Traditional tongue diagnosis is a vital basis of syndrome differentiation in TCM. The development of computer technology has opened up a new path to the tongue diagnosis modernization. The purpose of applying modernized tongue diagnosis into clinical research is for providing objective basis for diagnosis, TCM syndrome differentiation, evaluation of illness condition and efficacy evaluation. This article analyzed the application of modernized tongue diagnosis in clinical research in recent years, summarized the application status and existing problems of applying tongue color, texture, shape, indentation, sublingual veins, microcirculation, and spectrum analytical techniques into the clinical research, with a purpose to provide references for further research on modernized tongue diagnosis.

Fatty liver disease is caused by abnormal accumulation of lipids within hepatocytes. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, lipids belong to the category of essence obtained from cereals and the normal distribution of essence relies on the function of spleen yang. When spleen yang is injured, the normal distribution of essence (lipids) will be affected, leading to formation of phlegm retention in the liver. That is the TCM pathogenesis of fatty liver disease. Hence the treatment of fatty liver disease should be concentrated on warming yang to activate qi. With such a treatment, the normal distribution of essence will be restored, essence will be distributed, and phlegm will be dissipated.

Intestinal dysmotility symptoms,such as abdominal pain,diarrhea and tenesmus are frequently seen in patients with ulcerative colitis( UC). Interstitial cells of Cajal( ICC)has been accepted as a therapeutic target for gastrointestinal motility disorders and regulation of autophagy might be a potential strategy for various diseases. Study on relationship between intestinal dysmotility in UC and ICC autophagy and the intervention mechanism of related drugs will benefit the controlling of disease activity,relieving of dysmotility symptoms and improving of quality of life in UC patients. In this review article,the possible relationship between intestinal dysmotility in UC and ICC autophagy,as well as the possibility of regulating ICC autophagy as a treatment strategy for UC intestinal dysmotility were summarized.

Objective To study the relationship between the liver sinusoidal pathological changes and portal hypertension during the dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) induced liver fibrosis in rats. Methods The rat liver fibrosis model was established by peritoneal injection of DMN (at a dose of 10 mg/kg, 3 times a week, for 4 weeks) in 40 male Wister mice. In the control group of 24 healthy mice, saline solution was injected peritoneally. The dynamic changes of liver fibrosis were observed at different time points (1, 2, 3 day, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 week). The pressure of portal vein (Ppv) was directly measured by the intubation of mesentery anterior vein in 5 mice of the model and 3 of the control. The expressions of type Ⅳ collagen (Col Ⅳ), laminin (LM) and type Ⅰ collagen (Col Ⅰ) were detected by immunohistochemistry. Hepatic ultrastructure was observed by electron microscopy. Results Positive expression of Col Ⅳ was observed in the normal liver sinusoidal walls. The various intensities of positive staining of Col Ⅳ were observed in the liver sinusoidal walls of the fibrosis model. Positive expressions of LM and Col Ⅰ increased, and the strongest positive staining displayed in the 4 week model rats. Meanwhile, the fenestrae in the sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) were lost and the basal membrane was formed. There was a remarkable positive correlation between the Ppv and the expressions of LM in the DMN induced rat fibrosis( P

Objective: To study the effects of different origins, collection and processing methods on the quality of Taraxacum mongolicum. Methods:The HPLC fingerprints of Taraxacum mongolicum were established. Totally 11 batches of Taraxacum mongoli-cum were analyzed by similarity evaluation and cluster analysis. Results:According to the results of HPLC, 11 batches of Taraxacum mongolicum had good baseline separation and showed 5 common peaks. Based on the established HPLC method, the quality of different batches of Taraxacum mongolicum showed difference according to the results of similarity evaluation and cluster analysis. The quality of batch 121231-1 was the best. Conclusion:The origin, collection and processing method show notable influence on the quality of Ta-raxacum mongolicum, and the comprehensive score method can be applied in the quality evaluation of Chinese herbs.

Objective To investigate the technique and method of MSCT in examination of laryngeal. Methods MSCT data of 28 patients with laryngeal carcinoma confirmed pathologically were analyzed retrospectively. Images quality was evaluated and the results obtained with various windows and CT virtual larynscopy were compared. Results All images had good quality,20 cases(69% ) could be displayed with conventional soft tissue windows,24 cases(81% ) could be demonstrated with lung windows,and 27 cases(93% ) could be demonstrated with CT virtual larynscopy. Conclusion The multislice CT could effectively demonstrate laryngeal carcinoma, and could be applied routinely in examination of laryngeal carcinoma.

Objective To investigate the value of plasma miR-22 in diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension ( IPAH ),and its role of regulation mechanisms in the pathogenesis of the disease.Methods Circulating miR-22 levels of IPAH patients and healthy controls were evaluated by RTPCR.The silico analysis of targets for miR-22 was taken, and followed by eGFP reporter assay for verification of predicted target gene Myc binding protein (MYCBP). Results Compared with healthy controls,the expression of plasma miR-22 in IPAH patients was significantly decreased (P ＜ 0.01 ).The area under curve (AUC) of ROC curve was 0.744.MYCBP was a real target of miR-22 confirmed by silico analysis and eGFP reporter assay. Conclusions The expression of plasma miR-22 was significantly decreased in IPAH patients,and it could serve as a potential biomarker for diagnosis.The miR-22 might be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease through promoting its target gene MYCBP to activate the c-Myc pathway.

To study the effects of Cordyceps mycelia extract (CME) on portal hypertension in rats with dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) induced liver cirrhosis and probe into the mechanism of the action.

Objective To analyze the serum levels of medium-and long-chain free fatty acids (FFAs)in patients with hyperlipidemic non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in order to shed some light on prevention and treatment of NAFLD.Methods The clinical data of 125 patients with high triglyceride (TG)levels who were treated in Hebei General Hospital from January 2011 to May 2011 were analyzed in this study.They were further divided into HF group (n =64) and H group (n =61) based on the presence of NAFLD or not.In addition,63 healthy individuals were recruited from the Central Hospital of Handan during the same period as the control group (N group).Serum medium-and long-chain FFAs were detected by gas chromatography.The body mass index (BMI),abdominal circumference,blood pressure,fasting blood glucose (FBG),and serum lipids including TG,total cholesterol (TC),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured.Results Compared with the N group,the H group had significantly higher BMI [(25.24 ± 1.41) kg/m2 vs.(24.32 ± 1.12) kg/m2,P =0.004],abdominal circumference [(84.72 ± 1.34) cm vs.(77.33 ±0.89) cm,P =0.010],and diastolic blood pressure [(77.35±1.21) mmHgvs.(75.21 ±1.61) mmHg,P=0.014]; also,the serum TG [(2.86±0.55) mmol/Lvs.(0.93±0.27) mmol/L,P=0.000] andTC levels [(4.56±0.66) mmol/Lvs.(4.36±0.47) mmol/L,P=0.000],serum myristic acid (C14∶0) [(0.49±0.04)％ vs.(0.36±0.01)％,P=0.011],palmitic acid (C16 ∶ 0) [(18.36 ± 0.47) ％ vs.(15.97 ± 0.30) ％,P =0.000],palmitoleic acid (C16∶ 1) [(1.00±0.12)％ vs.(0.58±0.02)％,P=0.001],and oleic acid (C18 ∶ 1) [(18.20±0.70) ％ vs.(12.23 ± 0.37) ％,P =0.000] all significantly increased,while stearic acid (C18 ∶ 0) [(7.52 ±0.22)％ vs.(8.15 ±0.28)％,P=0.012],eicosadienoic acid (C20 ∶ 2) [(0.61 ±0.07)％ vs.(1.03 ±0.17) ％,P =0.000],eicosatrienoic acid (C20 ∶ 3) [(1.77 ± 0.15) ％ vs.(2.49 ± 0.18) ％,P =0.002],and docosahexenoic acid (C22 ∶ 6) [(1.44 ± 0.08) ％ vs.(1.67 ± 0.09) ％,P =0.014] significantly decreased.Compared with the H group,the HF group had significantly higher weight [(85.76 ± 3.10) kg vs.(71.45 ±2.88) kg,P =0.003],abdominal circumference [(96.30 ±2.05) cm vs.(84.72 ± 1.34) cm,P=0.000],systolic blood pressure [(117.12 ±1.15) mmHg vs.(113.23 ±1.25) mmHg,P=0.009],and diastolic blood pressure [(79.54 ± 1.42) mmHg vs.(77.35 ± 1.21) mmHg,P =0.016],whereas the sreum FGB,TG,TC,HDL-C,and LDL-C showed no significant differentces; serum palmitic acid (C16 ∶ 0)[(19.54 ± 0.30) ％ vs.(18.36 ± 0.47) ％,P =0.000] also significantly increased.The serum level of eicosadienoic acid (C20 ∶ 2) in HF group was between that in N group and H group [(0.78 ± 0.09) ％ vs.(1.03 ±0.17)％,(0.78±0.09)％ vs.(0.61 ±0.07)％,both P=0.000].Conclusions The increased serum level of palmitic acid may be a risk factor for NAFLD.Reducing saturated fatty acids and increasing unsaturated acids in diets may be helpful for preventing NAFLD.

Objective To investigate the correlation between three gene locus polymorphisms of X-ray repair cross-complementary protein 1 (XRCC1) exon (Arg194Trp, Arg280His and Arg399Gln) and the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods A case-control study was performed in 250 CRC patients (case group, 128 colon cancer patients and 122 rectal cancer patients) and 213 healthy individuals (control group). The three gene locus polymorphism of XRCC1 was tested by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The genotype distribution and allele frequency of each locus was analyzed with SPSS 10.0 software. Results There was no significant difference in allele frequency of XRCC1 at 194 and 399 loci (P > 0.05). However, the 280 Arg/His allele frequency of XRCC1 was higher in case group than that in control group (OR=1.66,95%CI:1.01~2.73,P=0.047). The 280Arg/His allele frequency was higher in rectal cancer group than that in control group (OR =1.82,95%CI:1.02~3.27). The frequency of 280His allele (Arg280His and His280His) was higher in case group than that in control group (OR=1.85,95%CI:1.06~3.22). However, it was a relative low risk factor of colon cancer and there was no significant difference between colon cancer group and control group (OR=1.85, 95%CI:1.06~3.22). Conclusions There was no correlation between XRCC1 Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln polymorpohisms and the risk of CRC. However, 280Arg/His genotype may increase the risk of CRC, and 280His allele is a risk factor of rectal cancer.