Joint effect of less than 1 h of daytime napping and seven to 8 h of night sleep on the risk of stroke.

Background: The joint effect of daytime naps and night sleep on the risk of stroke has not been clarified. Our research aimed to verify this relationship based on data from a large sample-sized cross-sectional study and a cohort study.

Methods: The cross-sectional study included 7887 subjects, aged 20-74 years.

NLRP3/Caspase-1 Pathway-Induced Pyroptosis Mediated Cognitive Deficits in a Mouse Model of Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy.

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is a common complication that leads to long-term cognitive impairments and increased mortality in sepsis survivors. The mechanisms underlying this complication remain unclear and an effective intervention is lacking. Accumulating evidence suggests the nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor protein3 (NLRP3)/caspase-1 pathway is involved in several neurodegenerative diseases.

Sintering Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Mullite Fibers/Hydroxyapatite Ceramic.

The effect of fiber content and sintering temperature on sintering behavior and mechanical properties of mullite fibers/hydroxyapatite composites was studied. The composites were fabricated by hydrothermal synthesis and pressureless sintering. The amount of fibers was varied from 5 wt % to 15 wt % through hydrothermal synthesis, mullite fibers and hydroxyapatite composite powders were subsequently sintered at temperatures of 1150, 1250, and 1350 °C.

The interaction between particulate organic matter and copper, zinc in paddy soil.

Particulate organic matter (POM) acts as a metals sink in soil, but only a few studies focused on the interaction of POM and heavy metals in paddy soil. The aim of this study is to investigate the interaction between POM and Copper (Cu)/Zinc (Zn). Two levels of Cu (100, 400 mg kg) and Zn (250, 500 mg kg) were used in a soil culture experiment.

Dendrobium polysaccharides attenuate cognitive impairment in senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 mice via modulation of microglial activation.

Dendrobium is one of the most important traditional Chinese medicinal foods used to treat age-related disorders. However, it remains unclear whether Dendrobium affects the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, we investigated the effects of Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides (DOP) on the BV2 microglial cell line and the senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mouse strain.

T follicular helper cells restricted by IRF8 contribute to T cell-mediated inflammation.

The follicular helper T cell (T) are established regulators of germinal center (GC) B cells, whether T have pathogenic potential independent of B cells is unknown. Based on in vitro T cell differentiation, in vivo T cell transfer animal colitis model, and intestinal tissues of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, T and its functions in colitis development were analyzed by FACS, ChIP, ChIP-sequencing, WB, ELISA and PCR. Herein we demonstrate that intestinal tissues of patients and colon tissues obtained from Rag1 recipients of naïve CD4 T cells with colitis, each over-express T-associated gene products.

Altered functional connectivity within the default mode network in two animal models with opposing episodic memories.

Memory enhancement and memory decline are two opposing cognitive performances commonly observed in clinical practice, yet the neural mechanisms underlying these two different phenomena remain poorly understood. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that the default-mode network (DMN) is implicated in diverse cognitive, social, and affective processes. In the present study, we used the retrosplenial cortex as a seed region to study the functional connectivity within the DMN in two animal models with opposing episodic memories, of which memory enhancement was induced by footshocks to mimic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and memory decline was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge to mimic sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE).

The Efficacy and Safety of Enoxaparin: A Meta-analysis.

The efficacy and safety of enoxaparin (ENOX) in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) remains unaddressed. The primary endpoint evaluated was myocardial infarction (MI) or death. The secondary endpoint was defined as major bleeding complications.

Observing the effect of traditional Chinese medicine Kouchuang Xiaotong powder on patients with recurrent aphthus ulcer.

The effect of traditional Chinese medicine Kouchuang Xiaotong powder on patients with recurrent aphthous ulcer is observed and analyzed. 140 patients with recurrent aphthous ulcer in our hospital were selected as research objects, which were randomly divided into two groups: study group and control group. Among them, the patients in study group were treated with traditional Chinese medicine kouchuang xiaotong powder, and patients in control group were given the general routine treatment, comparing overall effective treatment of the two groups.

