The association between serum S100ß levels and prognosis in acute stroke patients after intravenous thrombolysis: a multicenter prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: S100ß is a biomarker of astroglial damage, the level of which is significantly increased following brain injury. However, the characteristics of S100ß and its association with prognosis in patients with acute ischemic stroke following intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) remain unclear. METHODS: Patients in this multicenter prospective cohort study were prospectively and consecutively recruited from 16 centers. Serum S100ß levels were measured 24 h after IVT. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and hemorrhagic transformation (HT) were measured simultaneously. NIHSS at 7 days after stroke, final infarct volume, and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores at 90 days were also collected. An mRS score ≥ 2 at 90 days was defined as an unfavorable outcome. RESULTS: A total of 1072 patients were included in the analysis. The highest S100ß levels (> 0.20 ng/mL) correlated independently with HT and higher NIHSS at 24 h, higher NIHSS at 7 days, larger final infarct volume, and unfavorable outcome at 3 months. The patients were divided into two groups based on dominant and non-dominant stroke hemispheres. The highest S100ß level was similarly associated with the infarct volume in patients with stroke in either hemisphere (dominant: ß 36.853, 95% confidence interval (CI) 22.659-51.048, P < 0.001; non-dominant: ß 23.645, 95% CI 10.774-36.516, P = 0.007). However, serum S100ß levels at 24 h were more strongly associated with NIHSS scores at 24 h and 3-month unfavorable outcome in patients with dominant hemisphere stroke (NIHSS: ß 3.470, 95% CI 2.392-4.548, P < 0.001; 3-month outcome: odds ratio (OR) 5.436, 95% CI 2.936-10.064, P < 0.001) than in those with non-dominant hemisphere stroke (NIHSS: ß 0.326, 95% CI  - 0.735-1.387, P = 0.547; 3-month outcome: OR 0.882, 95% CI 0.538-1.445, P = 0.619). The association of S100ß levels and HT was not significant in either stroke lateralization group. CONCLUSIONS: Serum S100ß levels 24 h after IVT were independently associated with HT, infarct volume, and prognosis in patients with IVT, which suggests the application value of serum S100ß in judging the degree of disease and predicting prognosis.

Intelligent vehicle lateral control strategy research based on feedforward + predictive LQR algorithm with GA optimisation and PID compensation.

Targeting the lateral motion control problem in the intelligent vehicle autopilot structural system, this paper proposes a feedforward + predictive LQR algorithm for lateral motion control based on Genetic Algorithm (GA) parameter optimisation and PID steering angle compensation. Firstly, based on the vehicle dynamics tracking error model, the intelligent vehicle LQR lateral motion controller as well as the feedforward controller are designed, and upon which the predictive controller is added to eliminate the system lag.Subsequently, exploiting the advantage that the PID algorithm is not model-based, a PID steering angle compensation controller that can directly control and correct the lateral error is designed. Second, a LQR controller based on path tracking deviation is designed by using the parameter rectification method of genetic algorithm (GA), which optimizes the control parameters of the lateral motion controller and improves the adaptivity of the control accuracy. Finally, Based on the Carsim-Simulink co-simulation platform, the simulation validation and analysis of double lane change (DLC) test and circular condition test (CCT) are carried out, and the results indicate that compared with the other two LQR controllers, the optimised controllers improved more than 50% in lateral error and heading error control, and the vehicle sideslip angle and vehicle yaw rate are in the range of -0.05° to 0.05° and - 0.15 rad/s to 0.10 rad/s, and it showed improved performance in tracking accuracy and satisfied vehicle stability constrains.

HIV-1 Vpu induces neurotoxicity by promoting Caspase 3-dependent cleavage of TDP-43.

