[The "China rhizome" in Galenic medicine and pharmacology].

Smilacaceous Chinese herbs with the commercial name of "the China rhizome" were first imported to Europe as an alternative drug for syphilis treatment at the beginning of the 16th century. Its primary properties in Galenic medicine and pharmacology were designated as hot and dry, its secondary properties were believed removing, cleansing and relieving for inducing urination and perspiration, healing ulcers, and relieving numbness. Its reason for syphilis treatment was believed to be the property of discharging obsolete body fluid by intense sweating. Its processing method was mainly decoction, which had been normally used among western physicians since the 1st century. The interventions with it were medication and dietary therapies, considering the Galenic humoralism with the six "non-naturals elements" and other elements, such as the duration of diseases. It was believed to be neither "a drug for specific effects" nor a "panacea" based on the suppositions in Galenic medicine and pharmacy in terms of a variety of its usages. It was not highly praised by conventional medicine, demonstrating the influence of the debate on exotic drugs during the Period of Renaissance in Europe. The thinking about its usages almost fully came from classic western medicine. This embodies the conflicts between pharmaceutical practice and medical theory.

Generative design of bioinspired wings based on deployable hindwings of Anomala Corpulenta Motschulsky.

In view of the application prospect of the hindwing of Anomala Corpulenta Motschulsky in the field of foldable Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs), this paper investigated the morphology, macro/microstructure of the hindwing, and the nanomechanical properties of the wing veins and the wing membrane. It revealed the variation of nanohardness and elastic modulus between different veins and different positions of the same wing veins. This paper established a 3D coupling model of the hindwing based on the principle of coupling bionics. This paper presents a simulation analysis of the structural statics (uniform load distribution) and aerodynamics (under different attack angles, flight velocities, and flapping frequencies). Two 3D coupling models (HW-I and HW-II) of the hindwing were discussed the deformation and flight aerodynamic performance of Workbenches and Fluent. On that basis, the bionic wing was generatively designed, and a 3D bionic wing (BioW) model was established using the generative design method. Simulation analyses were performed through structural statics and aerodynamics. The results showed that the stress distribution was relatively uniform and that the overall displacement deformation was minimal for the BioW model. Moreover, the BioW model had better flight efficiency and aerodynamic performance.

Effects of pterostigma structure on vibrational characteristics during flight of Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

The hind wings of beetles are deployable and play an essential role in flight. In the Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), the pterostigma (pst) is found in the middle of the hind wing instead of at the tip of the hind wing. This paper investigates the effect of the pst on the vibrational characteristics during the flight of H. axyridis. Based on cross sections of the pst and veins as well as the morphology and nanomechanical properties of the hind wing, including the wing membrane and veins, three three-dimensional coupling models, Models I-III, of hind wings with/without pst structures and veins with varying or uniform reduced moduli are established. Modal analysis results for these three models show that the vibrational characteristics and deformation tendencies change the flight performance of the hind wing models with pst structures compared with that of the other models. The results in this paper reveal that the pst structure has an important influence on vibrational characteristics and deformation tendencies and, hence, on flight performance; the relationships between the body mass and the area of the hind wing, which have significant implications for the design of biomimetic deployable wing structures for micro air vehicles (MAVs), are also analyzed.

Prevalence of injections and knowledge of safe injections among rural residents in Central China.

INTRODUCTION: Abuse of the injection services, namely unnecessary injections and unsafe injections, exists extensively in developing countries. Unsafe injection practices contribute to the transmission of blood-borne pathogens. The aims of this study were to survey the prevalence of injections and knowledge of injection safety among the rural residents in Jingzhou district, Hubei, China and to provide scientific data for developing a health educational programme. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 villages, which were selected from the Jingzhou district by the random sampling method. 50 rural residents were interviewed per village using a questionnaire. RESULTS: Among the 595 residents studied, 192 had received at least one injection in the past three months, with an injection prevalence of 32.3 percent and an average of 0.93 injections. 90.3 percent of the rural residents knew that unsafe injections could transmit the following blood-borne pathogens: human immunodeficiency virus (74.4 percent), hepatitis B virus (55.8 percent) and hepatitis C virus (22.9 percent). Logistic regression analysis showed that the residents' age, educational level and residential area were important factors in influencing their knowledge about injection safety. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that the injection prevalence was high among rural residents in the study area, and their knowledge regarding injection safety should be further improved.

The crystal structure of silver carp insulin at medium resolution.

It is an important way of surveying the structure-function relationship of insulin to study insulins from different species. Based on the structure model of an orthorhombic crystal obtained by the molecular replacement method, the crystallographic refinement of a hexamer of silver carp insulin in an asymmetric unit has been carried out with 2.8 A resolution data using the restrained least-squares method. The comparisons of insulin structures have shown that the six silver carp insulin molecules have very similar but not identical three-dimensional structures which are similar to the known 2 Zn pig insulin structure but remarkably different in some local conformations.

[IgE and IgE-mediated immunoreaction in the pathogenesis of human cysticercosis].

Total IgE, specific IgE and histamine in sera from 35 documented cases of cysticercosis and 30 transfusion donors were measured and mast cell degranulation test was performed. Total IgE levels (730.61 U/ml), the positive rate of specific IgE (85.7%), histamine levels (5.3 micrograms/ml) and the positive rate of mast cell degranulation (42.9%) of the patients were found to be significantly higher than those of the normal group (P less than 0.01). The results suggested that the antigen of Cysticercus cellulosae could induce IgE production and mast cell degranulation, resulting in the release of histamine. It was, therefore, deemed that the IgE and IgE-mediated immunoreaction might be involved in the pathogenesis of human cysticercosis.

Atomic structure of a fragment of human CD4 containing two immunoglobulin-like domains.

The structure of an N-terminal fragment of CD4 has been determined to 2.4 A resolution. It has two tightly abutting domains connected by a continuous beta strand. Both have the immunoglobulin fold, but domain 2 has a truncated beta barrel and a non-standard disulphide bond. The binding sites for monoclonal antibodies, class II major histocompatibility complex molecules, and human immunodeficiency virus gp120 can be mapped on the molecular surface.

The crystallographic study of the complex of the Lys active fragment of the mung bean trypsin inhibitor with bovine trypsin.

The Lys fragment of mung bean trypsin inhibitor can combine with bovine trypsin to form a complex at an equal molar ratio. The single crystals of the complex were obtained by using the micro-still-setting method and the X-ray diffraction extended to 1.8A resolution. Its space group is P212121 with cell dimensions a = 62.9(1)A, b = 63.4(1)A and c = 69.7 (2)A. There is one complex molecule in a crystallographic asymmetric unit.