Arteriovenous Fistula ; therapy ; Child ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Humans ; Male ; Pulmonary Artery ; abnormalities ; Pulmonary Veins ; abnormalities

The patent information of ultrasound countercurrent extraction used in traditional Chinese medicine was analyzed in this paper by the samples from Derwent World Patent Database (DWPI) and the Chinese Patent Abstracts Database (CNABS). The application of ultrasound countercurrent was discussed with the patent applicant,the amount of the annual distribution, and the pharmaceutical raw materials and other aspects. While the technical parameters published in the patent was deeply analyzed, such as material crushing, extraction solvent, extraction time and temperature, extraction equipment and ultrasonic frequency. Thought above research, various technical parameters of ultrasound countercurrent extraction used in traditional Chinese was summarize. The analysis conclusion of the paper can be used in discovering the technical advantages, optimizing extraction conditions, and providing a reference to extraction technological innovation of traditional Chinese medicine.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Patents as Topic ; Solvents ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; Temperature ; Ultrasonics

Objective To prospectively investigate the value of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in the diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) following adult cardiac surgery. Methods Twenty-nine hospitalization patients undergone cardiac surgery were enrolled in the study. Serial blood and urinary samples were collected immediately before incision and at various time intervals after surgery. The primary outcome measure was acute kidney injury, defined as a 50% increase in the level of serum creatinine (Scr) from baseline. Results Fourteen of 29 developed acute kidney injury. The diagnosis time point with Ser was at 24 (10, 48) h after cardiac surgery. By contrast, the concentration of urinary NGAL rose from a median of 3.42(1.60, 9.92) μg/L at baseline to 20.51(13.42, 50.02) μg/L at admission to ICU (P=0.006),and the median concentration of urinary NGAL in patients who developed AKI was significantly higher at admission to ICU compared with patients who did not develop AKI [20.51 (13.42, 50.02) μg/L vs 2.91 (0.72,8.61) μg/L, P=0.002]. As to urinary NGAL at admission to ICU, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.824, the sensitivity was 85.7% and the specificity was 80.0% with a cutoff value of 10.95 μg/L. Significant correlation was found between urinary NGAL at admission and the levd of Scr at 24 h in ICU (r=0.545, P=0.002), as well as estimated GFR (r=-0.546,P=0.002). Conclusion Urinary NGAL concentration is significantly higher in patients developing postoperative AKI at the early time of admission to ICU, which may be a useful early biomarker of AKI after adult cardiac surgery.

Objective To compare the RIFLE and AKIN diagnosis criteria for acute kidney injury ( AKI) in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Methods Patients undergoing cardiac surgery from January 2004 to June 2007 were retrospectively evaluated. RIFLE and AKIN criteria were employed for the diagnosis and staging of AKI which occurred 7 d after cardiac surgery. The diagnosis sensitivity and precision for prediction of hospital mortality were compared between these two criteria. Results One thousand and fifty-six patients were included in this study. There was no significant difference between the prevalence of AKI after cardiac surgery diagnosed by RIFLE criteria and that diagnosed by AKIN criteria (29.55% vs 31.06%, P>0.05). There was no significant difference between the total hospital mortality and the hospital mortality of each stage of AKI diagnosed by RIFLE criteria and those diagnosed by AKIN criteria ( P > 0. 05). Logistic regression analysis suggested that the relative risk of hospital mortality for AKI was similar between patients diagnosed by AKIN criteria and those diagnosed by RIFLE criteria. The area under the ROC curve for hospital mortality was 0. 856 for RIFLE and 0.865 for AKIN in all patients (P<0.001). Conclusion Compared to RIFLE criteria, AKIN criteria do not improve the sensitivity of diagnosis and predictive ability of hospital mortality of AKI after cardiac surgery.

Objective To investigate the markers in early diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing heart surgery.Methods Markers included serum cystatin C (CyC),and urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL),interleukin 18(IL-18),retinol binding protein(RBP)and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase(NAG).Twenty-nine cardiac surgical patients hospitalized were enrolled in the study.Serial blood and urine samples were collected immediately before incision and at various time intervals after surgery.The primary outcome measure was AKI.defined as a 50%increase in Scr from baseline. Results The cohort consisted of 29 patients aged(62.9±13.7)years,and baseline Scr was(73.2±11.9)μmol/L.There were no significant differences in demographics between cases and controls,while the aortic clamp time was predictably longer in AKI cases as compared to controls[(60.63±13.92)vs(43.00±9.20)rain,P<0.05].Each biomarker difiered significantly between cases and controls at least one timepoint.Optimal AUCs were for CyC at 10 houm with sensitivity (ST)0.71,specificity(SP)0.92,AUC=0.83(0.67-1.00),cut-off(CO)1.31 mg/L;NGAL at 0 hour with ST 0.84,SP 0.80,Auc=0.85(0.70-1.00),CO 49.15 μg/g Ucr;IL-18 at 2 hours with ST 0.85,SP 0.73,AUC=0.81(0.64-0.97),CO 285.65 ng/g Ucr;RBP at 0 hour with ST 0.75,SP 0.67,AUC=0.77(0.60-0.95),CO 2934.65μg/g Ucr and NAG at 4 hours with ST 0.86,SP 0.67,AUC=0.72(0.53-O.92),CO 37.05 U/mg Ucr.Using a combination of all the 5 biomarkers analyzed at the optimal time-point as above,an AUC of 0.98(0.93-1.02)(P<0.01)in this limited sample was able to obtain. Conclusions Application of serum and urinary biomarkers for the prediction of AKI in patients undergoing cardiac surgery is highly dependent on the sampling time.Of the evaluated markers,uNGAL has the best predictive profile.uRBP also shows similar predictive power.Combining all the five above biomarkers is able to predict significantly more cases,suggesting that the use of more than one marker may be beneficial clinically.

