Effects of predictive nursing interventions on pressure ulcer in elderly bedridden patients.

The study explores the impact of predictive nursing interventions on pressure ulcers (PUs) in elderly bedridden patients. A total of 120 elderly bedridden patients from the Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture between August 2019 and August 2023 were selected as the subjects of the study and were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group using a random number table method. The control group received conventional nursing care, while the observation group received predictive nursing interventions. The study compared the incidence of PUs, Braden scale scores, the onset time of PUs, self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) scores, self-rating depression scale (SDS) scores, and nursing satisfaction between the two groups. In elderly bedridden patients, the application of predictive nursing interventions significantly reduced the incidence of PUs (p < 0.001), significantly lowered the SAS and SDS scores (p < 0.001), and also significantly increased Braden scale scores (p < 0.001) and delayed the onset time of PUs (p < 0.001). Additionally, it improved patients' nursing satisfaction (p = 0.008). Predictive nursing interventions in elderly bedridden patients have good application effects, reducing the occurrence of PUs, delaying the time of onset in patients, improving patients' negative emotions and enhancing nursing satisfaction rates. It is worthy of widespread use.

[Mechanism of Huangjing Qianshi Decoction in treatment of prediabetic mice based on transcriptome sequencing].

Based on transcriptome sequencing technology, the mouse model of prediabetes treated with Huangjing Qianshi Decoction was sequenced to explore the possible mechanism of treating prediabetes. First of all, transcriptome sequencing was performed on the normal BKS-DB mouse group, the prediabetic model group, and the Huangjing Qianshi Decoction treatment group(treatment group) to obtain differentially expressed genes in the skeletal muscle samples of mice. The serum biochemical indexes were detected in each group to screen out the core genes of Huangjing Qianshi Decoction in prediabetes. Gene Ontology(GO) database and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) database were used to conduct signaling pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR) was used to verify them. The results showed that the levels of fasting blood glucose(FBG), fasting insulin(FINS), insulin resistance index(HOMA-IR), total cholesterol(TC), triglycerides(TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) in the mouse model were significantly decreased after treatment with Huangjing Qianshi Decoction. In the results of differential gene screening, there were 1 666 differentially expressed genes in the model group as compared with the normal group, and there were 971 differentially expressed genes in the treatment group as compared with the model group. Among them, interleukin-6(IL-6) and NR3C2 genes, which were closely related to the regulation of insulin resis-tance function, were significantly up-regulated between the model group and the normal group, and vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA) genes were significantly down-regulated between the model group and the normal group. However, the expression results of IL-6, NR3C2, and VEGFA genes were adverse between the treatment group and the model group. GO functional enrichment analysis found that the biological process annotation mainly focused on cell synthesis, cycle, and metabolism; cell component annotation mainly focused on organelles and internal components; and molecular function annotation mainly focused on binding molecular functions. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis found that it involved the protein tyrosine kinase 6(PTK6) pathway, CD28-dependent phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/AKT) pathway, p53 pathway, etc. Therefore, Huangjing Qianshi Decoction can improve the state of prediabetes, and the mechanism may be related to cell cycle and apoptosis, PI3K/AKT pathway, p53 pathway, and other biological pathways regulated by IL-6, NR3C2, and VEGFA.

[Linderae Radix water extract treats diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome in rats: a serum metabolomics study].

This study aims to investigate the mechanism of Linderae Radix water extract(LRWE) in the prevention and treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome(IBS-D) based on serum metabolomics. Eighteen 2-week-old male SD rats were randomized into control, IBS-D model, and LRWE groups. The rats in other groups except the control group received gavage of senna concentrate combined with restraint stress for the modeling of IBS-D. The rats in the LRWE group were administrated with LRWE(5.4 g·kg~(-1)) by gavage, and those in the control and IBS-D model groups with an equal volume of distilled water for a total of 14 days. The visceral sensitivity was evaluated by the abdominal withdrawal reflex(AWR) score, and the degree of diarrhea was assessed by the fecal water content(FWC). The morphological changes of the colon and the morphology and number of goblet cells were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) and periodic acid-schiff(PAS) staining, respectively. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS) was used for the screening of the potential biomarkers in the rat serum and their related metabolic pathways. The results showed that LRWE reduced the AWR score, decreased FWC, and alleviated visceral sensitivity and diarrhea symptoms in IBS-D rats. HE and PAS staining showed that LRWE mitigated low-grade intestinal inflammation and increased the number of mature secretory goblet cells in the colonic epithelium of IBS-D rats. A total of 25 potential biomarkers of LRWE in treating IBS-D were screened out in this study, which were mainly involved in riboflavin, tryptophan, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, and cysteine and methionine metabolism. The regulatory effects were the most significant on the riboflavin and tryptophan metabolism pathways. LRWE may alleviate the visceral hypersensitivity by promoting energy metabolism and amino acid metabolism, enhancing intestinal barrier function, and improving intestinal immune function in IBS-D rats.

