Approximately 30%-40% of epilepsy patients do not respond well to adequate anti-seizure medications (ASMs), a condition known as pharmacoresistant epilepsy. The management of pharmacoresistant epilepsy remains an intractable issue in the clinic. Its early prediction is important for prevention and diagnosis. However, it still lacks effective predictors and approaches. Here, a classical model of pharmacoresistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) was established to screen pharmacoresistant and pharmaco-responsive individuals by applying phenytoin to amygdaloid-kindled rats. Ictal electroencephalograms (EEGs) recorded before phenytoin treatment were analyzed. Based on ictal EEGs from pharmacoresistant and pharmaco-responsive rats, a convolutional neural network predictive model was constructed to predict pharmacoresistance, and achieved 78% prediction accuracy. We further found the ictal EEGs from pharmacoresistant rats have a lower gamma-band power, which was verified in seizure EEGs from pharmacoresistant TLE patients. Prospectively, therapies targeting the subiculum in those predicted as "pharmacoresistant" individual rats significantly reduced the subsequent occurrence of pharmacoresistance. These results demonstrate a new methodology to predict whether TLE individuals become resistant to ASMs in a classic pharmacoresistant TLE model. This may be of translational importance for the precise management of pharmacoresistant TLE.
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe/diagnosis* ; Animals ; Drug Resistant Epilepsy/drug therapy* ; Electroencephalography/methods* ; Rats ; Anticonvulsants/pharmacology* ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Male ; Humans ; Phenytoin/pharmacology* ; Adult ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Young Adult ; Convolutional Neural Networks

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to elucidate the therapeutic potential of osthole for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD), focusing on its ability to alleviate chronic pruritus (CP) and the underlying molecular mechanisms. METHODS: In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of osthole in both a 2,4-dichloronitrobenzene (DNCB)-induced AD mouse model and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) stimulated huma immortalized epidermal (HaCaT) cells. The anti-itch effect of osthole was specifically assessed in the AD mouse model. Using methods such as hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blot (WB), quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Osthole improved skin damage and clinical dermatitis scores, reduced scratching bouts, and decreased epidermal thickness AD-like mice. It also reduced the levels of interleukin (IL)-31 and IL-31 receptor A (IL-31 RA) in both skin tissues and HaCaT cells. Furthermore, Osthole suppressed the protein expression levels of phosphor-p65 (p-p65) and phosphor-inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-Bα (p-IκBα). Meanwhile, it increased the protein expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and PPARγ in HaCaT cells. CONCLUSION These findings indicated that osthole effectively inhibited CP in AD by activating PPARα, PPARγ, repressing the NF-κB signaling pathway, as well as the expression of IL-31 and IL-31 RA.

COVID-19 has been prevalent for three years. The virulence of SARS-CoV-2 is weaken as it mutates continuously. However, elderly patients, especially those with underlying diseases, are still at high risk of developing severe infections. With the continuous study of the molecular structure and pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2, antiviral drugs for COVID-19 have been successively marketed, and these anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs can effectively reduce the severe rate and mortality of elderly patients. This article reviews the mechanism, clinical medication regimens, drug interactions and adverse reactions of five small molecule antiviral drugs currently approved for marketing in China, so as to provide advice for the clinical rational use of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in the elderly.

We summarized the experiences of construction and management of vaccine safety surveillance systems in different countries and regions by using literature review, and then made the recommendations of strengthening vaccine surveillance system in China. In the study, we found that multiple existing national and regional vaccine surveillance systems, such as VAERS and EudraVigilance, can ensure vaccine safety through multi-sectoral surveillance, identification of adverse signals, and promotion of awareness of active reporting. However, the monitoring systems have some limitations, such as reporting bias and system decentralization. Therefore, China's vaccine monitoring system should establish an effective vaccine surveillance system, which achieves multi-sectoral, active, open to the public surveillance.

