Objective To evaluate the efficacy of fexofenadine hydrochloride tablets at tapering doses for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria. Methods After receiving evaluation of medical history and undergoing autologous serum skin test (ASST), 80 patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria were randomly divided into two groups:conventional dose group administrating fexofenadine hydrochloride tablets 120 mg/d for 12 consecutive weeks, tapering dose group administrating fexofenadine hydrochloride tablets 120 mg/d for the first 4 weeks followed by dose tapering of fexofenadine hydrochloride tablets by 30 mg at the 5th and 9th weeks. The urticaria activity score(UAS) and dermatology life quality index(DLQI)were evaluated before the treatment(baseline)as well as after 4?, 8?and 12?week treatment, and the total dose of fexofenadine hydrochloride was calculated. Results A total of 76 patients completed the 12?week treatment, including 37 patients in the conventional dose group and 39 patients in the tapering dose group. After 4?, 8?and 12?week treatment, a significant decrease was observed in the UAS in the conventional dose group(0.64 ± 0.82, 0.37 ± 0.68 and 0.27 ± 0.56 vs. 4.08 ± 0.79, all P<0.01)and tapering dose group(0.61 ± 0.87, 0.48 ± 0.72 and 0.28 ± 0.61 vs. 4.07 ± 0.81, all P<0.01)compared with that at baseline in the corresponding groups. DLQI scores also significantly decreased after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of treatment in the conventional dose group(3.62 ± 1.82, 2.81 ± 1.65 and 1.37 ± 1.14 vs. 16.19 ± 3.79, all P<0.01)and tapering dose group(3.79 ± 2.57, 2.74 ± 2.11 and 1.15 ± 1.47 vs. 15.92 ± 4.2, all P < 0.01) compared with those at baseline. However, there were no significant differences in the UAS or DLQI scores between the conventional dose group and tapering dose group at any of the post?treatment time points(all P>0.05). After 8?and 12?week treatment, symptoms were controlled in 71.79%(28/39)and 82.05%(32/39)of patients in the tapering dose group, respectively, with the total dose of fexofenadine hydrochloride being significantly lower in the tapering dose group than in the conventional dose group (both P<0.001). Conclusion After 4- 8 weeks of treatment with fexofenadine hydrochloride, the tapering dose regimen and conventional dose regimen show similar clinical efficacy in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.

Animals ; Cold Temperature ; adverse effects ; Heart ; physiopathology ; Inflammation ; physiopathology ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; Particulate Matter ; adverse effects ; Rats

2 years),seizure frequency(≥1 time/month),persistence time(≥60 s),gene-ralized seizure were all associated with the incidence of the loss of neuron in ammonias.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the independent influencital factors for the loss of neuron in ammonias in children with temporal epilepsy included seizure frequency,persis-tence time and tape of seizure. Conclusions The loss of neuron in ammonias though 1H-MRS can be detected.The results of multivariate analysis verify that the development of the loss of neuron in ammonias may be associated with many factors including age of onset,course of di-sease,seizure frequency,persistence time and generalized seizure.In order to lower the incidence of the loss of neuron,early intervening treatment is very important.

Cold Temperature ; Dinoprost ; analogs & derivatives ; urine ; Dust ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; urine ; Thromboxane B2 ; analogs & derivatives ; urine ; Weather

Ten compounds were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of the stem bark of Toona sinensis by silica gel, ODS Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies and preparation TLC methods. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods and chemical properties as betulinic acid(1), stigmastane-3, 6-dione(2), stigmast-4-en-3-one(3), 7β-hydroxysitosterol(4), 6-hydroxystigmast-4-en-3-one(5), stigmast-4-ene-3β, 6β-diol(6), ergosterol peroxide(7), 7-methoxy-2-(3, 4-methylenedioxyphenyl)benzofuran-5-carboxylate(8), canthin-6-one(9), and α-acetylamino-phenylpropyl α-benzoylamino phenylpropionate(10). All compounds were isolated from T. sinensis for the first time.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of three categorized formulas for tonifying Shen yang, i.e. Shenqi Pill (SP), Yougui Pill (YP), and Yougui Drink (YD) based on rough set, thus exploring the law of compatibility between the core herbs and the edge herbs as well as the law of compatibility between the yang-tonifying herbs and the yin-tonifying herbs in the core herbs.

METHODSThe rats were divided into the normal group, the Shen-yang deficiency model group, and the original prescription group, the core herbs group, and the edge herbs group of this three categorized formulas for tonifying Shen yang, 11 groups altogether. Thyroxine (T4), cortisol (CORT), and testosterone (T) were detected respectively. The decision rules model based on rough set was set up, the interactions between various herbs were analyzed according to the decision rules.

RESULTSThere were synergies between yam and cinnamon, yam and aconite, as well as yam and wolfberry. Poria alisma, Cortex Moutan, and oriental waterplantain tuber had no effect themselves, but they had synergistic effects with the core herbs in SP. Angelica had a certain effect itself, but its functions were different to different core herbs in YP. Licorice had no effect itself, and it was antagonistic with the core herbs in YD.

CONCLUSIONSThe compatibility of core herbs of categorized formula for tonifying Shen yang should focus on benefiting both yin and yang, as well as mutual rooting of yin-yang. Appropriate edge herbs should be chosen for compatibility according to different core herbs. The decision rules model based on rough set has a good prospect in exploring the law of compatibility of the categorized formulas.

Animals ; Drug Incompatibility ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the key indicators in the pituitary-target gland axes in the animal model of Shen-yang deficiency syndrome (SYDS).

METHODSThe 8 biological indicators [thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), 3, 3', 5-triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone (T), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and cortisol (CORT)] in the pituitary-target gland axes were grouped using factor analysis. Then the sensitivity of every indicator was calculated according to the sensitivity function defined in this paper, so as to find all the most sensitive indicators in every group as key indicators of SYDS.

