Influence of auditory spatial attention on cross-modal semantic priming effect: evidence from N400 effect.

Semantic priming is an important research topic in the field of cognitive neuroscience. Previous studies have shown that the uni-modal semantic priming effect can be modulated by attention. However, the influence of attention on cross-modal semantic priming is unclear.

Cryopreservation-Altered Expression of RNA and Protein Markers in Biological Specimens.

The preservation of DNA, RNA, and protein markers in biological specimens is essential for initial diagnosis, subsequent verification, and comparison, as well as for archival retention of pathological materials in modern molecular diagnostics and precision medicine. Considerable attention has been paid to the methods of collection, handling, and preparation of specimens for initial testing, but insufficient attention to the long-term specimen preservation for later verification, comparison, and archival retention. In the present study, we have investigated the changes of expressions of RNAs and proteins in Hep-G2 cell specimens after cryopreservation at -80°C and in liquid nitrogen.

Data on biochemical indexes of HFD-fed mice treatment with metformin or resveratrol.

To investigate the changes of physiological and biochemical indexes, male mice were fed a regular diet or short time high fat diet (HFD) for 10 days with oral administration of saline, metformin, resveratrol, or injected intraperitoneally (ip) with digoxin respectively every day. Food intake and body weight were recorded simultaneously. Blood was collected after mice were sacrificed and then tested with commercial kits.

Nandinine, a Derivative of Berberine, Inhibits Inflammation and Reduces Insulin Resistance in Adipocytes via Regulation of AMP-Kinase Activity.

Nandinine is a derivative of berberine that has high efficacy for treating cardiovascular diseases. This study investigated the effects of berberine and nandinine on the regulation of insulin sensitivity in adipocytes. Through treatment with macrophage-derived conditioned medium in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, dysregulation of adipokine production and activation of the IB kinase /nuclear factor-kappa B pathway was induced.

Metformin and resveratrol ameliorate muscle insulin resistance through preventing lipolysis and inflammation in hypoxic adipose tissue.

This study aims to investigate the effects of metformin and resveratrol on muscle insulin resistance with emphasis on the regulation of lipolysis in hypoxic adipose tissue. ICR mice were fed with high fat diet (HFD) for 10days with administration of metformin, resveratrol, or intraperitoneal injection of digoxin. Adipose hypoxia, inflammation and cAMP/PKA-dependent lipolysis were investigated.

Metformin and resveratrol inhibit Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission and prevent ER stress-associated NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the adipose tissue of diabetic mice.

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the hypothesis that metformin and resveratrol exhibited the same effect on inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation with regulation of AMPK in adipose tissue exposed to high glucose.

Methods: To induce adipose tissue dysfunction, we treated epididymal adipose tissue of mice or differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes with high glucose (33 mM) for 24 h. Meanwhile, mice were injected with streptozotocin STZ to induce diabetes and followed by oral administration of metformin (200 mg/kg), resveratrol (50 mg/kg) or ER stress inhibitor TUDCA (50 mg/kg) for 7 days.

Curcumin inhibits lipolysis via suppression of ER stress in adipose tissue and prevents hepatic insulin resistance.

Curcumin is natural polyphenol with beneficial effects on lipid and glucose metabolism and this study aimed to investigate the effects of curcumin on lipolysis and hepatic insulin resistance. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and lipolysis signaling in adipose and FFA influx, lipid deposits, and glucose production in liver were examined. Palmitate challenge and high-fat diet feeding evoked ER stress-associated lipolysis with cAMP accumulation in adipose tissue.

Abnormalities of voxel-based whole-brain functional connectivity patterns predict the progression of hepatic encephalopathy.

Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is an important tool for understanding the functional reorganization of the brain in cirrhotic patients. Previous studies revealed that functional integration failure were observed in the whole brain. However, the whole-brain functional connectivity analysis methods used in these studies have the limitation that the result relied on a priori definition of network nodes.

