The aim of this study is to identify the present status of the scientific and technological personnel in the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) resource science. Based on the data from Chinese scientific research paper, an investigation regarding the number of the personnel, the distribution, their output of paper, their scientific research teams, high-yield authors and high-cited authors was conducted. The study covers seven subfields of traditional Chinese medicine identification, quality standard, Chinese medicine cultivation, harvest processing of TCM, market development and resource protection and resource management, as well as 82 widely used Chinese medicine species, such as Ginseng and Radix Astragali. One hundred and fifteen domain authority experts were selected based on the data of high-yield authors and high-cited authors. The database system platform "Skilled Scientific and Technological Personnel in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resource Science-Chinese papers" was established. This platform successfully provided the retrieval result of the personnel, output of paper, and their core research team by input the study field, year, and Chinese medicine species. The investigation provides basic data of scientific and technological personnel in the field of traditional Chinese medicine resource science for administrative agencies and also evidence for the selection of scientific and technological personnel and construction of scientific research teams.
Bibliography of Medicine ; Biomedical Research ; manpower ; Databases, Factual ; Humans ; Laboratory Personnel ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; growth & development

Whiplash injury is a relatively common injury of clinical acupuncture and moxibustion in the United States. The mechanism and clinical manifestation of whiplash injuries as well as its pathogenesis described in TCM were analyzed in this present article. The authors introduced the TCM syndrome differentiation of whiplash injuries and claimed that both the location and the stage of disease should be considered. For the different injury locations, the meridian musculature differentiation was applied to classify the whiplash injuries as Taiyang, Yangming, Shaoyang and Shaoyin Meridian syndromes. Considering the duration of the injury, qi stagnation and blood stasis types were classified in the acute stage and phlegm accumulation, insufficiency of the liver and kidney and qi and blood deficiencies types were classified during the chronic stage. An acupuncture protocol for whiplash injuries and typical cases were also introduced.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Whiplash Injuries ; diagnosis ; therapy

Palpation is one of the major diagnostic methods in Chinese medicine. The article has summed up the current status, features and origins of various palpations in different acupuncture schools in the United States, including palpation on meridian, collaterals and acupoints in traditional Chinese acupuncture, abdominal palpation of Japanese acupuncture, pulse checking for couples in five-element acupuncture, palpation on tendon straps and muscle response testing in acupuncture physical medicine. Since great importance has always been attached on social psychological factors in all acupuncture schools of America, it is thus concluded that the interactive mechanism of diagnosis and treatment represented by palpation feedback examination is not only the manifestation of people oriented individualized treatment both physically and psychologically in America, but also a kind of inheritance and development of diagnosis and treatment in the modernization of TCM.
Acupuncture ; education ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Palpation ; methods ; United States

Objective:To investigate the role of serum hepatitis B virus RNA (HBV RNA) in predicting HBeAg serological conversion in children with chronic hepatitis B.Methods:175 children aged 1~17 years with chronic hepatitis B who received interferon α (IFNα) for 48 weeks were selected. Patients were divided into HBeAg seroconversion and non-conversion based on whether HBeAg seroconversion occurred at 48 weeks of treatment.T-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare between groups; chisquare test or Fisher exact probability method was used to compare the frequency between groups of classified variables; and Pearson correlation was used to analyze the correlation between indicators. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify influencing factors associated with HBeAg serological conversion. The predictive effect of HBV RNA, HBV DNA, and HBsAg on HBeAg serological conversion was compared and analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).Results:The seroconversion rate of HBeAg at 48 weeks was 36.0% (63/175). The reduction in HBVRNA levels from baseline to the 12th, 24th, 36th, and 48th weeks of antiviral therapy was significantly greater in the HBeAg serological conversion group than that in the non-conversion group, and the difference was statistically significant between the two groups (P < 0.05). Univariate and multivariate regression analyses showed that age and a decline in HBV RNA levels at week 12 were independent predictors of HBeAg serological conversion. The area under the ROC curve (AUROC) of HBV RNA decline at week 12 was 0.677(95% CI∶0.549-0.806, P = 0.012), which was significantly better than the same period of AUROC of HBV DNA (0.657, 95% CI∶0.527-0.788, P = 0.025) and HBsAg (0.660, 95% CI∶0.526-0.795, P = 0.023) decline. HBV RNA levels decreased (>1.385 log10 copies/ml) at week 12, with a positive predictive value of 53.2%, a negative predictive value of 72.2%, a sensitivity of 77.4%, and a specificity of 57.9% for HBeAg seroconversion. Conclusion:HBV RNA level lowering during the 12th week of antiviral therapy can serve as an early predictor marker for HBeAg serological conversion in children with chronic hepatitis B.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the silencing effect of gene encoding peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) on the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) by constructing vectors for RNA interference in RAW264.7 cells.

METHODSThe pSUPER-EGFP vectors were used to transcribe functional small interfering RNA (siRNA). Four pairs of oligonucleotides (64 nt) targeting PPARgamma gene were inserted into the downstream of the H1 promotor, with their veracity confirmed by double digestion and sequencing. Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay were used to examine the silencing effect of PPARgamma gene in RAW264.7 cells. Meanwhile, the TNFalphalevel was determined by Sandwich ELISA.

RESULTSCompared with other recombinant pSUPER-EGFP vectors (R-pSUPER.EGFP), R-pSUPER.EGFP2 induced the best silencing effect on the expression of PPARgamma in RAW264.7 cells, which played an obvious inhibitory role in down-regulating the TNFalphaexpression after the curcumin and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation.

CONCLUSIONSPPARgamma-pSUPER-EGFP inducing a silencing effect on the expression of PPARgamma can efficiently play a negative role in controlling the inflammatory responses of RAW264.7 cells.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of low molecular peptide of Mycobacterium tuberculosis heat-resistant antigen (Mtb-HAg-10k) on the production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in peripheral blood T cells and test the feasibility of differential diagnosis between pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) by assessing the number of Mtb-HAg-10k-stimulated IFN-γ-producing T cells.

METHODSPeripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated from the peripheral blood of 10 healthy adults, 6 individuals with LTBI and 13 patients with PTB. The PBMCs were cultured in the presence of Mtb-HAg-10k obtained by ultrafiltration centrifugation, with Mtb-HAg and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) as the controls. The proportions of TNF-α- and IFN-γ-producing cells in the T cell subsets were detected by flow cytometry (FCM), and the number of IFN-γ-producing cells from patients with PTB and LTBI was detected with ELISPOT.

RESULTSFlow cytometry showed that Mtb-HAg-10k exposure resulted in a significantly higher proportion of TNF-α-producing γδT cells than that of IFN-γ-producing γδT cells in the PBMCs (P<0.01). Compared with the PBMCs exposed to PHA, the PBMCs exposed to Mtb-HAg-10k exhibited a significantly greater proportion of γδT cells that produced both TNF-α and IFN-γ (P<0.01) but a significantly lower proportion of αβT cells producing both TNF-α and IFN-γ (P<0.01). Mtb-HAg-10k exposure of the PBMCs caused a significant reduction in the number of IFN-γ-producing cells as compared with Mtb-HAg and PHA treatments (P<0.01), and this reduction was more obvious in PBMCs from patients with PTB than in those from individuals with LTBI (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONMtb-HAg-10k can markedly induce γδT cells in the PBMCs to produce TNF-α and IFN-γ, and detection of the number of IFN-γ-producing cells in the PBMCs following Mtb-HAg-10k stimulation helps in the differential diagnosis between pulmonary tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection.

Humans ; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive ; Hematologic Neoplasms/therapy* ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy

Background: Scalp combing,as an ancient method of health care,has been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine.Although this method is considered to be beneficial for the blood circu-lation of the head,the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.Methods: Both human participants and mice were used in this study.In participants,the scalp was stimulated by combing continuously for 5 min,and the temperature was measured using infrared thermal imaging before and after stimulation.In mice,the temperature was determined before and at 5,15,and 30 min after a 5-min scalp mechanical stimulation(SMS).Additionally,the vasculature of the mice was labeled with retro-orbital fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran injection,and the capillaries were observed directly under a confocal microscope.Using in vivo CLARITY imaging and the spectrofluoro-metric detection of Evans Blue dye extravasation,the blood—brain barrier permeability was assessed.Results: SMS increased the temperature of the left ear significantly in human(P =.0247)while can slightly increase the temperature of the right ear and the face without significant difference(P >.05).Moreover,SMS can significantly slow the decrease in the temperature of the external auditory canal at 5 min(P =.0153)and in body temperature at 15 min(P =.0295)after SMS whereas no significant difference in body temperature at 30 min(P>.05)compared with control mice.Furthermore,capillaries of the ear with a diameter of less than 8μm were significantly dilated(P=.0006)following SMS and the number of dextran dots was higher at 15 min(P >.05)and 30 min(F = 10.98,P =.037)after SMS intervention compared with control mice.Conclusion: Our study provides strong evidence to support the notion that scalp combing can improve extra-and intracranial blood circulation under healthy conditions.

OBJECTIVETo discuss the application of MRI in indirect temporomandibular joint injury without condylar fracture.

METHODSMRI examination on temporomandibular joint was conducted in 28 patients with indirect injury to temporomandibular joint without condylar fracture. The scanning sequence included T(1)WI, PDWI on oblique sagittal section at both open and closed mouth positions, and T(1)WI, T(2)WI on oblique coronal section. The MRI appearance was analyzed by 2 senior radiologists.

RESULTSAmong the 56 temporomandibular joints of 28 patients, 35 joints exhibited pathological changes on MRI, in which there were 9 bone injuries, 21 articular disc dislocation, 24 intracapsular hematocele and hydrops.

CONCLUSIONSMRI can clearly reveal bone injury, articular disc dislocation as well as articular capsule abnormality in the indirect injury of temporomandibular joint without condylar fracture. It is highly advocated in clinical use.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Maxillofacial Injuries ; diagnosis ; Middle Aged ; Temporomandibular Joint ; injuries

OBJECTIVETo investigate the polymorphisms of myeloid differentiation-2 (MD-2) gene promoters, and to explore whether such polymorphisms are associated with the susceptibility to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and sepsis in Chinese Han population.

METHODSUsing polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method, the authors detected the single nucleotide polymorphisms of the promoter region of MD-2 gene at position - 1625C/G in 105 severe trauma patients (42 with sepsis). The organ function was scored.

RESULTSThe frequency of CC genotype in MD-2 gene promoter region at position - 1625 was 0.5 (21/42) in septic patients and 0.7 (44/63) in non-septic patients. The frequency of CG genotype was 0.38 (16/42) in septic patients and 0.27 (17/63) in non-septic patients. The frequency of GG genotype was 0.12 (5/42) in septic patients and 0.03 (2/63) in non-septic patients. The MODS scores in trauma patients carrying G allele at position - 1625 were significantly higher than those carrying C allele (P<0.001 for dominant effect, and P>0.05 for recessive effect). Moreover, trauma patients carrying G allele appeared to have higher risk of sepsis comparing to those carrying C allele (OR 0.477, 95% CI 0.266-0.855, P<0.05). Sepsis morbidity was significantly different between subjects with C and G alleles (P<0.05 for dominant effect, P>0.05 for recessive effect).

CONCLUSIONSThe polymorphisms of the promoter region of MD-2 gene at position - 1625 C/G is correlated with MODS and sepsis after severe trauma in Chinese Han population. The people with - 1625 G allele in the promoter region of MD-2 gene may be a risk factor of severe complications.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; China ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Antigen 96 ; genetics ; Multiple Organ Failure ; etiology ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Sepsis ; etiology ; genetics ; Wounds and Injuries ; complications ; genetics