Investigation of original materials under traditonal Chinese medicine names of "Jinchai" and "Jinchai Shihu" / 中国中药杂志

To clear from botanical view the original materials under the traditional Chinese medicine names of "Jinchai", "Jinchai Shihu" within the genus Dendrobium of the family Orchidaceae. Combined of different methods including study of historical records from the local chronicles and historical accounts of past event in Hubei, Sichuan, Chongqing, Henan and Shaanxi provinces, interviewing face to face with the old traditional Chinese workers and folk doctors in 20 downtowns and countrysides, such as, Laohekou, Lichuan, Fangxian, Xixia, Neixiang, and Ankang, and collecting a few plants of "Jinchai" for taxonomic identification. The traditional Chinese medicine names of "Jinchai", "Jinchai Shihu" were widely used by the local people from the eastern Chongqing, western Hubei, northeasten Sichuan, southeastern Shaanxi, western Henan. Those two names were frequently found in the local Chronicles and historical accounts of past event, even in the local daily life such as folk songs and stories. The botanical identification results showed that a endemic species of D. flexicaule is the original materials of the traditional Chinese medicine names "Jinchai" and "Jinchai Shihu", and this species are also called "Longtoujin", "Renzijin", "Huanzijin" and "Longtoufengweijin" by the local people. The dried artifactitious specimens of D. flexicaule are traditionally named as "Jinerhuan". The botanic resource plants of the traditional Chinese medicine names of "Jinchai", "Jinchai Shihu" are the endemic species of D. flexicaule that is distributed mainly in central areas of China including eastern Chongqing, western Hubei, northeasten Sichuan, southeastern Shaanxi, and western Henan, rather than D. nobile as referring in both Chinese and English version of Flora of China, and in official recorded serious versions of The Chinese Pharmacopoeia since 1977. In order to avoid confusion in the traditional Chinese medicine dendrobiums industry, the Chinese name of D. nobile is suggested as "Biancao Shihu", which characterized one stem feature of this species, and the traditional Chinese medicine names "Jinchai" or "JinchaiShihu" is suggested to refer to the species D. flexicaule.

Selective intra-arterial infusion of rAd-p53 with chemotherapy for advanced oral cancer: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: In this study, a combination of recombinant adenoviral p53 (rAd-p53) gene therapy and intra-arterial delivery of chemotherapeutic agents for treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma was evaluated. METHODS: In total, 99 patients with stage III or IV oral carcinoma who had refused or were ineligible for surgery were enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase III clinical trial. They were randomly assigned to group I (n = 35; intra-arterial infusion of rAd-p53 plus chemotherapy), group II (n = 33; intra-arterial infusion of rAd-p53 plus placebo chemotherapy), or group III (n = 31; intra-arterial infusion of placebo rAd-p53 plus chemotherapy). RESULTS: The median length of follow-up was 36 months (range, 3 to 86 months). During follow-up, 16 patients in group I, 20 in group II, and 22 in group III died. Group I (48.5%) had a higher complete response rate than groups II (16.7%) and III (17.2%) (P = 0.006). The rate of non-responders in group I was significantly lower than that in groups II and III (P < 0.020). A log-rank test for survival rate indicated that group I had a significantly higher survival rate than group III (P = 0.019). The survival rate of patients with stage III but not stage IV oral cancer was significantly higher in group I than in group III (P = 0.015, P = 0.200, respectively). The survival rate of patients with stage IV did not differ significantly among the three groups. Or the 99 patients, 63 patients experienced adverse events of either transient flu-like symptoms or bone marrow suppression, while 13 patients had both these conditions together. No replication-deficient virus was detected in patient serum, urine, or sputum. rAd-p53 treatment increased Bax expression in the primary tumor of 80% of patients, as shown by immunohistochemical staining. CONCLUSIONS: Intra-arterial infusion of combined rAd-p53 and chemotherapy significantly increased the survival rate of patients with stage III but not stage IV oral cancer, compared with intra-arterial chemotherapy. Intra-arterial infusion of combined rAd-p53 and chemotherapy may represent a promising alternative treatment for oral squamous cell carcinoma. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR-TRC-09000392 (Date of registration: 2009-05-18).

Reconstruction of penetrated nasal defects with nasolabial skin flap pedicled on the infraorbital vessels.

Penetrated nasal defects involve complicated problems of reconstruction because they require a relatively larger volume of flaps and grafts as well as aesthetic needs. The nasolabial skin flap pedicled on infraorbital vessels was evaluated in this research. Sixteen patients underwent nasal defect reconstruction with nasolabial skin flap pedicled on the infraorbital vessels through the subcutaneous tunnel. All of the 16 flaps were viable, with a maximum area of 5.0 x 2.5 cm. The color and texture of the flaps were similar to those of surrounding skin of the recipient site. Thermal and tactile sensation of the flap proved satisfactory in all the patients. The scar of donor site was occulted, and the contour of the nose did not change after the operation. The nasolabial skin flap pedicled on the infraorbital vessels had many distinct advantages and was recommended for defect reconstruction as an adjacent axial flap.

Pollen tube growth in association with a dry-type stigmatic transmitting tissue and extragynoecial compitum in the basal angiosperm Kadsura longipedunculata (Schisandraceae).

Spatial features of pollen tube growth and the composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of transmitting tissue in carpels of Kadsura longipedunculata, a member of the basal angiosperm taxon Schisandraceae, were characterized to identify features of transmitting tissue that might have been important for pollen-carpel interactions during the early history of angiosperms. In addition to growing extracellularly along epidermal cells that make up stigmatic crests of individual carpels, pollen tubes grow on abaxial carpel epidermal cells between unfused carpels along an extragynoecial compitum to subsequently enter an adjacent carpel, a feature important for enhancing seed set in apocarpous species. Histo- and immunochemical data indicated that transmitting tissue ECM is not freely flowing as previously hypothesized. Rather, the ECM is similar to that of a dry-type stigma whereby a cuticular boundary with associated esterase activity confines a matrix containing methyl-esterified homogalacturonans. The Schisandraceae joins an increasing number of basal angiosperm taxa that have a transmitting tissue ECM similar to a dry-type stigma, thereby challenging traditional views that the ancestral pollen tube pathway was similar to a wet-type stigma covered with a freely flowing exudate. Dry-type stigmas are posited to provide tighter control over pollen capture, retention, and germination than wet-type stigmas.