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

One-step synthesis of high purity silicon carbide powder

Silicon carbide (Sic) powder was synthesized from liquid silicon in one step at the presence of a catalyst bar consisting of silica and carbon. The silicon carbide powders were formed by the carbothermal reaction between liquid silicon and gaseous CO, and the average particle size (D-50) of the as-prepared silicon carbide powder was 0.41 mu m. The powder was characterized by XRD, SEM, particle size analysis and elemental analysis. The mechanism for the formation of the silicon carbide powder was discussed

Compensatory density feedback of Oncomelania hupensis populations in two different environmental settings in China

BACKGROUND: The most recent strategy for schistosomiasis control in the People's Republic of China aims to reduce the likelihood of environmental contamination of schistosome eggs. Despite considerable progress, it is believed that achievements would be further consolidated with additional intermediate host snail control measures. We provide an empirical framework for discerning the relative contribution of intrinsic effects (density feedback) from other extrinsic drivers of snail population dynamics. METHODS: We set up experiments in two study locations to collect reproduction data of Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host snail of Schistosoma japonicum. We applied a set of four population dynamic models that have been widely used to study phenomenological time-series data to examine the properties of demographic density feedback patterns from abundance data. We also contrasted the obtained results with the component feedback of density on survival rate to determine whether adult survival was the principal driver of the demographic feedback observed. RESULTS: Demographic density feedback models (Ricker- and Gompertz-logistic) accounted for <99% of Akaike's information criterion model weight, with the Gompertz ranking highest in all O. hupensis population groups. We found some evidence for stronger compensatory feedback in the O. hupensis population from Sichuan compared to a Jiangsu population. Survival rates revealed strong component feedback, but the log-linear relationships (i.e. Gompertz) had less support in the demographic feedback analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that integrated schistosomiasis control measures must continue to reduce parasite abundance further because intermediate host snail populations tend to grow exponentially at low densities, especially O. hupensis populations in mountainous regions. We conclude that density feedback in adult survival is the principal component contribution to the demographic phenomenon observed in the population fitness (r)-abundance relationship

Diversification of Schistosoma japonicum in Mainland China Revealed by Mitochondrial DNA

Despite the existing threat of schistosomiasis in some rural areas along the Yangtze River, the genetic diversity of Schistosoma japonicum has not been investigated across its wide geographical distribution in China, and such information may provide insight into the disease epidemiology and the development of its control measures. In this study, the adult parasites, obtained through infecting mice with cercariae from snails of the genus Oncomelania collected from a wide range of localities in currently endemic areas of schistosomiasis in the middle and lower (ML) reaches of the Yangtze River, and in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in the upper reaches of the river in southwest (SW) China, were sequenced individually for mitochondrial genes. In general, a relatively high degree of genetic variation was observed in populations in the ML reaches in terms of nucleotide and haplotype diversity, but a low level was observed in populations in the SW. The significant difference in genetic diversity as revealed by F-statistics, and the existence of no shared haplotypes, were observed between populations in the ML reaches and those in the SW, indicating the effect of geographical separation/isolation upon the schistosomes and probably the parasite-snail system in China

A strategy for emergency treatment of Schistosoma japonicum-infested water

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Schistosomiasis japonica, caused by contact with <it>Schistosoma japonicum </it>cercaria-infested water when washing, bathing or production, remains a major public-health concern in China. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of a suspension concentrate of niclosamide (SCN) on killing cercaria of <it>S. japonicum </it>that float on the water surface, and its toxicity to fish, so as to establish an emergency-treatment intervention for rapidly killing cercaria and eliminating water infectivity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At 30 min after spraying 100 mg/L SCN, with niclosamide dosages of 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04 g/m², the water infectivity reduced significantly and no infectivity was found at 60 min after spraying SCN. The surface of static water was sprayed with 100 mg/L SCN, the peak concentration was found at 0 min, and the solution diffused to site with a water depth of 10 cm after 10 min. 30 min later, SCN diffused to the whole water body, and distributed evenly. After spraying 100 mg/L SCN onto the surface of the water with a volume of(3.14 × 20²×50)cm³, with niclosamide dosages of 0.02 g/m², 96 h later, no death of zebra fish was observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>By spraying 100 mg/L SCN, with a niclosamide dosage of 0.02 g/m²onto the surface of <it>S. japonicum</it>-infested water, infectivity of the water can be eliminated after 30-60 min, and there is no evident toxicity to fish. This cercaria-killing method, as an emergency-treatment intervention for infested water, can be applied in those forecasting and early warning systems for schistosomiasis.</p

Observation of a ppb mass threshoud enhancement in \psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p}) decay

The decay channel $\psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p})$ is studied using a sample of $1.06\times 10^8$ $\psi^\prime$ events collected by the BESIII experiment at BEPCII. A strong enhancement at threshold is observed in the $p\bar{p}$ invariant mass spectrum. The enhancement can be fit with an $S$-wave Breit-Wigner resonance function with a resulting peak mass of $M=1861^{+6}_{-13} {\rm (stat)}^{+7}_{-26} {\rm (syst)} {\rm MeV/}c^2$ and a narrow width that is $\Gamma<38 {\rm MeV/}c^2$ at the 90% confidence level. These results are consistent with published BESII results. These mass and width values do not match with those of any known meson resonance.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Chinese Physics

Distinct Genetic Diversity of Oncomelania hupensis, Intermediate Host of Schistosoma japonicum in Mainland China as Revealed by ITS Sequences

The intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum in Asia is the snail Oncomelania hupensis, which can be separated phenotypically into ribbed- and smooth-shelled morphotypes. In China, the typical morphotype is ribbed-shelled, with its distribution restricted to mainland China. Smooth-shelled snails with varix are also distributed in China, which are considered to belong to the same subspecies as the ribbed-shelled snails. In this study we investigate the genetic variation among O. hupensis from different geographical origins using combined complete ITS1 and ITS2 regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Snails including ribbed-shelled and smooth-shelled (but with varix on the shell) from the lake/marshland region of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and smooth-shelled snails from mountainous regions of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, were genetically distinct with no shared haplotypes detected. Furtheremore, the snails from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces were clustered in separate clades in the phylogenetic tree, and three clades were observed for snails from the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The population diversity of O. hupensis in China is thus considered large, and evolutionary relationships in the host-parasite system of O. hupensis-S. japonicum may be of interest for further research

Bayesian Spatio-Temporal Modeling of Schistosoma japonicum Prevalence Data in the Absence of a Diagnostic ‘Gold’ Standard

Schistosomiasis is a serious public health problem in the People's Republic of China and elsewhere, and mapping of risk areas is important for guiding control interventions. Here, a 10-year surveillance database from Dangtu County in the southeastern part of the People's Republic of China was utilized for modeling the spatial and temporal distribution of infections in relation to environmental features and socioeconomic factors. Disease surveillance was done on the basis of a serological test, and we explicitly considered the imperfect sensitivity and specificity of the test when modeling the ‘true’ infection prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum. We then produced a risk map for S. japonicum transmission, which can assist decision making for local control interventions. Our work emphasizes the importance of accounting for the uncertainty in the diagnosis of schistosomiasis, and the potential of predicting the spatial and temporal distribution of the disease when using a Bayesian modeling framework. Our study can therefore serve as a template for future risk profiling of neglected tropical diseases studies, particularly when exploring spatial and temporal disease patterns in relation to environmental and socioeconomic factors, and how to account for the influence of diagnostic uncertainty