Antifatigue Effect of Millettiae speciosae Champ (Leguminosae) Extract in Mice

Purpose: To evaluate whether Millettiae Speciosae Champ. (Leguminosae) can enhance exercise performance as well as ascertain if it a potential functional food material.Methods: The extract of Millettia speciosa Champ. (MSE) was orally administered to mice in 500, 1000, 2000 mg/kg doses to investigate its anti-fatigue effect in both forced swimming and climbing tests. Glycogen, triglyceride (TG), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatine phosphokinase (CK) levels in plasma which can indicate alterations in energy utilization during exercise performance, were determined to analyze the operating exercise mechanisms.Results: The results showed that swimming time to exhaustion was longer in all treated groups (41.06 ± 1.92, 47.84 ± 1.60, 54.00 ± 2.45 min for 500, 10000 and 2000 mg/kg doses, respectively) than for control (19.45 ± 0.62 min, p < 0.05). The middle and high doses of MSE-treated groups significantly prolonged the climbing time compared with control (p < 0.05). Furthermore, MSE reduced the content of TG significantly by increasing fat utilization, delayed the accumulation of BUN and decreased the level of CK (p < 0.05). In addition, administration of MSE significantly protected the depletion of muscle glycogen when compared with control (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The results show for the first time that Millettia speciosa Champ. (Leguminosae) has significant anti-fatigue activity, and also suggest that it is a potential functional food material.Keywords: Radix millettiae speciosae, Anti-fatigue activity, Exercise performance, Serum urea nitrogen, Gastrocnemius muscle glycogen, Triglyceride, Functional foo

Asian dust-storm activity dominated by Chinese dynasty changes since 2000 BP

The Asian monsoon (AM) played an important role in the dynastic history of China, yet it remains unknown whether AM-mediated shifts in Chinese societies affect earth surface processes to the point of exceeding natural variability. Here, we present a dust storm intensity record dating back to the first unified dynasty of China (the Qin Dynasty, 221–207 B.C.E.). Marked increases in dust storm activity coincided with unified dynasties with large populations during strong AM periods. By contrast, reduced dust storm activity corresponded to decreased population sizes and periods of civil unrest, which was co-eval with a weakened AM. The strengthened AM may have facilitated the development of Chinese civilizations, destabilizing the topsoil and thereby increasing the dust storm frequency. Beginning at least 2000 years ago, human activities might have started to overtake natural climatic variability as the dominant controls of dust storm activity in eastern China

Rapidity and Centrality Dependence of Proton and Anti-proton Production from Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 130GeV

We report on the rapidity and centrality dependence of proton and anti-proton transverse mass distributions from Au+Au collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 130GeV as measured by the STAR experiment at RHIC. Our results are from the rapidity and transverse momentum range of |y|<0.5 and 0.35 <p_t<1.00GeV/c. For both protons and anti-protons, transverse mass distributions become more convex from peripheral to central collisions demonstrating characteristics of collective expansion. The measured rapidity distributions and the mean transverse momenta versus rapidity are flat within |y|<0.5. Comparisons of our data with results from model calculations indicate that in order to obtain a consistent picture of the proton(anti-proton) yields and transverse mass distributions the possibility of pre-hadronic collective expansion may have to be taken into account.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, submitted to PR

High Prevalence and Genetic Diversity of HCV among HIV-1 Infected People from Various High-Risk Groups in China

BACKGROUND: Co-infection with HIV-1 and HCV is a significant global public health problem and a major consideration for anti-HIV-1 treatment. HCV infection among HIV-1 positive people who are eligible for the newly launched nationwide anti-HIV-1 treatment program in China has not been well characterized. METHODOLOGY: A nationwide survey of HIV-1 positive injection drug uses (IDU), former paid blood donors (FBD), and sexually transmitted cases from multiple provinces including the four most affected provinces in China was conducted. HCV prevalence and genetic diversity were determined. We found that IDU and FBD have extremely high rates of HCV infection (97% and 93%, respectively). Surprisingly, people who acquired HIV-1 through sexual contact also had a higher rate of HCV infection (20%) than the general population. HIV-1 subtype and HCV genotypes were amazingly similar among FBD from multiple provinces stretching from Central to Northeast China. However, although patterns of overland trafficking of heroin and distinct HIV-1 subtypes could be detected among IDU, HCV genotypes of IDU were more diverse and exhibited significant regional differences. CONCLUSION: Emerging HIV-1 and HCV co-infection and possible sexual transmission of HCV in China require urgent prevention measures and should be taken into consideration in the nationwide antiretroviral treatment program

Community pharmacists’ knowledge and perspectives of reporting adverse drug reactions in Australia: a cross-sectional survey

