Optimization of C50 Carotenoids Production by Open Fermentation of Halorubrum sp. HRM-150.

C50 carotenoids, as unique bioactive molecules, have many biological properties, including antioxidant, anticancer, and antibacterial activity, and have a wide range of potential uses in the food, cosmetic, and biomedical industries. The majority of C50 carotenoids are produced by the sterile fermentation of halophilic archaea. This study aims to look at more cost-effective and manageable ways of producing C50 carotenoids. The basic medium, carbon source supplementation, and optimal culture conditions for Halorubrum sp. HRM-150 C50 carotenoids production by open fermentation were examined in this work. The results indicated that Halorubrum sp. HRM-150 grown in natural brine medium grew faster than artificial brine medium. The addition of glucose, sucrose, and lactose (10 g/L) enhanced both biomass and carotenoids productivity, with the highest level reaching 4.53 ± 0.32 µg/mL when glucose was added. According to the findings of orthogonal studies based on the OD600 and carotenoids productivity, the best conditions for open fermentation were salinity 20-25%, rotation speed 150-200 rpm, and pH 7.0-8.2. The up-scaled open fermentation was carried out in a 7 L medium under optimum culture conditions. At 96 h, the OD600 and carotenoids productivity were 9.86 ± 0.51 (dry weight 10.40 ± 1.27 g/L) and 7.31 ± 0.65 µg/mL (701.40 ± 21.51 µg/g dry weight, respectively). When amplified with both universal bacterial primer and archaeal primer in the open fermentation, Halorubrum remained the dominating species, indicating that contamination was kept within an acceptable level. To summarize, open fermentation of Halorubrum is a promising method for producing C50 carotenoids.

Event-Related Potentials Analysis of the Effects of Discontinuous Short-Term Fine Motor Imagery on Motor Execution.

In this study, event-related potentials and neurobehavioral measurements were used to investigate the effects of discontinuous short-term fine motor imagery (MI), a paradigm of finger sequential MI training interspersed with no-MI that occurs within 1 hr, on fine finger motor execution. The event-related potentials revealed that there were significant differences in the P300 between the fine MI training and the no-MI training. There were also significant changes in the P200 between fine motor execution of familiar tasks after MI training and fine motor execution of unfamiliar tasks without MI training. Neurobehavioral data revealed that the fine MI enhanced fine motor execution. These findings may suggest that discontinuous short-term fine MI could be useful in improving fine motor skills.

Identification of Key Candidate Genes and Chemical Perturbagens in Diabetic Kidney Disease Using Integrated Bioinformatics Analysis.

Globally, nearly 40 percent of all diabetic patients develop serious diabetic kidney disease (DKD). The identification of the potential early-stage biomarkers and elucidation of their underlying molecular mechanisms in DKD are required. In this study, we performed integrated bioinformatics analysis on the expression profiles GSE111154, GSE30528 and GSE30529 associated with early diabetic nephropathy (EDN), glomerular DKD (GDKD) and tubular DKD (TDKD), respectively. A total of 1,241, 318 and 280 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified for GSE30258, GSE30529, and GSE111154 respectively. Subsequently, 280 upregulated and 27 downregulated DEGs shared between the three GSE datasets were identified. Further analysis of the gene expression levels conducted on the hub genes revealed SPARC (Secreted Protein Acidic And Cysteine Rich), POSTN (periostin), LUM (Lumican), KNG1 (Kininogen 1), FN1 (Fibronectin 1), VCAN (Versican) and PTPRO (Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Receptor Type O) having potential roles in DKD progression. FN1, LUM and VCAN were identified as upregulated genes for GDKD whereas the downregulation of PTPRO was associated with all three diseases. Both POSTN and SPARC were identified as the overexpressed putative biomarkers whereas KNG1 was found as downregulated in TDKD. Additionally, we also identified two drugs, namely pidorubicine, a topoisomerase inhibitor (LINCS ID- BRD-K04548931) and Polo-like kinase inhibitor (LINCS ID- BRD-K41652870) having the validated role in reversing the differential gene expression patterns observed in the three GSE datasets used. Collectively, this study aids in the understanding of the molecular drivers, critical genes and pathways that underlie DKD initiation and progression.

