Preparation technology of Haimeng Zhisuan sustained release tablets / 中草药

Objective: To optimize the formulation of Haimeng Zhisuan gastric floating sustained-release tablets and to investigate its in vitro release properties. Methods: Plackett-Burman design was used to screen three most influential factors, i.e. matrices, floating material, and fillers which had significant impact on the preparation of floating sustained-release tablet by evaluating the cumulative release rate of CaCO3 at 2, 4, and 12 h; The levels of non-important factors were also determined. A 3-factor, 3-level Box-Behnken design was led to optimize the formulation, using cumulative release rate as index. The experiment result was optimized and the drug release kinetics equation was fitted by response optimizer. Results: The optimized tablet formulation was as follows: cuttlebone 225.0 mg, Montmorillonite 25.0 mg, HPMC K100M 100.0 mg, MCC 48.3 mg, EC 25.0 mg, searyl alcohol 74.7 mg, and 5% PVP-K30 ethanol solution as adhesive. The experimental data of optimized tablet were similar to the predicted values. The floating duration was over 12 h in simulated gastric fluid. Data of the in vitro release were fitted to the first-order equation. Conclusion: Formulation of Haimeng Zhisuan floating sustained-release tablet is found to be reasonable. The preparation technology is feasible. The tablet shows good in vitro release properties within 12 h.

Taste-modifying technology of Jinzhen Oral Liquid / 中草药

Objective: To study the optimal method for taste-modifying of Jinzhen Oral Liquid (JOL). Methods: Active carbon adsorption method was optimized through L9(34) orthogonal test and with the change rate of concentration of bilirubin as index, and the different taste-modifying prescriptions were evaluated by the fuzzy mathematics synthetic evaluation system. Results: The optimal adsorption conditions were as follows: The pH value of the mixture of Cornu Bubali and artificial Calculus ovis was adjusted to 7.0 at 50 °C with 0.25% activated carbon, and stirring for 10 min. The optimal formula ingredient was as follows: 15.0 mg ethyl maltol, 5.0 g CMC-Na, 1.0 g steviosin, and 0.5 g orange flavor in 1 000 mL JOL. Conclusion: The taste-modifying prescriptions provide great value for further scale production.

Optimization of one-step pelletization technology of Tianshu Capsule by Minitab / 中草药

Objective: To optimize the one-step pelletization technology of Tianshu Capsule by Minitab software. Methods: Using the qualified rates of particles as the evaluation indexes, three significant impact factors (fluid extract-dextrin ratio, infusion frequency, and atomization pressure) of one-step pelletization technology were selected and the levels of non-significant factors were identified by the Plackett-Burman experimental design. According to single factor experiments, choosing the qualified rates of particles, moisture, and angle of repose as the evaluation indexes, three levels of the three factors were selected by Box-Behnken of central composite design to establish the multiple linear regression and binomial fitting, and the experimental data were optimized by the response optimizer. Results: The best conditions were as follows: fluid extract-dextrin of 1.57:1 put in fluid-bed and heated by fan; the temperature of the bottom material in the fluidized state was increased to 50°C, fluid extract of 2% HPMC was sprayed with frequency of 32 Hz, the frequency of fan was 30 Hz, inlet air temperature was 60°C, atomization pressure was 0.21 MPa, and feed temperature was 50°C. Conclusion: Under the Minitab optimized scheme, the average experimental results are similar to the predicted values, and Minitab software could be used in the optimization of one-step pelletization for Chinese materia medica.

Isolation and diversity analyses of endophytic fungi from Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis / 中国中药杂志

The paper is aimed at studying the diversity of endophytic fungi community from Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis, and to provide a scientific basis for the utilization value of the endophytic fungi as bioactive material resources. In the present study, endophytic fungi were isolated from roots, rhizomes and leaves of wild P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis collected from Baoshan, Heqing county and Songming city of Yunnan province, and identified and classified by morphological methods together with its ITS sequence analysis. Seven and forty-nine strains of endophytic fungi were isolated from P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. They were identified belonging to 41 genus. In these 41 genus, 3 genus exist in root only, 12 genus only exist in rhizome and 8 genus only exist in leaf. There was difference in endophytic fungi isolated from different sample sites. Endophytic fungi diversity from rhizomes of Heqing site was the highest. Endophytic fungi similarity coefficient was low among different sites and tissues. Based on these results, it is reasonable to propose that endophytic fungi of P. polyphylla var. yannanensis from different tissue and different sample sites has a certain difference which is possibly relate to their different habitats, different structure and composition of each tissue.

Construction of shRNA eukaryotic expression vectors of pkm2 gene and their effect on drug resistant cell line of acute promyelocytic leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

This study was aimed to construct the shRNA eukaryotic expression vectors of M2-pyruvate kinase gene (pkm2) and to investigate the effects of pkm2 gene interference on the drug resistance of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells in vitro. Three specific shRNAs of pkm2 gene were designed and cloned into PBSU6 vector containing a U6 promotor. The constructed plasmids were identified and proved by the restriction sequence analysis. Then the effect of pkm2-shRNA on the protein expression of endogenous PKM2 was detected in NB4R2 cells, a drug resistant cell line of APL by Western blot. The alteration of NB4R2 cell differentiation with the interference of pkm2 gene was also validated by nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction test. The results showed that three specific shRNA eukaryotic expression vectors targeting pkm2 were successfully constructed. The efficiency of pkm2 gene silence was proved at protein level. The interference of pkm2 gene could significantly enhance the cell differentiation in the drug resistant NB4R2 cell line. It is concluded that the DNA vector containing pkm2 targeting shRNA remarkably promotes the differentiation of NB4R2 cells, showing the prospects of developing the gene target drug.

Study on Etiology of Acute Pneumonia in Children in Suzhou Area / 实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To investigate etiology of acute pneumonia in children in order to provid basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods The children with acute pneumonia who were hospitalized in children's hospital affiliated to Suzhou university were selected.And the sputum of them were collected.Bacteria and virus were tested using sputum culture and direct immunofluoresence respectively.Antibodies against mycoplasma and chlamydia were detected by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) in paired sera. Results Microbial etiology was obtained in 360 cases (67.7%) of 532 patients.Viral infections were in 178 cases (33.5%).Bacterial infections were in 23 cases (4.3%),mycoplasma pneumoniae 50 cases (9.4%) and chlamydia pneumoniae 19 cases (3.6%),compound infections 90 cases (16.9%).Respiratory syncycial virus was the major viral pathogen,streptococcus pneumoniae were the prominent pathagens of bacterial pneumonia,followed by haemophilus influenza.Conclusions Viral infection is the most common cause of acute pneumonia in children in Suzhou area during winter and spring,followed by mycoplasma pneumoniae,bacteria and chlamydia pneumoniae.Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is more common in children older than 3 years,chlamydia pneumoniae infection is more in infants less than 3 months,most of compound infection children were below the age of 3 years.