Devil or angel: two roles of carbon monoxide in stroke.

Stroke is one of the most important acute diseases that endanger human health and result in death, including acute cerebral hemorrhage and acute cerebral ischemia. Acute onset is its most prominent feature. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless and odorless gas existing at room temperature.

Ophiostomatoid fungi associated with pines infected by and in China, including three new species.

The activity of the pine wood nematode leads to extremely serious economic, ecological and social losses in East Asia. The nematode causes pine wilt disease, which is currently regarded as the most important forest disease in China. The pathogenic nematode feeds on dendrocola fungi to complete its cycle of infection.

Inhibition of Lats1/p-YAP1 pathway mitigates neuronal apoptosis and neurological deficits in a rat model of traumatic brain injury.

Aims: To investigate the roles of Lats1/p-YAP1 pathway in TBI-induced neuronal apoptosis and neurological deficits in rats.

Results: We found that Lats1 and YAP1 were expressed in cerebral cortex neurons of Sprague-Dawley rats, and the phosphorylation levels of Lats1 and YAP1 in injured regions were significantly increased after TBI. Furthermore, inhibition of Lats1 not only decreased the level of p-YAP1, but also attenuated neuronal apoptosis and neurological impairment.

[Strategy and effect of snail control in inside-embankment areas in Junshan District, Hunan Province from 1998 to 2017].

Objective: To explore the strategy and countermeasures of snail control and evaluate the effect in inside-embankment areas of lake-type schistosomiasis endemic area, for providing the effective method for controlling and interrupting the schistosomiasis transmission.

Methods: The data of schistosomiasis epidemic and its control and prevention were collected in Junshan District, Hunan Province, and the effect of snail control countermeasures were evaluated and the trend of indexes of snails was drafted in the inside-embankment areas of Junshan District, Hunan Province from 1998 to 2007.

Results: The area with snails in the inside embankment areas of Junshan District decreased by 98.

Investigation of the active components in Tripterygium wilfordii leading to its acute hepatotoxicty and nephrotoxicity.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The traditional herbal medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. (TW) has been widely used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune disease in the clinic.

Potential contribution of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, aquaporin-4, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 to blood-brain barrier disruption and brain edema after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage.

The current research aimed to investigate the role of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), aquaporin-4 (AQP-4), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction and cerebral edema formation in a rat subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) model. The SAH model was induced by injection of 0.3 ml fresh arterial, non-heparinized blood into the prechiasmatic cistern in 20 s.

Melatonin activates the Nrf2-ARE pathway when it protects against early brain injury in a subarachnoid hemorrhage model.

Melatonin has beneficial effects against early brain injury (EBI) by modulating cerebral oxidative stress after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH); however, few investigations relate to the precise underlying molecular mechanisms. To date, the relation between melatonin and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 and antioxidant responsive element (Nrf2-ARE) pathway has not been studied in SAH models. This study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of melatonin on Nrf2-ARE pathway in rats after SAH.