Nausea and vomiting are among the most common and distressing side effects of chemotherapy. Additional antiemetic drugs are urgently needed to effectively manage and ameliorate chemotherapy-induced ...nausea and vomiting (CINV). The efficacy of ginger as an antiemetic modality for ameliorating CINV has not been established in previous studies. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of ginger, as an adjuvant drug to standard antiemetic therapy, in ameliorating acute and delayed CINV in patients with lung cancer receiving cisplatin-based regimens. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 140 patients with lung cancer receiving cisplatin-based regimens were enrolled and allocated to receive either ginger root powder or a placebo. Ginger root powder was administered orally (0.5 g, 2 capsules per day, 0.25 g per capsule, every 12 hours) for 5 days beginning on the first day of chemotherapy. The incidence and severity of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting were assessed using the MASCC (Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer) Antiemesis Tool (MAT). Adverse effects and patient adherence were also assessed in this study. No significant difference was observed between the ginger and control groups in the reduction of the incidence and severity of nausea and vomiting (P > .05). No significant difference in adverse events was observed between the 2 groups (P > .05). No study-treatment-related adverse events were observed in this study. As an adjuvant drug to standard antiemetic therapy, ginger had no additional efficacy in ameliorating CINV in patients with lung cancer receiving cisplatin-based regimens.
•Iron Age pottery shapes from Kiwulan, Taiwan, were analyzed using elliptical Fourier analysis.•Statistical tests for the equality of coefficients of variation of shape coefficients were ...applied.•Significant differences in pottery shape were identified between culture contact phases.•Pottery shapes show high standardization after contact with mainland Han Chinese groups.
The emergence of ceramic specialization in past societies is often linked to shifts in the complexity of social structures, because standardized ceramic production can reflect craft specialization and the presence of elite control. Previous work on identifying specialization relies on typological or linear metric analysis. Here we demonstrate how to investigate ceramic standardization by analyzing outlines of ceramic vessels. Outline analysis is useful because, unlike more commonly-used landmark analysis methods, it can effectively quantify shape differences for objects that lack distinctive measurement points needed for landmark analysis. We demonstrate this method using pottery from Kiwulan, a large multi-component Iron Age site (CE 1350–1850) in northeastern Taiwan. To measure ceramic specialization, we quantified pottery standardization by analyzing shape variables with reproducible geometric morphometric methods. We computed coefficients of variation (CVs) for shape coefficients obtained by elliptical Fourier analysis to test for shape standardization. We found significant differences in pottery shape and shape standardization that indicate changes in pottery production resulting from contact with mainland Han Chinese groups in northeastern Taiwan. Our case study, which includes an openly available research compendium of R code, represents an innovative application of outline-based methods in geometric morphometry to answer the anthropological questions of craft specialization.
This study was designed to explore the impact of
polysaccharide (LBP) on inflammation and gut microbiota in mice with allergic asthma. Mice were divided into four groups: control group, OVA ...(ovalbumin) group, Con+LBP group, OVA+LBP group. After 28 days of LBP intervention, mice were euthanized and associated indications were investigated. Histopathological examination demonstrated that LBP reduced lung injury. The results of our current study provide evidence that supplementation with LBP in asthmatic mice decreases
,
,
,
, and
in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Sequencing and analysis of gut microbiota indicated that compared with the OVA group,
and
were increased, but
,
,
, and
were decreased in the OVA+LBP group. We also found that gut microbiota were related to inflammation-related factors. Therefore, we speculate that LBP may improve allergic asthma by altering gut microbiota and inhibiting inflammation in mice.
