An Intelligent Customer-Driven Digital Solution to Improve Perioperative Health Outcomes Among Children Undergoing Circumcision and Their Parents: Development and Evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Circumcision as a common elective pediatric surgery worldwide is a stressful and anxiety-inducing experience for parents and children. Although current perioperative interventions proved effective, such as reducing preoperative anxiety, there are limited holistic solutions using mobile apps. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to describe the development and primary evaluation of an intelligent customer-driven smartphone-based app program (ICory-Circumcision) to enhance health outcomes among children undergoing circumcision and their family caregivers. METHODS: Based on the review of the literature and previous studies, Bandura's self-efficacy theory was adopted as the conceptual framework. A multidisciplinary team was built to identify the content and develop the apps. Semistructured interviews were conducted to evaluate the ICory-Circumcision. RESULTS: The ICory-Circumcision study was carried out from March 2019 to January 2020 and comprised 2 mobile apps, BuddyCare app and Triumf Health mobile game app. The former provides a day-by-day perioperative guide for parents whose children are undergoing circumcision, while the latter provides emotional support and distraction to children. In total, 6 participants were recruited to use the apps and interviewed to evaluate the program. In total, 4 main categories and 10 subcategories were generated from content analysis. CONCLUSIONS: ICory-Circumcision seemed to lean toward being useful. Revisions to ICory-Circumcision are necessary to enhance its contents and features before advancing to the randomized controlled trial. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04174404; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04174404.

Study on the action mechanism of Buyang Huanwu Decoction against ischemic stroke based on S1P/S1PR1/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ischemic stroke is a common and frequent clinical disease. Recent studies have demonstrated that sphingolipid plays an important role in the pathological process of ischemic stroke. PI3K-Akt is a classic protective signaling pathway of cerebral ischemic injury. After acting on the S1P receptor, S1P can activate the downstream PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and play an anti-cerebral ischemia role. Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BHD) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula used to treat ischemic stroke. However, the mechanisms of BHD on ischemic stroke remain unclear based on S1P/S1PR1/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study is intended to investigate the action mechanism of BHD on ischemic stroke based on the S1P/S1PR1/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway from multiple perspectives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The BHD lyophilized product was prepared by vacuum freeze-drying method, of which the chemical composition was determined by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS. The mouse permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) model was established by the suture-occluded method. Male KM mice were randomly divided into seven groups: sham group, model group, FTY720 (positive control) group, BHD group, BHD + W146 (selective S1PR1 inhibitor) group, SEW2871 (selective S1PR1 agonist) group, and Calycosin group. Each group was administered continuously for 14 days and evaluated with modified neurological severity score (mNSS) and cerebral infarct volume on the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 14th days. The SphK1, SphK2, S1PR1, PI3K, Akt, and p-Akt protein in the prefrontal lobe, hippocampus, and striatum was quantified by Western blot and immunohistochemical (IHC) experiment respectively. The qRT-PCR method was employed to evaluate SphK1, SphK2, and S1PR1 mRNA expression in the above tissue. RESULTS: BHD and Calycosin both effectively improved mNSS scores with smaller infarct volumes. The SphK1 level in the prefrontal lobe, hippocampus, and striatum of mice in the BHD group was significantly lower, and SphK2, PI3K, and p-Akt in the hippocampus and striatum were significantly higher than those in the model group. BHD significantly decreased SphK1 mRNA expression in the prefrontal lobe, hippocampus, and striatum, and significantly up-regulated SphK2 mRNA and S1PR1 mRNA expression. Additionally, SphK1 protein expression levels of the prefrontal lobe, hippocampus, and striatum in the BHD group was significantly lower than model group, and SphK2, S1PR1, PI3K, Akt, and p-Akt protein expressions levels were increased obviously. Furthermore, SEW2871 can increase S1PR1 and Akt expression, and up-regulate SphK2 and S1PR1 mRNA expression. The effect of BHD on the expression of S1P/S1PR1/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway-related proteins and mRNA were weakened by BHD + W146. CONCLUSION: BHD and Calycosin significantly improved the symptoms of neurological deficits in pMCAO mice, reduced the cerebral infarction volume, up-regulated SphK2 and S1PR1 mRNA levels, enhanced SphK2, S1PR1, PI3K, Akt, p-Akt protein expression of the prefrontal lobe, hippocampus and striatum, and down-regulated SphK1 mRNA and protein expression, which may be helpful to clarify the mechanism of BHD through S1P/S1PR1/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to protect against cerebral ischemic injury.

