ObjectiveTo improve the accuracy of discrete element method in simulating the processing of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） powder system under low shear conditions. MethodsIn this study， extract powders of Tongsaimai tablets and Qige granules were used as the research objects， the angle of repose（AOR） and effective angle of internal friction of the two materials were determined by AOR test method and shear cell test method. Based on the Hertz-Mindlin with JKR V2 contact model and particle scaling theory， taking the particle-particle restitution coefficient（A）， particle-particle static friction coefficient（B）， particle-particle rolling friction coefficient（C）， particle-steel restitution coefficient（D）， particle-steel static friction coefficient（E）， particle-steel rolling friction coefficient（F） and Johnson-Kendall-Roberts（JKR） surface energy（G） as test factors， the simulated contact parameters of Tongsaimai tablets extract powder were first calibrated with a single reference value using AOR as the reference value， and then the simulated contact parameters of Tongsaimai tablets extract powder as well as Qige granules extract powder were co-calibrated with AOR and effective angle of internal friction as the joint reference value， respectively. Then， Plackett-Burman design was used to screen the critical contact parameters that have a significant effect on the simulated reference value， and the steepest ascent design was used to determine the optimal range of the critical contact parameters， finally， the regression model between the critical contact parameters and the simulated reference values was established through the design of the response surface test， and the critical contact parameters were calibrated based on the regression model and the desirability function approach. ResultsThe optimal combination of discrete elemental contact parameters A-G for Tongsaimai tablets extract powder under a single reference value was 0.100， 0.718， 0.616， 0.100， 0.400， 0.250 and 0.075 J·m^-2， which was validated to have relative errors of 0.10% and -8.64% for the simulated AOR and the simulated effective angle of internal friction， respectively. And the optimal combination of discrete elemental contact parameters A-G for Tongsaimai tablets extract powder at the joint reference values was 0.100， 0.682， 0.598， 0.100， 0.521， 0.294 and 0.075 J·m^-2， which was verified to have relative errors of 0.10% and -0.18% for the simulated AOR and the simulated effective angle of internal friction， respectively. The optimal combination of discrete elemental contact parameters A-G for Qige granules extract powder at the joint reference values was 0.150， 0.370， 0.330， 0.150， 0.500， 0.500 and 0.100 J·m^-2， which was verified to have relative errors of 2.70% and -1.30% for the simulated AOR and the simulated effective angle of internal friction， respectively. Compared with the single reference value method， the joint calibration method not only increased the number of the critical contact parameters for characterizing particle-device interactions， but also was more accurate and reliable. ConclusionCompared with the results of single reference value calibration， the results obtained by the method of joint calibration of discrete element simulation contact parameters with AOR and effective angle of internal friction as the reference values are more accurate， which can provide more accurate and reliable simulation physical property data for the simulation experiments of TCM extract powder under low shear process conditions.

Objective To explore the mechanism by which diazepam alleviates lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced pyroptosis and inflammation to delay the progression of pulmonary fibrosis.Methods MRC-5 cells challenged with LPS were treated with diazepam and transfected with a let-7a-5p mimic alone or co-transfected with pc-DNA-MYD88.The changes in cellular expressions of inflammatory factors were analyzed with ELISA,and the expressions of fibrosis-and pyroptosis-related proteins were detected using Western blotting.In the animal experiment,C57BL/6 mice were randomized for treatment with LPS,LPS+diazepam,LPS+diazepam+let-7a-5p mimic,LPS+diazepam+ST2825(a MYD88 inhibitor),or LPS+diazepam+let-7a-5p mimic+pc-DNA-MYD88,and pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary expression of α-SMA were examined using Masson staining and immunofluorescence staining,respectively.Results LPS exposure of MRC-5 cells significantly downregulated let-7a-5p expression,up-regulated MYD88 expression,increased the levels of IL-4,IL-6,TGF-β and TNF-α,and enhanced the expressions of fibrosis-related proteins(Col-I,Col-III,and α-SMA)and pyroptosis-related proteins(NLRP3,caspase-1,ASC,and GSDMD-N).Diazepam treatment of LPS-stimulated cells effectively inhibited the expressions of inflammation-related factors and the fibrosis-and pyroptosis-related proteins.In C57BL/6 mice,diazepam treatment obviously alleviated LPS-induced pulmonary fibrosis and reduced and pulmonary expression of α-SMA,and these effects were further enhanced by treatment with let-7a-5p mimic or ST2825,but the effect of let-7a-5p mimic was significantly attenuated by MYD88 over-expression.Conclusion Diazepam can negatively regulate MYD88 by upregulating the expression of let-7a-5p to inhibit LPS-induced pyroptosis and inflammatory response,thereby alleviating lung fibrosis in mice.

