Objective To examine the effect of Pu-Erh tea extract(PTE) on genes expression of lipogenesis in white adipose tissue of rats fed high fat diet.Method Thirty male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups(n=10):the control group(basal diet);the high fat group(high fat diet);the PTE group(high fat diet + Pu-Erh tea extract).Body weight and adipose tissue were measured.Expression of genes regulating lipid metabolism was assessed in adipose tissue.Results PTE supplementation prevented diet-induced increases in body weight and adipose tissue.Diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1(DGAT1),stearoyl-CoA desalurase-1(SCD1) and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c(SREBP-1c) mRNA levels were markedly decreased in adipose tissue of rats fed PTE.Conclusion This study shows for the first time that Pu-Erh tea extract prevents diet-induced obesity,and this effect is partly mediated via a direct influence on adipose tissue.

OBJECTIVE:To study the effect of HP-β-CD on solubility of 1,8-oxido-p-menthane in volatile oil of magnoliae flos,and optimize the extraction technology of Xinzhi nasal drops. METHODS:Steam distillation method was adopted to extract the volatile oil in magnoliae flos. Using the content of 1,8-oxido-p-menthane in volatile oil of magnoliae flos as index,HPLC was adopted to determine the effects of HP-β-CD with different concentration on solubility of 1,8-oxido-p-menthane in volatile oil of magnoliae flos. Using the comprehensive scores of imperatorin and extract yield as indexes,orthogonal test was used to optimize the amount of ethanol,volume fraction and extraction time in extraction technology of Xinzhi nasal drops. Verification test was car-ried out. RESULTS:50% HP-β-CD aqueous solution can improve the solubility of 1,8-oxido-p-menthane to 7.6 times. The optimal extraction technology of Xinzhi nasal drops was as follow as 10-fold 80% ethanol,extracting twice,1 h every time. In verification test,the average content of imperatorin was 0.078%(RSD=2.01%,n=3),and extract yield was 10.80%(RSD=1.85%,n=3). CONCLUSIONS:HP-β-CD shows good solubilization effect on the 1,8-oxido-p-menthane in volatile oil of magnoliae flos,and the optimized extration technology for Xinzhi nasal drops is feasible.

OBJECTIVETo study features of brain gray matter injury in cerebral infarction patients and intervention of scalp acupuncture by using voxel-based morphology.

METHODSA total of 16 cerebral infarction patients were recruited in this study, and assigned to the scalp acupuncture group and the control group, 8 in each group. Another 16 healthy volunteers were recruited as a normal group. All patients received scanning of T1 structure. Images were managed using VBM8 Software package. Difference of the gray matter structure was compared among the scalp acupuncture group, the control group, and the healthy volunteers.

RESULTSCompared with healthy volunteers, gray matter injury of cerebral infarction patients mainly occurred in 14 brain regions such as cingulate gyrus, precuneus, cuneus, anterior central gyrus, insular lobe, and so on. They were mainly distributed in affected side. Two weeks after treatment when compared with healthy volunteers, gray matter injury of cerebral infarction patients in the scalp acupuncture group still existed in 8 brain regions such as bilateral lingual gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, left cuneus, right precuneus, and so on. New gray matter injury occurred in lingual gyrus and posterior cingulate gyrus. Two weeks after treatment when compared with healthy volunteers, gray matter injury of cerebral infarction patients in the control group existed in 23 brain regions: bilateral anterior cingulum, caudate nucleus, cuneate lobe, insular lobe, inferior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, precuneus, paracentral lobule, superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, lingual gyrus, right postcentral gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, precentral gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and so on. New gray matter injury still existed in 9 cerebral regions such as lingual gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and so on.

CONCLUSIONSBrain gray matter structure is widely injured after cerebral infarction. Brain gray matter volume gradually decreased as time went by. Combined use of scalp acupuncture might inhibit the progression of gray matter injury more effectively.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Brain ; physiopathology ; Brain Injuries ; therapy ; Cerebral Infarction ; therapy ; Gray Matter ; pathology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Scalp ; Stroke ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of testosterone undecanoate (TU) in the treatment of late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) by meta-analysis.

