Infestation, moldy and other phenomenon in the processing and storage of Chinese herbal medicines is a problem that faced in the production of Chinese traditional medicine. The low productivity of traditional processing methods can not guarantee the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. Sulfur fumigation is the first choice of grassroots to process the Chinese herbal medicine with its low cost and easy operation. Sulfur fumigation can solve some problems in the processing and storage of Chinese herbal medicines, but modern pharmacological studies show that long-term use of Chinese traditional medicine which is fumigated by sulfur can cause some serious harm to human liver, kidney and other organs. This paper conducts a review about the application history of sulfur fumigation, its influence to the quality of Chinese herbal medicines as well as domestic and foreign limits to sulfur quantity, and a brief introduction of the status of modern processing technologies in the processing of food and some Chinese herbal medicines, the problems ex- isting in the Chinese herbal medicines processing, which can provide a reference basis for the further research, development and application of investigating alternative technologies of sulfur fumigation.
Fumigation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Quality Control ; Social Control, Formal ; Sulfur ; chemistry ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; methods

Objective To evaluate the effects of age factors on hypothermia-induced reduction of ischemia-reperfusion(I/R)injury in isolated rat hearts.Methods Pathogen-free healthy aged male Sprague-Dawley rats,aged 18-20 months,weighing 400-600 g,and young rats,aged 4-6 months,weighing 280-350 g,were used in the study.After the animals were anesthetized with intraperitoneal chloral hydrate and heparinized,their hearts were excised and perfused with K-H solution in a Langendorff apparatus.Twenty-four isolated hearts of aged rats were assigned into 2 groups(n=12 each)using a random number table:I/R group(group AI/R)and hypothermia group(group AH).Twenty-four isolated hearts of young rats were assigned into 2 groups(n=12 each)using a random number table:I/R group(group YI/R)and hypothermia group(group YH).Perfusion was suspended for 30 min followed by 120 min reperfusion to establish the model of I/R.The temperature was maintained at 37 ℃ during the whole process in AI/R and YI/R groups.The hearts were perfused with 34 ℃ K-H solution until 120 min of reperfusion starting from onset of reperfusion in AH and YH groups.At 30 min of equilibration(T0)and 15,30,60 and 120 min of reperfusion(T1-4),heart rate(HR),left ventricular developed pressure(LVDP),the maximum rate of increase in left ventricular pressure(+dp/dtmax),and the minimum rate of increase in left ventricular pressure(+dp/dtmin)were recorded.Six hearts from each group were randomly selected at T4,and myocardial specimens were obtained for determination of ATP,superoxide dismutase(SOD)and malondialdehyde(MDA)levels and myocardial infarct size(IS).Results Compared with group YI/R,HR was significantly decreased at T1-4,ATP and SOD levels were increased,and the MDA content and myocardial IS were decreased in group YH,and the HR,LVDP,+dp/dtmax and +dp/dtmin at T0 and ATP and SOD levels at T4 were significantly decreased,and the MDA content and myocardial IS were increased in group AI/R(P<0.05).Compared with group YH,HR,LVDP,+dp/dtmax and +dp/dtmin at T0 and ATP and SOD levels at T4 were significantly decreased,and the MDA content and myocardial IS were increased in group AH(P<0.05).Compared with group AH,the levels of ATP and SOD were significantly decreased,and the MDA content and myocardial IS were increased in group AI/R(P<0.05).Conclusion Age factors affect the efficacy of hypothermia in reducing I/R injury in isolated rat hearts,and hypothermia provides better cardioprotection for young rats than for aged rats.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of detachable balloons,detachable coils and intracranial covered stents in management of intracranial giant aneurysms.Methods From April 1998 to March 2006,20 patients with a giant or very large aneurysm were treated by parent artery occlusion(PAO), coils embolization and covered stent,in which 9 aneurysms were treated by PAO,8 by coils embolization and 3 by covered stent at initial management.Two recurrent aneurysms treated by coils embolization were performed by covered stent.Follow-up 9-83 months,mean 41.1?25.3 months.Immediate postprocedural angiographic outcomes were categorized as complete occlusion(100%),subtotal occlusion(95%-99%),and incomplete occlusion(＜95%)of the aneurysms;and follow-up angiographic outcomes were categorized as stable, thrombosis,and recanalization.Clinical outcomes were graded according to a modified Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS).Results Endovascular treatment was technically feasible in all aneurysms without procedural-related complications.Immediate postprocedural angiograms showed complete occlusion was achieved in 11 aneurysms, subtotal occlusion in 7 and incomplete occlusion in 2.One patient with incomplete occlusion died on the seventh day with a rebleeding.The final angiographic findings in nineteen survival patients confirmed a complete occlusion in 15 aneurysms,subtotal occlusion in 3 and incomplete occlusion in 1,in which 10 parent arteries were successfully preserved.No rebleeding occurred during the follow-up period.The clinical evaluation performed at final follow-up in 19 patients revealed that the symptoms disappeared in 11 patients and improved in 8 in the modified GOS.Conclusions Treatment of giant intracranial aneurysms with coiling was associated with a low complete occlusion rate and a high recanalization rate.Treatment with endovascular parent artery occlusion remains practical,but this technique may result in damage to the parent artery and cause cerebral ischemic events.The use of an intracranial covered stent proved to be a relatively simple and safe procedure and maintained the pateney of the parent artery.

Objective To investigate the flexibility of both the covered stents specially designed for use in intracranial vasculature and the delivering system in passing through the bone tube and the physiological curves of the cranial internal carotid artery(CICA)to reach the targeted area,the performance (adherence)of the covered stents in occluding vascular wall diseases and the impact on the vascular branches of the covered segment.Methods The covered stents specially designed for use in intracranial vaseulature were used to treat 13 patients with CICA diseases using endovascular techniques.There were 4 huge pseudoaneurysms,4 giant aneurysms,3 small wide-necked aneurysms,1 giant pseudoaneurysm with concurrent internal carotid cavernous fistula(CCF),and 1 CCF.Prior to the detachment of the covered stents,balloon occlusion test(BOT)of the internal carotid artery on the diseased side and whole-brain digital subtraction angiography(DSA)were performed in all the patients.Three to 16 months following procedure,DSA and clinical follow-ups were performed.Results Thirteen patients all tolerated the BOT well with the DSA demonstrating well-opened anterior and posterior communicating arteries.The covered stents and the delivering systems all successfully passed CICA to reach the targeted diseased area,with the diseased segments of the internal carotid artery including C3—C4 in 4 cases,C4—C5 in 4 and C6—C7 in 5.Immediately following the detachment of the covered stents,DSA demonstrated that 7 aneurysms were completely occluded,4 aneurysms had slight endoleak,and 1 CCF had markedly-decreased blood flow through the fistula.In the patient with concurrent pseudoaneurysm and CCF,the pseudoaneurysm disappeared and the blood flow through the fistula was markedly-reduced immediately following the stenting procedure.Apart from one patient with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage who died due to extensive vascular spasm on the 9th day following the stenting procedure,all the other 12 patients had unobstructed stented vessels on the follow-up DSA images,with 2 demonstrating slight stenosis.In the 6 patients with post-procedure endoleak,DSA showed that the endoleak in 4 patients had disappeared,one endoleak disappeared following the second stenting,and one CCF remained low-flow fistula.There was no sequela related to the occlusion of branches in the covered arterial segment.Conclusion The covered stents specially designed for use in the intracranial vasculature and the delivering system are both flexible enough to pass the tortuous CICA to reach the intracranial diseased artery,and are effective in managing CICA diseases.Further follow-up is still needed to determine the long-term effect of the covered stents,and the adherence of the covered stents needs further investigation.

OBJECTIVESTo study antibody response to a hepatitis B DNA vaccine by formulation with aluminum phosphate in mice.

METHODSAn eukaryotic expression plasmid inserted HBsAg gene (pcDNA3.1-S) was constructed by cloning technique and the accuracy of the construct was confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion and DNA sequencing, then hepatitis B DNA vaccine formulations were prepared by mixing pcDNA3.1-S with various concentration of aluminum phosphate in 0.9% NaCl. HBsAg expressions were assayed by ELISA in vivo five days after intramuscular injection of pcDNA3.1-S with or without aluminum phosphate. And serum samples were obtained from individual immunized or control mice 6 weeks post injection. Then anti-HBs were assayed in mice sera by ELISA.

RESULTSFive days after intramuscular immunization, the levels of HBsAg expression of groups with aluminum phosphate showed no difference from those of control group in tibialis arterials muscles. In sera, HBsAg could not be detectable in all groups. Intramuscular immunization of BABL/C mice with pcDNA3.1-S mixed aluminum phosphate (0microg, 1microg, 10microg, 50microg, 100microg) 6 weeks later, the P/N values of anti-HBs in sera were 11.54+/-5.60, 11.00+/-6.62, 20.30+/-10.20, 49.18+/-24.40 and 48.68+/-27.78, respectively. It showed that pcDNA3.1-S mixing with aluminum phosphate could increase anti-HBs titers in mice.

