Preparation and Evaluation of a Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System Loaded with Heparin Phospholipid Complex.

A self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) was developed to enhance the absorption of heparin after oral administration, in which heparin was compounded with phospholipids to achieve better fat solubility in the form of heparin-phospholipid (HEP-Pc) complex. HEP-Pc complex was prepared using the solvent evaporation method, which increased the solubility of heparin in n-octanol. The successful preparation of HEP-Pc complex was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, NMR, and SEM. A heparin lipid microemulsion (HEP-LM) was prepared by high-pressure homogenization and characterized. HEP-LM can enhance the absorption of heparin after oral administration, significantly prolong activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and thrombin time (TT) in mice, and reduce fibrinogen (FIB) content. All these outcomes indicate that HEP-LM has great potential as an oral heparin formulation.

[High Resolution Remote Sensing Monitoring and Assessment of Secondary Geological Disasters Triggered by the Lushan Earthquake].

The secondary geological disasters triggered by the Lushan earthquake on April 20, 2013, such as landslides, collapses, debris flows, etc., had caused great casualties and losses. We monitored the number and spatial distribution of the secondary geological disasters in the earthquake-hit area from airborne remote sensing images, which covered areas about 3 100 km2. The results showed that Lushan County, Baoxing County and Tianquan County were most severely affected; there were 164, 126 and 71 secondary geological disasters in these regions. Moreover, we analyzed the relationship between the distribution of the secondary geological disasters, geological structure and intensity. The results indicate that there were 4 high-hazard zones in the monitored area, one focused within six kilometers from the epicenter, and others are distributed along the two main fault zones of the Longmen Mountain. More than 97% secondary geological disasters occurred in zones with a seismic intensity of VII to IX degrees, a slope between 25 A degrees and 50 A degrees, and an altitude of between 800 and 2 000 m. At last, preliminary suggestions were proposed for the rehabilitation and reconstruction planning of Lushan earthquake. According to the analysis result, airborne and space borne remote sensing can be used accurately and effectively in almost real-time to monitor and assess secondary geological disasters, providing a scientific basis and decision making support for government emergency command and post-disaster reconstruction.

Potential anti-HPV and related cancer agents from marine resources: an overview.

Recently, the studies on the prevention and treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV) which is closely related to the cervical cancer and other genital diseases are attracting more and more attention all over the world. Marine-derived polysaccharides and other bioactive compounds have been shown to possess a variety of anti-HPV and related cancer activities. This paper will review the recent progress in research on the potential anti-HPV and related cancer agents from marine resources. In particular, it will provide an update on the anti-HPV actions of heparinoid polysaccharides and bioactive compounds present in marine organisms, as well as the therapeutic vaccines relating to marine organisms. In addition, the possible mechanisms of anti-HPV actions of marine bioactive compounds and their potential for therapeutic application will also be summarized in detail.

[The effect of suppressive oligodeoxynucleotides on interferon-γ and phosphorylation of signal transducers and activators of transcription 4 expression of silica-induced pulmonary inflammation in mice].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of suppressive oligodeoxynucleotides (Sup ODN) on interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and signal transducers and activators of transcription (pSTAT4) expression of Silica-induced pulmonary inflammation in Mice. METHODS: Sixty Balb/c mice were randomly divided into 4 groups, normal control group, silicious group, suppressive oligodeoxynucleotides (Sup ODN) group, control oligodeoxynucleotides (Con ODN) group. Except the normal control group injected normal saline, the rest groups were induced by the intratracheal instillation of 0.1 ml (5 g/L) of sterilized silica suspension. Sup ODN group and Con ODN group were treated by i.p. injection of 0.3 ml (1mg/mL) of suppressive or control ODN 3 h before silica administration. After 7 days, the animals were killed and levels of IFN-γ were detected by ELISA. The pathologic changes in lung tissues of mice were observed with HE staining. Expressions of IFN-γ and pSTAT4 in lung tissue were detected with immunohistochemistry and quantified by Image-Pro Plus 7.0. RESULTS: HE staining showed that the lung tissue of silicious group were damaged seriously than Sup ODN group. Compared with the normal control group (serum: (280.1±41.3) pg/ml, lung tissue: (0.249±0.373), IFN-γ increased in silicious group (serum: (886.3±81.7) pg/ml, lung tissue: (0.270±0.300) (P < 0.05). Compared with the normal control group and Con ODN group [(894.5±91.6) pg/ml], IFN-γ in the serum of Sup ODN group decreased significantly (P < 0.01). Compared with the silicious group , IFN-γ in lung tissue decreased in Sup ODN group (0.241±0.250) (P < 0.05). Compared with the normal control group (0.279±0.353), pSTAT4 in lung tissue increased significantly in silicious group (0.313±0.231) (P < 0.01). Compared with the silicious group, pSTAT4 in lung tissue decreased significantly in Sup ODN group (0.269±0.523) (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Sup ODN attained protective effect on Silica treated mice by suppressing expression of IFN-γ and pSTAT4.

