The isolate GN52 of Riemerrella anatipestifer was passaged on the Martin Medium successively according to the optimum condition. The experiments included Gram staining, biochemical test, drug sensitivity test and animal experiments were carried out on the bacteria of 3rd, 11th, 21st, 31st, 41st, 51st and 61st generations. It indicated that the bacterial morphs, biochemical character, drug resistance of the strain had no obvious change, but the virulence showed a trend of reduction.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of the Chinese herbal formula Wuzi Yanzong Pill (, WYP) on the spermatogenesis and specific secretory functions of Sertoli cells in rat model and to investigate the underlying mechanism.

METHODSFive groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats including the control group, the model group, the low-dose WYP group, the medium-dose WYP group and the high-dose WYP group (5 in each group) were treated daily with vehicle, multiglycosides of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f (GTW) either alone (20 mg/kg) or followed by WYP (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 g/kg daily), respectively for 30 days. Serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), inhibin B (INHB) and testosterone (T) were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Androgen-binding protein (ABP) gene expression and transferrin (TF) protein expression in testis tissue specimens of all rats were determined using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting analysis, respectively. Histopathological alterations in the testis were determined using Johnsen's score.

RESULTSThe toxicity of GTW towards Sertoli cell secretory functions and spermatogenesis was accompanied by increased serum FSH concentrations and decreased INHB and T concentrations. Upregulated ABP mRNA levels, and decreased TF protein expression and Johnsen's scores were detected in the model group compared with the control group P<0.05 or P<0.01). Oral high-dose WYP administrations to GTW-treated rats effectively alleviated all of the GTW-induced changes in specific secretory functions of Sertoli cells (ABP, INHB and TF). Furthermore, serum T level and Johnsen's score of the testis increased greatly compared with the model group (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONWYP has the ability to improve the spermatogenesis, possibly through modulating the secretory proteins expression of Sertoli cells.

Androgen-Binding Protein ; genetics ; metabolism ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Inhibins ; blood ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sertoli Cells ; drug effects ; secretion ; Spermatogenesis ; drug effects ; Tablets ; Testis ; cytology ; metabolism ; Testosterone ; blood ; Transferrin ; metabolism

Background: Local hyperthermia is recommended for the treatment of patients with fixed cutaneous sporotrichosis, though the effectiveness and mechanisms of action remain elusive. While neutrophils represent the main inflammatory cells associated with sporotrichosis lesions, the issue of whether hyperthermia is involved with interactions between neutrophils and Sporothrix globosa remains unclear. Objective: To evaluate the effect of local hyperthermia on sporotrichosis and determine whether local hyperthermia involves effects of neutrophils against Sporothrix. Methods: For the in vivo study, mice were infected with yeast cells of S. globosa followed by treatment with local hyperthermia. In vitro, an isolated S. globosa strain was co-cultured with or without neutrophils and subjected under different temperatures. Immunofluorescence was used to assess the formation of neutrophil extracellular trap (NETs) were formed under these different culture conditions and the number of fungi colony forming units were compared. Results: Hyperthermia was significantly more effective in clearing the lesions in the mouse model, as compared to sham treatment. Neutrophils failed to exert any fungicidal effects against S. globosa in response to hyperthermia. Moreover, NETs were formed after interactionwith S. globosa, and the percentage of NETs formed was not significantly different at 41o C or 37o C. Conclusion While hyperthermia could serve as an effective therapy for fixed cutaneous sporotrichosis, this ability does not involve the formation of NETs.

AIM To establish an HPLC method for determining the contents of three constituents in Polygoni multiflori Radix Praeparata in plasma of atherosclerosis rats.METHODS After the rats were intragastrically administrated with Polygoni multiflori Radix Praeparata CMC-Na solution,the plasma was collected.The HPLC analysis was carried out on a 30 ℃ thermostatic Hypersil C1s column (250 mm ×4.6 mm,5 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of acetonitrile-0.03％ phosphoric acid flowing at 0.9 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and the detection wavelength was set at 280 nm.DAS2.0 software was applied to drawing concentration-time curves and calculating pharmacokinetic parameters.RESULTS Stilbene glucoside,emodin and physcion showed good linear relationships within the ranges of 61.25-6 125 μg/L (r =0.999 8),12.6-3 150 μg/L (r =0.999 3) and 24.1-6 030 μg/L (r =0.999 5),respectively.The method recoveries were 99.5％-105.8％ with the RSDs of 1.3％-3.3％,while the extraction recoveries were 87.2％-96.3％ with the RSDs of 3.2％-5.9％.The pharmacokinetic behaviors of three constituents all accorded with two-compartment model,but their contents in plasma were much lower than those in medicinal material.CONCLUSION The bioavailabilities of stilbene glucoside,emodin and physcion are relatively low in plasma of atherosclerosis rats,which may be related to constituents' intestinal absorption after intragastric administration with Polygoni multiflori Radix Praeparata.