A Theory-Based, Multidisciplinary Approach to Cocreate a Patient-Centric Digital Solution to Enhance Perioperative Health Outcomes Among Colorectal Cancer Patients and Their Family Caregivers: Development and Evaluation Study.

BACKGROUND: Elective colorectal cancer (CRC) surgeries offer enhanced surgical outcomes but demand high self-efficacy in prehabilitation and competency in self-care and disease management postsurgery. Conventional strategies to meet perioperative needs have not been pragmatic, and there remains a pressing need for novel technologies that could improve health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to describe the development of a smartphone-based interactive CRC self-management enhancement psychosocial program (iCanManage) in order to improve health outcomes among patients who undergo elective CRC surgeries and their family caregivers. METHODS: A multidisciplinary international team comprising physicians, specialist nurses, a psychologist, software engineers, academic researchers, cancer survivors, patient ambassadors, and ostomy care medical equipment suppliers was formed to facilitate the development of this patient-centric digital solution. The process occurred in several stages: (1) review of current practice through clinic visits and on-site observations; (2) review of literature and findings from preliminary studies; (3) content development grounded in an underpinning theory; (4) integration of support services; and (5) optimizing user experience through improving interface aesthetics and customization. In our study, 5 participants with CRC performed preliminary assessments on the quality of the developed solution using the 20-item user version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (uMARS), which had good psychometric properties. RESULTS: Based on the collected uMARS data, the smartphone app was rated highly for functionality, aesthetics, information quality, and perceived impact, and moderately for engagement and subjective quality. Several limiting factors such as poor agility in the adoption of digital technology and low eHealth literacy were identified despite efforts to promote engagement and ensure ease of use of the mobile app. To overcome such barriers, additional app-training sessions, an instruction manual, and regular telephone calls will be incorporated into the iCanManage program during the trial period. CONCLUSIONS: This form of multidisciplinary collaboration is advantageous as it can potentially streamline existing care paths and allow the delivery of more holistic care to the CRC population during the perioperative period. Should the program be found to be effective and sustainable, hospitals adopting this digital solution may achieve better resource allocation and reduce overall health care costs in the long run. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04159363; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04159363.

Identification of a Novel Major Allergen in Buckwheat Seeds: Fag t 6.

Buckwheat is one of the five main allergenic foods (eggs, milk, wheat, buckwheat, and peanuts). Oleosin is an important type of allergen in some allergic foods. However, although most diagnostic nut and seed extracts are defatted, some patients with food allergies may have false negative diagnostic results of oleosin in vitro. Recently, we found that the serum of buckwheat allergic patients responded strongly to an 18 kDa protein. Mass spectrometry analysis showed it is the oleosin protein family. We further purified and evaluated the allergenicity of this buckwheat oleosin-type allergen, which is involved in the formation of buckwheat oil bodies. The tartary buckwheat oleosin allergen was named Fag t 6, according to the WHO/IUIS Allergen Nomenclature Subcommittee criteria. The DNA sequence of tartary buckwheat oleosin was cloned. Dot blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed half of the 20 buckwheat allergic patients' serum had strong reactivity with purified buckwheat Fag t 6. Circular dichroism experiment analysis of its thermal stability showed a Tm of 64.65 ± 0.65 °C. A buckwheat allergy showed possible cross-reaction with a wheat allergy. In summary, this study not only increases our understanding of buckwheat allergies and oil-soluble allergens in general, it may also be used to improve diagnostic tests for buckwheat allergies in the future.

A novel inulin-type fructan from Asparagus cochinchinensis and its beneficial impact on human intestinal microbiota.

A purified inulin-type fructan named ACNP (Asparagus cochinchinensis neutral polysaccharide) with apparent molecular weight of 2690 Da was obtained from Asparagus cochinchinensis (Lour.) Merr. by ion-exchange and gel-filtration column chromatography. Structural analyses reveal that ACNP has a linear backbone composed of 2,1-ß-D-Fruf residues, ending with a (1→2) bonded α-D-Glcp. The impacts of ACNP on gut microbiota were then investigated by in vitro fermentation with human fecal cultures. The results showed that ACNP was digested by gut microbiota, while the pH value in the fecal culture of ACNP was greatly decreased, and total short-chain fatty acids, acetic, propionic, i-valeric and n-valeric acids were significantly increased. Moreover, ACNP regulated the fecal microbiota composition by stimulating the growth of Prevotella, Megamonas, and Bifidobacterium while depleting Haemophilus. Collectively, these results indicated that ACNP beneficially regulates gut microbiota, which thus suggested that ACNP has the potential to be used as a dietary supplement or drug to improve health.

[Metabonomics research strategy based on microdialysis technique].

Metabonomics is the branch of systems biology. It has been widely used in the fields of diagnostic markers discovery, disease prognosis, drug action mechanism, drug efficacy and toxicity evaluation, traditional Chinese medicine syndromes differentiation. There are shortcomings in the conventional metabonomics research. Microdialysis technology is a new type of biosampling technology, and metabonomics research based on microdialysis technology is in the ascendant. In view of the particularity of microdialysis technology and its great differences from traditional sampling and pretreatment methods, the metabonomics process based on microdialysis technology has certain similarities with traditional metabonomics research, and its basic process has some particularity. Advantages and basic strategies of metabonomics research by microdialysis technology are systematically summarized for researchers' reference.

Qualitative and quantitative characterization of carbohydrate profiles in three different parts of Poria cocos.

Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for centuries. Its three medicinal parts are Poria Cutis, the epidermis or fulingpi in Chinese; White Poria, the middle part or baifuling; and Poria cum Radix Pini, the sclerotium with some part of host pine root or fushen. The hostwood in fushen is the inner part, known as fushenmu. The epidermis, middle part and middle-plus-inner part have different clinical applications, but the differences in their chemistry have not been well determined. Previous studies only concentrated on the differences in secondary metabolites in different parts of P. cocos; however, in this study, we focused on the carbohydrates, another major type of bioactive chemicals in P. cocos, which is also different from most of the other TCM researches. The carbohydrates (polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and monosaccharides) in three parts (epidermis, middle and inner part) of P. cocos were qualitatively and quantitatively characterized by high performance gel permeation chromatography coupled with charged aerosol detector (HPGPC-CAD) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS). The obtained data were further processed by principal component analysis (PCA) and supervised orthogonal partial least squared discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The results showed that the epidermis contained more polysaccharides with larger molecular weight and higher amount of glucose residue than that of the middle and inner parts, indicating the epidermis as the key site of accumulation of P. cocos polysaccharides. When compared with the epidermis and inner part, the middle part contained the highest glucose molar ratio greater than 92 % in the three types of carbohydrates, whereas the inner part possessed the greatest molar ratio of mannose, xylose, arabinose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, and galacturonic acid in all kinds of carbohydrates. Furthermore, PCA and OPLS-DA clearly demonstrated that arabinose, glucose, galacturonic acid, and ribose played key roles in the clusters between the epidermis, middle and inner parts. The observed differences in the chemical components in the three parts could provide some explanation for the discriminative clinical applications of Poria Cutis, White Poria, and Poria cum Radix Pini. These findings also provided a chemical basis for quality assessment of P. cocos.

[Brain lipidomics of intervention effect of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Chuanxiong Rhizoma on ischemic stroke based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS technique].

The aim of this paper was to investigate the intervention effect of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Chuanxiong Rhizoma on brain lipid metabolism in rats with ischemic stroke. The ischemic stroke rat model was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion( MCAO) method. The brain tissues were collected after the last administration with Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Chuanxiong Rhizoma decoction lyophilizate. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was used to carry out the brain lipidomics study. The lipidomics data were processed with the OPLS-DA model to find out the lipid regulation effect of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma combined with Chuanxiong Rhizoma on ischemic stroke. The results showed that Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Chuanxiong Rhizoma decoction lyophilized powder can significantly alleviate brain lipidomics profiles in middle cerebral artery occlusion model rats. Eleven differential lipid metabolites in ischemic stroke model were identified. In this experiment,the protective effects of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Chuanxiong Rhizoma decoction lyophilized powder on cerebral ischemia injury was verified,which might be related to the regulation of abnormal lipid metabolism.

