Phototherapy: a new risk factor for necrotizing enterocolitis in very low birth weight preterm infants? a retrospective case-control study.

Objective: To investigate the association between phototherapy (PT) and the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.

Study Design: A retrospective case-control study was conducted on VLBW infants with or without NEC (stage IIA or greater) born at ≤35 weeks' gestation in a tertiary hospital over 7 years. Sample size calculation, trend test, as well as univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were employed.

Comparative study on anorexigenic effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in rats.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) expression is shared by both intestinal cells and neurons of brainstem, which plays anorexigenic role on food intake. However, the exact source of physiological GLP-1 influencing food intake and pertinent mechanism of GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) remain unelucidated. In this study, the immediate early gene product c-Fos was chosen as the specific antigen for immunohistochemistry to show the certain areas of central nervous system (CNS) activation by the GLP-1RA.

Thymol Ameliorates Cadmium-Induced Phytotoxicity in the Root of Rice (Oryza sativa) Seedling by Decreasing Endogenous Nitric Oxide Generation.

Thymol has been developed as medicine and food preservative due to its immune-regulatory effect and antimicrobial activity, respectively. However, little is currently known about the role of thymol in the modulation of plant physiology. In the present study, we applied biochemical and histochemical approaches to investigate thymol-induced tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa) seedlings against Cd (cadmium) stress.

In site bioimaging of hydrogen sulfide uncovers its pivotal role in regulating nitric oxide-induced lateral root formation.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an important gasotransmitter in mammals. Despite physiological changes induced by exogenous H2S donor NaHS to plants, whether and how H2S works as a true cellular signal in plants need to be examined. A self-developed specific fluorescent probe (WSP-1) was applied to track endogenous H2S in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) roots in site.

The role of central nervous system on hypoglycemia and the feasibility of the brain theory in traditional Chinese medicine on treatment of diabetes mellitus.

The central nervous system (CNS) plays a key regulatory role in glucose homeostasis. In particular, the brain is important in initiating and coordinating protective counterregulatory responses when blood glucose levels fall. This may due to the metabolic dependency of the CNS on glucose, and protection of food supply to the brain.

Identification of insecticidal constituents of the essential oil of Acorus calamus rhizomes against Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel.

The aim of this research was to determine the chemical composition of the essential oil of Acorus calamus rhizomes, its insecticidal activity against the booklouse, (Liposcelis bostrychophila) and to isolate any insecticidal constituents from the essential oil. The essential oil of A. calamus rhizomes was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS.

[Advances of genetics in diabetic nephropathy].

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most serious chronic complications of diabetes mellitus. The observed incidence patterns in different ethnics and familial clustering have suggested that the genetic factor plays an important role in the development and progression of DN. This paper reviews the recent advances on genetics of DN, including candidate genes association studies, linkage studies and genome-wide association studies (GWASs).

Modeling of Fusarium redolens Dzf2 mycelial growth kinetics and optimal fed-batch fermentation for beauvericin production.

Beauvericin (BEA) is a cyclic hexadepsipeptide mycotoxin with notable phytotoxic and insecticidal activities. Fusarium redolens Dzf2 is a highly BEA-producing fungus isolated from a medicinal plant. The aim of the current study was to develop a simple and valid kinetic model for F.

Effects of biotic and abiotic elicitors on cell growth and tanshinone accumulation in Salvia miltiorrhiza cell cultures.

This study examined the effects of biotic and abiotic elicitors on the production of diterpenoid tanshinones in Salvia miltiorrhiza cell culture. Four classes of elicitors were tested, heavy metal ions (Co2+, Ag+, Cd2+), polysaccharides (yeast extract and chitosan), plant response-signaling compounds (salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate), and hyperosmotic stress (with sorbitol). Of these, Ag (silver nitrate), Cd (cadmium chloride), and polysaccharide from yeast extract (YE) were most effective to stimulate the tanshinone production, increasing the total tanshinone content of cell by more than ten-fold (2.

Alkaloids from Anabasis aphylla L.

A new pyridine alkaloid 1, together with three known alkaloids N-methylanabasine (2), anabasamine (3), and isonicoteine (4), was isolated from the aerial part of Anabasis aphylla L. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis.

Development and application of medicinal plant tissue cultures for production of drugs and herbal medicinals in China.

In the search for new drugs and natural remedies, medicinal plants or herbs used in folk and traditional medicines are promising candidates. For the naturally rare and slowly growing plant species, plant tissue culture in bioreactors provides a cost-effective, sustainable and well-controlled means for mass production of the active principles of medicinal plants, and enables fuller utilization of their biosynthetic capacity. Recognizing that natural resources and agricultural land in China are limited,many Chinese research groups have engaged in the development of plant tissue culture techniques and processes for the cultivation and rapid propagation of medicinal plants, and for the biosynthesis and biotransformation of phytomedicines.