Targeting the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway with natural plants and phytochemical ingredients: A novel therapeutic method for combatting cardiovascular diseases.

The aim of this article is to introduce the roles and mechanisms of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway in various cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial fibrosis, cardiac hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and myocardial ischemiareperfusion. In addition, the effects of phytochemical ingredients and different natural plants, mainly traditional Chinese medicines, on the regulation of different cardiovascular diseases via the JAK2/STAT3 pathway are discussed. Surprisingly, the JAK2 pathway has dual roles in different cardiovascular diseases. Future research should focus on the dual regulatory effects of different phytochemical ingredients and natural plants on JAK2 to pave the way for their use in clinical trials.

Impact of Eucalyptus residue leaching on iron distribution in reservoir sediments assessed by high-resolution DGT technique.

Blackwater occurs every winter in reservoirs with Eucalyptus plantations. The complexation reaction between ferric iron (Fe3+) and Eucalyptus leachate tannic acid from logging residues (especially leaves) is the vital cause of water blackness. However, the effect of Eucalyptus leaf leaching on the dynamic of iron in sediments and its contribution to reservoir blackwater remain unclear. In this study, two experiments were conducted to simulate the early decomposition processes of exotic Eucalyptus and native Pinus massoniana leaves in water (LW) and water-sediment (LWS) systems. In LW, high concentrations of tannic acid (>45.25 mg/L) rapidly leached from the Eucalyptus leaves to the water column, exceeding those of Pinus massoniana leaves (<1.80 mg/L). The chrominance increased from 5~10 to 80~140, and the water body finally appeared brown instead of black after the leaching of Eucalyptus leaves. The chrominance positively correlated with tannic acid concentrations (R=0.970, p<0.01), indicating that tannic acid was vital for the water column's brown color. Different in LWS, blackwater initially emerged near the sediment-water interface (SWI) and extended upward to the entire water column as Eucalyptus leaves leached. Dissolved oxygen (DO) and transmission values in the overlying water declined simultaneously (R>0.77, p<0.05) and were finally below 2.29 mg/L and 10%, respectively. During the leaching of Eucalyptus leaves, the DGT-labile Fe2+ in sediments migrated from deep to surface layers, and the diffusive fluxes of Fe2+ at the SWI increased from 12.42~19.93 to 18.98~26.28 mg/(m2·day), suggesting that sediment released abundant Fe3+ into the aerobic overlying water. Fe3+ was exposed to high concentrations of tannic acid at the SWI and immediately generated the black Fe-tannic acid complex. The results indicated that the supplement of dissolved Fe3+ from sediments is a critical factor for the periodic blackwater in the reservoirs with Eucalyptus plantations. Reducing the cultivation of Eucalyptus in the reservoir catchment is one of the effective ways to alleviate the reservoir blackwater.

Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of spatial distributed roughness to a hydrodynamic water quality model: a case study on Lake Taihu, China.

Roughness is an important parameter in hydrodynamic and water quality modelling; it has direct effects on bottom shear stress which relied on sediment and vegetation. The varied roughness caused by spatial heterogeneity of sediment and vegetation may lead to uncertain simulation results. To investigate the effect of roughness uncertainty on the performance of hydrodynamic water quality models, a typical large shallow lake in China (Lake Taihu) was divided into eight areas for illustrating the effect of spatial variation of roughness on hydrodynamics and water quality. Total nitrogen (TN) was selected as the variable to calculate the uncertainty interval, and sensitive positions greatly affected by roughness as well as the appropriate range of roughness were explored by means of regional sensitive analysis (RSA). The results showed that roughness had the most significant effect on the bottom velocity. The uncertainty for water quality caused by roughness presented a striking spatial difference; the uncertainty interval for TN could be up to 1.3 mg/L. The posterior distribution of roughness was given to further narrowed the range of roughness, and the updated roughness range manifested that roughness value should be set higher in the area with thick sediment and abundant vegetation. It is of utmost importance to consider the comprehensive effects of sediment and vegetation in the determination of roughness. For certain lake areas with great water quality simulation error, the error could be effectively reduced by setting spatial distributed roughness. The optimization scheme was provided for the reasonable determination of roughness, so that the dynamic characteristic at the sediment-water interface could be represented synthetically. In this paper, the uncertainty and sensitivity of roughness in hydrodynamic water quality model are analyzed to provide reference for parameter setting of large shallow water lake model. For large scale lakes, parameters need to be modified according to the actual condition due to the spatial difference of friction coefficient at the bottom.

