Atomic force microscopy based conformation and immunological activity of Lentinan injections.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the morphological characteristics of different brands of lentinan injections produced in China using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and their relationship to immunological activity. Based on AFM imaging, chain height could be used as characterizing the conformation of lentinan, and the heights of 95 % confidence interval for triple, double and single helix were 1.746 ± 0.039 nm, 1.564 ± 0.037 nm and 1.243 ± 0.031 nm, respectively, which were calculated using self-developed MATLAB protocol. AFM characters and their immunological activity of different lentinan injection were compared. In detail, two parameters, triple helix ratio 51.3 % and adhesion force 800 pN, of Jinling (JL) lentinan injection are much higher than samples of other four manufacturers. In addition, immunological activity of JL lentinan injection is also significantly higher than Yineng's. High performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) profiles of different lentinans were also compared, and the data were in accordance with those from AFM. Molecular weight accumulation curves could be used for evaluation of quality consistence of different batches of lentinan from same manufacturer and/or different manufacturers. The results showed that quality consistence of lentinan from different manufactures is poor, which should be greatly improved.

[How Do Carbon Trading Policies Affect Industrial Carbon Productivity: Quasi-natural Experiments from Chinese Provincial Data].

At present, China's efforts to achieve a "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality" not only put great pressure on environmental governance to industrial enterprises with relatively high carbon emissions but also bring great pressure to their economic growth. However, with the proposal of a carbon trading policy, in-depth research was carried out to explore whether it can produce the effect of "carbon reduction and economic promotion." Based on the data of 30 provinces and cities from 2005 to 2019, this study conducted an in-depth analysis on the impact and path of carbon trading policies and industrial carbon productivity through methods such as double difference and multiple mediation effect models. The results showed that the carbon trading policy could significantly improve the level of industrial carbon productivity; at the same time, the effect will vary significantly with different pilot regions; the policy can produce significant effects of environmental regulation, structural optimization, technology, and energy structure optimization. It is suggested to promote the transformation of China's industrial economy to low-carbon development by accelerating the improvement of the legal system at the environmental regulation level, accelerating the construction of a new development system for the environmental protection industry, strengthening the innovation and research and development of green technology and accelerating the optimization of the energy structure.

A quantitative method for polysaccharides based on endo-enzymatic released specific oligosaccharides: A case of Lentinus edodes.

Polysaccharides exhibit multiple pharmacological activities, which are closely related to their structural characteristics. Therefore, quantitative quality control of polysaccharides based on chemical properties is of importance for their applications. However, polysaccharides are mixed macromolecular compounds that are difficult to separate, and the lack of standards made direct quantification more difficult. In this study, we proposed a new quantitative method based on the released specific oligosaccharides for polysaccharides from Lentinus edodes (shiitake) and other related fungi. Specific oligosaccharides were firstly released from polysaccharides using 1,3-ß-glucanase, then derivatized with 2-aminobenzamide (2-AB), which further separated by hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) and quantitatively determined by UPLC coupled with fluorescence detector (FLR). Laminaritriose was used as the universal standard for quantification of all the oligosaccharides. This method was validated according to linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, precision, accuracy, repeatability and stability. In addition, the four specific oligosaccharides released from polysaccharides in L. edodes were qualitatively analyzed by extracted ion chromatogram (EIC) from UPLC-MS profiles, which were identified to be disaccharide, trisaccharide and tetrasccharide. The proposed strategy not only realized the quantitative analysis of polysaccharides by UPLC-FLR, but also could achieve the qualitative distinction of different polysaccharides.

[Finite element analysis of the effect of plate placement angle on cervical spine stability in anterior cervical fusion surgery].

OBJECTIVE: Using the method of finite element analysis, to compare the biomechanical properties between the plate deviating from the long axis of the cervical spine and the standard placement of the plate in the anterior cervical fusion surgery. METHODS: A healthy female volunteer was selected and CT scan (C1-T1) was performed. Using Mimics 19.0, Geomagic Studio 2015, Solidworks 2018, Ansys Workbench 17.2 to establish a lower cervical spine (C3-C7) model and to verify the reliability of the model. Subsequently, anterior cervical plates of different angles and lengths were placed to establish an anterior cervical discectomy fusion (ACDF) model. Applying 73.6 N axial pressure and 1 NM pure moment on C3 to make the model produce flexion, extension, lateral bending and rotation activities, observed the model stress cloud diagram and recorded the maximum stress value of the instrument and the intervertebral mobility. RESULTS: The lower cervical spine (C3-C7) finite element model was established and verified against the published literature on the range of motion (ROM) of cervical spine. Effect of steel plate offset axis on stress distribution, maximum stress value and intervertebral ROM of internal fixation apparatus was minimal, and the mechanical effect of steel plate offset was less in double section steel plate than in single section steel plate. CONCLUSION: Little effect on the mechanical stability of the cervical spine was anticipated when the anterior cervical plate was not perfectly aligned with the long axis of the cervical spine. If the tilt of the plate in clinical surgery is less than 20°, there is no need to readjust the position of the plate.

Recent advances in total syntheses of natural products containing the benzocycloheptane motif.

Covering: 2010 to 2020Benzocycloheptane is a fundamental and unique structural motif found in pharmaceuticals and natural products. The total syntheses of natural products bearing the benzocycloheptane subunit are challenging and there are only a few efficient approaches to access benzocycloheptane. Thus, new methods and innovative strategies for preparing such natural products need to be developed. In this review, recent progress in the total syntheses of natural products bearing the benzocycloheptane motif is presented, and key transformations for the construction of benzocycloheptane are highlighted. This review provides a useful guide for those engaged in the syntheses of natural products containing the benzocycloheptane motif.

Application of smartphone in detection of thin-layer chromatography: Case of salvia miltiorrhiza.

In this work, a smartphone-based device was constructed for thin-layer chromatography (TLC) detection and semi-quantitative analysis of the components of Salvia miltiorrhiza. The key construction and shooting parameters were investigated by the relative peak area and signal-to-noise ratio. The best conditions were as follows: shooting height, 17 cm; angle between the UV lamp and TLC plate, 58°; exposure compensation, 0~0.2 EV; and shutter speed under daylight and UV 365 nm, 1/50 s and 1/5 s, respectively. These ideal conditions could be replicated by smartphones from different brands with different versions of software. With good precision, repeatability and stability, the developed device was used for the semi-quantitative analysis of salvianolic acid B, rosmarinic acid, cryptotanshinone, tanshinone I, tanshinone IIA, and miltirone in the TLC analysis of 10 batches of S. miltiorrhiza. The results were compared with those obtained by a TLC densitometric scanner and two common types of image processing software, i.e., Gelanalyzer and ImageJ. Except for salvianolic acid B in the TLC densitometric scanner, all results were not significantly different among these methods, which suggested that smartphones might be a useful tool for the quality control of traditional Chinese medicines.

Synergistic immunomodulatory effect of complex polysaccharides from seven herbs and their major active fractions.

In this report, we present the strategy for the revelation of synergistic effect and elucidation of active fractions from an immunomodulatory complex polysaccharide derived from seven herbs (Lentinula edodes, Ganodorma lucidum, Tremella fuciformis, Chrysanthemum, Lycium barbarum, Codonopsis pilosula and Poria cocos), a formula used as health product in China market, using the combination of HPSEC-MALLS, immunological bioassay and saccharide mapping analysis. The effects of complex polysaccharide and their fractions on RAW 246.7 macrophages demonstrated that the fractions (CD1, CD2, CD3) with molecular weight above 10 kDa exhibited immune activity by directly stimulated NO release and phagocytosis, and induced macrophages to secrete cytokines. Especially, fraction CD2 with molecular weight of 100-1000 kDa showed the strongest bioactivity (EC50 = 0.19 µg/mL) compared with their individual corresponding herbal polysaccharides fractions due to synergistic effect, which supported the scientific use of Chinese herbal mixture. Moreover, their chemical characters were analyzed by HPSEC-MALLS and saccharide mapping, and the original herbs, including L. edodes, G. lucidum, T. fuciformis and Chrysanthemum, responsible for the immunomodulatory activity were tentatively revealed. Results are beneficial for the quality analysis and formula optimization of complex polysaccharides in both biomedical and functional food field.

Ganoderma spore powder contains little triterpenoids.

BACKGROUND: Ganoderma spore is a minuscule germ cell ejected from Ganoderma gills during its growth maturity period, it has been considered with high exploitable potential in health-care products manufacture. METHODS: After testing sporoderm-broken rate, the triterpenoids in 12 batches of broken and unbroken Ganoderma spore powder (GSP) samples were compared with Ganoderma lucidum fruiting body (GL) by high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) and further verified by liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS); meanwhile, the dissolution of triterpenoids after bionic extraction was also investigated by HPTLC. RESULTS: The sporoderm-broken rate of all the broken GSP samples was over 85%. The relative peak area of triterpenoids in GSP samples were lower than 50% of that in fruiting body, and the dissolution of triterpenoids in artificial gastrointestinal fluid was lower than in methanol. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that there were little triterpenoids in GSP. Triterpenoids in GSP also seldom be dissolved in artificial gastrointestinal fluid.

