Medcheck:A novel software for automated de-formulation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)prescriptions by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Prescriptions are the main clinical application of traditional Chinese medicines(TCMs).Common forms include Chinese patent medicines,Kampo formulas,and hospital decoctions.A new pre-scription called“famous classical formulas”is recently developed and expected to boom in the market.Identifying constituent me-dicinal plants in prescriptions is critical for new drug development and quality control[1],which could avoid safety issues from adulteration or substandard ingredients,as seen in the notorious Longdan Xiegan Pill event.

Metachronous urothelial carcinoma in the renal pelvis,bladder,and urethra:A case report

BACKGROUND Urothelial carcinoma(UC)is a common malignancy of the urinary system that can occur anywhere from the renal pelvis to the proximal urethra.Most UCs are in the bladder and have multifocal growth.Upper urinary tract UC(UTUC),which occurs in the renal pelvis or ureter,accounts for only 5%to 10%of UCs.CASE SUMMARY In March 2015,a 70-year-old male who initially presented to a local hospital with a complaint of painless hematuria was diagnosed with UTUC of the right renal pelvis.The doctors administered radical nephroureterectomy and bladder cuff excision.Although the doctors recommended intravesical chemotherapy and regular follow-up,he rejected this advice.In December 2016,the patient presented at our hospital with dysuria.We identified UC in the residual bladder and administered radical cystectomy and left cutaneous ureterostomy.In November 2021,he presented again with urethral bleeding.We detected urethral UC as the cause of urethral orifice bleeding and administered radical urethrectomy.Since then,he has visited regularly for 6-mo follow-ups,and was in stable condition as of December 2022.CONCLUSION UTUC is prone to seeding and recurrence.Adjuvant instillation therapy and intense surveillance are crucial for these patients.

Deeper Chemical Perceptions for Better Traditional Chinese Medicine Standards

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), a complex system of natural resources with many diverse components, are widely used as approved medicinal agents in China. Quality control of TCMs is a huge challenge for the government and for testing institutes and is associated with numerous scientific issues. Among these considerations include the following questions: How many components are in TCMs? How can the multiple components in TCMs be comprehensively delineated and subsequently characterized? What is the level and range of these (active) metabolites within these multiple-component TCMs, in order to recommend standards? and What are the qualities required for a marker constituent to be selected, and from a practical perspective, how can these components be assessed with low cost and in a short time? All of these factors require significant and deep thinking in order to understand the individualistic chemistry of TCM in order to develop enhanced TCM quality standards for improved and consistent patient care. In this review, the latest exploratory research in TCM chemistry analytical techniques and methods is summarized in order to begin to develop responses to these scientific issues. Advances in these methods have included multidimensional separation for liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS), smart triggering data-dependent acquisition of LC–HRMS, target analysis with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), supercritical fluid chromatography, and data mining of large mass spectrometry (MS) datasets. In addition, two quality strategies have been introduced in order to save reference standards and the analysis time for a TCM quality standard, including the application of the single standard to determine multi-components (SSDMC) and monomethodheterotrait matrix methods. Finally, a series of future improvements for analytical methods for TCMs are proposed.

Effect of Cobalt Precursor on Microstructures and Visible Light Photoactivity of Doped TiO2 Powders

In order to develop photoactive cobalt-doped TiO2 for the degradation of organic pollutants using visible light irradiation, the effects of cobalt precursor on TiO2 microstructure were investigated. Three cobaltprecursors, i.e. COCl2, Co（NO3）2 and COSO4 with two doping levels （nominally 1% and 10%）, and two annealing temperatures （400 and 800 ℃） were adopted to prepare tile doped titania through the sol-gel method. The powder samples were characterized with XRD, SEM, BET surface area analysis and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, and their photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the degradation of aniline under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the distribution of titania phases, particle size, morphology, surface area and the optical absorption of the catalysts were greatly dependent on the cobalt precursors. Samples prepared from Co（NO3）2, especially for those doped at 1% and calcined at 400 ℃, showed the highest photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of aniline, and the possible reasons are discussed briefly.

Improved spatial filtering velocimetry and its application in granular flow measurement

Spatial filtering velocimetry(SFV)has the advantages of simple structure,good stability,and wide applications.However,the traditional linear CCD-based SFV method requires an accurate angle between the direction of linear CCD and the direction of moving object,so it is not suitable for measuring a complex flow field or two-dimensional speed in a granular media.In this paper,a new extension of spatial filtering method(SFM)based on high speed array CCD camera is proposed as simple and effective technique for measuring two-dimensional speed field of granular media.In particular,we analyzed the resolution and range of array CCD-based SFV so that the reader can clarify the application scene of this method.This method has a particular advantage for using orthogonal measurement to avoid the angle measurement,which were problematic when using linear CCD to measure the movement.Finally,the end-wall effects of the granular flow in rotating drum is studied with different experimental conditions by using this improved technique.

Novel Cylinder Movement Modeling Method Based on Aerodynamics

The cylinder movement is affected by multiple factors and it is difficult to establish the accurate movement model of the cylinder. In order to improve the reliability of the production line design and to speed up the production line debugging, a novel cylinder movement modeling method based on aerodynamics is proposed. The kinetic theory, thermodynamic theory and kinematics knowledge are applied and integrated various factors which affect the movement characteristics of the cylinder are considered. According to the proposed mathematical model of cylinder movement, thecombined simulation software of cylinder movement based on Visual Studio and Visual Component （3D Create） is developed to calculate thevelocity, accel- eration and movement time of the cylinders during the running of the assembly line. Comparison results of cylinder＇s movement time under different intake air and displacement show that the mathematical model of cylinder movement based on aerodynamic is more accurate and the degree of fittingis 0.9846, which proves the effectiveness of the combined simulation software of cylinder movement. By the cylinder movement modeling method based on aerodynamic, accurate value of takt and the debug parameters can be calculated as a reference for the designers and debuggers of the cylinder-driven assembly lines.

