1.Pollution status and health risk assessment of PM2.5-bound polycyclic hydrocarbons in Yanta District of Xi’an from 2023 to 2024
Minjuan WANG ; Di ZHAO ; Sicen LIU ; Nan ZHANG ; Lei CAO ; Ticao ZHOU
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2026;43(6):730-738
Background Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) readily adsorb onto the surface of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and are representative components of organic pollutants in the atmosphere. PAHs are known for their significant carcinogenic, teratogenic, and mutagenic toxicity, and long-term exposure to PAHs has adverse effects on human health. Objective To investigate the concentration, composition, and pollution sources of 16 priority PAHs in PM2. 5 of Yanta District, Xi'an, and to evaluate the associated health risks. Methods PM2.5 samples were collected from March 2023 to February 2024. The concentrations of 16 PAHs (ΣPAHs) were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Diagnostic ratios (DR) and positive matrix factorization (PMF) were used to identify the sources of PAHs. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to examine the relationship between PAHs concentrations and meteorological factors. Furthermore, the toxicity of individual PAHs was converted into benzo[a]-pyrene (BaP) toxicity equivalents to calculate the toxicity of total PAHs. An incremental lifetime carcinogenic risk (ILCR) model was established to evaluate the health risks of PAHs inhalation across different demographic groups. Results The average concentration of ΣPAHs in PM2.5 of Yanta District, Xi'an followed a seasonal descending order: winter (15.71 ng·m−3) > spring (5.55 ng·m−3) > autumn (4.34 ng·m−3) > summer (1.47 ng·m−3). The relative abundances of PAHs in PM2.5 varied significantly by ring number, 4-ring PAHs accounted for the largest proportion, followed by 5-ring, 3-ring and 6-ring PAHs, while 2-ring PAHs were the least abundant. This ring distribution pattern remained consistent across seasons. The contribution rates of different emission sources to ΣPAHs concentration exhibited seasonal variations. Source apportionment revealed that industrial and traffic emissions were major contributors in spring; traffic emissions dominated in summer and autumn; and coal, natural gas, and biomass combustion were the predominant sources in winter. Correlation analysis showed that ΣPAHs concentration was highly positively correlated with atmospheric pressure and negatively correlated with temperature, but not significantly correlated with precipitation, wind speed, solar radiation, and relative humidity. The ILCR model indicated significant seasonal differences (winter > spring > autumn > summer) in inhalation health risks between adults and children, primarily due to variations in inhalation rates and body weight. Adults faced higher health risks than children across all seasons. Conclusion PAHs pollution in PM2.5 of Yanta District, Xi 'an is primarily driven by traffic emissions and the combustion of coal, natural gas, and biomass. PAHs concentrations are significantly influenced by meteorological factors, particularly air pressure, and temperature. Inhalation exposure poses distinct health risks to adults in winter. To effectively reduce ΣPAHs concentrations and mitigate air pollution, emission controls on winter coal combustion should be prioritized.
2.Gut microbiota-derived tryptophan metabolites regulated by Wuji Wan to attenuate colitis through AhR signaling activation.
Wanghui JING ; Sijing DONG ; Yinyue XU ; Jingjing LIU ; Jiawei REN ; Xue LIU ; Min ZHU ; Menggai ZHANG ; Hehe SHI ; Na LI ; Peng XIA ; Haitao LU ; Sicen WANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(1):205-223
Disruption of the intestinal mucosal barrier caused by gut dysbiosis and metabolic imbalance is the underlying pathology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Traditional Chinese medicine Wuji Wan (WJW) is commonly used to treat digestive system disorders and showed therapeutic potential for IBD. In this interdisciplinary study, we aim to investigate the pharmacological effects of WJW against experimental colitis by combining functional metabolomics and gut-microbiota sequencing techniques. Treatment with WJW altered the profile of the intestinal microbiota and notably increased the abundance of Lactobacillus, thereby facilitating the conversion of tryptophan into indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indoleacrylic acid (IA). These indole derivatives activated the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway, which reduced colonic inflammation and restored the expression of intestinal barrier proteins. Interestingly, the beneficial effects of WJW on gut barrier function improvement and tryptophan metabolism were disappeared in the absence of gut microbiota. Finally, pre-treatment with the AhR antagonist CH-223191 confirmed the essential role of IAA-mediated AhR activation in the therapeutic effects of WJW. Overall, WJW enhanced intestinal barrier function and reduced colonic inflammation in a murine colitis model by modulating Lactobacillus-IAA-AhR signaling pathway. This study provides novel insights into colitis pathogenesis and presents an effective therapeutic and preventive approach against IBD.
