Effects of H2SO4, GA3, and cold stratification on the water content, coat composition, and dormancy release of Tilia miqueliana seeds.

Introduction: Tilia miqueliana is an endemic species whose population is declining. The permeability barrier and mechanical constraint of the pericarp (seed coat) are important causes of its seed dormancy. Although there has been considerable research on this subject, questions remain regarding how the permeability barrier and mechanical constraint of the seed coat are eliminated during dormancy release and how water enters the seed. Therefore, protecting the species by improving its germination/dormancy breaking in the laboratory is urgent. Methods: In this study, the changes in the cellular structure, mechanical properties, and components of the Tilia miqueliana seed coat after an H2SO4-gibberellic acid (GA3) treatment were analyzed during dormancy release. Various analyses (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging, scanning electron microscopy, and paraffin section detection) revealed the water gap and water channel. Results: The H2SO4 treatment eliminated the blockage at the micropyle and hilum of the seeds. Water entered the seeds through the water gap (micropyle) rather than through the hilum or seed coat, after which it dispersed along the radicle, hypocotyl, and cotyledon to the endosperm. During the cold stratification period, the cellular structure was damaged and an increasing number of holes appeared on the inner and outer surfaces of the seed coat. Vickers hardness tests showed that GA3 decreased the seed coat hardness. Additionally, the seed coat lignin and total phenol contents continuously decreased during the cold stratification period. Notably, the Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of the seed coat detected polyethylene glycol (osmoregulator), which may have destabilized the water potential balance inside and outside the seed and increased the water content to levels required for germination, ultimately accelerating seed dormancy release. Discussion: This sophisticated and multi-level study reveals how H2SO4 and GA3 eliminate the permeability barrier and mechanical constraints of the seed coat during dormancy release of Tilia miqueliana seeds. This will be beneficial to artificially assist the natural regeneration and population expansion of Tilia miqueliana.

Upregulated TIMP1 facilitates and coordinates myometrial contraction by decreasing collagens and cell adhesive capacity during human labor.

Myometrial contraction is one of the key events involved in parturition. Increasing evidence suggests the importance of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in this process, in addition to the functional role of myometrial smooth muscle cells, and our previous study identified an upregulated tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP1) in human laboring myometrium compared to nonlabor samples. This study aimed to further explore the potential role of TIMP1 in myometrial contraction. First, we confirmed increased myometrial TIMP1 levels in labor and during labor with cervical dilation using transcriptomic and proteomic analyses, followed by real-time PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Then, a cell contraction assay was performed to verify the decreased contractility after TIMP1 knockdown in vitro. To further understand the underlying mechanism, we used RNA-sequencing analysis to reveal the upregulated genes after TIMP1 knockdown; these genes were enriched in collagen fibril organization, cell adhesion, and ECM organization. Subsequently, a human matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) array and collagen staining were performed to determine the TIMPs, MMPs and collagens in laboring and nonlabor myometrium. A real-time cell adhesion assay was used to detect cell adhesive capacity. The results showed upregulated MMP8 and MMP9, downregulated collagens, and attenuated cell adhesive capacity in laboring myometrium, while lower MMP levels and higher collagen levels and cell adhesive capacity were observed in nonlabor. Moreover, TIMP1 knockdown led to restoration of cell adhesive capacity. Together, these results indicate that upregulated TIMP1 during labor facilitates and coordinates myometrial contraction by decreasing collagen and cell adhesive capacity, which may provide effective strategies for the regulation of myometrial contraction.

Resequencing of global Lotus corniculatus accessions reveals population distribution and genetic loci, associated with cyanogenic glycosides accumulation and growth traits.

