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Background Protection the heart from ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is an area of intense research, as myocardial infarction is a major cause of mortality and morbidity all around the world. Tournefolic acid B (TAB) is a relative new compound derived from Clinopodium chinense (Benth.) Kuntze (Chinese name: Feng Lun Cai). This traditional Chinese herbal medicine has been used for its activities on anti-inflammatory, lowering blood glucose, antitumor and antiradiation. However, the pharmacological effects of TAB were rarely studied. Purpose Pathways involving phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase b (Akt) are crucial in regulating the ER stress and associated apoptosis in the process of I/R injury. In the present study, we aim to investigate the cardioprotective effects of tournefolic acid B (TAB) against myocardial I/R injury and explore the molecular mechanisms involved. Study design H9c2 cadiomyocyte were incubated with TAB for 24 h and then exposed to hypoxia/reoxygenation. Isolated rat hearts were subjected to global ischemia and reperfusion in the absence or presence of TAB. Methods The possible mechanisms were investigated in vitro and ex vivo by multiple detection methods including JC-1 staining, ROS detection, activities of caspases detection, TUNEL staining, and Western-blot analysis. Results We found that TAB significantly improved the hemodynamic parameters (LVeDP, LVSP, + dP/dtmax, − dP/dtmin, and HR) of isolated rat hearts, and depressed the cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Besides, TAB inhibited the oxidative stress by adjusting the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px). The I/R injury triggered the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress by activating the ER proteins, such as Grp78, ATF6, PERK, and eIf2α. which are all refrained by TAB. TAB also enhanced the phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT, inhibited the expression of CHOP and Caspase-12, reduced the phosphorylation of JNK, and increased Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Conclusion TAB protects against myocardial I/R injury by suppressing PI3K/AKT-mediated ER stress, oxidative stress, and apoptosis, revealing a promising therapeutic agent against ischemic cardiovascular diseases.

Cesarean section results in scarring, which usually leads to adhesion between the subcutaneous fat and the abdominal wall muscle. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of autologous fat grafting on scar adhesion to the abdominal wall after cesarean section. Thirty-six patients with scar adhesion to the abdominal wall after cesarean section were recruited and treated between October 2013 and December 2015. The adhesion between the subcutaneous fat and the abdominal wall muscle was carefully separated through a small incision in the original scar to form multiple subcutaneous tunnels. Aspirated fat was injected into the scar lesion and subcutaneous tunnels, and the wound was then sutured. The clinical outcome was evaluated by comparing the pretreatment and 1-year posttreatment photographs and Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) scores. All patients had a marked improvement in the appearance, texture, and depression of the scar during 12 months of follow-up. The 1-year posttreatment POSAS scores for the color, pain, pruritus, hardness, fullness, mobility, and appearance of the scar were significantly decreased compared with the pretreatment scores. Hematoxylin-eosin staining revealed adipocyte-like cells in treated scar tissue specimens obtained 1 year after treatment. None of the patients reported severe adverse reactions. Autologous fat grafting combined with adhesion release may be a good treatment option for abdominal wall scarring after cesarean section. This method is minimally invasive and effective in achieving good functional and esthetic outcomes.

Ecological network can connect fragmented habitat patches to increase the connectivity among landscapes, which plays an important role to landscapes and ecological problems caused by urbanization. In this study, the ecological networks of Xi'an City were constructed using landscape pattern index and morphological spatial pattern analysis to reveal landscape pattern features. The performance of the network was evaluated with the gravity model to provide an optimization strategy. The landscape richness index was relatively high, with significant differences of landscape patterns between north and south parts. The ecological sources were predominated in the south and east areas, while a higher comprehensive resistance with low connectivity was found in the north and central areas. The ecological corridors were unevenly distributed, with the radiation channels derived from hydrological analysis providing a supplementary role. Furthermore, ecological networks could be optimized by introducing other ecological sources, supplementing stepping stones, and repairing fracture points, to reduce the problems of uneven distribution of ecological sources, the excessively long ecological corridors in local regions, and the obstruction of road networks. Our optimization method provided an optional way to assist urban planning of Xi'an City.生态网络能够连接破碎的生境斑块、增加景观之间的连接性,对应对城市化引发的景观和生态问题具有重要作用。本研究以西安市为例,运用景观格局指数和形态学空间分析等方法在景观格局现状分析的基础上构建了生态网络,并利用重力模型评估了网络结构,最后提出优化策略。结果表明: 西安市景观丰富度较高,但景观状况南北区域差异明显;生态源地主要分布在南部和东部,北部和中部综合阻力值高、连接度较低;生态廊道分布不均,基于水文分析得到的辐射道可以对生态廊道起到补充作用;通过新增生态源地、补设踏脚石及修复断裂点对生态网络进行优化,可改善生态源地分布不均、部分区域生态廊道过长及道路网阻隔等问题,提出的优化策略可为西安市城市规划提供参考。.

Fast and accurate calculation of floating-point arcsine/arccosine function has important applications in modern engineering. In order to improve the precision and calculation speed of the arcsine/arccosine function, this paper proposes an improved four-step rotation prediction iteration method based on the CORDIC algorithm, which completes the floating-point operation only through addition, subtraction and shift operations, and solves the problem of excessive iterations of the traditional CORDIC algorithm, at the same time, meets the floating point rules of the IEEE754 standard. This design is written in Verilog, and the Modelsim platform is used to verify and simulate the design. Only 32 iterations are required to complete a quadruple-precision arcsine/arccosine function calculation. Using TSMC's 65nm technology and 500MHz clock, the total design area is about 0.8mm2, only 32 clock cycles are required to complete the quadruple-precision arcsine/arccosine function. The results show that the algorithm has the advantages of fast data processing speed and higher precision.

