Therapeutic effect and mechanism of Shenqi Zhilong Decoction on mice with membranous nephropathy through ERK/cPLA2 signaling pathway

Objective: To explore the therapeutic effect and underlying mechanism of Shenqi Zhilong Decoction on mice with membranous nephropathy (MN). Methods:Mice with MN was established by injecting cationic bovine serum albumin (c-BSA) into tail vein for several times. model mice were randomly divided into MN group (equal amount of distilled water), Shenqi Zhilong Decoction low dose group (12 g crude drug/kg), Shenqi Zhilong Decoction high dose group (24 g crude drug/kg), and Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside tablet group (14 mg/ kg). Another 10 un-treatment mice were taken as control group (equal amount of distilled water). The drug was administered orally once a day for 4 weeks. After the last administration, 24 hours urine was collected to determine the urinary protein content;blood from inner canthus was collected to measure the changes of kidney function, liver function, blood lipid and levels of IL-6, IL-4 and TNF-α in serum in each group;HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of kidney. Immunohistochemical staining was used to observe the expression of IgG in kidney. The protein expression of ERK1/2 and cPLA2 in renal tissues was determined by Western-blot method. The gene expression of Neph1, Nephrin and Podocin mRNA in kidney tissues were detected by RT-PCR. Results: Compared with model group, Shenqi Zhilong decoction at low-dose and high-dose could significantly reduce the value of urine protein in MN mice;Decreased TC and TG levels (P<0.05 or P<0.01);Increased the levels of ALB and TP in liver function (P<0.05 or P<0.01);has no significant effects on the levels of CRE, UREA and UA in renal function (P>0.05). Decreased the contents of IL-6, IL-4 and TNF-α in serum (P<0.05 or P<0.01);Significantly down-regulated the protein expression levels of p-ERK1/2 and p-cPLA2 in kidney tissues of MN mice (P<0.05 or P<0.01);Significantly increased the expression levels of NephP1, Nephrin and Podocin mRNA in renal tissues (P<0.01). Conclusion: Shenqi Zhulong Decoction has a good therapeutic effect on MN mice, and the mechanism of action is related to regulate the expression of related genes of Nephrin-Podocin-Neph1 receptor complex for protecting the glomerular filtration barrier, and inhibite the activation of ERK/cPLA2 pathway for relieving damage of GEC and reduceing secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Improved Cohen-Sutherland algorithm for TGS transmission imaging

Tomographic gamma scanner(TGS),an advancedγ-ray nondestructive analysis technique,can locate and analyze nuclides in radioactive nuclear waste,and TGS can be categorized into two processes:e.g.,transmission measurement and emission measurement.Specifically,transmission measurements provide the basis for accurate measurement of nonuniform radionuclide content in TGS scanning.The scan data were obtained using the Monte Carlo tool Geant4 simulation,and 25 voxels were divided into five lengths and five widths in a square barrel.In this study,an encoding cropping algorithm based on draped foot vector judgment was adopted to rapidly calculate the voxel trace matrix within a square bucket of nuclear waste,and the transmission images were reconstructed using ordered subset expectation maximization.The results indicated that the cropping speed of the improved coding algorithm was significantly higher than that of the original algorithm,and the relative mean deviation and root-mean-square error between the reconstructed attenuation coefficient and the reference standard value tended to decrease with an increase in the cropped line segments in the voxel;the Pearson correlation coefficient tended to converge to 1.0.The image quality evaluation parameters of the high media-density materials were better than those of the low media-density materials in the above three indexes.The reconstruction effect was relatively poor for more complex filling materials.When there were more than 10 cropped line segments in the voxel,the reconstruction data generally tended to be stable.The graphical trimming algorithm can rapidly calculate the trace matrix of the scanned voxels;it exhibits the advantages of speed and efficiency and can serve as a novel method to solve the trace matrix of TGS nuclear waste transmission scans.

Laser parameters affecting the asymmetric radiation of the electron in tightly focused intense laser pulses

The nonlinear radiation of the electron is a distinctive feature of the action of tightly focused linearly polarized lasers.In this paper,from the perspective of radiation symmetry,the effect of laser parameters on the electron radiation power in the time domain is studied systematically.An asymmetric bimodal structure is found in the time domain in the direction of the maximum radiation.For this special structure,an explanation is given based on the electron dynamics perspective.The structure is compared with the symmetric bimodal structure in the classical theory.The increase in laser intensity,while significantly increasing the radiated power of the electron,exacerbates the asymmetry of the electron radiation.The variation in the initial phase of the laser leads to a periodic variation in the electron motion,which results in a periodic extension of the electron spatial radiation with a period ofπ.Moreover,the existence of jump points with a phase difference ofπin the range of 0-2πis found.The increase in pulse width reduces the radiated power,extends the radiation range,and alleviates the radiation asymmetry.The results in this paper contribute to the study of electron radiation characteristics in intense laser fields.

Effects of doping route on microstructure and mechanical properties of W−1.0wt.%La2O3 alloys

A comparative study was conducted by using solution combustion synthesis with three different doping routes(liquid-liquid(WL10), liquid-solid(WLNO) and solid-solid(WLO)) to produce nanoscale powders and further fabricate the ultrafine-grained W-1.0 wt.%La2O3 alloys by pressureless sintering. Compared with pure tungsten, W-1.0 wt.%La2O3 alloys exhibit ultrafine grains and excellent mechanical properties. After sintering, the average grain size of the WLO sample is larger than that of WL10 and WLNO samples;the microhardness values of WL10 and WLNO samples are similar but larger than the value of WLO sample. The optimized La2O3 particles are obtained in the WL10 sample after sintering at 1500 ℃ with the minimum mean size by comparing with WLNO and WLO samples, which are uniformly distributed either at grain boundaries or in the grain interior with the sizes of(57±29.7) and(27±13.1) nm, respectively. This study exhibits ultrafine microstructure and outperforming mechanical properties of the W-1.0 wt.%La2O3 alloy via the liquid-liquid doping route, as compared with conventionally-manufactured tungsten materials.

右美托咪定对胸腰椎体骨折患者的影响

目的探讨右美托咪定复合舒芬太尼对胸腰椎体骨折患者手术后认知状况的影响。方法选取2015年5月-2016年3月贵州医科大学附属医院收治的胸腰椎体骨折患者92例,依据随机数表法分为观察组(右美托咪定+舒芬太尼)和对照组(舒芬太尼),比较两组手术情况、简易智力状态检查量表(MMSE)评分和神经功能。结果两组患者的手术时间、麻醉时间、清醒时间及拔管时间无差异(P>0.05)。观察组比对照组MMSE评分高,认知功能好。观察组与对照组相比斯特鲁普效应实验完成时间较低,韦氏智力量表评分、数字符号替换实验正确数较高,神经功能较好。结论右美托咪定复合舒芬太尼能够有效避免胸腰椎体骨折患者手术后认知障碍,改善患者神经功能,且不延长术后苏醒时间,值得临床推广。

Bioassay-guided isolation of cytotoxic constituents from the flowers of Aquilaria sinensis

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the EtOH extract from the flowers of Aquilaria sinensis(Lour.)Spreng.(Thyme-laeaceae)led to the isolation of a new cucurbitane-type triterpenoid,aquilarolide A(1),along with five known compounds(2-6).The structure of 1 was elucidated by extensive 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)experiments and mass spectrometry(MS)data and theoretical calculations of its electronic circular dichroism(ECD)spectra.Aquilarolide A,cucurbitacin E(3),cucurbitacin B(4),and 7-hydroxy-6-methoxy-2-[2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethyl]-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one(6)showed significant cytotoxicity against human lung adenocarcinoma SPC-A-1,human lung squamous cell carcinoma NCI-H520,human lung adenocarcinoma A549,and paclitaxel-resistant A549(A549/Taxol)cell lines.All four active compounds,with IC_(50) values ranging from 0.002 to 0.91μM,had better inhibitory activities against A549/Taxol cells than paclitaxel(IC_(50)=1.80μM).Among them,cucurbitacin E(IC_(50)=0.002μM)is the most active.Further studies are needed to evaluate their in vivo antitumor activities and to clarify their mechanisms.

Female Gender Was Associated With Increased Odds of Sleep Disturbance in Adult Chinese With Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis:A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective:Up to 85.3%of patients with psoriasis experience sleep disturbance(SD).However,SD has not been characterized in Chinese patients with psoriasis,and the factors that affect SD among adult patients with psoriasis remain unclear.This study was performed to examine the risk of SD in patients with psoriasis compared with a control group of healthy individuals and to identify factors contributing to SD in patients with psoriasis.Methods:This was a cross-sectional,questionnaire-based,case-control study involving 142 adult participants with psoriasis and 142 healthy controls.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI)was administered to assess SD.Mild psoriasis was defined by Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and body surface area cut-offs of<10,and mild to severe psoriasis was determined by Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and body surface area cut-offs of≥10.Logistic regression was performed to investigate the associations.Results:The prevalence of SD(PSQI score of≥6)was 47.9%in adult patients with psoriasis.The mean PSQI score in patients with psoriasis was 6.1±3.7,which was higher than that in the control group(4.9±2.5,P<0.001).The risk of SD in the psoriasis group was 1.669 times higher(95%confidence interval,1.008-2.761;P=0.046)than that in the healthy group.Female sex(adjusted odds ratio,4.130;95%confidence interval,1.306-13.058;P=0.016)was significantly associated with an increased risk of SD in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis,whereas there were no significant factors affecting the risk of SD in patients with mild psoriasis.Conclusion:Patients with psoriasis were more likely than healthy controls to develop SD.In patients with moderate to severe psoriasis,but not in those with mild psoriasis,female sex was associated with a higher likelihood of SD.

Denoised Internal Models:A Brain-inspired Autoencoder Against Adversarial Attacks

Despite its great success,deep learning severely suffers from robustness;i.e.,deep neural networks are very vulnerable to adversarial attacks,even the simplest ones.Inspired by recent advances in brain science,we propose the denoised internal models(DIM),a novel generative autoencoder-based model to tackle this challenge.Simulating the pipeline in the human brain for visual signal processing,DIM adopts a two-stage approach.In the first stage,DIM uses a denoiser to reduce the noise and the dimensions of inputs,reflecting the information pre-processing in the thalamus.Inspired by the sparse coding of memory-related traces in the primary visual cortex,the second stage produces a set of internal models,one for each category.We evaluate DIM over 42 adversarial attacks,showing that DIM effectively defenses against all the attacks and outperforms the SOTA on the overall robustness on the MNIST(Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology)dataset.