Subergorgic acid is one of marine neurotoxins. It has a unique chemical structure. This article reviews its isolation and structural determination, total synthesis,derivatives preparation,biologic activities and potential applications.

ObjectiveTo study the relationship between function of cardiac autonomic nervous system and 24-hourambulatory blood pressure in diabetes mellitus with normal blood pressure in the casual assay.Methods71 DMpatients with normal blood pressure in casual assay were measured with cardiac power spectral analysis and 24hAMBPassessment.ResultsThere was no difference in 24hAMBP between DM patients without AND and normal subjects.24-hour ambulatory systolic pressure values and the prevalence of blood pressure burden in DM patients with mild AND were significantly higher than that in the control group and the percentage of day-night change in AMBP weresignificantly lower than that in the control group.In DM patients with severe AND, 24-hour ambulatory systolicpressure values and the prevalence of 24hAMBP burden were higher and the percentage of day-night change was lowerthan that in DM patients with mild AND, however, there was no significant difference between them.Conclusion Blood pressure was in severe disorder as soon as cardiac AND appear in DM patients with normal casual blood pressure.Abnormality of ANSF and blood pressure in DM patients contributed to the onset and development of cardiovascularevents.They are very important for investigating cardiac ANSF in DM patients and early intervening and treating DMpatients with AND.

Objective To observe the effects of Suhuang Zhike capsules(SZC) on the guinea pig model of cough variant asthma(CVA), and to explore its therapeutic mechanism. Methods Fifty guinea pigs were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, prednisone acetate tablets group, and high-and low-dose SZC groups. With reference to the related literatures, we set up the guinea pig model of CVA. The observation indexes included cough frequency, lung histopathology, the percentage of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and the serum levels of interleukin 4(IL-4), interferon gamma(IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and immunoglobumin E(IgE). Results Compared with the normal control group, the cough frequency of the model group was significantly increased(P<0.05); compared with the model group, the cough frequency of high-dose SZC group was reduced obviously(P < 0.05). Compared with the normal control group , the percentage of eosinophils in BALF of the model group was significantly increased(P < 0.05); the percentage of eosinophils of the three medication groups was lower than that of the model group (P<0.05). The pathological changes of lung tissue in the medication groups were relieved compared to the model group. Compared with the normal control group, the serum IL-4, TN F-α and IgE levels of the model group were increased significantly (P < 0 . 05); compared with the model group , the serum IL-4 and TN F-α levels of prednisone acetate tablets group were significantly decreased, and the serum TNF-α and IgE levels of high-dose SZC group were decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Conclusion SZC could reduce the serum, TNF-α and IgE levels , and relieve the cough symptom, airway inflammation and the lung tissue pathology in CVA guinea pig, so as to achieve the therapeutic effect on CVA.

This paper discusses the relationship between stimulating pulse width and the threshold of electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP). Firstly, the rheobase and chronaxy from strength-duration curve of nerve fiber was computed using the shepherd's experiment results. Secondly, based on the relationship between ECAP and the action potential of nerve fiber, a mathematical expression to describe the relationship between stimulating pulse width and ECAP threshold was proposed. Thirdly, the parameters were obtained and the feasibility was proved to the expression with the results of experiment using guinea pigs. Research result showed that with ECAP compared to the action potential of nerve fiber, their threshold function relationship with stimulating pulse width was similar, and rheobase from the former was an order smaller in the magnitude than the latter, but the chronaxy was close to each other. These findings may provide meaningful guidance to clinical ECAP measurement and studying speech processing strategies of cochlear implant.
Action Potentials ; Animals ; Auditory Threshold ; Cochlear Implantation ; Cochlear Implants ; Electricity ; Evoked Potentials ; Guinea Pigs ; Neural Conduction

