Resveratrol prevents cognitive deficits induced by sleep deprivation via modulating sirtuin 1 associated pathways in the hippocampus.

Accumulating evidence confirms that sleep insufficiency is a high risk factor for cognitive impairment, which involves inflammation and synaptic dysfunction. Resveratrol, an agonist of the Sirt1, has demonstrated anti-inflammation and neuroprotective effects in models of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia. However, the beneficial effects of resveratrol on sleep deprivation-induced cognitive deficits and its underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. In the present study, thirty-two male C57BL/6 J mice were randomly divided into a Control+DMSO group, Control+Resveratrol group, SD+DMSO group, and SD+Resveratrol group. The mice in the SD+Resveratrol group underwent 5 days of sleep deprivation after pretreatment with resveratrol (50 mg/kg) for 2 weeks, while the mice in the SD+DMSO group only underwent sleep deprivation. After sleep deprivation, we evaluated spatial learning and memory function using the Morris water maze test. We used general molecular biology techniques to detect changes in levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and Sirt1/miR-134 pathway-related synaptic plasticity proteins. We found that resveratrol significantly reversed sleep deprivation-induced learning and memory impairment, elevated interleukin-1ß, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α levels, and decreased brain-derived neurotrophic factor, tyrosine kinase receptor B, postsynaptic density protein-95, and synaptophysin levels by activating the Sirt1/miR-134 pathway. In conclusion, resveratrol is a promising agent for preventing sleep deprivation-induced cognitive dysfunction by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines and improving synaptic function via the Sirt1/miR-134 pathway.

Effects of gestational inflammation on age-related cognitive decline and hippocampal Gdnf-GFRα1 levels in F1 and F2 generations of CD-1 Mice.

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that age-associated cognitive decline (AACD) accelerated by maternal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) insult during late pregnancy can be transmitted to the second generation in a sex-specificity manner. In turn, recent studies indicated that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its cognate receptor (GFRα1) are critical for normal cognitive function. Based on this evidence, we aimed to explore whether Gdnf-GFRα1 expression contributes to cognitive decline in the F1 and F2 generations of mouse dams exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) during late gestation, and to evaluate also the potential interference effect of pro-inflammatory cytokines. METHODS: During gestational days 15-17, pregnant CD-1 mice (8-10 weeks old) received a daily intraperitoneal injection of LPS (50 µg/kg) or saline (control). In utero LPS-exposed F1 generation mice were selectively mated to produce F2 generation mice. In F1 and F2 mice aged 3 and 15 months, the Morris water maze (MWM) was used to evaluated the spatial learning and memory ability, the western blotting and RT-PCR were used for analyses of hippocampal Gdnf and GFRα1 expression, and ELISA was used to analyse IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in serum. RESULTS: Middle-aged F1 offspring from LPS-treated mothers exhibited longer swimming latency and distance during the learning phase, lower percentage swimming time and distance in targe quadrant during memory phase, and lower hippocampal levels of Gdnf and GFRα1 gene products compared to age-matched controls. Similarly, the middle-aged F2 offspring from the Parents-LPS group had longer swimming latency and distance in the learning phase, and lower percentage swimming time and distance in memory phase than the F2-CON group. Moreover, the 3-month-old Parents-LPS and 15-month-old Parents- and Father-LPS groups had lower GDNF and GFRα1 protein and mRNAs levels compared to the age-matched F2-CON group. Furthermore, hippocampal levels of Gdnf and GFRα1 were correlated with impaired cognitive performance in the Morris water maze after controlling for circulating pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that accelerated AACD by maternal LPS exposure can be transmitted across at least two generations through declined Gdnf and GFRα1 expression, mainly via paternal linage.

Clinical characteristics, medical service utilization, and expenditure for colorectal cancer in China, 2005 to 2014: Overall design and results from a multicenter retrospective epidemiologic survey.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in China, however, publicly available, descriptive information on the clinical epidemiology of CRC is limited. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with primary CRC during 2005 through 2014 were sampled from 13 tertiary hospitals in 9 provinces across China. Data related to sociodemographic characteristics, the use of diagnostic technology, treatment adoption, and expenditure were extracted from individual medical records. RESULTS: In the full cohort of 8465 patients, the mean ± SD age at diagnosis was 59.3 ± 12.8 years, 57.2% were men, and 58.7% had rectal cancer. On average, 14.4% of patients were diagnosed with stage IV disease, and this proportion increased from 13.5% in 2005 to 20.5% in 2014 (P value for trend < .05). For diagnostic techniques, along with less use of x-rays (average, 81.6%; decreased from 90.0% to 65.7%), there were increases in the use of computed tomography (average, 70.4%; increased from 4.5% to 90.5%) and magnetic resonance imaging (average, 8.8%; increased from 0.1% to 20.4%) over the study period from 2005 to 2014. With regard to treatment, surgery alone was the most common (average, 50.1%), but its use decreased from 51.3% to 39.8% during 2005 through 2014; and the use of other treatments increased simultaneously, such as chemotherapy alone (average, 4.1%; increased from 4.1% to 11.9%). The average medical expenditure per patient was 66,291 Chinese Yuan (2014 value) and increased from 47,259 to 86,709 Chinese Yuan. CONCLUSIONS: The increasing proportion of late-stage diagnoses presents a challenge for CRC control in China. Changes in diagnostic and treatment options and increased expenditures are clearly illustrated in this study. Coupled with the recent introduction of screening initiatives, these data provide an understanding of changes over time and may form a benchmark for future related evaluations of CRC interventions in China.

Differentiating Westlake Longjing tea from the first- and second-grade producing regions using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics in combination with chemometrics.

There are numerous articles published for geographical discrimination of tea. However, few research works focused on the authentication and traceability of Westlake Longjing green tea from the first- and second-grade producing regions because the tea trees are planted in a limited growing zone with identical cultivate condition. In this work, a comprehensive analytical strategy was proposed by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics coupled with chemometrics. The automatic untargeted data analysis strategy was introduced to screen metabolites that expressed significantly among different regions. Chromatographic features of metabolites can be automatically and efficiently extracted and registered. Meanwhile, those that were valuable for geographical origin discrimination were screened based on statistical analysis and contents in samples. Metabolite identification was performed based on high-resolution mass values and tandem mass spectra of screened peaks. Twenty metabolites were identified, based on which the two-way encoding partial least squares discrimination analysis was built for geographical origin prediction. Monte Caro simulation results indicated that prediction accuracy was up to 99%. Our strategy can be applicable for practical applications in the quality control of Westlake Longjing green tea.

XingNaoJing injection ameliorates cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion injury via SIRT1-mediated inflammatory response inhibition.

Context: XingNaoJing injection (XNJ), extracted from a traditional compound Chinese medicine Angong niuhuang pill, is well known for treating stroke in the clinic, but the specific effects and mechanisms remain unclear.Objective: We investigated the mechanistic basis for the protective effect of XNJ on cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.Materials and methods: Five groups of 10 SD rats underwent 2 h of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by 24 h reperfusion. XNJ at 10 and 15 mL/kg was intraperitoneally administered 24 h before ischaemia and at the onset of reperfusion respectively. The silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) inhibitor EX527 was intracerebroventricularly injected 0.5 h before reperfusion. Cerebral infarction size, neurological scores, morphological changes, and expression levels of inflammatory mediators and SIRT1 were measured. Furthermore, human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) were subjected to 3 h oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) followed by 24 h reoxygenation to mimic cerebral I/R in vitro. EX527 pre-treatment occurred 1 h before OGD. SIRT1 and inflammatory mediator levels were analyzed.Results: Both XNJ doses significantly decreased cerebral infarct area (40.11% vs. 19.66% and 9.87%) and improved neurological scores and morphological changes. Inflammatory mediator levels were remarkably decreased in both model systems after XNJ treatment. XNJ also enhanced SIRT1 expression. Notably, the SIRT1 inhibitor EX527 attenuated the XNJ-mediated decrease in inflammation in vivo and in vitro.Conclusions: XNJ improved cerebral I/R injury through inhibiting the inflammatory response via the SIRT1 pathway, which may be a useful target in treating cerebral I/R injury.

AntDAS: Automatic Data Analysis Strategy for UPLC-QTOF-Based Nontargeted Metabolic Profiling Analysis.

High-quality data analysis methodology remains a bottleneck for metabolic profiling analysis based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The present work aims to address this problem by proposing a novel data analysis strategy wherein (1) chromatographic peaks in the UPLC-QTOF data set are automatically extracted by using an advanced multiscale Gaussian smoothing-based peak extraction strategy; (2) a peak annotation stage is used to cluster fragment ions that belong to the same compound. With the aid of high-resolution mass spectrometer, (3) a time-shift correction across the samples is efficiently performed by a new peak alignment method; (4) components are registered by using a newly developed adaptive network searching algorithm; (5) statistical methods, such as analysis of variance and hierarchical cluster analysis, are then used to identify the underlying marker compounds; finally, (6) compound identification is performed by matching the extracted peak information, involving high-precision m/z and retention time, against our compound library containing more than 500 plant metabolites. A manually designed mixture of 18 compounds is used to evaluate the performance of the method, and all compounds are detected under various concentration levels. The developed method is comprehensively evaluated by an extremely complex plant data set containing more than 2000 components. Results indicate that the performance of the developed method is comparable with the XCMS. The MATLAB GUI code is available from http://software.tobaccodb.org/software/antdas .

[Progress on treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with ethnodrugs].

Rheumatoid arthritis(RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease, belonging to the "Arthromyodynia (Bi Zheng)" category in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the ethnomedicine has a unique understanding of RA, with a long-term clinical experience accumulation and significant efficacy in the treatment of RA, and it has now become one of the important means in treatment of RA. On the basis of literature research, the understanding of RA and commonly used Tibetan medicine, Mongolian medicine, Hui medicine and other herbs and preparations were reviewed in this paper, with the aim of providing a reference for its clinical treatment of RA and research and development of innovative drugs.

A randomized trial comparing multiband mucosectomy and cap-assisted endoscopic resection for endoscopic piecemeal resection of early squamous neoplasia of the esophagus.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Piecemeal endoscopic resection for esophageal high grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) or early squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is usually performed by cap-assisted endoscopic resection. This requires submucosal lifting and multiple snares. Multiband mucosectomy (MBM) uses a modified variceal band ligator without submucosal lifting. In high-risk areas where ESCC is common and endoscopic expertise is limited, MBM may be a better technique. We aimed to compare MBM to the cap-assisted technique for piecemeal endoscopic resection of esophageal ESCCs. METHODS: Patients with mucosal HGIN/ESCC (2 - 6 cm, maximum two-thirds of esophageal circumference) were included. Lesions, delineated by 1.25 % Lugol staining, were randomized to MBM or cap-assisted piecemeal resection. Endpoints were procedure time and costs, complete endoscopic resection, adverse events, and absence of HGIN/ESCC at 3-month and 12-month follow-up.  RESULTS: Endoscopic resection was performed in 84 patients (59 men, mean age 60) using MBM (n = 42) or the endoscopic resection cap (n = 42). There were no differences in baseline characteristics. Endoscopic complete resection was achieved in all lesions. Procedure time was significantly shorter with MBM (11 vs. 22 minutes, P < 0.0001). One perforation, seen after using the endoscopic resection cap, was treated conservatively. Total costs of disposables were lower for MBM (€200 vs. €251, P = 0.04). At 3-month and 12-month follow-ups none of the patients had HGIN/ESCC at the resection site. CONCLUSION: Piecemeal endoscopic resection of esophageal ESCC with MBM is faster and cheaper than with the endoscopic resection cap. Both techniques are highly effective and safe. MBM may have significant advantages over the endoscopic resection cap technique, especially in countries where ESCC is extremely common but limited endoscopic expertise and resources exist. (Netherlands trial register: NTR 3246.).

Sleep deprivation aggravates lipopolysaccharide-induced anxiety, depression and cognitive impairment: The role of pro-inflammatory cytokines and synaptic plasticity-associated proteins.

