Efficacy of the herbal pair, Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae and Eucommiae Cortex, in preventing glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in the zebrafish model / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE@#In traditional Chinese medicine, the herbal pair, Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae (RAB) and Eucommiae Cortex (EC), is widely used to treat osteoporosis. Herein, we determined whether this herbal pair can be used to ameliorate glucocorticoid (GC)-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) and find its optimal dosage in zebrafish.@*METHODS@#The characteristics of the aqueous extract of RAB and EC were separately characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography. Osteoporosis was induced in 5-day post-fertilization zebrafish larvae by exposing them to 10 μmol/L dexamethasone (Dex) for 96 h. Seven combinations of different ratios of RAB and EC were co-administered. Treatment efficacy was determined by calculating zebrafish vertebral area and sum brightness, via alizarin red staining, and by detecting alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the optimal dosage ratio.@*RESULTS@#According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2015), β-ecdysone (β-Ecd) is a major bioactive marker in RAB extract, while pinoresinol diglucoside (PDG) is the major marker in EC extract. Both of β-Ecd and PDG content values aligned with the Chinese Pharmacopoeia standards. Treatment with 10 μmol/L Dex reduced zebrafish vertebral area, sum brightness, and ALP activity, but RAB and EC attenuated these effects. Combining 50 µg/mL RAB and 50 µg/mL EC was optimal for preventing GIOP in zebrafish. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to evaluate the mRNA expression of osteogenesis-related genes. A treatment of 10 μmol/L Dex decreased runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1), bone γ-carboxyglutamic acid-containing protein (BGLAP), and β-catenin levels. This effect was counteracted by RAB and EC co-treatment (P < 0.05). Additionally, the effect of using the two herbal extracts together was better than single-herb treatments separately. These results demonstrated that RAB and EC preserve osteoblast function in the presence of GC. The best mass ratio was 1:1.@*CONCLUSION@#RAB and EC herbal pair could ameliorate GC-induced effects in zebrafish, with 1:1 as the optimal dosage ratio.

3D bioactive cell-free-scaffolds for in-vitro/in-vivo capture and directed osteoinduction of stem cells for bone tissue regeneration.

Hydrophilic bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) is easily degraded and difficult to load onto hydrophobic carrier materials, which limits the application of polyester materials in bone tissue engineering. Based on soybean-lecithin as an adjuvant biosurfactant, we designed a novel cell-free-scaffold of polymer of poly(ε-caprolactone) and poly(lactide-co-glycolide)-co-polyetherimide with abundant entrapped and continuously released BMP2 for in vivo stem cell-capture and in situ osteogenic induction, avoiding the use of exogenous cells. The optimized bioactive osteo-polyester scaffold (BOPSC), i.e. SBMP-10SC, had a high BMP2 entrapment efficiency of 95.35%. Due to its higher porosity of 83.42%, higher water uptake ratio of 850%, and sustained BMP2 release with polymer degradation, BOPSCs were demonstrated to support excellent in vitro capture, proliferation, migration and osteogenic differentiation of mouse adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (mADSCs), and performed much better than traditional BMP-10SCs with unmodified BMP2 and single polyester scaffolds (10SCs). Furthermore, in vivo capture and migration of stem cells and differentiation into osteoblasts was observed in mice implanted with BOPSCs without exogenous cells, which enabled allogeneic bone formation with a high bone mineral density and ratios of new bone volume to existing tissue volume after 6 months. The BOPSC is an advanced 3D cell-free platform with sustained BMP2 supply for in situ stem cell capture and osteoinduction in bone tissue engineering with potential for clinical translation.

An integrated assessment and spatial-temporal variation analysis of neonicotinoids in pollen and honey from noncrop plants in Zhejiang, China.

