ABSTRACT
Objective To determine the water absorption coefficient of single-flavor root and rhizome Chinese herbal medicine pieces at room temperature, and guide the water addition in the decoction process of decocting machine of Chinese herbal.Methods The water absorption coefficient of 222-flavor root and rhizome Chinese herbal medicine pieces were studied, the simulated prescriptions were decocted according to the recommended formula of the decocting machine manufacturer and the water absorption coefficient, and the amount of liquid were obtained by the two methods which were compared with the amount of liquid required.Results The water absorption coefficients of roots and rhizomes with different textures were quite different.The amount of liquid obtained according to the manufacturer′s recommended formula was quite different from the amount of liquid required and there was no rule to follow.The error of the amount of liquid obtained according to the water absorption coefficient and the amount of liquid required was small and regular.Conclusion The experimental determination of the water absorption coefficient of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces could guide the amount of water added to the decoction machine.
ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the effects of assisted reproduction technology ( ART) on gestational weight gain ( GWG) and glucose metabolism .Methods The study was performed in ART women with single-ton and full-term delivery .Age-and pre-pregnancy body mass index matched healthy women with spontaneous pregnancy, singleton, and full-term delivery were recruited as controls .Maternal characteristics (height, age, education level , pre-pregnancy body mass , pre-delivery body mass , medical history , history of abortion , fasting plasma glucose , triglyceride , total cholesterol , and glucose tolerance ) and fetal data ( delivery mode , gender , birth body mass , birth body length ) were collected by a trained nutritionist .Results A total of 200 women were recruited into this study (53 ART women and 147 controls).There was no significant difference in number of previous abortion ( the ratio between the women who had ≥3 abortions to those who had <3 abortions was 6∶47 in the ART group , and 10∶137 in the control group , χ2 =1.080 , P=0.299 ) .Compared with the control group, the ART group had higher education level (33 in the ART and 85 in the control group with un-dergraduate or higher education , 20 in the ART group and 62 in the control group with a college degree or lower education ,χ2 =6.303 , P=0.012 ) .There were no statistically significantly differences between the ART and the control groups in pre-pregnancy body mass index [ (22.00 ±3.05 ) kg/m2 vs.(21.81 ±2.62 ) kg/m2 , P=0.661] and average GWG [ (13.89 ±5.33) kg vs.(14.78 ±4.60) kg, P=0.247].GWG was appro-priate in 22 ART women, excess in 18, and inadequate in 13;in the control group, GWG was appropriate in 66 women, excess in 54, and inadequate in 27.The distribution of GWG showed no significant difference be-tween the two groups (χ2 =1.162 , P=0.247 ) .Oral glucose tolerance test in 24-28 gestational weeks showed no significant difference in fasting blood glucose between the ART and the control groups [ (4.66 ±0.39) mmol/L vs.(4.66 ±0.52) mmol/L, P=0.996], but 1-hour and 2-hour blood glucose levels were significantly in-creased in the ART women [ ( 7.87 ±1.83 ) mmol/L vs.( 7.31 ±1.51 ) mmol/L, P=0.034; ( 7.49 ± 1.29) mmol/L vs.(6.69 ±1.30) mmol/L, P=0.029].The overall prevalence of gestational diabetes melli-tus was 13.5%(27/200), with no significant difference between the ART and the control groups (18.9%vs. 11.6%, P=0.182 ) .Conclusion ART may not affect GWG , but it may cause changes of glucose metabo-lism during pregnancy .