[Mechanism of blood-activating and mass-dissipating Chinese patent medicine against hyperplasia of mammary glands and use with other medicine: a review].

Caused by endocrine disorder, hyperplasia of mammary glands(HMG) tends to occur in the young with increasing incidence, putting patients at the risk of cancer and threatening the health of women. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of HMG is attracting more and more attention. Amid the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), many scholars have found that Chinese patent medicine has unique advantages and huge potential in treatment of endocrine disorder. Particularly, Chinese patent medicine with the function of blood-activating and mass-dissipating, such as Xiaojin Pills and Xiaozheng Pills, has been commonly used in clinical treatment of HMG, which features multiple targets, obvious efficacy, small side effect, and ease of taking and carrying around. Clinical studies have found that the combination of Chinese patent medicine with other medicine can not only improve the efficacy and relieve symptoms such as hyperplasia and pain but also reduce the toxic and side effects of western medicine. Therefore, based on precious pharmacological research and clinical research, this study reviewed the mechanisms of blood-activating mass-dissipating Chinese patent medicine alone and in combination with other medicine, such as regulating levels of in vivo hormones and receptors, promoting apoptosis, inhibiting angiogenesis, improving hemorheology indexes, enhancing immunity, and boosting antioxidant ability. In addition, limitations and problems were summarized. Thereby, this study is expected to lay a theoretical basis for the further study and clinical application of blood-activating mass-dissipating Chinese patent medicine alone or in combination with other medicine against HMG.

[Mechanism of anti-hyperplasia of mammary glands of Xihuang Pills blood-entering component based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and network pharmacology].

In this study, based on network pharmacology and molecular docking method, the mechanism of anti-hyperplasia of mammary glands of Xihuang Pills blood-entering components was explored, and the efficacy and key targets of Xihuang Pills blood-entering components were experimentally verified by MCF-10A proliferation model of human mammary epithelial cells. In order to clarify the material basis and mechanism of Xihuang Pills in realizing anti-hyperplasia of mammary glands, the blood-entering components of Xihuang Pills were qualitatively analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, and 22 blood-entering components were identified. By taking the blood-entering components as the research object, the network pharmacology prediction and molecular docking verification were carried out, and finally, three key targets were screened out, namely JAK1, SRC, and CDK1. In vitro experiments show that Xihuang Pills can inhibit the proliferation of MCF-10A cells, promote the apoptosis of MCF-10A cells, and reduce the expression of JAK1, SRC, and CDK1 targets in cells. To sum up, Xihuang Pills can promote the apoptosis of mammary epithelial cells by regulating the expression of JAK1, SRC, and CDK1 and then play an anti-hyperplasia role, which provides an experimental basis for clarifying the material basis of Xihuang Pills for anti-hyperplasia effect.

Isolation of new polyketide synthase gene fragments and a partial gene cluster from East China Sea and function analysis of a new acyltransferase.

Using the consensus-degenerate hybrid oligonucleotide primer polymerase chain reaction method, 26 new ketoacyl synthase (KS) fragments were isolated from a marine sediment sample in the East China Sea (ECS) and analyzed by construction of a phylogenetic tree. With a digoxigenin-labeled KS gene fragment used as a probe, a partial polyketide synthase (PKS) gene cluster was isolated and identified by hybridization screening of a marine sediment sample metagenome fosmid library constructed for this study. A new acyltransferase (AT) gene was cloned from the PKS gene cluster and heterogeneously expressed as a protein fused to maltose-binding protein (MBP). Ultraviolet spectrophotometry was used to study the binding of the MBP-AT fusion protein and single AT domain to substrates using MBP and bovine serum albumin as control proteins. Binding constants (Ka, per micromolar) were calculated and used to analyze the substrate specificity of the acyltransferase. We concluded that there are many unrevealed new PKS gene clusters in marine sediments in the ECS. The acyltransferase is presumably an acetyltransferase from a new PKS gene cluster.

Effects of municipal sewage sludge stabilized by fly ash on the growth of Manilagrass and transfer of heavy metals.

A greenhouse experiment was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of using an artificial soil for cultivation of Manilagrass. The transfer and transformation of heavy metals in the artificial soil-Manilagrass system were discussed at the same time. The results showed that fly ash-sludge indicated a positive effect on the growth of Manilagrass. The pots with 14% sludge and 6% fly ash mixture had the highest yield and nutrient concentrations of Manilagrass. With the increasing application of coal fly ash, the concentrations of Ni, Zn, Mn, Sb and Cu in Manilagrass decreased significantly, while Pb, V and Ti increased. Otherwise, the concentrations of Cd, As, Cr, Co, and Fe did not show a remarkable change. Except for Sb, the values of bio-concentration factor of heavy metals in Manilagrass were all below 1.0 after treated by the fly ash-sludge treatment, decreased as Sb>Ni>Zn>Cu>Pb>Mn>Co=Cr>Cd>Fe=V>Ti>As in an average for all treatments. Compared to the contrast check, the proportions of heavy metals in exchangeable, reducible and oxidizable fractions increased. Manilagrass could be used to reduce the eco-toxicity and bioavailability of Ti, V, Mn, Co, Cr and Cd in fly ash-sludge amended soil.

[The preparation and application of cross-linked urease aggregates].

Urease was immobilized in a simple and effective way by physical aggregation using a precipitant-ammonium sulfate, followed by chemical cross-linking using a bifunctional reagent-glutaraldehyde to form insoluble Cross-linked urease aggregates (CLUAs). The optimum pH, optimum temperature and Km of CLUAs were 8.0, 70 degrees C and 0.021 mol/L respectively. Compared with that of free urease, the thermal stability, storage stability and resistance of cross-linked urease aggregates to the exogenous proteolysis were enhanced. The efficacy of CLUAs for the treatment of rats with chronic renal failure was also studies. The rats with chronic renal failure caused by adenine were divided into 3 groups randomly:the control group (fed with 10 mL water /kg per day), Coated Aldehyde Oxystarch (CAO) group (fed with 20 g CAO /kg and 10 mL water /kg per day) and CLUAs + CAO group (fed with 20 g CAO /kg and 10 mL CLUAs /kg per day) in which CAO was used to absorb the ammonia produced from urea. The contents of BUN and Scr in serum before and after 2 weeks treatment were determined. In three groups, the level of Scr decreased slightly (P = 0.922, 0.972 and 0.225 > 0.05 respectively) after treatment. The level of BUN was not changed (P = 0.211 > 0.05) in the control group, but decreased greatly BUN in both CAO group and CLUAs + CAO group (P = 0.004 < 0.05 and P < 0.001 respectively). Furthermore, the decrease of the BUN level after treatment in the CLUAs + CAO group was more remarkable than that in the CAO group (P = 0.016 < 0.05), which showed that the CLUAs + CAD system was more efficient than the CAO system for the removal of urea in serum.

Tunable high-peak-power, high-energy hybrid Q-switched double-clad fiber laser.

A cw laser-diode-pumped Yb-doped double-clad fiber laser operating in a hybrid Q-switched regime was demonstrated. The output pulses had a duration as short as 4.2 ns, a tunable wavelength range from 1080.8 to 1142.7 nm, and a linewidth of less than 0.05 nm. Maximum peak power of approximately 175 kW and single-pulse energy of 1.57 mJ were obtained.

Narrow-linewidth widely tunable hybrid Q-switched double-clad fiber laser.

A laser-diode-pumped Yb-doped double-clad fiber laser operating in a hybrid Q-switched regime has been demonstrated. With pulsed pump light and stimulated Brillouin scattering of the gain fiber as the Q-switching mechanisms, the laser generated nanosecond pulses with a stable repetition rate. A single-pulse energy of as much as 143.1 microJ with a peak power of 28.6 kW was obtained. Use of an external-cavity diffraction grating in the Littman configuration permitted tuning of the laser wavelength over a 15.7-THz range from 1080 to 1140 nm, and a linewidth of 0.04 nm over the whole tuning range was achieved.