The Effect of Fermentation on the Chemical Constituents of Gastrodia Tuber Hallimasch Powder (GTHP) Estimated by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS and HPLC.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of fermentation on the chemical constituents of Gastrodia Tuder Halimasch Powder (GTHP), to establish its fingerprinting and multicomponent content determination, and to provide a basis for the processing, handling, and clinical application of this herb. METHODS: Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) was used to conduct a preliminary analysis of the chemical constituents in GTHP before and after fermentation. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine some major differential components of GTHP and establish fingerprints. Cluster analysis (CA), and principal component analysis (PCA) were employed for comprehensive evaluation. RESULTS: Seventy-nine compounds were identified, including flavonoids, organic acids, nucleosides, terpenoids, and others. The CA and PCA results showed that ten samples were divided into three groups. Through standard control and HPLC analysis, 10 compounds were identified from 22 peaks, namely uracil, guanosine, adenosine, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), daidzin, genistin, glycitein, daidzein, genistein, and ergosterol. After fermentation, GTHP exhibited significantly higher contents of uracil, guanosine, adenosine, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and ergosterol and significantly lower genistein and daidzein contents. CONCLUSIONS: The UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS and HPLC methods can effectively identify a variety of chemical components before and after the fermentation of GTHP. This study provides a valuable reference for further research on the rational clinical application and quality control improvement of GTHP.

A One Step Strategy Based on Hollow Gold Nanoparticles to Detect C-Reactive Protein with High Sensitivity (Hs-CRP) in Serum for Monitoring Cardiovascular Disease.

Purpose: Rapid detection and diagnosis of diseases facilitate timely and effective treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The establishment of a one-step rapid detection method provides a new method for the initial screening and disease risk assessment of patients with cardiovascular diseases in primary medical units. Methods: Hollow gold nanoparticles (HGNPs) were synthesized using a cobalt template method followed by use as signal amplification probes for ultra-sensitive quantitative detection of serum C-reactive protein (CRP). To induce the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and improve protein labeling efficiency, we developed a sensitive detection mode by coating polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP-K30) on the HGNPs, resulting in a significant improvement in detection performance. Results: Compared to traditional colloidal GNP-based LFTA, PVP-coated HGNPs exhibit a lower visual detection limit of 1 ng/mL, which a 25-fold decrement compare to using GNPs as the antibody-labeled probe, and the detection limit could be reduced to 0.14 ng/mL under the quantitative instrument. Conclusion: The one-step method based on HGNP immunochromatographic strips modified with PVP established in this study can be used for the detection of CRP and hs-CRP in biological samples. The performance of the immunochromatographic technique designed in this study was evaluated from the perspective of synthetic markers, and the application conditions of this strip were screened, verifying its high specificity, indicating that it has high sensitivity and strong detection limit compared to colloidal gold. The sensitivity of the hollow gold immunochromatographic test strip in this article has been increased by about 25 times, providing a new method for rapid detection of CVD in clinical diagnosis.

Long non­coding RNA CTBP1­AS2 upregulates USP22 to promote pancreatic carcinoma progression by sponging miR­141­3p.

Long non­coding RNAs (lncRNAs) feature prominently in pancreatic carcinoma progression. The present study aimed to clarify the biological functions, clinical significance and underlying mechanism of lncRNA CTBP1 antisense RNA 2 (CTBP1­AS2) in pancreatic carcinoma. Reverse transcription­quantitative PCR was performed to assess the expression levels of CTBP1­AS2, microRNA (miR)­141­3p and ubiquitin­specific protease 22 (USP22) mRNA in pancreatic carcinoma tissues and cell lines. Western blotting was used to examine USP22 protein expression in pancreatic carcinoma cell lines. Loss­of­function experiments were used to analyze the regulatory effects of CTBP1­AS2 on proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of pancreatic carcinoma cells. Dual­luciferase reporter assay was used to examine the binding relationship between CTBP1­AS2 and miR­141­3p, as well as between miR­141­3p and USP22. It was demonstrated that CTBP1­AS2 expression was markedly increased in pancreatic carcinoma tissues and cell lines. High CTBP1­AS2 expression was associated with advanced clinical stage and lymph node metastasis of patients. Functional experiments confirmed that knocking down CTBP1­AS2 significantly inhibited pancreatic carcinoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and promoted cell apoptosis. In terms of mechanism, it was found that CTBP1­AS2 adsorbed miR­141­3p as a molecular sponge to upregulate the expression level of USP22. In conclusion, lncRNA CTBP1­AS2 may be involved in pancreatic carcinoma progression by regulating miR­141­3p and USP22 expressions; in addition, CTBP1­AS2 may be a diagnostic biomarker and treatment target for pancreatic carcinoma.

