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dl-PHPB (potassium 2-(1-hydroxypentyl)-benzoate) has been shown to have neuroprotective effects against acute cerebral ischemia, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dl-PHPB on memory deficits and preliminarily explore the underlying molecular mechanism.Blood glucose and behavioral performance were evaluated in the KK-AThree-month-old KK-AThese results indicate that dl-PHPB may play a potential role in diabetes-associated cognitive impairment through PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway and the differentially expressed proteins may become putative therapeutic targets.

Aims Pathogenesis of diabetic encephalopathy (DE) is not completely understood until now. The purposes of this study were to illustrate the changes in morphology, function, and important transporters in neurons and glia during DE, as well as to reveal the potential therapeutic effects of medicines and the diet control on DE. Methods Spontaneous obese KK‐Ay mice were used to investigate diabetes‐induced cognitive disorder, the morphology, function, and protein expression changes in impact animal and the cell level studies. The new drug candidate PHPB, donepezil, and low‐fat food were used to observe the therapeutic effects. Results KK‐Ay mice at 5 months of age showed typical characteristics of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM） and appeared significant cognitive deficits. Morphological study showed microtubule‐associated protein 2 (MAP2) expression was increased in hippocampal neurons and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression decreased in astrocytes. Meanwhile, the vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (vGLUT1) expression was increased and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) decreased, and the expression of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) was also reduced in KK‐Ay mice. Microglia were activated, and IL‐1β and TNF‐α were increased obviously in the brains of the KK‐Ay mice. Most of the above changes in the KK‐Ay mice at 5 months of age could be relieved by diet intervention (DR) or by treatment of donepezil or new drug candidate PHPB. Conclusion KK‐Ay mouse is a useful animal model for studying DE. The alterations of morphology, structure, and function of astrocyte and microglia in KK‐Ay mice might be rescued by DR and by treatment of medicine. The proteins we reported in this study could be used as biomarkers and the potential drug targets for DE study and treatment.

Front cover: The cover image is based on the Original Article Studies of Pathology and Pharmacology of Diabetic Encephalopathy with KK‐Ay mouse model by Si Shi et al., https://doi.org/10.1111/cns.13201. [Image: see text]

Epidermal growth factor‐like domain multiple 6 (EGFL6) is a secreted protein, regulates maintenance and metastasis of cancer cells. Nevertheless, how EGFL6 participates in the progression and tumorigenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unclear. In our study, EGFL6 was detected highly expressed in 20 NPC tissues compared with normal tissues by IHC assay. Then, the level of EGFL6 in NPC serum and NPC cells was explored through enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and western blot, the results consistent with IHC. More interestingly, EGFL6 accelerated the migration and growth of NPC in vitro assays. Considering the mechanism of migration, NPC cells were cultured with AKT activator, revealing EGFL6 facilitated the progression of NPC via AKT. Moreover, the same effect of EGFL6 in promoting NPC growth was proved in nude mice. Furthermore, heat‐shock zebrafish model was established with EGFL6 overexpression. Then, CNE2 cells were injected into the model and cells mass was observed, showing that EGFL6 enhanced the migration and metastasis of NPC. Currently, as the prognosis of NPC is severely affected by distant metastasis, it might be a new therapeutic target toward EGFL6. Taken together, our results suggested that EGFL6 acts as a potential positive regulator in the migration and proliferation of NPC.

Two novel compounds (1-2), together with two known compounds 3 (Pinophilins B) and 4 (Sch 725680) were isolated from the fermentation broth of fungus of Talaromyces aculeatus (DS-62013). Absolute configuration (AC) of compound 1 was deduced by comparison of experimental and calculated optical rotation (OR), electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) with those of its derivative la. Since both OR and ECD methods cannot provide the convincible data for AC identification, and VCD was used in the AC study. The AC of compound 2 was also determined. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the features that differentiate earthquake-related crush extremity fractures from non-earthquake-related extremity fractures by using digital radiography (DR) and multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT). METHODS: Six hundred and twenty-three consecutive victims with crush extremity fractures arising from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, including 611 undergoing DR and 12 undergoing MDCT, entered the test group, and 316 consecutive victims with non-earthquake-related extremity fractures, including 301 undergoing DR and 15 undergoing MDCT, were enrolled in the control group. Image data were reviewed retrospectively and statistically between groups focusing on the anatomic distributions, numbers and types of extremity fractures. RESULTS: Fractures involving multiple extremities were more likely in the test group than the control group (88/623 vs 27/316 victims, P Language: en