Huoxue Rongluo Tablet reduces matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression in infarcted brain tissue

Huoxue Rongluo Tablet was made of tall gastrodis tuber, dahurian angelica root, honeysuckle stem, grassleaf sweetflag rhizome, common flowering quince fruit, figwort root, red peony root and peach seed at a ratio of 3：2：6：2：3：3：3：3. Huoxue Rongluo Tablet is a well-established and common pre- scription for the treatment of cerebral infarction. In this study, a rat model of cerebral ischemia was established and the animals were intragastrically administered Huoxue Rongluo Tablet. This treat- ment reduced infarct volume, decreased matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression, and improved neurological function. Moreover, the effects of Huoxue Rongluo Tablet were better than those of buflomedil pyridoxal phosphate. These results indicate that Huoxue Rongluo Tablet is effective in treating cerebral infarction by regulating matrix metalloproteinase-9 protein expression.

Compound Danshen tablets downregulate amyloid protein precursor mRNA expression in a transgenic cell model of Alzheimer's disease Effects and a comparison with donepezil

After gene mutation, the pcDNA3.1/APP595/596 plasmid was transfected into HEK293 cells to establish a cell model of Alzheimer＇s disease. The cell model was treated with donepezil or compound Danshen tablets after culture for 72 hours. Reverse transcription-PCR showed that the mRNA expression of amyloid protein precursor decreased in all groups following culture for 24 hours, and that there was no significant difference in the amount of decrease between donepezil and compound Danshen tablets. Our results suggest that compound Danshen tablets can reduce expression of the mRNA for amyloid protein precursor in a transgenic cell model of Alzheimer＇s disease, with similar effects to donepezil.

Hysteresis characteristics of the initiating and extinguishing boundaries in a nanosecond pulsed DBD

The dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)is presently used in many fields,in eluding plasma medicine,surface modification,and ozone synthesis;the influe nee of airflow on the DBD is a widely investigated topic.In this work,a hysteresis characteristic on the initiating and extinguishing boundaries is observed in a nanosecond pulsed DBD,which is sensitive to the variation in the airflow velocities and pulse repetition frequencies(PRFs).It is found that,at a certain airflow velocity,the initiating PRF is higher than the extinguishing PRF.This differenee between the initiating PRF and the extinguishing PRF leads to a hysteresis phenomenon on the initiating and extinguishing boun daries.When the airflow velocity is in creased,both the initiating and extinguishing PRFs are increased and the differenee between the initiating PRF and the extinguishing PRF also increased.The hysteresis width between the initiating and extinguishing boundaries is enhanced.To explain these results,the physical processes involved with the seed particles and the mechanisms of forming discharge channels are discussed.

Nonlinearity of initiating and extinguishing boundaries of DBDs with airflows

Various applications of volume dielectric barrier discharges(DBDs)with airflows have attracted significant attention such as in the fields of plasma medicine,surface modification,ozone synthesis,etc.In this work,the nonlinearity characteristics of DBDs in initiating and extinguishing boundaries with airflows are experimentally investigated.It is found that the difference between initiating pulse repetition frequencies(PRFs)and extinguishing PRFs is affected by the addition of airflows.A hysteresis region is produced between these two PRFs.A topological rule of Thom's classification theorem is proposed to investigate the hysteresis phenomenon of discharges with airflows.It is concluded that the discharge state is dependent on the operation route.The discharge state would transit from initiating to extinguishing,or in the opposite direction,while passing along a specific operation route.Based on the topological method,two nonlinear laws of discharge structure transition under the typical operation routes are predicted and verified in the discharge experiments.

Experimental investigation on upstream and downstream discharges in airflows

Dielectric barrier discharge has widely used in airflow control, ignition and combustion, and other applications; the influence of airflow on dielectric barrier discharge is of extensive concern. Previous studies demonstrate that the discharge becomes more uniform and the discharge intensity decreases with increasing of airflow velocity. In this study, we adopt a discharge cell construction with upstream and downstream structure and study the discharge states and intensities. The experimental results demonstrate that within a specific range of airflow speed, the upstream discharge intensity is decreased, and the downstream discharge intensity is enhanced. The physical basis for this phenomenon is proposed as follows： Within a pulse interval time, some particles, such as charged and metastable particles produced by the upstream discharge, could be transported to the downstream region. The concentration of particles in the downstream region is increased, and these particles play a pre-ionization role in the downstream discharge, the intensity of the downstream discharge is enhanced. Further, factors such as the pulse frequency and the distance between electrodes are discussed in detail, along with the conditions for enhancing downstream discharge intensity.

The Circadian System Is Essential for the Crosstalk of VEGF-Notch-mediated Endothelial Angiogenesis in Ischemic Stroke

Ischemic stroke is a major public health problem worldwide.Although the circadian clock is involved in the process of ischemic stroke,the exact mechanism of the circadian clock in regulating angiogenesis after cerebral infarction remains unclear.In the present study,we determined that environmental circadian disruption(ECD)increased the stroke severity and impaired angiogenesis in the rat middle cerebral artery occlusion model,by measuring the infarct volume,neurological tests,and angiogenesis-related protein.We further report that Bmal1 plays an irreplaceable role in angiogenesis.Overexpression of Bmal1 promoted tube-forming,migration,and wound healing,and upregulated the vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and Notch pathway protein levels.This promoting effect was reversed by the Notch pathway inhibitor DAPT,according to the results of angiogenesis capacity and VEGF pathway protein level.In conclusion,our study reveals the intervention of ECD in angiogenesis in ischemic stroke and further identifies the exact mechanism by which Bmal1 regulates angiogenesis through the VEGF-Notch1 pathway.