Metabolomics and network pharmacology reveal partial insights into the hypolipidemic mechanisms of ferulic acid in a dyslipidemia mouse model.

Introduction: Hyperlipidemia is a condition characterized by abnormal levels of lipids and lipoproteins in the plasma, posing significant health risks. Ferulic acid (FA) is an organic acid with therapeutic properties for diabetes and hyperlipidemia.

Methods: To explore biomarkers for FA treatment of hyperlipidemia and elucidate the mechanisms of lipid-lowering-related changes in metabolic pathways by metabolomics and network pharmacology.

ESL attenuates BLM-induced IPF in mice: Dual mediation of the TLR4/NF-κB and TGF-β1/PI3K/Akt/FOXO3a pathways.

Backgrounds: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a persistent and advanced pulmonary ailment. The roles of innate immunity and adaptive immunity are pivotal in the evolution of IPF. An ill-adjusted interaction between epithelial cells and immune cells is responsible for initiating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process and sustaining chronic inflammation, thereby fostering fibrosis progression.

Microstructure Evolution and Strengthening Mechanism of Dual-Phase Mg-8.3Li-3.1Al-1.09Si Alloys during Warm Rolling.

In this study, the rolling process of the warm-rolled duplex-phase Mg-8.3Li-3.1Al-1.

Selection and evaluation of quality markers for the regulation of PXR-CYP3A4/FXR-LXRα by Exocarpium Citri Grandis for the treatment of hyperlipidaemia with dispelling blood stasis and removing phlegm.

Hyperlipidaemia is described as "excessive phlegm" and "blood stasis" in the classic theory of traditional Chinese medicine. Exocarpium Citri Grandis has the effect of dispelling blood stasis and removing phlegm, which can better meet the treatment needs of this disease. However, there is still a lack of focus and depth in the study of the chemical composition of this medicine, and the correlation between the study of relevant medicinal substances and the efficacy of dispelling stasis and removing phlegm is insufficient.

Role of serum alkaline phosphatase as a potential biomarker of severity and prognosis in intracerebral hemorrhage.

Objectives: Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) catalyzes the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate and facilitates vascular calcification. We aimed at investigating serum ALP levels in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients and ascertaining its relationship to severity and prognosis.

Methods: Serum ALP levels from 148 patients and 148 healthy controls were detected.

Amplitude- and frequency-dependent activation of layer II/III neurons by intracortical microstimulation.

Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) has been used for the development of brain machine interfaces. However, further understanding about the spatiotemporal responses of neurons to different electrical stimulation parameters is necessary to inform the design of optimal therapies. In this study, we employed electrophysiological recording, two-photon calcium imaging, and electric field simulation to evaluate the acute effect of ICMS on layer II/III neurons.

[Prediction and analysis of Q-markers of Elephantopus scaber based on its UPLC fingerprint, content determination of components, and in vitro a nti-tumor activity].

This study aimed to provide scientific evidence for predicting quality markers(Q-markers) of Elephantopus scaber by establishing UPLC fingerprint of E. scaber from different geographical origins and determining the content of 13 major components, as well as conducting in vitro anti-cancer activity investigation of the main components. The chromatographic column used was Waters CORTECS UPLC C_(18)(2.

Muc5ac Production Inhibited by Decreased lncRNA H19 via PI3K/Akt/NF-kB in Asthma.

Introduction: LncRNAs play important roles in multiple diseases including asthma, while there are a few reports on the role of lncRNA H19 about asthma. This study aimed to investigate the roles and mechanisms of lncRNA H19 in asthma.

Methods: We detected lncRNA H19 and Muc5ac mRNA by establishing a murine asthma model and an in vitro inflammation model.

Streptococcus pneumoniae aminopeptidase N regulates dendritic cells that attenuates type-2 airway inflammation in murine allergic asthma.

Background And Purpose: Epidemiological and experimental studies suggest that microbial exposure in early childhood is linked with reduced risk to suffer asthma. Thus microbial components with immunoregulatory capabilities might serve as a preventive strategy for allergic asthma. Recently, it was identified that Streptococcus pneumoniae aminopeptidase N (PepN) could suppress T cell effector function.

Streptococcus pneumoniae aminopeptidase N contributes to bacterial virulence and elicits a strong innate immune response through MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a Gram-positive pathogen with high morbidity and mortality globally but some of its pathogenesis remains unknown. Previous research has provided evidence that aminopeptidase N (PepN) is most likely a virulence factor of S. pneumoniae.

miR-29b Reverses T helper 1 cells/T helper 2 cells Imbalance and Alleviates Airway Eosinophils Recruitment in OVA-Induced Murine Asthma by Targeting Inducible Co-Stimulator.

Asthma is a complex chronic disease and the pathogenesis is still not entirely clear. In this study, we aimed to clarify the role and mechanism of miR-29b in the development of asthma. We observed that miR-29b levels were decreased in the lung and spleen of OVA-induced asthmatic mice.

Differential Inhibitory Configurations Segregate Frequency Selectivity in the Mouse Inferior Colliculus.

Receptive fields and tuning curves of sensory neurons represent the neural substrates that allow animals to efficiently detect and distinguish external stimuli. They are progressively refined to create diverse sensitivity and selectivity for neurons along ascending central pathways. However, the neural circuitry mechanisms have not been directly determined for such fundamental qualities in relation to sensory neurons' functional organizations, because of the technical difficulty of correlating neurons' input and output.

