OBJECTIVE: The brain TXA(2) and PGI(2) levels in a new rodent model of impact acceleration diffuse brain injury alone and with hypotention and hyperthermia in combination were observed to look into the relationship between TXA(2), PGI(2) levels and different types of head injury. METHODS: Thirty-two SD rats were randomized into sham, head injury alone, secondary insult alone and head injury with secondary insult groups. At 4 hours after injury or experiment, all the rats were decapitated and their brains were sampled for radioimmunoassay (RIA) measurement. RESULTS: Compared with that of sham group there were no changes in TXA(2) and PGI(2) levels in injury alone group while there was a significant augmentation in PGI(2) level in insult alone group. Both TXA(2) and PGI(2) level in injury with secondary insult group increased significantly in comparison with that of sham at 4 hours postimpact. CONCLUSIONS: PGI(2) providing energy and precursors to the injured tissue and producing some vasoactive arachidonic products, especially TXA(2), is closely connected to the severity of brain damage.

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes of brain TXA(2) and PGI(2) levels in a new rodent model of impact acceleration diffuse brain injury with hypotention and hypoxia and the effect of diaspirin cross linked hemoglobin solution (DCLHb) on brain TXA(2) and PGI(2) levels. METHODS: Thirty-two male SD rats were randomized into sham, head injury alone, head injury with secondary insults and injury with insults followed by DCLHb administration groups. Animals were physiologically monitored throughout the experiment and the prostanoids were measured via radioimmunoassay (RIA). RESULTS: There were no changes in TXB(2) and 6-keto-PGF1alpha (stable metabolites of TXA(2) and PGI(2)) levels in injury alone group while TXB(2) level in secondary insults group elevated significantly and both TXB(2) and 6-keto-PGF1alpha levels in injury with insults followed by DCLHb administration augmented significantly in comparison with the corresponding value of sham at 4 h postimpact. CONCLUSIONS: The only increase in TXA(2) level in secondary insults rats suggests that there may be both thrombotic episodes and vasoconstriction leading to focal increase in micro-circulatory resistance which contributes to a decreased focal cerebral blood flow (CBF). And it is hypothesed that DCLHb may exert its protective properties through increasing PGI(2) production in injured brain by affecting CBF and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP).

Objective: To study the relations between neck/shoulder or low back pain and their daily behavioral habits among middle school students in Shenzhen. Methods: We randomly chose 3 952 students from 10 high schools in Shenzhen to complete the questionnaires. Data was gathered and analyzed, using the IBM SPSS 23.0. Results: Of the 3 952 participants, 20.3% had neck/shoulder pain and 15.2% had low back pain. Among students experienced neck/shoulder pain, female (25.3%), high school (24.5%) and boarding students (24.4%) experienced higher rates of neck/shoulder pain (P<0.05). Female students (17.9%) also had higher rate of low back pain (P<0.05). Results from logistic regression analysis showed that factors as: gender, type of school, taking naps on the desk, staying up late, self-perceived stress from learning, overloading homework, time spent on mobile phone and TV, spending long time on computer etc. were related to the neck/shoulder pain (P<0.05). Factors as: gender, naps on the desk, stay up late, self-perceived stress, overloading homework, time spent on mobile phone and TV etc., were related to low back pain (P<0.05). Conclusion: Neck/shoulder pain and low back pain were both commonly seen while high self-perceived stress, sedentary behaviors and poor sleeping habits were associated with both neck/shoulder and low back pain in high school students in Shenzhen.
Female ; Habits ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; Neck Pain ; Risk Factors ; Schools ; Shoulder ; Shoulder Pain ; Sleep ; Students ; Surveys and Questionnaires

During the past 100 years, there had been four global pandemics on influenza that had greatly influenced the health and life of the people. This article summarized the features, experiences and lessons learned on these four influenza pandemics so as to prepare related measures targeting the possible pandemics/epidemics in the foreseeable future, in China.
China ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; Influenza, Human/epidemiology* ; Pandemics

