Antioxidants and the risk of stroke: results from NHANES and two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide, and observational studies have suggested a correlation between antioxidants and reduced stroke risk. However, it remains unclear whether causal relationships exist. METHODS: This study first performed a cross-sectional study of the association between the Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index (CDAI) and stroke using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2018. Second, a two-sample univariable Mendelian Randomization (MR) was performed to analyze the causal effect of circulating levels of antioxidants on different subtypes of stroke. RESULTS: The cross-sectional study included a total of 24,892 participants representing more than 200 million US non-institutionalized residents, a multivariable logistic regression model revealed that the risk of stroke decreased by 3.4% for each unit increase in CDAI (P = 0.017), with a non-linear association found, indicating a reduction in stroke risk before an inflection point of 3.078. MR analysis revealed that genetically determined levels of retinol had a suggestive protective effect on subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) (OR = 0.348, P = 0.025), and genetically determined levels of selenium had a suggestive protective effect against SAH (OR = 0.826, P = 0.007). However, no causal relationship was found between antioxidants and ischemic stroke or intracranial hemorrhage risk. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence suggests that diet-derived antioxidants may reduce the risk of stroke, as indicated by the protective effects of retinol and selenium against SAH. However, more research is needed to fully understand how antioxidants prevent stroke.

Metabolomics reveals the defense mechanism of histidine supplementation on high-salt exposure-induced hepatic oxidative stress.

AIMS: This study mainly evaluated the protective mechanism of histidine against the hepatic oxidative stress after high-salt exposure (HSE) through combined analysis of non-targeted metabolomics and biological metabolic networks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats were fed with normal-salt diet or HSE ± histidine in addition to drinking water for 14 days. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analyze the hepatic metabolites. The metabolic profile was analyzed by SIMCA-14.1, the metabolic correlation network was performed using Gephi-0.9.2, and pathway enrichment was analyzed using MetaboAnalyst 5.0 online website. KEY FINDINGS: Results indicated that HSE disturbed the hepatic metabolic profile, generated abnormal liver metabolism and exacerbated oxidative stress. Histidine supplementation significantly reversed the hepatic metabolic profile. Of note, 14 differential metabolic pathways were enriched after histidine supplementation, most of which played an important role in ameliorating redox and nitric oxide (NO) metabolism. Histidine administration decreased the levels of hydroperoxide and malondialdehyde, and increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes (Catalase, Superoxide Dismutase, Glutathione S-transferase and Glutathione reductases). Histidine effectively enhanced the endogenous synthesis of glutathione by increasing the levels of glutamate and cysteine, thereby enhancing the antioxidant capacity of the glutathione system. After histidine administration, lysine, glutamate, and hypotaurine owned a higher metabolic centrality in the correlation network. In addition, histidine could also effectively increase the endogenous synthesis of NO by enhancing the L-arginine/NO pathway. SIGNIFICANCE: This study offers new insights into the metabolic mechanisms underlying the antioxidant protective effect of histidine on the liver.

Preparation of phosphoric-modified aloe vera/chitosan aerogels and their efficient adsorption of U(VI).

The efficient adsorption of radioactive elements from nuclear wastewater is an important research topic in the environmental field. The unique three-dimensional porous structure of aerogels has great potential in the field of adsorption. Phosphoric-modified aloe vera/chitosan aerogel (CS/AL-AP) was prepared from chitosan, phosphoric acid, and aloe powder by vacuum freeze-drying self-assembly. The maximum adsorption of uranyl ions by CS/AL-AP was found to be 322.34 mg/g at pH 6, adsorption time of 120 min, solid-to-liquid ratio of 0.125 g/L, reaction temperature of 303 K, and initial uranyl ion concentration of 50 mg/L. The adsorption process is consistent with the Langmuir isotherm model and the quasi-secondary kinetic model, indicating that the adsorption process is monolayer adsorption. The type of adsorption is mainly chemisorption. FTIR and XPS analyses indicate that the adsorption of U(VI) by CS/AL-AP results from the combined action of coordination or chelation of amino, hydroxyl, and carboxyl groups. In addition, CS/AL-AP shows excellent adsorption capacity in the presence of complex co-existing ions. After five adsorption-desorption experiments, the adsorption capacity of CS/AL-AP for uranyl ions remained at a high level. It indicates that CS/AL-AP has good stability and recoverability. The results indicate that CS/AL-AP has excellent potential in the field of uranium removal.

