NFAT5 plays a critical role in maintaining the renal functions. Its dis-regulation in the kidney leads to or is associated with certain renal diseases or disorders, most notably the urinary concentration defect. Hyper...NFAT5 plays a critical role in maintaining the renal functions. Its dis-regulation in the kidney leads to or is associated with certain renal diseases or disorders, most notably the urinary concentration defect. Hypertonicity, which the kidney medulla is normally exposed to,activates NFAT5 through phosphorylation of a signaling molecule or NFAT5 itself. Hypotonicity inhibits NFAT5 through a similar mechanism. More than a dozen of protein and lipid kinases have been identified to contribute to tonicity-dependent regulation of NFAT5. Hypertonicity activates NFAT5 by increasing its nuclear localization and transactivating activity in the early phase and protein abundance in the late phase. The known mechanism for inhibition of NFAT5 by hypotonicity is a decrease of nuclear NFAT5. The present article reviews the effect of each kinase on NFAT5 nuclear localization, transactivation and protein abundance, and the relationship among these kinases, if known. Cyclosporine A and tacrolimus suppress immune reactions by inhibiting the phosphatase calcineurin-dependent activation of NFAT1. It is hoped that this review would stimulate the interest to seek explanations from the NFAT5 regulatory pathways for certain clinical presentations and to explore novel therapeutic approaches based on the pathways. On the basic science front, this review raises two interesting questions. The first one is how these kinases can specifcally signal to NFAT5 in the context of hypertonicity or hypotonicity, because they also regulate other cellular activities and even opposite activities in some cases. The second one is why these many kinases, some of which might have redundant functions, are needed to regulate NFAT5 activity. This review reiterates the concept of signaling through cooperation. Cells need these kinases working in a coordinated way to provide the signaling specificity that is lacking in the individual one. Redundancy in regulation of NFAT5 is a critical strategy for cells to maintain robustness against hypertonic or hypotonic stress.展开更多
AIM: To study the contribution of tonicity response element binding protein(Ton EBP) in retinal ganglion cell(RGC) death of diabetic retinopathy(DR).METHODS: Diabetes was induced in C57BL/6 mice by five consecutive in...AIM: To study the contribution of tonicity response element binding protein(Ton EBP) in retinal ganglion cell(RGC) death of diabetic retinopathy(DR).METHODS: Diabetes was induced in C57BL/6 mice by five consecutive intraperitoneal injections of 55 mg/kg streptozotocin(STZ). Control mice received vehicle(phosphate-buffered saline). All mice were killed 2mo after injections, and the extent of cell death and the protein expression levels of Ton EBP and aldose reductase(AR) were examined.RESULTS: The Ton EBP and AR protein levels and the death of RGC were significantly increased in the retinas of diabetic mice compared with controls 2mo after the induction of diabetes. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase(Td T)-mediated d UTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)-positive signals co-localized with Ton EBP immunoreactive RGC. These changes were increased in the diabetic retinas compared with controls.CONCLUSION: The present data show that AR and Ton EBP are upregulated in the DR and Ton EBP may contribute to apoptosis of RGC in the DR.展开更多
Most organ or tissue allografts with viable cells are sto red in solutions ex vivo for hours to seve ral days.Most allografts then require rapid host revascula rization upon transplantation to maintain donor-cell func...Most organ or tissue allografts with viable cells are sto red in solutions ex vivo for hours to seve ral days.Most allografts then require rapid host revascula rization upon transplantation to maintain donor-cell functions(e.g.,cardiac muscle contra ctions,hepatic secretions).In contrast,peripheral nerve allografts stored ex vivo do not require revascularization to act as scaffolds to guide outgrowth by host axons at 1-2 mm/d,likely aided by viable donor Schwann cells.Using current storage solutions and protocols,axons in all these donor orga n/tissue/nerve transplants are expected to rapidly become non-viable due to Wallerian degeneration within days.Therefore,ex vivo storage solutions have not been assessed for preserving normal axonal functions,i.e.,conducting action potentials or maintaining myelin sheaths.We hypothesized that most or all organ storage solutions would maintain axonal viability.We examined several common organ/tissue storage solutions(University of Wisconsin Cold Storage Solution,Normosol-R,Normal Saline,and La ctated Ringe rs) for axonal viability in rat sciatic nerves ex vivo as assessed by maintaining:(1) conduction of artificially-induced compound action potentials;and(2) axonal and myelin morphology in a novel assay method.The ten diffe rent storage solution conditions for peripheral nerves with viable axons(PNVAs) diffe red in their solution composition,osmolarity(250-318 mOsm),temperature(4℃ vs.25℃),and presence of calcium.Compound action potentials and axonal morphology in PNVAs were best maintained for up to 9 days ex vivo in calcium-free hypotonic diluted(250 mOsm) Normosol-R(dNR) at 4℃.Surprisingly,compound action potentials were maintained for only 1-2 days in UW and NS at 4℃,a much shorter duration than PNVAs maintained in 4℃ dNR(9 days) or even in 25℃ dNR(5 days).Viable axons in peripheral nerve allografts are critical for successful polyethylene glycol(PEG)-fusion of viable proximal and distal ends of host axons with viable donor axons to repair segmental-loss peripheral nerve injuries.PEG-fusion repair using PNVAs prevents Wallerian degeneration of many axons within and distal to the graft and results in excellent recovery of sensory/motor functions and voluntary behaviors within weeks.Such PEG-fused PNVAs,unlike all other types of conventional donor transplants,are immune-tolerated without tissue matching or immune suppression.Preserving axonal viability in sto red PNVAs would enable the establishment of PNVA tissue banks to address the current shortage of transplantable nerve grafts and the use of stored PEG-fused PNVAs to repair segmentalloss peripheral nerve injuries.Furthermore,PNVA storage solutions may enable the optimization of ex vivo storage solutions to maintain axons in other types of organ/tissue transplants.展开更多
Speaking is a productive skill and it is acknowledged to be hard for learners to master.Certain elements related to phonetics in discourse analysis,which play a significant role in EFL teaching of speaking,seem to be ...Speaking is a productive skill and it is acknowledged to be hard for learners to master.Certain elements related to phonetics in discourse analysis,which play a significant role in EFL teaching of speaking,seem to be neglected.This paper analyses three of these elements:pause,intonation and tonic syllable,and their application in the teaching of speaking.展开更多
When the training data are insufficient, especially when only a small sample size of data is available, domain knowledge will be taken into the process of learning parameters to improve the performance of the Bayesian...When the training data are insufficient, especially when only a small sample size of data is available, domain knowledge will be taken into the process of learning parameters to improve the performance of the Bayesian networks. In this paper, a new monotonic constraint model is proposed to represent a type of common domain knowledge. And then, the monotonic constraint estimation algorithm is proposed to learn the parameters with the monotonic constraint model. In order to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm, series of experiments are carried out. The experiment results show that the proposed algorithm is able to obtain more accurate parameters compared to some existing algorithms while the complexity is not the highest.展开更多
Tonic Chinese herbs Pseudostellaria heterophylla has complex components,which has both medicinal and nutritional effects,and the clinical research on anti-oxidation of P.heterophylla has become a hotspot.By searching ...Tonic Chinese herbs Pseudostellaria heterophylla has complex components,which has both medicinal and nutritional effects,and the clinical research on anti-oxidation of P.heterophylla has become a hotspot.By searching domestic and foreign databases,the antioxidant literatures of P.heterophylla were searched,consulted,sorted,classified and analyzed,and systematic reevaluation of antioxidant function was conducted from three aspects of P.heterophylla extract in vitro chemical method,biological method and animal test method according to evaluation criteria for antioxidant activity of traditional Chinese medicine and Meta analysis statistical methods.The results would provide systematic reference for further research and development of P.heterophylla,especially for forage value excavation and development of P.heterophylla in the field of modern animal breeding.展开更多
Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors （GABAARs）-mediated tonic inhibition is reported to involve in the patho- genesis of epilepsy. In this study, we used cyclo- thiazide （CTZ）-induced in vitro brain slice seizure model t...Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors （GABAARs）-mediated tonic inhibition is reported to involve in the patho- genesis of epilepsy. In this study, we used cyclo- thiazide （CTZ）-induced in vitro brain slice seizure model to explore the effect of selective activation of extrasynaptic GABAARS by 4,5,6,7-tetra- hydroisoxazolo[5,4-c] pyridine-3-ol （THIP） on the CTZ-induced epileptiform activity in hippocampal neurons. Perfusion with CTZ dose-dependently induced multiple epileptiform peaks of evoked population spikes （PSs）in CA1 pyramidal neurons, and treatment with THIP （5 μmol/L） significantly reduced the multiple PS peaks induced by CTZ stimulation. Western blot showed that the 6-subunit of the GABAAR, an extrasynaptic specific GABAAR subunit, was also significantly down-regulated in the cell membrane 2 h after CTZ treatment. Our results suggest that the CTZ-induced epileptiform activity in hippocampal CA1 neurons is suppressed by the activation of extrasynaptic GABAARs, and further support the hypothesis that tonic inhibition mediated by extrasynaptic GABAARs plays a prominent role in seizure generation.展开更多