BACKGROUND: Lotus corniculatus is a widely distributed perennial legume whose great adaptability to different environments and resistance to barrenness make it an excellent forage and ecological restoration plant. However, its molecular genetics and genomic relationships among populations are yet to be uncovered. RESULT: Here we report on a genomic variation map from worldwide 272 L. corniculatus accessions by genome resequencing. Our analysis suggests that L. corniculatus accessions have high genetic diversity and could be further divided into three subgroups, with the genetic diversity centers were located in Transcaucasia. Several candidate genes and SNP site associated with CNglcs content and growth traits were identified by genome-wide associated study (GWAS). A non-synonymous in LjMTR was responsible for the decreased expression of CNglcs synthesis genes and LjZCD was verified to positively regulate CNglcs synthesis gene CYP79D3. The LjZCB and an SNP in LjZCA promoter were confirmed to be involved in plant growth. CONCLUSION: This study provided a large number of genomic resources and described genetic relationship and population structure among different accessions. Moreover, we attempt to provide insights into the molecular studies and breeding of CNglcs and growth traits in L. corniculatus.

Dynamically Rotating Magnetic Levitation to Characterize the Spatial Density Heterogeneity of Materials.

Magnetic levitation (MagLev) is a promising technology for density-based analysis and manipulation of nonmagnetic materials. One major limitation is that extant MagLev methods are based on the static balance of gravitational-magnetic forces, thereby leading to an inability to resolve interior differences in density. Here a new strategy called "dynamically rotating MagLev" is proposed, which combines centrifugal force and nonlinear magnetic force to amplify the interior differences in density. The design of the nonlinear magnetic force in tandem with centrifugal force supports the regulation of stable equilibriums, enabling different homogeneous objects to reach distinguishable equilibrium orientations. Without reducing the magnetic susceptibility, the dynamically rotating MagLev system can lead to a relatively large change in orientation angle (∆ψ > 50°) for the heterogeneous parts with small inclusions (volume fraction VF = 2.08%). The rich equilibrium states of levitating objects invoke the concept of levitation stability, which is employed, for the first time, to characterize the spatial density heterogeneity of objects. Exploiting the tunable nonlinear levitation behaviors of objects provides a new paradigm for developing operationally simple, nondestructive density heterogeneity characterization methods. Such methods have tremendous potential in applications related to sorting, orienting, and assembling objects in three dimensions.

Identification and Characterization of Regulatory Pathways Controlling Dormancy Under Lower Temperature in Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.).

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), a kind of high-quality perennial legume forage, is widely distributed in the northern regions of China. In recent years, low temperatures have frequently occurred and limited alfalfa productivity and survival in early spring and late fall. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of alfalfa response to cold tolerance are not well-documented. In this study, dormancy and non-dormancy alfalfa standard varieties were characterized under low-temperature stress. Our analysis revealed that plant height of the dormancy genotype was strongly inhibited by low temperature; flavonoids content, and higher expression of flavonoids biosynthesis genes (chalcone synthase, leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase, and flavonoid 3'-monooxygenase) may play essential roles in response to low-temperature stress in dormancy genotype alfalfa. Further analyses revealed that receptor-like kinase family genes (such as cysteine-rich RLK10, lectin protein kinase, and S-locus glycoprotein like kinase), RNA and protein synthesis genes (RNA polymerases, ribosomal protein, and protein phosphatase 2C family protein), and proteasome degradation pathway genes (such as F-box family protein, RING/U-box superfamily protein, and zinc finger family protein) also highly upregulated and contributed to cold tolerance phenotype in dormancy genotype alfalfa. This will provide new insights into future studies for cold tolerance in alfalfa and offer new target genes for further functional characterization and genetic improvement of alfalfa.

Pump-free microfluidic magnetic levitation approach for density-based cell characterization.

