46% prevalence of urinary tract tumors among other Chinese kidney transplant recipients. The age at which the diagnosis was made ranged from 39 to 66 years (mean, 53.6 +/- 6.8 years). Among the 9 patients with UC, 8 cases (88.9%) involved the upper urinary tract: bilateral, 3 cases, 37.5%; unilateral, 5 cases, 62.5%. In 1 patient only a bladder tumor was detected. Two patients showed the bladder, synchronous bilateral ureter, and pelvis to be involved. All patients with UC underwent surgical treatment, recovering uneventfully with functioning grafts after tumor excision, except 1 patient who underwent nephrectomy of the transplanted kidney. Six patients (75%) experienced recurrences during the follow-up period. Three patients died within a mean of 20 months (range, 1-42 months) after tumor excision. CONCLUSIONS: The risk for UC is increased among patients with AAN after transplantation. Regular screening for early detection of malignancy is mandatory. Longer follow-up and results from other transplant centers are needed to further investigate the relationship between AAN and UC among renal transplant patients.

Effect of feeding high-temperature, microtime-treated diets with different lipid sources on conjugated linoleic acid formation in finishing Hanwoo steers.

The present study was conducted to examine the effects of different plant oils or plant oil mixtures and high-temperature, microtime processing (HTMT) on the CLA content in Hanwoo steers. Experiment 1, consisting of 3 in vitro trials, was conducted to determine how the biohydrogenation of C18 fatty acids and CLA production were affected by fat sources (tallow, soybean oil, linseed oil, or mixtures of soybean oil and linseed oil) or HTMT treatment in the rumen fluid. The results showed that HTMT was capable of protecting unsaturated fatty acids from biohydrogenation by ruminal bacteria. The HTMT-treated diet containing 4% linseed oil (LU) and a supplement containing 2% linseed oil and 1% soybean oil treated with HTMT + 1% soybean oil (L(2)S(1)U+S(1)) produced an increased quantity of trans-11 C18:1 and cis-9, trans-11 CLA, and a reduced quantity of trans-10, cis-12 CLA. Based on these results, in vivo studies (Exp. 2) were conducted with LU and L(2)S(1)U+S(1). These 2 treatments increased the content of cis-9, trans-11 CLA in LM compared with the control diet. The content of trans-10, cis-12 CLA in subcutaneous fat was also increased in the L(2)S(1)U+S(1) treatment compared with other treatments. The subcutaneous fat thickness in the LU treatment was decreased compared with the L(2)S(1)U+S(1) treatment. The LU treatment significantly decreased fatty acid synthase expression but simultaneously increased leptin expression. In this report, we showed that diets containing LU and L(2)S(1)U+S(1) were capable of increasing CLA in the intramuscular fat of beef.

[Studies on the cell suspension culture of Saussarea medusa in a stirred tank bioreactor].

The cell suspension culture of Saussarea medusa in a 2L aerated and agitated bioreactor with a four-pitch-blade impeller was investigated. The effects of agitation speed, aeration and inoculum size on cell growth and flavonoids production were studied and it was found that cells had optimum growth and flavonoids production when cultivated at 75 r/min, 700-1000 L/min and an inoculum of 4.0-5.0 g/L. A high cell biomass of 13.8 g/L and flavonoids production of 416 mg/L were achieved after 12 days of cultivation. Time course study revealed that flavonoids biosynthesis was growth-associated. The studies on aggregates size distribution in the bioreactor showed that the aggregates break-up caused by hydrodynamic stress might adversely affect cell growth and lead to significant reduction of cell biomass and flavonoids production.

[Gas chromatographic determination of camphor, menthol, methyl salicylate, thymol in JEIL COOL PAP].

The contents of camphor, menthol, methyl salicylate and thymol in JEIL COOL PAP were determined with gas chromatography by using a stainless steel column (2 m x 3 mm i.d.) packed with 15% DEGS, Chromosorb W (AW-DMCS) 80-100 mesh. Temperature programming was from 70 degrees C to 180 degrees C. The quantitative determination was performed with diphenyl as the internal standard. The internal standard method showed good linearity (r = 0.9995-0.9999). The average recoveries were 99.63% (camphor), 99.83% (menthol), 100.0% (methyl salicylate) and 100.4% (thymol).

[Clinical study on treatment of arteriosclerosis obliterans using huangqi tongmai decoction].

OBJECTIVE: To test and verify the effects of Huangqi Tongmai Decoction (HQTMI) regulating blood lipid in treating arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO). METHODS: Thirty-two cases of ASO was treated with HQTMD for two months. The drug was in water decoction, oral taken. RESULTS: Compared with the blood lipid level before treatment, the high density lipoprotein of cholesterol (HDL-C) was increased, the low density lipoprotein of cholesterol (LDL-C), atherogenic index (AI) was decreased (P < 0.01). The serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), very low density lipoprotein of cholesterol (VLDL), apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1), apolipoprotein B100 (apoB100) were all changed (P < 0.05). apoA1/apoB100 ratio increased. CONCLUSION: HQTMD could regulate blood lipid. This method was effective in treating ASO.

