Biocompatible Polyelectrolyte Complex Nanoparticles for Lycopene Encapsulation Attenuate Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Damage.

In this study, lycopene was successfully encapsulated in polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles (PEC NPs) fabricated with a negatively charged polysaccharide, TLH-3, and a positively charged sodium caseinate (SC) electrostatic interactions. Results showed that the lycopene-loaded PEC NPs were spherical in shape, have a particle size of 241 nm, have a zeta potential of -23.6 mV, and have encapsulation efficiency of 93.

Halofuginone protects HUVECs from H2O2-induced injury by modulating VEGF/JNK signaling pathway.

Background: Halofuginone, which is the main active ingredient of Dichroa fabrifuga, was used to inhibit the synthesis of type I collagen and played increasingly important roles in tumor therapy. This study aims to investigate the protective effects of halofuginone on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) from H2O2-induced apoptosis and oxidative stress.

Methods: Propidium iodide and Annexin-V double staining assay was used to measure the apoptosis.

A novel approach to select differential pathways associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy based on gene co‑expression analysis.

The present study was designed to develop a novel method for identifying significant pathways associated with human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), based on gene co‑expression analysis. The microarray dataset associated with HCM (E‑GEOD‑36961) was obtained from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory‑European Bioinformatics Institute database. Informative pathways were selected based on the Reactome pathway database and screening treatments.

Attractors of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using maximal cliques and attract methods.

Background: Our study was designed to identify the differential attractor modules related with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) by integrating clustering-based on maximal cliques algorithm and Attract method.

Methods: We firstly recruited the HCM-related microarray data from ArrayExpress database. Next, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of normal and HCM were constructed and re-weighted using spearman correlation coefficient (SCC).

Effects of Exogenous Enzymatic Treatment During Processing on the Sensory Quality of Summer Tieguanyin Oolong Tea from the Chinese Anxi County.

In order to attenuate the bitter taste and improve the aroma of the summer tieguanyin oolong tea from the Chinese Anxi county, the effects of processing treatment with exogenous laccase and α-galactosidase on tea sensory quality and related compounds were investigated. The solutions of laccase and/or α-galactosidase were sprayed on the tea leaves before the first drying process. The sensory evaluation results showed that the sensory quality of the tea was significantly enhanced with the enzymatic treatment.

Compatibility studies on tea polysaccharide/amylose/water and tea polysaccharide/amylopectin/water.

The compatibilities of amylose/tea polysaccharide (Am/TPS) and amylopectin/tea polysaccharide (Ap/TPS) in water were investigated with theoretical calculations and experimental measurements. To achieve this, dilute-solution viscometry (DSV) and high-speed differential scanning calorimetry (hyper-DSC) were used. The compatibility criteria on the basis of Δb(m), ΔB(m), μ, Δ[η](m) and thermodynamic parameters, T(g) and ΔT(g) were estimated.

Antiseptic activity and phenolic constituents of the aerial parts of Vitex negundo var. cannabifolia.

Four phenolics, salviaplebeiaside (1), γ-tocopherol (2), chrysosplenol-D (4), and isovitexin (5), along with α-tocoquinone (3) and β-sitosterol (6) were isolated from the aerial parts of Vitex negundo var. cannabifolia. The isolation was performed using bio-assay tracking experiments.

[Changes of brain mast cells after transient global ischemia in rats].

Objective: To investigate changes of brain mast cells after transient global ischemia in rats.

Methods: Transient global ischemia damage was induced by four-vessel occlusion. After 1 h to 14 days of ischemia, rats were perfused intracardially by 4% paraformaldehyde.