Optimization of Parameters of Granule Spray Process of Tangwang Mingmu Granules and Study on Its Grain Properties / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To select the optimum process of granule spray for Tangwang Mingmu Granules, To improve the yield and finished product quality. Methods The effects of the relative density, the type of excipients, the ratio of the extract and the excipient, the inlet temperature-the material temperature, the spray rate and the atomization pressure were selected by single factor and orthogonal test respectively to determine the optimum preparation process. Validation for three batch sample, particle flow, hygroscopicity and other related content of the preparation were studied. Results The optimum spray granulation process of Tangwang Mingmu Granules: the relative density of extract (60 ℃ determination) was 1.15–1.20; the excipient was selected as dextrin; the ratio of dry extract and excipient was 58:42; inlet temperature - material temperature was 90-75 ℃; atomization pressure was 0.12 mPa;spray rate was 10 Hz.Conclusion The preparation technology of Tangwang Mingmu Granules optimized in this study is with high preparation rate, good fluidity and hygroscopicity, which can be used for the preparation of Tangwang Mingmu Granules.

[Efficacy Analysis of GEMOX Regimen for Treatment of Refractory Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy of GEMOX regimen on patients with refractory non-hodgkin's lymphoma. METHODS: Eighty-two cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were divided into 2 groups: gemcitabine+oxaliplation(Gem+Oxa) group (42 cases) and vinorelbine+oxaliplatin(Vin+Oxa) group (40 cases) according to chemotherapy regimens. The clinical efficacy, side effects, progression-free survival situation in 2 groups were compared. RESULTS: There was no significant difference on the clinical effects of 2 groups (P>0.05); The therapeutic efficacy for B cell lymphoma was higher than that for T cell lymphoma(P<0.05); The therapeutic effects for I-II stages was lower than that for III-IV stages(P<0.05); The incidences of platelet decline, nausea and vomit, peripheral nerve symptoms in Gem+Oxa group were lower than those in Vin+Oxa group(P<0.05); There was no significant difference in the median progression free survival(P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The efficacy of GEMOX regimen for refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has been confirmed to be good, it has distinct clinical curative effect, it can prolong the progression-free survival time in patients with B cell lymphoma, specially for III-IV stages. It can be used as the preferred method for the treatment of patients with refractory NHL.

Feature Selection Based on Structured Sparsity: A Comprehensive Study.

Feature selection (FS) is an important component of many pattern recognition tasks. In these tasks, one is often confronted with very high-dimensional data. FS algorithms are designed to identify the relevant feature subset from the original features, which can facilitate subsequent analysis, such as clustering and classification. Structured sparsity-inducing feature selection (SSFS) methods have been widely studied in the last few years, and a number of algorithms have been proposed. However, there is no comprehensive study concerning the connections between different SSFS methods, and how they have evolved. In this paper, we attempt to provide a survey on various SSFS methods, including their motivations and mathematical representations. We then explore the relationship among different formulations and propose a taxonomy to elucidate their evolution. We group the existing SSFS methods into two categories, i.e., vector-based feature selection (feature selection based on lasso) and matrix-based feature selection (feature selection based on lr,p-norm). Furthermore, FS has been combined with other machine learning algorithms for specific applications, such as multitask learning, multilabel learning, multiview learning, classification, and clustering. This paper not only compares the differences and commonalities of these methods based on regression and regularization strategies, but also provides useful guidelines to practitioners working in related fields to guide them how to do feature selection.

Optimum Detection Method for the Key Indicators of Authenticity for Rhaponticin Identification in Rhei Radix et Rhizoma Based on 2015 Edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To establish a simple and specific method for the determination of rhaponticin in Rhei Radix et Rhizoma. Methods A comparison of the methods of polyamide, silica gel TLC and HPLC in the determination of rhaponticin was studied to investigate the optimum way to identify authentic Rhei Radix et Rhizoma. Results The durability of polyamide and silica gel TLC method for the determination of rhaponticin in Rhei Radix et Rhizoma was poor. HPLC method was more suitable for the detection of rhaponticin. Conclusion HPLC method is accurate and reliable, and can be used for the quality control of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma and provide references for the authenticity of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma.

Large Margin Multi-Modal Multi-Task Feature Extraction for Image Classification.

The features used in many image analysis-based applications are frequently of very high dimension. Feature extraction offers several advantages in high-dimensional cases, and many recent studies have used multi-task feature extraction approaches, which often outperform single-task feature extraction approaches. However, most of these methods are limited in that they only consider data represented by a single type of feature, even though features usually represent images from multiple modalities. We, therefore, propose a novel large margin multi-modal multi-task feature extraction (LM3FE) framework for handling multi-modal features for image classification. In particular, LM3FE simultaneously learns the feature extraction matrix for each modality and the modality combination coefficients. In this way, LM3FE not only handles correlated and noisy features, but also utilizes the complementarity of different modalities to further help reduce feature redundancy in each modality. The large margin principle employed also helps to extract strongly predictive features, so that they are more suitable for prediction (e.g., classification). An alternating algorithm is developed for problem optimization, and each subproblem can be efficiently solved. Experiments on two challenging real-world image data sets demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method.

