To study the identification of Gentianaceae Mongolian medicine Digeda with spectroscopy techniques, near infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry techniques were applied to study on the identification of 4 kinds of Gentianaceae Mongolian medicine Digeda, and characteristic spectrums obtained were systematically analyzed. In NIR study, the four species of Digeda exist some differences in 4 250-4 400 cm(-1) and 5 650-5 800 cm(-1) of one-dimensional spectra, and show significant differences in 4 100- 4 400 cm(-1), 4 401-4 900 cm(-1) and 5 400-5 800 cm(-1) of the second derivative spectra. DSC curves of them present distinct topological pattern, characteristic peak and peak temperature. Using near infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry analysis can realize efficient and accurate identification of four kinds of Mongolian medicine Digeda, and provide scientific basis for the efficient and accurate identification of other Gentianaceae Mongolian medicine Digeda.
Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; methods ; China ; Gentianaceae ; chemistry ; classification ; Medicine, Mongolian Traditional ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared ; methods

In order to solve the problem of selection and in vivo delivery problem in siRNA treatment, hepatitis B virus (HBV) HBx gene which could be targeted by siRNA was studied. The siRNA expression plasmid which specific inhibits HBx expression was obtained by in vitro selection via a dual-luciferase plasmid including HBx-Fluc fusion protein expression domain. The selected siRNA expression plasmid was then encapsulated in PEG-modified cationic liposome, which was devoted into pharmacodynamic studies at both cellular and animal level. The results illustrated that the cationic liposome which encapsulated siRNA expression plasmid could effectively inhibit HBx gene expression both in vitro and in vivo.
Cations ; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral ; drug effects ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; Liposomes ; chemistry ; Plasmids ; RNA, Small Interfering ; chemistry ; Trans-Activators ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effect of Yigan Fuzheng Paidu Capsules (YC) combined with medical ozone against hepatic injury in dogs induced by hepatotoxic drug.

METHODSTwenty-four dogs were randomized equally into 4 groups (n=6), namely the model group, oleanolic acid tablet (OAT) group, YC group and YC+O(3) group, given either no particular treatment, oral OAT at 10 mg/day, oral YC at 0.2 g/day, or YC at 0.2 g/day plus 150 ml medical ozone transrectal insufflation every other day, respectively, for totally 30 consecutive days. Acute hepatic injury was induced after the treatment in the dogs with a sing-dose intraperitoneal injection of 0.9 ml/kg CCl(4) and peanut oil mixture (1:1, W/W). The general condition, survival time, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase (AST/ALT), serum total bilirubin (TBIL), prothrombin time (PT), blood ammonia (AMMO), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were recorded or measured. The hepatic pathological changes were observed upon death or on day 15 following CCl(4) injection.

RESULTSCompared with the other 3 treatment protocols, YC plus O(3) showed favorable effects on the activity, mental state, diet, urination and defecation of the dogs, which had significantly higher survival rate and higher levels of ALT, TBIL, PT, and AMMO than the model and OAT groups (P<0.05). AST/ALT remained normal in YC+O(3) group, which had also milder hepatic injury than the other 3 groups.

CONCLUSIONSYC combined with medical ozone may decrease transaminase and blood ammonia levels, relieve jaundice, prolong the survival time of dogs with CCl(4)-induced hepatic injury.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Ammonia ; blood ; Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Bilirubin ; blood ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Capsules ; Carbon Tetrachloride ; toxicity ; Dogs ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Liver ; drug effects ; pathology ; Liver Diseases ; blood ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Oxidants, Photochemical ; therapeutic use ; Ozone ; therapeutic use ; Survival Analysis

Up to December of 2011, the domestic and overseas literatures of acupuncture for smoking cessation are searched and collected through Pubmed, CNKI, Wanfang and Chongqing VIP databases, which are analyzed from treatment method, action mechanism, influencing factors of efficacy and efficacy evaluation research and so on. The result shows that (1) acupuncture has positive effect on smoking cessation, and large clinical trials has been carried out. However, most of them are needling methods and the short-term effect observation, which lack of long-term efficacy research of withdrawal symptoms, especially continuous withdrawal symptoms and index of life quality. (2) Because of unified clinical treatment, manipulation standard and curative effect criteria, it is difficult to make comparison among them. (3) The study of mechanism on acupuncture for smoking cessation is not of in-depth. In future, clinical research project of acupuncture on smoking cessation should be optimized and regulated, including the unified treatment, manipulation standard and curative effect criteria, also long-term researches with large-scale samples should be launched to confirm effect ofacupuncture for smoking cessation to further discuss its action mechanism.
Acupuncture Therapy ; trends ; Humans ; Internationality ; Smoking ; psychology ; therapy ; Smoking Cessation

