Prognostic Impact of Metabolic Syndrome in Patients With Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

The metabolic syndrome (MS) is significantly associated with the risk of incident heart failure (HF). However, there are still great controversies about the impact of MS on the prognosis in patients with established HF. This meta-analysis aimed to ascertain the effect of MS on the prognosis in patients with HF.

Late Middle Pleistocene Levallois stone-tool technology in southwest China.

Levallois approaches are one of the best known variants of prepared-core technologies, and are an important hallmark of stone technologies developed around 300,000 years ago in Africa and west Eurasia. Existing archaeological evidence suggests that the stone technology of east Asian hominins lacked a Levallois component during the late Middle Pleistocene epoch and it is not until the Late Pleistocene (around 40,000-30,000 years ago) that this technology spread into east Asia in association with a dispersal of modern humans. Here we present evidence of Levallois technology from the lithic assemblage of the Guanyindong Cave site in southwest China, dated to approximately 170,000-80,000 years ago.

Antimetastatic effects of Eclipta prostrata extract on oral cancer cells.

Eclipta prostrata, a traditional Chinese medication, has been used for the treatment of several diseases. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the effects of Eclipta prostrata extracts (EPE) on human oral cancer cell metastasis remains unclear. We thus examined the effects of EPE on metastasis promoting proteins in oral cancer.

[Preparation and Dissolution Evaluation of Breviscapine Self-microemulsion].

Objective: To study the prescription and preparation technology of breviscapine self-microemulsion for oral administration, and to evaluate the quality, stability and in vitro dissolution.

Methods: The prescription and preparation technology were selected and optimized through the solubility experiment, compatibility test, and pseudo-ternary phase diagram method, using the self-emulsifying time, appearance, particle diameter and stability as indexes. The droplet morphous, drug content, stability and dissolution were evaluated.

[Trunk sap flow dynamic changes in response to the slopes of plantation of Toona ciliata var. pubescens].

The sap flow and environmental factors, including temperature, water content and water potential of soil, were continuously measured by using an auto-data collection system at the upper and lower slopes of Toona ciliata var. pubescens plantation in July to October, 2012 to investigate the relationships between the sap flow and environmental factors. The results showed that, the trunk sap flow velocity of the two positions both presented a typical single-peak curve, with high values in the daytime and low values in the nighttime.

Lobelia chinensis: chemical constituents and anticancer activity perspective.

Research has demonstrated that many chemical constituents dominated by piperidine alkaloids and flavonoids, such as lobelanidine, lobeline, and lobelanine, have been obtained from Lobelia chinensis Lour. Experimental studies and clinical applications have also indicated that L. chinensis possesses a number of pharmacological activities (e.

[Application research of hot-melt extrusion in preparation of solid dispersion].

Hot-melt extrusion (HME) is mainly used to enhance the dissolution rate and bioavailability of poorly water soluble drugs. It has many advantages, such as simple process, continuous operation, high efficiency, on-line monitoring and so on. HME provides an innovative approach, which has been concerned by pharmaceutical workers, for preparation of solid dispersion abroad.

Improving human micronutrient nutrition through biofortification in the soil-plant system: China as a case study.

Micronutrient malnutrition is a major health problem in China. According to a national nutritional survey, approximately 24% of all Chinese children suffer from a serious deficiency of iron (Fe) (anemia), while over 50% show a sub-clinical level of zinc (Zn) deficiency. More than 374 million people in China suffer from goiter disease, which is related to iodine (I) deficiency, and approximately 20% of the Chinese population are affected by selenium (Se) deficiency.