Proteomic analysis of the venom from the endoparasitoid wasp Pteromalus puparum (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae).

Parasitoid venom is a complex mixture of active substances with diversified biological functions. Because of its range of activities, venom is an important resource with respect to potential application in agriculture and medicine. Only a limited number of peptides, proteins, and enzymes have been identified and characterized from parasitoid venom.

Influence of melatonin on cerebrovascular proinflammatory mediators expression and oxidative stress following subarachnoid hemorrhage in rabbits.

The aim of this study is to analyze whether melatonin administration influenced the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) activity, proinflammatory cytokines expression, and oxidative response in the basilar artery after SAH. A total of 48 rabbits were randomly divided into four groups: control group, SAH group, SAH + vehicle group, and SAH + melatonin group. All SAH animals were subjected to injection of autologous blood into cisterna magna twice on day 0 and day 2.

Low-frequency stimulation of the hippocampal CA3 subfield is anti-epileptogenic and anti-ictogenic in rat amygdaloid kindling model of epilepsy.

Neuromodulation with low-frequency stimulation (LFS), of brain structures other than epileptic foci, is effective in inhibiting seizures in animals and patients, whereas selection of targets for LFS requires further investigation. The hippocampal CA(3) subfield is a key site in the circuit of seizure generation and propagation. The present study aimed to illustrate the effects of LFS of the CA(3) region on seizure acquisition and generalization in the rat amygdaloid kindling model of epilepsy.

Low-frequency stimulation of the tuberomammillary nucleus facilitates electrical amygdaloid-kindling acquisition in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Histamine plays a suppressive role in seizure. The tuberomammillary nucleus (TM) is the only locus of histaminergic neurons in the brain. To determine whether deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the TM provides protection against seizures, we tested the effects of low-frequency stimulation (LFS, 1 Hz), high frequency stimulation (HFS, 100 Hz), and electrolytic lesions of the TM on seizures generated by amygdaloid kindling, pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) and maximal electroshock (MES) in rats.

Time-dependent effect of low-frequency stimulation on amygdaloid-kindling seizures in rats.

Low-frequency stimulation (LFS) has been considered as a new option for the treatment of intractable epilepsy. The present study was designed to determine whether LFS of the kindling focus given at different time points after seizures exert different roles on kindling seizures. Our results showed that: (i) In kindling animals, LFS delivered immediately after cessation of the kindling stimulus inhibited the seizure stage during kindling acquisition, whereas LFS delivered after the cessation of afterdischarge accelerated the kindling progression to stages 1 and 2.

Coronary angiography with dual source computed tomography: initial experience.

Objective: To explore the scan technique and image quality of coronary angiography with dual source computed tomography (CT) without oral metoprolol preparation.

Methods: Plain and enhanced dual source CT coronary angiography without oral metoprolol preparation was prospectively performed in 600 patients. Calcium scoring with plain scan images as well as multi-planar reconstruction (MPR), maximum intensity projection (MIP), and volume rendering technique (VRT) reconstruction with enhanced scan images were performed in all cases.

Non-invasive imaging of coronary artery with 16-slice spiral computed tomography.

Objective: To evaluate the value of 16-slice spiral CT in the demonstration of coronary artery and in the diagnose of coronary artery stenosis.

Methods: Plain and enhanced CT scans were performed with a 16-slice CT scanner (Sensation 16, Siemens, Germany) in 230 patients with suspected coronary heart disease (CHD). Parameters of the plain scan were: 120 kV, 133 mA, slice collimation 16 mm x 1.

Triaryl boron-based A-pi-A vs triaryl nitrogen-based D-pi-D quadrupolar compounds for single- and two-photon excited fluorescence.

Three new A-pi-A-type compounds with trivalent boron, protected by two mesityl groups, as electron acceptor have been synthesized and investigated together with their two diphenylamino-ended D-pi-D analogues. These boranes exhibit large two-photon absorption cross sections and high fluorescence quantum yields.

Vibration assignment of carbon-sulfur bond in 2-thione-1,3-dithiole-4,5-dithiolate derivatives.

The higher frequency peak near 1050 cm(-1) of the doublet in the infrared and Raman spectra of 2-thione-1,3-dithiole-4,5-dithiolate (DMIT) derivatives corresponds mainly to the stretching vibration of carbon-sulfur double bond in the terminal S=CS2 fragments of DMIT skeletons while the lower one corresponds mainly to the Fermi resonance peak between overtones of symmetric stretching vibration of two carbon-sulfur single bond in the S=CS2 fragment of DMIT skeletons and the higher frequency. On the other hand, the higher frequency near 500 cm(-1) corresponds mainly to the symmetric stretching vibration of two carbon-sulfur single bond in the S=CS2 fragments of DMIT skeletons while the lower one corresponds mainly to the symmetric stretching vibration of the four carbon-sulfur single bond in the S2C=CS2 fragments of DMIT skeletons.

[Distribution and germination of Alexandrium sp. cysts in coastal areas of Southeast China Sea].

Studies on the distribution and germination of Alexandrium sp. (A. tamarense + A.

Trivalent boron as an acceptor in donor-pi-acceptor-type compounds for single- and two-photon excited fluorescence.

The synthesis, structure, and fluorescence properties of a series of new donor-pi-acceptor (D-pi-A) type compounds, with a trivalent boron, protected by two mesityl groups, as acceptor, and with various typical donors and different pi-conjugated bridges, are reported. All these stable organoboron compounds show intense single-photon excited fluorescence (SPEF) and two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) in a wide spectral range from blue to green, with the spectral peak position of the SPEF being basically the same as that of the TPEF. The remarkably strong Cbond;B(mesityl)(2) bonding, and the well-conjugated pi-system, shown in X-ray crystal structures of two compounds, indicate some charge transfer features of the ground state.

[Coronary angiography with sixteen-slice spiral CT: an initial study].

Objective: To evaluate the scanning technique and primary clinical value of sixteen-slice spiral CT coronary angiography.

Methods: Plain and enhanced sixteen-slice spiral CT imaging was performed in 69 patients, including 64 cases of suspected coronary heart disease and 5 cases of coronary stent. Calcium scoring with plain scan images and MPR, MIP and VRT reconstruction with enhanced scan images were made in all cases, among which 10 underwent conventional coronary angiography.

Trivalent boron as acceptor in D-pi-A chromophores: synthesis, structure and fluorescence following single- and two-photon excitation.

A series of new donor-pi-acceptor type compounds with trivalent boron as acceptor which show strong two-photon excited up-conversion fluorescence have been synthesized and one crystal structure described.