Qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of health-care pharmaceutical products using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS) is a sensitive optical technique that is capable of rapid multi-elemental analysis. The development of this technique for elemental analysis of pharmaceutical products may eventually revolutionize the field of human health. Under normal circumstances, the elemental analysis of pharmaceutical products based on chemical methods is time-consuming and complicated. In this investigation, the principal aim is to develop an LIBS-based methodology for elemental analysis of pharmaceutical products. This LIBS technique was utilized for qualitative as well as quantitative analysis of the elements present in Ca-based tablets. All the elements present in the tablets were detected and their percentage compositions were verified in a single shot, using the proposed instrument. These elements(e.g., Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, and others) were identified by the wavelengths of their spectral lines, which were verified using the NIST database. The approximate amount of each element was determined based on their observed peaks and the result was in exact agreement with the content specification. The determination of the composition of prescription drug for patients is highly important in numerous circumstances. For example, the exploitation of LIBS may facilitate elemental decomposition of medicines to determine the accuracy of the stated composition information. Moreover, the approach can provide element-specific, meaningful, and accurate information related to pharmaceutical products.

Qualitative analysis of aromatic compounds via 1D TOCSY techniques

The aromatic compounds,including o-xylene,m-xylene,p-xylene,and ethylbenzene,primarily originate from the catalytic reforming of crude oil,and have a wide variety of applications.However,because of similar physical and chemical properties,these compounds are difficult to be identified by gas chromatography(GC)without standard samples.With the development of modern nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)techniques,NMR has emerged as a powerful and efficient tool for the rapid analysis of complex and crude mixtures without purification.In this study,the parameters of one-dimensional(1D)total correlation spectroscopy(TOCSY)NMR techniques,including 1D selective gradient TOCSY and 1D chemicalshift-selective filtration(CSSF)with TOCSY,were optimized to obtain comprehensive molecular structure information.The results indicate that the overlapped signals in NMR spectra of nonpolar aromatic compounds(including o-xylene,m-xylene,p-xylene and ethylbenzene),polar aromatic compounds(benzyl alcohol,benzaldehyde,benzoic acid),and aromatic compounds with additional conjugated bonds(styrene)can be resolved in 1D TOCSY.More importantly,full molecular structures can be clearly distinguished by setting appropriate mixing time in 1D TOCSY.This approach simplifies the NMR spectra,provides structural information of entire molecules,and can be applied for the analysis of other structural isomers.

Consequences of Insufficient Selectivity in Quantitative and Qualitative Chemical Analysis

A problem in chemical analysis in connection with measurements of a substance normally occurring in a sample, or identification of a substance which should not exist in a sample, is insufficient selectivity. In this article, we analyze this problem and propose remedies. We use a real doping case to illustrate how chemical noise causes a serious selectivity problem, probably causing a false positive outcome.

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Alkaloids in Cortex Phellodendri by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and HPLC-DAD

A combined method of high performance liquid chromatograph-elecrtrospray-ionization mass spectrometer（HPLC-ESI-MS/MS） coupled with a photodiode array detector（HPLC-DAD） and principal component analysis（PCA） was applied to the qualitative and quantitative analyses of alkaloids in Cortex Phellodendri（CP） samples, and to the differentiation of two species of CP, Cortex Phellodendri Chinensis（CPC） and Cortex Phellodendri Amurensis（CPA）. Twenty-two peaks appeared in the HPLC-MS base peak chromatogram of CP detected by the HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis, and the alkaloids were identified according to the MSn data, the known MS fragmentation rules and the literature data. Five alkaloids including berberine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine, phellodendrine and magnoflorine were simultaneously determinated by the HPLC-DAD. Berberine was the primary component in all CP samples, and the contents of berberine and palmatine were exploited to be two critical parameters for effective discrimination between the two species of CP. The average content of berberine in CPC（58.75 mg/g） was higher than that in CPA（9.16 mg/g）, while the content of palmatine was less, only 0.25 mg/g in CPC and 4.19 mg/g in CPA. With the use of PCA, samples datasets were separated successfully into two different clusters corresponding to the two species, and berberine, pahnatine, phellodendrine and magnoflorine contribute most to the above mentioned calssifying . The proposed method oroved to be a useful tool in the aualitv control of Chinese herbal medicines.

