Salidroside promotes angiogenesis after cerebral ischemia in mice through Shh signaling pathway.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to explore the impacts of salidroside on vascular regeneration, vascular structural changes and long-term neurological recuperation following cerebral ischemia and its possible mechanism. MAIN METHODS: From Day 1 to Day 28, young male mice with middle cerebral artery blockage received daily doses of salidroside and measured neurological deficits. On the 7th day after stroke, the volume of cerebral infarction was determined using TTC and HE staining. Microvascular density, astrocyte coverage, angiogenesis and the expression of the Shh signaling pathway were detected by IF, qRTPCR and WB at 7, 14 and 28 days after stroke. Changes in blood flow, blood vessel density and diameter from stroke to 28 days were measured by the LSCI and TPMI. KEY FINDINGS: Compared with the dMACO group, the salidroside treatment group significantly promoted the recovery of neurological function. Salidroside was found to enhance cerebral blood flow perfusion and reduce the infarct on the 7th day after stroke. From the 7th to the 28th day after stroke, salidroside treatment boosted the expression of CD31, CD31+/BrdU+, and GFAP in the cortex around the infarction site. On the 14th day after stroke, salidroside significantly enhanced the width and density of blood vessels. Salidroside increased the expression of histones and genes in the Shh signaling pathway during treatment, and this effect was weakened by the Shh inhibitor Cyclopamine. SIGNIFICANCE: Salidroside can restore nerve function, improve cerebral blood flow, reduce cerebral infarction volume, increase microvessel density and promote angiogenesis via the Shh signaling pathway.

Temperature-dependent Raman spectra and thermal expansion of MgP2O6.

The Raman spectra and thermal expansion of MgP2O6 metaphosphate were investigated at various temperatures up to 1073 K at ambient pressure. No temperature-induced phase transition was observed in this study. The effect of temperature on the Raman active vibrations and unit cell parameters was determined. All the observed Raman active bands of MgP2O6 showed linear temperature dependences in the range of -2.61 × 10-2 âˆ¼ -0.49 × 10-2 cm-1 K-1. The thermal expansion coefficient of MgP2O6 was estimated to be 3.21(2) × 10-5 K-1. An axial anisotropic thermal expansion exists and the c-axis shows the smallest thermal expansion. The isobaric mode Grüneisen parameters of MgP2O6 were calculated. The obtained results were compared with other compounds in the MgO-P2O5 system.

Pressure- and temperature-dependent Raman spectra of Ca2Fe2O5 oxygen defect perovskite.

The Raman spectra of Ca2Fe2O5 were investigated up to 21.8 GPa at room temperature and up to 1073 K at ambient pressure, respectively. A phase transition begins around 13.6 GPa and it is reversible after decompression. No temperature-induced phase transition was observed due to the quality of Raman spectra at temperatures above 773 K. The effects of pressure and temperature on the Raman vibration were quantitatively analyzed. All the observed Raman active vibrations of Ca2Fe2O5 show positive linear pressure dependences and negative temperature dependences with different slopes. Combined with previous experimental results, the isothermal and isobaric mode Grüneisen parameters of Ca2Fe2O5 were estimated, and the intrinsic anharmonicity was discussed.

Raman spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction study of α- and ß-Mg2P2O7 at various temperatures.

Raman spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns of Mg2P2O7 polymorphs (α- and ß-phase) were investigated at various temperatures up to 1073 K at ambient pressure. Typical Raman spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns were observed for the reversible phase transition between low-temperature α-Mg2P2O7 and high- temperature ß-Mg2P2O7 during heating and cooling. The effect of temperature on the Raman vibrations for the two Mg2P2O7 polymorphs was quantitatively analyzed. All the observed Raman active bands of the two Mg2P2O7 polymorphs showed linear temperature dependence with different slopes. The quantitative temperature dependences of the Raman bands are -4.01 × 10-2 âˆ¼ 1.94 × 10-2 and -2.31 × 10-2 âˆ¼ -0.44 × 10-2 cm-1 K-1 for α- and ß-Mg2P2O7, respectively. The force constant evolution of [P2O7]4- stretching vibrations and the temperature derivatives for both α- and ß-Mg2P2O7 were also determined. The thermal expansion coefficient of ß-Mg2P2O7 was estimated at 2.97(8) × 10-5 K-1. Hence the isobaric mode Grüneisen parameters of ß-Mg2P2O7 were calculated.

Phase transition of Mg3(PO4)2 polymorphs at high-temperature: In-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic study.

In-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to study the stabilities, thermal expansion and vibrational modes of synthetic Mg3(PO4)2. The polymorphs (Mg3(PO4)2-I, II, III) were investigated in the temperature range of 299 âˆ¼ 1173 K at ambient pressure. An irreversible phase transition was observed for both Mg3(PO4)2-II and Mg3(PO4)2-III, whereas Mg3(PO4)2-I is stable in the present study. Based on the in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic measurements, Mg3(PO4)2-II and Mg3(PO4)2-III transform to Mg3(PO4)2-I at 1073 K and 1023 K, respectively. The volumetric thermal expansion coefficients of Mg3(PO4)2-I, II and III were determined as 3.31(4) × 10-5 K-1, 3.91(4) × 10-5 K-1, and 3.25(5) × 10-5 K-1, respectively. All three Mg3(PO4)2 polymorphs show axial thermal expansive anisotropy since the thermal expansion coefficients along different axes are inconsistent. The effect of temperature on the Raman vibrations of the three Mg3(PO4)2 polymorphs was quantitatively analyzed. And the isobaric mode Grüneisen parameters of three Mg3(PO4)2 polymorphs are calculated, which are in the range of 0.07 âˆ¼ 3.54.

Alterations of Oral Microbiota in Chinese Patients With Esophageal Cancer.

Emerging evidence supports that oral microbiota are associated with health and diseases of the esophagus. How oral microbiota change in Chinese patients with esophageal cancer (EC) is unknown, neither is their biomarker role. For an objective to understand alterations of oral microbiota in Chinese EC patients, we conducted a case-control study including saliva samples from 39 EC patients and 51 healthy volunteers. 16S rDNA genes of V3-V4 variable regions were sequenced to identify taxon. Relationship between oral flora and disease was analyzed according to alpha diversity and beta diversity. Resultantly, the Shannon index (p = 0.2) and the Simpson diversity index (p = 0.071) were not significant between the two groups. Yet we still found several species different in abundance between the two groups. For the EC group, the most significantly increased taxa were Firmicutes, Negativicutes, Selenomonadales, Prevotellaceae, Prevotella, and Veillonellaceae, while the most significantly decreased taxa were Proteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Neisseriales, Neisseriaceae, and Neisseria. In conclusion, there are significant alterations in abundance of some oral microbiomes between the EC patients and the healthy controls in the studied Chinese participants, which may be meaningful for predicting the development of EC, and the potential roles of these species in EC development deserve further studies.

The Distribution and Imaging of 99mTc-nGO-PEG-FA in Human Patu8988 Tumor-Bearing Nude Mice.

Background: To study the distribution and imaging of 99mTc-nGO-PEG-FA in human pancreatic cancer Patu8988 tumor-bearing nude mice, and to explore its usefulness as an imaging reagent for pancreatic cancer. Materials and Methods: Natural graphite powder was used as raw material to prepare the nanosized graphene oxide (nGO) by using the modified Hummers method, and then was covalently modified by polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the surface of nGO. The nGO was further optimized by in vitro cell experiment, and then conjugated with the targeting molecule folic acid (FA) to form nGO-PEG-FA system. The nGO-PEG-FA was finally labeled by radioactive nuclide 99mTc by direct labeling method to form the 99mTc-nGO-PEG-FA molecular imaging probe. Nude mice bearing patu8988 pancreatic cancer xenografts were intravenous injection (I.V.) injected with 99mTc-nGO-PEG-FA, and the distribution of 99mTc-nGO-PEG-FA in nude mice at different time course was investigated by determination of tissue uptake of radioactivity (%ID/g), as well as the single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging at different time course. Results: The labeling rate of nGO-PEG-FA with 99mTc was (90.08 ± 2.34)%, and the highest binding rate of 99mTc-nGO-PEG-FA with Patu8988 cells was (3.15 ± 0.31)%. The radioactive uptake in tumor reached (5.11 ± 1.23)%ID/g at 6 h after I.V. injection of 99mTc-nGO-PEG-FA in nude mice. Meanwhile, the radioactive uptake in liver, spleen, and lung was also high and reached (10.33 ± 1.22)%ID/g, (5.86 ± 0.59)%ID/g, and (3.55 ± 0.93)%ID/g, respectively, whereas less radioactivity uptake was observed in the heart (1.12 ± 0.33)%ID/g and blood (2.76 ± 0.39)%ID/g, respectively. The tumors can be clearly imaged at 4.0-6.0 h after 99mTc-nGO-PEG-FA injection. Conclusions: 99mTc-nGO-PEG-FA can efficiently target pancreatic cancer, which may be developed as an imaging agent for pancreatic cancer.

Protective mechanisms of wogonoside against Lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine-induced acute liver injury in mice.

Wogonoside, a bioactive flavonoid extracted from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, has been reported to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. In this study, we examined the protective effects of wogonoside against lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-induced liver injury in mice. Mice were given an intraperitoneal injection of wogonoside 1h before LPS and d-GalN treatment. The results showed that wogonoside inhibited the production of serum Alanine transaminase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), IL-1ß, TNF-α, and hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) content induced by LPS/GalN. In addition, wogonoside promoted the expression of Nrf2, NQO-1, GCLC, and HO-1. Wogonoside inhibited the expression of hepatic NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, and IL-1ß induced by LPS/GalN. In conclusion, these results suggest that wogonoside protects against LPS/GalN-induced acute liver injury by activating Nrf2 and inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

FTIR investigation of CTAB-Al-montmorillonite complexes.

In this study, CTAB-Al-montmorillonite complexes were synthesized by pre-modifying montmorillonite using different concentrations of surfactant (resulting in different surfactant loadings and basal spacings), then pillaring the organoclays with hydroxy-Al cations. The resultant inorganic-organic montmorillonite complexes were characterized using FTIR, with a combination of XRD, TG and chemical analysis. This study indicates that the basal spacings of the CTAB-Al-montmorillonite complexes and the amounts of Al-contained pillars strongly depend on the surfactant loadings in the clay interlayer space, resulted from the mobility variation of the intercalated surfactants. During pillaring hydroxy-Al cations into clay interlayer space, part of the intercalated surfactants were removed, resulting in a decrease of the ordering of alkyl chains and the frequency shifts of Si(Al)-O, Si-O-Al and (M-O)(Td) stretching vibrations. The hydrophobicity of the CTAB-Al-montmorillonite complex also strongly depends on the surfactant loading whereas that of the CTAB-Al-montmorillonite complex is relative lower than that of the corresponding organoclay, indicated by the frequency shift of the vibrations corresponding to the sorbed water and their contents estimated by TG curves. With the decrease of the sorbed water content, the frequency of the band of H-O-H bending (nu(2)) shifts to higher frequency while the O-H stretching vibration (nu(1) and nu(3)) shifts to lower frequency, indicating that H(2)O is less hydrogen bonded. Meanwhile, the ordered conformations of the alkyl chains in CTAB-Al-montmorillonite complex decrease when compared with that of the corresponding organoclay.