Malus toringoides (Rehd.) Hughes decoction alleviates isoproterenol-induced cardiac fibrosis by inhibiting cardiomyocyte inflammation and pyroptosis via the HK1/NLRP3 signaling pathway.

Malus toringoides (Rehd.) Hughes, called "Eseye (Ese)," is a traditional medicinal plant from the Tibet province of China that has proven effective in treating cardiac conditions due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and antiapoptotic properties. In this study, we explored the underlying protective mechanisms of Ese decoction in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced cardiac fibrosis (CF) and established the fact that treatment with an Ese decoction attenuated tissue injury, decreased the release of IL-1ß, IL-18, TNF-α, and caspase-3, and elevated the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in CF mice. We also found that with Ese treatment damage to the mitochondrial ultrastructure of myocardium was alleviated, and the level of reactive oxygen species was markedly diminished. Ese inhibited the expression of proteins associated with pyroptosis by the HK1/NLRP3 signaling pathway and also improved CF. Due to the anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and antiapoptotic characteristics of Ese decoction, we found that Ese protected against ISO-induced CF, by inhibiting inflammation and pyroptosis as mediated by the HK1/NLRP3 signaling pathway.

Image Fiber-Based Miniature Suspended Solid Sensor with High Accuracy and a Large Dynamic Range.

An image fiber-based miniature suspended solid sensor has been demonstrated. The diameter of the sensor is only a few millimeters. A superhydrophobic material is coated on the end of the image fiber to avoid the adsorption of suspended solids and bubbles. Multiple parameters, including mass concentration, morphology and particle sizes of suspended solids, can be visually measured in real time. Dynamic ranges of 0 ~100 kg/m3, full range accuracies of ±2‰ and a response time of 0.05 s were experimentally realized for the mass concentration measurements. Determinations of particle sizes of the suspended solids are also presented by means of digital image processing. This new technique will significantly advance ultralow-intrusion measurements in studies on the dynamics of suspended solids.

3D printed low-loss THz waveguide based on Kagome photonic crystal structure.

A low-loss hollow core terahertz waveguide based on Kagome photonic crystal structure has been designed and fabricated by 3D printing. The 3D printed waveguide has been characterized by using THz time-domain spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that the obtained waveguide features average power propagation loss of 0.02 cm-1 for 0.2-1.0 THz (the minimum is about 0.002 cm-1 at 0.75 THz). More interesting, it could be simply mechanically spliced without any additional alignment, while maintaining the excellent performance. The 3D printing technique will be a promising solution to fabricate Kagome THz waveguide with well controllable characteristics and low cost.