Brain’s neural activities encompass both periodic rhythmic oscillations and aperiodic neural fluctuations. Rhythmic oscillations manifest as spectral peaks of neural signals, directly reflecting the synchronized activities of neural populations and closely tied to cognitive and behavioral states. In contrast, aperiodic fluctuations exhibit a power-law decaying spectral trend, revealing the multiscale dynamics of brain neural activity. In recent years, researchers have made notable progress in studying brain aperiodic dynamics. These studies demonstrate that aperiodic activity holds significant physiological relevance, correlating with various physiological states such as external stimuli, drug induction, sleep states, and aging. Aperiodic activity serves as a reflection of the brain’s sensory capacity, consciousness level, and cognitive ability. In clinical research, the aperiodic exponent has emerged as a significant potential biomarker, capable of reflecting the progression and trends of brain diseases while being intricately intertwined with the excitation-inhibition balance of neural system. The physiological mechanisms underlying aperiodic dynamics span multiple neural scales, with activities at the levels of individual neurons, neuronal ensembles, and neural networks collectively influencing the frequency, oscillatory patterns, and spatiotemporal characteristics of aperiodic signals. Aperiodic dynamics currently boasts broad application prospects. It not only provides a novel perspective for investigating brain neural dynamics but also holds immense potential as a neural marker in neuromodulation or brain-computer interface technologies. This paper summarizes methods for extracting characteristic parameters of aperiodic activity, analyzes its physiological relevance and potential as a biomarker in brain diseases, summarizes its physiological mechanisms, and based on these findings, elaborates on the research prospects of aperiodic dynamics.

AIM To study the chemical constituents from ethyl acetate fraction of Balanophora harlandii Hook.f.and their tyrosinase inhibitory activity.METHODS Separation and purification were performed using silica gel,MCI,ODS,Sephadex LH-20 and semi-preparative HPLC,then the structures of obtained compounds were identified by physicochemical properties and spectral data.The monophenolase inhibitory activity was determined by the tyrosinase-catalyzed oxidation of L-tyrosine.RESULTS Twenty-four compounds were isolated and identified as sesamin(1),methyl caffeate(2),quercetin(3),5,7-dihydroxychromanone(4),methyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate(5),esculetin(6),kaempferol(7),naringenin(8),pyrogallic acid(9),pinosylvin(10),methyl propionate(11),caffeic acid(12),saccharinol(13),ferulic acid(14),trans-p-hydroxycinnamic acid(15),cinnamic acid(16),vanillic acid(17),vanillin(18),4-hydroxyacetophenone(19),4-hydroxybenzaldehyde(20),apigenin(21),(-)-isolariciresinol(22),(-)-secoisolariciresinol(23)and meso-2,3-di(3′,4′-methylenedioxybenzyl)butane-1,4-diol(24).The IC50 values of compounds 3,5,7,8,19,and 20 ranged from(0.246 5±0.028 3)to(1.278 2±0.021 3)mmol/L.CONCLUSION Compounds 1-9、11、15、17-21、24 are isolated from this plant for the first time,and 1,6,9,17-19,24 are first isolated from genus Balanophora.Compounds 3、5、7、8、19 and 20 have tyrosinase inhibitory activity.

AIM To study the chemical constituents from ethyl acetate fraction of Balanophora harlandii Hook.f.and their tyrosinase inhibitory activity.METHODS Separation and purification were performed using silica gel,MCI,ODS,Sephadex LH-20 and semi-preparative HPLC,then the structures of obtained compounds were identified by physicochemical properties and spectral data.The monophenolase inhibitory activity was determined by the tyrosinase-catalyzed oxidation of L-tyrosine.RESULTS Twenty-four compounds were isolated and identified as sesamin(1),methyl caffeate(2),quercetin(3),5,7-dihydroxychromanone(4),methyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate(5),esculetin(6),kaempferol(7),naringenin(8),pyrogallic acid(9),pinosylvin(10),methyl propionate(11),caffeic acid(12),saccharinol(13),ferulic acid(14),trans-p-hydroxycinnamic acid(15),cinnamic acid(16),vanillic acid(17),vanillin(18),4-hydroxyacetophenone(19),4-hydroxybenzaldehyde(20),apigenin(21),(-)-isolariciresinol(22),(-)-secoisolariciresinol(23)and meso-2,3-di(3′,4′-methylenedioxybenzyl)butane-1,4-diol(24).The IC50 values of compounds 3,5,7,8,19,and 20 ranged from(0.246 5±0.028 3)to(1.278 2±0.021 3)mmol/L.CONCLUSION Compounds 1-9、11、15、17-21、24 are isolated from this plant for the first time,and 1,6,9,17-19,24 are first isolated from genus Balanophora.Compounds 3、5、7、8、19 and 20 have tyrosinase inhibitory activity.

