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Background@#Consumption and abuse of alcohol remains a significant cause of concern worldwide. Furthermore, there is evidence of the association between chronic alcohol use and reduced life expectancy. @*Objectives@#To study the effects of Garcinia binucao extract (GBE) supplementation on lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster, in the presence or absence of chronic alcohol exposure.@*Methods@#D. melanogaster was mass cultured and given GBE supplementation in high (1 mg/mL) and low (200 µg/mL) sublethal doses. D. melanogaster flies were divided into groups - with and without chronic alcohol exposure, and their respective lifespans were monitored. @*Results@#In D. melanogaster without alcohol exposure, mean lifespan was highest in the control flies (38.15 days), followed by high-dose GBE (34.42 days), low-dose GBE (33.24 days), and DMSO (22.29 days). In D. melanogaster chronically exposed to alcohol, the longest mean lifespan was observed in flies treated with high-dose GBE (33.80 days), followed by low-dose GBE (33.63 days), the DMSO group (30.30), and the control group (29.65 days), but the differences were not statistically significant. Comparing groups with and without chronic alcohol exposure, the mean lifespan of the control group chronically exposed to alcohol significantly decreased by 9.51 days (p < 0.05). In GBE treatment groups, mean lifespan significantly decreased by 0.82 days in high-dose set-up (p < 0.05), and significantly increased by 0.39 days in the low-dose set-up (p < 0.05) upon chronic alcohol exposure. @*Conclusion@#Garcinia binucao extract supplementation ameliorated the observed reduction in lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster chronically exposed to alcohol.
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Drosophila melanogaster , LongevityABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the epidemic situation of measles in Yichang from 2009 to 2021, and to provide scientific evidence for the control and elimination of measles. Methods Descriptive epidemiological methods were used to analyze the case data of measles cases reported by the notifiable infectious disease reporting system and measles surveillance system in Yichang from 2009 to 2021. Results A total of 364 cases of confirmed measles were reported in Yichang from 2009 to 2021, with an average annual incidence rate of 0.68/100 000. During these years, the incidence rates fluctuated from 0.5 to 28.87/100 000. The epidemic peak of measles was from January to July. Most cases were concentrated in five regions including Xiling, Wujiagang, Yiling, Dangyang and Yidu, accounting for 66.48% of all cases. More male cases were reported. The age of these patients ranged from < 1 month to 68 years, in which a great majority were infants (32.14%) and adults between 20 and 49 years old (48.08%). The five most common occupations of measles patients were scattered children, farmers, housekeeping or unemployed, workers and students, with the scattered children being the highest proportion accounting for 42.58%. There were 72 cases (19.78%) with the history of measles vaccine immunization, 113 cases (31.04%) without the immunization history, and 179 cases (49.18%) with unknown immunization history. Conclusion Incidence rates of measles in Yichang remains at a low level from 2009 to 2021. Young age groups and adults are the key groups for measles prevention and control. Strategies and measures such as immune strengthening for key areas and key populations will help improve the effect of measles prevention and control.
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【Objective】 To explore the mechanism of Yougui Pills in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis （KOA） based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. 【Methods】 The active components of Yougui Pills were obtained by searching TCMSP database. With the active component targets predicted by TCMSP， SwissTargetPrediction and TargetNet， we searched TCMIP， CTD， DisGeNET and GeneCards databases for KOA related targets. By crossing the two sets of targets， we obtained therapeutic targets of Yougui Pills for KOA. FDA-approved drugs for KOA and their targets were searched in the DrugBank database， and the drug-target network was constructed by using Cytoscape. Then the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was constructed by using STRING database. After Go and KEGG enrichment analyses， the network of “traditional Chinese Medicine-active components-key targets-significant pathways-biological process” was constructed. 【Results】 A total of 132 active components were obtained from the nine herbal medicines of Yougui Pills， corresponding to 490 targets， of which 76 were potential therapeutic targets. Of them 13 were the same as the targets of 5 Western medicines for KOA. We screened out 18 key targets by the PPI network. Go enrichment analysis revealed 1281 biological processes， 60 molecular functions， and 17 cellular components， which were mainly related to inflammation， infection and oxidative stress. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that 50 pathways were significantly enriched， including IL-17 signaling pathway and TNF signaling pathway， whose functions were mainly involved in immune system， signal transduction， endocrine system， cell growth and death and other biological processes. 【Conclusion】 With multiple compounds acting on multiple molecular targets， Yougui Pills can treat KOA through molecular mechanisms including inhibiting inflammation， reducing oxidative stress， and promoting cartilage cell proliferation.
