AIMTo develop a near-infrared diffuse reflectance analysis (NIRDRA) method for rapid noninvasive quantitative determination of ambroxol hydrochloride in half-finished product particles and non-blister-packed, blistered tablets.

METHODSAll spectra were measured with a Fourier transform spectrometer equipped with a PbS and a InGaAs detector, an external integrating sphere, a rotating sample cup, and a fibre-optic probe for reflectance measurements. All samples were scanned from 12,000 cm-1 to 4,000 cm-1, and each sample spectrum was obtained as an automatic mean of 64 scans. No spectrum pre-processing method was used, and spectral regions, 4,602-4,247, 12,000-7,498 and 6,102-5,446, 12,000-5,446 cm-1 were selected to develope mathematical models by partial least square method for half-finished product particles and non-blister-packed, blistered tablets samples, respectively.

RESULTSThe optimal rank and mean square error determined for half-finished product particles and non-blister-packed, blistered tablets samples by cross validation method all was 6 and 0.306, 0.972 and 1.492, respectively, the average recovery was 100%, 100% and 102% respectively; and the RSD was 1.17%, 1.70% and 1.78% respectively.

CONCLUSIONResults showed that the NIRDRA method was rapid, simple, noninvasive and sensitive, and it can be applied to assay the content of ambroxol hydrochloride in half-finished product particles non-blister-packed and blistered tablets.

Ambroxol ; administration & dosage ; analysis ; Expectorants ; administration & dosage ; analysis ; Quality Control ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared ; methods ; Tablets

OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of THY1 protein expression in epithelial ovarian cancer.

METHODSImmunohistochemistry (IHC) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) staining were used to detect the protein expression of THY1, Ki67 and cell apoptosis in 76 epithelial ovarian cancers by tissue microarray. The correlation between THY1 expression and patients' clinical features was analyzed.

RESULTSOf the 76 epithelial ovarian cancer samples, 64 were informative for IHC and TUNEL assays and 42 (65.6%) among them showed down-regulated/loss expression of THY1 protein. A significant positive correlation of THY1 protein expression with clinical stage and distant metastasis was observed in this ovarian cancer cohort (P < 0.05). The more advanced the tumor stage, the more frequency of loss expression of THY1 protein. In addition, the mean positive rate of Ki67 staining in tumors with down-regulated/loss expression of THY1 was 33.7% +/- 3.5%, significantly higher than that in the tumors with normal expression of THY1 (17.3% +/- 6.1%, P = 0.0027). However, no significant correlation was observed between THY1 protein expression and tumor cell apoptosis as well as patients' survival in this series (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONDown-regulated/loss expression of THY1 protein in epithelial ovarian cancer is significantly correlated with cancer cell proliferation and metastasis in the epithelial ovarian cancer, and it may be used as one of the new molecular biomarkers to predict the disease progression in patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Apoptosis ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; metabolism ; pathology ; Down-Regulation ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Survival Rate ; Thy-1 Antigens ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the features and duration of viral nucleic acid shedding in children with influenza A.

METHODSThe clinical data of 90 children with influenza A with positive influenza A virus nucleic acid in nasopharyngeal swab detected by PCR were collected, and these children were divided into simple influenza A group (n=10), influenza A-pneumonia group (n=61), influenza A-nervous system damage group (n=10), and influenza A-underlying disease group (n=9). A retrospective analysis was performed for clinical features, treatment process, duration of viral nucleic acid shedding, and prognosis.

RESULTSThe most common symptoms in these children were fever (89/90, 99%), cough (89/90, 99%), running nose (69/90, 77%), shortness of breath (26/90, 29%), and myalgia (23/90, 26%). The mean duration of viral nucleic acid shedding in 90 children was 9.4±2.9 days. The simple influenza A group had a significantly shorter duration of viral nucleic acid shedding than the influenza A-pneumonia, influenza A-nervous system damage, and influenza A-underlying disease groups (p<0.05), while there were no significant differences between the influenza A-pneumonia, influenza A-nervous system damage, and influenza A-underlying disease groups (p>0.05). The children who received antiviral therapy within 48 hours after disease onset had significantly shorter duration of viral nucleic acid shedding and time to body temperature recovery than those who received antiviral therapy more than 48 hours after disease onset (p<0.05). Of all the children with body temperature recovery, 83% still tested positive for viral nucleic acid.

CONCLUSIONSComplications, underlying diseases, and timing of antiviral therapy are influencing factors for the duration of influenza A virus nucleic acid shedding, and whether body temperature returns to normal cannot be used to decide whether to continue antiviral therapy.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Fever ; etiology ; Humans ; Infant ; Influenza A virus ; isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human ; virology ; Male ; Nucleic Acids ; metabolism ; Retrospective Studies ; Time Factors ; Virus Shedding

This study was aimed to investigate the effect of Btk inhibitor PCI-32765 and the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib on Raji and Ramos cell proliferation, apoptosis, and its mechanisms. Raji and Ramos cells were treated with PCI-32765 and bortezomib alone and/or their combination. The cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by CCK-8 and flow cytometry respectively, the expression level of Btk, NFκB, c-IAP1, Bcl-xL and caspase-3 protein were measured by Western blot. The results indicated that: (1) after Raji and Ramos cells were treated with PCI-32765 (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 µmol/L) alone and bortezomib (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 nmol/L) alone and their combination for 48 h, the cell proliferation and vitality were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner and both had synergistic effect; (2) Raji and Ramos cells were treated with PCI-32765 (2.0 µmol/L) and bortezomib (20 nmol/L) alone and their combination for 8, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 h, the cell proliferation and vitality were inhibited in a time-dependent manner, the two drugs displayed a synergistic effects; (3) the Raji and Ramos cells were treated with PCI-32765 (2.0 µmol/L) and bortezomib (20 nmol/L) alone and their combination for 48 h, all these treatments could induce significant apoptosis of Raji and Ramos cells.In Raji cell experiment, the cell apoptosis rate in the control group, PCI-32765 group, bortezomib group and PCI-32765 and bortezomib combination group were 10.34 ± 0.53%, 24.26 ± 0.91%, 43.66 ± 1.08% and 74.06 ± 0.72% respectively, and the differences was statistically significant among the different groups (P < 0.05). In Ramos cell experiment, the cell apoptosis rate in the control group, PCI-32765 group, bortezomib group and PCI-32765 and bortezomib combination group are 15.16 ± 1.49%, 71.36 ± 0.82%, 75.32 ± 2.36% and 84.30 ± 0.91% respectively, the differences was statistically significant among the different groups (P < 0.05); (4) PCI-32765 and bortezomib could inhibit the expression level of intracellular Btk, NFκB, Bcl-xl and c-IAP1 proteins, but up-regulate the expression level of caspase-3. It is concluded that PCI-32765 and bortezomib can synergistically inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis of Raji and Ramos cells, the mechanism may be associated with inhibition of Btk and NFκB activity, down-regulation of anti-apoptotic proteins expression, such as Bcl-xl and c-IAP1, and increase of caspase-3 expression.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Boronic Acids ; pharmacology ; Bortezomib ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; metabolism ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; metabolism ; Pyrazines ; pharmacology ; Pyrazoles ; pharmacology ; Pyrimidines ; pharmacology ; bcl-X Protein ; metabolism

This study was purposed to investigate the expression of Btk and NFκB in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells and its significance. Bone marrow mononuclear cell specimens were taken from 14 AML patients who were in new diagnosis and complete remission respectively, the expressions of Btk and NFκB at mRNA and protein levels were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. The results showed that Btk and NFκB expressed in all the samples at RNA and protein levels. At protein level, Btk and NFκB expressions were higher in the cells from newly diagnosed AML patients than that in the cells from patients in complete remission stage (P < 0.05). It is concluded that Btk and NFκB may play an important role in the development and progression of AML, they may be used as potential therapeutic targets of AML and used in predicting the prognosis.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; genetics ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; NF-kappa B ; genetics ; Prognosis ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical characteristics, drug sensitivity of isolated strains, and risk factors of drug resistance in children with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). METHODS: The clinical characteristics and drug sensitivity of the isolated strains of 246 hospitalized children with IPD in nine grade A tertiary children's hospitals from January 2016 to June 2018 were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 246 children with IPD, there were 122 males and 124 females. Their ages ranged from 1 day to 14 years, and among them, 68 (27.6%) patients were less than 1 year old, 54 (22.0%) patients were 1 to 2 years old, 97 (39.4%) patients were 2 to 5 years old, and 27 (11.0%) patients were 5 to 14 years old. Pneumonia with sepsis was the most common infection type (58.5%, 144/246), followed by bloodstream infection without focus (19.9%, 49/246) and meningitis (15.0%, 37/246). Forty-nine (19.9%) patients had underlying diseases, and 160 (65.0%) had various risk factors for drug resistance. The isolated Streptococcus pneumoniae strains were 100% sensitive to vancomycin, linezolid, moxifloxacin, and levofloxacin, 90% sensitive to ertapenem, ofloxacin, and ceftriaxone, but had a low sensitivity to erythromycin (4.2%), clindamycin (7.9%), and tetracycline (6.3%). CONCLUSIONS IPD is more common in children under 5 years old, especially in those under 2 years old. Some children with IPD have underlying diseases, and most of the patients have various risk factors for drug resistance. Pneumonia with sepsis is the most common infection type. The isolated Streptococcus pneumoniae strains are highly sensitive to vancomycin, linezolid, moxifloxacin, levofloxacin, ertapenem, and ceftriaxone in children with IPD.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ceftriaxone ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Drug Resistance ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Pneumococcal Infections ; Streptococcus pneumoniae

This study evaluated the scientific nature and effectiveness of iterative optimization of prevention and control measures for local outbreaks caused by the BA.2 and BA.5.2 COVID-19 strains in Fujian Province in 2022,to provide a scientif-ic basis for responding to future new or recurrent respiratory infectious diseases.According to the theory of infectious disease dynamics,relevant information regarding the local epidemic situation caused by the BA.2 sub-type Omicron virus strain in March 2022 and BA.5.2 sub-type Omicron virus strain in October 2022 in Fujian Province was collected.The susceptible exposed infectious removed(SEIAR)model of COVID-19 infection with a latent period and asymptomatic infected persons was used to analyze the transmission dynam-ics of two local epidemic situations,and evaluate the preven-tion and control effects.The incubation period of the BA.2 epidemic was 3 days(1～9 days),the intergenerational inter-val was 3 days(1～5 days),and the initial Rt was 3.0(95％CI:2.7～3.3).The incubation period of the BA.5.2 epidemic was 2 days(1～6 days),the intergenerational interval was 1 day(0～2 days),and the initial R,was 1.9(95％CI:1.7～2.1).The fittingresults for the BA.2 and BA.5.2 epidemics were good,and no statistical difference was observed between the predic-ted and actual numbers of cases(x2BA.2=31.53,x2BA.5.2=27.88,P＞0.05).If an emergency response had not been initiated,the BA.2 epidemic would have continued to spread andpeak on April 7th,with an estimated 638 035 cases.The BA.5.2 epidemic would have rapidly spread,reaching a peak on November 14th,with an estimated 685 940 cases.If one incubation period were detected early,the scale of the BA.2 epidemic would have decreased by 25.73％;if two incubation periods were detected early,the scale would have decreased by 79.56％,and if one incubation period had been delayed,the scale would have expanded by 13.72％.If one incubation period had been detected early in the BA.5.2 epidemic,the scale would have decreased by 35.04％;if two incubation periods had been detected early,the scale would have decreased by 92.47％;and if one incubation period had been delayed,the scale would have increased by 19.75％.The guiding ideology,and the prevention and control measures for handling two local epidemics were optimized and iterated.Our study indicated that implementing the"four early"measures ef-fectively decreased the scale of the epidemic,and earlier detection was associated with more significant control effects.This study provides valuable information for the prevention and control of new or recurrent respiratory infectious diseases.

Objective:To explore the effects of robot-assisted therapy combined with mirror therapy (MT) on upper limbs in patients with hemiplegia after stroke. Methods:From January, 2017 to June, 2018, 56 patients with hemiplegia after stroke were randomly divided into control group (n = 28) and observation group (n = 28). The control group received conventional therapy, and the treatment group received robot-assisted therapy combined with MT, additionally. They were assessed with Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremities (FMA-UE), Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and modified Barthel Index (MBI) before and four weeks after treatment. Results:Four weeks after treatment, the scores of FMA-UE, WMFT and MBI were better in both groups (t > 2.959, P < 0.05), and were better in the observation group than in the control group (t > 4.732, P < 0.001). Conclusion:Robot-assisted therapy combined with MT could improve the function of upper limb and activities of daily living in patients with hemiplegia after stroke.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of Btk inhibitor (PCI-32765) and BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor (Dasatinib) on proliferation and apoptosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell lines (Sup-B15, RS4;11) and the possible mechanism.

METHODSRS4;11 and Sup-B15 cells were treated with PCI-32765 and Dasatinib, the cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by CCK-8, the Btk and other apoptotic proteins were detected by Western blot.

RESULTSPCI-32765 could inhibit the proliferation of RS4;11 and Sup-B15 cells in a dose-dependent manner, Sup-B15 cells were more sensitive to PCI-32765 than RS4;11 cells, their ICwere 3 µmol/L and 8 µmol/L respectively, the difference between them was statistically significant (P<0.05). Dasatinib also could inhibit the proliferation of RS4;11 cells and Sup-B15 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The ICwas 5 µmol/L and 5 nmol/L, respectively, the difference between them was statistically very significant (P<0.01), and the inhibitory effect was enhanced by the combination of Damatinib with the PCI-32765(P<0.05). The cell survival rate decreased gradually in PCI-32765 or Dasatinib alone group and the combination group at the different time-point (8, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 h), the 2 drugs showed a synergistic effect on cells in a time-dependent manner. After being treated with PCI-32765 and Dasatinib, the RS4;11 and Sup-B15 cells showed that cell shrinkage, increase of cytoplasmic density, nuclear pyknosis, deviation and karyorrhexis, and increase of the apoptotic cells in the combination group, while the promotive effect of low dosage dasatinib on apoptosis of RS4;11 cells was not strong. PCI-32765 and Dasatinib could decrease the expression and activity of BCR-ABL, Btk, Lyn, Src in Sup-B15 and RS4;11 cells.

CONCLUSIONPCI-32765 or Dasatinib can inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of Sup-B15 and RS4;11 cells, PCI-32765 and Dasatinib displayed the synergistic effects. The possible mechanism may be related with the blocking of B cell receptor(BCR) signal pathway, thereby inhibiting the cell proliferation and promoting the cell apoptosis.