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In vitro studies have established the prevalent theory that the mitochondrial kinase PINK1 protects neurodegeneration by removing damaged mitochondria in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, difficulty in detecting endogenous PINK1 protein in rodent brains and cell lines has prevented the rigorous investigation of the in vivo role of PINK1. Here we report that PINK1 kinase form is selectively expressed in the human and monkey brains. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deficiency of PINK1 causes similar neurodegeneration in the brains of fetal and adult monkeys as well as cultured monkey neurons without affecting mitochondrial protein expression and morphology. Importantly, PINK1 mutations in the primate brain and human cells reduce protein phosphorylation that is important for neuronal function and survival. Our findings suggest that PINK1 kinase activity rather than its mitochondrial function is essential for the neuronal survival in the primate brains and that its kinase dysfunction could be involved in the pathogenesis of PD.

Aiming at the issues of slow convergence, phase delay, and chattering in the sensorless vector control system of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) controlled by sliding mode observer (SMO), a fuzzy adaptive super‐twisting (ST) SMO sensorless control algorithm is proposed. The fuzzy adaptive algorithm is used to estimate the uncertain boundary and adaptively adjust sliding mode gain, which is used in the ST algorithm to accelerate the convergence speed of sliding mode gain, and eliminate the system delay caused by phase locked loop and phase compensation, and improve the estimation accuracy of speed and rotor position. In this algorithm, the sigmoid function is used instead of the signum function in the traditional SMO to suppress system chattering. Lyapunov stability theorem is used to obtain the stable conditions of position and speed observer at motoring mode. The saturated ST‐SMO algorithm is verified by Matlab/Simulink. The simulation results show that compared with the traditional SMO, the fuzzy ST‐SMO algorithm proposed in this paper has faster convergence speed in the variable speed and the variable load of PMSM sensorless control system, which has significantly reduced chattering, obtained more accurate speed and rotor position and has better dynamic response and robustness.

Conspecific seagrass living in differing environments may develop different root system acclimation patterns. We applied X-ray computed tomography (CT) for imaging and quantifying roots systems of Zostera japonica collected from typical oligotrophic and eutrophic sediments in two coastal sites of northern China, and determined sediment physicochemical properties that might influence root system morphology, density, and distribution. The trophic status of sediments had little influence on the Z. japonica root length, and diameters of root and rhizome. However, Z. japonica in oligotrophic sediment developed the root system with longer rhizome node, deeper rhizome distribution, and larger allocation to below-ground tissues in order to acquire more nutrients and relieve the N deficiency. And the lower root and rhizome densities of Z. japonica in eutrophic sediment were mainly caused by fewer shoots and shorter longevity, which was resulted from the more serious sulfide inhibition. Our results systematically revealed the effect of sediment trophic status on the phenotypic plasticity, quantity, and distribution of Z. japonica root system, and demonstrated the feasibly of X-ray CT in seagrass root system research.

Metal contamination in fishery water may pose a serious threat to aquatic products and human health. In this study, the contents of seven trace metals were assessed in water, sediment, and ten commercially important species (seven fish and three crustaceans) with different trophic guilds, habitat preferences, and motility, collected from the Zhoushan Fishery, northwest East China Sea. In general, the results showed that the concentrations of trace metals in water and sediment were lower than the safety thresholds set by the National Seawater Quality Standard of China and the sediment quality guidelines, except for Cu, As, and Cr in sediment. The high metal concentrations were spatially distributed in the west of the Zhoushan Fishery, which is probably due to the chemical pollution generated from many large international ports and chemical industries in Hangzhou Bay. The metal concentrations in the species were lower than the legislation thresholds established by the Commission Regulation and China National Standard, except for Cd in two crustacean species. However, a health risk assessment indicated that the consumption of the analyzed seafood is safe. However, there is a potential risk to local consumers who prefer crustaceans. From a species-specific bioaccumulation point of view, species in high trophic guilds, benthivores, species with low motility, or those living near the sediment have been found to be most likely to accumulate metals. Our findings could contribute to the understanding of the accumulation tendencies of metals in species of different trophic guilds with varying habitat preferences and motility and provide valuable data to environmental and seafood safety managers.

Objective Following brain injury, the neurogenic niche provides a permissive cue for iatrogenesis rather than neurogenesis; reactive astrocytes play essential roles in orchestrating this process, markedly forming a glial scar around the area of damaged brain tissue. The objective of this study was to alter the neurogenic niche at the injured cortex and study its impact on neurogenesis. Methods We constructed a stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) gradient matrix to attract reactive astrocytes to the glial scar core. Results SDF-1 reacted with the astrocytes in the injured site. By changing the neurogenic niche of the injured part of the brain after traumatic brain injury (TBI), SDF-1 downregulated thrombospondin 4 (Thbs4) promoting neuronal cell regeneration and playing a beneficial role in nerve function recovery after brain injury. Discussion The matrix we created in this study could attract and interact with reactive glial cells and, thus, we called it a glial pump. Using the glial pump, we identified a new mechanism of brain injury repair and neuronal regeneration after TBI, which relied on Thbs4 downregulation after the altered neurogenic niche promoted neuronal regeneration and functional recovery.