To identify up-regulated genes in adult rat cardiac fibroblasts (CF) induced by angiotensin II (Ang II), suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was performed between the CF stimulated by Ang II (tester) and unstimulated CF (driver) to generate subtractive cDNA library. The library was screened with dot blots hybridization to further verify the differentially expressed cDNA clones. Partial positive clones (19 up-regulated genes) were sequenced and BLAST analyzed. Twelve up-regulated genes related to extracellular matrix, cell cycle, intracellular signal transduction, cell cytoskeleton, cell metabolism and 7 new expressed sequence tags (EST) were acquired (GenBank accession number: CN382808, CN382809, CN382810, CN382811, CN382812, CN382813, CN382814). Our data reveal that SSH is a powerful technique of high sensitivity for the detection and cloning of up-regulated genes expressed in CF induced by Ang II, which may be helpful to clarify the mechanism of cardiac remodeling.
Angiotensin II ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Expressed Sequence Tags ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Male ; Myocardium ; cytology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Up-Regulation ; Ventricular Remodeling ; genetics

INTRODUCTION: Identifying peripheral arterial disease (PAD) during diabetic foot screening (DFS) is crucial in reducing the risk of diabetic foot ulcerations and lower limb amputations. Screening assessments commonly used include absolute systolic toe pressure (ASTP) and toe-brachial index (TBI). There is a lack of research defining the threshold values of both assessment methods. We aimed to compare the accuracy of ASTP and TBI and establish optimal threshold values of ASTP and TBI with reference to the internationally accepted ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) screening test, for a multiethnic diabetic population in Singapore. METHODS: A retrospective, observational study of DFS results from January 2017 to December 2017 was conducted. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was conducted for ASTP and TBI using the internationally accepted ABPI cut-off value of ≤0.9 to indicate PAD. RESULTS: A total of 1,454 patients with mean (standard deviation) age of 63.1 (12.4) years old were included. There were 50.8% men and 49.2% women, comprising 69.7% Chinese, 13.5% Indian, 10.1% Malay and 6.7% other ethnicities. Areas under the curve for ASTP and TBI were 0.89 (95% confidence interval [Cl] 0.85-0.94) and 0.94 (95% Cl 0.90-0.98), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). Derived optimal threshold values to indicate ABPI≤0.9 for ASTP and TBI were <95.5mmHg (specificity 0.86, sensitivity 0.84) and <0.7 (specificity 0.89, sensitivity 0.95), respectively. CONCLUSION ASTP or TBI may be used to detect ABPI-determined PAD in DFS. The optimal threshold values derived from a multiethnic Asian diabetic population were <95.5mmHg for ASTP and <0.7 for TBI.
Ankle Brachial Index/methods* ; Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology* ; Diabetic Foot/diagnosis* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peripheral Arterial Disease/diagnosis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Toes

BACKGROUNDDiagnosis and treatment for respiratory symptoms (RSs) of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is more difficult than that for common esophageal symptoms. The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency (RF) treatment on RSs of GERD in a preliminary 12-month follow-up observation.

METHODSFrom April 2006 to October 2008, 505 GERD patients with mainly respiratory presentations such as wheezing, chronic cough or hoarseness, were treated by endoscopic RF. A questionnaire was completed before and after treatment, using a six-point scale ranging from 0 to 5 to assess symptom severity and frequency. The symptom score was the sum of frequency and severity.

RESULTSSymptom scores were significantly improved at the end of the follow-up period. The mean heartburn score decreased from 5.31 to 1.79. The mean regurgitation score decreased from 5.02 to 1.64; mean cough score decreased from 6.77 to 2.85; mean wheezing score decreased from 7.83 to 3.07; and mean hoarseness score decreased from 5.13 to 1.81 (P < 0.01). No major complications or deaths occurred. Minor complications included temporary post-procedural retrosternal unease or pain (n = 106; 21.0%), mild fever (n = 86; 17.0%), transient nausea/vomiting (n = 97; 19.2%), and transient dysphagia (n = 42; 9.3%). Thirty-five (6.9%) patients had recurrence of symptoms. Endoscopic RF treatment was repeated in six patients, and laparoscopic fundoplication was performed in seven.

CONCLUSIONEndoscopic RF is an effective and safe means to treat RSs in patients with GERD.

Adult ; Aged ; Cough ; surgery ; Esophagogastric Junction ; physiopathology ; radiation effects ; Esophagoscopy ; methods ; Female ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Heartburn ; surgery ; Hoarseness ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radio Waves ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

INTRODUCTIONFebrile neutropenia (FN) is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in oncology and haematology units worldwide. The overall mortality in hospital surveys in Singapore surveys on post-chemotherapy FN has ranged between 3.0% and 8.8%. However, recent evidence indicates that outpatient management of patients with low-risk FN is safe and cost-effective.

MATERIALS AND METHODSWe conducted a prospective audit on a cohort of adult patients with post-chemotherapy FN seen at 2 local public sector cancer centres over a 1-year period in order to define their epidemiological characteristics and outcomes, and also to assess the uptake of early discharge/outpatient management strategies for these patients.

RESULTSWe reviewed 306 FN episodes from 248 patients. Patient characteristics and outcomes were similar between both institutions. Eleven (3.7%) FN episodes were managed as outpatient and none developed complications. Overall 30-day mortality was 6.6%, while the median length of stay (LOS) was 7 days (IQR: 4 to 11 days). The only independent risk factor for mortality was severe sepsis (OR:13.19; 95% CI: 1.98 to 87.7; P = 0.008). Factors independently associated with a longer LOS were vancomycin prescription (coefficient: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.41; P = 0.003), longer duration of intravenous antibiotics (coefficient: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.10; P <0.001), and prior review by an infectious diseases physician (coefficient: 0.16; 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.31; P = 0.034).

CONCLUSIONThis audit demonstrated that mortality from FN in our 2 cancer centres is low and comparable to international institutions. It also demonstrates that outpatient management of FN is safe in selected patients, and can be further expanded for right-siting of resources.

Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Agents ; adverse effects ; Bacterial Infections ; epidemiology ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Fever ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycoses ; epidemiology ; Neoplasms ; complications ; drug therapy ; Neutropenia ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Prospective Studies ; Singapore ; epidemiology

This study aims to obtain higher-level evidence by overviewing the Meta-analysis of Lianhua Qingwen preparations in the treatment of viral diseases including influenza, coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19), and hand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD). CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, China Clinical Trial Registry(ChiCTR), PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for the Meta-analysis about the treatment of viral diseases with Lianhua Qingwen preparations from the database establishment to April 1, 2022. After literature screening and data extraction, AMSTAR2 and the grading of recommendations assessment, development and evaluations(GRADE) system were used to assess the methodological quality and evidence quality, respectively, and then the efficacy and safety outcomes of Lianhua Qingwen preparations in the treatment of viral diseases were summarized. Thirteen Meta-analysis were finally included, three of which were rated as low grade by AMSTAR2 and ten as very low grade. A total of 75 outcome indicators were obtained, involving influenza, COVID-19, and HFMD. According to the GRADE scoring results, the 75 outcome indicators included 5(6.7%) high-level indicators, 18(24.0%) mediate-level indicators, 25(33.3%) low-level evidence indicators, and 27(36.0%) very low-level indicators.(1)In the treatment of influenza, Lianhua Qingwen preparations exhibited better clinical efficacy than other Chinese patent medicines and Ribavirin and had similar clinical efficacy compared with Oseltamivir. Lianhua Qingwen preparations were superior to other Chinese patent medicines, Oseltamivir, and Ribavirin in alleviating clinical symptoms. They showed no significant differences from Oseltamivir or conventional anti-influenza treatment in terms of the time to and rate of negative result of viral nucleic acid test.(2)In the treatment of COVID-19, Lianhua Qingwen preparation alone or combined with conventional treatment was superior to conventional treatment in terms of total effective rate, main symptom subsidence rate and time, fever clearance rate, duration of fever, time to fever clearance, cough subsidence rate, time to cough subsidence, fatigue subsidence rate, time to fatigue subsidence, myalgia subsidence rate, expectoration subsidence rate, chest tightness subsidence rate, etc. Lianhua Qingwen preparations no difference from conventional treatment in terms of subsiding sore throat, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite, headache, and dyspnea. In terms of chest CT improvement rate, rate of progression to severe case, cure time, and hospitalization time, Lianhua Qingwen alone or in combination with conventional treatment was superior to conventional treatment.(3)In the treatment of HFMD, Lianhua Qingwen Granules was superior to conventional treatment in terms of total effective rate, average fever clearance time, time to herpes subsidence, and time to negative result of viral nucleic acid test.(4)In terms of safety, Lianhua Qingwen preparations led to low incidence of adverse reactions, all of which were mild and disappeared after drug withdrawal. The available evidence suggests that in the treatment of influenza, COVID-19, and HFMD, Lianhua Qingwen preparations can relieve the clinical symptoms, shorten the hospitalization time, and improve the chest CT. They have therapeutic effect and good safety in the treatment of viral diseases. However, due to the low quality of available studies, more high-quality clinical trials are needed to support the above conclusions.
Cough ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Fatigue ; Fever/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Influenza, Human/drug therapy* ; Meta-Analysis as Topic ; Nonprescription Drugs/therapeutic use* ; Nucleic Acids/therapeutic use* ; Oseltamivir/therapeutic use* ; Ribavirin/therapeutic use* ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment

Objective We aimed to elucidate the prevalence and the antibiotic resistance spectrum of nasal coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) colonization among HIV infectors in Guangzhou. Method After isolation and identification, all CoNS isolates were tested for the antibiotic susceptibility, and the antibiotic resistance genes. Result Among the 1 001 HIV infectors, the prevalence of CoNS and MRCoNS were 57.44% and 48.15%, respectively. The three predominant resistant antibiotics of MRCoNS isolates were penicillin, erythromycin and trimethoprim-sulfame thoxazole, while predominant detection rates of genes were Aac(6’)-aph(2’)、ermC and linA genes. The multidrug resistance rate of MRCoNS isolates were significantly higher than methicillin-susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococci (MSCoNS) isolates (80.69% versus 39.66%, P<0.001, OR=6.36). Conclusions The prevalence and multidrug resistant rates of nasal colonization CoNS and MRCoNS are high among HIV infectors in Guangzhou. MRCoNS isolates were 6.36 times more likely to be of multidrug resistance than MSCoNS isolates.