[Effects of Earthworm, Straw, and Citric Acid on the Remediation of Zn, Pb, and Cd Contaminated Soil by Solanum photeinocarpum and Pterocypsela indica].

Regulation of exogenous substances and intercropping are effective methods to improve the efficiency of phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil. A pot experiment was used to study the effects of earthworms, straw, and citric acid on the remediation of Zn, Pb, and Cd contaminated soil by monocropping and intercropping of Solanum photeinocarpum and Pterocypsela indica. The results showed that the bioaccumulation factors (BCF) of earthworms for Zn, Pb, and Cd were 0.07-0.13, 0.10-0.26, and 5.64-15.52, respectively. The addition of straw in the soil increased the biomass of earthworms by 22.29%-223.87% but reduced the heavy metal concentrations by 8.15%-62.58%. Straw and citric acid showed passivation and activation effects, respectively, but earthworms had no significant effect on the available concentrations of heavy metals in the soil. Earthworms had no significant effect on the heavy metal concentrations of P. indica but reduced the heavy metal concentrations of S. photeinocarpum. Straw showed an inhibitory effect on the concentrations of heavy metals in P. indica but promoted the concentrations of Cd in S. photeinocarpum. Citric acid had no significant effect on the heavy metal concentrations in S. photeinocarpum but significantly increased the Pb concentrations in P. indica. Intercropping significantly reduced the soil available heavy metal concentrations and increased the heavy metal concentrations in plant roots; however, it had no significant effect on heavy metal concentrations in plant shoots. The total extraction amounts of Zn, Pb, and Cd by plants were mainly manifested as P. indica>intercropping>S. photeinocarpum. The addition of earthworms increased the total extraction amounts of Zn, Pb, and Cd by 12.49%, 35.89%, and 29.01%, respectively, and the addition of straw+earthworms increased the total extraction amounts of Pb by 87.21%. The results indicated that straw significantly promoted the growth of earthworms and reduced their accumulation of heavy metals, and the addition of earthworms alone or in combination with straw can effectively improve the remediation potential of P. indica of Zn, Pb, and Cd contaminated soil.

Association between hyperglycemia at admission and mortality in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Elevated blood glucose is frequently detected early after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). We aimed to investigate whether hyperglycemia at admission is associated with mortality in patients with aSAH. METHODS: In a multicenter observational study of patients with aSAH, we defined normal glycemia, mild hyperglycemia, moderate hyperglycemia, and severe hyperglycemia as blood glucose of 4.00-6.09 mmol/L, 6.10-7.80 mmol/L, 7.81-10.00 mmol/L, and > 10.00 mmol/L, respectively. We performed propensity score matching to obtain the adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Of 6771 patients with aSAH, 511(7.5 %) had died in hospital, and hyperglycemia at admission was observed in 4804 (70.9 %). Propensity scores matching analyses indicated that compared with normal glycemia, the odds of in-hospital mortality were slightly lower in patients with mild hyperglycemia (OR 0.89, 95 % CI 0.56-1.40), significantly higher in patients with moderate hyperglycemia (OR 1.90, 95 % CI 1.20-3.01), and in patients with severe hyperglycemia (OR 3.45, 95 % CI 2.15-5.53; P trend < 0.001). Long-term survival was worse among patients with hyperglycemia and was proportional to its severity. Similar dose-response associations were evident for poor functional outcomes and major disability. Hyperglycemia was associated with an increased risk of hospital-acquired infections (OR 1.46, 95 % CI 1.29-1.66) and rebleeding (OR 1.58, 95 % CI 1.06-2.35). CONCLUSIONS: Among aSAH patients, hyperglycemia at admission was independently associated with increased mortality. Both moderate hyperglycemia and severe hyperglycemia were associated with an increased risk of mortality, but these associations were not seen in mild hyperglycemia (blood glucose 6.10-7.80 mmol/L).

Effect of An Atmospheric Plasma Jet on the Differentiation of Melanoblast Progenitor.

OBJECTIVE: Melanoblasts are the cell source of regeneration for pigment restoration. The ability to differentiate into mature melanocytes is the essential feature of melanoblasts in depigmentation diseases. Cold atmospheric plasma is an ionized gas with near-room temperature and highly reactive species that has been shown to induce stem cell differentiation. The aim of the study was to explore the effect of cold atmospheric plasma on the differentiation of melanoblast progenitor cells. METHODS: In this study, melanoblasts were exposed to the plasma jet and the cell morphology was observed. The cell cycle and cell proliferation were detected. Furthermore, the cell immunofluorescence and the detection of melanin particle and nitric oxide were carried out to investigate the differentiation of melanoblast progenitor cells. RESULTS: Cells that were treated with the plasma had longer and more synaptic structures, and the G1 phase of cell cycle was prolonged in the treated group. More melanin synthesis-related proteins and melanin particles were produced after plasma treatment. Nitric oxide was one of the active components generated by the plasma jet, and the nitric oxide content in the cell culture medium of the treated group increased. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that an increase in nitric oxide production caused by a plasma jet can promote cell differentiation. The application of plasma provides an innovative strategy for the treatment of depigmentation diseases.

Multiple-Coated PLGA Nanoparticles Loading Triptolide Attenuate Injury of a Cellular Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, which is associated with extracellular deposition of amyloid-ß proteins (Aß). It has been reported that triptolide (TP), an immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory agent extracted from a Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii, shows potential neuroprotective effects pertinent to AD. However, the clinical use of TP for AD could be hampered due to its high toxicity, instability, poor water solubility, and nonspecific biodistribution after administration. In this paper, we reported a kind of multiple-coated PLGA nanoparticle with the entrapment of TP and surface coated by chitosan hydrochloride, Tween-80, PEG20000, and borneol/mentholum eutectic mixture (MC-PLGA-TP-NP) as a novel nasal brain targeting preparation for the first time. The obtained MC-PLGA-TP-NP was 147.5 ± 20.7 nm with PDI of 0.263 ± 0.075, zeta potential of 14.62 ± 2.47 mV, and the entrapment efficiency and loading efficiency of 93.14% ± 4.75% and 1.17 ± 0.08%, respectively. In comparison of TP, MC-PLGA-TP-NP showed sustained-release profile and better transcellular permeability to Caco-2 cells in vitro. In addition, our data showed that MC-PLGA-TP-NP remarkably reduced the cytotoxicity, attenuated the oxidative stress, and inhibited the increase of the intracellular Ca2+ influx in differentiated PC12 cells induced by Aß 1-42. Therefore, it can be concluded that MC-PLGA-TP-NP is a promising preparation of TP, which exerts a better neuroprotective activity in the AD cellular model.

Protective effect of isoliquiritigenin against cerebral injury in septic mice via attenuation of NF-κB.

BACKGROUND: The study was conducted to scrutinize the outcome of isoliquiritigenin (ISL) against cerebral injury in septic mice. METHODS: The sepsis was introduced using cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) method in experimental mice. The effect of ISL was quantified using the content of brain water and blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability. The effect on the levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) in brain homogenates was also determined. The effect of ISL on the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1ß, and IL-6 in serum was also estimated. The levels of various inflammatory biomarkers (COX-2 and PGE2) were also studied. The expression of NF-κB signalling cascade and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was estimated by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with CLP group, the brain water content was found to be reduced significantly together with the enhanced BBB integrity in ISL treated group. The level of MDA was reduced together with enhanced level of SOD and GSH in the ISL treated group. The levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 were also found to be modulated in ISL group. The level of COX-2 and PGE2 was reduced to near normal after ISL administration together with increase in the IκBα expression and reduction of p65 and p-p65 expression in a concentration-dependent manner. The expression of iNOS was also found to be reduced in ISL group. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that ISL causes protection of CLP-induced sepsis in experimental mice via multiple pathways.