Angiogenesis is a necessary process for solid tumor growth. Cellular markers for endothelial cell proliferation are potential targets for identifying the vasculature of tumors in homeostasis. Here we customize the behaviors of engineered cells to recognize Apj, a surface marker of the neovascular endothelium, using synthetic Notch (synNotch) receptors. We designed apelin-based synNotch receptors (AsNRs) that can specifically interact with Apj and then stimulate synNotch pathways. Cells engineered with AsNRs have the ability to sense the proliferation of endothelial cells (ECs). Designed for different synNotch pathways, engineered cells express different proteins to respond to angiogenic signals; therefore, angiogenesis can be detected by cells engineered with AsNRs. Furthermore, T cells customized with AsNRs can sense the proliferation of vascular endothelial cells. As solid tumors generally require vascular support, AsNRs are potential tools for the detection and therapy of a variety of solid tumors in adults., Cellular markers of endothelial cell proliferation help identify the vasculature of tumours in homeostasis. Here, the authors report Apelin-based synthetic Notch (synNotch) receptors that can target Apj expressed on endothelium and stimulate the synNotch pathways upon Apj binding, and suggest this as a strategy to treat solid tumours.

Seafood is increasingly used worldwide due to its nutritional value. It is rich in essential minerals, liposoluble vitamins, and high-quality proteins. However, many seafood species tend to accumulate metals, making them a threat to human health. We chose Xincun Lagoon and Li-an Lagoon, which have been seriously polluted by local activities, and the relatively clean Tufu Bay as the research areas to investigate whether trace metals in economic seafood species in these areas threaten the food safety of consumers. The results show that the mean concentrations (mg kg-1 ww) of trace metals were Cu 0.22 ± 0.18, Pb 0.040 ± 0.028, Zn 5.25 ± 1.60, Cd 0.009 ± 0.004, Hg 0.0072 ± 0.0031, As 0.21 ± 0.12, and Cr 0.084 ± 0.048 in fish samples (Trachinotus ovatus); Cu 4.00 ± 0.96, Pb 0.075 ± 0.030, Zn 19.10 ± 2.64, Cd 0.050 ± 0.024, Hg 0.0131 ± 0.0035, As 0.91 ± 0.27, and Cr 0.216 ± 0.095 in crab samples (Charybdis natator); and Cu 5.37 ± 1.39, Pb 0.095 ± 0.023, Zn 21.38 ± 3.59, Cd 0.096 ± 0.026, Hg 0.0208 ± 0.0052, As 1.65 ± 0.59, and Cr 0.406 ± 0.117 in bivalve samples (Ruditapes philippinarum), respectively, with species specific (fish < crab < bivalve) and significant seasonal and spatial variation (p < 0.05). However, health risk assessment (EDI, THQ, TTHQ, CR) indicated that the consumption of the analyzed seafood from the study areas is safe for local consumers. But there is a potential risk for fishermen and those who prefer seafood.

The complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) can indicate phylogenetic relationships among organisms, as well as useful information about the process of molecular evolution and gene rearrangement mechanisms. However, knowledge on the complete mitogenome of Coenobitidae (Decapoda: Anomura) is quite scarce. Here, we describe in detail the complete mitogenome of Coenobita brevimanus, which is 16,393 bp in length, and contains 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA, 22 transfer RNA genes, as well as a putative control region. The genome composition shows a moderate A + T bias (65.0%), and exhibited a negative AT-skew (−0.148) and a positive GC-skew (0.183). Five gene clusters (or genes) involving eleven tRNAs and two PCGs were found to have rearranged with respect to the pancrustacean ground pattern gene order. Duplication-random loss and recombination models were determined as most likely to explain the observed large-scale gene rearrangements. Phylogenetic analysis placed all Coenobitidae species into one clade. The polyphyly of Paguroidea was well supported, whereas the non-monophyly of Galatheoidea was inconsistence with previous findings on Anomura. Taken together, our results help to better understand gene rearrangement process and the evolutionary status of C. brevimanus and lay a foundation for further phylogenetic studies of Anomura.

As its name indicates, the bearingless switched reluctance motor does not have windings or permanent magnets on the rotor. This has the advantages of simple structure, high reliability and easy control. The sharing-suspension-windings bearingless switched reluctance motor inherits the above characteristics, and has obvious advantages in the research field of bearingless motors with its motor structure of decoupling torque and radial force. In this paper, the sharing-suspension-windings bearingless switched reluctance motor is taken as the research object. The finite element model of the sharing-suspension-windings bearingless switched reluctance prototype is established. The electromagnetic characteristics of the prototype are analyzed. As the premise of motor suspension, the structural decoupling of torque and radial force is analyzed and experimentally verified. Then, the flux-linkage saturation of the motor is derived at the position where the stator and rotor are completely aligned and the stator and rotor are completely unaligned. The torque model of the motor is derived based on the flux-linkage saturation, and the accuracy of the model is verified by the fitting comparison between the theory and the finite element simulation. It lays a theoretical foundation for the subsequent structure optimization design research of the sharing-suspension-windings bearingless switched reluctance motor.

Aerobic glycolysis (AG), an important pathway of glucose metabolism, is dramatically declined in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key regulator to maintain the stability of energy metabolism by promoting the process of AG and regulating glucose metabolism. Interestingly, it has been previously reported that electroacupuncture (EA) treatment can improve cognitive function in AD through the enhancement of glucose metabolism. In this study, we generated AMPK-knockdown mice to confirm the EA effect on AMPK activation and further clarify the mechanism of EA in regulating energy metabolism and improving cognitive function in APP/PS1 mice. The behavioral results showed that EA treatment can improve the learning and memory abilities in APP/PS1 mice. At the same time, the glucose metabolism in the hippocampus was increased detected by MRI-chemical exchange saturation transfer (MRI-CEST). The expression of proteins associated with AG in the hippocampus was increased simultaneously, including hexokinase II (HK2), 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3), and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2). Moreover, the knockdown of AMPK attenuated AG activated by EA treatment. In conclusion, this study proves that EA can activate AMPK to enhance the process of AG in the early stage of AD.

With a changing climate and socio-economic development, ecological problems are increasingly serious, research on ecosystem vulnerability and ecological resilience has become a hot topic of study for various institutions. Forests, the “lungs of the earth”, have also been damaged to varying degrees. In recent years, scholars have conducted numerous studies on the vulnerability and resilience of forest ecosystems, but there is a lack of a systematic elaboration of them. The results of a statistical analysis of 217 related documents show: (1) the number of studies published rises wave upon wave in time series, which indicates that this area of study is still at the stage of rising; (2) the research content is concentrated in four dimensions—ecosystem vulnerability assessment, ecosystem vulnerability model prediction, ecological resilience, and management strategies—among which the ecosystem vulnerability assessment research content mainly discusses the evaluation methods and models; (3) the research areas are mainly concentrated in China and the United States, with different degrees of distribution in European countries; and (4) the research institutions are mainly the educational institutions and forestry bureaus in various countries. In addition, this paper also reveals the frontier theory of forest ecosystem vulnerability and resilience research from three aspects—theoretical research, index system, and technical methods—puts forward the problems of current research, and suggests that a universally applicable framework for forest ecosystem vulnerability and resilience research should be built in the future, and theoretical research should be strengthened to comprehensively understand the characteristics of forest ecosystems so that sustainable management strategies can be proposed according to local conditions.

To explore the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) treatment on pattern separation and investigate the neural circuit mechanism involved in five familial mutations (5 × FAD) mice.Five familial mutations mice were treated with EA at Baihui (DU20) and Shenting (DU24) acupoints for 30 min each, lasting for 4 weeks. Cognitive-behavioral tests were performed to evaluate the effects of EA treatment on cognitive functions.Electro-acupuncture treatment significantly improved spatial recognition memory and pattern separation impairment, regulated cholinergic system via reduction neuron loss, upregulation of choline/creatine, choline acetyltransferase, vesicular acetylcholine transporter, and downregulation of enzyme acetylcholinesterase in 5 × FAD mice. Aβ deposition was reduced after EA treatment. Subsequently, the monosynaptic hM4Di DREADDs virus tracing and inhibiting strategy showed that EA treatment activates the MS/VDB-DG cholinergic neural circuit to improve the early pattern separation. In addition, EA treatment activates this circuit to upregulating M1 receptors positive cells and promoting hippocampal neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus (DG).Electro-acupuncture could improve the early pattern separation impairment by activating the MS/VDB-DG cholinergic neural circuit in 5 × FAD mice, which was related to the regulation of the cholinergic system and the promotion of neurogenesis by EA treatment.

Background Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that the electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation could effectively alleviate neuropathic pain. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a vital part of the cortical representation of pain in the brain, and its glucose metabolism is mostly affected in the progression of pain. However, the central mechanism of EA analgesia remains unclear. Methods Fifty-four male SD rats were equally randomized into sham surgery (Sham) group, chronic constriction injury (CCI) group and EA stimulation (EA) group. The CCI model, involving ligature of the right sciatic nerve, was established in all animals except the Sham group. EA stimulation was applied on the right side acupoints of Huantiao (GB30) and Yanglingquan (GB34) in the EA group. Paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and paw thermal withdrawal latency (PWL) were measured. The 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) was used to evaluate glucose metabolism changes in the mPFC. The expression of glucose transporter 3 (GLUT-3) in the mPFC was determined by immune histochemistry and ELISA. Results Comparing with CCI groups, EA treatment was obviously reversed CCI-induced mechanical allodynia (P Conclusions Our results indicate that EA analgesia effect may be related to suppressing the glucose metabolism and GLUT-3 expression in the mPFC. This study could provide a potential insight into the central mechanisms involved in the analgesic effect of EA.

BackgroundClinical evidence demonstrates that electro-acupuncture (EA) of the Zu sanli (ST36) and Shen shu (BL23) acupoints is effective in relieving diabetic painful neuropathy (DPN); however, the underlying molecular mechanism requires further investigation, including the protein molecules associated with EA’s effects on DPN.MethodsSprague-Dawley adult male rats (n =36) were randomly assigned into control, DPN, and EA groups (n=12 each). After four weeks of EA treatment, response to mechanical pain and fasting blood glucose were analyzed. A tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling approach coupled with liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was used to identify potential biomarkers in the spinal dorsal horn. Further, proteomics analysis was used to quantify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), and gene ontology, KEGG pathways, cluster, and string protein network interaction analyses conducted to explore the main protein targets of EA.ResultsCompared with the DPN model group, the mechanical pain threshold was significantly increased, while the fasting blood glucose levels were clearly decreased in EA group rats. Proteomics analysis was used to quantify 5393 proteins, and DEPs were chosen for further analyses, based on a threshold of 1.2-fold difference in expression level (P < 0.05) compared with control groups. Relative to the control group, 169 down-regulated and 474 up-regulated proteins were identified in the DPN group, while 107 and 328 proteins were up- and down-regulated in the EA treatment group compared with the DPN group. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that levels of proteins involved in oxidative stress injury regulation were dramatically altered during the EA effects on DPN.ConclusionsOur results provide the valuable protein biomarkers, which facilitates unique mechanistic insights into the DPN pathogenesis and EA analgesic, antioxidant stress and hypoglycemic effect.

Background Centenarians represent an intriguing model for healthy aging. They appear to have adapted well to their lives and are likely to be influenced by previous lifestyle habits, and their life satisfaction is influenced by mental and psychological health. Objective The aim of this study is to explore centenarians’ lifestyles by sex and their potential contribution to life satisfaction. Method In order to examine the common characteristics of centenarians in Hainan and the potential differences between men and women, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 223 cognitively-intact Chinese centenarians. We also explored the association between life satisfaction and other physical factors using binary logistic regression and principal component analysis. Results The results provided supplementary evidence indicating that women tended to live longer than men. However, the difference in life satisfaction observed between the sexes was not obvious (p = 0.659). The proportion of physical factors between each sex showed a similar trend in distribution. Most centenarians’ lifestyles were similar, in that they followed a light diet and did not smoke or drink alcohol. Centenarians in better physical condition and with higher self-assessment, as well as those with “alcohol and tobacco habits,” were more satisfied with their life. Of the factors examined in the binary logistic regression, sleep satisfaction was the only factor significantly positively correlated with life satisfaction (p Conclusion The research findings elucidated physiological and psychological health in centenarians and provided a model of healthy aging strategies for reference purposes.

Accurate open-circuit voltage (OCV) is crucial for state of charge (SoC) estimation of lithium-ion batteries and, hence has become a key factor to ensure the safety and reliability of electric vehicles (EVs). In engineering, the incremental OCV (IO) testing has been widely used for OCV calibrating. Based on this, the OCV is commonly simplified by averaging the discharging and the charging OCVs, which essentially ignores the influence of the major hysteresis (MH). By a series of experiments on the LiNiMnCoO2 battery, this work first systematically investigated the influence of the MH on SoC estimation via diverse current profiles tested at various ambient temperatures. Besides, the recursive least square (RLS) and the particle filter (PF) algorithms were introduced to estimate the battery parameters and the SoC, respectively. The results report that, compared with the traditional simplified method, the discharging direction and the charging direction of the MH can enhance the estimation accuracy of the discharging process and the charging process of the battery at all the operating conditions above, respectively. By the MH-based estimation method, the maximum mean absolute estimation error can be reduced by about 70%.

The aim was to explore the application value of computed tomography (CT) perfusion (CTP) imaging based on the iterative model reconstruction (IMR) in the diagnosis of acute cerebral infarction (ACI). 80 patients with ACI, admitted to hospital, were selected as the research objects and divided randomly into a routine treatment group (group A) and a low-dose group (group B) (each group with 40 patients). Patients in group A were scanned at 80 kV–150 mAs, and the traditional filtered back projection (FBP) algorithm was employed to reconstruct the images; besides, 80 kV–30 mAs was adopted to scan the patients in group B, and the images were reconstructed by IMR1, IMR2, IMR3, iDose4 (a kind of hybrid iterative reconstruction technology), and FBP, respectively. The application values of different algorithms were evaluated by CTP based on the collected CTP images of patients and detecting indicators. The results showed that the gray and white matter CT value, SD value, SNR, CNR, and subjective image scores of patients in group B were basically consistent with those of group A ( p > 0.05) after the IMR1 reconstruction, and the CT and SD of gray and white matter in patients from group B reduced steeply ( p p p > 0.05). Therefore, IMR combined with low-dose CTP could obtain high-quality CTP images of the brain with stable perfusion indicators and low radiation dose, which could be clinically applied in the diagnosis of ACI.

We investigate efficient algorithms for the online monitoring of properties written in metric temporal logic (MTL). We employ an abstract algebraic semantics based on semirings. It encompasses the Boolean semantics and a quantitative semantics capturing the robustness of satisfaction, which is based on the max-min semiring over the extended real numbers. We provide a precise equational characterization of the class of semirings for which our semantics can be viewed as an approximation to an alternative semantics that quantifies the distance of a system trace from the set of all traces that satisfy the desired property.

Abnormal changes in hippocampal function and neuroplasticity are involved in neuropathic pain, which induces hyperalgesia and learning and memory deficits. Previous studies from our group have shown that electroacupuncture at Huantiao (GB30) and Yanglingquan (GB34) has an obvious analgesic effect on neuropathic pain. However, the central regulatory mechanism occurring in the hippocampus remains to be investigated. In this study, behavioral and proteomic analyses were performed to identify differentially expressed hippocampal proteins involved in electroacupuncture-induced analgesia. Our results showed both upregulated (TMEM126A, RDH13, and Luc7L) and downregulated proteins (Mettl7A, GGA1 RTKN, RSBN1, and CDKN1B). Further protein verification revealed for the first time that hippocampal TMEM126A plays an important anti-inflammatory role in the treatment of neuralgia by electroacupuncture.

