Preparation of core-shell hordein/pectin nanoparticles as quercetin delivery matrices: Physicochemical properties and colon-specific release analyses.

Quercetin (Que) is a hydrophobic flavanol that has the potential to prevent colon diseases. This study aimed to design hordein/pectin nanoparticle as a colon-specific delivery system for quercetin. The encapsulation efficiency, physicochemical stability and release properties of the nanoparticles were estimated. The FTIR and secondary structure analysis indicated that hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions and electrostatic attractions were formed in the quercetin-loaded hordein/pectin nanoparticles (Que-hordein/pectin NPs). In comparison to Que-hordein NPs, Que-hordein/pectin NPs exhibited better colloidal stability (physical, UV light, heating and salt). Furthermore, the release properties studies showed that pectin coating restrained the premature release of Que from hordein NPs in gastric fluid and intestinal fluid. In-vitro release, when the Que-hordein/pectin NPs were exposed to simulated colonic fluid (SCF) for 6 h, quercetin was greatly released from the hordein/pectin NPs (15.29 ± 1.17% - 80.60 ± 1.78%). In-vivo release, the concentration of Que (µg/g) in Que-hordein/pectin NPs was 2.18 times higher than Que-hordein NPs in colon tissue after 6 h of oral administration. This study suggests that Que-hordein/pectin NPs have promising applications in the specific delivery and release of quercetin to the colon.

Cross-subject aesthetic preference recognition of Chinese dance posture using EEG.

Due to the differences in knowledge, experience, background, and social influence, people have subjective characteristics in the process of dance aesthetic cognition. To explore the neural mechanism of the human brain in the process of dance aesthetic preference, and to find a more objective determining criterion for dance aesthetic preference, this paper constructs a cross-subject aesthetic preference recognition model of Chinese dance posture. Specifically, Dai nationality dance (a classic Chinese folk dance) was used to design dance posture materials, and an experimental paradigm for aesthetic preference of Chinese dance posture was built. Then, 91 subjects were recruited for the experiment, and their EEG signals were collected. Finally, the transfer learning method and convolutional neural networks were used to identify the aesthetic preference of the EEG signals. Experimental results have shown the feasibility of the proposed model, and the objective aesthetic measurement in dance appreciation has been implemented. Based on the classification model, the accuracy of aesthetic preference recognition is 79.74%. Moreover, the recognition accuracies of different brain regions, different hemispheres, and different model parameters were also verified by the ablation study. Additionally, the experimental results reflected the following two facts: (1) in the visual aesthetic processing of Chinese dance posture, the occipital and frontal lobes are more activated and participate in dance aesthetic preference; (2) the right brain is more involved in the visual aesthetic processing of Chinese dance posture, which is consistent with the common knowledge that the right brain is responsible for processing artistic activities.

Understanding the Origin and Evolution of Tea (Camellia sinensis [L.]): Genomic Advances in Tea.

Tea, which is processed by the tender shoots or leaves of tea plant (Camellia sinensis), is one of the most popular nonalcoholic beverages in the world and has numerous health benefits for humans. Along with new progress in biotechnologies, the refined chromosome-scale reference tea genomes have been achieved, which facilitates great promise for the understanding of fundamental genomic architecture and evolution of the tea plants. Here, we summarize recent achievements in genome sequencing in tea plants and review the new progress in origin and evolution of tea plants by population sequencing analysis. Understanding the genomic characterization of tea plants is import to improve tea quality and accelerate breeding in tea plants.

Effect of prior drought and heat stress on Camellia sinensis transcriptome changes to Ectropis oblique (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) resistance.

Tea plants are continuously confronted with a wide range of biotic and abiotic stressors in the field, which can occur concurrently or sequentially. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms in responses to such individual and combined stresses, we used RNAseq to compare the temporal changes in the transcriptome of Camellia sinensis to Ectropis oblique Prout alone or in combination with exposure to drought and heat. Compared with the individual stress, tea plants exhibit significant differences in transcriptome profiles under the combined stresses. Additionally, many unique genes exhibited significant differences in expression in individual and combined stress conditions. Our research showed novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of E. oblique Prout resistance in tea plants and provided a valuable resource for developing tea varieties with broad spectrum stress tolerance.

