Impact of natural compounds on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor: Molecular effects and its importance as a novel therapeutic target for neurological disorders.

Neurological disorders refer to the pathological changes of the nervous system involving multiple pathological mechanisms characterized by complex pathogenesis and poor prognosis. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily. PPAR has attracted considerable attention in the past decades as one of the potential targets for the treatment of neurological disorders.

Generating multi-focus beams with a spatial non-uniform coherence structure.

We introduce a class of structured light beams, named multi-focus beams, which exhibit self-focusing at multiple propagation distances. We show that the proposed beams not only have the ability to produce multiple longitudinal focal spots, but also that the number, intensity, and position of the foci can be controlled by adjusting the initial beam parameters. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these beams still exhibit self-focusing in the shadow of an obstacle.

What Happened in the Hippocampal Axon in a Rat Model of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Studies from postmortem and animal models have revealed altered synapse morphology and function in the brain of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And the effects of PTSD on dendrites and spines have been reported, however, the effection on axon include microtubule (MT) and synaptic vesicles of presynaptic elements remains unknown. Hippocampus is involved in abnormal memory in PTSD.

Key Mechanisms and Potential Targets of the NLRP3 Inflammasome in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are neuronal disorders characterized by the loss of a large number of neurons in the human brain. Innate immunity-mediated neuroinflammation actively contributes to the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Inflammasomes are involved in the progression of the innate immune response and are responsible for the maturation of caspase-1 and inflammatory cytokines during neuroinflammation.

MicroRNA-760 inhibits cell viability and migration through down-regulating BST2 in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common types of carcinoma with a threat to global health. MicroRNA-760 (miR-760) was significantly down-regulated in the primary tumour of patients with advanced gastric cancer. However, the role of miR-760 in gastric cancer is still unclear.

Correlation of Intestinal Mucosal Healing and Tight Junction Protein Expression in Ulcerative Colitis Patients.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between intestinal mucosal healing and tight junction (TJ) protein expression in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).

Materials And Methods: A total of 40 patients with UC were included as an experimental group and UC disease activity was evaluated using the Mayo clinic score (MCS) and 8 patients with normal distal colon served as the control group. The expression of TJ proteins including occludin, ZO-1 and claudin-2 were determined by immunohistochemistry and their correlation with clinical characteristics were also analyzed.

BST2 promotes cell proliferation, migration and induces NF-κB activation in gastric cancer.

Objectives: To investigate the functional roles of bone marrow stromal cell antigen 2 (BST2) in gastric cancer (GC) cells and its implications in the development of GC patients.

Results: BST2 was frequently overexpressed in GC tissues compared with the adjacent non-tumorous tissues, and high BST2 expression was correlated with tumor stage and lymphatic metastasis. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrated that knockdown of BST2 by siRNA inhibited cell proliferation, induced apoptosis and repressed cell motility in GC cells.

NF-E2-Related Factor 2 Suppresses Intestinal Fibrosis by Inhibiting Reactive Oxygen Species-Dependent TGF-β1/SMADs Pathway.

Background And Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the antifibrotic effects of NF-E2-Related Factor 2 (Nrf2) on intestinal fibrosis. Intestinal fibrosis is a common complication of Crohn's disease; however, its mechanism of intestinal fibrosis is largely unclear.

Methods: BALB/c mice received 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid weekly via intrarectal injections to induce chronic fibrotic colitis.