Quality evaluation of Salvia miltiorrhiza from different geographical origins in China based on qualitative and quantitative saccharide mapping and chemometrics.

Comparison of Salvia miltiorrhiza polysaccharides (SMPs) from different geographical origins in China (Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Sichuan, Shaanxi) was performed using high performance size exclusion chromatography coupled with multi-angle laser light scattering and refractive index detector (HPSEC-MALLS-RID), saccharide mapping based on polysaccharide analysis by using carbohydrate gel electrophoresis (PACE) and combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). Based on the results of HPSEC-MALLS/RI, the relative content of SMPs showed a significant difference between different geographical origins, however, the molecular weight of SMPs showed almost no significance. SMPs can be discriminated as five regions after PACE coupled with OPLS-DA models analysis of endo-1,5-α-arabinanase hydrolysates. Moreover, all the PACE fingerprint indicated that 1,4-ß-D-Galp, 1,5-α-Araf, 1,4-α-D-GalAp and 1,4-ß-D-Glcp linkages existed in SMPs.

Comparison of volatile compounds in different parts of fresh Amomum villosum Lour. from different geographical areas using cryogenic grinding combined HS-SPME-GC-MS.

BACKGROUND: The essential oil is one of the main active ingredients of Amomum villosum Lour. However, volatile compounds are easily lost during the drying, storage and even sample preparation procedure. Therefore, using fresh samples can obtain more accurately data for qualitative and comparative analysis. METHODS: In this study, the volatile compounds in different parts of fresh A. villosum from different origins were systemic analyzed and compared by using cryogenic grinding combined HS-SPME-GC-MS for the first time. GC-MS analyses were performed on a 6890 Series GC instrument coupled to a 5973 N mass spectrometer. The volatile compounds were extracted by the SPME fiber (100 µm PDMS). Analytes separation was achieved on a HP-5MS capillary column. The oven temperature was initially programmed at 70 °C, then raised 4 °C/min to reach 125 °C and then programmed at 0.5 °C/min to 133 °C, then at 6 °C/min to 170 °C and finally, at 20 °C/min to 280 °C held for 2 min. The temperatures of the injection port, ion source and transfer line were set at 250 °C, 230 °C and 280 °C, respectively. RESULTS: Forty-eight main compounds were identified in different parts of fresh A. villosum. The most abundant components in fresh fruit samples were camphor (3.91%), bornyl acetate (10.53%), caryophyllene (8.70%), ß-bisabolene (11.50%), (E)-nerolidol (14.82%) and cubenol (10.04%). This is quite different with that of dried samples analyzed in our previous work. As different parts of the same plant, many common components with biological activities were detected in fruit and other parts. In principle components analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA), four parts of A. villosum were divided into different groups clearly. Additionally, fruit and root samples also could be divided into two subgroups (HCA) in accordance with their regions. CONCLUSION: The developed method was successfully used for qualitative and comparative analysis of volatile compounds in fresh A. villosum samples. Additionally, using fresh samples can obtain much more information which is helpful for their performance in the fields of functional foods, agriculture and biomedical industry. Furthermore, our research is helpful for comprehensive utilization and quality control of A. villosum.

Shexiang Baoxin Pill, a Traditional Chinese Herbal Formula, Rescues the Cognitive Impairments in APP/PS1 Transgenic Mice.

BACKGROUND: Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP), a formulated traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been widely used to treat cardiovascular diseases for years. This herbal mixture has been shown to promote differentiation of cultured neuronal cells. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of SBP in attenuating cognitive impairment in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. METHODS: Ethanol and water extracts of SBP, denoted as SBPEtOH and SBPwater, were standardized and applied onto cultured rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells. The potential effect of SBPEtOH extract in attenuating the cognitive impairments in APP/PS1 transgenic mice was shown by following lines of evidence: (i) inhibition of Aß fibril formation, (ii) suppression of secretions of cytokines, and (iii) improvement of behavioral tests by Morris water maze. RESULTS: SBPwater and SBPEtOH inhibited the formation of ß-amyloid fibrils and protected the Aß-induced cytotoxicity in cultured PC12 cells. In APP/PS1 transgenic mice, the treatment of SBPEtOH inhibited expressions of NO, NOS, AChE, as well as aggregation of Aß. Besides, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines were suppressed by SBP treatment in the transgenic mice. Importantly, the behavioral tests by Morris Water maze indicated that SBP attenuated cognitive impairments in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. CONCLUSION: The current result has supported the notion that SPB might ameliorate the cognitive impairment through multiple targets, suggesting that SBP could be considered as a promising anti-AD agent.

