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Physiological fatigue and toxic effects are commonly associated with chemotherapy. Beef extract (BE) is a nutritional supplement obtained by cooking beef. The present study examined the effects of several BE concentrations on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-induced fatigue and toxic effects in mice. Results showed BE supplementation ameliorated 5-FU-induced body and organ weight loss. All BE + 5-FU groups demonstrated increased grip strength (135.3–163.2 g), endurance time (567.3–911.3 s), and movement distance (23623–31225 cm) when compared with the 5-FU group (97.6 g, 265.2 s, and 13916 cm). Hepatic and muscular (0.76 and 1.06 mg/g) glycogen levels were maintained in the BE-3x + 5-FU group when compared with the 5-FU group (0.44 and 0.58 mg/g). Moreover, catalase (liver and muscle) and glutathione peroxidase (liver) activities were enhanced. The serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and histopathological changes were ameliorated in the BE-2x + 5-FU and BE-3x + 5-FU groups. BE supplementation could provide a novel strategy for managing 5-FU-induced fatigue and toxic effects.

Ultraviolet (UV) light has been developed for surface decontamination. However, UV light has some limitations at harmful effects for human and animals

Lactobacillus pentosus F03, a strain isolated from pig intestines in Taiwan, contains multiple endogenous plasmids. We isolated, completely sequenced, and characterized five of the plasmids present in L. pentosus F03 designated as pF03-1 (3282bp), pF03-2 (3293bp), pF03-3 (1787bp), pF03-4 (2138bp), and pF03-5 (1949bp). The replication types of these plasmids were predicted by comparing the features of the replicon nucleotides and the similarity of replication proteins with those of the plasmids of known replication types. The results of basic local alignment search tool analyses indicate that these plasmids, except for pF03-4, belong to different replicating plasmid families. According to replicon and initiator protein analyses, pF03-1, pF03-2, and pF03-3, were determined to belong respectively to the pMV158, pC194/pUB110, and pT181 families of rolling-circle replication plasmids. However, pF03-5 contains the typical features observed in the family of theta-replicating plasmids and belongs to the pUCL287 family of theta-replicating plasmids.

A novel method for online extraction, pH-gradient separation, and analysis of nine non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was developed by coupling online eluent-switching technique to single anion-exchange chromatographic column/ion trap mass spectrometer (MS) and used for monitoring NSAIDs residues in pig serum. A neutral eluent and a pH-gradient eluent were used for extraction and separation of NSAIDs, respectively. Each of nine NSAIDs has an MS precursor ion of either [M−H]− or [M−Na]−. The extracted ion chromatogram for a specific product ion of each NSAID was used for its quantitative analysis. The dynamic linear ranges of calibration curves were all 0–200 ng mL−1 (R2 > 0.9950). The analysis accuracies estimated by spiking standard concentrations at 20, 100, and 200 ng mL−1 were 80.5–99.9%. The corresponding intra-day and inter-day precisions (RSD%) were 2.5–14.5% and 2.9–15.2%, respectively. The limit of detection/limit of quantitation of NSAIDs were 1.3/4.3, 0.5/1.6, 0.2/0.5, 2.5/8.2, 1.5/4.9, 0.6/2.1, 0.6/2.0, 0.5/1.7, and 0.6/2.1 ng mL−1 for carprofen, diclofenac, flunixin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, meclofenamic acid sodium, mefenamic acid, niflumic acid, and tolfenamic acid, respectively. After 1 h injection of a dose containing 2 mg kg−1 weight pig of flunixin and tolfenamic acid to the pigs, a residue amount of 3480 ± 36 ng mL−1 and 431 ± 13 ng mL−1, respectively, was reached for the incurred pig serum specimens and both residues were reduced to about 20 ng mL−1 at the time of 24 h.

In the current first aid skill departments, “Active Compression-Decompression CPR (ACD CPR)” is being discussed amongst a large number of professionals in the area. Both theory analysis and animal tests prove the rise of cardiac output, but the effects haven't been obvious in real life first aid procedures. This study, therefore, is by studying the interrelationship between ACD CPR and the user, to find out the cause that made ACD CPR effects not as obvious as expected, at the same time, pinpoint the problem and give solutions. The study looks at the ACD CPR device form analysis as well as the mechanical design of the kit and come up with solutions for each, at last using motion experiments to test the analysis results and reasonable guesses. Results show that the ACD CPR control panel design directly affects the quality of users' force exertion motions, and the height of the ACD CPR kit caused by mechanical design is another important effect. At the end, through a re-design and motion experiments we prove that the analysis and reasonable guesses of this study were correct, and the new ACD CPR device has truly made an improvement in the holding and griping area.