Protective Effects of Chinese Traditional Medicine Buyang Huanwu Decoction on Myocardial Injury

Many clinical studies have reported that Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD) has a protective effect on ischemic heart disease (IHD). In the present study, the protective effect of BYHWD on myocardial ischemia was investigated. Different doses of BYHWD and Compound Danshen Dropping Pills (CDDP) were lavaged to rats, respectively, isoproterenol (ISO) was intraperitoneally injected in to all animals to induce myocardial ischemia except the control group. Electrocardiogram (ECG) of each animal was recorded; activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum were detected. As the results of ECG showed, pre-treatment with BYHWD inhibited ischemic myocardial injury, and the activities of LDH, CK and AST were lower than those in the myocardial ischemia model group, which suggests that BYHWD rescues the myocardium from ischemia status. To research the potential mechanism, the level of nitric oxide (NO), nitric oxide syntheses (NOS) and inducible nitric oxide syntheses (iNOS), the expression of iNOS and ligand of cluster of differentiation 40 (CD40L) were detected. The results revealed that BYHWD significantly decreased the level of NO, NOS and iNOS in serum. Moreover, BYHWD decreased the expression of iNOS and CD40L in myocardial tissues. These results indicate that the protective effect of BYHWD on myocardial ischemia and mechanism are associated with inhibition of iNOS and CD40L expression

The Roles of Buyang Huanwu Decoction in Anti-Inflammation, Antioxidation and Regulation of Lipid Metabolism in Rats with Myocardial Ischemia

Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD) is a well-known Chinese medicine formula. Recent studies have reported that BYHWD can be used to treat ischemic heart disease. This study investigated the potential mechanism underlying the roles of BYHWD in alleviating the myocardial ischemia induced by isoproterenol (ISO) in rats. Different doses of BYHWD (25.68, 12.84 and 6.42 g kg−1) were lavaged to rats, respectively. Then the expression of the cluster of differentiation 40 (CD40) in the mononuclear cells was measured using flow cytometry, and the expressions of CD40 and its ligand (CD40L) in myocardial tissues were determined by western blotting. The serum biochemical values of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, the malondialdehyde (MDA) level and the free fatty acid (FFA) content were measured. The results showed that the SOD activities of BYHWD groups were significantly higher than that of the ISO group, while the MDA levels and FFA contents of all BYHWD groups were lower than that of the ISO group. BYHWD could decrease the expression of CD40 in the mononuclear cells and the CD40 and CD40L expressions in myocardial tissues. Our data suggest that the roles of BYHWD are not only related to its antioxidative action and regulation of lipid metabolisms, but also to the inhibition of inflammatory pathway by the decreased CD40 and CD40L expressions in rats with myocardial ischemia

Intestinal Microecology in Pediatric Surgery-Related Gastrointestinal Diseases Current Insights and Future Perspectives

Intestinal microecology is established from birth and is constantly changing until homeostasis is reached. Intestinal microecology is involved in the immune inflammatory response of the intestine and regulates the intestinal barrier function. The imbalance of intestinal microecology is closely related to the occurrence and development of digestive system diseases. In some gastrointestinal diseases related to pediatric surgery, intestinal microecology and its metabolites undergo a series of changes, which can provide a certain basis for the diagnosis of diseases. The continuous development of microecological agents and fecal microbiota transplantation technology has provided a new means for its clinical treatment. We review the relationship between pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of pediatric surgery-related gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal microecology, in order to provide new ideas and methods for clinical diagnosis, treatment and research

Serum Immunoglobulin A (IgA) Level Is a Potential Biomarker Indicating Cirrhosis during Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

Background. Serum immunoglobulins (Igs) are frequently elevated in patients with chronic liver disease, but currently there is a lack of sufficient data on serum Igs in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB) infection. This study aimed to evaluate serum IgA, IgG, and IgM levels in patients with HBV-related cirrhosis and to analyze, if altered, immunoglobulin levels that were associated with cirrhosis progress. Methods. A cohort of 174 CHB patients including 104 with cirrhosis (32 decompensated and 72 compensated) and 70 without cirrhosis and 55 healthy controls were enrolled. Serum immunoglobulin levels and biochemical and virological parameters were determined in the enrollment blood samples. Results. Serum IgA levels were significantly increased in cirrhosis group compared with noncirrhosis group and healthy controls (all P<0.001). Furthermore, serum IgA concentrations in decompensated cirrhosis patients were significantly higher than that of compensated patients (P=0.002). Multivariate analysis suggested that serum IgA, platelets, and albumin were independent predictors for cirrhosis (all P<0.001). Conclusions. Elevated IgA levels may function as an independent factor indicating cirrhosis, and there appears to be a strong association between increasing serum IgA level and disease progressing in patients with chronic HBV infection

