Nutrients and antinutrient constituents of Amaranthus caudatus L. Cultivated on different soils

This study investigated variations in the concentration of nutrients, antinutrients and mineral content of Amaranthus caudatus harvested from different soil types at various stages of maturity. Four out the five soils namely; sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, clayey loam and loam were experimentally formulated from primary particles of silt, clay and sand in line with the United State Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) soil triangle protocol. The unfractionated soil was used as the control. After harvesting at pre-flowering (61 days after planting), flowering (71 days after planting) and post-flowering (91 days after planting) stages, nutrient and antinutrient analyses were carried out following Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) and other referenced methods while the Inductively Coupled Plasma- Optical Emission Spectrometer was used to determine mineral compositions of the plant samples. The results of the study revealed that particle size and physicochemical properties of the soil influenced the number of minerals deposited in plant tissues. It was further observed that the nutritional properties of the plant change as plant ages. For an optimal yield of vitamins A and E, clayey loam proved to be the best soil particularly when A. caudatus is harvested before flowering but for vitamin C, sandy clayey loam yielded the highest output at the same stage. Similarly, clayey loam and loam soils yielded the highest proximate compositions at flowering and pre-flowering; however, mineral elements (micro and macro) were highest in control and loam soils.     

The role of extracellular matrix in biomechanics and its impact on bioengineering of cells and 3D tissues

The cells and tissues of the human body are constantly exposed to exogenous and endogenous forces that are referred to as biomechanical cues. They guide and impact cellular processes and cell fate decisions on the nano-, micro- and macro-scale, and are therefore critical for normal tissue development and maintaining tissue homeostasis. Alterations in the extracellular matrix composition of a tissue combined with abnormal mechanosensing and mechanotransduction can aberrantly activate signaling pathways that promote disease development. Such processes are therefore highly relevant for disease modelling or when aiming for the development of novel therapies.In this mini review, we describe the main biomechanical cues that impact cellular fates. We highlight their role during development, homeostasis and in disease. We also discuss current techniques and tools that allow us to study the impact of biomechanical cues on cell and tissue development under physiological conditions, and we point out directions, in which in vitro biomechanics can be of use in the future.     

湖南蓝山县端午药市的瑶药调查

中国南方一些少数民族地区民间“端午药市”流传至今,体现了民族医药的独具特色及其深远影响。为了解瑶族端午药市交易现状和发掘民族医药传统知识,采用民族植物学等方法对湖南省蓝山县端午药市进行调查,完成包括基原、地方名、药用部位、用途和用法、出现频度等内容的药用植物编目。结果表明:蓝山县端午药市药用植物种类丰富,共收集鉴定103科 222属262种,药用植物种类广泛分布于各科和各属中,其中种类较多的科有五加科(11种)、茜草科(11种)、菊科(11种)、百合科(10种)、唇形科(9种)、蝶形花科(8种)、芸香科(7种)。药市药浴植物畅销且种类多样,达94种,占总数的35.9%,体现瑶族在治疗疾病上以预防保健为主的理念。经统计药市上均未被国家药典和地方标准收录的药用植物有131种,占总数的50.2%,成为发掘新药源、新用途的潜在资源。对端午药市售药者年龄的调查发现,售药者的年龄主要集中在50～59岁间,占总人数的67%,40岁以下的仅占总人数的3%,可见民族药用传统知识的传承存在传承人老龄化、潜在传承人数量锐减的现象。此外,还对药市交易药用植物的种类组成和民族药用特色进行分析,探讨了端午药市对药用传统知识保护与传承的影响,并对蓝山端午药市的可持续发展提出了建议。     

Development of a potent and orally active activator of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), ASP4132, as a clinical candidate for the treatment of human cancer

Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a key role in maintaining cellular metabolism. AMP or adenosine diphosphate (ADP) levels rise during metabolic stress, such as during nutrient starvation, hypoxia and muscle contraction, and bind to AMPK to induce activity. Recently, activation of AMPK has been considered an attractive therapeutic strategy in the field of human oncology. Structural optimization of lead compound 2, a new type of AMPK activator with potent AMPK activation activity and attractive selective growth inhibition against human cancer cells, improved aqueous solubility, metabolic stability and animal pharmacokinetics (PK) and culminated in the identification of (5-{1-[(6-methoxypyridin-3-yl)methyl]piperidin-4-yl}-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)(4-{[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]methyl}piperazin-1-yl)methanone ditosylate, ASP4132 (28). Studies on ASP4132 had advanced to clinical trials for the treatment of cancer.     

