[Progress report on a World Bank loan to China for a tuberculosis control project]

The progress of the World Bank loaned TB control project implemented from the second quarter of 1991 to the fourth quarter of 1993 was described in this paper. In the past three years, 737 counties of the 12 provinces with the population of 360 million has been covered by the project. Among 95176 new smear positive cases discovered, 93909 patients received free treatment of TB. The treatment coverage is 98.7%, of which 95% were treated under full course supervision. The smear conversion rate at two, three months of new smear positive TB patients are 83.4% and 90.6% respectively. The cohort analysis showed that the cure rate is 89.8%, which has reached the advanced level of the modern national tuberculosis control programme in the world.

Studies on the luminescence of channels in rats and its law of changes with "syndromes" and treatment of acupuncture and moxibustion

We previously reported the discovery of 14 channels in the human body, which possessed the biophysical property of high emission of light. In this study we found the same property on the Ren and Du channels in healthy rats. Additionally, we discovered that the luminance of the related channels in rat models with different "syndromes" varied greatly. For instance, a markedly low luminance appeared on the Du channel in animals with experimental syndrome of Yang deficiency induced by hydrocortisone; while in animals with experimental syndrome of blood deficiency caused by bleeding, an apparently low luminance occurred on the Ren channel. The intensity of the emitted light on Du and Ren channels increased after acupuncture treatment, but not significantly. This phenomenon conforms to the theory in traditional Chinese medicine that the Du channel is the "sea of Yang channels", while the Ren channel is the "sea of Yin channels".

[Original botanical statistics and commercial study of the Chinese drug touguchao]

According to original botanical statistics, there are 42 species and 5 varieties belonging to 20 families called or used as Touguchao. Commercial investigation shows that 16 species belonging to 12 families are presently available on the market in China.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor residue covalently cross-linked to epidermal growth factor

An epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor monoclonal antibody (mAb), mAb LA22, was used to analyze the covalent coupling of human EGF receptors to mouse EGF by the amine-reactive cross-linking agent disuccinimidyl suberate. A soluble Mr 105,000 truncated form of the receptor secreted by A-431 epidermoid carcinoma cells and consisting of the ligand-binding extracellular domain was cross-linked to 125I-labeled EGF. Digestion of this complex with an endoproteinase that specifically cleaves at the COOH side of glutamyl residue released a single radiolabeled glycosylated fragment of Mr 18,000 that reacted with mAb LA22. As the epitope for mAb LA22 resided between Ala-351 and Asp-364 of the mature receptor, this result localized the cross-linked receptor residue(s) to the 47-amino acid interval from Phe-321 to Glu-367. The receptor residue(s) involved in the covalent coupling of rat 125I-labeled transforming growth factor alpha was similarly localized to this region of the receptor. This receptor interval, which included two glycosylated asparaginyl residues at positions 328 and 337, contained but three amino acid residues that were potentially reactive with disuccinimidyl suberate: Lys-332, Lys-333, and Lys-336. Characterization of mAb LA22-reactive 125I-EGF-labeled receptor fragments generated by an endoproteinase specific for the COOH side of lysyl residue placed the NH2 termini of the two smallest fragments between the glycosylated residues Asn-328 and Asn-337. These results indicated that disuccinimidyl suberate cross-linked the NH2 group of EGF residue Asn-1 to the human EGF receptor residue Lys-336. Our results further suggest that EGF and transforming growth factor alpha, two members of the EGF family of peptide growth factors, interact with closely apposed or identical features of the receptor.