[Folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy and the risk of preeclampsia].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between folic acid supplementation and the risk of preeclampsia (PE). Methods: A total of 9 048 pregnant women were selected from the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University in Taiyuan from March 2012 to September 2016. Among them, 882 pregnant women with PE were divided into case group, and 8 166 pregnant women without PE were divided into control group. Information on demographic characteristics, folic acid supplementation, maternal complications, and other factors were collected by face-to-face interviews after child birth in the hospital. Unconditional logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the relationship between folic acid supplementation and the risk of PE and the effects of pre-pregnancy BMI on the relationship of folic acid supplementation with the risk of PE. Results: Compared with nonusers, folic acid supplement users had reduced risk of PE (OR=0.79, 95%CI: 0.64-0.96). Folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy were negatively related with the risk of PE (OR=0.63, 95%CI: 0.49-0.81). Pregnant women who used folic acid tablets only or used both folic acid tablets and multivitamin containing folic acid had reduced risk of PE (OR=0.81, 95%CI: 0.66-0.99; OR=0.64, 95%CI: 0.49-0.85). No significant relationship was observed in the multivitamin group. Supplemental folic acid doses of <400, 400, and >400 µg/d were related with reduced risk of PE (OR=0.62, 95%CI: 0.42-0.91; OR=0.81, 95%CI: 0.66-0.99; OR=0.68, 95%CI: 0.49-0.94). After stratified by pre-pregnancy BMI, pregnant women who used folic acid supplementation, those with pre-pregnancy BMI<24.0 kg/m(2) had reduced risk of PE (OR=0.75, 95%CI: 0.59-0.96). However, no significant relationship was observed in women with pre-pregnancy BMI≥24.0 kg/m(2). Conclusions: Folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy were related with reduced risk of PE. Pre-pregnancy BMI might affect the relationship between folic acid supplementation and the risk of PE. Appropriate folic acid supplementation should be recommend for women with different pre-pregnancy BMI.

[Association between periconceptional folic acid supplementation and small for gestational age birth based on pre-pregnancy body mass index].

Objective: To investigate the association between periconceptional folic acid supplementation and small for gestational age (SGA) birth based on maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and provide evidence for the development of comprehensive prevention programs on SGA birth. Methods: Between March, 2012 and September, 2016, a total of 8 523 pregnant women delivering in the First Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University were surveyed to collect the information about their demographic characteristics, folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy and about their infants. Among their infants, 1 066 were small for gestational age (case group), 7 457 were appropriate for gestational age (AGA) (control group). Unconditional logistic regression model was used to evaluate the association between periconceptional folic acid supplementation and SGA birth in the context of different pre-pregnancy BMI. Results: The overall incidence of SGA birth was 12.51% (1 066/8 523). After adjusting the confounding factors, pre-pregnancy BMI<18.5 kg/m(2) was a risk factor for SGA birth (OR=1.22, 95%CI: 1.01-1.47), pre-pregnancy BMI≥24.0 kg/m(2) was associated with a reduced risk of SGA birth (OR=0.81, 95%CI:0.68-0.97). After adjusting confounding factors, periconceptional folic acid supplementation was a protective factor for SGA birth (OR=0.82, 95%CI: 0.68-0.98). After stratified by pre-pregnancy BMI, periconceptional folic acid supplementation was associated with the reduced risk of SGA birth in overweight group (24.0 kg/m(2)≤BMI<28.0 kg/m(2)) with OR of 0.55 (95%CI: 0.36-0.85). No significant association was observed in other groups. When examined by folic acid supplement type, periconceptional single folic acid supplementation (400 µg per tablet) was a protective factor for SGA birth (OR=0.82, 95%CI: 0.69-0.99). After stratified by pre-pregnancy BMI, periconceptional single folic acid supplementation (400 µg per tablet) was associated with the reduced risk of SGA birth in overweight groups (OR=0.56, 95%CI: 0.36-0.86). No association was observed between periconceptional folic acid containing multivitamin supplementation and SGA birth. Conclusions: Periconceptional folic acid supplementation (400 µg) was associated with reduced risk of SGA birth in women with pre-pregnancy BMI≥24.0 kg/m(2) and<28.0 kg/m(2). No association between folic acid supplementation and SGA was observed in other groups. This study suggests that pre-pregnancy BMI might modify the influence of folic acid supplementation on the risk of SGA birth.

Effects of the consumption of rice from non-KBD areas and selenium supplementation on the prevention and treatment of paediatric Kaschin-Beck disease: an epidemiological intervention trial in the Qinghai Province.

OBJECTIVE: Based on the aetiological hypothesis of Kaschin-Beck disease (KBD), different interventions were adopted, and the preventive and therapeutic effects of interventions was observed and evaluated in this trial. DESIGN: A total of 358 children from seven villages of Qinghai Province in China were examined, and 280 children aged 6-11 years old were eligible for the trial. The children were divided into three groups that received either no intervention (n = 64), 150 kg/person of rice from non-KBD areas (n = 103) or 7 kg/family of selenium-iodine salt (n = 113) for 12 months. Data were collected and used to calculate the proportion of patients with X-ray lesions, the proportion of new patients and the metaphyseal repair rate. All indicators were analysed with Pearson chi-square or Fisher's exact tests. The registration number of this trial is ChiCTR-PNRC-12002309 (http://www.chictr.org). RESULTS: After interventions, the proportion of patients with X-ray lesions increased dramatically in the control group and decreased significantly in two intervention groups; significant differences were seen between the control group and two intervention groups (P < 0.05). Moreover, significant differences were observed in the proportions of new patients and the metaphyseal repair rates between the control group and two intervention groups (P < 0.05). Additionally, the proportion of new patients was lowest and the metaphyseal repair rate was highest in group B. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of eating rice from non-KBD areas and selenium supplementation on the prevention and treatment of paediatric KBD were notable, the consumption of rice might be the most effective and safest intervention and should be encouraged.

A promising approach of reject water treatment using a tidal flow constructed wetland system employing alum sludge as main substrate.

This study examined a novel reuse of alum sludge, an inescapable by-product of drinking water treatment process when aluminium salt is added as a coagulant, as the main medium in a laboratory-scale multi-stage constructed wetland (CW) system for reject water treatment. Such reject water is a main concern in municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) for increasing the organic and nutrient loading. A 'tidal flow' strategy was employed to enhance the wetland aeration to stimulate organic matters (OM) and ammoniacal-nitrogen (N) oxidation while the 'step feed' operation was adopted to supply the necessary amount of carbon source for denitrification. The results reveal that alum sludge acting as P adsorbent can secure the P removal. Meanwhile, high removals of N and OM can also be obtained due to the active bacteria growth on the alum sludge surface. The results show that average removal efficiencies of 65.4 +/- 12.3% for chemical oxygen demand (COD), 67.8 +/- 9.2% for five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), 33.6 +/- 17.0% for N and 99.5 +/- 0.49% for P can be achieved over a period of 190 days. This indicates that novel reuse of alum sludge as medium in CW system can provide a promising approach for reject water treatment. Therefore, it will significantly reduce the amount of pollutant feedback through reject water recycling in a MWWTP.

Towards the development of a novel construction solid waste (CSW) based constructed wetland system for tertiary treatment of secondary sewage effluents.

This study was conducted to examine the possibility of using construction solid waste (CSW), an inevitable by-product of the construction and demolition process, as the main substrate in a laboratory scale multi-stage constructed wetland system (CWs) to improve phosphorus (P) removal from secondary sewage effluent. A tidal-flow operation strategy was employed to enhance the wetland aeration. This will stimulate aerobic biological processes and benefit the organic pollutants decomposition and nitrification process for ammoniacal-nitrogen (NH(+)(4)-N) removal. The results showed that the average P concentration in the secondary sewage effluent was reduced from 1.90 mg-P/L to 0.04 mg-P/L. CSW presents excellent P removal performance. The average NH(+)(4)-N concentration was reduced from 9.94 mg-N/L to 1.0 mg-N/L through nitrification in the system. The concentration of resultant nitrite and nitrate in the effluent of the CSW based CWs ranged from 0.1 to 2.4 mg-N/L and 0.01 to 0.8 mg-N/L, respectively. The outcome of this study has shown that CSW can be successfully used to act as main substrate in CWs. The application of CSW based CWs on improving N and P removals from secondary sewage effluent presents a win-win scenario. Such the reuse of CSW will benefit both the CSW disposal and nutrient control from wastewater. More significantly, such the application can transfer the CSW from a 'waste' to 'useful' material and can ease the pressure of construction waste solid management. Meanwhile, the final effluent from the CSW-based CWs can be used as non-potable water source in landscape irrigation, agriculture and industrial process.

Effects of vitamin A supplementation on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality in Limosin×Luxi crossbreed steers fed a wheat straw-based diet.

Three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of dietary vitamin A supplementation on performance and carcass parameters in Limosin×Luxi crossbreed finishing steers fed a wheat straw-based diet. Sixteen 12-month old (301±22kg) steers, 16 12-month old (309±15kg) steers and 16 24-month old (411±20kg) steers were used in experiment 1 for 6 months feeding period, in experiment 2 for three months feeding period and in experiment 3 for three months feeding period, respectively. Sixteen steers of each experiment were randomly divided into the four groups of four animals. Treatments consisted of four vitamin A supplementation levels (0, 1100, 2200 and 4400IU/kg DM). The growth rate was affected by dietary vitamin A level in experiment 1 and 2, revealing that the suitable amount of vitamin A supplementation increased the growth rate; excessive vitamin A in the ration decreased the growth rate of 12-month-old finishing steers. The marbling deposition decreased with the increment of vitamin A supplementation level, but possibly associated with vitamin A supplementing duration. Furthermore, the suitable dietary vitamin A level probably decreased lipid and pigment oxidation, and increased the tenderness of beef meat. Vitamin A supplementation had no significant effect on chemical composition of gluteus medius muscle and longissimus dorsi muscle.

