Effect of local unstable atherosclerotic plaque on plaque formation in the carotid artery and abdominal aorta of rabbits / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the effect of local unstable atherosclerotic plaque on plaque formation in the carotid and aortic arteries of rabbits.@*METHODS@#Thirty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into atherosclerosis model group, highfat diet feeding group, and normal chow feeding group (blank control group). In the model group, carotid artery balloon injury was induced after 4 weeks of high-fat diet feeding. Eight weeks later, all the rabbits were euthanized for histopathological examination of the carotid artery and abdominal aorta, and the mean intimal thickness and plaque to lumen area ratio were measured using image analysis software. Venous blood samples were collected from the rabbits for blood lipid analysis.@*RESULT@#At the ends of 4, 8 and 12 weeks, the rabbits in the model group and high-fat feeding group, but not those in the blank control group, all showed significant weight gain compared with their body weight at 0 week (P < 0.05). The mean intimal thickness was significantly greater in atherosclerosis model group than in the other two groups (P < 0.05). In atherosclerosis model group, the mean intimal thickness and plaque to lumen area ratio in the injured carotid artery were significantly greater than those in the contralateral carotid artery and abdominal aorta (P < 0.05). At the end of the 12 weeks, the levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density cholesterol (HDL-C) and highsensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) were all significantly higher in the model group and high-fat feeding group than in the blank control group (P < 0.05); the levels of TG, TC, LDL-C, or HDL-C did not differ significantly between the model group and high-fat feeding group (P>0.05), but the level of CRP was significantly higher in arteriosclerosis model group (P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Local unstable atherosclerotic plaque can increase the level of CRP and promote the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid artery and abdominal aorta in rabbits.

Analysis of suicidal ideation and its related factors among migrant construction male workers in Pudong New Area, Shanghai / 上海交通大学学报（医学版）

Objective·To understand the suicidal ideation among migrant construction male workers in Pudong New Area,Shanghai,and analyze the influence factors based on social cognitive theory.Methods · Surveys were carried out among 1 850 migrant construction male workers from 3 randomly chosen construction sites using cluster random sampling.Univariate and multivariate Logistic regressions analysis were used to explore the association between suicidal ideation and its related factors such as negative psychology,negative cognition and high-risk behavior.Results· Among the total 1 580 respondents completed the survey,126 (8.0％) reported having suicidal ideation.In the univariate Logistic regression analysis,drug abuse,alcohol abuse,depression,generalized anxiety and loneliness were risk factors for suicidal ideation,while perceived social support was a protective factor.Five of the six variables,alcohol abuse (Orm=2.15,95％CI 1.42-3.24),depression (Orm=2.47,95％CI 1.17-5.21),generalized anxiety (Orm=2.24,95％CI 1.50-3.35),loneliness (Orm=2.09,95％CI 1.28-3.40) and perceived social support (Orm=1.84,95％CI 1.20-2.83) were selected by the multivariate Logistic regression analysis.Conclusion · Suicidal ideation among migrant construction male workers in Pudong New Area,Shanghai occurs under the influence of negative psychology,negative cognition and high-risk behavior.For the crowds,family and society should be actively promoted and mental health interventions should be strengthened,which could effectively prevent suicide ideation.

Overview of Taiwan's indigenous ethnopharmacology in the perspective of traditional knowledge protection / 中国结合医学杂志

Ethnopharmacology, the study of ethnic use of drugs, opens up the crucial gateway to understanding and promoting traditional medicine in the new age. Taiwan is a unique region where traditional medicine and herbal therapeutics have been benefiting its people of multiple races for centuries. This article overviews Taiwan's indigenous traditional medicine and the emerging status of ethnopharmacology study, and outlines the global scenario of the inheritance and development of traditional medicine. In such a scope of knowledge protection, this article particularly highlights the challenges with bioprospecting and biopiracy, and summarizes the current measures for protection of traditional knowledge in Taiwan. Finally, based upon these analyses, we propose rational strategies for promoting Taiwan's ethnopharmacology, from multiple angles of resource, economy, policy and law. We conclude that four measures, namely (1) protecting the natural environment of biodiversity, (2) avoiding unnecessary conflicts caused by bioprospecting and biopiracy, (3) strengthening the international collaboration, and (4) upgrading the legal system of traditional intelligence, would be the right paths for Taiwan to protect its invaluable heritage of traditional medicine and the knowledge of ethnopharmacology therein.

Plans and Actions on Biomass Research in USA / 中国生物工程杂志

Biomass resources are strategically vital for the sustainable development of a country.The United States has recently made a variety of plans or roadmaps and taken significant actions in order to promote the R&D of biomass resources.These plans and actions for the key issues in the development of biomass resources were analysed.

The Current Development of Biofuels / 中国生物工程杂志

The production technology for the first generation of biofuels has been made great achievements and some countries, such as USA, EU countries, and Brazil, have formed successful biofuel industrial chains. Cellulose ethanol, a representative of the second generation of biofuels and a kind of more promising alternative fuels, has not yet got enough key technological breakthroughs and its large scale commercial production still needs rather some time to realize. Now it is in the early stage of transition to the second generation of biofuels. Taking the development of second generation of biofuels as their national policies, many countries have developed long-term development plans and objectives, and provided a good policy environment and strong support for it. Thus institutes and enterprises are engaging and successing in addressing key issues relating to the development of biofuels. At the mean time, some important issues relating to the sustainable development of biofuels have attracted people's attention.