GDF15 is a major determinant of ketogenic diet-induced weight loss.

A ketogenic diet (KD) has been promoted as an obesity management diet, yet its underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here we show that KD reduces energy intake and body weight in humans, pigs, and mice, accompanied by elevated circulating growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15). In GDF15- or its receptor GFRAL-deficient mice, these effects of KD disappeared, demonstrating an essential role of GDF15-GFRAL signaling in KD-mediated weight loss.

Hippocampus: Molecular, Cellular, and Circuit Features in Anxiety.

Anxiety disorders are currently a major psychiatric and social problem, the mechanisms of which have been only partially elucidated. The hippocampus serves as a major target of stress mediators and is closely related to anxiety modulation. Yet so far, its complex anatomy has been a challenge for research on the mechanisms of anxiety regulation.

[Establishment of High-Resolution Emissions Inventory in Wuhai and Its Application in Exploring the Causes of Ozone Pollution].

Wuhai is a typical coking industrial base including three industrial parks within its jurisdiction. The emission amount of air pollutants is considerable here, and O pollution has become serious in recent years. Clarifying the air pollutant emission characteristics and exploring the formation mechanism of O are the basis for objectively understanding the O pollution and formulating scientific prevention and control measures.

Optineurin promotes myogenesis during muscle regeneration in mice by autophagic degradation of GSK3β.

Skeletal muscle regeneration is essential for maintaining muscle function in injury and muscular disease. Myogenesis plays key roles in forming new myofibers during the process. Here, through bioinformatic screen for the potential regulators of myogenesis from 5 independent microarray datasets, we identify an overlapping differentially expressed gene (DEG) optineurin (OPTN).

An mNUTRIC-based nomogram for predicting the in-hospital death risk in patients with acute stroke.

Objectives: To establish a risk prediction model for in-hospital death in acute stroke patients based on nutritional risk scores.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed including 268 acute stroke patients. The Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS2002) and modified Nutritional Risk in the Critically Ill (mNUTRIC) score were used to evaluate the nutritional status of patients with acute stroke after admission to the neurological intensive care unit (NICU), and laboratory parameters and clinical characteristics were collected.

Camptothecin effectively treats obesity in mice through GDF15 induction.

Elevated circulating levels of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) have been shown to reduce food intake and lower body weight through activation of hindbrain receptor glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) receptor alpha-like (GFRAL) in rodents and nonhuman primates, thus endogenous induction of this peptide holds promise for obesity treatment. Here, through in silico drug-screening methods, we found that small molecule Camptothecin (CPT), a previously identified drug with potential antitumor activity, is a GDF15 inducer. Oral CPT administration increases circulating GDF15 levels in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice and genetic ob/ob mice, with elevated Gdf15 expression predominantly in the liver through activation of integrated stress response.

[Improved Performance of PMF Source Apportionment for Volatile Organic Compounds Based on Classification of VOCs' Aging Degree in Air Mass].

VOCs are the key precursors of ozone and secondary organic aerosols. The results of source apportionment for VOCs are very important for the coordinated control of ozone and second organic particulate matter. However, VOCs do not fully meet the assumption of the receptor model because the VOCs released from each source are relatively unstable in the transmission process for their reactivity.

[Exploring Characteristics and Causes of Summer Ozone Pollution Based on Process Analysis in Wuhai].

In recent years, summer O pollution has become more severe in Wuhai, where the terrain is complex and industrial parks are densely distributed. However, the characteristics and formation mechanisms of this pollution have not yet been investigated and remain unclear. Analyzing the variation and formation mechanisms of O is crucial to the prevention and control of air pollution in this region.

Identification of Dacinostat as a potential anti-obesity compound through transcriptional activation of adipose thermogenesis in mice.

Obesity is a worldwide health problem. Activating fat mobilization and reducing fat synthesis is a promising strategy to mitigate obesity and its complicated metabolic diseases. However, few clinically effective and safe agents conform to the strategy.

Knockout of interleukin-17A diminishes ventricular arrhythmia susceptibility in diabetic mice via inhibiting NF-κB-mediated electrical remodeling.

Interleukin-17A (IL-17), a potent proinflammatory cytokine, has been shown to participate in cardiac electrical disorders. Diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for ventricular arrhythmia. In this study, we investigated the role of IL-17 in ventricular arrhythmia of diabetic mice.

[Establishment of a High-resolution Anthropogenic Emission Inventory and Its Evaluation Using the WRF-Chem Model for Lanzhou].

City-scale high-resolution anthropogenic emission inventories are an important tool for ambient air quality forecasting and early warning, the analysis of underlying causes, and policy making. At present, city-scale anthropogenic emissions inventories for use in air quality models are scarce for West China. By studying the literature on emission inventories, this paper establishes a city-scale anthropogenic emission inventory for Lanzhou (HEI-LZ16) as the basis for an air quality model.

[Nonlinear Response Characteristics and Control Scheme for Ozone and Its Precursors Based on Orthogonal Experimental Methods].

There is a highly nonlinear relationship between ozone concentrations and its precursor emissions in different regions and at different times, which makes developing effective prevention and control measures difficult. An orthogonal experimental method was introduced to assess the influence of ozone precursors and their interactions on ozone formation, clarify the sensitivity of ozone generation, and propose an optimal control scheme. Based on the WRF-Chem air quality model and an emission inventory of air pollutants in Wuhai City in 2018, this study used an ozone pollution event in the Haibowan urban area (August 17 to 20 2018) to investigate the nonlinear response of ozone formation to its precursors.

