124 results about "Lespedeza" patented technology

The invention discloses a method for planting buerger lespedeza root. The method mainly comprises the following steps of: (1) performing seminal propagation, namely, collecting seeds, screening and storing seeds, selecting a seedbed land and performing land preparation, treating the seeds, sowing seeds, performing management before seedling emergence, performing management after seedling emergence and pulling up seedlings; (2) performing cuttage propagation, namely, selecting a land, selecting a seedbed land and performing land preparation, making preparations for cutting propagation, performing cottage, performing seedling exercising and performing field management; (3) transplanting the seedlings to the field, namely, selecting a land, performing land preparation, applying base fertilizer, transplanting the seedlings and filling gaps with seedlings; and (4) performing field management. Indexes of the buerger lespedeza root planted by the method are accordant with the content requirement in Traditional Chinese medicine good aquaculture practices (GAP); the annual output of a 5-year-old buerger lespedeza root medicinal material is up to between 550 and 700 kilograms/mu (a Chinese unit) (fresh) and between 200 and 300 kilograms/mu (dry); standardized large area planting of buerger lespedeza root can be performed, planting investment is small and benefit is high; the development of buerger lespedeza root industry in a mountainous area can create considerable social and economic benefits and bring good ecological environment benefits.

The invention relates to traditional Chinese medicine for preventing and curing livestock and poultry virosis, which comprises and is made from the following raw materials by weight proportion: 8-12 proportions of goldthread root, 6-10 proportions of flos lonicerae, 8-12 proportions of forsythiae, 10-15 proportions of manyflower glorybower root, 10-15 proportions of dandelion, 5-8 proportions of liquorice, 10-15 proportions of lespedeza, 5-8 proportions of atractylodes sinensis and 10-15 proportions of grifola. The combined use of medicines of the invention can prevent and cure livestock and poultry virosis safely and effectively, eliminate accumulation of viruses in livestock and poultry, promote growth of livestock and poultry, and has particular effect in preventing and curing of hog plague, foot-and-mouth disease, angiostrongyliasis, Gongxingti, streptococcus, mildew, oedema, heart disorderly inflammation and mixed infection, wherein, the preventing rate is as high as over 95 percent and the recovery rate is as high as 90 percent.

The present invention provides methods and compositions for controlling gastrointestinal parasitic infections in animals. More specifically, the invention involves the use of sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata), commonly referred to as Chinese bush clover, in the diet of animals to control nematodal gastrointestinal infections.

The present invention relates to a specific Chinese medicine oral paste preparation with the functions of nourishing liver and kidney, supplementing qi, nourishing blood, regulating the function among the viscera, strengthening kidney and bones, blackening hair, moistening hair and prolonging life for effectively curing poliosis and alopecia and its preparation method. Said specific Chinese medicine oral paste preparation is made up by using the Chinese medicinal materials of cistanche stem, eucommia bark, fresh ganoderma, fresh Chinese angelica root, fresh mulberry, poria, sericea lespedeza, cinnamon bark, walnut kernel, black sesame, prepared flowery knotweed root, rock candy and water through a certain preparation process.

The invention relates to traditional Chinese medicine liquid for treating diabetes, prepared by the following steps of: selecting bidens pilosa, betony, evolvulus alsinoides, Japanese polygala, balloon vine, barbat skullcap, herba portulacae, sambucus chinensis, buddhas lamp twig and leaf, pogonatherum crinitum, herba osbeckiae, anoectochilus formosanus hayata, Chinese lespedeza and clinopodium gracile, removing impurities, then washing and chipping; putting together in proportion, adding a proper amount of water for soaking for 24-30 hours, boiling to 100 DEG C, continuing decocting for 2-30 minutes, and then filtering to obtain the liquid medicine, namely the traditional Chinese medicine liquid. The traditional Chinese medicine liquid is an externally applied agent for treating diabetes, is painless and has no toxic side effect when used by patients, and has abundant sources of raw materials, low price and convenience in preparation.