Cefquinome Sulfate Oily Nanosuspension Designed for Improving its Bioavailability in the Treatment of Veterinary Infections.

Introduction: Cefquinome sulfate (CS) is the first fourth-generation antibiotic for animals, which has a wide antibacterial spectrum, strong antibacterial activity and low drug resistance. However, it is accompanied by problems of poor therapeutic efficacy. In this context, the use of nanosuspensions have been found to be an attractive strategy. The main objective of this work is to develop a new oily nanosuspension to improve bioavailability and stability of CS formulations. Methods: After screening the formulations, cefquinome sulfate oily nanosuspension (CS-NSP) was prepared by mortar grinding, using propylene glycol dicaprolate/dicaprate (Labrafac™ PG) as oil medium and caprylocaproyl polyoxyl-8 glycerides (Labrasol®) as stabilizer. The properties of CS-NSP were investigated by testing its physicochemical characteristics, stability, in vitro release, hemolysis, and muscle irritation. The in vivo pharmacokinetics of CS-NSP was studied using rats. Results: Results show that CS-NSP presents suitable stability, physicochemical properties and safety. Moreover, a rapid release and high bioavailability of CS-NSP have also been verified in the study. Pharmacokinetic experiments in vivo showed that the bioavailability of CS-NSP was about 1.6 times that of commercial cefquinome sulfate injection (CS-INJ, Chuangdao®) (p<0.01). These advantages of CS-NSP were carried out by small particle size and low viscosity, being associated with the use of Labrafac PG and stabilizer Labrasol. Conclusion: The results proved that the new preparation is safe and effective and is expected to become a promising veterinary nanodelivery system.

[Clinical analysis and countermeasures of 739 cases treated in the emergency department of stomatology in general hospital during COVID-19 epidemic].

PURPOSE: In this paper, based on the age, sex, disease type, and consultation time of dental emergency during COVID-19 epidemic, a comprehensive analysis of dental emergency management and prevention and control of COVID-19 was conducted. METHODS: A total of 739 emergency dental cases were collected from January 29 2020 to February 28 2020. They were divided into 3 groups，including adolescents (≤18 years), young adults (18 ~ 60 years), and elderly ( ≥60 years old). The data was analyzed using SPSS 21.0 software package. RESULTS: The ratio of male to female was 1.24∶1. There were 655 emergency cases during the day and 84 cases during the night. The types of diseases included pericoronitis (15.83%), apical periodontitis (14.21%), pulpitis (13.40%), periodontitis (12.31%), oral mucosal disease (12.18%), Oral and maxillofacial trauma (10.55%), oral and maxillofacial space infection (8.39%), dental disease in children (5.41%), oral and maxillofacial tumors (2.84%), temporomandibular joint dislocations and disorders (1.76%), and others (3.11%). CONCLUSIONS: Under the epidemic situation of the new coronavirus, as one of the high-risk departments, it is of great significance to enhance the clinical emergency skills and ability of emergency treatment, improve patients' oral health awareness, address the diagnosis and treatment of essential diseases, for the improvement the quality of dental medical care and the prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic.

Photoacoustic imaging velocimetry for flow-field measurement.

We present the photoacoustic imaging velocimetry (PAIV) method for flow-field measurement based on a linear transducer array. The PAIV method is realized by using a Q-switched pulsed laser, a linear transducer array, a parallel data-acquisition equipment and dynamic focusing reconstruction. Tracers used to track liquid flow field were real-timely detected, two-dimensional (2-D) flow visualization was successfully reached, and flow parameters were acquired by measuring the movement of the tracer. Experimental results revealed that the PAIV method would be developed into 3-D imaging velocimetry for flow-field measurement, and potentially applied to research the security and targeting efficiency of optical nano-material probes.

[Treatment of 48 cases of benign lower posterior tumor of the parotid gland with C-shaped small incision].

PURPOSE: To summarize the feasibility and advantages of C-shaped small incision for the treatment of benign lower posterior tumor of the parotid gland. METHODS: Forty-eight cases of benign lower posterior tumor of the parotid gland were treated with C-shaped small incision. The treatment outcomes were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: The wound healed primarily in all 48 cases. The follow-up period was 1-5 years, and there was no recurrence of tumor and the shape of parotid region recovered well. The residual parotid tissue had certain secretory functions postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: C-shaped small incision is an effective way of surgical treatment for lower posterior benign tumor of the parotid gland, which can reduce surgical trauma, shorten operation time, reduce facial scars, facial nerve injury, reduce tumor recurrence rate and preserve the function of the remaining parotid tissues.