Despite the efficacy of highly active antiretroviral therapy in controlling the incidence and mortality of AIDS, effective interventions for HIV-1-induced neurological damage and cognitive impairment remain elusive. In this study, we found that HIV-1 infection can induce proteolytic cleavage and aberrant aggregation of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), a pathological protein associated with various severe neurological disorders. The HIV-1 accessory protein Vpu was found to be responsible for the cleavage of TDP-43, as ectopic expression of Vpu alone was sufficient to induce TDP-43 cleavage, whereas HIV-1 lacking Vpu failed to cleave TDP-43. Mechanistically, the cleavage of TDP-43 at Asp89 by HIV-1 relies on Vpu-mediated activation of Caspase 3, and pharmacological inhibition of Caspase 3 activity effectively suppressed the HIV-1-induced aggregation and neurotoxicity of TDP-43. Overall, these results suggest that TDP-43 is a conserved host target of HIV-1 Vpu and provide evidence for the involvement of TDP-43 dysregulation in the neural pathogenesis of HIV-1.

Effects of excess sodium consumption on arterial function in C57BL/6 mice.

Excess sodium consumption contributes to arterial dysfunction in humans. The C57BL/6 strain of mice has been used to identify mechanisms by which arterial dysfunction occurs after excess sodium consumption. However, there are concerns that C57BL/6 mice have strain-specific resistance to high-sodium (HS) diet-induced hypertension. To address this concern, we performed a meta-analysis to determine if excess sodium consumption in C57BL/6 mice induces arterial dysfunction. Databases were searched for HS versus standard diet studies that measured arterial function [i.e., systolic blood pressure (BP), endothelium-dependent dilation (EDD), and central arterial stiffness] in C57BL/6 mice. A total of 39 studies were included, demonstrating that the HS condition resulted in higher systolic BP than control mice with a mean difference of 9.8 mmHg (95% confidence interval [CI] = [5.6, 14], P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis indicated that the systolic BP was higher in HS compared with the control condition when measured during night compared with daytime with telemetry (P < 0.001). We also identified that the difference in systolic BP between HS and control was ∼2.5-fold higher when administered through drinking water than through food (P < 0.001). A total of 12 studies were included, demonstrating that the HS condition resulted in lower EDD than control with a weighted mean difference of -12.0% (95% CI = [-20.0, -4.1], P = 0.003). It should be noted that there was considerable variability across studies with more than half of the studies showing no effect of the HS condition on systolic BP or EDD. In summary, excess sodium consumption elevates systolic BP and impairs EDD in C57BL/6 mice.NEW & NOTEWORTHY C57BL/6 mice are perceived as resistant to high-sodium diet-induced arterial dysfunction. This meta-analysis demonstrates that excess sodium consumption elevates blood pressure and impairs endothelium-dependent dilation in C57BL/6 mice. Nighttime measurements show more pronounced blood pressure elevation. In addition, sodium administration via drinking water, compared with food, induces a greater blood pressure elevation. These findings may be influenced by outlier studies, as the majority of studies showed no adverse effect of excess sodium consumption on arterial function.

Whole-genome sequencing identifies novel genes for autism in Chinese trios.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with high genetic heritability but heterogeneity. Fully understanding its genetics requires whole-genome sequencing (WGS), but the ASD studies utilizing WGS data in Chinese population are limited. In this study, we present a WGS study for 334 individuals, including 112 ASD patients and their non-ASD parents. We identified 146 de novo variants in coding regions in 85 cases and 60 inherited variants in coding regions. By integrating these variants with an association model, we identified 33 potential risk genes (P<0.001) enriched in neuron and regulation related biological process. Besides the well-known ASD genes (SCN2A, NF1, SHANK3, CHD8 etc.), several high confidence genes were highlighted by a series of functional analyses, including CTNND1, DGKZ, LRP1, DDN, ZNF483, NR4A2, SMAD6, INTS1, and MRPL12, with more supported evidence from GO enrichment, expression and network analysis. We also integrated RNA-seq data to analyze the effect of the variants on the gene expression and found 12 genes in the individuals with the related variants had relatively biased expression. We further presented the clinical phenotypes of the proband carrying the risk genes in both our samples and Caucasian samples to show the effect of the risk genes on phenotype. Regarding variants in non-coding regions, a total of 74 de novo variants and 30 inherited variants were predicted as pathogenic with high confidence, which were mapped to specific genes or regulatory features. The number of de novo variants found in patient was significantly associated with the parents' ages at the birth of the child, and gender with trend. We also identified small de novo structural variants in ASD trios. The results in this study provided important evidence for understanding the genetic mechanism of ASD.

