Chinese medicine undergoes complex chemical changes during processing and identifying these changes is the key to the processing mechanism. In the past 20 years of the 21 st century, research on the chemical changes in Chinese medicine after processing has focused the changes in the biopharmaceutical process in addition to the variation during processing. With the surging of information technologies, various identification technologies(instrumental analysis techniques, molecular biological techniques, data mining techniques, and biotransformation techniques) have developed rapidly and been widely applied to the research on processing mechanism. Thus, based on the chemical changes in the processing and biopharmaceutical process, the author suggested a research tactic of multimodal identification as the core by reorganizing key technologies for chemical identification from studies of the processing mechanism of Chinese me-dicine, aiming at establishing an interdisciplinary multi-dimensional research model for the processing mechanism of Chinese medicine.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Technology

Clarifying the mechanisms of Chinese medicinal processing is pivotal to the modernization of Chinese medicine. Research on Chinese medicinal processing gives priority to the mechanisms of the processing in enhancing efficacy, reducing toxicity, and repurposing medicinals. During the past 20 years, scholars have carried out in-depth studies on the mechanisms of Chinese medicinal processing via modern system biology. They mainly focused on the changes of medicinal properties and efficacy caused by processing using techniques of modern pharmacology and molecular biology, spectrum-efficacy correlation, and biophoton emission. However, these techniques fail to reflect the holistic view of traditional Chinese medicine. With the introduction of system biology, multi-omics techno-logies(genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) have surged, which have been applied to the research on the mec-hanisms of Chinese medicinal processing. These multi-omics technologies have advantages in the research on holism. This study aims to summarize the research techniques and approaches in system biology for mechanisms of Chinese medicinal processing in the past 20 years and analyze the limitations and advantages of them. It is concluded that the multi-omics techniques of system biology can reconstruct the mechanisms of Chinese medicinal processing. This study provides a new direction for further research on the mechanisms of Chinese medicinal processing.
China ; Genomics ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Metabolomics/methods* ; Proteomics

Objective To explore the relationship between light at night (LAN) and nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) in steel workers. Methods Relevant information was collected through questionnaires, physical examinations and blood biochemical analysis. Using restricted cubic spline (RCS) and mutiple Logistic regression model to explore the relationship between LAN and NAFLD based on a cross-sectional study. Results The prevalence of NAFLD was 33.8% (2 594 / 7 664) in steel workers. After adjusting for age, sex, marriage, educational level, smoking, drinking, body mass index, luminous intensity in life, liver enzyme metabolism, blood lipid level, physical activity, diet, sleep duration, shift work, high temperature, noise, dust, and carbon monoxide exposure, the RCS model showed a nonlinear dose-response relationship between LAN and NAFLD ( 2=71.59, P<0.001 for overall association test and 2=16.92, P<0.001 for nonlinear test); Multivariate Logistic regression model showed that after adjusting for all confounding factors, when the LAN in the 1 178 d ~ 2 017 d and 2 017 d ~ group, the prevalence of NAFLD increased by 21.7% (OR=1.217, 95% CI: 1.027-1.441) and 47.9% (OR=1.479, 95% CI: 1.240-1.763), respectively, when compared with the group LAN<1 178 d. Conclusion There is a nonlinear dose-response relationship between LAN and NAFLD in steel works.

Helicobacter pylori (Hp),a proven pathogen of digestive disease,is closely associated with gastrointestinal diseases including peptic ulcer,chronic active gastritis,stomach cancer,and stomach-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Thus,precise and timely diagnosis of Hp is of great significance. In addition to C or C breath test,rapid urease test,and other commonly used Hp diagnosis methods,some new endoscopic techniques such as magnifying endoscopy,narrow-band imaging,confocal laser endomicroscopy,Fuji intelligent chromoendoscopy,and I scanning have been used for the direct observation of the fine-structure of stomach with Hp infection or for the identification of living Hp. This article reviews the application of digestive endoscopy in the diagnosis of Hp infection.

