Simultaneous quantification of 50 bioactive compounds of the traditional Chinese medicine formula Gegen-Qinlian decoction using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry.

The quality evaluation of patent drugs derived from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound formulas has been challenging due to their complex chemical composition. In this study, we developed a solution to evaluate the quality of Gegen-Qinlian Decoction (GQD), an ancient four-herb TCM formula for the treatment of diarrhea and diabetes, together with its derived patent drugs by simultaneously quantifying 50 bioactive compounds. The samples were extracted by 100% methanol (for hydrophobic compounds) and 50% methanol in water (for hydrophilic compounds), respectively, and were separated on a Waters Acquity charged surface hybrid C18 column (2.

[Risk factors of infection in Xingzi County].

Objective: To explore the risk factors of infection in the residents in Xingzi County, Jiangxi Province.

Methods: Six administrative villages from different areas were randomly selected by the cluster sampling method as the study sites in Xingzi Country in 2013, and all the residents aged 5 years or above were investigated epidemiologically, and the schistosome infection was surveyed by Kato-Katz technique. The risk factors of schistosomiasis were analyzed by using the Chi-square test analysis and multivariate Logistic regression model.

Adsorption and dissociation of H2O on the (001) surface of uranium mononitride: energetics and mechanism from first-principles investigation.

The interfacial interaction of uranium mononitride (UN) with water from the environment unavoidably leads to corrosion of nuclear fuels, which affects a lot of processes in the nuclear fuel cycle. In this work, the microscopic adsorption behaviors of water on the UN(001) surface as well as water dissociation and accompanying H2 formation mechanisms have been investigated on the basis of DFT+U calculations and ab initio atomistic thermodynamics. For adsorption of one H2O monomer, the predicted adsorption energies are -0.

Enhanced methane production in an anaerobic digestion and microbial electrolysis cell coupled system with co-cultivation of Geobacter and Methanosarcina.

The anaerobic digestion (AD) and microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) coupled system has been proved to be a promising process for biomethane production. In this paper, it was found that by co-cultivating Geobacter with Methanosarcina in an AD-MEC coupled system, methane yield was further increased by 24.1%, achieving to 360.

Cognitive and Behavioral Outcomes of Intrauterine Growth Restriction School-Age Children.

Context: Children who experienced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) may be at increased risk for adverse neurologic developmental outcomes during the school-age years of life.

Objective: To estimate the effect of IUGR on cognition and behavior in school-aged children.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO were searched for English-language articles published after 1980.

Fracture of the proximal humerus with disruption of the tendon of the pectoralis major.

Combined pectoralis major disruption and proximal humeral fractures are uncommon. A simple radiologic diagnostic tool which consists of the measurement of the displacement from the humeral shaft to the lateral side of the humeral head (lateral to the outer proximal cortex) can help to diagnose this combined lesion.

Adsorption of uranyl species on hydroxylated titanium carbide nanosheet: A first-principles study.

In this work, hydroxylated titanium carbide Ti3C2(OH)2, a representative of the two-dimensional transition metal carbides, has been predicted to be an effective adsorbent for uranyl ions in aqueous environments for the first time using density functional theory simulations. The calculations revealed that the uranyl ion can strongly bind with Ti3C2(OH)2 nanosheet in aqueous solution regardless of the presence of anionic ligands such as OH(-), Cl(-) and NO3(-). The bidentate coordination of uranyl to the surface is energetically more favorable than other adsorption configurations, and the uranyl ion prefers to bind with the deprotonated O adsorption site rather than the protonated one on the hydroxylated surface.

Subtumoral analysis of PRINT nanoparticle distribution reveals targeting variation based on cellular and particle properties.

Unlabelled: The biological activity of nanoparticle-directed therapies critically depends on cellular targeting. We examined the subtumoral fate of Particle Replication in Non-Wetting Templates (PRINT) nanoparticles in a xenografted melanoma tumor model by multi-color flow cytometry and in vivo confocal tumor imaging. These approaches were compared with the typical method of whole-organ quantification by radiolabeling.

Global Profiling and Novel Structure Discovery Using Multiple Neutral Loss/Precursor Ion Scanning Combined with Substructure Recognition and Statistical Analysis (MNPSS): Characterization of Terpene-Conjugated Curcuminoids in Curcuma longa as a Case Study.

To fully understand the chemical diversity of an herbal medicine is challenging. In this work, we describe a new approach to globally profile and discover novel compounds from an herbal extract using multiple neutral loss/precursor ion scanning combined with substructure recognition and statistical analysis. Turmeric (the rhizomes of Curcuma longa L.

Tumor necrosis is an important hallmark of aggressive endometrial cancer and associates with hypoxia, angiogenesis and inflammation responses.

Aims: Tumor necrosis is associated with aggressive features of endometrial cancer and poor prognosis. Here, we investigated gene expression patterns and potential treatment targets related to presence of tumor necrosis in primary endometrial cancer lesions.

Methods And Results: By DNA microarray analysis, expression of genes related to tumor necrosis reflected multiple tumor-microenvironment interactions like tissue hypoxia, angiogenesis and inflammation pathways.

Inhibition of the mitochondrial fission protein dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) impairs mitochondrial fission and mitotic catastrophe after x-irradiation.

Accumulating evidence suggests that mitochondrial dynamics is crucial for the maintenance of cellular quality control and function in response to various stresses. However, the role of mitochondrial dynamics in cellular responses to ionizing radiation (IR) is still largely unknown. In this study, we provide evidence that IR triggers mitochondrial fission mediated by the mitochondrial fission protein dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1).

The synthesis of n-caproate from lactate: a new efficient process for medium-chain carboxylates production.

A unique microbiome that metabolizes lactate rather than ethanol for n-caproate production was obtained from a fermentation pit used for the production of Chinese strong-flavour liquor (CSFL). The microbiome was able to produce n-caproate at concentrations as high as 23.41 g/L at a maximum rate of 2.

Radiologic Evaluation of Compressive Osseointegration for the Fixation of Reconstruction Prostheses after Tumor Resection.

Objective: In pursuance of thoroughly understanding and facilitating the evaluation of the radiological changes in the preloaded bone by Compliant Pre-Stress osseointegration (Compress Biomet, Warsaw, Indiana) a new staging method was created depicting four stages.

Methods: Two cohorts (10 and 17 patients resp., not-receiving and receiving chemotherapy) were compared in terms of progression of osseointegration.

Post-zygotic Point Mutations Are an Underrecognized Source of De Novo Genomic Variation.

De novo mutations are recognized both as an important source of genetic variation and as a prominent cause of sporadic disease in humans. Mutations identified as de novo are generally assumed to have occurred during gametogenesis and, consequently, to be present as germline events in an individual. Because Sanger sequencing does not provide the sensitivity to reliably distinguish somatic from germline mutations, the proportion of de novo mutations that occur somatically rather than in the germline remains largely unknown.

Outbreak of NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae causing neonatal infection in a teaching hospital in mainland China.

The emergence and spread of bacteria carrying the bla(NDM-1) gene has become a worldwide concern. Here, we report eight cases of Klebsiella pneumoniae with bla(NDM-1) in the neonatal ward of a teaching hospital in mainland China. Multilocus sequence typing showed that seven isolates were clonally related and confirmed them as sequence type 17 (ST17).

Metabolites identification and multi-component pharmacokinetics of ergostane and lanostane triterpenoids in the anticancer mushroom Antrodia cinnamomea.

Antrodia cinnamomea is a precious medicinal mushroom popularly used for adjuvant cancer therapy in Taiwan. Its major bioactive constituents are ergostane and lanostane triterpenoids. Although clinical trials for A.

AKAP5 signaling complexes: focal points and functional properties.

Kinase Anchoring Proteins (AKAPs) have evolved to regulate the spatial and temporal organization of cellular signal transduction. As a typical member, AKAP5 which consisting of three orthologues: bovine AKAP75, rodent AKAP150 and human AKAP79, is the best known model in the anchoring and targeting properties. It is shown that AKAP5 can bind β2-adrenergic receptor, which is a member of GPCR superfamily, and orchestrate the interactions of various protein kinases, protein phosphatases and cytoskeletal element.

Occurrence and risk assessment of selected phthalates in drinking water from waterworks in China.

