AIM To investigate the flavor technology for Jiannaoning Mixture based on electronic tongue combined with preference index.METHODS Artificial sensory evaluation method was employed to screen the type of flavor agents,electronic tongue was applied to screening the consumption of flavor agents,and double-bottle preference test was adopted in the analysis of effects of rat gender and body weight on taste sensitivity,after which acceleration test was conducted.RESULTS Sucrose,stevioside and xylitol were taken as flavor agents,whose optimal consumptions were 15%,0.08%and 15%,respectively.Male rats demonstrated stable taste perception with the body weights of 220-280 g,and 0.08%stevioside displayed the best flavoring effect.After placed under accelerated condition for 3 months,the preparation exhibited stable appearance,pH value and contents of lobetyolin,salvianolic acid B,schizandrin,ruscogenin.CONCLUSION This stable and reliable method can provide reference for improving the terrible tastes of Jiannaoning Mixture and other oral liquid preparations of traditional Chinese medicines.

Purpose::Autologous osteoperiosteal transplantation (AOPT) is one of the most feasible and effective techniques for cystic osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT). However, few reports have been reported about the process of graft-host bone healing and bone articular surface reconstruction, which help us to further understand the actual situation of bone healing and modify surgical methods.Methods::The case series study retrospectively evaluated 33 osteochondral lesions in 30 patients undertaking AOPT for OLT with subchondral cysts from December 2016 to October 2021. According to CT observation, we used 4 variables to describe the bony articular repair, including the integration of the articular surface, the height of the bone filling, the status of bone union, and the appearance of bone resorption or cystic change. We also analyzed the demographic data and clinical function. Descriptive statistics were used for demographic and clinical variables. Normally distributed data were presented as mean ± SD, and non-normally distributed data were presented as median (Q 1, Q 3). Associations between these variables and the primary clinical outcomes were examined using t-test or one-way ANOVA test for continuous variables. Results::The patients’ mean age was (41.7 ± 14.0) years old and the mean follow-up time was (29.6 ± 17.8) months. The chondral lesion size was (14.3 ± 4.1) mm. The cyst depth was (10.9 ± 3.7) mm. Significant improvements were observed in functional outcomes (according to the numeric rating scale for pain when walking and the American orthopedic foot and ankle society score) between the preoperative and latest follow-up evaluations, from 4.2 ± 2.1 to 2.2 ± 2.0 ( p < 0.001), and from 66.8 ± 12.9 to 83.2 ± 10.4, respectively ( p < 0.001). The overall satisfaction reached 8.3 of 10 points. All patients returned to sports and their median daily steps reached 8000 steps with 27 (81.8%) patients walking over 6000 steps daily. According to CT observation, "discontinuous bony articular surface and gap > 1 mm" was found in 27 grafts (81.8%), and "below the level of the adjacent articular surface, ≤1 mm" in a third of the grafts. Abnormal height of bone filling affected numeric rating scale score ( p=0.049) and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society score ( p =0.027). Of note, bone resorption or cystic changes appeared in up to 13 autografts (39.4%). Conclusions::AOPT is an effective and acceptable technique for cystic OLT. Bone reconstruction is essential for large cystic OLT. How to get better bony articular reconstruction and avoid cyst recurrence should still be paid more attention.

AIM: To compare the consistency and feasibility of objective ocular torsion measured with GMPE module-based optical coherence tomography(OCT)and fundus color photography(FCP).METHODS: Patients were enrolled in our strabismus clinic from December 2020 to March 2021, and the objective ocular torsion of the eyes was measured by both GMPE module-based OCT and FCP on the same day. FCP was used to measure the fovea-disc angle(FDA)manually by using the Adobe Photoshop software, while the GMPE module-based OCT software positioned automatically the macula and the center of the optic disc to measure the FDA.RESULTS: Fifty-five patients were included, the FDA measured by OCT was -6.6°±4.5° in the right eye and -8.8°±4.7° in the left eye, respectively; The FDA measured by FCP was -6.6°±4.7° in the right eye and -8.4°±4.1° in the left eye, respectively, with no statistically significant difference between the results of the two methods(Pright eye=0.90, Pleft eye=0.08). In patients with exotropia, the FDA measured by OCT was -5.8°±4.9° in the right eye and -9.1°±4.5° in the left eye, respectively, the FDA measured by FCP was -5.7°±5.0° in the right eye and -8.6°±4.3° in the left eye, respectively,(Pright eye=0.75, Pleft eye=0.15). Similarly, the patients with esotropia, the FDA measured by OCT was -9.0°±7.3° in the right eye and -11.3°±3.5° in the left eye, respectively, while the FDA measured by FCP was -10.0°±7.0° in the right and -10.1°±2.8° in the left eye(Pright eye=0.21, Pleft eye=0.10), respectively. There were no significant differences between the two methods in patients with esotropia or exotropia(P>0.05). The results of both Pearson test and Bland-Altman analysis were highly correlated(rright eye=0.93, rleft eye=0.94, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: GMPE module-based OCT can be used for objective ocular torsion measurement with high reliability and reproducibility, and is a promising clinical alternative to the fundus color photographic method.

