The Molecular Biological Mechanism of Hydrogen Therapy and Its Application in Spinal Cord Injury.

Hydrogen, which is a novel biomedical molecule, is currently the subject of extensive research involving animal experiments and in vitro cell experiments, and it is gradually being applied in clinical settings. Hydrogen has been proven to possess anti-inflammatory, selective antioxidant, and antiapoptotic effects, thus exhibiting considerable protective effects in various diseases. In recent years, several studies have provided preliminary evidence for the protective effects of hydrogen on spinal cord injury (SCI). This paper provides a comprehensive review of the potential molecular biology mechanisms of hydrogen therapy and its application in treating SCI, with an aim to better explore the medical value of hydrogen and provide new avenues for the adjuvant treatment of SCI.

Efficency and safety of various combined therapies in treating postoperative refractory recurrent liver cancer / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective:The study aimed to study the efficacy and safety of combined dual therapy using anti-programmed death (PD)-1 and tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with combined triple therapy using anti-PD-1, TKI and locoregional intervention triple therapy in patients with postoperative refractory recurrent liver cancer.Methods:Patients with postoperative refractory recurrent liver cancer who had undergone either anti-PD-1 and TKI dual therapy or anti-PD-1, TKI and locoregional intervention triple therapy between July 2016 and March 2019 at the First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital were retrospectively studied. Tumor responses were assessed by the modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors and overall survival and progression free survival were compared. Adverse events were evaluated according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events.Results:Of 63 patients who were included in this study, there were 25 patients in the dual therapy group (16 males and 9 females, aged 54.3±8.8 years) and 38 patients in the triple therapy group (31 males and 7 females, aged 55.5±8.4 years). The 1-year survival rate of the triple therapy group was significantly higher than the dual therapy group (94.5%vs 54.9%) ( P<0.01). The disease control rate was 64.0% (16/25) in the dual therapy group and 84.2% (32/38) in the triple therapy group, and the difference was not significant ( P>0.05). The incidence of treatment-related adverse events in the triple therapy group and the dual therapy group were 78.9% (30/38) and 80% (20/25), respectively. There was no treatment-related death in the 2 groups. Conclusions:Anti-PD-1 and TKI dual therapy and anti-PD-1, TKI and locoregional intervention triple therapy were effective and tolerable treatments for postoperative refractory recurrent liver cancer. The latter treatment had a significantly better clinical benefit on survival outcomes.

[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.

Rapid Determination of Coating Film Thickness of Tianshu Tablets by Near Infrared Spectroscopy / 中国实验方剂学杂志

<b>Objective::To investigate the feasibility of near-infrared spectroscopy for detecting the coating film thickness of Tianshu tablets. <b>Method::Nine batches of Tianshu tablets were taken during the coating process. Then, their near-infrared diffuse reflection spectra were collected. The sample set was divided into calibration set and validation set by Kennard-Stone algorithm. The preprocessing method was selected. The synergy interval partial least squares (siPLS) and moving window partial least squares (mwPLS) were employed to screen the optimal spectral interval. And the corresponding quantitative calibration model of partial least squares (PLS) were established. Some evaluation parameters were adopted to assess the performance of the model. <b>Result::The method of first derivative and Norris Derivative smoothing combined with standard normal variate transformation was suitable for processing the spectra. The optimal PLS model was established in the preferred band interval of siPLS. The correlation coefficient between the predicted value and the measured value of calibration set was 0.966, and the correlation coefficient between the predicted value and the measured value of validation set was 0.991.Both root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) values were small, which showed the fitness and predictive performance of the model were favorable. <b>Conclusion::The near-infrared spectroscopy technique can be used to determine coating film thickness of Tianshu tablets with high accuracy, which provides technical supports for the in-line determination of coating thickness in the production process of traditional Chinese medicine tablets.

Forensic Analysis of 52 Corpses Found in Wells / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To explore the forensic pathological characteristics of corpses in wells, and to summarize the differences in corpses between homicide and suicide, so as to provide references for forensic analysis of such cases.@*METHODS@#Data of 52 corpses found in wells （51 cases） in Xuchang, Henan Province from 2004 to 2016 were retrospectively collected, and descriptive statistics were performed on the dead individuals, time of death, wells, autopsies, and diatom testings.@*RESULTS@#The proportion of males and females in the 52 corpses was 1∶2.5, and 42 people were at the age of >20-50 years （80.8%）. The accuracy of the death time inference were 75.0% and 54.2% within 8 d and 8 d or more after the actual death time, respectively. Most of the wells （84.3%） were small ones with big wellhead diameters of 60-100 cm. The death causes in homicide cases were mainly mechanical injury and suffocation （90.3%） with heads downwards （58.1%）, but that in suicide cases was mostly drow-ning （85.0%） with heads upwards （65.0%） and body surface abrasions （95.0%）.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Cases of corpses in wells should be comprehensively analyzed according to scene inspections, autopsies, and auxi-liary tests combined with inspection results.

