No Different Sensitivity in Terms of Whole-Body Irradiation between Normal and Acatalasemic Mice

The role and mechanism of citrus flavonoids in cardiovascular diseases prevention and treatment

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been ranked as the leading cause of death in the world, whose global incidence is increasing year by year. Citrus, one of the most popular fruits in the world, is rich in flavonoids. Citrus flavonoids attract special attention due to a variety of biological activities, especially in the prevention and treatment of CVDs. The research progress of citrus flavonoids on CVDs have been constantly updated, but relatively fragmented, which needed to be systematically summarized. Hence, the recent research about citrus flavonoids and CVDs were reviewed, including the types and in vivo processes of citrus flavonoids, epidemiology study and mechanism on prevention and treatment of CVDs by citrus flavonoids. This review would provide a theoretical basis for the citrus flavonoids research and a new idea in the citrus industry development and application.

Confirmation of efficacy, elucidation of mechanism, and new search for indications of radon therapy

Indications of radon therapy include various diseases related to respiratory, painful, digestive, chronic degenerative, senile, etc. derived from reactive oxygen species, but most are based on empirical prescriptions. For this reason, we have evaluated the relation between the biological response caused by radon and the tissue/organ absorbed dose more quantitatively, and have promoted the elucidation of mechanisms related to the indication and searching newly. As a result, as a mechanism, a series of moderate physiological stimulative effects accompanying a small amount of oxidative stress by radon inhalation are being elucidated. That is, hyperfunction of anti-oxidation/immune regulation/damage repair, promotion of anti-inflammation/circulating metabolism/hormone secretion, induction of apoptosis/heat shock protein, etc. Also, new indications include inflammatory/neuropathic pain, hepatic/renal injury, colitis, type 1 diabetes, complication kidney injury, hyperuricemia, transient cerebral ischemia, and inflammatory edema. Furthermore, we examined the combined antioxidant effect of radon inhalation and antioxidants or therapeutic agents. As a result, it was clear that any combination treatment could enhance the suppression effect of disease. It can be expected that radon therapy can be used effectively by applying it in addition to usual treatment, since reduction in its dosage can also be expected by concomitant use for drugs with strong side effects.

Aspects of Serological Diagnostics of Listeriosis (Literature Review)

The review presents data on the antigenic structure and the current classification of epidemically significant serovariants of Listeria. Description of species-specific properties of serovariants of Listeria, which may be common for two or more species, and common antigens with staphylococci and typhoid and paratyphoid bacteria, are given. It has been shown that only the antigenic scheme of Listeria monocytogenes is of practical interest for medical microbiology. Importance of serotyping in the epidemiological analysis to determine the source of infections and ways of its spreading has been determined. Differences in the designation of serovariants in the diagnosis of listeriosis in medical practice are observed. High level of adaptive properties of Listeria, its ability to reproduce in an abiotic environment, including food, susceptibility of immunodeficient individuals, prevalence of food pathway of infection pose a significant danger of increased sickness rate with listeriosis. Serological diagnostics of Listeria has not been developed in detail, and the existing serological methods are aimed at identifying specific antibodies to listeria. Advantages of the serological method include: quick results and the possibility to study any biological material. Currently available serological methods have a number of disadvantages: low reliability of results and low specificity of the study. The most promising method for identification of a serological group of cultures, according to the world classification, is the multiplex PCR method, based on the correlation between the serogroup of an isolate and the presence of specific open reading frames in its genome.