Cc2d1a Loss of Function Disrupts Functional and Morphological Development in Forebrain Neurons Leading to Cognitive and Social Deficits.

Loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in CC2D1A cause a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders, including intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and seizures, identifying a critical role for this gene in cognitive and social development. CC2D1A regulates intracellular signaling processes that are critical for neuronal function, but previous attempts to model the human LOF phenotypes have been prevented by perinatal lethality in Cc2d1a-deficient mice. To overcome this challenge, we generated a floxed Cc2d1a allele for conditional removal of Cc2d1a in the brain using Cre recombinase.

Balance or imbalance: inhibitory circuits for direction selectivity in the auditory system.

The auditory system detects and processes dynamic sound information transmitted in the environment. Other than the basic acoustic parameters, such as frequency, amplitude and phase, the time-varying changes of these parameters must also be encoded in our brain. Frequency-modulated (FM) sound is socially and environmentally significant, and the direction of FM sweeps is essential for animal communication and human speech.

[Comparison of trophic status analysis of the Daning River within the Three Gorges Reservoir before and after experimental impoundment].

We evaluated 4-year data set to assess the trophic state and limiting factors of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) during the experimental impounding period (September 2005 to September 2007) and the normal operating period (September 2008 to September 2010). The results indicated that there had been appeared new characteristics in spatial and temporal distribution of trophic state indices after impoundment. The trophic state indices (TSI(TP)) showed increased trend after the TGR impoundment during the study area, but TSI(TN) and TSI(SD) had no significant changes after the TGR impoundment.

The generation of direction selectivity in the auditory system.

Both human speech and animal vocal signals contain frequency-modulated (FM) sounds. Although central auditory neurons that selectively respond to the direction of frequency modulation are known, the synaptic mechanisms underlying the generation of direction selectivity (DS) remain elusive. Here we show the emergence of DS neurons in the inferior colliculus by mapping the three major subcortical auditory nuclei.

[Exploration of relationships between phytoplankton and related environmental factors in the Daning River during sensitive period of algal blooms].

To elucidate relationships between phytoplankton and related environmental factors, phytoplankton and environmental parameters of water quality in the Daning River were conducted using multivariate statistical analysis. Most of the investigated physico chemical parameters [water temperature, total nitrogen, nitrate-N (NO3(-) -N), pH and dissolved oxygen concentration (DO)] in Daning River are significantly different among those sampling sites (ANOVA, p < 0.05).

From elementary synaptic circuits to information processing in primary auditory cortex.

A key for understanding how information is processed in the cortex is to unravel the dauntingly complex cortical neural circuitry. Recent technical innovations, in particular the in vivo whole-cell voltage-clamp recording techniques, make it possible to directly dissect the excitatory and inhibitory inputs underlying an individual cortical neuron's processing function. This method provides an essential complement to conventional approaches, with which the transfer functions of the neural system are derived by correlating neuronal spike outputs to sensory inputs.

Fine-tuning of pre-balanced excitation and inhibition during auditory cortical development.

Functional receptive fields of neurons in sensory cortices undergo progressive refinement during development. Such refinement may be attributed to the pruning of non-optimal excitatory inputs, reshaping of the excitatory tuning profile through modifying the strengths of individual inputs, or strengthening of cortical inhibition. These models have not been directly tested because of the technical difficulties in assaying the spatiotemporal patterns of functional synaptic inputs during development.

Preceding inhibition silences layer 6 neurons in auditory cortex.

A canonical feedforward circuit is proposed to underlie sensory cortical responses with balanced excitation and inhibition in layer 4 (L4). However, in another input layer, L6, sensory responses and the underlying synaptic circuits remain largely unclear. Here, cell-attached recordings in rat primary auditory cortex revealed that for the majority of L6 excitatory neurons, tonal stimuli did not drive spike responses, but suppressed spontaneous firings.

Lateral sharpening of cortical frequency tuning by approximately balanced inhibition.

Cortical inhibition plays an important role in shaping neuronal processing. The underlying synaptic mechanisms remain controversial. Here, in vivo whole-cell recordings from neurons in the rat primary auditory cortex revealed that the frequency tuning curve of inhibitory input was broader than that of excitatory input.

Defining cortical frequency tuning with recurrent excitatory circuitry.

Neurons in the recipient layers of sensory cortices receive excitatory input from two major sources: the feedforward thalamocortical and recurrent intracortical inputs. To address their respective functional roles, we developed a new method for silencing cortex by competitively activating GABA(A) while blocking GABA(B) receptors. In the rat primary auditory cortex, in vivo whole-cell recording from the same neuron before and after local cortical silencing revealed that thalamic input occupied the same area of frequency-intensity tonal receptive field as the total excitatory input, but showed a flattened tuning curve.

Nonmonotonic synaptic excitation and imbalanced inhibition underlying cortical intensity tuning.

Intensity-tuned neurons, characterized by their nonmonotonic response-level function, may play important roles in the encoding of sound intensity-related information. The synaptic mechanisms underlying intensity tuning remain unclear. Here, in vivo whole-cell recordings in rat auditory cortex revealed that intensity-tuned neurons, mostly clustered in a posterior zone, receive imbalanced tone-evoked excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs.