Anti-diarrhea effects of polysaccharides from Zingiber officinale rhizome on a rat diarrhea model

Purpose: To investigate the anti-diarrhea effects of polysaccharides extracted from the rhizome of Zingiber officinale (ZRP) on diarrhea induced by folium sennae in rats.Methods: Response surface methodology (RSM) based on the Box–Benhnken design (BBD) was performed to optimize ZRP extraction. Thereafter, experimental diarrheal rats induced by treatment with folium sennae were used to investigate the anti-diarrhea effects of ZRP. Diarrhea index, dilute stool rate, gastric residual rate, and intestinal propulsive rate were investigated. In addition, the levels of brain-gut peptides including cholecystokinin (CCK), ghrelin, and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the small intestine of rats with diarrhea were determined using commercial ELISA kits.Results: Optimal ZRP extraction was obtained with an extraction time of 1.4 h, ratio of water to the raw material of 30 mL/g, and extracting 2 times. ZRP treatment at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg significantly decreased the dilute stool rate and diarrhea index (p < 0.05) and increased gastric residual rate (p < 0.01) dose-dependently. ZRP lowered intestinal propulsive rate (100 and 200 mg/kg, p < 0.01). All ZRP doses (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) also significantly reduced the levels of CCK (p < 0.01) but increased the levels of ghrelin and VIP (p < 0.01) in the small intestine.Conclusion: ZRP exerts significant anti-diarrhea effects on experimental diarrheal rats induced by folium sennae via regulating the levels of brain-gut peptides. Further studies are required to determine if these effects can also be replicated in humansKeywords: Zingiber officinale, Polysaccharide, Response surface methodology, Anti-diarrhea, Cholecystokinin, Ghrelin, and Vasoactive intestinal peptid

Application progress of CT radiomics in gastrointestinal stromal tumor

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal tumor in the gastrointestinal tract, with complex biological characteristics and varying risks, and the treatment methods and prognosis of patients with different risks are quite different; therefore, early diagnosis and risk assessment are crucial for its precision treatment. In recent years, CT radiomics, as an emerging imaging technology, can transform traditional CT image features into a large number of data, thereby reflecting the inherent heterogeneity of GIST and even correlating with its gene expression features. This paper reviews the research progress of CT radiomics in the diagnosis and prediction of GIST with the help of machine learning. The current CT radiomics can not only be used for the differential diagnosis of GIST and other gastric diseases, but also for the risk evaluation of GIST. Furthermore, pathological analysis and gene diagnosis can be performed based on CT images, and then the first-line treatment effect and long-term prognosis can be predicted. At present, various prediction models constructed by combination of CT radiomics and clinical information have been well verified in the specific practice of different clinical problems, showing broad application prospects. However, in the specific clinical application process, different methods of sample data collection and processing, differences in the selection of machine learning algorithms, and the selection of 2D or 3D images all affect the specific effectiveness of CT radiomics. Hence, unified and standardized application rules for radiomics has to be established

Overexpression of the Tomato Pollen Receptor Kinase LePRK1 Rewires Pollen Tube Growth to a Blebbing Mode

The tubular growth of a pollen tube cell is crucial for the sexual reproduction of flowering plants. LePRK1 is a pollen-specific and plasma membrane–localized receptor-like kinase from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). LePRK1 interacts with another receptor, LePRK2, and with KINASE PARTNER PROTEIN (KPP), a Rop guanine nucleotide exchange factor. Here, we show that pollen tubes overexpressing LePRK1 or a truncated LePRK1 lacking its extracellular domain (LePRK1ΔECD) have enlarged tips but also extend their leading edges by producing “blebs.” Coexpression of LePRK1 and tomato PLIM2a, an actin bundling protein that interacts with KPP in a Ca2+-responsive manner, suppressed these LePRK1 overexpression phenotypes, whereas pollen tubes coexpressing KPP, LePRK1, and PLIM2a resumed the blebbing growth mode. We conclude that overexpression of LePRK1 or LePRK1ΔECD rewires pollen tube growth to a blebbing mode, through KPP- and PLIM2a-mediated bundling of actin filaments from tip plasma membranes. Arabidopsis thaliana pollen tubes expressing LePRK1ΔECD also grew by blebbing. Our results exposed a hidden capability of the pollen tube cell: upon overexpression of a single membrane-localized molecule, LePRK1 or LePRK1ΔECD, it can switch to an alternative mechanism for extension of the leading edge that is analogous to the blebbing growth mode reported for Dictyostelium and for Drosophila melanogaster stem cells.Fil: Gui, Cai Ping. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Dong, Xin. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Liu, Hai Kuan. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Huang, Wei Jie. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Zhang, Dong. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Wang, Shu Jie. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Barberini, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Gao, Xiao Yan. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Muschietti, Jorge Prometeo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: McCormick, Sheila. University of California at Berkeley; Estados UnidosFil: Tang, Wei Hua. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de China. University of California at Berkeley; Estados Unido

Identification and Nearly Full-Length Genome Characterization of Novel Porcine Bocaviruses

The genus bocavirus includes bovine parvovirus (BPV), minute virus of canines (MVC), and a group of human bocaviruses (HBoV1-4). Using sequence-independent single primer amplification (SISPA), a novel bocavirus group was discovered with high prevalence (12.59%) in piglet stool samples. Two nearly full-length genome sequences were obtained, which were approximately 5,100 nucleotides in length. Multiple alignments revealed that they share 28.7–56.8% DNA sequence identity with other members of Parvovirinae. Phylogenetic analyses indicated their closest neighbors were members of the genus bocavirus. The new viruses had a putative non-structural NP1 protein, which was unique to bocaviruses. They were provisionally named porcine bocavirus 1 and 2 (PBoV1, PBoV2). PBoV1 and PBoV2 shared 94.2% nucleotide identity in NS1 gene sequence, suggesting that they represented two different bocavirus species. Two additional samples (6V, 7V) were amplified for 2,407 bp and 2,434 bp products, respectively, including a partial NP1 gene and the complete VP1 gene; Phylogenetic analysis indicated that 6Vand 7V grouped with PBoV1 and PBoV2 in the genus of bocavirus, but were in the separate clusters. Like other parvoviruses, PBoV1, PBoV2, 6Vand 7V also contained a putative secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) motif in the VP1 unique region, with a conserved HDXXY motif in the catalytic center. The conserved motif YXGXF of the Ca2+-binding loop of sPLA2 identified in human bocavirus was also found in porcine bocavirus, which differs from the YXGXG motif carried by most other parvoviruses. The observation of PBoV and potentially other new bocavirus genus members may aid in molecular and functional characterization of the genus bocavirus

Radiative viscosity of neutron stars

We study non-linear effects of radiative viscosity of $npe$ matter in neutron stars for both direct Urca process and modified Urca process, and find that non-linear effects will decrease the ratio of radiative viscosity to bulk viscosity from 1.5 to 0.5 (for direct Urca process) and 0.375 (for modified Urca process). Which means that for small oscillations of neutron star, the large fraction of oscillation energy is emitted as neutrinos; but for large enough ones, bulk viscous dissipation dominates.Comment: 11pages, 4 figure

Research on Preparation of Rapeseed Polypeptide by Multi Enzyme Step-by-step Hydrolysis

In this experiment, a multi-enzyme method was used to prepare rapeseed peptides by stepwise hydrolysis of rapeseed proteins. Based on four single-factor experiments of hydrolysis temperature, hydrolysis time, pH value and enzyme addition, the response surface methodology was used to optimize the hydrolysis conditions of rapeseed proteins. The results showed that the optimal experimental conditions were 55.5 ℃ of temperature, 90 min of hydrolysis time, 10.5 of pH, and 10 400 U/g of enzyme addition. The hydrolysis degree was 31.64% under these conditions. The second hydrolysis was carried out by using compound flavor protease. The debittering effect of rapeseed peptide was remarkable, and the hydrolysis degree reached more than 38% after 120 min of hydrolysis time. This experiment improved the extraction rate of rapeseed peptides and obtained rapeseed peptides with good debittering effect

Efficacy of combined traditional Chinese medicine spray with premature ejaculation desensitization therapy for the treatment of primary premature ejaculation

Objectives: We recommend a new kind of spray made from eight kinds of traditional Chinese medicine, we aimed to investigate the safety and clinical efficacy of combined traditional Chinese medicine spray (TCMS) with premature ejaculation desensitization therapy (PEDT) for the treatment of primary premature ejaculation (PPE).Methods: A total of 90 patients with PPE were randomly assigned to receive TCMS, PEDT monotherapy or TCMS plus PEDT combination therapy for 6 weeks. Intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) and Chinese index of sexual function for premature ejaculation (CIPE-5) were measured to evaluate the effect of each treatment.Results: Eighty six (86) participants completed the study voluntarily. Both IELT and CIPE-5 in these three groups increased after treatment when compared with baseline levels (p< 0.01). IELT and CIPE-5 after treatment in TCMS plus PEDT group were significantly higher than those in the other two groups (both p <0.05). Additionally, clinical efficacy in TCMS plus PEDT group (89.7%) was significantly higher than in TCMS (65.5%) and PEDT group (67.9%) (p< 0.01).Conclusion: The self-made TCMS was safe and effective for the treatment of PPE, a combination of TCMS and PEDT therapy was more effective than the TCMS or PEDT monotherapy.Keywords: Primary premature ejaculation (PPE); traditional Chinese mdicine spray (TCMS); premature ejaculation desensitization training therapy (PEDT); Intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT); Chinese index of sexual function for premature ejaculation (CIPE-5