[Research on the origin and development of "Wu shan qi e"].

"Wu shan qi e"(five symptoms with good prognosis and seven with poor prognosis)is a theory used to determine the prognosis of external diseases in traditional Chinese medicine which have been mentioned in many ancient Chinese medicine books and have been valued by external doctors throughout history. However, it has been rarely discussed in modern literature. The theory were first seen in the Taiping Shenghui Fang, and the idea was originated from Ni Shun in Lingshu Yuban."Wu shan qi e"have evolved into many variants through the exertion of medical practitioners throughout history. By reviewing medical books of previous dynasties, it was found that there are two main versions: the Taiping Shenghui Fang version and its derivative versions, and the Waike Zhengzong version and its derivative versions.

[The Japanese emperors' view of epidemic and medical relief in the 8th-10th centuries].

At the end of the 7th century, Chinese medicine was widely spread in the upper class of Japanese society, and Japanese emperors developed a medical based view on epidemics. At the beginning of the 8th century, emperors determined to reform by imitated the Tang to build a state ruled by law.They determine the way of TCM to relieve the epidemic in the form of legislation, and used medical measures in outbreaks on many occasions.However, with the spread of smallpox and other epidemics during the Tenpei year, Japan's backward medical level and poor medical resources were unable to cope with the epidemic, and the emperors turned to the epidemic as calamity. From the late 8th century to the end of 10th century, Japanese emperors responded with Buddhist, Shinto, and Confucian measures. Medical relief gradually became obsolete at the national level. But at the individual level of the emperors, they attached great importance to the use of Chinese medicine for epidemic prevention and treatment, in the mid to late 9th century, medical prevention measures were established in the court through legal means.

[The definition of "Hu-Chang" in Chinese external medicine].

The Hu-Chang theory is widely used in Chinese external medicine diagnosis and treatment, and it has been documented in many archives and recordings. However, its provenance and connotation were still confusing and unclear. It was believed that The Covert Prescription for External Medicine (Mi Chuan Wai Ke Fang) by Zhao Yizhen in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasty was the earliest work with the use of provenance from the existing records of Hu-Chang. In terms of its connotation, it was believed by many scholars that the part of speech of Hu-Chang was an adjective-noun phrase, which means "defensive barrier", ie, "local swelling area in surgical disease". However, based on the textual research and analysis of relevant ancient documents, Hu-Chang should be a verb-object phrase, which means "the vital Qi prevents the diseased area from being infected or deteriorated". In this sense, the characteristic of Hu-Chang, the local swelling range of surgical diseases, can be named as "supervising and monitoring the field barrier".

[A Japanese classic book on materia medica Ben Cao Quan].

Ben Cao Quan is an ancient classic book on materia medica compiled by Goku Yoshida, a Japanese scholar in the Edo period (1603-1867). A total of 568 materia medica in 53 categories in Ben Cao Quan came from Ben Cao Gang Mu compiled by Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty. These materia medica were introduced with some of his own interpretations of Goku Yoshida. The main characteristics of Ben Cao Quan reflected as follows. It attached importance to the comparison of translation from Chinese into Japanese and selected those materia medica commonly used in Japan, in particular, from 'spicific explanation' (Ji Jie) and 'smell' (Qi Wei) in Ben Cao Gang Mu.It focused on application and integrated local practice, and interpreted the personal insights of Goku Yoshida.Goku Yoshida's personal understanding and perception of these material medica were shown in terms of their origin and quality, analysis of their properties and collection, interpretation of their identification and selection, their local names, their Japanese names, and review of the changes when these materia medica were introduced into Japan.The purpose of Ban Cao Quan was to attempt to help Japanese identify materia medica and distinguish quality and interpret materia medica with Japanese characteristics. The book is valuable literature for the research of the impact of Ben Cao Gang Mu on the development of materia medica in Japan.

[Exploring Japanese Kampo medicine in fighting epidemics: discovering and popularising croton and satou as 'specific drugs' to treat cholera].