Common plasma protein marker LCAT in aggressive human breast cancer and canine mammary tumor

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers. Although biomarkers are continuously being discovered, few specific markers, rather than classification markers, representing the aggressiveness and invasiveness of breast cancer are known. In this study, we used samples from canine mammary tumors in a comparative approach. We subjected 36 fractions of both canine normal and mammary tumor plasmas to high-performance quantitative proteomics analysis. Among the identified proteins, LCAT was selectively expressed in mixed tumor samples. With further MRM and Western blot validation, we discovered that the LCAT protein is an indicator of aggressive mammary tumors, an advanced stage of cancer, possibly highly metastatic. Interestingly, we also found that LCAT is overexpressed in high-grade and lymphnode-positive breast cancer in silico data. We also demonstrated that LCAT is highly expressed in the sera of advanced-stage human breast cancers within the same classification. In conclusion, we identified a possible common plasma protein biomarker, LCAT, that is highly expressed in aggressive human breast cancer and canine mammary tumor.     

Aidi injection,a traditional Chinese biomedical preparation for gynecologic tumors: a systematic review and PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis

Aidi injection (ADI), a traditional Chinese biomedical preparation, is a promising adjuvant therapy for gynecologic tumors (GTs), including cervical cancer (CC), endometrial cancer (EC), and ovarian cancer (OC). Although studies have reported positively on ADI therapy, its exact effects and safety in GT patients remain controversial. Therefore, a wide-ranging systematic search of electronic databases was performed for this meta-analysis. Data from 38 trials including 3309 GT patients were analyzed. The results indicated that the combination of conventional treatment and ADI markedly improved the patients’ overall response rate (P<0.00001), disease control rate (P<0.00001), and quality of life (P<0.05) compared with conventional treatment alone. Furthermore, patient immunity was enhanced with combined treatment, as indicated by significantly increased percentages of CD3⁺ (P=0.005) and CD4⁺ (P<0.00001) and increased CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio (P=0.001). Most of the adverse events caused by radiochemotherapy such as gastrointestinal issues, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and hepatotoxicity, (P<0.05 for all) were significantly alleviated when ADI was used in the GT patients. However, other adverse events such as nephrotoxicity, diarrhea, alopecia, and neurotoxicity did not significantly differ between the two groups. Overall, these results suggest that the combination of conventional and ADI treatment is more effective than conventional treatment alone.     

Focus: Preventive Medicine: Pre-Participation Screening of Athletes: Primary Health Care Physicians’ Knowledge,Experience, and Approach in Turkey

Pre-participation screening (PPS) is crucial for assessing the competitive athletes since their risk of sudden death is higher than non-athletes. In Turkey, PPS is performed at the primary health care setting by primary care physicians (PCPs) who are family medicine specialists (FMSs) or general practitioners (GPs). Although there are national guidelines, there is no legal regulation for this process. This study aims to evaluate PCPs’ knowledge, experience, and approach about PPS. We prepared an online survey for PCPs and used non-probabilistic sampling. PPS attitudes and practices were analyzed and compared according to factors such as experience, education, and being GP or FMS. Of the 214 PCPs included in the study, 39.3% were female. The mean age was 44.9 years (SD:8.88). The average work experience was 7.9 years. Most participants were aware of their authorization to perform PPS (89.7%) and had previously prepared it (90.2%). However, 6.5% of them felt confident in performing PPS. Only 13.1% were aware of the guidelines. Almost 25% of the participants stated being informed about the subject at some part of their career, but this did not affect the confidence or referral decisions. In addition to medical history and physical examination, further testing was considered necessary by 96.3% of the participants. Significantly more tests were ordered by GPs than FMSs (p=0.026 and p=0.011, respectively). The accurate referral decision ratio was 59.3%, without difference between FMSs and GPs (p=0.216). We found that awareness of the guidelines was low among PCPs who lack confidence in PPS. These factors collectively increased the tendency for unnecessary further testing and referral. Therefore, the PPS implementation into medical school and residency curriculums and national legal regulation for the process is a necessity in Turkey.     

Focus: Preventive Medicine: Leveraging Organizational Health Literacy to Enhance Health Promotion and Risk Prevention: A Narrative and Interpretive Literature Review

Organizational health literacy involves the health care organizations’ ability to establish an empowering and co-creating relationship with patients, engaging them in the design and delivery of health services in collaboration with health professionals. Although scholars agree that organizational health literacy contributes to health promotion and risk prevention via patient empowerment, literature is not consistent in depicting the interplay between organizational health literacy and preventive medicine. The article intends to shed light into this issue, summarizing current knowledge about this topic and advancing avenues for further development. A narrative literature review was performed through a systematic search on PubMed^®, Scopus^®, and Web of Science^™. The review focused on 50 relevant contributions. Organizational health literacy triggers the transition towards a patient-centered approach to care. It complements individual health literacy, enabling patients to actively participate in health promotion and risk prevention as co-producers of health services and co-creators of value. However, many obstacles – including lack of time and limited resources available – prevent the transition towards health literate health care organizations. Two initiatives are required to overcome extant barriers. On the one hand, a health literate workforce should be prepared to increase the institutional ability of health care organizations to empower and engage patients in health co-creation. On the other hand, increased efforts should be made to assess organizational health literacy and to make its contribution to preventive medicine explicit.