Primary liver cancer is one of the most commonly seen tumors in clinical practice. Due to the stealthiness and fast progress of liver cancer, only 20% of the patients may have chance to receive operation for radical therapy. Patients seldom get benefit from systematic chemotherapy and as a result, local chemotherapy methods such as transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) have become the mainstay in the treatment of liver cancer. Compared with systematic chemotherapy, TACE produces fewer side effects and most of such side effects are caused by postembolization syndrome manifested as nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, loss of appetite, etc.

Objective:To establish a method for the determination of nimesulide granules by HPLC. Methods:An Inertsil ODS-SP C18 column(250 mm × 4. 6 mm,5 μm) was used, and the mobile phase was 0. 01 mol·L-1 potassium hydrogen phosphate anhy-drous-acetonitrile(55∶45)[adjusting pH to (7. 2 ± 0. 05) with phosphoric acid]. The detection wavelength was set at 399nm and the flow rate was 1.0 ml·min-1. The injection volume was 20 μl. Results: The linear range of nimesulide was 0.044-0.222 μg(r=0. 999 9), the average recovery was 99. 22% and RSD was 0. 46%(n=6). Conclusion:The method is simple, accurate with promis-ing sensitivity and reproducibility, and can be used in the determination of nimesulide granules .

To improve the preparation speed and quality of moxa cone, a mould for preparation of moxa cone was designed and applied in moxibustion. It consists three parts: a foundation (a flat-bottomed circular cylinder hollow in center), a moxa cone forming tube (a hollow column encircled by two semi-cylinders with symmetrical shape and size, and was inserted in the internal cavity of the foundation); and a compression rod (a solid cylinder used for compressing moxa placed in moxa cone forming tube). The mould is practical, simple, and convenient and can effectively speed up the preparation of moxa cone, and it is safe in application. Moreover, the obtained moxa cones are regular in shape, uniform in dosage and size, dense in texture, and convenient to pack, store and carry.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary (FACT-Hep) questionnaire in measuring the quality of life in patients with primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC) in China. METHODS: FACT-Hep questionnaire was translated into Chinese and revised properly. From September 2005 to April 2006, one hundred and eighty patients with primary liver carcinoma were admitted and measured by using the Chinese version of FACT-Hep questionnaire, and the reliabilities, validities and responsibilities of the questionnaire were assessed. RESULTS: Correlation coefficient was higher between items and dimension of their corresponding domain (0.5933+/-0.1652) than that between the items and other domains (0.2749+/-0.1922). Six principal constituents were extracted by factor analysis and represented all domains of the questionnaire. The combinations of components were consistent with what was expected. The correlation coefficient of criterion-related validity was 0.828. The test-retest reliability correlation coefficients of physical, social/family, emotion, function, symptom and total questionnaire were 0.731, 0.334, 0.953, 0.786, 0.785 and 0.801 respectively, and the values of Cronbach's alpha were 0.7397, 0.4193, 0.7914, 0.8250, 0.8399 and 0.9161, respectively. There were statistical differences in scores of FACT-Hep questionnaire in different PHC stages or in different Child-Pugh classes (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The FACT-Hep questionnaire can measure the quality of life in patients with PHC with good reliability, validity and responsiveness; it can be used in assessing the disease-specific health-related quality of life of patients with hepatobiliary cancers.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of ginsenosides (GSS) extracted from ginseng stem and leaves on glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in different viscera in heat-damaged rats, and to find out its action mechanism. METHODS: Thirty-two male SD rats were divided into control group and experimental group, and fed 2 mg/d GSS and equal-quantity of distilled water respectively for 7 days. Eight rats of each group were exposed to (42+/-1) degrees C for one hour. The binding activities of GR in brain, thymus, lung and liver cytosols in rats were detected by radioligand binding assay. The expression levels of GR mRNA in brain and liver cytosols were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. Plasma adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and corticosterone (CS) concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: The binding activities of GR in brain, lung and liver cytosols, and the expression levels of GR mRNA in brain and liver cytosols were all higher in the GSS-treated and heat-damaged rats than those in the untreated heat-damaged rats (P<0.05 or P<0.01). There were no significant differences in plasma concentrations of ACTH and CS between the GSS-treated heat-damaged rats and the untreated heat-damaged rats. CONCLUSION: GSS can lessen the descending degree of the binding activity of GR in brain, thymus, lung and liver cytosols, and such efficacy of GSS may be related to improvement of the expression of GR mRNA.

To study the possible mechanism of Sisheng Decoction on spleen deficiency syndrome via the observation of general conditions, immunity and anti-stress function in Dahuang (Radix et Rhizoma Rhei Palmati)-induced mice model.

To determine alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid in extract of Portulaca oleracea L. by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

To investigate the effects of a formula of components from Shengmai Powder, a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in rats after thermal injury.