Predictive temperature control design for reaction calorimeter based on mechanism parameter model.

Isothermal control is the most basic and crucial function in the principle of a reaction calorimeter system and affects the speed and validity of the calorimetric experiment. However, the complex and uncertain working conditions in different reaction processes pose a challenge to the adaptability of temperature control algorithms. Aiming at the problem, a heat transfer model of the system is first established for temperature control design.

High Capacity Li S-Li O-LiI Positive Electrodes with Nanoscale Ion-Conduction Pathways for All-Solid-State Li/S Batteries.

All-solid-state lithium-sulfur (Li/S) batteries are promising next-generation energy-storage devices owing to their high capacities and long cycle lives. The Li S active material used in the positive electrode has a high theoretical capacity; consequently, nanocomposites composed of Li S, solid electrolytes, and conductive carbon can be used to fabricate high-energy-density batteries. Moreover, the active material should be constructed with both micro- and nanoscale ion-conduction pathways to ensure high power.

A millikelvin precision temperature control system designed for a low cost, portable and variable temperature blackbody from 298.15 to 693.15 K.

Millikelvin precision portable variable temperature blackbody from 298.15 to 693.15 K is very important in the on-site calibration of infrared measuring instruments.

Correction of nonlinearities in series structure-based resistance thermometry readouts.

Series structure-based resistance thermometry readouts offer several advantages for multi-point temperature measurements. However, because of the diversity of nonlinear error sources and differences among channels in such readouts, existing nonlinear error correction methods are ineffective. In view of this situation, a nonlinear error correction method based on error source analysis is proposed.

Effects of Commemorations and Postdonation Services on Public Willingness to Donate Bodies in China.

Multiple body donation programs have been established throughout China over the last 20 years, but these programs remain challenged by an insufficient supply of cadavers for medical education. The commemoration of body donors is a feature of many successful programs, and adopting this practice throughout the country could be an important element of raising public awareness and encouraging body donation among the public. The present study aimed to investigate public views on the commemoration of whole-body donors and postdonation services in China by analyzing the factors that influence participants' willingness to donate.

Administration of exogenous 1,25(OH)2D3 normalizes overactivation of the central renin-angiotensin system in 1α(OH)ase knockout mice.

Previously, we reported that active vitamin D deficiency in mice causes secondary hypertension and cardiac dysfunction, but the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. To clarify whether exogenous active vitamin D rescues hypertension by normalizing the altered central renin-angiotensin system (RAS) via an antioxidative stress mechanism, 1-alpha-hydroxylase [1α(OH)ase] knockout mice [1α(OH)ase(-/-)] and their wild-type littermates were fed a normal diet alone or with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], or a high-calcium, high-phosphorus "rescue" diet with or without antioxidant N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) supplementation for 4 weeks. Compared with their wild-type littermates, 1α(OH)ase(-/-)mice had high mean arterial pressure, increased levels of renin, angiotensin II (Ang II), and Ang II type 1 receptor, and increased malondialdehyde levels, but decreased anti-peroxiredoxin I and IV proteins and the antioxidative genes glutathione reductase (Gsr) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4) in the brain samples.

An overview of the roles and responsibilities of Chinese medical colleges in body donation programs.

The use of human tissue is critical for gross anatomy education in the health professions. Chinese medical colleges have faced a shortage of anatomical specimens over the past decade. While body donation plays an important role in overcoming this gap, this practice has only recently been introduced in China, and the donation rate is relatively low and fraught with a number of difficulties.

Aerobic exercise combined with antioxidative treatment does not counteract moderate- or mid-stage Alzheimer-like pathophysiology of APP/PS1 mice.

Aims: The present study evaluated the combined treatment effects of aerobic exercise and antioxidative stress on moderate-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: Ten-month-old APP/PS1 mice were given antioxidative treatment with acetylcysteine, along with aerobic exercise for 6 weeks. Spatial learning and memory were tested using the Morris water maze, and β-amyloid (Aβ) plaque deposits in the forebrain were quantified by Thioflavin-S staining.

Heterozygous knockout of the Bmi-1 gene causes an early onset of phenotypes associated with brain aging.

Previous studies reported that the polycomb group gene Bmi-1 is downregulated in the aging brain. The aim of this study was to investigate whether decreased Bmi-1 expression accelerates brain aging by analyzing the brain phenotype of adult Bmi-1 heterozygous knockout (Bmi-1(+/-)) mice. An 8-month-old Bmi-1(+/-) brains demonstrated mild oxidative stress, revealed by significant increases in hydroxy radical and nitrotyrosine, and nonsignificant increases in reactive oxygen species and malonaldehyde compared with the wild-type littermates.

Calcium sensing receptor absence delays postnatal brain development via direct and indirect mechanisms.

Calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) is implicated in the establishment of neural connections and myelin formation. However, its contribution to brain development remains unclear. We addressed this issue by analyzing brain phenotype in postnatal CaSR null mice, a model of human neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism.

Aquaporin-4 expression contributes to decreases in brain water content during mouse postnatal development.

The water channel protein aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is implicated to facilitate water efflux from the brain parenchyma into the blood and CSF, playing a critical role in maintaining brain water homeostasis. Nevertheless, its contribution to decreases in brain water content during postnatal development remains unknown. A quantitative Western blot analysis was performed to investigate developmental expression of AQP4 in the whole mouse brain and showed that AQP4 expression level in 1 week-old brain was only 21.

Prenatal ethanol exposure does not cause neurological alterations in adult CD1 mice.

Genetic factors are involved in variation in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), which is also observed among various inbred mouse strains. The CD1 mouse strain is often used in toxicological and genetic experiments. However, there is little literature using this strain to study long-term neurologic abnormalities of FASD.

Cellular localization of aquaporin-1 in the human and mouse trigeminal systems.

Previous studies reported that a subpopulation of mouse and rat trigeminal neurons express water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP1). In this study we make a comparative investigation of AQP1 localization in the human and mouse trigeminal systems. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence results showed that AQP1 was localized to the cytoplasm and cell membrane of some medium and small-sized trigeminal neurons.

A high cholesterol diet ameliorates hippocampus-related cognitive and pathological deficits in ovariectomized mice.

Both sex hormone deficiency and hypercholesterolemia are related to cognitive decline or Alzheimer's disease. However, their interactive influence on the neurodegenerative progress is not clear. This study was designed to assess the effects of ovarian hormone depletion and high cholesterol diet alone or in combination on hippocampus-related cognitive and pathological deficits in adult female ICR mice.

Aquaporin-4 mediates astrocyte response to β-amyloid.

It has been demonstrated that the water channel protein aquaporin-4 (AQP4) plays an important role in astrocyte plasticity in response to a variety of injuries or stimuli. However, the potential role of AQP4 in astrocyte response to β-amyloid (Aβ) has not been studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate this issue.

Bmi-1 absence causes premature brain degeneration.

Bmi-1, a polycomb transcriptional repressor, is implicated in cell cycle regulation and cell senescence. Its absence results in generalized astrogliosis and epilepsy during the postnatal development, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate the occurrence of oxidative stress in the brain of four-week-old Bmi-1 null mice.

Astrocyte activation but not neuronal impairment occurs in the hippocampus of mice after 2 weeks of d-galactose exposure.

Aims: The objective of this study is to prove that activation of astrocytes precedes neuron cell death in the neurodegenerative process induced by d-galactose (d-gal) exposure.

Main Methods: Male adult mice were given intraperitoneal injection of d-gal (200 mg/kg per day) for 2 weeks. The whole brain homogenate and hippocampal sections were then prepared for biochemical analyses, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy, respectively.

Aquaporin-4 deficiency exacerbates brain oxidative damage and memory deficits induced by long-term ovarian hormone deprivation and D-galactose injection.

Astrocyte dysfunction is implicated in pathogenesis of certain neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). A growing body of evidence indicates that water channel aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is a potential molecular target for the regulation astrocyte function. Recently, we reported that AQP4 expression was increased in the hippocampus of an AD mouse model established by long-term ovarian hormone deprivation combined with D-galactose (D-gal) exposure.

Pretraining affects Morris water maze performance with different patterns between control and ovariectomized plus D-galactose-injected mice.

There is little literature addressing the influences of the repeated Morris water maze (MWM) test on behavioral performance under physiological and neurodegenerative conditions. The results revealed that pretraining had distinctively different effects on MWM performances of vehicle control mice and Alzheimer's disease model mice induced by ovariectomy plus injection of D-galactose after an 8-w interval. This interference effect should be considered during analyzing behavioral outcomes using repeated MWM tests.

Defects in mesenchymal stem cell self-renewal and cell fate determination lead to an osteopenic phenotype in Bmi-1 null mice.

In parathyroid hormone-related protein 1-84 [PTHrP(1-84)] knockin mice, expression of the polycomb protein Bmi-1 is reduced and potentially can mediate the phenotypic alterations observed. We have therefore now examined the skeletal phenotype of Bmi-1(-/-) mice in vivo and also assessed the function of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) from Bmi-1(-/-) mice ex vivo in culture. Neonatal Bmi-1(-/-) mice exhibited skeletal growth retardation, with reduced chondrocyte proliferation and increased apoptosis.

Nitric oxide mediates feedback inhibition in angiotensin II-induced upregulation of vasopressin mRNA.

Angiotensin II (Ang II) stimulates hypothalamic magnocellular neurons to release arginine vasopressin (AVP) via Ang II type 1 (AT1) receptors during chronic hyperosmotic condition. On the other hand, endogenous nitric oxide (NO) tonically inhibits the activity of AVP producing neurons; and system infusion of Ang II elicits the activity of NO producing neurons in the hypothalamus. These studies suggest that NO may mediate feedback inhibition in Ang II modulation of AVP neuronal excitability.

An ethical solution to the challenges in teaching anatomy with dissection in the Chinese culture.

Universities and medical schools in China are faced with an ongoing shortage of cadavers for education and research because of insufficient numbers of cadaver donations. This article will examine the main obstacles to cadaver donation in the Chinese culture. These include superstitious traditional views about the body, a lack of legislation regulating donations, and a deficiency of effective channels for cadaver donations.

Chronic systemic injection of D-galactose impairs the septohippocampal cholinergic system in rats.

Accumulated evidence indicates chronic systemic injection of D-galactose mimics aging progress induced by oxidative stress. We addressed whether memory impairment in this model was associated with the cholinergic septohippocampal degeneration. Rats injected with D-galactose for 6 weeks showed impairment of spatial learning and memory as measured by the water maze test.

Acute baroreceptor unloading evokes Fos expression in anesthetized rat brain.

Functional organization of brain pathways subserving the baroreceptor reflex was investigated by mapping immunoreactivity of Fos protein, a neuronal activity marker, in response to acute baroreceptor unloading in anesthetized rats. Compared with normal control and sham operation, sinoaortic denervation (SAD) evoked a distinctive pattern of Fos expression in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS), the primary termination of baroreceptor afferents. The sinoaortic denervation also induced a prominent and reproducible Fos expression in specific regions of the brainstem and forebrain, which receive direct or indirect inputs from the nucleus tractus solitarii.