Subspace Identification of Bridge Frequencies Based on the Dimensionless Response of a Two-Axle Vehicle.

As an essential reference to bridge dynamic characteristics, the identification of bridge frequencies has far-reaching consequences for the health monitoring and damage evaluation of bridges. This study proposes a uniform scheme to identify bridge frequencies with two different subspace-based methodologies, i.e., an improved Short-Time Stochastic Subspace Identification (ST-SSI) method and an improved Multivariable Output Error State Space (MOESP) method, by simply adjusting the signal inputs. One of the key features of the proposed scheme is the dimensionless description of the vehicle-bridge interaction system and the employment of the dimensionless response of a two-axle vehicle as the state input, which enhances the robustness of the vehicle properties and speed. Additionally, it establishes the equation of the vehicle biaxial response difference considering the time shift between the front and the rear wheels, theoretically eliminating the road roughness information in the state equation and output signal effectively. The numerical examples discuss the effects of vehicle speeds, road roughness conditions, and ongoing traffic on the bridge identification. According to the dimensionless speed parameter Sv1 of the vehicle, the ST-SSI (Sv1 < 0.1) or MOESP (Sv1 ≥ 0.1) algorithm is applied to extract the frequencies of a simply supported bridge from the dimensionless response of a two-axle vehicle on a single passage. In addition, the proposed methodology is applied to two types of long-span complex bridges. The results show that the proposed approaches exhibit good performance in identifying multi-order frequencies of the bridges, even considering high vehicle speeds, high levels of road surface roughness, and random traffic flows.

Boosting the activity for organic pollutants removal of In2O3 by loading Ag particles under natural sunlight irradiation.

A novel photocatalyst In2O3 with loading Ag particles is prepared via a facile one-step annealing method in air atmosphere. The Ag/In2O3 exhibits considerable photoactivity for decomposing sulfisoxazole (SOX), tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), and rhodamine B (RhB) under natural sunlight irradiation, which is much higher than that of pristine In2O3 and Ag species. After natural sunlight irradiation for 100 min, 70.6% of SOX, 65.6% of TC, and 81.9% of RhB are degraded over Ag/In2O3, and their corresponding chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal ratio achieve 95.4%, 38.4%, and 93.6%, respectively. A batch of experiments for degrading SOX with adjusting pollutant solution pH and adding coexisting anions over Ag/In2O3 are carried out to estimate its practical application prospect. Particularly, the as-prepared Ag/In2O3 possesses a superior stability, which exhibits no noticeable deactivation in decomposing SOX after eight cycles' reactions. In addition, the Ag/In2O3 coated on a frosted glass plate, also possesses a superior activity and stability for SOX removal, which solve the possible second pollution of residual powdered catalyst in water. Ag particles on In2O3 working as electron accepter improve charge separation and transfer efficiency, as well as the photo-absorption and organic pollutants affinity, leading to the boosted photoactivity of Ag/In2O3. The photocatalytic mechanism for degrading SOX and degradation process over Ag/In2O3 has been systemically investigated and proposed. This work offers an archetype for the rational design of highly efficient photocatalysts by metal loading.

Tangshen formula improves diabetic nephropathy in STZ-induced diabetes rats fed with hyper-methionine by regulating the methylation status of kidney.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to examine and analyze differential methylation profiles in order to investigate the influence of hyper-methioninemia (HM) on the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Male Wistar rats, aged eight weeks and weighing 250-300 g, were randomly assigned into four groups: a control group (Healthy, n = 8), streptozocin-induced rats (STZ group, n = 8), HM + STZ group (n = 8), and the Tangshen Formula (TSF) treatment group (TSF group, n = 8). Blood glucose levels and other metabolic indicators were monitored before treatment and at four-week intervals until 12 weeks. Total DNA was extracted from the aforementioned groups, and DNA methylation landscapes were analyzed via reduced representative bisulfite sequencing. RESULTS: Both the STZ group and HM + STZ group exhibited increased blood glucose levels and urinary albumin/creatinine ratios in comparison with the control group. Notably, the HM + STZ group exhibited a markedly elevated urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (411.90 ± 88.86 mg/g) compared to the STZ group (238.41 ± 62.52 mg/g). TSF-treated rats demonstrated substantial reductions in both blood glucose levels and urinary albumin/creatinine ratios in comparison with the HM + STZ group. In-depth analysis of DNA methylation profiles revealed 797 genes with potential therapeutic effects related to TSF, among which approximately 2.3% had been previously reported as homologous genes. CONCLUSION: While HM exacerbates DN through altered methylation patterns at specific CpG sites, TSF holds promise as a viable treatment for DN by restoring abnormal methylation levels. The identification of specific genes provides valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms of DN pathogenesis and offers potential therapeutic targets for further investigation.

