A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination and pharmacokinetic study of mangiferin in the plasma of rats that have been orally administered the traditional Chinese medicinal preparation Zi-Shen pill is established. Plasma samples taken from rats are pretreated by protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Separation of the main effective constituent mangiferin is accom...

The routine counting of obligate anaerobic bacteria is a serious problem in many laboratories. Reliable anaerobic chambers are either expensive or messy and cumbersome. Furthermore, the exposure of certain genera, notably Bacteroides and some spirochetes, to air may kill the organisms. The following technique does not require an anaerobic chamber, does not expose the organism to atmospheric oxy...

OBJECTIVE Oral medications are commonly used to treat acute and chronic conditions, but formal evaluation of a child's pill-swallowing ability rarely occurs. In this pilot study, the Pediatric Oral Medication Screener (POMS) was used to physically assess a child's pill swallowing ability and identify children who would benefit from a targeted intervention. METHODS We identified children 3 to ...

OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of oral contraceptive use on maximum force production in young women. METHODS In the study, 21 female subjects (14 pill users and seven eumenorrheic controls) took part. All pill using subjects had been taking a combined, monophasic oral contraceptive pill for at least 6 months. Maximum dynamic and isometric leg strength, maximum isometric strength of the firs...

BACKGROUND Antiretroviral (ARV) adherence of ≥ 95% is recommended for suppressing HIV. However, studies have shown that the ≥ 95% recommended level is rarely achieved. OBJECTIVE This cross-sectional community-based study sought to assess factors contributing to ARV drug adherence among adults living with HIV or AIDS. SETTING The study was conducted in a rural community in Machakos County, K...

A person chooses a mate with advantageous genes through odor and facial symmetry. Dustin J. Penn and Wayne K. Potts discovered that mice are capable of smelling the potential mates’ major histocompatibility complex (MHC) through the scent of urine. Penn and Potts found that the mice preferred the scent of mates with a dissimilar MHC genotype to their own. Claus Wedekind investigated an odor med...

Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) originated from a classical TCM Fufang Suhexiang Pill for chest pain with dyspnea in the Southern Song Dynasty (1107-110 AD). Here, we aimed to evaluate preclinical evidence and possible mechanism of SBP for experimental coronary heart disease (CHD). Studies of SBP in animal models with CHD were identified from 6 databases until April 2016. Study quality for each incl...

Weichang’an (WCA) pill, a traditional Chinese patent medicine consisting of ten Chinese medicinal herbs, has been used to treat irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia for several decades. In this study, twelve bioactive constituents in the methanol extract of WCA were accurately identified since MS/MS fragmentation behavior of the references and the standards by using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS...

This paper analyzes the attitudes of low-income women towards abortion and contraception. A survey was conducted in 1992 with a total of 3,149 childbearing-age women living on the outskirts of the Greater Metropolitan São Paulo Area. The study focuses on a sub-sample of 583 women. Attitudes of sterilized and non-sterilized women are compared. Women, especially those sterilized, found the most i...

Exercise results in an increase in core body temperature (Tc), which may reduce exercise performance and eventually can lead to the development of heat-related disorders. Therefore, accurate measurement of Tc during exercise is of great importance, especially in athletes who have to perform in challenging ambient conditions. In the current literature a number of methods have been described to m...