Impact of Different Exercise Modalities on Physical Function and Quality of Life in Patients with Heart Failure.

Heart failure, a chronic condition, often manifests with reduced physical function and an overall decline in quality of life. It is considered critical that patients with heart failure recover as soon as possible; exercise training, which includes aerobic exercise, resistance exercise, inspiratory muscle training, traditional mind-body exercise, and combined training, facilitates this. The research progress on the impact of various exercise modalities on the physical function and quality of life of patients with heart failure is systematically reviewed in this article. The objective is to augment the understanding of healthcare personnel regarding the status of implementation and outcomes associated with varied exercise modalities. This endeavor seeks to provide a point of reference for the development of exercise rehabilitation programs tailored to individuals contending with heart failure.

Germplasm resources of three wood plant species enriched with nervonic acid.

Nervonic acid (NA) is a very-long-chain monounsaturated fatty acid with pharmaceutical and nutraceutical functions that plays an important role in treating several neurological disorders. One major source of NA is plant seed oil. Here we report fatty acid profiles of seeds and germplasm diversity of six plant species, including three woody plants with high amounts of NA-enriched seed oil, Malania oleifera, Macaranga adenantha, and M. indica. M. oleifera had the largest seed (average 7.40 g single seed), highest oil content (58.71%), and highest NA level (42.22%). The germplasm diversity of M. oleifera is associated with its habitat but not elevation. Seeds of M. adenantha contained higher NA levels (28.41%) than M. indica (21.77%), but M. indica contained a significantly higher oil content (29.22%) and seed yield. M. adenantha germplasm varied among populations, with one population having seeds with high oil content (22.63%) and NA level (37.78%).Although M. indica grow naturally at a range of elevations, no significant differences were detected between M. indica populations. These results suggest that M. indica and M. oleifera have greater potential as a source of NA, which will contribute to constructing a germplasm resource nursery and establishing a selection and breeding program to improve the development of NA-enriched plants.

Diagnostic re-evaluation and predictors of congenital hypothyroidism with eutopic thyroid gland in Jiangxi, China.

OBJECTIVES: An increase in the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) with eutopic gland has been reported worldwide due to neonatal screening programs. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of transient CH (TCH) and to investigate predictive factors that could distinguish between permanent and transient CH in patients with eutopic thyroid glands. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 508 children treated for CH with eutopic thyroid glands between June 1998 and June 2020 in Jiangxi Newborn Screening Center. All patients were treated with levothyroxine and underwent Diagnostic re-evaluation after 2-3 years of age. Patients were classified as having TCH or permanent CH (PCH) during follow-up. RESULTS: Of the 508 patients initially treated for CH with a normally located gland, 335 patients (65.9%) were classified in the TCH group and 173 (34.1%) in the PCH group based on the defined criteria. Multivariate analysis revealed that TCH was associated with a lower levothyroxine dose at 24 months of age (p<0.001) and a lower likelihood of having a first-degree family history of CH (p=0.026) than PCH. Gender, prematurity, low birth weight, initial CH severity such as serum TSH and FT4 levels, or bone maturation delay at diagnosis had no effect. Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis showed that a cutoff of 2.3 µg/kg/day for levothyroxine dose requirement at 24 months of age had a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 70% for predicting transient CH, with values below this threshold considered predictive of transient CH. CONCLUSIONS: TCH presents a significant portion of patients with CH. The levothyroxine dose requirement at 24 months of age has a predictive role in differentiating TCH from PCH in CH patients with eutopic thyroid glands.

Identification of bioactive compounds in Shaoyao-Gancao decoction using ß2-adrenoceptor affinity chromatography.

Shaoyao-Gancao decoction, a Chinese herbal formula, is composed of Paeoniae Radix alba and Glycyrrhiza Radix et rhizoma. It has been widely used to treat muscle spasms and asthma. However, little is known about the bioactive components of Shaoyao-Gancao decoction. In the present study, the bioactive compounds in water-extract of Shaoyao-Gancao decoction were separated by the immobilized ß2 -adrenoceptor affinity column and identified using quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The affinity constants of the separated compounds that bind to ß2 -adrenoceptor were determined by frontal analysis. Compound bioactivity was tested in a rat tracheal smooth muscle relaxation assay. We identified the bioactive compounds in the water extract of Shaoyao-Gancao decoction that bound to the ß2 -adrenoceptor as paeoniflorin and liquiritin. Paeoniflorin and liquiritin had only one binding site on the immobilized ß2 -adrenoceptor, and the affinity constants were (2.16 ± 0.10) × 104  M-1 and (2.95 ± 0.15) × 104  M-1 , respectively. Both compounds induced a concentration-dependent relaxation of tracheal smooth muscle following K+ -stimulated contraction, and the relaxation effects were abrogated by the ß2 -adrenoceptor antagonist, ICI 118551. Therefore, paeoniflorin and liquiritin are bioactive compounds in Shaoyao-Gancao decoction and the ß2 -adrenoceptor affinity chromatography is a useful tool for identifying potential ß2 -adrenoceptor ligands in natural products used in traditional Chinese medicine.

[Prediction of epitopes of Rv1410c Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein using DNAStar software].