3.Analysis of ocular biometric parameters in Tibetan patients with age-related cataract
Huali ZHU ; Tingting XU ; Ling WEI ; Zhe XU ; Jie LI ; Pei LIU ; Sicen LIU ; Haomei WANG
International Eye Science 2024;24(5):816-820
AIM:To compare the differences of ocular biometric parameters of age-related cataract between Tibetan and Han ethnic groups, and to analyze the distribution characteristics of ocular biometric parameters in Tibetan cataract patients.METHODS:Retrospective cohort study. A total of 661 patients(1 030 eyes)with age-related cataract confirmed in the hospital between January 2019 and December 2020 were enrolled. The parameters of axial length, anterior chamber depth, keratometry, corneal astigmatism and astigmatic axis were measured by IOL Master 500 in 483 cases(739 eyes)of Tibetan age-related cataract patients and 178 cases(291 eyes)of Han patients.RESULTS:The axial length, anterior chamber depth and corneal astigmatism of the Tibetan patients with age-related cataract were 23.33(22.81, 23.86)mm, 3.04(2.79, 3.30)mm and 0.73(0.47, 1.07)D. The mean keratometry was 43.89±1.35 D. The results indicated that Tibetan cataract patients had shorter axial lengths and smaller keratometry compared to Han patients(all P<0.05). Age in Tibetan patients was negatively correlated with axial length and anterior chamber depth, and positively correlated with keratometry(all P<0.05). Tibetan male patients had longer axial lengths, deeper anterior chambers, and flatter corneas compared to female patients(all P<0.05).CONCLUSION:There were differences in ocular biometric parameters between age-related cataract patients of Tibetan and Han ethnicities. The distribution of ocular biometric parameters in Tibetan cataract patients varied across different age groups and gender groups.
4.Construction and application of total quality management system in pharmacy intravenous admixture service
Baoxia FANG ; Songchao WU ; Jing LIU ; Sicen WANG ; Fuchao CHEN
China Pharmacy 2023;34(15):1798-1803
OBJECTIVE To establish a total quality management system for pharmacy intravenous admixture services (PIVAS), in order to promote the standardization, accuracy and rationalization of clinical intravenous infusion. METHODS Based on information system in PIVAS, the management system and quality monitoring items of the whole process before, during and after PIVAS infusion preparation were formulated. The quality control and quality improvement were carried out regularly with quality management tools and methods such as PDCA (plan, do, check, process) cycle, quality control circle, and root cause analysis. The main quality control indexes of PIVAS were retrospectively analyzed before (in 2019) and after PDCA cycle management (in 2020 and 2021). RESULTS The indexes of quality monitoring in the whole process of PIVAS infusion preparation, such as the score of drug quality management, the drug residue qualification rate and the qualified rate of drug content in infusion, were increased from 92 points, 79%, 86.4% in 2019 to 99 points, 92%, 99.8% in 2021, respectively. The indexes of safe and rational drug use, such as the ratio of intravenous irrational medical orders, the rate of drug repercussion, the rate of antibiotics use, and the rate of TCM injection use decreased from 0.98%, 6.1%, 40.55%, 39.70% to 0.23%, 3.2%, 37.18%, 26.00%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The established total quality management system for PIVAS can improve the quality management level in the infusion preparation process, improve the quality of infusion preparation and promote clinical safe and rational drug use.
5.Effective extraction of fluoroquinolones from water using facile modified plant fibers
Nan ZHANG ; Yan GAO ; Kangjia SHENG ; Wanghui JING ; Xianliang XU ; Tao BAO ; Sicen WANG
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2022;12(5):791-800
In this study,ecofriendly and economic carboxy-terminated plant fibers(PFs)were used as adsorbents for the effective in-syringe solid phase extraction(IS-SPE)of fluoroquinolone(FQ)residues from water.Based on the thermal esterification and etherification reaction of cellulose hydroxy with citric acid(CA)and sodium chloroacetate in aqueous solutions,carboxy groups grafted onto cotton,cattail,and corncob fibers were fabricated.Compared with carboxy-terminated corncob and cotton,CA-modified cattail with more carboxy groups showed excellent adsorption capacity for FQs.The modified cattail fibers were reproducible and reusable with relative standard deviations of 3.2%-4.2%within 10 cycles of adsorption-desorption.A good extraction efficiency of 71.3%-80.9%was achieved after optimizing the extraction condition.Based on carboxylated cattail,IS-SPE coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography with a photodiode array detector was conducted to analyze FQs in environmental water samples.High sensitivity with limit of detections of 0.08-0.25 μg/L and good accuracy with recoveries of 83.8%—111.7%were obtained.Overall,the simple and environment-friendly modified waste PFs have potential appli-cations in the effective extraction and detection of FQs in natural waters.
6.Accurate construction of cell membrane biomimetic graphene nanodecoys via purposeful surface engineering to improve screening efficiency of active components of traditional Chinese medicine.
Qi HU ; Lanlan JIA ; Xiaolin ZHANG ; Aihong ZHU ; Sicen WANG ; Xiaoyu XIE
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2022;12(1):394-405
Biomimetic nanoengineering presents great potential in biomedical research by integrating cell membrane (CM) with functional nanoparticles. However, preparation of CM biomimetic nanomaterials for custom applications that can avoid the aggregation of nanocarriers while maintaining the biological activity of CM remains a challenge. Herein, a high-performance CM biomimetic graphene nanodecoy was fabricated via purposeful surface engineering, where polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used to modifying magnetic graphene oxide (MGO) to improve its stability in physiological solution, so as to improve the screening efficiency to active components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). With this strategy, the constructed PEGylated MGO (PMGO) could keep stable at least 10 days, thus improving the CM coating efficiency. Meanwhile, by taking advantage of the inherent ability of HeLa cell membrane (HM) to interact with specific ligands, HM-camouflaged PMGO showed satisfied adsorption capacity (116.2 mg/g) and selectivity. Finally, three potential active components, byakangelicol, imperatorin, and isoimperatorin, were screened from Angelica dahurica, whose potential antiproliferative activity were further validated by pharmacological studies. These results demonstrated that the purposeful surface engineering is a promising strategy for the design of efficient CM biomimetic nanomaterials, which will promote the development of active components screening in TCM.
7.Progress in the analysis of adulterated additives in traditional Chinese medicines and health care products
Xiaofang HOU ; Yingdi SHI ; Sicen WANG
Journal of China Pharmaceutical University 2019;50(1):33-40
In recent years, cases of illegal addition of chemical substances into the TCMs and health-care products happened regularly. Therefore, it is particularly important to develop fast, sensitive and accurate analysis methods for detection of the adulterated chemical substances. Through literature survey of relevant papers published in 2016-2017, this article summarizes the application of various analytical techniques for adulterated chemical substances to the TCMs and health-care products with useful information for the further development of new methods and technologies in this field.
8.Application of microfluidic chip technology in pharmaceutical analysis:A review
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2019;9(4):238-247
The development of pharmaceutical analytical methods represents one of the most significant aspects of drug development. Recent advances in microfabrication and microfluidics could provide new approaches for drug analysis, including drug screening, active testing and the study of metabolism. Microfluidic chip technologies, such as lab-on-a-chip technology, three-dimensional (3D) cell culture, organs-on-chip and droplet techniques, have all been developed rapidly. Microfluidic chips coupled with various kinds of detection techniques are suitable for the high-throughput screening, detection and mechanistic study of drugs. This review highlights the latest (2010–2018) microfluidic technology for drug analysis and dis-cusses the potential future development in this field.
9.Reflections on the Cell Membrane Chromatography Used in Quality Control of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Xiaofang HOU ; Sicen WANG ; Tao ZHANG ; Langchong HE
World Science and Technology-Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2014;(3):526-528
It is very difficult to comprehensively achieve the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), because some problems such as indicator simplification and lack of correlation between efficacy and indicator are ex-isted in the common quality control of TCM. Combined with the practical experience of our research work, this paper outlined the characteristics and applications of cell membrane chromatography (CMC) and discussed that CMC method can be used for quality control of TCM.
10.Analysis on fat-soluble components of sinapis semina from different habitats by GC-MS
Cheng PENG ; Tao ZHANG ; Gang ZHAO ; Sicen WANG
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2013;(6):402-407
A simple and rapid gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis method was developed for the determination of fat-soluble parts of sinapis semina. Four major compounds were chosen as marker compounds to evaluate the method. Various extraction techniques were evaluated and the greatest efficiency was observed with sonication extraction using diethyl ether. The method was valuated as follows:acceptable apparatus suitability was obtained by testing the resolutions, tailing factors and theoretical plate number of the marker compounds; the precision and reproducibility, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), fell within the prescribed limits. Eight samples of sinapis semina collected from markets in Xi’an were monitored by using the method. The fingerprints of those samples were analyzed by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) similarity analysis. The result indicated that the combination of fingerprint and HCA could be used to analyze sinapis semina from different habitats.

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