1,3-Bis[5-(2-pyrid­yl)-1H-tetra­zol-1-yl]propane

The title compound, C15H14N10, is a multidentate ligand obtained by the reaction of 5-(2-pyrid­yl)tetra­zole with 1,3-dibromo­propane. The mol­ecule consists of two 5-(2-pyrid­yl)-1H-tetra­zol-1-yl units connected by a propyl­ene bridge in a U-like conformation. A twofold rotation axis passes through the central C atom

Functional Network-Based Statistics Reveal Abnormal Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy

Purpose: Whole-brain functional network analysis is an emerging methodology for exploring the mechanisms underlying hepatic encephalopathy (HE). This study aimed to identify the brain subnetwork that is significantly altered within the functional connectome in minimal HE (MHE), the earliest stage of HE.Materials and Methods: The study enrolled 19 cirrhotic patients with MHE and 19 controls who underwent the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and cognitive assessment based on the Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES). A whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) matrix was calculated for each subject. Then, network-based statistical analyses of the functional connectome were used to perform group comparisons, and correlation analyses were conducted to identify the relationships between FC alterations and cognitive performance.Results: MHE patients showed significant reduction of positive FC within a subnetwork that predominantly involved the regions of the default-mode network, such as the bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus, bilateral medial prefrontal cortex, bilateral hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus, bilateral angular gyrus, and left lateral temporal cortex. Meanwhile, MHE patients showed significant reduction of negative FC between default-mode network regions (such as the bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus, medial prefrontal cortex, and angular gyrus) and the regions involved in the somatosensory network (i.e., bilateral precentral and postcentral gyri) and the language network (i.e., the bilateral Rolandic operculum). The correlations of FC within the default-mode subnetwork and PHES results were noted.Conclusion: Default-mode network dysfunction may be one of the core issues in the pathophysiology of MHE. Our findings support the notion that HE is a neurological disease related to intrinsic brain network disruption

Altered Topological Properties of Gray Matter Structural Covariance Networks in Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy

Background and Aims: Liver cirrhosis commonly induces brain structural impairments that are associated with neurological complications (e.g., minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE)), but the topological characteristics of the brain structural network are still less well understood in cirrhotic patients with MHE. This study aimed to conduct the first investigation on the topological alterations of brain structural covariance networks in MHE.Methods: This study included 22 healthy controls (HCs) and 22 cirrhotic patients with MHE. We calculated the gray matter volume of 90 brain regions using an automated anatomical labeling (AAL) template, followed by construction of gray matter structural covariance networks by thresholding interregional structural correlation matrices as well as graph theoretical analysis.Results: MHE patients showed abnormal small-world properties of the brain structural covariance network, i.e., decreased clustering coefficient and characteristic path length and lower small-worldness parameters, which indicated a tendency toward more random architecture. In addition, MHE patients lost hubs in the prefrontal and parietal regions, although they had new hubs in the temporal and occipital regions. Compared to HC, MHE patients had decreased regional degree/betweenness involving several regions, primarily the prefrontal and parietal lobes, motor region, insula and thalamus. In addition, the MHE group also showed increased degree/betweenness in the occipital lobe and hippocampus.Conclusion: These results suggest that MHE leads to altered coordination patterns of gray matter morphology and provide structural evidence supporting the idea that MHE is a neurological complication related to disrupted neural networks

Effects of replacement of alfalfa by big-leaf mulberry on growth performance, digestion and meat quality in growing rabbits

