Oral solid dosage forms require processes such as disintegration and dissolution to release the drug before it can be absorbed and utilized by the body. In this manuscript, imaging technology was used to continuously visualize and characterize the in vitro static drug release process of gliclazide modified release tablets from 15 manufacturers, combined with the traditional method of in vitro dissolution testing, to determine the release profile of gliclazide modified release tablets, to evaluate the similarity of the release profiles by using the similarity factor (f₂) method and based on the analysis of the release profiles fitted with a variety of mathematical models. The results indicate that the gliclazide modified release tablets produced by 14 companies are hydrophilic gel matrix tablets. Compared to the reference listed drug, the release profiles of formulations from 11 companies show high similarity (f₂ > 50) to the reference. Among these, formulations with visual characteristics similar to the reference exhibit similar release curves. This study provides an alternative method for the in vitro consistency evaluation of gliclazide modified release tablets, aiming to assess the in vitro release behaviour of generic formulations more accurately and comprehensively.

Most patients with differentiated thyroid cancer have a good prognosis after radioiodine-131 therapy,but a small number of patients are insensitive to radioiodine-131 therapy and even continue to develop disease.At present,some targeted drugs can improve progression-free survival in patients with radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer(RAIR-DTC),such as sorafenib and levatinib,have been approved for the treatment of RAIR-DTC.However,due to the presence of primary and acquired drug resistance,drug efficacy in these patients is unsatisfactory.This review introduces the acquired drug resistance mechanism of sorafenib in the regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase(PI3K)pathways and proposes related treatment strategies,in order to provide a reference for similar drug resistance mechanism of sorafenib and effective treatment of RAIR-DTC.

Objective To explore the effect of a R language-based autoregressive integrated moving average(ARIMA)model for predicting the consumption of medical consumables.Methods The monthly consumption data of a certain type of pre-filled flush syringe from July 2018 to June 2023 was selected as the sample data,which underwent smoothness test and difference operation with R language.An ARIMA model was established and the optimal model was determined according to the Akaike and Bayesian information criteria.The corresponding data of the third quarter of 2023 was used as the validation set to predict the consumption,and the prediction result was compared with the actual values to evaluate the prediction effect of the ARIMA model.Results The ARIMA model with the best fitting was ARIMA(0,1,1)(1,0,0)12,all the predicted data were within 95％confidence interval,and its mean absolute percentage error MAPE was 9.92％.P-value proved to be higher than 0.05 when the residual series were tested using the Ljung-Box statistics,which meant the prediction result was satisfactory.Conclusion The R language-based ARIMA model behaves well in predicting the consumption of medical consumables,and provides references for demand planning,budgeting,purchasing and management of medical consumables.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(10):84-87]

Objective:To investigate the safety and anti-reflux effect of a highly bionic modi-fied esophagogastric anastomosis in the reconstruction of the digestive tract after proximal gas-trectomy,with the aim of providing a safe and simple new option with good anti-reflux effect for the reconstruction of the digestive tract after proximal gastrectomy.Methods:In this retrospec-tive study,30 patients(Study group)who underwent modified esophagogastric anastomosis after proximal gastrectomy in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of Shandong Provincial Hospi-tal Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University from January 2022 to September 2023 were compared with 27(Control group)patients who underwent double-tract reconstruction which is currently recognized as having good anti-reflux effect during the same period,the main compari-sons were made between the surgery-related indexes,the quality of life after the surgery,the postoperative complications,and the anti-reflux effect of the surgery.Results:The study group was significantly better than the control group in terms of operation time and postoperative hospi-talization time,with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05),and the difference between the two groups was comparable in terms of intraoperative bleeding and the anti-reflux effect of the opera-tion,with no statistically significant differences(P＞0.05);in terms of postoperative complications,the incidence of anastomotic fistula and intestinal obstruction was slightly lower in the study group compared with the control group,but in terms of total incidence,the difference was not statistically significant;in terms of quality of life,the difference was not statistically significant when comparing the quality of life of the two groups after treatment(P＜0.05).Conclusion:Highly bionic modified esophagogastric anastomosis is safe and feasible in the treatment of adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction with excellent anti-reflux effect,but the procedure needs further high-quality randomized controlled studies and in-depth exploration.

In November 2023, the seventh National Nucleic Acid Vaccine Conference was held to deeply discuss the immune mechanism, safety risks, advantages, and disadvantages of nucleic acid vaccines, and review the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines developed by nucleic acid vaccine technology. Some prospectives were formed in the meeting that in the post-pandemic era, nucleic acid vaccine technology will play a role in the following areas: dealing with pathogens that are difficult to be prevented by traditional vaccines, promoting the upgrading of traditional live attenuated vaccines, contributing to the development of multivalent and combined vaccines, and rapid response to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. These views point out the direction for the future development of nucleic acid vaccine technology.

