Guanidine acetic acid exhibited greater growth performance in younger (13-30 kg) than in older (30-50 kg) lambs under high-concentrate feedlotting pattern.

Guanidine acetic acid (GAA) is increasingly considered as a nutritional growth promoter in monogastric animals. Whether or not such response would exist in rapid-growing lambs is unclear yet. The objective of this study was to investigate whether dietary supplementation with uncoated GAA (UGAA) and coated GAA (CGAA) could alter growth performance, nutrient digestion, serum metabolites, and antioxidant capacity in lambs. Seventy-two small-tailed Han lambs initially weighed 12 ± 1.6 kg were randomly allocated into six groups in a 2 × 3 factorial experimental design including two forage-type rations [Oaten hay (OH) vs. its combination with wheat silage (OHWS)] and three GAA treatment per ration: no GAA, 1 g UGAA, and 1 g CGAA per kg dry matter. The whole experiment was completed in two consecutive growing stages (stage 1, 13-30 kg; stage 2, 30-50 kg). Under high-concentrate feeding pattern (Stage 1, 25: 75; Stage 2, 20: 80), UGAA or CGAA supplementation in young lambs presented greater dry matter intake (DMI) in stage 1 and average daily gain (ADG) in the whole experimental period; lambs in OH group had higher ADG and DMI than that in OHWS group in stage 1 and whole experimental period, but this phenomenon was not observed in stage 2. Both UCGA and CGAA addition increased dietary DM, organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestion in both stages. In blood metabolism, UCGA and CGAA addition resulted in a greater total protein (TP) and insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF-1) levels, as well as antioxidant capacity; at the same time, UCGA and CGAA addition increased GAA metabolism-creatine kinase and decreased guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase (GAMT) and L-Arginine glycine amidine transferase catalyzes (AGAT) activity. In a brief, the results obtained in the present study suggested that GAA (UGAA and CGAA; 1 g/kg DM) could be applied to improve growth performance in younger (13-30 kg) instead of older (30-50 kg) lambs in high-concentrate feedlotting practice.

First Report of Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum jinshuiense on Goldthread in China.

Goldthread (Coptis chinensis Franch) is one of the most widely used Chinese traditional medicine plants with remarkable medicinal properties (Mizrahi et al. 2014). In July 2019, a new anthracnose-like leaf spot disease was observed in Banqiao Town, Enshi, Hubei, China. The incidence rate ranged from 10% to 20%. Infected leaves firstly showed oil-like dots, further gradually expanded to irregular whorls with a pale center and dark-brown edge. Petiole infection led to leaves dropping when severe occurrence. Black acervuli were developed on the infected leaves with abundant setae, especially near veins. To identify the causal agent, 4-mm2 tissues were derived from the disease-health junction and surface-disinfected with 0.1% mercury dichloride for 1 min and 75% ethanol for 30 s respectively. They were placed on a PDA plate and incubated at 25°C after being rinsed with sterile water three times. Isolates were purified by single spore isolation. Colonies on PDA were white to pale-gray with dense aerial mycelia, and the underside was yellowish to olive. Colonies grow 77.5 to 81.5 mm in 1 week. No conidia were observed during vegetable growth, but conidiomatal acervuli were found on infected leaves. Setae were 1-3 septate, dark-brown, 78.0 to 134.5 µm (mean = 108 ± 23.4) long, 4.1 to 9.1 µm (mean = 6.1 ± 1.1) diameter, cylindrical to conical, apices acute. Conidiophores hyaline to pale brown, septate. Conidia were hyaline, unicellular, aseptate, curved, cylindrical, often guttulate, measuring 20.1 to 28.0 × 3.5 to 5.4 µm (mean = 25.4 ± 1.7 × 4.5 ± 0.5 µm), L/W ratio = 5.6. Hyphae septate branched, hyaline to pale brown, 1.6 to 4.5 in diameter. Hyphopodial appressoria pale to medium brown, smooth-walled, globose or obovoid, 6.3 to 9.9 × 4.1 to 7.6 µm (mean = 8.3 ± 0.9 × 7.6 ± 0.7 µm), L/W ratio = 1.1. Morphological features were similar to the description of C. jinshuiense (Fu et al. 2019). To identify its phylogenetic position, maximum-likelihood (ML) analyses of two isolates (Esh8 and Esh 11) were implemented with a concatenation of multiple sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), actin (ACT), beta-tubulin (TUB2), and chitin-synthase 1 (CHS-1) using MEGA 7. The sequences were amplified using primers ITS1/ITS4, GDF1/GDR1, ACT-512F/ACT-783R, T1/Bt2b, CHS-79F/CHS-354R (Weir et al. 2012) and deposited in GenBank with accession numbers MW440484 - MW440485 (ITS), MW676256 - MW676257 (GAPDH), MW676252 - MW676253 (ACT), MW676254 - MW676255 (TUB2) and MW676258 - MW676259 (CHS-1). Results indicated they were clustered with C. jinshuiense in the C. dematium species complex. Isolates were inoculated onto injured healthy leaves (20 leaves) with mycelial plugs, ten leaves being inoculated with blank plugs were used as control. Disease symptoms were consistent with those observed in the field after five days post-inoculation with a 100% incidence rate, while no symptom was observed on the control leaves. And same isolates were isolated from six inoculated leaves with 100% re-isolation frequency. These results fulfilled Koch's postulates. In a previous study, C. boninense was identified as the causal agent of goldthread anthracnose in Chongqing, China (Ding et al. 2020). To our knowledge, this study is the first report of anthracnose on goldthread caused by C. jinshuiense in China.

Total flavonoids extracted from Nervilia Fordii function in polycystic ovary syndrome through IL-6 mediated JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Large doses of flavonoids could cure many diseases with no serious side effects. However, the role of flavonoids in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has not been reported. Therefore, total flavonoids extracted from Nervilia Fordii were selected to explore its therapeutic efficiency in PCOS. PCOS rat model was constructed to explore the role of total flavonoids in the treatment of PCOS. ELISA was used to assess the changes of ovulation function under the treatment of total flavonoids with or without exogenous interleukin-6 (IL-6). Western blot, real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry were carried out to assess the related molecular mechanisms. We explored that total flavonoids obviously increased the serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and sharply decreased the serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone (T) and insulin (INS) in the PCOS-IR rats via partly inhibiting the activation of JAK2/STAT3 pathway, partially up-regulating the IL-6 expression and partially down-regulating the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) expression in ovaries of PCOS rats. The effect of total flavonoids on estrous cycles, serum levels of FSH, LH, T and INS were partially attenuated by IL-6 in PCOS rat model. Moreover, IL-6 significantly reversed the effect of total flavonoids on the phosphorylation of JAK2/STAT3, the expression of IL-6 and SOCS3 in ovaries of PCOS rats. Total flavonoids extracted from Nervilia Fordii might induce the expression of IL-6 in ovary and act as a potential therapeutic drug for the treatment of PCOS.

Clinical features, radiologic findings, and treatment of pediatric germ cell tumors involving the basal ganglia and thalamus: a retrospective series of 15 cases at a single center.

PURPOSE: Pediatric germ cell tumors (GCTs) involving the basal ganglia and thalamus are relatively rare neoplasms which have not been extensively described. We here summarize the clinical and radiological features of a series of such tumors and discuss optimal treatment strategies based upon our experience. METHODS: A total of 15 pediatric patients with basal ganglionic and thalamic GCTs were treated between 2011 and 2016 at West China Hospital. Epidemiological characteristics, clinical features, imaging findings, and treatment strategies were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: GCTs constituted 28% (15/53) of pediatric basal ganglionic and thalamic tumors in our institution between 2011 and 2016. There were 12 males and 3 females with mean age of 11.7 ± 2.8 years (range, 7-16 years). The most common initial manifestation was hemiparesis (n = 13, 86.7%), followed by headache (n = 5, 33.3%), vomiting (n = 3, 20.0%), cognitive disturbance (n = 2, 13.3%), and seizure (n = 1, 6.7%). No tumors were incidentally detected. The mean duration of the symptoms before diagnosis was 4.4 ± 3.9 months (range from 9 days to 13 months). The maximum diameters of the lesions ranged from 3.2 to 6.5 cm (mean 4.7 ± 1.1 cm). Cysts were seen in tumors in MRIs in 11 patients (73%), intratumoral hemorrhages in 3 (20%), calcification in 2 (13%), and there was obstructive hydrocephalus in 1 (7%). Of note, hemiatrophy was observed in 9 cases (60.0%). The mean follow-up for the 15 patients was 28 months (range, 9-54 months), and no patients were lost. During the follow-up period, all patients (9 cases) with germinomas responded well to radiotherapy, and no recurrence was observed. Among 4 patients with mixed nongerminomatous germ cell tumor, 2 suffered tumor recurrence after treatment. Neurological deficits improved or remained unchanged in 12 patients but 3 developed new dysfunction including significant cognitive disturbance and hemiparesis. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric GCTs in the basal ganglia and thalamus are not as rare as previously considered. Tumor markers should be tested routinely for tumors in these sites in young patients. Optimal treatment strategy based on accurate diagnosis and comprehensive clinical assessment should be recommended.

