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Date palm is a useful traditional medicinal plant that is mainly popular for its fruit as the edible portion of the plant. Nowadays, date palm is considered a reliable source of herbal medicine for the management of several diseases. Date palm has been acknowledged for its beneficial properties, such as hepatoprotective, antihyperlipidemic, and antioxidant activities. However, there is a dearth of research exploring the advantages and in vivo mechanisms of date fruit and its by-products, particularly date vinegar. Regarding this, the aim of the current review study was to highlight the role of the phytochemical composition of date fruit and its vinegar in the treatment of various diseases in both acute and chronic conditions, as well as exploring their in vivo mechanisms and nutritional value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Pomegranate peel polyphenols (PPPs) have anti-oxidation, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-obesity effects, and so on. However, few studies have been conducted on the absorption and transformation of pomegranate polyphenols in the gut and the biologically active forms that ultimately work in the body. 2. In this study, PPPs (300 mg/kg/day) was given to normal rats and relatively sterile rats by gavage respectively. The relatively sterile rats were obtained by neomycin sulphate (250 mg/kg/day) gavage to rats. The purpose of this study is to elaborate on the relationship between intestinal flora and polyphenol metabolism of pomegranate peel and to quantitatively analyse the transformation process of its metabolite urolithin in rats. 3. The results showed that decreased bacterial diversity could significantly reduce the abundance of PPPs metabolites in faeces and urine in relatively sterile rats. PPPs can regulate intestinal flora structure, significantly enhance the content of Clostrida Firmicutes (P < 0.05), and effectively promote acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, iso-butyric acid and valeric acid production in the rat (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01 or P < 0.001). PPPs can significantly elevate the relative proportion of Ruminococcaceae (P < 0.05). Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014 and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 can promote the metabolic transformation of PPPs and make the utilisation of Urolithin A more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debregeasia orientalis, an important Chinese medicinal herb, has a long history for the treatment of rheumatic diseases. In this study, the antitumour activities of D. orientalis leaf polyphenols (DOLPs) against human cervical cancer Hela cells were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Hela cell proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis were investigated, the results revealed that DOLPs could inhibit Hela cell proliferation by blocking cell-cycle progression, inducing apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest. Moreover, Hela cells treated with DOLPs also showed an overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and a decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential. These results suggesting that the apoptotic effect of DOLPs on Hela cells was associated with an increased level of ROS and ROS production mediate apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway. This article not only provides a basis for the functional mechanism and future application of DOLPs, but also promotes the high value utilization of D. orientalis leaf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microglial activation-induced neuroinflammation is closely associated with the development of Parkinson disease (PD). Macroautophagy/autophagy regulates many biological processes, but the role of autophagy in microglial activation during PD development remains largely unclear. In this study, we showed that deletion of microglial Atg5 caused PD-like symptoms in mice, characterized by impairment in motor coordination and cognitive learning, loss of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) neurons, enhancement of neuroinflammation and reduction in dopamine levels in the striatum. Mechanistically, we found that inhibition of autophagy led to NLRP3 (NLR family pyrin domain containing 3) inflammasome activation via PDE10A (phosphodiesterase 10A)–cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling in microglia, and the sequential upregulation of downstream IL1B/IL-1β in turn increased the expression of MIF (macrophage migration inhibitory factor [glycosylation-inhibiting factor]), a pro-inflammatory cytokine. Inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation by administration of MCC950, a specific inhibitor for NLRP3, decreased MIF expression and neuroinflammatory levels, and rescued the loss of TH neurons in the substantial nigra (SN). Interestingly, we found that serum MIF levels in PD patients were significantly elevated. Taken together, our results reveal an important role of autophagy in microglial activation-driven PD-like symptoms, thus providing potential targets for the clinical treatment of PD. Abbreviations: ATG: autophagy related; cAMP: cyclic adenosine monophosphate; cKO: conditional knockout; NOS2/INOS: nitric oxide synthase 2, inducible; IL1B: interleukin 1 beta; ITGAM/CD-11b: integrin alpha M/cluster of differentiation molecule 11B; MAP1LC3: microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3; MIF: macrophage migration inhibitory factor (glycosylation-inhibiting factor); NLRP3: NLR family pyrin domain containing 3; PBS: phosphate-buffered saline; PD: parkinson disease; PDE10A: phosphodiesterase 10A; SN: substantial nigra; TH: tyrosine hydroxylase; TNF: tumor necrosis factor; WT: wild type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pomegranate peel polyphenols (PPPs) extracts presented anti-proliferation and apoptosis-inducing effects in human HepG2 hepatoma cells in our previous