Objective To establish a rapid screening method for 34 emerging contaminants in surface water by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS).Methods The pretreatment conditions of solid phase extraction(SPE)were op-timized by orthogonal experimental design and the surface water samples were concentrated and ex-tracted by Oasis? HLB and Oasis? MCX SPE columns in series.The extracts were separated by Kine-tex? EVO C18 column,with gradient elution of 0.1%formic acid aqueous solution and 0.1%formic acid methanol solution.Q-TOF-MS'fullscan'and'targeted MS/MS'modes were used to detect 34 emerging contaminants and to establish a database with 34 emerging contaminants precursor ion,prod-uct ion and retention times.Results The 34 emerging contaminants exhibited good linearity in the con-centration range respectively and the correlation coefficients(r)were higher than 0.97.The limit of de-tection was 0.2-10 ng/L and the recoveries were 81.2%-119.2%.The intra-day precision was 0.78%-18.70%.The method was applied to analyze multiple surface water samples and 6 emerging contaminants were detected,with a concentration range of 1.93-157.71 ng/L.Conclusion The method is simple and rapid for screening various emerging contaminants at the trace level in surface water.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pneumococcal meningitis(PM),and drug sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae(SP)isolates in Chinese children.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical information,laboratory data,and microbiological data of 160 hospitalized children under 15 years old with PM from January 2019 to December 2020 in 33 tertiary hospitals across the country.Results Among the 160 children with PM,there were 103 males and 57 females.The age ranged from 15 days to 15 years,with 109 cases(68.1% )aged 3 months to under 3 years.SP strains were isolated from 95 cases(59.4% )in cerebrospinal fluid cultures and from 57 cases(35.6% )in blood cultures.The positive rates of SP detection by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing and cerebrospinal fluid SP antigen testing were 40% (35/87)and 27% (21/78),respectively.Fifty-five cases(34.4% )had one or more risk factors for purulent meningitis,113 cases(70.6% )had one or more extra-cranial infectious foci,and 18 cases(11.3% )had underlying diseases.The most common clinical symptoms were fever(147 cases,91.9% ),followed by lethargy(98 cases,61.3% )and vomiting(61 cases,38.1% ).Sixty-nine cases(43.1% )experienced intracranial complications during hospitalization,with subdural effusion and/or empyema being the most common complication[43 cases(26.9% )],followed by hydrocephalus in 24 cases(15.0% ),brain abscess in 23 cases(14.4% ),and cerebral hemorrhage in 8 cases(5.0% ).Subdural effusion and/or empyema and hydrocephalus mainly occurred in children under 1 year old,with rates of 91% (39/43)and 83% (20/24),respectively.SP strains exhibited complete sensitivity to vancomycin(100% ,75/75),linezolid(100% ,56/56),and meropenem(100% ,6/6).High sensitivity rates were also observed for levofloxacin(81% ,22/27),moxifloxacin(82% ,14/17),rifampicin(96% ,25/26),and chloramphenicol(91% ,21/23).However,low sensitivity rates were found for penicillin(16% ,11/68)and clindamycin(6% ,1/17),and SP strains were completely resistant to erythromycin(100% ,31/31).The rates of discharge with cure and improvement were 22.5% (36/160)and 66.2% (106/160),respectively,while 18 cases(11.3% )had adverse outcomes.Conclusions Pediatric PM is more common in children aged 3 months to under 3 years.Intracranial complications are more frequently observed in children under 1 year old.Fever is the most common clinical manifestation of PM,and subdural effusion/emphysema and hydrocephalus are the most frequent complications.Non-culture detection methods for cerebrospinal fluid can improve pathogen detection rates.Adverse outcomes can be noted in more than 10% of PM cases.SP strains are high sensitivity to vancomycin,linezolid,meropenem,levofloxacin,moxifloxacin,rifampicin,and chloramphenicol.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):131-138]