Background Under-reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by healthcare professionals is prevalent worldwide. Community pharmacists are the most frequently visited healthcare professional and are well placed to document ADRs as a part of their routine practice. Objective To measure community pharmacists’ knowledge and perspectives towards ADR reporting and their reporting practices. Setting Community pharmacists in the New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. Method A survey tool consisting of 28 items was developed, piloted and validated by a panel of expert reviewers. The final anonymised survey was distributed online to community pharmacists. Exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha were used to measure the validity and reliability of the tool, respectively. Non-parametric statistical tests were used to analyse knowledge, perspectives and ADR reporting practices. Main outcome measures: Knowledge, perceived importance, enablers and barriers to reporting ADRs. Results The survey tool showed acceptable validity and reliability. A total of 232 respondents completed the survey. The median knowledge score was 5 out of 10 (interquartile range, 2). Less than a third of respondents (31.0%) reported sufficient knowledge and training on ADR reporting. Only 35.3% of pharmacists reported at least one ADR in the previous 12 months. Non-reporting pharmacists were more likely to report lack of time as a barrier (P < 0.001), conversely they were more likely to report if the practice was remunerated (P = 0.007). Conclusion Under-reporting of ADRs by community pharmacists is highly prevalent. Initiatives to educate and train them on ADR reporting and simplifying the reporting process may improve reporting practices

Isolation and Characterization of Maize PMP3 Genes Involved in Salt Stress Tolerance

Plasma membrane protein 3 (PMP3), a class of small hydrophobic polypeptides with high sequence similarity, is responsible for salt, drought, cold, and abscisic acid. These small hydrophobic ploypeptides play important roles in maintenance of ion homeostasis. In this study, eight ZmPMP3 genes were cloned from maize and responsive to salt, drought, cold and abscisic acid. The eight ZmPMP3s were membrane proteins and their sequences in trans-membrane regions were highly conserved. Phylogenetic analysis showed that they were categorized into three groups. All members of group II were responsive to ABA. Functional complementation showed that with the exception of ZmPMP3-6, all were capable of maintaining membrane potential, which in turn allows for regulation of intracellular ion homeostasis. This process was independent of the presence of Ca2+. Lastly, over-expression of ZmPMP3-1 enhanced growth of transgenic Arabidopsis under salt condition. Through expression analysis of deduced downstream genes in transgenic plants, expression levels of three ion transporter genes and four important antioxidant genes in ROS scavenging system were increased significantly in transgenic plants during salt stress. This tolerance was likely achieved through diminishing oxidative stress due to the possibility of ZmPMP3-1's involvement in regulation of ion homeostasis, and suggests that the modulation of these conserved small hydrophobic polypeptides could be an effective way to improve salt tolerance in plants

Cytosporone B is an agonist for nuclear orphan receptor Nur77

Nuclear orphan receptor Nur77 has important roles in many biological processes. However, a physiological ligand for Nur77 has not been identified. Here, we report that the octaketide cytosporone B (Csn-B) is a naturally occurring agonist for Nur77. Csn-B specifically binds to the ligand-binding domain of Nur77 and stimulates Nur77-dependent transactivational activity towards target genes including Nr4a1 (Nur77) itself, which contains multiple consensus response elements allowing positive autoregulation in a Csn-B-dependent manner. Csn-B also elevates blood glucose levels in fasting C57 mice, an effect that is accompanied by induction of multiple genes involved in gluconeogenesis. These biological effects were not observed in Nur77-null (Nr4a1(-/-)) mice, which indicates that Csn-B regulates gluconeogenesis through Nur77. Moreover, Csn-B induced apoptosis and retarded xenograft tumor growth by inducing Nur77 expression, translocating Nur77 to mitochondria to cause cytochrome c release. Thus, Csn-B may represent a promising therapeutic drug for cancers and hypoglycemia, and it may also be useful as a reagent to increase understanding of Nur77 biological function.National Natural Science Fund of China Ministry of Science and Technology Ministry of Educatio

The Naturally Occurring YMDD Mutation among Patients Chronically Infected HBV and Untreated with Lamivudine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Several recent reports have demonstrated that tyrosine (Y)-methionine (M)-aspartic acid (D)-aspartic acid (D) (YMDD) motif mutations can naturally occur in chronic HBV patients without antiviral treatment such as lamivudine therapy. This paper aims to assess the overall spontaneous incidence and related risk factors of YMDD-motif mutations among lamivudine-naïve chronic HBV carriers, so as to provide some clue for clinical treatment of hepatitis B. Methodology/Principal Findings: Chinese and English literatures were searched for studies reporting natural YMDD mutations among untreated chronic HBV patients from 2001 to 2010. The incidence estimates were summarized and analyzed by meta-analyses. Forty-seven eligible articles from eight countries were selected in this review (13 in English and 34 in Chinese). The pooled incidence of YMDD-motif mutation among untreated chronic HBV patients from eight countries was 12.21 % (95 % CI: 9.69%–14.95%). China had an incidence of 13.38 % (95 % CI: 10.90%–16.07%) and seven other countries had an incidence of 9.90 % (95 % CI: 3.28%–19.55%), respectively. Lamivudine therapy would increase the risk of mutations 5.23 times higher than the untreated patients. A higher HBV DNA copy number was associated with increased incidence of natural YMDD mutation. No significant difference was found in YMDD mutation incidence between groups of different gender, age, HBeAg status, patients ’ ALT (alanine aminotransferase) level, and between the groups of HBV genotype B and C. Conclusions: The YMDD-motif mutations can occur spontaneously with a relatively high incidence in CHB patient