Objective This study was undertaken to examine possible relationship between attempted suicide and underachievement,bullying,low life satisfaction and low self-concept at school.Methods An anonymous self-report survey assessing demographic characteristics and the major risk factors of teenage attempted suicide was completed by students from 16 middle schools in grades seven to twelve in 4 counties of Anhui province (age 10 to 21 years).An anonymous questionnaire was used to rate attempted suicide,bullying involvement and learning performance.Attempted suicide was defined as: experiencing specific suicide actions at least one time during the 12 months preceding the survey.Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale and Children' s Self-concept Scale were used to evaluate satisfaction and self-conscience on and at respectively.In total,10 894 respondents substantially completed the survey.Multiple logistic-regression analyses,controlling for socio-demographic variables,was used to analyze if underachievement,bullying,low school life satisfaction and low children' s self-conscience at school had been risk factors.Results 629 participants (5.8%) reported having made at least one attempted suicide within the last 12 months.Students being underachieved were significantly having more attempted suicide events than those excellent students (X2=11.39,P=0.023).Students being both bully-victims and practiced bully were significantly more than those being only practiced bully (28.7% vs.15.8%,P＜0.001),being victims (28.7% vs.10.6%,P＜0.001) or having neither of them (28.7% vs.4.8%,P＜0.001).Results from multiple logistic regression analyses showed that underachievement,bullying,lower school life satisfaction and low self-conscience were risk factors for attempted suicide.Conclusion Data from this study confirmed that school bullying and children' s self-conscience at school were significantly associated with attempted suicide among rural middle school students in Anhui province.It is of importance to improve the school' s environments to reduce the risk of attempted suicide among this group.

Diabetes is a kind of worldwide chronic disease with high incidence,which threatens people's lives and work.With the development of DNA recombination technology,long-acting basal insulin analogues bring gospel and hope for patients with diabetes.Insulin glargine (IGla),detemir (IDet) and degludec (IDeg),as three basic types of insulin,commonly used in clinical practice that slowly absorbed and distributed by changing the structure,and relatively long acting time,more fit the physiological model of insulin secretion.Therefore,the existing studies of molecular structure,long-acting mechanism,safety evaluation and pharmacodynamic effects of three kinds of insulin preparations are briefly summarized.

This paper aims to summarize the achievements during the implementation process of good agricultural practice (GAP) in Chinese Materia Medica (CMM), and on basis of analyzing the existing problems of GAP, to propose further implementation of GAP in TCM growing. Since the launch of GAP in CMM growing ten years ago, it has acquired great achievements, including: (1) The promulgation of a series of measures for the administration of the GAP approval in the CMM growing; (2) The expanded planting area of CMM; (3) The increased awareness of standardized CMM growing among farmers and enterprises; (4) The establishment of GAP implementation bases for CMM growing; (5) The improvement of theory and methodology for CMM growing; (6) The development of a large group of experts and scholars in GAP approval for CMM production. The problems existing in the production include: (1) A deep understanding of GAP and its certification is still needed; (2) The distribution of the certification base is not reasonable; (3) The geo-economics effect and the backward farming practices are thought to be the bottlenecks in the standardization of CMM growing and the scale production of CMM; (4) Low comparative effectiveness limits the development of the GAP; (5) The base of breeding improved variety is blank; (6) The immature of the cultivation technique lead to the risk of production process; (7) The degradation of soil microbial and the continuous cropping obstacle restrict the sustainable development of the GAP base. To further promote the health and orderly GAP in the CMM growing, the authors propose: (1) To change the mode of production; (2) To establish a sound standard system so as to ensure quality products for fair prices; (3) To fully consider the geo-economic culture and vigorously promote the definite cultivating of traditional Chinese medicinal materials; (4) To strengthen the transformation and generalization of basic researches and achievements, in order to provide technical support for the CMM production; (5) To deepen the understanding of GAP, to vigorously promote ecological planting and precision agriculture, in order to overcome the continuous cropping obstacle. The authors think that despite the fact that we are still facing with a huge array of management and technological problems, the GAP in the CMM growing has already enjoyed widespread support and showed great potential. In the future, with people's deeper understanding of GAP and the great progress of the science and technology, the GAP will constantly be fused with the theory, methodology and technology in the modern agriculture like precision agriculture, eco-agriculture and etc.
Agriculture ; economics ; methods ; standards ; trends ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; economics ; standards ; Humans ; Materia Medica ; chemistry ; economics ; standards ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; growth & development