The first nationwide survey of six phthalates (diethyl phthalate (DEP); dimethyl phthalate (DMP); di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP); butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP); bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP); din-octyl phthalate (DnOP)) in drinking waters from waterworks was conducted across seven geographical zones in China. Of the six target phthalates, DBP and DEHP were the highest abundant phthalates with median (± interquartile range) values of 0.18 ± 0.

Current principles and practice of ethics and law in perinatal medicine.

One of the most controversial discussion topics in modern bioethics, science or philosophy is represented by the beginning of the individual human life. It is ethically, medically and scientifically correct that the human conception product to be born, so to gain personality and individuality, to be treated as a patient since the intrauterine life. Intrauterine foetal interventions, performed in various therapeutic purposes are still in the experimental stage even in centres with rich experience in perinatal medicine.

Delineation of a frequency-organized region isolated from the mouse primary auditory cortex.

The primary auditory cortex (AI) is the representative recipient of information from the ears in the mammalian cortex. However, the delineation of the AI is still controversial in a mouse. Recently, it was reported, using optical imaging, that two distinct areas of the AI, located ventrally and dorsally, are activated by high-frequency tones, whereas only one area is activated by low-frequency tones.

Fine structure and cellular responses at the host-parasite interface in a range of fish-helminth systems.

A series of ultrastructural-based studies were conducted on the interface region in different fish-helminth systems: (a) an intestinal infection of the cestode Monobothrium wageneri in tench, Tinca tinca; (b) an extensive intestinal submucosa and mucosal infection in tench by metacercariae of an unidentified digenean trematode; (c) an intestinal infection in brown trout, Salmo trutta, by the acanthocephalan Dentitruncus truttae; (d) an extraintestinal infection by larvae of the acanthocephalan, Pomphorhynchus laevis in three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus; and (e) an infection in the livers of Eurasian minnow, Phoxinus phoxinus, by larvae of the nematode Raphidascaris acus. Endoparasitic helminths frequently cause inflammation of the digestive tract and associated organs, inducing the recruitment of various immune cells to the site of infection. In each of the fish-helminth systems that were studied, a massive hyperplastic granulocyte response involving mast cells (MCs) and neutrophils in close proximity to the helminths was documented.

LKB1 loss in melanoma disrupts directional migration toward extracellular matrix cues.

Somatic inactivation of the serine/threonine kinase gene STK11/LKB1/PAR-4 occurs in a variety of cancers, including ∼10% of melanoma. However, how the loss of LKB1 activity facilitates melanoma invasion and metastasis remains poorly understood. In LKB1-null cells derived from an autochthonous murine model of melanoma with activated Kras and Lkb1 loss and matched reconstituted controls, we have investigated the mechanism by which LKB1 loss increases melanoma invasive motility.

Numerical modeling of wind-blown sand on Mars.

Recent observation results show that sand ripples and dunes are movable like those on Earth under current Martian climate. And the aeolian process on Mars therefore is re-attracting the eyes of scientific researchers in different fields. In this paper, the spatial and temporal evolution of wind-blown sand on Mars is simulated by the large-eddy simulation method.

Effect of dexamethasone on intelligence and hearing in preterm infants: a meta-analysis.

Objective: A meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials investigating the long-term effect of dexamethasone on the nervous system of preterm infants.

Data Sources: Online literature retrieval was conducted using The Cochrane Library (from January 1993 to June 2013), EMBASE (from January 1980 to June 2013), MEDLINE (from January 1963 to June 2013), OVID (from January 1993 to June 2013), Springer (from January 1994 to June 2013) and Chinese Academic Journal Full-text Database (from January 1994 to June 2013). Key words were preterm infants and dexamethasone in English and Chinese.

Fabrication of enrofloxacin imprinted organic-inorganic hybrid mesoporous sorbent from nanomagnetic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes for the selective extraction of fluoroquinolones in milk samples.

This paper reports a nanomagnetic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS)-directing strategy toward construction of molecularly imprinted hybrid materials for antibiotic residues determination in milk samples. The imprinted polymeric layer was facilely obtained through the copolymerization of active vinyl groups present on the nanomagnetic POSS (Fe3O4@POSS) surface and functional monomer (methacrylic acid) binding with template (enrofloxacin). Herein, the octavinyl POSS acted as not only the building blocks for hybrid rigid architectures but also the cross-linker for the formation of effective recognition sites during the imprinting process.