[EN] This study aimed to investigate the effect of sundried big-leaf mulberry (BLM) as a replacement for alfalfa on the growth performance, digestibility of nutrients, nitrogen (N) utilisation and meat quality in New Zealand White rabbits. One hundred and sixty weaned rabbits, aged 35±1 d and with a body weight of 755±26 g, were randomly assigned to the 4 treatments with 20 replicates of 2 rabbits (1 male and 1 female) each. Animal performance was evaluated between the 35th and 77th d of age in 40 animals per treatment. The coefficients of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) of nutrients and N utilisation were measured between 77 to 83 d of age in 30 animals per treatment. The control rabbits were fed a corn-soybean meal-alfalfa meal based diet. The three experimental groups were fed a similar diet in which the alfalfa meal was replaced by 10% (BLM10), 20% (BLM20), or 30% (BLM30) BLM. The final body weights and average daily gain were higher (P<0.05) in BLM20 rabbits compared to cThis work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation in Higher Education of Anhui, China (KJ2018A0535), and the fund of Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province of China (1708085QC74).Wu, XZ.; Yang, PL.; Gao, XH.; Wen, ZG.; Dai, SF.; Zhu, MX.; Wang, LX. (2019). Effects of replacement of alfalfa by big-leaf mulberry on growth performance, digestion and meat quality in growing rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 27(4):199-205. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2019.11529OJS199205274Abu Hafsa S., Salem A., Hassan A., Kholif A., Elghandour M., Barbabosa A., Lopez S. 2016. Digestion, growth performance and caecal fermentation in growing rabbits fed diets containing foliage of browse trees. World Rabbit Sci., 24: 283-293. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2016.4359AOAC International. 2005. Official methods of analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 18th ed. 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Nutritional effect of mulberry ("morus alba") leaves as sole ration of adult rabbits. World Rabbit Sci., 1: 67-69. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.1993.196Gidenne T., Combes S., Fortun-Lamothe L. 2013. Protein replacement by digestible fibre in the diet of growing rabbits. 1: Impact on digestive balance, nitrogen excretion and microbial activity. Anim. Feed Sci. Tech., 183: 132-141. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2013.04.022Lounaouci-Ouyed G., Berchiche M., Gidenne T. 2014. Effects of substitution of soybean meal-alfalfa-maize by a combination of field bean or pea with hard wheat bran on digestion and growth performance in rabbits in Algeria. World Rabbit Sci., 22: 137-146. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2014.1487Ma M.R., Liu X.C., Zhu F.H. 2012. Study on biological characteristics and nutritional value of new type forage grass big-leaf mulberry. Acta Agriculturae Jiangxi, 24: 154-155. https://doi.org/10.19386/j.cnki.jxnyxb.2012.07.045Martinez M., Motta W., Cervera C., Pla M. 2005. Feeding mulberry leaves to fattening rabbits: effects on growth, carcass characteristics and meat quality. Animal science (Penicuik, Scotland), 80: 275-281. https://doi.org/10.1079/ASC41110275Mei-Rong M.A., Jin F.H., Dong D., Xiao-Heng W.U., Liu J.X., Polytechnic J. 2014. Effects of Replacing Soybean Meal with Different Levels of Big leaf Mulberry on Growth Performance,Slaughter Performance and Meat Quality in Growing Lambs. Chin. J. Anim. Sci., 50: 40-44. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.0258-7033.2014.07.010Mora-Valverde D. 2010. Consumo de Morera (Morus alba) fresca mezclada con ensilaje de maíz por el ganado Jersey en crecimiento. Agronomía Mesoamericana, 21: 337-341. https://doi.org/10.15517/am.v21i2.4897Nakkitset S., Mikled C., Ledin I. 2008. Effect of Feeding Head Lettuce, Water Spinach, Ruzi grass or Mimosa pigra on Feed Intake, Digestibility and Growth in Rabbits. Asian-Australas J. Anim. Sci., 21: 1171-1177. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2008.70628Ouhayoun J., Dalle Zotte A. 1996. Harmonization of muscle and meat criteria in rabbit meat research. World Rabbit Sci., 4: 211-218. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.1996.297Pérez J.M., Lebas F., Gidenne T., Maertens L., Xiccato G., Parigi-Bini R., Dalle Zotte A. 1995. European reference method for in vivo determination of diet digestibility in rabbits. World Rabbit Sci., 3: 41-43. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.1995.239Rodriguez M., Carro M.D., Valiente V., Formoso-Rafferty N., Rebollar P.G. 2017. Effects of dietary fish oil supplementation on performance, meat quality, and cecal fermentation of growing rabbits. J. Anim. Sci., 95: 3620-3630. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2017.1690Safwat A.M., Sarmiento-Franco L., Santos-Ricalde R.H., Nieves D., Sandoval-Castro C.A. 2015. Estimating Apparent Nutrient Digestibility of Diets Containing Leucaena leucocephala or Moringa oleifera Leaf Meals for Growing Rabbits by Two Methods. Asian-Australas J. Anim. Sci., 28: 1155-1162. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.14.0429Shang S.M., Wu Z.Y., Liu G.Y., Sun C.R., Ma M.W., C. Li F. 2017. Effect of substituting Guinea grass with soybean hulls on production performance and digestion traits in fattening rabbits. World Rabbit Sci., 25: 241. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2017.6654Statistical Analysis System. 2009. SAS/STAT User's Guide 9.2,2 ed. Inst. Inc. Cary NC, USA.Tu Y., Diao Q.Y., Zhang R., Yan G.L., Xiong W. 2009. Analysis on feed nutritive value of hybrid Broussonetia papyrifera leaf. Pratacultural Sci., 13: 30-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/0029-8018(90)90025-2Van Soest P.J., Robertson J.B., Lewis B.A. 1991. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. J. Dairy Sci., 74: 3583-3597. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(91)78551-2Wang Z., He Z., Gan X., Li H. 2018. Interrelationship among ferrous myoglobin, lipid and protein oxidations in rabbit meat during refrigerated and superchilled storage. Meat Sci., 146: 131-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2018.08.006Xiccato G., 2010. Fat digestion. In: C. de Blas, Wiseman J. eds. Nutrition of the Rabbit (2nd ed). Wallingford, UK: CAB International, 56-66.Zhang X.F., Huang X., Zheng H.C., Wang Z.G., Jiang Y.Q., Liu J.X. 2015. Effects of Replacing Part of Corn, Bran and Soybean Meal with Different Levels of Fermented Bigleaf Mulberry on Growth and Slaughter Performances in Growth-finishing Pigs. Chin. J. Anim. Sci. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.0258-7033.2015.23.01

