Objective:To optimize the ethanol precipitation technique for Fufang Shenqi soft capsules. Methods: An orthogonal design was used to optimize the technique with the relative density of the concentrated solution, ethanol concentration, standing time, temperature of ethanol precipitation as the influencing factors and the yield of dry extract and the content of total polysaccharides as the indices. Results:The best ethanol precipitation technique was as follows:the relative density of the concentrated solution was 1. 10, 95% ethanol was used to obtain 60% ethanol concentration, and the standing time was 48 h under the temperature of 10-30℃. Con-clusion:The optimized ethanol precipitation technique for Fufang Shenqi soft capsules is simple and practicable, and suitable for prac-tical production.

Objective To establish a breeding method ofMyodes rufocanus in the laboratory,collect their growth and reproduction data,and provide a basis for carrying out the experimental animalization.Methods Wild Myodes rufocanus caught in the Moranbong woodland were brought back to the laboratory.They were bred artificially in a large hard wall rodent negative pressure isolator.Their growth and reproduction data were recorded for evaluating the results of breeding.Results The Myodes rufocanus were successfully bred in the laboratory.The pregnancy rate was 54.55%.The average pregnancy length was 20.4 days(8 to 22 days).During one breeding period,they gave birth 2.9 times on average.The maximum number of births was 7 times,far more than the number tested under field conditions.The average litter size was 4.3±1.22.The highest litter number of a single nest was 8.The weaning rate of pups was 94.8%.The growth and development of pups were good.Conclusions The breeding method for Myodes rufocanus is established.The growth and reproduction data are tested too.The results of our study laid a foundation for the experimental animalization of Myodes rufocanus.

Objective To evaluate stone retention time coefficient (RTC) times stone size value (RTC × S) as the indication of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) efficacy in the treatment of upper ureteral calculi.Methods From January 2009 to May 2011,180 consecutive patients including 109males and 71 females who underwent ESWL for a single radiopaque upper ureteral stone with the mean stone size (0.9 ± 0.2) cm and the mean stone retention time (12.6 ± 9.7) d were retrospectively analyzed.The mean patient age was 39 years (range from 21 to 65 years).The base of RTC was set as 1 and each 0.1 was added on it if the stone stayed one more week in upper ureter.Patients were classified into 2 groups by stone size.105 patients were in group ＜ 1 cm and 75 patients were in group≥ 1 cm.According to RTC × S value,79 patients were in group ＜ 1 and 101 patients were in group≥ 1.Stone-free rate between these two groups in the same grouping indication and between two matched groups in the different grouping indication were compared respectively.The chi-square test compared categorical variables between the two groups and all statistical analyses were 2-sided with P ＜ 0.05 defined as statistically significant.Results The overall stone-free rate of group ＜ 1 cm was significantly higher than that of group≥ 1 cm (81.9％ vs.68.0％,P ＜0.05).The overall stone-free rate of group RTC × S value ＜ 1 was significantly higher than that of group RTC × S value ≥1 (96.2 ％ vs.60.4％,P ＜ 0.05).Comparison between two matched groups showed that the stone-free rate of group RTC S value ＜ 1 was significantly higher than that of group ＜ 1 cm (96.2％ vs.81.9 ％,P＜0.05),but group RTC×Svalue≥1 was comparable to group≥l cm (60.4％ vs.68.0％,P ＞ 0.05).26 patients with ＜ 1 cm stones were enrolled in group ≥ 1 for long stone retention time and larger RTC × S value.The overall stone-free rate of them was 38.5％ (10/26) which was significantly lower than that of group≥ 1 cm (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The stone retention time is an important factor in efficacy of ESWL for upper ureteral calculi.Use RTC × S as a new indication of ESWL,not only the stone size but stone retention time is taken into account as well.ESWL is highly efficacious in patients with RTC × S values ＜ 1.

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlation between the content of lecithin mass and white blood cells (WBC) of the expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) and the concentration of serum PSA in patients with prostatitis, and to study the difference in serum PSA concentration between patients with bacterial prostatitis and those with nonbacterial prostatitis.

METHODSThe serum PSA concentration in 62 patients with prostatitis and 22 controls were measured with ELISA method. The correlation between the content of lecithin mass and WBC of the EPS and the elevation of serum PSA was analyzed. And the serum PSA concentration of bacterial prostatitis (9 patients) and that of nonbacterial inflammatory prostatitis (53 patients) were compared.

RESULTSThe mean concentrations of serum PSA in the prostatitis and the control groups were (1.79 +/- 0.68) microg/L and (0.63 +/- 0.29) microg/L, respectively. The difference of the serum PSA concentration was significant between the prostatitis and the control groups (P < 0.001) as well as between the groups with higher and lower WBC contents in EPS (P < 0.05), but not between the groups with higher (27 patients) and lower (35 patients) lecithin mass contents in EPS (P > 0.05), nor between the groups of bacterial prostatitis and nonbacterial prostatitis (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONProstatitis may cause the elevation of serum PSA concentration. The elevated serum PSA correlates with the content of white blood cells in EPS, but not with the content of lecithin mass in EPS, nor with the type of prostatitis, either bacterial or nonbacterial.

Adult ; Humans ; Leukocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phosphatidylcholines ; analysis ; Prostate ; secretion ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatitis ; metabolism

Objective Grey red-backed voles (Myodes rufocanus) are agile, fierce and hard to catch, thus, it is difficult to judge their gender by external appearance, especially for the juvenile voles. Therefore, it may cause difficulties to their allocation and later breeding in laboratories. The aim of this paper is to establish a rapid, simple and accurate method for gender identification of grey red-backed voles. Methods Fresh hair follicles were taken from 6 adult male voles, 3 adult females and 14 4-week-old juvenile voles, 5 male and 5 female 9-week-old Wistar rats, and 5 male and 3 female 6-week-old BALB/c mice. The genomic DNA was extracted using Chelex-100 resin and the zinc-finger Y/X gene (ZFY/ZFX) and the gene of sex-determining region of the Y (SRY) chromosome were amplified by PCR, and a double PCR amplification method was established. Results The ZFY/ZFX gene and SRY gene were simultaneously amplified from the male voles, while only the ZFY/ZFX gene was amplified from the females. The gender of all 23 voles, 10 Wistar rats and 8 BALB/c mice were correctly identified with this method, and the PCR results were consistent with the phenotypic and autopsy results. Conclusions Using fresh hair follicles as experimental materials for gender identification of grey redbacked voles can alleviate shock and damage to the animals. The established double PCR amplification method is accurate, simple, rapid, and deserves to be used for gender identification of grey red-backed voles.