The herbal extract deriving from aerial parts of Scutellaria baicalensis shows anti-inflammation and anti-hypoxia responses in cultured fin cells from rabbit fish.

A new cell line derived from dorsal fin of rabbit fish Siganus fuscescens was developed and characterized. The cell line was isolated from the dorsal fin, named as rabbit fish fin (RFF) cell line, and which was sub-cultured for 50 cycles since the development. This cell line was tested for growth in different temperatures and serum concentrations, and the best growing condition was at 20% serum at 28 °C. In cultured RFF cells, amplification of 18S rRNA from genomic DNA and immunostaining of cellular cytokeratin confirmed the proper identity of S. fuscescens fish. After 30th passage of cultures, the cells were exposed to challenge of inflammation, triggered by LPS, and hypoxia, mimicked by CoCl2. Cultured RFF cells showed robust sensitive responses to inflammation and hypoxia in directing the expressions of cytokines and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α). The water extract of aerial part of Scutellaria baicalensis (SBA) has been shown in rabbit fish to prevent inflammation. Here, we extended this notion of testing the efficacy of SBA extract in the developed cultured RFF cells. Application of SBA extract inhibited the expression of LPS-induced inflammatory cytokines, i.e. IL-1ß, IL-6, as well as the signaling of NF-κB. The application of CoCl2 in cultured RFF cells triggered the hypoxia-induced cell death and up regulation of HIF-1α. As expected, applied SBA extract in the cultures prevented the hypoxia-induced signaling. Our results show the established RFF cell line may be served as an ideal in vitro model in drug screening relating to inflammation and hypoxia. Additionally, we are supporting the usage of SBA herbal extract in fish aquaculture, which possesses efficacy against inflammation and hypoxia.

Effects of extraction methods on immunology activity and chemical profiles of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides.

It has been proven that polysaccharides have bioactivities and are beneficial to cure many diseases. Lycium barbarum fruit is widely used as a functional food all over the world, which main active component is L. barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs). In this study, classical hot water extraction (HWE), microwave assisted extraction (MAE), ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) were used to extracted LBP. The chemical properties of LBPs were evaluated in terms of total polysaccharide contents, uronic acid contents and protein contents. High performance size exclusion chromatography coupled with multi angle laser light scattering and refractive index detector was applied to measure the characters such as molecular weight, radius of gyration and polydispersity index. Then the immunomodulatory activity of LBPs was evaluated through RAW 264.7 cells. The results showed that HWE was the best method to get the highest total sugar and acidic polysaccharides, MAE was preferable to extract polysaccharide-protein complex, but PLE, UAE and HWE could get better immunomodulatory activity polysaccharides than MAE. Besides, the peak 3 in chromatogram of MAE extracted LBPs was obviously higher than those of LBPs produced by other 3 extraction methods, which suggested that peak 1 and peak 2 might be biologically active polysaccharides fractions in LBPs. Therefore, effect of different extraction methods on structure and composition of LBPs attributed to their variance of immunological activities.

Comparison of invasive dynamic blood pressure between superior mesenteric artery and common carotid artery in rats.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify the consistency of invasive dynamic blood pressure (BP) monitoring between the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and the common carotid artery (CCA). METHODS: Eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were cannulated in SMA and CCA simultaneously for BP monitoring, respectively. The abdominal aorta was prepared for the induction of BP change through clamping/de-clamping by a microvascular clip. The dynamic BP monitoring was performed by a polygraph system. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) values would be recorded during different time periods: the baseline (T1), the increasing period after clamping (T2), the platform period during clamping (T3), the decreasing period after de-clamping (T4), and the final platform period (T5). Three trials were performed on each rat with 15-minute intervals between consecutive monitoring. RESULTS: Systolic BP showed no significant differences between SMA and CCA. However, significant difference was found in diastolic blood pressure except at T5 (P=0.534). Mean arterial pressure of two arteries were significantly different only at T1 (P=0.015). The strength of association was significantly high between BP measurements through SMA and CCA (P<0.001). The Bland-Altman analyses showed that mean bias of MAP changed no more than 5 mmHg and standard deviation less than 8 mmHg during T2 and T4, respectively. CONCLUSION: The study indicates SMA might be an alternative site for invasive BP monitoring during abdominal aorta occlusion and release, especially in cerebrovascular-related research.