[Protective effect of ginsenoside Rg1 again PC-12 cells in OGD injury through mTOR/Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in PC-12 cells, and preliminarily discuss the potential molecular mechanism of mTOR/Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway. METHOD: The OGD PC-12 cell model was established. The cell viability was measured by MTT assay. After the pretreatment with Rg1 with the concentration of 10, 20, 40 micromol x L(-1) for 24 h, the cell viability was observed. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, superoxide dismutase (SOD) ac- tivity and malondialdehyde (MDA) level were detected by colorimetry assay. mTOR, p-Akt(ser473), p-Akt(tjr308), Akt, p-FoxO3, FoxO3 in cytoplasm and nucleus, and total FoxO3 protein expression were detected by Western blot assay. RESULT: OGD could significantly in- hibit cell proliferation in 4-24 h in a time-dependent manner. After pretreatment for 24 h, Rg1 (20, 40 micromol x L(-1)) could notably elevate the cell viability and SOD viability and reduce the LDH release and MDA content. Besides, Rg1 also inhibited OGD-induced mTOR and p-Akt(ser473) decreases. After treatment for 6 h, OGD could reduce FoxO3 phosphorylation and promote FoxO3 in cytoplasm. This data suggested that Rg1 could protect PC-12 cell injury through mTOR/p-Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: Ginsenoside Rg1 could attenuate OGD-induced PC-12 cell injury. Its action mechanism may be closely related to activation of mTOR/p-Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway.

Low versus high radioiodine activity to ablate the thyroid after thyroidectomy for cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

It is not known whether low-dose radioiodine is as effective as high-dose radioiodine for treating patients with differentiated thyroid cancer after surgery. This study compared ablation success rates of different doses of radioiodine in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer after thyroidectomy. Fifteen randomized controlled trials were obtained from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library (1966 to February 2013). Stata version 12.0 was used to pool the outcomes. Mantel-Haenszel (MH) and inverse variance (IV) methods were used in a fixed-effects and random-effects model, respectively. The relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to compare the success rates of different doses of radioiodine. There were a total of 3,046 patients. The pooled RR for comparing ablation success with low- and high-dose radioiodine was 0.90 (95% CI 0.83-0.98, IV). Excluding a study with a distinctive outcome, sensitivity analysis showed that the pooled RR was 0.95 (95% CI 0.92-0.99, MH). In subgroup analysis, the pooled RR of three studies that only administrated radioiodine to patients with pT2-4 cancer was 0.93 (95% CI 0.83-1.04, MH); the pooled RR of five studies with total thyroidectomy for all patients was 0.96 (95% CI 0.92-1.00, MH); and the pooled RR of four studies that used thyrotropin α to stimulate serum thyrotropin was 0.96 (95% CI 0.90-1.02, MH). The pooled RRs for comparing ablation success for moderate-dose versus high-dose and low-dose radioiodine were 0.94 (95% CI 0.85-1.04, IV) and 0.87 (95% CI 0.73-1.04, IV), respectively. Low-dose radioiodine can be used in patients undergoing total thyroidectomy. For those who receive insufficient surgical treatment, high-dose radioiodine is more appropriate.

[New progress of airborne pollen].

