Inflammatory damage plays an important role in cerebral ischemic pathogenesis and represents a new target for treatment of stroke. Berberine is a natural medicine with multiple beneficial biological ...activities. In this study, we explored the mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective action of berberine in mice subjected transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). Male mice were administered berberine (25, 50 mg/kg/d, intragastric; i.g.), glycyrrhizin (50 mg/kg/d, intraperitoneal), or berberine (50 mg/kg/d, i.g.) plus glycyrrhizin (50 mg/kg/d, intraperitoneal) for 14 consecutive days before tMCAO. The neurological deficit scores were evaluated at 24 h after tMCAO, and then the mice were killed to obtain the brain samples. We showed that pretreatment with berberine dose-dependently decreased the infarct size, neurological deficits, hispathological changes, brain edema, and inflammatory mediators in serum and ischemic cortical tissue. We revealed that pretreatment with berberine significantly enhanced uptake of
F-fluorodeoxyglucose of ischemic hemisphere comparing with the vehicle group at 24 h after stroke. Furthermore, pretreatment with berberine dose-dependently suppressed the nuclear-to cytosolic translocation of high-mobility group box1 (HMGB1) protein, the cytosolic-to nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and decreased the expression of TLR4 in ischemic cortical tissue. Moreover, co-administration of glycyrrhizin and berberine exerted more potent suppression on the HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB pathway than berberine or glycyrrhizin administered alone. These results demonstrate that berberine protects the brain from ischemia-reperfusion injury and the mechanism may rely on its anti-inflammatory effects mediated by suppressing the activation of HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB signaling.
The clinical epidemiological features of cognitive impairment in Chinese older adult patients undergoing hemodialysis are not clear, we aimed to identify the extent and patterns of cognitive ...impairment among those patients. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 613 hemodialysis patients aged 50 to 80 from 11 centers in Beijing. A neuropsychological battery of 11 tests covering domains of attention/processing speed, executive function, memory, language, and visuospatial function was applied, patients were classified as none, mild, or major cognitive impairment according to the fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for cognitive impairment. Compared with Chinese population norms, 37.2% of the participants had mild cognitive impairment, 43.7% had major cognitive impairment. Memory and language were the most severe impaired domains in the mild cognitive impairment group, attention and visuospatial function domains were the most serious impaired domains in the major cognitive impairment group. Concomitant impairment across multiple cognitive domains was common. Factors associated with major cognitive impairment included age, education level, history of stroke and hypertension, dialysis vintage, and single-pool Kt/V. There is a high frequency of cognitive impairment in Chinese older adult hemodialysis patients, with varying severity and concomitant impairment across multiple domains.
Inhibition of
by
has been a popular research topic for decades; however, the inhibition potential of chicken-derived
by chicken-derived
has not yet been studied. In this study, 89 strains of
from ...chicken intestines were isolated by national standard method, Gram staining, physiological, and biochemical experiments and molecular sequencing; The inhibition characteristics of 89 strains of chicken derived
against 10 strains
(
. Enteritidis SE05, SC31, SC21, SC72 SC74, SC79, SC83, SC87;
. bongori SE47;
. Typhimurium, SC85) were detected by agar inhibition zone, The results showed that the inhibition zone of 24 strains of chicken derived Lactobacillus was more than 10 mm, which indicated that the isolated chicken derived
could effectively inhibit the growth of
; The drug resistance and bile salt tolerance of these 24 strains were analyzed, The results showed that the standard strains LG and L76 were not resistant, and the other 22
strains showed different degrees of resistance. The strains LAB24, LAB26, LAB53, LAB69, and L76 showed good tolerance at the concentration of 3 g/L bile salt; Caco-2 cell experiment and flow cytometry were used to analyze the inhibitory effect of chicken derived
on the adhesion of
to Caco-2 cells, The results showed that 16 probiotics could effectively inhibit the adhesion of
to Caco-2 cells. Twelve probiotics were identified by molecular biology. The results showed that L76 was
, and the other 11 strains were
The axially deformed relativistic mean field theory with the effective interaction PK1 has been applied to investigate the contributions of time-odd fields to the ground-state binding energies of 66 ...odd–odd nuclei and 140 odd-A nuclei in O–Ca isotopes. The results show that the ground-state deformation and configuration of 5 nuclei have been changed with considering the time-odd fields. The odd–odd nuclei have two unpaired valence nucleons and corresponding contribution of time-odd fields to binding energies (0.15–0.90 MeV) are larger than of the neighboring odd-A nuclei with only one unpaired valence nucleon (<0.4 MeV), and thus a staggering for this contribution appears in the isotones with odd number of neutrons. In addition, taking Al isotopes as an example, the contributions of time-odd fields to binding energies and corresponding configurations are studied in detail. Moreover, azimuthal components of neutron and proton currents in 22Al, 24Al and 26Al, and the differences between the contributions of time-odd fields to ground-state binding energies of mirror nuclei, as well as the odd–even staggering of binding energies, are also investigated.
The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of 810-nm low-level laser to apoptosis of chondrocyte and related proteins, including caspase-3 and caspase-8, in rabbit surgery-induced model of ...knee osteoarthritis. A total of 24 New Zealand White rabbits were randomly assigned into 3 groups: test group, model group, and normal group. The rabbits in test group and model group received anterior cruciate ligament transection in the right knee. Six weeks after transection, the rabbits in test group were given 10-session 810-nm laser illumination. Eight weeks after transection, all animal were killed. Modified Mankin Score was made for histological assessment. The caspases expressions and chondrocytes apoptosis were tested using the immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assessment, respectively. The modified Mankin Score of test group was significantly lower than model group (
P
< 0.01) and higher than normal group (
P
< 0.01). The caspase-8 expression of test group was lower than model group and higher than normal group, but no significant difference was found (
P
> 0.05). This study revealed that the 810-nm low-level laser can improve cartilage structure, prevent articular cartilage degradation and significantly decrease the expression of caspase-3 in this surgery-induced OA model. Further studies are needed.
To observe the morphology character of the anterior epidural space at the L4–5 disc level and to provide an anatomical basis for safely and accurately performing a percutaneous endoscopic lumbar ...discectomy (PELD). Fifty‐five cases with L5S1 lumbar disc herniation were included in this study, and cases with L4–5 disease were excluded. When the puncture needle reached the epidural space at the L5S1 level, iohexol was injected at the pressure of 50 cm H2O during the PELD, then C‐Arm fluoroscopy was used to obtain standard lumbar frontal and lateral images. The widths of epidural space at the level of the L4 lower endplate, the L5 upper endplate, as well as the middle point of the L4–5 disc were measured from the lumbar lateral X‐ray film. Epidural space at the L4–5 disc plane performs like a trapezium chart with a short side at the head end and a long side at the tail end in the lumbar lateral X‐ray radiograph, while the average widths of epidural space were 10.2 ± 2.5, 12.3 ± 2.3, and 13.8 ± 2.6 mm at the upper, middle, and lower level of the L4–5 disc. Understanding the morphological characteristics of epidural space will contribute to improving the safety of the tranforaminal percutaneous endoscopy technique.
Background On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, a 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan Province, a mountainous region in Western China, killing about 70 000 people and leaving over 18 000 missing. What ...about the survivors motor functions and activities of daily living （ADL） capacity, especially for fractures？ We need the data to guide the rehabilitation for the seismic wounded and it＇ s important to collect the data for the future. We study the survivors to understand the motor functions and ADL capacity of patients with fractures sustained in the Wenchuan earthquake, to provide a basis for rehabilitation and treatment.Methods We used the Manual Muscle Testing method to evaluate muscle strength, the joint angle scale to measure joint range of motion （ROM）, and the Barthel index to evaluate the activities of daily living status. SPSS 13.0 software was used to analyze the data and the results were tested using one-way analysis of variance （ANOVA）.Results The number of seismic wounded amounted to 487; 81.1% of patients had fractures. Most of the injured had fractures in multiple regions （53.9% of all fracture patients）, followed by fractures of the upper limb （34.0% of patients）;cranial fractures were rare （2.3%）. Totally 82.0% had restricted range of motion, 23.5% had decreased muscle force, and 72.2% of the patients had restricted activities of daily living capacities. With time the activities of daily living capacity of female increased （P 〈0.05）, compared with the male fracture patients who did not show any relative improvement （P 〉0.05）. The difference between the patients＇ ages and ADL capacities did not reach statistical significance （P〉0.05）, nor was there a significant difference between their ages and the numbers of days in hospital （P 〉0.05）.Conclusions Fractures were the main issue in the seismic wounded, many of them had reductions in the ROM, muscle force and ADL capacities. The physicians involved in rehabilitation should pay greater attention to muscle force exercises,joint mobilization, and occupational therapy during the early phases post disaster
Salmonella is considered one of the most important foodborne pathogens and is commonly associated with the consumption of eggs, chicken meat, chicken intestines and other animal products. Multidrug ...resistant (MDR) Salmonella strains are highly adaptive and have been responsible for several foodborne disease outbreaks. We investigated the genetic relatedness, antibiotic resistance and virulence genes of 160 strains which were recovered from 920 samples. The samples were collected from the chicken intestines and eggs in their environment, in the wet markets and chicken farm in Jiang Su province of China. Of the total 920 samples analysed, 160 (17.4%) were positive for Salmonella. 61 (61/440) strains were detected in egg samples and 99 (99/480) strains detected in chicken intestine samples. The detection rates of Salmonella were different in different months and at different sampling sites. The resistance of 160 Salmonella strains to 16 antibiotics was detected by the agar disk diffusion method. The isolates from chicken intestines and eggs were more resistant to sulfamethoxazole (SMZ), ceftriaxone (CRO), nalidixic acid (NAL), cefazolin (CFZ), and amoxicillin (AMX). In addition, the strains isolated from eggs were relatively resistant to gentamicin (GEN) and kanamycin (KAN), while the strains isolated from chicken intestines were relatively resistant to ciprofloxacin (CIP) and tetracycline (TET). Salmonella strains isolated from eggs were mostly resistant to 2–5 antibiotics, and eight strains were resistant to six or more antibiotics. Salmonella strains isolated from eggs were mostly resistant to 2–5 antibiotics, and eight strains were resistant to six or more antibiotics. Salmonella isolates from chicken intestines were resistant to 3–7 antibiotics, nine strains were resistant to eight or more antibiotics, and only one strain were resistant to 10 antibiotics. Thirty-four strains of multi-drug-resistant Salmonella were tested for 15 kinds of drug resistance genes and 33 virulence genes by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification. Of these, 10 strains had seven or more drug resistance genes and six of them were found to have more than 20 virulence genes. Finally, 10 strains of highly resistant and pathogenic Salmonella were screened out.