Transgenic soybean expressing a thermostable phytase as substitution for feed additive phytase.

Phytase is one of the most effective feed additives to increase the availability of phosphorus and minerals by catalyzing the hydrolysis of phytic acid. A modified appA gene (mappA) was transformed into soybean (Glycine max) under the control of a seed-specific promoter from common bean (Phaselous vulgaris). The soybean recombinant phytase showed optimal activity at pH 4.5 and 70 °C. A slight increase in enzyme activity occurred when the recombinant enzyme was pre-incubated with n-hexane. In addition, the phytase activity from our transgenic soybean does not reduce even after 2 hours of extraction with n-hexane at 55~65 °C. In conclusion, the oil extraction process using n-hexane does not inactivate the phytase expressed in the mAppA transgenic soybean, and the meal derived from the transgenic soybean processing can be used as feed supplement to livestock.

Comparative quality of the forms of decoction pieces evaluated by multidimensional chemical analysis and chemometrics: Poria cocos, a pilot study.

Many Chinese medicinal materials (CMMs) are parts of plants or fungi that have been processed into different physical forms, termed decoction pieces, that are typically boiled in water for consumption. One CMM may have several decoction pieces forms, e.g., slices, small cubes (dice), or grains. The specifications that have different morphological parameters (shape, size and thickness) for these various decoction pieces have been developed over, in some cases, centuries of practice. Nevertheless, whether and how the form of decoction pieces affects the extraction (decoction) dynamics, and quality stability during storage has not been studied. Here, we investigated Poria cocos (PC) as a pilot study; we explore how the form of PC decoction pieces affects its chemistry using multidimensional chemical evaluation such as ultra-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-PDA-QTOF-MS/MS), ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) and high performance gel permeation chromatography coupled with charged aerosol detector (HPGPC-CAD), combined with analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA), factor analysis (FA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The results indicated that different specifications had significant differences, and these specifications could be divided into four groups. The comprehensive results of the chemical analyses undertaken here indicate that the highest potentially available quality of PC decoction pieces was in the forms of curl, ultra-small grains and small grains, followed by thin slices. This information not only is conducive to promoting the standardization of the specification/form of PC decoction pieces and maximizing the benefits from its utilization, but also provide a promising strategy for assessing other CMM decoction pieces in different forms.

Correlation between Quality and Geographical Origins of Poria cocos Revealed by Qualitative Fingerprint Profiling and Quantitative Determination of Triterpenoid Acids.

Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf (PC) is a well-known saprophytic fungus, and its sclerotium without the epidermis (PCS) is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and as a functional food in many countries. PCS is normally collected from multiple geographical regions, but whether and how the quality of PCS correlates with where it grows have not been determined. This correlation could be significant both for quality control and optimum utilization of PCS as a natural resource. In this study, a qualitative fingerprint profiling method performed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) with diode array detection (DAD) combining quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (QTOF-MS/MS) and a quantitative UHPLC coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (QqQ-MS/MS) approach were established to investigate whether and how the quality of PCS correlates with its collection location. A standard fingerprint of PCS was generated by median simulation of 25 tested samples collected from four main producing areas of China, and similarity analysis was applied to evaluate the similarities between the fingerprints of samples and the standard fingerprint. Twenty three common peaks occurring in the fingerprint were unequivocally or tentatively identified by UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. Meanwhile, principal component analysis (PCA), supervised orthogonal partial least squares-discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were employed to classify 25 batches of PCS samples into four groups, which were highly consistent with the four geographical regions. Ten compounds were screened out as potential markers to distinguish the quality of PCS. Nine triterpene acids, including five compounds that played important roles in the clusters between different samples collected from the four collection locations, were simultaneously quantified by using the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode of UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS. The current strategy not only clearly expounded the correlation between quality and geographical origins of PCS, but also provided a fast, accurate and comprehensive qualitative and quantitative method for assessing the quality of PCS.