[Application of urinary proteomics in early diagnosis of bladder urothelial carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the difference in urinary proteome between patients with bladder urothelial carcinoma (BUC) and healthy volunteers and to provide a basis for the early diagnosis of BUC. METHODS: The urine samples from BUC patients and healthy volunteers (controls) were treated by 25% ethanol precipitation and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), and the obtained urinary proteins were subjected to Coomassie brilliant blue staining and analysis by PDQuest 8.0 (2-DE image analysis software); the differentially expressed proteins were sequenced by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight mass spectrometry and identified using the Swiss-Prot database; the differential expression of these proteins was verified by western blot. RESULTS: High-resolution and high-reproducibility 2-DE images were obtained from the urine samples of BUC patients and controls, with 789 ± 18 and 762 ± 14 protein spots, respectively. Compared with the control group, the BUC grouP had significantly decreased expression of 6 protein spots and significantly increased expression of 11 protein spots. The mass spectrometry revealed five proteins with increased expression in the BUC group, including fibrinogen, lactate dehydrogenase B, apolipoprotein A1, clusterin, and haptoglobin, and the results were confirmed by western blot. CONCLUSION: There is significant difference in urinary proteome between BUC patients and healthy volunteers; the identification of differentially expressed proteins in urine lays the foundation for identifying potential molecular markers in early diagnosis of BUC.

The antiviral activities and mechanisms of marine polysaccharides: an overview.

Recently, the studies on the antiviral activities of marine natural products, especially marine polysaccharides, are attracting more and more attention all over the world. Marine-derived polysaccharides and their lower molecular weight oligosaccharide derivatives have been shown to possess a variety of antiviral activities. This paper will review the recent progress in research on the antiviral activities and the mechanisms of these polysaccharides obtained from marine organisms. In particular, it will provide an update on the antiviral actions of the sulfated polysaccharides derived from marine algae including carrageenans, alginates, and fucans, relating to their structure features and the structure-activity relationships. In addition, the recent findings on the different mechanisms of antiviral actions of marine polysaccharides and their potential for therapeutic application will also be summarized in detail.

[Effects of Gymnadenia conopse alcohol extract on early protein profiles in lung tissue of rats exposed to silica].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the early expression differences of lung tissue proteins in rats exposed to silica using comparative proteomics method, to explore the effects of Chinese traditional medicine (Gymnadenia conopse alcohol extract, GcAE) on silicosis (50 mg/ml). METHODS: Adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into silica-treated group and GcAE-treated group, four rats a group. The rats were exposed to silica by intratracheal (IT) instillation of 1 ml silica suspension for 24 h. After exposure, the rats in GcAE-treated group were intragastric administration with 0.8 ml GcAE (0.8 ml/100 g a day) and the rats in silica-treated group were intragastric administration with 2 ml sterilized saline a day for 14 days. Then all rats were sacrificed and lung tissues were collected. The total proteins were separated by means of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and the differentially expressed proteins were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Western blotting was used to validate the expression of certain candidate proteins in lung tissues. RESULTS: Obvious pathological changes of lung could be observed in silica-treated group, such as the thicken of interalveolar septum, which was infiltrated with lymphocytes, macrophages and a few neutrophils with the proliferation of fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells. The accumulation of collagen, the destruction of alveolus structure and the more dotted fibrosis or granuloma could also be found. However, the pathological changes of lung in GcAE-treated group were lighter than those of silica-treated group. Thirty three differentially expressed proteins were identified, including cathepsin D precursor, peroxiredoxin-1 (Prx-1) and SEC14-like protein 3. Compared with silica-treated group, cathepsin D precursor and Prx-1 were significantly downregulated in GcAE-treated group, and SEC14-like protein 3 was significantly upregulated (P < 0.01). The results of western blot indicated that the expression level of Prx-1 in GcAE-treated group was 0.26 ± 0.02, which was significantly lower than that (0.35 ± 0.04) in silica-treated group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: GcAE may inhibit the progress of silicosis in the early period and cathepsin D precursor, SEC14-like protein 3 and Prx-1 may participate in this process.

