Endovascular embolization is applicable for large and giant intracranial aneurysms: experience in one center with long-term angiographic follow-up.

Background: Endovascular treatment of large and giant intracranial aneurysms and long-term results of angiographic follow-up of these aneurysms treated endovascularly are not known currently.

Purpose: To investigate the outcome of endovascular treatment of large and giant aneurysms and the long-term angiographic follow-up results.

Material And Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients with endovascular treatment of large and giant aneurysms between 1998 and 2009 was performed.

Lycium barbarum polysaccharides prevent memory and neurogenesis impairments in scopolamine-treated rats.

Lycium barbarum is used both as a food additive and as a medicinal herb in many countries, and L. barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs), a major cell component, are reported to have a wide range of beneficial effects including neuroprotection, anti-aging and anticancer properties, and immune modulation. The effects of LBPs on neuronal function, neurogenesis, and drug-induced learning and memory deficits have not been assessed.

Far-from-equilibrium sheared colloidal liquids: disentangling relaxation, advection, and shear-induced diffusion.

Using high-speed confocal microscopy, we measure the particle positions in a colloidal suspension under large-amplitude oscillatory shear. Using the particle positions, we quantify the in situ anisotropy of the pair-correlation function, a measure of the Brownian stress. From these data we find two distinct types of responses as the system crosses over from equilibrium to far-from-equilibrium states.

Fate and transformation of naphthylaminesulfonic azo dye reactive black 5 during wastewater treatment process.

Certain aromatic amines generated by the decolorization of some azo dyes are not removed substantially by conventional anaerobic-aerobic biotreatment. These aromatic amines are potentially toxic and often released in the wastewater of industrial plants. In this study, the fate and transformation of the naphthylaminesulfonic azo dye Reactive Black 5 (RB5) during different phases of a sequencing batch reactor were investigated.

[Butanol production from corn stover hydrolysate with in-situ liquid-liquid extraction].

Butanol production from corn stover hydrolysates (CSH) with in-situ liquid-liquid extraction was studied to enhance the production and reduce the fermentation cost. Oleyl alcohol was selected as the suitable solvent and added at the initial fermentation time with the ratio of 1:1 (oleyl alcohol: fermentation broth, V/V). Under this condition, butanol and ABE from CSH with 32.

Interplay of Th1 and Th17 cells in murine models of malignant pleural effusion.

Rationale: IFN-γ-producing CD4(+) T (Th1) cells and IL-17-producing CD4(+) T (Th17) cells have been found to be involved in multiple malignancies; however, the reciprocal relationship between Th1 and Th17 cells in malignant pleural effusion (MPE) remains to be elucidated.

Objectives: To explore the differentiation and immune regulation of Th1 and Th17 cells in the development of MPE in murine models.

Methods: The distribution and differentiation of Th1 and Th17 cells in MPE were investigated in IFN-γ(-/-), IL-17(-/-), and wild-type mice.

Regulation of CARD8 expression by ANRIL and association of CARD8 single nucleotide polymorphism rs2043211 (p.C10X) with ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: ANRIL has long been considered as the strongest candidate gene at the 9p21 locus, robustly associated with stroke and coronary artery disease. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unknown. The present study works to elucidate such a mechanism.

Autoantibodies targeting AT1 receptor from patients with acute coronary syndrome upregulate proinflammatory cytokines expression in endothelial cells involving NF-κB pathway.

Our study intended to prove whether agonistic autoantibodies to angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1-AAs) exist in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and affect the human endothelial cell (HEC) by upregulating proinflammatory cytokines expression involved in NF-κB pathway. Antibodies were determined by chronotropic responses of cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes coupled with receptor-specific antagonists (valsartan and AT1-EC2) as described previously. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) expression were improved at both mRNA and protein levels in HEC, while NF-κB in the DNA level was improved detected by electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA).

New triterpene saponins from the roots of Glycyrrhiza yunnanensis and their rapid screening by LC/MS/MS.

The roots of Glycyrrhiza yunnanensis Cheng f. et L. K.

Medicinal compounds with antiepileptic/anticonvulsant activities.

Objective: Epilepsy is a serious neural disease that affects around 50 million people all over the world. Although for the majority patients with epilepsy, seizures are well controlled by currently available antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), there are still >30% of patients suffered from medically refractory epilepsy and approximately 30-40% of all epileptic patients affected by numerous side effects and seizure resistance to the current AEDs. Therefore, many researchers try to develop novel approaches to treat epilepsy, for example, to discover new antiepileptic constituents from herbal medicines.

Cardiac fibroblasts recruit Th17 cells infiltration into myocardium by secreting CCL20 in CVB3-induced acute viral myocarditis.

Aims: Th17 cells contributed to myocardial inflammatory injury in acute viral myocarditis (AVMC), and the migration of these cells were mainly mediated by CCL20-secreting inflammatory cells. However, whether and how the resident cells such as cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts could mediate Th17 cell migration into the heart remains unclear in AVMC.

Methods: The effect of CCL20 on the dynamic alterations of intracardiac Th17 cells and disease severity were investigated through the neutralization of CCL20 in AVMC mice.

Autophagy contributes to IL-17-induced plasma cell differentiation in experimental autoimmune myocarditis.

Although IL-17 is considered to promote B cell differentiation into antibody-secreting plasma cells in some autoimmune diseases, its mechanism remains unclear. Recent studies revealed that autophagy, a lysosome-mediated catabolic process for providing nutrients under starvation, could regulate plasma cell homeostasis, so this study aimed to explore whether and how autophagy participates in IL-17-mediated plasma cell differentiation by MyHC-α-induced experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) mouse model. It showed that IL-17 could not only induce B cell autophagy, but also facilitate the myocarditis severity, serum anti-MyHC-α autoantibody production and splenic CD38(+) CD138(+) B cell percentages, while the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine attenuated these effects.

Images of deep neck space infection and the clinical significance.

Background: Deep neck infection is not difficult to diagnose clinically, but correct localization of the involved space for timely incision and drainage is not easy without assistance of imaging.

Purpose: To investigate the images of deep neck space infection of phlegmon and abscess and the role of imaging examination in correct localization and treatment.

Material And Methods: Between June 2004 and June 2010, 28 patients were diagnosed with deep neck infection (14 men, 14 women; age range, 17-72 years; mean age, 46 years).

IL-17A induces pro-inflammatory cytokines production in macrophages via MAPKinases, NF-κB and AP-1.

Background: Interleukin (IL)-17A, a newly identified cytokine, may participate in the transition of a stable plaque into an unstable plaque. Macrophages play a critical role in the destabilization of atherosclerotic plaque.

Methods: RAW 264.

Antioxidant activities of Se-SPI produced from soybean as accumulation and biotransformation reactor of natural selenium.

A study to compare the uptake, translocation, and distribution of selenium (Se) in soybean planted in natural seleniferous soil in Fengcheng city of China was conducted to clarify the relationship between the Se content levels of soybean proteins and their radical scavenging activity. The data showed that the total Se content in different parts of soybean plants varied with the growth periods. The selenoprotein (Se-SPI) content increased remarkably with the increase of Se content in seleniferous soils.

Meta-analysis identifies robust association between SNP rs17465637 in MIA3 on chromosome 1q41 and coronary artery disease.

Several large-scale meta-GWAS identified significant association between SNP rs17465637 in the MIA3 gene and coronary artery disease (CAD) in the European ancestry populations. However, three follow-up replication studies in the Chinese populations yielded inconsistent results. In order to unequivocally determine whether SNP rs17465637 is associated with CAD, we performed an independent case control association study in the Chinese Han population and a follow-up large scale meta-analysis for SNP rs17465637.

Predictive factors for different subgroups of central lymph node metastasis in unilateral papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Aims: We aimed to investigate the incidence rates and risk factors for different subgroups of central neck lymph node (LN) metastasis (prelaryngeal, ipsilateral paratracheal, pretracheal, and contralateral paratracheal) in unilateral papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients with clinically negative neck nodes (cN0).

Methods: We evaluated 184 patients from 2007 to 2009. The relationships between different subgroups of LN metastasis and clinical pathological factors were analyzed.

The IL-33-ST2L pathway is associated with coronary artery disease in a Chinese Han population.

The effects of interleukin-33 (IL-33) on the immune system have been clearly demonstrated; however, in cardiovascular diseases, especially in coronary artery disease (CAD), these effects have not yet been clarified. In this study, we investigate the genetic role of the IL-33-ST2L pathway in CAD. We performed three-stage case-control association analyses on a total of 4,521 individuals with CAD and 4,809 controls via tag SNPs in the genes encoding IL-33 and ST2L-IL-1RL1.

Plasma levels of cathepsins L, K, and V and risks of abdominal aortic aneurysms: a randomized population-based study.

Background: Cathepsin L (CatL), cathepsin K (CatK), and cathepsin V (CatV) are potent elastases implicated in human arterial wall remodeling. Whether plasma levels of these cathepsins are altered in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) remains unknown.

Methods And Results: Plasma samples were collected from 476 male AAA patients and 200 age-matched male controls to determine CatL, CatK, and CatV levels by ELISA.

The long-term outcome of nerve combing for trigeminal neuralgia.

Background: The purpose of our study was to describe and evaluate the long-term clinical outcome of nerve combing for idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (TN) with and without vascular compression.

Methods: The study included 60 trigeminal neuralgia patients, 28 of which (Group A) had no visible vascular compression intraoperatively and 32 of which (Group B) had trigeminal nerve root entry zone (REZ) compressed by vascular structure. All patients were considered medical failures prior to the surgeries.

Lepista sordida polysaccharide induces apoptosis of Hep-2 cancer cells via mitochondrial pathway.

In our previous study, a potential antitumor polysaccharide (LSPc1) was screened from the fruiting bodies of Lepista sordida. However, its molecular mechanism of cell death induction on Hep-2 human laryngocarcinoma cells has still not been determined. The present study evaluated the anticancer efficacy and associated mechanisms of LSPc1 on Hep-2 cells in vitro.

Enhancing rotational diffusion using oscillatory shear.

Taylor dispersion--shear-induced enhancement of translational diffusion--is an important phenomenon with applications ranging from pharmacology to geology. Through experiments and simulations, we show that rotational diffusion is also enhanced for anisotropic particles in oscillatory shear. This enhancement arises from variations in the particle's rotation (Jeffery orbit) and depends on the strain amplitude, rate, and particle aspect ratio in a manner that is distinct from the translational diffusion.

Antitumor activity of polysaccharides from Lepista sordida against laryngocarcinoma in vitro and in vivo.

Four water-soluble polysaccharides (LSPa1, LSPb1, LSPb2 and LSPc1) extracted from the fruiting bodies of Lepista sordida were prepared by DEAE cellulose-52 anion-exchange and Sepharose 6 Fast Flow gel-permeation chromatography. LSPa1 was composed of Glc, Man and Gal with a molar ratio of 3.2: 1.

Protective effect of melatonin against Adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity.

The aim of this study was to explore the protective properties of melatonin against Adriamycin-induced myocardial toxicity. A rat model of breast cancer was established and the rats were randomly divided into the blank group (Blank), the solvent group [Diss; dehydrated alcohol: physiological saline (1:9)], the Adriamycin group (ADM), the melatonin group (MLT) and the melatonin + Adriamycin group (M+A). The concentrations of lipid peroxide (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in myocardial tissues were detected, the changes in myocardial tissues were observed using light microscopy and electron microscopy, and the 1-month survival rates of each group of rats were compared.

A large number of receptors may reduce cellular response time variation.

Cells often have tens of thousands of receptors, even though only a few activated receptors can trigger full cellular responses. Reasons for the overabundance of receptors remain unclear. We suggest that, under certain conditions, the large number of receptors can result in a competition among receptors to be the first to activate the cell.