Search

The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents one of the biggest global health threats in the last two decades, so researchers around the world are searching for solutions and treatments for COVID-19. At the time of writing, there are no specific drugs that have demonstrated suitable effectiveness in treating COVID-19. The current challenge involves designing tools for the prevention, rapid and accurate diagnosis, drug delivery, and effective treatment of this novel coronavirus. In this short review, we discuss how nanotechnology offers new ways to combat COVID-19, and how nanomaterials can be applied to control the COVID-19 outbreak. We also summarize relevant studies regarding the use of nanomaterials for preventing viral spread, preparing vaccines, and diagnosing coronavirus, as well as studies that show how nanoparticles can be used as drug delivery systems for the treatment of viral infections. Research on nanotechnology-based diagnosis, drug delivery, and antiviral therapy is currently in the early stages. However, the unique chemical properties of some nanomaterials highlight the broad prospect of nanomaterials in the future, and we propose that they will play an important role in the fight against COVID-19.新型冠状病毒-2019(COVID-19)大流行是过去20年最大的全球健康威胁之一, 因此世界各地的研究人员正在寻找COVID-19的解决方案和治疗方法。截至到撰写本文的时候, 研究人员发现还没有有效治疗COVID-19的特定药物。现阶段研究人员所面临的主要挑战是设计预防这种新型冠状病毒、快速准确诊断、药物传递和有效治疗的纳米工具。我们在这篇简短的综述中讨论了纳米技术如何为抗击COVID-19提供新方法, 还讨论了纳米材料如何应用于控制COVID-19爆发。同时, 我们还总结了纳米材料在预防COVID-19病毒传播、制备疫苗、诊断冠状病毒等方面的相关研究, 以及纳米材料作为药物递送系统治疗该病毒感染的研究。现阶段, 基于纳米技术的诊断、药物传递和抗病毒治疗的研究还处于早期阶段。然而, 一些纳米材料独特的化学性质凸显了纳米材料在未来的广阔前景, 我们认为它们将在抗击COVID-19中发挥十分重要的作用。.

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a strict human pathogen causing more than 700 million infections globally each year. The majority of the disease-causing GAS are encapsulated, which greatly guarantees survival and dissemination in the host. Emergence of the capsule-negative GAS, such as M4 GAS, in recent epidemiologic surveillance alarms the necessity to elucidate the virulence determinants of these pathogens. Here, we found that M4 pili play an important role in promoting M4 GAS adherence and cytotoxicity to human pharyngeal epithelial cells and keratinocytes. The same molecule also significantly enhanced M4 GAS survival and replication in human whole blood and experimental murine infection. T4 antigen, which composes the backbone of M4 pili, was able to sequester the very abundant serum protein haptoglobin to further confer M4 GAS resistance to antibacterial substances released by neutrophils and platelets., Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus [GAS]) is an important human pathogen causing a broad spectrum of diseases and associated with significant global morbidity and mortality. Almost all GAS isolates express a surface hyaluronic acid capsule, a virulence determinant that facilitates host colonization and impedes phagocyte killing. However, recent epidemiologic surveillance has reported a sustained increase in both mucosal and invasive infections caused by nonencapsulated GAS, which questions the indispensable role of hyaluronic acid capsule in GAS pathogenesis. In this study, we found that pilus of M4 GAS not only significantly promotes biofilm formation, adherence, and cytotoxicity to human upper respiratory tract epithelial cells and keratinocytes, but also promotes survival in human whole blood and increased virulence in murine models of invasive infection. T4 antigen, the pilus backbone protein of M4 GAS, binds haptoglobin, an abundant human acute-phase protein upregulated upon infection and inflammation, on the bacterial surface. Haptoglobin sequestration reduces the susceptibility of nonencapsulated M4 GAS to antimicrobial peptides released from activated neutrophils and platelets. Our results reveal a previously unappreciated virulence-promoting role of M4 GAS pili, in part mediated by co-opting the biology of haptoglobin to mitigate host antimicrobial defenses.

