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Mental health literacy (MHL) is rarely reported in the Chinese elderly. This study explored the pattern of MHL in the Chinese elderly in relation to depression, anxiety and poor sleep quality.A cross-sectional study was conducted among older adults in Guangzhou, south China. Participants were investigated face-to-face using the Chinese National Mental Health Literacy Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item (PHQ-9), the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Mental Health Literacy Scale contains three dimensions: mental health knowledge, mental health skills (such as social support, cognitive reappraisal and attentional distraction) and mental health awareness. Multivariate logistic regression was used for examining the association between MHL and mental health.A total of 506 older adults were recruited. The percentage of depression, anxiety, and poor sleep quality were 16.6%, 7.9% and 40.9%, respectively. MHL dimensions independently associated with depression included cognitive reappraisal (OR = 1.95, p .001), attentional distraction (OR = 0.61, p = 0.044) and awareness (OR = 0.56, p = 0.027). MHL dimensions independently associated with anxiety symptoms included cognitive reappraisal (OR = 1.90, p = 0.011) and attentional distraction (OR = 0.44, p = 0.016). MHL dimensions independently associated with poor sleep quality included social support (OR = 0.75, p = 0.022), cognitive reappraisal (OR = 1.55, p = 0.003) and attentional distraction (OR = 0.65, p = 0.016).Given the low MHL and its association with poor mental health in the Chinese elderly, policymakers and health professionals should improve the older adults' MHL, which could be conducive to the prevention and control of their mental health problems.

The solubility of limonin in the binary solvent mixtures (methanol + water) and (acetone + water) with various initial mole fractions of methanol or acetone was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at different temperatures ranging from 283.2 K to 318.2 K. The solubility of limonin increased with increasing initial mole fraction of methanol in (methanol + water) mixtures, whereas it had a maximum point at 0.9 mol fraction of acetone in (acetone + water) mixtures. The solubility of limonin increased with increasing temperature in the two binary solvent mixtures. The solubility of limonin was correlated with temperature by the van’t Hoff model and the modified Apelblat model, and the fitting results showed that the modified Apelblat model had better correlation. The CNIBS/Redlich–Kister model and the simplified CNIBS/Redlich–Kister model were used to correlate the solubility data with the initial solvent composition, the results show that the CNIBS/Redlich–Kister model reveals better agreement with the experimental values. Furthermore, to illustrate the effects of both temperature and initial solvent composition on the changes in the solubility of limonin, the solubility values were fitted by the Jouyban–Acree, van’t Hoff–Jouyban–Acree, modified Apelblat–Jouyban–Acree, Ma and Sun models. Among the five models, the Jouyban–Acree model give the best correlation results for (methanol + water) binary solvent mixtures, while the experimental solubility in the (acetone + water) system was most accurately correlated by the van’t Hoff–Jouyban–Acree model.

In this work, a novel freestanding flexible reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite membrane was prepared, using polystyrene microspheres as the spacer to decrease the GO sheet self-stacking, silane coupling agents as the cross-linker to enhance the toughness, and treatment with ammonia followed by hydrochloric acid to partially reduce GO and increase the adsorption capacity. The morphologies and structures of the materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The adsorption capacity toward genistein of the rGO composite membrane was 367.5 μmol g−1, which was much higher than other adsorbents under similar conditions in literature. Moreover, the rGO composite membrane had much higher adsorption capacity toward genistein and daidzein than the other three isoflavones (genistin, daidzein, and puerarin) due to hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bond. Separated only once by the rGO composite membrane, the mass purity of daidzein and genistein in the purified extract was 31.31 % and 5.89 %, respectively, which was about 6 times of their mass purity in the crude extract of Radix Pueraria lobata.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)- induced trophoblast apoptosis in the development of intrahepatic cholestasis during pregnancy (ICP). METHODS: Twenty pregnant women with ICP and 20 normal pregnant women undergoing cesarean section were enrolled in this study. The number of placenta syncytial knots in these women was determined using HE staining. The mRNA expressions of GRP78, CHOP, caspase-3, and caspase-7 were detected using RT-PCR in the placental tissues of the women and also in HTR-8/SVneo cells treated with different doses of deoxycholic acid (DCA). Caspase-3 and caspase-7 activities were also detected in DCA-treated HTR-8/SVneo cells using commercial assay kits, and the presence of apoptotic bodies in the cells were detected with electron microscopy. RESULTS: Compared with normal placental tissues, the placenta from women with ICP showed significantly increased syncytial knots (P < 0.01) and obviously enhanced mRNA expressions of GRP78, CHOP, caspase-3, and caspase-7 (P < 0.05). In HTR-8/SVneo cells treated with different doses of DCA (0, 10, 50, and 100 μmol/L), the mRNA expressions of GRP78, CHOP, caspase-3 and caspase-7 were significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05) and the protein levels of GRP78 and CHOP were also increased dosedependently. Treatment with DCA at 50 μmol/L for 24 h significantly upregulated caspase-3 and caspase-7 activity in the cells (P < 0.05), and the cells treated with 50 μmol/L DCA for 12 h showed the presence of apoptotic bodies. CONCLUSIONS: The activation of ERS and enhanced apoptosis of the trophoblasts occur in the placenta of women with ICP. DCA can significantly increase the expressions of ERS markers and thus lead to trophoblast apoptosis, suggesting that ERS-induced trophoblasts apoptosis may play a key role in the development of ICP.

