OBJECTIVE:To investigate the quality of Isatis indigotica of different growing periods.METHODS:The property and the microscopic characteristics of Isatis indigotica of 1 or 2 growing years were identified and the contents of adenosine,indigo and indirubin were determined by HPLC. RESULTS:Isatis indigotca of 1 growing year showed wide liber and sparsely arranged parenchyma cells while Isatis indigotca of 2 growing years showed narrow liber and tightly arranged parenchyma cells. Without timely open-air drying or proper storage after harvesting,the Isatis indigotca was likely to experience color change of darkening in cross-section,increase of the content of the indigo,and decrease of the contents of adenosine and indirubin. The Isatis indigotica of too short growing period or two growing years were low in contents of adenosine,indigo and indirubin. CONCLUSION:The planting of Isatis indigotica should be standardized and which should be given a quality control to avoid the great quality difference arose from differences of habitat,planting and harvesting,initial processing and storing method,etc.

BACKGROUND: Visual-motor integration (VMI) test was introduced into China in the 1970s and 1990s and widely used for evaluation and identification of problems in intellectual development and learning ability in children due to its good applicability without limitations by language and cultural background.OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of developmental test of VMI in children with hearing handicap, and evaluate its practical feasibility in largescale screening of intelligence problems in these children by comparing its reliability and validity with the norms of children in Shaanxi Province and the USA.DESIGN: A controlled correlation and multiple stepwise regression analysis with randomized cluster sampling.SETTING: Neurological Department of the First Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Xi' an Jiaotong University.PARTICIPANTS: From January 1998 to December 2000, 638 children under 18 years of age with hearing handicaps were chosen from 6 schools of deaf-mutes in Xi'an City, Xianyang City, Chang'an County, Huxian County,and Lintong County in Shaanxi Province. Another 43 children with hearing handicap including 23 male and 20 female children aged (11.62±1.98) years were selected randomly for EEG and brain electrical activity mapping (BEAM) examination, who had a mean development quotient of VMI of 86.60±15.68. The children were divided by the development quotient into two groups, namely those with development quotient ＜ 86.6 (n=20) and those with development quotient ≥ 86.6 (n=23). METHODS: ① The VMI test was performed in accordance with the Fourth edition of VMI Manual by Beery K.E. The test was terminated when the testee failed to correctly copy three consecutive geometrical figures without time limit. The scale score varied from 0 to 27. ② The reliability test included split-half reliability test in which the items were split into two parts according to odd-even number, re-test reliability that tested the same group of children again in two months and inter-examiner reliability in which two examiners were asked to grade the same test paper.③ The validity test included structural and correlation validity test. Three well-revised and already established norms of scales in China, including Hiskey- Nebraska test of learning aptitude (H-NTLA), performance scale of Wechsler intelligent scale for children (PS-WISC) and Combined Raven's test (CRT), have been chosen as the structure validity criteria. The performance IQ of PS-WISC, learning quotient of H-NTLA, percentile rank of CRT and standard score of VMI were taken respectively for each test in this study.Academic achievements and teachers' and parent's rating were used as the validity correlation criteria. During the administration procedure, a card describing the requirements in detail were presented to the deaf children with reading capacity, while for those too young to read, the teacher was asked to help translate the requirements using standard sign language, but no any hints or clues in relation with the test contents were given. ④ The test did not start until the subjects fully understood the requirement (7314/F/W DYD-300A).EEG recording was performed with the leads deposited according to the international standard 10/20 lead system. Routine EEG had been recorded at least 30 minutes for visual assessment, and stable and representative waves for 120 seconds free of biases or inferences were recorded using unipolar lead from the subjects at rest with the eyes closed and stored in computer.Experienced EEG experts were asked to select the most representative waves of 20 seconds in a double-blind manner to compute the absolute power spectrum of the brain wave.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reliability and validity of VMI test,relationship between VMI ability and cerebral electrophysiological changes.RESULTS: Totally 638 children under 18 years old with hearing handicap were involved, of whom 72 were eliminated because of lack of data, congenital disease or central nervous system diseases. Finally 566 cases were available for analysis, including 346 male and 220 female children with an average age of (12±3) years. ① The reliability of VMI reached an average of 0.92, varying from 0.63 to 0.99 in each group. The equivalent age corresponding to the scores of the VMI test norm established for the 566 healthy deaf children was lower by an average of (1.79±0.9) years than the equivalent age in the norms of the normal children in Shaanxi Province delayed and USA. ② The standard score of VMI test showed the highest correlation coefficient of 0.661 0 with the learning quotient of H-NTLA, while the correlation with PS-WISC and CRT were 0.357 6 and 0.517 4, respectively.③ Children with higher VMI score showed more powerful absolute spectrum among frequency rangesδ,θ,αl and total power spectrum in the central, parietal and occipital regions of the left hemisphere, respectively.CONCLUSION: VMI test can efficiently reflect the development status of visual-motor integration or intelligence of the school-age deaf children and represent the level of central EEG activity.

Plasma cell gingivitis is a rare form of gingival hyperplasia,mostly located in mucous membrane and characterized by swollen gums.Pathological examination showed dense plate shaped gathering of plasma cells in the connective tissue.Diagnosis relies on pathological examination.The cause of the disease is unknown,may be associated with allergic reactions.Expectant treatment is often use for the disease. Relapse of the lesion is commot,but canceration is rare.One case of plasma cell gingivitis followed for 2 years is presented,and the clinical manifestation and treatment are discussed in this paper.

BACKGROUND:Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and polypropylenecarbonate (PPC) are new medical materials developed in recent years, characterized as good biocompatibility, biodegradability and the low price. OBJECTIVE:To prepare the PBS/PPC biofilm by electrostatic spinning method and evaluate its physical and chemical properties, degradation performance and effect on cel proliferationin vitro. METHODS:The PBS/PPC biofilm was prepared using electrostatic spinning method: 0.9 g PBS and 0.9 g PPC were dissolved in 10 mL of trichloromethane at room temperature and stirred magneticaly until they were fulydissolved. Then, the spinning solution was added into a spinning tube with a distance of about 15 cm and at a voltage of 18 kV. The surface morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The intensity, contact angle and water absorption, pH value and weight loss in the process ofin vitro degradation were measured. MG63 cels were co-cultured with the biofilm for 7 days and cel proliferation was detected by cel counting kit-8. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The PBS/PPC biofilm showed a porous structure with interconnected pores. The fiber diameter was about 0.88 μm, the average aperture was about 5.68 μm, the porosity was 78.3%, the fracture intensity was 2.31 MPa, the elongation rate at break was 23.48%, the average value of contact angle was 87°, and the water absorption rate was 68.54%. During the biofilm degradation, the pH value decreased gradualy andreduced to 6.76 at 12 weeks; meanwhile, the biofilm degraded equaly and gradualy, and the weight loss rate was 6.04% at the end of the 12th week. The results of cel counting kit-8 showed that the PBS/PPC biofilm could promote cel proliferation. Overal, the PBS/PPC biofilm has good physical and chemical properties, good space-making feature, wettability and degradability, which can provide sufficient time for bone tissue regeneration.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the changes and mechanism of angiopoietin1 (Ang1) in murine bone marrow during G-CSF induced mobilization of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell.

METHODSThe proportion of Lin-Sca1⁺cKit⁺ (LSK) cells in peripheral blood of C57BL/6 mice before and after G-CSF mobilization was detected by flow cytometry. Expression changes of Ang1 and osteocalcin (OCN) during HSC mobilization were determined by immunohistochemistry, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The number of osteoblasts in the bone marrow was counted under the microscope.

RESULTSAfter treated with G-CSF, the proportion of LSK cells in peripheral blood significantly increased from the controls (0.04 ± 0.01)% to (0.61 ± 0.05)% at day 5 (P<0.05). Before G-CSF mobilization, the endosteum cells expressed higher level of OCN and Ang1 than that of bone marrow nucleated cells. The mRNA expression level of OCN was significantly reduced from 28.64 ± 8.61 in the controls to 12.55 ± 7.06 on day 3 and 4.75 ± 1.62 on day 5, and the expression level of Ang1 also declined from 2.84 ± 0.95 in the controls to 0.93 ± 0.30 on day 3 and to 0.92 ± 0.22 on day 5 after G-CSF mobilization. The number of endosteum osteoblasts was significantly decreased after mobilization (P<0.05). The Ang1 expression was decreased in the BM after mobilization. The serum OCN was significantly reduced from (24.11 ± 3.17) ng/ml in the controls to (9.96 ± 2.16) ng/ml on day 3 and (8.43 ± 2.62) ng/ml on day 5, and the Ang1 also declined from (2.24 ± 0.52) ng/ml in the controls to (1.21±0.38) ng/ml on day 3 and (0.90±0.24) ng/ml on day 5.

CONCLUSIONIn G-CSFinduced HSPC mobilization, the bone marrow osteoblasts retraction causes reduction of Ang1, and the reduction of Ang1 may contribute to HSPC mobilization.

Animals ; Bone Marrow ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Osteoblasts ; RNA, Messenger