Clinical study on modified Guipi Decoction combined with omeprazole in the treatment of acute non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding with failure of the spleen to control blood vessels syndrome / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of modified Guipi Decoction combined with omeprazole in the treatment of acute non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (ANVUGIB) with failure of the spleen to control blood vessels syndrome.Methods:Prospective cohort study. A total of 120 patients from January 2018 to December 2021 Taihe County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine with ANVUGIB of failure of the spleen to control blood vessels syndrome were selected, and the patients were divided into observation group and control group according to the random number table method, with 60 cases in each group. The control group was treated with a large dosage of proton pump inhibitor (omeprazole injection was injected intravenously first, and then omeprazole enteric coated tablets were taken); the observation group took Guipi Decoction on the basis of the control group, and both groups were treated for 7 days. TCM syndrome score, Hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (HCT) levels were measured by colorimetry before and after the treatment. BUN was detected by urease glutamate dehydrogenase method. Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and fibrinogen (FIB) levels were detected by immunoturbidimetry. The adverse reactions during treatment were recorded and the clinical efficacy was evaluated.Results:Two patients in the observation group and two patients in the control group dropped out of the study. After treatment, the scores of main symptoms, secondary symptoms and total scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group ( t values were respectively 10.73, 4.45, 7.98, P<0.05). After treatment, the levels of HCT [(41.25 ± 5.03)% vs. (38.19 ± 5.26)%, t=2.95], Hb [(81.09 ± 5.23) g/L vs. (78.39 ± 5.37) g/L, t=2.74] in the observation group were higher than those in the control group ( P<0.01), and BUN [(4.38±0.96) mmol/L vs. (5.39 ± 1.13) mmol/L, t=5.19] was lower than that in the control group ( P<0.01); PT [(12.48 ± 0.67) s vs. (13.22 ± 0.73) s, t=5.69], APTT [(24.66 ± 2.29) s vs. (27.78 ± 2.04) s, t=7.75] were lower than those in the control group ( P<0.01), and FIB [(3.68 ± 0.62) g/L vs. (3.41 ± 0.74) g/L, t=2.13] level was higher than that in the control group ( P<0.05). The total effective rate of the observation group was 93.1% (54/58), and that of the control group was 79.3% (46/58), with statistical significance ( χ2=4.64, P=0.031). During the treatment, the incidence of adverse reactions in the control group was 3.4% (2/58), while that in the observation group was 1.7% (1/58), without statistical significance ( χ2=0.34, P=0.559). Conclusion:High-dosage omeprazole treatment with the addition of internal administration of Guipi Decoction can significantly improve coagulation function, correct the signs and symptoms associated with insufficient blood volume in the body circulation, improve hemostatic efficiency, and reduce the risk of bleeding in patients with ANVUGIB, without increasing the risk of patient safety with the drug.

Deleterious effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on human pancreatic cells

COVID-19 pandemic has infected more than 46 million people worldwide and caused more than 1.2 million deaths. It is transmitted by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and affects the respiratory tract as well as extra-pulmonary systems, including the pancreas, that express the virus entry receptor, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. Importantly, the endocrine and exocrine pancreas, the latter composed of ductal and acinar cells, express high levels of ACE2, which correlates to impaired functionality characterized as acute pancreatitis observed in some cases presenting with COVID-19. Since acute pancreatitis is already one of the most frequent gastrointestinal causes of hospitalization in the U.S. and the majority of studies investigating the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the pancreas are clinical and observational, we utilized human iPSC technology to investigate the potential deleterious effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on iPSC-derived pancreatic cultures containing endocrine and exocrine cells. Interestingly, SARS-CoV-2 is capable of infecting iPSC-derived pancreatic cells, thus perturbing their normal molecular and cellular phenotypes. The infection increased a key inflammatory cytokine, CXCL12, known to be involved in pancreas dysfunction. Transcriptome analysis of infected pancreatic cultures confirmed that SARS-CoV-2 hijacks the ribosomal machinery in these cells. Notably, the SARS-CoV-2 infectivity of the pancreas is confirmed in post-mortem tissues from COVID-19 patients, which showed co-localization of SARS-CoV-2 in pancreatic endocrine and exocrine cells and increased the expression of some pancreatic ductal stress response genes. Thus, we demonstrate for the first time that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect human iPSC-derived pancreatic cells with supporting evidence of presence of the virus in post-mortem pancreatic tissue of confirmed COVID-19 human cases. This novel model of iPSC-derived pancreatic cultures will open new avenues for the comprehension of the SARS-CoV-2 infection and potentially establish a platform for endocrine and exocrine pancreas-specific antiviral drug screening.

