Repellency and insecticidal activity of seven Mugwort (Artemisia argyi) essential oils against the malaria vector Anopheles sinensis.

Anopheles sinensis is the main vector of malaria with a wide distribution in China and its adjacent countries. The smoke from burning dried mugwort leaves has been commonly used to repel and kill mosquito adults especially in southern Chinese provinces. In this study, the essential oils of mugwort leaves collected from seven provinces in China were extracted by steam distillation and their chemical compositions were analyzed. Among a total of 56-87 chemical constituents confirmed by GC-MS analyses, four compounds, eucalyptol, ß-caryophyllene, phytol and caryophyllene oxide, were identified with appearances from all seven distilled essential oils. The effectiveness varied in larvicidal, fumigant and repellent activities against An. sinensis from these seven essential oils with different geographic origins. The essential oil from Hubei province showed the highest larvicidal activity against the 4th instar larvae of An. sinensis, with a median lethal concentration at 40.23 µg/mL. For fumigation toxicity, essential oils from 4 provinces (Gansu, Shandong, Sichuan and Henan) were observed with less than 10 min in knockdown time. The essential oil distilled from Gansu province displayed the highest repellent activity against Anopheles mosquitoes and provided similar level of protection as observed from DEET. Eucalyptol was the most toxic fumigant compound and phytol showed the strongest larvicidal activity among all tested mugwort essential oil constituents.

Molecular Mechanism of Jingfang Mixture Against H1N1 Influenza Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Verification / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo predict the potential targets and mechanism of Jingfang mixture in the treatment of H1N1 influenza and provide references for clinical application of Jingfang mixture. MethodThe active components and targets of Jingfang mixture against H1N1 influenza were screened out by Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform（TCMSP），SwissTargetPrediction， and TargetNet. The targets of H1N1 influenza were obtained from GeneCards，Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM）， and DisGeNET and standardized by UniProt KB. The intersection targets were obtained by Venny 2.1.0. The "drug-component-target" network was constructed with Cytoscape 3.2.1 and analyzed for the topological attributes. The intersection targets were uploaded to STRING 11.5 to obtain the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network. Gene Ontology （GO） enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） analysis were carried out by Metascape. Finally，the top active components ranked by degree were docked to the core targets by Autodock vina and visually analyzed by PyMOL. Balb/c female rats were used for experimental verification. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe the pathological changes in lung tissues. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）was used to detect the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α），interleukin-10（IL-10）， and interleukin-17（IL-17）. Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels in lung tissues. ResultThere were 144 active components in Jingfang mixture. A total of 421 target genes of Jingfang mixture and 2 956 targets of H1N1 influenza were identified，including 199 common targets. Topological analysis showed that the core components of Jingfang mixture against H1N1 influenza included quercetin，luteolin， and kaempferol，and the core targets included prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2（PTGS2），estrogen receptor alpha（ESR1），inducible nitric oxide synthase 2（iNOS2），peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγ（PPARγ），and cyclooxygenase-1（PTGS1）. GO enrichment yielded 697 items in biological process （BP） （P<0.01）， 59 items in molecular function （MF）（P<0.01）， and 21 items in cellular component （CC） （P<0.01）. A total of 132 signaling pathways （P<0.01） were obtained by KEGG enrichment analysis， including phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases（PI3K）/protein kinase B（Akt） signaling pathway and mitogen-activated protein kinase（MAPK） signaling pathway，most of which were related to the regulation of immune inflammation. Molecular docking showed that the binding energy of the active components of Jingfang mixture to the core targets was less than -5.0 kcal·mol-1，indicating good binding activity. HE staining showed that the lung tissues were significantly improved after drug intervention，and Real-time PCR and Western blot showed that Jingfang mixture could reduce the mRNA and protein expression of PI3K and Akt in lung tissues. ConclusionJingfang mixture can play an anti-viral effect against the influenza A virus through multiple components，multiple targets， and multiple pathways. The active components quercetin，luteolin， and kaempferol may control the inflammation and regulate immunity on the PI3K/Akt，MAPK， and other signaling pathways by acting on targets such as PTGS2，ESR1，iNOS2，PPARγ， and PTGS1.

