Metformin normalizes mitochondrial function to delay astrocyte senescence in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease through Mfn2-cGAS signaling.

Background: Senescent astrocytes play crucial roles in age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD). Metformin, a drug widely used for treating diabetes, exerts longevity effects and neuroprotective activities. However, its effect on astrocyte senescence in PD remains to be defined.

Study on Network Pharmacological Analysis and Preliminary Validation to Understand the Mechanisms of Plantaginis Semen in Treatment of Gouty Nephropathy.

Plantaginis Semen (PS) has been used to promote diuresis and clear away dampness. Recent reports have shown that PS can be used to treat gouty nephropathy (GN). However, the action and mechanism of PS have not been well defined in treating GN.

[Phenolic constituents from Wikstroemia chamaedaphne].

The phenolic constituents of Wikstroemia chamaedaphne were investigated by various column chromatographic methods including silica gel,Sephadex LH-20,ODS and preparative HPLC,and their chemical structures were identified by physico-chemical properties and spectral analyses. Thirteen phenolic compounds were isolated and elucidated,including five flavonoids: luteolin 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(1),luteolin 4'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(2),kaempferol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(3),chrysoeriol 4'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(4),chrysoeriol(5); and eight lignans:(-)-secoisolariciresinol(6),acanthosessilin A(7),(-)-nortrachelogenin(8),(+)-isolariciresinol(9),sesamin(10),syringaresinol(11),(+)-epipinoresinol(12),and [3,3',4,4'-tetrahydro-6,6'-dimethoxy-3,3'-bi-2 H-benzopyran]-4,4'-diol(13). Compounds 1, 3, 5-8, 10, 11 and 13 were obtained from the plants of W.

Diterpenes from buds of Wikstroemia chamaedaphne showing anti-hepatitis B virus activities.

Phytochemical study of the buds of Wikstroemia chamaedaphne Meisn. led to the isolation of seven previously undescribed diterpenes, including one tigliane diterpene (wikstchalide A), two daphnane diterpenes (wikstroelides W-X), and four lathyrane diterpenes (laurifoliosides A-B and 2-epi-laurifoliosides A-B), along with four known diterpenes. The structures of these compounds were established by extensive spectroscopic evidence and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations.

Suppressing autophagy protects photoreceptor cells from light-induced injury.

Autophagy, a conserved cellular self-degradation process, not only serves to protect cells at critical times during development and nutrient stress, but also contributes to cell death. Photoreceptor cells are unique neurons which when directly exposed to the light, transduces light stimuli into visual signal. However, intense light exposure can be cytotoxic to the retina.

Rapamycin attenuates visible light-induced injury in retinal photoreceptor cells via inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress.

An extended exposure of the retina to visible light may lead to photochemical damage in retinal photoreceptor cells. The exact mechanism of retinal light damage remains unknown, and an effective therapy is still unavailable. Here, we demonstrated that rapamycin, an inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), markedly protected 661W photoreceptor cells from visible light exposure-induced damage at the nanomolar level.

Differential entropy feature for EEG-based vigilance estimation.

This paper proposes a novel feature called differential entropy for EEG-based vigilance estimation. By mathematical derivation, we find an interesting relationship between the proposed differential entropy and the existing logarithm energy spectrum. We present a physical interpretation of the logarithm energy spectrum which is widely used in EEG signal analysis.