Clinical practice of precision medicine in patients with postoperative refractory recurrent hepatobiliary tumor / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective To summarize the preliminary clinical outcomes of combination therapy with molecular targeted agents/immunological agents and to explore the potential value of multidisciplinary therapy in the treatment of postoperative refractory recurrent hepatobiliary tumor.Methods 52 cases of postoperative refractory recurrent hepatobiliary tumor during June 2016 to January 2019 from outpatient and inpatient departments at the First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital were prospectively collected,including 37 males and 15 females,with a mean age of (56.2 ± 8.5) years.Referring to the results of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and other-omics,we designed individualized therapy options for each patient.Follow-ups were done regularly and tumor responses were assessed by modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (mRECIST).Results Of 52 patients,median follow-up was 10 months (range 3-31 months).14 (26.9％) patients achieved a complete response (CR).8 (15.3％) patients achieved a partial response (PR).14 (26.9％) patients had stable disease (SD).16 (30.8％,including 4 deaths) had progressive disease (PD).Objective response rate and disease control rate were 42.3％ (22/52) and 69.2％ (36/52),respectively.The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7 months.6-and 12-month overall survival rates were 100％ (48/48),87.5％ (21/24),respectively.Conclusions Precision medicine has good guidance on the treatment of refractory recurrence of hepatobiliary tumors.The combination therapy of multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors may achieve better disease control and deserve further promotion in clinical application.

Engineering electrospun multicomponent polyurethane scaffolding platform comprising grapeseed oil and honey/propolis for bone tissue regeneration.

Essential oils play an important role in reducing the pain and inflammation caused by bone fracture.In this study, a scaffold was electrospun based on polyurethane (PU), grape seed oil, honey and propolis for bone tissue-engineering applications. The fiber diameter of the electrospun PU/grape seed oil scaffold and PU/grape seed oil/honey/propolis scaffold were observed to be reduced compared to the pristine PU control. FTIR analysis revealed the existence of grape seed oil, honey and propolis in PU identified by CH band peak shift and also hydrogen bond formation. The contact angle of PU/grape seed oil scaffold was found to increase owing to hydrophobic nature and the contact angle for the PU/grape seed/honey oil/propolis scaffold were decreased because of hydrophilic nature. Further, the prepared PU/grape seed oil and PU/grape seed oil/honey/propolis scaffold showed enhanced thermal stability and reduction in surface roughness than the control as revealed in thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. Further, the developed nanocomposite scaffold displayed delayed blood clotting time than the pristine PU in the activated prothrombin time (APTT) and partial thromboplastin time (PT) assay. The hemolytic assay and cytocompatibility studies revealed that the electrospun PU/grape seed oil and PU/grape seed oil/honey/propolis scaffold possess non-toxic behaviour to red blood cells (RBC) and human fibroblast cells (HDF) cells indicating better blood compatibility and cell viability rates. Hence, the newly developed electrospun nanofibrous composite scaffold with desirable characteristics might be used as an alternative candidate for bone tissue engineering applications.

Effect of dexmedetomidine on kidney function induced by in extremity ischemia-reperfusion in diabetic patients / 中国医师进修杂志

