Haematitum and Limonitum are two iron-containing mineral medicines included in the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. They have similar main components and major differences in their property, flavor, channel tropism, and clinical uses. In this study, we investigated the surface properties, mineral composition, mineral dissociation, elemental composition, and iron state of Haematitum and Limonitum to explore their mineralogical differences. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), specific surface and porosity analyzer, X-ray diffractometer(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer(XPS), and advanced mineral identification and characterization system(AMICS) were used to analyze the mineralogy of Haematitum and Limonitum. The results showed that Haematitum had an angular surface with granular attachments and a specific surface area of 17.04 m~2·g~(-1). In comparison, Limonitum had a smooth and flat surface with a bundled acicular crystal structure and a specific surface area of 46.29 m~2·g~(-1). Haematitum consists of 31 detectable minerals containing 18 elements, with the major element, iron(44.5% Fe~(2+) and 55.5% Fe~(3+)) distributed in 17 minerals, including hematite, iron oxide, knebelite, siderite, and magnesioferrite. Limonitum consists of 32 detectable minerals containing 17 elements, with the major element, iron(14.5% Fe~(2+) and 85.5% Fe~(3+)) distributed in 19 minerals, including limonite, iron oxide, chlorite, and knebelite. In summary, the elemental composition of Haematitum and Limonitum does not differ greatly, but there are large differences in the mineral composition and iron state. The large specific surface area and strong adsorption capacity of Limonitum may be one of the mechanisms of its anti-diarrheal action. The Fe_2O_3 and illite contained in Haematitum and Limonitum may be the key substances for their hemostasis effects. The mineralogical differences are expected to provide a reference for explaining the scientific connotation of mineral medicine and laying a material foundation for studying its mechanism of action.
Iron/analysis* ; Minerals/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; X-Ray Diffraction ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Purpose/Significance To investigate the effectiveness of experiential teaching in perinatal healthcare management contin-uing education.Method/Process The perinatal healthcare team of Peking Union Medical College Hospital holds a four-day experiential learning program for 30 maternity-related medical staffs from China.Through the self-administered experiential teaching questionnaire(ETQ)and satisfaction questionnaire,the researchers analyze the participants'post-teaching skill acquisition,clinical application abil-ity and educational needs,as well as their satisfaction with course content,course duration,teaching design,classroom atmosphere,and teaching format,which are quantified with Likert scale.Result/Conclusion The experiential teaching mode shows good teaching effects in perinatal healthcare management continuing education,and has higher application value.In the future,the researchers should combine it with theoretical teaching and carry out more comprehensive and structured periodic learning classes throughout the country,so as to im-prove both the theoretical foundation and practical ability of healthcare workers for better healthcare services for pregnant women.

Objective:To investigate the value of serum free light chain(sFLC)and serum calcium ion in the diagnosis and prognosis of multiple myeloma(MM).Methods:Forty patients with MM treated in Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2018 to January 2022 were selected as the observation group,and 40 healthy volunteers were selected as the control group.The differences of sFLC-κ,sFLC-λ,sFLC-κ/λ,serum calcium ions,etc between the two groups were compared.Meanwhile,the differences of sFLC-κ,sFLC-λ,sFLC-κ/λ,serum calcium ions,etc in different international staging systems(ISS),chemotherapy efficacy and prognosis patients were analyzed.Results:The levels of sFLC-κ[(98.39±21.19)vs(12.01±4.45)mg/L],sFLC-λ[(210.20±45.54)vs(14.10±5.11)mg/L]and proportions of hypocalcemia(65％vs 0)in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P＜0.05),while sFLC-κ/λ ratio[(0.44±0.10)vs(0.87±0.12)]and serum calcium ions[(1.98±0.46)vs(2.42±0.40)mmol/L]were significantly lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05).The sFLC-κ,sFLC-λ,the proportion of hypocalcemia and the course of hypocalcemia in ISS stage Ⅲ patients in the observation group were significantly higher than those in stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ patients(P＜0.05),while sFLC-κ/λ ratio,and serum calcium ions were significantly lower than those in stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ patients(P＜0.05).The levels of sFLC-κ[(107.76±21.22)vs(94.67 ±20.11)mg/L],sFLC-λ[(245.54±41.12)vs(205.54±50.22)mg/L]of patients with hypocalcemia in the observation group was significantly higher than those