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Lung cancer is the most leading cause of cancer-related death. Radio- and chemo- therapy resistance had associated with increased mitochondrial activity. The goal of this study was to investigate the role of mitochondrial DNA in human carcinoma A549 cells. Wild-type A549 and mitochondrial DNA-depleted A549 cells (A549 ρ0) was used to study the role of mitochondria in rapamycin induced autophagy. Mitochondrial superoxide production were detected and measured by florescence microscopy. Western blot was used to detect autophagy and cell death to study the role of mitochondria in rapamycin induced autophagy. We observed depletion of mitochondrial DNA decrease proliferation and wound healing ability in A549 ρ0 compared to wild-type A549 cells. Meanwhile, depletion of mtDNA raised inflammatory cytokine secretion in A549 ρ0 cells. Depletion of mtDNA reduced rapamycin induced autophagy in A549 cells. The rapamycin induced cell death in A549 ρ0 cells instead of autophagy in A549 cells. In conclusion, mitochondrial defects lead to increased lung inflammatory responses, reduced epithelial repair ability in A549 cells. These results revealed that A549 ρ0 cells are more resistant to rapamycin induced autophagy than wild-type A549 cells. Finally, rapamycin likely in part induced cell death in A549 ρ0 cells due to the depletion of mtDNA.

Bi1−xBaxFe1−yCryO3 (BBFCO: x = 0, y = 0; x = 0.05, y = 0; x = 0, y = 0.05; x = 0.05, y = 0.05; x = 0.1, y = 0; x = 0, y = 0.1; x = 0.1, y = 0.1; x = 0.2, y = 0) nanoparticles were prepared by a simple cost effective ethylene glycol-based sol–gel technique. The calcination temperature was set at 600 °C for 120 min with a heating rate of 10 °C/min. Effects of Ba, Cr dopant on structural, optical and magnetic properties of BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles have been studied. Perovskite structure was confirmed by the metal-oxide absorption bands appeared at 559 cm−1 and 438 cm−1 in Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy spectra, which are the characteristic bands of FeO6 octahedral groups in perovskite structure. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that Barium (Ba) is an effective dopant to suppress the impurity phases in Cr-doped BFO. Phase transitions from rhombohedral to orthorhombic phase in all doped samples were verified by Rietveld refinement and Raman analysis. Rhombohedral, orthorhombic and tetragonal phases coexist in Bi0.9Ba0.1FeO3 and Bi0.8Ba0.2FeO3, which can be ascribed to the serious lattice distortion due to high-level Ba doping. Well-crystalline BBFCO nanoparticles were observed and the particle size distribution of all samples was calculated from transmission electron microscope images. Ba–Cr co-doping resulted in a dramatic reduction in the particle size. Optical absorption spectra indicated that the optical bandgaps of the doped samples are about 2.20 eV. Clear hysteresis loops were observed in all doped BFO, which indicate their ferromagnetic order at room temperature. Gradually enhanced ferromagnetic property was realized in Ba-doped BFO. The magnetization (at 20 kOe) of BFO, BFO-5Ba, BFO-10Ba and BFO-20Ba are 0.24, 0.33, 1.00 and 1.25 emu/g, respectively. The remanent magnetization of them are near zero, 0.08, 0.44 and 0.53 emu/g, respectively. Particular shape of wasp-waist hysteresis loops observed in BFO-5Ba, BFO-5Cr and BFO-5BaCr can be ascribed to the coexistence of different magnetic phases, and the mixture of single domain and superparamagnetic particles.

Objectives In this study, p-sulfonatocalix[6]arenes (SCA6) was proposed to construct a host–guest complexation to carry mitoxantrone (MIT) to maintain its anti-proliferation effect on HepG2 cells as well as to attenuate cardiotoxicity on H9C2 cells as a nano-size drug delivery system. Methods SCA6 binding to MIT evidenced through competitive fluorescence titration method. The complex was characterized using UV–visible, Fourier transform infrared, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopies and differential scanning calorimetry analysis. The cytotoxicity was examined by a cell counting kit-8 assay on six cells. High content analysis, cell apoptosis and cell cycle experiments were measured to investigate the mechanism of detoxification in H9C2. Key findings The host–guest complexation was formed with a stoichiometry ratio of 1:1. Cytotoxicity study demonstrated that MIT/SCA6 complex could improve the cell viability on H9C2, MCF-7, A549, Hek293 and L02 cells and remained cytotoxicity effect on HepG2 cells. High content analysis showed that MIT/SCA6 complex could enhance the cell viability, mitochondrial mass and mitochondrial membrane potential and ameliorate the nuclear swelling on H9C2 cells. Moreover, the complex were arrested in G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle and same with MIT, while the detoxication was attributed to reducing early apoptosis. Conclusions The host–guest complexation between SCA6 and MIT had the ability to attenuate cardiotoxicity and provided a potential strategy for the application of soluble calixarenes in chemotherapy.

Heart failure (HF) is a grave health concern, with high morbidity and mortality, calling for the urgent need for new and alternative pharmacotherapies. Lingguizhugan decoction (LD) is a classic Chinese formula clinically used to treat HF. However, the underlying mechanisms involved are not fully elucidated.Based on that, this study aims to investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of LD on HF.After confirming the therapeutic benefits of LD in transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced HF mice, network pharmacology and transcriptomic analyzes were utilized to predict the potential molecular targets and pathways of LD treatment in failing hearts, which were evaluated at 3 and 9 w after TAC. UHPLC-QE-MS analysis was utilized to detect bioactive ingredients from LD and plasma of LD-treated rats.Our results showed that LD markedly alleviated cardiac dysfunction via down-regulating CH-related genes and proteins expression in TAC mice. Significantly, cardiac hypertrophy signaling, including AKT and MAPKs signaling pathways, were identified, suggesting the pathways as likely regulatory targets for LD treatment. LD inhibited p38 and ERK phosphorylated expression levels, with the latter effect likely dependent on regulation of AMPK. Interestingly, LD exerted a dual modulatory role in the AKT-GSK3β/mTOR/P70S6K signaling pathway's regulation, which was characterized by stimulatory activity at 3 w and inhibitory effects at 9 w. Finally, 15 bioactive compounds detected from plasma were predicted as the potential regulators of the AKT-GSK3β/mTOR and MAPKs signaling pathways.Our study shows LD's therapeutic efficacy in failing hearts, signifies LD as HF medication that acts dynamically by balancing AKT-GSK3β/mTOR/P70S6K and MAPKs pathways, and reveals possible bioactive compounds responsible for LD effects on HF.

Capsaicin (CAP), a member of the vanilloid family, is the main active component of chili peppers, which has been widely explored for its various pharmacological effects and influence on cell physiology, such as axonal growth and apoptosis of tumor cells. In particular, CAP plays a crucial role in determining the proliferation and fate specification of stem cells by modulating a variety of signaling pathways, such as PPARγ, C/EBPα and Notch signaling. Since CAP-mediated processes are complex and multifactorial, we hope to achieve a better understanding of these processes and their implications in clinical applications. This review aims to shed light on the influences and mechanisms of CAP on the actions of various stem cells in adults and discusses the role of CAP in the different process of stem cell behaviors, including proliferation and differentiation. Our purpose is to provide certain prospects for the application of CAP and stem cell therapy in treating diseases.

Tangzhiqing tablet (TZQ) is derived from Tangzhiqing formula, which has been used to regulate glucose and lipid metabolism in China for hundreds of years. However, as a new Chinese patent medicine, its clinical indication is not clear. To explore the clinical indication and effect on the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a pilot clinical trial and metabolomics study were carried out. In the clinical study, T2DM patients were divided into three groups and treated with TZQ, placebo, or acarbose for 12 weeks, respectively. The metabolomic study based on UPLC Q-TOF MS was performed including patients with hypertriglyceridemia in TZQ and placebo groups and healthy volunteers. The clinical results showed that TZQ could reduce glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting insulin. For patients with hypertriglyceridemia in TZQ group, the levels of HbA1c all decreased and were correlated with the baseline level of triglyceride. Metabonomics data showed a significant difference between patients and healthy volunteers, and 17 biomarkers were identified. After 12-week treatment with TZQ, 11 biomarkers decreased significantly (p

