Sirtuin 6 ameliorates arthritis through modulating cyclic AMP-responsive element binding protein/CCN1/cyclooxygenase 2 pathway in osteoblasts.

INTRODUCTION: CCN1 is an immediate-early gene product pivotal for arthritis progression. We have previously shown that sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) inhibited hypoxia-induced CCN1 expression in osteoblasts. Herein we examined the contribution of cyclic AMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB)/CRE to this suppressive action and the influence of CCN1 on cyclooxygenase (COX) 2 synthesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MC3T3-E1 murine osteoblasts were cultured under normoxia (21% oxygen) or hypoxia (2% oxygen). Expressions of CCN1, phospho-CREB (Ser133), COX2 and relevant kinases were assessed by Western blot. SIRT6 was overexpressed in cultured osteoblasts and arthritic joints by a lentiviral-based technique. Activities of CCN1 gene promoter constructs were examined by luciferase reporter assay. Interaction between CREB and CCN1 promoter was assessed by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) was established in 20 rats to evaluate the effects of SIRT6 therapy on osteoblastic expressions of phospho-CREB, CCN1 and COX2. RESULTS: SIRT6 suppressed hypoxia-enhanced CCN1 expression and CREB phosphorylation. Attenuation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) may be responsible for SIRT6-induced CREB inhibition. CRE at - 286 bp upstream of the ATG start codon was essential for CCN1 expression under hypoxia and SIRT6 reduced hypoxia-stimulated CREB/CRE interaction. Forced expression of CREB rescued SIRT6-suppressed CCN1 synthesis. CCN1 induced COX2 expression in osteoblasts. In rat CIA, the therapeutic effect of SIRT6 was accompanied by decreases in osteoblastic expressions of phospho-CREB, CCN1 and COX2. CONCLUSION: Our study indicated that the benefits of SIRT6 to inflammatory arthritis and bone resorption are at least partially derived from its modulation of CREB/CCN1/COX2 pathway in osteoblasts.

Evaluation of the efficacy of Abelmoschus manihot (L.) on diabetic nephropathy by analyzing biomarkers in the glomeruli and proximal and distal convoluted tubules of the kidneys.

Introduction: As a traditional Chinese medicine, Abelmoschus manihot (L.) in the form of Huangkui (HK) capsule has been used as a medication for kidney diseases, including diabetic nephropathy (DN), in China. The most significant effect of HK capsule treatment in kidney diseases is the reduction of albuminuria and proteinuria. To evaluate the efficacy of HK capsule in the regression of DN, in the current study, we analyzed the biomarkers in the glomerulus and proximal and distal convoluted tubules in the kidneys of db/db mice, the animal model for type 2 diabetes and DN. Methods: Huangkui capsules (0.84 g/kg/d) or vehicle were administered daily via oral gavage for 4 weeks in db/db mice. Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio and blood glucose levels were measured during the whole experimental period. Five biomarkers in the glomerulus and proximal and distal convoluted tubules in the kidneys were selected, namely, col4a3, slc5a2, slc34a1, slc12a3, and slc4a1, and their activities at mRNA and protein levels before and after HK capsule treatment were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Result and discussion: After HK capsule treatment for 4 weeks, the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio in db/db mice was found to be significantly decreased. The activities of col4a3, slc5a2, slc34a1, slc12a3, and slc4a1 in the kidneys were upregulated in db/db mice prior to the treatment but downregulated after HK capsule treatment. Further analyses of the fields of whole kidney tissue sections demonstrated that the number of nephrons in the kidneys of db/db mice with HK capsule treatment was higher than that in the kidneys of db/db mice without HK capsule treatment. Thereby, the current study provides experimental evidence confirming the medical efficacy of A. manihot in the reduction of albuminuria and proteinuria, suggesting that A. manihot may have pharmacological efficacy in the regression of the development of type 2 diabetes-DN.

Activatable photothermal agents with target-initiated large spectral separation for highly effective reduction of side effects.

