Total saponins of Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem. alleviate myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by promoting NLRP3-inflammasome inactivation via PI3K/Akt signaling.

Total saponins of Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem. (TSAE) have been shown to play a significant role in cardiovascular protection, anti-tumor, liver protection, anti-oxidant stress, and anti-inflammation.

Investigation of the Cellular Pharmacological Mechanism and Clinical Evidence of the Multi-Herbal Antiarrhythmic Chinese Medicine Xin Su Ning.

Xin Su Ning (XSN), a China patented and certified multi-herbal medicine, has been available in China since 2005 for treating cardiac ventricular arrhythmia including arrhythmia induced by ischemic heart diseases and viral myocarditis, without adverse reactions being reported. It is vitally important to discover pharmacologically how XSN as a multicomponent medicine exerts its clinical efficacy, and whether the therapeutic effect of XSN can be verified by standard clinical trial studies. In this paper we report our discoveries in a cellular electrophysiological study and in a three-armed, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicenter trial.

[Expert consensus statement on Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection in clinical practice].

Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection( DKI) is widely used in the treatment of cerebral infarction,coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. Long-term clinical application and related research evidence showed that DKI has a good effect in improving the clinical symptoms of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However,this injection has not been included in any clinical practice guideline.

The Prognostic Significance of Beta2 Microglobulin in Patients with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis.

Objective: To determine the prognostic significance of beta2 microglobulin (β2-m) concentrations in patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare disorder caused by pathologic activation of the immune system.

Patients And Methods: The study population consisted of 74 patients diagnosed with HLH and 35 healthy controls. Serum β2-m levels were measured using a latex agglutination photometric immunoassay.

[Relationship of Chinese medicine syndrome pattern with heart function and brain natriuretic peptide in patients with heart failure].

Objective: To observe the relationship of Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome pattern with heart function detected by ultrasonic cardiography and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level in patients with heart failure (HF).

Methods: One hundred and sixteen inpatients of HF hospitalized in Dongfang Hospital from January, 2007 to January, 2009 were assigned to three groups according to their CM syndrome pattern differentiated, the qi-yin deficiency group (QYD), the qi-deficiency and blood-stasis group (QDBS) and the yang-deficiency with water overflowing group (YDWO). Ultrasonic cardiographic (USCG) parameters, including left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVEDs), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were detected, and blood level of BNP was measured.

A dynamic micromixer for arbitrary control of disguised chemical selectivity.

A new type of dynamic micromixer combining the concepts of parallel multi-lamination and hydrodynamic focusing was developed for arbitrary control of disguised chemical selectivity.

Individually addressable crystalline conducting polymer nanowires in a microelectrode sensor array.

An efficient, site-specific and scalable approach has been developed to produce high-quality and individually addressable conducting polymer nanowire electrode junctions (CPNEJs) in a parallel-oriented array. Polypyrrole and PEDOT conducting polymer nanowires (CPNWs) with uniform diameters (ca. 60-150 nm) were introduced into the desired electrode junctions in a precise manner by performing a three-step constant-current electrochemical process at a low current density and a low concentration of monomers.

Solution-phase surface modification in intact poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidic channels.

An improved approach composed of an oxidation reaction in acidic H2O2 solution and a sequential silanization reaction using neat silane reagents for surface modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrates was developed. This solution-phase approach is simple and convenient for some routine analytical applications in chemistry and biology laboratories and is designed for intact PDMS-based microfluidic devices, with no device postassembly required. Using this improved approach, two different functional groups, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and amine (NH2), were introduced onto PDMS surfaces for passivation of nonspecific protein absorption and attachment of biomolecules, respectively.

A soliton phenomenon in langmuir monolayers of amphiphilic bistable rotaxanes.

Surface pressure-area isotherms, light scattering microscopy, and atomic force microscopy have all been used to provide information about the stabilities and dynamics of Langmuir monolayers composed of amphiphilic bistable [2]rotaxane molecules. Superstructures that have the appearance of localized mobile solitons are formed during the compression of monolayers of the [2]rotaxanes below their collapse pressures. Solitons move solely in a linear trajectory in both directions across the film, perpendicular to the compression direction, without any apparent broadening or change in their shape.

[Fabrication of Y2O3-doped CeO2 ultrathin film by newly developed component-controllable Langmuir-Blodgett method].

A fabrication technique of component-controllable multi-component ultrathin ceramic films has been developed by a promising LB method. The precursor of Y2O3-doped CeO2 (YDC) ultrathin film was prepared with cerium IV 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-heptanedionate (Ce(tmhd)4) and yttrium 2,2,6,6-tetramethylheptanedionate (Y(tmRd)3) as "surface ions" on subphase surface instead of traditional "subphase ions". The YDC film was successfully fabricated after ultraviolet/ozone treatment and annealing in oxygen ambience with the precursor.

Folding Langmuir monolayers.

The maximum pressure a two-dimensional surfactant monolayer is able to withstand is limited by the collapse instability towards formation of three-dimensional material. We propose a new description for reversible collapse based on a mathematical analogy between the formation of folds in surfactant monolayers and the formation of Griffith Cracks in solid plates under stress. The description, which is tested in a combined microscopy and rheology study of the collapse of a single-phase Langmuir monolayer (LM) of 2-hydroxy-tetracosanoic acid (2-OH TCA), provides a connection between the in-plane rheology of LMs and reversible folding.

A clinical and experimental study on the protective effects of jiangzhi tongmai fang on endothelial injury.

31 cases of atherosclerosis (AS) were treated with Jiang Zhi Tong Mai Fang ([symbol: see text], formula of JZTMF), and its effect was compared with 30 cases treated with lovastatin in the control group. Clinically, the JZTMF formula showed an effect of regulating blood lipids, and therefore it was antiatherosclerotic. The mechanism is, probably, restoration of the function of endothelial cells (EC) by increasing the synthesis of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha and decreasing the release of endothelin (ET) as evidenced in the experimental study.