Preventive effects of Flos Perariae (Gehua) water extract and its active ingredient puerarin in rodent alcoholism models

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Radix Puerariae </it>is used in Chinese medicine to treat alcohol addiction and intoxication. The present study investigates the effects of <it>Flos puerariae </it>lobatae water extract (FPE) and its active ingredient puerarin on alcoholism using rodent models.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Alcoholic animals were given FPE or puerarin by oral intubation prior or after alcohol treatment. The loss of righting reflex (LORR) assay was used to evaluate sedative/hypnotic effects. Changes of gama-aminobutyric acid type A receptor (GABA_AR) subunits induced by alcohol treatment in hippocampus were measured with western blot. In alcoholic mice, body weight gain was monitored throughout the experiments. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) levels in liver were measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>FPE and puerarin pretreatment significantly prolonged the time of LORR induced by diazepam in acute alcoholic rat. Puerarin increased expression of gama-aminobutyric acid type A receptor alpha1 subunit and decreased expression of alpha4 subunit. In chronic alcoholic mice, puerarin pretreatment significantly increased body weight and liver ADH activity in a dose-dependent manner. Puerarin pretreatment, but not post-treatment, can reverse the changes of gama-aminobutyric acid type A receptor subunit expression and increase ADH activity in alcoholism models.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study demonstrates that FPE and its active ingredient puerarin have preventive effects on alcoholism related disorders.</p

PLA2G6-Associated Neurodegeneration (PLAN): Review of Clinical Phenotypes and Genotypes

Phospholipase A2 group VI (PLA2G6)-associated neurodegeneration (PLAN) includes a series of neurodegenerative diseases that result from the mutations in PLA2G6. PLAN has genetic and clinical heterogeneity, with different mutation sites, mutation types and ethnicities and its clinical phenotype is different. The clinical phenotypes and genotypes of PLAN are closely intertwined and vary widely. PLA2G6 encodes a group of VIA calcium-independent phospholipase A2 proteins (iPLA2β), an enzyme involved in lipid metabolism. According to the age of onset and progressive clinical features, PLAN can be classified into the following subtypes: infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (INAD), atypical neuroaxonal dystrophy (ANAD) and parkinsonian syndrome which contains adult onset dystonia parkinsonism (DP) and autosomal recessive early-onset parkinsonism (AREP). In this review, we present an overview of PLA2G6-associated neurodegeneration in the context of current research

Analyzing a full-duplex cellular system

Abstract—Recent progress in single channel full-duplex (SC-FD) radio design [1]–[4] has attracted the attention of many researchers. A SC-FD transceiver is capable of transmitting and receiving on the same frequency at the same time, which will have a great impact on the design and performance of current wireless networks that are based on half duplex designs. This paper analyzes the effects of adopting SC-FD enabled base stations in a cellular system with legacy mobile stations. We use a multi-cell analytical model based on stochastic geometry to derive the theoretical performance gain of such a system. To validate the performance using a realistic setting, we conduct extensive simulations for a multi-cell OFDMA system. Both sets of results show that a full-duplex design for a cellular system, while not quite doubling system capacity, does greatly increases capacity over traditional cellular systems. Our results show that the uplink, compared with the downlink, is more susceptible to the extra interference caused by using the same frequency in both directions. I

Código de conducta en competiciones deportivas escolares

El 'Código de conducta en competiciones deportivas escolares' es resultado del trabajo de investigación 'Prevención de actitudes intolerantes en las competiciones deportivas escolares' (Exp. 37/2011) realizado por miembros del Equip de Desenvolupament Organitzacional (EDO-EDURISC) de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona y financiado por el Consejo Superior de Deportes. El código de conducta debe servir de instrumento para que escuelas, institutos, clubes, asociaciones y federaciones deportivas puedan gestionar y prevenir de forma más eficaz los conflictos que aparezcan en las actividades que organizanEl 'Codi de conducta en competicions esportives escolars' és el resultat del treball d'investigació 'Prevenció d'actituds intolerants en les competicions esportives escolars' (Exp. 37/2011), realitzat per membres de l'Equip de Desenvolupament Organitzacional (EDO-EDURISC) de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona amb el finançament del Consell Superior d'Esports. El Codi de conducta ha de servir d'eina per a que escoles, instituts, clubs, associacions i federacions esportives puguin gestionar i prevenir més eficaçment els conflictes que apareguin en les activitats que organitzen

Fibered Confocal Microscopy of Bladder Tumors: An ex Vivo Study

Background and Purpose: The inadequacy of white-light cystoscopy to detect flat bladder tumors is well recognized. Great interest exists in developing other imaging technologies to augment or supplant conventional cystoscopy. Fibered confocal microscopy offers the promise of providing in vivo histopathologic information to help distinguish malignant from benign bladder lesions. We report the initial use of this technology to visualize tumors in the human bladder. Materials and Methods: We performed ex vivo fibered confocal imaging of fresh radical cystectomy specimens using the Mauna Kea Technologies Cellvizio system. The findings were compared with results from standard histopathology. Results: The bladders of four patients were imaged using the fibered confocal microscope. Normal and neoplastic urothelium manifested differences in cellular and vascular density. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the feasibility of using fibered confocal microscopy to detect histologic differences between normal and neoplastic urothelium, and establishes a foundation for the use of fiber-based confocal microscopy in clinical studies.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78112/1/end.2008.0524.pd