Objective: To compare the effects of two administration time strategies for rabbit antihuman thymocyte immunoglobulin (rATG) of 5mg/kg total dose in matched sibling donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (MSD-HSCT) . Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 32 patients who received MSD-HSCT with 5 mg/kg rATG conditioning regimen at the Department of Hematology of the First Medical Center of the People's Liberation Army General Hospital from October 2020 to April 2022. The patients were classified into two groups: the 4d-rATG group (16 cases), who received antithymocyte globulin (ATG) from day -5 to day -2, and the 2d-rATG group (16 cases), who received ATG from day -5 to day -4. Between the two groups, the transplantation outcomes, serum concentrations of active antithymocyte globulin (ATG) in patients from -4 days to 28 days after graft infusion (+28 days), and the reconstitution of lymphocyte subsets on days +30, +60, and +90 were compared. Results: The cumulative incidences of acute graft-versus-host disease at 100 days after graft infusion were 25.0% (95% CI 7.8% -47.2% ) and 18.8% (95% CI 4.6% -40.2% ) (P=0.605) in the 4d-rATG group and 2d-rATG group, respectively. The 1-year cumulative incidences of chronic graft-versus-host disease were 25.9% (95% CI 8.0% -48.6% ) and 21.8% (95% CI 5.2% -45.7% ) (P=0.896). The 1-year cumulative incidence of relapse was 37.5% (95% CI 18.9% -65.1% ) and 14.6% (95% CI 3.6% -46.0% ) (P=0.135), and the 1-year probabilities of overall survival were 75.0% (95% CI 46.3% -89.8% ) and 100% (P=0.062). The total area under the curve (AUC) of serum active ATG was 36.11 UE/ml·d and 35.89 UE/ml·d in the 4d-rATG and 2d-rATG groups, respectively (P=0.984). The AUC was higher in the 4d-rATG group than that in the 2d-rATG group (20.76 UE/ml·d vs 15.95 UE/ml·d, P=0.047). Three months after graft infusion, the average absolute count of CD8(+) T lymphocytes in the 4d-rATG group was lower than that in the 2d-rATG group (623 cells/μl vs 852 cells/μl, P=0.037) . Conclusion: The efficiencies of GVHD prophylaxis in MSD-PBSCT receiving 4d-ATG regimen and the 2d-rATG regimen were found to be similar. The reconstruction of CD8(+)T lymphocytes in the 2d-rATG group was better than that in the 4d-rATG group, which is related to the lower AUC of active ATG after transplantation.
Animals ; Rabbits ; Humans ; Antilymphocyte Serum/therapeutic use* ; Siblings ; Retrospective Studies ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Tissue Donors ; Graft vs Host Disease/drug therapy* ; Transplantation Conditioning

Aim To determine the antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects of the recommended prescription for COVID-2019-lung-spleen qi deficiency(4-1)against in vitro infection of SARS-CoV-2 and common coronaviruses.Methods The main chemical substances of 4-1 were analyzed by LC-MS.The toxicity and antiviral effects of of 4-1 were detected by MTT and by CPE assay, respectively.The viral loads in cell supernatant and the expression of inflammatory factors induced by viral infection were determined by qRT-PCR.Results The recommended prescription 4-1 contained 94 chemical compounds, including flavonoids, steroids, sesquiterpenoids, and so on.The range of selection indexes for SARS-CoV-2 and common coronaviruses was 8.44±0.4952.26±2.3.This prescription could inhibit the proliferation of SARS-CoV-2, the expression of ACE2 and S mRNA, and down regulate IL-1α and CCL-5/RANTES at 10, 5, and 2.5 g•L-1 doses.Further, at doses of 20, 10 and 5 g•L-1, it could inhibit the proliferation of three common coronaviruses and suppress the overexpression of IL-6, CXCL-8/IL-8, CXCL-10/IP-10, TNF-α, IFN-α, CCL-2/MCP-1, MIG and CCL-5/RANTES induced by OC43/229E infection.The inhibitory effects were dose-dependent.Conclusions The prescription 4-1 has antiviral and anti-inflammation effects against multiple coronaviruses.This study provides the research basis for the treatment of common respiratory viral infections and emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19 by using traditional Chinese medicine.

