Vitexin attenuates neuropathic pain by regulating astrocyte autophagy flux and polarization via the S1P/ S1PR1-PI3K/ Akt axis.

Neuropathic pain (NP) is associated with astrocytes activation induced by nerve injury. Reactive astrocytes, strongly induced by central nervous system damage, can be classified into A1 and A2 types. Vitexin, a renowned flavonoid compound, is known for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. However, its role in NP remains unexplored. This study aims to investigate the effects of vitexin on astrocyte polarization and its underlying mechanisms. A mouse model of NP was established, and primary astrocytes were stimulated with sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) to construct a cellular model. The results demonstrated significant activation of spinal astrocytes on days 14 and 21. Concurrently, reactive astrocytes predominantly differentiated into the A1 type. Western blot analysis revealed an increase in A1 astrocyte-associated protein (C3) and a decrease in A2 astrocyte-associated protein (S100A10). Serum S1P levels increased on days 14 and 21, alongside a significant upregulation of Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1) mRNA expression and elevated expression of chemokines. In vitro, stimulation with S1P inhibited the Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signaling pathway and autophagy flux, promoting polarization of astrocytes towards the A1 phenotype while suppressing the polarization of A2 astrocytes. Our findings suggest that vitexin, acting on astrocytes but not microglia, attenuates S1P-induced downregulation of PI3K/Akt signaling, restores autophagy flux in astrocytes, regulates A1/A2 astrocyte ratio, and reduces chemokine and S1P secretion, thereby alleviating neuropathic pain caused by nerve injury.

Hyperglycemia-induced Sirt3 downregulation increases microglial aerobic glycolysis and inflammation in diabetic neuropathic pain pathogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Hyperglycemia-induced neuroinflammation significantly contributes to diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of Sirt3, a mitochondrial deacetylase, in hyperglycemia-induced neuroinflammation and DNP and to explore potential therapeutic interventions. METHOD AND RESULTS: Here, we found that Sirt3 was downregulated in spinal dorsal horn (SDH) of diabetic mice by RNA-sequencing, which was further confirmed at the mRNA and protein level. Sirt3 deficiency exacerbated hyperglycemia-induced neuroinflammation and DNP by enhancing microglial aerobic glycolysis in vivo and in vitro. Overexpression of Sirt3 in microglia alleviated inflammation by reducing aerobic glycolysis. Mechanistically, high-glucose stimulation activated Akt, which phosphorylates and inactivates FoxO1. The inactivation of FoxO1 diminished the transcription of Sirt3. Besides that, we also found that hyperglycemia induced Sirt3 degradation via the mitophagy-lysosomal pathway. Blocking Akt activation by GSK69093 or metformin rescued the degradation of Sirt3 protein and transcription inhibition of Sirt3 mRNA, which substantially diminished hyperglycemia-induced inflammation. Metformin in vivo treatment alleviated neuroinflammation and diabetic neuropathic pain by rescuing hyperglycemia-induced Sirt3 downregulation. CONCLUSION: Hyperglycemia induces metabolic reprogramming and inflammatory activation in microglia through the regulation of Sirt3 transcription and degradation. This novel mechanism identifies Sirt3 as a potential drug target for treating DNP.

An Active and Regenerable Nanometric High-Entropy Catalyst for Efficient Propane Dehydrogenation.

Propane dehydrogenation (PDH) is crucial for propylene production, but commercially employed Pt-based catalysts face susceptibility to deactivation due to the Pt sintering during reaction and regeneration steps. Here, we report a SiO2 supported nanometric (MnCoCuZnPt) high-entropy PDH catalyst with high activity and stability. The catalyst exhibited a super high propane conversion of 56.6% with 94% selectivity of propylene at 600 °C. The propylene productivity reached 68.5 molC3H6·gPt-1·h-1, nearly three times that of Pt/SiO2 (23.5 molC3H6·gPt-1·h-1) under a weight hourly space velocity of 60 h-1. In a high-entropy nanoparticle, Pt atoms were atomically dispersed through coordination with other metals and exhibited a positive charge, thereby showcasing remarkable catalytic activity. The high-entropy effect contributes to the catalyst a superior stability with a low deactivation constant of 0.0004 h-1 during 200 hours of reaction under the industrial gas composition at 550 °C. Such high-entropy PDH catalyst is easy regenerated through simple air combustion of deposited coke. After the fourth consecutive regeneration cycle, satisfactory catalytic stability was observed, and the element distribution of spent catalysts almost returned to their initial state, with no detectable Pt sintering. This work provides new insights into designing active, stable, and regenerable novel PDH catalysts.

