Characteristic enhancement of blood pressure V-shaped waves in sinoaortic-denervated rats in a conscious and quiet state.

A hemodynamic feature of chronic sinoaortic-denervated (SAD) rats is the increase in blood pressure variability (BPV) without significant changes in the average level of blood pressure (BP). The current study was designed to investigate the changes in BP V-shaped waves (V waves) in SAD rats. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into 2 groups: SAD rats and sham-operated rats (n=13).

Salvia Miltiorrhiza Bge.f.alba Ameliorates the Progression of Monocrotaline-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension by Protecting Endothelial Injury in Rats.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a life-threatening disease that is characterized by elevated pulmonary blood pressure, abnormally thickened pulmonary arteries, and right ventricular hypertrophy. Monocrotaline (MCT) has been used to generate an experimental model of PH in rats, with PH initiated from injuries of lung vascular endothelium. Salvia Miltiorrhiza Bge.

[The study of the expression and the prognostic value of Survivin and Ki67 in pancreatic endocrine tumors].

Objective: To explore the relationship between the expression of Survivin and Ki67 with prognosis of pancreatic endocrine tumors (PETs).

Methods: Immunohistochemistry for Survivin and Ki67 was performed in 25 cases of normal pancreatic tissues and 81 cases of PETs by tissue microarrays and to observe the expression and evaluate the relationship with prognosis.

Results: (1)The expression of Survivin and Ki67 in PETs was significantly higher than that in normal pancreatic tissues (P <0.

Neuroprotective effects of an aqueous extract of Futokadsura stem in an Aβ-induced Alzheimer's disease-like rat model.

Futokadsura stem has been traditionally used to dispel wind-damp obstruction syndrome manifested as painful and stiff joints, tendon and muscle spasms, lower back pain, painful knees and pain from external injury. An aqueous extract of Futokadsura stem has previously been found to have neuro-protective effects in vitro. In this study, we aimed to investigate if the Futokadsura stem extract could protect the neuron in the brain of an Aβ-induced Alzheimer's Disease (AD)-like rat model by improving the learning and memory ability of the rats.

[Analysis of epidermal growth factor receptor expression and gene expression status in tissue microarray of cervical squamous cell carcinoma].

Objective: To elucidate the protein expression and gene expression status and the relationship between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein expression and EGFR gene status.

Methods: Tissue microarray containing 72 cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues was constructed, and EGFR protein expression and gene status were evaluated by immunohistochemical and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques.

Results: Protein expression of EGFR: 69 of 72 cervical squamous cell carcinomas were observed.

Effects of sodium metavanadate and germination on the sprouting of chickpeas and its content of vanadium, formononetin and biochanin A in the sprouts.

Chickpea sprouts (CS) may become one of the natural products of high demand due to their nutritional values. The aim of this work was to study the enrichment of vanadium (V) during the germination of chickpea seeds in order to combine the high nutritive value of sprouts with a readily bioavailable source of essential trace element-V. Chickpea seeds were germinated in sodium metavanadate solutions (NaVO(3)) with different concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1,000, 1,200, 1,400, and 1,600 mg/L as NaVO(3)) for 6 days at 28 °C.

Hydroxysafflor yellow A attenuates lymphostatic encephalopathy-induced brain injury in rats.

Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) is a main chemical component of the flower of Carthamus tinctorius. The present study investigated whether HSYA could attenuate brain injury induced by lymphostatic encephalopathy (LE). This was induced in adult male Wistar rats by cervical lymphatic blockade (CLB).

Effects of sodium selenite and germination on the sprouting of chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.) and its content of selenium, formononetin and biochanin A in the sprouts.

To improve the nutritional value of chickpea food, selenium (Se)-rich chickpea sprouts were produced by germination of chickpea seeds for 6 days at 28 centigrade in the presence of various concentrations of Na(2)SeO(3) in germination solution. High concentrations of selenite were found to inhibit the growth of chickpea sprout and the biosynthesis of isoflavones formononetin and biochanin A. However, chickpea sprouts could tolerate up to ~50 mg/L of Na(2)SeO(3), under which condition the product chickpea sprouts contained a high Se content (2.

HIF-1-α and survivin involved in the anti-apoptotic effect of 2ME2 after global ischemia in rats.

Survivin is an anti-apoptotic gene that decreases the apoptosis by depressing the expression of caspase-3. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1-alpha (HIF-1-alpha) is a transcription factor specifically activated by hypoxia. 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME2) is an estradiol derivative and a known HIF-1-alpha inhibitor.

Protective effects of hydrogen-rich saline on monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension in a rat model.

Background: Hydrogen-rich saline has been reported to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and effectively protect against organ damage. Oxidative stress and inflammation contribute to the pathogenesis and/or development of pulmonary hypertension. In this study, we investigated the effects of hydrogen-rich saline on the prevention of pulmonary hypertension induced by monocrotaline in a rat model.

Simple diffusion delivery via brain interstitial route for the treatment of cerebral ischemia.

Delivering pharmacologic agents directly into the brain has been proposed as a means of bypassing the blood brain barrier. However, despite 16 years of research on a number of central nervous system disorders, an effective treatment using this strategy has only been observed in the brain tumor glioblastoma multiforme. Within this study we propose a novel system for delivering drugs into the brain named the simple diffusion (SDD) system.

Variations in blood pressure and heart rate in conscious rats with cervical lymphatic blockade.

The possible effects of cervical lymphatic blockade (CLB) on a series of parameters in conscious freely moving rats were analysed. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) for conscious male Sprague-Dawley rats at 1, 3, 7, 11, 15 and 21 days after a CLB or a sham operation were monitored continuously for 24 hours with a computerized recording system. Since BP and HR were subjected to spontaneous variations, blood pressure variability (BPV) and heart rate variability (HRV) were expressed as the standard deviation of beat-to-beat BP and HR values.

Vanadium-enriched chickpea sprout ameliorated hyperglycemia and impaired memory in streptozotocin-induced diabetes rats.

Vanadium compounds have been recognized for their hypoglycemic effects; however, potential short and long-term vanadium toxicity has slowed the acceptance for therapeutic use. In the present work, three batches of vanadium-enriched chickpea sprout (VCS) were prepared by incubating chickpea seeds in presence of 200, 100, and 50 microg/ml of sodium orthovanadate (SOV). The effects of oral administration of chickpea sprout (CS) and VCS food for 8 weeks on streptozotocin-induced (STZ) diabetic rats were investigated.

[Separation of water-soluble active components in Salvia miltiorrhiza bge. f. alba using capillary zone electrophoresis].

To establish a high performance capillary zone electrophoretic method for the separation of water-soluble active components, protocatechuic aldehyde (PAH), danshensu (DSS), and protocatechuic acid (PA), in Salvia miltiorrhiza bge. f. alba, many factors that can affect the resolution and the migration time, including the concentration of phosphate-borax buffer, pH value, separation voltage and detection wavelength were investigated.

Effects of cervical-lymphatic blockade on brain edema and infarction volume in cerebral ischemic rats.

To observe the effects of cervical-lymphatic blockade (CLB) on brain edema and infarction volume of ischemic (MCAO) rat, we examined changes in cerebral water content, Ca2+ and glutamate concentrations, cerebral infarction volume and mRNA expression levels of N-methyl-D-aspartame receptor 1 (NMDA receptor 1) in the ischemic (left) hemisphere. The present results demonstrated that all the above indices in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion plus cervical lymphatic blockade (MCAO+CLB) were markedly higher than those with only middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) at different time points. These results indicated [corrected] that CLB can aggravate cerebral ischemia by increasing brain edema and infarction volume.

Inhibition of caspase-8 attenuates neuronal death induced by limbic seizures in a cytochrome c-dependent and Smac/DIABLO-independent way.

There is increasing evidence that neuronal cell death induced by seizures occurs via extrinsic (death receptors) and intrinsic (mitochondria) pathways. Caspase-8 cleaves Bid, which releases cytochrome c, bridging the "extrinsic" and "intrinsic" pathways. Cleavage of Bid may amplify caspase-8-induced neuronal cell death following seizures.

Zinc protoporphyrin aggravates cerebral ischemic injury following experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage.

This study was aimed to evaluate the influence of an antagonist of heme oxygenase, zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPPIX), on the production of endogenous carbon monoxide (CO) and the secondary cerebral injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Wistar rats were divided into non-SAH, SAH, and ZnPPIX groups. Autologus arterial hemolysate was injected into rat cisterna magna to induce SAH.

Changes of nitric oxide, oxide free radicals, and systolic arterial blood pressure in rats with experimental lymphatostatic encephalopathy.

The model of lymphatostatic encephalopathy was established by occluding and removing profound cervical nodes in rats, and the kinetic alteration of nitric oxide (NO), maleic dialdehyde (MDA), free radical scavenger (CuZn-SOD) and arterial systolic blood pressure were determined on different days after the blockage. The results showed that the level of NO significantly decreased at 1 day (P<0.05) and further decreased at 3, 5 and 7 day (P<0.

Elevated plasma tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and soluble thrombomodulin in patients suffering from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as a possible index for prognosis and treatment strategy.

Objective: To detect the presence of endothelial injury in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) via enhanced levels of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and soluble thrombomodulin (sTM).

Methods: Case patients were from Xuanwu Hospital (Capital University of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China), and all of them met clinical criteria for SARS. Healthy controls were some of the hospital employees.

Drainage of macromolecules from the Caudato-Putamen of rat brain.

To study the drainage of interstitial fluid and macromolecules from the brain parenchyma, an improved method was developed to inject tracers including Chinese ink in group I and phycoerythrin (PE) in group II into the right caudato-putamen of rat brain. Rats were sacrificed on the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 14th, 21st day after injection in group I and at the 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 24 hour in group II.

[Dephosphorelation of Bad and upregulation of Bcl-2 in hippocampus of rats following limbic seizure induced by kainic acid injection into amygdaloid nucleus].

The purpose of the present study was to explore the seizure-induced changes in Bad (Bcl-2-associated death protein), 14-3-3, phosphoBad, Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL expression in the rat model of focal limbic seizure. Unilateral intra-amygdaloid injection of kainic acid (KA) was made to induce seizure. Electroencephalogram (EEG) and regional cerebral flow (r-CBF) were monitored continuously.