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Introduction This study investigated the current status of patients' knowledge and clinical compliance with ankle pump exercises in order to better enhance patient education and improve patient compliance with ankle pump exercises. Methods A cross-sectional survey of the current status of ankle pump exercise awareness and compliance was conducted using a self-designed questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of a general demographic information questionnaire, a questionnaire on patients’ perceptions of ankle pump exercise and a compliance questionnaire. Results A total of 2,203 patients from 53 clinical departments participated in this survey. 87.8% of patients considered ankle pump exercise important, 92.1% could grasp the knowledge of ankle pump exercise, 48.5% could self-monitor and exercise daily as instructed, 81.5% of health care workers would often supervise patients to complete ankle pump exercise, poor self-control (34.6%), lack of physical strength (21.1%) and perceived hassle (18.9%) were the top 3 factors contributing to patients' inability to complete the ankle pump exercise. Regression analysis showed that the factors influencing patients' compliance with the ankle pump exercise were literacy, economic level, number of comorbidities and caprini risk class ( p < .05). Conclusion The patient’s cognition of ankle pump exercise is good, but the compliance needs to be improved. It is suggested that the compliance of ankle pump exercise in hospitalized patients should be improved in the future to reduce the incidence of Venous thromboembolism.

Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a nuclear receptor known to play protective roles in anti-hepatocarcinogenesis and regulation of the basal metabolism of glucose, lipids, and bile acids. FXR expression is low or absent in HBV-associated hepatocarcinogenesis. Full-length HBx and HBx C-terminal truncation are frequently found in clinical HCC samples and play distinct roles in hepatocarcinogenesis by interacting with FXR or FXR signaling. However, the impact of C-terminal truncated HBx on the progression of hepatocarcinogenesis in the absence of FXR is unclear. In this study, we found that one known FXR binding protein, a C-terminal truncated X protein (HBx C40) enhanced obviously and promoted tumor cell proliferation and migration by altering cell cycle distribution and inducing apoptosis in the absence of FXR. HBx C40 enhanced the growth of FXR-deficient tumors in vivo. In addition, RNA-sequencing analysis showed that HBx C40 overexpression could affect energy metabolism. Overexpressed HSPB8 aggravated the metabolic reprogramming induced by down-regulating glucose metabolism-associated hexokinase 2 genes in HBx C40-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. Overall, our study suggests that C-terminal truncated HBx C40 synergizes with FXR deficiency by altering cell cycle distribution as well as disturbing glucose metabolism to promote HCC development.