Growing evidence indicates that neuroinflammation plays a critical role in anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment. Sleep loss disrupts the host's immune balance and increases neuroinflammation. This study explored whether chronic sleep deprivation aggravates lipopolysaccharide-induced anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment and assessed the underlying mechanisms. Lipopolysaccharide (250 µg/kg) was administered to adult mice for 9 days, accompanied with daily intermittent sleep deprivation from 12:00 to 18:00 by using an activity wheel. Anxiety, depression, and cognitive function were evaluated using a task battery consisting of an open field, elevated plus maze, tail suspension, forced swimming, and Morris water maze tests. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and synaptic plasticity-associated proteins were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot, respectively. The results showed that lipopolysaccharide increased anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, impaired cognitive function, uprelated interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and decreased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95), and synaptophysin (SYN), which were aggravated by chronic sleep deprivation. These results suggest that chronic sleep deprivation exerted adverse effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment, which was associated with changes in pro-inflammatory cytokines and synaptic plasticity associated proteins.

Subsequent maternal sleep deprivation aggravates cognitive impairment by modulating hippocampal neuroinflammatory responses and synaptic function in maternal isoflurane-exposed offspring mice.

INTRODUCTION: Pregnant women may need to undergo non-obstetric surgery under general anesthesia owing to medical needs, and pregnant women frequently experience sleep disturbances during late gestation. Preclinical studies demonstrated that maternal isoflurane exposure (MISO) or maternal sleep deprivation (MSD) contributed to cognitive impairments in offspring. Research studies in mice have revealed that SD can aggravate isoflurane-induced cognitive deficits. However, it remains unclear whether MSD aggravates MISO-induced cognitive deficits in offspring. The purpose of this research was to explore the combined effects of MSD and MISO on offspring cognitive function and the role of neuroinflammation and synaptic function in the process of MSD + MISO. METHODS: Pregnant mice were exposed to 1.4% isoflurane by inhalation for 4 h on gestational day (GD) 14. Dams were then subjected to SD for 6 h (12:00-18:00 h) during GD15-21. At 3 months of age, the offspring mice were subjected to the Morris water maze test to assess cognitive function. Then the levels of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory markers and synaptic function-related proteins were assessed using molecular biology methods. RESULTS: The results of this study demonstrated that MISO led to cognitive dysfunction, an effect that was aggravated by MSD. In addition, MSD exacerbated the maternal isoflurane inhalation, leading to an enhancement in the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha and a reduction in the hippocampal levels of IL-10, synaptophysin, post-synaptic density-95, growth-associated protein-43, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. CONCLUSION: Our findings revealed that MSD aggravated the cognitive deficits induced by MISO in male offspring mice, and these results were associated with neuroinflammation and alternations in synaptic function.

Melatonin improves maternal sleep deprivation-induced learning and memory impairment, inflammation, and synaptic dysfunction in murine male adult offspring.

INTRODUCTION: Maternal sleep deprivation (MSD), which induces inflammation and synaptic dysfunction in the hippocampus, has been associated with learning and memory impairment in offspring. Melatonin (Mel) has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective function. However, the beneficial effect of Mel on MSD-induced cognitive impairment and its mechanisms are unknown. METHODS: In the present study, adult offspring suffered from MSD were injected with Mel (20 mg/kg) once a day during postnatal days 61-88. The cognitive function was evaluated by the Morris water maze test. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mRNA and protein levels of synaptic plasticity associated proteins were examined using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. RESULTS: The results showed that MSD impaired learning and memory in the offspring mice. MSD increased the levels of interleukin (IL)-1creIL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α and decreased the expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, tyrosine kinase receptor B, postsynaptic density protein-95, and synaptophysin in the hippocampus. Furthermore, Mel attenuated cognitive impairment and restored markers of inflammation and synaptic plasticity to control levels. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicated that Mel could ameliorate learning and memory impairment induced by MSD, and these beneficial effects were related to improvement in inflammation and synaptic dysfunction.

Mitochondrial antioxidant elamipretide improves learning and memory impairment induced by chronic sleep deprivation in mice.

BACKGROUND: The inflammation and synaptic dysfunction induced by mitochondrial dysfunction play essential roles in the learning and memory impairment associated with sleep dysfunction. Elamipretide (SS-31), a novel mitochondrion-targeted antioxidant, was proven to improve mitochondrial dysfunction, the inflammatory response, synaptic dysfunction, and cognitive impairment in models of cerebral ischemia, sepsis, and type 2 diabetes. However, the potential for SS-31 to improve the cognitive impairment induced by chronic sleep deprivation (CSD) and its underlying mechanisms is unknown. METHODS: Adult c57BL/6J mice were subjected to CSD for 21 days using an activity wheel accompanied by daily intraperitoneal injection of SS-31 (5 mg/kg). The novel object recognition and Morris water maze test were used to evaluate hippocampus-dependent cognitive function. Western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays were used to determine the effects of CSD and SS-31 on markers of mitochondria, inflammation response, and synaptic function. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to examine the levels of proinflammatory cytokines. RESULTS: SS-31 could improve the cognitive impairment induced by CSD. In particular, SS-31 treatment restored the CSD-induced decrease in sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator alpha levels and the increase in levels nuclear factor kappa-B and inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Furthermore, SS-31 significantly increased the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, postsynaptic density protein-95, and synaptophysin in CSD mice. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results suggest that SS-31 could improve CSD-induced mitochondrial biogenesis dysfunction, inflammatory response, synaptic dysfunction, and cognitive impairment by increasing SIRT1 expression levels.

An enriched environment ameliorates maternal sleep deprivation-induced cognitive impairment in aged mice by improving mitochondrial function via the Sirt1/PGC-1α pathway.

BACKGROUND: Early life stress can cause cognitive impairment in aged offspring. Environmental enrichment (EE) is considered to be an effective non-pharmacological treatment for improving cognitive decline. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of EE, on cognitive impairment in aged offspring induced by maternal sleep deprivation (MSD) and the underlying mechanisms involved to investigate its potential value in clinical practice. METHODS: CD-1 damns were subjected or not to sleep deprivation during late gestation. Twenty-one days after birth, the offspring were assigned to standard or EE cages. At 18 months-old, the learning and memory function of the offspring mice was evaluated using Morris water maze. The hippocampal and prefrontal cortical levels of protein, gene, proinflammation cytokines, and oxidative stress indicators was examined by Western blot, real-time polymerase chain reaction, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, and biochemical assays. RESULTS: Offspring in MSD group exhibited declined learning and memory abilities compared with control animals. Moreover, the hippocampal and prefrontal cortical levels of Sirtuin1 (Sirt1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α), postsynaptic density protein-95, and synaptophysin were lower and those of proinflammation cytokines higher in the MSD group; meanwhile, the superoxide dismutase content was higher and the malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species contents were lower. However, these deleterious changes were ameliorated by exposure to EE. CONCLUSIONS: EE attenuates MSD-induced cognitive impairment, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation and reverses the reduction in synaptic protein levels in aged offspring mice via the Sirt1/PGC-1α pathway.

Melatonin attenuates intermittent hypoxia-induced cognitive impairment in aged mice: The role of inflammation and synaptic plasticity.

Intermittent hypoxia (IH), a major pathophysiologic alteration in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), is an important contributor to cognitive impairment. Increasing research suggests that melatonin has anti-inflammatory properties and improves functions related to synaptic plasticity. However, it is unclear whether melatonin has a protective effect against OSAS-induced cognitive dysfunction in aged individuals and the involved mechanisms are also unclear. Therefore, in the study, the effects of exposure to IH alone and IH in combination with daily melatonin treatment were investigated in C57BL/6 J mice aged 18 months. Assessment of the cognitive ability of mice in a Morris water maze showed that melatonin attenuated IH-induced impairment of learning and memory in aged mice. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, polymerase chain reaction, and western blotting molecular techniques showed that melatonin treatment reduced the levels of the proinflammatory cytokines, interleukin-1ß, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α, decreased the levels of NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 and nuclear factor kappa-B, lowered the levels of ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein, and increased the levels of the synaptic proteins, activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein, growth-associated protein-43, postsynaptic density protein 95, and synaptophysin in IH-exposed mice. Moreover, electrophysiological results showed that melatonin ameliorated the decline in long-term potentiation induced by IH. The results suggest that melatonin can ameliorate IH-induced cognitive deficits by inhibiting neuroinflammation and improving synaptic plasticity in aged mice.

[Value of narrow band imaging endoscopy in the detection of unknown primary site with cervical lymph node metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of narrow band imaging (NBI) endoscopy in the detection of unknown primary tumor site with cervical lymph node metastases of squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: Fifty-three patients with cervical lymph node metastases of squamous cell carcinoma treated in our department between June 2009 and December 2011 were enrolled in this study. Their primary tumor site was not detected by routine computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and laryngoscopy. The nasopharyngolarynx was examined by NBI endoscopy to explore the primary tumor site. RESULTS: A total of 53 cases with cervical lymph node metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma from an unknown primary were examined under NBI endoscopy. The primary tumor site was confirmed by NBI examination in 47.2% (25/53) of patients, significantly better than routine radiology and endoscopy (0, P < 0.001). These primary tumors were small and superficial, with characteristic mucosal vascular morphologies. The superficial nasopharyngeal carcinomas under NBI examination showed the superficial thin branch-like or torturous line microvessels. The notable characteristics of the squamous cell carcinoma of oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx was the well demarcated brownish area and scattered brown dots. CONCLUSION: The NBI endoscopy can provide better visualization of the morphology of superficial mucosal vasculature and improve the ability to detect possible primary cancer in patients with primary unknown cervical lymph node metastasis.

Surface Reconstruction of Lead-Free Perovskite Cs2Ag0.6Na0.4InCl6:Bi by Hydroxylation with Blue-Light-Excited Performance.

Molecular surface reconfiguration strategies have been instrumental to performance improvements of halide perovskite photovoltaic applications in recent years. However, research into the optical properties of the lead-free double perovskite Cs2AgInCl6 on the complex reconstructed surface is still lacking. Here, blue-light excitation in double perovskite Cs2Na0.4Ag0.6InCl6 with Bi doping has been successfully achieved by excess KBr coating and ethanol-driven structural reconstruction. Ethanol drives the formation of hydroxylated Cs2-yKyAg0.6Na0.4In0.8Bi0.2Cl6-yBry in the Cs2Ag0.6Na0.4In0.8Bi0.2Cl6@xKBr interface layer. The hydroxyl group adsorbed on the interstitial sites of the double perovskite structure induces a transfer of local space electrons to the [AgCl6] and [InCl6] octahedral regions, enabling them to be excited with blue light (467 nm). The passivation of KBr shell reduces the non-radiative transition probability of excitons. Blue-light-excited flexible photoluminescence devices based on hydroxylated Cs2Ag0.6Na0.4In0.8Bi0.2Cl6@16KBr are fabricated. The application of hydroxylated Cs2Ag0.6Na0.4In0.8Bi0.2Cl6@16KBr as down-shift layer in GaAs photovoltaic cell module can increase its power conversion efficiency by 3.34%. The surface reconstruction strategy provides a new way to optimize the performance of lead-free double perovskite.

Feasibility of applying a noninvasive method for sleep monitoring based on mouse behaviors.

INTRODUCTION: Currently, electroencephalogram (EEG)/electromyogram (EMG) system is widely regarded as the "golden standard" for sleep monitoring. Imperfectly, its invasive monitoring may somehow interfere with the natural state of sleep. Up to now, noninvasive methods for sleep monitoring have developed, which could preserve the undisturbed and naïve sleep state of mice to the greatest extent, but the feasibility of their application under different conditions should be extensive validated. METHODS: Based on existing research, we verified the feasibility of a sleep monitoring system based on mouse behaviors under different conditions. The experimental mice were exposed to various stresses and placed into a combined device comprising noninvasive sleep monitoring equipment and an EEG/EMG system, and the sleep status was recorded under different physiological, pharmacological, and pathophysiological conditions. The consistency of the parameters obtained from the different systems was calculated using the Bland-Altman statistical method. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that the physiological sleep times determined by noninvasive sleep monitoring system were highly consistent with those obtained from the EEG/EMG system, and the coefficients were 94.4% and 95.1% in C57BL/6J and CD-1 mice, respectively. The noninvasive sleep monitoring system exhibited high sensitivity under the sleep-promoting effect of diazepam and caffeine-induced wakefulness, which was indicated by its ability to detect the effect of dosage on sleep times, and accurate determination of the sleep/wakeful status of mice under different pathophysiological conditions. After combining the data obtained from all the mice, the coefficient between the sleep times detected by behavior-based sleep monitoring system and those obtained from the EEG/EMG equipment was determined to .94. CONCLUSION: The results suggested that behavior-based sleep monitoring system could accurately evaluate the sleep/wakeful states of mice under different conditions.