Flavored Guilu Erxian decoction inhibits the injury of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells induced by cisplatin.

To examine the exact role of flavored Guilu Erxian decoction, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the treatment of cisplatin-induced side-effects in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). BM-MSCs were isolated from bone marrow collected from SD rats and identified by flow cytometry. Cells were cultivated in MEM alpha medium containing 5% (TCM-L), 10% (TCM-M) and 20% (TCM-H) dosages of flavored Guilu Erxian decoction with or without cisplatin. Cell viability was determined through CCK-8 and thymidine analog 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining assay. Flow cytometry was used to determine cell cycle and apoptosis. The expression of p21 and cleaved-caspase-3 were examined using Western blot assay. The PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway associated proteins, including p-PI3K, p-AKT and p-mTOR, were also examined by Western blot assay. CCK-8 and EdU staining assay demonstrated that cisplatin could inhibit cell proliferation in BM-MSCs in a dose and time dependent manner. Further, cisplatin could induce apoptosis through increasing G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, p21 and cleaved-caspase-3 expression. However, these phenomena would be significantly alleviated when adding the serum containing flavored Guilu Erxian decoction. Furthermore, the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway activation could be inhibited by cisplatin in BM-MSCs, while flavored Guilu Erxian decoction treatment successfully abrogated this effect. Combination of flavored Guilu Erxian decoction and cisplatin could reduce the damage to BM-MSCs. This indicates that the flavored Guilu Erxian decoction can enhance the possibility of BM-MSCs repairing and rehabilitating the normal function of injured tissues induced by cisplatin, which could provide a new direction for therapeutic applications.

Qualitatively and quantitatively comparing secondary metabolites in three medicinal parts derived from Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf using UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS-based chemical profiling.

Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf, is a fungus that grows on dead pine roots, producing a solid white sclerotium (fruiting body). Three parts of the sclerotium are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, namely, the epidermis, known as Poria Cutis or fulingpi in Chinese; the middle part, known as Poria or baifuling; and the sclerotium with some host attached, known as fushen. For fushen, the hostwood is the inner part, known as fushenmu. The epidermis, middle part and middle-plus-inner parts have long been used for different syndromes or diseases, but the differences in their chemistry have not been established. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) was used to explore the differences of secondary metabolites in these three botanical parts of Poria cocos. In 13 batches of samples, a total of 147 chromatographic peaks were unequivocally or tentatively identified. Of these, 15 peaks were common to all three parts (the epidermis, middle, and inner part), while the rest were found in only one or two of the parts. Meanwhile, dissimilarities among the chemical compositions of three botanical parts were further investigated by principal component analysis (PCA), and supervised orthogonal partial least squares-discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA). Eight major bioactive triterpene acids that played important roles in differentiating the epidermis, middle and inner part were simultaneously quantified using the extracting ion mode of UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. The quantitative results showed that the analytes accumulated mostly in the epidermis and inner part, with the least accumulation in the middle part. This systematic information on the differences in secondary metabolites in the three botanical regions of Poria cocos provides a factual chemical basis not only for discrimination in therapeutic practice but also for quality evaluation of Poria cocos.

Iridoids from the roots of Valeriana jatamansi Jones.

Five iridoids, named as chlorovaltrate P-T, together with six known analogues, (4ß,8ß)-8-methoxy-3-methoxy-10-methylene-2,9-dioxatricyclo[4.3.1.03,7]decan-4-ol, chlorovaltrate A, (1R,3R,5R,7S,8R,9S)-3,8-epoxy-1-O-ethyl-5-hydroxyvalechlorine, 8-methoxy-4-acetoxy-3-chlormethyl-10-methylen-2,9-dioxa-tricyclo[4.3.1.03,7]decan, (1S,3R,5R,7S,8R,9S)-3,8-epoxy-1-O-ethyl-5-hydroxyvalechlorine, (1R,3R,5R,7S,8R,9S)-3,8-epoxy-1-O-methyl-5-hydroxyvalechlorine were isolated from the roots of Valeriana jatamansi (syn. Valeriana wallichii). Their structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of 1D, 2D NMR and HRESIMS spectroscopic. The absolute configuration of chlorovaltrate P-T were established by comparing their experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. 3,8-epoxy iridoids exhibited weak cytotoxicity against the lung adenocarcinoma (A 549) and gastric carcinoma cells (SGC 7901). Some also showed moderate neuroprotective effects against CoCl2-induced neuronal cell death in PC12 cells.

Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation as an adjunct therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) is thought to have potential to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether adding TEAS to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and clomipramine would improve the efficacy of these conventional treatments in OCD. METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 360 OCD patients were assigned to receive TEAS combined with CBT plus clomipramine (Group A, n = 120), TEAS combined with CBT plus placebo (Group B, n = 120), and simulated (placebo) TEAS combined with CBT plus clomipramine (Group C, n = 120) for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was measured using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). RESULTS: OCD symptoms in all patients reduced over time, however Groups A and B had a significantly greater reduction in Y-BOCS total score and the subscale for obsession and compulsion between week 2 and week 12 compared to Group C. Groups A and B had similar scores on these measures. Both groups had significantly higher rates of clinical response than Group C (88.3% and 81.7% vs. 67.5%, respectively, p < 0.001); and higher rates of remission (30.0% and 22.5% vs. 9.2%, respectively, p < 0.001). Group B experienced fewer adverse events than the other two groups. CONCLUSIONS: TEAS enhances the efficacy of conventional OCD interventions and avoids the adverse effects associated with conventional pharmacological treatment. It can be considered as an effective adjunct intervention for OCD.

[Studies on chemical constituents of Valeriana plants and their biological activities].

The recent progresses on chemical components and pharmacological activities of the genus Valerianawere summarized.Besides-essential oil, the chemical composition of Valerianais mainly focused on monoterpenoids,sesquiterpenoids,lignans, flavonoids, alkaloids, etc. Iridoids are the main chemical components ofmonoterpenoids. There are two types ofiridoidson the basis of the cyclopentane open or not. The Valerianahas been drawmuch attention for their significant sedation,spasmolysis,antidepression,antitumor, against adenosine A1 receptors and cytotoxicityactivity,and had certain function for cardiovascular disease treatment. Given to the fact of the lack of systematic review and summary of studies on the Valeriana, we summarized and analyze the study literatures on the pharmacological activity of Valerianain recent years, and providedsome basisfor further study.

The effectiveness of therapeutic play intervention in reducing perioperative anxiety, negative behaviors, and postoperative pain in children undergoing elective surgery: a systematic review.

Children undergoing surgical procedures commonly experience stress and anxiety, exhibit negative behaviors, and complain of postoperative pain. Parents also experience anxiety when their children undergo surgery. Therapeutic play intervention has been used to prepare hospitalized children for invasive medical procedures for decades. However, there has been no systematic review to examine the effectiveness of therapeutic play intervention for improving children's health-related outcomes such as perioperative anxiety and postoperative pain. The aim of this review was to synthesize current empirical evidence on the effectiveness of therapeutic play intervention in reducing perioperative anxiety, negative behaviors, and postoperative pain in children undergoing elective surgery and in reducing their parents' perioperative anxiety. Systematic searches of electronic databases of the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Scopus, and Web of Science and screening of the reference lists of included articles from these databases identified studies on the topic. Relevant studies were methodologically assessed and appraised by two independent reviewers using the Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument. Six studies were identified. The outcome measurements were heterogeneous across all six studies. These studies had conflicting outcomes regarding the effectiveness of therapeutic play intervention in children's perioperative anxiety, negative behaviors, and postoperative pain. Two studies showed that the intervention significantly reduced parents' preoperative anxiety. The current empirical evidence on the effectiveness of therapeutic play intervention in children's perioperative anxiety, negative behaviors, and postoperative pain is inconclusive. More studies on the effectiveness of therapeutic play intervention using rigorous designs and involving parents are needed.

Combination of UV-C treatment and Metschnikowia pulcherrimas for controlling Alternaria rot in postharvest winter jujube fruit.

