Effects of group mindfulness yoga training on sleep quality in college students / 四川精神卫生

ObjectiveTo explore the effectiveness of mindfulness yoga training on sleep quality in college students， so as to provide references for the intervention of sleep problems in college students. MethodsFrom March 28， 2021 to April 20， 2021， A sample of 45 college students with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI） score ≥8 was recruited. Participants were randomly divided into study group （n=22） and control group （n=23）. Participants in the intervention group received mindfulness yoga training twice a week for 4 weeks. The control group did not receive mindfulness yoga training during the trial， but the same training would be given after the trial. Before and after the intervention， PSQI and the N-back training tasks were used to evaluate the sleep quality and working memory ability of the two groups. ResultsThe main effects of time on the PSQI total score， the accuracy and reaction time of N-back training task were statistically significant （F=37.240， 6.898， 10.775， P<0.05 or 0.01）. The main effects of grouping factors on PSQI total score and the accuracy of N-back training task were statistically significant （F=8.057， 11.093， P<0.05 or 0.01）. The interaction of time and group had statistical significance on PSQI total score and the response time of the N-back training task（F=32.730， 17.578， P<0.01）. After intervention， the PSQI total score of the study group was lower than that before intervention （F=69.898， P<0.01）， and the response time of N-back training task was shorter than that before intervention （F=27.939， P<0.01）， the differences were statistically significant. ConclusionGroup mindfulness yoga training may help improve the sleep quality of college students.

Levels of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and E and their influencing factors in children with obesity / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To investigate the levels of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and E in children with obesity and their influencing factors.@*METHODS@#A total of 273 children with obesity who attended the Department of Clinical Nutrition, Xi'an Children's Hospital, from January 2019 to April 2021 were enrolled as the obesity group. A total of 226 children with normal body weight who underwent physical examination during the same period were enrolled as the control group. Anthropometric parameters and body composition were measured for both groups, and the serum concentrations of vitamins A, D, and E were also measured.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control group, the obesity group had significantly higher serum levels of vitamin A [(1.32±0.21) μmol/L vs (1.16±0.21) μmol/L, P<0.001] and vitamin E [(9.3±1.4) mg/L vs (8.3±1.2) mg/L, P<0.001] and a significant reduction in the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [(49±22) nmol/L vs (62±24) nmol/L, P<0.001]. In the obesity group, the prevalence rates of marginal vitamin A deficiency, vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency, and vitamin E insufficiency were 5.5% (15/273), 56.8% (155/273), and 4.0% (11/273), respectively. After adjustment for body mass index Z-score and waist-to-height ratio, serum vitamin A level was positively correlated with age (P<0.001), while vitamins E and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were negatively correlated with age in children with obesity (P<0.001). After adjustment for age, the serum levels of vitamin A, vitamin E and 25-hydroxyvitamin D were not correlated with degree of obesity, percentage of body fat, and duration of obesity in children with obesity, while the serum levels of vitamins A and E were positively correlated with waist-to-height ratio (P<0.001).@*CONCLUSIONS@#There are higher serum levels of vitamins A and E in children with obesity, especially in those with abdominal obesity, while serum vitamin D nutritional status is poor and worsens with age. Therefore, vitamin D nutritional status should be taken seriously for children with obesity, and vitamin D supplementation should be performed when necessary.

Utilization of hospital service and its influencing factors among patients with occupational pneumoconiosis / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the utilization of hospital service and its related influencing factors among patients with occupational pneumoconiosis. METHODS: A total of 178 patients with occupational pneumoconiosis were selected as the study subjects using the convenience sampling method. The utilization of hospital service and health-related quality of life of patients with pneumoconiosis and its complications were investigated using the Questionnaire on Pneumoconiosis Patients′ Medical Consultation Behavior and its Influencing Factors and the European Quality of Life Inventory.RESULTS: The one-year hospitalization rate of patients with pneumoconiosis was 57.3%(102/178), and 88.2% of the patients were hospitalized once a year. The median number of hospitalization time in a year was 20.0 days. Visual health scale(VAS) score was(58±15) points. The multiple logistic regression analysis results showed that the utilization of hospital service among patients with employment injury insurance and fund reimbursement provided by the local governmentwere higher than those without employment injury insurancea nd without fund reimbursement provided by the local government(all P<0.05). The utilization of hospital service of patients with problems in usual activities and those unable to perform usual activities were higher than those without any problems(P<0.05). The utilization hospital service of patients with VAS scores <60 was higher than those with VAS scores of 60-<75(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The patients with pneumoconiosis have a relatively overall high level of utilization of hospital service. The employment injury insurance, fund reimbursement provided by the local government, VAS score, and status of physical health are important influencing factors of utilization of hospital service.