Objective To explore the mechanism by which diazepam alleviates lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced pyroptosis and inflammation to delay the progression of pulmonary fibrosis.Methods MRC-5 cells challenged with LPS were treated with diazepam and transfected with a let-7a-5p mimic alone or co-transfected with pc-DNA-MYD88.The changes in cellular expressions of inflammatory factors were analyzed with ELISA,and the expressions of fibrosis-and pyroptosis-related proteins were detected using Western blotting.In the animal experiment,C57BL/6 mice were randomized for treatment with LPS,LPS+diazepam,LPS+diazepam+let-7a-5p mimic,LPS+diazepam+ST2825(a MYD88 inhibitor),or LPS+diazepam+let-7a-5p mimic+pc-DNA-MYD88,and pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary expression of α-SMA were examined using Masson staining and immunofluorescence staining,respectively.Results LPS exposure of MRC-5 cells significantly downregulated let-7a-5p expression,up-regulated MYD88 expression,increased the levels of IL-4,IL-6,TGF-β and TNF-α,and enhanced the expressions of fibrosis-related proteins(Col-I,Col-III,and α-SMA)and pyroptosis-related proteins(NLRP3,caspase-1,ASC,and GSDMD-N).Diazepam treatment of LPS-stimulated cells effectively inhibited the expressions of inflammation-related factors and the fibrosis-and pyroptosis-related proteins.In C57BL/6 mice,diazepam treatment obviously alleviated LPS-induced pulmonary fibrosis and reduced and pulmonary expression of α-SMA,and these effects were further enhanced by treatment with let-7a-5p mimic or ST2825,but the effect of let-7a-5p mimic was significantly attenuated by MYD88 over-expression.Conclusion Diazepam can negatively regulate MYD88 by upregulating the expression of let-7a-5p to inhibit LPS-induced pyroptosis and inflammatory response,thereby alleviating lung fibrosis in mice.

Objectives:To explore the GAA varient spectrum and the genotype-phenotype correlations in patients with glycogen storage disease type Ⅱ (Pompe disease, PD), as well as to estimate the disease incidence based on carrier rate of GAA varients in Guangzhou population.Methods:A total of 57 PD cases were retrospectively enrolled at Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center from January 1, 2010 to May 31, 2020. All patients presented symptoms before the age of 18 years. Each diagnosis was further confirmed by GAA enzyme activity and GAA variants. The carrier rate of GAA varients was calculated based on variants detected by whole exon sequencing among 2 395 healthy children in Guangzhou.Results:Among the 57 PD patients (including male 26, female 31),twenty-eight patients with infantile onset PD (IOPD) presented with progressive general muscle weakness and cardiomyopathy. The mean ages of symptom onset and diagnosis were (2.5±1.4) and (5.0±3.0) months, respectively. Twenty-six cases died in the first year after birth.Twenty-three patients with late onset PD (LOPD) presented with progressive muscle weakness. Seven of them had respiratory failure at diagnosis. The mean ages of symptom onset and diagnosis were (12.0±5.0) and (17.0±7.5) years, respectively. Six children with atypical IOPD showed motor delay, muscle weakness and cardiomyopathy. Their diagnosis was confirmed at 2.5-7.0 years of age. Among the 57 patients, 47 different variants were identified in the GAA gene. Three variants: c.797C>T, c.1109G>A and c.1757C>T were novel. c.1935C>A (25/114, 21.9%) and c.2238G>C (15/114, 13.2%) were the most common variants, detected in 57.1% of IOPD and 65.2% (15/23) of LOPD patients, respectively. Among the 28 IOPD patients, 26 cases (92.9%) carried at least one missense variant which indicated positive cross-reactive immunologic material (CRIM). The carrier rate of pathogenic variants in GAA gene among healthy children was 24/2 395. The estimated incidence of PD in this population is about 1/40 000. The frequencies of pseudodeficiency variants c.1726G>A and c.2065G>A homozygotes were 26.3% (15/57) and 35.1% (20/57) in PD patients, which were significantly higher than those (1.7% (40/2 395) and 3.9% (94/2 395)) in healthy children (χ2=151.2, 121.9; both P<0.01). Conclusions:PD presents as a spectrum, some as atypical IOPD. The c.1935C>A and c.2238G>C are common variants, correlated with IOPD and LOPD respectively. The c.796C>T and c.1082C>T are usually found in atypical IOPD. The majority of IOPD patients is predicted to be CRIM positive. The estimated incidence of PD is about 1/40 000.

Objective:To reveal the relationship between G6PD genotypes and the G6PD enzyme activities in dried blood spots of newborn screening.Methods:Simple random sampling procedure was used in this study. The fluorescence PCR melting curve analysis was performed to classify G6PD gene variants in 635 neonates coming from Guangzhou Newborn Screening Center during October 1 to 20, 2016, including 15 reported variants. Those samples consisted of 377 cases with screening positive results (261 from males and 116 from females) and 258 cases with screening negative results (32 from males and 226 from females). The cut-off value of G6PD was less than 2.6 U/g Hb in dry blood spots. Sanger sequencing for G6PD gene was used in 7 cases with screening negative results under simple random sampling. One-way ANOVA and least significant difference method (LSD) test were performed to compare the difference of G6PD activity among genotypes.Results:The top 6 frequency of G6PD gene variants were c.1388G>A(35.07%), c.1376G>T(32.13%), c.95A>G(12.72%), c.871G>A(8.32%), c.1024C>T(4.08%) and c.392G>T(2.28%), accounting for 94.62% of all variant alleles (580/613). A total of 253 males positive for enzyme activity were detected to have gene mutations. The positive rate of G6PD enzyme activity was 98.06%(253/258). The mean values of G6PD activities for c.1376G>T,c.95A>G and c.1388G>A were 0.85, 1.10 and 1.28 U/g Hb, respectively. There were significant differences among the three groups ( F=28.7, P<0.01). A total of 105 females positive for enzyme activity were detected to have gene mutations. The positive rate of G6PD enzyme activity was 90.52%(105/116). The positive rate of G6PD enzyme activity was 26.95% among 256 females with one point mutation while it was 83.72% in females with multi-allele variants. The G6PD activity of heterozygous females was (2.9±0.8) U/g Hb, which was significant higher than that of females with multi-allele variants (1.5±1.0) U/g Hb ( t=8.6, P<0.01). Conclusions:G6PD activities in dried blood spots were related to G6PD genotypes in males. They were also associated with the numbers of allele variants in females. Newborn screening for G6PD deficiency can be used to detect most of G6PD-deficient hemizygotes and female patients with multi-allele variants, which is helpful for preventing neonatal jaundice and medicine application.

Objective:To reveal the relationship between G6PD genotypes and the G6PD enzyme activities in dried blood spots of newborn screening.Methods:Simple random sampling procedure was used in this study. The fluorescence PCR melting curve analysis was performed to classify G6PD gene variants in 635 neonates coming from Guangzhou Newborn Screening Center during October 1 to 20, 2016, including 15 reported variants. Those samples consisted of 377 cases with screening positive results (261 from males and 116 from females) and 258 cases with screening negative results (32 from males and 226 from females). The cut-off value of G6PD was less than 2.6 U/g Hb in dry blood spots. Sanger sequencing for G6PD gene was used in 7 cases with screening negative results under simple random sampling. One-way ANOVA and least significant difference method (LSD) test were performed to compare the difference of G6PD activity among genotypes.Results:The top 6 frequency of G6PD gene variants were c.1388G>A(35.07%), c.1376G>T(32.13%), c.95A>G(12.72%), c.871G>A(8.32%), c.1024C>T(4.08%) and c.392G>T(2.28%), accounting for 94.62% of all variant alleles (580/613). A total of 253 males positive for enzyme activity were detected to have gene mutations. The positive rate of G6PD enzyme activity was 98.06%(253/258). The mean values of G6PD activities for c.1376G>T,c.95A>G and c.1388G>A were 0.85, 1.10 and 1.28 U/g Hb, respectively. There were significant differences among the three groups ( F=28.7, P<0.01). A total of 105 females positive for enzyme activity were detected to have gene mutations. The positive rate of G6PD enzyme activity was 90.52%(105/116). The positive rate of G6PD enzyme activity was 26.95% among 256 females with one point mutation while it was 83.72% in females with multi-allele variants. The G6PD activity of heterozygous females was (2.9±0.8) U/g Hb, which was significant higher than that of females with multi-allele variants (1.5±1.0) U/g Hb ( t=8.6, P<0.01). Conclusions:G6PD activities in dried blood spots were related to G6PD genotypes in males. They were also associated with the numbers of allele variants in females. Newborn screening for G6PD deficiency can be used to detect most of G6PD-deficient hemizygotes and female patients with multi-allele variants, which is helpful for preventing neonatal jaundice and medicine application.