The immune system as an important defense system of the body,bear the resistance to foreign pathogens invasion,removal of foreign heterogeneity,and protect the body′s safety.Modern research shows that tonic Chinese m...The immune system as an important defense system of the body,bear the resistance to foreign pathogens invasion,removal of foreign heterogeneity,and protect the body′s safety.Modern research shows that tonic Chinese medicine,including single herband compound formula,has the function of improving immune organ index,enhancing immune cellfunction and affecting the immune molecule production and secretion.This article will review the effects of traditional Chinese medicine on immune organs,immune cells and immune molecules,and provide reference for the clinical research of traditional Chinese medicine.展开更多
Fish maw(the dried swimbladders of fish) is ranked in the list of the four sea treasures in Chinese cuisine. Fish maw is mainly produced from croaker, which is the most highly priced. However, some of the fish maw bei...Fish maw(the dried swimbladders of fish) is ranked in the list of the four sea treasures in Chinese cuisine. Fish maw is mainly produced from croaker, which is the most highly priced. However, some of the fish maw being sold as croaker maw are in fact not from croaker, but from the Nile perch Lates niloticus. The present work determined and compared the proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid composition of croaker Protonibea diacanthus maw and perch L. niloticus maw. The results indicated that both maws were high protein sources and low in fat content. The dominant amino acids in both maws were glycine, proline, glutamic acid, alanine and arginine. These amino acids constituted 66.2% and 66.4% of the total amino acids in P. diacanthus and L. niloticus, respectively. The ratio of FAA: TAA(functional amino acids: total amino acids) in both maws were 0.69. This is a good explanation for why fish maws have been widely utilized as a traditional tonic and remedy in Asia. Except valine and histidine, all the essential amino acid contents in P. diacanthus were higher than in L. niloticus. Moreover, croaker P. diacanthus maw contained more AA and DHA than perch L. niloticus maw, showing a higher ratio of n-3 / n-6, which is more desirable.展开更多
Considering the fact that liver is one of the most important organs in our body,it deserves special attention and protection.Among various recommended supplements,complementary and alternative medicines particularly h...Considering the fact that liver is one of the most important organs in our body,it deserves special attention and protection.Among various recommended supplements,complementary and alternative medicines particularly herbal remedies have received much attention owing to their truly healing properties.This review profits from Iranian traditional medicine and presents advantageous herbal guide directions for liver protection.According to credible Iranian medical literature such as Al Qanun Fil Tibb.Al-Havi and Makhzan-al-Aadvia.a wide spectrum of plants have been found to be useful for cleansing and protecting the liver.Some herbs such as ghafes(Agrimonia eupatoria),kasni(Cichorium intybus),anar(Punica granatum),darchin(Cinnamomum zeylanicum),za'feran(Crocus sativus),gole-sorkh(Rosa damascena) and zereshk(Berberis vulgaris) appeared to get strong consideration and were well documented as outstanding liver tonics.We conducted a comprehensive review of available Iranian medical resources such as scientific information database and medical sciences databases which cover all in vitro and in vivo studies of medicinal plants as liver tonics and hepatoprotcctive candidates.Literature survey was accomplished using multiple databases including PubMed,ISI web of knowledge,and Google Scholar.展开更多
Brood parasites such as the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus exploit the parental abilities of their hosts,hosts avoid brood parasitism and predation by showing specific behavior such as loss of feathers,emission of fear...Brood parasites such as the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus exploit the parental abilities of their hosts,hosts avoid brood parasitism and predation by showing specific behavior such as loss of feathers,emission of fear screams and contact calls,displaying wriggle behavior to avoid hosts or potential prey,pecking at hosts and prey,and expressing tonic immobility(showing behavior like feigning death or rapid escape from predators and brood parasites).These aspects of escape behavior are consistent for individuals but also among sites,seasons,and years.Escape behavior expressed in response to a broad range of cuckoo hosts and prey are consistently used against capture by humans,but also hosts and brood parasites and predators and their prey.An interspecific comparative phylogenetic analysis of escape behavior by hosts and their brood parasites and prey and their predators revealed evidence of consistent behavior when encountering potential parasites or predators.We hypothesize that personality axes such as those ranging from fearfulness to being bold,and from neophobic to curiosity response in brood parasites constitute important components of defense against brood parasitism that reduces the overall risk of parasitism.展开更多