Recent studies have shown that neonicotinoids in pollen and honey (collected by honeybees) are likely to pose risks to honeybees. However, data on the integrated residue and spatial-temporal variation of neonicotinoids from noncrop plants, the principle sources of pollen for honey bees, are very limited, especially in China. In this study, we employed a novel assessment method based on the relative potency factor to calculate the integrated residue of seven neonicotinoids in pollen and honey samples collected from noncrop plants in 12 stations of Zhejiang province in three consecutive months. The integrated concentration of neonicotinoids (IMIRPF) ranged from no detected (ND) to 34.93 ng/g in pollen and ND to 8.51 ng/g in honey. Acetamiprid showed the highest detection frequency of 41.7%, followed by clothianidin (33.3%) and dinotefuran (22.2%). The highest IMIRPF occurred in April for stations in the fringe areas of Zhejiang province, whereas for stations in the central areas of Zhejiang province, the IMIRPF in May was relatively higher than the other two months. In terms of spatial change, the pollution variation of pollen samples in Lin'an-Tonglu-Pujiang was relative highly polluted-lightly polluted-highly polluted. For honey samples, spatial variation showed a single trend, and peak values were found in Wenzhou, which may be attributed to the local climate and farming practices. This fundamental information will be helpful to understand the effects of neonicotinoids on honeybees foraging habits.

Clinical effect of Weitan-Waifu powder combined with acupuncture on postoperative gastroparesis in patients with digestive tract cancer / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective To explore the clinical effect of Weitan-Waifu powder combined with acupuncture on postoperative gastroparesis in patients with digestive tract tumors. Methods Patients with gastric fistula after 97 cases of gastric surgery admitted to our hospital from March 2014 to March 2017 were randomly divided into treatment group (48 cases) and control group (49 case) by random number table method. The control group received routine basic treatment. The treatment group was treated with Weitan-Waifu powder and acupuncture on the basis of the control group. The serum gastrin and gastric juice were compared before and after treatment. The gastrointestinal motility recovery time, gastric tube extraction time, and time of first feeding after surgery were recorded. Results After treatment, the gastric emptying time (38.6 ± 2.9 min vs. 43.1 ± 3.7 min, t=-6.658), gastric tube extraction time (6.6 ± 1.5 d vs. 8.2 ± 1.9 d, t=-4.597), and first feeding time (8.5 ± 2.0 d vs. 12.0 ± 2.9 d, t=-6.906) were significantly lower in the treatment group than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the serum gastrin levels of the treatment group (115.3 ± 8.1 ng/L vs. 107.6 ± 9.5 ng/L, t=4.292) were significantly higher than the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the gastric juice volume (252.8 ± 51.9 ml/d vs. 375.1 ± 88.6 ml/d, t=-8.273) of the treatment group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the clinical treatment effect of the treatment group was of the treatment group better than that of the control group (Z=-2.003, P=0.045). Conclusions The Weitan-Waifu powder combined with acupuncture and moxibustion for postoperative gastroparesis in patients with digestive tract tumors can effectively shorten the treatment time, improve serum gastrin levels, and improve the therapeutic effect.

Study on wavelength overlapping HPLC fingerprint and multi-component content determination of Danshen / 中国中药杂志

This project was launched to and establish the wavelength overlapping HPLC fingerprint for Danshen and determine the contents of 7 component in Danshen. The chromatographic fingerprints were built by using Agilent Eclipse Plus C_(18)( 4. 6 mm×100 mm,3. 5 μm) as stationary phase and 0. 1% formic acid solution( A)-acetonitrile( B) as mobile phase with gradient elution( 0-5 min,10%-20% B; 5-20 min,20%-30% B; 20-25 min,30%-50% B; 25-40 min,50%-65% B; 40-45 min,65%-80% B; 45-46 min,80%-10% B; 46-50 min,10% B) at a flow rate of 1 mL·min~(-1). The column temperature was maintained at 30 ℃ and the detection wavelength was set at 250,280,310 and 340 nm. The technique of wavelength overlapping fingerprint was established and the contents of 7 indicative compounds have been determined in this method. The results of wavelength overlapping HPLC fingerprint showed all-around information of the fingerprints at 250,280,310 and 340 nm,and the similarity among 17 batches of Danshen was over 0. 828-0. 936. In wavelength overlapping HPLC fingerprint,15 common peaks were selected as the common peaks,and 7 contents of them were indentified as rosmarinic acid,salvianolic acid B,salvianolic acid A,phenolic acid,dihydrotanshinone Ⅰ,tanshinone Ⅰ and tanshinone ⅡA. The results of methodological study demonstrated that the method met the requirements of the determination. The method established in this study is simple,convenient and durable,which can provide a scientific basis for the quality control of Danshen.

Effect of auricular acupoint acupuncture and acupressure on bladder function of the patients with urinary retention after operation / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective To evaluate the effect of auricular acupoint acupressure combined with acupuncture and moxibustion on urinary retention after operation. Methods Ninety patients with urinary retention after operation were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into two groups according to different treatment methods, 45 cases in each group. The control group was treated with acupuncture and moxibustion, while the observation group was treated with auricular acupoint sticking on the basis of the control group. Both groups were treated for 7 days. The urination volume of the two groups was observed 3-5 h, 5-8 h after treatment, and the residual urine volume, maximum urinary flow rate, average urinary flow rate, urination time, bladder compliance (BC), maximum detrusor pressure (MDP) before and 48 h after treatment, and the clinical efficacy were evaluated. Results The urinary outputs of the observation group were significantly higher than this of the control group at 3-5 h and 5-8 h after treatment (t values were 3.189 and 4.325, respectively, P<0.01). After 48 hours of treatment, the maximum urinary flow rate, average urinary flow rate, BC and MDP in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (t values were 5.292, 3.655, 3.364, 5.042 respectively, all Ps<0.01), and the residual urine volume and urination time in the observation group were significantly lower than this in the control group (t values were -5.261, -4.174 respectively, P<0.01). The total effective rate was 95.6% (42/45) in the observation group and 88.9% (40/45) in the control group. There were significant differences in clinical efficacy between the two groups (Z=-2.157, P=0.031). Conclusions The Auricular acupoint pressure with acupuncture can improve the urinary function of patients with urinary retention after operation and improve the clinical efficacy.

Comparative analysis on the quality standards of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, European Pharmacopoeia, Japanese Pharmacopoeia, Korean Pharmacopoeia and Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards / 国际中医中药杂志

Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma is a common traditional Chinese medicine with huge demand. In this paper, quality standards of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Japanese Pharmacopoeia, Korean Pharmacopoeia, European Pharmacopoeia and Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards were compared and analyzed. It aims to understand the similarities and differences of the quality standards of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma between Chinese Pharmacopoeia and other pharmacopoeias, and learn the advantages of them to provide the reference for improving the quality standard of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma.

Jinmaitong alleviates the diabetic peripheral neuropathy by inducing autophagy / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the deregulation of autophagy in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and investigate whether Jinmaitong ( JMT) alleviates DPN by inducing autophagy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>DPN models were established by streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and Schwann cells (SCs) cultured in high glucose medium. The pathological morphology was observed by the improved Bielschowsky's nerve fiber axonal staining and the Luxol fast blue-neutral red myelin staining. The ultrastructure was observed by the transmission electron microscopy. Beclin1 level was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The proliferation of cultured SCs was detected by methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Diabetic peripheral nerve tissues demonstrated pathological morphology and reduced autophagic structure, accompanied with down-regulation of Beclin1. JMT apparently alleviated the pathological morphology change and increased the autophagy [in vivo, Beclin1 integral optical density (IOD) value of the control group 86.6±17.7, DM 43.9±8.8, JMT 73.3 ±17.8, P<0.01 or P<0.05, in vitro Beclin1 IOD value of the glucose group 0.47±0.25 vs the control group 0.88±0.29, P<0.05]. Consequently, inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine resulted in a time- and concentration-dependent decrease of the proliferation of SCs (P<0.05, P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Down-regulation of autophagy in SCs might contribute to the pathogenesis of DPN. JMT alleviates diabetic peripheral nerve injury at least in part by inducing autophagy.</p>

Experimental study on intervention effect of Grifola frondosa on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis / 中国中药杂志

To study the preventive effect of Grifola frondosa on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The rat model of NASH was established by feeding high-fat diets for 12 weeks and intervened with 0.5 g · kg(-1) · d(-1) and 1.0 g · kg(-1) · d(-1) of C. frondosa powder suspensions. The degrees of hepatocyte fatty degeneration and inflammation were observed under the optical microscope with routine HE staining. The NAFLD activity scores (NAS) were calculated. Serum ALT, AST and hepatic TG and CHOL were tested by the biochemical method. The hepatic MDA was examined by thiobarbituric acid method. The hepatic SOD was tested by the xanthine oxidase test. The hepatic GSH-PX activity was determined by the dithio-nitrobenzoic acid method. Hepatic TNF-α and IL-6 were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The NASH model group induced by high-fat diets showed higher hepatic NAS, ser- um ALT, AST, CHOL and hepatic TG, CHOL, MDA, TNF-α, IL-6 (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05) and lower serum TG and hepatic SOD, GSH-PX (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) than the normal control group. After being intervened with different doses of G. frondosa, the NASH group revealed significantly lower hepatic NAS, serum ALT and hepatic TG, CHOL, MDA, TNF-α and IL-6 (P < 0.05) and higher hepatic SOD, GSH-PX (P < 0.05) than the model group. G. frondosa may prevent the further development of NASH by improving the disorder of lipid metabolism in rats with NASH induced by high-fat diets, relieving the level of oxidative stress and reducing the generation of inflammatory cytokines.

