This study employed the "disease-medicine-dose" pattern to mine the medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) prescriptions containing Astragali Radix in ancient Chinese medical books, aiming to provide a scientific basis for the clinical application of Astragali Radix and the development of new medicines. The TCM prescriptions containing Astragali Radix were retrieved from databases such as Chinese Medical Dictionary and imported into Excel 2020 to construct the prescription library. Statical analysis were performed for the prescriptions regarding the indications, syndromes, medicine use frequency, herb effects, nature and taste, meridian tropism, dosage forms, and dose. SPSS statistics 26.0 and IBM SPSS Modeler 18.0 were used for association rules analysis and cluster analysis. A total of 2 297 prescriptions containing Astragali Radix were collected, involving 233 indications, among which sore and ulcer, consumptive disease, sweating disorder, and apoplexy had high frequency(>25), and their syndromes were mainly Qi and blood deficiency, Qi and blood deficiency, Yin and Yang deficiency, and Qi deficiency and collateral obstruction, respectively. In the prescriptions, 98 medicines were used with the frequency >25 and they mainly included Qi-tonifying medicines and blood-tonifying medicines. Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium were frequently used. The medicines with high frequency mainly have warm or cold nature, and sweet, pungent, or bitter taste, with tropism to spleen, lung, heart, liver, and kidney meridians. In the treatment of sore and ulcer, Astragali Radix was mainly used with the dose of 3.73 g and combined with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma to promote granulation and heal up sores. In the treatment of consumptive disease, Astragali Radix was mainly used with the dose of 37.30 g and combined with Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma to tonify deficiency and replenish Qi. In the treatment of sweating disorder, Astragali Radix was mainly used with the dose of 3.73 g and combined with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma to consolidate exterior and stop sweating. In the treatment of apoplexy, Astragali Radix was mainly used with the dose of 7.46 g and combined with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma to dispell wind and stop convulsions. Astragali Radix can be used in the treatment of multiple system diseases, with the effects of tonifying Qi and ascending Yang, consolidating exterior and stopping sweating, and expressing toxin and promoting granulation. According to the manifestations of different diseases, when combined with other medicines, Astragali Radix was endowed with the effects of promoting granulation and healing up sores, tonifying deficiency and Qi, consolidating exterior and stopping sweating, and dispelling wind and replenishing Qi. The findings provide a theoretical reference and a scientific basis for the clinical application of Astragali Radix and the development of new medicines.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/history* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/history* ; History, Ancient ; Astragalus Plant/chemistry* ; China ; Astragalus propinquus

Objective:To examine the distribution of pathogens that cause postoperative nosocomial infections in patients with rectal cancer(RC)and to construct a predictive nomogram for nosocomial infection.Methods:The clinical data of 1537 RC patients admitted to Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital between January 2021 and December 2022 were collected.Patients were assigned 1∶1 by propensity score matching(PSM)to the infection group(n=83)and control group(n=83)based on the occurrence of nosocomial infection.The dis-tribution and drug resistance of bacteria in patients with nosocomial infection were analyzed.Risk factors for postoperative nosocomial infection were identified by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)regression,and a predictive nomogram was con-structed using multivariate logistics regression.The predictive performance of the model was evaluated by receiver operating character-istic(ROC)curve,calibration curve,and decision curve analysis(DCA).Results:A total of 93 strains of pathogens were isolated from the 83 infected patients,including 62 strains of Gram-negative bacteria(66.67%;predominantly Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas ae-ruginosa),25 strains of Gram-positive bacteria(26.88%;mainly Enterococcus faecalis),and 6 strains of fungi(6.45%;all Candida albicans).LASSO and multivariate logistics regression showed that smoking(odds ratio[OR]=3.97,95%CI=1.27-12.43),the dwelling time of drainage tube(OR=1.19,95%CI=1.08-1.30),difference in preoperative and postoperative neutrophil counts(OR=1.23,95%CI=1.01-1.49),and difference between preoperative and postoperative C-reactive protein levels(OR=1.05,95%CI=1.03-1.07)were inde-pendent risk factors for postoperative nosocomial infection in RC patients.The area under the ROC curve of the nomogram constructed based on the above factors was 0.933(95%CI=0.896-0.969).The calibration curve showed that the predicted risk was in good agree-ment with the actual observed risk of infection.In addition,DCA demonstrated that the nomogram has good clinical utility and high net clinical benefits in predicting nosocomial infection.Conclusion:The nomogram constructed in this study has a good predictive perfor-mance in postoperative nosocomial infection in RC patients.