This paper is aimed to microscopic identification of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) using an in situ imaging method. In this study, two kinds of Zingiberaceae seeds, Amomi Rotundus Fructus and Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen, were investigated by synchrotron radiation in-line X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography (IXPCT) imaging method. The results showed that the microstructures of these Zingiberaceae seeds could be clearly obtained from the virtual slices information in different observing angles. It proves that IXPCT is an effective imaging method, which can provide the imaging information for the microscopic identification of the intact TCMs in situ and non-destructively.
Amomum ; cytology ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; methods ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Seeds ; cytology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective To investigate the long-term prognosis and possible risk factors of acute kidney injury(AKI)following cardiac surgeries. Methods Clinical data of 941 patients undergoing open heart surgery from January 2004 to June 2007 were retrospectively analyzed.Survival and renal function of above patients were informed through telephone or clinic follow-up till February 2010.Long-term survival was analyzed using risk-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results Of the 941 patients after cardiac surgery,275(29.2%)developed AKI and 666(70.8%)did not.Survival was worse in patients with AKI(67.8%vs 85.6%,P<0.01)and was proportional to its severity (AKIN 1,2 and 3 stages:70.7%,62.3%and 58.6%,P<0.01).Although 90.5% of patients had complete renal recovery after AKI at discharge of hospital,they still had an increased risk for death during follow-up compared with patients without AKI (69.6% vs 85.6%,P<0.01).In the Cox proportional hazards regression model,age(HR=2.238),anemia (HR=1.625),prolonged operation time (HR=1.153),AKI severity (HR=1.473)were independent risk factors for long-term prognosis after cardiac surgery.At the end of the follow-up,patients with AKI had statistically higher Scr than non-AKI patients(107.6 μmol/L vs 83.0 μmol/L,P=0.014),and among those AKI patients,34.0%progressed into CKD 3-5 stages,34.8%developed double serum creatinine. Conclusions AKI is a risk factor for the long-term prognosis of cardiac surgery.Patients with complete renal recovery after AKI still has an increased risk for death and poor renal function compared with patients without AKI.

Toxicogenomics (TGx) refers to a set of technologies that assess genome-wide responses after toxic agent exposure. Altered gene expression patterns that are caused by specific exposures reveal how toxicants may disrupt cellular processes and lead to side effects. Development and application of " omics" technology facilitate the toxicogenomic research which sharing and interpretation of the enormous amount of biological information generated in toxicologic field. In recent years TGx has been widely valued and successfully applied as an effective research tool to evaluate the toxic effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Here we reviewed current progress in the field of TGx and focused on its application in traditional Chinese medicine safety evaluation, especially in revealing the mechanism, finding potential toxic biomarkers and studying compatibility detoxification of TCM.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; adverse effects ; Safety ; Toxicogenetics

Objective To study the importance of back pain-lassitude as the key symptom in the differentiation of kidney-deficiency syndrome in diabetes patients.Methods Totally 460 diabetics were divided into the pain group(154 cases)and non-pain group(306 cases).The 39 symptoms,signs and behavior were abstracted and each patient was scored according to the details of kidney deficiency scale to analyze the constitution and distribution of kidney-deficiency syndrome.Results There was a significant difference in the total symptom score of the two groups(P

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of family cohesion and adaptability on behavioral problems in preschool children.

METHODSThe stratified cluster multistage sampling method was used to perform a questionnaire survey in the parents of 1 284 children aged 3-6 years in the urban area of Lanzhou, China. The general status questionnaire, Conners Child Behavior Checklist (Parent Symptom Question), and Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale, Second edition, Chinese version (FACESII-CV) were used to investigate behavioral problems and family cohesion and adaptability.

RESULTSThe overall detection rate of behavioral problems in preschool children was 17.13%. The children with different types of family cohesion had different detection rates of behavioral problems, and those with free-type family cohesion showed the highest detection rate of behavioral problems (40.2%). The children with different types of family adaptability also had different detection rates of behavioral problems, and those with stiffness type showed the highest detection rate of behavioral problems (25.1%). The behavioral problems in preschool children were negatively correlated with family cohesion and adaptability.

CONCLUSIONSDuring the growth of preschool children, family cohesion and adaptability have certain effects on the mental development of preschool children.

Adaptation, Psychological ; Child ; Child Behavior Disorders ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Parent-Child Relations ; Surveys and Questionnaires