Objective:To explore the current status of clinical teaching staff for the graduate program of master of nursing specialist (abbreviated to nursing masters) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) universities and compare it with the role expectations of students, aiming to provide a reference for the subsequent construction and improvement of clinical teaching staff.Methods:Totally 172 nursing masters from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan provinces and Tianjin and 86 clinical teaching staff from the hospitals where they practiced were selected using convenient samping and investigated with the self-made questionnaire from October to December 2018. The differences between clinical teaching staff's resources, abilities and students' expectations were compared. A total of 258 questionnaires were distributed among 86 clinical teachers and 172 nursing masters, and 258 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective rate of 100%. SPSS 22.0 software was used for statistical analysis of data.Results:There was a certain gap between the clinical teaching staff and students' expectations, especially in terms of the graduate school and academic qualifications of the clinical teachers. Totally 34.88% (30/86) of the clinical teachers graduated from TCM universities, while 71.51% (123/172) of the students expected to be taught by teachers graduating from TCM universities. Among the clinical teachers, 60.47% (52/86) were undergraduates, and fewer were masters or graduates with higher education. There was a certain difference between the teaching teachers' abilities and students' expectations. There were statistically significant differences in 17 secondary indicators (χ 2 were 12.027-130.149, P<0.05) , except for the professional attitude in clinical nursing abilities, decision-making abilities in clinical management abilities, communication abilities in interpersonal abilities, and collaboration abilities ( P>0.05) . There were statistically significant differences between students' current status and their learning needs for TCM nursing (χ 2 were 14.722-165.339, P<0.01) . TCM nursing skills and practical application of TCM nursing research were the contents that most students wanted to learn, accounting for 83.72% (144/172) and 70.35% (151/172) , respectively. Conclusions:There were differences between the current status of the teaching staff for nursing masters at TCM universities and the expectations of the students. The universities should fully consider the graduates' own expectations and needs based on the training objectives for graduates, actively explore the admission system for clinical teachers, improve the training system for teachers, and standardize the teaching evaluation mechanism based on the status quo of nursing talents in China.

Objective To study the influence of postnatal age and season of sample collection on congenital hypothyroidism (CH) screening and to determine the appropriate cut-off value. Method From January 2015 to December 2017, neonatal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) screening data in Guangzhou were retrospectively analysed. The infants were assigned into four groups according to sampling postnatal age:24～＜48 h, 48～＜72 h, 3～＜7＜d and≥7 d, and assigned into another four groups according to their birth seasons. Based on the data of 2015 and 2016, the cut-off value of TSH for hypothyroidism were adjusted. The data of 2017 were used to verify the accuracy of the adjusted cut-off value. The cut-off value was determined based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and percentile method. Specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the cut-off value were also calculated. Result A total of 459854 newborns were screened from 2015 to 2016. 7329 were positive in preliminary screening, 371 were still positive after recall for re-examination, and 318 were confirmed with CH eventually. The optimal TSH cut-off value calculated using ROC curve was 9 mIU/L, with a percentage of 98.7. The cut-off value with sampling time≥48 h was set to 9 mIU/L in spring, summer and autumn, and 10 mIU/L in winter. The cut-off of sampling time 24～＜48 h was set to 10 mIU/L in all seasons. The data of 264993 newborns screened in 2017 were verified using the adjusted cut-off value. The overall positive rate was reduced from 1.27％to 1.02％, and the PPV was increased from 6.07％to 7.58％without adding false negative cases. Conclusion Adjusting cut-off values of TSH for CH screening according to postnatal age and season can effectively reduce false positive rates.