Ants as ecosystem engineers can increase the input of soil organic matter, change soil physicochemical properties, and stimulate microbial activities through their colonization, thus affecting the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil organic carbon mineralization. We explored the spatiotemporal characteristics of carbon mineralization rates in ant nests and the adjacent soils in Syzygium oblatum community of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. We analyzed the association of the variation in carbon mineralization rates with soil physicochemical properties. We found that ant colonization had a significant effect on soil organic carbon mineralization. The mean carbon mineralization rate was 19.2% higher in nest soils than that in the surrounding soils. The monthly carbon mineralization rate in nest soils and the reference soils was ranked as June ＞ September ＞ March ＞ December. The highest increase of carbon mineralization rate in ant nests was observed in 10-15 cm soil layer, while that in the reference soils was in 0-5 cm soil depth. Ant colonization had a significant effect on soil physicochemical properties. Compared with reference soils, soil temperature, soil water, soil organic carbon,soil microbial carbon, total nitrogen, hydrolytic nitrogen, nitrate, and ammonium increased by 7.6%, 5.4%, 9.9%, 14.8%, 13.4%, 9.9%, 24.1%, 6.6% and 19.4%, respectively. In contrast, soil bulk density and soil pH were decreased by 1.4% and 2.5%, respectively. Results from correlation coefficients and principal component analysis (PCA) showed that soil organic carbon and soil microbial carbon were the key factors controlling the mineralization of soil organic carbon, followed by total nitrogen, hydrolyzed nitrogen, ammonium, nitrate, temperature, and soil moisture. We conclude that ant colonization mainly alter the substrate components (i.e., soil organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon) of soil organic carbon mineralization and thus affect its spatio-temporal dynamics in Xishuangbanna tropical forests.蚂蚁作为生态系统工程师,能够通过筑巢定居活动增加有机物的输入、改变理化环境及刺激微生物活动,进而影响土壤有机碳矿化动态.本研究以西双版纳高檐蒲桃热带森林群落为研究对象,比较了蚁巢地与非巢地土壤有机碳矿化速率的动态特征,分析蚂蚁筑巢引起的土壤理化性质改变对土壤碳矿化速率的影响.结果表明: 蚂蚁筑巢显著影响土壤有机碳的矿化,相较于非巢地,蚁巢地平均土壤有机碳矿化速率提高19.2%;巢地与非巢地土壤有机碳矿化速率均表现为6月＞9月＞3月＞12月;蚁巢地土壤有机碳矿化速率最大值出现在10～15 cm土层,而非巢地土壤有机碳矿化速率0～5 cm土层最高;蚂蚁筑巢对土壤理化性质产生了显著影响,相较于非蚁巢地,蚁巢地土壤温度、水分、有机碳、微生物生物量碳、全氮、水解氮、硝态氮和铵态氮平均增加幅度分别为7.6%、5.4%、9.9%、14.8%、13.4%、9.9%、24.1%、6.6%和19.4%,而土壤容重和pH平均降幅分别为1.4%和2.5%.相关性分析及主成分分析表明,土壤有机碳和土壤微生物量碳是影响土壤有机碳矿化速率的主控因子,土壤全氮、水解氮、铵态氮、硝态氮、温度和土壤含水率对土壤有机碳矿化的贡献次之.蚂蚁筑巢主要显著改变有机碳矿化的底物组分(土壤有机碳和土壤微生物生物量碳),进而调控西双版纳热带森林土壤有机碳矿化速率的时空动态.

The chemical composition and pharmacological effects of Cordyceps militaris are similar to those of Cordyceps sinensis, with the former undergoing greater development and utilization. Strain degeneration is a common phenomenon that occurs with high frequency during the subculturing of C. militaris, however, and the mechanism underlying strain degeneration remains unclear. In this study, we used touch-down PCR to compare the ITS1 + 5.8S + ITS2, 18S, 28S and mating-type (MAT) regions sequence of wild-type and degenerated strains of C. militaris. We also used quantitative real-time PCR to analyze expression levels of the CmMAT gene. Sequence analysis showed that the ITS1 + 5.8S + ITS2 and 28S regions of degenerated and wild-type strains were completely identical, the 18S region of the degenerated strain contained seven single-base mutations, including six base substitutions and one single-base insertion. Compared with the wild-type strain, the degenerated strain contained a deletion of the MAT1–2-1 region, three base substitutions in the MAT1–1-1 region, and a base substitution in the MAT1–1-2 region that causes a glycine-to-valine amino acid substitution. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis detected no CmMAT1–2-1 gene expression in the degenerated strain, confirming the deletion of the CmMAT1–2-1 gene. Expression levels of the CmMAT1–1-1 and CmMAT1–1-2 genes were significantly down-regulated to only 7.5 % and 4.4 %, respectively, that of the wild-type strain. These results indicate that 18S and MAT region mutations, as well as down-regulated of CmMAT gene expression levels, may play important roles in C. militaris degeneration. This study provides a theoretical basis for further elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of C. militaris degeneration.

