The quality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the lifeline for TCM industry. The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has provided new means for the quality management of Chinese medicinal materials (CMM). In this paper, we take the quality marker (Q-marker) as a breakthrough point, focused on the research strategy from chemical markers to Q-markers, picked up the characteristics of the Q-markers from the near infrared spectrum (NIRS), and explored the feasibility of establishing the NIRS assay based on Q-marker. After integrated the biological activity detection and artificial neural network algorithm, we try to establish the relationship between the spectral properties of NIRS and specific efficacy of the CMM. Finally, the bottlenecks will be solved that related to the transmission and traceability of quality attributes in the process of TCM production, quantity change, overall quality management and so on. This system is going to improve TCM quantity scientific and intelligent supervision, and promote the upgrading of traditional TCM industry.

The quality definition of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a hot area in modern research of TCM. In recent years, the characteristics of one herb with multiple effects have been widely accepted and studied. The typical opposite-effect of herbs is considered as a special part of one herb with multiple effects, and was summarized in this paper. Sanqi was used as an example of opposite-effect herbs for developing the strategies and approaches on the Q-markers. The traditional opposite-effect should be studied by modern pharmacological research methods. The correlation of the chemical components with the opposite effects should be established in order to verify the material basis and evaluate the mechanism including targets and pathways. The unique characteristics of chemical components should be analyzed and defined. Finally, the Q-markers of the opposite effect herb will be confirmed. This paper provides a useful reference for the precise quality control of herbal opposite-effects.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the risk factors for the development of congenital anal atresia in neonates.

METHODSA total of 70 neonates who were admitted to 17 hospitals in Foshan, China from January 2011 to December 2014 were enrolled as case group, and another 70 neonates who were hospitalized during the same period and had no anal atresia or other severe deformities were enrolled as control group. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the risk factors for the development of congenital anal atresia.

RESULTSThe univariate analysis revealed that the age of mothers, presence of oral administration of folic acid, infection during early pregnancy, and polyhydramnios, and sex of neonates showed significant differences between the case and control groups (P<0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that infection during early pregnancy (OR=18.776) and male neonates (OR=9.304) were risk factors for congenital anal atresia, and oral administration of folic acid during early pregnancy was the protective factor (OR=0.086).

CONCLUSIONSInfection during early pregnancy is the risk factor for congenital anal atresia, and male neonates are more likely to develop congenital anal atresia than female neonates. Supplementation of folic acid during early pregnancy can reduce the risk of congenital anal atresia.

Anus, Imperforate ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Risk Factors

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of docetaxel, oxaliplatin and S -1 neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treat-ment of upper gastric cancer.Methods Nine cases with locally advanced upper gastric cancer recruited in this study.After recruited, the patients were given docetaxel 40 mg · m-2 through intravenous drip infusion in one hour on day 1 and 8, with anti-anaphylactic treatment, oxaliplatin 75 mg· m-2 through intravenous drip infusion in two hours on day 1, and S-1 40 to 60 mg po, twice a day on day 1 to day 14.All of the included patients received 2 cycles with 21 days percycle.After 2 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the data of clinical efficacy and toxicity were evaluated.Results All of subjects finished the scheduled chemotherapy regiment.One case reached complete response ( CR, 11.1%) , 6 cases reached partial response ( PR, 66.7%) , and 1 patients had progress disease ( PD, 11.1%).The total response rate was 88.9%.Only 1 case of progress disease didn′t receive the surgery.And the 8 patients received surgery also received 4 cycles of post -surgery chemotherapy with the same regiment.Until October, all the 8 patients were alive without relapse or metastases.The general adverse reactions for neoadjuvant chemotherapy were myelosuppression, gastrointestinal toxicity and peripheral neuritis. No chemotherapy-related death was found in this study.Conclusion Docetaxel, oxaliplatin and S -1 neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of upper gastric cancer can improve the surgery rate and prognosis.

Objective In this paper we analyzed the major risk factors of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS) as well as its clinical manifestation,so as to provide a basis for clinical diagnosis and effective control of HFRS in Xi'an.Methods The method of retrospective study was used to collect clinical data of hospitalized patients with HFRS between 2005 and 2010 in the Hospitals for Infectious Diseases in Xi'an city,Zhouzhi and Huxian counties and then clinical manifestations of the patients with HFRS were analyzed and classified according to the national standards for clinical symptoms and test indicators of HFRS.HFRS patients matched by the ratio of 1 ∶ 2 healthy human controls were retrospectively investigated in order to obtain risk factors relevant to HFRS incidence using casecontrol study.Odds ratio(OR) method was used for single factor study.While for the multifactor study,we took the conditional Logistic regression approach.We also built models for both studies.Factor with OR ＞ 1 and P ＜ 0.05 was judged to be a risk factor.Results A total of 3090 cases information of patients with HFRS and 6018 healthy controls were collected.Of the 3090 cases of HFRS patients,sixty vaccinated patients showed atypical clinical manifestations and they were mild or moderate cases and no deaths.A total of 3030 nonvaccinated patients had obvious clinical symptoms.Severe or critical cases accounted for 39.07％(1184/3030)and 60 patients died and the fatality rate was 1.98％ (60/3030).The results of single factor Logistic regression analysis showed that of the 16 factors analyzed,the difference of 11 risk factors between the case group and the control group was statistically significant.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that of the 11 factors,the difference of six factors between the case group and the control group was statistically significant.The main risk factors of suffering HFRS in the order were:exposure to rat pollutants,living in the affected areas,sitting or lying on grass fields in the affected areas,working in the affected areas,house rat infestation,and domesticated cats or dogs(OR =6.826,5.764,4.882,4.857,3.126 and 2.875; P ＜ 0.01 or P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Vaccines are very useful in the sense that vaccinated HFRS patients tend to have mild symptoms and good prognosis.Health education in this area should be focused on the six risk factors in order to prevent the spreading of HFRS.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the learning curve of complete mesocolic excision(CME) for colon cancer.

METHODSClinical data of 75 cases in whom CME was performed by a group of surgeons in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Peking University People's Hospital from November 2009 to June 2011 were reviewed. The patients were divided into three groups(groups A, B, C, 25 cases in each group) by operative chronologic sequence.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences in age, sex, preoperative staging, cancer location, operation history of abdomen, ASA among the three groups(P>0.05). The operative time in group A was (205.4 ± 53.2) min and decreased to (180.4 ± 29.7) min in group B and (169.8 ± 41.3) min in group C (P<0.05). The postoperative hospital stay decreased from (17.8 ± 10.9) d in group A to(12.9 ± 4.1) d in group B and(11.0 ± 3.5) d in group C(P<0.05). The postoperative complication rate decreased from 32%(8/25) in group A and 36%(9/25) to 8%(2/25) in group C. The specimen quality was superior in group C compared to group A (WEST grade C above were 20 and 11 respectively, P<0.05). There were no significant differences in intraoperative bleeding, time to first flatus, postoperative fasting time, number of retrieved lymph nodes among the three groups(P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONFrom the learning curve of CME, surgeons can learn CME skill after performing 25 cases.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Colectomy ; education ; methods ; Colonic Neoplasms ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Learning Curve ; Male ; Mesocolon ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo understand the characteristics of HIV/AIDS patients with late diagnosis and find the factors associated with late HIV detection.

METHODSHIV late diagnosed patients and early diagnosed patients, which were identified and classified by definition in advance, were selected from the case reporting database of HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Response Information Management System in eight counties of four provinces (Zhumadian, Nanyang, and Zhoukou of Hennan province; Liuzhou and Lingshan county of Guangxi autonomous region; Guangzhou and Shenzhen of Guangdong province; Dehong of Yunnan province) between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. A total of 3912 eligible patients were investigated, including 2496 late diagnosis and 1416 early diagnosis. The structured questionnaires were used to obtain information on behaviors, HIV detection history and reason of late detection for all eligible HIV/AIDS patients. Late diagnosed patients were defined by CD4 T-cell counts less than 200 cells/mm(3) or diagnosis as AIDS within the reported year after the first HIV positive test. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression methods were used to analyze the characteristics of HIV/AIDS late diagnosed patients.

RESULTSOnly 14.2% (350/2469) of them have ever had the awareness of "to go for HIV testing", 68.8% (150/218)of which did not put it into practice within one month because of discrimination and stigma. Among those HIV late diagnosed patients without the awareness of "to go for HIV testing", the proportions of "never worried about HIV infection" or "never heard of AIDS" were 69.7% (1476/2116) and 18.1% (383/2116), respectively. When those HIV late diagnosed patients visited health settings because of AIDS related symptoms, only 40.0% (590/1475) of them received the HIV testing service. Furthermore, 54.5% (322/590) of those received HIV testing were not informed the results. Compared with early diagnosed patients, patients with late diagnosis were over 50 years old (OR = 4.14, 95%CI: 3.09 - 5.55), primary school education (OR = 1.29, 95%CI: 1.10 - 1.52) and illiteracy (OR = 2.15, 95%CI: 1.25 - 2.82), Routes of transmission from former illegal blood or plasma (OR = 2.91, 95%CI: 2.27 - 3.74) and transfusion of blood/blood products (OR = 2.79, 95%CI: 2.11 - 3.68). Late diagnosed patients were identified mainly from voluntary counseling and testing (45.4%, 1130/1528) and medical institutions (38.3%, 954/1469).

CONCLUSIONThe main reasons for late diagnosis of HIV infection are low initiative of HIV testing and discrimination and stigma. Furthermore, the low awareness of medical institutions to actively provide HIV testing affects the early diagnosis of HIV infections.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Counseling ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Female ; HIV Infections ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors

To explore an efficient strategy for further development of anticancer fluoroquinolone candidates derived from ciprofloxacin, a heterocyclic ring as the bioisosteric replacement of C3 carboxyl group led to a key intermediate, oxadiazole thiol (5), which was further modified to the bis-oxadiazole methylsulfides (7a-7h) and the corresponding dimethylpiperazinium iodides (8a-8h), respectively. Structures were characterized by elemental analysis and spectra data, and their anticancer activities in vitro against CHO, HL60 and L1210 cancer cells were also evaluated by MTT assay. The preliminary results show that piperazinium compounds (8) possess more potent activity than that of corresponding free bases (7).
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; CHO Cells ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Ciprofloxacin ; chemistry ; Cricetinae ; Cricetulus ; Drug Design ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Leukemia L1210 ; Molecular Structure ; Oxadiazoles ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Piperazines ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVESTo study the expression of nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (Nampt) and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) in gastric carcinoma and investigate their correlations to clinicopathologic features and prognostic significance.

METHODSThe proteins of Nampt and VEGF-A in 68 specimens of gastric carcinoma and 59 specimens normal gastric tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry during January 2000 to December 2004, and the 68 patients were followed up.

RESULTSNampt protein was detected in the cytoplasm of both tissues, and Nampt in gastric carcinoma (13 ± 5) were significantly higher than that in normal gastric tissue (6 ± 3) (t = 7.46, P < 0.01). The expression of Nampt was correlated to invasive depth (F = 4.693, P = 0.034), lymph node metastasis (F = 4.027, P = 0.049), clinical TNM stage (F = 9.979, P = 0.002), but not to gender, age, tumor location, tumor size, differentiation (P > 0.05). The expression of Nampt is correlated with survival of patients that underwent surgical resection for gastric cancer. The survival rate of patients in negative of Nampt was very higher than that of the positive patients, and its co-expression with VEGF-A showed a trend towards poorer survival. The positive correlation was found between the expression of Nampt and VEGF-A in gastric carcinoma (r = 0.293, P = 0.015).

CONCLUSIONSThe expression of Nampt is positively correlated to that of VEGF-A in gastric carcinoma. The correlation between the expression of Nampt and VEGF-A in gastric carcinoma plays an important role cooperatively in carcinogenesis, development and metastasis of gastric carcinoma.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Survival Rate ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo compare the levels of STAT4 tyrosine phosphorylation in peripheral T-lymphocytes induced by IL-12 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA).

METHODSFrom May 2007 to August 2009, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from RA patients [RA group, all the cases were female, the age was from 28 to 55 years with an average of (45.0 +/- 13.0) years] and OA patients [OA group, all the cases also were female; the age was from 55 to 75 years with an average of (67.0 +/- 9.6) years]. The purity of T-lymphocytes from PBMCs was accredited by flow cytometry. The IL-12 of 50 ng/ml added in T-lymphocytes, the levels of STAT4 tyrosine phosphorylation were detected by western blot after different time intervals (0, 10, 30, 60 min).

RESULTSThe purity of T-lymphocytes were above 91% through diremption and depuration for peripheral blood monouclear cells. The levels of STAT4 tyrosine phosphorylation in T-lymphocytes from RA induced by IL-12 were higher than that from OA in the different times (10, 30, 60 min); after 30 min, its levels from RA and OA achieved to crest value.

CONCLUSIONSTAT4 in peripheral T-lymphocytes of rheumatoid arthritis was more easily to be activated than osteoarthritis.

Adult ; Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; immunology ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-12 ; pharmacology ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis ; immunology ; Phosphorylation ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; STAT4 Transcription Factor ; genetics ; metabolism ; T-Lymphocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Tyrosine ; metabolism