Analysis of Thermal Properties on Backward Feed Multieffect Distillation Dealing with High-Salinity Wastewater

Theoretical investigations on thermal properties of multieffect distillation (MED) are presented to approach lower capital costs and more distillated products. A mathematical model, based on the energy and mass balance, is developed to (i) evaluate the influences of variations in key parameters (effect numbers, evaporation temperature in last effect, and feed salinity) on steam consumption, gained output ratio (GOR), and total heat transfer areas of MED and (ii) compare two operation modes (backward feed (BF) and forward feed (FF) systems). The result in the first part indicated that GOR and total heat transfer areas increased with the effect numbers. Also, higher effect numbers result in the fact that the evaporation temperature in last effect has slight influence on GOR, while it influences the total heat transfer areas remarkably. In addition, an increase of feed salinity promotes the total heat transfer areas but reduces GOR. The analyses in the second part indicate that GOR and total heat transfer areas of BF system are higher than those in FF system. One thing to be aware of is that the changes of steam consumption can be omitted, considering that it shows an opposite trend to GOR

The roles of ubiquitination and deubiquitination of NLRP3 inflammasome in inflammation-related diseases: A review

The inflammatory response is a natural immune response that prevents microbial invasion and repairs damaged tissues. However, excessive inflammatory responses can lead to various inflammation-related diseases, posing a significant threat to human health. The NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a vital mediator in the activation of the inflammatory cascade. Targeting the hyperactivation of the NLRP3 inflammasome may offer potential strategies for the prevention or treatment of inflammation-related diseases. It has been established that the ubiquitination and deubiquitination modifications of the NLRP3 inflammasome can provide protective effects in inflammation-related diseases. These modifications modulate several pathological processes, including excessive inflammatory responses, pyroptosis, abnormal autophagy, proliferation disorders, and oxidative stress damage. Therefore, this review discusses the regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome activation by ubiquitination and deubiquitination modifications, explores the role of these modifications in inflammation-related diseases, and examines the potential underlying mechanisms

High-Throughput Screen Reveals sRNAs Regulating crRNA Biogenesis by Targeting CRISPR Leader to Repress Rho Termination

Discovery of CRISPR-Cas systems is one of paramount importance in the field of microbiology. Currently, how CRISPR-Cas systems are finely regulated remains to be defined. Here we use small regulatory RNA (sRNA) library to screen sRNAs targeting type I-F CRISPR-Cas system through proximity ligation by T4 RNA ligase and find 34 sRNAs linking to CRISPR loci. Among 34 sRNAs for potential regulators of CRISPR, sRNA pant463 and PhrS enhance CRISPR loci transcription, while pant391 represses their transcription. We identify PhrS as a regulator of CRISPR-Cas by binding CRISPR leaders to suppress Rho-dependent transcription termination. PhrS-mediated anti-termination facilitates CRISPR locus transcription to generate CRISPR RNA (crRNA) and subsequently promotes CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity against bacteriophage invasion. Furthermore, this also exists in type I-C/-E CRISPR-Cas, suggesting general regulatory mechanisms in bacteria kingdom. Our findings identify sRNAs as important regulators of CRISPR-Cas, extending roles of sRNAs in controlling bacterial physiology by promoting CRISPR-Cas adaptation priming

Comparison Between Spectral-Domain and Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Angiographic Imaging of Choroidal Neovascularization

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to compare imaging of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) using swept-source (SS) and spectral-domain (SD) optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS. Optical coherence tomography angiography was performed using a 100-kHz SS-OCT instrument and a 68-kHz SD-OCTA instrument (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.). Both 3 x 3-and 6 x 6-mm(2) scans were obtained on both instruments. The 3 x 3-mm(2) SS-OCTA scans consisted of 300 A-scans per B-scan at 300 B-scan positions, and the SD-OCTA scans consisted of 245 A-scans at 245 B-scan positions. The 6 x 6-mm(2) SS-OCTA scans consisted of 420 A-scans per B-scan at 420 B-scan positions, and the SD-OCTA scans consisted of 350 A-scans and 350 B-scan positions. B-scans were repeated four times at each position in the 3 x 3-mm(2) scans and twice in the 6 x 6-mm(2) scans. Choroidal neovascularization was excluded if not fully contained within the 3 x 3-mm(2) scans. The same algorithm was used to detect CNV on both instruments. Two graders outlined the CNV, and the lesion areas were compared between instruments. RESULTS. Twenty-seven consecutive eyes from 23 patients were analyzed. For the 3 x 3-mm(2) scans, the mean lesion areas for the SS-OCTA and SD-OCTA instruments were 1.17 and 1.01 mm(2), respectively (P = 0.047). For the 6 x 6-mm(2) scans, the mean lesion areas for the SS-OCTA and SD-OCTA instruments were 1.24 and 0.74 mm(2) (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS. The areas of CNV tended to be larger when imaged with SS-OCTA than with SD-OCTA, and this difference was greater for the 6 x 6-mm(2) scans.Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.National Eye InstituteResearch to Prevent Blindness, Inc. (New York, NY)National Eye Institute Center Core GrantCAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil (Brasilia, Brazil)German Research FoundationUniv Miami, Miller Sch Med, Bascom Palmer Eye Inst, Dept Ophthalmol, Miami, FL 33136 USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ophthalmol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Washington, Dept Bioengn, Seattle, WA 98195 USACarl Zeiss Meditec Inc, Adv Dev, Dublin, CA USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ophthalmol, Sao Paulo, BrazilNational Eye Institute: R01EY024158National Eye Institute Center Core Grant: P30EY014801German Research Foundation: SCHA 1869/1-1Web of Scienc

Automated Quantitation of Choroidal Neovascularization: A Comparison Study Between Spectral-Domain and Swept-Source OCT Angiograms

PURPOSE. To compare the lesion sizes of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) imaged with spectral-domain (SD) and swept-source (SS) optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and measured using an automated detection algorithm. METHODS. Patients diagnosed with CNV were imaged by SD-OCTA and SS-OCTA systems using 3 x 3-mm and 6 x 6-mm scans. The complex optical microangiography (OMAG(C)) algorithm was used to generate the OCTA images. Optical coherence tomography A datasets for imaging CNV were derived by segmenting from the outer retina to 8 mu m below Bruch's membrane. An artifact removal algorithm was used to generate angiograms free of retinal vessel projection artifacts. An automated detection algorithm was developed to quantify the size of the CNV. Automated measurements were compared with manual measurements. Measurements from SD-OCTA and SS-OCTA instruments were compared as well. RESULTS. Twenty-seven eyes from 23 subjects diagnosed with CNV were analyzed. No significant differences were detected between manual and automatic measurements: SD-OCTA 3 x 3-mm (P = 0.61, paired t-test) and 6 x 6-mm (P = 0.09, paired t-test) scans and the SS-OCTA 3 x 3-mm (P = 0.41, paired t-test) and 6 x 6-mm (P = 0.16, paired t-test) scans. Bland-Altman analyses were performed to confirm the agreement between automatic and manual measurements. Mean lesion sizes were significantly larger for the SS-OCTA images compared with the SD-OCTA images: 3 3 3-mm scans (P = 0.011, paired sample t-test) and the 6 x 6-mm scans (P = 0.021, paired t-test). CONCLUSIONS. The automated algorithm measurements of CNV were in agreement with the hand-drawn measurements. On average, automated SS-OCTA measurements were larger than SD-OCTA measurements and consistent with the results from using hand-drawn measurements.Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. (Dublin, CA)National Eye InstituteResearch to Prevent Blindness, Inc., New York, New YorkNational Eye Institute Center Core GrantCAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasilia-BrazilGerman Research Foundation (DFG)Research to Prevent BlindnessUniv Washington, Dept Bioengn, 3720 NE 15th Ave, Seattle, WA 98195 USAUniv Miami, Miller Sch Med, Bascom Palmer Eye Inst, Dept Ophthalmol, Miami, FL 33136 USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ophthalmol, Sao Paulo, BrazilCarl Zeiss Meditec Inc, Adv Dev, Dublin, CA USAUniv Washington, Dept Ophthalmol, 3720 NE 15th Ave, Seattle, WA 98195 USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ophthalmol, Sao Paulo, BrazilNational Eye Institute: R01EY024158National Eye Institute Center Core Grant: P30EY014801German Research Foundation (DFG): SCHA 1869/1-1Web of Scienc