Injectable carboxymethyl chitosan-genipin hydrogels encapsulating tea tree oil for wound healing.

Injectable hydrogel is of interesting for wound healing due to it can be used as carriers of bioactive molecules for the reparation of tissues with minimal invasiveness. However, the integration of lipid-soluble substances into hydrogel network is difficult because of the polarity differences. Here, the tea tree oil (TTO) is encapsulated into the hydrogel network via a previous emulsification process, and a tough and antibacterial injectable hydrogel is synthesized by the Schiff base reaction between carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) and genipin (GP). CMCS is served as both an emulsifier and a gel-forming material to construct the heterogeneous hydrogel. The obtained hydrogels present high adhesive strength (∼162.75 kPa), great antibacterial properties (over 90 %) and excellent biocompatibility. Moreover, an anal fistula-like wound healing experiment concluded that the heterogeneous hydrogel has good slow-release properties of TTO for an accelerate healing process, this hydrogel shows great potential for the treatment of complex anal fistula wounds.

Pythium myriotylum Is Recovered Most Frequently from Pythium Soft Rot-Infected Ginger Rhizomes in China.

Pythium soft rot is a major soilborne disease of crops such as ginger (Zingiber officinale). Our objective was to identify which Pythium species were associated with Pythium soft rot of ginger in China, where approximately 20% of global ginger production is located. Oomycetes infecting ginger rhizomes from seven provinces were investigated using two molecular markers, the internal transcribed spacer, and cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (CoxII). In total, 81 isolates were recovered; approximately 95% of the isolates were identified as Pythium myriotylum, and the other isolates were identified as either P. aphanidermatum or P. graminicola. Notably, the P. myriotylum isolates from China did not contain the single nucleotide polymorphism in the CoxII sequence found previously in the P. myriotylum isolates infecting ginger in Australia. A subset of 36 isolates was analyzed repeatedly by temperature-dependent growth, severity of disease on ginger plants, and aggressiveness of colonization on ginger rhizome sticks. In the pathogenicity assays, 32 of 36 isolates were able to significantly infect and cause severe disease symptoms on the ginger plants. A range of temperature-dependent growth, disease severity, and aggressiveness in colonization was found, with a significant moderate positive correlation between growth and aggressiveness of colonization of the ginger sticks. This study identified P. myriotylum as the major oomycete pathogen in China from infected ginger rhizomes and suggested that P. myriotylum should be a key target to control soft rot of ginger disease.

Protective Effect of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 1201 Combined with Galactooligosaccharide on Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Acute Liver Injury in Mice.

Acute liver injury (ALI) has a high mortality rate of approximately 20-40%, and it is imperative to find complementary and alternative drugs for treating ALI. A carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced ALI mouse model was established to explore whether dietary intervention can alleviate ALI in mice. Intestinal flora, intestinal integrity, biomarkers of hepatic function, systemic inflammation, autophagy, and apoptosis signals were detected through a real-time PCR, hematoxylin-eosin staining, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and so on. The results showed that Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 1201 had a strongly antioxidant ability, and galactooligosaccharide (GOS) could boost its growth. Based on these findings, the combination of L. plantarum 1201 and GOS, the synbiotic, was applied to prevent CCl4-induced ALI in mice. The current research proved that GOS promoted the intestinal colonization of L. plantarum 1201, and the synbiotic improved the antioxidant capacity of the host, regulated the intestinal flora, repaired the intestinal barrier, inhibited the activation of the MAPK/NF-κB pathway, and then inhibited the apoptosis and autophagy pathways, relieving inflammation and liver oxidation; thereby, the ALI of mice was alleviated. These results suggest that synbiotics may become a new research direction for liver-protecting drugs.

[Improvement of survival quality of the patients with hemodialysis treated with moxibustion for regulating spleen and stomach functions: multi-central randomized controlled study].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the impacts of moxibustion for regulating spleen and stomach function on the survival quality of the patients of end stage renal disease (ESRD) with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). METHODS: One hundred and nine cases of uremia with MHD from 3 hemodialysis centers were randomized into an observation group (58 cases) and a control group (51 cases). The regular hemodialysis and conventional medication were used in the two groups. In the observation group, on the basis of the common treatment, moxibustion was applied to Zusanli (ST 36) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6), 2-3 times a day, the treatment of 4 weeks made one session. Totally, 3 sessions were required and the follow-up lasted for 3 months. KDQOL-SF (kidney disease quality of life short form,KDQOL-SFTM 1. 3) was adopted for the questionnaire investigation on survival quality before treatment, after treatment and at the end of follow-up separately in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the survival quality scores in terms of physical functioning (83.62+/-13.27 vs 79.32+/- 22. 17), general health (58. 88+/- 20.24 vs 48.82+/-20.89) and vitality (77.07+/-15.56 vs 70. 59+/-22.61) in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (all P<0. 05). In comparison before and after treatment in the same group, the survival quality scores in terms of physical functioning, general health, vitality and symptoms/problems were all improved in the observation group (all P<0. 05). At the end of follow-up, the survival quality scores in terms of physical functioning, general health, mental health, social functioning, vitality, effects of kidney disease and cognitive function were higher in the observation group as compared with those in the control group (all P<0. 05). In comparison of the results at the end of follow-up with those before treatment, the survival quality scores in terms of vitality, symptoms/problems and cognitive function in the observation group were improved (all P< 0. 05). The differences were not significant in all of the 19 fields of survival quality evaluation before and after treatment, and after follow-up in the control group (all P>0. 05). CONCLUSION: Moxibustion for regulating spleen and stomach function improves the survival quality of the patients with hemodialysis in terms of physical functioning, general health and vitality, which benefits the psychological condition of the patients, resulting in the improvements of the survival quality in the fields of mental health, social functioning, effects of kidney disease and cognitive function.

[Randomized controlled trail on moxibustion for maintenance hemodialysis patients in deficiency syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effective therapy for maintenance hemodialysis patients in dificiency syndrome in end-stage renal disease. METHODS: Ninety-seven cases were divided into an observation group (51 cases) and a control group (46 cases) randomly, and routine western medicine was used in both of them. On this base, moxibustion was used in Zusanli (ST 36) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) in paper-tube-moxibustion equipment in the observation group. Evaluate the therapeutic effect on symptoms by comparing the symptom scores in two groups before and after treatment. RESULTS: All the symptom scores in the observation group were improved after treatment, and the differences were significant (all P < 0.05). Among all symptoms, the most improved ones included lassitude and fatigue, short breath and aversion to talk, poor appetite, soreness and softness of waist and knees, aversion to cold, cold extremities and so on. In the aspect of therapeutic effect on symptoms, the total effective rate in observation group (64.7%, 33/51) was higher than that in control group (23.9%, 11/46), and the difference was significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Moxibustion can improve the clinical symptoms of maintenance hemodialysis patients in end-stage renal disease, and can generate some therapeutic effect to the dificiency syndrome of this disease.