A portable electrochemical sensing system for simultaneous detection of species relevant to carbon cycle(i.e.,Ca2+,CO32-and pH)in seawater was developed,in which a highly sensitive polymeric membrane ion-selective electrode array with NiCo2S4-based transduction layer was used as the core element.Such an electrochemical sensor array was developed via the combination of all-solid-state ion selective electrode technology and electrode integration technology based on screen printing.The proposed sensing system offered the linear response concentration ranges of 1.0×10-5-1.0×10-1 mol/L and 3.2×10-5-1.9×10-3 mol/L for Ca2+,CO32-and 5-9 for pH in 0.5 mol/L NaCl background,respectively,as well as a relative deviation of less than 2.0%for evaluation of detection accuracy(mean deviation compared to the readings of reference techniques).For successive measurements,the relative standard deviations(RSDs)of less than 2.5%were obtained.The proposed electrochemical sensing system was successfully used for seawater analysis,and the whole analysis process could be completed within 15 min.

Objective: To investigate the incidence and treatment of perioperative anemia in patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms in Hubei Province. Methods: The clinicopathological data of 7 474 patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms in 62 hospitals in 15 cities (state) of Hubei Province in 2019 were collected in the form of network database. There were 4 749 males and 2 725 females. The median age of the patients was 62 years (range: 17 to 96 years). The hemoglobin value of the first time in hospital and the first day after operation was used as the criterion of preoperative anemia and postoperative anemia. Anemia was defined as male hemoglobin <120 g/L and female hemoglobin <110.0 g/L, mild anemia as 90 to normal, moderate anemia as 60 to <90 g/L, severe anemia as <60 g/L. The t test and χ² test were used for inter-group comparison. Results: The overall incidence of preoperative anemia was 38.60%(2 885/7 474), and the incidences of mild anemia, moderate anemia and severe anemia were 25.09%(1 875/7 474), 11.37%(850/7 474) and 2.14%(160/7 474), respectively. The overall incidence of postoperative anemia was 61.40%(4 589/7 474). The incidence of mild anemia, moderate anemia and severe anemia were 48.73%(3 642/7 474), 12.20%(912/7 474) and 0.47%(35/7 474), respectively. The proportion of preoperative anemia patients receiving treatment was 26.86% (775/2 885), and the proportion of postoperative anemia patients receiving treatment was 14.93% (685/4 589). The proportions of preoperative anemia patients in grade ⅢA, grade ⅢB, and grade ⅡA hospitals receiving treatment were 26.12% (649/2 485), 32.32% (85/263), and 29.93% (41/137), and the proportions of postoperative anemia patients receiving treatment were 14.61% (592/4 052), 22.05% (73/331), and 9.71% (20/206). The proportion of intraoperative blood transfusion (16.74% (483/2 885) vs. 3.05% (140/4 589), χ²=434.555, P<0.01) and the incidence of postoperative complications (17.78% (513/2 885) vs. 14.08% (646/4 589), χ²=18.553, P<0.01) in the preoperative anemia group were higher than those in the non-anemia group, and the postoperative hospital stay in the preoperative anemia group was longer than that in the non-anemia group ((14.1±7.3) days vs. (13.3±6.2) days, t=5.202, P<0.01). Conclusions: The incidence of perioperative anemia in patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms is high. Preoperative anemia can increase the demand for intraoperative blood transfusion and affect the short-term prognosis of patients. At present, the concept of standardized treatment of perioperative anemia among gastrointestinal surgeons in Hubei Province needs to be improved.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anemia/epidemiology* ; Blood Transfusion ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To report on the clinical, metabolic and genetic characteristics of a child with carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1A (CPT1A) deficiency. METHODS: Clinical data and the level of acylcarnitine for a child who initially presented as epilepsy were analyzed. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of the child and her parents and subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: Mass spectrometry of blood acylcarnitine indicated increased carnitine 0 (C0) and significantly increased C0/ (C16+C18). DNA sequencing revealed that the child has carried compound heterozygous variants of the CPT1A gene, namely c.1846G>A and c.2201T>C, which were respectively inherited from her mother and father. CONCLUSION CPT1A presenting initially as epilepsy was unreported previously. Analysis of blood acylcarnitine C0 and C0/ (C16 + C18) ratio and NGS are necessary for the identification and diagnosis of CPT1A deficiency. The c.1846G>A and c.2201T>C variants of the CPT1A gene probably underlay the disease in this child. Above finding has also enriched the spectrum of CPT1A gene variants.
Carnitine/blood* ; Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase/genetics* ; Child ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoglycemia/genetics* ; Lipid Metabolism, Inborn Errors/genetics*

