Chlorella is nutritious and has been used as a functional food much earlier than the other microalgae. C. pyrenoidosa, the potential microalgae which is currently cultured and developed for the new strategic industry of biofuels production and biological CO2 fixation, is a new resource food announced by the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China late 2012. Accumulation of high value-added substances in C. pyrenoidosa during the cultivation for lipid makes it possible to reduce the costs for C. pyrenoidosa-based biofuels production. Among these potential substances, hot water extract of Chlorella (CE), commercially known as "Chlorella growth factor", is the unique one that makes Chlorella more precious than the other algae, and the market price of CE is high. It is believed that CE is effective in growth promotion and immunoregulation. However, there is no systematic analysis on the research status of CE and its bioactivity. The present report summarized recent research progress of CE and its bioactivity. Generally, besides the main effect on immunoregulation and tumor inhibition, CE was efficient in improving metabolic syndrome, scavenging for free radicals, protecting against ultraviolet damage, chelating heavy metals, and protecting liver and bowel. Several major challenges in CE research as well as its prospects were also analysed in the present report.
Biofuels ; Chlorella ; chemistry ; Humans ; Lipids ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Water

Objective To study the effect of combined transplantation of pancreatic islets and hepatocytes on the treatment of diabetic rats and the possibility on hepatocytes inducing islet allograft tolerance. Methods Forty diabetic SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: normal control group,diabetic control group, pancreatic islet grafted group,and hepatocyte and pancreatic islet transplanted group. The pancreatic islets of fetal SD rats were implanted into the gastric subserosa of recipients. The alteration of diabetes and immune status were observed. Results There were 58.8% (20/34) diabetic rats cured after pancreatic islets transplantation. The survival time in the combined grafted group was longer than that in the pancreatic islet grafted group ( P

Objective:To investigate the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) icariin (ICA) on metastatic phenotype of methotrexate (MTX)-resistant lung cancer A549 cells and elucidate the action mechanism and therapeutic value of ICA. Methods:The half inhibition concentration(IC_(50))value of ICA in inhibiting the growth of A549/MTX cells was measured by MTT assay. The colony formation rates and the morphology of cell cluster of A549/MTX and ICA-treated A549/MTX cells were determined by double-layer soft agar colony formation assay. The migration abilities of A549/MTX and ICA-treated A549/MTX cells were evaluated by cell scratch assay. The invasion ability of cells was tested by using Transwell chamber assay. Results:MTT assay showed that the IC_(50) value of non-toxic ICA plus MTX was reduced compared with that induced by equal dose of MTX (35.50±1.85 μmol/L vs 52.17±2.25 μmol/L). The colony formation rate of ICA-treated A549/MTX cells was 0.94±0.09, less than that of A549/MTX cells (1.56±1.07, P<0.05). Cell scratching assay demonstrated that the migration capability of A549/MTX cells was stronger than that of ICA-treated A549/MTX cells at 72 h (P<0.05). Transwell experiment revealed that more A549/MTX cells passed through artificial basement membrane than ICA-treated A549/MTX cells (P<0.05), indicating that the invasion capability of ICA-treated A549/MTX cells was weaker than that of A549/MTX cells.Conclusion:TCM ICA can reverse the metastatic phenotype of MTX-resistant A549 cells.

Objective To discuss the effect of rehabilitation nursing for total knee arthroplasty by discussing hospitalization expenses and its factors of rehabilitation nursing.Methods 305 patients who were underwent total knee arthroplasty from 2011 to 2013 were recruited and recovered according to rehabilitation nursing and training requirements established by our hospital.Patients admitted in 2011 were designated as control group.The comparison of American knee society knee score and knee rang of motion of patients were made and analyzed.Results The annual comparison of sores of pre-and post-operative KSS (t=5.30,7.99,11.20),and knee ROM of patients (t=8.21,4.57,7.86) showed that the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).The total costs and rehabilitation nursing expenses inreased year by year (P＜0.05).The proportion of rehabilitation and rehabilitation nursing expenses each year were 5.77％ (3 157/54 679),4.60％ (2 847/61 831),5.15％ (3 341/64 930) and 0.51％ (280/54 679),0.64％ (393/61 831),0.52 ％(338/64 930),respectively.Conclusions Pre-and post-operative correct rehabilitation exercises are one of the most important guarantee of curative effect.There is a lower percentage of rehabilitation nursing expenses in total costs,and the value of the nursing staff has not been fully reflected.

Objective To establish a real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR method for detection of the different expression level of FPGS in methotrexate enantiomer-resistant A549 cell lines,and observe FPGS mRNA expression in patients with leukemia.Methods A real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR method for detection FPGS mRNA was established using SYBR Green Ⅰ as fluorescence and β-actin as reference.The method was evaluated by Ct,correlation coefficient,slope,repeatability curve,melting curve and amplification efficiency curve.The expression levels of FPGS gene in methotrexate enantiomer-resistant A549 cell lines and methotrexate resistant leukemia cells in bone marrow were detected by the method.Results The standard curves had a high linear relationship between cycle threshold and template concentration.The correlation coefficients of FPGS and β-actin were 0.996 8 and 0.998 7,and the slopes were -3.595 and -3.740,respectively.The inter-coefficient of variation was from 1.27% to 2.95%.The intra-coefficient of variation was 3.82%.The method was characterized with specific melting curve and similar amplification efficiency(slope was 0.021 7).The relative contents of FPGS mRNA were(3.51 ±0.66),(0.16 ±0.01) and(1.00 ±0.31) in L-(+)-MTX/A549 cells(L),D-(-)-MTX/A549 cells(D)and A549 parent cells,and there was statistically difference among the three groups(F = 64.45 ,P＜ 0.01)Statistical difference was observed between L and D(q =9.29,P＜0.01).After treated with MTX,the expression level of FPGS mRNA was(0.35 ± 0.04) in methotrexate resistant leukemia patients,compared with(1.00 ± 0.44) before treatment.Statistical difference was observed(t = 8.83 ,P＜ 0.01).Conclusions The real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR is suitable for the quantification of FPGS.The expression levels of FPGS in methotrexate resistant leukemia cells in bone marrow and drug resistant cells are different.Two enantiomer forms of methotrexate may play different roles in drug resistance mechanisms.

