Inverted U-shaped relationship between serum vitamin B12 and α-Klotho levels in US adults: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Serum vitamin B12 and α-Klotho are important markers associated with aging. Limited studies have been conducted on the relationship between vitamin B12 and α-Klotho.

Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between circulating α-Klotho and vitamin B12.

Driving force shapes the biocake characteristics in membrane-based bioreactors.

The operation of membrane-based reactors is inevitably challenged by fouling. The driving force in these reactors is not only critical for water passage through membranes but also significantly influences fouling, such as biocake formation. This study investigated the differences between biocakes formed under transmembrane pressure (TMP) and forward osmosis (FO) conditions, specifically focusing on their components, spatial structures, and microbial communities.

Analysis of short-term efficacy of radiofrequency thermocoagulation in the treatment of classic trigeminal neuralgia.

The objectives of the study were to explore the short-term efficacy of radiofrequency thermocoagulation for the treatment of classic trigeminal neuralgia (TGN). A retrospective analysis of 58 patients with classical TGN treated with radiofrequency thermocoagulation at our institution between 2016 and 2019, including 23 men and 35 women. The mean age of all patients was 62.

Differential involvement of nucleus tractus solitarius projections and locus coeruleus projections to the basolateral amygdala in morphine-associated memory destabilization.

Drug-related memory can be transiently destabilized by memory retrieval, after which memories are reconsolidated. Neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) that are activated by emotional information may be one of the key mechanisms underlying this destabilization. However, the specific neural circuits underlying this destabilization process remain unknown.

Endoscopic modified total laminoplasty for symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis.

At present, there is no consensus on the most effective surgical method for treating symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Total laminectomy, which is frequently used at this time, destroys the posterior midline structure, causing many postoperative complications. We have designed a new surgical approach instead of total laminectomy.

Müller Glial Cells Participate in Retinal Waves via Glutamate Transporters and AMPA Receptors.

Retinal waves, the spontaneous patterned neural activities propagating among developing retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), instruct the activity-dependent refinement of visuotopic maps. Although it is known that the wave is initiated successively by amacrine cells and bipolar cells, the behavior and function of glia in retinal waves remain unclear. Using multiple in vivo methods in larval zebrafish, we found that Müller glial cells (MGCs) display wave-like spontaneous activities, which start at MGC processes within the inner plexiform layer, vertically spread to their somata and endfeet, and horizontally propagate into neighboring MGCs.

The Locus Coeruleus Modulates Intravenous General Anesthesia of Zebrafish via a Cooperative Mechanism.

How general anesthesia causes loss of consciousness has been a mystery for decades. It is generally thought that arousal-related brain nuclei, including the locus coeruleus (LC), are involved. Here, by monitoring locomotion behaviors and neural activities, we developed a larval zebrafish model for studying general anesthesia induced by propofol and etomidate, two commonly used intravenous anesthetics.

[Establishment of an anesthesia model induced by etomidate in larval zebrafish].

Despite the wide application of general anesthetic drugs in clinic, it is still unclear how these drugs induce the state of general anesthesia. Larval zebrafish has emerged as an ideal model for dissecting the mechanism of neural systems due to the conserved and simple brain structure. In the present study, we established an anesthesia model from behavioral to electrophysiological levels using larval zebrafish for the first time.

Analgesic effect of total flavonoids from Sanguis draxonis on spared nerve injury rat model of neuropathic pain.

Background: Sanguis draxonis (SD) is a kind of red resin obtained from the wood of Dracaena cochinchinensis (Lour.) S. C.

[Molecular identification of Tibetan medicine Qianghuoyu by CO I].

The CO I gene sequences of Qianghuoyu, Pachytriton labiatus and Gehyra mutilata were achieved by PCR amplification and bi-directional sequencing. Furthermore, a pair of specific primers SJYW1 and SJYW2 in the non-conservative district were designed through sequence alignment. The PCR reaction condition was established by changing the annealing temperature and cycle numbers.

Brazilin inhibits amyloid β-protein fibrillogenesis, remodels amyloid fibrils and reduces amyloid cytotoxicity.

Soluble amyloid β-protein (Aβ) oligomers, the main neurotoxic species, are predominantly formed from monomers through a fibril-catalyzed secondary nucleation. Herein, we virtually screened an in-house library of natural compounds and discovered brazilin as a dual functional compound in both Aβ42 fibrillogenesis inhibition and mature fibril remodeling, leading to significant reduction in Aβ42 cytotoxicity. The potent inhibitory effect of brazilin was proven by an IC50 of 1.

Integrative refolding and purification of histidine-tagged protein by like-charge facilitated refolding and metal-chelate affinity adsorption.

This work proposed an integrative method of protein refolding and purification by like-charged resin facilitated refolding and metal-chelate affinity adsorption. Hexahistidine-tagged enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) was overexpressed in Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies (IBs), and then the protein was refolded and purified from urea-solubilized IBs by this method. A metal-chelating resin was fabricated by coupling iminodiacetic acid (IDA) to agarose gel (Sepharose FF).

Optimization extraction process of aroma components in tobacco.

This paper concerns the optimization of the simultaneous distillation extraction process of volatile aromatic components in flue-cured tobacco leaves by single-factor experiments and response surface methodology (RSM). The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the aroma components was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The single-factor experiments were adopted to investigate the effects of five independent variables (including material/liquid ratio, distillation time, dosage of NaCl, volume of CH(2)Cl(2) and water-bath temperature) on the extraction of aroma components in tobacco.

[The relationship between the genotype of hepatitis B virus and clinical and liver pathological features of infected patients in the Zhoushan Islands, China].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the genotypes of hepatitis B virus and the clinical and liver pathological features of patients with chronic hepatitis in the Zhoushan Islands.

Methods: One hundred eighty HBV DNA positive chronic hepatitis patients with HBV markers were enrolled in this study. They were at least second generation Zhoushan Island residents.