Subthreshold micropulse laser therapy for early postoperative macular thickening following surgical removal of epiretinal membrane.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the functional and anatomical outcomes of subthreshold micropulse laser (SMPL) therapy in eyes with early postoperative macular thickening after idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM) removal. METHODS: This was a prospective and interventional study. Forty-eight eyes from 48 patients with macular edema at 1 month after iERM removal were randomly divided into two groups. Patients in the SMPL group (n = 24) received SMPL therapy while no special intervention was used for the observation group (n = 24). Baseline demographic data and clinical findings before and at 1 and 3 months after SMPL treatment or observation, including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and the changes in central subfield thickness (CST) and average macular thickness (AMT), were analyzed. RESULTS: An improvement in BCVA with a decrease in CST and AMT from baseline to the 3-month follow-ups were observed in both SMPL and observation groups. No significant difference in BCVA was observed between the SMPL group and observation group either in the 1-month (0.26 [0.15, 0.52] vs. 0.26 [0.15, 0.39], P = 0.852) or the 3-month (0.15 [0.10, 0.30] vs. 0.23 [0.15, 0.30], P = 0.329) follow-up. There was a greater reduction in CST in the SMPL group versus observation group between baseline and the 3-month follow-up (-77.8 ± 72.3 µm vs. -45.0 ± 46.9 µm, P = 0.049). The alteration in AMT did not differ between the two groups in either 1-month (-16.5 ± 20.1 µm vs. -19.7 ± 16.3 µm, P = 0.547) or 3-month (-36.9 ± 26.9 µm vs. -34.0 ± 20.1 µm, P = 0.678) follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: SMPL therapy led to a significant decrease in CST at the 3-month follow-up while did not significantly improve the visual acuity in patients with postoperative macular thickening following iERM surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered on Aug 27, 2020 (Trial Registration Number: ChiCTR 2000037227).

Evaluation of combined epiretinal membrane removal with intravitreal triamcinolone injection utilizing ectopic inner foveal layer staging scheme.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the macular morphological and visual outcomes of combined idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM) removal with triamcinolone acetonide (TA) injection based on consideration of the ectopic inner foveal layer (EIFL) staging scheme. METHODS: Retrospective case-control study. The clinical data of 84 eyes of 84 patients who underwent vitrectomy for iERM between 2018 and 2022 were reviewed. The enrolled subjects were divided into the TA and non-TA groups. Fifty-one eyes received intravitreal TA injection following vitrectomy and ERM peeling (TA group), and 33 were only treated by standard vitrectomy and ERM peeling (non-TA group). Preoperative and postoperative EIFL stages, central foveal thickness (CFT), and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were compared between both groups. RESULTS: After a mean follow-up of 7.69 ± 3.68 months, both groups exhibited significant improvement in EIFL stages (P < 0.01), with no discernible advantage observed in the TA group. The TA and non-TA groups demonstrated improvement in the EIFL stages in 56.86 and 63.64% of eyes, respectively (P = 0.43). The CFT and BCVA significantly improved in both groups at the final visit (P < 0.01). However, CFT in the non-TA group displayed a more significant reduction during the follow-up (P < 0.03). Subgroup analysis revealed no significant differences in postoperative CFT and BCVA between the two groups in cases with or without continuous EIFL (P > 0.10). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that combined intravitreal TA injection following ERM removal conferred no significant benefits in alleviating macular thickening or improving visual acuity in iERM.

Robust phase unwrapping via non-local regularization.

Phase unwrapping is an indispensable step in recovering the true phase from a modulo-2π phase. Conventional phase unwrapping methods suffer from error propagation under severe noise. In this Letter, we propose an iterative framework for robust phase unwrapping with high fidelity. The proposed method utilizes the transport-of-intensity equation to solve the phase unwrapping problem with high computational efficiency. To further improve reconstruction accuracy, we take advantage of non-local structural similarity using low-rank regularization. Meanwhile, we use an adaptive iteration strategy that dynamically and automatically updates the denoising parameter to avoid over-smoothing and preserve image details. A set of simulation and experimental results validates the proposed method, which can provide satisfying results under severe noise conditions, and outperform existing state-of-the-art phase unwrapping methods with at least 6 dB higher peak SNR (PSNR).

