Herbal property theory of traditional Chinese medicines is the theoretical guidance on authentication of medicinal plants, herborization, preparation of herbal medicines for decoction and clinical application, with important theoretical value and prac- tical significance. Our research team proposed the "three-element" theory for herbal properties for the first time, conducted a study by using combined methods of philology, chemistry, pharmacology and mathematics, and then drew the research conclusion that herbal properties are defined as the chemical compositions-based comprehensive expression with complex and multi-level (positive/negative) biological effects in specific organism state. In this paper, researchers made a systematic mathematical analysis in four aspects--the correlation between herbal properties and chemical component factors, the correlation between herbal properties and organism state fac- tor, the correlation between herbal properties and biological effect factor and the integration study of the three elements, proposed future outlook, and provided reference to mathematical studies and mathematical analysis of herbal properties.
Drug Compounding ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Models, Theoretical ; Phytotherapy ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

BACKGROUND:There are usualy removable appliances and fixed appliances in the mouth of orthodontic patients, resulting in periodontitis. Because of its high security, good heat resistance, long action time, not easy to produce resistance and wide antimicrobial spectrum, inorganic antibacterial agents have become a research hotspot. OBJECTIVE:To review the application and research progress of inorganic nano-antibacterial materials in orthodontic treatment. METHODS:A computer-based search of PubMed and CNKI databases was performed for articles about applications of inorganic nano-antibacterial materials in orthodontic treatment published from January 2001 to December 2014 using the keywords of “orthodontic, antibacterial agent” in English and Chinese, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Inorganic nano-antibacterial materials for oral bacteria have good antibacterial properties, and are a kind of ideal biological material. Bracket enamel adhesive, removable appliance resin material and bracket can play correct and antibacterial roles by modification of inorganic nano-antibacterial materials, so as to reduce complications such as dental caries. However, the application of nano-antibacterial materials is stil in its infancy, the modified materials need to be studied further in terms of color problems, physical and chemical properties and biological security.

Objective To discuss the etiology,clinical features,diagnosis and treatment of congenital pleural effusion in fetuses and neonates in order to improve the understanding of this disease. Methods Six neonate cases with congenital pleural effusion were retrospectively analyzed in neonates who were admitted to the Department of Neonatolo-gy of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University after birth and the etiology,clinical features,diagnosis and re-lated treatment were analyzed based on literature review. Results Among 6 patients with congenital pleural effusion, chylothorax was found in 3 cases,one of whom had chylothorax,chylous abdominal,21 trisomy syndrome and congenital hypothyroidism,and the etiology of the other 3 cases were unknown. Diagnosis mainly was depended on imaging and la-boratory tests. The number of nucleated cells of hydrothorax or ascites were(1 588 - 13 057)× 106 / L,mainly lympho-cytes. Protein qualitative was( + - + + + ),the chylothorax qualitative test was positive in 3 cases. The liver function showed that the total protein and albumin were decreased in varyig degrees. Conservative or surgical treatment was taken according to the situation of the patients. Among 6 patients,3 cases were cured after treatment,the others gave up treat-ment finally. Conclusions The etiology of congenital pleural effusion was different,and often associated with chromo-somal abnormalities or other malformations,ultrasonography was the main method to diagnose congenital pleural effusion and the patients should be dynamically observed or treated during the antepartum or intrapartum period. If the neonates are found to have pleural effusion in prenatal period early diagnosis and treatment is a best choice.

Objective To evaluate the effects of isoflurane postconditioning on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats.Methods Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats,weighing 280-320 g,were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=8 each):group sham operation (group S),group I/R,group isoflurane preconditioning (group Ⅰ-pre),and group isoflurane postconditioning (group Ⅰ-post).Global cerebral I/R was induced by 4-vessel occlusion method described by Pulsinelli.1.5％ isoflurane was inhaled for 2h before ischemia in group Ⅰ-pre.1.5％ isoflurane was inhaled for 30 min immediately after onset of reperfusion in group Ⅰ-post.Neurological function was assessed and scored at 24h of reperfusion.The rats were sacrificed at 72h of reperfusion and hippocampi were isolated for determination of neuronal apoptosis (by TUNEL),caspase-3 expression (by immuno-histochemistry),and phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK) protein expression (by using Western blot) in hippocampal tissues.Apoptotic rate was calculated.Results Compared with S group,the number of grid cross was decreased,twist time was prolonged,hanging time was shortened,apoptotic rate was increased,and the expression of caspase-3 and p-JNK protein was up-regulated in I/R,I-pre and Ⅰ-post groups (P ＜ 0.05).Compared in I/R group,the number of grid cross was increased,twist time was shortened,hanging time was prolonged,apoptotic rate was decreased,and the expression of caspase-3 and p-JNK protein was down-regulated in Ⅰ-pre and Ⅰ-post groups (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with I/R group,the number of grid cross was decreased,hanging time was shortened,apoptotic rate was increased,and the expression of caspase-3 was up-regulated (P ＜ 0.05),and no significant changes in the expression of p-JNK protein were found in Ⅰ-post group (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Isoflurane postconditioning can reduce cerebral I/R injury,the efficacy is weaker than that of preconditioning and the mechanism is related to activation of JNK signal transduction pathway and inhibition of neuronal apoptosis in hippocampus of rats.

Objective: The primary aim of this research is to systematically sort out and analyze available documents for yang deficiency syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine, providing innovative ideas and methods for statistical study of yang deficiency syndrome. Methods: Based on the China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) and Chongqing VIP databases, using "yang deficiency", "deficiency cold", and "patient" as keywords, we searched literature of clinical researches and used "ratio-comparison" and "integration-comparison" to analyze objective data after data preprocessing. Relative importance value of physiological and biochemical parameters were reflected by P value calculated by ratio-comparison or Q value by integration-comparison. Results: With calculation of relative importance values of clinical indicators among various systems, we got the ranking of relative importance of different indexes. Triiodothyronine and urine 17-hydorxycorticosteroid of endocrine system, immunoglobulin A of immune system, and the ratio of cyclic adenosine monophosphate to cyclic guanosine monophosphate, which had great |P| (or |Q|) values and negative P (or Q) values, had a clearly lower level in yang deficiency patients than in the control; hemorheological indicators such as plasma viscosity, whole blood reduced viscosity and erythrocyte electrophoresis time had small |P| (or |Q|) values. These indicators, however, showed less importance for reflecting yang deficiency. Conclusion: Ratio-comparison method and integration-comparison method employed in this study have merits of efficiency and robustness. After detailed compiling and mining of all available data, we have made reasonable advice on the most relevant index of yang deficiency for further study of the essence of this syndrome.

ObjectiveTo explore the risk factors of obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to intracranial hemorrhage in premature infants.MethodsA total of 304 premature infants were selected who were diagnosed as sever intracranial hemor-rhage (grade III and IV) by cranial bedside ultrasound admitted to our hospital from Jun. 2013 to Sep. 2014. According to wheth-er the obstructive hydrocephalus was followed, all infants were divided into hydrocephalus group (n=59) and non-hydrocephalus group (n=185). The risk factors of obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to intracranial hemorrhage were analyzed and the lateral ventricle size was measured dynamically.ResultsThe univariate analysis showed the factors related with obstructive hydro-cephalus were as follows: gestational age≤32 weeks, birth weight< 1500g, severe asphyxia, cesarean section, RDS, neonatal infection, heart failure, PDA, acidosis, thrombocytopenia, coagulation abnormalities, and intracranial hemorrhage (gradeⅢ orⅣ) (allP<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that acidosis, thrombocytopenia, coagulation abnormalities, gesta-tional age≤ 32 weeks, severe asphyxia, intracranial hemorrhage (gradeⅢ orⅣ) were independent risk factors for obstructive hydrocephalus (OR: 1.76~20.46, allP<0.05). At each time point after birth, the ratio of posterior horn of lateral ventricle was signiifcantly higher in hydrocephalus group than that in non-hydrocephalus group (P<0.05). There were signiifcant differences in the changes of the posterior horn ratio of left or right lateral ventricle with time in hydrocephalus group (P=0.000), increasing at 14 days and reaching the peak at 28 days after birth.ConclusionsThe risk factors for obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to intracranial hemorrhage in neonates are important. Regular and dynamical monitoring of ventricle size by cranial ultrasound is needed in infants with sever intracranial hemorrhage.

Objective To evaluate the function of regulatory T (Treg)cells in peripheral blood from patients with psoriasis, and to explore the possible role of the STAT3 signaling pathway in Treg cell dysfunction. Methods Totally, 81 patients with psoriasis vulgaris, who all presented with chronic plaques and had a psoriasis area and severity index (PASI)score of 10 - 30, were enrolled into this study. Forty-six healthy blood donors served as the control group. Venous blood samples were collected from these subjects followed by isolation of Treg cells and responder T (Tresp)cells. Flow cytometry was performed to determine the proportion of Treg cells in peripheral blood as well as that of cells secreting phosphorylated-STAT3(p-STAT3), interferon γ(IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)and interleukin 17(IL-17)in Treg cells, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR)to measure the expression levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-17 mRNAs in Treg cells. Some Treg cells and Tresp cells were cultured in vitro alone or in combination, and flow cytometry was conducted to estimate cellular proliferative activity on day 7 after stimulation with IL-2. Some patient-derived Treg cells were classified into several groups to be cultured alone or in combination with Tresp cells with or without the presence of the STAT3 pathway inhibitor, Stattic V (10 or 50 μg/L), for 7 days. Subsequently, flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the proliferative activity of Tresp cells, and qRT-PCR to measure the expression levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-17 mRNAs in Treg cells. Results No significant differences were observed in the proportion of Treg cells in peripheral blood between the patient group and control group (6.437% ± 0.186% vs. 6.812% ± 0.241%, t = 1.224, P >0.05). Compared with control-derived Treg cells, the patient-derived Treg cells showed significantly decreased proliferative activity and inhibitory effects on Tresp cells, but increased proportion of cells secreting p-STAT3, IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-17 (all P < 0.05). After the treatment with 50 μg/L Stattic V, a significant increase was observed in the inhibitory effect of patient-derived Treg cells on Tresp cells (inhibition rate: 61.670% ± 4.640% vs. 28.820% ± 11.490%, P < 0.05), but a significant decrease in the mRNA expressions of IFN-γ (2-△△C t: 1.654 ± 0.879 vs. 23.350 ± 6.721, P <0.05), TNF-α(0.850 ± 0.705 vs. 4.847 ± 1.525, P < 0.05)and IL-17(0.572 ± 0.135 vs. 3.095 ± 0.650, all P < 0.05)in patient-derived Treg cells compared with untreated patient-derived Treg cells. Conclusions The negative regulatory effect of Treg cells on Tresp cells is decreased in patients with psoriasis, which may be associated with abnormal activation of the STAT3 signaling pathway, and inhibition of the pathway may restore the function of Treg cells to a certain extent.

Studying the essence of syndromes (Zheng) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a fundamental challenge in basic theoretical research of TCM. The relationship between any given syndrome and biochemical indicators is one of the important aspects of the study. As the indexes selected in each study are specific to a particular Western medical disease diagnosis, and the disease factor is inevitably introduced into the study, the effect of disease factor on the index changes cannot be assessed effectively by traditional data processing methods. This is known as "the same syndrome with different reasons", which has resulted in confusion in TCM research. This study aimed at providing a mathematical tool to address this issue. Based on information theory and the residual-split method, the syndrome information, which was covered in the index variation, was quantitatively calculated in this paper as an independent part of the disease factor. A mathematical model capable of objectively assessing and statistically testing the effect of the syndrome factor on the index changes was established. Applying this model to literature data of studies on the relationship between cyclic nucleotides and yang-deficiency syndrome showed following results. First, the values of yang-deficiency syndrome information were negative for cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) while positive for cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in all included literature. This indicated that the group of yang-deficiency syndrome was correlated with an obvious trend of reduced cAMP levels and increased cGMP levels. Second, the statistical test results of yang-deficiency syndrome information of the two indexes were different among the literature included. The quality of original data was considered as a possible reason. Third, the significant differences between the yang-deficiency group of a specific disease and the normal group may, in some cases, be caused by a disease factor rather than a syndrome factor. The mathematical model provided a reasonable mathematical tool for the analysis of disease factor and syndrome factor in clinical research of TCM, suggesting that the mathematical model may give rise to innovative ideas and methods in the study of syndromes.

Objective To research the operation method for hypospadias by one-stage urethroplasty.Methods According to the length of urethra defect,18 cases were operated by using one-stage urethroplasty with perineal and preputial island flaps.Results 16 cases were successful in all patients(88.9%),except one case of urethrostenosis and urethral fistula respective.The case of urethrostenosis recovered by dilation of urethra after 5 months and the patient of urethral fistula was successfully repaired by operation after 8 months.All patients were followed up for 6～26 months with satisfactory penis and micturition.Conclusion The technique of one-stage urethroplasty by using perineal and preputial island flaps is the one of best choices for hypospadias.

Objective To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection among key populations in Wuxi City,Jiangsu Province,so as to provide evidences for developing preventive and control interventions for T. gondii in-fection. Methods A questionnaire was designed to conduct face-to-face interviews to HIV/AIDS carriers/patients,tumor pa-tients,pregnant women and pet breeders. The blood samples were collected to test anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgG antibodies by using ELISA method. Results Totally 404 participants were investigated,and 38 were positive in testing T. gondii antibodies (9.4%),and among these,37(97.4%)were IgG positive and 1(2.6%)was IgM positive. The multivariate logistic regression indicated that age,regularly contacting cats/dogs and being HIV positive were associated with the infection of T. gondii(OR=2.1,2.6 and 2.3,all P < 0.05). Breeding pets,being HIV positive and being tumor patients were more likely to infect T. gondii than being pregnant(OR = 1.5,8.1 and 2.8,all P < 0.05). Conclusion The high infection rate of T. gondii is observed among key populations in Wuxi City,so that the effective measurements should be taken to enhance the intervention among key popula-tions including immunocompromised people,pet breeders or people having bad dietary habits of eating raw food.