Synergistic effect of Fe doping and oxygen vacancy in AgIO3 for effectively degrading organic pollutants under natural sunlight.

In this work, a series of hydrogenated Fe-doped AgIO3 (FAI-x) catalysts are synthesized for photodegrading diverse azo dyes and antibiotics. Under the irradiation of natural sunlight with a light intensity of ∼60 mW/cm2, the optimum FAI-10 exhibits a considerable rate constant for decomposing methyl orange (MO) of 0.067 min-1, about 7.4 times higher than that of AgIO3 (0.009 min-1), and 24.6% and 83.8% of MO can be decomposed over AgIO3 and FAI-10 after irradiation for 40 min. In the amplification photodegradation experiments with using 0.5 g catalyst and 400 mL MO dye solution (10 mg/L), FAI-10 possesses greatly higher photoreactivity to common semiconductors (ZnO, TiO2, In2O3 and Bi2MoO6), and the photodegradation rates over FAI-10 are 92%. Particularly, the FAI-10 shows superior stability, the activity of which remains unaltered after 8 continuous cycles. Foreign ions and water bodies have slight effect on the activity of FAI-10, but the MO degradation rates are decreased by adjusting pH values, especially when pH = 11 because of the strong electrostatic repulsion between MO and FAI-10. FAI-10 can also effectively decompose another azo dye (rhodamine B (RhB)) and diverse antibiotics (sulflsoxazole (SOX), chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTC), tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) and ofloxacin (OFX)). The activity enhancement mechanism of FAI-10 has been systemically investigated and is ascribed to the promoted photo-absorption, charge separation and transfer efficiency, and affinity of organic pollutants, owing to the synergistic effect of Fe doping and oxygen vacancy (Ov). The photocatalytic mechanisms and process for decomposing MO are verified and proposed based on radical trapping experiments and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). This work opens an avenue for the fabrication of effective photocatalysts toward water purification.

Intramyocardial delivery of injectable hydrogel with arctigenin alleviated myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats.

Arctigenin belongs to a major bioactive component of Fructus arctii and has been found with cardioprotective effects on rats with ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. The application of arctigenin is limited due to poor water solubility and low bioavailability. Hydrogel drug delivery systems can improve the efficacy and safety of drugs, increase drug utilization, and reduce side effects. We hypothesized that hydrogels containing arctigenin would facilitate the effect of arctigenin and alleviate I/R injury in the rat heart. Presently, adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were subjected to 1 h of I/R injury, then hydrogels comprising arctigenin were implanted into the myocardium of rats. Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining, hematoxylin-eosin staining, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling staining and Western blot were performed for evaluating the infarct size, histopathological, and vital protein alterations of hearts. It was discovered that the hydrogel combined with arctigenin abated apoptosis and reduced infarct size. In addition, the results of echocardiography and Masson staining suggested that the hydrogel with arctigenin improved cardiac function, restrained myocardial fibrosis, and activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). Collectively, the injectable hydrogel delivery system enhances the effect of arctigenin, which may play a protective role in I/R injury by activating AMPK and SIRT1.

