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Aberrant destruction of the articular extracellular matrix (ECM) has been considered to be one of the pathological features of osteoarthritis (OA) which results in chondrocyte changes and articular cartilage degeneration. The MAPK signaling pathway serves a key role by releasing cartilage-degrading enzymes from OA chondrocytes. However, the use of MAPK inhibitors for OA is hindered by their potential long-term toxicity. Vicenin 3 is one of the major components of the Jian-Gu injection which is effective in the clinical treatment of OA. However, its potential impact on OA remain poorly understood. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effects of vicenin 3 on interleukin (IL)-1β-treated SW1353 chondrocytes, which mimic the microenvironment of OA. These chondrocytes were pretreated with vicenin 3 (0, 5 and 20 µM) for 1 h and subsequently stimulated with IL-1β (10 ng/ml) for 24 h. Nitric oxide (NO) production was measured using the Griess reaction, whereas the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), A disintegrin-like and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTSs), collagen type II and aggrecan were measured using ELISA. The mRNA expression of MMPs and ADAMTSs were measured using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The protein expression levels of MAPK were measured using western blotting. Vicenin 3 was found to significantly inhibit IL-1β-induced production of NO and PGE. Increments in the expression levels of MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-13, ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 induced by IL-1β, in addition to the IL-1β-induced degradation of collagen type II and aggrecan, were all reversed by vicenin 3 treatment. Furthermore, vicenin 3 suppressed IL-1β-stimulated MAPK activation, an effect that was similar to that exerted by SB203580, a well-known p38 MAPK inhibitor. In conclusion, vicenin 3 may confer therapeutic potential similar to that of the p38 MAPK inhibitor for the treatment of OA.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the function of microRNA-146b on myocardial infarction and the mechanism. An MTT assay, Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) apoptosis assay, ELISA kits, western blot analysis and a caspase-3/8 activity assay were used to measure cell growth, vascular apoptosis inflammatory factors, and the B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X protein (Bax), phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling pathway. The expression of microRNA-146b was downregulated in the myocardial infarction rat model, compared with the control group. In an in vitro model of myocardial infarction, the downregulation of microRNA-146b increased inflammatory factors, vascular apoptosis, caspase-3/8 activity and the protein expression of Bax. MicroRNA-146b reduced vascular apoptosis, caspase-3/8 activity and the protein expression of Bax. MicroRNA-146b also regulated the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway to mediate vascular inflammation and apoptosis in myocardial infarction by PTEN. A PI3K inhibitor decreased the effect of microRNA-146b on vascular inflammation and apoptosis following myocardial infarction. In conclusion, microRNA-146b mediated vascular inflammation and apoptosis in patients with myocardial infarction, which may be associated with activation of the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway by PTEN.

A new C25 terpene consisting of C15 and C10 terpenes, sarcaglabrin A, and two new sesquiterpene dimers, sarcaglabrins B and C, were isolated from the aerial parts of a medicinal plant Sarcandra glabra used in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analyses including calculation of the ECD spectrum. Sarcaglabrin A was assigned as a conjugate of lindenane type sesquiterpene and ocimene type monoterpene, while sarcaglabrins B and C were elucidated to be lindenane sesquiterpene dimers. Their cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines were evaluated.

Six new limonoids, munropins A−F (1–6), were isolated from the aerial parts of a Chinese medicinal plant, Munronia pinnata (Meliaceae). The structures of 1–6 were assigned by detailed analyses of their spectroscopic data. Munropins A (1) and B (2) are limonoids possessing a prieurianin skeleton with α,β-unsaturated γ-lactam moieties at C-17. Munropins C (3), D (4), and E (5) are also prieurianin type limonoids with an α,β-unsaturated γ-lactone moiety, an acetyl group, and an acetoxyacetyl group at C-17, respectively. Munropin F (6) was assigned as a nimbolinin type limonoid with a γ-hydroxy-α,β-unsaturated γ-lactone moiety.

ACIS is a graphics system development platform constructed with C++. It includes a series of C++ functions and classes. In this paper, ACIS and the ACIS-based deformation modeling technology are first introduced, and then an ACIS-based Deformation Modeling System is developed, which includes modeling, reading and writing, deforming functions and so on. The experimental analysis on the application of the deformation modeling system to reverse engineering is proposed, and it verifies its effectiveness in reverse design.

In the conventional Reverse Engineering (RE), the first step is modeling industrial components from point cloud to parametric CAD model, and then the necessary design will be operated in a parametric CAD environment. Therefore the reverse engineering process is very time-consuming and error-prone. The Anatomical CAD means allowing the common Computer Aided Design operations on 3D anatomical data. 3-matic is a software package which equipped with an Anatomical Reverse Engineering module, with this module we can do the design operations on anatomical data. In this paper, we propose a new design methodology integrated with Anatomical CAD, which we can eliminate the first step of reverse engineering of the scanned data to a CAD format, save the time and work more accurately.