Benincasa hispida extracts positively regulated high salt-induced hypertension in Dahl salt-sensitive rats: Impact on biochemical profile and metabolic patterns.

Salt-induced hypertension is one of the major issues worldwide and one of the main factors involved in heart and kidney failure. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential role of Benincasa hispida extracts on high salt-induced hypertension in Dahl-salt sensitive (D-SS) rats and to find out the metabolic and biochemical pattern involved in the reduction of hypertension. Twenty-six Dahl salt-sensitive (D-SS) rats were selected and divided into four groups. The metabolic strategy was applied to test the extracts on salt-sensitive hypertension in kidney. Gas Chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify the potent biochemical profile in renal medulla and cortex of rat kidneys. The differential metabolites of cortex and medulla, enrichment analysis and pathway analysis were performed using metabolomics data. The GC-MS data revealed that 24 different antihypertensive metabolites was detected in renal cortex, while 16 were detected in renal medulla between different groups. The significantly metabolic pathways namely citrate cycle, glutathione metabolism, glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism in renal cortex and glycerolipid metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, citrate cycle, glycolysis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis in renal medulla were involved in the process of Hypertension. The results suggest that the extract mainly alter the metabolic pathways of amino acid in Dahl salt-sensitive rats and its antioxidant potential reduced the hypertension patterns of Salt-sensitive rat. The antihypertensive components malic acid, aspartic acid, and glycine of extract can be used as therapeutic drugs to protect kidneys from salt-induced hypertension. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Hypertension is a multifactorial disease and one of the risk factors for heart and kidney failure. Benincasa hispida is a widely used vegetable in China, which belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. Benincasa hispida (wax gourd) has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of inflammation and hypertension. The Benincasa hispida contains many compounds such as amino acids, carbohydrates, volatile compounds, vitamins, and minerals. The amino acid present in the pulp of Benincasa hispida are ornithine, threonine, aspartate, glutamate, serine, glycine, proline, alanine, valine, cysteine, isoleucine, tyrosine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, histidine, arginine, and γ-aminobutyric acid. Our results showed that Benincasa hispida is one of the potent natural antioxidants and can maintain normal blood pressure in Dahl salt-sensitive rats (D-SS). In conclusion, the current results provide good theoretical basis for the development and research using Benincasa hispida as an effective natural antioxidant for hypertension.

Study of oxygen-deficient W18O49-based drug delivery system readily absorbed through cellular internalization pathways in tumor-targeted chemo-/photothermal therapy.

W18O49-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) is affected by the easily oxidized property and its direct exposure to physiological environment can cause biological events, which limit its development in the biomedical field. Herein, a composite nanoparticle PVP-W18O49@C (PW@C), with significant antioxidant and excellent biocompatibility, was constructed to overcome the limitations of W18O49 in the medical field. Oxygen-deficient W18O49, with irregular defect structure, was combined with hollow carbon nanospheres treated by reflux to obtain W18O49@C (W@C) similar to sea urchins. Compared with W18O49, W@C shows stronger antioxidant properties, and it still has the ability to convert light energy to heat energy after 6 months. In addition, polyvinyl pyrrolidone is coated on the surface of W@C to construct PW@C, which significantly improves biocompatibility of W@C. The photothermal conversion efficiency of PW@C was 42.9 ± 1.3. PWD (PW@C loaded with DOX·HCl) showed controllable drug release behavior under pH and NIR stimulation, and the drug release rate reached 69.1 ± 1.6% at pH = 5.0. Notably, PWD was readily absorbed by cells through clathrin/caveolae-mediated internalization channels, and the viability of HeLa cells treated with PWD + NIR was only 21.5 ± 1.0%. Through photothermal, drug delivery/release and cytotoxicity evaluation, PWD was proved to be an effective platform for chemo-/photothermal combinational tumor therapy.

