Anti-rheumatoid arthritis potential of different fractions derived from of Coluria longifolia.

Coluria longifolia Maxim (C. longifolia) is a Chinese folk medication commonly used to treat arthritis and joint pain. Literatures have reported that C. longifolia has significant anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic effects. The aim of this research was to assay the effective fractions of C. longifolia (EFCL) against rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to elucidate its anti-RA mechanism on a preliminary basis. The rat model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) was established. The therapeutic effects of different fractions in vivo were evaluated by body weight changes, a foot swelling score, inflammatory factors and histopathological examination. The mechanism of EFCL was investigated by activity of oxidative stress related enzyme, qPCR and Western blotting tests. In vivo results showed that total extraction (TE) and n-butanol fraction (NF) could significantly alleviate the symptoms of RA, decrease the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α (P < 0.01), and improve histopathological injury. The mechanism study showed that SOD level was significantly increased with MDA level decreased in the NF group. The upregulated proteins and mRNA expression levels of Nrf2, HO1 and NQO1 after TE and NF administration suggested that the anti-arthritic effect may be related to the Nrf2 signaling pathway and downstream HO1 and NQO1. In conclusion, this study confirmed that C. longifolia is capable of treating RA with NF as the main effective fraction. Its anti-RA action may be associated with Nrf2 signaling pathway and downstream HO1 and NQO1.

Enhanced intrathalamic morphological connectivity in patients with chronic insomnia.

This study aimed to systematically investigate abnormal morphological connectivity in subregions of the thalamus and examine the clinical relevance of this connectivity in patients with chronic insomnia. One hundred and two patients with chronic insomnia (aged 45.50 [34.75 ~ 58.00] years; 24 men, 78 women) and one hundred and one healthy controls (aged 45.00 [34.00 ~ 55.00] years; 32 men, 69 women) were recruited. Intrathalamic and thalamocortical morphological connectivity in the thalamic subregions defined in the Human Brainnetome Atlas were computed and compared between the two groups. Spearman's correlation was used to estimate the association between thalamic morphological connectivity alterations and clinical variables. Compared with the control group, the insomnia group exhibited higher intrathalamic mean morphological connectivity than the control group, though no alterations in thalamocortical morphological connectivity were observed. However, no correlation was found between altered intrathalamic morphological connectivity and behavioral scales. In addition, alterations in morphological connectivity among thalamic subregions were found mainly in the left medial premotor thalamus, left medial prefrontal thalamus, and left sensory thalamus; however, these results were no longer significant after correction. Our findings suggest increased intrathalamic morphological connectivity in patients with chronic insomnia, thus enriching the understanding of morphological connectivity at the individual level and providing new perspectives for clinical interventions and diagnostic imaging.

Effects of polysaccharides from Yingshan Yunwu tea on meat quality, immune status and intestinal microflora in chickens.

The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of the addition of Yingshan Yunwu green tea polysaccharide conjugates (GTPC) on meat quality, immune response and gut microflora in chickens. A total of 200 chickens with average initial body weight were randomly allotted to 4 groups. Intestinal samples were collected at the end of experiment for bacterial culture and microbial community analysis by 16S rDNA gene sequencing using Illumina MiSeq. Chicken breast muscle and serum were also sampled for analysis of meat quality and immune function. The results showed that dietary GTPC addition increased (P < 0.05) chicken breast muscle pH and redness-greenness (a*) value and decreased (P < 0.05) the values of lightness (L*), yellowness-blueness (b*), hardness, toughness and adhesiveness. In addition, dietary supplementation of GTPC increased (P < 0.05) the weight of thymus and bursa and serum concentrations of IgA and IgG. Furthermore, of the 10 bacterial phyla, the predominant taxa across all sampling time-points were Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Deferribacteres, representing >97% of all sequences. GTPC increased the abundance of Bacteroidetes and Lactobacillus, and decreased the abundance of Proteobacteria. These findings provided some references of the application of GTPC in the poultry industry.

Investigation of Chemical Composition, Antioxidant Activity, and the Effects of Alfalfa Flavonoids on Growth Performance.