Clinical value of nedaplatin-based chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy for locoregional advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a retrospective, propensity score-matched analysis.

This study aimed to investigate the clinical value of induction chemotherapy (IC) with docetaxel, 5-fluorouracil plus nedaplatin followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with nedaplatin for locoregional advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In total, 269 patients diagnosed with locoregional advanced NPC between June 2012 and June 2017 were retrospectively included and divided into two groups: IC (docetaxel plus nedaplatin and 5-fluorouracil) followed by nedaplatin-based CCRT (TNF + N group, n = 146) and IC (docetaxel plus cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil) followed by cisplatin-based CCRT (TPF + P group, n = 123). The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model were applied to analyse survival and prognosis.

Mitochondrial aconitase controls adipogenesis through mediation of cellular ATP production.

Mitochondrial aconitase (Aco2) catalyzes the conversion of citrate to isocitrate in the TCA cycle, which produces NADH and FADH2, driving synthesis of ATP through OXPHOS. In this study, to explore the relationship between adipogenesis and mitochondrial energy metabolism, we hypothesize that Aco2 may play a key role in the lipid synthesis. Here, we show that overexpression of Aco2 in 3T3-L1 cells significantly increased lipogenesis and adipogenesis, accompanied by elevated mitochondrial biogenesis and ATP production.

A Potential Nutraceutical Candidate Lactucin Inhibits Adipogenesis through Downregulation of JAK2/STAT3 Signaling Pathway-Mediated Mitotic Clonal Expansion.

The prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically worldwide in the past ~50 years. Searching for safe and effective anti-obesity strategies are urgently needed. Lactucin, a plant-derived natural small molecule, is known for anti-malaria and anti-hyperalgesia.

Spinal interleukin-17 promotes thermal hyperalgesia and NMDA NR1 phosphorylation in an inflammatory pain rat model.

It is known that interleukin-17 (IL-17) is associated with autoimmune disorders and that peripheral IL-17 plays a role in arthritis and neuropathic pain. The present study investigated the possibility of spinal cell expression of IL-17 during inflammatory pain and possible IL-17 involvement in such pain. Hyperalgesia was induced by injecting complete Freund adjuvant (CFA, 0.

The effects of opioid receptor antagonists on electroacupuncture-produced anti-allodynia/hyperalgesia in rats with paclitaxel-evoked peripheral neuropathy.

Research supports the effectiveness of acupuncture for conditions such as chronic low back and knee pain. In a five-patient pilot study the modality also improved the symptoms of chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain. Using an established rat model of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy, we evaluated the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on paclitaxel-induced hyperalgesia and allodynia that has not been studied in an animal model.

Serotonin Receptor 2A/C Is Involved in Electroacupuncture Inhibition of Pain in an Osteoarthritis Rat Model.

Osteoarthritis currently has no cure. Acupuncture can benefit patients with knee osteoarthritis by providing pain relief, improving joint function and serving as an effective complement to standard care. However, the underlying mechanisms of its effects are still not completely understood.

Acupuncture alleviates the affective dimension of pain in a rat model of inflammatory hyperalgesia.

Although studies demonstrate that electroacupuncture (EA) alleviates the sensory dimension of pain, they have not addressed EA's effect on the affective dimension. An inflammatory pain rat model, produced by a complete Freund adjuvant (CFA) injection into the hind paw, was combined with a conditioned place avoidance test to determine EA's effects and its underpinning mechanism on the affective dimension of pain. CFA-injected rats showed place aversion, i.

Rostral ventromedial medulla μ, but not κ, opioid receptors are involved in electroacupuncture anti-hyperalgesia in an inflammatory pain rat model.

It has been reported that intracerebroventricular injection of a μ receptor antagonist blocked 2 but not 100Hz electroacupuncture (EA)-produced analgesia in an uninjured animal model. Because persistent pain changes neural response to external stimulation, we hypothesized that the mechanisms of EA anti-hyperalgesia may be different in persistent pain than in health. Hyperalgesia, decreased paw withdrawal latency (PWL) to a noxious thermal stimulus, was induced by subcutaneously injecting complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into the hind paws of rats.

Involvement of spinal serotonin receptors in electroacupuncture anti-hyperalgesia in an inflammatory pain rat model.

We previously showed that electroacupuncture (EA) activates medulla-spinal serotonin-containing neurons. The present study investigated the effects of intrathecal 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine creatinine sulfate, a selective neurotoxin for serotonergic terminals, the 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A receptor (5-HT1AR) antagonist NAN-190 hydrobromide and the 5-HT2C receptor (5-HT2CR) antagonist SB-242,084 on EA anti-hyperalgesia. EA was given twice at acupoint GB30 after complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) injection into hind paw.

[Traditional Chinese medicine for cancer pain].

Pain is one of the common symptoms of cancer which seriously affects the quality of life of the patients. Cancer pain is mainly treated with the three-step method, biological therapy or nerve block therapy based on antitumor therapy. However, up to 50 percent of patients with cancer-related pain do not receive adequate pain relief, affecting their physical and psychological well-being, and leading to a lower quality of life for the patient after conventional treatment.

Preclinical safety evaluation of the aqueous acetone extract of Chinese herbal formula Modified Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan.

Objective: To investigate the safety of oral administration of Modified Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan (HLXLD), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine.

Methods: The toxicological information of HLXLD and its individual constituent herbs was searched in cintcm or TCMlars (www.cintcm.