To examine the efficacy of three different nerve repair methods for one-stage replantation to treat complete upper extremity amputation and long-term postoperative functional recovery.Twenty-five patients underwent direct nerve anastomosis (Group A), for patients with nerve defects greater than 3 cm, nerve autograft transplantation be used (Group B), or patients with nerve defects less than 3 cm, nerve allograft transplantation be used (Group C) based on the severity of injury. The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score (higher score means poorer function-less than 25 means good effect) and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for pain at rest and under exertion were measured. Sensation recovery time and grip function were recorded.The mean follow-up time was 78 ± 29 months. Group A had the lowest DASH score, while Group C had the highest DASH score. DASH score differed significantly between the three groups (P 0.001). Sensation was not restored in two patients in Group B and two patients in Group C, and there were significant between-group differences in sensation recovery (P = 0.001). Group C had the lowest VAS score, while Group A had the highest, and there were significant differences between groups (P = 0.044). Only one patient in Group C recovered grip function.Direct nerve anastomosis should be performed whenever possible in replantation surgery for complete upper extremity amputation, as the nerve function recovery after direct nerve anastomosis is better than that after nerve autograft transplantation or nerve allograft transplantation. Two-stage nerve autograft transplantation can be performed in patients who do not achieve functional recovery long after nerve allograft transplantation.ZIEL: Untersuchung der Wirksamkeit dreier verschiedener Verfahren zur Rekonstruktion von Nerven bei einzeitiger Replantation zur Behandlung vollständiger Amputationen der oberen Extremität sowie der langfristigen postoperativen Wiederherstellung der Nervenfunktion.Bei 25 Patienten wurde eine direkte Nervenanastomose durchgeführt (Gruppe A); bei Patienten mit Nervendefekten von mehr als 3 cm erfolgte eine Autotransplantation (Gruppe B) und bei Patienten mit Nervendefekten unter 3 cm eine Allotransplantation (Gruppe C), basierend auf der Schwere der Schädigung. Gemessen wurden der DASH-Score („Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand“), bei dem ein höherer Punktwert auf eine schlechtere Funktion und ein Punktwert von weniger als 25 auf einen guten Effekt hinweist, sowie die Scores der visuellen Analogskala (VAS) für Schmerzen in Ruhe und unter Belastung. Außerdem wurden die Zeit bis zur Wiederherstellung der sensorischen Funktion sowie die Greiffunktion dokumentiert.Die mittlere Nachbeobachtungszeit lag bei 78 ± 29 Monaten. Gruppe A wies den niedrigsten DASH-Score auf, Gruppe C den höchsten. Der DASH-Score unterschied sich zwischen den 3 Gruppen signifikant (p 0,001). Bei 2 Patienten in Gruppe B und 2 Patienten in Gruppe C konnte die sensorische Funktion nicht wiederhergestellt werden und es wurden signifikante Unterschiede bei der Wiederherstellung der Sensorik zwischen den Gruppen festgestellt (p = 0,001). Gruppe C wies den niedrigsten VAS-Score auf, Gruppe A den höchsten, und es fanden sich signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen (p = 0,044). Nur ein Patient in Gruppe C erlangte seine Greiffunktion wieder.In der Replantationschirurgie bei vollständiger Amputation der oberen Extremität ist eine direkte Nervenanastomose anzustreben, da nach einer direkten Nervenanastomose eine bessere Wiederherstellung der Nervenfunktion erreicht wird als nach einer Auto- oder Allotransplantation. Eine zweizeitige Autotransplantation kann bei Patienten erfolgen, die lange Zeit nach einer Allotransplantation keine Funktionswiederherstellung erreichen.

Betanin, a bioactive ingredient mostly isolated from beetroots, exhibits a protective effect against cardiovascular diseases. However, its effects on abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) have not been elucidated. In this study, an AAA model was constructed by infusion of porcine pancreatic elastase in C57BL/6 mice. Mice were then administered with betanin or saline intragastrically once daily for 14 d. Our results showed that treatment with betanin remarkably limited AAA enlargement and mitigated the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the adventitia. The increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) was also significantly alleviated following betanin treatment. Furthermore, betanin suppressed the activation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) signaling in the aortic wall, and downregulated the levels of tissue-reactive oxygen species as well as circulating 8-isoprostane by stimulating the nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway. Taken together, these data suggest that betanin may attenuate AAA progression and may be used as a therapeutic drug against AAA.

Uterine arteriovenous fistula is a rare but life-threatening gynecologic entity. Meanwhile, long-term radiation exposure will do serious harm to doctors' health. So we improve the operation method to reduce the radiation exposure time. The patient, a 24-years-old woman with a history of dilation and curettage, had long-term menorrhagia and anemia. Uterine arteriovenous fistula was confirmed by ultrasonography and computed tomography angiograph. Percutaneous anhydrous ethanol sclerotherapy was performed under the guidance of the X-ray imaging. The patient was followed up for 2 years without recurrence and had normal menstruation. Recently, she is successfully pregnant again. Percutaneous anhydrous ethanol sclerotherapy is a new option treating uterine arteriovenous fistula, which can greatly shorten the irradiation time and reduce the recurrence rate and has no obvious adverse effect on fertility.