Ovary development is a complex process involving numerous genes. A well-developed ovary is essential for females to keep fertility and reproduce offspring. In order to gain a better insight into the molecular mechanisms related to the process of mammalian ovary development, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis on ovaries isolated from infant and adult mice by using next-generation sequencing technology (SOLiD). We identified 15,454 and 16,646 trans-criptionally active genes at the infant and adult stage, respectively. Among these genes, we also identified 7021 differentially expressed genes. Our analysis suggests that, in general, the adult ovary has a higher level of transcriptomic activity. However, it appears that genes related to primordial follicle development, such as those encoding Figla and Nobox, are more active in the infant ovary, whereas expression of genes vital for follicle development, such as Gdf9, Bmp4 and Bmp15, is upreg-ulated in the adult. These data suggest a dynamic shift in gene expression during ovary development and it is apparent that these changes function to facilitate follicle maturation, when additional func-tional gene studies are considered. Furthermore, our investigation has also revealed several impor-tant functional pathways, such as apoptosis, MAPK and steroid biosynthesis, that appear to be much more active in the adult ovary compared to those of the infant. These findings will provide a solid foundation for future studies on ovary development in mice and other mammals and help to expand our understanding of the complex molecular and cellular events that occur during postnatal ovary development.

White spot lesions (WSLs), due to enamel demineralization, occur frequently in orthodontic treatment. We recently developed a novel rechargeable dental composite containing nanoparticles of amorphous calcium phosphate (NACP) with long-term calcium (Ca) and phosphate (P) ion release and caries-inhibiting capability. The objectives of this study were to develop the first NACP-rechargeable orthodontic cement and investigate the effects of recharge duration and frequency on the efficacy oftion re-release. The rechargeable cement consisted of pyromellitic glycerol dimethacrylate (PMGDM) and ethoxylated bisphenol A dimethacrylate (EBPADMA). NACP was mixed into the resin at 40% by mass. Specimens were tested for orthodontic bracket shear bond strength (SBS) to enamel, Ca and P ion initial release, recharge and re-release. The new orthodontic cement exhibited an SBS similar to commercial orthodontic cement without CaP release (P>0.1). Specimens after one recharge treatment (e.g., 1 min immersion in recharge solution repeating three times in one day, referred to as"1 min 3 times") exhibited a substantial and continuous re-release of Ca and P ions for 14 days without further recharge. The ion re-release did not decrease with increasing the number of recharge/re-release cycles (P>0.1). The ion re-release concentrations at 14 days versus various recharge treatments were as follows:1 min 3 times>3 min 2 times>1 min 2 times>6 min 1 time>3 min 1 time>1 min 1 time. In conclusion, although previous studies have shown that NACP nanocomposite remineralized tooth lesions and inhibited caries, the present study developed the first orthodontic cement with Ca and P ion recharge and long-term release capability. This NACP-rechargeable orthodontic cement is a promising therapy to inhibit enamel demineralization and WSLs around orthodontic brackets.

Single herbs and Chinese patent medicine preparations often have bad taste, such as bitterness and astringency, which is one of the key factors affecting patients' medication compliance, and would affect the therapeutic effect and restrict the extensive application in clinical practice. Therefore, how to make use of taste masking techniques to improve the bad taste of traditional Chinese medicines has become an important project. Through the collection and summarization of Chinese and foreign journals and papers in recent years, this paper discussed the generation mechanism of bitter taste, the new methods of masking bitter taste and the evaluation me-thods of bitter taste, in order to provide references for the taste masking of Chinese patent medicines preparations.
Astringents ; China ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Nonprescription Drugs/pharmacology* ; Taste

There is a large gap between the number of membrane protein (MP) sequences and that of their decoded 3D structures, especially high-resolution structures, due to difficulties in crystal preparation of MPs. However, detailed knowledge of the 3D structure is required for the fundamental understanding of the function of an MP and the interactions between the protein and its inhibitors or activators. In this paper, some computational approaches that have been used to predict MP structures are discussed and compared.
Computational Biology ; methods ; Membrane Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; Models, Molecular ; Protein Conformation

