Early life stress shifts critical periods and causes precocious visual cortex development.

The developing nervous system displays remarkable plasticity in response to sensory stimulation during critical periods of development. Critical periods may also increase the brain's vulnerability to adverse experiences. Here we show that early-life stress (ELS) in mice shifts the timing of critical periods in the visual cortex.

Triamcinolone acetonide has minimal effect on short- and long-term metabolic activities of cartilage.

Intra-articular corticosteroid injections, such as triamcinolone acetonide (TA), are commonly used by clinicians to manage joint synovial inflammation. However, due to conflicting evidence in literature, there is a fear among clinicians that the injections may be harmful to otherwise healthy cartilage in young patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of TA on young, healthy chondrocytes.

Influence of Mechanical and Mineralogical Activation of Biomass Fly Ash on the Compressive Strength Development of Cement Mortars.

Biomass combustion is a significant new source of green energy in the European Union. The adequate utilization of byproducts created during that process is a growing challenge for the energy industry. Biomass fly ash could be used in cement composite production after appropriate activation of that material.

Cardiorenal metabolic biomarkers link early life stress to risk of non-communicable diseases and adverse mental health outcomes.

Stress is one of the most critical determinants of lifetime health and increases the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases. To gain insight into underlying environment-gene interactions, we analyzed the cardiorenal metabolome of adult mice exposed to multidimensional early-life transportation stress. Using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR) spectroscopy, we show that early life stress permanently programs metabolic pathways in somatic organs linked to cardiorenal and mental health disorders in later life.

Synthesis and hypolipidemic and antiplatelet activities of alpha-asarone isomers in humans (in vitro), mice (in vivo), and rats (in vivo).

A series of alpha-asarone isomers was synthesized and investigated for their hypolipidemic and antiplatelet activity. Considering the hypolipidemic activity in rats at a dose of 80 mg/kg/day, some isomers were more potent than clofibrate at 150 mg/kg. Compound 3 was one of the most active agents elevating the HDL cholesterol level by 56% and lowering the LDL cholesterol level by 46.