A major hurdle that humbles the modernization of traditional Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is the inconsistency of chemical composition, which is inevitable due to the natural origins of CHM. Here I propose a concept of a new category of drugs, named "post-absorption/metabolism multicompound drug (PAMD)" that will meet every standard of modern pharmaceuticals, yet maintain the fundamental principle of traditional Chinese medicine, which is an integrative therapeutic approach through multiple mechanisms by a cocktail of various herbs. The PAMD concept is based on the fact that the most of chemical ingredients in an orally taken CHM remedy may never enter the blood stream owing to the poor gastrointestinal absorption. Only a few original ingredients or, most likely, a few metabolites of those absorbed ingredients are found in the blood or target organs. The compounds after the absorption/metabolic process are the only ones responsible for pharmacological functions of the remedy. Given the limited number of species, those compounds, once isolated and tested for their pharmacological activity, can be formulated with designed ratios to form new drugs that should theoretically possess an equivalent or better therapeutic efficacy than the original CHM remedy. Strategies of developing PAMDs and possible difficulties are also discussed.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M .hyopneumoniae) and Mycoplasma hyorhinis (M .hyorhinis) infections are common in China .To investigate the prevalence of M .hyorhinis and M .hyopneumoniae in Jiangsu Province of China ,a mo-lecular epidemiological survey was conducted from 399 nasal swab samples of unvaccinated pigs using nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (nested PCR) .Nasal swab samples were collected from Jiangquhai porcine lean (JQHPL) strain pigs and other West-ern breeds .Clinical samples were taken from each pig and divided into different groups based on ages of pigs (7 ,14 ,21 ,28 , and 35 days) .Results indicated that the prevalence of M .hyorhinis was 70 .9% from different herds in Jiangsu Province in China ,while the prevalence of M .hyopneumoniae was 13 .5% .M .hyorhinis infection was more common in pigs for less than 5 weeks of age compared to M .hyopneumoniae infection .Co-infection was also observed in 30 samples (7 .5% ) in which both M .hyorhinis and M .hyopneumoniae were detected .The M .hyorhinis infection increased as the animals grew from 7 to 35 days .The M .hyopneumoniae infection did not change significantly as the pigs grew older .Significant difference of M .hyorhi-nis infection was observed between other Western breeds and JQHPL pigs (P<0 .001) .JQHPL pigs appear to be more sensi-tive to the M .hyorhinis infection as compared to the other Western breeds .However ,there is no obvious relationship between the breed type and M .hyopneumoniae infection (P>0 .05) .

OBJECTIVETo test the changes of the stiffness of the intact, released, and instrumented spines in an in vitro porcine model.

METHODSTwelve porcine spines (12 segments each) were harvested for the biomechanical tests with Material Test System. Stiffness during flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation were recorded; then the specimen was released with intervertebral discs and the facet joints removed, followed by repeating the biomechanical tests for stiffness; and finally, a double-rod titanium construct was applied for internal fixation to each released spine and stiffness tests were repeated again.

RESULTSCompared with the intact porcine spines [stiffness during flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation was 52.89 +/- 15.98, 105.43 +/- 56.38, 42.09 +/- 14.73, and (16.94 +/- 4.85) N x mm/degrees, respectively], the stiffness of the released porcine spines [stiffness during flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation was 44.04 +/- 13.73, 41.46 +/- 10.80, 31.75 +/- 7.23, and (9.10 +/- 2.07)N x mm/degrees, respectively] significantly decreased (P < 0.05), while significantly increased stiffness was found in the instrumented porcine spines [stiffness during flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation was 385.96 +/- 143.25, 138.96 +/- 59.41, 152.56 +/- 87.15, and (55.91 +/- 16.49) N x mm/degrees, respectively] (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONHigher instant stiffness was found in instrumented spine than the intact one during flexion, extension, lateral bending and axial rotation.

Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Diskectomy ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Internal Fixators ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Range of Motion, Articular ; physiology ; Spinal Fusion ; methods ; Spine ; surgery ; Stress, Mechanical ; Swine ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; surgery

We described two patients who were successfully resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Their ECGs showed ST elevations in V1 and aVR, as well as diffuse ST depression. Their ST elevation in V1 was noted to be greater than in aVR. While one patient was found to have an occlusion of the right ventricular (RV) branch of the right coronary artery, the other was found to have an occlusion of a proximal non-dominant right coronary artery supplying the RV branch. Successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention was performed for each patient with angioplasty and implantation of a drug-eluting stent. Both patients made good physical and neurological recovery.
Adult ; Angioplasty ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Coronary Vessels ; physiopathology ; Defibrillators ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Ventricles ; physiopathology ; Hepatitis B ; complications ; Humans ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest ; therapy ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Resuscitation ; Singapore

Objective: This study was designed to conduct a retrospective and systematic occupational health risk assessment (OHRA) of enterprises that used benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) in Shanghai, China. Methods: All data for the study were obtained from 1,705 occupational health examination and evaluation reports from 2013 to 2017, and a semiquantitative model following Chinese OHRA guidelines (GBZ/T 298-2017) was applied for the assessment. Results: The selected enterprises using BTX were mainly involved in manufacturing of products. Using the exposure level method, health risk levels associated with exposure to BTX were classified as medium, negligible, or low. However, the risk levels associated with benzene and toluene were significantly different according to job types, with gluers and inkers exhibiting greater health risks. For the same job type, the health risk levels assessed using the comprehensive index method were higher than those using the exposure level method. Conclusion Our OHRA reveals that workers who are exposed to BTX still face excessive health risk. Additionally, the risk level varied depending on job categories and exposure to specific chemicals. Therefore, additional control measures recommended by OHRA guidelines are essential to reduce worker exposure levels.
Air Pollutants, Occupational/analysis* ; Benzene/analysis* ; China ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Assessment ; Toluene/analysis* ; Xylenes/analysis*