[Astragaloside â £'s Therapeutic Effect on Myocardial Infarction via Affecting Autophagy and the Mechanism Study].

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effect of astragaloside Ⅳ (AS-Ⅳ) on neonatal rats' hypoxic/reoxygenated (H/R) injured myocardial cells and to explore its underlying mechanism. METHODS: Cardiac cells were extracted from newborn rats and divided into control, H/R, H/R-low AS-Ⅳ (0.1 µmol/L AS-Ⅳ), H/R-medium AS-Ⅳ (1 µmol/L AS-Ⅳ), H/R-high AS-Ⅳ (10 µmol/L AS-Ⅳ) and H/R-high AS-Ⅳ-AKT (10 µmol/L AS-Ⅳ+5 µmol/L AKT) groups. After 48 h of treatment, the contents of LC3-Ⅱ, p62, AKT, pAKT, rapamycin (mTOR) mammalian targets and uncoordinated 51-like kinase 1 (ULK1) in cardiac myocytes were compared. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the expression of P62 in myocardium autophagosome. RESTULTS: AS-Ⅳ improved the proliferative activity of cardio AS-Ⅳ improved the proliferative activity of cardiomyocytes in H/R injury in a dose-dependent manner and inhibited the level of cell autophagy. However, when AKT inhibitors were added, the effect of AS-Ⅳ was partially inhibited ( P<0.05). Gene and protein expression showed that AS-Ⅳ had no significant effect on the expression of AKT and mTOR genes ( P>0.05), but could significantly promote the phosphorylation of AKT and mTOR ( P<0.05). Immunofluorescence staining results showed that high concentrations of the AS - Ⅳ can reverse H/R injury induced the expression of autophagy body P62. CONCLUSION: AS-Ⅳ showed protection effect on H/R injured myocardial cells. The possible mechanism is by reducing the autophagy level via activating the mTOR signal in the PI3K/AKT pathway, thereby preventing H/R damage in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.

Pre-fenestration endovascular repair of aortic diseases in patients with zone 2 segment: A single-center experience.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to analyze the outcomes of three cases of pre-fenestration and branch stent-graft endovascular repair of aortic disease with zone 2 aortic lesions. METHODS: From August 2017 to June 2018, three patients with zone 2 aortic lesions underwent thoracic endovascular repair with innominate artery, left common carotid artery, and left subclavian artery recannulation using pre-fenestration and branched stent-grafts to preserve the patency of the aortic arch branches. RESULTS: The technical success rate was 100%. One patient had a proximal type I endoleak with no need for additional treatment. The overall mortality was 0%. All branches were patent. The follow-up period lasted for 2-15 months, with one patient lost to follow-up. There were no conversions to open surgical repair, aortic rupture, paraplegia, or retrograde type A aortic dissection. CONCLUSION: The use of a pre-fenestration and branch stent-graft for the thoracic endovascular repair of zone 2 aortic lesions is a feasible and effective method for aortic arch branch revascularization. The risk of this surgical procedure is high, requiring significant expertise. The procedure should be conducted only in experienced centers. Durability concerns should be assessed in future studies with long-term follow-up.

Synergistic effects and kinetics of rGO-modified TiO2 nanocomposite on adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of humic acid.

Graphene oxide was prepared using the modified Hummers method and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) - titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanocomposite was synthesised using the one-step hydrothermal treatment. The synergistic effects on adsorption and photocatalytic properties of the rGO-TiO2 nanocomposite for the humic acid removal were systematically investigated. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman and infrared (IR) spectroscopy indicate that GO was partially reduced to reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in the hydrothermal synthesis process and anatase TiO2 nanoparticles uniformly grew on the surface of rGO. The photoelectron and photohole generated under visible light irradiation were effectively separated on the surface of rGO-TiO2. The rGO-TiO2 nanocomposite exhibited higher photocatalytic activity as a result of the synergistic effects of surface functional groups for adsorption and the excellent conductivity for photocatalytic reaction. The effect of rGO-TiO2 nanocomposite dosage, light intensity and system temperature on the removal of humic acid solution was investigated. The results show that the removal efficiency of humic acid increased with system temperature and light intensity. When the dosage of rGO-TiO2 nanocomposite was 1.2 g/L, the temperature, the light intensity and the pH of this system was 303 K, 4.37 Wm-2 and 7, respectively, the removal efficiency of humic acid reached 88.7% under visible light irradiation.

[Adsorption Performance and Mechanism of HZO@SGH for the Removal of Fluoride from Aqueous Solution].

Three-dimensional porous composites based on hydrous zirconium oxide and self-assembled graphene hydrogels (HZO@SGH) were successfully synthesized via homogeneous precipitation. HZO@SGH was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate the morphology and the defluoridation mechanism. The adsorption performance and mechanism of HZO@SGH for fluoride was investigated via batch adsorption experiments. The results revealed that the adsorption capacity of HZO@SGH for fluoride was obviously higher than that of HZO or SGH singly. The adsorption data for fluoride onto HZO@SGH complied with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating that the adsorption rate was mainly controlled by chemical adsorption. The adsorption process could be described well with the Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm model, as the maximum adsorption capacity was approximately 31.79 mg·g-1, which is higher than that of some zirconium-containing adsorbents, as previously reported. HZO@SGH showed excellent adsorption properties in the fluoride solution contained NO3-, Cl-, and a low concentration of SO42- (≤ 10 mg·L-1) at low pH (3-6.5). The preparation of HZO@SGH was convenient and environmentally friendly, as it was easily separated from the fluoride solution and did not cause secondary pollution. Hence, the prospect of HZO@SGH in practice was brilliant.

[Preparation of PAAm/HACC Semi-Interpenetrate Network Hydrogel and Its Adsorption Properties for Humic Acid from Aqueous Solution].

New absorbents, polyacrylamide/chitosan quaternary ammonium salt semi-interpenetrate network hydrogels[(PAAm/HACC semi-IPN), (s-IPN 1.5), and (s-IPN 3)], were successfully prepared via in situ polymerization by thermal synthesis for the removal of humic acid (HA) from aqueous solution. The materials were characterized by SEM, FT-IR, and XRD. The adsorption behaviors of adsorbents for HA were investigated as a function of pH, ionic strength, contact time, initial HA concentration, and temperature. The results showed that s-IPN 3 outperformed s-IPN 1.5. The adsorption capacity of the adsorbent for HA decreased with an increase in solution pH and decrease of temperature, and low ionic strength was conducive to the adsorption of HA. The adsorption kinetics fitted to a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the adsorption isotherms could be described by the Sips isotherm model. The impressive maximum adsorption capacity could reach 238.08 mg·g-1 at the condition of pH=7.0, ionic strength=0.01 mol·L-1, and T=298 K. The adsorbent could remove HA from aqueous solution efficiently.