Demethylenetetrahydroberberine protects dopaminergic neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a multifactorial disorder of the nervous system where a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons exist. However, the pathogenesis of PD remains undefined, which becomes the main limitation for the development of clinical PD treatment. Demethylenetetrahydroberberine (DMTHB) is a novel derivative of natural product berberine.

[Tradeoffs and synergies of ecosystem services in western mountainous China: A case study of the Bailongjiang watershed in Gansu, China].

The Bailongjiang watershed of Gansu is an important water conservation and ecological barrier area in the upper reaches of Yangtze River. It is necessary to reveal the tradeoffs and synergies of ecosystem services (ESs) for the "win-win" of watershed ecological system and social eco-nomy development. Based on the InVEST model, four typical ESs including soil conservation (SC), water conservation (WC), food supply (FS), and habitat quality (HQ) were assessed, and the multi-scale tradeoffs and synergies of ESs and its drivers were analyzed by correlation and root mean square deviation (RMSD).

Effect of BTXA on Inhibiting Hypertrophic Scar Formation in a Rabbit Ear Model.

Background: Hypertrophic scar (HS) is a refractory skin disease caused by major physical damage or other inflammation. Some reports found that botulinum toxin type A (BTXA) could be an alternative treatment of the HS. Therefore, the authors studied the effects of BTXA on the treatment of HS and the dose response of BTXA.

De novo design of VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors based on a linked-fragment approach.

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been demonstrated to possess substantial antitumor activity. VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors are crucial for development of antitumor drugs. Based on the crystal structure of VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase, a linked-fragment strategy was employed to design novel VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and 1000 compounds were generated in this process.

QSAR and molecular docking studies on oxindole derivatives as VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

The three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships (3D-QSAR) were established for 30 oxindole derivatives as vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) tyrosine kinase inhibitors by using comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative similarity indices analysis comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) techniques. With the CoMFA model, the cross-validated value (q(2)) was 0.777, the non-cross-validated value (R(2)) was 0.

Production of herbicide-resistant medicinal plant Salvia miltiorrhiza transformed with the bar gene.

In this study, we successfully performed Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of Salvia miltiorrhiza and produced herbicide-resistant transformants. Leaf discs of S. miltiorrhiza were infected with Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA105 harboring pCAMBIA 3301.

The unbinding studies of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 protein tyrosine kinase type II inhibitors.

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) tyrosine kinase has two conformations, active and inactive conformations. Type II inhibitors bind to inactive conformation. It has two possible binding/unbinding paths.

[Visfatin promotes production of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and interleukin-6 in human endothelial cells via insulin receptor].

Objective: Visfatin is a new novel proinflammatory adipocytokine affecting insulin resistance by binding to insulin receptor. To investigate whether visfatin stimulates monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and mediates insulin receptor (IR) is involved in are not known.

Methods: Cultured HUVEC was treated with different doses and durations of visfatin.

3-[(E)-2-Chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-1-yl]-N-(2-chloro-phen-yl)-2,2-dimethyl-cyclo-propane-1-carboxamide.

In the title compound, C(15)H(14)Cl(2)F(3)NO, synthesized by the reaction of 3-[(E)-2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-yl]-2,2-dimethyl-cyclo-propane-carb-oxy-lic acid and 2-chloro-aniline, the aromatic ring makes a dihedral angle of 76.7 (3)° with the plane of the cyclo-propane ring. In the crystal, inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into chains running along the b axis.

3-[(E)-2-Chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-1-yl]-N-(2-fluoro-phen-yl)-2,2-dimethyl-cyclo-propane-1-carboxamide.

The phenyl ring in the title compound, C(15)H(14)ClF(4)NO, makes a dihedral angle of 80.3 (3)° with the cyclo-propane ring. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds into chains running along the a axis.

(E)-2-(2-Chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-yl)-N-(2,4-dimethyl-phen-yl)-3,3-dimethyl-cyclo-propane-1-carboxamide.

The title compound, C(17)H(19)ClF(3)NO, crystallizes with three mol-ecules in the asymmetric unit. The aromatic ring makes dihedral angles of 38.69 (13), 46.

AOP-1 interacts with cardiac-specific protein kinase TNNI3K and down-regulates its kinase activity.

In the present study, a yeast two-hybrid screening system was used to identify the interaction partners of cardiac troponin I-interacting kinase (TNNI3K) that might serve as regulators or targets, and thus in turn to gain some insights on the roles of TNNI3K. After screening the adult heart cDNA library with a bait construct encoding the ANK motif of TNNI3K, antioxidant protein 1 (AOP-1) was isolated. The interaction between TNNI3K and AOP-1 was confirmed by the in vitro binding assay and coexpression experiments in vivo.

(E)-3-(2-Chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-yl)-2,2-dimethyl-N-(2-naphth-yl)cyclo-propane-carboxamide.

The title compound, C(19)H(17)ClF(3)NO, was synthesized from 3-[(E)-2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-yl]-2,2-dimethyl-cyclopropane-carboxylic acid and 2-aminona-phthalene. There are two molecules in the asymmetric unit. The dihedral angle between the naphthalene and cyclo-propane units is 111.

(E)-3-(2-Chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-yl)-2,2-dimethyl-N-p-tolyl-cyclo-propane-carboxamide.

There are two mol-ecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(16)H(17)ClF(3)NO. The benzene ring in each mol-ecule makes a dihedral angle of 66.6 (3)° [116.

(E)-3-(2-Chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-yl)-2,2-dimethyl-N,N-diphenyl-cyclo-propane-carboxamide.

The title compound, C(21)H(19)ClF(3)NO, was synthesized from 3-[(E)-2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-yl]-2,2-dimethyl-cyclo-propane-carboxylic acid and diphenyl-amine. The propenyl and carboxamide substituents lie on the same side of the cyclo-propane ring plane, with the two methyl substituents on either side of the plane. The phenyl rings of the carboxamide are inclined at an angle of 84.

(E)-3-(2-Chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-yl)-N-(3-methoxy-phen-yl)-2,2-dimethyl-cyclo-propane-carboxamide.

The title compound, C(16)H(17)ClF(3)NO(2), was synthesized from 3-[(E)-2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-prop-1-en-yl]-2,2-dimethyl-cyclo-propane-carboxylic acid and 3-methoxy-benzenamine. The propenyl and carboxamide substituents lie on the same side of the cyclo-propane ring plane, with the two methyl substituents on either side of the plane. The benzene ring makes a dihedral angle of 76.

[Analysis of 216 cases of total laparoscopic hysterectomy].

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH).

Methods: A retrospective study of laparoscopic hysterectomy was conducted in this setting. From March 2002 through March 2004, 216 women were subjected to TLH.

[Cloning and characterization of a novel cardiac-specific kinase gene p93 related to sarcomere].

Myocyte's contraction is regulated by signal transduction pathway composed with many protein factors, but the definite mechanism is still uncertain. A novel cardiac-specific kinase gene which participates in regulation of signal transduction, p93 named, was cloned from adult heart cDNA library. p93, coding a family member of MAPKKK, localized on 1p31.

Cloning and characterization of a novel cardiac-specific kinase that interacts specifically with cardiac troponin I.

Cardiac-restricted genes play important roles in cardiovascular system. In an effort to identify such novel genes we identified a novel cardiac-specific kinase gene TNNI3K localized on 1p31.1 based on bioinformatics analyses.