Causal association between mitochondrial function and psychiatric disorders: Insights from a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Previous observational studies have suggested that there appears to be a close association between mitochondrial function and psychiatric disorders, but whether a causal role exists remains unclear.

Methods: We extracted genetic instruments for 67 mitochondrial-related proteins and 10 psychiatric disorders from publicly available genome-wide association studies, and employed five distinct MR methods and false discovery rate correction to detect causal associations between them. Additionally, we conducted a series of sensitivity tests and additional model analysis to ensure the robustness of the results.

Amlodipine inhibits the proliferation and migration of esophageal carcinoma cells through the induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Background: L-type calcium channels are the only protein channels sensitive to calcium channel blockers, and are expressed in various cancer types. The Cancer Genome Atlas database shows that the mRNA levels of multiple L-type calcium channel subunits in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tumor tissue are significantly higher than those in normal esophageal epithelial tissue. Therefore, we hypothesized that amlodipine, a long-acting dihydropyridine L-type calcium channel blocker, may inhibit the occurrence and development of esophageal cancer (EC).

Ramulus Mori (Sangzhi) Alkaloids Ameliorate Obesity-Linked Adipose Tissue Metabolism and Inflammation in Mice.

Obesity has become a global epidemic disease as it is closely associated with a chronic low-grade inflammatory state that results in metabolic dysfunction. Ramulus Mori (Sangzhi) alkaloids (SZ-A) derived from L. were licensed to treat type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in 2020.

(Sangzhi) Alkaloids Alleviate High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Mice.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), obesity, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have highly related mechanisms. (Sangzhi) alkaloids (SZ-A) from L. were approved in 2020 for the treatment of T2DM.

Clinical Significance of High-Mobility Group Box 1 Protein (HMGB1) and Nod-Like Receptor Protein 3 (NLRP3) in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of NLRP3 and HMGB1 in patients with active ulcerative colitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS This was a prospective observational study which included a total of 62 cases with active ulcerative colitis during January 2017 to December 2018. The patients were divided into a mild/moderate group or a severe group according to Sutherland Disease Activity Index (DAI) score.

Differences in maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes between syphilitic women with and without partner coinfection.

Background: Partner infection is a significant factor in preventing mother-to-child syphilis transmission. We compared pregnancy outcomes between syphilis discordant and syphilis concordant couples.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study among 3076 syphilis-positive women who received syphilis screening together with their partners during pregnancy.

Calcium-Activated Chloride Channel A4 (CLCA4) Plays Inhibitory Roles in Invasion and Migration Through Suppressing Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition via PI3K/AKT Signaling in Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND Calcium-activated chloride channel A4 (CLCA4) is known as a tumor suppressor which contributes to the progression of a number of types of malignant tumors. However, little is known about the functional roles of CLCA4 in colorectal cancer (CRC). MATERIAL AND METHODS In this study, the expression patterns and dysregulation of mRNAs in CRC tissues were profiled by analyzing GSE21510 datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus database which contains 104 primary hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and 24 normal liver tissues, and by performing Kaplan-Meier analysis of TCGA data.

Enhanced cleanup efficiency hydroxy functionalized-magnetic graphene oxide and its comparison with magnetic carboxyl-graphene for PRiME pass-through cleanup of strychnine and brucine in human plasma samples.

An enhanced cleanup efficiency hydroxy functionalized-magnetic graphene oxide (EH-Mag-GO) fully covered porous nano-titania as coating has been designed and synthesized. It has been evaluated in PRiME (process, robustness, improvements, matrix effects, ease of use) pass-through cleanup procedure for human plasma prior to analysis of strychnine and brucine by liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Comparing with the magnetic carboxyl-graphene (Mag-CG), EH-Mag-GO is much more effective for the removal of matrix effect resulted from blood phospholipids.

Effect of different treatments and alcohol addiction on gut microbiota in minimal hepatic encephalopathy patients.

Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is caused by dysbiosis of gut microbiota, particularly the ammonia-producing bacteria. Given the efficacy of certain treatments on MHE and the connection between alcoholism and MHE, a thorough understanding of how these strategies affect the gut microbiota in patients (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) will facilitate the assessment of their efficacy in the reshaping of gut microbiota. In the present study, a metagenomics approach was adopted to reveal alterations in gut microbiota of 14 MHE patients following treatment with rifaximin alone or rifaximin plus probiotics.

Application of carbon nanosorbent for PRiME pass-through cleanup of 10 selected local anesthetic drugs in human plasma samples.

A novel PRiME (process, robustness, improvements, matrix effects, ease of use) pass-through cleanup procedure has been developed to improve the existing commercially available designs. Carbon nanosorbents, i.e.

Selection of affinity-improved neutralizing human scFv against HBV PreS1 from CDR3 VH/VL mutant library.

A CDR3 mutant library was constructed from a previously isolated anti-HBV neutralizing Homo sapiens scFv-31 template by random mutant primers PCR. Then the library was displayed on the inner membrane surface in Escherichia coli periplasmic space. Seven scFv clones were isolated from the mutant library through three rounds of screening by flow cytometry.

Fast determination of catecholamines in human plasma using carboxyl-functionalized magnetic-carbon nanotube molecularly imprinted polymer followed by liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry.

A novel, simple and sensitive method based on the use of dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction (d-μ-SPE) procedure combined with ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) for the determination of catecholamines, i.e., dopamine (DA), norepinephrine(NE) and epinephrine (E), was developed and validated.

Kinetics of cell lysis for Microcystis aeruginosa and Nitzschia palea in the exposure to β-cyclocitral.

The effect of an algal metabolite, β-cyclocitral, on the cell integrity of two cyanobacteria and one diatom was investigated. The cyanobacteria, Microcystis aeruginosa PCC 7005 and PCC 7820, and the diatom, Nitzschia palea, were exposed to various concentrations of β-cyclocitral. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) results indicate that the cells of tested species were greatly altered after being exposed to β-cyclocitral.

A new alternative paraffinic-palmbiodiesel fuel for reducing polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/dibenzofuran emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/dibenzofuran (PCDD/F) emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines (HDDEs) fuelled with paraffinic-palmbiodiesel blends have been rarely addressed in the literature. A high-resolution gas chromatograph/high-resolution mass spectrometer (HRGC/HRMS) was used to analyze 17 PCDD/F species. Experimental results indicate that the main species of PCDD/Fs were OCDD (octachlorinated debenzo-p-dioxin) and OCDF (octachlorodibenzofuran), and they accounted for 40-50% of the total PCDD/Fs for all test fuels.

Levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and trace metals in the blood of nonoccupationally exposed residents living in the vicinity of a municipal solid waste incinerator and electric arc furnace.

This study examines levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and trace metals in the blood of the nonoccupationally exposed residents living in the vicinity of municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) and electric arc furnaces (EAFs). The analysis found that older females had higher concentrations of PCDD/Fs and older males had higher body mass index (BMI) values and higher concentrations of PCDD/Fs. Moreover, sex appeared to affect the levels of PCDD/Fs because, overall, females showed higher levels of PCDD/Fs.

In situ measurement of odor compound production by benthic cyanobacteria.

A simple technique was developed to make in situ measurements of emission rates of two common odorants, 2-MIB and geosmin, and was validated with different natural communities of benthic cyanobacterial mats in Hope Valley Reservoir (HVR), South Australia, and Kin-Men Water Treatment Plant (TLR-WTP), Taiwan. A pair of parallel columns was used to differentiate between emission and loss rates caused by biodegradation, volatilization, and other mechanisms. Experimental results indicated that the loss rates followed a first-order relationship for all cases tested, with biodegradation and volatilization being the key mechanisms.