Identification of perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid with quantitative proteomic approach in patients undergoing transurethral resection of prostate with combined spinal and epidural analgesia.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify predictive biomarkers of perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction (PND) in cerebrospinal fluid of elderly male patients undergoing elective transurethral resection of prostate, using an isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitative-based quantitative proteomic approach. METHODS: Patients were evaluated with Mini Mental State Examination at -1 and+3 days of operation. Presence of PND was determined with Z-score method. Patients characteristics and quantitative cerebrospinal fluid proteomes detected with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitative-were compared between PND and non-PND patients. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis were performed to identify pathways potentially involved in PND. RESULT: A total of 229 patients were included in the study and 32 were diagnosed with PND (incidence 14.4%). The age, incidence of hypertension, and diabetes of PND patients were significantly higher than non-PND patients (P < .05). There were 85 differentially expressed proteins identified, among which High Mobility Group Box 1, prostaglandin D synthase, and matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor were considered to be promising candidates as they might play important roles in pathophysiology of PND. CONCLUSION: Proteomic approach identified potential biomarkers for predicting the occurrence of PND. These findings need to be validated in further studies.

The interfacial behavior and long-term stability of emulsions stabilized by gum arabic and sugar beet pectin.

Gum arabic (GA) is the most widely used natural emulsifier in food industry. However, due to its high price and unstable market supply, the search for substitutes of gum arabic has attracted the attention of researchers. Recent studies have shown that sugar beet pectin (SBP) has great potential as a natural emulsifier. However, the mechanisms and differences of GA- and SBP-stabilized emulsions are still unclear. In this study, the interfacial behavior of GA and SBP on the oil-water interface was studied and compared through dissipative quartz crystal microbalance and interfacial dilatational rheology. Then, droplet size, zeta-potential and viscosity of the emulsion stabilized by GA and SBP were measured. Meanwhile, the long-term stability of GA- and SBP-stabilized emulsions was evaluated and compared through a LUMiSizer stability analyzer. The study showed that at the same concentration, SBP-stabilized emulsion had significant advantages of a smaller droplet size, a larger viscosity, a thicker and more elastic interfacial layer, and better long-term stability. A comparison of the long-term stability of SBP2.0%- and GA15.0%-stabilized emulsions, evidenced that the elasticity of the interfacial layer plays a crucial role in the long-term stability of emulsions. This research may provide useful information for finding alternatives to GA.

Isolation, synthesis and bioactivity evaluation of isoquinoline alkaloids from Corydalis hendersonii Hemsl. against gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo.

Isoquinoline alkaloid displays significant anti-gastric cancer effects due to its unique structure, which is attracting more and more attention for the development of anti-gastric cancer drugs. In this study, we explore the active components against gastric cancer from the Tibetan Medicine Corydalis hendersonii Hemsl, which is rich in isoquinoline alkaloids. 14 compounds including 2 previously undescribed natural products were obtained. Interestingly, an new active compound displays potent anti-gastric cancer activity. After accomplishing the total syntheses of the active compound and its derivatives, the anti-gastric cancer activity of the active compound was further investigated. In vitro experiments revealed that the active compound significantly attenuated the proliferative capacity, caused G2/M phase arrest, inhibited the cell migration and invasion, and induced cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, the active compound could increase the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, elevate cytochrome c in the cytosol, and activate caspase-9/3, along with inactivating the upstream PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. In addition, the active compound could also cause gastric cancer cell death by inhibiting topoisomerase I activity. More importantly, the anti-gastric cancer activity of the active compound was confirmed in MGC-803 xenograft nude mice in vivo. This work not only promotes the exploitation of Corydalis hendersonii Hemsl., but also provides some experience for discovering new entities from natural sources.

Study on the Relationship between Emulsion Properties and Interfacial Rheology of Sugar Beet Pectin Modified by Different Enzymes.

The contribution of rheological properties and viscoelasticity of the interfacial adsorbed layer to the emulsification mechanism of enzymatic modified sugar beet pectin (SBP) was studied. The component content of each enzymatic modified pectin was lower than that of untreated SBP. Protein and ferulic acid decreased from 5.52% and 1.08% to 0.54% and 0.13%, respectively, resulting in a decrease in thermal stability, apparent viscosity, and molecular weight (Mw). The dynamic interfacial rheological properties showed that the interfacial pressure and modulus (E) decreased significantly with the decrease of functional groups (especially proteins), which also led to the bimodal distribution of particle size. These results indicated that the superior emulsification property of SBP is mainly determined by proteins, followed by ferulic acid, and the existence of other functional groups also promotes the emulsification property of SBP.

Effect of glycosylation with sugar beet pectin on the interfacial behaviour and emulsifying ability of coconut protein.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of glycosylation with sugar beet pectin (SBP) on the interfacial behaviour and emulsifying ability of coconut protein (CP). The physical stabilities of the emulsions were predicted by transmission variation, droplet distribution and zeta potentials. The results showed that SBP-CP-stabilized emulsions showed better stability during centrifugation than those stabilized by CP because SBP-CP reduced the degree of variation in the CP transmission profile. The adsorption kinetics of all emulsifiers at the oil-water interface were determined to investigate the relationship between the interfacial behaviour and emulsion stability. The presence of SBP considerably reduced the adsorption rate of CP (0.698 mN/m/s1/2) and hampered the development of a highly viscoelastic network at the oil-water interface. The values of the dilatational elastic modulus (Ed = 19.477 mN/m) and dilatational viscous modulus (E = 19.719 mN/m) were approximately equal, indicating that the adsorption process was mainly dominated by elastic behaviour. Additionally, the SBP-CP interaction enhanced the dilatational property of the CP-absorbed layer.

Endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection with or without lauromacrogol for gastric varices: A randomized pilot study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Current guidelines recommend injection of cyanoacrylate as first-line therapy to prevent gastric variceal rebleeding. The method still poses a risk of ectopic embolism, which possibly correlates with the volume of cyanoacrylate used. In this trial, we evaluated the short-term efficacy and safety of tissue adhesive injection combined with lauromacrogol for treating gastric varices. METHODS: Patients admitted to our hospital for variceal hemorrhage were enrolled and blindly randomized into two treatment groups: lauromacrogol group (lauromacrogol-cyanoacrylate-lauromacrogol) and lipiodol group (lipiodol-cyanoacrylate-lipiodol). Patient follow-up was 6 months. Primary outcome was rebleeds, and secondary outcomes were mortality, gastric varices eradication, and treatment-related adverse events. RESULTS: Between March 6, 2013 and October 16, 2013, 96 patients met the criteria. Two cases were lost to follow-up, and all treated cases were successful. No procedural-related adverse events were observed in either group. Cyanoacrylate volumes used in the lauromacrogol group were significantly less than those of the lipiodol group (0.9 ± 0.5 vs 2.0 ± 1.2 mL, P = 0.000). Eleven patients developed upper gastrointestinal rebleeding, which did not show significant difference between groups. On multivaritate analysis, portal venous thrombosis and fever were potential risk factors of rebleeding. Treatment failure, complications, gastric varices obturation, and survival did not differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Tissue adhesives combined with lauromacrogol is a safe therapeutic option for gastric varices, with comparably less cyanoacrylate volume used. Because of the small number of study patients, it cannot be proven to have better efficacy than without lauromacrogol. Multicenter studies with larger patient groups are necessary.

Habitat areas extracting of Poria cocos in Anhui based on "3S" technologies / 中国中药杂志

"Adversity" is one primary element that impacts the pharmacology components of authentic Chinese herbal medicine. Knowledge about "adversity" is a precondition of yield estimation, quality monitoring, location selection and the geo-herbalism protection. Used 3S(GIS, RS and GPS) technology to combine multi-source key ecological factors of "Anling", and used parasitic relationships between organisms to extracting its suitable region for the first time. Results showed that the "Anling" were mainly distributed in Dabie coteau. Suitable area amount to 36.8 km², Yuexi, Shucheng, Jinzhai and Qianshan which account for about 93.55% of whole congenial region. The first three accounts for about 80.82%. It was Yuexi that account for 1/3 above especially. Field investigation verify accuracy of extraction about 91.67%, which has confirmed it is feasible that using the relationship between parasitic host and parasitic to extract native environment of parasitic traditional medicine based on 3S technology.

