High sleep reactivity in shift workers is associated with increased sleep disturbance, mood problems, and reduced quality of life.

Introduction: Shift work disrupts circadian rhythms, causing sleep and mood problems. Sleep reactivity-the sensitivity of sleep to stress-may affect how shift workers cope with these disruptions. This study investigated the relationship between sleep reactivity and shift work, exploring associations between sleep reactivity and sleep disturbance, mood symptoms, and quality of life in shift workers.

Factors influencing the time to COVID-19 antigen tests negative conversion among students at a Chinese university: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can cause repeated infections. China experienced an outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) after the Chinese government changed its COVID-19 policy in December 2022. However, little is known about the influencing factors, such as a history of previous infection and vaccine dose, and whether these factors affect the time at which the antigen test results become negative for SARS-CoV-2.

Identification of CCR7 and CBX6 as key biomarkers in abdominal aortic aneurysm: Insights from multi-omics data and machine learning analysis.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a severe vascular condition, marked by the progressive dilation of the abdominal aorta, leading to rupture if untreated. The objective of this study was to identify key biomarkers and decipher the immune mechanisms underlying AAA utilising multi-omics data analysis and machine learning techniques. Single-cell RNA sequencing disclosed a heightened presence of macrophages and CD8-positive alpha-beta T cells in AAA, highlighting their critical role in disease pathogenesis.

Reduced prefrontal activation during cognitive control under emotional interference in chronic insomnia disorder.

This study investigated the altered neural activation underlying cognitive control under emotional and sleep-related interference conditions and its role in subjective sleep disturbance in patients with chronic insomnia disorder. In total, 48 patients with chronic insomnia disorder, and 48 age-, sex- and body mass index-matched controls were included in this study. They completed self-reported questionnaires to assess subjective sleep and emotional distress.

Influence of folic acid knowledge on effective folic acid intake in Chinese pregnant women: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the current status of effective folic acid intake and the level of folic acid knowledge of Chinese pregnant women and to analyze the relationship between effective folic acid intake and folic acid knowledge.

Methods: From November 2021 to May 2022, 140 pregnant women at Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital in the Chinese province of Shandong, answered questions about their general characteristics, folic acid intake, and folic acid knowledge. The data were analyzed using the t-test, chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis, and were presented with frequency with percentage or mean±standard deviation.

How Deep Learning in Antiviral Molecular Profiling Identified Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Inhibitors.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into drug discovery has markedly advanced the search for effective therapeutics. In our study, we employed a comprehensive computational-experimental approach to identify potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds. We developed a predictive model to assess the activities of compounds based on their structural features.

Association of explicit and implicit social support with psychological adjustment in Chinese women with breast cancer: An interpersonal explanation.

This study aimed to examine the linear and non-linear relationship between explicit and implicit social support and psychological adjustment as well as the underlying interpersonal mechanisms in a sample of Chinese women with breast cancer ( = 202). The results showed that explicit social support was associated with poorer psychological adjustment, while implicit social support exhibited the opposite trend. Moreover, the association between implicit social support and psychological adjustment was stronger at lower levels of implicit social support, but it weakened or disappeared at moderate or higher levels.

Compositional changes in fecal microbiota in a new Parkinson's disease model: C57BL/6-Tg(NSE-haSyn) mice.

Background: The gut-brain axis (GBA) in Parkinson's disease (PD) has only been investigated in limited mice models despite dysbiosis of the gut microbiota being considered one of the major treatment targets for neurodegenerative disease. Therefore, this study examined the compositional changes of fecal microbiota in novel transgenic (Tg) mice overexpressing human α-synuclein (hαSyn) proteins under the neuron-specific enolase (NSE) to analyze the potential as GBA model.

Results: The expression level of the αSyn proteins was significantly higher in the substantia nigra and striatum of NSE-hαSyn Tg mice than the Non-Tg mice, while those of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) were decreased in the same group.

Chemosensitivity to doxorubicin in primary cells derived from tumor of FVB/N-Trp53 with TALEN-mediated Trp53 mutant gene.

Background: To evaluate the chemosensitivity to doxorubicin (DOX) in two primary cells derived from a tumor of FVB/N-Trp53 knockout (KO) mice with TALEN-mediated Trp53 mutant gene, we evaluated the cell survivability, cell cycle distribution, apoptotic cell numbers and apoptotic protein expression in solid tumor cells and ascetic tumor cells treated with DOX.

Results: The primary tumor cells showed a significant (P < 0.05) defect for UV-induced upregulation of the Trp53 protein, and consisted of different ratios of leukocytes, fibroblasts, epithelial cells and mesenchymal cells.

Generation of balanced pulse pairs based on a dual-chip coupling structure.

An asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer (AMZI) is an essential device to generate pulse pairs in quantum key distribution systems. An AMZI based on a dual-chip coupling structure in a silica-on-silicon planar light wave circuit platform is proposed, which includes a variable optical splitter (VOS), a delay line (DL), and a directional coupler (DC). The AMZI chip is divided into a VOS-DL part and a DC part, and the two parts are independently manufactured and then coupled.

A Moonlighting Protein Secreted by a Nasal Microbiome Fortifies the Innate Host Defense Against Bacterial and Viral Infections.

Evidence suggests that the human respiratory tract, as with the gastrointestinal tract, has evolved to its current state in association with commensal microbes. However, little is known about how the airway microbiome affects the development of airway immune system. Here, we uncover a previously unidentified mode of interaction between host airway immunity and a unique strain (AIT01) of , a predominant species of the nasal microbiome.

Characterisation of changes in global genes expression in the lung of ICR mice in response to the inflammation and fibrosis induced by polystyrene nanoplastics inhalation.

Unlabelled: This study characterised the changes in global gene expression in the lung of ICR mice in response to the inflammation and fibrosis induced by the inhalation of 0.5 μm polystyrene (PS)-nanoplastics (NPs) at various concentrations (4, 8, and 16 μg/mL) for 2 weeks. The total RNA extracted from the lung tissue of NPs-inhaled mice was hybridised into oligonucleotide microarrays.

as a promising anti-obesity treatment in knockout mice.

Introduction: The therapeutic effects and mechanisms of () extracts have been examined concerning inflammation, photoaging, and gastritis; however, their effect on obesity is still being investigated.

Methods: We administered a methanol extract of (MED) orally to knockout (KO) mice for 4 weeks to investigate the therapeutic effects on obesity, weight gain, fat accumulation, lipid metabolism, inflammatory response, and β-oxidation.

Results: In KO mice, MED significantly reduced weight gains, food intake, and total cholesterol and glyceride levels.

A Double Whammy? Psychosocial Disadvantages of Dementia Caregivers with Cancer Histories.

Guided by the Diathesis-Stress model, this study examined how cancer history interacted with caregiving status to determine the psychosocial functioning of dementia caregivers. This study assessed a set of indicators for psychological health and social connections among 85 spousal caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease and 86 age- and gender-matched spouses of healthy controls at study entry and 15-18 months later. Results showed that dementia caregivers with cancer histories reported lower social connections relative to caregivers without cancer histories or non-caregivers with or without cancer histories, and reported lower psychological health relative to non-caregivers with and without cancer histories at two time points.

Anti-Atopic Dermatitis Effects of Abietic Acid Isolated from Rosin under Condition Optimized by Response Surface Methodology in DNCB-Spread BALB/c Mice.

Abietic acid (AA) is known to have beneficial effects on inflammation, photoaging, osteoporosis, cancer, and obesity; however, its efficacy on atopic dermatitis (AD) has not been reported. We investigated the anti-AD effects of AA, which was newly isolated from rosin, in an AD model. To achieve this, AA was isolated from rosin under conditions optimized by response surface methodology (RSM), and its effects on cell death, iNOS-induced COX-2 mediated pathway, inflammatory cytokine transcription, and the histopathological skin structure were analyzed in 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)-treated BALB/c mice after treatment with AA for 4 weeks.

Protective Effects of in Blue Light-Induced Macular Degeneration in A2E-Laden ARPE19 Cells and Retina of Balb/c Mice.

Natural products with significant antioxidant activity have been receiving attention as one of the treatment strategies to prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) including oxo-N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (oxo-A2E) and singlet oxygen-induced damage, are believed to be one of the major causes of the development of AMD. To investigate the therapeutic effects of methanol extracts of Roxb.

Therapeutic Effects of against Ulcerative Colitis Induced by Dextran Sulfate Sodium.

() has been studied as a treatment option for ulcerative colitis (UC), but there is a lack of scientific evidence showing whether treatment with () can also be beneficial. To investigate the therapeutic potential of as a treatment for UC, clinical symptoms, histopathological characteristics of the colon, inflammatory response, and toxicity were analyzed in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC mice after administration of aqueous extracts of (AAS) for 7 days. The total polyphenol and tannin content of AAS was 272 µg/g and 163 µg/g, respectively.

Comparison of immunophenotypes between Rag2 knockout mice derived from two different sources.

Background: Recombination activating gene2 (Rag2) knockout (KO) mice are used widely in various research fields, including vaccine development, transplantation studies, and hematopoiesis research, but few studies have compared their phenotypes. This study examined whether there were differences in the immunophenotypes between Rag2 KO mice derived from different sources. In particular, the changes in the organ weight, histological structure, and subpopulation of T and B cells were compared in the spleen and thymus of C57BL/6-Rag2/Korl (Rag2/Korl KO) and B6.

Improvement of the intestinal epithelial barrier during laxative effects of phlorotannin in loperamide-induced constipation of SD rats.

Background: Disruptions of the intestinal epithelial barrier (IEB) are frequently observed in various digestive diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study assessed the improvement in the IEB during the laxative activity of phlorotannin (Pt) harvested from Ecklonia cava in constipation by examining the changes in the expression of the regulatory proteins for the tight junction (TJ) and adherens junction (AJ), and inflammatory cytokines in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats with loperamide (Lm)-induced constipation after a Pt treatment.

Results: The Pt treatment induced laxative activity, including the improvement of feces-related parameters, gastrointestinal transit rate, and histological structure of the mid colon in Lm-treated SD rats.

Similarities and differences in constipation phenotypes between Lep knockout mice and high fat diet-induced obesity mice.

CRISPR-Cas9-mediated leptin (Lep) knockout (KO) mice exhibited prominent phenotypes for constipation, even though they were not compared with other model animals. This study compared the stool excretion, gastrointestinal motility, histological structure, mucin secretion, and enteric nerve function in Lep KO and high fat diet (HFD)-treated mice to determine if there were differences in their phenotypes for constipation. Most obesity phenotypes, including fat weight, adipocyte size, expression of lipolytic proteins (HSL, perilipin, and ATGL), and glucose concentrations, were detected similarly in the Lep KO and HFD-treated mice.

Anti-obesity effects of agar (Gelidium amansii)-derived oligosaccharides in high-fat diet-treated C57BL/6N mice due to differential regulations of lipogenesis and lipolysis.

To investigate the effects of agar oligosaccharides (AO) on lipid metabolism, changes in obesity phenotypes and related molecular factors were evaluated in C57BL/6N mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). When HFD-induced obese mice were fed AO, they lost weight. Also, fat accumulation in abdominal and liver tissues was lower in the AO groups than in the Vehicle group.

The DEAD-box helicase Hlc regulates basal transcription and chromatin opening of stress-responsive genes.

Stress-responsive genes are lowly transcribed under normal conditions and robustly induced in response to stress. The significant difference between basal and induced transcription indicates that the general transcriptional machinery requires a mechanism to distinguish each transcription state. However, what factors specifically function in basal transcription remains poorly understood.

Antioxidative Role of (Brum. F.) Hochr. on UV-Induced Photoaging of Dermal Fibroblasts and Melanoma Cells.

Antioxidants are an important strategy for treating photoaging because excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced during UV irradiation. The therapeutic effects of methanol extracts of (Brum. F.

Dysregulation of the Enteric Nervous System in the Mid Colon of Complement Component 3 Knockout Mice with Constipation Phenotypes.

Complement component 3 (C3) contributes to neurogenesis, neural migration, and synaptic elimination under normal and disease conditions of the brain, even though it has not been studied in the enteric nervous system (ENS). To determine the role of C3 in the regulatory mechanism of ENS during C3 deficiency-induced constipation, the changes in the markers of neuronal and interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs), the markers for excitatory and inhibitory transmission of ENS, and expression of C3 receptors were analyzed in the mid colon of C3 knockout (KO) mice at 16 weeks of age. Prominent constipation phenotypes, including the decrease in stool parameters, changes in the histological structure, and suppression of mucin secretion, were detected in C3 KO mice compared to wildtype (WT) mice.

Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions associated with HPV vaccination among female Korean and Chinese university students.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is a form of primary prevention for cervical cancer. The HPV vaccination rate of female university students is not high in Korea and China. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and compare the factors associated with intention to receive HPV vaccination between Korean and Chinese female university students.