Robust Kramers-Kronig holographic imaging with Hilbert-Huang transform.

Holography based on Kramers-Kronig relations (KKR) is a promising technique due to its high-space-bandwidth product. However, the absence of an iterative process limits its noise robustness, primarily stemming from the lack of a regularization constraint. This Letter reports a generalized framework aimed at enhancing the noise robustness of KKR holography. Our proposal involves employing the Hilbert-Huang transform to connect the real and imaginary parts of an analytic function. The real part is initially processed by bidimensional empirical mode decomposition into a series of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a residual term. They are then selected to remove the noise and bias terms. Finally, the imaginary part can be obtained using the Hilbert transform. In this way, we efficiently suppress the noise in the synthetic complex function, facilitating high-fidelity wavefront reconstruction using ∼20% of the exposure time required by existing methods. Our work is expected to expand the applications of KKR holography, particularly in low phototoxicity biological imaging and other related scenarios.

MEMS-based portable confocal Raman spectroscopy rapid imaging system.

Aiming at the miniaturization and rapid imaging requirements of a portable confocal Raman system, a MEMS-based portable confocal Raman spectroscopy rapid imaging method is proposed in this study. This method combines the dual 2D MEMS mirror scanning method and the grid-by-grid scanning method. The dual 2D MEMS mirror scanning method is used for the miniaturization design of the system, and the grid-by-grid scanning method is used for rapid imaging of Raman spectroscopy. Finally, the rapid imaging and miniaturization design of a portable confocal Raman spectroscopy system are realized. Based on this method, a portable confocal Raman spectroscopy rapid imaging system with an optical probe size of just 98m m×70m m×40m m is constructed. The experimental results show that the imaging speed of the system is 45 times higher than that of the traditional point-scan confocal Raman system, and the imaging speed can be further improved according to the requirements. In addition, the system is used to swiftly identify agate ore, and the material composition distribution image over a 126µm 2×126µm 2 region is obtained in just 16 min. This method provides a new solution for the rapid imaging and miniaturization design of the confocal Raman system, as well as a new technical means for rapid detection in deep space exploration, geological exploration, and field detection.

Anatomical and visual outcomes of fovea-sparing internal limiting membrane peeling with or without inverted flap technique for myopic foveoschisis.

BACKGROUND: Vitrectomy and peeling of the internal limiting membrane (ILM) was an effective therapeutic approach for myopic foveoschisis with progressive visual loss. This study investigated the anatomical and visual outcomes of fovea-sparing ILM peeling with or without the inverted flap technique for patients with symptomatic myopic foveoschisis (MF). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of patients with MF. Vitrectomy with fovea-sparing ILM peeling and air tamponade was performed in all patients. The primary outcome measures included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), mean macular thickness (MMT), and central foveal thickness (CFT). Depending on whether an inverted ILM flap technique was utilized, further subgroup comparisons between the inverted flap group and the non-inverted flap group were conducted. RESULTS: Twenty-six eyes of 22 patients were included. Fifteen eyes were underwent fovea-sparing ILM peeling without inverted ILM flap and 11 of the 26 eyes were treated with fovea-sparing ILM peeling and an inverted ILM flap technique. In the mean follow-up period of 10.74 ± 4.58 months, a significant improvement in BCVA was observed from 0.97 ± 0.45 logMAR to 0.58 ± 0.51 logMAR (P < 0.01), during which the BCVA of 20 eyes (76.92%) improved and remained stable in 5 eyes (19.23%). Moreover, a positive correlation was also found between the preoperative BCVA and the postoperative BCVA (r = 0.50, P = 0.01). At the last visit, the final MMT decreased from 492.69 ± 209.62 µm to 234.73 ± 86.09 µm, and the CFT reduced from 296.08 ± 209.22 µm to 138.31 ± 73.92 µm (all P < 0.01). A subgroup analysis found no significant differences in BCVA, MMT, or CFT between the inverted and non-inverted flap groups (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Fovea-sparing ILM peeling with or without inverted flap technique resulted in favorable visual and anatomical outcomes for the treatment of MF. An important factor affecting the postoperative visual outcome was the preoperative visual acuity. Our study found no significant difference between the presence and absence of the inverted ILM flap.

