OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of puerarin on cell proliferation, differentiation, maturation and mineralization in cultured rat osteoblasts.

METHODOsteoblasts from craniums of newly born SD rats were cultured in vitro. MTT, PNPP and ARS were used to observe the proliferation, activity of ALP and the number of mineral node of cultured osteoblasts in vitro.

RESULTIt was found that puerarin had the effect on stimulating cell proliferation, activity of ALP and the number of mineral node of cultured osteoblasts (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPuerarin can promote proliferation, differentiation, maturation and mineralization of the osteoblasts in vitro.

Alkaline Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Calcification, Physiologic ; drug effects ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Isoflavones ; pharmacology ; Osteoblasts ; cytology ; enzymology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Skull ; cytology

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Herba Epimedii flavone (HEF) on the osteoblast metabolism in vitro.

METHODOsteoblast were obtained from new born rat calvaria by digestive enzymes. MTF, PNPP and RT-PCR were used to observe the proliferation, activity of ALP and mRNA expression of OPG and RANKL of cultured osteoblasts in vitro.

RESULTIt was found that HEF had the effect on stimulating cell proliferation, activity of ALP and the mRNA expression of OPG of cultured osteoblasts (P < 0.01, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONHEF can promote the proliferation, the differentiation and the expression of OPG mRNA of the osteoblasts cultured in vitro.

Alkaline Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Carrier Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Epimedium ; chemistry ; Flavones ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Glycoproteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Osteoblasts ; cytology ; metabolism ; Osteoprotegerin ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; RANK Ligand ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor ; biosynthesis ; genetics

To develop a method for the rapid monitoring of five components during the alcohol precipitation process of Shenzhiling oral solution using near infrared spectroscopy(NIRS).The contents of five components detemined by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) were used as the reference values, and the NIRS based partial least square regression(PLSR) models were used to monitor the concentrations of paeoniflorin, albiflorin, liquiritin, cinnamic acid and glycyrrhizic acid during the alcohol precipitation process of Shenzhiling oral solution, which were optimized and verified through comparing of different spectral pre-processing and variables selection methods. Determination coefficients(Rcal2 and Rpred2), root mean squares error of prediction (RMSEP), root mean squares error of calibration(RMSEC) and ratiao of performance to deviation(RPD) were applied to evaluate the performance of the models, and the corresponding values were 0.993 3 and 0.997 6, 0.084 9 g•L⁻¹, 0.073 3 g•L⁻¹ and 14.7 for paeoniforin; 0.991 4, 0.992 7, 0.028 1 g•L⁻¹, 0.030 5 g•L⁻¹ and 10.2 for albiforin; 0.955 3, 0.976 1, 0.012 0 g•L⁻¹, 0.012 3 g•L⁻¹ and 5.1 for liquiritin; 0.958 8, 0.990 3, 0.003 89 g•L⁻¹, 0.002 89 g•L⁻¹ and 7.1 for cinnamic acid; 0.982 0, 0.986 3, 0.053 8 g•L⁻¹, 0.059 0 g•L⁻¹, 7.2 for glycyrrhizic acid, respectively. The results indicated that the presented approach was effectively for the quantitative monitoring of the alcohol precipitation process of Shenzhiling oral solution.

Objective To explore the feasibility and related factors of using semen samples from condoms collected by their female sex workers (FSWs) for HIV-antibody testing. Methods FSWs were recruited by outreach workers. Semen samples from condoms of their sexual partners (paid or regular) were collected by FSWs themselves after intercourse and for HIV testing. Male partners were asked to participate in the study. Questionnaires were administered for both FSWs and their male sexual parmers. Blood samples were also collected for HIV testing. Results In total, 54 FSWs with 43 of their regular sexual partners and 57 casual clients were recruited. HIV prevalence,determined from serum samples, were 33.33% among FSWs, 29.82% and 23.26% among their clients and regular sexual partners. 40.35% and 30.23% of the semen samples from the condoms they used,were tested positive for HIV among clients and regular sexual partners of the FSWs. The sensitivity of semen samples from condoms for HIV-antibodies was 100% among both clients and regular sexual partners of the FSWs, while the rates of specificity were 85.00% and 90.91% respectively. Data from Univariate analysis indicated that among FSWs, factors as the characteristics of self-reported needle sharing and the male sexual partners who had one child, were associated with the disparity between serum and condom semen sample for HIV-antibody testing. Conclusion HIV prevalence in male clients and regular sexual partners of the FSWs might be overestimated according to the HIV-antibody testing results of semen samples from condoms collected by FSWs themselves. Lower specificity indicated that FSWs with positive HIV might have contaminated the semen samples from the condom used by their HIV negative sexual partners.

The modernization and development of traditional Chinese medicine has led to higher standards for the quality of traditional Chinese medicine products. The extraction process is a crucial component of traditional Chinese medicine production, and it directly impacts the final quality of the product. However, the currently relied upon methods for quality assurance of the extraction process, such as simple wet chemical analysis, have several limitations, including time consumption and labor intensity, and do not offer precise control of the extraction process. As a result, there is significant value in incorporating near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the production process of traditional Chinese medicine to improve the quality control of the final products. In this study, we focused on the extraction process of Xiao'er Xiaoji Zhike oral liquid (XXZOL), using near-infrared spectra collected by both a Fourier transform near-infrared spectrometer and a portable near-infrared spectrometer. We used the concentration of synephrine, a quality control index component specified by the pharmacopoeia, to achieve rapid and accurate detection in the extraction process. Moreover, we developed a model transfer method to facilitate the transfer of models between the two types of near-infrared spectrometers (analytical grade and portable), thus resolving the low resolution, poor performance, and insufficient prediction accuracy issues of portable instruments. Our findings enable the rapid screening and quality analysis of XXZOL onsite, which is significant for quality monitoring during the traditional Chinese medicine production process.