Background Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a serious complication of diabetes that can lead to significant mortality. Cyclocarya paliurus is a tree, the leaves of which are often utilized to prevent and treat diabetes mellitus. Whether C. paliurus leaves can prevent or treat DCM, however, it remains to be formally assessed. The present study was therefore designed to assess the ability of C. paliurus to protect against DCM in db/db mice. Methods Male wild-type (WT) and db/db mice were administered C. paliurus ethanol leaf extracts (ECL) or appropriate vehicle controls daily via gavage, and levels of blood glucose in treated animals were assessed on a weekly basis. After a 10-week treatment, the levels of cardiac troponin I (cTn-I), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase MB (CK-MB), aspartate transaminase (AST), total triglycerides (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) in serum were measured. Activities of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) and the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6 in heart tissues were detected. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Masson staining were conducted. The protein expression that related with oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction was evaluated by Western blotting. Results Compared with WT mice, the TG, TC, and blood glucose levels in db/db mice increased significantly, which were reduced by ECL treatment. Compared with WT mice, the levels of LDH, CK-MB, AST, and cTn-I in serum and MDA in heart tissues of db/db mice increased significantly. Activities of SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT in heart tissues of db/db mice decreased significantly. The levels of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) in heart tissues of db/db mice increased remarkably. However, ECL treatment improved the above pathological changes significantly. ECL alleviated pathological injury and fibrosis in heart tissues of mice. Western blotting showed that ECL increased Bcl-2 level and decreased Bax, cle-caspase-3, and cle-caspase-9 expression. Furthermore, ECL inhibited NF-κB nuclear translocation and increased PI3K and p-Akt expressions. Conclusion Our results indicate that ECL treatment can markedly reduce pathological cardiac damage in db/db mice through antiapoptotic, antifibrotic, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Specifically, this extract was able to suppress NF-κB activation via the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Given its diverse activities and lack of significant side effects, ECL may thus have therapeutic value for the treatment of DCM.

This study explores how energy tax influences energy R&D investments, which further affect economic welfare, carbon emissions, and climate change under various emission abatement policies. Energy tax, as a market-based instrument, aims to adjust the energy R&D investments to the optimal level. The study considers two types of energy tax, the optimal energy tax and the Pigovian tax. The optimal energy tax contains the scarcity rent and the carbon tax, while the Pigovian tax only considers the carbon tax. Setting the energy tax equal to the Pigovian tax appears to be insufficient, leading to sub-optimal outcomes. The impact is more significant before the energy use transits from fossil fuels to backstop technology, while the impact is moderate after the backstop technology fully replaces fossil fuels. The study shows that the sub-optimal outcomes are worse with a more restrictive abatement policy, while they are moderate under a less stringent abatement policy.

Estrogen plays a pivotal role in the pathological development of breast cancer. Resveratrol has chemo-preventive effects against breast cancer, whereas, the mechanism of antitumor activities of resveratrol remains unanswered. In this study, we showed that estrogen homeostasis profile was disturbed in both breast cancer patients and in experimental breast cancer model rats, with carcinogenic catechol estrogens significantly accumulated in the mammary tissues. UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A8 (UGT1A8) is an important phase II drug-metabolizing enzymes which involved in the metabolism of catechol estrogens. Here we found that the mammary nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) – UGT1A8 signaling was down-regulated in breast cancer rats, whereas treatment with resveratrol could upregulate the expression of NRF2 and UGT1A8, accelerate metabolic elimination of catechol estrogens, inhibit estrogen-induced DNA damage and suppress the pathological development of breast cancer. In addition, luciferase reporter assay suggested that resveratrol activated the expression of UGT1A8 by up-regulating the transcriptional activity of NRF2. Small-interfering RNA-mediated silencing of NRF2 abolished resveratrol-mediated preventive effects indicated that the antitumor effect of resveratrol is based on NRF2-UGT1A8-estrogen metabolism axis. Taken together, we established the resveratrol regulating potential on estrogen homeostasis based on NRF2-UGT1A8 signaling pathway, and also provided a novel link between estrogen glucuronidation metabolism and breast cancer pathological development.

Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) has been used widely for the treatment of esophageal cancer. However, there is still a lack of consensus on the extent of lymphadenectomy in MIE. The objective of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of three-field lymphadenectomy (3-FL) in MIE, compared with the standard two-field lymphadenectomy (2-FL).A single-center randomized controlled trial was conducted, enrolling patients with resectable thoracic esophageal cancer (cT1-3,N0-3,M0) between June 2016 and May 2019. Eligible patients were randomized into two groups to receive either 3-FL or 2-FL during MIE procedures. Perioperative outcomes of the two groups were compared. The trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-INR-16007957).Seventy-six eligible patients were randomly assigned to the 3-FL group (n = 38) and the 2-FL group (n = 38). Compared with patients in the 2-FL group, patients in the 3-FL group had more lymph nodes harvested (54.7 ± 16.5vs 30.9 ± 9.6, P.001) and more metastatic lymph nodes identified (3.5 ± 4.5 vs 1.7 ± 2.0, P = .027). Patients in the 3-FL group were diagnosed with a more advanced final pathologic TNM stage than patients in the 2-FL group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in blood loss, major postoperative complications, or duration of hospital stay, except that the operation time was longer in the 3-FL group than in the 2-FL group (270.5 ± 45.4 minutes vs 236.7 ± 47.0 minutes, P = .002).Three-field lymphadenectomy allowed harvesting of more lymph nodes and more accurate staging without increased surgical risks compared with 2-FL MIE for esophageal cancer.