Identification of Oak-Barrel and Stainless Steel Tanks with Oak Chips Aged Wines in Ningxia Based on Three-Dimensional Fluorescence Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics.

With the increased incidence of wine fraud, a fast and reliable method for wine certification has become a necessary prerequisite for the vigorous development of the global wine industry. In this study, a classification strategy based on three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy combined with chemometrics was proposed for oak-barrel and stainless steel tanks with oak chips aged wines. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares analysis (PLS-DA), and Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA) were used to distinguish and evaluate the data matrix of the three-dimensional fluorescence spectra of wines. The results showed that FDA was superior to PCA and PLS-DA in classifying oak-barrel and stainless steel tanks with oak chips aged wines. As a general conclusion, three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy can provide valuable fingerprint information for the identification of oak-barrel and stainless steel tanks with oak chips aged wines, while the study will provide some theoretical references and standards for the quality control and quality assessment of oak-barrel aged wines.

[Inhibitory Effects and Mechanisms of Three Benzodiazepines on Helicobacter pylori].

Objective To explore the inhibitory effects and mechanisms of benzodiazepines on Helicobacter pylori (Hp).Methods The Hp international standard strain ATCC43504 was treated with benzodiazepines diazepam,midazolam,and remimazolam,respectively.The treatments with amoxicillin and clarithromycin were taken as the positive controls,and that with water for injection as the negative control.The inhibition zone of each drug was measured by the disk diffusion method.The minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC)and minimum bactericidal concentration(MBC)of each drug against Hp were determined.Hp suspension was configured and treated with diazepam and midazolam,respectively.The bacterial suspension without drug added was used as the control group.The concentration of K+ in each bacterial suspension was measured by an automatic biochemical analyzer before drug intervention(T0)and 1(T1),2(T2),3(T3),4(T4),5(T5),6(T6),and 7 h(T7)after intervention.Hp urease was extracted and treated with 1/2 MIC diazepam,1 MIC diazepam,2 MIC diazepam,1/2 MIC midazolam,1 MIC midazolam,2 MIC midazolam,1 mg/ml acetohydroxamic acid,and water for injection,respectively.The time required for the rise from pH 6.8 to pH 7.7 in each group was determined by the phenol red coloring method.Results The inhibition zones of diazepam,midazolam,remimazolam,amoxicillin,clarithromycin,and water for injection against Hp were 52.3,42.7,6.0,72.3,60.8,and 6.0 mm,respectively.Diazepam and midazolam showed the MIC of 12.5 µg/ml and 25.0 µg/ml and the MBC of 25 µg/ml and 50 µg/ml,respectively,to Hp.The concentrations of K+ in the diazepam,midazolam,and control groups increased during T1-T7 compared with those at T0(all P<0.01).The concentration of K+ in diazepam and midazolam groups during T1-T4 was higher than that in the control group(all P<0.01).The time of inhibiting urease activity in the 1/2 MIC diazepam,1 MIC diazepam,2 MIC diazepam,1/2 MIC midazolam,1 MIC midazolam,and 2 MIC midazolam groups was(39.86±5.11),(36.52±6.65),(38.58±4.83),(39.25±6.19),(36.36±4.61),and(35.81±6.18)min,respectively,which were shorter than that in the acetohydroxamic acid group(all P<0.01)and had no significance differences from that in the water for injection group(all P>0.05).Conclusion Diazepam and midazolam exerted inhibitory effects on Hp,which may be related to the cleavage of Hp cells rather than inhibiting urease.

[Normal and Near Normal Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Data Analysis: Two-Year Major Adverse Cardiac Event].

BACKGROUND: Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is the method most commonly used to assess patients with suspected coronary artery disease for the presence of myocardial ischemia and risk of subsequent adverse cardiac events. Studies are limited on the incidence of major adverse cardiac event (MACE) in patients with normal MPI results. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors of MACE in patients with normal or near-normal MPI results. METHODS: In this single-center retrospective chart review study, patients who had received MPI tests at a nuclear medicine department of a medical center in 2017 were consecutively enrolled. All of the participants in this study were patients with normal or near-normal MPI results, and were followed for two years to assess the incidence of MACE (death, hospitalized for percutaneous coronary intervention; CABG, heart failure and stroke). Participants with or without MACE were compared to determine whether demographic, comorbidity, and MPI data were significant risk factors. RESULTS: Of the 1,629 participants (age = 70.4 ± 11.3 years, 49.4% male) enrolled, 387 (23.8%) were classified into the normal MPI group and 1,242 (76.2%) were classified into the near-normal MPI group. Notably, 61 participants (15.8%) in the normal MPI group and 206 (16.6%) in the near-normal MPI group experienced MACE events during the two-year follow-up. The risk factors of MACE identified in this study included being older in age, being male, and having poor myocardial perfusion parameters (i.e., ejection fraction) during MPI. CONCLUSIONS / IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Over the two-year study period, 15.8% of the participants with normal MPI results and 16.6% of those with near-normal MPI results experienced major adverse cardiac events. Thus, it is critical to inform patients regarding the potential risk of MACE risk and to educate them on how to mitigate this risk by actively managing their hyperlipidemia level and left ventricular ejection fraction.

ABT-263 enhanced bacterial phagocytosis of macrophages in aged mouse through Beclin-1-dependent autophagy.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a critical challenge for the older adults as the immune function is less responsive by aging. Although cell numbers seem preserved in the older adults, macrophages present age-related function decline, which including reduced chemokines, phagocytosis, and autophagy. ABT-263, an inhibitor of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, is reported had a senolytic effect which can selectively clear the senescent cells in vivo and rejuvenate the aged tissues. METHODS: We treated the aged (12-16 months) and young (4-6 months) C57BL/6 mouse with ABT-263, then gave the animals cecal slurry injection to induce sepsis to observe the effect of senolytic compound ABT-263 on the survival rate of sepsis. Additionally, we isolated peritoneal macrophages from the aged mouse to investigate the cell function and molecular mechanism. 3-methyladenine (3-MA), a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3K) inhibitor, and rapamycin, an autophagy-enhancer, were used to block or mimic the autophagy, respectively. RT-PCR and Western Blot were used to detect autophagy related gene and protein changes in sepsis. EGFP-expressing E. coli was used as a marker to evaluate the phagocytic ability of macrophages. RESULTS: The results showed ABT-263 treatment improved the survival rate of sepsis in the aged mouse which related to autophagy, while blocking the autophagy can eliminate this effect. It is revealed that ABT-263 enhanced the phagocytic ability of the peritoneal macrophages by increasing the Trem-2 receptor. Additionally, ABT-263 blocked the binding of Bcl-2 to Beclin-1, thus induced Beclin-1-dependent autophagy. CONCLUSION: ABT-263 enhanced the macrophage function in aged mouse by increasing the Trem-2 receptors and inducing a beclin-1-dependent autophagy, consequently, protected the aged mouse from sepsis.

Influence of miR-520e-mediated MAPK signalling pathway on HBV replication and regulation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via targeting EphA2.

We determined the role of miR-520e in the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. MiR-520e and EPH receptor A2 (EphA2) in HBV-positive HCC tissues and cells were detected, and we studied the impact of miR-520e and the EphA2 receptor in cellular and murine HBV replication models. We find that MiR-520e was upregulated and EphA2 was downregulated in HBV-positive HCC tissues and cells. MiR-520e was decreased in Huh7-X and HepG2-X cells in which HBx was stably expressed, but was dose-dependently elevated after interfering with HBx. Additionally, miR-520e mimic and si-EphA2 groups were reduced in association with increases in HBV DNA content, HBsAg and HBeAg levels, cell proliferation and were enhanced in the expressions of EphA2, p-p38MAPK/p38MAPK, phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2)/ERK1/2 and cell apoptosis. Furthermore, si-EphA2 reversed the promotion effect of miR-520e inhibitor on HBV replication and tumour cell growth. Upregulating miR-520e in rAAV8-1.3HBV-infected mouse resulted in reduced EphA2 in liver tissues and HBV DNA content in serum. We find that MiR-520e was decreased in HBV-positive HCC, while overexpression of miR-520e blocked p38MAPK and ERK1/2 signalling pathways by an inhibitory effect on EphA2 and ultimately reduced HBV replication and inhibited tumour cell growth. These data indicate a role for miR-520e in the regulation of HBV replication.

Discovery and Characterization of the Highly Active Fungal Immunomodulatory Protein Fip-vvo82.

