Effects of electroacupuncture on the PI3K/Akt/CREB signaling pathway and hippocampal neuronal apoptosis in diabetic cognitive impairment rats. / ç”µé’ˆå¯¹ç³–å°¿ç— è®¤çŸ¥åŠŸèƒ½éšœç¢å¤§é¼ PI3K/Akt/CREBä¿¡å·é€šè·¯å’Œæµ·é©¬ç¥žç»å ƒå‡‹äº¡çš„å½±å“.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) signaling pathway-related proteins and hippocampal neuron apoptosis in diabetic cognitive impairment (DCI) rats, and to explore the mechanisms of EA in treating DCI. METHODS: Adult male SD rats were randomly divided into normal, model, and EA groups, with 12 rats in each group. The animal model of DCI was replicated using a high-fat, high-sugar diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin. The EA group received EA stimulation at "Yishu" (EX-B6), "Zusanli" (ST36), "Baihui" (GV20), and "Dazhui" (GV14). Blood glucose contents of the rats in each group were measured. The Morris water maze test was used to assess the learning and memory abilities of rats. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructure of hippocampal CA1 neurons. Nissl staining was used to observe the pathological changes in hippocampal CA1 neurons. TUNEL staining was used to detect the apoptosis in hippocampal CA1 neurons. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of p-PI3K/PI3K and p-Akt/Akt, as well as CREB, p-CREB, cysteine aspartate pro-tease (Caspase)-3, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), and Bcl-2 related X protein (Bax) in the hippocampal tissue of rats. RESULTS: Compared with the normal group, the rats' random blood glucose contents were significantly increased (P<0.01), the escape latency prolonged (P<0.01), and the original platform crossing counts reduced (P<0.01) in the model group. Significant damage to hippocampal CA1 neurons, a significantly increased neuronal apoptosis index (P<0.01), decreased ratio of p-PI3K/PI3K and p-Akt/Akt and expression of CREB, p-CREB and Bcl-2 proteins, increased expression of Caspase-3 and Bax proteins (P<0.01) were observed in the hippocampal tissue of rats in the model group. Compared with the model group, the rats in the EA group showed decreased random blood glucose content (P<0.01), shortened escape latency (P<0.01), increased original platform crossing counts (P<0.01), improved quantity and pathological morphology and ultrastructure of hippocampal CA1 neurons, reduced neuronal apoptosis index (P<0.01), increased ratio of p-PI3K/PI3K and p-Akt/Akt, and expression of CREB, p-CREB and Bcl-2 proteins (P<0.05, P<0.01) in the hippocampal tissue, and decreased expression of Caspase-3 and Bax proteins (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: EA can improve the learning and memory abilities of rats with DCI, and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of the expression of PI3K/Akt/CREB signaling pathway-related proteins, which attenuates the neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus of rats, and improves the neural function.

Efficacy and safety of platelet-rich plasma combined with Tai Chi for knee osteoarthritis: study protocol for a placebo-controlled randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: No definitive treatment methods of curative for knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The combined therapies that into account both the biochemical and biomechanical may provide potential opportunities for treat KOA, and previous studies have demonstrated that the platelet-rich plasma of intra-articular injection (IAI-PRP) and exercise treatments afford more benefits than do their corresponding monotherapies. The absence of a specific exercise plan and detailed explanation renders the aforementioned study results questionable. Furthermore, Tai Chi (TC) with moderate-intensity, whole body movements and good adherence may prove to be more effective for treating KOA. However, few studies examined the effectiveness and safety of combined IAI-PRP and TC for KOA. METHODS: This study protocol will be a placebo-controlled, assessor-blinded randomized trial involving 12-week intervention and 1-year follow-up. The stratified randomization will be used to randomly assign the 212 participants to four groups: group A (placebo IAI); group B (PRP IAI); group C (TC and placebo IAI); group D (TC and PRP IAI). Injection will be performed once a week, three consecutive times as a course, after a week of rest to continue the next course, a total of 3 courses (12 week). Additionally, the TC interventions will be carried out 3 days per week for a total of 12 weeks. The primary outcome measures will include the efficacy (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index), acceptability and safety of these interventions. The secondary outcome measures will include physical function (Timed Up and Go test), walking function (Gait Analysis), inflammatory factor levels (e.g., Interleukin-1 ß, interleukin-6, vascular endothelial growth factor), quality of life (36-Item Short Form Health Survey), volume of patellofemoral cartilage and effusion-synovitis (MRI). Two-way of variance with repeated measures will be applied to examine the main effects of the group and the time factor and group-time interaction effects for all outcome measures. DISCUSSION: This trial will be first one to propose an integrated scheme combing IAI-PRP and TC for treatment of KOA, based on the consideration of the biochemical and biomechanical pathogenesis of KOA. These results of the study will provide evidence with high quality for integrated IAI-PRP and TC to treatment KOA. Trial Registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2300067559. Registered on 11 January 2023.

Protective effects of Zishen Huoxue recipe against neuronal injury in the neurovascular unit of rats with vascular dementia by interfering with inflammatory cascade-induced pyroptosis.

OBJECTIVE: Chinese herbal formulas show considerable therapeutic benefits in dementia. This study specifically explored the protective action of Zishen Huoxue recipe on the neurovascular unit (NVU) of rats with vascular dementia (VD). METHODS: VD rat models were established by permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion and treated with Zishen Huoxue recipe. In vitro glucose­oxygen deprivation (OGD)-injured NVU models were established and treated with miR-124-3p agomir or rat medicated serum. The neurological damage, histopathological changes, and neuronal injury in the rat hippocampus were assessed using Morris water maze test and histological stainings. Expression of miR-124-3p was determined using RT-qPCR. The blood-brain barrier/NVU injury, cell pyroptosis, NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and release of inflammatory factors were analyzed mainly by immunofluorescence analysis, TUNEL staining, Western blot, and ELISA. QS-21 (an NLRP3 activator) was used to verify the role of miR-124-3p/NLRP3. RESULTS: Zishen Huoxue recipe ameliorated the learning/memory deficits, neuronal injury, NVU insults, cell pyroptosis, activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, and extensive secretion of lactate dehydrogenase/IL-1ß/IL-18 in VD rats. miR-124-3p was downregulated in VD rats but upregulated after treatment of this recipe. miR-124-3p overexpression ameliorated NVU insults, reduced cell pyroptosis, lowered NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and suppressed inflammatory responses in OGD-injured NVU models. NLRP3 inflammasome activation partly counteracted the amelioration effect of miR-124-3p on pyroptosis. Zishen Huoxue recipe could upregulate miR-124-3p to suppress pyroptosis and protect NVU function. CONCLUSION: Zishen Huoxue recipe can upregulate miR-124-3p expression to repress the inflammatory cascade-evoked pyroptosis, thereby protecting against neuronal injury in the NVU of VD rats.

S-adenosylmethionine improves cognitive impairment in D-galactose-induced brain aging by inhibiting oxidative stress and neuroinflammation.

Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation play crucial roles in aging. S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), a popular supplement, is a potential antioxidant and candidate therapy for depression. This study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of SAM on D-galactose-induced brain aging and explore its underlying mechanisms. Brain aging model was established with D-galactose (180 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks. During the last 4 weeks, SAM (16 mg/kg) was co-administrated with D-galactose. Behavior tests were used to assess cognitive function and depression-like behaviors of rats. Results showed that cognitive impairment and depression-like behaviors were reversed by SAM. SAM reduced neuronal cell loss, increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor level in the hippocampus, inhibited amyloid-ß level and microglia activation, as well as pro-inflammatory factors levels in the hippocampus and serum. Further, SAM enhanced antioxidant capacity and attenuated cholinergic damage by reducing malondialdehyde levels, increasing acetylcholine levels, expression levels of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR), nuclear factor erythrocyte 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) in the hippocampus. Above all, SAM has a potential neuroprotective effect on ameliorating cognitive impairment in brain aging, which is related to inhibition of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, as well as α7nAChR signals. DATA AVAILABILITY: Data will be made available on request.

What can traditional plant therapy do in the face of Covid-19? Examples from traditional Chinese medicine.

Background: Until June 2022, more than 540.9 million people had been diagnosed with COVID-19, and the pandemic had claimed more than six million lives worldwide. Two years after fighting the virus, we faced a more uncertain position. SARS-CoV-2 is constantly mutating and reappears regularly, particularly with Omicron variants showing high genetic variation and immune escape mechanisms. The efficacy and duration of protection of existing vaccines against new variants of SARS-CoV-2 remains uncertain. The world needs time to develop new variant-specific drugs, including monoclonal topics, vaccines, and other antiviral drugs, to fight the epidemic. Objective: The aim of this study was to illustrate the scientific, effective and systematic nature of three classical prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of COVID-19 through comparison of disease symptoms, diagnostic process, and treatment methods and evidence-based and pharmacological studies. Methods: We analysed the "Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia" (Version 9) made by China, "WHO-2019-nCoV-therapeutics", "Therapeutic Guidelines" published by Australian Therapeutic Guidelines Limited, "Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Febrile Diseases)", "Jinkui Yaolue (Golden Chamber Synopsis), and "Wenyi Lun (The Epidemic Febrile Disease)". We manually retrieved the dictionary of traditional Chinese medicine (Version II). In addition, we searched the Wiley online library, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), VIP, WHO website, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) for relevant literature from 2001 to 2022. We searched the original plants, ingredients, pharmacology, functions and indications, usage and dosage, drug efficacy, literature sources, and conduct an evidence-based studies. We quantified the strength of pharmacological action to show the pertinence of disease development. Results: We found that the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary infection caused by epidemic disease in TCM classics is consistent with the diagnostic process of modern medical therapeutic guidelines. The three classic prescriptions have significant symptomatic therapeutic effects on the respiratory, gastrointestinal, urinary and hematological symptoms of the clinical manifestations of COVID-19. It was found that the herbal functional group of Houpo (Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis), Chaihu (Radix Bupleuri), Cangzhu (Rhizoma Atractylodis), Qianghuo (Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix), etc showed strong anti-inflammatory activity and had a positive effect on treating and preventing the outbreaks of systemic inflammatory factors. Conclusion: TCM can obtain obvious curative effect in symptomatic treatment, has strong anti-inflammatory effect, and can effectively reduce symptoms and patients' pain.

Comparison of the Efficacy of Different Insulin Administration and Blood Glucose Monitoring Methods in the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Children.

Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy of different insulin administration methods and blood glucose monitoring methods in treating type 1 diabetes mellitus in children. Methods: Patients were divided into four groups: multiple daily injection (MDI) + fingertip blood glucose detection, continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) + fingertip blood glucose detection, MDI + continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS), and CSII + CGMS. After six months of treatment, followed by telephone and at least once a month in an outpatient clinic, insulin doses were adjusted according to the children's blood glucose levels. Blood glucose control and the daily dose of insulin were compared among the four groups after treatment, and the incidence of hypoglycemia in each group was recorded during the treatment. We also compare the incidence of the adverse event among the four groups. Results: 6 months later, the levels of HbA1c, FBG, and two h PG in each group were lower than those before treatment. There were significant differences in HbA1c, two h PG, and the daily insulin dose among the four groups. There were differences in the frequency of hypoglycemia among all the groups. The frequency of hypoglycemia in groups C and D was lower than in group A. Conclusions: CSII was better than MDI, and the blood glucose monitoring effect of CGMS was better than the fingertip blood glucose detection. The patients treated with CSII combined with CGMS had the best clinical efficacy. The patients treated with CSII combined with CGMS had the lowest adverse events incidence.

Microplastics aging in wastewater treatment plants: Focusing on physicochemical characteristics changes and corresponding environmental risks.

