Ronald Malt or Chen Zhongwei: Who performed the first surgical replantation?

This article discusses the contributions of the two pioneers of the surgical procedure of replantation-Ronald Malt in the US and Chen Zhongwei in China. Ronald Malt performed the reattachment surgery on a boy who had an accident in 1962, but he published his case report two years later in 1964. Chen Zhongwei performed a similar surgery on a worker who cut off his forearm in 1963, but he published his case report the same year. There is some debate about which one of these reputed surgeons should be given credit for being the first one to perform this breakthrough surgery, because although Malt was the first to perform the procedure, Zhongwei was the first to report it. To shed light on this controversy, criteria for scientific priority suggested by Ronald Vale and Anthony Hyman were applied. Although the criteria mainly favored Zhongwei as the pioneer of this procedure, he did not entirely fulfill one of the criteria. Therefore, the article could not present a definitive answer to the question, and it concludes by pointing out the highly commendable achievements and contributions of both Ronald Malt and Chen Zhongwei.

Yoshitaka Komiya's visits to China and schistosomiasis investigation.

This article is about a Japanese parasitologist, Yoshitaka Komiya (1900-1976), who was invited to China for a schistosomiasis investigation in 1956. In 1955, Chairman Mao initiated a national campaign to eliminate schistosomiasis, which at that time was still common in southern China, and for this purpose, the People's Republic of China invited Yoshitaka Komiya to China. He published a report based on his observations during this visit. This article aims to explore the meaning of Komiya's visit to the People's Republic of China and his observations about the anti-schistosomiasis campaign.

Surface Property Modification of Silver Nanoparticles with Dopamine-Functionalized Poly(pentafluorostyrene) via RAFT Polymerization.

This research aims to synthesize a dopamine-functionalized macromolecular anchor to perform surface modification on the target nanostructures. A molecular anchor, 3,4-dichloro-1-[2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethyl]-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione, was successfully synthesized from dopamine and 2,3-dichloromaleic anhydride. The anchor acted as a linkage to couple the chains of poly(pentafluorostyrene) (PPFS) which were synthesized via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Modification was successfully performed to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by deposition of the dopamine-functionalized coupled PPFS onto the surface of the particles. The modified AgNPs had demonstrated improved dispersibility in organic solvent due to the hydrophobic nature of PPFS. To modify the surface chemistry of the nanoparticles further, thioglucose was grafted onto the structure of the coupled PPFS via thiol-fluoro nucleophilic substitution at the para-position of the pentafluorophenyl groups on the monomer units. The presence of sugar moieties on the coupled PPFS increased its hydrophilicity, which allowed the modified AgNPs to be readily dispersed in aqueous solvent.

Bias and other limitations affect measures of journals in integrative and complementary medicineKa-wai Fan, PhD.

Publishing articles in a prestigious journal is a golden rule for university professors and researchers nowadays. Impact factor, journal rank, and citation count, included in Science Citation Index managed by Thomson Reuters Web of Science, are the most important indicators for evaluating the quality of academic journals. By listing the journals encompassed in the "Integrative and Complementary Medicine" category of Science Citation Index from 2003 to 2013, this paper examines the publication trends of journals in the category. The examination includes number, country of origin, ranking, and languages of journals. Moreover, newly listed or removed journals in the category, journal publishers, and open access strategies are examined. It is concluded that the role of journal publisher should not be undermined in the "Integrative and Complementary Medicine" category.

Copolymerization of an indazole ligand into the self-polymerization of dopamine for enhanced binding with metal ions.

5,6-Dihydroxy-1H-indazole (DHI) is able to self-polymerize through the same mussel-inspired chemistry responsible for generating poly(dopamine) (PDA), demonstrating the potential to expand this class of catecholamine-exclusive chemistry onto heterocyclic catechol derivatives for the preparation of functional materials. Although DHI exhibits slower polymerization kinetics compared to dopamine, the two chemical species are compatibly polymerizable under the same reaction conditions and allow the preparation of copolymer coatings in different molar ratios. Of these copolymers, the 1 : 3-copolymer (DHI-to-dopamine ratio) has demonstrated adequate structural stability as a polymer coating. While PDA performs as an intact framework, the incorporated DHI enhances the colloidal stability and provides additional coordinating functionality through the pyrazole moieties. The 1 : 3-copolymer was fabricated into polymer capsules which exhibit negligible cytotoxicity towards murine dermal fibroblasts (L929) and enhanced binding behaviour towards copper(ii). This represents a new channel for fabricating cargo carriers for biomedical applications that involve the use of transition metal-based species.

