Neuroprotective effects of traditional Chinese medicine in treating glaucoma:A Meta-analysis

AIM:To assess the neuroprotective effects of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of glaucoma. METHODS:The electronic bibliographic databases were searched,including Medline(1966-01/2011-03), EMbase(1996-2010), Cochrane library, Wanfang database,VIP(1999-2011), CNKI, the radomized controlled trials of TCM treatment compares with Western medicine treatment of the glaucoma were assembled Data were extracted and evaluated by two reciewers independently with a designed extraction formation by Meta-analysis based on the Cochrane net suggestion. RESULTS:A total of 8 theses written in Chinese were retrieved,including 719 patients.The results of Meta-analysis showed the combination therapy of TCM and western therapy significant improves the effect of neuroprotection(P<0.01). In order to boost and qualify the curative effects of the aucupuncture, more precise samples should be designed and a multi-research central need to be bulit. however, according to the existing cases, the evidences of the effectiveness are weak due to the limited numbers of samples and the methodological defect. CONCLUSION: The existing evidence supports the combination therapy of TCM and western medicine stronger than the only used of western medicine(P<0.01). But owing to the limited studies and few number of TCM treatment for glaucoma's neuroprotection, the large sample andmulticenter random ized controlled trial is still needed to verify the superiority of TCM for neuroproctive effect of glaucoma's teatment

N-Cyclo­hexyl-3-(4-hydr­oxy-6-oxo-1,6-dihydro­pyrimidin-5-yl)-3-p-tolyl­propanamide

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C20H25N3O3, the aromatic rings are oriented at a dihedral angle of 88.36 (3)°. The cyclo­hexane ring adopts a chair conformation. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯O and O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules. C—H⋯π inter­actions are also present

Exact diagonalization for spin-1/2 chains and the first order quantum phase transitions of the XXX chain in a uniform transverse field

A simple Mathematica code based on the differential realization of hard-core boson operators for finding exact solutions of the periodic-N spin-1/2 systems with or beyond nearest neighbor interactions is proposed; it can easily be used to study general spin-1/2 interaction systems. As an example, the code is applied to study XXX spin-1/2 chains with nearest neighbor interaction in a uniform transverse field. It shows that there are [N/2] level-crossing points in the ground state, where N is the periodic number of the system and [x] stands for the integer part of x, when the interaction strength and magnitude of the magnetic field satisfy certain conditions. The quantum phase transitional behavior in the ground state of the system in the thermodynamic limit is also studied. © IOP Publishing Ltd

Di-μ3-iodido-diiodidobis(μ2-4′-phenyl-2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine)tetra­copper(I)

The title complex, [Cu4I4(C21H15N3)2], lies on an inversion centre located at the centroid of a four-membered ring formed by one of the crystallographically independent CuI ions and a triply bridging iodide ligand. The 2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine (phterpy) ligand chelates each of the independent CuI centres in a bidentate fashion, with the N atom of the central pyridyl ring bridging the two CuI centres and those of the outer pyridyl rings binding the two independent CuI ions individually to form a dinuclear system. These are further linked by triply-bridging I− anions to form the centrosymmetric tetra­nuclear units. One independent Cu atom binds to each of the inversion-related I− anions while the other coordinates to one bridging and one terminal monodentate iodide ligand. The outer pyridyl rings are twisted relative to the central pyridyl ring of the phterpy ligand with dihedral angles of 18.7 (1) and 35.6 (1)°, respectively

Relationship between canopy temperature at flowering stage and soil water content, yield components in rice. Rice Sci

Abstract: The canopy temperature of rice at the flowering stage and the soil water content were investigated under different soil water treatments (the soil water contents were 24%, 55%, 90% and 175% at the flowering stage). The canopy temperature was lower than air temperature, and the soil water content significantly influenced the canopy temperature. The lower the soil water content, the higher the canopy temperature, the less the accumulative absolute value of canopy-air temperature difference. Moreover, the maximum difference between treatments and CK in the accumulative absolute value of canopy-air temperature difference appeared at 13:00 p.m. in a day, thus, it could be considered as a suitable measuring time. Under the lowest water content treatment, the peak flowering occurred in the first three days (about 70% of panicles flowered), resulting in shortened and lightened panicle of rice. As to the CK and the high water content treatments, the peak flowering appeared in the middle of flowering duration, with longer panicle length and higher panicle weight. Results indicated the lower the soil water content, the less the filled grain number and grain yield. Key words: rice; canopy temperature; soil water content; yield components Water deficit is one of the most important factors limiting crop yield, and the monitoring of crop water status is important for reasonable irrigation and water saving cultivation. Using crop canopy temperature to characterize crop water status is a new method for the monitoring. Tanner et al Turner et al [5] studied the relationships among rice canopy temperature, water stress, leaf rolling and growth, and found that drought stress increased the canopy-air temperature difference and leaf rolling, whereas reduced dry matter of rice. Chauham et a

N-Cyclo­pentyl-3-(4-hydr­oxy-6-oxo-1,6-dihydro­pyrimidin-5-yl)-3-p-tolyl­propanamide

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C19H23N3O3, the six-membered rings are oriented at a dihedral angle of 73.06 (3)°. The cyclo­pentyl ring adopts an envelope conformation. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯O and O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules. In the tolyl ring, the H atoms and all but one of the C atoms are disordered over two positions and were refined with occupancies of 0.51 (3) and 0.49 (3)

