OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism by which Qiaobai cold compress solution （QBCS） improves acne vulgaris （AV） based on transcriptomics and animal experiments. METHODS Rats were randomly divided into a blank control group （ n ＝6） and a modeling group （ n ＝30）. AV models were established in the modeling group by topical application of oleic acid to the inner surface of both ears， combined with subcutaneous injection of Cutibacterium acnes suspension into the auricle. Successfully modeled rats were further divided into the model group， positive control group （Tretinoin cream， 0.045 g/kg）， and QBCS low-， medium-， high-dose groups [3.55， 7.11， 14.22 g/kg （calculated by the amount of crude drug） ] ， with 6 rats in each group. Rats in each d rug group were treated with the corresponding drugs once daily for 14 consecutive days. After the final administration， changes in the appearance of the ears and histopathological changes in the ear tissues were observed， and serum levels of inflammatory factors， including tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-6 （IL-6） and IL-1β， were measured. Auricular tissues from the blank control group， model group and QBCS medium-dose group were collected for transcriptome sequencing. Differential expressed genes （DEGs） were screened and subjected to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis， followed by validation using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assay. RESULTS Compared with the model group， rats in all QBCS groups showed alleviated auricular acne symptoms， with reduced epidermal thickening， sebaceous gland hyperplasia， and inflammatory cell infiltration. Serum levels of TNF-α （except for the QBCS low-dose group）， IL-6 （except for the QBCS low-dose group） and IL-1β were significantly decreased （ P ＜0.05）. A total of 590 DEGs were identified （blank control group vs. model group）， and 596 DEGs were identified （model group vs. QBCS medium-dose group）. Above DEGs （blank control group vs. model group） were mainly enriched in Toll-like receptor （TLR） and nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB） signaling pathways， etc. Validation experiments showed that， compared with model group， low-， medium- and high-dose of QBCS reduced， to varying degrees， the mRNA expression of TNF-α， TLR2， interferon-γ and CXC chemokine ligand 8 in the auricular tissues of AV rats， increased the mRNA expression of peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma and tumor protein 53， and inhibited the phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 protein as well as the expressions of TLR2 and myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88（MyD88） （ P ＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS QBCS can alleviate auricular inflammation and skin lesions in AV rats. This effect may be related to inhibition of the TLR/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway， thereby suppressing the expression of downstream inflammatory factors such as TNF-α.

ObjectiveTo optimize the water extraction process of Coptidis Rhizoma （CR） and the processing of Polygalae Radix （PR） with the water decoction of CR， and to compare chemical constituents before and after processing. MethodsWith water volume， soaking time， decocting time， and decocting times as influencing factors， and the content of berberine， epiberberine， coptisine， jatrorrhizine， and palmatine and the yield of dry extract as evaluation indexes， the orthogonal test combined with multi-index comprehensive scoring method was employed to optimize the water extraction parameters of CR. With solid-liquid ratio， stir-frying temperature， and stir-frying time as influencing factors， and the content of tenuifolin， polygalaxanthone Ⅲ， and 3，6ʹ-disinapoyl sucrose and the yield of ethanol extract as evaluation indexes， the orthogonal test combined with multi-index comprehensive scoring method was applied to optimize the processing parameters of PR with the water decoction of CR. The differential chemical constituents of PR before and after processing were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-Exactive Orbitrap-mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q Exactive Orbitrap MS）. ResultsThe optimal water extraction process of CR was as follows： Decocting for 3 times， 40 min each time， with 10 times the amount of water. The optimal processing technology of PR with the water decoction of CR was a solid-liquid ratio of 1∶1.5， a stir-frying temperature of 140 ℃， and stir-frying time of 20 min. A total of 31 differential components were identified before and after processing， including 17 components of PR and 15 components of CR. After processing， 14 new components such as coptisine， berberine， and palmatine emerged， and the content of arillanin A， glomeratose A， 3，6ʹ-disinapoyl sucrose， and ferulic acid was increased. The content of other intrinsic constituents of PR， such as onjisaponin D， polygalaxanthone Ⅺ， sibiricose A3， and tenuifoliside B， was generally decreased. ConclusionThe optimized characteristic processing technology of PR with the water decoction of CR is stable and feasible. Significant differences in chemical composition were observed between raw and processed PR. Processing with the water decoction of CR can effectively reduce the gastrointestinal irritant components originally present in PR while simultaneously introducing the bioactive constituents from CR. This study provides data support for the standardization research and mechanism elucidation of the ancient characteristic processing methods of the Jinling medical school.

Objective To optimize the particle size of Huoxue powder by contents comparison of emodin,phellodendrine,berberine and jatrorrhizine before and after permeabilized skin absorption of Huoxue powder in different particle size of 0.150,0.075,0.048,0.038 mm.Methods The contents of emodin,phellodendrine,berberine and jatrorrhizine in transparent absorbent fluid of Huoxue power in different particle size within 24 hours were measured by ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry,and optimize its particle size by contents comparison of the effective components.Results The contents of the active components in Huoxue power with the particle size of 0.075 mm were high before and after percutaneous absorption.Conclusion Particle size of 0.075 mm is best for Huoxue powder.

OBJECTIVE:To establish the quality standard of Huoxuesan. METHODS:Microscopic identification method was adopted for the qualitative identification of Rhizoma pinelliae,Eupolyphaga seu,Phellodendron amurense and Fructus kochiae in the preparation. HPLC was adopted for the contents determination of phellodendrine,polydatin,jatrorrhizine,berberine and emo-din:the column was ZORBAX Eclipse Plus C18 with methanol-0.1% phosphoric acid(gradient elution)at a flow rate of 0.4 ml/min,the detection wavelength was 240 nm,column temperature was 30 ℃,and the injection volume was 5 μl. RESULTS:Micro-scopic identification map of R. pinelliae,E. seu,P. amurense and F. kochiae was clear. The linear range was 0.159-5.073 μg(r=0.997 4)for phellodendrine、0.149-4.761 μg(r=0.999 9)for polydatin、0.239-7.649 μg(r=0.995 5)for jatrorrhizine、0.165-5.268 μg (r=0.997 2)for berberine、0.012-0.382 μg(r=0.999 9)for emodin;RSDs of precision,stability and reproducibility tests were low-er than 3.0%;recoveries were 98.9%-104.1%(RSD=1.9%,n=6),96.1%-101.7%(RSD=2.5%,n=6),99.6%-105.1%(RSD=2.6%,n=6),90.3%-98.2%(RSD=2.9%,n=6)and 92.9%-96.4%(RSD=2.0%,n=6)respectively. CONCLUSIONS:The es-tablished standard can be used for the quality control of Huoxuesan.

Objective To analyze the clinical and laboratory characteristics of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in children. Methods Fifty-three inpatients, 5 boys and 48 girls with SLE, who aged from 7 to 14 years with a median age at 12 years, were enrolled into this study. A retrospective study was carried out to assess the clinical and laboratory features of these pediatric patients. Results The ratio of male to female patients was 1:9.6. Skin eruption was the most common initial manifestation (41.51%), followed by fever (20.75%) and arthralgia (20.75%). Systemic involvement was common, and 84.90% of these patients had hematological abnormalities, 60.38% renal involvement, 18.87% nervous involvement. The most common manifestation of hematological, renal and nervous involvement was anemia, proteinuria and seizures, respectively. Among the immunologic parameters tested, anti-nuclear antibody showed the highest positivity rate of 90.57%, followed by anti-dsDNA with a positivity rate of 67.92%. There was no significant difference between the male and female patients in the age of onset, SLEDAI score at admission and discharge, duration of hospitalization or the dose of corticosteroid used initially and at the discharge. Conclusion The manifestations of pediatric SLE are various, and multisystem involvement is common in these patients. Early diagnosis and active treatment might benefit the prognosis of pediatric SLE.