without hypocalcemia(P＜0.05),while the sFLC-κ/λ ratio was significantly lower than those without hypocalcemia[(0.42±0.04)vs(0.47±0.06);P＜0.05].The levels of sFLC-κ[(107.29±20.14)vs(91.11±18.92)mg/L],sFLC-λ[(247.98±42.26)vs(179.29±39.32)mg/L]in patients with ineffective chemotherapy were significantly higher than those in patients with effective chemotherapy(P＜0.05),while the sFLC-κ/λ ratio was significantly lower than those in patients with effective chemotherapy[(0.43± 0.10)vs(0.50±0.09);P＜0.05)].The area under the ROC curve for sFLC-κ,sFLC-λ,sFLC-κ/λ predicting ineffective chemotherapy was 0.803,0.793 and 0.699 respectively,P＜0.05.There was no significant difference in sFLC-κ,sFLC-λ,sFLC-κ/λ ratio,serum calcium ion,hypocalcemia ratio and hypocalcemia course between survival and death patients(P＞0.05).Conclusion:sFLC and serum calcium are related to 1SS stage of MM patients.sFLC level has a certain value to predict the curative effect of chemotherapy in MM patients.However,the prognostic values of sFLC and serum calcium are not yet confirmed for MM patients.

Objective:This study aimed to investigate the effect of lipohypertrophy induced by insulin injection on blood glucose fluctuation in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.Methods:A total of 80 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus were recruited between June 2021 and December 2021 from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. And these patients all received insulin injection more than six months. Lipohypertrophy was assessed by ultrasound scanning, and blood glucose fluctuation was evaluated using the flash glucose monitoring system(FGM). Univariate analysis and multivariate linear regression were used to analyze the relationship of lipohypertrophy and and core indicators of blood glucose fluctuation.Results:Compared with patients without lipohypertrophy, patients with lipohypertrophy had higher mean amplitude of glycemic excursions(MAGE), coefficient of variation(CV), mean of daily differences(MODD), standard deviation(SD) of blood glucose, time above range(TAR), and high blood glucose index(HBGI; all P<0.05), while time in range(TIR) of glucose markedly become lower( P<0.01). Moreover, multivariate linear regression analysis showed that lipohypertrophy detected by ultrasound was an independent influencing factor of TIR( β=-9.423, P=0.032), MAGE( β=1.114, P=0.039), CV( β=4.304, P=0.041), MODD( β=0.717, P=0.046) after adjusting for age at diagnosis, duration of insulin injection, fasting C-peptide, and daily dose of insulin per unit weight. Conclusion:Lipohypertrophy increases glycemic variability and imposes negative impact on glycemic control rate in patients type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: This cross-sectional investigation aimed to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics, prognosis, and related risk factors of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain in mainland China. Methods: Data of patients with SARS-CoV-2 from December 28, 2022, to February 21, 2023, were collected through online and offline questionnaires from 45 tertiary hospitals and one center for disease control and prevention in mainland China. The questionnaire included demographic information, previous health history, smoking and alcohol drinking, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, olfactory and gustatory function before and after infection, other symptoms after infection, as well as the duration and improvement of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. The self-reported olfactory and gustatory functions of patients were evaluated using the Olfactory VAS scale and Gustatory VAS scale. Results: A total of 35 566 valid questionnaires were obtained, revealing a high incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain (67.75%). Females(χ2=367.013, P<0.001) and young people(χ2=120.210, P<0.001) were more likely to develop these dysfunctions. Gender(OR=1.564, 95%CI: 1.487-1.645), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (OR=1.334, 95%CI: 1.164-1.530), oral health status (OR=0.881, 95%CI: 0.839-0.926), smoking history (OR=1.152, 95%CI=1.080-1.229), and drinking history (OR=0.854, 95%CI: 0.785-0.928) were correlated with the occurrence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2(above P<0.001). 