Volvaria volvacea (Bull. ex Fr.) Sing, an important edible and medicinal macro-fungus, has been used to remedy various diseases for hundreds of years in East Asia. To identify key proteins with the unique therapeutic activity in V. volvacea, we conducted a genomewide comparison of V. volvacea protein families and those of other edible fungi that lack therapeutic functions and identified seven fungal immunomodulatory proteins (FIPs) in V. volvacea. On the basis of the predicted physiological and biochemical characteristics of the seven FIPs, the novel Fip-vvo82 was inferred to have high immunomodulatory activity; this was confirmed by molecular and immunological experiments and further characterized by modeling the three-dimensional structure and protein-protein docking. This is the first study to show that V. volvacea has more than one FIP.

Transcriptome analysis of candidate genes and signaling pathways associated with light-induced brown film formation in Lentinula edodes.

High-throughput Illumina RNA-seq was used for deep sequencing analysis of the transcriptome of poly(A)+ RNA from mycelium grown under three different conditions: 30 days darkness (sample 118), 80 days darkness (313W), and 30 days darkness followed by 50 days in the light (313C), in order to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the process of light-induced brown film (BF) formation in the edible mushroom, Lentinula edodes. Of the three growth conditions, BF formation occurred in 313C samples only. Approximately 159.23 million reads were obtained, trimmed, and de novo assembled into 31,511 contigs with an average length of 1,746 bp and an N 50 of 2,480 bp. Based on sequence orientations determined by a BLASTX search against the NR, Swiss-Prot, COG, and KEGG databases, 24,246 (76.9 %) contigs were assigned putative descriptions. Comparison of 313C/118 and 313C/313W expression profiles revealed 3,958 and 5,651 significantly differentially expressed contigs (DECs), respectively. Annotation using the COG database revealed that candidate genes for light-induced BF formation encoded proteins linked to light reception (e.g., WC-1, WC-2, phytochrome), light signal transduction pathways (e.g., two-component phosphorelay system, mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway), and pigment formation (e.g., polyketide synthase, O-methyltransferase, laccase, P450 monooxygenase, oxidoreductase). Several DECs were validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Our report is the first to identify genes associated with light-induced BF formation in L. edodes and represents a valuable resource for future genomic studies on this commercially important mushroom.

[Effect of cold and cool herbs on liver mitochondria proteome of rats with heat symptom].

In the 1960s, modern science began involving the essence of heat syndrome, but there have still no in-depth systematic studies on pathological mechanisms of heat syndrome and action mechanisms of cold and cool herbs. In this study, the animal model with heat syndrome was set up by feeding herbs with hot property, and then cold and cool herbs was applied in the experimental therapy. The two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry technologies were adopted to compare the liver mitochondria proteome of the rats of the heat syndrome model and the ones treated with cold and cool herbs, so as to discover specificity-related proteins after heat syndrome and treatment with cold and cool herbs.

Overview of dental radiology education for medical radiology students in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: In Taiwan, the formal education for cultivating medical radiation technologists began in 1965. However, there are very few dental radiology curricula in Taiwan's medical radiology schools. We investigated mainly the appearance of dental radiology education for medical radiology students in Taiwan. Materials and methods: We used documentary analysis, a survey of dental radiology education, and secondary data analysis in this study to find the appearance of Taiwan's dental radiology education for medical radiology students. Results: There were currently ten medical radiology schools. Among them, five offered independent curricula in their subject schedules and another five had dental radiology education included in their general medical radiology curricula. Of the 53 dental radiology teaching hospitals, 21 (39.62%) were medical centers and 25 (47.17%) were regional hospitals, and these large hospitals were concentrated in the northern region of Taiwan. These large dental radiology teaching hospitals offered more training hours of dental radiology internship for medical radiology students and had a higher availability for the medical radiology students. Conclusion: In Taiwan, the current status of dental radiology curricula in the medical radiology schools is indeed seriously insufficient. A dental radiology education system should be established in the future, including the innovative dental radiology curricula developed for medical radiology students and more dental radiology curricula designed for dental students. This in turn can create new career options for medical radiology students and new practice directions for medical radiation technologists, and then expand their potential involvement in dental radiology.