Mediating and moderating effects of resilience on frailty and depression in the community-dwelling old adults / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To investigate the mediating and moderating effects of resilience on frailty and depression in the community-dwelling old adults.Methods:Totally 871 community-dwelling old adults chosen from different communities were investigated by the geriatric depression scale, Tilburg frailty indicator and 10-item Connor-Davidson resilience scale.SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 24.0 were used for data analysis, including descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis.Results:(1)The score of frailty (3.72±2.89)was positively correlated with the score of depression (2.63±2.57, r=0.16-0.58, P<0.01). The score of resilience(28.24±6.80) was negatively correlated with the score of frailty and depression ( r=-0.10~-0.49, both P<0.01), and frailty predicted 35% of the total variation of depression in the elderly.(2)The mediating effect of resilience was significant and the indirect effect was 0.10, accounting for 12.66% of the total variance.(3) Resilience moderated the relationship between frailty and depression ( β=-0.12, t=-4.11, R2=0.41, P<0.001). The frailty of old adults with lower resilience played a stronger predictive role in depression (simple slope=0.50, t=14.73, R2=0.01, P<0.001). Conclusion:There is a close relationship between frailty and depression in the community-dwelling older adults, and resilience plays both mediating and moderating role in the relationship.

Clinical Efficacy of Postmenopausal Knee Osteoarthritis with Liver and Kidney Deficiencies Based on Theory of Syndrome Differentiation and Treatment of Kidney / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To discuss the clinical efficacy of modified Zuoguiwan on postmenopausal osteoarthritis of knee (KOA) with deficiency of liver and kidney based on theory of syndrome differentiation and treatment of kidney, and its effect on endocrine hormone and cartilage metabolism.Method:One hundred and forty patients of KOA were randomly divided into control group (70 cases) and observation group (70 cases) by random number table. Patients in two group got glucosamine hydrochloride capsule for 12 weeks, 1 capsule/time, 2 times/day, and those with obvious pain was added celecoxib capsules for 4 weeks, 0.2 g/time, 1 time/day. The control group took Kang Zengsheng pills orally. patients in observation group was also added with modified Zuoguiwan for 12 weeks, 1 dose/day. Before and after treatment, pain level during activity and rest by visual simulation of pain (VAS) were scored. And visual scale of osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) of Western Ontario and McMaster University, knee osteoarthritis severity index (ISOA), deficiency of liver and kidney, self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) were scored. And levels of serum estradiol (E2), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were scored.Result:Scores of VAS during activity and rest in observation group were lower than those in control group (P<0.01). The total score of WOMAC, scores of pain, stiffness, joint function, deficiency of liver and kidney, SAS and SDS were all lower than those in control group (P<0.01). Total score of ISOA, symptoms and signs, maximum walking distance, daily life were lower than those in control group (P<0.01). Levels of E2, FSH, LH, TNF-α, IL-1β and MMP-3 were lower than those in control group (P<0.01). Level of TGF-β was higher than that in control group (P<0.01). And total clinical effective rate in observation group was 89.23%(58/65), which was higher than 74.60%(47/63) in control group (χ2=4.793, P<0.05).Conclusion:Modified Zuoguiwan can obviously alleviate symptoms, improve joint function, regulate the level of endocrine hormone, relieve anxiety and depression, regulate the environment of cartilage metabolism, inhibit inflammatory reaction, and improve the patients' ability of daily life and clinical efficacy.