Central-provincial relations for anti-schistosomiasis policy in china.

This paper discusses central-local relations for healthcare policy in China from a principal-agent perspective, based on schistosomiasis control. In order to control the disease, the central government produced the Outline of the Mid-Long-Term National Plan for Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control (2004-2015) in 2004. By discussing the implementation of the National Outline at the provincial level, the author uses principal-agent theory to examine conflict and coordination between the central and provincial governments. The documents were collected from the Internet. Although the central and provincial governments all want to eliminate schistosomiasis, allocating funding among them creates conflict and forms an obstacle to achieving the goal. This paper extensively discusses the topics related to central-provincial relation and schistosomiasis control program. Further case study on a single province may be needed to intensify the discussion from a micro perspective. The conflict between central and provincial relations needs to be resolved in order to implement the national policy.

Couching for cataract: advanced medical achievements of China in 1976?

Cataracts have been a common disease in China for centuries. As early as the Tang dynasty, physicians of Chinese medicine had developed 'jin pi shu', a method of couching, to cure the disease. In 1976, a new method, invented by Tang Youzhi, was acknowledged as one of the most advanced medical achievements in communist China. This paper explores the significance of Tang's method for Mao Zedong's China. Tang's method achieved two goals set by Chairman Mao for medical and health policies: to serve rural China and to integrate Chinese and Western medicine.

Hong Kong homeopathy: how it arrived and how it connected with Chinese medicine.

Translated as 'Shunshi Liaofa' in Mandarin, homeopathy received considerable attention from local physicians, thanks to Dr Heribert Schmidt who shared his views on the similarities between this western medical therapy and Chinese medicine during his visit to Hong Kong in 1954. Considered widely as non-scientific and superstitious, Chinese medicine was pushed to the periphery during the 1950s. On the contrary, adopted by western advanced countries, homeopathy was generally regarded as scientific and reliable. Schmidt's acknowledgement of the scientific roots of Chinese medicine excited many traditional therapists. The purpose of this paper is to trace the history of how homeopathy was introduced to Hong Kong and discuss its relationship with scientification of Chinese medicine.

Dr Heribert Schmidt's (1914-95) visit to Hong Kong in 1954 and the exchange of Chinese medicine between Hong Kong and Germany.

Heribert Schmidt, a German doctor, was an expert on Chinese medicine and acupuncture. He was renowned in both clinical practice and research on acupuncture in Germany and European countries. In March 1954 he visited Hong Kong and the visit attracted much attention and sparked discussions on the value of Chinese medicine. This paper aims to analyse the speech made by Heribert Schmidt during his visit to Hong Kong and also the follow-up discussions about scientification of Chinese medicine after his speech. The situation in which Chinese medical staff were pushed to the periphery in Hong Kong since the 1950s is also discussed. This should help us better to understand how practitioners of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong and Mainland China reacted to Heribert Schmidt's speech.

Chinese medicine courses on the Internet.

Twelve websites are introduced that are the courses on Chinese medicine included in Jing Pin Kecheng (launched by the Ministry of Education of the People' s Republic of China). The websites provide free, searchable and peer-reviewed course materials on Chinese medicine. Anyone who is interested in Chinese medicine should not ignore these website resources.

Couching for cataract and Sino-Indian medical exchange from the sixth to the twelfth century AD.

This paper investigates the processes of interpretation and integration of the Indian ophthalmic technique known as 'couching for cataract' into Chinese medicine from the sixth to the twelfth century ad. The Indian medical knowledge of this procedure was eventually accepted because it could be reconstructed following Chinese medical concepts.

Jiao Qi disease in medieval China.

The disease, Jiao Qi, thought by modern scholars to be beriberi, was prevalent in medieval China. This article reviews the research literature, both ancient and modern, concerning the history of Jiao Qi, and evaluates the research methods used by modern scholars writing about Jiao Qi. The article emphasizes the importance of considering not only the symptoms of the disease but also its epidemiological features, including environmental aspects, and the therapeutic measures employed to treat it. The current author concludes that there are problems with the historical materials, such as inconsistency and bias, and that limitations are inherent in the approaches used to identify an ancient disease according to modern medical criteria.

Online research databases and journals of Chinese medicine.

This paper introduces journals and other research resources about Chinese medicine available online. Web sites are categorized under four headings: databases, comprehensive journals, acupuncture journals, and history and philosophy of Chinese medicine. It may assist interested people in furthering their studies.