Dihydrotanshinone I improves cardiac function by promoting lymphangiogenesis after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Dihydrotanshinone I (DHT) is an active ingredient derived from Salvia miltiorrhiza. Previous studies have demonstrated that DHT can improve cardiac function in rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (IR). However, the mechanism by which DHT improves myocardial injury in rats still requires further research.

Bounded Rationality in Study Time Allocation: Evidence Based on Risky Choice Framing Effects.

When allocating study time for the English sections of the National College Entrance Examination or the Postgraduate Entrance Examination, learners often encounter value-test likelihood trade-offs, where questions of similar difficulty may have different points and different likelihoods of being tested. This research explored how individuals allocated study time and whether this process exhibited bounded rationality by examining the risky choice framing effects in study time allocation. The research set up two types of items: 1-point items with a 90% likelihood and 9-point items with a 10% likelihood.

The Anchoring Effect in Study Time Allocation: Labor-in-Vain versus Labor-and-Gain.

How to allocate study time is an important decision-making problem learners face. Research on this problem can help improve the learning performance of learners and provide guidance for teaching activities. This research aimed to explore the potential of anchors (prior information that may influence individual decision-making and judgment under uncertainty) as clues for study time allocation and examine the effectiveness of study time allocation under the influence of anchors.

Targeting delivery of miR-146a via IMTP modified milk exosomes exerted cardioprotective effects by inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Reperfusion therapy is critical for saving heart muscle after myocardial infarction, but the process of restoring blood flow can itself exacerbate injury to the myocardium. This phenomenon is known as myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI), which includes oxidative stress, inflammation, and further cell death. microRNA-146a (miR-146a) is known to play a significant role in regulating the immune response and inflammation, and has been studied for its potential impact on the improvement of heart function after myocardial injury.

Screening and identification of effective components from modified Taohong Siwu decoction for protecting H9c2 cells from damage.

We found that modified Taohong Siwu decoction (MTHSWD) had cardioprotective effects after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. This study was to screen the effective components of MTHSWD that have protective effects on H9c2 cell injury through HO injury model. Fifty-three active components were screened by CCK8 assay to detect cell viability.

Neonatal Plasma Exosomes Contribute to Endothelial Cell-Mediated Angiogenesis and Cardiac Repair after Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) accompanied by cardiac remodeling still lacks effective treatment to date. Accumulated evidences suggest that exosomes from various sources play a cardioprotective and regenerative role in heart repair, but their effects and mechanisms remain intricate. Here, we found that intramyocardial delivery of plasma exosomes from neonatal mice (npEXO) could help to repair the adult heart in structure and function after AMI.

E2A ablation enhances proportion of nodal-like cardiomyocytes in cardiac-specific differentiation of human embryonic stem cells.

Background: Human sinoatrial cardiomyocytes are essential building blocks for cell therapies of conduction system disorders. However, current differentiation protocols for deriving nodal cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are very inefficient.

Methods: By employing the hPSCs to cardiomyocyte (CM) in vitro differentiation system and generating E2A-knockout hESCs using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology, we analyze the functions of E2A in CM differentiation.

Prevalence of Fatigue and Its Association With Quality of Life Among Frontline Clinicians in Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology Departments During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused psychological distress and heavy burden in medical professionals. This study examined the prevalence of fatigue and its association with quality of life (QOL) in clinicians working in ophthalmology and otolaryngology departments during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. This was a cross-sectional national online survey conducted between March 15 and March 20, 2020 in China.

New use of old medicine: Nifedipine acts on the TRP family and inflammatory proteins in the treatment of chilblain.

As a calcium antagonist, the mechanism of nifedipine for treating chilblain has not been reported. In the present study, we established the chilblain model by using -20 ℃ 95% ethanol to freeze the right back foot of SD rats, and investigated the effects of this drug. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) examination indicated most of pannus in the skin tissue of chilblain rats had disappeared, and the local inflammatory cells were also greatly reduced when given nifedipine at 15.

Prevalence of depression and its impact on quality of life in frontline otorhinolaryngology nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Objective: Exposure to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was associated with high risk of mental health problems among frontline nurses. This study examined the prevalence of depressive symptoms (depression hereafter) and its impact on quality of life (QOL) in otorhinolaryngology (ENT) nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Methods: An online study was conducted between March 15 and March 20, 2020.

QKI is a critical pre-mRNA alternative splicing regulator of cardiac myofibrillogenesis and contractile function.

The RNA-binding protein QKI belongs to the hnRNP K-homology domain protein family, a well-known regulator of pre-mRNA alternative splicing and is associated with several neurodevelopmental disorders. Qki is found highly expressed in developing and adult hearts. By employing the human embryonic stem cell (hESC) to cardiomyocyte differentiation system and generating QKI-deficient hESCs (hESCs-QKI) using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology, we analyze the physiological role of QKI in cardiomyocyte differentiation, maturation, and contractile function.

BMAL1 regulates mitochondrial fission and mitophagy through mitochondrial protein BNIP3 and is critical in the development of dilated cardiomyopathy.

Dysregulation of circadian rhythms associates with cardiovascular disorders. It is known that deletion of the core circadian gene Bmal1 in mice causes dilated cardiomyopathy. However, the biological rhythm regulation system in mouse is very different from that of humans.

Functional engineered human cardiac patches prepared from nature's platform improve heart function after acute myocardial infarction.

With the advent of induced pluripotent stem cells and directed differentiation techniques, it is now feasible to derive individual-specific cardiac cells for human heart tissue engineering. Here we report the generation of functional engineered human cardiac patches using human induced pluripotent stem cells-derived cardiac cells and decellularized natural heart ECM as scaffolds. The engineered human cardiac patches can be tailored to any desired size and shape and exhibited normal contractile and electrical physiology in vitro.

The roles of Mesp family proteins: functional diversity and redundancy in differentiation of pluripotent stem cells and mammalian mesodermal development.

Mesp family proteins comprise two members named mesodermal posterior 1 (Mesp1) and mesodermal posterior 2 (Mesp2). Both Mesp1 and Mesp2 are transcription factors and they share an almost identical basic helix-loop-helix motif. They have been shown to play critical regulating roles in mammalian heart and somite development.