TRPV1: A novel target for the therapy of diabetes and diabetic complications.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by abnormally elevated blood glucose levels. Type II diabetes accounts for approximately 90% of all cases. Several drugs are available for hyperglycemia treatment.

Myrtenal and β-caryophyllene oxide screened from Liquidambaris Fructus suppress NLRP3 inflammasome components in rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Liquidambaris Fructus (LF) is the infructescence of Liquidambar formosana. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, LF has been used to treat joint pain, a common symptom of arthritis and rheumatism; however, a lack of pharmacological evidence has limited its applications in modern clinics. Therefore, this study aims to explore the protective effect of LF on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to identify its active ingredients.

Analysis of Nosocomial Infection and Risk Factors in Patients with ECMO Treatment.

Objective: To investigate the drug resistance of nosocomial infection-related pathogens in patients who underwent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), analyzing the nosocomial infection-related risk factors.

Methods: The medical records of 56 patients who received ECMO support treatment in the First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University from January 2013 to December 2019 were selected. The nosocomial infection, pathogen distribution and drug resistance, and the influencing factors of nosocomial infection were analyzed.

Identification of the anti-breast cancer targets of triterpenoids in Liquidambaris Fructus and the hints for its traditional applications.

Background: Liquidambaris Fructus is the infructescences of Liquidambar formosana Hance and it has been used to treat some breast disease in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In the previous study we found the anti-breast cancer effect of triterpenoid in Liquidambaris Fructus. This study is a further investigation of the triterpenoids in Liquidambaris Fructus and aims to identify their anti-breast cancer targets, meanwhile, to estimate the rationality of the traditional applications of Liquidambaris Fructus.

Natural products as a potential modulator of microglial polarization in neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are characterized by the progressive loss of structure and function of neurons most common in elderly population, mainly including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Neuroinflammation caused by microglia as the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS) plays a contributory role in the onset and progression of NDs. Activated microglia, as in macrophages, to be heterogeneous, can polarize into M1 (pro-inflammatory) and M2 (anti-inflammatory) functional phenotypes.

Overexpression of microRNA-301b accelerates hippocampal microglia activation and cognitive impairment in mice with depressive-like behavior through the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Depression is a condition with a complex etiological pattern, whose effective treatments are highly limited. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been investigated in intensive studies owing to their involvement in pathophysiology of mood disorders. The current study aimed to elucidate the role of miR-301b in hippocampus in mouse models of depressive-like behavior.

Elevated circulating magnesium levels in patients with Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis.

Background: The association between circulating magnesium (Mg) and Parkinson's disease (PD) remains ambiguous and controversial. Thus, a meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the circulating Mg levels in PD patients and to clarify whether high circulating Mg levels should be considered as a potential risk factor for PD.

Methods: In this study, 17 case-control published studies were selected in our meta-analysis by searching the electronic databases of Web of Science, PubMed, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) before June 1, 2018.

[Prediction for the potential distribution area of Codonopsis pilosula at global scale based on Maxent model].

Maximum entropy model (Maxent) and geographic information system (GIS) were used to predict the global ecological suitable region of Codonopsis pilosula based on 129 distribution data and 37 ecological factors. The results showed that the total area of ecological suitable region was about 884.79×10 km, mainly in East Asia of the Northern Hemisphere, especially concentrated in China.

Protection effect of trigonelline on liver of rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases.

Objective: To study the effect of trigonelline on the change of indicators of serum transaminase, lipoprotein and liver lipid of model rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases and on the expression level of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins.

Methods: A total of 45 SD rats were randomly divided into the control group, model group and trigonelline intervention group. Rats in the control group were fed with the common diet, while rats in the model group and intervention group were fed with the high fat diet.

Salvianolic acid B attenuates lung inflammation induced by cigarette smoke in mice.

Salvianolic acid B (Sal B), a bioactive compound isolated from the Chinese herb Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, has been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidantive effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of Sal B on cigarette smoke (CS)-induced acute lung inflammation. Sal B was given intraperitoneally (i.

Er-Xian Decoction, a traditional Chinese herbal formula, intervening early in hypothalamic-pituitary axis of male rats with delayed puberty.

Background: Er-Xian Decoction (EXD) is one of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with unique effect on osteoporosis, menopausal syndrome and delayed puberty in China for many years.

Objective: We aim to evaluate the potential activity of starting hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular (HPT) axis of male rats with delayed puberty.

Materials And Methods: Delayed puberty model of male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were established with soy isoflavones (90 mg·kg(-1)) and were treated by EXD extract at doses of 5, 10 g·kg(-1) or Testosterone undecanoate (TU) for 8 weeks.

(E)-N'-(2-Bromo-benzyl-idene)-2-fluoro-benzohydrazide.

The title compound, C(14)H(10)BrFN(2)O, adopts an E geometry about the C=N bond. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the two benzene rings is 81.5 (6)°.

Dichlorido{2-[2-(piperidin-1-yl)ethyl-imino-meth-yl]phenolato}zinc(II) monohydrate.

In the title mononuclear zinc(II) complex, [ZnCl(2)(C(14)H(20)N(2)O)]·H(2)O, the Zn(II) atom is four-coordinated by the phenolate O and imine N atoms of the Schiff base ligand and by two Cl atoms in a tetra-hedral geometry. In the crystal structure, O-H⋯Cl, O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the water mol-ecules bridge adjacent complexes into a ladder-like structure running along the c axis.

Nek2A specifies the centrosomal localization of Erk2.

Nek2A is a cell-cycle-regulated protein kinase that localizes to the centrosome and kinetochore. Our recent studies provide a link between Nek2A and spindle checkpoint signaling [J. Biol.

Induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest by polyvinylpyrrolidone K-30 and protective effect of alpha-tocopherol.

Polyvinylpyrrolidone is a macromolecular polymer with widespread use in industry as well as in medicine for various purposes. Its effect on cells cultured in vitro, however, has not been fully investigated. To elucidate this issue, we studied the influence of PVP K-30 on cultured HeLa cells.

In vitro study on the genotoxicity of dichloromethane extracts of valerian (DEV) in human endothelial ECV304 cells and the effect of vitamins E and C in attenuating the DEV-induced DNA damages.

To study the genotoxicity of valepotriates in vitro, the degree of DNA damage in human endothelial cell line ECV304 treated with 5-60 microg/mL of dichloromethane extracts of valerian (DEV) was analyzed by the Comet assay. No DNA damage was observed in ECV304 cells after culture for 48 h in the presence of 5,10, and 20 microg/mL of DEV. But a moderate degree of DNA damage was observed in the cells treated with 40 or 60 microg/mL of DEV.