Research progress in the detection of trace heavy metal ions in food samples

Food safety is the basis for ensuring human survival and development. The threat of heavy metal ions to food safety has become a social concern with the rapid growth of the economy and the accompanying environmental pollution. Some heavy metal ions are highly toxic even at trace levels and pose significant health risks to humans. Therefore, ultrasensitive detection of heavy metal ions in food samples is important. In this mini-review, recent advances in the analytical methods based on nanomaterials for detecting trace heavy metal ions in food samples are summarized in three categories: electrochemical, colorimetric, and fluorescent methods. We present the features and sensing mechanisms of these three methods, along with typical examples to illustrate their application in the detection of heavy metal ions in foods. This mini-review ends with a discussion of current challenges and future prospects of these approaches for sensing heavy metal ions. The review will help readers understand the principles of these methods, thereby promoting the development of new analytical methods for the detection of heavy metal ions in food samples

EFFECT OF CHINESE MEDICAL HERBS- BURN LINIMENT ON DEEP SECOND DEGREE BURN IN RATS

Background: Burn Liniment (BL) is a popular traditional Chinese medicine formula consisting five herbal medicines (Flos Lonicerae, Rhizoma Polygoni Cuspidati, Pericarpium Granati,Terminalia chebula Retz. and Galla Chinensis), that has been used in China for centuries to cure burn. This study investigated the healing effect of BL on deep second degree burn wounds in rats. Materials and methods: The animals were divided into four groups including control group, model group,1% silver sulfadiazine (SSD) group and BL group. On days 0,3,7,14 and 21,animal weight, wound area as well as histo-pathological observations of the skin were evaluated in different groups. Serum anti-intercellular adhesion molecule 1(ICAM-1), IL-10 levels and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were measured on the 21st day. HPLC chromatography of BL was prepared and concentrations of active constituents were determined. Antibacterial test and toxicological test were also performed. Results: The average wound area of BL treatment group was also significantly smaller than model control rats on days 14 and 21. Serum anti-intercellular adhesion molecule 1(ICAM-1) levels and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity of BL group decreased significantly than in model rats on day 21 while IL-10 level of BL group increased remarkably than in model rats on the 21st day, showing that BL has strong anti-inflammatory activity on burned rats. The histological studies indicated that inflammatory cells disappeared significantly and were replaced by new granulation tissue, and epithelialization progressed quickly and was treated with BL on the 21st day. Meanwhile, HPLC chromatography of BL was prepared and concentration of Chlorogenic acid, Polydatin and Gallic acid from BL were determined. Antibacterial test revealed that the MIC of BL on Staphyloccocus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli were 1.56, 6.25 and 1.56 mg•mL-1 respectively. Toxicological test showed that BL does not induce skin irritation or sensitivity signs and has no acute toxicity reaction. Conclusions: Our study revealed that BL could enhance cutaneous burn wound healing effectively. It also showed strong anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activity in rats

Traditional Chinese medicine for smoking cessation: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) may have special advantages in facilitating smoking cessation, but consensus on effectiveness is lacking. We aim to comprehensively review, update, and refine current evidence on TCM effectiveness and safety. Nine databases were searched from their inception up to 28 February 2023. Systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analysis of TCM for smoking cessation were identified and retrieved. Additional databases and hand searches of RCTs from included SRs were performed for data pooling. Cochrane ROB tools and AMSTAR-2 were used to evaluate the methodological quality of RCTs and SRs, respectively. RCT data are presented as relative risks (RR) or mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using RevMan 5.4. Thirteen SRs involving 265 studies with 33081 participants were included. Among these 265 studies, 157 were duplicates (58.36%) and 52 were non-RCTs (19.62%). Combined with the remaining 56 RCTs identified through hand searches, 88 RCTs involving 12434 participants were finally included for data synthesis. All the SRs focused on acupoint stimulation, and the majority were of low or very low quality. The methodological quality of RCTs was either unclear or high risk. For continuous abstinence rate, TCM external interventions were better than placebo in 6 months to 1 year (RR=1.60; 95% CI: 1.14-2.25; I =27%; n=5533 participants). Compared with placebo, TCM external application was effective in reducing nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and the effect was gradually stable and obvious in the fourth week (MD= -4.46; 95% CI: -5.43 - -3.49; n=165 participants). Twelve RCTs reported adverse events as outcome indicators for safety evaluation, and no serious adverse events occurred. Despite the methodological limitations of the original studies, our review suggests that TCM intervention shows potential effectiveness on the continuous abstinence rate. Extending the intervention time can enhance the effect of TCM on nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Referred to adverse events, more data for safety evaluation are required. [Abstract copyright: © 2023 Lu CL. et al.

