This study was aimed to analyze the medication and herbal prescription rules in the treatment of nephrotic syndrome (NS) by Prof. Huang Chunlin with Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Support System ( TCMISS ) . Prescriptions used for NS treatment were collected and the data was entered into the TCMISS . The commonly used herbs and herbal prescription rules in NS treatment by Prof. Huang were summarized through the association rules, revised mutual information, complex system entropy cluster and other unsupervised hierarchical clustering methods. The results showed that based on the analysis of 280 prescriptions from 68 patients, the fre-quency of each herb and association rules among herbs included in the database were identified. And the basic NS treatment prescription by Prof. Huang Chunlin and 8 new prescriptions were mined from the database. It was concluded that data mining is of great practical value to the summarization of clinical experiences of well-known TCM doctors.

An actinomycetes which produced soluble blue pigment was isolated from the soil sample in Nanjing,China.Based on its cell chemical characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence we found that its cell wall contained L-diaminopimelic acid and glycine,the whole cell hydrolysates contained glucose and ribose,whole cell contained fatty acid from C14 to C17 with 12-methyltetradecanoic(anteiso-15) and 14-methylpentadentadecanoic acid(iso-16) as the major components.The results shown that,it belongs to the genus Streptomyces.Phylogenetic tree of 16S rDNA sequences indicated that all strains were clustered into 9 branches.All strains that could produce blue pigment were clustered into 2 branches,they were S.coelicolor、S.cyaneus.The isolate closely related to Streptomyces indigocolor with a similarity of 99.4% fell into S.cyaneus branch.

Objective:To observe the effects of moxibustion on serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and to explore the effects of moxibustion on inflammatory damaging factors in experimental rheumatoid arthritis (RA) model rats; the relationship between the therapeutic effect of moxibustion on RA and the change in the Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway was analyzed using Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) antagonists and agonists. Methods:Fifty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into a normal group, a model group, a moxibustion group, a moxibustion plus TLR4 agonist group (agonist group) and a moxibustion plus TLR4 antagonist group (antagonist group) according to the random number table, with 10 rats in each group. Except the normal group, rats in the other four groups were subjected to model preparation with the wind, cold and wet environmental factors plus Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA). Rats in the normal and model groups were not treated; rats in the moxibustion, agonist and antagonist groups started to be treated with the moxibustion (cigarette-type moxa) at bilateral Shenshu (BL 23) and Zusanli (ST 36) from the 4th day after the successful modeling, for 20 min each time with a total of 10 d. Rats in the agonist and the antagonist groups were injected with TLR4 agonist or antagonist [0.1 mg/(kg·bw)] via the tail vein 30 min before moxibustion. The concentrations of serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in each group were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results:Compared with the normal group, in the model group, the rat's right hind paw swelling was significantly obvious (P<0.01), there was a lot of inflammatory infiltration in the synovial tissues, the surface of the synovial membrane was unsmooth, the synovial membrane was hyperplasia and thicker, and the serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α concentrations increased significantly (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the paw swelling degrees of the rats in the moxibustion, the agonist and the antagonist groups reduced significantly (allP<0.01); the swelling degree in the antagonist group was milder than that in the agonist group, but the between-group difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05); inflammatory infiltration and synovial membrane hyperplasia in the synovial tissues of the moxibustion group and the antagonist group were all relieved differently; the decrease of synovial layer number in the moxibustion group was more obvious, and there were no obvious improvements in inflammatory infiltration and synovial thickness in the agonist group; the concentrations of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in the moxibustion group were decreased, and the differences in the IL-6 and TNF-α concentrations were statistically significant (allP<0.01); there was no significant between-group difference in the IL-8 concentration (P>0.05); the concentrations of serum IL-8 and TNF-α in the agonist group increased significantly (both P<0.01), while the IL-6 concentration decreased without significant difference (P>0.05); the concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 in the antagonist group decreased but the between-group differences were statistically insignificant (bothP>0.05), and the TNF-α concentration significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with the moxibustion group, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α concentrations increased in the agonist group, and the differences in the IL-8 and TNF-α concentrations were statistically significant (both P<0.01); the concentrations of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α increased in the antagonist group, and the differences in the IL-6 and TNF-α concentrations were statistically significant (bothP<0.01); there was no significant difference in the IL-8 concentration between the groups (P>0.05). The serum levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in the antagonist group were lower than those in the agonist group (allP<0.05). Conclusion:Moxibustion at Shenshu (BL 23) and Zusanli (ST 36) can reduce the joint swelling degree and inflammation in synovial tissue of RA model rats, decrease the serum levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in RA model rats; the decreases of IL-6 and TNF-α are more significant than the decrease of IL-8; TLR4 agonist and antagonist can significantly attenuate the effect of moxibustion in inhibiting releases of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α, so that the change in TLR signaling pathway affects the effect of moxibustion in inhibiting the releases of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α.

Short tandem repeats (STRs) have been widely used in forensic sciences such as stain analysis and paternity testing. Although most of STR typing could give the reliable and clear results, some unusual typing have been observed in forensic practice. The anomalous typing could result from a lot of causes, including DNA genetic variation, poor quality or quantity of DNA template, different typing system or method, nonspecific reaction in PCR or anomalous electrophoresis migration. The unusual results may disturb the right interpretation of STR typing.
DNA Fingerprinting/methods* ; Forensic Medicine/methods* ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods* ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Tandem Repeat Sequences/genetics*

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether the serum levels of inflammation-related cytokines might be different between the healthy individuals and the psoriatic patients diagnosed of three varied Chinese medicine (CM) syndromes [blood-stasis syndrome (BSS), blood-dryness syndrome (BDS) and wind-heat syndrome (WHS)].

METHODSA total of 62 psoriatic patients were recruited and assigned to 3 groups according to their CM syndromes, including 27 patients of BSS, 21 of BDS and 14 of WHS. Another 20 sex- and age-matched healthy subjects were enrolled into the control group. Serum concentrations of multiple cytokines, including monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α), soluble CD4O ligand (SCD40L), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), epidermal growth factor (EGF), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-17 (IL-17), interferon γ inducible protein-10 (IP-10) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), were measured by a multiplexed flow cytometric assay.

RESULTSThe circulating levels of MIP-1α, TNF-α, IL-8, and IP-10 were significantly increased in the psoriatic patients compared with the healthy controls (P<0.01). Male and female patients tended to have higher serum levels of MCP-1 and IP-10, respectively (P<0.05). Interestingly, compared with the control group, 6 out of the 9 cytokines (MCP-1, MIP-1α, TNF-α, EGF, IL-8 and IP-10) were substantially increased in the BSS group (P<0.05 or P<0.01), whereas only MIP-1α and IL-8 levels were elevated in the BDS group (P<0.05 or P<0.01) concurrent with lowered concentrations of SCD40L and IL-17 (P<0.05). In the WHS group, MIP-1α was the only cytokine whose level was evidently increased (P<0.01), in contrast to IL-17 which was decreased as compared with the control (P<0.05). The psoriatic patients overall owned higher levels of MIP-1α and IL-8 in the circulation which were comparable among the 3 groups of CM syndromes (P<0.01). In contrast, TNF-α level of the BSS group was the highest among the three (P<0.01), followed by the BDS and the WHS groups.

CONCLUSIONSThe expression profiles of cytokines in the circulation might not be necessarily identical for psoriatic patients with different CM syndromes. Accordingly, the serum concentrations of certain cytokines could potentially be used as the ancillary indices for the clinical classification of psoriatic CM syndromes.

Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Cytokines ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation Mediators ; blood ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Psoriasis ; blood ; Severity of Illness Index ; Statistics, Nonparametric ; Syndrome ; Young Adult

This article review the advance in interpretation of mixed forensic stains using DNA profiling, including autosome STR profiling, sex profiling determined by PCR, Y-specific STR profiling, mitochondrial DNA profiling and single nucleotide polymorphism profiling. The statistics methods for mixed stain has also been reviewed.
Alleles ; Blood Stains ; Chromosomes, Human, Y/genetics* ; DNA/genetics* ; DNA Fingerprinting/methods* ; Female ; Forensic Medicine/methods* ; Humans ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tandem Repeat Sequences

OBJECTIVEIn order to provide a scientific basis for influenza prevention and control, analyzing the epidemic characteristics and laws of influenza outbreaks in Xuzhou area during 2005-2011.

METHODUsing fluorescent-PCR method to detect influenza virus nucleic acid on Nasopharyngeal swab specimens collected from influenza outbreak cases during 2005-2011 and fast classifying influenza virus A1 (H1N1), A3 (H3N2), new H1N1 BV (Victoria) and BY (Yamagate) on subtypes. At the same time, isolating the influenza virus with MDCK cells, and sending them to the National Influenza Center for review, after the preliminary identification of the isolated influenza virus.

RESULTSDuring 2005-2011, there are 53 influenza outbreaks in Xuzhou area, which caused by influenza virus subtype BV accounting for 26.42% (14/53), A3 accounting for 49.1% (26/53), A3 and A1 mixture accounting for 3.77% (2/53) and the new H1N1 accounting for 20.75% (11/53). The outbreaks in 2007 and 2009 mainly caused by A3, and show that the winter spring (January) and summer autumn (September) as two popular peaks during 2005-2011; BV mainly causes the outbreaks from Feb. to Jun.

CONCLUSIONIn Xuzhou area, since the winter of 2005, influenza virus subtype BV, the A3, and new H1N1 has alternately as mainly predominant strain, caused local influenza outbreaks. In which BV has increased trend year by year during 2005-2011. The students in primary and secondary schools are the major crowd of influenza outbreaks. Fluorescent-PCR detection methods could be a preferred method for reliable and rapid diagnostic of epidemic influenza outbreaks.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Disease Outbreaks ; Female ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza A virus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human ; epidemiology ; virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Public Health Surveillance ; Seasons ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence and subtypes of influenza viruses in Xuzhou city from 2005 to 2011 and to provide the scientific supports for influenza prevention and control in this religion.

METHODSThe throat swab samples were collected from the influenza-like cases from national influenza like illness sentinel hospital in Xuzhou. The samples were used for influenza virus isolation and identification, sent on the national flu center to confirm according to the "national influenza surveillance program" and "influenza virus and experimental technology".

RESULTSFrom Oct. 2005 to Dec. 2011, a total of 9561 swab specimens were collected in which 1152 strains were identified for influenza viruses with total isolated rate of 12.0%. Among these strains, 708 strains were A1 (H1N1) subtype (14.2%), 466 strains were A3 (H3N2) subtype (40.5%), 78 strains were new H1N1 subtype (6.8%), 362 strains were BV (Victoia) subtype (31.4%) and 82 strains were BY (Yamagate) subtype (7.1%). The top detection rate (25.9%) arose in 2007, secondary detection rate (17.4%) occurred at 2009 and the lowest one (2.3%) appeared in 2011. From the winter of 2005 to the spring of 2006 A1 (H1N1) subtype had appeared as predominant strains but in the winter of 2006 the predominant strains were BV subtype. It changed to A3 subtype in 2007 to 2009 and the other three dominant strains were A1, BV and BY in 2008. In the winter of 2009, both A3 (H3N2) and new H1N1 subtype were predominant strains. BV subtype was predominant strains in 2010 to 2011. The prevalence of A3 subtype appeared in all the year while prevalence of BV only arose in the spring and winter. So the detection rate was high in January (34.4%) but low in August (2.2%). The influenza population is correlated with age, the highest detection rate arose in 5-age group and the lowest detection rate appeared in 25-age group.

CONCLUSIONInfluenza subtype A1, A3, New H1N1 are all appeared as predominant strains in Xuzhou city from 2005 to 2010. Besides, the prevalence of BV subtype is stronger in recently.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza A virus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human ; epidemiology ; virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Public Health Surveillance ; Seasons ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo establish a model of human monocytic leukemia with CNS infiltration in BALB/c nude mice.

METHODSBALB/c nu/nu mice pre-treated by splenectomy, cytoxan intraperitoneal injection, and sublethal irradiation (SCI), were transplanted intravenously with 1 x 10(7) of human monocytic leukemic SHI-1 cells. The leukemic cells engrafted in the mice were detected by RT-PCR, histopathological examination, immunohistochemistry and FCM.

RESULTSThe survival time of SCI-nu/nu mice was 33-46 d. Paraplegia occurred in some of the mice. 5 weeks after transplantation, SHI-1 cells engrafted in SCI-nu/nu mice, multi-organs were involved and green solid neoplasms were formed in some organs. Histopathological examination found that SHI-1 cells infiltrated in liver, lung, kidney and testis of the mice and vertebral and skull bone marrow was replaced by leukemic cells. Leukemic cell penetrated through the surface of vertebrae, formed neoplasm, and entered the subdural space, but seldom involved the spinal parenchyma. In brain leukemia cells were filled in the subdural space and pia-arachnoid, covered the surface of cerebrum, cerebellum, spread along the virchow-robin space on the surface of pia mater, and eventually invaded the brain parenchyma.

CONCLUSIONSHI-1 cells could engrafted in the SCI-nu/nu mice, form an efficient and reproducible experimental model of CNSL and systematic leukemia. This model may be useful for studying the pathogenesis of CNSL.

Adult ; Animals ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Central Nervous System Neoplasms ; Humans ; Leukemia, Experimental ; pathology ; Leukemia, Monocytic, Acute ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Rats ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays ; methods

OBJECTIVETo explore the therapeutic effect of auricular therapy combined with optimized Yinxieling Formula on psoriasis vulgaris.

METHODSA randomized controlled single-blind clinical trial on 84 outpatients with psoriasis vulgaris was conducted. The patients were randomized to a treatment group (43 cases treated by auricular therapy combined with optimized Yinxieling Formula) and a control group (41 cases treated by optimized Yinxieling Formula alone) according to a random number generated by SPSS 17.0 software. The treatment duration for both groups was 8 weeks. The therapeutic effect was comprehensively measured by the primary outcome measure [Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) reduction rate] and the secondary outcome measure [PASI, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS)]. The outcomes of both groups were obtained and compared before and after the intervention.

RESULTSThe PASI reduction rate in the treatment group was 74.4% (32/43), which was higher than that in the control group (36.6%, 15/41, P<0.01). The PASI scores decreased in both groups after treatment and was lower in the treatment group compared with the control group P<0.01). With stratified analysis, there were significant differences between the PASI scores in the following subgroups: age 18-30, baseline PASI>10 and stable stage (P<0.05). DLQI decreased in both groups on some categories after treatment, but there were no significant differences between the two groups in SDS, SAS and VAS (P >0.05). No obvious adverse reactions were found in either group.

CONCLUSIONThe therapeutic effect of auricular therapy combined with Optimized Yinxieling Formula was superior to Optimized Yinxieling Formula alone with no obvious adverse reaction.

Acupuncture, Ear ; Adult ; Anxiety ; complications ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Depression ; complications ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Outpatients ; Pain Measurement ; Psoriasis ; complications ; drug therapy ; Quality of Life ; Severity of Illness Index ; Single-Blind Method