Xuebijing injection, a Chinese patent medicine, against severe pneumonia: Current research progress and future perspectives.

Severe pneumonia is one of the most common infectious diseases and the leading cause of sepsis and septic shock. Preventing infection, balancing the patient's immune status, and anti-coagulation therapy are all important elements in the treatment of severe pneumonia. As multi-target agents, Xuebijing injection (XBJ) has shown unique advantages in targeting complex conditions and saving the lives of patients with severe pneumonia. This review outlines progress in the understanding of XBJ's anti-inflammatory, endotoxin antagonism, and anticoagulation effects. From the hundreds of publications released over the past few years, the key results from representative clinical studies of XBJ in the treatment of severe pneumonia were selected and summarized. XBJ was observed to effectively suppress the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, counter the effects of endotoxin, and assert an anticoagulation effect in most clinical trials, which are consistent with experimental studies. Collectively, this evidence suggests that XBJ could play an important and expanding role in clinical medicine, especially for sepsis, septic shock and severe pneumonia. Please cite this article as: Zhang M, Zheng R, Liu WJ, Hou JL, Yang YL, Shang HC. Xuebijing injection, a Chinese patent medicine, against severe pneumonia: Current research progress and future perspectives. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(5): 413-422.

Forensic Examination of Six Homicide Injection Cases.

OBJECTIVES: To retrospectively analyze homicide cases of death after injection and provide reference for forensic identification. METHODS: Six homicide cases of death after injection which were investigated by the Criminal Investigation Team of Shanghai Public Security Bureau were collected and analyzed, including case situation, scene investigation, autopsy and other materials. RESULTS: The 6 cases were premeditated crimes, 5 cases took place in private spaces, and 5 cases involved the victims approached by suspects' decoy. There were no obvious abnormalities at the scene of the 6 cases. In 6 cases, the victim's body surface injury was mild or no, lividity color was abnormal, and the needlestick injury showed different manifestations from conventional medical measures. CONCLUSIONS: Death after injection is a highly concealed crime and easy to be ignored. For the suspected injection injury found in autopsy, it is necessary to carefully examine, identify and analyze, be alert to the situation of injecting poison (drug) and do a good job in evidence fixation and material extraction.

[Pollution Characteristics and Source Analysis of Aromatic Compounds in Shijiazhuang].

To understand the pollution characteristics of aromatic compounds in Shijiazhuang, PM2.5 samples were collected day and night for 30 days from September 18 to October 17, 2016. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that total average concentration of aromatic compounds was 33.5 ng·m-3, lower than that of levoglucosan (487 ng·m-3). Concentration of nitro-aromatic compounds was the highest (20.4 ng·m-3), followed by aromatic acids (9.94 ng·m-3) and aromatic aldehydes (3.14 ng·m-3). Influenced by the decrease in the boundary layer and temperature, concentration of 8 substances during night was higher than during the day. There was a significant positive correlation between levoglucosan and nitro-aromatic, aromatic aldehyde, and aromatic acid compounds, with correlation coefficients (r) of 0.6829, 0.6443, and 0.6782, respectively, indicating that biomass burning is an important primary source of aromatic compounds that directly affects their concentrations in the atmosphere. Based on the analysis of daily variation trends in total concentration of aromatic compounds and the backward trajectory model, it was found that the pollution of aromatic compounds in Shijiazhuang in autumn was affected by regional transportation and local emissions.

[Analysis of false-positive hyoid fractures: 12 forensic identification cases].

OBJECTIVE: To study the causes of false-positive hyoid fractures and forensic identification. METHODS: Twelve cases of false-positive hyoid fractures were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: Improper dissection technique (4 cases) and congenital separation (8 cases) were the main reasons for false-positive hyoid fractures. CONCLUSION: True fractures can be differentiated from false-positive hyoid fractures. False-positive hyoid fracture caused by improper dissection technique can be identified through examination of peripheral muscle, soft tissue hemorrhage, and the characteristics of fracture end.