RESULTSThe key indicators in the early period of SYDS were T, LH, T4, and CORT. The key indicators in the middle period were LH,T, CORT, and ACTH. The key indicators in the late period were LH, T, CORT, and FSH.

CONCLUSIONST, LH, and CORT were the common key indicators of the three periods, and other different key indicator of SYDS in the early, middle and late period were T4, ACTH, and FSH respectively, which changed from the thyroid axis to the adrenal axis and then to the gonadal axis as the period changed. The key indicators in the late period were mainly in the gonadal axis, showing gonadal dysfunction in the late period.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Estradiol ; analysis ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; analysis ; Hydrocortisone ; analysis ; Luteinizing Hormone ; analysis ; Male ; Pituitary-Adrenal System ; physiopathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Testosterone ; analysis ; Thyrotropin ; analysis ; Thyroxine ; analysis ; Yang Deficiency ; physiopathology

To investigate the effects of the S-curve leakage testing method on the detection of flexible endoscope and occurrence of medium to high-level faults of flexible endoscope. A convenience sampling method was used to study the information of endoscopic leak detection at the digestive endoscopic centre of the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University. From July 2016 to December 2017, 58 endoscopes which received conventional leakage testing were set as the control group (29 116 tests). From January 2018 to June 2019, 56 endoscopes which received S-curve leakage testing were set as the observation group (28 112 tests). The results showed that the detection proportion of angular abnormalities in the observation group was higher than that in the control group [65.6% (59/90) VS 40.4% (36/89), χ2=11.330, P<0.001]. However, the detection proportion of medium to high-grade faults such as damaged charge coupled device (CCD) components and broken insertion section in the observation group was lower than that in the control group [0.04% (10/28 112) VS 0.08% (23/29 116), χ2=4.680, P=0.030]. Moreover, the overall maintenance cost was lower in the observation group than that in the control group (313.7 thousand yuan VS 942.6 thousand yuan). It is indicated that the S-curve leakage testing method can detect low-level endoscopic faults early such as angular abnormalities, and reduce the occurrence of medium to high-level endoscopic faults, which contributes to cost reduction and efficiency increase.

Objective To execute experimental study injection rate and volumetric error and to explore their correlations with sizes of injectors and extension tube,so as to lay a foundation for the quality control of the injection pump.Methods Simulation experiment was carried out with involving in 10,20 and 50 ml of injectors and 80 and 120 cm extension tubes,and 6 kinds of connection systems were formed with auxiliary appliances.The injection rate and flow reading of the flow meter were obtained and then compared with the set values,and the correlations were proved between sizes of auxiliary appliances and the precision of injection dose and rate.Results In case other conditions kept the same,the injector with larger capacity behaved better in controlling injection rate and dose,and the shorter extension tube gained advantages over the longer one in regulating the precision for injection and injection dose.Conclusion The experiment contributes to the selection of auxiliary appliances and the enhancement of quality control,and the further research provides references for process design and materials selection of the injector.

Systematical studies are lacking on the influencing factors and mechanisms of the heparin enhanced sperm capacitation, although many studies have shown that heparin enhanced sperm capacitation. The effect of heparin concentration and exposure time, incubation temperature and co-culture with oviductal epithelial cells or cumulus cells on goat sperm capacitation were investigated in this study. The motility, membrane and acrosome integrity and capacitated percentage of goat spermatozoa were assessed after different heparin treatments, and rates of fertilization and embryo cleavage were compared after in vitro insemination of oocytes with spermatozoa capacitated by different heparin treatments. The major results are summarized as follows: 1) When spermatozoa were capacitated with heparin at 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 microg/mL for 45 min, 50 and 100 microg/mL heparin treatments produced the highest capacitated percentages of 55% and 56%, respectively, but the percentage of spermatozoa with intact acrosomes in the 100 microg/mL heparin treatment decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in comparison with that in the control group, indicating that the optimal heparin concentration for goat sperm capacitation would be 50 microg/mL. 2) Capacitated percentage of spermatozoa increased with extension of treatment time when goat sperm were treated with 50 microg/mL heparin for 0, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60 or 120 min. Although heparin treatments for 45 to 120 min did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) in capacitated sperm percentages, sperm motility and membrane integrity decreased significantly when treated with heparin for 120 min. This suggested that the optimal exposure time of heparin at 50 microg/mL for goat sperm capacitation would be 45 to 60 min. 3) Significantly higher capacitated percentages of spermatozoa were obtained when goat sperm were treated at 42 and 38.5 degrees C than at 15 and 37 degrees C, but sperm motility and acrosome integrity were significantly lower when spermatozoa were treated at 42 degrees C than they were treated at other temperatures. Temperature of 38.5 degrees C would, therefore, be the optimal temperature for goat sperm capacitation. 4) The capacitated percentage of spermatozoa was significantly higher when goat sperm were co-cultured with oviductal epithelial cells than when treated with heparin alone or co-cultured with cumulus cells, but sperm motility and membrane and acrosome integrity did not differ significantly among the three treatments. Rates of fertilization (91.3%) and cleavage (72.2%) were significantly higher in the oviductal epithelial cell co-culture group than those in the heparin alone group. This indicated that co-culture with oviductal epithelial cells significantly enhanced goat sperm capacitation by heparin treatment.
Acrosome Reaction ; drug effects ; physiology ; Animals ; Coculture Techniques ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; Fallopian Tubes ; cytology ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Goats ; Heparin ; pharmacology ; Male ; Sperm Capacitation ; drug effects ; physiology ; Sperm Motility ; Spermatozoa ; cytology ; physiology