Metainterfaces with mechanical, thermal, and active programming properties based on programmable orientation-distributed biometric architectonics.

Interfaces between different materials crucially determine the performance of multi-material systems, impacting a wide range of industries. Currently, precisely programming interfaces with distinct properties at different localized interface positions remains a challenge, leading to limited interface adaptability and unpredictable interface failures, thus hindering the development of next-generation materials and engineering systems with highly customizable multiphysical interface performances. Our research introduces programmable "metainterfaces" for the first time, featuring engineerable biometric architectonics that allows for mechanically, thermally, and actively programmed distribution of interfacial effects by its orientation, driven by artificial intelligence. Enabled by metainterfaces, we showcased improved mechanical properties of future composite metamaterials by programming interface resistance customized to the decoupling modes of distinct lattice topologies. Additionally, we demonstrate enhanced and programmable impact mechanics in fish scale assemblies equipped with pre-programmed metainterface sheets. The proposed metainterface also allows for coolant flow programming in thermal management systems, opening new avenues for development of highly customizable thermos-mechanical systems. Additionally, we introduce digitally controlled "metadisks" enabled by metainterfaces as novel solutions for actively programmable interface systems in robotics, offering real-time adaptive and intelligent interfacial mechanics. This research sets the foundation for next-generation multi-material systems with precisely programmed interfacial effects, offering broad applicability in areas such as smart materials, advanced thermal management, and intelligent robotics.

Structural insights into the molecular effects of the anthelmintics monepantel and betaine on the Caenorhabditis elegans acetylcholine receptor ACR-23.

Anthelmintics are drugs used for controlling pathogenic helminths in animals and plants. The natural compound betaine and the recently developed synthetic compound monepantel are both anthelmintics that target the acetylcholine receptor ACR-23 and its homologs in nematodes. Here, we present cryo-electron microscopy structures of ACR-23 in apo, betaine-bound, and betaine- and monepantel-bound states. We show that ACR-23 forms a homo-pentameric channel, similar to some other pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs). While betaine molecules are bound to the classical neurotransmitter sites in the inter-subunit interfaces in the extracellular domain, monepantel molecules are bound to allosteric sites formed in the inter-subunit interfaces in the transmembrane domain of the receptor. Although the pore remains closed in betaine-bound state, monepantel binding results in an open channel by wedging into the cleft between the transmembrane domains of two neighboring subunits, which causes dilation of the ion conduction pore. By combining structural analyses with site-directed mutagenesis, electrophysiology and in vivo locomotion assays, we provide insights into the mechanism of action of the anthelmintics monepantel and betaine.

A thermodynamic model of the surface hydroxylation of γ-Al2O3.

Rational design of γ-alumina-based catalysts relies on an extensive understanding of the distribution of hydroxyl groups on the surface of γ-alumina and their physicochemical properties, which remain unclear and challenging to determine experimentally due to the structural complexity. In this work, by means of DFT and thermodynamic calculations, various hydroxylation modes of γ-alumina (110) and (100) surfaces at different OH coverages were evaluated, based on which a thermodynamic model to reflect the relationship between temperature and the surface structure was established and the stable hydroxylation modes under experimental conditions were predicted. This enables us to identify the experimentally measured IR spectra. The effect of hydroxyl coverages on the surface Lewis acidity was then analyzed, showing that the presence of hydroxyl groups could promote the Lewis acidity of neighboring Al sites. This work provides fundamental insights into the molecular level understanding of the surface properties of γ-alumina and benefits the rational design of alumina-based catalysts.

Application of artificial intelligence combined with near infrared spectroscopy in the continuous counter-current extraction process of Angelica dahurica formula granules.

The establishment of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy model mostly relies on chemometrics, and spectral analysis combined with artificial intelligence (AI) provides a new way of thinking for pharmaceutical quality inspection, new algorithms such as back propagation artificial neural networks (BP-ANN) and swarm intelligence optimization algorithms such as sparrow search algorithm (SSA) provide core technical support. In order to explore the application of AI in the pharmaceutical field, in this study, Angelica dahurica formula granules with a relatively complex system were selected as the research object. Quantitative analysis models were established by using partial least squares regression (PLSR) with a micro-NIR spectrometer, and BP-ANN modeling results were compared. For the best PLSR models of six characteristic components in the continuous counter-current extract of Angelica dahurica, R2v of imperatorin was lower than 0.90, and the RPD values of imperatorin, phellopterin, and isoimperatorin were even lower than 1. When the prediction model established by SSA-BP-ANN was used for quantitative analysis, R2v of six components were all higher than 0.92, and the RPD values all higher than 1.5, which proved that the BP-ANN method was better than PLSR. This study confirmed that in the continuous counter-current extraction progress of Angelica dahurica formula granules, the use of micro-NIR spectrometer combined with AI could realize the rapid prediction of the contents of six characteristic components. The comparison results provided a scientific reference for the process analysis and on-line monitoring in the production process of traditional Chinese medicine by micro-NIR spectrometer combined with AI.

SIRPG expression positively associates with an inflamed tumor microenvironment and response to PD-1 blockade.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between signal regulatory protein gamma (SIRPG) and tumor immune microenvironment phenotypes or T cell mediated-adaptive antitumor immunity, and its predictive value for response to PD-1 blockade in cancers. METHODS: Pan-cancer analysis of SIRPG expression and immune deconvolution was performed using transcriptomic data across 33 tumor types. Transcriptomic and clinical data from 157 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and melanoma received PD-1 blockade were analyzed. Expression characteristics of SIRPG were investigated using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data of 103,599 cells. The effect of SIRPG expression was evaluated via SIRPG knockdown or overexpression in Jurkat T cells. RESULTS: The results showed that most cancers with high SIRPG expression had significantly higher abundance of T cells, B cells, NK cells, M1 macrophages and cytotoxic lymphocytes and increased expression level of immunomodulatory factors regulating immune cell recruitment, antigen presentation, T cell activation and cytotoxicity, but markedly lower abundance of neutrophils, M2 macrophages, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. High SIRPG expression was associated with favorable response to PD-1 blockade in both NSCLC and melanoma. scRNA-seq data suggested SIRPG was mainly expressed in CD8+ exhausted T and CD4+ regulatory T cells, and positively associated with immune checkpoint expression including PDCD1 and CTLA4. In vitro test showed SIRPG expression in T cells could facilitate expression of PDCD1 and CTLA4. CONCLUSION: High SIRPG expression is associated with an inflamed immune phenotype in cancers and favorable response to PD-1 blockade, suggesting it would be a promising predictive biomarker for PD-1 blockade and novel immunotherapeutic target.

An investigation of germline variants of HAVCR2 in subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma and related lesions in a North American population.

Not available.

HIV-associated cancers and lymphoproliferative disorders caused by Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus and Epstein-Barr virus.

SUMMARYWithin weeks of the first report of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 1981, it was observed that these patients often had Kaposi sarcoma (KS), a hitherto rarely seen skin tumor in the USA. It soon became apparent that AIDS was also associated with an increased incidence of high-grade lymphomas caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The association of AIDS with KS remained a mystery for more than a decade until Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) was discovered and found to be the cause of KS. KSHV was subsequently found to cause several other diseases associated with AIDS and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. People living with HIV/AIDS continue to have an increased incidence of certain cancers, and many of these cancers are caused by EBV and/or KSHV. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, virology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and treatment of cancers caused by EBV and KSHV in persons living with HIV.

Estimating neighborhood-based mortality risk associated with air pollution: A prospective study.

Effect modification of integrated neighborhood environment on associations of air pollution with mortality remained unclear. We analyzed data from UK biobank prospective study (n = 421,650, median 12.5 years follow-up) to examine disparities of mortality risk associated with air pollution among varied neighborhood settings. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), PM10 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were measured and assigned to each participants' address. Diverse ecological and societal settings of neighborhoods were integrated with principal component analysis and categorized into disadvantaged, intermediate and advantaged levels. We estimated mortality risk associated with air pollution across diverse neighborhoods using Cox regression. We calculated community-level proportions of mortality attributable to air pollutants. There was evidence of higher all-cause and respiratory disease mortality risk associated with PM2.5 and NO2 among those in disadvantaged neighborhoods. In disadvantaged communities, air pollutants explained larger proportions of deaths and such disparities persisted over past decades. Across 2010-2021, reducing PM2.5 and NO2 to 10 µg/m3 (World Health Organization limits) would save 87,000 (52,000-120,000) and 91,000 (37,000-145,000) deaths of populations aged ≥ 40 years, with 150 000 deaths occurred in disadvantaged neighborhood settings. These findings suggested that disadvantaged neighborhoods can exacerbate mortality risk associated with air pollution.

Unlocking Single Particle Anisotropy in Real-Time for Photoelectrochemistry Processes at the Nanoscale.

