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Purpose: To evaluate the effect of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on sepsis-induced liver injury in a rat model of sepsis established by cercal ligation and puncture (CLP). Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (n = 12): normal control, sepsis, dexamethasone (5 mg/kg), low-dose EGCG (12.5 mg/kg), medium-dose EGCG (25 mg/kg), and highdose EGCG (50 mg/kg) groups. Dexamethasone and EGCG were given once daily. Survival rates following CLP were recorded. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were measured to evaluate liver function. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-10 were determined by ELISA. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and levels of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were assayed to evaluate oxidative stress. Protein and mRNA expression levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) were measured by Western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), respectively. Results: Survival rates were significantly (p < 0.05) increased by EGCG (83.3 %) when compared to the untreated sepsis group (33.3 %) or dexamethasone-treated sepsis group (41.7 %). The increase in survival rates was associated with significant decreases in AST, ALT, MDA, and TNF-α, and significant elevations in SOD, GSH, and IL-10. QRT-PCR and Western blotting data indicate that there was increase in hepatic expression of Nrf-2 and HO-1 of EGCG-treated sepsis rats, relative to the untreated sepsis group. Conclusion: These results suggest that EGCG treatment reduces sepsis-induced liver injury and improves the survival rate of rats with polymicrobial sepsis by reducing oxidative stress via regulation of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling. These findings highlight the promising potential of EGCG for the treatment of sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The life cycle assessment of the mobile phone housing in Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd. was carried out, in which materials flows and environmental emissions based on a basic production scheme were analyzed and assessed. In the manufacturing stage, such primary processes as polycarbonate molding and surface painting are included, whereas different surface finishing technologies like normal painting, elect[opiate. IMD and VDM etc. were assessed. The results showed that housing decoration plays a significant role within the housing life cycle. The most significant environmental impact from housing production is the photochemical ozone formation potential, Environmental impacts of different decoration techniques varied widely, for example, the electroplating technique is more environmentally friendly than VDM. VDM consumes much more energy and raw material, In addition, the results of two alternative scenarios of dematerialization showed that material flow analysis and assessment is very important and valuable in selecting an environmentally friendly process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Using the method of life cycle assessment (LCA), the paper studies systematically on municipal solid waste incineration and ecological engineering treatment in Guanghan City. The results showed that the environmental impact potentials of incineration and ecological engineering treatment is 4.89 x 10[sup -2] and 1.23 x 10[sup -2] respectively; the net energy consumption is - 3.44 x 10[sup 2] MJ/ton and -2.90 x 10[sup 1] MJ/ton, respectively; the net treatment cost is 84.76 RMB Yuan/ton and 32.52 RMB Yuan/ton, respectively. Comparing with sole incineration, ecological engineering integrates the advantages of incineration and composing, which not only can reduce the amount of waste for incineration and decrease the second environmental pollution, but also can produce high quality compound fertilizer by adding certain amount of chemical fertilizer into compost. It is proved that ecological engineering treatment is an environmental sustainable and economic afforadably method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of C-S bonds using cheap, stable and odorless sulfonyl chlorides and widely sourced and less toxic alcohols with the assistance of ADDP is reported. This method is suitable for a broad substrate scope and tolerates a broad range of functional groups. Additionally, our protocol provides a green and convenient methylating method utilizing methanol or methanol-d4 and allows trideuteromethylthiolation with sulfonyl chlorides. This method can be applied for the late-stage diversification of natural products and drug analogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last two decades, sustainable consumption has become one of the most important issues in global sustainable development. Rapid economic development in China has greatly improved people's living standards, but has also seriously damaged the environment. In this paper, material flow analysis and life-cycle assessment methods were used to analyze environmental consumption patterns of Chinese urban households. Results show that the total household environmental impact (HEI) increased nearly four fold, increasing from 1.85 in the environmental potential index (EPI) in 1985 to 6.40 EPI in 2000. In 1985 and 1990, more than 80% of HEI came from food and housing consumption behaviors. In 2000, transport and housing consumption behaviors have become the main sources of HEI. Climate, economic development, household income, family size, and urbanization rate are main driving forces of household environmental impacts. The increasing consumption demand in the next two decades and its environmental implications are discussed in the last part of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  The effect of chronic immobilization stress (CIS) on the biochemical parameters has been one of the hot topics in neuroscience. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of CIS on the levels of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA in brains of rats. The rats were randomly divided into stressed and control groups. The stressed group was given CIS 3 h a day for 21 days continuously. GR of rats’ hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) were detected by immunohistochemistry method. In addition, the CRF mRNA and POMC mRNA of rats’ brain regions (hypothalamus, pituitary, hippocampus, and PFC) were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). After exposure to CIS for 21 days, the GR immuno staining (the gray values) of the stressed group was less than that of the control group in hippocampal CA1, dentate gyrus, and PFC (P P  [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study aimed at investigating whether non-surgical periodontal treatment can reduce the Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) % level in type 2 diabetic patients. Methods: A search of the literature on English publications was performed in Cochrane Central, Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge and EMBASE (until 06 February 2014). An RCT was selected if the subject was type 2 diabetic patients diagnosed with chronic periodontitis, and compared HbA1c% change after non-surgical periodontal treatment alone for at least three months of the study duration. Weighted mean difference for pooled data and large sample size strata were calculated. Heterogeneity and publication bias were explored. Results: After the study selection process, only 9 RCTs were suitable. Compared to the control group, the pooled analysis (n=1082) showed -0.27 % (95 % CI:-0.46 % to -0.07 %, p= 0.007) absolute difference in HbA1c % with treatment while studies with sufficient sample size had HbA1c % change of -0.014 % (95 % CI:-0.18 % to 0.16 %, p= 0.87). Publication bias was marginally significant with Egger's teat (p=0.045) but not with Begg's test (p=0.72). Conclusion: The moderate reduction in HbA1c after the non-surgical therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes is consistent with previous systematic reviews. However, more large scale and high-quality RCTs are necessitated to confirm these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study aimed at investigating whether non-surgical periodontal treatment can reduce the Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) % level in type 2 diabetic patients. Methods: A search of the literature on English publications was performed in Cochrane Central, Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge and EMBASE (until 06 February 2014). An RCT was selected if the subject was type 2 diabetic patients diagnosed with chronic periodontitis, and compared HbA1c% change after non-surgical periodontal treatment alone for at least three months of the study duration. Weighted mean difference for pooled data and large sample size strata were calculated. Heterogeneity and publication bias were explored. Results: After the study selection process, only 9 RCTs were suitable. Compared to the control group, the pooled analysis (n=1082) showed −0.27 % (95 % CI:-0.46 % to −0.07 %, p= 0.007) absolute difference in HbA1c % with treatment while studies with sufficient sample size had HbA1c % change of −0.014 % (95 % CI:-0.18 % to 0.16 %, p= 0.87). Publication bias was marginally significant with Egger’s teat (p=0.045) but not with Begg’s test (p=0.72). Conclusion: The moderate reduction in HbA1c after the non-surgical therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes is consistent with previous systematic reviews. However, more large scale and high-quality RCTs are necessitated to confirm these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]