Photothermal agents (PTAs) with minimized side effects are critical for transforming cancer photothermal therapy (PTT) into clinical applications. However, most currently available PTAs lack true selective activation to reduce side effects because of heavy spectral overlap between photothermal agents and their corresponding products. This study reports the construction of activatable PTAs with target-initiated large spectral separation for highly effective reduction of side effects. Such designed probes involve two H2O2-activatable PTAs, aza-BOD-B1 (single activatable site) and aza-BOD-B2 (multiple activatable site). After interacting with H2O2, aza-BOD-B1 only displays a mild absorption redshift (60 nm) from 750 nm to 810 nm with serious spectral overlap, resulting in a mild photothermal effect on normal tissues upon 808 nm light irradiation. In contrast, aza-BOD-B2 displays a large absorption spectral separation (150 nm) from 660 nm to 810 nm, achieving true selective activation to minimize side effects during PTT of cancer. Besides, in vitro and in vivo investigations demonstrated that aza-BOD-B2 can specifically induce photothermal ablation of cancer cells and tumors while leaving normal sites undamaged, whereas aza-BOD-B1 exhibits undesirable side effects on normal cells. Our study provides a practical solution to the problem of undesired side effects of phototherapy, an advance in precision medicine.

α-Carotene: a valuable carotenoid in biological and medical research.

α-Carotene, one of the C40 carotenes, is a natural lipid-soluble terpene. The chemical structure of α-carotene is based on the unsaturated polyene chain skeleton, with an ε-ring and a ß-ring on each side of the skeleton. α-Carotene is widely found in dietary fruits and vegetables, and the concentration depends on the plant species. In addition, processing methods and storage conditions used in the food and medical industries can alter the concentration of α-carotene in raw materials. This review of α-carotene summarizes the major studies on chemical structure, source, extraction, detection, biosynthesis, processing effect, bioactivity, medicine, and biotechnology. Whether α-carotene supplementation or a diet rich in fruits and vegetables has a positive effect on the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other diseases is the focus of this study. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

On the Eve of Integration: Community and Affiliated Residency Programs Pave the Way Towards the Assimilation of Osteopathic Surgery Residents.

OBJECTIVE: The 2020 match integrated former osteopathic and allopathic residency programs under single Graduate Medical Education accreditation. We describe the composition of general surgery residency programs prior to the 2020 integration and provide a baseline to monitor future progress. DESIGN: Retrospective, cross-sectional data provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges for the 2018 academic year were analyzed. Descriptive analyses were used to summarize the characteristics of residents by program type and program location. Logistic regression was used to estimate factors associated with the presence of osteopathic (DO) residents. An alpha of 0.05 defined statistical significance. SETTING: Data were collected and analyzed at a United States osteopathic medical school. PARTICIPANTS: All civilian surgery residencies that approved the 2018 Program Survey. RESULTS: Out of 285 programs, the percentages with at least one DO resident were significantly different among university (44.0%), university-affiliated (62.7%) and community (78.4%) programs (p < 0.001). DO residents made up 41.4% of community residents, 13.3% of university-affiliated residents, and 2.8% of university residents (p < 0.001). A significant regional difference was observed, as DO residents made up 16.9% of residents in the central region, compared to 10.4% in the northeast, 7.0% in the south and 8.9% in the west (p = 0.004). The logistic regression analysis found that the presence of DO residents at a program was significantly related to the type of program (Affiliated vs University OR = 3.1, 95% CI 1.5-6.5; Community vs University OR = 5.2, 95% CI 1.9-14.4) and the presence of DO faculty (OR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.6-4.8) (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We observed significant differences in the presence of DO residents in different program types. As surgical education transitions to single accreditation, this study identifies opportunities for greater integration between osteopathic and allopathic surgery training programs.

Release characteristics of phosphate from ball-milled biochar and its potential effects on plant growth.

Ball-milled biochar could potentially supply phosphorus, an essential element for plant growth. To realize resource reuse and phosphorus recovery, three feedstocks (rice straw, distillers grains, and Eupatorium adenophorum) were used to prepare ball-milled biochar to evaluate its release characteristics of phosphorus and potential effects on germination and growth. The results showed that the phosphate release performance of ball-milled distillers grains biochar (DM) at 300 and 600 °C was better than that of other biochars ball-milled for 12 h. The DM prepared at 600 °C and incubated for 12 (DM-12) or 24 h (DM-24) had the best phosphate release capacity. The solution with pH 3.0 was beneficial to the release of phosphate from DM-12. The pseudo-second-order model could better fit the phosphate release of DM-12. A germination and seedling growth experiment suggested that adding 2.5 wt% DM-12 was beneficial to the height of mung beans. This study shows that DM-12 can be used as a slow-release fertilizer for the growth of mung beans, which provides a new way for resource utilization of distillers grains and phosphorus-rich biochar.

Long-term association of serum selenium levels and the diabetes risk: Findings from a case-control study nested in the prospective Jinchang Cohort.

An increasing body of evidence implicates high levels of selenium intake in the development of diabetes, although prospective studies remain sparse. We conducted a nested case-control study of 622 diabetes incident cases and 622-age, sex, and follow-up time-matched controls in the prospective Jinchang cohort of 48,001 participants with a median of 5.8 years of follow-up. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to measure all 622 case-control pairs' baseline serum levels of selenium (Se), which were then categorized into quartiles based on the frequency distribution among the controls. Multivariable adjusted conditional logistic regression and restricted cubic splines (RCS) models were applied to evaluate independent odds ratios (OR) as estimates for relative risks (RR) of diabetes according to quartiles (Q) of selenium levels. Compared to the lowest quartile (Q1 as reference), significantly greater diabetes risks (with 95% confidence interval) were observed in Q3 (OR = 1.62, 1.17-2.35) and Q4 (OR = 1.79, 1.21-2.64). Sub-analyses showed these increased risks of diabetes by serum levels of Se. appeared to differ by sex, age, BMI status, history of hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Further, application of RSC models showed that serum Se levels between 95 and 120 µg/L were significantly and positively associated with diabetes risk whereas no apparent relation exists when Se levels were under 95 µg/L in this cohort population.

Co-adsorption performance and mechanism of nitrogen and phosphorus onto eupatorium adenophorum biochar in water.

To reduce the eutrophication caused by nitrogen and phosphorus in water, invasive plant Eupatorium adenophorum was used to prepare biochar under different pyrolysis temperatures for the co-adsorption of nitrogen and phosphorus. The influencing factors of the co-adsorption of ammonium and phosphate onto EBC and its adsorption mechanism were systematically studied. The results show that Eupatorium adenophorum biochar (EBC) has rich functional groups and high specific surface area. Low pyrolysis temperature (300 °C) and alkaline conditions are beneficial for the co-adsorption. The adsorption of ammonium and phosphate by EBC is more in line with the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir-Freundlich model (Qmax is 2.32 mg P/g and 1.909 mg N/g). Site energy analysis further confirms that electrostatic attraction is the main mechanism. This study shows that EBC could be used as a low-cost and effective adsorbent to simultaneously remove ammonium and phosphate from water, providing a method for resource utilization of invasive plants.

An Improved Deep Learning Model: S-TextBLCNN for Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula Classification.

Purpose: This study proposes an S-TextBLCNN model for the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula classification. This model uses deep learning to analyze the relationship between herb efficacy and formula efficacy, which is helpful in further exploring the internal rules of formula combination. Methods: First, for the TCM herbs extracted from Chinese Pharmacopoeia, natural language processing (NLP) is used to learn and realize the quantitative expression of different TCM herbs. Three features of herb name, herb properties, and herb efficacy are selected to encode herbs and to construct formula-vector and herb-vector. Then, based on 2,664 formulae for stroke collected in TCM literature and 19 formula efficacy categories extracted from Yifang Jijie, an improved deep learning model TextBLCNN consists of a bidirectional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) neural network and a convolutional neural network (CNN) is proposed. Based on 19 formula efficacy categories, binary classifiers are established to classify the TCM formulae. Finally, aiming at the imbalance problem of formula data, the over-sampling method SMOTE is used to solve it and the S-TextBLCNN model is proposed. Results: The formula-vector composed of herb efficacy has the best effect on the classification model, so it can be inferred that there is a strong relationship between herb efficacy and formula efficacy. The TextBLCNN model has an accuracy of 0.858 and an F1-score of 0.762, both higher than the logistic regression (acc = 0.561, F1-score = 0.567), SVM (acc = 0.703, F1-score = 0.591), LSTM (acc = 0.723, F1-score = 0.621), and TextCNN (acc = 0.745, F1-score = 0.644) models. In addition, the over-sampling method SMOTE is used in our model to tackle data imbalance, and the F1-score is greatly improved by an average of 47.1% in 19 models. Conclusion: The combination of formula feature representation and the S-TextBLCNN model improve the accuracy in formula efficacy classification. It provides a new research idea for the study of TCM formula compatibility.

