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Renal fibrosis is considered as the pathway of almost all kinds of chronic kidney diseases (CKD) to the end stage of renal diseases (ESRD). Ganoderic acid (GA) is a group of lanostane triterpenes isolated from Ganoderma lucidum , which has shown a variety of pharmacological activities. In this study we investigated whether GA exerted antirenal fibrosis effect in a unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) mouse model. After UUO surgery, the mice were treated with GA (3.125, 12.5, and 50 mg· kg −1  ·d − 1 , ip) for 7 or 14 days. Then the mice were sacrificed for collecting blood and kidneys. We showed that GA treatment dose-dependently attenuated UUO-induced tubular injury and renal fibrosis; GA (50 mg· kg −1  ·d − 1 ) significantly ameliorated renal disfunction during fibrosis progression. We further revealed that GA treatment inhibited the extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in the kidney by suppressing the expression of fibronectin, mainly through hindering the over activation of TGF-β/Smad signaling. On the other hand, GA treatment significantly decreased the expression of mesenchymal cell markers alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and vimentin, and upregulated E-cadherin expression in the kidney, suggesting the suppression of tubular epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) partially via inhibiting both TGF-β/Smad and MAPK (ERK, JNK, p38) signaling pathways. The inhibitory effects of GA on TGF-β/Smad and MAPK signaling pathways were confirmed in TGF-β1-stimulated HK-2 cell model. GA-A, a GA monomer, was identified as a potent inhibitor on renal fibrosis in vitro. These data demonstrate that GA or GA-A might be developed as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of renal fibrosis.

The etiology and the underlying mechanism of CD4＋ T-cell polarization are unclear. This study sought to investigate the mechanism by which interleukin （IL）-13 prevents the activation-induced apoptosis of CD4＋ T cells. Here we report that CD4＋ T cells expressed IL-13 receptor a2 in the intestine of sensitized mice. IL-13 suppressed both the activation-induced apoptosis of CD4＋ T cells and the expression of p53 and FasL. Exposure to recombinant IL-13 inhibited activation-induced cell death （AICD） along with the expression of p53, caspase 3, and tumor necrosis factor-a in CD4＋ T cells. Administration of an anti-lL-13 antibody enhanced the effect of specific immunotherapy on allergic inflammation in the mouse intestine, enforced the expression of p53 in intestinal CD4＋ T cells, and enhanced the frequency of CD4＋ T-cell apoptosis upon challenge with specific antigens. In summary, blocking IL-13 enhances the therapeutic effect of antigen-specific immunotheraov by regulating aDoptosis and thereby enforcing AICD in CD4＋ T cells.

Lycium barbarum, a homology of medicine and food, contains many active ingredients including polysaccharides, polyphenol, betaine, and carotenoids, which has health benefits and economic value. The bioactive components in Lycium barbarum exhibit the effects of antioxidation, immune regulation, hypoglycemic effects, and vision improvement. Recently, the development of nutrition and health products of Lycium barbarum has been paid more and more attention with the increase in health awareness. A variety of nutrients and bioactive components in wolfberry can be retained or increased using modern fermentation technology. Through fermentation, the products have better flavor and health function, which better meet the needs of market diversification. The main products related to wolfberry fermentation include wolfberry fruit wine, wolfberry fruit vinegar, and lactic acid fermented beverage. In this review, the mainly bioactive components of Lycium barbarum and its deep-processing products of fermentation were summarized and compared. It will provide reference for the research and development of fermented and healthy products of Lycium barbarum.

Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum L.), as a kind of functional fruit, has various nutritional and bioactive components, which exhibit healthy benefits. However, wolfberry is not easy to preserve, and the intensive processing of wolfberry needs to be developed. In the present study, the changes in the phytochemical and bioactive compounds, as well as the antioxidant properties of wolfberry, were evaluated in the brewed processes. We found that the sugar contents were significantly decreased, and the total acids values were significantly increased during the fermentation processes. The sugar and fat contents were low in the wolfberry fruit vinegar after fermentation, which is of benefit to human health. In addition, amino acids were examined during the fermentation processes, and histidine, proline, and alanine were found to be the main amino acids in vinegar. The total phenolics and flavonoids contents were significantly increased by 29.4% and 65.7% after fermentation. 4-Hydroxy benzoic acid, 3-hydroxy cinnamic acid, and chlorogenic acid were the primary polyphenols in the wolfberry fruit vinegar. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of wolfberry fruit vinegar was significantly increased compared with that of wolfberry fruit after the fermentation processes. Polysaccharides and polyphenolics were strongly correlated with the antioxidant activity during the fermentation processes. The findings suggest that wolfberry fruit vinegar has a high antioxidant capability, and could be a beneficial food in the human diet.