Online courses for dentist continuing education: A new trend after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background/purpose: Online courses have been widely used in all levels of education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the effectiveness of a dentist continuing education (DCE) course through the online devices in Taiwan. Materials and methods: The practicing dentists who participated in the online course of dental radiation technology for DCE offered by the Taiwan Dental Association (TWDA) in October 2022 and in March 2023 were enrolled in this study. The composition of participating dentists was confirmed by the public inquiry system and their learning effectiveness was evaluated by a questionnaire-based survey after the online DCE class. Results: All participating dentists (132 in October 2022 and 117 in March 2023) obtained consistent good learning outcomes in this online DCE course. Of these 249 dentists, there were 170 (68.27%) males and 79 (31.73%) females, 127 (51.00%) dental specialists and 122 (49.00%) general dentists, as well as 50 (20.08%) hospital dentists and 199 (79.92%) clinic dentists. The participation rates for this course of practicing dentists in non-municipalities (4.70%), counties (3.88%), eastern region (8.08%), and outlying islands (3.60%) were much higher than those in municipalities (0.79%), cities (1.16%), and the western region including the northern region (0.88%), central region (1.96%), and southern region (1.94%), respectively. Conclusion: The participating dentists express positive feedback on the online DCE courses, and the online DCE courses can reduce the urban-rural gap in dental education resources. The use of online DCE courses in dental education will be a future trend.

Correlation between dental professionally topical fluoride application and children's dental use for dental caries under the National Health Insurance system in Taiwan from 2008 to 2021.

Background/purpose: Dental caries is one of the most common oral diseases in children worldwide, especially in Taiwan. This study investigated dental professionally topical fluoride application (PTFA) and children's dental use for dental caries under the National Health Insurance (NHI) system in Taiwan from 2008 to 2021. Materials and methods: The population data and medical records of the NHI system were obtained from the websites of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, respectively. The dental PTFA services and dental use indicators for dental caries were analyzed from 2008 to 2021. Results: The number of out-patient visits for dental PTFA services increased from 221,675 in 2008 to 1,078,099 in 2021. The total increase of the out-patient visits was 856,424 with a total increase rate of 386.34%. The one-year increase was 65,879 with a one-year increase rate of 29.72%. Among the 3 age groups of children, their dental use indicators almost presented decreasing trends from 2008 to 2021. Moreover, in general, the dental use indicators showed a negative correlation with the number of the overall out-patient visits for dental PTFA services from 2008 to 2021. Conclusion: In Taiwan, there is a negative correlation between the dental use indicators in NHI system and the number of the overall out-patient visits for dental PTFA services from 2008 to 2021. However, the problem of dental caries in children is still serious and there is still a space for improvement in the oral health education for child caregivers and children.

A survey of the dental radiology course designed for dentist continuing education in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: In Taiwan, dental radiology has a long history of development. However, there are very few dental radiology curricula in Taiwan's dental education system. This study explored preliminarily the dental radiology course designed for dentist continuing education in Taiwan. Materials and methods: This study used the method of dental radiology education survey by questionnaire to evaluate participating dentists' learning outcomes by assessing their perceptions of the dental radiology course. Results: In this study, 117 participating dentists filled out the questionnaires completely after the class of dentist continuing education. The results showed that most of participating dentists agreed that dental radiology courses were rare in dental school curriculum and dentist continuing education. Moreover, most of participating dentists found this course to be helpful in raising their basic knowledge and skill about dental radiology, their attitude towards dental radiology, and their interest in further learning of dental radiology. They were satisfied with the course. The degree of agreement for each question was high, and all the mean scores for each question were between 4.53 and 4.77. The numbers (rates) of respondents who answered as agree were between 105 and 113 (between 89.74% and 96.58%). Conclusion: The dental radiology course contributed to an increase in dentists' basic knowledge and skill about dental radiology and their awareness and understanding of the importance of dental radiology. Considering the effectiveness of the dental radiology course on dentists' basic knowledge/skill and attitude of dental radiology, this model shows promise for further use in dentist continuing education.

[Prevalence and distributing feather of controllable cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese pilots].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the status of controllable risk factors of cardiovascular disease in Chinese pilots. METHODS: Pilots in seven regions of China were selected with cluster sampling. The rates of hypertension, diabetes mellitus,smoking and abnormal body mass index (BMI) as well as levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol were obtained. RESULTS: (1) A total of 5012 pilots were selected and 4684 pilots whose data were effective were studied. (2) The prevalence rates of hypertension, high total cholesterol, triglyceride, low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol and diabetes mellitus were 8.07%, 7.47%, 14. 45%, 27.63% and 0.43%, respectively. The rate of smoking was 66.45%. The rat of increased BMI was 49.64%. (3) Significant difference existed on the rates of hypertension, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, smoking and abnormal BMI among pilots from different regions (all P < 0.01). There was also a significant difference between the rates of hypertension, total cholesterol, triglyceride, smoking and abnormal BMI in different age groups (all P < 0.01). The rate of low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol was similar in different age groups (P > 0.05). (4) 88.96% of the participants had at least one controllable risk factor. 54.46% of the participants had at least two controllable risk factors. None of the participants had more than seven risk factors. There was a significant difference between the rates of pilots who have more than two controllable risk factors in different regions (P < 0.01). There was a significant difference between the rates of pilots who have more than two risk factors in different age groups (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: There was high prevalence of controllable cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese pilots. Active intervention targeting these cardiovascular disease risk factors needs to be considered to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in Chinese pilots.