44.62% (4 391/9 840) of the patients who had not recovered their sense of smell and taste also suffered from nasal congestion, runny nose, and 32.62% (3 210/9 840) suffered from dry mouth and sore throat. The improvement of olfactory and taste functions was correlated with the persistence of accompanying symptoms(χ2=10.873, P=0.001). The average score of olfactory and taste VAS scale was 8.41 and 8.51 respectively before SARS-CoV-2 infection, but decreased to3.69 and 4.29 respectively after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and recovered to 5.83and 6.55 respectively at the time of the survey. The median duration of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions was 15 days and 12 days, respectively, with 0.5% (121/24 096) of patients experiencing these dysfunctions for more than 28 days. The overall self-reported improvement rate of smell and taste dysfunctions was 59.16% (14 256/24 096). Gender(OR=0.893, 95%CI: 0.839-0.951), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (OR=1.334, 95%CI: 1.164-1.530), history of head and facial trauma(OR=1.180, 95%CI: 1.036-1.344, P=0.013), nose (OR=1.104, 95%CI: 1.042-1.171, P=0.001) and oral (OR=1.162, 95%CI: 1.096-1.233) health status, smoking history(OR=0.765, 95%CI: 0.709-0.825), and the persistence of accompanying symptoms (OR=0.359, 95%CI: 0.332-0.388) were correlated with the recovery of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2 (above P<0.001 except for the indicated values). Conclusion: The incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain is high in mainland China, with females and young people more likely to develop these dysfunctions. Active and effective intervention measures may be required for cases that persist for a long time. The recovery of olfactory and taste functions is influenced by several factors, including gender, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status, history of head and facial trauma, nasal and oral health status, smoking history, and persistence of accompanying symptoms.
Female ; Humans ; Adolescent ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Smell ; COVID-19/complications* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Incidence ; Olfaction Disorders/etiology* ; Taste Disorders/etiology* ; Prognosis

BACKGROUND: Innovative coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, with elevated global manufacturing capacity, enhanced safety and efficacy, simplified dosing regimens, and distribution that is less cold chain-dependent, are still global imperatives for tackling the ongoing pandemic. A previous phase I trial indicated that the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (V-01), which contains a fusion protein (IFN-PADRE-RBD-Fc dimer) as its antigen, is safe and well tolerated, capable of inducing rapid and robust immune responses, and warranted further testing in additional clinical trials. Herein, we aimed to assess the immunogenicity and safety of V-01, providing rationales of appropriate dose regimen for further efficacy study. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II clinical trial was initiated at the Gaozhou Municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Guangdong, China) in March 2021. Both younger (n = 440; 18-59 years of age) and older (n = 440; ≥60 years of age) adult participants in this trial were sequentially recruited into two distinct groups: two-dose regimen group in which participants were randomized either to follow a 10 or 25 μg of V-01 or placebo given intramuscularly 21 days apart (allocation ratio, 3:3:1, n = 120, 120, 40 for each regimen, respectively), or one-dose regimen groups in which participants were randomized either to receive a single injection of 50 μg of V-01 or placebo (allocation ratio, 3:1, n = 120, 40, respectively). The primary immunogenicity endpoints were the geometric mean titers of neutralizing antibodies against live severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and specific binding antibodies to the receptor binding domain (RBD). The primary safety endpoint evaluation was the frequencies and percentages of overall adverse events (AEs) within 30 days after full immunization. RESULTS: V-01 provoked substantial immune responses in the two-dose group, achieving encouragingly high titers of neutralizing antibody and anti-RBD immunoglobulin, which peaked at day 35 (161.9 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 133.3-196.7] and 149.3 [95%CI: 123.9-179.9] in 10 and 25 μg V-01 group of younger adults, respectively; 111.6 [95%CI: 89.6-139.1] and 111.1 [95%CI: 89.2-138.4] in 10 and 25 μg V-01 group of older adults, respectively), and remained high at day 49 after a day-21 second dose; these levels significantly exceed those in convalescent serum from symptomatic COVID-19 patients (53.6, 95%CI: 31.3-91.7). Our preliminary data show that V-01 is safe and well tolerated, with reactogenicity predominantly being absent or mild in severity and only one vaccine-related grade 3 or worse AE being observed within 30 days. The older adult participants demonstrated a more favorable safety profile compared with those in the younger adult group: with AEs percentages of 19.2%, 25.8%, 17.5% in older adults vs. 34.2%, 23.3%, 26.7% in younger adults at the 10, 25 μg V-01 two-dose group, and 50 μg V-01 one-dose group, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The vaccine candidate V-01 appears to be safe and immunogenic. The preliminary findings support the advancement of the two-dose, 10 μg V-01 regimen to a phase III trial for a large-scale population-based evaluation of safety and efficacy. TRIAL REGISTRATION http://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx (No. ChiCTR2100045107, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=124702).