METHODSWe searched Pubmed (until April 1, 2014), Embase (until March 28, 2014), Cochrane Library (until April 17, 2014), CBM (from January 1, 2001 to February 2, 2014), CNKI (from January 1, 2001 to February 2, 2014), Wanfang Database (from January 1, 2000 to February 2, 2014), and VIP Database (from January 1, 2000 to Febru ary 2, 2014) for randomized controlled trials of TU for the treatment of LOH. We evaluated the quality of the identified literature and performed meta-analysis on the included studies using the Rveman5. 2 software.

RESULTSTotally, 14 studies were included after screening, which involved 1 686 cases. Compared with the placebo and blank control groups, TU treatment significantly increased the levels of serum total testosterone (SMD = 6.22, 95% CI 3.99 to 8.45, P < 0.05) and serum free testosterone (SMD = 4.35, 95% CI 1.86 to 6. 85, P < 0.05) but decreased the contents of luteinizing hormone (WMD = -2.23, 95% CI -4.03 to -0.42, P < 0.05), sex hormone binding globulin (WMD = 2.00, 95% CI 1.38 to 2.63, P < 0.05). TU also remarkably reduced the scores of Partial Androgen Deficiency of the Aging Males (WMD = -9.49, 95% CI -12.96 to -6.03, P < 0.05) and Aging Males Symptoms rating scale (WMD = -2.76, 95% CI -4.85 to -0.66, P <0.05) but increased the hemoglobin level (SMD = 2.35, 95% CI 0.29 to 4.41, P < 0.05) and packed-cell volume (SMD = 4.35, 95% CI 1.36 to 7.33, P < 0.05). However, no significant changes were shown in aspertate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, prostate-specific antigen, or prostate volume after TU treatment (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTU could significantly increase the serum testosterone level and improve the clinical symptoms of LOH patients without inducing serious adverse reactions. However, due to the limited number and relatively low quality of the included studies, the above conclusion could be cautiously applied to clinical practice.

Androgens ; therapeutic use ; Hemoglobin A ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; blood ; drug therapy ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin ; metabolism ; Testosterone ; adverse effects ; analogs & derivatives ; blood ; pharmacology

It is the objective of this study to optimize the extraction process of red ginseng to minimize the unit cost of extracting effective ingredients. The relation between the target variables of total quantity of ginsenosides and first extraction time, first extraction solution amount, second extraction time, second extract solution amount were studied with Box-Behnken experimental design method. At the same we also considered the cost of extraction solution and energy usage. The objective function was set as unit cost of target (total quantity of ginsenosides or its purity) for the multi-objective optimization of extraction process. As a result, the optimal process parameters were found as first extraction time (108.7 min), first extraction solution amount folds (12), second extraction time (30 min), second extraction solution amount folds (8) to minimize the unit cost. It indicated that this approach could potentially be used to optimize industrial extraction process for manufacturing Chinese medicine.
Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; economics ; methods ; Cost Control ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; economics ; isolation & purification ; Panax ; chemistry

It is the objective of this study to develop dynamic predictive model for the extraction process of red Ginseng using NIR spectroscopy. NIR spectroscopy was collected online and PLSR models were developed for total quantity of ginsenosides. The performance of NIR prediction model achieved R, RMSEC, RMSEP of 0.996 09, 0.018 9, 0.016 8, respectively. A first order dynamic mass transfer model was combined with NIR prediction of the quality indicator to predict the trajectory of the extraction process based upon the initial 3 or 4 data points. The results showed good agreement with actual measurements indicating reasonable accuracy of the predictive model. It could potentially be used for advanced predictive control of the extraction process.
Chemical Fractionation ; methods ; Ginsenosides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Models, Theoretical ; Panax ; chemistry ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared

A set of central composite design experiments were designed by using four factors which were ethanol amount, ethanol concentration, refrigeration temperature and refrigeration time. The relation between these factors with the target variables of the retention rate of schizandrol A, the soluble solids content, the removal rate of fructose and the removal rate of glucose were analyzed with Bayesian networks, and ethanol amount and ethanol concentration were found as the critical process parameters. Then a network model was built with 2 inputs and 4 outputs using back propagation artificial neural networks which was optimized by genetic algorithms. The R2 and MSE from the training set were 0.983 8 and 0.001 1. The R2 and MSE from the test set were 0.975 9 and 0.001 8. The results showed that network analysis method could be used for modeling of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus ethanol precipitation process and identify critical operating parameters.
Bayes Theorem ; Chemical Precipitation ; Cold Temperature ; Cyclooctanes ; chemistry ; Ethanol ; chemistry ; Fructose ; analysis ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Glucose ; analysis ; Lignans ; chemistry ; Neural Networks (Computer) ; Polycyclic Compounds ; chemistry ; Reproducibility of Results ; Schisandra ; chemistry ; Time Factors

ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy and safety of intermittent patient-initiated single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis and continuous antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) in postmenopausal women. MethodsA randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infection. Single dose of antibiotic was given every night in continuous antibiotic prophylaxis group and every time after exposure to conditions predisposed to UTI in intermittent antibiotic prophylaxis group. The duration of prevention was 12 months in both groups. ResultsThe effective rates of intermittent antibiotic prophylaxis and continuous antibiotic prophylaxis were 71.0% and 81.8% respectively (P＞0.05). The incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reaction in intermittent antibiotic prophylaxis group was significantly lower than that in continuous antibiotic prophylaxis group (7.7% vs 28.6%,P＜0.05). ConclusionsCompared with continuous antibiotic prophylaxis, intermittent patient-initiated single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis is a better prophylaxis with less gastrointestinal adverse reactions for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infection in postmenopausal women.

Objective To explore the related diseases,main causes and clinical features of children with basal ganglia calcification(BGC).Methods Thirty cases with BGC detected by CT were studied retorspectively,and its clinical symptoms and image were summarized.Results Many factors and diseases were related to BGC,such as hypothyroidism,intrauterine infection,intrauterine hypoxia,epilepsy,posttraumatic cerebral lacunar infarction.Main clinical manifestations of BGC in children were twich,mental retardation,disorders of limb movements etc.The CT scan showed localized punctuate calcification in basal ganglia.Conclusions The main causes of BGC in children are hypothyroidism,intrauterine infection and intrauterine hypoxia,and the clinical manifestations are diverse.For children with CT-detected BGC should diagnose its causes;and for unknown causes cases should strengthen follow-up.

Objective To explore the expressions of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 2 and 4 in mouse skin during early immune responses against Sporothrix.Methods A total of 60 BALB/c mice were randomly and equally divided into an experimental group and a control group to be intracutaneously injected with Sporothrix conidium suspensions at a concentration of 1 × 106 cfu/ml and sodium chloride physiological solution respectively.Five mice were sacrificed before the injection,and at 6,12,24,48,and 96 hours after the injection in each group,blood samples were obtained from the mice before sacrifice,and skin tissue specimens were resected from the area around the injection sites after sacrifice.Realtime fluorescence-based quantitative PCR was performed to quantify the mRNA expressions of TLR2 and TLR4,and immunohistochemical staining to observe the protein expressions of TLR2 and TLR4 in mouse skin specimens.Enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to determine the levels of interleukin 12 (IL-12) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) in serum samples from the mice.Results After injection of Sporothrix conidium suspensions,the mRNA expression level of TLR2 gradually increased and peaked at 24 hours,which was 18.8 times that in the control group at 6 hours and 34 times at 24 hours.In addition,the mRNA expression level of TLR4 in the experiment group reached a peak,and was 56.7 times that in the control group at 6 hours after injection,then gradually decreased and reached the nadir at 96 hours.As immunohistochemical staining revealed,TLR2 and TLR4 were apparently expressed in both keratinocytes and macrophages in skin specimens from the experimental group,but not obviously in those from the control group.No significant differences were observed between the experimental group and control group in serum levels of IL-12 or TNF-α at any of the sampling time points.Conclusion TLR2 and TLR4 may play a favoring role in immunological defense by participating in the recognition of Sporothrix by keratinocytes and macrophages in mouse skin.