[Correlation analysis between the exposure levels and the serum protein fingerprints in population exposure to silica].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation between the exposure levels and serum protein fingerprints in population exposed to silica. METHODS: Liquid chip time-of-flight mass spectrometry technology was used to investigate the serum profiles in control group (30 cases), group exposed to silica (30 cases), silicosis group (I stage, 25 cases) and suspected silicosis group (30 cases), and screen the differential expression proteins. The correlation between the levels of the differential expression proteins and the exposure levels was performed. RESULTS: Five differential expression proteins were found among 4 groups, the expression of 5081 and 5066 proteins was upregulated, and the expression of 3954, 2021 and 1777 proteins was downregulated. There was no the correlation between the exposure levels and the peak with M/Z among those proteins. CONCLUSION: the results of present investigation indicated there was no correlation between the exposure levels and protein/peptide peak.

[The effects of complement C3f segment on expression and secretion of collagen I, III and transforming growth factor-beta1 in human embryonic lung fibroblast].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of complement fragment C3f on expression and secretion of collagen I, III and transforming growth factor( TGF)-beta1 in human embryonic lung fibroblast (MRC-5) cells. METHODS: MRC-5 cells were cultured with C3f (the synthetic 17 peptides fragments of complement C3). The extracellular and intracellular expression levels of type I, III collagens and TGF-beta1 in MRC-5 cultures were detected by ELISA and immunohistochemistry, respectively. RESULTS: The expression levels of type I, III collagen and TGF-beta1 in the supernatant of MRC-5 cultures decreased significantly with the concentrations of C3f as compared with controls (P < 0.05). Also the expression level of TGF-beta1 in MRC-5 cytoplasm reduced significantly as compared with controls (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of present in vitro study showed that the complement fragment C3f could reduce the formation of TGF-beta1 and type I, III collagens in MRC-5 cells, and inhibit the lung tissue fibrosis.

Graphene and graphene-based materials in axonal repair of spinal cord injury.

Graphene and graphene-based materials have the ability to induce stem cells to differentiate into neurons, which is necessary to overcome the current problems faced in the clinical treatment of spinal cord injury. This review summarizes the advantages of graphene and graphene-based materials (in particular, composite materials) in axonal repair after spinal cord injury. These materials have good histocompatibility, and mechanical and adsorption properties that can be targeted to improve the environment of axonal regeneration. They also have good conductivity, which allows them to make full use of electrical nerve signal stimulation in spinal cord tissue to promote axonal regeneration. Furthermore, they can be used as carriers of seed cells, trophic factors, and drugs in nerve tissue engineering scaffolds to provide a basis for constructing a local microenvironment after spinal cord injury. However, to achieve clinical adoption of graphene and graphene-based materials for the repair of spinal cord injury, further research is needed to reduce their toxicity.

[Application and prospect of multi-spectral remote sensing in major natural disaster assessment].

After the occurrence of major natural disasters, it is of great significance that disaster states are assessed timely and accurately for decision-making departments to draw up effective response programs. Multi-spectral remote sensing has a great advantage and potential in disaster assessment, with the characteristics of a wide range of data acquisition, high speed, etc. In several major natural disaster assessments in China, multi-spectral remote sensing technology has played an important role. Firstly, the present paper takes earthquake disasters, floods disasters and drought disasters as examples to summarize the specific applications of major natural disaster assessment based on the multi-spectral remote sensing. Secondly, in these specific applications they suffer from both relative shortage of data sources and limited breadth and depth of application; both of these problems are analyzed. Finally, the future development direction of major natural disaster assessment based on the multi-spectral remote sensing, such as the expansion of multi-spectral remote sensing data acquisition means, the establishment of major natural disasters assessment index system based on remote sensing, and the improvement of the assessment technology system based on multi-spectral remote sensing are also discussed.

Snow cover monitoring method by using HJ-1 satellite data.