Purpose To evaluate the safety and efficacy of transbrachial and transfemoral approaches combined with visceral protection for the endovascular treatment of juxtarenal aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD) over an average 19-month follow-up period. Methods In this retrospective analysis, all patients with juxtarenal AIOD at a single institution were reviewed from June 2015 to January 2020. Patient characteristics, angiographic results, and follow-up outcomes were retrospectively recorded. The indications for treatment were critical limb threatening ischemia in 12 patients and bilateral claudication in five patients. Percutaneous access via the left brachial artery was first obtained to recanalize the infrarenal occluded lesions. After that, femoral accesses were achieved. A 4-Fr catheter, a 4 mm balloon, or a 6-Fr 90-cm-long sheath was used to complete visceral artery protection. Results A total of 17 juxtarenal AIOD patients (14 males; mean age, 63.4 ± 8.1 years) underwent endovascular treatment. The technical success rate was 100%. Complete reconstruction was achieved in 15 (88.2%) patients. The infrarenal aorta was reconstructed with kissing covered stent grafts ( n = 7), kissing bare-metal stents ( n = 2), covered stent grafts ( n = 2), bare-metal stents ( n = 1), or the off-label use of iliac limb stent grafts ( n = 5). Renal embolization was found in 3 (17.6%) patients during intraoperative angiography. There was 1 (5.9%) case of distal runoff embolization after CDT and 1 (5.9%) case of left iliac artery rupture. One (5.9%) death occurred due to acute myocardial infarction 20 days after the operation. The average follow-up period was 19.3 ± 16.7 months (range, 1–54 months) in the remaining 16 cases. The renal artery patency rate was 100%. The estimated cumulative primary patency rates were 92.3% at 12 months and 59.3% at 36 months according to the Kaplan–Meier method. Conclusions Transbrachial and transfemoral approaches combined with visceral protection offer a safe and effective alternative to open revascularization for the endovascular treatment of juxtarenal AIOD.

Aquatic plants and the epiphytic microorganisms are important contributors to the purification of constructed wetlands. Taking the dragon-shaped water system of Beijing Olympic Park as a model, this study analyzed the structure and function of the microbial communities reside the sediment, the water body and the rhizosphere and phyllosphere of three submerged plants-Vallisneria natans, Myriophyllum verticillatum, and Potamogeton pectinatus using high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the microbial diversity from the highest to the lowest were samples from sediment, plant rhizosphere, plant phyllosphere and water. The microbial diversity of plant phyllosphere samples were significantly higher than those of the water body. LEfSe analysis showed that different habitats enriched different microbial groups. The sediments mainly enriched anaerobic microbes, while the water body and the phyllosphere of plants mainly enriched aerobic microbes, and the rhizosphere of plants had the both. Functional prediction analysis showed that the abundance of denitrification marker genes in phyllosphere samples was higher than that in samples from rhizosphere, sediment and water body, and the abundance of denitrification marker genes in phyllosphere samples of M. verticillatum and P. pectinatus was higher than that of V. natans. This study could serve as a guidance for the selection of submerged plants and functional microorganisms for constructed wetlands.

Niuhuang Jiedu tablet (NJT), a realgar (As2S2) containing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is a well-known formula. The safety of NJT is of growing concern since arsenic (As) is considered as one of the most toxic elements. NJT was demonstrated to be safer than realgar by our previous experiments and some other studies. The toxicity of realgar has been shown to be related to the amount of soluble or bioaccessible arsenic. In this study, the influences of the other TCMs in NJT on the bioaccessibility of arsenic from realgar, and the roles of gut microbiota during this process were investigated in vitro. Results showed that Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma), Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix), Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix), and Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) could significantly reduce the bioaccessibility of arsenic from realgar in artificial gastrointestinal fluids. Gut microbiota played an important role in decreasing the bioaccessibility of realgar because it was demonstrated to be able to absorb the soluble arsenic from realgar in the incubation medium. Dahuang, Huangqin, and Jiegeng could modulate the gut microbiota to enhance its arsenic absorption activity.

BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as central regulators of many processes. MiRNA-34 (miR-34) functions as a well-known tumor suppressor. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms underlying how miR-34 participates in vascular disorders. MATERIAL AND METHODS Three miR-34 family members (miR-34a, miR-34b, and miR-34c) were overexpressed or silenced in human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and umbilical vein endothelial cells (UVECs), respectively, before the proliferation and apoptosis of cells were detected by using Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and Annexin V- fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide flow cytometry. The protein expression of apoptosis biomarkers was detected by western blot. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to determine the candidate target of miR-34, and enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay was used to evaluate the effect of miR-34 on the expression of the target gene. RESULTS Overexpression of miR-34 family members repressed proliferation and promoted apoptosis of VSMCs and UVECs, whereas miR-34 knockdown led to the opposite results. In addition, miR-34a inhibited the expression of alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), a serine protease inhibitor that suppresses the degradation of extracellular matrix, through a miR-34-binding site within the 3'-UTR of AAT. CONCLUSIONS MiR-34 promoted apoptosis of VSMC and UVEC cells by inhibiting AAT expression. This finding provides an update on the understanding of the clinical value of miR-34, which might assist to uncover novel and effective therapeutic strategies for the treatment of vascular diseases.