Extraosseous (extramedullary) plasmacytomas: a clinicopathologic and immunophenotypic study of 32 Chinese cases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Extraosseous plasmacytoma, so called extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) is relatively rare in China. The aim was investigate the clinicopathologic features of EMP and the role of Immunophenotype and genotype detection in diagnosis of EMP.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-two cases of EMP were investigated retrospectively by histopathology, immunophenotype, genotype and survival analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Clinically, the mean age of the patients was 53.4. Most of the patients received no treatment after the diagnosis was established, and the prognosis was relatively poor. Histologically, in 40% of the cases, the neoplastic cells were grade II or III. The neoplastic cells expressed one or more PC associated antigens. The immunophenotype of EMP and inflammation of sinonasal regions with numerous PC infiltrations were compared and showed some difference in expression of CD45, CD27, CD44v6 and Bcl-2 as well. Ig light chain restriction was detected in 87.5% of the cases.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>we described 32 Chinese cases of EMP, compare with that reported in the literature, some differences are presented, including higher percentage of grade II and III cases, clinically inconsistent treatment and management as well as poor outcome of the disease.</p

Subtype distribution of lymphomas in Southwest China: Analysis of 6,382 cases using WHO classification in a single institution

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The subtype distribution of lymphoid neoplasms in Southwest China was analyzed according to WHO classifications. This study aims to analyze subtype distribution of lymphomas in southwest China.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Lymphoid neoplasms diagnosed within 9 years in a single institution in Southwest China were analyzed according to the WHO classification.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From January 2000 to December 2008, a total number of 6,382 patients with lymphoma were established, of which mature B-cell neoplasms accounted for 56%, mature T- and NK-cell neoplasms occupied 26%, and precursor lymphoid neoplasms and Hodgkin lymphomas were 5% and 13%, respectively. Mixed cellularity (76%) was the major subtype of classical Hodgkin lymphoma; and the bimodal age distribution was not observed. The top six subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma were as follows: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa associated lymphoid tissue, follicular lymphoma, precursor lymphoid neoplasms, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma. Extranodal lymphomas comprised about half of all cases, and most frequently involved Waldeyer's ring, gastrointestinal tract, sinonasal region and skin.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The lymphoid neoplasms of Southwest China displayed some epidemiologic features similar to those reported in literature from western and Asian countries, as well as other regions of China, whereas some subtypes showed distinct features. The high frequency of mature T/NK cell neoplasms and extranodal lymphomas, especially for extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, is the most outstanding characteristic of this series.</p

Effect of Rhizobium Symbiosis on Low-Temperature Tolerance and Antioxidant Response in Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

Low temperature-induced stress is a major environmental factor limiting the growth and development of plants. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a legume well known for its tolerance of extreme environments. In this study, we sought to experimentally investigate the role of rhizobium symbiosis in alfalfa’s performance under a low-temperature stress condition. To do this, alfalfa “Ladak+” plants carrying active nodules (AN), inactive nodules (IN), or no nodules (NN) were exposed to an imposed low temperature stress and their survivorship calculated. The antioxidant defense responses, the accumulation of osmotic regulation substances, the cell membrane damage, and the expression of low temperature stress-related genes were determined in both the roots and the shoots of alfalfa plants. We found that more plants with AN survived than those with IN or NN under the same low temperature-stress condition. Greater activity of oxidation protective enzymes was observed in the AN and IN groups, conferring higher tolerance to low temperature in these plants. In addition, rhizobia nodulation also enhanced alfalfa’s ability to tolerate low temperature by altering the expression of regulatory and metabolism-associated genes, which resulted in the accumulation of soluble proteins and sugars in the nodulated plants. Taken together, the findings of this study indicate that rhizobium inoculation offers a practical way to promote the persistence and growth potential of alfalfa “Ladak+” in cold areas

Partial sequencing of the bottle gourd genome reveals markers useful for phylogenetic analysis and breeding

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bottle gourd [<it>Lagenaria siceraria </it>(Mol.) Standl.] is an important cucurbit crop worldwide. Archaeological research indicates that bottle gourd was domesticated more than 10,000 years ago, making it one of the earliest plants cultivated by man. In spite of its widespread importance and long history of cultivation almost nothing has been known about the genome of this species thus far.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report here the partial sequencing of bottle gourd genome using the 454 GS-FLX Titanium sequencing platform. A total of 150,253 sequence reads, which were assembled into 3,994 contigs and 82,522 singletons were generated. The total length of the non-redundant singletons/assemblies is 32 Mb, theoretically covering ~ 10% of the bottle gourd genome. Functional annotation of the sequences revealed a broad range of functional types, covering all the three top-level ontologies. Comparison of the gene sequences between bottle gourd and the model cucurbit cucumber (<it>Cucumis sativus</it>) revealed a 90% sequence similarity on average. Using the sequence information, 4395 microsatellite-containing sequences were identified and 400 SSR markers were developed, of which 94% amplified bands of anticipated sizes. Transferability of these markers to four other cucurbit species showed obvious decline with increasing phylogenetic distance. From analyzing polymorphisms of a subset of 14 SSR markers assayed on 44 representative China bottle gourd varieties/landraces, a principal coordinates (PCo) analysis output and a UPGMA-based dendrogram were constructed. Bottle gourd accessions tended to group by fruit shape rather than geographic origin, although in certain subclades the lines from the same or close origin did tend to cluster.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This work provides an initial basis for genome characterization, gene isolation and comparative genomics analysis in bottle gourd. The SSR markers developed would facilitate marker assisted breeding schemes for efficient introduction of desired traits.</p