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Diabetic cognitive impairment is a common complication in type 2 diabetes. Berberine (BBR) is an isoquinoline alkaloid that has been shown to have neuroprotective effects against diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the effect of BBR on the gray and white matter of the brain by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to explore the underlying mechanisms. The study used diabetic db/db mice and administered BBR (50 and 100 mg/kg) intragastrically for twelve weeks. Morris water maze was applied to examine cognitive function. T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) was performed to assess brain atrophy, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) combined with fiber tracking was conducted to monitor the structural integrity of the white matter, followed by histological immunostaining. Furthermore, the protein expressions of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/ protein kinase B (AKT)/ glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) were detected. The results revealed that BBR significantly improved the spatial learning and memory of the db/db mice. T2WI exhibited ameliorated brain atrophy in the BBR-treated db/db mice, as evidenced by reduced ventricular volume accompanied by increased hippocampal volumes. DTI combined with fiber tracking revealed that BBR increased FA, fiber density and length in the corpus callosum/external capsule of the db/db mice. These imaging findings were confirmed by histological immunostaining. Notably, BBR significantly enhanced the protein levels of phosphorylated AKT at Ser473 and GSK-3β at Ser9. Collectively, this study demonstrated that BBR significantly improved the cognitive function of the diabetic db/db mice through ameliorating brain atrophy and promoting white matter reorganization via AKT/GSK-3β pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In pediatric patients with Budd–Chiari syndrome (BCS), living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) raises substantial challenges regarding IVC reconstruction. Case Presentation: We present a case of an 8‐year‐old girl with BCS caused by myeloproliferative syndrome with JAK2 V617F mutation. She had a complete thrombosis of the inferior vena cava (IVC) with multiple collaterals, developing a Budd–Chiari syndrome. She underwent LDLT with IVC reconstruction with a cryopreserved pulmonary vein graft obtained from a provincial biobank. The living donor underwent a laparoscopic‐assisted left lateral hepatectomy. The reconstruction of the vena cava took place on the back table and the liver was implanted en bloc with the reconstructed IVC in the recipient. Anticoagulation was immediately restarted after the surgery because of her pro‐thrombotic state. Her postoperative course was complicated by a biliary anastomotic leak and an infected biloma. The patient recovered progressively and remained well on outpatient clinic follow‐up 32 weeks after the procedure. Conclusion: IVC reconstruction using a cryopreserved pulmonary vein graft is a valid option during LDLT for pediatric patients with BCS where reconstruction of the IVC entails considerable challenges. Early referral to a pediatric liver transplant facility with a multidisciplinary team is also important in the management of pediatric patients with BCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported nano-silver (nano-Ag) catalysts have been widely used in heterogeneous catalysis. However, their poor thermal stability restricts their practical application. In order to solve this issue, we report a novel supported nano-Ag catalyst by employing the strong metal–support interactions (SMSIs) between the Ag nanoparticles (NPs) and hydroxyapatite (HAP). The home-made HAP was prepared via a facile hydrothermal or co-precipitation method, which can effectively anchor small size Ag NPs prepared by an impregnation method. Taking advantage of the unique confinement effect with different morphology HAP and the protective effect of hydroxyl groups on the HAP surface, highly dispersed Ag NPs were obtained. These Ag/HAP catalysts were characterized by XRD, N2 physical adsorption, SEM, TEM and XPS. It was found that the particle size of Ag NPs was strongly related to the morphology and structure of the HAP supports, and it significantly affects the CO oxidation performance. The nano-Ag catalyst with a lamellar nanosheet structure HAP has the highest content of Ag0, and 100% CO conversion can be achieved at 160 °C. The Ag NPs loaded on HAP nanosheets with a large specific surface area showing excellent CO oxidation activity demonstrating that the strategy may open a new way to design and develop highly dispersed nano-Ag catalysts for heterogeneous catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anaemia has been reported to be associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the associations between anaemia and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers are still unknown. This study aimed to investigate the associations between anaemia and CSF AD biomarkers.Methods: Participants were included from the Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and LifestylE (CABLE) study. The associations of anaemia and its severity with CSF AD biomarkers including β-amyloid 1-42 (Aβ42), total tau (t-tau) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) were analysed by multiple linear regression models. Adjusted for age, gender, educational levels, APOE ε4 alleles, comorbidities (history of coronary heart disease, history of stroke, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia) and glomerular filtration rate.Results: A total of 646 cognitively normal older adults, consisting of 117 anaemia patients and 529 non-anaemia individuals, were included in this study. Anaemia patients had lower levels of CSF Aβ42 than individuals without anaemia (p = 0.035). Besides, participants with more severe anaemia had lower CSF Aβ42 levels (p = 0.045). No significant association of anaemia with CSF t-tau and p-tau levels was found.Conclusion: Cross-sectionally, anaemia was associated with lower CSF Aβ42 levels. These findings consolidated the causal close relationship between anaemia and AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-organic framework (MOF) materials have highly sought after in electromagnetic materials and functional devices, due to the unique three-dimensional structure and electronic state. Herein, the tailoring strategy of MOF materials, including MOF precursors and carbonized derivatives, is combed for high-efficiency microwave absorbers. The design idea from microstructure to electromagnetic response is constructed. Based on these theories, the current research progress about MOF-based absorbers is presented, and the effect of microstructure tailoring to electromagnetic property and microwave absorption is revealed. In addition, the application of MOF materials in functional device is outlined. Finally, the current challenges for MOF materials and devices are overviewed, and the future development is expected. Image 103774 Tailoring the microstructure of MOF materials can effectively tune electromagnetic property and obtain great microwave absorbers and devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of lightweight, flexible, and stretchable energy storage systems is essential for state-of-the-art electronic devices. We propose a new and broad strategy to fabricate a stretchable and conductive GO/CNTs-TPU fiber electrode by direct wet spinning, from which a flexible fibrous supercapacitor is fabricated. The fibrous electrode exhibits a high strength of 11.68 MPa, high conductivity of 342 S/cm, and high specific capacitances (21.8 mF/cm, 36.45 F/cm3, and 95 F/g). The specific capacitance of the assembled all-solid-state hybrid fiber-shaped supercapacitor reaches 14.3 F/cm3. After 5000 charge-discharge cycles, 97% of the capacitance of the hybrid supercapacitor is maintained. These high-strength electrochemical electrode materials could be potential candidates for applications in practical and large-scale energy storage systems and textile clothes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we reported a novel and facile synthesis of self-supported three-dimensional (3D) Ni aerogel using cellulose hydrogel as template followed by removing the template under a moderate condition. The as-prepared Ni aerogel composed of Ni(OH) 2 ultrathin nanofilms and Ni(OH) 2 hybrid nanoparticles had hierarchical porous structure with a considerable specific surface area of 100 m2 g−1, which was beneficial to the enhanced catalytic activity towards ethanol electro-oxidation. Additionally, the self-supported 3D structure of Ni aerogel with free-carbon supports showed a positive effect on the stability of the catalysts. Electrochemical measurements revealed that a high peak current density for Ni aerogel achieved about 27.6 mA cm−2 in an electrolyte of 1.0 M KOH with 0.1 M ethanol, which was 5 times higher than that on alone Ni nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the R ct of Ni aerogel catalyst was only 0.88 Ω cm−2 after the CA measurements for 1800s, which was much smaller than commercial Ni nanoparticles and other similar catalysts reported. The enhanced electrocatalytic performance for ethanol electro-oxidation can be ascribed to the high surface area and predominant properties of above-mentioned special materials structure. This novel Ni aerogel and its excellent properties have great prospects in the application of electro-oxidation