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Curcumin (C) has been extensively investigated in different types of malignancies, including hepatocellular carcinoma, but its physicochemical properties have significantly influenced its clinical use. Several approaches are being explored to enhance curcumin's therapeutic response, including its combination with various drugs. Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of curcumin (C) in combination with F2 (N-n-butyl haloperidol iodide) on hepatocellular carcinoma and its potential underlying mechanism in vitro and in vivo. Methods Cell proliferation was evaluated by CCK-8 and colony formation assays, and apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry. The migratory and invasive abilities of Hep3B and SMMC-7721 cells were measured by wound-healing and matrigel transwell assays. In order to investigate the molecular pathways, various experiments such as western blotting, qPCR, RNA-seq, immunostaining and transfection were performed. To evaluate the anti-HCC effects in vivo, a xenograft tumor model was used. Results Our findings showed that the combination of curcumin (C) & F2 (F2C) strongly inhibited malignant proliferation and migration in SMMC-7721 and Hep3B cells. The F2C treatment downregulates enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) transcription and protein expression, which is key epigenetic regulator responsible for HCC development. Moreover, the inhibition of EZH2 by F2C led to Wnt/β-catenin signaling inhibition by decreasing tri-methylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27me3) and long non-coding RNA H19 expression. The inhibition of F2C was associated with the suppression of tumorigenicity in xenograft HCC models. Conclusion These findings suggested that, F2C inhibited HCC formation, migration and its modulatory mechanism seemed to be associated with downregulation of EZH2, silencing Wnt/β-catenin signaling by interacting with H19, suggesting that F2C may be a promising drug in the clinical treatment of HCC.

Objectives This study was aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of endovascular treatment of extracranial carotid artery aneurysms (ECAAs) using self-expandable covered stent grafts. Methods All patients with ECAA at a single institution were reviewed from February 2014 to February 2020. Eight consecutive patients (three men, mean age 64.5 years) treated with endovascular repair with self-expandable covered stent graft were retrospectively reviewed. Patient characteristics, angiographic results, and follow-up outcomes were retrospectively recorded. Access to ECAA was gained via a femoral approach or a direct puncture of common carotid artery after surgical exposure because of kinking of the aortic arch and common carotid artery. A self-expandable covered stent graft (Viabahn; W. L. Gore, Flagstaff, AZ) was deployed to exclude the aneurysm. Results Based on imaging features, there were five peudoaneurysms and three true aneurysms. The technical success rate was 100%. Cerebral protection devices were not used in all the patients during the procedures. Immediate absolute obliteration of the ECAA with no endoleak was documented in all the patients. Perioperative complications included one internal carotid-cavernous sinus fistula, one bleeding at the puncture site, and one stroke. The mean follow-up period was 35.5 months (range, 9–72 months). All the patients were alive, with an obligation rate of 100%. No transient ischemia attack, stroke, or reoccurrence of symptoms was identified during the follow-up period. Radiological examinations identified patency of the stent grafts and revealed no endoleaks, stent fracture, stent migration, or aneurysm rupture. Conclusions Endovascular treatment of ECAAs with self-expandable covered stent grafts appears to be a safe and feasible alternative for traditional open surgery, especially in the challenging anatomy and instable physical conditions. Although cerebrovascular accidents can occur as the result of hemodynamic changes during the perioperative period, the minimal alternative can yield satisfactory midterm follow-up clinical outcomes.

Objective Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by localized progressive dilatation. Currently, paeonol has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and protective cardiovascular properties. Our study aimed to investigate the potential influences of paeonol on AAA progression. Methods Experimental AAAs were created in C57BL/6J mice by intra-aortic infusion of porcine pancreatic elastase, and then intragastrically administered paeonol (20 mg/kg/day) for 14 days. The effects of paeonol on experimental AAA were measured by ultrasound imaging, histopathology, and western blot analyses. Results Paeonol treatment limited the enlargement of the aneurysmal diameter and alleviated the depletion of elastic fibers and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Furthermore, the infiltration of CD68+ macrophages and CD8+ lymphocytes was obviously attenuated after paeonol administration, along with mural neoangiogenesis. Western blot results showed that paeonol inhibited the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and the NF-κB pathway activation. Conclusions Paeonol might prevent experimental AAA progression by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway, which suggests that it is a potential drug for AAA.

Chronic inflammation plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), a progressive segmental abdominal aortic dilation. Chemerin, a multifunctional adipocytokine, is mainly generated in the liver and adipose tissue. The combination of chemerin and chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1) has been demonstrated to promote the progression of atherosclerosis, arthritis diseases, and Crohn’s disease. However, chemerin-9 acts as an analog of chemerin to exert an anti-inflammatory effect by binding to CMKLR1. Here, we first demonstrated that AAA exhibited higher levels of chemerin and CMKLR1 expression compared with the normal aortic tissues. Hence, we hypothesized that the chemerin/CMKLR1 axis might be involved in AAA progression. Moreover, we found that chemerin-9 treatment markedly suppressed inflammatory cell infiltration, neovascularization, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression, while increasing the elastic fibers and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in Ang II-induced AAA in ApoE−/− mice. This demonstrated that chemerin-9 could inhibit AAA formation. Collectively, our findings indicate a potential mechanism underlying AAA progression and suggest that chemerin-9 can be used therapeutically.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) X protein (HBx) is a key regulator of HBV-associated hepatocarcinogenesis. C-terminal-truncated HBx is frequently detected in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The role of HBx, especially C-terminal-truncated HBx, in HCC pathogenesis has been controversial. To elucidate the biological role of C-terminal-truncated HBx underlying HBV-associated hepato-oncogenesis, we constructed a vector expressing HBx-C30 (deletion of 30 aa from the C terminus of HBx) and functionally analyzed its regulation on farnesoid X receptor (FXR) signaling, which is known to inhibit hepatocarcinogenesis. In the present study, we found full-length HBx and HBx C-terminal truncation coexist in HCC, and both full length HBx and HBx-C30 can activate FXR signaling. Moreover, HBx-C30 weakly coactivates FXR-KNG1 signaling compared to full-length HBx.

Metal nanocrystals have been extensively explored as efficient and tailorable electrocatalysts for various sustainable energy technologies. Precise understanding of molecular interactions at the electrode-electrolyte interfaces during electrochemical processes, which mostly relies on the interpretation of spectroscopic surface information, is crucial to the innovations in catalyst design and optimization of reaction conditions. Here, we demonstrate the first

Convolutional neural networks (CNN) represent a key application in data centers, which calls for accelerators that are: 1) efficient for CNN computations; 2) having high throughput to be cost-efficient; and, 3) with adequate programming flexibility for algorithm upgrades. Lacking of the availability of such a chip in the market, we designed our own. Matrix multiplication (MM) and convolution (CONV) are the top-2 deep learning (DL) operations requiring intensive computation. Most existing accelerators, like GPUs [6], [7], TPU [9], and a few new AI chips [3], [4] are architected for GEMM. Computing CONV on a GEMM engine, one needs the img2col() transformation to flatten images into general matrixes. This introduces huge data inflation, leading to unnecessary extra computation and storage, but also decreasing arithmetic intensity and bounding performance towards I/O and memory. Although some accelerators such as [5] exploit the CONV architecture directly, integrating larger but balanced computing power into a single chip is quite challenging. Moreover, with the fast evolution of DL algorithms, it is critical to design a programmable neural processing unit (NPU) instead of a dedicated ASIC for data center scenarios. To satisfy the above requirements, our NPU is architected to be CONV-efficient under the control of operation-fused coarse-grained instructions. It integrates as much computing power as possible via squeezed computation with a large SRAM-only design. Also, it delivers programming flexibility via an instruction set architecture (ISA) with coverage for anticipated forward-looking functionality.

A procedure for the screening and quantification of 18 glucocorticoids, i.e. hydrocortisone sodium succinate (HSS), prednisolone (PDL), prednisone (PDS), hydrocortisone (HCS), methylprednisolone (MPS), betamethasone (BTM), dexamethasone (DXM), triamcinolone acetonide (TA), prednisolone acetate (PLA), hydrocortisone acetate (HA), fludrocortisone acetate (FA), prednisone acetate (PA), cortisone acetate (CA), dexamethasone acetate (DA), hydrocortisone butyrate (HB), triamcinolone acetonide acetate (TAA), fluocinonide (FN) and halcinonide (HC) from herbal pharmaceuticals and health foods was established and fully validated. The samples were extracted by methanol and separated by HPLC. The retention times and ultraviolet spectra were used for the preliminary screening, and the suspected adulterants were then confirmed by liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) and quantified by HPLC. The developed procedure was successfully applied to 14 herbal samples, and 316.3 µg g–1 of DA and 13.6 µg mL–1 of BTM were found in a tablet sample and a spray sample, respectively. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of the simultaneous screening and quantification of these 18 glucocorticoids from any matrix.

// Le Yang 1 , Lin Shen 2 , Peixian Gao 1 , Gang Li 1 , Yuxiang He 1 , Maohua Wang 1 , Hua Zhou 1 , Hai Yuan 1 , Xing Jin 1 and Xuejun Wu 1 1 Department of Vascular Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China Correspondence to: Xuejun Wu, email: wuxuejun0704@163.com Keywords: AMPK, aneurysm, inflammation, neovascularization, MMP Received: November 18, 2016 Accepted: August 26, 2017 Published: October 07, 2017 ABSTRACT Background and aims: Determine the effect of AMPK activation and inhibition on the development of AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm). Methods: AAA was induced in ApoE -/- mice by Ang II (Angiotensin II)-infusion. AICAR (5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside) was used as AMPK activator and Compound C was used as AMPK inhibitor. We further investigate the effect of metformin, a widely used anti-diabetic drug which could activate AMPK signal pathway, on the pathogenesis of aneurysm. Results : Phospho-AMPK level was significantly decreased in AAA tissue compared with control aortas. AICAR significantly reduced the incidence, severity and mortality of aneurysm in the Ang II-infusion model. AICAR also alleviated macrophage infiltration and neovascularity in Ang II infusion model at day 28. The expression of pro-inflammatory factors, angiogenic factors and the activity of MMPs were also alleviated by AICAR during AAA induction. On the other hand, Compound C treatment did not exert obvious protective effect. AMPK activation may inhibit the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT-3) during AAA induction. Administration of metformin also activated AMPK signal pathway and retarded AAA progression in Ang II infusion model. Conclusions : Activation of AMPK signaling pathway may inhibit the Ang II-induced AAA in mice. Metformin may be a promising approach to the treatment of AAA.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is a kind of polyphenol compound, called catechin, and is extracted from green tea. EGCG has a wide range of biological activities. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of EGCG on neointimal hyperplasia in a rat model of carotid artery balloon injury and to explore the molecular mechanisms involved. Various experiments were performed to assess the effects of EGCG on thickening of neointima, expression levels of high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) and receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE), the inflammatory response, oxidative stress and activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB. Results demonstrated that EGCG decreased the intimal area and the ratio of intimal area/medial area compared with the balloon injury group. The expression levels of HMGB1 and RAGE induced by balloon injury were markedly inhibited by EGCG treatment. Furthermore, the inflammatory response and oxidative stress damage, which have close correlations with HMGB1, were restrained by EGCG. Finally, EGCG treatment markedly inhibited NF-κB activation. The present data provided evidence that EGCG attenuates neointimal hyperplasia in a model of carotid artery balloon injury, which indicated that EGCG may serve as a potential drug for restenosis in clinics.

Increased use of reclaimed water could be one of the solutions to Beijing’s growing water shortage, particularly for non-potable (e.g. landscaping) purposes. The ‘Dragon-shaped River’, a large artificial waterscape built on the site of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, offers a useful case study of the issues and challenges attendant on wastewater reclamation and reuse. Of particular interest is the use of phytoremediation techniques for bioremediation of nutrient loads. This paper presents the results of ongoing monitoring which indicates that phytoremediation is succeeding in preventing eutrophication, though some challenges, notably management of aquatic biomass, remain.