A novel mechanism of resveratrol alleviates Toxoplasma gondii infection-induced pulmonary inflammation via inhibiting inflammasome activation.

BACKGROUND: Infection by Toxoplasma gondii can lead to severe pneumonia, with current treatments being highly inadequate. The NLRP3 inflammasome is one member of the NOD-like receptor family with a pyrin domain, which is crucial in the innate immune defense against T. gondii. Research has shown that resveratrol (RSV) prevents lung damage caused by this infection by inhibiting the T. gondii-derived heat shock protein 70/TLR4/NF-κB pathway, thus reducing the macrophage-driven inflammatory response. However, it should be mentioned that the participation of NLRP3 inflammasome in the immune response to the lung injuries caused by T. gondii infections is not entirely clear. PURPOSE: This study aims to clarify how RSV ameliorates lung damage triggered by Toxoplasma gondii infection, with a particular focus on the pathway involving TLR4, NF-κB, and the NLRP3 inflammasome. METHODS: Both in vitro and in vivo models of infection were developed by employing the RH strain of T. gondii in BALB/c mice and RAW 264.7 macrophage cell lines. The action mechanism of RSV was explored using techniques such as molecular docking, surface plasmon resonance, ELISA, Western blot, co-immunoprecipitation, and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Findings indicate that the suppression of TLR4 or NF-κB impacts the levels of proteins associated with the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. Additionally, a significant affinity for binding between RSV and NLRP3 was observed. Treatment with RSV led to a marked reduction in the activation and formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome within lung tissues and RAW 264.7 cells, alongside a decrease in IL-1ß concentrations in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. These outcomes align with those seen when using the NLRP3 inhibitor CY-09. Moreover, the application of CY-09 prior to RSV negated the latter's anti-inflammatory properties. CONCLUSION: Considering insights from previous research alongside the outcomes of the current investigation, it appears that the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway emerges as a promising target for immunomodulation to alleviate lung injury from T. gondii infection. The evidence gathered in this study lays the groundwork for the continued exploration and potential future clinical deployment of RSV as a therapeutic agent with anti-Toxoplasma properties and the capability to modulate the inflammatory response.

Animal DNA Typing and Its Research Progress in Forensic Medicine.

With the advance of molecular biology, DNA analysis technology has been widely applied in forensic science. Non-human DNA analysis can be used in some special cases and has unique forensic value to provide investigation clues and trial basis. Animal DNA typing plays a more prominent role in the detection of all kinds of non-human DNA related cases and is the main content of forensic non-human DNA analysis. This paper reviews the development history, present situation, advantages and disadvantages of animal DNA typing according to its technology, characteristic, challenges facing forensic science application scenarios, and also its future development.

Comparison of Methods for Biological Sequence Clustering.

Recent advances in sequencing technology have considerably promoted genomics research by providing high-throughput sequencing economically. This great advancement has resulted in a huge amount of sequencing data. Clustering analysis is powerful to study and probe the large-scale sequence data. A number of available clustering methods have been developed in the last decade. Despite numerous comparison studies being published, we noticed that they have two main limitations: only traditional alignment-based clustering methods are compared and the evaluation metrics heavily rely on labeled sequence data. In this study, we present a comprehensive benchmark study for sequence clustering methods. Specifically, i) alignment-based clustering algorithms including classical (e.g., CD-HIT, UCLUST, VSEARCH) and recently proposed methods (e.g., MMseq2, Linclust, edClust) are assessed; ii) two alignment-free methods (e.g., LZW-Kernel and Mash) are included to compare with alignment-based methods; and iii) different evaluation measures based on the true labels (supervised metrics) and the input data itself (unsupervised metrics) are applied to quantify their clustering results. The aims of this study are to help biological analyzers in choosing one reasonable clustering algorithm for processing their collected sequences, and furthermore, motivate algorithm designers to develop more efficient sequence clustering approaches.

Major shrimp allergen peptidomics signatures and potential biomarkers of heat processing.

It is important to develop tools that can be used to understand the effects of processing on allergenic foods in order to achieve personalized food labeling. To evaluate the effect of heating on the allergy-relevant structural properties of tropomyosin (TM), arginine kinase (AK), myosin light chain (MLC) and sarcoplasmic calcium-binding protein (SCP) shrimp allergens, trypsin digests of raw, fried and baked shrimp extracts were analyzed by peptidomics and epitope correlations. Processing altered the number of peptides released from the distinct allergens, and each treatment generated a specific epitope-matched peptide allergen fingerprint. Among the four allergens, TM led to a number of released peptides and epitope changes being detected, and AK provided the epitope-matched 331MGLTEFQAVK340 sequence as a common differentiating peptide for heat processing. These results provide new views on the structural effects of processing on major shrimp allergens and peptide candidates as processing biomarkers.