Microplastics (MPs) have been frequently detected in effluent wastewater and sludge in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the discharge and agricultural application of which represent a primary source of environmental MPs contamination. As important as quantitative removal is, changes of physicochemical characteristics of MPs (e.g., shapes, sizes, density, crystallinity) in WWTPs are crucial to their environmental behaviors and risks and have not been put enough attention yet. This review is therefore to provide a current overview on the changes of physicochemical characteristics of MPs in WWTPs and their corresponding environmental risks. The changes of physicochemical characteristics as well as the underlying mechanisms of MPs in different successional wastewater and sludge treatment stages that mainly driven by mechanical (e.g., mixing, pumping, filtering), chemical (e.g., flocculation, advanced oxidation, ultraviolet radiation, thermal hydrolysis, incineration and lime stabilization), biological (e.g., activated sludge process, anaerobic digestion, composition) and their combination effects were first recapitulated. Then, the inevitable correlations between physicochemical characteristics of MPs and their environmental behaviors (e.g., migration, adsorption) and risks (e.g., animals, plants, microbes), are comprehensively discussed with particular emphasis on the leaching of additives and physicochemical characteristics that affect the co-exist pollutants behavior of MPs in WWTPs on environmental risks. Finally, knowing the summarized above, some relating unanswered questions and concerns that need to be unveiled in the future are prospected. The physicochemical properties of MPs change after passing through WWTP, leading to subsequent changes in co-contaminant adsorption, migration, and toxicity. This could threaten our ecosystems and human health and must be worth investigating.

Suppressing Alpha-Hemolysin as Potential Target to Screen of Flavonoids to Combat Bacterial Coinfection.

The rapid emergence of bacterial coinfection caused by cytosolic bacteria has become a huge threat to public health worldwide. Past efforts have been devoted to discover the broad-spectrum antibiotics, while the emergence of antibiotic resistance encourages the development of antibacterial agents. In essence, bacterial virulence is a factor in antibiotic tolerance. However, the discovery and development of new antibacterial drugs and special antitoxin drugs is much more difficult in the antibiotic resistance era. Herein, we hypothesize that antitoxin hemolytic activity can serve as a screening principle to select antibacterial drugs to combat coinfection from natural products. Being the most abundant natural drug of plant origins, flavonoids were selected to assess the ability of antibacterial coinfections in this paper. Firstly, we note that four flavonoids, namely, baicalin, catechin, kaempferol, and quercetin, have previously exhibited antibacterial abilities. Then, we found that baicalin, kaempferol, and quercetin have better inhibitions of hemolytic activity of Hla than catechin. In addition, kaempferol and quercetin, have therapeutic effectivity for the coinfections of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vitro and in vivo. Finally, our results indicated that kaempferol and quercetin therapied the bacterial coinfection by inhibiting S. aureus α-hemolysin (Hla) and reduced the host inflammatory response. These results suggest that antitoxins may play a promising role as a potential target for screening flavonoids to combat bacterial coinfection.

Therapeutic Potential of Quercetin as an Antiatherosclerotic Agent in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: A Review.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is one of the diseases with the highest morbidity and mortality globally. It causes a huge burden on families and caregivers and high costs for medicine and surgical interventions. Given expensive surgeries and failures of most conventional treatments, medical community tries to find a more cost-effective cure. Thus, attentions have been primarily focused on food or herbs. Quercetin (Qu) extracted from food, a flavonoid component, develops potentials of alternative or complementary medicine in atherosclerosis. Due to the wide range of health benefits, researchers have considered to apply Qu as a natural compound in therapy. This review is aimed to identify the antiatherosclerosis functions of Qu in treating ASCVD such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties, effects on endothelium-dependent vasodilation, and blood lipid-lowering.

Transcriptome analysis of phosphorus stress responsiveness in the seedlings of Dongxiang wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.).

