Quality variation and ecotype classification of Chinese herbal medicine are important scientific problems in Daodi herbal medicine research. The diversity of natural environmental conditions has led to form unique multi-Daodi, multi-product areas that produce particular Chinese herbal medicine. China is one of three big American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) producing areas worldwide, with over 300 years of application and 40 years of cultivation history. Long-term production practice has led to the formation of three big advocate produce areas in China: Northeast province, Beijing and Shandong. P. quinquefolium L. grown under certain environmental conditions will develop long-term adaptations that will lead to more stable strains (different ecotypes). P. quinquefolium L., can vary greatly in quality; however, the ecological mechanisms causing this variation are still unclear. Root samples were collected from four-year-old cultivated P. quinquefolium L. plants in the three major genuine (Daodi) American ginseng-producing areas of Northeast province, Beijing and Shandong province, China. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography was used to analyze the contents of eight ginsenosides (Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, Rc, Rd, Rg2). Data for nine ecological factors, including temperature, moisture and sunlight, were obtained from the ecological database of Geographic Information System for Traditional Chinese Medicine. Soil samples from the sampling sites were collected. Effective boron and iron, available nitrogen and potassium, as well as other trace elements and soil nutrients, were determined by conventional soil physicochemical property assay methods. Analytical methods of biostatistics and numerical taxonomy were used to divide ecotypes of the three main Panax quinquefolium L. producing areas in China based on ginsenoside content, climate, soil and other ecological factors. To our knowledge, this is the first time that ecological division of P. quinquefolium L. producing areas in China has ever been conducted. The results show that there are two chemoecotypes of P. quinquefolium L. in China: ginsenoside Rb1-Re from outside Shanhaiguan, and ginsenoside Rg2-Rd from inside Shanhaiguan. Similarly, there are two types of climatic characteristics: inside Shanhaiguan (Beijing, Shandong) and outside Shanhaiguan (Northeast). This suggests that the formation and differentiation of chemoecotypes of P. quinquefolium L. is closely related to variability of the climatic and geographical environment. Additionally, ecological variation of the three main producing areas, characteristics of two climatic ecotypes, and soil characteristics are also discussed and summarized. These results provide experimental scientific evidence of the quality variation and ecological adaptation of P. quinquefolium L. from different producing areas. They also deepen our understanding of the biological nature of Daodi P. quinquefolium L. formation, and offer novel research models for other multi-origin, multi-Daodi Chinese herbal medicines ecotypes. In addition, the results demonstrate the critical need for improving quality, appropriate ecological regionalization and promoting industrialized development of P. quinquefolium L.

Objective To evaluate neurofunctional and radiographic results of transpedicular screw fixation reduction and anterior column fixation with use of screw-red system in treatment of multiple segment lumbar pedicle and vertebral body fractures combined with spondylolisthesis. Methods A consecutive series of 12 patients with unstable multiple segment lumbar pedicle fracture, vertebral body fracture, spondylolisthesis and neurologic deficit were managed with posterior transpedicular screw fixation including fractured pedicle and anterior screw-rod fixation instrumentation from January 2002 to December 2007. Results Patients were followed up for 24-30 months (mean 26 months). All the patients with incomplete neurologic deficits got improvement by at least one Frankel grade. Transpedicular screw brought satisfactory reduction. At the time of the latest follow-up, no screw breakage occurred. Con-clusions Excellent reduction of unstable multiple segment lumbar pedicle fractures combined with spon-dylolisthesis can attain better reduction and maintenance by means of selective pedicle screw fixation via fractured pedicle and anterior screw-rod instrument.

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI)in full-term neonatal hypoxic ische-mic encephalopathy (HIE).Methods Sixty-three neonates with HIE were collected and scanned by Siemens 3.0T superconducting MR scanner.Routine axial conventional MRI scan and axial SWI scan were conducted.Results In 63 neonates,a total of 29 cases with different degree of intracranial hemorrhage were scanned with SWI sequence.A total of 1 5 1 intracranial hemorrhages were found.Conventional MRI sequences were performed in 1 5 cases with different degree of intracranial hemorrhage.Only 78,43 and 88 hemorrhages were found by T1 WI,T2 WI and T2 Flair sequences,respectively.SWI were significantly superior to conventional MRI sequences in displaying the scope and boundary definition of hemorrhage.Conclusion SWI sequence is obviously better than the con-ventional MRI sequences in bleeding detection and displaying hemorrhage stove,and it provides a powerful imaging method for the clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Aims To study the changes of serum me-tabolites in systemic lupus erythematosus ( SLE ) mice ( MRL/lpr) by treatment of Qinghao-Biejia and to ex-plore the pathogenesis of SLE and mechanism of drug action. Methods The serum samples of control group, SLE model group and Qinghao-Biejia treatment group ( low and high dose ) were collected, the metabolic profile of samples was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry system ( HPLC-Q-TOF/MS ) . Software of Mass Hunter and Mass Profiler Professional ( MPP ) were used to process the data. A supervised mode of partial least squares-discriminant analysis ( PLS-DA ) was applied to recognize the data pattern. Results There were obvious disorders of lipid metabolism in SLE model. Compared with control group, Qinghao-Biejia treatment group improved lipid metabolism, af-fected the thrombosis development of SLE; and Qing-hao-Biejia treatment group reduced the pathological damage by improving inflammatory acute phase of SLE in mice. Conclusion Qinghao-Biejia treatment plays a therapeutic role in repairing the imbalance by multidi-mensional metabolic pathways in SLE mice.

Objective The comparison of the clinical role of stress-redistribution/reinjection with dual isotopes of 99Tcm-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) and 201TI in the detection of myocardial viability.Methods One hundred and sixty patients with clinically suspicious coronary artery disease (CAD) were included.All had intravenous injection with 740 MBq of 99Tcm-MIBI.Pharmacological challenge with dobu-macological challenge with dobutamin,111 MBq of 201Tl Was injected to all.Myocardial SPECT images were performed in all at 10-min (stress) and 3-h (redistribution/rest) after injection.The 201Tl(37 MBq)would be given to those patients with myocardial perfusion defect at stress images by 201Tl and were demon-strated by both 201Tl(redistribution) and 99Tcm-MIBI (rest).Coronary angiography (CAG) Was performed within two weeks.X2-test was used with SAS 6.12.Results Coronary artery abnormalities were found in all with 76 patients had one vessel disease,51 had two and 33 had three.Of the 152 patients who had myo- cardial perfusion defect during stress images,63 had redistribution by both 201TI and 99Tcm-MIBI.5 had re-distribution by 201Tl only.9 had redistribution by 99Tcm-MIBI only,and 75 had no redistribution in 201Tl or 99Tcm-MIBI images.The sensitivity of detection myocardial viability with myocardial SPECT images between 201Tl at redistribution (66.0%,68/103) and 99Tcm-MIBI at rest (69.9%,72/103) were insignificant (x2=O.36.P>0.05).Of the 75 patients who did not have redistribution in 201Tl or 99Tcm-MIBI images.34.7% (26/75)had myocardial perfusion when reinjection of 201Tl.In all,there were eight false negative myocardial perfusion SEPCT images.Three were triple vessel disease,one Was two, three were one, and the other was patent collateral circulation.Conclusions Stress.redistributed/reinjection 201TI myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging is superior to stress 201Tl/rest 99Tcm-MIBI simultaneous dual-isotopic myocardial imaging in the detec-tion of myocanrdial viability.

Objective To explore the effect of Shenqi Fufang (参芪复方,SF) on skeletal muscle damage of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its possible mechanism.Methods Eighteen rats with spontaneous type 2 diabetes mellitus (GK) were randomized into the model group,SF group and sitagliptin group with six rats in each group,and six more Wistar rats were selected as the control group.Each group was given high fat diet for 8 weeks to build T2DM model except for the control group.At the same time,the control group and the model group were given normal saline 5 ml/(kg-d) by gastric perfusion,the SF group was given SF extract 1.44g/(kg · d) by gastric perfusion,and sitagliptin group was given sitagliptin phosphate suspension 16ml/(kg · d) by gastric perfusion.Eight weeks later,the levels of serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1),tumor necrosis factor-αr (TNF-a) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β)were measured in each group,the gastrocnemius muscle was taken out to get the wet weight and observe the pathological changes,and the expression of p70s6k1 protein was detected.Results Compared with the control group,the wet weight of the gastrocnemius muscle,the serum IGF-1 level and p70s6k1 protein expression in the model group significantly decreased (P ＜ 0.05),while the levels of serum TNF-α and IL-1β significantly increased (P ＜ 0.05).Through pathological observation,there existed gastrocnemius muscle cells atrophy,a larger area of edema and interstitial lymphocyte infiltration.Compared with the model group,the wet weight of the gastrocnemius muscle,IGF-1 content and p70s6k protein expression in the sitagliptin group and the SF group significantly increased,the contents of TNF-α and IL-l β significantly decreased (P ＜0.05),and there were no obvious muscle cell atrophy and edema,and also little inflammatory cell infiltration.There was no significant difference between the sitagliptin group and SF group (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion SF could reduce the diabetic skeletal muscle injury;the potential mechanism seems to reduce the inflammatory factor content,improve IGF-1 resistance and maintain the skeletal muscle mass.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of eyelid margin cleaning using Deep Cleaning Device for the treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction-associated dry eye. Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, open-label, investigator-masked, and self-controlled study. We randomly assigned one eye of patients with meibomian gland dysfunction-associated dry eye to the treatment group, and the other eye to the control group. Both groups received artificial tears and lid warming; the treatment group received an additional one-time in-office eyelid margin cleaning using Deep Cleaning Device. Non-invasive tear break-up time (NITBUT) and tear meniscus height (TMH) of each eye, and Standard Patient Evaluation for Eye Dryness II (SPEED II) score of each patient were evaluated before and at one week after treatment. Results: Thirty eyes of 15 patients were enrolled. No adverse effects occurred during the treatment. Compared with the baseline values, the SPEED score decreased significantly at one week after treatment (mean±95% confidence interval, 11.00±0.99 vs. 5.67±1.67, P<0.0001), the NITBUT-first in the treatment group increased significantly at one week after treatment ((4.74±1.27) s vs. (7.49±2.22) s, P=0.01). The NITBUT-first was significantly longer in the treatment group ((7.49±2.22) s) than in the control group ((5.17±0.91) s) at one week after treatment (P=0.042). No significant differences were found in other tear film parameters between the two groups. Conclusions: Eyelid margin cleaning using the novel Deep Cleaning Device is a convenient, effective, and safe treatment for patients with meibomian gland dysfunction-associated dry eye.

In order to study the spectral reflectance differences of Glycyrrhizae Radix under different growth conditions and lay the foundation for quantitative monitoring of Glycyrrhizae Radix remote sensing images, spectra of Glycyrrhiza species under different growth period and different varieties and different regions were measured by a portable spectrometer. The results showed that the reflectivity of annual G. uralensis was obviously higher than that of the two years plant in the visible light band own to the contents of crown layer chlorophyll. The reflectivity of two years G. pallidiflora was higher than that of G. uralensis in the near infrared band own to the leaf area index and the content of leaf water. The red edge spectrum of annual plant fluctuated largely than that of two years plant due to vegetation coverage and leaf area index. G. pallidiflora grew well than G. uralensis. Under different regions of the Glycyrrhiza species, spectral data analysis showed that within a certain range, the average annual precipitation and average annual evaporation were the major factors to affect the differences of Glycyrrhiza species spectral data under different regions owe to the leaf water content, the higher leaf water content, the lower spectral reflectance. The principal component analysis and continuum-removed method of the spectral data under different regions found that, within a certain range, the average annual precipitation and average annual evaporation were the major factors caused by the differences of Glycyrrhiza species spectral data under the different regions, Glycyrrhiza species spectral similarity related to the spatial distance.
Geography ; Glycyrrhiza ; chemistry ; Principal Component Analysis ; Spectrum Analysis

Objective To compare the immune effects of Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) capsid protein VP1 expressed bacterially, recombinant adenovirus rAd/VP1 and recombinant plasmid pcDNA3/VP1which express VP1 protein in mice. Methods After expressed in prokaryotic cells, VP1 protein was purified. Recombinant adenovirus rAd/VP1 and recombinant plasmid pcDNA3/VP1 were amplified and extracted. Six to 8-week-old, male BALB/c mice were divided into four groups randomly. Each group contained 18 mice. The mice of pcDNA3/VP1 group or VP1 protein group were immunized intramuscularly with three injections at three weeks apart, of recombinant plasmid pcDNA3/VP1 at a dose of 100 μg/mouse or recombinant protein VP1 at a dose of 50 μg/mouse. The mice of rAd/VP1 group were immunized intramuscularly twice at two weeks interval with rAd/VP1 at a dose of 1.2 × 107 PFU. The control group was mock-immunized with 100 μl of PBS intramuscularly. Mice were bled from the retroorbital sinus plexus every two weeks after each immunization. ELISA and micro-neutralization test were used to detect levels of CVB3-specific IgG antibody and neutralizing antibody titers in the sera of immunized mice. Three weeks after the last immunization, the cytotoxic T lymphocyte(CTL) killing activity of spleen lymphocytes was detected with CCK-8 assay. Subsequently, virus titers in the sera of immunized mice were determined by the 50% cell culture infective dose( CCID50 ) assay on HeLa cell monolayers and percentage of animals surviving were observed after lethal CVB3 attack over a period of 21 days. Results The titers of specific IgG antibody and neutralizing antibody in sera of VP1 protein immunized mice were higher than other groups( P ＜0.05 ). While CTL killing activity of spleen lymphocytes of VP1 protein immunized mice was lower than mice in rAd/VP1 group( P ＜0. 05). Virus titers in sera of VP1 protein immunized mice were lower than the mice in pcDNA3/VP1 or rAd/VP1 groups ( P ＜ 0.05 ), while survival rate was significantly higher than these two groups ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusion VP1 protein induced higher level of humoral immune response and acquired obvious immune protection effects in mice. The immunizing potency of VP1 protein vaccine surpassed plasmid pcDNA3/VP1or recombinant adenovirus rAd/VP1. It appeared to be a promising candidate among the three different vaccines.

Objective To investigate the effect of erythropoietin(EPO)on the expression of aquaporin - 2 (AQP2)in the kidney of young SD rats after release of bilateral ureter obstruction(BUO - R). Methods Thirty - two young SD rats were equally divided into 4 groups randomly(BUO group,BUO - R group,BUO - R ﹢ EPO group and Sham group,8 rats in each group). The BUO model was built through bilateral ureteral ligation. EPO(500 U/ kg)was given to BUO - R ﹢ EPO rats at 2 h after release of BUO,and then repeated 6 h,12 h,24 h and 36 h thereafter and the same volume of 9 g/ L saline was simultaneously given to BUO - R rats. The Sham group was prepared in parallel by laparotomy and free dissection of bilateral ureters but not ligated. Both side kidneys were harvested 48 h(72 h for Sham group)after release of BUO to examine the effect of EPO on the expression of AQP2 in inner medulla by immunohisto-chemistry,Real - time PCR and Western blot. The urine samples were collected by using metabolic cage before death. Results The osmotic pressure of BUO - R ﹢ EPO group was higher than that of BUO - R group,but lower than that of Sham group(P ﹤ 0. 05). Immunohistochemistry showed that the collecting duct wall thinned and lumen enlarged. After the pictures were analysized by using Image - Pro Plus software,it showed that the expression of AQP2 in collecting duct in BUO group was significantly down - regulated compared with that in Sham group,whereas,it was slightly weaker in BUO - R group and BUO - R ﹢ EPO group than Sham group(P ﹤ 0. 05). These results were further confirmed by a-dopting Western blot,and the relative quantity of AQP2 in BUO group was also the lowest of the four groups(P ﹤0. 05). Real - time PCR showed that the level of AQP2 mRNA in Sham group was(24. 30 ± 1. 03)folds of BUO group,(10. 60 ± 1. 05)folds of BUO - R group and(5. 70 ± 1. 01)folds of BUO - R ﹢ EPO group,respectively. Conclusion EPO could promote not only the recovery of AQP2 mRNA and protein expression but also the recovery of AQP2 function in young BUO - R rats.