[Malonato(2-)-κO,O']bis-(1,10-phenanthroline-κN,N')zinc(II) penta-hydrate.

In the title complex, [Zn(C(3)H(2)O(4))(C(12)H(8)N(2))(2)]·5H(2)O, the Zn(II) cation displays a distorted octa-hedral geometry, being coordinated by four N atoms from two 1,10-phenanthroline ligands and two O atoms from different carboxyl-ate groups of the chelating malonate dianion. In the crystal, the complexes are linked into a three-dimensional supra-molecular network by both O-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter-actions between water mol-ecules and the uncoordinated carboxyl-ate O atoms of neighboring mol-ecules, and aromatic π-π stacking inter-actions between neighboring phenanthroline rings with centroid-centroid distances of 3.4654 (17) and 3.

pH- and DNA-induced dual molecular light switches based on a novel ruthenium(II) complex.

A novel Ru(II) complex, [Ru(bpy)(2)(btppz)]Cl(2), where bpy=2,2'-bipyridine and btppz=benzo[h]tripyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c:2'',3''-j]phenazine, has been synthesized and characterized. The pH effects on UV-visible (UV-vis) absorption and emission spectra of the complex have been studied and ground- and excited-state ionization constants of the complex have been derived. The calf thymus DNA (ct-DNA) binding properties of the complex were investigated with UV-vis absorption and luminescence spectrophotometric titrations, steady-state emission quenching by [Fe(CN)(6)](4-), DNA competitive binding with ethidium bromide, DNA melting experiments, reverse salt titrations and viscosity measurements.

Dynein light chain LC8 regulates syntaphilin-mediated mitochondrial docking in axons.

Mitochondria in the cell bodies of neurons are transported down neuronal processes in response to changes in local energy and metabolic states. Because of their extreme polarity, neurons require specialized mechanisms to regulate mitochondrial transport and retention in axons. Our previous studies using syntaphilin (snph) knock-out mice provided evidence that SNPH targets to axonal mitochondria and controls their mobility through its static interaction with microtubules (MTs).

Combined fluorescence and electrochemical investigation on the binding interaction between organic acid and human serum albumin.

Human serum albumin (HSA) is a plasma protein responsible for the binding and transport of fatty acids and a variety of exogenous chemicals such as drugs and environmental pollutants. Such binding plays a crucial role in determining the ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) and bioavailability of the pollutants. The binding interaction between HSA and acetic acid (C2), octanoic acid (C8) and dodecanoic acid (C12) has been investigated by the combination of site-specific fluorescent probe, tryptophan intrinsic fluorescence and tyrosine electrochemistry.

{4,4'-Dibromo-2,2'-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(nitrilo-methyl-idyne)]diphenolato}copper(II).

In the title compound, [Cu(C(16)H(12)Br(2)N(2)O(2))], the Cu(II) atom is coordinated in a slightly distorted square-planar geometry by two O and two N atoms of the tetra-dentate dianionic 4,4'-dibromo-2,2'-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(nitrilo-methyl-idyne)]diphen-olate Schiff base ligand.

Bis{μ-1,3-bis-[2-(5-bromo-2-oxidobenzyl-idene-amino)ethyl]-2-(5-bromo-2-oxido-phenyl)-1,3-imidazolidine}dineo-dymium(III) N,N-dimethyl-formamide hexa-solvate.

In the title centrosymmetric dinuclear complex, [Nd(2)(C(27)H(24)Br(3)N(4)O(3))(2)]·6C(3)H(7)NO, the Nd(III) ion is coordinated in a slightly distorted square-anti-prismatic geometry by four N atoms and four O atoms from two centrosymmetrically-related 1,3-bis-[2-(5-bromo-2-oxidobenzyl-amino)eth-yl]-2-(5-bromo-2-oxidophen-yl)-1,3-imidazolidine ligands. The Nd⋯Nd separation is 4.5012 (12) Å.