The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a selectively permeable membrane that plays a crucial role in protecting the brain from harmful substances. Its disruption is associated with various central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including hemorrhagic stroke. Evans Blue (EB) dye, a protein-binding tracer, is commonly used to assess BBB permeability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) and gustatory dysfunction (GD) are common among adults, with prevalence increasing significantly in older age groups. Both dysfunctions have negative effects on appetite, nutrition, social functioning and even environmental safety. OD and GD frequently coexist, indicating a possible close association between these conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Neurobiol
February 2025
The development of neural circuits is a complex, highly coordinated process crucial for the proper functioning of the nervous system. This process involves the intricate interplay of numerous genes and signaling pathways. Prickle2, a protein encoded by the planar cell polarity (PCP) genes, is a key component of the noncanonical Wnt/PCP signaling pathway and plays a critical role in neural circuit development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The fermentation characteristics of cigar tobacco leaves are closely influenced by the bacterial strains present during the process. This study aims to explore the relationship between bacterial communities and flavor, as well as the impact of key bacterial species on the overall quality of cigars.
Result: The results showed that was the dominant bacteria during the fermentation process.
This study examined the impact of Limosilactobacillus fermentum NCU001464 fermentation on physicochemical properties, xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity, and the flavor profile of Pueraria Lobata (PL). An orthogonal experiment determined the optimum conditions: inoculation amount of 6 %, a fermentation time of 32 h, and a fermentation temperature of 37 °C. Under these conditions, fermented PL exhibited significantly higher antioxidant capacity and xanthine oxidase inhibition ability than unfermented PL, possibly because of increased total flavonoid content from 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Observational studies have shown a potential link between immune factors and the risk of iron deficiency anemia (IDA), yet the causal relationship between immune cells and IDA remains enigmatic. Herein, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess whether this association is causal.
Methods: We selected IDA genetic variants, including 8376 samples and 9810691 single nucleotide polymorphisms, and immune cells from a large open genome-wide association study (GWAS) for a bidirectional MR study.
As the primary raw material for Baijiu brewing, sorghum variety exerts an intricate influence on the taste profile of strong-flavor Baijiu. However, how sorghum variety comprehensively affects Baijiu flavor formation through fermentation by microorganisms and metabolites remains largely unknown. Using 16S&ITS rRNA gene sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics, in this study we comprehensively analyzed the changes in microbial communities and metabolites during fermentation of a glutinous and non-glutinous sorghum variety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) using traditional type II photosensitizers (PSs) has been limited in hypoxic tumors due to excessive oxygen consumption. The conversion from type II into a less oxygen-dependent type I PDT pathway has shown the potential to combat hypoxic tumors. Herein, the design of a heterodimeric PS, NBSSe, by conjugating a widely used type I PS NBS and a type II PS NBSe via molecular dimerization, achieving the aggregation-regulated efficient type I photodynamic conversion for the first time is reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConsidering the four characteristics of strains, including acid production, acid tolerance, salt tolerance, and nitrite degradation rate, NCU006063 was selected as the fermentation agent, and the medium composition of NCU006063 was optimized using Plackett-Burman and central composite rotational design. Three of the seven factors studied in the Plackett-Burman design significantly affected the viable counts. A central composite rotational design was used to optimize the significant factors and generate response surface plots.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVascular endothelial dysfunction is an important pathogenic factor in hypertension, in which angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) plays an important role. Peptides that bind to ACE may attenuate vascular endothelial dysfunction by altering the structure of ACE. This study demonstrated that ITAPHW and IRPNGL were resistant to simulated gastrointestinal fluid and were transported across the Caco-2 monolayer via the intercellular space, with ITAPHW showing a high apparent permeability coefficient of (1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacteriocin lactococcin036019 was identified and characterized from Lactococcus lactis NCU036019, which displayed significant antibacterial activity toward foodborne pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus under various conditions. However, the in situ low-level expression of lactococcin036019 severely limited its wide application in food industry. In this study, we optimized the medium ingredients and culture conditions of L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Patients supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are at a high risk of brain injury, contributing to significant morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to employ machine learning (ML) techniques to predict brain injury in pediatric patients ECMO and identify key variables for future research.
Methods: Data from pediatric patients undergoing ECMO were collected from the Chinese Society of Extracorporeal Life Support (CSECLS) registry database and local hospitals.
Bismuth oxide nanosheets were synthesized through the exfoliation of layered compounds without any organic exfoliation agents. The layered compound BiSrCaFeO, comprising Bi-O layers and Sr-Ca-Fe-O layers, was synthesized as the starting material. The Sr-Ca-Fe-O layers were selectively dissolved by shaking the compound in 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(), one of the most prevalent pathogenic bacteria worldwide, is the leading cause of gastritis, gastric intestinal metaplasia, and gastric cancer. Antibiotics, the conventional treatment for eliminating , often lead to severe bacterial resistance, gut dysbiosis, and hepatic insufficiency and fail to address the inflammatory response or gastric mucosal damage caused by infection. In this study, based on 10-week animal experiments, two models of NCUH062003 for the prophylaxis and therapy of infection in C57BL/6 mice were established; a comprehensive comparative analysis was performed to investigate the anti- effect of probiotics, the reduction in inflammation, and repair of gastric mucosal damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiofilm-induced chronic bacterial infections represent a significant challenge in modern medicine due to their resistance to conventional antibiotic treatments. Although photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a promising antibiotic-free antibacterial strategy, the hypoxic condition within biofilms and the lack of an effective local drug delivery system have limited the clinical effectiveness of photosensitizer (PS) agents. Herein, we propose a type of charge regulation-enhanced type I PS-loaded hydrogel dressing for treating biofilm infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmerging tick-borne orthonairovirus infections pose a growing global concern, with limited understanding of the viral ovarian tumor-like cysteine proteases (vOTUs) encoded by novel orthonairoviruses. These vOTUs, a group of deubiquinylases (DUBs), disrupt the innate immune response. Yezo virus (YEZV), a recently discovered pathogenic orthonairovirus, was first reported in Japan in 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This study aimed to assess the need for adding heparin to parenteral nutrition (PN) on reducing catheter intraluminal obstruction based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) in preterm neonates.
Methods: In this randomized controlled blinded non-inferiority trial, neonates with gestational age <32 weeks requiring PICC to receive PN were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups. In the heparin group, 0.
Background: Preterm white matter injury (PWMI) is the most common type of brain injury in preterm infants, in which, oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) are predominantly damaged. In this study, human OPCs (hOPCs) were administered to a fetal goat model of PWMI to examine the differentiation potential and therapeutic effects of the cells on PWMI.
Methods: Preterm goat fetuses were subjected to hypoxic-ischemia (HI) via intermittent umbilical cord occlusion (5 min × 5).
Background: High-frequency ventilation (HFV) is commonly used in neonatal intensive care units to provide respiratory support for critically ill neonates. Currently, there is no standardized procedure for weaning from HFV. Two commonly used strategies are transitioning from HFV to conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV) before extubation (HFV-CMV) and extubation after decreasing mean airway pressure during HFV (HFV-HFV).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Oxidative stress-induced inflammation is a major pathogenic mechanism in sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE). We hypothesized that regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the neuropeptide orexin-A could prevent SAE-induced oxidative stress and inflammation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of orexin-A on oxidative stress and inflammation in SAE in mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOsteosarcoma (OS) is a highly malignant tumor, and chemotherapy resistance is a major challenge in the treatment of this disease. This study aims to explore the role of the CLTC-VMP1 gene fusion in the mechanism of chemotherapy resistance in OS and investigate its molecular mechanisms in mediating energy metabolism reprogramming by regulating autophagy and apoptosis balance. Using single-cell transcriptome analysis, the heterogeneity of OS cells and their correlation with resistance to platinum drugs were revealed.
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