AIM: To quantify the lacrimal punctum using anterior segment optical coherence tomography(AS-OCT)and analyze the correlation between the epiphora and primary punctal stenosis.METHODS: A cross-sectional study. There were 43 healthy volunteers(57 eyes)and 44 patients(62 eyes)with primary lacrimal punctal stenosis and epiphora enrolled in the Lacrimal Center of the Third Medical Center of PLA General Hospital from September 2020 to January 2021. The inferior punctum of all subjects were scanned by AS-OCT, and the images were quantified in order to observe the AS-OCT image features. The outer punctal diameter, punctal depth, tear well diameter and tear well depth were all measured simultaneously. The inferior punctum's punctal reserve and punctal reserve ratio were estimated according to the available parameter data.RESULTS: 1)The measured parameters conforming to normal distribution were expressed as mean±standard deviation. The observation group's outer punctal diameter, tear well diameter, tear well depth, and punctal reserve ratio were 458.19±63.58μm, 200.34±84.69μm, 188.95±87.50μm and 0.32±0.18, respectively, while the control group's outer punctal diameter, tear well diameter, tear well depth and punctal reserve ratio were 655.53±82.62μm, 230.26±107.02μm, 275.30±144.34μm, 0.46±0.23, respectively. The parameters in observation group were all lower than those of control group(P<0.05); 2)Parameter data that did not conform to normal distribution were expressed as medians and quartiles, and the results were as follows: the punctal depth in the observation group was 265.50μm(interquartile range 204.25-328.77)μm and the punctal reserve was 71.53μm(interquartile range 46.12-111.37)μm, respectively, while the punctal depth in the control group was 468.76μm(interquartile range 420.50-588.88)μm and the punctal reserve was 182.16μm(interquartile range 131.36-309.84)μm. This difference was statistically significant(P<0.05); 3)In the observation group, there was a negative correlation between the epiphora and the outer punctal diameter(r=-0.448, P<0.05), a positive correlation between the epiphora and tear well depth(r=0.335, P<0.05), and a negative correlation between the epiphora and the punctal reserve and punctal reserve ratio coefficient(r=-0.520, -0.566, P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The AS-OCT can aid in enhancing punctal morphology cognition; The outer punctal diameter and tear well depth are related to the epiphora; The primary punctal stenosis patients with smaller outer punctal diameters are more likely to have the symptom of epiphora, and in patients with punctal stenosis, the greater the potential capacity of the punctum to hold tears, the lesser the degree of epiphora.

ObjectiveProteoglycan TPG-1 isolated from Trametes robiniophila（Huaier） has proved to have anti-hepatoma activity， and this paper aims to explore the molecular mechanism. MethodHuman hepatoma SK-HEP-1 cells were treated with TPG-1 （0， 0.05， 0.1， 0.25， 0.5， 1 g·L^-1）. Then cell survival was detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium （MTT） and apoptosis by flow cytometry. In addition， expression of genes in SK-HEP-1 cells treated with or without TPG-1 was examined by DNA microarray to preliminarily explore the anti-hepatoma molecular mechanism of TPG-1. ResultTPG-1 inhibited the proliferation of SK-HEP-1 cells as compared with the blank group （P<0.01）. After treatment with 1 g·L^-1 TPG-1 for 48 h， the apoptosis rate of SK-HEP-1 cells increased （P<0.01）， and TPG-1 promoted the cleavage of cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase （Caspase）-3 and Caspase-7， the key mediators of apoptosis （P<0.01）. Additionally， TPG-1 （1 g·L^-1） suppressed the migration of SK-HEP-1 cells （P<0.05）. A total of 971 differentially expressed genes （DEGs） were identified in SK-HEP-1 cells after treatment with TPG-1， with 486 up-regulated and 485 down-regulated. These DEGs were mainly involved in the Gene Ontology （GO） terms of interleukin-6 （IL-6） biosynthesis， antigen processing and presentation， superoxide dismutase activity， positive regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase （MAPKKK） cascade， nature killer （NK） cell chemotaxis， and chemokine biosynthesis， and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathways of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain （NOD）-like receptor signaling pathway， apoptosis， Toll-like receptor signaling pathway， retinoic acid-inducible gene-Ⅰ （RIG-Ⅰ）-like receptor signaling pathway， T-cell receptor signaling pathway， and chemokine signaling pathway. Western blot results showed that TPG-1 （1 g·L^-1） activated mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） signaling pathway in SK-HEP-1 cells （P<0.01）. ConclusionProteoglycan TPG-1 inhibited the proliferation and migration， and induced apoptosis of human hepatoma SK-HEP-1 cells. Up-regulation of MAPK signaling pathway may be responsible for the growth inhibition of human hepatoma SK-HEP-1 cells by TPG-1.