Ant nesting can modify soil physicochemical conditions in the tropical forest, exerting a crucial effect on spatiotemporal variation in soil microbial biomass carbon and quotient. In this study, the chloroform fumigation method was used to measure the spatiotemporal dynamics of microbial biomass carbon and quotient in ant nests and the reference soils in Syzygium oblatum community of tropical Xishuangbanna. The results were as following: 1) Microbial biomass carbon and quotient were significantly higher in ant nests (1.95 g·kg蚂蚁筑巢能够改变热带森林土壤理化环境,从而对土壤微生物生物量碳及熵的时空动态产生重要影响.本研究以西双版纳高檐蒲桃热带森林群落为对象,采用氯仿熏蒸法对蚂蚁巢地和非巢地土壤微生物生物量碳及熵时空动态进行测定.结果表明: 1)蚁巢地平均微生物生物量碳及熵(1.95 g·kg

Ant nesting can form microhabitat and soil nutrient condition in their nests that is diffe-rent from the surrounding environment, thus having a crucial effect on the variation of soil easily oxidized organic carbon (EOC). In this study, the Mallotus paniculatus communities in Menglun Tropical Botanical Garden of Xishuangbanna, Chinese Academy of Sciences was taken as the research object. We compared the spatiotemporal distribution of soil EOC in ant nests and the refe-rence soils, and analyzed the relationship of the variation in soil EOC to the changes in soil physicochemical properties. The results showed that soil EOC in ant nests and the reference soils had a unimodal change trend with months. The order was ranked as JuneSeptemberMarchDecember. The soil EOC decreased with the soil layers. The EOC was higher in 0-5 cm nest soils than in the refe-rence soils, while it was not significantly different in the 5-10 cm and 10-15 cm soil layers. Ant nesting increased soil temperature, soil organic carbon, soil easily oxidized organic carbon, soil microbial biomass carbon, total nitrogen, soil nitrate nitrogen and hydrolysis nitrogen, but reduced the soil water content and bulk density. The impacts of ant nesting on soil ammonium and pH was not significant. The soil organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon had crucial roles in regulating the spatiotemporal variation in EOC in ant nests and the reference soils, whereas the effects of soil temperature, soil water content, total nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen ranked the second. The ant nesting had a crucial effect on the spatiotemporal variations in easily oxidized organic carbon, mainly through changing the microhabitat (e.g., soil temperature and moisture) and soil nutrients (e.g., soil organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon) in Xishuangbanna tropical forests.蚂蚁筑巢定居能够形成与巢穴周围显著不同的微生境和土壤养分环境,从而对土壤易氧化有机碳(EOC)产生重要影响.本研究以中国科学院西双版纳勐仑热带植物园白背桐群落为研究对象,比较蚂蚁巢地与非巢地土壤EOC时空分布特征,并分析蚂蚁筑巢引起土壤理化性质的改变对土壤EOC时空动态的影响.结果表明: 研究区蚁巢和非蚁巢地土壤EOC随月份均呈明显的单峰型变化规律,表现为6月9月3月12月;土壤EOC沿土层呈逐渐降低的变化趋势,在0～5 cm土层,蚁巢土壤EOC显著大于非巢地,在5～10和10～15 cm土层的差异不显著.蚂蚁筑巢显著提高了土壤温度、土壤有机碳、土壤易氧化有机碳、土壤微生物生物量碳、全氮、硝态氮和水解氮含量,显著降低了土壤含水率和容重,但对铵态氮、pH值的影响不显著.土壤有机碳、土壤微生物生物量碳是调控蚁巢和非巢地土壤EOC时空变化的主要因子,土壤温度、含水率、全氮和硝态氮等土壤指标对土壤EOC的影响次之.蚂蚁筑巢主要通过改变微生境(土壤温度和水分)及土壤养分(主要是土壤有机碳和微生物生物量碳)的状况,进而调控热带森林土壤易氧化有机碳的时空动态.