[Expression of thermostable alpha-amylase gene in potato].

The thermostable alpha-amylase gene cloned from Bacillus lichemiformis was reconstructed into an expression vector pAMY721M under the CaMV35S promoter. The vector was transferred into A. tumerfaciens ABI. The thermostable alpha-amylase gene was transferred into Solanum tuberosum L. via Agrobacterium mediation according to the revised method of ZHAO Shu Juan et al (1997) and YANG Mei Zhu et al (1992). Shoots were induced and regenerated on MS medium with 2 mg/L ZT, 0.1 mg/L IAA and 100 mg/L kanamycin. Putative transformants were selected with kanamycin and roots induced on MS medium with 0.15 mg/L IAA. PCR analysis and thermostable alpha-amylase activity assay were done to identify the transgenic plantlets. Among them, 102,001, 102,607, and 110,402 were showed to have a higher alpha-amylase activity than untransformed control.

[Effect of Gastrodia on rotation induced motion sickness in mice].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Gastrodia on motion sickness induced by rotation in mice. METHOD: Clockwise and anticlockwise accelerated rotations up to 180 degrees/s for 10 min were used to induce symptoms of motion sickness such as condition taste aversion (CTA), decrease of spontaneous locomotion and impaired ability of space identification in water-maze. RESULT: Gastrodia could improve the response of CTA, increase spontaneous locomotion, and enhance the ability of learning and memory in water-maze in mice after the rotation. CONCLUSION: Symptoms of motion sickness induced by rotation could be improved by Gastrodia treatment.

Xanthones from Hypericum japonicum and H. henryi.

From the aerial part of Hypericum japonicum, one new xanthone glycoside, 1,5-dihydroxyxanthone-6-O-beta-D-glucoside, one novel dimer xanthone, bijaponicaxanthone, and the first natural prenylated xanthone, 1,3,5,6-tetrahydroxy-4-prenylxanthone, were isolated together with the four known xanthones, 1,5,6-trihydroxyxanthone, isojacereubin, 6-deoxyisojacareubin and 4',5'-dihydro-1,5,6-trihydroxy-4',4',5'-trimethylfurano (2',3':4,5) xanthone. five previously known xanthones, kielcorin, cadensin, 1,7,-dihydroxyxanthone, 1,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxyxanthone and 1,2,5-trihydroxyxanthone were also found in the dichoromethane extract of the stems and leaves of H. henryi. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Some of the compounds from H. japonicum were found to exert an interesting coagulant activity in an in vitro test. The chemotaxonomic value of xanthones is discussed briefly.

Antianginal and anti-ischemic efficacy of nisoldipine in stable angina pectoris: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Nisoldipine, a dihydropy ridine calcium antagonist, is a potent vasodilator with selectivity for the coronary tree. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the onset and duration of antianginal and anti-ischemic efficacy of a single oral dose of nisoldipine compared with placebo in patients with stable angina pectoris. METHODS: In 33 patients with stable angina pectoris, nisoldipine was tested (10 mg daily) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Drugs having antianginal and anti-ischemic effects (except sublingual nitroglycerin) were withdrawn Patients underwent a four-day "washout" phase, then were randomly assigned to nisoldipine (10 mg daily) or placebo for six days. On Day 4 and Day 10, three times of treadmill exercise testing were performed before daily medication was given, 2 hours and 6 hours after dosing, respectively. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients (14 taking nisoldipine and 14 taking placebos completed the study and were included in the statistical evaluation. Compared with placebo, total exercise duration increased significantly during all three sequential exercise testing in patients receiving nisoldipine. The frequency of anginal attacks decreased significantly while patients were receiving nisoldipine (0.29 +/- 0.44/patient/ day versus 0.14 +/- 0.26/patient/day, p < 0.05). Similarly, there was a trend toward a decrease in the consumption of sublingual nitroglycerin while patients were receiving nisoldipine. Adverse effects were mild. CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms that nisoldipine is an active antianginal and anti-ischemic agent, with an acceptable side effect profile when used as monotherapy. The anti-ischemic effect lasted more than six hours and the drug could be administered once daily.

[Comparison of nicardipine and nifedipine in treatment of Chinese senile hypertension placebo-control, double-blind, randomized and crossover study].