A Naringin- and Icariin-Contained Herbal Formula, Gushukang, Ameliorated Aged Osteoporosis of Aged Mice with High Calcium Intake.

Traditional herbal formula Gushukang (GSK) was clinically applied to treat primary osteoporosis and showed osteoprotective effect in ovariectomized rodent animals and regulatory action on calcium transporters. This study aimed to determine if GSK could ameliorate aged osteoporosis by modulating serum level of calciotropic hormones and improving calcium balance. 18-month-old male mice were orally administered with either GSK (0.38[Formula: see text]g/kg body weight) or calcitriol (1[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/kg body weight) combined with high calcium diet (HCD, 1.2% Ca) for 60 days. The aged mice fed with normal calcium diet (NCD, 0.6% Ca) were a negative control. Trabecular bone and cortical bone properties as well as calcium balance were determined. Treatment with GSK significantly increased 25(OH)D and 1,25-(OH)2D levels in serum, moreover, it markedly attenuated trabecular bone micro-architectural deteriorations and elevated trabecular bone mass as well as strengthened cortical bone mechanical properties shown by the increase in maximal bending load and elastic modulus. Calcium balance, including urinary Ca excretion, fecal Ca level and net calcium retention, was remarkably improved by GSK, which up-regulated TRPV6 expression in duodenum and TRPV5 expression in kidney and down-regulated claudin-14 expression in duodenum and kidney. Additionally, 1-OHase and 24-OHase expression was significantly decreased (vs. NCD group) and increased (vs. HCD group), respectively, in kidney of GSK- and calcitriol-treated mice. Taken together, this study demonstrated the ameliorative effects of Gushukang on aged osteoporosis by effectively stimulating vitamin D production and improving calcium balance of aged mice with high dietary calcium supplement.

[Response of growth and photosynthetic characteristics of Polygonatum cyrtonema to shading conditions].

The purpose of this experiment was to study the effects of different shading conditions on the growth,physiological characteristics and biomass allocation of Polygonatum cyrtonema,which offered a theoretical basis for its cultivation.Different light environments(100%,80%,60% and 35% light transmittance) were simulated with shading treatments.Growth and photosynthetic indexes of P.cyrtonema were measured and the variances were analyzed.The results show that shading decreased superoxide anion radical(O-·2)production rate and hydrogen peroxide(H_2O_2) accumulation,kept the activity of SOD,POD and CAT enzyme at a high level.Furthermore,The content of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b,net photosynthetic rate(Pn),stomatal conductance(Gs),transpiration rate(Tr),maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem Ⅱ(Fv/Fm),photochemical quenching index(q P) and effective quantum yield of photosystem II(ΦPSⅡ) of P.cyrtonema were increased while the intercellular CO2 concentration(Ci),Foand NPQ were decreased by shading.Shading is beneficial to P.cyrtonema growth,can increase the total biomass P.cyrtonema.The allocation proportion of biomass on the aerial portion of P.cyrtonema increased but underground parts decreased with increasing shading conditions.In this study,P.cyrtonema can grow well in shading conditions,shading is beneficial to the formation of the yield and quality of the rhizomes of P.cyrtonema,especially in 65% light transmittance.

[Effects of N and Zn interaction on growth, yield and active components of Agastache rugosa].

