Object\ To provide a basis for the further development, proper utilization and formulation of a standard for the medicinal materials Methods\ By macro and microscopic studies in combination with physicochemical identification The possible therapeutic value of other parts of the plant was briefly discussed Results\ Four obvious distinctive features were observed: ① Stem tuber showed a curved kidney like shaped ② Parenchymatous cells were polygonal shaped and densely packed together with limited intercellular spaces ③ Rich in compound starch grains, and ④ Crystalline calcium oxalate Clusters can be seen. The tubers had an absorbance peak in UV specturm at ? 241 nm , but its adventitious root was devoid of such absorbance peak Conclusion\ The distinctive features are clear and can be mastered easily The adventitious roots must be discarded when the tubers were used as medicine

Huaier (Trametes robiniophila) has been widely used as an adjuvant drug for cancer treatment in China. The anti-cancer effect of Huaier extract has been confirmed in liver cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, gastric cancer, and so on. The main mechanisms by which Huaier exerts an anti-neoplastic effect include inhibition of the growth and proliferation of cancer cells, induction of apoptosis of cancer cells, suppression of angiogenesis, inhibition of the invasion and migration of cancer cells, regulation of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes expression, improving immunity, and reversal of drug resistance in cancer cells. In order to provide references for further study and clinical application on anti-tumor effect of Huaier, the latest research progress on anti-tumor effect of Huaier in recent years is summarized in this paper.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Trametes

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of trimebutine combined with mosapride on functional dyspepsia. Methods Patients with functional dyspepsia were randomly divided into three clinical groups. Group A (n=116) received 0.2 g trimebutine after meal,group the drug combination B (n=116) received 5 mg mosapride before meal,and the drug combination group (n=115) received 0. 2 g trimebutine after meal plus 5 mg mosapride before meal. All medications were taken orally three times daily for 4 weeks. Improvement in clinical symptoms and adverse reactions in each group were evaluated at the end of study. Results A total of 339 patients among 347 enrollees completed the treatment and follow-up. The clinical efficacy on postprandial fullness, early satiation, epigastric pain, epigastric burning, upper abdominal bloating and nausea were 88. 4%,76. 9%,72. 9%,61. 8%,86. 7% and 81. 7%,respectively in the drug combination group after 4-week treatment,which were superior to those in group A or B (P<0. 05) except for epigastric burning. The total effective rate of the drug combination group was 78. 8%,significantly higher than the other two groups (P<0. 05). The total incidence of side effects in the drug combination group was 1. 8%,similar to that of group A and B (1. 8% and 0. 9%,respectively, P =0. 776). Conclusion Trimebutine combined with mosapride is safe and effective for improving symptoms in functional dyspepsia.

Objective To explore the acquired immunity against Schistosoma japonicum infections in the offspring of mother-mice infected with Trichinella spiralis.Methods The offspring of mother-mice infected with Trichinella spiralis and the mice after passively transferring the offspring's sera were sacrificed at day 42 post infection with S. japonicum cercariae. The percentage of reduction in worm burdens was calculated to determine the protective effects. Results Comparing with the control group, the reduction rates of the worm were 24.31% in the offspring, 18.65% and 20.77% in mice with passively transferring the offspring's sera by intravenous injection and muscular injection respectively. Conclusion The offspring of mother-mice infected with Trichinella spiralis and the mice with passively transferring the offspring's sera could acquire protective immunity against Schistosoma japonicum infections.

Objective To explore the mechanism of Eomecon chionantha alkaloids (ECA) against Oncomelania hupensis by means of observing the effect of ECA on the genital system of O.hupensis. Methods O.hupensis was dissected after immersed in ECA for 48 hours; the testes and ovary were took out and made for electron microscopy samples by the conventional method. The change of structure was observed by Hitach H-600 Transmission Electron Microscope. Results After immersed in ECA, oocyte of O.hupensis was obviously atrophied and spermatogonium pyknosis occured. Conclusion ECA could damage the genital system of O.hupensis seriously.

Immunotherapy which has been in practice for more than 20 years proves effective for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Anti-angiogenesis-targeted therapy has recently been identified as a promising therapeutic strategy for mRCC. This study was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway-targeted therapy for mRCC by comparing its effectiveness with that of immunotherapy. The electronic databases were searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on comparison of VEGF inhibiting drugs (sorafenib, sunitinib and bevacizumab) with interferon (IFN) or placebo for mRCC treatment were included. Data were pooled to meta-analyze. A total of 7 RCTs with 3451 patients were involved. The results showed that anti-VEGF agents improved progression-free survival (PFS) and offered substantial clinical benefits to patients with mRCC. Among them, sunitinib had a higher overall response rate (ORR) than IFN (47% versus 12%, P<0.000001). Bevacizumab plus IFN produced a superior PFS [risk ratio (RR): 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.76-0.97; P=0.01] and ORR (RR: 2.19; 95% CI: 1.72-2.78; P<0.00001) in patients with mRCC over IFN, but it yielded an increase by 31% in the risk of serious toxic effects (RR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.20-1.43; P<0.00001) as compared with IFN. The overall survival (OS) was extended by sorafenib (17.8 months) and sunitinib (26.4 months) as compared with IFN (13 months). It was concluded that compared with IFN therapy, VEGF pathway-targeted therapies improved PFS and achieved significant therapeutic benefits in mRCC. However, the risk to benefit ratio of these agents needs to be further evaluated.

Objective To study the role of low-dose glucocorticoids in improving prognosis and adjusting septic shock. Methods A total of 46 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of septic shock were retrospaetivley analyzed. 24 patients without glucocorticoids treatment were taken as control group; 22 patients with glucocorticoids as therapy group (n = 22). The two group received standard treatment for septic shock. Results The percentage of shock reversal on day 7 was higher in therapy group than that in control group (P <0.05). However,there were notstatistical significances in the duration of mechanical ventilation, the length of ICU stay, the incidence of multiple or-gan dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and mortality between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion Low-dose glucocorticoids can effectively accelerate refractory septic shock reversal and vasopreasor withdrawal. This seems to be related to the reduced production of CRP but the beneficial effects of low-dose steroids regimens on long-term outcome have not yet be determined.

Objective Cordycepin exhibits varieties of pharmacological effects including anti-pathogen, anti-inflammatory, immune-modulatory, and anti-cancer activities.Recent studies indicate cordycepin may also have significant therapeutic potential in many diseases, such as metabolic disorders, oxidative injury and central nervous system diseases through different mechanisms , which are gradually clarified.The current progress and future prospects are reviewed in this paper.

Objective To perform a preclinical test of a delineation software based on atlas-based auto-segmentation (ABAS),to evaluate its accuracy in the delineation of organs at risk (OARs) in radiotherapy planning for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC),and to provide a basis for its clinical application.Methods Using OARs manually contoured by physicians on planning-CT images of 22 patients with NPC as the standard,the automatic delineation using two different algorithms (general and head/neck) of the ABAS software were applied to the following tests:(1) to evaluate the restoration of the atlas by the software,automatic delineation was performed on copied images from each patient using the contours of OARs manually delineated on the original images as atlases;(2) to evaluate the accuracy of automatic delineation on images from various patients using a single atlas,the contours manually delineated on images from one patients were used as atlases for automatic delineation of OARs on images from other patients.Dice similarity coefficient (DSC),volume difference (Vdiff),correlation between the DSC and the volume of OARs,and efficiency difference between manual delineation and automatic delineation plus manual modification were used as indices for evaluation.Wilcoxon signed rank test and Spearman correlation analysis were used.Results The head/neck algorithm had superior restoration of the atlas over the general algorithm.The DSC was positively correlated with the volume of OARs and was higher than 0.8 for OARs larger than 1 cc in volume in the restoration test.For automatic delineation with the head/neck algorithm using a single atlas,the mean DSC and Vdiff were 0.81-0.90 and 2.73％-16.02％,respectively,for the brain stem,temporal lobes,parotids,and mandible,while the mean DSC was 0.45-0.49 for the temporomandibular joint and optic chiasm.Compared with manual delineation,automatic delineation plus manual modification saved 68％ of the time.Conclusions A preclinical test is able to determine the accuracy and conditions of the ABAS software in specific clinical application.The tested software can help to improve the efficiency of OAR delineation in radiotherapy planning for NPC.However,it is not suitable for delineation of OAR with a relatively small volume.

Objective To summarize the method and effects of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (EC-MO) for eight patients with sever heart or(and) lung diseases,and to get some reliable advises by analysis of retro-spoctive indications,timing and result in ECMO therapy. Methods Eight patients,aging from 26 to 82 and weighted from 57-87 kg were observed. Vein-artery ECMO was used in all patients,with the flow in 40-70 ml/(kg·min) and the activated clotting time(ACT) kept at 160-200 s. Results The time of ECMO support varied from 9.5 h to 84.1 h;Among the eight patients,one didn't weaned from ECMO and died,two who were weaned died 38 h ,6 h af-ter ECMO;five patients weanned succsesefully from ECMO and discharged. Conclusions ECMO do well in treat-ment of severe cardiopulmonary failure, resuscitation and support post cardiosurgery,and the indication and timing performance are important to the final result.