Environment and Disasters Monitoring Microsatellite Constellation with high spatial resolution, high temporal resolution and high spectral resolution characteristics was put forward by China. HJ-1B satellite, one of the first two small optical satellites, had a CCD camera and an infrared camera, which would provide an important new data source for snow monitoring. In the present paper, through analyzing the sensor and data characteristics of HJ-1B, we proposed a new infrared normalized difference snow index (INDSI) referring to the traditional normalized difference snow index (NDSI). The accuracy of these two automatic snow recognition methods was estimated based on a supervised classification method. The accuracy of the traditional NDSI method was 97.761 9% while that of the new INDSI method was 98.617 1%.

[Vegetation water content retrieval and application of drought monitoring using multi-spectral remote sensing].

The vegetation is one of main drying carriers. The change of Vegetation Water Content (VWC) reflects the spatial-temporal distribution of drought situation and the degree of drought. In the present paper, a method of retrieving the VWC based on remote sensing data is introduced and analyzed, including the monitoring theory, vegetation water content indicator and retrieving model. The application was carried out in the region of Southwest China in the spring, 2010. The VWC data was calculated from MODIS data and spatially-temporally analyzed. Combined with the meteorological data from weather stations, the relationship between the EWT and weather data shows that precipitation has impact on the change in vegetation moisture to a certain extent. However, there is a process of delay during the course of vegetation absorbing water. So precipitation has a delaying impact on VWC. Based on the above analysis, the probability of drought monitoring and evaluation based on multi-spectral VWC data was discussed. Through temporal synthesis and combined with auxiliary data (i. e. historical data), it will help overcome the limitation of data itself and enhance the application of drought monitoring and evaluation based on the multi-spectral remote sensing.

[Investigation and assessment of damage in earthquake in Yushu, Qinghai based on multi-spectral remote sensing].

The devastating Yushu Earthquake occurred in Qinghai Province, northwest China, with a magnitude of 7.1 on April 14, 2010, which has caused huge destructive losses. Most buildings along the seismic zone were ruined, especially the old and the basic civil structure houses completely destroyed. The earthquake also triggered geological disasters, such as landslides, collapses, debris flows, etc. In the present study, the remote sensing technique was used to assess and analyze the situation of the earthquake damage. There are four classes of feature which can be interpreted according to the remote sensing imageries: (1) the damage degree of buildings, like civilian homes, temples; (2) the field disasters of earthquake, such as ground fissures, landslides, collapses, debris flows, and earthquake subsidence; (3) the damage degree of structures, such as dam; (4) the damage degree of the lifeline, for example, the highway. The features can be obtained according to high spatial resolution of remote sensing imageries, through image processing and interpretation methods. Post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction phase should fully consider the regional seismotectonic background and the carrying capacity of resources and environment. With the assessment results of earthquake disaster remote sensing, at last, preliminary suggestions were proposed for the rehabilitation and reconstruction planning of Yushu earthquake.

[Study on the method of recognizing abandoned farmlands based on multispectral remote sensing].

Being abandoned for farmland seriously affected China's grain output for farmlands. It has become an important phenomenon over the past 20 years in China. Multispectral remote sensing has the advantage of wide range and high speed in requiring data. It has great potential in the research on land use. Therefore, to extract abandoned farmland in China, the authors' used the NDVI data of Modis/Terra from 2000 to 2009 which is one of multispectral remote sensing data and the Remote Sensing Image of ALOS satellite in Japan. The authors' used the parameter of NDVI of time series to describe the character of the main land use types. After drawing the time-series curves of the main land use type samples, the authors' analyzed them with consulting the life character of these types. Then, the authors' compared these curves; finally we recognized abandoned farmland from the others. At last the authors' went to experimental plot to survey the land use. The results demonstrated that the method of using multispectral remote sensing data can abstract abandoned farmland and classify the main kind of land use, and the accuracy is as high as 90%. So the method is feasible in recognizing abandoned farmland.

[The study of the differential gene expression profiles related to toxic effects in rats exposed to silica].

OBJECTIVE: To study the differential gene expression profiles related to toxic effects in rats exposed to silica. METHODS: Wistar rats exposed to SiO2 (50 mg/ml) and 1 ml normal saline by intratracheal injection served as the exposure and control groups, on the 14th day after exposure all rats were executed and the rat lung tissues were obtained. The differential gene expression profiles in the lung tissues of rats exposed to silica were detected using confocal fiber beads gene chip technique, and the differential expression profiling data were analyzed using the database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) bioinformation analysis tool. RESULTS: The results of present study indicated that 1567 genes with differential expression were identified in 22107 genes of rat lung tissues in exposure group, including 765 up-regulated genes and 802 down-regulated genes as compared to control group. In the 461 genes related to toxic effects, 285 genes were up-regulated and 176 genes were down-regulated in exposure group. The trends of up-regulation of HMOX1 and SOD2 genes in RT-PCR assay were similar to those in gene chip technique. CONCLUSION: A large number of genes related to toxic effects in the rats with silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis appeared up-regulation or down-regulation. There may be a complex gene regulation network in the pulmonary fibrosis induced by SiO2, and the toxicological mechanism is an important part in the development of pulmonary fibrosis.

[Algorithm of inland water retrieval based on spectral matching].

This present paper presents a new inversion method of inland water based on spectral matching. First step of this method is using the known water surface measured hyperspectral and the absorption coefficient of each component, and obtaining backscattering coefficient of suspended matter with bio-optical model. The second step is calculation of the spectral reflectance of water bodies based on bio-optical model, through the cross-combination of inherent optical property of water components (chlorophyll, suspended matter, yellow substance), in order to create a look-up table of Rrs that corresponds to all combinations of water component. The third step is changing the look-up table data into MODIS spectral data using MODIS channel response function. The final study examined the applicability of the look-up table using the Hyperspectral and MODIS bands spectra, based on the minimum distance principle, to find the best matched spectra, thus it has found corresponding concentrations of three components. The average relative error of chlorophyll and suspended matter is 38.6% and 28% respectively. Optical properties of water components interfere with each other because of the complexity of inland water bodies, resulting in difficulty to extract the feature band for statistical model, and while it is hard for bio-optical model inversion method to solve the unstable problem of special inherent optical property with the seasons and regional issues, the method of this paper would have the advantages of bio-optical model, while eliminating instability of special inherent optical property, so it is a good approach to inland water retrieval.

[Screening and identification of differential expression genes related to stress fracture by cDNA microarray assay].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the differentially expressed genes between the Stress fracture (SF) cases and controls. METHODS: Total RNA was extracted and purified from peripheral blood sample of 3 SF cases and 3 controls who conducted a 1:1 matched case-control study, then used for Human Genome Array analysis. The hybridization data were analyzed using SAM software. Parts of these genes were analyzed and identified by real-time PCR. RESULTS: Upregulated and downregulated genes were 22 and 1, respectively. Thus the highest ratio and most significant cytokine was tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, member 10c (TNFRSF10C). The result of real-time PCR shows that TNFRSF10C was over-expressed in 3 cases and low-expressed in 1 case. CONCLUSION: Obvious difference exists in gene expression between SF cases and controls, showing there may be a lot of genes involving in the occurrence and development of SF. Meanwhile, the identification of the specific genes is helpful for biomechanics study, early diagnosis and screening of SF.

Diagnosis and treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine.

Since the outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia (coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19), it has rapidly spread to 187 countries, causing serious harm to the health of people and a huge social burden. However, currently, drugs specifically approved for clinical use are not available, except for vaccines against COVID-19 that are being evaluated. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is capable of performing syndrome differentiation and treatment according to the clinical manifestations of patients, and has a better ability of epidemic prevention and control. The authors comprehensively analyzed the etiology and pathogenesis of COVID-19 based on the theory of TCM, and discussed its syndrome differentiation, treatment and prevention measures so as to provide strategies and reference for the prevention and treatment with TCM.

Targeting the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Cancer Stem Cells for a Better Clinical Outcome of Glioma.

Glioma is one of the most common malignant tumors of the central nervous system with a poor prognosis at present due to lack of effective treatment options. Its initiation, migration, and multipotency are affected by cancer stem cell's transition. Previous studies imply that changes in the cancer stem cells can affect the malignant differentiation of the tumor. We found that the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related regulatory pathway is an important target for tumor therapy. In this review, we discuss the transition factor of EMT and 3 specific pathways that affect the EMT of cancer stem cells during tumor development. We conclude that targeting the EMT process of cancer stem cells can be a feasible approach in the treatment of glioma.