Immobilization conditions of Candida tropicalis to be absorbed in polyurethane foam carrier materials were studied on the xylitol production from corn hemicellulosic hydrolysate. Optimum batch-fermentation conditions were as follows: inoculum amount, 7% (volume ratio); polyurethane foam quantity, 1.0 g/100 mL; 30?C; initial pH, 6.0. Shaking speed was divided into two-phase to accommodate the dissolved oxygen, with 200 r/min at 0~24 h and 150 r/min at 24 h~46 h. The immobilized cells on polyurethane foam carrier have high density and good resistance to inhibitors in the hydrolysates. Average xylitol yield and volumetric productivity of polyurethane foam immobilized fermentation were much higher than the fermentation without immobilization. Corn cob hydrolysates can be directly biotransformed to xylitol without decoloration or ion-exchange treatment. This process can effectively reduce production costs, and it shows broad prospects of applications. Average xylitol yield was 67.6% and xylitol volumetric productivity was 1.92 g/(L?h).

Objective To investigate the protective effects of hyperbaric oxygen(HBO)against brain dam- age from hypoxic ischemia(HIBD)in neonatal rats.Methods One hundred and seventeen 7-day-old Sprague- Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups:a control group(n=32),a hypoxic ischemia brain damage group (HIBD group,n=30),a hyperbaric air group(HBA group,n=27),and a hyperbaric oxygen group(HBO group, n=28).The HIBD model was established by permanent occlusion of the left common carotid artery followed by expo- sure to a mixture of 8% oxygen/92% nitrogen for 2 h(at 37℃).HBO therapy was administered to the HBO group after the hypoxia exposure once a day for 7 d,as was HBA therapy to the HBA group.Apoptotic cells in the cortex and hippocampus(A_(CH)cells)were measured using TUNEL at 9 d after birth,and the ratios of left and right cerebral hemisphere weight(R_(L/R))and rate of weight gain(GRW)were recorded 14 d after birth.A radial arm maze acquisi- tion test(RAMAT)was administered at 30 to 35 days.Lastly,the neuron density in the CA_1 subfield of the rats' hip- pocampi(ND_(CAI)was measured with Nissl staining.Results R_(L/R)and GRW in the HIBD group were significantly lower than in the control group(P＜0.01),while R_(L/R)was increased in the HBO and HBA groups,especially in the HBO group(P＜0.01),although there was no significant difference in GRW between the groups.Compared with the control group,A_(CH)cells were increased and ND_(CAI)was decreased in the HIBD group(P＜0.01),while A_(CH)cells were decreased and ND_(CAI)was elevated in the HBO group in comparison with the HIBD group(P＜0.01).There was no change in A_(CH)cells or ND_(CAI)in the HBA group.The RAMAT results for the HIBD group,including the time to find the arms baited with water,average times of working errors and reference memory errors,were significantly high- er than those of the control group,while these values for the HBO group were obviously lower than for the HIBD group,and there was no change for the HBA group(P＞0.05).Conclusion HBO therapy might increase the re- covery of learning and memory function by attenuating HIBD in neonatal rats.

Objective To explore the factors relating to serum lutein level in elderly patients with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Methods 102 early AMD patients diagnosed by international diagnostic criteria were selected.The level of serum lutein was measured by HPLC,and dietary intake was estimated by food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ).The factors relating to serum lutein level were analyzed by Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis models.Results Serum lutein level was higher in female AMD patients than in male AMD patients [(0.33±0.31) μmol/L vs.(0.21 ±0.19) μmol/L,t=2.21,P＜0.05].Serum lutein level was positively correlated with dietary lutein (r=0.49,P＜ 0.001),but not correlated with age,BMI,and other nutrient intake after adjustment for caloric intake.Dietary lutein was mainly from corn,spinach,leeks,eggs,chrysanthemum,pumpkin,broccoli,lettuce,asparagus and peas.Intakes of spinach,pumpkin,asparagus were significantly associated with serum lutein level.Conclusions Elderly patients with AMD should increase the intakes of lutein-rich vegetables to increase the serum lutein level.

Objective:To explore the effect of lipoic acid (LA) on chronic oxidative stress,cytokines and inflammatory gene expression with mice fed with high fat diet (HFD) and whether LA supplementation could prevent development of chronic inflammation.Methods:C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to three groups.The control group were administrated with an ordinary diet.The two experimental groups were fed with a high fat diet or high fat plus 0.1% LA.Antioxidants defense index such as SOD,CAT,GSH-Px and MDA were examined after 10 week.Cytokines such as IFN-?,IL-4,IL-6,TNF-? and IL-10 were examined after 10 week,respectively.Gene expression related to oxidative stress and inflammation were confirmed by QRT-PCR.Results:HFD led to potently weaken antioxidant defenses in mice.HFD significantly increased levels of IFN-?,IL-6 and TNF-?,and decreased levels of IL-4 and IL-10 in mice plasma.QRT-PCR results showed an up-regulation of inflammation related genes and a down-regulation antioxidant-related genes.Conclusion:LA is a possibly effective supplementation with HFD,both to prevent from the development of long-term oxidative stress and to attenuate chronic inflammation.

