Deconstruction of lignocellulosic plant cell walls to fermentable sugars by biochemical means is impeded by several poorly understood ultrastructural and chemical barriers. Pretreatment is an essential step by altering the morphological and compositional characteristics of biomass to enhance the sugar release during enzymatic hydrolysis. Therefore, getting insight into this field is necessary to improve the conversion of biomass into biofuels. In this review, we highlight our recent understanding on the impact of various promising pretreatments on biomass, with emphasis on the topochemical and ultrastructural changes of plant cell walls that are related to the reduction of recalcitrance and the consequence of saccharification. It will lend support to the scientific research and development with respect to biomass conversion.
Biofuels ; Biomass ; Carbohydrates ; chemistry ; Cell Wall ; ultrastructure ; Fermentation ; Hydrolysis ; Lignin ; chemistry ; Plant Cells ; ultrastructure

0.05).Conclusion The distribution of G990R CASR genotype in PHPT patients is different from healthy women,and R allele is higher in PHPT group.Among PHPT patients,A986S and G990R polymorphisms are associated with serum calcium and ICa levels.Patients with S or G allele have lower levels of serum calcium and ICa.A986S genotype is also associated with serum PTH level and patients with S allele have relatively lower level of PTH.

Objective To investigate the prevalence rate of insomnia and its influence factor in adults from Bozhou region,and determine the correlation of sleep hygiene with insomnia in adult population.Methods Eight hundred and three subjects were recruited in the study by multi-stage stratified random sampling from people aged 18 years or more than 18 years.Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS)and sleep hygiene practices scale were used to evaluate the insomnia and its related factors.Results One hundred and ninety-two adults(23.9％)were identified as insomnia with dissatisfaction of sleep quality,shortage of sleep time(＜56.5 h/night)and earlier wake-up than expectation as its main manifestations; and the prevalence rate ofinsomnia in females(98/354,27.7 ％)was significantly higher as compared with that in males(94/449,20.9％,P＜0.05); prepared military personnel enjoyed the highest insomnia rate(37/99,37.3％),followed by freelance/temporaries(55/181,30.4％)with significant difference between these 2 groups(P＜0.05).The correlation analysis between the total scores of AIS and problems of sleep hygiene indicated that such factors as prescription of sleep medication,hunger at bed,drinking in purpose of helping sleeping,and worry about insomnia beofore sleep or at daytime were positively related to the total scores ofAIS(P＜0.05); nap or snooze was negatively related to the total scores of AIS(P＜0.05).Conclusion There is a high proportion of insomnia in prepared military personnel and freelance/temporaries from Bozhou region; poor sleep hygiene habits as prescription of sleep medication,hunger at bed,drinking in purpose of helping sleeping,and worry about insomnia beofore sleep or at daytime can induce insomnia.

OBJECTIVETo explore the feasibility for therapy of spinal cord injury (SCI) by genetic engineering neural stem cell (NSC) modified by lentiviral vector.

METHODSFollowing the construction of the genetic engineering NSC modified by lentivirus to secrete both neurotrophic factor-3 (NT-3) and green fluorescence protein (GFP), hemisection of spinal cord at the level of T10 was performed in 56 adult Wistar rats that were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 14), namely 3 therapeutic groups and 1 control group. The therapeutic groups were dealed with NSC, genetic engineering NSC, and concentrated lentiviral supernatant which carries both GFP and NT-3, respectively. Then used fluorescence microscope to detect the transgenic expression in vitro and in vivo, migration of the grafted cells in vivo, and used the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) open-field locomotor test to assess the recovery of function.

RESULTSThe transplanted cells could survive for long time in vivo and migrate for long distance. The stable transgenic expression could be detected in vivo. The hindlimb function of the injured rats in 3 therapeutic groups, especially those dealed with genetic engineering NSC, improved obviously.

CONCLUSIONIt is feasible to combine NSC with lentivirus for the repair of SCI. NSC modified by lentivirus to deliver NT-3, acting as a source of neurotrophic factors and function cell in vivo, has the potential to participate in spinal cord repair.

Animals ; Cell Line ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; transplantation ; Female ; Genetic Engineering ; methods ; Genetic Vectors ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; Lentivirus ; genetics ; Neurons ; transplantation ; Neurotrophin 3 ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 SPECT in diagnosis and assessing severity of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD).

METHODSThirty-eight patients with primary, tentative diagnosis of PD and eighteen age-matched normal controls were studied with 99mTc-TRODAT-1 SPECT imaging. The regions of interests (ROIs) were drawn manually on cerebellum (CB), occipital cortex (OC) and three transverse plane slice-views of striatums, the semiquantitative BG (background)/[(OC+CB)/2] were then calculated.

