Macau University of Science and Technology Foundation

The aim of this study was to determine whether polysaccharopeptide (PSP) and Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) can be combined together as a new complex prescription (PSP + APS) for aiding adriamycin (AMD) chemotherapy. Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC) was used to establish a solid tumor model in Kunming mice. Immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical analysis were employed to detect the immunoregulatory and anti-tumor effects of EAC bearing mice after 30 days of administration with PSP and APS. PSP and PSP + APS could significantly increase the percentage of CD3(+) and CD4(+) T-lymphocytes, the ratio of CD4(+)/CD8(+), and the expression of IL-2/IL-2R in spleen and Bax in tumor tissue, but led to a diminution of Bcl-2 and CDK4 in tumor tissue compared with those of control group. In addition, PSP +APS could restore the immunological effects against AMD-induced immunosuppression, such as the subset of leukomonocyte, the expression of IL-2/IL-2R in the spleen, and the thymus index. These findings suggest that the immunomodulatory and anti-cancer effects of this new formula (PSP+APS) were better than those of PSP alone, and also could resist immunosuppression induced by AMD.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a complex disease resulting from interactions between multiple genes and environmental factors. Study of gene-gene interactions could provide insight into the pathophysiology of asthma. METHODS: We investigated the interactions among 18 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in eight candidate genes for plasma total immunoglobulin E (IgE) concentration and peripheral blood (PB) eosinophil count in 298 Chinese asthmatic children and 175 controls. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction and generalized linear model were used to analyze gene-gene interactions for the quantitative traits. RESULTS: A significant interaction was found between R130Q in IL13 and I50V in IL4RA for plasma total IgE concentration, with a cross-validation (CV) consistency of nine of 10 and a prediction error of 41.1% (P = 0.013). Plasma total IgE concentration was significantly higher in the high-risk than the low-risk groups (P < 0.0001). For PB eosinophil count, significant interaction was found between C-431T in TARC and RsaI_in2 in FCERIB, with a CV consistency of nine of 10 and a prediction error of 40.2% (P = 0.009). PB eosinophil count was significantly higher in the high-risk group than the low-risk groups (P < 0.0001). Generalized linear model also revealed significant gene-gene interaction for the above two endophenotypes with P = 0.013 for plasma total IgE concentration and P = 0.029 for PB eosinophil count respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest significant interactions between IL13 and IL4RA for plasma total IgE concentration, and this is the first report to show significant interaction between TARC and FCERIB for PB eosinophil count in Chinese asthmatic children.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Residual renal function (RRF) predicts survival and shows an important inverse relation with cardiac hypertrophy in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. We hypothesized that valvular calcification and the calcification milieu may be part of the process linking loss of RRF and cardiac hypertrophy. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: A cross-sectional study was conducted by performing two-dimensional echocardiography on 230 PD patients to assess valvular calcification and left ventricular (LV) mass and collecting 24-h urine for estimation of RRF. RESULTS: Patients having valvular calcification had lower RRF than those without. Patients with no RRF showed higher calcium-phosphorus product (Ca x P) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Using multiple logistic regression analysis, every 1-ml/min per 1.73 m(2) increase in residual GFR was associated with a 28% reduction in the risk for valvular calcification. The association was lost after additional adjustment for Ca x P and CRP. Using multiple linear regression analysis, loss of RRF showed significant association with increased LV mass index, but this association was lost after additional adjustment for CRP, Ca x P, and valvular calcification. Patients with all three calcification risk factors, namely inflammation, high CaxP, and no RRF, showed the highest prevalence of valvular calcification and had the most severe cardiac hypertrophy. CONCLUSIONS: The association among loss of RRF, valvular calcification, and cardiac hypertrophy was closely linked to increased inflammation and high Ca x P in PD patients. These data suggest that valvular calcification and the calcification milieu are part of the processes linking loss of RRF and worsening cardiac hypertrophy in PD.

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a herbal decoction composed of Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Angelica sinensis (RAS), has been used for treating menopausal irregularity in women for more than 800 years in China. According to the old tradition, RAS had to be processed with yellow wine before DBT preparation, which markedly reduced the amount of ligustilide in RAS and DBT, as well as enhanced the bioactivities of DBT. Here, we hypothesized that ligustilide would be an ingredient that possessed suppressive effects on DBT's functions. In the presence of ligustilide, the amount of astragaloside IV, calycosin, formononetin, and total polysaccharides extracted from RA were decreased. An increase of ligustilide caused a decrease of DBT's osteogenic activity in stimulating proliferation and differentiation of cultured bone cells. In addition, in the presence of a high level of ligustilide, DBT caused a side effect inducing the proliferation of breast MCF-7 cells. The current results strongly suggest that ligustilide is a negative regulator that hinders DBT to achieve its biological efficacy, which supports the traditional practice of preparing DBT using the ethanol-treated RAS.

BACKGROUND: Chinese medicine has been proposed as a novel strategy for the prevention of metabolic disorders such as obesity. The present study tested 17 Chinese medicinal herbs were tested for their potential anti-obesity effects. METHODS: The herbs were evaluated in terms of their abilities to stimulate the transcription of Apolipoprotein A-IV (ApoA-IV) in cultured Caco-2/TC7 enterocytes. The herbs that showed stimulating effects on ApoA-IV transcription were further evaluated in terms of their abilities to reduce the formation of triglyceride in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. RESULTS: ApoA-IV transcription was stimulated by Rhizoma Alismatis and Radix Angelica Sinensis in a dose- and time-dependent manner in cultured Caco-2/TC7 cells. Moreover, these two herbs reduced the amount of triglyceride in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that Rhizoma Alistmatis and Radix Angelica Sinensis may have potential anti-obesity effects as they stimulate ApoA-IV transcription and reduce triglyceride formation.

A Chinese medicinal formulation, 'Liu Wei Di Huang', and its individual components have been tested for the genoprotective effect on human DNA by the comet assay. Results showed no DNA protection contributed by this prescription. However, the aqueous extracts of individual herbs, namely Cortex Moutan and Rhizoma Dioscoreae, were able to decrease by 10-15% the DNA stand break from hydrogen peroxide-mediated oxidative stress. This provides insight to further evaluate the interaction among herbs and the search for the active ingredient responsible for the DNA protective effect.

Early growth response-1 (Egr-1) is expressed in human airways and found to modulate tumor necrosis factor, immunoglobulin E (IgE), airway responsiveness, and interleukin-13-induced inflammation in mice. We investigated the effects of Chinese-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of Egr-1 on asthma traits in 298 Chinese asthmatic children and 175 controls, and a replication community cohort of 191 controls. Tag SNP (-4071 A-->G) and three additional SNPs (-1427 C-->T, -151 C-->T and IVS1 -42 C-->T) were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Significant associations were found between plasma total IgE concentration and -4071 A-->G (p = 0.008) and IVS1 -42 C-->T (p = 0.027) in asthmatic patients. After Bonferroni correction, only -4071 A-->G showed significant association. Multivariate regression analysis confirmed this significant association with a standardized coefficient beta of 0.156 (95% CI: 0.046-0.317; p = 0.009) in asthmatics among the three SNPs with age and gender-adjusted. In -4071 A-->G, IgE(log) was significantly higher in patients with the GG genotype than the AA genotype (p = 0.009). In addition, -4071 A-->G was significantly associated with atopy (p = 0.016) and high total IgE concentration (p = 0.030) among asthmatics. Patients with the G allele had a 3.5-fold risk of having atopy and a 2.0-fold risk of having high total IgE concentration than those homozygous for the A allele. This is the first report to show significant association of Egr-1 polymorphisms with plasma total IgE and atopy in asthmatics. It may help to explore the pharmacogenetics of Egr-1 inhibitors.

Abstract One method of assessing DNA damage is the comet assay, which was developed in 1988. The comet assay enables the detection of DNA strand breaks in individual cells. This test has also been used to study the in vitro and in vivo genotoxic or genoprotective effects of certain agents such as dietary antioxidants. This paper aims to consolidate the antioxidant and pro‐oxidant effects of a series of dietary agents which have been evaluated by comet assay. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry

Incense burning is common in Southeast Asia, where it is a traditional and ceremonial practice in deity worship and paying respect to ancestors. However, incense emissions are an important source of indoor air pollution in Asia, and may induce health problems to those exposed. In this in vitro study the effects of incense emissions on human DNA were investigated using the comet assay. Particulates in smoke from six kinds of incense were trapped in saline or ethanol and human lymphocytes were exposed under controlled conditions. Results showed that DNA damage, including strand breaks, was induced by both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of two samples. The ethanolic extract of one sample induced DNA damage, while no significant DNA damage was found in the remaining three samples. The mechanisms underlying DNA damage induced by incense emissions were also investigated. Catalase (CAT), sodium azide, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were co-incubated with extract, which exerted significant DNA damaging effects. Results showed that CAT with or without SOD diminished DNA damage, whereas sodium azide did not seem able to reduce DNA damage. Data indicate there are potential adverse health effects of such exposure, particularly for temple workers.

College students' employability is the core concern for society and college. It is defined as the comprehensive abilities and traits needed for employment and career development of college students. College students that have higher self-efficacy, higher achievement motivation and lower decisionmaking biases state on their career are easier to make their employment success. In the period of jobhunting and career development, psychological capital (self-efficacy, emotional intelligence and achievement motivation) plays an important role to make employment success, and is related to work performance, turnover rate, well-being, commitment, and satisfaction as well. For poor decisions of their career, the related problems occur in their following time of career development, such as resignation, lower satisfaction and well-being level, bad performance and commitment resulting from regret or passive states. The Positive psychological capital (self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience) has significant positive relationship with performance and satisfaction among workers in USA Further relationships among psychological capital, decision-making biases and employability of college students are motivated to study.