Objective To evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine on kidney function induced by extremity ischemia-reperfusion in diabetic patients. Methods Sixty diabetic patients of (32 males and 28 females) with ASA physical statusⅡorⅢ, aged 40-64 years, weighing 50-75 kg, were randomly divided into control group and dexmedetomidine group, with 30 patients in each group. All patients were treated by combined spinal epidural anesthesia with the same dose of local anesthetic (0.5% bupivacaine 3 ml) and the same pressure (300 mmHg, 1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) of tourniquet. In dexmedetomidine group, dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg was infused intravenously for 10 min, followed by continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine at 0.5 μg/(kg·h) until the end of the surgery, while in control group the equal volume of normal saline was given instead. The changes of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and mean heart rate (HR) in each group were recorded at immediately before induction of anesthesia (T0), 5 min after the tourniquet inflated (T1), immediately after tourniquet release(T2), and 5 min after tourniquet release (T3). At T0, T2, 24 h and 72 h after operation(T4, T5), blood samples were collected from the vein for determination of the levels of serum creatinine, blood ureanitrogen, serum cystatin C and 24 h urinary microalbuminuria. Results In control group, the level of MAP at T1was higher than that at T0:(107 ± 11) mmHg vs. (84 ± 8) mmHg, and there was significant difference (P＜0.05). At T1, T2, and T3, the level of MAP in dexmedetomidine group was lower than that in control group at the same time:(86 ± 8) mmHg vs.( 107 ± 11) mmHg , (69 ± 5) mmHg vs. (74 ± 6) mmHg , (73 ± 6) mmHg vs. (79 ± 7) mmHg, and there was significant difference (P＜0.01). In dexmedetomidine group, the level of heart rate at T1, T2, and T3was lower than that at T0: (57.1 ± 5.2), (59.4 ± 6.1), (60.8 ± 5.8) beats/min vs. (72.8 ± 4.6) beats/min, and there was significant difference (P＜0.05). At T1, T2, and T3, the level of heart rate in dexmedetomidine group was lower than that in control group: (57.1 ± 5.2) beats/min vs. (79.7 ± 7.3) beats/min, (59.4 ± 6.1) beats/min vs. (84.6 ± 9.7) beats/min, (60.8 ± 5.8) beats/min vs. (81.2 ± 8.4) beats/min, and there was significant difference (P＜0.01). At T0, T2, T4, and T5, the levels of serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen in two groups had no significant differences (P＞0.05). At T4, and T5, the levels of serum cystatin C and 24 h urinary microalbuminuria in two groups were significantly higher than those at T0(P＜0.05), the levels of serum cystatin C and 24 h urinary microalbuminuria in control group were higher than those in dexmedetomidine group: serum cystatin C:(1.17 ± 0.21) mg/L vs. (0.87 ± 0.13) mg/L, (1.09 ± 0.27) mg/L vs.(0.84 ± 0.08) mg/L;24 h urinary microalbuminuria: (56 ± 19) mg/24 h vs.(27 ± 16) mg/24 h , (54 ± 21) mg/24 h vs. (26 ± 14) mg/24 h, and there were significant differences (P＜0.01). Conclusions Dexmedetomidine can attenuate kidney function induced by in extremity ischemia-reperfusion in diabetic patients.

The predicting role of bioelectrical impedance phase angle analysis in the evaluation of nutrition risk and hospital length of stay in thoracic surgery patients / 肠外与肠内营养

Objective:To explore the association between phase angle (PA) of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and nutritional risk assessed by Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS-2002) Subjective Global Assessment (SGA),and hospital length of stay (LOS) in patients undergoing thoracic surgery.Methods:60 patients who underwent thoracic surgery were evaluated for nutrition risk and hospital length of stay (LOS) by NRS2002,SGA,albumin and bioelectrical impedance analysis.Results:The PA values were lower in the patients [men(3.85 ± 1.0)°,women(4.9 ± 0.6)°] than the control group [men(6.0 ± 1.0)°,women(5.4 ± 0.9)°,P ＜ 0.01].Patients were more likely to have lower PA values than the control group.NRS 2002:no risk (relative risk (RR) 2.8,95％ confidence interval (CI) =1.2 ～ 6.9),moderate risk (RR 3.9,95％ CI =1.8 ～ 8.6) and severe risk (RR 4.2,95％ CI =2.0 ～ 8.7);similar results were obtained by SGA:eutrophy (RR 2.5,95％ CI =0.9 ～ 6.9),Moderate malnutrition (RR 4.4,95％ CI =2.1 ～ 9.4),severe malnutrition (RR 3.9,95％CI =1.9 ～ 8.0);Patients with low PA values were more inclined to be hospitalized for more than 21 days compared with the control group (LOS ≥ 21 days,RR =4.4,95％ CI =2.2 ～ 2.8).Conclusion:There is a significant association between low PA values and nutritional risk and prolonged LOS.PA is helpful to identify patients who are at nutritional risk at hospital admission in order to provide an objective basis for determining the nutritional interventions of patients and judging the outcomes of the diseases.

Risk factors for multiple level osteoporosis vertebral compression fractures / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify risk factors associated with patients suffered multiple level osteoporosis vertebral compression fractures(OVCFs).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From March 2011 to March 2015, 199 patients suffered osteoporotic were classified into multiple level OVCFs group and single level OVCF group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify risks factors associated with multiple level OVCFs.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the patients underwent OVCF, including 71 multiple level OVCFs and 128 single level OVCF. There were no differences in the age, gender, BMI, hypertension and diabetes between two groups. While multiple level OVCFs were associated with spinal deformity index SDI[(2<=SDI<4, OR=2.587, 95% CI(1.148, 5.828);SDI>=-4, OR=7.775, 95% CI(3.272, 18.478)], BMD[(T<-4.5SD, OR=2.608, 95% CI(1.038, 6.551)].</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>SDI and BMD might be the risk factors for multiple level OVCFs.</p>

Identification of alkaloids and flavonoids in all parts of Fritillaria thunbergii using LC-LTQ-Orbitrap MSn / 中国中药杂志

Alkaloids and flavonoids in flowers, flower buds, stems, leaves, and bulbs of Fritillaria thunbergii were identified by LC-LTQ-Orbitrap MSn.Alkaloids were identified by ACQUITY UPLC BEH C₁₈（2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.7 μm ) chromatographic column with a mobile phase of 10 mmol•L⁻¹ ammonium formate-acetonitrile and gradient elution in positive MS scan mode.Meanwhile, flavonoids were analyzed by Agilent-Zorbax SB C₁₈ (4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm) chromatographic column with a mobile phase of 0.2% acetic acid-acetonitrile and gradient elution in negative MS scan mode.Combined with literature reports, chemical constituents were identified and determined by accurate molecular weights and fragment ion peaks in the ESI-MS/MS spectra based on high resolution mass spectrometer.In all parts of F.thunbergii, 37 alkaloids including 7 alkaloids (zhebeininoside, peimisine, peimine, peiminine, ebeiedinone/puqiedinone, ebeiedine/ puqiedine, peimisine-N-oxide) were simultaneously analyzed.Moreover, 16 flavonoids including quercetin, kaempferol and their glycosides were identified.The results indicated that the aerial parts had the similar alkaloids as the bulbs on the whole.Meanwhile, it had a series of flavonoids undetected in the bulbs.Our results provided the scientific basis for the development and utilization of aerial parts of F.thunbergii.

Internal jugular vein thrombosis with serious cervical necrotizing fasciitis: a case report / 华西口腔医学杂志

Cervical necrotizing fasciitis (CNF) is an aggressive infection associated with high mortality. Various complications have been described in previous literature. However, internal jugular vein thrombosis is rare in such lesions. We presented a case of internal jugular vein thrombosis caused by CNF and analyzed related literature.

Indication of video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication in treatment of tuberculous empyema / 中国内镜杂志

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of decortication by video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) in pa﹣tients with tuberculous empyema, and discuss its indications. Methods 60 patients with tuberculous empyema who underwent decortication by VATS for surgical management from December 2010 to December 2015 were included. Under a thoracoscope, we cleaned up the pus, separated adhesions, scraped granulation tissues and caseous necrosis on the inner wall of the abscess cavity, and stripped the thickened fiberboard of the parietal and visceral pleurae. Af﹣ter the procedure, sufficient drainage and antituberculosis therapy were carried out. Results All the patients in this group were operated successfully. All the patients were cured without perioperative death and complications. No re﹣currence of empyema was observed at the follow-up examination from 2 months to 5 years, and suffered pulmonary reexpansions were better. Conclusions The decortication by VATS for tuberculous empyema is safe, effective, mini﹣mally invasive. The imaging manifestations of pleural thickening in 1 cm, no obvious calcification, no serious lesions in the lungs are the indications for the operation.