The key to rationally and rapidly designing high-performance materials is the monitoring and comprehension of dynamic processes within individual particles in real-time, particularly to gain insight into the anisotropy of nanoparticles. The intrinsic property of nanoparticles typically varies from one crystal facet to the next under realistic working conditions. Here, we introduce the operando collision electrochemistry to resolve the single silver nanoprisms (Ag NPs) anisotropy in photoelectrochemistry. We directly identify the effect of anisotropy on the plasmonic-assisted electrochemistry at the single NP/electrolyte interface. The statistical collision frequency shows that heterogeneous diffusion coefficients among crystal facets facilitate Ag NPs to undergo direction-dependent mass transfer toward the gold ultramicroelectrode. Subsequently, the current amplitudes of transient events indicate that the anisotropy enables variations in dynamic interfacial electron transfer behaviors during photothermal processes. The results presented here demonstrate that the measurement precision of collision electrochemistry can be extended to the sub-nanoparticle level, highlighting the potential for high-throughput material screening with comprehensive kinetics information at the nanoscale.

Tracking the scaling of urban open spaces in China from 1990 to 2020.

Urban open spaces (UOS) are crucial for urban life, offering benefits across individual and societal levels. However, the understanding of the systematic dynamic of UOS scaling with city size and its potential non-linear performance remains a limited clarity area. This study bridges this gap by integrating urban scaling laws with remote sensing data from 1990 to 2020, creating a framework to analyze UOS trends in China. Our findings reveal that UOS growth is sub-linear scaling with city size, exhibiting economies of scale with scaling exponents between 0.55 and 0.65 and suggesting potential shortages. The distribution structure of UOS across cities is becoming increasingly balanced, as indicated by the rising Zipf's slope from 0.66 to 0.88. Southeastern coastal cities outperform, highlighting spatial variations and path dependency in UOS development. Additionally, using metrics of Scale-adjusted metropolitan indicator (SAMI) and the ratio of open space consumption to population growth rates (OCRPGR), we observe a trend towards more coordinated development between UOS and population, with a declining proportion of uncoordinated cities. Our long-term, large sample coverage study of UOS in China may offer positive significance for urban ecological planning and management in similar rapidly urbanizing countries, contributing to critical insights for quantifying and monitoring urban sustainable development.

Treatment strategies for progressive immune effector cell-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis-like syndrome: case series.

Not available.

Sibling Availability, Sibling Sorting, and Subjective Health Among Chinese Adults.

Despite rising numbers of only children in China, little is known about their family dynamics and well-being in adulthood-for example, how often they marry other only children and whether those in siblingless families have worse or better health than others. Theoretical expectations produce opposing predictions: siblings might provide social and emotional support and reduce parental caregiving pressures, but only children might receive more support from parents and grandparents. Using the 2010 China Family Panel Study, we examine marital sorting on Chinese adults' number of siblings and test whether sibling availability and sibling sorting are associated with subjective physical and mental health. Despite general perceptions that China has an exceedingly high prevalence of adults with no siblings that might produce very small families, results demonstrate a low prevalence of siblingless couples (i.e., both spouses are only children). Married adults with no siblings or siblings-in-law have better subjective physical health but similar levels of subjective mental health relative to their counterparts with siblings. The health advantages of siblingless marital unions are greater for rural and female adults. Declining sibling prevalence in China will shape future family demographic dynamics but appears less detrimental to population health than sometimes assumed.

Controlled Size Characterization Process for In-Situ TiB2 Particles from Al Matrix Composites Using Nanoparticle Size Analysis.

The wide size range and high tendency to agglomerate of in-situ TiB2 particles in reinforced Al matrix composites introduce great difficulties in their size characterization. In order to use a nanoparticle size analyzer (NSA) to obtain the precise size distribution of TiB2 particles, a controlled size characterization process has been explored. First, the extraction and drying processes for TiB2 particles were optimized. In the extraction process, alternated applications of magnetic stirring and normal ultrasound treatments were proven to accelerate the dissolution of the Al matrix in HCl solution. Furthermore, freeze-drying was found to minimize the agglomeration tendency among TiB2 particles, facilitating the acquisition of pure powders. Such powders were quantitatively made into an initial TiB2 suspension. Second, the chemical and physical dispersion technologies involved in initial TiB2 suspension were put into focus. Chemically, adding PEI (M.W. 10000) at a ratio of mPEI/mTiB2 = 1/30 into the initial suspension can greatly improve the degree of TiB2 dispersion. Physically, the optimum duration for high-energy ultrasound application to achieve TiB2 dispersion was 10 min. Overall, the corresponding underlying dispersion mechanisms were discussed in detail. With the combination of these chemical and physical dispersion specifications for TiB2 suspension, the bimodal size distribution of TiB2 was able to be characterized by NSA for the first time, and its number-average diameter was 111 ± 6 nm, which was reduced by 59.8% over the initial suspension. Indeed, the small-sized and large-sized peaks of the TiB2 particles characterized by NSA mostly match the results obtained from transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, respectively.

