Association Between the Lipid Profile and Renal Dysfunction in the Heart Failure Patients.

Background/aims: In heart failure patients with high prevalence of chronic renal disease (CKD), hospitalization and mortality, whether the lipid profile was associated with renal dysfunction remained unknown. The present study intended to clarify the association between the lipid profile and renal dysfunction in the heart failure patients.

Methods: 336 hospitalized heart failure patients with left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤45% and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-IV were enrolled.

G-T haplotype established by rs3785889-rs16941382 in gene is associated with coronary artery disease in Chinese Han population.

Objectives: The aim of the present study is to assess the association between the human gene and coronary artery disease using a haplotype-based case-control study in Chinese Han population.

Methods: A total of 283 coronary artery disease patients and 280 controls were genotyped for the human gene (rs197932, rs3785889, rs197922, rs17608766, and rs16941382). Data were analyzed for three separate groups: the total subjects, men, and women.

Emerging Roles of Histidine Triad Nucleotide Binding Protein 1 in Neuropsychiatric Diseases.

The histidine triad nucleotide binding protein1(HINT1),which belongs to the histidine triad(HIT) enzyme superfamily,exerts its enzymic activities as hydrolase or transferase. Its physiological functions are still unclear. HINT1 protein is expressed in various tissues and plays an important role in transcription and signal transduction.

Hamilton rating scale for depression-24 (HAM-D) as a novel predictor for diabetic microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

The study was designed to investigate whether the hamilton rating scale for depression (24-items) (HAM-D) can be used to predict the diabetic microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. 288 hospitalized patients with T2DM were enrolled. Their diabetic microvascular complications including diabetic nephropathy, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic peripheral neuropathy and diabetic foot as well as demographic, clinical data, blood samples and echocardiography were documented.

Association between neutrophilic granulocyte percentage and depression in hospitalized patients with heart failure.

Background: Previous researches reveal that depression is associated with increased inflammatory markers. As a simple and cheap inflammatory marker, we hypothesize that neutrophilic granulocyte percentage is associated with depression in hospitalized heart failure patients, whose prevalence of depression is at a very high level.

Methods: Three hundred sixty-six cases of hospitalized heart failure patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤45% and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-IV were enrolled.

Matrine pretreatment improves cardiac function in rats with diabetic cardiomyopathy via suppressing ROS/TLR-4 signaling pathway.

Aim: Matrine is an alkaloid from Sophora alopecuroides L, which has shown a variety of pharmacological activities and potential therapeutic value in cardiovascular diseases. In this study we examined the protective effects of matrine against diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) in rats.

Methods: Male SD rats were injected with streptozotocin (STZ) to induce DCM.

Zirconium oxide ceramic foam: a promising supporting biomaterial for massive production of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor.

This study investigated the potential application of a zirconium oxide (ZrO2) ceramic foam culturing system to the production of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). Three sets of ZrO2 ceramic foams with different pore densities of 10, 20, and 30 pores per linear inch (PPI) were prepared to support a 3D culturing system. After primary astrocytes were cultured in these systems, production yields of GDNF were evaluated.

[Histidine triad nucleotide-binding protein 1 and human diseases].

Histidine triad nucleotide-binding protein 1 (HINT1) is a member of a superfamily of histidine triad proteins named by the conserved nucleotide-binding motif histidine-x-histidine-x-histidine-xx, in which x represents hydrophobic amino acid. HINT1 is implicated in pathological progress of many human diseases including cancer and schizophrenia; however, little is known about the essential role and pathological consequences of HINT1 in cellular physiology and diseases. Therefore, we summarize the structure, distribution, and physiological function of HINT1 in cells and tissues as well as the correlation between HINT1 and human diseases.

Selenium attenuates high glucose-induced ROS/TLR-4 involved apoptosis of rat cardiomyocyte.

The potential mechanism of high glucose-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and selenium's protective effects were investigated in this study. Myocytes isolated from neonate rats were cultured in high-glucose medium (25.5 mmol/L glucose) to mimic sustained hyperglycemia.

Protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) signaling pathway plays a major role in reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is considered one of the mechanisms contributing to reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cell apoptosis. In diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), cell apoptosis is generally accepted as the etiological factor and closely related to cardiac ROS generation. ER stress is proposed the link between ROS and cell apoptosis; however, the signaling pathways and their roles in participating ER stress-induced apoptosis in DCM are still unclear.

Selenium deficiency is associated with endoplasmic reticulum stress in a rat model of cardiac malfunction.

The relationship between selenium (Se) deficiency-induced cardiac malfunction and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is poorly understood. In the present study, 18 weaning Sprague Dawley rats were randomly fed with three different Se diets, and myocardial glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity was measured by an enzyme activity assay. Cardiac function was evaluated by hemodynamic parameters.

Enhanced expression of MYF5 and MYOD1 in fibroblast cells via the forced expression of bos taurus MYF5.

The formation of vertebrate skeletal muscles widely thought to be under the control of hierarchy of regulatory genes. MYF5 is one of the myogenic determination gene expressed in the developing mouse dermomyotome which control skeletal muscle differentiation. In the current work, we had obtained the cDNA sequence including the full coding region of the bos taurus myogenic factor MYF5 by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

Selenium attenuates adriamycin-induced cardiac dysfunction via restoring expression of ATP-sensitive potassium channels in rats.

The possible mechanism of adriamycin (ADR) and/or selenium (Se) deficiency-induced cardiac dysfunction, and cardioprotective effects of Se against ADR-induced cardiac toxicity were investigated in this study. Cardiac function was evaluated by plasma brain natriuretic peptide level and echocardiographic and hemodynamic parameters. Cardiac glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity was assessed spectrophotometrically.

[Determination of electron density in atmospheric pressure radio frequency dielectric barrier discharges by Stark broadening].

The use of high frequency power to generate plasma at atmospheric pressure is a relatively new development. An apparatus of atmospheric pressure radio frequency dielectric barrier discharge was constructed. Plasma emission based measurement of electron density in discharge columns from Stark broadening Ar is discribed.

Changes of splenic macrophage during the process of liver cancer induced by diethylnitrosamine in rats.

Background: It is generally accepted that spleen plays a complex role in the tumor immunity, which would change in the different periods of cancer. In this study, we investigated the changes in the function of splenic macrophage (Mphi) in different stages of liver cancer induced by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) in rats. The aim was to support the characteristics of "two-way" and "phase" of spleen in tumor immunity.

Chrysanthemum indicum ethanolic extract inhibits invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma via regulation of MMP/TIMP balance as therapeutic target.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive cancer with a dismal outcome largely due to metastasis and postsurgical recurrence. Thus, the inhibition of invasion and metastasis is of great importance in its therapies. Medicinal plants or ethnopharmacology used in folklore medicine continue to be an important source of discovery and development of novel or potential therapeutic agents for treatment of cancer.

[Spectroscopic measurements of atomic hydrogen concentrations in dielectric barrier discharge hydrogen plasmas].

Atomic hydrogen plays important roles in chemical vapor deposition of functional materials, plasma etching, and surface cleaning. The present work introduces the fundamental principle to determine atomic hydrogen density via optical emission spectroscopy using Ar as an actinometer, and also reports the experimental results of atomic hydrogen density in the DBD discharge hydrogen plasmas. The variations of atomic hydrogen density and the hydrogen dissociation fraction as a function of pressure were calculated based on some of the available electron-impact excitation cross section and quenching cross sections in the literatures.