The invention discloses a bionic compound management method of ampelopsis grossedentata, woody oil-bearing crops and mountain rice. The bionic compound management method comprises the following steps: directly cutting and cultivating the ampelopsis grossedentata at an inner side of a foundation horizontal cultivation zone planted with the woody oil-bearing crops in a high-ridge film laminating manner, wherein the ampelopsis grossedentata grows along a slope in a clinging manner; when cutting the ampelopsis grossedentata to realize forestation, intercropping lespedeza cunecta at the outer edge of the horizontal cultivation zone; dibbling mountain rice seeds at a part which is 5cm to 50cm far away from crown width edges of the woody oil-bearing crops, wherein a cultivation line spacing between the mountain rice, which is the closest to the lespedeza cunecta, and the lespedeza cunecta is 10cm to 20cm, and a cultivation line spacing between the mountain rice, which is the closest to the ampelopsis grossedentata, and the ampelopsis grossedentata is 25cm to 30cm. According to the method disclosed by the invention, all crops are reasonably distributed, and the lespedeza cunecta is inclined for a certain angle in a light facing manner by adopting the specific spacing, and proper top shielding is manufactured for the ampelopsis grossedentata at the inner side of the horizontal cultivation zone of the lower side; the bionic compound management method is a planting method which is suitable for mutual promotion and symbiosis of the woody oil-bearing crops, the mountain ice and the ampelopsis grossedentata, can obtain incomes from a forest land in advance and enables crop seedlings in the forest land to grow better.

The present invention discloses a medicine which is used for preventing and treating chicken aspergillosis. The ingredients have the following weight portions: 5 to 20 portions of lance asiabell root, 5 to 20 portions of cordate houttuynia, 5 to 20 portions of dandelion, 5 to 20 portions of ajuga ciliata, 5 to 20 portions of radix scutellariae, 3 to 12 portions of balloon-flower root, 3 to 12 portions of fried Chinese radish seed, 3 to 12 portions of fried draba nemorosa linnei, 3 to 12 portions of fried perilla, 3 to 12 portions of radix sophorae, 2 to 6 portions of pipewort, 2 to 6 portions of sicklesenna seed, 2 to 6 portions of Psoraleae, 2 to 6 portions of bark of pomegranate, 2 to 6 portions of ebony, 2 to 6 portions of rhubarb, 2 to 6 portions of lespedeza, and 2 to 6 portions of licorice. The herbs are insolated, weighed, crushed, filtered by a sieve with 60 to 80 meshes, and mixed well, so as to prepare the medicine. When in clinical use, the medicine is dipped for 30 to 60 minutes in boiling water, so that the effective ingredients can be fully dissolved and separated to facilitate the absorption in the body of the sick chicken. Simultaneously, a small amount of sugar and Vc are added to improve the medicinal effects. The medicine has high cure rate, no adverse reaction, no drug residues in the body, and nearly no drug resistance. The production of the medicine has the advantages of easily accessible raw materials, simple preparation, convenient use, and capability of wide promotion and application in the chicken breeding industry.

The invention relates to medicinal liquor capable of relaxing muscles and stimulating blood circulation rapidly and efficiently. The medicinal liquor is composed of the following materials by weight: 46-50 grams of sanguis draxonis, 50-60 grams of Chinese angelica root, 46-50 grams of safflower, 40-50 grams of frankincense, 46-56 grams of myrrh, 46-50 grams of agilawood, 14-16 grams of borneol, 50-70 grams of radix aucklandiae, 48-50 grams of fructus aurantii, 46-50 grams of radix platycodi, 46-50 grams of rhizoma chuanxiong, 50-60 grams of cortex moutan, 60-70 grams of herba schizonepetae, 60-80 grams of peach kernels, 50-52 grams of lespedeza, 50-56 grams of red paeony root, 30-32 grams of mint and 5,000 g of 53-degree white wine. The medicinal liquor is prepared by immersing pure traditional Chinese medicines, and has definite and significant curative effect and high curative rate. A preparation method is simple; and the medicinal liquor has no side effects to human body.

The invention relates to a traditional Chinese medicinal composition for treating chronic nephritis which is prepared from 45-65 wt% of bicolor lespedeza, 5-15 wt% of baikal skullcap root, 8-20 wt% of shiwei, 8-20 wt% of astragalus root through the steps of extracting, alcohol deposition, decompression, condensing, and drying.