Although many studies have shown the antitumor properties of Cordyceps militaris (artificial cultivated from Bombyx mori pupa) polysaccharides, little is known regarding the mechanism of its effects. This study was conducted to determine the mechanism of antitumor effects of C. militaris polysaccharide extract by evaluating apoptosis rate and cell cycle progression status in human liver cancer cell SMMC-7721, stomach cancer cell BGC-823 and breast cancer cell MCF-7. Results showed that C. militaris polysaccharides inhibited proliferation of SMMC-7721, BGC-823 and MCF-7 cells with an IC 50 of 192 ± 23.2 μg/mL, 237 ± 12.7 μg/mL and 165 ± 16.3 μg/mL, respectively. We also found that C. militaris polysaccharides at increasing concentrations induced apoptosis dose dependently in those cancer cells: apoptosis rates were 48.3%, 59.4% and 70.9% for SMMC-7721, 41.3% and 57.0%, 72.2% for BGC-823 and 61.3%, 66.9% and 80.6% for MCF-7 at 110, 156 and 323 mg/mL of C. militaris polysaccharides, respectively. C. militaris polysaccharides arrested SMMC-7721, BGC-823 and MCF-7 cells at G 0 /G 1 and G 2 /M phases with corresponding decrease in S-phase. This study suggests that C. militaris polysaccharides may exert its antitumor effects in those cancer cells by suppressing its growth, arresting the G 0 /G 1 -phase, reducing DNA synthesis and inducing apoptosis.

The PCE has a great relationship with the work function of conductors in organic and printed electronics devices. And organic photovoltaics require an electrode with a work function (WF) that is low enough to either facilitate the transport of electrons in and out of various optoelectronic devices or collect electrons from the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of a given organic semiconductor. In inverted organic photovoltaics, the ITO is normally used as cathode to collect electrons .By using PDDA deposition, the surface work function of ITO can be decreased by 0.3 eV, which is able to improve the electrons transport and the PCE in OPV, as it has been proved that the surface electronic potential of ITO is very sensitive to the presence of self-assembled molecular layers.

As a key component of heavy five-axis linkage CNC machine tools, the existing mechanical biaxial rotary milling heads are usually driven by worm gear, timing belt, or multi-stage gears. Worm gear is inefficiency to transmit motion, hard to maintain the accuracy and difficult to eliminate all clearance; Timing belt can be seriously worn and cannot maintain good accuracy; and multi-stage gears transmission has defects such as long chain, low transmission stiffness. This paper aims at designing a biaxial rotary milling head with large output torque of 3000Nm, high precision and high rigidity. So a new design for biaxial rotary milling head with mechanical spindle, gear transmission and swinging fork structure is proposed. An integral supporting axis is applied to increase the rigidity of A-axis; through the closed numerical loop control based on precise encoder and the decoupling technology of feed motion of A/C axis, the contradiction between large reduction ratio and high precision transmission is solved, and then the requirement of high positioning accuracy (10") is met. Theoretical calculation and simulated analysis shown, the new design not only can guarantee transmission accuracy and dynamic characteristics of biaxial rotary milling head, but also can improve its structural stiffness and meet the high demands of large torque, high precision and high rigidity.

in order to find a suitable pavement and develop a reasonable pavement design method for southern warm continental climate regions, both experiment roads and finite element simulations are employed in this research. In experiment roads, strain detectors are buried at the bottom of asphalt layers to measure its strains and calculation models. Road design parameters such as road surface deflections and damage predictions such as plastic permanent deformations are calculated and compared between different pavements. Pavement deformation and design control parameter are made. Finally, a suggested reasonable pavement satisfying climate conditions and traffic flow needs is proposed.

Telomeres form the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes and serve as protective caps that keep chromosomes structure independency and completeness. The first plant telomere DNA was isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana and was shown to have tandemly repeated sequence 5′-TTTAGGG-3′. The Arabidopsis -type telomere has been found in many plants, but several reports indicate that this sequence is absent in some plants. Up to now, no research has been conducted on the telomere of cotton. In this paper, the Arabidopsis -type telomere sequence was amplified and cloned using the primers designed based on the fragment containing telomere sequence in an Arabidopsis bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with cotton metaphase chromosomes using the Arabidopsis-type telomere sequence as probes indicated that the signals were located at all chromosome ends of seven diploid and two tetraploid cotton species with different signal intensities among chromosome complements of different cotton species, even between long and short arms of the same chromosome. To identify the signals of FISH, the genome DNA of Xinhai 7, a cultivar of Gossypium barbadense , digested by BAL-31 nuclease was introduced in this study. The result of BAL-31 digestion indicated that the hybridization signals of FISH represent the outermost DNA sequence of each cotton chromosomes. So we first proved that the telomeric repeats of cotton cross-hybridize with that of Arabidopsis. The results of terminal restriction fragment (TRF) showed significant variation in telomere length among cotton species. The telomere length of cultivated cotton was close to 20 kb and was larger than those of wild cotton species whose telomere length ranged from 6 to 20 kb.

