Dissecting the Functional Organization of the Serotonergic System at Whole-Brain Scale.

Serotonin controls many aspects of animal behavior and cognition. But how serotonin acts on its diverse receptor types in neurons across the brain to modulate global activity and behavior is unknown. Here, we examine how serotonin release from a feeding-responsive neuron in alters brain-wide activity to induce foraging behaviors, like slow locomotion and increased feeding.

Greater than pH 8: The pH dependence of EDTA as a preservative of high molecular weight DNA in biological samples.

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a divalent cation chelator and chemical preservative that has been shown to be the active ingredient of the popular DNA preservative DESS. EDTA may act to reduce DNA degradation during tissue storage by sequestering divalent cations that are required by nucleases naturally occurring in animal tissues. Although EDTA is typically used between pH 7.

Development of tropoelastin-functionalized anisotropic PCL scaffolds for musculoskeletal tissue engineering.

The highly organized extracellular matrix (ECM) of musculoskeletal tissues, encompassing tendons, ligaments and muscles, is structurally anisotropic, hierarchical and multi-compartmental. These features collectively contribute to their unique function. Previous studies have investigated the effect of tissue-engineered scaffold anisotropy on cell morphology and organization for musculoskeletal tissue repair and regeneration, but the hierarchical arrangement of ECM and compartmentalization are not typically replicated.

Synthesis and Application of Liquid Metal Based-2D Nanomaterials: A Perspective View for Sustainable Energy.

With the continuous exploration of low-dimensional nanomaterials, two dimensional metal oxides (2DMOs) has been received great interest. However, their further development is limited by the high cost in the preparation process and the unstable states caused by the polarization of surface chemical bonds. Recently, obtaining mental oxides via liquid metals have been considered a surprising method for obtaining 2DMOs.

Investigation of Ultrafast Configurational Photoisomerization of Bilirubin Using Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy.

Phototherapy is an efficient and safe way to reduce high levels of free 4,15-bilirubin (ZZ-BR) in the serum of newborns. The success of BR phototherapy lies in photoinduced configurational and structural isomerization processes that form excretable isomers. However, the physical picture of photoinduced photoisomerization of ZZ-BR is still unclear.

Phagocytosis of Glioma Cells Enhances the Immunosuppressive Phenotype of Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages.

Unlabelled: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) play a crucial role in immunosuppression. However, how TAMs are transformed into immunosuppressive phenotypes and influence the tumor microenvironment (TME) is not fully understood. Here, we utilized single-cell RNA sequencing and whole-exome sequencing data of glioblastoma (GBM) tissues and identified a subset of TAMs dually expressing macrophage and tumor signatures, which were termed double-positive TAMs.

Effects of Caffeine Intake on Endurance Running Performance and Time to Exhaustion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is one of the most widely consumed performance-enhancing substances in sport due to its well-established ergogenic effects. The use of caffeine is more common in aerobic-based sports due to the ample evidence endorsing the benefits of caffeine supplementation on endurance exercise. However, most of this evidence was established with cycling trials in the laboratory, while the effects of the acute intake of caffeine on endurance running performance have not been properly reviewed and meta-analyzed.

Study of Low- and Intermediate-Temperature Oxidation Kinetics of Diethyl Ether in a Supercritical Pressure Jet-Stirred Reactor.

Growing demand for low-emission and high-efficiency propulsion systems spurs interest in understanding low-temperature and ultra-high-pressure combustion of alternative biofuels like diethyl ether (DEE). In this study, DEE oxidation experiments are performed at 10 and 100 atm, over a temperature range of 400-900 K, at fuel-lean, stoichiometric, and fuel-rich conditions by using a supercritical pressure jet-stirred reactor (SP-JSR). The experimental data show that DEE is very reactive and exhibits an uncommon low-temperature oxidation behavior with two negative temperature coefficient (NTC) zones.

Influences of relative deprivation on health inequality of rural residents in China: A moderated mediation model.

Analyzing the relationship between individual relative deprivation and rural residents' health inequality is a deepening of the research on the social impact of individual relative deprivation. On the theoretical basis of the absolute and relative income hypothesis, using the data of China Family Panel Studies in 2018, taking other residents in the village as the reference group, this paper selects the relative income deprivation and absolute income to comprehensively quantify the generalized impact of farmers' income gap, introduces the psychological capital guidance mechanism, and constructs a moderated-mediation model for the impact of relative deprivation on the health inequality of rural residents in China from the three dimensions of self-assessment of health, mental health and physical health. The estimation results of the multi-layer model show that the relative income deprivation of rural residents has a significant impact on health inequality, among which the impact of mental health is the strongest.

Berberine a traditional Chinese drug repurposing: Its actions in inflammation-associated ulcerative colitis and cancer therapy.

Berberine (BBR), an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from Coptidis Rhizoma, has a long history of treating dysentery in the clinic. Over the past two decades, the polytrophic, pharmacological, and biochemical properties of BBR have been intensively studied. The key functions of BBR, including anti-inflammation, antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-obesity, and even antitumor, have been discovered.

Temperature-Driven Twin Structure Formation and Electronic Structure of Epitaxially Grown MgSb Films on Mismatched Substrates.

MgSb-based compounds are one type of important room-temperature thermoelectric materials and the appropriate candidate of type-II nodal line semimetals. In MgSb-based films, compelling research topics such as dimensionality reduction and topological states rely on the controllable preparation of films with high crystallinity, which remains a big challenge. In this work, high quality MgSb films are successfully grown on mismatched substrates of sapphire (000), while the temperature-driven twin structure evolution and characteristics of the electronic structure are revealed in the as-grown MgSb films by in situ and ex situ measurements.

Comparative efficacy, tolerability, and acceptability of pharmacological interventions for the treatment of children, adolescents, and young adults with Tourette's syndrome: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: In clinical practice guidelines there is no consensus about the medications that should be initially offered to children and young people with Tourette's syndrome. To provide a rigorous evidence base that could help guide decision making and guideline development, we aimed to compare the efficacy, tolerability, and acceptability of pharmacological interventions for Tourette's syndrome.

Methods: For this systematic review and network meta-analysis, we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and ClinicalTrials.

Energy consumption modeling and analysis for short-reach optical transmissions using irregular LDPC codes.

As the transmission rate of data center (DC) related short-reach optical transmissions quickly increases to keep up with internet services' data demand pace, advanced FEC technology starts to establish its key role in short reach optical transmission systems. Coding strategy using Quasi-Cyclic LDPC (QC-LDPC) codes with hard-decision (HD) decoders stands out due to its excellent error correction ability and simple hardware implementation. Meanwhile, with the introduction of green communication concept and increasingly extensive applications of DC, energy consumption of short-reach links has become an urgent problem to be studied.

Plasma-Induced Diallyldimethylammonium Chloride Antibacterial Hernia Mesh.

A hernia is a pathological condition caused by a defect or opening in the muscle wall, which leads to organs pushing through the opening or defect. Hernia recurrence, seroma, persistent pain, tissue adhesions, and wound infection are common complications following hernia repair surgery. Infection after hernia mesh implantation is the third major complication leading to hernia recurrence.

Stamp-Like Energy Harvester and Programmable Information Encrypted Display Based on Fully Printable Thermoelectric Devices.

Thermoelectric (TE) devices exhibit considerable application potential in Internet of Things and personal health monitoring systems. However, TE self-powered devices are expensive and their fabrication process is complex. Therefore, large-scale preparation of the TE devices remains challenging.

Mapping the Complete Photocycle that Powers a Large Stokes Shift Red Fluorescent Protein.

Large Stokes shift (LSS) red fluorescent proteins (RFPs) are highly desirable for bioimaging advances. The RFP mKeima, with coexisting cis- and trans-isomers, holds significance as an archetypal system for LSS emission due to excited-state proton transfer (ESPT), yet the mechanisms remain elusive. We implemented femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) and various time-resolved electronic spectroscopies, aided by quantum calculations, to dissect the cis- and trans-mKeima photocycle from ESPT, isomerization, to ground-state proton transfer in solution.

