Chinese Medicinal Herbs for Childhood Pneumonia: A Systematic Review of Effectiveness and Safety

Objective. To assess the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicinal herbs for Childhood Pneumonia. Methods. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The searched electronic databases included PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, CBM, CNKI, and VIP. All studies included were assessed for quality and risk bias. Review Manager 5.1.6 software was used for data analyses, and the GRADEprofiler software was applied to classify the systematic review results. Results. Fourteen studies were identified (n=1.824). Chinese herbs may increase total effective rate (risk ratio (RR) 1.18; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11–1.26) and improve cough (total mean difference (MD), −2.18; 95% CI, (−2.66)–(−1.71)), fever (total MD, −1.85; 95% CI, (−2.29)–(−1.40)), rales (total MD, −1.53; 95% CI, (−1.84)–(−1.23)), and chest films (total MD, −3.10; 95% CI, (−4.11)–(−2.08)) in Childhood Pneumonia. Chinese herbs may shorten the length of hospital stay (total MD, −3.00; 95% CI, (−3.52)–(−2.48)), but no significant difference for adverse effects (RR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.09–1.72) was identified. Conclusion. Chinese herbs may increase total effective rate and improve symptoms and signs. However, large, properly randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies are required

BRAZILIAN ARCHIVES OF BIOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY A N I N T E R N A T I O N A L J O U R N A L Efficient Regeneration of Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus grandis from Stem Segment

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to establish an efficient regeneration system for the hybrid E. urophylla ×E. grandis by means of organogenesis. Stem segments from seedlings were used as explants and cultured in a modified Murashige and Skoog medium (MS), supplemented with 13.2 µM N-phenyl-N'-[6-(2-chlorobenzothiazol)-yl] urea (PBU) and 0.285 µM indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). PBU was a useful growth regulator. After cultivating for 5 d, 96% explants formed callus. After 30 d, the calli obtained were transferred to MS medium containing different combinations of 6-benzyladenine (BA) and naphthalene acetic acid (NA

Effectiveness and safety of pneumococcal vaccines used alone or combined with influenza vaccination in dialysis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: A lower conversion vaccination rate and a more rapid decline in antibody titers over time in dialysis patients raise concerns about the effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccination (PV) in this population, which has not been systematically reviewed. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and three Chinese databases from inception until February 29th, 2020 for interventional, cohort and case-control studies evaluating PV alone or combined with influenza vaccination (IV) on outcomes (all-cause mortality, pneumonia, cardiovascular events, antibody response and safety). Independent reviewers completed citation screening, data extraction, risk assessment, meta-analysis, and GRADE rating of the quality of evidence. RESULTS: Five cohort studies and one quasirandomized control trial enrolling 394,299 dialysis patients with high to moderate quality were included. Compared with unvaccinated individuals, those receiving PV had lower risk of all-cause mortality [Adjusted relative risk (RR) 0.73, 95% CI 0.67-0.79, I2 = 31.1%, GRADE low certainty] and cardiovascular events (adjusted RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.69-0.93, I2 = 47.2%, GRADE low certainty) without serious adverse effect reported. Compared with no vaccination, lower all-cause mortality was observed in those receiving PV combined with IV (Adjusted RR 0.71, 95%CI 0.67-0.75, I2 = 63.3%), PV alone (Adjusted RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.78-0.94,I2 = 0%], and IV alone (Adjusted RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.73-0.79, I2 = 0%]. There was no difference between pneumococcal vaccinated patients vs non-vaccinated patients with respect to pneumonia. Immune response to pneumococcal conjugate vaccine-13 was weaker in polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine-23-pre-vaccinated compared with vaccine-naive patients. CONCLUSIONS: The use of pneumococcal vaccine especially combined with influenza vaccination is associated with lower risks of all-cause mortality but may be affected by residual confounding/healthy vaccinee bias

Extraction of Opuntia dillenii Haw. Polysaccharides and Their Antioxidant Activities

Use of natural polysaccharides in medicine and food has wide interest in research. In this study, we extracted and purified some polysaccharides from cactus Opuntia dillenii Haw. (ODP). Some preliminary functions of these products were characterized. Under the optimal purification conditions, the yield of ODP extracted from the 2–4 month-old Opuntia dillenii Haw. (T-ODP) was 30.60% ± 0.40%, higher than that of ODP from the 5–10 month-old materials (O-ODP) (18.97% ± 0.58%). The extracted ODP was purified by DEAE sepharose fast flow anion exchange and Sephacryl S-400 chromatography with four fractions obtained (ODP-Ia, ODP-Ib, ODP-IIa and ODP-IIb). Analysis with UV-vis chromatography indicated that ODP-Ia and ODP-IIa were relatively homogeneous molecules with a molecular weight of 339 kD and 943 kD, respectively. Results of infrared spectroscopy indicated that ODP, ODP-Ia, and ODP-IIa were acidic polysaccharides. Further, the antioxidant activity against DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical, hydroxyl radicals, and superoxide radical in vitro demonstrated that the T-ODP exhibited higher antioxidant activity than the O-ODP, and the purified fraction (ODP-Ia) was superior to the ODP. These results will offer a theoretical basis for further research on the structure-function relationship of ODP and the rational utilization of Opuntia dillenii Haw

Indoxyl Sulfate Serum Level in Chronic Renal Failure Patients detected using Fluorescence-HPLC

Indoxyl sulfate (IS) is a protein-bound typical uremic toxin that accumulates in patients with impaired kidney function. The laboratory methods used to quantify serum concentrations of IS require improvement. We report an optimal, cost-effective alternative to the methods currently used.The methods is as follows: serum samples were extracted and deproteinized using acetonitrile and then further purified using dichloromethane. The samples were then analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a fluorescence detector at a flow rate of 1.0mL/min. The isocratic mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile−0.2% (V/V) trifluoroacetic acid in phosphate buffered saline, pH 2.5 (8:92, V/V). Detector settings were λex 280nm/λem 390nm. Under the indicated conditions, IS was well separated. The retention time was approximately 6.59±0.11min. The results of the precision and reproducibility tests were <3%, and the recovery rate was greater than 95%,(98.44±3.21%).In conclusion, HPLC with a fluorescence detector is a simple, sensitive, and reliable method for quantifying IS concentration in the serum of patients with chronic renal failure

Effect of Alkanolamines on the Early-Age Strength and Drying Shrinkage of Internal Curing of Mortars

In this study, the reduction of the early-age strength of mortar caused by the traditional super absorbent polymer (SAP) was solved. Two types of alkanolamines (Alkanolamine-A and alkanolamine-B) and calcium nitrite were compounded with traditional SAP as early-age strength components and then were added into the mortar to evaluate effects on early-age strength and drying shrinkage. Results showed that adding two types of alkanolamines could significantly improve the early-age compressive strength of mortar. The addition of alkanolamines could refine the pore of cement paste and reduce the average pore size, which can be reflected by the increased strength and improved mortar drying shrinkage. Among them, the mortar with the composite of alkanolamine-A and alkanolamine-B added showed excellent performance. Its mechanical properties increased to 129% at day 3 and 139% at day 7 compared with the reference group; compressive strength can reach up to 31.8 MPa. The average pore size of the cement paste decreased by 27.8%, and the drying shrinkage was significantly smaller compared with the reference group

Effect of Alkanolamines on the Early-Age Strength and Drying Shrinkage of Internal Curing of Mortars

In this study, the reduction of the early-age strength of mortar caused by the traditional super absorbent polymer (SAP) was solved. Two types of alkanolamines (Alkanolamine-A and alkanolamine-B) and calcium nitrite were compounded with traditional SAP as early-age strength components and then were added into the mortar to evaluate effects on early-age strength and drying shrinkage. Results showed that adding two types of alkanolamines could significantly improve the early-age compressive strength of mortar. The addition of alkanolamines could refine the pore of cement paste and reduce the average pore size, which can be reflected by the increased strength and improved mortar drying shrinkage. Among them, the mortar with the composite of alkanolamine-A and alkanolamine-B added showed excellent performance. Its mechanical properties increased to 129% at day 3 and 139% at day 7 compared with the reference group; compressive strength can reach up to 31.8 MPa. The average pore size of the cement paste decreased by 27.8%, and the drying shrinkage was significantly smaller compared with the reference group