OBJECTIVETo develop the preparation method of licorice juice as a processing excipient and to determine the proper proportion of licorice juice and fructus evodiae during process.

METHODNine experiments were carried out through L9 (3(4)) orthogonal design. The wetting results were compared by using different proportion of licorice juice and fructus evodiae.

RESULTThe optimal preparation process was as follows: the licorice roots were cutted into slices and 12 times of water was added. Then they were decocted for 1 h. The second and third decoction were also carried out by 12 times of water and 1 h. The proper proportion of licorice juice and fructus evodiae was 1:1.

CONCLUSIONThe preparation process is scientific and suitable to prepare the processing excipient.

Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Evodia ; chemistry ; Excipients ; chemistry ; Glycyrrhiza ; chemistry

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical effect of expanded non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT-plus) for prenatal screening. METHODS: The screening result, prenatal diagnosis and pregnancy outcome of 3700 pregnant women who volunteered NIPT-plus screening at our center from September 2018 to December 2019 were reviewed. RESULTS: Among the 3700 pregnant women, 74(2.0%) were scored positive for clinically significant fetal chromosomal abnormalities and underwent NIPT-plus screening. Sixty three women with a high risk underwent invasive prenatal diagnosis, among whom 19 were diagnosed, which yielded a positive predictive value (PPVs) of 30.2% (19/63). Statistical analysis showed that NIPT-plus has higher PPVs for common aneuploidies and low-to-medium PPVs for sex chromosome aneuploidies and microdeletion/microduplication syndromes. CONCLUSION As a screening technique, NIPT-plus has broader applications compared with conventional techniques, and has reference value for clinicians and pregnant women during pregnancy.
Aneuploidy ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Sex Chromosome Aberrations

Objective To describe the change of symptoms and quality of life among nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients who undergo radiotherapy, and analyze the correlation between them.Methods A total of 218 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients who received radiotherapy were included by convenient sampling method and they were asked to finish the questionnaire of general information, Chinese Version of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory(MDASI-C) and Quality of Life Instruments for Cancer Patients-Head and Neck (QLICP-HN) at five time points, which were beginning, intermediate (the volume of radiotherapy at 36-40 Gy), end of radiotherapy, three months and six months after radiotherapy.Results The severity of symptoms at five time points were (1.86±1.75),(3.20±1.75),(3.59±1.81),(0.65±0.59) and (0.52±0.50), presenting decreased gradually first, and then alleviated. The score of symptom severity at five time points were significantly different (F=182.86,P<0.05). Fatigue, appetite loss and dry mouth were the most sever and high-incidence symptoms during and within six months after radiotherapy. The quality scores of life were (65.39±10.90),(58.78±8.77),(57.82±9.20),(79.76±5.75) and( 76.79±4.78) at five time points, representing the same trend as the scores of symptom, and the difference were statistically significan(t F=129.75,P< 0.05). Spearman correlation analysissuggested that there were negative correlation between severity of symptoms and total score of quality of life (P < 0.05). Conclusions The symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients exacerbates with dose of radiotherapy increase, and the quality of life is also decreased. Although most of symptoms disappear within six months after radiotherapy, fatigue, appetite loss and dry mouth persisted and influence patients' quality of life.Nurses should pay attention to patients' symptoms when they stay at hospital as well as discharged, and intervention is necessary to improve their quality of life.

Diabetic retinal neurodegeneration is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus, manifested by apoptosis and gliosis, and its pathogenesis is closely related to the oxidative stress induced by high glucose levels. The increase in blood glucose in the body leads to excessive production of reactive oxygen species and the downregulation of antioxidant defense signaling pathways, which leads to oxidative stress in the body, which in turn induces apoptosis, mitochondrial damage and autophagy, resulting in diabetic retinal neurodegeneration. Antioxidant stress therapy with gene therapy, flavonoids, recombinant Ad-β-catenin carriers, and autophagy inducers to exert neuroprotective effects. In the future, more clinical trials are needed to explore the effective dosage and side effects of drugs, and to develop new drugs and treatment strategies for oxidative stress to prevent and treat diabetic retinal neurodegeneration and protect retinal nerve function.

