Evolution and natural selection have endowed animal venoms, including scorpion venoms, with a wide range of pharmacological properties. Consequently, scorpions, their venoms, and/or their body parts have been used since time immemorial in traditional medicines, especially in Africa and Asia. With respect to their pharmacological potential, bioactive peptides from scorpion venoms have become an important source of scientific research. With the rapid increase in the characterization of various components from scorpion venoms, a large number of peptides are identified with an aim of combating a myriad of emerging global health problems. Moreover, some scorpion venom-derived peptides have been established as potential scaffolds helpful for drug development. In this review, we summarize the promising scorpion venoms-derived peptides as drug candidates. Accordingly, we highlight the data and knowledge needed for continuous characterization and development of additional natural peptides from scorpion venoms, as potential drugs that can treat related diseases.
Animals ; Scorpion Venoms/pharmacology* ; Peptides/pharmacology* ; Scorpions ; Drug Development ; Medicine, Traditional

The diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is of great significance for the early risk classification of sudden cardiac death and the screening of family genetic diseases. This research proposed a HCM automatic detection method based on convolution neural network (CNN) model, using single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) signal as the research object. Firstly, the R-wave peak locations of single-lead ECG signal were determined, followed by the ECG signal segmentation and resample in units of heart beats, then a CNN model was built to automatically extract the deep features in the ECG signal and perform automatic classification and HCM detection. The experimental data is derived from 108 ECG records extracted from three public databases provided by PhysioNet, the database established in this research consists of 14,459 heartbeats, and each heartbeat contains 128 sampling points. The results revealed that the optimized CNN model could effectively detect HCM, the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were 95.98%, 98.03% and 95.79% respectively. In this research, the deep learning method was introduced for the analysis of single-lead ECG of HCM patients, which could not only overcome the technical limitations of conventional detection methods based on multi-lead ECG, but also has important application value for assisting doctor in fast and convenient large-scale HCM preliminary screening.
Algorithms ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/diagnosis* ; Databases, Factual ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Neural Networks, Computer

Patients with rotator cuff tears often have repeated irregular neck and shoulder pain, and all of them are aggravated at night. The patient is very painful and cannot suffer from lateral position. Most of them cannot or do not do the exercises such as stretching the elbow and bending the arm, which seriously affect sleep. Numerous studies have shown that in addition to inflammation, the two-way interaction to the circadian clock, the circadian clock also regulated many aspects of the immune system. And the mechanism of night pain caused by rotator cuff injury was related to factors such as inflammation of the acromion sac. This suggests that the night pain of rotator cuff tears may have a circadian rhythm. This article mainly reviews the mechanism of night pain caused by rotator cuff tears.

Objective To study the mechanical characteristics of lumbar vertebral manipulation by lifting-rotating and oblique-pulling using multi-film pressure measurement system. Methods Twenty-one male operators were divided into groups of experts, skilled operators and beginners. Everyone completed 7 actions of Lin’s lumbar manipulation continuously, and repeated 3 times. The graphs and data were collected and processed. Results The time-force curve by the experts had regularity. The average pre-load force was (147.25±26.04) N, duration was (0.98±0.20) s, the average minimum force was (79.22±9.50) N, the maximum impact force was (706.26±56.21) N, the flip time was (0.44±0.09) s, and flip speed was (1 666.33±411.91) N/s, the impulse was (310.95±56.67) N·s. The curve graphs and the index by the skilled operators were similar to those by the experts, but the average maximum impact force was (464.51±53.49) N, which was relatively smaller. The curve graphs by the beginners could be broadly divided into three categories. Class Ⅰ was chaotic and unregulated; Class Ⅱ only had impact force and did not have pre-load force, and the maximum impact force varied in size; Class Ⅲ had both impact force and pre-load force, but the forces were relatively small and stable. Conclusions The multi-film pressure measurement system can preferably display the mechanical characteristics of manipulation by lifting-rotating and oblique-pulling, which is an ideal testing tool for quantitative research on mechanical parameters of Lin’s lumbar vertebral manipulation. The experimental results provide a scientific basis for visualization, quantification and standardization of the manipulation.

BACKGROUNDDuring the past decades, the incidence of invasive aspergillosis (IA) caused by Aspergillus fumigatus has increased dramatically. The aims of this study were to investigate the susceptibility of clinical isolates of A. fumigatus to triazole and the underlying cyp51A mutations in triazole-resistant A. fumigatus.

METHODSA total of 126 A. fumigatus clinical isolates from 126 patients with proven or probable IA were obtained from four large tertiary hospitals in Nanjing, China, between August 2012 and July 2015. The determination of minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for itraconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole was performed by broth microdilution according to the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing reference method.

RESULTSA total of 4 A. fumigatus isolates (3.17%) were confirmed to be itraconazole resistant, with MICs of ≥8 mg/L, and one isolate (0.8%) was confirmed to be voriconazole resistant and posaconazole resistant, with MICs of 4 mg/L and 0.5 mg/L, respectively. We found that two of the 4 isolates of triazole-resistant A. fumigatus had the L98H amino acid substitution in combination with a 34-base pair tandem repeat in the promoter region, one isolate had an M220I mutation, and another itraconazole-resistant isolate did not have a substitution in the cyp51A gene.

CONCLUSIONSThis study shows that triazole-resistant A. fumigatus clinical isolates are present in Nanjing, China, which is a new challenge to the clinical management of IA.

Antifungal Agents ; pharmacology ; Aspergillus fumigatus ; drug effects ; genetics ; China ; Drug Resistance, Fungal ; Itraconazole ; pharmacology ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; genetics ; Tandem Repeat Sequences ; genetics ; Triazoles ; pharmacology ; Voriconazole ; pharmacology

Objective To measure the thumb manipulative forces of Lin cervical rotation manipulation during cracking sounds,and provide quantitative basis for its inheritance,teaching and learning,promotion and basic research of the manipulation.Methods The thumb manipulative force of Lin cervical rotation manipulation and traditional cervical rotation manipulation during cracking sounds were tested and recorded with a multi-film pressure measurement system.Result There was statistically significant difference between the maximum thumb manipulative force of the hand used frequently and the hand used infrequently (P ＜ 0.05).The maximum thumb manipulative force of Lin cervical rotational manipulation is lower than the traditional cervical rotation manipulation (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Whether inIN traditional or Lin cervical rotation manipulation,the maximum thumb manipulative force of the hand used frequently is more than the hand used infrequently.Lin cervical rotation manipulation has better ergonomic characteristics of biological engineering,safer,more low energy consumption practices.

Objective To investigate the minimal persistent pigment dose (MPPD)of normal skin to UVA in Guangzhou city,and to observe its relationship to sex,age,skin type,seasons,ITA,and the years lived in Guangzhou.Methods 316 healthy subjects were exposed to Solar 601-300,and the MPPD was measured and observed by two professional technicians after 2-3 hours.Results The average MPPD value of all subjects was (9.61±2.57) J/cm2.In male and female,the average MPPD values were (11.09 ± 2.82) J/cm2 and (9.01 ± 2.20) J/cm2 respectively,and male was significantly higher than female (P＜0.01).There was significant difference of the MPPD value in different seasons (P＜0.01).The MPPD value in winter (10.66± 2.71) J/cm2) was significantly higher than spring (9.37±2.39) J/cm2,summer (9.53±2.66) J/cm2 and autumn (8.98±2.25) J/cm2.There was significant difference of the MPPD value between different ITA groups (P＜0.01).ITA grade-3 (10.72± 2.84) J/cm2 was significantly higher than grade-1 (8.50±1.45) J/cm2 and grade-2 (9.12±2.31) J/cm2 (P＜0.01),but there was no significant difference from grade-4 (11.87±2.73) J/cm2 (P =0.93).The MPPD value in subjects lived in Guangzhou over 10 years (8.97± 1.88) J/cm2 was significantly lower than those whose residence was less than 1 year and from 1 to 5 years,respectively (P＜0.01),but there was no significant difference from those lived from 5 to 10 years (P =0.47).Conclusions The MPPD value of the subjects in Guangzhou is related to gender,seasons,ITA grade and the years lived in Guangzhou city,while there is no correlation with age and skin types.

BACKGROUND: The researches of Pulling and Rotating Oblique Pulling Manipulation focus on clinical research and biomechanical changes of lumbar functional units, and the mechanical characteristics of manipulation are little reported.OBJECTIVE: To study the characteristics of the Pulling and Rotating Oblique Pulling Manipulation by digital method, so as to provide quantitative basis for inheritance, teaching and learning, promotion, and basic research of the manipulation.METHODS: The force-time curve and the force of the manipulators were tested and recorded with the multi-point membrane pressure measurement system. The kinetic parameters (the average load force, the average minimum force and the maximum impact force) were shown. The values of = the flip time, flip speed and impulse were measured by the test analysis system.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The average load force was (145.86±34.80) N, duration was (1.43±0.46) s, the average minimum force was (72.24±13.87) N, the maximum impact force was (446.21±143.98) N, the flip time was (0.55±0.15) s, flip speed was (914.52±259.18) N/s, and the impulse was (256.21±82.30) N?s. (2) The rising slope of the impulse was (93.96±6.94), and the falling slope was (-82.70±26.10). (3) To conclude, the characteristics of manipulation from hand are analyzed in views of digitization, which provides an objective evaluation index for Lin's manipulation.

The article introduces the concept of stigma and the measurement tools of stigma in abortion women as well as research progress of sociological factors, quality of life and interventions of abortion women. This article points out that china is still lack of related research. Strengthening the care for artificial abortion women from people of all walks of life is called on.

Objective To evaluate the performance of transfection with a complex plasmid encoding green fluorescent protein tagged CatD (GFP-CatD)in researches on chronic photodamaged fibroblasts. Methods Human dermal fibroblasts (HSFs)were irradiated with ultraviolet A (UVA)at 25 J/cm2 once a day for 21 consecutive days to establish a chronic photodamaged cell model. A plasmid encoding GFP-CatD was constructed and transfected into some chronic photodamaged fibroblasts (experimental group). The photodamaged HSFs receiving no treatment served as the blank control group, and those transfected with the negative plasmid encoding GFP only as the negative control group. After additional culture, fluorescence microscopy and Western-blot analysis were performed to observe and measure the expression of GFP-CatD in HSFs respectively, flow cytometry and methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT)assay to evaluate the apoptosis and proliferation of chronic photodamaged fibroblasts respectively. Results Fluorescence microscopy showed the expression of GFP-CatD in cytoplasm of chronic photodamaged fibroblasts at 96 hours after transfection with the GFP-CatD-encoding plasmid. Western-blot analysis revealed that the expression of CatD in the experimental group was 1.28 times that in the blank control group. There were no significant differences in the apoptosis rate(4.29% ± 1.30%vs. 3.03% ± 1.70% , P > 0.05)or proliferative rate (45.20% ± 4.70% vs. 43.60 ± 3.90% , P > 0.05)between the experimental group and blank control group. Conclusion CatD could be traced in chronic photodamaged fibroblasts with no changes in biological activity or cell cycle after transfection with the GFP-CatD-encoding complex plasmid.