Protective effect of Sheng-Mai Yin, a traditional Chinese preparation, against doxorubicin-induced cardiac toxicity in rats.

BACKGROUND: Sheng-Mai Yin (SMY), a modern Chinese formula based on Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, has been used to treat cardiovascular diseases in Eastern Asia. Our study focuses on the cardioprotection of SMY against doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiac toxicity in vivo. METHODS: Rats were injected with DOX (2.5 mg/kg) in six injections over a 2-week period. SMY was administrated intragastrically at the dose of 8.35, 16.7 and 33.4 g/kg, or 16.7 g/kg only twice a day concurrently with DOX for the 2-weeks. A series of assays were performed to detect the effects of SMY on: (i) heart weight index (HWI) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI); (ii) cardiac function; (iii) heart tissue morphology; (iv) the contents of carboxy terminal propeptide of procollagen typeI (PICP), amino terminal propeptide of procollagen type III (PШNP), transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interferon gamma (INF-γ) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) by ELISA; (v) the mRNA levels of TGF-ß1 and toll-like receptor-2 (TLR2); and (vi) protein level of TGF-ß1. RESULTS: Rats treated with SMY displayed the reductions of BNP and CK-MB increased by DOX in a dose-dependent manner. Moderate dose of SMY exhibited the correction for the increased HWI, LVMI, and the injured cardiac function, as well as the collagen accumulation. In addition, cardioprotection of SMY against DOX-induced cardiac toxicity was demonstrated by the reduction of myocardial fibrosis, characterized by the suppression of PICP, PШNP and TGF-ß1, as well as the anti-inflammation and the regulation for cardiac immune microenvironment, characterized by the inhibition of TLR2, MCP-1, INF-γ and IL-6. CONCLUSIONS: SMY may protect heart function through the restriction of myocardial fibrosis induced by DOX, which suggests the potentially therapeutic effect of SMY on DOX-induced cardiomyopathy.

[Mechanism study on leptin resistance in lung cancer cachexia rats treated by Xiaoyan Decoction].

OBJECTIVE: To study the leptin resistance mechanism of Xiaoyan Decoction (XD) in lung cancer cachexia (LCC) rats. METHODS: An LCC rat model was established. Totally 40 rats were randomly divided into the normal control group, the LCC model group, the XD group, and the positive control group, 10 in each group. After LCC model was set up, rats in the LCC model group were administered with normal saline, 2 mL each time. Rats in the XD group were administered with XD at the daily dose of 2 mL. Those in the positive control group were administered with Medroxyprogesterone Acetate suspension (20 mg/kg) by gastrogavage at the daily dose of 2 mL. All medication lasted for 14 days. The general condition and tumor growth were observed. Serum levels of leptin and leptin receptor in the hypothalamus were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Contents of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and anorexia for genomic POMC were detected using real-time PCR technique. RESULTS: Serum leptin levels were lower in the LCC model group than in the normal control group with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Compared with the LCC model groups, serum leptin levels significantly increased in the XD group (P < 0.01). Leptin receptor levels in the hypothalamus increased significantly in the LCC model group (P < 0.01). Increased receptor levels in the LCC model group indicated that either XD or Medroxyprogesterone Acetate could effectively reduce levels of leptin receptor with statistical significance (P < 0.01). There was also statistical difference between the XD group and the positive control group (P < 0.05). Contents of NPY was higher in the LCC model group than in the other groups with statistical difference (P < 0.05). There was no statistical difference in NPY between the normal control group and the rest 2 treatment groups (P > 0.05). There was statistical difference in POMC between the normal control group and the LCC model group (P < 0.05). POMC could be decreased in the XD group and the positive control group with statistical significance (P < 0.05), and it was more obviously decreased in the XD group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Leptin resistance existed in LCC rats. XD could increase serum leptin levels and reduce leptin receptor levels in the hypothalamus. LCC could be improved by elevating NPY contents in the hypothalamus and reducing POMC contents, promoting the appetite, and increasing food intake from the periphery pathway and the central pathway.

Carbazole-based artificial light-harvesting system for photocatalytic cross-coupling dehydrogenation reaction.

A carbazole-based artificial light-harvesting system (LHS) was successfully fabricated based on the supramolecular assembly of AIE-enhanced donor (CTD), water-soluble phosphate-pillar[5]arene (WPP5), and eosin Y (ESY) acceptor. The formed WPP5-CTD possessed remarkable AIE emission, featuring an ideal energy donor for light harvesting. After encapsulation of ESY, the energy of WPP5-CTD was efficiently transferred to ESY in WPP5-CTD-ESY, and the antenna effect was 38.5, which was much higher than that of recently reported LHSs. Notably, WPP5-CTD-ESY was successfully utilized as a photocatalyst to realize the cross-coupling dehydrogenation reaction of diphenylphosphine oxide and benzothiazole derivatives, suggesting great potential for aqueous photocatalytic applications of this LHS.

NET-related gene signature for predicting AML prognosis.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a malignant blood cancer with a high mortality rate. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) influence various tumor outcomes. However, NET-related genes (NRGs) in AML had not yet received much attention. This study focuses on the role of NRGs in AML and their interaction with the immunological microenvironment. The gene expression and clinical data of patients with AML were downloaded from the TCGA-LAML and GEO cohorts. We identified 148 NRGs through the published article. Univariate Cox regression was used to analyze the association of NRGs with overall survival (OS). The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator were utilized to assess the predictive efficacy of NRGs. Kaplan-Meier plots visualized survival estimates. ROC curves assessed the prognostic value of NRG-based features. A nomogram, integrating clinical information and prognostic scores of patients, was constructed using multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression models. Twenty-seven NRGs were found to significantly impact patient OS. Six NRGs-CFTR, ENO1, PARVB, DDIT4, MPO, LDLR-were notable for their strong predictive ability regarding patient survival. The ROC values for 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 0.794, 0.781, and 0.911, respectively. In the training set (TCGA-LAML), patients in the high NRG risk group showed a poorer prognosis (p < 0.001), which was validated in two external datasets (GSE71014 and GSE106291). The 6-NRG signature and corresponding nomograms exhibit superior predictive accuracy, offering insights for pre-immune response evaluation and guiding future immuno-oncology treatments and drug selection for AML patients.

Perceptual learning changes the amplitude not the shape of the temporal window of visual processing.

Perceptual learning (PL) can significantly improve human performance in perceptual tasks primarily through template reweighting. Previous studies have documented how PL changes perceptual template in stimulus feature space. We investigated how PL reweights visual information in time. With a dynamic external noise paradigm and the elaborated perceptual template model (ePTM) analysis, we found that training with an orientation identification task in the zero external noise condition reduced contrast thresholds in both zero and high external noise conditions, whereas training in the high external noise condition only reduced contrast thresholds in high external noise conditions. The ePTM analysis showed that training in both zero and high external noise changed the overall amplitude, but not the shape of the temporal window of the perceptual template to exclude external noise across time, and training in zero external noise additionally reduced additive internal noise. Our results provided additional constraints for models of PL. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Visual Tracking in Amblyopia: A Continuous Psychophysical Approach.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms of the observed visuomotor deficit in amblyopia. Methods: Twenty-four amblyopic (25.8 ± 3.8 years; 15 males) and 22 normal participants (25.8 ± 2.1 years; 8 males) took part in the study. The participants were instructed to continuously track a randomly moving Gaussian target on a computer screen using a mouse. In experiment 1, the participants performed the tracking task at six different target sizes. In experiments 2 and 3, they were asked to track a target with the contrast adjusted to individual's threshold. The tracking performance was represented by the kernel function calculated as the cross-correlation between the target and mouse displacements. The peak, latency, and width of the kernel were extracted and compared between the two groups. Results: In experiment 1, target size had a significant effect on the kernel peak (F(1.649, 46.170) = 200.958, P = 4.420 × 10-22). At the smallest target size, the peak in the amblyopic group was significantly lower than that in the normal group (0.089 ± 0.023 vs. 0.107 ± 0.020, t(28) = -2.390, P = 0.024) and correlated with the contrast sensitivity function (r = 0.739, P = 0.002) in the amblyopic eyes. In experiments 2 and 3, with equally visible stimuli, there were still differences in the kernel between the two groups (all Ps < 0.05). Conclusions: When stimulus visibility was compensated, amblyopic participants still showed significantly poorer tracking performance.

A competing risk nomogram to predict cancer-specific mortality of patients with late-onset colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the clinical characteristics and survival differences between early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) patients and late-onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC) patients, identify the risk factors for cancer-specific mortality (CSM) in LOCRC patients and construct a mortality risk assessment nomogram. METHODS: CRC patients diagnosed pathologically between 2010 and 2019 in the SEER database were included and divided into the early-onset group and the late-onset group, and the late-onset group was divided into the training and validation sets. The Fine-Gray competing risk model was applied to analyze the prognostic factors of LOCRC patients and establish a competing risk nomogram for CSM. RESULTS: There are differences in the distribution of multiple clinical features between the early-onset group and the late-onset group. Age, tumor size, histological type, pathological grading, T stage, N stage, M stage, SEER stage, primary tumor surgery, metastatic lesion surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, neural invasion, and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were independent influencing factors of the CSM rate in LOCRC patients. The C-index of the prognosis model outweighed 0.8, and the calibration curves fitted the reference line well. CONCLUSION: The CSM competing risk nomogram for LOCRC patients in this study had acceptable predictive performance that could be applied to the clinic.

Etching-Induced Surface Reconstruction of NiMoO4 for Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Rational reconstruction of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) pre-catalysts and performance index of OER catalysts are crucial but still challenging for universal water electrolysis. Herein, we develop a double-cation etching strategy to tailor the electronic structure of NiMoO4, where the prepared NiMoO4 nanorods etched by H2O2 reconstruct their surface with abundant cation deficiencies and lattice distortion. Calculation results reveal that the double cation deficiencies can make the upshift of d-band center for Ni atoms and the active sites with better oxygen adsorption capacity. As a result, the optimized sample (NMO-30M) possesses an overpotential of 260 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and excellent long-term durability of 162 h. Importantly, in situ Raman test reveals the rapid formation of high-oxidation-state transition metal hydroxide species, which can further help to improve the catalytic activity of NiMoO4 in OER. This work highlights the influence of surface remodification and shed some light on activating catalysts.

[Analysis of High-Risk Clinical Factors of Early Death in Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the high-risk clinical factors of early death in patients with secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH), and further identify the clinical factors related to the rapid progression of sHLH in the short term. METHODS: The clinical manifestations, laboratory examination and prognosis of sHLH patients were retrospectively analyzed. Continuous variables were grouped by median, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curve were used to explore the risk factors affecting early death of sHLH. Then, a nomogram model was established with independent risk factors, Bootstrap resampling method was used for verification, and consistency index (C-index) and calibration curve were used to detect the prediction accuracy. RESULTS: A total of 126 sHLH patients were enrolled, with a median age of 48.5(16-88) years, including 74 males and 52 females. Fifty-five patients (43.6%) died within 30 days, including 39 males and 16 females. Univariate regression analysis showed that lymphocyte count <0.45×109/L, platelet count (PLT) <39.5×109/L, prothrombin time (PT)≥13.3 s, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT)≥39.7 s, albumin (ALB) <25.9 g/L, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)≥811 U/L, creatinine (Cr) ≥67 µmol/L and procalcitonin (PCT)≥0.61 ng/ml were risk factors for death within 30 days in sHLH patients. Multivariate regression analysis showed that lymphocyte count <0.45×109/L, APTT≥39.7 s and ALB <25.9 g/L were independent risk factors for death within 30 days in sHLH patients. A nomogram model was established based on the above three risk factors, its C-index was 0.683, and the calibration chart showed good agreement between the observed and predicted values of sHLH. CONCLUSIONS: Lymphopenia, prolonged APTT, and hypoalbuminemia are risk factors for early death of sHLH patients. Early identification and positive intervention are expected to reduce early mortality in sHLH patients. The nomogram model based on the above risk factors provides a method for clinicians to evaluate sHLH.

Rapid Alternate Flicker Modulates Binocular Interaction in Adults With Abnormal Binocular Vision.

Purpose: The current understanding of binocular processing is primarily derived from static spatial visual perception: this leaves the role of temporal information unclear. In this study, we addressed this gap by testing the effect of alternating flicker on binocular information processing in adults with abnormal binocular vision. Our goal was to determine which temporal frequency optimally balanced input from both eyes. Methods: We took measurements in four groups of human adults: 10 normal adults with the individual's nondominant eye covered by a 2% neutral density filter (aged 25.60 ± 1.43 years, experiment 1), 9 nonamblyopic anisometropes (aged 24.33 ± 1.66 years, experiment 2), 7 amblyopes (aged 26.5 ± 1.64 years, experiment 3), and 7 treated amblyopes (aged 24 ± 3.21 years, experiment 4). The balance point (BP), where participants' two eyes are equally effective, was measured using a binocular orientation combination task at four spatial frequencies (SFs; 0.5-4 c/d) and five temporal frequencies (TFs; baseline and 4, 7, 10, and 15 Hz). Its log transformation |logBP| was taken into further analysis. Results: We observed clear U-shaped temporal tuning of the |logBP| for the entire range of TFs (that we measured: trough occurred at 7 Hz). This pattern occurred and was significant in all four groups (P < 0.001). In addition, the effect of SFs on |logBP| was significant in normal, amblyopic, and treated amblyopic groups (all P < 0.001) and was marginally significant in the nonamblyopic anisometropic group (P = 0.086). Conclusions: Alternating flicker around 7 Hz may be the optimal temporal frequency for balancing eyes in human adults with binocular imbalance.

Bismuth Vacancy-Induced Enhancement of Luminescence Intensity and Irradiation Resistance for Bi4Ge3O12.

Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) is a traditional scintillator, widely used in high-energy physics and nuclear medicine. However, it not only suffers from low scintillation intensity but also tends to be damaged by high-energy rays. Herein, we prepare pure-phase BGO materials enriched with Bi vacancies by rationally reduced Bi content, showing significantly enhanced luminescence intensity and irradiation resistance ability. The optimized Bi3.6Ge3O12 shows 178% of luminescence intensity compared to BGO. After 50 h of ultraviolet irradiation, Bi3.6Ge3O12 possesses ∼80% of original luminescence intensity, much superior to the 60% for BGO. The existence of the Bi vacancy is identified by advanced experimental and theoretical studies. The mechanism studies show the Bi vacancies could cause the symmetry destruction of the local field around the Bi3+ ion. It enhances scintillation luminescence by increasing the probability of radiative transition while resisting nonradiative relaxation caused by irradiation damage. This study initiates vacancy-induced performance enhancement for inorganic scintillators.

Decomposing the Response Time in Amblyopia: A Drift Diffusion Model Analysis.

Purpose: Amblyopes are known to have delayed response times (RT) in various visual tasks. We aim to investigate whether any factor other than the sensory deficit contributes to the delayed RT in amblyopia. Method: Fifteen amblyopic (26.0 ± 4.50 years) and 15 normal (25.6 ± 2.90 years) participants took part in this study. The responses and RTs in an orientation identification task were collected for each participant with stimulus contrast adjusted to the multiples of individual's threshold. A drift diffusion model was used to fit to the response and RT data and to estimate the RT components. Result: There was a significant difference in the RT between the amblyopic and normal groups (F(1, 28) = 6.75, P = 0.015) but no difference in the accuracy (F(1, 28) = 0.028, P = 0.868). The drift rate function in the amblyopic eye had a larger threshold (P = 0.001) and shallower slope (P = 0.006) than that of the fellow eye. The amblyopic group has a longer non-decision time than the normal group (F(1, 28) = 8.02, P = 0.008). The drift rate threshold correlated with the contrast sensitivity (P = 1.71 × 10-18) but the non-decision time did not (P = 0.393). Conclusions: Both sensory and post-sensory factors contributed to the delayed RT in amblyopia. The effect of the sensory loss in V1 on RT can be compensated by increasing stimulus contrast, and the post-sensory delay provides evidence for higher-level deficits in amblyopia.

Water-soluble phosphate-pillar[5]arene (WPP5)-based artificial light-harvesting system for photocatalytic cross-coupling dehydrogenation.

A novel water-soluble phosphate-pillar[5]arene (WPP5)-based artificial light-harvesting system (LHS) was successfully fabricated through the supramolecular assembly of phenyl-pyridyl-acrylonitrile derivative (PBT), WPP5, and organic pigment Eosin Y (ESY). Initially, after host-guest interaction, WPP5 could bind well with PBT and form WPP5 âŠƒ PBT complexes in water, which further assembled into WPP5 âŠƒ PBT nanoparticles. WPP5 âŠƒ PBT nanoparticles performed an outstanding aggregation-induced emission (AIE) capability because of the J-aggregates of PBT in WPP5 âŠƒ PBT nanoparticles, which were appropriate as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) donors for artificial light-harvesting. Moreover, due to the emission region of WPP5 âŠƒ PBT overlapped well with the UV-Vis absorption of ESY, the energy of WPP5 âŠƒ PBT (donor) could be significantly transferred to ESY (acceptor) via FRET process in WPP5 âŠƒ PBT-ESY nanoparticles. Notably, the antenna effect (AEWPP5⊃PBT-ESY) of WPP5 âŠƒ PBT-ESY LHS was determined to be 30.3, which was much higher than that of recent artificial LHSs for photocatalytic cross-coupling dehydrogenation (CCD) reactions, suggesting a potential application in photocatalytic reaction. Furthermore, through the energy transfer from PBT to ESY, the absolute fluorescence quantum yields performed a remarkable increase from 14.4% (for WPP5 âŠƒ PBT) to 35.7% (for WPP5 âŠƒ PBT-ESY), further confirming their FRET processes in WPP5 âŠƒ PBT-ESY LHS. Subsequently, in order to output the harvested energy for catalytic reactions, WPP5 âŠƒ PBT-ESY LHSs were used as photosensitizers to catalyze the CCD reaction of benzothiazole and diphenylphosphine oxide. Compared to free ESY group (21%), a significant cross-coupling yield of 75% in WPP5 âŠƒ PBT-ESY LHS was observed, because more UV region energy of PBT was transferred to ESY for CCD reaction, which suggested more potential in improving the catalytic activity of organic pigment photosensitizers in aqueous systems.

[Cloning of Eleutherococcus senticosus calmodulin gene and effect of endophytic fungus on expression amount of gene].

OBJECTIVE: To clone calmodulin (CaM) gene in Eleutherococcus senticosus, and study the effect of endophytic fungi on expression amount of CaM gene. METHOD: The CaM full length cDNA sequence was cloned by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The gene was analyzed and corresponding structure and functions were predicted by the bioinformatics methods. The expression amount of CaM gene affected of endophytic fungus P116-1a, P116-1b, P1094 and P312-1 was detected by RT-PCR. RESULT: The full length of CaM cDNA was 856 bp containing an ORF of 450 bp that encoded a protein of 149 amino acids. The homologous of predicted protein was almost 100% with plants like Panax ginseng and Daucus carota. RT-PCR results showed that endophytic fungus improved CaM expression amount significantly (P<0.05). The highest expression amount of CaM occurred 90 d after reinoculated with endophytic fungi P1094, up to 2.96 times of the control. CONCLUSION: The CaM gene of E. senticosus was successfully cloned for the first time. The results demonstrated that endophytic fungus of E. senticosus improved CaM expression amount significantly.

[Cloning and sequence analysis on cDNA of squalene epoxidase gene in Eleutherococcus senticosus].

OBJECTIVE: To clone and sequence the cDNA of squalene epoxidase gene in Eleutherococcus senticosus. METHOD: Total RNA of E. senticosus was extracted by the improved isothiocyanate method and reverse transcripted into cDNA. The primers were designed depending on the reported SE cDNA sequences of Panax ginseng. The SE cDNAs in E. senticosus was amplified using RT-PCR strategy. RESULT: Sequencing results showed two different cDNA fragments (SE1, SE2) with 1665, 1629 bp each ORF which encoded 554,542 amino acids, respectively. The identities of nucleotides and amino acids between SE1, SE2 were 91.49%, 92.55%. SE1, SE2 had the highest amino acids similarity to the SE1 of P. notoginseng, 93.45%, 94.87% respectively. SE1, SE2 both had a FAD binding domain. The deduced speculated amino acids of SE1, SE2 each had 2,4 membrane-spanning helices. CONCLUSION: The two SE sequences in E. senticosus were firstly separated and reported, which has made foundation for E. senticosus secondary metabolite engineering researches.

Cross-Linking Network of Soft-Rigid Dual Chains to Effectively Suppress Volume Change of Silicon Anode.

Polyacrylic acid (PAA) is a promising binder for the high-capacity Si anode. However, the one-dimensional structure of PAA could cause the linear molecular chains to slide from the Si surface during the charge-discharge processes, leading to insufficient suppression of the massive volume expansion of the Si anode. Herein, a soft-rigid dual chains' network of PAA-sodium silicate (PAA-SS) was successfully constructed by cross-linking PAA and SS in situ at room temperature. The soft chains of PAA and the rigid chains of polysilicic acid synergistically ensure the enhanced adhesion property and mechanical strength. Therefore, the Si electrode with PAA-SS binder delivers a discharge capacity of 1559 mAh/g after 150 cycles at 4.2 A/g (1C) with an initial Coulombic efficiency of 93.2%. Moreover, the PAA-SS based SiC-500 electrode exhibits a discharge capacity of 441 mAh/g with the capacity retention of 88.2% after 500 cycles at 0.5 A/g, implying the PAA-SS binder's great industrial prospect in Si based electrodes.

Evodiamine suppresses the progression of non-small cell lung carcinoma via endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis pathway in vivo and in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Evodiamine (EVO) is one of the major components isolated from Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.). Recent studies have shown that EVO has an anti-cancer effect. However, the pharmacological mechanism by which EVO impacts cancer is still poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: This study focused on asking the anti-cancer effect of EVO in human non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), and in particular to investigate whether EVO acts via modulating the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-mediated apoptosis pathway. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) tumor-bearing mouse model was treated with low-dose EVO (5 mg/kg) and high-dose EVO (10 mg/kg) intraperitoneally for 14 d. The effects of EVO on tumor growth, apoptosis, and ERS were assessed. In addition, NSCLC A549 and LLC cells were treated with EVO in vitro. The effects of EVO on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and ERS were investigated. Finally, 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA), an ERS inhibitor, was used to validate whether EVO induced apoptosis of NSCLC cells by modulating ERS. RESULTS: EVO treatment significantly inhibited tumor growth in LLC tumor-bearing mice. H&E staining indicated that EVO treatment reduced the number of tumor cells and the nucleo-plasmic ratio. Immunostaining showed that EVO treatment significantly decreased the expression of Ki-67. TUNEL staining revealed that EVO induced apoptosis in the tumor. Likewise, EVO treatment up-regulated the expression of apoptosis-related genes and proteins and increased activation of the ERS pathway in the tumor. Additionally, EVO inhibited cell proliferation and increased cell apoptotic rates in A549 and LLC cells. EVO also increased the expression levels of genes and proteins associated with ERS-mediated apoptosis pathway in vitro. The effects of EVO on apoptosis were abolished by 4-PBA treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that EVO suppresses the progression of NSCLC by modulating the ERS-mediated apoptosis pathway.

Psychophysical Reverse Correlation Revealed Broader Orientation Tuning and Prolonged Reaction Time in Amblyopia.

Purpose: Neural selectivity of orientation is a fundamental property of visual system. We aim to investigate whether and how the orientation selectivity changes in amblyopia. Methods: Seventeen patients with amblyopia (27.1 ± 7.1 years) and 18 healthy participants (25.1 ± 2.7 years) took part in this study. They were asked to continuously detect vertical gratings embedded in a stream of randomly oriented gratings. Using a technique of subspace reverse correlation, the orientation-time perceptive field (PF) for the atypical grating detection task was derived for each participant. Detailed comparisons were made between the PFs measured with the amblyopic and healthy eyes. Results: The PF of the amblyopic eyes showed significant differences in orientation and time domain compared with that of the normal eyes (cluster-based permutation test, ps < 0.05), with broader bandwidth of orientation tuning (31.41 ± 10.59 degrees [mean ± SD] vs. 24.76 ± 6.85 degrees, P = 0.039) and delayed temporal dynamics (483 ± 68 ms vs. 425 ± 58 ms, P = 0.015). None of the altered PF properties correlated with the contrast sensitivity at 1 cycle per degree (c/deg) in amblyopia. No difference in PFs between the dominant and non-dominant eyes in the healthy group was found. Conclusions: The altered orientation-time PF to the low spatial frequency and high contrast stimuli suggests amblyopes had coarser orientation selectivity and prolonged reaction time. The broader orientation tuning probably reflects the abnormal lateral interaction in the primary visual cortex, whereas the temporal delay might indicate a high level deficit.

Penta-carbonyl-1κC,2κC-(4-iodo-phenyl isocyanide-1κC)(µ-propane-1,3-dithiol-ato-1:2κS,S':S,S')iron(I)(Fe-Fe).

In the title compound, [Fe(2)(C(7)H(4)IN)(C(3)H(6)S(2))(CO)(5)], the Fe-Fe distance of 2.5156 (11) Šcompares well with that in related model structures. The phenyl isocyanide ligand is in the basal position and trans to the S atoms of the propane-dithiol-ate ligand due to steric hindrance. The crystal structure features C-H⋯O inter-actions.

A novel borate fluorescent probe for rapid selective intracellular peroxynitrite imaging.

Peroxynitrite (ONOO-) is one of the species of reactive nitrogen (RNS), which plays an important role in antibacterial activity and signal transduction and other physiological and pathological processes. In this paper, based on the benzyl borate group, a new fluorescent probe capable of detecting ONOO- with high selectivity and sensitivity is designed, and the possible mechanism of the interaction between probe and ONOO- is proposed. The probe shows high fluorescence response to ONOO- in a wide pH range (7.0-11.5). Moreover, the probe exhibit good permeability, and the content of ONOO- in cancer cells and normal cells was successfully monitored.