A study on the effect of IL-6 gene polymorphism on the prognosis of non-small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed clinical diseases. IL-6 is a multifunctional cytokine that is related to chemotactic factors and tumor biological regulation. -174G/C polymorphism in the promoter region of the IL-6 gene single-nucleotide polymorphism is the -174 position change from G to C. However, the relationship between the IL-6 gene polymorphism and prognosis of lung cancer is elusive. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of -174G/C polymorphism on the prognosis of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of 434 cases diagnosed with NSCLC by cytologic or histologic examination. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (NlaIII) was used to detect the genotype of -174G/C. Based on the functional activity of the IL-6 gene polymorphism, genotypes were divided into G vector (CG/GG) (high yield) and CC genotype (low yield). Prognosis of patients was analyzed and independent risk factors evaluated. A quantitative analysis of the degree of pain after diagnosis was performed to evaluate the correlations between gene polymorphisms and the degree of pain and use of analgesics. RESULTS: Survival analysis showed that survival of the patients carrying the G allele (CG/GG) was significantly lower than that of patients with CC genotype (42.31 versus 62.79 months; P=0.032). The IL-6 gene promoter region revealed the presence of polymorphic variants, which may be associated with changes in the gene transcription process that affect the level of serum cytokines. IL-6 -174G/C gene polymorphism is associated with a significant morphine equivalent daily dose (IL-6 GG, 69.61; GC, 73.17; CC, 181.67; P=0.004). Homozygous IL-6 -174C/C genotype carriers required higher doses of opioids than GG or GC carriers. CONCLUSION: Polymorphism of -174G/C in IL-6 is closely related to cancer pain in NSCLC patients, the use of analgesics, and survival prognosis. It is necessary to further confirm the related results and determine the underlying pathogenic mechanisms.

Effectiveness and safety of macrolides in bronchiectasis patients: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

PURPOSE: Macrolides has been studied as a potential therapeutic anti-inflammatory agent for bronchiectasis patients, which has used as an immunoregulation agent. However, the efficacy and safety results of macrolides across available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are controversial. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of macrolides in bronchiectasis. METHODS: RCTs of macrolides treatment for the patients of bronchiectasis published in PubMed and Cochrane Library were searched. Two authors independently extracted data and assessment the methodological quality. The primary efficacy outcome was the impact on the number of pulmonary exacerbation. Safety outcomes included adverse events and mortality. RESULTS: Seven RCTs were found in the systematic review and six studies were included in the present meta-analysis. Macrolides treatment showed a significant reduced rate of pulmonary exacerbation (RR = 0.55, 95%CI = 0.43-0.70) compared with control groups. However, subgroup analysis failed to find any significant changes in total 46 patients (RR = 0.20, 95%CI = 0.03-1.58) for treatment not more than 3 months. The incidence rates of total adverse events showed no significant difference among the macrolides group and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term treatment of bronchiectasis with macrolides can reduce incidence of pulmonary exacerbation, especially in the subgroup treatment 6 months or more. There was no evidence of increased adverse events with macrolides. However, to verify the best macrolides regimen, more studies based on larger sample size and stratified by ethnicity are still needed. CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS STUDIED IN THIS ARTICLE: Erythromycin (PubChem CID 12560); Azithromycin (PubChem CID: 447043); Clarithromycin (PubChem CID: 84029); Roxithromycin (PubChem CID: 5480431).

UPLC fingerprint of xanthii fructus from different habitats / 中国中药杂志

This study was establish an UPLC fingerprint of Xanthii Fructus from different habitats, to provide a comprehensive evaluation for its quality control. UPLC-PDA was adopted to analysis of 26 baches of Xanthii Fructus from different habitats. The chromatographic condition was as follow: ACQUITY BEH C18 Column (2.1 mm x 100 mm,1.7 microm) eluted with the mobile phases of acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid water in gradient mode. The flow rate was 0.25 mL x min(-1) and the detection wavelength was set at 220 nm. The fingerprints of 26 batches Xanthii Fructus were carried out by similarity comparation, cluster and the principal component analysis (PCA). There were nineteen common peaks, nine of which had been identified, and the similarity degrees of the twenty-six batches of the samples were between 0.804 and 0.990. All the samples were classified into six categories, and the PCA value of each fingerprint peak was calculated, and six principal components accounted for over 81. 140% of the total variance were extracted from the original data This method can be used to assess the quality of Xanthii Fructus.