Diabetic retinopathy with extensively large area of capillary non-perfusion: characteristics and treatment outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Capillary non-perfusion is an important characteristic for diabetic retinopathy (DR) indicating microvascular damage and ischemia. Data on the description and treatment outcomes of DR with large area of non-perfusion are lacking to date. We aim to describe the characteristics and treatment outcomes in a series of patients with DR who presented extensively large area of capillary non-perfusion (LACNP). METHODS: Fundus fluorescein angiograms from medical charts in patients diagnosed with DR between Jan 2017 and Dec 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical data in eyes with LACNP including imaging and laboratory findings at the first presentation were analyzed. The LACNP was defined as over 70% area of capillary non-perfusion throughout the whole image retina. The mean follow-up duration was 12.4 ± 16.7 months. Follow-up data including extensive pan-retinal photocoagulation and surgical intervention and treatment outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 43 eyes in 24 patients with LACNP were included, accounting for 3.3% of DR populations in the same period. The overall percentage of non-perfusion area was 79.1 ± 8.1%. All patients received proper control of diabetes and hypertension, and extensive pan-retinal laser photocoagulation. During the follow-up periods, 20 eyes (46.5%) developed severe neovascular complications, of which 15 eyes (34.9%) underwent vitrectomy and/or anti-glaucoma surgeries. Conservative therapies including glycemic control and supplemental laser photocoagulation were conducted in 23 eyes (53.5%) without neovascular complications. In the final follow-up, best corrected visual acuity improved or maintained stable in 19 eyes (44.2%) while deteriorated in 24 eyes (55.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of LACNP is the hallmark of advanced DR and often indicates a poor visual outcome, although aggressive treatments may slow DR progression and maintain central vision for some time.

Repeatability and clinical use of pupillary light reflex measurement using RAPDx® pupillometer.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the repeatability of pupillary light reflex metrics measured by the RAPDx® dynamic pupillometer in healthy subjects and clinical application in patients with unilateral optic neuritis (ON). METHODS: Sixty eyes of 30 healthy volunteers were measured three times consecutively by the same technician. The amplitude of constriction (AC), the latency of constriction (LOC), the velocity of peak constriction (VC) of light-evoked pupillary constriction, RAPD score for amplitude and latency were measured using RAPDx® dynamic pupillometer. The repeatability of above metrics was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (Cov). Furthermore, pupillary light reflex measurements were performed in 48 eyes of 24 patients diagnosed with unilateral optic neuritis (ON). Interocular symmetry was evaluated both in the healthy subjects and the ON-involved patients. RESULTS: High repeatability of AC, LOC, and VC in healthy subjects was displayed, presenting with the ICC value over 0.80 and the Cov less than 8.00%. But the RAPD score for amplitude (ICC: 0.67) and RAPD score for latency (ICC: 0.65) showed only moderate repeatability. Furthermore, a slight declining trend was found in amplitude and peak velocity when continuous and multiple measurements in the healthy subjects. Good symmetry of the AC, LOC, and VC of pupillary light constriction between the two eyes was displayed in the healthy subjects (P > 0.05). By contrast, there was a distinct decrease of AC and VC (P < 0.01), and a mild increase of LOC (P < 0.01) in the ON-involved eye in direct pupillary light reflex. CONCLUSIONS: Pupillary light reflex measured by the RAPDx® pupillometer achieved overall good repeatability and interocular symmetry in healthy subjects. The device also presented decent preliminary results in patients with unilateral ON, suggesting its potential value to be developed as a tool in optic nerve diseases.