•Salmonella in poultry products is the leading cause of food poisoning in China.•Drug resistance in the isolated strains is linked to their genotype and virulence.•Most (80%) of the isolates in our study were resistant to three or more antibiotics.•Studied isolates were positive for invA, sefA, sipA, and sopE2 virulence genes.•These study results can be used to manage Salmonella-risk in poultry farming.
S. enterica is an important foodborne pathogen worldwide. As some strains can form biofilms which may offer protection against antimicrobials, it is of interest to explore ways to prevent biofilm ...formation by S. enterica. In this study, we engineered a short β-sheet peptide WK2 (WKWKCTKSGCKWKW-NH2) and examined its antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities against various S. enterica strains, including the multidrug-resistant S. Typhimurium DT104. WK2 displayed bacteriostatic activity with a geometric mean (GM) minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 4.17 μg/mL, and bactericidal activity, with a GM lethal concentration (LC) of 7.51 μg/mL. Crystal violet staining and fluorescence measurements demonstrated that WK2 inhibited S. Typhimurium DT104 biofilm formation at 0.5 μg/mL and killed the sessile cells in biofilms at 8 μg/mL. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and microscopic observation revealed that the anti-biofilm activity of WK2 likely arises through the formation of complexes with bacterial DNA, inhibition of surface organelle biosynthesis and interference with autoinducer-2 (AI-2)-mediated quorum sensing (QS). Therefore, WK2 is a promising antimicrobial agent for the prevention and control of biofilms produced by multidrug-resistant S. enterica.
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•A peptide WK2 exerts antimicrobial activity against various Salmonella spp. strains•WK2 inhibits S. Typhimurium DT104 biofilm formation at sub-inhibitory concentrations•WK2 displays antibiofilm action by inhibiting surface organelle biosynthesis•WK2 represses virulence-related gene expression of S. Typhimurium DT104
The aim of this study is to observe the effect of different treatment time of millimeter wave (MMW) on chondrocyte apoptosis, caspase-3, caspase-8, and matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) in rabbit ...knee osteoarthritis induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT). Thirty-two New Zealand White rabbits were randomly assigned into 4 groups: millimeter wave treatment for 20-min group (MWT20); millimeter wave treatment for 40-min group (MWT40); model control group (MC) and normal control group (NC). All groups received anterior cruciate ligament transection in the right knee except NC group. Six weeks after transection, the MWT20 group and MWT40 group were given millimeter wave (MMW) at 37.5 GHz frequency, 8 mm wavelength, and 10 mW/cm
2
power for 20 and 40 min, respectively, for 10 days. Eight weeks after transection, all animals were killed. Modified Mankin Score was assessed for histological assessment. Chondrocytes apoptosis was tested by the TUNEL assessment, and the expressions of related proteins were tested by the immunohistochemistry observation and Western blot. The modified Mankin Score, the chondrocyte apoptosis, and the expression of caspase-3 and MMP-13 in MWT40 group were significantly lower than those in MC group. Only a decreasing trend of modified Mankin Score and caspase-3 and MMP-13 expression was found in MWT20 group. The caspase-8 expression of the treatment groups was lower than model control group and higher than normal control group, but no significant difference was found. This study revealed MWT40 had a better therapeutic benefit to osteoarthritis cartilage structure, decreased the apoptosis of chondrocyte, and caspase-3 and MMP-13 expression compared to MWT20. But only a decreasing trend of caspase-8 expression was found.
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