Changes in sensory characteristics, chemical composition and microbial succession during fermentation of ancient plants Pu-erh tea.

"Ancient tea plants" are defined as tea trees > 100 years old, or with a trunk diameter > 25 cm; their leaves are manufactured to high - quality, valuable ancient plants pu-erh tea (APPT). In this study, a fermentation of APPT were developed, and outstanding sweetness of APPT infusion was observed. During fermentation, the content of soluble sugars, theabrownins (p < 0.05), as well as 41 metabolites were increased [Variable importance in projection (VIP) > 1.0; p < 0.05 and Fold-change (FC) FC > 2]; While relative levels of 72 metabolites were decreased (VIP > 1.0, p < 0.05 and FC < 0.5. Staphylococcus, Achromobacter, Sphingomonas, Thermomyces, Rasamsonia, Blastobotrys, Aspergillus and Cladosporium were identified as dominant genera, and their relative levels were correlated with contents of characteristic components (p < 0.05). Together, changes in sensory characteristics, chemical composition and microbial succession during APPT fermentation were investigated, and advanced the formation mechanism of its unique quality.

Environmental eustress improves postinfarction cardiac repair via enhancing cardiac macrophage survival.

Macrophages play a vital role in cardiac repair following myocardial infarction (MI). An enriched environment (EE) is involved in the regulation of macrophage-related activities and disease progression; however, whether EE affects the phenotype and function of macrophages to improve postinfarction cardiac repair remains unknown. In this study, we found that EE improved cardiac function, decreased mortality, and ameliorated adverse ventricular remodeling in mice after MI, with these outcomes closely related to the increased survival of Ly6Clow macrophages and their CCR2-MHCIIlow subsets. EE increased the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hypothalamus, leading to higher circulating levels of BDNF, which, in turn, regulated the cardiac macrophages. BDNF bound to tropomyosin receptor kinase B to activate downstream ERK1/2 and AKT pathways, promoting macrophage survival. These findings demonstrate that EE optimizes postinfarction cardiac repair and highlights the significance of EE as a previously unidentified strategy for impeding adverse ventricular remodeling.

[Preparation and evaluation of a novel liposome-based fluorescent probe for tumor imaging].

In this study, a fluorescent nanoprobe based on liposome was synthesized by the hydrophobic interaction of phosphatidyl ethanolamine and indocyanine green(ICG).The nanoprobe was called LipoICG. In order to enhance the stability of liposome, we made a new LipoICG by coating it with human serum albumin (HSA). The new fluorescent nanoprobe, H-LipoICG, was produced for tumor imaging. The LipoICG and H-LipoICG were observed as spherical shape with uniform size distribution. The particle size of LipoICG was 94.47 nm, zeta potential was-43.5 m V and encapsulation efficiency (EE) was 81.5%.The particle size of H-LipoICG was 121.5 nm, zeta potential was-32.3 m V and EE was 98.2%.The coating of HSA could enhance the stability of liposome and increase the EE of ICG. Studies on drug release demonstrated that the release of ICG in H-LipoICG was slower than LipoICG, which suggests that HSA may reduce the ICG leakage from liposome, the fluorescence intensity could be enhanced in the nanoprobe. The Cell Counting Kit-8 assay demonstrated that LipoICG and H-LipoICG was not toxic for MCF-7 cells with good biocompatibility. In the study of biodistribution in mice, our experiments demonstrated that H-LipoICG had better tumor targeting ability and exhibited an enhanced fluorescence intensity than LipoICG. An optimize tumor contrast was observed after 8 h intravenous administration, the tumor margins could be clearly detected for up to 24 h after injection. So, H-LipoICG was an effective fluorescent probe for tumor imaging.

MAC(EI) and MAC(awake) of sevoflurane in infants with obstructive jaundice.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine whether the MACEI and MACawake of sevoflurane in infants with obstructive jaundice are different from that observed in nonjaundiced infants. METHODS: Infants scheduled for abdominal surgery were recruited into the study. General anesthesia was induced with 8% sevoflurane inhaled with 8 l·min(-1) of oxygen via mask, followed by adjustment of inspired sevoflurane to the target concentration based on the result in previous patient at which laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation were attempted and maintained for 15 min. All responses to tracheal intubation were assessed. At the end of the procedure, sevoflurane was titrated to the target concentration, which was kept constant for 15 min before a standard stimulus was applied to determine whether the infant was awake. The Dixon's 'up and down' method was used to determine progression of subsequent concentrations. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the MACEI of sevoflurane in infants with obstructive jaundice (3.40 ± 0.21%) and that observed in the control group (3.43 ± 0.18%). But the MACawake of sevoflurane in jaundiced infants (1.00 ± 0.15%) was significantly lower than that of nonjaundiced controls (1.40 ± 0.21%; P = 0.004); to complement these findings, we reported a negative correlation between serum total bilirubin and the probability of awakening (OR = 0.984, 95% CI is 0.970-0.998, P = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: The MACawake of sevoflurane was reduced in obstructive jaundiced infants compared with nonjaundiced controls, whereas there was no significant difference between the MACEI of sevoflurane in infants with obstructive jaundice and that observed in nonjaundiced infants.