[The vitamin D nutritional status in Chinese urban women of child-bearing age from 2010 to 2012].

Objective: To evaluate the vitamin D nutritional status in Chinese women of child-bearing age by analyzing serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level in 2010-2012. Methods: Data were obtained from the China Nutrition and Health Survey in 2010-2012. Using cluster sampling and proportional stratified random sampling, 1 514 women of child-bearing age (18-44 years old) from 34 metropolis and 41 small and medium-sized cities were included in this study. Demographic information was collected by questionnaire and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was determined by radioimmunoassay, in accordance with the 2010 Institute of Medicine of the National Academies standards. We compared differences in vitamin D levels, specifically serious deficiency, lack of deficiency, insufficiency, and excess. Results: The overall serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of Chinese urban women of child-bearing age (P(50) (P(25)-P(75))) was 20.1 (15.1-26.3) ng/ml; minorities had a significantly higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of 22.0 (15.9-27.5) ng/ml compared with women of Han nationality (19.8 (14.9-26.2) ng/ml) (χ(2)=7.02, P=0.008). The proportions of women with serious deficiency, lack of deficiency, insufficiency, and excess vitamin D were 11.6% (n=175), 37.9% (n=574), 35.1% (n=531), and 0.3% (n=5), respectively. Only 15.1% (n=229) of women of child-bearing age had normal vitamin D nutritional status. No significant differences in vitamin D nutritional status were observed according to age, body mass index, city, nationality, educational level, marital status, or household income per capita (P>0.05). Conclusion: Most Chinese urban women of child-bearing age have poor vitamin D levels and require vitamin D supplementation.

An in vivo and in vitro assessment of the anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and immunomodulatory activities of Clematis terniflora DC. extract, participation of aurantiamide acetate.

AIM: Clematis terniflora DC. has been widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of tonsillitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and prostatitis. Despite its widespread use in China, there are currently no studies systematically examined its therapeutic effects and mechanism of action. As such, the present study was conducted to evaluate the anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and immunomodulatory effects of C. terniflora DC. using rodent and cellular models. METHODS: The anti-inflammatory properties of the 70% ethanol eluted fraction of the 70% ethanol extract of C. terniflora DC. (EECTD) were evaluated using the xylene-induced ear swelling test, the carrageenan-induced edema model, and the cotton pellet granuloma method. Its antinociceptive activities were determined using both the acetic acid-induced writhing test and the hot plate assay. In parallel, we conducted an in vitro assay in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells to examine the anti-inflammatory effects of EECTD and its purified form, aurantiamide acetate (AA) on inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release. RESULTS: EECTD (300mg/kg) significantly reduced the number of writhing, extended the pain response latency, and suppressed xylene-induced ear swelling. Each EECTD treatment group also had significant inhibition of cotton granulation formation in addition to reduced carrageenan-induced paw edema. EECTD was also shown to alleviate signs of inflammation in histopathological paw sections. However, it had a less noticeable effect on mouse ear swelling in the delayed type hypersensitivity test. A purified compound was isolated from EECTD and its structure was identified as AA. In vitro experimental results showed that both EECTD and AA were able to significantly inhibit the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines NO and PGE2 on LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that EECTD has significant anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities, partially related to one of the active substances identified as AA. We hypothesize that these effects are related to its ability to inhibit the production of cytokines NO and PGE2. However, further work will be needed to determine its exact mechanism of action.

Differences in quantal amplitude reflect GluR4- subunit number at corticothalamic synapses on two populations of thalamic neurons.

Low-frequency thalamocortical oscillations that underlie drowsiness and slow-wave sleep depend on rhythmic inhibition of relay cells by neurons in the reticular nucleus (RTN) under the influence of corticothalamic fibers that branch to innervate RTN neurons and relay neurons. To generate oscillations, input to RTN predictably should be stronger so disynaptic inhibition of relay cells overcomes direct corticothalamic excitation. Amplitudes of excitatory postsynaptic conductances (EPSCs) evoked in RTN neurons by minimal stimulation of corticothalamic fibers were 2.4 times larger than in relay neurons, and quantal size of RTN EPSCs was 2.6 times greater. GluR4-receptor subunits labeled at corticothalamic synapses on RTN neurons outnumbered those on relay cells by 3.7 times, providing a basis for differences in synaptic strength.

Localization of alpha type II calcium calmodulin-dependent protein kinase at glutamatergic but not gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) synapses in thalamus and cerebral cortex.

The alpha subunit of type II calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CAM II kinase-alpha) plays an important role in longterm synaptic plasticity. We applied preembedding immunocytochemistry (for CAM II kinase-alpha) and postembedding immunogold labeling [for glutamate or gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)] to explore the subcellular relationships between transmitter-defined axon terminals and the kinase at excitatory and inhibitory synapses in thalamus and cerebral cortex. Many (but not all) axon terminals ending in asymmetric synapses contained presynaptic CAM II kinase-alpha immunoreactivity; GABAergic terminals ending in symmetric synapses did not. Postsynaptically, CAM II kinase-alpha immunoreactivity was associated with postsynaptic densities of many (but not all) glutamatergic axon terminals ending on excitatory neurons. CAM II kinase-alpha immunoreactivity was absent at postsynaptic densities of all GABAergic synapses. The findings show that CAM II kinase-alpha is selectively expressed in subpopulations of excitatory neurons and, to our knowledge, demonstrate for the first time that it is only associated with glutamatergic terminals pre- and postsynaptically. CAM II kinase-alpha is unlikely to play a role in plasticity at GABAergic synapses.

Distribution of four types of synapse on physiologically identified relay neurons in the ventral posterior thalamic nucleus of the cat.

This study was aimed at providing quantitative data on the thalamic circuitry that underlies the central processing of somatosensory information. Four physiologically identified thalamocortical relay neurons in the ventral posterior lateral nucleus (VPL) of the cat thalamus were injected with horseradish peroxidase and subjected to quantitative electron microscopy after pre- or postembedding immunostaining for gamma-aminobutyric acid to reveal synaptic terminals of thalamic inhibitory neurons. The four cells all had rapidly adapting responses to light mechanical stimuli applied to their receptive fields, which were situated on hairy or glabrous skin or related to a joint. Their dendritic architecture was typical of cells previously described as type I relay cells in VPL, and they lacked dendritic appendages. Terminals ending in synapses on the injected cells were categorized as RL (ascending afferent), F (inhibitory), PSD (presynaptic dendrite), and RS (mainly corticothalamic) types and were quantified in reconstructions of serial thin sections. RL and F terminals formed the majority of the synapses on proximal dendrites (approximately 50% each). The number of synapses formed by RL terminals declined on intermediate dendrites, but those formed by F terminals remained relatively high, declining to moderate levels (20-30%) on distal dendrites. RS terminals formed moderate numbers of the synapses on intermediate dendrites and the majority (> 60%) of the synapses on distal dendrites. Synapses formed by PSDs were concentrated on intermediate dendrites and were few in number (approximately 6%). They formed synaptic triads with F terminals and rarely with RL terminals. On somata, only a few synapses were found, all made by F terminals. The total number of synapses per cell was calculated to be 5,584-8,797, with a density of 0.6-0.9 per micrometer of dendritic length. Of the total, RL terminals constituted approximately 15%, F terminals approximately 35%, PSD terminals approximately 5%, and RS terminals approximately 50%. These results provide the first quantitative assessment of the synaptic architecture of thalamic somatic sensory relay neurons and show the basic organizational pattern exhibited by representatives of the physiological type of relay neurons most commonly encountered in the VPL nucleus.

[Effect of promoting blood circulation to remove stasis and supplementing qi and nourishing yin on the lipid peroxide and superoxide dismutase during experimental pulmonary fibrosis].

The preventive and therapeutic effect of the traditional Chinese compound medicine Feixiankang (FXK) on the mice pulmonary fibrosis formation have been studied with the mice model. The level of LPO and the activity of SOD in the mice lung showed that LPO increased remarkably (P < 0.01), while the activity of SOD decreased significantly (P < 0.01) during the alveolar pneumonia period, although the LPO content had no significant change (P < 0.01) during experimental pulmonary fibrosis formation. In addition, the effect of FXK on the reducing of LPO was much stronger than that of the antioxidative agent Vitamin E. Also, FXK could improve the activity of SOD.