Homopolymer PAN and triblock copolymer PAN-<b>b</b>-PMMA-<b>b</b>-PAN synthesized by RAFT polymerization were used to fabricate activated hierarchical porous carbon membranes by combining phase inversion, carbonization, and HNO3 activation method; during the preparation process, a lot of micro- and meso-pores generated because of phase separation of PAN and microphase separation of PAN-<b>b</b>-PMMA-<b>b</b>-PAN. The hierarchical porous structure shortened ions transport paths and facilitated the rapid migration of electrolyte ions. When the polymer membrane was prepared by the casting solution with 5 wt% of PAN-<b>b</b>-PMMA-<b>b</b>-PAN and the electrochemical performance was tested at the current densities from 0.5 to 5 A g−1, a high-end specific capacitance of 297.0 F g−1 and a capacitance retention of 75% were obtained in three-electrode configuration; this specific capacitance remained above 90% of initial value after 2000 cycles at 2 A g−1 in 6 M KOH aqueous solution. Moreover, symmetric supercapacitors assembled with the prepared materials achieved high energy density (15.8 Wh Kg−1) and power density (4000 W Kg−1) in 1 M Na2SO4 solution. The unique features and structures endowed the electrode membrane with good capacitive performance in both three-electrode and two-electrode configuration, which can be used as electrode membranes for high-performance energy storage devices and other applications.<br><br>Display Omitted<br>• An electrode membrane of activated hierarchical porous carbon was fabricated • Micro- and meso-pores generated due to the phase and microphase separation. • Effects of copolymer concentration on structure and performance were studied • High electrochemical performance for supercapacitor was obtained.
BACKGROUND: Meconopsis horridula Hook (M. horridula) has been used as a traditional Tibetan medicine to relieve heat and pain as well as mobilize static blood, and it is recognized as a good treatment for bruises. This study is the first trial to evaluate the tumor inhibitory activity of M. horridula extract and its underlying mechanism in the hope of providing evidence to support the anticancer function of M. horridula.METHODS AND RESULTS: M. horridula extract was cytotoxic to L1210 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. SEM (scanning electron microscope) observation revealed obvious morphological changes in L1210 cells after M. horridula treatment. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that the extract dose-dependently induced early apoptosis. Additional apoptosis parameters, such as alterations in nuclear morphology and DNA damage, were also observed. Furthermore, M. horridula treatment induced G2/M arrest. M. horridula treatment significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, suggesting that ROS are a key factor in M. horridula-induced apoptosis. Volatile constituent detection found 15 abundant chemicals in M. horridula, which may contribute to its anticancer effect.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, M. horridula extract induced L1210 cell apoptosis and inhibited proliferation through G2/M phase arrest, and ROS were involved in the process.
The aim of this study was to measure the effects of a bi-weekly Raj yoga program on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity. Subjects were recruited from among RA patients in Dubai, United Arab Emirates by email invitations of the RA database. Demographic data, disease activity indices, health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), and quality of life (QOL) by SF-36 were documented at enrollment and after completion of 12 sessions of Raj yoga. A total of 47 patients were enrolled: 26 yoga and 21 controls. Baseline demographics were similar in both groups. Patients who underwent yoga had statistically significant improvements in DAS28 and HAQ, but not QOL. Our pilot study of 12 sessions of yoga for RA was able to demonstrate statistically significant improvements in RA disease parameters. We believe that a longer duration of treatment could result in more significant improvements.
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Plant hormone determination in food matrices has attracted more and more attention because of their potential risks to human health. However, analytical methods for the analysis of multiple plant hormones remain poorly investigated. In the present study, a convenient, selective, and ultrasensitive high-performance liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous determination of multiple classes of plant hormones has been developed successfully using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by precolumn fluorescent labeling. Eight plant hormones in fruits including jasmonic acid, 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid, indole-3-acetic acid, 3-indolybutyric acid, 3-indolepropionic acid, gibberellin A₃, 1-naphthylacetic acid, and 2-naphthaleneacetic acid were analyzed by this method. The conditions employed for dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction were optimized systematically. The linearity for all plant hormones was found to be >0.9993 (<i>R</i>² values). This method offered low detection limits of 0.19-0.44 ng/mL (at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3), and method accuracies were in the range of 92.32-103.10%. The proposed method was applied to determine plant hormones in five kinds of food samples, and this method can achieve a short analysis time, low threshold levels of detection, and a high specificity for the analysis of targeted plant hormones present at trace level concentrations in complex matrices.
