B2

This review contains the results of Polish (Central Europe) ethnomedical studies that describe the treatment of urinary tract diseases with wild and cultivated plants. The study includes only the plants that are used to treat the urinary tract, excluding prostate diseases. A review of the literature was carried out to verify the pharmacological use of the plants mentioned in the interviews. Based on this, the study reviews the pharmacological activities of all the recorded species and indicates their most important chemical compounds...

In the present study, poling-free PLLA/VB2 piezoelectric composites are fabricated to achieve synchronous sound recognition and energy harvesting. The addition of VB2 can interact with PLLA by intermolecular hydrogen bonding, inducing the dipole orientation of C=O in PLLA. Meanwhile, VB2 can promote crystallization of PLLA through heterogeneous nucleation. The combination of the two strategies significantly improves the piezoelectric performance of PLLA/VB2 composites. The PLLA/VB2 can detect the sound frequency with an accuracy of 0...

We aimed to investigate the associations between maternal intake of folate, vitamin B12, B6, B2, methionine, choline, phosphatidylcholine and betaine during the period surrounding pregnancy and offspring weight outcomes from birth to early adulthood. These associations were examined among 2454 mother-child pairs from the Nurses' Health Study II and Growing Up Today Study. Maternal energy-adjusted nutrient intakes were derived from food frequency questionnaires. Birth weight, body size at age 5 and repeated BMI measurements were considered...

In the continuous cropping of Panax notoginseng , the pathogenic fungi in the rhizosphere soil increased and infected the roots of Panax notoginseng , resulting in a decrease in yield. This is an urgent problem that needs to be solved in order to effectively overcome the obstacles associated with the continuous cropping of Panax notoginseng . Previous studies have shown that Bacillus subtilis inhibits pathogenic fungi in the rhizosphere of Panax notoginseng , but the inhibitory effect was not stable. Therefore, we hope to introduce biochar to help Bacillus subtilis colonize in soil...

Bacteriophages (phages) are potential alternatives to chemical antimicrobials against pathogens of public health significance. Understanding the diversity and host specificity of phages is important for developing effective phage biocontrol approaches. Here, we assessed the host range, morphology, and genetic diversity of eight Salmonella enterica phages isolated from a wastewater treatment plant. The host range analysis revealed that six out of eight phages lysed more than 81% of the 43 Salmonella enterica isolates tested...

Currently, the sol-gel technique is employed in the synthesis of high-performance vitrified bonds; however, its application in the fabrication of stacked abrasives has been minimally explored. Furthermore, the methods utilized in the production of abrasive particles for stacked abrasives are technically challenging and incur high costs, which hinders their actual industrial application. Consequently, this study utilizes the sol-gel approach to synthesize a Na2 O-B2 O3 -SiO2 ternary system vitrified bond powder and employs a molding and crushing method, which offers a lower technological barrier and reduced preparation costs, for the production of abrasive particles subsequently fabricating corundum stacked abrasives...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the association between the dietary intake of vitamin B complex (thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin) and cervical cancer in Korea. METHODS: The data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2010 to 2021 were analyzed, which included 28,306 participants who were categorized into non-cervical cancer and cervical cancer groups. The following dietary intake threshold levels of thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin were identified based on the recommended daily allowances (RDAs): thiamine, 1...

Although grading is defined by the highest histological grade observed in a glioma, most high-grade gliomas retain areas with histology reminiscent of their low-grade counterparts. We sought to achieve the following: (i) identify proteins and molecular pathways involved in glioma evolution; and (ii) validate the high mobility group protein B2 (HMGB2) as a key player in tumor progression and as a prognostic/predictive biomarker for diffuse astrocytomas. We performed liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in multiple areas of adult-type astrocytomas and validated our finding in multiplatform-omics studies and high-throughput IHC analysis...

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the long-term facial function as well as overall postoperative condition in surgically treated tympanomastoid PGL patients. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. METHOD: The medical records of patients with surgically managed class A and B tympanomastoid PGLs between 1983 and 2023 were thoroughly evaluated. RESULT: Our center has treated a total of 213 cases of tympanomastoid PGL surgically. The mean age of patients was 54, and the male-to-female ratio was 1:6...

So Shiho Tang (SSHT) is a traditional herbal medicine commonly used in Asian countries. This study evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of SSHT and the associated mechanism using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages and murine dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis models. Pre-treatment of RAW 264.7 macrophages with SSHT significantly reduced LPS-induced inflammation by decreasing nitrite production and regulating the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Meanwhile, in mice, DSS-induced colitis symptoms, including colon shortening and body weight loss, were attenuated by SSHT...

BACKGROUND: The kallikrein-kinin system is a key regulatory cascade involved in blood pressure maintenance, hemostasis, inflammation and renal function. Currently, approved drugs remain limited to the rare disease hereditary angioedema. However, growing interest in this system is indicated by an increasing number of promising drug candidates for further indications. METHODS: To provide an overview of current drug development, a two-stage literature search was conducted between March and December 2023 to identify drug candidates with targets in the kallikrein-kinin system...

Foods are analysed for their vitamin content to support the verification of regulatory compliance or to generate food composition data. Many international reference methods for the analysis of vitamins in foods originate from the 1990s. Advances in nutrition science and analytical technology and the continuing evolution of statutory regulations necessitate the need of new or supplementary regulatory standards. We have evaluated recent developments in these areas and conclude that most current international reference methods are no longer fit-for-purpose to accurately determine vitamin content in foods and food supplements...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a great threat to animal and public health. Here, we conducted a surveillance of Escherichia coli isolated from healthy chickens during 2009-2014 to identify the characteristics of AMR. A total of 351 (95.64%) E. coli isolates were obtained from 367 healthy chicken fecal samples collected from 6 farms located in Shandong Province, China. The susceptibility to 10 antimicrobials, the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), phylogenetic clustering, and multilocus sequence typing were evaluated...

There is great concern about the risk posed by the consumption of food contaminated with aflatoxins (AF), produced mostly by Aspergillus strains, that can also be found in dry-fermented meat products (DFMPs). The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of meat starter culture (SC), frequently used for fermentation in the meat industry, on A. parasiticus growth and the production of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), aflatoxin G1 (AFG1), aflatoxin G2 (AFG2), and sterigmatocystin (STE) on different meat-based (CMA) and salami model (SM-G) media...

BACKGROUND: Obesity, a chronic metabolic disorder, is related to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and reproductive disorders. The relationship between obesity and male infertility is now well recognized, but the mechanisms involved are unclear. We aimed to observe the effect of obesity on spermatogenesis and to investigate the role of histone ubiquitination and acetylation modifications in obesity-induced spermatogenesis disorders. METHODS: Thirty male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into two groups...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper was to assess the airborne mold contamination, secondary metabolite profiles, and cytotoxicity of the dominant fungal species isolated from the air in selected rooms at a Zoological Garden. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fungal concentrations were measured with MAS-100 air samplers. The collected airborne fungi were identified using a combination of morphological and molecular methods. The cytotoxicity of 84 strains belonging to two Penicillium and Aspergillus genera was determined using the quantitative colorimetric MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium salt) assay...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To provide an overview of the pathogenic mechanisms involved in autoimmune encephalitides mediated by antibodies against neuronal surface antigens, with a focus on NMDAR and LGI1 encephalitis. RECENT FINDINGS: In antibody-mediated encephalitides, binding of IgG antibodies to neuronal surface antigens results in different pathogenic effects depending on the type of antibody, IgG subclass and epitope specificity. NMDAR IgG1 antibodies cause crosslinking and internalization of the target, synaptic and brain circuitry alterations, as well as alterations of NMDAR expressing oligodendrocytes, suggesting a link with white matter lesions observed in MRI studies...

BACKGROUND: The impact of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) on platelet function is still unclear. We conducted a comprehensive ex vivo study aimed at assessing the effect of the four currently marketed NOACs on platelet function. METHODS: We incubated blood samples from healthy donors with concentrations of NOACs (50, 150 and 250 ng/mL), in the range of those achieved in the plasma of patients during therapy. We evaluated generation of thrombin; light transmittance platelet aggregation (LTA) in response to adenosine diphosphate (ADP), thrombin receptor-activating peptide (TRAP), human γ-thrombin (THR) and tissue factor (TF); generation of thromboxane (TX)B2 ; and expression of protease-activated receptor (PAR)-1 and P-selectin on the platelet surface...

Double pH-responsive xenopeptide carriers containing succinoyl tetraethylene pentamine (Stp) and lipo amino fatty acids (LAFs) were evaluated for CRISPR/Cas9 based genome editing. Different carrier topologies, variation of LAF/Stp ratios and LAF types as Cas9 mRNA/sgRNA polyplexes were screened in three different reporter cell lines using three different genomic targets (Pcsk9, eGFP, mdx exon 23). One U-shaped and three bundle (B2)-shaped lipo-xenopeptides exhibiting remarkable efficiencies were identified...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value of pulmonary-vein-to-pulmonary-artery ratio (PV:PA) in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve degeneration (MMVD), classified according to the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) consensus guidelines. ANIMALS: 80 client-owned dogs with either MMVD (n = 65) or no cardiovascular disease (control group; n = 15) between August 5, 2020, and July 19, 2023. METHODS: This is a retrospective study...