Activation of Paraventricular Melatonin Receptor 2 Mediates Melatonin-Conferred Cardioprotection Against Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury.

Previous studies have shown that melatonin (Mel) can effectively ameliorate myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury, but the mechanism is yet to be fully elucidated. Mel receptors are expressed in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), which is also involved in regulating cardiac sympathetic nerve activity. The aim of this study was to examine whether Mel receptors in the PVN are involved in the protective effects of Mel against MI/R injury.

Icariin protects cardiomyocytes against ischaemia/reperfusion injury by attenuating sirtuin 1-dependent mitochondrial oxidative damage.

Background And Purpose: Icariin, a major active ingredient in traditional Chinese medicines, is attracting increasing attention because of its unique pharmacological effects against ischaemic heart disease. The histone deacetylase, sirtuin-1, plays a protective role in ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, and this study was designed to investigate the protective role of icariin in models of cardiac I/R injury and to elucidate the potential involvement of sirtuin-1.

Experimental Approach: I/R injury was simulated in vivo (mouse hearts), ex vivo (isolated rat hearts) and in vitro (neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and H9c2 cells).

Chloroform fraction of Scutellaria barbata D. Don inhibits the growth of colorectal cancer cells by activating miR‑34a.

Scutellaria barbata D. Don (SB) is a well known formula in traditional Chinese medicine, which exhibits potent anticancer effects on various cancers. Many miRNAs play crucial roles in the regulation of cancer, for instance, miR‑34a functions as a tumor suppressor, and is often downregulated during cancer.

[Study on Spectral Characteristics of Filaments in Three Layers Gas Gap in Dielectric Barrier Discharge].

By optical emission spectrum, we report on the first investigation on the spectral characteristics of filaments in three layers gas gap in dielectric barrier discharge, which filled with gas-mixture of argon and air. The filaments are generated in 1 mm gas gap, 4 mm gas gap and 2 mm gas gap, respectively. With previous single layers gas gap or double layers gas gap of the filaments are very different in terms of spectral characteristics.

[Study on the Plasma Parameters of the Spot-Halo Hexagon Pattern with Optical Emission Spectrum].

The spot-halo hexagon pattern consisted of the center spot and hexagon halo in dielectric barrier discharge is researched, which filled with gas-mixture of argon and air. The pictures taken from the experiment shows that there is an obvious difference on brightness between the center spot and hexagon halo. All of these phenomena suggest that the center spot and hexagon halo are probably in different plasma state.

[Study on Square Super-Lattice Pattern with Surface Discharge in Dielectric Barrier Discharge by Optical Emission Spectra].

Square super-lattice pattern with surface discharge consisting of central spots and dim spots is firstly observed in the mixture of argon and air by using a dielectric barrier discharge device with water electrodes. By observing the image, it is found that the central spot is located at the centriod of its surrounding four dim spots. The short-exposure image recorded by a high speed video camera shows that the dim spot results from the surface discharges (SDs).

Constituents of the root of Anemone tomentosa.

A new diterpene glycoside, tomentoside I (1), along with eleven known compounds, including the four coumarins, 4,5-dimethoxyl-7-methylcoumarin (2), 4,7-dimethoxyl-5-methylcoumarin (3), isofraxidin (4) and fraxidin (5) as well as the seven triterpenoids, oleanolic acid (6), oleanolic acid 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside (7), oleanolic acid 3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→3)-β-D-glucopyranoside (8), hederagenin 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside (9), betulinic acid (10), 18-hydroxyursolic acid (11) and 2α,3β,23-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (12) were isolated from the ethanolic extract of the root of Anemone tomentosa and their chemical structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The antimicrobial activities of compounds 1-12 were measured using the agar disc-diffusion method. Also, their antioxidant activities against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were evaluated.

[Clinical study of argon laser photocoagulation for central serous chorioretinopathy].

Objective: To evaluate the clinical effect of argon laser photocoagulation for central serous chorioretinopthy.

Methods: This study included 102 consecutive cases of central serous chorioretinopathy (102 eyes) with fluorescein dye leakage located 500 microm away from the central fovea of the macula lutea as defined by fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA). Argon laser photocoagulation of the leakage spots was performed once (98 eyes) or twice (4 eyes) with the spot diameter for exposure ranging from 100 to 200 microm and exposure time of 0.