Using an animal model to predict the effective human dose for oral multiple sclerosis drugs.

The objective of this study was to determine the potential usefulness of an animal model to predict the appropriate dose of newly developed drugs for treating relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Conversion of the lowest effective dose (LEffD) for mice and rats in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model was used to predict the human effective dose utilizing the body surface area correction factor found in the 2005 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Guidance for Industry in selecting safe starting doses for clinical trials. Predictions were also tested by comparison with doses estimated by scaling up the LEffD in the model by the human to animal clearance ratio.

Design and application of a kinetic model of lipid metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Lipid biosynthesis plays a vital role in living cells and has been increasingly engineered to overproduce various lipid-based chemicals. However, owing to the tightly constrained and interconnected nature of lipid biosynthesis, both understanding and engineering of lipid metabolism remain challenging, even with the help of mathematical models. Here we report the development of a kinetic metabolic model of lipid metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that integrates fatty acid biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, storage lipids, lumped sterol synthesis, and the synthesis and transport of relevant target-chemicals, such as fatty acids and fatty alcohols.

Higher serum tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 predicts atrial fibrillation recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation.

Background: Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) levels is strongly associated with cardiac extracellular matrix accumulation and atrial fibrosis. Whether serum levels of TIMP-1 are associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence following radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) remains unknown.

Materials And Methods: Serum TIMP-1 levels of patients with AF before they underwent initial RFCA were measured using ELISA.

Association between single-nucleotide polymorphism rs145497186 related to NDUFV2 and lumbar disc degeneration: a pilot case-control study.

Objective: The association between the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs28742109, rs12955018, rs987850, rs8093805, rs12965084 and rs145497186 related to gene named NADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] flavoprotein 2 (NDUFV2) and lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) was preliminary investigated in a small sample size.

Methods: A total of 46 patients with LDD and 45 controls were recruited at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, and each participant provided 5 mL peripheral venous blood. NA was extracted from the blood of each participant for further genotyping.

CysModDB: a comprehensive platform with the integration of manually curated resources and analysis tools for cysteine posttranslational modifications.

The unique chemical reactivity of cysteine residues results in various posttranslational modifications (PTMs), which are implicated in regulating a range of fundamental biological processes. With the advent of chemical proteomics technology, thousands of cysteine PTM (CysPTM) sites have been identified from multiple species. A few CysPTM-based databases have been developed, but they mainly focus on data collection rather than various annotations and analytical integration.

Mixed-Dimensional Pt-Ni Alloy Polyhedral Nanochains as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells.

Pt nanocatalysts play a critical role in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) due to their appropriate adsorption/desorption energy, yet suffer from an unbalanced relationship between size-dependent activity and stability. Herein, mixed-dimensional Pt-Ni alloy polyhedral nanochains (Pt-Ni PNCs) with an ordered assembly of a nanopolyhedra-nanowire-nanopolyhedra architecture are fabricated as bifunctional electrocatalysts for DMFCs, effectively alleviating the size effect. The Pt-Ni PNCs exhibit 7.

Influencing factors of loneliness among older adults in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

China has a large and rapidly growing older population. Loneliness is associated with a range of negative health outcomes in older adults. However, to date, there is still a lack of comprehensive and systematic evidence on the factors influencing loneliness among older adults in China.

IKBIP, a novel glioblastoma biomarker, maintains abnormal proliferation of tumor cells by inhibiting the ubiquitination and degradation of CDK4.

Sustained proliferative signaling is a crucial hallmark and therapeutic target in glioblastoma (GBM); however, new intrinsic regulators and their underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, I kappa B kinase interacting protein (IKBIP) was identified to be correlated with the progression of GBM by analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. TCGA database analysis indicated that higher IKBIP expression was associated with high tumor grade and poor prognosis in GBM patients, and these correlations were subsequently validated in clinical samples.