[Water use characteristics and the mechanism of water uptake in two typical sand-fixing species in Mu Us sandy land].

Understanding water absorption mechanisms of sand-fixing plants is important for the rational establishment of plant community structures, thereby providing a scientific basis for desertification control and the efficient utilization of water resources in sandy areas. Based on the hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions of precipi-tation, soil water, xylem water, and groundwater, coupled with soil water-heat dynamics, annual water consumption characteristics of vegetation, using the multi-source linear mixing model (IsoSource), we analyzed the differences in water sources between and , during winter and the growing season. We further examined the effects of groundwater depth (2 m and 10 m), soil freezing-thawing, and drought on their water utilization to elucidate water absorption mechanisms of those species.

Qi-Regulating and Blood Circulation-Promoting Therapy Improves Health Status of Stable Angina Pectoris Patients with Depressive Symptoms.

Depressive symptoms have been found to be highly prevalent among patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and seriously affect the patients' quality of life. However, most psychotropic drugs have warnings about potential side effects. Accordingly, safer effective alternatives are urgently demanded.

Pterocephanoside A, a new iridoid from a traditional Tibetan medicine, .

This work obtained and identified pterocephanoside A (), one new iridoid glucoside derivative with rare structure of three iridoid glycosides linked to cyclopenta[c]pyran-3(1H)-one, and 10 known iridoids () from through silica gel column chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC. The structure of the new compound was confirmed by 1D and 2D NMR and HRMS data analysis. Compounds and were isolated from this plant for the first time.

Efficacy and safety of total glucosides of paeony for rheumatoid arthritis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by erosion of joints and surrounding tissues. RA not only causes the decline of patients' physical function and quality of life, but also brings huge economic burden to patients' families and society. Total glucosides of paeony (TGP) is commonly used in treating RA in China.

The establishment of rat model in myocardial ischemia with psychological stress.

Background: Psychological stress can provoke and aggravate myocardial ischemia, and this stress can even trigger acute coronary syndromes or sudden cardiac death. Therefore, for the first time, this study aimed to investigate the method for establishing a rat model of myocardial ischemia with psychological stress and its evaluation.

Methods: Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the sham (S, n=10), myocardial infarct (MI, n=10), psychological stress (MODEL, n=10), and myocardial infarct with psychological stress (MI + MODEL, n=10) groups.

[Investigation on intestinal absorption ingredients and their absorption characteristics in Pterocephali Herba by everted intestinal sac method].

The intestinal absorption characteristics of ten iridoid glycosides and phenolic acids in the Pterocephali Herba were evaluated via rat intestinal valgus model. The intestinal sac fluids at different time after administration of high,medium and low concentrations of Pterocephali Herba extract were collected and ten chemical components in fluid samples were detected by UPLC-PDA. Accumulative absorbed doses( Q) and absorption rate constants( Ka) of ten chemical constituents were calculated,while proportions between Pterocephali Herba extract and intestinal absorption liquid were compared.

[Correlation study on Tibetan medicine Pterocephalus hookeri of bitter taste receptors based on molecular docking technology].

In order to study the interaction between Pterocephalus hookeri and bitter taste receptors,three-dimensional structural models of bitter taste receptors TAS2 R16,TAS2 R14 and TAS2 R13 were established by homology modeling in this paper. Maestro software was used for docking the chemical constituents of P. hookeri with bitter taste receptors.

[Name standardization and variety arrangement of Chinese national "Qi medicinal herbs" based on VFP].

"Qi medicinal herbs" in China refers to a kind of regional national folk herbs related to the treatment of five labors and seven injuries,the last word of which is "Qi". Our study is to sort out and standardize the name and basic confused varieties through the establishment of " Qi medicinal herbs" VFP information database. " Qi medicinal herbs" variety sorting model of " literature research-variety survey-data mining-spatial distribution" was developed by means of literature analysis which the names and varieties of " Qi medicinal herbs" in the literature were summarized and sorted out.

Postconditioning with Calreticulin Attenuates Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury and Improves Autophagic Flux.

Background: Impaired autophagic flux contributes to cardiomyocyte death in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Restoring the impaired autophagic flux by using agents may be a promising strategy that alleviates myocardial I/R injury. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of exogenous calreticulin (CRT) postconditioning on impaired autophagic flux induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury in H9c2 cells.

Efficacy and Safety Evaluation of Taohong Siwu Decoction () for Patients with Angina Pectoris: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of Taohong Siwu Decoction (, TSD), a Chinese herbal compound prescription, in patients with angina pectoris (AP).

Methods: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing TSD plus conventional treatment (CT) with CT plus placebo or CT only in the patients with AP were searched in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Excerpta Medica Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Wanfang Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry and International Clinical Trial Registry from their inception to March 2017. The primary outcomes include a composite event of death, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and target vessel revascularization.

Mitophagy imbalance in cardiomyocyte ischaemia/reperfusion injury.

The rhythmic contraction of cardiomyocytes consumes a lot of energy. 90% of ATP in cardiomyocytes is produced by mitochondria. Maintenance of a healthy population of mitochondria by mitophagy is critical for cardiomyocyte survival and normal function.

Preparation of Cellulose/Graphene Oxide Composite Membranes and Their Application in Removing Organic Contaminants in Wastewater.

Cellulose/graphene oxide composite membranes (CGCMs) were prepared using a vacuum-filtration method. The CGCMs were then used as filters to remove organic pollutants from wastewater. It was found that the CGCM filters could efficiently and simultaneously achieve wastewater treatment and adsorbent separation.

Novel insights into the role of mitochondrial fusion and fission in cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by ischemia/reperfusion.

As the main source of energy in the body, mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles, which are constantly going through fusion and fission. The fine balance of mitochondrial fusion and fission plays an important role in maintaining the stability of cardiomyocyte homeostasis. The processes of mitochondrial fusion and fission are very complex, which is mediated by fusion and fission proteins.

Calreticulin Ameliorates Hypoxia/Reoxygenation-Induced Human Microvascular Endothelial Cell Injury By Inhibiting Autophagy.

Background: Autophagy has been found to be involved in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. However, the underlying mechanism and significance of autophagy in reperfusion injury remain unclear. Herein, we evaluated the effects of exogenous calreticulin (CRT) on autophagy in hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-treated human microvascular endothelial cells (MECs).

Gene and protein expressions and metabolomics exhibit activated redox signaling and wnt/β-catenin pathway are associated with metabolite dysfunction in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Changes in plasma concentration of small organic metabolites could be due to their altered production or urinary excretion and changes in their urine concentration may be due to the changes in their filtered load, tubular reabsorption, and/or altered urine volume. Therefore, these factors should be considered in interpretation of the changes observed in plasma or urine of the target metabolite(s). Fasting plasma and urine samples from 180 CKD patients and 120 age-matched healthy controls were determined by UPLC-HDMS-metabolomics and quantitative real-time RT-PCR techniques.

Myofibrillogenesis Regulator 1 Rescues Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury by Recruitment of PI3K-Dependent P-AKT to Mitochondria.

To investigate whether myofibrillogenesis regulator 1 (MR-1) attenuates renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury via inhibiting phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) mitochondrial translocation-mediated opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), we injected adenovirus containing MR-1 gene or its siRNAs to the left kidney subcapsular areas of Sprague-Dawley rats, which subsequently underwent experimental renal I/R injury. Renal functions and the severity of the tubular injury were evaluated by the serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels and the pathological scores. We also examined the mitochondrial morphology and functions.

Panax quinquefolium saponin attenuates cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by thapsigargin through inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Background: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related apoptosis is involved in the pathophysiology of many cardiovascular diseases, and Panax quinquefolium saponin (PQS) is able to inhibit excessive ER stress-related apoptosis of cardiomyocytes following hypoxia/reoxygenation and myocardial infarction. However, the pathway by which PQS inhibits the ER stress-related apoptosis is not well understood. To further investigate the protective effect of PQS against ER stress-related apoptosis, primary cultured cardiomyocytes were stimulated with thapsigargin (TG), which is widely used to model cellular ER stress, and it could induce apoptotic cell death in sufficient concentration.

PUMA-mediated mitochondrial apoptotic disruption by hypoxic postconditioning.

Postconditioning can reduce ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis by targeting mitochondria. p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) is involved in lethal I/R injury. Here, we hypothesized that postconditioning might inhibit mitochondrial pathway-mediated cardiomyocyte apoptosis by controlling PUMA expression.

Calreticulin translocation aggravates endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated apoptosis during cardiomyocyte hypoxia/reoxygenation.

Background: Calreticulin (CRT) is major Ca 2+ -binding chaperone mainly resident in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen. Recently, it has been shown that non-ER CRT regulates a wide array of cellular responses. We previously found that CRT was up-regulated during hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) and this study was aimed to investigate whether CRT nuclear translocation aggravates ER stress (ERS)-associated apoptosis during H/R injury in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.

Myofibrillogenesis regulator-1 attenuated hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced apoptosis by inhibiting the PERK/Nrf2 pathway in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of myofibrillogenesis regulator-1 (MR-1) in cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R), through protein kinase R-like ER kinase (PERK)/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway. To address this aim, an H/R model of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes was used. MR-1 was overexpressed using an adenoviral vector system and knocked down using MR-1 specific siRNA.

Panax quinquefolium saponin attenuates cardiomyocyte apoptosis and opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in a rat model of ischemia/reperfusion.

Aims: Opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) is a critical event during ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Recently, we showed that Panax quinquefolium saponin (PQS) alleviates apoptosis of cardiomyocytes by suppressing excessive endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) during I/R injury. Here, we hypothesized that this anti-apoptotic effect might be mediated through inhibition of mPTP and the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.