The Reliability of DNA Sequences in Public Databases Belonging to the Most Economically Important Shiitake Culinary-Medicinal Mushroom Lentinus edodes (Agaricomycetes) in Asia.

Large numbers of DNA sequences deposited in the International Nucleotide Sequence Databases (INSD) are erroneously annotated. The erroneous information may lead to misleading conclusions or cause great economic losses to farmers. Lentinus edodes (= Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler) is one of the most important and popular culinary-medicinal mushrooms with a high nutritional value. In this study, experimental and in silico methods were used to correct the sequences annotated as L. edodes in the INSD. A total of 3,426 nucleotide entries were retrieved from public databases, including 140 different types of genetic sequences. Excluding 1,893 genome sequences, the most abundant signatures represented by ITS (258) and IGS1 (259) sequences accounted for 33.23% of the total entries. A total of 3,058 sequences were annotated correctly, 350 were indeterminate, and 18 were annotated erroneously based on the two methods. Correction of sequences will be beneficial for species identification and annotation. Phylogenic analysis based on ITS sequences suggested that L. edodes segregate in four clades in the tree based on ITS sequences. The isolates from China were distributed into two clades. In L. edodes, the intraspecific variation of the ITS2 sequences was much higher than that of the ITS1 sequences. In addition, the genetic diversity of the L. edodes sequences from China was much higher than that of any other regions included in this study. The northwest and southwest regions of China were L. edodes diversity centers.

Comparative testing of HPV L1 protein monoclonal antibody panel for the detection of HPV in cervical exfoliated cells.

AIMS: To determine the value of a monoclonal antibody panel against a C-terminal conserved sequence polypeptide of human papillomavirus (HPV) L1 (a major capsid protein) for the detection of HPV in cervical exfoliated cells, as well as the potential of this antibody panel to be developed into an assay kit for the clinical screening of cervical cancer. METHODS: Cervical exfoliated cells were collected at a gynecology clinic. One part of each sample was sent to the Department of Pathology for HPV genotyping, and the other part was sent to the Department of Pathology for cytologic testing and then to the laboratory for immunological histological chemistry (IHC) assay in which an HPV L1 C-terminal conserved sequence polypeptide-induced mouse monoclonal antibody panel was used to detect HPV L1. RESULTS: Cervical cell samples were collected from 514 patients at the gynecology clinic; of these, 339 samples were sent for HPV genotyping, and 220 were HPV positive (64.90%, 220/339). Moreover, the duplicate samples from these 339 patients were sent for IHC assay, and 229 samples were positive (67.55%, 229/339). The IHC result was concordant with that obtained by HPV genotyping (Kappa = 0.743, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study showed that use of the HPV L1 C-terminal conserved sequence polypeptide-induced mouse monoclonal antibody panel was of great value for the detection of HPV in cervical cells; the resulting detection rate was comparable to that obtained using the commercial HPV genotyping kit that is currently in use in clinical practice.

[Construction and immunogenicity of attenuated Salmonella typhimurium harbouring stable DNA vaccine against H5 subtype of avian influenza virus].

