Balamuthia Amebic Encephalitis Cured and Discharged.

Intracerebral granulomatous infectious encephalitis caused by Baboon Balamuthia amoeba is a rare form of infectious granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. There are very limited case reports of cured discharges. The authors report a 59-year-old male patient who met the diagnostic criteria for granulomatous infection caused by Baboon Balamuthia amoeba. After treatment, the patient's condition improved, and he was discharged from the hospital. The authors reviewed the data of this patient, analyzed relevant imaging information, and summarized our experience to enhance understanding of this condition.

Optical Control over Liquid­Liquid Phase Separation.

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is responsible for the emergence of intracellular membrane-less organelles and the development of coacervate protocells. Benefitting from the advantages of simplicity, precision, programmability, and noninvasiveness, light has become an effective tool to regulate the assembly dynamics of LLPS, and mediate various biochemical processes associated with LLPS. In this review, recent advances in optically controlling membrane-less organelles within living organisms are summarized, thereby modulating a series of biological processes including irreversible protein aggregation pathologies, transcription activation, metabolic flux, genomic rearrangements, and enzymatic reactions. Among these, the intracellular systems (i.e., optoDroplet, Corelet, PixELL, CasDrop, and other optogenetic systems) that enable the photo-mediated control over biomolecular condensation are highlighted. The design of photoactive complex coacervate protocells in laboratory settings by utilizing photochromic molecules such as azobenzene and diarylethene is further discussed. This review is expected to provide in-depth insights into phase separation-associated biochemical processes, bio-metabolism, and diseases.

Superstructural ordering in self-sorting coacervate-based protocell networks.

Bottom-up assembly of higher-order cytomimetic systems capable of coordinated physical behaviours, collective chemical signalling and spatially integrated processing is a key challenge in the study of artificial multicellularity. Here we develop an interactive binary population of coacervate microdroplets that spontaneously self-sort into chain-like protocell networks with an alternating sequence of structurally and compositionally dissimilar microdomains with hemispherical contact points. The protocell superstructures exhibit macromolecular self-sorting, spatially localized enzyme/ribozyme biocatalysis and interdroplet molecular translocation. They are capable of topographical reconfiguration using chemical or light-mediated stimuli and can be used as a micro-extraction system for macroscale biomolecular sorting. Our methodology opens a pathway towards the self-assembly of multicomponent protocell networks based on selective processes of coacervate droplet-droplet adhesion and fusion, and provides a step towards the spontaneous orchestration of protocell models into artificial tissues and colonies with ordered architectures and collective functions.

Nationwide survey of physicians' familiarity and awareness of diabetes guidelines in China: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate physicians' familiarity and awareness of four diabetes guidelines and their practice of the recommendations outlined in these guidelines. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: An online questionnaire survey was conducted among physicians affiliated with the Specialist Committee for Primary Diabetes Care of China Association of Chinese Medicine, using the snowball sampling method to ensure a broader representation of physicians. PARTICIPANTS: 1150 physicians from 192 cities across 30 provinces in China provided complete data. RESULTS: Tertiary care hospital physicians (TCPs) exhibited the highest familiarity with the Guideline for the Prevention and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in China (91.3%), followed by the National Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Diabetes in Primary Care (76.8%), the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes (72.2%) and the Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes in Chinese Medicine (63.8%). Primary care practitioners (PCPs) exhibited familiarity with these four guidelines at about 50% or less. Self-reported reference to modern diabetes guidelines by physicians is more frequent than traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diabetes guidelines, with rates at 73.2% and 33.8%, respectively. Approximately 90% of physicians provided instructions on self-monitoring of blood glucose to their patients with diabetes. Less than one-third of physicians referred patients to a specialised nutritionist. In terms of health education management, TCPs reported having a diabetes health management team at the rate of 75.7%, followed by secondary care hospital physicians at 57.0% and PCPs at 27.5%. Furthermore, approximately 40% of physicians did not fully grasp hypoglycaemia characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Familiarity and awareness of the screening guidelines varied among physicians in different hospital settings. Importantly, significant discrepancies were observed between physicians' awareness and their self-reported reference to modern medicine guidelines and TCM guidelines. It is essential to consistently provide education and training on diabetes management for all physicians, particularly PCPs.

Subzero-temperature homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction for the stereoselective determination of chiral triadimefon and its metabolite in water, fruit juice, vinegar, and fermented liquor by HPLC.

A novel method based on homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction with deep eutectic solvents (DES) under subzero-temperature conditions in combination with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the determination of chiral fungicide triadimefon (TF) and its metabolite triadimenol (TN) in water, fruit juice, vinegar, and fermented liquor was developed in this study. The method involved using deep eutectic solvents (DES) under subzero-temperature conditions in combination with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This novel technique, known as subzero-temperature homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction (STHLLE), offers several advantages, including high efficiency, time-saving, low-cost, and eco-friendliness. The enantiomers of chiral TF and TN were simultaneously separated and quantified using HPLC coupled with a Daicel Chiralpak OD-RH column. Various experimental parameters such as DES composition and volume, freezing condition, salt concentration, and pH were optimized to enhance the recoveries of the target analytes. Under the optimized conditions, spiked recoveries of six enantiomers (i.e., S-TF, R-TF, SR-TN, RS-TN, SS-TN, and RR-TN) in the water, fruit juice, vinegar, and fermented liquor samples were 82.2-100.1% with relative standard deviations of 0.4-10.1%. The current method demonstrated a detection range of 0.03-0.06 mg L-1 in the target analytes. This established technique exhibits potential for efficient and precise extraction and quantification of the enantiomers of TF and TN in water phase samples.

Magnetic deep eutectic solvent-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for determination of strobilurin fungicides in water, juice, and vinegar by high-performance liquid chromatography.

In this study, a magnetic deep eutectic solvent coupled with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction using high-performance liquid chromatography (MDES-DLLME-HPLC) was developed to detect strobilurin fungicides. The green hydrophobic MDES synthesized by methyltrioctylammonium chloride, ferric chloride, and heptanoic acid was used as an extraction solvent, which was dispersed by vortex and separated by an external magnetic field. The use of toxic solvents was avoided, and the separation time was reduced. The best experimental results were obtained through single factor and response surface optimization. The method had a good linear relationship with R2 > 0.996. The limit of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.001 to 0.002 mg L-1. The extraction recoveries were 81.9-108.9%. The proposed method was rapid and green, and it has been successfully applied to detection of strobilurin fungicides in water, juice, and vinegar.

Artificial receptor-mediated phototransduction toward protocellular subcompartmentalization and signaling-encoded logic gates.

Engineering artificial cellular systems capable of perceiving and transmitting external signals across membranes to activate downstream targets and coordinate protocellular responses is key to build cell-cell communications and protolife. Here, we report a synthetic photoreceptor-mediated signaling pathway with the integration of light harvesting, photo-to-chemical energy conversion, signal transmission, and amplification in synthetic cells, which ultimately resulted in protocell subcompartmentalization. Key to our design is a ruthenium-bipyridine complex that acts as a membrane-anchored photoreceptor to convert visible light into chemical information and transduce signals across the lipid membrane via flip-flop motion. By coupling receptor-mediated phototransduction with biological recognition and enzymatic cascade reactions, we further develop protocell signaling-encoded Boolean logic gates. Our results illustrate a minimal cell model to mimic the photoreceptor cells that can transduce the energy of light into intracellular responses and pave the way to modular control over the flow of information for complex metabolic and signaling pathways.

Small Amphiphile-Based Coacervation.

Coacervation plays an important role in the molecular assembly towards soft materials with a diversity of function (e. g., underwater adhesives of mussels and membraneless organelles). Coacervation is observed when one homogenous solution spontaneously separates into two immiscible liquid phases of low and high solute concentration, also known as liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), which enables spatiotemporally local concentration of specific molecules. LLPS is a common physical phenomenon in aqueous solutions of polyelectrolytes, surfactants and biomolecules, which has been extensively explored for applications in the fields of environmental remediation, cosmetic formulation, protein purification, extractive fermentation and pharmaceutical microencapsulation. This review summarizes the development of LLPS with low molecular weight amphiphiles to construct simple and complex coacervates using conventional surfactants and novel amphiphiles such as azobenzene-derivatives and peptides. We also highlight the applications of these amphiphile coacervates in the extraction of biomolecules, construction of protocell models and drug delivery.

The Treatment of Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Female Infertility Caused by Endometrial Factors.

