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As a traditional edible beverage and medicinal application for high-pressure blood treatment with no side effects, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (HS) has high prospect to be nutraceuticals as diet additive for anti-hypertension. The anti-hypertension effect of HS has also been scientific validated recently especially in diabetic patient and post-partum mothers. In this paper, we reviewed up-to-date mechanisms found for the anti-hypertensive effect of HS extracts. Those included the inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzymes (ACE) activity, diuretic effect, endothelium-derived nitric oxide-cGMP-relaxant pathway and inhibition of calcium (Ca2+)-influx into vascular smooth muscle cells, cholinergic and/or histaminergic mechanisms, reduction in the diffusion distance between capillaries and myocytes as well as new vessel formation. Phenolic acids, anthocyanins (e.g. cyanidin-3-sambubioside and delphinidin-3-sambubioside) and anthocyanin metabolites probably contribute mostly to the hypotensive activity.

There is still controversy on the clinical efficacy of small-window craniotomy (SWCT) for acute epidural hematoma with concurrent early-phase cerebral herniation. This study compared multiple surgical and prognostic parameters of SWCT versus ordinary large-window craniotomy (LWCT), which aimed at providing evidences for surgical decision. Compared with LWCT (N = 51), SWCT (N = 44) displayed shortened average operation time (P = 0.000), reduced intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.000) and lessened intraoperative blood transfusion (P = 0.031). Moreover, there was no differences of postoperative residual hematoma (P = 0.141), postoperative palinesthesia time (P = 0.201), the ratio of postoperative secondary ischemia (P = 0.865) or cerebral edema (P = 0.879), and 6-month Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score (P = 0.603) between the two surgical approaches. Results suggested that, for patients with acute epidural hematoma and concurrent early-phase cerebral herniation, SWCT could effectively evacuate hematoma and relief brain herniation without significant differences of effect and prognosis from LWCT. In addition, SWCT has several advantages such as significantly reduced operation time, intraoperative blood loss and blood transfusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Bombax malabaricum DC. (Bombacaceae) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine used for the treatment of inflammatory conditions, diarrhea, fever, chronic inflammation, catarrhal affection, and as a diuretic. However, little information is available about its antioxidative activity. Objective: Water, 50% ethanol, and 80% acetone extracts from flowers of B. malabaricum were investigated for their in vitro antioxidant activity in this article for the first time. Then the relationships between antioxidant activity measured by different methods and total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were established. Materials and methods: The antioxidant activities of extracts from B. malabaricum flower were investigated including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), reducing power, and inhibition on phosphatidylcholine liposome peroxidation. Results: Results showed that all the extracts possessed remarkable antioxidant capacity compared with ascorbic or gallic acids. Total antioxidant activities evaluated by ORAC assay of different extracts ranged from 700.03 to 1482.46 μμmol Trolox equivalents/g. The highest TPC of 130.38 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g was observed in 80% acetone extract, whereas the lowest TPC of 57.09 mg GAE/g was obtained in the water extract. Furthermore, TFC exhibited significant ( P < 0.05) positive correlations with DPPH radical-scavenging activity, ORAC, and reducing power. Discussion and conclusion: These findings demonstrate that the flowers of B. malabaricum have excellent antioxidant activities and thus might be a potential source of natural antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The previous study indicated that cuminaldehyde (CUM) could be used as an antibacterial agent in sauced beef to reduce the propagation of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). This research took sauced beef treated with 0.4 μL/mL CUM as the research object. Transcriptomic and proteomic methods were used to comprehensively analyze the changes in genes and proteins of S. aureus under CUM stress. A total of 258 differentially expressed genes (DEGs, 178 up-regulated and 80 down-regulated) and 384 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs, 61 up-regulated and 323 down-regulated) were found. It was observed that CUM destroyed the cell wall and cell membrane by inhibiting the synthesis of peptidoglycan and fatty acid. Low energy consumption strategies were formed by reducing glycolysis and ribosome de novo synthesis. The levels of genes and proteins associated with the glycine, serine, threonine, methionine, cysteine, and branched-chain amino acids were dramatically changed, which impaired protein synthesis and reduced bacterial viability. In addition, the up-regulated DEGs and DEFs involved in DNA replication, recombination and single-stranded DNA-binding contributed to DNA repair. Moreover, ATP-binding cassettes (ABC) transporters were also perturbed, such as the uptake of betaine and iron were inhibited. Thus, this study revealed the response mechanism of S. aureus under the stress of CUM, and provided a theoretical basis for the application of CUM in meat products. [Display omitted] • The response of S. aureus to cuminaldehyde stress was investigated by integrated transcriptomic and proteomic methods. • S. aureus responded to cuminaldehyde stress by up-regulating DNA repair proteins. • Cuminaldehyde destroyed the cell wall and cell membrane by inhibiting the synthesis of peptidoglycan and fatty acid. • Cuminaldehyde caused energy metabolism disorder and amino acids limitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A selective enrichment broth (SSL) was formulated to allow concurrent growth of 3 prominent food-borne pathogens: Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. Nalidixic acid, lithium chloride, and potassium tellurite were added as the selective agents, while sodium pyruvate and mannitol were employed as the supplemented elements. In the individual growth trial, the target pathogens were capable of growing in SSL to as high as 7-8 log(10) colony-forming units (CFU)/mL after 24 h incubation at 37 degrees C when being inoculated at 50-100 CFU/mL. In the simultaneous growth trial, the 3 combined target pathogens showed similar growth rates. The results show that SSL could support the successful simultaneous enrichment of 3 pathogens; however, SSL inhibited the growth of nontarget bacteria. In the artificial contaminated raw beef and ready-to-eat chicken, a high recovery of these 3 target pathogens was obtained in SSL. Finally, Salmonella Enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and L. monocytogenes were detected from 710 suspicious food samples by SSL with real-time PCR, and no false-positive or -negative results were reported. In summary, SSL has been shown to be a suitable broth for the simultaneous detection of the 3 prominent food-borne pathogens by multipathogen detection on a single-assay platform.

Objective: To detect 3-dimensional images of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor Nr1 (NMDAr1) polycolonal IgG affixed on mica in physiological environment., Methods: The images and data were obtained from a contact mode and commercial Si3N4 probed tip by using atomic force microscope (AFM)., Results: The anti-NMDAr1 polycolonal IgG has a characteristic structure described as an ellipse spherical shape of 136.4 A x 62.8 A x 26.1 A. On the section of the ellipse edge there were two peaks about 13 nm in width., Conclusions: Using AFM to investigate biomacromolecule can make us deeply understand the structure of IgG, which will instruct us to detect the membrane receptor protein as a labelling agent.

Objective: Atomic force microscope (AFM) is one of the most recent imaging and manipulation techniques in biological science. Among its various merits, AFM typically enables simple sample preparation, acquisition of three-dimensional images to identify single atoms under different conditions, detection of the interactive forces between two single biomolecules and their manipulation. AFM is currently applied in the research of the structure and function, at the nanometric scale, of various tissues, cells, microbes and biomolecules, and studies of the interaction between two biomolecules as well as the manipulation of some biological processes. AFM possesses the potential to become an important instrument in life science research, in spite of its current limits that require improvements such as in carbon nanotube tip, rigidity of soft biological samples and result interpretation.

Objective: To determine the three-dimensional (3D) conformation of staphylococcal protein A-gold (SPA-G) single molecule using atomic force microscope (AFM) so as to evaluate the feasibility of using this molecule for in situ labeling of the neuronal membrane protein., Methods: AFM was used to acquire the images of SPA-G binding to the surface of mica under physiological condition for determining the 3D conformation of the molecule., Results: SPA-G single molecule was shown to contain a characteristic structure with a chain in the shape of mirror image of the letter C, which had the dimension of 48.80 nm x 42.13 nm x 20.53 nm., Conclusion: AFM provide a new means for morphological investigation of the biomacromolecule at the nanometer scale in physiological conditions, and SPA-G can be utilized for in situ labeling of the neuronal membrane receptors.

Objective: To investigate the changes in subcellular localization of NMDAR1 on cultured cortical neurons in response to different methods for fixation of neuron cells., Methods: Subcellular localization of NMDAR1 in cultured cortical neurons fixed with different fixatives and procedures was studied by immunocytochemical avidin-biotin peroxidase (ABC) method., Results: Neurons fixed with -20 degrees Celsius pure acetone and -20 degrees Celsius pure methanol for 5 min presented typical positive staining of NR1 subunit located on the polar membrane of the neurons where the dendrites originated and on the stem of the dendrites. The neurons fixed with 4% formaldehyde alone for 20 min or in the presence of 0.5% glutaraldehyde (1:1) for 10 min resulted in false-negative staining. Fixation of the neurons with 95% ethanol for 10 min yielded false-negative staining on the membrane and false-positive staining in the nuclei., Conclusions: Each antigen may have its specific demand for fixation method in immunocytochemistry, and for NMDAR1 antigen, mild fixation is recommended as by -20 degrees Celsius pure acetone and -20 degrees Celsius pure methanol for 5 min. NMDAR1 distributes on the polar membrane of the neurons where the dendrites originate and on the dendritic stem.

Objective: To observe the changes in three-dimensional morphology of the membrane of the cortex neurons in primary culture in response to treatment with N-Methyl-D-Asp (NMDA) and MK-801 using atomic force microscope (AFM)., Methods: Following NMDA treatment, the changes in the membrane of the neurons fixed by glutaraldehyhyde were examined, and the protective effect of MK-801 on the neurons was also observed using an ATM at the resolution of 0.01-0.1 nm., Results: Normal neurons presented smooth membrane surface with regular undulation and densely but well arrayed protein granules. In response to NMDA treatment, the neurons were disrupted, falling into small pieces, and their membrane appeared discontinuous. MK-801 treatment increased the folds of the membrane that showed rough edges, with membrane undulation only secondary to normal condition., Conclusion: AFM, with the merits of high resolution and easy sample preparation, can finely display the three-dimensional morphology of the surface of the neurons, which, after NMDA treatment, becomes disintegrated with increased bulk of the protein granules, deepened caving of the lipids, and rougher membrane surface.