The aim of this paper is to apply Raman spectroscopy technique to develop rapid quantitative models for five kinds of Traditional Chinese Medicine containing CaCO3. In the experiment, Raman spectras of 67 batch of sample including Otolithum Sciaenae, Galaxeae Os, Ophicalcitum, Calcite, Stalactite and their mixture which had different content of CaCO3 were collected, and the quantitative models were established by using an improved siPLS to optimize the characteristic spectral bands and using the CaCO3 contents which were measured by EDTA titration method as references. Compared with the results by EDTA titration, the established quantitative model for CaCO, content showed a prediction result that the average relative deviation of the prediction results is 2. 71% and the average recovery rate was 100.46%, when the content is between 0.465 4-0.999 7, and when the characteristic spectral bands of 1 290-1 280, 730-714, 700-690, 660-650, 465-460, 455-445, 405-385 cm(-1) had been optimized. The result also showed that the model using Raman spectroscopy and based on an improved siPLS can get a rapid determination for contents of 5 kinds of Traditional Chinese Medicine containing CaCO3.
Calcium Carbonate ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Models, Statistical ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Spectrum Analysis, Raman ; methods

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical outcomes rating scale for heart failure (HF) based on patients' report.

METHODSTCM clinical outcomes rating scale for HF (TCM-HF-PRO) were evaluated based on 340 HF patients' report from multiple centers. The completion of the investigation was recorded. Cronbach's α coefficient and split-half reliability were used for reliability analysis, and factor analysis was used to assess the construct validity of the rating scale. Pearson correlation analysis was then used for criterion validity analysis. Discriminant analysis was used to assess the responsiveness of the scale. All 340 HF patients having complete TCM-HF-PRO data were assigned to the treatment group and the control group by central randomization. The total TCM-HF-PRO scores of the two groups were compared using paired t-test to reflect the longitude responsiveness of the scale before treatment and at week 2 after treatment.

RESULTS(1) The recycling rate of the scale was 100.0%. One of them was not filled completely, which was rejected thereby. So the completion rate was 99.7%. The completion time for TCM-HF-PRO scale ranged 15 to 25 min. (2) The Cronbach's α coefficient of rating scale was 0.903, split-half reliability was 0.844 and 0.849. (3) Confirmatory factor analysis showed that 7 factors and items formed according to maximum load factor basically coincided with the construct of the rating scale, 7 factors accumulated contribution rate was 43.8%. TCM clinical outcomes rating scale for HF based on patients' report was relatively better correlated with the Minnesota living with HF questionnaire (r = 0.726, P < 0.01). (4) Discriminant analysis showed that the rating scale correctly classified more than 78.8% of case studies having confirmed initial differential diagnosis by experts. The total scale of the rating scale decreased more in the two group after treatment, with significant difference as compared with before treatment (P < 0.01.

CONCLUSIONTCM clinical outcomes rating scale for HF based on patients' report had good reliability, validity and responsiveness, hence it could be used to assess clinical efficacy for HF patients.

Diagnosis, Differential ; Discriminant Analysis ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Heart Failure ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; standards ; Reproducibility of Results ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo analyse the genetic characteristics of the capsid protein VP3-VP1 region of hepatitis A virus strains circulated in China.

METHODSThe nucleotide sequences of VP3-VP1-2A region of 42 HAV IgM positive serum samples were sequenced and analysed for nucleotide and amino acid identities and genetic characteristics of the VP3-VP1 region.

RESULTSThe nucleotide and amino acid identities in the VP1-2A junction region among the 42 strains were 89.1% - 100% and 97.3% - 100%; while in the complete VP3-VP1 region, the identities were 87.6%-100% and 98.8%-100%. Strains with identical nucleotide sequences in the VP1-2A junction region had 98.4%-100% nucleotide identity in the complete VP3-VP1 region and 0-2 amino acid differences in this region. There were no amino acid changes at neutralizing antigenetic sites of VP3-VP1 region within the 42 HAV strains.

CONCLUSIONAll the 42 HAV strains belonged to genotype I, with 40 strains clustering to sub-genotype IA and 2 to sub-genotype IB. Different HAV strains analysed in this paper differed in the nucleotide sequences of the VP3-VP1 region, but the amino acid sequences were highly conserved with no changes at neutralizing antigenetic sites. Both the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the strains with the same VP1-2A junction region were identical or closely related when compared in the complete VP3-VP1 region.

Capsid Proteins ; genetics ; China ; epidemiology ; Hepatitis A ; epidemiology ; virology ; Hepatitis A virus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny

The combination of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and Delphi method can overcome the strong subjectivity and poor authority in the simple use of AHP, get rid of the shackles of established thinking and take fully advantages of the experiences of experts' knowledge. By a set of quantitative calculation method, we can determine the relative importance of each factor or the relative weight of the order value, thus providing the support for clinical decision making. In this article, on the basis of the combination of AHP and Delphi method, the authors explore the Chinese medicine etiology of coronary heart disease.
Biomedical Research ; Decision Support Techniques ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Software

Since Chinese herbal drugs and their preparations were usually applied in combining with digoxin in modern clinical practice, high attention was accordingly widely paid to their impacts on the pharmacokinetics of digoxin. The researches in the recent years dealing with this topic were reviewed in the paper, involving the Chinese herbs, including Radix Ginseng, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Venenum Bufonis, Folium Seu Cortex Nerii Indici, St John's wort, Fructus Crataegi, and Semen Ginkgo, as well as the Chinese herbal preparations including Shengmai Injection, Milkvetch Injection, Liushen Pill, Kyushin, and Di'ao Xinxuekang, etc.
Animals ; Drug Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Objective To investigate the effects of different standard cross sections and angles on the measurement accuracy of induced postnatal fetal long bones. Methods Fetal long bones (femori and humeri) in 30 cases with induced abortion were measured utilizing ultrasound from different angles and /or at different directions. The values measured from different sections and angles with vernier calipers were compared prenatally and postnatally. Results There was no apparent difference between the pre-induced abortion and those of the post-induced abortion. The results in the 30 cases showed that: (1) the values measured from anterior 90 degree, the long bone length would best match with the bare long bone length up to 96.7%, the match rate of other angles and/or directions was up to 80%; (2) no apparent statistical difference was between the length of left and right bone and no difference was found using 4 different directions and 3 different angles; (3)there was no difference between the left and right femuri and humeri.Conclusions Though the measured value from anterior 90 degree direction was the most accurate one, the statistical analtical results showed no difference among 12 values measured from 3 different angles and/or 4 different directions.

OBJECTIVETo develop an extraction and concentration method for the detection of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in shellfish, water, serum and saliva samples by nested RT-PCR.

METHODSHAV were artificially inoculated into the above samples, calm sample was extracted using glycine buffer pH9.5, PEG precipitation; water sample was PEG precipitated directly; then all the samples including serum and saliva samples were extracted using Trizol regent, followed by nested RT-PCR detection using primers from HAV VP1-2A region.

RESULTSThe detection limit for HAV in cultured cell lysis was 0.1TCID50; in water, serum or salva sample was 1TCID50 respectively, in calm sample was 1-10 TCID50. HAV RNA was detected in water and sera samples collected from the HAV outbreak region, sequenced and analysis.

CONCLUSIONThe method developed here is convenient, specific and capable of detecting low levels of HAV in different samples, would be useful for diagnostic laboratories in order to perform HAV analysis in cases of foodborne infections or for molecular epidemiology investigation of HAV outbreaks.

Animals ; Chemical Fractionation ; methods ; Fresh Water ; virology ; Genetic Techniques ; Hepatitis A ; diagnosis ; virology ; Hepatitis A virus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; RNA, Viral ; chemistry ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Saliva ; virology ; Serum ; virology ; Shellfish ; virology

OBJECTIVEA 12 mer phage display peptide library was used to identify hepatitis A virus mimotopes of antigenic determinants, to provide the feasibility of virus epitope mapping by using this approach.

METHODSUsing purified anti-hepatitis A virus monoclonal antibody as affinity selective molecule, phage display peptide library was biopanned and positive clones were selected by ELISA, competition assay and DNA sequencing.

RESULTS10 ELISA positive clones were chosen for DNA sequencing, and the displayed peptide sequences were deduced. 9 of them showed identical nucleotide sequence, and similarity in their amino acid sequence with VP1 of HAV HM175 was found, but no sequence homology was found between the other phage clone and the capsid proteins of HAV. Those peptides may behave as mimotopes of HAV.

CONCLUSIONThe mimotope of HAV was selected by using phage display peptide library screening. The results provide the potential of this method to search for the mimotopes of the virus.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Antigens, Viral ; chemistry ; genetics ; immunology ; Epitope Mapping ; Epitopes ; Hepatitis A ; virology ; Hepatitis A virus ; chemistry ; genetics ; immunology ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Peptide Library

OBJECTIVETo establish a specific TaqMan-based Real-time PCR assay for the detection of hepatitis A virus in serum samples.

METHODSAccording to the references, primers-probe sets which were located in 5'-NCR, the most conservative part of HAV genome were designed and therefore we established a TaqMan real-time RT-PCR assay with great performance of specificity, sensitivity and reproducibility. And then it was used in the detection of HAV RNA in serum from HAV patients.

RESULTSThe HAV Real-time RT-PCR assay established in this study were able to detect HAV RNA and its detection limit ranged from 0.1CCID50/reaction to 0.01CCID50/reaction. When the detection of a same sample was repeated for three times, coefficients of varistion (CV) of intra- and inter-assay were calculated and they were all less than 2.0% and 2.6% respectively. Our data suggested that there were 5.18 x 10(2) - 4.93 x 10(7) RNA copies in 1 ml of the serum from acute HAV patients.

CONCLUSIONThe TaqMan-based Real-time PCR assay established in this study was specific and precise for the rapid detection of HAV RNA. It was applied successfully in the pathogen detection of clinical samples.

Hepatitis A virus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods

The influence on 10 kinds of ginsensides of different processed methods of Panacis Quinquefolii Radix was discussed. White Panacis Quinquefolii Radix (sliced and dried at -80 °C), red Panacis Quinquefolii Radix( steamed, sliced and dried at -80 °C) and commercial Radix Panacis Quinquefolii (dried by electric blast air) processed by different methods. HPLC-PDA-ESI- MS method was established before by our team. Ten kinds of ginsenosides of them were determined. The content of total ginsenosides were as follow: commercial Panacis Quinquefolii Radix > white Panacis Quinquefolii Radix > red Panacis Quinquefolii Radix. Compared with white Panacis Quinquefolii Radix, the content of Re, Rc, Rb3 and Rb2 of Red Radix Panacis Quinquefolii decreased but increased that of Rg,, Rb1. Both Rg2 and Rg, were not found in white Panacis Quinquefolii Radix and commercial Panacis Quinquefolii Radix by PDA detector, and low response in ESI-MS, while red Panacis Quinquefolii Radix was to the high content that of 0. 027% and 0.040 1%. The constituent of RA0 of red Panacis Quinquefolii Radix was higher than the other two. After Panacis Quinquefolii Radix processed, the kind and content of ginsensides were significantly changed. The constituent of some kinds of ginsensides was increased and some decreased. Rf was not found in all Panacis Quinquefolii Radix samples which were consistent with the former documents.
Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; methods ; Ginsenosides ; chemistry ; Mass Spectrometry ; Panax ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; Plant Roots ; chemistry