AIM：To explore the role of prostaglandin F2α（PGF2α） on pacemaker activity in interstitial cells of Cajal（ICC）from mouse small intestine. METHODS：In this study,effects of PGF2αin the cultured ICC cells were in...AIM：To explore the role of prostaglandin F2α（PGF2α） on pacemaker activity in interstitial cells of Cajal（ICC）from mouse small intestine. METHODS：In this study,effects of PGF2αin the cultured ICC cells were investigated with patch clamp technology combined with Ca 2＋ image analysis. RESULTS：Externally applied PGF2α（10μmol/L）produced membrane depolarization in current-clamp mode and increased tonic inward pacemaker currents in voltage-clamp mode.The application of flufenamic acid（a non-selective cation channel inhibitor）or niflumic acid（aCl channel inhibitor）abolished the generation of pacemaker currents but only flufenamic acid inhibited the PGF2α-induced tonic inward currents.In addition,the tonic inward currents induced by PGF2αwere not inhibited by intracellular application of 5’-[-thio]diphosphate trilithium salt.Pretreatment with Ca 2＋ free solution, U-73122,an active phospholipase C inhibitor,and thapsigargin,a Ca 2＋ -ATPase inhibitor in endoplasmic reticulum,abolished the generation of pacemaker currents and suppressed the PGF2α-induced tonic inward currents.However,chelerythrine or calphostin C,protein kinase C inhibitors,did not block the PGF2α-induced effects on pacemaker currents.When recording intracellular Ca 2＋ （[Ca 2＋ ]i）concentration using fluo-3/AM,PGF2α broadly increased the spontaneous[Ca 2＋ ]i oscillations. CONCLUSION：These results suggest that PGF2αcan modulate pacemaker activity of ICC by acting non-selective action channels through phospholipase C-dependent pathway via[Ca2＋]i regulation展开更多
Spasticity following spinal cord injury（SCI） results in functional deterioration and reduced quality of life. Herein, we report two SCI patients who presented with good response to pulsed radiofrequency（PRF） for t...Spasticity following spinal cord injury（SCI） results in functional deterioration and reduced quality of life. Herein, we report two SCI patients who presented with good response to pulsed radiofrequency（PRF） for the management of spasticity in the lower extremities. Patient 1（a 47-year-old man） had complete thoracic cord injury and showed a phasic spasticity on the extensor of both knees（3–4 beats clonus per every 30 seconds） and tonic spasticity（Modified Ashworth Scale： 3） on both hip adductors. Patient 2（a 64-yearold man） had incomplete cervical cord injury and showed a right ankle clonus（approximately 20 beats） when he walked. After the application of PRF to both L2 and L3 dorsal root ganglion（DRG）（patient 1） and right S1 DRG（patient 2） with 5 Hz and 5 ms pulsed width for 360 seconds at 45 V under the C-arm guide, all spasticity disappeared or was reduced. Moreover, the effects of PRF were sustained for approximately 6 months with no side effects. We believe that PRF treatment can be useful for patients with spasticity after SCI.展开更多
Lentinan is a clinically approved immune modulator and its anticancer and immunomodulatory bioactivity is found to be dependent on its triple helical conformation. Therefore, the development of rapid and convenient me...Lentinan is a clinically approved immune modulator and its anticancer and immunomodulatory bioactivity is found to be dependent on its triple helical conformation. Therefore, the development of rapid and convenient method for determination of bioactive lentinan with triple helical conformation holds great promise for the quality control of lentinan healthy products. In this work, an aniline blue fluorescent method was optimized and established to accurately and rapidly detect bioactive lentinan. In the presence of lentinan, the fluorescence intensity of aniline blue with 404 nm excitation and 492 nm emission dramatically enhanced within 15 min in pH 10 glycine-NaOH buffer solution, which allowed the analysis of lentinan in a very simple and fast manner. The method allowed for the sensitive determination of lentinan in the range of 1 to 60 μg/mL with a detection limit of 0.25 μg/mL. Notably, the protocol exhibited excellent selectivity for the determination of triple helical lentinan over other saccharides. The method was successfully applied to the detection of bioactive lentinan in health tonic solution, which demonstrated the method had great potential for quality control of lentinan contained products.展开更多
Drs. Rigatem, Rigatelli, and Trivellato present a complete retrospective review of the prevalence of congenital coronary abnormalities in a cohort of consecutive adult patients catheterized at their institution and co...Drs. Rigatem, Rigatelli, and Trivellato present a complete retrospective review of the prevalence of congenital coronary abnormalities in a cohort of consecutive adult patients catheterized at their institution and compare them to younger patients ＜ 65 years of age.They review in detail the clinical implications of these findings and then offer an algorithm for management. This article is particularly timely and significant as we move into an era of non-invasive coronary imaging with CT,MRI, and improved echo that will allow ns to make these diagnoses more often and with greater accuracy in younger patients. This will have a significant impact on the nanagement of symptomatic patients diagnosed at catheterization but also on asymptomatic patients diagnosed on screening evaluations.展开更多
