Sulfur fumigation (SF) is a universal phenomenon in primary processing of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in modern times. In the process, fumigation, sulfur or both of them act on the TCMs. Some active components of TCMs change quantitatively or qualitatively during the processing. At the same time, the sulfur dioxide and heavy metal would remain and cause a serious influence on quality and future development of TCM. This article reviews the chemical compositions change after SF to study the change law and their influence on quality. This article provide references for SF in TCMs' processing for a better and safer quality.
Drug Contamination ; Fumigation ; methods ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Quality Control ; Sulfur ; chemistry ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; methods

Objective Effectiveness of two kinds of thermochemotherapy infusion from intraarterial approach were studied in the grafted liver VX2 tumors of rabbit.Methods VX2 tumor model was established in 30 Newzland rabbit's livers.Percutaneous transfemoral hepatic arterial catheterization with fixation of the cathether tip inside the feeding vessel was carried out under DSA guidance.All 30 rabbits were divided into three groups(n=10 in each group),normal temperature 100 ml saline+Adriamycin(ADM)infusion(group 1),60℃100 ml saline+ADM continuous perfusion(group 2)and 60℃100 ml saline+ADM intermittent perfusion(group 3).After the perfusion,the lasting time periods of 43-45℃for tumor tissue of group 2 and 3 together with the concentrations of ADM within tumor's tissue were measured.Results Concentrations of ADM were shown as(12.013?2.237)?g/ml,(17.622?1.368)?g/ml,and(11.519?1.225)?g/ml for group 2, group 3 and group 1 respectively.60℃intermittent perfusion vs 60℃continuous perfusion showed P＜0.05, 60℃continuous pefusion vs normal temperature perfusion also showed P＞0.05. 43-45℃period lasting time (min)for 60℃continuous pefusion vs 60℃intermittent pefusion were(4.1?2.7)min and(11.3?3.3)min respectively,the latter was three times more than the former.There were no differences shown betwen the temperature,respiration and heart rate of group 2 and group 3.Conclusion Intermittent intraarterial perfusion thermochemotherapy is a more effective interventional management among all thermochemotherapies.

Background: Hypertension is estimated to cause 4.5% of the global disease burden. The prevalence of hypertension in Malaysia is 32.2%. Objective: To determine the prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors in two rural communities in Penang, Malaysia. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted among all consenting residents aged 18 years and above from two villages in Penang. Besides the baseline demographic information, blood pressure was measured using a manual sphygmomanometer according to the American Heart Association Guidelines. Results: 50 out of 168 people were hypertensive, giving a prevalence rate of 29.8%. 50.0% of those found with hypertension were undiagnosed and 48.0% of those who were diagnosed with hypertension had uncontrolled blood pressure. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, history of alcohol consumption and BMI were found to be independently associated with hypertension. Conclusions: Age, education level, alcohol consumption and BMI are important risk factors associated with the prevalence of hypertension among the villagers. These risk factors are comparable to those reported in National Health and Morbidity Survery 2006 in Malaysia.

Objective: To assess the risk of public health emergencies in Zhejiang Province, March 2021. Methods: An expert counsel was conducted to assess the risk of coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ) , enteritis due to norovirus, chicken pox and influenza by professionals in Zhejiang CDC, based on the information from infectious disease and public health emergency surveillance in Zhejiang Province, domestic health administrative departments, World Health Organization, and European CDC. Results: In March 2021, the risk of imported COVID-19 epidemic will be high in Zhejiang Province, and the possibility of local spread could not be ruled out. The possibility of a large-scale outbreak of enteritis due to norovirus and a small-scale outbreak of chickenpox in schools and kindergartens could not be ruled out after the new term begins. An increased risk of influenza epidemic is predicted in collective units such as schools and kindergartens, yet the risk of a large-scale one will be low. Conclusion High attention should be paid to COVID-19 and enteritis due to norovirus, and general attention should be paid to chicken pox and influenza outbreak.

