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Renal interstitial fibrosis is the common pathological process of various chronic kidney diseases to end-stage renal disease. Inhibition of fibroblast activation attenuates renal interstitial fibrosis. Our previous studies show that poricoic acid A (PAA) isolated from Poria cocos is a potent anti-fibrotic agent. In the present study we investigated the effects of PAA on renal fibroblast activation and interstitial fibrosis and the underlying mechanisms. Renal interstitial fibrosis was induced in rats or mice by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). UUO rats were administered PAA (10 mg·kg−1·d−1, i.g.) for 1 or 2 weeks. An in vitro model of renal fibrosis was established in normal renal kidney fibroblasts (NRK-49F cells) treated with TGF-β1. We showed that PAA treatment rescued Sirt3 expression, and significantly attenuated renal fibroblast activation and interstitial fibrosis in both the in vivo and in vitro models. In TGF-β1-treated NRK-49F cells, we demonstrated that Sirt3 deacetylated β-catenin (a key transcription factor of fibroblast activation) and then accelerated its ubiquitin-dependent degradation, thus suppressing the protein expression and promoter activity of pro-fibrotic downstream target genes (twist, snail1, MMP-7 and PAI-1) to alleviate fibroblast activation; the lysine-49 (K49) of β-catenin was responsible for Sirt3-mediated β-catenin deacetylation. In molecular docking analysis, we found the potential interaction of Sirt3 and PAA. In both in vivo and in vitro models, pharmacological activation of Sirt3 by PAA significantly suppressed renal fibroblast activation via facilitating β-catenin K49 deacetylation. In UUO mice and NRK-49F cells, Sirt3 overexpression enhanced the anti-fibrotic effect of PAA, whereas Sirt3 knockdown weakened the effect. Taken together, PAA attenuates renal fibroblast activation and interstitial fibrosis by upregulating Sirt3 and inducing β-catenin K49 deacetylation, highlighting Sirt3 functions as a promising therapeutic target of renal fibroblast activation and interstitial fibrosis.

Renal fibrosis is a critical pathological process lead to a progressive loss of renal function. Jolkinolide B (JB) is a natural compound with anti-inflammatory activity from

To investigate the effect of open wedge tibial high osteotomy on patella position, anterior knee pain and joint function.From June 2016 to June 2021, 109 patients (111 knees) with medial knee osteoarthropathy treated by open wedge tibial high osteotomy were included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, including 41 males and 68 females;the age ranged from 38 to 78 years old with an average of(57.98±7.07) years;the course of disease ranged from 1 to 36 months with an average of (8.58±6.91) months. The femoral tibial angle(FTA), medial proximal tibial angle(MPTA), weight bearing line(WBL) percentage, Caton Deschamps index (CD index), lateral patella tilt angle (LPTA) and lateral patella shift (LPS) were observed and compared before and after operation. Lysholm score was used to evaluate the knee function, visual analogue scale(VAS) was used to evaluate the degree of anterior knee pain, and Kellgren Lawrence(K-L) grading system was used to evaluate the progress of patellofemoral osteoarthritis.All patients were followed up for 6 to 38 months with an average of (12.41±2.40) months. The preoperative FTA, MPTA, WBL percentage, CD index, and LPTA were significantly different from those at the last follow-up(After open wedge tibial high osteotomy, the position of patella is lowered and the patella is tilted outward, but the knee function and anterior knee pain are significantly improved. Adverse changes in patella position caused by open wedge tibial high osteotomy may not affect clinical outcomes.