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Forsythia suspensa is a herbal medicine that widely used for heat-clearing and detoxification in clinical practice. However, the molecular mechanism of its heat-clearing and detoxifying effect is still unclear. Based on the theory and methods of network pharmacology, the efficacy of the heat-clearing and detoxification of Forsythia suspensa was analyzed in this study. A total of 114 of compounds in Forsythia suspensa were collected, and 15 of effective compounds were obtained by analyzing the bioavailability (OB) and drug-like properties (DL). Then 26 corresponding targets were obtained using reverse pharmacophore-docking method. Using the BioGPS database, the organ location of the target initially was revealed. The compound-targetdisease network model of Forsythia suspensa was constructed by using the Cytoscape, which showed that the material basis of the heat-clearing and detoxification of Forsythia suspensa was to synthesize and synergize the effects by combining various active ingredients of multiple targets, simultaneously. This study explains the scientific mechanism of the heat-clearing and detoxification of Forsythia suspensa, and provides a theoretical foundation for clinical rational usage of Forsythia suspensa.
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Objective: To prepare and optimize tilianin loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (T-SLNs), and investigate the physicochemical properties, absorption and transport behavour of T-SLNs in vitro. Methods: T-SLNs were prepared by high shear homogenization followed by ultrasonication and optimized by central composite design and response surface methodology. In the study, the physicochemical properties of T-SLNs including size, polydispersity (PDI), Zeta potential, shape, entrapment efficiency and release profile in vitro were investigated, the absorption and transport behavour of T-SLNs in Caco-2 cell model were also measured. Results: The optimum formulation of T-SLNs consisted of: drug/lipid of 0.11, soy lecithin/lipid of 1.26, and content of tween-80 was 5.05%. The prepared T-SLNs were spherical and uniform with the mean particle diameter at (86.40 ± 0.62) nm, PDI (0.165 ± 0.080) and Zeta potential of (-24.2 ± 0.6) mV, respectively. The average EE was (89.81 ± 1.07)%, and the release in vitro showed that tilianin was released about (98.72 ± 1.57)% in 48 h. Besides, the absorption and transport assays of T-SLNs in Caco-2 cells model indicated that T-SLNs had a higher absorption and transport than tilianin. Conclusion: The method of high shear homogenization followed by ultrasonication is suitable for T-SLNs preparation. The optimal T-SLNs have a smaller particle size and high EE. Moreover, in the same concentration of tilianin, the absorption and transport amounts of T-SLNs in Caco-2 cell model were higher than tilianin.