Effects of Sleep Reactivity on Sleep Macro-Structure, Orderliness, and Cortisol After Stress: A Preliminary Study in Healthy Young Adults.

Purpose: To investigate changes and links of stress and high sleep reactivity (H-SR) on the macro-structure and orderliness of sleep and cortisol levels in good sleepers (GS). Patients and Methods: Sixty-two GS (18-40 years old) were recruited, with 32 in the stress group and 30 in the control group. Each group was further divided into H-SR and low SR subgroups based on the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test. All participants completed two nights of polysomnography in a sleep laboratory. Before conducting polysomnography on the second night, the stress group completed the Trier Social Stress Test and saliva was collected. Results: The duration of NREM sleep stages 1, 2 (N1, N2) and rapid eye movement sleep (REM) decreased, and the values of approximate entropy, sample entropy, fuzzy entropy, and multiscale entropy increased under stress and SR effects. Stress increased rapid eye movement density, and H-SR increased cortisol reactivity. Conclusion: Stress can damage the sleep and increase cortisol release in GS, especially those with H-SR. N1, N2 and REM sleep are more easily affected, while NREM sleep stage 3 sleep is relatively stable.

Resveratrol ameliorates maternal immune activation-associated cognitive impairment in adult male offspring by relieving inflammation and improving synaptic dysfunction.

Maternal exposure to inflammation may represent a major risk factor for neuropsychiatric disorders with associated cognitive dysfunction in offspring in later life. Growing evidence has suggested that resveratrol exerts a beneficial effect on cognitive impairment via its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and by ameliorating synaptic dysfunction. However, how resveratrol affects maternal immune activation-induced cognitive dysfunction and the underlying mechanisms are unclear. In the present study, pregnant dams were given an intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 50 µg/kg) on gestational day 15. Subsequently, the offspring mice were treated or not with resveratrol (40 mg/kg) from postnatal day (PND) 60 to PND 88. Male offspring were selected for the evaluation of cognitive function using the Morris water maze test. The hippocampal levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines were examined by ELISA. The mRNA and protein levels of sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95), and synaptophysin (SYP) were determined by RT-qPCR and western blot, respectively. The results showed that male offspring mice exposed to LPS in utero exhibited learning and memory impairment. Additionally, the levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were increased while those of SIRT1, BDNF, PSD-95, and SYP were decreased in male offspring of LPS-treated mothers. Treatment with resveratrol reversed cognitive impairment and attenuated the increase in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by maternal immune activation in the offspring mice. Furthermore, resveratrol reversed the deleterious effects of maternal immune activation on SIRT1, BDNF, PSD-95, and SYP levels in the hippocampus. Collectively, our results suggested that resveratrol can effectively improve learning and memory impairment induced by maternal immune activation via the modulation of inflammation and synaptic dysfunction.

An enriched environment improves maternal sleep deprivation-induced cognitive deficits and synaptic plasticity via hippocampal histone acetylation.

INTRODUCTION: Growing evidence clearly demonstrates that maternal rodents exposure to sleep deprivation (SD) during late pregnancy impairs learning and memory in their offspring. Epigenetic mechanisms, particularly histone acetylation, are known to be involved in synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. We hypothesize that the cognitive decline induced by SD during late pregnancy is associated with histone acetylation dysfunction, and this effect could be reversed by an enriched environment (EE). METHODS: In the present study, pregnant CD-1 mice were exposed to SD during the third trimester of pregnancy. After weaning, all offspring were randomly assigned to two subgroups in either a standard environment or an EE. When offspring were 3 months old, the Morris water maze was used to evaluate hippocampal-dependent learning and memory ability. Molecular biological techniques, including western blot and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, were used to examine the histone acetylation pathway and synaptic plasticity markers in the hippocampus of offspring. RESULTS: The results showed that the following were all reversed by EE treatment: maternal SD (MSD)-induced cognitive deficits including spatial learning and memory; histone acetylation dysfunction including increased histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) and decreased histone acetyltransferase (CBP), and the acetylation levels of H3K9 and H4K12; synaptic plasticity dysfunction including decreased brain-derived neurotrophic factor; and postsynaptic density protein-95. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that MSD could damage learning ability and memory in offspring via the histone acetylation pathway. This effect could be reversed by EE treatment.