Magnetic levitation (MagLev) provides a simple but promising method for density-based analysis and detection down to the individual cell level. However, each existing MagLev configuration for the single-cell density measurement, mainly consisting of a capillary (∼50 mm) placed between two magnets, yields a fairly low sample utilization because of no knowledge about the sample cells in the regions other than the limited microscope vision. Moreover, the quantitative analysis may be affected due to the unclearly defined measurement area, which is specifically associated with the uneven magnetization of magnets, cell size, degree of aggregation. In this work, we explore a pump-free microfluidic magnetic levitation approach for density-based cell characterization, enabling sensitive and effective cellular density measurement on small sample volumes. The microfluidic MagLev comprises a pump-free microfluidic chip placed between two ring magnets with like poles facing. With no external pumps, connectors or control facility, much smaller amounts of fluids (∼4 µL) could be driven automatically in the entire microchannel in 16 s. Based on the pump-free mechanism, unique density signatures of cells from different lineages (ARPE-19, HCT116, HeLa, HT1080, Huh7) are characterized by monitoring the levitation profiles. Furthermore, variation in density of A549 lung cancer cells subjected to a drug treatment are observed in our platform, allowing evaluation of the efficacy of the drug treatment at the individual cell level. Thereby, the proposed pump-free microfluidic MagLev platform, a low-cost, fully automatic and portable design for label-free density-based cell characterization, provides a universal detection tool that operates efficiently within small-volume environments.

Corrigendum to "Immunomodulatory Effects of Combination Therapy with Bushen Formula plus Entecavir for Chronic Hepatitis B Patients".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2019/8983903.].

Genetic diversity and population structure analysis in a large collection of Vicia amoena in China with newly developed SSR markers.

Vicia amoena is a high-nutritional quality forage similar to alfalfa. However, studies on the genetic background of V. amoena are scarce. In the present study, the genetic variation of 24 V. amoena populations was assessed with newly developed simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A total of 8799 SSRs were identified in the V. amoena genomic-enriched sequences, and the most abundant repeat number was four. A total of 569 sampled individuals were assayed to evaluate the genetic diversity of the V. amoena populations based on 21 polymorphic SSR primers. The polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.896 to 0.968, with an average of 0.931, which indicated that the markers were highly informative. Based on analysis of molecular variance, 88% of the variance occurred within populations, and the remaining 12% of the variance occurred among populations. The high degree of gene flow (Nm= 4.958) also showed slight differentiation among the V. amoena populations. The V. amoena populations were mainly clustered by steppe and mountain habitats based on principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and STRUCTURE analysis. This indicated that the elevation and special habitat of geographical origins may be important factors affecting the clustered pattern of V. amoena populations. Neighbour-joining (NJ) analysis did not separate the populations well by geographical origin, which indicated that the genetic structure of V. amoena was complex and needs further study. Overall, our results showed that the newly developed SSR markers could benefit the V. amoena research community by providing genetic background information to help establish a foundation for breeding improvement and germplasm resource conservation.

CXCR4 blockade sensitizes osteosarcoma to doxorubicin by inducing autophagic cell death via PI3K­Akt­mTOR pathway inhibition.

Doxorubicin is one of the most frequently used chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of osteosarcoma (OS), but the emergence of chemoresistance often leads to treatment failure. C­X­C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) has been demonstrated to regulate OS progression and metastasis. However, whether CXCR4 is also involved in OS chemoresistance and its molecular mechanisms has yet to be fully elucidated. In the present study, CXCR4­mediated autophagy for OS chemotherapy was investigated by western blot analysis, transmission electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. CXCR4 silencing enhanced doxorubicin­induced apoptosis by reducing P­glycoprotein in CXCR4+ LM8 cells, while CXCR4 overexpression promoted OS doxorubicin resistance in CXCR4­ Dunn cells. Furthermore, CXCR4 silencing with or without doxorubicin increased the expression of beclin 1 and light chain 3B, and the number of autophagosomes and autolysosomes, as well as induced autophagic flux activation by suppressing the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. In addition, pretreatment with the autophagy inhibitor bafilomycin A1 attenuated CXCR4 abrogation­induced cell death. Finally, the CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100 synergistically reinforced the antitumor effect of doxorubicin in an orthotopic OS mouse model. Taken together, the present study revealed that CXCR4 inhibition sensitizes OS to doxorubicin by inducing autophagic cell death. Therefore, targeting the CXCR4/autophagy axis may be a promising therapeutic strategy to overcome OS chemotherapy resistance.