Aged ; Antibodies, Viral ; COVID-19/therapy* ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Double-Blind Method ; Humans ; Immunization, Passive ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; SARS-CoV-2

This study aimed to identify the related substances of lorazepam tablets by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). To separate the related substances of lorazepam tablets, gradient elution was performed using acetonitrile and 0.1% acetic acid -20 mmol/L of ammonium acetate as mobile phase on Inert Sustain C18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm).The accurate mass and elemental composition of the parent ions and their product ions of related substances were determined by electrospray-ionization quadrupole time-of-flight high resolution mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOF/MS).The structures of the related substances were identified by spectral analysis. Under the established analytical condition, lorazepam and its related substances were adequately separated, and 22 major related substances with content greater than 0.1% were detected and identified by hyphenated techniques in lorazepam tablets and their stressed samples.Among them, 5 were the impurities listed in the USP or EP, and the others were unknown related substances identified for the first time in this paper.The LC-MS technique can effectively separate and identify the related substances of lorazepam tablets, which provides some reference for quality control.

To evaluate the impact of the depth of lipohypertrophy on glycemic control in diabetic patients, 498 diabetic patients were recruited from July 2017 to July 2020 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Their demographic and clinical data were collected. Lipohypertrophy was assessed with ultrasound. 85.1%(424/498) of patients had lipohypertrophy. The average depth of lipohypertrophy was(5.62±2.49) mm. Compared with HbA 1C≤7%, patients with HbA 1C>7% had significantly higher proportion of lipohypertrophy with depth >5 mm(69.7% vs 81.3%, P<0.05). After adjusting potential confounders, the level of HbA 1C in patients with the depth of lipohypertrophy>5 mm was still significantly higher than those with the depth of lipohypertrophy≤5 mm( OR=1.716, 95% CI 1.104-2.668, P<0.05). The depth of lipohypertrophy may be an independent risk factor for suboptimal HbA 1C. However, prospective studies are still needed to confirm.