Density-dependent species interactions modulate alpine treeline shifts.

Species interactions such as facilitation and competition play a crucial role in driving species range shifts. However, density dependence as a key feature of these processes has received little attention in both empirical and modelling studies. Herein, we used a novel, individual-based treeline model informed by rich in situ observations to quantify the contribution of density-dependent species interactions to alpine treeline dynamics, an iconic biome boundary recognized as an indicator of global warming. We found that competition and facilitation dominate in dense versus sparse vegetation scenarios respectively. The optimal balance between these two effects was identified at an intermediate vegetation thickness where the treeline elevation was the highest. Furthermore, treeline shift rates decreased sharply with vegetation thickness and the associated transition from positive to negative species interactions. We thus postulate that vegetation density must be considered when modelling species range dynamics to avoid inadequate predictions of its responses to climate warming.

Complying with ISO 26262 and ISO/SAE 21434: A Safety and Security Co-Analysis Method for Intelligent Connected Vehicle.

A cyber-physical system (CPS) integrates communication and automation technologies into the operational processes of physical systems. Nowadays, as a complex CPS, an intelligent connected vehicle (ICV) may be exposed to accidental functional failures and malicious attacks. Therefore, ensuring the ICV's safety and security is crucial. Traditional safety/security analysis methods, such as failure mode and effect analysis and attack tree analysis, cannot provide a comprehensive analysis for the interactions between the system components of the ICV. In this work, we merge system-theoretic process analysis (STPA) with the concept phase of ISO 26262 and ISO/SAE 21434. We focus on the interactions between components while analyzing the safety and security of ICVs to reduce redundant efforts and inconsistencies in determining safety and security requirements. To conquer STPA's abstraction in describing causal scenarios, we improved the physical component diagram of STPA-SafeSec by adding interface elements. In addition, we proposed the loss scenario tree to describe specific scenarios that lead to unsafe/unsecure control actions. After hazard/threat analysis, a unified risk assessment process is proposed to ensure consistency in assessment criteria and to streamline the process. A case study is implemented on the autonomous emergency braking system to demonstrate the validation of the proposed method.

Metagenomic Analysis Reveals Difference of Gut Microbiota in ADHD.

OBJECTIVE: Although ADHD is highly heritable, some environmental factors contribute to its development. Given the growing evidence that gut microbiota was involved in psychiatric disorders, we aimed to identify the characteristic composition of the gut microbiota in ADHD. METHODS: We recruited 47 medication-naive children and adolescents with ADHD, and 60 healthy controls (HCs). We used shotgun metagenomics to measure the structure of the gut microbiota and analyzed the difference in bacterial taxa between ADHD and HCs. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between the ADHD and HC groups in both alpha diversity indices (Simpson index, p = .025 and Shannon index, p = .049) and beta diversity indices (Euclidean distance, Bray-Curtis distance, and JSD distance, p < 2.2e-16). Nine representative species best explain the difference. CONCLUSION: Patients with ADHD showed significant differences in the composition of the gut microbiota compared with HCs. These results may help identify potential biomarkers of ADHD.

Characterizing emissions of VOCs from the initial degradation of kitchen waste in household waste bins of residential areas in Beijing.

