Objective To establish a inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry(ICP-MS)method for 7 elemental impurities,cadmium(Cd),lead(Pb),arsenic(As),mercury(Hg),cobalt(Co),vanadium(V)and nickel(Ni)in medicinal excipient potassium sorbate according to the latest requirement of The International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use(ICH)Q3D.Methods After dissolving the sample with 2％nitric acid solution,the potassium sorbate sample was digested by closed ultra-high pressure microwave digestion technology,and the elements rhenium(Re),rhodium(Rh),germanium(Ge),scandium(Sc)and bismuth(Bi)were used as internal standards to correct the matrix interference and drift.Results The 7 elements showed good linearity in the specified concentration range(r＞0.998 0).The detection limits were between 0.002-0.042 ng/g,the recovery rates were between 85％-106％,and the RSDs of each element precision were＜5％.The content of elemental impurities in 13 batches of domestic and imported potassium sorbate samples from different manufacturers was determined legally,and none exceeded the limit,which was in line with the provisions of ICH.Conclusion The established method is simple,accurate,sensitive,specific and reproducible.In this test,the elemental impurity residues in potassium sorbate are screened,which can not only grasp the overall quality level of potassium sorbate,but also ensure the safety of potassium sorbate as medicinal excipients,and provides a methodological basis for the revision of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical features and prognosis of children and their family members with family clusters of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant infection under the admission mode of parent-child ward. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 190 children and 190 family members with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection who were admitted to Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, the designated hospital for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), April 8 to May 10, 2022. RESULTS: Both the child and adult groups were mainly mild COVID-19, and the proportion of mild cases in the child group was higher than that in the adult group (P<0.05). Respiratory symptoms were the main clinical manifestations in both groups. Compared with the adult group, the child group had higher incidence rates of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and wheezing (P<0.05) and lower incidence rates of nasal obstruction, runny nose, cough, dry throat, throat itching, and throat pain (P<0.05). Compared with the child group, the adult group had higher rates of use of Chinese patent drugs, traditional Chinese medicine decoction, recombinant interferon spray, cough-relieving and phlegm-eliminating drugs, and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir tablets (P<0.05). Compared with the adult group, the child group had a lower vaccination rate of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (30.5% vs 71.1%, P<0.001) and a shorter duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid (P<0.05). The patients with mild COVID-19 had a shorter duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid than those with common COVID-19 in both groups (P<0.05). The patients with underlying diseases had a longer duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid than those without such diseases in both groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Both children and adults with family clusters of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection manifest mainly mild COVID-19. Despite lower vaccination rate of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in children, they have rapid disease recovery, with a shorter duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid than adults, under the admission mode of parent-child ward.
Adult ; Humans ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Cough ; Retrospective Studies ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; China/epidemiology* ; Family ; Nucleic Acids