Japanese Kampo medicine (medicine with Han Fang) was found effective to treat some epidemic diseases.Historical records show that Namikawa Saimin, a Kampo medicine (Han Fang Medicine) practitioner during the cholera pandemic in the period of Ansei in Japan (1858-1860), discovered that the treatment effect of croton fruit against cholera was remarkable. Another physician in Naniwa also found that satou (Zhǎ Dá, visceral stones of animals and livestock) had the same effect in treating cholera. Subsequently, Wani Tadatane, an official physician in Komatsu Han of Iyo Province, learned about Namikawa Saimin and the use of croton fruit, and a medical officer in Kohofu, Masugi Fuminori, also heard of the story of the physician from Naniwa. Wani Tadatane and Masugi Fuminori verified the effect of croton fruit and satou on cholera treatment respectively. They regarded these two medical materials as the 'specific drugs' for cholera treatment by drawing on the interpretation and understanding of traditional Chinese medicine in terms of the efficacy of these two drugs. In this sense, croton fruit as a 'specific drug' for cholera treatment was widely accepted in the Kampo medical field (Han medicine area in Japan). The development of the use of satou by Masugi Fuminori could not be traced back because of the lack of historical records.

[The understanding of epidemic diseases in the Qin and Han Dynasties].

In the Qin and Han Dynasties, three views were argued as the main causes of epidemic diseases, the observation of climate, the interaction between nature and humans and 'witchcraft'. Specifically it was thought that abnormal climate, personnel and government decree, and 'gods' and 'ghosts' were responsible for epidemics. This perception led to corresponding countermeasures to deal with epidemic diseases. The abnormal climate in nature was believed to result in the occurrence of epidemic diseases. This was interpreted by traditional Chinese medicine in terms of exogenous diseases. For instance, Huang Di Nei Jing interpreted leprosy with the point of wind-pathogen attacking. Shang Han Lun treated epidemic diseases with the viewpoint of exogenous pathogen. The classic books of Chinese materia medica recorded many cases of preventing and treating epidemic diseases with materia medica. The personnel and government decree refers to the wrong decrees of Emperors and the poor implementation of officials. This was argued to lead to various disasters including epidemic diseases. It was interpreted by Dong Zhongshu, a famous Confucian in the Han Dynasty, as the punishment of gods upon their misconduct. This reminded emperors about reflecting on the epidemic diseases and correcting their mistakes politically. 'Gods' and 'ghosts' were also believed as the cause of epidemics. This idea drove people to deal with epidemic diseases through sacrifices and exorcism.

[A study on the identification of threshold for early warning on adverse weather events based on the association of apparent temperature and years of life lost].

Objective: To identify the threshold of a health warning system based on the association of apparent temperature and years of life lost (YLL). Methods: Daily mortality records and meteorological data were collected from 364 Chinese counties for 2006-2017. Distributed lag nonlinear model and multivariate Meta-analyses were applied to estimate the association between the apparent temperature and YLL rate. A regression tree model was employed to estimate the warning thresholds of the apparent temperature. Stratified analyses were further conducted by age and cause of death. Results: The daily YLL rate was 23.6/105. The mean daily apparent temperature was 15.7 ℃. U-shaped nonlinear associations were observed between apparent temperature and YLL rate. The actual temperature-caused YLL rate for the elderly was higher than the young population. The daily excess deaths rate increased with the higher effect levels. Conclusions: Regression tree model was employed to define the warning threshold for meteorological health risk. The present study provides theoretical support for the weather-related health warning system.

[The analysis of the medical books recorded in Chuugoku Isekikou].

Chuugoku Isekikou (, Catalogue of Chinese Medical Literature) has high value in the history of Chinese and Japanese medicine. Through the collation and statistics of the sources of medical books included in this book, this paper sums up the sources of medical books included by the famous Japanese doctors Tanba and his son, who compiled this book. We found nearly 60 percent medical books from Chinese bibliographies and Local Gazetteers. Based on the analysis of all kinds of relevant literature, we studied the rules and compilation ideas of the process of Tanba's collection medical books, and then discovered the contents of the medical books were mainly prescription treatment, not incloud the book of immortal,sexual skill or veterinarian. We also discovered the arrangement of Isekikou was mainly time, and other factors were considered comprehensively.

[Association between frailty and sleep duration among people aged 50 years and over].

Objective: To investigate the association between sleep duration and frailty among people aged 50 years and over. Methods: Cross-sectional data was collected from the first wave of World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health in China. Frailty index was constructed on the proportion of deficits, out of the 40 variables. A two-level (individual level and community level) linear model was performed to identify the related factors on frailty. All the models were stratified by age, gender, residence (urban/rural). Restricted cubic spline was performed to graphically evaluate the dose-response association between self-reported sleep duration and frailty. Results: A total of 13 175 individuals aged 50 years and over participated in this study. Without adjusting on any confounding factors, shorter or longer sleep duration significantly increased the risk of weakness compared with normal sleep time (OR=2.05, 95%CI: 1.71-2.44; OR=1.35, 95%CI: 1.12-1.63). After adjusting for confounding factors such as gender, age, residence, education, family assets, vegetable, smoking, drinking and physical activity, a positive association between short sleep duration and frailty was noticed compared with normal sleep time (aOR=1.60, 95%CI: 1.27-2.01). The results of stratified analysis on sex, age and urban and rural areas showed that, after adjusting for gender, age, residence, education level, family assets, intake of vegetables and fruits, smoking, drinking and physical activity, only shorter sleep duration was positively correlated with the risk of weakness. In addition, among people aged 65 years and over, adjusted for confounding factors, the risk of weakness increased by 91%, compared with normal sleep time (aOR=1.91, 95%CI: 1.46-2.49). The dose-response curve also showed that the sleep duration and frailty present an approximate "U" shaped relationship. Conclusion: Short sleep duration might be associated with frailty.

[Analysis on the value of Taki Mototate's Ruhanbunko].

Ruhanbunko() is an anthology of the famous Japanese doctor Taki Mototane(). The book has 94 articles written between 1895 and 1827.Its content involved more than 400 doctors and literati both in China and Japan, also more than 190 books. Taki Mototane explored many aspects of the medical field in Ruhanbunko. His essays characterized as plenty, conclusive and preciseness.Besides, Taki Mototane discussed both theory and practice problems.The book has very high value of literature, clinical diagnosis and treatment research. Meanwhile, the poems and essays of Taki Mototane in the book and the epitaphs written for the doctors are also valuable medical historical materials.

[A study of the Polish missionary Michel Boym's pharmacy books].

Michel Boym was a 17th-century missionary who came to China from Poland. He was the first man who introduce Chinese herbal medicine to Europe by writing Flora Sinensis (Chinese Flora) and Medicamenta Simplicia quae Chinensibus ad usum medicum adhibentur. This article reveals that which Chinese herbal medicine books may have been consulted in the Medicamenta Simplicia quae Chinensibus ad usum medicum adhibentur by analyzing its content and comparing it with the Chinese herbal medicine books. We believed that in order to write this book, he consulted many Chinese books, collected a variety of herbal samples and consulted Chinese people who knew about herbals, and added his own understanding. As a western pharmacology book, his book structure, content and characteristics are the closest to Chinese herbal medicine books. And which Chinese books he has consulted, may include, but is not limited to BenCao GangMu(Compendium of Materia Medica)《》, Lei Gong Pao Zhi Yao Xing Jie 《》, Ben Cao Meng Quan《》 and Xin Kan Lei Gong Pao Zhi Bian Lan 《》.

[Incidence of fall related injury in people aged 50 and above and risk factors in 8 provinces in China: a cross-sectional study].

Objective: To estimate the incidence and distribution characteristics of fall related injury in people aged ≥50 years in 8 provinces in China and related physiological, psychological and social risk factors. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from adults aged ≥50 years participating in the World Health Organization (WHO) study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE) round 1 in China. Two-level hierarchical logistic model was used to identify the related factors for fall-related injury. All the models were stratified by living area (urban/rural). Results: Estimated incidence of fall related injury (road traffic injury was not included) was 3.2%. Ageing and multiple chronic conditions (OR=2.55, 95%CI: 1.41-4.64) was significantly associated with the incidence of fall related injury in urban area. In rural area, depression (OR=4.33, 95% CI: 2.52-7.42) and multiple chronic conditions (OR=2.46, 95%CI: 1.37-4.41) were associated with the incidence of fall related injury. Conclusions: This study estimated the incidence of fall related injury in adults aged ≥50 years in 8 provinces in China. A significant association between multiple chronic conditions and fall related injury were found in both urban and rural residents. Targeted measures should be taken for the prevention and control of chronic diseases in elderly population.

