OBJECTIVE：To explore the possible mechanism of astragalus in improving cardiac function.METHODS：To observe the effects of astragalus,added to basic anti-heart-failure therapy,on cardiac function and TNF in 45 cases of thronic heart failure.RESULTS：In comparison with basic therapy group,the improvement of cardiac function was more obvious and the level of serum TNF-α was lower in astragalus group.CONCLUSION：Astragalus probably has the action of decreasing TNF resulting in improvement of cardiac function.

Objective To investigate the changes of quantitative parameters of dynamic enhanced CT in non-small cell lung cancer before and after targeted therapy,and compare them with the traditional evaluation criteria,in order to find the parameters which can be exploited for timely,objective evaluation of the effect of targeted therapy.Methods The study included 21 patients with targeted therapy who had received dynamic enhanced CT before and after treatment.Enhancement time-density curves were obtained based on the CT values of the lesion at individual time points,and the functional indices:peak height (PH),the time to peak height (Tp),the ratio of PH of the mass to aorta (M/A) and perfusion value were calculated.The effects of the treatment on these indices were evaluated and compared with the effect of the treatment on lesion diameter. Results Twenty-one patients had 33 rechecking results. There was a statistically significant agreement between lesion diameter-based treatment evaluation and perfusion-based treatment evaluation ( U =8.761,P ＜ 0.01 ). The perfusion value decreased in patients with disease regression[before treatment:(0.28 ±0.11 ) ml · min-1 · ml-1,after targeted therapy(0.18 ±0.09) ml ·min-1 · ml-1,t =- 3.2722,P =0.0042],but increased in patients with disease progression[before treatment(0.21 ±0.08) ml · min-1 · ml-1,after targeted therapy:(0.34 ±0.11 ) ml · min-1 · ml-1,t =2.6064,P =0.0403].Conclusions On dynamic enhanced CT in non-small cell lung cancer patients after targeted therapy,perfusion value changed in the same trend as the diameter of tumor.The effectiveness of targeted therapy may be evaluated by perfusion value changes.

Background and objective Gemcitabine and taxanes are effective agents commonly used in advanced squamous lung cancer. hTe best treatment sequence, however, is unclear to our knowledge. So we conducted this retrospective study in order to compare the effcacy and toxicities of ifrst-line Gemcitabine+/-platinum followed by second-line taxanes+/-platinum with the reverse sequence. Methods We totally analyzed 105 patients with stage IIIb-IV squamous lung cancer in our retrospective study. hTere were 49 patients receiving gemcitabine+/-platinum ifrst-line followed by taxanes+/-plati-num second-line (G-T group), and 56 patients receiving taxanes+/-platinum ifrst-line followed by gemcitabine+/-platinum second-line (T-G group). hTe primary endpoint of the study was overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) and toxicities. Results hTe me-dian OS were 18.5 mo in G-T group and 19.0 mo in T-G group (P=0.520). hTe median PFS1 was 5.0 mo and 4.0 mo with ifrst-line gemcitabine+/-platinum and taxanes+/-platinum, respectively (P=0.584). hTe median PFS2 was 2.7 mo and 2.5 mo with second-line gemcitabine+/-platinum and taxanes+/-platinum (P=0.432). hTe ORR1 of G-T group and T-G group were 36.73%and 33.92%(P=0.577), and DCR1 were 79.59%and 89.29%(P=0.186);the ORR2 of G-T group and T-G group were 4.08%and 5.36%(P=0.085), and DCR2 were 51.02%and 66.07%, respectively (P=0.118). Hematologic toxicities was more frequent in G-T group, the patients experienced more grade 3-4 lower hemoglobin (P=0.027) and thrombocytopenia (P=0.002). Conclusion hTe effcacy of ifrst line gemcitabine+/-platinum followed by second line taxanes+/-platinum and the reverse sequence was similar, and the toxicities was tolerable. Both sequential patterns were effective in advanced squamous lung cancer.

Objective To prepare a wound dressing using nitrocellulose as a membrane and optimize its formulation. Methods Partial analysis was performed on commercial available products. The wound dressings were prepared by using nitrocellulose as a film-forming material, benzyl alcohol as a bacteriostatic agent, castor oil as a plasticizer, isopropyl palmitate as a skin emollient, camphor as a fragrance, and isopropyl alcohol, ethyl acetate and butyl acetate as volatile solvent. The tensile strength, breakpoint elongation percentage, breathability and waterproof performance were tested and evaluated. Results The film-forming performance of the prepared liquid wound dressing was good. The final use amount of nitrocellulose was determined to be 6%. The use amount of plasticizer castor oil was determined to be 4%. Conclusion The prepared liquid wound dressing has good film-forming property, good mechanical property, good waterproof and certain breathability.