To investigate the expression of vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors in vitreous of patients with diabetic retinopathy ( DR), and to discuss its role in the development of DR.
●METHODS: Selected 13 patients (16 eyes) with DR and 15 healthy people (15 eyes), the expression of VEGF and its receptors (fms-like tyrosine kinase-1, Flt-1 and kinase insert domain containing receptor, KDR) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in vitreous. The levels of VEGF, the Flt-1 and KDR in vitreous of patients with DR were examined with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELlSA).
● RESULTS: lmmunohistochemical staining showed that the expression of VEGF, Flt-1 and KDR in vitreous vessel membrane of patients with DR was increased significantly. And the levels of VEGF, Flt - 1 and KDR in vitreous of patients with DR were obviously higher than that in the control group (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01).
● CONCLUSlON: VEGF, Flt - 1 and KDR were widely expressed in vitreous of patients with DR, and were positively related to micro-angiogenesis of DR patients. lt proved that VEGF and its receptors played important roles in the occurrence and development of DR.

AIM: To investigate the effects of external counterpulsation combined with laser photocoagulation for treatment of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
METHODS: A prospective study method were used from Aug. 2013 to Feb. 2016. A total of 104 cases in our hospital for treatment of non - proliferative stage of diabetic retinopathy patients were selected as the research object, and all the patients were equally divided into observation group and control group, 52 cases in each group according to the order of admission. Patients in control group were treated with panretinal laser photocoagulation treatment. The observation group were given external counterpulsation combined with laser photocoagulation for treatment, observed the prognosis in the two groups.
RESULTS: The total efficiency in the observation group and the control group were 98. 1% and 84. 6%, the observation group was significantly higher than the control group (P<0. 05). The eye artery EDV and PSV values in the observation group and the control group after treatment were significantly higher than those before treatment (P<0. 05), while the observation group after treatment of eye artery EDV and PSV value were significantly higher than those in control group (P<0. 05). The CMT values in the observation group before and after treatment were 198. 13±45. 32μm and 200. 46±31. 94μm, while the control group were 203. 14±51. 94μm and 202. 90±42. 95μm that compared between the two groups were not statistically significant (P>0. 05).
CONCLUSION: External counterpulsation combined with laser photocoagulation treatment has good safety in the treatment of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, it can promote eye artery blood flow speed, thereby improve the therapeutic effect.

OBJECTIVETo study the validity and reliability of the Demirjian distinguish software on dental age estimation.

METHODThe dental age of 60 children were estimated with both the software three times and manual measures.

RESULTSThe correlation coefficients of dental age estimated by the software and by manual measure was 0.974 (female) (P > 0.1) and 0.970 (male) (P > 0.05); the coefficients of interclass correlation of each dental age estimated by the software was 0.977 (female) (P > 0.1) and 0.977 (male) (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONDemirjian distinguish software has high validity and reliability in estimating dental age.

Adolescent ; Age Determination by Teeth ; methods ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Reproducibility of Results ; Software

Objective To study the characteristics of the transcranial electric stimulation(TES)-elicited motor evoked potentials(MEP)recorded from different points of the diaphragm,and to determine the optimal record- ing site in the diaphragm.Methods One EEG electrode was placed subcutaneously in the midline of the skull as stimulation electrode and another EEG electrode was inserted into hard palate submucously as cathode in 30 male rats.And single square wave electrical pulse was used for stimulation.The stimulation intensity was 15 mA,the du- ration of the pulse was 0.2 ms,and the stimulating interval was 200 ms.The concentric needle electrode were insert- ed into the following eight sites:the medial,intermediate,lateral crura of the diaphragm,the junction of the posterior axilla line and the inferior border of the eleventh rib,the junction of the anterior axilla line and the inferior border of the ninth rib,the junction of the intermediate line of the clavicle and the inferior border of the eighth rib,the junction of the para-sternal line and the inferior border of the seventh rib,the pars sternalis.The MEP was recorded from each point,respectively.The optimal sites of the diaphragm MEP were found and recorded.Results The MEPs were re- corded from each of the 8 sites of the diaphragm in all the rats after TES.There was no statistically significant differ- ence among the latencies of every site.But the amplitude varied from 6.08?0.46 mV in maximum along the inferior border of the ninth rib at the anterior line of the axilla to the minimum of O.91?0.03 mV at the pars sternalis. Conclusion It is safer to insert the needle along the inferior border of the ninth rib at the anterior line of the axilla, because there was certain distant from the folding part of the pleura and the amplitude of the recorded wave at this point is maximal.

An antibiotic-producing bacterium, which was numbered as 20 #-5, was separated from the soil in Chongqing. It was identified as the member of pseudomonas. Gram positive bacteria are badly suppressed by it. The antibiotic secreted by 20 #-5 can endure 100℃ for half an hour, and it can also go through the ultrafiltration membrane with pores of 0.22?m.

OBJECTIVE: To develop RP-HPLC method for the rapid determination of resveratrol in serum and tissue homogenates (in some organs) of mice.METHODS:HPLC determination was performed using Kromasil C18 column,the mobile phase consisted of methanol - water (48∶ 52) with a flow rate of 1ml/min,the column was under room temperature with its pressure at 12kPa,the detection wavelength was 303nm and the sample size was 20?l. RESULTS: The linear range for resveratrol was 0.25～25?g/ml, with minimal detectable drug concentration at 0.1?g/ml (S/N=3). The average absolute rec_overy of the samples was above 88% and the methodological recovery rates of which ranged from 96% to 100%,RSD were below 10%. CONCLUSIONS: The established determination method is economical, reliable, simple and rapid, and suitable for the blood concentration determination of resveratrol and the study of its distribution in animal body.

OBJECTIVETo observe the regulatory effects of psoralen, oleanolic acid, and stilbene glucoside, three active components of psoralea fruit, glossy privet fruit and tuber fleeceflower root respectively, on Aβ25-35induced self-renewal and neuron-like differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs).

METHODSEmbryonic NSCs werein vitro isolated and cultured from Kunming mice of 14-day pregnancy, and randomly divided into the control group, the Aβ25-35 group, the Aβ25-35 +psoralen group, the Aβ25-35 +oleanolic acid group, and the Aβ25-35 + stilbene glucoside group. The intervention concentration of Aβ25-35 was 25 µmol/L, and the intervention concentration of three active components of Chinese medicine was 10(-7)mol/L. The effect of three active components of Chinese medicine on the proliferation of NSCs was observed by counting method. The protein expression of Tubulin was observed by Western blot and immunofluorescence. The ratio of Tubulin+/DAPI was caculated. Results Compared with the control group, the sperical morphology of NSCs was destroyed in the Aβ25-35 group, the counting of NSCs, the expression of Tubulin protein, and the ratio of Tubulin /DAPI all decreased (P <0.01, P <0.05). Compared with the Aβ25-35 group, the counting of NSCs, the expression of Tubulin protein, and the ratio of Tubulin + /DAPI all increased in the three Chinese medicine treated groups (P <0. 01, P <0. 05).

CONCLUSIONS25 µmol/L Aβ25-35 could inhibit self-renewal and neuron-like differentiating of NSCs. But psoralen, oleanolic acid, and stilbene glucoside could promote self-renewal of NSCs and neuron-like differentiation.

Amyloid beta-Peptides ; physiology ; Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Female ; Mice ; Neural Stem Cells ; Neurogenesis ; drug effects ; Neurons ; cytology ; Peptide Fragments ; physiology ; Pregnancy

In this paper, based on the special influence of supramolecular chemistry on the basic theory of Chinese medicines ( CM) , the authors further analyzed the history of meridian tropism and natural origins of CM organisms and explained CM ingredients and the universal regularity of the automatic action of the supramolecular "imprinting templates" hole channel structure. After entering human bodies, CMs, as the aggregation of supramolecular "imprinting templates" , automatically seek supramolecular subjects that are matched with their "imprinting templates" in human meridians and organs for the purpose of self-recognition, self-organization, self-assembly and self-replication, so as to generate specific efficacy in meridians and organs, which is reflected as the meridian tropism phenomena at macro level. This regularity can be studied by in vitro and in vivo experimental studies. In vitro methods are mostly supra molecular structure analysis and kinetic and thermodynamic parameter calculation; Whereas in vivo methods are dominated by the analysis on object component distribution, chromatopharmacodynamic parameters and network chromatopharmacodynamic parameters; Particularly, the acupoint-medicine method can simplify to study the supramolecular subject-object relations. Consequently, CM's'meridian tropism reveals the universal regularity for interactions of macromolecular and micromolecular "imprinting templates" of subjects and objects in natural organisms. As the first barrier for the material base of the CM theory and breakthrough in the modernization of the basic CM theory, meridian tropism plays an important role in studies on basic theories of the basic CM theory.
Acupuncture Points ; Drug Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Meridians

OBJECTIVESTo study the diagnosis and treatment for the injury of cervical disc and longitudinal ligament.

METHODSFrom 2001 to 2005, the clinical data of sixty-three patients with cervical disc and longitudinal ligament injury were studied. Early treatment was done based on spinal cord injuries and spinal stabilities by X rays and MRI. Early operation was done in fifty-four cases and early non-operation in nine cases.

RESULTSThe follow-up time was six to forty-one months in all patients. The neurological recovery was found in two of eight complete SCI post-operation, thirty-one in thirty-nine incomplete SCI. Cervical collar or plaster orthotic were used in nine cases with four to six weeks. Evidence of instability was noted in four patients, who were operated with anterior decompression fusion. Neck chronic pain was found in two patients, anterior decompression and fusion was done in one with cervical spinal cord compression.

CONCLUSIONSMRI examination is the most value measure for the diagnosis of cervical disc and longitudinal ligament injury. Early anterior decompression and fusion was an important approach for cervical disc and longitudinal ligament injury.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Cervical Vertebrae ; injuries ; surgery ; Decompression, Surgical ; Female ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; injuries ; surgery ; Longitudinal Ligaments ; injuries ; surgery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fusion ; methods ; Spinal Injuries ; diagnosis ; therapy

Chinese medicine (CM) is a discipline with its own distinct methodologies and philosophical principles. The main method of treatment in CM is to use herbal prescriptions. Typically, a number of herbs are combined to form a formula and different formulae are prescribed for different patients. Regularities in the mixture of herbs in the prescriptions are important for both clinical treatment and novel patent medicine development. In this study, we analyze CM formula data using latent tree (LT) models. Interesting regularities are discovered. Those regularities are of interest to students of CM as well as pharmaceutical companies that manufacture medicine using Chinese herbs.
Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; standards ; Drug Compounding ; standards ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Models, Biological ; Prescription Drugs ; therapeutic use