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<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>We aimed to create a definition of neurophobia, and determine its prevalence and educational risk factors amongst medical students and junior doctors in Singapore.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>We surveyed medical students and junior doctors in a general hospital using electronic and paper questionnaires. We asked about knowledge, interest, perceived difficulty in neurology, and confidence in managing neurology patients compared to 7 other internal medicine specialties; quality and quantity of undergraduate and postgraduate neuroscience teaching, clinical neurology exposure, and postgraduate qualifications. Neurophobia was defined as ≤4 composite score of difficulty and confidence with neurology.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>One hundred and fifty-eight medical students (63.5%) and 131 junior doctors (73.2%) responded to the questionnaire. Neurophobia prevalence was 47.5% in medical students, highest amongst all medical subspecialties, and 36.6% in junior doctors. Multivariate analysis revealed that for medical students, female gender (OR 3.0, 95% CI, 1.3 to 6.7), low interest (OR 2.5, 95% CI, 1.0 to 6.2), low knowledge (OR 10.1, 95% CI, 4.5 to 22.8), and lack of clinical teaching by a neurologist (OR 2.8, 95% CI, 1.2 to 6.6) independently increased the risk of neurophobia. For doctors, low interest (OR 3.0, 95% CI, 1.3 to 7.0) and low knowledge (OR 2.7, 95% CI, 1.2 to 6.2) independently increased the risk of neurophobia, and female gender was of borderline significance (OR 2.0, 95% CI, 0.9 to 4.6).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Neurophobia is highly prevalent amongst Singapore medical students and junior doctors. Low interest and knowledge are independent risk factors shared by both groups; female gender may also be a shared risk factor. The mnemonic GIK (Gender, Interest, Knowledge) identifies the risk factors to mitigate when planning teaching strategies to reduce neurophobia.</p>
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Humans , Attitude of Health Personnel , Medical Staff, Hospital , Neurology , Physicians , Students, Medical , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Singapore for a variety of conditions has been reported to be high. However in Asian chronic pain patients, there is no data on their use of CAM and its perceived benefits.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>A cross-sectional survey of 210 patients was carried out in Pain Management Centre. Patients were interviewed directly on their use of CAM. The outcomes were prevalence of CAM use, the types of CAM used, the perceived efficacy and factors influencing its use.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The prevalence of CAM users in chronic pain is 84%. The most common class of CAM is traditional Chinese medicine (68%) the subset of which, acupuncture, was most frequently utilised (49% of patients using CAM). In univariate analyses, ethnicity was significantly linked to CAM use but not gender, age, education level and income (P = 0.027). Specifically for neck pain, it was significant that patients were more likely to see a chiropractor, to use massage, to take take vitamins and ginseng to alleviate their symptoms. With upper limb pain, it was the use of Tui na, massage and seeing a TCM practitioner. For abdominal pain, it was the use of herbal medicines. The majority felt that CAM helped with their pain (72%) although less expressed satisfaction with CAM (64%). Reasons for using CAM included: having more control over their pain; fewer side effects; safety and lower costs compared to conventional medicine.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The use of CAM in chronic pain patients is higher than the general population. Most felt that it improved their pain. As part of multimodal therapy, CAM may have a role in the management of chronic pain.</p>
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Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Young Adult , Chronic Pain , Therapeutics , Complementary Therapies , Singapore , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Although a majority of ingested foreign bodies (FBs) pass down the gastrointestinal tract spontaneously, those that are sharp, pointed or large in size need removal to avert serious complications. We highlight the urgent need and utility of endoscopic accessories and technical artistry in safe retrieval of FBs in children.</p><p><b>CLINICAL PICTURE</b>Four children had accidentally swallowed a nail, metallic dumbbell, open safety pin and a cushion pin respectively. They were symptom-free and the abdominal plain radiographs revealed foreign body in the stomach in all the cases.</p><p><b>TREATMENT</b>Oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (OGD) was done in all the patients and could retrieve the nail, metallic dumbbell and open safety pin successfully using a Dormia basket, a polypectomy snare and a pair of rat-tooth forceps respectively. The cushion pin had migrated to the duodeno-jejunal junction within 4 hours of ingestion and necessitated open duodenotomy and retrieval.</p><p><b>OUTCOME</b>All patients did well after the procedure with no complications.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Swallowed FBs with pointed or sharp ends or large enough to cross the pylorus and duodenal sweep need removal and in the majority of the cases they can be retrieved by OGD. Sharp or pointed FBs that have crossed the second part of the duodenum necessitate urgent laparotomy for retrieval to prevent complications.</p>
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Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Deglutition , Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal , Foreign Bodies , DiagnosisABSTRACT
Objective To study the importance of back pain-lassitude as the key symptom in the differentiation of kidney-deficiency syndrome in diabetes patients.Methods Totally 460 diabetics were divided into the pain group(154 cases)and non-pain group(306 cases).The 39 symptoms,signs and behavior were abstracted and each patient was scored according to the details of kidney deficiency scale to analyze the constitution and distribution of kidney-deficiency syndrome.Results There was a significant difference in the total symptom score of the two groups(P