Sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure and their effects on glycolipid metabolism in pregnant women and their newborn in Haikou City, China.

Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of large organic compounds that persist in the environment and are classified as an important subset of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). This study aimed to assess PAH exposure in pregnant women and newborns in Haikou City, China, and evaluate their impact on glycolipid metabolism.

Methods: A total of 300 pregnant women and their newborns were selected for the study between May 2022 and December 2023.

Elucidating Thermal Decomposition Kinetic Mechanism of Charged Layered Oxide Cathode for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

The safety of the P2-type layered transition metal oxides (P2-NaTMO), a promising cathode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), is a prerequisite for grid-scale energy storage systems. However, previous thermal runaway studies mainly focused on morphological changes resulting from gas production detection and thermogravimetric analysis, while the structural transition and chemical reactions underlying these processes are still unclear. Herein, a comprehensive methodology to unveil an interplay mechanism among phase structures, interfacial microcrack, and thermal stability of the charged P2-NaNiMnO (NNMO) and the P2-NaNiLiMnO (NNMO-Li) at elevated temperatures is established.

Neuroticism polygenic risk predicts conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease by impairing inferior parietal surface area.

The high prevalence of conversion from amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD) makes early prevention of AD extremely critical. Neuroticism, a heritable personality trait associated with mental health, has been considered a risk factor for conversion from aMCI to AD. However, whether the neuroticism genetic risk could predict the conversion of aMCI and its underlying neural mechanisms is unclear.

Interfacial-Catalysis-Enabled Layered and Inorganic-Rich SEI on Hard Carbon Anodes in Ester Electrolytes for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Constructing a homogenous and inorganic-rich solid electrolyte interface (SEI) can efficiently improve the overall sodium-storage performance of hard carbon (HC) anodes. However, the thick and heterogenous SEI derived from conventional ester electrolytes fails to meet the above requirements. Herein, an innovative interfacial catalysis mechanism is proposed to design a favorable SEI in ester electrolytes by reconstructing the surface functionality of HC, of which abundant CO (carbonyl) bonds are accurately and homogenously implanted.

A causal association of ANKRD37 with human hippocampal volume.

Human hippocampal volume has been separately associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), DNA methylation and gene expression, but their causal relationships remain largely unknown. Here, we aimed at identifying the causal relationships of SNPs, DNA methylation, and gene expression that are associated with hippocampal volume by integrating cross-omics analyses with genome editing, overexpression and causality inference. Based on structural neuroimaging data and blood-derived genome, transcriptome and methylome data, we prioritized a possibly causal association across multiple molecular phenotypes: rs1053218 mutation leads to cg26741686 hypermethylation, thus leads to overactivation of the associated ANKRD37 gene expression in blood, a gene involving hypoxia, which may result in the reduction of human hippocampal volume.

Associations of Polygenic Risk Score for Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease With Biomarkers.

Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) is a common irreversible neurodegenerative disease with heterogeneous genetic characteristics. Identifying the biological biomarkers with the potential to predict the conversion from normal controls to LOAD is clinically important for early interventions of LOAD and clinical treatment. The polygenic risk score for LOAD (AD-PRS) has been reported the potential possibility for reliably identifying individuals with risk of developing LOAD recently.

Structural and functional biomarkers of the insula subregions predict sex differences in aggression subscales.

Aggression is a common and complex social behavior that is associated with violence and mental diseases. Although sex differences were observed in aggression, the neural mechanism for the effect of sex on aggression behaviors remains unclear, especially in specific subscales of aggression. In this study, we investigated the effects of sex on aggression subscales, gray matter volume (GMV), and functional connectivity (FC) of each insula subregion as well as the correlation of aggression subscales with GMV and FC.

Global urbanicity is associated with brain and behaviour in young people.

Urbanicity is a growing environmental challenge for mental health. Here, we investigate correlations of urbanicity with brain structure and function, neuropsychology and mental illness symptoms in young people from China and Europe (total n = 3,867). We developed a remote-sensing satellite measure (UrbanSat) to quantify population density at any point on Earth.

Crystal Phase-Controlled Modulation of Binary Transition Metal Oxides for Highly Reversible Li-O Batteries.

Reducing charge-discharge overpotential of transition metal oxide catalysts can eventually enhance the cell efficiency and cycle life of Li-O batteries. Here, we propose that crystal phase engineering of transition metal oxides could be an effective way to achieve the above purpose. We establish controllable crystal phase modulation of the binary MnCoO by adopting a cation regulation strategy.

Predicting Drug-Disease Associations via Multi-Task Learning Based on Collective Matrix Factorization.

Identifying drug-disease associations is integral to drug development. Computationally prioritizing candidate drug-disease associations has attracted growing attention due to its contribution to reducing the cost of laboratory screening. Drug-disease associations involve different association types, such as drug indications and drug side effects.

Au-Ag Nanoclusters/3,3',5,5' Tetramethylbenzidine Complex as a Sensitive "Turn-On" Fluorescent Nanoplatform for Mercury (II) Ions Sensing.

Fluorescent bimetallic Au-Ag nanoclusters (Au-AgNCs) were found to exhibit oxidase-like activity and could catalyze the oxidation of 3,3',5,5' tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to oxTMB. On the basis of this property, we assembled a fluorescent nanoplatform as a turn-on probe for sensing mercury (II) ions (Hg) through the inner-filter effect (IFE). Au-AgNCs and oxTMB were chosen as IFE absorber and fluorophore pair for the first time.

Neurobiological substrates underlying the effect of genomic risk for depression on the conversion of amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Depression increases the conversion risk from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease with unknown mechanisms. We hypothesize that the cumulative genomic risk for major depressive disorder may be a candidate cause for the increased conversion risk. Here, we aimed to investigate the predictive effect of the polygenic risk scores of major depressive disorder-specific genetic variants (PRSsMDD) on the conversion from non-depressed amnestic mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease, and its underlying neurobiological mechanisms.

Prefrontal Volume Mediates Effect of COMT Polymorphism on Interference Resolution Capacity in Healthy Male Adults.

There exist gender differences in the modulation of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism on cognitive performance; however, the underlying gene-anatomy-cognition pathways remain unknown. Here we hypothesize that prefrontal volume may mediate the modulation of COMT Val158Met polymorphism on interference resolution capacity in a gender-dependent manner. In 261 healthy young human subjects (143 males and 118 females), a 2-way analysis of variance showed a COMT × gender interaction (P = 0.

Cortical thickness development of human primary visual cortex related to the age of blindness onset.

Blindness primarily induces structural alteration in the primary visual cortex (V1). Some studies have found that the early blind subjects had a thicker V1 compared to sighted controls, whereas late blind subjects showed no significant differences in the V1. This implies that the age of blindness onset may exert significant effects on the development of cortical thickness of the V1.

Parcellation of the primary cerebral cortices based on local connectivity profiles.

Connectivity-based parcellation using diffusion MRI has been extensively used to parcellate subcortical areas and the association cortex. Connectivity profiles are vital for connectivity-based parcellation. Two categories of connectivity profiles are generally utilized, including global connectivity profiles, in which the connectivity information is from the seed to the whole brain, and long connectivity profiles, in which the connectivity information is from the seed to other brain regions after excluding the seed.

Neuroglobin up-regulation after ischaemic pre-conditioning in a rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Primary Objective: Neuroglobin (NGB) is a known neuroprotector and is up-regulated after ischaemia-hypoxia brain damage. However, no studies have investigated NGB levels after ischaemic pre-conditioning and middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).

Methods And Procedures: This study subjected rats to different ischaemic pre-conditioning and MCAO regimens and assayed NGB levels in the hippocampus, cortex and hypothalamus by immunohistochemistry, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and western blot.

[Signal transduction pathway mediated by thrombopoietin in the inflammation model of microglia].

Objective: To explore the signal transduction pathway mediated by thrombopoietin (TPO) in the inflammation model of microglia induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Methods: The inflammation model of microglia BV2 cells was prepared by LPS of 0.5 and 1.

[The neuroprotective effects and its mechanisms of qingkailing injection on bacterial meningitis induced by E. coli in rabbits].

Objective: To explore the neuro-protective effect and mechanism of qingkailing injection (QKL) against cerebral injury caused by E. coli-meningitis (CM).

Methods: The CM model rabbits were treated by ampicillin with QKL as adjuvant.