Foundations of Oriental Medicine (FOM) is one of the mandatory examinations for the Diplomate of Oriental Medicine (Dipl.OM.), Chinese Herbology (Dipl.CH.), or Acupuncture (Dipl. Ac.) by American National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). In the light of NCCAOM Certification Handbook, Foundations of Oriental Medicine Expanded Content Outline,and Foundations of Oriental Medicine Study Guide, the authors introduced the examination pattern and examination-related contents including: Clinical diagnostic methods; assessment, analysis, and pattern-differentiation based upon Oriental Medicine theory and treatment principle and strategy.

Objective To compare the extraction methods of cellulose enzyme,semi-bionic and alcohol reflux for the impact of aconitine and aconitum alkaloids yields,and to optimize the extraction method. Methods The optimum condition of enzymatic extraction has been obtained by orthogonal test and compared with semi-bionic and alcohol reflux extraction by taking the contents of aconitine and aconitum alkaloids as indexes.Results The optimum extraction conditions were as follows:the temperature was 45℃, pH value was 4.5,the amount of cellulose enzyme was 8 mg/g,the extracting time was 5 h and the extraction rate of aconitine was 0.002 447%,aconitum alkaloids was 0.244 410%.The extraction rates of aconitine and aconitum alkaloids of semi-bionic extraction were 0.001 735%and 0.189 340%,respectively. The extraction rates of aconitine and aconitum alkaloids of alcohol reflux extraction were 0.001 869% and 0.200 720%respectively.The enzymatic extraction has a significant advantage.Conclusion The enzymatic extraction significantly improve the extraction rates of aconitine and aconitum alkaloids,it could be applied in practice.

Objective To investigate the correlation between vertebral diffusion weigllted imaging (DWI)and dual X-ray absorptiometry(DXA),quantitative computed tomography(QCT)for the evaluation of bone mineral density(BMD).Methods A total of 152 female volunteers[aged from 30 to 80 years,mean age(58.2±14.2)years 1 were recruited in this study.All subjects underwent lateral thoracicolumbar radiographs,dual X-ray absorptiometry(DXA)and quantitative computed tomography(QCT),as well as DWI examination.Lateral spine radiographs(T4-L4)were evaluated with Genant's semiquantitative assessment.BMD was obtained by both DXA and QCT at lumbar spine(L2-L4).Axial vertebral(L2-4)DWI was performed with single shot spin-echo echo-planar imaging(SS-SE-EPI)sequenee (b value=500 s/mm2)after routine MRI examination(saginal T2 WI,T1 WI and axial T2 WI).Apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)was measured with GE-Functool DWI software.Pearson correlation analysis was used for the statistics.Results There was a decreasing tendency in ADC value with age.A positive correlation was found between ADC(0.241×10-3 mm2/s)and BMD results measured by both DXA (1.038 S/cm3)and QCT(104.2 mg/cm3)examinations(r=0.461,0.731,respectively,P＜0.01).Conclusion DWI is an useful tool for noninvasive evaluation of the pathophysiologic changes of bone marrow in volunteers with difierent bone mineral density.

Objective To investigate the impairment and the effect factors of encoding of episodic memory in patients with cerebral infarction. Methods 112 cases cerebral infarction patients and 115 healthy elders as controls were tested for episodic memory encoding with episodic pictures accomplished in computer, and compare the differences of encoding of episodic memory between the two groups. Results The remember indexes ( REM )of encoding memory test in patient group was significantly lower than that in control group( (70.81 ± 6.08 )vs (84.67 ± 4.49), P ＜ 0.01 ). The REM in patients with different impaired areas was significantly different ( (65.88 ± 5.73 ), (68.92 ± 4.65 ), (73.39 ± 6.20), ( 73.53 ± 3.44), P ＜ 0. 01 ). The REM in frontal lobe infarction group was significantly lower than that in temporal lobe infarction group (P ＜ 0.05 ), and in temporal lobe infarction group was significantly lower than that in basal ganglia infarction group and corona radiate infarction group (P＜0.05, P＜0. 01). The REM in cortex infarction group was significantly lower than that in under cortex group ( ( 67.37 ± 5.40 ), ( 73.46 ± 4.99 ), P ＜ 0.01 ). The REM in small cerebral infarction group was significantly higher than that in large cerebral infarction group( (72.67 ±4.47 ), (67.56 ± 6.18 ), P＜0.01 ). The size of cerebral infarction diameter was related with the REM( r= -0.39, P＜0. 01 ). The REM among control group,infarction with atrophy group, and infarction without atrophy group were significantly different( (67.03 ± 6. 17 ),( 72.84 ± 5. 00 ), ( 84.67 ± 4.49 ), P ＜ 0. 01 ). The REM in infarction with atrophy group was significantly lower than that in infarction without atrophy group and control group( both P＜0.01 ) ,The REM in infarction without atrophy group was significantly lower than that in control group (P ＜ 0.01). Conclusion The encoding of episodic memory was impaired in cerebral infarction patients. The infarction parts,size of infarction area and atrophy was related with the impairment of encoding of episodic memory.

Objective To compare the surgical results between anterior fixation and posterior vertebral osteotomy in patients with old thoracolumbar fracture. Methods 39 cases of old thoracolumbar fracture with posttraumatic kyphosis and neurologic compromise underwent either anterior fixation (n=19) or posterior vertebral osteotomy(n=20). In the anterior group, the average patient age was 38.3 years (range:21 to 64), the mean time from injury to operation was 5.3 months (range:2 to 16), and the mean preoperative kyphotic angle was 25.2?(range:10?to 43?). In the posterior group, the average patient age was 39.9 years (range:18 to 68), the mean time from injury to operation was 5.6 years (range: 2months to 16 years), and the mean preoperative kyphotic angle was 27.6?(range:5?to 60?). Results In the anterior group, the mean operation time was 274 minutes (range:140 to 395) with a mean blood loss of 994 mL (range: 300 to 2000), the mean postoperative kyphotic angle was 14.7?(range: 0?to 35?), and the mean angle of correction was 10.5 ?(range: 5?to 16?). In the posterior group, the mean operation time was 283 minutes (range:190 to 390) with a mean blood loss of 1654 mL (range: 800 to 3800), the mean postoperative kyphotic angle was 4.4?(range:-10?to 35?), and the mean angle of correction was 23.2?(range: 7?to 40?). All the patients with incomplete neural injury had improvement of neurologic function. Conclusion The posterior vertebral osteotomy can produce better results in kyphotic correction, while it does not increase the trauma of operation.

Objective To introduce a single level fixation and reduction for cervical dislocation. Methods 15 patients who had old cervical dislocation were treated from May 2003 to April 2004. All the patients had facet locking that could not be reduced though traction. We used posterior approach to relax facet locking and thick Ethicon wire to fix spinal process. We used anterior poach to plug coralline hydroxyapatite (CHA) as the graft. AO plates and locking screws were used to fix the vertebral body. Results All the patients got satisfactory reduction and good alignment through lysis of facet locking and CHA plug. Conclusion The posterior decompression combined with anterior stabilization can achieve satisfactory reduction and alignment for dislocation of inferior cervical vertebra.

Aim To monitor the whole blood trough concentration of cyclosporine A (CsA) in renaltransplant recipients reciving triple therapy with mycophenolate mofetil, cyclosporine andprednisone and to establish an optimal therapeutic window of CsA. Methods Sampleswere measured by specific fluorescence polarization immunoassay. According to the timeafter operation and different therapy plan, the whole blood trough concentration of CsA ineach group was compared with that in control group.Results The optimal therapeuticwindow of CsA with MMF plan was 150~300 ?g? L-1 (less than one month after op-eration), 120~260?g?L-1 (1~

Spinal cord injury is a difficult medical problem and need to be solved urgently.Application of tissue engineering to repair spinal cord injury has gradually become a hot spot.It is important to prevent the development of scar tissue while inducing cells' regeneration by using scaffold.Nanotechnology has improved the performance of scaffold because of its superiority.Nanoscaffold has obvious advantages compared with the traditional scaffolds.New scaffold materials can be obtained by nanotechnology.Nanoscaffold can also serve as a good drug carrier,and it may have beneficial effects on biological behaviors of seed cells on its surface,such as differentiation,proliferation and migration,which may promote tissue regeneration and functional recovery and get good results in repairment of spinal cord injury.This article summarized the research progress in recent years in nano spinal cord engineering scaffolds in order to provide a reference for research in related fields.

Objective To assess the safety and efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) combined with low dose corticosteroid in the treatment of adults with minimal change nephrotic syndrome and concomitant HBsAg positive (MCNS-HBsAg). Methods Thirty adults with MCNS-HBsAg were enrolled in this prospective study and were assigned to two groups. The MMF group (n=14) received low dose of prednisone combined with MMF (MMF 1.0 to 2.0 g/d patients of Pred group versus 35.7% patients of MMF group. 43.8% patients of Pred group versus 21.4% patients of MMF group received lamivudine therapy. Elevation of alanine aminotransferase(ALT) ocurred in 50% patients of Pred group and 28.6% patients of MMF group. The complete remission (CR) rate after 24 weeks treatment was 11/14 in Pred group versus 10/12 in MMF group. 6/11 patients of the Pred group and 4/10 patients of the MMF group who achieved CR experienced relapses during follow-up. Conclusions Use of MMF combined with low dose prednisone is as effective as conventional prednisone regimen in treating adults with MCNS-HBsAg. The MMF protocol seems to be superior in HBV reactivation to conventional prednisone protocol.

Objective To investigate the morphological abnormalities of the brain cortex in schizophrenic patients and their parents. Methods We recruited 33 schizophrenic patients, 63 their unaffected biological parents. Thirty well matched healthy controls served as control group 1 (for patients), and 28 well matched healthy controls as control group 2 (for parents). The high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Freesurfer software were used to measure the gray matter volume, cortical thickness, cortical surface area, curvature and volume of subcortical regions on all the sub-jects. Results The patients demonstrated significant reduction of cortical thickness in the left middle-anterior cingulate, middle occipital gyrus, inferior circular sulcus of the insula, lateral occipito-temporal sulcus, the right lateral occipito-temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, superior circular sulcus of the insula, inferior temporal sulcus, the bilateral poste-rior-dorsalcingulated gyrus and superior temporal sulcus (P<6.0×10-4,corrected by Bonferroni method). Compared with control group 2, the unaffected parents exhibited slight reduction of cortical in the left subcentral, triangular part of the in-ferior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, superior circular sulcus of the insula, occipital pole, inferior frontal sulcus, mid-dle occipital sulcus and lunatus sulcus, lateral orbital sulcus, the right middle occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus, posterior lat- eral sulcus and inferior precentral sulcus, but the reduction was not significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Conclusions Our results indicate that cortical thickness can specifically reflect the brain morphological abnormalities of schizophrenia and the reduction of cortical thicknes may be a heritable phenotype of schizophrenia.