Momordica charantia Extract Confers Protection Against Hypertension in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats.

Hypertension is one of the main factors of cardiovascular disease worldwide and is strongly related to the overall mortality. High salt intake is a major risk factors for hypertension. Identifying functional foods that can help prevent mechanistic abnormalities mediating salt-induced hypertension is an issue of considerable nutraceutical and scientific interest. Dietary Momordica charantia may be an alternative approach to avoid salt-induced hypertension. Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) rats were used to determine whether Momordica charantia water extracts (ME) exerts anti-hypertensive effects in the present study. ME gavage could significantly prevented the increase of blood pressure, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and urine protein-to-creatinine ratio of DSS rats. Metabolomics analysis indicated that high-salt diet induced abnormal amino acid metabolism was related to nitric oxide (NO) deficiency, but ME gavage could upregulate the activities of nitric oxide synthase, aspartate aminotransferase, argininosuccinate lyase, argininosuccinate synthase and restore endogenous synthesis of arginine and NO. Meanwhile, renal function was improved after ME gavage. Citrulline, as one of the important component in ME, could attenuate salt-induced hypertension by increasing endogenous synthesis of arginine and NO. Antioxidants in ME, such as phenolic compound, may avoid high-salt induced oxidative stress in DSS rats, which may be another mechanism by which ME prevented blood pressure increase. Thus, the present study indicated that feeding Momordica charantia could avoid high-salt-induced hypertension in DSS rats.

Notable efficacy of Shugan Jieyu capsule in treating adult with post-stroke depression: A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Post stroke depression (PSD), which happens in 40%-60% stroke patients, is one of the most common complications after cerebrovascular accident. Shugan Jieyu Capsule (SGJYC), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely prescribed for PSD in China. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study designed and conducted a PRISMA compliant meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of SGJYC in treating adults with PSD of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) under the condition that none PRISMA-compliant systematic evaluation or meta-analysis was conducted to fully evaluate the efficacy of SGJYC. METHODS: The study protocol has been registered in PROSPERO with registration number CRD42021250162. PubMed, ScienceDirect, CNKI, and Wanfang Databases were systematically searched to include eligible RCTs which used SGJYC and other antidepressants or placebo for the treatment of PSD adults with the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). The Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 (RoB2) tool was used to evaluate the quality of included RCTs. Outcome measures including HAMD continuous data, efficacy data, and remission data were extracted for meta-analysis on a random-effects model. Adequate essential analyses including subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and meta-regression analysis were performed according to the characteristics of RCTs to test the reliability and robustness of the overall effect sizes. Publication bias was detected with funnel plot, Egger's test, and Begg's test. The evidence strength of this meta-analysis was assessed with the GRADE method. RESULTS: A total of 63 eligible RCTs and 6036 participants were included. The RoB2 found that the overall risk of included RCTs was high. The MD of continuous data was 3.59 (95% CI: [2.63, 4.55]) with statistical significance (P < 0.00001) and significant heterogeneity (Chi2 = 2083.77, I2 = 97%, p < 0.00001). The OR of efficacy data was 2.12 (95% CI: [1.82, 2.47]) with statistical significance (P < 0.00001) and insignificant heterogeneity (Chi2 = 60.52, I2 = 22%, P = 0.09). The OR of remission data was 1.66 (95% CI: [1.45, 1.91]) with statistical significance (P < 0.00001) and insignificant heterogeneity (Chi2 = 26.45, I2 = 0%, P = 0.96). Adequate essential analyses found consistent results of overall effect sizes and most publication bias analyses found insignificant results. The overall evidence strength was assessed as moderate. CONCLUSION: The moderate evidence strength from this PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis found that SGJYC has notable efficacy in treating adults with PSD, although the quality of included RCT was low. The high-quality RCTs with large-sample, multi-centers, and long follow-up periods are still warranted to improve the evidence quality of SGJYC for PSD in further study.