Molecular docking-aided AIEgen design: concept, synthesis and applications

Aggregate-induced emission luminogens(AIEgens) have been widely used in biological imaging, chemical sensing, and disease treatments. The rational design and construction of AIEgens have received considerable research interests during the last few years. Herein, molecular docking-aided AIEgen design has been reasonably proposed and AIEgen TBQZY with excellent ~1O_(2) generation ability has been synthesized. The newly developed TBQZY could efficiently kill S. epidermidis and methicillinresistant S. epidermidis(MRSE) by tightly binding to bacteria and triggering the accumulation of ~1O_(2) in bacteria. TBQZY specifically regulated the immune system and polarized macrophages from M1 to M2 to accelerate the elimination of biofilm in vivo. In addition, healing acceleration was observed in chronic wounds treated with TBQZY, and side effects were negligible.Meanwhile, TBQZY had extraordinary potential for combating drug-resistant bacteria in the clinical setting. This research not only provided new concepts for the design of AIEgens, but also shed some lights on the discovery of drugs against drug-resistant bacteria.

Proportion of Uterine Malignant Tumors in Patients with Laparoscopic Myomectomy： A National Multicenter Study in China

Background： The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that the use of morcellation may cause fibroids or pelvic dissemination and metastasis of uterine sarcoma; therefore, the use of morcellation is limited in the USA. A large sample study is necessary to assess the proportion of uterine malignant tumors found in patients with laparoscopic myomectomy. Methods： A national multicenter study was performed in China. From 2002 to 2014, 33,723 cases were retrospectively selected. We calculated the prevalence and recorded the clinical characteristics of the patients with malignancy after morcellation application. A total of 62 cases were finally pathologically confirmed as malignant postoperatively. Additionally, the medical records of the 62 patients were analyzed in details. Results： The proportion of postoperative malignancy after morcellation application was 0.18% （62/33,723） for patients who underwent laparoscopic myomectomy. Nearly 62.9% （39/62） of patients had demonstrated blood flow signals in the uterine fibroids before surgery. And, 23 （37.1%） patients showed rapid growth at the final preoperative ultrasound. With respect to the pathological types, 38 （61.3%） patients had detectable endometrial stromal sarcoma, 13 （21.0%） had detectable uterine leiomyosarcoma, only 3 （3.2%） had detectable carcinosarcoma, and 5 （8.1%） patients with leiomyoma had an undetermined malignant potential. Conclusions： The proportion of malignancy is low after using moreellation in patients who undergo laparoscopie myomectomy. Patients with fast-growing uterine fibroids and abnormal ultrasonic tumor blood flow should be considered for malignant potential, and morcellation should be avoided.

Influence of Direct Current Electric Field on the Formation,Composition and Microstructure of Corrosion Products Formed on the Steel in Simulated Marine Atmospheric Environment

X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed to investigate the effects of the DC electric field on the composition, formation and structure of corrosion products formed on the surface of the steel immersed in NaCl solution. The results show that goethite （α-FeOOH）, akaganeite （β-FeOOH）, lepidocrocite （γ- FeOOH） and magnetite （Fe3O4） are the major constituents among the corrosion products. The arrangement of different levels of the DC electric field intensity gives rise to the following results. The little higher DC electric field intensity （around 100-200 kV/m） promotes the crystallinity and growth of y-FeOOH; obviously, much higher DC electric field intensity （greater than 400 kV/m） prevents the growth of α-FeOOH and facilitates the generation of Fe3O4. Both the promotional growth of γ-FeOOH and suppression of α-FeOOH growth indicated the weakness of the protectiveness of the rust layer. Consequently, the suppression of the transformation of α-FeOOH from y-FeOOH favors the yield of the Fe3O4, which works as a large cathode area and would be about to quicken the subsequent steel corrosion.

Exploration of Bioactive Constituents and Immunoregulatory Mechanisms of a Hanshi-Yufei Formulation for Treating COVID-19

Objective:The objective of this study was to characterize the chemical compounds of a Hanshi-Yufei formulation(HSYF;a modified formulation of a traditional Chinese medicine used for treating COVID-19)to elucidate the mechanism of action and to evaluate potential anti-inflammatory effects of HSYF.Materials and Methods:The chemical constituents of HSYF extract were characterized using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS.Subsequently,a set of TCM network pharmacology methods was applied to identify disease-associated genes and to predict target profiles and pharmacological actions associated with the constituents of HSYF.Then,the antiviral effects of HSYF on H1N1 were assessed in RAW264.7 cells using MTT assays.Expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin(IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-αfollowing infection of RAW264.7 cells with H1N1 were measured using an enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay(ELISA),and expression levels of inflammatory-related factors were detected using western blotting.Results:In total,165 chemical constituents(including glycosides,tannins,volatile oils,amino acids,triterpenoids,polyphenols,phenylpropanoids,sesquiterpenes,alkaloids,and flavonoids,among others)were tentatively identified in HSYF.Network pharmacology demonstrated that HSYF can regulate immunomodulatory-and anti-inflammatory-related targets of multiple pathways through its active ingredients,suggesting potential anti-COVID-19 effects.Furthermore,cell viability assays and ELISA showed that HSYF significantly inhibited H1N1 replication in RAW64.7 cells and markedly reduced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-αand IL-6 at the proteins level.Conclusions:The results of the present study help improve our understanding of the therapeutic effects of HSYF in COVID-19 treatment from multi-level perspectives.