Lung-protective ventilation worsens ventilator-induced diaphragm atrophy and weakness.

BACKGROUND: Lung-protective ventilation (LPV) has been found to minimize the risk of ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). However, whether LPV is able to diminish ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction (VIDD) remains unknown. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that LPV protects the diaphragm against VIDD. METHODS: Adult male Wistar rats received either conventional mechanical (tidal volume [VT]: 10 ml/kg, positive end-expiratory pressure [PEEP]: 2 cm H2O; CV group) or lung-protective (VT: 5 ml/kg, PEEP: 10 cm H2O; LPV group) ventilation for 12 h. Then, diaphragms and lungs were collected for biochemical and histological analyses. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to determine the differentially expressed genes in the diaphragms between groups. RESULTS: Our results suggested that LPV was associated with diminished pulmonary injuries and reduced oxidative stress compared with the effects of the CV strategy in rats. However, animals that received LPV showed increased protein degradation, decreased cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of myofibers, and reduced forces of the diaphragm compared with the same parameters in animals receiving CV (p < 0.05). In addition, the LPV group showed a higher level of oxidative stress in the diaphragm than the CV group (p < 0.05). Moreover, RNA-seq and western blots revealed that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1α), a powerful reactive oxygen species (ROS) inhibitor, was significantly downregulated in the LPV group compared with its expression in the CV group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the CV strategy, the LPV strategy did not protect the diaphragm against VIDD in rats. In contrast, the LPV strategy worsened VIDD by inducing oxidative stress together with the downregulation of PGC-1α in the diaphragm. However, further studies are required to determine the roles of PGC-1α in ventilator-induced diaphragmatic oxidative stress.

Recent development in the application of immobilized oxidative enzymes for bioremediation of hazardous micropollutants - A review.

During the past several years, abundant progresses has been made in the development of immobilized oxidative enzymes with focus on finding new support materials, improving the immobilization methods and their applications. Nowadays, immobilized oxidative enzymes are broadly accepted as a green way to face the challenge of high amounts of micropollutants in nature. Among all oxidative enzymes, laccases and horseradish peroxidase were used frequently in recent years as they are general oxidative enzymes with ability to oxidize various types of compounds. Immobilized laccase or horseradish peroxidase are showed better stability, and reusability as well as easy separation from reaction mixture that make them more favorable and economic in compared to free enzymes. However, additional improvements are still essential such as: development of the new materials for immobilization with higher capacity, easy preparation, and cheaper price. Moreover, immobilization methods are still need improving to become more efficient and avoid enzyme wasting during immobilization and enzyme leakage through working cycles.

Simultaneous extraction, separation, isolation and identification of endogenous components from Etlingera elatior by pressurized matrix solid-phase dispersion using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

From the analytical chemistry point-of-view, an ideal sample preparation method should be simple, rapid, automatic, selective, precise, exhaustive, reproducible and protect the analyte-of-interest from degradation. In this study, a novel sample preparation method, named pressurized matrix solid-phase dispersion (p-MSPD) extraction was developed for simultaneously extracting, separating, purifying, isolating, and analyzing endogenous components in a solid sample matrix. Etlingera elatior, a traditional medicinal plant known as the torch ginger, was applied as a sample matrix to evaluate the p-MSPD process. The entire extraction, separation, isolation, fractionation and detection were performed automatically with a commercial LC-MS system. The novel method was satisfactorily applied for the preparation of real samples without optimization, which had the ability to selectively isolate pure compounds from the solid sample matrix for further NMR analysis. Therefore, the method is recommended for quality control of traditional medicines, research efforts when sample amounts are limited, and laboratories that have ordinary LC-MS instrumentation.

Sedation with midazolam worsens the diaphragm function than dexmedetomidine and propofol during mechanical ventilation in rats.

BACKGROUND: Mechanical ventilation (MV) is identified as an independent contributor to diaphragmatic atrophy and contractile dysfunction. Appropriate sedation is also essential during MV, and anesthetics may have direct adverse effects on the diaphragm. However, there is a lack of research into the effects of different anesthetics on diaphragm function during MV. OBJECTIVES: In the present study, we aim to examine the effect of midazolam, dexmedetomidine, and propofol on diaphragm function during MV. DESIGN: Animal study. SETTING: University research laboratory. SUBJECTS: Male Wistar rats. INTERVENTIONS: Animals were experienced 12 h of MV or spontaneous breathing (SB) with continuous anesthetics infusion. Diaphragm contractile properties, cross-sectional areas, microcirculation, oxidative stress, and proteolysis were examined. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Diaphragmatic specific force was markedly reduced in the midazolam group compared with the dexmedetomidine (-60.4 ±â€¯3.01%, p < 0.001) and propofol group (-58.3 ±â€¯2.60%, p < 0.001) after MV. MV sedated with midazolam induced more atrophy of type II fibers compared with dexmedetomidine (-21.8 ±â€¯2.11%, p = 0.0001) and propofol (-8.2 ±â€¯1.53%, p = 0.003). No significant differences of these indices were found in the midazolam, dexmedetomidine, and propofol groups under SB condition (all p > 0.05, respectively). Twelve hours of MV resulted in a time dependent reduction in diaphragmatic functional capillary density (PB -25.1%, p = 0.0001; MZ -21.6%, p = 0.0003; DD -15.2%, p = 0.022; PP -24.8%, p = 0.0001, respectively), which did not occur in the gastrocnemius muscle. The diaphragmatic lipid peroxidation adducts 4-HNE and HIF-1α levels were significantly lower in dexmedetomidine group and propofol group compared to midazolam group (p < 0.05, respectively). Meanwhile, the catalase and SOD levels were also relatively lower (p < 0.05, respectively) in midazolam group compared to dexmedetomidine group and propofol group. CONCLUSIONS: Twelve hours of mechanical ventilation during midazolam sedation led to a more severe diaphragm dysfunction than dexmedetomidine and propofol, possibly caused by its relative weaker antioxidant capacity.

Advanced sensing technologies of phenolic compounds for pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis.

Phenolic compounds are bioactive natural products of considerable interest in pharmaceuticals and biomedicines. Due to their bioactive functions, phenolic compounds have received increasing attention in recent years. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new and advanced analytical methods for determination of phenolic compounds in relation to pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. However, in majority, their detection has been largely conducted by sensitive yet bulky and expensive laboratory instruments, such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Compared with those laboratory scale instruments, the advanced sensing technologies are extremely attractive due to the advantages of their low cost, time saving, user-friendly, simplified sample pre-treatment, high sensitivity, and excellent selectivity. The aim of this review is to provide critical information on the advanced sensing technologies for detecting phenolic compounds, with emphasis on optical sensors, electrochemical sensors and biosensors. Besides, the present status, critical issues and future trends of the related sensing technologies are outlined.

Effect of Mild Hypothermia on the Diaphragmatic Microcirculation and Function in A Murine Cardiopulmonary Resuscitated Model.

OBJECTIVE: Diaphragm dysfunction often occurs in patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation (MV) after resuscitation. Mild hypothermia (MHT) is a classical treatment to improve the outcomes of cardiac arrest (CA); however, the effect of MHT on diaphragm function remains unclear. In the present study, we aim to investigate the effect of MHT on diaphragmatic microcirculation and function using a murine cardiopulmonary resuscitation model. METHODS: Thirty-two rats were randomly assigned into a resuscitation normothermia group (RNT), an intraresuscitation hypothermia group (IRH), a postresuscitation hypothermia group (PRH), or a sham control group. CA was induced by airway occlusion, and resuscitation was implemented by precordial compression and MV. The diaphragmatic microvascular blood flow velocity, diaphragmatic microcirculation flow index (MFI), and perfused vascular density (PVD) were measured. The diaphragm was then removed for in vitro contractile property examination and cross-sectional area measurement. The lipid peroxidation and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in the diaphragm were also assayed. RESULTS: Either early or delayed MHT intervention did not improve the diaphragmatic microvascular blood flow velocity, MFI, and PVD, which were significantly decreased during prolonged MV after resuscitation. Compared with the RNT group, treatment with MHT increased the diaphragm contractility, fiber dimensions, and SOD levels and decreased diaphragm lipid peroxidation. A more significant change in these indices was observed in the IRH group compared with that in the PRH group. CONCLUSION: MHT preserves the diaphragm contractility and fiber dimensions and decreases oxidative stress but does not improve the microcirculatory blood supply during prolonged MV after resuscitation. Early MHT intervention is more efficient in preventing diaphragm dysfunction than delayed intervention after CA.