Choroid thickness in central serous chorioretinopathy using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography

AIM: To observe the choroidal thickness in the macular area in affected and unaffected fellow eyes with central serous chorio retinopathy(CSC)and in healthy controls. METHODS: Twenty-six cases with unilateral CSC and controls were recruited in this study. All eyes were divided into three groups: 26 eyes in Group A(affected eyes with CSC), 26 eyes in group B(unaffected fellow eyes)and 26 eyes in group C(right eyes of age and sex matched control). Enhanced depth imaging was obtained by using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Subfoveal choroidal thickness and choroidal thickness at 1mm/3mm nasal, temporal, superior and inferior to the fovea were measured. RESULTS: Choroidal thickness was significantly increased in affected eyes with CSC than unaffected fellow eyes(t=5.57, P<0.01).The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness(SFCT)was 528.31±91.24μm in group A, 413.71±79.35μm in group B, and 301.31±52.46 in group C. The subfoveal choroid was significantly thicker in group A than Group C(P<0.01). SFCT in unaffected fellow eyes were thicker than the controls(P<0.01). CONCLUSION:Choroidal thickness is thicker in affected eyes with CSC and also in fellow unaffected eyes, indicating that the choroid blood vessels are high and perfusion state, may be one of the factors of the disease CSC

Metarhizium anisopliae infection alters feeding and trophallactic behavior in the ant Solenopsis invicta

In social insects, social behavior may be changed in a way that preventing the spread of pathogens. We infected workers of the ant Solenopsis invicta with an entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae and then videotaped and/or measured worker feeding and trophallactic behavior. Results showed that fungal infected S. invicta enhanced their preference for bitter alkaloid chemical quinine on 3 days after inoculation, which might be self-medication of S. invicta by ingesting more alkaloid substances in response to pathogenic infection. Furthermore, infected ants devoted more time to trophallactic behavior with their nestmates on 3 days post inoculation, in return receiving more food. Increased interactions between exposed ants and their naive nestmates suggest the existence of social immunity in S. invicta. Overall, our study indicates that S. invicta may use behavioral defenses such as self-medication and social immunity in response to a M. anisopliae infection. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Inc

Identification of key bioactive anti-migraine constituents of Asari radix et rhizoma using network pharmacology and nitroglycerin-induced migraine rat model

Purpose: To elucidate the bioactive constituents of Asari radix et rhizoma (ARR) in treating migraine based on network pharmacology and nitroglycerin-induced migraine rat model. Methods: The potential bioactive constituents of ARR were identified with the aid of literature retrieval and virtual screening, and the migraine-related hub genes were identified using protein-protein interaction and topology analyses. Then, the interaction between the potential bioactive constituents and hub genes was determined with molecular docking and topology, leading to the prediction of the anti-migraine constituents of ARR. Moreover, a rat model of nitroglycerin-induced migraine was used to confirm the prediction by measuring the frequency of head-scratching and head-shaking behavior (FHHB) in the rats. In addition, levels of nitric oxide (NO) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in blood, norepinephrine (NE) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in brain were measured using appropriate commercial kits. Results: Network pharmacology revealed that naringenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and higenamine might be the key anti-migraine bioactive constituents of ARR. On addition of naringenin-7-O-β-D- glucopyranoside or higenamine to ARR, there was marked enhancement of the mitigating effect of ARR on nitroglycerin-induced abnormalities in levels of NO, CGRP, 5-HT and NE, as well as FHHB in rats (p &lt; 0.05 or 0.01). Conclusion: These findings indicate that naringenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and higenamine might be the key bioactive and anti-migraine constituents of ARR. However, in addition to naringenin-7-O-β-D- glucopyranoside and higenamine, there were many other anti-migraine constituents in ARR. Therefore, there is need for further investigations on the actual contributions of these two constituents of ARR in treating migraine

Straight-line path following for asymmetric unmanned platform with disturbance estimation

The problem of straight-line path following for asymmetric unmanned platform exposed to unknown disturbances was addressed in this paper. The mathematical model of asymmetric unmanned platform was established and the inputs in sway and yaw directions were decoupled, which facilitated the establishment of control strategy of path following. The guidance law and the cross-track error were derived from the classical line-of-sight (LOS) guidance principle. And the equilibrium point of the cross-track error was proven to be uniformly semiglobally exponentially stable (USGES), which guaranteed the exponential convergence to zero. A new disturbance estimation law was developed by adding a linear item of the estimation error into the classical one, which improved the principle’s precision and sensitivity dramatically. The control strategy was developed based on the integrator backstepping technique and the new disturbance estimation law, which made the equilibrium system to be uniformly globally asymptotically stable (UGAS). Computer simulations were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the estimation and control laws during straight-line path following for asymmetric unmanned platform in the presence of unknown disturbances

Portable Intelligent Oscilloscope Based on Innovative Education

Based on the innovative education idea that students in various universities can do experiments anytime and anywhere without being limited by the course time, a portable oscilloscope suitable for students' experiment and teaching practice is designed by using Arduino, Android and Bluetooth Technology. This oscilloscope not only realizes the basic functions of an oscilloscope, but also makes the measurement images of low-frequency signals more clear and impressive. In addition, the design based on the mobile App is more user-friendly, which enhances the user's sense of use and facilitates the sorting and query of experimental data. The application test shows that the oscilloscope has stable performance, clear waveform, satisfies students' learning and teaching practice to a large extent, and has a good development prospect

6-Benzyl-6,7-dihydro-5H-pyrrolo­[3,4-b]pyridine-5,7-dione

In the title compound, C14H10N2O2, the dihedral angle between the heterocyclic ring system and the phenyl ring is 45.8 (5)°. Weak inter­molecular C—H⋯N hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure

Ethyl 8-chloro-1-cyclo­propyl-6,7-difluoro-4-oxo-1,4-dihydro­quinoline-3-carboxyl­ate

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C15H12ClF2NO3, the quinoline ring system is not planar, the dihedral angle between the pyridine and benzene rings being 3.55 (8)°. In the crystal, inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into layers parallel to (101)

IL-9 Inhibits Viral Replication in Coxsackievirus B3-Induced Myocarditis

Myocardial injuries in viral myocarditis (VMC) are caused by viral infection and related autoimmune disorders. Recent studies suggest that IL-9 mediated both antimicrobial immune and autoimmune responses in addition to allergic diseases. However, the role of IL-9 in viral infection and VMC remains controversial and uncertain. In this study, we infected Balb/c mice with Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), and found that IL-9 was enriched in the blood and hearts of VMC mice on days 5 and 7 after virus infection. Most of IL-9 was secreted by CD8+ T cells on day 5 and CD4+ T cells on day 7 in the myocardium. Further, IL-9 knockout exacerbated cardiac damage following CVB3 infection, along with a sharp increase in viral replication and IL-17a expression, as well as a decrease in TGF-β. In contrast, repletion of IL-9 in Balb/c mice with CVB infection induced the opposite effect. Studies in vitro further revealed that IL-9 directly inhibited viral replication in cardiomyocytes by reducing coxsackie and adenovirus receptor expression, which might be associated with up-regulation of TGF-β autocrine effect in these cells. However, IL-9 had no direct effect on apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. Our data indicated that IL-9 played a protective role in disease progression by inhibiting CVB3 replication in the early stages of VMC