Modified Si-Miao-San () regulates adipokine expression and ameliorates insulin resistance by targeting IKKß/Insulin receptor substrate-1 in mice.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate modified Si-Miao-San (mSMS, ) regulation of insulin sensitivity and explore the molecular mechanism by which mSMS inhibits inflammation and improves insulin action in mice. METHODS: Insulin resistant model in mice was prepared by stimulation with macrophage-derived condition medium (Mac-CM) and the effects of mSMS on oral glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and liver glycogen content in mice was observed. The mice adipose tissue was isolated and the regulation of inflammation-related adipokine expression and insulin phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling transduction by mSMS was investigated. Effect of mSMS on insulin-mediated glucose uptake was also investigated in adipocytes. RESULTS: Oral administration of mSMS improved glucose tolerance in mice. Treatment of mice with Mac-CM resulted in glucose intolerance in mice and this change was effectively reversed by mSMS. Meanwhile, mSMS enhanced insulin sensitivity and increased glucose load-stimulated liver glycogen when mice were exposed to Mac-CM. Mac-CM stimulation induced dysregulation of adipokine expression in adipose tissue of mice. mSMS downregulated tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6 (IL-6) overexpression and upregulated adiponectin and peroxisomal proliferator activated receptor γ with inhibition of inhibitory kappa B kinase-ß (IKKß) and p65 phophsphorylation. Meanwhile, mSMS inhibited IL-6 production and increased adiponectin secretion in adipocytes against Mac-CM insult. Mac-CM challenge impaired insulin phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) signaling in adipose tissue. Oral administration mSMS inhibited inflammation-induced serine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and restored insulin-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation, and thereby facilitated insulin PI3K signaling manifested by restoration of Akt phosphorylation. The resultant improvement of insulin sensitivity promoted insulin-stimulated glucose uptake when adipocytes were exposed to Mac-CM. CONCLUSIONS: mSMS improves glucose tolerance in mice by enhancing insulin sensitivity in mice. mSMS inhibits IKKß/NF κ B (p65)-dependent inflammatory response with beneficial regulation of adipokine expression in adipose tissue. mSMS inhibits inflammation and improves insulin sensitivity by blocking inflammatory interaction between IKKß/IRS-1.

Impaired hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and its feedback regulation in serotonin transporter knockout mice.

Our previous studies have demonstrated that mice with reduced or absent serotonin transporter (SERT+/- and SERT-/- mice, respectively) are more sensitive to stress relative to their SERT normal littermates (SERT+/+ mice). The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its feedback regulation are impaired in these mice. The function and gene expression of several components in the HPA axis and its feedback regulation in SERT+/+, +/( and -/- mice were studied under basal (non-stressed) and stressed conditions. The results showed that (1) under basal conditions, corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA levels in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus was lower in both SERT+/( and (/( mice relative to SERT+/+ mice; (2) an increased response to CRF challenge was found in SERT(/( mice, suggesting that the function of CRF type 1 receptors (CRF R1) in the pituitary is increased. Consistent with these findings, (125)I-sauvagine (a CRF receptor antagonist) binding revealed an increased density of CRF R1 in the pituitary of SERT(/( under basal conditions. These data suggest that CRF R1 in the pituitary of SERT(/( mice is up-regulated. However, in the pituitary of SERT+/( mice, the function of CRF R1 was not changed and the density of CRF R1 was reduced relative to SERT+/+ mice; and (3) the expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal cortex was significantly reduced in SERT+/( and (/( mice in comparison with SERT+/+ mice under basal conditions. Consistent with these findings, the corticosterone response to dexamethasone was blunted in SERT(/( mice relative to SERT+/+ and +/( mice. Furthermore, stress induces a rapid increase of the GR expression in the hypothalamus of SERT+/( and (/( mice relative to their basal levels. Together, the present results demonstrated that the HPA axis and its feedback regulation are altered in SERT knockout mice, which could account for the increased sensitivity to stress in these mice.

1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of thalamus in treatment resistant depressive patients.

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a common clinical problem, and represents a considerable challenge to treatment, however, the pathogenesis of this disease is poorly understood. Thalamus is generally believed to have a role in the pathophysiology of depression. In this study, we adopted 1.5T (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) to examine possible alterations of thalamus metabolism in 20 adult TRD patients. Our results suggested there might be damage and loss of neurons, as well as membrane phospholipids associated metabolism abnormality in the TRD thalamus.