With the growth of disease incidence in allergic diseases of upper respiratory tract year by year, airborne pollen has been considered the most important cause of the diseases. There is an obvious positive correlation between the concentration of airborne pollen and the symptoms of the diseases. The data is collected which includes environment that patient lives in about the kinds of airborne pollen and their seasonal distribution and latest conditions of the airborne pollen at home and abroad. It is benefit for the further developments of the researches of airborne pollen and has a clinical significance for the prevention, diagnosis and treatments of allergic diseases in our country.

Intensive versus conventional insulin therapy in nondiabetic patients receiving parenteral nutrition after D2 gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This study was used to compare the effects of intensive insulin therapy with conventional insulin therapy on postoperative outcomes among nondiabetic patients receiving parenteral nutrition following D2 gastrectomy for gastric cancer. METHOD: A total of 248 eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive intensive insulin therapy targeting a blood glucose level between 4.4 and 6.1 mmol/l [intensive group (n = 125)] or conventional insulin therapy targeting a blood glucose level less than 11.0 mmol/l [conventional group (n = 123)] during the postoperative period. RESULTS: Mean blood glucose concentrations were lower in the intensive group than in the conventional group. Severe hypoglycemia defined as blood glucose ≤2.2 mmol/l occurred in eight (6.4%) patients in the intensive group vs one (0.8%) patient in the conventional group (P = 0.036). One (0.8%) patient died in the intensive group vs two (1.6%) patients in the conventional group (P = 0.620). However, intensive insulin therapy significantly reduced overall postoperative complications rate (from 25.2% to 13.6%, P = 0.024). Moreover, both insulin resistance indicated as HOMA-IR and HLA-DR expression on monocytes were improved in the intensive group. CONCLUSIONS: Intensive insulin therapy significantly reduced the postoperative short-term morbidity but not mortality among nondiabetic patients receiving parenteral nutrition after D2 gastrectomy. The benefits may be due to the suppression of insulin resistance and improvement of HLA-DR expression on monocytes.

[Effect of Panax notoginseng saponins on APP gene transcription in the brain tissue of SAMP8].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) on learning and memory ability and APP gene transcription in the brain tissue in senescence accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8). METHODS: SAMP8 were randomly divided into high-does PNS group, low-does PNS group, huperzin A group and model group,the treatment groups were treated with the designed drugs respectively by intragastric administration for 4 consecutive weeks. The same volume of double distilled water was given to model group. After treatment, the abilities of learning and memory of the mice were tested with morris water maze, the mRNA content of APP was assayed by reverse transcription (RT) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: PNS could improve the abilities of learning and memory, high-does PNS could reduce the mRNA content of APP in the brain tissue of SAMP8. CONCLUSION: PNS can improve the abilities of learning and memory of SAMP8, the mechanism may be relevant to down-regulating the expression of APP gene at transcriptional level.

[Pharmacokinetic evaluation of danshensu with in vivo microdialysis in freely moving rat's jugular vein].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pharmacokinetics of Danshensu with in vivo microdialysis in freely moving rat's jugular vein. METHOD: three days after a microdialysis probe introducer was implanted into the jugular vein, a microdialysis probe was introduced to the blood vessel, and began to sample following a single intravenous injection (40 mg x kg(-1)) or a single oral dose (40 mg x kg(-1)) of Danshensu. All the samples were analyzed with HPLC. The concentration of Danshensu in blood were calculated according to the recovery of microdialysis probe and the concentration in dialysates. Pharmacokinetic parameters were than calculated with the concentration-time curve. RESULT: For intravenous administration, t(1/2 zeta) = (69.62 +/- 33.42) min, AUC(0-infinity) = (3416.24 +/- 779.80) min x mg x L(-1), MRT(0-infinity) = (38.15 +/- 8.61) min, and for oral administration, Cmax = (7.42 +/- 3.08) mg x L(-1), tmax = (31.50 +/- 8.57) min, t(1/2 zeta) = (83.25 +/- 37.35) min, AUC(0-infinity) = (793.19 +/- 101.32) min x mg x L(-1), MRT(0-infinity) = (125.89 +/- 58.27) min. The oral bioavailability of Danshensu F = 22.56%. CONCLUSION: In vivo microdialysis in freely moving rat's jugular vein is a useful tool to obtain a complete set of free drug concentrations to determine reliable pharmacokinetic parameters.