The invention provides wine cubes and belongs to the field of food processing. The wine cubes are formed mainly by sticky rice, oriental stephania roots, lalang grass rhizomes, areca nuts, herbs of pilose gerbera, herbs of ceylon leucas, ardisia crenata sims, Illicium simonsii, crneate lespedeza, licorice, radix asparagi, chrysanthemums, ginseng, the piper wallichii, longhairy antenoron herbs, Christina loosestrife, kudzu vines, licorice roots, paris polyphylla and red wheat. The invention further discloses a preparation method of the wine cubes. The piper wallichii has the good effects of strengthening yang and tonifying yin, dispelling wind and removing obstruction in the meridians, expelling wind-damp and treating waist-leg weakness, then the oriental stephania roots, the lalang grass rhizomes, the areca nuts, the herbs of pilose gerbera, the herbs of ceylon leucas, the ardisia crenata sims, the Illicium simonsii, the crneate lespedeza, the licorice, the radix asparagi, the chrysanthemums, the ginseng, the piper wallichii, the longhairy antenoron herbs, the Christina loosestrife, the kudzu vines, the licorice roots, the paris polyphylla and the red wheat are added, and in this way, the prepared wine cubes are rich in nutrient and free of toxic and side effects by the adoption of the pure natural raw materials.

The invention belongs to the technical field of noodles, and particularly relates to nutrient health-care noodles. The nutrient health-care noodles are characterized by being prepared from the following raw materials in parts by weight: 5-10 parts of oat flour, 100-120 parts of plain flour, 10-12 parts of papaya powder, 5-8 parts of wheat germ powder, 8-10 parts of haws, 8-10 parts of red jujubes, 2-3 parts of purslane, 2-4 parts of radix angelica sinensis angelica, 1-2 parts of rhizoma polygonati, 3-5 parts of galangal, 1-2 parts of ginkgo leaves, 3-4 parts of biond magnolia flowers, 2-5 parts of radix rehmanniae preparata and 2-4 parts of lespedeza striata. The nutrient health-care noodles disclosed by the invention have the beneficial effects that the formula is nutritious and scientific, the content of coarse food grains of the noodles is significantly increased, the nutrient value of the noodles is increased, and diverse requirements for food intake are met.

A preparation method of traditional Chinese medicine lotion for treating closed fracture with syndrome of palpitation belongs to the technical field of preparation methods of traditional Chinese medicine drugs. Presently, Western medicines are generally used to treat the closed fracture with the syndrome of palpitation, and the treatments have certain side effects. According to the technical scheme, the preparation method includes: selecting forty-one Chinese medicinal herbs including, white lablab bean, cubilose, human milk, Chinese date, Chinese yam, wheat seed, Radix Pseudostellariae, black-bone silky fowl, cabbage stem and leaf, dried longan pulp, white atractylodes rhizome, white peony root, American ginseng, angelica root, lotus seed, hairy asiabell root, sharpleaf galangal fruit, astragali root, manyflower solomonseal rhizome, polished round-grained rice, dried ginger, serrate clubmoss herb, tender catchweed bedstraw herb, meadowrue root and rhizome, parslane herb, Chinese coriaria leaf, whiteflower patrinia herb, medicinal changium root, root of lovely hemsleya or largeseed hemsleya, common anemarrhena rhizome, arrowshaped tinospora root, trollflower, honeysuckle flower, spanishneedles herb, heartleaf Houttuynia herb, cuneate lespedeza herb, common St. John's wort herb, stringy stonecrop herb, common leafflower herb, pigeon pea seed, and liquorice root; soaking the Chinese medicinal herbs in water; decocting with slow fire; and filtering to remove residue to obtain decoction which is the traditional Chinese medicine lotion for treating closed fracture with syndromeof palpitation. The preparation method has the advantages that the prepared traditional Chinese medicine liquid has low toxic and side effects, and the cure rate is high.

