Traditional Chinese Materials Research Articles

Health risk assessment for human mercury exposure from Cinnabaris-containing Baizi Yangxin Pills in healthy volunteers Po administration

BackgroundCinnabaris (α-HgS), a mineral traditional Chinese material medica, has been used in combination with other herbs manifesting some definite therapeutic effects for thousands of years. But the currently reported mercury poisoning incidents raised the doubts about the safety of Cinnabaris-containing traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Baizi Yangxin Pills (BZYXP) is a Cinnabaris-containing TCM widely used in clinical practice. This study evaluated the health risk of mercury exposure from BZYXP in healthy volunteers based on the total mercury and mercury species analysis of blood and urine after single and multiple doses of BZYXP. MethodsBlood pharmacokinetics and urinary excretion studies of mercury were compared between single (9 g, once daily) and multiple doses (9 g, twice daily, continued for 7 days) of BZYXP. The whole blood and urine samples were collected at the specific points or periods after the administration of BZYXP. The total mercury and mercury species in blood and urine samples were determined by cold vapor-atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CV-AFS) and HPLC-CV-AFS, respectively. ResultsThe mercury was excreted slowly and accumulated obviously after continuous exposure of BZYXP. Moreover, the well-known neurotoxin methylmercury (MeHg) was detected in blood samples after 7 days’ administration of BZYXP. In the urine samples, only Hg(II) was detected. Therefore, long-term use of BZYXP will cause mercury poisoning due to mercury's high accumulative properties and MeHg formation. ConclusionCinnabaris-containing TCMs such as BZYXP should be restricted to cases in which alternatives are available, and the blood mercury species profile should be monitored during the long-term clinical medication.

Towards a Cross-Cultural Hybridisation: An Exploration of Furniture Design and Advertising in Shanghai, China (1912-1949)

ABSTRACT This paper uses furniture advertisements to explore interactions between Eastern and Western design forms in semi-colonial Shanghai during the Republic of China (1912–1949). 1 By analysing historical advertisements during this period, it identifies three distinct trends in furniture design that integrated Eastern and Western influences in an innovative manner, reflecting, to varying degrees, a “cross-cultural hybridization” of forms. 2 The first trend celebrated Western design, which was introduced to Shanghai during its colonisation in the late Qing Dynasty (1845–1912), rendering it in traditional Chinese materials and construction techniques. The second trend, which aligned with the anti-imperial sentiment of Shanghai society after the founding of the Republic of China, celebrated local craftsmanship either by referencing traditional Chinese furniture design, or highlighting local production. These two trends led to the creation of a truly integrative third trend, the “Modeng” style, which blended Eastern and Western design elements and became a hallmark of Shanghai design and culture after the 1930s. Overall, by tracing the evolving trends of Shanghai furniture design, this article enhances our comprehension of the intricate relationship between Western cultural influences and local adaptations and integrations, highlighting how furniture advertisements reflected Shanghai’s unique cultural context.

Impact of Group Art Therapy Using Traditional Chinese Materials on Self-Efficacy and Social Function for Individuals Diagnosed With Schizophrenia.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of group art therapy using traditional Chinese materials on improving the self-efficacy and social function of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. In China, little research has been conducted on patients to measure the effectiveness of group art therapy, especially using traditional Chinese materials. To address this research gap, 104 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia were tested in a group art therapy program that included 30 treatment sessions and used a wide variety of materials, including traditional Chinese materials, such as Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, Chinese embroidery, and Chinese beads. The effect of art therapy was analyzed using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and Scale of Social Skills for Psychiatric Inpatients (SSPI). This study demonstrates that group art therapy using traditional Chinese materials can improve self-efficacy and social function, reducing social and life function problems, and promote the recovery of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.

From Western Knowledge to a National Textbook: The Evolution of Li Quanshi’s Socio-economic Views

The article analyzes the scholarly legacy of Li Quanshi as part of the history of intellectual interactions between China and the West in the Republican Period. Having been educated in the United States, in the early 1920s Li Quanshi used Western economic theories to develop a model of administrative and fiscal decentralization in China. He denounced “the communism of revenue” between different levels of government in China, pointed to the failure of a despotic centralized bureaucracy, and called to transfer financial authority to the level of provincial assemblies. Later, Li Quanshi’s views evolved from liberalism to the support of government intervention in the economy. Numerous publications by Li Quanshi impacted the process of the formation of Chinese economics in the Republican Period. He proposed to produce a “national textbook” in economics that took into account the Chinese realities. Li Quanshi set the goal of moving from copying and rendering foreign books to creating China’s own internationally competitive academic writings. The scholar relied upon the division of economics, widely accepted in the West, into production, distribution, exchange, and consumption, but its application to traditional Chinese material generated new results. In the first history of Chinese economic thought written in the Chinese language Li Quanshi interpreted and structured traditional heritage using Western concepts. His determination to introduce Chinese characteristics into economic research has stimulated increased attention to the issues of consumption and the role of the state in the economy. It is concluded that Li Quanshi’s ideas of the 1920s and 1930s have regained relevance in the context of the current official policy of support to “social sciences with Chinese characteristics”.