[Research on the threshold of Chl-a in Lake Taihu based on microcystins].

Water samples were collected in Lake Taihu from June to October in 2013 in order to investigate the threshold of chlorophyll a (Chl-a). The concentrations of three microcystins isomers (MC-LR, MC-RR, MC-YR) were detected by means of solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The correlations between various MCs and eutrophication factors, for instance of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), chlorophyll a, permanganate index etc were analyzed. The threshold of Chl-a was studied based on the relationships between MC-LR, MCs and Chl-a. The results showed that Lake Taihu was severely polluted by MCs and its spatial distribution could be described as follows: the concentration in Meiliang Bay was the highest, followed by Gonghu Bay and Western Lake, and Lake Center; the least polluted areas were in Lake Xuhu and Southern Lake. The concentration of MC-LR was the highest among the 3 MCs. The correlation analysis indicated that MC-LR, MC-RR, MC-YR and MCs had very positive correlation with permanganate index, TN, TP and Chl-a (P < 0.01). The threshold value of Chl-a was 12.26 mg x m(-3) according to the standard thresholds of MC-LR and MCs in drinking water. The threshold value of Chl-a in Lake Taihu was very close to the standard in the State of North Carolina, which demonstrated that the threshold value provided in this study was reasonable.

A new antibacterial denitroaristolochic acid from the tubers of Stephania succifera.

A new denitroaristolochic acid, demethylaristofolin C (1), together with six known alkaloids, crebanine N-oxide (2), (-)-sukhodianine-ß-N-oxide (3), palmatine (4), corydalmine (5), dehydrocorydalmine (6), and corynoxidine (7), was isolated from the tubers of Stephania succifera. The structure of demethylaristofolin C was elucidated by spectroscopic techniques (UV, IR, 1D, and 2D NMR) and HR-ESI-MS analyses. These compounds exhibited antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains in different degrees.

A new prenylated xanthone from the branches of Calophyllum inophyllum.

The investigation of chemical constituents from the branches of Calophyllum inophyllum Linn led to the isolation of a new prenylated xanthone, named caloxanthone Q (1), together with three known compounds, 2-deprenylrheediaxanthone B (2), jacareubin (3), and 6-deoxyjacareubin (4). Their structures were completely elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods (UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS, 1D NMR, and 2D NMR).

[Therapeutic effect of intradiscal electrothermal therapy for discogenic low back pain].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy and complications of intradiscal electrothermal therapy for treatment of discogenic low back pain. METHODS: Forty patients with discogenic low back pain were treated with intradiscal electrothermal therapy, and the changes in the VAS, functional status and complications after the treatment were analyzed. RESULTS The VAS score was decreased and the functional status improved obviously after the treatment, which caused no severe complications. CONCLUSION: Intradiscal electrothermal therapy is safe and effective to rapidly achieve pain relief and obviously improve the functional status of patients with discogenic low back pain with few complications.

Influence of Cu2+-loaded silicate on the growth performance and microflora of crucian carp Carassius auratus.

