Hydrogen bonding and pi-pi stacking in 7-{2-[4-(4-methoxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl]ethoxy}-4-methyl-2H-chromen-2-one monohydrate.

In the title compound, C23H26N2O4.H2O, the benzopyran ring system is planar. The piperazine ring adopts an almost perfect chair conformation, and the methoxy group is coplanar with its parent benzene ring.

Drosophila TAB2 is required for the immune activation of JNK and NF-kappaB.

The TAK1 plays a pivotal role in the innate immune response of Drosophila by controlling the activation of JNK and NF-kappaB. Activation of TAK1 in mammals is mediated by two TAK1-binding proteins, TAB1 and TAB2, but the role of the TAB proteins in the immune response of Drosophila has not yet been established. Here, we report the identification of a TAB2-like protein in Drosophila called dTAB2.

A study on the sizes and concentrations of gold nanoparticles by spectra of absorption, resonance Rayleigh scattering and resonance non-linear scattering.

Liquid phase gold nanoparticles with different diameters and colors can be prepared using sodium citrate reduction method by controlling the amounts of sodium citrate. The mean diameters of gold nanoparticles are measured by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Gold nanoparticles with different sizes have specific absorption spectra.

Improvements in the intraluminal thread technique to induce focal cerebral ischaemia in rabbits.

Although the intraluminal thread technique has been used to induce focal cerebral ischaemia in rabbits, its success rate is not high. We, therefore, attempted to improve the stability and reproducibility of this method by using thread tips of appropriate diameter as determined from the anatomical characteristics of the carotid and cerebral arteries of New Zealand white rabbits. Following intraarterial injection of casting material, we tested threads of four different tip diameters to determine the optimal thread tip that could occlude the middle cerebral artery (MCA).

A Chinese herbal medicine Ermiao wan reduces serum uric acid level and inhibits liver xanthine dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase in mice.

Ermiao wan, which is composed of phellodendri cortex and atractylodis rhizome, is described as eliminating heat, excreting dampness and anti-edema prescription in traditional Chinese medical literatures including Danxi's Experiences in Medicine and State Pharmacopoeia of People's Republic of China. So it is being used clinically in the treatment of gout and hyperuricemia in China. In the present study, the water extracts of Ermiao wan and phellodendri cortex at 840 and 480 mg/kg/day orally for 7 days were demonstrated to possess in vivo potent hypouricemic effects both in hyperuricemic mice pretreated with oxonate and in normal mice, respectively.

Effects of Biota orientalis extract and its flavonoid constituents, quercetin and rutin on serum uric acid levels in oxonate-induced mice and xanthine dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase activities in mouse liver.

The hypouricemic actions of Biota orientalis (BO) extract and its flavonoid constituents quercetin and rutin, were in vivo examined using oxonate-induced hyperuricemic mice. Quercetin and rutin, when administered three times orally to the oxonate-induced hyperuricemic mice, were able to elicit dose-dependent hypouricemic effects. The effects of quercetin and rutin were more potent than that of Biota orientalis extract at the same dose of 100 mg/kg.

ATP potentiates agrin-induced AChR aggregation in cultured myotubes: activation of RhoA in P2Y1 nucleotide receptor signaling at vertebrate neuromuscular junctions.

At vertebrate neuromuscular junctions, ATP is known to stabilize acetylcholine in the synaptic vesicles and to be co-released with it. We have shown previously that a nucleotide receptor, P2Y(1) receptor, is localized at the nmjs, and we propose that this mediates a trophic role for synaptic ATP there. In cultured myotubes, the activation of P2Y(1) receptors modulated agrin-induced acetylcholine receptor (AChR) aggregation in a potentiation manner.

Administration of procyanidins from grape seeds reduces serum uric acid levels and decreases hepatic xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase activities in oxonate-treated mice.

In this study we have investigated the effects of administration of procyanidins from grape seeds on serum uric acid levels in a model of hyperuricaemia in mice pretreated with oxonate, as well as the xanthine dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase activities in mouse liver in vivo. The procyanidins, when orally administered to the oxonate-pretreated hyperuricaemic mice, were able to elicit a dose-dependent hypouricaemic effect. At a dose of 400 mg/kg for 3 days, the serum urate levels of the oxonate-pretreated mice were not different from the normal mice.

Interaction between isopoly-tungstic acid and berberine hydrochloride by resonance Rayleigh scattering spectrum.

In a weak acid medium, when an isopoly-tungstic acid reacts with berberine to form an ion-association complex, strong resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) appears and obvious frequency-doubling scattering (FDS) as well as second-order scattering (SOS) come into being. The scattering peaks are located at 288 and 369 nm for RRS, at 290, 370 and 390 nm for FDS, and at 480, 540 and 740 nm for SOS. Under optimum conditions, all three scattering intensities are directly proportional to the concentration of berberine and can be applied to the determination of berberine.

cDNA encodes Xenopus P2Y(1) nucleotide receptor: expression at the neuromuscular junctions.

A cDNA encoding P2Y(1) receptor was isolated by cross-hybridization with chicken homolog. The deduced amino acid sequence of P2Y(1) receptor with 361 amino residues is 80-85% identical to human, rodent and avian homologs. When the cDNA was expressed in mammalian cells, the activation of P2Y(1) receptor by adenine nucleotides stimulated the accumulation of inositol phosphate, and adenosine 3',5'-bismonophosphate (A3P5P) or other antagonists blocked its action; these pharmacological properties showed resemblance of P2Y(1) receptor family in higher vertebrate.

Resonance Rayleigh-scattering method for the determination of vitamin B1 with methyl orange.

In a pH 2.3-3.0 acid medium, the resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) intensity is greatly enhanced when vitamin B, reacts with Methyl Orange to form an ion-association complex.