OBJECTIVE: To predict the epitopes of Rv1410c Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) protein. METHODS: Rv1410c MTB amino acid sequence was saved and edited using Editseq software of DNAStar package, and then Protean software was used to analyze the amino acid sequence and predict the secondary structures, B cell epitopes and T cell epitopes of Rv1410c MTB. Finally, BLAST was utilized to assess its homology with human epitopes. RESULTS: The Rv1410c MTB protein had abundant secondary structures. It contained a higher proportion of potential B cell epitopes located at 1-10, 67-77, 129-137, 189-205, 222-235, 253-267, 296-306, 330-338, 359-367, 462-467, 494-517 amino acid residues or nearby. Theses epitopes contained beta angle structure mostly, presenting with better antigenicity, higher surface probability and flexibility. There were also several potential T cell epitopes located at 16-37, 84-102, 108-115, 137-160, 202-207, 219-222, 245-263, 321-325, 355-362, 387-391, 417-445, 486-494 amino acid residues or nearby. CONCLUSION: Rv1410c MTB protein contains both potential B cell antigen epitopes and potential T cell antigen epitopes.

[Field application of antibody detection in a low transmission area of Schistosoma japonicum].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the field application of IHA and ELISA for schistosomiasis japonica detection at low transmission status. METHODS: 728 and 799 persons were examined by Kato-Katz's method, IHA and ELISA for schistosomiasis in an endemic village in the year of 2008 and 2010, respectively. The results of IHA and ELISA was evaluated in comparison to that of Kato-Katz (27 slides with 3 stool specimens) used as gold standard. RESULTS: The positive rate of Kato-Katz's method, IHA and ELISA were 10.3% (75/728), 40.0% (291/728) and 40.1% (292/728) in 2008, and 3.8% (30/799), 31.5% (252/799) and 40.1% (320/799) in 2010 respectively, in which significant difference was observed for the result between Kato-katz's method (chi2 = 26.92, P < 0.05) and IHA (chi2 = 11.82, P < 0.05). The consistency between the result of antibody detection and that of Kato-Katz's method was poor, lower than 0.2 (P < 0.01). If routine screening diagnosis mode was adopted, namely, population screened with IHA or ELISA first and confirmed with Kato-Katz's method, correlation analysis showed that the positive rate of Kato-Katz's method increased with the number of stool specimens and slides (rIHA2008 = 0.922, rELISA2008 = 0.908, rIHA2010 = 0.749, rELISA = 0.798; P < 0.05) . Those with egg positive but missed by IHA or ELISA mainly were cases with low infection intensity. When EPG < or = 40, the rate of detection ranged from 66.1% (39/59) to 87.0% (20/23) with IHA, and 62.7% (37/59) to 100% (23/23) with ELISA. When EPG > 40, however, all cases could be detected with ELISA, but some missed with IHA. CONCLUSION: In low transmission areas, the determination of target population for chemotherapy should be based on the examination of nine slides per stool specimen by Kato-Katz's method after serological screening.

[Evaluation of targeting property for Kuikang colon targeted pellets].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate colon targeting characteristic of Kuikang colon targeted pellets (KCP) with determination of residual baicalin and baicalein concentration in gastrointestinal tract (GIT). METHOD: The baicalin and baicalein were assayed by HPLC. The recovery differences of the drug between KCP and conventional pellets from GIT were investigated, three and six hours after administration. RESULT: The baicalin recovery of KCP (70%) from rat GIT was higher than that of CP (about 20%). Most of KCP were intact at 3 h after oral administration, and distributed in lower ileum. It indicated that release site of KCP was in lower ileum and colon. Six hours later, a small amount of baicalin was recovered in intestime, which showed that the release of baicalin from KCP was complete. CONCLUSION: The determination of residual baicalin in rat GIT was feasibility for evaluating KCP. The result confirmed KCP of colon targeting property.

Tetraethylenepentamine-directed controllable synthesis of wurtzite ZnSe nanostructures with tunable morphology.

A novel tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA)-directed method has been successfully developed for the controlled synthesis of ZnSe particles with distinctive morphologies, including nanobelts, nanowires, and hierarchically solid/hollow spheres. These structures, self-assembled from nanobelts and nanorods, have been synthesized by adjusting the reaction parameters, such as the solvent composition, reaction temperature, and the aging time. Results reveal that the volume ratio of H2O and TEPA plays a crucial role in the final morphology of ZnSe products. The mechanisms of phase formation and morphology control of ZnSe particles are proposed and discussed in detail. The products have been characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction, high-resolution TEM, Raman spectra and luminescence spectroscopy. The as-prepared ZnSe nanoparticles display shape- and size-dependent photoluminescent optical properties. This is the first time to report preparation of complex hollow structures of ZnSe crystals with hierarchy through a simple solution-based route. This synthetic route is designed to exploit a new H2O/TEPA/N2H4H2O system possibly for the preparation of other semiconductor nanomaterials.

[Research progress on oral prolonged-release preparation of traditional Chinese medicine].

This paper reviews the lastest progress on oral prolonged-release preparation of traditional Chinese medicine. Four materials, include component, effective parts, single drug, and compound drugs of traditiong Chinese medicine, have been used to produce oral prolonged-release preparation. The main contents are study of preparation and evaluation of in vitro release. There are also some research works on integrative evaluation, pharmacokinetics and pharmacological activity of the prolonged-release preparation. It believes that the study on oral prolonged-release preparation of traditional Chinese medicine will have good prospect.