OBJECTIVE To investigate the transfer and diffusion of berberine hydrochloride(BBH), the main active component of Coptis and Phellodenticum in the system of carboxymethyl chitosan(CMCS)-sodium alginate(SA). METHODS CMCS and SA were stirred in a certain proportion, and D-gluconolactone(GDL) was added to form polyelectrolyte hydrogel. Rheometer was used to study the rheological properties of CMCS-SA hydrogel, including the elastic modulus G′ and the viscous modulus G′′. A BBH diffusion model for CMCS-SA hydrogel was designed, and the relevant rules of BBH permeation through CMCS-SA polyelectrolyte hydrogel were observed by UV-VIS. RESULTS The elastic modulus G′ of the hydrogel was measured when the ratio of CMCS to SA was 3∶1, 2∶1, 1∶1, 1∶2, and 1∶3. When the ratio of CMCS to SA was 1∶1, G′ was the highest, and the crosslinking strength of the hydrogel was the highest. The cumulative amount of BBH transfer was measured by the BBH transfer model, and the diffusion of BBH in CMCS-SA hydrogel was fitted as the skeleton dissolution by Peppas equation, indicating that BBH dissociation and the transfer efficiency increased as the amino group of CMCS decreased or the carboxyl group of SA increased. The elastic modulus G′ of CMCS-SA hydrogel increased with the increase of GDL content. The reason was that the binding force between CMCS and SA molecules gradually increased with the decrease of pH, and the crosslinking degree of the hydrogel was enhanced. When ratio of fixed CMCS to SA was 1∶1 and the GDL content was 0.15 g·mL−1, the formability of CMCS-SA hydrogel was good. In addition, when BBH was transferred in hydrogel with different concentrations of GDL, the transfer efficiency increased with the increase of GDL content. When BBH was delivered in different thickness hydrogel, the delivery efficiency of CMCS-SA hydrogel increased with the decrease of thickness. CONCLUSION The CMCS-SA hydrogel system, as a potential drug carrier for traditional Chinese medicine extracts such as BBH, is expected to serve as a gel carrier for transdermal drug delivery.

Objective To investigate the risk factors and preventive strategies of pancreaticoduodenectomy postoperative hemorrhage.Methods A total of 208 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy in the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery of the 904th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force,PLA from January 2017 to December 2021 were enrolled.Twenty-one patients with postoperative hemorrhage were retrospectively analyzed.Results Univariate analysis indicated that postoperative hemorrhage was mainly associated with pancreatic leakage,biliary leakage,abdominal infection,hypoproteinemia,diabetes,improper use of ultrasound knife,skeletonization,intraoperative blood loss,preoperative jaundice,etc.(P<0.05),but not gender and age(P>0.05).Among the 21 patients with postoperative hemorrhage,4 cases recovered after conservative treatment such as hemostasis and blood transfusion,6 cases underwent interventional treatment,11 cases underwent abdominal exploration,and 2 cases died of postoperative multiple organ failure.Pancreatic leakage(OR=3.963,95%CI:1.120-14.025),biliary leakage(OR=4.013,95%CI:1.173-13.734)and abdominal infection(OR=7.545,95%CI:1.833-31.051)were independent risk factors for postoperative hemorrhage.Conclusions The improvement of anastomotic manipulation,reduction of anastomotic leakage,and control and prevention of abdominal infection are important to prevent postoperative hemorrhage of pancreaticoduodenectomy.Surgical treatment should be performed as soon as possible for the patients with poor conservative treatment effect.