Astilbin protects from sepsis-induced cardiac injury through the NRF2/HO-1 and TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Cardiac dysfunction and arrhythmia are severe complications of sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy and are associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Currently, the precise mechanism for sepsis-induced myocardial damage remains unclear. Astilbin, a flavonoid, is reported to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and antiapoptotic properties. However, the effects of astilbin on sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy have not been studied so far. This study aims to investigate the effect of astilbin in sepsis-induced myocardial injury and elucidate the underlying mechanism. In vivo and in vitro sepsis models were created using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as an inducer in H9C2 cardiomyocytes and C57BL/6 mice, respectively. Our results demonstrated that astilbin reduced myocardial injury and improved cardiac function. Moreover, astilbin prolonged the QT and corrected QT intervals, attenuated myocardial electrical remodeling, and promoted gap junction protein (Cx43) and ion channels expression, thereby reducing the susceptibility of ventricular fibrillation. In addition, astilbin alleviated LPS-induced inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Astilbin suppressed the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway in vivo and in vitro models. Astilbin remarkedly upregulated the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) expression. The in vitro treatment with an NRF2 inhibitor reversed the inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway and antioxidant properties of astilbin. Astilbin attenuated LPS-induced myocardial injury, cardiac dysfunction, susceptibility to VF, inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis by activating the NRF2/HO-1 pathway and inhibiting TLR4/ NF-κB pathway. These results suggest that astilbin could be an effective and promising therapeutics target for the treatment of sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy.

Methylomics and cancer: the current state of methylation profiling and marker development for clinical care.

Epigenetic modifications have long been recognized as an essential level in transcriptional regulation linking behavior and environmental conditions or stimuli with biological processes and disease development. Among them, methylation is the most abundant of these reversible epigenetic marks, predominantly occurring on DNA, RNA, and histones. Methylation modification is intimately involved in regulating gene transcription and cell differentiation, while aberrant methylation status has been linked with cancer development in several malignancies. Early detection and precise restoration of dysregulated methylation form the basis for several epigenetics-based therapeutic strategies. In this review, we summarize the current basic understanding of the regulation and mechanisms responsible for methylation modification and cover several cutting-edge research techniques for detecting methylation across the genome and transcriptome. We then explore recent advances in clinical diagnostic applications of methylation markers of various cancers and address the current state and future prospects of methylation modifications in therapies for different diseases, especially comparing pharmacological methylase/demethylase inhibitors with the CRISPRoff/on methylation editing systems. This review thus provides a resource for understanding the emerging role of epigenetic methylation in cancer, the use of methylation-based biomarkers in cancer detection, and novel methylation-targeted drugs.

Modulating the doping state of transition metal ions in ZnS for enhanced photocatalytic activity.

Transition metal ions (M = Ag+, Cu2+, Co2+, and Cr3+) are surface or homogeneously doped into ZnS via facile cation-exchange reaction, and while Ag+ and Cu2+ doping does not induce sulphur vacancies (Vs) or zinc vacancies (VZn), Co2+ and Cr3+ doping induces Vs. The surface doped catalysts exhibit greatly higher activity than the ZnS and homogenous doped catalysts for H2 evolution and CO2 reduction. The important role of the doping state on affecting the photo-absorption, carrier separation efficiency, and photoreaction kinetics has been systemically investigated and proposed. This work sheds light on the future design and fabrication of high-performance photocatalysts by element doping.

Curcumol alleviates cardiac remodeling via the AKT/NF-κB pathway.

Cardiac remodeling is the final stage of almost all cardiovascular diseases, leading to heart failure and arrhythmias. However, the pathogenesis of cardiac remodeling is not fully understood, and specific treatment schemes are currently unavailable. Curcumol is a bioactive sesquiterpenoid that has anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-fibrotic properties. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of curcumol on cardiac remodeling and elucidate its relevant underlying mechanism. Curcumol significantly attenuated cardiac dysfunction, myocardial fibrosis, and hypertrophy in the animal model of isoproterenol (ISO)-induced cardiac remodeling. Curcumol also alleviated cardiac electrical remodeling, thereby reducing the risk of ventricular fibrillation (VF) after heart failure. Inflammation and apoptosis are critical pathological processes involved in cardiac remodeling. Curcumol inhibited the inflammation and apoptosis induced by ISO and TGF-ß1 in mouse myocardium and neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs). Furthermore, the protective effects of curcumol were found to be mediated through the inhibition of the protein kinase B (AKT)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. The administration of an AKT agonist reversed the anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects of curcumol and restored the inhibition of NF-κB nuclear translocation in TGF-ß1-induced NRCMs. Our study suggests that curcumol is a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of cardiac remodeling.

The effects of daptomycin on cell wall biosynthesis in Enterococcal faecalis.

