Using ROPScore and CHOP ROP for early prediction of retinopathy of prematurity in a Chinese population.

Purpose: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a disease that causes vision loss, vision impairment, and blindness, most frequently manifesting among preterm infants. ROPScore and CHOP ROP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ROP) are similar scoring models to predict ROP using risk factors such as postnatal weight gain, birth weight (BW), and gestation age (GA). The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy and difference between using ROPScore and CHOP ROP for the early prediction of ROP.

The effect of electrophoretic parameters on separation performance of short DNA fragments.

Effective separation of short DNA fragments is important for the identification of PCR or LAMP products. We investigated the effect of electric field strength, sample plug width, effective length of the capillary, concentration and molecular weight of polymer on the separation performance of small DNA. Results demonstrated that the sample plug played a non-negligible role in the peak broadening.

Effects of Bushen-Yizhi formula on age-related inflammation and oxidative stress in senescence-accelerated mice.

The present study aimed to investigate the possible effects and underlying molecular mechanism of Bushen‑Yizhi formula (BSYZ), a traditional Chinese medicine, on age‑related degeneration of brain physiology in senescence‑accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice. SAMP8 mice (age, 6 months) were administered BSYZ (1.46, 2.

Berberine Improves Diabetic Encephalopathy Through the SIRT1/ER Stress Pathway in db/db Mice.

The association between diabetes and dementia has been well demonstrated by epidemiologic studies. Berberine (BBR) has been reported to ameliorate diabetes and diabetic encephalopathy (DE). However, the mechanism is still unknown.

Ferulic acid attenuates brain microvascular endothelial cells damage caused by oxygen-glucose deprivation via punctate-mitochondria-dependent mitophagy.

Ferulic acid (FA) has an important effect on scavenging free radicals, which is related to the alleviation of various neurodegenerative diseases. However, there are few studies about its effects on vascular dementia. In this study, we demonstrated the effect of FA on oxidative damage of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) which underwent oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) for 2h.

Do Chinese Researchers Conduct Ethical Research and Use Ethics Committee Review in Clinical Trials of Anti-Dementia Drugs? An Analysis of Biomedical Publications Originating from China.

Background: Medical research using human participants must conform to the basic ethical principles found in the Declaration of Helsinki (DoH) of the World Medical Association.

Objective: The purpose of this review was to assess whether journals in China have improved in regard to the fulfillment of ethical disclosure procedures for clinical trials of anti-dementia drugs.

Methods: Four medical databases were searched for articles reporting clinical trials of oral anti-dementia drugs published in China in 2003, 2009, and 2014.

Can Chinese Herbal Medicine Adjunctive Therapy Improve Outcomes of Senile Vascular Dementia? Systematic Review with Meta-analysis of Clinical Trials.

Many publications have reported the growing application of complementary and alternative medicine, particularly the use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in combination with routine pharmacotherapy (RP) for senile vascular dementia (SVD), but its efficacy remains largely unexplored. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of CHM adjunctive therapy (CHMAT), which is CHM combined with RP, in the treatment of SVD. Publications in seven electronic databases were searched extensively, and 27 trials with a total of 1961 patients were included for analysis.

(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate attenuates cognitive deterioration in Alzheimer's disease model mice by upregulating neprilysin expression.

Epigenetic changes are involved in learning and memory, and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are considered potential therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We previously reported that (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) acts as an HDAC inhibitor. Here, we demonstrate that EGCG reduced β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation in vitro and rescued cognitive deterioration in senescence-accelerated mice P8 (SAMP8) via intragastric administration of low- and high-dose EGCG (5 and 15 mg/kg, respectively) for 60 days.

(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate induces cancer cell apoptosis via acetylation of amyloid precursor protein.

Epigenetic modifications are involved in cancer pathogenesis, and HDACis are considered potential therapeutic agents. We and others have shown the inhibitory activity of EGCG on HDAC1. But little is known about the effect of EGCG as on epigenetic regulation in cancer.

Use of ultrasonic array method for positioning multiple partial discharge sources in transformer oil.

Fast and accurate positioning of partial discharge (PD) sources in transformer oil is very important for the safe, stable operation of power systems because it allows timely elimination of insulation faults. There is usually more than one PD source once an insulation fault occurs in the transformer oil. This study, which has both theoretical and practical significance, proposes a method of identifying multiple PD sources in the transformer oil.

β-Asarone prevents autophagy and synaptic loss by reducing ROCK expression in asenescence-accelerated prone 8 mice.

β-Asarone is an active component of the Acori graminei rhizome that is a traditional Chinese medicine clinically used in treating dementia in China. However, the cognitive effect of β-asarone and its mechanism has remained elusive. Here, we used asenescence-accelerated prone 8 (SAMP8) mice, which mimic many of the salient features of Alzheimer׳s disease (AD), to further investigate whether modulation of the ROCK signaling pathway and/or autophagy, synaptic loss is involved in the effects of β-asarone on learning and memory.

A novel assay for high-throughput screening of anti-Alzheimer's disease drugs to determine their efficacy by real-time monitoring of changes in PC12 cell proliferation.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by the accumulation of senile plaque and neurofibrilary tangle formation in the brain, including the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Nowadays, the first-line treatment for AD is the application of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. However, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are basically anti-symptomatic for a limited aspect of AD pathology and are associated with serious side-effects.

Study and enhance the photovoltaic properties of narrow-bandgap Cu2SnS3 solar cell by p-n junction interface modification.

Photovoltaic properties of narrow-bandgap Cu(2)SnS(3) (CTS) are studied for the first time by employing a superstrate solar cell structure of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass/TiO(2)/In(2)S(3)/CTS/Mo. The structural, optical, and electronic characteristics of the CTS make it great potential as bottom cell absorber material for low-cost thin film tandem solar cell application. Furthermore, by inserting a thin low temperature deposited In(2)S(3) layer between the In(2)S(3) buffer layer and the CTS absorber layer, an enhancement in the performance of the solar cell can be achieved, leading to about 75% improvement (η=1.

Is pulsed electric field still effective for RNA separation in capillary electrophoresis?

Pulsed field capillary electrophoresis (PFCE) is a predominant technique to cope with difficulties in resolving large DNA strands, yet it is still unclear whether pulsed electric field is effective for the separation of higher mass RNA. In this paper we focused on the role of pulsed electric field in large RNA fragments analysis by comparing RNA separation performance in PFCE with that in constant field CE. Separation performance in terms of migration mobility, plate numbers, resolution, and selectivity has been tested for the analysis of RNA from 0.

[Influence of acupoint-catgut-implantation on blood pressure and cardiac function in chronic congestive heart failure rats].

Objective: To observe the effect of acupoint-catgut-implantation on blood pressure and cardiac function in chronic heart failure (CHF) rats.

Methods: A total of 60 SD female rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group (sham), CHF model group, catgut-implantation group, Captopril group. CHF model was established by suprarenal abdominal artery constriction.

Design of separation length and electric field strength for high-speed DNA electrophoresis.

Gel-based DNA separation on microchip will play an important role in future genomic analysis due to its potential for high-efficiency and high-speed. Optimal design of microchip and separation condition is essential to take full advantage of high-speed separation on microchip. Separation length L and electric field strength E, which are crucial for design of microchip system, are focused on in this paper.

[Advances in study on the pharmacological effects of active components of Chinese herbs on Alzheimer's disease].

Based on the pharmacological research of Chinese herbs on AD and some famous hypothesis on AD, such as dysfunction of nervous transmitter metabolism, apoptosis, inflammation etc, we consulted and analyzed relevant papers. We found the effective mechanism of Ginsenoside, Osthol, Rhodosin, and (-) Clausenamide were related to many pathological channels of AD, and Ginsenoside had effect on many pathological channels. The results have provided some clues for selecting effective herbs on AD.