Heme oxygenase-1 prevents non-alcoholic steatohepatitis through suppressing hepatocyte apoptosis in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), the rate-limiting enzyme in heme catabolism, has been reported to have potential antioxidant properties. However, the role of HO-1 on hepatocyte apoptosis remains unclear. We aim to elucidate the effects of HO-1 on oxidative stress related hepatocellular apoptosis in nutritional steatohepatitis in mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>C57BL/6J mice were fed with methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet for four weeks to induce hepatic steatohepatitis. HO-1 chemical inducer (hemin), HO-1 chemical inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP-IX) and/or adenovirus carrying HO-1 gene (Ad-HO-1) were administered to mice, respectively. Hepatocyte apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay, the mRNA and protein expression of apoptosis related genes were assayed by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Hepatocyte signs of oxidative related apoptotic injury were presented in mice fed with MCD diet for 4 weeks. Induction of HO-1 by hemin or Ad-HO-1 significantly attenuated the severity of liver histology, which was associated with decreased hepatic lipid peroxidation content, reduced number of apoptotic cells by TUNEL staining, down-regulated expression of pro-apoptosis related genes including Fas/FasL, Bax, caspase-3 and caspase-9, reduced expression of cytochrome p4502E1 (CYP2E1), inhibited cytochrome c (Cyt-c) release, and up-regulated expression of anti-apoptosis gene Bcl-2. Whereas, inhibition of HO-1 by ZnPP-IX caused oxidative stress related hepatic injury, which concomitant with increased number of TUNEL positive cells and up-regulated expression of pro-apoptosis related genes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study provided evidences for the protective role of HO-1 in preventing nutritional steatohepatitis through suppressing hepatocyte apoptosis in mice.</p

Effects of root phenotypic changes on the deep rooting of Populus euphratica seedlings under drought stresses

Background Deep roots are critical for the survival of Populus euphratica seedlings on the floodplains of arid regions where they easily suffer drought stress. Drought typically suppresses root growth, but P. euphratica seedlings can adjust phenotypically in terms of root-shoot allocation and root architecture and morphology, thus promoting deep rooting. However, the root phenotypic changes undertaken by P. euphratica seedlings as a deep rooting strategy under drought conditions remain unknown. Methods We quantified deep rooting capacity by the relative root depth (RRD), which represents the ratio of taproot length to plant biomass and is controlled by root mass fraction (RMF), taproot mass fraction (TRMF), and specific taproot length (STRL). We recorded phenotypic changes in one-year-old P. euphratica seedlings under control, moderate and severe drought stress treatments and assessed the effects of RMF, TRMF, and STRL on RRD. Results Drought significantly decreased absolute root depth but substantially increased RRD via exerting positive effects on TRMF, RMF, and STRL. Under moderate drought, TRMF contributed 55%, RMF 27%, and STRL 18% to RRD variation. Under severe drought, the contribution of RMF to RRD variation increased to 37%, which was similar to the 41% for TRMF. The contribution of STRL slightly increased to 22%. Conclusion These results suggest that the adjustments in root architecture and root-shoot allocation were predominantly responsible for deep rooting in P. euphratica seedlings under drought conditions, while morphological changes played a minor role. Moreover, P. euphratica seedlings rely mostly on adjusting their root architecture to maintain root depth under moderate drought conditions, whereas root-shoot allocation responds more strongly under severe drought conditions, to the point where it plays a role as important as root architecture does on deep rooting

Serum γ-glutamyltransferase and uric acid levels are associated with impaired fasting glucose in adults from Inner Mongolia, China

BACKGROUND: Serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and uric acid (UA) levels are elevated in patients with diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Prediabetes, characterized by impaired glucose tolerance, is an important risk factor for overt diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the relationship between GGT, UA and prediabetes in a Chinese population, and provide a scientific basis for the early prevention and treatment of diabetes. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional population-based study in a cohort of 2694 subjects (1211 men and 1483 women, aged 35–86 years). Questionnaires and physical examinations were performed using standardized procedures. Fasting blood was collected to measure glucose and other biochemical parameters. The subjects were divided into two groups with either normal fasting glucose (NFG) or impaired fasting glucose (IFG), according to international diagnostic criteria. Logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Compared with the NFG group, the IFG group had significantly higher blood pressure but lower high-density lipoprotein–cholesterol in women. Body mass index, waist circumference, triglyceride, glucose, GGT, and UA levels were significantly higher in males and females in the IFG group than those in the NFG group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the OR for prediabetes increased with increasing serum GGT quartiles and UA quartiles. GGT and UA were positively associated with prediabetes in men and women, independent of age, ethnicity, smoking, alcohol consumption, blood pressure, physical labor, and other confounders. CONCLUSIONS: We found that serum GGT and UA levels were positively associated with prediabetes in men and women living in areas inhabited by Chinese ethnic minorities. As elevated GGT and UA levels were associated with significantly increased risk of prediabetes, they may be used as sensitive biological markers of prediabetes

Urban integrated meteorological observations: practice and experience in Shanghai, China

Observations of atmospheric conditions and processes in citiesare fundamental to understanding the interactions between the urban surface and weather/climate, improving the performance of urban weather, air quality and climate models, and providing key information for city end-users (e.g. decision-makers, stakeholders, public). In this paper, Shanghai's urban integrated meteorological observation network (SUIMON) and some examples of intended applications are introduced. Its characteristics include being: multi- purpose (e.g. forecast, research, service), multi-function (high impact weather, city climate, special end-users), multi-scale (e.g. macro/meso-, urban-, neighborhood, street canyon), multi-variable (e.g. thermal, dynamic, chemical, bio-meteorological, ecological), and multi- platform (e.g. radar, wind profiler, ground-based, satellite based, in-situ observation/ sampling). Underlying SUIMON is a data management system to facilitate exchange of data and information. The overall aim of the network is to improve coordination strategies and instruments; to identify data gaps based on science and user driven requirements; and to intelligently combine observations from a variety of platforms by using a data assimilation system that is tuned to produce the best estimate of the current state of the urban atmosphere