Liver tonics:review of plants used in Iranian traditional medicine

Considering the fact that liver is one of the most important organs in our body,it deserves special attention and protection.Among various recommended supplements,complementary and alternative medicines particularly herbal remedies have received much attention owing to their truly healing properties.This review profits from Iranian traditional medicine and presents advantageous herbal guide directions for liver protection.According to credible Iranian medical literature such as Al Qanun Fil Tibb.Al-Havi and Makhzan-al-Aadvia.a wide spectrum of plants have been found to be useful for cleansing and protecting the liver.Some herbs such as ghafes(Agrimonia eupatoria),kasni(Cichorium intybus),anar(Punica granatum),darchin(Cinnamomum zeylanicum),za'feran(Crocus sativus),gole-sorkh(Rosa damascena) and zereshk(Berberis vulgaris) appeared to get strong consideration and were well documented as outstanding liver tonics.We conducted a comprehensive review of available Iranian medical resources such as scientific information database and medical sciences databases which cover all in vitro and in vivo studies of medicinal plants as liver tonics and hepatoprotcctive candidates.Literature survey was accomplished using multiple databases including PubMed,ISI web of knowledge,and Google Scholar.

The Safety-influencing Factors in Use of the Tonics of Chinese Medicine: A Meta-analysis Based on the Case Reports in Periodicals

Objective: To identify the possible safety-influencing factors in use of the tonics of Chinese medicine. Methods: The related case reports published in periodicals published from 1949 to 2006 were analyzed with the bibliometrics method. Possibility on safety assessment of Chinese materia medica was discussed as well with the method of link analysis. Results: The total number of the tonics selected for the present study was 101, including 44 single drugs and 46 set prescriptions with adverse drug reactions (ADR) found in these tonics. It was found that ADR of 10 single drugs and 29 preparations were not specified in authoritative Chinese materia medica monographs. Among all the set prescriptions, the problem of injection has been standing on the top. Statistical analysis on single factor demonstrates that the most frequently referred ADR come from drug abuse (accounting for 29.20%), and overdose (24.54%). Conclusion: The safety problem of injection remains in a trend of robust growth at least for a period of time, thus reappraisal of the safety issue for the tonics of injection is imperative. It is essential for the public to take doctor’s advice to guarantee safe administration of the tonics, especially for the patients with allergic constitution or those suffering from the liver and heart diseases.

Non-final Tonics in One Variety of American English

本文探讨一种类型的美国英语语调的非句尾调心。 文章指出英语语调主要由“语调单位”末端称为“调心”的音调决定。调心由一个全重读音节(这是必需的)和若干个非重读或部分重读音节(这是可有可无的)构成,前者称“调核”,后者称“调尾”。在新闻广播中,绝大多数句尾调心用降调;非句尾调心则可有降、升、平三种选择。降调、平调都用得很少,升调用得最多。而在各种升调调心中,先降后升调心的出现频率又远远超过单纯升调调心。平调多可改为升调而不影响意义。文章对各类调心作了较详细的描述,并设计了一个类似音乐简谱的标调法。如属升调的先降后升的典型调心之一是调核用半高,调尾的两个音节分别为低与半低。以ministers一词为例,可标为/312/。此标调法或可用于语调的记录和重构。

Studies on Nutritional Effects of Traditional Chinese Tonics with Nutrients Fortification on Pregnant Women and Pregnant Rats

Objective: To explore the nutritional and health promoting effects of nutrient mixture (traditional Chinese tonics ＋ nutrient fortification). Methods: (1) One hundred and three primigravid women were divided randomly into the test group and the control group treated with nutrient mixture and vitamins respectively and the effects of treatment were observed. (2) Effects of nutrient mixture were also observed in pregnant rats. Results: (1) Clinical study showed the serum levels of iron, zinc, hemoglobin of the test group were allraised after treatment, and these parameters and the concentration of iron in umbilical cord blood as well as the weight of the new-born baby of the test group were higher than those of the control group (P ＜0. 05 or P＜0. 01). (2) Results of the experimental study showed that the food utilization rate, hemoglobin level, fetal growth and developing parameters of the test group were all higher than those of the control group significantly (P ＜0. 05 or P＜ 0. 01 ). Conclusion: The nutrient mixture has a good nutritional and health promoting effect on pregnancy.

脑警觉功能和结构的多模态磁共振研究进展

警觉功能是对即将出现的刺激获得并保持高度敏感的一种状态,是注意网络的重要组成部分。警觉功能可进一步细分为固有警觉（tonic alertness）和位相性警觉（phasic alertness）,前者是指缺乏外界线索提示时的内在觉醒状态,后者则代表了外界线索刺激后短暂提高的准备响应的能力。长期以来学者们主要运用行为学测试评估认知功能。

Discourse Analysis and the Teaching of Speaking

Speaking is a productive skill and it is acknowledged to be hard for learners to master.Certain elements related to phonetics in discourse analysis,which play a significant role in EFL teaching of speaking,seem to be neglected.This paper analyses three of these elements:pause,intonation and tonic syllable,and their application in the teaching of speaking.

Learning Bayesian network parameters under new monotonic constraints

When the training data are insufficient, especially when only a small sample size of data is available, domain knowledge will be taken into the process of learning parameters to improve the performance of the Bayesian networks. In this paper, a new monotonic constraint model is proposed to represent a type of common domain knowledge. And then, the monotonic constraint estimation algorithm is proposed to learn the parameters with the monotonic constraint model. In order to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm, series of experiments are carried out. The experiment results show that the proposed algorithm is able to obtain more accurate parameters compared to some existing algorithms while the complexity is not the highest.

Tonicity response element binding protein associated with neuronal cell death in the experimental diabetic retinopathy

AIM: To study the contribution of tonicity response element binding protein(Ton EBP) in retinal ganglion cell(RGC) death of diabetic retinopathy(DR).METHODS: Diabetes was induced in C57BL/6 mice by five consecutive intraperitoneal injections of 55 mg/kg streptozotocin(STZ). Control mice received vehicle(phosphate-buffered saline). All mice were killed 2mo after injections, and the extent of cell death and the protein expression levels of Ton EBP and aldose reductase(AR) were examined.RESULTS: The Ton EBP and AR protein levels and the death of RGC were significantly increased in the retinas of diabetic mice compared with controls 2mo after the induction of diabetes. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase(Td T)-mediated d UTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)-positive signals co-localized with Ton EBP immunoreactive RGC. These changes were increased in the diabetic retinas compared with controls.CONCLUSION: The present data show that AR and Ton EBP are upregulated in the DR and Ton EBP may contribute to apoptosis of RGC in the DR.

Reevaluation on Antioxidant Activity of Tonic Chinese Herbs Pseudostellaria heterophylla

Tonic Chinese herbs Pseudostellaria heterophylla has complex components,which has both medicinal and nutritional effects,and the clinical research on anti-oxidation of P.heterophylla has become a hotspot.By searching domestic and foreign databases,the antioxidant literatures of P.heterophylla were searched,consulted,sorted,classified and analyzed,and systematic reevaluation of antioxidant function was conducted from three aspects of P.heterophylla extract in vitro chemical method,biological method and animal test method according to evaluation criteria for antioxidant activity of traditional Chinese medicine and Meta analysis statistical methods.The results would provide systematic reference for further research and development of P.heterophylla,especially for forage value excavation and development of P.heterophylla in the field of modern animal breeding.

Research progress of tonic Chinese medicine on the immune system

The immune system as an important defense system of the body,bear the resistance to foreign pathogens invasion,removal of foreign heterogeneity,and protect the body′s safety.Modern research shows that tonic Chinese medicine,including single herband compound formula,has the function of improving immune organ index,enhancing immune cellfunction and affecting the immune molecule production and secretion.This article will review the effects of traditional Chinese medicine on immune organs,immune cells and immune molecules,and provide reference for the clinical research of traditional Chinese medicine.

Comparison of Nutritional Quality in Fish Maw Product of Croaker Protonibea diacanthus and Perch Lates niloticus

Fish maw(the dried swimbladders of fish) is ranked in the list of the four sea treasures in Chinese cuisine. Fish maw is mainly produced from croaker, which is the most highly priced. However, some of the fish maw being sold as croaker maw are in fact not from croaker, but from the Nile perch Lates niloticus. The present work determined and compared the proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid composition of croaker Protonibea diacanthus maw and perch L. niloticus maw. The results indicated that both maws were high protein sources and low in fat content. The dominant amino acids in both maws were glycine, proline, glutamic acid, alanine and arginine. These amino acids constituted 66.2% and 66.4% of the total amino acids in P. diacanthus and L. niloticus, respectively. The ratio of FAA: TAA(functional amino acids: total amino acids) in both maws were 0.69. This is a good explanation for why fish maws have been widely utilized as a traditional tonic and remedy in Asia. Except valine and histidine, all the essential amino acid contents in P. diacanthus were higher than in L. niloticus. Moreover, croaker P. diacanthus maw contained more AA and DHA than perch L. niloticus maw, showing a higher ratio of n-3 / n-6, which is more desirable.

全身麻醉药物对γ-氨基丁酸A受体作用的研究进展

全身麻醉药物通过调控中枢神经系统中的离子通道,特别是γ-氨基丁酸A受体(GABAARs),进而产生一系列的药理学效应。而GABAARs各种亚型的区域分布和药理特异性都是不同的,并且麻醉本身可能会使包括GABAARs在内的离子通道表达改变。可见全身麻醉药物对GABAARs的作用是复杂而重要的。深入探讨全身麻醉药物对GABAARs各亚型的影响,阐述不同受体亚型表达的区域分布和药理特异性在全身麻醉中的不同作用,能更合理地解释全麻机制,对临床应用和开发新一代药物具有借鉴作用。

Survival of rat sciatic nerve segments preserved in storage solutions ex vivo assessed by novel electrophysiological and morphological criteria

Most organ or tissue allografts with viable cells are sto red in solutions ex vivo for hours to seve ral days.Most allografts then require rapid host revascula rization upon transplantation to maintain donor-cell functions(e.g.,cardiac muscle contra ctions,hepatic secretions).In contrast,peripheral nerve allografts stored ex vivo do not require revascularization to act as scaffolds to guide outgrowth by host axons at 1-2 mm/d,likely aided by viable donor Schwann cells.Using current storage solutions and protocols,axons in all these donor orga n/tissue/nerve transplants are expected to rapidly become non-viable due to Wallerian degeneration within days.Therefore,ex vivo storage solutions have not been assessed for preserving normal axonal functions,i.e.,conducting action potentials or maintaining myelin sheaths.We hypothesized that most or all organ storage solutions would maintain axonal viability.We examined several common organ/tissue storage solutions(University of Wisconsin Cold Storage Solution,Normosol-R,Normal Saline,and La ctated Ringe rs) for axonal viability in rat sciatic nerves ex vivo as assessed by maintaining:(1) conduction of artificially-induced compound action potentials;and(2) axonal and myelin morphology in a novel assay method.The ten diffe rent storage solution conditions for peripheral nerves with viable axons(PNVAs) diffe red in their solution composition,osmolarity(250-318 mOsm),temperature(4℃ vs.25℃),and presence of calcium.Compound action potentials and axonal morphology in PNVAs were best maintained for up to 9 days ex vivo in calcium-free hypotonic diluted(250 mOsm) Normosol-R(dNR) at 4℃.Surprisingly,compound action potentials were maintained for only 1-2 days in UW and NS at 4℃,a much shorter duration than PNVAs maintained in 4℃ dNR(9 days) or even in 25℃ dNR(5 days).Viable axons in peripheral nerve allografts are critical for successful polyethylene glycol(PEG)-fusion of viable proximal and distal ends of host axons with viable donor axons to repair segmental-loss peripheral nerve injuries.PEG-fusion repair using PNVAs prevents Wallerian degeneration of many axons within and distal to the graft and results in excellent recovery of sensory/motor functions and voluntary behaviors within weeks.Such PEG-fused PNVAs,unlike all other types of conventional donor transplants,are immune-tolerated without tissue matching or immune suppression.Preserving axonal viability in sto red PNVAs would enable the establishment of PNVA tissue banks to address the current shortage of transplantable nerve grafts and the use of stored PEG-fused PNVAs to repair segmentalloss peripheral nerve injuries.Furthermore,PNVA storage solutions may enable the optimization of ex vivo storage solutions to maintain axons in other types of organ/tissue transplants.

Effects of prostaglandin F_(2α) on small intestinal interstitial cells of Cajal

AIM：To explore the role of prostaglandin F2α（PGF2α） on pacemaker activity in interstitial cells of Cajal（ICC）from mouse small intestine. METHODS：In this study,effects of PGF2αin the cultured ICC cells were investigated with patch clamp technology combined with Ca 2＋ image analysis. RESULTS：Externally applied PGF2α（10μmol/L）produced membrane depolarization in current-clamp mode and increased tonic inward pacemaker currents in voltage-clamp mode.The application of flufenamic acid（a non-selective cation channel inhibitor）or niflumic acid（aCl channel inhibitor）abolished the generation of pacemaker currents but only flufenamic acid inhibited the PGF2α-induced tonic inward currents.In addition,the tonic inward currents induced by PGF2αwere not inhibited by intracellular application of 5’-[-thio]diphosphate trilithium salt.Pretreatment with Ca 2＋ free solution, U-73122,an active phospholipase C inhibitor,and thapsigargin,a Ca 2＋ -ATPase inhibitor in endoplasmic reticulum,abolished the generation of pacemaker currents and suppressed the PGF2α-induced tonic inward currents.However,chelerythrine or calphostin C,protein kinase C inhibitors,did not block the PGF2α-induced effects on pacemaker currents.When recording intracellular Ca 2＋ （[Ca 2＋ ]i）concentration using fluo-3/AM,PGF2α broadly increased the spontaneous[Ca 2＋ ]i oscillations. CONCLUSION：These results suggest that PGF2αcan modulate pacemaker activity of ICC by acting non-selective action channels through phospholipase C-dependent pathway via[Ca2＋]i regulation

Effects of pulsed radiofrequency on spasticity in patients with spinal cord injury:a report of two cases

Spasticity following spinal cord injury（SCI） results in functional deterioration and reduced quality of life. Herein, we report two SCI patients who presented with good response to pulsed radiofrequency（PRF） for the management of spasticity in the lower extremities. Patient 1（a 47-year-old man） had complete thoracic cord injury and showed a phasic spasticity on the extensor of both knees（3–4 beats clonus per every 30 seconds） and tonic spasticity（Modified Ashworth Scale： 3） on both hip adductors. Patient 2（a 64-yearold man） had incomplete cervical cord injury and showed a right ankle clonus（approximately 20 beats） when he walked. After the application of PRF to both L2 and L3 dorsal root ganglion（DRG）（patient 1） and right S1 DRG（patient 2） with 5 Hz and 5 ms pulsed width for 360 seconds at 45 V under the C-arm guide, all spasticity disappeared or was reduced. Moreover, the effects of PRF were sustained for approximately 6 months with no side effects. We believe that PRF treatment can be useful for patients with spasticity after SCI.

Rapid Quantification of Bioactive Lentinan with an Aniline Blue Fluorescent Method

Lentinan is a clinically approved immune modulator and its anticancer and immunomodulatory bioactivity is found to be dependent on its triple helical conformation. Therefore, the development of rapid and convenient method for determination of bioactive lentinan with triple helical conformation holds great promise for the quality control of lentinan healthy products. In this work, an aniline blue fluorescent method was optimized and established to accurately and rapidly detect bioactive lentinan. In the presence of lentinan, the fluorescence intensity of aniline blue with 404 nm excitation and 492 nm emission dramatically enhanced within 15 min in pH 10 glycine-NaOH buffer solution, which allowed the analysis of lentinan in a very simple and fast manner. The method allowed for the sensitive determination of lentinan in the range of 1 to 60 μg/mL with a detection limit of 0.25 μg/mL. Notably, the protocol exhibited excellent selectivity for the determination of triple helical lentinan over other saccharides. The method was successfully applied to the detection of bioactive lentinan in health tonic solution, which demonstrated the method had great potential for quality control of lentinan contained products.

Congenital coronary artery anomalies:what about the young?

Drs. Rigatem, Rigatelli, and Trivellato present a complete retrospective review of the prevalence of congenital coronary abnormalities in a cohort of consecutive adult patients catheterized at their institution and compare them to younger patients ＜ 65 years of age.They review in detail the clinical implications of these findings and then offer an algorithm for management. This article is particularly timely and significant as we move into an era of non-invasive coronary imaging with CT,MRI, and improved echo that will allow ns to make these diagnoses more often and with greater accuracy in younger patients. This will have a significant impact on the nanagement of symptomatic patients diagnosed at catheterization but also on asymptomatic patients diagnosed on screening evaluations.

TREATMENT OF FUNCTIONAL HEADACHE WITH CHINESE HERBAL INHALANT——A Report of 496 Cases——

Headaches of the neurofunctional type,blood vascular type,neuro-vascular type,andmusculotonic type are commonly encounteredclinically.The authors report a nasal inhalantof Chinese herbal drugs which has been effec-tive in the treatment of these varieties ofheadache.

A STUDY ON THE ANTI-CANCER EFFECT OF NINGXIA WOLFBERRY

Recent research on cancer prevention andtherapy in China and abroad show that certainChinese medicinal herbs have anti-cancer effect.Sioving in vitro and in vivo effects of variousherbs in China and similar experimental workreported by Sato of Japan in 1976,we foundthat all yielded positive results.The effects ofsome herbs were notable and did little or noharm to normal cells.Ningxia wolfberry(Lycium Barbarum L.)has long been known asan excellent tonic.But no report has to