Identification of the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network for treating methamphetamine-induced relapse and behavioral sensitization with cannabidiol.

AIMS: This study aims to investigate the pharmacological effects and the underlying mechanism of cannabidiol (CBD) on methamphetamine (METH)-induced relapse and behavioral sensitization in male mice. METHODS: The conditioned place preference (CPP) test with a biased paradigm and open-field test were used to assess the effects of CBD on METH-induced relapse and behavioral sensitization in male mice. RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis was employed to identify differential expressed (DE) circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of mice, and the interaction among them was predicted using competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) network analysis. RESULTS: Chronic administration of CBD (40 mg/kg) during the METH withdrawal phase alleviated METH (2 mg/kg)-induced CPP reinstatement and behavioral sensitization in mice, as well as mood and cognitive impairments following behavioral sensitization. Furthermore, 42 DEcircRNAs, 11 DEmiRNAs, and 40 DEmRNAs were identified in the NAc of mice. The circMeis2-miR-183-5p-Kcnj5 network in the NAc of mice is involved in the effects of CBD on METH-induced CPP reinstatement and behavioral sensitization. CONCLUSIONS: This study constructed the ceRNAs network for the first time, revealing the potential mechanism of CBD in treating METH-induced CPP reinstatement and behavioral sensitization, thus advancing the application of CBD in METH use disorders.

Hydrodynamics-Controlled Single-Particle Electrocatalysis.

Electrocatalysis is considered promising in renewable energy conversion and storage, yet numerous efforts rely on catalyst design to advance catalytic activity. Herein, a hydrodynamic single-particle electrocatalysis methodology is developed by integrating collision electrochemistry and microfluidics to improve the activity of an electrocatalysis system. As a proof-of-concept, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is electrocatalyzed by individual palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs), with the development of microchannel-based ultramicroelectrodes. The controlled laminar flow enables the precise delivery of Pd NPs to the electrode-electrolyte interface one by one. Compared to the diffusion condition, hydrodynamic collision improves the number of active sites on a given electrode by 2 orders of magnitude. Furthermore, forced convection enables the enhancement of proton mass transport, thereby increasing the electrocatalytic activity of each single Pd NP. It turns out that the improvement in mass transport increases the reaction rate of HER at individual Pd NPs, thus a phase transition without requiring a high overpotential. This study provides new avenues for enhancing electrocatalytic activity by altering operating conditions, beyond material design limitations.

A new approach for vertical bone augmentation: Reconstructing bony peaks before GBR with a customized titanium mesh.

This image article presents a single patient receiving a reconstructed fibular bony peak (BP) for guided bone regeneration (GBR) with a customized titanium mesh. The patient was informed and understood the objectives and signed a written informed consent document before surgery.

Years of life lost due to insufficient sleep and associated economic burden in China from 2010-18.

Background: Research on the health and economic costs due to insufficient sleep remains scant in developing countries. In this study we aimed to estimate the years of life lost (YLLs) due to short sleep and quantify its economic burden in China. Methods: We estimated both individual and aggregate YLLs due to short sleep (ie, ≤6 hours) among Chinese adults aged 20 years or older by sex and five-year age groups in 2010, 2014, and 2018. YLL estimates were derived from 1) the prevalence of short sleep using three survey waves of the China Family Panel Studies, 2) relative mortality risks from meta-analyses, and 3) life tables in China. YLL was the difference between the estimated life expectancy of an individual in the short sleep category vs in the recommended sleep category. We estimated the economic cost using the human capital approach. Results: The sample sizes of the three survey waves were 31 393, 31 207, and 28 618. Younger age groups and men had more YLLs due to short sleep compared to their counterparts. For individuals aged 20-24, men had an average YLL of nearly 0.95, in contrast to the approximate 0.75 in women across the observed years of 2010, 2014, and 2018. The trend in individual YLLs remained consistent over these years. In aggregate, China experienced a rise from 66.75 million YLLs in 2010 to 95.29 million YLLs in 2014, and to 115.05 million YLLs in 2018. Compared to 2010 (USD 191.83 billion), the associated economic cost in 2014 increased to USD 422.24 billion, and the cost in 2018 more than tripled (USD 628.15 billion). The percentage of cost to Chinese gross domestic product in corresponding years was 3.23, 4.09, and 4.62%. Conclusions: Insufficient sleep is associated with substantial YLLs in China, potentially impacting the population's overall life expectancy. The escalating economic toll attributed to short sleep underscores the urgent need for public health interventions to improve sleep health at the population level.