Complete plastid genome sequence of Oberonioides microtatantha (Schltr.) Szlach. (Orchidaceae), an endemic herb in China.

The species Oberonioides microtatantha, belonging to the family Orchidaceae, is a small lithophytic herb endemic in south China with significant conservation values. The complete plastid genome sequence of O. microtatantha reported here is 144,989 bp in length, with a large single copy (LSC) region of 83,920 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 13,063 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat (IRa and IRb) regions of 24,003 bp each. The plastome consists of 95 genes, including 72 protein-coding genes, 4 ribosomal RNA genes, and 19 transfer RNA genes. The overall GC content is 36.81%. Phylogenetic analysis placed Oberonioides closet to the genus Liparis in Orchidaceae.

Inhibition of growth and induction of apoptosis in A549 cells by compounds from oxheart cabbage extract.

BACKGROUND: Oxheart cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) is a member of the Brassica genus. Although some studies on the anticancer effects of extracts from oxheart cabbage have been reported, comprehensive information on the bioactive fractions and components from oxheart cabbage extracts is still lacking. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify the bioactive fractions and components from oxheart cabbage seeds using activity-guided isolation methods. RESULTS: The cytotoxicity and apoptotic effects of fraction II, fraction III, iberverin, sulforaphane and iberin from oxheart cabbage seed extract were investigated. The results showed that all five components had inhibitory effects on the in vitro growth of A549 cells which were dose-dependent. These compounds also changed the morphology of A549 cells, and their inhibitory activity on A549 cells was as follows: sulforaphane > iberin > iberverin > fraction III > fraction II. The IC50 values were 3.53 ± 0.63, 4.93 ± 1.02, 7.07 ± 0.51, 15.56 ± 0.24 and 27.32 ± 0.63 µg mL(-1) respectively. Fraction II, fraction III, iberverin, sulforaphane and iberin induced cell apoptosis by increasing early apoptosis and late apoptosis/necrosis, and activation of caspase-3, -8 and -9. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that the decrease in A549 cell viability by active compounds from oxheart cabbage seed extract was due to the induction of apoptosis. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in human lung cancer A549 cells by 4-methylsulfinyl-3-butenyl isothiocyanate from radish seeds.

4-Methylsulfinyl-3-butenyl isothiocyanate (MTBITC) found in the radish (Raphanus sativus L.), is a well- known anticancer agent. In this study, the mechanisms of the MTBITC induction of cell apoptosis in human A549 lung cancer cells were investigated. Our PI staining results showed that MTBITC treatment significantly increased the apoptotic sub-G1 fraction in a dose-dependent manner. The mechanism of apoptosis induced by MTBITC was investigated by testing the change of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), the expression of mRNAs of apoptosis-related genes by RT-PCR, and the activities of caspase-3 and -9 by caspase colorimetric assay. MTBITC treatment decreased mitochondrial membrane potential by down-regulating the rate of Bcl-2/ Bax and Bcl-xL/Bax, and activation of caspase-3 and -9. Therefore, mitochondrial pathway and Bcl-2 gene family could be involved in the mechanisms of A549 cell apoptosis induced by MTBITC.

Assistive walking device use and knee osteoarthritis: results from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study (Health ABC Study).

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors that predicted incident use of assistive walking devices (AWDs) and to explore whether AWD use was associated with changes in osteoarthritis of the knee. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Older adults (N=2639) in the Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study including a subset of 874 patients with prevalent knee pain. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incident use of AWDs, mean Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain scores, and the frequency of joint space narrowing on knee radiographs over a 3-year time period. RESULTS: AWD use was initiated by 9% of the entire Health ABC cohort and 12% of the knee pain subset. Factors that predicted use in both groups were age ≥73 (entire cohort: odds ratio [OR]=2.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.43-3.01; knee pain subset: OR=1.87; 95% CI, 1.16-3.03), black race (entire cohort: OR=2.95; 95% CI, 2.09-4.16; knee pain subset: OR=3.21; 95% CI, 2.01-5.11), and lower balance ratios (entire cohort: OR=3.18; 95% CI, 2.21-4.59; knee pain subset: OR=3.77; 95% CI, 2.34-6.07). Mean WOMAC pain scores decreased slightly over time in both AWD and non-AWD users. Twenty percent of non-AWD users and 28% of AWD users had radiographic progression in joint space narrowing of the tibiofemoral joint in at least 1 knee. Fourteen percent of non-AWD users and 12% of AWD users had radiographic progression in joint space narrowing in the patellofemoral joint in at least 1 knee. CONCLUSIONS: AWDs are frequently used by older adults. Knee pain and balance problems are significant reasons why older adults initiate use of an AWD. In an exploratory analysis, there was no consistent relation between the use or nonuse of an AWD and WOMAC pain scores or knee joint space narrowing progression. Further studies of the relation of use of AWDs to changes in knee osteoarthritis are needed.

Osteoporosis care in the United States after declines in reimbursements for DXA.

In January 2007, in the United States (US), Medicare initiated a series of cuts to reimbursement for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) services performed in the nonfacility setting that by January 2010 reduced payments for these services by more than 60% compared with 2006 levels. The objectives of this study were to determine if a temporal association exists between Medicare Physician Fee Schedule changes in office-based DXA reimbursement and attendance at educational conferences for osteoporosis, physicians' perceptions of changes in their medical practices, or national trends in retail prescription medications for osteoporosis in those aged 65 and older. Compared with the 2 yr before the decline in Medicare reimbursement for DXA (2005-2006), attendance at educational meetings for osteoporosis in the US declined in the 2 yr after these cuts (2007-2008) by 6%; declines in attendance were only present in meetings selective for bone densitometry. Survey participants reported changes in DXA services with approximately one-third indicating that they had either decreased the number of DXAs they performed or declined service contracts or hardware/software updates compared with 2005-2006. The number of retail prescriptions for Food and Drug Administration-approved osteoporosis drugs (excluding estrogen compounds and raloxifene) in the age 65 and older population increased by 5.5% in the time period 2007-2008 compared with 2005-2006. However, in the last year of the study (2008), total retail prescriptions for these drugs experienced for the first time over the interval of the study, a decline (1.4%) compared with the previous year. This occurred despite a 2.6% increase in the US population age 65 and older. In conclusion, there were temporal associations noted between Medicare cuts in DXA payments in attendance at educational conferences for bone densitometry, self-report of office-based provision of DXA services in the US, and retail prescriptions for osteoporosis therapies.

Effect of cultivating conditions on alpha-galactosidase production by a novel Aspergillus foetidus ZU-G1 strain in solid-state fermentation.

The work is intended to achieve optimum culture conditions of alpha-galactosidase production by a mutant strain Aspergillus foetidus ZU-G1 in solid-state fermentation (SSF). Certain fermentation parameters involving moisture content, incubation temperature, cultivation period of seed, inoculum volume, initial pH value, layers of pledget, load size of medium and period of cultivation were investigated separately. The optimal cultivating conditions of alpha-galactosidase production in SSF were 60% initial moisture of medium, 28 degrees C incubation temperature, 18 h cultivation period of seed, 10% inoculum volume, 5.0 approximately 6.0 initial pH of medium, 6 layers of pledget and 10 g dry matter loadage. Under the optimized cultivation conditions, the maximum alpha-galactosidase production was 2 037.51 U/g dry matter near the 144th hour of fermentation.

Sleep deprivation impairs hippocampus-mediated contextual learning but not amygdala-mediated cued learning in rats.

Prolonged sleep deprivation results in cognitive deficits. In rats, for example, sleep deprivation impairs spatial learning and hippocampal long-term potentiation. We tested the effects of sleep deprivation on learning in a Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigm, choosing a sleep deprivation paradigm in which REM sleep was completely prevented and non-REM sleep was strongly decreased. During conditioning, rats were given footshocks, either alone or paired with a tone, and tested 24 h later for freezing responses to the conditioning context, and to the tone in a novel environment. Whereas control animals had robust contextual learning in both background and foreground contextual conditioning paradigms, 72 h of sleep deprivation before conditioning dramatically impaired both types of contextual learning (by more than 50%) without affecting cued learning. Increasing the number of footshocks did not overcome the sleep deprivation-induced deficit. The results provide behavioural evidence that REM/non-REM sleep deprivation has neuroanatomically selective actions, differentially interfering with the neural systems underlying contextual learning (i.e. the hippocampus) and cued learning (i.e. the amygdala), and support the involvement of the hippocampus in both foreground and background contextual conditioning.