Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Facial Muscles ; physiopathology ; Facial Paralysis ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

Objective To analysis the risk factors in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in mechanically ventilated patients.Methods Seventy-eight adult inpatients on mechanical ventilation (MV) through oral endotracheal intubation were studied prospectively by observation between June,2007 and May,2010.Clinical associated factors including patients'predisposition related,medical personnel or device related and nutritional state related factors,etc.were recorded and analyzed.Results In 78 ventilated patients,the incidence of VAP was 23.1％,the fatality rate was 22.2％.Preventive antibiotic treatment (OR=6.038; 95％ CI:1.319-27.641; P =0.021),applying glucocorticoid (OR =5.385; 95％ CI:1.191-24.346; P =0.029) and prealbumin (PA) ≤ 69.7 mg/L (OR =0.975; 95％ CI:0.956-0.995 ; P =0.013) were risk factors in VAP.Conclusions The risk factors in VAP were PA ≤ 69.7mg/L,preventive antibiotic treatment and employment of glucocorticoid.

Aim To determine potential biomarkers contributed to occurrence, development and recovery of ethanol-induced liver injury in rat and elucidate hepatoprotective effect of Yin Chen Hao Tang based on metabonomic investigation. Methods A UPLC-Q-TOF/MS based metabonomic method was developed for investigating trajectory change and inter-relationship of urinary metabolome of rats with different treatments. Results Four potential biomarkers were determined which contributed to occurrence, development and recovery of ethanol-induced liver injury in rat, and Yin Chen Hao Tang could significantly recover trajectory change in disorder. Conclusion The developed method was successfully applied to investigate ethanol-induced liver injury in rat, and also hepatoprotective effect of Yin Chen Hao Tang was elucidated.

To study whether commercial traditional Chinese medicinal preparations Injection Paederiae (IP) or Injection Stauntonia (IS) has anti-nociceptive and/or anti-inflammatory effects, we used two persistent pain models (bee venom and formalin test) to evaluate the systemic effects of IP or IS on the chemical tissue injury-induced persistent spontaneous pain-related responses (PSPR), primary thermal/mechanical hyperalgesia and inflammation in conscious rats. Injection of bee venom (BV, 0.1 mg, 50 microl) into the plantar surface of one hind paw resulted in not only a 1-h monophasic PSPR such as flinching reflex in the injected paw and a subsequent period of 3-4 days primary heat and mechanical hyperalgesia, but also a marked sign of inflammation, including redness and swelling of the plantar surface in the injected paw. Intraplantar injection of formalin produced two phases of PSPR as reported previously. Systemic pre-treatment with three doses of IP (0.32, 1.6 and 9.0 ml/kg, 500%) or IS (0.32, 1.6 and 9.0 ml/kg, 250%) produced a dose-dependent suppression of the BV- or formalin-induced flinching reflex of 1 h time course as compared with the saline control group. Post-treatment with IP or IS 5 min after BV injection also produced a significant suppression of the flinching reflex in both BV test and formalin test respectively, as compared with the control group. However, neither pre- nor post-treatment with IP or IS produced any significantly suppressive effect on the BV-induced primary heat and mechanical hyperalgesia and inflammation. The analgesia produced by IP or IS was not mediated by the endogenous opioid receptors since naloxone, a non-selective opioid receptor antagonist, had no reversal effect on the IP and IS-produced analgesia in the BV-induced PSPR. Our present results suggest that IP or IS might prevent and relieve clinical persistent spontaneous pain, but without any anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects on the primary heat hyperalgesia, mechanical hyperalgesia, as well as inflammatory responses. The BV test might be a useful model of pain to evaluate and screen anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of certain compounds of the Chinese medicinal herbs on the pathological origins of pain.
Analgesics ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Bee Venoms ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Formaldehyde ; Hyperalgesia ; physiopathology ; Inflammation ; chemically induced ; physiopathology ; Injections, Intravenous ; Male ; Nociceptors ; drug effects ; Pain ; chemically induced ; physiopathology ; Pain Threshold ; drug effects ; Pyrans ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Steroids ; pharmacology

The contamination of extrinsic harmful contaminants including mycotoxins, heavy metals and pesticides, etc, brings serious risks to traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), further to human health. Due to their unique photoluminescence, chemiluminescence, electrochemical and electrochemiluminescence properties, semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) nanoparticles are widely used to immobilize bioprobes and biosensors, etc. In this review, the luminescence characteristics and specific ligands of QDs probles which are used to determine contaminants were summed up. Then, the applications of QDs-coated novel probes in the determination of mycotoxins, heavy metals and pesticides were discussed in detail. In addition, the contamination levels and characteristics of extrinsic harmful residues in TCMs were investigated. Further, the maximum levels of those contaminants in TCMs were compared with those set by various countries. Finally, the future development trends and problems of QDs-coated probes in the determination of those extrinsic residues in TCMs were prospected.
Drug Contamination ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Nanotechnology ; instrumentation ; methods ; Quantum Dots ; Safety ; Time Factors

Aged ; Coal Mining ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pneumoconiosis ; complications ; physiopathology ; Tachycardia ; etiology

