In the past, education of acupuncture/ moxibustion in Taiwan depended on the masters-disciples relation. The knowledge of acupuncture/ moxibustion was transmitted to disciples individually.
Since its establishment in 1955, The Taipei Society Acupuncture and Moxibustion improved educational pro- gram to more systematic one. In the following 20 years varieties of studies in this field were conducted, people also turned their eyes to these traditional remedies
Though acupuncture and moxibustion had begun to be accepted by people, the new medical law was en- forced in 1975, which disqualified the acupuncturists for medcial practice. As a result, many of the acupuncturists and moxibustionists left Taiwan for overseas. Unlike many other nations, Taiwan has no system for certification of acupuncturists/ moxibustionists. The traditional Chinese doctor in Taiwan, after passing the examination for Chinese Medicinal exam can practice the Chinese herbal medicine and the acupuncture/ moxibustion. It seems an inconceivable system.
It is only after 1989 that the subjects on acupuncture/ moxibustion medicine were included in the exams for the traditional Chinese doctor in Taiwan. But it still doesn't include tests of practical skills. This is more of a hindrance than a contribution to acupuncture and moxibustion in Taiwan.
Though there has been the legalization movement for acupuncturists/ moxibustionists during the past 30 years, it met opposition from both of the health bureau and the traditional Chinese doctor trade union. The license system for acupunturist is still left uncertain.
Now in Japan, the high tech device like electronic microscope, micro inductor and micro-electric are introduced in the studies of acupuncture/ moxibustion medicine. And in the field of scientific research of the acupuncture and moxibustion, Japanese seem to have more grant view than other country. The health government of Taiwan should turn their eyes to the reality and change its policies towards this effective medicine.
Now acupuncture and moxibustion medicine has become one of the international research topics. In recent years WFAS academic congresses are held every year in the different nations. Here I would like to suggest that in advanced country like Japan, a new university specializing in acupuncture/moxibustion medicine should be established and it should accept and educate foreign student from overseas with international curriculum. Only the continuous and faithful exchange of the young scholars would recover the true friendship between Taiwan and Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To develop software for individualized dosage regimen of valproic acid and carbamazepine according to population pharmacokinetics and Bayesian estimation method. METHODS: Based on the prior population pharmacokinetic (PPK) information, Microsoft Excel 2010 was employed as the input-output interface to run the PPK program, Nonlinear Mixed Effect Modeling (NONMEM), to estimate the PK parameters and design the regimen. RESULTS: The software fulfills the functions of patient information management, initial dosage design, dosage calculation by maximum a posterior Bayesian estimation (MAPB) and compliance assessment. CONCLUSION: The established software provides a powerful tool in the clinical settings to facilitate the individualized therapy for the epilepsy patients.

Objective To study the relationship between helicobacter pylori(Hp) infection and iron deficiency anemia(IDA) in children. Methods The observation group contained 26 cases and control group 22 cases.Seroferroprotein(SF) and blood routine were detected.Results There was statistically significant difference in both groups on the SF,hemoglobin,red blood cellcount,mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (P0.05). Conclusion Hp infection may be related to IDA in children.

OBJECTIVE:To find out potential financial risk in the listed Chinese pharmaceutical companies and to provide rec-ommendations. METHODS:The Z-score established with Altman E was adopted to classiy and analyzed empirically 143 listed phar-maceutical companies in China during 1998-2013 by sub-sectors(medical devices,pharmaceutical commercial,biological products chemical raw medicine,traditional TCM). The effects of some data in annual reports on Z-score were validated by using stepwise regression. RESULTS:The result showed that the average Z-score values percentage of the best 3 companies were 90.95%,47.96%and 41.25%,respectively,from 1998-2013;while for the worst 3 companies,the values were 0.80%,1.14%and 1.21%,respective-ly. At the same time,the financial situations of chemical raw medicine companies were the worst among 5 sub-sectors,of which dur-ing 2004-2006,the constituent ratios of companies in“Distress”zones went over 50.00%,which were 60.00%,55.20% and 53.60%,respectively. If counted by calendar year,the market value per share of 10 years and float of 9 years significantly affected the Z-score values(P<0.05);if counted by listed year,the market value per share of 15 years significantly affected the Z-score val-ues. CONCLUSIONS:Although major pharmaceutical companies have good financial status,financial crisis still exists in some companies. Especially,the financial situations of chemical raw medicine companies should not be neglected. The government should pay more attention to share price in order to prevent financial crisis which was induced by stock bubbles;at the same time,supervi-sion system should be established to evaluate the financial situation of listed pharmaceutical companies,even for all listed companies.

Objective To develop a method to determine trace Pb and Cd in mineral water, tap water and sea water. Methods Pb and Cd in the samples were enriched in the sulphydryl cotton column under the conditions that the pH of the samples was adjusted to 7 and collected by washing the column with 4 ml of 0.2 mol/L HCl solution. The concentration of Pb and Cd was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results Pb and Cd were not detected in four kinds of mineral water samples, but in tap water and sea water, Pb was 1.56 ?g/L and 0.43 ?g/L, Cd was 0.62 ?g/L and 0.07 ?g/L respectively. The rates of recovery were 96.6%-104.0% and RSD was

AIM: To study antiasthmatic effect of citral from aqueous extract of fruit of cubeb litsea tree and its mechanism.METHODS: By inducing asthma with Ach-histamine method in guinea pig,cough with ammonia in mice and the output quantity of phenol red from the trachea in mice,the antiasthmatic was observed,preventing cough and eliminating phlegm effect of citral. By measuring the tension of guinea-pig isolated tracheal rings,the both influence of citral was observed on isolated guinea pig tracheal rings and inhibition's effects of citral on contraction induced by Ach.RESULTS: Citral prolonged apparently the incubation period of asthma due to Ach-histamine solution in guinea pig and the coughing incubation period,reduced coughing frequency induced by ammonia in mice,increased excretion of phenol red from the respiratory tract in mice,inhibited the constrictions induced by Ach,and shifted the dose-effect curves of Ach to the right.CONCLUSION: Citral has functions of expelling phlegm,relieving cough and resisting asthma,satisfactory bronchi spasmolysis.

Purpose:To investigate the changes in plasmaendothelin-1(ET-1) level in gastric carcinoma patients before and after chemotherapy and its significance.Methods:Radioimmunoassay was used to detect the level of plasma ET-1 in 25 cases of normal controls and 52 cases of patients with gastric carcinoma before and after chemotherapy. Results:levels of plasma ET-1 were elevated in all subgroups of patients with gastric cancer compared to thecontrols (P

Objective To study the repair of great vessels injured by firearm in extremities. Methods From May 2002 to Sep. 2005, 15 cryopreserved homologous arteries were transplanted to repair the defects of great vessels of extremities in 14 patients, including 5 cases of defect of brachial arteries, 1 case of defect of axillary artery, 1 case of popliteal artery damage and 7 cases of defect of femoral arteries. The average length of homologous arterial transplants was 9.5 cm. After operation, all the 14 patients were monitored and treated according to principles of microsurgery. Result No early reject reaction was found in all the 14 cases, and all the wounds healed after Ⅱ stage treatment. With Doppler ultrasonic examination 2-3 weeks after healing, it was proved that 100% of the vessels were patent. In 4 to 8 month follow up, the function of the extremities recovered well, and no delayed reject reaction was observed. Conclusion The vessels after cryopreservation is a suitable biomaterial in homologous transplantation for repairing the defect of great vessels of the extremities as a result of firearm injury.

Purpose:To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of combination of MabThera and CEOP regimen in the treatment of aggressive B-cell lymphoma. Methods:21 patients diagnosed as aggressive B-cell lymphoma with median age of 48 years old (from 15 to 68 years old),received the treatment of MabThera plus CEOP regimen. This treatment consisted of MabThera 375 mg/m2 intravenously infusion on day 1,cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m 2 ,epirubicin 60 mg/m 2 ,vincristine 2 mg on day3 ,prednisone 40 mg/m 2 orally taken on day 3～7. Results:In all 21 patients,16 (76.2%) complete response and 3 (14.2%) partial response were observed. Thus,the overall response rate was 90.5%. Moreover,of the remaining patients,1(4.8%) achieved stable disease and 1(4.8%) had progressive disease. In the 19 responsive patients,the follow-up duration were from 2 to 15 months. One case of thyroid lymphoma experienced recurrence after 14 months with complete response. Until now,the other responses have been maintained. Only one dose of MabThera infusion related-toxicity was observed in all who received 87 cycles. The hematological toxicities were mainly leucopenia and neutropenia. 5( 23.8% ) experienced 3-4 grade neutropenia. Only 1 patient developed neutropenia fever. The other non-hematological toxicities were 1-2 grade except grade 3 alopecia. Conclusions:The combination of MabThera and CEOP regimen had high efficacy with mild toxicity in the treatment of aggressive B-cell lymphoma,hopefully may become the standard treatment.

OBJECTIVETo study the expression difference in MicroRNA-21 (miRNA-21) levels of the plasma between the patients with coronary heart disease and the subjects without coronary artery lesions, and its clinical significance.

METHODSPlasma was obtained from the patients with coronary heart disease(trial group,56 cases) and the subjects without coronary artery lesions(control group, 10 cases), patients with coronary disease were divided into angina(AP, 39 cases) and acute myocardial infarction(AMI, 17 cases)subgroup, the contents of miRNA-21 were detected using qRT-PCR method, and the differential expression of miRNA-21 in each group was analyzed. The levels of creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), high sensitive troponin I(cTnI), B type natriuretic peptide urea (BNP), Gensini, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), integral value of coronary left ventricular end diastole diameter (LV) and homocysteine (HCY) were determined and the correlation between miRNA-21 and these clinical indexes was analyzed.

RESULTSCompared with control group, there was a significant difference in expression of miRNA-21 in patients with angina and AMI (P < 0.05), and miRNA-21 expression in AMI group was much higher than that in AP group. There was statistical significance in CK, CK-MB, cTnI, Genisis integral comparison between AMI group and control group (P < 0.05). The correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between expression of CK, CK-MB, cTnI and the level of circulating miRNA-21 in patients with acute myocardial infarction. And there was a negative correlation between BNP, Gensini integral, LVEF value of coronary artery, LV and circulating miRNA-21.

CONCLUSIONmiRNA-21 was significantly elevated in acute myocardial infarction subgroup than the control group. The level of miRNA-21 associates with the degree of coronary artery stenosis, and might be a potential marker for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. miRNA-21 may play an important role in protecting myocardium from ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Acute Disease ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Coronary Disease ; blood ; Creatine Kinase, MB Form ; metabolism ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; blood ; Myocardial Infarction ; blood ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; metabolism ; Troponin I ; metabolism