The invention aims at providing a Chinese medicament for preventing and treating infectious serositis of duck, which consists of the following raw materials in parts by weight: 1 to 5 parts of musk, 1 to 5 parts of xanthiun sibiricum patrin ex wider, 1 to 5 parts of peony flower, 1 to 5 parts of plantain seed, 1 to 5 parts of myrrh, 5 to 10 parts of climbing groundsel herb, 5 to 10 parts of Japanese climbing fern spore, 5 to 10 parts of folium isatidis, 5 to 10 parts of cistanche, 5 to 10 parts of Chinese lespedeza, 10 to 15 parts of mint, 10 to 15 parts of honeysuckle, 10 to 15 parts of radix curcumae, 10 to 15 parts of asparagus, 10 to 15 parts of mulberry, 15 to 20 parts of polygonum multiflorum, 15 to 20 parts of red ginseng, 15 to 20 parts of semen boitae, 15 to 20 parts of tropaeolum majus, and 15 to 20 parts of borneol. The Chinese drugs are baked and crushed into fine powder of between 300 and 400 meshes in the proportion of the prescription, homogenized for 10 to 30 minutes with ultrasonic wave at a temperature of between 0 and 10 DEG C, and subpackaged to obtain the finished product. The Chinese medicament for preventing and treating infectious serositis of duck does not have drug resistance, and is safe and effective.

The invention discloses a tranquilizing crisp-fried shelled melon seed and a manufacturing method thereof. The melon seed is composed of following raw materials in parts by weight: 900 to 1000 parts of melon seed, 2 to 3 parts of limonium sinense, 1 to 2 parts of hyacinth bean flower, 1 to 2 parts of lungwortlike lobaria herb, 2 to 3 parts of polyalthia nemoralis, 1 to 2 parts of lespedeza, 2 to 3 parts of bighead atractylodes rhizome, 1 to 2 parts of radix codonopsis, 2 to 3 parts of poria cocos, 2 to 3 parts of villous amomum fruit, 1 to 2 parts of hamamelis mollis, 5 to 10 parts of rose, 10 to 20 parts of siberian nitraria fruit, 40 to 60 parts of milk, 5 to 15 parts of salt, and 15 to 25 parts of white sugar. The tranquilizing crisp-fried shelled melon seed has a crispy and fresh taste and rich and coordinated nutrition, wherein rhodiola rosea is added to enable the melon seed to have the functions of engendering blood, activating blood, nourishing primordial qi, and improving the sleep quality, and polygala tenuifolia and albizia bark are added to enable the melon seed to have the functions of exploiting intelligence, tranquilizing, dispelling melancholy, relieving symptoms of unease, melancholy, and insomnia, and keeping people healthy.

The invention discloses a Chinese herbal medicine feed additive capable of reducing ruminant methane output and improving feed utilization efficiency, and a preparation method thereof; the Chinese herbal medicine feed additive is formed by crushing and mixing the following traditional Chinese medicine raw materials by mass: 110-150 parts of crowtoe, 80-130 parts of lespedeza, 90-130 parts of chinese soapberry, 30-90 parts of balloonflower root, and 50-100 parts of gynostemma pentaphylla; the Chinese herbal medicine feed additive takes 4%-10% in proportion in fine fodder supplement material of the ruminant; the ruminant fine fodder supplement material containing the Chinese herbal medicine feed additive takes 30-60% in proportion in full mixing daily food of the ruminant like cows and sheep. The Chinese herbal medicine feed additive is green, safe, environmental protection, substantial in effect, can solve the problems of carcinogenesis, mutagenesis effect, medicament residual and drug resistance caused by abuse of various antibiotic and chemical additives, thereby providing technology support of continuous development of the ruminant.

The invention relates to an anti-tumor effective part of lespedeza extract and a preparation method thereof. The effective part is selected from one or the combination of a part A, an ethyl acetate part B, a normal butyl alcohol part C and a part D, wherein the part A is obtained by precipitating water solution of extracting solution extracted from lespedeza root under reflux of ethanol after ethanol recovery, the ethyl acetate part B is obtained by extracting the water solution with ethyl acetate, the normal butyl alcohol part C is obtained by extracting the water solution extracted by ethyl acetate with normal butyl alcohol, and the part D is finally obtained by concentrating and drying the treated water solution. Researches prove that the part can treat blood tumor, hysteromyoma, breast cancer and oophoroma. Therefore, the effective part can be used for preparing anti-tumor medicaments.

