Astragalus Granule Prevents Ca 2+

Background. Astragalus was broadly used for treating heart failure (HF) and arrhythmias in East Asia for thousands of years. Astragalus granule (AG), extracted from Astragalus, shows beneficial effect on the treatment of HF in clinical research. We hypothesized that administration of AG prevents the remodeling of L-type Ca2+ current (ICa-L) in HF mice by the downregulation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). Methods. HF mice were induced by thoracic aortic constriction (TAC). After 4 weeks of AG treatment, cardiac function and QT interval were evaluated. Single cardiac ventricular myocyte was then isolated and whole-cell patch clamp was used to record action potential (AP) and ICa-L. The expressions of L-type calcium channel alpha 1C subunit (Cav1.2), CaMKII, and phosphorylated protein kinase A (p-PKA) were examined by western blot. Results. The failing heart manifested distinct electrical remodeling including prolonged repolarization time and altered ICa-L kinetics. AG treatment attenuated this electrical remodeling, supported by AG-related shortened repolarization time, decreased peak ICa-L, accelerated ICa-L inactivation, and positive frequency-dependent ICa-L facilitation. In addition, AG treatment suppressed the overexpression of CaMKII, but not p-PKA, in the failing heart. Conclusion. AG treatment protected the failing heart against electrical remodeling and ICa-L remodeling by downregulating CaMKII

tree-based service discovery in mobile ad hoc networks

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; IEEE Computer Society; IEEE Comput. Soc. Tech. Comm. Serv. Comput. (TCSC); Natural Science Foundation of China; Hangzhou Dianzi UniversityUtilizing service oriented architectures to enhance seamless collaborations and information sharing among nodes in mobile ad hoc networks with limited communication capability is a challenging task. In this paper a novel tree-based service discovery mechanism, able to achieve high accuracy in the process of service discovery, is proposed, which affords wireless communication overheads nearly linear with the number of property-changing services offered by the whole network. The mechanism is suitable and customized for typical mobile networks. As properties such as quality and capability of the aimed services are always changing rather than remaining invariable, a service matching process is also provided, where an efficient method is implemented for searching for a target service in a local service repository with given conditions and policies

[In Press] Effects of locations, structures and neighbourhoods to housing price : an empirical study in Shanghai, China

Since Chinese housing market has been reformed, the increasing housing price has been a focus of the whole society. Shanghai, as the economic and financial center in China, is one of the cities which have the highest housing price. However, the high housing price has gradually become an important economic problem, as it could create huge challenges to maintain a healthy real estate industry in China. A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between housing market and its impactors is in need to control the housing price. This paper will focus on Shanghai housing market and analyse relationship between 12 housing characteristics and housing price, using hedonic price model. It is found that the 12 housing characteristics impact Shanghai housing price differently. This paper could provide newest and largest amount of data as references to researchers and investors who concern about Shanghai housing market, and help government to formulate a proper housing price policy

First report of Leptosphaeria sclerotioides on Brassica napus in Northwestern China

In 2020, diseased seedlings of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus) with cankered taproots as well as abundant sclerotium-like structures in the soil surrounding the roots were found in Longxi County of Gansu province of northwestern China. A fungus with production of pycnidia was isolated from the diseased roots, and it was identified based on morphological characteristics, molecular phylogeny (ITS, LSU) and PCR detection with the specific primers. The fungus was identified as Leptosphaeria sclerotioides Gruyter, Aveskamp & Verkley [anamorph: Phoma sclerotioides (Preuss) ex Sacc.]. Re-inoculation of isolates of P9 and P10 of L. sclerotioides on winter oilseed rape (B. napus cultivar ‘Zhongshuang No. 9’) in Wuhan caused formation of abundant sclerotium-like structures in soil surrounding the roots, but failed to produce root cankers as those observed in Gansu possibly due to lack of long peroid of low-temperature conditioning in Wuhan. In spite of this, plant height, pod number and seed yield of oilseed rape were significantly reduced in the treatment with L. sclerotioides P9 and P10, compared to the control treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of L. sclerotioides on B. napus in China and the finding broadened our understanding about the natural distribution of this psychrophilic fungus

