Time-Course of the Effects of QSYQ in Promoting Heart Function in Ameroid Constrictor-Induced Myocardial Ischemia Pigs

We aim to investigate the therapeutic effects of QSYQ on a pig myocardial ischemia (MI) model and to determine its mechanism of action. The MI model was induced by Ameroid constriction of the left anterior descending coronary (LAD) in Ba-Ma miniature pigs. Four groups were created: model group, digoxin group, QSYQ group, and sham-operated group. Heart function, Ang II, CGMP, TXB2, BNP, and cTnT were evaluated before (3 weeks after operation: 0 weeks) and at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after drug administration. After 8 weeks of administration, the pigs were sacrificed for cardiac injury measurements. Pigs with MI showed obvious histological changes, including BNP, cTnT, Ang II, CGRP, TXB2, and ET, deregulated heart function, and increased levels of apoptotic cells in myocardial tissue. Treatment with QSYQ improved cardiac remodeling by counteracting those events. The administration of QSYQ was accompanied by a restoration of heart function and of the levels of Ang II, CGRP, TXB2, ET BNP, and cTnT. In addition, QSYQ attenuated administration, reduced the apoptosis, and decreased the level of TNF-α and active caspase-3. In conclusion, administration of QSYQ could attenuate Ameroid constrictor induced myocardial ischemia, and TNF-α and active caspase-3 seemed to be the critical potential target of QSYQ

Early detection of secondary damage in ipsilateral thalamus after acute infarction at unilateral corona radiata by diffusion tensor imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Traditional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging can identify abnormal changes in ipsilateral thalamus in patients with unilateral middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarcts. However, it is difficult to demonstrate these early changes quantitatively. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) are potentially sensitive and quantitative methods of detection in examining changes of tissue microstructure and metabolism. In this study, We used both DTI and MRS to examine possible secondary damage of thalamus in patients with corona radiata infarction.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twelve patients with unilateral corona radiata infarction underwent MR imaging including DTI and MRS at one week (W1), four weeks (W4), and twelve weeks (W12) after onset of stroke. Twelve age-matched controls were imaged. Mean diffusivity (MD), fractional anisotropy (FA), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline(Cho), and creatine(Cr) were measured in thalami.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>T1-weighted fluid attenuation inversion recovery (FLAIR), T2-weighted, and T2-FLAIR imaging showed an infarct at unilateral corona radiate but no other lesion in each patient brain. In patients, MD was significantly increased at W12, compared to W1 and W4 (all <it>P</it>< 0.05). NAA was significantly decreased at W4 compared to W1, and at W12 compared to W4 (all <it>P</it>< 0.05) in the ipsilateral thalamus. There was no significant change in FA, Cho, or Cr in the ipsilateral thalamus from W1 to W12. Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between MD and the peak area of NAA, Cho, and Cr at W1, W4, and W12 and a significant positive correlation of FA with NAA at W1.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings indicate that DTI and MRS can detect the early changes indicating secondary damage in the ipsilateral thalamus after unilateral corona radiata infarction. MRS may reveal the progressive course of damage in the ipsilateral thalamus over time.</p

Nanohybrids of Silver Particles Immobilized on Silicate Platelet for Infected Wound Healing

Silver nanoparticles supported on nanoscale silicate platelets (AgNP/NSP) possess interesting properties, including a large surface area and high biocide effectiveness. The nanohybrid of AgNP/NSP at a weight ratio 7/93 contains 5-nm Ag particles supported on the surface of platelets with dimensions of approximately 80×80×1 nm3. The nanohybrid expresses a trend of lower cytotoxicity at the concentration of 8.75 ppm Ag and low genotoxicity. Compared with conventional silver ions and the organically dispersed AgNPs, the nanohybrid promotes wound healing. We investigated overall wound healing by using acute burn and excision wound healing models. Tests on both infected wound models of mice were compared among the AgNP/NSP, polymer-dispersed AgNPs, the commercially available Aquacel, and silver sulfadiazine. The AgNP/NSP nanohybrid was superior for wound appearance, but had similar wound healing rates, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A levels and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 expressions to Aquacel and silver sulfadiazine

Chinatown and Urban Redevelopment: A Spatial Narrative of Race, Identity, and Urban Politics, 1950-2000

The dissertation explores the intricate relations between landscape, race/ethnicity, and urban economy and politics in American Chinatowns. It focuses on the landscape changes and spatial struggles in the Chinatowns under the forces of urban redevelopment after WWII. As the world has entered into a global era in the second half of the twentieth century, the conditions of Chinatown have significantly changed due to the explosion of information and the blurring of racial and cultural boundaries. One major change has been the new agenda of urban land planning which increasingly prioritizes the rationality of capital accumulation. The different stages of urban redevelopment have in common the deliberate efforts to manipulate the land uses and spatial representations of Chinatown as part of the socio-cultural strategies of urban development. A central thread linking the dissertation’s chapters is the attempt to examine the contingent and often contradictory production and reproduction of socio-spatial forms in Chinatowns when the world is increasingly structured around the dynamics of economic and technological changes with the new forms of global and local activities. Late capitalism has dramatically altered city forms such that a new understanding of the role of ethnicity and race in the making of urban space is required. Using a methodology that combines field observation, personal interviews, and archive research, the research uses the case studies of three Chinatowns located in the metropolitan cities San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. The regional differences of the three Chinatowns reveal that there is no single Chinatown model but rather multiple Chinese American communities with difference experiences of urban redevelopment and spatial evolution. The comparison of these Chinatowns contributes both theoretically and empirically to our understanding of regionally-specific variations to the widespread processes of urban redevelopment and spatial apparatus based on ethnic/racial differentiations. It also reveals varying modes of landscape in staging and performing racial/ethnic identity and social activism

Etnicidad y comunidad en el proceso patrimonial: el caso del último barrio chino rural de EE.UU. en Locke, California

Locke, California es el último barrio chino rural en América formado por los primeros inmigrantes chinos, en 1915. El valor de Locke como un sitio histórico conmemora la contribución de los trabajadores chinos al Estado Nación y ha sido extensamente reconocido. Pero su preservación ha levantado muchas controversias dentro y fuera de la comunidad. Este artículo muestra cómo el discurso hegemónico de tradición y lugar podría generar los significados impugnados de herencia y espacio que firmemente se conectan con los discursos sobre la ideología y la identidad. Esto también proporciona perspicacias para entender la dinámica y la política compleja de paisaje étnico y patrimonio.Locke, California is the last rural Chinatown in America that was formed by the early Chinese immigrants in 1915. Locke�s value as a historic site commemorating Chinese laborers� contribution to the nation-state has been widely recognized, but its preservation has raised many controversies within and outside the community. The paper shows how the hegemonic discourse of tradition and place could generate contested meanings of heritage and space that solidly grounded on the different ideology and identity discourses. It also provides insights to understand the dynamicity and complex politics of ethnic landscape and heritage.Locke, California é a última rural Chinatown na América que foi formada pelo início imigrantes chineses em 1915. Locke do valor, como um local histórico comemorar trabalhadores chineses contribuição para o Estado-nação foi amplamente reconhecido, mas sua preservação levantou muitas controvérsias no interior e no exterior da comunidade. O artigo demonstra como o discurso hegemï de tradição e local poderia gerar contestada significados do património e no espaço que sólido fundamento sobre os diferentes ideologia e identidade discursos. Prevê também insights para entender a dinamicidade e complexo política étnica de paisagem e património

Etnicidad y comunidad en el proceso patrimonial: el caso del último barrio chino rural de EE.UU. en Locke, California

Locke, California is the last rural Chinatown in America that was formed by the early Chinese immigrants in 1915. Locke's value as a historic site commemorating Chinese laborers' contribution to the nation-state has been widely recognized, but its preservation has raised many controversies within and outside the community. The paper shows how the hegemonic discourse of tradition and place could generate contested meanings of heritage and space that solidly grounded on the different ideology and identity discourses. It also provides insights to understand the dynamicity and complex politics of ethnic landscape and heritage