Objective:To observe and compare differences of levels of homocysteine (Hcy),von Willebrand factor (vWF) and tissue factor procoagulant activity (TF-PCA) between patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and healthy resi-dents,and analyze relationship between above 3 indicators and coronary heart disease onset.Methods:Clinical data of 95 CHD emergency patients (CHD group),who were treated in our department of cardiology from Apr 2013 to Dec 2015,and 95 healthy residents (healthy control group) were retrospectively analyzed.According to state of an illness,CHD group was further divided into stable angina pectoris (SAP) group (n＝33),unstable angina pectoris (UAP) group (n＝31) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) group (n＝31).Levels of Hcy,vWF and TF-PCA were measured and compared among all groups and different time after onset in CHD patients.Multifactor Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze influ-encing factors of CHD types.Results:Compared with healthy control group,there were significant rise in levels of Hcy [ (9.22 ± 3.45) μmol/L vs.(17.80 ± 6.94) μmol/L],vWF [(122.40 ± 10.18)% vs.(160.13 ± 10.48)%] and TF-PCA [ (30.12 ± 10.49) s vs.(69.45 ± 8.26) s] in CHD group,P＝0.001 all.Compared with SAP group,there were signifi-cant rise in levels of Hcy [ (14.30 ± 3.15) μmol/L vs.(20.50 ± 4.97) μmol/L vs.(25.77 ± 6.10) μmol/L],vWF [ (141.56 ± 9.45)% vs.(168.23 ± 11.29)% vs.(185.56 ± 11.40)%] and TF-PCA [ (45.13 ± 11.52) s vs.(53.16 ± 18.45) s vs.(64.49 ± 11.59) s] in UAP group and AMI group,and those of AMI group were significantly higher than those of UAP group,P＜0.05 or ＜0.01.As onset time went by,there were significant reductions in levels of Hcy,vWF and TF-PCA in CHD patients,and all of them accorded with 1h＞12h＞24h＞48h,there existed significant difference be- tween any two time points,P＝0.001 all.Multifactor Logistic regression analysis indicated that Hcy,vWF and TF-PCA were independent risk factors for CHD type (OR＝2.586～5.058,P＝0.001 all).Conclusion:Levels of Hcy,vWF and TF-PCA significantly rise in CHD patients,the more severe disease is,the higher levels are.Along with time goes by,their levels significantly reduce.Combined detection of them can be used for predicting CHD type.The Hcy,vWF and TF-PCA are independent risk factors for CHD type.

Objective To explore the clinical effect of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation(NPPV)for treatment of acute left heart failure after mitral valve replacement. Methods Sixty patients with acute left heart failure after mitral valve replacement in Xinxiang Central Hospital from April 2009 to August 2017 were selected. The patients were divided into control group and NPPV group,with 30 patients in each group. The patients in the control group were treated with double oxygen ab-sorption (mask and nasal catheter),strong heart,diuresis and dilated blood vessels. Based on the treatment of control group, the patients in NPPV group were treated with NPPV therapy. The plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide(NT-proB-NP)level of patients in the two groups was monitored by rapid determination of immunofluorescence before treatment and 6,24 hours after treatment. The respiratory frequency,blood oxygen saturation,heart rate and oxygen partial pressure monitoring of patients in the two groups was monitored before treatment and 2,6 and 24 hours after treatment. Results The total effective rate of patients in the control group and NPPV group was 92. 4％(26 / 28)and 96. 6％(28 / 29)respectively;there was no sig-nificant difference in the total effective rate between the two groups(χ2 = 1. 25,P > 0. 05). There was no significant difference in the plasma NT-proBNP level between the two groups before treatment (P > 0. 05);the level of NT-proBNP at 6,24 h after treatment was significantly lower than that before treatment in the two groups (P < 0. 05);the level of NT-proBNP of patients in the NPPV group was significantly lower than that in the control group at 6,24 h after treatment (P < 0. 05). There was no significant difference in the respiratory frequency,blood oxygen saturation,heart rate and oxygen partial pressure between the two groups before treatment(P > 0. 05). Compared with before treatment,the respiratory frequency and heart rate of patients were decreased and the blood oxygen saturation,oxygen partial pressure were increased at 2,6,24 h after treatment in the two groups (P < 0. 05). There was no significant difference in the oxygen partial pressure between the two groups at 2 h after treat-ment(P > 0. 05);the oxygen partial pressure of patients in the NPPV group was significantly higher than that in the control group at 6,24 h after treatment(P < 0. 05);there was no significant difference in the respiratory frequency,blood oxygen satu-ration and heart rate between the two groups at each time piont after treatment(P > 0. 05). Conclusion NPPV is an effective treatment for acute left heart failure after mitral valve replacement.

Objective To launch systematic research on long-term asymptomatic hyperuricemia (HUA) from hemorheological viewpoint,so as to provide references for clinical treatment of asymptomatic HUA.Methods Twenty rats were randomly and evenly divided into normal control group and model group.The rats were intraperitoneally injected with 250 mg/(kg · d) oxonate for 8 weeks to induce the model of asymptomatic HUA.The blood samples were obtained to measure the serum uric acid,hemorheological parameters,oxidative and anti-oxidative indices.Results The aggregation index,haemolysis rate,serum xanthine oxidase (XOD),plasma fibrinogen and blood viscosity significantly increased,while the orientation index,electrophoresis rate,serum superoxide dismutase (SOD),activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) significantly induced.Conclusions The asymptomatic HUA can lead to more serious oxidative stress,deteriorate the hemorheological parameters of red blood cells in rats,and induce higher blood viscosity and coagulation status.The research findings indicate that asymptomatic HUA should be correctly understood and timely intervened in clinical diagnosis.

Objective To launch systematic research on long-term asymptomatic hyperuricemia (HUA) from hemorheological viewpoint, so as to provide references for clinical treatment of asymptomatic HUA. Methods Twenty rats were randomly and evenly divided into normal control group and model group. The rats were intraperitoneally injected with 250 mg/(kg•d) oxonate for 8 weeks to induce the model of asymptomatic HUA. The blood samples were obtained to measure the serum uric acid, hemorheological parameters, oxidative and anti-oxidative indices. Results The aggregation index, haemolysis rate, serum xanthine oxidase (XOD), plasma fibrinogen and blood viscosity significantly increased, while the orientation index, electrophoresis rate, serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) significantly induced. Conclusions The asymptomatic HUA can lead to more serious oxidative stress, deteriorate the hemorheological parameters of red blood cells in rats, and induce higher blood viscosity and coagulation status. The research findings indicate that asymptomatic HUA should be correctly understood and timely intervened in clinical diagnosis.

Background: Pathologic response is evaluated according to the extent of tumor regression and is used to esti-mate the efficacy of preoperative treatment. Several studies have reported the association between the pathologic response and clinical outcomes of colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases who underwent hepatectomy. However, to date, no data from Chinese patients have been reported. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the asso-ciation between the pathologic response to pre-hepatectomy chemotherapy and prognosis in a cohort of Chinese patients. Patients and methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed the data of 380 liver metastases in 159 patients. The pathologic response was evaluated according to the tumor regression grade (TRG). The prognostic role of pathologic response in recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) was assessed using Kaplan–Meier curves with the log-rank test and multivariate Cox models. Factors that had potential influence on pathologic response were also analyzed using multivariate logistic regression and Kruskal–Wallis/Mann–WhitneyU tests. Results: Patients whose tumors achieved pathologic response after preoperative chemotherapy had significant longer RFS and OS than patients whose tumor had no pathologic response to chemotherapy (median RFS: 9.9 vs. 6.5 months,P= 0.009; median OS: 40.7 vs. 28.1 months,P= 0.040). Multivariate logistic regression and Kruskal–Wallis/Mann–WhitneyU tests showed that metastases with small diameter, metastases from the left-side primary tumors, and metastases from patients receiving long-duration chemotherapy had higher pathologic response rates than their control metastases (allP < 0.05). A decrease in the serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level after preopera-tive chemotherapy predicted an increased pathologic response rate (P < 0.05). Although the application of targeted therapy did not significantly influence TRG scores of all cases of metastases, the addition of cetuximab to chemother-apy resulted in a higher pathologic response rate when combined with irinotecan-based regimens rather than with oxaliplatin-based regimens. Conclusions: We found that the evaluation of pathologic response may predict the prognosis of Chinese colo-rectal cancer patients with liver metastases after preoperative chemotherapy. Small tumor diameter, long-duration chemotherapy, left primary tumor, and decreased serum CEA level after chemotherapy are associated with increased pathologic response rates.

BACKGROUNDStaphylococcus aureus is one of the predominant causes of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), but limited data were available regarding the characterization of S. aureus from SSTIs patients in Jiangsu Province in China. We aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of S. aureus among SSTIs patients in two hospitals of Jiangsu Province.

METHODSSixty-two patients with SSTIs from two Chinese hospitals in Jiangsu Province were enrolled in this study, and 62 S. aureus isolates were collected from February 2014 to January 2015. S. aureus isolates were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, toxin gene detection, and molecular typing with sequence type, Staphylococcus protein A gene type, accessory gene regulator (agr) group, and Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec t ype.

RESULTSSixteen (25.8%) methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates were detected, and there was no isolate found resistant to vancomycin, teicoplanin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, and linezolid. The sei was the toxin gene most frequently found, and no lukS/F-PV-positive isolates were detected among the SSTIs' patients. Molecular analysis revealed that ST398 (10/62, 16.1%; 2 MRSA and 8 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus) to be the dominant clone, followed by ST5 (8/62, 12.9%) and ST7 (8/62, 12.9%).

CONCLUSIONSThe livestock ST398 was the most common clone among patients with S. aureus SSTIs in Jiangsu Province, China. Surveillance and further studies on the important livestock ST398 clone in human infections are necessarily requested.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Female ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Infant ; Linezolid ; pharmacology ; Male ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; drug effects ; isolation & purification ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Soft Tissue Infections ; microbiology ; Staphylococcal Infections ; microbiology ; Staphylococcal Skin Infections ; microbiology ; Staphylococcus aureus ; drug effects ; isolation & purification ; Teicoplanin ; pharmacology ; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination ; pharmacology ; Vancomycin ; pharmacology ; Young Adult