The purpose of this placebo-control, double-blind, randomized and crossover study is to evaluate the effect of nicardipine and nifedipine in Chinese senile hypertension. Among totally 37 senile hypertensive patients enrolled, 26 patients (25 males, 1 female) from 55 to 78 years of age (mean 65) who had finished one part or whole protocol were studied. Totally 18 cases after 6-week treatment of nicardipine (Perdipine) had blood pressure decrease significantly from 152.6 +/- 12.3/99.6 +/- 5.7 to 140.4 +/- 15.6/93.8 +/- 8.1 mmHg in supine position (P < 0.05), and from 153.3 +/- 12.7/98.7 +/- 7.7 to 139.2 +/- 13.5/90.7 +/- 7.6 mmHg in standing position (p < 0.05). Twenty-five cases after 6-week treatment of nifedipine (Towarat) also had significant blood pressure decrease from 155.0 +/- 13.3/99.5 +/- 8.4 to 144.2 +/- 10.0/95.3 +/- 9.2 mmHg in supine position (P < 0.05), and from 151.5 +/- 17.8/100.6 +/- 9.5 to 138.6 +/- 12.8/90.4 +/- 8.3 mmHg in standing position (p < 0.05). Heart rate was unchanged in both groups. Both nicardipine and nifedipine decreased blood pressure and increased heart rate significantly with the first dose of medication in the morning (P < 0.05). There was 6.5% and 9.0% decrease of systolic and diastolic blood pressure with nicardipine in supine position, 10.1% and 11.2% decrease with nifedipine in supine position, 6.3% and 7.2% decrease with nicardipine in standing position, and 9.7% and 10.6% decrease with nifedipine in standing position. The major side-effects were palpitation (20%) and lower abdominal distension (16%) with nicardipine; and nausea or vomiting (22%) and dizziness (15%) with nifedipine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

In vitro screening of antimotility effect on human sperm with polyphenolic compounds purified from Chinese herbal medicines.

PIP: 24 kinds of pure compounds extracted from Chinese herbal medicines were studied for their effects on human sperm motility. 7 were found to inhibit sperm motility at the concentration of 2 mg/ml. These 7 substances were further investigated for their sperm motility-inhibitory effect at the concentration of 3.0 mg/ml, 4.5 mg/ml, and 6.75 mg/ml to test the dose-related response. The results showed that 5 of the 7 extracts, namely casuarinin, cinnamtannin B-1, pedunculagin, epicatchin-(4beta-8)-epicatechin-(4beta-8)-catechin, and catechin have a strong inhibitory effect on sperm motility with dose-response relationship. Since the chemical structures of these extracts have already been determined, further studies should aim at exploring the mechanisms of their antimotility effect on human sperm. It would appear that some traditional Chinese herbal medicines have the potential of becoming new and acceptable forms of male oral contraceptives in the future.^ieng

Effective thrombolysis without marked plasminemia after bolus intravenous administration of vampire bat salivary plasminogen activator in rabbits.

BACKGROUND: The use of recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) in thrombolytic therapy is frequently associated with significant fibrinogenolysis. In contrast, recombinant vampire bat salivary plasminogen activator (Bat-PA) displays strict fibrin specificity, an attribute that could be desirable in a fibrinolytic agent. METHODS AND RESULTS: The efficacy and fibrin selectivity of Bat-PA was evaluated and compared with that of t-PA using a rabbit model of femoral arterial thrombosis. Administration of 8.1, 14, and 42 nmol Bat-PA/kg by bolus intravenous injection restored flow in 50%, 75%, and 80% of the rabbits, respectively. The incidence of reperfusion after bolus intravenous injection of 14 and 42 nmol t-PA/kg was 15% and 78%, respectively. The maximal femoral artery reperfusion flows were equivalent after treatment with 42 nmol Bat-PA/kg or 42 nmol t-PA/kg, but the time to reach maximal flow for Bat-PA was approximately one half that of t-PA. Furthermore, the rapid restoration of flow by 42 nmol Bat-PA/kg, in contrast to equimolar t-PA, was accomplished without fibrinogenolysis and with only small decreases in the plasminogen and alpha 2-antiplasmin levels. Equipotent doses of Bat-PA and t-PA both resulted in approximate 2.5-fold increases in the template bleeding times of aspirin-pretreated rabbits. The clearance of Bat-PA from rabbits exhibited biexponential elimination kinetics; approximately 80% was cleared by the relatively slow beta phase (half-life of 17.1 minutes). Overall, Bat-PA was cleared approximately fourfold slower than t-PA. CONCLUSIONS: Bolus intravenous administration of Bat-PA would facilitate prompt initiation of thrombolytic therapy, and the avoidance of plasminemia could result in fewer and less severe bleeding complications.