Supplementation of amino acids and organic acids prevents the increase in blood pressure induced by high salt in Dahl salt-sensitive rats.

A high-salt (HS) diet leads to metabolic disorders in Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats, and promotes the development of hypertension. According to the changes in the metabolites of SS rats, a set of combined dietary supplements containing amino acids and organic acids (AO) were designed. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of AO supplementation on the blood pressure of SS rats after the HS diet and clarify the mechanism of AO by metabolomics and biochemical analyses. The results showed that AO supplementation avoided the elevation of blood pressure induced by the HS diet in SS rats, increased the renal antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione S-transferase), reduced the H2O2 and MDA levels, and restored the normal antioxidant status of the serum and kidneys. AO also reversed the decrease in the nitric oxide (NO) levels and NO synthase activity induced by the HS feed, which involved the L-arginine/NO pathway. Metabolomics analysis showed that AO administration increased the levels of amino acids such as cysteine, glycine, hypotaurine, and lysine in the renal medulla and the levels of leucine, isoleucine, and serine in the renal cortex. Of note, lysine, hypotaurine and glycine had higher metabolic centrality in the metabolic correlation network of the renal medulla after AO administration. In conclusion, AO intervention could prevent HS diet-induced hypertension in SS rats by restoring the metabolic homeostasis of the kidneys. Hence, AO has the potential to become a functional food additive to improve salt-sensitive hypertension.

Effects of almonds on ameliorating salt-induced hypertension in dahl salt-sensitive rats.

BACKGROUND: Excessive dietary salt intake is related to an increased risk of hypertension. Dietary functional foods probably could help to improve salt-induced hypertension. In this study, Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) rats were used to investigate their metabolic differences from those of salt-resistant SS.13BN rats and determine whether dietary protein-rich almonds could ameliorate salt-induced elevation of blood pressure in DSS rats. RESULTS: After high-salt intake, the systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure of the DSS rats increased dramatically. Metabolomics analysis indicated abnormal amino acid metabolism in their kidneys. Their renal nitric oxide (NO) content and nitric oxide synthase activity decreased significantly after high-salt diet. Oxidative stress also occurred in DSS rats. After the DSS rats received almond supplementation, the levels of various amino acids in their kidney increased, and renal arginine and NO contents were upregulated. Their renal hydrogen peroxide and malonaldehyde levels decreased, whereas renal catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and glutathione levels increased. CONCLUSION: The renal abnormal amino acid metabolism of DSS rats contributed to the impaired NO production in response to high-salt intake. Together with salt-induced oxidative stress, high-salt diet intake ultimately led to an increase in the blood pressure of DSS rats. Protein-rich almond supplementation might prevent the development of salt-induced hypertension by restoring arginine and NO regeneration and alleviating salt-induced oxidative stress. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Ionizing radiation downregulates estradiol synthesis via endoplasmic reticulum stress and inhibits the proliferation of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells.

Breast cancer is a major threat to women's health and estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer exhibits the highest incidence among these cancers. As the primary estrogen, estradiol strongly promotes cellular proliferation and radiotherapy, as a standard treatment, exerts an excellent therapeutic effect on ER+ breast cancer. Therefore, we herein wished to explore the mechanism(s) underlying the inhibitory effects of radiation on the proliferation of ER+ breast cancer cells. We used the ER+ breast cancer cell lines MCF7 and T47D, and their complementary tamoxifen-resistant cell lines in our study. The aforementioned cells were irradiated at different doses of X-rays with or without exogenous estradiol. CCK8 and clone-formation assays were used to detect cellular proliferation, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine estradiol secretion, western immunoblotting analysis and quantitative real-time PCR to evaluate the expression of proteins, and immunofluorescence to track endoplasmic reticulum stress-related processes. Finally, BALB/C tumor-bearing nude mice were irradiated with X-rays to explore the protein expression in tumors using immunohistochemistry. We found that ionizing radiation significantly reduced the phosphorylation of estrogen receptors and the secretion of estradiol by ER+ breast cancer cells. CYP19A (aromatase) is an enzyme located in the endoplasmic reticulum, which plays a critical role in estradiol synthesis (aromatization), and we further demonstrated that ionizing radiation could induce endoplasmic reticulum stress with or without exogenous estradiol supplementation, and that it downregulated the expression of CYP19A through ER-phagy. In addition, ionizing radiation also promoted lysosomal degradation of CYP19A, reduced estradiol synthesis, and inhibited the proliferation of tamoxifen-resistant ER+ breast cancer cells. We concluded that ionizing radiation downregulated the expression of CYP19A and reduced estradiol synthesis by inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress in ER+ breast cancer cells, thereby ultimately inhibiting cellular proliferation.

Chocolate consumption and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a US population: a post hoc analysis of the PLCO cancer screening trial.

Few studies with mixed results have examined the association between chocolate consumption and mortality. We aimed to examine this association in a US population. A population-based cohort of 91891 participants aged 55 to 74 years was identified. Chocolate consumption was assessed via a food frequency questionnaire. Cox regression was used to estimate risk estimates. After an average follow-up of 13.5 years, 19586 all-cause deaths were documented. Compared with no regular chocolate consumption, the maximally adjusted hazard ratios of all-cause mortality were 0.89 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84-0.94], 0.84 (95% CI 0.79-0.90), 0.86 (95% CI 0.81-0.93), and 0.87 (95% CI 0.82-0.93) for >0-0.5 servings/week, >0.5-1 serving/week, >1-2 servings/week, and >2 servings/week, respectively (Ptrend = 0.009). A somewhat stronger inverse association was observed for mortality from cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease. A nonlinear dose-response pattern was found for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality (all Pnonlinearity < 0.01), with the lowest risk observed at chocolate consumption of 0.7 servings/week and 0.6 servings/week, respectively. The favorable associations with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were found to be more pronounced in never smokers than in current or former smokers (all Pinteraction < 0.05). In conclusion, chocolate consumption confers reduced risks of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer's disease in this US population.

Two-Dimensional Metallic Vanadium Ditelluride as a High-Performance Electrode Material.

Two-dimensional (2D) metallic transition-metal dichalcogenides (MTMDCs) are considered as ideal electrode materials for enhancing the device performances of 2D semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides, due to their similar atomic structures and complementary electronic properties. Vanadium ditelluride (VTe2) behaves as a fascinating material in MTMDCs family, presenting room-temperature ferromagnetism, charge density waves order, and topological property. However, its practical applications in universal electrode/energy-related fields remain unexplored. Herein, we achieved the direct synthesis of ultrathin, large-domain, and thickness-tunable 1T-VTe2 nanosheets on an easily available mica substrate by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). We further uncover that the CVD-derived 1T-VTe2 can serve as a high-performance electrode material thanks to its ultrahigh conductivity. Accordingly, a 6 times higher field-effect mobility (∼47.5 cm2 V-1 s-1) was achieved in 1T-VTe2-contacted monolayer MoS2 devices than that using a conventional Ti/Au electrode (∼8.1 cm2 V-1 s-1). Moreover, the CVD-synthesized 1T-VTe2 nanosheets are revealed to present excellent electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction. These results should propel the direct application of CVD-grown 2D MTMDCs as high-performance electrode materials in all 2D materials related devices.

Facile synthesis of biocompatible L-cysteine-modified MoS2 nanospheres with high photothermal conversion efficiency for photothermal therapy of tumor.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) can take advantage of the photothermal effects of photothermal agents to acquire the energy from laser irradiation and convert it into heat. This can intensively elevate the temperature of the surrounding environment to directly destroy the cancer cells. It is expected that PAs with strong absorption in near infrared (NIR) range might possess the ideal tissue-transparent feature and minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissues, beneficial to the practical application. Herein, well-dispersed L-cysteine modified MoS2 (MoS2-Cys) nanospheres with the average diameter of about 422 nm and strong NIR adsorption were successfully synthesized through a facile method. The as-prepared MoS2-Cys nanospheres are composed of nanosheets with the average thickness of about 13.7 nm. The photothermal conversion efficiency of the as-prepared MoS2-Cys nanospheres with the very low concentration of 50 µg/mL was determined to be 35% when exposed to 808 NIR laser at the power density of 0.8 W/cm2, much higher than those of the previous reports with same dose and power density. MoS2-Cys nanospheres possessed the good photothermal ablation effect to significantly inhibit the growth of tumor in vivo. Furthermore, MoS2-Cys nanospheres did not exhibit detectable side effects, suggesting their good in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility.

The protective role of hawthorn fruit extract against high salt-induced hypertension in Dahl salt-sensitive rats: impact on oxidative stress and metabolic patterns.

In the present study, the renal-protective effect of hawthorn fruit extract (HW) on high-salt hypertension and its effect on metabolic patterns are determined. High salt causes hypertension in Dahl salt sensitive (SS) rats, while HW can effectively attenuate high-salt induced hypertension, and, various antihypertensive ingredients of HW have also been successfully identified using GC/MS. Of note, the biochemical assay indicates that HW significantly increases the concentration of nitric oxide (NO) and decreases the concentration of H2O2 and malonaldehyde. Especially, HW increases the activities of NO synthase and catalase in the renal medulla. Simultaneously, the renal cortex and medulla, harvested from SS rats, are used to perform the metabolomics analysis, and then, 11 and 8 differential metabolites are identified in the renal medulla and cortex with the HW gavage, respectively. All differential metabolites are then used to perform the pathway enrichment analysis. The results show that many metabolic pathways are enriched in both the renal medulla and cortex, especially those in the medulla including 23 enriched pathways. Therefore, it provides evidence that HW confers an antioxidant effect on high-salt induced hypertension and dramatically alters the metabolic patterns of SS rats, and the antihypertensive ingredients of HW also further indicate that it may be used as a nutritional supplemental therapeutic drug to protect against high-salt induced hypertension in the renal medulla.

Six new compounds from the flowers of Chrysanthemum morifolium and their biological activities.

Flower of Chrysanthemum morifolium is widely used in China and Japan as a folk medicine in treatment of many diseases. However, its active compounds remain largely unknown. In the present work, we have isolated, purified and characterized six new compounds (1-6), including two new arylnaphthalene lignans and four new phenolic glycosides, together with eight known compounds (7-14), from the flower of C. morifolium. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated in detail using 1D and 2D NMR, UV, IR, ORD, HRESIMS and ECD spectrometric data. In addition, compounds 1-3 possessed the significant neuroprotective activity against hydrogen peroxide-induced neurotoxicity in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

Hydrogen as a complementary therapy against ischemic stroke: A review of the evidence.

Ischemic stroke is one of the most common sources of mortality in the world. Researchers have been trying to find a complementary therapy to treat ischemic stroke in order to improve its prognosis and expand the therapeutic window for reperfusion treatment. For this reason, many experimental and clinical trials studying the effects of hydrogen against ischemic stroke have been published. Hydrogen gas has been found to eliminate hydroxyl free radical and peroxynitrite anions as well as producing therapeutic effect in patients with ischemic stroke. Many studies have been published illustrating its anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. The purpose of this article is to review the literature concerning treatment of cerebral I/R injury or ischemic stroke with hydrogen therapy. Specifically, we will examine the appropriate laboratory methods, mechanisms of hydrogen therapy, and outcomes of relevant clinical trials. We conclude this review with a discussion on future investigations of hydrogen therapy to treat ischemic stroke.

The acute effects of erythromycin and oxytetracycline on enhanced biological phosphorus removal system: shift in bacterial community structure.

Since extensive application, an increasing amount of antibiotics has been released into wastewater treatment plants. In this study, the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) system was fed with synthetic wastewater containing erythromycin (ERY) and oxytetracycline (OTC) for 7 days to evaluate the variations of solution ortho-P (SOP), volatile fatty acid (VFA), poly-bhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), specific oxygen uptake rater (SOUR), and microbial community in the EBPR system. The obtained results showed that the P-removal efficiency decreased to 0.0%, and at the end of the experiment, only less than 20% of the VFA could be consumed. Besides, the variable processes of P and PHAs were destroyed. Moreover, to better grasp the inhibitory mechanism of antibiotics, microbial community compositions of activated sludge sampled in all reactors were investigated by high-throughput sequencing techniques. Results of comparative and evolutionary analysis revealed that high concentrations (5 and 10 mg/L) of ERY and OTC could seriously shift microbial communities, while combined antibiotics could induce more. Additionally, Accumulibacter and Competibacter were two primary microorganisms at the genus level in the EBPR system. Accumulibacter decreased seriously for exposure to antibiotics, while Competibacter increased in all experimental reactors especially in combined antibiotics reactor.

Neuroprotective Caffeoylquinic Acid Derivatives from the Flowers of Chrysanthemum morifolium.

Three new caffeoylquinic acid derivatives, chrysanthemorimic acids A-C (1-3), and 11 known compounds (4-14) were isolated and characterized from the flowers of Chrysanthemum morifolium. Their structures were confirmed by spectroscopic data as well as by comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra. Chrysanthemorimic acids A-C possess a rare 8-oxa-bicyclo[3.2.1]oct-3-en-2-one ring that is formed through a [5+2] cycloaddition of caffeoylquinic acid with a d-glucose derivative. Compounds 1-3, 6-8, 12, and 13 displayed significant effects against hydrogen peroxide-induced neurotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells at 10 µM.

Short-term performance of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) system exposed to erythromycin (ERY) and oxytetracycline (OTC).

The effects of Erythromycin (ERY) and oxytetracycline (OTC), including individual and combinative effect, on enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) system within a short-term (24h) were evaluated in this study. Results showed that the P-removal efficiency decreased to 34.6% and 0.0% under the effect of ERY (10mg/L) and OTC (10mg/L) for 24h. OTC concentration higher than 5mg/L was sufficient to cause serious adverse impact on the EBPR performance. While the performance of EBPR system will be impacted by ERY above 10mg/L. OTC, due to its special antibacterial action to the gram-negative bacteria which most PAOs belong to, has more serious negative effect on the EBPR performance than ERY does. Moreover, in the combined antibiotics test, neither synergistic nor antagonistic effect was detected between ERY and OTC. Finally, ERY (10mg/L) and OTC (10mg/L) could inhibit the microorganisms' activity, while couldn't induce serious microorganisms death within 24h.

[Advances in pharmacological studies of Panax notoginseng saponins on brain ischemia-reperfusion injury].

Sanqi in Chinese herbal medicine is the root and rhizoma of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen, which belongs to genus Panax in the Araliaceae family and is widely used as a tonic medicine in the traditional Chinese medicine. The main active constituents of sanqi are Panax notoginseng saponins, including ginsenoside Rg1, Rb1 and notoginsenoside R1. A wide variety of pharmaceutical applications of Panax notoginseng saponins have been reported in the regulation of blood circulation system, cardiovascular system and nervous system. Ischemic stroke, the most common form of stroke, leads to a high risk of morbidity and disability, which evolves serious medical, social and economic problems. Ischemia-reperfusion injury is the most important part in the progress of ischemic stroke. Abnormal energy metabolism, disturbance of the ion metabolism, free radical injury, inflammatory reactions all participate in the complex pathological mechanisms of ischemia- reperfusion injury. Over the past few decades, substantial studies demonstrated that Panax notoginseng saponins possessed a significant protective effect on ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of the protective effects. In order to develop a new medicine from Panax notoginseng, we provide a review of the major literatures on the pharmaceutical actions and molecular mechanisms of Panax notoginseng and Panax notoginseng saponins in the protection of ischemia-reperfusion injury.