Daptomycin is a cyclic lipodepsipeptide antibiotic reserved for the treatment of serious infections by multidrug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens. Its mode of action is considered to be multifaceted, encompassing the targeting and depolarization of bacterial cell membranes, alongside the inhibition of cell wall biosynthesis. To characterize the daptomycin mode of action, 15N cross-polarization at magic-angle spinning NMR measurements were performed on intact whole cells of Staphylococcus aureus grown in the presence of a sub-inhibitory concentration of daptomycin in a chemically defined media containing L-[ϵ-15N]Lys. Daptomycin-treated cells showed a reduction in the lysyl-ε-amide intensity that was consistent with cell wall thinning. However, the reduced lysyl-ε-amine intensity at 10 ppm indicated that the daptomycin-treated cells did not accumulate in Park's nucleotide, the cytoplasmic peptidoglycan (PG) precursor. Consequently, daptomycin did not inhibit the transglycosylation step of PG biosynthesis. To further elucidate the daptomycin mode of action, the PG composition of daptomycin-susceptible Enterococcus faecalis grown in the presence of daptomycin was analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Sixty-nine muropeptide ions correspond to PG with varying degrees of modifications including crosslinking, acetylation, alanylation, and 1,6-anhydrous ring formation at MurNAc were quantified. Analysis showed that the cell walls of daptomycin-treated E. faecalis had a significant reduction in PG crosslinking which was accompanied by an increase in lytic transglycosylase activities and a decrease in PG-stem modifications by the carboxypeptidases. The changes in PG composition suggest that daptomycin inhibits cell wall biosynthesis by impeding the incorporation of nascent PG into the cell walls by transpeptidases and maturation by carboxypeptidases. As a result, the newly formed cell walls become highly susceptible to degradation by the autolysins, resulting in thinning of the cell wall.

Notch-RBPJ Pathway for the Differentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Femoral Head Necrosis.

Femoral head necrosis (FHN) is a common leg disease in broilers, resulting in economic losses in the poultry industry. The occurrence of FHN is closely related to the decrease in the number of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and the change in differentiation direction. This study aimed to investigate the function of differentiation of BMSCs in the development of FHN. We isolated and cultured BMSCs from spontaneous FHN-affected broilers and normal broilers, assessed the ability of BMSCs into three lineages by multiple staining methods, and found that BMSCs isolated from FHN-affected broilers demonstrated enhanced lipogenic differentiation, activated Notch-RBPJ signaling pathway, and diminished osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation. The treatment of BMSCs with methylprednisolone (MP) revealed a significant decrease in the expressions of Runx2, BMP2, Col2a1 and Aggrecan, while the expressions of p-Notch1/Notch1, Notch2 and RBPJ were increased significantly. Jagged-1 (JAG-1, Notch activator)/DAPT (γ-secretase inhibitor) could promote/inhibit the osteogenic or chondrogenic ability of MP-treated BMSCs, respectively, whereas the differentiation ability of BMSCs was restored after transfection with si-RBPJ. The above results suggest that the Notch-RBPJ pathway plays important role in FHN progression by modulating the osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of BMSCs.

Increasing electron density by surface plasmon resonance for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

The photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction is a multi-electron process, which is greatly affected by the surface electron density. In this work, we synthesize Ag clusters supported on In2O3 plasmonic photocatalysts. The Ag-In2O3 compounds show remarkedly enhanced photocatalytic activity for CO2 conversion to CO compared to pristine In2O3. In the absence of any co-catalyst or sacrificial agent, the CO evolution rate of optimal Ag-In2O3-10 is 1.56 µmol/g/h, achieving 5.38-folds higher than that of In2O3 (0.29 µmol/g/h). Experimental verification and DFT calculation demonstrate that electrons transfer from Ag clusters to In2O3 on Ag-In2O3 compounds. In Ag-In2O3 compounds, Ag clusters serving as electron donators owing to the SPR behaviour are not helpful to decline photo-induced charge recomnation rate, but can provide more electron for photocatalytic reaction. Overall, the Ag clusters promote visible-light absorption and accelerate photocatalytic reaction kinetic for In2O3, resulting in the photocatalytic activity enhancement of Ag-In2O3 compounds. This work puts insight into the function of plasmonic metal on enhancing photocatalysis performance, and provides a feasible strategy to design and fabricate efficient plasmonic photocatalysts.