Meat quality traits of four genotypes of Chinese indigenous chicken [Ninghai chicken （NC）, frizzle chicken （FC）, Ninghai xiang chicken （XC）, and Zhenning Ioquat chicken （LC）] and one genotype of commercial broiler [Arbor Acres plus broiler （AAB）] were analyzed. The indigenous chickens were raised before the commercial chickens in order to achieve the same final processed days. Indigenous chickens of NC, FC, XC, and LC showed significantly higher inosine-5＇-monophosphate （IMP） content, shorter fiber diameter, and lower shear force than those of AAB （P〈0.05）. In the indigenous genotypes, NC and FC had significantly shorter fiber diameters and lower shear forces than XC and LC （P〈0.05）, and NC and XC had a higher IMP content than FC and LC （P〈0.05）. Moreover, the indi- genous genotype of LC significantly displayed the highest protein content （P〈0.05） in the five genotypes of birds, and no significant differences of protein content were found between the other genotypes of NC, FC, XC, and AAB （P〉0.05）. The indigenous chickens from FC displayed the highest total lipid content in the five bird genotypes （P〈0.05）. Significant differences of pH, color values of L＊ and a＊, and drip loss for the five genotypes of birds were also observed. In conclusion, there were significant differences in the meat quality traits of the bird breeds selected in this study, and the indigenous chickens, especially the NC genotype, produced better quality meat as far as the IMP content, fiber diameters, and shear forces were concerned.

Lycium barbarum, a homology of medicine and food, contains many active ingredients including polysaccharides, polyphenol, betaine, and carotenoids, which has health benefits and economic value. The bioactive components in Lycium barbarum exhibit the effects of antioxidation, immune regulation, hypoglycemic effects, and vision improvement. Recently, the development of nutrition and health products of Lycium barbarum has been paid more and more attention with the increase in health awareness. A variety of nutrients and bioactive components in wolfberry can be retained or increased using modern fermentation technology. Through fermentation, the products have better flavor and health function, which better meet the needs of market diversification. The main products related to wolfberry fermentation include wolfberry fruit wine, wolfberry fruit vinegar, and lactic acid fermented beverage. In this review, the mainly bioactive components of Lycium barbarum and its deep-processing products of fermentation were summarized and compared. It will provide reference for the research and development of fermented and healthy products of Lycium barbarum.

Flutter, a dynamic and severe self-excited vibration, easily produced in power ultrasonic honing, is one of the important factors, which affects the processing quality of the workpiece, the efficiency of the machine tool. Based on the study of power ultrasonic honing mechanism, choosing single abrasive and workpiece as research objects, respectively establishe the physical and mathematical coupled flutter model of power ultrasonic honing nonlinear system, with two degrees of freedom, determine the differential expression of the model, and simulate the boundry of flutter condition. It is proved flutter is produced in ultrasonic vibration honing, then the way is proposed to restrain. The study provide a theoretical basis for deeply seeking the strategy to repress and eliminate the flutter.

Background： Chronic kidney disease （CKD） has become a public health problem.New interventions to slow or prevent disease progression are urgently needed.In this setting, cell therapies associated with regenerative effects are attracting increasing interest.We evaluated the effect of embryonic stem cells （ESCs） on the progression of CKD.Methods： Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 5/6 nephrectomy.We used pedicled greater omentum flaps packing ESC-loaded gelatin microcryogets （GMs） on the 5/6 nephrectomized kidney.The viability of ESCs within the GMs was detected using in vio two-photon fluorescence confocal imaging.Rats were sacrificed after 12 weeks.Renal injury was evaluated using serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, 24 h protein, renal pathology, and tubular injury score results.Structural damage was evaluated by periodic acid-Schiff and Masson trichrome staining.Results： In vitro, ESCs could be automatically loaded into the GMs.Uniform cell distribution, good cell attachment, and viability were achieved from day 1 to 7 in vitro.After 12 weeks, in the pedicled greater omentum flaps packing ESC-loaded GMs on 5/6 nephrectomized rats group, the plasma urea nitrogen levels were 26% lower than in the right nephrectomy group, glomerulosclerosis index was 62% lower and tubular injury index was 40% lower than in the 5/6 nephrectomized rats group without GMs.Conclusions： In a rat model of established CKD, we demonstrated that the pedicled greater omentum flaps packing ESC-loaded GMs on the 5/6 nephrectomized kidney have a long-lasting therapeutic rescue function, as shown by the decreased progression of CKD and reduced glomerular injury.

The first enantioselective total synthesis of（＋）-preussin B and an improved synthesis of the antifungal alkaloid（＋）-preussin are described. Our approach relied on the four step-economical synthetic methods developed in our laboratory：（1） the cis-diastereoselective reductive dehydroxylation of hemiaminals;（2） the direct amide/lactam reductive alkylation;（3） the one-pot N,O-bisdebenzylation-N-methylation; and（4） the one-step synthesis of malimide from malic acid. Both total syntheses are quite concise, which have been achieved in six steps, and gave overall yields of 25.7% and 27.6%, respectively.