Effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine "Fuzheng Qingdu Decoction" on Autonomic Function and Cancer-Related Symptoms in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer undergoing Chemotherapy: A Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of Fuzheng Qingdu Decoction (FZQDD) on the autonomic function and cancer-related symptoms of patients with advanced gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy to verify its clinical efficacy. METHODS: Sixty-two patients with stage III or IV gastric cancer were included in this study. The patients were divided into 2 groups: the chemotherapy (33 patients) and chemotherapy with FZQDD (29 patients) groups. The primary outcome was the autonomic function of the patients before and after the interventions. The parameters that were used to assess autonomic function were deceleration capacity (DC) and acceleration capacity (AC) of heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV), which comprised standard deviation of the normal-normal interval (SDNN), root mean square of successive interval differences (RMSSD), low-frequency power (LF), high-frequency power (HF), total power (TP), and LF-HF ratio. The secondary outcomes were cancer-related symptoms and the quality of life. RESULTS: DC and HRV parameters (ie, SDNN, RMSSD, LF, HF, and TP) were significantly decreased in the chemotherapy group; however, AC significantly increased after the interventions. No significant differences were observed in the DC, AC, and HRV parameters before and after the interventions in the chemotherapy with FZQDD group. Nevertheless, the changes in DC, AC, and HRV parameters (SDNN, RMSSD, HF, and TP) before and after the interventions were statistically significant between both the groups. FZQDD significantly improved the cancer-related symptoms and the quality of life of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Oxaliplatin combined with S-1 (tegafur, gimeracil, and oteracil potassium) can impair autonomic modulation in patients with advanced gastric cancer. FZQDD can alleviate autonomic dysfunction by increasing the parasympathetic activity and decreasing the sympathetic tone, helping patients restore the dynamic sympathovagal balance, and significantly improving the cancer-related symptoms and the quality of life of patients.

Effect of glucocorticoids infiltration on CRSwNP after endoscopic sinus surgery and the curative efficacy of nasal ventilation function and mucociliary clearance.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated and analyzed the effects of glucocorticoid infiltration on chronic rhino-sinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) and its curative efficacy on nasal ventilation function and mucociliary clearance (MCC). METHODS: 126 CRSwNP patients admitted to the hospital from March 2018 to May 2020 were enrolled and randomly divided into observation group (n=65) and control group (n=61) based on random number table. The control group received ESS, and the observation group was given glucocorticoids treatment after ESS. The changes of nasal ventilation function, MCC and quality of life between the two groups of patients before and after treatment were compared. RESULTS: The overall effective rate of clinical therapy was critically higher in observation group than in control group (P<0.05). In addition, NMCA and NCV in observation group were critically higher than those in control group (P<0.05), and nasal airway resistance (NAR) in observation group was notably lower than that in control group (P<0.05). In addition, the Saccharin removal time in observation group after treatment was remarkably lower than that in control group (P<0.05), while the speed and rate of MCC were critically higher than those in control group (P<0.05). Finally, the scores of each dimension of WHOQOL-100 scale in two groups of subjects after treatment were critically higher than those before treatment (P<0.05), and the scores in observation group were notably higher than those in control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The treatment of glucocorticoid infiltration on CRSwNP after ESS can effectively improve the curative effect. It improves the patient's function of nasal ventilation and MCC, thus beneficial to promoting the sufferers' living quality and is worthy of clinical promotion.

Green Synthesis of an Alginate-Coated Silver Nanoparticle Shows High Antifungal Activity by Enhancing Its Cell Membrane Penetrating Ability.

As a kind of promising nanopesticide, in contrast to traditional synthesis strategies, the application of a polysaccharide in silver nanoparticle preparation can improve its stability and avoid the usage of harmful substances. In this work, a two-step strategy for synthesizing silver nanoparticles (A-AgNPs) from aldehyde-modified sodium alginate (ASA) was introduced. The size of the A-AgNPs synthesized can be controlled from 6 to 40 nm with a high dispersibility in water. Furthermore, compared to naked AgNPs (n-AgNPs), the A-AgNPs showed improved broad-spectrum antimicroorganism activity. We found that the A-AgNPs mainly exerted their antifungal activity through the changing of cell membrane permeability and affecting the soluble protein synthesis, destruction of DNA structure, and inhibition of DNA replication. Meanwhile, the A-AgNPs showed no inhibition of rice and N. benthamiana seed germination. Considering its high biocompatibility and the highly efficient antimicroorganism activity, A-AgNPs can be potentially applied in plant protection science research.

[The expression and significance of chemokines eotaxin and RANTES in the rat model of allergic rhinitis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the expression and significance of Eotaxin and RANTES in the rat model of allergic rhinitis (AR). METHOD: 20 female SD rats in 6-7 weeks were randomly divided into control group and AR group (n = 10, respectively). AR rat model was made with ovalbumin stimulation. To detect pathological changes in mucosa and chemokine Eotaxin, RANTES in their nasal and lung tissues after execution. RESULT: Compared with the control group, Lung EOS cell counted higher in AR group and the difference was significant (P < 0.01); the AR rats nasal mucosa and lung tissue of Eotaxin, RANTES expression was significantly increased (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: There exist high expression of Eotaxin, RANTES, infiltration of eosinophils in nasal and lung tissue of model rats with allergic rhinitis, inferring that the upper and lower respiratory tract inflammatory response has obvious consistency.