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Objective To investigate the role of low dose esketamine in pretreated limb ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods The rats were divided into sham-operated group (Sham group), ischemia-reperfusion group (I/R group, 3 h of ischemia and 2 h of reperfusion), esketamine group (ESK group, ip, 5 mg/kg). The plasma concentrations of creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured. The wet/dry weight ratio of skeletal muscle was immediately detected. The gastrocnemius muscle was harvested and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was detected by colorimetric assay. The expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemical staining. Results Compared with Sham group, the index of wet/dry weight ratio, MDA, CK, LDH, Nrf2 and HO-1 were all increased, but SOD was decreased in I/R group(P＜0.05). Compared with I/R group, the index of wet/dry weight ratio, MDA, CK and LDH were significantly lower, but SOD and Nrf2 and HO-1 were significantly higher in ESK group (P＜0.05). Conclusions ESK may increase Nrf2 in the nucleus, thereby increase the HO-1 protein as an antioxidant agent.

Abstract Background The rise in end stage kidney disease (ESKD) prevalence globally calls for a need to deliver quality and cost-effective dialysis. While most are familiar with centre-based haemodialysis (HD), there is a move to increase uptake of home-based modalities (peritoneal dialysis (PD) or home haemodialysis (HHD)) and self-assist haemodialysis (SAHD) due to the economic, clinical and lifestyle advantages they confer. However, HHD and SAHD are not yet widely adopted in Singapore with majority of patients receiving in-centre HD. Although much research has examined patient decision-making around dialysis modality selection, there is limited literature evaluating patient’s perspectives of HHD and SAHD in Asia where the prevalence of these alternative modalities remained low. With this background, we aimed to evaluate patient’s perspectives of HHD and SAHD and the factors influencing their choice of dialysis modality in Singapore to determine the challenges and facilitators to establishing these modalities locally. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 patients on dialysis from a tertiary hospital in Singapore in this exploratory qualitative study. Data collected from one-to-one interviews were analysed via thematic content analysis and reported via an interpretative approach. Results The findings were segregated into: (1) factors influencing choices of dialysis modality; (2) perspectives of HHD; and (3) perspectives of SAHD. Modality choices were affected by environmental, personal, social, financial, information and family-related factors. Most perceived HHD as providing greater autonomy, convenience and flexibility while SAHD was perceived as a safer option than HHD. For both modalities, patients were concerned about self-care and burdening their family. Conclusions The findings provided a framework for healthcare providers to understand the determinants affecting patients’ dialysis modality decisions and uncovered the facilitators and challenges to be addressed to establish HHD and SAHD modalities in Singapore.

Objective: Protein kinase C (PKC) has been implicated in the increased contraction of human airway smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) in asthma. Using the three-dimensional collagen gel contraction system, the study aimed to determine the effects of LY333531, a specific inhibitor of the PKC-β isoform, on the contraction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-sensitized HASMCs. Methods: Cultured HASMCs were divided into five groups: the control group received no treatment, and the cells in the TNF-α group were sensitized with 10 ng/mL TNF-α for 48 h, while TNF-α was administered to sensitize HASMCs in the presence of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 μM LY333531 for 48 h in the 0.1LY, 0.2LY, and 0.5LY groups, respectively. Following this, HASMCs contraction was stimulated with 1 mM acetylcholine (ACh) for up to 24 h in each group and assessed using a three-dimensional collagen gel contraction assay. Furthermore, western blot and immunofluorescence analysis were performed. Results: The collagen gel contraction assay revealed that TNF-α increased the protein expression of phosphorylated PKC-β2, CPI-17, and MLC while exacerbating ACh-induced HASMCs contraction. LY333531 significantly attenuated HASMCs contraction and downregulated the protein expression of both p-CPI-17 and p-MLC. Conclusions: At least in part by regulating CPI-17 and MLC phosphorylation, LY333531 attenuates augmented contraction of TNF-α-sensitized HASMCs in a collagen gel contraction system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sterol O-acyltransferase 1 (SOAT1) is a key enzyme in lipid metabolism, which mediates cholesterol esterification metabolism and is closely associated with many cancers. However, the role of SOAT1 in lung cancer invasion remains unclear. We found that SOAT1 expression was positively correlated with lung cancer invasion. Downregulation of SOAT1 inhibited invasion, mitochondrial fragmentation, AKT phosphorylation, and phospho-Drp (Ser616) in lung cancer cells and promoted intracellular free cholesterol accumulation. Mechanistically, the AKT phosphorylation inhibitor MK-2206 alleviated both SOAT1 overexpression and high expression-induced mitochondrial fragmentation and lung cancer cell invasion. Furthermore, intracellular free cholesterol accumulation reduced AKT phosphorylation, SREBP1 mRNA expression, cell invasion, and mitochondrial fragmentation in lung cancer cells with high SOAT1 expression. In summary, our findings suggest that SOAT1 promotes lung cancer invasion by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by downregulating intracellular free cholesterol levels, thereby affecting the regulation of mitochondrial fragmentation. Key words: lung cancer, invasion, Sterol O-acyltransferase 1, mitochondrial fragmentation, AKT. La sterol O-acyltransferase 1 (SOAT1) est une enzyme cle du metabolisme lipidique qui agit comme mediateur dans la voie metabolique d'esterification du cholesterol et est etroitement associee a de nombreux cancers. Cependant, le role de SOAT1 dans l'invasion du cancer du poumon demeure flou. Les auteurs ont constate que l'expression de la SOAT1 etait correlee positivement au potentiel invasif du cancer du poumon. La regulation a la baisse de la SOAT1 inhibait l'invasion, la fragmentation mitochondriale, la phosphorylation d'AKT et la phospho-Drp (Ser616) dans les cellules de cancer du poumon et favorisait l'accumulation de cholesterol libre intracellulaire. Du point de vue du mecanisme, l'inhibiteur de la phosphorylation d'AKT, le MK-2206, attenuait la fragmentation mitochondriale et l'invasion des cellules cancereuses pulmonaires induites par la surexpression ou l'expression elevee de la SOAT1. En outre, l'accumulation de cholesterol libre intracellulaire reduisait la phosphorylation d'AKT, l'expression de l'ARNm de SREBP1, l'invasion cellulaire et la fragmentation mitochondriale dans les cellules cancereuses du poumon exprimant fortement la SOAT1. En resume, ces resultats suggerent que la SOAT1 favorise le potentiel invasif du cancer du poumon en activant la voie de signalisation PI3K/AKT en regulant a la baisse les niveaux de cholesterol libre intracellulaire, affectant ainsi la regulation de la fragmentation mitochondriale. Mots-cles: cancer du poumon, invasion, sterol O-acyltransferase 1, fragmentation mitochondriale, AKT., Introduction Lung cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide (Chen et al. 2016). Although significant progress has been made in diagnosing and treating lung cancer, most lung cancers [...]

Arctic sea ice is a key factor in high–latitude air–sea–ocean interactions. In recent decades, its extent has been decreasing in all seasons with large interannual variability, especially for the Northwind Ridge. After removing the trend in the changes during July 1979 to 2020, 2019 had an abnormally low value, while the following year, 2020, had an abnormally high value. The underlying processes driving this variability in July near the southern Northwind Ridge, which is one of the areas with the most drastic changes in Arctic, are not well understood. There, we demonstrated that the shortwave radiation anomaly in July is the direct reason for the sea ice anomaly in July 2019 and July 2020. Importantly, the total energy surplus in the spring of 2019 (enough to melt ∼18 cm of sea ice) and 2020 (potentially melting ∼11 cm of sea ice) indirectly influenced the sea ice. The abnormal change in moisture and its convergence mainly caused by atmospheric circulation were the main reasons for the longwave radiation and latent flux anomalies. Cloud water mainly affected shortwave radiation, including the positive net shortwave radiation anomaly in May 2019.

The conversion of Methyl 3‐hydroxypropionate (3‐HPM) to 1,3‐propanediol (1, 3‐PDO) is an important step in the pathway towards the longterm sustainable production of the ethylene oxide hydroesterification. However, 3‐HPM is prone to side reactions like hydroxyl β‐dehydration and low reaction efficiency, which hinders its development. This study presents the first‐ever report on highly efficient gallium‐promoted Cu/SiO2 catalysts prepared using ethanol‐assisted ammonia‐evaporation (Et‐AE) for converting 3‐HPM to 1,3‐PDO. The prepared Cu‐1Ga/SiO2 catalyst exhibited satisfactory catalytic activity and 1,3‐PDO selectivity in the hydrogenation reaction, with a conversion of 3‐HPM of 94 % and a selectivity to 1,3‐PDO of 91 %. The characterisation results show that the addition of Ga increases the specific surface area and the pore volume of the catalyst, and also increases the dispersion of the Cu species. And the promotional effect likely originates from interactions between Ga3+ and Cu0 species though enhanced ability of the latter to activate H2. In addition, the introduction of Ga into the catalyst increases the interaction between Cu and the support, making it more difficult for Cu+ to be completely reduced to Cu0. This increases the content of Cu+ in the catalyst, which is beneficial for improving the activity and stability of the catalyst. This study investigates modifying Cu catalysts to provide guidelines for obtaining high performing hydrogenation catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveThe level of health literacy is one of the important factors affecting health outcomes. Family is an important place to shape personality traits, and people with different personalities will adopt different lifestyles, which will lead to variations in health outcomes. Therefore, this article aims to explore the relationship between health literacy and personality and its influencing factors in different family structures.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study with 1,406 individuals. A questionnaire was utilized to measure health literacy, personality and demographic variables, including family structure. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used to examine the relation between health literacy and personality traits between two types of family structure.ResultsCCA showed that the canonical correlation coefficients were 0.309 (p < 0.001) and 0.347 (p < 0.001), in two-parent family and single-parent family, respectively. The openness of personality traits exhibited the highest correlation with health literacy. Compared with the remaining personality traits, openness yielded the strongest effect (β = 0.485 and β = 0.830) in two types of family structure, respectively. Education and monthly income were significantly associated with health literacy.ConclusionOur results support the relation between health literacy and personality traits in two types of family structure.