A Molecular Approach to Identification of the Chinese Drug“pu Gong Ying”(Herba Taraxaci)and Six Adulterants byDNA Fingerprinting Using Random Primed PolymeraseChain Resaction(PCR)

DNA fingerprinting among members of the Chinese drug Pu Gong Ying(Taraxacum mongolicum Hand,-Mazz.)and six adulterants of Tu Gong Ying were demonstrated with random-primed polymerase chain reaction(PCR)including arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction(AP-PCR)and random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD).Distinctive,reproducible genomic fingerprints from DNA from 7 species belonged to Compositae were generated with two long(20 and 24 mer)and one short(10 mer)randomly chosen primers.The Pu Gong Ying can be differentiated from six species of Tu Gong Ying according to the banding pattems of their amplified DNA on agarose gels.The results showed that AP-PCR and RAPD methods can be used for identifying Chinese drugs.Moreover,the Similarity Indexes of the genomic DNA fingerprints showed that Pu Gong Ying and its adulterants are unrelated.Therefore,AP-PCR and RAPD methods can be used for identifying Chinese drugs.

New pattern recognition system in the e-nose for Chinese spirit identification

This paper presents a new pattern recognition system for Chinese spirit identification by using the polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor based e-nose. The sensors are designed based on quartz crystal microbalance（QCM） principle,and they could capture different vibration frequency signal values for Chinese spirit identification. For each sensor in an8-channel sensor array, seven characteristic values of the original vibration frequency signal values, i.e., average value（A）,root-mean-square value（RMS）, shape factor value（S_f）, crest factor value（C_f）, impulse factor value（I_f）, clearance factor value（CL_f）, kurtosis factor value（K_v） are first extracted. Then the dimension of the characteristic values is reduced by the principle components analysis（PCA） method. Finally the back propagation（BP） neutral network algorithm is used to recognize Chinese spirits. The experimental results show that the recognition rate of six kinds of Chinese spirits is 93.33% and our proposed new pattern recognition system can identify Chinese spirits effectively.

Hand-Written Chinese Characters Identification Input System

The hand-written Chinese characters reorganization input system, introduced by the Shenbi Electronics, Science and Technology Corporation Ltd. in Guangzhou, is made of advancedoverseas computer identification technology. It consists of an input board and identification software.

Research hotspots andfrontiersanalysisoftraditional Chinese medicine constitution identification:Avisual analysis of literature based on CiteSpaceand vosviewer

Objective:To explore the development and hotspots in the field of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)constitution identification since the year 2000.Methods:Using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software,literature from five prominent databases including VIP,WanFang,China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),PubMed,and Web ofScience was analyzed.Visual methods were used to examine the annual publications,keywords,authors,and collaborative networks.Results:After deduplication with EndNotes,a total of 5,747 articles meeting the criteria were included.Since 2000,the publications of TCM constitution identification shown three major stages:a significant increasing trend with the year before 2016,a fluctuating trend from 2016 to 2021,and a decreasing trend with the year after 2021.The co-occurrence analysis ofkeywords revealed health management,hypertension,and constitution as hot directions in this field of research.CiteSpace was used for keyword clustering and burst analysis,health management,medical life,and constitution emerged as the latest hotspots in the past three years,which will be the main development directions in the future.Clusters such as hypertension,preventive treatment,and health management were identified,representing the main research themes at present.VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used for co-occurrence and clustering analysis of authors,revealing collaborative research networks,with prominent groups represented by WANG Qi,WANG Ji,LI Lingru,HOU Shujuan,ZHU Yanbo,etc.Conclusion:Research related to TCM constitution identification is developing rapidly,involving various aspects of medical care and daily life.However,there is still a need to build an extensive academic platform,strengthen the dissemination of Chinese medicine culture,standardize,intellectualize and universalize the identification of TCM constitution assessments,and construct a health service system with Chinese characteristics.

Standardization and Future Directions in Pattern Identification Research: International Brainstorming Session

An international brainstorming session on standardizing pattern identification（PI） was held at the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine on October 1, 2013 in Daejeon, South Korea. This brainstorming session was convened to gather insights from international traditional East Asian medicine specialists regarding PI standardization. With eight presentations and discussion sessions, the meeting allowed participants to discuss research methods and diagnostic systems used in traditional medicine for PI. One speaker presented a talk titled ＂The diagnostic criteria for blood stasis syndrome： implications for standardization of PI＂. Four speakers presented on future strategies and objective measurement tools that could be used in PI research. Later, participants shared information and methodology for accurate diagnosis and PI. They also discussed the necessity for standardizing PI and methods for international collaborations in pattern research.

Clinical observation on pricking at Sìfèng (四缝 EX-UE 10) combined with Chinese herbs for infantile malnutrition

Objective To explore the best clinical treatment for infantile malnutrition. Methods Three hundred and forty-three patients were randomly divided into a pricking at Sìfèng （四缝 EX-UE 10） group （priking group, n=105）, a Chinese herbs group （n=85） and a pricking and Chinese herbs group （n=153）. The improvements of the clinical symptoms of all three groups were evaluated after the treatment. Results The results of these treatments for all the patients were satisfying. The effective rate of the pricking and Chinese herbs group, which was 98.7 % （151/153）, was superior to that of 94.3 % （99/105） （P0.05） in the pricking group and 91.8% （78/85） in the Chinese herbs group （P0.01）, while no differences in effective rate were found between the pricking group and the Chinese herbs group （P0.05）. Conclusion The pricking at Sìfèng （四缝 EX-UE 10） combined with Chinese herbs is the best treatment for infantile malnutrition.

Inter-observer Reliability of Indicators and Decision of Pattern Identification Using Diagnostic Flowchart with Traditional Korean Medicine

Objective： To evaluate the consistency of patterns and pattern identification（PI）, and the improvement in the diagnosis of blood stasis after the standard operating procedures（SOPs） were enhanced by using a diagnostic flowchart. Methods： A total of 358 subjects who were admitted by the Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine between June 2013 and December 2014 were included in the study. Each patient was independently diagnosed by two experts from the same department. In 2014, the SOPs included the use of a diagnostic flowchart for each indicator. Inter-observer consistency was assessed by simple percent agreement and by the kappa and AC1 statistics. Results： The improvements in inter-observer agreement for the indicators（for al patients） and PI were greater in 2014 than in 2013. In 2013, the j-value measure of agreement between the two experts ranged from ＂poor＂（κ=–0.051） to ＂good＂（κ=0.968）. The AC1 measure of agreement between the experts was generally high for the indicators and ranged from –0.010 to 0.978. In most cases, agreement was considerably lower when it was assessed by the j-values compared with the AC1 values. In 2014, the j-value measure of agreement on the indicators（for the subjects） general y ranged from poor to good, with the values ranging from –0.007 to 0.994. Moreover, the AC1 measure of agreement between the experts was general y high for al of the indicators and ranged from ＂moderate＂（AC1=0.408） to ＂excel ent＂（AC1=0.996）. Conclusions： In four examinations, there was moderate agreement between the clinicians on the PI indicators of blood stasis. To improve clinician consistency（e.g., in the diagnostic criteria used）, it is necessary to analyse the reasons for inconsistency and to improve clinician training.（Trial registration No. KCT0000916）