Anticancer effects of juglone in OVCAR-3 human ovarian carcinoma are facilitated through programmed cell death, endogenous ROS production, inhibition of cell migration and invasion and cell cycle arrest.

The Editors of JBUON issue an Expression of Concern to 'Anticancer effects of juglone in OVCAR-3 human ovarian carcinoma are facilitated through programmed cell death, endogenous ROS production, inhibition of cell migration and invasion and cell cycle arrest', by Jun-Yu Shi, Zhe-Ren Huang, Hong-Yan Gao, Xiao-Li Xu; JBUON 2020;25(2):779-784; PMID: 32521867. Following the publication of the above article, readers drew to our attention that part of the data was possibly unreliable. We sent emails to the authors with a request to provide the raw data to prove the originality, but received no reply. Therefore, as we continue to work through the issues raised, we advise readers to interpret the information presented in the article with due caution. We thank the readers for bringing this matter to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience it may cause.

Anticancer effects of juglone in OVCAR-3 human ovarian carcinoma are facilitated through programmed cell death, endogenous ROS production, inhibition of cell migration and invasion and cell cycle arrest.

PURPOSE: Accumulating evidence suggests that Juglone is a potent anticancer molecule of plant origin. However, its anticancer effects have not been fully explored against human ovarian cancer cells. Therefore this study was undertaken to evaluate the anticancer effects of Juglone against the human OVCAR-3 ovarian cancer cells. METHODS: Cell viability was evaluated by WST-1 assay. Cellular apoptosis was studied using fluorescence microscopy with DAPI staining. The percentage of OVCAR-3 human ovarian cancer cells was examined by using flow cytometry in combination with annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide (PI) staining. Effects on cell cycle were studied by flow cytometer while effects on cell migration and invasion were evaluated using wound healing and transwell assay, respectively. RESULTS: Juglone inhibited the growth rate of OVCAR-3 ovarian cancer cells and showed an IC50 of 30 µM. However, Juglone showed very high IC50 (100 µM) against the normal SV40 ovarian cells. DAPI staining showed that Juglone caused nuclear fragmentation of the OVCAR-3 cells, suggestive of apoptosis. Annexin V/PI staining showed that the percentage of the apoptotic OVCAR-3 cells increased from 2.15 in control to 45.24% at 60 µM concentration of Juglone. The induction of apoptosis in the OVCAR-3 cells was also accompanied with activation caspase-3, upregulation of Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2. Juglone was also found to cause an upsurge in the ROS levels in the OVCAR-3 cells. Cell cycle analysis showed that Juglone caused accumulation of the OVCAR-3 cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle triggering G2/M cell cycle arrest. Wound healing assay and transwell assay showed that Juglone suppressed the migration as well as the invasion of the OVCAR-3 cells, suggestive of the antimetastatic potential of this molecule. CONCLUSIONS: Juglone may prove advantageous in ovarian cancer treatment.

WITHDRAWN: Whole genome sequencing identifies novel NOTCH3 mutations for leukoaraiosis.

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal.

The role of taurine in improving neural stem cells proliferation and differentiation.

OBJECTIVES: Taurine is one of the most abundant amino acids in the central nervous system and has important functions in the promotion of brain development. This study aimed to determine the mechanistic role of taurine in improving neuronal proliferation, stem cell proliferation, and neural differentiation. METHODS: The data for this review were primarily retrieved from the PubMed database from 1985 to 2015 in English. The search string included the keywords taurine, brain development, neuronal, stem cell, proliferation, differentiation, and others. Relevant publications were identified, retrieved, and reviewed. RESULTS: This review introduces the source, function, and mechanisms of taurine in brain development and provides additional detail regarding the mechanistic role of taurine in improving neuronal proliferation, stem cell proliferation, and neural differentiation. Many studies concerning these aspects are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: Taurine plays an important role in brain development, including neuronal proliferation, stem cell proliferation, and differentiation, via several mechanisms. Taurine can be directly used in clinical applications to improve brain development because it has no toxic effects on humans.