The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanism of nuciferine on alleviating obesity based on modulating gut microbiota, ameliorating chronic inflammation, and improving gut permeability. In this study, the obese model mice were induced by high-fat diet and then randomly divided into model group, and nuciferine group; some other mice of the same week age were fed with normal diet as normal group. In the modeling process, the mice were administered intragastrically(ig) for 12 weeks. In the course of both modeling and treatment, the body weight and food intake of mice in each group were measured weekly. After modeling and treatment, the Lee's index, weight percentage of inguinal subcutaneous fat, and the level of blood lipid in each group were measured. The pathological changes of adipocytes were observed by HE staining to evaluate the efficacy of nuciferine treatment in obese model mice. 16 S rRNA sequencing analysis was conducted to study the changes in diversity and abundance of gut microbiota after nuciferine treatment. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) and quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction(qPCR) were used to detect the levels of inflammatory factors interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and the expression of related genes in adipose tissue of mice in each group, so as to evaluate the effect of nuciferine on chronic inflammation of mice in obese model group. qPCR was used to detect the expression of occludin and tight junction protein 1(ZO-1)gene in colon tissure, so as to evaluate the effect of nuciferine on intestinal permeability of mice in obese group. Nuciferine decreased the body weight of obese mice, Lee's index, weight percentage of inguinal subcutaneous fat(P<0.05), and reduced the volume of adipocytes, decreased the level of total cholesterol(TC), triglyceride(TG), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)(P<0.05) in serum, improved dysbacteriosis, increased the relative abundance of Alloprevotella, Turicibacter, and Lactobacillus, lowered the relative abundance of Helicobac-ter, decreased the expression of inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α genes in adipose tissue(P<0.01), decreased the levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α in serum(P<0.05), and increased the expression of occludin and ZO-1 genes related to tight junction in colon tissue(P<0.01). Nuciferine could treat obesity through modulating gut microbiota, decreasing gut permeability and ameliorating inflammation.
Animals ; Aporphines ; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Obese ; Obesity/genetics*

In recent years， the incidence of neurological diseases has been increasing year by year. To give full play to the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in the treatment of neurological disorders， identify the breakthrough point of integrating TCM with western medicine， and further standardize the clinical diagnosis and treatment of TCM， the China Association of Chinese Medicine organized neurologists in TCM and western medicine to carry out in-depth discussion on the neurological diseases responding specifically to TCM and integrated TCM and western medicine， such as stroke， headache， vertigo， multiple sclerosis， and epilepsy， aiming to formulate a well-recognized and integrated treatment protocol for TCM and western medicine and improve the efficacy of neurological disorders. Furthermore， the treatment suggestions of the corresponding diseases in TCM and western medicine were proposed to provide references for clinical practice and scientific research.

As an effective antipyretic medicine,Indigo Naturalis has a long history of application in the field of Chinese medicine.The content of organics,mainly indigo and indirubin,is about 10%. However,the active ingredients and mechanism of its antipyretic effect have not yet been fully elucidated. In view of this,they were investigated in this study with the rectal temperature change as an indicator and 2,4-dinitrophenol-induced fever rats as subjects. The content of PGE2 and c AMP in the hypothalamus and the serum levels of TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 were determined by ELISA. Moreover,the plasma samples of fever rats were analyzed by metabonomics in combination with UPLC-Q-TOF-MS for the exploration of potential biomarkers and the discussion on the antipyretic mechanism of Indigo Naturalis and its active ingredients. The results showed that the rising trend of rectal temperature in rats was suppressed 0. 5 h after the treatment with Indigo Naturalis,organic matter,indigo or indirubin as compared with the rats of model group( P < 0. 05),among which Indigo Naturalis and organic matter had better antipyretic effect. ELISA results showed that organic matter and indigo can inhibit the expression of PGE2 and c AMP( P<0. 01),while Indigo Naturalis and organic matter were effective in curbing the increase in TNF-α( P<0. 05). A total of 21 endogenous metabolites were identified from the plasma samples of the Indigo Naturalis,organic matter,indigo and indirubin groups,which were mainly involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism.
2,4-Dinitrophenol ; Animals ; Antipyretics ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Indigo Carmine ; Indigofera ; Rats

【Objective】To analyze the risk factors of progression to end-stage renal disease（ESRD）in patients with diabetic kidney disease（DKD），and screen the high-risk population for early prevention.【Methods】The clinical data of 231 patients with diabetic nephropathy in our hospital were collected and followed up for 3 years. According to whether ESRD occurred，they were divided into non-progressing ESRD group（133 cases）and ESRD group（98 cases）. Classification tree model was used to analyze the risk factors related to ESRD，and the high-risk population was screened by node gain analysis.【Results】Four important explanatory variables were screened out by the classification tree model from the candi⁃ date variables related to early renal damage，including apolipoprotein B（ApoB），gender，diabetic retinopathy，systemic blood pressure（SBP）. ApoB level was an important factor for DKD progression. For DKD patients with the chronic kidney disease （CKD）3~4 stageswith ApoB> 1.14 mmol/L，theprobabilityofprogression toESRDfor 3 yearswas 75.0 %，and ifat the same time with diabetic retinopathy，the probability was 79.7 %.【Conclusion】The classification tree model can analyze the risk factors of progression to ESRD in DKD patients effectively，to identify the characteristics of high-risk populations.