studies. This study aimed to investigate the differential anticancer effects of main PPPs components punicalagin (PC) and ellagic acid (EA) on HepG2 cells and their possible action mechanisms. Cell proliferation, morphology, cell cycle and apoptosis were investigated, and the results revealed that PC and EA mediated the cell-cycle arrest at the S-phase and G0/G1-phase and dose-dependently led to apoptosis in HepG2 cells. In addition, apoptosis-related protein activities and the reactive oxygen species levels showed that the activation of apoptosis-related proteins and the elevation of intracellular H2O2 production were aroused. It revealed that both PC and EA could inhibit cell growth and led to apoptosis in HepG2 cells, and PC was more effective than EA. Furthermore, one of the important apoptosis-inducing mechanisms is the participation of them in the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Quizartinib absorption, metabolism and excretion were characterized in six healthy men receiving a single oral dose of 60 mg (≈100 μCi) of [14C]-quizartinib. Blood, plasma, urine and faeces were collected ≤336 h postdose. 2. Four hours postdose, maximum mean ± SD blood radioactivity concentrations were 296 ± 67.4 ng equivalents/g. A mean ± SD of 1.64 ± 0.482% and 76.3 ± 6.23% of the dose was recovered in urine and faeces, respectively, within 336 h postdose. 3. Radio-detector high-performance liquid chromatography (radio-HPLC) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) showed two main radioactive peaks in plasma, unchanged quizartinib and mono-oxidative metabolite, AC886. Five additional metabolites in plasma were identified by LC–MS, but low levels prevented radio-HPLC detection. Although unchanged quizartinib was the main radioactive component in faeces (mean, 4.0% of administered dose), 15 metabolites representing a mean of 1.0–3.5% of administered dose were found. Quizartinib was predominantly metabolized by phase I biotransformations (oxidation, reduction, dealkylation, deamination, hydrolysis and combinations thereof). 4. This study indicated that quizartinib was rapidly and orally bioavailable, extensively metabolized, with AC886 as the major circulating metabolite, and predominantly eliminated in faeces. Quizartinib was well tolerated in the subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The colloidal gold quick test card which we developed ​was used for rapid detection ofAlicyclobacillus acidoterrestris(A. acidoterrestris) in apple juice concentrate. Two antibodies againstA. acidoterrestris, obtained from Sprague Dawley (SD) rats and Japan White Rabbits, were adopted to construct this quick test card. The results showed that the colloidal gold quick test card had better specificity, and was more ​rapid and convenient which deserved notice especially (the test could be completed within 5–10 min) and concorded with ELISA method (we previously report) and K medium methods (traditional classical method). This new developed colloidal gold quick test card (we named it TAB quick test card) could be more convenient for apple juice safety testing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The pulsed load has become a developing trend of power loading. Unlike traditional loads, pulsed loads with current abrupt and repeated charges will result in unstable Microgrid operations because of their small capacity and inertia. In this paper, an Average Magnitude Sum Function (AMSF) is proposed to calculate the frequency of the grid, and based on AMSF, the Relative Deviation Rate (RDR) that characterises the impact of pulsed load on the AC side of the grid is defined and its calculation process is described in detail. In addition, the system dynamic characteristics under a pulsed load are analysed using an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) to control the on/off state of the resistive load for simulating a pulsed load. Finally, the transient characteristics of a synchronous-rectifier system with a pulsed load are studied and validated experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of a high royal jelly-producing honeybee strain selected from Italian bees (Apis mellifera ligustica) in China was determined. The entire mitogenome was 16,467 bp in length with an A + T content of 84.99%. It contained the typical 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and a control region. The order and orientation of these genes were identical to those of other A. mellifera subspecies sequenced to date. Phylogenetic analysis supported that the high royal jelly-producing honeybee strain was sister to formerly sequenced Italian bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of a field cricket Turanogryllus eous Bey-Bienko, 1956 was determined using next-generation sequencing. The mitogenome was 16,045 bp in length comprising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a control region. Relative to the ancestral insect gene order, T. eous possessed an inversion of trnN-trnS1-trnE. The control region contained 3.4 tandem copies of a 194-bp sequence. Phylogenetic analysis supported that T. eous was sister to the clade comprising Teleogryllus and Velarifictorus. This study provides essential genetic information for genetic diversity analysis of T. eous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To provide genetic data for the cricket subfamily Eneopterinae, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of a bush cricket Xenogryllus marmoratus (Haan, 1844) was determined. This mitogenome was 15,762 bp in size containing the typical 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a control region (CR). Compared with the ancestral insect gene arrangement, X. marmoratus had an inversion involving trnE-trnS1-trnN. Phylogenetic analysis supported that X. marmoratus was sister to a formerly sequenced species Cardiodactylus muiri of Eneopterinae. This study provides new data for further phylogenetic studies of Eneopterinae or higher taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]