The hemagglutinin protein (HA) gene of avian influenza virus was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the recombinant plasmid pVAX1-HA, and subcloned into eukaryotic expression vector pmcDNA3.1+. The HA gene was identified by sequencing. The recombinant plasmids were transformed into attenuated Salmonella typhimurium SL7207, and the recombinants were designated as SL7207 (pmcDNA3.1-HA). In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that the plasmid stability of pmcDNA3.1-HA is apparently higher than pcDNA3.1-HA in SL7207. In order to compare the immune response induced by those two recombinant bacteria, BALB/c mice were immunized orally with them at the dosage of 2 x 10(9) CFU respectively. Both SL7207 (pcDNA3.1-HA) and SL7207 (pmcDNA3.1-HA) initiated HA-specific mucosal antibodies in immunized mice. Furthermore, commercial ISA brown chickens were immunized with SL7207 (pcDNA3.1-HA) and SL7207 (pmcDNA3.1-HA) at the dosage of 5 x 10(9) CFU and boosted two weeks later with the same dose. Intestinal mucosal immune responses were observed and their levels were significantly higher than that of negative and positive control. The result of protective immunity showed that the chicken immunized with SL7207 (pmcDNA3.1-HA) had the protective rate of 79.3%, higher than that of SL7207 (pcDNA3.1-HA) with 56.7%. In summary, the DNA vaccine delivered by attenuated Salmonella typhimurium has good immunogenicity. A novel mucosal DNA vaccine was developed and could be useful for controlling the infection and epidemic of avian influenza in the poultry.

An alternative lidocaine hydrochloride liposomal gel formulation: preparation, percutaneous permeation, and release kinetics.

Liposomal hydrogel formulations of lidocaine hydrochloride (LDH), suitable for topical application, were prepared, and drug percutaneous permeation and release properties were evaluated in vitro. Liposomes composed of lechitin and cholesterol, with LDH entrapped in the inner water compartment, were prepared by the reverse-phase evaporation technique. An optimal hydrogel formulation with carbopol as base included permeation enhancers polyethylene glycol (PEG-400), Azone, poloxamer, and propylene glycol, and this was screened in vitro. Percutaneous permeation kinetic models of LDH in three formulations, liposome solution, conventional gel, and liposomal gel, were studied. Results showed that the mean diameter of LDH liposomes was 88.31+/-6.82 nm and entrapment efficiency was 66.21+/-4.8%. The percutaneous permeation rate of LDH across skin from gel increased after LDH was entrapped in the water compartment of liposome compared with conventional gel, and the permeation kinetics of LDH across skin was not linear, but followed the Higuchi function.

An alternative paclitaxel self-emulsifying microemulsion formulation: preparation, pharmacokinetic profile, and hypersensitivity evaluation.

Based on the clinical fact that paclitaxel injection (Taxol) frequently causes hypersensitivity reactions, an alternative paclitaxel self-emulsifying microemulsion was studied with phase diagrams, and the prescription of microemulsion formulation was optimized. Regarding Taxol, the pharmacokinetic parameters of microemulsion and hypersensitivity were investigated in rats and guinea pigs, respectively. The results showed that the self-emulsifying microemulsion was made up of tricaproin:tributyrin 1:1 as the oil phase, ethanol as assist, pluronic F68 and lecithin as emulsifier, and formed a mean diameter of 16 +/- 3 nm when diluted with saline. In the pharmacokinetic study, rats were administrated Taxol or paclitaxel microemulsion. Blood samples were collected at definite time intervals, and plasma concentrations of paclitaxel were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The area under the curve was significantly higher in the microemulsion group (33 mg.ml(-1).h) than that in the Taxol group (25 mg.ml(-1).h) (P < 0.01). The constant of transport rate of speed, K10 (0.55 h(-1)), was much smaller in the microemulsion group compared with the Taxol group (1.55 h(-l)). The mean retention time was 3.89 h in microemulsion group and 2.52 h in the Taxol group, showing the elimination rate was much slower in the former than in the latter. Compared with Taxol, the paclitaxel microemulsion caused less toxicity and had a longer circulation time in rats.

Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Light-Induced Mycelial Brown Film Formation in Lentinula edodes.

Light-induced brown film (BF) formation by the vegetative mycelium of Lentinula edodes is important for ensuring the quantity and quality of this edible mushroom. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanism underlying this phenotype is still unclear. In this study, a comparative proteomic analysis of mycelial BF formation in L. edodes was performed. Seventy-three protein spots with at least a twofold difference in abundance on two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) maps were observed, and 52 of them were successfully identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF/MS). These proteins were classified into the following functional categories: small molecule metabolic processes (39%), response to oxidative stress (5%), and organic substance catabolic processes (5%), followed by oxidation-reduction processes (3%), single-organism catabolic processes (3%), positive regulation of protein complex assembly (3%), and protein metabolic processes (3%). Interestingly, four of the proteins that were upregulated in response to light exposure were nucleoside diphosphate kinases. To our knowledge, this is the first proteomic analysis of the mechanism of BF formation in L. edodes. Our data will provide a foundation for future detailed investigations of the proteins linked to BF formation.