Bidirectional two-sample mendelian randomization analysis identifies causal associations of MRI-based cortical thickness and surface area relation to NAFLD.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients have exhibited extra-hepatic neurological changes, but the causes and mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigates the causal effect of NAFLD on cortical structure through bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis. METHODS: Genetic data from 778,614 European individuals across four NAFLD studies were used to determine genetically predicted NAFLD. Abdominal MRI scans from 32,860 UK Biobank participants were utilized to evaluate genetically predicted liver fat and volume. Data from the ENIGMA Consortium, comprising 51,665 patients, were used to evaluate the associations between genetic susceptibility, NAFLD risk, liver fat, liver volume, and alterations in cortical thickness (TH) and surface area (SA). Inverse-variance weighted (IVW) estimation, Cochran Q, and MR-Egger were employed to assess heterogeneity and pleiotropy. RESULTS: Overall, NAFLD did not significantly affect cortical SA or TH. However, potential associations were noted under global weighting, relating heightened NAFLD risk to reduced parahippocampal SA and decreased cortical TH in the caudal middle frontal, cuneus, lingual, and parstriangularis regions. Liver fat and volume also influenced the cortical structure of certain regions, although no Bonferroni-adjusted p-values reached significance. Two-step MR analysis revealed that liver fat, AST, and LDL levels mediated the impact of NAFLD on cortical structure. Multivariable MR analysis suggested that the impact of NAFLD on the cortical TH of lingual and parstriangularis was independent of BMI, obesity, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that NAFLD causally influences the cortical structure of the brain, suggesting the existence of a liver-brain axis in the development of NAFLD.

[Differential expressions of seminal plasma piRNAs in men and its significance].

OBJECTIVE: To study the differential expressions of piRNAs in the seminal plasma of men and the role of piRNAs in spermatogenesis. METHODS: We sequenced the seminal plasma samples collected from 187 male infertility patients and 58 normal healthy men, obtained differentially expressed piRNAs, and detected the relative expressions of piRNAs in different types of sperm by RT-qPCR to explore their significance in the diagnosis of male infertility. Using histopathology, RNA-protein pull-down and Western blot, we investigated the action mechanism of piRNAs in spermatogenesis in the mouse model. RESULTS: RT-qPCR of the seminal plasma samples revealed a high expression of hsa_piR_000478 in teratozoospermia and ROC curve analysis showed an auxiliary significance of hsa_piR_000478 in the diagnosis of the disease (AUC = 0.7549). Transfection of hsa_piR_000478 and its homologous sequence piR_mmu_54800729 into the seminiferous tubules of the mouse model significantly decreased sperm motility, increased the percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm and destroyed the testicular structure. Molecular biological experiments exhibited a close correlation between piRNAs and the energy metabolism-related pathway, which elevated the level of cell glycolysis and interfered with normal spermatogenesis. CONCLUSION: hsa_piR_000478 has an auxiliary significance in the diagnosis of male infertility, and piRNAs may interfere with spermatogenesis by affecting the glycolysis-related pathway in the spermatogenic microenvironment of the testis.

Comparison of Kinematic Alignment and Mechanical Alignment in Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials.

The aim of this study was to estimate whether kinematic alignment (KA) improves knee function or clinical outcomes compared with mechanical alignment (MA) in the short term after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We searched the literature for randomized controlled trials published before January 2020 from PubMed, EMBASE, Google, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and other databases. The observation markers included "The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index," "Knee Society Score (KSS)," "Oxford Knee Score (OKS)," "combined Knee Society Score (KSS)," "Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)," "European Quality of Life Measure-5 Domain-5-Level (EQ-5D-5L)," range of motion (ROM), lower limb alignment, ligament release, and complications. A total of 11 randomized controlled trial studies were included in the study. During the follow-up of 6-24 months, the KA-TKA group was superior to the MA-TKA group in terms of WOMAC scores, combined KSS, KSS, knee function scores, and knee range of flexion, but there was no significant difference in EQ-5D-5L, KOOS, KOOS (symptoms, pain, ADL, sports, and quality of life), complications, knee range of extension, hip-knee-ankle (HKA) angle, tibial component slope angle, lateral distal femoral angle (LDFA) or medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) angle between the MA-TKA group and the MA-TKA group (P > 0.05). Our meta-analysis revealed that the incidence of ligament release in the MA-TKA group was higher than that in the KA-TKA group. This meta-analysis shows that the KA-TKA group had better clinical outcomes and knee range of flexion than the MA-TKA group at short-term follow-up.

[Effects of high-fiber diet on timing of behaviors in Bandicota indica].

Food resources and energy budget affect the behaviors and time budgets of animals. To clarify the effects of a high-fiber diet on greater bandicoot rat (Bandicota indica) behavior, we compared B. indica under a high-fiber diet and a standard rat diet using video monitoring. Our results show that B. indica are mainly active and feed at night, typical of nocturnal animals. A high-fiber diet resulted in a longer time to feed and become active at night and reduced the time spent feeding during the day. These findings suggest that food quality plays an important role in the behavioral timing of B. indica; this helps to understand seasonal changes in behavior demonstrated by B. indica.

[A novel yellow organic light-emitting device].

The fabrication of a novel organic yellow-light-emitting device using Rhodamine B as dopant with double quantum-well (DQW) structure was introduced in the present article. The structure and thickness of this device is ITO/CuPc (6 nm) /NPB (20 nm) /Alq3 (3 nm)/Alq3 : Rhodamine B (3 nm) /Alq3 (3 nm) /Al q3 : Rhodamine B(3 nm) /Alq3 (30 nm) /Liq (5 nm)/Al (30 nm). With the detailed investigation of electroluminescence of the novel organic yellow-light-emitting device, the authors found that the doping concentration of Rhodamine B (RhB) had a very big influence on luminance and efficiency of the organic yellow-light-emitting device. When doping concentration of Rhodamine B (RhB) was 1.5 wt%, the organic yellow-light-emitting device was obtained with the maximum current efficiency of 1.526 cd x A(-1) and the maximum luminance of 1 309 cd x m(-2). It can be seen from the EL spectra of the devices that there existed energy transferring from Alq3 to RhB in the organic light-emitting layers. When the doping concentration of RhB increased, lambda(max) of EL spectra redshifted obviously. The phenomenon was attributed to the Stokes effect of quantum wells and self-polarization of RhB dye molecules.

[Spectroscopic properties of salicylaldehyde anil zinc and its thin film].

A new light emitting material, salicylaldehyde anil zinc (SAZ), was synthesized. It can form high quality nano-scale amorphous thin films on clean glass substrates by vacuum evaporation. Its structure, crystallization, thermal stability, and optical property were investigated by IR spectra, DTA-TG analysis, XRD spectra, UV-Vis spectra, and fluorescence spectra. Its energy band structure was confirmed by cyclic voltammogram and optical absorption band edge. Results show that the SAZ film is a thermally stable material, and can emit intense green fluorescence with a peak wavelength at 508 nm and a full width at half-maximum of 90.2 nm under UV irradiation. Its HOMO energy level is about -5.659 eV, LUMO energy level is about -3.054 eV, optical gap band is about 2.604 eV. The fluorescence decay of stored films under ambient atmosphere is more rapid than that of 8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum films. However, the fluorescence decay of the films under UV irradiation is slower than that of 8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum films.

[Preparation and spectral analysis of a new type of blue light-emitting material delta-Alq3].

In the present article, delta-Alq3, a new type of blue light-emitting material, was synthesized and investigated by IR spectra, XRD spectra, UV-Vis absorption spectra, photoluminescence (PL) spectra, and electroluminescence (EL) spectra. The relationship between molecular spatial structure and spectral characteristics was studied by the spectral analysis of delta-Alq3 and alpha-Alq3. Results show that a new phase of Alq3 (delta-Alq3) can be obtained by vacuum heating alpha-Alq3, and the molecular spatial structure of alpha-Alq3 changes during the vacuum heating. The molecular spatial structure of delta-Alq3 lacks symmetry compared to alpha-Alq3. This transformation can reduce the electron cloud density on phenoxide of Alq3 and weaken the intermolecular conjugated interaction between adjacent Alq3 molecules. Hence, the pi--pi* electron transition absorption peak of delta-Alq3 shifts toward short wavelength in UV-Vis absorption spectra, and the maximum emission peak of delta-Alq3 (lamda max = 480 nm) blue-shifts by 35 nm compared with that of alpha-Alq3 (lamda max = 515 nm) in PL spectra. The maximum emission peaks of delta-Alq3 and alpha-Alq3 are all at 520 nm in EL spectra.