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Loganin is an iridoid glycoside extracted from Cornus officinalis , which is a traditional oriental medicine, and many biological properties of loganin have been reported. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether loganin has therapeutic effect on cardiovascular diseases. Hence, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of loganin on Ang II–induced cardiac hypertrophy. In the present study, we reported for the first time that loganin inhibits Ang II–provoked cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac damages in H9C2 cells and in mice . Furthermore, loganin can achieve cardioprotective effects through attenuating cardiac fibrosis, decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, and suppressing the phosphorylation of critical proteins such as JAK2, STAT3, p65, and IκBα. Besides, the outstanding findings of the present study were to prove that loganin has no significant toxicity or side effects on normal cells and organs. Based on these results, we conclude that loganin mitigates Ang II–induced cardiac hypertrophy at least partially through inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 and NF-κB signaling pathways. Accordingly, the natural product, loganin, might be a novel effective agent for the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure.

The progression from compensatory hypertrophy to heart failure is difficult to reverse, in part due to extracellular matrix fibrosis and continuous activation of abnormal signaling pathways. Although the anthraquinone rhein has been examined for its many biological properties, it is not clear whether it has therapeutic value in the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. In this study, we report for the first time that rhein can ameliorate transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced cardiac hypertrophy and other cardiac damage in vivo and in vitro . In addition, rhein can reduce cardiac hypertrophy by attenuating atrial natriuretic peptide, brain natriuretic peptide, and β-MHC expression; cardiac fibrosis; and ERK phosphorylation and transport into the nucleus. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of rhein on myocardial hypertrophy was similar to that of specific inhibitors of STAT3 and ERK signaling. In addition, rhein at therapeutic doses had no significant adverse effects or toxicity on liver and kidney function. We conclude that rhein reduces TAC-induced cardiac hypertrophy via targeted inhibition of the molecular function of ERK and downregulates STAT3 and p38 MAPK signaling. Therefore, rhein might be a novel and effective agent for treating cardiac hypertrophy and other cardiovascular diseases.

The precise control of cardiomyocyte viability is imperative to combat myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (I/R), in which apoptosis and pyroptosis putatively contribute to the process. Recent researches indicated that GSDMD is involved in I/R as an executive protein of pyroptosis. However, its effect on other forms of cell death is unclear. We identified that GSDMD and GSDMD-N levels were significantly upregulated in the I/R myocardium of mice. Knockout of GSDMD conferred the resistance of the hearts to reperfusion injury in the acute phase of I/R but aggravated reperfusion injury in the chronic phase of I/R. Mechanistically, GSDMD deficiency induced the activation of PARylation and the consumption of NAD+ and ATP, leading to cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Moreover, PJ34, a putative PARP-1 inhibitor, reduced the myocardial injury caused by GSDMD deficiency. Our results reveal a novel action modality of GSDMD in the regulation of cardiomyocyte death; inhibition of GSDMD activates PARylation, suggesting the multidirectional role of GSDMD in I/R and providing a new theory for clinical treatment.

The electric fatigue of (BaPb)TiO^sub 3^ ferroelectric ceramics was studied in present experiments. The results show that the resistance of the ferroelectric ceramics increases with the fatigue cycles, and the resistivity change increases with the Curie temperature. The SEM observations reveal that microcracks occurred inside the ceramics; electrode ions were transported into the ceramics; segregation of the ceramic element took place and sometimes new phases occurred near the electrode during electric fatigue.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Background： Balanced adjustment of the portal vein shunt volume during a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt （TIPS） is critical for maintaining liver perfusion and decreasing the incidence of liver insufficiency. A stent-graft is proved to be superior to a bare metal stent （BMS） for the construction of a TIPS. However, the clinical results of the combination application of stents and stent-grafts have not been determined. This study aimed to compare the technique of using a combination of stents and stent-grafts with using a single stent-graft to construct a TIPS. Methods： From April 2011 to November 2014, a total of fifty patients were randomly assigned to a stents-combination group （Group I, n = 28） or a stent-graft group （Group II, n - 22）. Primary patency rates were calculated. Clinical data, including the technical success rate, bleeding control results, incidence of encephalopathy, liver function preservation, and survival rate, were assessed. Results; Technically, the success rate was 100% for both groups. The primary patency rates at 1,2, and 3 years for Group I were 96%, 84%, and 77%, respectively; for Group II, they were 90%, 90%, and 78%, respectively. The survival rates at 1, 2, and 3 years for Group I were 79%, 74%, and 68%, respectively; for Group II, they were 82%, 82%, and 74%, respectively. The incidence of hepatic encephalopathy was 14.3% for Group I and 13.6% for Group II. The Child-Pugh score in Group I was stable at the end of the follow-up but had significantly increased in Group II （t - -2.474, P = 0.022）. Conclusions： The construction of a TIPS with either the single stent-graft or BMS/stent-graft combination is effective for controlling variceal bleeding. The BMS/stent-graft combination technique is superior to the stent-graft technique in terms of hepatic function preservation indicated by the Child-Pugh score. However, considering the clinical results of the TIPS, the two techniques are comparable in their primary shunt patency, incidence of encephalopathy and patient survival during the long-term follow-up.