Hypotriglyceridemic effects of apple polyphenols extract via up-regulation of lipoprotein lipase in triton WR-1339-induced mice / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the anti-hyperlipidemic effects of apple polyphenols extract (APE) in Triton WR-1339-induced endogenous hyperlipidemic model.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Firstly, APE was isolated and purified from the pomace of Red Fuji Apple and contents of individual polyphenols in APE were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Secondly, forty male National Institude of Health (NIH) mice were randomly divided into 5 groups with 8 animals in each group. The Fenofibrate Capsules (FC) group and APE groups received oral administration of respective drugs for 7 consecutive days. All mice except those in the normal group were intravenously injected through tail vein with Triton WR-1339 on the 6th day. Serum and livers from all the mice were obtained 18 h after the injection. The changes in serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic triglyceride lipase (HTGL) were measured by respective kits. Finally, expression of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) mRNA was measured by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. RESULTS SERUM TC AND TG LEVELS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN TRITON WR-1339-INDUCED MODEL GROUP COMPARED WITH THE NORMAL GROUP (P<0.01). ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF APE [200 AND 400 MG/(KG DAY)] DOSE-DEPENDENTLY REDUCED THE SERUM LEVEL OF TG IN HYPERLIPIDEMIC MICE (P<0.01). SERUM LPL AND HTGL ACTIVITIES SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN TRITON WR-1339-INDUCED MODEL GROUP COMPARED WITH THE NORMAL GROUP (P<0.05). ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF APE [200 AND 400 MG/(KG DAY)] DOSE-DEPENDENTLY ELEVATED THE SERUM ACTIVITY OF LPL IN HYPERLIPIDEMIC MICE (P<0.05 OR P<0.01). FURTHERMORE, COMPARED WITH THE NORMAL GROUP, HEPATIC MRNA LEVEL OF PPARα IN THE MODEL GROUP SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED (P<0.01). ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF APE [200 AND 400 MG/(KG DAY)] DOSE-DEPENDENTLY ELEVATED THE EXPRESSION OF PPARα IN HYPERLIPIDEMIC MICE (P<0.05 OR P<0.01):</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>APE could reduce TG level via up-regulation of LPL activity, which provides new evidence to elucidate the anti-hyperlipidemic effects of APE.</p>

Chemical components of essential oils from Meconopsis oliverana and their antioxidant activity / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the chemical components of essential oils from Meconopsis oliverana and their antioxidant activity.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The essential oil was extracted by steam distillation, and GC-MS analysis was used to identify its constituents. The OH free radical scavenging activity of the essential oils was evaluated with an enzyme mark instrument by assay of the ability of DPPH free radical scavenging. BHT was used as positive control.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Forty-seven compounds, account for 91.866% of the essential oils, were identified. The ability of scavenging OH and DPPH radicals of the essential oils is stronger than that of BHT.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The main chemical constituents of the essential oils from M. oliverana are n-hexadecanoic acid (27.653%) and 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (16.330%). And the essential oils showed strong antioxidant activity.</p>

Clinical application of multi-slice computed tomography angiogra-phy in pulmonary lobectomy of patients with lung cancer / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective:To explore the clinical value of chest multi-slice computed tomography angiography (MSCTA) as a preoper-ative examination for lung cancer patients undergoing pulmonary lobectomy. Methods: Sixty lung cancer patients formed the study population and were randomly divided into 2 groups of 30 cases each. In the experimental group, CTA images of the tumors and pulmo-nary artery, bronchial artery, pulmonary vein were acquired, analyzed, and post-processed using VR to determine the anatomical rela-tionship between vessels and tumors. Pulmonary lobectomy followed. Cases in the control group underwent pulmonary lobectomy with-out guidance by chest MSCTA. Operation times and amounts of operative blood loss were compared between the two groups. Results:Significant differences between groups in terms of operation time (study group vs. control group, 199±55.7 vs. 231.5±51.2(min);P=0.02) and amount of operative blood loss (study group vs. control group, 318.33±99.6 vs. 431.7±89.5(mL), P<0.01) were observed. Val-ues of operation time and amount of contrast agents in the study group were consistently lower than those in the control group. Conclu-sion:Chest MSCTA can shorten the operation time and reduce the amount of operative blood loss during pulmonary lobectomy. Thus, the technique has significant clinical value.

Clinical study of comprehensive treatment of Chinese medicine in treating ulcerative colitis based on two steps according to the stage of disease / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the clinical efficacy of comprehensive treatment of Chinese medicine in treating ulcerative colitis (UC) according to syndrome differentiation therapy and the stage of disease.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty-three patients with mild or moderate, initial onset or relapsed active UC of large intestinal dampness-heat syndrome were randomly assigned to two groups, the treatment group (27 cases) and the control group (26 cases). The treatment group was treated with oral Qingchang Huashi Recipe (QHR) and external application of Guanchang Recipe (GR) in the active stage, oral administration of Fuzheng Qingchang Recipe in the remission stage. Symptomatic modification was performed according to the features of the symptoms. Patients in the control group were treated with oral Mesalazine enteric coated tablet (MSRT, 1.0 g, 4 times daily) in the active stage, oral administration of MSRT (0.5 g, three times daily) in the remission stage. The main clinical symptoms, Chinese medicine syndrome, induced remission rate, and changes of quality of life were observed on the 28th, 56th, and 84th day after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After 84 days of treatment, the scores of the symptoms such as diarrhea, passing stool with pus and blood, and the abdominal pain in the treatment group were obviously improved when compared with before treatment (P < 0.05). The scores of the symptoms such as diarrhea, and passing stool with pus and blood in the treatment group were better than those in the control group (P < 0.05). After 28, 56, and 84 days of treatment, the clinical efficacy of Chinese syndromes were 77.78%, 77.78%, and 88. 89%, respectively, and the induced remission rates were 63.0%, 77.8%, and 88.9%, respectively in the treatment group, better than those in the control group of the same phase (P < 0.05). After 84 days of treatment, the scores of the quality of life, the general symptoms, the emotional capacity, and the social capacity, tc. in the treatment group and the control group were improved than before treatment (P < 0.05). Besides, the scores of the quality of life in the treatment group were superior to that in the control group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Comprehensive treatment of Chinese medicine in treating ulcerative colitis based on two steps according to the stage of disease can effectively improve the main symptoms of UC patients, improve the Chinese syndromes, elevate the clinical remission rate and patients' quality of life. It showed favorable clinical efficacy.</p>

Applications of microspheres in tissue engineering / 国际药学研究杂志

Tissue engineering has always been a hot spot in the life science area over the past few years. However, there are some problems, such as the multiplication of seeding cells, the preparation of tissue engineering scaffolds, and the controlled release of drugs from scaffolds and so on. Recently microspheres have been widely used to solve these problems. For example, microspheres are used as microcarriers to culture seeding cells. In addition, microsphers can be either used to prepare engineering scaffolds or directly used as scaffolds. Microspheres can be used to load drugs and control the drug release as well. In this paper the application of microspheres in tissue engineering is reviewed and the up-to-date methods are introduced, including ways of improving performances of microcarriers, preparing scaffolds with microspheres and adding drug-loaded microspheres into scaffolds.

The effects of centrally administered fluorocitrate via inhibiting glial cells on working memory in rats.

Although prefrontal and hippocampal neurons are critical for spatial working memory, the function of glial cells in spatial working memory remains uncertain. In this study we investigated the function of glial cells in rats' working memory. The glial cells of rat brain were inhibited by intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of fluorocitrate (FC). The effects of FC on the glial cells were examined by using electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings and delayed spatial alternation tasks. After icv injection of 10 microL of 0.5 nmol/L or 5 nmol/L FC, the EEG power spectrum recorded from the hippocampus increased, but the power spectrum for the prefrontal cortex did not change, and working memory was unaffected. Following an icv injection of 10 microL of 20 nmol/L FC, the EEG power spectra in both the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus increased, and working memory improved. The icv injection of 10 microL of 50 nmol/L FC, the EEG power spectra in both the prefrontal cortex and in the hippocampus decreased, and working memory was impaired. These results suggest that spatial working memory is affected by centrally administered FC, but only if there are changes in the EEG power spectrum in the prefrontal cortex. Presumably, the prefrontal glial cells relate to the working memory.

Aniracetam attenuates H2O2-induced deficiency of neuron viability, mitochondria potential and hippocampal long-term potentiation of mice in vitro.

Objective It is known that free radicals are involved in neurodegeneration and cognitive dysfunction, as seen in Alzheimer' s disease (AD) and aging. The present study examines the protective effects of aniracetam against H2O2-induced toxicity to neuron viability, mitochondria potential and hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). Methods Tetrazolium salt 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) was used to detect neuronal viability. MitoTracker Red (CMX Ros), a fluorescent stain for mitochondria, was used to measure mitochondria potential. Electrophysiological technique was carried out to record hippocampal LTP. Results H2O2 exposure impaired the viability of neurons, reduced mitochondria potential, and decreased LTP in the CA1 region of hippocampus. These deficient effects were significantly rescued by pre-treatment with aniracetam (10-100 mu mol/L). Conclusion These results indicate that aniracetam has a strong neuroprotective effect against H2O2-induced toxicity, which could partly explain the mechanism of its clinical application in neurodegenerative diseases.