Synchronization Theory-Based Analysis of Coupled Vibrations of Dual-Tube Coriolis Mass Flowmeters.

Certain nonlinear influences are found in dual-tube Coriolis mass flowmeters (CMFs). According to experimentation, a nonlinearity dominated by frequency-doubling signals can be observed in the measuring signal. In general, such nonlinear effects are simplified as linear systems or neglected through processing. In this paper, a simplified model has been constructed for dual-beam CMFs based on the theory of nonlinear dynamics, with the spring-damper system as the medium for the dual-beam coupled vibrations. Next, the dynamics differential equation of the coupled vibrations is set up on the basis of the Lagrangian equation. Furthermore, numerical solutions are obtained using the Runge-Kutta fourth-order method. The study then fits discrete points of the numerical solutions, which are converted into the frequency domain to observe the existence of frequency-doubling signal components. Our findings show that frequency-doubling components exist in the spectrogram, proving that these nonlinear influences are a result of the motions of coupled vibrations. In this study, non-linear frequency-doubling signal sources are qualitatively analyzed to formulate a theoretical basis for CMFs design.

Correlation between sub-Tenon's anesthesia and transient amaurosis during ophthalmic surgery.

PURPOSE: To verify the correlation between sub-Tenon's anesthesia and intraoperative visual loss in ophthalmic surgery. METHODS: Sixty-four patients underwent phacoemulsification combined pars plana vitrectomy under sub-Tenon's anesthesia. Participants were investigated about their light perception at several time points: before anesthesia, immediately after anesthesia, 10 min after anesthesia without any surgical intervention or microscope illumination, and after the whole surgery. Intraoperative amaurosis was determined as that a patient could not see any light from their operative eye. The incidence rate of amaurosis at different time points and among different anesthetists was analyzed. RESULTS: The rate of intraoperative amaurosis was 0%, 1.56%, 48.44%, and 95.31% at several time points, respectively: before anesthesia, immediately after anesthesia, 10 min after anesthesia without any surgical intervention or microscope light exposure during the interval, and immediately after the whole surgery, presenting a significantly time-dependent increase (P < 0.01). There was no correlation between the amaurosis and different diseases and anesthesiologists. The amaurosis was transient, and all operative eyes could perceive light on the first postoperative day. CONCLUSIONS: Sub-Tenon's anesthesia contributes to the intraoperative amaurosis during operation. Temporary interruption of optic nerve conduction by the anesthetic could be a credible explanation. The amaurosis is transient and reversible, requires no additional treatment, and should not be considered as a surgical complication.

Enhanced dielectric permittivity and suppressed electrical conductivity in polyvinylidene fluoride nanocomposites filled with 4,4'-oxydiphenol-functionalized graphene.

Plastic film capacitors suffer from low charge storage capacity due to the low dielectric constant of the polymer (<10). We have devised a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite film filled with small graphene oxide (GO) sheets that have aromatic molecules attached to their surfaces. The use of 4,4'-oxydiphenol molecules to functionalize graphene sheets is found to have a remarkable effect on enhancing the dielectric permittivity as well as reducing the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposite. When under an electric field, these molecules with an angled molecular geometry act as aligned electric dipoles to largely enhance the dielectric permittivity of the composite, reaching a level two orders of magnitude higher than that of the counterpart filled with blank graphene sheets. Also, the aromatic molecules on the graphene surface act as resistive barriers that block charge transfer between interconnected graphene sheets. As a consequence, the electric conductivity of the composite can be decreased by two orders of magnitude. The PVDF composite filled with functionalized graphene shows a percolation threshold of 13 wt% and a high dielectric constant of 1091 at 100 Hz at this point.