The electric fatigue of (BaPb)TiO sub(3) ferroelectric ceramics was studied in present experiments. The results show that the resistance of the ferroelectric ceramics increases with the fatigue cycles, and the resistivity change increases with the Curie temperature. The SEM observations reveal that microcracks occurred inside the ceramics; electrode ions were transported into the ceramics; segregation of the ceramic element took place and sometimes new phases occurred near the electrode during electric fatigue.

Background Kodamaea ohmeri is a rare pathogen with high mortality and is found among blood samples in a considerable proportion; however, gastrointestinal infection of K. ohmeri is extremely rare. Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is also an uncommon fungal; these two fungal infections reported concomitantly are unprecedented. Case presentation We described a case of a 37-year-old male who got infected with K. ohmeri and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. We used the mass spectrometry and histopathology to identify these two fungal infections separately. For the treatment of K. ohmeri , we chose caspofungin. As for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, we used voriconazole, amphotericin B, and then surgery. The patient was treated successfully through the collaboration of multiple disciplines. Conclusions We speculate that the destruction of the intestinal mucosa barrier can make the intestine one of the ways for certain fungi to infect the human body.

Satisfiability Modulo Theories （SMT） have been widely investigated over the last decade. Recently researchers have extended SMT to the optimization problem over linear arithmetic constraints. To the best of our knowledge, SYMBA and OPT-MATHSAT are two most efficient solvers available for this problem. The key algorithms used by SVMBA and OPT-MATHSAT consist of the loop of two procedures： 1） critical finding for detecting a critical point, which is very likely to be globally optimal, and 2） global checking for confirming the critical point is reMly globally optimal. In this paper, we propose a new approach based on the Simplex method widely used in operation research. Our fundamental idea is to find several critical points by constructing and solving a series of linear problems with the Simplex method. Our approach replaces the Mgorithms of critical finding in SYMBA and OPT-MATHSAT, and reduces the runtime of critical finding and decreases the number of executions of global checking. The correctness of our approach is proved. The experiment evaluates our implementation against SYMBA and OPT-MATHSAT on a critical class of problems in real-time systems. Our approach outperforms SYMBA on 99.6% of benchmarks and is superior to OPT-MATHSAT in large-scale cases where the number of tasks is more than 24. The experimental results demonstrate that our approach has great potential and competitiveness for the optimization problem.

Ultra-high voltage (UHV) AC and DC transmission lines are important carriers for long-distance power transmission in China and play a vital role in the development of China’s national economy. Large tonnage insulators of 420 kN and above are used in large quantities in UHV overhead transmission lines. The competent unit of power grid operation in China attaches great importance to the safe operation and maintenance of large tonnage insulators in UHV lines. In this paper, 11 pieces of large tonnage triple-umbrella type porcelain insulators were collected from a ± 1100 kV UHV DC transmission line in northern China. These insulators were found to be defective insulators with severely reduced resistance during overhead line inspection. In order to determine the failure causes of these insulators, a series of sample tests were conducted, including dissection, electromechanical test, thermal-mechanical test and microscopic detection. The test results showed that the defects in the manufacturing process of porcelain insulators were the main cause of failure. Specifically, excessive pores and large particle impurities could cause the increase and expansion of microscopic cracks in porcelain insulators. Therefore, high-quality raw material preparation and strict manufacturing process should be very important for large tonnage insulators. However, due to the high insulation safety standard of UHV lines in China, a small number of defective insulators do not pose an immediate danger. Improvement suggestions were made for the manufacturing process of large-tonnage porcelain insulators. The potential risk analysis and maintenance recommendation were discussed at the end of this paper.

Psoriasis is a frequent form of chronic inflammation in dermatology that is unmistakably linked to the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its elements. This study was to explore the current status and new developments in the global research, and the holistic landscape of this field more intuitively through bibliometric analysis of scientific output and activity. Publications regarding psoriasis and MetS were searched and chosen from the database of the Web of Science Core Collection. Excel 2019, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace software were utilized to conduct bibliometric analysis. There were 1096 publications included. The scientific outputs in this field had increased from 2004 to 2022, and the expansion could continue in the following years. The United States contributed the most publications (241, 21.99%) and had the most citation frequency (13,489 times). The University of California System was the most productive affiliation. Girolomoni G., Armstrong A.W., Gisondi P. and Gelfand J.M. were key and influential researchers. published the greatest number of articles (65 articles). By analyzing keyword frequency and clustering, we have identified the following areas of research interest and frontiers: prevalence, risk, association, gene expression, waist circumference, adipose tissue inflammation, vascular inflammation, cardiovascular disease, psoriatic arthritis, and fibrosis. This bibliometric analysis elucidates research domain of psoriasis and MetS, portraying present hotspots and future emerging trends. This field has generated significant interest and displays potential for further growth. The United States has made distinguished contributions, and currently dominates this field.