Objective To establish a chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for detecting chlorfenapyr and its metabolite tralopyril in blood,and to investigate the toxicokinetics in rats.Methods Chlorfenapyr(8 mg/kg)was administered orally to rats,and blood samples were collected from rats'canthus vein at 5 min,15 min,30 min,1 h,3 h,6 h,12 h,24 h and 48 h after administration.The blood samples were extracted using 100 μL of 5%formic acid solution and 400 μL of acetonitrile.Chlorfena-pyr was qualitatively and quantitatively detected by triple quadrupole gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(GC-MS/MS)and tralopyril was detected by triple quadrupole liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS).The DAS 3.0 software was used to fit the toxicokinetic equa-tions and calculate the toxicokinetic parameters.Results Chlorfenapyr was detectable from 5 min to 24 h with a peak time of 1 h.Tralopyril was detectable from 15 min to 48 h with a peak time of 3 h.The toxicokinetic process of chlorfenapyr in rat blood conformed to a first-order absorption one-compartment open model,with the toxicokinetic equation described as C=e-0.265t-e-0.175t.Tralopyril con-formed to the first-order absorption three-compartment model,and the toxicokinetic equation was C=47 361.069e-2.209t-35 404.962e-1.486t+11 956.363e-0.512t.In the equations,C stands for the concentration of the target substance in the blood,e is the natural constant(≈2.718 28),and t stands for time.Conclu-sion This study optimized the detection method for chlorfenapyr and its metabolite tralopyril in blood.The toxicokinetic equations and parameters of chlorfenapyr and tralopyril can provide a reference for the estimation of oral intake time of chlorfenapyr.

Objective To establish a rapid screening method for 34 emerging contaminants in surface water by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS).Methods The pretreatment conditions of solid phase extraction(SPE)were op-timized by orthogonal experimental design and the surface water samples were concentrated and ex-tracted by Oasis? HLB and Oasis? MCX SPE columns in series.The extracts were separated by Kine-tex? EVO C18 column,with gradient elution of 0.1%formic acid aqueous solution and 0.1%formic acid methanol solution.Q-TOF-MS'fullscan'and'targeted MS/MS'modes were used to detect 34 emerging contaminants and to establish a database with 34 emerging contaminants precursor ion,prod-uct ion and retention times.Results The 34 emerging contaminants exhibited good linearity in the con-centration range respectively and the correlation coefficients(r)were higher than 0.97.The limit of de-tection was 0.2-10 ng/L and the recoveries were 81.2%-119.2%.The intra-day precision was 0.78%-18.70%.The method was applied to analyze multiple surface water samples and 6 emerging contaminants were detected,with a concentration range of 1.93-157.71 ng/L.Conclusion The method is simple and rapid for screening various emerging contaminants at the trace level in surface water.

Objective To analyze the factors associated with pain after arthroscopic rotator cuff bridge suture.Methods According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,the data of 112 patients with unilateral rotator cuff injury who received arthroscopic bridge suture in our department were collected and were investigated in the form of telephone follow-up.In this study,SPSS 23.0 was used to input data and conduct statistical analysis.Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the above influencing factors and postoperative pain.Results A total of 112 patients were included for statistical analysis,single factor analysis revealed,including course of disease,smoking history,preoperative University of California,Los Angeles(UCLA)score,Constant score,numeric rating scale(NRS),size of rotator cuff tear,whether it was full-thickness tear and degree of tendon retraction might be related to postoperative pain(P<0.05).The age,gender,body mass index(BMI),drinking history,diabetes and hypertension were not related to postoperative pain(P>0.05).Multiple linear regression analysis concluded that there were four factors related to postoperative pain,and the correlation degree was preoperative NRS,preoperative UCLA score,tear size and smoking history.Conclusion The causes of postoperative pain after arthroscopic rotator cauff repair are complex and diverse.Analyzing the cause of postoperative pain can effectively reduce the pain of patients and promote the recovery of shoulder joint function.