To facilitate the application of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) of upland cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.), a linkage map harboring 192 SSRs was constructed from the CRI-G6 population (Acala 1517 × Dezhou 047) using mixed-model-based composite interval mapping (MCIM) method. This map was used to detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with cotton yield traits in 3 environments. In the separate analysis, 24 main-effect QTLs were identified including each one stable QTL for seed yield, lint yield, lint percentage, seed index, and boll number per plant. In the joint analysis, 14 main-effect QTLs and 20 pairs of additive–additive epistatic QTLs were detected including 6 main-effect and 7 pairs of epistatic QTLs with environmental interactions. Eight main-effect QTLs were mapped in the same regions using both methods. Some main-effect QTLs with stability in different growing environments had phenotypic contributions larger than 10%, and these QTLs are candidate genes/loci in MAS of upland cotton.

Objective To determine the effects of increased ultrasound probe pressure and maternal Valsalva maneuver (VM) on the middle cerebral artery (MCA) Doppler ultrasonography in fetuses. Methods A total of 120 healthy pregnant women in second and third trimesters were enrolled in the study. MCA blood flow was measured by pulsed Doppler sonography in 60 fetuses (24 and 40 weeks' gestation) before and after the application of increased ultrasound probe pressure. In the other 60 fetuses (32 and 36 weeks' gestation), sonography was performed before and after maternal VM. Statistical analysis was performed by paired t-test. Results The pressure induced by the ultrasound probe induced a significant increase in the pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI), and peak systolic velocity (PSV); however, a significant decrease was found in the end-diastolic velocity (EDV) (p < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found in the mean flow velocity (MFV). Moreover, maternal VM did not have any effect on the PI, RI, EDV, or MFV. Conclusion Fetal MCA Doppler assessment is affected by increased probe pressure but not by maternal VM. Thus, the application of the MCA Doppler sonography should be undertaken in the head of fetuses without any probe pressure and without maternal VM. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The impeller of turbo machinery is a typical nonlinear multi-oscillator system. The vibration of each module is coupling, including fluid-solid coupling of the blade. The subject of our investigation was a KDF-5 mine fan for which we analyzed air vibration signals and axial vibration signals by using correlation dimension analysis under five variable working conditions. The results indicate that their correlation dimension curves show a uniform trend. That is to say, the characteristics of the variation signals of the integral structure are correlated and mutually embodied. It proves that it is possible to monitor the working state of a mine fan by coupling the vibration signals and air vibration signals for these are more sensitive in representing the status of the impeller system.

A novel, rapid and simple analytical method was developed for the quantitative determination of crocin, crocetin and geniposide in soft drink, pastry and instant noodles. The solid samples were relatively homogenized into powders and fragments. The gardenia yellow colorants were successively extracted with methanol using ultrasound-assisted extraction. The analytes were quantitatively measured in the extracts by liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. High correlation coefficients (r(2)>0.995) of crocin, crocetin and geniposide were obtained within their linear ranges respectively (50-1000ng/mL, 50-1000ng/mL, 15-240ng/mL) by external standard method. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.02μg/g for crocin, 0.01μg/g for crocetin and 0.002μg/g for geniposide. And the limits of quantitation (LOQs) were in the ranges of 0.05-0.45μg/g for crocin, and in the ranges of 0.042-0.32μg/g for crocetin, and in the ranges of 0.02-0.15μg/g for geniposide in soft drink, pastry and instant noodles samples. The average recoveries of crocin, crocetin and geniposide ranged from 81.3% to 117.6% in soft drink, pastry and instant noodles. The intra- and inter-day precisions were respectively in the range of 1.3-4.8% and 1.7-11.8% in soft drink, pastry and instant noodle. The developed methods were successfully validated and applied to the soft drink, pastry, and instant noodles collected from the located market in Beijing from China. Crocin, crocetin and geniposide were detected in the collected samples. The average concentrations ranged from 0.84 to 4.20mg/g for crocin, and from 0.62 to 3.11mg/g for crocetin, and from 0.18 to 0.79mg/g for gardenia in various food samples. The method can provide evidences for government to determine gardenia yellow pigments and geniposide in food.