The invention belongs to the technical field of agricultural planting and aims at providing a shiitake mushroom cultivation method simple in technology and enabling yield to be high. According to the specific technological scheme, the shiitake mushroom cultivation method comprises the steps: 1, basic materials including 30-120 parts of wheat bran, 160-200 parts of white sugar, 70-200 parts of sawdust, 70-150 parts of lespedeza particles, 20-40 parts of gypsum, 20-50 parts of calcium hydroxide and 300-500 parts of water are adopted according to a formula; 2, a strain medium is prepared, namely all basic materials are evenly mixed, bagged and sterilized; 3, 15-20 parts of potato, 2-4 parts of agar, 2-3 parts of cane sugar, 0.02-0.04 part of citric acid and 600-700 parts of water are adopted according to a liquid strain formula; 4, a liquid strain is prepared; 5, inoculation is prepared; 6 cultivation is performed for fruiting.

A health-care tea for the patients of frequent urination, urgent micturition, urethremorrhage, sore throat, cough, etc is proportionally prepared from hairy grape vine, shrub lespedeza stern and leaf, and redbead vine.

The invention discloses a method for rapidly repairing a south metal tailing sand reservoir by using lespedeza container seedlings. The method comprises the following steps: (1) drying lespedeza seeds collected in the diggings, cultivating the seedlings in a greenhouse in the first and middle ten-day of March; (2) while the seedlings are grown to 12-15 cm, transplanting the seedlings to a new non-woven fabric container, and adjusting a soil matrix according to the tailing sand soil fertility feature and the moisture and fertilizer retention capability; (3) selecting the strong lespedeza non-woven fabric container seedlings with a developed root system in the middle and last ten-day of May, transplanting by using a method that the planting is carried out while the hole is digged, and digging the hole and planting according to 1 m X 1m of the line spacing; (4) after planting the lespedeza, uniformly stirring the soaked grass seeds of grass family and a calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer of nitrogen and phosphorus, and broadcast-sowing between the rows; and (5) dressing a nitrogen fertilizer in 4 mg/mu every year. After two years of a curing period, the lespedeza is grown well, the tailing sand is covered by dead leaves, and trees and shrubs suitable for the tailing sand site conditions can be planted, so the metal tailing sand reservoir is repaired by planting the repair plants. The method is suitable for repairing the south uncovered metal tailing sand reservoir.

The invention discloses a waxberry beverage containing stevioside and a preparation method thereof. The waxberry beverage is prepared from waxberries, stevioside, erythritol, chitosan, momordica grosvenori, red dates, grapes, blueberries, wild jujube, lespedeza, cape jasmine, apricot kernels, watermelon peel, sand pear, purple perilla, kiwi fruits, lucid ganoderma, common yam roots, kelp, asiatic striga herb, coconut pulp, green tea, codonopsis pilosula, radix polygonati officinalis, the root of kudzu vine, milk powder, citric acid, ethyl maltol, vitamin C and collagen powder. According to the waxberry beverage containing stevioside and the preparation method thereof, the preparation method is simple in process, conditions are mild, and the obtained beverage is delicious and rich in nutrition, has the effects of relieving thirst and heat, meanwhile achieves the good healthcare effect, and can lower the blood glucose and blood fat of the human body, prevent fat and meet the requirements of all kinds of people.

The invention relates to the technical field of agricultural production, and particularly relates to a water and soil conservation method for a slope land in a torreya grandis forest. The water and soil conservation method for the slope land in the torreya grandis forest is characterized by comprising the following steps: arranging a plant buffer zone along the contour line of the slope land, wherein day lily, honeysuckles and lespedeza are planted in the plant buffer zone; excavating a sidehill interception ditch at a position 1 m below the plant buffer zone; arranging a drainage ditch in a natural channel of the slope land; and arranging a sand-setting reservoir at the tail end of the drainage ditch. According to the invention, the water and soil loss of the slope land in the torreya grandis forest can be effectively prevented, and the economic benefits of the slope land in the torreya grandis forest also can be increased.

The invention discloses a composition for cold cough and a preparation method thereof. The medicine comprises fructus anemonis , pond-bottom lichee leaf, carp's gallbladder, human nail, sericea lespedeza, crocodile blood, pond dragon, brackish-water crab, negundo vitex root, white michelia flower, orange peel, Japanese ardisia, sterculia nobilis Smith and macrosolen cochinchinensis (Lour.)Van Tiegh. The preparation method comprises: step A, weighing the above compositions according to the weight fractions in a formula; step B, getting human nail and grinding, drying brackish-water crab and Japanese ardisia in the sun, putting human nail, brackish-water crab and Japanese ardisia into a pot and frying together with stirring under the condition of big fire for 2-5 min; step C, adding the other compositions except for carp's gallbladder into the pot in the step B, adding water with the amount being 10-20 times and boiling for 20-120 min; and step D, adding carp's gallbladder bile into the pot of the step C, so as to obtain the finished product. The invention aims at overcoming disadvantages of the prior art and providing the composition which is reasonable in matching ratio and fast in curative effect and used for treating cold cough. The invention also aims at providing the method for preparing the above composition for cold cough.