The repairing of incomplete measured data caused by the inaccessibility or invisibility of some portions of the product surface for measure tools plays an important role in Reverse Engineering. The fundamental principles of Reverse Engineering and Anatomical CAD are introduced. The main functional advantages of 3-matic package integrated with Anatomical CAD are presented. There is a big difference in the working flows between Anatomical CAD and traditional CAD packages in the process of RE data repairing. In this paper, we propose a new method of data repairing based on Anatomical CAD. The point cloud of the stamping part obtained by a Potable CMM is repaired successfully by 3-matic, which reduces preparation times by working with a triangular mesh directly, and saves the turn-around time and works more effectively.

Siamenoside I is the sweetest mogroside that has several kinds of bioactivities, and it is also a constituent of Siraitiae Fructus, a fruit and herb in China. Hitherto the metabolism of siamenoside I in human or animals remains unclear. To reveal its metabolic pathways, a high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-ion trap-time of flight-multistage mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-IT-TOF-MS(n)) method was used to profile and identify its metabolites in rats. Altogether, 86 new metabolites were identified or tentatively identified, and 23 of them were also new metabolites of mogrosides. In rats, siamenoside I was found to undergo deglycosylation, hydroxylation, dehydrogenation, deoxygenation, isomerization, and glycosylation reactions. Among them, deoxygenation, pentahydroxylation, and didehydrogenation were novel metabolic reactions of mogrosides. The distributions of siamenoside I and its 86 metabolites in rat organs were firstly reported, and they were mainly distributed to intestine, stomach, kidney, and brain. The most widely distributed metabolite was mogroside IIIE. In addition, eight metabolites were bioactive according to literature. These findings would help to understand the metabolism and effective forms of siamenoside I and other mogrosides in vivo.

Most direct techniques for solving low-thrust optimization problems involve control variables parametrization at some points in the optimization process. Some instances, however, does not possess the necessary information that determine the ranges of the parameters. Even the ranges are known, huge magnitudes of the ranges often result in convergence to local minimum or even a failure of convergence. For such cases, the ordinal optimization(OO) theory can be used to narrow the ranges of the parameters impressively. In this paper, the Earth-Mars low-thrust trajectory transfer optimization problem is illustrated by applying the OO method with the parameter's range narrowing. Low-thrust propulsion systems offer several features including higher specific impulse, lower thrust magnitude, longer thrusting period and more fuel to be saved. Due to the long-term effect of the thrust of propulsion systems, the shift of the low-thrust spacecraft's orbit is a gradual process in the manner of a spire. Therefore, the control over the movement of the spacecraft is a long-term process either which can not be neglected. Nowadays researchers all around the world emphasize their work in the field of low-thrust trajectory optimization mostly on direct optimization algorithm based on parametrization method. Jason(1) designed noncoplanar low- thrust transfer trajectory using Genetic Algorithm(GA), proving that the selection of the trajectory-tangent coordinate frame could save the searching time of GA dramatically. In the research of Real-Coded GA by Nibuhiro(2) from Japan global optimization of fitness function in orbit design and effective search in the condition of great punishment parameters were implemented. Scott(3) discussed the performance analysis of Mars optimal gravity capture segment in his Ph.D. dissertation. Trajectory design solutions to minimum fuel, minimum heat load and minimum total aerocapture mass were considered respectively. Near-optimal GA solving Earth-Mars transfer problem was explored by Bradley(4), by who proposed the concept of dynamic optimal performance index: the transfer time when the spacecraft arrived at the Sphere of Influence(SOI) of the Mars during the heliocentric phase was emphasized, while after the heliocentric phase the final payload mass of spacecraft was emphasized. In the Ph.D. dissertation of Williams (5), the application of electrical propulsion system for the interplanetary transfer to Mars was investigated. For a manned spacecraft, the flight time and the consumption of the fuel are two performance index which are in conflict with one another. This multiobjective optimization problem was solved by introducing the construction of a compromise function and the corresponding compromise factors. As we know, the direct parameter optimization algorithm indeed have conquered some drawbacks existing among the indirect approach such as strong dependence on the initial guess and inexplicit physical meaning of the covariant, plenty of disadvantages are still inevitable(4): difficult to choose parameter ranges, not easy to find the global minimum solution and quite small convergence radius. The ordinal optimization method, as one of the newest direct parameter optimization algorithm, has impressive features including understandable principle, small calculation burden and easy engineering implementation.

In order to study the performance of satellite navigation system, such as satellite constellation coverage performance, signal links, time system and so on, it is necessary to build the mathematics simulation system for satellite navigation systems. The simulation system of the passive regional satellite navigation system (PRSNS) based on High Level Architecture (HLA) is introduced in this paper. An independent atomic clock federate is designed for solving the problem of consistency between the run-time infrastructure (RTI) simulation time system and the satellite navigation time system. Data Distribution Management services of RTI are used to improve the network communication speed. The three-level design pattern (TLDP) is proposed for the software design and development of the simulation system. The simulation system meets the requirements of the simulation and evaluation for the PRSNS. The research results are of great value to the realization of Chinese next generation of satellite navigation system.