[Mechanism of impaired attention network in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influences of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on attention functions. METHODS: The research objects came from the Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University from February to September in 2011. Attention network test (ANT) was employed to compare stable COPD patients (n = 38) with healthy controls (n = 36) in the efficiencies of anatomically defined attentional networks: alertness, orientation and executive attention. RESULTS: Significant group differences were found in orientation ((27 ± 8) ms vs (57 ± 4) ms, P = 0.001), but not in alertness ((19 ± 7) ms vs (32 ± 4) ms, P = 0.115) or executive attention network ((94 ± 15) ms vs (119 ± 11) ms, P = 0.196). The accuracy of attention network test was significantly slower in the COPD group than in the healthy controls (90.2% ± 1.6% vs 96.3% ± 1.7%, P = 0.011). The score of verbal fluency test was significantly lower in COPD patients than in healthy controls (18.2 ± 0.5 vs 21.4 ± 0.6, P = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The attention functions of COPD patients are impaired, especially oriental network efficiency. It is probably due to chronic hypoxia, hypoxia-related low blood flow of temporal or parietal lobe or long-term anticholinergic drug use.

Highly enhanced electrochemiluminescence of novel gold/silica/CdSe-CdS nanostructures for ultrasensitive immunoassay of protein tumor marker.

The highly enhanced electrochemiluminescence from a novel hybrid gold/silica/CdSe-CdS quantum-dot nanostructure has been reported for the first time, and successfully applied to develop an ultrasensitive ECL immunosensor for the detection of a protein tumor marker, carcinoembryonic antigen.

Synthesis of novel chalcogenide 'lifebelts' and their electrogenerated chemiluminescence.

Novel chalcogenide lifebelts have been prepared by using a simple sacrificial template method, and their electrogenerated chemiluminescence properties were studied.

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence from CdS nanotubes and its sensing application in aqueous solution.

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of CdS nanotubes in aqueous solution and its sensing application were studied by entrapping the CdS nanotubes in carbon paste electrode. Two ECL peaks were observed at -0.9V (ECL-1) and -1.2V (ECL-2), respectively, when the potential was cycled between 0 and -1.6V. The electrochemically reduced nanocrystal species of CdS nanotubes could collide with the oxidized species in an annihilation process to produce the peak of ECL-1. The electron-transfer reaction between the reduced CdS nanocrystal species and oxidant coreactants such as S(2)O(8)(2-), H(2)O(2), and reduced dissolved oxygen led to the appearance of the ECL-2 peak. Based on the enhancing effect of H(2)O(2) on ECL-2 intensity, a novel CdS ECL sensor was developed for H(2)O(2) detection. The sensor exhibited a detection limit of 0.1muM and a linear range from 0.5muM to 0.01mM. The relative standard deviations of five replicate determinations of 5muM H(2)O(2) was 2.6%. In addition, the ECL spectrum in aqueous solution also exhibited two peaks at 500 and 640nm, respectively.

Studies on the interaction mechanism between hexakis(imidazole) manganese(II) terephthalate and DNA and preparation of DNA electrochemical sensor.

The interaction between hexakis(imidazole) manganese(II) terephthalate ([Mn(Im)(6)](teph).4H(2)O) and salmon sperm DNA in 0.2M pH 2.30 Britton-Robinson buffer solution was studied by fluorescence spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Increasing fluorescence was observed for [Mn(Im)(6)](2+) with DNA addition, while quenching fluorescence phenomenon appeared for EB-DNA system when [Mn(Im)(6)](2+) was added. There were a couple quasi-reversible redox peaks of [Mn(Im)(6)](2+) from the cyclic voltammogram on the glassy carbon electrode. The peak current of [Mn(Im)(6)](2+) decreased with positive shift of the formal potential in the presence of DNA compared with that in the absence of DNA. All the experimental results indicate that [Mn(Im)(6)](2+) can bind to DNA mainly by intercalative binding mode. The binding ratio of the DNA-[Mn(Im)(6)](2+) association complex is calculated to be 1:1 and the binding constant is 4.44x10(3) M(-1). By using [Mn(Im)(6)](teph).4H(2)O as the electrochemical hybridization indicator, the DNA electrochemical sensor was prepared by covalent interaction and the selectivity of ssDNA modified electrode were described. The results demonstrate the use of electrochemical DNA biosensor in the determination of complementary ssDNA.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factors VEGF, VEGF-C and flt-4 in breast cancer and its clinical pathological analysis / 中国癌症杂志

Purpose: To study the expression of VEGF, VEGF-C, fit-4 in breast cancer and its relationship with lymph node metastasis and explore the significance of lymphangiogenesis on metastasis via lymphtics. Methods: Paraffin-embedded specimens from 82 patients with primary breast cancer who had undergone radical mastectomy with lymph node dissection were studied. VEGF, VEGF-C, flt-4 expression were investigated by immunohistochemical staining. Results: Positive staining for VEGF, VEGF-C, flt-4 were observed in some breast cancer cells. Furthermore, the expression of VEGF-C, flt-4 were significantly higher in lymph node-positive group than in node-negative group. Correlation was found within the expression of VEGF-C, flt4 also. Conclusions: Clinical significance was found between VEGF-C, flt-4 expression and lymph-node metastasis in breast cancer, and may be involved in the metastatic process.