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The use of free vascularized nerve grafts requires an intimate and accurate knowledge of the blood supply of peripheral nerve. This study was designed to compare the advantages and disadvantages of three methods employed to reveal the blood supply of the peripheral nerve, and to provide morphological basis for vascularized nerve grafts. The blood supply of brachial plexus and its main branches (ulnar, median, radial, musculocutaneous and axillary nerve) were observed using three vascular injection techniques: three specimens were injected with red latex through the thoracic aorta; two side specimens were injected with a Chinese ink solution, through the subclavian artery, for diaphanization and histology; one fresh cadaver was injected with the gelatin–lead oxide mixture through the femoral artery for radiography. The blood supply of the brachial plexus and its main branches was well examined using the three different vascular injection techniques. Perfusion with red latex exposed the extrinsic blood supply. Diaphanization and histology showed the intrinsic blood supply, while gelatin–lead oxide injection technique interactively displayed both the intrinsic and extrinsic blood supply to the peripheral nerve. The standard method for the study of the extrinsic blood supply to the peripheral nerve is the red latex perfusion; diaphanization and histology are very suitable to study the intrinsic blood supply of the peripheral nerve; while gelatin–lead oxide technique is the standard for visualization of the integral topography of the blood supply of the peripheral nerve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the antitumor activity and safety of a novel recombinant mutant human tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (rmh TRAIL). Methods: Antitumor activity of rmh TRAIL was evaluated by using several tumor cell lines by MTT assay in vitro, and by using a mouse xenograft model in vivo. rmh TRAIL-induced apoptosis in tumor cells was detected by cell death enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay and flow cytometry. The safety of rmh TRAIL was also evaluated in several normal human cell lines. Results: At the concentration of 0.32–1000 ng/mL, rmh TRAIL remarkably inhibited the proliferation of 5 tumor cell lines from lung, colon, and breast cancer compared with wild type (wt TRAIL) in vitro, whereas at the concentration of 1 ng/mL-10 μg/mL, rmh TRAIL showed no or mild cytotoxicity in the normal cell lines. rmh TRAIL (3,15 mg/kg, ip, once daily for 10 d) exerted a significant inhibition on the growth of xenograft tumor NCI-H460 in nude mice compared with the saline group ( P<0.01), and was more potent than wt TRAIL, a positive control. The apoptosis of NCI-H460 cells was markedly induced in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner after rmh TRAIL treatment. The percentage of apoptotic cells induced by rmh TRAIL in NCI-H460 cells was significantly higher than that by wt TRAIL. Conclusion: rmh TRAIL provided potent antitumor activity in vivo and in vitro, whereas most normal human cells were resisitant to rmh TRAIL. The results suggested that rmh TRAIL might be a useful anticancer agent in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes the literature since 1990s. The research progress was surveyed from the perspectives of filiform needling, moxibustion, acupoint injection, acupuncture and massage, acupuncture and traction. In the treatment of cervical vertigo, acupuncture acts to dilate blood vessels, diminish vessel resistance and increase blood flow, hence to improve micro-circulation and oxygen supply to the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allelochemicals of Chinese-fir root was extracted by technology of supercritical CO2 extraction under orthogonal experiment design, and it was used to analyze allelopathic activity of Chinese-fir through bioassay of seed germination. The results showed that as to the available rate of allelochemicals, the pressure and temperature of extraction were the most important factors. The allelochemicals of Chinese-fir root extracted by pure CO2 and ethanol mixed with CO2 have different allelopathic activities to seed germination, and the allelochemicals extracted by ethanol mixed with CO2 had stronger inhibitory effects on seed germination than that extracted by pure CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]