Analysis on the Configuration Path of Improving the Quality and Efficiency of County-Level Libraries in China

County-level libraries have an inescapable responsibility for cultivating local cultural identity and realizing rural revitalization.Therefore,we analyzed factors that afect the service fficiency of gass-1oots libraries in Henan Province through a field investigation and qualitative comparative analysis(QCA),and proposed a higlh-efficiency configuration.In addition,we put forward the strategy of improving the quality and efficiency of our country's county-level libraries in the electonic information age.

A Semi-Quantitative Analysis of Essential Micronutrient in Folium Lycii Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Technique

Abstract In this paper, the capabilities of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy （LIBS） for rapid analysis to multi-component plant are illustrated using a 1064 nm laser focused onto the surface of folium lycii. Based on homogeneous plasma assumption, nine of essential micronutrients in folium lycii are identified. Using Saha equation and Boltzmann plot method electron density and plasma temperature are obtained, and their relative concentration （Ca, Mg, A1, Si, Ti, Na, K, Li, and Sr） are obtained employing a semi-quantitative method.

Signed Directed Graph and Qualitative Trend Analysis Based Fault Diagnosis in Chemical Industry

In the past 30 years,signed directed graph(SDG) ,one of the qualitative simulation technologies,has been widely applied for chemical fault diagnosis.However,SDG based fault diagnosis,as any other qualitative method,has poor diagnostic resolution.In this paper,a new method that combines SDG with qualitative trend analysis(QTA) is presented to improve the resolution.In the method,a bidirectional inference algorithm based on assumption and verification is used to find all the possible fault causes and their corresponding consistent paths in the SDG model.Then an improved QTA algorithm is used to extract and analyze the trends of nodes on the consis-tent paths found in the previous step.New consistency rules based on qualitative trends are used to find the real causes from the candidate causes.The resolution can be improved.This method combines the completeness feature of SDG with the good diagnostic resolution feature of QTA.The implementation of SDG-QTA based fault diagno-sis is done using the integrated SDG modeling,inference and post-processing software platform.Its application is illustrated on an atmospheric distillation tower unit of a simulation platform.The result shows its good applicability and efficiency.

Qualitative Algebra and Graph Theory Methods for Dynamic Trend Analysis of Continuous System

质的代数学的方程是质的模拟的基础，它被用来表示不变的连续过程的动态行为。当质的变量的价值和操作被重新定义时，质的代数学的方程能被转变成签署的直接的图，它经常被用来预言动态变化的趋势。然而，基于人工的尝试使用传统的质的代数学方法为动态趋势解决一个复杂问题是困难的。现代质的代数学的一个重要方面是为复杂系统建模并且描绘与相应电脑辅助的自动推理。在这研究，一个质的爱方程基于多重条件被建议，它使签署的直接的图能更好描述复杂系统并且改进差错诊断分辨率。到一个工业盒子的申请证明方法表现很好。

Improved Qualitative Trajectory Calculus for Pair-Activity Analysis

Trajectory provides the most robust feature for activity recognition in far-field surveillance videos,in which increasing attentions have been given to the use of qualitative methods with symbolic rather than real-value features.Qualitative trajectory calculus(QTC)showed a good performance in pair-activity from video.However,QTC and similar works are not good at dealing with noise,since they are all considering short-term features.To deal with the problems mentioned above,two types of long-term features,including sub-trajectory feature and point-trajectory feature,are designed.The sub-trajectory feature is a long-term feature in a coarse granularity,while the point-trajectory feature is a long-term feature in a relatively fine granularity.Using the sub-trajectory feature,a couple of trajectories are segmented into sub-trajectories and enveloping boxes are used to substitute the original sub-trajectory for capturing the major attributes.The point-trajectory feature describes the relationship between a single point in one trajectory and all parts of the other trajectory.The experiments on the human activity classification data demonstrated that our proposed methods are better than the original QTC and previous short-term features.

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Five Bioactive Flavonoids in <i>Salix bordensis</i>Turcz. by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-ESI-MS

The qualitative characterization and quantitative analysis of five bioactive flavonoids in Salix bordensis Turcz. were achieved via reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection and tandem mass spectrometry, by using an Agilent ZORBAX SB-C18 HPLC column with a gradient elution of 0.3% (v/v) formic acid in water and methanol as the mobile phase. The compounds in the mixture were clearly identified by comparing their HPLC-DAD ultraviolet spectra, retention times, and MS data with those of corresponding reference compounds. All calibration curves showed good linearity (r2 > 0.9998) within the test ranges. The LOD, LOQ, specificity, precision, and accuracy for the method were validated. The results demonstrated that this analytical approach is ideal for the determination of bioactive compounds, such as flavonoids, and that it constructed a basis for the comprehensive evaluation of the quality of Salix bordensis Turcz.

Semi-quantitative analysis on the content of berberine hydrochloride in compound berberine tablets with the fluorescence spectral imaging method

The content of berberine hydrochloride(BH)in compound berberine tablets(CBTs)is subject to strict requirements.Its content is usually measured based on chemical analysis.In this paper,the fluorescence spectral imaging method was used to study the relative content of BH from a physics perspective.By comparing the relative fluorescence intensity of self-made CBTs with di®erent mass percentages of BH,a linear positive relationship was observed between the BH content and the relative fluorescence intensity,and accordingly the quality of CBTs of different brands was evaluated.The results indicate that the fluorescence spectral imaging method can be a simple,fast and nondestructive semi-quantitative analysis method to determine the content of BH in CBTs,and this method has great potential in the quality control of CBTs.

Views on patient safety by operations managers in somatic hospital care: a qualitative analysis

Healthcare outcome is to achieve optimal health for each patient. It is a well-known phenomenon that patients suffer from care injuries. Operations managers have difficulties in seeing that the relationship between safety culture, values and attitudes affects the medical care to the detriment of the patient. The aim was to describe the views on patient safety by operations managers and the establishment of patient safety and safety culture in somatic hospital care. Four open questions were answered by 29 operations managers in somatic hospital care. Data analysis was carried out by deductive qualitative content analysis. Operations managers found production to be the most important goal, and patient safety was linked to this basic mission. Safety work meant to achieve optimal health outcomes for each patient in a continuous development of operations. This was accomplished by pursuing a high level of competence among employees, having a functioning report system and preventing medical errors. Safety culture was mentioned to a smaller extent. The primary target of patient safety work by the operations managers was improving care quality which resulted in fewer complications and shorter care time. A change in emphasis to primary safety work is necessary. To accomplish this increased knowledge of communication, teamwork and clinical decision making are required.

Midwives’views and experiences of providing healthy eating advice to pregnant women:a qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews

Objective:To explore midwives’views on how they provide healthy eating education to pregnant women after attending a healthy eating education workshop/webinar.Methods:A qualitative descriptive approach was utilized.Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the views and experiences of midwives on providing healthy eating education for pregnant women.A purposive sample of six midwives was interviewed face-to-face,and one was conducted by telephone interview.Data were analyzed through qualitative conventional content analysis.Results:Midwives described their views and experiences of factors that impacted their role in providing healthy eating educa-tion.They identified three categories:perceived role of midwi ves,health literacy,and model of care.Conclusions:Knowledge and confidence of midwives improved after attending the workshop/webinar on healthy eating education.Findings suggested that midwives perceived their role as important in providing nutrition education.However,time and resources were highlighted as challenges when providing healthy eating education for pregnant women.The availability of health literacy and model of care were significant factors in enabling midwives to adequately provide this education.Midwives acknowledged a need for further education in areas of vegan diet,cultural food preferences for ethnic minority groups,and regular updates on national healthy eating guidelines.

Conceptual framework of modern Zangxiang concept: a qualitative content analysis

Background:Some scholars believe modern Zangxiang concept is conceived under the thought of bio-medicine (Western medicine),which differs greatly compared to the ancient one.The view put forward stirs up great argument.Therefore,we attempt to explore whether the modern Zangxiang concept can fully reflect the specific content and structural relationship of ancient one through analyzing the frame structure of modern Zangxiang concept.Methods:The qualitative content analysis was used.The document was selected from Zangxiang Chapter in Fundamental Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (7th edition).The textual document was added to QSR International's NVivo qualitative data analysis software.Text was manually coded line by line according to the content described,and new categories were identified which were further divided into initial code,sub-theme,and theme.The relationships among them were explored,and a visual map of the body of knowledge (BoK) in Zangxiang theory was depicted.The similarities and differences between modern and ancient Zangxiang concepts were discussed by interpreting these themes,relationships and the visual map.Results:After analysis,there were 126 initial codes,13 sub-themes,and 4 themes including structure,function,functional outcome and the corresponding external sign.Two principal relationships,generation and mutual promotion,restriction,and inter-dependence in function were obtained.By analyzing four themes and two kinds of principal relationships,we found five different aspects between modern Zangxiang concept and ancient Zangxiang theory.Conclusion:The BoK of the modern Zangxiang concept contains four themes:structure,function,functional outcome,and the corresponding external sign.The principal relationship is referring to generation between structure and function,and between function and its corresponding outcomes.Great differences exist when talking about modern Zangxiang concept which doesn't reflect TCM characteristics and is more inclined to bio-medicine in structure from the perspective of ancient TCM theory.

Bibliometric analysis of qualitative researches in nursing in China from 2013 to 2019

Aims:To analyze the research status and development trend of nursing qualitative research in China from 2013 to 2019.Method:China national knowledge infrastructure(CNKI),Wanfang Data and VIP database were researched to include all related articles which were published from 2013 to 2019 about nursing qualitative research literature.NoteExpress literature management software and Excel were used to organize literature from annual distribution region,organization,core periodical,as well as the research object,research methods,data collection method and sampling method for metrology analysis.Results:2194 articles met the inclusion criteria,the number of articles is increasing year by year.Most of them come from Shanghai,Beijing,zhejiang and other developed areas.The top three institutions were the Huazhong University of Science and Technology,Tongji Medical College,Affiliated Union Hospital,Fudan university and Shanghai jiao tong university.And 835 of them were published in core journals.Research object are mainly divided into patient,nurses,nursing managers,etc.The included literature mainly adopts phenomenological research methods.Interview is the mainly data collection methods,and Colaizzi method is the mainly data analysis methods.Most articles use the method of purpose sampling.Conclusion:The qualitative research is becoming more and more attention by researchers in China.Qualitative research has covered clinical nursing,nursing education,nursing management,nursing psychology and other different nursing field.However,the selection of qualitative research methods,data analysis methods and related reports need to be further improved and standardized.

Volatile profile and multivariant analysis of Sanhuang chicken breast in combination with Chinese 5-spice blend and garam masala

Sanhuang chicken is a popular native breed in China and well-known for delicious flavour.Spices could enhance the chicken meat flavour and work well in preservation.Chinese 5-spice blend(CS)and garam masala(GM)are routinely using spices in China and Pakistan,respectively.The flavour profiles of Sanhuang chicken breast(CB)and its blends with CS and GM were obtained by electronic nose(E-nose),solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(SPME GC-MS)and GC-ion mobility spectrometry(GC-IMS).Principal component analysis(PCA)efficiently discriminated the aroma profiles of three chicken formulations.The GC-chromatographs revealed the significant aroma alterations of chicken breast meat after marination with spices.Aldehydes were the major contributors of chicken aroma,while most of the aromatic hydrocarbons were generated by spices.Almost all chicken key-compounds produced by oxidation reaction were either reduced or eliminated by marination,showing the antioxidation capacity of spices leading to meat preservation.GC-IMS is not only a rapid and comprehensive detection method,but also proved to be more sensitive than GC-MS.The substantial role of both traditional spices in enhancing flavour quality of chicken meat,and their exposure as functional ingredients in Chinese and Pakistan cuisines could lead to the cross-cultural meat trade opportunities.

