Venous-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for patients poisoned by Macleaya cordata.

Macleaya cordata is a Chinese herbal medicine containing a variety of highly cardiotoxic alkaloids, and might result in cardiac failure. Venous-arterial Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) could be used as a therapeutic option in patients poisoned by Macleaya cordata complicating refractory cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest. A 60-year-old man suffered from severe arrhythmia, cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest after consuming Macleaya cordata. The patient received VA-ECMO support in the emergency department at 5 hours after hospitalization, and was weaned from VA-ECMO on day 4, and was discharged with complete clinical improvement on Day 12. VA-ECMO is an effective method in treating cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest induced by severe poisoning from Chinese herbal medicine. Timely and appropriate interventions with venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation devices could improve clinical outcomes in these patients.

Ethanol-Induced Neuronal and Cognitive/Emotional Impairments are Accompanied by Down-Regulated NT3-TrkC-ERK in Hippocampus.

AIMS: Ethanol ingestion affects cognition and emotion, which have been attributed to the dysfunction of specific brain structures. Studies of alcoholic patients and animal models consistently identify reduced hippocampal mass as a key ethanol-induced brain adaptation. This study evaluated how neuroadaptation in the hippocampus (Hip) produced by ethanol contributed to related behavioral deficits in male and female rats. METHODS: Effects of acute, short-term and long-term ethanol exposure on the anxiety-like behavior and recognition memory on adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were assessed using elevated plus maze test and novel object recognition test, respectively. In addition, in order to investigate the direct effect of ethanol on hippocampal neurons, primary culture of hippocampal neurons was exposed to ethanol (10, 30 and 90 mM; 1, 24 and 48 h), and viability (CCK-8) and morphology (immunocytochemistry) were analyzed at structural levels. Western blot assays were used to assess protein levels of NT3-TrkC-ERK. RESULTS: Acute and short-term ethanol exposure exerted anxiolytic effects, whereas long-term ethanol exposure induced anxiogenic responses in both sexes. Short-term ethanol exposure impaired spatial memory only in female rats, whereas long-term ethanol exposure impaired spatial and recognition memory in both sexes. These behavioral impairments and ethanol-induced loss of hippocampal neurons and decreased cell viability were accompanied by downregulated NT3-TrkC-ERK pathway. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that NT3-TrkC-ERK signaling in the Hip may play an important role in ethanol-induced structural and behavioral impairments.

Neuroprotective Effects of Grape Seed Procyanidins on Ethanol-Induced Injury and Oxidative Stress in Rat Hippocampal Neurons.

AIMS: Ethanol is a small molecule capable of interacting with numerous targets in the brain, the mechanisms of which are complex and still poorly understood. Studies have revealed that ethanol-induced hippocampal neuronal injury is associated with oxidative stress. Grape seed procyanidin (GSP) is a new type of antioxidant that is believed to scavenge free radicals and be anti-inflammatory. This study evaluated the ability and mechanism by which the GSP improves ethanol-induced hippocampal neuronal injury. METHODS: Primary cultures of hippocampal neurons were exposed to ethanol (11, 33 and 66 mM, 1, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h) and the neuroprotective effects of GSP were assessed by evaluating the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cell morphology. RESULTS: Our results indicated that GSP prevented ethanol-induced neuronal injury by reducing the levels of MDA and LDH, while increasing the activity of SOD. In addition, GSP increased the number of primary dendrites and total dendritic length per cell. CONCLUSION: Together with previous findings, these results lend further support to the significance of developing GSP as a therapeutic tool for use in the treatment of alcohol use disorders.

Effects of repulsive interaction on the electric double layer of an imidazolium-based ionic liquid by molecular dynamics simulation.

The effects of repulsive interaction on the electric double layer (EDL) and differential capacitance (Cd) of an ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIM(+)/PF6(-)) on the graphite electrode were studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The strength of repulsive interaction was studied by manually tuning the parameter lambda (λ) with λ = 1.00 for normal Lennard-Jones interaction and smaller λ for stronger repulsion between IL and the electrode. When λ changes from 1.00 to 0.25, the dependence of Cd on potential (Cd-U) curves at different repulsions is asymmetrically camel-shaped with higher Cd at the negative polarization than that at the positive due to the thinner effective thickness of EDL from the specific adsorption of BMIM(+). Such a trend is opposite in the case of λ = 0.05. Apart from that, the maximum of Cd at the negative polarization monotonically decreases with increasing repulsion. On the other hand, the maximum of Cd at the positive polarization first increases with increasing repulsion, due to the more effective screening of PF6(-) by weakening the specific adsorption of BMIM(+) as λ changes from 1.00 to 0.75, and then it decreases with increasing repulsion.

NGF accelerates cutaneous wound healing by promoting the migration of dermal fibroblasts via the PI3K/Akt-Rac1-JNK and ERK pathways.

As a well-known neurotrophic factor, nerve growth factor (NGF) has also been extensively recognized for its acceleration of healing in cutaneous wounds in both animal models and randomized clinical trials. However, the underlying mechanisms accounting for the therapeutic effect of NGF on skin wounds are not fully understood. NGF treatment significantly accelerated the rate of wound healing by promoting wound reepithelialization, the formation of granulation tissue, and collagen production. To explore the possible mechanisms of this process, the expression levels of CD68, VEGF, PCNA, and TGF-ß1 in wounds were detected by immunohistochemical staining. The levels of these proteins were all significantly raised in NGF-treated wounds compared to untreated controls. NGF also significantly promoted the migration, but not the proliferation, of dermal fibroblasts. NGF induced a remarkable increase in the activity of PI3K/Akt, JNK, ERK, and Rac1, and blockade with their specific inhibitors significantly impaired the NGF-induced migration. In conclusion, NGF significantly accelerated the healing of skin excisional wounds in rats and the fibroblast migration induced by NGF may contribute to this healing process. The activation of PI3K/Akt, Rac1, JNK, and ERK were all involved in the regulation of NGF-induced fibroblast migration.

Genome sequence of the human-pathogenic bacterium Vibrio vulnificus type strain ATCC 27562.

Vibrio vulnificus, which is, like Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a pathogen of humankind, is a Gram-negative, curved, motile, and rod-shaped bacterium [corrected] Here, we present the draft genome sequence of the type strain, ATCC 27562, which was the first isolated Vibrio vulnificus strain.

[Etiologic fraction and interaction of risk factors for primary hepatocellular carcinoma in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province].

OBJECTIVE: To explore etiologic fraction (EF) and interaction of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriage and other risk factors for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China. METHODS: 1:1 matched case-control study was carried out in Wenzhou, with 180 cases of PHC and 180 controls. EF and interactions of serum positive HBsAg [HBsAg(+)] and other risk factors for PHC were analyzed by Mantel-Haenszel stratified method and conditional multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Serum HBsAg(+), poor economic status during the past five years, preferring intake of pickled vegetables, history of PHC in their first-degree relatives, and negative life events all were risk factors for PHC, with EFs of 0.728, 0.245, 0.224, 0.084, and 0.234, respectively. There existed interactions of HBsAg(+) with other risk factors, including poor economic status during the past five years, preferring intake of pickled vegetables, history of PHC in their first-degree relatives, and negative life events, with etiologic fractions attributable to interaction [EF (A x B)] of 0.770, 0.630, 0.848, and 0.627, and indices of interaction of 0.789, 0.638, 0.852, and 0.634, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Main risk factor for PHC in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China could include HBsAg(+), poor economic status during the past five years, preferring intake of pickled vegetables, history of PHC in their first-degree relatives, and negative life events. HBsAg(+) plus any of the following factors, such as poor economic status during the past five years, preferring intake of pickled vegetables, history of PHC in their first-degree relatives, and negative life events, could increase the risk of PHC.