Cysteine triggered cascade reaction forming coumarin: Visualization of cysteine fluctuation in alcoholic liver disease by a NIR fluorescent probe.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a chronic toxic liver injury caused by long-term heavy drinking. Due to the increasing incidence, ALD is becoming one of important medical tasks. Many studies have shown that the main mechanism of liver damage caused by large amounts of alcohol may be related to antioxidant stress. As an important antioxidant, cysteine (Cys) is involved in maintaining the normal redox balance and detoxifying metabolic function of the liver, which may be closely related to the pathogenesis of ALD. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a simple non-invasive method for rapid monitoring of Cys in liver. Thus, a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe DCI-Ac-Cys which undergoes Cys triggered cascade reaction to form coumarin fluorophore is developed. Using the DCI-Ac-Cys, decreased Cys was observed in the liver of ALD mice. Importantly, different levels of Cys were monitored in the livers of ALD mice taking silybin and curcumin with the antioxidant effects, indicating the excellent therapeutic effect on ALD. This study provides the important references for the accurate diagnosis of ALD and the pharmacodynamic evaluation of silybin and curcumin in the treatment of ALD, and support new ideas for the pathogenesis of ALD.

Mobilization of heavy metals from floodplain sediments of the Yellow River during redox fluctuations.

The floodplain of the Yellow River is a typical area characterized by redox fluctuations and heavy metal pollution. However, the mobilization behavior of heavy metals in floodplain sediments during redox fluctuations remains poorly understood. In this study, reductive mobilization of Fe and Mn was observed under reducing environments through reduction and dissolution, leading to the subsequent release of adsorbed As. In contrast, the mobilization of U occurred under oxic conditions, as the oxidative state of U(VI) has higher solubility. Furthermore, insignificant effects on the mobilization of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Hg were noticed during redox fluctuations, indicating higher stability of these heavy metals. Additionally, we demonstrated that carbon sources can play a key role in the mobilization of heavy metals in floodplain sediments, amplifying the reductive mobilization of Fe, Mn, As and the oxidative mobilization of U. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the biogeochemical cycling of heavy metal in floodplain sediments of the Yellow River and the factors that control this cycling.

The Effect of Temperature Variability on Biological Responses of Ectothermic Animals-A Meta-Analysis.

Climate change is altering temperature means and variation, and both need to be considered in predictions underpinning conservation. However, there is no consensus in the literature regarding the effects of temperature fluctuations on biological functions. Fluctuations may affect biological responses because of inequalities from non-linear responses, endocrine regulation or exposure to damaging temperatures. Here we establish the current state of knowledge of how temperature fluctuations impact biological responses within individuals and populations compared to constant temperatures with the same mean. We conducted a meta-analysis of 143 studies on ectothermic animals (1492 effect sizes, 118 species). In this study, 89% of effect sizes were derived from diel cycles, but there were no significant differences between diel cycles and shorter (<8 h) or longer (>48 h) cycles in their effect on biological responses. We show that temperature fluctuations have little effect overall on trait mean and variance. Nonetheless, temperature fluctuations can be stressful: fluctuations increased 'gene expression' in aquatic animals, which was driven mainly by increased hsp70. Fluctuating temperatures also decreased longevity, and increased amplitudes had negative effects on population responses in aquatic organisms. We conclude that mean temperatures and extreme events such as heat waves are important to consider, but regular (particularly diel) temperature fluctuations are less so.

Exploring spontaneous brain activity changes in high-altitude smokers: Insights from ALFF/fALFF analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to explore the impact of smoking on intrinsic brain activity among high-altitude (HA) populations. Smoking is associated with various neural alterations, but it remains unclear whether smokers in HA environments exhibit specific neural characteristics. METHODS: We employed ALFF and fALFF methods across different frequency bands to investigate differences in brain functional activity between high-altitude smokers and non-smokers. 31 smokers and 31 non-smokers from HA regions participated, undergoing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans. ALFF/fALFF values were compared between the two groups. Correlation analyses explored relationships between brain activity and clinical data. RESULTS: Smokers showed increased ALFF values in the right superior frontal gyrus (R-SFG), right middle frontal gyrus (R-MFG), right anterior cingulate cortex (R-ACC), right inferior frontal gyrus (R-IFG), right superior/medial frontal gyrus (R-MSFG), and left SFG compared to non-smokers in HA. In sub-frequency bands (0.01-0.027 Hz and 0.027-0.073 Hz), smokers showed increased ALFF values in R-SFG, R-MFG, right middle cingulate cortex (R-MCC), R-MSFG, Right precentral gyrus and L-SFG while decreased fALFF values were noted in the right postcentral and precentral gyrus in the 0.01-0.027 Hz band. Negative correlations were found between ALFF values in the R-SFG and smoking years. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals the neural characteristics of smokers in high-altitude environments, highlighting the potential impact of smoking on brain function. These results provide new insights into the neural mechanisms of high-altitude smoking addiction and may inform the development of relevant intervention measures.

Structural and functional whole brain changes in autism spectrum disorder at different age stages.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder involving regional changes and local neural disturbances. However, few studies have investigated the dysfunctional phenomenon across different age stages. This study explores the structural and functional brain changes across different developmental stages in individuals with ASD, focusing on childhood (6-12 years), adolescence (12-18 years), and adulthood (18 + years). Using a comprehensive set of neuroimaging metrics, including modulated and non-modulated voxel-based morphometry (VBM), regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), and fractional ALFF (fALFF), we identified significant stage-specific alterations in both VBM and functional measurements. Our results reveal that ASD is associated with progressive and stage-specific abnormalities in brain structure and function, with distinct patterns emerging at each developmental stage. Specifically, we observed significant modulated VBM reductions in the precuneus, lentiform nucleus, and inferior parietal lobule, accompanied by increases in the midbrain and sub-gyral regions. Moreover, we observed unmodulated VBM increment in regions including lentiform nucleus and thalamus. Functionally, ReHo analyses demonstrated disrupted local synchronization in the medial frontal gyrus, while ALFF and fALFF metrics highlighted altered spontaneous brain activity in the sub-gyral and sub-lobar. Finally, correlation analyses revealed that stage-specific findings are closely linked to clinical social- and behavior-related scores, with VBM in the inferior parietal lobule and putamen as well as ReHo in supplemental motor area being significantly associated with restrictive repetitive behaviors in childhood. These findings underscore the importance of considering age-specific brain changes when studying ASD and suggest that targeted interventions may be necessary at different developmental stages.

The different impacts of pain-related negative emotion and trait negative emotion on brain function in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a group of chronic, non-specific intestinal diseases that could comorbid with varieties of negative emotional constructs, including pain-related negative emotions and trait negative emotions; however, the link between brain functions and different dimensions of negative emotions remains largely unknown. Ninety-eight patients with IBD and forty-six healthy subjects were scanned using a 3.0-T functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and degree centrality (DC) were used to assess resting-state brain activity. Partial least squares (PLS) correlation was employed to assess the relationship among abnormal brain activities, pain-related and trait negative emotions. Compared to controls, patients with IBD exhibited higher values of ALFF in the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), lower values of ALFF in the left postcentral gyrus, and higher values of DC in the bilateral ACC. Multivariate PLS correlation analysis revealed the brain scores of the ACC were correlated with pain-related negative emotions, the brain salience in the left postcentral gyrus was associated with the higher-order trait depression. These findings can enhance our comprehension of how pain-related negative emotion and trait negative emotion affect the brains of patients with IBD in distinct ways.

Monitoring the Biochemical Activity of Single Anammox Granules with Microbarometers.

Granule-based anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) is a promising biotechnology for wastewater treatments with extraordinary performance in nitrogen removal. However, traditional analytical methods often delivered an average activity of a bulk sample consisting of millions and even billions of Anammox granules with distinct sizes and components. Here, we developed a novel technique to monitor the biochemical activity of individual Anammox granules in real-time by recording the production rate of nitrogen gas with a microbarometer in a sealed chamber containing only one granule. It was found that the specific activity of a single Anammox granule not only varied by tens of folds among different individuals with similar sizes (activity heterogeneity) but also revealed significant breath-like dynamics over time (temporal fluctuation). Statistical analysis on tens of individuals further revealed two subpopulations with distinct color and specific activity, which were subsequently attributed to the different expression levels of heme c content and hydrazine dehydrogenase activity. This study not only provides a general methodology for various kinds of gas-producing microbial processes but also establishes a bottom-up strategy for exploring the structural-activity relationship at a single sludge granule level, with implications for developing a better Anammox process.

Effects of temperature on fish aggression and the combined impact of temperature and turbidity on thermal tolerance.

Deforestation can increase light penetration and runoff entering adjacent freshwaters leading to increased average water temperature, stronger diel temperature fluctuations, and increased water turbidity. Changes in temperature extremes (particularly upper peaks) are important for fishes as their body temperature and rate of oxygen consumption varies with environmental temperature. Here, we compare effects of diel-fluctuating versus stable water temperature regimes on the behaviour and upper thermal tolerance (measured as Critical Thermal Maximum, CTmax) of the Bluntnose Minnow, Pimephales notatus. Fish were acclimated to either a static 18°C, static 24°C or a diel-fluctuating treatment of low to high (18-24°C) for a total of 10 weeks. Activity level and aggression were measured for 6 consecutive weeks during the acclimation period. Activity level remained high across treatments and over time. However, fish from the diel-fluctuating treatment exhibited a significant increase in aggression over the day as temperatures increased from 18°C to 24°C. Following acclimation, upper thermal limits of fish from each treatment were measured under two conditions: clear water (<2 NTU) and turbid water (25 NTU). This was to evaluate effects of acute turbidity exposure that might arise with heavy rain on deforested streams. CTmax was lowest in fish acclimated to static 18°C and highest in fish acclimated to static 24°C; fish acclimated to diel 18-24°C showed an intermediate CTmax. Exposure to acute turbidity during CTmax trials significantly lowered CTmax across all treatments, highlighting the importance of multiple-stressor studies in evaluating upper thermal tolerance of fishes.

Functional activity, functional connectivity and complex network biomarkers of progressive hyposmia Parkinson's disease with no cognitive impairment: evidences from resting-state fMRI study.

Background: Olfactory dysfunction stands as one of the most prevalent non-motor symptoms in the initial stage of Parkinson's disease (PD). Nevertheless, the intricate mechanisms underlying olfactory deficits in Parkinson's disease still remain elusive. Methods: This study collected rs-fMRI data from 30 PD patients [15 with severe hyposmia (PD-SH) and 15 with no/mild hyposmia (PD-N/MH)] and 15 healthy controls (HC). To investigate functional segregation, the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) were utilized. Functional connectivity (FC) analysis was performed to explore the functional integration across diverse brain regions. Additionally, the graph theory-based network analysis was employed to assess functional networks in PD patients. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to delve deeper into the relationship between the severity of olfactory dysfunction and various functional metrics. Results: We discovered pronounced variations in ALFF, ReHo, FC, and topological brain network attributes across the three groups, with several of these disparities exhibiting a correlation with olfactory scores. Conclusion: Using fMRI, our study analyzed brain function in PD-SH, PD-N/MH, and HC groups, revealing impaired segregation and integration in PD-SH and PD-N/MH. We hypothesize that changes in temporal, frontal, occipital, and cerebellar activities, along with aberrant cerebellum-insula connectivity and node degree and betweenness disparities, may be linked to olfactory dysfunction in PD patients.

Urine Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio as an Indicator of Brain Activity Changes in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Resting-State fMRI Study.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for alterations in brain function. However, detecting early-stage symptoms and structural changes remains challenging, potentially leading to delayed treatment. In our study, we aimed to investigate spontaneous brain activity changes in CKD patients using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Additionally, we explored the correlation between common biomarkers reflecting CKD severity and brain activity. METHODS: We recruited a cohort of 22 non-dialysis-dependent CKD patients and 22 controls for resting-state fMRI scans. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) were calculated to evaluate brain activity. Regression analysis was conducted to explore the correlations between biomarkers reflecting the severity of CKD and brain activity. RESULTS: CKD patients exhibited reduced z-scored ALFF (zALFF) and mean ALFF (mALFF) in the bilateral putamen, right caudate nucleus, left anterior cingulate, and right precuneus. Changes in bilateral putamen were also found in smCohe-ReHo and szCohe-ReHo analyses. Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPCR), and serum albumin levels were associated with attenuated putamen activity. CONCLUSION: Non-dialysis-dependent CKD patients had changes in zALFF, mALFF, smCohe-ReHo, and szCohe-ReHo values in specific brain regions, especially bilateral putamen. UACR, UPCR, and serum albumin levels are associated with putamen activity attenuation in rs-fMRI.

Nonlinear and multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis of radon time series in a volcanic touristic cave.

Radioactive radon gas poses significant threats to human health. Understanding the complexities of radon distribution and the dynamic relationship with atmospheric parameters will help in mitigating its impact. In this study, Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MF-DFA) and chaos analysis were used to examine the fractal structure in radon gas at La Cueva del Viento, Tenerife, between January 2021 and December 2022. The results showed that radon has multifractal properties in 2021, 2022, and 2021-2022, with values of the spectrum with of about 0.43, 0.49 and 0.44 respectively. The multifractality in radon gas was found to be driven by both long-range correlations and fat-tail distribution. Radon gas concentration at La Cueva del Viento was found to be chaotic in nature, hence, long-term prediction is impossible. Meteorological parameters such as relative humidity, air temperature and pressure were found to contribute to the variation in radon gas concentration within the cave. Relative humidity was observed to have the strongest cross-correlation with radon gas in 2021, 2022, and 2021-2022. The results from this study will help in dosimetric control for both workers and visitors to the cave.

Identification of the GABARAP binding determinant in PI4K2A.

GABARAP is a member of the ATG8 family of ubiquitin-like autophagy related proteins. It was initially discovered as a facilitator of GABA-A receptor translocation to the plasma membrane and has since been shown to promote the intracellular transport of a variety of other proteins under non-autophagic conditions. We and others have shown that GABARAP interacts with the Type II phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase, PI4K2A, and that this interaction is important for autophagosome-lysosome fusion. Here we identify a 7-amino acid segment within the PI4K2A catalytic domain that contains the GABARAP interaction motif (GIM). This segment resides in an exposed loop that is not conserved in the other mammalian Type II PI 4-kinase, PI4K2B, explaining the specificity of GABARAP binding to the PI4K2A isoform. Mutation of the PI4K2A GIM inhibits GABARAP binding and PI4K2A-mediated recruitment of cytosolic GABARAP to subcellular organelles. We further show that GABARAP binds to mono-phosphorylated phosphoinositides, PI3P, PI4P, and PI5P, raising the possibility that these lipids contribute to the binding energies that drive GABARAP-protein interactions on membranes.

Evaluating and Comparing Measures of Aperiodic Neural Activity.

Neuro-electrophysiological recordings contain prominent aperiodic activity - meaning irregular activity, with no characteristic frequency - which has variously been referred to as 1/f (or 1/f-like activity), fractal, or 'scale-free' activity. Previous work has established that aperiodic features of neural activity is dynamic and variable, relating (between subjects) to healthy aging and to clinical diagnoses, and also (within subjects) tracking conscious states and behavioral performance. There are, however, a wide variety of conceptual frameworks and associated methods for the analyses and interpretation of aperiodic activity - for example, time domain measures such as the autocorrelation, fractal measures, and/or various complexity and entropy measures, as well as measures of the aperiodic exponent in the frequency domain. There is a lack of clear understanding of how these different measures relate to each other and to what extent they reflect the same or different properties of the data, which makes it difficult to synthesize results across approaches and complicates our overall understanding of the properties, biological significance, and demographic, clinical, and behavioral correlates of aperiodic neural activity. To address this problem, in this project we systematically survey the different approaches for measuring aperiodic neural activity, starting with an automated literature analysis to curate a collection of the most common methods. We then evaluate and compare these methods, using statistically representative time series simulations. In doing so, we establish consistent relationships between the measures, showing that much of what they capture reflects shared variance - though with some notable idiosyncrasies. Broadly, frequency domain methods are more specific to aperiodic features of the data, whereas time domain measures are more impacted by oscillatory activity. We extend this analysis by applying the measures to a series of empirical EEG and iEEG datasets, replicating the simulation results. We conclude by summarizing the relationships between the multiple methods, emphasizing opportunities for reexamining previous findings and for future work.

Quantification of glutathione and its associated spontaneous neuronal activity in major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Glutathione (GSH) is a crucial antioxidant in the human brain. Although proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) using the MEscher-GArwood Point RESolved Spectroscopy (MEGA-PRESS) sequence is highly recommended, limited literature has measured cortical GSH using this method in major psychiatric disorders. METHODS: By combining MRS using the MEGA-PRESS and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we quantified brain GSH and glutamate in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and precuneus and explore relationships between the GSH levels and intrinsic neuronal activity as well as clinical symptoms among the three groups of healthy controls (HCs, N=30), major depressive disorder (MDD, N=28), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, N=28). RESULTS: GSH concentrations were lower in both the mPFC and precuneus in both the MDD and OCD groups compared to HCs. In HCs, positive correlations were noted between the GSH and glutamate levels, and between GSH and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) in both regions. However, while these correlations were absent in both patient groups, they showed a weak positive correlation between glutamate and fALFF values. Moreover, GSH levels negatively correlated with depressive and compulsive symptoms in MDD and OCD, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that reduced GSH levels and an imbalance between GSH and glutamate could increase oxidative stress and alter neurotransmitter signaling, leading to disruptions in GSH-related neurochemical-neuronal coupling and psychopathologies across MDD and OCD. Understanding these mechanisms could provide valuable insights into the underlying processes of these disorders, potentially becoming a springboard for future directions and advancing our knowledge of their neurobiological foundations.

Molecular mechanism of a coastal cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 adapting to changing phosphate concentrations.

Phosphorus concentration on the surface of seawater varies greatly with different environments, especially in coastal. The molecular mechanism by which cyanobacteria adapt to fluctuating phosphorus bioavailability is still unclear. In this study, transcriptomes and gene knockouts were used to investigate the adaptive molecular mechanism of a model coastal cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 during periods of phosphorus starvation and phosphorus recovery (adding sufficient phosphorus after phosphorus starvation). The findings indicated that phosphorus deficiency affected the photosynthesis, ribosome synthesis, and bacterial motility pathways, which recommenced after phosphorus was resupplied. Even more, most of the metabolic pathways of cyanobacteria were enhanced after phosphorus recovery compared to the control which was kept in continuous phosphorus replete conditions. Based on transcriptome, 54 genes potentially related to phosphorus-deficiency adaptation were selected and knocked out individually or in combination. It was found that five mutants showed weak growth phenotype under phosphorus deficiency, indicating the importance of the genes (A0076, A0549-50, A1094, A1320, A1895) in the adaptation of phosphorus deficiency. Three mutants were found to grow better than the wild type under phosphorus deficiency, suggesting that the products of these genes (A0079, A0340, A2284-86) might influence the adaptation to phosphorus deficiency. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that cyanobacteria exposed to highly fluctuating phosphorus concentrations have more sophisticated phosphorus acquisition strategies. These results elucidated that Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 have variable phosphorus response mechanisms to adapt to fluctuating phosphorus concentration, providing a novel perspective of how cyanobacteria may respond to the complex and dynamic environments. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42995-024-00244-y.

Performance enhancement of classifiers through Bio inspired feature selection methods for early detection of lung cancer from microarray genes.

Gene expression in the microarray is assimilated with redundant and high-dimensional information. Moreover, the information in the microarray genes mostly correlates with background noise. This paper uses dimensionality reduction and feature selection methods to employ a classification methodology for high-dimensional lung cancer microarray data. The approach is enforced in two phases; initially, the genes are dimensionally reduced through Hilbert Transform, Detrend Fluctuation Analysis and Least Square Linear Regression methods. The dimensionally reduced data is further optimized in the next phase using Elephant Herd optimization (EHO) and Cuckoo Search Feature selection methods. The classifiers used here are Bayesian Linear Discriminant, Naive Bayes, Random Forest, Decision Tree, SVM (Linear), SVM (Polynomial), and SVM (RBF). The classifier's performances are analysed with and without feature selection methods. The SVM (Linear) classifier with the DFA Dimensionality Reduction method and EHO feature selection achieved the highest accuracy of 92.26 % compared to other classifiers.

Comparison of spontaneous brain activity in distinguishing parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy from Parkinson's disease at an early stage.

Background: The overlapping clinical manifestations in parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy (MSA-P) and Parkinson's Disease (PD) can complicate clinical diagnostic accuracy, particularly in the early stage. The study aims to uncover the patterns of brain function in the initial phase of the two conditions. Methods: We recruited 24 MSA-P patients, 34 PD patients and 27 healthy controls (HC). Voxel-wise fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) was compared to characterize regional brain function, followed by seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to examine the diagnostic accuracy of fALFF. Results: Compared to HC, decreased fALFF was observed in the bilateral basal ganglia (BG) of MSA-P patients, while decreased fALFF was identified in the left BG of PD patients. Additionally, elevated fALFF was found in the superior cerebellum for MSA-P patients and the temporo-occipital cortex for PD patients. Furthermore, PD patients exhibited increased FC in the cortico-striatal loop compared to MSA-P patients. The fALFF of the left caudate distinguished MSA-P from HC with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.838 (p < 0.001) and from PD with an AUC of 0.772 (p < 0.001). The fALFF of the left putamen distinguished PD from HC with an AUC of 0.736 (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Our findings indicated common and distinct abnormalities in spontaneous brain activity within BG, cerebellum, and cortices in early-stage MSA-P and PD patients. PD patients employed more compensatory mechanisms than MSA-P patients. Furthermore, fALFF may aid in early differentiation between MSA-P and PD.