Computed Tomography Perfusion Imaging Study of Intracranial Complex Aneurysms Treated by Internal Maxillary Artery Bypass Grafting.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral revascularization strategies through extracranial to intracranial bypass have been adopted in the management of complex intracranial aneurysms. The internal maxillary artery used as a donor in a bypass is an effective method. At present, there are few quantitative analyses of cerebral blood flow perfusion. The main focus of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of blood perfusion after bypass grafting. METHODS: From April 2015 to December 2017, 19 patients who underwent internal maxillary artery radial artery middle cerebral artery bypass surgery with unobstructed bypass vessels were selected. Cerebral blood flow perfusion before and after bypass surgery was quantitatively evaluated by computed tomography perfusion imaging. The cerebral blood perfusion in the region of interest was measured by computed tomography perfusion. RESULTS: The aneurysms were excised after trapping in 2 cases with mass effects and neural compression. Proximal occlusion of the parent artery was performed in 9 cases of fusiform or giant dissecting aneurysms. Trapping was performed after bypass surgery in 8 cases. Within 3 months after surgery, 17 patients had good outcomes. After the hypothesis test, there was a significant difference between the preoperative △cerebral blood volume and postoperative △cerebral blood volume in the anterior area of the semioval center cross section (P = 0.001 < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The internal maxillary artery as a bypass donor is an effective method that can provide sufficient intracranial blood perfusion, and there is usually no cerebral ischemia in the surrounding area.

Correction: Liu et al. Detection of Human Fall Using Floor Vibration and Multi-Features Semi-Supervised SVM. Sensors 2019, 19, 3720.

The authors wish to add one reference [...].

Clinical characteristics and antibiotics treatment in suspected bacterial infection patients with COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought challenges to health and social care systems. However, the empirical use of antibiotics is still confusing. Presently, a total of 1123 patients with COVID-19 admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University was included in this retrospective cohort study. The clinical features, complications and outcomes were compared between the suspected bacterial infection and the no evidence of bacterial infection. The risk factors of mortality and the incidence of acute organ injury were analyzed. As a result, 473 patients were selected to suspected bacterial infection (SI) group based on higher white blood cell count and procalcitonin or bacterial pneumonia on chest radiography. 650 patients were selected to the no evidence of bacterial infection (NI) group. The SI group had more severely ill patients (70.2% vs. 39.8%), more death (20.5% vs. 2.2%), and more acute organ injury (40.2% vs. 11.2%). Antibiotics were found associated with improved mortality and an increased risk for acute organ injury in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Intravenous moxifloxacin and meropenem increased the death rate in patients with suspected bacterial infection, while oral antibiotics reduced mortality in this group. Moreover, penicillin and meropenem treatments were associated with increased mortality of the patients with no evidence of bacterial infection. In conclusion, patients with suspected bacterial infection were more likely to have negative clinical outcomes than those without bacterial infection. Empirical use of antibiotics may not have the expected benefits.

Dsi-RNA knockdown of genes regulated by Foxo reduces glycogen and lipid accumulations in diapausing Culex pipiens.

Culex pipiens is a major carrier of the West Nile Virus, the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States. Cx. pipiens survive overwinter through diapause which is an important survival strategy that is under the control of insulin signaling and Foxo by regulating energy metabolism. Three homologous candidate genes, glycogen synthase (glys), atp-binding cassette transporter (atp), and low-density lipoprotein receptor chaperone (ldlr), that are under the regulation of Foxo transcription factor were identified in Cx. pipiens. To validate the gene functions, each candidate gene was silenced by injecting the target dsi-RNA to female Cx. pipiens during the early phase of diapause. The dsi-RNA injected diapause-destined female post-adult eclosion were fed for 7 days with 10% glucose containing 1% D-[13C6]glucose. The effects of dsi-RNA knockdown on glucose metabolism in intact mosquitoes were monitored using 13C solid-state NMR and ATR-FTIR. Our finding shows that the dsi-RNA knockdown of all three candidate genes suppressed glycogen and lipid biosyntheses resulting in inhibition of long-term carbon energy storage in diapausing females.

