Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) as pharmacological targets for neurodegenerative diseases

A significant drop of tissue pH or acidosis is a common feature of acute neurological conditions such as ischemic stroke, brain trauma, and epileptic seizures. Acid-sensing ion channels, or ASICs, are proton-gated cation channels widely expressed in peripheral sensory neurons and in the neurons of the central nervous system. Recent studies have demonstrated that activation of these channels by protons plays an important role in a variety of physiological and pathological processes such as nociception, mechanosensation, synaptic plasticity, and acidosis-mediated neuronal injury. This review provides an overview of the recent advance in electrophysiological, pharmacological characterization of ASICs, and their role in neurological diseases. Therapeutic potential of current available ASIC inhibitors is discussed

Dynamic analysis of ring stiffened conical-cylindrical shell combinations with general coupling and boundary conditions

Due to excellent mechanical and physical properties, the conical and cylindrical shell combinations reinforced by ring stiffeners are widely used in practical engineering applications such as missiles, torpedoes, rockets and naval hulls of submarines. Since these structures are usually subjected to the intricate environment as well as dynamic loads resulting in fatigue damage, vibration and radiated noise, thoroughly understanding dynamic behavior of the shell combinations is essential to develop adequate vibration control strategy for their fatigue life at the design stage

Dynamic analysis of ring stiffened conical-cylindrical shell combinations with general coupling and boundary conditions

Due to excellent mechanical and physical properties, the conical and cylindrical shell combinations reinforced by ring stiffeners are widely used in practical engineering applications such as missiles, torpedoes, rockets and naval hulls of submarines. Since these structures are usually subjected to the intricate environment as well as dynamic loads resulting in fatigue damage, vibration and radiated noise, thoroughly understanding dynamic behavior of the shell combinations is essential to develop adequate vibration control strategy for their fatigue life at the design stage

Dual-scale automaton model for virtual plant development

in ChineseA variety of plant growth models for plant morphogenesis have been reported, but most of them are based on computer graphics to represent natural scenery. In this paper, a dual-scale automaton model for virtual plant development is presented, in which the concepts of microstate and macrostate are proposed from the viewpoints of botany. The parameters of this model have explicitly physical meaning for relating to the plant growth mechanisms, and they can be structured for input with diagram. All of these features make it easy to understand and implement in programming. And a probability process, which accords with the growth of plant's apical bud and axillary bud, is also used in this model. The model is demonstrated a simpler but effective method by comparison with 'L-system' and 'reference axis technique'. While the model has been tested for generating almost all plant architectural models defined by botanists, only one example is given in the paper to confirm the advantages of the model

Comparison of outcomes between off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery in elderly patients: a meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to analyze if off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) is associated with better treatment outcomes in elderly patients (>70 years of age) than on-pump CABG, using meta-analysis. Medline, PubMed, Cochrane and Google Scholar databases were searched until September 13, 2016. Sensitivity and quality assessment were performed. Twenty-two studies, three randomized control trials (RCTs) and 20 non-RCTs were included with 24,127 patients. The risk of death associated with on-pump or off-pump CABG in the RCTs were similar (pooled OR=0.945, 95%CI=0.652 to 1.371, P=0.766). However, in the non-RCTs, mortality risk was lower in patients treated with off-pump CABG than on-pump CABG (pooled OR=0.631, 95%CI=0.587 to 0.944, P=0.003). No differences were observed between the two treatment groups in terms of the occurrence of 30-day post-operative stroke or myocardial infarction (P≥0.147). In the non-RCTs, off-pump CABG treatment was associated with a shorter length of hospital stay (pooled standardized difference in means=-0.401, 95%CI=-0.621 to -0.181, P≤0.001). The meta-analysis with pooled data from non-RCTs, but not RCTs, found that mortality was lower with off-pump compared with on-pump CABG, and suggested that there may be some benefit of off-pump CABG compared with on-pump CABG in the risk of mortality and length of hospital stay