catalyst. Unlabelled Image • A novel and facile method to fabricate self-supported three-dimensional Ni aerogel is presented. • The resultant aerogel has hierarchical porous structure and high surface area of 100.1 m2 g−1. • This Ni aerogel has enhanced catalytic activity and stability towards ethanol electrooxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural and thermodynamic properties for charge symmetric and asymmetric electrolytes as well as mixed electrolyte system inside a charged cylindrical nanopore are investigated using a partially perturbative density functional theory. The electrolytes are treated in the restricted primitive model and the internal surface of the cylindrical nanopore is considered to have a uniform charge density. The proposed theory is directly applicable to the arbitrary mixed electrolyte solution containing ions with the equal diameter and different valences. Large amount of simulation data for ion density distributions, separation factors, and exclusion coefficients are used to determine the range of validity of the partially perturbative density functional theory for monovalent and multivalent counterion systems. The proposed theory is found to be in good agreement with the simulations for both mono- and multivalent counterion systems. In contrast, the classical Poisson–Boltzmann equation only provides reasonable descriptions of monovalent counterion system at low bulk density, and is qualitatively and quantitatively wrong in the prediction for the multivalent counterion systems due to its neglect of the strong interionic correlations in these systems. The proposed density functional theory has also been applied to an electrolyte absorbed into a pore that is a model of the filter of a physiological calcium channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel weighted density functional theory (WDFT) for an inhomogeneous 12-6 Lennard-Jones fluid is proposed based on the modified fundamental measure theory for repulsive contribution, the mean-field approximation for attractive contribution, and the first-order mean-spherical approximation with a weighted density for correlation contribution. Extensive comparisons of the theoretical results with molecular simulation and experimental data indicate that the new WDFT yields accurate density profiles, adsorption isotherms, fluid-solid interfacial tensions, as well as disjoining potentials and pressures of simple gases such as argon, nitrogen, methane, ethane, and neon confined in slitlike pores or near graphitic solid surfaces. The present WDFT performs better than the nonlocal density functional theory, which is frequently used in the study of adsorption on porous materials. Since the proposed theory possesses a good dimensional crossover and is able to correctly reduce to two-dimensional case, it performs very well even in very narrow pores. In addition, the present WDFT reproduces very well the supercritical fluid-solid interfacial tensions, whereas the theory of Sweatman underestimates them at high bulk densities. The present WDFT predicts that the increase in the fluid-wall attraction may change the sign of the interfacial tension and hence may make the wall from “phobic” to “philic” with respect to the fluid. The new WDFT is computationally as simple and efficient as the mean-field theory and avoids the second-order direct correlation function as an input. It provides a universal way to construct the excess Helmholtz free-energy functional for inhomogeneous fluids such as Yukawa, square-well, and Sutherland fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A density functional theory (DFT) in the framework of cell model is proposed to calculate the structural and thermodynamic properties of aqueous DNA-electrolyte solution with finite DNA concentrations. The hard-sphere contribution to the excess Helmholtz energy functional is derived from the modified fundamental measure theory, and the electrostatic interaction is evaluated through a quadratic functional Taylor expansion around a uniform fluid. The electroneutrality in the cell leads to a variational equation with a constraint. Since the reference fluid is selected to be a bulk phase, the Lagrange multiplier proves to be the potential drop across the cell boundary (Donnan potential). The ion profiles and electrostatic potential profiles in the cell are calculated from the present DFT-cell model. Our DFT-cell model gives better prediction of ion profiles than the Poisson–Boltzmann (PB)- or modified PB–cell models when compared to the molecular simulation data. The effects of polyelectrolyte concentration, ion size, and added-salt concentration on the electrostatic potential difference between the DNA surface and the cell boundary are investigated. The expression of osmotic coefficient is derived from the general formula of grand potential. The osmotic coefficients predicted by the DFT are lower than the PB results and are closer to the simulation results and experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction between colloidal particles is well represented by a hard-core two-Yukawa potential. In order to assess the accuracy of theoretical predictions for the thermodynamic and structural properties of mixed colloids, standard Monte Carlo simulations are carried out for the hard-core two-Yukawa mixtures. In the simulations, one range parameter in the two-Yukawa potential is taken as 1.8 or 2.8647, and another is taken as 4, 8, or 13.5485. Both attractive and repulsive dominant cases of the potential outside the hard core are considered. The effects of temperature, density, composition, size and energy parameter ratios on internal energy, compressibility factor, and radial distribution function are investigated extensively. Theoretical calculations are performed in the framework of analytical solution for the Ornstein-Zernike equation with the first-order mean spherical approximation (FMSA). Our analysis shows that the FMSA is very accurate for the prediction of the compressibility factor of the hard-core two-Yukawa mixtures at all conditions studied. The FMSA generally predicts accurate internal energy, but overestimates the internal energy of the systems at lower temperatures. Furthermore, we found that a simplified exponential version of the FMSA predicts fairly good radial distribution function at contact for the mixed two-Yukawa fluids. The comparison of the theoretical compressibility factor with that from the Monte Carlo simulations suggests that the FMSA can be used to investigate the fluid-fluid equilibria of hard-core two-Yukawa mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitive binding between counterions around DNA molecule is characterized using the preferential interaction coefficient of individual ion in single and mixed electrolyte solutions. The canonical Monte Carlo (MC) simulation, nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) equation, and density functional theory (DFT) proposed in our previous work [Wang, Yu, Gao, and Luo, J. Chem. Phys. 123, 234904 (2005)] are utilized to calculate the preferential interaction coefficients. The MC simulations and theoretical results show that for single electrolyte around DNA, the preferential interaction coefficient of electrolyte decreases as the cation size is increased, indicating that the larger cation has less accumulation ability in the vicinity of DNA. For the mixed electrolyte solution, it is found that cation diameter has a significant effect on the competitive ability while anion diameter has a negligible effect. It proves that the preferential interaction coefficients of all ions decrease as the total ionic concentration is increased. The DFT generally has better performance than the PB equation does when compared to the MC simulation data. The DFT behaves quite well for the real ionic solutions such as the KCl–NaCl–H2O, NaCl–CaCl2–H2O, and CaCl2–MgCl2–H2O systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A density-functional approach and canonical Monte Carlo simulations are presented for describing the ionic microscopic structure around the DNA molecule immersed in mixed-size counterion solutions. In the density-functional approach, the hard-sphere contribution to the Helmholtz energy functional is obtained from the modified fundamental measure theory [Y.