Sepsis， a common critical disease in the intensive care unit（ICU）， features high morbidity and mortality. At present， it is mainly tackled with western medicine， which may trigger a series of problems like antibiotic resistance， adverse hormonal reactions， and high cost after a long-term use. Therefore， exploring new efficient， safe， and cheap drugs and treatment modes has become the focus of our research at this stage. By virtue of unique advantages including "the concept of holism and individualized treatment based on syndrome differentiation"， Chinese medicine has accumulated quite rich experience in the prevention and treatment of sepsis. In recent years， research on the regulation of Chinese medicine on nuclear transcription factor-κB（NF-κB） signaling pathway in sepsis has kept emerging. On this basis， this paper reviewed the etiology and pathogenesis of sepsis， syndrome differentiation and treatment， NF-κB signaling pathway， and its intervention with Chinese medicine. It has been found that some single Chinese herbs and their extracts， Chinese herbal compounds， and Chinese herbal injections effectively inhibit the expression of such inflammatory factors as NF-κB-mediated tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）， interleukin-1（IL-1）， and IL-6 as well as the related proteins， reduce the systemic inflammatory response and organ injury， and improve the prognosis by regulating the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway and the immune function of macrophages. However， due to the limitations of objective conditions， some studies also have the problems of fuzzy pro-inflammatory anti-inflammatory balance mechanism， unclear pharmacokinetics and low drug safety evaluation， which need to be further studied and explored in order to provide a new theoretical basis and diagnosis and treatment thinking for the treatment of sepsis with traditional Chinese medicine.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of antibiotic use for very and extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of Hunan Province. METHODS: The use of antibiotics was investigated in multiple level 3 NICUs of Hunan Province for VLBW and ELBW infants born between January, 2017 and December, 2017. RESULTS: The clinical data of 1 442 VLBW/ELBW infants were collected from 24 NICUs in 2017. The median antibiotic use duration was 17 days (range: 0-86 days), accounting for 53.0% of the total length of hospital stay. The highest duration of antibiotic use was up to 91.4% of the total length of hospital stay, with the lowest at 14.6%. In 16 out of 24 NICUs, the antibiotic use duration was accounted for more than 50.0% of the hospitalization days. There were 113 cases with positive bacterial culture grown in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, making the positive rate of overall bacterial culture as 7.84%. The positive rate of bacterial culture in different NICUs was significantly different from 0% to 14.9%. The common isolated bacterial pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae was 29 cases (25.7%); Escherichia coli 12 cases (10.6%); Staphylococcus aureus 3 cases (2.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation of cephalosporins, accounting for 41.00% of the total antibiotics, followed by penicillins, accounting for 32.10%, and followed by carbapenems, accounting for 13.15%. The proportion of antibiotic use time was negatively correlated with birth weight Z-score and the change in weight Z-score between birth and hospital discharge (r=-0.095, -0.151 respectively, P<0.01), positively correlated with death/withdrawal of care (r=0.196, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Antibiotics used for VLBW/ELBW infants in NICUs of Hunan Province are obviously prolonged in many NICUs. The proportion of routine use of third-generation of cephalosporins and carbapenems antibiotics is high among the NICUs.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Birth Weight ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Surveys and Questionnaires

In the present study, four new sesquiterpenoids, chimonols A-D (compounds 1-4), together with four known compounds (5-8) were isolated from the EtOAc extract of Chimonanthus praecox Link. The structures of these new compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic techniques (UV, IR, MS, and 1D and 2D NMR), and their absolute configurations were established by comparing experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Compounds 1-8 were evaluated for antimicrobial activities and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by the broth microdilution method in 96-well culture plates. Compounds 1, 2, and 7 exhibited weak antibacterial effects for S. aureus (ATCC 6538), E. coli (ATCC 11775), and P. aeruginosa (ATCC 10145) with MIC values being 158-249 µg·mL. Compounds 3-7 showed activities against C. glabrata (ATCC 2001) and S. aureus (ATCC 43300) with MIC values being 128-197 µg·mL. Compounds 1-4 showed activity against S. aureus (ATCC 25923) with MIC values being 162-254 µg·mL. The present study provided a basis for future evaluation of these compounds as antibacterial agents.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Calycanthaceae ; chemistry ; Escherichia coli ; drug effects ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Sesquiterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Staphylococcus aureus ; drug effects

ObjectiveTo compare the clinical effect of transumbilical single-port laparoscopy combined with improved double hernia needles with that of traditional open surgery in the treatment of hydrocele in children.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed 35 cases (54 sides) of pediatric hydrocele treated by transumbilical single-port laparoscopy combined with improved double hernia needles (laparoscopy group). We recorded the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, scrotal edema, and postoperative complications and compared them with those of another 46 cases (58 sides) treated by traditional open surgery (open surgery group) during the same period.