In order to understand the prevalence of Akabane disease(AKAD)in Guizhou Province and the molecular characteristics of the isolates,the whole-genome sequence of a strain of Akabane virus(AKAV)from a bovine AKAD-positive sample was determined and analyzed.The genotype and genetic variation of the strain were also explored.Based on the conserved S sequence,a fluores-cence quantitative PCR(qPCR)detection method was established and applied for the investigation of AKAV infection status in four large-scale beef cattle farms of Guizhou.Results showed that the S,M and L fragments of the bovine strain were highly homologous to the Tianjin strain(TJ2016/China/2016)and the Australian strain(JaLAB39/Australia/1959),where they were in the same evolutionary branch and belonged to genotype Ⅱ.Sensitivity assay found that the lowest detection limit was 2.5 X 101 copies/μL.Specificity assay showed the established method detected only AKAV with no amplification on bovine bluetongue virus(BLUV),Pasteurella multocida(PM),bovine infectious rhinotracheitis virus(IBRV)and bovine Mycoplasma bovis.The variation coefficients of inter-and intra batches in the repeatability test were both lower than 2.26％.These findings illus-trated that the established qPCR method had high sensitivity,good specificity and repeatability.A total of 298 serum samples from 4 large-scale beef cattle farms in Qianxi City and Huangping County of Guizhou Province were collected and tested for AKAV by the method.Out of 298 sam-ples,25 positive samples(25/298)were detected as positive with a positive rate of 8.39％.In sum-mary,this work provided the reference data for a deep understanding of the molecular prevalence of AKAV in Guizhou Province and laid foundation for the prevention and control of AKAD.

Inguinal hernia is a common surgical disease, and most patients need surgical treatment. In recent years, minimally invasive surgery based on laparoscopy has been popularized in hernia surgery. With the release of clinical guidelines, the progress of instruments and materials, the update of treatment concepts and anatomical knowledge, laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair, especially laparoscopic total extraperitoneal hernia repair (TEP), is developing towards a more accurate and minimally invasive direction. Based on literatures in recent years and combined with clinical practice, the authors explore the advances in clinical application of laparoscopic TEP.

Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness of staged modular theory and practice lectures in laparoscopic training.Methods:In this study, a large group of medical students and a large group of residents were selected, and each of the two groups was divided into an experimental group and a control group respectively. The experimental group received staged modular theory and practice lectures based on the conventional trainings, and the control group only underwent conventional laparoscopic skills training and instruction. Before and after the training, the completion time of 6 basic laparoscopic operations, laparoscopic suture time, suture quality and the number of accidental injuries were recorded and scored in each group according to the assessment criteria. SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical analysis of the assessment data. Independent samples t-test or Mann-Whitney U test was used for inter-group comparison between the two large groups, and paired samples t-test or Wilcoxon sign rank sum test was used for intra-group comparison before and after the training. Results:Compared with the control group, the experimental group of medical students that had undergone staged modular theory and practice lectures had a shorter time to complete basic laparoscopic operations, faster speed of suturing ( t=6.18, P<0.001) and higher quality of suturing ( t=4.17, P<0.001) and fewer accidental injuries ( Z=-2.03, P=0.043); the experimental group of residents that had undergone staged modular theoretical and practical lectures had a shorter time to complete basic laparoscopic operations, faster speed of suturing ( t=3.31, P=0.002) and higher quality of suturing ( t=3.68, P=0.001) and fewer accidental injuries ( Z=-2.44, P=0.015). Conclusion:The staged modular theory and practice lectures are able to further improve the quality of basic laparoscopic skills training.

Objective To establish a sourceless efficiency calibration method by coupling Monte Carlo simulation with analytical calculation. Methods Monte Carlo simulation was used to calculate the point-to-point detection efficiency of specific detectors to establish a detection efficiency grid. The detection efficiency of point source, disc, cylindrical, beaker, spherical, U-tube and Marlin cup samples was analyzed using numerical integration method after detection efficiency grid interpolation. Results The above coupling method was used for sourceless efficiency calibration. Within the energy range of 0.2–3 MeV, the relative deviation of calibration between coupling method and Monte Carlo simulation was mostly less than 10%, the maximum relative deviation was 18.06%, and the computation time was reduced by at least 86%. The above coupling method was used for sourceless efficiency calibration of an HPGe detector manufactured by ORTEC for point source detection, which was in good agreement with the experimental calibration, and the relative deviations were less than 10%. Conclusion This method can be generalized and used in the sourceless efficiency calibration of HPGe, LaBr₃, and NaI detectors.

Objective:To explore the association between weight status and early changes in blood pressure, cardiac structure and function in children at 4 years of age.Methods:A cross-sectional study of the relationship between weight status and cardiovascular parameters was performed on the platform of "Shanghai Birth Cohort" in Shanghai Xinhua Hospital between 2017 and 2020. Height, weight, blood pressure and echocardiography were measured in 1 477 children at 4 years of age. According to body mass index (BMI), participants were classified into five groups: underweight, lean, normal weight, overweight and obese. Blood pressure, cardiac structure and function indexes were compared among different groups using one-way ANOVA. The associations between blood pressure, cardiac structure and function and weight status in children were analyzed by linear regression models. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze whether weight status was an independent risk factor for elevated blood pressure or left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in children.Results:A total of 1 477 children including 772 boys and 705 girls were included in this study. There were 115 overweight and obese boys (14.9%) and 68 overweight and obese girls (9.6%). The majority of children had normal weight (916 cases, 62.0%), followed by underweight (303 cases, 20.5%), overweight (130 cases, 8.8%), lean (75 cases, 5.1%), and obese (53 cases, 3.6%). With the increase of BMI, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, left ventricular mass index (LVMI), left ventricular posterior wall thickness in systole, left ventricular posterior wall thickness in diastole, left ventricular diameter in end-systole, left ventricular diameter in end-diastole, interventricular septum thickness in systole and left ventricular ejection fraction showed significantly positive trend, and the differences among the groups were significant (F=31.73, 6.59, 14.22, 4.96, 3.01, 31.50, 39.79, 5.91, 3.09, all P<0.05). Multiple linear regression showed that overweight and obese were all positively associated with systolic blood pressure (β=5.2, 95% CI 3.6-6.8), LVMI (β=1.9, 95% CI 0.8-3.1), left ventricular diameter in end-systole (β=1.3, 95% CI 0.9-1.8), and left ventricular diameter in end-diastole (β=1.6, 95% CI 1.0-2.2). In the Logistic regression model, compared with normal weight children, overweight ( OR=2.37, 95% CI 1.37-4.41) and obese children ( OR=10.90, 95% CI 4.47-26.60) both had significantly increased risk of elevated blood pressure. However, the risk of LVH did not significantly increased. Conclusions:Overweight and obesity in 4-year-old children are associated with increased blood pressure, increased left ventricle diameter and LVMI. Overweight and obesity are independent risk factors for elevated blood pressure in children at 4 years of age.

We conducted a randomized, open-label, parallel-controlled, multicenter trial on the use of Shuanghuanglian (SHL), a traditional Chinese patent medicine, in treating cases of COVID-19. A total of 176 patients received SHL by three doses (56 in low dose, 61 in middle dose, and 59 in high dose) in addition to standard care. The control group was composed of 59 patients who received standard therapy alone. Treatment with SHL was not associated with a difference from standard care in the time to disease recovery. Patients with 14-day SHL treatment had significantly higher rate in negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 in nucleic acid swab tests than the patients from the control group (93.4% vs. 73.9%, P = 0.006). Analysis of chest computed tomography images showed that treatment with high-dose SHL significantly promoted absorption of inflammatory focus of pneumonia, which was evaluated by density reduction of inflammatory focus from baseline, at day 7 (mean difference (95% CI), -46.39 (-86.83 to -5.94) HU; P = 0.025) and day 14 (mean difference (95% CI), -74.21 (-133.35 to -15.08) HU; P = 0.014). No serious adverse events occurred in the SHL groups. This study illustrated that SHL in combination with standard care was safe and partially effective for the treatment of COVID-19.
COVID-19 ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Research ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Treatment Outcome

Objectives:To observe the anatomical location and mechanism of axis ring fractures (ARF) using 3-D CT scans, and propose a new classification for such fractures.Methods:By reviewing prospectively maintained database collecting ARF from 7 medical centers in China, 202 patients were included in this study. According to anatomical location, ARFs were classified into axis arthrosis fracture (AAF) and axis bony damage (ABD). The axis ring was divided into anterior, middle, and posterior rings, based on the border of the pars interarticularis (or pedicle) of axis. According to the features of ARF and previous study, a new classification was proposed based on the anatomical features of different fracture patterns, which was divided into three types and six subtypes (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2). The incidence of AAF and ABD and their distribution in different location of axis ring and the new classification, were observed.Results:In 202 patients with ARF, 501 anatomical structures were involved. 288 AAFs were found in 178 patients (288/501, 57%), while 213 ABDs were found in 149 patients (213/501, 43%). In anterior ring, 304 structures (304/501, 61%) were involved in injury, with 225 AAF and 79 ABD. In middle ring, 99 structures (99/501, 20%) were involved in injury, and all of them were ABD. In posterior ring, 98 structures (98/501, 19%) were involved in injury, with 63 AAF and 35 ABD. The anterior ring injuries (61%) were more common than middle (20%) or posterior ring (19%). In anterior ring, AAF (84%) were morecommon than ABD (16%); In middle ring, all the injuries were ABD; In posterior ring, AAFs (64%) were more common than ABD (36%). Type A fractures were featured with pedicle fractures and were identified in 30 patients (30/202, 15%). Type A1 fractures were bilateral pedicle fracture lines symmetrically or asymmetrically and identified in 12 (6%) patients; Type A2 fractures were pedicle fracture lineson one side and inferior articular facet injuries or lamina fractures on the otherside and identified in 18 (9%) patients. Type B fractures were featured with superior articular facet injuries or posterior wall of C2 body fractures on one side and identified in 136 patients (67%). Type B1 fractures were superior articular facet injuries or posterior wall of C2 body fractures on one side and pedicle fracture on the other side and identified in 57 (28%) patients; Type B2 fractures were superior articular facet injuries or posterior wall of C2 body fractures on one side and inferior articular facet injuries or lamina fractures on the otherside and identified in 79 (39%) patients. Type C fractures were featured with bilateral superior articular facet injuries or posterior wall of C2 body fractures and identified in 36 patients (18%). Type C1 fractures were bilateral superior articular facet injuries or posterior wall of C2 body fractures symmetrically and identified in 22 (11%) patients; Type C2 fractures were bilateral superior articular facet injuries or posterior wall of C2 body fractures asymmetrically and identified in 14 (7%) patients.Conclusion:ARF could occur in different anatomical locations, and most of these fractures were caused by hyperextension and axial load on superior articular facet on one or two sides. The new CT classification of ARF with three types and six subtypes might provide all fracture patterns, which could be useful for the choice of proper diagnosis and treatment for such fractures.

Objective:To explore the value of bedside chest radiograph in the diagnosis and follow-up of severe and critical COVID-19.Methods:Twenty-nine patients with severe or critical COVID-19 were collected from January 23 to February 23, 2020，from four COVID-19 designated hospitals in Guangdong Province. Bedside radiography was taken in all the 29 patients, ranged from 1 to 16 times for each patient. Twenty-seven patients underwent follow-up, and the number of re-examination ranged 1 to 15 times, and the interval of review is 1 to 8 days.The imaging findings of bedside chest radiography and the imaging changes on follow-up chest radiography were analyzed retrospectively.Results:Twenty-nine patients were collected. The radiography showed the lesions involved all more than 3 lung fields. The films showed consolidation shadow in 19 cases, multiple patches of shadow in 23 cases, reticular pattern in 12 cases, strips shadow in 14 cases, interlobar fissure thickening in 18 cases, and "white lung" in 4 cases.The complications included pleural effusion in 4 cases, pneumothorax in 2 cases, mediastinal and subcutaneous emphysema in 1 case. The radiography showed the lesions progressed in 15 cases, with expanded involvement of the lung.The increase of lesion density was found in 6 cases, new lesions were noted in 5 cases, while both of them were found in 4 cases. Nine cases showed improvement, with reduced range and decreased density. Patchy or consolidation shadow turned to strips shadow or articular pattern shadow in 8 cases.There was no significant change in 3 cases with large consolidation shadow.Conclusions:Bedside chest radiography has a good value in the follow-up of severely and critically ill patients with COVID-19, and can provide great help for clinicians to evaluate their condition.