The potential of using antagonistic yeast Metschnikowia pulcherrimas alone or in combination with ultraviolet-C (UV-C) treatment for controlling Alternaria rot of winter jujube, and its effects on postharvest quality of fruit was investigated. The results showed that spore germination of Alternaria alternata was significantly inhibited by each of the 3 doses (1, 5, and 10 kJ m(-2) ) in vitro. In vivo, UV-C treatment (5 kJ m(-2) ) or antagonist yeast was capable of reducing the percentage of infected wounds and lesion diameter in artificially inoculated jujube fruits, however, in fruit treated with combination of UV-C treatment and M. pulcherrima, the percentage of infected wounds and lesion diameter was only 16.0% and 0.60 cm, respectively. The decay incidence on winter jujube fruits treated with the combination of UV-C treatment and M. pulcherrima was 23% after storage at 0 ± 1 °C for 45 d followed by 22 °C for 7 d. None of the treatments impaired quality parameters of jujube fruit. Thus, the combination of UV-C radiation and M. pulcherrima could be an alternative to synthetic fungicides for controlling postharvest Alternaria rot of winter jujube.

A randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of a therapeutic play intervention on outcomes of children undergoing inpatient elective surgery: study protocol.

AIM: To report a trial protocol to determine if a therapeutic play intervention leads to significant reduction in perioperative anxiety, negative emotional manifestations and postoperative pain of children undergoing inpatient elective surgery and in their parents' perioperative anxiety. BACKGROUND: Children undergoing surgery often experience anxiety, exhibit negative emotional manifestations pre-operatively and postoperative pain. Previous studies report that therapeutic play intervention has positive effects on anxiety reduction, while few studies have examined the effects of such intervention on children undergoing major elective surgery. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial with repeated measures is proposed. METHODS: This study will recruit 106 pairs of 6-14-year-old children undergoing elective surgery in a Singaporean public hospital and their parents (protocol approved in October 2011). Eligible participants will be randomly allocated to either a control group (receiving routine care) or an experimental group (receiving 1-hour therapeutic play intervention plus routine care). Outcome measures include children's anxiety, emotional manifestation and postoperative pain, their parents' anxiety and process evaluation. Data will be collected at baseline (3-7 days before the operation), on the day of surgery and around 24 hours after the surgery. DISCUSSION: This study will identify a clinically useful and potentially effective approach to prepare children for surgery by reducing anxiety of both children and their parents during the perioperative period. The reduction of anxiety may lead to reduction of postoperative pain, which will eventually improve the physical and psychological well-being of children. This study was funded by the National Medical Research Council in Singapore.

Characterization of interploid hybrids from crosses between Brassica juncea and B. oleracea and the production of yellow-seeded B. napus.

Yellow-seeded Brassica napus was for the first time developed from interspecific crosses using yellow-seeded B. juncea (AABB), yellow-seeded B. oleracea (CC), and black-seeded artificial B. napus (AACC). Three different mating approaches were undertaken to eliminate B-genome chromosomes after trigenomic hexaploids (AABBCC) were generated. Hybrids (AABCC, ABCC) from crosses AABBCC × AACC, AABBCC × CC and ABCC × AACC were advanced by continuous selfing in approach 1, 2 and 3, respectively. To provide more insight into Brassica genome evolution and the cytological basis for B. napus resynthesis in each approach, B-genome chromosome pairing and segregation were intensively analyzed in AABCC and ABCC plants using genomic in situ hybridization methods. The frequencies at which B-genome chromosomes underwent autosyndesis and allosyndesis were generally higher in ABCC than in AABCC plants. The difference was statistically significant for allosyndesis but not autosyndesis. Abnormal distributions of B-genome chromosomes were encountered at anaphase I, including chromosome lagging and precocious sister centromere separation of univalents. These abnormalities were observed at a significantly higher frequency in AABCC than in ABCC plants, which resulted in more rapid B-genome chromosome elimination in the AABCC derivatives. Yellow or yellow-brown seeds were obtained in all approaches, although true-breeding yellow-seeded B. napus was developed only in approaches 2 and 3. The efficiency of the B. napus construction approaches was in the order 1 > 3 > 2 whereas this order was 3 > 2 > 1 with respect to the construction of yellow-seeded B. napus. The results are discussed in relation to Brassica genome evolution and the development and utilization of the yellow-seeded B. napus obtained here.