An excitatory neural circuit for descending inhibition of itch processing.

Itch serves as a self-protection mechanism against harmful external agents, whereas uncontrolled and persistent itch severely influences the quality of life of patients and aggravates their diseases. Unfortunately, the existing treatments are largely ineffective. The current difficulty in treatment may be closely related to the fact that the central neural mechanisms underlying itch processing, especially descending inhibition of itch, are poorly understood.

Pannexin-1 regulation of ATP release promotes the invasion of pituitary adenoma.

Purpose: Pannexin-1 (PANX1) channel participates in the development and progression of many tumor types, however, its role of PANX1 in invasive pituitary adenoma (PA) remains unknown. The current study was designed to investigate the role of PANX1 in invasion of PA.

Methods: We examined the expression of PANX1 in 116 surgical invasion and non-invasion PA samples (60 for bulk transcriptome and 56 for immunohistochemistry).

Bioinformatics analysis identifies potential ferroptosis key genes in the pathogenesis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Background: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a serious complication in Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients and the underlying mechanism is yet unclear. Ferroptosis has been recently intensively researched as a key process in the pathogenesis of diabetes but there yet has been no related bioinformatics-based studies in the context of DPN.

Methods: We used data mining and data analysis techniques to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and immune cell content in patients with DPN, DM patients and healthy participants (dataset GSE95849).

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation alleviates cognitive impairment in an APP/PS1 model of Alzheimer's disease in the preclinical stage.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (AtDCS) has been shown to alleviate cognitive impairment in an APP/PS1 model of Alzheimer's disease in the preclinical stage. However, this enhancement was only observed immediately after AtDCS, and the long-term effect of AtDCS remains unknown. In this study, we treated 26-week-old mouse models of Alzheimer's disease in the preclinical stage with 10 AtDCS sessions or sham stimulation.

The projections from the anterior cingulate cortex to the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area contribute to neuropathic pain-evoked aversion in rats.

Although the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a vital role in neuropathic pain-related aversion, the underlying mechanisms haven't been fully studied. The mesolimbic dopamine system encodes reward and aversion, and participates in the exacerbation of chronic pain. Therefore, we investigated whether the ACC modulates aversion to neuropathic pain via control of the mesolimbic dopamine system, in a rat model of chronic constriction injury (CCI) to the sciatic nerve.

After-effects of repetitive anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on learning and memory in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease.

Repetitive anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been shown to have distinct neuroprotective effects. Moreover, the effects of anodal tDCS not only occur during the stimulation but also persist after the stimulation has ended (after-effects). Here, the duration of the after-effects induced by repetitive anodal tDCS was investigated based on our previous studies.

The voltage signals of microbial fuel cell-based sensors positively correlated with methane emission flux in paddy fields of China.

Previous studies showed that exoelectrogenic bacteria in paddy soil could suppress methanogens and methanogenesis after they were enriched by application of Fe3+ or running microbial fuel cells (MFCs). However, the relationship between exoelectrogenic bacteria and methanogens without the enrichment process is unknown. Our study was conducted in three paddy fields in China and over three seasons.

[Effects of glyphosate-resistant transgenic soybean on soil rhizospheric bacteria and rhizobia.].

Transgenic soybean is the most widely grown genetically modified crop in the world, with herbicide resistance being the major modified trait. Microbial community is one of the most important indicators for soil quality. The effects of glyphosate-resistant transgenic soybean and glyphosate application on rhizospheric bacteria and rhizobia still remained unknown.

[Nitrification Activity and Autotrophic Nitrifiers in Long-term Fertilized Acidic Upland Soils].

Soil microcosm incubation, molecular ecology techniques including denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing, and bioinformatics analysis were carried out to investigate the effect of long-term fertilization with chemical fertilizers (NPK) and organic manure (OM) on soil nitrification activity and the autotrophic nitrifying communities in acidic upland soils. No fertilization soil (CK) was the control. Relationships between soil nitrification activities, autotrophic nitrifying communities, and soil characteristics were further evaluated.

Bacterial Bioreporter-Based Mercury and Phenanthrene Assessment in Yangtze River Delta Soils of China.

Genetically engineered bacterial whole-cell bioreporters were deployed to investigate bioavailable mercury (b-Hg) and phenanthrene (b-PHE). Characterized by high sensitivity and specificity in aqueous solutions, the bioreporter system could detect in amended soils the concentrations of b-Hg and b-PHE in the ranges of 19.6 to 111.

Parameter Optimization Analysis of Prolonged Analgesia Effect of tDCS on Neuropathic Pain Rats.

: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is widely used to treat human nerve disorders and neuropathic pain by modulating the excitability of cortex. The effectiveness of tDCS is influenced by its stimulation parameters, but there have been no systematic studies to help guide the selection of different parameters. : This study aims to assess the effects of tDCS of primary motor cortex (M1) on chronic neuropathic pain in rats and to test for the optimal parameter combinations for analgesia.

Inhibition of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Subtype 1 Alters the Excitability of the Commissural Pyramidal Neuron in the Rat Anterior Cingulate Cortex after Chronic Constriction Injury to the Sciatic Nerve.

Background: Inhibition of the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 1 in the anterior cingulate cortex has an analgesic effect during sustained nociceptive hypersensitivity. However, the specific changes in different subtypes of anterior cingulate cortex layer 5 pyramidal neurons, as well as the distinct effect of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 1 inhibition on different neuronal subtypes, have not been well studied.

Methods: Retrograde labeling combined with immunofluorescence, whole cell clamp recording, and behavioral tests combined with RNA interference were performed in a rat model of chronic constriction injury to the sciatic nerve.

Characterization of Electricity Generated by Soil in Microbial Fuel Cells and the Isolation of Soil Source Exoelectrogenic Bacteria.

Soil has been used to generate electrical power in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and exhibited several potential applications. This study aimed to reveal the effect of soil properties on the generated electricity and the diversity of soil source exoelectrogenic bacteria. Seven soil samples were collected across China and packed into air-cathode MFCs to generate electricity over a 270 days period.

[Application of Microbial Fuel Cells in Reducing Methane Emission from Rice Paddy].

We aimed to study whether the methane emission from rice paddy with straw return can be alleviated in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In our study, the soil mixed with 0. 5% ( mass fraction) rice straw was packed into MFCs reactors, then flooded with excess of sterilized water and transplanted with rice seedlings followed by the operation of MFCs.

[Research Progress in Technology of Using Soil Micro-organisms to Generate Electricity and Its Potential Applications].

Microbial fuel cells ( microbial fuel cells, MFCs) are devices in which micro-organisms convert chemical energy into electrical power. Soil has electrogenic bacteria and organic substrates, thus can generate electrical current in MFCs. Soil MFCs can be operated and applied to real-time and continuously monitor soil pollution, remove soil pollutants and to reduce methane emitted from flooded rice paddy, without energy consumption and the application of chemical reagents to the soil.

Activation of mGluR1 contributes to neuronal hyperexcitability in the rat anterior cingulate cortex via inhibition of HCN channels.

Neuronal hyperexcitability in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is considered as one of the most important pathological changes responsible for the chronification of neuropathic pain. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In the present study, we investigated the possible mechanisms using a rat model of chronic constriction injury (CCI) to the sciatic nerve.

Application of genetically engineered microbial whole-cell biosensors for combined chemosensing.

The progress of genetically engineered microbial whole-cell biosensors for chemosensing and monitoring has been developed in the last 20 years. Those biosensors respond to target chemicals and produce output signals, which offer a simple and alternative way of assessment approaches. As actual pollution caused by human activities usually contains a combination of different chemical substances, how to employ those biosensors to accurately detect real contaminant samples and evaluate biological effects of the combined chemicals has become a realistic object of environmental researches.

[Construction of Hg(2+)-induced luminescent reporter gene system and its application to detect mercury in red soil].

A luminescent reporter gene system was constructed by fusing the mercury-inducible promoter, P(merT), and its regulatory gene, merR with a promoterless reporter gene EGFP. A stable whole-cell reporter was created by mini-Tn5 and introducing the merR-egfp system cassette into the chromosome of Pseudomonas putida strain, then applied it for mercury detection in the red soil of Jiangxi province, the fluorescence density of the sensor strain was confirmed in soil extraction and fluorescence intensity was quantified by flow cytometry. The results showed positive correlation with the mercury pollutant in the concentration range of 0.

Effect of lappaconitine on neuropathic pain mediated by P2X3 receptor in rat dorsal root ganglion.

ATP facilitates initiation and transmission of the neuropathic pain at the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) level via the P2X receptors, especially the subtype P2X(3). Lappaconitine (LA) is an active principle isolated from Chinese herbal medicine and possesses analgesic effect. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of LA on chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain mediated by P2X(3) receptor in the DRG neurons.

Expression of a dominant-negative Rho-kinase promotes neurite outgrowth in a microenvironment mimicking injured central nervous system.

Aim: To investigate whether lentiviral vector (LV)-mediated expression of a dominant negative mutant Rho-kinase (DNROCK) could inhibit activation of the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway and promote neurite outgrowth in a hostile microenvironment mimicking the injured central nervous system (CNS) in vitro.

Methods: Lentiviral stock was produced using the three-plasmid system by transfecting HEK293 cells. Myelin prepared from rat brain was purified by two rounds of discontinuous density gradient centrifugation and osmotic disintegration.

A chromosomally based luminescent bioassay for mercury detection in red soil of China.

A luminescent reporter gene system was constructed by fusing the mercury-inducible promoter, P ( merT ), and its regulatory gene, merR, with a promoterless reporter gene EGFP. A stable and nonantibiotic whole-cell reporter (BMB-ME) was created by introducing the system cassette into the chromosome of Pseudomonas putida strain and then applied it for mercury detection in the red soil of China. Spiked with 10 and 100 microg g(-1) Hg(2+) and after 15 and 30 days incubation, soil samples were extracted and evaluated water soluble, bioavailable, organic matter bound, and residual fractions of mercury by both BMB-ME and chemical way.