Recently, with the development of the social economy, the incidence of infertility has increased year by year. With its complex etiology and diversified syndromes, infertility has become one of the most important diseases that plague the physical and mental health of women of childbearing age worldwide. Endometrial factors as an important part affecting female reproductive capacity, due to which induced repeated abortion and multiple uterine cavity operations occur, can destruct endometrium, failing to provide a normal implantation environment for zygote, thus resulting in infertility. Many patients failed to achieve expected results after receiving conventional treatments such as hormone therapy, assisted reproductive technology (ART), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) therapy, and cell therapy, then turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies for help. Aiming at clarifying the effectiveness and mechanisms of CAM therapy in the treatment of infertility caused by endometrial factors, our paper systematically searched and studied present related literature on the PubMed, CNKI, and other databases, focusing on the aspects of clinical application and mechanism explorations and highlighting the therapeutic effects of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), acupuncture, and moxibustion on such diseases. Moreover, this paper also introduces the CAM treatments of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) retention enema, neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), photobiomodulation therapy, dietary intervention, and other measures for infertility caused by endometrial factors, in order to provide a reference for subsequent basic research and clinical work.

Density-adjusted liquid-phase microextraction with smartphone digital image colorimetry to determine parathion-methyl in water, fruit juice, vinegar, and fermented liquor.

To achieve rapid and convenient on-site pretreatment and determination of parathion-methyl, a density-adjusted liquid-phase microextraction with smartphone digital image colorimetry was established to detect parathion-methyl in food samples. In this study, the environmentally friendly biomass-derived solvent guaiacol was used as the extractant. Salt and water, as density regulators, realized the two movements (floating-sinking) of the extractant and full contact between the extractant and the sample solution to establish an environmentally friendly, fast, and efficient pretreatment method. Under strong alkaline conditions, parathion-methyl generated a yellow product; then, a smartphone was used to obtain the image of the yellow product for intensity analysis. Parathion-methyl has a good linear relationship in the range of 0.01-1 mg L-1, and the limits of detection and quantification are 0.003 and 0.01 mg L-1, respectively. This method has been successfully applied to the determination of parathion-methyl in spiked water, fruit juice, vinegar, and fermented liquor with a recovery of 91.6-106.5% and a relative standard deviation of 0.6-6.0%. The established density-adjusted liquid phase microextraction with smartphone digital image colorimetry is rapid, convenient, and environmentally friendly for the determination of parathion-methyl in food samples.

Magnetic deep eutectic solvent-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for enantioselectively determining chiral mefentrifluconazole in cereal samples via ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography.

A simple, rapid, and efficient pretreatment method of mefentrifluconazole enantiomers in cereal samples was established by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (UHPLC-DAD). In this study, a novel ternary magnetic deep eutectic solvent (MDES) [octyltrimethylammonium bromide][cobalt chloride][acetic acid] was synthesized as the extractant. Acetic acid was used as the dispersant to promote the in situ dispersion of binary MDES [octyltrimethylammonium bromide][cobalt chloride]. The microdroplets of binary MDES containing mefentrifluconazole were separated by an external magnet. Device-assisted dispersion and time-consuming centrifugation steps were eliminated to ensure simplicity and rapidity of the pretreatment. Good linearity ranging from 0.01 µg g-1 to 2 µg g-1 was obtained. The extraction recovery varied from 82.9 to 95.0%. The limit of detection was 0.003 µg g-1. Finally, this established approach has been applied for the enantioselective detection of chiral mefentrifluconazole in corn, rice, wheat, millet, and sorghum samples.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Premature Ovarian Insufficiency: A Review of Utilization and Mechanisms.

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is defined as a decline in ovarian function before the age of 40 and is one of the leading causes of infertility in women. The etiology is complex, and the pathogenesis is not clear. The main treatment is hormone replacement therapy, but a growing body of data confirms that such treatment can increase the risk of endometrial disease and cardiovascular disease. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been widely used in patients with POI due to its limited adverse reactions and high efficiency. According to literature reports, CAM therapy for POI mainly includes traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, psychotherapy, dietary supplements, and exercise therapy. This article reviews the application of CAM in the treatment of POI and attempts to determine the therapeutic effects and the mechanisms behind these effects based on existing clinical and experimental studies in order to provide theoretical support for the treatment of POI.

Switchable deep eutectic solvent-based homogenous liquid-liquid microextraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection for the determination of the chiral fungicide mefentrifluconazole in water, fruit juice, and fermented liquor.

A switchable deep eutectic solvent-based homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction (SDES-HLLME) technique was developed and combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection for the determination of the chiral fungicide mefentrifluconazole. A (green) SDES was synthesized from 4-methoxyphenyl and 3-amino-1-propanol and used as an extraction solvent (thus avoiding the use of toxic extraction solvents). To improve the efficiency of the extraction process, a hydrophobic extraction solvent was subsequently generated in situ by adjusting the pH. The detection process is linear in the range of 0.01 to 1 µg ml-1 . The limit of detection and limit of quantification were determined to be 0.003 and 0.01 µg ml-1 , respectively. Recovery rates of 79.2% to 104.6% were acquired with relative standard deviations of 0.6% to 2.5%. The method is fast, simple, and environmentally friendly. Moreover, it was successfully used to enantioselectively determine the concentrations of mefentrifluconazole residues in water, fruit juice, and fermented liquor samples.

