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The objective of this experimental study was to examine the effects of the Chinese herbal medicines Patchouli and Elsholtzia on the follicular granulosa cells of hens undergoing heat stress conditions. In the current investigation, hen follicular granulosa cells were isolated from the prehierarchical follicles of layer hens and then cultured in-vitro. The cells were randomly divided into the 6 groups. Following the completion of this study's experiments using different heat stress and medicinal treatments, the cell activities of each group were measured using an MTT method. The levels of the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) were detected using ELISA. The expressions of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) mRNA; cytochrome P450 family 11, subfamily A, member 1 (CYP11A1) mRNA; proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) mRNA; and the follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) were detected using the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reactions. The concentration levels of estrogen and progesterone in the cell supernatant of each group were measured using ELISA. The results showed that cell activity had significantly decreased following the heat stress treatments at 43℃, 44℃, and 45℃ (P < 0.01), respectively. Meanwhile, cell activities observed in Patchouli and Elsholtzia were found to be much better than those of heat stress group (P < 0.05). In addition, the expression levels of HSP70 in the follicular granulosa cells of Patchouli and Elsholtzia groups were lower than those of heat stress group. Patchouli and Elsholtzia can maintain expressions of the receptor at 43℃. This study determined that the estrogen and progesterone in the supernatant fluid of Patchouli and Elsholtzia were higher than those observed in heat stress. Therefore, the results obtained in this study indicated that the Patchouli and Elsholtzia treatments administered prior the heat stress experiments had successfully protected the follicular granulosa cells from heat damages while maintaining the normal secretory functions of the granulosa cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previously, a fungus was isolated from a diseased pigeon group clinically suspected of being infected with Candida. The fungus was subsequently identified as Candida glabrata using morphology, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology testing methods. In the present study, to determine the controlling effects of Chinese herbal medicine for C. glabrata , the bacteriostatic effects of the ethanol extracts Acorus gramineus , Sophora flavescens , Polygonum hydropiper, Cassia obtusifolia, Pulsatilla chinensis , Dandelion, and Cortex phellodendri on C. glabrata in vitro were analyzed. The results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC 80) of Cortex phellodendri was 0.25 μg/μL. Meanwhile, that of S. flavescens was 32 μg/μL; C. obtusifolia was 56 μg/μL; A. gramineus and Polygonum hydropiper was 64 μg/μL; and P. chinensis was 112 μg/μL. However, MIC 80 for Dandelion was undetectable. In addition, improved drug sensitivity tests revealed that colonies had grown after 24 h in the blank group, as well as the Polygonum hydropiper, P. chinensis , Dandelion, and ethanol groups. The colonies first appeared at the 48-hour point in the other drug-sensitive medium of Chinese herbal medicine. However, no colony growth was found in Cortex phellodendri medium, and the formation of the maximum colony diameter in that group was later than the blank group (e.g., 96 h in the blank group and 120 h in the Chinese herbal medicine group). It was observed that only 17 colony-forming units had grown in 125 μg/μL of the S. flavescens medium, which was significantly different from other groups. Also, the final colony diameter was significantly smaller than that of the other experimental groups. Therefore, it was determined that the A. gramineus , S. flavescens , Polygonum hydropiper, Cassia obtusifolia, P. chinensis , and Cortex phellodendri had certain inhibitory effects on the growth of the C. glabrata. Among those, it was observed that the Cortex phellodendri had the strongest inhibitory effects, followed by the S. flavescens. In the future, these Chinese herbal medicines are expected to be used to treat the fungal infections related to C. glabrata in poultry to improve production performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus were derived and identified from the ducks infected with fungi. In order to investigate the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicines against Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus , in vitro antibacterial test and animal infection control test were conducted to study the antibacterial activity of the Chinese medicine mixture which was compatible with Acorus gramineus, Phellodendron chinensis , and Cassia obtusifolia. According to the results, the liver of chickens infected with Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus displayed granulomatous lesions, indicating that the isolation of pathogen from the lungs of sick ducks is also pathogenic to chickens. As suggested by the results of in vitro drug sensitivity test, the mixture 1 MIC 80 was the minimum, the MIC 80 of Aspergillus flavus was 16 μg/μL, and the MIC 80 of Aspergillus fumigatus was 4 μg/μL. In a petri dish of the same concentration, the colony diameter of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus in Mixture 1 was the minimum. Besides, Aspergillus flavus colonies grew when the concentration was 64 μg/μL, and Aspergillus fumigatus colonies grew when the concentration was 4 μg/μL, which suggests the more significant inhibitory effect of Mixture 1 on Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus. According to the results of animal experiments, there was a significantly lower activity level of Glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and Glutamate pyruvic transaminase (GPT) in the protection group and the treatment group than in the bacterial infection group. As indicated by the blood smear results, there were more neutrophils in the infected group than in the prevention group and the treatment group. Thus, it can be seen from that the Mixture 1 produced preventive and therapeutic effects on the chickens infected with Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Enhanced liquid treatment magnifies the difference of fluid flow velocity between borehole and inter-well zones. The flow velocity will influence the relative permeability and change the percolation law in the oil-water two-phase flow. In this study, we conduct three group experiments with different permeability using 15 artificial cores. The unsteady-states measurement method is used to test the relative permeability curve at different velocities. We found that relative permeability would be affected by the testing velocity based on the experimental results. A new relative permeability equation considering flow velocity is established, which indicates that higher oil recovery can be obtained by an early enhanced liquid treatment. There is also a critical velocity with different permeability. If the flow rate (v w) of the enhanced liquid treatment is larger than the critical velocity, the treatment will improve the oil recovery. On the contrary, if the v w of the enhanced liquid treatment is larger than the critical velocity, the treatment will reduce the oil recovery. We summarize the new relative permeability equation and implement it to the numerical simulation model. The new simulator is validated with the three-parallel sand-pack experiment and the actual China offshore oilfield model. The new simulator could predict oil production accurately after enhanced liquid treatment. Highlights • Based on the experimental results, a new dynamic relative permeability expression is established. • This paper put forward an oil-water two-phase numerical simulation method coupled with dynamic relative permeability. • The full implicit difference method is selected to solve the governing equation. • The new simulator is verified by experimental results and the actual oil field data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]