Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

About: Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is a education organization based out in Shenyang, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Randomized controlled trial & Acupuncture. The organization has 2040 authors who have published 1326 publications receiving 14664 citations.

Curcumin exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties in 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+)-stimulated mesencephalic astrocytes by interference with TLR4 and downstream signaling pathway

Abstract: Neuroinflammation is closely associated with the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent evidence indicates that astrocytes also play pro-inflammatory roles in the central nervous system (CNS) by activation with toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands. Therefore, targeting anti-inflammation may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for PD. Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound isolated from Curcuma longa root, has been commonly used for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the details of how curcumin exerts neuroprotection remain uncertain. Here, we investigated the protective effect of curcumin on 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion-(MPP(+)-) stimulated primary astrocytes. Our results showed that MPP(+) stimulation resulted in significant production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL-6), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in primary mesencephalic astrocytes. Curcumin pretreatment decreased the levels of these pro-inflammatory cytokines while increased IL-10 expression in MPP(+)-stimulated astrocytes. In addition, curcumin increased the levels of antioxidant glutathione (GSH) and reduced ROS production. Our results further showed that curcumin decreased the levels of TLR4 and its downstream effectors including NF-κB, IRF3, MyD88, and TIRF that are induced by MPP(+) as well as inhibited the immunoreactivity of TLR4 and morphological activation in MPP(+)-stimulated astrocytes. Together, data suggest that curcumin might exert a beneficial effect on neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of PD.

Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI scores for predicting the in-hospital mortality in cirrhotic patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure.

Abstract: Objectives: Our study aimed to evaluate the discriminative abilities of Child-Pugh, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD), and albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) scores in predicting the in-hospital mortality in cirrhotic patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF).Methods: Cirrhotic patients with ACLF admitted between 2010 January and 2014 June were retrospectively reviewed. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.Results: One hundred patients were eligible for the Asia-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) criteria. AUROCs of Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI scores in predicting the in-hospital mortality was 0.63 (95%CI: 0.52–0.72, P = 0.05), 0.75 (95%CI: 0.65–0.83, P < 0.0001), and 0.53 (95%CI: 0.42–0.63, P = 0.69), respectively. Eighty-eight patients were eligible for the EASL/AASLD criteria. AUROCs of Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI scores in predicting the in-hospital mortality were 0.59 (95%CI: 0.48–0.69, P...

Chemical composition and insecticidal activities of the essential oil of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. aerial parts against two stored product insects

Abstract: The chemical composition of the essential oil of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. aerial parts and its insecticidal activity against Tribolium castaneum and Lasioderma serricorne were investigated. The essential oil of P. frutescens was obtained by hydrodistillation and a total of 34 components in the essential oil were identified with GC–MS. It was found that the main compounds included 2-furyl methyl ketone (71.83 %), decahydro-1-methyl-2-methylene-naphthalene (10.47 %), limonene (5.16 %) and caryophyllene (1.66 %). With a further isolation, the two active constituents were obtained from the essential oil and identified as 2-furyl methyl ketone, limonene. In the progress of assay, it showed that the essential oil and 2-furyl methyl ketone exhibited stronger contact and fumigant activities against the two stored product insects than limonene. Moreover, the essential oil and its constituents exhibited the comparable repellency against the two stored product insects, relative to the positive control, DEET. The results indicate that the essential oil of P. frutescens aerial parts and its isolated compounds have potential for development into natural insecticides or fumigants as well as repellents for control of insects in stored grains.

Radiomics for the prediction of EGFR mutation subtypes in non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract: Purpose This retrospective study was designed to investigate the ability of radiomics to predict the mutation status of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) subtypes (19Del and L858R) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods In total, 312 patients with NSCLC were included, and 580 radiomic features were extracted from the computed tomography images of each patient. In the training set, univariate analysis was performed on the clinical and radiomic features; logistic regression models were established using a 5-fold cross validation strategy for the prediction of EGFR subtypes 19Del and L858R. Subsequently, the predictive ability of the joint models was evaluated using the test set. Results The results revealed that the radiomic features specific for EGFR 19Del and L858R were Gabor's MTRVariance, Gabor's PTREntropy, and sphericity. Additionally, the respective areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the EGFR 19Del and L858R joint models were 0.7925 and 0.7750 for the test set. Conclusions Our study demonstrated the potential for radiomics to predict EGFR 19Del and L858R. Epidermal growth factor receptor 19Del and L858R exhibited distinct imaging phenotypes, which may help to guide the selection of more accurate and personalized treatment programs for patients with NSCLC.

Cell Type-Specific Gene Expression and Editing Responses to Chronic Fluoxetine Treatment in the In Vivo Mouse Brain and Their Relevance for Stress-Induced Anhedonia

Abstract: Recently developed methods for fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) of freshly-isolated brain cells from transgenic mice combining fluorescent signals with cell type-specific markers allow cell-type separation. Based upon previous observations in primary cultures of mouse astrocytes we treated transgenic mice tagged with a neuron-specific or an astrocyte-specific marker with fluoxetine, either acute (10 mg/kg for 2 h) or chronic (10 mg/kg daily for 2 weeks). Acute treatment upregulated cfos and fosB mRNA expression in astrocytes and neurons. Chronic effects on astrocytes replicated those demonstrated in cultures, i.e., upregulation of mRNA and/or protein expression of 5-HT2B receptors (5-HT2BR), and GluK2 receptors, and of cPLA2a and ADAR2, together with increased GluK2 and 5-HT2BR editing. Neurons showed increased GluK4 and 5-HT2C receptor expression. To further correlate these findings with major depression we compared the changes in gene expression with those in a mouse model of anhedonia. Three out of 4 genes up-regulated in astrocytes by fluoxetine were down-regulated, whereas the neuronally upregulated 5-HT2C receptor gene showed no change. References are made to recent review papers discussing potential relations between observed fluoxetine effects and clinical effects of SSRIs, emphasizing that all 5 clinically used SSRIs have identical and virtually equipotent effects on cultured astrocytes.