Background A quality marker (Q-marker) is defined as an inherent chemical compound that is used for the quality control of a drug. Its biological activities are closely related to safety and therapeutic effects. Generally, a multiple-component herbal medicine may have many Q-markers. We therefore proposed a concept of “super Q-marker” satisfying both the criterion of Q-markers and PK-markers to be used in more effective quality control of herbal medicine. Purpose The first aim was to find suitable prototype-based PK-markers from Tangzhiqing tablets (TZQ), a Chinese patent medicine. Then super Q-markers were expected to be identified from the prototype-based PK-markers based on an in vitro-in vivo correlation study. Methods Potentially eligible prototype-based PK-markers were identified in a single- and multiple-dose pharmacokinetic study on TZQ in 30 healthy volunteers. The in vitro dissolution and permeation profiles of the prototype-based PK-markers of TZQ were evaluated by the physiologically-based drug dissolution/absorption simulating system (DDASS). An in vitro-in vivo correlation analysis was conducted between the dissolution/permeation behaviors in DDASS and the actual absorption profiles in human to test the transferability and traceability of the promising super Q-markers for TZQ. Results In human, plasma paeoniflorin and nuciferine as prototype-based PK-markers exhibited the appropriate pharmacokinetic properties, including dose-dependent systemic exposure (AUC, Cmax) and a proper elimination half-life (1∼3h). In DDASS, it was predicted that paeoniflorin and nuciferine are highly permeable but the absorption rates are primarily limited by the dissolution rates. Moreover, the established in vitro-in vivo correlations of paeoniflorin and nuciferine were in support of the super Q-markers features. Conclusion Paeoniflorin and nuciferine are identified as the super Q-markers from the prototype-based PK-markers of TZQ based on findings from a combination of in vitro, in vivo, and in vitro-in vivo correlation studies. This method is practical for optimal identification of qualified Q-markers, thus helping improve the quality control of herbal medicines.

A set of micro pulse lidar (MPL) systems operating at 532 nm was used for ground-based observation of aerosols in Shanghai in 2011. Three typical particulate pollution events (e.g., haze) were examined to determine the evolution of aerosol vertical distribution and the planetary boundary layer (PBL) during these pollution episodes. The aerosol vertical extinction coefficient (VEC) at any given measured altitude was prominently larger during haze periods than that before or after the associated event. Aerosols originating from various source regions exerted forcing to some extent on aerosol loading and vertical layering, leading to different aerosol vertical distribution structures. Aerosol VECs were always maximized near the surface owing to the potential influence of local pollutant emissions. Several peaks in aerosol VECs were found at altitudes above 1 km during the dust- and bioburning-influenced haze events. Aerosol VECs decreased with increasing altitude during the local-polluted haze event, with a single maximum in the surface atmosphere. PM2.5 increased slowly while PBL and visibility decreased gradually in the early stages of haze events; subsequently, PM2.5 accumulated and was exacerbated until serious pollution bursts occurred in the middle and later stages. The results reveal that aerosols from different sources impact aerosol vertical distributions in the atmosphere and that the relationship between PBL and pollutant loadings may play an important role in the formation of pollution.

Aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions have attracted much more attention for decades, but there still remain many uncertainties in assessing global climate. Long-term ground-based measurements of aerosol, cloud and precipitation in Shanghai were used to examine their inter-annual variations and possible relationships. During 1990–2010, the yearly-averaged total cloud cover (TCC) and low cloud cover (LCC) decrease on average by 0.58% and 2.49% per year. LCC correlates to surface aerosols (e.g., PM10), with a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.67. Aerosol optical depth (AOD), as an indicator of columnar aerosol loading, shows a non-significant correlation with cloud cover. The yearly-aggregated heavy and extreme rain days and their rainfall amount increase gradually. The moderate rain day enhances but its annual rainfall amount declines year by year, while the light rain exhibits an opposite pattern to the moderate rain. These results imply that local aerosols maybe exert somewhat enforcing on low cloud and light rain through possible entrainment or updraft that can bring up surface particles into free troposphere, whereas its influence to total cloud and precipitation is negligible at a small scale. Future studies are needed to ensure whether local aerosols to directly affect low cloud, and to explore how surface aerosols to enter into higher atmospheric layers and impact cloud and precipitation at larger scales.

Lap joint test of the Ti6Al4V titanium alloy with 0.3 mm thickness was conducted by ultrasonic consolidation. The effects of different consolidation time on welded joint microstructure and mechanical properties were studied by optical microscopy(OM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), universal testing machine and other analytical methods. The results showed that the; Mechanical embedment which occurred at the primary stages of ultrasonic consolidation would disappear with the consolidation time increased; dislocation diffusion is the main diffusion way of interfacial atoms, the diffusion of gap and vacancy are less affected. The influence of pretreatment of the oxide film on the tensile shear strength reduced with the increase of welding time. The maximum shear force of the joint is 1940 N, the interface hardness reaches the maximum value when the welding pressure is 0.5 MPa and the welding time is 125 ms.

