A Relationship between vascular endothelial cell senescence and cardiovascular disease

The vascular endothelial cell (VEC) is a single layer of flat squamous epithelium covering the intima of the blood vessel. It constitutes a biological barrier to the blood vessel wall. It is not only a protective barrier but also a producer of some autocrine secretion. The substance is used to regulate homeostasis and vascular tone and has a variety of biological functions. VEC senescence can lead to vascular dysfunction, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular system (CVS) and has a close relationship with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the mechanism of VEC senescence and the effects of VEC senescence on vascular function are not fully understood. This review summarizes the characteristics of VEC senescence and describes age-related CVD

Integral inequalities of systems and the estimate for solutions of certain nonlinear two-dimensional fractional differential systems

AbstractThis paper generalizes the results for the constructions of explicit bounds and the qualitative properties for the solutions of certain two-dimensional fractional differential systems established in a recent paper of the authors. The main generalizations come from an elementary inequality and by means of the modification of Medveď’s de-singular approach

Effect of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α on Neutralization of Ventricular Fibrillation in Rats with Acute Myocardial Infarction

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) on ventricular fibrillation (VF) in rats with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Rats were randomly classified into AMI group, sham operation group and recombinant human tumor necrosis factor receptor:Fc fusion protein (rhTNFR:Fc) group. Spontaneous and induced VFs were recorded. Monophasic action potentials (MAPs) among different zones of myocardium were recorded at eight time points before and after ligation and MAP duration dispersions (MAPDds) were calculated. Then expression of TNF-α among different myocardial zones was detected. After ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery, total TNF-α expression in AMI group began to markedly increase at 10 min, reached a climax at 20–30min, and then gradually decreased. The time-windows of VFs and MAPDds in the border zone performed in a similar way. At the same time-point, the expression of TNF-α in the ischemia zone was greater than that in the border zone, and little in the non-ischemia zone. Although the time windows of TNF-α expression, the MAPDds in the border zone and the occurrence of VFs in the rhTNFR:Fc group were similar to those in the AMI group, they all decreased in the rhTNFR:Fc group. Our findings demonstrate that TNF-α could enlarge the MAPDds in the border zone, and promote the onset of VFs

Signaling transduction regulated by 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A receptor and orexin receptor 2 heterodimers

As G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A receptor (5-HT1AR) and orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) regulate the levels of the cellular downstream molecules. The heterodimers of different GPCRs play important roles in various of neurological diseases. Moreover, 5-HT1AR and OX2R are involved in the pathogenesis of neurological diseases such as depression with deficiency of hippocampus plasticity. However, the direct interaction of the two receptors remains elusive. In the present study, we firstly demonstrated the heterodimer formation of 5-HT1AR and OX2R. Exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac) cAMP bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) biosensor analysis revealed that the expression levels of cellular cAMP significantly increased in HEK293T cells transfected with the two receptors compared with the 5-HT1AR group. Additionally, the cellular level of calcium was upregulated robustly in HEK293T cells co-transfected with 5-HT1AR and OX2R group after agonist treatment. Furthermore, western blotting data showed that 5-HT1AR and OX2R heterodimer decreased the levels of phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB). These results not only unraveled the formation of 5-HT1AR and OX2R heterodimer but also suggested that the heterodimer affected the downstream signaling pathway, which will provide new insights into the function of the two receptors in the brain

Diphenyl­methyl isothio­cyanate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C14H11NS, contains two mol­ecules in which the dihedral angles between the phenyl rings are 77.23 (7) and 86.30 (7)°. No aromatic π–π stacking inter­actions are observed

Surgical Treatment of Patients with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome Phenotype

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a devastating and refractory generalized epilepsy affecting children and adolescents. In this study we report the results of resective surgery in 18 patients with LGS phenotype who underwent single-lobe/lesionectomy or multilobe resection plus multiple subpial transection and/or callosotomy. After surgery, seven patients became completely seizure-free (Engel Class I) and five almost seizure-free (Engel Class II). Additional four had significant seizure control (Engel Class III), and two had no change in seizure frequency (Engel Class IV). Of the 4 patients without any lesion on brain MRI, 2 ended with Engel Class II, 1 with III and the other with IV in Engels' classification. Mean intelligence quotient (IQ) increased from 56.1 ± 8.1 (mean ± SD) before operation to 67.4 ± 8.2 (mean ± SD) after operation, a significant improvement (P = 0.001). Results also indicated that the younger the patient at surgery, or the shorter the interval between onset of seizure and resective operation, the better the intellectual outcome. Our data suggest that resective epilepsy surgery can be successful in patients with LGS phenotype as long as the EEG shows dominance of discharges in one hemisphere and corresponding ipsilateral imaging findings, even with contralateral ictal discharges

Essential oils for the treatment of dust mites

House mites, including D. pteronyssinus and D. farina, are common causes of allergic diseases, such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, eczema, conjunctivitis and perennial rhinitis in susceptible patients. Conventional acaricides, such as benzyl benzoate, bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos are effective chemicals in treating mites. However, they are usually with high drug resistance and high adverse effects on environment, human health, and non-target organisms. Recently, essential oils from different plants were found to be safe and effective alternatives for killing different types of mites. The present review summarized the essential oils from different plants. The crude essential oils from Melissa officinalis, S.lavandulifolia oil, cade oil, P. cattleianum, Patchouli oil, Horseradish oil, C. cassia, P. cablin, Manuka oil, Clove Bud oil, and the pure essential oils, such as eugenol, caryophyllene, and camphor might be good candidates for the dust mites. Further studies on biological mechanisms of the acaricidal effects of these active essential oils, and the structure-activity relationships are needed to make the functions of these drugs more clear