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether it is necessary to choose NIPT-plus for the prenatal screening of pregnant women. METHODS: The results of NIPT and NIPT-plus sequencing data, fetal DNA concentration, prenatal diagnosis and pregnancy outcome of 50 pregnant women were compared. RESULTS: Compared with NIPT, NIPT-plus attained similar fetal DNA concentration and a 4.4-fold increase in sequencing data. NIPT was able to detect 4 cases of 21-trisomy, 2 cases of 18-trisomy, and 9 cases of sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs) signaled by NIPT-plus, but missed one 18-trisomy, and failed to detect rare chromosome aneuploidies (RCAs) and microdeletion/microduplication syndromes (MMS). The PPVs of NIPT-plus for 21-trisomy, 18-trisomy, SCAs, MMS and RCAs were 100%, 100%, 44.4%, 30.4% and 0%, respectively. And those of NIPT for 21-trisomy, 18-trisomy, and SCAs were 100%, 100%, and 44.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION It is necessary for pregnant women to select NIPT-plus to improve the detection rate of common trisomies, SCAs and disease-specific MMS, therefore reduce the occurrene of birth defect.
Aneuploidy ; Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Trisomy ; Trisomy 13 Syndrome ; Trisomy 18 Syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for the detection of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies in women with twin pregnancy. METHODS: A total of 2473 women with twin pregnancy underwent the NIPT test to assess the risk for fetal chromosomal aneuploidies from January 2016 to September 2019. Those with a high risk by NIPT were confirmed by amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. All cases were followed up to evaluate the positive prediction value of NIPT for twin pregnancies. RESULTS: Among the 2473 women, the NIPT test has identified 31 cases (1.25%) with a high risk for fetal chromosomal aneuploidies, which included 5 cases of trisomy 21, 1 case of chromosome 21 deletion, 4 cases of trisomy 18, 7 cases of sex chromosome abnormality and 14 cases of microdeletion and microduplication. By invasive prenatal diagnosis or chromosomal karyotyping analysis of neonates, 5 cases of trisomy 21, 3 cases of trisomy 18, 1 case of sex chromosome abnormality, and 2 cases of microdeletion and microduplication were confirmed, which yielded a positive predictive value of 100%, 75%, 25% and 25%, respectively. CONCLUSION NIPT can be used for the screening of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies in women with twin pregnancy with high accuracy. The method is non-invasive, safe and effective for the screening of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies, in particular trisomy 21.
Aneuploidy ; Chromosome Disorders ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Twin ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Trisomy ; Trisomy 13 Syndrome ; Trisomy 18 Syndrome

Objective:To search, evaluate and integrate the available evidence on pediatric sedation monitoring, and summarize the best evidence.Methods:Up To Date, BMJ Best Practice, Canadian Medical Association Clinical Practice Guidelines (CMA Infobase), Registered Nurses′ Association of Ontario (RNAO), National institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Evidence-Based Medicine, Cochrane Library, Yimaitong, PubMed, Embase, Wanfang Database, CNKI were searched to collect evidence related to the monitoring of pediatric sedation, including clinical decision-making, guidelines, expert consensus, and evidence-related original research. The search time limit was from the establishment of the database to August 2020. The quality of the literature was evaluated by the suitable evaluated tool based on their types. The level and recommedation grade of the evidence were appraised by the suitable tools of JBI.Results:A total of 13 articles were finally included. Twenty best evidences were summarized, including three aspects of monitoring content, monitoring timing, and monitoring tools.Conclusions:The research summarized the best evidence for pediatric sedation monitoring, and provided evidence-based references for clinical practice and standard formulation. Most of the evidence was form foreign resource. It is suggested that clinical departments or institutions should fully consider the clinical situation. At the same time, high-quality randomized controlled trials should be conducted one step further.

Objective We aimed to explore the clinical efficacy of precise electro-acupuncture stimulation in the pterygopalatine fossa for the treatment of chronic sinusitis.Methods In total,40 patients with chronic sinusitis who visited the Xiyuan Hospital,China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences between January 2022 and January 2023 were selected.The subjects were randomly divided into two groups:the treatment group(receiving precise electro-acupuncture in the pterygopalatine fossa)and the control group(receiving standard western medical treatment),with 20 cases in each groups.The treatments were administered twice a week for a period of 12 weeks.The effectiveness of the treatments was evaluated through computed tomography(CT)of the sinus changes and the Lund-Mackay scoring system.Results In cases of total opacity and partial opacity,there were significant differences between the two patient groups before and after treatment(P<0.05).Intra-group comparison revealed statistically significant improvements in both groups before and after treatment(P<0.05).The treatment group exhibited significant improvement in various sinus conditions(P<0.05),while in the control group,a significant improvement was only observed in the left maxillary sinus(P<0.05).Inter-group comparison also demonstrated that the treatment group's improvements were superior to those of the control group across multiple indicators(P<0.05).Conclusion The precise electro-acupuncture stimulation technique in the pterygopalatine fossa demonstrated significant therapeutic effects in the treatment of chronic sinusitis,with superior outcomes with respect to radiological changes compared to standard western medicine treatment.