Objectives: To investigated the safety and efficacy of treating patients with acute non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and elevated levels of N-terminal pro-hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) with levosimendan within 24 hours of first medical contact (FMC). Methods: This multicenter, open-label, block-randomized controlled trial (NCT03189901) investigated the safety and efficacy of levosimendan as an early management strategy of acute heart failure (EMS-AHF) for patients with NSTEMI and high NT-proBNP levels. This study included 255 patients with NSTEMI and elevated NT-proBNP levels, including 142 males and 113 females with a median age of 65 (58-70) years, and were admitted in the emergency or outpatient departments at 14 medical centers in China between October 2017 and October 2021. The patients were randomly divided into a levosimendan group (n=129) and a control group (n=126). The primary outcome measure was NT-proBNP levels on day 3 of treatment and changes in the NT-proBNP levels from baseline on day 5 after randomization. The secondary outcome measures included the proportion of patients with more than 30% reduction in NT-proBNP levels from baseline, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) during hospitalization and at 6 months after hospitalization, safety during the treatment, and health economics indices. The measurement data parameters between groups were compared using the t-test or the non-parametric test. The count data parameters were compared between groups using the χ² test. Results: On day 3, the NT-proBNP levels in the levosimendan group were lower than the control group but were statistically insignificant [866 (455, 1 960) vs. 1 118 (459, 2 417) ng/L, Z=-1.25,P=0.21]. However, on day 5, changes in the NT-proBNP levels from baseline in the levosimendan group were significantly higher than the control group [67.6% (33.8%,82.5%)vs.54.8% (7.3%,77.9%), Z=-2.14, P=0.03]. There were no significant differences in the proportion of patients with more than 30% reduction in the NT-proBNP levels on day 5 between the levosimendan and the control groups [77.5% (100/129) vs. 69.0% (87/126), χ²=2.34, P=0.13]. Furthermore, incidences of MACE did not show any significant differences between the two groups during hospitalization [4.7% (6/129) vs. 7.1% (9/126), χ²=0.72, P=0.40] and at 6 months [14.7% (19/129) vs. 12.7% (16/126), χ²=0.22, P=0.64]. Four cardiac deaths were reported in the control group during hospitalization [0 (0/129) vs. 3.2% (4/126), P=0.06]. However, 6-month survival rates were comparable between the two groups (log-rank test, P=0.18). Moreover, adverse events or serious adverse events such as shock, ventricular fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia were not reported in both the groups during levosimendan treatment (days 0-1). The total cost of hospitalization [34 591.00(15 527.46,59 324.80) vs. 37 144.65(16 066.90,63 919.00)yuan, Z=-0.26, P=0.80] and the total length of hospitalization [9 (8, 12) vs. 10 (7, 13) days, Z=0.72, P=0.72] were lower for patients in the levosimendan group compared to those in the control group, but did not show statistically significant differences. Conclusions: Early administration of levosimendan reduced NT-proBNP levels in NSTEMI patients with elevated NT-proBNP and did not increase the total cost and length of hospitalization, but did not significantly improve MACE during hospitalization or at 6 months.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Aged ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; Simendan/therapeutic use* ; Non-ST Elevated Myocardial Infarction ; Heart Failure/drug therapy* ; Peptide Fragments ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Biomarkers ; Prognosis

Objective: To investigate the genetic characteristics of varicella zoster virus (VZV) in Shandong province from 2020 to 2021. Methods: From April 2020 to December 2021, 85 herpes fluid samples from suspected varicella patients in Shandong province were collected. The qPCR was used to detect viral DNA and screen suspected samples. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ORF22 fragment and ORF38 fragment in positive samples were examined via PCR and Sanger sequencing to identify the viral genotypes. Four SNPs of ORF38 and ORF62 were examined to identify the vaccine and wild-type strains. The sequences were analyzed with Sequencher and MEGA7 software, using the VZV reference strain sequences from GenBank. Results: In the 85 samples suspected of varicella, 80 were VZV positive and wild-type strains belonging to Clade 2. Compared with clade 2 representative strains, the nucleotide and amino acid similarities of ORF22 fragment were 99.5%-100% and 98.5%-100%, respectively. SD20-1, SD20-5, SD20-6, SD20-8, SD20-9, SD20-10, SD20-11, SD20-12, SD20-13, SD20-30 and SD20-31 had a A➝G nucleotide mutation at 37990, causing amino acid change from glutamine to arginine. SD21-1 had a C➝A nucleotide mutation at 38059, causing threonine to asparagine during coding. Conclusions: From 2020 to 2021, all VZV strains in Shandong province are the wild-type strains belonging to Clade 2.
Amino Acids/genetics* ; Chickenpox ; Chickenpox Vaccine/genetics* ; Herpes Zoster ; Herpesvirus 3, Human/genetics* ; Humans ; Nucleotides ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Booster immunization is the following vaccination after a period of vaccine primary immunization schedule in order to maintain immunity against a certain pathogen. In this article, the immunological mechanism of booster immunization is elaborated, and the effectiveness and public health value of booster immunization for common vaccines is discussed. Subsequently, three hot issues of general concern in booster immunization are addressed, and the public health viewpoint that "Primary immunization of vaccines is fundamental, and booster immunization is the guarantee" is emphasized, so as to raise awareness of the importance and necessity of booster immunization as well as to provide scientific evidences for vaccine immunization practice.
Humans ; Immunization, Secondary ; Public Health ; Immunization Schedule ; Vaccination ; Viral Vaccines

Objective: To investigate a SARS-CoV-2 epidemic reported in Rongcheng City, Weihai, Shandong Province. Methods: The SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid positive patients and their close contacts were investigated, and the whole genome sequencing and genetic evolution analysis of 9 variant viruses were carried out. An infection source investigation and analysis were carried out from two sources of home and abroad, and three aspects of human, material and environment. Results: A total of 15 asymptomatic infections were reported in this epidemic, including 13 cases as employees of workshop of aquatic products processing company, with an infection rate of 21.67% (13/60). Two cases were infected people's neighbors in the same village (conjugal relation). The first six positive persons were processing workers engaged in the first process of removing squid viscera in the workshop of the company. The nucleic acid Ct value of the first time were concentrated between 15 and 29, suggesting that the virus load was high, which was suspected to be caused by one-time homologous exposure. The whole genome sequence of 9 SARS-CoV-2 strains was highly homologous, belonging to VOC/Gamma (Lineage P.1.15). No highly homologous sequences were found from previous native and imported cases in China. It was highly homologous with the six virus sequences sampled from May 5 to 26, 2021 uploaded by Chile. The infection source investigation showed that the company had used the squid raw materials captured in the ocean near Chile and Argentina from May to June 2021 over the last 14 days. Many samples of raw materials, products and their outer packages in the inventory were tested positive for nucleic acid. Conclusion: This epidemic is the first local epidemic caused by the VOC/Gamma of SARS-CoV-2 in China. It is speculated that the VOC/Gamma, which was prevalent in South America from May to June 2021, could be imported into China through frozen squid.
Humans ; SARS-CoV-2 ; COVID-19 ; Epidemics ; China/epidemiology*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the consistency and reproducibility of aortic root measurements by Anythink, a semi-automated preoperative CT analysis software, with those of 3mensio. METHODS: Sixty-seven patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from December, 2016 to February, 2022 were retrospectively enrolled in this study. A cardiology resident who completed his professional training used both the software Anythink and 3mensio (as the gold standard) to reconstruct the aortic root model and analyze the parameters of the aortic annulus and the surrounding structures. The correlation and consistency of the measurement results of two software were analyzed. Two independent residents also used Anythink software to repeat the measurements for the same patient for assessment of the reproducibility of Anythink measurements. The valve models were selected based on the measurements by Anythink and 3mensio, and similarities and differences of the two software in clinical valve selection were assessed. RESULTS: The measurements of the distances from the anulus plane to the left and right coronary ostium, average diameter of the anulus, anulus area, anulus perimeter, and the angle between the annulus and horizontal plane did not differ significantly between the two software (P > 0.05), and their measurements showed positive correlations (r= 0.884-0.981, P < 0.01). The intra-group and inter-group correlation coefficients of the anulus parameters measured by Anythink ranged from 0.894 to 0.992 and from 0.651 to 0.954, respectively. The Kappa-test values of valve models selected by Anythink and 3mensio based on the average diameter, area diameter and perimeter diameter were 0.886, 0.796 and 0.775, respectively. The intra-group Kappa values for the valve models selected based on Anythink measurements were 0.819, 0.841, and 0.795, and the inter-group Kappa values were 0.812, 0.812, and 0.768, respectively. Compared with the measurements by 3mensio, the recommended area diameter measured by Anythink was slightly greater in patients with postoperative paravalvular leakage, but slightly smaller in patients with postoperative new-onset conduction block. CONCLUSION Anythink has excellent measurement consistency and high reproducibility for aortic root measurements, and trained cardiologists can use Anythink to obtain accurate aortic root parameters before TAVR.
Humans ; Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement ; Reproducibility of Results ; Retrospective Studies ; Aorta ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed