Introduction: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is gaining worldwide popularity as a complementary and alternative medicine. The isolation and characterization of active ingredients from TCM has become optional strategies for drug development. In order to overcome the inherent limitations of these natural products such as poor water solubility and low bioavailability, the combination of nanotechnology with TCM has been explored. Taking advantage of the benefits offered by the nanoscale, various drug delivery systems have been designed to enhance the efficacy of TCM in the treatment and prevention of diseases.Methods: The manuscript aims to present years of research dedicated to the application of nanotechnology in the field of TCM.Results: The manuscript discusses the formulation, characteristics and therapeutic effects of nano-TCM. Additionally, the formation of carrier-free nanomedicines through self-assembly between active ingredients of TCM is summarized. Finally, the paper discusses the safety behind the application of nano-TCM and proposes potential research directions.Discussion: Despite some achievements, the safety of nano-TCM still need special attention. Furthermore, exploring the substance basis of TCM formulas from the perspective of nanotechnology may provide direction for elucidating the scientific intension of TCM formulas.

Objective: This study aims to explore the risk signals of osteonecrosis of the jaw induced by antiresorptive drugs and provide references for the clinical safety application.Method: According to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), from January 2004 to September 2021, we chose “Osteonecrosis of the jaw (10064658)” and “Exposed bone in jaw (10071014)” as preferred terms, “antiresorptive drugs” as the target drugs, and primary suspect drug as the drug role code in the dataset. We evaluated the association between drugs and adverse events by using reporting odds ratio (ROR) based on disproportionality analysis. We took the High-Level Terms (HLT) of MedDRA® as the classification level of indications to calculate ROR to compare the signal difference of ONJ in different indications. In addition, patients with antiresorptive-induced osteonecrosis of the jaw and the time of onset of the condition following different antiresorptive medications were collected for the study.Results: The FAERS contained 18,421 reports relating to jaw osteonecrosis from January 2004 to September 2021. A total of eight antiresorptive agents were included in the analysis. From high to low, the ROR of ONJ induced by antiresorptive agents (regardless of indication) is pamidronate (ROR = 494.8), zoledronic acid (ROR = 431.9), denosumab (ROR = 194.8), alendronate (ROR = 151.2), risedronate (ROR = 140.2), etidronic acid (ROR = 64.5), ibandronate (ROR = 40.8), and romosozumab (ROR = 6.4). HLT ROR values for “metabolic bone disorders” were the lowest for each drug, while HLT ROR values were high for “tumor-related indications,” including breast and nipple neoplasms malignant, plasma cell myelomas, and prostatic neoplasms malignant. The onset time for osteonecrosis of the jaw as median (Q1, Q3), osteoporosis-related indications, and the onset time for ONJ were 730 (368, 1268), 489.5 (236.3, 909.8), 722.5 (314, 1055), 761 (368, 1720), and 153 (50, 346) for zoledronic acid, denosumab, ibandronate, risedronate, and romosozumab, respectively. Cancer-related indications: the onset time for ONJ were 680.5 (255.3, 1283), 488 (245, 851), and 696.5 (347, 1087) for zoledronic acid, denosumab, and pamidronate, respectively.Conclusion: When antiresorptive drugs are used for metastasis, they have the largest risk signal, followed by malignancy, and the smallest is osteoporosis. The onset time of ONJ may not be related to the indications. The onset time of ONJ for BPs was about 2 years, denosumab about 1.3 years, and romosozumab less than 1 year, which may be related to sequential treatment. When used according to the instructions, the risk of ONJ caused by denosumab was higher than that of zoledronic acid, regardless of the indication. Based on these findings, researchers will continue to monitor and identify risk factors.

Selenium-bridged bis(β-cyclodextrin)s organic-inorganic hybrid silica material with regular spherical shape as new type of chiral stationary phase was directly synthesized under the one-pot hydrothermal synthesis method, and the chiral stationary phase was further characterized by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, and elemental analysis. The results of chiral separation showed that eight chiral compounds including various types of chiral alcohols and flavanone were successfully separated in the reversed-phase separation mode by high performance liquid chromatography, which showed the better chiral resolution effect than that on the C2 position of single β-cyclodextrin. The mechanism of chiral separation was likely due to multiple interactions such as inclusion, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction, dipole-dipole interaction, and the synergistic effect of two cyclodextrins during the chiral resolution process. The synergy of the two cyclodextrins has great potential for development in chiral resolution.

Background Alzheimer's disease (AD), as a neurodegenerative condition, is one of the leading causes of dementia. Our study aims to explore the key genes of Xingnaojing (XNJ) for treatment of AD by integrated microarray analysis and network pharmacology. Methods The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in AD compared with normal control. According to these DEGs, we performed the functional annotation, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction. The network pharmacology was used to explore the potential targets of XNJ in the treatment of AD. The expression level of selected candidate genes was validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results A total of 1,424 DEGs (620 genes were upregulated and 804 genes were downregulated) between AD and normal control were obtained. The functional annotation results displayed that neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, regulation of actin cytoskeleton, Estrogen signaling pathway and notch signaling pathway were significantly enriched pathways in AD. Comparing the target genes of four active ingredients, a total of 16 shared genes were found. Among which, HTR2A and ADRA2A were also enriched in pathway of neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. The expression of 4 DEGs (SORCS3, HTR2A, NEFL, and TAC1) was validated by qRT-PCR. Except for TAC1, the other 3 DEGs in AD were consistent with our integrated analysis. Conclusions The results of this study may provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of AD and indicate potential therapeutic targets for AD.

Imidacloprid (IMI) is a widely used neonicotinoid pesticide in the world, its environmental and human health risk has particularly attracted the attention of researchers. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), an active polyphenol of propolis, has many pharmacological activities including free radical scavenger, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant. In this study, protective effect of CAPE against IMI induced liver injury in mice was performed. Administration of 1 and 2.5 mg/kg CAPE markedly prevented serum AST and ALT increase in 5 mg/kg IMI-induced mice. CAPE significantly downregulated liver NO generation and lipid peroxidation, and upregulated glutathione, catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in a dose-dependent manner in liver of IMI-induced mice. Endoplasmic reticulum stress represented by the swelling of endoplasmic reticulum was observed by transmission electron microscope in IMI group. Pretreatment of 2.5 mg/kg CAPE significantly attenuated the endoplasmic reticulum stress induced by IMI in liver. Western blot analysis illustrated that pretreatment of CAPE downregulated the upregulation of TNF-α and IFN-γ induced by IMI in liver of mice. Moreover, the increase of positive apoptotic hepatocytes further suggested apoptosis might be involved in IMI-induced hepatotoxicity. Pretreatment of 1 and 2.5 mg/kg CAPE significantly decreased positive apoptotic hepatocytes, suggested that CAPE prevented apoptosis in liver of IMI-induced mice. In conclusion, CAPE prevented liver injury in IMI-induced mice via attenuation of oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, inflammation and apoptosis. Our findings may have broad biological and environmental implications for future research on the therapeutic strategy to prevent liver injury induced by pesticides.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of ability level principle based on human resource management on quality and satisfaction of ward nursing in surgical nursing management. Methods: A total of 38 surgical nursing staff in the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University were selected as subjects of study. Ability level management mode based on human resource management was adopted in surgical nursing from July to December 2017. Quality and satisfaction of surgical nursing were compared with those before implementation (January-June 2017). Results: Scores of basic nursing, disinfection and isolation, ward management, intensive care, document writing, nursing safety, and technical operation after implementation of ability level management were significantly higher than those before implementation (all p<0.001). Satisfaction scores of nurses and hospitalized patients after implementation of ability level management were remarkably higher than those before implementation (both p<0.001). Conclusion: Ability level principle based on human resource management can effectively increase surgical nursing quality, improve nurse job satisfaction and patient satisfaction, and facilitate the continuous improvement of nursing management.

A sequential cloud point extraction method was established for the determination of trace mercury species in water samples by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HGAFS). The proposed extraction system consisted of two chief steps: isolation of inorganic mercury (Hg2+) by chelating with potassium-iodide and methyl green, and then isolation of methyl mercury (CH3Hg+) by chelating with ammonium pyrrolidine-dithiocarbamate. The nonionic surfactant Triton X-114 was chosen as the extractant, while the brominating agent was applied to convert extracted CH3Hg+ into Hg2+. Before HGAFS detection, the two surfactant-rich phases obtained in the sequential process were separately diluted to 3 mL with 5% (v/v) HCl after the addition of antifoam (0.4 mL). The effects of experimental conditions, including pH and concentration of surfactant and chelating agents, on cloud point extraction were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the limits of detection for Hg2+ and CH3Hg+ were 0.007 and 0.018 mu g/L with the enrichment factors of 15.1 and 11.2, respectively. The proposed method was successfully used for the determination of trace Hg2+ and CH3Hg+ in water samples with satisfactory recoveries of 95-104%.

A sensitive method based on cloud point extraction was developed for the separation and preconcentration of 12 phenolic compounds (hydroquinone, resorcinol, catechol, phenol, β-naphthol, bisphenol A, α-naphthol, 4-tert-butylphenol, 4-tert-octylphenol, nonylphenol, octylphenol, and 4-n-nonylphenol) from environmental water samples for subsequent analysis by high performance liquid chromatography. The nonionic surfactant Tergitol 15-S-7 was chosen as the extractant. The analytes were detected using a fluorescence detector. Gradient elution was performed with a mobile phase mixture of acetonitrile and water at a flow rate of 1.0mLmin−1. Various experimental parameters affecting the analytical performance were optimized in detail. Under the optimum conditions, the correlation coefficients were all above 0.997 and the limit of detection range for the analytes was 0.03 to 8.5μgL−1. The proposed approach was successfully applied to the determination of 12 analytes in environment water samples with good recoveries (88.7%–106%).