A SIMPLE METHOD FOR MONITORING SPRINGBOARD REACTION FORCE IN GYMNASTIC VAULTING

This work was to found a new method for measuring the reaction force of springboard (BRF), which provides scientific supports to the diagnosis of take-off technique. The elastic moduli of GYMNOVA soft and hard springboards were derived by method of mechanics of material, then the springboards were tested in static, dynamic experiments and computer simulations. An equation with different coefficients for soft and hard spring boards, which describe force-displacement of the springboard, F=kx+cx was obtained and validated. This equation can be used with convenience by employing a high speed camera shooting to the springboard for rapidly monitoring the take-off BRF, and provide scientific supports in the enhancement of vaulting techniques, and in injury preventions as well

Neuro-Behavioral Status and the Hippocampal Expression of Metabolic Associated Genes in Wild-Type Rat Following a Ketogenic Diet

While a ketogenic diet (KD) is a well-established therapy for medically intractable epilepsy, clinical evidence of relevant adverse events of a KD has also been reported. We asked whether this kind of diet would have deleterious effects on wild-type brain function by evaluating KD-induced biochemical changes in the hippocampus as well as neurobehavioral changes occurring in wild-type rats. Fifty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to three groups on postnatal day 28 (P28): wild-type rats fed with a KD qd (daily for 4 weeks, KD) or qod (every other day for 4 weeks, KOD), and wild-type rats fed with standard normal laboratory diet (ND). Neurobehavioral changes were observed on P35, P42, and P49. The hippocampal mossy fiber sprouting, the expression levels of zinc transporters (ZnTs) and lipid metabolism related genes were detected by Timm staining, RT-qPCR and western blot analysis, respectively, on P58. The KD-treated KOD and KD groups showed a significant delay of negative geotaxis reflex on P35, but not on P42 or P49. In the open field test, daily KD treatment only led to a reduction in exploratory activity and increased grooming times but induced no significant changes in the scores of vertical activity or delay time. KD qod treated rats (KOD) displayed a slight delay in the place navigation test on P35 compared with the KD group. There were no significant differences in Timm staining among the three groups. In parallel with these changes, KD treatment (both KD and KOD) induced significantly downregulated mRNA levels of Apoa1, Pdk4, and upregulated expression of ApoE, ANXN7, and cPLA2 in the hippocampus when compared with the ND group (except in the case of ApoE in the KOD group). Notably, both the mRNA and protein levels of cPLA2 in the KOD rats were significantly downregulated compared with the KD group but still markedly higher than in the ND group. No significant difference was found in ZnTs among the three groups. Our data suggest that early-life KD can provoke minor neurobehavioral effects in particular a delay in negative geotaxis reflex and an increase in grooming activity. The hippocampal lipid metabolism signaling pathway, especially cPLA2, may be the target of the protective effect of KD on long-term brain injury after developmental seizures

Anticancer Effects of Chenopodium ambrosiodes L. Essential Oil on Human Breast Cancer MCF-7 Cells In vitro

Purpose: To investigate the most effective compound of C. ambrosioides essential oil for the induction of cell death in human breast cancer cells (MCF-7), and the mechanism of induction.Methods: MCF-7 cells were treated with essential oil and its two main components, 1-isopropyl-4- methylbenzene and α-terpinene, respectively, for 24 and 48 h in vitro. To determine their cytotoxicity on MCF-7 cells, in vitro cytotoxicity, 3-(4, 5-dimethylthaizol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and live/dead cell fluorescent staining were used. MCF-7 cellular superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) vitality and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were also evaluated.Results: MTT results showed that essential oil and its two main compositions significantly inhibited the growth of MCF-7 cells in 24 h (p < 0.05), which was consistent with the Live/dead cell fluorescent staining results. After 24 h incubation the average inhibition rate is 58.98 % for essential oil, 37.8 % for 1-isopropyl-4-methylbenzene and 32.09 % for α-terpinene. With increase in the concentration of essential oil and the two main components, the relative activity of SOD significantly decreased (p < 0.05), while the relative activity of CAT was gradually increased (p < 0.05), compared with control. MDA relative content significantly increased (p < 0.05) until the concentration was 1.25, 0.21 and 0.17 μg/ml for essential oil , 1-isopropyl-4-methylbenzene and α-terpinene , and thereafter significantly decreased (p < 0.05) , compared to control.Conclusion: The data suggest that the essential oil of C. ambrosioides and its two main components inhibit MCF-7 cell proliferation cell death by inducing oxidative damage. However, the two main components are less effective in their anticancer activity than the essential oilKeywords: Chenopodium ambrosioides L. Essential oil, 1-isopropyl-4-methylbenzene, α-Terpinene, Breast cancer MCF-7 cells, Antitumor activit

Poly[diethyl­enetriammonium [aquadi-μ2-sulfato-sulfatolanthanum(III)]]

In the title compound, {(C4H16N3)[La(SO4)3(H2O)]}n, the La atom adopts an irregular LaO9 coordination geometry, including one bonded water mol­ecule. The three sulfate groups adopt both monodentate and bidentate coordination to the metal ions. Two of the sulfate groups serve as bridges in the (100) and (010) directions, yielding infinite sheets, whereas the third is pendant to one La3+ cation. The protonated organic species inter­acts with the layers by way of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, and O–H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving aqua ligands also occur

