[Charcoal-frying process and quality markers of Sanguisorbae Radix based on hemostatic effect].

Studies have reported that the hemostatic effect of Sanguisorbae Radix(SR) is significantly enhanced after processing with charcoal. However, the standard components(tannins and gallic acid) specified in the Chinese Pharmacopeia decrease in charcoal-fried Sanguisorbae Radix(CSR), which is contrast to the enhancement of the hemostatic effect. Therefore, this study aimed to optimize the charcoal-frying process of SR based on its hemostatic efficacy and comprehensively analyze the components of SR and its processed products, thus exploring the material basis for the hemostatic effect. The results indicated that SR processed at 250 ℃ for 14 min(14-min CSR) not only complied with the description in the Chinese Pharmacopeia but also demonstrated improved blood-coagulating and blood-adsorbing effects compared with raw SR(P<0.05). Moroever, 14-min CSR reduced the bleeding time in the rat models of tail snipping, liver bleeding, and muscle injury, surpassing both raw and excessively fried SR(16 min processed) as well as tranexamic acid(P<0.05). Ellagitannin, ellagic acid, methyl gallate, pyrogallic acid, protocatechuic acid, Mg, Ca, Mn, Cu, and Zn contributed to the hemostatic effect of CSR over SR. Among these substances, ellagitannin, ellagic acid, Mg, and Ca had high content in the 14 min CSR, reaching(106.73±14.87),(34.86±4.43),(2.81±0.23), and(1.21±0.23) mg·g~(-1), respectively. Additionally, the color difference value(ΔE~*ab) of SR processed to different extents was correlated with the content of the aforementioned hemostatic substances. In summary, this study optimized the charcoal-frying process as 250 ℃ for 14 min for SR based on its hemostatic effect. Furthermore, ellagic acid and/or the powder chromaticity are proposed as indicators for the processing and quality control of CSR.

Effectiveness of parent-training program on children with autism spectrum disorder in China.

Objective: This study intends to explore the effect of parent-training program on the rehabilitation intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Chinese-speaking areas of China by offering parent skill training and psychology counseling. Methods: From January 2018 to June 2019, a total of 80 children diagnosed with ASD from the Department of Children Healthcare of Wuxi Children's Hospital were randomly grouped into the parent training groups and control groups. Parents in the training group received 12 weeks of skill training, including 8 group and 2 individual training sessions, as well as psychology counseling. This enabled them to give their children >2 h of intervention training daily in a natural environment. Children in the control group were placed on a rehabilitation waiting list or received general community training. Before grouping and after the intervention, all children underwent neuropsychological evaluations with Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Gesell Developmental Schedule (GDS). GDS covers five sectors, namely adaptive behavior, gross motor, fine motor, language, and personal-social behavior. Results: Statistically significant differences were not detected between the two groups in ABC, CARS, and GDS scoring at baseline evaluation. And significant differences were detected between the two groups in ABC, CARS, adaptive behavior, and personal-social behavior scoring at endpoint evaluation. Furthermore, the re-evaluation results of ABC scoring and CARS scoring of the children in the parent training group decreased significantly from the preliminary evaluation results when compared before and after the intervention. Moreover, the intragroup comparison of adaptive behavior scoring, language scoring, and personal-social behavior scoring of the experiment group increased significantly from the preliminary evaluation results, while the difference of the same of the children in the control group between re-evaluation and preliminary evaluation did not differ significantly. Conclusions: In China, the parent-training program enables parents to train ASD children in a natural environment, which would markedly improve behavioral problems, core symptoms, adaptability, language competence, and social development capability.

[Expression of key enzyme genes and content of saikosaponin in saikosaponin biosynthesis under drought stress in Bupleurum chinense].

To research the expression of key enzymes in saikosaponin biosynthesis and the content of saikosaponin under the drought stress, the study focused on the gene-level and the end product responses to environmental change. Taking the five months of Bupleurum chinense as research materials, the contents of saikosaponin A and saikosaponin D under different stress levels were measured by HPLC. The drought was simulated by poly ethylene glycol. The real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to analyze the expression of four key enzymes genes HMGR, IPPI, FPS, ß-AS and the expression of ß-tubulin was set as a reference gene. The results showed that drought stress significantly improved the content of saikosaponin. The contents of SSa and SSd were highest researching 0.648% and 0.781%, respectively when the concentration of PEG was 10%. Meanwhile, the results reflected that the expression of four key enzymes had risen differently and FPS, ß-AS raised significantly(P<0.01). In addition, the results of correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the expression of the four key enzymes genes and the content of saikosaponin. In a word, the contents of secondary metabolites were regulated by the expression of key enzymes genes under the drought stress in B. chinense.

[Utilization of antibacterial agents for emergency patients with acute upper respiratory infections in tertiary hospitals in Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the use of antibacterial agents for emergency patients with acute upper respiratory infections in tertiary hospitals in Beijing. METHODS: We used the medical claim data for urban workers in 10 tertiary hospitals in Beijing from Oct. 2010 to Sep. 2012. Medical records of emergency patients with acute upper respiratory tract infections had been selected as the study sample. The proportions of antibacterial prescriptions and categories of antibacterial drugs were described and analyzed. RESULTS: This study included 135 979 visitors (male: 42.7%; mean age: 43.6 ± 16.2 years). The average antibacterial prescription rate was 71.2% (95%CI 71.0%-71.5%), of which the single kind use was 80.0% (95% CI 79.7%-80.2%). Among acute upper respiratory tract infections, the antibacterial prescription rate for acute tonsillitis visits was highest (85.1%, 95%CI 84.5%-85.6%), followed by acute laryngitis and bronchitis (81.69%, 95% CI 80.4%-82.8%), acute pharyngitis (81.4%, 95% CI 77.7%-85.0%), acute sinusitis (77.0%, 95% CI 74.6%-79.4%), acute nasopharyngitis (74.3%, 95% CI 73.7%-75.0%), and common cold (67.6%, 95% CI 67.3%-67.9%). Compared with the female group, the antibacterial prescription rate for the male was higher (73.2%, 95%CI 72.8%-73.6% vs. 69.7%, 95%CI 69.4%-70.0%). Compared with the <60 years age cases, the antibacterial prescription rate for the ≥ 60 years cases was higher (72.1%, 95% CI 71.8%-72.3% vs. 66.8%, 95% CI 66.2%-67.5%). In the visitors who used antibacterial drugs, the average percentage of injection use was 50.6% (95% CI 50.3%-50.9%). The top antibacterial drugs in the list of varieties were the second generation cephalosporins (28.4%), followed by the third generation cephalosporins (21.7%), fluoroquinolones (21.0%) and macrolides (17.6%). CONCLUSION: The antibacterial prescription rate for acute upper respiratory tract infections in the general hospitals in Beijing is high, and the second generation cephalosporins, third generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones and macrolides take the lead in the total antibacterial drugs.