BACKGROUND We assessed the renal protective effects of treatment with moderate exercise (EX), with EX plus olmesartan (OLS), with EX plus azelnidipine (AZN), and with the three together in a rat model of chronic renal failure (CRF). METHODS Male 5/6-nephrectomized Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were divided into six groups according to the following treatments for: (i) no EX (C); (ii) moderate EX wi...

Recent studies suggest that ouabain or a ouabain-like substance (OLS) may be present endogenously in humans. We developed a RIA for ouabain with antisera raised in goat against ouabain conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin and ovalbumin. The antiserum was of high antibody titer (200,000) and was specific for ouabain, with little cross-reactivity with common steroids and structurally related c...

BACKGROUND Exposure of the fetal or neonatal non-human primate (NHP) brain to isoflurane or ketamine for 5 h causes widespread apoptotic degeneration of neurones, and exposure to isoflurane also causes apoptotic degeneration of oligodendrocytes (OLs). The present study explored the apoptogenic potential of propofol in the fetal and neonatal NHP brain. METHOD Fetal rhesus macaques at gestation...

Objective To compare pulmonary function, functional capacity and clinical outcomes amongst three groups of patients with left ventricular dysfunction following off-pump coronary artery bypass, namely: 1) conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV); 2) late open lung strategy (L-OLS); and 3) early open lung strategy (E-OLS). Methods Sixty-one patients were randomized into 3 groups: 1) CMV (n=21)...

An efficient palladium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of fluorinated aromatic pyrazol-5-ols has been developed via capture of the active tautomers. A wide variety of 2,5-disubstituted and 2,4,5-trisubstituted pyrazolidinones have been synthesized with up to 96% and 95% ee, respectively. The hydrogenation pathway includes Brønsted acid promoted tautomerization of pyrazol-5-ols and Pd-catalyz...

Five new 1,3-diarylpropan-1-ols, combretol A-E (1- 5), together with one known coumarin (6) and ten known triterpenes (7-16), were isolated from Combretum yunnanense. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic investigation, including ¹H and ¹³C NMR, NOESY, HSQC, HMBC, and HRESIMS analyses. This is the first report on the occurrence of 1,3-diarylpropan-1-ols and coumarin in the Combretum...

Hemolymph nodes (HLs) are unique lymph nodes, in that their lymphatic sinuses contain numerous erythrocytes. In this study, we compared the internal structure and immunologic function of HLs with those of ordinary lymph nodes (OLs) and the spleen. Electron microscopy revealed erythrocytes passing through the walls of blood vessels in the intermediate sinus area (IMSA) of a HL between expanded e...

The treatment of 2-(2-vinylphenyl)acetaldehydes or 3-(2-vinylphenyl)propanals with BF 3 ·Et 2 O results in an intramolecular Prins reaction affording intermediary benzyl carbenium ions, which are then trapped by a variety electron-rich aromatics via Friedel–Crafts alkylation. This cascade Prins/Friedel–Crafts cyclization protocol paves expedient path to medicinally useful 4-aryltetralin-2-ol an...

Satellite oligodendrocytes (s-OLs) are closely apposed to the soma of neocortical layer 5 pyramidal neurons but their properties and functional roles remain unresolved. Here we show that s-OLs form compact myelin and action potentials of the host neuron evoke precisely timed Ba(2+)-sensitive K(+) inward rectifying (Kir) currents in the s-OL. Unexpectedly, the glial K(+) inward current does not ...