The study of traditional Chinese medicine and its complex prescription gradually adopted the methods of serum pharmacology, which has become a new researching thought and a gained more attention. In this article, the background of relevant researches, methodological discussions, analysis of the advantages and problems of serum pharmacology were reviewed. The serum pharmacology, for its unique value, will certainly has a brilliant prospect in its application to the research of traditional Chinese medicine and its complex prescription.

Objective To explore the changes of cytokines in myasthenia gravis children and the effect of glucocorticoid on the serum levels of them.Methods Forty cases of myasthenia gravis children were the observation group which was divided to group one (pre-glucocorticoid therapy)and group two (post-glucocorticoid therapy),and 20 cases of healthy children in the same period as the normal control group.The serum levels of cytokines INF-γ,TGF-β1,IL-10 and IL-18 of the observation group one and two and the normal control group were detected by ELISA and were compared between the observation group one and the normal control group and the observation group one and two.Results The serum levels of cytokine INF-γand IL-18 were higher and IL-10 and TGF-β1 were lower in the observation group than in the normal control group,the differences were statistically significant (t =4.45 ~16.72,P <0.01 ).Significant difference of INF-γ,TGF-β1 and IL-18 was found between the observation group one and two (t =8.12 ~10.68,P <0.01)and the sera level of IL-10 had no significant difference (P >0.05).Conclusions Cytokines INF-γ,TGF-β1,IL-10 and IL-18 are involved and probably play different roles in the pathogene-sis of myasthenia gravis in children;Glucocorticoid could affect the secretion of cytokines IFN-γ,TGF-β1 and IL-18 of myasthenia gravis children,which would ultimately to achieve the aim of interfering and con-trolling the clinical symptom of myasthenia gravis in children.

The goal of this work is to understand the difference between vertical structure and horizontal structure on data management. We take adverse event report as an example to find out the relationship between the storage space and the factors related to the trail. From the study we find out the difference of storage space between horizontal structure and vertical structure goes up with the increase of the storage space of each adverse event record and the number of adverse event allowed to record in the horizontal structure and goes down with the increase of the happening rate and the average times of the adverse event. When using the most widely used study design, vertical structure always takes less storage space than the horizontal structure. This vertical structure database is more suitable for the data management than the horizontal structure database.

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the disinfection effectiveness and properties of acrylic resin via microwave irradiation. Methods Forty acrylic resin base dentures fabricated in a standardized procedure were chosen and divided into Group A,B,C and D randomly. Group A,B and C were immersed in 200ml distilled water and submitted to microwave irradiation at 700W for 3,4,5 minutes individually. Group D was used as positive control. Bacteria specimens from each group were got for culture and numbers were calculated. Then the four groups were tested for the flexural strength and impact strength by universal test machine before and after microwave irradiation sterilization. Results The germicidal ratio of Group B was more than 90% ,while the ratio of group C was 100%. There was no significant difference in flexural strength and impact strength between group C and group D. Conclusions Microwave irradiation for 5 minutes at 700W produced sterilization of dentures contaminated with all bacteria whereas the denture strength is not affected. Microwave irradiation at 700W solution for 5 minutes was effective to sterilize acrylic resin base dentures.

Kruppel-like factor 6 (KLF6) was reported as tumor suppressor in multiple cancers. However, loss of chromosomal locus spanning KLF6 is relatively infrequent in previous published studies. To explore the role of KLF6 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we examined the gene for expression change, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and mutation in 26 HCC samples. The expression levels of KLF6 were significantly down-regulated in HCCs, as detected by qRT-PCR. LOH occurred in 11 (52%) of 21 tumors, and all the samples with LOH showed KLF6 down-regulation. The mutational frequency was 24%, and sequence changes located in activation domain of KLF6. Furthermore, MTT assay showed a significant antiproliferative effect of the wt KLF6 transfected in HepG2 hepatoblastoma cells. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis revealed that KLF6 could induce apoptosis. These findings indicate that deregulation of KLF6, together with genetic abnormalities of allelic imbalance and mutations, may play a role in HCC pathogenesis.

Objective To investigate the proof of fetal cells passing through the placental barrier into the maternal peripheral blood to provide laboratory data for the non invasive prenatal gene diagnosis of genetic diseases. Methods A total of 22 samples of placental tissues delivered(male fetus: 12, female fetus: 11) were divided into two groups for parallel section. HE staining was used to find the distribution of fetal cells in chorionic villi. In situ hybridization (ISH) technique with SRY DNA probes was used to identify the existence of fetal cells in placental villi, particularly in intervillous space. Results Light microscope examination revealed that there were fetal cells that passed through the capillary endothelium of villi and trophoblast basement membrane in the placental tissue sections of the 22 samples. ISH with SRY DNA probe also revealed that there were positive signals in the capillary of villi, at the edge of trophoblast basement membrane and in intervillous space in the placental tissue sections of the 12 placentas, but no signals were found in 10 female placentas. Conclusion This study demonstrates that the distribution of the fetal cells in the chorionic villi and intervillous space could be identified. The detection of fetal DNA in maternal circulation is one of the candidate approaches for non invasive prenatal gene diagnosis.

Objective To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) in patients with overactive bladder(OAB).Methods The original English KHQ was translated into Chinese and linguistically validated following the Cross-cultural adaptation of health-related quality of life measures. Patients recruited randomly from urology clinics were scheduled for two visits with 2 weeks apart, and they were surveyed through the Chinese version of the KHQ. Internal consistency reliability was assessed by Cronbach's α test;Test-retest reliability was examined among stable patients using Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Spearman's rank correlation statistical analyses. Content validity was estimated by Spearman's rank correlation statistical analyses. A factor analysis was conducted to validate the underlying factor structure of the Chinese version of the KHQ. Results A total of 48 OAB patients who met the criteria participated the study, and 40 patients (7 men, 33 women) completed the questionnaires twice. All the subscales and domains of the KHQ showed high levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's a: 0.718-0. 924) , moderate to excellent test-retest reliability (ICC:0.551-0.923,P<0.01) and acceptable construct validity. The content validity was moderate to excellent except for the Social Limitations domain. Conclusion Psychometric testing supports the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the KHQ as an OAB-specific measure of HR QOL.

Objective To investigate the expression and genetic alterations of KLF6 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and explore their functional mechanisms in the oncogenesis and development of HCC. Methods Real-time quantitative-PCR, direct sequencing and LOH approaches were used to detect KLF6 genetic abnormalities in HCC. The experiment had 2 groups, an experimental group and a control group. In the experimental group, the transfected plasmid pcDNA3.0 was recombined with KLF6 and tranfected into HCC HepG2 cells. MTT, flow cytometry and Western blotting were used to observe the effect of anti-oncogene wild type KLF6 on HepG2 cells by transgenic method for 48 h.Results Expression levels of KLF6 were significantly downregulated in HCCs(P＜0. 01), as detected by qRT-PCR. LOH occurred in 11 (52%) of the 21 tumors, and all the samples with LOH showed KLF6 down-regulation. The mutational frequency was 29%, and sequence changes located in activation domain of KLF6. Meanwhile, MTT assay showed a significant antiproliferative effect of the transfected wtKLF6 on HepG2 cells(42.7%, P＜0.05). Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis revealed that KLF6 induced apoptosis. Conclusion The deregulation of KLF6 together with genetic abnormalities of allelic imbalance and mutations may play an important role in HCC pathogenesis.

Objective To evaluate the Flavivirus specific monoclonal antibody(McAb) 2A10 as detective antibody for simultaneously identify tick borne encephalitis virus( TBEV), Japanese encephalitis virus( JEV), dengue ( DEN )-2, DEN-4 and yellow fever virus ( YFV ) by antibody microarray technique.Methods The antibody microarray was developed by spotting TBEV, JEV, DEN-2, DEN-4 and YFV specific McAb on chip as capture antibodies. After incubating with cultured viral supernatants of the above viruses, CY3 labeled detective antibody 2A10 was added to the chips. After reaction, the antibody microarray was scanned and the results were analyzed. By comparing the signal intensities of different spots on chips,the detecting titre and sensitivity of 2A10 for Flavivirus were determined, and the value of 2A10 in detection of Flavivirus was evaluated. Results The hybridization results demonstrated that the titre of 2A10 for Flavi2A10 was specific for Flavivirus and could be used as universal detective antibody for Flavivirus on antibody microarray.

Objective To evaluate the prevalence, associated risk factors and the impact on health related quality of life of overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome in Beijing adult women. Methods In the Community-based, cross-sectional study, 2973 women aged over 18 years who lived in urban and suburban communities respectively in Beijing were interviewed through Voiding Function Questionnaire, using a stratified system sampling approach. The women meeting the diagnostic criteria of OAB using the International Continence Society (ICS) definition were further interviewed through King's health questionnaire(KHQ) to estimate the impact of OAB on health related quality of life in Beijing adult women. Results A total of 2379(80.0%) women with complete data were included in this study. The overall prevalence of OAB was 4.7% (112/2379)and demonstrated an significant increasing with advancing age (P＜0.01). The prevalence of OAB was 2.0% in urban and 8. 1 % in suburban. In multiple logistic models, age, BMI, region of residence and anxiety level were associated risk factors for OAB. The result of King's health questionnaire showed the symptoms of OAB affect general health perception and sleep and energy severely. Conclusions The prevalence of OAB in Bei-jing adult women is 4.7%, lower than that of most reports in Occidental women, increases with advancing age, higher BMI and higher anxiety level, and is higher in suburban than in urban. The symptoms of OAB have a detrimental effect on quality of life.