Comparative studies on the regulatory effects of raw and charred hawthorn on functional dyspepsia and intestinal flora

Purpose: To compare the effects of raw hawthorn (RH) and charred hawthorn (CH) on functional dyspepsia (FD) and intestinal flora (IF).Methods: A rat model of FD was established through use of a chronic stimulator. Rat models were evaluated by the rat’s physical state, body weight, diet, and histopathological examination. After RH or CH administration, the digestive function of the rats was evaluated by determining gastric emptying and intestinal propulsion rate, diversity of intestinal flora.Results: RH and CH both improved gastric emptying and intestinal propulsion rate in FD group when compared to control group (p < 0.05). CH yielded higher treatment effectiveness than RH. Sixteen phyla of microbiomes were recognized from all samples. After FD model establishment, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, Lachnospiraceae and Bacteroidales decreased compared to normal control rats. On the other hand, the relative abundance of Helicobacter and Bacteroides in the model control group increased compared to normal control. After RH and CH treatment, the relative abundance of all dysregulated phyla was restored to varying degrees, but the levels after CH treatment were similar to those of the normal control group.Conclusion: The relative abundance of intestinal flora of FD model rats is significantly different from that of rats in normal control group. Thus, RH and CH intervention improves digestive function, and the mechanisms may be related to adjustment of gut dysbacteriosis.Keywords: Raw Hawthorn, Charred Hawthorn, Functional dyspepsia, Intestinal flor

Singularity categories of skewed-gentle algebras

Let $K$ be an algebraically closed field. Let $(Q,Sp,I)$ be a skewed-gentle triple, $(Q^{sg},I^{sg})$ and $(Q^g,I^{g})$ be its corresponding skewed-gentle pair and associated gentle pair respectively. It proves that the skewed-gentle algebra $KQ^{sg}/$ is singularity equivalent to $KQ/$. Moreover, we use $(Q,Sp,I)$ to describe the singularity category of $KQ^g/$. As a corollary, we get that $\mathrm{gldim} KQ^{sg}/<\infty$ if and only if $\mathrm{gldim} KQ/<\infty$ if and only if $\mathrm{gldim} KQ^{g}/< I^{g}><\infty$.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figur

Victorianizing Guangxu: Arresting Flows, Minting Coins, and Exerting Authority in Early Twentieth-Century Kham

In the late Qing and early Republican eras, eastern Tibet (Kham) was a borderland on the cusp of political and economic change. Straddling Sichuan Province and central Tibet, it was coveted by both Chengdu and Lhasa. Informed by an absolutist conception of territorial sovereignty, Sichuan officials sought to exert exclusive authority in Kham by severing its inhabitants from regional and local influence. The resulting efforts to arrest the flow of rupees from British India and the flow of cultural identity entwined with Buddhism from Lhasa were grounded in two misperceptions: that Khampa opposition to Chinese rule was external, fostered solely by local monasteries as conduits of Lhasa’s spiritual authority, and that Sichuan could arrest such influence, the absence of which would legitimize both exclusive authority in Kham and regional assertions of sovereignty. The intersection of these misperceptions with the significance of Buddhism in Khampa identity determined the success of Sichuan’s policies and the focus of this article, the minting and circulation of the first and only Qing coin emblazoned with an image of the emperor. It was a flawed axiom of state and nation builders throughout the world that severing local cultural or spiritual influence was possible—or even necessary—to effect a borderland’s incorporation. Keywords: Sichuan, southwest China, Tibet, currency, Indian rupee, territorial sovereignty, Qing borderland

Pretreatment with Shenxiong Drop Pill induces AQP4- mediated neuroprotective effect on middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats

Purpose: To investigate the neuroprotective effect of Shenxiong Drop Pill (SXDP) pretreatment on rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats, and the mechanism involved.Methods: Ninety-nine SD rats were randomly assigned to 4 groups: control group, MCAO group, shamoperated group and SXDP group. The MCAO model was established via thread occlusion. Rats in the SXDP group was administered SXDP 7 days before induction of MCAO. Neurological deficit score (NDS) was determined using Bederson's neurological behavioral scoring method, while cerebral infarction volume was measured using TTC staining. Integrated optical density (IOD) of Nissl Body was evaluated via Nissl staining. Brain water content was measured using dry-wet method. The expression level of AQP4 in brain tissues was determined using immunocytochemistry.Results: The SXDP treatment resulted in significant reduction in NDS, marked improvement in IOD of Nissl Body, and significant reductions in cerebral infarction volume, brain water content, and expression level of AQP4, relative to control (p&lt; 0.05).Conclusion: These results suggest that SXDP pretreatment exerts neuroprotective effect against cerebral ischemia in rats by decreasing in cerebral edema through a mechanism involving downregulation of the expression of AQP4. Keywords: Middle cerebral artery occlusion, Cerebral ischemia, Aquaporins-4, Cerebral edema, Neuroprotectio