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Context Panax japonicus is the dried rhizome of Panax japonicus C.A. Mey. (Araliaceae). Saponins from Panax japonicus (SPJ) exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects. Objective To explore the neuroprotective effect of SPJ on natural ageing of rat. Materials and methods Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats 18-month-old were divided into ageing control, ageing treated with SPJ 10 or 30 mg/kg (n = 8). Five-month-old rats were taken as the adult control (n = 8). Rats were fed regular feed or feed containing SPJ for 4 months. Cognitive level was evaluated by Morris water maze (MWM) test. The mechanisms of SPJ's neuroprotection were evaluated by transmission electron microscope, western blot analysis, and immunofluorescence in vivo and in vitro. Results SPJ attenuated ageing-induced cognitive impairment as indicated by elevated number of times crossing the target platform (from 1.63 to 3.5) and longer time spent in the target platform quadrant (from 1.33 to 1.98). Meanwhile, SPJ improved the morphology of microglia and synapse, and activated M2 microglia polarisation including increased hippocampus levels of CD206 (from 0.98 to 1.47) and YM-1 (from 0.67 to 1.1), and enhanced autophagy-related proteins LC3B (from 0.48 to 0.82), Beclin1 (from 0.32 to 0.51), Atg5 (from 0.22 to 0.89) whereas decreased p62 level (from 0.71 to 0.45) of ageing rats. In vitro study also showed that SPJ regulated the microglial polarisation and autophagy. Discussion and conclusions SPJ improved cognitive deficits of ageing rats through attenuating microglial inflammation and enhancing microglial autophagy, which could be used to treat neurodegenerative disorders.

Obesity is characterized by a condition of low-grade chronic inflammation that facilitates development of numerous comorbidities and dysregulation of brain homeostasis. It is reported that obesity can lead to behavioral alterations such as cognitive decline and depression-like behaviors both in humans and rodents. Saponins from panax japonicus (SPJ) have been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory action in mouse model of diet-induced obesity. We evaluated the neuroprotection of SPJ on high fat diet (HFD) induced impaired behaviors such as memory deficit and depressive-like behaviors, and explored the underlying mechanisms. 6-week male Balb/c mice were divided into normal control group (NC, 17% total calories from fat), HFD group (60% total calories from fat), and HFD treated with SPJ groups (orally gavaged with dosages of 15 mg/kg and 45 mg/kg), respectively. After treatment for 16 weeks, behavioral tests were performed to evaluate the cognition and depression-like behaviors of the mice. The underling mechanisms of SPJ on HFD-induced impaired behaviors were investigated through histopathological observation, western blot analysis and immunofluorescence. Our results showed that HFD-fed mice caused behavioral disorders, neuronal degeneration as well as elevated neuroinflammation, which was partly involved in NLRP3 inflammasome that finally resulted in decreased protein levels of AMPA receptors and down-regulated phosphorylated levels of CaMKII and CREB in cortex and hippocampus. All the above changes in cortex and hippocampus induced by HFD were mitigated by SPJ treatment. SPJ treatment alleviated HFD-induced recognitive impairment and depression-like behaviors of mice, which could be partly due to the capacity of SPJ to mitigate neuroinflammation through inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome and upregulation of AMPA receptors signaling pathway.

Ganoderma lucidum has salutary effects on tumor treatment, including pancreatic cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying Ganoderma lucidum therapy is obscure. In this study, the Hepa1-6-bearing C57 BL/6 mouse model was utilized to explore the therapeutic efficacy of Ganoderma lucidum extract (GLE), documenting that it could effectively inhibit tumor growth. The microRNA (miRNA) profiles of GLE-treated and untreated mice were detected, and 25 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were determined, including 24 up-expressed and one down-expressed miRNAs. Using the ClusterOne algorithm, 8 hub miRNAs were isolated from the established miRNA-target network. The qRT-PCR assay demonstrated that these 8 miRNAs were up-expressed in the GLE treated tumor mice. Furthermore, the mRNA profiles showed that there are 76 DE mRNAs between GLE treated and model groups. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network shows that Cntn1, Irs1, Nfkbia, Rybp and Ywhaz playing important roles, and qRT-PCR further revealed they were down-expressed in GLE treated Hepa1-6-bearing C57 BL/6 mice. The rebuilt miRNA-target network was shown that these 5 mRNAs were regulated by mmu-mir-23a-5p, -3102-3p, -337-3p, and -467a-3p, respectively. This study suggested that these 4 interesting miRNAs were potential biomarkers for evaluation of GLE efficacy, which may down-regulate the expression of Cntn1, Irs1, Nfkbia, Rybp and Ywhaz, and mediate many signaling pathways occurring in tumor treatment.

Fine-sized powders of BaSi3Al3O4N5:Eu2+ phosphors with high stability and improved photoluminescence properties were successfully synthesized by the traditional solid-state reaction method under a reductive atmosphere using BaF2-fluxing additives in the raw powder mixture. The produced phosphors had strong blue emission under excitation in ultraviolet (UV) and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light, due to the 4f 5d-4f7 transition of Eu2+ ions. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, XANES, and the photoluminescence (PL) spectra under UV and VUV were used to characterize the as-received samples. The experimental results showed that the addition of BaF2 flux improved the crystalline regime and the PL properties of the produced phosphors. Most significantly, it allowed control of the particle size and particle size distribution in the final powders but did not jeopardize the high thermal and chemical stability of the phosphors produced. With the modification of the BaF2 flux, the blue-emitting BaSi3Al3O4N5:Eu2+ phosphors will show excellent packing and coating properties and could be a good candidate for the light-emitting diodes and plasma display panels.

This paper has presented a method to get pure ultraviolet rays using Abbe prism, and this principle is used to develop a pure ultraviolet irradiator with a low pressure mercury lamp. We used some thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) Al2O3:C crystals to inspect the irradiating effort of the pure ultraviolet irradiator. This irradiator can be used in environmental radiation dose detector with some TLDs such as Al2O3:C and quartz.

Objective To apply data mining methods to research on the state of sub-mental health among residents in eight provinces and cities in China and to mine latent knowledge about many conditions through data mining and analysis of data on 3970 sub-mentallyhealthyindividualsselectedfrom13385 relevant questionnaires. Methods The strategic tree algorithm was used to identify the main manifestations of the state of sub-mental health. The backpropogation artificial neural network was used to analyze the main manifestations of sub-healthy mental states of three different degrees. A sub-mental health evaluation model was then established to achieve predictive evaluation results. Results Using classifications from the Scale of Chinese Sub-healthy State, the main manifestations of sub-mental health selected using the strategic tree were F1101 (Do you lack peace of mind?), F1102 (Are you easily nervous when something comes up?), and F1002 (Do you often sigh?). The relative intensity of manifestations of sub-mental health was highest for F1101, followed by F1102, and then F1002. Through study of the neural network, better differentiation could be made between moderate and severe and between mild and severe states of sub-mental health. The differentiation between mild and moderate sub-mental health states was less apparent. Additionally, the sub-mental health state evaluation model, which could be used to predict states of sub-mental health of different individuals, was established using F1101, F1102, F1002, and the mental self-assessment total score. Conclusions The main manifestations of the state of sub-mental health can be discovered using data mining methods to research and analyze the latent laws and knowledge hidden in research evidence on the state of sub-mental health. The state of sub-mental health of different individuals can be rapidly predicted using the model established here. This can provide a basis for assessment and intervention for sub-mental health. It can also replace the relatively outdated approaches to research on sub-health in the technical era of information and digitization by combining the study of states of sub-mental health with information techniques and by further quantifying the relevant information.

Two new phenylallylflavanones, (2R,3R)-6-[1-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-yl]pinobanksin (1) and (2R,3R)-6-[1-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-yl]pinobanksin 3-acetate (2) were isolated from a methanolic extract of Mexican propolis. Their structures were elucidated with spectroscopic analysis. Both compounds (1, 2) exhibited preferential cytotoxic activity against PANC-1 human pancreatic cancer cells in a nutrient-deprived medium with the concentration at which 50% cells died preferentially in NDM (PC₅₀) values of 17.9 μM and 9.1 μM, respectively.