Enhanced VEGF secretion and blood-brain barrier disruption: Radiation-mediated inhibition of astrocyte autophagy via PI3K-AKT pathway activation.

Radiation-induced damage to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is the recognized pathological basis of radiation-induced brain injury (RBI), a side effect of head and neck cancer treatments. There is currently a lack of therapeutic approaches for RBI due to the ambiguity of its underlying mechanisms. Therefore, it is essential to identify these mechanisms in order to prevent RBI or provide early interventions. One crucial factor contributing to BBB disruption is the radiation-induced activation of astrocytes and oversecretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Mechanistically, the PI3K-AKT pathway can inhibit cellular autophagy, leading to pathological cell aggregation. Moreover, it acts as an upstream pathway of VEGF. In this study, we observed the upregulation of the PI3K-AKT pathway in irradiated cultured astrocytes through bioinformatics analysis, we then validated these findings in animal brains and in vitro astrocytes following radiation exposure. Additionally, we also found the inhibition of autophagy and the oversecretion of VEGF in irradiated astrocytes. By inhibiting the PI3K-AKT pathway or promoting cellular autophagy, we observed a significant amelioration of the inhibitory effect on autophagy, leading to reductions in VEGF oversecretion and BBB disruption. In conclusion, our study suggests that radiation can inhibit autophagy and promote VEGF oversecretion by upregulating the PI3K-AKT pathway in astrocytes. Blocking the PI3K pathway can alleviate both of these effects, thereby mitigating damage to the BBB in patients undergoing radiation treatment.

Collective self-referential processing evoked by different national symbols: An event-related potential study.

The collective self is an important representation of self-concept, especially for people in collectivism culture. However, it is not clear whether there are differences in the self-reference effects caused by different collective self-relevant stimuli. The present study aimed to explore the temporal characteristics of collective self-referential processing evoked by polarized and unpolarized national symbols. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded for pictures of national symbols and self-irrelevant pictures when 25 female participants performed a three-stimulus oddball task. The results indicate that compared to self-irrelevant pictures, both national symbols elicited collective self-reference effects on N2, P3, and LPP amplitudes. Polarized and unpolarized national symbols showed differences in N2 and P3 amplitudes. Moreover, national identity level was correlated with N2 and P3 amplitudes elicited by unpolarized symbols, and early LPP amplitudes elicited by both symbols. These results suggest greater recruitment of resources to process national symbols, and inconsistent time courses of processing different national symbols. Polarized symbols may consume more resources because of the internal complexity of their self-representations. The present study expands the research on collective self and its self-referential effect on women, and provides some enlightenment for understanding the internal factors that influence the strength of the self-reference effect.

The effect of exercise on academic fatigue and sleep quality among university students.

Background: Routine academic events may cause fatigue and impair sleep quality. This research aimed to examine the prevalence and risk factors for academic fatigue among college students and its adverse effects on well-being and sleep. A brief exercise intervention was also evaluated. Methods: A total of 864 college students (33.5% female) filled out self-reported questionnaires with few open-ended questions. Fatigue and sleep quality were assessed using the translated version of the Smith Well-being Questionnaire and the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Spearman correlations, logistic regression analysis, and t-tests were used to test the hypotheses. In a second study, 29 female participants took part in an exercise intervention aimed at reducing fatigue and improving sleep. Results: Among the effective respondents, nearly 40% reported higher academic-related fatigue, and a few reported high-quality sleep. Negative coping styles, workload, stress, and disturbed surroundings had a significant positive predictive effect on academic fatigue. In addition, adverse consequences of fatigue were found for physical health and academic-life balance, and a significant, positive relationship was observed between the degree of fatigue and PSQI score (p < 0.01). The exercise study showed some beneficial effects of the intervention for both sleep and fatigue outcomes. Conclusion: Fatigue is common and widely reported among Chinese college students, and it may have a major negative impact on their health. Increased awareness of daily academic fatigue and its impact on college students is important for individuals, schools, and society. Exercise may be a simple way to improve sleep and reduce fatigue.

Association of body mass index and alcohol intake with hypertension subtypes among HAN Chinese.

Obesity and excessive drinking are major risk factors for development of hypertension. We aimed to explore association of body mass index (BMI) and alcohol intake with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH), isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH), and combined systolic/diastolic hypertension (SDH) among Shandong Shengli Oil field workers. A total of 26,681 subjects were cross-sectionally analyzed. Statistical calculations included polytomous logistic regression and interaction analysis. After assigning normotensives as a reference, the odds of being ISH decreased by 4% for moderate drinkers, whereas that of being IDH and SDH increased significantly by 1.50 and 1.15 folds (P < 0.001). The odds for heavy drinkers of being ISH, IDH, and SDH increased by 1.38, 2.41, and 2.25 folds, respectively (P < 0.001). For BMI, the odds of being ISH, IDH, and SDH increased in a dose-response manner (P < 0.001). For patients with BMI of [23, 25), [25, 27), [27, 30) and ≥ 30 kg/m(2), the odds (95% confidence interval (CI)) of being SDH increased significantly by 2.28 (2.07-2.50), 3.22 (2.93-3.55), 5.44 (4.93-6.01), and 8.45 (7.31-9.77) folds, respectively. Interaction analysis indicated that BMI and alcohol intake were interactively associated with ISH (P ≤ 0.045) rather than IDH (P ≥ 0.161). Our results demonstrated that BMI and alcohol intake interactively influenced systolic hypertension, especially for overweight and obese patients.

"Watching Eyes" Triggers Third-Party Punishment: The Role of Emotion Within the Eyes.

Third-party punishment refers to a behavioral phenomenon whereby people punish wrongdoers even if their sanction incurs personal costs but yields no direct benefits. Given the eye cues demonstrated ability to convey signals of being observed, its effect on third-party punishment, driven by virtue of its effects on others' perceptions, was investigated. In addition, emotional message featured in the eye region is crucial in social interaction, whether the emotion within the eyes serves this effect with varying degrees of influence has rarely considered. The present study aimed at exploring (a) the watching eyes effect on the third-party punishment and (b) whether this effect varies from negative eyes to positive eyes. By two experiments using a modified Third-Party Dictator Game, we displayed either eye images or control images above the question on whether to punish the dictators or not. There was no emotional diversity of eye cues in Experiment 1, and most participants tended to punish for unfair offer. However, the appearance of eye images increased the punishment relative to control images. In Experiment 2, the eye cues were subdivided into positive and negative. The effect of watching eyes on the third-party punishment was significantly stronger when the eyes were negative than positive. Results revealed that eye cues play a role in promoting the third-party punishment and offer a potential insight into the mixed findings, such that the emotion within the eyes, especially the negative expression in the eyes, may influence the watching eyes effect.