CONCLUSIONNo increase of HBsAg expression was observed by mixing plasmid pcDNA3.1-S with various concentration of aluminum phosphate in vivo. But Intramuscular immunization of BALB/C mice with pcDNA3.1-S mixing aluminum phosphate adjuvant can increase anti -HBs titers. It seemed that aluminum phosphate would be valuable for further investigation as a potential adjuvant of hepatitis B DNA vaccines.

Adjuvants, Immunologic ; administration & dosage ; Aluminum Compounds ; administration & dosage ; Animals ; Female ; Hepatitis B Antibodies ; blood ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B Vaccines ; administration & dosage ; immunology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Phosphates ; administration & dosage ; Vaccines, DNA ; administration & dosage ; immunology

BACKGROUNDRecent studies have suggested that susceptibility to major depressive disorder (MDD) might be related to the serotonin 1A receptor (5-HTR1A) C (-1019) G polymorphism. In this study, we aimed to assess the association between 5-HTR1A C (-1019) G polymorphism and MDD in the Northern Han ethnic group of China.

METHODSThe C (-1019) G of 5-HTR1A was detected with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 400 patients with MDD and 400 unrelated age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. Association between the C (-1019) G and MDD was statistically analyzed.

RESULTSThere was a statistically significant difference between MDD patients and controls in both the genotype distribution (Chi(2) = 10.913, df = 2, P = 0.004) and the allele frequency (Chi(2) = 10.379, df = 1, P = 0.001), and a significant difference in the genotype distribution and the allele frequency was found both in the female subjects (Genotype distribution: Chi(2) = 15.406, df = 2, P = 0.000; allele frequency: Chi(2) = 15.552, df = 1, P = 0.000) and the late-onset subjects (Genotype distribution: Chi(2) = 7.771, df = 2, P = 0.021; allele frequency: Chi(2) = 8.007, df = 1, P = 0.005) in the two groups.

CONCLUSIONThese results suggest that 5-HTR1A C (-1019) G polymorphism is probably associated with MDD and it is likely to be the susceptible gene locus for the female and late-onset MDD.

Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; China ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; ethnology ; genetics ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical value of HER2 overexpression in breast cancer and its prognostic implication in patients with lymph node negative breast carcinoma.

METHODSThe following electronic database were extracted using appropriate inclusive and exclusive standards: Cochrane library, PUBMED, Embase (1984 - 2003), OVID, CMCC and CNKI. Excel and RevMan 4.2 were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTSFifty-six articles were extracted to calculate the positive rate of HER2 overexpression. The pooled positive rate was 23.14% [19.54%, 26.73%], with positive immunohistochemistry (IHC) rate of 23.13% [19.49%, 26.77%] and positive FISH rate of 20.90% [15.54%, 26.25%]. Seven articles were used to evaluate prognostic predication of HER2 expression. It was concluded that in patients with lymph node negative breast carcinoma, HER2 overexpression (both IHC and FISH) independently predicted a poor prognosis based on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) with a P < 0.05. For DFS, the pooled RR was 1.38 [1.07, 1.80] with 1.16 [1.02, 1.31] for IHC and 1.98 [1.56, 2.52] for FISH. For OS, the pooled RR was 1.58 [1.16, 2.14] with 1.37 [1.14 to 1.64] for IHC and 2.33 [1.45 to 3.75] for FISH. HER2 overexpression effectively predicted DFS/OS of patients without adjuvant therapy and OS of patients with the therapy, but not for DFS, with the pooled RR of 1.46 [1.02, 2.09] and 1.11 [0.95, 1.31] for DFS, respectively and the pooled RR of 1.93 [1.44 to 2.58] and 1.25 [1.01, 1.56] for OS, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSIn patients with lymph node negative breast carcinoma, the positive rate of HER2 overexpression is 23.14%. HER2 overexpression indicates a poor prognosis and adjuvant therapy after surgery should be recommended.

Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Genes, erbB-2 ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Mastectomy ; Prognosis ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; metabolism ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficiency of spectral computed tomography (CT) optimal monochromatic images in improving imaging quality of liver vessels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The imaging data of 35 patients with abdominal CT angiography were retrospectively analyzed. Hepatic arteries, portal veins, and hepatic veins were reconstructed with mixed energy (quality check, QC), 70 keV and optimal monochromatic mode. Comparative parameters were analyzed including CT value, image noise (IN), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and subjective qualitative analysis. RESULTS: The optimal monochromatic value for assessment of the common hepatic artery, portal vein, and hepatic vein ranged between 49 keV and 53 keV, with a mean of 51 keV. There were statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) among the optimal monochromatic, 70 keV and QC images with regards to the hepatic vascular CT value, IN, CNR, SNR, and subjective qualitative score. CNR of the common hepatic artery in the optimal monochromatic, 70 keV and QC groups was 24.6 ± 10.9, 18.1 ± 8.3, and 11.6 ± 4.6, respectively (p < 0.001) with subjective scores of 4.7 ± 0.2, 4.0 ± 0.3, and 3.6 ± 0.4, respectively (p < 0.001). CNR of the hepatic portal vein was 6.9 ± 2.7, 4.3 ± 1.9, and 3.0 ± 2.1, respectively (p < 0.001) with subjective scores of 4.5 ± 0.3, 3.9 ± 0.4, and 3.3 ± 0.3, respectively (p < 0.001). CNR of the hepatic vein was 5.7 ± 2.3, 4.2 ± 1.9, and 2.7 ± 1.4, respectively with subjective scores of 4.3 ± 0.3, 3.8 ± 0.4, and 3.2 ± 0.3, respectively (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Optimal monochromatic images can lead to improvement in the imaging parameters and optimization of the image quality of the common hepatic artery, hepatic portal vein and hepatic vein compared with conventional mixed kV and with 70 keV datasets.
Angiography ; Dataset ; Hepatic Artery ; Hepatic Veins ; Humans ; Liver ; Noise ; Portal Vein ; Retrospective Studies ; Signal-To-Noise Ratio ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Based on the literature review and the analysis of specific cases of postpartum frequent micturition,pediatric enuresis,elderly uremia complicated with bradyarrhythmia in clinic,the clinical application of the action of Ephedrae Herba in stimulating yang qi is discussed.Ephedrae Herba has the meridian tropism of the lung and bladder meridians,and is pungent,warm and dispersing,which is the most important medicine for the treatment of external contraction.Ephedrae Herba has the actions of inducing diaphoresis,calming asthma and inducing diuresis,and is widely used for the treatment of external contraction,coughing and asthma,and edema.For the patients with deficiency of both kidney yin and kidney yang without obvious bias of yin-yang consumption which result from the postpartum impairment of qi and blood,deficient innate endowment,and gradually exhaustion of essence in the kidney in the elderly or during chronic illness,a small dosage of Ephedrae Herba can stimulate yang qi during the treatment of warming kidney yang,which is helpful for promoting the drug arriving at the back shu-points of the internal organs distributed along the bladder meridian and enhancing the recovery of zang-fu organ function.Ephedrae Herba is strong in inducing diaphoresis with an intense action.When Ephedrae Herba is used to stimulate yang,the dosage of 3～9 g is appropriate,and medicines for warming yang are needs to be used together.The course of treatment with Ephedrae Herba should be avoided to be too long,in order to prevent the vital energy from the damage by its large cumulative dose.

OBJECTIVETo describe the distribution characteristics of carotid atherosclerosis and to analyze its association with cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged and elderly Chinese.

METHODSIn 2007, the second cross-sectional examination for cardiovascular risk factors and B-mode ultrasound imaging on carotid arteries were performed in a Chinese population consisting of 2681 subjects aged 43-81 years old from two cohorts participants of the People's Republic of China/United States of America collaborative study (USA-PRC study) and the Chinese multi-provincial cohort study (CMCS). The association of cardiovascular risk factors with intima-media thickening (ITM) and plaque of carotid arteries was analyzed.

RESULTS(1) The mean intima-media thickening (Mean-IMT) of carotid artery was 0.68 mm, the maximal intima-media thickening (Max-IMT) was 1.07 mm. (2) The prevalence rate of carotid plaque was 60.3% in all subjects. As for the different sites of carotid arteries, the plaque prevalence rate at carotid bulb was 61.2% for male and 51.6% for female (chi2 = 23.44, P < 0.01), and at the internal carotid artery was 24.7% for male and 12.2% for female (chi2 = 69.57, P < 0.01), at the common carotid artery was 20.9% for male and 13.8% for female (chi2 = 23.18, P < 0.01). (3) After adjusting for age and other cardiovascular risk factors, the Mean-IMT and Max-IMT increased with elevated levels of systolic blood pressure, plasma glucose and low density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C) (all P < 0.05). Hypertension, diabetes, smoking and high LDL-C (P < 0.05) were independent predict factors for the risk of carotid plaque.

CONCLUSIONThe carotid atherosclerosis was common in middle and older age Chinese and was positively associated with classical cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carotid Artery Diseases ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; China ; epidemiology ; Cohort Studies ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Ultrasonography ; United States ; epidemiology