AMPK/SIRT1 Pathway is Involved in Arctigenin-Mediated Protective Effects Against Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

Arctigenin, one of the active ingredients extracted from Great Burdock (Arctium lappa) Achene, has been found to relieve myocardial infarction injury. However, the specific mechanism of Arctigenin against myocardial infarction remains largely unknown. Here, both acute myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (AMI/R) rat model and oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced myocardial cell injury model were constructed to explore the underlying role of AMPK/SIRT1 pathway in Arctigenin-mediated effects. The experimental data in our study demonstrated that Arctigenin ameliorated OGD-mediated cardiomyocytes apoptosis, inflammation and oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, Arctigenin activated AMPK/SIRT1 pathway and downregulated NF-κB phosphorylation in OGD-treated cardiomyocytes, while inhibiting AMPK or SIRT1 by the Compound C (an AMPK inhibitor) or SIRT1-IN-1 (a SIRT1 inhibitor) significantly attenuated Arctigenin-exerted protective effects on cardiomyocytes. In the animal experiments, Arctigenin improved the heart functions and decreased infarct size of the AMI/R-rats, accompanied with downregulated oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptotic levels in the heart tissues. What's more, Arctigenin enhanced the AMPK/SIRT1 pathway and repressed NF-κB pathway activation. Taken together, our data indicated that Arctigenin reduced cardiomyocytes apoptosis against AMI/R-induced oxidative stress and inflammation at least via AMPK/SIRT1 pathway.

Microsuturing Technique for the Treatment of Blood Blister Aneurysms: A Series of 7 Cases.

BACKGROUND: A blood blister aneurysm (BBA) is an abnormal bulge at the nonbranching point of a vessel. However, the optimal treatment strategy for this formidable disorder remains unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and validity of using a direct microsurgical repair technique in BBAs. METHODS: Direct microsuturing of aneurysms was performed with nylon thread in 7 patients from 2014-2018. Postoperative angiography was used to confirm the obliteration of the aneurysms and the absence of stenosis of the parent artery. Neurologic function was assessed by the modified Rankin Scale. RESULTS: Two male and 5 female patients with a mean age of 43.7 years (range, 29-62 years) were assessed. Subarachnoid hemorrhage occurred in 6 patients, including 4 patients with Hunt-Hess grade II and 2 patients with grade III. BBAs of the internal carotid artery were observed in 3 patients, BBAs of the middle cerebral artery trunk were observed in 2 patients, and a BBA of the anterior communicating artery was observed in 1 patient. One BBA of the anterior communicating artery in 1 patient was detected incidentally during the resection of a craniopharyngioma. All BBAs were closed with blood-tight sutures via standard frontotemporal craniotomies. Postoperatively, all BBAs were completely eliminated from the circulation without stenosis of the sutured parent vessel. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed microsuture technique appears to be a safe, cost-effective, durable treatment for BBAs in the anterior circulation, and should be a part of the arsenal of neurosurgical practitioners who treat anterior circulation BBAs.

Suppression of glycogen synthase expression reduces glycogen and lipid storage during mosquito overwintering diapause.

During diapause in mosquitoes, efficient storage and utilization of energy are crucial for surviving prolonged periods of developmental arrest and for maximizing reproductive success once diapause is terminated and development recommences. In Culex pipiens, glycogen rapidly accumulates during early diapause (7-10 days after adult eclosion) and it is used to maintain energy homeostasis during the first month of diapause. In this study, a gene encoding glycogen synthase, which converts glucose residues into a polymeric chain for storage as glycogen, was characterized. After dsi-RNA directed against glycogen synthase was injected into mosquitoes programmed for diapause (reared under short day lengths), Cx. pipiens were fed 1% d-[13C6]glucose, and the knockdown effects after 7-days were monitored by measuring 13C-labeled carbohydrate accumulation using solid-state NMR. The use of 13C cross-polarization magic-angle spinning spectrum showed a 46% reduction of 13C-labeled glycogen and a 6% reduction in lipid accumulation in glycogen synthase knockdown adult females. In addition, the suppression of glycogen synthase dramatically increased the mortality rate of diapausing Cx. pipiens by 88% at 30-days post injection. These findings indicated that glycogen synthase plays a critical role in regulating glycogen and lipid storages during overwintering diapause, and its function is essential for successful overwintering and survival of Cx. pipiens.