Physical restraint in mental health nursing: A concept analysis

Objective: Physical restraint is frequently used in medical services,such as in mental health settings,intensive care units and nursing homes,but its nature varies in different institutions.By reviewing related literature,this study aims to clarify the concept of physical restraint in mental health nursing.Method: Three databases (PubMed,PsyclNFO and CINAHL) were retrieved,and Walker and Avant's concept analysis method was used to analyze the concept of physical restraint in mental health nursing.Results: Physical restraint is a coercive approach that enables the administration of necessary treatment by safely reducing the patient's physical movement.It should be the last option used by qualified personnel.Antecedents of physical restraint are improper behavior (violence and disturbance) of patients,medical assessment prior to implementation and legislation governing clinical usage.Consequences of physical restraint are alleviation of conflict,physical injury,mental trauma and invisible impact on the institution.Discussion: This study defined the characteristics of physical restraint in mental health nursing.The proposed concept analysis provided theoretical foundation for future studies.

Isolation, Identification and Tissue Expression Profile Analysis of One Novel Differentially Expressed Sequence Tag in the Longissimus dorsi Muscle from Meishan, Meishan × Large White Hybrid and Large White Pigs

In order to detect the molecular mechanism of heterosis in pigs, the mRNA differential display technique was performed to investigate the differences of gene expression in the Longissimus dorsi tissue from Meishan, Meishan × Large White hybrid and Large White pigs with nine 3'-end anchored primers in combination with ten 5'-end arbitrary primers and nearly 3000 reproducible bands were examined. One novel expressed sequence tag (EST4, GenBank accession number: AY553914) that was differentially expressed in Meishan, Meishan× Large White hybrid and Large White pigs was isolated from the Longissimus dorsi muscle tissue and identified through semi-quantitative RT-PCR. BLAST analysis revealed that the 350 bp long EST (EST4) was not homologous to any of the known porcine genes. Tissue expression profile analyses showed that the EST4 was expressed in most of tissues.LIU Yong-gang, Ph D candidate

Voices of Mother's Interaction with Midwives in Natural Childbirth: A Qualitative Study

Interaction between mothers and midwives during natural childbirth is one of the important factors in relationship between mothers and midwives in natural childbirth. In this qualitative study we explored experiences of mothers and midwives in interaction with each other in natural childbirth. This study was a part of a larger study which was carried out in Iran in 2013-2014. A total of 23 participants participated in this study. 12 primiparous and multiparous women planned to have natural deliveries and 11 midwives were purposefully included for semi-structured in-depth interviews in this study. For analysis and interpretation of mothers’ and midwives’ experience, conventional content analysis was used. Data were coded in MAXqda software (version 2). Interaction between mothers and midwives could be organized and categorized in one theme “relationship”. This theme consists of two subthemes: “respect for the mother” and “interaction” and five categories: “Feeling confidence, Feeling satisfaction, Associated with sensory relationship, Understanding mother’s situation, Understanding the meaning of interaction”. Good relationship between mothers and midwives in natural childbirth could improve the experience of natural childbirth for mothers. This experience could increase woman’s tendency toward natural birth instead of cesarean section in future pregnancies. Findings of this study can be seen as a challenge for health care professionals and policy makers to upgrade care of natural childbirth based on women’s preferences and needs.

Risky Meetings Despite Knowledge of the Risk: A Qualitative Study of Young Adults Treated for Chlamydia Infection at a Sexual Transmitted Infection Clinic

The aim of the study was to describe the attitudes to risk behavior among patients diagnosed with a Chlamydia infection at a Sexual Transmitted Infection (STI) clinic. Qualitative interviews face-to-face were conducted with twenty patients, aged 18 - 30 years, with confirmed Chlamydia infections were included. An interview guide was used and the participants described the behavior that had led to the infection. The material was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Eighteen informants were included and the theme was risk. Recurrent among the informants was risk behavior in sexual relations when using alcohol, while risk behavior in life in general was almost non-existent. Of the 18 informants, sixteen had previously been tested for STIs, and ten had had an STI before. Alcohol consumption emerged as a common denominator among the informants and as a contributor to risk. In contrast, almost none of the informants exposed themselves to any unnecessary risks in life in general.