In recent years, the impact of meteorological factors on health and injury has been paid more and more attention. Severe weather events were considered to be an important risk factor for traffic accident injuries. Evidence from a large number of epidemiological studies suggests that meteorological factors, including high temperatures, rainfall, snowfall, wind and visibility, might be related to the occurrence of traffic accidents. This systematic review attempts to summarize the current research status of meteorological factors on traffic accident injury, systematically review the relationship between meteorological factors and traffic accident injury, and discuss how to further carry out related research.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of three different ways of chronic caffeine administration on blast- induced memory dysfunction and to explore the underlying mechanisms.

METHODSAdult male C57BL/6 mice were used and randomly divided into five groups: control: without blast exposure, con-water: administrated with water continuously before and after blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI), con-caffeine: administrated with caffeine continuously for 1 month before and after bTBI, pre-caffeine: chronically administrated with caffeine for 1 month before bTBI and withdrawal after bTBI, post-caffeine: chronically administrated with caffeine after bTBI. After being subjected to moderate intensity of blast injury, mice were recorded for learning and memory performance using Morris water maze (MWM) paradigms at 1, 4, and 8 weeks post-blast injury. Neurological deficit scoring, glutamate concentration, proinflammatory cytokines production, and neuropathological changes at 24 h, 1, 4, and 8 weeks post-bTBI were examined to evaluate the brain injury in early and prolonged stages. Adenosine A1 receptor expression was detected using qPCR.

RESULTSAll of the three ways of chronic caffeine exposure ameliorated blast-induced memory deficit, which is correlated with the neuroprotective effects against excitotoxicity, inflammation, astrogliosis and neuronal loss at different stages of injury. Continuous caffeine treatment played positive roles in both early and prolonged stages of bTBI; pre-bTBI and post-bTBI treatment of caffeine tended to exert neuroprotective effects at early and prolonged stages of bTBI respectively. Up-regulation of adenosine A1 receptor expression might contribute to the favorable effects of chronic caffeine consumption.

CONCLUSIONSince caffeinated beverages are widely consumed in both civilian and military personnel and are convenient to get, the results may provide a promising prophylactic strategy for blast-induced neurotrauma and the consequent cognitive impairment.

Animals ; Blast Injuries ; complications ; Brain Injuries, Traumatic ; complications ; Caffeine ; pharmacology ; Cerebral Cortex ; pathology ; Hippocampus ; pathology ; Male ; Memory Disorders ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Receptor, Adenosine A1 ; genetics

OBJECTIVESTo explore the significance of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) in the development of human primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODSPTEN protein expression in cancerous liver tissues and paired para-carcinoma liver tissues from 60 HCC patients was detected by immunohistochemistry and PTEN mRNA expression was analyzed by northern blot. The significance of PTEN in the development of HCC was analyzed by investigating the relationship between the expression levels of PTEN protein and mRNA, and the clinicopathological parameters of HCC patients.

RESULTSPTEN protein was immunohistochemically stained in the cytoplasmic region of para-carcinoma liver tissues in all the 60 patients, while only 48.3% (29/60) of the patients were positive for PTEN protein in cancerous liver tissues. The positive rate of PTEN protein in HCC tissues were relative to the histological gading and the presence of tumor thrombus. In grade I - II, III, and IV, the positive rates were 84.0%, 23.8%, and 21.4% respectively, and in the group with tumor thrombus was 26.7%, while in the group without tumor thrombus was 55.6%. Northern blot showed that there existed four PTEN mRNA transcripts with the length of 5.5kb, 4.4kb, 2.4kb, and 1.8kb respectively. The level of PTEN mRNA expression in HCC tissues was much lower than that in the paired para-carcinoma liver tissues. The low expression level of the 5.5kb and 4.4kb transcripts was significantly associated with serum AFP value, presence of tumor thrombus, state of satellite lesion and histological grading. The low expression level of the 2.4kb transcript in HCC was significantly associated with the presence of tumor thrombus and satellite lesions in HCC patients. However, no evident relationship between the lowered expression level of the 1.8kb transcript and the clinicopathological parameters of HCC was observed in these 60 patients.

CONCLUSIONSDown-regulation of PTEN expression may play an important role in the development of HCC and the expression level of PTEN may be a potential adjuvant parameter in forecasting the progress and prognosis of HCC.

Adult ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; PTEN Phosphohydrolase ; Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; RNA, Neoplasm ; biosynthesis ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics