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The paper documents on the uses of traditional medicinal plants used for treating human ailments in three villages of Ledong, a county inhabited by Li ethnic group in the southwest of Hainan Province, China. Semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews and participatory observations were used to collect ethnobotanical data from February to March 2012 and in July 2013. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Thirty native knowledgeable people were interviewed. The Li community uses 50 plant species in 36 families for medicinal purposes. The most common medicinal plant families were Leguminosae (14%), Compositae (6%), and Euphorbiaceae (6%), and the most common preparations methods were decoction (84%), crushing (38%), and poultice (34%). The traditional medicinal plants were mainly used for hemostasis (12.9%), body pains (11.4%), gastrointestinal disorders (11.4%), and trauma (10%). Twenty-four species of medicinal plants (48%) have never been reported in the literature of Li medicines. In addition, 22 species (44%) have already been studied by researchers and their extracts or compounds were good bio-actives. However, the rapid socio-economic development in the county is the main threat to the conservation of Li medicine and has resulted in the decrease in the abundance and use of medicinal plants and associated traditional knowledge. Other factors accounting for a decrease in the use of Li medicinal plants like loss of plant diversity, change of land use, and threatened traditional knowledge were equally discussed.

Recent studies showed that cyclophilin A (CypA) promotes NF-κB/p65 nuclear translocation, resulting in enhanced NF-κB activity and altered expression of its target genes, such as the Sox9 transcriptional factor, which plays a critical role in chondrogenic differentiation and endochondral ossification. In this report, we unveil the role of CypA in signal-induced chondrogenic differentiation and endochondral ossification. Expression levels of the chondrogenic differentiation markers and transcriptional regulators Sox9 and Runx2 were all significantly lower in CypA knockdown chondrogenic cells than in wild-type cells, indicating that CypA plays a functional role in chondrogenic differentiation. In vitro differentiation studies using micromass cultures of mouse limb bud cells further supported the conclusion that CypA is needed for chondrogenic differentiation. Newborn CypA-deficient pups double stained with alcian blue and alizarin red exhibited generalized, pronounced skeletal defects, while high-resolution micro-computed tomography (microCT) analyses of the femurs and lumbar vertebrae revealed delayed or incomplete endochondral ossification. Comparative histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses further verified the effects of CypA deficiency on chondrogenic differentiation. Our results provide evidence for the important contribution of CypA as a pertinent component acting through NF-κB-Sox9 in regulation of chondrogenesis signaling. These findings are important to better understand signal-induced chondrogenesis of chondrogenic progenitors in physiological and pathophysiological contexts.

Background/Purpose: To develop a prediction model for emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to identify trauma patients at high risk of deterioration to emergency medical service (EMS)-witnessed traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) on the scene or en route. Methods: We developed a prediction model using the classical cross-validation method from the Pan-Asia Trauma Outcomes Study (PATOS) database from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020. Eligible patients aged ≥18 years were transported to the hospital by the EMS. The primary outcome (EMS-witnessed TCA) was defined based on changes in vital signs measured on the scene or en route. We included variables that were immediately measurable as potential predictors when EMTs arrived. An integer point value system was built using multivariable logistic regression. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve and Hosmer-Lemeshow (HL) test were used to examine discrimination and calibration in the derivation and validation cohorts. Results: In total, 74,844 patients were eligible for database review. The model comprised five prehospital predictors: age 20/minute, pulse oximetry

Abstract Background Plant-based diets offer more beneficial microbes and can modulate gut microbiomes to improve human health. We evaluated the effects of the plant-based OsomeFood Clean Label meal range (‘AWE’ diet), on the human gut microbiome. Methods Over 21 days, ten healthy participants consumed OsomeFood meals for five consecutive weekday lunches and dinners and resumed their regular diets for other days/meals. On follow-up days, participants completed questionnaires to record satiety, energy and health, and provided stool samples. To document microbiome variations and identify associations, species and functional pathway annotations were analyzed by shotgun sequencing. Shannon diversity and regular diet calorie intake subsets were also assessed. Results Overweight participants gained more species and functional pathway diversity than normal BMI participants. Nineteen disease-associated species were suppressed in moderate-responders without gaining diversity, and in strong-responders with diversity gains along with health-associated species. All participants reported improved short-chain fatty acids production, insulin and γ-aminobutyric acid signaling. Moreover, fullness correlated positively with Bacteroides eggerthii; energetic status with B. uniformis, B. longum, Phascolarctobacterium succinatutens, and Eubacterium eligens; healthy status with Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Prevotella CAG 5226, Roseburia hominis, and Roseburia sp. CAG 182; and overall response with E. eligens and Corprococcus eutactus. Fiber consumption was negatively associated with pathogenic species. Conclusion Although the AWE diet was consumed for only five days a week, all participants, especially overweight ones, experienced improved fullness, health status, energy and overall responses. The AWE diet benefits all individuals, especially those of higher BMI or low-fiber consumption.

Abstract: Migration remains a natural human phenomenon. Humans have always moved from one place to the other. People have always migrated internally (national) and externally (international). From a post-colonial approach, this paper focuses on international migration and aims to analyse the ideological construction of this phenomenon in two Cameroonian novels- From Dust to Snow: Bush-faller by Lydia and Wilfred Ngwa and Snare by Priscillia Musoh Manjoh. The findings show that migrants and aspiring migrants have some constructed ideas when it comes to international migration. To them, international migration is perceived as a quest for a better life and a means to upgrade families’ standards of living, the search for employment, a risk bearing phenomenon and a source of remittances flow to families back in migrants’ countries of origin. Keywords: Ideological construction, migration, international migration, success, employment

Background and Aim: Healthcare students highly affect the general public regarding transferring knowledge about novel therapeutic approaches. Therefore, assessing and updating their knowledge about the application of new strategies in the treatment of different diseases is very important. The present study was designed to evaluate the level of the students’ knowledge about stem cells and their application in neurological disorders at the Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS). Methods and Materials/Patients: In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was designed in three sections. Exclusion criteria were reluctance to participate in the project or answer to less than 20% of the questions. Inclusion criteria included studying at GUMS and willingness to participate in the project and answer the questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed in all GUMS faculties, including medicine, paramedicine, nursing and midwifery, dentistry, health, and pharmacy. The data were analyzed by SPSS v. 16 through Pearson correlation coefficient, independent t-test, oneway analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Cronbach’s alpha. Results: According to the total awareness score, 51.2% of students showed very poor and 39.7% showed poor knowledge about stem cells and their application in neurological diseases. The knowledge score of the students in the medical faculty was higher than non-medical and was dependent on their educational year. In addition, medical students showed no significant difference in neither knowledge (F=1.406, P=0.221) nor attitude (F=0.603, P=0.697) scores. Fortunately, 72.2% of students had moderate and 20.6% had a strong attitude toward stem cell applications. A moderate correlation was observed between attitude toward stem cells and knowledge about the application of stem cells (r=0.325, P=0.000). Conclusion: GUMS students’ knowledge level was poor toward stem cells and their application in neurological diseases. It is suggested to include some courses about stem cells in the educational curriculum. However, the student’s attitude toward the use of stem cells was encouraging.

Explores the plausibility of integrating solid modelers in an electromagnetic device design environment. Experience gained in interfacing a commercial solid modeler with established field codes; Overview of solid modeling techniques; Advantages and disadvantages of using a separate solid modeler.