Dental composites are commonly used restorative materials; however, secondary caries due to biofilm acids remains a major problem. The objectives of this study were (1) to develop a composite containing quaternary ammonium dimethacrylate (QADM), nanoparticles of silver (NAg), and nanoparticles of amorphous calcium phosphate (NACP), and (2) to conduct the first investigation of the mechanical properties, biofilm response and acid production vs water-ageing time from 1 day to 12 months. A 4 × 5 design was utilized, with four composites (NACP-QADM composite, NACP-NAg composite, NACP-QADM-NAg composite, and a commercial control composite), and five water-ageing time periods (1 day, and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months). After each water-ageing period, the mechanical properties of the resins were measured in a three-point flexure, and antibacterial properties were tested via a dental plaque biofilm model using human saliva as an inoculum. After 12 months of water-ageing, NACP-QADM-NAg had a flexural strength and elastic modulus matching those of the commercial control (P40.1). Incorporation of QADM or NAg into the NACP composite greatly reduced biofilm viability, metabolic activity and acid production. A composite containing both QADM and NAg possessed a stronger antibacterial capability than one with QADM or NAg alone (Po0.05). The anti-biofilm activity was maintained after 12 months of water-ageing and showed no significant decrease with increasing time (P40.1). In conclusion, the NACP-QADM-NAg composite decreased biofilm viability and lactic acid production, while matching the load-bearing capability of a commercial composite. There was no decrease in its antibacterial properties after 1 year of water-ageing. The durable antibacterial and mechanical properties indicate that NACP-QADM-NAg composites may be useful in dental restorations to combat caries.

OBJECTIVE：To investigate the contents of 5 kinds of heavy metal as copper （Cu），arsenic（As），cadmium （Cd），mercury（Hg）and lead （Pb）in Yougui pills ，and to evaluate its safety risk. METHODS ：Using yttrium （89Y），indium （115In）and bismuth （209bi）as internal standard ，the contents of each element were determined by ICP-MS. ICP-MS condition included that atomization gas flow rate was 0.95 L/min，auxiliary gas flow rate was 1.2 L/min，plasma gas （argon）flow rate was 18 L/min，pump speed was 30 r/min. RF power of inductively coupled plasma was 1 200 W，the voltage in simulation stage was 1 750 V，the voltage in pulse stage was 1 300 V，the voltage of deflection device was －12 V，and the detector was in analog and pulse dual-mode. The determination methods of various elements were investigated ，and 45 batches of marketed Yougui pills were determined. Hazard index （HI）was used to analyze the non-carcinogenic risk of each element and calculate the maximum residual limit（MRL）of each element. RESULTS ：The linear range of Cu ，As，Cd，Hg and Pb ranged from 10-200，1-50，0.4-30，0.2-6 and 2-100 μg/L（all r＞0.999 0），respectively. The limits of quantitation were 0.67，0.23，0.20，0.07，0.27 μg/L. The limits of detection were 0.20，0.07，0.06，0.02，0.08 μg/L. RSDs of precision，stability and reproducibility tests were all lower than 3.5％ （n＝6 or n＝5）. Average recoveries were 92.96％-100.89％（RSD＝2.23％-3.62％，n＝3）. Average contents of Cu ，As，Cd，Hg and Pb in 45 batches of Yougui pills were 2.72，0.28，0.07，0.05，0.62 mg/kg，and superimposed HI of each element was less than 1. The contents of 5 kinds of heavy metals in Yougui pills were lower than the proposed MRL （MRL of Cu ，As，Cd，Hg and Pb were 20，2，1，0.2，5 mg/kg or 111.11，4.44，2.22，1.48，8.89 mg/kg respectively ）. CONCLUSIONS ：Established method can be used for the determination of content of 5 kinds of heavy metal in Yougui pills ；the heavy metal pollution rate of marketed Yougui pills is low and the safety risk is small.