Histomophometrical evaluation of biodegradable mini-implants for orthodontic anchorage in the mandibu-lar of beagle dogs / 实用医学杂志

Objective To investigate the biocompatibility and biodegradability of mini-implants of PLA-based composites in experimental animals by histomorphometry, and to study its clinical application in orthodontic treatment. Methods Six adult male Beagle dogs were randomly divided into 3 groups, a total of 72 mini-implants were implanted to the mandibular. Two Beagle dogs were sacrificed at 2 months、4 months and 6 months after surgery. Animals were intramuscularly injected with tetracycline on 14 and 4 days before sacrifice. Mandibular specimens and the surfaces of mini-implants were examined with Cone beam CT, CBCT and Scanning Electronic Microscopy and SEM respectively. Histopathologocal changes were observed with toluidine blue staining and HE staining. Results The results of CBCT assay showed that the mini-implants were gradually radiopacity with the extension of time. SEM assay showed that the morphology of mini-implants surface was significantly changed;micro-implants degradation occured gradually.New bone formation was observed around the micro-implants within 10 days.Toluidine blue staining showed the formation of new bone around the mini-implants. However, the inflamma-tion around the implants was not observed. Conclusion The biocompatibility of biodegradable mini-implant is good. This mini-implant is biodegradable in vivo and can promote the formation of the surrounding bone tissue.

The role of silicon in physiology of the medicinal plant (Lonicera japonica L.) under salt stress.

Silicon(Si) is the only element which can enhance the resistance to multiple stresses. However, the role of silicon in medicinal plants under salt stress is not yet understood. This experiment was conducted to study the effects of silicon addition on the growth, osmotic adjustments, photosynthetic characteristics, chloroplast ultrastructure and Chlorogenic acid (CGA) production of Honeysuckle plant (Lonicera japonica L.) under salt-stressed conditions. Salinity exerted an adverse effect on the plant fresh weight and dry weight, whilst 0.5 g L(-1) K2SiO3 · nH2O addition obviously improved the plant growth. Although Na(+) concentration in plant organs was drastically increased with increasing salinity, higher levels of K(+)/Na(+) ratio was obtained after K2SiO3 · nH2O addition. Salinity stress induced the destruction of the chloroplast envelope; however, K2SiO3 · nH2O addition counteracted the adverse effect by salinity on the structure of the photosynthetic apparatus. K2SiO3 · nH2O addition also enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase. To sum up, exogenous Si plays a key role in enhancing its resistance to salt stresses in physiological base, thereby improving the growth and CGA production of Honeysuckle plant.

Synergistic inhibition of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Clostridium butyricum against Shigella flexneri in vitro / 中国药科大学学报

@#An agar diffusion method was used to investigate the antimicrobial activities of fermentation broth of Lactobacillus acidophilus(L. acidophilus), and Clostridium butyricum(C. butyricum)against Shigella flexneri(S. flexneri)infection in vitro. It was found that cell-free culture supernatants(CFCSs)of L. acidophilus and C. butyricum possessed remarkable synergistic anti-S. flexneri activity in vitro and the antimicrobial activity of the mixed culture was 17. 2% and 22. 4% greater, than single strains alone, respectively. Meanwhile, there was a symbiotic relationship between L. acidophilus and C. butyricum. The result showed that the biomass accumulation of the mixed culture reached 4. 27 g/L(DCW)and increased by 6. 0% and 30. 6% compared to the L. acidophilus and C. butyricum, respectively. Moreover, L. acidophilus and C. butyricum clearly inhibited S. flexneri adhesion to Caco-2 cells by 75. 8% and 81. 2%, and the combination of these two probiotic strains demonstrated the highest inhibition rate, reaching 84. 2%, while the viability of Caco-2 cells treated with L. acidophilus, C. butyricum or their combination was increased by 11. 5%, 12. 5% and 22. 9%, respectively. The synergistic effect of L. acidophilus and C. butyricum provided better protection against Shigella flexneri infection, which represents a promising alternative therapy for shigellosis.

Independent factors and predictive score for extrahepatic metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma following curative hepatectomy.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative extrahepatic metastasis (EHM) contributes to a poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatectomy. This study was aimed to develop a practical method that can be used to predict postoperative EHM. METHODS: In total, 578 patients were enrolled. We analyzed the clinicopathological features of the tumors and did a long-term follow-up to observe HCC recurrence. Postoperative EHM was detected in 136 patients, and multivariate analysis was used to confirm independent risk factors for postoperative EHM. After the factors were identified, a predictive scoring system was constructed as a weighted sum of these factors. The cutoff value that determines a high risk for EHM was defined by maximizing the Youden's index of the receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: Microvascular invasion, incomplete capsule, and larger tumor diameter were the three independent factors predictive for a high risk for EHM. The scoring system was derived with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.81 for postoperative 10-year EHM prediction. A cutoff value of 43 was derived and validated with a sensitivity >90% and specificity >60% to predict the development of EHM. This system was further verified in a subgroup of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage 0-A patients with an AUC of 0.82. When the cutoff value was set at 43, the sensitivity and specificity were 90.38% and 64.88%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our predictive scoring system may be used to identify HCC patients who have a high risk for EHM following curative hepatectomy.