[Effect of chaihu guizhi decoction on the immunoglobulin and IgG subgroup in children with recurrent respiratory tract infection].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Chaihu Guizhi Decoction (CGD) on Immunoglobulin (Ig) and IgG subgroup in children with recurrent respiratory tract infection (RRTI). METHODS: Levels of Ig and IgG subgroup were measured in 23 cases of children with RRTI before and after treating with CGD, and compared with those in the control group. RESULTS: In RRTI group, the levels of IgG, IgA, IgM and IgG1 were lower than those of the control groups respectively (P < 0.01). The rate of IgG subgroup deficiency (ISD) was 60.9%. The effective rate of the CGD group was 95.6%. The IgG and IgG1 levels were increased after treatment as compared with before treatment (P < 0.05), and the ISD correcting rate being 71.4%. CONCLUSIONS: The hypoimmunofunction and IgG subgroup deficiency were important factors in RRTI pathogenesis. The CGD could improve the immunofunction and correct the IgG subgroup deficiency, and this effect might be one of the mechanism of CGD in treating RRTI.

Cloning and characterization of a maize cDNA encoding phytoene desaturase, an enzyme of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway.

To study regulation of the plastid-localized maize carotenoid biosynthetic pathway, a cDNA encoding phytoene desaturase (PDS) was isolated and characterized. The DNA sequence of the maize Pds cDNA was determined and compared with available dicot Pds genes. The deduced PDS protein, estimated at 64.1 kDa (unprocessed), had a dinucleotide binding domain and conserved regions characteristic of other carotene desaturases. Alignment of available PDS sequences from distantly related organisms suggests that Pds has potential as a phylogenetic tool. By use of heterologous complementation in Escherichia coli, maize PDS was shown to catalyze two desaturation steps converting phytoene to zeta-carotene. RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) mapping was used to place Pds on chromosome 1S near viviparous5 (vp5), and RT-PCR (reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction) analysis indicated reduced Pds transcript in vp5 mutant relative to normal endosperm. Other phytoene-accumulating mutant endosperms, vp2 and white3 (w3), showed no difference in Pds transcript accumulation as compared with normal endosperm counterparts. RT-PCR analysis of Pds transcript accumulation in developing endosperm showed Pds was constitutively expressed. Therefore, endosperm carotenogensis is not regulated by increasing the level of Pds transcripts.

[A study on effect of qingwen granule in regulating immunological function in infantile respiratory viral infection].

To evaluate the effect of Qing-wen Granule (QWG) on immunological function, T lymphocyte subsets and interferon gamma(INF-gamma) expression cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, lymphocyte transformation rate and the level of salivary secretory IgA (sIgA) were determined by alkaline phosphatase antialkaline phosphatase (APAAP) technique or 3H-TdR incorporation with lymphocyte stimulation index(SI) or agar single immunodiffusion in infantile respiratory viral infection. The results showed that the percentage of CD3, CD4, and CD4/CD8 ratio of patients treated with QWG for 3 days were not significantly different in comparing with the control group untreated with QWG (P > 0.05), but the values of IFN-gamma expression cell, SI and the level of sIgA were more markedly increased than that of control (P < 0.05). It suggested that the QWG could improve and regulate immune function in infantile respiratory viral infection.

Dietary alterations of plasma lipoproteins influence their interactions with proteoglycan enriched extracts from neointima of normal and injured aorta of rabbit.

The interactions between serum lipoproteins isolated from rabbits fed a cholesterol-supplemented diet for six weeks, and soluble extracts of arterial neointima enriched in proteoglycans extracted from normocholesterolaemic rabbit aortas, were studied in an in vitro system. Neointimal tissues of rabbit aorta, which developed during three months following a selective endothelial injury, were excised and the areas covered or uncovered by regenerated endothelium were separated. To isolate the proteoglycan enriched fraction, both normal and injured tissue was homogenized in a sucrose solution containing protease inhibitors, centrifuged, and further fractionated by gel exclusion chromatography. The composition of the soluble extracts and each of their corresponding proteoglycan enriched fractions were analyzed in terms of protein and glycosaminoglycan content. Lipoproteins of donor animals fed an atherogenic diet were prepared by sequential ultracentrifugal flotation after density adjustment with KBr. Aliquots of electrophoretically pure lipoprotein fractions were incubated with proteoglycan enriched fraction from uninjured, denuded, or endothelium-covered neointima in the presence of Ca++ and Mg++ at 4 degrees C. The complexes formed during incubation were separated by centrifugation. The cholesterol content of the complexes was considered as an index of binding capacity. Results were expressed as micrograms of cholesterol bound per mg of glycosaminoglycan. The data reveal the higher affinity of hypercholesterolaemic lipoprotein fractions for aortic proteoglycans, as compared to normocholesterolaemic lipoproteins. In addition, when evaluating the relevance of the proteoglycan enriched fraction source, the affinity of fractions extracted from aortic neointima was found to be much higher for hypercholesterolaemic lipoproteins. These results suggest the role that proteoglycan-lipoprotein interactions could play in the event of the combined actions of endothelial injury and hypercholesterolaemia in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.