The invention discloses a preparation used for treating nephrotic syndromes and achieving dampness resolving and detumescence. The preparation is mainly prepared from, by mass, 9-15 parts of corn stigmas, 7-14 parts of field horsetail, 10-14 parts of melandrium apricum, 4-10 parts of pericarpium arecae, 8-13 parts of lespedeza, 9-12 parts of flour-leaf clovers, 7-15 parts of arundina graminifolia, 6-11 parts of bulbil, 8-15 parts of dwarf lilyturf roots, 6-12 parts of asparagus beans, 9-13 parts of kerria flowers, 7-12 parts of wideleaf osbeckia roots, 6-10 parts of radix cynanchi panicullati, 3-8 parts of semen raphani and 4-8 parts of pagaeophyton scapiflorum. According to the method, materials are scientifically selected, are traditional Chinese medicine materials and are free of obvious toxic and side effects. The formula is obtained according to traditional Chinese medicine dialectical principles and summary of clinical experiences of many years. The preparation has the effects of nourishing the blood and reinforcing qi, strengthening resistance and tonifying the kidney and the like, and is good in treatment effect, low in cost and few in adverse reaction, and people have little economical burden if taking the preparation for a long time.

The invention discloses a traditional Chinese medicine preparation for treating urinary tract infection and a preparation method thereof, and belongs to the field of traditional Chinese medicine. The traditional Chinese medicine preparation comprises the following raw materials of effective components: phyllanthus urinaria, willow twig, rhizoma alismatis, herb of peltateleaf meadowrue, coix seed, grifola, spiny aralia, crneate lespedeza, aeginetia indica, stigma maydis, corydalis, dayflower, caryopteris, yarrow, oriental sheatfish and cymbopogon distans. According to the invention, the medicinal materials selected for the traditional Chinese medicine preparation are appropriate in compatibility; the traditional Chinese medicine preparation conforms to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and the theory of modern medicine and has the efficacies of clearing away heat and discharging fire, tonifying liver and kidney, promoting diuresis and treating stranguria, and nourishing yin and tonifying qi; the traditional Chinese medicine preparation has the advantages of obvious treatment effects on the treatment of the urinary tract infection, high convenience for taking, high safety and reliability, no toxic or side effect, no relapse after recovery, low cost, special effects and high practicability, and the purpose of treating both symptoms and root causes is achieved; the traditional Chinese medicine preparation is worthy of being widely popularized and applied in the clinical.

The invention discloses a traditional Chinese medicine composition for treating swollen sore throat. The composition is prepared from the following raw materials in parts by weight: 20-22 parts of lonicera japonica, 4-5 parts of sweet cane bark, 3-5 parts of radix paeoniae alba, 2-4 parts of cortex phellodendri, 5-6 parts of rhizoma kaempferiae, 10-11 parts of dandelion, 2-4 parts of radix cyathulae, 2-4 parts of cordyceps sinensis, 4-5 parts of oldenlandia diffusa, 2-4 parts of green bristlegrass, 1-3 parts of picria fel-terrae, 2-4 parts of bombyx batryticatus, 4-6 parts of lagedium sibiricum, 3-4 parts of trimeresurus stejnegeri, 8-10 parts of arabian jasmine flower, 3-4 parts of artemisia rupestris, 2-4 parts of sheathed monochoria herb, 1-2 parts of rabdosia lophanthide, 1-2 parts of wedelia chinensis merr and 2-4 parts of taiwan lespedeza flower. All medicinal materials of the traditional Chinese medicine are matched with one another, and have the effects of clearing heat, eliminating phlegm, dispelling wind and heat, moistening lung for removing phlegm and freeing lung to relieve cough. The traditional Chinese medicine composition has a remarkable curative effect on swollen sore throat, is safe, does not have toxic or side effect, and is capable of treating both symptoms and root causes and radically eliminating pains of patients.