Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Alleviates Monobenzone-Induced Vitiligo in Mice.

Vitiligo is a complex skin disorder that involves oxidative stress and inflammatory responses and currently lacks a definitive cure. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a noninvasive method for targeting the auricular branch of the vagus nerve and has gained widespread attention for potential intervention in the autonomic nervous system. Although previous research has suggested that vagus nerve stimulation can potentially inhibit inflammatory responses, its specific role and mechanisms in vitiligo treatment remain unknown.

Drivers of phenotypic variation in cartilage: Circadian clock genes.

Endogenous homeostasis and peripheral tissue metabolism are disrupted by irregular fluctuations in activation, movement, feeding and temperature, which can accelerate negative biological processes and lead to immune reactions, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). This review summarizes abnormal phenotypes in articular joint components such as cartilage, bone and the synovium, attributed to the deletion or overexpression of clock genes in cartilage or chondrocytes. Understanding the functional mechanisms of different genes, the differentiation of mouse phenotypes and the prevention of joint ageing and disease will facilitate future research.

IGF-1 induces cellular senescence in rat articular chondrocytes via Akt pathway activation.

Cellular senescence decreases cell proliferation over time and is characterized by typical markers, including larger cell volume, a flattened morphology, irreversible cell cycle arrest, augmentation of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity and senescence-associated secretory phenotype. A variety of factors are implicated in the process of cellular aging, which mediates an organisms' lifespan. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) serves an essential role in regulating cell growth, division, proliferation and senescence.

The potential role of senescence in limiting fibrosis caused by aging.

Fibrosis-related diseases carry with them a high mortality rate and their morbidity increases with age. Recent findings indicate that induced senescence in myofibroblasts can limit or reduce myocardial fibrosis, cirrhosis, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, while also accelerating wound healing. However, more senescent cells are accumulated as organisms age, which exacerbates aging-related diseases.

Trash to Treasure: Waste Eggshells as Chemical Reactors for the Synthesis of Amorphous Co(OH) Nanorod Arrays on Various Substrates for Applications in Rechargeable Alkaline Batteries and Electrocatalysis.

Bioinspired synthesis has been attracting much attention. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach to directly use waste eggshells as a reactor system for controlled synthesis of nanostructures formed on different substrates. This approach can recycle and transform the "trash" of waste eggshells into "treasure" of unique reactor systems for nanofabrication.

Trash to Treasure: From Harmful Algal Blooms to High-Performance Electrodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are frequently reported around the globe. HABs are typically caused by the so-called blue-green algae in eutrophic waters. These fast-growing HABs could be a good source for biomass.

Core-shell Ti@Si coaxial nanorod arrays formed directly on current collectors for lithium-ion batteries.

Silicon is a promising candidate to replace the dominantly used carbon as the anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Si has the highest theoretical capacity (4200 mA·h/g) and is one of the most abundant elements. Unfortunately, Si has the issues of huge volume variation upon dis/charge cycling and low conductivity, leading to poor cycling and rate performances.