In order to clarify the emission characteristics of VOCs during the initial degradation of kitchen waste, a year-long sampling campaign of kitchen waste in residential household municipal solid waste (HMSW) bins was conducted. A total of 93 VOCs with an average annual concentration of 2271 µg/m3 were detected. Alkanes and oxygenated compounds were the dominant released from the initial degradation of kitchen waste. Seasonal and daily variations were observed, with VOC concentrations generally higher in spring (1413 µg/m3) and summer (5882 µg/m3) and lower in autumn (505 µg/m3) and winter (1258 µg/m3). In addition, peak releases occurred earlier in the spring and summer (at 6 h) than in autumn and winter (at 24 h). Correlation analysis showed that ambient temperature correlated significantly with alkanes and oxygenated compounds (P < 0.01). 67 substances have been found to cause odor pollution. Based on the odor index, oxygenated compounds were the most significant odor pollutants. Acetaldehyde and 2-ketone required particular concern because of its high concentration and high odor index. This study not only enriched the understanding of emissions of VOCs from MSW front-end facilities but will also provide a scientific and theoretical basis for holistic management and odor control of MSW.

Measuring ecosystem services supply and demand in rural areas: cases from China's key counties to receive assistance in pursuing rural revitalization.

There is a considerable challenge to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ending poverty and maintaining ecosystems' function in rural areas, largely due to that the rural people's livelihood relied heavily on fragile ecosystems. China is ambitious to solve this issue by enacting economic stimulus policies such as ecological protection compensation and payment for ecosystem services (ESs). However, these interventions are generally based on stockholders' willingness and lack of scientific basis. Here, we firstly combined InVEST model and social-economic data to evaluate the ecosystem services supply and demand (ESSD), by taking 25 key counties to receive assistance in pursuing rural revitalization in Sichuan province as the study cases. The coupling coordination degree model was then employed to measure the coordination relationship of ESSD. Finally, the driving factors were analyzed based on correlation analysis and stepwise regression method. The results showed that all ESs, except carbon sequestration, were oversupplied with significant spatial heterogeneity. From 2000 to 2020, the supply of all ESs increased, in which the food production had the most notable increase ratio amounting to 48.20%, while the demand of water retention and air purification decreased substantially. Due to the inconsistency between cultivated land area and population changes, significant spatial heterogeneity existed in the coordination relationship of food production. The counties with the highest and the lowest annual average coordination index were Yanyuan (0.9950) and Rangtang (0.1208), respectively. The rural employees and the agricultural gross output value were the key positive factors influencing the quantity and coordination of ESSD, while ecological compensation and financial expenditure had no significant impact, further indicating that these policies were not linked to the performance of ecosystems' function. Finally, policy implications were raised. This study provides a scientific framework for enacting the interventions towards ecological sustainability and poverty ending from ESSD perspective.

Primary intracranial lymphomas-incidence and survival: a population-based study.

Biopsy is recommended for patients with primary intracranial lymphoma to confirm the diagnosis, but the effect of tumor resection is still controversial. We conducted this retrospective study to better understand the epidemiology of primary intracranial lymphoma in the USA and explore the relationship between surgical resection and prognosis. Data regarding primary intracranial lymphoma, including incidence, were extracted from the SEER database. We analyzed the difference in incidence between different groups of people. We explored the effect of surgery on the survival of patients by the Kaplan-Meier method and evaluated the possible prognostic indicators by multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. The incidence significantly increased with age. The non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander population exhibited the highest incidence, and the incidence was significantly higher in males than females. A total of 6428 cases were included in the cohort study, and most of the patients were diagnosed in the sixth to seventh decade of life. Sixty percent of tumors were supratentorial tumors. Surgery, especially total resection, significantly improved overall survival and cancer-specific survival. The survival of female patients, patients diagnosed before reaching 60 years of age, patients diagnosed after 2010, and patients with supratentorial lymphomas was better than that of their counterparts. The survival of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was worse than that of their counterparts. We conducted a comprehensive retrospective analysis of patients with primary intracranial lymphoma. We analyzed the difference in incidence between different groups of people. Surgery significantly improved overall and cancer-specific survival. The results of our research can help clinicians and patients better understand the epidemiology and management of primary intracranial lymphoma.

Synchronous occurrence of small cell lung cancer and primary rectal dedifferentiated liposarcoma with osteosarcomatous differentiation: A rare case report.