Thrombosis is a key factor that increases the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients and causes long COVID sequelae. Guanxinning Tablet (GXNT), which is composed of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Ligusticum Chuanxiong, has significant antithrombotic activity, but the similarities and differences between its anti-conventional thrombus and microthrombus induced by COVID-19 remain unclear. In this paper, the main active components, potential targets and mechanisms of GXNT in the treatment of thrombus and microthrombus caused by COVID-19 were preliminarily revealed by using anti-platelet experiments in vitro, network pharmacology analysis, molecular docking technology and molecular biology experiments. The results of platelet aggregation and adhesion experiments in vitro showed that GXNT had significant anti-platelet aggregation and adhesion activities in a dose-dependent manner. Using network pharmacology analysis, it was revealed that salvianolic acid B, tanshinone IIA, caffeic acid and ligustrazine in GXNT could resist thrombus and microthrombus caused by COVID-19 through key targets as the high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 6 (IL6) and AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT1). HMGB1 signaling pathway is one of its key common mechanisms. Western blot also indicated that GXNT significantly inhibited the expression of HMGB1 protein in platelets. In summary, this paper explores the similarities and differences between the mechanism of GXNT against conventional thrombus and microthrombus caused by COVID-19 and provides drug reference and theoretical basis for clinical prevention and treatment of long COVID sequelae. The animal experiment has been approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. TCM-LAEC2023187g1549).

Hair roots induced by Agrobacterium rhizogene produce higher levels of secondary metabolites than non-induced plants, and the enhanced metabolic capacity is driven by the rol gene. We hypothesized that rol genes can be utilized to improve the biosynthesis of tropane alkaloids (TAs) in Atropa belladonna. In this study, the rolC gene from Agrobacterium rhizogene pRiA4 plasmid, driven by a CaMV35S promoter, was overexpressed in A. belladonna. The phenotypes, TAs content and transcriptional expression of key genes in TAs biosynthesis were analyzed in transgenic A. belladonna plants. Results show that transgenic A. belladonna exhibited a well-developed root system, male sterility, higher stamen column length than pistil, early flowering, internode shortening, smaller but more flowers, increased axillary buds and lateral buds, decreased apical dominance, and long and narrow leaves as compared to wild-type plants. Transgenic A. belladonna produced more TAs than wild-type plants, with the content of hyoscyamine, anisodamine and scopolamine reaching 2.58, 3.59 and 15.77-fold that of the control group, respectively. The gene expression of putrescine N-methyltransferase (PMT), tropinone reductase I (TRⅠ) and hyoscyamine 6-β-hydroxylase (H6H), key enzymes in TAs biosynthesis, were up-regulated compared with the control group. The above results indicate that the rolC gene enhances TAs biosynthesis in A. belladonna by up-regulating the expression of key enzymes in the TAs biosynthesis pathway, laying a foundation for genetic manipulation of A. belladonna to increase TAs content by increasing rolC gene expression.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a carbofuran intragastric administration death model in rabbits, and to observe the postmortem distribution and postmortem redistribution of carbofuran-7-phenyl glucuronic acid (Glu-7PH) in rabbits. METHODS: The postmortem distribution: Rabbits were given an administration of 1/2LD50, LD50, 2LD50 carbofuran. Dead rabbits were dissected immediately. Rabbits that had remained alive 2 hours were sacrificed by carbon dioxide (CO₂) inhalation and dissected immediately. The myocardium, cardiac blood, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, brain and right hindlimb muscle were collected. The postmortem redistribution: After giving an administration of 4LD50 carbofuran, the myocardium, cardiac blood, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, brain, and right hindlimb muscle were collected at 0, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h postmortem in supine position at 15 ℃ room temperature. The quantity of Glu-7PH was determined by LC-MS/MS. RESULTS: The postmortem distribution: Among the three dose groups, there were significant differences in the quantities of Glu-7PH in different tissues. The postmortem redistribution: There was no significant difference in the Glu-7PH quantities in cardiac blood, mycardium, spleen, kidney, brain and right hindlimb muscle, but there was a significant difference in the Glu-7PH quantities in the liver and lung. CONCLUSIONS The mycardium, cardiac blood, liver, lung, kidney, brain and hindlimb muscle of rabbits can be used as appropriate samples for Glu-7PH detection. However, it should be noted that Glu-7PH was redistributed postmortem in rabbit liver and lung.
Animals ; Rabbits ; Carbofuran ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Postmortem Changes ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Autopsy