An ultra-sensitive and easy-to-use assay for sensing human UGT1A1 activities in biological systems

The human UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1), one of the most essential conjugative enzymes, is responsible for the metabolism and detoxification of bilirubin and other endogenous substances, as well as many different xenobiotic compounds. Deciphering UGT1A1 relevance to human diseases and characterizing the effects of small molecules on the activities of UGT1A1 requires reliable tools for probing the function of this key enzyme in complex biological matrices. Herein, an easy-to-use assay for highly-selective and sensitive monitoring of UGT1A1 activities in various biological matrices, using liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LC-FD), has been developed and validated. The newly developed LC-FD based assay has been confirmed in terms of sensitivity, specificity, precision, quantitative linear range and stability. One of its main advantages is lowering the limits of detection and quantification by about 100-fold in comparison to the previous assay that used the same probe substrate, enabling reliable quantification of lower amounts of active enzyme than any other method. The precision test demonstrated that both intra- and inter-day variations for this assay were less than 5.5%. Furthermore, the newly developed assay has also been successfully used to screen and characterize the regulatory effects of small molecules on the expression level of UGT1A1 in living cells. Overall, an easy-to-use LC-FD based assay has been developed for ultra-sensitive UGT1A1 activities measurements in various biological systems, providing an inexpensive and practical approach for exploring the role of UGT1A1 in human diseases, interactions with xenobiotics, and characterization modulatory effects of small molecules on this conjugative enzyme. (c) 2020 Xi'an Jiaotong University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Increasing incidence of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome could be associated with livestock husbandry in Changchun, Northeastern China

Background: Since the end of the 1990s, the incidence of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) has been increasing dramatically in Changchun, northeastern China. However, it is unknown which, and how, underlying risk factors have been involved in the reemergence of the disease.Methods: Data on HFRS cases at the county scale were collected from 1998 to 2012. Data on livestock husbandry including the numbers of large animals (cattle, horses, donkeys and mules), sheep, and deer, and on climatic and land cover variables were also collected. Epidemiological features, including the spatial, temporal and human patterns of disease were characterized. The potential factors related to spatial heterogeneity and temporal trends were analyzed using standard and time-series Poisson regression analysis, respectively.Results: Annual incidence varied among the 10 counties. Shuangyang County in southeastern Changchun had the highest number of cases (1,525 cases; 35.9% of all cases), but its population only accounted for 5.6% of the total population. Based on seasonal pattern in HFRS incidence, two epidemic phases were identified. One was a single epidemic peak at the end of each year from 1988 to 1997 and the other consisted of dual epidemic peaks at both the end and the beginning of each year from 1998 to the end of the study period. HFRS incidence was higher in males compared to females, and most of the HFRS cases occurred in peasant populations. The results of the Poisson regression analysis indicated that the spatial distribution and the increasing incidence of HFRS were significantly associated with livestock husbandry and climate factors, particularly with deer cultivation.Conclusions: Our results indicate that the re-emergence of HFRS in Changchun has been accompanied by changing seasonal patterns over the past 25 years. Integrated measures focusing on areas related to local livestock husbandry could be helpful for the prevention and control of HFRS

Adenovirus 11p downregulates CD46 early in infection

AbstractAdenovirus 11 prototype (Ad11p), belonging to species B, uses CD46 as an attachment receptor. CD46, a complement regulatory molecule, is expressed on all human nucleated cells. We show here that Ad11p virions downregulate CD46 on the surface of K562 cells as early as 5min p.i. Specific binding to CD46 by the Ad11p fiber knob was required to mediate downregulation. The complement regulatory factors CD55 and CD59 were also reduced to a significant extent as a consequence of Ad11p binding to K562 cells. In contrast, binding of Ad7p did not result in downregulation of CD46 early in infection. Thus, the presumed interaction between Ad7p and CD46 did not have the same consequences as the Ad11p–CD46 interaction, the latter virus (Ad11p) being a promising gene therapy vector candidate. These findings may lead to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of species B adenovirus infections

EFFICACY OF MANUAL ACUPUNCTURE ON FUNCTIONAL DYSPEPSIA: A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIALS

Background: This study aimed to systematically review the randomized controlled trials on the efficacy of applying manual acupuncture to functional dyspepsia (FD) compared with conventional gastrointestinal (GI) tract regulator medications. Methods and Materials: Electronic data bases including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Chinese Scientific Journal database (VIP database), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CKNI), Wan-fang Database and Sino-Med were searched for randomized controlled trials. Utilized data included those published before 30th, Jul. 2016. Manual search on conference abstracts and reference lists was further conducted. Risk of bias evaluation, meta-analysis, sensitivity analysis and all extracted information were performed. Results: A total of 31 RCTs studies including 2571 participants were identified that include 1314 participants in the groups of manual acupuncture and 1257 participants in the control groups. The result demonstrated that manual acupuncture is more effective in the total effective rate than GI tract regulator medications (OR=3.00, 95%CI [2.33,3.87],