BACKGROUND: Shenyankangfu Tablet (SYKFT) is a Chinese patent medicine that has been used widely to decrease proteinuria and the progression of chronic kidney disease. OBJECTIVE: This trial compared the efficacy and safety of SYKFT, for the control of proteinuria in primary glomerulonephritis patients, against the standard drug, losartan potassium. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION: This was a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial. Primary glomerulonephritis patients, aged 18-70 years, with blood pressure ≤ 140/90 mmHg, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥ 45 mL/min per 1.73 m MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was change in the 24-hour proteinuria level, after 48 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: A total of 735 participants were enrolled. The percent decline of urine protein quantification in the SYKFT group after 48 weeks was 8.78% ± 2.56% (P = 0.006) more than that in the losartan 50 mg group, which was 0.51% ± 2.54% (P = 1.000) less than that in the losartan 100 mg group. Compared with the losartan potassium 50 mg group, the SYKFT plus losartan potassium 50 mg group had a 13.39% ± 2.49% (P < 0.001) greater reduction in urine protein level. Compared with the losartan potassium 100 mg group, the SYKFT plus losartan potassium 100 mg group had a 9.77% ± 2.52% (P = 0.001) greater reduction in urine protein. With a superiority threshold of 15%, neither was statistically significant. eGFR, serum creatinine and serum albumin from the baseline did not change statistically significant. The average change in TCM syndrome score between the patients who took SYKFT (-3.00 [-6.00, -2.00]) and who did not take SYKFT (-2.00 [-5.00, 0]) was statistically significant (P = 0.003). No obvious adverse reactions were observed in any group. CONCLUSION: SYKFT decreased the proteinuria and improved the TCM syndrome scores of primary glomerulonephritis patients, with no change in the rate of decrease in the eGFR. SYKFT plus losartan potassium therapy decreased proteinuria more than losartan potassium therapy alone. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT02063100 on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Chinese scientists have been actively engaged in biotechnology research since the mid-20th century. However, biotechnology education, especially biomedical laboratory technology education, is relatively scarce in China. More and more cutting-edge equipment and techniques have been introduced into biomedical laboratories in China, but there is a lack of high-quality technicians to apply these advancements to scientific research. In addition, the traditional education and apprenticeship systems have been demonstrated little progress. To address this gap, West China Hospital of Sichuan University established a 2-year educational program for laboratory technology in 2006 based on the residency training program. The project integrates scientific methods into the research laboratory technician training in relevant disciplines, and has developed a systematic, scientific, and effective standardized training system to cultivate high-level and stable experimental technician team for the need of advanced laboratories, which has been demonstrated greatly improve the efficiency of biomedical researchers and laboratory facilities. In this article, we introduce the practical experience in establishment and development of a standardized training system for biomedical laboratory technicians to ensure the sustainable development of medical researches.