Background Diabetes is a chronic disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Tangzhiqing tablet (TZQ), a Chinese traditional patent medicine, has been in phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. However, the current quality evaluation of TZQ still remains rather obscure. Purpose The promising quality markers (Q-markers) of TZQ will be sought for its quality assessment and process control based on the qualitative, quantitative and dose-exposure-response analysis. Methods The fingerprint analysis of TZQ was carried out through ultra high performance liquid chromatography- quadrupole time-of-flight/ mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) assay. Multicomponent quantitative analysis was implemented to the main ingredients of nuciferine, paeoniflorin, salvianolic acid B, hyperoside and rutin in TZQ by means of LC analysis. The dose-exposure-response relationship of TZQ was revealed by a placebo-controlled, 5-way crossover study in healthy Chinese subjects. The potential Q-markers in plasma were determined by a liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. The therapeutic effect of TZQ was expressed as the glucose-lowering profile. The exposure-response relevance was developed between the concentration of Q-markers and the glucose-lowering effect of TZQ. Results 46 compounds were identified or tentatively characterized from TZQ. The contents of paeoniflorin, nuciferine, salvianolic acid B, hyperoside and rutin in TZQ were 6.40, 1.75, 1.70, 0.004, and 0.006 mg, respectively. However, salvianolic acid B, hyperoside and rutin could hardly be detected in human plasma under the current LC-MS/MS condition. The exposures of nuciferine and paeoniflorin (AUC0-3, Cmax) were dose-proportionality in human at the studied dosage ranges. The glucose-lowering effect appeared to increase proportionally with increasing TZQ dose in healthy volunteers. A clockwise hysteresis was displayed between the exposure of nuciferine and paeoniflorin and the glucose-lowering effect of TZQ. Conclusion Nuciferine and paeoniflorin were identified as the promising Q-markers of TZQ based on the fingerprint qualitative analysis, multicomponent quantitative analysis and dose-exposure-response analysis. The two Q-markers are meaningful to ensure the quality assessment and process control of TZQ.

Measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), condensation nuclei (CN) and aerosol chemical composition were performed simultaneously at an urban site in Shanghai from 6 to 9 November 2010. The variations of CCN number concentration (NCCN) and aerosol activity (activated aerosol fraction, NCCN/NCN) were examined during a fog–haze co-occurring event. Anthropogenic pollutants emitted from vehicles and unfavorable meteorological conditions such as low planetary boundary layer (PBL) height exerted a great influence on PM2.5 and black carbon (BC) loadings. NCCN at 0.2% supersaturation (SS) mostly fell in the range of 994 to 6268 cm−3, and the corresponding NCCN/NCN varied between 0.09 and 0.57. NCCN and NCCN/NCN usually were usually higher in the hazy case due to increased aerosol concentration in the accumulation mode (100–500 nm), and lower in the foggy–hazy and clear cases. The BC mass concentration posed a strong positive effect on NCCN in the foggy–hazy and hazy cases, whereas it poorly correlated with NCCN in the clear case. NCCN/NCN was weakly related with BC in both foggy–hazy and hazy cases. By using a simplified particle hygroscopicity (κ), the calculated critical dry size (CDS) of activated aerosol did not exceed 130 nm at 0.2% SS in spite of diverse aerosol chemical compositions. The predicted NCCN at 0.2% SS was very successful compared with the observed NCCN in clear case (R2=0.96) and foggy–hazy/hazy cases (R2=0.91). In addition, their corresponding ratios of predicted to observed NCCNwere on average 0.95 and 0.92, respectively. More organic matter is possibly responsible for this closure difference between foggy–hazy/hazy and clear cases. These results reveal that the particulate pollutant burden exerts a significant impact on NCCN, especially NCCN/NCN promotes effectively during the polluted periods.

New particle formation (NPF) events and their impacts on cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) were investigated using continuous measurements collected in urban Shanghai from 1 to 30 April 2012. During the campaign, NPF occurred in 8 out of the 30 days and enhanced CCN number concentration (NCCN) by a factor of 1.2–1.8, depending on supersaturation (SS). The NPF event on 3 April 2012 was chosen as an example to investigate the NPF influence on CCN activity. In this NPF event, secondary aerosols were produced continuously and increased PM2.5 mass concentration at a rate of 4.33 μg cm−3 h−1, and the growth rate (GR) and formation rate (FR) were on average 5 nm h−1 and 0.36 cm−3 s−1, respectively. The newly formed particles grew quickly from nucleation mode (10–20 nm) into CCN size range. NCCN increased rapidly at SS of 0.4–1.0% but weakly at SS of 0.2%. Correspondingly, aerosol CCN activities (fractions of activated aerosol particles in total aerosols, NCCN/NCN) were significantly enhanced from 0.24–0.60 to 0.30–0.91 at SS of 0.2–1.0% due to the NPF. On the basis of the κ-Köhler theory, aerosol size distributions and chemical composition measured simultaneously were used to predict NCCN. There was a good agreement between the predicted and measured NCCN (R2=0.96, Npredicted/Nmeasured=1.04). This study reveals that NPF exerts large impacts on aerosol particle abundance and size spectra; thus, it significantly promotes NCCN and aerosol CCN activity in this urban environment. The GR of NPF is the key factor controlling the newly formed particles to become CCN at all SS levels, whereas the FR is an effective factor only under high SS (e.g., 1.0%) conditions.

The semi-diurnal mean aerosol mass concentration, chemical composition, and optical properties of PM2.5 were investigated in Shanghai during the spring of 2012. Slight pollution was observed during the study period. The average PM2.5 concentration was 64.11 ± 22.83 μg/m3. The mean coefficients of extinction, scattering, and absorption at 532 nm were 125.9 ± 78.5, 91.1 ± 56.3, and 34.9 ± 23.6 Mm−1, respectively. A relatively low mean single scattering albedo at 532 nm (0.73 ± 0.04) and low level of elemental carbon (EC, 2.67 ± 1.96 μg/m3) suggested that the light absorption was enhanced due to the internal mixing of the EC. Sulfate contributed the most to aerosol light scattering in Shanghai. The chemical composition of PM2.5 was dominated by particulate organic matter, sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, and EC. Anthropogenic sources made a significant contribution to the emission and loading of the particulate pollutants. A relatively good correlation between the aerosol chemical composition and the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation indicated that aerosol chemistry is an important factor that influences the saturated hygroscopicity and growth of the aerosol.

Black carbon (BC) aerosol was measured continuously at an urban site in Shanghai (31°18′N, 121°30′E) from January 2011 to January 2012, and the characteristics and relevant remote sources of BC were examined. Daily BC concentrations varied within the range of 0.3–11.4 μg m − 3 with an annual average of 2.3 μg m − 3 . Comparably, monthly BC concentrations were usually high in the dry season (November–April) but low in the wet season (May–October). Hourly BC showed a similar diurnal pattern with two peaks, one at 7:00–9:00 LT and another at 19:00–21:00 LT, in the four seasons. BC level was always relatively higher during daytime than nighttime. There also existed a workday/weekend difference of BC due to anthropogenic activities. The correlation analyses between BC and meteorological factors indicated that (1) wind speed was an important contributor to BC diffusion in the boundary atmosphere, (2) atmospheric visibility was not highly sensitive to BC, and (3) northwesterly, westerly and southwesterly wind directions related closely to BC. The increase of BC is likely associated with fossil fuel combustion during the winter heating period and agricultural waste burning over the surrounding areas during the summer harvest period, as well as the air masses originating from and/or transiting through these regions.

The use of the fasting plasma glucose and 2-h plasma glucose tolerance tests leads to under-diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. To explore the contribution of metabolites for diagnosis for type 2 diabetes, plasma targeted metabolites (including free amino acids, lipids, and two hepatic aminotransferases) of 95 subjects were determined by high performance liquid chromatography and routine clinical methods. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was employed to evaluate potential diagnosis models. Based on the processing of orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis, five amino acids (lysine, aspartate acid, threonine, methionine, and alanine) and two lipids (low density lipoprotein-cholesterol and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol) were discovered as potential biomarkers of type 2 diabetes. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve built by the combination of these biomarkers and fasting plasma glucose was 0.994, which is significantly higher than that of the la...

Diabetes is a common metabolic syndrome which presents a serious threat to human health. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely paid attention to its advantages and characteristics in the diagnosis and the treatment of diabetes. A strategy of classifying five TCM syndromes in diabetes (Qi-deficiency, Yin-deficiency, Qi- and Yin-deficiency, Damp heat and Blood stasis) was employed based on plasma fatty acid metabolic profiles, lipid metabolism indicators and chemometrics methods. Using orthogonal signal correction-partial least squares (OSC-PLS) method, the five syndromes were obviously distinguished from those of the health control, which confirmed there existed metabolite differences in different traditional Chinese medicine syndromes. Furthermore, a new method, uncorrelated linear discriminant analysis (ULDA), was applied in the discrimination of health control, TCM deficiency syndromes (Qi-deficiency, Yin-deficiency, Qi- and Yin-deficiency) and TCM empirical syndromes (Damp heat, Blood stasis), which demonstrated better clustering results, the correct rate reached 95.7%. The four potential biomarkers, C20: 2, C20: 5, triglycerides (TG) and high density lipoprotein (HDL), performed large contributions to the classification which can provide important information assisting TCM clinical diagnosis.

A strategy of high sensitive assay method of urine fatty acid profiles was established based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF) and applied in metabolomics research of diabetes mellitus. In this way, 19 fatty acids including two pair of hard-resolved isomers were separated well in only 13 minutes, and Q-TOF mass spectrometry reduced the matrix interference of urine samples by high resolution and accurate molecular weights. Under the optimal conditions, fatty acid profiles of 93 cases of urine samples were analyzed. Fatty acid profiles of type 2 diabetes mellitus showed large differences from health controls based on multivariate data analysis; C16:0, C18:0, C18:2, C20:5, and C22:6 were screened as potential clinical biomarkers. This work is complementary to the clinical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus; additionally, noninvasive testing of urine samples made it more convenient for examination while reducing the patient's pain and improving the...

Metabolite profiles and biomarker discovery benefit clinical diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and reflection of metabolite variations in pathophysiology. Fatty acids play an important role in the occurrence and development of diabetes mellitus. The fasting plasma glucose (FPG) values of T2DM patients are partially adjusted to normal range (FPG

Staphylococcal food poisoning is one of the most common foodborne diseases worldwide; it results from the ingestion of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) in food, mainly Staphylococcus aureus. This study investigated the statistical relationships among morphological enumerations of food-derived S. aureus and production of SEs using different methodologies. Food samples naturally contaminated with coagulase-positive S. aureus were submitted for enumeration on Baird-Parker (BP) agar, Rabbit Plasma Fibrinogen agar (RPFA), and PetrifilmTM Staph Express count system (STX), and the morphologically typical colonies were isolated for VIDAS and real-time (RT) PCR tests. RPFA and STX displayed better performance for the enumeration of SE-positive S. aureus when compared with BP, including higher frequencies of SE-positive isolates and better correlation indices between typical and SE-positive counts. Among all the evaluated culture media, no significant difference (P > 0.05) was shown on the frequencies of typical colonies that carried 11 individual se genes. In addition, results for SE identification between VIDAS and RT-PCR assay were unparalleled. These data will be valuable for the selection of methods for inspection of food-derived S. aureus.

A simple metabolic profiling approach for quantitative analysis of free fatty acids (FFAs) in human plasma by high performance liquid chromatography was described and validated, using alpha-bromoacetophenone as the derivative reagent and heptadecanoic acid (C(17:0)) as the internal standard. The quantitations of 6 predominant FFAs and 6 trace FFAs were achieved. Plasma fatty acid metabolic profiling of 75 diabetic patients was investigated, and then analyzed by multivariate statistical analysis. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) model was established and validated for the pattern discrimination between Qi-deficiency and Qi and Yin-deficiency, with the hit ratio 94.3%. Stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) model indicated that arachidonic acid (C(20:4)) and oleic acid (C(18:1)) contained the important information on the two syndromes above, and can be used as potential biomarkers of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome. It is of great significance to systematically study the relationship between fatty acid metabolic profiling and TCM syndrome using metabolomics methods, and to improve the credibility and repeatability of clinical diagnosis and treatment system.

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. It is a multifactorial disease primarily associated with oxidative stress produced by free radicals. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the anticataract potential of Crataegus pinnatifida (hawthorn tree) leaves extract in selenite-induced cataract in vivo and antioxidant effects in vitro. In vitro antioxidant assay of C. pinnatifida leaves extract on NO production inhibition, aldose reductase inhibition, and O 2 - radical scavenging activities gave the IC50 of 98.3, 89.7, and 5.98 μg/mL, respectively. To characterize some major compounds in C. pinnatifida leaves extract, nine flavonoids were identified via LC–MS/MS qualitative analysis. Based on in vitro screening results, C. pinnatifida leaves extract eye drops in 0.1% hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose solution were prepared to evaluate the anticataract potential in vivo. Administration of C. pinnatifida leaves extract eye drops alternately three times a day in rat pups with selenite-induced oxidative stress significantly increased serum SOD and CAT activities, and tended to reduce MDA level compared with control group. The antioxidant enzyme SOD, CAT, and GSH activities in lens showed a significant increase. These results may be applied in the future for the prevention and treatment of cataracts.

In this paper, we developed a top-down method to fabricate complex three dimensional silicon structure, which was inspired by the hierarchical micro/nanostructure of the Morpho butterfly scales. The fabrication procedure includes photolithography, metal masking, and both dry and wet etching techniques. First, microscale photoresist grating pattern was formed on the silicon (111) wafer. Trenches with controllable rippled structures on the sidewalls were etched by inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching Bosch process. Then, Cr film was angled deposited on the bottom of the ripples by electron beam evaporation, followed by anisotropic wet etching of the silicon. The simple fabrication method results in large scale hierarchical structure on a silicon wafer. The fabricated Si structure has multiple layers with uniform thickness of hundreds nanometers. We conducted both light reflection and heat transfer experiments on this structure. They exhibited excellent antireflection performance for polarized ultraviolet, visible and near infrared wavelengths. And the heat flux of the structure was significantly enhanced. As such, we believe that these bio-inspired hierarchical silicon structure will have promising applications in photovoltaics, sensor technology and photonic crystal devices.

The tangzhiqing formula (TZQ-F) is a traditional antidiabetic prescription that includes red peony root, mulberry leaf, lotus leaf, danshen root, and hawthorn leaf. The research team's previous study showed that the TZQ-F had beneficial effects on abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism.This study was aimed at investigating TZQ-F's mechanism of lipid metabolism to evaluate its inhibitory effect on triglyceride (TG) accumulation.This study included both an in vivo and an in vitro component. For the in vivo study, C57BL/6 mice were used as the normal control group, and KK-A(y) mice were divided into five groups: (1) model control group, (2) positive control group (10 mg/kg/d rosiglitazone), (3) 500 mg/kg/d TZQ-F treated KK-A(y) mice, (4) 200 mg/kg/d TZQ-F treated KK-A(y) mice, and (5) 100 mg/kg/d TZQ-F treated KK-A(y) mice. For the in vitro study, 3T3-L1 cells were divided into the following: (A) red peony total saponins, (B) danshen total polyphenols, (C) lotus leaf total flavonoids, (D) lotus leaf total alkaloids, (E) mulberry leaf total flavonoids, (F) mulberry leaf total alkaloids, (G) mulberry leaf polysaccharide, and (H) hawthorn leaf total flavonoids, and (I) tangzhiqing formula, including a normal group (NG) and a model control group (CG).This study occurred at Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TUTCM), Tianjin, China.TZQ-F, suspended either in a 5% acacia solution and a vehicle (5% acacia solution) were given orally to the KK-A(y) mice once/d (16:00-17:00) for 4 wk.RT-PCR and a Western blot analysis were used to detect gene and protein expression respectively.The in vivo study showed that TZQ-F significantly reduced body weight without changing food intake in KK-A(y) mice and significantly decreased the levels of serum glucose (GLU), triglycerides (TG), and free fatty acids (FFA). TZQ-F significantly increased expression of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and phosphorylation of AMPK in the liver and muscle tissues of the KK-A(y) mice. TZQ-F significantly decreased expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), fatty-acid synthase (FAS), hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the liver and muscles. It also significantly decreased expression of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) while it significantly increased expression of glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT-4). The in vitro study showed that TZQ-F significantly suppressed the accumulation of TG and FFA in mature adipocytes and similarly increased expression of AMPK and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors-α (PPAR-α) and phosphorylation of AMPK, while it decreased expression of ACC, FAS, HSL, and SREBP-1c.The findings partly clarified the inhibitory effects of TZQ-F on TG accumulation related to the AMPK signaling pathway.

Diabetes is a common metabolic syndrome which presents a serious threat to human health. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely paid attention to its advantages and characteristics in the diagnosis and the treatment of diabetes. A strategy of classifying five TCM syndromes in diabetes (Qi-deficiency, Yin-deficiency, Qi- and Yin-deficiency, Damp heat and Blood stasis) was employed based on plasma fatty acid metabolic profiles, lipid metabolism indicators and chemometrics methods. Using orthogonal signal correction-partial least squares (OSC-PLS) method, the five syndromes were obviously distinguished from those of the health control, which confirmed there existed metabolite differences in different traditional Chinese medicine syndromes. Furthermore, a new method, uncorrelated linear discriminant analysis (ULDA), was applied in the discrimination of health control, TCM deficiency syndromes (Qi-deficiency, Yin-deficiency, Qi- and Yin-deficiency) and TCM empirical syndromes (Damp heat, Blood stasis), which demonstrated better clustering results, the correct rate reached 95.7%. The four potential biomarkers, C20: 2, C20: 5, triglycerides (TG) and high density lipoprotein (HDL), performed large contributions to the classification which can provide important information assisting TCM clinical diagnosis.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history and particular advantages in the diagnosis and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Syndrome differentiation is the foundation and essence of TCM theories. The aims of the study are to discriminate T2DM corresponding to different syndromes (Qi-deficiency, Qi and Yin-deficiency and Damp heat) and discover syndrome-related biomarkers using metabolomics technology.Plasma fatty acid profiles of 85 clinical samples were established by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Moreover, some of the lipid parameters, including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), were obtained through clinical testing methods. Orthogonal signal correction-partial least squares (OSC-PLS) and uncorrelated linear discriminant analysis (ULDA) were employed to establish two-class models for three different syndromes.Compared with the plasma fatty acid profiles of healthy controls, the characteristic fatty acids of three TCM syndromes were discovered (p0.01). Totally, the plasma fatty acids of T2DM were up-regulated, while significant differences existed in different syndromes. Results of ULDA indicate that the three TCM syndromes could be effectively separated by the plasma fatty acid profiles and the syndrome-related biomarkers were also screened.The fact that three TCM syndromes can be separated indicates certain metabolic differences in different TCM syndromes of T2DM really exist and such differences can be manifested by fatty acids and lipid parameters. The results benefit modern biological interpretation of the three TCM syndromes and in a sense the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.

Staphylococcal food poisoning is one of the most common foodborne diseases worldwide; it results from the ingestion of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) in food, mainly Staphylococcus aureus. This study investigated the statistical relationships among morphological enumerations of food-derived S. aureus and production of SEs using different methodologies. Food samples naturally contaminated with coagulase-positive S. aureus were submitted for enumeration on Baird-Parker (BP) agar, Rabbit Plasma Fibrinogen agar (RPFA), and Petrifilm Staph Express count system (STX), and the morphologically typical colonies were isolated for VIDAS and real-time (RT) PCR tests. RPFA and STX displayed better performance for the enumeration of SE-positive S. aureus when compared with BP, including higher frequencies of SE-positive isolates and better correlation indices between typical and SE-positive counts. Among all the evaluated culture media, no significant difference (P0.05) was shown on the frequencies of typical colonies that carried 11 individual se genes. In addition, results for SE identification between VIDAS and RT-PCR assay were unparalleled. These data will be valuable for the selection of methods for inspection of food-derived S. aureus.

A simple metabolic profiling approach for quantitative analysis of free fatty acids (FFAs) in human plasma by high performance liquid chromatography was described and validated, using alpha-bromoacetophenone as the derivative reagent and heptadecanoic acid (C(17:0)) as the internal standard. The quantitations of 6 predominant FFAs and 6 trace FFAs were achieved. Plasma fatty acid metabolic profiling of 75 diabetic patients was investigated, and then analyzed by multivariate statistical analysis. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) model was established and validated for the pattern discrimination between Qi-deficiency and Qi and Yin-deficiency, with the hit ratio 94.3%. Stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) model indicated that arachidonic acid (C(20:4)) and oleic acid (C(18:1)) contained the important information on the two syndromes above, and can be used as potential biomarkers of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome. It is of great significance to systematically study the relationship between fatty acid metabolic profiling and TCM syndrome using metabolomics methods, and to improve the credibility and repeatability of clinical diagnosis and treatment system.

To find out the essence of the traditional Chinese medicine properties from detecting the rats' monoamine neurotransmitter after given different traditional Chinese drug.The property of rhizome curcumae and radix curcumae is opposite, they were given to rats respectively for one month. Next, HPLC-ECD method was used to detect the rats' monoamine neurotransmitter in different encephalic region.Rhizome curcumae can raise the rats' monoamine neurotransmitter, but radix curcumae inhibits the rats' monoamine neurotransmitter.There are correlations between the traditional Chinese medicine properties and monoamine neurotransmitter.

OBJECTIVE To find out the essence of the traditional Chinese medicine properties from detecting the rats' monoamine neurotransmitter after given different traditional Chinese drug. METHOD The property of rhizome curcumae and radix curcumae is opposite, they were given to rats respectively for one month. Next, HPLC-ECD method was used to detect the rats' monoamine neurotransmitter in different encephalic region. RESULT Rhizome curcumae can raise the rats' monoamine neurotransmitter, but radix curcumae inhibits the rats' monoamine neurotransmitter. CONCLUSION There are correlations between the traditional Chinese medicine properties and monoamine neurotransmitter.

To better standardize clinical standard of medicinal materials and cut crude drugs in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition, Volume I) and finish compiling work of relevant matching book named Clinical Guide to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, based on analyzing the problems in clinical standard of medicinal materials and cut crude drugs in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2005 edition, Volume I), feasibly practicable revising suggestion of standardizing clinical standard of medicinal materials and cut crude drugs in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition, Volume I) is proposed.

This research has analyzed the current status, problems for the properties theory of Chinese medicinal herbs. Proposed that the Chinese medicine literature research is a foundation, the research of properties theory of Chinese medicinal herbs should under the'Chinese medicine theory instruction. It must use the modern scientific method to study and unify the Chinese medicine superiority, establish the standards and reveal the scientific essence of Chinese medicine property.