Influence of different processing times on the quality of Polygoni Multiflora Radix by metabolomics based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole timeâ ofâ flight mass spectrometry

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136757/1/jssc5378_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136757/2/jssc5378.pd

Factors Associated with Myopia in School Children in China: The Beijing Childhood Eye Study

Purpose: To assess factors associated with myopia in school children in rural and urban parts of Greater Beijing. Methods: The Beijing Pedriatic Eye Study was a population-based cross-sectional study, in which one school of each level (primary, junior high, senior high) was randomly selected from nine randomly selected districts out of 18 districts of Greater Beijing. The children underwent non-cylcoplegic refractometry and their parents an interview. Results: Of 16,771 eligible students, 15,066 (89.8%) children (7,769 (51.6%) girls) participated, with 8,860 (58.8%) participants living in the rural region. Mean age was 13.263.4 years (range:7–18 years). In multivariate analysis, prevalence of myopia (defined as #21.00 diopters) was associated with higher age (Odds ratio(OR):1.37; 95% confidence interval(CI):1.35,1.39), female gender (OR:1.35;95%CI:1.25,1.47), key school type (OR:0.77;95%CI: 0.70,0.85), higher family income (OR:1.04;95%CI:1.01,1.07), parental myopia (OR:1.46;95%CI:1.40,1.53), dim reading illumination (OR:0.93;95%CI: 0.88,0.98), longer daily studying duration (OR:1.10;95%CI:1.06,1.15), shorter duration of watching television (or computer) (OR:0.93;95%CI:0.89,0.97), higher self-reported protein intake (OR:0.94;95%CI:0.90,0.99), feeling well about life and status (OR:0.93;95%CI:0.89,0.98), and feeling tired or dizzy (OR:0.94;95%CI:0.91,0.97). Prevalence of high myopia (defined as #26.00 diopters) was associated with higher age (OR:1.43;95%CI:1.38, 1.48), key school type (OR:0.61;95%CI:0.49,0.74), family income (OR:1.07;95%CI:1.02,1.13), parental myopia (OR:1.65;95%CI:1.54,1.76), dim reading illumination (OR:0.86;95%CI:0.77,0.96), less rest during studying (OR:1.18;95%CI:1.10,1.27), feeling well about life and studying (OR:0.88;95%CI: 0.81,0.96) and feeling dizzy or tired (OR:0.93;95%CI:0.87,0.99). Prevalence of high myopia (defined as #28.00 diopters) was significantly associated with higher age (OR:1.39;95%CI:1.31,1.48;), key school type (OR:0.61;95%CI:0.42,0.88) and parental myopia (OR:1.87;95%CI:1.66,2.12). Conclusions: Myopia in school children in Greater Beijing was associated with higher age, female gender, school type, parental myopia, higher socioeconomic background, dim reading illumination, longer daily studying duration, less rest during study, shorter duration of watching television (or computer), higher self-reported protein intake, feeling well about life and status, and feeling tired and dizzy

Time-Specific Ecologic Niche Models Forecast the Risk of Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome in Dongting Lake District, China, 2005–2010

Background: Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), a rodent-borne infectious disease, is one of the most serious public health threats in China. Increasing our understanding of the spatial and temporal patterns of HFRS infections could guide local prevention and control strategies. Methodology/Principal Findings: We employed statistical models to analyze HFRS case data together with environmental data from the Dongting Lake district during 2005–2010. Specifically, time-specific ecologic niche models (ENMs) were used to quantify and identify risk factors associated with HFRS transmission as well as forecast seasonal variation in risk across geographic areas. Results showed that the Maximum Entropy model provided the best predictive ability (AUC = 0.755). Time-specific Maximum Entropy models showed that the potential risk areas of HFRS significantly varied across seasons. High-risk areas were mainly found in the southeastern and southwestern areas of the Dongting Lake district. Our findings based on models focused on the spring and winter seasons showed particularly good performance. The potential risk areas were smaller in March, May and August compared with those identified for June, July and October to December. Both normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land use types were found to be the dominant risk factors. Conclusions/Significance: Our findings indicate that time-specific ENMs provide a useful tool to forecast the spatial and temporal risk of HFRS

Intensity-modulated Radiation Therapy Versus Para-aortic Field Radiotherapy to Treat Para-aortic Lymph Node Metastasis in Cervical Cancer: Prospective Study

Aim To compare dosimetry, efficacy, and toxicity of intensity- modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with para-aortic field radiotherapy in patients with para-aortic lymph node (PALN) metastasis of cervical cancer. Methods This prospective study examined 60 patients with cervical cancer with PALN metastasis who underwent whole-pelvis radiotherapy followed by brachytherapy between November 1, 2004 and May 31, 2008. After 3 cycles of chemotherapy, patients were serially allocated into two groups and treated with IMRT or para-aortic field RT at doses of 58-68 Gy and 45-50 Gy, respectively. Treatment response was evaluated and toxicities were assessed. Patients in the IMRT group were treated with both para-aortic field RT and IMRT in order to compare the exposure dose of organs at risk. Results In the IMRT group, the mean dose delivered to the planning target volume was 67.5 Gy. At least 99% of the gross tumor volume received effective coverage and radical dose (median, 63.5 Gy; range, 54.5-66) during treatment. IMRT plans yielded better dose conformity to the target and better sparing of the spinal cord and small intestine than para-aortic field RT. The IMRT patients experienced less acute and chronic toxicities. The IMRT group also had higher 2- and 3-year survival rates than the para-aortic RT group (2-year, 58.8% vs 25.0%, P = 0.019; 3-year, 36.4% vs 15.6%, P = 0.016). However, no significant difference was found in 1-year survival (67.7% vs 51.3%, P =0.201). The median survival in the IMRT group was 25 months (range, 3 to 37 months). The actuarial overall survival, disease-free survival, and locoregional control rates at 2 years were 67%, 77%, and 88%, respectively, in the IMRT group. Conclusions IMRT provides better clinical outcomes than para-aortic field radiotherapy in patients with PALN metastasis. However, cervical local and distal recurrence remain a problem. Long-term follow-up and studies involving more patients are needed to confirm our results

Region- or state-related differences in expression and activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) in naïve and pain-experiencing rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), one member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family, has been suggested to regulate a diverse array of cellular functions, including cell growth, differentiation, survival, as well as neuronal plasticity. Recent evidence indicates a role for ERKs in nociceptive processing in both dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord. However, little literature has been reported to examine the differential distribution and activation of ERK isoforms, ERK1 and ERK2, at different levels of pain-related pathways under both normal and pain states. In the present study, quantitative blot immunolabeling technique was used to determine the spatial and temporal expression of ERK1 and ERK2, as well as their activated forms, in the spinal cord, primary somatosensory cortex (SI area of cortex), and hippocampus under normal, transient pain and persistent pain states.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In naïve rats, we detected regional differences in total expression of ERK1 and ERK2 across different areas. In the spinal cord, ERK1 was expressed more abundantly than ERK2, while in the SI area of cortex and hippocampus, there was a larger amount of ERK2 than ERK1. Moreover, phosphorylated ERK2 (pERK2), not phosphorylated ERK1 (pERK1), was normally expressed with a high level in the SI area and hippocampus, but both pERK1 and pERK2 were barely detectable in normal spinal cord. Intraplantar saline or bee venom injection, mimicking transient or persistent pain respectively, can equally initiate an intense and long-lasting activation of ERKs in all three areas examined. However, isoform-dependent differences existed among these areas, that is, pERK2 exhibited stronger response than pERK1 in the spinal cord, whereas ERK1 was more remarkably activated than ERK2 in the S1 area and hippocampus.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Taken these results together, we conclude that: (1) under normal state, while ERK immunoreactivity is broadly distributed in the rat central nervous system in general, the relative abundance of ERK1 and ERK2 differs greatly among specific regions; (2) under pain state, either ERK1 or ERK2 can be effectively phosphorylated with a long-term duration by both transient and persistent pain, but their response patterns differ from each other across distinct regions; (3) The long-lasting ERKs activation induced by bee venom injection is highly correlated with our previous behavioral, electrophysiological, morphological and pharmacological observations, lending further support to the functional importance of ERKs-mediated signaling pathways in the processing of negative consequences of pain associated with sensory, emotional and cognitive dimensions.</p