How to identify active constituents of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and study their interactions are key problems in the development of TCMs. The inhibitory effect of six alkaloids from Rhizoma Coptidis (RC) on Shigella dysenteriae (S. dysenteria) growth had been investigated by microcalorimetry in this study. Main active constituents of RC were confirmed by comparing their contributions to the bacteriostatic effect, and the interactions among active constituents were further researched. According to the result, in 0.8 mg-mL-1 extract of RC, the contributions of six active alkaloids including berberine, coptisine, epiberberine, palmatine and the combination of jatrorrhizine and columbamine were 52.83%, 36.31%, 2.49%, 4.27% and 3.21%, respectively. Therefore, berberine and coptisine were the main active constituents of RC that inhibited the growth of S. dysenteria. The study of interactions among the six alkaloids indicated that, 1 there were some contstituents antagonizing the inhibitory effect of RC, 2 there was a synergy effect between berberine and coptisine, 3 there were additive effects between other four alkaloids and the main active constituents. These results may provide some useful references for the establishment of the quality standard for RC and the development of multi-component TCMs.
Alkaloids ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Berberine ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Berberine Alkaloids ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Coptis ; chemistry ; Drug Interactions ; Drug Synergism ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; Shigella dysenteriae ; drug effects ; growth & development

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of oral Sarpogrelate hydrochloride in the treatment of chronic arterial ischemia of the lower extremities.Methods In this study 892 patients,who suffered from arteriosclerosis (ASO) or thromboangiitis obliterans ( TAO ) or diabetic foot ( DF ),with symptoms of intermittent claudication, sensation of cold, pain, ulcer, and without a history of vasotransplantation or bypass grafting or interventional therapy, were treated by taking Sarpogrelate hydrochloride tablets 100 mg tid for consecutive 8 weeks.The improvement rate of concomitant symptoms and the total effective rate of ASO, TAO, DF were evaluated.Drug adverse reaction were recorded.Results The improvement rate of intermittent claudication,sensation of cold,pain and ulcer were 96.9％,97.1％,89.0％ and 86.9％ respectively.The total effective rate for ASO,TAO,DF was 83.5％.A total of 81 cases (9.1％) reported mild side effects,including 7 patients with mild rash after 2- 5 days' medication,21 patients with mild nausea and 53 patients with stomach discomfort after 1 - 2 days' medication.Symptoms were managed conservatively without discontinuing taking sarpogrelate hydrochloride.Conclusions Sarpogrelate hydrochloride oral is a safe and effective therapy for chronic arterial ischemia diseases of the lower extremities.

Objective To investigate the prevalence of hypertension among adult residents in Mongolian region of Hulunbeier. Methods A total of 1536 adult residents were selected by using cluster sampling method, and 1496 completed the questionnaire survey. Blood pressure was measured for each participant. Results The prevalence of hypertension was 31.1%. Higher prevalence of hypertension was found in male ( 42. 0% vs 24. 5%, P ＜ 0. 05 ) and the elderly. No statistically significant difference of prevalence of hypertension was investigated in different nationalities (P ＞ O. 05 ). Conclusion The prevalence of hypertension among adult residents in Mongolian region of Hulunbeier is relatively higher.

This thesis aimed at the Bacillus natto TK-1 screened out from Natto.The lipopeptide was purified using Thin-Layer Chromatography(TLC),and investigated its anti-tumor activity.After acid precipitation and methanol extraction,the lipopeptide was separated on TLC.Then the authors get the monomer surfactin which molecular weight is 1036Da through the High performance liquid chromatography(HPLC),electro spray ionization-mass spectrometry(ESI-MS) and infrared(IR).MTT method was implied to testify the anti-tumor activity of the purified sample from TLC.The results indicated a concentration and time-dependent relationships.After 48h,their IC50 were 40 mg/L.The detection with inverted microscope fluorescence microscope displays that the surfactin will cause a series of Morphological changes to the cells.In TUNEL experiment,the authors noticed that surfactin has the ability to induce apoptosis,besides this inhibition shows an obvious time-dependent relationship.

The study was to develop cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(DDP)-loaded formulations using a novel type of self-assembled compound composed of block copolymers synthesized by poly(?-glutamic acid)(?-PGA).For the potential of targeting liver cancer cells,D-galactose was conjugated on the prepared ?-PGA.In vitro,DDP can be released from the resulting conjugate in PBS:there was a burst release during the first 8 h,then followed by sustained release.DDP could be easily incorporated into poly(?-glutamic acid)-D-galactose esterifiable derivative through a covalent bond.The yield of DDP incorporation into the esterifiable derivative was 9.4%～10.2%.In vitro experiments conclusively established that the poly(?-glutamic acid)-D-galactose esterifiable derivative-Cisplatin Complex Compound(?-D+-DDP)was much less toxic to normal cell lines than DDP only.The surviving rate of cells treated with ?-D+-DDP compound is higher than those treated with free DDP.Also it has obvious antitumor efficiency on human liver tumor BEL-7402 cells.HE staining indicated that the ?-D+-DDP compound make the BEL-7402 apoptosis.These results indicated that the conjugation of DDP to the esterifiable derivative reduced its cytotoxicity activity,but retains its antitumor activity in vitro.In conclusion,the ?-D+-DDP compound could be used as a potential clinic antitumor drug.The ?-PGA obtained by fermentation can be used as a valuable drug carrier system.