The vascular endothelium is a modulator of a variety of biological systems and plays important structural and functional roles in vascular homeostasis. Normal endothelium is antithrombogenic and yet promotes platelet aggregation and coagulation if injured. Moreover, endothelial damage can cause vasospasm, intimal hyperplasia, and arteriosclerotic acceleration. Endothelial injury is harmful even in the absence of disruption of its monolayer integrity.1 However, research in clinical settings has been hindered by the inaccessibility of vascular endothelium in both healthy subjects and patients, owing to the paucity of non invasive methods and specific endothelial markers. Circulating endothelial cells (CEC), released from vascular endothelial cell to peripheral blood, can directly reflect the severity of endothelial damage. Thus far CEC is the only specific direct indicator of vascular injury in vivo. 2ABSTRACT: Background and Purpose: Vascular endothelial cell (VEC) injury represents a major initiating step in the process of atherosclerosis, which may lead to cerebral infarction. "Circulating endothelial cell" (CEC) is an index of ongoing endothelial injury, while intimal-medial thickness (IMT) detected by sounography was used to evaluate the severity of atherosclerosis. However, to our knowledge, there is no study that investigated the relationship of these two determinations. Our study was designed to address correlate CEC with IMT. Methods and Results: The study population consisted of 30 patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI) and 30 ageand sex-matched volunteers as controls. The CEC counts were determined using Hladovec's method. All subjects underwent a 2-dimensional ultrasound examination of both carotid arteries to measure IMT. CEC counts in ACI group were significantly increased compared with control group (4.88±2.14 cells /0.9μl vs 2.73±1.95/0.9μl, P<0.01); IMT in ACI patients was also significantly thicker compared with volunteers (2.72±1.07 mm vs 1.73±0.99 mm, P<0.01). There was positive correlation between CEC counts and maximal carotid artery IMT in both groups (r=0.522, P<0.01 in ACI patients and r=0.395, P<0.05 in healthy volunteers). Conclusions: Circulating endothelial cell counts can directly reflect the vascular injury. CEC counts parallel IMT. The CEC may be an independent predictor of cerebral infarction.RÉSUMÉ: Cellules endothéliales circulantes comme marqueurs potentiels de l'athérosclérose. Contexte et objectif : Une lésion des cellules endothéliales vasculaires constitue une étape majeure initiant le processus de l'athérosclérose et pouvant mener à l'infarctus cérébral. La cellule endothéliale circulante (CEC) est un témoin de la lésion endothéliale active alors que l'épaisseur intima-média (ÉIM) évaluée par ultrasonographie a été utilisée pour déterminer la sévérité de l'athérosclérose. Cependant, à notre connaissance, aucune étude n'a examiné la relation entre ces deux mesures. Le but de notre étude était d'analyser la relation entre la CEC et l'ÉIM. Méthodes et résultats : La pop...

The purpose of this research aimed at preparing gastro-floating sustained-release tablets of troxipide and a further study on in vitro release and in vivo bioavailability. Under the circumstances of direct powder compression, the floating tablets were successfully prepared with HPMC as main matrix material, Carbopol as assistant matrix material, octadecanol as floating agent and sodium bicarbonate as foaming agent to float by gas-forming. The floating time and accumulative release amount as evaluation indexes were utilized to perform pre-experiment screening and single-factor test, respectively, while central composite design response surface method was applied for formulation optimization, followed by in vivo pharmacokinetic study in beagles after oral administration for floating tablets and commercial tablets used as the control. The results indicated that the floating sustained-release tablets held a better capability for floating and drug release and more satisfactory pharmacokinetic parameters, such as a lower Cmax, a prolonged Tmax, but an equivalent bioavailability calculated by AUC0-24 compared to commercial tablets. So a conclusion was finally drawn that the floating sustained-release tablets possessing a good release property could be suitable for demands of design.

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Introduction Reasons for drug shortages are multi-factorial, and patients are greatly injured. So we needed to reduce the frequency and risk of drug shortages in hospitals. At present, the risk of drug shortages in medical institutions rarely used prediction models. To this end, we attempted to proactively predict the risk of drug shortages in hospital drug procurement to make further decisions or implement interventions. Objectives The aim of this study is to establish a nomogram to show the risk of drug shortages. Methods We collated data obtained using the centralized procurement platform of Hebei Province and defined independent and dependent variables to be included in the model. The data were divided into a training set and a validation set according to 7:3. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine independent risk factors, and discrimination (using the receiver operating characteristic curve), calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow test), and decision curve analysis were validated. Results As a result, volume-based procurement, therapeutic class, dosage form, distribution firm, take orders, order date, and unit price were regarded as independent risk factors for drug shortages. In the training (AUC = 0.707) and validation (AUC = 0.688) sets, the nomogram exhibited a sufficient level of discrimination. Conclusions The model can predict the risk of drug shortages in the hospital drug purchase process. The application of this model will help optimize the management of drug shortages in hospitals.