Heat-stable enterotoxin inhibits intestinal stem cell expansion to disrupt the intestinal integrity by downregulating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli causes severe infectious diarrhea with high morbidity and mortality in newborn and weanling pigs mainly through the production of heat-stable enterotoxins (STs). However, the precise regulatory mechanisms involved in ST-induced intestinal epithelium injury remain unclear. Consequently, we conducted the experiments in vivo (mice), ex vivo (mouse and porcine enteroids), and in vitro (MODE-K and IPEC-J2 cells) to explore the effect of STp (one type of STa) on the integrity of the intestinal epithelium. The results showed that acute STp exposure led to small intestinal edema, disrupted intestinal integrity, induced crypt cell expansion into spheroids, and downregulated Wnt/ß-catenin activity in the mice. Following a similar trend, the enteroid-budding efficiency and the expression of Active ß-catenin, ß-catenin, Lgr5, PCNA, and KRT20 were significantly decreased after STp treatment, as determined ex vivo. In addition, STp inhibited cell proliferation, induced cell apoptosis, destroyed cell barriers, and reduced Wnt/ß-catenin activity by downregulating its membrane receptor Frizzled7 (FZD7). In contrast, Wnt/ß-catenin reactivation protected the IPEC-J2 cells from STp-induced injury. Taking these findings together, we conclude that STp inhibits intestinal stem cell expansion to disrupt the integrity of the intestinal mucosa through the downregulation of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Two New C21 Steroidal Glycosides from Selaginella Braunii Baker.

Two new C21 steroidal glycosides, brapreguanes A and B (1-2) were isolated from 75 % aqueous ethanol extract of Selaginella braunii Baker. Their structures were established by spectroscopic analyses (1D/2D NMR spectra and HR-ESI-MS). The absolute configurations of sugar were elucidated by enzymatic hydrolysis and GCMS analysis. In addition, all compounds were evaluated for the anti-proliferative activities against various human cancer cells in vitro. Compounds exhibited no inhibition to various human cancer cells.

[Mechanism of Huangjing Qianshi Decoction in treatment of prediabetes based on network pharmacology and molecular docking].

This study analyzed the molecular mechanism of Huangjing Qianshi Decoction(HQD) in the treatment of prediabetes based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. The active components of HQD were identified and screened based on Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP, http://Lsp.nwu.edu.cn/tcmsp.php) and then the targets of the components and the genes related to prediabetes were retrieved, followed by identifying the common targets of the decoction and the disease. The medicinal component-target network was constructed by Cytoscape to screen key components. The protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was established by STRING and hub genes were identified by Cytoscape-CytoNCA, followed by Gene Ontology(GO) term enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) of the hub genes with R-clusterProfi-ler. Thereby, the possible signaling pathways were predicted and the molecular mechanism was deduced. A total of 79 active components of HQD and 785 diabetes-related targets of the components were screened out. The hub genes mainly involved the GO terms of tricarboxylic acid cycle, peptide binding, amide binding, hydrolase activity, and kinase activity regulation, and the KEGG pathways of AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, and insulin signaling pathway. Western blot result showed that HQD-containing serum significantly reduced the expression of AKT1, AGE, and RAGE proteins in insulin resistance model cells. HQD's treatment of prediabetes is characterized by multiple pathways, multiple targets, and multiple levels. The main mechanism is that the components zhonghualiaoine, baicalein, kaempferol, and luteolin act on AKT1 and inhibit the AGE-RAGE axis.

Network-based integration method for potential breast cancer gene identification.