AIMTo investigate the chemical composition of the root of Salvia przewalskii Maxim.

METHODSCompounds were isolated by silica gel column chromatography. Structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectral analysis (EI-MS, FAB-MS, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, 1H-1H COSY, 1H-13C COSY, HMBC, NOESY) and phytochemical properties.

RESULTSEight compounds were isolated and identified as: tanshinone II-A (I), crypotanshinone (II), przewaquinone A (III), sugiol (IV), ursolic acid (V), 2 alpha, 3 alpha-dihydroxy urs-12-ene-28-acid (VI), oleanolic acid (VII), and neo-przewaquinone A (VIII).

CONCLUSIONCompound VIII is a new compound, and compound II, IV, V, VI and VII are isolated from this plant for the first time.

Heterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More Rings ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Conformation ; Molecular Structure ; Oleanolic Acid ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quinones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Salvia ; chemistry ; Triterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Sulfur fumigation, which is traditional method for preservation, pest control, insecticide and sterilization, has long been widely used in processing and storage and played a positive role of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). As some businesses sided pursuit of profit, abused and repeated use of sulfur fumigation, have resulted in a large number of harmful residues, such as sulf dioxide (SO2) and harmful heavy metals, which brings a significant impact and danger on human health. This article summarizes the sulfur species and the sulfur fumigation methods and analyzes the harmful substances in TCM after sulfur fumigation, to provide a reference of the choice of species for the sulfur, the optimization of sulfur fumigation process and the standardized processing of TCM after sulfur fumigation.
Animals ; Drug Contamination ; Fumigation ; methods ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Safety ; Sulfur ; chemistry ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; methods

OBJECTIVETo apply pulse-field gel electrophoresis analysis(PFGE) in analysing a case of food poisoning caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

METHODSPFGE using restriction enzyme Not I was employed in molecular subtyping of thirty strains of V. parahaemolyticus isolated from a case of food poisoning in Guangzhou city and PFGE patterns were analyzed by using BioNumerics Version 4.0 software to perform cluster analysis. Pattern profiles were compared by using the Dice coefficient and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA).

RESULTSThirty strains were of the same type of pulsotype.

CONCLUSIONSMolecular subtyping by PFGE might disclose the epidemiological relationships of the strains from humans, food and the environment, giving a strong molecular epidemiological evidence and a support for the source-tracking of outbreak events.

Bacterial Typing Techniques ; methods ; China ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; methods ; Foodborne Diseases ; microbiology ; Humans ; Vibrio parahaemolyticus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification

BACKGROUND:Due to limited sources,poor hemocompatibility and poor anticoagulation performance,small-diameter tissue-engineered blood vessels cannot be applied in clinical practice.OBJECTIVE:To explore the physicochemical and mechanical properties of sheep carotid arteries after the decellularization in order to find appropriate materials for the preparation of tissue-engineered blood vessels.METHODS:Fresh carotid arteries from sheep were randomly divided into two groups:control group,in which,the sheep carotid arteries were cryopreserved for use after trimming and cleaning;experimental group,in which,after trimming and cleaning,the carotid arteries were decallularized by Triton X-100.sodium deoxycholate and EDTA for 24 hours,rinsed for 72 hours,digested with RNA/DNA enzymes for 24 hours,rinsed for 24 hours and reserved for later use.In both groups,blood samples were subjected to hematoxylin-eosin staining,collagen fiber staining,elastic fiber dyeing,and electron microscopy observation.The physical and chemical properties of the blood vessels are tested by tensile strength,wall tension and thickness.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1) The collagen fibers in both two groups were neat and compact in alignment,with no obvious fracture.(2) Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that:in the control group,the nuclei were distributed in the inner membrane,middle lamella and outer membrane of the vessels,and the fibers ran regularly;in the experimental group,the fibers ran in order but loosely,and there were no nuclei in the inner membrane,middle lamella and outer membrane of the vessels.(3) Elastic fibers in the control group were regular in alignment and mainly distributed in the middle lamella and outer membrane of the vessels,while in the experimental group,the elastic fibers ran regularly but loosely,and mainly distributed in the middle lamella and outer membrane of the vessels.(4) Under the scanning electron microscope,the originally formed vessels were observed in the experimental group,with no cell residues,and the collagen fibers ran orderly with no fracture and with uniform pore structure.(5) The vessel thickness was lower in the experimental group than the control group (P ＜ 0.01),but the tensile strength showed no difference between the two groups,which was 46.55 kPa in the two groups.To conclude,the decelluarized sheep carotid artery can retain the necessary mechanical properties of the blood vessels after achieving the maximum removal of antigenicity.

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlation between the dosage of corticosteroid, time of onset and incidence of osteonecrosis (ON) in patients with SARS.

METHODSFrom July 2003 to January 2004, general survey carried out for ON in 551 patients with SARS. Five hundred and fifty-one patients except 12 were administrated by corticosteroid from 80 mg to 30 000 mg. The age of patients was (33 +/- 9) years old ranging from 19 to 59 years old. One hundred and thirty-one were male, and four hundred and twenty were female. MRI and X-ray film were taken in all patients including both hips, knees, shoulders, ankles and wrists. CT scan was taken in partial patients. Common classification system were used for staging of hip (ARCO), knee (Lotka) and shoulder (Cruess). Independent test, rank-sum test and multiple factor logistic regression analysis were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTSNo osteonecrosis was detected in 12 patients without corticosteroid. Osteonecrosis was detected in 176 patients (32.7 percent) among 539 patients. There were ON of femoral head in 130 cases (210 hips), ON of knee in 98 cases (130 knees), ON of humeral head in 21 cases (36 shoulders), ON of talus and calcaneus in 16 cases (26 ankles), ON of scaphoid and lunate in 11 cases (17 wrists), ON of patella in 3 cases (4 patella), ON of ilium in 1 case and bone infarction (femur, tibia) in 18 cases. One hundred and nineteen cases (195 hips) with ONFH were in stage I (IA 45 hips, IB 77 hips, IC 73 hips). Eleven cases (15 hips) were in stage II. All osteonecrosis of the knee and humoral head was stage I. Thirty-four patients with ON had one joint affected, 45 patients had 2 joints, 93 patients had more than 3 joints. The dosage of corticosteroid was (5842 +/- 4988) mg in ON group and (2719 +/- 2571) mg in non-ON group (P < 0.0001). The duration of steroid was (38 +/- 17) d in ON group and (27 +/- 15) d in non-ON group (P < 0.01). The dosage of pulse treatment was (340 +/- 207) mg/d in ON group and (211 +/- 160) mg/d in non-ON group (P < 0.01). The duration of pulse treatment was (28 +/- 13) d in ON group and (18 +/- 11) d in non-ON group (P < 0.01). All patients with ON were detected within 6 months from administration.

CONCLUSIONAbout one-third patients with SARS who were treated with a high dose of corticosteroid occurred osteonecrosis. ON is frequently multiple focuses. The actual time of onset of ON is early of steroid used. MRI is golden standard for early diagnosis of ON. The patients who were treated with a high dose of corticosteroid should be inspected initially by MRI.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Adult ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Femur Head Necrosis ; chemically induced ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Logistic Models ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteonecrosis ; chemically induced ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; drug therapy

Repeated IVF failure has been a pain pointin the assisted reproductive process.The fallopian tubehas long been considered as a conduit for transporta-tion,ignoring its important role in embryo implantation.The main reasons for the repeated failure of IVF areembryonic factors,endometrial receptivity and otherfactors.The article mainly focuses on the effects ofvarious types of fallopian tube lesions on the abovethree factors,and analyzes the relationship betweenvarious oviduct chronic inflammatory lesions and IVFfailure.IVFfallopian tube obstructionendome-