Objective To investigate the dynamic changes of symptom clusters among nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients receiving radiotherapy and provide evidence for intervention clinically.Methods The data were collected at three time points that were before radiotherapy,during the radiotherapy and after radiotherapy, by surveying 273 first visit of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients from May 201 4 to January 201 5 with a self-designed general information questionnaire and the Chinese version of the M.D.Anderson symptom inventory and observing the changes of symptom clusters in our hospital.One-way analysis of variance and the exploratory factor analysis were applied to observe the incidence of symptoms and the changes of symptom clusters during radiotherapy.Results The statistics revealed that the incidence and intensity of all the symptoms at 3 time points were significantly increased(P <0.05),except the symptom of amnesia.There were 3 symptom clusters among 3 time points,named as gastrointestinal symptom cluster,sickness symptom cluster and somatic symptom cluster,but the composition and the variance were different at different time point.Gastrointestinal symptom cluster was made of nausea and vomiting,adding poor appetite only before radiotherapy.The gastrointestinal symptom cluster was most prominent before radiotherapy.Sickness symptom cluster consisted of drowsiness, numbness symptom before radiotherapy, while it consisted of shortness of breath, numbness, difficulty remembering symptoms in other time.Somatic symptom cluster mainly consisted of pain and fatigue,dry mouth symptom joining it during and after radiotherapy.Conclusions With the treatment of radiotherapy,the incidence and intensity of symptoms are significantly enhanced,and the constitution of symptom clusters is different at different stage.Therefore,it is important for clinical nurses to strengthen dynamic assessment of all symptoms,monitor the changes and composition of symptom clusters,thus establish corresponding management measures to improve patients′quality of life.

Objective In this research,we constructed a nurse-led intra-abdominal pressure(IAP)management program in children undergoing liver transplantation,and explored its clinical application effect.Methods Based on literature review,semi-structured interviews,and expert meetings,a nurse-led program for IAP management is constructed.By convenience sampling method,162 children admitted to the pediatric liver transplant intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in Zhejiang Province from January to December 2023 were selected.The experimental group implemented a nurse-led IAP management program,while the control group received routine postoperative care after liver transplantation.The average IAP values during ICU period,incidence and grading of intra-abdominal hypertension(IAH),duration of mechanical ventilation,and length of ICU stay were compared between 2 groups.Results Finally,the IAP management program in children undergoing liver transplantation included 4 first-level items,10 second-level items and 20 third-level items.During the application of this program,4 cases dropped,and 78 cases were finally included in the experimental group and 80 cases in the control group.After the intervention,the IAP value in the experimental group was(8.63±2.40)mmHg(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa),lower than(9.23±3.19)mmHg in the control group,but there was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups(P=0.186).The incidence of IAH in the experimental group was 23.07％,lower than 41.25％in the control group.The difference between the 2 groups was statistically significant(P=0.015).13 cases(16.67％)in the experimental group developed grade Ⅰ IAH,while 22 cases(27.50％)in the control group;5 cases(6.41％)in the experimental group developed grade Ⅱ IAH,while 9 cases(11.25％)in the control group;no cases in the experimental group developed grade Ⅲ IAH,while 2 cases(2.50％)in the control group.There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups(P＞0.05).The mechanical ventilation time in the experimental group was 3.00(1.00,13.25)hours,and 7.50(1.00,27.75)hours in the control group.The difference between the 2 groups was statistically significant(P=0.034).The length of ICU stay in the experimental group was 6.00(4.00,8.25)days,and 5.00(3.00,8.00)days hours in the control group.The difference between the 2 groups was statistically significant(P=0.061).Conclusion The nurse-led IAP management program in children undergoing liver transplantation can effectively reduce the incidence of IAH,shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation.