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"Old Home land" is an obvious symbolism of traditional Chinese medicine. It has different features with modern medicine. In this new era, how to keep the TCM "new life" , how to preserve and develop it, has become an important subject. Feng Youlan is an important scholar in modern Chinese academic society. His idea on Chinese society is extensive and profound. According to Feng Youlan, we should understand the Chinese medicine from its attributes in philosophy, science and culture. And the medicine and pharmacy in the Chinese medicine need to be discussed from different point views. On the other hand, the dispute between Chinese and Western medicine itself maybe lead to a false direction. By his personal experience, Feng suggested that the traditional Chinese medicine should not lose its characters in the future time of modernization.

Ge Hong(), from Joseph Needham's view, is a historical figure with multiple characters, for example: he was a priest, a scientific researcher, a pioneer in the research of chemical medicines, a successor of the "prevention prior to cure" theory, an early explorer of immunotherapy. He was a man who detailedly recorded the infectious diseases, an ascetic with a strong individual spirit. Ge Hong was also a collector of the new knowledge, and his writings can be regarded as the typical Chinese ancient literature. Needham's viewpoints on Ge Hong represent a different perspective of western society on ancient Chinese science and technology, especially on the development of Chinese medicine.

Objective: To investigate the prognostic factors of primary liver cancer treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and then to establish a prognostic model. Methods: Clinicopathological and follow-up data of 145 patients who underwent TACE combined with RFA from January 2010 to December 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed using the Cox proportional hazards model, and the prognostic model was established. Results: The 1, 2, and 3-year survival rates were 92.6%, 81.4% and 66.2%, respectively. The 3-year recurrence and metastasis rate was 64.8%.Multivariate analysis showed that female cases and higher serum albumin levels were the protective factors for the 3-year overall and relapse-free survival of patients( P <0.05 for all). High levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bilirubin (TBIL), portal vein thrombosis and higher Child Pugh stages were the independent risk factors for the 3-year overall survival( P <0.05 for all). High levels of AFP, TBIL, portal vein thrombosis and advanced stages of BCLC staging (B and C) were the independent risk factors for tumor recurrence and metastasis( P <0.05 for all). The predictive model established based on the multivariate analysis showed good sensitivity and specificity. The area under ROC curve were higher than 0.90. Conclusions: The prognosis of liver cancer patients treated with TACE combined with RFA is affected by various clinicopathological factors. The systematic evaluation of the relevant factors before treatment may help to select proper patients and improve prognosis.

The ability of cultured peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to release interleukin-1 alpha and beta (IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta) in response to concanavalin A (con A) was investigated in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and in renal transplant recipients. Mean IL-1 alpha level released by PBMC of healthy subjects (n = 42), CRF patients (n = 42), or transplants 2 months after operation (n = 69) was 152 +/- 103, 110 +/- 80, or 154 +/- 87 pg/5 x 10(5) cells/ml culture, respectively. IL-1 alpha release from PBMC of recipients 2 months after renal transplantation was significantly higher than that of CRF patients (p less than 0.05). Mean IL-1 beta level released by PBMC of healthy subjects (n = 34), CRF (n = 30), or transplants (n = 55) was 223 +/- 159, 135 +/- 129, or 276 +/- 155 pg/5 x 10(5) cells, respectively. Similar to IL-1 alpha, the level in CRF was significantly lower than that in healthy subjects (p less than 0.05). A time course study indicated that the ability of PBMC from transplants to release IL-1 alpha and beta promptly decreased following the operation, possibly owing to prednisolone and ciclosporin immunosuppressive therapy. However, after maintaining a low level for 2-3 weeks, IL-1 release from PBMC gradually increased thereafter. The results were consistent with known characteristics of decreased immunity in CRF states, and further suggested that the decreased ability of PBMC to release IL-1 alpha and beta in response to con A in CRF patients is recovered 2 months after renal transplantation.

Column extraction technique was applied to acid-base fractionation of urinary lipophilic components. The acidified urine was retained on an extraction column packed with diatomaceous earth granules. Extraction solvent passed through the column was introduced directly into alkaline columns to fractionate strong and weak acidic components, the former being trapped on sodium hydrogen carbonate and the latter on sodium hydroxide column. Neutral components were eluted out without any chemical interaction with the support reagents. Acidic components retained in the column were recovered after acidified with acetic acid. Each fraction thus obtained was analyzed by silica gel high performance liquid chromatography equipped with a multi-channel ultraviolet detector using a solvent system consisted of 0.2% distilled water, 0.2% acetic acid, 15% ethanol and appropriate volume of n-hexane. Thus the comparative chromatographic studies of these three fractions became very easy. In our experiment, urinary components were extracted and chromatographed in the order of their partition coefficients. The method was applied to xanthine derivatives after the administration of caffeine tablets to a healthy volunteer.