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Brain ischemia has been associated with deficits in neural oscillations. Here in an animal model, the authors show that modulation of low-gamma oscillations using a light flicker can restore low gamma oscillations and protect ischemic neurons.

To assist in the absorption of renewable energy, coal-fired power plants need to operate over a wide range of loads, which exacerbates the challenge of the time delay in the wet desulphurization process. Therefore, this paper proposes a new control structure based on frequency retrofit and a corresponding model predictive controller to change the traditional idea of wet desulphurization control. This structure provides faster control actions, thus reducing time delay directly. And it makes the original discrete control variable continuous, enabling most control methods. The field application to the wet flue gas desulphurization system reveals the practical prospects of the proposed control structure and simulations have been conducted to verify the merits of the proposed control scheme based on data collected from a 1000 MW power plant.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment represents one of the largest unmet medical needs. Developing small molecules targeting Aβ aggregation is an effective approach to prevent and treat AD. Here, we show that gallic acid (GA), a naturally occurring polyphenolic small molecule rich in grape seeds and fruits, has the capacity to alleviate cognitive decline of APP/PS1 transgenic mouse through reduction of Aβ1–42 aggregation and neurotoxicity. Oral administration of GA not only improved the spatial reference memory and spatial working memory of 4-month-old APP/PS1 mice, but also significantly reduced the more severe deficits developed in the 9-month-old APP/PS1 mice in terms of spatial learning, reference memory, short-term recognition and spatial working memory. The hippocampal long-term-potentiation (LTP) was also significantly elevated in the GA-treated 9-month-old APP/PS1 mice with increased expression of synaptic marker proteins. Evidence from atomic force microscopy (AFM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence densitometry analyses showed that GA significantly reduces Aβ1–42 aggregation both in vitro and in vivo. Further, pre-incubating GA with oligomeric Aβ1–42 reduced Aβ1–42-mediated intracellular calcium influx and neurotoxicity. Molecular docking studies identified that the 3,4,5-hydroxyle groups of GA were essential in noncovalently stabilizing GA binding to the Lys28-Ala42 salt bridge and the –COOH group is critical for disrupting the salt bridge of Aβ1–42. The predicated covalent interaction through Schiff-base formation between the carbonyl group of the oxidized product and ε-amino group of Lys16 is also critical for the disruption of Aβ1–42 S-shaped triple-β-motif and toxicity. Together, these studies demonstrated that GA can be further developed as a drug to treat AD through disrupting the formation of Aβ1–42 aggregation.

In order to improve the measurement of fabric thermal resistance, a new asymmetric guarded hot plate with a foam board known thermal resistance at its base was designed. The effective heat passing through the fabric was equal to the total heat generated by the test plate minus the ineffective heat passing that go through the foam plate measured in real time. The DAQ data acquisition, high precision PWM power output with PID and data output interface were constructed based on LAB VIEW. Thirteen different fabrics (including international standard sample) were tested. Compared with the results abtained by the traditional symmetrical 606E guarded hot plate, the variation of thermal resistances of fabrics are the same by paired -test, but the data repeatability accuracy of the new hot plate is higher, the asymmetric guarded hot plate is more simple in structure and less consumption around 50% [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon suboxide (SiO x ) anodes have attracted considerable attention owing to their excellent cycling performance and rate capability compared to silicon (Si) anodes. However, SiO x anodes suffer from high volume expansion similar to Si anodes, which has been a challenge in developing suitable commercial binders. In this study, a water-soluble polyamide acid (WS-PAA) binder with ionic bonds was synthesized. The amide bonds inherent in the WS-PAA binder form a stable hydrogen bond with the SiO x anode and provide sufficient mechanical strength for the prepared electrodes. In addition, the ionic bonds introduced by triethylamine (TEA) induce water solubility and new Li + transport channels to the binder, achieving enhanced electrochemical properties for the resulting SiO x electrodes, such as cycling and rate capability. The SiO x anode with the WS-PAA binder exhibited a high initial capacity of 1004.7 mAh·g -1 at a current density of 0.8 A·g -1 and a capacity retention of 84.9% after 200 cycles. Therefore, WS-PAA is a promising binder for SiO x anodes compared with CMC and SA.

Gastric carcinoma (GC) is the most common primary malignancy of the digestive tract, with increasing incidence in many countries. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to assess inhibition of HepG2 cell proliferation by 2'-hydroxyflavanone. The STAT3 pathway was performed. 2'-hydroxyflavanone reduced inhibitory effects on MGC-803 cell proliferation. 2'-hydroxyflavanone exhibited the highest inhibition rate. Treatment of MGC-803 cells with 400, 200, and 100 μg/ml 2'-hydroxyflavanone resulted in 88.9±0.7%, 81.2±0.5%, 68.4±0.5% decrease in cell viability, respectively, indicating an IC50 of 9.3 μg/ml. The 100 μg/ml 2'-hydroxyflavanone can significantly inhibit the STAT3 pathway activation. 2'-hydroxyflavanone inhibits MGC-803 cell proliferation by inhibiting STAT3 pathway activation. This extract is therefore a potential drug candidate for treatment of liver cancer.