We investigated the effects of Cu2+-loaded silicate (CLS) on the growth performance, microflora of skin, gill and intestine, and intestinal morphology of crucian carp Carassius auratus. A total of 225 native wild crucian carp, with an average initial body weight of 20 g, were randomly divided into 5 treatment groups using 3 replicate tanks of 15 fish per group. The dietary treatments were (1) basal diet, (2) basal diet + CuSO4, (3) basal diet + silicate, (4) basal diet + 0.5% CLS and (5) basal diet + 50 mg kg(-1) chlortetracycline (CTC, purity 98.8%). The trial lasted for 60 d. We found that body weight increased slightly while feed conversion ratio decreased in the CLS-treated group compared with the control groups. The total number of aerobic bacteria counted in the intestine of carp fed the diet supplemented with the CLS (i.e. Vibrio sp. and E. coli), was significantly lower (p = 0.05) compared with the control groups and the CTC-treated fish, while lactobacillus counts were significantly higher (p = 0.05). Lactobacilli counts of the intestine increased significantly (p = 0.05). However, the microflora of the skin and gill was not affected by the addition of CuSO4, silicate, CLS or CTC. The height of the villi in the proximal, mid and distal intestine mucosa of the silicate- and CLS-treated groups was found to be longer (p = 0.05) compared with the villi of the control or the CTC-treated fish. Supplementation with CuSO4 had no effect on the microflora and the intestinal morphology (p = 0.05). These results indicate that CLS had an antibacterial activity in vivo, which may help protect the intestinal mucosa from invasion of pathogenic bacteria and their toxins.

Anti-tumor activity of Erythrina variegata L. extract and its mechanism of action / 药学学报

The anti-tumor activities and mechanism of Erythrina variegata L. extract were investigated. Firstly, the MTT method was used to evaluate the inhibitory activity of the Erythrina variegata L. extract on proliferation of cancer cell lines. Moreover, in order to determine its anti-tumor effect in vivo, the Lewis lung cancer mice model was established. By comparing the relative tumor proliferation rates, growth curves, inhibition rates of different groups, the anti-tumor effect was evaluated. Furthermore, the anti-tumor mechanism of Erythrina variegata L. extract was studied by using G-quadruplex stability experiment. In the in vitro anti-liver cancer experiment, the Erythrina variegata L. extract has shown obvious anti-tumor effect on various tumor cells. And in the in vivo experiment, it exhibited significant anti-tumor effect. Besides, from the result of G-quadruplex stability experiment, we can see that the quadruplex structure show increasing T(m) values with increasing amounts of Erythrina variegata L. extract.

Effect of Yangyin Humo Decoction on oral mucomembranous reaction to radiotherapy / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of Yangyin Humo Decoction (YHD) on oral mucomembranous reaction in patients with head-neck tumor undergoing radiotherapy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-Forty-two patients with head-neck tumor undergoing radiotherapy were randomized equally into two groups. The two conventional Western medical treatment was administered to all, including intravenous dripping of 2% lidocaine 20 mL, dexamethasone 5 mg, gentamycin 80,000 units, vitamin B(12) 5 mg, dissolved in saline 250 mL, and 5% sodium bicarbonate solution for gargling, but to the patients in the tested group, YHD was given additionally. The medication was started simultaneously all through the whole course of the radiotherapy. Patients were examined every day to observe and compare the degree, initiating time, and repairing time of their oral lesions; the dosage of radiation they received was recorded as well.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The degree of mucomembranous reaction that appeared in most patients in the test group was of grade 1-2, while in the control group, it was grade 2-3. The average time for oral lesion of 1, 2, 3 grades to be initiated in the test group was 12.0+/-1.1, 11.0+/-1.3 and 10.0+/-0.8 days, respectively, after radiation started, which was later than that in the control group (P<0.01). Moreover, the average repairing time for the lesions of grades 1, 2, and 3 in the test group was 3.0+/-0.7, 10.0+/-1.3 and 19.0+/-0.8 days, which were shorter than those in the control group respectively (P<0.01). The radiation applied on the primary tumor of patients with oral lesion of grade 1-3 in the test group was 24.2+/-2.2, 42.0+/-2.6 and 58.0+/-1.6 Gy on the average, respectively, which were higher than that applied on patients in the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The Chinese herbal preparation YHD could alleviate oral mucomembranous reaction to radiation applied in patients with head-neck tumor.</p>

