The structure of H2TiO3-a short discussion on "Lithium recovery from salt lake brine by H2TiO3".

A short discussion on the structure of H2TiO3 presented in the article entitled Lithium recovery from salt lake brine by H2TiO3 (R. Chitrakar, Y. Makita, K. Ooi and A. Sonoda, Dalton Trans., 2014, 43, 8933) is presented. In our opinion, it is not correct to identify the phase of H2TiO3 as monoclinic. The XRD pattern of H2TiO3 differs substantially from that of Li2TiO3. XRD pattern simulation shows that the peak (1[combining macron]33) and the peak (2[combining macron]06) cannot be fully collapsed or substantially decrease in intensity by substitution of Li(+) with H(+) if H2TiO3 shares a similar space group and lattice parameters with Li2TiO3. A direct verification of a similar structure by N. V. Tarakina and co-workers may aid the confirmation of the structure. The layered double hydroxide type with the 3R1 sequence of oxygen layers is more reasonable for H2TiO3 and can be described as a stacking of charge-neutral metal oxyhydroxide slabs [(OH)2OTi2O(OH)2].

Restless legs syndrome in Chinese elderly people of an urban suburb in Shanghai: a community-based survey.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to investigate the prevalence rate of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in elderly Chinese people over 50 years of age in an urban suburb of Shanghai by a community-based study. METHODS: A 3-step survey was adopted including two telephone-based interviews and one face-to-face interview. We used questions based on four diagnostic criteria for RLS to perform the first telephone interview. The second telephone interview was performed by a sleep specialist to rule out the 'mimics' and secondary RLS. The final face-to-face interview was performed in the clinic for confirmation and examination. RESULTS: There were 2609 inhabitants in the Wuli Bridge suburb of Shanghai who responded to the first telephone interview (men 68.55±10.13 years of age and women 65.34±10.52 years of age, mean±SD). Eighteen people were finally diagnosed with RLS. In this sample, the overall prevalence rate of RLS was about 0.69% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.41-1.09). CONCLUSION: Our study provided the first data about the prevalence rate of RLS in an urban suburb of Shanghai from mainland China, which is consistent with the low prevalence rate reported in other Asian countries.

The antidepressant effect of ethanol extract of radix puerariae in mice exposed to cerebral ischemia reperfusion.

In our pilot study, the depressive-like behaviors of mice exposed to cerebral ischemia reperfusion (CIR) were observed and the antidepressant effects of radix puerariae (RP; root of the Pueraria plant) extract in CIR mice were assessed because it was speculated that the neuronal damage caused by CIR played an important role in the development of poststroke depression (a common and severe complication after stroke) and the RP extract was reported to exhibit effect of neuronal protection from cerebral ischemia damage. Our studies above indicated that the RP extract markedly shortened the increased immobility time induced by CIR of male mice in the forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST), indicating a possible antidepressant activity. Thus, the aim of the present study was to confirm the putative antidepressant effect of RP extract (75, 150, and 300 mg/kg, administered orally 24 h after the CIR) on reserpine-induced symptoms. To get further insight into the mode of antidepressant action of RP extract, biochemical examination was conducted concomitantly to examine possible involvement of the brain monoamine systems in the behavioral syndromes observed. In CIR mice, pronounced low levels of norepinephrine (NE) and 4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC, a metabolite of dopamine) in the hippocampus or striatum were detected, which were reversed by RP extract, whereas no significant change of serotonin (5-HT) was detected in either CIR or RP extract-treated mice. The data suggested that the disturbance of NE and DA systems in hippocampus and striatum played more important roles in the development of depressive-like behavior of CIR mice than 5-HT system did, and RP extract ameliorated the abnormal symptoms caused by CIR, which may throw new lights on the treatment of poststroke depression.