RATIONALE: Rectal dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDL) and DDL with osteosarcomatous differentiation both are extremely unwonted. In addition, there are no reports of simultaneous DDL with osteosarcoma differentiation with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) to date. Therefore, it is imperative to alert clinicians and pathologists to this extremely rare and instructive synchronous tumor. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient was a 63-year-old male who presented with intermittent hematochezia and a swelling in the anus. Irregular masses were found on computed tomography (CT) examinations of the chest and abdomen respectively. DIAGNOSIS: The final diagnosis of synchronous occurrence of SCLC and primary rectal DDL with osteosarcomatous differentiation was established by radiological, histological, immunohistochemical and molecular findings. INTERVENTIONS: The patient underwent a puncture biopsy of the right lung mass and a complete resection of the rectal mass. OUTCOMES: The patient abandoned treatment, and multiple SCLC metastases appeared multiple metastasis 8 months after the operation. In the end, he expired suddenly due to severe cerebral hemorrhage caused by brain SCLC metastasis. LESSONS: DDL with osteosarcoma differentiation is infrequent, and its accurate diagnosis is based on morphology, immunohistochemistry and the necessary molecular tests. In rare cases, DDL occurs concurrently with other malignancies and and will be a challenge for pathologists and clinicians at this time. Accordingly, a comprehensive examination to identify possible synchronous tumors is very important in clinical practice.

Effect of temperature on fungal nitrification in simulated in-situ aeration of aged MSW landfill.

Fungal nitrification is one kind of heterotrophic nitrification that involves certain species of fungi promoting the transformation of organic nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen to nitrite/nitrate. In this study, simulated aerated landfill reactors (SALRs) were constructed to investigate fungal nitrification in aged municipal solid refuse, with a focus on understanding the effect of temperature on the performance of fungal nitrification as well as fungal contribution to ammonia nitrogen transformation. Different nitrogen metabolism patterns have been observed in the system with fungi only (SALRF) and complete microbial consortium, i.e., bacteria + fungi (SALRC). At a temperature of 35 °C, autotrophic nitrification dominated the ammonia nitrogen transformation, while fungal nitrification did not significantly contribute to ammonia removal. However, at elevated temperatures (i.e., 45 °C and 55 °C), fungi played a crucial role in ammonia transformation through fungal assimilation and fungal nitrification, with bacterial function suppressed. Furthermore, 45 °C was found to be the optimal temperature for fungal nitrification, exhibiting the highest nitrification rate (13.98 mg L-1 d-1) which accounted for 49.80% of total nitrification rate in the aerated landfill. High throughput sequencing revealed reshaping of fungal community in response to temperature variation. The abundance of Aspergillus fumigatus, with a relative abundance ranging from 67.13% to 92.71% at elevated temperatures, suggested its significant potential for fungal nitrification. These findings have implications for the promotion of nitrogen cycle through strengthening fungal nitrification in aerated landfill sites which often operate at high temperatures.

The relationship between vitamin K and T2DM: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Previous studies have shown the potential role of vitamin K supplementation in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. However, the effect of vitamin K supplementation on blood glucose remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of vitamin K supplementation on glycemia-related indicators, including Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Fasting Insulin (FINS) and Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR). The potential association between vitamin K and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk was also evaluated. Methods: Up to April 2023, Cochrane, PubMed, Web of Science, Medline and EMBASE databases were searched to assess the effects of vitamin K on blood glucose and the risk of developing T2DM. Results: A meta-analysis of seven studies (813 participants) found vitamin K supplementation significantly reduced FBS (SMD = -0.150 mg dl-1, 95% CI = -0.290, -0.010 mg dl-1) and HOMA-IR (SMD = -0.200, 95% CI = -0.330, -0.060), but not FINS. Five studies with a total of 105 798 participants were included in the meta-analysis of the association between vitamin K and T2DM. The results showed that vitamin K was associated with the reduced risk of developing T2DM (HR = 0.79, 95% CI [0.71-0.88], P < 0.001). Conclusion: The meta-analysis demonstrated that vitamin K supplementation had a significant effect on the regulation of FBS and HOMA-IR in the population. Moreover, vitamin K was associated with the reduced risk of developing T2DM. Considering some limitations found in this study, additional data from large clinical trials are needed.