Body image appearance in Parkinson's disease patients on device aided therapies.

INTRODUCTION: Parkinson's disease patients may experience altered body image perception. Advanced Parkinson's disease (aPD) with motor complications often requires surgical and device-aided treatments (DAT), such as levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) and deep brain stimulation (DBS). Understanding body image perception is crucial when managing these devices. This study aims to explore body image perception in aPD patients, hypothesizing a link between DAT and body image perception. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study including non-demented aPD patients with and without DAT and age- and sex-matched controls. Participants were assessed using the Appearance Schemas Inventory-Revised (ASI-R), including Motivational Salience (MS) and Self-Evaluative Salience (SES) scores. Additional data included age, education, BMI, comorbidities, pharmacotherapy, and psychopathologies. PD patients were also evaluated with UPDRS, Hoehn and Yahr scales and LEDD calculation. RESULTS: 70 aPD and 36 controls were enrolled. No differences in ASI-R scores were found between PD patients and controls, but women with PD had significantly lower MS scores than controls (16.1 ± 5.6 vs 19.7 ± 5.8; p = 0.023). Among aPD patients, those on DAT had longer disease duration, higher Hoehn and Yahr, and lower UPDRS IV scores. The lowest MS was observed in women on LCIG (12.7 ± 3.3; p = 0.001). DISCUSSION: This study shows low MS ratings driven by female gender and LCIG treatment. Women on LCIG show reduced attention and management of their appearance. This may be influenced by cultural, environmental, and biological factors. Prospective research is needed to understand the impact of DAT on body image.

HSF1 is required for cellular adaptation to daily temperature fluctuations.

The heat shock response (HSR) is a universal mechanism of cellular adaptation to elevated temperatures and is regulated by heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) or HSF3 in vertebrate endotherms, such as humans, mice, and chickens. We here showed that HSF1 and HSF3 from egg-laying mammals (monotremes), with a low homeothermic capacity, equally possess a potential to maximally induce the HSR, whereas either HSF1 or HSF3 from birds have this potential. Therefore, we focused on cellular adaptation to daily temperature fluctuations and found that HSF1 was required for the proliferation and survival of human cells under daily temperature fluctuations. The ectopic expression of vertebrate HSF1 proteins, but not HSF3 proteins, restored the resistance in HSF1-null cells, regardless of the induction of heat shock proteins. This function was associated with the up-regulation of specific HSF1-target genes. These results indicate the distinct role of HSF1 in adaptation to thermally fluctuating environments and suggest association of homeothermic capacity with functional diversification of vertebrate HSF genes.

Altered spontaneous brain activity patterns in hypertensive retinopathy using fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

AIM: To study functional brain abnormalities in patients with hypertensive retinopathy (HR) and to discuss the pathophysiological mechanisms of HR by fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFFs) method. METHODS: Twenty HR patients and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were respectively recruited. The age, gender, and educational background characteristics of the two groups were similar. After functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning, the subjects' spontaneous brain activity was evaluated with the fALFF method. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to classify the data. Further, we used Pearson's correlation analysis to explore the relationship between fALFF values in specific brain regions and clinical behaviors in patients with HR. RESULTS: The brain areas of the HR group with lower fALFF values than HCs were the right orbital part of the middle frontal gyrus (RO-MFG) and right lingual gyrus. In contrast, the values of fALFFs in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG), left superior temporal pole (STP), left middle frontal gyrus (MFG), left superior marginal gyrus (SMG), left superior parietal lobule (SPL), and right supplementary motor area (SMA) were higher in the HR group. The results of a t-test showed that the average values of fALFFs were statistically significantly different in the HR group and HC group (P<0.001). The fALFF values of the left middle frontal gyrus in HR patients were positively correlated with anxiety scores (r=0.9232; P<0.0001) and depression scores (r=0.9682; P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: fALFF values in multiple brain regions of HR patients are abnormal, suggesting that these brain regions in HR patients may be dysfunctional, which may help to reveal the pathophysiological mechanisms of HR.