Substantial amount of apple pomace (AP) is produced in apple processing industries and is often discarded as waste which becomes a source of polluting the environment. However, the by-product constitutes a promising bioresource of ursolic acid with various biological activities. Therefore, this particular research study was aimed to develop a novel and facile method to separate ursolic acid from AP. First, AP was extracted with ultrasound assistance using methanol as extraction solvent, 2.86% with 10:1 (mL g−1) of liquid–solid ratio, 300 W of ultrasonic power, 50°C of extraction temperature, and 90 min of ultrasonic time. Meanwhile, the disruption effect of ultrasound on AP was observed by scanning electron microscope. Second, a novel and facile method was applied to separation of ursolic acid, then a perfect colorless needle crystal of ursolic acid was obtained with the yield of about 1.34% of dry AP.

In this work, a superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 -graphene oxide (MGO) nanocomposite was prepared by one-step chemical co-precipitation method, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Raman spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption curve. The as-prepared MGO was used to adsorb nuciferine, and the adsorption kinetic, isotherm and reusability of MGO were also investigated. The results showed that the adsorption of nuciferine on MGO reached its equilibrium very quickly (within 10 min) due to the two-dimensional carbon nanostructure of GO. In comparison with MGO, five conventional sorbents, i.e., macroporous resin D-101, silica gel, reverse phase silica gel (RP-C18) and cation exchange resin and polyamide, were also used to evaluate their adsorption capabilities. Therefore, MGO combined the advantages of both superparamagnetic particle and GO, i.e., easy separation and high absorption capacity. Finally, MGO was successfully applied to enrichment and separation of nuciferine in the extract of Nelumbinis Folium (Lotus leaf).

The solubilities of genistin in the binary solvent mixtures ethanol + water and acetone + water with various initial mole fractions were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at different temperatures ranging from 278.2 to 313.2 K. An interesting phenomenon was observed, namely, a synergistic effect of the binary solvent mixtures on solubility. In this synergistic effect, the solubility of genistin reached a maximum and was higher than its solubility in the separate solvents when the initial mole fraction of ethanol or acetone was 0.5 throughout the whole range of temperatures studied. The solubility of genistin in the mixtures increased with temperature. A simplified thermodynamic model, the modified Apelblat model, and the λh model were used to correlate the solubility data of genistin with temperature. Among the three models, the modified Apelblat model showed the best correlation in describing the dependence of the solubility on temperature. Furthermore, to illustrate the effects o...

A composite material (MIP@Fe3O4@GO) based on molecular imprinted polymer (MIP), superparamagnetic Fe3O4 particles and graphene oxide (GO) was prepared by the chemical coprecipitation method, and used to simultaneously separate and enrich two alkaloids (evodiamine and rutaecarpine) in the extract of Evodiae fructus. The as-prepared MIP@Fe3O4@GO was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The adsorption kinetics, isotherms, competitive adsorption, and reusability of MIP@Fe3O4@GO were also investigated. The results revealed that MIP@Fe3O4@GO was sensitive to the magnetic field and could be easily separated using an external magnet; MIP@Fe3O4@GO showed good recognition selectivity, as well as simultaneous enrichment and separation abilities for evodiamine and rutaecarpine in the extract of E. fructus with satisfactory recoveries. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44465.