BACKGROUND: Low phosphorus availability is a major factor restricting rice growth. Dongxiang wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) has many useful genes lacking in cultivated rice, including stress resistance to phosphorus deficiency, cold, salt and drought, which is considered to be a precious germplasm resource for rice breeding. However, the molecular mechanism of regulation of phosphorus deficiency tolerance is not clear. RESULTS: In this study, cDNA libraries were constructed from the leaf and root tissues of phosphorus stressed and untreated Dongxiang wild rice seedlings, and transcriptome sequencing was performed with the goal of elucidating the molecular mechanisms involved in phosphorus stress response. The results indicated that 1184 transcripts were differentially expressed in the leaves (323 up-regulated and 861 down-regulated) and 986 transcripts were differentially expressed in the roots (756 up-regulated and 230 down-regulated). 43 genes were up-regulated both in leaves and roots, 38 genes were up-regulated in roots but down-regulated in leaves, and only 2 genes were down-regulated in roots but up-regulated in leaves. Among these differentially expressed genes, the detection of many transcription factors and functional genes demonstrated that multiple regulatory pathways were involved in phosphorus deficiency tolerance. Meanwhile, the differentially expressed genes were also annotated with gene ontology terms and key pathways via functional classification and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genomes pathway mapping, respectively. A set of the most important candidate genes was then identified by combining the differentially expressed genes found in the present study with previously identified phosphorus deficiency tolerance quantitative trait loci. CONCLUSION: The present work provides abundant genomic information for functional dissection of the phosphorus deficiency resistance of Dongxiang wild rice, which will be help to understand the biological regulatory mechanisms of phosphorus deficiency tolerance in Dongxiang wild rice.

Transcriptome analysis of phosphorus stress responsiveness in the seedlings of Dongxiang wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.)

Abstract Background: Low phosphorus availability is a major factor restricting rice growth. Dongxiang wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) has many useful genes lacking in cultivated rice, including stress resistance to phosphorus deficiency, cold, salt and drought, which is considered to be a precious germplasm resource for rice breeding. However, the molecular mechanism of regulation of phosphorus deficiency tolerance is not clear. Results: In this study, cDNA libraries were constructed from the leaf and root tissues of phosphorus stressed and untreated Dongxiang wild rice seedlings, and transcriptome sequencing was performed with the goal of elucidating the molecular mechanisms involved in phosphorus stress response. The results indicated that 1184 transcripts were differentially expressed in the leaves (323 up-regulated and 861 down-regulated) and 986 transcripts were differentially expressed in the roots (756 up-regulated and 230 down-regulated). 43 genes were up-regulated both in leaves and roots, 38 genes were up-regulated in roots but down-regulated in leaves, and only 2 genes were down-regulated in roots but up-regulated in leaves. Among these differentially expressed genes, the detection of many transcription factors and functional genes demonstrated that multiple regulatory pathways were involved in phosphorus deficiency tolerance. Meanwhile, the differentially expressed genes were also annotated with gene ontology terms and key pathways via functional classification and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genomes pathway mapping, respectively. A set of the most important candidate genes was then identified by combining the differentially expressed genes found in the present study with previously identified phosphorus deficiency tolerance quantitative trait loci. Conclusion: The present work provides abundant genomic information for functional dissection of the phosphorus deficiency resistance of Dongxiang wild rice, which will be help to understand the biological regulatory mechanisms of phosphorus deficiency tolerance in Dongxiang wild rice.

Combined effects of Chinese medicine feed and ginger extract bath on co-infection of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis and Dactylogyrus ctenopharyngodonid in grass carp.

Dactylogyrus ctenopharyngodonid and Ichthyophthirius multifiliis are two important ectoparasites of freshwater fish. Co-infection by the two parasites leads to high fish mortality and results in heavy economic losses. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of medicated feed and a ginger extract bath against D. ctenopharyngodonid and I. multifiliis on grass carp and investigate the hematological response of grass carp co-infected by the two parasites. These results demonstrated that red blood cell (RBC) and thrombocyte percentage among leucocytes significantly decreased after grass carp were co-infected by D. ctenopharyngodonid and I. multifiliis. The monocyte and neutrophil percentages significantly increased with the increment of parasite mean intensities, while the lymphocyte percentage decreased. The activities of serum acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), lysozyme (LZM), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) significantly increased after co-infection. When grass carp treated with medicated feed containing 4% of Astragalus membranaceus, Allium sativum, Morus alba, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis, the activities of ACP, AKP, LZM, and SOD were significantly enhanced, and the mean intensities of D. ctenopharyngodonid and I. multifiliis were significantly decreased. When grass carp was treated with medicated feed and a 4-mg/L ginger extract bath, all parasites were eliminated during 28 days. The bath of ginger extract at a concentration of 4 mg/L kept a low mean intensity of I. multifiliis and D. ctenopharyngodonid, then the two parasites were eliminated by oral administration of the medicated feed with an immunostimulant (Chinese medicine compound).

Investigation of in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activities of flavonoids rich extract from the berries of Rhodomyrtus tomentosa(Ait.) Hassk.

This study investigated the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activities of the flavonoids rich extract from Rhodomyrtus tomentosa Hassk (R. tomentosa) berries. The in vitro antioxidant assay demonstrated that the flavonoids rich extract (62.09% rutin equivalent) extracted by ethanol and purified by AB-8 macroporous resin was strong in reducing power, superoxide radical, hydroxyl radical and DPPH radical scavenging activity, as well as inhibiting lipid peroxidation. In the in vivo assays, the flavonoids rich extract significantly enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes in serums of mice after they were administered with the extract. The results suggested that the flavonoids rich extract from R. tomentosa fruits possesses potent antioxidant properties. In addition, the chemical compositions of flavonoids rich extract were identified by UPLC-TOF-MS/MS. Six flavonoids were tentatively identified as myricetin, quercetin, dihydromyricetin, kaempferol, quercetin 7,4'-diglucoside and vitexin. Therefore, R. tomentosa berries could be used as a new source of antioxidant ingredient.

Production of novel "functional oil" rich in diglycerides and phytosterol esters with "one-pot" enzymatic transesterification.

Diglycerides and phytosterol esters are two important functional lipids. Phytosterol esters mixed with dietary diglyceride could not only influence body weight but also prevent or reverse insulin resistance and hyperlipidemia. In this study, a kind of novel "functional oil" rich in both diglycerides and phytosterol esters was prepared with "one-pot" enzymatic transesterification. First, lipase AYS (Candida rugosa) was immobilized on the porous cross-linked polystyrene resin beads (NKA) via hydrophobic interaction. The resulting immobilized AYS showed much better transesterification activity and thermal stability to freeways. On the basis of the excellent biocatalyst prepared, a method for high-efficiency enzymatic esterification of phytosterols with different triglycerides to produce corresponding functional oils rich in both diglycerides and phytosterol esters was developed. Four functional oils rich in both diglycerides and phytosterol esters with conversions >92.1% and controllable fatty acid composition were obtained under the optimized conditions: 80 mmol/L phytosterols, 160 mmol/L triglycerides, and 25 mg/mL AYS@NKA at 180 rpm and 50 °C for 12 h in hexane. The prepared functional oil possessed low acid value (≤1.0 mgKOH/g), peroxide value (≤2.1 mmol/kg), and conjugated diene value (≤1.96 mmol/kg) and high diglyceride and phytosterol ester contents (≥10.4 and ≥20.2%, respectively). All of the characteristics favored the wide application of the functional oil in different fields of functional food.

Disruption of reproductive development in male rat offspring following gestational and lactational exposure to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and genistein.

Studies of developmental effects of mixtures of endocrine disrupters on the male reproductive system are of great concern. In this study, the reproductive effects of the co-administration of di-2-(ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and genistein (GEN) during pregnancy and lactation were studied in male rat offspring. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged from gestation day 3 to postnatal day 21 with vehicle control, DEHP 250 mg/kg body weight (bwyday, GEN 50 mg/kg bwday, GEN 400 mg/kg bwday, and two combinations of the two compounds (DEHP 250 mg/kg bwday + GEN 50 mg/kg bwday, DEHP 250 mg/kg bwday + GEN 400 mg/kg bwday). The outcomes studied were general morphometry (weight, AGD), testicular histology, testosterone levels, and expression at the mRNA level of genes involved in steroidogenesis. Organ coefficient, AGD / body weight1/3 י, serum testosterone concentration and genes involved in steroidogenic pathway expression when exposed to DEHP (250mg/kg bwday), GEN(50mg/kg bwday) or GEN(400mg/kg bwday) alone were not significantly different from the control group. When exposed to (DEHP 250mg/kg bwday +GEN 50mg/kg bwday) together during pregnancy and lactation, serum testosterone concentration, epididymis coefficient and Cypal17a1,Scarb1 m RNA expression significantly decreased compared to the control and GEN(50mg/kg bwday). When exposed to (DEHP 250mg/kg bwday +GEN 400mg/kg bwday) together during pregnancy and lactation, AGD / body weight1/3 י, serum testosterone concentration, testis and epididymis coefficient and Star, Cypal17a1 mRNA expression appeared significantly decreased compared to the control and DEHP/GEN single exposure, together with developmental impairment of seminiferous tubules and seminiferous epithelium. Overall, co-administration of DEHP and GEN during gestation and lactation seem to acts in a cumulative manner to induce the most significant alterations in the neonate, especially with GEN at high dose, although the effect of the DEHP-GEN mixture on adult offspring should be observed further.

Disruption of reproductive development in male rat offspring following gestational and lactational exposure to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and genistein

Studies of developmental effects of mixtures of endocrine disrupters on the male reproductive system are of great concern. In this study, the reproductive effects of the co-administration of di-2-(ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and genistein (GEN) during pregnancy and lactation were studied in male rat offspring. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged from gestation day 3 to postnatal day 21 with vehicle control, DEHP 250 mg/kg body weight (bwyday, GEN 50 mg/kg bwday, GEN 400 mg/kg bwday, and two combinations of the two compounds (DEHP 250 mg/kg bwday + GEN 50 mg/kg bwday, DEHP 250 mg/kg bwday + GEN 400 mg/kg bwday). The outcomes studied were general morphometry (weight, AGD), testicular histology, testosterone levels, and expression at the mRNA level of genes involved in steroidogenesis. Organ coefficient, AGD / body weight1/3 י, serum testosterone concentration and genes involved in steroidogenic pathway expression when exposed to DEHP (250mg/kg bwday), GEN(50mg/kg bwday) or GEN(400mg/kg bwday) alone were not significantly different from the control group. When exposed to (DEHP 250mg/kg bwday +GEN 50mg/kg bwday) together during pregnancy and lactation, serum testosterone concentration, epididymis coefficient and Cypal17a1,Scarb1 m RNA expression significantly decreased compared to the control and GEN(50mg/kg bwday). When exposed to (DEHP 250mg/kg bwday +GEN 400mg/kg bwday) together during pregnancy and lactation, AGD / body weight1/3 י, serum testosterone concentration, testis and epididymis coefficient and Star, Cypal17a1 mRNA expression appeared significantly decreased compared to the control and DEHP/GEN single exposure, together with developmental impairment of seminiferous tubules and seminiferous epithelium. Overall, co-administration of DEHP and GEN during gestation and lactation seem to acts in a cumulative manner to induce the most significant alterations in the neonate, especially with GEN at high dose, although the effect of the DEHP-GEN mixture on adult offspring should be observed further.

Physicochemical, nutritional, and antimicrobial properties of wine grape (cv. Merlot) pomace extract-based films.

UNLABELLED: Wine grape pomace (WGP) (cv. Merlot) extract-based films were studied in terms of their physicochemical, mechanical, water barrier, nutritional, and antibacterial properties. Pomace extract (PE) was obtained by hot water extraction and had a total soluble solid of 3.6% and pH 3.65. Plant-based polysaccharides, low methoxyl pectin (LMP, 0.75% w/w), sodium alginate (SA, 0.3% w/w), or Ticafilm (TF, 2% w/w), was added into PE for film formation, respectively. Elongation at break and tensile strength were 23% and 4.04 MPa for TF-PE film, 25% and 1.12 MPa for SA-PE film, and 9.89% and 1.56 MPa for LMP-PE film. Water vapor permeability of LMP-PE and SA-PE films was 63 and 60 g mm m(-2) d(-1) kPa, respectively, lower than that of TF-PE film (70 g mm m(-2) d(-1) kPa) (P<0.05). LMP-PE film had higher water solubility, indicated by the haze percentage of water after 24 h of film immersion (52.8%) than that of TF-PE (25.7%) and SA-PE (15.9%) films, and also had higher amount of released phenolics (96.6%) than that of TF-PE (93.8%) and SA-PE (80.5%) films. PE films showed antibacterial activity against both Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua, in which approximate 5-log reductions in E. coli and 1.7- to 3.0-log reductions in L. innocua were observed at the end of 24 h incubation test compared with control. This study demonstrated the possibility of utilizing WGP extracts as natural, antimicrobial, and antioxidant promoting film-forming material for various food applications. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: WGP extract-based edible films with the addition of a small amount of commercial polysaccharides showed attractive color and comparable mechanical and water barrier properties to other edible films. The films also demonstrated their potential antioxidant and antimicrobial functions. Hence, they may be used as colorful wraps or coatings for food, pharmaceutical, or other similar applications.

[A study on the time-effect relationship in the treatment of bronchial asthma with medicinal vesiculation therapy].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the therapeutic effects of medicinal vesiculation performed in the dog-days and ordinary-days, as well as "Xin"-days and "Geng"-days in the treatment of bronchial asthma. METHODS: A total of 162 bronchial asthma patients were divided into ordinary-days group (n = 80) and dog-days group (n = 82) according to the time sequence. Plasters made up of Gansui (Radix Euphorbiae Kansui), Baijiezi (Semen Sinapis Albae), Mahuang (Herba Ephedrae), Xixin (Herba Asari), etc. were applied to Feishu (BL 13), Fengmen (BL 12), Dingchuan (EX-B 1), Pishu (BL 20) Shenshu (BL 23), etc. during ordinary days (spring, summer, autumn and winter), dog days (the 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-10 day periods of the hot season) for each group, once every 10 days and with 3 times being a therapeutic course. After a course of treatment, the curative effect was assessed. Before and 5 days after the treatment, venous blood samples were collected for detecting serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), lymphocyte transformation rate (LTR) and the number of eosinophile granulocytes (Eos) separately. In addition, other 80 asthma patients were treated during "Geng"-days ( (n = 42) and "Xin"-days (n = 38) separately with the same methods mentioned above. RESULTS: After one course of treatment, or the 82 and 80 cases in dog-days group and ordinary-days groups, 35 (43%) and 31(39%) experienced marked improvement in clinical symptoms, 41 (50%) and 37 (46%) had an improvement, 6 (7%) and 12 (15%) failed, with the effective rates being 93% and 85% respectively. After the treatment, serum IgE and Eos count of the two groups decreased significantly (P < 0.01, 0.05), and LTR of the two groups increased evidently (P < 0.01). No significant differences were found between two groups in the therapeutic effect and the 3 biochemical indexes. In other 80 asthma patients, of the 42 and 38 cases in "Geng"-days group and "Xin"-days group, 23 (54.76%) and 17 (44.74%) experienced marked improvement in their symptoms, 17 (40.47%) and 19 (50.00%) had an improvement, 2 (4.76%) and 2 (5.26%) failed, with the effective rates being 95.23% and 94.74% separately. No significant difference was found between two groups in the therapeutic effect (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Medicinal vesiculation therapy can effectively improve asthma patients' clinical symptoms, lower serum IgE and Eos count and raise LTR whenever performed in the ordinary days, dog days, "Xin" days or "Geng" days. Thus, this therapy is applicable all year round.