Current status of initial diagnosis of speech sound disorder in a child healthcare clinic / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the understanding of speech sound disorder (SSD) among child health practitioners.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 506 children with an initial diagnosis of SSD from January 2017 to May 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Of the 506 SSD children, 90.5% had a description of developmental behavior in their medical records; 97.6% received a developmental-behavioral evaluation, mostly intellectual and developmental screening tests, which were given to 95.8% (485/506) of the total children. A total of 116 (22.9%) children also had neurodevelopmental disorders, commonly presenting with language disorder, global developmental delay, and intellectual disability; however, 53 (45.7%) of the 116 children had no history records of such abnormal developmental behavior. The incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders was significantly higher in the children with abnormal hearing reported by their families than in the children with normal hearing reported by their families (P<0.001). The children with abnormal response to sound stimulation on physical examination had significantly more frequent neurodevelopmental disorders than those with normal response to sound stimulation (P<0.05). Among the 506 children with SSD, hearing condition was ignored in 33.2% in history records, and in 31.2% on physical examination. Ninety-two children (18.2%) completed the diagnostic hearing test, 12% (11/92) of whom were diagnosed with hearing loss. Of the 11 children with hearing loss, three had passed a hearing screening, three had family-reported normal hearing, and seven had normal response to sound stimulation on physical examination.@*CONCLUSIONS@#SSD is frequently comorbid with neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Children's communication performance is a key to the diagnosis of neurodevelop-mental disorders. It's necessary to the diagnosis of SSD to perform a medical history collection about neuropsychological development and a developmental-behavior evaluation. There is a high proportion of children with SSD receiving the developmental-behavioral evaluation, suggesting that child health practitioners pay close attention to the neuropsychological development of SSD children, but mostly, the evaluation merely involves intellectual developmental screening tests. The detection rate of hearing loss in children with SSD is high. However, child health practitioners underestimate this problem, and have an insufficient understanding of the importance of the diagnostic hearing test. The diagnostic hearing test should be the preferred recommendation for assessing hearing ability rather than past hearing screening results or children's response to sound stimulation in life scenes.

Cloning and Sequence Analysis of Cellulose Synthase-like Gene from Ampelopsis megalophylla / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To clone cellulose synthase-like(Csl)gene from ethnic medicinal plant Ampelopsis megalophylla,and analyze its sequence by bioinformatics. Method:Specific primers were designed for AmCsl gene sequences obtained from A. megalophylla transcriptome sequencing data. The full-length cDNA of AmCsl gene was amplified by PCR using cDNA of young leaves as template,and TA clone and sequencing was performed. The sequence was analyzed by bioinformatics. Result:The full length cDNA was 1 438 bp,containing a 561 bp open reading frame(ORF),and encoding 186 amino acids,the molecular formula of protein was C1011H1547N233O257S10,the theoretical relative molecular weight was 22.40 kDa,the theory isoelectric point(PI)was 7.59,and the aliphatic index(AI)was 116.88.There was a transmembrane region and no signal peptide,which may be located in the endoplasmic reticulum,the average hydrophobic coefficient was 0.670,and the instability index was 42.56.It belonged to a hydrophobic unstable protein. The conserved domain contained a cellulose synthase,and the secondary structure mainly was dominated by α-helix. Amino acid sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analysis showed that AmCsl had a high homology with Vitis vinifera. Conclusion:The full length of AmCsl gene was obtained for preliminary bioinformatics analysis,which laid a necessary foundation for further study on the accumulation of polysaccharides and the regulation of biosynthesis.

The current status and influencing factors of frailty among community-dwelling old adults / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective@#To explore the current status and predictive factors of frailty among community-dwelling old adults.@*Methods@#A total of 1 012 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and above in Sichuan Province were enrolled and investigated by self-made general condition scale, Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI), Short Physical Performance Battery(SPPB), 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale(CD-RISC-10), Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE) and Geriatric Depression Scale Short-form(GDS-15).@*Results@#(1) The prevalence of frailty was 30.73%.(2) There were significant differences in the frailty scores of community-dwelling older adults in terms of gender, education, marital status, living condition, spouse support, children support, family economic conditions, self-perceived health status, number of chronic diseases, body mass index, number of falls in the past year, exercise state and sleep time at night(all P<0.05). (3) The frailty (3.72±2.88) was significantly positively correlated with depression (2.69±2.58; r=0.58, P<0.01), and negatively correlated with the scores of balance ability(3.28±1.01), walking speed(2.92±1.05), chair rise test(2.92±1.27), strength of resilience(13.99±3.57) and MMSE(23.71±5.55) (r=-0.33-0.43, P<0.01). (4) Depression (β=0.416, P<0.001), the number of chronic diseases(β=0.219, P<0.001), balance ability(β=-0.166, P<0.001), spousal support(β=-0.089, P<0.01), strength of resilience(β =-0.097, P<0.01), family economic status(β=0.093, P<0.01) and gender(β=0.082, P<0.01) significantly influenced frailty, with a combined explanation variance of 45.9%.@*Conclusions@#The rate of frailty of community-dwelling old adults is high, which is influenced by physiological, psychological and social factors.Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a comprehensive model of multi-disciplinary cooperation to carry out frailty intervention in community.

Research progress on general practitioners-specialists joint consultation service / 中华医院管理杂志

At present, general practitioners in China lack both specialist knowledge and ability, which calls for close cooperation between general practitioners and specialists to better guarantee medical quality and patient safety. The authors reviewed the connotation, research status, development trend, problems and suggestions of general practitioners-specialists joint consultation service. Based on such, they pointed out that such a general practitioner-specialist joint clinic is quite new in the country, but numerous literature has confirmed that it can not only make up for services fragmentation, but also reduce referral rate.Furthermore, it can improve the quality of people′s lives, improve the general practitioner′s professional knowledge and skills, standardize general practitioner′s rational drug use. All these prove the reform an effective measure and deserves further promotion and greater supervision.

The current status and influencing factors of frailty among community-dwelling old adults / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the current status and predictive factors of frailty among community-dwelling old adults.Methods A total of 1 012 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and above in Sichuan Province were enrolled and investigated by self-made general condition scale,Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI),Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB),10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10),Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Geriatric Depression Scale Short-form (GDS-15).Results (1) The prevalence of frailty was 30.73％.(2) There were significant differences in the frailty scores of community-dwelling older adults in terms of gender,education,marital status,living condition,spouse support,children support,family economic conditions,self-perceived health status,number of chronic diseases,body mass index,number of falls in the past year,exercise state and sleep time at night(all P＜0.05).(3) The frailty (3.72±2.88) was significantly positively correlated with depression (2.69± 2.58;r=0.58,P＜0.01),and negatively correlated with the scores of balance ability(3.28± 1.01),walking speed (2.92± 1.05),chair rise test (2.92± 1.27),strength of resilience (13.99±3.57) and MMSE (23.71 ±5.55) (r=-0.33-0.43,P＜0.01).(4) Depression (β=0.416,P＜0.001),the number of chronic diseases (β=0.219,P＜0.001),balance ability (β=-0.166,P＜0.001),spousal support (β=-0.089,P＜0.01),strength of resilience(β =-0.097,P＜0.01),family economic status(β=0.093,P＜0.01) and gender(β=0.082,P＜0.01) significantly influenced frailty,with a combined explanation variance of 45.9％.Conclusions The rate of frailty of community-dwelling old adults is high,which is influenced by physiological,psychological and social factors.Therefore,it is necessary to adopt a comprehensive model of multi-disciplinary cooperation to carry out frailty intervention in community.

The resilience characteristics and its influencing factors in the elderly disabled / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To investigate the resilience characteristics of the elderly disabled,and the effects of individual,family and social factors on resilience.Methods A total of 138 disabled older adults from four districts of Chengdu City were investigated by 10 items Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CDRISC-10),the automatic thoughts questionnaire (ATQ),self esteem scale (SES),revised eysenck personnality questionnaire short scale for chinese(EPQ-RSC) and self-made population sociology questionnaire.Totally 194 community-dwelling older adults without disabilities,as a comparative population,were included in the analysis.Results Compared with the community-dwelling elderly without disability (35.58 ± 5.75,18.13±3.48,18.43±3.08),the scores of resilience(21.38±7.71),strength(10.50±4.08) and hardiness (10.88±4.07) of the elderly disabled were significantly lower(t=-19.56,-17.81,-18.34,P＜0.01).There were no significant differences in the resilience scores of the elderly disabled in terms of gender,urban and rural sources,marital status,education,disability level and family atmosphere.However,there were significant differences in age,disability causes,disability type and family economic conditions (age:thardiess =2.18,P＜0.05.disability causes:tresilience =-2.75,tstrength =-2.22,thardiness =-2.68,P＜0.05.disability type:Fhardiness =2.60,P＜ 0.05.family economic conditions:Fresilience =5.45,Fstrength =4.78,Fhardiness =5.21,P＜0.01).The resilience,automatic thoughts,self-esteem and personality were significant correlation with each other(r=-0.16-0.65,P＜0.05).After controlling age,disability causes,disability type and family economic conditions,self esteem(β=0.291,P＜0.01),extraversion (β=0.287,P＜0.01) and neuroticism (β=-0.254,P＜0.05) were important influential factors of resilience,explained 32.0％ variance in resilience.Conclusion It may be an important way to improve resilience level of the elderly disabled by enhancing their selfesteem,promoting their psychological adjustment and strengthening their emotional management.

The reliability and validity of 10-item Connor-Davidson resilience scale in the community-dwelling ol-der adults / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To evaluate the reliability and validity of 10 items Connor-Davidson resili-ence scale ( CD-RISC-10 ) in the community-dwelling older adults. Methods Totally 620 community-dwelling older adults randomly chosen from 16 communities in Chengdu city were investigated by CD-RISC-10,the geriatric depression scale short form ( GDS-SF) and self-made basic condition questionnaire. Results The discrimination of the 10 items was statistically significant( t=6. 84-13. 57,P<0. 01) . Exploratory factor analysis showed two factors ( strength and hardiness) were extracted,and the cumulative variance interpreta-tion rate was 42. 32％. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that model index of two sub-factors (χ2/df=1. 518( P<0. 001) ,CFI =0. 964,TLI =0. 948,IFI =0. 965,NFI =0. 904,RMSEA=0. 042) . Cronbach's αof the total scale and the two sub-factors were 0. 737,0. 673 and 0. 585 respectively. After half a month,the retest reliability coefficients of the total scale and the two sub-factors were 0. 974,0. 932 and 0. 941(P<0. 01) . Conclusion The CD-RISC-10 scale has acceptable reliability and validity,with using easily and con-veniently. Therefore,it is an effective tool for measuring the resilience of the community-dwelling older adults.

Clinical and radiological characteristics of hemiplegic arm raising related to yawning in stroke patient / 解放军医学杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical and radiological characteristics of parakinesia brachialis oscitans (PBD) related to yawning in stroke patient and its mechanism.Methods We reported 4 patients with involuntary raising of the paralyzed limbs when yawning in neurological unit of Hainan Branch of Chinese PLA General Hospital,and analyzed their clinical characteristics together with published cases in literatures.Results In this group of stroke patients,when they yawned,their paralyzed upper limb could lift upward involuntarily.Totally 22 patients with ischemic (n=20) and hemorrhagic (n=2) stroke were enrolled.Brain imaging showed infarcts in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in 17 patients and in the brain stem in 5 patients.This phenomenon occurred 4 hours to 4 months (14.57 ± 31.66d) after stroke onset,and lasted from 1 week to 3 years (6.70 ± 11.66 months).Corticobulbar tract and pyramidal tract were both damaged in these 22 patients.The mechanism might be that after corticobulbar tract and pyramidal tract damaged,their dominant role in the cranial nerve nuclei of the brainstem and the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord disappeared,and the projection of oxytocinergic neurons from paraventricular nucleus functions,thus causing yawning and muscle contraction.Conclusion PBO may be a rare phenomenon of abnormal movement after stroke.This phenomenon indicates damaging of pyramidal tract,and PBO disappears gradually with the recovery of pyramidal tract function.

Neuroprotective effect of peptides extracted from walnut (Juglans Sigilata Dode) proteins on Aβ25-35-induced memory impairment in mice / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the major neurodegenerative disorders of the elderly, which is characterized by the accumulation and deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide in human brains. Oxidative streβs and neuroinflammation induced by Aβ in brain are increasingly considered to be responsible for the pathogenesis of AD. The present study aimed to determine the protective effects of walnut peptides against the neurotoxicity induced by Aβ25-35 in vivo. Briefly, the AD model was induced by injecting Aβ25-35 into bilateral hippocampi of mice. The animals were treated with distilled water or walnut peptides (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg, p.o.) for five consecutive weeks. Spatial learning and memory abilities of mice were investigated by Morris water maze test and step-down avoidance test. To further explore the underlying mechanisms of the neuroprotectivity of walnut peptides, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), acetylcholine esterase (AChE), and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) as well as the level of nitric oxide (NO) in the hippocampus of mice were measured by spectrophotometric method. In addition, the levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 in the samples were determined using ELISA. The hippocampal expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) were evaluated by Western blot analysis. The results showed that walnut peptides supplementation effectively ameliorated the cognitive deficits and memory impairment of mice. Meanwhile, our study also revealed effective restoration of levels of antioxidant enzymes as well as inflammatory mediators with supplementation of walnut peptides (400 or 800 mg/kg). All the above findings suggested that walnut peptides may have a protective effect on AD by reducing inflammatory responses and modulating antioxidant system.

Inhibitory effect of diosgenin on experimentally induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

This study investigated the effect of diosgenin, a natural sapogenin possessing various pharmacological activities, on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in rats and the possible mechanisms. BPH was established in the castrated rats by subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate. Animals were randomly divided into four groups (n=10 each): model group (0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose); positive control group (3 mg/kg finasteride); two diosgenin groups (50 and 100 mg/kg). The drugs were intragastricaly given in each group for consecutive 3 weeks. Another 10 rats with no testicles cut off served as negative controls and they were subcutaneously injected with 0.1 mL olive oil per day and then treated with 0.5% sodium carboxymethylcellulose. After 3-week administration, the prostate index and serum PSA level were determined, and histopathological examination was carried out. The levels of MDA, SOD and GPx in prostates were also measured. Additionally, the expression of Bcl-2, Bax and p53 was examined using Western blotting. The results showed that the prostate index and serum PSA level were significantly decreased, and the pathological changes of the prostate gland were greatly improved in diosgenin groups as compared with the model group. Elevated activities of SOD and GPx, and reduced MDA level were also observed in diosgenin-treated rats. In addition, the expression of Bcl-2 in prostates was down-regulated, whereas that of Bax and p53 was up-regulated in diosgenin-treated rats. These results indicated that diosgenin was effective in inhibiting testosterone propionate-induced prostate enlargement and may be a candidate agent for the treatment of BPH.

Neuroprotective effect of peptides extracted from walnut (Juglans Sigilata Dode) proteins on Aβ25-35-induced memory impairment in mice / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the major neurodegenerative disorders of the elderly, which is characterized by the accumulation and deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide in human brains. Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation induced by Aβ in brain are increasingly considered to be responsible for the pathogenesis of AD. The present study aimed to determine the protective effects of walnut peptides against the neurotoxicity induced by Aβ25-35 in vivo. Briefly, the AD model was induced by injecting Aβ25-35 into bilateral hippocampi of mice. The animals were treated with distilled water or walnut peptides (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg, p.o.) for five consecutive weeks. Spatial learning and memory abilities of mice were investigated by Morris water maze test and step-down avoidance test. To further explore the underlying mechanisms of the neuroprotectivity of walnut peptides, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), acetylcholine esterase (AChE), and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) as well as the level of nitric oxide (NO) in the hippocampus of mice were measured by spectrophotometric method. In addition, the levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 in the samples were determined using ELISA. The hippocampal expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) were evaluated by Western blot analysis. The results showed that walnut peptides supplementation effectively ameliorated the cognitive deficits and memory impairment of mice. Meanwhile, our study also revealed effective restoration of levels of antioxidant enzymes as well as inflammatory mediators with supplementation of walnut peptides (400 or 800 mg/kg). All the above findings suggested that walnut peptides may have a protective effect on AD by reducing inflammatory responses and modulating antioxidant system.

Preparation of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers for selective isolation and determination of kaempferol and protoapigenone in Macrothelypteris torresiana / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Novel uniform-sized magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) were synthesized for selective recognition of active antitumor ingredients of kaempferol (KMF) and protoapigenone (PA) in Macrothelypteris torresiana (M. torresiana) by surface molecular imprinting technique in this study. Super paramagnetic core-shell nanoparticles (γ-MPS-SiO2@Fe3O4) were used as seeds, KMF as template molecule, acrylamide (AM) as functional monomer, and N, N'-methylene bisacrylamide (BisAM) as cross-linker. The prepared MMIPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. The recognition capacity of MMIPs was 2.436 times of non-imprinted polymers. The adsorption results based on kinetics and isotherm analysis were in accordance with the pseudo-second-order model (R (2)=0.9980) and the Langmuir adsorption model (R (2)=0.9944). The value of E (6.742 kJ/mol) calculated from the Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm model suggested that the physical adsorption via hydrogen-bonding might be predominant. The Scatchard plot showed a single line (R (2)=0.9172) and demonstrated the homogeneous recognition sites on MMIPs for KMF. The magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) based on MMIPs as sorbent was established for fast and selective enrichment of KMF and its structural analogue PA from the crude extract of M. torresiana and then KMF and PA were detected by HPLC-UV. The established method showed good performance and satisfactory results for real sample analysis. It also showed the feasibility of MMIPs for selective recognition of active structural analogues from complex herbal extracts.

Dioscin-induced apoptosis of human LNCaP prostate carcinoma cells through activation of caspase-3 and modulation of Bcl-2 protein family / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Dioscin is a natural steroid saponin derived from several plants, showing potent anti-cancer effect against a variety of tumor cell lines. In the present study, we investigated the anti-cancer activity of dioscin against human LNCaP cells, and evaluated the possible mechanism involved in its antineoplastic action. It was found that dioscin (1, 2 and 4 μmol/L) could significantly inhibit the viability of LNCaP cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Flow cytometry revealed that the apoptosis rate was increased after treatment of LNCaP cells with dioscin for 24 h, indicating that apoptosis was an important mechanism by which dioscin inhibited cancer. Western blotting was employed to detect the expression of caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax in LNCaP cells. The expression of cleaved caspase-3 was significantly increased, and meanwhile procaspase-3 was markedly decreased. The expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 was down-regulated, whereas the pro-apoptotic protein Bax was up-regulated. Moreover, the Bcl-2/Bax ratio was drastically decreased. These results suggested that dioscin possessed potential anti-tumor activity in human LNCaP cells through the apoptosis pathway, which might be associated with caspase-3 and Bcl-2 protein family.

Preparation of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers for selective isolation and determination of kaempferol and protoapigenone in Macrothelypteris torresiana / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Novel uniform-sized magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) were synthesized for selective recognition of active antitumor ingredients of kaempferol (KMF) and protoapigenone (PA) in Macrothelypteris torresiana (M. torresiana) by surface molecular imprinting technique in this study. Super paramagnetic core-shell nanoparticles (γ-MPS-SiO2@Fe3O4) were used as seeds, KMF as template molecule, acrylamide (AM) as functional monomer, and N, N'-methylene bisacrylamide (BisAM) as cross-linker. The prepared MMIPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. The recognition capacity of MMIPs was 2.436 times of non-imprinted polymers. The adsorption results based on kinetics and isotherm analysis were in accordance with the pseudo-second-order model (R (2)=0.9980) and the Langmuir adsorption model (R (2)=0.9944). The value of E (6.742 kJ/mol) calculated from the Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm model suggested that the physical adsorption via hydrogen-bonding might be predominant. The Scatchard plot showed a single line (R (2)=0.9172) and demonstrated the homogeneous recognition sites on MMIPs for KMF. The magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) based on MMIPs as sorbent was established for fast and selective enrichment of KMF and its structural analogue PA from the crude extract of M. torresiana and then KMF and PA were detected by HPLC-UV. The established method showed good performance and satisfactory results for real sample analysis. It also showed the feasibility of MMIPs for selective recognition of active structural analogues from complex herbal extracts.

Dioscin-induced apoptosis of human LNCaP prostate carcinoma cells through activation of caspase-3 and modulation of Bcl-2 protein family / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Dioscin is a natural steroid saponin derived from several plants, showing potent anti-cancer effect against a variety of tumor cell lines. In the present study, we investigated the anti-cancer activity of dioscin against human LNCaP cells, and evaluated the possible mechanism involved in its antineoplastic action. It was found that dioscin (1, 2 and 4 μmol/L) could significantly inhibit the viability of LNCaP cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Flow cytometry revealed that the apoptosis rate was increased after treatment of LNCaP cells with dioscin for 24 h, indicating that apoptosis was an important mechanism by which dioscin inhibited cancer. Western blotting was employed to detect the expression of caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax in LNCaP cells. The expression of cleaved caspase-3 was significantly increased, and meanwhile procaspase-3 was markedly decreased. The expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 was down-regulated, whereas the pro-apoptotic protein Bax was up-regulated. Moreover, the Bcl-2/Bax ratio was drastically decreased. These results suggested that dioscin possessed potential anti-tumor activity in human LNCaP cells through the apoptosis pathway, which might be associated with caspase-3 and Bcl-2 protein family.