Hypothalamic hormone deficiency enables physiological anorexia in ground squirrels during hibernation.

Mammalian hibernators survive prolonged periods of cold and resource scarcity by temporarily modulating normal physiological functions, but the mechanisms underlying these adaptations are poorly understood. The hibernation cycle of thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) lasts for 5-7 months and comprises weeks of hypometabolic, hypothermic torpor interspersed with 24-48-h periods of an active-like interbout arousal (IBA) state. We show that ground squirrels, who endure the entire hibernation season without food, have negligible hunger during IBAs.

Sevoflurane postconditioning attenuates cardiomyocytes hypoxia/reoxygenation injury via PI3K/AKT pathway mediated HIF-1α to regulate the mitochondrial dynamic balance.

Background: Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (I/RI) is a major cause of perioperative cardiac-related adverse events and death. Studies have shown that sevoflurane postconditioning (SpostC), which attenuates I/R injury and exerts cardioprotective effects, regulates mitochondrial dynamic balance via HIF-1α, but the exact mechanism is unknown. This study investigates whether the PI3K/AKT pathway in SpostC regulates mitochondrial dynamic balance by mediating HIF-1α, thereby exerting myocardial protective effects.

Hypothalamic hormone deficiency enables physiological anorexia.

Mammalian hibernators survive prolonged periods of cold and resource scarcity by temporarily modulating normal physiological functions, but the mechanisms underlying these adaptations are poorly understood. The hibernation cycle of thirteen-lined ground squirrels lasts for 5-7 months and comprises weeks of hypometabolic, hypothermic torpor interspersed with 24-48-hour periods of an active-like interbout arousal (IBA) state. We show that ground squirrels, who endure the entire hibernation season without food, have negligible hunger during IBAs.

Commensal microbiota modulates phenotypic characteristics and gene expression in piglet Peyer's patches.

The gastrointestinal tract contains a complex microbial community. Peyer's patches (PPs) play an important role in inducing mucosal immune responses in the gastrointestinal tract. However, little is known about the effect of commensal microbiota on the host's PPs.

Irisin attenuates ethanol-induced behavioral deficits in mice through activation of Nrf2 and inhibition of NF-κB pathways.

This study aims to investigate the effect of irisin on ethanol-induced behavioral deficits and explore the underlying mechanisms. A mouse model of ethanol addiction/withdrawal was constructed through chronic ethanol administration. Depressive-like behaviors were evaluated by the tail suspension test and forced swimming test, and anxiety-like behaviors were evaluated by the marble-burying test and elevated plus maze test.

Efficient postprocessing technique for fabricating surface nanoscale axial photonics microresonators with subangstrom precision by femtosecond laser.

We demonstrated the subangstrom precise correction of surface nanoscale axial photonics (SNAP) micro-resonators by the femtosecond (fs) laser postprocessing technique for the first time. The internal stress can be induced by fs laser inscriptions in the fiber, causing nanoscale effective radius variation (ERV). However, the obtained ultraprecise fabrication usually undergoes multiple tries.

Gene expression profiles of germ-free and conventional piglets from the same litter.

Germ-free (GF) pigs have clear microbiological backgrounds, and are extensively used as large animal models in the biomedical sciences. However, investigations of the transcriptomic differences between GF and cesarean-derived conventional (CV) piglets are limited. To improve our understanding of GF pigs, and to increase the utility of pigs as an alternative non-rodent model, we used RNA sequencing to profile gene expression in five tissues (the oral mucosae, jejunum, colon, liver, and spleen) of four male GF piglets and four male CV piglets from the same litter.

Sensitive refractive index sensor based on an assembly-free fiber multi-mode interferometer fabricated by femtosecond laser.

We propose and demonstrate a highly sensitive refractive index (RI) sensor based on a novel fiber-optic multi-mode interferometer (MMI), which is formed with a femtosecond-laser-induced in-core negative refractive index modified line in a standard single mode fiber. The proposed MMI structure is directly written with femtosecond laser in one step, which removes the splicing process needed in conventional MMI fabrication and also significantly improves the robustness. This device exhibits a high sensitivity to surrounding refractive index, with a maximum sensitivity up to 10675.

High-sensitivity and large-dynamic-range refractive index sensors employing weak composite Fabry-Perot cavities.

Most sensors face a common trade-off between high sensitivity and a large dynamic range. We demonstrate here an all-fiber refractometer based on a dual-cavity Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) that possesses the advantage of both high sensitivity and a large dynamic range. Since the two composite cavities have a large cavity length difference, one can observe both fine and coarse fringes, which correspond to the long cavity and the short cavity, respectively.