ObjectiveIn order to provide reliable sufficient information for making a policy to develop Emergency Departments in Chinese Medical Hospitals, a countrywide investigation on current situations of such departments was carried out.Methods Firstly, questionnaires which could be responded by filling out on line and paper were made respectively. The Departments of Emergency in 300 Chinese Medical Hospitals widely distributed in 27 provinces of China (municipalities directly under the central government) with technique level 2 or above were observed in this study by Red Cap database or Email.Results All together 280 questionnaires were sent out, and 200 questionnaires were responded. The information from 200 emergency departments of Chinese medical hospitals in 24 provinces was collected, the recovery rate being 71.42%. The investigative results were as follows: ① All Chinese medical hospitals involved in this study were equipped with an independent emergency department. The average occupation of ground area, numbers of ward beds and ambulances in these emergency departments were 713.6 m2, 18.93 and 2.81 respectively, and 75.8% of the hospitals were of the first aid local network units.② There were 26 emergency departments having internal, surgical, women and children emergency clinics, 83 hospitals had internal and surgical emergency clinics only, and in 91 hospitals there was no any special clinic in emergency department. In addition, only did 81 hospitals have intensive care units (ICU).③ The number of clinicians was 11.86±9.28 on average, and 26 hospitals even had no emergency specialists. In 39 hospitals, there were no emergency clinicians with high rank title, most of these clinicians had bachelor or master's degree, and only did 30 hospitals have emergency clinicians with PhD degree.④ The annual average patient admitted in emergency departments of these hospitals was 2.36 thousand cases, including 1197.38 rescue ones. The clinicians who could accomplish abdominocentesis and thoracentesis independently were accounting for 90.7% and 89.0%, respectively, 8.2% hospitals could carry out percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and more than 70% hospitals already had the emergency green channel.⑤ About 93.5% hospitals had established a management system of medical quality control, and 89.0% hospitals had already had a medical quality control group.⑥ 65.5% hospitals had assessment index of Utilization rate of traditional Chinese Medicine, and 52.5%hospitals routinely conducted discussions on cases treated primarily by Chinese medicine (CM).Conclusions The development levels of emergency departments of all Chinese medical hospitals involved are very uneven, on which more attention should be paid. The enhanced investment is required to construct the emergency clinics and improve medical techniques in order to meet the growing need of the first aid in our society.

OBJECTIVETo find out the relationship between the opacity in lens and the contents of 2,6-dinitro-4-amino-toluene(DNAT) in the urine of exposed workers.

METHODSTesting the exposed worker's lens and measuring the contents of DNAT in the urine after work.

RESULTSWhen the opacity of the lens occurred, the contents of DNAT in the urine(2.38 mg/L) of workers exposed to TNT were significantly higher than those without opacity in lens(1.44 mg/L) (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe severity of opacity of lens increased with the contents of DNAT raised in the urine. The threshold value suggested by ILO is not applicable to Chinese occupational population, which recommends the contents of DNAT(30 mg/L) in the urine for the workers exposed to TNT as biological occupational exposed limits.

Aniline Compounds ; urine ; Cataract ; chemically induced ; Environmental Monitoring ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; Trinitrotoluene ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the correlations microRNA-203a-3p(miR-203a-3p)and paired allographic box protein 2B(PHOX2B)expression levels in glioma tissues with clinical features and prognosis.Methods Ninety-six glioma patients admitted to our hospital from June 2017 to April 2020 were included in the study.The resected glioma tissues and corresponding paracancerous tissues from the patients were collected intraop-eratively.qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were conducted to detect the expression of miR-203a-3p and PHOX2B mRNA in glioma tissues and paracancerous groups.Pearson's method was used to analyze the correlation between miR-203a-3p and PHOX2B mRNA.Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to analyze the correlations of miR-203a-3p and PHOX2B mRNA with the prognosis of glioma patients.COX regression was used to analyze the risk factors affecting the prognosis of glioma patients.Results The miR-203a-3p level and positive expression rate of glioma tissues were significantly lower than that of paracancerous tissues(P<0.05),and the PHOX2B mRNA level and positive expression rate were significantly higher than that of paracancerous tissues(P<0.05).By Pearson correlation analysis,the miR-203a-3p and PHOX2B mRNA levels of glioma patients were negatively correlated(P<0.05).miR-203a-3p and PHOX2B were associated with KPS score,tumor tissue necrosis,and WHO grading(P<0.05).Kaplan-Meier curve analysis yielded the results that the survival rate of the miR-203a-3p highly expressed group was significantly higher than that of the lowly expressed group(P<0.05),and the survival rate of the PHOX2B mRNA highly expressed group was significantly lower than that of the lowly expressed group(P<0.05).COX regression analysis showed that miR-203a-3p,PHOX2B mRNA,tumor tissue necrosis,and WHO grading were the risk factors affecting the prognosis of glioma patients(P<0.05).Conclusion The expression level of miR-203a-3p is obviously reduced and the expression level of PHOX2B mRNA is obviously increased in glioma,both showing close correlation with clinical characteristics and prognosis.