The flavonoids were extracted from alfalfa using ethanol assisted with ultrasonic extraction and purified by D101 macroporous resin column chromatography. The chemical composition and content of ethanol elution fractions (EEFs) were assessed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography and hybrid quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and aluminum nitrate-sodium nitrite-sodium hydroxide colorimetric method. The in vitro antioxidant activity of two EEFs was conducted by scavenging DPPH free radical, and the main antioxidants of 75% EEFs were screened using DPPH-UHPLC. Moreover, the in vivo antioxidant activity of 75% EEFs and the growth performance of broilers were studied. The results showed that the content of 30% and 75% EEFs was 26.20% and 62.57%. Fifteen compounds were identified from 75% EEFs, and five of them were reported in alfalfa for the first time. The scavenging activity of 75% and 30% EEFs (200 µg/mL) against DPPH was 95.51% and 78.85%. The peak area of 5,3',4'-trihydroxyflavone and hyperoside was decreased by 82.69% and 76.04%, which exhibited strong scavenging capacities. The total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) level of three treated groups against the normal control group (NC) fed with basal diet significantly increased by 3.89-24.49%, 0.53-7.39%, and 0.79-11.79%, respectively. While the malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased by 0.47-18.27%. Compared with the NC, the feed to gain ratio (F : G) of three treated groups was lowered by 2.98-16.53% and survival rate of broilers significantly increased. Consequently, 75% EEFs extracted from alfalfa exhibited powerful antioxidant activities and might be a potential feed additive to poultry and livestock.

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activities of Polysaccharides from Yingshan Cloud Mist Tea.

The study was designed to investigate the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of polysaccharides from Yingshan Cloud Mist Tea. The chemical composition of green tea polysaccharides (GTPS) was analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric (TGA), gas chromatograph (GC), and high-performance gel-permeation chromatography (HPGPC). Then, the antioxidant activities in vitro of GTPS, effects of GTPS on body weight, and the antioxidant activities in chickens were studied. The results showed that GTPS were composed of rhamnose (Rha), arabinose (Ara), xylose (Xyl), mannose (Man), glucose (Glu), and galactose (Gal) in a molar ratio of 11.4 : 26.1 : 1.9 : 3.0 : 30.7 : 26.8 and the average molecular weight was 9.69 × 104 Da. Furthermore, GTPS exhibited obvious capacity of scavenging DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical, and superoxide radical and enhanced the ferric-reducing power in vitro. Last, GTPS significantly increased the body weight of chickens, enhanced the T-AOC, SOD, and GSH-Px level, and decreased the content of MDA in chickens. The results indicated that GTPS might be a kind of natural antioxidant, which had the potential application in feed industry.

[Microbial Community Structure Shift During Bioremediation of Petroleum Contaminated Soil Using High Throughput Sequencing].

The shift in microbial community structure during the bioremediation of oil-polluted soil was analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. The results demonstrated obvious changes in the soil microbial community structure and diversity during bioremediation. The species richness and evenness of the microbial community decreased substantially due to the bioaugmentation treatment. Proteobacteria became the predominant phylum, with a relative increase in abundance from 37.44% to 87.44%. Pseudomonas was the most dominant genus, which increased in abundance from 2.99% to 76.37%. In the biostimulation treated soil, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria decreased from 37.44% to 10.90%, while the phylum Firmicutes increased from 9.16% to 35.32%. At the genus level, the relative abundances of Exiguobacterium and Promicromonospora decreased from 8.49% and 18.96% to 2.19% and 14.97%, respectively. Nocardioides and Bacillus became the dominant genera and increased from 5.56% and 0.29% to 28.95% and 22.70%, respectively. The results indicated that bioaugmentation substantially influenced the soil microbial diversity and community structure. Additionally, the biostimulation treatment maintained the balance in the soil microbial community structure. The stabilization of bacteria community structure is beneficial to petroleum biodegradation in the soil.

Optimisation of extraction conditions for total saponins from Cynanchum wallichii using response surface methodology and its anti-tumour effects.

Cynanchum wallichii Wight, is a traditional Chinese medicine herb, which is rich in saponins and has varieties of pharmacological activities. In this study, a standardized C. wallichii extract was established and the anti-tumor activity of the total saponins was evaluated by MTT assay. The extraction conditions of the standardized extract was optimized using response surface methodology. The experimental value was in good agreement (the yield 4.28%) with predicted values. The total saponins of the extract showed significant anti-tumor activity against three human tumor cell lines (A549, HepG2 and MCF-7), especially for MCF-7 (IC50. 67.63 µg/mL) cells in vitro.

[Explore molecular mechanism of Chinese herbs with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury based on correlation between microRNA and mtDNA].

A large number of basic and clinical studies have shown that the Chinese herbs with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects could prevent and treat myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury(MIRI) by regulating lipid metabolism. But its mechanism is not yet clear. The studies show that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), microRNAs and lipid metabolism participate in the whole process of MIRI and affect the prognosis. mtDNA mutation is the primary factor to cause myocardial ischemia and reperfusion myocardial cell damage. microRNAs aggravate or reduce MIRI injury by down-regulating or up-regulating related genes expression, while miR-33, as a key regulator of cholesterol transport, regulates lipid metabolism through CROT, PGC-1α, AMPK and other genes located in the mitochondria. There are less studies on correlation between miR-33 and mtDNA, microRNAs. Therefore, further studies on the correlation between miR-33 and mtDNA, microRNAs, as well as the discussions on whether the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects could target miR-33 to regulate lipid metabolism and inducemt DNA mutations or deletions, would have important significance for the prevention and treatment of MIRI.

[Impacts of Bioremediation on Microbial Communities and Different Forms of Nitrogen in Petroleum Contaminated Soil].

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the impacts of bioremediation on microbial communities and various nitrogen shifts in petroleum contaminated soil by using GC-MS and Illumia MiSeq technique. Results showed the concentrations of alkane reduced from 25987.8 mg·kg-1 to 12788.6 mg·kg-1, and the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) decreased from 5322.9 mg·kg-1 to 2917.2 mg·kg-1. Illumia MiSeq results showed that soil microbial communities shifted significantly after remediation, and the relative abundance of some phylum of hydrocarbon degraders (Firmicutes, Bacterodetes), and some genus of degraders (Dietzia, Acinetobacter) increased. Besides, the contents of total nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen increased firstly and then decreased during remediation. However, the contents of nitrate nitrogen decreased at the early stage, and then kept stable in the later stage of remediation. It can be concluded that bioremediation effectively promoted petroleum hydrocarbon degradation, and the different fractional hydrocarbon degradation was related to the relative abundance of hydrocarbon degraders and available nitrogen contents.

[Remediation of Petroleum-Contaminated Soil Using a Bioaugmented Compost Technique].

Bioaugmented compost was created by inoculating petroleum-degrading bacteria into mature compost. The petroleum hydrocarbon degradation efficiencies were investigated by applying this enhanced compost to petroleum-contaminated soil under low temperatures. The results showed that the degrading bacteria can be enriched in the mature compost. After 30 d of remediation, the removal efficiency of TPH, alkanes, and PAHs in the soil was 27.0%, 19.6%, and 10.0%, compared to natural attenuation (CK), which was 4.5%, 9.5%, and 2.3%, respectively. In response to remediation, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria phyla decreased from 53.4% and 25.9% to 48.9% and 14.1%, respectively, and Bacteroidetes phylum increased from 5.0% to 24.5%. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas increased from 0.02% and 3.4% to 15.2% and 4.6%, respectively. The results indicated that the bioaugmented compost may efficiently facilitate and speed up the bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soil under low-temperature conditions. Soil microbial diversity and structure of microbial communities are sensitive to the remediation.

Explore molecular mechanism of Chinese herbs with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury based on correlation between microRNA and mtDNA / 中国中药杂志

A large number of basic and clinical studies have shown that the Chinese herbs with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects could prevent and treat myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury(MIRI) by regulating lipid metabolism. But its mechanism is not yet clear. The studies show that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), microRNAs and lipid metabolism participate in the whole process of MIRI and affect the prognosis. mtDNA mutation is the primary factor to cause myocardial ischemia and reperfusion myocardial cell damage. microRNAs aggravate or reduce MIRI injury by down-regulating or up-regulating related genes expression, while miR-33, as a key regulator of cholesterol transport, regulates lipid metabolism through CROT, PGC-1α, AMPK and other genes located in the mitochondria. There are less studies on correlation between miR-33 and mtDNA, microRNAs. Therefore, further studies on the correlation between miR-33 and mtDNA, microRNAs, as well as the discussions on whether the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects could target miR-33 to regulate lipid metabolism and inducemt DNA mutations or deletions, would have important significance for the prevention and treatment of MIRI.

Functional MR imaging of the cervical spinal cord by use of 20Hz functional electrical stimulation to median nerve.

PURPOSE: Functional MR imaging of the human cervical spinal cord was carried out on volunteers by 20Hz functional electrical stimulation to median nerve, in order to detect signal changes arising concomitant to neuronal activity. METHODS: Functional MR imaging data were acquired in six subjects with single-shot fast spin-echo sequence (SSFSE) on a 1.5T GE Clinical System. Cervical spinal cord activation was measured both in the sagittal and transverse imaging planes. Postprocessing was performed by AFNI (Analysis of Functional Neuroimages) software system. RESULTS: Activation correlated with the time course of stimulation was consistently detected in both sagittal and transverse imaging planes of the cervical spinal cord. Regions of the spinal cord associated with motor and pain response were observed by 20Hz functional electrical stimulation to the median nerve. CONCLUSION: The functional MR imaging signal can be detected in the human cervical spinal cord with functional electrical stimulation. Investigating the FES response in the spinal cord using the spinal fMRI will be helpful for the further discussion on the diagnosis and functional recovery to spinal cord diseases.