OBJECTIVE To explore the anti-inflammatory and antifungal action mechanism of taste-masked Lithospermum Saf-flower emulsion in vivo and in vitro.METHODS In vitro,the anti-inflammatory effect was detected by MTT assay,qPCR and ELISA.The anti-fungal effect of the product was investigated by broth dilution experiment,bactericidal kinetics,germ tube inhibition and XTT reduction test.In vivo,the effect was evaluated and the mechanism was investigated on the skin disease model of Candida al-bicans in mice.RESULTS Lithospermum in taste-masked Lithospermum Safflower emulsion had a significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of RAW264.7 cells,and Safflower inhibited the production of IL-6 induced by LPS in a dose-dependent manner.Litho-spermum significantly inhibited the activity of Candida albicans,and its bactericidal mode is time-and concentration-dependent;Lithospermum significantly reduced the formation of Candida albicans germ tubes and destroyed its biofilm;Safflower had no direct kill-ing effect on Candida albicans,was not able to inhibit its biofilm formation,but significantly reduced the hyphal growth of Candida al-bicans and increased its ROS level.CONCLUSION The combination of Lithospermum and Safflower in the taste-masked Lithosper-mum Safflower emulsion can work synergistically to reduce inflammatory damage and treat Candida albicans infection of the skin.

【Objective】 To investigate the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 induced deaths and analyze the causes of death. 【Methods】 This was a hospital-based, retrospective, observational cohort study involving hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in People’s Hospital of Wuhan University during January 27 and February 25, 2020. The clinical data of identified patients who had died of COVID-19 were retrieved and reviewed. We analyzed the death causes and compared the changes in laboratory findings between patients before death and early onset to summarize the inherent clinical characteristics. 【Results】 We recorded a total of 21 deaths, 61.9% of which had occurred due to simple respiratory failure, followed by respiratory failure with myocardial injury (19%), respiratory failure with renal failure (9.5%), and respiratory failure with shock (9.5%). At the late time, lab test data indicated that white blood cells, D-dimer, amino-terminal brain natriuretic peptide precursors, and hypersensitive C-reactive protein significantly increased while counts of lymphosyte significantly decreased (P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 Continuous monitoring of cardiac function, renal function, and infection severity can assess the disease progression accurately. Moreover, timely intervention has a positive effect in reducing COVID-19 mortality.

Objective: This study’s objective is to assess the efficacy and safety of Pulsed Magnetic Therapy System (PMTS) in improving insomnia disorder. Methods: Participants with insomnia disorder were randomly assigned to receive either PMTS or sham treatment for four weeks (n= 153; PMTS: 76, sham: 77). Primary outcomes are the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) scores at week 0 (baseline), 1, 2, 3, 4 (treatment), and 5 (follow-up). Secondary outcomes are the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index at baseline and week 4, and weekly sleep diary-derived values for sleep latency, sleep efficiency, real sleep time, waking after sleep onset, and sleep duration. Results: The ISI scores of the PMTS group and the sham group were 7.13±0.50, 11.07±0.51 at week 4, respectively. There was a significant group×time interaction for ISI (F3.214, 485.271=24.25, p<0.001, ηp 2=0.138). Only the PMTS group experienced continuous improvement throughout the study; in contrast, the sham group only experienced a modest improvement after the first week of therapy. At the end of the treatment and one week after it, the response of the PMTS group were 69.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 58.6%–79.0%), 75.0% (95% CI: 64.1%–83.4%), respectively, which were higher than the response of the sham group (p<0.001). For each of the secondary outcomes, similar group×time interactions were discovered. The effects of the treatment persisted for at least a week. Conclusion PMTS is safe and effective in improving insomnia disorders.