The motion of the tumor limits further improvement in the accuracy of radiotherapy. Real-time monitoring and tracking of tumor location is an emerging technology to improve the accuracy of tumor radiotherapy. According to the adopted methods, it can be broadly divided into non-radiation-based and radiation-based systems. The former system includes ultrasound guidance, nuclear magnetic resonance guidance, electromagnetic tracking, optical image guidance, artificial intelligence-based technologies, and the latter system consists of KV, MV-grade X-ray imaging system and CT-based guidance system. In this review, research progresses on real-time tumor monitoring and tracking technology in radiotherapy, respective advantages and disadvantages and current clinical application were summarized.

Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infected with Delta variant, so as to provide further references for clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods:A real-world study was conducted to analyze the characteristics of 166 COVID-19 patients infected with Delta variant at Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University.Results:The study enrolled 5 asymptomatic cases, 123 non-severe cases (mild and moderate type), and 38 severe cases (severe and critical type). Among these patients, 69 (41.6%) were male and 97 (58.4%) were female, with a mean age of 47.0±23.5 years. Thirty-nine cases (23.5%) had received 1 or 2 doses of inactivated vaccine. The incidence of severe COVID-19 cases was 7.7% in 2-doses vaccinated patients, which was lower than that of 11.5% in 1-dose and 26.8% in unvaccinated patients. The proportion of severe cases in 2 dose-vaccinated patients was 7.7%, which was lower than that of 11.5% in 1-dose vaccinated patients and 26.8% in unvaccinated patients, but the difference was not significant ( P>0.05). The most common clinical symptom was fever (134 cases, 83.2%), and 39.1% of cases presented with high-grade fever (≥39 °C); other symptoms were cough, sputum, fatigue, and xerostomia. The proportion of fever in severe cases was significantly higher than that of non-severe cases (97.4% vs. 76.4%, P<0.01). Similarly, the proportion of severe cases with high peak temperature (≥39 ℃) () was also higher than that of non-severe cases (65.8% vs. 30.9%, P<0.01). The median minimal Cycle threshold (Ct) values of viral nucleic acid N gene and ORFlab gene were 20.3 and 21.5, respectively, and the minimum Ct values were 11.9 and 13.5, respectively. Within 48 h of admission, 9.0% of cases presented with decreased white blood cell counts, and 52.4% with decreased lymphocyte counts. The proportions of increased C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, interleukin 6, and interleukin 10 were 32.5%, 57.4%, 65.3%, and 35.7%, respectively. The proportions of elevated C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A and interleukin-6 in severe cases were significantly higher than those in non-severe cases ( P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that older age and higher peak temperature were associated with a higher likelihood of severe cases ( OR>3, 95% CI: 2-7, P<0.01). In terms of treatment, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was used in 97.6% of non-severe cases and 100% in severe cases. Other treatments included respiratory and nutritional support, immunotherapy (such as neutralizing antibodies and plasma of recovered patients). The median times from admission to progression to severe cases, of fever clearance, and of nucleic acid conversion were 5 days, 6 days and 19 days, respectively. No deaths were reported within 28 days. Conclusions:The symptoms of Delta variant infection in Guangzhou are characterized by a high proportion of fever, high peak temperature, long duration of fever, high viral load, a long time to nucleic acid conversion, and a high incidence of severe cases. The severe cases exhibit a higher percentage of elderly patients, a longer duration of fever and have a higher fever rate and a higher hyperthermia rate than non-severe cases. Age and hyperthermia are independent risk factors for progression to severe disease. The combination of TCM and Western medicine can control the progression of the disease effectively.

Humans ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; diagnosis ; therapy