Compensation Method for Pipeline Centerline Measurement of in-Line Inspection during Odometer Slips Based on Multi-Sensor Fusion and LSTM Network.

The accurate measurement of pipeline centerline coordinates is of great significance to the management of oil and gas pipelines and energy transportation security. The main method for pipeline centerline measurement is in-line inspection technology based on multi-sensor data fusion, which combines the inertial measurement unit (IMU), above-ground marker, and odometer. However, the observation of velocity is not accurate because the odometer often slips in the actual inspection, which greatly affects the accuracy of centerline measurement. In this paper, we propose a new compensation method for oil and gas pipeline centerline measurement based on a long short-term memory (LSTM) network during the occurrence of odometer slip. The field test results indicated that the mean of absolute position errors reduced from 8.75 to 2.02 m. The proposed method could effectively reduce the errors and improve the accuracy of pipeline centerline measurement during odometer slips.

EEG Classification of Motor Imagery Using a Novel Deep Learning Framework.

Successful applications of brain-computer interface (BCI) approaches to motor imagery (MI) are still limited. In this paper, we propose a classification framework for MI electroencephalogram (EEG) signals that combines a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture with a variational autoencoder (VAE) for classification. The decoder of the VAE generates a Gaussian distribution, so it can be used to fit the Gaussian distribution of EEG signals. A new representation of input was developed by combining the time, frequency, and channel information from the EEG signal, and the CNN-VAE method was designed and optimized accordingly for this form of input. In this network, the classification of the extracted CNN features is performed via the deep network VAE. Our framework, with an average kappa value of 0.564, outperforms the best classification method in the literature for BCI Competition IV dataset 2b with a 3% improvement. Furthermore, using our own dataset, the CNN-VAE framework also yields the best performance for both three-electrode and five-electrode EEGs and achieves the best average kappa values 0.568 and 0.603, respectively. Our results show that the proposed CNN-VAE method raises performance to the current state of the art.

Achieving High Capacitance of Paper-Like Graphene Films by Adsorbing Molecules from Hydrolyzed Polyimide.

To date, graphene-based electric double layer supercapacitors have not shown the remarkable specific capacitance as theoretically predicted. An efficient strategy toward boosting the overall capacitance is to endow graphene with pseudocapacitance. Herein, molecules of hydrolyzed polyimide (HPI) are used to functionalize N-doped graphene (NG) via π-π interaction and the resulting enhanced electrochemical energy storage is reported. These aromatic molecules in monolayer form on graphene contribute strong pseudocapacitance. Paper-like NG films with different areal mass loadings ranging from 0.5 to 4.8 mg cm-2 are prepared for supercapacitor electrodes. It is shown that the gravimetric capacitance can be increased by 50-60% after the surface functionalization by HPI molecules. A high specific capacitance of 553 F g-1 at 5 mV s-1 is achieved by the HPI-NG film with a graphene mass loading of 0.5 mg cm-2 in H2 SO4 aqueous electrolyte. For the HPI-NG film with highest mass loading, the gravimetric specific capacitance drops to 340 F g-1 while the areal specific capacitance reaches a high value of 1.7 F cm-2 . HPI-NG films are also tested in Li2 SO4 aqueous electrolyte, over an extended voltage window of 1.6 V. High specific energy densities up to 40 Wh kg-1 are achieved with the Li2 SO4 electrolyte.

Rifampicin Prevents SH-SY5Y Cells from Rotenone-Induced Apoptosis via the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3ß/CREB Signaling Pathway.

In addition to its original application for treating tuberculosis, rifampicin has multiple potential neuroprotective effects in chronic neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease. Inflammatory reactions and the PI3K/Akt pathway are strongly implicated in dopaminergic neuronal death in PD. This study aims to investigate whether rifampicin protects rotenone-lesioned SH-SY5Y cells via regulating PI3K/Akt/GSK-3ß/CREB pathway. Rotenone-treated SH-SY5Y cells were used as the cell model to investigate the neuroprotective effects of rifampicin. Cell viability and apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells were determined by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The expression of Akt, p-Akt, GSK-3ß, p-GSK-3ß, CREB and p-CREB were measured by Western blot. Our results showed that the cell viability and level of phospho-CREB significantly decreased in SH-SY5Y cells exposed to rotenone when compared to the control group. Both the cell viability and the expression of phospho-CREB in cells pretreated with rifampicin were higher than those of cells exposed to rotenone alone. Moreover, pretreatment of SH-SY5Y cells with rifampicin enhanced phosphorylation of Akt and suppressed activity of GSK-3ß. The addition of LY294002, a PI3K inhibitor, could suppress phosphorylation of Akt and CREB and activate GSK-3ß, resulting in abolishment of neuroprotective effects of rifampicin on cells exposed to rotenone. Rifampicin provides neuroprotection against dopaminergic degeneration, partially via the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3ß/CREB signaling pathway. These findings suggest that rifampicin could be an effective and promising neuroprotective candidate for treating PD.

LncRNA TSIX promotes osteoblast apoptosis in particle-induced osteolysis by down-regulating miR-30a-5p.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the role of TSIX/miR-30a-5p axis in particle-induced osteolysis (PIO). METHOD: PIO mouse model was established by the implantation of Co-Cr-Mo metal particles (CoPs). MC3T3-E1 cells received CoPs stimulation. Bone mineral density (BMD) in the skull was detected to evaluate PIO development. The expression of TSIX and miR-30a-5p was detected by using qRT-PCR. Osteoblast apoptosis was measured using flow cytometry. RNA pull-down was used to verify the regulatory relationship between TSIX and miR-30a-5p. RESULT: The results showed that BMD of the skull in PIO mice was significantly decreased compared with control mice, which indicated that the PIO model was established successfully. Moreover, CoPs could up-regulate TSIX level, down-regulate miR-30a-5p expression, and promote osteoblast apoptosis in vivo and in vitro. The results also found that TSIX negatively regulated miR-30a-5p expression, and knockdown of TSIX inhibited Runx2 expression. As expected, miR-30a-5p inhibitor could reverse the inhibition of si-TSIX on osteoblast apoptosis. CONCLUSION: TSIX played a pivotal role in PIO development by negatively regulating miR-30a-5p.

miR-130b participates in wear particle-induced inflammation and osteolysis via FOXF2/NF-κB pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To reveal other miR-130b-mediated signaling pathway in the involvement of wear particle-induced inflammation and osteolysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Particle-induced osteolysis (PIO) mice model was established. Secretion levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-10 were measured by ELISA. miR-130b and forkhead box F2 (FOXF2) mRNA were detected by qRT-PCR. Protein levels of FOXF2, phosphorylation-p65 (p-p65), and p-IκB were observed by Western blot. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to confirm the regulation of miR-130b on FOXF2. RESULTS: Compared with normal mice, secretion levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 in PIO mice were significantly up-regulated and IL-10 was significantly down-regulated; miR-130b and p-p65 expressions were up-regulated and FOXF2 expression was down-regulated. In addition, the trends of miR-130b, FOXF2, and p-p65 expressions in Co-Cr-Mo treated Raw264.7 cells were the same as that in PIO mice. After transfection with miR-130b inhibitor, secretion levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 in Raw264.7 cells were significantly decreased and secretion level of IL-10 was significantly increased. We also proved FOXF2 was a target of miR-130b, and FOXF2 siRNA increased secretion levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 and decreased secretion level of IL-10. Finally, we found nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) inhibitor BAY 11-7082 further decreased secretion levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 and increased IL-10 level. CONCLUSION: The role of miR-130b/FOXF2/NF-κB pathway in PIO was firstly revealed, which provided new targets for the treatment of periprosthetic osteolysis.

Mangiferin suppressed advanced glycation end products (AGEs) through NF-κB deactivation and displayed anti-inflammatory effects in streptozotocin and high fat diet-diabetic cardiomyopathy rats.

Given the importance of the aggregation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and cardiac inflammation in the onset and progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), our objective in this study was to demonstrate the cardioprotective effect of mangiferin, an antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory agent, on diabetic rat model. The DCM model was established by a high-fat diet and a low dose of streptozotocin. DCM rats were treated orally with mangiferin (20 mg/kg) for 16 weeks. Serum and left ventricular myocardium were collected for determination of inflammatory cytokines. AGEs mRNA and protein expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and receptor for AGEs (RAGE) in myocardium were assayed by real-time PCR and Western blot. ROS levels were measured by dihydroethidium fluorescence staining. NF-κB binding activity was assayed by TransAM NF-κB p65 ELISA kit. Chronic treatment with mangiferin decreased the levels of myocardial enzymes (CK-MB, LDH) and inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-1ß). Meanwhile, NF-κB is inhibited by the reduction of nuclear translocation of p65 subunit, and mangiferin reduced AGE production and decreased the mRNA and protein expression of RAGE in DCM rats. Our data indicated that mangiferin could significantly ameliorate DCM by preventing the release of inflammatory cytokines, and inhibiting ROS accumulation, AGE/RAGE production, and NF-κB nuclear translocation, suggesting that mangiferin treatment might be beneficial in DCM.

[Protection and mechanism of shenqi compound for diabetic angiopathy model rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of Shenqi Compound on diabetic angiopathy modeled rats. METHODS: Totally 18 SD rats were randomized into 3 groups, i.e., the normal control group, the diabetic mellitus (DM) group, and Shenqi Compound group, 6 in each group. The DM rat model was established by feeding high-fat diet (to induce hyperlipidemia) +intraperitoneal injection of small dose streptozotocin (STZ). Shenqi Compound was given to rats in the Shenqi Compound group at the daily dose of 2 g/kg. Equal volume of normal saline was given to rats in the model group and the normal control group by gastrogavage. All treatment was lasted for 12 weeks. Then 2-D and ultrasonic integrated backscatter technique were used to evaluate structural and functional changes of abdominal aorta in the progression of diabetic macroangiopathy. The fibrosis degree of the aorta vessel and myocardium capillaries were observed by using HE and Masson trichrome staining. The tension of the aortic vascular ring was determined. The transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) mRNA expression was detected by real time PCR (RT-PCR). The protein expression of TGF-beta, collagen I, collagen III, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), and phosphorylation P38 MAPK were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the normal control group, abdominal aortic systolic inner diameter, diastolic inner diameter, Peterson elastic modulus, stiffness index, and backscatter integral significantly increased; the rangeability of integral backscatter and the extension coefficient of cross section significantly decreased in the DM group (all P < 0.05). After 12 weeks aforesaid indices were obviously improved in the Shenqi Compound group (P < 0.05). Results of HE and Masson staining showed that the fibrosis degree of the aorta vessel and myocardium capillaries was obviously alleviated in rats of the Shenqi Compound group (P < 0.05). Results of the aortic vascular ring tension showed that acetylcholine induced vasodilatation and maximum diastolic percent were obviously elevated in the Shenqi Compound group (P < 0.05). Compared with the normal control group, the mRNA expression of TGF-beta, and the protein expression of TGF-beta, collagen I, and collagen III, and phosphorylation of P38 MAPK all significantly increased in the DM group (P < 0.05). Compared with the DM group, the mRNA expression of TGF-beta, and the protein expression of TGF-beta, collagen I, and collagen III, and phosphorylation of P38 MAPK all decreased (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Shenqi Compound could effectively improve the arterial function in diabetic marcoangiopathy and microvascular dysfunction. The mechanism might be due to the down-regulating the expression of TGF-beta, and further suppressing the phosphorylation of P38 MAPK, reducing the synthesis of collagen I and collagen III, therefore, ameliorating arterial and myocardial interstitial fibrosis.