OBJECTIVE:To study the feasibility of 10 kinds of culture media used in pharmaceutical microbial limit test stated in Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2010 edition)autoclaving at 121 ℃ for 15 min. METHODS:The performance(color,pH,sterility,the growth-promoting activity,antibacterial ability,indication)of 10 kinds of culture media including Modified Martin Broth medium were tested after autoclaving at 121 ℃ for 15 min or in the parameters from the product instructions according to GB4789.28-2013 and the requirements for quality control of culture media in Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2010 edition). The quality of the media were compared after autoclaved by different parameters. RESULTS:The quality of the media which were autoclaved at 121 ℃ for 15 min were equivalent with the media which were autoclaved by the parameters from the product instructions,and their quality met the requirements for quality control of media in Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2010 edition). CONCLUSIONS:The sterilization parame-ters of 10 kinds of media in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition) can be adjusted to be autoclaved at 121 ℃ for 15 min,the quality of the media remain stable after autoclaving.

Objective To elucidate the transmission dynamic and epidemic trend of bancroftian filariasis occurred under the condition with no control measure taken 5 years after elimination of filariasis.Methods A 10-year longitudinal observation (from 1984 to 1994) was made in Huayuan Village in Shengli Township of Tancheng County, which used to be a high bancroftian filariasis-endemic area in southern part of Shandong Province.Results The microfilarial rate decreased from 0.56% before the study to 0.12% after the study and 8 out of the 9 previous microfilaria-positive cases became negative gradually. During the study period, 6 new microfilaremia cases were detected, 5 of which became negative naturally within 3 to 4 years. Eighty-eight point eight nine per cent of the detected patients with microfilaremia converted into IgG4-negative after 10 years. The natural infective rate of vectors decreased year by year and became zero by the tenth year of the study, the annual transmission potency decreased also from 3.47 to zero by the tenth year.Conclusions It showed that under the local natural environment the biting rate representing the vector density which was obtained by capture method was from 24.1 to 52.5 person/night among the residents who did not use mosquito nets,and 13.5 to 21 person/night among the residents who used mosquito nets. The microfilarial rate of 0.56% in population with the average microfilarial density of 6.6 to 20.7 capita/60 μl ear blood of residual microfilaria-positive patients might be considered as the terminal threshold of transmission.

ObjectiveTo investigate the molecular mechanism of action of artemisinin in attenuating asthmatic airway inflammation and airway remodeling through the phosphoinositide 3-kinase（PI3K）/protein kinase B（Akt） signaling pathway. MethodFifty male SD rats were randomly divided into blank group， model group， and low-dose， medium-dose， and high-dose groups of artemisinin， with 10 rats in each group. The ovalbumin （OVA）-induced asthma model of the rats was established， and after successful modeling， the blank group and model group received tail vein injection of 1.0 mL·kg^-1 normal saline， while the low-dose， medium-dose， and high-dose groups of artemisinin received tail vein injection of 12.5， 25， and 50 mg·kg^-1 artemisinin daily for seven days. Airway resistance was measured by the acetylcholine chloride method. Cell number and species changes in the alveolar lavage fluid of each group were determined by flow cytometry. Morphological changes in airway endothelial tissue were determined by the hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining method. Apoptosis was determined by CytoTox 96 method， and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） method was used to determine the NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammasome， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， and interleukin-10 （IL-10） expression. Western blot method was used to detect the （p）-PI3K/p-Akt level in the alveolar bronchial tissue of each group. ResultCompared with the blank group， the total number of cells， total number of macrophages， total number of eosinophils， total number of lymphocytes， and total number of neutrophils were significantly higher in the model group （P<0.05）. HE staining showed that the airway mucosa of the rats had obvious edema， and a large number of inflammatory cells were infiltrated （P<0.05）. The rate of apoptosis was significantly higher （P<0.05）， and the levels of the inflammasome NLRP3， IL-1β， and IL-10 increased significantly （P<0.05）. p-PI3K/p-Akt level increased significantly （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the total number of cells， total number of macrophages， total number of eosinophils， total number of lymphocytes， and total number of neutrophils were significantly decreased after the intervention of artemisinin at low， medium， and high concentrations （P<0.05）. HE staining showed that the degree of edema of the airway mucosa of the rats was reduced， and the area of the inflammatory cell infiltration was drastically reduced （P<0.05）. The apoptosis rate was significantly reduced （P<0.05）， and the levels of the inflammasome NLRP3， IL-1β， and IL-10 decreased significantly （P<0.05）. p-PI3K/p-Akt level decreased significantly （P<0.05）. ConclusionArtemisinin significantly inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation， reduces cellular pyroptosis and inflammatory cell expression， and attenuates airway inflammatory manifestations and airway remodeling in asthmatic rats， which may be related to the regulation of p-PI3K/p-Akt， and the results may provide laboratory insights and basis for the treatment of bronchial asthma with artemisinin.