Ticagrelor reduces doxorubicin-induced pyroptosis of rat cardiomyocytes by targeting GSK-3β/caspase-1

Doxorubicin (Dox) is a widely used clinical drug whose cardiotoxicity cannot be ignored. Pyroptosis (inflammatory cell death) has gradually gained attention in the context of Dox-induced cardiotoxicity. In addition to the inhibition of platelet activation by ticagrelor, little is known about its other pharmacological effects. Glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) has been shown to contribute to the pathological process of pyroptosis, but whether it is related to the potential role of ticagrelor is unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of ticagrelor on Dox-induced pyroptosis in cardiomyocytes. Rats were treated with ticagrelor (7.5 mg/kg, i.g.) 1 h before intravenous injection of Dox (2.5 mg/kg), once every 3 days, six times in total. Hearts were collected for histochemical analysis and western blot detection 8 weeks after the last administration. Ticagrelor was shown to significantly improve cardiac function by inhibiting GSK-3β/caspase-1/GSDMD activation. In vitro experiments were conducted using rat cardiac myocytes (RCMs) and rat embryonic cardiac-derived H9c2 cells. Pretreatment with ticagrelor (10 μm) significantly inhibited Dox (1 μm)-induced hypertrophy and reversed the upregulation of GSDMD-NT expression. We showed that ticagrelor suppressed the activation of Akt caused by Dox in the heart tissue as well as in RCMs/H9c2 cells caused by Dox. When GSK-3β expression was absent in H9c2 cells, the inhibitory effect of ticagrelor on Dox-induced caspase-1/GSDMD activation was weakened. These data showed that ticagrelor reduced Dox-induced pyroptosis in rat cardiomyocytes by targeting GSK-3β/caspase-1

Molecular Cloning of the Genes Encoding the PR55/Bβ/δ Regulatory Subunits for PP-2A and Analysis of Their Functions in Regulating Development of Goldfish, Carassius auratus

The protein phosphatase-2A (PP-2A), one of the major phosphatases in eukaryotes, is a heterotrimer, consisting of a scaffold A subunit, a catalytic C subunit and a regulatory B subunit. Previous studies have shown that besides regulating specific PP-2A activity, various B subunits encoded by more than 16 different genes, may have other functions. To explore the possible roles of the regulatory subunits of PP-2A in vertebrate development, we have cloned the PR55/B family regulatory subunits: β and δ, analyzed their tissue specific and developmental expression patterns in Goldfish ( Carassius auratus). Our results revealed that the full-length cDNA for PR55/Bβ consists of 1940 bp with an open reading frame of 1332 nucleotides coding for a deduced protein of 443 amino acids. The full length PR55/Bδ cDNA is 2163 bp containing an open reading frame of 1347 nucleotides encoding a deduced protein of 448 amino acids. The two isoforms of PR55/B display high levels of sequence identity with their counterparts in other species. The PR55/Bβ mRNA and protein are detected in brain and heart. In contrast, the PR55/Bδ is expressed in all 9 tissues examined at both mRNA and protein levels. During development of goldfish, the mRNAs for PR55/Bβ and PR55/Bδ show distinct patterns. At the protein level, PR55/Bδ is expressed at all developmental stages examined, suggesting its important role in regulating goldfish development. Expression of the PR55/Bδ anti-sense RNA leads to significant downregulation of PR55/Bδ proteins and caused severe abnormality in goldfish trunk and eye development. Together, our results suggested that PR55/Bδ plays an important role in governing normal trunk and eye formation during goldfish development

Design & Optimization of the HV divider for JUNO 20-inch PMT

The Jiangmen Underground Observatory (JUNO) is a 20-kton liquid scintillator detector that employs 20,000 20-inch photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) as photon sensors, with 5,000 dynode-PMTs from HAMAMATSU Photonics K.K. (HPK), and 15,000 MCP-PMTs from North Night Vision Technology (NNVT) installed in pure water. JUNO aims to provide long-lasting and the best performance operation by utilizing a high-transparency liquid scintillator, high detection efficiency PMTs, and specially designed electronics including water-proof potting for the high voltage (HV) dividers of PMTs. In this paper, we present a summary of the design and optimization of HV dividers for both types of 20-inch PMTs, which includes collection efficiency, charge resolution, HV divider current, pulse shape, and maximum amplitude restriction. We have developed and finalized four schemes of the HV divider for different scenarios, including the final version selected by JUNO. All 20,000 20-inch PMTs have successfully undergone production and burning tests.Comment: 14pages,28figure

A new perspective on prostate cancer treatment: the interplay between cellular senescence and treatment resistance

The emergence of resistance to prostate cancer (PCa) treatment, particularly to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), has posed a significant challenge in the field of PCa management. Among the therapeutic options for PCa, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy are commonly used modalities. However, these therapeutic approaches, while inducing apoptosis in tumor cells, may also trigger stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS). Cellular senescence, an entropy-driven transition from an ordered to a disordered state, ultimately leading to cell growth arrest, exhibits a dual role in PCa treatment. On one hand, senescent tumor cells may withdraw from the cell cycle, thereby reducing tumor growth rate and exerting a positive effect on treatment. On the other hand, senescent tumor cells may secrete a plethora of cytokines, growth factors and proteases that can affect neighboring tumor cells, thereby exerting a negative impact on treatment. This review explores how radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy trigger SIPS and the nuanced impact of senescent tumor cells on PCa treatment. Additionally, we aim to identify novel therapeutic strategies to overcome resistance in PCa treatment, thereby enhancing patient outcomes