Adenovirus co-expressing CD40 ligand and interleukin (IL)-2 contributes to maturation of dendritic cells and production of IL-12.

The aim of the present study was to construct a chimeric adenovirus (Ad)5/F35 co-expressing human CD4O ligand (CD4OL) and interleukin (IL)-2 (Ad5/F35 CD40L-IL-2). The infection efficiency to human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (Mo-DCs), expression of genes, phenotype changes and IL-12 production of Mo-DC by Ad5/F35 CD40L-IL-2 were investigated. CD40L and IL-2 from total RNA extracted from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cloned by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and used to construct Ad5/F35 CD40L-IL-2. The infection efficiency, expression of CD40L, and phenotype changes of Mo-DC infected with Ad5/F35 CD40L-IL-2 were analyzed using flow cytometry. The quantities of IL-2 and IL-12 in the supernatants of Mo-DC following infection of Ad5/F35 CD40L-IL-2 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The CD40L and IL-2 genes were successfully cloned and the Ad5/F35 CD40L-IL-2 was constructed. Ad5/F35 CD40L-IL-2 efficiently infected Mo-DCs with an infection efficiency of >75%, and the infected Mo-DCs expressed CD40L and secreted IL-2. The expression levels of cluster of differentiation (CD)80, CD86, CD40, and human leukocyte antigen-antigen D related on Mo-DC were moderate; however, CD83 was low prior to infection of Ad5/F35 CD40L-IL-2. Those molecules, particularly CD83, were markedly upregulated 24 h after the infection. Increasing quantities of IL-12 in the supernatants were detected subsequent to infection at different time points in a time-dependent manner. Thus, Ad5/F35 CD40L-IL-2 efficiently infected human Mo-DCs and its products, CD40L and IL-2, were subsequently expressed. In addition, infection with Ad5/F35 CD40L-IL-2 stimulated the maturation of Mo-DC and high levels of IL-12 production.

Analysis of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with high-dose cyclophosphamide-induced immune tolerance for severe aplastic anemia.

The study was aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of allo-HSCT with high-dose cyclophosphamide-induced immune tolerance for SAA. In the present study, 20 cases (12 male, 8 female; average age = 17.8 years) received reduced-intensity conditioning allo-HSCT from August 2012 to August 2014 in the Beijing Military Region General Hospital. All were HLA mismatched and received CSA; 11 received ATG-intensive immune therapy. Donors underwent mobilization with cell colony-stimulating factor. The modified preconditioning regimen included reduced-strength fludarabine combined with Busulfex and cytarabine, cyclophosphamide. Cyclophosphamide (50 mg/kg/d) induced immune tolerance 3 days after transplantation and was combined with immunosuppressive agents, including CSA, MTX, and FK506, for GVHD prophylaxis and the management of observed toxicity, GVHD and DFS. Hematopoietic reconstitution was achieved in 17 cases and engraftment after a second transplantation in an additional three cases. The average times to engraftment were 17.4 and 21.3 days, respectively, with neutrophils ≥0.5 × 109/L and platelets ≥20 × 109/L. Engraftment was confirmed by the evidence of 100 % donor hematopoiesis; T lymphocyte subset counts also increased significantly after transplantation. During follow-up monitoring to April 2015 (median duration = 17.7 months), three patients died of complications, while the other 17 showed disease-free survival (DFS rate = 85 %; longest DFS period = 32 months). Reduced-intensity allo-HSCT with high-dose cyclophosphamide-induced immune tolerance treatment is effective for SAA and can be the key technology extensively used in clinic, but its efficacy needs to be confirmed further with prospective randomized study with increased sample size.

[Measurement of Nitrogen Content in Lettuce Canopy Using Spectroscopy Combined with BiPLS-GA-SPA and ELM].

Nitrogen fertilizer is necessary to improve yield and quality of lettuce. Spectroscopy is one of the most effective techniques used to detect crop nitrogen content. In this study, canopy reflectance spectra were acquired under five levels of nitrogen, and then were Savitzky-Golay smoothed, the first-order derivative spectra were calculated from the smoothed spectra to eliminate noise effects. Backward interval partial least squares (BiPLS), genetic algorithm (GA) and successive projections algorithm (SPA) were combined to select the efficient wavelengths. The number of variables was decreased from 2,151 to 8. The optimal intervals or variables were used to build multivariable linear regression (MLR) model, radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) models and extreme learning machine (ELM) models. This work proved that the results of BiPLS-GA-SPA-ELM model was superior to others with RMSEC was 0.241 6%, Rc was 0.934 6, RMSEP was 0.284 2% and Rp was 0.921 8. Our research results may provide a foundation for nutrition regulation and developing instrument.