Combining scalp acupuncture with hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves functional recovery after cerebral infarction / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective:To observe the effect of combining scalp acupuncture with hyperbaric oxygen on serum homocysteine and highly-sensitive c-reactive protein levels and functional recovery after cerebral infarction.Methods:A total of 101 survivors of cerebral infarction were divided randomly into a scalp acupuncture group ( n=33), a hyperbaric oxygen group ( n=34) and a combined treatment group ( n=34). All received routine treatment plus the appropriate supplementary treatment once a day for 10 days. The subjects were evaluated before the experiment as well as 10 and 90 days afterward. The National Institutes of Health′s stroke scale (NIHSS) was used to quantify neurological deficits and the Barthel Index quantified ability in the activities of daily living. Ninety days after the treatment, modified Rankin scale scores were also assigned. The levels of serum homocysteine (Hcy) and highly-sensitive c-reactive protein (hs-CRP) before and after 10 days of treatment were also compared among the 3 groups. Results:The average NIHSS and Barthel Index scores of all three groups had improved significantly after 10 days of treatment and the improvements persisted at the follow-up 3 months later. Both results were significantly better in the combined treatment group than in the scalp acupuncture group at the 90-day follow-up evaluation. The average Rankin score of the combined treatment group was lower at the last follow-up. Compared with before the intervention, the average Hcy of the scalp acupuncture group, the average hs-CRP of the hyperbaric oxygen group, as well as the average Hcy and hs-CRP of the combined treatment group were significantly lower after 10 days of treatment. Compared with the scalp acupuncture group, the average Hcy [(11.68±2.6) μmol/L] of the combined treatment group was significantly lower after the 10 days of treatment.Conclusions:Supplementing scalp acupuncture with hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves the long-term outcomes of cerebral infarction, reducing the level of serum Hcy.

Experimental study on temperature dependence of dielectric properties of biological tissues at 2 450 MHz / 生物医学工程学杂志

The temperature dependence of relative permittivity and conductivity of

Study protocol of a multicenter phase III randomized controlled trial investigating the efficiency of the combination of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and neoadjuvant laparoscopic intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemotherapy (NLHIPEC) followed by R0 gastrectomy with intraoperative HIPEC for advanced gastric cancer (AGC): dragon II trial.

BACKGROUND: Even though treatment modalities such as adjuvant systemic radio-chemotherapy and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) have individually have improved overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates in advanced Gastric Cancer (AGC), the peritoneum still presides as a common site of treatment failure and disease recurrence. The role of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has been acknowledged as prophylaxis for peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) in AGC patients and in this study, we aim at investigating the safety and efficacy of the combination of neoadjuvant laparoscopic HIPEC (NLHIPEC) with NAC in the neoadjuvant phase followed by surgery of curative intent with intraoperative HIPEC followed by adjuvant chemotherapy (AC). METHODS: In this multicenter Phase III randomized controlled trial, 326 patients will be randomly separated into 2 groups into a 1:1 ratio after laparoscopic exploration. The experiment arm will receive the proposed comprehensive Dragon II regimen while the control group will undergo standard R0 D2 followed by 8 cycles of AC with oxaliplatin with S-1 (SOX) regimen. The Dragon II regimen comprises of 1 cycle of NLHIPEC for 60mins at 43 ± 0.5 °C with 80 mg/m2 of Paclitaxel followed by 3 cycles of NAC with SOX regimen and after assessment, standard R0 D2 gastrectomy with intraoperative HIPEC followed by 5 cycles of SOX regimen chemotherapy. The end-points for the study are 5 year PFS, 5 year OS, peritoneal metastasis rate (PMR) and morbidity rate. DISCUSSION: This study is one of the first to combine NLHIPEC with NAC in the preoperative phase which is speculated to provide local management of occult peritoneal carcinomatosis or peritoneal free cancer cells while NAC will promote tumor downsizing and down-staging. The addition of the intraoperative HIPEC is speculated to manage dissemination due to surgical trauma. Where the roles of intraoperative HIPEC and NAC have individually been investigated, this study provides innovative insight on a more comprehensive approach to management of AGC at high risk of peritoneal recurrence. It is expected that the combination of NLHIPEC with NAC and HIPEC will increase PFS by 15% and decrease PMR after gastrectomy of curative intent. TRIAL REGISTRATION: World Health Organization Clinical Trials - International Registry Platform (WHO-ICTRP) with Registration ID ChiCTR1900024552, Registered Prospectively on the 16th July, 2019.

Exploration of the mechanisms of Ge Gen Decoction against influenza A virus infection / 中国天然药物

Ge Gen Decoction (GGD), a Traditional Chinese Medicine prescription, is mainly used to treat infectious respiratory diseases and can relieve the symptoms of influenza A virus (IAV) infection. However, the underlying mechanism of GGD against IAV infection remains unclear. In this study, we found that GGD had moderate anti-IAV activity in vitro. GGD was more effective when given before the viral infection and targeted the viral attachment and replication stages rather than the internalization stage. In vivo, GGD treatment reduced thevirus titers of lung tissue significantly and improved the survival rate, lung index, and pulmonary histopathological changes in H1N1-infected mice. We observed the changes in several key immuno-related indexes in GGD administrated H1N1-infected mice with anti-IAV drug oseltamivir phosphate as the control. GGD treatment decreased the expression of TNF-α and improved Th1/Th2 immune balance to reduce the excessive immune response in H1N1-infected mice. Besides, the expression of the toll-like receptor 7 signaling pathway in H1N1-infected mice decreased after GGD treatment. Our results showed that GGD has anti-IAV activity and can modulate the immune system to relieve lung inflammation.