Cysts serve as a seed source for the initiation and recurrence of a harmful algal bloom (HAB) caused by dinoflagellates. And the influence of calcium on cyst formation has been relatively understudied. In the present study, we investigated the effects of calcium (Ca2+) on the growth and encystment of Scrippsiella trochoidea. We incubated S. trochoidea in modified f/2 media in flasks which were divided into five groups and treated with different Ca2+ concentrations (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 g·L−1). We revealed that cell density increased with increasing Ca2+ concentrations; however, cell density was reduced when Ca2+ concentrations exceeded 0.2 g·mL−1. Additionally, the number of cysts and the cyst formation rate similarly increased as Ca2+ concentrations increased, but these were reduced when Ca2+ concentrations exceeded 0.4 g·mL−1. Lastly, S. trochoidea absorbed Ca2+ from the water when cysts were formed and under high Ca2+ concentrations, more calcareous thorn cysts formed.

Mfsd2a and S1P regulate the BBB and the delivery of neurological drugs in the CNS., To maintain brain homeostasis, a unique interface known as the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is formed between the blood circulation and the central nervous system (CNS). Major facilitator superfamily domain-containing 2a (Mfsd2a) is a specific marker of the BBB. However, the mechanism by which Mfsd2a influences the BBB is poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that Mfsd2a is essential for sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) export from endothelial cells in the brain. We found that Mfsd2a and Spinster homolog 2 (Spns2) form a protein complex to ensure the efficient transport of S1P. Furthermore, the S1P-rich microenvironment in the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the vascular endothelium dominates the formation and maintenance of the BBB. We demonstrated that different concentrations of S1P have different effects on BBB integrity. These findings help to unravel the mechanism by which S1P regulates BBB and also provide previously unidentified insights into the delivery of neurological drugs in the CNS.

Xincun Lagoon is an important fishing area in northern Hainan Island, China. It has long been exposed to pollutants from local sewage, breeding cages and fishing boats, resulting in serious pollution threats to the survival of fish. In this study, we examined the concentrations of seven trace metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Hg, As and Cr) in sixteen economic fish species collected from Xincun Lagoon and their exposed environment (water and sediment). The concentrations of Pb and Zn in the water column were higher than the safety threshold stipulated by Chinese legislation, while the contents of all examined metals in the sediment and fish species were lower than the legislative thresholds set by China and international organizations. The contents of trace metals in the fish species in high trophic levels or those that prefer to live in/on the sediment layer were significantly higher than those in other trophic levels and pelagic/subbenthic fish, these species had homogeneous anthropogenic pollution sources for Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg and As. Our results show that the trace metal contents in fish were mainly affected by trophic level and habitat preference. The contribution of metal exposure from the sediment to metal accumulation in fish was lower than that in water, especially for the Cd and Hg in the sediment. These results provide valuable information for further understanding the species-specific patterns of metal accumulation in fish and the development of targeted conservation measures for the environment and fish consumers.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) represents an extremely debilitating condition for which no efficacious treatment is available. Because spinal cord does not have satisfactory capacity for revascularization after injury, it seems to be a promising way to modulate the lesion environment by reperfusion to promote a regenerative phenotype. Although engineered scaffolds provide a platform to deliver therapeutic cells and neurotrophic factors, slow and insufficient vascularization of large tissue constructs negatively impacts the survival and function of these transplanted cells. In this study, we cocultured our fibrous porous silk scaffold (FPSS) with ADAMTS13-overexpressing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro and transplanted this prevascularized construct into an SCI mouse model. The prevascularized system exhibited a tube-like structure in vitro, promoted vascular infiltration and microvascular network formation after transplantation, and recruited more neural cells to the lesion site. Twenty-eight days later, behavioral analysis showed that locomotor recovery was significantly improved in treated animals compared with control animals. Taken together, our results suggest that the FPSS-HUVECs system promoted neovascularization, guided axon growth at the injury site, and improved the microenvironment. Therefore, this prevascularization system may provide a better therapeutic option for SCI.

Microglia are the primary cells that exert immune function in the central nervous system, and accumulating evidence suggests that microglia act as critical players in the initiation of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Microglia seemingly demonstrate two contradictory phenotypes in response to different microenvironmental cues, the M1 phenotype and the M2 phenotype, which are detrimental and beneficial to pathogenesis, respectively. Inhibiting the M1 phenotype with simultaneous promoting the M2 phenotype has been suggested as a potential therapeutic approach for cure AD. In this study, we demonstrated that electroacupuncture at the Shenting and Baihui acupoints for 16 weeks could improve learning and memory in the Morris water maze test and reduce amyloid β-protein in the parietal association cortex and entorhinal cortex in mice with mild and moderate AD. Besides, electroacupuncture at the Shenting and Baihui acupoints not only suppressed M1 marker (iNOS/IL-1β) expression but also increased the M2 marker (CD206/Arg1) expression in those regions. We propose that electroacupuncture at the Shenting and Baihui acupoints could regulate microglial polarization and decrease Aβ plaques to improve learning and memory in mild AD mice.

Scaled-down experiments are one of the main approaches to represent the dynamic response and damage characteristics of full-scale prototype. While, it is well known that structures subjected to dynamic loads do not follow the usual scaling laws due to the size effects and strain rate sensitivity. The present study proposes a new procedure to equivalent scale the dynamic response of steel box structures subjected to internal blast loading. The present equivalent scaling method based on a new dimensionless number and considered the influence of both the size effects of structural dimension and the strain rate sensitivity on material resistance. This method also has an advantage of convenient engineering application. Moreover, two field tests designed according to the present scaling method were conducted to examine the effective of this method. The experimental results show that the smaller scale specimen presents similar damage mode and features with the larger scale one according to the comparison of the test results. In addition, discussions on the similarity of internal blast load and on the larger scale scaling were conducted through numerical simulations. The numerical results show that the similarity of the explosive pressure load inside the structure is related to the complexity of the structure. The difference of the pressure peaks exceeds 10% at the box corner when according to Hopkinson scaling law. The deformation results show that the scaling is more perfectly when the present scaling method is applied.

Glial scars formed after brain injuries provide permissive cues for endogenous neural precursor/stem cells (eNP/SCs) to undergo astrogenesis rather than neurogenesis. Following brain injury, eNP/SCs from the subventricular zone leave their niche, migrate to the injured cortex, and differentiate into reactive astrocytes that contribute to glial scar formation. In vivo neuronal reprogramming, directly converting non-neuronal cells such as reactive astrocytes or NG2 glia into neurons, has greatly improved brain injury repair strategies. However, reprogramming carries a high risk of future clinical applications such as tumorigenicity, involving virus. In this study, we constructed a neural matrix to alter the adverse niche at the injured cortex, enabling eNP/SCs to differentiate into functional neurons. We found that the neural matrix functioned as a "glial trap" that largely concentrated and limited reactive astrocytes to the core of the lesion area, thus altering the adverse niche. The eNP/SCs migrated toward the injured cortex and differentiated into functional neurons. In addition, regenerated neurites extended across the boundary of the injured cortex. Mice treated with the neural matrix demonstrated significant behavioral recovery. For the first time, we induced eNP/SC-derived functional neurons in the cortex after brain injury without the use of viruses, microRNAs, or small molecules. Our novel strategy of applying this "glial trap" to obtain functional neurons in the injured cortex may provide a safer and more natural therapeutic alternative to reprogramming in future clinical applications.

The effect of dual antiplatelet therapy, clopidogrel combined with aspirin, was influenced by CYP2C19 gene mutation and heterogeneity of population. Related studies remained controversial and limited, especially in Chinese. Total 3295 unrelated ACS Chinese patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were recruited and followed up to 1 year. Meanwhile, baseline and clinical data were retrieved. CYP2C19*2 and *3 were genotyped by sequencing. Associations of variants and metabolic types with platelet reactivity (PR) were analyzed by a logistic regression model. And, a Cox proportional hazards model was utilized to analyze survival data. Confounders included gender, age, smoking status, dosage of aspirin and clopidogrel, and BMI. It was found that patients with allele A in CYP2C19*2 and *3 were susceptibility to high PR (OR, 95%CI and P values were 1.34, 1.20–1.50

Facial nerve injury caused by traffic accidents or operations may reduce the quality of life in patients, and recovery following the injury presents unique clinical challenges. Glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is important in nerve regeneration; however, soluble GDNF rapidly diffuses into body fluids, making it difficult to achieve therapeutic efficacy. In this work, we developed a rat tail derived collagen conduit to connect nerve defects in a simple and safe manner. GDNF was immobilized in the collagen conduits via chemical conjugation to enable controlled release of GDNF. The GDNF delivery system prevented rapid diffusion from the site without impacting bioactivity of GDNF; degradation of the collagen conduit was inhibited owing to the chemical conjugation. The artificial nerve conduit was then used to examine facial nerve regeneration across a facial nerve defect. Following transplantation, the artificial nerve conduits degraded gradually without causing dislocations and serious inflammation, with good integration into the host tissue. Functional and histological tests indicated that the artificial nerve conduits were able to guide the axons to grow through the defect, reaching the distal stumps. The degree of nerve regeneration in the group that was treated with the artificial nerve conduit approached that of the autograft group, and exceeded that of the other conduit grafted groups. Statement of significance In this study, we developed artificial nerve conduits consisting of GDNF immobilized on collagen, with the aim of providing an environment for nerve regeneration. Our results show that the artificial nerve conduits guided the regeneration of axons to the distal nerve segment. GDNF was immobilized stably in the artificial nerve conduits, and therefore retained a sufficient concentration at the target site to effectively promote the regeneration process. The artificial nerve conduits exhibited good biocompatibility and facilitated nerve regeneration and functional recovery with an efficacy that was close to that of an autograft, and better than that of the other conduit grafted groups. Our approach provides an effective delivery system that overcomes the rapid diffusion of GDNF in body fluids, promoting peripheral nerve regeneration. The artificial nerve conduit therefore qualifies as a putative candidate material for the fabrication of peripheral nerve reconstruction devices.

In recent years, in the face of the deterioration of the ecological environment, the research on forest ecological assets (FEA) has increasingly become a focal area of ecological research. To understand the current research progress and future prospects, this paper classifies and summarizes the main progress and achievements related to FEA in terms of theoretical studies, index systems, technical methods, and accounting models. In view of the existing research results, this paper proposes seven key scientific and technical problems and prospects to be solved, including the unification of the concept of ecological assets, the focus of future research on FEA, the construction of an evaluation index system according to local conditions, the integration of data assimilation methods that complement ground and remote sensing observations, the study of the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of forest ecological assets, the study of the net value of FEA, and the preservation and appreciation of FEA.

The growing field of stem cell therapy is moving toward clinical trials in a variety of applications, particularly for neurological diseases. However, this translation of cell therapies into humans has prompted a need to create innovative and breakthrough methods for stem cell tracing, to explore the migration routes and its reciprocity with microenvironment targets in the body, to monitor and track the outcome after stem cell transplantation therapy, and to track the distribution and cell viability of transplanted cells noninvasively and longitudinally. Recently, a larger number of cell tracking methods in vivo were developed and applied in animals and humans, including magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear medicine imaging, and optical imaging. This review has been intended to summarize the current use of those imaging tools in tracking stem cells, detailing their main features and drawbacks, including image resolution, tissue penetrating depth, and biosafety aspects. Finally, we address that multimodality imaging method will be a more potential tracking tool in the future clinical application.

Background: Gene arrangement in vertebrate mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) is relatively conserved and fewer gene arrangement is discovered. In contrast, that in invertebrate mitogenomes is relatively common. Although a gradually growing number of gene rearrangement in hermit crabs (Paguridae) has been discovered, it is surprising that gene rearrangement in its close relatives, the terrestrial hermit crab (Coenobitidae), was overlooked until 2018. So far, only few studies focused on the phylogenetic studies of Anomura based on molecular evidences. Results: In the present study, the complete mitogenome of a terrestrial hermit crab, Coenobita brevimanus, was sequenced, and large-scale gene rearrangements were observed. The genomic features of this terrestrial hermit crab were different from those of any other studied crabs. Five gene clusters (or genes) including eleven tRNAs and two PCGs were found to be rearranged with respect to the pancrustacean ground pattern gene order, which was characterized by multiple translocations and inversions. Two phylogenetic trees (ML and BI tree) arrived at a similar topology based on the nucleotide sequences of the 13 concatenated PCGs. Conclusions: We propose tandem duplication-random loss and recombination model to explain the large-scale gene rearrangements in C. brevimanus mitogenome. The phylogenetic trees showed that all Coenobitidae species clustered into one clade. The polyphyly of Paguroidea was well supported, whereas the non-monophyly of Galatheoidea was not in consistence with previous findings. The phylogenetic relationships of Pylochelidae, Lomidae, and Albuneidae were controversial.

This paper builds and implements a robot humanoid motion imitation system, which consists of three parts. Firstly, a Microsoft Kinect 2.0 somatosensory camera is applied to capture human skeleton data. Secondly, using the EWMA (exponentially weighted moving averages, EWMA), we can smooth the acquired skeleton data considering the local and entire process without prior knowledge of noise. And the Holt-Winters second-order EWMA is employed to track the original signal slope and incorporate its trend into the smoothed data. Then, the smoothed data are mapped to the robot joint angles by geometric calculations. Finally, a NAO robot implements motion imitation based on the joint angles. Experimental results demonstrate that the NAO robot can imitate the action of the instructor smoothly and steadily using the proposed motion imitation system.

The output torque and rotational speed of vehicle motor will change frequently under the unstable conditions of dynamic change of load and speed, which is more likely to lead to system failure and more difficult to diagnose. Therefore, a simulation model and test platform for multi-fault fast switching of permanent magnet synchronous motor were established in this paper, and the operating data of permanent magnet synchronous motor under different faults were obtained. Based on the analysis of common fault diagnosis techniques and development trends, a hierarchical diagnosis scheme was proposed, which combines data layer, feature layer and decision layer. The fault diagnosis strategy of permanent magnet synchronous motor under variable load and speed conditions were studied. The validity and correctness of the fault simulation model and the hierarchical diagnosis strategy were verified by comparing the experimental results with the simulation analysis. The results of fault identification had acceptable accuracy and reached the expected goal of the research.

The estimation of battery state of charge is the key technology and difficulty in the battery management system. model-based extended Kalman filtering (EKF) and H filtering (HIFF) have received attention for better estimation performance in recent years. In this paper, Panasonic NCR 18650GA battery was selected as the research object. first of all, the Thevenin model was established in the MATLAB / Simulink. After that, the bias compensated recursive least squares method was proposed by performing the deviation compensation on the basis of the recursive least squares method, which works well for parameter identification of data with colored noise. Then, an adaptive mixed EKF/HIFF algorithm was designed to estimate the SOC, combining the accuracy of EKF with the robustness of HIFF. And then the joint estimation of model parameters and battery status was realized. Finally, the robustness and accuracy of the proposed joint estimator has been verified by adding different colored noise to the experimental data. The result indicates that the estimation errors of voltage and SOC are less than 0.5% even if add a large colored noise to the experimental data, which makes the SOC estimation more accurate and reliable for the electric vehicles application.

High emissions of synthetic compounds are damaging the marine environment and threatening human health. This study represents the first extensive and comprehensive analysis of three typical persistent organic pollutants (POPs), i.e., organochlorine pesticides (n = 228), perfluoroalkyl substances (n = 202), and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (n = 162), using a highly resolved spatial dataset. The results revealed the complex distribution of POPs in the Eastern China Marginal Seas (ECMSs). POPs in the surface sediments of the ECMSs showed spatial heterogeneity, with high levels observed mainly in areas with fine-grained sediments (e.g., the Yellow River and Changjiang River estuaries and the central south Yellow Sea). Strong positive correlations were identified between POP concentration and sediment grain size/components/longitude/latitude in the ECMSs, suggesting that POP distribution was significantly influenced by river input and regional hydrodynamics. The annual deposition fluxes of POPs in the ECMSs were also calculated and high values were recorded in the Yellow River Estuary and East China Sea. Human-induced changes in the catchments could affect the fate of POPs in the ECMSs and other river-dominated marginal seas worldwide. Our findings highlight concerns regarding local aquaculture and provide a basis for government decision-making. We also suggest the need for increased attention to be paid to the effects of marine organic pollution on aquaculture on a global scale.

Resource distribution characteristics of nekton in estuarine waters are related to hydrology, ecological environment changes and anthropogenic factors. A total of 49 species of nekton was found from 10 sites in the estuarine waters around Dongtou Island (DTI), with which the species of fish were in the highest proportion, followed by shrimp and crab. Average nekton biomass and abundance were 522.61 kg/km2 and 28.60×103 ind./km2, significantly higher than that of previous studies. The distribution pattern was highest in the eastern part of DTI, lower in the ORE area, and lowest in the northern part of DTI. The intersection of water currents was an important hydrological factor in forming the high resource density area of nekton. Changes in the number of nekton were driven by the contribution of the two economically valuable dominant species of fish Harpodon nehereus and crab Portunus trituberculatus. The mean value of H’ of nekton abundance was higher than that of nekton biomass. The species diversity of nekton in the sea near DTI was relatively low and community structure was in a relatively unstable state. The impact of human development activities on the nekton resources cannot be ignored, further research is essential.

Microplastic pollution in estuarine and coastal environments has recently been characterised in several countries but few researchers have addressed the influence of different forms of coastal zone use on the distribution of microplastic. Here, microplastic particles were sampled in Hangzhou Bay, which is heavily influenced by a range of human activities, and their abundance, size, and polymer type characterised. The abundance of microplastics was 0.14 ± 0.12 items/m3 in water, 84.3 ± 56.6 items/kg dry weight of sediment, and between 0.25 ± 0.14 and 1.4 ± 0.37 items/individual in biota. These results show that Hangzhou Bay has a low level of microplastic contamination compared to other coastal systems in China, although abundance was spatially variable within the bay; relatively higher microplastic abundances were found in the southern area of the bay, which has adjacent industrial and urban land-use zones, while lower abundances were observed in the central and northern bay areas where mariculture, fisheries, and mineral and energy industries are most common. The relatively low microplastic abundance observed in the biota samples is consistent with the generally low values for the seawater and sediment samples. Pellets were the most common of four particle-shape classes (fibres, fragments, films, and pellets) in surface seawater, while fibres were most abundant in sediment and biota. Smaller-sized microplastics (

Oxidative stress acts as the major causative factor for various age‐associated neurodegenerative diseases, triggering cognitive and memory impairments. In the present study, the underlying neuroprotective mechanism governing how shikonin acts against D-galactose (D-gal)-induced memory impairment, neuroinflammation and neuron damage was examined. The results revealed that chronic administration of D-gal [150 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.)] in mice caused cognitive and memory impairments, as determined by Morris water-maze test. Shikonin treatment, however, alleviated D‐gal-induced memory impairment and reversed the D‐gal-induced neural damage and apoptosis. Furthermore, western blotting and the results of morphological analysis revealed that shikonin treatments markedly reduced D‐gal induced neuroinflammation through inhibition of astrocytosis as determined by glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) detection, and downregulating other inflammatory mediators, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6. Moreover, shikonin treatment led to inhibition of the activation of nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) and the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), preventing neurodegeneration. Hence, taken together, the results of the present study suggested that shikonin attenuated D‐gal-induced memory impairment, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, possibly via the NF‐κB/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Our data suggest that shikonin could be a promising, endogenous and compatible antioxidant candidate for age‐associated neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.

Oxidative stress is considered as major culprit for neurodegenerative diseases and triggers cognitive and memory impairments. The present study mainly aimed to study the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of aloin on d -galactose ( d -gal) induced ageing mice. Our results demonstrated that chronic administration of d -gal (150 mg kg−1) in mice caused spontaneous and cognitive impairments, as determined by open-field test and Morris water-maze test. Aloin treatment significantly ameliorated histopathological damage, attenuated the microglia activation and reduced levels of inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 in the hippocampus. Moreover, it effectively suppressed the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increased antioxidant enzymes activities. Further data showed that these protective effects were accompanied by inhibition of the activation of nuclear factor kappa B and the phosphorylation of p38 and ERK. In conclusion, the present study suggests that aloin can ameliorate d -gal induced oxidative stress, cognitive impairment and inflammation, possibly via mediating the ERK, p38 and NF-κB signaling pathways.