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.

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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 study the changes in small intestinal motility during the process of gallbladder cholesterol stone formation.Methods Forty guinea pigs were divided into two groups of 20 each,the experiment group fed on high cholesterol diet ( cholesterol 2％ ),while the control group on normal diet.Animals were sacrificed at 8 weeks.Slow wave and tension of the isolated small intestinal muscle specimen were measured using a multi-channel physiological recorder,and its relation to gallstone formation was assessed.Results Compared with the control group,the frequency and amplitude of the slow wave significantly reduced in the experimental group (5.70 ± 1.05/min vs.17.45 ± 1.50/min and 0.23 ± 0.31 my vs.0.78 ±0.17 mv respectively,P ＜0.05).The t-value between the two groups were -27.083 and - 13.236 respectively; Frequency of contraction and muscle tension also reduced significantly (5.94 ± 1.25/min vs.15.85 ± 1.76/min and 0.78 ±0.002 g vs.1.20 ±0.11 g respectively,P ＜0.05).Thet-value between the two groups were - 19.448 and - 17.307 respectively.Conclusions Reduced small intestinal motility is present in guinea pigs fed on a lithogenous diet,and may have a role in the pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstone formation.

Objective To observe the antibacterial activity of artificial antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to Blastomyces albicans, E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus in oral infection in vitro. Methods The AMPs were dissolved into PBS or sterilized saliva, then the inhibi-tion of different concentration AMPs to E. coil was evaluated by tube testing. The inhibition effect of different concentration of AMPs to Staph-ylococcus aureus and Blastomyces albicans were evaluated by antibiotic-susceptive test paper. Results When the concentration of AMPs added to broth of E. coli is from 150μmol/L to 300μmol/L , the bacterium count is 0 while the number in control is 6700 ～ 9200cfu/ml. At 100μg/tablet AMPs, the diameter of inhibitor zones of Staphylococcus aureus and Blastomyces albicans are 13mm and 11 mm. At 300μg/ tablet, the diameter are 16 mm and 17mm. AMPs dissolved in PBS and saliva have similar antimicrobial activity. Gonclusions The AMPs is effective to prevent Blastomyces albicans, E. coli and Staphylococcus aurcus in oral infection in vitro.

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

Drug clinical trial is an important link in the chain of new drug research and development. The results of drug discovery and development directly depend on the extent of standardization of clinical trials. Therefore, improving the quality of drug clinical trials is of great importance, and drug clinical trial institutions play a crucial role in the quality management of drug clinical trials. After years of development, the overall level of drug clinical trials has advanced rapidly in China, and a large number of clinical trials of traditional Chinese medicine have also been carried out. However, there is still a big gap between our country and developed countries. Therefore, for the construction and management of Chinese drug clinical trial institutions, there is still a long way to go. This study aims to analyze the current development of drug clinical trial institutions in China and explore the existing problems from three aspects, including current situations of institutional organization and management, regional and professional distributions, and quality control. And some suggestions are put forward finally, including support of traditional Chinese medicine, introduction of drug-risk management system, and construction of information management.
China ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; standards ; Drug Evaluation ; Drug Therapy ; standards ; trends ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; standards ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Quality Control ; Research

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 analyze the clinical features of the patients with drug-induced liver injury ( DILI) combined with hepati-tis B to improve the awareness and attention to the disease by medical workers. Methods:Using retrospective analysis, the patients di-agnosed with DILI combined with hepatitis B from a tertiary-hospital were analyzed from January 2013 to January 2014. Results:Total-ly 30 cases of DILI combined with hepatitis B were collected, the number of male patients was higher than that of female patients, and most of them were elderly patients. The symptoms included weak, anorexia, yellow skin and sclera, tired of the oil, nausea, abdominal distension and so on. The patients with severe liver damage accounted for 80. 0%, 16. 7% was with moderate liver damage, and 3. 3%was with mild liver damage. Thirteen cases were mixed type, ten cases were hepatocellular type, and seven cases were cholestatic type. Conclusion:Middle-aged men may be prone to the disease, and the clinical manifestations are complex and diverse. Severe liver damage is majority, and often shows as mixed liver injury.