Epiregulin ameliorates ovariectomy-induced bone loss through orchestrating the differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts.

Epiregulin plays a role in a range of biological activities including malignancies. This study aims to investigate the potential contribution of epiregulin to bone cell differentiation and bone homeostasis. The data showed that epiregulin expression was upregulated during osteogenesis but downregulated during adipogenesis.

Annealing Study on Praseodymium-Doped Indium Zinc Oxide Thin-Film Transistors and Fabrication of Flexible Devices.

The praseodymium-doped indium zinc oxide (PrIZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) is promising for applications in flat-panel displays, due to its high carrier mobility and stability. Nevertheless, there are few studies on the mechanism of annealing on PrIZO films and the fabrication of flexible devices. In this work, we first optimized the annealing-process parameters on the glass substrate.

Association between NAFLD and liver fibrosis with nutritional risk index based on the NHANES 2017-2018.

Background: Nutrition and its associated inflammation have been acknowledged as vital factors in the etiopathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and liver fibrosis. The nutritional risk index (NRI) has been widely recognized as a valid indicator of nutritional status in several diseases, including osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. However, the role of NRI in NAFLD and liver fibrosis remains unclear.

Aftereffect of single transcranial direct and alternating current stimulation on spontaneous home-cage and open-field EEG activities in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: As a non drug and non invasive therapy, both transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may modulate cortical rhythms and serve as potentially effective approaches to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, studies using animal models of AD are quite limited.

Methods: This study investigates the aftereffects of tACS and tDCS on brain EEG activity and associated exploratory behavior in normal aged and APP/PS1 transgenic mice (15 months old).

Epac2-mediated synaptic insertion of Ca-permeable AMPARs in the nucleus accumbens contributes to incubation of cocaine craving.

The accumulation of GluA2-lacking Ca-permeable AMPARs (CP-AMPARs) in the medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is required for the expression of incubation of cocaine craving. The exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac) is an intracellular effector of cAMP and a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small GTPase Rap1. Epac2 has been implicated in the trafficking of AMPA receptors at central synapses.

Text-guided Image Restoration and Semantic Enhancement for Text-to-Image Person Retrieval.

The goal of Text-to-Image Person Retrieval (TIPR) is to retrieve specific person images according to the given textual descriptions. A primary challenge in this task is bridging the substantial representational gap between visual and textual modalities. The prevailing methods map texts and images into unified embedding space for matching, while the intricate semantic correspondences between texts and images are still not effectively constructed.

Effects and Related Factors of Short-time Accommodation Training on Measuring Consistency of InnovEyes Sitemap, Autorefraction, and Subjective Refraction.

Purpose: To evaluate effects and related factors of short-time accommodation training on measuring consistency of InnovEyes Sitemap (Alcon/WaveLight; Alcon Laboratories, Inc), NIDEK ARK-1 autorefractor (Nidek Corporation), and subjective refraction (SR).

Methods: One hundred adults (100 eyes) with myopia aged 17 to 40 years were enrolled. Refraction was obtained by InnovEyes Sitemap, autorefraction, and SR in a randomized order.

A Comprehensive Investigation into the Mechanisms Dictating the Movement of Liquid Crystal Polymer Flakes in Liquid Crystal Hosts.

Integrating microscale liquid crystal polymer flakes into host materials takes advantage of their compact shape and heightened responsiveness to electric fields, facilitating a range of switching capabilities and related applications, such as smart windows and E-paper displays. However, the complex physics controlling the movement of these flakes within liquid crystal hosts remains partly mysterious. This paper aims to elucidate the underlying physics that governs the behavior of nematic liquid crystal polymer flakes within nematic liquid crystal hosts.

Baicalein Long-Circulating Liposomes Improve Histological and Functional Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury.

High mortality and disability have been principally linked with traumatic brain injury (TBI) with this condition being a principal issue in public health. Currently, there is no reliable pharmaceutical agent to salvage the damage caused by TBI. Baicalein (BCL), a traditional Chinese medicine active ingredient, has preliminarily shown repair activity on brain injury.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the simplified Chinese version of the Fukushima Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Scale.

Purpose: To translate and cross-culturally adapt Fukushima Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Scale into a Simplified Chinese version (FLS-25-SC), and evaluate the reliability and validity of FLS-25-SC in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.

Methods: Test-retest reliability was assessed by Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Construct validity was analyzed by correlations between FLS-25-SC and the Swiss Spinal Stenosis (SSS) Questionnaire, Visual analogue scale (VAS) as well as the short form (36) health survey (SF-36).

Effects of multilevel postpartum family planning intervention on the reduction of unintended pregnancy and induced abortion rates within 12 months of delivery: A cluster randomized controlled study in China.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a multilevel promoting postpartum family planning (PPFP) intervention on the reduction of unintended pregnancies and induced abortions in China.

Study Design: We performed a cluster randomized intervention study to assess the effects of a multilevel PPFP intervention on the rates of unintended pregnancy and induced abortion within 12 months postpartum. Thirty-six hospitals were included and randomly allocated to two groups at a 1:1 ratio, enrolling 180 pregnant women per hospital starting in January 2019.

Non-surgical treatment for tandem spinal stenosis: a systematic review protocol.

Background: Tandem Spinal Stenosis (TSS) is a disease characterised by the narrowing of the spinal canal in two or more non-adjacent areas of the spine, often affecting both the cervical and lumbar vertebrae. Doctors and patients increasingly favour non-surgical treatments that have the function of relieving symptoms and improving outcomes. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of non-surgical therapies for TSS and comprehensively summarise existing evidence.

Multivariate optimization effectiveness model of single-longitudinal-mode laser under pre-laser Q-switching regime.

The optimal effectiveness model for optimizing the system parameters was established in this study by combining the optimization function based on the pre-laser Q-switching technique. By introducing boundary conditions to solve the rate equations, the specific process of composite mode selection is analyzed, and the specific pre-laser modulation time interval that enables single-longitudinal-mode laser output is obtained. Furthermore, through the established efficiency evaluation function for single-longitudinal-mode laser output characteristics, with the maximization of single-pulse energy as the objective, an energy efficiency analysis of relevant parameters in the mode selection components is conducted.

Optimal thermometry theory of three-channel wide spectrum based on three-directional difference.

The constant spectral emissivity decoupling method within current wide-spectrum thermometry theories stands as a primary factor contributing to accuracy degradation. This creates a deadlock in the current radiation thermometry framework, where the system's two-dimensional analytical capabilities and resolution accuracy cannot be concurrently achieved, becoming a major theoretical obstacle in the development of this technique. Consequently, based on the Taylor series de-integration method under the wide spectral framework, and taking the first and second derivative terms of spectral emissivity as the starting point, a wide spectral optimization temperature solution theory based on three-directional difference method is proposed.

Microbiota-dependent in vivo biotransformation, accumulation, and excretion of arsenic from arsenobetaine-rich diet.

Arsenobetaine (AB), a major organic arsenic (As) species in seafood, is regarded as safe by current regulatory assessments due to low toxicity and rapid unmodified urinary excretion. This notion has been challenged by reports of AB metabolism by intestinal bacteria in vitro and more recent evidence of in vivo AB metabolism in mice. However, these studies did not establish the causal role of intestinal bacteria in AB transformation in vivo.

Microenvironment Self-Adaptive Nanomedicine Promotes Spinal Cord Repair by Suppressing Inflammation Cascade and Neural Apoptosis.

Despite various biomaterial-based strategies are tried in spinal cord injury (SCI), developing safe and effective microinvasive pharmacotherapy strategies is still an unmet clinical need. Stimuli-responsive nanomedicine has emerged as a promising non-invasion technology, which enhances drug delivery and promotes functional recovery following SCI. Considering the multiple progressive pathological events and the blood spinal cord barrier (BSCB) associating SCI, a microenvironment self-adaptive nanoparticle (custom-designed with rabies virus glycoprotein 29-RVG29 and hyaluronic acid-HA, RHNP) capable of consistently crossing the BSCB and selectively targeting inflammatory cells and neural cells based on different stages of SCI are developed.

Understanding Episode Hardness in Few-Shot Learning.

Achieving generalization for deep learning models has usually suffered from the bottleneck of annotated sample scarcity. As a common way of tackling this issue, few-shot learning focuses on "episodes", i.e.

Charge injection mediated by inverse micelles in nonpolar solvents: A microscopic model.

Hypothesis: Nonpolar solvents with added charge control agents are widely used in various applications, such as E-paper displays. In spite of previous work, the mechanisms governing charge generation in nonpolar liquids, particularly those induced by electrochemical reactions at the liquid-solid interface, are not completely understood. We hypothesize that a physics-based model, according to the modified Butler-Volmer equation, can be used to quantitatively predict the injection of charges and the corresponding currents, in nonpolar solvents with surfactants.

Targeting mitochondrial homeostasis in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a review.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, and its prevalence is rapidly increasing. Antioxidants, lipid-lowering medications, and lifestyle interventions are the most commonly used treatment options for NAFLD, but their efficacy in inhibiting steatosis progression is limited and their long-term ineffectiveness and adverse effects have been widely reported. Therefore, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of NAFLD and to identify more effective therapeutic approaches.

[Feasibility and safety study of building a friendly management model for elderly critically ill patients based on geriatric intensive care unit: a prospective controlled study].

Objective: To explore the feasibility and safety of integrating the geriatric intensive care unit (GICU) into the friendly management model of the elderly critically ill patients.

Methods: A prospective controlled study was conducted. Patients with elderly critically ill admitted to the GICU and the general intensive care unit (ICU) of Jintan First People's Hospital of Changzhou from December 2021 to May 2023 were enrolled.