Breast cancer is the most common female death-causing cancer worldwide. A network-based integration method was proposed to identify potential breast cancer genes. First, genes were prioritized using a gene prioritization algorithm by the strategy of disease risks transferred between genes in a network with weighted vertexes and edges. Our prioritization algorithm was effectives and robust for top-ranked seed gene number and higher area under the curve values compared to ToppGene and ToppNet. Then, 20 potential breast cancer genes were identified as common genes of the top 50 candidate genes for their robustness in multiple prioritizations. These genes could accurately classify tumor and normal samples of all and paired sample sets and three independent datasets. Of potential breast cancer genes, 18 were verified by literature and 2 were novel genes that need further study. This study would contribute to the understanding of the genetic architecture for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

Wnt/ß-catenin-mediated heat exposure inhibits intestinal epithelial cell proliferation and stem cell expansion through endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Heat stress induced by continuous high ambient temperatures or strenuous exercise in humans and animals leads to intestinal epithelial damage through the induction of intracellular stress response. However, the precise mechanisms involved in the regulation of intestinal epithelial cell injury, especially intestinal stem cells (ISCs), remain unclear. Thereby, in vitro a confluent monolayer of IPEC-J2 cells was exposed to the high temperatures (39, 40, and 41°C), the IPEC-J2 cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and barrier were determined, as well as the expression of GRP78, which is a marker protein of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). The Wnt/ß-catenin pathway-mediated regenerative response was validated using R-spondin 1 (Rspo1). And ex-vivo, three-dimensional cultured enteroids were developed from piglet jejunal crypt and employed to assess the ISC activity under heat exposure. The results showed that exposure to 41°C for 72 hr, rather than 39°C and 40°C, decreased IPEC-J2 cell viability, inhibited cell proliferation and differentiation, induced ERS and cell apoptosis, damaged barrier function and restricted the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. Nevertheless, Wnt/ß-catenin reactivation via Rspo1 protects the intestinal epithelium from heat exposure-induced injury. Furthermore, exposure to 41°C for 24 hr reduced ISC activity, stimulated crypt-cell apoptosis, upregulated the expression of GRP78 and caspase-3, and downregulated the expression of ß-catenin, Lgr5, Bmi1, Ki67, KRT20, ZO-1, occludin, and claudin-1. Taken together, we conclude that heat exposure induces ERS and downregulates the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway to disrupt epithelial integrity by inhibiting the intestinal epithelial cell proliferation and stem cell expansion.

Noise-like pulse generation around 1.3-µm based on cascaded Raman scattering.

Based on cascaded Raman scattering, near-infrared (NIR) noise-like pulses (NLPs) were successfully demonstrated using a Yb-doped fiber amplifier system. Through a nonlinear fiber amplifier using a germanium-zirconia-silica Yb3+-doped single mode fiber as a gain fiber, the fourth-order Stokes wave (4th-SW) can be excited to extend the emission peak of approximately 1.2-µm and a 3-dB bandwidth of approximately 130 nm. To further shift the wavelength more efficiently toward 1.3 µm, filtered NLPs with an emission peak at 1075 nm were adopted as seeded pulses to excite the fifth-order Stokes wave (5th-SW) because of the better conversion efficiency of stimulated Raman scattering without gain competition with Yb-doped fiber. The generated NIR NLPs were shown to be an excellent light source for the photoluminescence emission from three photon absorption of perovskite to illustrate the red shift of the emission peak owing to the reabsorption effect.

mTORC1 signaling activation increases intestinal stem cell activity and promotes epithelial cell proliferation.

The crypt-villus axis of the intestine undergoes a continuous renewal process that is driven by intestinal stem cells (ISCs). However, the homeostasis is disturbed under constant exposure to high ambient temperatures, and the precise mechanism is unclear. We found that both EdU+ and Ki67+ cell ratios were significantly reduced after exposure to 41°C, as well as the protein synthesis rate of IPEC-J2 cells, and the expression of ubiquitin and heat shock protein 60, 70, and 90 were significantly increased. Additionally, heat exposure decreased enteroid expansion and budding efficiency, as well as induced apoptosis after 48 hr; however, no significant difference was observed in the apoptosis ratio after 24 hr. In the process of heat exposure, the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling pathway was significantly inhibited in both IPEC-J2 cells and enteroids. Correspondingly, treatment of IPEC-J2 and enteroids with the mTORC1 agonist MHY1485 at 41°C significantly attenuated the inhibition of proliferation and protein synthesis, increased the ISC activity, and promoted expansion and budding of enteroid. In summary, we conclude that the mTORC1 signaling pathway regulates intestinal epithelial cell and stem cell activity during heat exposure-induced injury.

Association of PD-1 polymorphisms with the risk and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma in the northeastern Chinese Han population.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is a leading cause of death from cancer worldwide, especially non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The marker of progression in lung adenocarcinoma, the main type of NSCLC, has been rarely studied. Programmed death 1 (PD-1) is an effective drug target for the treatment of NSCLC. Our study aimed to examine the PD-1 role in the disease process. The study of the effect of polymorphisms on the progression of lung adenocarcinoma in the Han population of Northeast China may provide a valuable reference for the research and application of these drugs. METHODS: Chi-square test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and classification efficiency assessment were used to test SNPs of PD-1 in 287 patients and combined with clinical information. RESULTS: We successfully identified biomarkers (rs2227981, rs2227982, and rs3608432) that could distinguish between lung adenocarcinoma patients of early stages and late stages. Multiple clinical indicators showed significant differences among different SNPs and cancer stages. Furthermore, this gene was confirmed to effectively distinguish the stages of lung adenocarcinoma with RNA-seq data in TCGA. CONCLUSIONS: Out study indicated that the PD-1 gene and the SNPs on it could be used as markers for distinguishing lung adenocarcinoma staging in the Northeast Han population. Our investigation into the link between PD-1 polymorphisms and lung adenocarcinoma would help to provide guidance for the treatment and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.

Elevated OCT1 participates in colon tumorigenesis and independently predicts poor prognoses of colorectal cancer patients.

Octamer transcription factor 1 (OCT1) was found to influence the genesis and progression of numerous cancers except for colorectal cancer (CRC). This study tried to explore the role of OCT1 in CRC and clarify the association between its expression and patients' clinical outcome. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional expression of OCT1 was detected in CRC cancerous tissues and paired normal mucosae by real-time PCR as well as immunohistochemistry. Moreover, the effect of OCT1 knockdown on CRC cell proliferation was investigated both in vitro and in vivo using Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, colony-forming assay, and mouse tumorigenicity assay. Expression of OCT1 was found to be elevated in CRC. Suppression of OCT1 significantly inhibited CRC cell proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, upregulated level of OCT1 was significantly associated with N stage, M stage, and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage (P = 0.027, 0.014, and 0.002, respectively) as well as differential degree (P = 0.022). By using multivariate Cox hazard model, OCT1 was also shown to be a factor independently predicting overall survival (OS; P = 0.013, hazard ratio = 2.747, 95 % confidence interval 1.125 to 3.715) and disease-free survival (DFS; P = 0.004, hazard ratio = 2.756, 95 % confidence interval 1.191 to 4.589) for CRC patients. Our data indicate that OCT1 carries weight in colorectal carcinogenesis and functions as a novel prognostic indicator and a promising target of anti-cancer therapy for CRC.

ZNF804A variants confer risk for heroin addiction and affect decision making and gray matter volume in heroin abusers.

Drug addiction shares common neurobiological pathways and risk genes with other psychiatric diseases, including psychosis. One of the commonly identified risk genes associated with broad psychosis has been ZNF804A. We sought to test whether psychosis risk variants in ZNF804A increase the risk of heroin addiction by modulating neurocognitive performance and gray matter volume (GMV) in heroin addiction. Using case-control genetic analysis, we compared the distribution of ZNF804A variants (genotype and haplotype) in 1035 heroin abusers and 2887 healthy subjects. We also compared neurocognitive performance (impulsivity, global cognitive ability and decision-making ability) in 224 subjects and GMV in 154 subjects based on the ZNF804A variants. We found significant differences in the distribution of ZNF804A intronic variants (rs1344706 and rs7597593) allele and haplotype frequencies between the heroin and control groups. Decision-making impairment was worse in heroin abusers who carried the ZNF804A risk allele and haplotype. Subjects who carried more risk alleles and haplotypes of ZNF804A had greater GMV in the bilateral insular cortex, right temporal cortex and superior parietal cortex. The interaction between heroin addiction and ZNF804A variants affected GMV in the left sensorimotor cortex. Our findings revealed several ZNF804A variants that were significantly associated with the risk of heroin addiction, and these variants affected decision making and GMV in heroin abusers compared with controls. The precise neural mechanisms that underlie these associations are unknown, which requires future investigations of the effects of ZNF804A on both dopamine neurotransmission and the relative increases in the volume of various brain areas.

[Study on Material Base of Panax ginseng for Treating Brain Ischemia Based on Molecular Docking].

Objective: On the basis of molecular docking,to study the mechanism of Panax ginseng in the treatment of ischemic stroke. Methods: The small molecules of Panax ginseng based on molecular docking technology docked with 20 key targets protein of cerebral ischemia, and multi-component protein target network was established by Cytoscape 3. 1. 1 software. At the same time,the two active molecules of the Panax ginseng of Rb2 and 20( R)-ginsenoside Rg2 were also analyzed by VEGF and Caspase-3,which were the key protein in brain ischemia. Results: There were 31 active molecules of Panax ginseng combined strongly with five or more than five protein targets after molecular docking, and only four active molecules of Panax ginseng combined strongly with ten or more than ten protein targets. The two active molecules of Rb2 and 20( R)-ginsenoside Rg2 in the Panax ginseng had a very strong combination with VEGF and Caspase-3,respectively,and the docking scores were more than 7. 0. Conclusion: Molecular docking technology screening active substances of Panax ginseng plays a practical significance in the treatment of ischemic stroke, which offers the foundation to study the chemical constituents of composite prescription.

Efficacy and safety of bone marrow-derived cell transplantation for spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.

PURPOSE: Bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) for clinical transplantation were carried out many years in treating spinal cord injury (SCI) without a clear conclusion. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of BMDC transplantation in treatment of SCI patients. METHOD: Electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane library, were searched to identify clinical therapeutic trials studying the application of BMDC transplantation in SCI. RESULTS: Overall the quality of the 24 studies was low, including one Grade I level of evidence, six Grade II levels, three Grade III levels, and 14 Grade IV levels. With a maximum of six-yr follow-up, the procedure-related complications were minor and temporary, without serious adverse events (p = 0, n = 594). AIS improvement rate was analyzed in favor of BMDCs 6.13 (95% CI, 3.0-12.51; p < 0.001). In patient with complete (AIS A) and chronic SCI, the application of cell transplantation numbers between n × (10(7) -10(8) ) seemed to be more beneficial (p < 0.05 for all groups). CONCLUSIONS: Based on short-medium terms following up, BMDC transplantation appears to be safe and valid in SCI patients, more effective in chronic and complete injury. Nonetheless, prospective, randomized trials in larger cohorts are still needed.

Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for the treatment of withdrawal syndrome in heroin addicts.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the therapeutic effect of transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) for the treatment of withdrawal syndrome in heroin addicts. METHODS: A total of 63 male heroin addicts with withdrawal score higher than 20 were recruited in the Detoxification Center of Zhongshan city, Guangdong province, China. They were randomly distributed into two groups: TEAS group (n = 31) received TEAS by using a Han's acupoint nerve stimulator (HANS) model 200A with two output channels, 2-3 sessions per day, 30 minutes per session for 10 consecutive days. Electrical stimulation of alternating frequencies of 2- and 100-Hz with 3 second each, and with intensity of 10-15 mA was applied on Hegu (LI-4) and Laogong (PC-8) points on one hand, and Neiguan (PC-6) and Waiguan (SJ-5) points on the other forearm via electroconductive skin pads of 4 cm × 4 cm in size. The control group (n = 32) was treated with similar procedure except that the leads of the output of the stimulator was disconnected. Assessments of the severity of the withdrawal syndrome were conducted one day before and on each day during the whole treatment period of 10 days. Buprenorphin of 1 mg per day sublingually was provided to all subjects in the first two days, and then to those with withdrawal score over 20 in the following days. RESULTS: The TEAS treatment dramatically alleviated the withdrawal syndrome during heroin detoxification. No significant difference was found in withdrawal scores between the two groups at the beginning of the observation. Withdrawal scores showed a more marked drop in TEAS group than the control starting from the second day, and maintained at a lower level for the whole course of treatment. The area under the curve of withdrawal score in TEAS group was only 40% of that in the control (P < 0.001, two way repeated measures analysis of variance), and the requirement of buprenorphine was only 10% of that in the control. No adverse effects were observed in either group. CONCLUSION: TEAS of 2/100 Hz for 10 days in abrupt abstinence of the heroin addicts resulted in a marked reduction of the withdrawal syndrome as well as a reduced requirement for rescue opioids.

Proteomic analysis of conidia germination in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 reveals new targets in ergosterol biosynthesis pathway for controlling Fusarium wilt of banana.

Conidial germination is a crucial step of the soilborne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4), a most important lethal disease of banana. In this study, a total of 3659 proteins were identified by isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-based comparative proteomic approach, of which 1009 were differentially expressed during conidial germination of the fungus at 0, 3, 7, and 11 h. Functional classification and bioinformatics analysis revealed that the majority of the differentially expressed proteins are involved in six metabolic pathways. Particularly, all differential proteins involved in the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway were significantly upregulated, indicating the importance of the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway to the conidial germination of Foc TR4. Quantitative RT-PCR, western blotting, and in vitro growth inhibition assay by several categories of fungicides on the Foc TR4 were used to validate the proteomics results. Four enzymes, C-24 sterol methyltransferase (ERG6), cytochrome P450 lanosterol C-14α-demethylase (EGR11), hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase (ERG13), and C-4 sterol methyl oxidase (ERG25), in the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway were identified and verified, and they hold great promise as new targets for effective inhibition of Foc TR4 early growth in controlling Fusarium wilt of banana. To the best of our knowledge, this report represents the first comprehensive study on proteomics profiling of conidia germination in Foc TR4. It provides new insights into a better understanding of the developmental processes of Foc TR4 spores. More importantly, by host plant-induced gene silencing (HIGS) technology, the new targets reported in this work allow us to develop novel transgenic banana leading to high protection from Fusarium wilt and to explore more effective antifungal drugs against either individual or multiple target proteins of Foc TR4.

Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Natural Antioxidants from Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa L.) Peel Using Response Surface Methodology.

Sugar apple (Annona squamosa L.) is a popular tropical fruit and its peel is a municipal waste. An ultrasound-assisted extraction method was developed for the recovery of natural antioxidants from sugar apple peel. Central composite design was used to optimize solvent concentration (13.2%-46.8%), ultrasonic time (33.2-66.8 min), and temperature (43.2-76.8 °C) for the recovery of natural antioxidants from sugar apple peel. The second-order polynomial models demonstrated a good fit of the quadratic models with the experimental results in respect to total phenolic content (TPC, R²=0.9524, p<0.0001), FRAP (R²=0.9743, p<0.0001), and TEAC (R²=0.9610, p<0.0001) values. The optimal extraction conditions were 20:1 (mL/g) of solvent-to-solid ratio, 32.68% acetone, and 67.23 °C for 42.54 min under ultrasonic irradiation. Under these conditions, the maximal yield of total phenolic content was 26.81 (mg GA/g FW). The experimental results obtained under optimal conditions agreed well with the predicted results. The application of ultrasound markedly decreased extraction time and improved the extraction efficiency, compared with the conventional methods.

Infinitely many weak solutions of the p-Laplacian equation with nonlinear boundary conditions.

We study the following p-Laplacian equation with nonlinear boundary conditions: -Δ(p)u + µ(x)|u|(p-2)u = f(x,u) + g(x,u),x ∈ Ω, | ∇u|(p-2)∂u/∂n = η|u|(p-2)u and x ∈ ∂Ω, where Ω is a bounded domain in ℝ(N) with smooth boundary ∂Ω. We prove that the equation has infinitely many weak solutions by using the variant fountain theorem due to Zou (2001) and f, g do not need to satisfy the (P.S) or (P.S*) condition.

[Simultaneous determination of 4 alkaloids and a flavonoid in Picrasmae Ramulus et Folium by RP-HPLC].

A RP-HPLC method was developed to evaluate the quality of Picrasmae Ramulus et Folium by simultaneous determination of five constituents including 1-hydroxymethyl-beta-carboline (1), 1-methoxicabony-beta-carboline (2), 4-methoxy-5-hydroxy-canthin-6-one (3), 4, 5-dimethoxy-canthin-6-one (4) and maackiain (5) in Picrasmae Ramulus et Folium. The samples were separated on a Kromasil RP-C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) column eluted with acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid as mobile phases in gradient mode. The detection wavelength was set at 254 nm. The calibration curves and linearity of the above five standards were determined as (1) Y = 6 525.6X + 37.25 (0.009-1.780 microg, r = 0.996 8), (2) Y = 3 662.3X + 41.55 (0.005-0.920 microg, r = 0.999 5), (3) Y = 3763.1X + 146.87 (0.015-3.060 microg, r = 0.999 0), (4) Y = 2 174.1X + 21.52 (0.003-0.620 microg, r = 0.999 5), and (5) Y = 276.25X + 7.65 (0.010-1.960 microg, r = 0.998 9), respectively. The method is simple and repeatable, and can be used for the quality assessment of Picrasmae Ramulus et Folium.