RESULTSA lower uptake of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 in striatums were displayed in thirty-six out of thirty-eight PD patients by visual inspection, compared to controls. In twenty-four PD cases with (Hoehn and Yahr scale) HYS stage I, a greater loss of DAT uptake was found in striatum and its subregions contralateral striatum to the affected limbs than in the same regions of the controls, although the striatal uptake was bilaterally reduced. Using Spearman correlation analysis showed that the reduction of the uptake ratios significantly correlated with the UPDRS in striatum and all its subregions in the PD group (P<0.05), a similar change was also found in the putamen by using the rating scale of Hoehn and Yahr (P<0.05). However, analysis of variance (ANOVA) did not show any relationship between the decreasing uptake of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 and increasing severity of PD patients, although the specific uptake of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 was continuously decreased in the striatum by visual inspection with the progress of PD from HYS stage I to III.

CONCLUSION99mTc-TRODAT-1 SPECT imaging may serve as a useful method for improving the correct diagnosis of PD. In assessing the role of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 SPECT in disease severity of PD, UPDRS can offer a comprehensive index, although the Hoehn and Yahr assessment may be available in part.

Adult ; Aged ; Corpus Striatum ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; metabolism ; Membrane Transport Proteins ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Nerve Tissue Proteins ; metabolism ; Organotechnetium Compounds ; pharmacokinetics ; Parkinson Disease ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Radiopharmaceuticals ; pharmacokinetics ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Severity of Illness Index ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon ; methods ; Tropanes ; pharmacokinetics

OBJECTIVETo understand whole body bone mineral and body composition changes in normal subjects, and study the relationship between body composition and bone mineral.

METHODS292 normal subjects aged 10-79 years old, including 140 males and 152 females, were selected to be measured bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD) lean and fat of whole body by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Individuals were divided into age-groups by every ten years and were analyzed by statistical methods.

RESULTSIn males, peak values of BMC, BMD, lean and fat were in the 30-39, 20-39, 30-39, 70-79 age-groups. In females, they were in the 30-39, 30-39, 30-49, 50-69 age-groups respectively. Peak values of BMC, BMD and lean were higher in males than that in females, but peak value of BMD was not significantly higher in males than that in females. Peak value of fat was higher in females than that in males. Loss of BMC and BMD for females were more pronounced than that for males. Loss of lean for males was more pronounced than that for females. There are significant positive correlation between lean, weight and bone mineral in males and females. Fat has significant effect on BMC in females only.

CONCLUSIONSThe normal bone mineral and body composition data of whole body for males and females, and the characteristic of changes with aging are provided for analyzing the relationship between bone mineral and body composition with ease.

Absorptiometry, Photon ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Body Composition ; Bone Density ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sex Factors

BACKGROUND: Animal models are critical to study the mechanism, prevention and treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Therefore, constructing an ideal animal model of IDD is the key to further study IDD. OBJECTIVE: To review the selection and construction methods of the IDD model, so as to select and construct an ideal animal model of IDD. METHODS: A retrieval of CNKI, WanFang, VIP, SinoMed and PubMed databases was performed for the articles published before December 2016. The keywords were "intervertebral disc degeneration, animal model" in English and Chinese, respectively. All the articles were selected from the authoritative magazines, and finally 56 eligible articles were included. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There are many kinds of animals used for constructing the IDD model, including small and large animals. The former has a small volume of intervertebral disc that is beneficial for nutrient and metabolite transport,so it can be used for long-term in vitro culture.The latter has a large volume of intervertebral disc,which is appropriate for biomechanical study.The animal models of IDD include in vivo and in vitro models:the in vivo models include the changed biomechanics,destroyed physical structure,spontaneous and systemic disease models;the in vitro models include in vitro cellular and organ models.However,there is still a lack of an ideal animal model that can fully simulate human IDD. Noticeably, similarity, comparability, economy, feasibility, reliability and controllability should be considered.

This study aims to investigate the effect of salvianolic acid B (Sal B), the active ingredient of Salvia miltiorrhiza, on H9C2 cardiomyocytes injured by oxygen and glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) through regulating mitochondrial fission and fusion. The process of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury was simulated by establishing OGD/R model. The cell proliferation and cytotoxicity detection kit (cell counting kit-8, CCK-8) was used to detect cell viability; the kit method was used to detect intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), total glutathione (t-GSH), nitric oxide (NO) content, protein expression levels of mitochondrial fission and fusion, apoptosis-related detection by Western blot. Mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) detection kit and Hoechst 33342 fluorescence was used to observe the opening level of MPTP, and molecular docking technology was used to determine the molecular target of Sal B. The results showed that relative to control group, OGD/R injury reduced cell viability, increased the content of ROS, decreased the content of t-GSH and NO. Furthermore, OGD/R injury increased the protein expression levels of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), mitofusions 2 (Mfn2), Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax) and cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 3 (caspase 3), and decreased the protein expression levels of Mfn1, increased MPTP opening level. Compared with the OGD/R group, it was observed that Sal B had a protective effect at concentrations ranging from 6.25 to 100 μmol·L^-1. Sal B decreased the content of ROS, increased the content of t-GSH and NO, and Western blot showed that Sal B decreased the protein expression levels of Drp1, Mfn2, Bax and caspase 3, increased the protein expression level of Mfn1, and decreased the opening level of MPTP. In summary, Sal B may inhibit the opening of MPTP, reduce cell apoptosis and reduce OGD/R damage in H9C2 cells by regulating the balance of oxidation and anti-oxidation, mitochondrial fission and fusion, thereby providing a scientific basis for the use of Sal B in the treatment of myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury.

BACKGROUNDOsteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare bone disease and its effective treatment is relatively deficient. We tried to assess the effects of new bisphosphonate, ibandronate on children with OI.

METHODSIn this open-label, prospective, controlled study, 30 children with OI were enrolled. They received either infusions of ibandronate (2 mg) in every three months or oral calcitriol 0.25 µg daily for 24 months. All patients took 500 mg calcium plus 200 U vitamin D daily together. The endpoints were the change of annual new fracture rate (observed by case history and X ray films of spine), bone mineral density (BMD, measured by dual energy X-ray absortiometry), serum concentration of carboxy-telopeptide cross-links of type I collagen (CTX, bone resorption marker) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP, bone formation marker) during the follow-up.

RESULTSAfter the cyclic infusions of ibandronate, the annual new fracture rate was significantly decreased from 1.9 to 0.13 time, obviously lower than that of calcitriol group, which decreased from 1.8 to 1.0 time after the treatment (P < 0.001). The significant increase of BMD at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, trochanter, total hip was found in the group of ibandronate by 59.0%, 42.0%, 47.5% and 36.6% in time dependent manner (compared with the baseline, P < 0.001). The increase of BMD in ibandronate group was greater than that of calcitriol group (P < 0.001). The concentrations of ALP and CTX were obviously decreased in ibandronate group, and the reduction of CTX was more significant than that of ALP (P < 0.001). The tolerance of the children to ibandronate was quite well. Mild fever and muscle pain were found in 9 cases within 1 - 3 days after the first infusion of ibandronate, which could relieve after 1 - 2 days without special management.

CONCLUSIONSThe benefits of cyclic infusions of ibandronate to children with OI are significant because ibandronate could significantly reduce annual bone fracture rate, increase lumbar and hip BMD, preserve vertebral morphometry of patients through inhibition of bone resorption.

Bone Density Conservation Agents ; administration & dosage ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Diphosphonates ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Male ; Osteogenesis Imperfecta ; drug therapy ; Prospective Studies

To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of 14 oral Chinese patent medicines combined with Azithromycin in the treatment of mycoplasma pneumonia in children with network Meta-analysis. Computer retrieval was performed for such databases as CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, CBM, PubMed, EMbase and Cochrane Library to screen out randomized controlled trials of oral Chinese patent medicines combined with Azithromycin in the treatment of mycoplasma pneumonia in children from the time of database establishment to September 2020. The included studies were evaluated by the Cochrane Risk Assessment tool. Stata 14.0 and Review Manager 5.3 software were used for data statistical analysis. A total of 60 RCTs were included in this study, involving 14 oral Chinese patent medicines. The efficacy ranking based on network Meta-analysis was as follows:(1)in terms of total effective rate, top five Chinese patent medicines in surface under the cumulative ranking curve(SUCRA) were Xiao'er Xiaoji Zhike Oral Liquid, Xiao'er Chiqiao Qingre Granules, Xiao'er Feike Granules, Pudilan Xiaoyan Oral Liquid and Lanqin Oral Liquid;(2)in terms of antifebrile time, top five Chinese patent medicines in SUCRA were Huaiqihuang Granules, Xiao'er Magan Granules, Xiao'er Kechuanling Granules/Oral Liquid, Shuanghuang-lian Oral Liquid for children and Xiao'er Xiaoji Zhike Oral Liquid;(3)in terms of cough disappearance time, top five Chinese patent medicines in SUCRA were Xiao'er Magan Granules, Huaiqihuang Granules, Xiao'er Chiqiao Qingre Granules, Xiao'er Feire Kechuan Oral Liquid and Xiao'er Kechuanling Granules/Oral Liquid;(4)in terms of rale disappearance time, top five Chinese patent medicines in SUCRA were Xiao'er Magan Granules, Huaiqihuang Granules, Xiao'er Feire Kechuan Oral Liquid, Shuanghuanglian Oral Liquid for children and Yupingfeng Granules. The results showed that on the basis of the use of Azithromycin, combined administration with oral Chinese patent medicines could improve the overall clinical efficacy in the treatment of mycoplasma pneumonia in children. However, due to the large differences in the quality and the number of included studies among various therapeutic measures, the ranking results of SUCRA of Chinese patent medicines need to be verified by high-quality multi-center, large-sample, randomized double-blind trials in the future.
Azithromycin ; Child ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Humans ; Network Meta-Analysis ; Nonprescription Drugs ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma/drug therapy* ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic