Effects of soybean isoflavones on reproductive parameters in Chinese mini-pig boars

Background

Soybean isoflavones are structurally similar to mammalian estrogens and therefore may act as estrogen agonists or antagonists. However, it has not been determined if they have any negative effects on reproductive parameters in male livestock. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of soybean isoflavones on male reproduction using Chinese mini-pig boars as a model. Fifty Xiang boars were randomly divided into five groups and fed diets containing 0, 125, 250, or 500 ppm soybean isoflavones or 0.5 ppm diethylstilbestrol for 60 days.

Results

Dietary supplementation with 250 ppm of soy isoflavones markedly increased the testis index (P < 0.05), fructose content (P < 0.05), and α-glycosidase content in testicular tissue (P < 0.01), as well as increased the number of viable germ cells (P < 0.01) and the level of Bcl-2 protein (P < 0.01). However, 500 ppm of soybean isoflavones significantly reduced both testis and epididymis indexes (P < 0.05) and lactate dehydrogenase levels (P < 0.01), as well as reduced serum LH and testosterone levels (P < 0.05). High levels of soybean isoflavones also increased malondialdehyde levels (P < 0.05), as well as increased the numbers of early and late apoptotic germ cells (P < 0.01) and the level of Bax proteins (P < 0.05) in the testis.

Conclusions

The results of this study indicate that consumption of soy isoflavones at dietary levels up to 250 ppm did not adversely affect reproductive parameters in Chinese mini-pig boars whereas higher levels of soy isoflavones may adversely affect male reproduction.     

Effect of transplantation of hRAMP1 gene-modified bone marrow MSCs on postangioplasty neointima formation in rabbits

AIM: To explore the effect of transplantation of human receptor activity-modifying protein 1 ( hRAMP1 ) gene-modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on neointima formation after carotid balloon angioplasty in carotid atherosclerosis rabbits. METHODS: MSCs were collected through density gradient centrifugation and adherent culture. MSCs were transfected with adenovirus vector carrying hRAMP1 gene to generate hRAMP1 gene-modified MSCs (hRAMP1-MSCs). All animals with carotid atherosclerosis and balloon angioplasty were randomly divided into hRAMP-MSCs group, MSCs group and control group. After the model was established, MSCs transfected with pAd2-EGFP-hRAMP1 or pAd2-EGFP and PBS were injected to the ear vein,respectively. The injured carotid arteries were harvested to detect the homing of MSCs,reendothelialization and neointima thickness 7 d, 14 d and 28 d after cell transplantation. The plasma samples were collected for detecting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by ELISA. The expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in injured carotid arteries was measured by Western blotting. RESULTS: The expression of CD31 and EGFP was observed in the neointima at different time points in hRAMP1-MSCs group and MSCs group. Compared to control group, the reendothelialization of carotid significantly increased in both hRAMP1-MSCs group and MSCs group at different time points (P<0.05), and that in hRAMP1-MSCs group showed better than that in MSCs group (P<0.05). The area of neointima and the rate of restenosis were lower in hRAMP1-MSCs group and MSCs group than those in control group, and those in hRAMP1-MSCs group were significantly lower than those in MSCs group. The plasma level of VEGF and the expression of eNOS in the injured carotid arteries were significantly higher in both hRAMP1-MSCs group and MSCs group than those in control group at different time points (P<0.05), and those in hRAMP1-MSCs group were better than those in MSCs group (P<0.05). In the injured carotid arteries, the expression level of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in hRAMP1-MSCs group was the lowest,with the middle level in MSCs group and the highest level in control group. CONCLUSION: The hRAMP1 gene-modified MSCs are better in promoting reendothelialization and attenuating neointima than natural MSCs. The recombinant hRAMP1 adenovirus vectors dont affect the differentiation potential of MSCs into endothelial cells.These findings indicate that the modified stem cells have the potency of more effective reendothelialization to decrease restenosis after angioplasty.     

Clinical significance and prognostic value of extracellular signal-regulated kinases in epithelial ovarian cancer

AIM: To investigate the expression of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) in epithelial ovarian cancer and to analyze the correlation between the expression of p-ERK and prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer patients. METHODS: The samples of normal ovarian tissues, benign ovarian tissues and ovarian carcinoma were collected. The expression of p-ERK in each sample was detected by Western blotting. Assemble clinical data and survival were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression. RESULTS: The expression level of p-ERK in ovarian carcinoma was significantly higher than that in benign ovarian tissues and in normal ovarian tissues. The overexpression of p-ERK protein was significantly higher in stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ disease than that in stage I/II disease. No difference of p-ERK expression level between the benign ovarian tissues and the normal ovarian tissues was observed. The overexpression of p-ERK was found more often in poorly-differentiated ovarian cancer. Compared with serous carcinoma of ovary, the expression level of p-ERK was similar in undifferentiated adenocarcinoma. The expression level of p-ERK was low in endometrioid carcinoma of ovary and mucinous carcinoma of ovary. The expression level of p-ERK was negatively correlated with the survival time. Increased p-ERK expression was strongly correlated to the poor survival. Shorter survival time was significantly associated with p-ERK expression, residual tumor, stage, grade and chemotherapy course. Shorter survival time was not significantly correlated with tumorous pathology. CONCLUSION: p-ERK is a key regulation kinase involved in epithelial ovarian cancer. The expression level of p-ERK seems to have a prognosis value in epithelial ovarian cancer.     

国外动物源产品中重金属污染现状

目前国外食品链中重金属污染的情况如何?本文首次结合美国、欧盟和澳大利亚重金属污染的残留监控报告来进行阐述分析,并提出了防控动物源性食品中重金属污染的措施。     

Sesquiterpenes from the marine red alga Laurencia composita

Four new chamigrane derivatives, laurecomin A (1), laurecomin B (2), laurecomin C (3), and laurecomin D (4), one new naturally occurring sesquiterpene, 2,10-dibromo-3-chloro-7-chamigren-9-ol acetate (5), and three known halogenated structures, deoxyprepacifenol (6), 1-bromoselin-4(14),11-diene (7), and 9-bromoselin-4(14),11-diene (8), were isolated from the marine red alga Laurencia composita collected from Pingtan Island, China. The structures of these compounds were unambiguously established by 1D, 2D NMR and mass spectroscopic techniques. The bioassay results showed that 2 was active against both brine shrimp and fungus Colletotrichum lagenarium.     

关于植树造林技术的探讨

主要结合江西省林地的现状,以及江西省退耕还林工程的实际情况,对三种有针对性的植树造林技术进行了阐述。     

猪支原体肺炎活疫苗(168株)生产工艺关键技术研究

肺炎支原体的培养和保存条件非常苛刻,是疫苗规模化生产的工艺难题。本文针对猪支原体肺炎活疫苗(168株)生产工艺关键技术进行研究。通过培养试验筛选四种培养基配方表明该疫苗株在低血清改良培养基中生长良好;优化发酵培养工艺,使其在发酵罐培养60～70 h的峰值可达到1010CCU/mL;设计筛选该疫苗耐热保护剂和冻干工艺,37℃下保存10 d的耐老化试验结果显示,下降滴度小于100.5CCU/mL。本研究为提供高效、安全和稳定的猪肺炎支原体疫苗产品奠定基础。     

紫色土丘陵区不同耕作模式土壤抗冲性对比分析

基于径流小区定位观测研究,分别研究紫色土丘陵区坡耕地不同耕作模式(横垄、顺垄、混合耕作)和不同土层(0～15 cm、15～30 cm)对土壤径流冲刷过程中径流含沙量及抗冲指数的变化特征的影响,以及影响因素的内在关系。研究结果表明:(1)在整个冲刷过程中,不同土层土壤表面径流泥沙流失量呈递减趋势,最后基本趋于稳定;(2)在整个冲刷过程中,径流泥沙流失量总体表现为0～15 cm土层>15～30 cm土层,这主要与土壤剖面特性有关,而农业耕作和根系的影响占次要地位;(3)在各种耕作模式中,抗冲指数的大小均表现为0～15 cm土层<15～30 cm土层,且后者分别是前者的2～3倍。     

四翅滨藜播种育苗试验研究

通过不同药剂处理四翅滨黎,并进行播种育苗试验,结果表明,对种子的萌芽影响大小顺序依次为:0.5%碧护>0.0033%赤霉素>0.005% ATP3>0.005% GGR生根粉=0.2%磷酸二氢钾>清水对照;采用浓度为0.5%碧护和0.0033%赤霉素处理种子,可显著提高种子发芽率;采用浓度为0.005% GGR和0.005% ATP3生根粉浸种对苗木生长有显著促进作用.     

Physicochemical Properties and In Vitro Starch Digestibility of Cooked Rice from Commercially Available Cultivars in Canada

The influence of amylose content, cooking, and storage on starch structure, thermal behaviors, pasting properties, and rapidly digestible starch (RDS), slowly digestible starch (SDS), and resistant starch (RS) in different commercial rice cultivars was investigated. Long grain rice with high‐amylose content had a higher gelatinization temperature and a lower gelatinization enthalpy than the other rice cultivars with intermediate amylose content (Arborio and Calrose) and waxy type (glutinous). The intensity ratio of 1047/1022 cm^–1 determined by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT‐IR), which indicated the ordered structure in starch granules, was the highest in glutinous and the lowest in long grain. Results from Rapid ViscoAnalyser (RVA) showed that the rice cultivar with higher amylose content had lower peak viscosity and breakdown, but higher pasting temperature, setback, and final viscosity. The RDS content was 28.1, 38.6, 41.5, and 57.5% in long grain, Arborio, Calrose, and glutinous rice, respectively, which was inversely related to amylose content. However, the SDS and RS contents were positively correlated with amylose content. During storage of cooked rice, long grain showed a continuous increase in pasting viscosity, while glutinous exhibited the sharp cold‐water swelling peak. The retrogradation rate was greater in rice cultivars with high amylose content. The ratio of 1047/1022 cm^–1 was substantially decreased by cooking and then increased during storage of cooked rice due to the crystalline structure, newly formed by retrogradation. Storage of cooked rice decreased RDS content and increased SDS content in all rice cultivars. However, no increase in RS content during storage was observed. The enthalpy for retrogradation and the intensity ratio 1047/1022 cm^–1 during storage were correlated negatively with RDS and positively with SDS (P ≤ 0.01).