MicroRNA-504 functions as a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma through inhibiting Frizzled-7-mediated-Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) are critical regulators in the development and progression of various malignant tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Multiple findings have indicated that miRNA-504 (miR-504) is dysregulated in several types of cancers, functioning as an oncogenic miRNA or a tumor suppressive miRNA. However, the role of miR-504 in HCC remains unknown.

Long-Term Land Use Affects Phosphorus Speciation and the Composition of Phosphorus Cycling Genes in Agricultural Soils.

Agriculturally-driven land transformation is increasing globally. Improving phosphorus (P) use efficiency to sustain optimum productivity in diverse ecosystems, based on knowledge of soil P dynamics, is also globally important in light of potential shortages of rock phosphate to manufacture P fertilizer. We investigated P chemical speciation and P cycling with solution P nuclear magnetic resonance, P K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy, phosphatase activity assays, and shotgun metagenomics in soil samples from long-term agricultural fields containing four different land-use types (native and tame grasslands, annual croplands, and roadside ditches).

Improved dispersion of SiC whisker in nano hydroxyapatite and effect of atmospheres on sintering of the SiC whisker reinforced nano hydroxyapatite composites.

In order to improve the mechanical properties of nano hydroxyapatite (HA), silicon carbide whisker (SiC) with excellent mechanical and biological properties was used as the reinforcement for SiC whisker reinforced nano hydroxyapatite (SiC/HA) composites. Hydrothermal synthesis method was adopted to prepare the uniformly dispersed SiC and HA composite powders, and SiC/HA composites were fabricated by pressureless sintering. The interfacial bonding state and mechanical properties of SiC/HA composites in different sintering atmospheres (air and N) were systematically investigated.

Characteristic properties of muscular-derived extracellular matrix and its application in rat abdominal wall defects.

Aim: To investigate the behavior of porcine-derived decellularized muscular matrix (DMM) in vitro and compare the performance of this biological mesh with that of acellular dermal matrix from pig in a full abdominal wall defect model.

Materials & Methods: To describe the in vitro properties of the DMM scaffold with extracellular matrix histological analysis, growth factor quantification and scanning electron microscopy analysis. To compare structural and functional remodeling between acellular dermal matrix and DMM implants in a rodent full abdominal wall defect model.

Growth inhibition of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by antagonism of the β adrenergic receptor.

Previous studies have shown that the activation of the β adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) can stimulate several signaling pathways that promote tumor growth and metastasis. β-adrenergic antagonism may have a beneficial role in cancer treatment; however, little is known about the effect of ADRB2 inhibition on the growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. The present study revealed that ADRB2 was highly expressed in HCC cell lines compared with that in a normal liver cell line.

Relationship between cerebral microbleeds location and cognitive impairment in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) have been identified as an important manifestation and diagnostic marker of cerebrovascular disease, but there are also some controversies about the impact of CMBs on cognition. The current cross-sectional study aimed to clarify the relationship between CMBs and cognitive impairment in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease. One hundred and fifty patients with lacunar infarction or transient ischemic attack were screened, and all of them were scanned by brain MRI.

Formation of Slantwise Surface Ripples by Femtosecond Laser Irradiation.

We report on the formation of slantwise-oriented periodic subwavelength ripple structures on chromium surfaces irradiated by single-beam femtosecond laser pulses at normal incidence. Unexpectedly, the ripples slanted in opposite directions on each side the laser-scanned area, neither perpendicular nor parallel to the laser polarization. The modulation depth was also found to change from one ripple to the next ripple.

[Animal experiment of recombinant human lactoferrin based on the 28 days repeated oral toxicity].

Objective: To evaluate the food safety of recombinant human lactoferrin( rhLF) and its iron nutrition.

Methods: 100 SPF grade weanling SD rats with half male and female, were randomly divided into five groups and they were control group, 100 and200 g/kg bLF group, 100 and 200 g/kg rhLF group. Rates in control group were feed with AIN-93 laboratory rodent pure fodder, while bLF and rhLF group were feed with sample protein part and all alternative formulations existed casein component respectively.

Optimal body mass index cut-off points for prediction of incident diabetes in a Chinese population.

Background: The current body mass index (BMI) classifications have been established based on the risk of obesity-related conditions, but not specifically on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this study was to identify the optimal BMI cut-off points for assessing incident T2DM risk in the Chinese population.

Methods: The longitudinal study cohort consisted of 8735 non-diabetic participants aged 20-74 years at baseline, with a mean follow-up period of 6.

Ketamine differentially restores diverse alterations of neuroligins in brain regions in a rat model of neuropathic pain-induced depression.

Depression is present in a large proportion of patients suffering from chronic pain, and yet the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Neuroligins (NLs), as a family of cell-adhesion proteins, are involved in synaptic formation and have been linked to various neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we studied the alterations in NL1 and NL2 in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and the hippocampus in a rat model of neuropathic pain-induced depression, and whether ketamine, a rapid and robust antidepressant, could restore these abnormalities.

Constructing a ZnInS nanoparticle/MoS-RGO nanosheet 0D/2D heterojunction for significantly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic H production.

A zero-dimensional (0D)/two-dimensional (2D) heterojunction has an excellent advantage of boosting the photo-generated carrier separation and obtaining enhanced photocatalytic activities. Here, a ZnIn2S4 nanoparticle/MoS2-RGO nanosheet 0D/2D heterojunction was prepared by a rapid and low temperature hydrothermal method. TEM characterization results reveal that ZnIn2S4 nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed on the surface of MoS2-RGO nanosheets, which can provide abundant active sites and shorten the charge-migration distance, while the MoS2-RGO nanosheet acts as a support to avoid the aggregation of 0D ZnIn2S4 nanoparticles and also serves as a low-cost cocatalyst for effective hydrogen evolution.

Direct fabricating large-area nanotriangle structure arrays on tungsten surface by nonlinear lithography of two femtosecond laser beams.

Two-dimensional arrays of periodic nanostructures are fabricated on bulk tungsten surface within a single step using collinear propagation of two time-delayed femtosecond laser beams with orthogonal polarizations. It is surprisingly found that the geometric profile of the structure unit exhibits a triangle shape in hundred nanometer scales, and its spatial dimension can be modulated by the ambient air pressure ranging from 1 atm to 10 Pa. As the ambient air pressure decreases, the obtained surface structures display a large depth covered with nanowires.

The p75 neurotrophin receptor might mediate sepsis-induced synaptic and cognitive impairments.

Systemic inflammation induces cognitive impairment, yet the mechanism involved in this process is unclear. Neurotrophin receptor p75 (p75) signaling is a key pathological factor contributing to neurobehavioral abnormalities in many neurodegenerative diseases. However, the role of p75 signaling in the regulation of sepsis-induced cognitive impairment remains largely to be elucidated.

Altered intrinsic activity and functional connectivity in two animal models with opposing fear memories.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and sepsis-associated encephalopathy are two common neuropsychiatric disorders, but to some extent with opposing cognitive performance. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these two different phenomena remain poorly understood. In our study, the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) of spontaneous blood oxygen level-dependent signals was used to assess regional disturbances in two animal models with opposing cognitive performance, namely post-traumatic stress disorder and sepsis-associated encephalopathy.

Different effects of immune stimulation on chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced anxiety- and depression-like behaviors depending on timing of stimulation.

Stressful life events are thought to be triggering factors of numerous neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. However, the interactions between chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) and immune stimulation have not been thoroughly investigated. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge at different time points on CUMS-induced anxiety- and depression-like behaviors.