Objective To explore the short-term outcome of laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) and open pancreaticoduodenectomy (OPD) for pancreatic head cancer.Methods The retrospective cohort study was conducted.The clinicopathological data of 108 patients with pancreatic head cancer who were admitted to the Affiliated Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology between July 2014 and July 2015 were collected.Among 108 patients,47 and 61 who respectively underwent LPD and OPD were allocated into LPD and OPD groups.Observation indicators:(1) intraoperative situations;(2) postoperative situations;(3) postoperative pathological situations;(4) follow-up and survival situations.Follow-up using outpatient examination and telephone interview was performed to detect chemotherapy and postoperative survival situations at 1 and 3 years postoperatively up to June 2018.Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as x±s and comparison between groups was analyzed using the t test.Comparison between groups of count data was analyzed using the chi-square test.Results (1) Intraoperative situations:operation time in the LPD and OPD groups was respectively (288±24)minutes and (265±29)minutes,with no statistically significant difference between groups (t=5.138,P＞0.05).Volume of intraoperative blood loss in the LPD and OPD groups was respectively (136±14)mL and (388±21)mL,with a statistically significant difference between groups (t=-7.297,P＜0.05).Cases with blood transfusion were respectively 3 and 7 iu the LPD and OPD groups,with no statistically significant difference between groups (x2 =0.325,P ＞ 0.05).(2) Postoperative situations:of 47 patients in the LPD group,16 with postoperative complications were improved by conservative treatment,including 7 with pancreatic fistula (5 with biochemical pancreatic fistula and 2 with grading B and C of pancreatic fistula);4 with delayed gastric emptying were cured by gastrointestinal decompression and gastric motility promoting treatment;2 with postoperative bleeding were improved by conservative treatment;2 with intraabdominal infection were improved by enhanced antibiotic therapy and transabdominal percutaneous drainagc;1 with biliary fistula was improved by transabdominal percutaneous drainage;there was no wound infection and perioperative death.Of 61 patients in the OPD group,28 with postoperative complications were improved by conservative treatment,including 12 with pancreatic fistula (9 with biochemical pancreatic fistula and 3 with grading B and C of pancreatic fistula);8 with delayed gastric emptying were cured by gastrointestinal decompression and gastric motility promoting treatment;3 with intra-abdominal infection were improved by enhanced antibiotic therapy and transabdominal percutaneous drainage;2 with postoperative bleeding were improved by conservative treatment;2 with wound infection were c ured by conservative treatment;1 with biliary fistula was improved by transabdominal percutaneous drainage;there was no perioperative death.There was no statistically significant difference in the cases with postoperative complications between groups (x2 =1.546,P＞ 0.05).Duration of hospital stay in the LPD and OPD groups was (13.6±2.1)days and (19.3 ±4.4)days,respectively,with a statistically significant difference (t =-4.354,P＜0.05).(3) Postoperative pathological situations:R0 resection rate was respectively 100.0％ (47/47) and 98.4％ (60/61) in the LPD and OPD groups,with no statistically significant difference (x2 =0,P＞0.05),and there was 1 patient with R1 resection in the OPD group.The total number of lymph node dissected in the LPD and OPD groups was respectively 19±4 and 13±4,with a statistically significant difference (t=-4.126,P＜0.05).The cases with high-and moderate-differentiated tumor and low-differentiated tumor (tumor differentiation),staging T1-T2 and T3-T4 (T stage),staging N0 and N1 (N stage),staging Ⅰ and Ⅱ-Ⅲ (TNM staging) and nerve or vascular invasion were respectively 35,12,28,19,20,27,16,31,21 in the LPD group and 50,11,36,25,36,25,14,47,32 in the OPD group,with no statistically significant difference (x2=0.891,0.003,2.882,1.628,0.643,P＞0.05).(4) Follow-up and survival situations:44 and 55 patients in the LPD and OPD group respectively underwent postoperative adjuvant therapy during the follow-up,with no statistically significant difference (x2=0,P＞0.05).The postoperative 1-year follow-up:47 patients in the LPD group were followed up,37 survived and 10 died;of 61 patients in the OPD group,3 lost to follow-up,and 58 were followed up (43 survived and 15 died);there was no statistically significant difference in survival between groups (x2=0.301,P＞0.05).The postoperative 3-year follow-up:of 47 patients in the LPD group,3 lost to follow-up,and 44 were followed up (21 survived and 23 died);of 61 patients in the OPD group,6 lost to follow-up,and 55 were followed up (23 survived and 32 died);there was no statistically significant difference in survival between groups (x2 =0.346,P＞0.05).Conclusion LPD is safe and feasible for pancreatic head cancer,with advantages of less bleeding,shorter duration of hospital stay and more total number of lymph node dissected,and its survival effect is equivalent to that of OPD.