The gerbil model in this study was induced by 30 min of bilateral carotid occlusion and 120 min of reperfusion. Verapamil ( 0.5 mg/kg)was given intravenously 10 min before ischemia, or 5 min after bilateral carotid occlusion. Local cerebral blood flow was determined by the hydrogen clearance teachnique. Brain water content was detected by the wet and dry methods. We conclude that verapamil used in this model may improve post-ischemic hypo-perfusion, increase local cerebral blood flow in ischemic region (P

BACKGROUND: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a non-inflammatory, bilaterally progressive, retinal degeneration characterized by loss of photoreceptor cells via an apoptotic mechanism, and it eventually leads to blindness.Research shows that the traditional Chinese medicines of Astragalus has great prospect on blocking the progression of RP disease.OBJECTIVE: To observe the protective effect of Astragalus on N-methylN-nitrosourea (MNU)-induced retinal damage in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and provide the optimal treatment for RP in humans.DESIGN: Randomized controlled experiment.SETTING: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical College.MATERIALS :The experiment was completed in Pharmacological Laboratory of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Centre, Sun Yat-sen University between March to December 2004. Totally 114 female SD rats were purchased from the Animal Center of Zhongshan Medical College, Sun Yat-sen University.MNU was purchased from Sigma Company of America. Astragalus injection was purchased from Chengdu Diao Jiuhong Pharmaceutical Factory (Batch No. Z99060535, 2 mL/ampoule, main ingredient: Astragalus).METHODS: Among 114rats, 30 were for morphometric analysis of retinal layers, 30 were for detection of apoptosis and 54 were for detection of NF-κB p65 activity. All of them were randomly divided into different groups and each group had 6 rats. Astragalus at doses of 2.5, 5 and 10 g/kg were injected intraperitoneally into 47-day rats once a day. Meanwhile, a single intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg/kg MNU was given to 50-day rats in model and Astragalus groups. At different intervals after MNU treatment,the animals were sacrificed. Retinal damage was evaluated based on retinal thickness, the apoptotic index of the photoreceptor cells was detected by TUNEL labeling and the DNA-binding activity of NF-κB p65 was analyzed according to transcription factor assay kit.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Comparison of retinal thickness, apoptotic index and the activity of nuclear NF-κB p65.RESULTS: Totally 114 rats entered the result analysis. Pretreatment with Astragalus could dose-dependently suppress MNU-induced photoreceptor cell loss and decreased the apoptotic index. Astragalus at dose of 10 g/kg also time-dependently up-regulated the activity of nuclear NF-κB p65.However, protective effect of Astragalus on MNU-induced central retinal damage was not found.CONCLUSION: Astragalus partially protects against MNU-induced retinal damage by up-modulating the activity of nuclear NF-κB p65 to inhibit apoptosis of photoreceptor cells in a dose-dependent manner.

Objective:To investigate the status of hope level, psychological consistency and self-concept of clinical nurses and to analyze the mediating effect of hope level between psychological consistency and self-concept of clinical nurses.Methods:Using the cross-sectional survey method, the convenient sampling method was used to select 920 clinical nurses from 3 Class Ⅲ Grade A hospitals in Henan Province as research objects from March to April 2020. General data questionnaire, Herth Hope Index (HHI) , Sense of Coherence-13 (SOC-13) and Nurses' Self Concept Questionnaire (NSCQ) were used to investigate. The structural equation model was used to analyze the mediating effect of hope level between psychological consistency and self-concept of nurses. In this study, a total of 920 questionnaires were distributed and 853 effective questionnaires were collected, with an effective recovery rate of 92.72%.Results:The total score of HHI of 853 clinical nurses was (35.05±6.28) , the total score of SOC-13 was (52.52±8.44) and the total score of Nurses' Self Concept Questionnaire was (221.76±34.56) . The results of Pearson correlation analysis showed that psychological consistency of clinical nurses was positively correlated with hope level and self-concept ( P<0.05) . The results of the structural equation model showed that psychological consistency has direct and indirect predictive effects on self-concept of nurses, and the path coefficients were respectively 0.31 and 0.14. Hope level had a mediating effect between psychological consistency and self-concept. Conclusions:Hope level plays a mediating role between psychological consistency and self-concept of nurses. Nursing managers should take effective measures to improve psychological consistency and hope level of nurses, so as to improve self-concept level of nurses to promote their mental health.