Pseudotumor formation after hip arthroplasty is a rare complication that can occur not only at the head-neck junction but also at the modular neck-stem junction. Dislocation is a challenging and common complication of primary and revision total hip arthroplasty compared with other complications. Similarly, the association between pseudotumors and delayed recurrent dislocation remains unclear.We report the case of a 73-year-old woman with pseudotumor formation after total hip arthroplasty combined with a modular femoral neck. A delayed recurrent dislocation occurred in this case. Approximately 4weeks after the first revision surgery, redislocation occurred.The patient was eventually diagnosed with delayed recurrent artificial hip dislocation combined with a periprosthetic pseudotumor of the right hip.During the first revision surgery, a thickened, indurated cyst measuring 8×3×8cm with a red-brown wall containing brown fluid was completely excised. A cemented stem, combined with a BIOLOX Forte ceramic head, was implanted. Approximately 4weeks after surgery, redislocation occurred, and we cemented an elevated rim liner on the acetabular component with a metal head.At the last follow-up, 49 months after revision surgery, the patient was asymptomatic with a Harris hip score of 90. The patient had a satisfactory prognosis after treatment.The application of the modular-neck stem should be cautiously performed, particularly for modular prostheses containing different alloys. Pseudotumors and insufficient soft-tissue tension both contribute to hip instability, which may eventually lead to delayed repeated dislocation. In addition, femoral offset must be considered. Cement-liner technology may be used for aging patients who are less active. This case report, focusing on pseudotumors and delayed recurrent dislocations, aimed to identify factors that may support this diagnosis, which is easy to miss. Consequently, it can provide further details on the treatment process and alert orthopedic surgeons to this infrequent but important cause of delayed recurrent dislocation.

The relationship between data rate and transmission power is analyzed in this paper. Moreover, an algorithmcombined with adaptive data rate (ADR) and transmission power control (TPC) is proposedin this paper, and it improves battery life significantly on IoT devices. In the premise that withoutprejudicing the accuracy of wireless transmission, the faster data rate and lower transmission powercan be used to reduce power consumption. The results of a longtime test show that the nodes withthe proposed algorithm not only achieve power saving when good transmitting environment, but alsoaccomplish stable communication in the harsh environment. In the best case, compared with the noalgorithmnodes, the nodes with the ADR and TPC algorithms can be reduced power consumptionup to 50%.

Fischernolides A–D (1–4), four meroterpenoids based on diterpene and acylphloroglucinol, possessing an unprecedented 28-carbon skeleton with a novel scaffold, were isolated from the roots of Euphorbia fischeriana. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by comprehensive chemical analyses including spectroscopic techniques, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopy, and single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments. The possible biogenetic pathway to generate 1–4 through aldol condensation was also proposed. Compound 2 showed significant cytotoxicity and can induce the apoptosis of MCF-7 and Bel-7402 cell lines by caspase activation.

To explore the effect of Tangshen Formula (, TSF), a Chinese herbal medicine, on interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in the colon of diabetic rats.Fifty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control (NC, n=14) and high-fat diet (HFD) groups (n=40). After 6 weeks, the rats in the HFD group were injected intraperitoneally streptozotocin once (30 mg/kg). Thirty rats with fasting blood glucose higher than 11.7 mmol/L were randomly divided into diabetes (DM) and TSF groups, 15 rats in each group. Rats in the NC and DM groups were intragastrically administered with saline, and those in the TSF group were given with TSF (2.4 g/kg) once daily for 20 weeks. Expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 in colonic smooth muscle layer were measured by Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. The number of ICC was determined by immunohistochemical staining. Immunofluorescence was used for analyzing the ratio of classically activated macrophages (M1) and alternatively activated macrophages (M2) to total macrophages. Electron microscopy was used to observe the epithelial ultrastructure and junctions.TSF appeared to partially prevented loss of ICC in DM rats (P0.05). Compared with the NC group, expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3, and TNF-α as well as the ratio of M1 to total macrophages increased in DM rats (all P0.05), and the ratio of M2 to total macrophages decreased (P0.05 or P0.01). Compared with the DM group, TSF decreased the expression levels of abovementioned proteins and restore M2 to total macrophages ratio (P0.05 or P0.01). TSF appeared to attenuate the ultrastructural changes of epithelia and improve the tight and desmosome junctions between epithelia reduced in the DM rats.Reduced number of ICC in DM rats may be associated with damage of the intestinal barrier. The protective effects of TSF on ICC may be through repair of the epithelial junctions, which attenuates inflammation and inflammation-initiated apoptosis in colon of DM rats.