An analytical method based on ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography (UHPSFC) with photo-diode array detection (PDA) has been developed to quantify 15 sulfonamides and their N4-acetylation metabolites in serum. Under the optimized gradient elution conditions, it took only 7min to separate all 15 sulfonamides and the critical pairs of each parent drug and metabolite were completely separated. Variables affecting the UHPSFC were optimized to get a better separation. The performance of the developed method was evaluated. The UHPSFC method allowed the baseline separation and determination of 15 sulfonamides and metabolites with limit of detection ranging from 0.15 to 0.35μg/mL. Recoveries between 90.1 and 102.2% were obtained with satisfactory precision since relative standard deviations were always below 3%. The proposed method is simple, accurate, time-saving and green, it is applicable to a variety of sulfonamides detection in serum samples.

A thermochemical study of dicyandiamide (DCD) has been performed using adiabatic calorimetry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). The low-temperature heat capacity of DCD was determined with an automated adiabatic calorimeter in the range 80–370 K. A phase transition was found between 265 and 275 K, and the peak temperature, enthalpy and entropy of transition were determined to be 269.49 K, 2.98 kJ mol −1 and 11.07 JK −1 mol −1 , respectively. The high-temperature heat capacity of DCD was measured with a differential scanning calorimeter in the range 330–500 K. The DSC curve showed that DCD melts at 487.56 K and the enthalpy and entropy of melting were evaluated as 22.96 and 47.68 JK −1 mol −1 , respectively. The TG analysis of DCD was carried out in the range 300–850 K, from which it was found that decomposition starts at 521.20 K and ends at 659.62 K in three steps.

A thermochemical study of 2,2′-bis(di- p -toluenephosphino)-1,1′-binaphthyl(Tol- p -BINAP) has been performed using adiabatic calorimetry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). The low-temperature heat capacity of Tol- p -BINAP was determined precisely with a small sample automated adiabatic calorimeter in the temperature range from 80 to 350 K. No indication of any phase transition or thermal anomaly was observed in this temperature region. The high-temperature heat capacity of Tol- p -BINAP was measured with a differential scanning calorimeter in the temperature range from 310 to 660 K. From the DSC curve obtained for this compound, a solid-liquid transition was found at 528.29 K and the enthalpy and entropy of transition were evaluated as 41.98 kJ mol −1 and 79.47 JK −1 mol −1 , respectively. The TG analysis of Tol- p -BINAP was carried out in the temperature range from 300 to 850 K, from which it was found that this compound starts to decompose at 662.13 K and transforms completely to naphthalene at 716.22 K in a single step.

Background: Many plants possess antioxidants that exhibit additive or synergistic activities. Objective: In this study, an ethanol-extracted flavonoid extracted from mulberry fruit (FEM) was evaluated for the antioxidant activity in vitro and the hemolysis in red blood cell (RBC) and lipid peroxidation in liver in vivo. Materials and Methods: Antioxidant activities in vitro were measured by quantifying its 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity, reducing power, and Fe2+-chelating ability. FEM inhibits hemolysis in RBCs and effects of lipid peroxidation in the liver were estimated. Results: The total content of flavonoid compounds was 187.23 mg of quercetin equivalents per grams dried material. In the in vitro assays, FEM demonstrated a strong antioxidant effect, especially in DPPH scavenging activity and reducing power. Mouse RBC hemolysis induced by H2O2 was significantly inhibited by FEM in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The effects of FEM on lipid peroxidation in liver, mitochondria, and microsome were investigated. The percentage of inhibition at high concentration (100 μg/mL) of FEM was 45.51%, 39.36%, and 42.78% for liver, mitochondria, and microsomes, respectively. These results suggest that the FEM possesses a strong antioxidant activity both in vivo and in vitro. SUMMARY The total content of flavonoid compounds in mulberry fruit was 187.23 mg/g dried materialFEM showed a strong antioxidant effect, especially in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging activity and reducing powerMouse red blood cell hemolysis induced by H2O2 was significantly inhibited by FEM in a dose- and time-dependent mannerThe inhibition percentage at high concentration of FEM was 45.51%, 39.36%, and 42.78% for mouse’s liver, mitochondrial, and microsomes, respectively. Abbreviations used: FEM: Flavonoid Extracted from Mulberry fruit, H2O2: Hydrogen peroxide, DPPH: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, EDTA: Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid, MDA: malondialdehyde, TBA: 2-thiobarbituric acid, RBC: Red blood cells, DNJ: 1-deoxynojirimycin, LDL: low density lipoprotein, ROS: reactive oxygen species, EDTA2Na: Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt.

Background The differential diagnosis for hereditary ataxia encompasses a variety of diseases characterized by both autosomal dominant and recessive inheritance. There are no curative treatments available for these neurodegenerative conditions. This open label treatment study used human umbilical cord blood-derived mononuclear cells (CBMC) combined with rehabilitation training as potential disease modulators. Methods 30 patients suffering from hereditary ataxia were treated with CBMCs administered systemically by intravenous infusion and intrathecally by either cervical or lumbar puncture. Primary endpoint measures were the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), serum markers of immunoglobulin and T-cell subsets, measured at baseline and pre-determined times post-treatment. Results A reduction of pathological symptoms and signs was shown following treatment. The BBS scores, IgG, IgA, total T cells and CD3+CD4 T cells all improved significantly compared to pre-treatment values (P < 0.01~0.001). There were no adverse events. Conclusion The combination of CBMC infusion and rehabilitation training may be a safe and effective treatment for ataxia, which dramatically improves patients' functional symptoms. These data support expanded double blind, placebo-controlled studies for these treatment modalities.

To determine the effects of increased ultrasound probe pressure and maternal Valsalva maneuver (VM) on the middle cerebral artery (MCA) Doppler ultrasonography in fetuses.A total of 120 healthy pregnant women in second and third trimesters were enrolled in the study. MCA blood flow was measured by pulsed Doppler sonography in 60 fetuses (24 and 40 weeks' gestation) before and after the application of increased ultrasound probe pressure. In the other 60 fetuses (32 and 36 weeks' gestation), sonography was performed before and after maternal VM. Statistical analysis was performed by paired t-test.The pressure induced by the ultrasound probe induced a significant increase in the pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI), and peak systolic velocity (PSV); however, a significant decrease was found in the end-diastolic velocity (EDV) (p0.05). No statistically significant difference was found in the mean flow velocity (MFV). Moreover, maternal VM did not have any effect on the PI, RI, EDV, or MFV.Fetal MCA Doppler assessment is affected by increased probe pressure but not by maternal VM. Thus, the application of the MCA Doppler sonography should be undertaken in the head of fetuses without any probe pressure and without maternal VM.

The present paper considers synthetically all kinds of factors affecting excitation spectrum under traditional measurement conditions of fluorescence matter in liquor using plasma atomic emission spectra. The input power, carrier gas flow and assistant gas flow for BEC of Na, V, Al were optimized by testing. The input power, carrier gas flow and assistant gas flow for Na are 950 W, 0.6 L x min(-1) and 1.0 L x min(-1), respectively. The input power, carrier gas flow and assistant gas flow for V are 1 150 W, 0.5 and 1.1 L x min(-1), respectively. The input power, carrier gas flow and assistant gas flow for Al are 1 150 W, 0.6 and 1.0 L x min(-1), respectively. The result shows that the method is sensitive, accurate, linear in a wide range and highly precise. The precision is between 1.7%-2.2%, the linear ranges are between 0-100 mg x L(-1) and recoveries are between 96%-105%.

Enhanced Raman scattering can be obtained by the initially prepared atomic spin excitation, or by injecting a seeded light field which is correlated with the initially prepared atomic spin excitation. This paper theoretically calculated the quantum fluctuations of the quadrature components of the two-mode photon-atom quantum interface and found that the enhanced Raman scattering based on coherence can improve the initial photon-atom squeezing slightly in a certain scope, and correlation-enhanced Raman scattering can produce strong two-mode squeezing of photon-atom. Such a strong two-mode squeezed state at the photon-atom interface has very important applications in precision measurement research based on the light field and atomic system.