Rapid analysis of triazine herbicides in fruit juices using evaporation-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with solidification of floating organic droplets and HPLC-DAD.

A rapid and convenient analytical procedure (evaporation-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with solidification of floating organic droplets) is advanced for determining the concentrations of triazine herbicide residues (e.g. simazine and atrazine) in fruit juices via HPLC-DAD. The technique involves adding 1-dodecanol (low density) and dichloromethane (high density) to the test solution to act as the extraction and volatile solvents, respectively. Calcium oxide is added to generate heat to accelerate the evaporation of dichloromethane, whereupon the 1-dodecanol quickly disperses into small droplets to complete the microextraction process. Thus, there is no need to use a dispersive solvent and heating equipment is also not required. The floating 1-dodecanol is subsequently frozen using an ice bath to facilitate its separation from the sample. Under optimal conditions (250 µL of 1-dodecanol (extraction solvent), 150 µL of CH2Cl2 (volatile solvent), 1250 mg of CaO, and an extraction time of 60 s) the detection procedure is linear over the range 0.05-5 µg mL-1 (with R > 0.99). The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were determined to be 0.0022-0.0034 µg mL-1 and 0.0073-0.0113 µg mL-1, respectively. The recovery of simazine and atrazine in three fruit juices ranged between 78.5% and 96.4% with a relative standard deviation <8.2%. Therefore, the proposed approach can be effectively adopted to analyze the triazine herbicide content in fruit juices. The method has been proved to be simple, reliable, and remarkably efficient.

Clinical Effectiveness and Safety of Chinese Herbal Medicine Compound Kushen Injection as an Add-On Treatment for Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the effect and safety of compound Kushen injection (CKI) as an add-on treatment on the treatment for breast cancer. METHODS: We searched eight major electronic databases from their inception to November 1, 2021, for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing CKI plus chemotherapy with chemotherapy alone. Primary outcomes included objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR), health-related quality of life (HRQoL), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Secondary outcomes included adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and tumor marker level. We used Cochrane's RevMan 5.3 for data analysis. The GRADEpro was used to appraise the certainty of evidence. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was applied to estimate the required sample size in a meta-analysis and test the robustness of the current results. RESULTS: Thirty RCTs with 2556 participants were totally included. CKI plus chemotherapy showed significant effects in increasing ORR (RR 1.30, 95%CI [1.18, 1.43], I 2 = 27%, n = 1694), increasing DCR (RR 1.21, 95%CI [1.15, 1.28], I 2 = 16%, n = 1627), increasing HRQol as measured by Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score improvement rate (RR 1.42, 95% CI [1.26, 1.61], I 2 = 37%, n = 1172), increasing the PFS (MD 2.24 months, 95%CI [1.26, 3.22], n = 94) and the OS (MD 2.24 months, 95%CI [1.45, 3.43], n = 94), compared to chemotherapy alone. The results showed that CKI plus chemotherapy had a lower risk of ADRs than that of chemotherapy alone group. The certainty of evidence of the included trials was generally low to very low. TSA for ORR and KPS score improvement rate demonstrated that the current results reached a sufficient power regarding both numbers of trials and participants. CONCLUSIONS: Low certainty of evidence suggested that the combination of CKI and conventional chemotherapy appeared to improve ORR, DCR, and KPS score in breast cancer patients. Conclusions about PFS and OS could not be drawn due to lack of evidence. Additionally, CKI appeared to relieve the risk of ADRs in patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapies. However, due to weak evidence, the findings should be further confirmed in large and rigorous trials.

Cyclodextrin-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the determination of fungicides in water, juice, and vinegar samples via HPLC.

Cyclodextrin-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (CD-DLLME) was developed for the determination of triazole and strobilurin fungicides in water, juice, and vinegar samples using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD). Undecanol, which is a green solvent, was selected as the extraction solvent. A cyclodextrin aqueous solution was chosen as the dispersion solvent and demulsifier to avoid the use of a toxic dispersion solvent and eliminate the centrifugation step. Dispersion and phase separation were completed within 1 and 60 s, respectively. The linear range of this method was 1 to 100 µg L-1. The limits of detection were 0.3 µg L-1 along with the preconcentration factor of 133 and enrichment factor of 124. The recovery was 83.2% to 103.2%. This pretreatment method was fast, simple, and environmentally friendly and was successfully applied to the analysis of triazole and strobilurin fungicide residues in water, juice, and vinegar samples.