Most Internet of Things (IoT) systems are based on the wireless sensor network (WSN) due to the reduction of the cable layout cost. However, the battery life of nodes is a key issue when the node is powered by a battery. A Low-Power WSN Protocol with ADR and TP Hybrid Control is proposed in this paper to improve battery life significantly. Besides, techniques including the Sub-1GHz star topology network with Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), adaptive data rate (ADR), and transmission power control (TPC) are also used. The long-term testing results show that the nodes with the proposed algorithm can balance the communication quality and low power consumption simultaneously. The experimental results also show that the power consumption of the node with the algorithm was reduced by 38.46-54.44% compared with the control group. If using AAA battery with 1200 mAh, the node could run approximately 4.2 years with the proposed hybrid control algorithm with an acquisition period of under 5 s.

The present study compared active ingredients of tea from different sources to select tea type and the fraction of tea extracts for the highest anti-hyperglycemic activity, and to verify anti-hyperglycemic activity of the selected tea extract. Tea extracts were separated and enriched by molecular weight using ultra-filtration technology. The extracts were first screened by

High output low pressure mercury (LPM) discharge UV lamps have been briefly introduced. In order to measure the 254 nm radiant efficiency simply and preciously, Keitz formula was used and its advantage was illustrated. The LPM lamps had outer diameter of 19 mm (T6). The buffer gases are neon (65%) and argon (35%) with total pressure 1-10 Torr (133-1333 Pa). The lamps were operated with cold spot temperatures from 20°C to 80°C and discharge current from 0.8 A to 2.0 A. The electric field, input power, 254 nm UV irradiance and irradiance of other Hg lines from 265 to 579 nm in positive column were measured. The radiant power of each wavelength can be calibrated according to the 254 nm output and the Keitz formula. It was shown that the radiant efficiency of 254 nm can reach a maximum of above 40% at cold spot temperature 45-47 °C and current 1.6 A for filling pressure less than 3 Torr. The optimal mercury vapor pressure was 1.2 to 1.4 Pa. The output percentage of other Hg lines was below 5%. With the decrease of buffer gas pressure, the 254 nm radiant efficiency increased obviously.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems need security protocols to provide confidentiality, user privacy, mutual authentication and etc. This paper analyze two of the newest RFID security protocols which proposed by Niu et al. and Fu et al. form the security viewpoint of data desynchronization attack. These two lightweight protocols were expected to proposed security protections for the RFID system and safeguard against almost all major attacks. However, we found that these two RFID security protocols were vulnerable to the attack of data desynchronization. Based on strand space model, data desynchronization attacks on these two protocols were analyzed. Furthermore, improvements to overcome the security vulnerabilities of these two protocols were given.

As a rapid developing solid state lighting, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have great potential in application of road lighting, but their performance evaluation in a long term are still lacked. In situ and laboratory measurements were conducted for the purpose of comparing the characteristic parameters and lighting performance of three kinds of street lamps: LEDs, high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps and ceramic discharge metal halide (CDM) lamps. The results of laboratory measurements in 2000 hours show the three kinds of lamps have almost the same initial luminaire efficacy, which lead to the average road illuminance is proportion to the lamp power. The results of road illuminance distribution measurements in 3000 hours show LEDs have better color rendering index, longitudinal uniformity of illuminance, and maintenance of road illuminance than HPS and CDM lamps.

Objective To investigate the expression changes in ubiquitin carboxy-hydrase L1 (UCH-L1) protein in diabetic nephropathy (DN) model. Methods The primarily cultured glomerular mesangial cells of rats were treated with 5.4mmol/L of glucose (normal control group) or 30mmol/L of glucose (high glucose group), and then cultured for 0, 8, 16 and 72 hours. The proliferation of mesangial cells in both groups were assayed by MTT, and the expression of UCH-L1 protein was detected by Western blotting at aforementioned 4 time-points. Spontaneous type 2 DN model OLETF and its normal control LETO rats were imported from Japan, and their serum glucose and 24h total urinary protein (TUP) were dynamically monitored every 4 weeks. The model rats were sacrificed at the 36th week, their pathological changes in nephridial tissue were surveyed, and the expression level of UCH-L1 in the cortex of kidney was analyzed by Western blotting. Results High glucose may inhibit the proliferation of rat mesangial cells. The expression level of UCH-L1 in mesangial cells was reduced at the time-points 8 and 72 hours, and elevated obviously at 16 hours in high glucose group, when compared with that in normal control group (P < 0.01). The level of serum glucose and 24h TUP increased gradually in OLETF rats as compared with that in LETO rats. The early pathological changes of DN were observed in the nephridial tissue of OLETF rats sacrificed at the 36th week, and the expression of HCH-L1 in the cortex of kidney was reduced in OLETF rats compared with that in LETO rats. Conclusion A reduction of HCH-L1 protein expression exists in most of the DN models, implying that the dysfunction of protein degradation may play a certain role in the pathogenesis and development of DN.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and chronic liver disease are both very harmful to human health almost all over the world, which lead to the fibrosis of the two organs ultimately. Currently, there are few satisfactory therapeutic methods in treating the two diseases. Some research works from Chinese medicine and Western medicine were done in the area recently, the results showed that kidney and liver fibrosis shared similar biological signals and events such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and transforming growth factor β 1, the same herbal mesenchymal medicine exhibited significantly improving effects on both liver fibrosis and kidney fibrosis by involving similar mechanism. This coincides with the theory of homogeny of Liver (Gan) and Kidney (Shen) of Chinese medicine. It would provides new clues in exploring the treatment of liver fibrosis and kidney fibrosis.

During the past decades, signal processing architecture, which is based on FPGA, conventional DSP processor and host computer, is popular for infrared or other electro-optical systems. With the increasing processing requirement, the former architecture starts to show its limitation in several respects. This paper elaborates a solution based on FPGA for panoramic imaging system as our first step of upgrading the processing module to System-on-Chip (SoC) solution. Firstly, we compare this new architecture with the traditional to show its superiority mainly in the video processing ability, reduction in the development workload and miniaturization of the system architecture. Afterwards, this paper provides in-depth description of this imaging system, including the system architecture and its function, and addresses several related issues followed by the future development. FPGA has developed so rapidly during the past years, not only in silicon device but also in the design flow and tools. In the end, we briefly present our future system development and introduce those new design tools to make up the limitation of the traditional FPGA design methodology. The advanced design flow through Simulink® and Xilinx® System Generator™ (Sysgen) has been elaborated, which enables engineers to develop sophisticated DSP algorithms and implement them in FPGA more efficiently. It is believed that this new design approach can shorten system design cycle by allowing rapid prototyping and refining design process.

ObjectiveIncreasing evidence shows that TGF-β1 is a key mediator in diabetic nephropathy (DN) and induces renal fibrosis positively by Smad3 but negatively by Smad7. However, treatment of DN by blocking the TGF-β/Smad pathway remains limited. The present study investigated the anti-fibrotic effect of a traditional Chinese medicine, Chaihuang-Yishen granule (CHYS), on DN.Research design and methodsProtective role of CHYS in DN was examined in an accelerated type 1 DN induced by streptozotocin in uninephrectomized Wistar rats. CHYS, at a dose of 0.56 g/kg body weight, was administered by a daily gastric gavage for 20 weeks and the therapeutic effect and potential mechanisms of CHYS on diabetic kidney injury were examined.ResultsTreatment with CHYS attenuated diabetic kidney injury by significantly inhibiting 24-h proteinuria and progressive renal fibrosis including glomerulosclerotic index, tubulointerstitial fibrosis index, and upregulation of extracellular matrix (collagen I, IV, and fibronectin), despite the same levels of blood glucose. Further studies revealed that inhibition of renal fibrosis in CHYS-treated diabetic rats was associated with inhibition of TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling as demonstrated by upregulation of Smad7 but downregulation of TGF-β1, TGF-β receptors, activation of Smad3, and expression of miRNA-21.ConclusionsCHYS may be a therapeutic agent for DN. CHYS attenuates DN by blocking TGF-β/Smad3-mediated renal fibrosis.

Udgivelsesdato: 2009