Skimmed Milk Diluent Promotes the Sperm Motility and Conception Rate of Dorper Sheep Compared to Vitamin B12 Diluent.

BACKGROUND: Dorper sheep is an ideal breed for improvement, with higher meat production and increased adaptability. Artificial insemination is an efficient technique for Dorper genetic improvement and reproduction management. However, there is no uniform diluent for Dorper semen dilution. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of vitamin B12 (VB12) and skimmed milk diluents on sperm motility at different ratios and time points, and the effects on conception rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We detected the effect of diluents on sperm density, deformity, motility and conception rate of Dorper sheep. RESULTS: We found the optimal dilution ratio of skimmed milk is 1:3. Compared to VB12, skimmed milk at 1:3 ratio prolonged semen storage time (48 h vs. 18 h, storage at a low temperature of 4°C) and increased the survival index of sperm (44.7 ± 2.8 vs. 18.5 ± 0.6, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Skimmed milk is more effective, nutritious and convenient than vitamin B12, representing a more advantageous diluent.

Adenosine A2A receptor inactivation alleviates early-onset cognitive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury involving an inhibition of tau hyperphosphorylation.

Tau is a microtubule-associated protein, and the oligomeric and hyperphosphorylated forms of tau are increased significantly after neurotrauma and considered important factors in mediating cognitive dysfunction. Blockade of adenosine A2A receptors, either by caffeine or gene knockout (KO), alleviates cognitive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury (TBI). We postulated that A2AR activation exacerbates cognitive impairment via promoting tau hyperphosphorylation. Using a mouse model of moderate controlled cortical impact, we showed that TBI induced hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and spatial memory deficiency in the Morris water maze test at 7 days and 4 weeks after TBI. Importantly, pharmacological blockade (A2AR antagonist ZM241385 or non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist caffeine) or genetic inactivation of A2ARs reduced the level of tau phosphorylation at Ser404 and alleviated spatial memory dysfunction. The A2AR control of p-tau is further supported by the observations that a KO of A2AR decreased the activity of the tau phosphorylation kinases, glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK-3ß) and protein kinase A (PKA) after TBI, and by that CGS21680 (A2AR agonist) exacerbated okadaic acid-induced tau hyperphosphorylation in cultured primary hippocampal neurons. Lastly, CGS21680-induced neuronal tau hyperphosphorylation and axonal injury were effectively alleviated by individual treatments with ZM241385 (A2AR antagonist), H89 (PKA antagonist) and SB216763 (GSK-3ß antagonist), or by the combined treatment with H89 and SB216763. Our findings suggest a novel mechanism whereby A2AR activation triggers cognitive dysfunction by increasing the phosphorylation level of tau protein after TBI and suggest a promising therapeutic and prophylactic strategy by targeting aberrant A2AR signaling via tau phosphorylation.

[The effects of ß-elemene on rabbit VX2 laryngeal carcinoma and factors associated with tumor growth and metastasis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the inhibition effect of ß-elemene on the growth and metastasis of laryngeal carcinoma and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: Sixty-six rabbits were vaccinated with suspension of VX2 cancer tissues to establish a rabbit laryngeal carcinoma model and then they were randomly treated with the injection of 0.9% sodium chloride solution (as a control), cisplatin, or ß-elemene from the seventh day after vaccination. The rabbits were sacrificed three weeks after vaccination. The laryngeal tumor was dissected. and the volume of tumor and the inhibitory rate of tumor growth were measured. The expressions of PCNA (proliferation cell nuclear antigen), Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma-2) and VEGF-D (vascular endothelial growth factor D) in tumor were semiquantitatively examined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The inhibition rates of tumor growth in ß-elemene-treated group and the cisplatin-treated group were 48.5% and 51.4%, respectively. The expressions of Bcl-2 in ß-elemene-treated group and cisplatin-treated group were significantly lower than the control (P<0.05), but with no significant difference between ß-elemene-treated group and cisplatin-treated group. The expression of PCNA in ß-elemene-treated group was significantly decreased compared to control group (P<0.05). The expression of VEGF-D in ß-elemene-treated group was lower than that in control group or the cisplatin-treated group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: ß-elemene can inhibit the growth of rabbit VX2 laryngeal tumor, which may be associated with the inhibition of factors related to tumor growth and metastasis.

Changes in the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenic in-patients in China.

Positive and negative symptoms at admission and discharge of 401 unselected schizophrenic patients from four psychiatric hospitals around China were studied. On admission 58% of patients had prominent negative symptoms and the overall severity of negative symptoms was similar to that of positive symptoms; at discharge, negative symptoms were more prevalent and more severe. The severity of negative symptoms was not significantly correlated with duration of illness or with dosage of medication; 48% of first-episode, drug-naive patients had prominent negative symptoms on admission. Negative symptoms responded to standard neuroleptic treatment, but the improvement was less marked than that in positive symptoms (47% v. 80%). The proportion of patients classified as positive type, negative type, and mixed type schizophrenia altered dramatically with treatment. These findings highlight the importance of negative symptoms in the assessment and treatment of both acute and chronic schizophrenia.