Objective To study the clinical efficacy and follow-up study of ketogenic diet adding treatment for refractor epilepsy in children.Methods Cluster sampling method was employed to select children in children's hospital from January 2015 to June 2017,a total of 25 cases were diagnosed refractor epilepsy and adding ketogenic diet.Engel grade was used to evaluate the efficiency,the side effects,electroencephalogram (EEG) changes and intellectual development at 3 months,3-6 months,and more than 6 months.Results The effective rate of epileptic seizure control was 0,66.7％ and 87.5％ at 3 months,3 -6 months and ＞ 6 months respectively.The improvement rate of EEG discharge index was 33.3％,50％ and 81.3％ respectively.The improvement of intelligence development was 33.3％,50％ and 68.8％ respectively.Gastrointestinal disturbances were the main side effects.Severe side effect occurred in two cases--they had severe food refusal and were stopped the ketogenic diet adding treament.Conclusions The ketogenic diet is effective,safe,few side effects and tolerable in infants and children with refractory epilepsy.The ketogenic diet may improve cognition and behavior in addition to reducing seizure frequency,the interical epileptiform discharges (IED) index and improve the quality of life of epileptic children.However,the acceptance of ketogenic diet therapy for children is not satisfactory.The sample size is small and needs further promotion.While large samples and long-term observations are still desired to better recipes,and to provide possibly effective altemative to other therapies for refractor epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the gold standard therapy for unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) stenosis in coronary atherosclerosis. However, the treatment of ULMCA stenosis using drug-eluting stents has recently been reported to lead to a relatively low incidence of cardiovascular events.Thus,drug-eluting stents are a potential surrogate for CABG,and could become the new gold standard treatment for ULMCA stenosis; however, this issue remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: To explore the safety and efficacy of CABG versus rapamycin-eluting stents for ULMCA stenosis in older adult patients with degenerative coronary atherosclerosis. METHODS: The proposed prospective, non-randomized, controlled trial will include 224 older adult patients with degenerative coronary atherosclerosis with ULMCA stenosis being treated at the Department of Cardiology at Taihe Hospital and Renmin Hospital of Shiyan, China. Patients will be divided into two groups in accordance with each patient’s treatment choice and indications (n=112/group): the stent group will receive rapamycin-eluting stents, while the CABG group will undergo CABG.All patients will be followed up at 9, 12, 24, and 36 months postoperatively. The primary outcome measure will be the rate of repeat revascularizations in the target lesion at 36 months postoperatively.The secondary outcome measures will be the rates of repeat revascularizations in the target lesion at 9, 12, and 24 months postoperatively, the rate of restenosis, mortality, causes of death, and survival at 9, 12, 24, and 36 months postoperatively, and the angiographic appearance of the diseased vessels preoperatively and at 9, 12, 24, and 36 months postoperatively. The safety indicator will be the incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events at 9, 12, 24, and 36 months postoperatively. Eighty-six older adult patients with degenerative coronary atherosclerosis who underwent treatment of ULMCA stenosis between January 2016 and December 2017 were included in a pilot study. Pilot study results showed that the stent group (n=48) had a significantly reduced waiting time for surgery, hospitalization time, and rate of complete revascularizations in the target lesion compared with the CABG group (n=38) (P ＜ 0.05). At 6 months postoperatively, there were no significant differences between the two groups in mortality, and incidences of myocardial infarction, repeat revascularizations in the target lesion, and cardiovascular events. The trial was approved by the Ethics Committee of Taihe Hospital (approval No. TH005X) in July 2017 and by the Ethics Committee of Renmin Hospital of Shiyan (approval No. RM011X) in July 2017. All the patients will provide written informed consent with the premise of fully understanding the treatment plan. The study protocol will follow the relevant laws and regulations of the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant hospital’s ethical principles. Design of the trial was completed in January 2018. Recruitment will be initiated in August 2018 and it is expected to be completed in August 2019. Data analysis will be conducted in October 2022 and the trial will be completed in December 2022. The results of the study will be disseminated through presentations at scientific meetings and/or in peer-reviewed publications. The trial has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (registration No. ChiCTR1800016413) and the version number is 1.0 DISCUSSION: The results of this study will indicate the medium-and long-term efficacy and safety of rapamycin-eluting stents versus CABG in older adult patients with ULMCA stenosis, and then identify which of these two treatments has better prognosis, thereby screening out the optimal strategy for treating ULMCA.

A new napthalenone, rumexone A (1), was isolated from the roots of Rumex nepalensis. The structure of 1 was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses, including 1D and 2D NMR spectra and MS data. Its cytotoxic effect was evaluated using four clinically relevant human cancer cell lines, gastric carcinoma SGC7901, breast carcinoma MDA-MB-231, lung carcinoma A549, and hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2.