Echinococcosis is a parasitic zoonotic disease that threatens human health and economic development. In China, 370 counties are endemic for echinococcosis. Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has the most patients ...and people at risk. Therefore, analyzing the societal factors related to susceptibility to the disease is critical for efficient prevention and control of echinococcosis. The demographic characteristics and lifestyle of echinococcosis cases were clustered using K-means cluster analysis to determine the main factors of risk of echinococcosis. Middle-aged and young people as well as those with a low education level and herdsmen are at risk of contracting echinococcosis. Nomadism, domestic and feral dogs in the surrounding environment, and drinking heavily polluted natural surface water are the main behavioral risk factors. The cystic echinococcosis (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) cluster analysis focused on female, middle-aged, and young people, winter settlement and summer nomadism, and domestic and feral dogs in the surrounding environment. There were significant differences in lifestyle between Qinghai-Tibet Plateau cases and non-Qinghai-Tibet-Plateau cases. According to the distribution of cases and CE and AE, this study identified the factors of risk of echinococcosis in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and non-Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Adapted control techniques appropriate for the various epidemic areas should be established to serve as a reference for echinococcosis prevention.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the radiotherapy (RT)-pharmacokinetics (PK) effect of cabozantinib in concurrent or sequential regimens with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) or stereotactic ...body radiation therapy (SBRT). Concurrent and sequential regimens involving RT and cabozantinib were designed. The RT-drug interactions of cabozantinib under RT were confirmed in a free-moving rat model. The drugs were separated on an Agilent ZORBAX SB-phenyl column with a mobile phase consisting of 10 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH
PO
)-methanol solution (27:73,
/
) for cabozantinib. There were no statistically significant differences in the concentration versus time curve of cabozantinib (AUC
) between the control group and the RT
and RT
groups in the concurrent and the sequential regimens. However, compared to those in the control group, the T
, T
and MRT decreased by 72.8% (
= 0.04), 49.0% (
= 0.04) and 48.5% (
= 0.04) with RT
in the concurrent regimen, respectively. Additionally, the T
and MRT decreased by 58.8% (
= 0.01) and 57.8% (
= 0.01) in the concurrent RT
group when compared with the control group, respectively. The biodistribution of cabozantinib in the heart increased by 271.4% (
= 0.04) and 120.0% (
= 0.04) with RT
in the concurrent and sequential regimens compared to the concurrent regimen, respectively. Additionally, the biodistribution of cabozantinib in the heart increased by 107.1% (
= 0.01) with the RT
sequential regimen. Compared to the RT
concurrent regimen, the RT
sequential regimen increased the biodistribution of cabozantinib in the heart (81.3%,
= 0.02), liver (110.5%,
= 0.02), lung (125%,
= 0.004) and kidneys (87.5%,
= 0.048). No cabozantinib was detected in the brain in any of the groups. The AUC of cabozantinib is not modulated by irradiation and is not affected by treatment strategies. However, the biodistribution of cabozantinib in the heart is modulated by off-target irradiation and SBRT doses simultaneously. The impact of the biodistribution of cabozantinib with RT
is more significant with the sequential regimen than with the concurrent regimen.
Semen Ziziphi spinosae and Radix Polygalae, two herbs commonly used together in Traditional Chinese Medicine for the treatment of insomnia and anxiety. The study aims to study the sedative-hypnotic ...effect of the active components of the herbal pair, the possible mechanisms of such effect, and related metabolic pathways in vivo.
The sedative and hypnotic effect of the active components (EI30) of the herbal pair was studied by recording influence on the proportion of sleeping within 30 min, sleep latency and sleep length of pentobarbital sodium-induced sleeping on mice. Possible mechanisms of the sedative-hypnotic effect of the active components were investigated by measuring the content of neurotransmitters in the total protein of mice brain tissue. The main chemical compounds of the herbal pair were identified by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS). Serum samples of mice were studied, and related differential metabolites between the normal group and model group, and between model group and treatment group were identified by Gas Chromatography Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS), Principal Components Analysis (PCA), and Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structures Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA).
Compared with the control group, high dose EI30 group and the Clonazepam group were with significantly higher proportions of sleep within 30 min (P = 0.027 and 0.005 respectively). Compared with the control group, all of the high, medium and low dose of EI30 groups were with significantly shorter sleep latency (P < 0.01) and prolonged sleeping time (P < 0.01). The herbal pair has good sedative-hypnotic effects, although it is weaker than the effect of Clonazepam. The sedative-hypnotic effect of EI30 is possibly related to the adjustment of neurotransmitters 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE), and dopamine (DA) in the total protein of mice brain tissue. There are five metabolic pathways in vivo most related to the sedative-hypnotic effect of EI30, and they are biosynthesis of valine, leucine, and isoleucine, metabolism of glyceride, metabolism of alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid, metabolism of phenylalanine, and metabolism of cysteine and methionine.
This study reveals the mechanisms of sedative and hypnotic effects of herbal pair Semen Ziziphi spinosae and Radix Polygalae by using metabolomics methods. This study provides a basis for further development and utilization of this herbal pair.