Lymph node image with ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide and comparison with pathological result / 中国医学科学院学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the characteristics of enhanced magnetic resonance image with ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) in the inflammatory and tumor metastatic rabbit model, and explore its relevance with histologic ultrastructural findings.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 36 New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into lymphadenitis group and metastatic group. Complete Freund's adjuvant was injected into the bilateral dorsal footpads of 18 rabbits to set up ipsilateral lymphadenitis model. The other 18 rabbits received a subcutaneous implantation of VX2 tumor cell suspension (1.5 x 10(7) cells/ml) in both thighs to set up metastatic lymph node model. Magnetic resonance scan were performed 24 hours before and after USPIO (90 micromol Fe/kg) injection. T2 values of each lymph node were measured and lymph node T2 enhancement rate was calculated as well. HE staining, Prussian blue staining, and electronic microscopy were performed to observe the pathological microstructure changes and the distribution of the iron particle in lymph node. Relationship between lymph nodes USPIO enhancement and its microstructures were further analyzed. Results Thirty-six lymph nodes in lymphadenitis group showed different degrees of reactive hyperplasia. Twenty-six lymph nodes in metastatic group were invaded by tumor cell. Non-enhanced scan showed mild difference between T2 signal intensity of the two pathological lymph node types. After USPIO enhancement, inflammatory lymph nodes showed distinct T2 signal reduction at the center, and metastatic lymph nodes showed homogenous and faint T2 signal reduction. Enhancement rate of benign and malignant lymph nodes were 57.39% and 29.45% respectively (P < 0.01). HE staining and Prussian blue staining indicated USPIO particles located mainly in the macrophages at inflammatory lymphatic medulla, while paracortical area and cortical area contained relatively much less USPIO particles due to less macrophages distribution. MRI findings were correlated with the pathological results. Electronic microscopy also verified that the majority of USPIO particles were located in the numerous cytophagic bubbles of macrophages. Lymph nodes metastasis including 4 lymph nodes with completed structure destruction due to entire tumor infiltration, 19 lymph nodes with partially lymph node structure destruction but reduced USPIO-contained macrophage numbers or reduced USPIO particles in macrophages, and 3 lymph nodes with only localized foci tumor metastasis at subcapsular area. Conclusions USPIO enhancement pattern of different lymph nodes is closely related to distribution and functional status of the intra-node macrophages. It may affect the accuracy of the lymph node property diagnosis based on USPIO enhanced image.</p>

Investigation of Paeonia sinjiangensis resources using remote sensing and expert knowledge / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effectiveness and feasibility of remote sensing technology in the rare species of wild plant resources.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The mechanism and characteristics of Paeonia sinjiangensis were analyzed to find the possibility of extracting from TM imagery. An expert system has been used with Landsat Thematic Mapper data to derive P. sinjiangensis. Then logical decision rules were used with the various datasets to assign values.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The land for P. sinjiangensis possible growth were mapped and accuracy tested was approving.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results suggest that the remote sensing expert interpretation system using satellite imagery and ancillary data will be feasible for research of rare wild medicinal plants distribution.</p>

Effect and mechanism of rhubarb on fibrinolysis in secondary damaged central nerve system of rats with acute hemorrhagic stroke / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of rhubarb in treating secondary damage of central nerve system (CNS) in rats with acute hemorrhagic stroke (AHS) and to explore the possible mechanism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The rat's AHS model was established by autologous blood injection, the effect of rhubarb on the secondary damage of CNS, plasminogen (PLG) in brain and tissue type plasminogen activator (t-PA) were observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) The nerve function deficit signs reappeared in about 70% model rats 4 - 6 days after modeling and reached the peak at day 6 - 8, scored as 1.63 +/- 0.72 on day 4 and as 2.32 +/- 1.12 on day 7; (2) Rhubarb could effectively improve the secondary nerve function damage, with the nerve deficit scores kept to 1.24 +/- 0.19 from day 4 on, and no sign of secondary CNS damage was shown. The nerve deficit score was 1.22 +/- 0.15 on day 7 in the rhubarb treated group, showing significant difference as compared with that in the model group (P<0.05); (3) The specific amplified products of t-PA mRNA on day 3 and that of PLG mRNA on day 7 in CNS of model group were significantly higher than those in the sham operated group and the rhubarb treated group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Rhubarb could effectively reduce the secondary CNS damage in rats with AHS, it might be related with the suppressive effect of rhubarb on tPA mRNA and PLG mRNA expression in CNS.</p>

Influence of Electroacupuncture on Serum Leptin in Patients with Simple Obesity / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

To investigate the influence of electroacupuncture on leptin, the serum leptin level was observed by radioimmunoassay before and after electroacupuncture treatment in 30 patients with simple obesity. After stimulation of electroacupuncture, serum leptin level dropped in the patients with simple obesity.