An integrated strategy of spectrum-effect relationship and near-infrared spectroscopy rapid evaluation based on back propagation neural network for quality control of Paeoniae Radix Alba.

The quantitative analysis of near-infrared spectroscopy in traditional Chinese medicine has still deficiencies in the selection of the measured indexes. Then Paeoniae Radix Alba is one of the famous "Eight Flavors of Zhejiang" herbs, however, it lacks the pharmacodynamic support, and cannot reflect the quality of Paeoniae Radix Alba accurately and reasonably. In this study, the spectrum-effect relationship of the anti-inflammatory activity of Paeoniae Radix Alba was established. Then based on the obtained bioactive component groups, the genetic algorithm, back propagation neural network, was combined with near-infrared spectroscopy to establish calibration models for the content of the bioactive components of Paeoniae Radix Alba. Finally, three bioactive components, paeoniflorin, 1,2,3,4,6-O-pentagalloylglucose, and benzoyl paeoniflorin, were successfully obtained. Their near-infrared spectroscopy content models were also established separately, and the validation sets results showed the coefficient of determination (R2 > 0.85), indicating that good calibration statistics were obtained for the prediction of key pharmacodynamic components. As a result, an integrated analytical method of spectrum-effect relationship combined with near-infrared spectroscopy and deep learning algorithm was first proposed to assess and control the quality of traditional Chinese medicine, which is the future development trend for the rapid inspection of traditional Chinese medicine.

Efficacy of pharmacologic treatment in tinnitus patients without specific or treatable origin: A network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Although tinnitus has a prevalence between 20 and 42.8%, the currently recommended management for tinnitus, such as tinnitus support and psychologic therapies, are relatively time-consuming and expensive. Several new pharmacologic treatments designed for tinnitus patients without specific origin had been developed but their efficacy remains unclear. METHODS: The current Network Meta-Analysis (NMA) of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of different pharmacologic treatments for tinnitus management in tinnitus patients without specific or treatable origin (i.e. primary tinnitus). Databases were searched from inception to April 5th, 2021. All network meta-analytic procedures were conducted under the frequentist model. We calculated the effect size of outcomes with different rating scales with standardized mean difference. PROSPERO registration: CRD42020177742. FINDINGS: Overall, 36 RCTs were included with 2,761 participants. The main results revealed that pharmacologic interventions with brain-acting effect (for example, amitriptyline, acamprosate, and gabapentin) and those with anti-inflammation/anti-oxidant effect (for example, intra-tympanic dexamethasone injection plus oral melatonin) were associated with superior improvement in tinnitus severity and response rate compared to placebo/control. Oral amitriptyline were associated with the highest improvement in tinnitus severity and the fourth highest response rate. None of the investigated interventions was associated with different changes in quality of life compared to placebo/control. All the investigated treatments were associated with similar drop-out rate to placebo/control. INTERPRETATION: The current NMA suggests a potential role for treatments with brain-acting effect (for example, amitriptyline, acamprosate, and gabapentin) or anti-inflammation/anti-oxidant effect (for example, intra-tympanic dexamethasone injection plus oral melatonin) as the preferable effective treatments for tinnitus without specific or treatable origin. FUNDING: none.

Boswellia serrata oleo-gum-resin and ß-boswellic acid inhibits HSV-1 infection in vitro through modulation of NF-кB and p38 MAP kinase signaling.

BACKGROUND: Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), a highly contagious pathogen, is responsible for causing lifelong oral to genital infection in human. Boswellia serrata oleo-gum-resin possesses a strong traditional background of treating diverse skin ailments including infection but its effect on HSV-1 has not been examined yet. PURPOSE: To exploit its potential, we aimed to explore the antiviral activity of methanol extract of B. serrata oleo-gum-resin (BSE) and one of its major constituent ß-boswellic acid (BA) against HSV-1 along with the underlying mechanism of action involved. METHODS: BSE was subjected to RP-HPLC analysis to quantify the active constituent. Cytotoxicity (CC50) and antiviral activity were evaluated by MTT and plaque reduction assay, followed by the determination of median effective concentration (EC50). The mode of antiviral activity was assessed by time-of-addition assay and confirmed by reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR). Further, the expressions of various cytokines were measured by RT-PCR, while the proteins by Western blot. RESULTS: BSE and BA potently inhibited wild-type and a clinical isolate of HSV-1 (EC50 5.2-6.2 and 12.1-14.63 µg/ml), with nearly-complete inhibition (EC99) at 10 and 30 µg/ml, respectively. The inhibitory effect was significant at 1 h post-infection and effective up to 4 h. Based on target analysis we examined the inhibition of NF-κB, essential for virus replication, and observed significant down-regulation of NF-κB, and p38 MAP-kinase activation, with reduced expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, Interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-6, involved in scheming NF-κB signaling. CONCLUSION: Thus, our results support the ethnomedicinal use of BSE in skin infection by inhibiting HSV-1 through the modulation of NF-κB and p38 MAPK pathway.

Biomechanical head impact characteristics during sparring practice sessions in high school taekwondo athletes.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to monitor head impact magnitude and characteristics, such as impact location and frequency, at high school taekwondo sparring sessions. METHODS Eight male high school taekwondo athletes participated in this study. The head impact characteristics were recorded by X-Patch, a wireless accelerometer and gyroscope, during 6 taekwondo sparring sessions. The outcome measures were the peak linear acceleration ( g = 9.81 msec2), peak rotational acceleration, rotational velocity, and Head Injury Criterion. RESULTS A total of 689 impacts occurred over 6 sessions involving the 8 athletes. There was an average of 24 impacts per 100 minutes, and there were significant differences in the frequency of impacts among both the sessions and individual athletes. In order of frequency, the most commonly hit locations were the side (38.2%), back (35.7%), and front (23.8%) of the head. CONCLUSIONS The data indicate that there is a relatively high number of head impacts experienced by taekwondo athletes during sparring practice. According to the rotational acceleration predicting impact severity published in previous research, 17.1% of the impacts were deemed to be a moderate and 15.5% were deemed to be severe.

Formulation of Polyherbal Patches Based on Polyvinyl Alcohol and Hydroxypropylmethyl Cellulose: Characterization and In Vitro Evaluation.

The purpose of this research was to prepare and characterize polyherbal patches made from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) with glycerine as a plasticizer. Polyherbal extracts were Luk-Pra-Kob recipes extracted with 95% ethanol. They were prepared by mixing the polymer solutions and glycerine in a beaker; subsequently, the polyherbal extracts were homogeneously mixed. Then, they were transferred into a Petri dish and dried in a hot-air oven at 70 ± 2°C for 5 h. The dry polyherbal patches were evaluated for physicochemical properties by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and a scanning electron microscope. They were studied for in vitro release and skin permeation of the marker active compound (E)-4-(3',4'-dimethoxyphenyl)but-3-en-l-ol (compound D) using a modified Franz-type diffusion cell. The polyherbal patches made from PVA as a matrix layer were homogeneous, smooth, and compact relative to HPMC-containing polyherbal patches. The selected polyherbal patches made from PVA produced a release profile with an initial burst effect in which compound D release was 74.21 ± 6.13% within 8 h, but compound D could permeate the pig skin only 37.28 ± 5.52% and was highly accumulated in newborn pig skin at 35.90 ± 6.72%. The in vitro release and skin permeation kinetics of compound D were fitted to the Higuchi model. The polyherbal patches made from PVA could be suitably used for herbal medicine application.

[Evaluation of the Musical Concentration Training with Pepe (MusiKo mit Pepe) for children with attention deficits]. / Evaluation des Musikalischen Konzentrationstrainings mit Pepe (MusiKo mit Pepe) bei Kindern mit Aufmerksamkeitsproblemen.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the Musical Concentration Training with Pepe ("MusiKo mit Pepe") for children aged 5 to 10 years with attention deficits. METHOD: Using a pre-post-control design (N = 108), changes in attention capacity are measured by the Test of Attentional Performance for Children (KiTAP), whereas changes in the quality of life are assessed with the Children's Questionnaire (KINDL-R). Additionally, we utilized the Symptom Checklist for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (FBB-ADHS) and for Conduct Disorder (FBB-SSV) of the Diagnostic System of Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents II based on ICD-10 and DSM-IV as well as the Child Behavior Checklist and the Teacher's Report Form (CBCL, TRF). RESULTS: Significant pre-post effects were found in both attention and quality of life for children treated by the training compared to controls. Moreover, significant reductions were detected in ADHD symptomatology in parents' and teachers' ratings, and in internal problems in parents' ratings. The effectiveness of the intervention was not affected by age, sex, intelligence, or migration background. CONCLUSION: The music-based training "MusiKo mit Pepe" is an effective intervention for children with attention deficits, pending replication of these findings in future studies.

Evaluation of a method using high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection for the determination of statins in macromycetes of the genus Pleurotus cultivated by fermentation processes.

The applicability of high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet light (HPLC-UV) for the determination of the presence of statins in macromycetes of the genus Pleurotus was analyzed. The fungi were obtained by liquid-state fermentation (LSF) using unconventional sources of carbon as substrates and solid-state fermentation (SSF) employing agro industrial wastes. Five statins were used as standards: lovastatin and simvastatin in the lactone form (LOVL and SIML), their corresponding hydro-acidic forms (LOVH and SIMH) and pravastatin (PRA). The following measures were evaluated: the linearity, accuracy and precision, detection limit (DL) and quantification limit (QL). The results demonstrated HPLC-UV to be an effective tool for detecting the presence of statins in extracts of LSF and SSF products. Likewise, it was hypothesized that the strains that were used for the study do not produce statins. This finding highlights the importance of continuing to evaluate other strains of the same genus by using techniques such as HPLC to first separate sufficient quantities of the compounds that were detected using the standard technique but that did not match the retention time (tR) of any of the standards used.