Objective: To investigate the effects of compound analgesia on ultra-pulsed fractional carbon dioxide laser (UFCL) treatment of post-burn hypertrophic s in children. Methods: A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted. From April 2018 to March 2020, 169 pediatric patients with post-burn hypertrophic s admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University were randomly divided into general anesthesia alone group (39 cases, 19 males and 20 females, aged 35 (21, 48) months), general anesthesia+lidocaine group (41 cases, 23 males and 18 females, aged 42 (22, 68) months), general anesthesia+ibuprofen suppository group (41 cases, 25 males and 16 females, aged 38 (26, 52) months), and three-drug combination group with general anesthesia + lidocaine+ibuprofen suppository (48 cases, 25 males and 23 females, aged 42 (25, 60) months), and the pediatric patients in each group were treated with corresponding analgesic regimens when UFCL was used to treat s, and the pediatric patients were given comprehensive care throughout the treatment process. The pain degree of pediatric patients scar was evaluated by facial expression,legs,activity,cry,and consolability (FLACC) of children's pain behavior scale at 0 (immediately), 1, 2, and 4 h after awakening from the first anesthesia, respectively. At 4 h after awakening from the first anesthesia of postoperative pain assessment, the self-made analgesia satisfaction questionnaire was used to evaluate the satisfaction for the analgesic effect of the pediatric patients or their families, and the satisfaction rate was calculated. Within 2 h after the first operation, the occurrences of adverse reactions of the pediatric patients, such as nausea and vomiting, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, etc, were observed and recorded. Before the first treatment and 1 month after the last treatment, the Vancouver scar scale (VSS) was used to evaluate the pediatric patients scar, and the difference value between the two was calculated. Data were statistically analyzed with least significant difference test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, chi-square test and Fisher's exact probability test. Results: At 0 h after awakening from the first anesthesia, the FLACC scores of pediatric patients in general anesthesia+lidocaine group, general anesthesia+ibuprofen suppository group and three-drug combination group were significantly lower than those in general anesthesia alone group (P<0.01). The FLACC scores of the pediatric patients in anesthesia+ibuprofen suppository group and three-drug combination group were significantly lower than that in general anesthesia+lidocaine group (P<0.01), and the FLACC score of the pediatric patients in three-drug combination group was significantly lower than that in general anesthesia+ibuprofen suppository group (P<0.01). At 1 and 2 h after awakening from the first anesthesia, the FLACC scores of pediatric patients in general anesthesia+ibuprofen suppository group and three-drug combination group were both significantly lower than those in general anesthesia alone group and general anesthesia+lidocaine group (P<0.01), and the FLACC score of the pediatric patients in three-drug combination group was significantly lower than that in general anesthesia+ibuprofen suppository group (P<0.01). At 4 h after awakening from the first anesthesia, the FLACC scores of the pediatric patients in general anesthesia+ibuprofen suppository group and three-drug combination group were significantly lower than those in general anesthesia alone group and general anesthesia+lidocaine group (P<0.01). At 4 h after awakening from the first anesthesia, the satisfactions rate with the analgesic effect in the four groups of pediatric patients or their families were 79.49% (31/39), 85.37% (35/41), 87.80% (36/41), and 97.92% (47/48), respectively. The satisfaction rate of the pediatric patients in three-drug combination group was significantly higher than those in general anesthesia alone group, general anesthesia+lidocaine group, general anesthesia+ibuprofen suppository group. Within 2 h after the first operation, there was no significant difference in the overall comparison of adverse reactions such as nausea and vomiting, headache, dizziness, and drowsiness of pediatric patients among the 4 groups (P>0.05). The VSS scores of pediatric patients before the first treatment, 1 month after the last treatment, and and the difference value between the two in the 4 groups were not significantly different (P>0.05). Conclusions: Three-drug combination for analgesia has a good effect in the treatment of hypertrophic scars after burn in pediatric patients with UFCL. Pediatric patients or their families are highly satisfied with the effect, and the treatment effect and incidence of adverse reactions are similar to other analgesic regimens, so it is recommended to be promoted in clinical practice.
Analgesia ; Analgesics ; Child ; Cicatrix, Hypertrophic/pathology* ; Dizziness/drug therapy* ; Female ; Headache/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Ibuprofen/therapeutic use* ; Lasers, Gas/therapeutic use* ; Lidocaine ; Male ; Nausea/drug therapy* ; Pain/drug therapy* ; Prospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Vomiting/drug therapy*