Local Injection of Lenti-BDNF at the Lesion Site Promotes M2 Macrophage Polarization and Inhibits Inflammatory Response After Spinal Cord Injury in Mice.

There is much evidence to suggest that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a prominent candidate in promoting neuroprotection, axonal regeneration, and synaptic plasticity following spinal cord injury (SCI). Although some evidence indicates that BDNF has potent anti-oxidative effects and may be involved in the regulation of the immune response, the effects of BDNF in the inflammatory response during the course of secondary damage after SCI is still unclear. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of BDNF with a special focus on their effect on macrophage polarization after SCI. Adult C57 mice underwent T10 spinal cord clip compression injury and received lenti-BDNF vector injections at the epicenter of the lesion site. Four days later, total BDNF levels were greatly increased in animals that received lenti-BDNF injections. Confocal imaging showed that more than 80 % of the lenti-virus infected cells were CD11b-positive macrophages. In addition, the expression of arginase-1 and CD206 (associated with M2 macrophage phenotype) significantly increased in the animals that received lenti-BDNF injections compared with those that received lenti-EGFP injections. On the contrary, the expression of CD16/32 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (M1 phenotype marker) was down-regulated as demonstrated using flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the production of interleukin 1ß and tumor necrosis factor alpha was significantly reduced whereas the levels of interleukin 10 and interleukin 13 were elevated in subjects that received lenti-BDNF vector injections. The time course of functional recovery revealed that gradual recovery was observed in the subacute phase in lenti-BDNF group, little improvement was observed in lenti-EGFP group. At the axonal level, significant retraction of the CST axons were observed in lenti-EGFP injected animals relative to lenti-BDNF group by biotinylated dextran amine tracing. In addition, compared to lenti-BDNF group markedly demyelination was observed in the lenti-EGFP group using luxol fast blue staining. In conclusion, we found that BDNF could promote the shift of M1 to M2 phenotype and ameliorate the inflammatory microenvironment. Furthermore, the roles of BDNF in immunity modulation may enhance neuroprotective effects and partially contribute to the locomotor functional recovery after SCI.

Efficacy and safety investigation of Kuntai capsule for the add-back therapy of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist administration to endometriosis patients: a randomized, double-blind, blank- and tibolone-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: As a Chinese Traditional Medicine product, Kuntai capsule could improve the peri-menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women. But it is still not clear whether Kuntai capsule has a good effect on alleviating peri-menopausal symptoms induced by gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical effectiveness and safety of Kuntai capsule, on peri-menopausal symptoms in endometriosis (EMS) patients, with postoperative GnRH-a treatment. METHODS: Ninety EMS ovarian cyst women with postoperative GnRH-a administration were enrolled in the study, and were randomly divided into Kuntai group, Tibolone group, or blank Control group. The therapeutic strategy in Kuntai group was 4 Kuntai capsules tid,po for 12 weeks after the first GnRH-a injection, while Tibolone 2.5 mg qd, po for 12 weeks in Tibolone group. There was no drug addition in Control group. Climacteric complaints were evaluated by Kupperman menopausal index (KMI) and hot flash/sweating score. Liver and renal functions, lipid profile, serum sex hormone levels and endometrial thickness were measured, and the frequency of adverse events in Kuntai and Tibolone groups was recorded. RESULTS: (1) Before GnRH-a therapy, the baseline parameter results were comparable in the three groups (P > 0.05). (2) After GnRH-a therapy, KMI and hot flash/sweating scores in all the three groups increased significantly (P < 0.05). At the 4 th week after GnRH-a therapy, KMI and hot flash/sweating score results were as follows: Control group > Kuntai group > Tibolone group (P < 0.05); at the 8 th and 12 th week after GnRH-a therapy, KMI and hot flash/sweating score in Control group were significantly higher than the other two groups (P < 0.05), and no significant difference was identified between Kuntai and Tibolone group (P > 0.05). (3) No statistical change took place in the liver and renal functions and lipid profile in all the three groups after the treatment (P > 0.05). (4) The posttherapeutic serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E2) level and endometrial thickness decreased significantly in all the three groups (P < 0.05). After therapy, serum E2 level in Tibolone group was obviously higher than the other two groups (P < 0.05), while FSH and LH levels were obviously lower (P < 0.05). (5) The incidence of vaginal bleeding, breast distending pain in Tibolne group was obviously higher than Kuntai group (P < 0. 05). CONCLUSIONS: Kuntai capsule is effective on the peri-menopausal symptoms induced by postoperative GnRH-a administration to EMS patients, although its clinical effect might be a few weeks later than Tibolone. Kuntai capsule might be a little safer than Tibolone tablet.

[Rehmanniae Radix and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata Ameliorates Renal Interstitial Fibrosis Induced by Unilateral Ureteral Occlusion in Rats and Their Mechanism].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of Rehmanniae Radix and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata on renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) of obstructed kidneys in a unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) rat model and the mechanism. METHODS: 20 rats were randomly divided into four groups : sham operated group, UUO group, Rehmanniae Radix decoction group and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata decoction group. The sham operated group and the UUO group were orally administered normal saline, the drug groups were orally administered 1.6 g/(kg x d) of Rehmanniae Radix decoction and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata decoction for 14 days, respectively. Then the serum of rats were collected for measurements of Scr and BUN contents. Histological changes of kidneys were observed by HE and Masson staining. The expression of transforming growth factor-ß1, (TGF-ß1), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and type I collagen (Collagen-I) were detected by Western blot method. RESULTS: Compared with model group, the contents of Scr and BUN in rats serum of drug groups were significantly decreased (P < 0.05), the sclerosis of glomerulus was ameliorated, the degree of saccular dilatation and the damage of tubules were alleviated, collagen distribution and interstitial fibrosis was obviously improved,while the expressions of TGF-ß1, α-SMA and Collagen-I were decreased. Compared with Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata decoction group,the contents of Scr and BUN in rats serum of Rehmanniae Radix decoction group were lower, the decrease of collagen distribution and interstitial fibrosis were more obviously, while the expression of α-SMA was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The effect of Rehmanniae Radix is more powerful than that of Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata on attenuating interstitial fibrosis,which may relative to downregulating the expressions of TGF-ß1, α-SMA and Collagen-I.

The role of the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway in inhibiting axonal regeneration in the central nervous system.

The Rho/Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase (Rho/ROCK) pathway is a major signaling pathway in the central nervous system, transducing inhibitory signals to block regeneration. After central nervous system damage, the main cause of impaired regeneration is the presence of factors that strongly inhibit regeneration in the surrounding microenvironment. These factors signal through the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway to inhibit regeneration. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway is crucial for advancing studies on regeneration and repair of the injured central nervous system.

[Research on lettuce leaves' moisture prediction based on hyperspectral images].

In order to conduct rational management of watering lettuce, the model of detecting lettuce leaves' moisture was built. First of all, the hyperspectral images of lettuce leaves were acquired and simultaneously the moisture proportions of leaves were measured. Meanwhile, hyperspectral images were analyzed and the characteristic bands of lettuce leaves' moisture were found. Then the images in characteristic bands were processed and the image features of lettuce leaves' moisture were computed. The image features highly relevant to moisture were obtained through correlation analysis. Furthermore, due to the possible correlation among image features, the principal components of the images were extracted by principal components analysis and were used as BP neural network's inputs to establish PCA-ANN model. At the same time, other models were constructed by using BP neural network and traditional MLR (multiple liner regression) method respectively. Prediction examinations of the three models were made based on the same sample data. The experimental results show that the average prediction error of PCA-ANN prediction model of tillering stage reaches 9.323% which is improved compared with BP-ANN and MLR prediction models.

[Effect of Epimedium extract on osteoprotegerin and RANKL mRNA expressions in glucocorticoid-induced femoral head necrosis in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of glucocorticoid on the expression levels of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL) mRNAs in rat femoral head and the antagonistic effect of Epimedium, and explore the mechanism of Epimedium in preventing glucocorticoid-induced femoral head necrosis. METHODS: Forty-eight adult SD rats were randomized into glucocorticoid group, Epimedium group and control group. In the former two groups, the rats received intramuscular injection of 12.5 mg prednisolone twice a week, and in Epimedium group, additional 1 ml/100 g aqueous Epimedium extract (equivalent to 0.1 g/ml of the crude drug) was administered intragastrically once daily. The control group received only intramuscular saline injection. After 4 weeks of treatment, osteonecrosis of the left femoral head was detected by HE staining, and the right femoral head was sampled for detection of OPG and RANKL mRNA expressions using real-time quantitative PCR. RESULTS: In glucocorticoid, Epimedium and control groups, the mortality rate of the rats was 12.5% (2/16), 6.25% (1/16), 0 (0/16), and femoral head necrosis occurred at a rate of 71.43% (10/14), 26.67% (4/15), and 0 (0/16), respectively. In glucocorticoid group, the expression level of OPG mRNA was significantly lower, RANKL expression significantly higher, and OPG/RANKL ratio significantly lower than those in Epimedium and control groups (P<0.05). OPG, RANKL and their ratios showed no significant differences between Epimedium group and the control group. CONCLUSION: Epimedium can prevent glucocorticoid-induced femoral head necrosis probably by antagonizing glucocorticiod-induced abnormal expressions of OPG and RANKL mRNA.

[Effects of applying different nitrogen form on cherry tomato nitrogen metabolism during fruit development].

A hydroponic experiment was conducted to study the effects of applying 100% NO3- -N, 100% NH4+ -N, and 75% NO3- -N+25% NH4+ -N on the nitrogen metabolism and the nitrate reductase (NR) and glutamine synthetase (GS) gene expression of cherry tomato during its fruit development. Applying 75% NO3- -N+25% NH4+ -N slightly increased the single fruit mass, and increased the fruit NH4+ -N, total amino acid, and total N contents and N accumulation significantly, compared with applying 100% NO3- -N. In treatments 100% NO3- -N and 75% NO3- -N + 25% NH4+ -N, the fruit NR activity and its gene expression had no significant difference, but were higher than those in treatment 100% NH4+ -N. The fruit GS activity was significantly higher in treatment 75% NO3--N+25% NH4+ -N than in treatment 100% NO3- -N. In the three treatments, isozyme GS1 (Cytosolic type GS) and GS2 (Chloroplast type GS) expression was inconsistent with GS activity, suggesting that the effects of applied N on GS activity could be mainly reflected at posttranscriptional level.

[Histopathology research of Cinnamaldehyde as pulp-cap of pulpotomy in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the stimulation of Cinnamaldehyde to the pulp tissue and the periapical tissue of rats' teeth, to provide evidence for developing Cinnamaldehyde as a pulp-cap of pulpotomy in primary teeth. METHODS: Using Cinnamaldehyde as pulp-cap in pulpotomy of rats' teeth, set up Cinnamaldehyde group, formaldehyde cresol formocresol group and blank group. After different treatment according to the empirical procedure, rats were killed in the 4th week and on the 12th week. Then the experiment teeth and the periodontal tissue were made into HE slides and observed using light microscope. RESULTS: The 4" week, internal absorption, external absorption, and calcification were of no significance among all the groups. Inflammation in blank group was far more severe than that in other two groups (P<0.05), while the latter two were of no significance. The 12th week, internal absorption, external absorption, and inflammation between the former two groups were of no differences, but the indexes were significantly different from them of the blank group (P<0.005). Calcify was not obvious in all the slides. CONCLUSION: As a pulp-cap, Cinnamaldehyde stimulates the pulp tissue and the periapical tissue at a very low level. The research provides histopathology rationale for Cinnamaldehyde as pulp-cap of pulpotomy in primary teeth.

[Quantitative study of effects of cinnamaldehyde on levels of endotoxin in root canals in rats' periapical periodontitis model].

OBJECTIVE: To provide experimental evidence for the exploitation of cinnamaldehyde as a kind of root canal disinfectant through studying the effect of cinnamaldehyde on endotoxin in root canals. METHODS: This experimental model of periapical periodontitis was established with Wistar rats. The 75 rats were divided randomly into 3 groups: Group of cinnamaldehyde, group of formaldehyde cresol formocresol, group of physiological saline. The level of endotoxin was measured by quantitative chromogenic tachypleus amebocyte lysate method before and after sealing the drugs in the root canal. RESULTS: The level of endotoxin in the group of cinnamaldehyde and formaldehyde cresol formocresol decreased obviously (P < 0.05), and the difference between them was of no significance (P > 0.05), the group of physiological saline was of no significant difference (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Cinnamaldehyde can decrease the level of endotoxin obviously.