Headaches of the neurofunctional type,blood vascular type,neuro-vascular type,andmusculotonic type are commonly encounteredclinically.The authors report a nasal inhalantof Chinese herbal drugs which has been effec-tiv...Headaches of the neurofunctional type,blood vascular type,neuro-vascular type,andmusculotonic type are commonly encounteredclinically.The authors report a nasal inhalantof Chinese herbal drugs which has been effec-tive in the treatment of these varieties ofheadache.展开更多
Recent research on cancer prevention andtherapy in China and abroad show that certainChinese medicinal herbs have anti-cancer effect.Sioving in vitro and in vivo effects of variousherbs in China and similar experiment...Recent research on cancer prevention andtherapy in China and abroad show that certainChinese medicinal herbs have anti-cancer effect.Sioving in vitro and in vivo effects of variousherbs in China and similar experimental workreported by Sato of Japan in 1976,we foundthat all yielded positive results.The effects ofsome herbs were notable and did little or noharm to normal cells.Ningxia wolfberry(Lycium Barbarum L.)has long been known asan excellent tonic.But no report has to展开更多
文摘NFAT5 plays a critical role in maintaining the renal functions. Its dis-regulation in the kidney leads to or is associated with certain renal diseases or disorders, most notably the urinary concentration defect. Hypertonicity, which the kidney medulla is normally exposed to,activates NFAT5 through phosphorylation of a signaling molecule or NFAT5 itself. Hypotonicity inhibits NFAT5 through a similar mechanism. More than a dozen of protein and lipid kinases have been identified to contribute to tonicity-dependent regulation of NFAT5. Hypertonicity activates NFAT5 by increasing its nuclear localization and transactivating activity in the early phase and protein abundance in the late phase. The known mechanism for inhibition of NFAT5 by hypotonicity is a decrease of nuclear NFAT5. The present article reviews the effect of each kinase on NFAT5 nuclear localization, transactivation and protein abundance, and the relationship among these kinases, if known. Cyclosporine A and tacrolimus suppress immune reactions by inhibiting the phosphatase calcineurin-dependent activation of NFAT1. It is hoped that this review would stimulate the interest to seek explanations from the NFAT5 regulatory pathways for certain clinical presentations and to explore novel therapeutic approaches based on the pathways. On the basic science front, this review raises two interesting questions. The first one is how these kinases can specifcally signal to NFAT5 in the context of hypertonicity or hypotonicity, because they also regulate other cellular activities and even opposite activities in some cases. The second one is why these many kinases, some of which might have redundant functions, are needed to regulate NFAT5 activity. This review reiterates the concept of signaling through cooperation. Cells need these kinases working in a coordinated way to provide the signaling specificity that is lacking in the individual one. Redundancy in regulation of NFAT5 is a critical strategy for cells to maintain robustness against hypertonic or hypotonic stress.
基金Supported by the Basic Research Program of the Korea Science & Engineering Foundation (No. 2009-0068732)the Basic Research Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (No.2011-0020163)+1 种基金the Bio-Industry Technology Development Program funded by the Korea Institute of Planning & Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture Forestry & Fisheries (No.112005-3)the BK21 Program and by the MRC program of KRF (R13-2005-012-01001-1)
文摘AIM: To study the contribution of tonicity response element binding protein(Ton EBP) in retinal ganglion cell(RGC) death of diabetic retinopathy(DR).METHODS: Diabetes was induced in C57BL/6 mice by five consecutive intraperitoneal injections of 55 mg/kg streptozotocin(STZ). Control mice received vehicle(phosphate-buffered saline). All mice were killed 2mo after injections, and the extent of cell death and the protein expression levels of Ton EBP and aldose reductase(AR) were examined.RESULTS: The Ton EBP and AR protein levels and the death of RGC were significantly increased in the retinas of diabetic mice compared with controls 2mo after the induction of diabetes. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase(Td T)-mediated d UTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)-positive signals co-localized with Ton EBP immunoreactive RGC. These changes were increased in the diabetic retinas compared with controls.CONCLUSION: The present data show that AR and Ton EBP are upregulated in the DR and Ton EBP may contribute to apoptosis of RGC in the DR.