[Characteristics of Volatile Organic Compounds Pollution and Risk Assessment of Nansi Lake in Huaihe River Basin].

This study aimed to investigate the pollution characteristics of the volatile organic compounds in Nansi Lake and evaluate the ecological and health risks. In November 2017, water samples collected from 25 sampling points in Nansi Lake using the purge and trap technique and GC-MS detected 52 types of VOCs. The detection rate of ethylbenzene, m-/p-xylene, o-xylene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, and naphthalene reached 100%, and cis-1,3-dichloropropene and toluene reached 96%. The detection rate of 1,2,4-trimethyl benzene was the lowest, at only 12%, the average concentration of 1,2-dichlorobenzene was the highest, reaching 3.49 µg·L-1, and 1,2,4-trimethyl benzene was only 0.02 µg·L-1. The concentration of 1,2-dichlorobenzene in Nansi Lake was generally higher than that of other VOCs. Meanwhile, the concentrations of m-/p-xylene and ethylbenzene at point NSH-24 far exceeded the other VOCs, but the median value of all VOCs did not exceed 4 µg·L-1. The spatial distribution of the VOCs concentrations in Nansi Lake presented high values in the northwest and southeast, and low in the middle. The leading cause of VOCs pollution in Nansi Lake may be the exhaust gas emitted by shipping vessels during navigation, and the secondary cause is the collection of VOCs in the upstream and downstream tributaries and the influence of human factors. The health risk assessment of Nansi Lake found that, overall, there was no carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic health risk, but the risk value of individual points was relatively high, even exceeding the risk threshold set by the US EPA. There were 12 points in Nansi Lake where the ecological risk quotient exceeded 1, indicating an ecological risk to aquatic organisms.

Sevoflurane Post-Conditioning Ameliorates Neuronal Deficits and Axon Demyelination After Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Brain Injury: Role of Microglia/Macrophage.

Microglia/macrophages have been identified to be highly polarized after ischemia. Interestingly, the polarization of these microglia/macrophages varies immensely under differing disease conditions. Post-conditioning using sevoflurane, a volatile anesthetic, could provide long-term neuroprotection to neonatal rats after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI). Thus, the current study aimed at investigating the effects of sevoflurane post-conditioning (SPC) on microglia/macrophage polarization after HIBI induction in neonatal rats. Additionally, we aimed at identifying the underpinning mechanisms specifically related to autophagy and lysosomal protease enzyme, cathepsin B. To develop a HIBI model, 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats underwent left common carotid artery ligation followed by 2 h of hypoxia. The role of microglia/macrophages in the neuroprotection conferred by SPC was examined by left-side intra-cerebroventricular injection with adenovirus vector carrying catB-GFP or rapamycin. The number of interleukin (IL)-1ß+ cells, cathepsin B+ cells, light chain 3B positive (LC3B+) cells among ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1(Iba1+)cells to investigate microglia polarization, neuronal apoptosis to assess neuronal death in the acute phase were tested at 24 h after HIBI. Behavioral tests including suspension test, Morris water maze tests were performed to investigate the long-term effects of SPC, at 21 to 34 days post HIBI. Nissl staining and myelin basic protein (MBP) immunostaining to assess the long-term neuronal and myelin damage were performed at 34 days after HIBI. Based on the obtained results post HIBI, we observed the cells that were positive for IL-1ß, cathepsin B, and LC3B among Iba1 positive cell population in the hippocampus were significantly decreased after SPC treatment. SPC significantly attenuated the HIBI-induced increase in neuronal apoptosis, improved long-term cognitive function, and attenuated HI-induced decrease of Nissl-positive cells and MBP expression. However, these trends were reversed by injection of adenovirus vector carrying catB-GFP and rapamycin. SPC attenuated microglia polarization towards neurotoxic phenotypes, alleviates neuronal death and axon demyelination after HIBI in neonatal rats by regulating microglia autophagy and cathepsin B expression, and therefore provided long-term cognitive, learning and memory protection.

Prognostic Significance of Pretreatment Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have investigated the pretreatment prognostic nutritional index (PNI) as a prognostic factor in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); however, the results remained inconsistent. We aimed to assess the prognostic value of PNI in patients with NPC through conducting meta-analysis. Methods: Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for low PNI of overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), loco-regional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Results: Totally, eight studies involving 4299 patients were included in this meta-analysis. A low pretreatment PNI was associated with poor OS (HR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.55-2.33, P < 0.001), DMFS (HR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.69-2.44, P < 0.001), PFS (HR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.31-1.90, P < 0.001), and CSS (HR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.54-3.42, P < 0.001). The subgroup analysis showed that low PNI remained a significant factor for poor OS, DMFS, and PFS irrespective of treatment, country, and cutoff value of PNI. In addition, low PNI was correlated to female gender (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.12-1.62, P = 0.002), older age (OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.17-2.62, P = 0.007), and T3-T4 stage (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.06-1.53, P = 0.011). Conclusions: A low PNI was associated with poor survival outcomes in patients with NPC. Moreover, PNI could serve as an index to help guide clinical management for older patients.

Brief inhalation of sevoflurane can reduce glial scar formation after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in neonatal rats.

Previous studies have demonstrated that sevoflurane postconditioning can provide neuroprotection after hypoxic-ischemic injury and improve learning and memory function in developing rodent brains. The classical Rice-Vannucci model was used to induce hypoxic-ischemic injury, and newborn (postnatal day 7) rats were treated with 2.4% sevoflurane for 30 minutes after hypoxic-ischemic injury. Our results showed that sevoflurane postconditioning significantly improved the learning and memory function of rats, decreased astrogliosis and glial scar formation, increased numbers of dendritic spines, and protected the histomorphology of the hippocampus. Mechanistically, sevoflurane postconditioning decreased expression of von Hippel-Lindau of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and increased expression of DJ-1. Injection of 1.52 µg of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α inhibitor YC-1 (Lificiguat) into the left lateral ventricle 30 minutes before hypoxic-ischemic injury reversed the neuroprotection induced by sevoflurane. This finding suggests that sevoflurane can effectively alleviate astrogliosis in the hippocampus and reduce learning and memory impairments caused by glial scar formation after hypoxic-ischemic injury. The underlying mechanism may be related to upregulated DJ-1 expression, reduced ubiquitination of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, and stabilized hypoxia-inducible factor-1α expression. This study was approved by the Laboratory Animal Care Committee of China Medical University, China (approval No. 2016PS337K) on November 9, 2016.

Electrically Activated Soft Robots: Speed Up by Rolling.

Soft robots show excellent body compliance, adaptability, and mobility when coping with unstructured environments and human-robot interactions. However, the moving speed for soft locomotion robots is far from that of their rigid partners. Rolling locomotion can provide a promising solution for developing high-speed robots. Based on different rolling mechanisms, three rolling soft robot (RSR) prototypes with advantages of simplicity, lightweight, fast rolling speed, good compliance, and shock resistance are fabricated by using dielectric elastomer actuators. The experimental results demonstrate that the impulse-based and gravity-based RSRs can move both stably and continuously on the ground with a maximum speed higher than 1 blps (body length per second). The ballistic RSR exhibits a high rolling speed of ∼4.59 blps. And during its accelerating rolling process, the instantaneous rolling speed of the robot prototype reaches about 0.65 m/s (13.21 blps), which is much faster than most of the previously reported locomotion robots driven by soft responsive materials. The structure design and implementation methods based on different rolling mechanisms presented can provide guidance and inspiration for creating new, fast-moving, and hybrid mobility soft robots.

Reconstruction of skull and dural defects using anterolateral thigh flaps: A STROBE-compliant article.

It is difficult to repair large skull and dural defects. We observed the therapeutic effects of anterolateral thigh flaps with vascular fascia lata for repairing large skull and dural defects.From December 2008 to June 2019, we repaired large skull and dural defects for 28 cases including 12 cases with scalp malignant tumor and 16 cases requiring removal of titanium mesh which had been once placed due to craniocerebral trauma. The scalp malignant tumor invaded full-thickness skull in 12 cases; and invaded cervical lymph nodes, dura mater or brain tissue in 3 cases. In the 12 cases with scalp malignant tumor, the scalp defects of 12 cm × 9 cm to 22 cm × 18 cm and skull defects of 9 cm × 7 cm to 15 cm × 12 cm after radical tumor resection were repaired using anterolateral thigh flaps of 14 cm × 11 cm to 23 cm × 19 cm with fascia lata of 10 cm × 8 cm to 16 cm × 12 cm. Postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy were also performed in the 3 cases with tumor metastasis. In the 16 cases requiring removal of titanium mesh, the skull and dural defects of 8 cm × 7 cm to 15 cm × 11 cm after removal of titanium mesh were repaired using anterolateral thigh flaps of 10 cm × 8 cm to 16 cm × 12 cm.In all cases, the transplanted anterolateral thigh flap with fascia lata survived after surgery and no vascular crisis occurred. During the followup of 8 months to 9 years, the flap appearance in the head-repaired area was fine, no external hernia of brain tissue occurred, the appearance of the femoral donor site was acceptable, and femoral muscle strength and movements were normal in all cases. The 12 cases with scalp malignant tumor had no local recurrence or distant metastasis.Repairing the skull and dural defects caused by radical surgery for scalp malignant tumor or removal of titanium mesh using anterolateral thigh flaps with vascular fascia lata, is effective. The appearance in the head-repaired area is fine without external hernia of brain tissue.

Discovery of tertiary amide derivatives incorporating benzothiazole moiety as anti-gastric cancer agents in vitro via inhibiting tubulin polymerization and activating the Hippo signaling pathway.

On the basis and continuation of our previous studies on anti-tubulin and anti-gastric cancer agents, novel tertiary amide derivatives incorporating benzothiazole moiety were synthesized and the antiproliferative activity was studied in vitro. Preliminary structure activity relationships (SARs) were explored according to the in vitro antiproliferative activity results. Some of compounds could significantly inhibit the proliferation of three cancer cells (HCT-116, MGC-803 and PC-3 cells) and compound F10 exhibited excellent antiproliferative activity against HCT-116 cells (IC50 = 0.182 µM), MGC-803 cells (IC50 = 0.035 µM), PC-3 cells(IC50 = 2.11 µM) and SGC-7901 cells (IC50 = 0.049 µM). Compound F10 effectively inhibited tubulin polymerization (IC50 = 1.9 µM) and bound to colchicine binding site of tubulin. Molecular docking results suggested compound F10 could bind tightly into the colchicine binding site of ß-tubulin. Moreover, compound F10 could regulate the Hippo/YAP signaling pathway. Compound F10 activated Hippo signaling pathway from its very beginning MST1/2, as the result of Hippo cascade activation YAP were inhibited. And then it led to a decrease of c-Myc and Bcl-2 expression. Further molecular experiments showed that compound F10 arrested at G2/M phase, inhibited cell colony formatting and induced extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis in MGC-803 and SGC-7901 cells. Collectively, compound F10 was the first to be reported as a new anticancer agent in vitro via inhibiting tubulin polymerization and activating the Hippo signaling pathway.

Hydrogen-rich saline ameliorates hippocampal neuron apoptosis through up-regulating the expression of cystathionine ß-synthase (CBS) after cerebral ischemia- reperfusion in rats.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the potential role of hydrogen in rats after cerebral ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The experimental samples were composed of sham group, model group of rats that received middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 2 hr followed by reperfusion for 24 hr, and the hydrogen saline group treated by hydro¬gen-rich saline (1 ml/kg) after MCAO. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), S100-ßprotein (S100-ß), and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) levels were measured; the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were detected; the histologic structure and apoptotic cells of hippocampus were observed; the expressions of cystathionine ß-synthase (CBS), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1) were measured. Statistical analyses were performed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Fisher's least significant difference (LSD) test. RESULTS: Our results showed that hydrogen up-regulated H2S levels via promoting the expression of CBS in the hippocampus, and its treatment alleviated oxidative stress via activating the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1, and then cell apoptosis reduced, furthermore, brain function improved by down-regulating the levels of S100-ßand NSE. CONCLUSION: This study showed that hydrogen-rich saline ameliorates cell injury through up-regulating the expression of CBS in the hippocampus after cerebral ischemia reperfusion (I/R) in rats, this provides new experimental evidence for the treatment of stroke with hydrogen saline.

Effects of hypoxia environment on osteonecrosis of the femoral head in Sprague-Dawley rats.

INTRODUCTION: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a disease in which the blood supply of the femoral head is interrupted or damaged, resulting in joint dysfunction. Hypoxic environments increase the expression of EPO, VEGF, and HIF causes vascular proliferation and increases the blood supply. It also causes the organism to be in a state of hypercoagulability and increases thrombosis. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the occurrence of ONFH after the use of glucocorticoids (GCs) under conditions of hypoxia tolerance for a long time. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were fed in a hypobaric hypoxic chamber at an altitude of 4000 m, the whole blood viscosity, and plasma viscosity were determined to analyze the blood flow and hemagglutination. Western blotting, polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry were used to detect EPO, VEGF, CD31, and osteogenesis related proteins. Femoral head angiography was used to examine the local blood supply and micro-CT scanning was used to detect the structure of the bone trabecula. RESULTS: Under hypoxic environments, the expression of EPO and VEGF increased, which increased the local blood supply of the femoral head, but due to more severe thrombosis, the local blood supply of the femoral head decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoxic environments can aggravate ONFH in SD rats; this aggravation may be related to the hypercoagulable state of the blood. We suggest that long-term hypoxia should be regarded as one of the risk factors of ONFH and we need to conduct a more extensive epidemiological investigation on the occurrence of ONFH in hypoxic populations.

The solvent and zinc source dual-induced synthesis of a two dimensional zeolitic imidazolate framework with a farfalle-shape and its crystal transformation to zeolitic imidazolate framework-8.

Exploring new zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) with specific topologies and pore structures is important for extending applications and improving performances. In this work, a new farfalle-shaped ZIF with an ordered hierarchical structure (named ZIF-F) was easily built with zinc acetate and 2-methylimidazole (MeIm) in an aqueous system at room temperature. The synthesis mechanism of ZIF-F is a dual-induction interaction of a solvent and zinc source based on the synthesis protocol of ZIF-8. The prepared ZIF-F is a 3-5 µm dispersible particle constructed from numerous nanoplates with the same building units as ZIF-8. ZIF-F has a rich 4 nm inter-particle spacing with a 0.1074 cm3 g-1 total pore volume and exhibits high thermo- and solvent stability. It is worth noting that crystal transformation could occur from ZIF-F to ZIF-8 in methanol via the dissolution-recrystallization route. Regarding the adsorption of Congo red (CR), ZIF-F exhibits better adsorption capacity (182.82 mg g-1) than ZIF-8 (149.25 mg g-1) with 6 times higher adsorption rate than that of ZIF-8 because of the positive effect of its larger pore size and hierarchical structure.