The role of metformin and resveratrol in the prevention of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α accumulation and fibrosis in hypoxic adipose tissue.

Background And Purpose: Hypoxic activation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and fibrosis in adipose tissue contribute to adipose dysfunction. This study was designed to investigate the effects of metformin and resveratrol on the regulation of HIF-1α and fibrosis in hypoxic adipose tissue.

Experimental Approach: Mice were fed a high-fat diet to induce hypoxia and fibrosis in adipose tissue; adipose tissue incubated in vitro in 1% O2 showed a similar change.

Overexpression of Livin promotes migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells by induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition via NF-κB activation.

Livin is a novel member of the inhibitors of apoptosis protein family and has been implicated in the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the underlying mechanisms of Livin in CRC remain not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of Livin expression on the proliferation and metastasis of CRC cells and also addressed its related molecular mechanism to metastasis.

Effect of Solvent Water Molecules on Human Serum Albumin Complex-Docked Paclitaxel by MM-PBSA Method.

Molecular modeling on solvation effect and interaction mechanism of the water molecules in the active site of protein affect significantly the interaction between protein and ligand. Detailed influence of water molecules in the active site of human serum albumin (HSA) on its paclitaxel complex as well as their interaction is essential for clinical studies. Molecular docking of both crystal-HSA and solvated-HSA with paclitaxel was performed in the present work.

Corosolic acid inhibits adipose tissue inflammation and ameliorates insulin resistance via AMPK activation in high-fat fed mice.

Background: Adipose tissue inflammation is tightly associated with the development of insulin resistance. Corosolic acid (CRA), a natural triterpenoid, is well known as "phyto-insulin" due to its insulin-like activities. However, its underlying mechanism remains unknown.

Co-combination of islets with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells promotes angiogenesis.

Background: Islet transplantation is a commonly therapeutic strategy for diabetes mellitus. However, avascular phase and the poor formation of blood vessels in the late period lead to islet allograft loss which contributed to inefficiency and short-acting of islet transplantation. Recently, to speed up new angiogenesis and increase the density of blood vessels around transplanted islets became the hotspot in research of islet transplantation.

Inhibition of Mitochondrial Fission and NOX2 Expression Prevent NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in the Endothelium: The Role of Corosolic Acid Action in the Amelioration of Endothelial Dysfunction.

Aims: Corosolic acid (CRA) is a natural triterpenoid with antioxidative activity. This study was designed to elucidate the mechanism through which CRA protected vessel endothelial homeostasis by combating oxidative stress.

Results: In endothelial cells, CRA induced dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) phosphorylation at Ser637 and thus inhibited mitochondrial fission in response to oxidative stress.

Quercetin oppositely regulates insulin-mediated glucose disposal in skeletal muscle under normal and inflammatory conditions: The dual roles of AMPK activation.

Scope: Quercetin is a dietary flavonoid whose role in the regulation of the activity of insulin remains controversial. Our study aimed to investigate how quercetin and its major metabolite quercetin-3-glucuronide (Q-3-G) regulate insulin-mediated glucose disposal in skeletal muscle under normal and inflammatory conditions.

Methods And Results: Under normal conditions, quercetin impaired glucose and insulin tolerance and attenuated insulin-mediated phosphorylation of Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160) and TBC1D1 without affecting Akt activity in male Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice.

Modelling postharvest quality of blueberry affected by biological variability using image and spectral data.

Background: Hyperspectral reflectance and transmittance sensing as well as near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy were investigated as non-destructive tools for estimating blueberry firmness, elastic modulus and soluble solid content (SSC). Least squares-support vector machine models were established from these three spectra based on samples from three cultivars viz. Bluecrop, Duke and M2 and two harvest years viz.

[Pollution Characteristics of Perfluorinated Compounds in Offshore Marine Area of Shenzhen].

In order to explore the pollution characteristics of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), 10 surface seawaters and 7 surface sediments were collected in offshore marine area of Shenzhen (offshore distance >2 km) in September 2013. All the samples were prepared by solid-phase extraction and analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/ MS). The results showed that 10 PFCs, including C4, C6 and C8 perfluorinated sulfonates (PFSAs) and C5-C11, perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) were detected in the surface waters.

A Comprehensive Strategy for Reconstruction of a Missing Midface.

The loss of midface structures always leads to significant functional and cosmetic deficits, and the reconstruction work remains a challenge for surgeons. We report a rare case with severe midfacial defects involving the maxilla, nasal bone, and zygoma. This patient was treated with a comprehensive approach that included distraction osteogenesis, computer-aided surgery, a fibula bone graft, dental implantation, orthognathic surgery, and rhinoplasty.

Attentional performance is correlated with the local regional efficiency of intrinsic brain networks.

Attention is a crucial brain function for human beings. Using neuropsychological paradigms and task-based functional brain imaging, previous studies have indicated that widely distributed brain regions are engaged in three distinct attention subsystems: alerting, orienting and executive control (EC). Here, we explored the potential contribution of spontaneous brain activity to attention by examining whether resting-state activity could account for individual differences of the attentional performance in normal individuals.

Diosgenin regulates adipokine expression in perivascular adipose tissue and ameliorates endothelial dysfunction via regulation of AMPK.

Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) has been recognized as an active contributor to vascular function due to its paracrine effects on cells contained within vascular wall. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of diosgenin on adipokine expression in PVAT with emphasis on the regulation of endothelial function. Palmitic acid (PA) stimulation induced inflammation and dysregulation of adipokine expression in PVAT.

Advances in the pharmacological activities and mechanisms of diosgenin.

Diosgenin, a well-known steroid sapogenin derived from plants, has been used as a starting material for production of steroidal hormones. The present review will summarize published literature concerning pharmacological potential of diosgenin, and the underlying mechanisms of actions. Diosgenin has shown a vast range of pharmacological activities in preclinical studies.

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the atmosphere of Shenzhen, China: Spatial distribution, sources and health risk assessment.

This study investigated the occurrence of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the atmosphere of Shenzhen, China. 11 PFCs, including two perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs, C6 and C8) and perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs, C4-12) were determined by high performance liquid chromatography-negative electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS/MS). Total PFC concentrations (∑ PFCs) in the atmospheric samples ranged from 3.

Pharmacological activation of AMPK prevents Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission and alleviates endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated endothelial dysfunction.

Background And Purpose: This study aims to investigate whether and how pharmacological activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) improves endothelial function by suppressing mitochondrial ROS-associated endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) in the endothelium. Experimental approach Palmitate stimulation induced mitochondrial fission and ER stress-associated endothelial dysfunction. The effects of AMPK activators salicylate and AICA riboside (AICAR) on mitochondrial ROS production, Drp1 phosphorylation, mitochondrial fission, ER stress, thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP)/NLRP3 inflammasome activation, inflammation, cell apoptosis and endothelium-dependent vasodilation were observed.

EEG gamma-band activity during audiovisual speech comprehension in different noise environments.

The presence of cross-modal stochastic resonance in different noise environments has been proved in previous behavioral and event-related potential studies, while it was still unclear whether the gamma-band oscillation study was another evidence of cross-modal stochastic resonance. The multisensory gain of gamma-band activity between the audiovisual (AV) and auditory-only conditions in different noise environments was analyzed. Videos of face motion articulating words concordant with different levels of pink noise were used as stimuli.

Ilexgenin A inhibits endoplasmic reticulum stress and ameliorates endothelial dysfunction via suppression of TXNIP/NLRP3 inflammasome activation in an AMPK dependent manner.

Ilexgenin A is a natural triterpenoid with beneficial effects on lipid disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ilexgenin A on endothelial homeostasis and its mechanisms. Palmitate (PA) stimulation induced endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) and subsequent thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP)/NLRP3 inflammasome activation in endothelial cells, leading to endothelial dysfunction.