Isolation and Identification of Alkali-Resistant 1,3-Propanediol Producing Strain

1,3-Propanediol is a promising renewable resource produced by microbial production. It is mainly used in many synthetic reactions, particularly applied to the polymer synthesis and cosmetics industry. We described here the isolation of strain ZH-1, which has the ability of high production with 1,3-propanediol, from Fenhe River in China. It was classified as a member of K. pneumoniae after the study of phenotypic, physio-logical, biochemical and phylogenetic (16S rDNA). The initial glycerol concentration, fermentation time and pH value of strain ZH-1 were determined to be 50 g·L-1, 36 h and 8.0. Under these conditions, the practical yield of 1,3-PD was 18.53 g·L-1 and a molar yield (mol1,3-PD molGlycerol-1 of 1,3-propanediol to glycerol of 0.497. In addition, we found that for the strain ZH-1, the optimum grown pH was 9.0, so we can deter-mine that it is a new member of alkali-resistant strains.

Outlining the keyword co-occurrence trends in Shuanghuanglian injection research: A bibliometric study using CiteSpace Ⅲ

Objective:To explore the evolvement and new trends in the use of Shuanghuanglian injection(SHLI).Methods:China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),PubMed,and Embase were extensively searched using the search terms“Shuanghuanglian injection”and“Shuanghuanglian fenzhen”to retrieve articles relevant to SHLI(1992e2020).Retrieved articles were further investigated by two authors to exclude those unrelated to SHLI.The bibliographical references of the included articles were exported as raw data and then treated using the CiteSpace tool to visualize the mapping of the SHLI research domain.Essential clusters and highly frequent keywords were quantified for further analysis.The clusters were automatically labeled by the algorithm of tf*idf for objective analysis.Basic bibliometric features,including article types and yearly trend in article numbers were also determined and discussed.Results:The modules of the keywords of interest presented clear boundaries with a high modularity score(Q=0.73).High-confidence clusters were identified,including bioactivity fingerprint(S=0.99),equal pupils(S=0.91),drug preparation department(S=0.87),difficulty in respiration(S=0.85),peristalsis(0.88),and Danshen powder injection(S=0.94).The characteristic keywords in terms of frequency and burstiness were Shuanghuanglian powder for injection(F=235,B=5.22),SHLI(F=112,B=11.39),and adverse drug reactions(ADRs;F=104,B=7.35).Conclusion:In the field of SHLI study,there are five major topic categories:bioactivity fingerprint;ADR mechanism and cause detection;proper preparation;clinical evidence accumulation;and efficacy in diseases with no effective treatment and combination usage.The trend for using modern methodologies from a science-based perspective to study SHLI will continue to exist.The causes of multi-factorial ADRs may be an important topic for future studies.

Detection of consensuses and treatment principles of diabetic nephropathy in traditional Chinese medicine: A new approach

Objective:To propose and test a new approach based on community detection in the field of social computing for uncovering consensuses and treatment principles in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM).Methods:Three Chinese databases(CNKI,VIP,andWan Fang Data)were searched for published articles on TCM treatment of diabetic nephropathy(DN)from their inception until September 31,2014.Zheng classification and herbdatawereextractedfromincluded articlesand usedto construct a Zheng classification and treatment of diabetic nephropathy(DNZCT)network with nodes denoting Zhengs and herbs and edges denoting corresponding treating relationshipsamong them.Community detection was applied to the DNZCT and detected community structures were analyzed.Results:A network of 201 nodes and 743 edges were constructed and six communities were detected.Nodes clustered in the samecommunity captured the samesemantic topic;different communities had unique characteristics,and indicated different treatment principles.Large communities usually represented similar points of view or consensuses on common Zheng diagnoses and herb prescriptions;small communities might help to indicate unusual Zhengs and herbs.Conclusion:The results suggest that the community detection-based approach is useful and feasible for uncovering consensuses and treatment principles of DN treatment in TCM,and could be used to address other similar problems in TCM.

Efficacy and Safety of Wuling Powder and Western Medicine in Treatment of Hyperuricemia:A Meta-analysis of Clinical Trials

[Objectives]To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of Wuling powder and conventional Western medicine for lowering uric acid in the treatment of hyperuricemia.[Methods]Databases such as CNKI,Wanfang Data,VIP Database,PubMed,Cochrane library and Embase,were retrieved,and comparative experiments of efficacy(serum uric acid level)and safety(incidence of adverse reactions)between Wuling powder(used singly or combined with other prescriptions)and conventional Western medicine in the treatment of hyperuricemia were included,and effect size was pooled with Revman 5.3.[Results]A total of 11 articles,involving 817 patients,were included,and their research quality was evaluated to be low.In terms of overall effect,Wuling powder(used singly or combined with other prescriptions)was better than the control drug in reducing serum uric acid level,but the difference was insignificant[SMD=-0.37,95%CI(-0.90,0.16)].The heterogeneity between studies was high.The incidence of adverse reactions in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group.Subgroup analysis shows that Wuling powder combined with other prescriptions was better than the control drug in reducing serum uric acid level[SMD=-0.37,95%CI(-0.90,0.16),P=0.17],and the heterogeneity was reduced.[Conclusions]Wuling powder combined with other prescriptions is better than conventional Western medicine in the treatment of hyperuricemia,and has better safety.Wuling powder alone is not as effective as conventional Western medicine.It is suggested that in clinical work,doctors may need to modify the prescription of Wuling powder.The low quality of the literature supporting this conclusion suggests that this evidence should be interpreted with caution.