In Vitro Anticoagulant Activity and Active Components of Safflower Injection.

Safflower injection is well-known as a traditional Chinese medicine used to improve the blood circulation. In this study, seven safflower injection samples from different companies were evaluated for their in vitro anticoagulant activity by measuring their activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) against human plasma. The screening results suggested that the safflower injections exhibited a significant prolonging influence on APTT (p < 0.05 vs. the control group), but not on prolonging PT (p > 0.05 vs. the control group). The safflower injection was separated into four fractions, and among them, fraction four demonstrated the most anticoagulant activity, with an APTT of 95.4 ± 1.4 s at a concentration of 4.0 µg/µL (p < 0.01 vs. control group). In addition, three active components, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, p-hydroxy-cinnamic acid, and (8Z)-decaene-4,6-diyne-1-O-ß-d-glucopyranoside were isolated from fraction four with Sephadex LH-20 and C18 column chromatography. All three active components showed significant prolonging of APTT (p < 0.05 vs. control group). Among them, p-hydroxy-cinnamic acid exhibited the most activity (p < 0.01 vs. control group). The results indicated that safflower injection strongly affects the intrinsic coagulation system, and we suggest that this might be the mechanism by which the safflower injection activates and promotes blood circulation.

[Biological activity and hydroxy safflor yellow A content of intermediates in preparation of Safflower Injection].

In order to investigate the effect of various production processes on the quality of Safflower Injection, the biological activities of the intermediates were evaluated by measuring activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) induced platelet aggregation in vitro. Intermediates were produced by key processes, such as extraction, concentration, twice alcohol precipitation, water sedimentation and two sterilizations during the production of Safflower Injection. The content of main chemical components in intermediates was determined by HPLC. The results showed that with the advance of the preparation process of Safflower Injection, the inhibition of ADP-induced platelet aggregation rate of each intermediate decreased gradually, and the trend of extending APTT activity decreased first and then increased. Meanwhile, the content of hydroxy safflor yellow A (HSYA) was gradually lowered, the content of p-hydroxy-cinnamic acid was increased, and new chemical component p-hydroxybenzaldehyde was produced. In conclusion, sterilization played a key role in the biological activity and HSYA content of Safflower injection.

Model-Assisted Control of Flow Front in Resin Transfer Molding Based on Real-Time Estimation of Permeability/Porosity Ratio.

Resin transfer molding (RTM) is a popular manufacturing technique that produces fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. In this paper, a model-assisted flow front control system is developed based on real-time estimation of permeability/porosity ratio using the information acquired by a visualization system. In the proposed control system, a radial basis function (RBF) network meta-model is utilized to predict the position of the future flow front by inputting the injection pressure, the current position of flow front, and the estimated ratio. By conducting optimization based on the meta-model, the value of injection pressure to be implemented at each step is obtained. Moreover, a cascade control structure is established to further improve the control performance. Experiments show that the developed system successfully enhances the performance of flow front control in RTM. Especially, the cascade structure makes the control system robust to model mismatch.

[Enhanced electro-catalytic oxidation of dye wastewater with FePMo12 adopted catalyst].

Electrochemical oxidation degradation of azo dyes has become a widely used method in recent years. Iron phosphomolybdate (FePMo12) was synthesized with molybdophosphoric acid and ferric salt. Morphology and microstructure of catalyst were chararerized by IR spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. The heteropolyanion showed a Keggin structure. Electrochemical oxidation of acid red 3R was investigated in the presence of FePMo12 supported on modified 4A molecular sieve (4A) as packing materials in the reactor. The results showed that the optimal technological conditions for decolorization of acid red 3R simulated wastewater were as follows: active component load 3% , electrolytic voltage 22 V, initial pH 4, air-flow 0.08 m3 h- ', electrode span 3.0 cm. Under the opñrrizd conditions, the decolorization efficiency, COD and TOC removal efficiencies reached 75.3% , 65.4% and 46.0% after 90 min, respectively. With the addition of NaCI to the dyes solution during electrolysis, the decolorization efficiency increased, while the effect of Na2SO4 on the degradation was negative. The efficiency of degradation and mineralization of the acid red 3R were estimated based on the absorbance measurements by UV-vis. It shows that the conjugated structure of dye was destroyed primarily.

[Clinical application of advanced percutaneous vertebroplasty in treating of senile osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the differences between advanced percutaneous vertebroplasty and routine percutaneous vertebroplasty,and evaluate the clinical application of advanced percutaneous vertebroplasty in treating senile osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. METHODS: From January 2010 to January 2011,28 patients with senile osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture were concealed random allocated to advanced percutaneous vertebroplasty and routine percutaneous vertebroplasty group according to whether using advanced percutaneous pedicle puncture. Of them,there were 5 males and 23 females with an average age of (70.50 +/- 9.33) years old (ranged, 53 to 85). Course of disease was from 2 to 28 days with an average of (7.62 +/- 4.52). The fracture involved 34 vertebral bodies (19 segments of thoracic vertebrae and 15 segments of lumbar vertebra), 3 day's antibiotics were applied to prevent infections. The opreation time, X-ray fluoroscopy times were compared, and pain relief effect were evaluated by VAS (visual analogue scales) score. RESULTS: For operation time, there were significant meaning between routine group (49.00 +/- 7.74) min and advanced group (32.36 +/- 4.81) min (t = 6.828,P = 0.000 < 0.05); X-ray fluoroscopy times in advanced group (4.28 +/- 1.38) times was shorter than routine group (8.78 +/- 2.33) times, and had statistical significance (t = 6.222, P = 0.000 < 0.05); while there were no meaning in VAS scores between routine group (2.85 +/- 0.94) and advanced group (2.57 +/- 1.08) (t = 0.740, P = 0.456 > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Compared with routine group, advanced group can shorten opreration time, reduce radiological hazard, further reduce image monitoring costs and surgical risk, and benefit from the application of advanced percutaneous vertebroplasty in treating senile osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. Furthmore, it can provide reference to vertebral body biopsy and minimally invasive of pedicle screw fixation.

[Enhanced electro-chemical oxidation of Acid Red 3R solution with phosphotungstic acid supported on gamma-Al2O3].

Supported phosphotungstic acid catalysts on gamma-Al2O3 (HPW/gamma-Al2O3) were prepared by solution impregnation and characterized by FTIR, XRD, TG-DTA and SEM. The heteropolyanion shows a Keggin structure. Electro-chemical oxidation of Acid Red 3R was investigated in the presence of HPW supported on gamma-Al2O3 as packing materials in the reactor. The results show that HPW/gamma-Al2O3 has a good catalytic activity for decolorization of Acid Red 3R. When HPW loading was 4.6%, pH value of Acid Red 3R was 3, the voltage was 25.0 V, air-flow was 0.04 m3 x h(-1), and electrode span was 3.0 cm, the decolorization efficiency of Acid Red 3R can reach 97.6%. The removal rate of color had still about 80% in this electro-chemical oxidation system, after HPW/gamma-Al2O3 was used for 10 times, but active component loss existed. The interim product was analyzed by means of Vis-UV absorption spectrum. It shows that the conjugated structure of dye is destroyed primarily.