基金supported by grants from the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation and NIH R01NS081063 to GDBDepartment of Defense award W81XWH-19-2-0054 (to GDB)。
文摘Most organ or tissue allografts with viable cells are sto red in solutions ex vivo for hours to seve ral days.Most allografts then require rapid host revascula rization upon transplantation to maintain donor-cell functions(e.g.,cardiac muscle contra ctions,hepatic secretions).In contrast,peripheral nerve allografts stored ex vivo do not require revascularization to act as scaffolds to guide outgrowth by host axons at 1-2 mm/d,likely aided by viable donor Schwann cells.Using current storage solutions and protocols,axons in all these donor orga n/tissue/nerve transplants are expected to rapidly become non-viable due to Wallerian degeneration within days.Therefore,ex vivo storage solutions have not been assessed for preserving normal axonal functions,i.e.,conducting action potentials or maintaining myelin sheaths.We hypothesized that most or all organ storage solutions would maintain axonal viability.We examined several common organ/tissue storage solutions(University of Wisconsin Cold Storage Solution,Normosol-R,Normal Saline,and La ctated Ringe rs) for axonal viability in rat sciatic nerves ex vivo as assessed by maintaining:(1) conduction of artificially-induced compound action potentials;and(2) axonal and myelin morphology in a novel assay method.The ten diffe rent storage solution conditions for peripheral nerves with viable axons(PNVAs) diffe red in their solution composition,osmolarity(250-318 mOsm),temperature(4℃ vs.25℃),and presence of calcium.Compound action potentials and axonal morphology in PNVAs were best maintained for up to 9 days ex vivo in calcium-free hypotonic diluted(250 mOsm) Normosol-R(dNR) at 4℃.Surprisingly,compound action potentials were maintained for only 1-2 days in UW and NS at 4℃,a much shorter duration than PNVAs maintained in 4℃ dNR(9 days) or even in 25℃ dNR(5 days).Viable axons in peripheral nerve allografts are critical for successful polyethylene glycol(PEG)-fusion of viable proximal and distal ends of host axons with viable donor axons to repair segmental-loss peripheral nerve injuries.PEG-fusion repair using PNVAs prevents Wallerian degeneration of many axons within and distal to the graft and results in excellent recovery of sensory/motor functions and voluntary behaviors within weeks.Such PEG-fused PNVAs,unlike all other types of conventional donor transplants,are immune-tolerated without tissue matching or immune suppression.Preserving axonal viability in sto red PNVAs would enable the establishment of PNVA tissue banks to address the current shortage of transplantable nerve grafts and the use of stored PEG-fused PNVAs to repair segmentalloss peripheral nerve injuries.Furthermore,PNVA storage solutions may enable the optimization of ex vivo storage solutions to maintain axons in other types of organ/tissue transplants.
文摘Speaking is a productive skill and it is acknowledged to be hard for learners to master.Certain elements related to phonetics in discourse analysis,which play a significant role in EFL teaching of speaking,seem to be neglected.This paper analyses three of these elements:pause,intonation and tonic syllable,and their application in the teaching of speaking.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(6130513361573285)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(3102016CG002)
文摘When the training data are insufficient, especially when only a small sample size of data is available, domain knowledge will be taken into the process of learning parameters to improve the performance of the Bayesian networks. In this paper, a new monotonic constraint model is proposed to represent a type of common domain knowledge. And then, the monotonic constraint estimation algorithm is proposed to learn the parameters with the monotonic constraint model. In order to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm, series of experiments are carried out. The experiment results show that the proposed algorithm is able to obtain more accurate parameters compared to some existing algorithms while the complexity is not the highest.
基金Leading Project of Fujian Science and Technology Plan(2019Y6005)Innovation Fund Project of Fujian Provincial Department of Science and Technology(2018C0041)+1 种基金Fujian Soft Science Research Project(2018ER019)Horizontal Project of School-enterprise Cooperation(104/KH180151A).
文摘Tonic Chinese herbs Pseudostellaria heterophylla has complex components,which has both medicinal and nutritional effects,and the clinical research on anti-oxidation of P.heterophylla has become a hotspot.By searching domestic and foreign databases,the antioxidant literatures of P.heterophylla were searched,consulted,sorted,classified and analyzed,and systematic reevaluation of antioxidant function was conducted from three aspects of P.heterophylla extract in vitro chemical method,biological method and animal test method according to evaluation criteria for antioxidant activity of traditional Chinese medicine and Meta analysis statistical methods.The results would provide systematic reference for further research and development of P.heterophylla,especially for forage value excavation and development of P.heterophylla in the field of modern animal breeding.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31129003,81100815,81171224, 81401082,and 81301108)the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality,China(13DJ1400302, 13ZR1406500,and 11ZR1401700)
文摘Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors （GABAARs）-mediated tonic inhibition is reported to involve in the patho- genesis of epilepsy. In this study, we used cyclo- thiazide （CTZ）-induced in vitro brain slice seizure model to explore the effect of selective activation of extrasynaptic GABAARS by 4,5,6,7-tetra- hydroisoxazolo[5,4-c] pyridine-3-ol （THIP） on the CTZ-induced epileptiform activity in hippocampal neurons. Perfusion with CTZ dose-dependently induced multiple epileptiform peaks of evoked population spikes （PSs）in CA1 pyramidal neurons, and treatment with THIP （5 μmol/L） significantly reduced the multiple PS peaks induced by CTZ stimulation. Western blot showed that the 6-subunit of the GABAAR, an extrasynaptic specific GABAAR subunit, was also significantly down-regulated in the cell membrane 2 h after CTZ treatment. Our results suggest that the CTZ-induced epileptiform activity in hippocampal CA1 neurons is suppressed by the activation of extrasynaptic GABAARs, and further support the hypothesis that tonic inhibition mediated by extrasynaptic GABAARs plays a prominent role in seizure generation.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(81473549)National Natural Science Foundation of China Youth Fund Project(31402237)+1 种基金National "major New Drug Creation" Major Science and Technology Projects(2014ZX09304-306-04)Ministry of Education of the Central University Basic Scientific Research Business Fee(XDJK2015D016)
文摘The immune system as an important defense system of the body,bear the resistance to foreign pathogens invasion,removal of foreign heterogeneity,and protect the body′s safety.Modern research shows that tonic Chinese medicine,including single herband compound formula,has the function of improving immune organ index,enhancing immune cellfunction and affecting the immune molecule production and secretion.This article will review the effects of traditional Chinese medicine on immune organs,immune cells and immune molecules,and provide reference for the clinical research of traditional Chinese medicine.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.31201999)the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (No.2014A030307022)+5 种基金the Special Support Program of Guangdong Province, China (No.2014TQ01N621)the Foundation for Distinguished Young Teachers in Higher Education of Guangdong, China (No.Yq2014115)the Foundation of Education Bureau of Guangdong Province (No.2014KTSCX159)the Technology Program of Guangdong Province (No.2015A030302089)the Overseas Scholarship Program for Elite Young and Middle-aged Teachers of Lingnan Normal University, the Technology Program of Zhanjiang (Nos.2015A03017, 2014A03011)the Guangxi Key Laboratory of Beibu Gulf Marine Biodiversity Conservation, Qinzhou University (No.2015KB04)
文摘Fish maw(the dried swimbladders of fish) is ranked in the list of the four sea treasures in Chinese cuisine. Fish maw is mainly produced from croaker, which is the most highly priced. However, some of the fish maw being sold as croaker maw are in fact not from croaker, but from the Nile perch Lates niloticus. The present work determined and compared the proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid composition of croaker Protonibea diacanthus maw and perch L. niloticus maw. The results indicated that both maws were high protein sources and low in fat content. The dominant amino acids in both maws were glycine, proline, glutamic acid, alanine and arginine. These amino acids constituted 66.2% and 66.4% of the total amino acids in P. diacanthus and L. niloticus, respectively. The ratio of FAA: TAA(functional amino acids: total amino acids) in both maws were 0.69. This is a good explanation for why fish maws have been widely utilized as a traditional tonic and remedy in Asia. Except valine and histidine, all the essential amino acid contents in P. diacanthus were higher than in L. niloticus. Moreover, croaker P. diacanthus maw contained more AA and DHA than perch L. niloticus maw, showing a higher ratio of n-3 / n-6, which is more desirable.
基金Supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences(Grant No.92-03-96-24313)
文摘Considering the fact that liver is one of the most important organs in our body,it deserves special attention and protection.Among various recommended supplements,complementary and alternative medicines particularly herbal remedies have received much attention owing to their truly healing properties.This review profits from Iranian traditional medicine and presents advantageous herbal guide directions for liver protection.According to credible Iranian medical literature such as Al Qanun Fil Tibb.Al-Havi and Makhzan-al-Aadvia.a wide spectrum of plants have been found to be useful for cleansing and protecting the liver.Some herbs such as ghafes(Agrimonia eupatoria),kasni(Cichorium intybus),anar(Punica granatum),darchin(Cinnamomum zeylanicum),za'feran(Crocus sativus),gole-sorkh(Rosa damascena) and zereshk(Berberis vulgaris) appeared to get strong consideration and were well documented as outstanding liver tonics.We conducted a comprehensive review of available Iranian medical resources such as scientific information database and medical sciences databases which cover all in vitro and in vivo studies of medicinal plants as liver tonics and hepatoprotcctive candidates.Literature survey was accomplished using multiple databases including PubMed,ISI web of knowledge,and Google Scholar.
文摘Brood parasites such as the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus exploit the parental abilities of their hosts,hosts avoid brood parasitism and predation by showing specific behavior such as loss of feathers,emission of fear screams and contact calls,displaying wriggle behavior to avoid hosts or potential prey,pecking at hosts and prey,and expressing tonic immobility(showing behavior like feigning death or rapid escape from predators and brood parasites).These aspects of escape behavior are consistent for individuals but also among sites,seasons,and years.Escape behavior expressed in response to a broad range of cuckoo hosts and prey are consistently used against capture by humans,but also hosts and brood parasites and predators and their prey.An interspecific comparative phylogenetic analysis of escape behavior by hosts and their brood parasites and prey and their predators revealed evidence of consistent behavior when encountering potential parasites or predators.We hypothesize that personality axes such as those ranging from fearfulness to being bold,and from neophobic to curiosity response in brood parasites constitute important components of defense against brood parasitism that reduces the overall risk of parasitism.
基金Supported by Research Fund from Chosun Hospital 2008
文摘AIM：To explore the role of prostaglandin F2α（PGF2α） on pacemaker activity in interstitial cells of Cajal（ICC）from mouse small intestine. METHODS：In this study,effects of PGF2αin the cultured ICC cells were investigated with patch clamp technology combined with Ca 2＋ image analysis. RESULTS：Externally applied PGF2α（10μmol/L）produced membrane depolarization in current-clamp mode and increased tonic inward pacemaker currents in voltage-clamp mode.The application of flufenamic acid（a non-selective cation channel inhibitor）or niflumic acid（aCl channel inhibitor）abolished the generation of pacemaker currents but only flufenamic acid inhibited the PGF2α-induced tonic inward currents.In addition,the tonic inward currents induced by PGF2αwere not inhibited by intracellular application of 5’-[-thio]diphosphate trilithium salt.Pretreatment with Ca 2＋ free solution, U-73122,an active phospholipase C inhibitor,and thapsigargin,a Ca 2＋ -ATPase inhibitor in endoplasmic reticulum,abolished the generation of pacemaker currents and suppressed the PGF2α-induced tonic inward currents.However,chelerythrine or calphostin C,protein kinase C inhibitors,did not block the PGF2α-induced effects on pacemaker currents.When recording intracellular Ca 2＋ （[Ca 2＋ ]i）concentration using fluo-3/AM,PGF2α broadly increased the spontaneous[Ca 2＋ ]i oscillations. CONCLUSION：These results suggest that PGF2αcan modulate pacemaker activity of ICC by acting non-selective action channels through phospholipase C-dependent pathway via[Ca2＋]i regulation
文摘Spasticity following spinal cord injury（SCI） results in functional deterioration and reduced quality of life. Herein, we report two SCI patients who presented with good response to pulsed radiofrequency（PRF） for the management of spasticity in the lower extremities. Patient 1（a 47-year-old man） had complete thoracic cord injury and showed a phasic spasticity on the extensor of both knees（3–4 beats clonus per every 30 seconds） and tonic spasticity（Modified Ashworth Scale： 3） on both hip adductors. Patient 2（a 64-yearold man） had incomplete cervical cord injury and showed a right ankle clonus（approximately 20 beats） when he walked. After the application of PRF to both L2 and L3 dorsal root ganglion（DRG）（patient 1） and right S1 DRG（patient 2） with 5 Hz and 5 ms pulsed width for 360 seconds at 45 V under the C-arm guide, all spasticity disappeared or was reduced. Moreover, the effects of PRF were sustained for approximately 6 months with no side effects. We believe that PRF treatment can be useful for patients with spasticity after SCI.
文摘Lentinan is a clinically approved immune modulator and its anticancer and immunomodulatory bioactivity is found to be dependent on its triple helical conformation. Therefore, the development of rapid and convenient method for determination of bioactive lentinan with triple helical conformation holds great promise for the quality control of lentinan healthy products. In this work, an aniline blue fluorescent method was optimized and established to accurately and rapidly detect bioactive lentinan. In the presence of lentinan, the fluorescence intensity of aniline blue with 404 nm excitation and 492 nm emission dramatically enhanced within 15 min in pH 10 glycine-NaOH buffer solution, which allowed the analysis of lentinan in a very simple and fast manner. The method allowed for the sensitive determination of lentinan in the range of 1 to 60 μg/mL with a detection limit of 0.25 μg/mL. Notably, the protocol exhibited excellent selectivity for the determination of triple helical lentinan over other saccharides. The method was successfully applied to the detection of bioactive lentinan in health tonic solution, which demonstrated the method had great potential for quality control of lentinan contained products.
文摘Drs. Rigatem, Rigatelli, and Trivellato present a complete retrospective review of the prevalence of congenital coronary abnormalities in a cohort of consecutive adult patients catheterized at their institution and compare them to younger patients ＜ 65 years of age.They review in detail the clinical implications of these findings and then offer an algorithm for management. This article is particularly timely and significant as we move into an era of non-invasive coronary imaging with CT,MRI, and improved echo that will allow ns to make these diagnoses more often and with greater accuracy in younger patients. This will have a significant impact on the nanagement of symptomatic patients diagnosed at catheterization but also on asymptomatic patients diagnosed on screening evaluations.
文摘Headaches of the neurofunctional type,blood vascular type,neuro-vascular type,andmusculotonic type are commonly encounteredclinically.The authors report a nasal inhalantof Chinese herbal drugs which has been effec-tive in the treatment of these varieties ofheadache.
文摘Recent research on cancer prevention andtherapy in China and abroad show that certainChinese medicinal herbs have anti-cancer effect.Sioving in vitro and in vivo effects of variousherbs in China and similar experimental workreported by Sato of Japan in 1976,we foundthat all yielded positive results.The effects ofsome herbs were notable and did little or noharm to normal cells.Ningxia wolfberry(Lycium Barbarum L.)has long been known asan excellent tonic.But no report has to