Efficacy of Weitan Waifu patch on the postsurgical gastroparesis syndrome of gastrointestinal cancer: a multi-center trial / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective@#To investigate the safety and efficacy of the Weitan Waifu patch on the postsurgical gastroparesis syndrome (PGS) of gastrointestinal cancer.@*Methods@#The multi-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted with superiority design. Patients with PGS of gastrointestinal cancer diagnosed in 4 AAA hospitals and the abdominal symptom manifested as cold syndrome by Chinese local syndrome differentiation were recruited. These patients were randomly divided into two groups according to 1∶1 proportion. Placebo or Weitan Waifu patch was applied in control group or intervention group, respectively, based on the basic treatments, including nutrition support, gastrointestinal decompression, promoting gastric dynamics medicine.Two acupuncture points (Zhongwan and Shenque) were stuck with placebo in control group or patch in treatment group. The intervention course was 14 days or reached the effective standard.@*Results@#From July 15, 2013 to Jun 3, 2015, 128 participants were recruited and 120 eligible cases were included in the full analysis set (FAS), and 60 cases in each group. 88 cases were included in the per-protocol set (PPS), including 45 cases in the treatment group and 43 cases in the control group. In the FAS, the clinical effective rate in the treatment group was 68.3%, significantly superior than 41.7% of the control group (P=0.003). The medium time of effective therapy in the treatment group was 8 days, significantly shorter than 10 days in the control group (P=0.017). In the FAS, 3 adverse events occurred in the treatment group, including mild to moderate decrustation, pruritus and nausea. The incidence rate of adverse events was 5.0% (3/60) and these symptoms were spontaneously remitted after drug withdrawal. No severe adverse events were observed in the control group. There was no significant difference between these two groups (P=0.244).@*Conclusion@#Weitan Waifu patch is a safely and effectively therapeutic method for patients with PGS (cold syndrome) of gastroenterological cancer.@*Trial registration@#International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Register, ISRCTN18291857

Clinical Application of Recombinant Human Endostatin in Postoperative Early Complementary Therapy on Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer in Chinese Mainland.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical application of recombinant human endostatin (Endostar) in the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Chinese mainland. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 75 patients diagnosed as NSCLC were randomly divided into control group (37 cases) and treatment group (38 cases). Control group was treated with postoperative complementary chemotherapy containing two-agent platinum protocol on postoperative d21, 3 weeks as a cycle, for totally 4~6 cycles. On this basis, treatment group was added with Endostar 7.5 mg/m2 on postoperative d8~9, 3~4 h/time, qd, 14 weeks as a cycle, for totally 4 cycles. The interval between every two cycles was 7 d. The 5-year progression-free survival (PFS), 5-year survival time and complications in both groups were observed. RESULTS: Compared with control group, the average PFS increased evidently in treatment group by 9.8 months (41.6 months vs. 31.8 months), and there was significant difference (P<0.05). And the median PFS was 42.5 months in treatment group, obviously longer than that in control group (33.7 months) by 8.8 months (P<0.05). Additionally, the 5-year overall survival rate (OS), average survival time and median survival time (MST) were 47.4%, 50.1 months and 59.3 months in treatment group, significantly higher than the 29.7%, 42.1 months and 43.5 months in control group (P<0.05). Only 1 patient showed poor healing of surgical wound in treatment group, but no surgery-associated complication was found in control group. Moreover, the postoperative complementary therapy-connected complication rates were 63.2% (24/38) and 59.5% (22/37) in treatment group and control group respectively, but there was no significant difference (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The application of Endostar combined with sensitive platinum-contained chemotherapeutic agents in the postoperative complementary chemotherapy can be widely used in clinic because it can significantly prolong the long-term survival time of patients with NSCLC.

[Effect of pretreatment with qishen yiqi dropping pills on right cardiac function of patients undergoing valve replacement].

In this study, 120 patients with rheumatic heart disease undergoing valve replacement were randomly divided into the control group and the Qishen group, with 60 cases in each group. Before the operation, the control group was given routine heart and diuretic treatments and placebo of Qishen Yiqi dropping pills for seven days (0.5 g each time, three times a day); While the Qishen group was given Qishen Yiqi dropping pills for seven days (0.5 g each time after meal, three times a day) on the basis of the routine treatments. The right ventricular end-diastolic volume (RVEDV), end-systolic volume (RVESV), stroke volume (SV) and right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) were detected after the operation. The results showed that patients in the two groups showed significantly lower right ventricular end diastolic volume (RVEDV), right ventricular end systolic volume (RVESV) and stroke volume (SV) decreased than that before the operation, but with significantly higher Ejection fraction (RVEF) significantly than that before the operation. However, the Qishen group showed a significantly lower right heart function reduction than the control group, with the statistical significance in the differences (P < 0.05). This indicated that the pretreatment with Qishenyiqi Drop Pills showed a remarkable efficacy in the improvement of right ventricular function after valve replacement.