Syndrome and formulae (or prescription) are two key issues in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the premise research for material basis of TCM. However, vagueness of syndromes and complexity of formulae greatly limited the evaluation to syndromes and effective substance basis of prescription. Therefore, how to solve the evaluation of syndromes, confirming the efficacy material basis in prescription are the current hot issues of international concern. To solve these problems, establishing chinmedomics by integrated serum pharmacochemistry of TCM with metabolomics technology, that is a unique method of TCM research, made outstanding contributions in solving international concerns such as the effectiveness and security aspects of TCM. On the basis of the biological characterization of syndrome, the metabolic profiling of animal models of TCM syndrome, and related metabolic fingerprints as well as metabolic biomarkers were established to evaluate the overall effects of TCM formulae and corresponding relationship of syndrome-formulae. The active constituents were screened using the plotting of correlation between (endogenous) marker metabolites and (exogenous) serum constituents (PCMS), and is ongoing verification by further biological experiments. Correlation analysis between the ingredients in the body after oral formulae and endogenous markers in vivo can be used to clarify the active ingredients and synergistic properties. This method was successfully applied for rapid discovery of potentially bioactive components and metabolites from TCM, and through a series of studies on the chinmedomics, it proved that the established method could help to explore the effective substance for further research of TCM. As a new research approach, Chinmedomics is the best method to fit the holistic concept of TCM, and it can not only interpret the essence of syndrome but also elucidate the scientific connotation of Chinese medical formulae.
Animals ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drug Prescriptions ; Drug Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; pharmacokinetics ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

To evaluate the protective effects of intravitreal injection of cannabinoid HU - 211 for optic nerve in glaucoma rats, providing the experimental evidence in the treatment of glaucoma optic nerve injury.
●METHODS: Glaucoma rats (18 eyes) were modeled by electric coagulation sclera surface vein and randomized into 3 groups, group A received intravitreal injection of 1mg/ 0. 1mL cannabinoid HU - 211 every other day respectively; group B was given intravitreal injection of 0. 1mL water every other day, group C was high intraocular pressure (lOP) group, 6 eyes were randomly selected for blank control group ( group D). lOP was observed every day. The rats were sacrificed after treatment 4wk, froze retina section, HE stain. The density fluctuation of retinal ganglion cell ( RGC ) neurons assessment the optic nerve of rat model with chronic high lOP glaucoma were measured.
●RESULTS: The apoptosis and damage degree of RGC in group B was obviously higher than that in group A, with statistically significant difference (P<0. 05). There was no significant difference in groups B and C (P >0. 05).
●CONCLUSlON: lntravitreal injection of cannabinoid HU-211 shows obvious protective effect on optic nerve in glaucom rat models.

Objective To investigate DSA- estimated hepatic arterial hemodynamics of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) determined shortly after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus sorafenib treatment. Methods The clinical data of thirty HCC patients treated with TACE were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into study group (n = 13) and control group (n = 17). Patients in the study group received additional oral administration of 400mg sorafenib twice a day one week before or two weeks after TACE procedure, while patients in the control group received TACE only. The initial DSA images as well as the images obtained at three months after TACE were analyzed. With the help of Photoshop software, the grey gradient of the tumor staining was measured on the series dynamic DSA images, based on which the time- density curve of the tumor was drawn. The peak density value (PV), the time to reach the peak (TP) and the slope of the upslope (SU) were determined, and the results were compared between the two groups. Results Photoshop software was used to measure the grey density values of the tumor staining on DSA images. In the study group, the post- treatment PV was smaller than the pre- treatment one, which were (38.0 ± 14.6) and (46.7 ± 18.4) respectively, the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P = 0.040). The post- treatment PV of the study group was also smaller than that of the post -treatment PV of the control group (54.4 ± 19.8), and the difference between the two was also statistically significant (P = 0.011). No significant differences in TP values and SU values existed between the two groups as well as between the pre - treatment and post - treatment ones in each group. Conclusion After TACE.

Objective To build a Monte Carlo dose verification tool for IMRT Plan by implanting an irradiation source model into DPM code and to extend the ability of DPM to calculate any incident angles and irregular-inhomogeneous fields.Methods The virtual source and the energy spectrum unfolded from the accelerator measurement data were used,in combination with optimized intensity maps,to calculate the dose distribution of the irradiation irregular-inhomogeneous field.The irradiation source model of accelerator was substituted by a grid-based surface source.The contour and the intensity distribution of the surface source were optimized by IMRT.The dose calculation was realized by combining the position of the emitter with the fluence map from the IMRT plan.The weight of the emitter was decided by the grid intensity.The direction of the emitter was decided by the combination of the virtual source and the emitting position.The weighted fraction of the emitter was also combined with the flux grid intensity based on the particle transport model of DPM code.Results The accuracy of calculation was verified by comparing with the measured data.It was illustrated that the differences were acceptable (＜ 2％ inside the field,2-3 mm in the penumbra).The dose calculation of irregular field by DPM simulation was also compared with that of FSPB (Finite Size Pencil Beam).The passing rate of gamma analysis was 95.1％ for peripheral lung cancer.The regular field and the irregular rotational field were all within permissible range of error.The calculation time of regular fields were less than 2 h,and that of the test of peripheral lung cancer was 160 min.Conclusions The adapted DPM code with its simple irradiation source model is faster than that with classical Monte Carlo procedure.Its computational accuracy and speed satisfy the clinical requiremcnt,and it can be useful as a Monte Carlo dose verification tool for IMRT Plan.