RESULTSThe laparoscopy group showed a significantly shorter operation time, less intraoperative blood loss, milder scrotal edema, and fewer hospital days than the open surgery group (all P<0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was found in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups (P>0.05). Subcutaneous emphysema developed in 2 patients in the laparoscopy group, which disappeared after 1－3 days of oxygen inhalation and other symptomatic treatment, while scrotal hematoma occurred in 1 and incision fat liquefaction in 2 patients in the open surgery group 3 days postoperatively, which healed after debridement suture and daily dressing, respectively. The patients were followed up for 3－6 months, which revealed no late complications in the laparoscopy group but 1 case of unilateral recurrence and 2 cases of offside recurrence in the open surgery group, all cured by laparoscopic internal ring ligation.

CONCLUSIONSTransumbilical single-port laparoscopy combined with improved double hernia needles is superior to traditional open surgery for the treatment of pediatric hydrocele and therefore deserves clinical generalization.

Blood Loss, Surgical ; Child ; Edema ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; instrumentation ; methods ; Length of Stay ; Ligation ; Male ; Needles ; Operative Time ; Postoperative Complications ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Postoperative Period ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Scrotum ; Subcutaneous Emphysema ; etiology ; Testicular Hydrocele ; surgery ; Umbilicus

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether the titrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5 (ACP5) gene polymorphisms were associated with the occurrence or curve severity of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

METHODSThere were 372 AIS patients from January 2006 to December 2008 and 239 normal controls from March 2005 to August 2006 were recruited. The Cobb angles were ≥ 10° in all AIS patients. Using the haplotype data of Han population from the Hapmap Project, two tag SNPs (rs2229531, rs2071484) were defined for ACP5 gene. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism was used for the genotyping.

RESULTSNo polymorphism in rs2229531 was found in this study. The genotype and allele frequency distribution in rs2071484 were similar between AIS patients and normal controls (χ(2) = 3.336 and 1.438, P > 0.05). The mean maximum Cobb angles of different genotypes of rs2071484 in ACP5 gene were 38° ± 19° in AA, 34° ± 14° in AG and 38° ± 21° in GG, which were similar with each other among AIS patients who reached skeletal maturity or received surgery treatment (P = 0.157).

CONCLUSIONThe ACP5 gene is neither associated with the occurrence nor the curve severity of AIS.

Acid Phosphatase ; genetics ; Adolescent ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Isoenzymes ; genetics ; Male ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Scoliosis ; genetics ; Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase

Objective To investigate the role of liver X receptors (LXRs) on endothelin-1 ( ET-1 )induced murine HL-1 cardiomyocytes hypertrophy.Methods Cutured murine HL-1 cardiomyocytes were divided into four experiment groups:①Control group:treated with DMSO ; ②T0901317 group:treated with LXRs agonist T0901317( 1 μmol/L) ; ③ET-1 group:treated with ET-1 ( 1 nmoL/L) ; ④T0901317 + ET-1 group:treated with T0901317 ( 1 μmol/L) for 8 hours,then treated with ET-1 ( 1 nmol/L).Twenty-four hours later,immunofluorescent staining was performed on HL-1 cells,the surface area of HL-1 cells was analyzed with NIH Image J software,and the synthetic rate of protein in HL-1 cells was detected by 3 H-leucine incorporation.The mRNA level of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and β-myosin heavy chain (β-MyHC ) was measured by quantitative realtime PCR.The effect of T0901317 on mRNA expression of ANP was also detected after LXRs gene silencing.Results The surface area of HL-1 cells,mRNA expression of ANP and β-MyHC,and 3H-leucine incorporation in ET-1 group were 2.00 ± 0.29,1.98 ± 0.47,2.13 ±0.39 and 1.79 ±0.17,respectively,which were singnficantly higher than those of control group ( 1.00 ±0.26,1.00 ±0.21,1.00 ±0.31 and 1.00 ±0.03,respectively,all P ＜0.05).Compared with ET-1 group,the surface area of HL-1 cells,mRNA expression of ANP and β-MyHC,and 3H-leucine incorporation were significantly decreased in T0901317 + ET-1 group ( 1.24 ± 0.25,1.19 ± 0.21,1.48 ± 0.27 and 1.15 ±0.11,respectively,all P ＜ 0.05 ).After inhibition of LXRo/β expression in HL-1 cardiomyocytes using the specific siRNAs,the mRNA expression of ANP in T0901317 + ET-1 group was 1.78 ± 0.05,which was similar as that in ET-1 group ( 1.94 ± 0.17,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion T0901317,an agonist of LXRs,could inhibit ET-1 induced cardiac hypertrophy in vitro,and LXR Iigand-mediated inhibition on ANP mRNA expression by T0901317 is receptor dependent.

Objective To observe the relationship between serum uric acid and brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV) in Beijing community individuals.Methods This epidemiological survey was performed in residents of two communities from Shijingshan District in Beijing from 2007 to 2008.Cardiovascular risk factors and ba-PWV were measured. Two thousand five hundred and forty three individuals with both ba-PWV and serum uric acid measurements were included.Ba-PWV ≥ 1400 cm/s was defined as abnormal.The individuals were divided into four groups (Q1,Q2,Q3 and Q4 group) according to the gender-specific quartiles of serum uric acid. Univariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the relation between various cardiovascular risk factors and ba-PWV abnormality.Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the relation between serum uric acid and ba-PWV abnormality after adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors.Results Body mass index,triglyeride and prevalence of hypertension increased with increasing levels of serum uric acid (all P ＜0.01 ).Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that age,gender,smoking,hypertension,systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,diabetes,body mass index,total cholesterol,triglyeride and estimated glomerular filtration rate were related with ba-PWV abnormality( all P ＜0.01 ).Compared with Q1 group,ba-PWV abnormality OR value of Q4 group was 1.73 (95％ CI:1.34- 2.22,P ＜0.01 ).Multivariate logistic regression revealed that ba-PWV abnomality OR value of Q4 group was 1.66 (95％ CI:1.16 -2.37,P＜0.01 ) after adjusting for age,gender,smoking,hypertension,systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,diabetes,body mass index,total cholesterol,triglyeride and estimated glomerular filtration rate when compared with Q1 group and OR values were 1.55 (95％ CI:0.88 -2.74,P＞0.05) and 1.65 (95％ CI:1.04-2.64,P＜0.05) in male and female respectively.Conclusion Increased serum uric acid was independently associated with ba-PWV abnormality in Beijing community residents.

OBJECTIVESTo compare the sagittal profiles between thoracic idiopathic scoliosis (IS) patients with different curve progression and to determine the risk factors associated with curve progression.

METHODSA total of 83 thoracic IS patients from September 2009 to May 2010 were included in this study and were divided into 3 groups according to different curve progression. All the patients did not receive any previous treatments. There were 26 skeletally mature patients whose Risser sign were 5 degree with Cobb angle < 40° in non-curve progression group (NCP group), 29 mature patients whose Risser sign were 5 degree with Cobb angle ≥ 40° in moderate curve progression group (MCP group) and 28 immature patients whose Risser sign ≤ 3 degree with Cobb angle ≥ 40° in severe curve progression group (SCP group). Five sagittal parameters, including thoracic kyphosis (TK), lumbar lordosis (LL), sacral slope (SS), pelvic incidence (PI) and pelvic tilt (PT) were measured on the lateral X-ray films. Analysis of variance was used to compare these parameters among the 3 groups.

RESULTSThe average thoracic Cobb angle was significantly smaller in NCP group when compared with MCP group (P < 0.01) or SCP group (P < 0.01), but not significantly different between the 2 latter groups (P = 0.619). The average TK was 19° ± 7° in NCP group, 13° ± 6° in MCP group and 8° ± 5° in SCP group. The average TK was significantly smaller in SCP group when compared with MCP group (P = 0.011) or NCP group (P < 0.01), while the average TK was significantly smaller in MCP group when compared with NCP group (P < 0.01). None of the other 4 parameters showed any significant difference between the 3 groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThoracic hypokyphosis is strongly associated with curve progression in thoracic IS patients. Pelvic sagittal profile may not be involved in the underlying mechanism of curve progression in thoracic IS patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Radiography ; Scoliosis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Young Adult