Purification, characterization, antioxidant and moisture-preserving activities of polysaccharides from Rosa rugosa petals.

The present study, we prepared polysaccharides from Rosa rugosa petals (RRPS) using hot-water extraction and purified the polysaccharides by chromatography to obtain RRPS-1 and RRPS-2. Preliminary structural features of RRPS were characterized by different instrumental methods, such as HPGPC, FT-IR, and GC analysis. The average molecular weights of RRPS-1 and RRPS-2 were 8.8 kDa and 443.8 kDa, respectively. Then, antioxidant and moisture-preserving activities of RRPS were determined in vitro. The analysis of antioxidant activities suggested that RRPS-2 had good potential for scavenging activity of radicals. We also found that the RRPS-2 has strong moisture-preserving activity in vitro. These results clearly indicated that RRPS-2 might have a good potential to be utilized in pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries.

Anti-apoptosis effect of polysaccharide isolated from the seeds of Cuscuta chinensis Lam on cardiomyocytes in aging rats.

To investigate the mechanism of apoptosis in myocardial cells of aging rats induced by D-galactose and to study the effect of the Polysaccharide isolated from the seeds of Cuscuta chinensis Lam (PCCL) on apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and its corresponding machinasim in aging rat model. Fifty male SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. Normal control group (NC). D-galactose (100 mg · kg(-1)d(-1) for 56 day) indued aging group (MC), D-galactose plus 100 mg kg(-1) d(-1) PCCL group (ML), D-galactose plus 200 mg kg(-1) d(-1) PCCL group (MM), and D-galactose plus 400 mg kg(-1) d(-1) PCCL group (MH). Same volume of solution (water, or PCCL aqueous solution) was given by gavage for 56 days. Then the hearts were collected and apoptosis parameters were evaluated. Caspase-3 and Cyt c were determined by fluorescence spectrometer, the apoptosis rate was assessed by AnnexinV-FITC method by Flow-Cytometry, [Ca(2+)]i and [Ca(2+)]i overloaded by KCL were observed by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM); Bcl-2 and Bax were examined by immunohistochemistry. The content of Cyt C, [Ca(2+)]i of cardiomyocytes, the activity of Caspase-3, Bax expression level in D-galactose induced aging group were higher than NC (p < 0.05). The ratio of Bcl-2/Bax was decreased in D-galactose induced aging group compared to NC. On the other hand, the content of Cyt C, [Ca(2+)]i of cardiomyocytes, the activity of Caspase-3 and apoptosis rate, as well as Bax expression level in all three PCCL groups were decreased compared to galactose induced group (p < 0.05). Bcl-2/Bax ratio was increased in all PCCL groups compared to galactose induced aging group. PCCL could decrease the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes by the mitochondria apoptosis pathway.

Activation of the hypothalamus characterizes the response to acupuncture stimulation in heroin addicts.

Acupuncture stimulation elicited a composite of sensations termed deqi that is related to clinical efficacy. Neurobiological studies have identified the hypothalamus as an important component in mediating the deqi. Functional changes in hypothalamus persist after abstinence in addicts. We investigated the activation in the hypothalamus associated with acupuncture stimulation in healthy volunteers and heroin addicts by fMRI. Cortisol level and psychophysical responses, including the deqi sensation (an acupuncture effect of needle-manipulation), anxiety, and sharp pain, were also assessed. The activation of the hypothalamus was more robust in the addicts than that in the healthy subjects during acupuncture stimulation. The deqi scores of the heroin addicts were significantly higher than those of the healthy subjects during acupuncture treatment. An acupuncture sensation scale predicted the activation of the hypothalamus associated with the deqi sensation.