Advances in high-throughput transcriptome research of traditional Chinese medicines / 中国中药杂志

Traditional Chinese medicine is a treasure of Chinese culture, absorbing the wisdom of the Chinese people. Continuous application of new technologies makes traditional Chinese medicine research advance with the times. After several years of development, high-throughput transcriptome study has become a mature research tool in biology. This paper reviewed the advances in medicine transcriptome study, and compared two sequencing platforms, Roche's GS FLX platform and Illumina's HiSeq 2000 platform. Moreover, this paper introduced medicine transcriptome analysis process, with Panax quinquefolius and Lonicera japonica for examples, showing the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine transcriptome studies. High-throughput transcriptome studies facilitate traditional Chinese medicine research with overall understand of functional genes, give clear elucidation of metabolic pathways, lay molecular foundation for the traditional Chinese medicine research and offer modern interpretation for traditional Chinese medicine theory. However, the current study faces several difficulties, including weak molecular basis, high sequencing cost and staff shortages in data anaysis. In the future, with the development in sequencing technology, the combination of transcriptome and other genomics, such as proteome and metabolome, will lay a solid foundation for the new high-throughput screening and developing model for the traditional Chinese medicine industry.

Effect of pretreatment with qishen yiqi dropping pills on right cardiac function of patients undergoing valve replacement / 中国中药杂志

In this study, 120 patients with rheumatic heart disease undergoing valve replacement were randomly divided into the control group and the Qishen group, with 60 cases in each group. Before the operation, the control group was given routine heart and diuretic treatments and placebo of Qishen Yiqi dropping pills for seven days (0.5 g each time, three times a day); While the Qishen group was given Qishen Yiqi dropping pills for seven days (0.5 g each time after meal, three times a day) on the basis of the routine treatments. The right ventricular end-diastolic volume (RVEDV), end-systolic volume (RVESV), stroke volume (SV) and right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) were detected after the operation. The results showed that patients in the two groups showed significantly lower right ventricular end diastolic volume (RVEDV), right ventricular end systolic volume (RVESV) and stroke volume (SV) decreased than that before the operation, but with significantly higher Ejection fraction (RVEF) significantly than that before the operation. However, the Qishen group showed a significantly lower right heart function reduction than the control group, with the statistical significance in the differences (P < 0.05). This indicated that the pretreatment with Qishenyiqi Drop Pills showed a remarkable efficacy in the improvement of right ventricular function after valve replacement.

Rapid determination of contents of hirudin's hydrolysates in processed leech by dot blotting / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the contents of hirudin's hydrolysates in processed leeches, set up a new evaluating method of dot blotting to evaluate the qualities of those processed Chinese medicines as leeches.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Contents of hirudin's hydrolysates in processed leeches were determined by dot blotting with rat antibody of anti-hirudin as the first antibody. Blotting signal was analyzed by software of Quantity One.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Contents of hirudin's hydrolysates in four batches of processed leeches were 296.51, 165.47, 95.58, and 298.05 microg g(-1), respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Difference among four batches of processed leeches was significant in the content of hirudin's hydrolysates. Dot blotting, as a convenient and accurate method can be broadly used for evaluating processed products of Chinese crude drugs similar to leeches.</p>

Effects of injection of Huangqi injectio into Zusanli (ST 36) on immune function in the patient of schizophrenia / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study on effects of injection of Huangqi Injectio into Zusanli (ST 36) on the hospital infection and immune function in the patient of schizophrenia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty inpatients of chronic schizophrenia were treated with injection of Huangqi Injectio into bilateral Zusanli (ST 36), 2 mL each point, thrice each week, for 8 weeks. Relative immune indexes and the hospital infection were investigated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The hospital infection and the sub-infection were 4 cases (13.3%), 7 cases-times (23.3%) in the injection group; and 9 cases (15.0%), 19 cases-times (31.7%) in the control group, respectively, with no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The drug-administration duration was 7.77 days/case and 11.87 days/case in the two groups, respectively (P<0.01). In the injection group, as compared with that of last 3 years the duration was 7.77 days/case and 14.08 days/case (P<0.01). IgG, IgA, IgM and T-cell subgroups did not have significant changes, but there was the most different value before and after injection in SIL-2R of the no-infection group, and the longer the drug administration duration, the smaller the different values.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Injection of Huangqi Injectio into Zusanli (ST 36) has definite effect for prevention of the hospital infection in inpatients of chronic schizophrenia, and SIL-2R is a valuable index for investigation of the hospital of infection.</p>