In the present study, the microbial community and functional gene composition of a long-term active alkane-degrading methanogenic culture was established after two successive enrichment culture ...transfers and incubated for a total period of 1750 days. Molecular analysis was conducted after the second transfer (incubated for 750 days) for both the active alkanes-degrading methanogenic enrichment cultures (T2-AE) and the background control (T2-BC). A net increase of methane as the end product was detected in the headspace of the enrichment cultures amended with long-chain
-alkanes and intermediate metabolites, including octadecanoate, hexadecanoate, isocaprylate, butyrate, isobutyrate, propionate, acetate, and formate were measured in the liquid cultures. The composition of microbial community shifted through the successive transfers over time of incubation. Sequences of bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene (16S rDNA) and
functional gene indicated that bacterial sequences affiliated to
spp. and
and archaeal sequences falling within the genus
were the most frequently encountered and thus represented the dominant members performing the anaerobic degradation of long-chain
-alkanes and methanogenesis. In addition, the presence of
functional genes encoding the alkylsuccinate synthase α subunit indicated that fumarate addition mechanism could be considered as a possible initial activation step of
-alkanes in the present study. The succession pattern of microbial communities indicates that
spp. could be a generalist participating in the metabolism of intermediates, while
plays a key role in the initial activation of long-chain
-alkane biodegradation.
Direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) has been recognized as an alternative to interspecies H2 transfer as a mechanism for syntrophic growth, but previous studies on DIET with defined ...co-cultures have only documented DIET with ethanol as the electron donor in the absence of conductive materials. Co-cultures of Geobacter metallireducens and Geobacter sulfurreducens metabolized propanol, butanol, propionate, and butyrate with the reduction of fumarate to succinate. G. metallireducens utilized each of these substrates whereas only electrons available from DIET supported G. sulfurreducens respiration. A co-culture of G. metallireducens and a strain of G. sulfurreducens that could not metabolize acetate oxidized acetate with fumarate as the electron acceptor, demonstrating that acetate can also be syntrophically metabolized via DIET. A co-culture of G. metallireducens and Methanosaeta harundinacea previously shown to syntrophically convert ethanol to methane via DIET metabolized propanol or butanol as the sole electron donor, but not propionate or butyrate. The stoichiometric accumulation of propionate or butyrate in the propanol- or butanol-fed cultures demonstrated that M. harundinaceae could conserve energy to support growth solely from electrons derived from DIET. Co-cultures of G. metallireducens and Methanosarcina barkeri could also incompletely metabolize propanol and butanol and did not metabolize propionate or butyrate as sole electron donors. These results expand the range of substrates that are known to be syntrophically metabolized through DIET, but suggest that claims of propionate and butyrate metabolism via DIET in mixed microbial communities warrant further validation.
Previous studies of acetate-promoted bioremediation of uranium-contaminated aquifers focused on Geobacter because no other microorganisms that can couple the oxidation of acetate with U(VI) reduction ...had been detected in situ. Monitoring the levels of methyl CoM reductase subunit A (mcrA) transcripts during an acetate-injection field experiment demonstrated that acetoclastic methanogens from the genus Methanosarcina were enriched after 40 days of acetate amendment. The increased abundance of Methanosarcina corresponded with an accumulation of methane in the groundwater. In order to determine whether Methanosarcina species could be participating in U(VI) reduction in the subsurface, cell suspensions of Methanosarcina barkeri were incubated in the presence of U(VI) with acetate provided as the electron donor. U(VI) was reduced by metabolically active M. barkeri cells; however, no U(VI) reduction was observed in inactive controls. These results demonstrate that Methanosarcina species could play an important role in the long-term bioremediation of uranium-contaminated aquifers after depletion of Fe(III) oxides limits the growth of Geobacter species. The results also suggest that Methanosarcina have the potential to influence uranium geochemistry in a diversity of anaerobic sedimentary environments.
DNA barcoding is expected to be one of the most promising tools in biological taxonomy. However, there have been no agreements on which core barcode should be used in plants, especially in ...species-rich genera with wide geographical distributions. To evaluate their discriminatory power in large genera, four of the most widely used DNA barcodes, including three plastid regions (matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA) and nuclear internal transcribed spacer (nrITS), were tested in seven species-rich genera (Ficus, Pedicularis, Rhodiola, Rhododendron,Viburnum, Dendrobium and Lysimachia) and a moderate size genus, Codonopsis. All of the sequences from the aforementioned seven large genera were downloaded from NCBI. The related barcodes for Codonopsis were newly generated in this study. Genetics distances, DNA barcoding gaps and phylogenetic trees of the four single barcodes and their combinations were calculated and compared in the seven genera. As for single barcode, nrITS has the most variable sites, the clearest intra- and inter-specific divergences and the highest discrimination rates in the seven genera. Among the combinations of barcodes, ITS+matK performed better than all the single barcodes in most cases and even the three- and four-loci combinations in the seven genera. Therefore, we recommend ITS+matK as the core barcodes for large plant genera.
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