Three new antioxidant C-glucosylanthrones from Aloe nobilis.

Three new C-glucosylanthrones, 3'-O-acetyl-5-hydroxylaloin A (2), 2',6'-O-diacetyl-5-hydroxylaloin A (4), and 4',6'-O-diacetyl-5-hydroxylaloin A (5), along with three known compounds, 5-hydroxyaloin A (1), 6'-acetyl-5-hydroxylaloin A (3), and 4-methoxy-6-(2',4'-dihydroxy-6'-methylphenyl)-pyran-2-one (6), were isolated from the leaves of Aloe nobilis, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic evidences. Compounds 1, 2, 4 and 5 showed antioxidant activity with inhibitory rates of 31.0, 34.0, 34.0, and 42.0%, respectively, at 10(-5) M.

[Effect of Panax notoginseng saponins on syp and tau gene expression in brain of senescence accelerated mouse].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) on (synaptophysin, syp) and tau gene expression in the brain tissue in senescence accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP 8). METHOD: SAMP8 were randomly divided into 4 groups: PNS 23.38, 93.50 mg x kg(-1) group, huperzin A 0.038 6 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) group and blank control group; the drug groups were treated with the designed drugs respectively per day by intragastric administration for 4 consecutive weeks, and double distilled water was given to blank control group. After treatment, the mRNA content of tau and syp were assayed by reverse transcription (RT) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). RESULT: Compared with blank control group, the syp mRNA contents were increased in PNS groups (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), and the tau mRNA content were not significant difference in all groups. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that PNS can up-regulate syp gene expression at transcriptional level in the brain of SAMP 8.

[Inhibitive effects of Panax notoginseng saponins on expression of Abeta(1-40), Abeta(1-42) protein in SAMP8's brain].

OBJECTIVE: To observe inhibitive effects of Panax notoginseng saponins on expression of Abeta(1-40), Abeta(1-42) protein in SAMP8's brain. METHODS: Amount of Abeta(1-40), Abeta(1-42 immuno-positive neurons was detected in parietal cortex and hippocamp in their brains under high power lens (40 x) by immunohistochemistry analysis. RESULTS: PNS could reduce the amount of Abeta(1-40), Abeta(1-42) protein in parietal cortex and hippocamp. CONCLUSION: PNS can reduce the amount of Abeta(1-40), Abeta(1-42) protein in SAMP8's brain.

Removal of chloride ion from aqueous solution by ZnAl-NO(3) layered double hydroxides as anion-exchanger.

The layered double hydroxides (LDHs) containing nitrate as the interlayer anion has a high anion-exchange capacity in the presence of appropriate anions. In the light of this, ZnAl-NO(3) LDHs have been employed to remove chloride ion from aqueous solution in a batch mode. The influences of conditions for chloride ion uptake, including dosage of LDHs, pH of aqueous solution, and temperature on anion-exchange have been investigated, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters including Gibbs free energy (DeltaG(0)), standard enthalpy change (DeltaH(0)), and standard entropy change (DeltaS(0)) for the process were calculated using the Langmuir constants. It was found from kinetics test that the pseudo-second order kinetics model could be used to well describe the uptake process. An E(a) value of 10.27 kJ/mol provides evidence the anion-exchange process. The explanation of anion-exchange phenomenon has also been supported by X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectra.

BACE1 (beta-secretase) inhibitory chromone glycosides from Aloe vera and Aloe nobilis.

Four new chromone glycosides allo-aloeresin D (2) , C-2'-decoumaroyl-aloeresin G (8), 2'-O-coumaroyl-(S)-aloesinol (9), 2'-O-[ P-methoxy-(E)-cinnamoyl]-(S)-aloesinol (10) and nine known chromone glycosides ( 1, 3 - 7, 11 - 13) were isolated from two Aloe spp. plants, A. vera and A. nobilis. Among them, 1 and 8 showed significant inhibitory activity against BACE1 (beta-secretase) with IC (50) values of 39.0 and 20.5 x 10 (-6) M, as well as inhibition of Abeta (1-42) production by 7.4 and 12.3 %, respectively, in B103 neuroblastoma cells at 30 ppm. The preliminary structure-activity relationships of ALOE chromone glucosides were also discussed.