White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) were once thought to be a normal aging phenomenon. However, the available evidences suggest that WMHs are an indicator of poor brain and cardiovascular health, indicating an increased risk of ischemic stroke, cognitive impairment, depression, and death. This article reviews the effects and mechanisms of physical activity and exercise on WMHs, so as to provide a basis for better prevention of WMHs.

In recent years, post-stroke depression (PSD) and post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) have gradually attracted the attention of scholars as common stroke-related non-motor symptoms. As an emerging non-invasive neuroimaging tool, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has been widely used in the study of neurological diseases, which can evaluate the functional status and recovery of these patients by monitoring changes in cerebral blood circulation and oxygenation signals; fNIRS is now being increasingly used in PSD and PSCI studies. This review mainly focuses on the research progress of fNIRS in identifying PSD and PSCI, exploring their neural mechanisms, and evaluating treatment effects, as well as advantages, disadvantages and future development prospects of fNIRS in clinical application, so as to provide some references for research on rehabilitation of affective disorders and cognitive disorders in stroke patients.

Stroke is a cerebrovascular disease that damages brain tissue due to blockage or rupture of blood vessels, and is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Diagnosing, monitoring stroke and the treatment effects all rely on neuroimaging that detects changes in the brain. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a novel neuroimaging technique which is based on the non-invasively measuring of concentration changes of oxyhemoglobin and reduced hemoglobin. This review summarizes the underlying mechanisms of NIRS and its current clinical application in stroke, as well as the limitations of NIRS in broader clinical applications.

Objective To study the role of fibulin-5 in urothelial carcinoma of bladder. Methods Fibulin-5 expression was detected in bladder cancer tissues (13 cases of G_1 and G_2, 7 cases of G_3) and normal bladder mucosa samples by Western blotting assay. Fibulin-5 cDNA was amplified by PCR and cloned into pMD-19T simple vector. The pMD-19T-Fibulin-5 vector was digested by restriction endonucleases XhoI and EcoRI to generate a XhoI-Fibulin5-EcoRI fragment that was then ligated into the identical sites in p-EGFP-Nl plasmid to synthesize p-EGFP-Fibulin-5 plasmid. The p-EGFP-Fibulin-5 plasmid was finally transfected into bladder cancer cell line 5637. The migration and invasion of untransfected, vector-transfected and fibulin-5-transfected bladder cancer cells were measured by Boyden chamber assay. Results Compared to 1. 16 ±0. 28 in the normal control, the expression of fibulin-5 protein in low grade and high grade tumors were 0. 57±0. 32 and 0. 44±0. 42(P<0. 01, respectively). However, the difference between low grade and high grade tumors was not statistically significant (P>0. 05). The successfully transfected bladder cancer cells demonstrated green fluorescent light. The migrated cell number of fibulin-5-transfected cells was 127. 6 ± 3. 1 compared with 139. 3±7. 7 for vector-transfected cells and 136. 9±5. 7 for untransfected cells (P>0. 05, respectively). In contrast, the invaded cell number of fibulin-5-transfected cells was 8. 0±3. 1 compared with 31. 5±4. 8 for vector-transfected cells and 31. 7±4. 7 for untransfected cells (P<0. 01, respectively). Conclusion Fibulin-5 is down-regulated in urothelial carcinoma of bladder and acts as a tumor suppressor gene by inhibiting the invasion of bladder cancer cells.

This study aimed to determine whether aldosterone could induce vascular cell apoptosis in vivo. Thirty-two male rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: vehicle (control), aldosterone, aldosterone plus eplerenone or hydralazine. They were then implanted with an osmotic mini-pump that infused either aldosterone or the vehicle. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured weekly by the tail-cuff method. After 8 weeks, plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) and renin activity (PRA) were determined by radioimmunoassay. Aortic apoptosis was examined by TUNEL assay. The levels of cytochrome c and caspase-3 were determined by Western blotting and the expression of Bax and Bcl-2 was detected by immnuohistochemistry and Western blotting. The results showed that as compared with control group, aldosterone-infused rats exhibited: (1) an increase in SBP; (2) significantly elevated PAC with depressed PRA; (3) elevated aortic vascular cell apoptosis accompanied with higher levels of cytochrome c and activated caspase-3; and (4) significantly up-regulated Bax protein with down-regulated Bcl-2. These effects of aldosterone were significantly inhibited after co-administration with eplerenone but not with hydralazine. It was concluded that aldosterone induced vascular cell apoptosis by its direct effect on the aorta via mineralocorticoid receptors and independently of blood pressure, which may contribute to aldosterone-mediated vascular injury.