[Prevalence of senile dementia in people aged ≥60 years in China: a Meta-analysis].

Objective: To understand the prevalence of senile dementia in the elderly aged ≥60 years in China between 2000 and 2015. Methods: Publications between 2000 and 2015 were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Databases, Chinese Science and Technology Journal Databases (VIP) and PubMed. Observational studies on prevalence of senile dementia were included. Meta-analysis was carried out by using R software. Results: A total of 25 papers were included in this study. The total number of participants investigated was 76 980, with 4 295 dementia cases identified. The prevalence of senile dementia in the elderly was 5.15% (95%CI: 4.21%-6.09%); Subgroup analysis showed that the women had a higher prevalence (6.08%) than the men (4.10%); and the prevalence was significant increased with age (The senile dementia prevalence was 1.01% in age groups 60-64 years, but 23.60% in age group ≥85 years). The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (3.56%) was higher than that of cerebral vascular dementia (1.11%). The senile dementia prevalence in the illiterate was 8.74%, higher than 3.17% in the literate. The prevalence of senile dementia in the unmarried was 6.83%, higher than that in the married (3.95%). Conclusion: The prevalence of senile dementia was high in the population aged ≥60 years in China. Age, sex, education level and marital status might influence the prevalence of senile dementia.

Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 regulates in vitro osteogenic differentiation of mouse adipose derived stem cells.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility and efficiency of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 (BMP-2) in regulating in vitro osteogenic differentiation of mouse adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mouse ADSCs were isolated from adipose tissues of C57/BL6 mice (age of 4-6 w) and cultured. Surface antigens of passage 3 (P3) ADSCs, including CD31, CD34, CD90, CD105 and CD133, were analyzed using flow cytometry. Overexpression of BMP-2 was achieved through gene transfection of ADSCs. In vitro osteogenic differentiation of transfected and non-transfected ADSCs cultured in specific induction media was evaluated by Alizarin Red staining. In addition, expression of osteoblast-specific gene, Runx2, was analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: Abundant ADSCs could be isolated from adipose tissue. P3 ADSCs expressed stem cell-specific molecular markers, CD90 and CD105 but did not express CD31, CD34 or CD133. BMP-2 could efficiently transfect mouse ADSCs. Alizarin Red staining revealed that more calcified nodules were formed in BMP-2 transfected ADSCs. qRT-PCR further confirmed higher level of Runx2 expression in BMP-2 transfected ADSCs (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: BMP-2 can promote in vitro osteogenic differentiation of mouse adipose stem cells.

MTHFR C677T polymorphism and osteoporotic fracture in postmenopausal women: a meta-analysis.

Numerous studies have evaluated the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and osteoporotic fracture risk in postmenopausal women. However, the results have been inconsistent. We performed a meta-analysis of the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and osteoporotic fracture risk in postmenopausal women. Only seven case-control studies were retrieved, with a total of 4258 patients and 3454 healthy controls. Meta-analysis results showed no significant association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and osteoporotic fracture risk in postmenopausal women for all genetic models (for TT vs CC: OR=0.99, 95%CI=0.72-1.39; for TT vs TC: OR=1.02, 95%CI=0.87-1.20; for CC+TC vs TT: OR=0.96, 95%CI=0.71-1.28; for TT+TC vs CC: OR=0.93, 95%CI=0.84-1.03). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, the results also showed no significant association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and susceptibility to osteoporotic fracture in postmenopausal women in both Caucasian and Asian populations. In conclusion, this meta-analysis suggests that MTHFR C677T polymorphism may not be associated with susceptibility to osteoporotic fracture in postmenopausal women.

Diagnostic accuracy of atopy patch tests for food allergy in children with atopic dermatitis aged less than two years.

BACKGROUND: Atopy patch tests (APT) have been introduced as a valuable tool for the diagnosis of food allergy. However, interpretation of the readout of APT requires further clarification. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the accuracy of APT in identifying atopic sensitisation to hen's eggs (HE), cow's milk (CM), soybean and wheat in Chinese children with atopic dermatitis (AD) aged less than two years and to evaluate skin signs of APT for accurate diagnosis of food allergy. METHODS: APT was performed and food allergy confirmed by open oral food challenges with HE, CM, soybean and wheat in 150 Chinese AD children aged less than two years. The sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values, positive (LR+) and negative likelihood ratio (LR-) of APT were calculated. RESULTS: Erythema and infiltration were not sufficiently indicative of a positive APT. The PPV increased with the appearance of indurations and the number of papules. The true positive APT rate increased from scores of + to +++. The PPV and specificity were 100% while APT scores of +++ were obtained with HE, CM and wheat. The sensitivity of APT with HE, CM, soybean and wheat allergy ranged from 59.6% to 90.5%, while the specificity ranged from 82.1% to 92.4%. CONCLUSION: The APT is a suitable method for the diagnosis of AD in Chinese children aged less than two years with food allergies. Erythema and infiltration are not sufficient indicators of APT positivity. The PPV increases with indurations and the number of papules.

Location and phylogenetic analysis of the region immediately upstream of the granulin gene of the Clostera anachoreta granulovirus.

The region immediately upstream of the granulin gene from Clostera anachoreta granulovirus (ClanGV) was identified from hybridization experiments and sequenced. The sequence of 5122nt EcoRI restriction fragment was presented and compared with the equivalent area in other GVs. Database searches showed that this region contained three open reading frames (ORFs) similar to the baculovirus genes (egt, fgf and me53, respectively) and four ORFs unique to ClanGV genome. Phylogenetic trees of the baculovirus genes egt and me53 were constructed. These analyses indicated that ClanGV genes may be more closely related to CfGV, CpGV, ClGV, PoGV and AoGV than to PxGV and XcGV.

Efficient production of laccases by Trametes sp. AH28-2 in cocultivation with a Trichoderma strain.

A biocontrol fungus isolated from rotting wood was identified as a Trichoderma strain (named as Trichoderma sp. ZH1) by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of rRNA genes. The laccase yield of Trametes sp. AH28-2 in cocultivation with Trichoderma sp. ZH1 reached 6,210 U l(-1), approximately identical to those induced by toxic aromatic inducers. Cocultures maintained 60-70 % of their highest laccase activity obtained at 5 days after inoculation of the biocontrol fungus, at least for 20 days. Furthermore, a novel laccase isozyme (LacC) was obtained through the fungal interactions. The molecular weight of LacC is about 64 kDa, and its isoelectric point is 6.6. The temperature and pH optimum for LacC to oxidize guaiacol are 55 degrees C and 5.0, respectively. LacC is stable both at 60 degrees C and pH 4.0-8.0. Furthermore, the K (m) values of LacC for various substrates were also determined. Our work demonstrates a safe strategy for the production of industrial laccases, instead of the traditional method of chemical induction.

Cloning of novel laccase isozyme genes from Trametes sp. AH28-2 and analyses of their differential expression.

Three novel laccase isozyme genes, lacA, lacB, and lacC, have been identified from basidiomycete Trametes sp. AH28-2. These genes display a high similarity with other basidiomycete laccases at the amino acid level. An inferred TATA box and several putative CAAT, MRE, XRE, and CreA consensus sequences were identified in the lacA, lacB, and lacC promoter regions. Different from the TATA boxes of lacA and lacB at about -100, the TATA box of lacC is located at -172. For all the isozymes, copper ion is essential for laccase synthesis in Trametes sp. AH28-2. More interestingly, different aromatic compounds can selectively induce the production of distinct laccase isozymes, with o-toluidine inducing the expression of laccase A (LacA) while 3,5-dihydroxytoluene mainly stimulating the production of laccase B (LacB). Quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction showed that the accumulation of laccase messenger RNA transcripts is accompanied by the increase of corresponding enzyme activity in cultures. The glucose-repression effect on laccase expression in Trametes sp. AH28-2 was also observed. Furthermore, lower Cu2+ concentration (lower than 0.5 mM) can induce LacA and a novel laccase (LacC), and the latter will disappear when Cu2+ concentration is increased up to 1-2 mM. Upon induction by 3,5-dihydroxytoluene, the ratio of LacA to LacB decreased in the later phase of induction.