The Treatment of Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Premature Ovarian Failure.

It has been confirmed by growing evidence that common hormone replacement therapy is associated with an increasing risk of causing cardiovascular disease and cancer, while complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is gaining popularity and application in more and more patients with premature ovarian failure (POF). Although there is little data concerning the clinical safety and efficacy of CAM, the literature includes application studies on the phytoestrogen-rich herbal, acupuncture treatment and intervention therapy. This article reviews recent literature on CAM therapy for POF, aiming to provide theoretical support for clinical application.

Risk factors for lactation mastitis in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Lactation mastitis (LM) affects approximately 3% to 33% of postpartum women and the risk factors of LM have been extensively studied. However, some results in the literature reports are still not conclusive due to the complexity of LM etiology and variation in the populations. To provide nationally representative evidence of the well-accepted risk factors for LM in China, this study was aimed to systematically summary the risk factors for LM among Chinese women and to determine the effect size of individual risk factor. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Six major Chinses and English electronic literature databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan fang Database and China Science Technology Journal Database) were searched from their inception to December 5st, 2020. Two authors extracted data and assessed the quality of included trials, independently. The strength of the association was summarized using the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The population attributable risk (PAR) percent was calculated for significant risk factors. RESULTS: Fourteen studies involving 8032 participants were included. A total of 18 potential risk factors were eventually evaluated. Significant risk factors for LM included improper milking method (OR 6.79, 95%CI 3.45-13.34; PAR 59.14%), repeated milk stasis (OR 6.23, 95%CI 4.17-9.30; PAR 49.75%), the first six months postpartum (OR 5.11, 95%CI 2.66-9.82; PAR 65.93%), postpartum rest time less than 3 months (OR 4.71, 95%CI 3.92-5.65; PAR 56.95%), abnormal nipple or crater nipple (OR 3.94, 95%CI 2.34-6.63; PAR 42.05%), breast trauma (OR 3.07, 95%CI 2.17-4.33; PAR 15.98%), improper breastfeeding posture (OR 2.47, 95%CI 2.09-2.92; PAR 26.52%), postpartum prone sleeping position (OR 2.46, 95%CI 1.58-3.84; PAR 17.42%), little or no nipple cleaning (OR 2.05, 95%CI 1.58-2.65; PAR 24.73%), primipara (OR 1.73, 95%CI 1.25-2.41; PAR 32.62%), low education level (OR 1.63, 95%CI 1.09-2.43; PAR 23.29%), cesarean section (OR 1.51, 95%CI 1.26-1.81; PAR 18.61%), breast massage experience of non-medical staff (OR 1.51, 95%CI 1.25-1.82; PAR 15.31%) and postpartum mood disorders (OR 1.47, 95%CI 1.06-2.02; PAR 21.27%). CONCLUSIONS: This review specified several important risk factors for LM in China. In particular, the incidence of LM can be reduced by controlling some of the modifiable risk factors such as improper breastfeeding posture, improper milking method, repeated milk stasis, nipple cleaning, breast massage experience of non-medical staff and postpartum sleeping posture.

The Efficacy of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Treatment of Female Infertility.

Female infertility is a state of fertility disorder caused by multiple reasons. The incidence of infertility for females has significantly increased due to various factors such as social pressure, late marriage, and late childbirth, and its harm includes heavy economic burden, psychological shadow, and even marriage failure. Conventional solutions, such as hormone therapy, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and embryo transfer, have the limitations of unsatisfied obstetric outcomes and serious adverse events. Currently, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), as a new treatment for infertility, is gradually challenging the dominant position of traditional therapies in the treatment of infertility. CAM claims that it can adjust and harmonize the state of the female body from a holistic approach to achieve a better therapeutic effect and has been increasingly used by infertile women. Meanwhile, some controversial issues also appeared; that is, some randomized controlled trials (RCTs) confirmed that CAM had no obvious effect on infertility, and the mechanism of its effect could not reach a consensus. To clarify CAM effectiveness, safety, and mechanism, this paper systematically reviewed the literature about its treatment of female infertility collected from PubMed and CNKI databases and mainly introduced acupuncture, moxibustion, and oral Chinese herbal medicine. In addition, we also briefly summarized psychological intervention, biosimilar electrical stimulation, homeopathy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, etc.