-X. Yu and J. Z. Wu, J. Chem. Phys. 117, 10156 (2002)], and the electrostatic contribution is evaluated through a quadratic functional Taylor expansion. The new theory is suitable to the systems containing ions of arbitrary sizes and valences. In the established canonical Monte Carlo simulation, an iterative self-consistent method is used to evaluate the long-range energy, and another iterative algorithm is adopted to obtain desired bulk ionic concentrations. The ion distributions from the density-functional theory (DFT) are in good agreement with those from the corresponding Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. It is found that the ratio of the bulk concentrations of two species of counterions (cations) makes significant contribution to the ion distributions in the vicinity of DNA. Comparisons with the electrostatic potential profiles from the MC simulations show that the accuracy of the DFT becomes low when a small divalent cation exists. Both the DFT and MC simulation results illustrate that the electrostatic potential at the surface of DNA increases as the anion diameter or the total cation concentration is increased and decreases as the diameter of one cation species is increased. The calculation of electrostatic potential using real ion diameters shows that the accuracy of DFT predictions for divalent ions is also acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grand canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulation and density-functional theory are applied to calculate the structures, local mole fractions, and adsorption isotherms of binary hard-core Yukawa mixtures in a slitlike pore as well as the radial distribution functions of bulk mixtures. The excess Helmholtz energy functional is a combination of the modified fundamental measure theory of Yu and Wu [J. Chem. Phys. 117, 10156 (2002)] for the hard-core contribution and a corrected mean-field theory for the attractive contribution. A comparison of the theoretical results with the results from the Monte Carlo simulations shows that the corrected theory improves the density profiles of binary hard-core Yukawa mixtures in the vicinity of contact over the original mean-field theory. Both the present corrected theory and the simulations suggest that depletion and desorption occur at low temperature, and the local segregation can be observed in most cases. For binary mixtures in the hard slitlike pore, the present corrected theory predicts more accurate surface excesses than the original one does, while in the case of the attractive pore, no improvement is found in the prediction of a surface excess of the smaller molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structures of nonuniform binary hard-sphere mixtures and the correlation functions of uniform ternary hard-sphere mixtures were studied using a modified fundamental-measure theory based on the weight functions of Rosenfeld [Rosenfeld, Phys. Rev. Lett. 63, 980 (1989)] and Boublik-Mansoori-Carnahan-Starling-Leland equation of state [Boublik, J. Chem. Phys. 53, 471 (1970); Mansoori et al., J. Chem. Phys. 54, 1523 (1971)]. The theoretical predictions agreed very well with the molecular simulations for the overall density profiles, the local compositions, and the radial distribution functions of uniform as well as inhomogeneous hard-sphere mixtures. The density functional theory was further extended to represent the structure of a polydisperse hard-sphere fluid near a hard wall. Excellent agreement was also achieved between theory and Monte Carlo simulations. The density functional theory predicted oscillatory size segregations near a hard wall for a polydisperse hard-sphere fluid of a uniform size distribution. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The DOHaD theory suggests that adverse environmental factors in early life may lead to the development of metabolic diseases including diabetes and hypertension in adult offspring through epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation. Folic acid (FA) is an important methyl donor in vivo and participates in DNA replication and methylation. The preliminary experimental results of our group demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 50 µg/kg/d) exposure during pregnancy could lead to glucose metabolism disorders in male offspring, but not female offspring; however, the effect of folic acid supplementation on glucose metabolism disorders in male offspring induced by LPS exposure remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, pregnant mice were exposed to LPS on gestational day (GD) 15–17 and were given three doses of FA supplementation (2 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, or 40 mg/kg) from mating to lactation to explore its effect on glucose metabolism in male offspring and the potential mechanism. This study confirmed that FA supplementation of 5 mg/kg in pregnant mice improved glucose metabolism in LPS-exposed offspring during pregnancy by regulating gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the different metabolites were screened in synovial fluid by metabolomics. Methods: Synovial fluid from 25 RA patients and 10 normal subjects were analyzed by GC/TOF MS analysis so as to give a broad overview of synovial fluid metabolites. The metabolic profiles of RA patients and normal subjects were compared using multivariate statistical analysis. Different proteins were verified by qPCR and western blot. Different metabolites were verified by colorimetric assay kit in 25 inactive RA patients, 25 active RA patients and 20 normal subjects. The influence of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α pathway on catabolism was detected by HIF-1α knockdown. Results: A subset of 58 metabolites was identified, in which the concentrations of 7 metabolites related to energy metabolism were significantly different as shown by importance in the projection (VIP) (VIP≥1) and Student’s t-test (p<0.05). In the 7 metabolites, the concentration of glucose was decreased, and the concentration of lactic acid was increased in the synovial fluid of RA patients than normal subjects verified by colorimetric assay Kit. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis shows that the concentration of glucose and lactic acid in synovial fluid could be used as dependable biomarkers for the diagnosis of active RA, provided an AUC of 0.906 and 0.922. Sensitivity and specificity, which were determined by cut-off points, reached 84% and 96% in sensitivity and 95% and 85% in specificity, respectively. The verification of different proteins identified in our previous proteomic study shows that the enzymes of anaerobic catabolism were up-regulated (PFKP and LDHA), and the enzymes of aerobic oxidation and fatty acid oxidation were down-regulated (CS, DLST, PGD, ACSL4, ACADVL and HADHA) in RA patients. The expression of HIF-1α and the enzymes of aerobic oxidation and fatty acid oxidation were decreased and the enzymes of anaerobic catabolism were increased in FLS cells after HIF-1α knockdown. Conclusion: It was found that enhanced anaerobic catabolism and reduced aerobic oxidation regulated by HIF pathway are newly recognized factors contributing to the progression of RA, and low glucose and high lactic acid concentration in synovial fluid may be the potential biomarker of RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The present study first utilized a standardized shotgun proteomic analysis method to determine differences in protein expression of fibroblasts in the ligament between AS patients and healthy controls. Methods Proteins extracted from primarily cultured FLLs from 35 AS patients and 10 normal subjects were analyzed by automated 2D-Nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS. Differentially expressed proteins were screened by 2-sample t -test and fold change. Bioinformatics analysis of differentially expressed proteins was based on the IPA. Fatty acid β-oxidation-related proteins and INSR pathway-related proteins in the ligament were confirmed by real-time PCR and Western blot. Results A total of 556 differential proteins were screened in AS. Of them, 322 proteins were up-regulated and the remaining 234 proteins were down-regulated. GO and pathway analyses showed that six fatty acid β-oxidation-related proteins (HADHB, ECHS1, ACSL4, ACADM, ACSL1 and HADH) were up-regulated in FLL cells, which was consistent with the results obtained from real-time PCR, Western blot and MS, while INSR pathway-related proteins (INSR, IRS1, PI3K and PKC) was low in the ligament of AS as compared with that in healthy controls. Conclusion The lower body fat level in AS maybe due to up-regulation of fatty acid β-oxidation-related enzymes regulated by INSR/PI3K/PKC pathway. Biological significance Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a common spondyloarthropathy, is an inflammatory rheumatic disease with a predilection for the axial skeleton. Clinical hallmarks of AS include sacroiliitis, uveitis, enthesitis and persistent spinal inflammation. The pathogenic mechanism of disease causation and perpetuation remains poorly understood. In this study, we primarily cultured fibroblast cells from ligament biopsies, knowing that fibroblast cells are dominant cells in the diseased ligament. One of the characteristic pathologic changes in AS is inflammation of the attachment points, including the muscle, ligament and bone or joint capsule. Inflammation of the tendon attachment point is usually non-bacterial and can lead to pain and swelling of the tendon ligament. To obtain more information, we used Shotgun proteomic analysis based on multidimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). we firstly mixed the lysates of FLL cells derived from the ligaments of 35 AS patients and 10 normal subjects, identified proteins by automated 2D-Nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS method, GO and pathway analyses showed that six fatty acid β-oxidation-related proteins (HADHB, ECHS1, ACSL4, ACADM, ACSL1 and HADH) were up-regulated in the ligament, which was consistent with the results obtained from real-time PCR, Western blot and MS, while INSR pathway-related proteins (INSR, IRS1, PI3K and PKC) was low in the ligament of AS as compared with that in healthy controls. We also find that AS subjects had significantly lower body mass index (BMI) and BMI Z -scores compared with that in healthy controls. The results remind us that up-regulation of fatty acid β-oxidation-related proteins lower the body fat content, which is a new discovery contributing to the progression of AS. This is the first report on fatty acid oxidation in AS. It was found that the body fat level was low in AS due to high fatty acid oxidation, suggesting that insulin signaling may play an important role in the metabolic switch from predominant to fatty acid metabolism that characterizes the ligament of AS. One mechanism for this transition is increased expression of genes that regulate the rate of fatty acid oxidation. This effect may be mediated by PI3K, a downstream mediator of many receptor tyrosine kinases, including the INSR. This is a newly discovered factor contributing to the progression of AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pilocarpine concentration-dependently enhanced the glycine currents in ventral horn neurons of the spinal cord. • M 3 -AChR and Ca2+-dependent PKC participated in the pilocarpine effect. • IP 3 receptor was involved in the potentiation by pilocarpine of the glycine currents. Our study aimed to determine the effects of pilocarpine and the mechanisms involving muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) on glycine receptors (GlyRs) in neurons of the spinal cord ventral horn. An enzymatic digestion combined with acute mechanical separation was applied to isolate neurons from the spinal cord ventral horn. Patch-clamp recording was then used to investigate the outcomes of pilocarpine. Our results indicate that pilocarpine increased the glycine currents in a concentration-dependent manner, which was blocked by the M 3 -AChR selective antagonists 4-DAMP and J104129. Pilocarpine also enhanced the glycine currents in nominally Ca2+-free extracellular solution. Conversely, the enhancement of glycine currents by pilocarpine disappeared when intracellular Ca2+ was chelated by BAPTA. Heparin and Xe-C, which are IP 3 receptor antagonists, also totally abolished the pilocarpine effect. Furthermore, Bis-IV, a PKC inhibitor, eliminated the pilocarpine effect. Additionally, PMA, a PKC activator, mimicked the pilocarpine effect. These results indicate that pilocarpine may increase the glycine currents by activating the M 3 -AChRs and IP 3 /Ca2+/PKC pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, a simple balanced directional coupler with high common‐mode (CM) suppression is designed by using a single‐layer substrate‐integrated waveguide (SIW). The SIW can be considered a naturally balanced structure. The CM noises are able to be intrinsically suppressed when differentially excited along the symmetric H‐plane of SIW. The coupling window with tapered transition is designed for broadening the bandwidth of 3‐dB coupling. The microstrip differential feeding structure with inductive vias and inductive matching section enables planar integration and better impedance matching. Finally, a SIW balanced directional coupler operating at 14–16 GHz is designed and fabricated. Measured results are in good agreement with simulated ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The differences in outcomes after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) between the sexes have not been concretely determined. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in epidemiology, outcomes, and risk factors between male and female patients with aSAH. Methods: We performed a multicenter, retrospective study of patients with aSAH from 2017 to 2020. We investigated the epidemiological differences between the two sexes. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to compare short-term outcomes between the sexes. Binary logarithmic regression was performed to investigate the odds ratio (OR) for dependent survival in patients of different sexes. Results: A total of 5,407 consecutive patients with aSAH were included in this study, and the female-to-male ratio was 1.8:1. The peak incidence of aSAH occurred in the 6th and 7th decades in males and females, respectively. There were more female patients with internal carotid artery or posterior communicating artery aneurysms (53.2%), and there were more male patients with anterior cerebral artery or anterior communicating artery aneurysms (43.2%). The incidence of multiple aneurysms was greater in female patients (21.5% vs. 14.2%, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in outcomes before and after PSM at discharge. The dependent survival risk was related only to the clinical condition on admission in women. In addition, age > 50 years (OR 1.88, 95% confidence interval 1.17–3.02; P = 0.01) and hypertension (OR 1.81, 95% confidence interval 1.25–2.61; P = 0.002) were also risk factors for male patients. Conclusions: There were more female patients with aneurysms than male patients in this study. Most aneurysm locations were different between the two groups. There was no significant difference in discharge outcomes before and after PSM. The risk factors for dependent survival were different between female and male patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human secreted phospholipase A2s have been shown to promote inflammation in mammals by catalyzing the first step of the arachidonic acid pathway by breaking down phospholipids, producing fatty acids, including arachidonic acid. They bind to the membrane water interface to access their phospholipid substrates from the membrane. Their binding modes on membrane surfaces are regulated by diverse factors, including membrane charge, fluidity, and heterogeneity. The influence of these factors on the binding modes of the enzymes is not well understood. Here we have studied several human synovial phospholipase A2 (hs-PLA2)/mixed bilayer systems through a combined coarse-grain and all-atom molecular dynamics simulation. It was found that hydrophobic residues Leu2, Val3, Ala18, Leu19, Phe23, Gly30, and Phe63 that form the edge of the entrance of the hydrophobic binding pocket in hs-PLA2 tend to penetrate into the hydrophobic area of lipid bilayers, and more than half of the total amino acid residues make contact with the lipid headgroups. Each enzyme molecule forms 19–38 hydrogen bonds with the bilayer to which it binds, most of which are with the phosphate groups. Analysis of the root-mean-square deviation (rmsd) shows that residues Val30–Thr40, Tyr66–Gln80, and Lys107–Arg118 have relatively large rmsds during all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, in accordance with the observation of an enlarged entrance region of the hydrophobic binding pocket. The amino acid sequences forming the entrance of the binding pocket prefer to interact with lipid molecules that are more fluid or negatively charged, and the opening of the binding pocket would be larger when the lipid components are more fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we demonstrate the interfacial bonding between bimetallic molecular catalyst (NiFe-TA) nanolayers and hematite photoanode, achieving enhanced water oxidation performance. The findings reveal that the incorporation of NiFe-TA nanolayers serves as both a passivation layer and cocatalysts, leading to a significant reduction in surface charge recombination and improved water oxidation kinetics. [Display omitted] • NiFe-TA/Fe 2 O 3 heterostructures connected with Fe-O covalent bond are achieved. • Passivation layer and cocatalytic effect of NiFe-TA steer the behavior of charge carriers. • NiFe-TA/Fe 2 O 3 features good PEC water oxidation performance. Hematite (α -Fe 2 O 3) is one of the most promising photoanodes for water oxidation, but its photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance is usually limited by abundant surface defects and sluggish water oxidation kinetics. Herein, a uniform bimetallic molecular catalyst (NiFe-TA) nanolayer was hydrothermally grown on the surface of Fe 2 O 3 photoanodes, boosting the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers. The constructed NiFe-TA/Fe 2 O 3 photoanode exhibits a high photocurrent density of 2.36 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V versus reversible reference electrode, corresponding to > 230 % increase with respect to that of bare Fe 2 O 3. It is disclosed that NiFe-TA serves as passivation layers to retard surface charge recombination in Fe 2 O 3 photoanodes, while also acts as oxygen evolution cocatalyst to promote hole transfer and accelerate water oxidation kinetics. The formation of a covalent bond between NiFe-TA and Fe 2 O 3 can further enhance the charge transfer efficiency and improve stability. This work provides effective modification strategy by employing molecular catalyst for the design of high-efficiency Fe 2 O 3 -based photoanodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of the study: Rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (RASFs) are known to produce matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and cause joint destruction. The purpose of this study is to develop a potential medicine for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Materials and methods: To this end, first, the MMPs inhibition factor was purified from an alkali-solubilized fraction of RJ (Apis mellifera) by C18 reverse-phase column chromatography and identified as 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10H2DA) by LTQ XL analysis. Next, Experimental test 10H2DA how to inhibited the activities of MMPs: with RASFs isolated from rheumatoid tissues by enzymatic digestion, cultures in monolayers were treated with 10H2DA (0.5mM, 1mM, and 2mM) or PBS for 2h followed by stimulation with TNF-α (10ng/ml) for 2h, mRNA. Protein levels of MMP-1 and MMP-3 were measured by real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the DNA-binding activity of activator protein-1 (AP-1) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), and the protein kinase activity of p38, ERK and JNK by kinase assay. Results: The molecular investigation revealed that the 10H2DA-mediated suppression was likely to occur through blocking p38 kinase and c-Jun N-terminal kinase–AP-1 signaling pathways. In contrast, 10H2DA had no effect on extracellular signal-regulated kinase activity, NF-κB DNA-binding activity and IκBα degradation. Conclusion: These results suggest that 10H2DA may be of potential therapeutic value in inhibiting joint destruction in RA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A new density functional theory (DFT) for an inhomogeneous 12−6 Lennard-Jones fluid is proposed based on the modified fundamental measure theory for repulsive interaction and a weighted density functional for attractive interaction. The Helmholtz free energy functional for the attractive part is constructed using the modified Benedict−Webb−Rubin equation of state with a mean-field weight function. Comparisons of the theoretical results with molecular simulation data suggest that the new DFT yields accurate bulk surface tension, density distributions, adsorption−desorption isotherms, pore pressures, and capillary phase transitions for the Lennard-Jones fluid confined in slitlike pores with different widths and solid-fluid interactions. The new DFT reproduces well the vapor−liquid critical temperatures of the confined Lennard-Jones fluid, whereas the mean-field theory always overestimates the critical temperatures. Because the new DFT is computationally as simple and efficient as the mean-field theory, it will provide a good reference for further development of a statistical-thermodynamic theory of complex fluid under both homogeneous and inhomogeneous conditions when disperse force has to be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A density functional theory (DFT) constructed from the modified fundamental-measure theory and the modified Benedict−Webb−Rubin equation of state is presented. The Helmholtz free energy functional due to attractive interaction is expressed as a functional of attractive weighted-density in which the weight function is a mean-field-like type. An obvious advantage of the present theory is that it reproduces accurate bulk properties such as chemical potential, bulk pressure, vapor−liquid interfacial tension, and so forth when compared with molecular simulations and experiments with the same set of molecular parameters. Capabilities of the present DFT are demonstrated by its applicability to adsorption of argon and nitrogen on, respectively, a model cylindrical pore and mesoporous MCM-41 materials. Comparison of the theoretical results of argon in the model cylindrical pore with those from the newly published molecular simulations indicates that the present DFT predicts accurate average densities in the pore, slightly overestimates the pore pressure, and correctly describes the effect of the fluid−pore wall interaction on average densities and pressures in the pore. Application to adsorption of nitrogen on MCM-41 at 77.4 K shows that the present DFT predicts density profiles and adsorption isotherms in good agreement with those from molecular simulations and experiments. In contrast, the hysteresis loop of adsorption calculated from the mean-field theory shifts toward the low pressure region because a low bulk saturated pressure is produced from the mean-field equation of state. The present DFT offers a good way to describe the adsorption isotherms of porous materials as a function of temperature and pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activity coefficients at infinite dilution are reported for ten solutes (heptane, octane, nonane, decane, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, m-xylene, and p-xylene) in sulfolane at temperatures T(333.15 to 373.15) K. These data were measured with the help of gas−liquid chromatography (GC) in which sulfolane was used as the stationary phase. The results show good agreement with the activity coefficients at infinite dilution obtained from various methods in the literature. The temperature dependence of the activity coefficients found in the GC experiments could be confirmed using the excess enthalpy data. The present data can be used to determine and compare the selective effect caused by the addition of sulfolane to a given binary mixture in the separation processes such as extractive distillation and solvent extraction. The calculated selectivity suggests that both sulfolane and ionic liquid HMIMBF4-can act as a good solvent in separating aromatic and aliphatic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A density functional theory is proposed to investigate the effects of polymer monomer−monomer and monomer−wall attractions on the density profile, chain configuration, and equilibrium capillary phase transition of a freely jointed multi-Yukawa fluid confined in a slitlike pore. The excess Helmholtz energy functional is constructed by using the modified fundamental measure theory, Wertheim's first-order thermodynamic perturbation theory, and Rosenfeld's perturbative method, in which the bulk radial distribution function and direct correlation function of hard-core multi-Yukawa monomers are obtained from the first-order mean spherical approximation. Comparisons of density profiles and bond orientation correlation functions of inhomogeneous chain fluids predicted from the present theory with the simulation data show that the present theory is very accurate, superior to the previous theory. The present theory predicts that the polymer monomer−monomer attraction lowers the strength of oscillations for density profiles and bond orientation correlation functions and makes the excess adsorption more negative. It is interesting to find that the equilibrium capillary phase transition of the polymeric fluid in the hard slitlike pore occurs at a higher chemical potential than in bulk condition, but as the attraction of the pore wall is increased sufficiently, the chemical potential for equilibrium capillary phase transition becomes lower than that for bulk vapor−liquid equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the increasing interest in studying the phenomenon exhibited by charge-stabilized colloidal suspensions in confining geometry, we present a density functional theory (DFT) for a hard-core multi-Yukawa fluid. The excess Helmholtz free-energy functional is constructed by using the modified fundamental measure theory and Rosenfeld's perturbative method, in which the bulk direct correlation function is obtained from the first-order mean spherical approximation. To validate the established theory, grand canonical ensemble Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations are carried out to determine the density profiles and surface excesses of multi-Yukawa fluid in a slitlike pore. Comparisons of the theoretical results with the GCMC data suggest that the present DFT gives very accurate density profiles and surface excesses of multi-Yukawa fluid in the slitlike pore as well as the radial distribution functions of the bulk fluid. Both the DFT and the GCMC simulations predict the depletion of the multi-Yukawa fluid near a nonattractive wall, while the mean-field theory fails to describe this depletion in some cases. Because the simple form of the direct correlation function is used, the present DFT is computationally as efficient as the mean-field theory, but reproduces the simulation data much better than the mean-field theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proposition of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) in organic solar cells has made great progress in the raise of power conversion efficiency, and it also broadens the ways for searching and designing new acceptor molecules. In this work, the design of novel NFAs with required properties is performed with the conditional generative model constructed from a convolutional neural network (CNN). The temporal CNN is firstly trained to be a good string-based molecular conditional generative model to directly generate the desired molecules. The reliability of generated molecular properties is then demonstrated by a graph-based prediction model and evaluated with quantum chemical calculations. Specifically, the global attention mechanism is incorporated in the prediction model to pool the extracted information of molecular structures and provide interpretability. By combining the generative and prediction models, thousands of NFAs with required frontier molecular orbital energies are generated. The generated new molecules essentially explore the chemical space and enrich the database of transformation rules for molecular design. The conditional generation model can also be trained to generate the molecules from molecular fragments, and the contribution of molecular fragments to the properties is subsequently predicted by the prediction model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has led to unprecedented public health measures such as school and university closures across the world. While initial surveys show an increase in anxiety, we have little information on the subjective experience of adolescents and young adults (AYAs). The aims of this study were to understand the lived experience and needs of AYAs related to home confinement and preventive measures due to COVID-19. A total of 25 AYAs (13–24 years old) with diverse gender, age, or health conditions, living in Québec (Canada), were interviewed in May 2020, during the COVID-19 home confinement period. Four virtual focus groups were held via a virtual video-conferencing platform (Zoom©). Thematic analysis was conducted. Thematic analysis revealed five main themes: (1) challenges and opportunities related to the experience of home confinement; (2) variable risk perception of COVID-19 infection; (3) development of coping strategies to maintain well-being; (4) need for information and accompaniment; (5) apprehensions related to perceptions of the future. AYAs did not feel considered in public health decisions, fostering an increase in anxiety, especially in more vulnerable AYAs living with chronic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractLiquiritigenin is a natural medicine. However, its inhibitory effect and its potential mechanism on bladder cancer (BCa) remain to be explored. It was found that it could be visualized that the transplanted tumours in the low-dose liquiritigenin -treated group and the high-dose liquiritigenin -treated group were smaller than those in the model group. Liquiritigenin treatment led to alterations in Lachnoclostridium, Escherichia-Shigella, Alistipes and Akkermansia. Non-targeted metabolomics analysis showed that a total of multiple differential metabolites were identified between the model group and the high-dose liquiritigenin-treated group. This provides a new direction and rationale for the antitumour effects of liquiritigenin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eriocitrin is a flavonoid glycoside with strong antioxidant capacity that has a variety of pharmacological activities, such as hypolipidemic, anticancer and anti-inflammatory effects. We found that the gut microbiota could rapidly metabolize eriocitrin. By using LC/MSn-IT-TOF, we identified three metabolites of eriocitrin metabolized in the intestinal microbiota: eriodictyol-7-O-glucoside, eriodictyol, and dihydrocaffeic acid. By comparing these two metabolic pathways of eriocitrin (the gut microbiota and liver microsomes), the intestinal microbiota may be the primary metabolic site of eriocitrin metabolism. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for the study of pharmacologically active substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Orexin-A potentiated the glycine currents in the spinal cord ventral horn neurons. • OX 1 R and Ca2+-dependent PKC were involved in the orexin-A effect. • IP 3 receptor was involved in orexin-A-induced potentiation of the glycine currents. Orexin-A/B modulates multiple physical functions by activating their receptors (OX 1 R and OX 2 R), but its effects in the spinal cord motor control remain unknown. Using acute separation (by digestive enzyme) of cells and patch-clamp recordings, we aimed to investigate the effect and mechanisms of orexin-A on the glycine receptors in the spinal cord ventral horn neurons. Orexin-A potentiated the glycine currents by activating OX 1 R. In Ca2+-free extracellular solution, orexin-A still increased the glycine currents. While, the orexin-A-induced potentiation was blocked when Ca2+ was chelated by internal infusion of BAPTA, and the orexin-A effect was abolished by the IP 3 receptor antagonists heparin and Xe-C. The PKC inhibitor Bis-IV nullified the orexin-A effect. In addition, orexin-A did not cause a further enhancement of the glycine currents after bath application of the PKC activator PMA. In conclusion, after OX 1 R is activated, a distinct IP 3 /Ca2+-dependent PKC signaling pathway, is likely responsible for the orexin-A potentiation on glycine currents in the spinal cord ventral horn neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer gel is widely used for well temporary plugging in petroleum engineering. This paper researched on a novel environmental and strength‐enhanced composite gel plug prepared by the nanosilica, the polymer hydrolyzed polyacrylamide and environmental friendly crosslinker polyethyleneimine, and the effect of strength enhancement and thermal stability mechanism of the nanosilica in this system was investigated. The experiments results showed that with the increase of the nanosilica concentration, the elastic modulus and viscous modulus, the stress under the same strain and the gel decompose temperature both increased. For the system containing 8% nanosilica, the elastic modulus is about 14 times than the one without it, whereas the viscous modulus is only 70.98 Pa, which is favorable for lowering the absorption damage to the formation. The strain–stress experiment results showed that to reach 45% strain, the stress of 44.6 KPa needed to be loaded (for composite gel with 8 wt% nanosilica) and during the compress process, the gel deformed with no break and after the stress was released, it got back to the original shape soon, indicating its good mechanical and elasticity performance. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results revealed that the after adding nanosilica, more free water can be kept so that the system's thermal stability was effectively improved. The scanning electron microscopic images displayed that the nanosilica particles closely adhere to the polymer network; thus, the 3D structure of the composite gel became more compact and the gel's strength was improved. In the last section, some recommendations for well temporary plugging are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose The management of older aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) cases is a clinical challenge. This study aimed to analyse the survival and functional outcomes in older aSAH patients (age ≥ 70 years) to provide evidence for making treatment decisions for such patients. Methods We performed a 2-year follow-up analysis of the Chinese Multi-Centre Cerebral Aneurysm Database for older patients suffering from aSAH from 2017 to 2020. A survival analysis was used to investigate the mean survival and hazard ratios for death. Binary logarithmic regression was performed to investigate the odds ratio for independent survival and dependent survival. Results A total of 1,136 consecutive older patients with aSAH were assessed in this study, and 944 patients (83.1%) were followed up. The overall mean survival was 37.79 ± 1.04 months. A total of 380 (40.25%) patients died within 2 years after aSAH. In survival analysis, the predictors of mortality were older age, intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) history, Hunt-Hess (H-H) grade, World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) grade and operative treatment decreased the risk of mortality compared to conservative treatment. In binary logarithmic regression, the predictors of dependent survival were hypertension, diabetes, WFNS grade. Conclusions The risk for 2-year mortality after aSAH increases markedly with older age, ICH history, H-H grade and WFNS grade. Risk factors for 2-year dependent survival were associated with hypertension, diabetes and WFNS grade in older patients with aSAH. Operative treatment markedly decreased mortality but did not significantly decrease the morbidity of dependent survival compared to conservative treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endovascular coiling and surgical clipping are routinely used to treat unruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysms (MCAAs). However, the optimal treatment for unruptured MCAAs is controversial. We aimed to systematically and comprehensively compare the clinical outcomes between endovascular coiling and surgical clipping for the treatment of MCAAs. Method: This meta-analysis retrieved academic articles comparing the clinical outcomes between endovascular coiling and surgical clipping for unruptured MCAAs from the Cochrane Library, Medline, PubMed, and EMBASE databases. The reference articles of the identified studies were carefully reviewed to ensure that all available articles were represented in the study. The meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with the acknowledged the prioritized reported items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: A total of 6 studies, which enrolled a total of 789 participants, were included in our analysis. Of these 789 patients with MCAAs, 144 were assigned to an endovascular coiling group, and 645 were assigned to a surgical clipping group. Our results demonstrated that endovascular coiling was associated with a higher rate of retreatment (OR = 104.926; 95% CI: 12.931 to 851.379; P<0.001) and postoperative complications (OR = 3.157; 95% CI: 1.239 to 8.048; P= 0.016) than surgical clipping, especially for postoperative thrombus without infarction (OR = 4.905, 95% CI: 1.097 to 21.933; P = 0.037). Furthermore, surgical clipping was related to a higher rate of complete occlusion (OR = 0.349, 95% CI: 0.140 to 0.872; P = 0.024) and Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) ≥4 (OR = 0.250; 95% CI: 0.072 to 0.867; P= 0.029) than endovascular coiling after the operation. However, there was no significant difference in the rate of death, the proportion of patients with modified Rankin Scale (mRS)>2, infarction, or bleeding. Conclusion: Although this study has inherent limitations, surgical clipping of unruptured MCAAs resulted in significantly higher complete aneurysm occlusion and GOS≥4 rates and was associated with a lower incidence of retreatment and complication, especially for postoperative thrombus without infarction. Therefore, the effect induced by surgical clipping of unruptured MCAAs remains superior to that induced by endovascular coiling; surgical clipping should be regarded as the first choice of treatment for unruptured MCAAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A density-functional theory is proposed to describe the density profiles of small ions around an isolated colloidal particle in the framework of the restricted primitive model where the small ions have uniform size and the solvent is represented by a dielectric continuum. The excess Helmholtz energy functional is derived from a modified fundamental measure theory for the hard-sphere repulsion and a quadratic functional Taylor expansion for the electrostatic interactions. The theoretical predictions are in good agreement with the results from Monte Carlo simulations and from previous investigations using integral-equation theory for the ionic density profiles and the ζ potentials of spherical particles at a variety of solution conditions. Like the integral-equation approaches, the density-functional theory is able to capture the oscillatory density profiles of small ions and the charge inversion (overcharging) phenomena for particles with elevated charge density. In particular, our density-functional theory predicts the formation of a second counterion layer near the surface of highly charged spherical particle. Conversely, the nonlinear Poisson–Boltzmann theory and its variations are unable to represent the oscillatory behavior of small ion distributions and charge inversion. Finally, our density-functional theory predicts charge inversion even in a 1:1 electrolyte solution as long as the salt concentration is sufficiently high. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Role of LEF-1 in rats with PAH was investigated. • Activation of β-catenin signaling pathway led to PAH. • Activation of β-catenin signaling pathway led to pulmonary vascular remodeling. • LEF-1 gene silencing inhibited the activation of β-catenin pathway. • This study provides a new approach and basis for the treatment of PAH. Abstract Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has been known to result in progressive pulmonary artery pressures (PAP), pulmonary vascular resistance, and right ventricular failure. Emerging evidence has highlighted the function lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 (LEF-1) exerts in human diseases along with its potential participation in PAH. Herein, the present study aims to investigate the mechanisms by which LEF-1 affects the pulmonary vascular remodeling in rat models of PAH via the β-catenin signaling pathway. Both pulmonary vascular remodeling and PAP in the rat pulmonary arterioles were observed by using blood gas analysis as well as plasma NO level detection. Cells from the rats were then treated using monocrotaline (MCT) with PM2.5 also being treated with either shLEF-1, HU-308 (agonist of β-catenin signaling pathway) or shLEF-1 + HU-308. Expressions of the following: LEF-1, GSK-3β, β-catenin, PCNA, Caspase-3, survivin, and Bax were all determined by employing both RT-qPCR and Western blot. Cell proliferation, senescence, and apoptosis calculations were all measured by using the CCK-8 assay, SA β-Gal and flow cytometry methods, respectively. Rats that were treated with the combination of MCT + PM2.5, afterwards presented with a noticeably higher degree of pulmonary vascular remodeling and PAP, and reduced plasma levels of NO; besides, the expressions of LEF-1, GSK-3β, β-catenin, PCNA, and survivin were all elevated, while the expressions of both Caspase-3 and Bax were reduced. Following treatment of HU-308, cell senescence, and apoptosis were all inhibited, while cell proliferation had been contrarily enhanced; the transfection of shLEF-1. reversed the tendency. These results suggested demonstrate that LEF-1 gene silencing inhibited the activation of β-catenin signaling pathway, thereby suppressing both the occurrence and pulmonary vascular remodeling of PAH. Therefore, LEF-1 gene silencing may become a novel target for PAH treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Atherosclerosis occurs as a result of a chronic inflammatory response in the arterial wall associated with an increased uptake of low-density lipoprotein by macrophages and the subsequent transformation of this lipoprotein into foam cells. It has been found that miR-188-3p can suppress autophagy and myocardial infarction. Therefore, we conducted the present study with determining the suppressive role played by miR-188-3p in atherosclerosis. Methods The atherosclerosis model was established using ApoE knockout mice. The healthy C57BL/6J wide-type mice were used as control, while miR-188-3p mimics or inhibitors were applied for the elevation or the depletion of the miR-188-3p expression in mice. The macrophage content was observed in atherosclerotic plaque. Once the miR-188-3p expression was determined, the effects of the over-expression of miR-188-3p on the lipid accumulation and macrophage inflammatory response were accessed. The plasma levels of pro-inflammatory factors and serum RANTES level, as well as OLR1, iNOS, ABCA1 and KLF2 expression were determined in order to evaluate the potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities of miR-188-3p. Results ApoE knockout mice with atherosclerosis presented with increased lipid accumulation and macrophage content. MiR-188-3p was found to reduce intravascular lipid accumulation in atherosclerotic mice. In addition to the alleviation of macrophage inflammatory response, the upregulation of miR-188-3p also leads to the suppression of oxidation with reduced macrophage accumulation, plasma expression of pro-inflammatory factors and serum RANTES level, OLR1 and iNOS, while it increases ABCA1 and KLF2. Conclusions In conclusion, the findings from our study found a new potential therapy for atherosclerosis by investigating the inhibitory effects of miR-188-3p on macrophage inflammatory response and oxidation. Highlights • The role of miR-188-3p in atherosclerosis is explored. • MiR-188-3p reduces intravascular lipid accumulation in atherosclerotic mice. • MiR-188-3p alleviates macrophage inflammatory response. • MiR-188-3p lowly expressed in ApoE knockout atherosclerotic mice. • The study highlights miR-188-3p as a novel target for atherosclerosis treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by enhanced thermionic emission performance resulting from low work function, the work function of Ce x La 1− x B 6 is studied by first-principles calculation based on density functional theory. By calculation, the optimal Ce doping concentration is determined to be 0.25, and a very low work function Φ  = 2.04 eV is predicted on the (001) surface of Ce 0.25 La 0.75 B 6 . High-quality Ce 0.25 La 0.75 B 6 single crystal was fabricated by optical floating zone technique. By the experimental measurement on the thermionic emission performance, the average work function of Ce 0.25 La 0.75 B 6 is about 2.61 eV, which is lower than the work function of both CeB 6 and LaB 6 . By the combination of calculation and experiment, we concluded that Ce doping can reduce the work function of LaB 6 and enhance its thermionic emission performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Dissecting aneurysm; Child; Clip EN Dissecting aneurysm Child Clip 1427 1428 2 07/28/22 20220801 NES 220801 Chao Peng is the first author. In our case, there was thrombosis inside the aneurysm according to MRI and DSA. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) showed middle cerebral artery (MCA) dilation (Fig. [Extracted from the article]

The bacterial nitroreductases (NRs) NfsB and NfsA are conserved homodimeric FMN‐dependent flavoproteins that are responsible for the reduction of nitroaromatic substrates. Berberine (BBR) is a plant‐derived isoquinoline alkaloid with a large conjugated ring system that is widely used in the treatment of various diseases. It was recently found that the gut microbiota convert BBR into dihydroberberine (dhBBR, the absorbable form) mediated by bacterial NRs. The molecular basis for the transformation of BBR by the gut microbiota remains unclear. Here, kinetic studies showed that NfsB from Escherichia coli (EcNfsB), rather than EcNfsA, is responsible for the conversion of BBR to dhBBR in spite of a low reaction rate. The crystal structure of the EcNfsB–BBR complex showed that BBR binds into the active pocket at the dimer interface, and its large conjugated plane stacks above the plane of the FMN cofactor in a nearly parallel orientation. BBR is mainly stabilized by π‐stacking interactions with both neighboring aromatic residues and FMN. Structure‐based mutagenesis studies further revealed that the highly conserved Phe70 and Phe199 are important residues for the conversion of BBR. The structure revealed that the C6 atom of BBR (which receives the hydride) is ∼7.5 Å from the N5 atom of FMN (which donates the hydride), which is too distant for hydride transfer. Notably, several well ordered water molecules make hydrogen‐bond/van der Waals contacts with the N1 atom of BBR in the active site, which probably donate protons in conjunction with electron transfer from FMN. The structure–function studies revealed the mechanism for the recognition and binding of BBR by bacterial NRs and may help to understand the conversion of BBR by the gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Mn(II) can activate PI to efficiently degrade sulfadiazine in water. • The Mn(II)/PI system is a non-radical process dominated by electron transfer. • The generated MnO 2 -PI complex plays an important role in SDZ degradation. • Stable iodates are the main iodine species in the Mn (II)/PI system. The present study investigated the mechanism of manganese ion (Mn(II))-activated periodate (PI) for rapid removal of sulfadiazine (SDZ). The Mn(II)/PI system showed excellent SDZ degradation results with 99.8 % degradation efficiency within 2 min at pH = 5.5. Mechanism study reveals that the degradation of SDZ in the Mn(II)/PI system takes place mainly through an electron transfer process. Mn(II) can be oxidized by PI to formed the in-situ MnO 2 , followed by the generation of MnO 2 -PI complex. Electrochemical methods have confirmed that the generated MnO 2 -PI complex significantly contributes to the degradation of pollutants. MnO 2 -PI mediates the transfer of electrons from SDZ to PI surface through surface vacancies, thereby achieving efficient degradation of pollutants. p -methoxyphenyl sulfone (PMSO) is used as a probe compound, and almost 90 % of PMSO is converted into PMSO 2 in the Mn(II)/PI/SDZ system, manifesting that excessive PI may oxidize active Mn(IV) to Mn(V). And the generated Mn(V) also contributes to the SDZ degradation. The SDZ degradation pathway is proposed and the transformation of iodine species is detected. The final iodine species in the system are iodate. The chloride culture experiment has confirmed that the production of organic iodine is very low, indicating no significant health risks. This study reveals mechanism of periodate-based process, providing theoretical and technical implementation guidelines of periodate in water treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel UV 222 /PAA process can synergistically enhance the degradation of ECs. • The EE/O values of CBZ degradation followed the order of UV 222 >UV 222 /PAA. • HO•, RO•, and 1O 2 contributed to CBZ degradation in the UV 222 /PAA process. • The UV 222 /PAA process showed excellent performance under different water sources. Krypton chloride (KrCl*) excimer lamps (222 nm) are used as a promising irradiation source to drive ultraviolet-based advanced oxidation processes (UV-AOPs) in water treatment. In this study, the UV 222 /peracetic acid (PAA) process is implemented as a novel UV-AOPs for the degradation of emerging contaminants (ECs) in water. The results demonstrate that UV 222 /PAA process exhibits excellent degradation performance for carbamazepine (CBZ), with a removal rate of 90.8 % within 45 min. Notably, the degradation of CBZ in the UV 222 /PAA process (90.8 %) was significantly higher than that in the UV 254 /PAA process (15.1 %) at the same UV dose. The UV 222 /PAA process exhibits superior electrical energy per order (EE/O) performance while reducing resource consumption associated with the high-energy UV 254 /PAA process. Quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) detection confirm that HO• play a dominant role in the reaction. The contributions of direct photolysis, HO•, and other active species (RO• and 1O 2) are estimated to be 5 %, 88 %, and 7 %, respectively. In addition, the effects of Cl−, HCO 3 −, and humic acid (HA) on the degradation of CBZ are evaluated. The presence of relatively low concentrations of Cl−, HCO 3 −, and HA can inhibit CBZ degradation. The UV 222 /PAA oxidation process could also effectively degrade several other ECs (i.e., iohexol, sulfamethoxazole, acetochlor, ibuprofen), indicating the potential application of this process in pollutant removal. These findings will propel the development of the UV 222 /PAA process and provide valuable insights for its application in water treatment. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease, is the most relevant cause of carotid artery stenosis. Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) play a significant role in the development of atherosclerosis. In this chronic inflammatory environment, we aimed to investigate whether PCSK9 could mitigate atherosclerosis progression by reducing tissue factor expression in ECs via in vivo and in vitro assays. In vivo, we investigated the effect of PCSK9 inhibition on preventing atherosclerotic lesion formation in ApoE-/- mice fed a western diet. The results showed that inhibiting PCSK9 could significantly downregulate the protein expression of tissue factor (TF) in ECs to reduce the area of atherosclerotic plaques. In vitro, we incubated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We found that LPS-induced TF elevation was suppressed by a PCSK9 inhibitor at both the mRNA and protein levels and that the TLR4/NF-κB pathway was also suppressed by a PCSK9 inhibitor. With respect to plasma samples from patients with carotid artery stenosis, we also demonstrated that the expression of TF was positively correlated with that of PCSK9. Thus, in addition to regulating lipid metabolism, the regulation of endothelial cell TF expression through the TLR4/NF-κB pathway may be a potential mechanism of PCSK9 in promoting atherosclerotic carotid stenosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saussurea involucrata has been reported to have potential therapeutic effects against myocardial ischemia. The pharmacological effects of oral natural medicines may be influenced by the participation of gut microbiota. In this study, we aimed to investigate the bidirectional regulation of gut microbiota and the main components of Saussurea involucrata. We first established a quantitative method for the four main components (chlorogenic acid, syringin, acanthoside B, rutin) which were chosen by fingerprint using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and found that gut microbiota has a strong metabolic effect on them. Meanwhile, we identified five major rat gut microbiota metabolites (M1–M5) using liquid chromatography tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/MSn-IT-TOF). The metabolic properties of metabolites in vitro were preliminarily elucidated by LC-MS/MS for the first time. These five metabolites of Saussurea involucrata may all have potential contributions to the treatment of myocardial ischemia. Furthermore, the four main components (10 μg/mL) can significantly stimulate intestinal bacteria to produce short chain fatty acids in vitro, respectively, which can further contribute to the effect in myocardial ischemia. In this study, the therapeutic effect against myocardial ischemia of Saussurea involucrata was first reported to be related to the intestinal flora, which can be useful in understanding the effective substances of Saussurea involucrata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solubility of inorganic salts in the mixed systems containing surfactants and sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) is very important for the production of laundry detergents. In this work we explored the solubility of NaCl, Na2SO4, and Na2CO3 in aqueous surfactant and STPP solutions using an ion selective electrode at 298.15 K. In the experiments, electromotive forces (EMF) for the ternary systems were measured using an ion-meter with a sodium ion-selective composite electrode and the relationship between the solubility and EMF was analyzed by a potentiometric analysis. The proposed method has advantages in avoiding the solid-liquid separation operation and solution supersaturation. The experimental results indicated that the salting-out effect caused by surfactant and STPP can decrease the solubility of sodium salts in the aqueous systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bioavailability of flavonoids is generally low after oral administration. The metabolic transformation of flavonoids by the gut microbiota may be one of the main reasons for this, although these metabolites have potential pharmacological activities. Liquiritigenin is an important dihydroflavonoid compound found in Glycyrrhiza uralensis that has a wide range of pharmacological properties, such as antitumor, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-AIDS effects, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. This study explored the metabolites of liquiritigenin by examining gut microbiota metabolism and hepatic metabolism in vitro. Using LC-MS/MS and LC/MSn-IT-TOF techniques, three possible metabolites of liquiritigenin metabolized by the gut microbiota were identified: phloretic acid (M3), resorcinol (M4), and M5. M5 is speculated to be davidigenin, which has antitumor activity. By comparing these two metabolic pathways of liquiritigenin (the gut microbiota and liver microsomes), this study revealed that there are three main metabolites of liquiritigenin generated by intestinal bacteria, which provides a theoretical basis for the study of pharmacologically active substances in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The component part and function of proton radiation facilitiy are introduced. • Many detectors are used to measure the proton beam. • A cross checking method of proton flux is established. • flux detection accuracy is proved. The proton radiation facility is built at an irradiation terminal of a 100-MeV cyclotron accelerator in the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE). It is mainly used for testing the single-event effect of electronic devices. The part and function of the proton beamline for radiation effects research are introduced. Many detectors and techniques are used to accomplish accurate and reliable dosimetry and characterization of the proton beam. The results of beam characterization such as transmission, energy, lateral profile, and flux are reported. A typical monitoring and measuring system consist of a secondary electron emission monitor (SEM) working in a transmission mode and Faraday cup (FC). A cross-checking method of proton flux accuracy by FC and scintillation detector (SC) is established. The application of the reference single-event upset (SEU) monitor for the characterization of proton beams at different facilities is described. The SEU cross-section of the Reference SEU Monitor has confirmed the flux detection accuracy at CIAE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]