Anti-oxidative Effect of Ligustrazine on Treatment and Prevention of Atherosclerosis

Purpose: To investigate the protective effects of ligustrazine on oxidative stress-induced atherosclerosis.Methods: The indicators related to oxidative stress were determined using commercially available assay kits. MTT assay was used to assess the survival rate of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). HUVECs apoptosis was analyzed using fluorescence staining and flow cytometry. mRNA expression level and activity of caspases 3, 8, and 9 were determined via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and caspase 3, 8, and 9 assay kits.Results: Ligustrazine concentration of < 80 μmol/L had negligible inhibitory effect on HUVECs viability and protected HUVECs against oxygen stress damage by regulating the indicators related to oxidative stress. Flow cytometry results show that ligustrazine ameliorated H2O2-induced apoptosis, while the proportion of cells that stepped into early apoptosis and late apoptosis or necrosis were 52.7 and 0.6 %, respectively, in the H2O2 group, and 38.2 and 1.3 %, respectively, in the ligustrazine group. In addition, ligustrazine attenuated the up-regulation of caspase 3, 8, and 9 mRNA expression levels and activity.Conclusion: Ligustrazine can protect HUVECs against H2O2-induced injuries by regulating the indicators related to oxidative stress and suppressing the overexpression of caspases 3, 8, and 9. The protective mechanism of ligustrazine on H2O2-induced injury in HUVECs may be a caspase-dependent anti-apoptotic mechanism which provide important information for treating and preventing oxidative stress-induced atherosclerosis.Keywords: Ligustrazine, Oxidative stress, Umbilical vein, Endothelial cells, Atherosclerosi

IFN-gamma is associated with risk of Schistosoma japonicum infection in China.

Before the start of the schistosomiasis transmission season, 129 villagers resident on a Schistosoma japonicum-endemic island in Poyang Lake, Jiangxi Province, 64 of whom were stool-positive for S. japonicum eggs by the Kato method and 65 negative, were treated with praziquantel. Forty-five days later the 93 subjects who presented for follow-up were all stool-negative. Blood samples were collected from all 93 individuals. S. japonicum soluble worm antigen (SWAP) and soluble egg antigen (SEA) stimulated IL-4, IL-5 and IFN-gamma production in whole-blood cultures were measured by ELISA. All the subjects were interviewed nine times during the subsequent transmission season to estimate the intensity of their contact with potentially infective snail habitats, and the subjects were all re-screened for S. japonicum by the Kato method at the end of the transmission season. Fourteen subjects were found to be infected at that time. There was some indication that the risk of infection might be associated with gender (with females being at higher risk) and with the intensity of water contact, and there was evidence that levels of SEA-induced IFN-gamma production were associated with reduced risk of infection

Research on the Security of Cold-Chain Logistics

In this paper, the definition of cold-chain logistics and security features are analyzed. Based on overview of China's cold-chain logistics, cold chain, through the status quo at home and abroad contrast, we present some of China's food chain problems. With security control system of thought, and risk management theory, the establishment of a more comprehensive evaluation of cold chain logistics system, through a cold-chain business case analysis, put forward suggestions to solve a few cold-chain logistics security strategy

Capacity Manipulation and Menus of Two Part Tariff Contract in Supply Chain

In a decentralized supply chain, raw material supply uncertainty, phantom orders of downstream firm as well as huge investment sunk costs leads to supplier's production capacity manipulation behavior. A supply chain consisting of a supplier and a retailer who faces a newsvendor problem is considered. The impact of supplier's production capacity manipulation on retailer's purchase decision is discussed. The retailer can adopt a menu of two part tariff contract regarding the terms of trade and capacity. Both supplier and retailer have prior belief about counterpart decision behavior. Then, we construct menus of two part tariff contract offered by the retailer to the supplier who has production capacity manipulation and type dependent reservation profits. Our results show that when capacity difference between type H supplier and type L supplier is higher than a critical threshold, the retailer offers two kinds of optimal menus of two part tariff contract in view of reservation profits difference between the type H supplier and type L supplier, and that both supplier and retailer's prior belief about counterpart decision behavior affect optimal menus of two part tariff contract. Finally, a case study shows our conclusions

Wave-particle Duality and Institutional Arrangement on Division in Supply Chain Cluster

This paper is based on the practice in China, takes the coupling between industrial cluster and supply chain as the new angle using by the modern supply chain theory and industry theory, considering the supply chain cluster as such a organization: "originated but not limited to the enterprise, based on but not localized to the cluster". Based on the physical theory and the wave-particle duality, the supply chain cluster is the special organization whose characteristic has wave-particle duality. There exists sophisticated division of labor between upstream and downstream enterprises in a supply chain cluster, and the cost-benefit computing is the main factor to determine the selection of institutional arrangement on division of labor. By enforcing different vertical relations of supply chain cluster, supply chains and their enterprises can optimize the selection and integration of different institutional arrangement on division of labor. A case study is verified our conclusions

China's Rural Logistics Distribution

Only including agricultural products logistics, agricultural means of production logistics, rural daily consumer goods logistics, as well as rural reverse logistics, it really be considered "rural logistics". This paper analyzes the distribution of agricultural products, and distribution of daily consumer goods, agricultural means of production distribution, rural reverse logistics; states that chain management should be one of its meaning in new rural modern circulation system, and logistics distribution is an effective way to enhance effectiveness of chain, therefore this article attempts to integrate the 4 kinds of logistics to a distribution center. In building a rural distribution network, we should consider the original network, but also should pay attention to the needs of new rural construction

Depression in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes: associations with hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and poor treatment adherence.

BackgroundWe hypothesize that depression in type 2 diabetes might be associated with poor glycemic control, in part due to suboptimal self-care. We tested this hypothesis by examining the associations of depression with clinical and laboratory findings in a multicenter survey of Chinese type 2 diabetic patients.Method2538 patients aged 18-75 years attending hospital-based clinics in four cities in China underwent detailed clinical-psychological-behavioral assessment during a 12-month period between 2011 and 2012. Depression was diagnosed if Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score ≥10. Diabetes self-care and medication adherence were assessed using the Summary of Diabetes Self-care Activities and the 4-item Morisky medication adherence scale respectively.ResultsIn this cross-sectional study (mean age: 56.4 ± 10.5[SD] years, 53% men), 6.1% (n = 155) had depression. After controlling for study sites, patients with depression had higher HbA(1c) (7.9 ± 2.0 vs. 7.7 ± 2.0%, P = 0.008) and were less likely to achieve HbA(1c) goal of <7.0% (36.2% vs 45.6%, P = 0.004) than those without depression. They were more likely to report hypoglycemia and to have fewer days of being adherent to their recommended diet, exercise, foot care and medication. In logistic regression, apart from young age, poor education, long disease duration, tobacco use, high body mass index, use of insulin, depression was independently associated with failure to attain HbA(1c) target (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.56, 95%CI:1.05-2.32, P = 0.028). The association between depression and glycemic control became non-significant after inclusion of adherence to diet, exercise and medication (OR = 1.48, 95% CI 0.99-2.21, P = 0.058).ConclusionDepression in type 2 diabetes was closely associated with hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, which might be partly mediated through poor treatment adherence

An Analysis and Optimization of the Value Chain of Dairy Industry after the Sanlu Event in China

Sanlu melamine milk event shocked the whole world after the Olympic Games successfully closing in Beijing in August 2008 It was reported more than six thousands babies were affected. It was not Sanlu only, but also YiLi, Mengniu and other firms Their products had also been found to contain melamine. The dairy industry of china was trapped in the crisis of confidence At the same time more foreign brands took the opportunity to occupy the market. Sanlu event has brought the industry to an unprecedented crisis So what's the key point of China's dairy industry? How to be out of trouble and obtain a competitive advantage? We tried to build a model based on the industry value chain to analyze and solve the proble

An Analysis on Types and Business Activities of Farmer Middlemen in Strawberry Production-A Case Study

Among all the types of distributors who play different roles in the vegetables and fruits distribution system, fanner middlemen have attracted increasing attention Farmer middlemen, who hold more than 80% of the market in strawberry distribution in Jiande Strawberry Wholesale Market located in Xutang village, have fitlfilled a very Important function in the distribution process The paper takes farmer middlemen in this village as a case study to clarify their types and highlight their function through systematically analyzing their business activities Farmer middlemen's limitations and development tendency are also analyzed in the en

Speed has an effect on multiple-object tracking independently of the number of close encounters between targets and distractors

Multiple-object tracking (MOT) studies have shown that tracking ability declines as object speed increases. However, this might be attributed solely to the increased number of times that target and distractor objects usually pass close to each other (“close encounters”) when speed is increased, resulting in more target–distractor confusions. The present study investigates whether speed itself affects MOT ability by using displays in which the number of close encounters is held constant across speeds. Observers viewed several pairs of disks, and each pair rotated about the pair’s midpoint and, also, about the center of the display at varying speeds. Results showed that even with the number of close encounters held constant across speeds, increased speed impairs tracking performance, and the effect of speed is greater when the number of targets to be tracked is large. Moreover, neither the effect of number of distractors nor the effect of target–distractor distance was dependent on speed, when speed was isolated from the typical concomitant increase in close encounters. These results imply that increased speed does not impair tracking solely by increasing close encounters. Rather, they support the view that speed affects MOT capacity by requiring more attentional resources to track at higher speeds