Development of Certified Reference Materials for the Determination of Apparent Amylose Content in Rice

Apparent amylose content (AAC) is one of the most important parameters in rice quality evaluation. In this study, four rice reference materials used to test rice AAC were developed. The AAC of rice reference materials were measured by a spectrophotometric method with a defatting procedure, calibrated from potato amylose and waxy rice amylopectin at the absorption wavelengths of 620 and 720 nm. Homogeneity test (n = 20) was judged by F-test based on the mean squares of among and within bottles, and short- and long-term stability monitoring was performed by T-test to check if there was significant degradation at the delivery temperature of under 40 °C (14 days) and at 0–4 °C storage condition (18 months), respectively. After joint evaluation by ten laboratories, Dixion and Cochran statistical analyses were presented. The expanded uncertainties were calculated based on the uncertainty of homogeneity, short- and long-term stability, and inter-laboratory validation containing factor k = 2. It found that the four reference materials were homogenous and stable, and had the AAC (g/100 g, k = 2) of 2.96 ± 1.01, 10.68 ± 0.66, 17.18 ± 1.04, and 16.09 ± 1.29, respectively, at 620 nm, and 1.46 ± 0.49, 10.44 ± 0.56, 16.82 ± 0.75, and 24.33 ± 0.52, respectively, at 720 nm. It was indicated that 720 nm was more suitable for the determination of rice AAC with lower uncertainties. The determinations of the AAC of 11 rice varieties were carried out by two methods, the method without defatting and with calibration from the four rice reference materials and the method with a defatting procedure and calibrating from potato amylose and waxy rice amylopectin. It confirmed that the undefatted rice reference materials could achieve satisfactory results to test the rice samples with the AAC ranging from 1 to 25 g/100 g. It would greatly reduce the time cost and improve testing efficiency and applicability, and provide technical support for the high-quality development of the rice industry

Chimeric antigen receptors for adoptive T cell therapy in acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract Currently, conventional therapies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have high failure and relapse rates. Thus, developing new strategies is crucial for improving the treatment of AML. With the clinical success of anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies against B-lineage malignancies, many studies have attempted to translate the success of CAR T cell therapy to other malignancies, including AML. This review summarizes the current advances in CAR T cell therapy against AML, including preclinical studies and clinical trials, and discusses the potential AML-associated surface markers that could be used for further CAR technology. Finally, we describe strategies that might address the current issues of employing CAR T cell therapy in AML

Evidence-Based Updates to Thrombectomy: Targets, New Techniques, and Devices

10.3389/fneur.2021.712527FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY1

Comparison of Long-Term Mortality of Patients Aged >= 40 Versus > 40 Years With Acute Myocardial Infarction

10.1016/j.amjcard.2016.05.002AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY1183319-32

Biochemical Stimulus-Based Strategies for Meniscus Tissue Engineering and Regeneration

Meniscus injuries are very common and still pose a challenge for the orthopedic surgeon. Meniscus injuries in the inner two-thirds of the meniscus remain incurable. Tissue-engineered meniscus strategies seem to offer a new approach for treating meniscus injuries with a combination of seed cells, scaffolds, and biochemical or biomechanical stimulation. Cell- or scaffold-based strategies play a pivotal role in meniscus regeneration. Similarly, biochemical and biomechanical stimulation are also important. Seed cells and scaffolds can be used to construct a tissue-engineered tissue; however, stimulation to enhance tissue maturation and remodeling is still needed. Such stimulation can be biomechanical or biochemical, but this review focuses only on biochemical stimulation. Growth factors (GFs) are one of the most important forms of biochemical stimulation. Frequently used GFs always play a critical role in normal limb development and growth. Further understanding of the functional mechanism of GFs will help scientists to design the best therapy strategies. In this review, we summarize some of the most important GFs in tissue-engineered menisci, as well as other types of biological stimulation