Traditional Uses, Bioactive Constituents, Biological Functions, and Safety Properties of Oviductus ranae as Functional Foods in China.

Oviductus ranae is an animal-based traditional Chinese material widely used as tonics in China for hundreds of years. Various bioactive components are present in OR including proteins, amino acids, steroids, fatty acids, phospholipids, nucleosides, vitamins, hydantoins, and mineral elements. These constituents exert a myriad of biological functions such as immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antifatigue, antiaging, estrogen-like, hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, antiosteoporotic, antidepressant, antitumor, antitussive, expectorant, anti-inflammatory, and antiasthmatic activities. Unlike other traditional Chinese crude drugs recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, OR is seldom prescribed as medicine but often consumed as nutraceuticals to optimize health. In this review, the traditional uses, bioactive constituents, biological functions, and safety properties of OR as functional foods in China were summarized and discussed. It is expected that this review will provide useful information for anyone who is interested in OR.

Classification of Chinese herbs based on the cluster analysis of delayed luminescence.

Traditional Chinese material medica are an important component of the Chinese pharmacopeia. According to the traditional Chinese medicinal concept, Chinese herbal medicines are classified into different categories based on their therapeutic effects, however, the bioactive principles cannot be solely explained by chemical analysis. The aim of this study is to classify different Chinese herbs based on their therapeutic effects by using delayed luminescence (DL). The DL of 56 Chinese herbs was measured using an ultra-sensitive luminescence detection system. The different DL parameters were used to classify Chinese herbs according to a hierarchical cluster analysis. The samples were divided into two groups based on their DL kinetic parameters. Interestingly, the DL classification results were quite consistent with classification according to the Chinese medicinal concepts of 'cold' and 'heat' properties. In this paper, we show for the first time that by using DL technology, it is possible to classify Chinese herbs according to the Chinese medicinal concept and it may even be possible to predict their therapeutic properties.

A printable ancient-imitated aqueous ink prepared from traditional Chinese ink making materials

A printable ancient-imitated aqueous ink without any chemical synthetic additives was prepared from traditional Chinese materials for ink making. Turpentine soot and China wood oil soot were used as the black pigments with a mixture of bone glue and starch aqueous solution being used as the ink vehicle. Various Chinese medicinal herbal juices were used to give the ink multiple functions, such as anti-microbial, fragrance and colour regulation. The colour hue, colour gradation, smell and sharpness of the ink stroke are adjustable, which is very important for the precise duplication of ancient books by screen printing. The harmful substances in the ink are few and much less than the limits set in the Chinese national standard. The rheology behaviours of the ink were characterised. The durability of the printed sample is excellent, which is supported by test results from the water-ethanol immersion, light fastness and antimicrobial tests.

Application of formative assessment in teaching when students with specialty of Chinese clinical medicine practising in dispensary of traditional Chinese material medica

Application of formative assessment in teaching when students with specialty of Chinese clinical medicine practising in dispensary of traditional Chinese material medica

Isolated perfused lung extraction and HPLC–ESI–MS n analysis for predicting bioactive components of Saposhnikoviae Radix

A novel strategy for predicting bioactive components in traditional Chinese material herb was proposed, using isolated perfused rat lung (IPL) extraction and high performance liquid chromatography\ andem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS n ) analysis. The hypothesis is that when the IPL is perfused with the extract of Saposhnikoviae Radix (ESR), the potential bioactive components in the ESR should selectively combine with the receptor or channel of lung, by changing the pH of perfused liquid, the combining components would be eluated and then detected by HPLC–ESI–MS n . Five compounds were detected in the desorption eluate of IPL; among these compounds, two potential bioactive compounds, prim-O-glucosylcimifugin ( 2) and 4′-O- β- d-glucosyl-5-O-methylvisamminol ( 4) were identified by comparing with the chromatography of the standard sample, and three other compounds, i.e. cimifugin ( 1), 5-O-methylvisamminol ( 3) and sec-O-glucosylhamaudol ( 5) were determined by analysis of the structure clearage characterization of mass spectrometry. The application of IPL extraction coupled with HPLC–ESI–MS n for predicting potential bioactive components of TCMs is rapid, convenient, operational, economic and reliable.

Bright Sheng's music: An expression of cross-cultural experience—illustrated through the motivic, contrapuntal and tonal treatment of the Chinese folk song The Stream Flows

From making simplistic Chinese-Western mixtures at the beginning of his musical career to creating a sophisticated synthesis of the two sonic cultures later, Bright Sheng has employed different approaches to the problem of how to incorporate traditional Chinese material within the largely Western-derived language of modern music. Though his methods developed over his career, his goal throughout has been to create a personal style that is entirely cross-cultural. This article makes a close investigation of three of his works, all of which use the same folk tune, though in very different manners. Studying the evolution of his style in this way can allow an evaluation of Sheng's neutral stance about his cultural identity, for Sheng declares himself, at once, entirely Chinese and entirely American in musical orientation.