Microbial diversity and potential health risks of household municipal solid waste in China: A case study in winter during outbreak of COVID-19.

Microbial (bacteria and fungi) community structures and their distributions in urban household municipal solid waste (HMSW) were characterized in a sampling campaign in 38 cities of China covering 5 climatic zones. All samples were collected from garbage containers in residential communities during the Winter of 2022, from January 11 to 26. A total of 247 bacterial genera belonging to 22 phyla were identified among the samples. Firmicutes (44.3 %), Bacteroidetes (33.77 %) and Proteobacteria (21.54 %) were the top 3 dominant phyla, and Arcicella (33.11 %) and Leuconostoc (21.87 %) were the dominant genera. Meanwhile, 124 fungal genera from 7 fungal phyla were detected. Ascomycota was the most dominant phylum, with an average relative abundance of 77.31 %. Hanseniaspora (24.03 %), Debaryomyces (13.47 %), Candida (12.18) were the top 3 dominant fungal genera. Alpha-diversity analysis showed that the species richness and diversity of bacterial and fungal communities of HMSW samples belonging to different climatic zones did not differ significantly. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis confirmed that climatic had an effect on microbial communities but did not show a significant correlation. In addition, the distribution of microbial community in different samples from the same climate zone varied considerably, suggesting the HMSW source play important role in shaping microbial community composition. Considering that residential HMSW is relatively fresh, we speculates that the original microorganisms residing in different components of HMSW are key influencing factor for the community, while the reshaping force driven by environmental conditions are relatively weak. In addition, the study identified 13 bacterial and 16 fungal pathogens with Pseudomonas putida (0.25 %) and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (2.12 %) as the most abundant potential pathogenic bacteria and fungi, respectively. These findings provide valuable information for characterizing microbial features and potential risks of HMSW in its management system.

Therapeutic strategies targeting the endothelial glycocalyx.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review will highlight recent studies that have examined the endothelial glycocalyx in a variety of health conditions, as well as potential glycocalyx-targeted therapies. RECENT FINDINGS: A degraded glycocalyx is present in individuals that consume high sodium diet or have kidney disease, diabetes, preeclampsia, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or sepsis. Specifically, these conditions are accompanied by elevated glycocalyx components in the blood, such as syndecan-1, syndecans-4, heparin sulfate, and enhanced heparinase activity. Impaired glycocalyx barrier function is accompanied by decreased nitric oxide bioavailability, increased leukocyte adhesion to endothelial cells, and vascular permeability. Glycocalyx degradation appears to play a key role in the progression of cardiovascular complications. However, studies that have used glycocalyx-targeted therapies to treat these conditions are scarce. Various therapeutics can restore the glycocalyx in kidney disease, diabetes, COVID-19, and sepsis. Exposing endothelial cells to glycocalyx components, such as heparin sulfate and hyaluronan protects the glycocalyx. SUMMARY: We conclude that the glycocalyx is degraded in a variety of health conditions, although it remains to be determined whether glycocalyx degradation plays a causal role in disease progression and severity, and whether glycocalyx-targeted therapies improve patient health outcomes. Future studies are warranted to investigate therapeutic strategies that target the endothelial glycocalyx.

Sulforaphane Inhibits Foam Cell Formation and Atherosclerosis via Mechanisms Involving the Modulation of Macrophage Cholesterol Transport and the Related Phenotype.

Sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate, is one of the major dietary phytochemicals found in cruciferous vegetables. Many studies suggest that SFN can protect against cancer and cardiometabolic diseases. Despite the proposed systemic and local vascular protective mechanisms, SFN's potential to inhibit atherogenesis by targeting macrophages remains unknown. In this study, in high fat diet fed ApoE-deficient (ApoE-/-) mice, oral SFN treatment improved dyslipidemia and inhibited atherosclerotic plaque formation and the unstable phenotype, as demonstrated by reductions in the lesion areas in both the aortic sinus and whole aorta, percentages of necrotic cores, vascular macrophage infiltration and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In THP-1-derived macrophages, preadministration SFN alleviated oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced lipid accumulation, oxidative stress and mitochondrial injury. Moreover, a functional study revealed that peritoneal macrophages isolated from SFN-treated mice exhibited attenuated cholesterol influx and enhanced apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I)- and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-mediated cholesterol efflux. Mechanistic analysis revealed that SFN supplementation induced both intralesional and intraperitoneal macrophage phenotypic switching toward high expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and ATP-binding cassette subfamily A/G member 1 (ABCA1/G1) and low expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36), which was further validated by the aortic protein expression. These results suggest that the regulation of macrophages' cholesterol transport and accumulation may be mainly responsible for SFN's potential atheroprotective properties, and the regulatory mechanisms might involve upregulating ABCA1/G1 and downregulating CD36 via the modulation of PPARγ and Nrf2.

Lightweight polyurethane composite foam for electromagnetic interference shielding with high absorption characteristic.

Due to the rapid growth of electronic equipment technology, efficient electromagnetic shielding materials are needed for equipment and human protection. Among them, foam shielding materials with absorption as the primary mechanism have higher application value than highly reflective materials. Highly absorbing shielding materials can reduce the secondary pollution caused by electromagnetic wave reflection. In this study, we added Fe3O4@Polyvinyl alcohol (Fe3O4@PVA) and graphene oxide@silver (GO@Ag) into the polyurethane (PU) matrix and constructed Fe3O4@PVA and GO@Ag/PU composite foam by foaming. Fe3O4@PVA and GO@Ag form an excellent network structure in the PU foam skeleton, significantly improving its electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) and mechanical properties. The shielding effectiveness reached 30.9 dB with a specific EMI SE (SSE) of 274.9 dB × cm3 × g-1 at a Fe3O4@PVA filling of 7 wt%, where the electromagnetic wave absorption accounted for more than 80 % of the total EMI SE, proving absorption as the primary shielding mechanism. The results show that Fe3O4, as a ferromagnet, has both the dielectric loss of ferroelectric materials and the hysteresis loss of ferromagnetic materials in electromagnetic shielding, effectively improving the wave absorption performance of composite shielding materials. Therefore, this work provides a promising idea for efficient and lightweight wave-absorbing shielding materials in aerospace, portable electronic devices and lightweight wearable devices.

Oily fish and raw vegetable consumption can decrease the risk of AQP4-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders: a Mendelian-randomization study.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are severe inflammatory disorders of the central nervous system targeting aquaporin-4 (AQP4). The risk factors for NMOSD remain to be determined, though they may be related to diet and nutrition. This study aimed to explore the possibility of a causal relationship between specific food intake and AQP4-positive NMOSD risk. The study followed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design. Genetic instruments and self-reported information on the intake of 29 types of food were obtained from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 445,779 UK Biobank participants. A total of 132 individuals with AQP4-positive NMOSD and 784 controls from this GWAS were included in our study. The associations were evaluated using inverse-variance-weighted meta-analysis, weighted-median analysis, and MR-Egger regression. A high consumption of oily fish and raw vegetables was associated with a decreased risk of AQP4-positive NMOSD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.78 × 10-16, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.60 × 10-25-1.22 × 10-7, p = 0.001; OR = 5.28 × 10-6, 95% CI = 4.67 × 10-11-0.598, p = 0.041, respectively). The results were consistent in the sensitivity analyses, and no evidence of directional pleiotropy was observed. Our study provides useful implications for the development of AQP4-positive NMOSD prevention strategies. Further research is needed to determine the exact causal relationship and mechanisms underlying the association between specific food intake and AQP4-positive NMOSD.