OBJECTIVE: To observe the early interventions of traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on the conversion time of nucleic acid in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and find possible underlying mechanisms of action. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 300 confirmed COVID-19 patients who were treated with TCM, at a designated hospital in China. The patients were categorized into three groups: TCM1, TCM2 and TCM3, who respectively received TCM interventions within 7, 8-14, and greater than 15 days of hospitalization. Different indicators such as the conversion time of pharyngeal swab nucleic acid, the conversion time of fecal nucleic acid, length of hospital stay, and inflammatory markers (leukocyte count, and lymphocyte count and percentage) were analyzed to observe the impact of early TCM interventions on these groups. RESULTS: The median conversion times of pharyngeal swab nucleic acid in the three groups were 5.5, 7 and 16 d (P < 0.001), with TCM1 and TCM2 being statistically different from TCM3 (P < 0.01). TCM1 (P < 0.05) and TCM3 (P < 0.01) were statistically different from TCM2. The median conversion times of fecal nucleic acid in the three groups were 7, 9 and 17 d (P < 0.001). Conversion times of fecal nucleic acid in TCM1 were statistically different from TCM3 and TCM2 (P < 0.01). The median lengths of hospital stay in the three groups were 13, 16 and 21 d (P < 0.001). TCM1 and TCM2 were statistically different from TCM3 (P < 0.01); TCM1 and TCM3 were statistically different from TCM2 (P < 0.01). Both leucocyte and lymphocyte counts increased gradually with an increase in the length of hospital stay in TCM1 group patients, with a statistically significant difference observed at each time point in the group (P < 0.001). Statistically significant differences in lymphocyte count and percentage in TCM2 (P < 0.001), and in leucocyte count (P = 0.043) and lymphocyte count (P = 0.038) in TCM3 were observed. The comparison among the three groups showed a statistically significant difference in lymphocyte percentage on the third day of admission (P = 0.044). CONCLUSION In this study, it was observed that in COVID-19 patients treated with a combination of Chinese and Western medicines, TCM intervention earlier in the hospital stay correlated with faster conversion time of pharyngeal swab and fecal nucleic acid, as well as shorter length of hospital stay, thus helping promote faster recovery of the patient. The underlying mechanism of action may be related to improving inflammation in patients with COVID-19.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/drug therapy* ; Female ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; SARS-CoV-2

Objective To establish a method for determination of escitalopram in biological samples by ultrasound-assisted ionic liquid-dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （GC-MS/MS） and provide evidences for forensic determination of cases related to escitalopram. Methods The 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate （[C₆MIM][PF₆]） was selected as an extract solvent to process biological samples. Ultrasound-assisted extraction was used on the samples. Then the samples were detected by GC-MS/MS. Results The linear range of escitalopram in blood and liver were 5.56-1 111.10 ng/mL and 0.025-5.00 mg/g, respectively. The correlation coefficient （r） were greater than 0.999, limit of detection （LOD） were 4.00 ng/mL and 2.00 μg/g, limit of quantitation （LOQ） were 14.00 ng/mL and 6.00 μg/g, respectively. The extraction recovery rates were all greater than 50%, the interday and intraday precision were less than 20%. Escitalopram was detected in blood and liver samples from the actual poisoning case by this method with a content of 1.26 μg/mL and 0.44 mg/g, respectively. Conclusion The ultrasound-assisted ionic liquid-dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with GC-MS/MS is environment friendly, rapid, has good enriching effect and consumes less organic solvent and can be used for forensic determination of escitalopram related cases.
Citalopram ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Limit of Detection ; Liquid Phase Microextraction ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry