Machine learning was used to predict risk factors for distant metastasis of pancreatic cancer and prognosis analysis.

Background: The mechanisms of distant metastasis in pancreatic cancer (PC) have not been elucidated, and this study aimed to explore the risk factors affecting the metastasis and prognosis of metastatic patients and to develop a predictive model.

Method: Clinical data from patients meeting criteria from 1990 to 2019 were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and two machine learning methods, random forest and support vector machine, combined with logistic regression, were used to explore risk factors influencing distant metastasis and to create nomograms. The performance of the model was validated using calibration curves and ROC curves based on the Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital cohort.

Silicon functionalization expands the repertoire of Si-rhodamine fluorescent probes.

Fluorescent dyes such as rhodamines are widely used to assay the activity and image the location of otherwise invisible molecules. Si-rhodamines, in which the bridging oxygen of rhodamines is replaced with a dimethyl silyl group, are increasingly the dye scaffold of choice for biological applications, as fluorescence is shifted into the near-infrared while maintaining high brightness. Despite intense interest in Si-rhodamines, there has been no exploration of the scope of silicon functionalization in these dyes, a potential site of modification that does not exist in conventional rhodamines.

Bioluminescence imaging in mice with synthetic luciferin analogues.

Luciferase enzymes from bioluminescent organisms can be expressed in mice, enabling these rodents to glow when treated with a corresponding luciferin substrate. Light emission occurs where the expression of the genetically-encoded luciferase overlaps with the biodistribution of the administered small molecule luciferin. Here we discuss differences between firefly luciferin analogues for bioluminescence imaging, focusing on transgenic and adeno-associated virus (AAV)-transduced mice.

Dopamine Receptors Differentially Control Binge Alcohol Drinking-Mediated Synaptic Plasticity of the Core Nucleus Accumbens Direct and Indirect Pathways.

Binge alcohol drinking, a behavior characterized by rapid repeated alcohol intake, is most prevalent in young adults and is a risk factor for excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence. Although the alteration of synaptic plasticity is thought to contribute to this behavior, there is currently little evidence that this is the case. We used drinking in the dark (DID) as a model of binge alcohol drinking to assess its effects on spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) in medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the core nucleus accumbens (NAc) by combining patch-clamp recordings with calcium imaging and optogenetics.

The Sodium Channel β4 Auxiliary Subunit Selectively Controls Long-Term Depression in Core Nucleus Accumbens Medium Spiny Neurons.

Voltage-gated sodium channels are essential for generating the initial rapid depolarization of neuronal membrane potential during action potentials (APs) that enable cell-to-cell communication, the propagation of signals throughout the brain, and the induction of synaptic plasticity. Although all brain neurons express one or several variants coding for the core pore-forming sodium channel α subunit, the expression of the β (β1-4) auxiliary subunits varies greatly. Of particular interest is the β4 subunit, encoded by the Scn4b gene, that is highly expressed in dorsal and ventral (i.

The Sub1 nuclear protein protects DNA from oxidative damage.

Reactive oxygen species are a by-product of aerobic metabolism that can damage lipid, proteins, and nucleic acids. Oxidative damage to DNA is especially critical, because it can lead to cell death or mutagenesis. Previously we reported that the yeast sub1 deletion mutant is sensitive to hydrogen peroxide treatment and that the human SUB1 can complement the sensitivity of the yeast sub1 mutant.

The origin of glutamatergic synaptic inputs controls synaptic plasticity and its modulation by alcohol in mice nucleus accumbens.

It is widely accepted that long-lasting changes of synaptic strength in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain region involved in drug reward, mediate acute and chronic effects of alcohol. However, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the effects of alcohol on synaptic plasticity is limited by the fact that the NAc receives glutamatergic inputs from distinct brain regions (e.g.

BK channels mediate dopamine inhibition of firing in a subpopulation of core nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons.

Dopamine, a key neurotransmitter mediating the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse, is widely believed to exert some of its effects by modulating neuronal activity of nucleus accumbens (NAcc) medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Although its effects on synaptic transmission have been well documented, its regulation of intrinsic neuronal excitability is less understood. In this study, we examined the cellular mechanisms of acute dopamine effects on core accumbens MSNs evoked firing.

Potassium 2-(1-hydroxypentyl)-benzoate improves learning and memory deficits in chronic cerebral hypoperfused rats.

Potassium 2-(1-hydroxypentyl)-benzoate (dl-PHPB), the pre-drug of 3-n-butylphthalide (dl-NBP), had the significantly therapeutic effect on the acute cerebral ischemia. The present study was to investigate the effect of dl-PHPB on the cognitive deficits induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Rats were orally administered three doses of dl-PHPB (13, 39 and 129mg/kg), dl-NBP 100mg/kg, and piracetam 600mg/kg daily for 21 days after the bilateral permanent occlusion of the common carotid arteries.

New rules governing synaptic plasticity in core nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons.

The nucleus accumbens is a forebrain region responsible for drug reward and goal-directed behaviors. It has long been believed that drugs of abuse exert their addictive properties on behavior by altering the strength of synaptic communication over long periods of time. To date, attempts at understanding the relationship between drugs of abuse and synaptic plasticity have relied on the high-frequency long-term potentiation model of T.

Novel neuroprotectant chiral 3-n-butylphthalide inhibits tandem-pore-domain potassium channel TREK-1.

Aim: To study the effects of 3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) on the TREK-1 channel expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells.

Methods: Whole-cell patch-clamp recording was used to record TREK-1 channel currents. The effects of varying doses of l-NBP on TREK-1 currents were also observed.

[Effects of ginkgo biloba extracts on NMDA-activated currents in acutely isolated rat hippocampal neurons].

Aim: To investigate effect of ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-activated currents (I(NMDA)) and evaluate further the modulatory effects of Micro-GBE/Nano-GBE.

Methods: By means of whole-cell patch clamp technique, NMDA-activated currents from acutely isolated rat hippocampal neurons were recored.

Results: The majority of the neurons examined (81.