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy and complications of Memokath prostatic stent in the treatment of urinary retention due to benign prostatic hyperplasia.Methods:Two BPH patients (age 61 and 80 years)had Memokath prostatic stent inserted with flexible cystoscopy in October,2016.Both of them were in urethral catheter indwelling status.Pre-operative International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS)were 26 and 24 respectively.Prostate volumes were 33.4 and 32.9 mL.Results:Both patients were successfully operated,and the operation time were 30,20 min,respectively.Both patients regained the ability of spontaneous urination immediately after operation.The postoperative PVR was negative three weeks and one week after operation.IPSS were 6 and 12.Maximum flow rates were 24,14 mL/s.No serious complications such as urinary incontinence, urinary tract infection and stent dislocation were observed in both patients. Conclusions:Memokath spiral thermo-expandable prostatic stent is simple,safe,and effective in the treatment of urinary tract obstruction in the prostate.Further observation is necessary for long-term efficacy and complications.

BACKGROUNDGlobally, the proportion of child deaths that occur in the neonatal period remains a high level of 37-41%. Differences of cause in neonate death exist in different regions as well as in different economic development countries. The specific aim of this study was to investigate the causes, characteristics, and differences of death in neonates during hospitalization in the tertiary Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of China.

METHODSAll the dead neonates admitted to 26 NICUs were included between January l, 2011, and December 31, 2011. All the data were collected retrospectively from clinical records by a designed questionnaire. Data collected from each NICU were delivered to the leading institution where the results were analyzed.

RESULTSA total of 744 newborns died during the 1-year survey, accounting for 1.2% of all the neonates admitted to 26 NICUs and 37.6% of all the deaths in children under 5 years of age in these hospitals. Preterm neonate death accounted for 59.3% of all the death. The leading causes of death in preterm and term infants were pulmonary disease and infection, respectively. In early neonate period, pulmonary diseases (56.5%) occupied the largest proportion of preterm deaths while infection (27%) and neurologic diseases (22%) were the two main causes of term deaths. In late neonate period, infection was the leading cause of both preterm and term neonate deaths. About two-thirds of neonate death occurred after medical care withdrawal. Of the cases who might survive if receiving continuing treatment, parents' concern about the long-term outcomes was the main reason of medical care withdrawal.

CONCLUSIONSNeonate death still accounts for a high proportion of all the deaths in children under 5 years of age. Our study showed the majority of neonate death occurred in preterm infants. Cause of death varied with the age of death and gestational age. Accurate and prompt evaluation of the long-term outcomes should be carried out to guide the critical decision.

Cause of Death ; China ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Mortality ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Newborn, Diseases ; mortality ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Perinatal Death ; Retrospective Studies

The constituents in 95% ethanol extract of the root of Rosa cymosa Tratt were purified by column chromatography techniques, leading to isolation of eleven triterpenes. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data as pomolic acid (1), fupenzic acid (2), ursolic acid (3), euscaphic acid (4), arjunic acid (5), tomentic acid (6), 3β-E-feruloyl corosolic acid (7), 1β-hydroxyeuscaphic acid (8), myrianthic acid (9), cecropiacic acid (10), and ilexoside B (11). Among them, compounds 3, 6-8, 10 and 11 were obtained from this plant for the first time, and compounds 7 and 10 were obtained from this genus for the first time.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Rosa ; chemistry ; Triterpenes ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of Bufei Yishen Granule BFYSG) combined with Shufei Tie acupoint sticking therapy on quality of life of patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

METHODSA multi-center, double-blinded, double-dummy and randomized controlled method was adopted in this trial. A total of 244 patients were randomly assigned to a trial group and a control group according to the random number, each with 122 patients; treatment allocation occurred when the participants met the inclusion criteria and signed the informed consent form. In the trial group, patients were treated with BFYSG combined with "Shufei Tie" acupoint sticking therapy and sustained-release theophylline dummy, and in the control group patients were treated with oral sustained-release theophylline and BFYSG dummy combined with "Shufei Tie" acupoint sticking therapy dummy. The therapeutic course for two groups was 4 months and the follow-up was 6 months. The frequency and duration of acute exacerbation calculated by adding up each frequency and duration of acute exacerbation in treatment and follow-up time respectively, the quality of life measured by the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF scale and adult COPD quality of life (COPD-QOL) scale were observed.