Objective: To reveal the molecular epidemiologic characteristics of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) gene and to evaluate based on the genetic analysis the newborn screening program performance and enzymatic diagnosis of G6PD deficiency in Guangzhou. Methods: G6PD enzyme activities were measured by quantitative fluorescence assay in dry blood spots of 16 319 newborns(8 725 males, 7 594 females) 3-7 days after birth in Guangzhou Newborn Center. They were born in Guangzhou form Oct. 1 to 20, 2016. The cutoff value of G6PD was less than 2.6 U/g Hb in dry blood spots. G6PD deficiency was diagnosed when G6PD<1 700 U/L or G6PD/6PGD<1 in red blood cells. Genetic analysis of G6PD gene was performed on the dry blood spot samples of 823 newborns (including positive 346, negative 477)with various levels of G6PD enzyme activities through fluorescence PCR melting curve analysis(FMCA) to detect 15 kinds of mutations reported to be common among Chinese.G6PD gene Sanger sequency was performed in seven highly suspicious patients with negative results by FMCA. Results: (1) Using the cutoff value of G6PD< 2.6 U/g Hb , a total of 687(4.2%) newborns showed positive screening results, including 560 (6.4%) males and 127(1.7%) females. (2) Among the newborns with positive screening results, 214 males and 122 females were randomly chosen for G6PD gene analysis. The results showed that 197 (92.1%) males were hemizygote and 108(88.6%) females were mutation carriers with one to four alleles. Among the newborns with negative screening results, 41 males with G6PD 2.6-2.8 U/g Hb and 436 females with G6PD 2.6-4.5 U/g Hb were chosen for genetic analysis.Mutations were detected in 5(12.2%)boys, and 226(51.8%) girls were carriers.G6PD gene Sanger sequency of seven highly suspicious patients showed that c.406C>T, c.551C>T, c.835A>T hemizygote were found in 3 male's samples, respectively. (3) The estimated prevalence of harboring mutation was 6.0% in males and 13.5% in females according to rates of mutation in samples with various levels of G6PD enzyme activities. Six common mutations were c.1388G>A、c.1376G>T, c.95A> G, c.871G>A, c.1024C>T, c.392G>T, accounting for 95.5% of detected alleles .(4) based on results of G6PD gene analysis, the newborn scereening of G6PD deficiency with cutoff value G6PD<2.6 U/g Hb yielded a positive predict value(PPV) of 93.5%, a false-positive rate of 0.5%, and a sensitivity of 99.0% for males. A PPV of 88.5%, a false-positive rate of 0.2% . The prevalence of severe type G6PD deficiency in females was about 1.5%. Compared with to genetic analysis, the sensitivity and PPV of G6PD activity assay in red blood cells were 95.5%, 97.2%, respectively. Conclusions The prevalence of G6PD deficiency in males was 6.0% in Guangzhou. Six mutations c.1388G>A, c.1376G>T, c.95A>G, c.871G>A, c.1024C>T, c.392G>T accounted for 95.5%. The cutoff value of G6PD<2.6 U/g Hb innewborn screening program and the criteria of biochemical diagnosis could accurately identify G6PD deficiency . Combined with biochemical and molecular analysis will improve the accuracy of diagnosis of G6PD deficiency and detect more heterozygous females.

Objective To investigate the effects of Baduanjin exercise on the fatigue and quality of life in patients with moderate inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Methods Totally 63 moderate IBD patients who were treated via the IBD diagnosis and treatment platform Nanjing Hospital of Chinese Medicine between March and July 2017 and met the inclusion criteria were selected and randomly divided into the control group (n=31) and the observation group (n=32) according to the random number table. Patients in the control group received general guidance for anti-fatigue via the WeChat platform on the basis of conventional medication, while patients in the observation group did Baduanjin exercise in addition to general guidance and medication. The fatigue and quality of life scores were compared between the two groups.Results The observation group scored lower on the whole and in the dimensions of general fatigue, physiological fatigue, less physical activities and mental fatigue than the control group after intervention (t=6.403, 6.746, 4.440, 3.409, 3.893;P< 0.05); but there was no significant difference in the dimension of lower enthusiasm between the two groups (t=0.486,P>0.05). In terms of the quality of life, the observation group scored higher on the whole and in the dimensions of bowel symptoms and general symptoms (t=-2.045, -2.254, -6.870;P<0.05); but there was no significance in the dimensions of emotional function and social function between the two groups (t= -0.041, 0.257;P>0.05).Conclusions Baduanjin exercise in traditional Chinese medicine can alleviate the fatigue symptoms in moderate IBD patients and improve their quality of life.