Heart rate variability behavior in young men after short-term carotenoid-containing supplementation.

Background: Heart rate variability can reflect the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), while carotenoids are good for CVD prevention. However, the acute effect of short-term carotenoid-containing supplementation on heart rate variability in young men is unclear. Methods: Thirty young men between 20 and 29 years of age without personal or family history of cardiovascular diseases were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The anthropometric data, physiological parameters, and serum biochemical data were acquired, which were without significant difference between the two groups, at the beginning of trial. The participants in the experimental group consumed one pack of compound nutritional supplements in the morning (e.g., 10 AM) and another pack at night (e.g., 7 PM) each day. Heart rate variability was measured again once a month. Repeated measures analysis of variance with Roy's largest root test and Bonferroni post hoc test were applied for primary outcomes. Results: Repeated measures analysis of variance indicated a significant time interaction effect for the estimated marginal means of percussion entropy index scale (T1 versus T3, T1 versus T4, and T2 versus T4 with p = 0.009, 0.005, and 0.032, respectively). Roy's largest root test indicates there were significant differences between the means of the index after the intervention between two groups only on T3 and T4 (p = 0.007, η 2 = 0.232 and p = 0.028, η 2 = 0.162, respectively). Conclusion: Short-term carotenoid-containing supplementation could help young men by increasing heart rate variability capacity compared to controls over three months.

[Quality evaluation of commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra based on multi-component quantitative analysis].

To comprehensively evaluate the quality of commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra, 43 batches of commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra were collected to determine the content of nine ginsenosides Rg_1, Re, Rb_1, Rk_3, Rh_4, 20(S)-Rg_3, 20(R)-Rg_3, Rk_1, and Rg_5 by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). The quality of the commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra was evaluated by correlation analysis, principal component analysis, factor analysis, analysis of variance(ANOVA), and cluster heatmap analysis. The content determination indicated that the content of common ginsenosides in commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra were higher while that of rare ginsenosides were lower. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that ginsenosides Rg_1 and Rb_1 were significantly positively correlated with rare ginsenosides, and Rg_1, Rb_1 and rare ginsenosides played an important role in evaluating the quality of commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra. In combination with the processing principle and current quality situation of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra, it is recommended to improve the content limit of Rb_1 in the existing quality standards.

3D bioprinting of in situ vascularized tissue engineered bone for repairing large segmental bone defects.

Large bone defects remain an unsolved clinical challenge because of the lack of effective vascularization in newly formed bone tissue. 3D bioprinting is a fabrication technology with the potential to create vascularized bone grafts with biological activity for repairing bone defects. In this study, vascular endothelial cells laden with thermosensitive bio-ink were bioprinted in situ on the inner surfaces of interconnected tubular channels of bone mesenchymal stem cell-laden 3D-bioprinted scaffolds. Endothelial cells exhibited a more uniform distribution and greater seeding efficiency throughout the channels. In vitro, the in situ bioprinted endothelial cells can form a vascular network through proliferation and migration. The in situ vascularized tissue-engineered bone also resulted in a coupling effect between angiogenesis and osteogenesis. Moreover, RNA sequencing analysis revealed that the expression of genes related to osteogenesis and angiogenesis is upregulated in biological processes. The in vivo 3D-bioprinted in situ vascularized scaffolds exhibited excellent performance in promoting new bone formation in rat calvarial critical-sized defect models. Consequently, in situ vascularized tissue-engineered bones constructed using 3D bioprinting technology have a potential of being used as bone grafts for repairing large bone defects, with a possible clinical application in the future.

Evidence of prenatal toxicity of herbal based indigenous formulations for sex selection in rat models.

Indigenous preparations(IPs) for a male child is reported from some parts of India. The present study aims to explore the effects of IPs for sex selection or sex selection drugs (SSDs) on pregnancy outcomes in rat models. SSDs contain Bryonia laciniosa, Quercus infectoria and Putranjiva roxburghii along with other ingredients. METHODS: An experimental design with successfully mated female rats were randomized into control and treatment groups. Phase 1 had 2 interventional arms while phase 2 had 3 interventional arms (12 rats/arm) besides control arm. In phase-1, pregnant females were dosed two SSDs(1000 mg/kg) on gestation days 1-5 whereas, in phase-2, on gestation days 6-19 to correlate the effect of the SSDs (500/1000/1500 mg/kg) consumption during different stages of pregnancy. Pregnant females were observed for clinical signs following treatment. The rats were sacrificed one day before expected day of delivery for evaluation. Pregnancy rate, gestation index, number of corpora lutea, and litter size were assessed. Foetuses were examined for sex, skeletal and soft tissue alterations. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In phase 1, no appreciable findings were there with SSD exposure. In phase 2, intrauterine growth and survival of foetuses were affected when SSDs were administered during organogenesis period. Decreased number of live foetuses and increased incidence of early and late resorption, reduced fetal growth with significant alteration in skeleton and viscera were found in treatment groups in a dose-dependent manner. This correlates well with findings from observational studies in pregnant women. However, such treatment at any dose did not effect sex differentiation.