Objective:Compare the effects of 3 administration methods (tracheal perfusion, tail vein injection and aerosol inhalation) with bleomycin (BLM) in inducing pulmonary fibrosis in rats, in order to find out the optimal administration methods. Method:Eighty sprague-dawley (SD) male rats with SPF were randomly divided into aerosol inhalation blank group, single tracheal perfusion group(10 mg·kg^-1), multiple tracheal perfusion group(5 mg·kg^-1), single intravenous injection group(150 mg·kg^-1), multiple intravenous injection group(50 mg·kg^-1), single aerosol inhalation group (30 min)and multiple aerosol inhalation group(30 min). The mortality and body weight of rats in each group were observed at 7 d, 14 d and 28 d after the administration. And 28 days later after the administration, the lung coefficients of rats in each group were observed, paraffin sections were prepared, hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) and Masson staining were performed, and the contents of hydroxyproline (HYP) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in lung tissues were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), so as to evaluate the alveoli inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis of rats in each group. Result:Compared with the aerosol inhalation blank group, the rats in the trachea perfusion group had the highest mortality among the drug treatment groups. The pulmonary coefficients of rats in the multiple intravenous injection group and the multiple inhalation group were significantly higher than those in the blank group(P<0.05,P<0.01). The multiple inhalation group was higher than the other model group and the single atomization model group. The results of HE and Masson staining showed thickening of pulmonary septum and higher degree of pulmonary interstitial fibrosis in tracheal perfusion group, intravenous injection group and multiple inhalation group. The degree of pulmonary fibrosis in the multiple inhalation group was more obvious than that in other groups. The results of ELISA showed that the levels of HYP and PAI-1 in lung tissues of rats in aerosol inhalation group and tracheal perfusion group were significantly higher than those in control group(P<0.05). The multiple inhalation group and the single atomization inhalation group were significantly higher than other modules. Conclusion:Bleomycin was inhaled repeatedly to establish pulmonary fibrosis model. The pathological injury and physiological indexes of the model rats were relatively stable, which conforms with the evolution process of pulmonary fibrosis.

Objective: To clarify the antitussive, expectorant, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects of Tanreqing inhalation solution, and provide basis and data support for further research and development of this preparation. Method: The methods of cough induced by ammonia and tracheal phenol red excretion were used to observe the antitussive and expectorant effects of Tanreqing inhalation solution in mice. The fever model of rats was established by intraperitoneal injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide(LPS) to observe the antipyretic effect of the Tanreqing inhalation solution, the acute pneumonia model of rats was established by atomizing LPS inhalation, and the anti-inflammatory effect of Tanreqing inhalation solution was observed. Result: Tanreqing inhalation solution could reduce the number of coughs in mice induced by ammonia water, increase the amount of phenol red excretion in mouse trachea, decrease the levels of body temperature and its related regulatory factors of prostaglandin E₂(PGE₂) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP) of rats induced by LPS, decrease the white blood cell(WBC) count and the neutrophil ratio(NEUT) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) of rats with LPS-induced acute pneumonia, and reduce the levels of nuclear transcription factor-κB(NF-κB) and interleukin-1β(IL-1β) in lung tissue. Conclusion: Tanreqing inhalation solution has obvious antitussive, expectorant, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects, which is worthy of further development and promotion.

The antioxidant activities of Vleriana jatamansi Jones were investigated and the relationship between the antioxidant effect and the chemical structure was explored. The free radical scavenging test, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^•), was used to evaluate the antioxidant activities of the extracts of Vleriana jatamansi Jones with 0−100% menthol as extraction solvents. The polar and nonpolar HPLC conditions were conducted to isolate the main chemical compositions. The DPPH^• tests were used in analysis of the free radical scavenging activities. Under polar HPLC separation conditions, 5 kinds of compounds were detected:chlorogenic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, hesperidin, and coffeic acid; under nonpolar HPLC separation conditions, acevaltrate, 1β-acevaltrate and valtrate were founded. Chlorogenic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, and 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid presented high DPPH^• free radical scavenging activities. The results of antioxidant activity suggested that the coffee acyl from chlorogenic acid-like compounds had a high DPPH^• free radical scavenging ability. Our investigation indicated that structure of the ortho hydroxyl phenol of chlorogenic acid-like compounds play a significant role in antioxidant activities. In addition, this work can also provide method and theory reference for improving the antioxidant activities of Vleriana jatamansi Jones.

