Ethnomedicinal Analysis of Toxic Plants from Five Ethnic Groups in China

researchToxic plants are important elements of ethnomedicine. Ethnomedicinal knowledge on toxic plants recorded from five indigenous people, Dai, Lahu, Miao, Tujia, and Wa in south and southwestern China, was summarized and analyzed based on available literature. A formula has been developed to evaluate toxic plants in the ethnomedicine of different ethnic groups using the Average Use Values (AUVs) of them. In total, 118 toxic plants often used as ethnomedicines were found from the five ethnic groups. These toxic plants were mainly distributed in 21 families, i.e., 75.4% of species and 68.1% of genera were concentrated in the 21 families. Araceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, and Fabaceae are 4 important families which contain rich toxic plants. Eleven toxic plants were thought to be deadly toxic. These toxic plants were often used medicinally to treat injuries from falls, broken bones, and skin problems. Most toxic plants were medicinally used for multiple purposes in the five ethnic groups. The medicinal role of toxic plants was ascertained by comparing the AUVs or UVs in these ethnomedicines. The culture and the resources available were two main factors affecting ethnic healers selecting and using toxic plants

Exploiting EST databases for the development and characterization of EST-SSR markers in castor bean (Ricinus communis L.)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The castor bean <it>(Ricinus communis </it>L.), a monotypic species in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae, 2n = 20), is an important non-edible oilseed crop widely cultivated in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate countries for its high economic value. Because of the high level of ricinoleic acid (over 85%) in its seed oil, the castor bean seed derivatives are often used in aviation oil, lubricants, nylon, dyes, inks, soaps, adhesive and biodiesel. Due to lack of efficient molecular markers, little is known about the population genetic diversity and the genetic relationships among castor bean germplasm. Efficient and robust molecular markers are increasingly needed for breeding and improving varieties in castor bean. The advent of modern genomics has produced large amounts of publicly available DNA sequence data. In particular, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) provide valuable resources to develop gene-associated SSR markers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total, 18,928 publicly available non-redundant castor bean EST sequences, representing approximately 17.03 Mb, were evaluated and 7732 SSR sites in 5,122 ESTs were identified by data mining. Castor bean exhibited considerably high frequency of EST-SSRs. We developed and characterized 118 polymorphic EST-SSR markers from 379 primer pairs flanking repeats by screening 24 castor bean samples collected from different countries. A total of 350 alleles were identified from 118 polymorphic SSR loci, ranging from 2-6 per locus (A) with an average of 2.97. The EST-SSR markers developed displayed moderate gene diversity (<it>H</it>_e) with an average of 0.41. Genetic relationships among 24 germplasms were investigated using the genotypes of 350 alleles, showing geographic pattern of genotypes across genetic diversity centers of castor bean.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Castor bean EST sequences exhibited considerably high frequency of SSR sites, and were rich resources for developing EST-SSR markers. These EST-SSR markers would be particularly useful for both genetic mapping and population structure analysis, facilitating breeding and crop improvement of castor bean.</p

Investigation and analysis on hygienic status of environment and processed food in central kitchen of Hunan Province

Objective To understand the environmental situation and hygienic quality situation of processed food in central kitchen of Hunan Province and to find the main food safety problem, provide basis for strengthening management and taking corresponding measures. Methods Between October and November 2018, the temperature and humidity, the number of dust particles, the average concentration of bacteria in the air, the intensity of ultraviolet radiation, the microbiological indexes of object surface, food employees and processed foods in all central kitchens in Hunan Province were tested, and the result were statistically analyzed. Results The result showed that the qualified rate of special rooms for the requirements of food clean room was 18.6% (16/86). The qualified rate of manufacture environment temperature for the requirements of the operation specifications (≤25 ℃) was 96.5% (83/86). The qualified rate of ultraviolet radiation intensity (≥70 μW/cm2) was 3.5% (3/86). The qualified rate of total bacterial colonies on the object surface (≤20 CFU/m2) was 58.1% (50/86). The qualified rate of total bacterial colonies on the hands of food employee (≤300 CFU/one) was 34.9% (29/83). The detection rate of coliform bacteria on object surface was 15.1% (13/86). The detection rate of coliform bacteria on the hands of food employees was 4.8% (4/83). The qualified rate of total bacterial colonies and coliform bacteria of processed food (GB 2726-2016) was 90.7% (78/86). Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella were not detected in processed food. Conclusion According to the relevant national regulation and evaluation standards, it had been found that the major problems were ultraviolet disinfection, environment cleanliness, bacterial contamination on objects surface and the hands of food employees. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the hygienic management of central kitchen

Chemokines in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggested that chemokines may play an important role in the formation and mediation of immune microenvironments of patients affected by Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). The aim of this study was to summarise available evidence on the associations of different chemokines with T1DM. METHODS: Following PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library databases for studies on the associations of different chemokines with T1DM. The effect size of the associations were the standardized mean differences (SMDs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the chemokines concentrations, calculated as group differences between the T1DM patients and the controls. These were summarized using network meta-analysis, which was also used to rank the chemokines by surface under cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) probabilities. RESULTS: A total of 32 original studies on the association of different chemokines with T1DM were identified. Fifteen different chemokine nodes were compared between 15,683 T1DM patients and 15,128 controls, and 6 different chemokine receptor nodes were compared between 463 T1DM patients and 460 controls. Circulating samples (blood, serum, and plasma) showed that concentrations of CCL5 and CXCL1 were significantly higher in the T1DM patients than in the controls (SMD of 3.13 and 1.50, respectively). On the other hand, no significant difference in chemokine receptors between T1DM and controls was observed. SUCRA probabilities showed that circulating CCL5 had the highest rank in T1DM among all the chemokines investigated. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that circulating CCL5 and CXCL1 may be promising novel biomarkers of T1DM. Future research should attempt to replicate these findings in longitudinal studies and explore potential mechanisms underlying this association

Roles of Phosphorus Sources in Microbial Community Assembly for the Removal of Organic Matters and Ammonia in Activated Sludge

Various phosphorus sources are utilized by microbes in WWTPs, eventually affecting microbial assembly and functions. This study identified the effects of phosphorus source on microbial communities and functions in the activated sludge. By cultivation with 59 phosphorus sources, including inorganic phosphates (IP), nucleoside-monophosphates (NMP), cyclic-nucleoside-monophosphates (cNMP), and other organophosphates (OP), we evaluated the change in removal efficiencies of total organic carbon (TOC) and ammonia, microbial biomass, alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity, microbial community structure, and AKP-associated genes. TOC and ammonia removal efficiency was highest in IP (64.8%) and cNMP (52.3%) treatments. Microbial community structure changed significantly across phosphorus sources that IP and cNMP encouraged Enterobacter and Aeromonas, respectively. The abundance of phoA and phoU genes was higher in IP treatments, whereas phoD and phoX genes dominated OP treatments. Our findings suggested that the performance of WWTPs was dependent on phosphorus sources and provided new insights into effective WWTP management

Catecholamines in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Studies on the association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and levels of catecholamines have yielded inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess whether concentrations of the catecholamines dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine are associated with PTSD. This study searched relevant articles in the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Psyc-ARTICLES. Each database was searched from its inception to September, 2018. Data related to catecholamine concentrations were extracted for patients with PTSD and the controls to calculate standardized mean differences and to evaluate effect sizes. A meta-analysis was then performed to compare the concentration of each catecholamine between the two groups in blood and/or urine samples. Heterogeneity was quantified using I2 and its significance was tested using the Q statistics. Subgroup analyses of the types of controls, PTSD assessment tools, and assayed methods used in the studies were performed to explore sources of heterogeneity among studies. Random-effects models were used to combine results from selected studies. A total of 1,388 articles were identified, of which 27 were included in the final analysis. Heterogeneity was high; hence random-effects models were used to combine results of selected studies. Results revealed significantly higher norepinephrine levels in people with PTSD than in the controls [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.35, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.13 to 0.57, p = 0.002]. No difference was found in dopamine and epinephrine concentrations between the two groups. Elevated norepinephrine levels may be an important indicator for PTSD

Dehydroepiandrosterone and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate in Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and Purpose: Previous studies found inconsistent results for the relationship between Alzheimer's disease and the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. This study performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate previous studies' results on this relationship.Method: Studies related to this outcome were obtained using a systematic search from the electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Psyc-ARTICLES in March 2018. The random-effects model was used to measure the strength of the association between Alzheimer's disease and the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, using the standardized mean difference.Results: Thirty-one eligible studies were included in the final analysis. There was no statistically significant association between the level of dehydroepiandrosterone and Alzheimer's disease (standardized mean difference: 0.51, 95% confidence interval: −0.44 to 1.45, Z = 1.06, p = 0.29). On the other hand, lower level dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate was observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease than in controls (standardized mean difference: −0.69, 95% confidence interval: −1.17 to −0.22, Z = −2.84, p &lt; 0.01).Conclusion: Decreased dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentrations may be an important indicator for Alzheimer's disease, although whether dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate could be used as a diagnostic tool requires further research