[Study on improvement and mechanism of tableting properties of porous Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma powders].

At present, there are many difficulties in the development and production of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) tablets. This work aimed to explore the feasibility of improving dissolution difficulty and large dosage of TCM tablets by co-spray drying TCM extract with a small amount of pore-foaming agent ammonium bicarbonate. A series of porous Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma powders were prepared by co-spray drying Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma with different amounts of ammonium bicarbonate, and their powder pro-perties and tablet properties were comparatively investigated. At the same time, Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma commercial tablets and raw material tablets were used as control drugs, the improvement degree of its compressibility and dissolution rate was investigated. The results showed that there were higher porosity, specific surface area and hollow spheroidal particles structure of powders via co-spray drying Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma with NH_4HCO_3. Compared to parent and commercial Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma tablets, the dissolution rates and compressibility of porous Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma tablets were significantly increasing. High compressibility could increase drug loading by reducing excipients in manufacturing of tablets and lower the dose of Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma tablets.

[Kapok capsule formation and fiber development process in Yuanjiang dry-hot valley].

This study explored the capsule formation and fiber development process of kapok which is a tree in Yuanjiang dry-hot valleys (DHV) using the methods of paraffin section and scanning electron microscopy. The result showed that formation process of kapok capsule can be divided into four stages: the capsule formation within 5 days after anthesis (DAA), the capsule mass period from 5 to 35 DAA, the capsule dehydration period from 35 to 50 DAA, and the capsule bursting period after 50 DAA. The kapok fiber was developed via endocarp cells differentiation (0-2 DAA), swelling (2-5 DAA), bulging (5-10 DAA), fiber elongating (10-40 DAA), and divorcing from pericarp (40-50 DAA). During the development, the length and projection width of fiber increased as a power function, and their daily average growth rates reached .the maximums at 20 DAA. Fiber fresh mass substantially increased and then reduced, and the daily average growth rate reached the maximum in the period from 25 to 30 DAA. Fiber dry mass gradually increased and reached the maximum growth rate in the period from 20 to 25 DAA. The seed and fiber continually increased their mass after 30 DAA, but the pericarp mass declined with its dehydration and aging. Compared with cotton, it was easy to separate fiber from kapok capsule inner wall because of small adhesion power between kapok fiber and capsule inner wall. The period from 5 to 35 DAA was critical for the fiber development and growth. Therefore, water and fertilizer management should be concentrated at this stage. The capsule should be harvested at 50 DAA because the fiber began to divorce from the pericarp.

Death-related factors of systemic lupus erythematosus patients associated with the course of disease in Chinese populations: multicenter and retrospective study of 1,958 inpatients.

Despite the improved survival rate among systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, there are many factors associated with the mortality of SLE. In the current study, death-related factors of patients associated with course of disease were surveyed. Retrospective study was used. Mortalities among these three groups (group A, B and C, the course of disease was ≤ 5 years, 5-10 years and > 10 years, respectively) were calculated and compared. Various factors related to mortality were analyzed. Male SLE patients died relatively more than female patients. The total mortality was 8.5 %. The mortalities were significant difference in group A, B and C which were 9.4, 4.8 and 8.9 %, respectively. The mortalities of group A and group C were significantly higher than that of group B, but there was no significant difference between mortalities of group A and group C. The most common death-related factor was infection, followed by involved disorders in renal, brain, multisystem, heart, etc. The mortalities resulted from neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE), pulmonary infection, involved digestive system and hematological system were significantly different between three groups. There was no difference between mortalities of group A and group C associated with pulmonary infection and NPSLE. Patients in group C died more than in group A from involved renal, heart, multisystem, etc, while group A had more patients than group C who died of pulmonary infection, involved hematological system. In conclusion, Male SLE patients have worse outcome than female patients. Infection and active SLE are not only contributors to the death of early stage patients, but also to that of later stage patients.

The personal experiences of HIV/AIDS patients in rural areas of western China.

Because of unique economic, cultural, and social factors, the personal experiences of HIV/AIDS patients in the rural areas of western China are not well understood. The aim of this study was to explore HIV/AIDS patients' thoughts and personal experiences in the environment and conditions of rural western China. Sixteen HIV/AIDS patients from remote western areas of China were interviewed by using an established qualitative method, during April to June 2008. The interviews were transcribed, and the findings were extracted after the interview content was read, classified, and analyzed repeatedly. We uncovered five general categories of personal experiences: worsening of family economic status, profound influence of traditional village culture, the family as the dynamic of surviving, an enhanced sense of familial responsibility, and dramatic psychological changes. The results of this study can provide useful information to assist health care professionals in China in their efforts to improve the general condition of these HIV/AIDS patients.