Current Research Status of Aptamer-mediated Liposome Targeted Delivery of Antitumor Drugs / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Tumor has become the second most serious disease that threatens human health and life. Treating with chemical drugs (referred to as chemotherapy) is the most basic treatment, but most chemotherapeutic drugs cause damage to normal tissues. It is a difficult problem in the field of biomedical research that how to deliver anti-tumor drugs more efficiently, increase the concentration of drugs in tumor tissues, enhance the anti-tumor effect, and decrease the drug distribution in normal tissues to weaken the damage to normal tissues. In order to achieve the goals of accurate delivery of anti-tumor drugs and synergism and attenuation, the researchers used systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment technology (SELEX technology) to screen aptamers that can specifically target tumor markers or tumor cells, and designed the novel liposome targeting drug delivery system with aptamers as targeting molecules (ligands). This paper briefly introduced nucleic acid aptamer technology and common tumor markers, and reviewed the research advances on the antitumor effect of aptamer-liposome drug delivery system. It will provide references for the selection of appropriate tumor markers as targets and the application of aptamer technology in the research and development of high-efficiency and low-toxicity liposome targeting agents of anti-tumor traditional Chinese medicine. Meanwhile, it is of great significance for promoting the application of aptamer technology in targeted drug delivery systems.

Potential target-related proteins in rabbit platelets treated with active monomers dehydrocorydaline and canadine from Rhizoma corydalis.

BACKGROUND: Dehydrocorydaline (DHC) and canadine (THB) are two active alkaloid compounds in Corydalis yanhusuo (Y.H. Chou & Chun C. Hsu) W.T. Wang ex Z.Y. Su & C.Y. Wu (Papaveraceae) (Rhizoma Corydalis). DHC and THC were previously shown to exert anti-platelet aggregation effect dose-dependently, but their exact mechanisms had not yet been addressed. Therefore, it is essential to study the mechanisms of DHC and THB affecting on platelet's function. PURPOSE: To investigate the anti-platelet effects and corresponding signal cascades of DHC and THB on platelet aggregation. METHODS: Firstly, in vitro anti-platelet aggregation of DHC and THB induced by different agonists including thrombin (THR), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and arachidonic acid (AA) were determined through turbidimetry method. Then the possible target-related platelet proteins after treated with DHC/THB were separated and identified by two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and MALDI-TOF-MS/MS analysis, respectively. Finally, the signal cascades network induced by DHC/THB were predicted through functional analysis of these proteins along with the determination of platelet DAG concentration. RESULTS: The platelet aggregation stimulated by THR, ADP and AA were inhibited by DHC and THB dose-dependently to a certain degree. Meanwhile, DHC and THB had the strongest effect on ADP- and THR-induced platelet aggregation respectively. In addition, treatment of these two compounds caused regulations of about sixty proteins in platelet, including cytoskeleton proteins, cell signaling proteins, proteins related to material energy metabolism, etc. CONCLUSIONS: Using proteomic analysis combined with platelet aggregation test and ELISA, this study was successful in exploring the possible mechanisms of DHC/THB on platelet aggregation. DHC might inhibit platelet aggregation by a mechanism involving the ADP receptors P2Y1 and P2Y12, and the effect of THB on platelet function may be related to its binding to THR receptor PAR1 for mediated Gi signaling pathway. These results provide fundamental information for the anti-thrombotic effect of RC.

Adverse event reporting patterns of concomitant botanical dietary supplements with CYP3A4 interactive & CYP3A4 non-interactive anticancer drugs in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

BACKGROUND: To examine the adverse event (AE) reporting patterns for concomitant Botanical Dietary Supplements (BDS) and anticancer drugs. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using the 2004-2015 U.S. Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database, AEs involving commonly used BDS and anticancer drugs (categorized into CYP3A4 interactive and CYP3A4 non-interactive) were examined. Disproportionality analyses using reporting odds ratios (RORs) assessed the relative reporting rates of 1) serious AEs (i.e., mortality and morbidity) with concomitant use of BDS (overall and by type) and anticancer drugs compared to anticancer drugs only; and 2) AEs by specific System Organ Classes (SOCs). RESULTS: A total of 3,264 AEs were reported involving concomitant BDS and CYP3A4 interactives, and 3,885 involving concomitant BDS and non-interactive anticancer drugs. ROR of serious AEs with concomitant all BDS and anticancer drugs compared to anticancer drugs alone showed a potential protective signal (ROR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.62,0.68), but ROR for açaí and non-interactive anticancer drugs indicated potential risk (ROR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.01,2.86). Heterogeneity of reporting patterns of AEs related to certain SOCs was observed for use of BDS along with anticancer drugs. CONCLUSION: This study identified potential protective and risk signals for AEs with concomitant use of BDS and anticancer drugs.

Two new labdane diterpenoids from aerial parts of Leonurus japonicus and their anti-inflammatory activity.

Two new labdane diterpenoids, Leojaponin E (1) and F (2), together with three known compounds were isolated from the dried herb of Leonurus japonicus Houtt., Lamiaceae. Their structures were determined based on extensive spectroscopic analyses. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were elucidated on the basis of experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra. In addition, compounds 1 and 2 exerted inhibition of LPS-induced PGE2 production in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations ranging from 5 to 20 µM.

[A new aurone with anti-inflammatory activity from Cleistocalyx operculatus flower buds].

A new compound(Z)-6-hydroxy-4-methoxy-5,7-dimethylaurone was isolated from Cleistocalyx operculatus flower buds. Its structure was identified by spectroscopic data including MS, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR HSQC and HMBC. A known compound, 2',4'-dihydroxy-6'-methoxy-3'5'-dimethylchalcone (DMC), was also isolated and identified,and used as material to synthesize (Z)-6-hydroxy-4-methoxy-5,7-dimethylaurone.Anti-inflammatory activities of the two compounds were tested in vitro. The results showed that (Z)-6-hydroxy-4-methoxy-5,7-dimethylaurone possesses much stronger PGE2 inhibitory activity (IC50 6.12 nmol·L⁻¹) than the positive control ibuprofen （68.66 nmol·L⁻¹ï¼‰.

Adsorbed hollow fiber-based biological fingerprinting for the discovery of platelet aggregation inhibitors from Danshen-Honghua decoction.

For lead compound discovery from natural products, hollow fiber cell fishing with chromatographic analysis is a newly developed method. In this study, an adsorbed hollow fiber-based biological fingerprinting method was firstly developed to discover potential platelet aggregation inhibitors from Danshen-Honghua decoction. Platelets were seeded on the fiber and their survival rate was tested. Results indicated that more than 92% platelets survived during the whole operation process. Ranitidine and tirofiban were used as positive and negative control respectively to verify the reliability of the presented approach. The main variables such as amount of extract and stirring time that affect the adsorbed hollow fiber-based biological fingerprinting process were optimized, and the repeatability of this method was also investigated. Finally, 12 potential active compounds in Danshen-Honghua decoction were successfully detected using the established approach and structures for nine of them were tentatively identified by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry analysis. In addition, the in vitro platelet aggregation inhibition test was carried out for five of the nine hit compounds, and three active components, namely, lithospermic acid, salvianolic acid A, and salvianolic acid B were confirmed. These results proved that the proposed method could be an effective approach for screening platelet inhibitors from plant extracts.

Efficacy and safety of long-term treatment with statins for coronary heart disease: A Bayesian network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Our study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of long-term treatment of statins for coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: Efficacy outcomes included changes in blood lipids, risk of CHD mortality and all-cause mortality. Safety outcomes were evaluated by the risk of adverse events (AE). Bayesian network meta-analysis was used to compare the direct and indirect effects between different statins. RESULTS: The systematic review showed that levels of blood lipids decreased during statin treatment. High dose of atorvastatin was the most obvious treatment for the reduction of blood lipids. Network meta-analysis showed that statins were significantly more effective than the control in reducing the risk of CHD mortality (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.69, 95% CI 0.61-0.77) and all-cause mortality (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.80-0.87). In terms of reducing the risk of CHD morality, fluvastatin (77.3%), atorvastatin (72.3%) and lovastatin (68.4%) had higher cumulative probability than other statins, which were more effective treatments for the reduction of CHD morality. In terms of reducing all-cause mortality, atorvastatin (78.6%), fluvastatin (77.1%) and pitavastatin (74.1%) had higher cumulative probability than other statins, which were more effective treatment for reducing the all-cause mortality. Compared with placebo, statins increased the incidence risk of muscle disease (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.00-1.10) and kidney disease (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.05-1.72). CONCLUSIONS: Statins significantly reduced levels of blood lipids, with a high dose of atorvastatin being the most effective in blood-lipid level modification. Statins reduced the risk of CHD mortality and all-cause mortality, with atorvastatin and fluvastatin being the most effective in reducing the risk of CHD mortality and all-cause mortality. Statins increased the risk of muscle disease and kidney damage.

[Research on Chinese medicine pairs effects of Panax notoginseng and Bletilla striata before and after compatibility on contents of notoginsenosides].

To discuss the synergistic mechanism of compatible use of two medicinal herbs,Panax notoginseng and Bletilla striata, an HPLC was established to determine two ginseng saponins (20S)-ginseng saponin Rg3 and ginseng saponin Rh4 contained in single decoction of Panax notoginseng as well as in compound decoction of Panax notoginseng and Bletillastriata in different compatibility ratio (1∶0.5, 1∶1, 1∶2), followed by analyzing the impact of amount of notoginsenosides after compatibility. As a result, compared with the single decoction of Panax notoginseng, the contents of ginseng saponin Rg3 and ginseng saponin Rh4 in the compound decoction of Panax notoginseng and Bletillastriata were on the rise as the increasement of the amount of Bletillastriata. The contents of the notoginsengsaponin R1, ginseng saponin Rg1 and ginseng saponin Rb1 of Panax notoginseng single decoction were significantly decreased after compatibility. Therefore, after compatibility, it was more easy to produce (20S)-ginseng saponin Rg3 and ginseng saponin Rh4.This study can extend to a method of preparation of (20S)-ginseng saponin Rg3 and ginseng saponin Rh4. Furthermore, after compatibility, two ginseng saponins which had lipase inhibitory effect were both increased significantly, indicating that the compatibility of these two herb medicines may have effect on losing weight.

[Orthogonal test for preparing genipin with enzymolyzed geniposide].

OBJECTIVE: To optimize the process for preparing genipin with enzymolyzed geniposide by an orthogonal experiment. METHOD: The optimal enzymolysis process was selected by an orthogonal experiment, with the concentration of geniposide as the index as well as enzyme quantity, pH of enzymolysis solution, enzymolysis time and enzymolysis temperature as considerations. RESULT: The optimal hydrolysis conditions were as follow: rough genipin samples at the concentration of 40 g x L(-1) were selected and shook on a table concentrator at a speed of 100 r x min(-1), added with beta-glucosidase-geniposide 1 : 1 (weight proportion), with pH of enzymolysis solution at 4.5, hydrolyzation temperature at 50 degrees C, the conversion rate of genipin could reach 85.8%. CONCLUSION: The process is so stable and feasible that it can provide theoretical basis for the preparation of genipin with enzymolyzed geniposide.

[The curative effects of different drugs on liver cell damage of rats induced by acute nickel carbonyl poisoning].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the curative effects of different drugs on liver cell damage of rats induced by acute nickel carbonyl poisoning. METHODS: In present study 220 SD rats were divided into control group (10 rats), carbonyl nickel group (10 rats), 20 mg/kg methylprednisolone group (40 rats), 100 mg/kg DDC group (40 rats), 10 µmol/kg sodium selenite group (40 rats), 0.25 ml shenfuhuiyangtang group (40 rats) and 20 mg/kg methylprednisolone with 100 mg/kg DDC group (40 rats). All rats except for control group inhaled passively 250 mg/m(3) carbonyl nickel for 30 minutes. At 4h and 30h after exposure, the drugs were given intraperitoneally to the rats. On the 3rd and 7th days after exposure, the liver samples were taken from 10 rats each group. The DNA damage of liver cells was detected using comet assay, the ultrastructure changes in liver cells were examined under an electronmicroscope. RESULTS: Compared to carbonyl nickel group, the tail lengths of liver cells in 5 groups administrated at 4 h or 30 h and tested on the 3rd or 7th day after exposure decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Compared to the control group, the tail lengths of liver cells in sodium selenite and shenfuhuiyangtang groups administrated at 4h after exposure or sodium selenite, shenfuhuiyangtang and methylprednisolone with DDC groups administrated at 30h after exposure increased significantly (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), when tested on the 3rd day after exposure. Except from methylprednisolone sub-group administrated at 4h and tested on the 7th day after exposure, the tail lengths of liver cells in other groups administrated at 4 h or 30 h and tested on the 7th day after exposure increased significantly (P < 0.05). Compared to carbonyl nickel group, the Olive moment of liver cells in 5 groups administrated at 4 h or 30 h tested on the 3rd or 7th day after exposure decreased significantly (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Compared to the control group, the Olive moment of liver cells in following groups (selenite and shenfuhuiyangtang groups administrated at 4 h or 30 h and tested on the 3rd or 7th day after exposure, DDC group administrated at 4 h or 30 h and tested on the 7th day after exposure, DDC group administrated at 30h and tested on the 3rd day after exposure, and methylprednisolone with DDC group administrated at 30 h and tested on the 7th day after exposure) increased significantly (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). As compared with carbonyl nickel group, the ultrastructure observation indicated that the nucleus and other organelles of liver cells in methylprednisolone, DDC and methylprednisolone with DDC groups administrated at 4h and tested on the 3rd day were access to normal levels. CONCLUSION: The results of present study showed that methylprednisolone, DDC and methylprednisolone with DDC could improve obviously the repair of rat liver cell damage induced by acute carbonyl nickel poisoning, and the curative effects of early treatment were better than those of later treatment.

[Impact of family members and health care providers on the use of folic acid in pregnant women].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of family members and health care providers on the use of folic acid supplements in pregnant women, and to provide basic data for improving the effectiveness of folic acid intervention. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in hospitals and households from June to September in 2009. Face-to-face anonymous questionnaires were distributed to 2094 women, who were pregnant at least three months or postpartum in one year, in two counties of Gansu Province. RESULTS: The awareness rate of folic acid was in 62.2% of 2094 pregnant women, and 25.4% of them have taken folic acid. Higher knowledge about folic acid of family members (OR = 0.268, 95% CI 0.208 - 0.346), agreed with taking folic acid by family members (OR = 0.103, 95% CI 0.031 -0.338), and urging pregnant women to take folic acid by family members (OR = 0.147, 95% CI 0.115 - 0.190) were significant predictors for having folic acid taken by pregnant women. Propagating knowledge related to folic acid (OR = 0.252, 95% CI 0.197 - 0.323) and directing pregnant women to use folic acid (OR = 0.168, 95% CI 0.096 - 0.296) by health care providers were also the important predictors for folic acid intake. CONCLUSION: Family members and health care providers play an important role in affecting the use of folic acid among pregnant women. In order to improve the effectiveness of intervention with folic acid, family members of pregnant women and health care providers should be included into the target population to receive an intensive propaganda campaign on folic acid education to improve the use of folic acid in pregnant women extensively.