RESULTSAmong the 244 enrolled patients, 234 were screened for full analysis set (FAS); 221 were screened for per-protocol analysis set (PPS). After 4-month treatment and 6-month follow-up there were differences between the trial group and the control group in frequency of acute exacerbation (FAS: P=0.013; PPS: P=0.046); duration of acute exacerbation (FAS: P=0.005; PPS: P=0.006); scores of physiological, psychological and environment aspects of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire (FAS: P=0.002, P=0.006, P=0.000; PPS: P=0.00, P=0.001, P=0.000); scores of daily living ability, social activity, depression symptoms aspects of the COPD-QOL questionnaire (FAS: P=0.000, P=0.000, P=0.006; PPS: P=0.002, P=0.001, P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONBFYSG combined with acupoint sticking therapy could improve the quality of life of patients with stable COPD.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Aged ; Anxiety ; complications ; psychology ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Depression ; complications ; psychology ; Disease Progression ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; complications ; drug therapy ; psychology ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) combined with incremental positive end-expiratory pressure (IP) on respiratory and circulatory functions, and lung histopathology of dogs with smoke inhalation injury.

METHODSAfter being treated with conventional mechanical ventilation, 12 dogs were inflicted with severe smoke inhalation injury and divided into group HFOV and group HFOV+IP according to the random number table, with 6 dogs in each group. Then they received corresponding ventilation for 8 hours respectively. Blood gas analysis results (pH value, PaO2 and PaCO2 levels) and hemodynamic parameters [heart rate, mean arterial pressure (MAP), pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), central venous pressure (CVP), cardiac output (CO)] were recorded before injury, immediately after injury, and at post ventilation hour (PVH) 2, 4, 6, and 8. The dogs of two groups were sacrificed at PVH 8. A healthy dog without any treatment and a dog with smoke inhalation injury but no subsequent treatment were sacrificed in addition. Lung tissues of all dogs were obtained for histopathological observation. Lung injury score examination was conducted in both groups. Data were processed with rank sum test, analysis of variance of repeated measurement, and LSD- t test.

RESULTS(1) The PaO2 levels in both groups were significantly decreased immediately after injury, compared with those before injury (with t values respectively 4.960, 5.310, P values all below 0.01). The PaO2 levels in both groups from PVH 2 to PVH 8 were significantly increased, compared with those observed immediately after injury (with t values from 4.930 to 6.050, P values all below 0.01). At PVH 2, 4, and 8, PaO2 levels in group HFOV+IP were significantly higher than those in group HFOV (with t values from 3.775 to 5.774, P values all below 0.01); no statistically significant differences were observed in pH value and PaCO2 level at each time point between two groups (with t values from 0.002 to 0.997, P values all above 0.05). (2) There were no statistically significant differences in MAP, PAP, and CVP within two groups at each time point (with F values from 1.316 to 4.959, P values all above 0.05). In group HFOV, heart rate from PVH 2 to PVH 8 was significantly lower than that observed immediately after injury (with t values from 3.780 to 8.970, P values all below 0.01). In group HFOV+IP, CO at PVH 4, 6, and 8 was significantly lower than that observed immediately after injury (with t values from 3.990 to 11.200, P values all below 0.01). There were no statistically significant differences in MAP, PAP, and CVP between two groups at the same time point (with t values from 0.089 to 2.123, P values all above 0.05). At PVH 4, 6, and 8, heart rate in group HFOV+IP was higher than that in group HFOV (with t values from 2.931 to 7.229, P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), while CO was lower (with t values from 4.297 to 11.206, P values all below 0.01). (3) Compared with those of the healthy dog, inflammatory cell infiltration and bleeding in the lung were observed in alveolar space in both group HFOV and group HFOV+IP, while the degree was less serious than that of the dog with smoke inhalation injury only. Compared with those of group HFOV, inflammatory cell infiltration in group HFOV+IP was less significant, the alveolar structure was relatively intact, and no thickening of alveolar walls was observed. The lung injury score in group HFOV [(3.27 ± 0.24) points] was higher than that of group HFOV+IP [(2.79 ± 0.31) points, t = 27, P < 0.05].

CONCLUSIONSHFOV combined with IP can improve gas exchange and alleviate pulmonary injury without any adverse effect on blood gas analysis or hemodynamic parameters. Therefore, it may be considered as an appropriate mode of ventilation for the treatment of smoke inhalation injury.

Animals ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Burns, Inhalation ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dogs ; Hemodynamics ; High-Frequency Ventilation ; Male ; Positive-Pressure Respiration ; Smoke ; adverse effects