Consumption of Hydrogen Water Reduces Paraquat-Induced Acute Lung Injury in Rats

Exposure to paraquat leads to acute lung injury and oxidative stress is widely accepted as a contributor to paraquat-induced acute lung injury. Recent studies have reported that consumption of water with dissolved molecular hydrogen to a saturated level (hydrogen water) prevents oxidative stress-induced diseases. Here, we investigated whether consumption of saturated hydrogen saline protects rats against paraquat-induced acute lung injury. Adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups: Control group; hydrogen water-only group (HW group); paraquat-only group (PQ group); paraquat and hydrogen water group (PQ + HW group). The rats in control group and HW group drank pure water or hydrogen water; the rats in PQ group and PQ + HW group were intraperitonealy injected with paraquat (35 mg/kg) and then provided pure water or hydrogen water. Both biochemical and histological lung alterations were measured. The results showed that hydrogen water ameliorated these alterations, demonstrating that hydrogen water alleviated paraquat-induced acute lung injury possibly by inhibition of oxidative damage

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression is progressively increased in primary cerebral microvascular endothelial cells during hyperbaric oxygen exposure

Exposure to hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) can lead to seizures. Many studies have demonstrated that there exist a very close relationship between the alteration of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and the onset of seizures. Nitric oxide (NO) may play a key role in the change of CBF during exposure, and modulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-derived NO by HBO is responsible for early vasoconstriction, whereas late HBO-induced vasodilation depends upon a large amount of NO from both eNOS and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). To investigate the effect of HBO on the activity and expression of eNOS in cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (CMEC) in vitro, primarily cultured CMEC from neonatal rats were exposed to oxygen at 500 kPa [5 atmosphere absolute (ATA)] for 10, 20, 30, 60 and 120 minutes (min), then eNOS activity, protein and mRNA contents in cells were detected. Our results showed that immediately after exposure, 30, 60 and 120 min HBO exposures did not alter NOS activity. When detected no matter immediately or six hours (h) after exposure, these exposures also did not alter eNOS protein and mRNA levels. However, when detected 24 h after exposure, 30, 60 and 120 min exposures upregulated eNOS protein content by 39%, 60% and 40% respectively. 10 and 20 min exposures upregulated eNOS mRNA content by about 15%, while 30, 60 and 120 min exposures upregulated it by about 20–30%. The increased eNOS protein and mRNA contents at 24 h after exposure may reflect new protein synthesis for eNOS. Our studies showed that with the exposing protocols we used, HBO did induce eNOS expression increase in CMEC. However, compared with the decrease of CBF in vivo, which occurred in a relative short time after rat was exposed to HBO above 4 ATA, the responses of eNOS in CMEC in vitro were a little slow. Thus we considered that for the vasodilation in the late period of HBO exposure before seizure, the effect of NO produced by eNOS was limited

Cardiovascular disease risk models and dementia or cognitive decline: a systematic review

BackgroundHealth cognitive promotion and protection is a critical topic. With the world’s aging population and rising life expectancy, there will be many people living with highly age-related dementia illnesses. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and dementia share the same risk factors, such as unhealthy lifestyles and metabolic factors. These recognized risks associated with CVD and dementia frequently co-occur. CVD risk models may have a close association with dementia and cognitive decline. So, this systematic review aimed to determine whether CVD risk models were connected with dementia or cognitive decline and compare the predictive ability of various models.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science, PsychINFO, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Sinomed, and WanFang were searched from 1 January 2014 until 16 February 2023. Only CVD risk models were included. We used the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) for the quality assessment of included cohort studies and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for cross-sectional studies. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement’s guidelines were followed in this systematic study.ResultsIn all, 9,718 references were screened, of which 22 articles were included. A total of 15 CVD risk models were summarized. Except for the Cardiovascular Health in Ambulatory Care Research Team (CANHEART) health index, the other 14 CVD risk models were associated with dementia and cognitive decline. In comparison, different CVD risk models and domain-specific cognitive function correlation variation depended on cohort characteristics, risk models, cognitive function tests, and study designs. Moreover, it needed to be clarified when comparing the predicting performance of different CVD risk models.ConclusionIt is significant for public health to improve disease risk prediction and prevention and mitigate the potential adverse effects of the heart on the brain. More cohort studies are warranted to prove the correlation between CVD risk models and cognitive function. Moreover, further studies are encouraged to compare the efficacy of CVD risk models in predicting cognitive disorders

Consumption of Hydrogen Water Reduces Paraquat-Induced Acute Lung Injury in Rats

Exposure to paraquat leads to acute lung injury and oxidative stress is widely accepted as a contributor to paraquat-induced acute lung injury. Recent studies have reported that consumption of water with dissolved molecular hydrogen to a saturated level (hydrogen water) prevents oxidative stress-induced diseases. Here, we investigated whether consumption of saturated hydrogen saline protects rats against paraquat-induced acute lung injury. Adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups: Control group; hydrogen water-only group (HW group); paraquat-only group (PQ group); paraquat and hydrogen water group (PQ + HW group). The rats in control group and HW group drank pure water or hydrogen water; the rats in PQ group and PQ + HW group were intraperitonealy injected with paraquat (35 mg/kg) and then provided pure water or hydrogen water. Both biochemical and histological lung alterations were measured. The results showed that hydrogen water ameliorated these alterations, demonstrating that hydrogen water alleviated paraquat-induced acute lung injury possibly by inhibition of oxidative damage

Ultrahigh-sensitivity label-free optical fiber biosensor based on a tapered singlemode- no core-singlemode coupler for Staphylococcus aureus detection

An ultra-high sensitivity label-free optical fiber biosensor for inactivated Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) detection is proposed and investigated in this study, with additional advantages of robust and stability compared to traditional tapered fiber structure. The proposed fiber biosensor is based on a tapered singlemode- no core-singlemode fiber coupler (SNSFC) structure, where the no core fiber was tapered to small diameter (taper-waist diameter of about 10 µm) and functionalized with the pig immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody for detection of S. aureus. The measured maximum wavelength shift of the sensor for an S. aureus concentration of 7 × 101 CFU/ml (colony forming unit per milliliter) is 2.04 nm, which is equivalent to a limit of detection (LOD) of 3.1 CFU/ml (a highest LOD reported so far for optical fiber biosensors), considering the maximum wavelength variation of the sensor in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) is ±0.03 nm over 40 minutes, where 3 times of maximum wavelength variation (3 × 0.03 = 0.09 nm) is defined as measurement limit. The response time of the developed fiber sensor is less than 30 minutes. The ultra-sensitive biosensor has potential to be widely applied to various areas such as disease, medical diagnostics and food safety inspection

Ultrahigh-sensitivity label-free singlemode- tapered no core-singlemode fiber immunosensor for Listeria monocytogenes detection

A challenge for optical fiber biosensor is to achieve ultrahigh sensitivity with narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the spectrum. To address this challenge, an ultrahigh-sensitivity microfiber interferometer fiber ring laser (FRL) biosensor is proposed and investigated for Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) detection. The fiber biosensor is composed of a singlemode- tapered no core-singlemode (STNS) fiber configuration, which is functionalized with the anti-L. monocytogenes antibodies. An Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier is applied to the sensor to excite laser and thus reduce the FWHM of the spectrum, which significantly improved the limit of detection (LoD). The proposed STNS FRL biosensor has excellent reproducibility, specificity and sensitivity for L. monocytogenes. The developed STNS FRL biosensor can directly detect L. monocytogenes cells with LoD as low as 1.0 cell/mL, indicating the capability for detecting single cell of L. monocytogenes. Real lettuce and milk samples have been tested and test result in lettuce and milk samples has deviations within ±30% from that of Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for L. monocytogenes concentrations vary from 101 to 103 cells/mL(g). The developed STNS FRL biosensor has ultrahigh sensitivity, good stability, reproducibility, and specificity, which has potential applications in diseases/medical diagnostics

Is methane a new therapeutic gas?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Methane is an attractive fuel. Biologically, methanogens in the colon can use carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce methane as a by-product. It was previously considered that methane is not utilized by humans. However, in a recent study, results demonstrated that methane could exert anti-inflammatory effects in a dog small intestinal ischemia-reperfusion model.</p> <p>Point of view</p> <p>Actually, the bioactivity of methane has been investigated in gastrointestinal diseases, but the exact mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory effects is required to be further elucidated. Methane can cross the membrane and is easy to collect due to its abundance in natural gas. Although methane is flammable, saline rich in methane can be prepared for clinical use. These seem to be good news in application of methane as a therapeutic gas.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Several problems should be resolved before its wide application in clinical practice.</p

Analysis of and Experimental Research on a Hydraulic Traction System Based on a Digital Hydraulic Transformer

In this study, we designed a new type of digital hydraulic transformer using four gear–pump/motor units with a displacement ratio of 20:21:22:23 and two control valve groups that consist of four solenoid directional valves. The driving gear shafts of the four gear–pump/motor units are fixedly connected to achieve synchronous rotation. The two control valve groups are respectively installed through an integrated valve block on the inlet and outlet of each gear–pump/motor unit. With the objective of reducing the installed power and energy consumption of hydraulic traction systems, we propose a new energy-saving hydraulic system based on a digital hydraulic transformer. This hydraulic system uses a digital hydraulic transformer as a pressure/flow control element. By controlling the power on/off states of eight solenoid directional valves, the digital hydraulic transformer can realize a change in output flow and then a change in speed of the hydraulic cylinder piston rod. Through the theoretical derivation and simulation analysis of the hydraulic system pressure/flow change process, and the experimental verification of the built hydraulic traction system based on the experimental platform, a conclusion is drawn that the proposed digital hydraulic transformer can change the output pressure/flow of a hydraulic system through a binary digital control, verifying the feasibility of the pressure change principle of the designed digital hydraulic transformer and the rationality of the hydraulic traction system circuit