This review introduced the application of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the identification of species, production area and processing method as well as quality evaluation of Chinese materia medica (CMM). By comparing with other authentication methods of CMM, the NIRS technology showed great advantages in exclusive identification of CMM, both identification and quality evaluation of CMM as well as identification of famous-region medicinal material. Finally, the future direction of the authentication of CMM by NIRS technology was suggested.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared ; methods

The Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, established in 1993, is the only statutory body in Hong Kong to train, assess and accredit medical and dental specialists. According to the law in Hong Kong, a doctor or dentist who wishes to have his name included in the Specialist Register of Medical Council or Dental Council must either be a Fellow of the Academy or be assessed and certified by the Academy to have qualifications and training comparable to that required of an Academy Fellow. Once a doctor or dentist is on the Specialist Register, he must fulfil the continuing medical education requirements as determined by the Academy to maintain his specialist status. The Hospital Authority of Hong Kong has implemented the Doctor Work Reform (DWR) since 2006 which involves reduction of doctors' work hours and may affect training. The long-term strategy of the Academy with regards to the issue of DWR is to modernise postgraduate medical education and closely monitor the process to ensure that the quality of training would not be affected.
Clinical Competence ; standards ; Education, Medical, Continuing ; standards ; Health Care Reform ; standards ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Hong Kong ; Humans ; Medicine ; standards ; Quality of Health Care ; standards ; Schools, Medical ; standards ; Specialty Boards ; standards

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Hematopoietic System ; drug effects ; Male ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Male ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Objective To study the clinical pathological features, treatment and prognosis of umbilical metastases of colorectal carcinoma. Methods From January 2000 to September 2010, 10 umbilical metastases of colorectal carcinoma cases were admitted. The clinical features were reviewed. Results Four radical resection of colon cancer and resection of the umbilical plexus metastases cases with chemotherapeutic intraperitoneal perfusion lived 9,11,14 and 18 months respectively, 1 ileum-transverse colon anastomosis case with chemotherapeutic intraperitoneal perfusion lived six months, 2 patients with systemic widely transfer and umbilical transfer with pure venous chemotherapy lived 3, 3.5 months respectively, 3 colon intra-operative cases with venous chemotherapy lived 5 ,5. 5 and 7 months respectively. Conclusion Surgical resection of the primary focal and periumbilical metastases can prolong survival time with adjunctive therapy.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis (MIPPO) in the treatment of Neer three-part fractures of the proximal humerus in young adults. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of the 46 patients aged < 65 years with Neer three-part fracture of the proximal humerus from March 2010 to December 2016. MIPPO with locking proximal humerus plate ( LPHP ) was used in 23 of them who were 12 men and 11 women with an average age of 41. 6 ± 1. 2 years; open reduction and internal fixation ( ORIF ) with LPHP was used in the other 23 patients who were 14 men and 9 women with an average age of 42. 2 ± 1. 6 years. The 2 groups were compared in terms of operation time, intraoperative bleed-ing, fracture healing time and shoulder function by Neer scoring at the last follow-up. Results The average follow-up ( 13. 4 ± 1. 2 months ) for the MIPPO groups was not statistically different from that for the ORIF group ( 14. 2 ± 2. 4 months ) ( P > 0. 05 ) . The MIPPO group reported significantly shorter operation time ( 105 ± 15 min ) , significantly less intraoperative bleeding ( 140 ± 50 mL ) , significantly shorter fracture healing time ( 4. 2 ± 0. 6 months ) , and significantly higher shoulder Neer scores ( 88. 6 ± 3. 4 ) than the ORIF group ( 120 ± 20 min, 320 ± 40 mL, 5. 4 ± 1. 2 months, and 81. 6 ± 2. 2, respectively ) ( P <0. 05 ) . The complication rate ( 4. 3％, 1/23 ) for the MIPPO group was not significantly different from that for the ORIF group ( 17. 4％, 4/23 ) ( P >0. 05 ) . Conclusion MIPPO with LPHP may be obviously advantageous over ORIF with LPHP in the treatment of proximal humeral fractures in young adults.

ObjectiveTo study the influence of Jiuqiang Naoliqing (JNQ) on the expression of calcitonin gene related peptide(CGRP)and Synapsin Ⅰ in brain of the spontaneous hypertension rats (SHR). MethodsThe rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: Wistar group, SHR group, lower dose of JNQ treated SHR group and higher dose of JNQ treated SHR group. The expression of CGRP and Synapsin Ⅰ in the dentate gyrus, CA1 subfield of hippocampus and cortex were determined by immunohistochemistry after treatment for 3 weeks. ResultsCompared with the Wistar group, the expression of CGRP and Synapsin Ⅰ in the dentate gyrus, CA1 subfield of hippocampus and cortex of SHR group significantly decreased. The treatment with lower dose of JNQ significantly enhanced the expression of CGRP in cortex(P<0.05 vs SHR).The treatment with higher dose of JNQ significantly enhanced not only the expression of CGRP in the dentate gyrus, CA1 subfield of hippocampus and cortex, but also that of Synapsin Ⅰ in the CA1 subfield of hippocampus selectively in comparison with SHR group. ConclusionJNQ may improve the micro circulation in brain by up regulating the expression of CGRP and enhance the modulating function of central nervous system by up regulating the expression of Synapsin Ⅰ in spontaneous hypertension rats.

For the detection of steatosis, quantitative ultrasound imaging techniques have achieved great progress in past years. Magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction is currently the most accurate test to detect hepatic steatosis. Some blood biomarkers correlate with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, but the accuracy is modest. Regarding liver fibrosis, liver stiffness measurement by transient elastography (TE) has high accuracy and is widely used across the world. Magnetic resonance elastography is marginally better than TE but is limited by its cost and availability. Several blood biomarkers of fibrosis have been used in clinical trials and hold promise for selecting patients for treatment and monitoring treatment response. This article reviews new developments in the non-invasive assessment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Accumulating evidence suggests that various non-invasive tests can be used to diagnose NAFLD, assess its severity, and predict the prognosis. Further studies are needed to determine the role of the tests as monitoring tools. We cannot overemphasize the importance of context in selecting appropriate tests.
Elasticity Imaging Techniques/methods* ; Humans ; Liver/pathology* ; Liver Cirrhosis/pathology* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

In the past century, as medical research has become increasingly precise, it has become clear that the incidence and progression of many diseases involve multiple factors and pathologies; this is particularly true for the degenerative and metabolic diseases facing industrialized societies. At the same time, it becomes increasingly clear that single-target action drugs cannot effectively treat these diseases. Researchers are looking toward the chemical industry as well as traditional herbal medicines to find multi-target interventions. Thus, a new era in drug discovery has begun. Specifically, three approaches have proven effective in seeking multi-target drugs. These are: (1) designing drugs with multiple components; (2) discovering drugs through the study of synergistic compound-compound interactions in medicinal herbs or among chemical drugs and herbal components; and (3) developing drugs to tackle complex multi-component diseases. The authors conclude that there is an increasing need for multi-component remedies to treat the complex chronic diseases afflicting modern populations. Given this situation and the growing body of evidence that these new approaches are effective, multi-target intervention appears to have great potential for discovering, designing, and developing effective new drugs for today's diseases.
Drug Design ; Drug Discovery ; trends ; Drug Synergism ; Herb-Drug Interactions ; Humans ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; trends ; Plants, Medicinal

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers and of the leading causes of human death worldwide. Most of patients with lung cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages as it is difficult to be detected in the early stage. Radio/chemotherapy serves as the major method for treatment of lung cancer in conventional medicine without satisfactory efficacy, but with a number of adverse effects. So, it is very popular in mainland China to employ integrated treatment of radio/chemotherapy and Chinese herbal medicine. Through analysis of the published reports in the past two decades, it was found that orally taking Chinese herbal medicine could significantly improve quality of life and body resistance, relieve clinical painfulness, reduce adverse effects of radio/chemotherapy, and prolong life-span of the patient alive with carcinoma in the body.
Administration, Oral ; Animals ; China ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; Phytotherapy