The present study examined the relationships between dispositional mindfulness, emotional intelligence and perceived stress using self-report measures. We administered the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), and the Perceive Stress Scale (PPS) to a non-clinical sample of Chinese adults (n = 380). The results showed that mindfulness was positively associated with four components of WLEIS, and negatively associated with perceived stress. Mediation analysis indicated that only the regulation and use of emotion components of WLEIS acted as mediators of the association between mindfulness and perceived stress. Effect contrasts showed no significant difference between the specific indirect effects through these two mediators. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The characteristic fingerprint of conventional dairy Nanhanshuishi was established by X-ray diffraction (XRD), based on similarity of caculation on public peaks by MATLAB software, and the feasibility of new dairy technology of microwave method was explored between XRD and the dissolution rate in artificial simulation gastric juices. The result showed that similarity of shared peak in XRD of conventional dairy Nanhanshuishi was > 95%, This XRD characteristic fingerprint of conventional dairy Nanhanshuishi had strong specificity, could be used to provide a reference for identification and quality evaluation. This study also showed that the similarity of microware dairy products and conventional dairy products was good, and the sample of microwave 15 min was the best, and new dairy method by the microwave could replace the traditional method.
The medicines targeted at α-glucosidase played an important role in anti-diabetes and anti-HIV therapy. Unfortunately, the method based on fluorescent assay strategy for α-glucosidase inhibitor screening remains poorly investigated. In this study, a novel "Turn On" fluorescence sensor platform has been developed for trace α-glucosidase inhibitor screening from natural medicines. Firstly, carbon dots were prepared by one-pot synthesis and used as the signal output. Combining with the carbon dots, cobalt oxyhydroxide (CoOOH) nanoflakes were employed to build the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) based sensor platform. Secondly, L-ascorbic acid-2-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl (AAG) was innovatively introduced as α-glucosidase substrate. With hydrolysis of AAG by α-glucosidase, ascorbic acids (AA) were released that can rapidly reduce CoOOH nanoflakes to Co(2+), and then FRET was stopped accompanying with the fluorescence recovery of CDs. The sensor platform was ultrasensitive to AA with a detection limit of 5 nM, ensuring the sensitive monitoring of enzyme activity. Acarbose was used as the inhibitor model and its inhibition rate is proportional to the logarithm of concentration in range of 10(-9)-10(-3)M with the correlation coefficient of R(2)=0.996, and an ultralow limit of detection of ~1×10(-9)M was obtained. The inhibiting ability of seven compounds isolated from natural medicines was also evaluated. The constructed sensor platform was proven to be sensitive and selective as well as cost-effective, facile and reliable, making it promising as a candidate for trace α-glucosidase inhibitor screening.
Objectives: Meconopsis integrifolia (M. integrifolia) is one of the most popular members in Traditional Tibetan Medicine. This study aimed to investigate the anticancer effect of M. integrifolia and to detect the underlying mechanisms of these effects. Methods: 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and trypan blue assay were used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of M. integrifolia. Changes in cell nuclear morphology and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level were observed by fluorescent microscopy. Apoptosis ratio, DNA damage and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) loss were analyzed by flow cytometry. Western blotting assay was adopted to detect the proteins related to apoptosis. Immunofluorescence was used to observe the release of cytochrome C. Results: The obtained data revealed that M. integrifolia could significantly inhibit K562 cell viability, mainly by targeting apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase. Collapse in cell morphology, chromatin condensation, DNA damage and ROS accumulation were observed. Further mechanism detection revealed that mitochondrion might be a key factor in M. integrifolia-induced apoptosis. Conclusions: M. integrifolia could induce mitochondria mediated apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase with little damage to normal cells, suggesting that M. integrifolia might be a potential and efficient anticancer agent that deserves further investigation.
OBJECTIVES: Meconopsis integrifolia (M. integrifolia) is one of the most popular members in Traditional Tibetan Medicine. This study aimed to investigate the anticancer effect of M. integrifolia and to detect the underlying mechanisms of these effects. METHODS: 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and trypan blue assay were used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of M. integrifolia. Changes in cell nuclear morphology and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level were observed by fluorescent microscopy. Apoptosis ratio, DNA damage and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) loss were analyzed by flow cytometry. Western blotting assay was adopted to detect the proteins related to apoptosis. Immunofluorescence was used to observe the release of cytochrome C. RESULTS: The obtained data revealed that M. integrifolia could significantly inhibit K562 cell viability, mainly by targeting apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase. Collapse in cell morphology, chromatin condensation, DNA damage and ROS accumulation were observed. Further mechanism detection revealed that mitochondrion might be a key factor in M. integrifolia-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: M. integrifolia could induce mitochondria mediated apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase with little damage to normal cells, suggesting that M. integrifolia might be a potential and efficient anticancer agent that deserves further investigation.
Those with high baseline stress levels are more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). While meditation may reduce stress and alter the hippocampus and default mode network (DMN), little is known about its impact in these populations. Our objective was to conduct a "proof of concept" trial to determine whether Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) would improve DMN connectivity and reduce hippocampal atrophy among adults with MCI. 14 adults with MCI were randomized to MBSR vs. usual care and underwent resting state fMRI at baseline and follow-up. Seed based functional connectivity was applied using posterior cingulate cortex as seed. Brain morphometry analyses were performed using FreeSurfer. The results showed that after the intervention, MBSR participants had increased functional connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and bilateral medial prefrontal cortex and left hippocampus compared to controls. In addition, MBSR participants had trends of less bilateral hippocampal volume atrophy than control participants. These preliminary results indicate that in adults with MCI, MBSR may have a positive impact on the regions of the brain most related to MCI and AD. Further research with larger sample sizes and longer-follow-up are needed to further investigate the results from this pilot study.
Those with high baseline stress levels are more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). While meditation may reduce stress and alter the hippocampus and default mode network (DMN), little is known about its impact in these populations. Our objective was to conduct a “proof of concept” trial to determine whether Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) would improve DMN connectivity and reduce hippocampal atrophy among adults with MCI. 14 adults with MCI were randomized to MBSR vs. usual care and underwent resting state fMRI at baseline and follow-up. Seed based functional connectivity was applied using posterior cingulate cortex as seed. Brain morphometry analyses were performed using FreeSurfer. The results showed that after the intervention, MBSR participants had increased functional connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and bilateral medial prefrontal cortex and left hippocampus compared to controls. In addition, MBSR participants had trends of less bilateral hippocampal volume atrophy than control participants. These preliminary results indicate that in adults with MCI, MBSR may have a positive impact on the regions of the brain most related to MCI and AD. Further research with larger sample sizes and longer-follow-up are needed to further investigate the results from this pilot study.
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ObjectiveTo assess the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for chronic insomnia and combined depressive or anxiety symptoms of older adults aged 75 years and over.
Design
A randomized, controlled, single-blind clinical trial.
Patients and Methods
Participants included 60 adults aged 75 years and over with chronic insomnia. Participants were randomly assigned to the eight-week MBSR group or the wait-list control group. Assessments using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Self-rating Anxiety Sale (SAS), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were taken at baseline and post-treatment. For each outcome measure, a repeated measures analysis of variance was used to detect changes across assessments.
Results
There was a significant time × group interaction for the PSQI global score (P = .006); the MBSR group had a decrease in the PSQI global score (Cohen׳s d = 1.12), while the control group did not (Cohen׳s d = −0.06). Among the PSQI components, there was a significant time × group interaction for daytime dysfunction (P = .048); Cohen׳s d of the MBSR group was 0.76, while Cohen׳s d of control group was −0.04. There was no significant time × group interaction for the SAS score (P = .116), while for the GDS there was a significant time × group interaction (P = .039); the Cohen׳s d value for the MBSR group was 1.20, and it was 0.12 for the control group.
Conclusion
This study demonstrated that the MBSR program could be a beneficial treatment for chronic insomnia in adults aged 75 years and older.
BACKGROUND: Currently, commercially prepared complementary foods have become an important part of the diet of many infants and toddlers. But the method for simultaneous analysis of different types of micronutrient remains poorly investigated, which hinders the rapid and comprehensive quality control of infant foods. In the presented study, we first tried to employ the fluorescence labeling strategy combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection for simultaneous determination of some acidic micronutrients including biotin, nicotinic acid, linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid and linoleic acid in infant foods.<br>RESULTS: 2-(5-Benzoacridine) ethyl-p-toluenesulfonate was used as the fluorescence labeling reagent for simultaneous labeling of the seven components. The labeling conditions were optimized systematically by response surface methodology. The correlation coefficients for the calibration curves of the tested compounds ranged from 0.9991 to 0.9998. Limits of detection were in the range of 1.99-3.05 nmol L<sup>−1</sup>. Relative standard deviation values of retention time and peak area of seven compounds were less than 0.05% and 0.75%, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision was in the range of 1.81-3.80% and 3.21-4.30%, respectively. When applied to analysis of several infant foods it showed good applicability.<br>CONCLUSION: The developed method has been proven to be simple, inexpensive, selective, sensitive, accurate and reliable for analysis of some acidic micronutrients in infant foodstuffs. Furthermore, this developed method also has powerful potential in the analysis of many other complementary foodstuffs. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
Enzyme inhibition based drug screening strategy has been widely employed for new drug discovery. But this strategy faces some challenges in practical application especially for the trace active compound screening from natural products such as the stability of enzyme and the sensitivity of screening approach. Inspired by the above, we for the first time demonstrate the self-assembly of α-glucosidase (GAA) and glucose oxidase (GOx) into one multi-enzymes-inorganic nanoreactor with hierarchical structure (flower shape). The hybrid enzyme nanoreactor enjoys the merits including the character of assembly line, the enhanced enzymatic activity and robust stability. The flower shape of enzyme nanoreactor possessed a bigger specific surface area, facilitating the trace GAA inhibitor detection. Based on the above, we proposed an enzyme nanoreactor mediated plasmonic sensing strategy for anti-diabetic drug screening. First, maltose was chosen as the substrate for GAA and the generated glucose were immediately utilized by GOx to generate H2O2, and finally, H2O2 etched the Ag nanoprism to round nanodiscs, resulting in the blue shift of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption band. With the aid of hybrid enzyme nanoreactor guided SPR, the ultrasensitive screening of GAA inhibitor (i.e. anti-diabetic drug) can be realized with the detection limit of 5nM for acarbose. The proposed approach was successfully utilized for GAA inhibitor screening from natural products. We anticipate that the proposed sensing method may provide new insights and inspirations in the enzyme inhibition based drug discovery and clinical diagnosis.
The present research examines the role of two individual differences—mindfulness and neuroticism—in predicting acculturative anxiety forecasting error, above and beyond extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, emotional intelligence, and cultural intelligence. With 86 US undergraduate students who participated in study abroad programs, the current study provided three key findings. First, consistent with the claim of immune neglect, acculturative anxiety experienced abroad was lower than forecasted. Second, consistent with the claim that mindfulness reduces immune neglect whereas neuroticism increases immune neglect, mindfulness was negatively related to acculturative anxiety forecasting error, interestingly, only when the cultural distance between the host country and the USA was small, whereas neuroticism was positively related to acculturative anxiety forecasting error, regardless of the cultural distance. Third, parenthetically and consistent with a self-regulation view, mindfulness attenuated the relationship between neuroticism and acculturative anxiety forecasting error. These novel findings shed light on both mindfulness and affective forecasting research.
The present research examines the role of two individual differences—mindfulness and neuroticism—in predicting acculturative anxiety forecasting error, above and beyond extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, emotional intelligence, and cultural intelligence. With 86 US undergraduate students who participated in study abroad programs, the current study provided three key findings. First, consistent with the claim of immune neglect, acculturative anxiety experienced abroad was lower than forecasted. Second, consistent with the claim that mindfulness reduces immune neglect whereas neuroticism increases immune neglect, mindfulness was negatively related to acculturative anxiety forecasting error, interestingly, only when the cultural distance between the host country and the USA was small, whereas neuroticism was positively related to acculturative anxiety forecasting error, regardless of the cultural distance. Third, parenthetically and consistent with a self-regulation view, mindfulness attenuated the relationship between neuroticism and acculturative anxiety forecasting error. These novel findings shed light on both mindfulness and affective forecasting research.
Patient–physician interactions significantly contribute to placebo effects and clinical outcomes. While the neural correlates of placebo responses have been studied in patients, the neurobiology of the clinician during treatment is unknown. This study investigated physicians’ brain activations during patient–physician interaction while the patient was experiencing pain, including a ‘treatment‘, ‘no-treatment’ and ‘control’ condition. Here, we demonstrate that physicians activated brain regions previously implicated in expectancy for pain–relief and increased attention during treatment of patients, including the right ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. The physician’s ability to take the patients’ perspective correlated with increased brain activations in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, a region that has been associated with processing of reward and subjective value. We suggest that physician treatment involves neural representations of treatment expectation, reward processing and empathy, paired with increased activation in attention-related structures. Our findings further the understanding of the neural representations associated with reciprocal interactions between clinicians and patients; a hallmark for successful treatment outcomes.
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A sensitive and inexpensive method involving ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (UA-DLLME) and pre-column derivatization followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) was developed for the analysis of glycyrrhetinic acid. In this work, glycyrrhetinic acid could be obtained by hydrolyzing glycyrrhizic acid to remove glucuronic acid and subsequently extracted by UA-DLLME using chloroform and acetone as the extraction and disperser solvents, respectively. The sample extraction was firstly concentrated to dry under nitrogen and then rapidly derivatized with 2-(12-oxobenzo[b]acridin-5(12H)-yl)-ethyl-4-toluenesulfonate (BAETS) after the UA-DLLME. The prime parameters influencing the UA-DLLME and derivatization procedure were optimized using response surface methodology. Under the optimum conditions, the proposed method has a better linearity in a wider range of 6-300 ng mL<sup>−1</sup> and a high square of correlation coefficient (<i>R</i> <sup>2</sup>) at 0.9994. Limit of detection and limit of quantification were found to be 1.7 ng mL<sup>−1</sup> and 5.8 ng mL<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of glycyrrhetinic acid in liquorice, liquorice apricot and sugar plum samples. For the analysis of the spiked samples, the spiked recoveries were in the range of 90.4-103.0 % with RSD less than 5.18 %. All results demonstrated that the UA-DLLME-HPLC-FLD (ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction-high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection) was a sensitive, accurate, efficient analytical method for the determination of glycyrrhetinic acid.
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