OBJECTIVE:To analyze the effects of environmental factors (soil,climate,etc.) on the quality of Radix Polygalae.METHODS:The contents of polygalic acid were determined by HPLC.Climate factors including altitude,average annual temperature,average temperature of July,annual precipitation,annual sunshine hours and non-frost days were collected through on-site inspection or from the local meteorological data. Water content,pH and nutritional elements of the soils were determined by routine method,and the reletionship between the content of polygalic acid and the factors were analyzed.RESULTS:There was linear relationship between the content of polygalic acid and climate factors such as average temperature of July,annual precipitation,annual sunshine hours and non-frost days.There was also linear relationship between polygalic acid and soil factors such as total nitrogen,total phosphor,available phosphor,available kalium,organic matters and water content. CONCLUSION:The main climate factors that affect polygalic acid content were annual sunshine hours and non-frost days,while the main soil factors affecting the content of polygalic acid were the content of available phosphor and soil water content.

This article is aimed to establish the method of quality standards for highland barley Monascus.Microscopic and TLC were adopted to identify Araliataibaiensis. Referring the relevant method in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition) for the determination of its moisture, total ash, acid insoluble ash and extracts,lovastatin in acid and lactone form was determined using high performance liquid chromatography. The characteristics of highland barley Monascus in microscopic and TLC were obvious and specific. The contents in barley red yeast are: water 6.04%-8.78%, total ash 2.15%-2.92%, acid insoluble ash 0.23%-0.29%, water extracts 27.99%-30.17%; alcohol extracts 14.12%-18.51%. The ranges of lovastatin in acid and lactone form are 0.11%-0.29% and 0.02%-0.08%, respectively. The established method is simple, accurate, reliable and duplicable, and can be used to control the quality of highland barley Monascus.

Objective To compare the dosimetric verification results of Varian Portal Dosimetry and Matrixx,and to assess the reliability of the clinical application of electronic portal imaging device (EPID) verification.Methods Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator,which was equipped with a 120-leaf multileaf collimator and an amorphous silicon EPID,as well as portal dose prediction software.IBA I′mRT Matrixx ion chamber array was used.EPID algorithm configuration,dose calibration,and testing before use were performed.The sliding-window protocol was used.There were 77 patients with tumors involving the head and neck (mainly nasopharyngeal carcinoma),mediastinum,abdomen,and pelvic cavity were selected.The verification plan of the portal dose was created with a source-detector distance of 100 cm,and the gantry angle was kept the same as the treatment plan.The verification plan was carried out in the TrueBeam machine,and the data were collected at the same time by EPID.Comparison between the measured and calculated dose images was performed,and the evaluation standard was gamma index (3%/3 mm).The paired t-test was used for difference analysis.Results For the 77 patients,the Gamma passing rates of both methods were above 97%.Except for head and neck carcinoma were a significant difference between the results of dosimetric results using EPID and Matrixx in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (P=0.018) other remaining all P> 0.05.Conclusions The dosimetric verification results of EPID are consistent with those of Matrixx.EPID can be used for dosimetric verification,and Matrixx ion chamber array can be used only in case of a low Gamma passing rate.

Objective:To evaluate the combined effect of an trajectory log field based(LBF)and two commercial dose reconstruction systems on volume-modulated arc therapy(VMAT)dose verification of lung cancer.Methods:An in-house program was developed to introduce errors in trajectory log of TrueBeam to the origin plan and recalculate the dose of the error plan in treatment planning system(TPS). A total of 18 lung cancer cases treated by two-arc VMAT were selected to perform on LINAC and measured by ArcCheck simultaneously. Then, the reconstructed doses were obtained by 3DVH. The mode of reconstruction was calculated by LFB and Compass. Five of the 18 cases were performed on LINAC two times in four hours and measured by ArcCheck to evaluate the stability of the TrueBeam performance. The 18 plans were recalculated and performed on LINAC with a solid water phantom with 5 cm build-up, 4 cm back scattering thickness and a FC65-G detector in the center. The measured dose by detector was compared with the reconstructed dose by three systems.Results:TheTruebeam performance was stable. For all of the 18 cases, the point dose measured by FC65-G and reconstructed by three systems had a deviation of less than 2% to the TPS calculated. For all of the organs reconstructed by LBF and most organs reconstructed by 3DVH and Compass, the γ pass rate between them and TPS all exceeded 90% under all criteria, as well as the ArcCheck measured results. For all the organ dose difference between reconstructed and TPS, LBF system had the smallest difference, followed by the Compass system except the lung, and the 3DVH had the highest difference.Conclusions:LBF, 3DVH and Compass can reflect the VMAT dose verification results of lung cancer from different perspectives. The combined application of three systems can demonstrate the verification results in an intuitive manner, which is beneficial for subsequent analysis.

This study was aimed to establish and optimize the reaction system of MSAP for analysis on DNA methylation inCyathula officinalis Kuan of Sichuanmedicinal. The tender leaves ofC. officinalisKuan were used as materials. Orthogonal method was used in the study of main factors which affected the system quality of MSAP. The results showed that the optimal reaction systems of MSAP included: enzyme digestion (20μL), 300 ng DNA, 1.5μL EcoRI, 1.5μL HpaII or 1.5μL MspI (HpaII); ligation (25μL): 15μL digestion products, 1μL EcoR I adaptor, 1μL Hpa II/Msp I adaptor, 0.2μL T4 ligase; pre-amplication mixture (25μL): ligation products 1μL, rTaq polymerase 1 U, each primer 1.5μL, dNTP 2μL; selective amplification mixture (25μL): pre-amplification product was diluted 50 times, rTaq polymerase 1 U, each primer 1.5μL, dNTP 3μL. The optimal MSAP reaction system was used to screen for 6 pairs of effective primers from 256 pairs of primers of MSAP. It was concluded that the optimized system ensured the stable and clear bands and the screened 6 pairs of primers were with good specificity. It provided useful references for further studies of epigenetic onC. officinalisKuan DNA methylation and MSAP analysis for other medicinal plants.

Objective:To perform testing and clinical application of a volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) dosimetry verification system based on three-dimensional dose reconstruction of patient anatomical structures.Methods:ArcCheck array calibration was performed. Then, 200 MU was delivered with a 10 cm×10 cm field when the source to center of ArcCheck was 100 cm to calibrate the absolute dose and the dose was simultaneously measured by a FC65-G detector in the center of the ArcCheck. The absolute dose calibration value or the CT value of ArcCheck was adjusted to minimize the differences between the planning and measurement values of FC65-G, reconstructed value by 3DVH and reconstructed percent depth dose by 3DVH. 10 lung and 10 cervical cancer VMAT cases were selected and measured by ArcCheck and FC65-G under the delivery of a TrueBeam LINAC. The three-dimensional doses of all cases were reconstructed by 3DVH and compared with the planning and measurement values.Results:Different array calibration files of ArcCheck exerted different effect upon the two-dimensional dose measured by ArcCheck and three-dimensional dose reconstructed by 3DVH. The optimal reconstructed dose was obtained when self-calibration file was adopted and 249.96 cGy was regarded as the absolute dose calibration value. The deviations of the mean dose (D mean) and D 95% of the target were within ±4.2% and parameters of some organs at risk significantly differed compared with the reconstructed and planning dose for all cases. A negative mean point dose difference was obtained and the reconstructed dose was closer to the measured value. The γ-passing rate of the target for some cases was low, the proportion of regions irradiated by 50% prescription dose was slightly higher and the proportion of other organs was relatively high. Conclusion:The 3DVH model can be accurately established and tested with the acceptance test method in the present study, which can provide detailed information for dose verification.

Objective: To achieve quantitative analysis of image quality parameters and establish warning and action thresholds for the on-board imaging (OBI) system of linear accelerator. Methods: The Catphan604 phantom was repeatedly scanned in the Full-Fan and Half-Fan CBCT scanning modes on a Varian EDGE linear accelerator, and the software based on Python language development in-house was utilized to analyze image quality parameters, such as CT number linearity, geometric consistency, slice thickness, spatial resolution, uniformity and low-contrast resolution. The quantitative analysis results of each image quality parameter obtained from 16 times of scanning within 16 months were normalized to the mean and the standard deviations were recorded. A run chart analysis was created to determine the warnings and action thresholds. Results: The software built in-house can quantitatively analyze the image parameters of the two scanning modes of OBI system. The low-contrast resolution of Half-Fan was better than that of Full-Fan, whereas the spatial resolution of Full-Fan was superior to that of Half-Fan. One standard deviation (1σ) was set as the warning threshold and 2 standard deviations (2σ) as the action threshold, respectively. The tolerance level of Half-Fan was smaller than that of Full-Fan. Conclusion Self-developed software enables quantitative analysis of accelerator image quality parameters, establishes warning and action tolerance of quality assurance and provides guidance for image quality assurance under image-guided radiotherapy specification.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the content of tanshinone IIA in Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae from different habitats are regularly altered and find out the deviation between the studies.

METHODThe data of the content of tanshinone IIA in samples of Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae from different areas and related information since 1997 was collected and statistically analyzed.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONThe content of tanshinone IIA in wild Salvia was generally higher than that in the cultivated Salvia, and the content in nearly half cultivated Salvia was less than 0.2%. There existed a big difference between the used statistical model, and the data related the content in samples from Sichuan was the most divisive. The coefficient of variation of wild Salvia was below the cultivated Salvia, and the cultivated Salvia from different areas showed different coefficients of variation. The content of tanshinone IIA was lower when samples were extracted using the heating reflux method.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the history of the medicinal uses, resources, distribution, habitat and population characteristic of Coptis deltoidea, and provide basis for the protection and rational development and utilization of Radix Coptidis Deltoideae.

METHODThe relevant literature and data was scrutinized and herbarium was compared, interview and field survey methods were carried out.

RESULTThe medicinal history, resources, distribution, population characteristic and protective strategy of C. deltoidea were summarized. The sustainable development of C. deltoidea was discussed.

CONCLUSIONThe resource is endangered, the germplasm resources should be intentionally protected and ensure the sustainable development and utilization of C. deltoidea.

Emblic medicine is a popular natural source in the world due to its outstanding healthcare and therapeutic functions. Our preliminary results indicated that the quality of emblic medicines might have an apparent regional variation. A rapid and effective geographical traceability system has not been designed yet. To trace the geographical origins so that their quality can be controlled, an integrated spectroscopic strategy including spectral pretreatment, outlier diagnosis, feature selection, data fusion, and machine learning algorithm was proposed. A featured data matrix (245 × 220) was successfully generated, and a carefully adjusted RF machine learning algorithm was utilized to develop the geographical traceability model. The results demonstrate that the proposed strategy is effective and can be generalized. Sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE) and accuracy (ACC) of 97.65％, 99.85％ and 97.63％ for the calibrated set, as well as 100.00％ predictive efficiency, were obtained using this spectroscopic analysis strategy. Our study has created an integrated analysis process for multiple spectral data, which can achieve a rapid, nondestructive and green quality detection for emblic medicines originating from seventeen geographical origins.