Free amino acids play a great role in traditional Chinese medicine in injections of animal products, as they may take part in peptide synthesis and exhibit a bioactivity in vivo. However, most of the national standards for drugs and peer-reviewed papers only focus on the total amount of amino acids after peptide hydrolysis. We compare the advantage and disadvantage among high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), pre-column derivatization ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and ion chromatography. As a result, the HPTLC and pre-column derivatization UPLC are suitable for quality analysis, while there is high matrix influence for ion chromatography analysis. The verified pre-column derivatization UPLC method is utilized in quantitative analysis. 24 kinds of amino acid were detected by this method, and 8 of them were reported for the first time from the injection. The system has high repeatability and accuracy with LOD on the level of pmol·mL^-1.

Objective To investigate the mercury exposure level in cord blood of neonatal in Zhoushan Islands and to analyze the related factors,in order to provide scientific basis for relevant prevention and control measures.Methods From June 201 2 to July 201 3,peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood samples were collected in local women who delivered their babies in Zhoushan Islands.Questionnaire survey and mercury exposure test were performed.Results 3 052 maternal blood and neonatal umbilical cord blood samples were tested,and the mean,median,P25 and P75 of the maternal blood mercury were 5.33 ±3.69,4.63,2.8 and 8.2 μg/kg respectively.And the mean,median,P25 and P75 of the cord blood mercury were 7.72 ±4.87,7.31 ,4.7 and 1 1 .2 μg/kg.Single factor analysis showed that the neonatal umbilical cord blood mercury levels were associated the intake of pan -fried mackerel during pregnancy (OR =1 .79,P <0.01 ).No association was found with the sex of newborn,the intake of iron,calcium,and vitamin during pregnancy,the number of mending tooth,the use of whitening cosmetics,the intake of fish and seafood,father's smoking,the average family income and residence time.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the neonatal umbilical cord blood mercury levels were associated the intake of pan -fried mackerel during pregnancy (OR =1 .96,P <0.01 ).Conclusion Mercury levels in cord blood in Zhoushan area are detected at a high level;the intake of pan -fried mackerel could be one of the major sources of mercury accumulation in neonates.There is an association between the mercury levels of maternal blood and neonatal umbilical cord blood.

OBJECTIVETo explore the changes of protein expression of mitochondrial fission gene dynamin-related 1(Drp 1) in the cortical neurons of rats with chronic fluorosis.

METHODSA total of 120 one-month-old SD rats (each weighing approximately 100-120 g at the beginning of the experiment) were randomly divided into three groups, and fed with the different doses of fluoride containing in drinking water (untreated control containing 0 mg/L fluoride, and low-fluoride & high-fluoride supplemented with 10 and 50 mg/L fluoride,respectively). After 3 or 6 months exposure, 20 rats from each group were killed. Then the protein expression of mitochondrial fission gene, Drp1, was detected by immunohistochemistry and western-blotting method.

RESULTSDental fluorosis and urinary fluorosis were obviously found in the rats exposed to fluoride. At the experiment period of 3 months, the numbers of positive cells of Drp1 detected by immunohistochemistry changed. Compared with the control group (36.3 ± 5.8), the changes in low-fluoride group (34.7 ± 4.1) showed no significant difference (t = 1.5, P > 0.05),but the increase in high-fluoride group (45.0 ± 4.7) had statistical significance (t = 8.8, P < 0.05). The western-blotting method had consistent results. Compared with the control group (0.59 ± 0.03), a significant increase of the average topical density in low- fluoride (0.62 ± 0.03) and high-fluoride (0.71 ± 0.02) groups were found (t = 0.02,0.11, P < 0.05). At the experiment period of 6 months, the numbers of positive cells of Drp1 detected by immunohistochemistry significantly changed. Compared with the control group (33.2 ± 4.4), the number in low- fluoride and high-fluoride groups were separately (36.6 ± 3.8) and (39.4 ± 4.2),both increased significantly (t = 3.5,6.3, P < 0.05). Same results could be found in western-blotting method,compared with the control group (0.65 ± 0.06), the average topical density in low- fluoride (0.80 ± 0.09) and high-fluoride (0.76 ± 0.08) groups both increased significantly (t = 0.1,0.1, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSTaking excessive amount of fluoride might result in the changes of expression of Drp1, and the neurons damage from the chronic fluorosis might be associated with the hyperfunction of mitochondrial fusion.

Animals ; Drinking Water ; chemistry ; Dynamins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Fluoride Poisoning ; metabolism ; Fluorides ; urine ; Fluorosis, Dental ; metabolism ; Male ; Mitochondrial Dynamics ; Neurons ; metabolism ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley