Objective To study the sample quality of 'whitish' Radix Salvia Miltiorrhiza(the root of a grown-environmental-influenced variant sample of Salvia miltiorrhiza,which cortex and transection is white) grown in Luanchuan Region of Henan Province and normal Radix Salvia Miltiorrhiza by the means of TLC and HPLC chromatographic fingerprints;hence to compare the difference of their constituents.Methods TLC Chromatographic condition: Precoated silica gel F_(254) plate;hydrophilic and lipophilic constituents were developed and derivatizated with different solvent systems and visualization reagents,respectively.HPLC Chromatographic condition: Zorbax SB C_(18) column;hydrophilic and lipophilic constituents were gradient eluted,respectively.Results The 'whitish' Radix Salvia Miltiorrhiza contains lower content of lipophilic compounds,the main diterpene quinones was only trace amount,while the content of hydrophilic constituents was relatively higher.Conclusion The 'whitish' phenomenon suggests that the 'micro'-environmental condition can probably influence negatively the bio-synthesis of diterpene-quinones.The factors of influence still need further study.Such phenomenon would be worth concerning seriously for GAP administration.

Objective To verify the hypothesis whether resting heart rate(RHR)was able to predict the activities of renin angiotensin aldosterone system(RAAS)and left ventricular hypertrophy(LVH)in patients with hypertension.Methods One hundred and seventy-five essential hypertensive patients were categorized into three groups based on the levels of blood pressure(BP):140-160/90-100;160-180/100-110;≥180/110 mmHg.Each group were subdivided into four groups according to the levels of RHR.RHR1:RHR

Objective To investigate the effects of 10 mg and 20 mg atorvastatin and 10 mg rosuvastatin on inflammatory factors in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).Methods 66 patients with ACS were randomly divided into three groups:the 10 mg atorvastatin group,the 20 mg atorvastatin group and the 10 mg rosuvastatin group(n=22 for each group).The levels of blood lipids,serum matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9)and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1)were measured before and after two-week treatment.19 patients with normal coronary angiography were assigned to the control group.Results The concentration of serum MMP-9 and PAI-1 was higher significantly in patients with ACS than those in control subjects(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).After two weeks'treatment,the serum MMP-9 and PAI-1 levels were lowered significantly (P＜0.01),which were much better in groups of 20mg atorvastatin and of 10mg rosuvastatin than those in group of 10mg atorvastatin (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01 ).No relationship was observed between the levels of above inflammatory markers and serum hpids levels(P＞0.05).Conclusion 10 mg Rosuvastatin can greatly reduce the serum level of MMP-9 and PAI-1 as compared to 10 mg atorvastatin in patients with ACS ,equivalent to the effect of 20 mg atorvastatin,suggesting that the anti-inflammatory effect is independent of lipid-lowering action.

ObjectiveTo investigate the expression and significance of CD28- cells, CD4+ and CD8+T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood and synovial fluid in patients with rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ). Methods The expression of CD28, CD4+, CD8+ T lymphocytes and inducible co-stimulator(ICOS) in the peripheral blood and synovial fluid in 45 patients with RA were detected by three-color flow cytometry. Independent sample's t test was used for statistical analysis between the two groups. ResultsSynovial fluid CD4+CD28+ICOS+, CD4+CD28- ICOS+ , CD8 + CD28 + , CD8 + CD28 + 1COS+ T lymphocytes were significantly increased than the peripheral blood in RA patients[(36±19)％ vs (15±8)％, t=-4.234, P＜0.01; (2.1±2.2)％ vs (0.6±1.4)％, t=-3.143, P＜0.01; (62±15)％ vs (47±18)％, t=-2.885, P＜0.01; (9±9)％ vs (3±3)％,t=-2.131, P＜0.05], Synovial fluid CD8+CD28-T lymphoc-ytes were significantly reduced than the peripheral blood[(38±15)％ vs (54±18)％, t=2.975, P＜0.01], Synovial fluid CD8+ CD28-ICOS+, CD4+CD28+and CD4+ CD28- T lymphocytes had no significant difference than the peripheral blood (P＞0.05). Compared with peripheral blood in the same patients with RA, CD4+CD28+ ICOS+, CD8+ CD28+ T lymphocyteswere significantly increased[(38±18)％ vs (16±10)％, t=-4.065, P＜0.01 ; (61±16)％ vs (41±21)％, t=-4.065,P＜0.01], CD8+CD28-T was significantly reduced[(39±16)％ vs (59±21)％, t=2.949, P＜0.01]. The level of CD4+ CD28-, CD8+ CD28-, CD28-ICOS+ T lymphocytes in the active and remission patients with RA was not significantly different (P＞0.05). ConclusionSynovial fluid CD28T lymphocyte subsets disturbance and the abnormal expression of ICOS in patients with RA may play important roles in the mechanism of joint damage.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the adverse events occurred during tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-αblocker treatment in Chinese Han population patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).MethodsThis study had enrolled 369 Chinese Han population patients with ankylosing spondylitis.They all received TNF-αblocker treatment in the hospital.All 1011 administration were recorded in total.All of them were evaluated for adverse events 2 hours after injection,126 of them had received long-term TNF-α blocker injection,and they were followed-up at week 8,12,52,104.Mild immediate adverse events and long-term adverse events were all counted.SPSS 10.0 software package was used for Fisher's exact test.ResultsThree hundred and sixty-nine patients had 1011 administrations in total,652 had received rhTNFR:Fc,316 had infliximab,21had etanercept,22 had adalimumab injections.Adverse events 2 hours after injection were:17 (2.6％) for rhTNFR:Fc,12 (3.8％) for infliximab,0 for etanercept,1 (4.5％) for adalimumab.Twenty adverse events were mild(12 for rhTNFR:Fc,9 for infliximab),5 events were moderate(3 for rhTNFR:Fc,1 for infliximab,1 for adalimumab),4 events were severe(2 for rhTNFR:Fc,2 for infliximab).The frequency of adverse events were comparable between rhTNFR:Fc and Infliximab injection in immediate adverse reactions (P=0.31).One hundred and twenty-six (69 rhTNFR:Fc,57 infliximab) patients had long-term usage,and were followed-up at week 8,12,52,104,39 patients had adverse reactions:20 (51.3％) for rhTNFR:Fc,19(48.7％) for infliximab.Thirty-seven patients had infectious events(94.9％ ),1 neurological event(2.6％),and 1 patient had tuberculosis relapse (2.6％).Outcomes were comparable with rhTNFR:Fc and infliximab in long-term usage(P=0.69).ConclusionAttention should be paid to the above events in Chinese Han patients with ankylosing spondylitis who were treated with TNF-α blocker treatment.Special attention should be paid to those patients who are in their third or fourth injection.The occurrence of immediate reaction or long-term adverse events between rhTNFR:Fc and infliximab are comparable.

Objective To compare diagnostic values of the 2015 American Thyroid Association (ATA) Management Guidelines for Adult Patients with Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer with the thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TI-RADS) for sonographic malignancy risk stratification of thyroid nodules.Methods From November 2011 to December 2015,485 thyroid nodules in 331 patients (mean age,42.9 years± 10.4)were included in this study.Characteristics includingsize,composition,shape(nonparallel or parallel),margin,echogenicity,calcifications and extrathyroidal extension of thyroid nodules were evaluated.Every nodule was stratificated by criteria set by TI-RADS and ATA guidelines,and malignant rate of each risk stratification were calculated and analysed.With pathology as the gold standard,different cutoff were taken to diagnose malignant nodules,and the sensitivity,specifity,positive predictive value,negativepredictive value and accuracy of the two methodologies were calculated at each cutoff.And the two methodologies were evaluated and measured by ROC curve.Finally their Kappa value were calculated at the best cutoff.Results Of the 485 thyroid nodules,96 were benign and 389 were malignant.The malignancy rates under TI-RADS category 2,3,4a,4b,4c,and 5 nodules were 0,12.0％ (3/25),22.2％ (10/45),29.8％ (14/47),99.2％ (261/363) and 100％ (101/101).Malignancy rates under ATA guidelines of benign,very low,low,intermediate,and high suspicion for malignancy were 0,12.5％ (1/8),16.1％ (10/62),27.7％ (13/47),and 99.2％ (365/368).There were significant differences inside each patterns (P ＜ 0.01) respectively and high correlation between risk stratification with TI-RADS (r=0.70) and ATA guidelines (r=0.83).Areas under the ROC curve of the TI-RADS and ATA guidelines classifications were 0.966 and 0.959.Best cut-off point for diagnosing malignant by TI-RADS and ATA guideline classifications were ≥ 4c and ≥ high suspicion,and at that point,diagnostic value of TI-RADS and ATA guidelines were nearly the same(sensitivity,93.1％vs 93.8％;specificity,97.9％ vs 96.9％;PPV,99.5％ vs 99.2％;NPV,75.7％vs 79.5％;and accuracy,94.0％vs94.4％),and there was no significant differences (P=0.50,P=0.50,P=0.50,P=0.53,P=0.55),Kappa=0.97.Conclusions Both TI-RADS and the ATA guidelinesprovide effective malignancy risk stratification for thyroid nodules.The diagnosticvalue of TI-RADS when considering ≥ 4c and ATA guidelines when considering ≥ high-suspicion nodules as malignant were nearly the same and both high.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic balloon dilation for subglottic stenosis.Methods The clinical outcomes of 9 pediatric patients treated with balloon dilation were retrospectively analyzed.There were 8 male and Ⅰ female.Their age ranged from 7 months to 7 years (mean 2.5 years).The degree of stenosis was classified according to Myer-Cotton classification as follows:grade Ⅱ (n =7) and grade Ⅲ (n =2).The causes of the stenosis were postintubation lesions (n =8) and laryngeal penetrating trauma (n =1).Results The patients had undergone 1 to 3 dilations with an average of 1.8 procedures per patient.Six (66.7％) patients were decannulated.Among them,4 (44.4％) were decannulated after one dilation procedure.Pneumothoraces occurred in 2 children postoperatively.Conclusion Endoscopic balloon dilation is an effective,relatively safe and minimally invasive surgical method for patients with low-grade subglottic stenosis.

Objective:To explore the role of tutorial system combined with TBL teaching method in standardized residency training of the department of rheumatology and immunology.Methods:Sixty residents who participated in standardized training in the department of rheumatology and immunology of our hospital from July 2017 to July 2018 were divided into experimental and control groups according to the period of training. The experimental group adopted the tutorial responsibility system and TBL teaching method, and the control group adopted the traditional residency training mode. The clinical and scientific research abilities of the two groups were compared, and the questionnaires of satisfaction were compared. The statistical analysis was carried out by SPSS 19.0 software.Results:The examination results, scientific research ability and questionnaire survey satisfaction of the tutorial responsibility system combined with TBL teaching method group were higher than those of the traditional teaching group, with statistical significance ( P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion:The tutorial responsibility system combined with TBL teaching method can effectively improve the diagnosis and treatment thinking ability, practical operation skills, clinical scientific research ability, self-study ability and team consciousness, and provide new ideas and methods for improving the quality of standardized residency training.

BACKGROUNDThe purpose of this study was to conduct thyroid ultrasound examinations on a large sample of subjects and explore the occurrence, distribution, and characteristics of thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer to provide some information on the epidemic trend of thyroid nodules and cancer.

METHODSThe thyroid ultrasonic examination results of 19 895 healthy physical examinees who visited the Department of Health Management, Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2009 to December 2011 were analyzed retrospectively to determine the detection rate and characteristics of thyroid nodules. Fine needle aspiration or surgical resection was suggested to subjects suspected of having thyroid cancer.

RESULTSThe detection rate of thyroid nodules was 42.6% (8 480/19 895), 40.0% (4 661/11 678) in men and 46.5% (3 819/8 217) in women. The detection rate noticeably increased with increasing age. The detection rate of thyroid nodules by palpation was obviously lower than by ultrasonic examination in various age groups. Among those with thyroid nodules, 61.3% were multiple and 38.7% were solitary; multiple nodule was the major type both in men and women. Twenty-nine cases of malignant nodules were solitary, and 30 cases of malignant nodules were multiple. There was no significant difference. The detection rate of thyroid cancer was 0.30% for the entire group of examinees, and 0.15% in men and 0.50% in women. Among all sex and age groups, 30- to 40-year-old women had the highest detection rate (0.76%). The detection rate of thyroid nodules correlated with age, systolic blood pressure, height, and weight. Increasing age and/or higher systolic blood pressure correlated with a higher detection rate, while smaller height and weight also correlated with a higher detection rate with significant differences. However, there were no significant correlations between the detection rate and diastolic blood pressure or body mass index.

CONCLUSIONSThe detection of thyroid cancer increased significantly, especially in women. Thus, precautions needed to be taken. Regular physical examination and timely intervention after detection of malignant nodules are critical to improve the prognosis in thyroid cancer patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Thyroid Nodule ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Young Adult

Based on the natures and flavors of herbal medicinals recorded in Shen Nong's Classic of the Materia Medica （《神农本草经》）； Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians （《名医别录》）， this study analyzed the characte-ristics of the natures， flavors and combination of medicinals of the two-herb compound formulas in Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases （《伤寒杂病论》）.Finally， 31 compound formulas were included， and it was found that the nature and flavor of the herbs in these two-herb compound formulas are closely related to the functions of the compound formulas， such as the common pairing of the acrid and the sweet herbs to warm yang and transform qi， the acrid and the bitter herbs in pairs to regulate and harmonize cold and heat， the sweet and the bitter in pairs to remove dampness and clear heat， the acrid and the acrid in pairs to arrest vomiting and direct qi downward， and the sour and the sweet in pairs to slow the urgent and relieve pain. Regardless of the deficiency or excess nature of the disease， the corresponding two-herb compound formulas often aim to reinforce healthy qi while eliminating pathogenic factors， with some formulas showcasing a unique correspondence between the disease pattern and the symptoms addressed.