The study is aimed to explore the effect of combination use of nitrogen(N) and zinc(Zn) fertilizers on the growth, yield and the effective components of Agastache rugosa. A. rugosa was grown under two N application rate (120, 300 kg·hm⁻²) and five Zn levels (0, 20, 50, 100，150 kg·hm⁻²) under field condition. The effect of the treatments on the physiological indicators, distribution of nitrogen and zinc and volatile oil components of A. rugosa were studied. The results showed that the combination use of N and Zn could significantly affect the growth and development, yield and volatile oil components of A. rugosa. Under the test conditions, the highest yield of Agastaches Herba was obtained when 50 kg·hm⁻² of Zn fertilizer was applied with high N application rate of 300 kg·hm⁻². Under the same N application rate, the increase of Zn production was positively correlated with the amount of Zn application in a certain concentration range, but excessive Zn application led to the decrease of yield. With the increase of N application level, the content of Zn also significantly increased. The combination use of N and Zn increased the yield of Agastaches Herba. High level of N application was beneficial to the absorption and accumulation of N and Zn of A. rugosa. Zn fertilizer could also promote the absorption and accumulation of N of A. rugosa. The interaction between N and Zn had significant influence on the main chemical constituents of the volatile oil of A. rugosa. Among the volatile oil chemical constituents of A. rugosa the content of pulegone (34.56%-53.91%) and piperonyl methyl ether (18.86%-42.27%) were much higher. Under the same N application rate, different Zn application rates also had significant effects on the main chemical components of volatile oil.

Inhibitory effect of isoamericanol A from Jatropha curcas seeds on the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line by G2/M cell cycle arrest.

Although various parts of J. curcas (Jatropha curcas L., Euphorbiaceae) have long been used as traditional folk medicines for their antiviral, analgesic, and/or antidotal efficacies, we are the first to investigate the role of anti-carcinogenicity of isoamericanol A (IAA) from the seed extract. Our results showed that IAA is capable of inhibiting cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner on the human cancer cell lines of MCF-7, MDA-MB231, HuH-7, and HeLa. Flow cytometry analysis showed IAA significantly induces cell cycle arrest at G2/M on MCF-7 cells. At both protein and mRNA levels examined by western blot and real-time PCR, the results revealed increased expression of BTG2 (B-cell translocation gene 2), p21 (p21(WAF1/CIPI) ), and GADD45A (growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible, alpha) after IAA treatment, but inversed expression in CDK1 (cyclin-dependent kinase 1) and cyclins B1 and B2. All these effects contribute to G2/M cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, these results coincide with the changes in molecular expressions determined by DNA-microarray analysis. Our findings indicate that IAA has an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation of MCF-7 through cell cycle arrest, giving it great potential as a future therapeutic reagent for cancers.

[Evaluation of treatment technology of odor pollution source in petrochemical industry].

Using an environmental technology assessment system, we put forward the evaluation index system for treatment technology of the typical odor pollution sources in the petroleum refining process, which has been applied in the assessment of the industrial technology. And then the best available techniques are selected for emissions of gas refinery sewage treatment plant, headspace gas of acidic water jars, headspace gas of cold coke jugs/intermediate oil tank/dirty oil tank, exhaust of oxidative sweetening, and vapors of loading and unloading oil.

Rare sugar D-psicose protects pancreas ß-islets and thus improves insulin resistance in OLETF rats.

Rare sugar D-psicose has cropped up as a non-toxic and effective compound to protect and preserve pancreatic ß-islets in the growing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats through the regulation of glucose and fat metabolism. The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of rare sugar D-psicose on the protection of pancreatic ß-islets using Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, a T2DM model. Treated rats were fed with 5% D-psicose or 5% D-glucose supplemented drinking water, and only water in the control for 13 weeks. A non-diabetic Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO), fed with water served as a counter control of OLETF. D-Psicose significantly attenuated progressive ß-islet fibrosis and preserved islets, evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin staining, Masson's trichrome staining and immunostainings of insulin and α-smooth muscle actin (SMA). D-Psicose significantly reduced increase in body weight and abdominal fat deposition. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) showed reduced blood glucose levels suggesting the improvement of insulin resistance. All these data suggests that D-psicose protected and preserved pancreatic ß-islets through the maintenance of hyperglycemia and by the prevention of fat accumulation in OLETF rats.

Developmental exposure to perchlorate alters synaptic transmission in hippocampus of the adult rat.

BACKGROUND: Perchlorate is an environmental contaminant that blocks iodine uptake into the thyroid gland and reduces thyroid hormones. This action of perchlorate raises significant concern over its effects on brain development. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate neurologic function in rats after developmental exposure to perchlorate. METHODS: Pregnant rats were exposed to 0, 30, 300, or 1,000 ppm perchlorate in drinking water from gestational day 6 until weaning. Adult male offspring were evaluated on a series of behavioral tasks and neurophysiologic measures of synaptic function in the hippocampus. RESULTS: At the highest perchlorate dose, triiodothyronine (T(3)) and thyroxine (T(4)) were reduced in pups on postnatal day 21. T(4) in dams was reduced relative to controls by 16%, 28%, and 60% in the 30-, 300-, and 1,000-ppm dose groups, respectively. Reductions in T(4) were associated with increases in thyroid-stimulating hormone in the high-dose group. No changes were seen in serum T(3). Perchlorate did not impair motor activity, spatial learning, or fear conditioning. However, significant reductions in baseline synaptic transmission were observed in hippocampal field potentials at all dose levels. Reductions in inhibitory function were evident at 300 and 1,000 ppm, and augmentations in long-term potentiation were observed in the population spike measure at the highest dose. CONCLUSIONS: Dose-dependent deficits in hippocampal synaptic function were detectable with relatively minor perturbations of the thyroid axis, indicative of an irreversible impairment in synaptic transmission in response to developmental exposure to perchlorate.

Down-regulation of beta1-adrenoceptors gene expression by short interfering RNA impairs the memory retrieval in the basolateral amygdala of rats.

The influence of basolateral amygdala (BLA) on memory is known to depend critically on adrenergic neurotransmission. However, the roles of noradrenergic receptors on memory retrieval have been elusive and controversial. Here, we investigated the effect of beta(1)-adrenoceptor (beta(1)-AR) on auditory fear memory in the rat BLA. We attenuated the expression of beta(1)-AR by RNA interference, a popular means to specific suppress gene expression. Bilaterally microinjection of beta(1)-AR short interfering RNA (siRNA) could reach a satisfying transfection in the BLA: beta(1)-AR protein expression was reduced transiently by siRNA in vivo at day 3. The behavioral tests indicated that memory retrieval was impaired as beta(1)-AR protein expression was prevented, and the memory was restored when the beta(1)-AR protein got back to normal level. The results suggested that beta(1)-AR might be critical for the retrieval of auditory fear memory.

[Short circuit current technology and its application in the study of traditional Chinese medicine].

Short circuit current (I(sc)) technique has been applied in the studies of transepithelial ion transport in various epithelia. Recently it has also been used in the modernization researches on traditional Chinese medicines. This review gives an overview of the basic principle of the I(sc) technique, the targets of measurement, ion transport, ion channel, the general ways of I(sc) research design, the application of I(sc) technology in the researches on traditional Chinese medicines.

The inhibitory effect and possible mechanisms of D-allose on cancer cell proliferation.

Rare sugars are monosaccharides distributed rarely in nature, because of its very limited amount and cost, the biological effect has hardly been studied. Recently, an effective strategy for mass production of rare sugars has been developed. As a result, a wide range of study of rare sugars from the basic to applied research has become possible. For biological application of rare sugars, it is necessary to fundamentally investigate the relationships between rare sugars and living cells in terms of physiology. Therefore, we firstly examined the effect of rare sugars including D-psicose, D-allose, D-altrose and D-talitol on cell proliferation using certain cell lines in vitro. Cell growth was evaluated by MTT assay after 24-, 48- and 72-h treatment. The result shows that D-allose has a significant inhibitory effect on cancer cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Although the exact mechanism remains unclear, this finding represents a novel aspect of the biological profile of D-allose and suggests that D-allose may be an effective adjuvant therapeutic agent against cancer in the future.